Good Endings and Beginnings

Nothing like ending the year and starting the year with a healthy run, something good for your mind, body and spirit.

Today was our final race of 2011: Run Into the New Year 5k & 10K. I'm grateful I was healed enough to do it - not with a PR, but with a respectable 5k time of 32:10 (10:19 pace). Grateful too, to run it with my best running bud Rosanna and the ever talented Joe who PR'd a sub-45 minute 10k!!! (7:04 pace).

The Joy of the past would have felt down about today's race time, since last year I finished in 29:05 (9:14 pace), BUT I have not forgotten that just 4 weeks ago I could hardly run one mile, that my recovery has been swift and strong, and that I will return, NO!, surpass where I was at pre-injury.

My leg felt fabulous today - it was my cardio that prevented me from running faster, but as I add more miles each week, my cardio base will expand as my body creates a vaster system of capillaries to carry more oxygen to my muscles, thus allowing me to run faster and longer without busting a gut or losing a lung (like how I weaved that sports anatomy lesson in?).

The past week has revealed pivotal changes in my recovery:
- I reached 18 miles this week - closer to my usual of 20-23.
(not really advisable yet, but it sorta happened) with no ill effects
- My flexibility and range of motion is holding after my exertions, whereas before it would really tighten up.
- I'm down from 3 chiropractic treatments per week, to one every two weeks.
- I was able to touch my hands to the floor in Pyramid pose (at the height of my injury I couldn't even reach a yoga block on it's tallest end without pain).

I'm ending the year having run 1,020 miles (150 of them in my VFF's) - spookily the exact amount I ran in 2010. Joe surpassed his goal to run 700 miles, completing 770 by the end of today's race! We both ran three half marathons and four 10k's, while I threw in an extra 8k and 5k. Joe ran injury-free, and I almost got away with a 3rd year of no injuries! Almost! In 2012 we'll run 4 half marathons and several 10K's. Preventing injury, while becoming stronger faster runners will be our primary goal.

Good Reads

Man, my reading has really taken a nose dive this year - only 26 books read, compared to past years of 60+. Actually, since I began running 4 years ago, it's been a slippery slope, with fewer books tackled each year. I log and rate my books on a 5-star scale. At the end of 2009, I blogged a list of my 5-star recommendations. It seems I forgot to do so for 2010, so I'm going to give you a 2010/2011 thumbs up reading selection now. In no particular order of worthiness:

1. Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
2. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
3. Oliver Kitteridge - Elizabeth Stout (I wasn't going to be partial, but this book is the best!)
4. The Kindness of Strangers - Katina Kittle
5. Amen, Amen, Amen - Abby Sher
6. Land of Lost Souls - Cadillac Man
7. Room - Emma Donoghue
8. Every Last One - Anna Quindlen
9. Dirty Secret - Jessie Schell
10. Unbelievable Lightness - Portia de Rossi
11. The Good Daughters - Joyce Maynard
12. Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand
13. Good Neighbors - Ryan David Jahn
14. The Red Garden - Alice Hoffmann

Three Accomplishments This Week

1. I crossed over the 1,000 miles run mark! I was aiming for 1,100 this year, and was on course to do so, until I was sidelined with my hamstring strain. I won't quibble over 100 miles. I'm grateful to be on the mend and to be able to hit 1,000+.

2. I met my goal to run 150 miles for the year in my VFF's. Again, I am thrilled that I was able to finish this goal (and with a little time to spare).

3. I've lost 4 pounds in 2 weeks by cutting out all the little extras. Concerned about weight gain when not running 20-25 miles per week, I decided to run a tight ship for a while. Extras that have been withheld include Mike-n-Ike's from the candy jar, a Tootsie Roll or Fireball after lunch, chocolate chips and peanut butter (do you know 1 chocolate chip has 2 calories?), a couple scoops of humus with pretzels here and there, sample spoonfuls of dinner as I cook it, and so on. All those little 2-25 calorie items add up apparently! When I couldn't control how fast my hamstring healed, taking control over my food made me feel more in control of the situation.

Graduating

(L to R: Tim (Janie's husband), John (age 7), Me, Janie, Leonna (age 8), Joe)

Janie, Joe's big sister (who remains 39 forever), graduated from the Indiana University School of Nursing yesterday, and we were bound and determined to make it no matter what. A non-traditional student, Janie has worked hard for many years on her schooling. She completed her RN (a 2-year program) years ago, and then kept plugging away with on-line classes until she finished her bachelors - this done while fostering, and then adopting, Leonna & John over the past 3 years.

When I say we were going to make her graduation no matter what, I do not exaggerate. Up at 4a.m. on Saturday morning (how painful is that?), on the road by 5a.m. and into the first snowfall of the season - of course! The 1/4 inch of dry snow was enough to make the roads slick and driver's reckless. The most snow was in WI and IL, but those roads were in the best shape. Then we hit Indiana and all hell broke loose. Apparently IN has cut road salt from their budget.

We counted 22 accidents, including 5 semi's. One of the accidents left us creeping along the road a foot at a time, wondering what disaster lay ahead. At one point, the passenger truck in front of us gently rear-ended the truck in front of him, so off to the shoulder they went. Then there was the sick child in the backseat of the new car in front of us - the door would open, a head would stick out, and vomit would hit the pavement - repeatedly. As we finally reached the accident site, we saw 2 semi's in the grassy median vortex, toppled over, their loads of furniture tumbled out, and two cars spun around in the wrong direction with one or the other of their ends crunched up. And so it goes. What would be a 4.5 hour drive, took 6. We arrived just in time to have an Indian lunch buffet with everyone (Joe's parents came from Louisville), before going to the convention center in downtown Indy for an hour long ceremony. Shortly thereafter, with roads now safe & dry, we pointed our fender north for home. Making good time, looking forward to being out of the car, we found ourselves mired in Chicago, gridlocked for an hour (no accidents, just suburbanites coming to town for the evening). Home by 8p.m. What a day.

Along the theme of graduating, I'd like to recall that it was exactly 3 years ago today (12/18/08) that I surfaced in the ER with the excruciating pain of a herniated disc. Two epidurals, 3 months of waiting to know if I'd need surgery (and I didn't), and 6 months of aggressive rehab through personal training, returned me to the world of running. I did my homework and graduated with honors. (cheesy?)

It was exactly one month ago today (11/18/11) that my hamstring strain announced itself. A careful program of rest, chiropracty, massage, personal training and stretching, enabled me to run a 5k distance (3.1 miles) this morning without stopping, and after a brief walk break, another 1.5 miles. Massive progress in the past 2 weeks. If I were in school, heading for graduation, I'd say I'm in my first semester of my Junior year ... a few more semesters of hard work, and I should graduate from my hamstring woes.

Performance Eval & Whatnots

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: Tuesday I had my annual eval with Joan, you know, the boss lady who handed a promotion to my co-worker on a silver platter? And it was nothing but love and kisses. I received excessive praise for my leadership, my optimism, my willingness to help mentor my peers, my professionalism, my ability to manage massive workloads, and yada-yada (to quote Jerry Seinfeld). I received a score of 5.1 out of 5.5 (anything in the 3.0’s is “Effective”, 4.0’s is “Commendable” and 5.0’s is Exceptional) and you can only get 5.5 if you save the County Executive from a burning building! There was no constructive criticism – just kudos and a referral for a bonus (in the county, once you've maxed out on step raises, you only get the cost of living increase - if there is one - and a bonus if your supervisor feels you deserve special compensation). So, I'm still left wondering...if I'm so great, why was I ignored? I will never know. I will take solace though in knowing that I am well thought of by the person who is now 3rd in command at Health & Human Services - a person who has the power to make things happen for me (or not!).

