Chicks With Kicks

Turkey Trotting

2009-06-03T11:21:00.001-07:00

Alright, friends and family. It´s here. The new blog. With no posting yet, but that´ll come soon.

Turkey Trotting is where you shall now find me.

Goodbye for now, Chicks with Kicks. Hello Turkey (The country--though I do love me some turkey sandwich)!

Rollin' Down the Pipeline...

2009-05-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

Soon, very soon, I'll be closing Chicks with Kicks. Well, closing in that I won't be posting any longer.

I began this blog a year ago with some major goals I wanted to accomplish as well as get other runners involved in order to help me and for me to help them. The experiment didn't quite go as I expected. Oh well. Mostly, I'm stopping because I've had to shelve my running goals.

I'm going to keep writing though, because my mother appreciates it, and because I'll be expecting my students next year to blog as well. Practice what you preach!!

I'm going to begin a new blog. I think I'll call it Turkey Trotting or the like. I want to still focus on athleticism, but because we're moving to a place that will be so out of the normal for me, I think there will be a lot of things I'll want to comment on publicly for friends and family. I've not had that much to say on the Ecuador blog because I think in a lot of ways we knew what to expect here. Over there, I have no clue. I mean, sort of I do. But not really. I have no conceptual frame of reference for what we're getting in to. So I'll write about it.

I'll keep Chicks with Kicks as a link from my new blog. And who knows--maybe one day I'll go back to the experiment. But now, I feel like I can only comment on a screwed knee soooo many times, you know? And so, adieu. I'll post one last time with my new blog address. Add it to your lists :-)
Ciao or Chao (as we spell it here)
Erin

Need Oxygen

2009-05-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

The good news, no, the great news is that I don't need surgery.
Neither does Tim, if anyone was wondering.

In fact, nothing much is really wrong with me. I have some liquid in there, and inflammation and lack of blood flow.

The bad news is that I probably won't be able to really get back to running until we leave Quito. I just can't get enough oxygen here to fully heal. I've so far been to 3 of my 10 prescribed physical therapy sessions and nothing has yet changed. I'm also considering acupunture to try to stimulate blood-flow. But the guy requires a 10 session commitment. All the cabbing really adds up!

So, goals are being shelved. That was the hardest part. I wanted to do something really big for myself for my 30th birthday, but I can't. At least, not what I wanted to do, anyway.

I'll still participate in the 15k here--a combo of running and walking, sporting this year's much cooler school team uniform. I also plan to participate in the 4k on the 4th in Boulder. If you havn't registered, DO IT!! Beyond that, I'll just be looking at 5 and 10ks, I guess. Which is fine with me now--even enjoyable. I won't have to train hard.

At this point, I'm only allowing myself some mild disappointment--looking down the barrel of 7 more weeks of waiting. My friend began chemo this week to fight a brain tumor. And when you consider that, much else ceases to be important. I'm not going to allow myself to wallow. I can still walk. I can still run even, especially when I get back to a normal altitude (Quito is at 10,000 ft. if you didn't know).

And I will still be able to do so many wonderful things in Boulder this summer. Oh, how I've missed it all! So now I'm focusing on the good things to come. I'll run this summer, but it won't be the center of my world. My friends and being outside in some Colorado sunshine will be my focus and it will be excellent!

Waiting

2009-04-26T08:22:00.001-07:00

Not gone. Just waiting.

I finally got in for an MRI yesterday, but I won't know the results till Tuesday or so. The orthopedic thinks it might be a meniscus fracture (a very easy and mild surgery to fix it). He can push on both sides of my meniscus, and it hurts real bad! If it's not a fracture, the meniscus simply isn't getting enough circulation/oxygen for some reason and so is inflamed. The cure? Oh, two or three weeks off. I resisted the urge to yell at him that it's been five months. Let's just see what the pictures say, first, shall we?

Interestingly, Tim has a fractured meniscus in the opposite knee. Think there's any chance of a two-for-one deal at the surgery super-store?

Erin Concedes

2009-03-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

Gait analysis reveals I don't pronate. Great. Fantastic. Back to the drawing board.

The chiros think it's one of two things:
I really messed myself up running hard in shoes made for pronators--they correct for a problem I don't have. Or, I'm still sort of altitude sick and cannot heal until I go back down. Still, after a year and a half at 10,000 feet, I'm still doing that high-altitude breathing thing. This could be causing nerve damage because I'm not getting enough oxygen. The second explanation makes sense when we consider that my injury changes by week and we just seem to chase it around my leg, never getting to the cause and never fully getting rid of the pain.

Sooooo.....time for the MRI. I'm going to see a knee specialist. See if he has any other ideas or agrees with the chiros. But mostly I want to see what's going on in there--see if I have any real damage or if there are clues to the cause.

If the cause really is altitude, it's something I'll just have to continue to struggle with until we leave in June.

Bye-bye, marathon.

Gait Analysis: Last Ditch Effort

2009-03-15T11:11:00.001-07:00

Tim and I are going to DC this week for his cousin's wedding. While there, I'm making one last attempt to heal in time to train for this marathon. I'm looking for a store where I can have a gait analysis--I'm worried I've got pronation issues and either need orthotics or different shoes or both.

When we get back from DC marks the date that I can still begin the training plan with enough time before the race. Currently, I'm running about 3 days a week, swimming two. My knee hurts me off and on, but not during running, which makes me think I must be re-doing something while running, and it hurts later because it gets inflamed. For about a week before I started running again, it was totally fine--didn't hurt at all. Now it seems to be coming back. That's why I think I may be re-injuring with my foot-plant and shoes.

At this point, I need a miracle cure--and shoes/orthotics might be it. If not, I'm going for that MRI to see if surgery is the only option left.

I'm getting to a point where I'm okay with what's going to happen. I don't think it's permanent--it can be cured. And while I might not reach my 30th birthday goal I set for this year, there's still plenty of things I can do in my 30th year of life (and beyond)--including the Intercontinental Marathon in Istanbul in October. I can run from Europe to Asia in one race. And that's rad. I also still plan on doing several shorter races in Colorado this summer. I can certainly get my fix that way too, and just work on the distance from there.

I still have hope and a good outlook. I'm thankful for what I'm able to do with my body and so I can be patient with whatever hiccup it's having right now. It'll be okay.

4 on the 4th

2009-03-02T16:20:00.001-08:00

This post is happening now because that's how excited I am about getting back to Colorado for the summer, as soon as possible!!! I have missed Colorado, like I've missed skiing--like something has been misplaced. Like my leg.

Anyhoo, if you will be in the Boulder area on July 4th, you are coming to run Avery Brewing Company's 4 on the 4th with me! Don't worry, it's just a 4k and there's free beer. You can register at Active for, I think, $25.
This is not a suggestion.
This is what you are doing.

Erin Can Run!

2009-03-02T16:04:00.000-08:00

Not very far, and not very fast, but I can do it! I ran two days in a row and don't hurt! Well, okay, my butt and hamstrings are sore, but my knee is not. Oh happiness. Eyes are back on the prize, but I am taking it easy and sticking to two days a week in the pool. And not just running in the water. I'm going to swim. It's been nice getting back into swimming. I thought I'd be incredibly bored but there's something so zen about cool water, muffled sound, and just counting, 1, 2, 3, breathe, 1, 2, 3, breathe....

Getting back up to my favorite place in Quito, Parque Metropolitano, was like a homecoming. Oh how I missed it so. And so, here is my ode to Metropolitano:

Parque Metropolitano, how I love thee--
Let me count the ways:
I love how the bad weather stops at your backside,
covers up Guapulo, but you keep it from swallowing my house.
I love your eucalyptus tree leaves
that rustle like the paper I separate before printer insertion.
I love you when the city is smoggy
because you are not.
I love your endless possibilities,
your miles of deserted trails that wind
connect, separate, disappear and reappear.
I love it when you give me a tan.
I love it that you're like a vacation.
I love it when the sun shines through you leaves
and the patterns and smells remind me of spring time in NC.
I love it that the citizens love you,
donate tax money to keep you clean,
and that they come in droves to celebrate you on the weekends.
But mostly, I love it that you give me a taste of home--
dirt trails, clean air, a beautiful place to run.
Thank you Parque Metropolitano,
for being a mere 5 minutes walk from my house.

Knee Progress

2009-02-15T14:58:00.000-08:00

I just had a great appointment with the chiropractic team yesterday and we finally got to the root of some major problems. Turns out I've been carrying perma-cramp around in my calves for who knows how many years. Plus, the muscles in the back of my legs are so tight and so much stronger than the fronts, that they fight with my lats making my left leg tighten up to the point of being shorter than the other. So additionally, what's been going on in the back of my legs pulls my fibula out of it's rightful place--part of what pulls my knee-cap off where it's supposed to run. All of that causes me to walk and run without moving my hip. I almost swing my leg around because the back is too tight to allow follow-through. Crazy the things you learn about yourself.

