Frame of Mind

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I can sure dig myself into a pit of misery during a run. President’s Day was a day off work for me so I went to Riverfront Park for a run. Initially, I felt excited to be outside on a nice morning but as the run began to unfold the mental storm clouds rolled into my mind like it was twister season in Kansas. I began to perseverate over every little physical discomfort; this negative internal monologue was making the run feel more difficult than necessary.

So I slogged through the first 3 miles not feeling very good mentally or physically and I wondered if I was being self-abusing or building character. I really wanted to cut the run short and call it a day. But then I came across some red silk rose petals sprinkled along the gravel trail. I suspected they were remnants from someone’s Valentine's Day surprise. The pretty red petals were a nice contrast against the blah winter colors of Riverfront and I was intrigued. There were several petals in one area and they spread over the trail as if to lead the intended person towards something delightful. I willingly abandoned the negative thoughts that had been circling relentlessly in my mind as I pondered the story of the petals. A couple of times I thought I had lost the trail and then I'd see another one or two petals a little further ahead.

They eventually disappeared and I never did figure out their purpose. However, I was captivated by thoughts of the petals and grateful for the distraction from my negative thoughts. Who left the trail of petals and what kind of Valentine surprise lay in store for the person following the trail? Perhaps a blanket in the trees with an array of wine, cheese and other delights.

Whatever the intended purpose, the mystery of the petals was a welcome distraction from my negative thoughts and helped make my remaining couple of miles more enjoyable.

Yellowstone Park XC ski trip

Yellowstone Park XC Ski Trip
Feb 7 & 8, 2009

My running club sponsors a xc ski trip to Yellowstone National Park every year. We stay in Gardiner, MT which is the north entrance of YNP. Saturday morning we drove the 5 miles to Mammoth Hot Springs and caught the 8:30 a.m. snow coach. There were 9 of us on this shuttle – 1 man and 8 women. Normally, we fill the early shuttle with 15 but some people cancelled this year. The plan was to ski the lower part of the Bunsen Peak trail and connect with the Sheepeater trail. We’d have lunch at the warming hut and then ski some more on the trails around there.

Unfortunately, the driver misunderstood our instructions and he drove right past our Bunsen Peak drop off point. We pounded on the glass when we realized his mistake but he was totally oblivious to the screaming women in the back. He opened the hatch expecting to see a bunch of excited skiers but instead found a bunch of sad faces. He felt really bad. The snow coach ride is my least favorite part of the trip. It has a cab with seating for 5 and pulls another unit behind which probably holds 10, which was where we were. The windows fog and frost terribly so you can barely see the scenery and there is no communication with the driver. The ride is very bumpy with everyone bouncing around inside. You can also smell the exhaust. I feel sorry for anyone with motion sickness or claustrophobia because you can’t even crack a window to get fresh air. You just have to laugh and make the best of it and get cozy with your neighbor as you bounce around. We lost about 45 minutes or so of time due to the miscommunication. When we arrived at the proper drop off point, we decided to mess with the driver a little. He opened the hatch and saw our sad faces so figured he once again took us to the wrong spot. We let him suffer a minute and then burst out laughing. He was so relieved.


The weather was superb and sunny with the morning temp a calm 20 degrees; the snow was perfect. Last year we had horizontally blowing snow and that can make navigation difficult. I get lost in a hotel so I would never ski this route unless I was with people who had done it many times before. The trail is marked with little orange markers in the trees but they can be very difficult to see especially if it is snowing. And there never seems to be enough of markers either. Since we were on the earliest shuttle, we might not have the advantage of having any tracks to follow. I would be skiing with 6 other women and they were all experienced xc skiers. They knew the route so I was not concerned.


The trail itself is basically flat and mostly easy skiing but I could tell my breathing felt labored with the over 7,000 foot elevation. There are few places where you have to side step or herringbone up hills and there are some interesting obstacles along the way like fallen trees, rocks, and stumps. The bison stayed out of the way so that was good. If they decide to stand in your path there’s not a darn thing you can do about it except make a very wide circle around them. One year, one of our club members was chased by a bison and that’s not a good position to be in.

