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July 30, 2006
Has This Happened to Anyone Else?
The following is kind of gross: The skin on the front of my left big toe is splitting. It's somewhat painful when running downhill. It bled today while I was running. I'm not sure how it all started; one day about a week ago I noticed what looked like a toe paper cut running vertically along the front fleshy bit of my big toe. It wasn't so bad then, but it just keeps splitting open as the days go by. I tried butterfly bandaids and open-toed shoes for a bit, and that helped until I ran again and everything resplit. I tried duct taping it closed while running and that didn't work. Has this happened to anyone else?
Thank you for your interest in My Secret Plan! I wish I could tell you all, but I can't yet. I will reveal all as soon as I am able, I promise.
I ran 1:20-ish on forest service logging roads today. I tried to get up high, where it wasn't so hot. Try as I might, it was still hot up there around 8,000 feet. I carried Gatorade this time, and this was a smart choice. We (me and the dog) crossed 2 creeks and we both partook in the chilly water of each creek, which was akin to heaven! There were a few other recreaters up there, 3 folks and their horses, berrypickers, 1 mountain biker, and a few campers (and no bears); it was nice to have a little company out in the wilderness.
The most interesting part of my run was the full view I had up high on these roads of the wildland fire north of Yellowstone National Park. The billowing plume of white smoke was tremendous, boiling and broiling into its own weather system of sorts. We've heard that homes and outbuildings have burned. We know that dozens of people have been evacuated. We know that more than 1000 acres of forest is burning hot and fast. It's a rather intimidating fire in its own right, and, additionally, very difficult to manage on any level with the continued heat, low humidity, and strong winds. It's sad to see people in distress, losing their homes and livelihoods. Someday, when I'm a grown-up, I want to have my own home in the woods, perched high on a hillside, with an outstanding view. Big, dangerous, violent fires, I guess, will be a scary, potential piece of that lifestyle. That gives me something to ponder while looking at the big smoke clouds.
Posted by Meghan at 8:47 PM | Comments (4)
July 29, 2006
Day #2
Today I climbed a mountain, up to above 10,000 feet. It was dreadfully hot, even up at that high elevation. I had temple worms when I got home, again, for the second day in a row. Sure I was hot, but I wasn't dying of heat as I was yesterday. I think they make me look like an old lady. I fear my skin is thinning such that it can't appropriately cover my veins. It's not just there, but also on my arms (the vein on my right bicep is just plain gross), hands, legs, and feet. I'm just going to pretend that I'm all veiny because I'm in good shape. Let's all pretend with me. ;)
The weather today boded bad things from the beginning. With the intense heat, plus almost no humidity and a very hot, hard wind, the arrival of afternoon thunderstorms meant bad stuff. Too much cloud-to-ground lightning and not enough rain associated with these storms (we think) created a horrible wildfire north of Yellowstone National Park. Homes, people, and general wilderness are being threatened by a hot, fast-moving wildfire. Tomorrow you might see the story on CNN, with clips of big summer cabins being threatened by tall flames, a typical summer wildfire story, but it really is sad.
So, you ask, why all this trail running and mountain climbing? Am I doing it because this is my typical behavior? Because it's an interesting deviation from my normal? Because I have a plan? I'll take Door Number 3. There is a plan. But I'm not quite ready to reveal it, just yet.
Posted by Meghan at 7:27 PM | Comments (5)
Well Done
If you had poked a fork into me like a Thanksgiving turkey to see if I was done today, I'm pretty sure that the fork would have bounced off my hardened, burnt, crusty skin with a distinct pinging noise. I was thoroughly cooked by the time I got back from my run. I spent 1:30 on singletrack trails. It was 100 degrees. The sky was cloudless. Ah well, at least it's a dry heat. I don't think I was alone in my misery, though. It seems that running bloggers from across the country are lamenting persistent hot and humid running conditions. I've got to say, though, that I didn't feel any comraderie out there in the heat alone today.