So we had a long session of breaking down the muscles, putting bones back into place and some walking re-training. Seriously, I have to train myself how to walk properly. And when I walk the right way, I have zero pain in my knee. Freaking miracle. So, I'm first going to try a long walk in the park, and then, this week....wait for it.......I'm going to attempt to run on land!

I learned that I can swim and run in the water with no pain. So that and some core muscle work and stretching is about the extent of what I've been doing. I was so glad to learn that I can swim and run in the water without pain--Because that means that I can do part of my training in the water while I'm still healing up. I mean, it's not ideal and boring as all get-out, but at least I can do some form of running.

I think we're also on the verge of having our future figured out, so that will cause way less stress and tightening. My inability to relax may really be my biggest problem.

In Which Erin is Shit-Canned After Two Glasses of Wine

2009-02-01T18:26:00.001-08:00

I've hit an all new tolerance low. Cheap drunk? Sure. How about, can't hang and has to be put to bed at 9:00 after what's a normal dinner for most? Yikes. My reputation is ruined. They'll no longer call me "Booze." They'll call me "Snooze."

In celebration of a full-week of strict diet, I went ahead and had that second glass. Wouldn't you? The good news is that it totally prepared me for my entire PINT of beer for Super Bowl Sunday. I am sooooo living on the edge.

But in all seriousness, I feel better than I have in years.

Additional pluses: I can swim AND deep water run without it hurting my knee. And the pool is walking distance. And I have a friend to go with so I don't bore myself to drowning.

Also, my knee has felt markedly better the last two days. And I was getting slightly hysterical. But things seem to be healing up in there.

Also, in the past, when I've been injured or was on some running hiatus, I wouldn't change how I was eating and would of course gain a good bit of weight which would in turn make me uber depressed and I would eat more. I am now officially avoiding that cycle.

I was right in the last post. I could almost see this being a life-style sort of thing. Now that I'm used to it, it's easy to only eat what I'm supposed to. I don't crave anything. I give this whole enterprise my stamp of approval.

Now, when the time comes, perhaps I will be able to train with the same sort of discipline my diet has required.....

Coming Down the Home-Stretch

2009-01-29T14:39:00.000-08:00

So, two days to go on this super-low carb thing. And I feel fantastic! And cranky bitch is gone. But my knee does not feel fantastic, which was the point. More on that shortly.

Saturday marks the end of this try-it-for-a-week-and-see-how-it-goes thing. No, I'm not rushing to the ice cream shop or Mr. Bagel or anything. I'll slowly add in some carb--piece of toast here, a banana there, extra chocolate in my whey shake (microbrews in Boston).... But mostly, I think I'm going to try to maintain a super low amount until I'm able to train heavily again. I mean sheesh, if nothing else, this diet is keeping me thin and satisfied during a time of inactivity. I should probably keep with it awhile.

I did find myself looking longingly at a giant chocolate chip cookie today, though. So I know the addiction isn't broken. At least I know I can control it without tweaking out.

Next weekend will mark my third week off. Third week of rest. That's a long time to nurse a running injury. When we return from Boston, if there is not a marked changed, I'm going to go get my hundred dollar MRI (health care anywhere except the States is great) and see what's going on in there. The amount of time makes me worry--is it too damaged to heal on it's own? We don't replace knee cartilage naturally. So cross your fingers that the third week is the charm. I'm even crossing my toes.

In Which Erin Realizes She's a Cranky Bitch

2009-01-26T16:13:00.000-08:00

But not during the day. Only at night. But I don't feel hungry. But I do feel decidedly not-right. But only at night. During the day I feel great. I have energy all day; I wake up happy and alert and ready to go. And then it gets dark. And the bitch emerges from the shadows to snap at Tim or get really annoyed with anything. Then I eat dinner. Then I crash.
Is this healthy?

I just don't know.
I pee lots, which means stuff is getting cleaned out. But I feel fat. I have way more all-day energy (which is an enormous benefit I wasn't even expecting), but my knee still hurts very much a lot. I still want chocolate, but am only consumed by this need mid-afternoon at which time I eat an apple or just wait it out, and then it's gone (And that is so noodle waxing!). I'm at least a two-cups-a-day coffee drinker, but now I only want one (this is getting strange and unusual). And you know that glass of wine I was allowed every night? I kind of don't want it. Mostly because I feel decidedly not-right at night. But also because I have absolutely no specific urgings of any kind. And if nothing else, I've realized I'm an eat-by-the-urges (and whatever Tim puts in front of me) kind of eater.

So...strange things are happening to me.
Honestly, I HATE having to obsess about food. I HATE having to plan ahead so that I will not be stuck hungry without things I can eat, and I HATE it that my knee still hurts.
But then again, what did I expect?
That for half a week I'd cut out carbs and miraculously shed 5 pounds, feel great, my knee would be in perfect health, and I'd have a fabulous tan to boot?
I guess I need to chill out.
Maybe I will have that wine tonight.

In other news: I've been gym hunting. Uuuggggggggghhhhhhhhh.
I bought goggles and a cap yesterday for the pool by my house. Double ugh.
But I can't do nothing. And currently, my knee is allowing for none of my somethings. I am trying not to get depressed and am now going into "healthy injury-recovery mode."

Day Two

2009-01-24T16:18:00.001-08:00

It's not as hard as I thought it'd be--this whole restricted diet thingie. Mostly it's just a pain in the ass. I have to cook things and prepare things and mix things and wash things. Toast is oh-so-much simpler!

I'm pretty hungry too. But I think it's because while I've taken out the carbs, I'm not really replacing those calories with veggies and meat. I mean, I eat the same amount, but I guess a bunch of green beans doesn't have the same calories as pan de yuca or bread and buttah. So I'll need to figure that out.

Other than being slightly annoyed by how much I'm having to think about food, and how I'm a little bit hungry, I feel good. My energy has been even all day, both days. Actually, I would even say I feel "energetic," which is not a constant state of being for me. But I've not experienced any partway through the day lows or highs on energy.

And really, things were going swimmingly until the gas stove ran out of fuel this evening. And now I'm trying to figure out what to eat for dinner. I was explicitly told not to skip any meals. So now it's tuna salad or hard boiled eggs again.

The Great Protein Challenge

2009-01-22T13:54:00.000-08:00

In addition to trying the Hydration Challenge (and wow, is it challenging!), I am going to try the Protein Challenge. What is the challenge?

Eat protein and veggies for a straight week. Exclusively.

Well. With some berries thrown in. I can have 60g of carbs a day.
Apparently, this is supposed to lube up my joints really nicely. The docs think my body is so inflamed and messed up that it's mimicking arthritis. And I guess this is diet recommended for arthritics.

I don't know how much I actually buy into stuff like that. Whole grains are good. But maybe it's better to teach your body how to burn fat and not rely on carbs for fuel?

What I do know is that my goal is fiercely important to me--I need to get fixed so that I can run. So I'm willing to try just about anything. This challenge will be particularly odd for me. I have NEVER tried to stick to a diet (starving aside), do a cleanse, or anything of that nature. I always thought I wouldn't have the will-power or that I eat pretty well as is, so why bother? If this doesn't lube my joints, doesn't make me feel better, yadda yadda yadda--then what it will at least do is break me of my sugar habit which is probably the best thing I could do for myself right now.

So here's to sashimi, bunless cheeseburgers, whey shakes, and lots of eggs.
Bottoms up.
Full report to follow in a week.

Update

2009-01-13T05:03:00.000-08:00

So, the way I sleep, stand, breath and hold myself has given me some runner's knee and mild tendonitis. But not to fear! I'm getting it all straightened out. Or I guess I should say I'm getting me straightened out. I finally went to see Tim's chiropractic team--a multi-talented, multi-trained, married couple who seriously tag-team the session. Adjustments are much better with two people. One can distract the muscles while the other makes the adjustment.

Anyhoo, I'm going to need several sessions. I am seriously out-of-whack. But I think they can fix me, and I can fix me, and my knee will be fixed. It seems to be bearing the brunt of a lot of unnecessary pressure. The good news is that I'm taking care of this with plenty of time to spare for the race in July.

But I guess another cool thing is that they're more like total life coaches and sports doctors. The husband is an ultra-runner and the wife a sprinter. So they're going to help me with everything: nutrition and supplements, training, my running form, proper stretching and strengthening, and my hear-rate monitor! Que chevere!

Realism

2009-01-05T18:25:00.000-08:00

The new year is a time for reflecting, making resolutions, and hoping you can stick to them. I generally don't like making resolutions because at the end of the year, if I feel I haven't really met them, I get a bit down about failure and all. But of course, my resolutions are always things like, be a better person, quit being so judgmental, be a better teacher....things I amazingly never live up to by the end of the year. So this year, I made concrete resolutions. But I'm not sharing them here. Because this blog is about my running. And my current goals were envisioned about 7 months ago. So they don't apply.

