It Looks Like Rain (ey)

As planned, we began prowling the web in search of 2 new kitties after returning from vacation. Dio has been dead two months, and we now have the time and ability to meet new cats. Right after Dio died, you may recall I went on-line "just to see" if there were any Maine Coon kittens around. That was a big mistake because there were, and I instantly fell in love with two at the Kenosha Safe Harbor Humane Society that I wasn't ready to take. Luckily, before I zoomed down there to get them, I realized it wasn't good timing and I promised myself not to look again until I could truly bring someone home.

Well, when I was looking in July, I also fell in love with a 1 year old brown tabby called "Gusto", and was torn over getting him and one kitten or the two kittens. It was a moot point then, and life went on, but when I started looking last week, Gusto was still there! I felt he was meant to be ours and my heart broke knowing this sweet cat (they describe him as super sweet & friendly) had been sitting there, waiting for a home for nearly four months. Yesterday we drove an hour to Kenosha to get Gusto, and he wasn't there! I was sooooooo disappointed, but hope stayed alive when we learned he was in a foster home and possibly still available. Gusto had grown depressed waiting for a home, so they placed him in a foster home for more loving. Tomorrow I should find out if I can have him, or if the foster family intends to adopt him. If we get him, his name will be changed to Figaro.

So who is this fellow pictured in my blog? Not Figaro, right? No, this is 6 month old Rainier - Rainey for short (the shelter called him "Jordan"). He was brought to the humane society as a stray 2 weeks ago. He's a grey tabby with either a Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest cat mix - I'll find out more when I take him to my vet. He is uber sweet and affectionate, but under the weather. He has an upper respiratory infection (like a common cold, which was making the rounds at the shelter) and is on anti-biotics. He sneezes a lot, and has a runny nose and eyes at times. This cold is making him a bit lethargic and disinterested in food, so it's a little worrying, but I know once we can get him to Dr. Jackie, he will turn around. I already love him to pieces and have all digits crossed that we get Figaro too.

Mamacita

Not only is today the 47th anniversary of MLK's "I Have A Dream" speech, it is also my mom's 69th birthday. Happy Birthday Lady Juanita! My mom has lived many lives and worn many hats in her 69 years. She's been good & bad, brunette & blond, fat & thin, boozer & teetotaler, massage therapist & RN, a rebel & a cause, a wife & a single, mother & wild child, and much, much more, but one thing that has always stayed the same (at least for the 39 years I've known her) is her drive to live a long and healthy life. Mental & physical fitness is a value I've inherited from her. I remember the work-outs through the years - Jane Fonda in the 70's, Richard Simmons in the 80's and then hardcore stuff at gyms in the 90's and 00's (Spin, Boot Camp, Step, Weight Lifting, Rowing,Yoga). I remember reading as a way of life from my earliest days. A way to build the vocabulary and keep the brain sharp, inquisitive, curious. I remember eating tofu and other "health" foods in the 70's when such things weren't mainstream or on the American radar. I remember learning how to pat moisturizer delicately around the eyes, cause if you're going to live to be 100, you need to preserve your skin. I remember her doing a yoga facial pose - The Lion, I think - that would keep the neck and jaw line taut, and I remember the refrain of "I want to live to at least 100". That refrain continues in 2010, and has become my own mantra as well. Well, ma, your well on your way to 100.You're looking good and moving well (and after that knee replacement, there'll be no stopping you). Happy Birthday, and wishing you at least 31 more :)

Bed Sweet Bed

Joy ascending a snowfield on Copper Ridge

We're back from our North Cascades Adventure and our bed never felt so good! This trip was both BREATHTAKING (visually & cardiovascularly) and BRUTAL. In all we hiked 57.5 miles between day hikes and a 4-day backpacking route over the Copper Ridge Loop. The Copper Ridge Loop is where the brutal aspects came in. We normally hike 3 miles per hour in the mountains, but this trail humbled us to less than 2 miles per hour at times. We encountered many obstacles.