I've been doing a lot more trail runs lately, mostly alone, and carrying my bear spray to ward off any critters on the trails. Thus, I didn't want to carry water and weigh myself down even more. That was a definitive mistake. I began to feel the heat by mile 2. At mile 3 or 4, there was a small creek that I used to temporarily douse the fire, and it felt like heaven. By mile 6, small uphills looked like unconquerable mountains. By mile 8, I was so glad to start the downhill back to the trailhead that I nearly cried. Around mile 9, I saw a coworker on the patch of pavement from the trailhead to my house; later she told me that I looked like death when we passed.
When I returned home and looked in the mirror, I was met with a most disgusting view. Gracing my red face were white salt streaks and temple worms. Temple worms? I've never had a temple worm before. This guy seems to think that leg and temple worms go hand-in-hand with good fitness and low body fat. To that, I add that I think temple worms (at least in my case today) also result from dehydrating oneself beyond oblivion and irreperably collapsing most of one's body cells. I was not impressed with how I looked.
I found myself laying on my cool, wooden floor with a bottle of Gatorade. That, combined with a cold shower and 2 liters of water (after which I was still 2 pounds down in body weight, or about another liter of fluid low). I began to come around then.
Hey, maybe I got a good tan out of the whole thing.
Posted by Meghan at 2:47 AM | Comments (1)
July 24, 2006
Don't Stop Moving
This was my 5th day off of work, and I've been acutely busy having fun. I haven't had a chance to have this much fun in a while, so I'm seeping it up like dry sand sucks up water in the desert. (I'm avoiding overtime at work. Shhhh, don't tell anyone I'm home tonight! But I'll be gone again first thing in the morning!)
A brief synopsis:
Thursday: Another successful run. 5 miles by trail, I think. Hot, hot, hot, Africa hot. I love everything about the heat except the fact that it's still 90+ degrees in my house at 8 pm.
Friday: 7 miles hiking on the Lava Creek Trail with friends, then sitting chin deep in the cool Gardner River afterwards. There is nothing like sitting in the middle of a river on a hot summer day. 30 minute very easy trail run in the evening, so hot. Calf muscle still feels great.
Saturday: 20+ miles hiking with friends, but not before spending 2 hours in the early morning trying to dig my friend's mud-stuck car out of mud, the only mud hole on this particular dirt road. This day included about 12 hours or so of activity, perhaps a bit too much for me that day. We hiked on the Pitchstone Plateau Trail, appropriately named for its pitch-colored rocks. It was hot, the black rocks were hot, I ran out of water, felt overheated and cotton-mouthed, on the verge of feeling quite ill. We walked past a few snowfields (how they survive on the black rock is beyond me) and I stuffed my shirt full of snow. It felt amazing. Gatorade from a gas station at the trail's end cured all my ails, though, and I recovered from becoming a shriveling raisin afterall.
Sunday: 1 hour trail run in the Clearwater National Forest in Idaho with my friend Melissa. Dusty, dry trail in the waning light of evening. We climbed up high above a creek called Boulder Creek, but we could still hear the rush of water in the creek below. We managed to climb out of the heat sitting still in the valley, and up into the cool breeze dancing along the ridgelines. My friend Melissa and her bicycle touring group made it to Idaho! I drove there to camp and ride with them. We camped about 30 feet from the edge of the Lochsa River. It was oh-so-102 degrees-hot, so the river came in handy. Had a wonderful evening, sitting in camp chairs next to the river with our feet underwater, watching the bats swoop over the water collecting insects, and chatting about the world. Was an uncomfortably warm night for camping, too hot, even, to get into a sleeping bag.
Monday: About 60 miles bicycle riding through the Lochsa River Valley in Clearwater National Forest with my friend and her tour group. My friend and I rode hard and felt amazing throughout. We started very early to avoid the record-breaking heat. Sat in the Lochsa River (again) until I was chilled by the mountain waters.
That's all, folks. More adventures to come, I still have 3 days off of work!
