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March 29, 2006
"...the luminosity of unlimited potential..."
This quote appeared once before in my old blog, but I don't care.
While I think that the people who truly believe in my title are probably limited to Bhuddists and overly optimistic folks without a firm grip upon reality, I still think this quote has value. In my opinion, this quote illicits a stunning vision of someone or something glowing, vibrating, shining, jittering with the energy of still leashed potential. One can apply this quote on all kinds of scales, from the little stuff like tomorrow's presentation or the big stuff like, you know, that thing called Life. I don't know, I just like the quote, okay?
I don't really think that I'm literally glittery with potential or anything, but I am feeling pretty good. It's my Friday, I've conquered, if I get off on time tomorrow morning, what will be 87 hours of work in 7 days. I launch myself into 10 days of vacation to Texas wherein I will wear flip flops, drink cold beers on hot evenings with close friends, run in sports bras and shorts, wander around the desert to see the spring wildflowers blooming, let cowboys spin me around in fast two-steps to live music, climb high into some Texas mountains and see Mexico in the distance, and eat real, true Mexican food. My running is going pretty swell, and I feel good about it. In the life of Meghan, things are good.
I ran today, 7 miles easy. I dared to take my perpetually freezing iPod with me, and it worked the whole time. I don't think it's the bouncing that makes it freeze, I think it's humidity or dampness. It seems to stop working if I keep it in a pocket close to my sweaty self, or if I slide it into a glove. If I just hold it, it seems to work. When it does work, it's a joy to run to music. I wish I didn't have to hold it in my hand, though. I'm a dropper; I spontaneously let go of things while running. I had to take a wide detour around a huge bull bison in the road today. Mucking through water and mud and snow I came back up on the road squishing with water in my shoes. It was pleasant, thank you, bison. My right shin feels a wee bit funny, the same pounding-on-an-old-injury thing it sometimes does. I'm trying to put off a rest day until my travel day to Texas, lest I have to pull an Alison-esque airport run. However, if it's achy tomorrow still, I'll take the day off. I suffered many months with that shin, and 1 day of rest is meaninless in reference to my history with it.
Posted by Meghan at 8:01 PM | Comments (6)
March 28, 2006
Arguably Salvaged
I don't know if I quite agree with this title, my verdict on today's workout is still out.
I can't get rid of this wind. The nearby valley that I go to run in extends north-south, following the course of the Gardner River. A gravel road and a trail run through this valley, of course, in a north-south direction. The wind always blows either up the valley or down the valley, never across it. As a result, when I run in this valley, it's either a headwind or a tailwind. My house is up in the mountains above this valley, and I do like running up there. Often I'm sheltered from the wind, but I face big hills. I go to the valley to run with the specific purpose of running on soft surfaces and moderately flat terrain. When I go there, I always have to deal with the wind. And, sometimes, it just gets to me. Today was a south wind day. And it was a forceful south wind. When I stop my car and listen to the wind howl around it, it's never a good sign.
There was a fair bit of logistical set-up for this workout, measuring out distances on the gravel road and marking them. If I had my druthers, I'd put up permanent quarter mile markers out there, but I think the National Park Service wouldn't be too happy with me, since the road is theirs. After marking my course, I parked at a nearby trailhead for a trail I haven't yet explored. It climbs out of the aforementioned valley, making its way over many miles towards one of the bigger mountains that looms over the valley, Electric Peak. I only explored it for a short distance as I warmed up.
Here's the workout: 2+ miles warmup, strides, drills, 2 x quarter mile/half mile/ three-quarters mile superset with half mile jog recoveries, 2+ miles cooldown. I logged about 7.5 miles total. All of the distances are run continuously, with the quarter mile at 20 seconds faster than 5K pace, the half mile at 5K pace, and the three-quarters mile at half marathon pace, then a half mile jog recovery after it all.
I was excited to do this workout. I did the first set into the wind. I passed the marked transition points all behind schedule. I was 4 seconds slow on the quarter mile (Tha'ts really bad!), 3 seconds slow on the half mile, and 4 seconds slow on the three-quarters mile, for a grand total of 11+ seconds slow for the set. I felt slow in the first quarter mile, like I wasn't warmed up yet. I also knew I was battling a nasty headwind. I was discouraged. As I jogged the half mile recovery, I refused to think about it anymore, I wanted to focus on salvaging the workout and running the second set on par. I turned out of the wind, felt it pushing at my back, started the second set, and immediately felt confident. Not just because of the tailwind (though it definitely helped), but because I just felt good. I passed the quarter mile on time, the half mile 2 seconds fast, and the three-quarters mile 8 seconds fast (Oops!), for a total of 10 seconds fast for the set.
I learned three things. 1) I've got to come to peace with the wind. It's not going to change. 2) I have to figure out how to appropriately readjust my goal paces and my pacing while out there for the wind. 3) I think I need a better warmup. I don't think I need more distance, perhaps some hard surges as I warm up to really get myself loose. I must be getting old.
So, in a sense, I think the workout may have been salvaged. My times were slow on the first and fast on the second, In retrospect, some of it was the wind, and some of it was feeling and being appropriately warmed up. I would feel much better,though, if my perceived effort lined up better with my watch.
Posted by Meghan at 7:14 PM | Comments (2)
March 27, 2006
The Rumble of Adventure
Okay, I admit it, I'm addicted to adventure. I can't help myself. I'm genetically predisposed (My parents are the best world travelers ever. For example, they went to Brazil in January, and next month they're headed to Ecuador.) and environmentally trained (I live in a national park and I'm surrounded by other adventurous people.) to desire it. My mother used to yell at my brother because, say, during lunch, he would ask, "What's for dinner?" My brother likes food that much. Me, I'm guilty of dreaming about the next adventure while I'm already on one. Someone should yell at me for that.
My philosophy is that life itself should be an inherent adventure of learning and living creatively. Stagnancy in life, or the failure to find adventure, could be our society's downfall. I know that adventures come in all shapes and sizes for different people, and I would never presume judgement upon what one person identifies as an adventure. What I'm trying to say is that an adventure for me, and adventure for you, and an adventure for some guy named Steve in Ohio can be 3 entirely different things. But, at all costs, keep your life adventurous, and do so in whatever capacity you wish!
I know I am. As such, the rumbles of my latest impending adventure are now audible, and growing louder. Sometimes the build-up of excitment prior to an adventure is as fun as the actual activity. Right now, I'm enjoying the giddiness of planning and anticipating...
I also ran today, though it was highly unexciting. 7 miles easy. While I was out there, I ran a mile on the dirt track near my house, to test its surface and to check in on my easy running pace. The track is clear of snow, but it's in poor shape. It's dry in spots, but still wet in others. And, unfortunately, it's all mucked up from 800 pound bison roaming on it freely all winter. Work needs to be done on it badly, and I don't suspect it will happen for a bit and that's somewhat disappointing! My pace was nice and slow, right where I'd like to be for an easy day. I do think my pace was slowed a bit by mucking through the, well, muck, but only by a few seconds.