But some reflection and realism do apply. There is just no way I'm going to do an ultra this year. If I lived in the States, yes, sure, probably. But I don't live in the States and I've never even run a freakin' marathon. It's hard to do things here and I can't be out running past 6 pm. Or before 6 am. (Daylight) But that's not all of it. It's a pain in the ass to go to a gym and fill in or do strength training. A little company would be great, but other than Tim on a run here and there, I can't drag anyone out on this crusade with me. So, I'm letting the ultra go. For this summer. It's still something I'm utterly fascinated by and want to make a real attempt at--but I think I need to make sure I can first train for a marathon.

And so, with the new year, resolutions, reflections and reaslim, my goal has been set. I want to run the Leadville Trail Marathon on July 11th. It's the only trail marathon I can find when I know I will for sure be in Colorado. I've not yet registered because I decided this yesterday and have not yet sat down to the computer with credit card in hand. But I will soon. Even though my bib will read something like, 005. I just need to get it done. Make it real. Make it happen. Be something to work for. Something huge to me.

Bass Lake

2008-12-18T10:18:00.000-08:00

Sunday, I'm going running where it all began. The first place I ever ran farther than a mile and the site of hundreds of training runs throughout high school and parts of college. The place where I got in trouble for waving at a TV camera during a race. The site of many other races, hill-workouts, mile repeats, long slow distance days, and everything in-between. The place where I (literally) ran into Newt Gingrich. The place my Dad and I go whenever I'm in Boone during the summer time. The first place I ever ran more than 8 miles at one time. The place where I fell in love with October. The one place where I learned more about myself than in any other spot on the planet.

I'm going to Bass Lake. The place where I see myself when I see myself running.

Because Races Here Are Too Damn Funny:

2008-12-10T15:24:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics because you should know:

This is the area/time before start--many SERIOUS runners in matching outfits. One thing we've noticed about Ecuadorians--they half-ass NO athletic pursuit.

These are the pace balloons, supposedly carried by an actual pacer. Sure.

This guy was awesome. And inspiring. The third world is NO place for the disabled, yet here they are, and soooo excited for a race.

And we're off! If I could attach ordors, or make this scratch and sniff, you would smell Ben-gay.

"Hey Tim, maybe this one time it won't be handled bags of water..." No tamale.

Dog on a roof! And no barking. Actually, I think he may have been bewildered by it all.

Fritada break, anyone? No takers? Well that's shocking, I mean, it's already 7:30 am.

Oh, the llegada. Finally. Sheesh.

Now that we made it, it's time for group cool-down and stretches! Thanks, Parque Carolina aerobics instructors!

There's the monument back there. We had to beg and plead just to get this close. Check Tim's Ecuador Reporter article on how to deal with this sort of thing.

It's become a post-race tradition: share one of our horded "special" suitcase-imported beers.

And that concludes what a race looks like in Ecuador. Hope you'll consider a race in the third world sometime. It really is a blast, and I don't think I can say that about too many races in the States.

Taking Awhile

2008-12-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

I was going to post some pictures of the 1/2 marathon. But our internet has not been happy for quite awhile now and I have no clue what its problem is. But it's annoying. And dumb.

So no pictures for you.

Sorry.

Maybe soon . . . .

Cross the Zero Line

2008-11-25T16:14:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know, this says 2007, and Nov. 25th. Just imagine it says 2008 and 23. Okay? I couldn't rip anything current--it's all video.

I would post pictures as well, but they're all on Tim's computer. So you'll just have to check Este Ecuador for what I'm sure will be a gut-grabbingly hilarious photo-journalistic spread from Tim who carried the camera during the race. His antics kept my attention off how painful the whole enterprise of running more than 6 miles actually is.

But really, like every racing experience I've had here in Quito, I was not disappointed as far as seeing some of the damnedest things you would NEVER see in a race in the States and I am so glad Tim took the camera to document so we would not forget: dude with the sponge on his butt, and old dude dressed all in white and a knit cap who growled "gracias por aplausa" to himself whenever someone cheered him on, and bags of water and plastic gatorade cups, or dudes sponsored by the sausage company, and dude wearing SHORT white shorts (and he was sweating lots), and giggly spectators, and renegade motivational speakers sprinting through the racers, and random bottles of water offered from lone spectators, and group aerobics warm-ups at the starting line, and pacer balloons, and the general sense of camaraderie and fun that characterize races here.

While we had a blast and the course was pretty easy, I couldn't help but thinking that a 1/2 marathon is the farthest I've raced so far. I've done a few of these, but nothing longer. And these things are not what I would call "easy." I am really going to have to be on my game if I want to pursue my goals.

I thought I gave myself a new knee injury Sunday. The back of my knee felt like it was about to be a serious problem. But now, on rest day #2, everything is good. I'm still a bit more sore in that calf than anywhere else. But overall, I'm feeling good and ready to go for a stretchy, easy, happy jog tomorrow. After which time I will begin my training plan. Seriously!

It's Like Dre Said... (yeah, you know)

2008-11-08T12:12:00.000-08:00

The very next day, after my last post, election day, I came down with a horrific cold. Quick-style. Knocked me on my ass it did. So training is put on hold for one week, I guess. I'm trying to run today, but it keeps raining. Running in the rain is fine when I'm healthy. Not so fine when I'm sick and need to walk a lot of it.

I swear, Dre, must have been talkin' 'bout little ole me. And wow, was he right.

"Hard to hold a candle, in the cold November rain..."

2008-11-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

That's why I'm picking November to begin a training program. November here brings the beginning of what was, last year, an excruciatingly long rainy season. It's not supposed to be that way. We are supposed to have a rainy November, relatively dry December and January, with rain increasing until April when it should be at it's wettest, steadily decreasing until June, when we supposedly enjoy a long dryish season until the next November. Last year, it began raining in November, and it didn't stop until the end of June. We had dry week or few days here and there, but there was never another "dry" season and the country suffered for it. Our old neighborhood had daily landslides and the coast was a total mess. Who knows what this year will bring, but at least this time I'm prepared and know what to expect.

To start the mood off right, I'm beginning "training." Where before I was base building, now I'll be throwing in actual workouts. I'll have a plan, a path. Something I've not had in almost 10 years. If I have a plan, the rain can't get me down, right? I won't be able to say that I'm exhausted and depressed by the rain. I'll still have to go out there and get it done.

For the next two weeks I'm going to throw in fartlek runs twice a week--probably two rest days a week to start off as I'm having some knee difficulty and want to see how it goes. Two weeks in, I'm beginning the following training plan from Runners World: a modified "Rookie Plan."
Why Rookie? Why modified? Rookie because of various complications and goings here and there resulting in unplanned days off, my mileage doesn't get much higher than 5-6 miles in any given day, and I'm probably averaging only about 5 miles a day. Modified because I can and want to do more than what this plan calls for. For example, instead of cross training, that will turn into a run day. My ladders will be longer, tempos will incorporate the new to me and oh-so compelling "step-down" approach (run increasingly faster miles rather than the same pace throughout--amazing!), longer distance runs, and, oh, yeah, we're running a half marathon in the very beginning of my "training."

On the 23rd, Tim and I will be racing to the center of the Earth. Doesn't that sound cool? The 1/2 marathon begins a bit north of our house and continues straight on to the monument that sits at a supposed 0 degrees latitude. The monument was a couple hundred meters off, but oh the accuracy of the triangles and pendulum clocks used by the French in the 1700s!

Forget that there is no marathon or anything closely resembling a marathon anywhere near me till June. I've not yet figured out what to do with a marathon training plan that incorporates a tapering period and, you know, a marathon. But we'll just see how it goes and deal with that all in good time. I'm also not sure what to do about our two week vacation for Christmas during which we plan a no-holds-barred assault on the surrounding mountains (no running). Again, I'll deal with that when the time comes.

Obsessive Obsessions

2008-11-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

Let's just say that running is not one of them lately. But that doesn't mean I'm not doing it. It just means running isn't consuming every waking thought and therefore, I'm not writing about it.

Thankfully, one obsession will either blissfully or mournfully fall away tomorrow night. Thank God. I'm not even in a swing state being bombarded with ads and calls and knocks at the door and I'm tired of this. I can only imagine how my Stateside cohorts must feel.

The other obsession--and I mean, all consuming thing I'm dreaming about every night and getting anxiety back knots over--is where we'll be next year and what we have to do to get there. It's possible we could Skype interview with some school and go straight there. Or we could spend a crap-ton of money and go to a hiring fair for the possibility of having a super cool opportunity, like a school in the middle of a ski resort in the Swiss Alps. It's a tough decision but we're currently slowly taking steps to get set up for a job fair, supposing we'll see what happens in between.

This is an all-consuming obsession because we have very specific requirements in order to be happy sane people. Plus, we need to stay at our next school for at least three years so we don't look like flakes. My requirements: less rain than what we've experienced here. That could equal Boone climate, so consider me not especially picky, but it does rule out maybe Scotland and Rio, Brazil though we will consider both. My other requirements: the ability to run on trails after school (meaning almost walking accessible so this can be done on an afternoonly basis), the ability to ski at least a couple times during the season (I haven't skied in almost two years and it's kinda eating me up). I also need the school to be in a better environment and by that I simply mean that I should not have to waste 20 minutes of class time hunting down technology equipment I've signed up for. My next classroom needs tech built in.
How hard is it to find all this together in one place?
Not especially difficult.
How hard is it to find this altogether in one place that needs us both?
A bit more tricky. Okay, quite a bit more tricky because no one ever leaves the type of school and place we're looking for.