Posted by Meghan at 9:54 PM | Comments (0)
July 19, 2006
Gold Glitters
I recently spent some time in Helena, Montana (Incidentally, Helena is a really cool town, I dig the place.), which was founded upon a gold strike of magnificent proportion. During the thirty years or so of epic wealth that the town experienced, gold miners numbering in the thousands dug deep tunnels in the ground and stood in snow melt creeks seeking the source of their gaining wealth: gold. Some miners found it faster than others, many got rich, but all worked hard. I can imagine that mining or panning for gold has to be a most arduous task, searching through layers upon layers of rock or pans and pans of river pebbles for that glittery gold reward. More rewarding than the sight of gold and its tangible touch, though, might have been the financial gains reaped from trading in that gold at the end of a hard day's work.
Some days I might liken my life to that of a Helena gold miner. Life is a busy flurry of challenging activities, and I often find myself feeling nearly overwhelmed by it. I suppose many of us are like this, life just gets tough. Once in a while, in the middle of this harried mess, I get the gold glitters that flash brightly in my face, reminding me of the finest things in life.
A few evenings ago, I was driving home from a great afternoon of hiking. For some reason, on this July weekend evening in Yellowstone National Park, there was little traffic on the road. I came upon a wide meadow, with grass growing green and waist high. The sun was low in the sky, just setting, and the tips of the grass blades glowed in the long, shadowy, evening light. The meadow itself appeared as perfect habitat for any kind of wildlife, but it was empty except for a single elk. This elk was young, still covered with the fuzzy, freckled fur of something recently born. It appeared bold and confident, venturing out alone into an empty meadow to prance and graze. I watched the lone elk for several minutes, and it wasn't long before the little one suddenly realized that it was all alone. It ran back toward the forest margin, then back into the meadow, then to the other side of the meadow. It vocalized a noise in a high, hollow, echo-y pitch that can only be described as the elk version of "Help!" It moved frantically, with sudden kicks and bucks as it changed directions. I was sure that this baby elk had lost sight of its mother. Several more minutes passed, elk desperation ensued as its vocalizations reached a fevered state. There was palpable fear, perhaps terror, in the air that even I could sense. Just when I was unsure of how much more fear this baby elk could tolerate, an adult elk stepped calmly out of the woods. The baby elk and its presumed mother reunited and the baby suckled intently. Instantly, calmness returned to the meadow and I felt very lucky to have observed these moments.
Yesterday I ran 4 tentative miles. My calf felt fine during, after, and even now. What was most painful was running in the heat of the day oh-so-carefully-slowly. However, despite the heat and my pace, being able to run without issue is a supreme feeling. I didn't press my luck and run 2 days in a row. I figure I'll try for 5 miles tomorrow.
While the boys on bikes over there in France are climbing big passes in Les Alpes, I conquered my own smaller hill climb. I biked the full climb from Gardiner, MT (elevation about 5300 feet), through Mammoth Hot Springs (elevation about 6300 feet), to Swan Lake Flats (elevation about 7300 feet) over about 10 miles distance. It was a sweet climb, I didn't get hit by an inattentive tourists, and it wasn't too hard.
So, when the world gets tough, when my workdays are long, when I don't get enough sleep, when the tourists cause trouble that I can't possibly dream up on my own, I've always got these little gold glitters to remind me about the finer things in life. Baby elk learning about the world, uninjured running, and tall hill climbs, that's what life is about.
Posted by Meghan at 10:46 PM | Comments (3)
July 16, 2006
The Week of No Running
I didn't run a step this week. My calf/achilles is a certain mess. I've apparently exercised poor judgement with reference to this issue. I thought it was fine after its initial rest period, so I continued on with normal running. For a few days, everything felt fine. But then, on a half marathon pace workout a week ago today, my calf/achilles started aching. There is no pain neccessarily, it's just a tweaky feeling, like something could go. And the feeling is that if it were to go, it would go good. So, I have no desire to run if it feels like this.
Bah humbug. I've had good running lately, too.
I've ridden my bike 4 days, hiked 1 day, and taken 2 days off. That's all for now, folks. I had a most inspiring evening, but I'll save it for another entry.
