Bloody Nipple Photo Contest!

Alright men, it's time to get a little chafy in here. Let's talk nipples.

I can't tell you how many times in a race I grimace at the sight of bloody nipples (like this poor chap here who is the first google image hit for bloody nipple). You think by now with the Brooks ad campaign bloody nipples would be a thing of the past, but somehow word hasn't got out yet.

I'm sure all of you out there have your own bloody nipple experience--who would have thought you could win

A PRIZE

for your best photo of your trickling teats!

The rules:
1) Your photo must be of you or of an immediate friend or family member (so as not to exclude the ladies). I do know how to verify photos for accuracy, so don't try me.
2) You must email your photo to frayedlaces@gmail.com and list when and where the bloody incident occurred. By submitting your photo you agree to let me post it with all the other submissions in our nipple gallery.
3) Contest ends Friday, Nov 27 at 6pm Hawaii time

The prize? A 6 pack of limited edition Brooks Run Happy Bandaids--white bandaids with the "Run Happy" logo printed in blue. Give them out and show them you care.

30 Mile Night Trail Run

"Why can't you just spend your Friday night in a bar like every other grad student?"

Because 30 miles, 9 hours running time, and over 7200 feet of elevation gain and loss makes for one hell of a Friday night.

After two days of no running, I showed up to meet the gang practically bursting at the seams with energy. I had been looking to this run all week, and had plenty of energy to burn on the trails. I hydrated all day and had a nice pastalicious linner 4 hours before go time. Most of the runners we met up with were training for the HURT 100. Only a few of us were out there just for the heck of it. We gathered at the base of the trails right when the last glimmers of daylight were fading away:



All together, there were 15 of us willing to do the hard and dirty all night long.


We took up going up Hogsback, and my legs felt good--ridiculously good. Before I knew it, I was caught up in the fast pack. I heard echoes behind me of "slow down! You're going to burn out!" but I just kept chugging along. I figured that once I needed to I could slow down and let the rest of the group catch up to me--but that never happened. I ended up sticking with the fast group for the first 20 mile loop. It was awesome. I was running with people who had run the trails hundreds of times, and they knew every upcoming drop off or major rock. Eventually, I was even allowed to lead. Let me tell you, nothing is creepier than going through the bamboo forest at 2am with a small tunnel of light guiding your way:

Regardless, I kept pushing on. I was impressed with how good I was feeling. No crankiness, no tiredness....just my perky 'ol self. I made sure to constantly drink water, and kept in the calories. I didn't quite eat the 2000 I packed, but I ate about 1500 over the course of the night. The highlight was my baked potato I ate at mile 15:


I ripped into that baby, poured in a packet of salt, and made it disappear in less than 20 seconds. Potatoes will definitely be my go-to trail food. At mile 20 I downed a red bull, which helped propel me through the last 10 mile loop. When we were finished, I was still feeling pretty wired. The only thing that bothered me were my feet. I don't know if it was the constant pounding from the rocks and roots, or from turning my ankles so much, but by the time I was finished my feet were killing me and starting to swell. All ultrarunners out there---any tips? Is this something that will get better with time or do I need to consider different shoes? Something in my stride?

All in all, I had a BLAST. Here is what was left of our group after 30 miles (three more were running 40 that night):


Looks like I proved myself, because I was even asked to be an official pacer for the race! The guy on the right in red in the above photo (he will get a nickname soon, just haven't figured it out yet) officially asked me to pace him. As we were walking to the car, I asked:
"So, uhh, how long do you want me to pace you for?"
"Well, you ran 30 tonight, so I figure you're good for at least 40."

Uh oh. What did I just agree to?

What I'm eating on my 30 mile night trail run

Hopefully, all of this:

• Powerbar Protein Plus nuggets (300 cals)
• Powerbar (230 cals)
• Mini powebar (~100 cals)
• 4 Hammer Espresso Gels (360 cals)
• GU Roctane (100 cals)
• Pulse Bar (95 cals---its a weird bar from France a coworker sent me)
• Shot Bloks (180 cals)
• PB & J Sandwich (~250 cals)
• Baked Potato (~150 cals)
• Oatmeal Raisin cookie baked by roommate (~200 cals)
• 3 packets salt (0 cals)
• Nuun (0 cals)
  

Grand Total: 1965 cals.

Okay, in actuality I don't expect myself to consume 2000 cals while running, but it's better to have more than you expect to consume in case things go awry.

We expect the run to last about 12 hours--start at 6pm, end at 6am. For those of you unfamiliar with these trails, you basically have to powerwalk the uphills, and in the daylight can run downhill. In the light it would probably take us about 9 hours or so. At dark, everything slows down.

I decided to pack a mix of running food and real food. Salty and sweet. Based on my past experiences with running long and slow, I know that after about 4 hours my body just doesn't want to eat anymore. Then, I get a little b$tchy. And things get ugly.

