Being Prepared for Life

In life you are given challenges.  Challenges you need to face and overcome.    Sometimes it is hard to understand why these challenges are occurring, and people often ask themselves how they going to get through them.  For me, running helps me face these everyday challenges.  Running teaches me not to give up when it seems like life is getting too hard.  It teaches me that the more effort I put into whatever I want to accomplish the more I will get out of it.  It teaches me that sooner or later the struggles I am going through will be over.  When I workout, I have my good days, where I feel like I can run forever, and my bad days, where I just need the run to be over with.  Some days are harder to get the pace I want, or even to motivate myself.  Without those hard days I would not appreciate the easier days as much. 

Working out also helps with inner confidence.  It helps me feel better about myself.  Not only does it provide me with more energy, but it also gives myself better self-esteem.  It teaches me that I can do anything.  Whenever I am going through something hard in my life, I reflect back on the long run I had the weekend before and how hard that was for me.  How during that run I was able to push myself to finish it, even when I felt I wasn’t going to.  

Running helps me with self-discipline.  It has taught me to understand how the more I put to something, the more I will get out of it.  Nothing can be given to you.  

Working out is another way for me to meditate.  It’s my time to reflect and have time for clear thinking.  I have always said that after a long run, I have my whole life figured out.  Whatever I had on my mind that day gets worked out during my runs.  I am stressed going into the run, and by the time my run is over I have the problem figured out in my head on how I will fix it.  Working out is a time for myself.  Whether I am  with a friend or by myself.  It is a time to be in my own thoughts, and it helps my life physically and mentally. I do better in work, relationships, and rest of my life when I am consistently exercising.

I’ll take it on as a challenge

Who Inspires you?

There are different ways people become motivated and/or inspired. 

Motivation

The meaning of motivation to me is being determined to make something happen, and not giving up until you have achieved it.  Different things trigger people to be motivated.  My motivation is when someone tells me I cannot do something.  I’ll take it on as a challenge.

I am impatient and I want to take HUGE leaps rather than little steps to get to where I want to be.  Sometimes, I can take too big of a leap, which can cause me to forget to enjoy the little things.  My leaps though, have also show me that these hug leaps can be possible.  An example of this is how I never did a half marathon before I did my whole marathon; I competed in a full Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) first, instead of starting with a half Ironman.  When I ran my 100-mile Ultra-marathon, I jumped right in.  I didn’t start with the “smaller” Ultra-marathons, I chose to jump in and do a 100 mile ultra.  I did not want to train a year or even 6 months for it.  Instead, I gave myself 3 months.  Go big or go home right?

Inspire

Others inspire me.  I become inspired when someone follows his or her dream.  Whether or not they succeed.  When I was in high school, I looked up to people who ran marathons.  Once I signed up for it, I thought people who raced in the Ironman were God.  I will never forget, the day before my first Marathon, Ari, and I went out to dinner to ‘carbo-load’ (looking back not a good idea).  At dinner we saw a guy eating who was wearing an Ironman shirt.  All Ari and I wanted to do was go talk to him.  We were too scared too because we thought he was way too cool for us.  Just imagine, two 17-year old girls at dinner scared to talk to a guy 40-year old guy wearing an Ironman shirt.  All we wanted to do was pick his brain and tell him how cool he was.  Looking back though, he was only human.  When I heard about 100-mile Ultra-marathons, I thought those people were inhuman.  I first heard about it when I was 20 years old when I was training for my Ironman.  I figured only Navy Seals guys would do that kind of stuff.  For all those events, there was one person who inspired me to follow my dreams of accomplishing it.  Throughout my journey, I cannot TELL you how many people tried to take my dream away from me, without even knowing it.  I heard the word CRAZY too much.  All I needed was that one person; that one person who told me they believed in me. 

Every single athlete is human.  The athletes who succeed are the ones who are determined to be better.  If you have a dream follow it.  Do not let others tell you what you can and cannot do.  Push yourself, because that is when you will find out what you are capable of.  Nobody knows what your body is capable of except yourself.  And for the few of you, who do not know what you are capable of yet, go out and push yourself.  The best way to find out is when you break or fail.  And when you break or fail, the next time you try, you push yourself that much harder.