INJURY UPDATE: I am making huge strides in my rehab. A combination of my own healthy body aiming to repair its;ef quicky, Aaron's training, Dr. Jackie's chiropractic treatments, 7 hours of sleep per night (oh so restorative!), diligent stretching and the passage of time, is enabling me to have new successes each day. I am regaining my flexibility, am able to run further without pain or a pulling sensation (2.5 miles non-stop today, as opposed to no more than 1/2 mile last week at a time), and am hopeful that I will be ready to begin training for Canyonlands in January.

CANYONLANDS: Plans for a post-race backpacking trip are under construction. Tune in soon for updates.

We Won ... Now What Have We Gotten Ourselves Into?

We were selected in the Canyonlands Half Marathon lottery today!!! I just knew we'd get in, and could visualize us doing the race as if it had already happened. It's March 17th at 10:00a.m. in Moab, UT. A gorgeous run along a river amidst the red rock pillars of Canyonlands. Catch this race video to see more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qpD9vJY2Pk&feature=player_embedded
I was so excited today that I nearly bust a gut. Then I began to think. Now the excitement is tempered with much fretting:

1) When I called Joe to share the great news, he reminded me that a major reporting deadline in his job is march 15th. The race is March 17th and ideally, we should get there on the 15th, so we can have a day to recover from travels. Gulp.

2) My hamstring is making much progress, but will I be able to start training in 3 weeks, 4 weeks max? Gulp.

3) The closest affordable airport to Moab is Denver (Salt Lake City is 5 hours, but costs about $250 more per person). It's a 6 hour drive from Denver to Moab. What if there's snow? Gulp.

4) Moab is an outdoor mecca in March and lodging will be expensive and hard to come by. We'll need at least 2-3 nights. Gulp.

"A"

A is for Aaron. A is for amazing. A is for Accomplishment. A is for Aspiring.

After my first training session with Aaron on Friday, there was an almost instant shift in my hamstring. Something released (most likely the exercises we did helped to realign my pelvis, thus letting my hammie regroup to its proper space), and though I was super sore (cause he worked me like a dog), it was a different kind of sore. I knew I was already better. Just like that. Not 100% better mind you, cause no one can work a miracle overnight on a strained muscle, but I had enough confidence in this shift that Sunday I tried to run. I went out for a 5-mile walk with the intention of running a small segment here and there if my leg would allow it. I ended up running three, one-mile segments with walk breaks in between to be prudent, to not tax my healing hammie or to have a relapse. I wasn’t sure if even doing what I did was too much, so I awaited Monday morning for the verdict, and my body told me I was okay.

Runners know that 3 weeks off from running means you’re starting from scratch. We all fear injury for this reason. It’s a cruel trick of nature that conditioning can be lost so quickly. By the end of one mile, my heart rate reached a higher level than it did during my most recent 13.1 mile run. Crazy. And another nod to crazy is the fact that less than six weeks ago I was running 13+ miles, PR’ing, and feeling strong, and now, I’m not sure I’ll be able to string 3 miles together to complete my final 5k of the year! Oh well. I will reclaim it all, it's just a matter of time. And I'll be stronger and fitter than ever before.

The next test I face is one of patience. I must hold myself back from taking on too much too soon. I am not healed. I am not good to go. I am improving daily, and I am definitely on the mend, but my hip needs to be strengthened and my hammie needs more TLC. I’m accustomed to running 5-6 days per week. I will now attempt to run every other day for a while so my body can absorb it without aggravating my injury. Yesterday I was set for another episode of running with interspersed walks, and expected to do three one-mile segments as I had on Sunday. I had to humble myself and respect my haunch when it said "no more!" after 1/2 mile sprints (did 5 total). Since I was willing to listen, my body told me that though I had no fall-out from Sunday's jaunt, to expect the same within 48 hours is too much too soon. So, I scaled it down, running for a 1/2 mile and walking for a 1/2 mile, and felt great the rest of the day. Tomorrow, I will try this pattern again, testing the waters for more strength and healing to allow a longer distance.

I am so fortunate Aaron crossed my path at the precise moment I needed his help. Another training session with him today blew me away for many reasons. First of all, he gave me an hour of time when we were only slotted for 30 minutes. Secondly, he presented all new challenging exercises that pushed me beyond what I thought I was capable of doing (I can literally feel myself getting stronger), and lastly, I learned that he is only 20 freaking years old. I assumed he was in his mid-20's because he is so knowledgeable about the body and how to work it (more so than doctors I've seen!), and because he carries himself with a level of maturity and professionalism that cannot be faked in a younger person. Turns out he's a dear Pisces like me - March 2nd he'll turn 21, and March 6th, I'll turn 41. Wild to think that when I was 20, the person I would need to help me rehab an injury was just being born :)

Lastly, I'd like to give a shout out to Joe who crossed the 700 mile mark last weekend. This is a great accomplishment for him - he ran though the deepest throes of a fatiguing flare, and remained injury free all year. Woot Woot! I was on pace to finish the year with 1100 miles run. As it stands right now, I'm 23 miles shy of 1000. It shouldn't be a thought in my mind, but I also wouldn't be me, if I didn't admit I'm hoping to push out enough miles yet this year, even if hobbled together in micro spurts, to reach that thousand mile marker :)

Blindside

Another huge let down at work. A let down before I was even up. To start from the beginning, I need to backtrack and provide you with the full picture. I will begin by describing the structure of power in the Waukesha County Health & Human Services (HHS) Department.

At the very top is the Director of HHS, Peter, followed by the Deputy Director, Antwayne, then the Clinical Division Manager (Mike) and lastly a plethora of "Human Service Supervisors" for all of the different units within HHS, my boss, Joan, being one of them. So, people are retiring and things are shaking up. A couple months ago, Mike, the 3rd in charge, announced his December retirement. My supervisor, Joan, interviewed and was promoted. This is a well-earned promotion. She will be awesome in the position, but it leaves our unit feeling vulnerable to who will take over. Joan is a superstar on many levels, and while everyone is replaceable, it's hard to imagine who will fill her shoes. Joan wasn't always perfect (what?!) in her interpersonal skills, but we learned how to handle her, and for the most part, life was good. She always went to bat for us and our department, securing several new jobs over the course of the past decade - no easy feat as this must be approved by the fiscally conservative County Board first.

One of the last hush-hush coups Joan had shortly before her promotion, was finagling a second Clinical Therapist position in our unit. The position was not announced, but was spoken of in quiet corners in recent weeks, with the assumption that myself or another co-worker, Elizabeth, (you may recall we both went for the open Clinical Therapist position in our unit earlier this year and neither of us got it) would get it. My annual performance evaluation is due in a weak, at which time I planned to ask Joan about this rumored position, but she beat me to the punch. Today at our monthly business meeting, it was announced that Elizabeth has been moved into the newly created Clinical Therapist classification!

It was explained that the budget had room to reclassify a “Senior Mental Health Counselor” position into a Clinical Therapist position. Since Elizabeth had previously worked for the county in a clinical therapist role (part-time while she raised her kids, then when she needed full-time work, she had to demote into the Senior Mental Health Counselor role cause that's all that was available), she could be moved into that new classification without being interviewed or whatever. That leaves me the cheese standing alone. At least Elizabeth and I could commiserate together when we were both passed over for a promotion, but now she gets one without asking, while I never had access to it.

