This one goes to 11

Finally Saturday was a real long distance run. 11 miles is a true long run, or st least the beginnings of one. I started at about 8:20am when the sun was already out but the temperature still hovered at only around 23F. I think I must've been overly tired from not getting home the night before until 2AM, but it didn't feel as cold as it probably should have. The run took me along the Wasatch front, Wasacht Blvd. to Foothill and I ran along Foothill until Sunnyside Ave, 5.5 miles away. I finally got to checkout the footpath between the highway interchanges, but the cool views from it weren't enought to make up for the icy hell the path was covered with. I was running and praying for my ankles. Thankfully the Parleys crossing is short and the sidewalk on Foothill was mostly ice free. The run out was decent but I couldn't keep worrying about the fact that most of it was downhill. Not a big hill, but for the second 5.5 miles to be mostly uphill no matter how slight is still a bit painful. Bringing me to a point of wanting to quit somewhere half way through the return. At points I felt I was running at a snail's pace. Thankfully the cold made walking impossible, and my pride made hiding in a coffee shop unacceptable, so I kept running and enjoying the flats as much as possible. By the time I made it to the top of the last incline before the crossing though my mood towards the run did another 180 and I was loving it, even the fairly steep up to the top of the crossing above the highways. I sucked it up, picked up my pace and was determined to make it home in under two hours. The iPod indicated that my whole run lasted 1h 58min, but I started it a couple of minutes before I left the house, and there were of course a few street lights I had to wait for so I rounded the time for my 11 miles to 1h 55min, giving my an average pace of approximately 10.5, decent :) Today was power yoga with Dana, which was subbed by Abby. Abby is a hell of an athlete and wored me of, but I actually got a compliment on my plank on my elbows. Yea.. Damn straight. I rock the plank on the elbows. Now for Log Haven!

Snow...

...is exciting, but slightly ruined my running plans on Saturday. Saturday morning, it was raining, but the temperatures were fairly warm, and as I said if its warm enough for rain, its warm enough to run. Except for in this case. I got to the trail to discover that its covered with ice, wet ice. The rain washed away what snow was on the trail and turned the remainder into wavy ice. Have you ever tried running on an ice skating rink? or a frozen pond? Well imagine that, now add ice waves to the surface and cover it with water and then try running up hill. Can't do it, can you? Neither could I. My run, which was supposed to be 9-10 miles ended at 0.5, when I got to a the first ice covered incline without a dirt path around it. After going over the pros and cons extensively... pros being me running, cons being me running for the last time before the marathon cause I slipped, fell and broke something, in an unusual turn of events the cons won and I went home without injury :) Conveniently enough Dawn spied my running woes on Facebook and invited me to the gym. So all Saturday was not wasted, and I still got 1.5 hours in of cardio. Other than that, unfortunately my activity level this weekend was low, especially when compared to my crap food intake :(
On the other hand I totally rocked it this past Thursday, running 8 miles right after work in under 75 minutes, which included a poop stop and running about a mile running slower with Dawn, and then Power 1&2 with Kim. I kinda rocked that Thursday!

Warm enough for rain, warm enough to run!

Naturally, when it's 40F and raining, you might not put running at the top of the list of things to do. Let me suggest, however, you reconsider. Give it a chance. Once you hit the road, you might learn you actually like the rain and maybe even running. Okay it's easy for me to say, because I love both. But cold and wet did not sound very appealing to me when I got home either, especially since it was already late. But I did it, got my shit together and drove to the Jordan River Trail on the west side. I figured lower elevation wouldn't have snow, and I really wasn't in the mood to run through slush.
Since it was 40F a left the socks at home and only wore 3/4 tights, which means the first half mile my toes started to stiffen and hirt. Like a charm though, passing mile marker 1 the toes thawed, and circulation returned my digits. See, all you gotta do is suck it up for just a little while and things get better :) Since my Nike pill is dead and I haven't been trusting the distance/pace tracker I decided to go by time, setting the goal at 70 minutes. Unfortunately before I ran even 30 minutes I came across the next major road crossing, and since it was dark and I had no leashes I turned around. That and I left my phone in the car, and it was dark and empty and out on the Jordan River trail... Yea I might have been a little spooked. I really wished I had the phone, or a flash light. I could've kept going. But it wasn't till I hit 45 minutes when I realized that is how long it takes me to warm up. At 45 minutes the running didnt just feel good, I felt like I was gliding and no distance was too far. I felt like a gazelle, like a Tarahumara. The air was warm, the rain kept my skin cool and all you could here was the tap, tap, tap of the rubber soles against the wet pavement and quite jiggling of dog tags behind me. There was no effort on my part my legs were like a well oiled machine with unlimited fuel supply. I contemplated doing another loop, but then we past another man, this time on a bike that raised the hair on both of the dogs' backs. It was definitely time to head back to the car. Next time I'm bringing my phone and pepper spray, just in case. Not that a rapist would feel like chasing a runner with two big dogs. There are easier targets out there than us. Tomorrow I'm limited by work and yoga, but Saturday I'm running at least 45 minutes out!