During my Ultra-marathon, my brain pushed my body to the point of no return.  My brain did not want my body doing anything else but move my legs.  During that race, I pushed myself to my breaking point.  My back was giving out, and my stomach was over the pounding.  Even though I was in pain, I now know what that pain feels like.  The next time I run a race, I will push myself that much harder, knowing I did it before and I can do it again.  The Ultra-marathon training and race, taught me what my body and mind are capable of; which is anything I want.

I have always said... its better to dream, because the bigger you dream the more you will accomplish.  Anything is possible, as long as you put your mind to it.

Transition from Running to Cycling

Transition from Running to Cycling

This past week I have been trying to focus on cycling more than usual, mainly because of my pulled calf.  I do though want to get back into the Ironman/ triathlon scene.  Usually a typical workout would be 8 miles a day during the week, with either a long run or ride on the weekend.  This past week, I have been riding for about an hour and a half, trying to get in as many hills as I can to build up my 'cycling legs'.  I want to trade off from running to cycling, and even start doing double days.  As a runner, cycling is difficult for me.  There is so much more to think about than only moving your legs.  With running I feel I can zone out.  I can put my music on and just RUN.  With cycling, I have to think of so many different things.  From changing gears, to watching for cars and pedestrians, to paying even MORE attention to potholes in the ground.  * I emphasize on the MORE because I am a klutz * Not only do I have to think about more with cycling, but I notice I am using different muscles as well.  My thighs are used a TON more with cycling, where with running I mainly use my calves.  I look forward to pushing my body to help myself become a better overall athlete.

Tour of Palm Springs

On February 9, 2013, I rode the century (100 miles) in the Tour of Palm Springs.  Phil and I rode the Tandem.  Phil is training for Race Across America, which is done on a Tandem, so he needs to practice riding it.

Tandem Bike

There is a lot more to a Tandem bike than one may think.  The person, who is in the front of the Tandem, has to focus on their shifting, wide turns, and balancing two people.  The Tandem is much heavier which makes it slower, with its long wheelbase.  The response time is not as quick if you need to move the bike fast to get out of the way of something.  The normal biking characteristics are compromised.  The riders on the Tandem have to go at the same speed.  If one person is pedaling hard, the other person needs to keep up.  

The Race

We woke up at 430 am to arrive at the race at 630 am.  The race consisted of all different types of cyclists.  There were the advanced, mediocre, and riders who were out there to have fun.  There were all different types of distances that you could sign up for as well.  From kid rides, to the Century.  We did the Century.  The course was beautiful.  I have never been around Palm Springs, besides downtown.  The first 40 miles of the ride was FREEZING and windy!  I did not dress very warm because I thought it was going to be hot.  I also do not like riding in the wind, because I get nervous I am going to fall over, so I was thankful I was on the Tandem.  In this race, I went the fastest I have ever gone on a bike.  On one of the down hills we got up to 54.4 miles an hour!  All the riders wanted to get on our tail to catch our draft.  The ride was perfect for me because the week before I was not able to run due to puling my calf muscle.   It was nice doing a hard workout again.  Phil is in better cycling shape than me, which caused him to push me to ride harder.  Having someone to push you during a work out or even a race is, at least for me, the best way to get stronger mentally and physically. 

Not My Race

February 3, 2013

Not Running My Race and Future Events

This last Sunday, on February 3, I ran in the Surf City Marathon, held in Huntington Beach, California.  Going into it I had high hopes.  My goal was to be the first female across the finish line, as well as, break 3 hours.  This would be my first time at attempting to be atop the podium in a marathon.  I gave myself two months to train.  Yes, I’m sure many of you may wonder why I only had two months of training… I had to take almost a month off for myself after the ultra marathon.  I felt my body and mind needed a break for a moment.  After about a month of contemplating if I should try the Surf City Marathon, I decided that I should give it a try.  This was the race I wanted to win.  Two months of training, from hills to speed, I was getting my body out of long distance mode, and into running 7-minute miles.

I try not to let things get in the way of my goals, so of course like usual I jumped in.