So one can see why I'd rather obsess about this than about running. It's an exciting time, but whoa is it stressful too. Thankfully, I have running, which helps me deal with it all at least a bit more productively than what I'd be doing without.

Poor Computer!

2008-10-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

My computer is in the shop getting a new part, so I've not been able to post much lately. Even now, I'm at work, and this is highly unorthodox.

I should get my computer back next week, at which time, regular blogging shall recommence.

In the meantime, sing the Rocky theme to yourself. I couldn't get it out of my head yesterday on my run. I think it helped. *Best running song EVER!!*

And Running Wins...By Default

2008-10-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

We have a holiday weekend this weekend. Three whole days. Tim and I had planned to make another attempt on Cayambe with a friend. Cayambe is Ecuador's third tallest mountain, and kind of a bear to climb. We were leaving tomorrow. Today I woke up with a sore throat after feeling like I was fighting something off all week. So I'm out. If I went, I'd be jeopardizing the attempt for the other team members and I would likely become extremely sick. Poop.

So, instead, I'm staying home to run which I can continue to do as long as I don't get a fever. Honestly, right now, it's probably the best thing for me. I'm wanting to begin training plan the beginning of November and now there will not be yet another break in base-building while my knees recuperate from the mountain.

For our Christmas break, it's all about the mountains--even if we have to hire a guide to show us the way. So I'll return to the grueling march up cold, snowy peaks right when I'll be wishing to see a bit of snow. For now, I am runn-nang (as you read that last word to yourself, think Forest Gump. Make sense now? Just play along, okay?)

The Chick Factor

2008-09-30T13:41:00.001-07:00

I remember, during high school and college cross country, different instances where boys (okay, men?) would be talking amongst themselves about this or that race coming up and talking about how they were probably going to do really well because this hot chick they were interested in/dating/acquainted with was going to be there. Literally, the exchange would go something like this, "dude, I'm gonna kill it this weekend."
"Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"You know, cuz of the chick factor and all."
"Yeah, totally."

I think the chick factor for *most* American men extends really to any female in the vicinity. And it doesn't just refer to wanting to perform well in front of some particular woman to impress her. It also seems to have something to do with being better than any particular woman. I can't even count how many times I've been out on the trail in the States, passed some dude running--no matter the size/age/fitness of the dude because I've experienced this same thing with all of them--and that dude obviously immediately speeds up so I can't pass or passes me back often to simply end up walking 5 minutes later. Now, this of course, does not apply to every man in the States. In fact, my own husband does not mind and is even proud and supportive when I beat him running. But there is no denying this is a general trend. It seems almost pervasive.

Once, Tim and I were having dinner with one of his guy friends when we ran into one of our girlfriends. Tim's friend was obviously interested--our girlfriend is good looking, friendly, intelligent and charming. He was interested...until he heard she was a great climber. He said, "oh, I could never date someone who climbs harder than me." This guy has not climbed since high school.
Really?
He hasn't been climbing since high school, yet he would not consider dating a girl who climbs often and is quite good, because she would be better than him and he couldn't handle that. This is just one example.

I assumed all men all over the world were this way. I especially thought it to be true of a more macho society. Imagine my surprise when, still, every time I'm running uphill on the trail and pass a guy on a bike, he just keeps going at his same pace. No speed up. No oh-my-god-a-girl-is-beating-me-AND-I'm-on-a-bike surge up the hill. Nothing. Many men in the States would simply implode with the shame of being passed by a girl on foot. This seems to go for men out running here as well. Plenty of times I've passed men running and they give NO notice to me. No one tries to beat me. No one tries to hang onto my pace.

I can't help but wonder what lies beneath these two societies that brings out these attitudes of better/not better. On the one hand, we have a society where women have ALMOST the same freedoms and rights as men--at least we say we do. Yet men will give themselves heart attacks to prove they can run/bike/swim/climb/whatever better than any given woman. On the other hand you have a society where women have far fewer freedoms and rights than men and really can't even walk around by themselves without being harassed by men. Yet men in this society don't care if a woman beats them in some measure of athletic prowess. Why is that? Is it because they don't need validation? They already *know* they're "better" and don't need to prove it to the world? Why do men in the States feel like they have to prove themselves in this way?

This is just one of the many things I get lost in while I'm out on the trail.

One down....one to go!

2008-09-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

I just finished my first race. The Outward Bound Wilderness Colorado Relay! I ran 174 miles from Georgetown to Carbondale over Guanella, Georgia and Vail passes with my team of 10 very cool women all ranging in different ability levels. Ok. i didn't run all 174 miles but i did run 13.5 of it. I'm energized, psyched, tired and contemplating my next race on Sunday. I'm not sure exactly what to eat, how many miles to run this week or if I'm completely crazy for even thinking about running a half marathon a week after the relay race. My philosophy is do what feels best. I did a 2.5 hour hike the day after the race to get the lactic acid out of my muscles, which totally worked! So I'm resting today and plan on doing some easy runs on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Rest Saturday and win the race on Sun. Ok. maybe not win but we'll just say I will participate and hopefully finish within the 7 hour time limit. Ha.

For those of you whom have not run in a race and are terrified, let me tell you it is an absolute blast. People are amazingly supportive and energized and I promise you wont be sorry you did it. I'm addicted.

Keep running ladies, even if you are running with the enemy or you are trying to burn off the double cheeseburger that you ate cuz it just felt right.
PS: Any suggestions about food consumption before (morning and night) a half marathon would be greatly appreciated!

Boobs watching Tubes

2008-09-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

Ahh, sadly to say such is life in American media these days. I know, I know, I am young, living in a city where the world has its attention focused. The shrub is wilting, and the masses are aligning themselves behind Their chosen one. I should be energized and encouraged, filled with the spirit of hope, empowered by the inevitable change; but as doldrum of American media forces me down to the level of farm animals in drag (!?) I must admit I am loosing focus....but not for the reason you think....I've signed up for my first race, sponsored by no less than the National Press Club. The exclusive click that is populated by the good, bad, and the ugly.

How can I possibly succeed in my over due goal (5K in 30) while I am surrounded by politicians and intelligence sucking news persons who seem to enjoy focusing on the trivial (real journalists, NPR reporters, FP contributors and bloggers, as well as a multitude of others excepted). Not only do I have to run with them (or in my case chug along at a pace that does not leave me gasping for breath); but then we break bread (hello opulent pancake breakfast at the club); and participate in a time honored tradition of getting money from anyone and everyone (a silent charity auction).

Cross your fingers ladies and make a wish that (at least for the next several months) those oglers at the gym reassert their attention back to my boobs rather than turning into boobs themselves, sucked into, hanging off of, affirming and accepting every word that floats out of the media frenzy.

Caloric Pontifications

2008-09-08T08:38:00.001-07:00

It's sort of funny, but I've been meaning to post about food and issues associated with, when I saw a new post at a blog I read about the very same thing. I love this blog from a friend of Katie's, who is training for an Ironman--wow. Just wow. And it reminded me I haven't expounded upon my recent revelations about food yet.

When Tim and I are in the mountains, I often bonk. And I can bonk hard, too. It's something I've only been recently overtly aware of. I've bonked running before, but never during a race or run or workout--only after. Usually it only happens after a race as it's really hard for me to eat before competition. So that always made sense.

But the mountain thing was really perplexing. I can usually feel it coming and am sure to stop everyone so I can eat before we have a "situation," but it's still hard to recover from an especially severe bonk.

When we came back from Peru, I did a little investigating. I noticed that our first climbing day, we motored up the approach after some granola and sugary milk for breakfast. Within about 3 hours I was already bonking and needing frequent gel stops. The second day, when we actually succeeded, we took it entirely differently. We had the same breakfast, but we stopped often for food and water. After the summit, on the way down, we continued to eat--peanut butter and nutella sandwhiches and bars, blocks and gu. Way more food than I usually eat. But I felt like I needed even more. Right after eating a sandwhich, I still felt a little out of it.

Later, a simple calorie calculator told me that climbing with a pack on for 8 hours is about equivalent to 5,000 calories burned. WHAT? Factor in altitude and how hard I work to get back down, and we're looking at 7,000-8,000 calories burned in just 8 hours. Normal people my size who excercise are supposed to consume about 2,000 calories a day. This is about what I consume.

I don't know about you, but I gagged a little bit when I heard that Michael Phelps consumes 10,000 calories on competition days. The thought of eating that much makes me ill. I don't know how it's physically possible to consume enough to keep a high level of energy in the mountains. Eating often helped--I even got a summit, but I never felt good and the amount we were consuming was pushing it for me.

