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July 28, 2007
Paradise Found
I'm pretty sure that I've used this blog title before in reference to the places that I've run. That's okay, though, because I'm also pretty sure that there are infinite paradises to be found on earth. I found another one of them last weekend in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah where I ran the race put on by these cool folks. Here's a photographic journey through my day running a the Snowbird Ski Resport, in the mountains above Salt Lake City. All the photos were taken by my mother and sorry in advance for me being in every single one of them, but I guess that's what moms do!
Before the start, we all stood around at the base of the ski area, looking up at the mountainous abyss above us. We really had no idea what was going to happen once the race began because we had no course map! At 6:30 am, Karl Meltzer started us up the mountain. Aside from the 2 or so rolling miles at the beginning, this race was either up, up, way up, or down, down, way down. Here's one runner's GPS rendition of what happened out there. Snowbird Ski Resort's base is just over 8,000 feet elevation, and the summit is just over 11,000 feet. We spent a vast majority of the run above 9,500 feet elevation.
Here's one of the aid stations (and me getting a water refill at it), which is perched near the top of the ski area, at one end of Snowbird Resort's famous and newly built tunnel. I was later told that this was the halfway point of the race. The elevation here is over 10,500 feet.
My mom rode the ski area's tram to the top to see me way up there. When I finished filling my water bottle at the aid station, I stopped for a moment to drink the Ensure that she brought me. In my short history of trail racing, Ensures have been like special choclately treats for me. Sadly, my stomach totally rejected this Ensure, and I spent the next 45 minutes feeling pretty nauseous until it finally was absorbed (It was bad enough that I'm not sure I'll drink Ensures during races anymore.).
After the midway point aid station, we descended down a dirt road for a good distance, and here I am disappearing downhill. The several descents of the day vwere highly varied. A few of them were lovely, well-graded, switchbacking descents on trails or dirt roads. A few others were randomly designed ATV tracks. One was even an off-trail plunge down a ski run (I didn't note whether it was a blue to black run, though!)!
From the last aid station, it was a rip-roaring descent from, literally, the top of the ski area to the finish line at the base. I happily discovered that I had a lot of energy left at this point, so I headed downhill hard. Unfortunately, I tripped and fell less than a mile from the finish! I probably could have used some stitches, as one of the gashes was wide and it oozed blood freely for about 24 hours. I was being stubborn, though, and didn't want to spend the afternoon and evening driving to a hospital in Salt Lake City. We were staying at the ski resort, and it was beautiful, and peaceful, and I didn't want to leave. So, I scrubbed the wound like hell, closed it shut with butterfly bandaids, and then put another big bandaid on top of it (You can see the covered product in one of the below photos.).
Later in the day, my mom and I rode the tram back up to the top of the ski area so we could get one last look at the crazy terrain of the day. Here is the view looking southeast (I think) from the top of the ski area into Mineral Basin, where we ran for part of the day.
This is the view looking northwest (I think) from the top of the ski area down Little Cottonwood Canyon and the ski area base. We also spent a fair bit of time running on this side of the ski area.
In all, it was a great day. There was no way I could approach this day with a racing mentality. I really just tried to have fun, chat with people along the way, and soak in the scenery. The wildflowers in Mineral Basin were insane. At a few points, we were running through waist high (on me) purple lupine! I'm really hoping that this will serve as a good training run down the road. The next day, I was miraculously not too sore. My chief complaint was that my right knee was quite stiff from falling. I guess that means I should have run harder.
Posted by Meghan at 8:56 PM | Comments (12)
July 27, 2007
A New Perspective
My mom, who recently visited, took this photo last week at Hidden Falls in Grand Teton National Park.
It's time for a new perspective.
Let's face it, I am not having a great running season, from a competitive standpoint. I won't waste your time or mine in rehashing the details about why this is the case. Take a gander through my blog entries from, say, March 2007 and forward if you need a review.
In the midst of this, I feel like I have forgotten why I got into this whole trail running and racing thing in the first place. Because I've been physically off, I have been struggling to enjoy my runs and the absolutely gorgeous places where I run. And, there is something wrong about that.