Tomorrow's run should be exciting. I found this sweet workout, which I'll probably describe in painful detail tomorrow, that will serve as a creative interjection among the less exciting but staple distance running workouts. That is, if it doesn't kill me. It looks hard. It would be an easy workout to do logistically, if I could run on a track. I'll be doing it on a gravel road, so hopefully it will still be good. Bring it.
Posted by Meghan at 7:47 PM | Comments (4)
March 26, 2006
Deep Thoughts
Do you remember back when Saturday Night Live was actually good? In those days, my favorite part of the show was "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey." My friends and I would laugh endlessly about the random stuff that this Jack Handey could pull out, all while wearing a pink cardigan and khakis. Really hilarious stuff. Now I know I'm not the only runner out there who has observed the gamut of random thoughts that progress through one's mind when out there running. Some of it is so ridiculous that it should belong to Jack Handey. Today while running, I thought about the following, and it makes me think that perhaps I need a running partner to talk to instead:
Does my quad hurt? Can I feel it? Right there, that step, was that a twinge? Should I have stretched better before I started? I think I'm okay. Really, I don't feel anything. Wait a minute. Nope, I don't feel aything.
Hey, that's an elk skeleton coming out of the melting snow! How long has that been there, right next to this trail I always run on? How did it die? Who killed it? Is the killer watching me right now? What's that noise? Oh, just the wind. I'm still going to look over my shoulder ever 30 seconds, though. Just in case.
What are these prints on the trail? So weird, like a webbed foot almost. And that gooey poo? It almost looks like geese have been here. Hey, there are geese here! I Move on geese. See that river down there? That's yours, this trail is mine. You geese are mean, you chase people, you bite runners, and you poo everywhere. I'll sick my dog on you if you're not careful.
Am I feeling my quad yet? No, no quad, but what's that feeling in my hip?
Damn iPod, it froze again! One day it works perfect, another day it freezes up. What gives? This is exactly why I hardly ever run with it. And, I was just getting into Tom Petty. Now I'm going to be humming "Wildflowers" for the next 6 miles.
Wind, wind, wind! Is it always windy in the spring? I hate the wind. Someone, do something, make it stop. No, I don't hate the wind. The wind is awesome when it's 90 degrees outside. The wind is not awesome in this moment, though. Okay, chica, just suck it up and run.
Quad chec-kin? Still good to go. The hip thing, nada. But my toe, ooh my toe? A toe cramp!
It's like a cornucopia of nature out here! I'm so lucky that I've seen deer, elk, bison, geese, ravens, magpies, pronghorn, and a bald eagle all in an hour and a half out here. Where else does this happen? I should write an article for National Geographic or something.
Oh look, a bald eagle! That's so moving, and patriotic, and inspiring, and... Where are these thoughts coming from? I am not moved to patriotic thoughts by a bird, am I? That's ridiculous. But this bird, it just flew right by the moment began to feel like I was, perhaps, "suffering." And now I'm not "suffering" anymore. Coincidence? Just run, Meghan.
Hey, my quad is still good, hip good, toe good. Anything else I can think about obsessively for the last 10 minutes of my run? Nah, just run.
I think I'll buy some ice, and take an ice bath. But it's so cold out. But it would be a good way to end the week. But I'm cold. Hey, there's a river down there! I can soak my feet in the river for free, and without having to dunk myself in an ice bath! What a compromise! Why haven't I thought of this in the LAST 10 MONTHS of living here?
I ran about 12 miles on a combination of trails and gravel roads. I ran the last 2 miles at half-marathon effort. There aren't any real mile marker designations, just the approximations in my head. I think I ran the last 2 miles too fast, though, being all inspired by the bald eagle and stuff. I tried to take it easy and slow my long run pace down a bit, but I don't think I actually accomplished this. The few times I checked in with my watch, I was passing landmarks at my usual times for a long run.
Posted by Meghan at 6:41 PM | Comments (1)
March 25, 2006
Tweaky Quad
Somewhere, in the deep of the winter that seems just about over, I pulled my right quad muscle. I remember it very clearly, it was a raging snowstorm, though the wind was much worse than the snow. I was running up a steep hill on a trail, and I just felt it pull. It stayed sore for several days after that. Since then, this same quad muscle will get a little tweaked, for seemingly unimportant reasons. Yesterday it got tweaked a bit again, and it's still a little bothersome today. This time around, it doesn't bother me while I run, more like when I sit down and stand up.
I had wanted to do my long run today, but put it off until tomorrow because of the quad. I'm a little bummed about that because it throws off my schedule for next week in terms of hard/easy days, and next week is going to be a bit busy in the first place. Hopefully, it will all work itself out.
I ran 7 easy with 5 strides, while wearing a t-shirt and shorts. It was a beautiful day. This was sort of a surreal experience, as I was running over ice and snow here and there, yet it was in the 50's outside. Wow.
A fairly low-key entry for a low-key day.
Posted by Meghan at 6:57 PM | Comments (1)
Even Stranger
The world seemed a little bit strange yesterday. Today it seems even stranger. A few days ago, I read with interest that, after being spotted several times and chased around the park by officials, a coyote was caught in Central Park. In talking with a friend, we together compiled a list of strange animal attacks/encounters/occurences, in addition to the aforementioned coyote, that we had recently heard about*. I don't know if these types of incidences occur with regularity and I just don't hear about them, or if there has been a string of this stuff. In either case, I find it all strange.
*Blogger's Note: This entry is not meant to illicit fear or dislike of wild or near-wild animals. I think we are all grown ups, capable of understanding that such creatures are called wild animals for a reason. Many of these cases don't describe why the particular animal behaved in the way it did. Perhaps it was rabid. Perhaps the involved human provoked it. Perhaps its behavior is typical of the species. Perhaps we'll never understand why it behaved the way it did. I just write about it because it's interesting to me!
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie went face-to-face with grizzly bears inside Brad's home in Canada last November.
I got bit by a dog in the wilderness outside of Salt Lake City a few weeks ago.
In February, a woman was attacked by a bobcat in my former place of employment and residence, Big Bend National Park (See the bottom of the page for a comment on this occurrence.).
Last October, an octopus ate a shark (!!!) at the Seattle Aquarium (The attack was captured on video and can be viewed at this link. It's spectacular!).
Last fall, a wild seal bit off a woman's nose in South Africa. She reportedly had her nose reconstructed.
So weird!
In not-so-weird news, I ran 6 miles very easy today and did 5 strides. It was a gorgeous day, running around in shorts. With the warm temperatures, the roadways are wet with snowmelt and just plain dirty. The backs of my legs, shorts, and shirt were covered in dirty water by the time I got home. I felt like a little kid!