To combat this, I am going to start getting the food in early and often. Also, I haven't pulled an all nighter in about 5 years, so the whole sleep deprivation thing is going to be interesting. All my gels are super caffeinated, so hopefully I will be twitching so much I won't fall asleep while on the trails. We are all coming straight from work to run, so naps aren't really an option for anyone.

I am so stoked for my run, especially now that I had an official rest day. Today I was at a conference with my prof, and just couldn't sit still and focus. He leaned over and said "you are acting weird. How many miles did you run this morning?" I replied "none. First rest day in two weeks." His response? "Oh, so that's what's wrong with you! Do you want to sneak outside and run around the building a few times?"

You have no idea how tempted I was. If I wasn't wearing heels, I would have taken him up on his offer.

Feeling like your running shoes...

...A little worn out.

Something 'aint right in FrayedLaces land. For the past three nights I have been waking up at least a half dozen times, and then my body suddenly decides it's ready to start the day at 3am. I've lost a lot of interest in food, and have to remind myself to eat. I even had NO INTEREST in eating the chocolate cake I baked for a coworker's bday today. Yes, my friends, something is most definitely amiss.

Most likely, it's a combination of training and life. I haven't exactly honored my rest days, squeezing in bike rides and strength training on my rest days. In fact, I haven't taken a rest day in two weeks. I've also had to play the social susie sunshine role more times in the last week than I'd like to. I even had to get all Martha Stewart and baked two cakes in the past three days! I've also spent the past three days researching some obscure statistical tests and still have no idea what is going on with my data. Grr.

So, surprise surprise...today I was beaten with the exhaustion stick. All of a sudden it hit me...headache, mild nausea, and fatigue so heavy minor work annoyances brought me to the verge of tears. So, I decided to take an unanticipated rest day. I swam a mile at lunch, so that counts for something, right? I also found out my all night run on Friday is actually a 30 mile trail run, so I figure an extra day off running may make Friday night a little more tolerable.

Now, I'm off to do something decidedly antisocial and unrelated to statistics.

What did I just sign up for?

People do stupid things at weddings.

Something about the combination of booze, food, and dated music makes people think it's socially acceptable to do the macarena and think they're on dancing with the stars. Weddings also turn perfectly nice old men into creeps who hit on you because they think you are the bride's 16 year old daughter (I mean, seriously. Do I really look like I'm 16?)

But go to a wedding full of runners, and you know something really bad is going to happen.

I went to the wedding Saturday night, and when I woke up on Sunday I somehow had signed myself up for an all-night trail run Friday night. To make matters even worse, I also agreed to tack on a few more races after the Honolulu marathon--to do something that will get me 4 stars on the marathon maniac webpage.

To be more specific, it seems that in January I will be running an ultramarathon up a volcano on Saturday, flying to another island, and running a marathon the next day.

But at least I refused to do the macarena.

Introducing...

The new man in my life.

Thank you all so much for all your fantastic suggestions. You all got very creative in your responses! I chuckled a bit, because some of the names you suggested are actually names of men I have a history with (but I won't tell you which names!). GeorgiaSnail's suggestion of "Does "Fu@k, that bike is hot!" work for a name? That's what everyone will be saying...." probably made me laugh the most.

I had a hard time deciding on a name, so I took him out for a ride today to think about it. As I was riding, I made my decision. And the winner is....

Kane.

(pronounced kah-nay)

It's the perfect name. It has the Hawaiian mythology component (leader of the four main Hawaiian gods), but it also is the Hawaiian name for "Man", so it has a bit of an ironic twist.
You know, like "I'm going for a long one on MAN"...or, "MAN has been locked up in the house all day, better take care of him and give him a good ride".... And, I can wake up every morning with a man next to me! (Okay, enough with the innuendos, I promise)

I think the name is strong yet gentle. In the Hawaiian language, it refers not only to man but also means "strong sea" which again lies with the triathlon theme.


So, three people actually suggested the name. (Thanks alot, guys, now I have to come up with THREE goodie bags! Sheesh...)

DeAnna

Rev

and Sarah.

Email me (frayedlaces@gmail.com) your mailing address so you can get your prize!

Blog Changes

*Sunday Update: Some people said my new banner was too hokey, and many of you pointed out (including my mother) that the goggles looked like a bra. So, FL new banner, version 2.0

As I'm sure you've all noticed, the blog is undergoing some ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. I decided that it was way past due for me to change my banner, to reflect not only my triathlon training but also my loyalty to Brooks running. Yes, I am aware that my new banner is definitely girlier than my old one, but all you girlie-hating peeps can suck it. Shocker---I'm a girl!

So, lemme break down my new banner for ya:

The beach: I live in Hawaii. Duh.

The plumeria: I put the plumeria not just for flair, but because A) it is my favorite flower and B) it represents Hawaii, my home.

The goggles: I swim (duh). And yes, these are the goggles I swim in. Pink and all.

