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November 30, 2007
Part One: Into The Dark
(T's photo.)
The next several blog entries will serve as the story of my 2007 Grand Canyon double crossing. T and I completed the same run last Thanksgiving, and apparently we're attempting to make it a tradition. I consider myself unduly thankful to accomplish this two years running (Sadly, the pun was intended.).
I began this journey feeling somewhat cautious about my two big toes. The nails on these toes were sporting significant residual damage from recent events and training runs. Let's put it this way: portions of each of the nails were attached, and other portions were detached. As I slid each toe into my Injinji socks and Montrail shoes that morning, I begged each of them to fairly behave. Most of them behaved quite well, as nine toes would return to the South Rim that night unscathed.
Without particular warning, we were standing on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon at 6 am last Saturday morning. The Big Ditch was in front of us; I knew this to be true. However, our late night arrival the evening prior and this day's early morning start provided nary a glimpse of the Big Hole in the Ground. However, as we stood there, a frozen wind carrying fine dirt pelted our faces from an odd angle, from below, thus confirming the presence of an abyssmal space before us. Because running 48 miles from the South Rim to the North Rim and back to the South RIm again seemed more comfortable than standing there unmoving in the 18 degree Fahrenheit and God-knows-what windchill, we started running down the Bright Angel Trail.
Posted by Meghan at 6:15 PM | Comments (7)
November 29, 2007
The Canyon Is Still Grand
I'm back! The Grand Canyon is (still) one of the world's most amazing places. If you've never been there, you simply must go. If you've visited before, the canyon changes with each returning visit. There really is no rush, though, as that great big hole in the ground isn't going too far.
In the next few days, I'll post a photo-documentary of the run, but here are a few highlights:
1. I'm thrilled to announce that I have solved the ailing stomach problem that has cursed many of my long runs/races in the last several months.
2. There was a broken pipeline in the canyon that precluded us from drinking treated water. We had to purify our own as we ran.
3. A gorgeous full moon led us out of the canyon after a long day of running.
4. My toe exploded.
5. I wasn't crippled afterwards like I was last year. Sore, yes, handicapped, no.
6. I'm now confident that I can do a 100 miler.
Posted by Meghan at 8:02 AM | Comments (15)
November 20, 2007
Back To The Big Ditch
It's almost Thanksgiving! Last year, I ran a Grand Canyon double crossing on Thanksgiving weekend. So, in the interest of keeping with tradition, I am headed back again and pretty excited about doing so!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! "See" you next week!
PS. Thank goodness I only have myself to look after, because apparently I'm not very good at doing just that. I would probably be one of those mothers who forgets she has a child in the backseat of the car. In my tagging entry below, I stated that I have 7 piercings, and previously 8. I actually have 8 piercings, and previously 9. I'll crawl back in my ooga-booga hole now.
Posted by Meghan at 7:05 PM | Comments (12)
November 19, 2007
I Got Tagged.
Beth tagged me! Here's the scoop: "tell 5 random facts about yourself and then tag 5 more people."
Random Fact #1- When I was in high school, I went to Guatemala. I jumped off a tall cliff into Lago Atitlan and unintentionally swallowed lake water upon impact. I brought home some great memories of Guatemala, as well as a case of amoebic dysentary from cliff jumping.
Random Fact #2- I subscribe 100% to this quote, and its author is my hero: "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn." John Muir
Random Fact #3- I have 7 piercings (previously 8) and 1 tattoo.
Random Fact #4- In college, I once was fortunate to eat lunch with Jane Goodall. The funny thing about it was that I didn't eat a thing because I was participating in a 3-day hunger strike in support of an unrelated cause. Ms. Goodall thought I was strange.
Random Fact #5- I wear red Crocs.
Now, who to tag? More like, who will actually play the game? I'll try: JeffO, Olga, Kendra, Anne (You know who you are, but I won't link :), and Bob.
Posted by Meghan at 2:22 AM | Comments (8)
November 17, 2007
Ryan Shay 5.5 Mile Memorial Run
Around the country, many people will run 5.5 miles today in honor of Ryan Shay, who passed away suddenly during the Olympic Trials Marathon two weeks ago in New York City. Thanks, Jeff, for initiating this great idea. I will run 5.5 miles today in memory of Ryan Shay. Moments like this remind me to take nothing, not a thing, about my life for granted.
Posted by Meghan at 2:36 AM | Comments (1)
November 14, 2007
The Darker Side Of Nature
I'm sorry to say that it's not all smiley faces and white puffy rabbits and dancing clowns in the 'hood right now.
Two nights ago:
There was a raging wind blowing frosty, silvery crystals horizontally through the air. The power was out, and it had been for quite some time. My house was frigid cold, 49 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the thermometer. I wore a jacket and stocking cap, lit a few candles, and wandered around the house with my headlamp. I shortly gave up and instead nestled myself in bed under several layers of warm blankets. As I lay there, the walls of the house vibrated and the window panes chattered in the unyielding wind. I heard a big thump on the other side of the house. Not wanting to climb out from underneath the warmth of my bed, I ignored it. Several more minutes went by and the first loud thump was followed by a series of even louder thumps. I finally got up, grabbed a flashlight, and went to see what was the matter. The storm door on my back door was missing! Gone! Blown away! Now that's some serious wind.