Tonight I'm doing one of my new strength workouts and some core exercises.
Posted by Meghan at 12:37 AM | Comments (1)
March 23, 2006
It's a Strange, Strange World
It feels wildly warm out, almost like it could be. Could it really be? Is it possibly? Do I dare even say the word, well, I'll say it in a hushed tone, spring?
The thermometer 1000 feet downhill in town read 55 degrees, midafternoon, in the sun. The wind was still blowing fiercely, but it was, well, a different wind. It wasn't the bitter cold north wind blowing up the valley and meeting the mountains like a huge wave hitting a shore. Instead, it was a wind coming from the mountains, blowing from the south, blowing hard, but not cold. Instead, it was blowing insects. Little biting-fly things that took hold on exposed skin pieces at the slightest lull in the wind and chomped down as if to hold on for dear life. The only way to avoid them was to JUST KEEP MOVING.
The day's sensation, with its warmth and south wind, already felt just a little bit strange. Things kept getting more and more strange as the day progressed. First, was The Walking Lady, who I see go by religiously every weekday. She walks at a hurried pace, but still she walks bundled up as if tackling an Antarctic snowstorm. Today she was wearing a t-shirt. This was the first clue. The next clue was the people across the street. Admittedly, I don't know them and I shouldn't judge them, but they had their cat tied out on a leash, ON THE ROOF OF THEIR HOUSE. Cat on a leash? Okay, I've seen cats on leashes before, but on the roof of a house? This provided ample opportunity to strike up conversation with my neighbors, "So, does your cat like the roof?" "Yes, she loves it. Besides, if we tie her up there, then she can't kill anything." I thought to myself, but didn't dare ask, do they worry about accidental strangulation if kitty ever fell or decided to take the big leap? Warm weather does strange things to people.
And so, onto more normal things, like running. I took Monday off of running, but spent a part of the day skiing. It was warm-ish on Monday, in the 30s, and the snow was soft and slow. It was a little sad because it felt like skiing season was coming to its close. The dog ran and I skiied about 6 miles, all uphill on the way out, and downhill on the way back. Not hard work at all.
Tuesday I ran 5.5 easy. I ran so ungodly s-l-o-w, it nearly killed me. Now that I'm doing other things besides just general aerobic runs, I'm slowing the recoveries way, way down. It kills me to shuffle along, both mentally and physically. The worst part is that is just hurts, more pounding on the body, you know? I spent about 2 hours skiing, again. I didn't stay out long because the snow was just pitiful, worse than Monday. It felt like I was getting nowhere, and I really wasn't. I'm afraid that unless we get some more snow, this is the end of skiing near my house. If I drive 1 1/2 hours or so and higher in elevation, I think there will be some more skiing left in the season. I'm kind of sad!
Today, first of all let me mention that I WORE SHORTS. ON THIS DAY, THE 23 OF MARCH, I WORE SHORTS. Today I did another workout. 1.5 miles warmup, strides, drills, 2 x 7:00 tempo intervals with 5:00 easy jogging between, 6 x "quarter mile" (for lack of a track) at 1:33-1:34 with quarter mile jog recoveries, 1 mile down, logging 8.5 miles total. I felt like a whale beaching herself on some North Carolina shoreline on the first interval. Really, I think it looked ugly too. I was battling a slight uphill grade for the first half with that southern wind in my face for the whole interval. I just couldn't settle in and feel comfortable, which is the whole point of doing tempo intervals. The second one felt much mo' betta', of course it did with the wind at my back and the downhill grade! I went by feel, but I covered a significantly further distance on the second 7:00. Then some quarter miles. I want a track! Thaw, dry, do all the things you need to do to become a track again! I "measured" out a quarter mile whilst shuffing along at 10:00 pace on a flat, open part of the trail. When I ran it, I hit my quarter mile goal time, and thought my "measurement" must be close. Well, the whole point was to run a pace about 20 seconds faster than 5K pace, and it felt about right. I ran all 1:33s, except the last one, 1:35, oops. Tired. The pooch ran the whole workout with me. I kept her leashed to me for the tempo portion, then I unleashed her while I ran quarters figuring she wouldn't want to cover the same portion of trail over and over with me. Sure enough, she ran back and forth 12 times, right by my side. What an athlete, better than me! Feels good.
I have to go back to work tonight. Boo. All good things like days off must come to an end, I guess. I've been meaning to mention that Duncan's strength workouts (I unofficially made him my personal trainer though he doesn't exactly know it yet) are killing me. I love it.
Posted by Meghan at 5:14 PM | Comments (2)
March 20, 2006
Facing the Stopwatch
I've carefully avoided doing anything "speed-esque" on a measured track, course, or route, for lots of reasons I've previously mentioned. Today was the day to face my stopwatch for the first time in a long time.
I picked a rotten day for it, as the wind was horrendous. Wouldn't you know it, foul weather on the first day of Spring? The 2 track options still aren't options till the weather improves and they dry out. So, with the profound accuracy of my car, I measured a half-mile stretch of flat gravel road to run repeats.
I ran a mile warmup, then strides and drills, then 6 x 1/2 mile at a few seconds faster than 5K pace with 2:10 jogging recovery, then a half mile cooldown, for 6-ish total miles. I ran the first interval straight into the wind in 3:21. Ugh. I ran the next interval with the wind and felt like I was flying, 3:11 with the same effort. When I ended this interval, I saw a herd of about 100 bison heading straight in my direction. I had to move down the gravel road a few more miles to get away from the migrating herd. So, I took about a 10 minute break to drive a few more miles and measure out a new course. Only in Montana could that happen! I started up again by doing a few minutes of jogging. The third and fourth intervals were into the wind, 3:16 and 3:18. Oof. And, finally, a reprieve from the wind, cruising back towards my car, the last 2 intervals in 3:12 and 3:17. Ouch, the last one hurt, I was tired, even with the wind pushing me along.
What did I learn? I have, indeed, lost my ability at consistency and gauging pace. Perhaps I can fault the wind for some of it, the rest is my fault. I still had fun, and that'll come back. It's only been 14 months.
Posted by Meghan at 9:55 PM | Comments (1)
The Stillness of Simplicity
First of all, a great thanks to all of you who commented positively on my last blog entry. It's remarkable to experience support and care from the most unique and unexpected places. I appreciate it.
When life doesn't go "my way," or when it travels in an unexpected direction, I have the tendency to fill my life to its capacity with complex activities. In the past, I have recognized that such activities serve as temporary distractions from my concerns, crutches that assist me until the rocky roads settle smooth again. I have also recognized this as escape-artist behavior, avoidance in its fullest form. And further, while such mind-numbing, busy-body occupation is temporarily fruitful, it detracts from my ability to process my problems and move on. This time around (I make it sound like my life is full of problems, when really it is the opposite.), I told myself that I didn't want to do that.