Posted by Meghan at 10:55 PM | Comments (1)
July 13, 2006
Tour de Montana
In honor of That Event going on across The Puddle wherein beautiful men with beautiful calf muscles are pedaling their way around France, I'll provide a few highlights of the my mini-Le Tour.
My friend does long-distance bicycle touring. Every year, she and her friends endeavor upon a three-week trip of self-contained bicycle touring. Both last year and this year, I have been fortunate to join their group for a few days of riding. My version of touring is nothing like theirs. They travel with all of their worldly possessions upon their bikes, tents, sleeping bags, food, water, over 30 pounds of gear per person! Me, I packed a small Camelbak with some snacks and a change of clothes, slept in a cabin, ate in a restaurant, and briefly accompanied them for 140 miles of their journey over the course of 2 days.
I could get into my version of touring. Imagine: carrying a small load of gear, a few changes of clothes and a day's worth of water and snacks, sleeping each night in a hotel or cabin, eating out in resturants, and touring one's way around a state, or two, or three. It's posh, I'll admit, and the die-hard bicyclists are cursing me now, but oh well, I had fun.
The Highlights:
1) Zooming along the Montana countryside at a steady pace, with a tailwind, on the flats, with little effort, and feeling like heaven.
2) Eating my entire portion of veggie lasagna and breadsticks at an Italian restaurant, and having the waiter comment on how that much food could fit into that small of a person.
3) Leading a pace line of 8 bicyclists against a hefty, hot headwind up and over the relentless rolling hills of Montana.
4) Feeling the happy buzz of a single pint of cold Scottish ale while still fresh off a 70 mile ride.
5) Pedaling hard through an afternoon thunderstorm while listening to the pinging of small hail pellets against my helmet.
6) Coming face-to-face with 4 miles of impassible road construction in the middle of said thunderstorm, and resorting to sticking a water-logged thumb out for a ride from a Montana rancher with a black lab named Duncan who couldn't stop licking my salty legs and arms.
7) Enjoying the accomplished feeling of riding long and hard for 2 days, then realizing that my accomplishment is but a tiny goal reached compared to those 7 other people headed west for hundreds of more miles to ride.
And, on that note, best of luck to those 7 riders, Melissa, Nard, Judy, Ann, Carl, Norm, and the other kind fellow from the UK whose name now slips my mind! If you see these riders in Montana or Idaho, give them a wave, buy them a beer, and tell them I say hello!
Posted by Meghan at 8:40 PM | Comments (1)
July 9, 2006
Not Too Shabby
Well, this has been a week for the record books. Not runningwise, but workingwise. I added up all of the hours that I've worked in the last 10 days: 141.25 hours. If you do the oh-so-complex math, you will realize that this is an average of slightly more than 14 hours a day, for 10 days straight. Such is the life of emergency services at Yellowstone in the summer!
If I recall, there are only 24 hours in the day, which has left little to no other time for anything else. Resultingly, I didn't make it to my 60 miles for the week (Part of the blame might also be placed on the calf/achilles incident, which caused me to proceed through the second half of the week with caution.). Instead, I made it to 50 miles. I'm moderately impressed that I ran 50 miles during a week when I was working 14+ hours a day.
I'm officially turning my pager off for 4 days, not going into work unless the world itself cracks in half, being social, sleeping in, and getting out there in that beautiful park to play. And perhaps I'll consider having a meaningful thought to post to this blog space, which has been reduced to its bare minimum in the last 10 days.
Posted by Meghan at 7:21 PM | Comments (2)
July 8, 2006
Teeth Skin
We all know the saying, "By the skin of your teeth." I think this is a little bit gross, but oh well. I think I got by, just barely, with this calf thing.
By Thursday evening, the outside of my right calf muscle was nastily swollen after "The Tweak" on my long run. I iced and anti-inflammitoried it for 24 hours, then I switched to heat, massage, and anti-inflammatories after the 24-hour mark. At the 24-hour mark, the swelling had receded to that which was only slightly noticeable, rather than an ugly egg sticking out of my calf. This was a good sign.