I'm really quite new to this whole trail running and racing thing, and I clearly have a lot to learn and experience. I have had a small amount of competitive success with the sport so far, and I hope for more in the (near?) future. I will continue to train hard, and hopefully I will come around again. In the meantime, I'm going to use a new perspective to enjoy every minute out on the trail.
Posted by Meghan at 9:19 PM | Comments (1)
July 26, 2007
Hello? Anyone out there?
Thank you all SO much for the foot healing wishes! They worked miraculously! I will tempt the fates and say that it is healed and I have been doing some good running. I am really grateful.
This photo serves as proof that I've been running! It was taken this morning on the Mill Creek Trail in the Teton Mountains. This is part of the race course for the Grand Teton Races. In the background, the small town of Driggs, ID is sprawling into Teton Valley.
More photos and running reviews to come, I promise! As a teaser, I (oh-so-very-very-slowly) ran the Wasatch Speedgoat 50k down in Utah last weekend, and that was quite an experience!
Posted by Meghan at 7:47 PM | Comments (5)
July 17, 2007
GRRRRR!!!!!
Picture me, with my face all crinkled up into a scowl, growling a big old "GRRRRR!!!!!"
No doubt, I'm injured. This just plain sucks.
Here's the story: I tested my foot out on that dainty, careful run last Thursday. All systems were go, and everything felt fine. I did no exercise on Friday, and everything felt fine. I hiked up and down a mountain on Saturday carrying about 40 pounds of aid station gear at the Devil's Backbone race, and everything felt fine. I did no exercise on Sunday, and everything felt fine. I ran a tempo run today, and everything felt fine.
Then, about 1 hour after I finished running, my foot felt like crap. Absolute crap. Maybe, possibly it's more swollen and painful than it was after the initial injury 2 weeks ago. Go figure.
Good lord, I've already lost 2 weeks of good training. What's next? Another 2 weeks? The summer will be a wash by then. I was planning to race this weekend. Obviously, that's not going to happen. And, who knows what else I will miss out on.
I'm peeved.
I'm not blogging while I'm injured because who wants to write or read about endless cross training.
Please, please, please send any extra energy you have my way. I need good, healthy, healing vibes like nobody else right now. Thanks!
GRRRRR!!!!!
Posted by Meghan at 2:25 AM | Comments (14)
July 13, 2007
I'm Weak!
Yesterday, I caved and went for that dainty, careful (on the foot) run that I said I wasn't going to do. You know, it's just so hard to be slow and conservative when all you want to do is run, and run hard. Nevertheless, I did 4 dainty miles with plentiful walk breaks to test out the ole' foot. I'm pleased to report that almost everything felt good-to-go. I still need to go easy on it for a few days, but the world is looking brighter from that standpoint.
That's all I have to say for now. I'm off to someone else's races today!
Posted by Meghan at 5:24 AM | Comments (2)
July 12, 2007
124
This is how much I weigh. I'm 5'5". I'm shocked. Are you? I won't be offended if you are. I used to hover at just under 120 pounds, and others found that weight to be surprisingly high, given what I looked like in person.
This isn't a mistake, or a normal fluctuation. I've been holding steady at this weight for several weeks. I have not weighed 124 pounds since several years ago when I took a 2 month hiatus from running due to a shin injury, and acquired a few extra pounds of off-season pudge.
After racing The Coastal Challenge in February, I returned home an apalling 4-5 pounds under my normal weight. I had lost all of my fat stores, and some muscle as well. I felt disgusting; I looked gaunt; and my clothes hung off me in ridiculous form.
It's hard to believe that I've gained close to 10 pounds in 5 months. That's a lot of weight! However, I feel confident that I have more muscle (and probably an equal amount of fat) than I did at my "normal" 119-120 pounds. I've been working diligently to gain muscle mass, and the results are showing. I've got (albeit, little) guns now, so watch out!