I feel sooooo overlooked, unappreciated, forsaken. Elizabeth and I are quite equal in our work efforts, but hands down I am the stronger leader and clinician (heck, all my co-workers have been asking if I, not Elizabeth, would be applying for Joan's job. That's a nice vote of confidence, even though I have no interest or qualifications for it). I don't know what the fuck is going on, why I can't catch a break. It was hard to keep a poker face in this meeting when I wanted to cry. Cry in frustration that I seemingly will never get promoted, that I am not recognized for doing clinical therapist work when I have a lower classification, frustrated that I am stuck in this position, in this unit with no real hopes of moving on. Holding the tears, anger, resentment and questions back all day only served to give me a giant headache, and now that I'm in the privacy of my own home, I find the tears won't come.

I think I hear a knowing voice deep down inside saying, "Don't worry. This will make sense later. Something is still around the corner for you", but I don't know if I can trust this voice - is it wishful thinking whispering in my ear, or a bigger truth?

Taking Action

It's time for me to embrace the title of my blog - Always Up For A Challenge - because I have a new one that was given to me, rather than chosen. What I'd initially hoped would be a brief time-out from running has turned into a longer ordeal (12 days of leg problems, 9 days of no running and counting). During the extended Thanksgiving weekend I walked and stretched a lot, hoping I'd be able to resume running at the start of the week. And while my hamstring did improve, it didn't pan out that way.

Instead, on Monday I found myself having a sports injury assessment at Aurora's Sports Medicine Institute. The good news was that I didn't have a tear or avulsion (that's when a piece of muscle tears, taking a chunk of bone with it), but I already knew that was the case as my pain was gone and I was increasingly better - more limber - with each passing day. My assessor concluded that my right hip is likely weaker than my left, which led to a muscle imbalance and ultimately to my hamstring strain. He felt strengthening that area and easing back into running a 1/2 mile at a time (once my muscle loosens up) would be best, and thought it would be "feasible" for me to do my 12/31/11 5k. FEASIBLE? I didn't like that word one bit, nor did I like the suggestion of starting with 1/2 mile increments when my body gives the okay to run again. I wanted to be running 5 miles by this weekend.

I emailed people the results of that appointment saying I didn't find it all that helpful. The truth was that I was in denial that I had a real injury. I also didn't like the idea that me, so strong and attentive to my body's development, had a weak spot. And furthermore, he was nuts to think that my right hip is weaker than the left, cause we all know my left side is weaker because of my disc herniation! In fact, my right leg probably gave out from having to carry that left one for so long! Let me tell you, I was sooooooo wrong (more on that in a second), and though I wanted to stay in denial, my rational mind took over, allowing me to accept this truth and spring into action.

Aaron, an unknown trainer to me at the gym until 2 weeks ago, took over my TRX class for a trainer who left our club. I was instantly impressed with his knowledge of the body, his attention to form and his calm, precise instructions and explanations of what we were working and why it would be of benefit. He's in his early to mid-20's, a full-time student at Carroll University, working on his PhD in physical therapy. He's been an athlete his whole life, has dealt with his own injuries, as well as injuries of those he has trained on sports teams at the high school and collegiate level. This would be the guy for me in light of Ben's (my former, super awesome trainer) transfer to our West Allis gym location. I immediately called Aaron with my needs - "Can you do an assessment to see if one side is stronger than the other?" Yes, he said. "Can you help me strengthen and rehab any weaknesses so I can get back to running ASAP?" Yes, he said. "How early are you willing to come in to see me?" 6a.m., he said. We made plans to meet on Friday (today) and in the interim, I secured a massage with Angie and had 3 chiropractic sessions, switching from just electrical stimulation to stim with ultrasound.

My chiropractor also encouraged me to try running to see how it feels. I tried on Wednesday - a total bust. The second I began, my glutes and hamstrings winched up. Today I was able to run a ½ mile (remember what the assessor on Monday said about a 1/2 mile at a time? Darn! It seems he's right) before my leg conked out. Disappointing, but progress. I did an hour of other cardio and then I met with Aaron.

Aaron was AWESOME. He knows his stuff big time, and he explains all of it to me as we go along, which I love since I like to know how the body works. He did an assessment of my strength through various exercises on a well-known 0-3 assessment scale used by PT’s and trainers, looking at both sides of the body for imbalances. 0 = you couldn’t complete the exercise, 3 = perfect execution, and 1-2 = room for improvement, indicating a weakness or imbalance in muscle strength. I had all 2’s and 3’s. The 2’s were in the places he expected (my right hammie and hip). The gist is that my right hip is weaker than the left. When the right hip muscles can’t adequately support my running, my hamstrings and glutes have to work that much harder to carry me, and eventually they will fatigue and fail, which is what I’m experiencing right now.

After the assessment, we crammed many great exercises into a short amount of time making it both a strength and cardio work-out. He stretched me out good too. I love that he is using a measurement tool so we can track my progress and know exactly what to target for strengthening. I’ll see him twice per week and keep attempting to run each day to test the waters of my healing ham. Beam me up peeps!!!

Another Anatomy Lesson

You learn a lot about cars if you have an old car that frequently breaks down. The same can be said of your body if you fervently pursue athletics - sooner or later something is going to get tweaky and you will learn what is tweaked, how it likely got tweaked, how to untweak it and how to keep it tweak-free. I'd like you to meet my ischial tuberosity. Say what? The ischial tuberosity (see picture) is within your pelvic plate. It's where the three muscles that comprise your hamstrings attach, and if you push as hard as I've been pushing, it gets inflamed. In layman terms I have a strained hamstring. This likely happened due to the natural uneven rotation of my pelvis (it sits more to the right and forward), not allowing enough recovery time after my half marathon, bumping up my training to include 6 days of running with 3 speed work sessions, as well as an increase in my yoga practice.

Last week Thursday I noticed my butt seemed super tight suddenly when I got up from my desk at work. I shrugged it off knowing I was seeing Angie Man Hands for a massage on Friday - "She'll fix it!", I thought. Friday my run felt tight, but I pushed 4 miles out - "Angie will fix this!" Then I saw Angie, and as her sizable elbow probed deep into my butt (accessing my ischial tuberosity, aka the sitz bone), I felt certain the problem was being worked out. Saturday I assumed my long run would continue to bank on Angie's manipulations and loosen up my butt and hamstring more, but no, this is not what happened. I felt a tight ball pulling in my butt the second I began my 6.5 mile run. I gave myself a few miles to warm up, for the ball of fury to release, but it only wound itself tighter, slowing my pace by 2 minutes per mile because my right leg literally could no longer fully extend or retract. I stopped a mile short of my goal, fearing I would cause serious damage if I persisted.

For the next two days I diligently addressed my rump with Epsom salts, stretching, ice, ibuprofen, Arnica, Chinese Plasters, and total rest. Yesterday I forced myself to not run, but to spend an hour on the boring ellipitcal instead. I was getting no better, but I was no worse. I felt that something must be stuck and that this would be a riddle for my chiropractor to solve - made an appointment for today. Then this morning, I decided to give running a go with Rosanna - our standard 3 mile Wednesday jaunt. Same story as Saturday - felt the tweak immediately and it progressively worsened, causing me to fear a rupture or tear in the muscle was imminent (of course I did finish the run, refusing to walk or call it quits early).

This afternoon I recounted my week for Dr. Jackie, who instilled confidence in me that we would resolve this. I was treated to 20minutes of stim and a heat pack, followed by a pelvic adjustment. I already feel some relief. I'm sad that I can't do a Turkey Trot tomorrow or my 7 mile long run Friday, BUT if I had to take a short time out from training, this is the best possible time of year for it. Human nature is a funny thing too in that we always want what we're denied. I'm whining over not being able to run for a few days, to meet my goals for the week, but if I was fine to run, my outlook would be more like this: "Aw man, I have that Turkey Trot tomorrow and then Friday I still have to run 7 miles?!" So, I'm going to take a page from the Thanksgiving handbook and give thanks that I do not have a major issue here - no muscle tears, no broken bones, that I do not have a major race around the corner that is being compromised by the interruption in training, that I am strong and healthy and will recover from this quickly, and perhaps most of all, I could embrace my forced period of rest with gratitude, as my body will no doubt cherish the opportunity to fully unwind it's tightly strung muscles, it's constantly active cells rebuilding tissue, it's desire to sleep and do nothing for a bit (lets be real, after 1-2 days I will be dying for more activity than walking!).