This morning:
After a few days of nasty weather, a warm sun shone through my window and beckoned me out of bed. As I shuffled around my house, opening window shades, one of my first views was of a herd of elk grazing in my yard. For just a moment, it looked like business as usual in the yard, until I looked a little closer. One cow elk was limping around, favoring a bloody hind leg. As the rest of the herd slowly walked and grazed, walked and grazed, she was challenged by keeping up. A short time later, I went out in the yard with my dog. In the still early, breath-showing chilly, sun-shining morning, the wolves were howling close by. It became clear to me what had happened: the cow elk had been attacked by wolves in the night. Now, the wolves will linger nearby for a few days, waiting for the cow to weaken. When she's too weak to fight back, they will take her down. Until then, she'll limp around in seeming misery, listening to her fate howling on the outskirts of the neighborhood. Nature can be cruel sometimes.
This afternoon:
I almost shouldn't tell this story because I don't wish to incite fear of nature in anyone else.* But it sure scared the crap out of me, so, oh well. Mid-afternoon, I set out on a local trail for a short, 45 minute recovery run. I forgot to bring my bear spray, and I was lamenting that fact as I left from the trail head; I reasoned with myself, however, that I was only going in the trail a few miles before I would turn around again (That really wasn't intended to be foreshadowing, because I don't think that bear spray would have helped in this particular situation.). About a half mile in, the trail dipped from the contours of a sagebrush hillside to a wooded area replete with two small streams and a fair bit of mud. As I ran, I was focusing closely upon scampering from dry rock to rock and avoiding the mud.
Since I was looking at the ground in front of me, what halted me was the noise of scattering brush just ahead. I looked up in time to see the back half of a large, tawny-colored animal disappear into the bushes below the trail. Then, I looked back to the trail about 20 feet in front of me and I saw a buck deer kill. You know, a dead, half-eaten deer with a small set of antlers. Slowly, so slowly, all the observed data were transfered to my brain and pooled into logical thought: I just scared a mountain lion off its deer kill. Then quickly, too quickly, I turned around and sprinted down the trail. An undetermined number of seconds later, I recalled the advice I've given people over and over (the same advice I've also successfully heeded once before) about not running in the presence of a predatory cat, and I slowed to a walk. I picked up two rocks and I yelled my way back to the trail head. It wasn't far and I soon found myself standing at my car, remarkably winded from just this short bout of activity. That which is natural can certainly be frightening.
* I am not retelling this story to unnecessarily frighten anyone. As I have previously said, I believe that nature is a place that we as humans should approach with healthy respect. I think that occasional doses of fear like this remind me (us?) of our particular place within nature. We, as humans, are just members of nature, not its controllers.
Posted by Meghan at 6:30 PM | Comments (8)
November 12, 2007
Road Shoes!?
Fellow trail runners, try not to be shocked and appalled. I promise that I'm still a trail runner. However, there comes a time in every trail runner's life that they must lace up a pair of road shoes. Training for the Rocky Raccoon 100 is one of those times.
Posted by Meghan at 11:08 AM | Comments (10)
November 9, 2007
The Yellow Rose Of Texas
There's a yellow rose in Texas, that I am going to see,
Nobody else could miss her, not half as much as me.
(Please pardon the possible racial undertones of this folklore song. I use this song to make an analogy, and for no other reason.)
Those of you who know my story know that Texas and I have a robust, long-winded, and wonderful history. No matter how much time passes, no matter how far away I am, the proverbial yellow rose of Texas pulls upon my heartstrings. I think a large part of this phenomenon is that I did a lot of growing up there. I mean, I was 21 years old upon my arrival to the state, an adult by all legal standards. However, surviving and thriving in the raw wilds of west Texas required independence, strength, and self-reliance that I did not previously have.
It seems almost fitting, then, that I return to the state for my next big physical challenge. On the first weekend in February 2008, body willing, I will run the Rocky Raccoon 100 in Huntsville, Texas. I think I will have to call upon all that I previously learned while living in Texas for this experience.
Oh now I'm going to find her, for my heart is full of woe,
And we'll sing the songs together, that we sung so long ago
We'll play the banjo gaily, and we'll sing the songs of yore,
And the yellow rose of Texas shall be mine forevermore.
Posted by Meghan at 5:54 PM | Comments (10)
November 4, 2007
The Weird Thing That Happened
There we were (my dog and I) running through the wilderness, a few miles away from anything. June (the dog) began to excitably sniff the cold, stiff breeze blowing down the hillside. I commenced scanning the undulating topography through the low light of a later Daylight Savings afternoon, searching for her point of interest. I couldn't see anything, and June's excitement increased. An abundant shot of adrenaline quickly coursed its way through my body, as I recalled the so-far 5 grizzly bear maulings that have happened this fall season in close to moderate proximity to this very spot.
Before I could decide what to do next, a runner appeared out of nowhere. In a matter of a few moments, a fast-moving man descended a steep, trail-less ridgeline from out of view above me to out of view below me. As quickly as he appeared, he was gone again.
How about that for weird?
(I had a good run, also.)
Posted by Meghan at 8:13 PM | Comments (9)
November 1, 2007
Trick Or... Trot?
Here's a(n awful) photo of great horned owl perched in my tree right at dusk a few weeks ago.
Happy (belated) Halloween everyone!
In honor of the holiday, last weekend, a friend and I ran in a local 5k race that was called "Trick or Trot." The race t-shirt had a male runner on it with a cloud of what I think was supposed to be smoke behind him. You know, because the he was running so fast. More like, it looked like he was having problems with runner's trots, if you know what I mean. I found it unendingly amusing, and this is one race t-shirt that I'm excited about wearing again.
Speaking of trotting (Er, I mean running.), I've begun training again in earnest. I have big plans to share with you shortly!
Posted by Meghan at 8:44 PM | Comments (2)