Instead, I went to the backcountry, where it's impossible to avoid simple stillness. Sure, I was very busy out there, but I wasn't distracting myself with fast-action movies, other people's life dramas, or making a new running plan for the third time in a week. Rather, I went to a place and engaged in activities that gave me ample time to think and ponder.
We spent the weekend at the Basin Station Cabin, located in the Gallatin National Forest. It's a brief ski/snowshoe/snowmobile in, only 2 miles or so, across a wide open valley filled with a winter's accummulation of deep, deep snow. From the cabin, the backcountry opens wide into mountains, valleys, rivers, and lakes. The cabin itself is wonderfully primitive, consisting of two rooms, an outhouse, and a barn full of wood. There was no electricity, no running water, and only 2 woodstoves for heating and cooking.
We traveled in to the cabin, me on skis, my friend on snowshoes, and the dog on four feet, through a wild snowstorm. Luckily we only had to follow a forest service road to the cabin, otherwise navigation would have been impossible in the storm. Arriving to the cabin, we could only see its roof! On 3 of its sides, snow was piled halfway up the windows. On the front side, previous cabin users had done a good job of keeping the porch and door shoveled out. However, descending off the feet and feet of snow to go into the cabin was a surreal, sort of subterranean experience.
After arriving to the cabin, we dumped most of the weight of our packs and set out for an afternoon adventure in the direction of Hegben Lake, which looks a lot different in winter. By the middle of the afternoon, the storm had passed, leaving us about 5 inches of new snow and better weather for playing. We spent the afternoon in child-like play and arduous physical activity. We climbed a few tall hills above the lake, which gave us a literal bird's-eye view of the lake. It's a huge lake with many arms that jut out into valleys between big mountains, and part of it is open water, even in the winter. The waterfowl there were amazing, swans, geese, bald eagles, and other birds that I couldn't identify, and also highly vocal. You could hear their squawking and screeching from high upon the hillside.
We made hairy descent down to the lakeside, wherein I got to test my ability at turning in backcountry cross country skis. My turns weren't pretty, but I did well until the very bottom, where I hit something hidden underneath the snow. My feet abruptly stopped, but my upper body catapaulted forward into a fine faceplant in the snow. It was immediately funny, and nothing hurt because I bit it into feet and feet of fluffy snow.
At the lakeside, we discovered what appeared to be an inholding of private land surrounding the forest service land. The inholding was completely fenced, and had a hoity-toity suburban-neighborhood name. We went into it and saw that, indeed, it was a small subdivision of "summer homes" for the rich, way back here in the backcountry. The "summer homes," which had no sign of recent visitation or occupation, were houses and cabins much bigger than most homes I could imagine living in. Many of the houses were camouflaged well under feet and feet of snow. On some of the houses, snow was built up so high on their sides that it met directly with the snow on the roof. We had brought sleds with us, and we immediately recognized the sledding potential of these snowy rooves! By climbing the snow to the roof's apex, you could sled down the roof and onto the ground with little danger or effort. I felt very Monkey Wrench Gang-like or Edukators-like, playing stealthily in an empty, rich neighborhood.
After this, we spent the rest of the afternoon sledding on a big, open hill. It was akin to childhood again, racing uphill while sinking deep into snow and trailing a red sled called "The Torpedo" behind us, arriving at the top winded and unable to speak, jumping into a sled and heading downhill fast and out of control. I crashed a couple of times, filling my face and my jacket with crunchy snow; it never hurt and it made me laugh so hard!
At the end of the day, we had a few miles of skiing/snowshoeing back to the cabin, and I was exhausted by the time we got there. Despite my fatigue, I could still see the beauty in the waning light of day, with far-off mountains and nearby hillsides glowing pink in the evening.
The process of survival in a primitive place is a long list of physical chores. First, one must caudle and care for a little fire in a wood stove, such that it grows into a big, heat-producing, light-giving, food-cooking fire. Then, one must chop enough wood to heat a cabin from the winter cold for the duration of your stay. After that, there is the the task of melting several cubic feet of snow to provide water for drinking and cooking. Next, there is the endeavor of cooking, with primitive implements and over a primitive stove. We accomplished all of our tasks successfully, and found ourselves eating heartily, drinking plentifully, and chatting animatedly through the evening. When it was time to sleep, I fell asleep without issue, contrary to the brain-wracking and cover-twisting sleeping attempts I had been making for the last few weeks, all while listening to a the quiet crackle of sappy pine in the wood stove.
Running? I took the weekend off of running. I skied my arse off, though. I skied so much my arse it sore! I returned to running this afternoon, and I'll write about it momentarily.
Posted by Meghan at 9:00 PM | Comments (2)
March 16, 2006
Thou Shalt Not Become Jaded
To let a little bit of my personal life into this blog, let me just give my male readership contingency a couple of words of advice (This is not to say that women are not deserving of equal or similar advice, I merely speak from personal experience.):
It would be in the best interest of the male portion of our species if all of you could work together. You know, there are a few stragglers here and there (Well, perhaps a few more than a few?) who haven't quite "Gotten It" yet. I'm not prepared to properly define this phrase in all of its diverse meanings. If you all could work together a little, help the stragglers along a bit, the entirety of your half of our species might be bettered. Just a little bit-o-advice!
I'm trying my hardest to not become jaded. Surely the behavior of one doesn't represent the behavior of all. This is the fine common sense to which I'm going to adhere myself with super glue so as to not become jaded. There are some good men out there, I'm sure. Why don't we take a little survey. Good men, identify yourselves, and, further, tell me why you're good. And, sure, women out there, jump in and tell me why a particular man is good. I need a little hope.
On the lighter, more joyous side of life, I ran today. It was uneventful, 6 miles easy in the fading light of day. The sun was out, and the sky glowed pink. There were snow flurries falling, but no clouds for them to fall from. Just sky turned pink by the falling sun. I don't know how that works, how snow falls from an empty sky, but I didn't much care, it was beautiful.
I'm off of work for 7 glorious days. I'm meeting a friend for a ski and snowshoe weekend in some national forest areas not too far away. Before we go out skiing, we're going to celebrate my Irish heritage and "issues of late" by imbibing St. Patrick's Day away. Then, I think I will find myself high up into some pine forests, in a canyon surrounded by mountains, after an arduous day of skiing and snowshoeing, tucked away drinking wine and eating fettucini (Yes, the menu is planned, that's half the fun of a backcountry trip!) in a warm cabin. When one isolates themselves into the wilderness with such remarkable severity as this, there is the omnipresent feeling of emptiness, loneliness, a feeling that you are a little speck upon a Great Big Earth. However, one also feels a simultaneous embracing by all things natural, that, despite your smallness with reference to Everything Else, feels most cozy. At this moment, this is exactly what I need.