I arrived to the start line 30 minutes early.  My mind was racing, one minute I was thinking about how MY race was going to go, the next minute I was worrying about how fast everyone was going to fly off the start line.  The announcer shot the gun, and I was off.  I was running at a 6:22 pace.  What the heck?  I did not train this way.  I trained for a 7:00 pace.  Still maintaining this pace, at about mile 4 I started to have stomach issues.  This may have been caused by what I had for breakfast, as well as the Hammer, Perpetuem.  I swear by the Perpetuem, but my stomach still did not want to have it.  During my ultra, I used Perpetuem religiously. During that race, my stomach went through a lot of pain, mainly towards the end just due to the amount of strenuous activity and lack of “real food” that an average human would eat instead of high tech supplements. Today, the taste of Perpetuem brought me right back to that place, both my mind and tummy said ‘no way!’  At about mile 6, my legs were cramping and my feet were falling asleep.  This just was not my race.  Just like in my Ultra several months back, today I had a great support crew that helped push me through the pain of my muscles and stomach.  I was able to finish with a time of 3:16:42.  Thankful I finished the Marathon, I was still disappointed in myself that I did not run my race.  Trying to stay positive, I talked to Ryan about it afterwards.  Something he told me, that I believe everyone should take with them is, “always be happy, but never be satisfied.”

Everyone has his or her day.  Every athlete has his or her race.  This was just not mine.  I have to remind myself that we are all human.  It’s ok to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them.  I have learned so much from this race; I will never make those mistakes again. 

Recovery from Race

The day after the race, I rode my bike for about 20 miles, trying to loosen up my muscles.  I rode at a leisurely pace, with no hills or sprints so my heart rate stayed low and I could work the lactic acid out of my muscles.  Riding felt so good on my legs, it was just what they needed.

Free time

One thing I am really looking forward to is enjoying running again.  As an athlete, there is usually one key reason why you compete in whichever sport you are a part of.  You have a passion for it.  This is especially true for an ultra-runner, you need to have a passion for running.  I felt like over these past two months I lost my passion for it.  I felt I was only running because I had to, not because I wanted to. I had a marathon to train for, that’s it, no deviating from the schedule.  I felt I did not give myself enough time off in between races.  Mentally I was drained.  When training for my ultra I would jump out of bed ready to rock my day, and look forward to my runs.  I would sit there and think all day about which run I wanted to do, and which songs I would listen to.  Now, I look forward to choosing to run instead of HAVING to.  I want to work more on my cycling, in hopes to get back into the Ironman scene again.

Do not get me wrong, I AM a runner.  That is my first passion.  I am ready to run because I want to, not because I have to.

Future Races

This upcoming Saturday Feb 9^th, I am going to ride the Tour of Palm Springs.  I am riding the century on a tandem with a friend of mine who will be racing in Race Across America later this June.  I am really looking forward to this race.  We are taking it easy, doing it for the experience, as well as getting him ready for his big race this summer.


On March 8th-9th I will be racing with the same friend as a relay team in the Vegas Challenge.  Day #1 will be a 215 mile bike with 12,500 ft of climbling, followed by a 3.1 mile run.  Day #2 will be a 56 mile bike with 1,400ft of climbing, followed by a 13.1 mile run.  I of course will be doing the running, while Phil will be doing the cycling. 

I do not have any other big races planned yet.  My next BIG race is in May of 2014.  I will be racing in the Bryce 100, located in Utah that is at 8,000 to 9,000 feet of elevation, which has a total elevation gain of over 14,000 feet.  For this I will need to be ready physically and mentally.  This will be the biggest race I have done so far.  I have never raced in high altitude before, so this will be my NEXT big challenge.  I look forward to conquering it just like I did in the Javelina Jundred.  Only this time, I know what its like to run 100 miles.  

Winning my First Ultra Marathon

On October 27, 2012 I headed out to Fountain Hills AZ for my first attempt at running an ultra-marathon (101.4 miles).  The race was Javelina Jundred, and it took place on the 15+ mile Pemberton Trail just outside of Scottsdale AZ.  The race is a series of 7 loops with each consecutive loop being run in the opposite direction. 

I have been an avid runner my whole life.  My resume includes having finished a full Ironman in a little over 14 hours, and competing in many marathons and I have even qualified for the prestigious Boston Marathon.  Running and finishing an ultra-marathon is the pinnacle of endurance running and is often just a dream to many elite athletes in this sport.  I have always thought that people who run ultra-marathons were either insane athletes, or beasts in human form.  This has been an immense goal of mine that had seemed impossible and out of reach for so long. 

