August 24, 2012

Leadville 100; I believe in you

Me and Jerry as we leave Twin Lakes (mile 60) and head towards Fish Hatchery.

It’s been a week since I paced Jerry Armstrong at the Leadville 100.  Some details are fading from memory but others are sharp.

Saturday afternoon, before he came through the Twin Lakes Aid Station where I would relieve Mark of pacing duties until Fish Hatchery (around mile 76) I relaxed for a few minutes and made a phone call.  The person on the other end is not familiar with Ultra running except what she’s heard me discuss.  As I sat in the back of my Durango, stretched out with the tailgate open to catch the slight breeze, I talked about the people at Leadville.

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Filed Under: Racing, Summer 2012, Trails Tagged: , , , , ,
August 12, 2012

Twitter friends

I seriously don’t know how my life functioned before Twitter.

I have a daily ritual of reaching for my phone and scrolling Twitter while I lay cozy in bed.  Twitter has been especially exciting these past two weeks because my feed is chock-full of athletes following the games.  Even if I miss an event I can back up the feed and get a play-by-play.

This morning I caught up on the London Olympics Men’s Marathon and read about the front-runners and amazing Meb Keflezighiin’s 4th place finish.  After the finish my feed changed over and people discussed their own plans for the day.  Just as I was pulling on shorts and a running tank I saw fellow Boulder runner Dave mention scrapping his mountain bike ride for a trail run because it was 60 degrees and gorgeously cool fall weather.

We quickly agreed to meet at the Doudy Draw Trailhead in 20 minutes and our tweet-up was on.  I gathered gear and a handful of crackers, fed the dog and hit the road.

As we ran around the mountain we talked and laughed about our mutual love of social media.  Getting to meet people that are interested in the same things (running, playing, mountains, talking about Real issues and connection between body, mind and soul) who we’ve already met through Twitter, DailyMile or blogs is like meeting a pen-pal.  We already know each other’s running habits and tidbits about their personal life; the in-person interaction is a layer that deepens our mutual understanding of each other and the human spirit.

Twitter has allowed me to meet (virtually and in-person) people that I might never cross paths with in daily life.  I told Dave that I would happily meet any of the fine people on my twitter feed; they’re passionate, curious, intelligent humans that talk about injury, life stresses, family, politics, current affairs, coffee and sleep.  Every day it’s a new conversation and a fresh opportunity to run another day, cheer for each other and make new friends.

Cheers to Twitter and new friends!  It was great to finally meet and run with with you today @dlehn, looking forward to doing it again soon.

 

Filed Under: Summer 2012, Trails Tagged: , , ,
August 4, 2012

Fall Training Begins

It’s barely August but today feels like Fall.  59 degrees and a cozy layer of clouds hint at days to come.  Tomorrow’s high of 96 will be harsh, but today is a love note from the Universe.

Summer is a time to get away from any routine or structure.  With kids home from school I don’t get out to run as frequently in the mornings.  I miss lots of Saturday Morning runs with the girls due to camping and family obligations.  It’s hard to reflect and write.

Summer is a season of “doing”.  I never get as much sleep in the summer due to the late sunset and early sunrise (I have to really work to ignore the Circadian rhythm).  There are 500 different things to do during the summer and for the life of me, I can’t get them all done.  It’s a time of Doing with very little time to reflect.

As much as I love the action of the season, I always look forward to Fall.

I love the cooler temperatures and not drowning in my own sweat.

I love the fall colors of the mountain.

I love the cloud coverage and the mist that sits in the forest on certain morning.

I love waking up at a 5:30 or 6am when it’s still dark.

I love seeing the sun crest the horizon halfway through my run rather than chasing it down when I’m still sleep-deprived from the previous night.

Fall is a “let’s get moving” time of year, where kids go back to school, there’s a new spurt of energy and we ease into routine once again.

My twitter feed is getting noisy with people talking about fall marathons and trail races.  Friday night discussions about Long Slow Runs are popping up again, as well as pictures of sore ankles, lost toenails and the like.

My calendar has several races already on it for the fall and today’s cool weather is a good reminder that it’s time to get serious about training again.

I ran Bobolink yesterday and managed some Marathon (and Half Marathon) paced miles in addition to the warm-up and “get the blood moving” miles.  The faster miles revealed tight muscles that need to be attended to before I ramp up again.

After the run I stretched hamstrings and adductors, and while sitting on the couch last night I massaged the leg and slathered tiger balm all over.  Today it’s a little sore from the deep tissue kneading.  I won’t run today but will hit a trail tomorrow morning.

“Ramping up” will consist of every-other-day running for at least two more weeks.  In the past I’ve run whenever it felt good and got injured because I pushed too hard or fast.  This fall I want to be smart about the running; come January when Boston Marathon training begins I want to be completely healthy and strong.

In two weeks I’ll be in Leadville pacing a runner.  He’s attempting to run 100 miles in 24 hours and while I could pace him 16 miles tomorrow, I’d like a better base before I run around the mountain at 10,000 feet for a few hours.

My self-treatment regimen consists of stretching, self-massage, yoga, tiger balm, arnica and castor oil wraps.  After torturing myself with Pigeon Pose and whatever else I can think of, I’ll put a castor oil wrap on the leg to draw out any inflammation and encourage blood flow to the muscles and tendons.

Tomorrow I’ll hit the trail and will spend a few hours on the mountain as an ultra runner, paying close attention to heart rate, tempo and terrain.

 

Filed Under: Summer 2012 Tagged: , , , , , ,