hike

The Gifts We Give and Get Back

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

Holy time machine! Between Thanksgiving, Christmas and now it’s past New Years I feel like I’ve been in a time warp for the past month and a half! I started two new jobs, doubled my concept of what a “long run” is, got back in the pool and am gearing up for the next big celebration following New Years.

WHAT?! You ask?! Martin Luther King Jr Day isn’t really a big celebration day, rather a day of remembrance… RIGHT, I know! A few days after we remember Dr. King we celebrate the day of my birth. January 18th, mark your calendars folks, with a big star, heart or whatever symbol reminds you of me the best… just don’t forget it!

But before we talk about my birthday, we have to talk about Christmas. I know, I know, that was sooooooo 2011, but I want to share what I gave my family. Being the poor, no-longer-a-college-student-but-still-cheap-like-one kind of lifestyle I am currently living I sent my mother and my father and gave my brother a homemade card, it was made with a lot of love and a lot of Modge Podge.

The card wasn’t really the present, the present was what was written on the back and on each card I wrote: I’m giving the gift of inspiration and support. And promised to find a race and train (from afar) with each family member. A half-marathon with my Dad, raising money and going on an epic adventure with Team Athena and my Mother, my brother and I still haven’t figured out what race, but something awesome to come I’m sure.

Right now, for me, life is about the connections, the commitments we make to ourselves and to the people we love. I want to embrace what I love to do and spread the knowledge I have, I want to inspire and continue to be inspired by the awesome people I surround myself with. Since moving west I’ve been in awe at the athletes I see everyday, inspired by their love of sport, the outdoors and healthy lives. The fresh air, the sunshine and the sacred conversations we have on the trail are enough to keep me running every day.

If you do nothing else today, tomorrow, the rest of the week take a step outside (even if there’s a foot of snow) and breathe in the air, remember your lungs, fill them, feel your body and what it is capable of. Our bodies are incredible machines and I think we sometimes forget that, so take a moment every day to collect your thoughts, slow down and breathe deeply.

Ugly Sweater Not Required

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

The choice was to keep climbing or take the connector trail back to the car.

We kept climbing.

The choice was to take baby steps, shuffle/run slowly up the ridge or lengthen our stride and hike.

We shuffled as long as we could.

The choice was bomb it down the double track or take is slow and use caution.

We thew caution out the window and flew, baby, flew!

9 miles in the trail with a girlfriend and her adventurous dog, Rembrant left me feeling so good! So good in fact that when we got out of the woods I left and went for another three along the bike bath to round the day out to about 12 miles total.

12 miles further than I have run in a long time. I don’t know if it was the encouragement, the trails in Southern Oregon or the 50-degree day that helped me get through it, but I was proud of my body and excited about the run all day long! After my shower I started to feel the effects of what 12 miles on an untrained body feels like—sore and tired. But still hyped up and ready to rock out all night long. Those crazy endorphins give you this weird energy high that allows you to not only push it harder and fast up the mountain, but harder and faster on the dance floor later that night. The following day was another story of exhaustion–but as for Saturday I was pumped and ready to keep on keepin’ on!

Thank god it’s boot weather; I threw on my tall boots with a shorty skirt, but not before I dug out my Smartwool compression socks. I’ve always kind of been a bit skeptical of compression sleeves and socks—skeptical until this summer when I felt the effects working wonders after a 100 mile Adventure Race and my 6-hour drive home! It feels like a million little elves are massaging your calves at hyperspeed. They’re super good at getting the blood flowing and comforting the fatigued muscle. It doesn’t make the muscle not hurt, but definitely speeds up the healing process.

So after 12 miles I wore them all day shopping, walking and crafting up my Ugly Sweater for the evenings activities and no one even knew I had dorky/techy socks on underneath.

As you can see in the photo, (this is pre ugly sweater party/post a drink or two) you can see the socks peaking out a bit from the boot. This was me being ‘runnerly fashionable’ what do you think? I think it worked, no one knew the difference and my calves appreciated the extra lovin’ they got allllllll nightlong! Awww yeah!

 

Ever worn compression anything? What do you think?

Inspire and Be Inspired

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

Wow. I suck. It’s been what? Two months since I’ve posted anything. Sorry for anyone who reads this and is interested in my adventures. I’ve been, honestly, adventuring a lot and have ideas for blog posts filling my brain, but have been lazy when I have the time and have truly lacked the motivation. My apologies. Life is slowing down a bit so hopefully I’ll get back on the wagon and be regular about it.

 

This post is dedicated to a few awesome hikes I had in California this summer. There is no play by play that I’ll run through, but a general feeling and tone that I know anyone who is into fitness or nature will understand. While traveling with my friend Pat in California and Oregon we picked up a friend of his, Ethan. Now, you must imagine a tall, skinny (really skinny) 20 year-old-kid that has longish shaggyish hair. A cute Canadian accent and carries a skate board wherever he goes. WAIT! He’s not a punk, he’s respectful, don’t judge him on his skate board (he doesn’t deface public property) or the fact that he could be blown over by a light breeze, (he doesn’t do drugs—though he enjoys a malt liquor every so often, nothing hard.)

 

This kid, this adult, had never been shown how amazing this earth is. He’d explored the streets of Toronto on four small wheels, grinding hand rails and ollying over steps. His jungle was concrete, harsh and full of twisted ankles and healing scabs.

We went to some spectacular places: Mount Hood in Oregon, camped and hiked in the Red Wood National Forest, surfed in Santa Cruz, hiked 27 miles in Yosemite National Park—we did a lot. A lot a lot! I was dumb founded and speechless at the beautiful places we went and the experiences we had. But being able to see someone change, to see someone finally get it and appreciate it was incredible.

 

It: The vastness, amazingness, hugeness, incredibleness of stepping outside, looking at a mountain and hiking over it, around it, through it. Stepping back and realizing just how small you are and how big this world is. Realizing that you CAN DO IT, you can hike that far.

 

“That’s sweet dude. Fuckin’ sick.” Ethan said this countless times. “This is sick. Sick man.”

To watch Ethan gain confidence was what I imagine a parent feels watching his kids. Not to compare him to my child (no way!) but he was so nervous to go for the hike in Mount Hood (a mere 6-8 miles) and rock it at the front of out pack and then bust out 27-28 on an accidental all day hike in Yosemite was amazing. We were all tired. We were all dehydrated. We were all hungry. We all made it out and we all maintained a semi-positive attitude, all had dips in our moods and energy levels, but we made it and helped each other, inspired one another throughout the whole day (and night.)

 

On this note, get out and share and grow and experience something with someone new and realize how powerful it can be. Take a step back and try to re-understand how impactful a few encouraging words or actions are.