Just like any normal female, and maybe especially female athlete, I have always had a strained relationship with food. I am always thinking about food and my size and how I look compared to others. I mentally punish myself or congratulate myself according to what I've eatten that day. Lately, I don't avoid what I want, but I sure as hell feel guilty about it. Difficult relationships with food go hand-in-hand with middle distance running for females--it's actually not that hard to starve yourself and still do relatively well. But when you move into endurance sports, all bets are off. There's just no way to do what you want without the right amount of fuel.

Tim has a favorite story he loves to tell vegetarians about me. We were out one spring day, skinning up and skiing down a 14er in Colorado. I was doing it on half a bagel sandwhich and so was lightly bonking all day. At the time, I wasn't eating red-meat at all, and very little meat in general. By the time we got to the bottom, all I could think of was a huge, juicy cheeseburger. I didn't get one that night, but I did dream (and I mean obsessively) of them for a solid week before I finally had one and became a life-convert. This was my first big lesson in caloric consumption in the moutains.

And so, now, as I move into totally new running territory, I have to wonder, what is the right amount for me? What can I handle without flipping out? Can I physically consume enough that it won't be an issue? Will I consume too much and balloon? Can I allow myself to healthily get what I need to do I want? Stay tuned--we'll see. . .

Hey Ladies

2008-09-04T08:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks for letting me join your blog (I feel so cool now). I am training for the NYC marathon in November. This is my second marathon and I always have pain in my left knee from about 8 miles and on. I have tried the glucosamine supplements, but they didn't work. Now I am trying the strap that sits under your knee. Supposedly that will help. Have any of you tried it? Any other suggestions?
Happy Running,
Alex

Sunday

2008-09-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

I forgot that the starts of races here smell like an old locker-room. That was the first thing that took me back to high school cross country: the overpowering surge of "Icy Hot" in my nostrils every time I took a breath. Wow.

And of course they were playing the Rocky theme. Over and over again. Our coaches used to make motivational tapes for us and there was Rocky, every year, prominently located within the first 5 songs. Honestly, they were interspersing Rocky with some song about a girl kissing a girl, which I thought was pretty funny. I wondered how many people packed onto the road could understand what the song was about. But it was catchy and had a nice beat, so I bounced around to it to keep warm and tried not to choke on the smell of Ben-gay.

Once again, there were no waves. However, there were "pacers" who were each carrying a huge yellow balloon that listed their pace. For example, the first balloon said 3:30 or something crazy like that (this is pace per kilometer, lovely States readers). But, in true Latin style, the 6:00 pacer balloon was lined up in the starting area way behind the 7:00 balloon. Of course the whole idea is that they line up in order, and the runners arrange themselves around what they know their pace to be. Excellent plan, right? I thought so too, until, standing beside the 6:00 balloon guy, I looked back and saw a 4:00 balloon. Whatever. We'll just run.

Nike's fun little race provided a nice technical running shirt as the race shirt. This shirt was also our race number, eliminating the search for safety pins. Genius! And we were a sea of red which looks super cool when you're on a long stretch of road and you can see way ahead of you. Everybody looked the same. Except for the poachers, of course. But some of them tried to match and wore red t-shirts, which I thought was cute. Everyone knows they won't be pulled off the course, but I noted the effort and appreciated.

After the hand-sweat grab-fest that was Ultimas Noticias 15k, I chose to skip the water and single cooler Gatorade stops. I run this distance all the time without drinking and it's cold and humid here. No water needed.

As far as how I did, well, I was wearing a chip so didn't think too much of it when I crossed the start line a full 4 minutes after the start. But Nike has my time as though I started at the gun--to which, I ask, why the chip? Whatever. For all intents and purposes, my time was 57 minutes. I felt good and consistent and pretty strong the whole time, and after all the Rocky fanfare, I was feeling quite high and light, flashing back to the good ole days. I was worried I wouldn't be able to break an hour because I have not run this distance in well over a month. So I decided I'm happy with how it went. It helped that I didn't have to come home with ketchup and actually got a Nutri-Grain bar in my goodie sack which I promptly ate.

Our race began at 7:30. By 9 I was back home and getting back in the bed to snuggle with my little family and dream about my plan of attack for the coming months.

The Human Race...

2008-08-31T13:26:00.001-07:00

...was just what I needed. Details coming soon.

A Little Inspiration, Please

2008-08-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, people around the world, in more than 25 cities, will race a 10k at the same time. How cool is that? Are you participating?

Ever since our return from Peru, I've been averaging a run about every other day. A short run. An easy one, because my knees have been bothering me ever since Urus. And this time, it is mentally difficult to get back to it.

Tomorrow, I won't be just running another road race. I will be out there looking for my mojo that I seemed to lose somewhere between horrible illness and two big mountains. I will be looking for my groove and my inspiration--my drive to get back to it, build a good base, and start training for marathon distance. I'm looking for a certain spark to fuel a fire circumstance put out. What a better place to find it than out on the road at the same time with people all over the world. Many of them might even be looking for the same things. Good luck to them. And good luck to me. I'm not "racing" in that I won't be competitive, but I have so much to lose.

Heartbreak Hills

2008-08-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

Tim and I spent the majority of August traveling. It was great, but incredibly detrimental to my running in so many ways. The plan was to first spend several days in the city of Cuenca in southern Ecuador with several friends who were in town from the States. Cuenca is home to the best rock climbing in Ecuador and is a beautifully renovated colonial city. It's also home to the largest and best preserved Incan ruins in the country as well as the site of an enormous and beautiful national park: Cajas. So you could say there's some cool stuff to do around Cuenca. I'd been looking forward to it all year. Imagine my disappointment when we arrived in Cuenca and that night I was struck with the worst case of gringo-belly of my life. I spent 4 days in the hotel bed. The afternoon of the 4th day I walked a few blocks in town then had to go back to bed. But that night I could eat a little bit of food so at least the next day I got to do a short day-hike in Cajas National Park. Then the following day it was time to leave for Peru.

We were going to Peru for the purpose of climbing mountains in the Cordillera Blanca. I was justifiably worried about my level of strength after not eating for so long, and knew my conditioning was probably out the door as the short day hike gave me muscle cramps. But I was feeling good and thought that as long as I was feeling good, I would recover quickly.

The Cordillera Blanca is so incredible. I had never seen anything like it. I mean, southern New Zealand is beautiful, but the mountains are usually obscured by clouds. In Peru, everything was right there. We spent two days traveling to and through Peru to get to Huaraz where we spent a full day preparing to go into the backcountry. By the time we got out there, we were going to have 4 nights camping and three full days to do what we could in the mountains. We had perfect weather--warm, sunny and dry and NO WIND. At all. We went immediately to the Ishinca valley with our sights set on Ishinca and possibly a shorter peak, Urus. After a day of rest and acclimatization, we decided to just go ahead and try for Ishinca.

Perhaps because we knew it was a long approach, we kinda motored up without taking our time or consuming plenty of calories and water. We came to a fork in the trail a little after dawn. We knew the left hand trail went to the glacier and the "normal route" but looking up at the mountain, the "normal" looked pretty freakin' steep so we chose to keep to the right and go to the other side which was clearly less steep. Hours later we were still on the approach trail, low on water, and I knew I was going to bonk hard, soon. We sat for awhile with the glacier and our route in sight, but we decided to turn back. It was the right decision but it broke my heart. Right then and there it felt like I had lost everything because of my illness. I was exhausted and felt horrible and guilty and so sad that I didn't have the energy to keep going. I mentally counted the miles I put in this summer working on my base so I could soon begin my training plan and I felt the loss of all the acclimatization we did in Ecuador before this trip. Of course, altitude also makes me a bit emotional and maybe I was suffering that as well.

In the end, we turned back and committed to trying a mountain a tad shorter and a little more accessible. And we did it. And we had a great time. And I did it. And I didn't bonk or cry too much or give up. And now I even feel a little proud of the accomplishment. It's more like a big step back onto the path.

I started running again as soon as we got home. It's been hard. I'm fully starting over again which probably pushes real training to November. But I'm not ready to give up on my goal. I want to stick with it. It's just soooooooo hard to start all over when I was doing so well.

"It's Oh, So Quiet--Shhhh, Shhhh . . . "

2008-08-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

Do the other authors even read this blog? Just wondering. . . HI MOM!!

We got back to Quito today from Peru and I'm pretty worked, and I need to put in some major hours loving on Bali. But when I feel at ease again and Bali is content again, I have many things I've been wanting to reflect on regarding running and the off-and-on the horse thing, and big mountains, etc. etc. Tomorrow I'll see about getting my heart-rate monitor; so there's that, too.

So, if you're still out there, check back in a couple days. I even promise there will be fun pictures.

Excitements and Diversions

2008-07-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

Jess be gone and I be sad . . .

But there are several things coming up. Exciting things. Fun things. And then some not so fun things, but good just the same.

Firstly, another Jess is here. Jessica Milnes. You will now find a link to her blog on the right side of this page. We'll be traveling around Ecuador attempting and hopefully summitting a few volcanos.