What concerned me, though, was that the discomfort/pain had moved from my calf muscle into the upper reaches of my Achilles tendon. That would be bad news if the injury was actually a tendon strain rather than a muscle pull. After slightly less than 24 hours of heat, massage, and anti-inflammatories (and almost 48 hours after the incident), I went out for a cautious 6 miles.
Now, 4 hours after that cautious run, all systems are go, and I think I'm okay. Time to run on.
Posted by Meghan at 6:53 PM | Comments (1)
July 7, 2006
Good News First?
The good news is that I felt great for 2:08 all on singletrack trails yesterday. I'm going to guestimate 15 miles, but it could be anywhere between 10 and 20 miles. Kidding, this is an educated guess by map-measuring. The trails were outstanding. Picture yourself running in fields of waist-high grass and wildflowers, with the greenery tickling your thighs as you move forward. Imagine crossing tiny, cold creeks, and splashing your face with crystally-chilly snowmelt on a warm afternoon. Envision the big nursery herd of female elk and their week-old younguns' and their surprise when you top their grassy knoll. That was my long run yesterday.
The bad news is that I teaked my right calf muscle while climbing a set of switchbacks. I felt it go, but there was nothing I could do, miles out there in the wilderness, but to keep running on it as daintily as I could. I think I'll be okay in a few days. My right calf muscle looks different from my left calf muscle; there's a puffy mini-egg sticking out the outer side of my calf. That's pretty cool. I didn't even notice it until someone pointed out the disparity. I should post a picture, for those of you who share a preference for looking at morbid things.
Posted by Meghan at 5:47 AM | Comments (2)
July 3, 2006
Me and Most of Humanity
Normally when I'm running on the forest service roads nearby, I'm all alone. Well, me and the dog (Even though, I must honestly admit that my dog is beginning to slow down. I take her running only every other day now. This is a somewhat sad topic worth another blog entry, though.) and perhaps a mountain biker or a fly fisherman. Today, in the height of the July 4th holiday weekend on a forest service road following the course of the Yellowstone River, I was definitely not alone. There were river rafters and their associated shuttles, mountain bikers of all abilities, lone fly fishermen here and there, fly fishing groups in float boats with their shuttle vehicles, and people out picnicking and otherwise recreating on the banks of the Yellowstone River. And, there even was a runner, the first runner I have ever seen (aside from my cross country team when I take them out there) on this road. She probably thought I was nutso: I approached her as soon as I could, asking her about five questions. But I got the answers that I was looking for: she does not live here or run here normally, she's on vacation (Chalk that one up to another busted attempt at finding a running partner.).
The world was an extraordinary place to be today. When I went out running midafternoon, already a small thunderstorm had passed through, cooling the ground and air temperature. It was brightly sunny but not at all hot, and I ran beneath an unbelieveable turquoise sky. White puffs of clouds sitting atop mountains to the west were the only thing blocking that amazing turquoise color. The world was wet, and it smelled that way; the penetrating, permeating smell of damp sagebrush filled my nose as I ran.
In those 76 minutes of running, I watched the innocent-looking white puffs of clouds over the mountains climb taller above the mountains and grow grayer in color. A cold wind began to blow into the valley, the gray clouds started rolling and furling, and lightning and thunder occured in close company to each other. It all happened very quickly, and me and most of humanity began a short race to safe places to ride out the storm. I could see my truck in the distance, maybe a mile and a half away, atop the next rolling hill. It was a duel: me and the dog versus Mother Nature. It was moderately nervewracking, and we climbed into the truck just as hail pellets and huge drops of rain began to fall.
In all that rush, we were brought to a screeching halt a bit later when the road to my house was closed because of a landslide. This happened last week as well, and I couldn't get to my house for several hours. This time, the closure lasted for only an hour or so while they used graders and backhoes to remove mud and boulders from the road. I was a little late to work, but I think my coworkers understood!
