trail run

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?

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.