Vail Backcountry Hut Trip - COLORADO!

The next part of my vacation was a hut trip to the 10th mountain division Jackal Hut in the backcountry of Vail. The hike was 4 1/2 hours and the sun was warm that day. The views from the hut were just incredible. Dreamlike! We spent 3 full days in the great outdoors, using an outhouse, no running water (we melted snow for drinking/eating water AND did not take a shower for 3 days) and slept in our sleeping bags... also there was NO cell service, which was VERY tough for me. : )

Here are some photos - there is more to this story, but these are my fave photos of me that Jana took! Between the 2 of us we took 1000 photos!

My hospital visit in Kansas City

(Picture: Judy and I in the emergency room in Kansas City)

I arrived in Kansas City to attend the RFL Nationwide All Staff Meeting on Tuesday 4/17 having dinner and some wine with collegues and then waking for my usual "on the road" run with Judy (about 5 miles) in the morning. After networking with ice breakers with the group, I left to go the bathroom and my urine is dark red. I realize it isn't "that time of the month".... So I am sitting in the back of the room with my Illinois friends and collegues and write a note to Judy - "There is blood in my urine, I think there is something wrong with me...." - with a worried look I almost start to cry... I don't normally get sick, so this was really odd for me. Judy tells Michelle, Michelle leads me out of the room with a big hug and says "let's call your doctor" - - I call my OBGYN (my absolute favorite doctor in the world, and talk to the nurse, who I also love that entire office). She gives me all the scenarios that may be causing the blood, including everything from dehydration to kidney problems. She tells me to go to the ER or a clinic in the area to do the tests needed. I call my Primary Care Doc and then Judy and I get in a cab to drive 3 miles up the street to the hospital.

The friendly greeting at the window was a welcoming beginning. They all were so happy and wanted to help. I really liked this place (that is a lot coming from someone who HATES hospitals). He took my vitals and gave me forms and had me wait. Then this very nice male nurse came and got me, and I brought Judy into Rm 10 with me. He had me change into my johnny and Judy & I laughed while I made a comment about my "granny underwear" and how your mother tells you to always be prepared with clean respectable underwear in case you end up in the hospital (oh well - so much for the pink ensemble I had chosen that morning). : )

So he stuck me with the IV and started to replace the fluids I had lost from the week of diarhea and the marathon... he stuck me again in the largest vein in my arm (which there were a LOT to chose from...) and took blood for tests. We waited and were visited by a female blonde doc and then Dr. Gaddis (sp) to give me an update on the tests and options of illness... dehydration, kidney issues and breakdown and more... He mentioned I may be admitted for a few days, which freaked me out a little... and I mentioned how I really needed to get out of there to go back to the meeting to present that afternoon and catch my 5 PM flight to Denver to go ski the back country. They all laughed ... Judy was impressed that my new doctor friend kept coming in to talk about us as I reminiced about my marathon and he shared his competition history as well. Very funny indeed.

After blood tests, IV, kidney ultrasound and spilling my ice water on my bed 2 times, 3 hours later they let us go with my extreme dehydration diagnosis... Thank you to my dear friend Judy, who hates hospitals as much as I do - for being there for me!

Boston Marathon - "The Pre Race Story"

(Photos: Tina & I at the Doubletree 5:00 AM, Me with my new friends, Shelly & Debbie from Louisville, KY, Our footwear - Shelly was wearing fur lined army boots before the race! Me - just before heading out to the start, The scene inside the tent of more than 20K runners)







Amazing! What a weekend and race I had in Boston. Schuyler, Jess, Tina, Lilly, Nick & I went to Boston early Sunday morning. We went to the hotel - parked our cars and headed to the expo to get my number and do some athlete shopping - The Hynes Center was a mecca of sneaker vendors, socks, apparell, sports nutrtion and various other fun things to mill around and look at. We at the free samples and looked at the marathon goodies. I got Schuyler a great hooded sweatshirt, picked up my number, t-shirt - - Tina bought a few things and we milled with the many 1000's of people there to shop with their "runner". It was all very exciting and overwhelming at the same time. We saw Frank Shorter speaking to the crowd and I remembered my last boston in 2002, 6 mths post partum (I ran a 4;15) - going to the expo with Schuyler at 6 mths old. I have a picture of Schuyler with Frank and if he wasn't speaking I had hoped to get one of him at 5 1/2. The crowd was elbow to elbow and we had lost Tina, Lilly & Nick - once we met up with them again (thank god for cell phones) we left and they all went to the Science Center.