What made me want to run this?  Well, after completing my first Ironman, I heard about ultra-running from a friend.  Like I mentioned above, I thought it was for people who were inhuman.  Every time I would mention ultra-running to people I would hear the word 'crazy' too often than I had hoped.  When I started dating my boyfriend Ryan, he did not think ultra-running was AS crazy as people thought it was.  He knew my passion for running, and my ability to aim high.  This made me start to think.  So, I did my research on what races people recommended, and the Javelina Jundred came up.  At this point the race was three months away.  Three months of training hard for a 100-mile run seemed a bit out there, but I thought to myself, I have done crazier things.  So, I confirmed the race with Ryan, found myself two more pacers, and the training began.  The training consisted of three long runs in a row each week.  I work from 9-5, which made me have to run 25-35 miles after work, and on the weekends.  Most of the time, Ryan would ride his bike beside me, passing me water and food when I needed it.  The main reason why it was so important for Ryan, who was also one of my pacers, to be with me while I trained, was he began to understand how my brain and body reacts during my long runs.  We had heard stories about people who run ultra-marathons and how their brain start thinking weird and crazy thoughts.  During training we also learned ALOT about nutrition.  Water and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches weren't going to cut it.  We experimented with some different types of Hammer Nutrition, and ended on a supplement called Perpetuem. It is a powder you mix in liquid that supplies your body with proteins, complex carbs, and works with your body to use it's stored fats and not eat your muscle fibers.  We would mix this with half water and half pedialyte.  We also had to keep my salt intake up with electrolyte pills.  We used two types in training, Endurolytes and Sport Legs.  About 1-2 per hour, in normal weather, 2-3 in higher heat conditions.  These two supplements needed to be taken about every hour, and it was extremely important that I not go to long without them.  These products were our base, our must-haves.  Beyond that, if  I got hungry for something specific like cold sliced fruit, salty pretzles, or sweet candy I ate it.  During the day lots of cold water and pedialyte, and into the night when it got colder I turned to hot chicken noodle soup.  


With years of running and 6+ months of endurance specific training, I was off to accomplish a dream of mine.  I was ready to do battle.  The race went off at 6am with 364 people starting.