This photo was taken right after we were dropped off by the coach and looking towards the direction we would be skiing.


This is the elevation profile from the trail head and includes the 2 mile loop we did around the warming hut. Don't let the graph fool you it is mostly flat:

Everyone started out overdressed and by one mile we started stripping. It’s hard to judge what to wear because the weather can be so different at the drop off point than it is at the Mammoth hotel where we catch the snow coach. No one had any major problems on the trail other than a few falls here and there. This year it was much easier to get up after falling because there wasn’t nearly the amount of powder as last year. I still feel a tad tentative on the skis after being injured last summer but survived a couple of minor falls just fine. After lunch we did a loop around the warming hut trails before heading back on the snow coach to soak in the Boiling River. We ended up with about 7 to 7.5 miles for the day which was a little short of our goal of 10 miles. Both of my Garmin charts are a little off on mileage because I can't seem to remember to start the darn thing.

Break time at the warming hut:

The Boiling River is probably the only place you can legally soak in the thermal waters of YNP and it’s part of the tradition for this ski trip. The thermal water rushes over the rocks and mingles with the icy water of the Gardner River. The water temp is perfect but you have to keep moving around to find the sweet spots. Getting out is interesting. There are no changing areas and it is too cold to wear a wet suit for the hike back to the car. So you pretty much just have to drop your swimsuit, quickly throw on dry clothes, and hope no one minded seeing your naked body through the steam. Skinny dipping and alcohol are both prohibited and enforced. We saw a ranger bust a couple of college-aged kids for having beer. That seems a bit severe to me but it is clearly posted. That night our club had a potluck dinner and then several of us played ping pong in the motel game room, which was a hoot. I can still play a mean game of ping pong – even left handed.

Sunday we ate breakfast with the group and then split up to do our own thing. Three of us went the short distance to Jardine, MT for more skiing. Jardine is an old western gold mining town near Gardiner but it is basically a ghost town now. We skied about 5.5 out-and-back miles on a forest service road which had nice ski tracks for the majority of the way. The first part of the route was a comfortable climb of nearly 500’ and we enjoyed beautiful views between the trees along the way. Again, the snow and temperature was perfect. We stopped several times to take photos and talk to other skiers. The trip down felt effortless.

I’m really happy with how my knee felt on this trip and the IT band caused no trouble. My only problems were a couple of minor blisters in odd places.

Jardine Elevation Profile. I forgot to start my Garmin so it’s a little off but this was about a 500' elevation gain so a nice, steady climb.


Electric Peak, elevation 10,969’. This is the 8th highest summit in YNP but the highest point in the Gallatin Range.

The trip down – our reward for the climb.

A kindly skier offered to take our photo.

I'm getting a little behind in my blogging so will try to catch up with a couple of fun trips I recently enjoyed.

The first was a trip to Phoenix and Vegas January 15 - 22. We stayed with friends in Phoenix and ran the Rock N Roll half marathon while there. The weather was outstanding and we enjoyed the run with 28,000 of our closest friends.

There was a band about every 1/2 mile on the course, cheering squads, and a few guys dressed like Elvis. We felt like rock stars as we ran past all the cheering crowds into the ASU finish area.

After that it was on to Vegas for 3 nights at Treasure Island. We saw the Cirque du Soleil Beatles Love show and also went to Improv Night at Harrahs. Vegas was pretty dead thanks to the recession but we still had a lovely time.

Training progress

I knew there was a reason why I've never done a half marathon in January before: It's effin' hard to train for one during the busy holiday season. Plus, our frigid blast of actic weather hasn't helped much either. I'm plugging along trying to do what I can do. We ran 9 miles last Friday and will do 8 to 10 this Saturday (HOPEFULLY!). I'm trying to get pumped up for it. Maybe the promise of mochas and scones will do the trick...