I went back to the hotel and checked in. The room was ready and they had upgraded us to the presidential suite. It was a beautiful suite! I tried to relax and get my stuff ready for the next day, laid it all out and brought most of the luggage up to the room. The kids were so excited to be in the suite, it was really cute. But the rain was coming down in droves.... there was an electrical short and while Schuyler and I had gone out to get ice, we found that the engineering guy was worried about us in the room and evacuated us to 2 rooms down the hall for the night. It was fun in there while it lasted....

So by 10 pm at night I was exhausted from the expo, waiting for the room and moving all our stuff from one room to the other. Schuyler was completely wound up from the move and from going all day, he was really excited to be on this trip. So 10:15 we were sleeping and I set my alarm for 4:30 AM after laying out all my gear for the next day - number, clothes, warmup clothes and post race clothes with drink & GU ready to pack for the 26.2 miles....

Tina got up with me and joined me in the lobby - we milled around with the others all dressed and ready to take the shuttle to the buses. Despite the ongoing rain everyone was in pretty high spirits. Tough enough to run this course in good weather, but the noreaster and the monsoons predicted was just enough to make you a little nervous. I was psyched, I had my training behind me and felt like I had done my due diligence in the long runs and really was aching to run!

The shuttle to the bus and then I got in line - here is where I met my 2 new best friends... Shelly and her sister (Debbie?) - they were from Louisville KY and I started to chat with them at the line of the bus, telling our stories of the marathons we had run and the experiences... Shelly had been to Boston last year, and it was Debbie's first - sisters, they were going to run it together. I asked if they minded that I hang with them and we got on the bus... I chatted with Debbie all the way there. At "Athletes Village" right near the school in Hopkinton we were some of the first to arrive. They had this huge tent set up and we proceeded to get some water, bananas and then I got a few boxes to flatten out and make the "camp" for the next few hours.... It was still only 7:30 AM, but we were prepared and ready. People continued to get there and we met some new friends. One guy from Santa Rosa & the other from LA and a couple from Florida that we shared our camp of cardboard. Sharing stories about ourselves, stretching out, talking about what to wear and how fast we want to run. It was a cool experience.

We ate a little bagel, Debbie & I had some coffee, they shared their tylenol and various other sundries of prep (Shelly was a pro at this - was cool to see all the stuff she prepared and had in her bag). We took turns hitting the port a john and watching camp... Then it was time - 9:20 AM - we headed out to the buses to put our gear bags for the finish, said good bye to our new friends and started to walk in the rain to the start. I had my $5 NYC umbrella I planned on tossing at the start and it kept me dry. I decided to hit the port a john one more time and the lines were 8 ppl. It took what seemed forever as I checked my watch. I finally was at the front and jumped on what this man thought was his line, Oh well - I was nervous not to get to my corral on time with only 7 min to the start - I sprinted from that spot to the 6000 corral and made my way to the front. I shared my umbrella with this shorter man and chatted with a few - - not only were we running Boston but in a "noreaster". Someone sand the national anthem and then the rope dropped for the elites.... I was 6 corrals back and we walked for a little while... I milled my way forward as much as possible, ditched my umbrella and then crossed the start line. I was on my way! I was flying!

This is the weather and race news that shares how bad the weather was ----> CLICK HERE

Lessons Learned:
Leave early - it helps with psyche and preparedness
Prepare - have a little bag (kit) with vaseline, aspirin, tissues, a pen, wear different running shoes and pack an extra pair (i didn't and wish i did), Rain poncho is a good thing to have packed too.

My results are posted in a previous blog entry, but the other great thing about where I finished was that each person's number is granted by the qualifying time that you submit. My 3;14 in Chicago gave me the number 6552 -- So when you get your finish ranking, that shows you how many people you finished ahead of that qualified with a faster time. My finish rank was (unofficial) 1480 (i will confirm later, it is in the Boston Globe) - so that would mean I passed 5100 runners that had faster qualifyings times than I. What an incredible day!

