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Adventurer in Training

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

This past weekend I was surrounded by amazing athletes. I was able to volunteer for the Equinox Trek in Ohiopyle, PA… (I’m a little obsessed with this town, I love it, everyone should love it.) The race was a 48 hour adventure race where teams of 4, 3, 2 or solo adventurers are set out into the wild to hike, bike, navigate and paddle for anywhere between 160-200 miles.

Volunteering consisted of a lot of sitting around, hanging out until 3 in the morning for racers to come in to different checkpoints, chillin’ in my hammock, taking pictures…etc. Not only were the racers amazing people, the volunteers and race producers where amazing too! Many having raced themselves, others medical rescuers there to help and provide medical attention, these races are a huge deal to put on and it takes a lot of help to have a successful one.

Wait, this race sounds a lot like a race I got myself signed up for… NEXT WEEKEND! I was given the opportunity to do an Adventure Race with a friend of mine, it’s a bit shorter than The Equinox Trek, 75-100 miles in just 24 hours. So my weekend was not only to volunteer but I took the opportunity to pick the brains of the racers and other volunteers to help me prepare for this race. I also was able to get back on the mountain bike, get myself supremely lost (I will NOT be navigating this coming weekend) and enjoy the class 3 rapids The Lower Yough has to offer—all while sleeping in my car and enjoying the Falls Pub each night!

Overall, I’ve decided that I want to become one of those bad ass racers. These people are average men and women that do extraordinary things on the weekends. After asking many racers (both at the race and through email, I have met a few in the past and have kept in touch) the biggest piece of advice they gave me was COMMUNICATION.

 

I will obviously report back on my race next week—but I wanted to venture out and ask for YOUR advice. Anyone out there done some long race (adventure or not) and want to give me some tips?

 

Don’t Flip

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

I love discovering new things, (duh, who doesn’t!?) But this past week I was able to rediscover a new part of a great State Park here in Maryland, Patapsco State Parkis way bigger than I realized. Last summer and fall I had only been trail running and hiking in one section of it, this week I went across the river and found myself wandering in a completely different section of the park.

Deer

Not only did I discover a new part of the park, but I discovered it two ways and had a completely different experience each time. If you’ve read this blog in the past you have by now realized that I have zero sense of direction, which I’m okay with for the most part, I just have to remind myself of that from time to time and make sure I have the time to be lost.

 

My first venture at the new Patapsco entrance was a hike. As I was hiking all I could think about was how great this area would be for trail running, (I’m again not running due to my stressed out sacrum) then the further I hiked my mind continued to wander from running, to nature to:  what am I doing with my life? To what am I doing tomorrow? To holy shit these squirrels are NOT afraid to get close to me!

Hiking alone brings forth a lot of thoughts and feelings, I’m unable to let go and just be in the woods. My mind races and I get really distracted by the thought bubbles floating above my head. So distracted in fact that this particular hike I totally forgot what color I was supposed to be following (Blue? Orange? Green? oh man, I’m lost!) My brain shifted to a bit of panic mode of not knowing where I was, knowing that I should leave the park by a certain time and the fact that my water bottle was running low, I had no food and the mercury had already climbed to 98 before I got on the trail.

 

Then reality came back and I realized that I really didn’t HAVE to be anywhere, so I tired enjoying being lost. I wandered, (not all those who wander are lost.) I eventually found my way to the road and walked the two miles back to my car on the safety of no chance of getting more lost along the river and out of the woods. Over all it was a great hike, I didn’t solve any of my life’s problems but I did have a great afternoon wandering and discovering myself.

 

Yesterday I was able to enjoy the same park a different way. In preparation for an adventure race I’m doing in 9 days (The crazy race I got myself signed up for) I’m trying my legs at mountain biking—if you remember, I went once when I was out in Oregon visiting my brother, so this time I went out at it alone and for a few more miles. The trails at Patapsco are narrower than in OR, the hills were shorter and steeper, the roots seemed more daunting and the potential of me flipping over my handlebars far greater.

I didn’t flip over, I think this has something to do with me being a big baby and super wimpy. I’m slow. I think really hard when riding. Unlike cycling, where I can zone out and ride for hours, mountain biking forced me to focus and use my brainpower fully. I kept my eyes where I wanted the bike to go, not where I DIDN’T want it to go, like over a cliff or into a tree. The second my brain wanted to shift to ‘life-talk’ I’d hit a rock, or go the wrong way into a stump, so my mind stayed focused on what was directly ahead of me—forgot what I had passed, I wasn’t worried about a mile or two down the trail, on the mountain bike I am where I am. If not, I’ll surely crash.

 

I’m going to let you figure out the life lesson I learned on the trail both days. No need for explanation.

Focus baby, just focus.

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

Typical conversation amongst friends:

“What do you want to do tonight?”

“Oooh, I dunno, grab a drink [at a loud bar with TVs], catch up [get drunk]?”

“Sounds good.”

 

Right? We’ve all had this conversation when trying to make time to meet up with people that we don’t see too often. It’s easy, convenient, and who doesn’t like a drink at happy hour?

 

Well, if you’re reading this you are either my friend and are just being nice (you know who you are!) or you are an active person and I bombard your Facebook or Twitter page every time I post—but somehow you get sucked back into reading this. (Thanks by the way!) We’re active people and most likely we surround ourselves with other active people.

 

I just had an extended trip back to where I lived, worked and went to school last week, I spread myself thin between Grand Rapids, Holland and St. Joe Michigan. My old roommate and I decided that instead of meeting up at dinnertime and drinking a few too many beers, we wanted to catch up over a morning coffee and then hit the matt. The yoga matt I mean! Emily has been going to Satya Yoga in Saugatuck, MI for a while and knew I’d love a class. This was the best way to begin the day and begin our day of catching up and making plans for future visits.

 

After my trip, I made plans to visit a friend in Pittsburgh, (about halfway home! Perfect!) Mid drive he texted and asked if I was into going to a Hot Yoga class that evening (heck yes! I screamed, and then promptly texted the same response back to him.) While the yoga in Saugatuck was more restorative this class at Amazing Yoga was not only amazing but was one hell of a work out! The instructor forced us to focus. Focus on our breathing, focus on our bellies, focus on the muscles we were using and focus on making sure we were using them correctly.

 

This is a new concept for me. Focus. Focus. Focus. It’s a great word. Not only am I focusing on using my muscles while I’m using them, I’m trying to focus on them to work harder and make sure I am using the correct ones to get the full effect of a run, cycle, yoga class, boxing work out…

 

Focus is a theme I’m trying to thread into the rest of my life as well. Each conversation we have is important, catching up over a beer is great, but focusing on what your friend is saying is what is going to be what’s important. These conversations we have everyday make us better friends, better companions and better people.

 

As you catch up with friends in life, move forward in your own life or make changes to, well, change, I urge you to remember to focus on what you’re doing in that moment. Work on one project at a time. Just be for a moment.

 

Whether catching up is over a beer, coffee, before you prepare to work your body. focus on what you are doing. It is so easy to be distracted by our phone, (which are now virtually computers in our pockets,) by television or by anything else that is around you.

 

I’m finding that the relationships I have are worth building and worth keeping, and the only way to accomplish both is to focus that energy to work the muscles, work the brain, and work the heart.