January 31, 2010

Dreamland Amnesia

The Wolf Moon made its appearance last night (A “wolf moon” is when the moon is at its closest point to the Earth.  This happens once a year.)  It was big, beautiful, spectacular… it gave me temporary amnesia. 

Wolf Moon Rising, Friday night

Wolf Moon Rising, Friday night

I drove to the trailhead watching the sky.  The Wolf Moon was setting over the Rocky Mountains, and it was utterly gorgeous.  I was looking for a place to pull over and snap a picture when I saw that someone else had the same idea.  After I turned off the main road I found a perfect place to stop and record this shot:

Wolf Moon setting over the Rocky Mountains

Wolf Moon setting over the Rocky Mountains

I arrived at the trailhead ready to run, but instead had a dream-moment, the kind where you show up to work without your pants.  I was (luckily) wearing my pants, but was still wearing my fuzzy Merrell clogs, the shoes I put on when I retrieved the newspaper.

After a sixty second debate with myself over what to do, I hopped back in the car and went home for my shoes.  The morning was just too perfect to let a little snafu like forgetting my running shoes ruin what could honestly be a fabulous run.

Twenty minutes later I was back in the parking lot.  This was going to be a tempo run for sure.  I had half a chance of catching the last people in the group if I got moving.  But, I had to stop and take a picture of the sunrise.  You know, priorities.

Dawn from my vantage point on Bobolink Trail

The run is approximately 6.6 miles long.  Divided into two, that’s 3.3 miles each way.  After the first 1.5 mile I still hadn’t seen anyone.  I was running at a good 8:23 pace on a very slight uphill for the first mile, and sped up just a hair for the second mile, clocking an 8:20.  At mile two I saw Amy and Marcia running back towards me; Amy looked like she was having some asthma difficulties; she only nodded to me when Marcia said they turned around early.

About five minutes later I ran into Kathy, her neighbor Wendy, and Kris. They were walking due to a week-old knee injury, and had turned around at 40 minutes.  I was holding steady at my 8:20 as well, and ran into Sarah and the two Beth’s.  We stopped to chat for a minute before going separate ways, but I picked up a few friends; the Beth’s decided to run with me back to the turn-around.

We ran a little further before I had to stop and take another picture.  The sun was up and shining on the frost of the bridge, giving off sparkly, incandescent light that was absolutely radiant in the clear blue of the morning.

Bridge of frost on the Bobolink Trail

We held steady at a 8:20 pace for the fourth mile.  During this mile we reached the turn-around and started back.  Now that we were on the downhill side of the run, we started to pick up the pace a tad.

By mile 5 we were cruising along at 7:45.  My legs and glutes were warm, blood was flowing to all extremities, and I didn’t feel the heaviness of below-freezing air rushing by.

Mile six was a little slower as we came down the north side of Bobolink Trail.  We held steady at 7:58/mile, and then did a big push once we were half a mile out.  Beth C. was a little behind us at this point, but still holding on.  Beth LT and I let our legs run, and we cruised to the parking lot at a 6:52 pace.

All told, I paced at an 8:04 average, which is, coincidentally, the average pace of my first half-marathon! The 53 minute run was an excellent start to my day.  I bade a quick adieu to the Beth’s and hit the road, ready to see what surprises were in store. 

Filed Under: Seasons Tagged: , , ,
January 27, 2010

Powerful Thoughts

Thoughts are pretty powerful.  Positive thoughts can lift your mood, be a conduit of good energy for everyone you meet throughout the day, change the world, etc.  Negative thoughts are said to be a precursor to disease, anger, fighting, depression… the list goes on.  I’d like to be able to say that my thoughts are always positive, but I’m not a saint, an angel, or anywhere near enlightened.  I get frustrated and can stew in my own juices just as well as the next person.

I’ve been working on a project that has me examining some pretty painful childhood memories.  This week has been particularly intense, and I’ve found myself holding onto routine things that bring me comfort.  A cup of tea in the evening before bed.  A warm shower in the morning.  A cat by my side when I’m writing, and yes, running.

I went out today hoping for a long run, anywhere from eight to ten miles.  I wanted to get out of my head and hang out in the great outdoors.  I wanted that nirvana feeling, that total endorphin rush, that feeling of being absolutely alive.