Boston Marathon - MORE results

From the BAA page ---> CLICK HERE to read more
Masters 40-49: Women
Place Bib Name Official Time State Country Ctz
1 F160 Lozano, Heidy F. 2:56:03 TX USA
2 3780 Goldsmith, Lisa M. 2:59:38 CO USA
3 F168 Mason, Sheila 3:02:42 MA USA
4 F161 Jurasek, Esther 3:03:06 AK USA
5 F151 Ferraro, Angie 3:05:17 ON CAN
6 6586 Desmeules, Lynda 3:05:57 PQ CAN
7 6552 Peck, Nancy E. 3:05:59 NH USA
8 3453 Barry, Debbie L. 3:06:07 MA USA
9 F169 Tolley, Lisa 3:06:19 SC USA
10 5500 Grisbrook, Shelley L. 3:07:04 HI USA CAN
11 4591 Campbell, Polly 3:07:56 FL USA
12 3918 Baker, Carol J. 3:08:18 IA USA
13 F166 Morrissey, Bronwyn D. 3:08:59 CO USA
14 3346 Parsiegla, Karsta 3:09:28 GER
15 6752 Eddy, Amy L. 3:11:13 WV USA


From searching by my race number: 6552
Bib Name Age M/F City State Country Ctz *

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6552 Peck, Nancy E. 42 F Sunapee NH USA
Checkpoints 5k 10k 15k 20k Half 25k 30k 35k 40k
0:21:01 0:41:46 1:02:37 1:24:05 1:28:43 1:45:50 2:08:40 2:32:04 2:55:32
Finish Pace Projected Time Official Time Overall Gender Division
0:07:06 3:05:59 1427 73 7

Boston Marathon - "I'm a rock star"

How did it feel? Basically - I felt like I was running too fast. The down hill in the beginning of the run felt like I had wings... My heart was pumping - I was singing (hadn't found anyone to chat with -- so singing always helps my oxygen levels... funny, but true..) I bought this rubber bracelet to keep me on a 3:10 pace and checked the times at every mile mark. I was consistently running under 7 min/mile pace and felt really VERY good - - I fed off the crowd, the crowd that came out in the rain despite it all. At one point I was running with this man who kept raising his arms and the crowd would go wild, later on in the race I did the same thing. The little kids with their outstretched hands and the women yelling "girl power" gave me the extra push as well. It was amazing the speed in my legs, I rolled on my feet extended my stride, kept my eyes forward, thought about my "Chi" running style moving into the hill with the gravity pull to go faster and "digging deep". Looking inside myself for that strength and inspiration from those that I am connected to - I can do this - I can run a 3:05.....

The weather? I am doing my pre-race story - but really wanted to share these results first so everyone can feel the pride that I feel right now at this moment in time.... The rain was coming down in sheets before the race, but right as we were headed to the start the rain stopped - it was a little drizzly and the puddles gave me sore feet I may not have experienced if it was dry. The head winds were very strong in spots, so I would look for the biggest man to "draft" behind as much as possible. The crowds were dispursed at the end so I never did find someone at my own pace and those around me weren't interested in chatting - so I kept my positive self talk going to the end...

I remember all the towns, Hopkinton, Ashland (I looked for Peg), Wellsley (the screaming women) - looked for Mike at the 16 and then to my delight seeing Tina at mile 20 - she saw me and ran for a few minutes... her support has been incredible and having her and Oakley and Meg as running partners are what had prepared me for this incredible race.

Heartbreak Hill was long - a little tough, but ok - I held my hands out - leaned into the hill and pumped my arms (thinking of my friend,Jim, a fellow runner friend of Judy's) - - got to the top - the crowd was going wild " You can do it! It is all downhill from here" - - 5 miles to go - someone said that myself and this other girl were at least top 200 woman - so I kicked it in again.....

It was at the 5K that I looked at my watch to check if I had enough left to make my goal, how long will this take me...- I was almost there - a few corners in downtown Boston - I made it through Brighton and here I was almost home! I could see that I really could do it - a 3:05 was within reach. I pumped my arms, looked up to the sky, put my hand on my heart and said if it is in there I need it now. I kicked.... and kept looking at my watch. I saw the big blue finish line and ran hard, pumping and kicking! I crossed the finish line looking at my watch - I couldn't believe it - I ran a 3:05:59 AND MADE MY GOAL~ : )



My results below (to date):
7th in my division (40-45 age)
73rd overall woman
1480 - overall (23,000 runners)
2nd woman in NH
Masters Women? - hope to find that out soon!

I sat with Mike from Green Bay, WI on the airplane ride to Chicago this morning, who also ran a 3:05, he had the Boston Globe and finishing times for all runners was listed so I found my time and name. The winners of the US Woman Championships was posted as well, in fact, if I had signed up for this race within the race, I would have place 40 overall and there were about 5 women with times slower than mine.

SOME NOTES FROM FRIENDS:
From Jen Hager: Congrats on the Boston Marathon!!! You were on the Channel 9 news as one of the top three women in NH. Great Job!!