FOOT UPDATE: It's still improving, but I'm still not running on it. At first I thought it would only take a couple days to heal. Then I realized that there was a bothered nerve in there as well, so I thought perhaps a week off would do it. This is the 7th day of not running, and it's close to being healed (Can you tell that I'm counting?). I can tell that if I ran on it today, I would have to run all daintily and carefully. I just really want to, you know, run. So, I'll wait until it feels great to get out there.
(NOT MY OWN) RACING UPDATE: My sweetie will be running the Devil's Backbone 50 Miler this weekend in Bozeman. The course spends about 35 miles tracing the high points (spine/backbone) of the Gallatin Mountains, south of Bozeman. I hope the weather is good because, if thunderstorms roll in, there is literally nowhere for the runners to hide up that high.
Posted by Meghan at 12:27 PM | Comments (8)
July 10, 2007
I Have Not Run In 5 Days.
This might be a record of some sort.
Last week, I had the bright idea of doing my usual plyometrics/leg-strength stuff barefooted (Not much, though, just a few exercises, as a test.). Seems I dun' strained something in my foot whilst endeavoring to be like the barefooted running Corrado (One of my regular commenters who runs all over Italy without running shoes.)! I rested it a day, and it felt better, so I ran on it again. Well, that just made it a whole lot worse, so now I'm not doing anything that will make it hurt until it's mo' betta'. Sometimes, I'm not a smart girl. I'll leave my shoes on next time...
In the meantime, to keep my mind and body entertained, I've been cycling. Today I tackled a 70 mile loop in Yellowstone that began at my house in Mammoth, went east for just under 20 rolling miles to Tower Junction, up, up, up over the infamous Dunraven Pass (a 2,600 foot uphill climb over 14-ish miles) and bullet-blasting downhill to Canyon. From Canyon, I traveled west on the hilly road to Norris Junction, then back north rolling past some beautiful lakes and through the zooming descent from "The Golden Gate" back to my house in Mammoth. I'm sure that makes no sense to anyone who hasn't been to Yellowstone, so here's the park map, if anyone cares to follow along.
I was out there for 5:45, with about 5:10 total riding time. The elevation profile showed over 6,700 feet of climbing! I worked hard and felt really strong.
Other things to note from this ride:
1) I saw 2 black bears. How awesome is that?
2) I saw an old fella' in a shiny new convertible Corvette 3 times. That was a sweet ride, I can understand why he was just driving, and driving, and driving.
3) There were LOTS of tourists out there, and the vast majority of them were very nice and accommodating on the narrow, no-shoulder roadways of Yellowstone.
4) One car, a white fru-fru SUV with a Utah plate (Everyone, take note.), honked and shouted obscenities at me, I think because I was using the whole lane on one of the screaming descents. Never mind that I was already traveling faster than the 35 mph speed limit, and that bicyclists and pedestrians have equal right-of-way on national park roads.
5) It takes many tourists the same amount of time to drive this loop as it does me to cycle it. This was evidenced by my seeing the same people/vehicles over and over again. We all got to be friends, including the nice man from North Dakota who even stopped to cheer me on. Thanks for the boost!
6) The wildflowers are peaking at the higher elevations right now. The hillsides are blazes of pink and yellow. Just gorgeous.
7) Things consumed: 40 ounces Gatorade, 30 ounces water, 30-ish ounces Coca Cola (Yes, really!), 4 servings of gel, and about 300 calories of Chex Mix. That sounds quite unhealthy, now that I wrote it all down. At a gas station along the way, Coke and Chex Mix just looked good, though!
8) I'm whooped, tired out, beat. That felt good, though.
Posted by Meghan at 7:59 PM | Comments (12)
July 9, 2007
Life, On Condition
This weekend, I had the unfortunate experience of attending the funeral for a 28-year-old woman (my sweetie's friend) who inexplicably passed away last week. I tell you, what a nightmare. In the first place, it is just plain horrific for a young person to die without a reason. Secondly, it's quite possibly even more tragic to watch those left behind struggle to answer the unanswerable questions that surround such an event.