August 11th, Tim and I leave for Peru. We are heading straight to Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca. No, we're not going to Cusco. No, no Machu Pichu. We are going to the most beautiful mountain range in South America and I can't wait.

Before we go, Justin Kleiter and his girlfriend will be here visiting and we'll do a bit of southern Ecuador with them. Then when we're back from Peru, we'll have a long weekend just with Justin, and then it's straight back to school. Wow. Time flies. Maybe I will too.

I have my sights set on a 10k at the end of August. It's Nike's Human Race and is happening in 25 different cities around the world. If you happen to live near LA, Chicago, or New York, you can virtually run this race with me. Wouldn't that be fun? Of course, that's assuming you live in the States. You might also be near London, or Paris, or Madrid, or Rome, or Lima, or Buenos Aires, or any other city hosting one of these things. I just saw the sign for this thing today, so I don't know much about it, other than Nike races here are well supported and instead of a fish-net blue shirt and bottle of ketchup, I'll get a real technical t-shirt and no ketchup, which is sweet.

In heart monitor news, my running specific one arrives here on August 14th. I won't be here, but I'll go get it the moment we return from Peru and give 'er a test-drive--so you'll just have to anxiously await that information.

Happy running to all!

So Many Doings, So Much Time Away

2008-07-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

Jessica is here in Ecuador and we've been frequenting my two favorite city running spots! Okay okay, yes, it's true, I only have two running spots. But I like both of those very much. Jess has set the short term goal of charging the last hill in our big loop around Parque Metropolitano and as that freaky coach from Ashe county (whom Addie always loved to reference) used to say about the last hill: "It's a booger-bear, girls. A booger-bear." I know she'll do it just fine. In between running we've been climbing mountains, repelling waterfalls, and surfing!

However, tomorrow we go to the jungle for 4 days and we're not going to run there. It's just not going to happen. The jungle is hot and sticky and full of snakes and spiders and other scary sorts of things. I think 4 days will be fine. We already took a buncha days off in between going to Cotopaxi park and the beach. Again, I am no longer worrying about time taken off as long as I get straight back into it and push through how hard it is to start back.

In other news, tomorrow is my birthday and to aid in my year-long goal (and beyond), Tim got me a heart-rate monitor. This will be an interesting foray. I have seen plenty of people running with these contraptions but have never used one myself. I have no doubt it will aid in training. But I'm interested to see how my obsessive head handles constantly knowing my heart rate and the target and how long I'm in it and how long not. I'll report regularly. But first I have to get the running specific one. Then I have to go the jungle. Then I have to come back. And THEN I'll get back to it. Until then, happy running to all!

Running on empty...

2008-07-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that for the past few weeks (since my last post) I have successfully incorporated a long run day as a part of my weekly routine. I did have to change my level of ambition from the 6 miles to as many miles as I can handle in an hour (so far this has been about 5). With this added day, I am running three days a week and feeling fantastic! So fantastic in fact that by the time the weekend rolls around I usually celebrate till the wee hours of the morning...case in point this past weekend where I hit the town like a 21 year old champ staying out, dancing, and doing all those things girls do when they go out with their girlfriends (and I mean real girlfriends, not the gays!). Needless to say this party hardy until 3am has got me feeling like my long run always hits on the absolute wrong day...Monday.

Now the obvious thought would be to move the long run day, but it just won't work on any other day during the week; the second option would be to not drink like a fish on the weekends, and while this is a great goal (and I promise, I don't drink nearly as much as I used to) I wanted running to add to my life not take away (unless you mean take away from the belly which I of course welcome); third option (and the one I am doing as I type) is drink as much water as possible at work, have a protein snack right before I workout and tuff it out. Suggestions are always welcome....

To end on a positive note, this long run day is making my interval day very very easy....I am running hard for 1 min and jogging for 2 for a half hour. Last week I was able to do the hard min. at 7.5 mph!!

Going Raw? Or Thinking of It?

2008-06-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

I would just like to take a moment to direct your attention to a new link under our "Friends" section blog roll. Okay, this is going to sound complicated: *deep breath*, Kendra is Tim's counsin's wife. Does that make her our cousin? I mean, she's my cousin-in-law's wife. That makes us cousins-in-law, right? Okay enough semantics.

Kendra, a personal chef, has ventured into the world of all raw and you all know you've been interested in the raw-revolution ever since Samantha Jones ate raw all night just to get close to "Smith."

Check her out--she offers coaching, recipes, and general advice for anyone who's gone raw or is thinking of going mildly to full-on raw. I happen to know for a fact that Kendra is an incredibly talented chef, and her cooking classes have been met with wild approval.

On a personal note, she has a smoothie recipe that I'm very interested in trying to modify. It involves a blender full of spinach. Please allow me a short diatribe . . . Spinach here is difficult. It is very mealy, big and thick. It's okay cooked. But what about spinach salad? Too bad for me because I love baby spinach salads almost as much as chocolate. Additionally, I NEED to eat spinach. My grandfather suffers from macular degeneration, a genetic eye disease, and I am scared to death of contracting this. But wait, there's something I can do: eat spinach. Kendra's smoothie recipe just may save my eyes. . .

Forced Rest = Antsy but NORMAL

2008-06-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

Tim and I have been plagued this past week by camping, weather, injury and illness and now it has been 5 entire days since I last ran. Usually, in the past, such a lapse would indicate either a mental breakdown or full-on quitting and would result in feelings of guilt, remorse, disgust, and even a tinge of hopelessness. But now, I'm happy to report: I feel none of these things. Perhaps I was right when I thought I was finally able to handle working for a running goal--training. Understand I have not "trained" in almost 10 years. But these 5 days are not even a blip on the radar. I have the long view--a big picture. Something I lacked maturity and normalcy to be able to see before. No worries about how this is going to affect my training, no giving up and resigning myself to sucking, which was always an excuse before. I'm just picking up where I left off and not giving it a second thought. Sweet.

Speaking of the T word, I don't have a marathon plan, so here's my plan: continue building my base through July, maybe even August too. We'll see. Either beginning in August or September, I'm begining the Runner's World verteran marathon plan as it's geared for people who run 1/2 marathons and can start at 13 miles for their long run. That will apply to me at the end of the summer and I have run a few halfers.

Actually, now that I think about it, I'm probably going to need to start in September when I'll have access to a track again. Yep, that makes the most sense. Just try to get distance and base in July and August.

The plan will end round about December/January. Of course, there's no marathon here at that time. Or in any neighboring countries, really. But whatever. If I can't find anything, I'll just run marathon distance that day--hard, take a week off, then start it over with Ultra-specific changes to make it fit, like dropping the speedwork, do long back-to-back long runs here and there, etc etc.

PS--Jess gets here on Tuesday. Wooo Hoooo!

A Milestone?

2008-06-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

Well, the good news is that I have not yet fallen off the treadmill (although I did trip the other day and made a wretched squeaking noise that did boast a few stares), but even better than that I ran my first 2 miles in a row without stopping!! Since I have started reading more about this whole running thing I have come to find out that this is actually a pretty big step, and that the 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc miles are easier to add (any confirmation on this from you ladies?)

Whatever the verdict I was pretty proud of myself. I am now on a semi-schedule which unfortunately has to be somewhat flexible because of my hectic life of happy hours and evening events in the big city. What I don't think I realized before is that this whole training thing has to be kinda varied (apparently just grunting out 5K every time I go to the gym is not the best choice), so I have devised a plan to have a long run day (6 slow miles!! fingers crossed), a short run day (2 miles that I now know I can do), and an interval day. This plan is straight from the experts at runnersworld.com (and at my sister's suggestion that I start there). Just for fun I have thrown in a pilates class and a swim day. I know it sounds ambitious (or at least it does to me) but while there is an option for training every day of the week actually getting there is up in the air.

As for the bouncing girls...I have kept my fingers to myself so far and am going to go bra hunting this weekend.....

Homemade Goo or Gu or Goobers or Whatever You Call It

2008-06-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

As I increase my mileage, run when I haven't eaten, and other such practices that necessitate caloric intake during a run, I am considering entering the world of homemade energy gel. According to Tim I could even make my own shot blocks in ice trays. But let's first see how this first round of experimentation goes before we try to make something we actually want to congeal (eww) of which I prefer flavors like margarita and cherry that sound difficult to produce.

Here's a couple recipes I'm considering trying:

The PB and Honey one:

--7 parts honey. This is a medium-high glycemic index food, so it’ll give you an instand hit, followed by a sharp come-down in about 30-40 minutes.
--2 parts peanut butter - low GI, so it acts as a buffer to the honey, slowing down it’s burn rate.
--1 part hot water to help mix the other two ingredients.

Peanut butter and honey is one of my most favorite food combinations in the whole world, and I can actually get them in my current part of the world which is of upmost importance as I try to do this. I've already come across so many recipes that I have to immediately discard because I don't have access to organic pumpkin seed butter (what the hell is that?) and maltodextrin powder (again, huh?).