Digressions finis.
Posted by Meghan at 9:42 PM | Comments (10)
March 15, 2006
Snowing, Again?
I thought Spring was just around the corner. The warmer weather of late must be just a tease!
I slept well for the first time in several "nights" and woke up after 8 blissful hours of uninterrupted sleep. I looked outside and a snowstorm was in proress! The temperatures must have been hovering right near freezing then, because the snowflakes were fist-size white balls falling out of the sky with decent velocity! As the afternoon progressed, it kept cooling off and the snow was piling up on houses, on cars, on the street. I realized then that if I had run when I first woke up, the streets would have only been wet. Now they were covered with a few inches of snow, masking the now-frozen wet from before. It was a mess!
Despite the slippery conditions, I love running through snow. Everything seems to be on mute, like a few inches of snow absorbs the sounds of life and things are quiet, so quiet. I love the silence of running in the snow, your feet make no noise as they strike the ground. The only sounds I heard today were the tinkling of the dog's collar and my own breathing.
I decided to get on with my hill workout, even though there was snow. Earlier this year, I often wore Yaktrax, but I put them away when they started to hurt one of my feet. I decided to wear them for part of today so I could get some faster running in. I took off from home, Yaktrax in hand, and did a 3+ mile warmup, then 8 x 1:00 hills with jog recovery down, wearing the Yaktrax. Then a 1 mile cooldown to scamper back home lest I be late for work! I was remarkably consistent in pace, and I felt good and smooth throughout the workout. Still a very small workout, but I"m getting there, slowly. The Yaktrax didn't hurt my feet and I was pleased for that.
It's my Friday now, one more night of work. You'll have to pardon my lack of creativity in this evening's entry, as I've worked 76 hours of work in 6 days, and I've still got 12 more, and I'm tired. I'm not sure exactly how I'll spend my week off yet. A friend from my last job is passing through this weekend and we're going to ski into a nearby forest service cabin for a night. We'll take lots of food, a few bottles of wine, and my dog, and I'm sure it'll be a fun time!
Posted by Meghan at 6:55 PM | Comments (2)
March 14, 2006
Uneventful
Well, with the list of tribulations that were involved with my run yesterday, I'm happy to report that my run was uneventful today. Of course, I only ran 4 miles, what could happen? I had planned to run 6, but overdid it by a couple miles yesterday, so I figured I could prance slowly around the nearby campground for a little while and call it good. I ran 4 outer loops through the campground, did 6 strides, and ran to and from home. Whew, exhausting, I tell you.
Across the street from my neighborhood is the Mammoth Hot Springs Camground, where I occasionally run. If anyone is interested in the details of my life, you can see a map here. The pink lines are the main park roads, 2 lane and paved, hella busy during the summer, and quiet right now. In case you're wondering why they are so curvy, it's because they are all switchbacks either climbing or descending! On the right side of the map, you can see a little tent symbol with some black lines forming a flattened loop, that is the campground. My neighborhood is to the right of the campground on the map, across the pink line. I think the outermost campground loop is almost exactly a mile. I think the shorter loop with the cutoff in the middle of the campground a hair over a half mile. What's best about the campground, though, is that its roads contour the hillside, and there are no grinding hills, just a few rollers. It's also great that there isn't much traffic in there, especially now in the winter.
There were 2 parties of campers in the the campground (Brave souls, it was 9 degrees F last night!), one of which was a group of about 5 college-aged men. While I heartily believe that I'm past the age in which I should be interested in 21 year olds, they provided some nice scenery on each loop through the campground!
Posted by Meghan at 7:18 PM | Comments (2)
March 13, 2006
Meghan's Bad Decision
Or shall I say, a series of bad decisions. I wasn't the smartest little runner today, but I pulled off what I needed to. Here's the scoop, snoops.
First, it started by getting 4 hours and 45 minutes of sleep. My "night" was so rudely interrupted at 11:45 am by the screaming of the emergency pager, wherein I had to stumble into firefighting gear and go stand in the snow and cold for an hour. And I didn't even get to fight a fire because there wasn't one. Despite the outside cold, the inside ambient climate of those turnouts is akin to a Costa Rican rainforest. I digress, but I was well on my way to dehydration when it was all over. The right thing would have been to return home, down a half liter of Gatorade, and crawl back into bed for an hour. The wrong thing to do, or what I did, was to make a pot of coffee and start my day.
Next, I got all busy doing stuff. So busy that I forgot to eat breakfast. I started to realize this when the combined firefighting dehydration and caffiene jitters made me feel oh-so-happy. The right thing to do would have been to sit down to a wholesome meal of eggs, toast, fruit, and juice. The wrong thing to do, or what I did, was to chug a little water, eat a banana, and go out running.
So, there I am, starting a 12 mile run, feeling dehydrated, coffee jittery, and just plain hungry from the get-go. I knew I was going to feel all pooey and that I better run an out-and-back course. If I were to do a series of loops closer to home, who knows whether I would have the willpower to keep going when my house is just around the corner and I could stop anytime. I know that some runners have got the mental strength, but I questioned my own today. To do an out-and-back course from my home involves significant elevation change, either up and up or down and down. I chose to go up on the way out, and down on the way back. Perhaps this is the only good choice I made all day!
Once I got going, a couple miles in, the empty belly growls and shaky arm jitters quieted themselves and I settled into a rhythm of grinding uphill. In this direction, it's 1 mile uphill, 1.5 miles downhill, then the rest uphill. I had so many things to think about while I was out there (Right, I'm sure I wasn't thinking anything in my altered state of sanity.), that I forgot to turn around. One minute I looked at my watch and it said 38:xx, then the next time I looked at it, it said 59:xx. I was planning to turn around at 50:00. Luckily, when I finally got my wits about me to turn around, I then had miles and miles of downhill cruising. Once I got to the 1.5 mile uphill near the end, I began to falter. What's the worst is that you can see the top of the hill the whole time, but it's just way, way up there!
Then, then, I encountered a herd of bison hanging out in the road. I stopped and waited, and waited, and waited. These creatures never move fast. The right thing to do would have been to make a big wide circle around them in the brush, and keep going. The wrong thing to do, which I did, was to just stand there and watch bison move at a pace of about 1 foot/15 seconds, until I lapsed into uncontrollable shivers. Between my wet clothes, the snow and wind, and stopping for about 5 minutes, I got really cold. Then, I finally wisened and took the route through the bushes around them.
Luckily, all this standing around resting made climbing the last hill back up much more bearable. The final mile cruise downhill felt great. It was the best I felt all day! I got home and went directly to a hot, steaming shower, and my skin hurt when it hit the water! I was SO cold! The smart thing to do would have been to bring a bottle of Gatorade with me into the shower to begin the rehydration process. The wrong thing to do, and what I did, was to forget all about it and stand in hot water and steam until I felt like I was going to pass out. Then I finally got out and started drinking water. I made a hearty lunch/dinner and ate well, just many hours belated.
