Anchorage Mayor's Marathon

I finished marathon #172 today. It was a tough race for me, because I really haven't been diligently training. My two week hiatus from hiking while waiting for Bella to heal, has not been very helpful either. I knew I was not in tip-top running shape. But I never am lately. I have been worried that it would be too hot, since it's been in the 70's all week. That's hot for Alaska, even in summer. I had to get up at 3:30 am to have time for breakfast, a dog walk, and to deliver Bella to friend, Mark who agreed to watch her for the day. I caught the 6 am shuttle from the finish line to the start line and was freezing cold for an hour and a half waiting for the start. Being too hot was not a big worry at that time. In fact, dark clouds were moving in obscuring what little sun we had. Soon after starting, it began to rain. I hoped I could keep warm by running but I was still a little chilly. By the time we left the coastal trail and reached the lagoon, the rain stopped and it gradually warmed up. By the end of the race it was 70 degrees, but there was enough breeze that it really didn't bother me. However, my feet were really bothering me. Running on the hard pavement of the bike trails seemed to cause sharp pain to the bottom of my feet. I took a couple breaks at the porta potties, just to get off my feet for a minute. That actually helped. I was still mostly able to keep my typical running speed but the pain was definitely slowing me down. At mile 10 I considered dropping out. But I never like to quit. So, I toughed it out somehow. I knew I was going to be very close to reaching the 3 pm finish limit, which gives us 7 hours and 30 minutes. At mile 24 I caught up with a guy named Mike who said he had been using me as an inspiration to push on, when he was getting pretty discouraged. We ran together from that point on, encouraging and challenging each other. In the last 100 yards his wife was yelling at us both over his cell phone to keep running and not walk!  We pushed with all we had and crossed the finish line at almost exactly 3 pm. My finish time according to my chip was 7:29:58. I finished with 2 seconds to spare! We both had gun times of 7:30:30. I still got first in my age group of Female 75-99+ but of course I was the only one in that category. I got a gold medal and still finished last. 

I was so glad to get out of my running shoes after my drive home. I'm not sure if I will register for this race next year when I'm 80. But knowing myself, I'm sure I'll be crazy enough to do it. I will want to be a lot more conscientious about training though.

Finish Photo

Gold Cord Lake

 They finally opened the gate to Independence Mine and we were able to drive all the way up. I tried to hike up to Gold Cord Lake last week but there was so much snow that I gave up before reaching the lake. It really wasn't much better today but Bella and I went for it anyway. It was a definite snow slog up to the old miner's cabin. Bella often fell into the post hole footprints made by previous hikers. But we made it up to the cabin. The tracks are not following the actual trail. It follows a meandering route with a gradual ascent. But folks have been just going straight up to the cabin over the snow. Above the cabin, the route was more defined and packed down. So, we were able to easily make our way up. Near the lake, parts of the actual trail are showing and we could follow it. It was very muddy in places, but not too bad. It was spectacular up at the lake. It is still mostly snow-covered and frozen. But parts of the lake are open and water is flowing from the creek. The water has a beautiful glacier blue color, which I found delightful. We found a nice rock to sit and had some snacks and just enjoyed to cool temperature. I had really wet feet but it was so worth it!

Lazy Mountain Climb

 Bella got her stitches out on Tuesday, and we can finally do some real hiking. It was not very good weather yesterday but today was gorgeous. So, we climbed Lazy Mountain up and down the steep side on the Lazy Mountain Trail. I kept her on her leash until we reached the picnic table at the halfway point because the brush was now very high and a bear could easily be hiding in there. I didn't want Bella chasing them or anything else. The trail was in perfect condition. Sometimes this trail is so slippery and muddy that I need to hang onto the trees to keep from sliding down. But today it was beautifully dry. Above the table, I let her run free and we got to the top easily in under 2 hours. She beat me to the actual summit as usual. We stayed up there for a while and enjoyed the sunshine and the view. We ran down most of the way. Many people take the longer Lazy Moose switchback trail down, but we went right back the way we came. We only took 3 1/2 hours. I usually expect to take 4 hours. Bella and I had some pent-up energy that we needed to finally let out! It was an amazing day to climb the mountain. Lots of beautiful wildflowers too. 

Bella on the summit

Wolverine Creek Run

 I haven't been able to do any significant hikes or be very far away from my dog, Bella for the last few weeks. She had to have some surgery and I really couldn't leave her alone while she recovers. But her stitches come out on Tuesday and she is quite well healed. So today we ran together to Wolverine Creek and back. I really needed to do some running because of the upcoming marathon next Saturday. The run felt great. This was the best I've ever run going up and down the steep hills to the creek and up to the big carrot sign at the top of the canyon. I also needed to put more time on my new running shoes. Bella seemed to really enjoy getting out and running as fast as she could. It was a beautiful day too.