1. SNOW - there were sketchy snowfields to traverse at a downward slope (sweet Joe kicked steps in for me to prevent my slide into oblivion below). One snowfield was too steep to down step, so we glissaded for the first time, about 100 ft.down a 35° angle. That was kinda fun, but left my bare thighs a bit tore up (snow is rough, and there are bits of pine needles & dirt mixed in it).

2. TREES - there were many, many fallen trees to climb over, including a series of about 4 ginormous Hemlocks that were wider than I am tall. Some treesyou could straddle to get over, but some required climbing and upper body strength.

3. WATER - there was an unexpected fording over the top of a 15 ft.wide waterfall (kinda scary!) and the double ford of the freezing thigh high Chilliwack River. One river crossing gave us the option to ford by foot or to use a self-pulled aerial tram over the raging river - of course we used the tram, which was a lot of fun. Oh - we also clanked across a wobbly suspension bridge in a different river crossing.

4. BRUSH- there was a 4 mile stretch of trail that required frequent periods of bushwhacking through horrible weeds taller than me. One of these weeds, Devil's Club, is lethal with it's thorns lining both it's stem and the underside of it's leaves.

5. TRAILS - lets not forget the obstacle of just hauling butt over rugged trails requiring 100% attention to footing for significant periods of elevation gain & loss. Walking uphill for 4 miles can be tiring :) The worst was having the trail end at a stream near the end of a long, hot, hellish day of hiking. All we wanted to do was get to camp to clean up and eat, but instead we spent 90 minutes studying maps, a compass, an altimeter and treading up & down the path trying to find our way. We finally foundour way thanks to Joe's novice tracking skills ("Look over there - do those weeds look a little trampled?).

6. BUGS - crazy-making clouds of black flies and mosquitoes threatened our sanity and comfort.

7. WEATHER - if we expected to leave the hot summer behind for the cool mountains of northern WA, we were wrong. The day we arrived it was 90° and the temps remained in the 80's with sunny skies throughout. The sun and heat really wear you down.

Despite these obstacles, which we like to view as challenges, we saw some of the most amazing 360° views of snow covered mountains, than we've ever seen on any other trip. We saw few people, and came away with a sense of having left the real world far behind.

New News

New News Item #1. My glasses are in! I can finally see crisp lines, and brighter colors with my first pair of distance glasses. It's amazing to realize just how fuzzy the world had become in the past six months, and to have it instantly corrected. I'll wear these for driving and watching TV.





New News Item #2. I have a new training toy - a Tanita Ironman Series scale. The scales in this series are athlete-specific, defining an athlete as one who exercises at least 10 hours per week OR one who has had a lifetime of fitness,even if not hitting the 10 hour mark each week at present. The theory is that athletes have more muscle mass, which holds more water, which can skew the other readings on a non-athlete-oriented scale. So what are the bells and whistles on this scale? Well. It tells me my weight, my body fat %, my water %, the weight of my bones, my metabolic age, and how many calories I can eat per day to stay the same (this is your basal metabolic rate). The scale works by sending a small electrical current through your body, and as it meets resistance, all the numbers are decided. Tanita cautions that the body fat and water %, as well as the bone mass, are rough numbers. It's best not to get attached to the specific number, but to use the scale to monitor trends. For example, as I amp up my fall training for some longer races, I should notice a decrease in body fat. This will be fun! I'm beginning with a body fat of 22% (this is considered "underfat" - can you believe it?), a 52% water content (very good for a woman), my bones weigh ~ 5.9 pounds (within the normal range), my metabolic age is 25 (nearly 15 years younger) and I can eat 2500 calories per day and not gain weight (this jives with the metabolic testing I had earlier in the year). This scale allows up to 4 users, so if anyone wants to come over and check it out, just holler :)


New News Item #3. I'm going to be in a 2 year study on knee pain. At my last race, a flyer was passed out seeking active and healthy adults aged 18-48, with or without knee pain, to join a study on the best treatments for patellofemoral syndrome - a common knee pain found in active folks. This sounded fun & interesting, so I got more information, and now I'm in! This study is being shared by 4 universities in the U.S.& Canada. They seek to determine which strengthening treatment approach works best for this syndrome - focusing on the hip or the quadriceps. Since I don't have knee pain, I will be part of the smaller control group. I will undergo 2 hours of testing and exercising at UWM on 9/3, and then again 6 weeks after that. Once those two sessions are complete, all I have to do for the next 2 years is answer an on-line questionnaire each month. My reward for doing this is knowing I'm giving back to the active community through science. If you're curious about doing this too, lemme know, and I can email you all the info.