10 miles easy, 76:xx minutes, except for the last 1.5 miles or so were unintentionally speedy.
Posted by Meghan at 8:34 PM | Comments (0)
July 1, 2006
Seven
Seven is the number of miles I need to run tomorrow to hit 60 miles for the week. Consider it done.
Seven is also the number of horsefly bites I received while out running today. 1 on the right side of my face, 1 on my left shoulder, 1 on my left shoulder blade, 1 on my right elbow, 1 on the front of each thigh (that's 2 bites!), and 1 on the back of my left thigh. All the bites came within about 5 minutes, and they were so painful! They left big, painful welts. Then a few minutes later I started feeling all woozy, nauseous, and weak. I was briefly concerned that I was about to experience anaphylactic shock or something similar, but I figured I was all alone out on a trail and there was nothing I could do but to keeping running. So I kept running. If I didn't pay close attention, I would catch myself running off the trail in a dizzy spell. And now, 4 hours later, I just feel all stiff and achy. I don't think it's the running/sun/dehydration because I felt great up until just after getting bit up. Poo.
Posted by Meghan at 7:26 PM | Comments (1)
I've Been Tagged.
Not only have I been tagged, but I've also tried to complete my tagging duties twice, and this blog publishing platform has given the old boot to my entry. This time it better work, or I will officially have to do something mean to Audrey, who tagged me in the first place.
4 Jobs I've Had
First job: playing with chemicals at a dry cleaner
Current job: provider of emergency services at Yellowstone National Park
Most interesting job: unearthing dinosaur fossils at a paleontological dig site
Worst job: stuffing envolopes at a large check-making corporation (one that probably makes most of the checks that you write) and fending off a manager with a sexual harrassment problem
4 Movies I watch over and over
(I find this question difficult. I don't watch a lot of movies. I don't watch movies over and over, either. So, how about if I list a few movies that I like?)
The Kill Bill series (Usually good action is missing a plot that makes one think. And a movie with a good plot has no action. The Kill Bill volumes have both.)
Napoleon Dynamite (Dude, this movie is just plain funny. Idiot!)
Fargo (A farce is a farce is a farce.)
Kung Fu Hustle (Kung fu and awesome graphics. And funny, too.)
4 Places I have lived
Seneca Falls, NY
Shoreview, MN
Big Bend National Park, TX
Yellowstone National Park, WY
4 (or less) TV Shows I watch
(Another tough one, I don't have TV. These are shows I like to watch if I'm at a friend's house or in a hotel, or something.)
Survivor (Getting together with friends and making fun of this show is pretty fun.)
Sex and the City (The women of Sex and the City, though living a slightly different lifestyle from me, provide some excellent insight into men and relationships.)
Anything Discovery Channel
4 Places I've Been on Vacation
Zanzibar Island, Tanzania
Guatemala
The Italian Riviera
Banff, British Columbia
4 websites I visit daily
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
High Country News
EliteRunning
Running-Blogs
4 Favorite Foods
Dark Roast 100% Kona Coffee
Fresh basil (Such as on a tomato, basil, and mozarella sandwich or in a green curry, basil, and coconut milk soup.)
Pineapples and mangoes
Hazelnuts
4 Places I'd Rather Be
(I'd be hard pressed to pick a place that I would rather be. Rather, I could pick 4 places that I would want to be in addition to being right here, right now.)
Trekking in the Himalayan Mountains of Bhutan
Sipping a tiki drink on a beach in the Seychelles
Running on the Inca Trail in Peru
Exploring temples in Thailand
4 Favorite Bands/Singers
(Can I pick music that I like right now? Not lifetime favorites per se, but stuff that I'm into at the moment?)
The Gourds
The Little Willies
Tom Waits
The Shins
Bloggers I'm Tagging
(I'm sorry. This is the worst part. The real question is if any of these nice folks will take the bait and bite.)
Alison
Duncan
Jen
Jeff
Posted by Meghan at 12:32 AM | Comments (4)