Freezing Monday

So the goal was six miles. I made it three, but I had a decent excuse for quitting. The run didn't start off well. It snowed all morning and the trails were covered with a couple of inches of fresh. Instead of running on my regular trail I decided to head to the end of the open road and run up the closed for winter section. For some strange reason I though the pavement deeper into the canyon wouldn't have as much snow. Yea, I'm not sure how I did that math. There was plenty of snow on the closed road and the temp was at 19F. But that's not what gave me a bad start. The bad came from the fact that the parking lot had so much traffic it melted the snow and I stepped out of my car directly into wet slush soaking my feet through. Not only that I couldn't sprint straight to the trail because Murphy was having issues jumping into that slush. For some reason he's scared of the mud. I had to carry/pull/drag him out of the car. As soon as he was free and I got onto the frozen snow I realized Hijack was sitting motionless in the mud, scared and unable to move. So back through the slush I go to get dog number two. I have no clue what their issue is with mud, but I think when it's cold it makes their paws hurt.
Yes, paws hurt. By the time we got onto the snow covered road, my Vibrams and the socks in them were soaked. I was ready to quit right then and there as my feet started getting cold with the quickness, but I had to suck it up once I saw how overjoyed the dogs were. I started slowly making it up the road. The road is fairly steep and running in soft snow gives an extra challenge, in addition to the fact that my toes got colder with each step I took. I checked the time, I had to do at least 10 minutes out, for the dogs' sake. But after only 3 minutes my toes felt almost completely solid, and the pain was rather excruciating. I stopped and squeezed and wiggled my feet, my hand started to go numb. Alright 5 minutes and I turn around. I started back up running while flexing my toes in and out, up and down with every step, with my hands stuck deep in my armpits. To my surprise I felt circulation returning to my feet as well as my hands. The feet started to actually feel warm and I could pull my hands out of my pits. Now the only challenge was running up hill in snow :) compared to frozen toes, piece of cake!
That's when it hit me! My problem with hills wasn't physical, at least not at this point. I was so focused on my freezing digits I barely noticed I kept running up hill, and once they warmed up I just kept running. There was no unbearable burn that made me want to quit running forever, and my lungs, I'm pretty sure, burned more from the cold than the hill. There was hope! And if only you could've seen the dogs, sprinting back and forth, chasing cross country skiers zooming by. Even if my toes did freeze, it would've been worth it to see both pooches so thrilled. We kept trudging along, passing skiers trying to make it up. My goal now was to make it to elbow fork, about 2 miles out, up a steep incline at the end. Unfortunately that goal was thwarted as we approached a couple with a not neutered young Rottweiler. At first the dogs played and chased each other, but as I approached closer, I realized the tension between the rot and Hijack was on the rise. The road was also getting steeper, and it would've taken me quite some time to pass them. I was about 1.5 miles out and unwilling to deal with a dog fight, so we turned around. But just for the record, I could've totally kept running up this hill which has defeated me many times in the past even without snow.
Now they way down was a blast! We were flying down the road, through the snow. Both dogs were at fully speed and sprinting with all they had as more skiers kept racing past us. Hijack desperately kept trying to catch up with them. Once he realized he couldn't his new game was to take more challenging routes through the woods and by the river banks hopping over logs and rocks. My enjoyment of this race lasted only, however, for a half mile. At such low temperatures the wind you create running down the hill starts cooling you down significantly. First it was my ears, then my thighs eventually the draft started cooling down my core. All I could do was focus all I had on the running, making it to the car which I was hoping retained some heat from the drive up.
I didn't warm up after that run until half way through yoga class that night, and I even wore long pants and asked to have the room heat cranked up as much as possible. Even sitting here now the skin on my thighs and my feet still feels a little funny. Next time I'm wearing plastic bags on my feet until I get onto the trail!