As a side note, Audrey recently described a running incident wherein her sports bra completely failed. I thought her story was really funny because it sounded like we have the same pink sports bra that zips up the front, only mine worked. Anyhow, I was chuckling about Audrey today as I pulled out the pink zip sports bra and wore it in her honor. About 2 miles into this run, I realized that it was coming unzipped! Sure enough, all this laughing at Audrey and my sports bra does the same thing the next day! What the? I'm sure I was a sight to behold, stuffing my hands into 5 layers of clothing and groping myself every mile or so to rezip the bra. I liked that thing until today, it's cute. And now, I feel Audrey's pain. But at least mine didn't come unzipped all the way!
So, I ran at least 14 miles today, maybe a bit more when I get out the map for a look-see. I ran a very hilly route. I ran it on pavement (When was the last time I ran 14 miles on pavement? A long time ago...). I ran it dehydrated, hungry, and fatigued. It went okay, and I do feel fine now, but methinks I better watch out for myself in the next couple of days so something bad doesn't happen. And finally, tonight I'm going to do a core/lifting routine, created by Duncan. I think it's been months since I've done either. If and when I'm sore tomorrow, I'm going to curse him! :)
Posted by Meghan at 7:18 PM | Comments (5)
March 12, 2006
Advice Sought
I'm soliciting advice from the wealth of running and training knowledge I know is out and about out there, more abundant and diverse that what I can compile alone. Anyone want to bite?
Here's the situation:
I talked at the end of 2005 about getting in gear to train for a marathon. I made several in vain attempts to build my base mileage to a good starting point. I couldn't do it. Between my work schedule, my grad school responsibilities, getting called out to work emergencies at all hours of day and night, and just trying to enjoy life a little bit, I made the decision that marathon training just isn't in the cards this spring. I did the next best thing, and decided that I would instead train well for a half marathon, and try to run some shorter races in there as well. This I thought I could handle, because I can sustain 50 miles/week or so, but not much more. Thus, my current goal race is a half marathon the first weekend in June, location to be announced.
Here's where I need help:
I've got a training plan, in terms of the running. But I need help with the rest of it, cross training, lifting, and core exercises. In the past, I've lived fairly regimented schedules with reference to these three things, making 3 times weekly trips to the weight room. And I can't anymore, not with my current schedule. As a result, I've let all of it go. Now, I want to rebuild these things. First, I want to road bike as cross training. Next, I want my lifting routine to be body weight exercises. Then, I want a core workout that doesn't require machines or balls or anything. Basically, aside from the road bike (and its trainer until the weather is good), I want to be able to do a routine without needing a weight room. A routine I can do at work when it's not busy and a routine I can do anywhere I may be adventuring on my days off. This is where all of you come in. What do I need to do, with the above stipulations, to enhance my running? I want a bare bones program that is helpful and worth my time. So, can anyone help me?
Thanks in advance, all!
Posted by Meghan at 8:56 PM | Comments (5)
March 10, 2006
Another Small Workout
Progress, friends, comes in baby steps. I'm sure someone important said that. Or maybe it's just a foul movie line from the '90s.
Today I ran 2.5++ miles as a warm-up, strides and drills, 4 x 3:10 at slightly faster than 5K effort with 2:10 jog recoveries, .5 miles cooldown, 6 miles total.
I felt pooey on the first 2 intervals, all herky-jerky and my breathing erratic. Then, magically, I felt like a gliding racetrack horse on the 3rd and 4th. Ok, it wasn't that beautiful, I'm exaggerating. Plus, I did it to myself, I ran a up nasty hill for the first 200 or so meters of each of the first 2 intervals, and then had a hard time getting ahold of my motion and breathing afterwards. So, after some silent cussing in moderate oxygen deprivation, I had the bright idea to move my course around a bit for the last 2 intervals and, after that, it was miraculously flat. Funny, what a difference it made. I know, I shouldn't feel that way after a 200m uphill at 5K-ish effort. What can I say, I'm hopelessly out of shape.
I did this, obviously, on the road. I've previously listed all my excuses, ahem, reasons for this. For one, I'm not ready to face the stopwatch yet, I think I'd be so dissapointed. Second, I don't want to be tied to times/distances just yet. In a few weeks, I'll face that animal. Doing effort work is tough enough after such a long layoff from tried and true speedwork. Third, I don't exactly have a track yet. The 1/4 mile grass track in the neighborhood is, you guessed it, one giant, mucked up, melting mud puddle. I don't expect access to that for a long time still. The local high school's dirt track is looking muddy still, but much closer to thawed and dry than the grass track. I predict, if the thaw and melting continues, that its readiness for use will coincide well with my planned return to the track.
I felt good. I worked hard. I like working hard.
Posted by Meghan at 6:34 PM | Comments (3)
A Little Politics
I am a fan of politics, though I don’t often bring such interests into my blogging world. I don’t know why. However, today’s political news is personally noteworthy enough to comment about here. I’ve just heard the official news; Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton has resigned.
The Secretary of the Interior serves as the “boss,” “head honcho,” and “ruling administrator” to the Department of the Interior, which, in turn, manages the government agency that I am employed by. Decisions that the Secretary of the Interior makes affect my professional life in a significant way. The short of it is that she was kind of my boss, in a way, way, way removed way.
While I was delighted to hear that George W. Bush appointed the first female Secretary of the Interior in 2000, I was less thrilled to learn of her background in mining and logging. In short, Gale Norton came to be the bane of my existence during our overlapping government careers. Can I provide just a few examples?
On a highly personal level, she assisted in introducing an inquiry into privatizing certain Department of the Interior jobs, and my job was on the list. For a period of time, I had to defend myself and my job skills as more appropriate than hiring some contracted schmuck to do my job. Eventually this privatization inquiry was dropped because officials learned that we were functioning better and at less cost than contracting our jobs out. Still, being laid out under a microscope in that way does wonders for the psyche.
I clearly remember reading a memo from the Norton just after she was appointed to her position written to all Department of the Interior employees. It outlined her motto for public land stewardship, “the Four C’s, consultation, cooperation, communication — all in the service of conservation.” Her version of land stewardship had federal land managers working in cooperation with local landowners and developers to “promote” conservation. Look up the word ‘conservation’ in the dictionary, folks, this is about as ridiculous and oxymoronic as it gets; conservation will never include ideas on land development.
