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: , , ,
July 12, 2012

DNS on the Grand Mesa 50-mile

The Grand Mesa 50-mile Trail Race is 16 days away and as of today, I’m pulling out.

A week ago I hoped that I was healthy enough to start pounding the trail and get my fitness level back.  Two consecutive days of running proved that I was still a far cry from healthy and sheer exhaustion kept me close to home and attached to my bed for the next four days.

I finally saw my doctor two days ago, more than two weeks after I got sick.  There were three large items I wanted to discuss.

  1. Bronchitis
  2. Exhaustion due to a) illness or b) high volume of training, either of which might be contributing to a severely compromised immune system
  3. Heart rate spikes that occurred at the Green Mountain Relay and again this past weekend on the trail.

During the first leg of the Relay I ran hard.  It was humid, hot and hilly for those 8 miles.  About 5 miles in, while running up another roller, I realized my heart had been pounding… absolutely pounding… for far too long.  I was starting to get dizzy and queasy.  Slowed down and walked for a few minutes to let the heart rate calm down.  At the top of the hill I picked it up again and finished the run, thoroughly disappointed in my time.  I was shooting for 7:45/mile and finished in 8:10/miles.

Afterwards I drank electrolytes and ate.  I checked my heart rate with an app on my iPhone several times in the next 90 minutes and recorded readings in the upper 90’s.  The tingling finally went away and my stomach calmed down, so I ran the rest of my legs and did a little pacing on the side just for grins.

The doctor listened to my lungs and said they were clear; no walking pneumonia for me.  She mentioned a few reasons why I might be so tired (thyroid, deficiencies) and sent me to the lab for a blood draw.

As well, she was slightly concerned about the heart rate thing.  Upon examination she didn’t hear anything startling other than a slight heart murmur in the upper aorta.  My pulse and blood pressure were great as well; all numbers a runner likes to hear.

She ran an EKG to rule out anything bizarre but referred me to a cardiologist for a more in-depth assessment.  There is a family history of heart problems and based on the spiking during hard efforts this past month, it’s better to get checked than assume nothing’s wrong and let a small symptom turn into something large.

But I’m not pulling out of the 50-miler because of this.

I’m pulling out because the thought of trying to ramp up in two weeks is overwhelming.  My body isn’t in prime condition for this kind of effort and I don’t need to add any more stress to it as I come out of a long illness.

I had an intense training cycle this spring and all signs point to Rest.  Life circumstances and things outside of my control have come together to suggest that it’s time to take a break.  This body needs Rest and Recovery, not a hard push for a race that will take everything I have (and more).

As everyone always says… there will always be another race.  Be smart.  Train well.  Rest when needed.  Live to run another day.

Filed Under: Sick or Injured, Summer 2012, Trails, Training Tagged: , , , ,
July 7, 2012

WET

WATER was the element of choice for the world today.

Wet on the mountain and Wet on me and in me and beneath me and the birds and hummingbirds were in the greenest pocket of the valley you would ever find in a drought-stricken mountain.

Water stuck on everything and every pine needle had a shimmering crystal attached to it.  Sunlight made them look like prisms. The wispy clouds stuck to the rock faces and never moved; water in the sky, on the mountain, on the foliage, dripping sweat from my pores, water bursting out of my skin evaporating in the air, water coming out of the crevices in the rocks and flooding in rivers down the trail, water clinging to all the leaves that smacked my legs as I ran on the single track.

The mountain drank the water in large buckets and bathed in the beauty of droplets and made garlands out of them for decoration.  I gave the mountain sweat and didn’t take anything except images that got burned into my brain.

After an hour of running my heart rate was high again. I was at a fork and didn’t know which way to go because I had fallen too far behind the group so I just stood there not caring which way because eventually either way would dump me out again on the Mesa Trail.  I just didn’t know which way they went.  So I stood there and watched.  Birds.  Butterflies.  Hummingbirds.  Clouds.  The different greens of the trees and bushes.  The changing sunlight.  I just watched.

Then I went down Towhee and missed the turn and ended up on the Homestead Trail and was running down the trail, jumping over rocks, placing feet and jumping and dancing and sailing but not as fast as usual because I didn’t have the energy.  Didn’t have it in me.  So went slower and just breathed in the moist air and felt each foot land on dirt or rock, exactly where I told it to go and suddenly I was free and it was good.  I was free.

Then there was a sign that said Trail Closed for Restoration and I slowed down and stopped and realized that I couldn’t go further so I had to go back.  Had to go back up the hill.  I walked.

The Garmin made a ton of noise today.  I wore the HR strap and apparently my little watch thinks my HR got up to 190, almost 200, several times.  I ignored the beeping for a while because I always run these trail.  RUN the trails.  Not hike them.  And I’ve never worn a HR monitor on them and have never passed out and can fly up AND down.  But then the beeping got too much and I looked at the Garmin and realized I couldn’t breathe really well so I slowed down and that’s why I ended up taking the short cut.  Because I knew I didn’t have it in me to catch them today.  Couldn’t catch them.  Not today.

I’m going to keep trying to run, keep trying to get the goo out of my lungs and stop coughing all the way and get my heart rate back down to normal and get my flying speed back.  If I can’t… I might not race the 50M.  I have to have the energy for it and today I went 6 miles.  Six lousy miles.  Yeah I know the elevation gain was about 2000′.  And I know this was one of the hardest routes we could have done.  But still.  The choice might end up being DO IT and just see what happens… or drop out before I even begin.

You know what I’m going to do, don’t you.

Filed Under: Sick or Injured, Summer 2012, Trails, Training Tagged: , ,
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