inspiration

Sloan Long Run Technique

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

The day started out with my friend bailing on our long run. Proceeded into me having to get inspiration and motivation from my Twitter friends (because lord knows I wasn’t going to get it on my own.) and continued to me tearing my room apart looking for, wait for it, my Pearl Izumi arm warmers. It was finally that weird temperature that didn’t require a long sleeve, or a jacket, and was too cold for just a t-shirt. These are the days we’re given for arm warmers, however few and far between, we cherish them.

As you can see, I tore my room apart and eventually gave up and took an old pair of wool socks and cut out the toes. PERFECT!

I set out to climb to Four Corners and return. Long, up hill, and mentally taxing for me. As I was running, (if you can call my slow trot up running) it was nice to be alone. I knew that the run was going to be harder mentally for me, just to keep pushing myself instead of go home and crawl on the couch with my new favorite book. (I did get my motivation to run from people across the country I have never met! Thank you Twitter!)

As I reached the part in the path where it splits I had already been contemplating turning around at the next “check point”. If I had turned around there I would be cutting probably 45 minutes off of my run and I know I would be mad at myself when I got home. But still, I wanted to turn around. So instead of going right, (right would take me to the trail that continues up to four corners) I went left. I had no idea where left took me. I was pulling a classic Sloan Long Run Technique.

 

Sloan Long Run Technique: to set out for a set amount of miles, time, destination and proceed to get lost. The outcome usually being more miles, time and more bliss.

 

The trail I ended up following was the Queen of Hearts trail. I took Alice and Wonderland and White Rabbit to get there, (how fitting.) This QH trail led me along a single-track ridge covered in snow, up another switch back and to an opening that forced me to udder (shield your eyes Grandma) fuck yes. This view was spectacular. I looked around me to see if anyone else was as amazed as I was, I was alone. Fuck yes. Alone, up high on the mountain, I could see how far I’d come from town and how far I had to go.

The way down was like a roller coaster for my feet. I just let loose and ran. I really had no idea where in the trail system I was but someone once told me just run down and you’ll eventually make it back to town. So that’s what I did. Down down down the rabbit hole I ran and was spit out on Park Street where I found my bearings and ran straight to the running store to tell someone about my amazing run.

My co-worker, Timothy, was stoked for me and my run. He knew exactly where I had gone and we talked about how incredible that feeling is when you reach the top of QH.

This was a run that made me love running again. Thank goodness for my innate (and inherited) ability to get lost.

Inspiration From A Lonely Run

/ Sloan / 7 Comments

For the last two months I have not only been surrounded by runners, but surrounded by world class athletes. Everyday I hear about another race my boss has won, is competing in, or another hundred miler my co-worker is getting paid to run by his sweet sponsors. I run with the ladies group run, errrrr, I run behind them, huffing and puffing trying to keep up while I hear laughter and training plans they have laid out for their spring ULTRA.

I see a picture of another co-worker on a New Balance poster, starring at me intensely, I know that he helped design one of the shoes I’m trying to sell every day. A female co-worker is a student, teaches spin, personal trains and is training for an ultra, and Ironman and applying to grad school, (aka she’s Superwoman) I hear whispers of the ‘girl from Born to Run’ works there…she doesn’t, but she and her dog come and hang out a lot.

Needless to say the list could go on, I am surrounded by amazing people, amazing athletes and should be inspired. But being around all these incredible people is intimidating. I’m no great athlete, I lace my shoes up, I run, I work out, I like it but can by no means make any sort of money off it. It’d be sweet if I could, but it’s not one of my dreams.

I should be inspired. But unfortunately it’s doing the opposite. I’m putting immense pressure on myself to do better. I’d love to run an ultra one day, I have wanted to for awhile, but at this point my looming stress fracture won’t and lack of real motivation won’t allow it. So what do I do?

I was feeling super down about this earlier in the week. This pressure, intimidation and self-reflection is all put on by myself, these people I see daily are AWESOME and it’s my own issues making me feel this way, FYI.

I think it was a combination of things, but feeling inadequate athletically was definitely one of them. Invited to go on a ladies group run, I mentally had decided that I didn’t want to go, I didn’t feel like getting left behind and feeling bad about myself and my running again. I didn’t want to run at all to be honest.

Some how I forced myself outside and did and I realize that being a lone exerciser isn’t such a bad thing. I need to feel good with my run before I share it with others. I learned this week that I can push myself pretty hard at the gym or on the road when I really want to. Remember that was super important for me to get out the door and feel good about my run.

When it all comes down to it, a short run outside in the sunshine is way better than moping around at home ANY DAY! Trying to find inspiration daily can be tough but I know I have it within me somewhere. Thanks for listening to my rant…

 

Have you ever felt really intimidated by your surroundings?

 

What pulled you out of it?

I’m a Quitter For sure

/ Sloan / Leave a comment

SourceURL:file:///Users/sloandorr/Desktop/TheSoleSeach/Now.doc

Now, back to the topic of my birthday. The day, January 18th, is quickly approaching and with each passing day I’m feeling the pressure of What The Fuck Am I Doing With My Life??? looming over my head like a (insert cheesy metaphor here, one like: black stormy rain cloud.

Annnnnnnnd cue quarter life crisis music: brain spinning, grad school thoughts, cheap tickets to Mexico and a bungalow with a beautiful lover, thoughts of living in my mother’s basement, being single for the rest of my life, working retail into my 30s or 40s, wasted youth…etc etc…

 

All through life I’ve witnessed people living to work; being unhappy in their career, their relationships, their bodies, their emotional state, their living situation, etc… I’ve never been one to do that, I generally quit if I’m really that unhappy. (this is where we show a montage of my life: losing 80 pounds, dropping out of college, quitting a stupid job, going back and finishing college, quitting a great ‘career’ job to move to the mountains…)

 

I’m a quitter. And I’m  happy about it.

 

Now I’m approaching a quarter of a century and am not sure where or why this path has taken me this direction. Sure I have two fun jobs, I get to talk about fitness and running all day, meet cool people, play in the woods and stare at the mountains—but really, lets be honest here, I can only mooch off my mother’s insurance for another year, after that I’m on my own and I don’t think two part time jobs will do it for me forever. Neither financially or be as full filling as I want them to be.

 

An old co-worker of mine posted a scene called Ten Things from an award winning video from the 5 Point Film Festival, I just watched it and am literally wiping the tears away. It’s amazing what speaks to you at certain times in your life, this video is speaking directly to me, in my face, at my feelings and forcing me to evaluate and reflect. Please do the same as you watch this amazing piece.

The Ten Things from Jeremy Collins on Vimeo.