Week Summary

My goal for the week was to run 4 times, and go to yoga 6. I didn't quite pull it off, but close. I went over my miles, and under my yoga. I did the required 5 on Monday and made it to yoga. Tuesday I saw Kim for Power 1 & 2 as scheduled. However, Wednesday I never made it to yoga, but ran over the 6 scheduled miles. On the other hand on Thursday I covered the 6 miles AND went to Power 1 & 2. Friday I took off, and Saturday I ran a little over 7 miles, but the whole weekend I didn't set foot in the yoga studio :( I'm going to try harder next week.
Here's next week's goals:

Day	Run	Yoga
Monday	6 miles	Power Unplugged
Tuesday	OFF	Power 1 & 2
Wednesday	7 miles	OFF
Thursday	6 miles	Power 1 & 2
Friday	OFF	Core
Saturday	9 miles	Yin Yoga
Sunday	OFF	(Power 1&2 OR Snowboarding) + Unplugged

Pavement

I ran on pavement tonight. In the Vibrams. The iPod nano said 6.7 miles in 57", seem a little to fast to not be a lie, but okay, let's pretend I am that awesome :) Well even if the distance is off, the time is correct, and I did four loops around Libery Park which I think are about 1.5miles a piece. Pavement is definitely something to get used to. It's been over a year since I ran on it, and the first time in toe shoes. Lets say interesting. It didn't suck completely, I of course prefer a dirt trail, but the whole marathon in on pavement so I better learn to like it.

From the park I went straight to power yoga, cold and tired and starving. Thankfully Kim was not there and her substitute, Yvette didn't kick my ass completely. Not to say that we didn't get a hefty workout, but I can still move my arms, and even my legs cooperated in class. Speaking of arms.... Drum roll.... I did side crow resting on only one elbow. That's right, ONE!! Not two. My ass was in the air, I couldn't get my legs scissored quite yet, but come on! My ass was in the air! Only on one side, concluding that my crooked buttcheeks do in fact affect my balance, or simply that one is heavier than the other :p oh yea aaaaaaand I was told I do a beautiful headstand! Boo yea!

There might be hope for me after all :)

Cold Adventure

        It felt cold at the house at 35, there must be some humidity in the air. At the trail head the temp dropped down to 22F and it was going to be first time trying the Vibrams on snow with the Injinji toe socks. I was pretty sure I would make it to the bridge, if that and top out at 3 miles. Once I started running two things surprised me, my hands were starting to go numb from the cold but my toes were incredibly toasty and comfortable. My hands have not frozen yet in my gloves, it must've been seriously cold. I ran the first mile with my hands in my armpits marveling at how comfortable and warm my feet were. By the time I came to the uphill circulation was back to my hands and I was pulling off my windbreaker. My feet still warm, but the socks are something to get used to. Merino wool is a bit slippery so the Vibrams didn't feel like they fit as snugly around my heals, but since I don't hit the ground with them anyway I guess it doesn't really matter. We were flying, even Hijack! We made it three miles out, maybe even more in about 26 minutes. Flying. Both dogs right behind me.