Next, most people are well-aware of Bush’s oil drilling agenda in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and Norton was Bush’s biggest supporter. This agenda has not yet been passed through Congress, and so no drilling is happening up there in Alaska. But this is not due to a lack of effort on Norton’s part. Some have argued, and I agree, that Norton has manipulated scientific data and statistics in her presentations to Congress over the years in ways that make arctic drilling appear to be economically viable for a long period of time as well as environmentally safe and secure. I will never agree with Norton, or Bush, or any pro-arctic drilling person. I have flown over and driven through a current epicenter of arctic drilling, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and I have seen its dismal affects on the natural ecosystem.
And, the snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park issue that I’m sure you’ve heard of? Yes, Gale Norton was also a proponent of this. The Clinton Administration removed winter snowmobile use in Yellowstone under the premise that the presence of snowmobiles negatively impact the national park’s resources. Now, under the Bush Administration and the ministrations of Gale Norton, snowmobiles are back in Yellowstone. Nothing has been officially decided; the snowmobiles are in the park on a temporary basis until federal land managers can come up with a permanent use plan. But, thanks to Gale Norton, snowmobiles are here to stay in Yellowstone.
I could go on. The point that I am trying to make is that Gale Norton was hired to be the Secretary of the Interior, the guardian and protector of all federal lands. Instead, we saw Norton manipulating federal policies, deregulating federal land management practices that have been in effect for decades, and making decisions with making money, not protecting land, in the forefront of her mind. One fifth of the United States is federal land, so she had control over a massive proportion of our country. I am not sorry to see her go. I am torn today, however, because I know that Bush will appoint someone else to fill her place. I fear that he or she may be worse, and that we have to deal with them for the next three years of Bush’s second term!
Posted by Meghan at 2:46 PM | Comments (1)
March 9, 2006
There Goes Another Week!
I find myself once again at the beginning of the 7-Day Death March-O-Survival that I call my work week. My reprieve is that the end of this week (As soon as I finish: 1] a paper that’s now grown to epic proportions, and 2] do a time-consuming but doable take-home midterm test.) brings the beginning of Spring Break from grad school. I can honestly say that I will not miss school one little bit. 7 lovely, lovely days of freedom from studying. Anyhow, I digress.
I found myself arriving by snowstorm into Salt Lake City late on Friday night. The weather was horrendous. At 30 mph down the freeway, I could only drive by putting my right tires on the fog line. I couldn’t see 50 feet in front of me. I made it safely, but very slow and very late. I can't imagine that this was a safe driving practice.
Saturday I managed a short run in the booming metropolis of SLC. Sidewalks, busy streets, and pavement are unfamiliar running territories for me! I pulled my right quad ever so slightly while pounding downhill steeply on pavement. Watching my dog watch traffic was rather entertaining, though. Perhaps this country pooch has never seen traffic like this before? The rest of Saturday was spent with friends on a beautiful, almost-spring afternoon. I'm pretty sure I spent several hours not wearing a jacket! That evening, we went out to a microbrewery and drank some good-tasting beer. Does anyone else think that microbreweries on Utah are funny? I mean, come on, the brews taste awesome but it's all 3.2% beer! Mormon Utah, you know!
On Sunday, I planned a rest day from running, as we were going to downhill ski (me) and snowboard (everyone else). We were promised a pre-ski trip to Ruth’s, a famous breakfast diner in one of the canyons above SLC. I could eat breakfast for every meal if that’s what it would be like! My favorite was the biscuits (I’m a sucker for biscuits!). For one reason or another (including waiting in a long line at breakfast, the extreme tardiness of one member of the group, and a few other uncontrollable circumstances), it was suddenly too late to go up into the mountains to ski. I was disappointed, but instead we spent the afternoon in SLC, and I got to play tourist. We visited Temple Square, which is the headquarters of the Mormon Church. It was akin to visiting the Vatican in Rome, which is the Catholic Church’s headquarters. We wandered around the university. We sat outside (Because it was warm and sunny!), sipped coffee, and ate the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake at a coffee shop. We ended the afternoon by driving up to the big “U” placed on the side of the mountain above SLC to see the view. It was a clear day, and an outstanding view. I guess if we were unable to ski, then this was a great alternative. I still kept Sunday as a rest day even though we didn’t ski, with the excuse that my quad was still a bit pulled from my last run.
I spent much of Monday and Tuesday hanging around SLC, getting my computer repaired. Something went suddenly and strangely amiss with the hard drive. After madly copying gigabytes of important files, I raced around the city looking for someone who could work on Macintosh computers. Alas, $60 and 36 hours later, my computer was repaired, and I don’t have to fear hard drive failure (Knock on wood.).
Monday was also the infamous dog encounter day. I was running on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. For non-SLC-ites, this trail is awesome! It traces the edge of an ancient lakeshore, and extends north and south along the Wasatch Mountains just to the east of SLC. The trail basically contours the mountains anywhere from 300-600 feet above the city. Once you climb up to it from one of it’s many access trails, the elevation rolls gently along, no horrible uphill grinds. This trail extends for 90 miles or something like that! I went on an 80 minute trail run, though I had intended to run about 1:40. I cut things short and ran back to the trailhead after the dog and I got munched on by the strange dog. That meant that I missed opportunity number one to do my long run for the week, and on a great trail at that.
Tuesday I just did a short run. My hand was sore, and it ached to bounce. I just tried to run slowly and smoothly. 4 miles, oh-so-slowly, and a bit painfully.
Wednesday was another gorgeous day in SLC, shorts running weather! I went out on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail again, in a different location this time. Today, I apparently went out to a popular trail running spot, by coincidence. I didn’t see any other women, but I saw 2 beautiful men out there. Not only is the scenery of the mountains and the SLC valley outstanding, but the on-trail scenery was equally so. Anyhow, I digress yet again. I did a 45 minute fartlek run. I didn’t stick to any time requirements, rather I ran hard when the terrain rolled uphill or when the trail was smooth enough to run hard. I think I did 7 untimed hard intervals during this run. It felt great!
Today, I woke up in SLC to a wild snowstorm. I packed up and started driving home as soon as I could because I knew it would take a long time. What is usually a 7 hour or less drive took 9 hours today due to the roads. I didn't much care about that. It was more meaningful to me that I wasn't one of the suckers involved in the dozen or so accidents I saw. Poor people! I got home with just enough daylight left to go for a run. I was so glad to have time, as I was antsy from being in the car, and I know the dog was too. I ran 5 miles briskly, about 38:00.
Now, I have the unexciting duties of unpacking, cooking for the week, and going back to work to get on with. I guess I've procrastinated long enough!
Posted by Meghan at 6:37 PM | Comments (2)
March 8, 2006
Dog Bite
It's possible that most runners have an innate fear of dogs. Whether it's because dogs chase runners, because they are often uncontrolled by their owners, or because sometimes they are downright unpredicatable, we runners generally try to avoid the strange ones. Some of us avoid all dogs. Me, I do love dogs, but I love only the ones that I know are good.