I'm missing my good running friend who is now wintering in Arizona. But I'll be seeing her soon enough. First stop Phoenix, then onwards to Viva Las Vegas! I'm excited! We have both decided that we will not worry about our finish times in Phoenix. We simply haven't had enough time to train properly since coming back from our injuries.

I started working with a personal trainer a few weeks ago and he is kicking my ass. Clearly, I have been wasting my time in the gym for the last couple of years. I can tell he is testing my level of fitness and strength at these sessions. He works me hard and makes me sweat in ways I won't make myself. Then he checks with me to see how I am feeling so he can figure out if we overdid it or not. I'm developing quite the love/hate relationship with him. Last week, we did too much leg work before my long run. I won't let that happen again.

So overall everything is going pretty well. The injury problems seem under control, which pleases me. I've got much work ahead of me but at least I am running again.

Gratitude

I recently returned to running after nearly 3 months off. It is hard not to feel a little down about how much fitness I lost during this time of recovery (and about how much weight I gained). My current 3 mile pace is slower than my June half marathon pace. But the good news is that I am running again; I am up to 8 miles now and for that I am extremely grateful.

Through the years, I have come to realize that I am happiest when I feel gratitude for all the wonderful things in my life. Lately, it seems so many people are getting really sick that I am grateful for things I don’t have too. When I wasn’t able to run I felt as if I had lost a friend so I am grateful for any miles I run now. As always, the bad runs help us appreciate the good runs and not running at all helps us appreciate a return to running – even if it is at a slower pace.

Out of the fog

The car door slammed shut and the woman walked easily over to the light pole, which she used as support to gently stretch her quadriceps. The man joined her and they discussed which direction they should go and wondered if they would need an extra layer. The early morning air temperature felt sharply brisk and a dense fog hung in the air waiting for the sun’s heat to burn it off.

They started with a brief walk and then fell into a gentle side-by-side jog. The narrow running path consisted of small gravel layered over packed dirt bordered by unkempt grass and weeds. The woman bounced along next to the man and they settled on what pace they would run today.

Into the fog they ran and as they approached the lake the woman noticed how the moisture in the cool air thickened and clung to her cheeks. They noticed several snowy white objects floating on the calm water. As they grew closer she could hear honking noises and realized the objects were swans floating in and out of the mist.

They jogged steadily through the trees, around the corner and over the wooden plank bridge that covered the marshy area. Their raggedy jog smoothed out and they found a comfortable rhythm. His breath puffed when he spoke a few words trying to initiate a conversation. Normally talkative, she answered briefly and withdrew contentedly back into her own mind.

The woman concentrated on her breath as she listened to the sounds of their synchronized footfalls. Her mind roamed through her body assessing how different body parts were feeling. Her legs felt springy and she experimented with increasing her stride length and leg turnover but not so much as to compromise her relaxed breathing patterns. They mostly ran silently yet keenly aware of the other. Their elbows bumped, he apologized, and they re-negotiated their space on the narrow trail. As her muscles warmed she increased the pace slightly. He fell behind but then surged to return to her side.

She could hear his steady breathing and it became her breathing. They ran as one unit sharing space, sharing breaths, sharing thoughts. Her heart pumped strongly and the blood flowed from her, circulated into him, and then returned to her. She felt great gratitude. In her mind she told him things she’d always meant to say but hadn’t gotten around to actually saying. Yet somehow she knew that on that day in the foggy mist, he understood what was in her mind and her heart because they ran as one.

Training Begins

I feel incredibly energized partly because I have a new goal: The PF Chang RockNRoll half marathon.

I'm excited about this trip as I'll be splitting my time between Phoenix and Vegas. However, I am worried about pushing so hard after recovering from an injury so I will keep my goals modest: avoid injury, enjoy the course and have a fun trip. If all goes well, I will be in excellent condition for the Virginia Beach Shamrock HM in March. I might even consider doing the full.

Now I need to develop a training plan that will get me from injury to half marathon condition in about 10 weeks. So much to do, so little time.