Attack of the Killer Yellow Jackets

Those of us who ran the Lapham Peak Log Cabin Trail 5k today were united in our pain. Yes, the course was absurdly difficult, which I'll get to in a minute, but what bonded us was being attacked by yellow jackets early in the race. Running in the middle of the pack, I could hear racers screaming ahead and around the bend, but had no idea what awaited. Suddenly I was bombarded from both sides of the trail by menacing buzzers, stabbing me in the head, my lower back, and behind an ear. I started screaming, then the person behind me started screaming, and so on. At the finish line all the chatter was about how many times one was stung and where.

Since Joe is allergic to all biting insects, it's a good thing he wasn't in this race with me, but of course he was there to support me. Poor guy, hauling ass out of bed at 6a.m., but he had a beautiful morning to to breathe in the summer vibe - sunny, 70° and low humidity - a quick reprieve from the heat and humidity, which will return with a vengeance tomorrow.

This was my first day wearing shoes and socks in 2 weeks. It felt fine. The course was either uphill or downhill. No in-between. The first 1.5 miles were continually uphill, and not the nice graded hills we have on city streets. These hills burn your legs, tax your lungs and beg you to walk instead. Here's some perspective: In street races, the winner typically finishes in about 15 minutes. In this race, the winner finished closer to 19 minutes. I was proud to finish in about 35 minutes with an 11:20 pace - about 2 minutes per mile slower than my street 5k's. Up next = The North Face Endurance Challenge Trail 10k in September.

Sneaky

Time has a way of creeping up on us, doesn’t it? This year I’ve been so busy at work and so focused on my training outside of work, that I haven’t had my usual period of ramp up for vacation. By January 1st Joe and I know our destinations for the year and begin planning accordingly. Typically, I grow excited about, and a bit obsessed with our vacation 4-6 weeks prior to leaving, spending copious amounts of time on-line reviewing everything and anything about the hike we’ll be doing. In 8 days, we fly to Seattle, drive 2.5 hours north to the North Cascades mountain range, and begin our weeklong journey away from work, running, Facebook, and humanity, AND I haven’t done anything to immerse my mind in the trip yet. In fact, it almost feels like a hassle to go – an inconvenient interruption. Isn’t that terrible?!

We have planned a laid back vacation for a change – seriously. When we arrive next Saturday, all we have to do is drive to the Glacier, WA area (near Canada) and camp. Day 2 we’ll do some day hiking to acclimatize. Day 3 we start backpacking the Copper Ridge Loop – a 4-day, 40-mile route replete with craggy mountains, blue-green tarns, wildflowers and snow. Yes, snow. The latest trail conditions report describes a significant part of our route still covered in snow. Summer snow is scary and treacherous if it’s not just a flat safe snowfield. It conceals hazards, such as drop-offs and creeks. The snow melts and freezes, and becomes porous and weak. Nothing you want to travel on for any period of time. I’m crossing my fingers and toes that a lot of melting occurs in the next 8 days! When we complete the loop we have one more day to do some day hiking, and then we get to have dinner with Joe & Resa. Joe is Joe’s cool cousin (about our age) who lives north of Seattle with his wife Resa in Snohomish. Joe & Resa met while thru hiking the Appalachian Trail. They’re groovy and we hit it off well, so it’ll be a treat to see them before we fly home.

With all that said, I know this trip will be awesome. Once I break out of my hardened routine and see the beauty of those Western mountains I love so much, all will be well.