I was trail running on Monday afternoon with my dog (who was on leash), and we were approached by a dog unaccompanied by any human. We were on a wilderness trail, but only about 1.5 miles from civilization. The dog was unleashed and uncollared. It approached and attacked my dog, to which my dog fought back. In the process of trying to seperate the 2 dogs, the strange dog administered a series of bites to my left hand. After this, I gave the strange dog a hard kick to its butt, and it backed off, but continued following us for a short distance. In the end, I couldn't find any drawn blood on my dog, just missing tufts of hair. My left hand, around my thumb, had one deep puncture wound from the canine tooth, other areas of broken skin from the molar teeth, and a series of scratches from the whole scuffle. It was immediately painful. My hand ached so badly with the pounding of each footfall as I ran back to the trailhead!
I called my friend, a paramedic, after I got back from running, and he recommended that I go to an emergency room. There, I learned all about dog bites. I learned that, worldwide, people die of rabies transmitted through dog bites with frequency. In the US, there have been no documented cases of such. Whether that is because most dogs don't have rabies in the US due to adequate veterinary care, or because anti-rabies shots are readily available to people who have been bitten, officials don't really know. So, when bitten by an unfamiliar dog, rabies is of concern. Next, I learned that the transmission of tetanus and bacteria through a dog bite is also plausible. Among bacteria, any kind present in a dog's mouth can give you a nasty infection, but there is one particular kind (I can't remember its name.) with fast onset (As in, the infection occurs the same day as the bite.) that can cause permanent tissue damage.
So, what happens at the emergency room when you get bit by a dog? First, an anti-rabies shot. You should get this shot as soon after the bite as you can. They give it to you at the site where you were bitten. In my case, on my hand. Then, every 5 days for the next 30 days, you have to get another anti-rabies shot (6 total). Next up, a tetanus booster. The emergency room doctor recommended this if you haven't had a booster within the last 7 years. And, finally, an oral antibiotic prescription. Dog bite wounds are generally not sutured, unless it is a very bad wound. They say this increases the chances of infection. Instead, you're supposed to clean the wound with warm, soapy water 3 times a day, using a syringe for increased water pressure, and apply an antibiotic to it after each wash. As a side note, I turned down the oral antibiotic prescription, much to the doctor's dismay. By the time I had face time with the doctor, it was hours after the incident. He said that the very bad type of bacteria would already be causing symptoms of infection (high fever of 102 degrees F or higher, extreme redness around the bite, and swelling that extends beyond the bite site) and I didn't have any of those. I reasoned that I would clean the bite well, and if it began to look infected, I would re-seek medical attention. I worry about other affects of antibiotics such as increased reaction to sun exposure and long-term antibiotic resistance problems.
Now, a few days afterwards? My hand is swollen and black and blue. The swellling limits my hand's mobility, but that is slowly returning. The wounds aren't infected, and they're healing nicely. I ran yesterday, and my hand ached while I was running, but not so much that it stopped me from going out. Every time we see another dog, my dog wigs out. She was clearly affected by the exerience as well.
Phew, what a mess! Watch out for strange dogs in the woods!
Posted by Meghan at 8:14 AM | Comments (9)
March 2, 2006
Bison Poo...
...and other fabulous details of Yellowstone National Park.
Today I ran 6 miles, and my car went a little over 11 miles. Grrrrr. Luckily, I have a little sqeak-by room from the rest of this week, so I'm hoping I can make it through the week and beat my car in highest mileage.
The bison are driving my batty. Really now. Many of them stay down in the low country during the winter, where the weather is most mild. Down here, they can dig through the snow and chew on dead, brown, entirely nutrition-less grass. I haven't run on the Gardiner railroad bed trail in maybe a week. Since I was last there, the ground has started thawing, and the soft, wet trail got trampled by bison. Not only are there huge divots from their feet everywhere, but their piles of poo are all up and down the trail. Bison poo is about a 6 inch tall pile that's perhaps a foot in diameter! We're talking serious poo pies! Once the spring melt really comes, and the bison return to some higher elevations, I think that trail is going to need some serious rehab. However, at least there were no bison trying to share the trail with me today. I had it all to myself.
Today I did another tiny workout. 3 miles warmup, then 2x3:10 at slightly faster than 5K effort with 2:10 easy jogging in between. Then a 2 mile cooldown, to make about 6 miles. After many months of breaking from speedwork, I'm easing ever so slowly back into it again, including running hard by effort for the next several weeks. I was trying to simulate 2x800m w/400 easy recovery, just going by effort. Again, it felt good to workout with purpose other than just building base.
I'm going to try to do my "long run," which will only be 12 miles again, tomorrow instead of this weekend, as I think a ski trip is brewing. That is, if there's still enough snow after all this melting.
Posted by Meghan at 7:45 PM | Comments (0)
March 1, 2006
Titleless
I'm feeling relatively uninspired today. I'm still ahead of my car in weekly mileage. I haven't run that much, but I've driven even less.
I get a little strung out towards the end of my 80+ hours of work in 7 days, and the regularities of life begin to unravel. Usually by this point in my week, my last night of work, I'm hanging on by coat-tails and I've got a whole list of things attached to my heels, trying to pull me entirely loose. There is usually the general fatigue, from trying desperately to get adequate sleep during the day when the rest of the world is awake and wanting to call me/knock on my door/page me to work/etceteras. Of course there is the omnipresent school, where I can never quite stay caught up, and where I question daily whether I made the right decision to work and go to school, both full-time. Then, there is the breakdown of order in my house, such as the pigpen-frantic mess my dog has made in the laundry room from her muddy galvanting through the snowmelt outside. Then there is the depleted supply of healthy, well-rounded meals available for my consumption; I generally try to cook a lot/do meal prep at the beginning of my work week so I have good food to eat throughout the week. However, by the end of 7 days, that supply is always depleted and I'm faced with a dillema: Do I take time away from the other critical elements (like sleeping, studying, and running) of the day to fix some good, quality food, or do I relegate myself to out-of-box meals? Then, there is one's personal life, trying to fit in meaningful moments amongst the disorganized chaos that is my life with the people that I care about, and my pooch, too. And, finally, there is running, or exercise in general. Fitting in running is somewhat like trying to squeeze oneself through two immovable boulders knowing full well that your chances of getting through are nil. But then again, if I don't run, then I'm more stressed, less productive, and unhappy.
I know I shouldn't focus on the drab, dreary parts of my life. Really, tomorrow morning at 6 am, I will be off of work for 7 days. Who could ask for anything better? I just can't wait to get there.
Tuesday- 5 miles easy, 39:xx, 5 strides (1.2 miles driving)
Wednesday- 4 miles briskly, 29:xx, 4 strides (0.8 miles driving)
Posted by Meghan at 9:38 PM | Comments (2)