Anita Ortiz made her Western States debut a big one: she won the race by more than hour. Find out how the mother-of-four elementary school teacher balances work, family and 100-plus miles per week.
Here is the article....and below are the major bits of "wow" factor (aside from the fact she won by an hour):
How did you train for the 100-mile race?
There's a 30-mile run I did a lot here, where I run up from East Vail over Vail Pass (at 10,662 feet), to Copper Mountain and back. And, usually, I try to avoid downhills in my training, but I did a lot in preparation for the Western States course.
What about mileage?
I put in 100 and 110 weeks, but I didn't start doing that until after Miwok [theMiwok 100K in May, in which she was second]. I did one 150-mile week. But usually, when I'm just training for anything, I put in between 90 and 100-mile weeks.
With four kids, a husband and a job, when do you do your training?
I run at 3:30 a.m. every morning. I go out for between 11 and 20 miles on trails with a headlamp. That's when I do my bulk. I get home around 7 a.m. and to work by 7:30. The kids get themselves off to school.
If I have a long lunch, I crank out an hour at home on the stair machine. After work, I come home, take the kids to soccer, dance, cross-country, whatever. If they're all gone at the same time, I go out again. Or I get another run in when the kids are asleep in the evening.
I do double days—or three times a day—every day.
What do you not do? What do you sacrifice?
I don't clean my house. My kids pick up a ton of slack. They do their own laundry, make their own lunches. I don't have to supervise them anymore.
When they were younger, I used my treadmill a lot more.
We don't sacrifice time together. We're big on the family dinner. Often it's not until 7:30 or 8 p.m. And sometimes I'll run outside or on the treadmill after dinner.
There's a 30-mile run I did a lot here, where I run up from East Vail over Vail Pass (at 10,662 feet), to Copper Mountain and back. And, usually, I try to avoid downhills in my training, but I did a lot in preparation for the Western States course.
What about mileage?
I put in 100 and 110 weeks, but I didn't start doing that until after Miwok [theMiwok 100K in May, in which she was second]. I did one 150-mile week. But usually, when I'm just training for anything, I put in between 90 and 100-mile weeks.
With four kids, a husband and a job, when do you do your training?
I run at 3:30 a.m. every morning. I go out for between 11 and 20 miles on trails with a headlamp. That's when I do my bulk. I get home around 7 a.m. and to work by 7:30. The kids get themselves off to school.
If I have a long lunch, I crank out an hour at home on the stair machine. After work, I come home, take the kids to soccer, dance, cross-country, whatever. If they're all gone at the same time, I go out again. Or I get another run in when the kids are asleep in the evening.
I do double days—or three times a day—every day.
What do you not do? What do you sacrifice?
I don't clean my house. My kids pick up a ton of slack. They do their own laundry, make their own lunches. I don't have to supervise them anymore.
When they were younger, I used my treadmill a lot more.
We don't sacrifice time together. We're big on the family dinner. Often it's not until 7:30 or 8 p.m. And sometimes I'll run outside or on the treadmill after dinner.