      We stopped for a second at the bend to peak into the salt lake valley bellow. When I said we stopped to look, I mean I stopped enjoyed the view of the sky turning pink as night was approaching as the dogs impatiently waited form my decision on direction. Satisfied with my nature moment we headed back. I sprinted at first to convince them that this is the correct way and it was time to head to the car. Once they caught up with their joyous gallop we slowed down and settled into what I thought would be my pace for the way back excited to see my time. Suddenly Murphy took off the trail up the hill towards some jagged looking bushes at the top. I slowed down to see what he was chasing just to watch as the bushed started moving their ears. Yes ears. But it wasn't the bushes, there was literally a dozen or more deer hiding in them. They were all on top of the ridge collecting the last bits of sun rays for the night. All Murphy saw, however, was dinner! And off he went. At first I was a amused, then he didn't stop, then he disappeared. I ran around the next corner to see if maybe he popped out on the other side, I saw no dog and just heard a long howl off in the distance. And then I saw the excitement in Hijack's eyes just for a split second before he too took off up the mountain. And here I was in the middle of a trail, with no one around, the sun setting, the temperature dropping and no dogs. Panic. Just a moment. I knew Hijack would come back, but as I ran back and forth and up and down the hill, yelling Murphy's name on the top of my lungs, I couldn't stop thinking that if I left him here he would freeze, but if I stayed I might freeze too. I was dressed for running not mid winter camping. Suddenly Hijack came barreling down with the "I just chased deer" excitement in his eyes. We both then ran back to where Murphy first headed up and started running up hill in hopes to at least hear the howling again which has since faded. Then as I looked back down at the trail I saw Murphy trotting slightly confused as to why was going up since the deer were long gone. I was too happy to see him to be mad, and too cold to stick around any longer. Back to the car!

      The whole trip took 65 minutes and according to my iPod we covered approximately 6.8 miles, confirming that yes, we were in fact flying. Excellent run indeed.

Official Marathon Training Start T-102days

Yesterday, actually was the beginning. Not sure from where I downloaded this training plan, but now looking it over its rather weak, and even though I'll run on the days specified, I'll be upping the mileage. According to that plan, I wouldn't be running my first 7 miles till 3 weeks from now, and I am planning on running 7 this Saturday. I am happy to report that I am a stronger runner than a complete rookie. Go me!

Yesterdays run ended fabulously. It started cold as shit. Even though the thermometer said 32 when I left the house, by the time I got to my trail the Suby said 27 and with the humidity hanging in the air it felt more like 15. It took about a mile before my hands stopped feeling numb from the cold. Brr. Surprisingly though the breathing was okay. At my first uphill I was pulling of the windbreaker and gloves and felt sweat beads running down my back. Unfortunately because of the snow on the ground I was in the Nikes and running was not only awkward but felt slow and like it took much more effort. I kept trying to switch to the barefoot running style, bouncing small steps on my toes, but the traditional running shoes don't really permit such foot bending and repeatedly forcing my heals to the ground. It was a battle for sure and made the running feel even more awkward. The snow on the ground wasn't helping, but at least it was packed and I wasn't sinking into it. On the other hand focusing on the ground made the 5 miles come and go with the quickness. It was definitely my fastest 5 miles to date. I got back to the car in under 50 minutes, and this included stopping several times waiting for the dogs, stopping at the bridge to allow them to drink, and chasing Murphy around to play with a stick, which resulted in Hijack plowing into the back of my legs at full speed sending me ass first into the snow. Most pleasant surprise was despite my burning calves, at mile 4ish, I felt like I could make another 5 mile loop with ease. I might've even tried, if it wasn't for the fact that 1) it was getting dark and I left the headlamp at home (see previous post why that's a bad idea) and 2) I don't actually want to kill my dogs. All in all... great run, even with the Nikes.
The only downside was on the drive back, my knees started throbbing most likely from trying to run in Nikes like I would barefoot. I really need to figure out a way to make the Vibrams work in the snow, not just winter. When the trails are without snow, even when its below 30, the Vibrams work just fine. I even ran through some snow slush puddles, and after the initial brr and numbness, my feet recover quickly and heat up after only a mile or so. Its when the snow covers the entire trail without any break, and worse yet when the snow is ankle high or more, that's when real foot numbness sets in, which hurts even more once off the trail and the tozen (aka frozen toes) start thawing. However, the marathon will be on pavement (yuck!) so I might have to start running on that sooner or later. Maybe when snow covers the trails I can switch to roads and save myself from a case of the tozen. I haven't actually tried the Bikilas on a road (supposedly that's what they're made for). In addition I ordered Injinji toe socks today, which hopefully will fit into the Vibrams, providing and extra layer of warmth and actually covering my ankles. Next run is on Wednesday and thanks to the awesomeness of Zappos I should have my socks by then which might be important since the high on Wednesday is supposed to be 25F!
Keep your feet warm!