Another concoction I'm considering--The Molasses One:

--7 and 1/3 tablespoons of honey
--3/4 teaspoons of blackstrap molasses
--1/10 teaspoons (just shy of 1/8 tsp) of table salt

I have no idea if we can get molasses here such as what you and I would expect. I know the "blackstrap" variety is reaching. I'd be lucky to get some fruit variation. What we do have is tons and tons of panela. If you don't know what this is, be sure to have a look at Este Ecuador and Tim's entry about Cafe Velez. If you don't have time for that (make time soon, cuz it's a great entry), just understand that panela is a brick of brown sugar direct from cooled sugar cane juice.

I figure this stuff, melted, is probably all molasses is anyway, right? I also have some confidence in this stuff because as this country is painfully lacking anything Cliff, Honey Stinger, Powerbar, Tiger Milk, Larabar, etc etc etc, pure panela is the energy goo of choice here among Ecuadorian runners. I learned this at the starting line of Ultimas Noticias (be sure to read about that below). Dudes were pulling little baggies of crushed-up panela out of their shorts and passing it around. I had a mocha-flavored Cliff Shot in my back pocket and thusly stuck my nose up at the sugar, but maybe they were on to something?

So if molasses are (is?) nowhere to be found, I'm considering using panela instead. I would probably also add coffee grounds, or strongly brewed coffee or some other coffee additive, because, well, my name is Erin, and I'm an addict. I also notice that the bod prefers shots and blocks with caffine. Perhaps it's my dependence, or perhaps caffine truly is a performance enhancing drug. Since my system has never been without since I was about 14, I don't think using it is cheating in any way. I'm not adding anything new into my system to help performance. So there.

Anyway, the short of it is, while we have visitors bringing us shots and blocks at varied times, those supplies are always limited, and we use them lots. I can't eat while running, so I need gel. Please, please, talk to your friends and acquaintances and find out if anyone you know has made their own goo before. Get their recipes and post 'em. Go ahead and post it even if it does call for something stupid like organic sunflower dust extract, because, while I cannot get that stuff, hopefully I'm not the only reading this blog. I'll let you know how my little experiement goes, though we just booked ourselves to climb Antisana this weekend (Ecuador's 4th tallest mountain) so my weekend long-run is kinda shot. Maybe I can do it Friday instead. We'll see.

Girl Love

2008-06-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

No, no, not that kind of love. I'm talking about girlfriend love. The kind of girlfriend love that made us all weep, laugh, and miss our friends like crazy when we all watched Sex in the City.

{Warning: the following contains spoilers. DO NOT keep reading if you've not yet seen the movie. Then get yourself to the theater, girlfriend!!}

The movie came to Quito last Friday and I finally went last night with a new friend (and weekend running partner, thank goodness) here. And I must tell you, we both boo-hooed the whole time. But so did all the local women, which is a great thing about this story--it bridges cultural gaps. I guess I just didn't realize how much I missed those 4 women, but it all came rushing back. Nadia and I were talking about just what it is that makes this story so special to women of our generation. Personally, I think it became popular right when we were all realizing we had better cherish and take care of our female relationships. Maybe this is a bit far-fetched, but I credit this story with planting in our collective subconcious a reminder to cultivate and keep our best girlfriends, because we need each other.

If we're fortunate and smart in high school, we can emerge with true girlfriends, though most times they don't really become as special to you until later. Our late teens and early 20's, we spend being scared to death of each other, claiming we "get along better" with guys and that's why we have so many guyfriends. By our late 20's, most of us are realizing that no matter how much our man loves us, he will never be able to really understand and feel the things we feel. And now we know that no matter how great our guyfriends are, they will never scream "NO!!! NO!!!!!!!!" at the man who has just left you at the alter. They will never venture out in their pajamas to be with you when you're lonely on New Years. They will never understand when you need to sleep for two days straight, and they will not spoon-feed you breakfast when you finally agree to eat. But women do these things for their best friends because they are women, and that makes all the difference.

So here's to my best girlfriends (I miss you SO much), as well as my girlfriends who I feel like maybe one day I could have this kind of relationship with, and to my girlfriends-to-come because now that I know, I'm looking for you and I'm not going to let you slip by.

I've Been Tagged!

2008-06-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged by Este Ecuador’s Erin Booze. Yes Erin, I'm posting TWICE in one day. I feel I need to make up for lack of participation. So, here ya go, some things that you may or may not know about me.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
Working, smoking cigarettes, and trying to figure out who I was, what I wanted to be, how I was going to get there. I’m so thankful I found some direction along the way.

2. What are 5 non-work things on my to-do list today?
Go shopping for Erin and Timmy and pick up some essentials for them

Run

Walk Quinn

Brush out Quinn’s undercoat. As you can see from the pic below, we have a very furry dog and it's starting to get hot here in Boulder.

Tune up the road bike (Katie’s old bike! Every time I see my yellow and blue Trek I think of you Katie)

3. What snacks do you enjoy?
LARA Bars: Cherry Pie is my new favorite
Baby Bananas
XOXO Raspberry chocolate
Strawberries from our garden
Fire gum
Wine…is that a snack?

4. What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Help my dad retire
Invest in stem cell research
Help out the family
Travel the world
Buy John E a wind turbine ;-)
My sister would probably need a few new bikes

5. Where have you lived?
Evergreen, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado

6. What jobs have you had?
Accounts Payable for 5 oil and gas companies and a ski company
Barista
International Liaison/Communication Coordinator at the AAC
Full-time Student
Tested functionality for Directional Wells, GIS software development
Tested functionality for online elementary and middle school math courses. HELP is an internet-based, supplementary curriculum designed to remove language barriers from the learning of math skills and math content.

Game Over. I tag Jeny and Amanda!

TahTah's and Stuff

2008-06-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

Goals:

I have two major running goals for the summer. The first is the Colorado Relay Race and the second is the Boulder Backroads Half Marathon. I have never been much of a runner but rather have always been more into the strength sports that don’t require much lung capacity, sports like gymnastics and climbing. I also run alone so I have nothing to compare myself to, which also means I have no idea if I am even capable of running these two races. The kicker…..they are a week apart. I am terrified I am going to fail miserably. I am also terrified I am going to let down Relay Race teammates. Oh well… I guess I’ll just keep runnin’.

Boobs:

I went for a run the other day with 4 other girls (my first group run) and we had a discussion on good sports bras vs bad sports bras. While we didn’t come to any conclusions we did discuss 2 major complaints, nipple pain and general bouncing. I think we all agreed that you need as tight of a bra as you can stand to avoid any boob pain. As for your (The Novice) problem with people staring at your melons, I like Erin’s solution best.

Training:

When I first started running longer distances I felt awkward. The only way I can explain it is like repeating the same word over and over again until the word lost its meaning. But the more I get out there the stronger I feel and the meaning is no longer lost to me. Running keeps me sane. I have been mixing in big hikes, long runs, short runs, and weight lifting. You see, I have nothing else to do. I finished school and I’m not working until August. So I have decided to get back in shape and shed my “studying weight”. Sitting in front of the computer for hours and hours on end didn’t agree with my ass. I also wanted a challenge. So I decided to reach outside my usual bag of tricks and test myself. Wish me luck. eek!

New Week

2008-06-08T19:16:00.000-07:00

Exams to grade tonight, but oh well.
My first week clocks out at about 30 miles. Nothing too dazzling about that distance, but the week was affected by the little daily battle in which my immune system engaged to try to keep me well in the face of students and coworkers coughing, hacking, swelling, sniffling, fevering and generally feeling bad. My immunity won. With the help of Immune Defense Emergen-C (LOVE that stuff), of course.

So it was a super easy week characterized by the short loop in Parque Metrolpolitano (an ode to Metropolitano soon-come) and the long loop today. The big loop felt great today so I'll try to stick with that and up this week to increase the mileage a bit. I've got some running partners on tap for this week which always helps, and usually ensures that we can actually do the long loop midweek without having to leave due to the sketchies. I guess until I get my schedule from Whit, I'm just going to work on my base and slowly increase the mileage.
So, happy running this week, all.

If you stop moving the treadmill will kick you off...

2008-06-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

And no one wants to be that dumbass at the gym

So after a bit of encouragement from my sis, I have decided to jump on board with this whole blog thing. A small disclaimer first; I have always admired anyone who can slip on the sneaks and go; someone who gets that euphoric high while putting the miles behind them. As for myself, well the title says it all....

Three weeks ago (and only because my decrease in rent made it affordable) I joined a gym here in DC, and since then I have been going about 3 days a week to try and mold my body into some kind of shape (preferable one that is not as round). I decided on running as my main event because I can actually feel it working...when the sweat rolls down my back I know I have accomplished something. The couple of things I forgot to consider were:
1. I have huge breasts and running kinda hurts the girls (and the said sweaty back) as well as draws uninvited stares from the mens (any advice on places to find sports bras?)
2. I have knee problems (IT band issues I think?).
3. My lungs do not want to cooperate.

Determined to not make excuses, I have/am learned/learning how to overcome these issues, and luckily enough I chose a gym that is on my route home from work so the guilt of walking by without going in is enough to keep my attendance fairly high.