From David Rowell:
(below taken from my goal setting blog post)
> BOSTON:
> "The planets are aligned and the gods are smiling" time: 3:05

Wow... the gods were smiling on just you, considering the first place finishers ran about 8 minutes (an eternity!) behind the course records. Nancy, I'm ashamed to say I didn't think you'd do particularly well,not because of you, but because of the weather conditions. I much prefer the cold weather to the heat like most people, but today was ridiculous! (Not to mention the wind, which I figured must have been a significant factor. Seventh in your division, 73rd for women. "Congratulations" hardly seems adequate. Great job!
-dsr


From the Valley News (click here)

If any runners from our neck of the woods enjoyed it more, it might have been Sunapee resident Nancy Peck, who finished in 3:05:59. Only Scott Stone of Lebanon (3:00:52) ran faster among Upper Valley runners, and only 32-year-old Tammie Robie of Milford, N.H., (3:03:59) outran Peck among women from New Hampshire.

“That's my PR (personal record),” said Peck, who coached the Woodstock High girls basketball team in the early 1990s. “I just ran Chicago (in October) in 3:14 to qualify for Boston. The best I've ever done here was a 3:50, years ago.”

And this was at age 42, two years after she began a gradual return to running and triathlon racing after she injured a knee while teaching skiing. Among 2,538 woman finishers ages 40-49 yesterday, she came in seventh, and in the overall women's field of 7,966, she took 73rd.

“Life after 40,” Peck said with a smile. “You get faster, man.”

Mommy's "Famous" Cinnamon Rolls

When I was growing up in Vermont (Jericho & Georgia) my mom used to make these cinamon rolls every weekend (or so it seemed). When we would go places and need to bring a "dish", mom would always bring her "famous" rolls. It is a wonderful tradition that I have been sharing with Schuyler and he loves to help - since he could hold a wooden spoon and play with his toy wooden rolling pin he would "help". He still has his own piece of dough and spreads his own butter, dumps the sugar and SPRINKLES heavily his cinnamon on the dough. He is getting better and better at rolling the dough and actually cutting his own rolls too!

Mommy's "Famous" Cinnamon Rolls

In a bowl mix:
2 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp salt
Add: 1/2 cup water
Add: 1 cup scalded milk
Add: (be sure mixture is not to hot) - 1 pack active dry yeast
Let set for 10 min until bubbling
Add: 1/2 cup flour (King Arthur Flour is BEST)
Add: 1 egg - mix together
Add: 3 cups more flour
Let set for 1 hour to rise (double in size)

Roll out dough, spread melted butter, sprinkle sugar all over the dough, sprinkle cinnamon (Penzey's Vietnamese Cinnamon is BEST)
Roll jelly roll fashion and cut. Place on cookie sheets and bake in the oven.
350 degrees
15 minutes

YUMMY!

Boston Marathon - Weather Alert!

Marathon Monday is almost here. There is a crazy noreaster headed to town for the weekend and it is snowing right now out my window. Yesterday there was a bit of "buzz" going around about the marathon being cancelled. It had me a little bummed, but thinking there is NO WAY they will cancel this race. So here below is the note from BAA warning of the weather and advising to dress appropriately. Honestly the weather won't bother me, but I my end time will definitely be adjusted to account for these conditions - - STILL can't wait to run this marathon - I have never felt so great, in shape and READY!!

See note from BAA below:

Wednesday, April 11 - As the Boston Athletic Association continues to make preparations for Monday's Boston Marathon, we are monitoring the upcoming weather conditions forecast for this area. Based on the National Weather Service's most recent report and in cooperation with the Executive Office of Public Safety (Commonwealth of Massachusetts) and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, together with the eight cities and towns along the 26.2-mile marathon route, we are planning for likely heavy rain and windy conditions on race day. However, all race day plans remain the same. The Boston Athletic Association advises participants in Monday's race to plan accordingly for their run, bringing with them gear and apparel to suit the conditions. The B.A.A. will continue to update its web site as necessary.

Run like the wind....

Here are some "award winning" photos from the weekend of Schuyler and Sailor, flying in the wind! The energy of these youth really fuels me daily the time that I get to spend with them ...

One week to go before MARATHON MONDAY! I am ready! 2 rest days, one tempo day, one semi long (8 miles) and run Saturday and Sunday 4-5 to keep the muscles ready.