Winter Blues OR Estrogen?

Blah is the word I would use to describe my current status. I am constantly feeling blah, and said blah appears to be caused by a lack of accomplishment. I don't feel like I am doing enough. I quit my runs to soon, I don't go to yoga enough, I haven't worked on anything outside of my actual job. There still is a gigantic pile of laundry in the laundry room, and I am slowly running out of underwear. Yet no matter how much I do, I do not feel its enough. How do I resolve this issue? Do I do more? Or do I check my head?
Lets examine yesterday. I went for a walk with the dogs, which I currently feel guilty about since it should've been a run. I only ran for 30 minutes on Saturday, and on a treadmill none the less. I do have a marathon coming up; 102 day and counting. I should be running at least 10 miles each Saturday by now. The longest run of 2012 was a little over 5 miles. Pathetic. PATHETIC! On the other hand my little sister is running 40-50 miles a week. Good for her, but what about me?! I shouldn't even bother going out if its not going to be at least a 5 miles run. Oh and great, my Nike+ app tells me I've actually only ran twice this year, not counting the treadmill thing, so three times. Its January 9th and my mileage is approximately 13. 13! Weak. I needs to get my ass in gear and STAT.
I'm thinking I need to run more than a marathon before the marathon, maybe peak at 28-30 miles about a month before the actual race 1) to give me the confidence to run and B. give myself a month to recover. I lost only a week this year so far, so I guess its not the end of the world. Here's the plan for this week:

Day	Run	Yoga
Monday	5 miles	Power Unplugged
Tuesday	OFF	Power 1 & 2
Wednesday	6 miles	Sweat n Soul
Thursday	6 miles	OFF
Friday	OFF	Core
Saturday	7 miles	Yin Yoga
Sunday	OFF	Power 1&2 + Unplugged

Running in the dark

So here is some amazing information I have gathered during my extensive research period. When running after 5PM on January afternoon in Utah, bring a flashlight! It gets dark rather quickly. My extensive research involved bumming around the house till 4:50PM, instead of heading out for the trail immediately thinking I could make it before the darkness... not so much. It was the last mile and a half or so when the dusk started dissolving the trail beneath my feet, flattening out all the rocks and sticks, forcing me to run by braille. It didn't get quite as pitch black as on my birthday run last year, but I did have a headlamp then. Surprisingly it didn't get as cold as I thought it would. Usually when the sun hides behind California and starts sinking into the ocean, the temperatures drop significantly, but last night it remained around freezing. Which, now that I wrote it down seems ridiculously cold to run in, but 32F is not really that bad. I might even say I like it. I definitely prefer it to 82F.
I am definitely bringing my headlamp and attaching lights to the dogs for the next winter evening run. Seeing the trail you run on seems rather important. Almost as important as bikers and other trail patrons seeing you and your dogs. Especially bikers. Especially bikers seeing the dogs.

First Yoga

First yoga class of 2012 was Power Unplugged with Kate. Slow, stretching movements, while holding each pose a little longer allowed me to experience how my breath moved through each pose. I must say, I prefer this over power 1&2. Even though I break more of a sweat in Power 1&2, it moves a little to fast for my liking. Each pose feels rushed, where as in Unplugged I can really get into an asana, and then have time not only to adjust, push myself into the pose, but also to feel my breath, and direct it where it needs to go. I'm by no means saying I am quitting Kim's class, I am just appreciating the different approach to power. Also, Unplugged is a great way to start a week. I might have to start going to it on Sunday evenings, to get myself going to Monday.
The acupuncture I got that morning for my shoulder seems to have worked some magic as well. Dr. Zou only treated the left shoulder, the tighter one, and I definitely felt the difference while in table in yoga class. I still felt slight tightness in the left shoulder, but no longer pain. There is also a big difference between the two shoulders. I am going back on Wednesday for a follow up treatment, and will definitely have him work on my right shoulder as well. Now thinking of it, plank actually felt better as well. I wouldn't say I held it with easy, but my arms and shoulders felt significantly better, and I could really focus on my core. I'm not sure if I attribute that to the acupuncture or how Kate led the class and talked us through holding plank.