The bike: my new love. Still haven't picked a winner yet from the contest (soon, I promise!)

The shoes: my favorite running shoes, the Brooks Launch.

Some other changes to come:

• I have been busy going through all my archived posts and tagging everything so people can better search my old material. Soon I will have a word cloud or search section for tags.
  
• I have been working on a "my story" page that will document my whole ordeal with my broken pelvis and my road to recovery. I have been getting a lot of emails from women who sustained the same injury I did, so hopefully it will be easier for people to read about my experience with the injury.
• I am still working on a way to make my blog a little more interactive. I love all you guys who read my blog, and unfortunately don't have the time to keep track of everyone else's blog. I'm brainstorming ways to change that. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

I'm open to other suggestions/feedback as well. Please, pass along your comments!

Have a great weekend of training!

Hawaiian Delights

I typically wake early and run near my house to beat the traffic, but since I was out late Wednesday night I decided to sleep in and run near my work instead. Boy, did I make the right decision! I ran in Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens at sunrise and got to enjoy the pali in the early-morning light. I had my camera in my car so I snapped some pics post-run:



I enjoyed a run through some lush forests, surrounded by wild chickens and tiny chicks, exotic songbirds, and even some wild pigs (way cuter in the daylight, by the way). When I got to work I was smelling a little ripe (some people call it BO, I call it "athlete") and wasn't feeling a shower. Instead, I jumped in my swimming channel and knocked off a 3/4 mile swim:


I saw my usual mix of fish, coral, and sea cucumbers, but this morning I was treated to a special sighting: a spotted eagle ray:


I didn't have my camera, so I stole this image off the net. The one I saw was just a juvenile, and I expected it to bolt as soon as it saw me. Instead, it hung out in its spot so I saw it with each lap. Man, if this keeps happening, I may actually start to LIKE swimming!

Trail Bounty

Tuesday morning I reached for the fruit bowl, and realized my supply was running low. My bowl of oranges and bananas that I scored at the half marathon (it's amazing how people take pity on you and throw food in your direction when you utter the words "graduate student") were down to their last item. Uh-oh. Time to go fruit "shopping"...

(stick with me, I promise this has to do with running)

So when I headed to RunnersHI that night to run with the Ohana, I began to see who I could coerce into a trail run the next morning. Luckily a group run was already in the works, so I met up with my manfest the next morning for a 10-mile jaunt on my favorite trails, Tantalus.

(I wish I could say that this collection of menfolk was my daily entourage, but I think it was just coincidence that I was the only chick)

Anyways, back to the trails. We climbed the monstrous Hogsback, and then settled into a nice pace when the elevation flattened a bit. With every step I am on the lookout. Suddenly I see what I was searching for. I stop and peel into the bushes. "You guys go ahead! I'm okay!" I open my pack and pull out the baggie I stashed and go to town. A few minutes later as I clamber out of the brush Purple Shaka and Big E catch up to me. I explain my mission to them, and they offer to help. We continue on at a leisurely pace enjoying the nice weather on the trails.


We keep running, always on the lookout. It turns into a game of sorts. Eventually, we find what we are looking for and I make them put their man-arms to work:

With my pack bulging, I call a truce on the hunt. When we catch up to the group at the end, they ask what took us so long. I proudly pull out my bounty:


10 guavas and an avocado. This should last me a few days. Who needs Safeway when you have the trails of Hawaii?

Snapshot from my day

Okay, so I'm totally breaking my one-blog-per-day rule, and totally should be working right now, but wanted to share this moment from my day:

Background info for any newbies: I work on a small tiny island just off the main island of Oahu. I "commute" to that island each day via a shuttle boat driven by a very sweet Hawaiian man. There is a small channel right outside my office door that I do laps in--so yeah, my lunchtime swims involve me swimming around a coral reef. Go ahead and hate me.

Anyways, back to the story. I emerge from the water after my pre-lunch swim and the following conversation ensues between me (FL) and boat driver (BD).

BD: Hey girl, how was your swim?
FL: Oh it's nice. The water is warm today.
BD: How far did you swim today?
FL: Four laps...about 2/3 of a mile.
BD: Oh, you must have a race coming up then....when is your next race?
FL: Well, actually....(I proceed to tell him about IMFL)
BD: No way! That is so awesome! You are crazy but I know you are going to do great! What about your bike? (He knew I hated my old bike).
FL: Well....I got a new one!
BD: Carbon fiber?
FL: Yep! (I proceed to tell him all about my bike)
BD: Daaaaamn girl. That is so awesome! I can't wait to see pictures of it!

I share this story because I walked back to my office with a huge grin on my face. I love the fact that
A) I work at a place where impromtu swims are not only allowed but encouraged, and
B) That people not only support me but remember important details about my racing and training (especially tickled by the fact that BD knows how much I typically hate swimming and only swim if I'm training for a triathlon).

Okay, okay, go back to hating me now.