All that said, today I entered Joe and myself into the Canyonlands Half Marathon lottery (the lottery finally opened today). We will know by 12/15 if we're in. Please make this happen for us - pray, visualize, send energy beams, chant or whatever - just make sure we're flying to Utah for a 3/17/12 race date!

Stable Mable

Good news on Joe's health front. He met with his GI specialist, Dr. Naik, and his orthopede, Dr. Teves, and all is status quo. Since Joe is showing no signs or symptoms of a flare, and his blood work returns with acceptable numbers, there is no cause for concern over the condition of his colon or the development of one of the nasty side effects of his meds (i.e. cancer, organ function changes, etc.). A disappointing piece of news is that Dr. Naik is leaving direct practice to focus more on teaching, so as of January 1st, Joe will begin working with Dr. Stein. Dr. Stein has done Joe's colonoscopies and has been a part of the larger treatment team. He is familiar with Joe's case and studied under a highly regarded expert in the field, so we feel positive about transferring to him. Joe will have another colonoscopy in 6 months, unless a flare develops.

Joe's bone growth over the past 6 months since his prednisone-induced osteoporosis was diagnosed has been roughly 3%. This isn't huge, but it's a step in the right direction. The most bone growth has occurred in his hips, which Dr. Teves says is a direct result of his running. In fact, she said it's the single best activity for building lower body bone mass (even over weight lifting). The least amount of bone growth has occurred in his wrists. The common treatment approach to men under the age of 50 with bone loss is to bypass medications in favor of weight bearing exercise, and to maximize the amount of calcium they get out of their diet. Joe is the model patient, doing everything right, so the game plan is for him to continue this natural approach to gaining bone density, and to have another bone density test in one year.

Lazy to Crazy

Whoa Bessie! My lazy staycation days ended abruptly Monday morning when it was time to jump back into life, which in it's stripped down version looks like this: Wake up early, work out for 2 hours, go to work for 8-10 hours, come home to cook, clean, unpack and repack for the next day, eat, watch an hour of the boob tube and hit the hay so the cycle can begin again. The details that flush this cycle out become the crazy making part. A large and challenging work load has developed, pushing my days into warp speed - time flies, but it seems I'm barely making a dent in the mass of things to do.

On the training front, I've begun Hal Higdon's Advanced 5k training program to aide me with meeting one of my last running goals of 2012 - to finish a 5k in less than 28 minutes. I only do one 5k per year now, as I prefer the longer distance races, so I want to make the final one count. This training regimen calls for me to run 6 days per week (I usually do 5), to do two different types of speedwork and the requisite long run. I completed all the runs as dictated, in addition to my twice weekly weight lifting, TRX and yoga.

And let me tell you, yoga is no joke. My yoga instructor presents a challenging work-out that focuses on strength and balance - sweating and heavy breathing are common in her class. She has opened a studio with another instructor in Delafield, and has started a monthly Friday Yoga Night. This past Friday was the first one - 90 minutes of yoga, an extended period of relaxation (with lavender eye pillows) and guided imagery,followed up with wine, crackers, cheese & hummus for a mini social hour. I invited a few of my yoga minded friends, and had a wonderful night. We all agreed getting together for yoga, or a run, beats the standard of eating out or going to a bar. No better way to socialize than over a healthy activity.

Thus far, the weekend has held little respite from the pace of the work week. Up for a 6 miler, then 90 minutes of leaf raking, followed by a few hours of house work & chores, left us little time to eat or rest before arriving to my mom's annual Harvest Feast. By the time we hit Booth Street for dinner, my prana was fading fast! Per usual, the food was a vegan feast for the eyes and belly. I was able to see my sister one last time before she heads home to Montana, meet a couple of my mom's fabulous friends (Dee! Greg!) and get to know my niece's boyfriend a bit more (Ryan! A super great guy).

Hopefully, today is the day I can rest and recoup, rally my energy for the week to come. Tomorrow Joe has a check-in appointment with his GI doc, as well as a follow up with his orthopede regarding his bone health. Updates will be posted soon!

Staycation

My staycation has come and gone, and it served it's purpose to provide rest (though never fear,I got all my runs in!), relaxation, a looser schedule, and completion of house and life tasks that were piling up. I was able to spend several days with my sister, Barb, visiting from her Montana homestead.

As my oldest sister, 11 years my senior, and born to a different dad, Barb and I did not grow up together. So while we don't have many shared memories, we also don't have any baggage. Eleven years is a large age gap when you're a kid. By the time I was 7, Barb was 18 and leaving Wisconsin behind. Our relationship really developed through snail mail once I became an adult. We share many similar interests and ideas, but have opposite personalities, except for the need to have a lot of alone time.

We kept her 4 day, 4 night visit simple, which allowed her to get over a brooding cold, and provided both of us with the space and alone time we crave. There was time to make hearty, healthy, wholesome meals and to sit around a table talking for hours at a time. There were no alarm clocks to be set to dash here and there, and only a few plans that required a time frame at all.

On Wednesday, a bleak, rainy, cold, biting day, we visited my dying Uncle Tom in Port Washington. He was appreciative of our visit, knowing it may be the last time he sees us. I learned many things about him as he conducted a spontaneous life review. I think this may have been the first time in 40 years that I ever just sat with him and heard what he had to say - Uncles are usually the ones asking about your life. Sad that it takes death to bring out the deeper communications.

Thursday, Aunt Shirley came over to visit with Barb and Friday, a gorgeous fall day, found us at A Taste of India with Rosanna & Julie, and then hiking the leaf ridden paths of Minooka Park (and a piggy back ride from Barb - carrying me over a watery muddy piece of path as I didn't want to soak my Vibram Five Finger clad feet). Today was Barb's return to my mom's house in Riverwest - leaving the peace and beauty of restful spacious Waukesha behind for the closed in bustling feeling of a bigger city. I'll see her one last time next weekend at my mom's annual Harvest Feast, and in the meantime, I'm counting down the minutes to seeing Joe (flying in this evening from GA), who has been mired in an awful week of loooooong work hours and a training in Atlanta that ate up his Friday and Saturday.

I'm actually looking forward to returning to work and my familiar schedule.

1 Year With The Boys

It was a dark, windy November afternoon when we drove to Marion, WI one year ago today to get Chaco & Denali. The bleak elements enhanced our mood as we burned the miles, for just before driving north, we'd met with Joe's GI doc, learning how serious his condition was, and hearing that Remicade infusions were the main option to improve his health. The implications of all that had been discussed weighed heavy, so the levity and life these boys offered were a tonic for the soul (especially after the heart breaks of losing Dio and Rainier within months of each other). The brothers were 6 months old, and were half of their current size, spunky, playful, healthy and full of energy. Their first night in our house was filled with tentative glances, bodies slung low to the ground, darting lithely out of our reach, hiding behind and under things when we entered the room. But the next morning we awoke to them sleeping with us on the bed, and the rest is history. Initially, they loved and lived for each other, but quickly incorporated us into their circle.

