My first Mother's Day!

Scott took me for a hike to our cabin. Our little snow bunny survived the journey well. She much preferred being carried in the front as opposed to her nice hiker! I should have known by know that she prefers whatever is most difficult for mommy and daddy.

Scott treated me to dinner and breakfast in Crested Butte and I went for a run on the trails around Crested Butte thanks to daddy day-care. Could not have asked for more....time with my two favorite monkeys and time on trail!

Mom's return to 100 milers!

Thanks for my supportive husband and my best friend Amy, I was able to make a quick return to running 100's. My first race after having given birth was at 4-months post partum at Rocky Raccoon in Huntsville Texas.

I was the only one running in the breastfeeding division. Running and pumping!

My race report was picked up by Trail Runner online edition. Read on below!

http://www.trailrunnermag.com/people/adventure/732-returning-to-ultras-after-pregnancy

Amelia at four months

Amelia has survived her first Christmas. She is rolling over in both directions and on the move.  Her bright blew eyes spell danger for mom and dad in about 12 years but for now her sweet eyes melt our heart.

A long and bitter struggle, Amelia has finally accepted the bottle. But, she is smart and knows Mommy returns home every day so she drinks the bare minimum with Oma and at school. Once I'm home, she is going to town and knows she will have a milk-coma all evening and all night. She's in heaven. Mommy is longing for coffee.

In just a few short week's Amelia will board her first plane to Texas to help crew Mommy at Rocky Raccoon 100.  

Amelia's Arrival!

I was rather nervous about this whole childbirth experience so I broke it down according to something I can relate to; ultras.

I had been provided some information about the course in advance so I was able to plan my event strategy. In an effort of full disclosure I need to let you know that I have never participated in this type of ultra before nor have I crewed many friends through it.

Now that the “ultra” is over and our little hitchhiker has arrived , my mind is hazed and confused but here is what I recall of the course breakdown by aid station :

Pete’s 40^th birthday party to Home: (45 miles; 200 feet elevation loss)

This is where the race really started and where I had to suit up after we spent 9 months planning our race strategy.  Just like a regular 100 miler, I started the race on my own as Scott had had one too many beers to drive me home by the time my contractions started mid-party.:))  Safety first after all. We had precious cargo on board. We did make it home and spent the night laboring.

Home to Rose Medical Center: (6 miles; 0 feet elevation gain/loss)

By 6:30 am, I felt like I had run another 10 miles of the race and contractions were close enough that I thought it was time to go the hospital; so we thought…sadly, all my hard work and I still had only dilated to 2cm and had the back 50 miles to go to the finish line.  Nurses gave me the option to continue laboring in the hospital or go home and enjoy the nice weather by walking to try to speed things up.  We chose option 2. 

Home to Mom & Dad’s Condo and return (3.0 miles; 100 feet elevation gain)

Knowing I had to get to mile 60 before I could return to the hospital we went for a “run” in our neighborhood to see the awaiting grandparents. What would normally be a 15 minute walk turned into an hour walk. While there were no formal aid stations along the course, we did step off trail frequently for a breathing session on someone’s footsteps or park bench or even holding onto a tree.:)) After resting at the condo aid station and talking to crew members like Mom and Dad, we turned back on this out and back section of the course to stroll back home….Another hour passed before we were home.

Home to Rose Medical Center (6 miles; 0 feet elevation gain/loss)

I refer to this as the last stretch before the race really began. Trail was technical on this section as Scott is not used to driving my stick shift and did not bypass the potholes in-route. Numerous stalls and a number of bumps just helped to further me along in the process to run the last 40 miles of the race in the hospital; we all know this is when the race really begins in a 100 miler.

Hospital Parking Lot to Delivery Floor (distance 1 mile: 148' elevation gain)

Just like at Leadville, the race does not start until the last 40 miles; this was about 6:30pm. It was important that I was hydrated but not over hydrated as bodily functions had been compromised and although restroom facilities were available on the course they were not always easily accessible.  I was warned that is easy to take off too quickly at this point and get caught up in the excitement of my crew (which would include Scott, nurses and Doc). I tried to remember that this would after all be  a life long race and there was no need to go out too fast. I was warned to take my time here as the trail could get a little more technical ahead.  I didn’t want a sudden fall to kill my time; no sense falling behind early either. So, I just tried to pay attention to course markings and avoid a wrong turn where possible.

Nursing station to Hospital Room: (distance 1 mile; elevation loss/gain: 0)

This is a flat section of the course and pretty straight forward, it is well marked and there are people along the way if you get disoriented.  This is where I picked up my first pacer, Scott.  He  agreed to pace me through this section but I have no word on how his training has gone.  I had to assume he was ready.  I was told to run my own race here, regardless of what others were doing around me so I tried to enjoy the views, settle into a nice rhythmic pace, relax and concentrate on form. I was 4 cm dilated at this point.

Water Break Aid station (8 miles; elevation gain 3500 ft)

Another 3 hours had passed and I was still only 4 cm dilated. My formally trained crew, the doc, recommended that due to the duration and complexities of this event that I take a mandatory rest and evaluate my next step before proceeding. I closely evaluated my alternate routes as I knew the trail would get very technical if I heeded the Doc’s advice and had my membranes were ruptured. I did however want to enhance my chances of finishing this race timely so I heeded the good advice knowing that things would only get more technical along the course. And that they did!  I went from having contractions every 4 minutes with a 1 minute interval break to non-stop contractions.  Clearly, this climb up the trail was not easy but I must say that it helped things progress quickly and I was soon over the pass, only to be faced by another climb. Sadly, at this point I was also hyperventilating.

Feel Good Aid station: (22 miles; elevation gain 5200 ft)

Given my hyperventilation and quickly deteriorating state that was becoming stressful for my precious cargo, I arrived into “Doctor Feelgood’s” aid station with a decision that would leave me feeling like I had dropped from the race early but would ensure safe arrival for all participants at the finish.  Shortly after arrival, Scott and I were joined by another crew member; the anesthesiologist. I did accept the advice of Doctor Feelgood who recommended an epidural to make sure we all arrived at the finish line safely.  I was disappointed that this aid station did not attend to my hydration and nutritional needs with natural products such as beer and Hammer gels. Apparently these were not included with my $5000 entry fee for this ultra. I did not want to be disqualified so I made no fuss. I had trained hard and a DNF was not an option.:))

The Final Push: (8 miles ; elevation gain; 1500 feet, elevation loss 300 ft)

I did not recognize many land marks after Doctor Feelgood’s aid station but my pacer assured me that I was on good track to finish this race.   My pacer was holding one leg and another crew member, our nurse, who just wanted to help me get to the finish, held the other. This appears to be a common strategy at this stage of the race to make sure you don’t get dropped here. While I had been racing for hours now, I tried to fight the urge to “cop a squat” as this could have been messy. I have a propensity to do this in latter stages of the race so I was a bit nervous. This final push proved also to be very technical. However, Doc was waiting at the finish with open arms to catch our little baby girl! Finally, I was free, crossed the finish line and managed not to trip on the red carpet on my way to the finish.  I heard many spectators cheering…. I finished the longest ultra of my life! A 10 month journey (pregnancy is not 9 months regardless of what anyone says) with a little hitchhiker on board that now finally has a name and that I finally got to meet! While I did not get a buckle for finishing this ultra, I did receive a gift of life which will keep on giving. We welcome our little Amelia Louise Olmer with open arms and open hearts! She was born on Sunday morning at 3:14am at a healthy 6 lbs 76 oz!

For you curious minds, most likely I will sign up for another ultra of this type but please follow the cardinal rule and do not ask me for at least another week!