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Dogs, bears, mountains, OH MY

/ Sloan / 3 Comments

Yesterday’s long run was more or less supposed to be a gauge on how my body is feeling. A gauge to see how my body is functioning, if I can continue to train hard, up my mileage and attempt to keep up with some of the big boys. Well, I know that I’m just too slow to actually keep up with them, but being able to talk about the trails, knowing them, having higher mileage to show off—to me that’s keeping up.

Notice that I didn’t write about running in NYC. I was there for a week and sadly I guess I have to admit that I only went for one 35-minute run. Embarrassing, I know! I KNOW! I did walk a lot! Like, a lot a lot! So that counts as exercise, right? I think so! Anyway, I went from running roughly three miles the week before last, so you’ll be as surprised as I was when I counted up my miles this past week—I ran a total (roughly, trail miles are hard to calculate) 35 miles! I’ve never run that many in my life! Pretty sweet. Sweet, just like my long run with my friend Darcy and her herd of doggies yesterday.

Abby after here mud bath at Four Corners

Abby after here mud bath at Four Corners

Ember

Ember

There was one other doggie, but he wouldn’t stay still enough for me to get a picture. These girls are like speedy bullets and probably ran twice as far as we did! Ember ran super far ahead of us and then was a speedy bullet on her way back towards us and just about knocked my legs from under me! Pretty sweet dogs if you ask me!

There were a couple really awesome reasons my run was so awesome yesterday morning. First: we started at like 7:30 and the temperature was PERFECT. And we basically had the entire mountain to ourselves. There were a couple mountain bikers but they were cool so that was okay. Sometimes mountain bikers are kinda rude and think they own the trail, but these guys were really nice.

Next awesome thing: we saw a Mama and baby BEAR. Maybe they were hanging out for an early Mother’s day, I don’t know. But they were HUGE and pretty close and it was amazing to see them!! I was sorta worried about the dogs, but they were fine and the bears just ignored us and walked along on their way.

The bears. Okay, there were a little more ferocious than these

The bears. Okay, there were a little more ferocious than these

Conversation. That’s the next awesome thing. There’s something about running with a good friend that can be more helpful than paying a therapist to listen to you talk. Have you ever had that experience? I feel like some of my best friendships have been formed over long runs.

So, perfect temperatures, bears, good friends and lots of miles. You really can’t beat that. Later in the day I tried elevating my legs to recover, I read that somewhere that works and I’m not so into ice baths. So I decided not to bathe and read my book with my legs in the air. But quickly got bored and went to lounge in the sun with some friends and go for a bike ride to the Goodwill. I’m a bigger proponent for ‘active recovery’.

My favorite socks: legs up!

My favorite socks: legs up!

I think the bike ride and sun bathing were the best ideas. So far I feel pretty good today. We’ll see how I feel after 6 hours working retail. But over all a great running week, pretty stoked on it!!!

Unable to do What I Want

/ Sloan / 1 Comment

 

I don’t want to run. I don’t want to go to the gym. I don’t really feel like doing much of anything. I’ve been stupid sick the last week and it’s not only left me feeling weak it’s left me feeling like even if I wanted to go work out hard I couldn’t lift a single bar bell or run a mile.

 

What a horrible feeling.

 

But sometimes I think being forced, as I have been, to take some time off can be a good thing. It’s made me appreciate my body and all it is (or was and will be again) capable of. Just because I hurt now doesn’t mean I won’t bounce back. I’m definitely on the mend and ready to work out hard… tomorrow.

 

One more day of rest. My body needs it, I’m sure. The plan is to kick it’s butt tomorrow at the gym and then get some longer/slower runs in this week. Ease my way back to normal life.

 

In the mean time I’ve become sorta famous. Well, no, not famous. But in my efforts to coach a 5k training group the local news decided to follow us and then feature me, YES ME, in a short video on how to prepare for a race, how to get fit for shoes and even how to cross train.

 

Check it, yo.

Click HERE

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.