So that is where I am at....going to the gym, jumping on the treadmill, putting one foot in front of the other, wondering how long I have to do this before it becomes something I enjoy.

Any advice for this novice is welcome! My goal? I would love to be able to run a 5K in 30 minutes by the end of the summer. I am doing it in around 40 right now.

The Recurrence

2008-06-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

I took a short run today for the first time since Sunday. I needed one day to nurse an old injury (more on that momentarily) and the second day I came down with a terrible sore throat, so I laid on the couch watching sappy girlie movies. Better today, and tomorrow I'm staying home. But I figured exercise stimulates the immune system, right? And now that I'm officially working toward something, I don't want to take off more time than necessary. The run felt great, by the way.

Back to that old injury thing. I have two recurring injuries. The one that currently plagues me is one that first popped up my freshmen year of high school. I had taken three solid months off after cross country to heal a stress fracture and was starting back in track in the spring. After the first hard workout--BOOM--my ass hurt. Not muscle hurt. It had nothing to do with that. It wasn't connective tissue either. I've since had tendinitis and think that could not have been it. Our resident physical therapist and weight lifting teacher diagnosed a bruised or inflamed bursa sack. I used ice massage for a couple weeks and then it was gone. For years. Until now. It's back and it's a real pain in--well, literally, it's a pain in my ass. Right below it actually. And it seems people really only get bursitis in knees, shoulders and elbows. Not their butts. Does anyone who may have stumbled upon my ramblings, or have any of my fellow "chicks" any experience with this? I can pin-point the exact spot, and ice does seem to help. It's right where my left leg connects to my butt in one specific point. Could Dave Sheehan have been right all those years ago? Or might it be something else? Thankfully, it's only a little nagging thing that bothers after huge alpine days or after running 9 miles on the road when I've only been running 5 on dirt.

My other recurring injury pops up after huge alpine days and I think it's why I dislike "hiking" so much---why I can run twice the distance I can hike and not hurt nearly as much as I would after hiking. It's recurring patella tendinitis. In both my knees. Ugh. This one popped up in college, when I ran cross country at UNCG. It has bothered me ever since. But seriously, only after huge days in the mountains when I've had to hike down just as much and as steeply as I've gone up, and after downhill long races such as the Moab Half Marathon. Downhill kills!! But I love climbing mountains. There is a serious dilemma here because when I climb a mountain, I have to take at least three days off from running. What to do? What to do? Wish there was a way to do both. Do I keep climbing and just take the hit in training? Guess so. For now anyway.

The Shorts--and Enthusiastic Ecuadorians

2008-06-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

What a fun race! More on that later. I know you're dying to hear about the shorts:

After the shorts trial last week (see below), I decided they were going to be fine as is. I also couldn't keep the key pocket if I got rid of the liners. So they were allowed to stay. I'm happy to report that I didn't even notice the cotton, and there wasn't even any chaffing! Perhaps they got it right back in 1986, and never shoulda changed. These may even become regulars in my gear repertoire (especially considering I only brought two pairs to Quito to use for the next year and a half). Cotton means immediate post-run removal is necessary, but they're quite comfy for long distances.

The Race: Actual Running Stuff
I felt much better than I thought I would. In fact, I feel quite happy that while my pace was not quick, it was definitely consistent, and I felt pretty strong. After only running about 5 miles maybe twice a week up to this point, I was pretty nervous about jumping into a 9 miler, because something happens to me during a race: I get serious, no matter how not-seriously I intended to take it. So I put a great deal of importance on knowing what pace I can begin and respectably finish in. I also know that no matter what, if I run a race, I'm going to run it as hard as my current shape will allow. So I was silently nervous, wondering how much today would hurt. But I'm quite pleased: I wanted to keep it steady. I did. All 3 of my 5k's were the same with maybe 30 seconds variance between them. My official time was 1:30:57 and I'm alright with that because I know I could not have run faster yesterday. My place in my age group was 120 out of 344, though I don't really care about that at this point. I feel good about how it went, and I feel better physically today than I expected. Time to push the envelope.

The Race: Cultural Learnings
Our first real beginning-to-end road race overseas taught us many things. First of all, don't expect pins for your numbers. If the start of the race is near a little tienda, the shop keeper may have stocked up and you can buy them. But there are no tables at the start with boxes of pins. We saw everything from scotch-taped bibs (don't know how that worked out for the poor guy--really? Scotch tape?) to home-sewn numbers on t-shirts. When the tienda wouldn't change our $10 for some pins, some nice person bought them for Tim. Good karma coming your way, kind racing soul.
Another shocker was the start. Over 10,000 people starting all together on 2 lanes of road. Yikes. And there's not a whole lot of regard for personal space here. Double yikes. After watching the shoving in the front, we waited till a good portion of the crowd moved on before jumping in line. Turns out, it was a good place to get in. We passed a lot of people but also ran with the same people and weren't really passed that much.
Maybe not so shocking, sports here are much more male-dominated than in the States. I mean sports in general are male-dominated, but to give you an idea of the vastness of the amount of men vs. women: there were 344 women in my age-group. There were 2127 in Tim's. That said, it was inspiring to see as many women as there were out there doing it in this machisitic country.
Another fun part of this race was how enthusiastically excited Ecuadorians are for anything out of the routine, including a big road-race through the city. There were tons of people lining the streets THE WHOLE RACE. That might happen for the Boston Marathon, but in the States, even for the 2nd biggest road-race in the country, you're still looking at some solitary time. What's cute as well is that people bring bags of water and Gatorade from home and hold it out for the runners. While I'm not about to take that from someone for fear of tap-water and dirty hands, I find it incredibly endearing that people do this.
The enthusiasm carries over to the runners too. Everyone was so excited! And talking to each other, yelling, and generally just being happy to be there. NO ONE stands around at the start, eyes averted, checking each other out for gear, who needs to eat a sandwich, who looks competitive, etc. which generally characterizes the starts at races I've experienced before. So refreshing!

Aid stations--wow. Plastic bags of water. And three super small stations with plastic cups of Gatorade. So not only do you have to rip open the bag with your teeth, you have to worry about who has handled your bag (yuck) and then you have to navigate the streets. Wet plastic bags are slippery!
Lastly, like most good races 10k and above, there was a goody bag at the end. Now, usually, in the States, your goody bag will contain Cliff Bars, or whoever else has sponsored your race, maybe some fruit, maybe some chips, yogurt, a bagel, cookies---good post-race snacks, as well as coupons, stickers and newsletters. Our goody bags contained a bottle of water, an apple, a little spiral "light cookbook" which contains, I kid-you not, a recipe for hot dog salad, and a bottle of squeeze ketchup. Thanks guys!

I would like to offer a huge thanks to our school for providing free uniforms, information and transportation, as well as a place to keep our warm clothes and possessions safe during the run.
Also a special thanks to Mabel, Ligia, Gladys and Enrique who were placed very strategically throughout the run with concentrated Gatorade. You were such a welcome surprise and I needed you right where you were.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in general debauchery on our roof with gringos and Ecuadorians alike. Overall, it was an incredible day!

Ultimas Noticias 15k

2008-05-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, while several dear friends will be pounding out the miles at the Steamboat Marathon, Tim and I will "compete" in the biggest 15k in Quito! Okay, it's the only organized 15k in Quito--but we do hear it's a big deal.

It's so big a deal, our school puts together a mildly formal team, gives everyone matching uniforms, and even a bus to the starting line. I mean, there's no team competition section or anything like that. It's just for solidarity. Solidaridad!!!! (So important here)

Sunday, I'll be sure to get a picture of Tim and I in our matching team uniforms! We will be the only gringos wearing these things and the shorts have cotton liners. Cotton! So 1980s, it's almost funny. Well, it's actually really funny.

I'm letting the 15k launch me towards my "big running goal." My first step, if you will, because I have not been running much lately. SOOO hard with so much rain. It makes me sad, and lonely, and depressed, and who wants to run in the rain when you've been living in Sunny-300-Days-a-Year Boulder, Colorado? Not I. Spoiled brat, I am. So here's to Sunday! I'm actually going to try out my 1980s shorts today and see if I'm even going to be able to wear them for 9 miles. I absolutely foresee myself, fabric scissors in hand, cutting out those damn cotton liners.

Welcome to Our Story

2008-05-28T06:32:00.000-07:00

We are friends who have worked together, played together, grown up together, and now we're training together. Each of us has a major running goal for the coming year, but we lack a lot of immediate support around us in the form of running partners. I live in Quito, Ecuador; Whitney lives in Bend, Oregon; and Jess lives in Boulder, Colorado. So we have created this blog to keep in touch about training, offer support and inspiration, and give ourselves a public forum for which to be accountable--hopefully upping our motivation!

If you are a cool chick, know one of us, have your own big running goal, and want to join us in this journey, drop us a line. We have room for up to 97 more authors!

IM IN

2008-05-27T17:26:00.000-07:00

Just logged in for the first time. I going to read and see if we can creat something cool on it. I hate computers though so wish me luck