6th Race the Best Race

After we learned of our auspicious bib numbers a few days prior to the race, we continued to collect numerical good omens - our hotel room was 1010 (a cool number in that it's simple, even and repeats itself) with a high view of the race commons, and when we went to the ever-delicious Swagat Indian Restaurant for our pre-race carb-ilicious dinner, we were seated at table #3 - my other favorite number. I was feeling positive about the race with no nerves or jitters.We were jammied up and atop the luxurious king sized bed (when in a hotel if there's two of you, you must always go for the king!) by 6:30p.m.. We met my weather fix watching a storm disaster special on The Weather Channel, tuned into the premiere of the new show Grimm (which we really liked), and had lights out by 9:30.

Up at 5:45, I peered out the window, seeing midnight skies and the Marriott flags flapping wildly. Turned on the news, and shivered hearing it was only 28° (we had shorts and light jackets for running, which was actually perfect once we got moving). We walked a few blocks to the start of the race, and hit the streets at 8:00a.m. sharp with 1566 other half marathoners (this event also had 500+ running the full marathon and 1000+ running the 10K). There were many fun costumes along the course. Most memorable were an all but naked guy in tiger patterned Speedo's with a tail dangling down, a group of guys dressed as the Wizard of Oz characters, with the best being the 6'8" one running in Dorothy garb, and another group of guys dressed as women in wigs, stockings and dresses with pink purses dangling off their arms. Lots of people dressed festively in Halloween attire,and then there was the majority,us included, who ran for utmost comfort in regular clothing.

The course was fabulous. The first 4.5 miles were on scenic residential streets with rolling hills, large pretty homes, trees in various stages of color. This was followed by 7 miles on the undulating blacktopped paths, crushed limestone paths, and slick wooden bridges (over icy streams) of the Pheasant Branch Nature Conservancy, until we reached the homestretch through the clean and quaint Middleton downtown, winding onward to the Greenway Commons finish line.

The finish line was a well choreographed (many races get it sooooo wrong) assembly line of volunteers moving us along - first, you bow your head and receive your medal, next you are swaddled in a space blanket for warmth, then comes the preliminary recovery foods (water, Gatorade, chips, bagels, orange wedges, banana halves) and lastly, a picture station where you can cheese it for a professional picture with your medal and salt-encrusted sweaty face :) Joe was waiting for me at the finish line (poor guy finished 34 minutes ahead of me, but was able to stay somewhat warm in the sun with his space blanket) so we could go through all of this together.

We found our way to the warm cloths drop, piled on our fleece and jogging pants, and began a stiff limbed walk back to the hotel, swapping stories from the race. Joe cruised along at a record breaking pace, finishing in 1:39 - a 7:37 pace! He placed 127th out of 1568, which puts him in the top 8%. And I surpassed my 2:15 goal by clocking in at 2:14 - a 10:15 pace! Big PR's for the both of us. To add even more success to the day, we noted we reached new mileage milestones. Joe passed the 600 mile mark this week, and during the race, I surpassed the 900 mile mark! We had just enough time to take warm showers before checking out at noon, and sped home to make the most of our weekend downtime.

Winding Down (or Up?)

It's 9:10 on a Wednesday evening. I should be in bed asleep, ready for my 4:00 a.m. wake-up call (Dan Damon on BBC is so reliable!), but I'm in taper mode and the taper schedule dictates that I do no running or weight training two days before my race (well, I can do a loose 1-2 mile run the day before to freshen up, but that's it). This means I can sleep in until 6:00 if I really want to, and believe me, I do, BUT will Chaco, the big love-bug allow it? He has the endearing habit of waking me around 3:30a.m. with purrs, head butts and licks to my chin & neck, before plopping down partially on Denali (who always lays near my shoulder) and partially over my neck.

To continue the chain of thought I'd just begun ... if I can sleep in 'til 6:00, I can stay up later, and watch fascinating shows, such as the PBS NOVA special tonight on the Ice Man - you know the preserved mummy of a man found in the icy mountains near the border of Italy and Austria? Well, they've done DNA testing now and have found that even 5000+ years ago there were DNA markers for heart disease -it's not a disease of "modern times". I also learned that in the Stone Age everyone was lactose intolerant as adults, and it's only a recent evolution that humans can tolerate milk beyond infancy, and at that, only 40% worldwide can drink the white gunk (can you tell I dislike milk?) without adverse effects.

So, once again, my thoughts digress - maybe I should get to bed sooner than later! But before I go, I'd just like to share that we're good-n-ready for our race. We were able to find out our bib numbers in advance. I get superstitious about the numbers, and am pleased with my number of 1610 - add those digits together and you get 8 - my favorite number, and a good omen for race day. Joe is satisfied with his number too - 1556. Race day should be sunny and in the 40's - ideal running weather. It's been a crazy work week, cramming 40 hours into 4 days by the time I get home tomorrow, but this will allow me to have a relatively clear mind for the Haunted Hustle and my vacation that lies beyond. Bon soir!

Checking In

Bustling work days are back. I've been swamped suddenly, and the severity of it is made worse by a looming vacation. Monday, I have an all day conference in Madison, and Friday begins a 10-day "Staycation", leaving me 3 days to try to get 2 weeks worth of work done. Joe's in a similar situation after losing 3 days last week to an assignment in blighted Hammond, IN, and 2 days this upcoming week to a conference in town where he will be both a participant and a presenter. While Joe will not be "staycating" with me, we will both be off Friday to head to our Madison hotel for our race expo and an early night's sleep so we're fresh for the 8:00a.m. start time of the Haunted Hustle Half Marathon. To learn more about this race click on this link - and click on "courses" to read our route's description. http://capitolviewevents.com/hheventinfo.html

I'm a bit stumped when I try to determine my goal time for this event. I typically base my goal times on how I've performed in recent long runs, but my past 3 out of 5 long runs were trail runs, which take longer to complete and do not accurately predict how I will fare in a road race. What I do know is that my past 2 long runs were both 10 seconds per mile faster than long runs at those distances earlier in the year. Last week, my 11 miler was done at an average 10:30 pace, and today, my 6 mile "Ye Olde 12 Hill Route" (a challenging hilly path through Waukesha that has become my traditional tapered long run the week before a race) was done at a 10:23 pace. So, what this portends for my 6th half marathon I'm not sure, but right now, on the fly as I talk this through with you readers, I think I'm aiming for a 2:15 time, which would be 2 minutes faster than my best time with running 13.1 miles. Joe's pace has really accelerated. He is now running 7:30-8:00 minute miles, and will definitely PR next Saturday.

My foot has begun responding to chiropractic treatments, which is a huge relief. If it wasn't better by the end of this week, my chiro was prepared to take x-rays to look for a fracture. Once I could pinpoint the pain to the bottom of my foot between the 3rd and 4th toes at the location of the metatarsal heads (this is where Morton's neuroma develops - an inflammation of the nerve bundle), she was able to redirect therapy to that area. I'd say my foot is 90% improved. It's been tolerating runs in between treatments without worsening. I'm feeling confident that the issue is a muscular one instigated by trail running (too much of it too soon) and that it will handle the distance without trouble in Madison.

I mentioned my staycation - why would I take time off and not go anywhere? (no mountains? no destination races?) Well, as I get older, the idea of having some down time at home to catch up on life is more appealing. Also, I have over 4 weeks of vacation time now, which is harder to use than you would think. But mainly, I'm taking the time off to be available to spend time with my oldest sister, Barb, who will be in town visiting. Barb is my sister who lives in the wilds of Montana. She makes it back to WI every 5+ years or so. Her current visit was inspired by her desire to see her 98 year old grandmother (we have different dads, thus different grandparents) before she dies (though she is in excellent health and still living independently at this time). Since the time of Barb's travel plans, my favorite uncle, Tom, who is only 63 years old, has been diagnosed with cancer of the spine, which has spread to his pelvis and both femurs. He's been given 2-5 months. It's shocking and saddening news. I'm hoping to visit him in Port Washington during my vacation as well. And of course, I will keep on running (vacation doesn't mean being lazy) ... my next goal will be to get uber fast for a super PR at my New Year's Eve Day 5k.