Weather: High 30's - mid 40's
Lists: Shaklee "fuel" - Physique, Performance, race belt, GU apparel, (GU product came in this past week!) Look for the "GU Girl"... CLICK HERE FOR GU INFO

Website: For all the info you need on the race CLICK HERE. You maybe able to sign up for runner alerts and more on this site!

My BIB number is 6552 if you want to "watch" me online!

End of Winter

The end of winter
time is here

The snow is melting
change is clear

The white will be green
growth in the air

The sun shines bright
my love to share

The transition is rough
but clear to see

The beauty of the spring
knowing I will be free

- Nancy E

My List

Last year I got together with my mom friends and we had a ladies night, drinking wine, sharing memories of our lives, looking at our values and those things we might want to accomplish in our lifetime. Sharon hosted the party and it was an amazing night of self actualization. We all wrote our life goals of things, places, family goals, possessions, charities, sports, travel, etc.

Here is the introduction from My50.com:
Have you ever promised yourself you would learn to play an instrument, test drive a Ferrari, or simply tidy the garage? Well don't put them off any longer. With My50 you can make a list of things to do before you die - your life ambitions, goals and targets. In addition to your list of things to do, you can list your lifetime achievements and build up a history of your life successes and accomplishments.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SITE

My50.com list:
Scuba-dive - Great Barrier Reef
Visit Paris
Climb a mountain - Mt. Everest
Christmas in New York
Go to a sporting event (Horse racing)
Do a parachute jump
Learn something new
Serenade someone
Be happy
Try ice climbing
See the Niagara Falls
Swim with dolphins
Go on a detoxing weekend
Learn a new language - or perfect an old one (French)

Go naked - this one I chose from the site (pretty great description and I couldn't help myself): Let's clear one thing up from the start, there's nothing wrong with being naked! You won't see other animals parading around in jeans and a T-shirt, and we're only animals too, right? OK, we admit, arriving at work naked as the day you were born may be frowned upon, as would displaying your own buns in your local supermarket. We're not suggesting anything as daring as this however. Try stripping off somewhere a little more excluded like a quiet field or beach and for a short time feel totally liberated as you run and swing in the fresh air as nature intended. Go naked, and get back in touch with nature.


MORE from my List made last November:

Sports:
Qualify for Worlds (US Triathlon Championships)
Qualify for Alcatraz
Qualify for 70.3 National Championships
Qualify for Olympic Trials (marathons)
Rank Top Ten New England Master (running)
Rank Top Ten National Master (triathlon - 70.3)
Enduro Race - (one per year)
Race in Hawaii Ironman - before I am 50 (maybe before I am 45))
Compete in Master Water Skiing

Ski Education:
PSIA level 3
Direct Ski School program
US Ski Demo Team

Places I NEED to ski:
NH: Waterville, Cannon,
VT: Mt. Snow
ME: Sunday River, Sugarloaf
Italian Alps
BC / Whistler
California: Heavenly, Mammoth, Tahoe, Squaw
CO: Aspen, Telluride

Posessions: Own a mountain home in CO

Photography: Set up my website, get liscensed (DONE), Build portfolio, Get published in major magazines

Music: Piano lessons (pick up from my 8 yrs as a kid), Guitar, Perform on stage again vocals, Become a children's music performer

Education (general): Massage, Master's degree, Ballroom Dancing

I feel pretty great about my list! It feels good to think about all the great things that are left to do in life. Gives motivation to live life to the fullest and feeling good about who you are and what your goals are in life.

New England / New York Rankings - Boston qualifiers

March/April 2007 New England Runner Magazine report on top qualifiers for Boston Looking at the master's women I counted and I am 7th of all the masters listed!



Looking forward to Boston! Tina, Nick & Lily are staying at the Doubletree with Jess, Schuyler & I on Sunday night. Tina and I will go to the Expo on Sunday to get all the race "stuff" & do a little shopping... : )
Then to a pre-race dinner - to sleep early.....

Monday morning the bus to Boston for my race Wave #1 - leaves at 6 AM for Hopkinton to be on time and ready for the start (lesson #1 learned in Atlanta) - - My wave start is at 10 AM so I hope to look closer at the information and Tina is going to meet various places along the route and get me through Heartbreak Hill.

Starting to prepare - plan my food, my drink, my recovery, my mental strength... tapering my runs - ran my last long one (12) this weekend and working on stretching and muscle relaxation for the next 2 weeks. Planning on ample rest days for build up and nutrition / hydration shall begin now. This is my goal, the ultimate if I can pull off my goals for Boston - any one of them, but I need to dig deeper than ever.