I didn’t quite achieve it.  The loop I traveled was a new one for me, so I didn’t know the exact distance.  It ended up being just shy of 7.5 miles.  I wanted to break out of my usual loop and see something new.  I ran along the road for a good four miles before being dumped onto a trail for about half a mile.  From there, I turned onto a sidewalk and ran the rest of the route next to another busy street.  There were little hills here and there, but the biggest detractor was the smell of exhaust and having to look over my shoulder at every block to cross the street.  Maybe this is a good loop, but not on a weekday.  A Sunday morning would be best for this one, before any cars are out.

I’m home again, freshly showered and in clean, dry clothes.  I never got to that peaceful, happy place where my brain hangs out when I’m running sometimes, yet there’s a sense of stability that comes from performing an activity that inherently make me feel better in the long run.  I may be frustrated or sad at times, but I’m not picking up a pack of cigarettes to soothe my nervous system.  I’m not engaging in risky behaviors (other than running on the road) and even though I’m not especially HAPPY right now, running is a rock that anchors me to the here and now.

This is what I need to remember, so I will put it into words.  Engage in behaviors that make you feel GOOD.  When things get hard, when you’re depressed, frustrated, stressed or angry, keep doing those things that you already have a tie to.  The repetition of the activities that make your body and mind feel GOOD will have a positive effect on the negative moods.  Just keep doing them.  Over, and over, and over.  And remember; this too, shall pass.

Filed Under: Seasons Tagged: , ,
January 23, 2010

Running the Marshall Mesa ice fest

I have an idea for treadmill makers.  Treadmills would be SO much more entertaining if the ground were constantly changing.  How about if there were slippery places to avoid, frozen single-track, rocks sticking up, and various hills with the aforementioned terrain?  Wouldn’t YOU want to run on this?  I do, I do, pick me, pick me!!!

Treadmill manufacturers: you have my permission to take this idea and run with it (sorry, couldn’t help myself.  Pun intended!).  People get bored doing the same activity on unchanging terrain.  No wonder people plug their ears with music and podcasts, or even watch TV while running.  None of these things leave you satisfied after an hour on the treadmill, no matter how the number of miles covered or level of aerobic activity.

So what WOULD satisfy the need for a challenge?  A trail run.  Barring that, a treadmill that mimics a challenging trail, like, oh, how about Marshall Mesa in January???

 Was I there today?  Why yes, yes I was.  Funny that you asked.  How was it?  Well… challenging.  There was ice, frozen single-track, divots in the mud from multiple sets of bike tires, cow patties, and rocks sticking up at odd angles.  In a nutshell; challenging and perfect.

We stayed on Marshall Mesa the entire time because we were worried about encountering even MORE ice on the trails lying in shade on the north side of hills along Community Ditch.  The past two months have been cold, and the layer of permafrost on the ground is hard-core.  The ice doesn’t melt in shaded places, even after weeks of above-freezing temperatures.  The ground thaws in exposed areas, leaving deep footprints and tire tracks that re-freeze each night.  Amy hiked Chautauqua yesterday and told us that it’s a sheet of ice.  We’re not even attempting Eldorado Canyon because of the large stretches of shaded/icy trail.  So, this was it.

We criss-crossed the hill going up to the top, and I heard a huge gathering of coyotes howling a little farther on.  Their voices were incredibly beautiful.  I was worried that Lucy, Sarah’s little go-getter, would take off after them, but she stayed close and left all the little critters alone.  What a good girl, Lucy!

Our group stayed together almost the entire time because we all had to take such short strides over the ice.  The bonus was that we had great conversation with so many of us participating.  Towards the end Sarah and I led the group on a little extension run that gave us an extra 1.5 miles.  On the way back to the trailhead we hit a patch of ice that was sheer.  I immediately slowed, Adriana slowed, and Sarah took about two steps before her foot went out from under her.  She did the classic “banana peel slide” and landed square on her tailbone where she proceeded to hit her water bottle before coming to land in a nice sideways twist on her right side with her arms extended in front of her.

It took a few minutes for her to get up and moving again, and the other girls caught up to us.  We all picked our way through the rest of the minefield and jogged back to the car.  Sarah’s a trooper and ran the last little bit.  We assembled in the parking lot and then headed out to Vic’s on Table Mesa where Kathy was waiting for us.

So, what do you think?  Would YOU like to run on a treadmill in the temperature-controlled indoors, dodging ice, running on the sides of your shoes as the terrain changes, hoping you don’t go down?  Or, is it better to save this sort of paradise for the great outdoors?

Filed Under: Seasons Tagged: , , ,
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