Yangu Mguu

Nope, there is no typo in the title line of today's blog. I was lookin' for a fancy way to say "My Foot" and this is how it is said in Swahili - kinda catchy, eh? I could have used the Lithuanian "Nesąmonė", the Hindi "मेरे पैर", or the Belarusian "мая нага", but opted for one that's more easily pronounced. So, this is a note about my foot.

For a few months, my right foot has been slightly sore on the outer top side, but nothing to cause pain or concern. After running the hillacious Colorama 10k, my foot was considerably more sore. I attributed it to the uneven terrain - my foot having to wobble and wrap itself around tree roots and rocks. Last weekend, following more trail running at Minooka Park, my foot reached a new level of sore. It was hard to bear my full weight whenever getting up after being seated for a while - as if my foot was stiffening just as legs or the lower back will do. I assessed my foot to be fracture free since I had no swelling, no pain to the touch and no pain while running. With Joe's stress fracture experiences, I felt certain my issue was related to muscles, tendons or ligaments.

It felt like my bones were misaligned, so I saw my chiropractor last week for treatments. She found my ankle joint was stuck, the muscles along the bottom lateral side of my foot spasming, and perhaps some involvement with my peroneal tendon, which runs along the outer side of the foot, connecting just below the bulbous part of the ankle bone. I had stim on the rocks (electrical stimulation of the muscles with an ice pak surrounding my foot), ultrasound and my ankle adjusted. I was much better the next day, BUT since I'm close to my half marathon date, I cannot be a good patient and let my foot rest. I run 5 days per week and on the days I don't run, my foot quickly improves, so it's obvious what I need to do, and yet, I cannot. To that end, the next 2 weeks hold a lot of icing, Arnica-ing (Arnica is a plant based gel used to reduce inflammation), tennis ball massage, chiropractic appointments and faith that it will not turn into a bigger problem. After my 11-miler yesterday, my foot is sore, but no worse than it's been in the past 2 weeks. Everybody cross your fingers that I can keep it together until 10/29!

P.S. I thought I'd pamper my feet with a pedicure - prep them with a fall color and benefit from the soak and massage. Well, the water was too cool, and when the guy was sanding down the rough spots on my right foot (this is the one I'm having trouble with), he became distracted and sanded off a chunk of skin along my bunion, so not only is my foot sore from muscle spasms, now I have a painful skinless spot that will rub in my shoes until new skin can grow!

Full Fall Weekend

With unprecedented warmth and blue skies, we used the outdoors to the fullest this weekend. It began Saturday morning with a challenging 10-miler into Minooka Park - a beautiful, diverse and hilly county park about a mile from our house. But did we take the direct route to get there? Of course not! We followed a meandering route through the neighborhood to reach a city park that leads to a tunnel that passes under a 6-lane highway to a different neighborhood. From there it's another mile of winding streets to reach the NW corner of Minooka Park along the border of a large swim hole, and the start of the Yellow Trail. The Yellow Trail provided us about 5 miles of uphill (at least that's how it felt!) paths through brilliant foliage. Leaves crunched under foot (also creating a hazard by covering stones and tree roots), at times leaves rained down (as did huge, hard walnuts, that threatened my very existence!), and the unfolding hues of gold, crimson and green kept my mind from complaining too much over the difficult terrain and heat. Yes, it was damn hot for an autumn run - 70° when we started and 80° by the time were finished.

It was still a balmy 72° when the moon rose and we headed to the Morgan Manor Haunted Houses at the Waukesha County Fair Grounds. These houses are rated amongst the top 10 in America, so we had to go. It was an ideal night for standing in outdoor lines to enter the houses. I am easily scared - I can suspend disbelief with a snap of my fingers, unlike Joe who cannot turn off his problem-solving engineer mind, analyzing haunted houses instead of feeling the fear. That said, I only screamed once per house and that was based on startle factors. The houses were very well done - excellent designs and props (nothing was cheesy), and the volunteer scary people were great too - but I can say I've been to scarier places. Where my fear came into play was the house of torture. This was a darkened indoor maze ("phsyically demanding" the signs siad before entering) you had to push yourself through. It included corrugated PVC tubes thickly packed into a narrow hall of a labyrinth that you had to plow into to find a way out. But what you found was even worse - Walls made of fabric that had pressurized air on the other side billowing them tightly into each other, required you to push your way through (with some might!) to find an opening. I felt panicked that I couldn't breathe, and the dark only added to this oppression. If it wasn't for my yoga breath, I may have freaked out, passed out or lost my mind!

And then it was up early this morning to head to the ALS Walk. My friend Julie's brother-in-law (he's married to her sister) was diagnosed with ALS two years ago. It was a devastating diagnosis. His name is Jim, he's in his early 40's, has a wife and 4 kids, and ALS will kill him. In two years time, he has had to quit working, stop driving and is losing his ability to dress himself. His upper body is being affected at this point - with only one finger left that has much agility. Soon he will meet with a doctor to begin talking about feeding and breathing tubes. He has his dark moments to be sure, but being a huge Italian Catholic, he takes much solace and strength from his faith, and has handled his diagnosis with grace. He is beloved by all who meet him - in fact, he had the biggest team of walkers today (275) and raised the most money - many of the people, including myself, Joe and my mom, not having any direct relationship with him. That says a lot.

Colorama

Any race you go to, you will find over zealous, over exuberant, over achieving runners, logging mileage before or after the race. This has always annoyed me - who do they think they are? Show-offs. Isn't the race enough for them? I know that elite runners will run before a race to warm their muscles for optimal performance, and I'm fine with that - I'm not hating on those people. But the other sloppy slugs who look like regular folks, get on my nerves when they run before or after the race. Today, I joined their ranks.

I was scheduled for a 9 mile long run, but thought it would be a fun diversion and challenge, to do the Colorama 10k (6.2 miles), instead of hitting my usual city routes. In order to log the full 9 miles, I needed some extra time on the ground. Knowing what a grueling course Colorama has, I opted to run before the start of the race, as once I crossed the finish line I'd be ready to call it a day.

After 12 days of cold rain, the sun rose, making this a beautiful fall run. Bright blue sky's, leaves that have suddenly colored overnight, and crisp 40° air, provided perfect running conditions. I met up with Heather, and we agreed we weren't looking to break any time records (we did this race in 2008), just to finish strong. This meant walking some of the hills when gravity's pull became too strong, and flying over muddy rocky downhills without breaking anything. With thoughts of doing this as a long run with no pressure to PR, I ended up PR'ing (and that's after getting in that earlier run) - not by much, in fact only by 28 seconds (1:10:48), but that's enough to make me feel good!

About 4 miles into today's mileage, I crossed the 800 mile mark for the year, with the finish line leaving me at 805 miles run (120 of those have been in my VFF's). Joe hit a running milestone this week too - passing 500 miles! And where was he today? He wasn't feeling the love for Colorama this year, but has recently felt the love for trail running at Minooka Park by our home. Minooka Park has a trail system that can easily be pieced together for longer runs, and offers some hills to be reckoned with, so Joe completed his own "Colorama" or sorts as well :)

Snapshots from the Week

(Click-click) Bolstered by a good performance in my trail race last weekend, especially when not expecting to do well post-rigorous vacation that included 10 days of no running, I’ve registered for the even more challenging trail 10K at Lapham Peak – Colorama on October 1st. Joe wasn’t feeling the love for Colorama this time ( we last did it in 2008), so I’ll be flying solo, hoping to connect with some friends who intend to do the 5k. Anyone wanna join in?