I mean, really. Aren't we supposed to live on to the ripe old age of 93, complete with sun-spotted temples, thin-skinned hands, and brittle hips? Aren't we supposed to birth large families that, in turn, produce 27 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren? Aren't we supposed to sit in wooden rocking chairs in musty sunrooms, telling stories about "the old days" and "when I was your age"?
Yeah, not-so-much. Turns out, you or I or anyone could very well turn up belly up tomorrow morning. It seems that we each are living a conditional, precarious, teetering life. I get this, I really do. It was my own father who only recently was, at one moment, enjoying the way in which tropical sun glitters on calm ocean bays, and the next moment, gone. And further, my job in emergency services further highlights human mortality on an all-too-regular basis.
I guess, however, I need to be again reminded of this in a tangible, palpable manner. And this funeral was an in-your-face, knock-down, drag-down reminder. It's like a big, fatty slap in the jaw to observe the aching face of the young husband left behind, as he mindlessly spun his wedding ring about his finger, trying his best to listen to the sypathetic murmurings of the people gathered to mourn the death of his wife. Or how about watching a big brother, now kid sister-less, someone who I would pin as a word-filled storyteller, grow so lost in his own pain that this verbal thoughts trailed off into incoherent, tear-filled spatterings. Oh how sad this is!
In the wake of the funeral, I did what anyone would do. I called a random friend who I haven't talked to in too long. I hugged my sweetie a bit longer than I usually would. I told my mother that I loved her twice in one conversation. And, I grabbed onto my own life with a tight hold and really let 'er rip because, damnit, our worlds are just conditional existences who knows what the hell might happen next.
Posted by Meghan at 4:39 PM | Comments (5)
July 4, 2007
My Good Run
I'm so whiny. There I was just yesterday, bemoaning the sorry state of my running. Turns out, I had a good run today. Guess I should keep my mouth shut.
It was a sweltering-no-wind-horse-fly-circling-cicada-buzzing summer afternoon. I loved it. It is impossible for it to get too hot in Yellowstone for me. I could leave the horse flies (Especially since my right hand is still swollen from one biting me on the sensitive, fleshy bit between my thumb and index finger a few days ago.), but I'll take everything else.
I ran 4 sets of 5 x 1 minute uphill repeats on a switchbacking trail near my house. Between each repeat I stood still for 25 to 30 seconds. Between each set, I ran a 4:15 to 4:30 downhill recovery, back to my starting point. The goal was to push the effort to near my limit in each repeat.
I felt rough around the edges during the first set of uphill repeats. Mostly, I felt like I was flailing about kind of strangely, as I was pushing harder than I have in a while. Then, I settled into a groove and dug in. I was generating good power in my legs and feeling quite strong. My stomach felt off at first, but then that feeling dissipated completely.
I had some cheerleaders, other hikers out on the trail. People were genuinely cheering for me as I climbed the hill, which was entirely motivating.
In all, it was a great run.
Posted by Meghan at 3:14 AM | Comments (7)
July 2, 2007
It's All In The Details
I was doing push-ups on the living room floor today. It was a hot afternoon, perhaps about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. I paused and looked out the open front door. In my yard, about 15 feet away, an adult cow elk was drinking from my sprinkler. For a few minutes, I watched her duck her head into the sprinkler and use a giant pink tongue to collect water. As she drank, she closed her eyes so that the spraying water wouldn't splash them. When her head rose up, excess water slid from her head, down her neck, and off her body, making her rusty brown smooth fur glisten in the sun. When she had seemingly had her fill, she just walked off. It's all in the details, you know?
[I'm not going to talk about my running beyond this little paragraph because it is sucking. I raced this past weekend again and it involved more vomiting. I don't know what's wrong with me, maybe I have Giardia (Unlikely, to my knowledge, I haven't consumed any unclean water.) or Ebola (Probably not, I haven't been interacting with any African monkeys lately.) or West Nile Virus (A viable stretch, I guess that stuff is around here a little bit.) or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (Perhaps, I did get sucked on by 2 ticks for about 3 hours in Costa Rica.). Or maybe it's nothing. I'll write about running again when I feel like a real, healthy runner.]
Posted by Meghan at 8:17 PM | Comments (6)