I started the race in the back, due to the fact that I showed late to the start line.  I took too much time putting on my shoes, and 'pull over' socks (that helped so rocks would not get in my shoes).  These socks were made minutes before I headed over to the start because I did not think about the little details like this.  Once the gun shot off, I told myself, only 15 more miles until I get to see everyone again.  I stayed in the back, trying to keep calm so that I would not get worn out by the first lap.  I did not even turn my Ipod on yet.  Jogging along, I came to mile 8, which is where the competitive side in me came out.  I thought to myself, ‘pick it up, you are totally fine, you were born to move your legs.’  I came in from the first 15-mile lap at 2:42, 15th female.  I was so excited to see my boyfriend Ryan at this time.  He had been waiting for me, probably thinking ‘why is she so far behind’.  Looking cool calm and collected, so I was told, I set out on my second lap at a blazing pace in an effort to show off my newfound speed.  I went from 15th to the top ten females in the second lap with the time of 2:38.  The rhythm of the race was on as I left the pit for my third lap. By the early afternoon temps had reached the low 90's and runners were paying the price.  I did not even notice the heat, until I was starting to be cooled off by volunteers with water bottles on the racecourse.  At about mile 45 I started to break down a bit, not physically, but mentally.  For some reason I was concerned about my friend Megan.  No she was not at the race, but every time I would think about her I would start to cry.  This of course caused my heart rate to go a bit higher than I wanted.  Megan had been my running partner ever since I was 14 years old and has been my best friend ever since.  I think the thought of her not being there made me think how proud she would be of me.  I came in at mile 47 to a crew ready to ice me down.  They changed my socks and some other articles of clothing, and gave me food and water.  At this point I stopped thinking about Megan, and was now concerned with Ryan being upset that all my toe nails were now gone.  He laughed at me when I told him my concern.  I left for my 3rd lap determined to get to that next pit at mile 62 where I would be able to pick up my FIRST pacer of the race.  My first pacer was a friend of Ryan’s and local professional mountain bike racer Daniel who would run the next 15 miles with me into the night.  The thought of FINALLY being able to talk to someone, and share the experience with him or her was beyond exciting to me.  At this point in the race I was third female.  The other girls ahead of me were dropping and my consistent lap times were chopping away at the competition.  On this lap, Daniel gave me the motivation to pass the second place girl.  As I approached the second place girl, I was thinking, this cannot be right.  This is my FIRST Ultra Marathon, and between you and I, I could have trained a little smarter.  While training, I should have run more hills, and I should have done more trail runs, but those were lessons I learned for next time.   I passed her with my head held high, and not looking back.  I was 55 minutes behind the lead female.  At about mile 70, I started to have stomach issues.  Poor Daniel had to deal with that.  He had several things to deal with; my stomach, the setting sun and helping illuminate the trail for me with flashlights, and keeping up a much faster pace than he had anticipated.  I was feeling great.  All I could think of was how I was MORE than half way done.  Coming into the pit, I was only 1 minute behind the lead female. At this point, I was told I was no longer my jovial, talkative self.  I only had a few things to say, which were what I needed to eat and fuel my body with, and get me a pacer who can keep up!  I made sure to tell Ryan what I needed right away, because a couple of times when I came into the pit I would forget to tell him what I needed.  My crew fed and watered me, and at this point I left with local triathlete and new found friend, Mandi as a pacer for mile 77 to 92.  I left the pit with Mandi 1 minute before the other lead female putting me in the lead physically.  Ryan told me before I left that I was going to win this thing if I keep it up… at that point I thought he was crazy.  The next 15 miles would prove to be quite a challenge forcing Mandi and I to briskly walk the 7 mile uphill wash that the trail snaked through with deep sand and prickly cacti.  I ran MY race this whole time, so if I thought my body needed to walk then I walked.  At about mile 88 I took a fall over a rock, which was surprisingly my ONLY fall the whole race.  The fall caused me to tear up my knee and arm.  I felt I scared Mandi a bit, probably having her think… ‘Is this it?  Is she done?’  I looked at Mandi, wanting her to know I was okay. I just needed help getting up.  My legs could not push my body up.  Thankfully she was able to lift my dead body weight and bring me to my feet.  With blood running down my legs staining my compression socks, and my back on fire with pain, I jogged as best I could with flashlights illuminating the trail into mile 92.  Finally I was at the point where I wanted to be the whole race… mile 92, which is where Ryan would be my pacer.  The last loop was 9+ miles.  It took us almost 2 hours to complete this final distance, which in training runs can be accomplished in just over an hour.  Between a horribly upset stomach, aching legs and joints, and a back that could no longer support my upper body.  The back pain was caused by the fact that I had too many sports bras on, which caused too much pressure on my back.  We had to stop every 100 yards or so to stretch my back and every time we did I would let my head fall on Ryan’s shoulder and look at the completed section of the trail behind us for upcoming lights.... the second place girl was gaining on us and only behind by 40 minutes.  Without Ryan I would not have been able to finish my last lap as fast as I did because he was able to push me mentally.  He helped me stretch my back when needed, and take my mind off it as much as he could.  With a half-mile to go we could see the lights of the finish line and hear the cheers of the crews and spectators.  With one final back stretch at the summit of the last hill, I ran into the finish line, chin held high, and all smiles in a final time of 19 hours, 59 minutes, and 45 seconds.  9th place overall, 1st place female and only female to complete the race in under 20 hours!  The second place girl came in 5 minutes after me, making it one of the closest races to date.  There were only 160 finishers, 44% finished.

I will never forget the feeling I had when I crossed the finish line.

This was by far the greatest thing I have ever done.  I will never forget this day.  Everytime I think about it I become emotional.  I could have never done it without the support and love of everyone who came out to help me.  The main person who I can not thank enough is my boyfriend Ryan.  He helped me complete each lap, knowing I would see him in 15 more miles.  But, by far the greatest thing he did for me was believe in me.  His faith gave me the courage to not only believe I could complete this 100-mile race, but that I could win it. 

Here are some pictures and articles from the race.

http://www.ultrarunning.com/ultra/features/news/arnstein-fischbeck-win-ja.shtml

http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=27367

http://aravaiparunning.com/results/2012JJResults100m.htm

Running

My name is Kate Fischbeck, and I have been an avid runner my whole life.  My resume includes having finished a full Ironman in a little over 14 hours and competing in many marathons and I have even qualified for the prestigious Boston Marathon before.  My latest accomplishment was I won first place female and got 9th overall in the Ultramarathon, Javelina Jundred.  Running is something I love to do.  It makes me feel free, and that I have some kind of control over where my life will take me.  The faster you move your legs the fast you run.  Plain and simple.  Running is a way to help someone think... I always say, after a run I have my whole life figured out. =)