(Click-click) The vacation photo album is done and it is glorious. Stats: The album holds 300 pictures, took about 8 hours to create, about $200 in materials and weighs 7 pounds. Others have reacted with awe – even to pictures/sights I consider to be “eh”. This tells me how spoiled and skewed my expectations for utterly amazing scenery has become. Some folks said they felt a twinge of vertigo with our summit photos, and all expressed astonishment over what hidden beauty this country has. Give me a holler if you wanna arrange a time to peruse this album!

(Click-click) The big beautiful Basswood on our front lawn is rotten and will need to come down. Last weekend we noticed a drooping limb (partially resting on our neighbors pine tree) that was beginning to pull away from the trunk. Joe wasn’t able to cut through this limb entirely, so he called our previous tree service (remember that sad day a couple years ago when we had to take a Maple limb down to appease our other neighbors?) to come estimate what it would cost to take it off. The arborist called to report the tree is internally decayed, as evidenced by the shelf fungus on the trunk. Joe further researched this, and it is glaringly true. By the time the fungus shows up, the tree is already a goner. The tree could topple in a storm or on its own, and become a home to animals and insects that can easily burrow into the soft rotten wood. It’s gonna have to come down. It will leave a huge void on our front lawn, we’ll lose shade and beauty. The thought of it breaks my heart. I love our trees almost as much as I love The Boys.

(Click-click) Six months have passed since Joe’s last bone density test. Today he is being retested, and we’re hoping for good news – all his running, weight lifting and the recent backpacking trip should be knitting some strong-as bones!

(Click-click) Today is my 9 year anniversary working for Waukesha County. My angst and feelings of flux from several months ago has simmered down. I have less urgency about finding a new career, but note I’ve been in a pattern for a few years now of approaching new ideas, and then backing away, feeling content, so I expect this push-pull phenomenon will continue. The main two considerations I still hold are becoming an RN or a Physician’s Assistant. But in the moment, I’m happy and content.

No Expectations = Great Outcomes

(Before The Race: Rosanna, Joy - eyes shut in meditation?, Joe)

Race day dawned 60° with clouds and a light breeze. The typical weather for The North Face Trail 10k. We've never had sun or warmth for this race, and that suits us just fine. Last year I had pouring rain, mud and a stiff 50° to run in, so today was cushy by comparison. We met Rosanna, and her friend, Laurie, pre-race, but ran our own races once we hit the Scuppernong hills.

I went into this race with no expectations to PR, given that we're still coming off of such a physical vacation and haven't had a lot of run time in. That said, I ended up PR'ing by 30 seconds (not huge, but hey! a PR is a PR). But the real news of the day is that Joe, who also PR'd (by nearly 2 minutes), placed 20th overall out of 239 runners!

Rain began to fall shortly after we entered the post-race food tent, setting up a perfect afternoon to snuggle in at home with PJ's, treats (garlic black bean tortilla chips, anyone?) and the lazy ease of knowing we have tomorrow off too.

After The Race: Happy to be done. Success is ours :)

Assimilation

Jumping back into the grind ... Despite the physical rigors our vacation demanded, I feel more tired 4 days into the usual grind and work week than I ever did on the trail, and I attribute it to mental fatigue. My entry into real life began Monday morning with the 4a.m. voice of the BBC’s Damian Grammaticus calling from the bathroom alarm clock. Though we never slept late (always up by 6a.m.) in the Sierra’s, we could awaken on our own time, generally after having 10 hours of rest/sleep. There I was Monday morning, rudely summoned by a somber Brit, with 6 hours of sleep, and a long day ahead of me. Back to the gym for a run and weight training. Back to work and the true start of the brain drain.

With so many voice mails, emails and cooling crises to clean-up, I felt overwhelmed, pulled in too many directions, unsure of where to start. And then live phone calls started rolling in. Everyone wanted a piece of me. I felt like I was treading water all day – never getting anywhere. The rest of the work week has been similar. Add in after work activities (most pleasant, but nevertheless a time leech) and my days were further shortened, causing more of brain pain as I scrambled to get everything done at home as well.

Monday night it was a 90-minute massage with Angie Man Hands. Angie worked out the kinks from backpacking – interestingly, my right hand & wrist were really tight from gripping my trekking pole (apparently I had death hold on it!). Tuesday night it was a return to yoga. Wednesday night it was my chiropractic adjustment and errands. Tonight it’ll be a pedicure (time to slough off the blistered skin and chipped purple polish in favor of royal blue) and grocery shopping. Tomorrow night it will be seeing the always hilarious Paula Poundstone at The Pabst. Saturday is a day of rest. Sunday morning me, Joe & Rosanna have The North Face Endurance Challenge Trail 10k, and Monday? A vacation day from work to just chill. At the end of this stint, I should be fully assimilated into my usual life, and no longer feeling so mentally drained. BUT, next week, Joe and I will begin training for our Haunted Hustle ½ Marathon, so the physical drain will resume!

High Sierra Trail Report

We're home with another item scratched off our bucket list! The Sierra Nevada mountain range is so massive in both size and scenery that capturing it's essence in this blog will not be possible. Our 6-day traverse of these white granite mountains (sculpted by glaciers), from West to East, was epic to say the least. Such diversity in landscape, unfolding mile by mile, makes it difficult to select just one photo to give you a flavor of the place, but we chose one anyway. Pictured is Upper Hamilton Lake, before the Great Western Divide, at approximately 8200 ft. We nabbed this photo on Day 2 - a helacious 13+ mile day that took 9.5 hours to hike. It's the dicey terrain, the altitude (we'd climb to over 10,000ft. that day), the sun exposure (sun screen does little to keep you from sizzling &dehydrating), and the incessant stops for photo ops that create such a physically demanding day.

If you start at the top of the picture, you will see mountains in the background on the right, and the closer mountains near Upper Hamilton Lake on the left. You can discern that a valley was betwixt these mountains before the lake - that is where we came from. We began our hike that morning at 6,800ft., and steeply climbed up to this bright blue lake - a coveted camping destination for HST (High Sierra Trail) hikers who like to fish for their dinner. We hiked through twisting canyon walls, across the tops of random waterfalls, past twisted Bristlecone pines, straight Lodgepole pines, White Firs, Sage brush, Manzanita's, and ferns, routinely clamored over 3 foot stones (not easy when you have my stubby legs), forded creeks and listened to the roar of wind and water (waterfalls were everyhwere) to reach this lake just 4 miles into our long day.

Now look at the picture again. To the right of the lake you will see a green patch and in that green patch you will see the line of trail that we followed. This trail would have us climb to 10,700ft. to reach the Kaweah Gap, at which point we'd begin a long descent to our camping spot for the evening at Big Arroyo. During this ascent highlights included leftover July wildflowers clinging to mountainside streams, expansive debris fields and Precipice Lake. Precipice Lake was made famous by Ansel Adams. It's a small tarn with steep black (manganese) and white (granite) walls surrounding it. This lake often remains frozen through July. When we arrived on 9/2, snow still surrounded the lake and blue icebergs dotted it's surface.

When we eventually arrived at Big Arroyo, we needed to hustle to set up camp, resupply our water for the next day, make dinner,clean up and get to bed. Planning an early September trip meant we exchanged the possible hassles of lingering snow fields, raging rivers and mosquitoes for shorter daylight hours. In the mountains dusk was creeping in by 7p.m. with total darkness by 8p.m. The first dim light of day would come around 6a.m. As it turns out, we couldn't have selected our trip dates any better than we did. The trail obstacles we feared (snow, rivers) had dissipated, and our weather was fantastic. Bright blue skies, 70's during the day, 40's at night (except for one night at 32°). The day we exited the HST, some clouds were rolling in and we learned a storm front would arrive within the next 2 days, delivering snow to the higher elevations.

It was at Big Arroyo that we met a couple around our age from Hawaii - John & Julie, originally from Georgia. They were seasoned backpackers and an equal match for us on the trail. Though we didn't hike together, it turned out we often played leap frog along the trails and ended up at the same backcountry camps throughout the trip. We reached the summit of Mt. Whitney together, and shared greasy french fries together when we finally came off the mountain 5 hours later.

As I mentioned before, the scenery was bigger than life. Never a dull view, never a ho-hum moment. The HST is all we expected it to be. That said, if we had it to do over again, we would add an extra day or two to our itinerary. Our pace was a bit ambitious - averaging 15 miles per day - which left minimal time for leisure and enjoyment. Seeing so much beauty, smelling the sun-heated pine needles, breathing in clean dry air (air that would also cause my nose to become bloody and crusty), and hearing nothing but silence or an occasional bird, was enjoyable on a constant basis, but with our need to push the miles, we often felt time sitting heavy on our backs (remember, shorter daylight hours) and wished for more time at each camp for reading, relaxing and soaking our hot, swollen, blistered feet. And speaking of soaking - we did have a moment to dip our legs and feet into the 90° Kern Hot Springs on Day 3 - awesome natural springs that have been diverted into a man-made concrete tub next to the frigid Kern River.

We were able to keep our blisters manageable - sure, they hurt with each step, but at least we had no injuries on this trip. And remaining healthy would be critical for us to complete the HST, which technically ends at the summit of Mt.Whitney - the 11 miles down from the summit to the trailhead aren't part of the HST. The night before summitting we were camped at Guitar Lake - a beautiful amphitheater devoid of much life - severe jagged boulder fields and craggy peaks surround this instrument shaped lake, and wind blows dervishly into this bowl, chilling you to the bone even in the sun.

That night we slept poorly due to the wind flapping the tent (sometimes the tent wall would press onto my face) and the near full moon shining through our door. That, and knowing that we had the alarm set for a 5a.m. wake-up call, kept us on edge. Up at 5a.m. with the starlight, we broke down camp, and began our climb (from 11,400 ft.) to the top of the highest peak in the lower 48 states (14, 495 ft). The climb was grueling - especially with a 30-pound pack and 5 days of fatigue growing on me. My mind constantly screamed for it to be over. And then it was. We reached the summit and the feeling of accomplishment reminds you of why you put yourself through such physical hardship. That and the view is astounding. We ended up making really good time despite the elevation and our packs, reflecting a weeks worth of acclimatization and accumulated trail fitness.

It was about 40° and windy on the summit. A picture feeding frenzy took place, with all summitters (maybe about 10 at the time we were there) vying (almost in a line) for the primo spots to document success. We all tried to force some food down (no one has an appetite at that altitude) for the long descent, and steadied our minds for the eagle eye focus it would take to safely descend 6000ft. over 5 hours - each foot placement being critical to your safety. Arriving at the Whitney Portal Trailhead was the best feeling ever. To know that we had completed our journey, could get clean, eat real food, and sleep in a bed was utter happiness.

Leaving the Sierra Nevada behind, we traveled 2 hours to Death Valley where we had a cabin booked for the night. When we arrived at 7:30p.m., it was 106° - 10 hours earlier we'd been freezing on the summit of Mt. Whitney. From Death Valley, we traveled to Vegas (where our senses were assaulted on all fronts after being in the wilderness for a week) for a night, and then spent one awful day coming home. Flight delays due to the power outage in San Diego, full flights with annoying people, and then, after landing in Milwaukee, as we're driving to Tandoor from the airport (we've been drooling over Manchurian Gobhi all day), along 894 Wetsbound during rush hour traffic, we hear the loud clunk and scraping of Joe's muffler dragging down the center lane. Are you fucking kidding me? We wanted to cry, but called AAA instead. They came quicker than expected, were able to tie up our muffler, we got to Tandoor over an hour late (oops- we were meeting my mom and Marisa there), but we had our fill of Manchurian Gobhi, and were home to see the boys (how we missed them!) by 8p.m.

THE END.

HST & Beyond ...

Vacation has crept up on us, is tickling the back of our necks, whispering in our ears, beckoning us to forget about work and the daily grind, to enter one of the most beautiful wilderness areas in this country for 7 days of majestic beauty, hard physical challenges, fresh air, starry planetarium-like nights ... manna for the soul. We'll hike an average of 12 miles per day at altitudes ranging from 6,000 ft. - 14,600 ft., topping out on the summit of Mt. Whitney (the tallest peak in the lower 48 states), before descending 11 miles to the exit trail head (that last day will be a 17-miler). Last week we learned that the snow is finally melting, the rivers are calming and the mosquitoes are dying, so we are hopeful that conditions will not be as dicey as initially expected. The weather forecast looks bright at this time with sunny daytime highs in the 70's to low 80's (depending on the altitude) and nights in the upper 30's to low 40's.

We leave Wisconsin in summer, but I'm sure it will feel like fall when we come back. And autumn signals a return to more serious running endeavors (having reduced the training load over the hot summer). Saturday we snuck one last long run in before hours of packing ensued (it takes about 6 hours or more to pack for our trips). I ran 8 miles, and am knocking out 5 miles everyday this week until we leave. While I know the cross training of this trip will be an excellent break from running, and that it will only increase my fitness level, I will be missing 10 days of running, which is enough time to lose some conditioning - even if doing other things. This makes me a little anxious, as within a week of returning from vacation, on 9/19, we have The North Face Endurance Challenge - a trail 10K in the Southern Kettle Moraine Unit. I'm banking on the increased red blood cell supply we will develop in the oxygen deprived mountains to help me perform well! (fingers crossed). Following that race, we will begin training for our October half marathon -our third of the year - The Haunted Hustle in Madison, WI.

Au revoir for now. I'll return with pictures and stories to amaze all.

Cutting Loose

I chopped my hair off! It hasn't been this short in nearly 30 years! As a child my hair was the envy of others, long, thick, strawberry blond. It was part of my identity. Then a 12 year old identity crisis happened over the summer of 1983. Instead of being the Izod, Oxford, Levi, donning preppy that I was known to be, I revamped my image into that of a fly girl. I had discovered both rap (RUN DMC!) and pop (Duran Duran) and to integrate the two, I began wearing flight pants, Puma jackets and fedora's, and as a nod to Duran Duran's group hottie, Simon LeBon, I had my bottom-of-the-back hair winnowed to a one inch spike on top, with buzzed sides and back. To be extra cool (hey, don't laugh, this was uber cool in the early '80's!), I kept a small chunk of my butt long hair at the nape of my neck, which was died magenta and worn in a braid. The theory behind this hair cut, which by the way, required me to sign a release at Boston Store's salon stating I knowingly and willingly allowed my hair to be destroyed (my dramatic hindsight articulation of what occurred), was to have cool spiked hair like Simon LeBon. The reality was different. My hair is naturally wavy/curly when short (I didn't know that then), so my spikes never stood - they curled. Using mousse and gel left me with wet looking curls - nothing would make my hair stand on end. I hated my haircut. To add insult to injury, after a summer of tanning, I developed sun poisoning, which looked like a terrible outbreak of acne, AND over the summer months the popular crowd with whom I associated, had determined to drop me like a hot potato. I had left 7th grade a popular, glamour-haired, clear complexioned preppy, and entered 8th grade with no friends, greasy short curls, sun blisters on my face, black flight pants, a black & blue Puma jacket, and jelly shoes. I associated that bad time with short hair, and have never allowed it to be shorter than below the shoulders until now. I like this cut, but I feel exposed without my hair. So whether or not this will stick, or I start growing it longer again is yet to be determined!