Wintermission

Chicago has a way of sucking in the winter, though this winter has been quite mild and, dare I say, lovely?  Regardless, we felt the need to take our Serious Case of the Runs for a vacation, and border-hopped for six days.  We were in serious need of some sun exposure and all natural vitamin D.  Our feet were also in need of sandals and, of course, sand between the toes.  So that's exactly what we did.  And we packed just as much in the way of regular clothes/swimwear as we did running clothes :)

The resort we stayed at, just north of Playa del Carmen, is part of an eco park.  It's huge, like something over 350 acres of pristine and protected land hugging the Caribbean Sea.  Lush mangrove forests, 150+ species of birds, flowers, fresh water rivers flowing through the resort, and cool underwater caves that you could dive into.  So it was totally up our alley.  Anywho, we did one run on the treadmill because it was getting late that day and we were feeling vacation lazy.  It was a great workout.  I mixed in some decent climbing and worked my legs pretty good.  One thing the 'mill is good for, climbing :)

The rest of the time, we ran through the eco park and discovered all the cenotes (the underwater caves) sprinkled about the park, peaked in the plant nursery, and dodged iguanas (those things are like squirrels down there).  The runs were short, but it still felt good to get out and get the paper white legs moving, especially in such gorgeous weather (sunny, 80s, breezy!).  After almost a week of no kale, too much sugar, and our fair share of Dirty Monkeys and Coronas, it was GREAT to get home and crawl back up on the wagon.  And eat kale.  I missed kale :)  And tap water for that matter.

Anywho, here's a little vacation in pictures for your winter wearied eyes.

We headed to Tulum to check out the Mayan ruins on Monday.  It was super pretty, and picture perfect...

It's Geof the Mayan!

Our tour guide dude was hilarious.  He had the funniest accent.  He claimed to be Mayan, but he sounded like a mix between an American "accent", Scottish, Irish and a touch Kiwi.  It was like he couldn't decide what he wanted to be :)

Other than heading to Tulum, strolling 5th Avenido in Playa del Carmen, kayaking the rivers, running, and attempting to eat our way to a spare tire, we did a whole lotta this:

Under this:

And then got all pretty on Valentine's Day:

It was a great wintermission. 

And now it's time to buckle down and get jiggy with this Zane Grey 50 training. 

Paige, out.

Homo ultris runneris

I feel human again.  And it is such a wonderful feeling.  I had forgotten how lovely it is to feel like a functioning member of society...particularly of the genus Homo and species ultris runneris.

Ultris runneri, as seen in the red rock wilderness, circa 2011

I have now had two wonderfully speedy runs in a row (I was worried my legs forgot how to turn over), and have enjoyed some fantastic running in general since my last post.  And amen to that; Geof was on the verge of removing my Best Running Partner Ever title ;)

Saturday we headed to Palos to get in a short trail run, and some hills.  The trails were in bad shape so we stuck to the gentler yellow trail, hoping to avoid causing too much damage to the soggy terrain.  It was pretty nasty.  Palos always feels gross as it is (on account of the horse manure, mostly), and Saturday was no exception, but after a couple miles, and knowing it was my last run in the shoes I was wearing, I allowed myself to fully embrace the gross.  Soupy mud, soggy horse poop, sticky clay, and the moldy scent of a half-thawed winter combined with humidity.  Ahhhh, Midwestern trail running at its finest!  We ran clockwise so that we could have the good hills for climbing (rather than descending), and running all the way up Big Bertha was quite a treat!  A couple of muscles in my right glute that had been on an extended leave of absence since Javelina 100 decided to wake up and join the fun finally.  Breathing not nearly as hard as I have in the past pushing up that hill, we reached the top and both agreed we needed to do some more hill work before spring racing begins :)

Geof found out he got into the Wasatch 100 on Saturday evening, and immediately set about formulating a race strategy/plan on Sunday morning.  I am so pumped to get to head back there and get in another round of pacing and crewing, especially because it's for my rockin' husband.  It's a truly awesome experience and the course is disgustingly beautiful.  So, we've got that on tap for September, and lots of awesome training to do before then! 

I still need to figure out what my big race will be this year, but I've got other fish to fry before I make that decision.  I look forward to having some supremely good news to share in the next couple of months; fingers, toes, legs and eyes crossed!

I've recently culled a pair of really great road shoes.  I like to try out lots of different road shoes, different brands, different styles.  But I always, always find myself coming back to Brooks roadies.  This time I picked up a pair of the Brooks Launch.  They're pretty wonderful.  Cushy, light, and downright comfortable.  The Mizuno Wave Riders I was trying so hard to like are now out of the rotation.  The ankle collar was too stiff and annoying.  I dreaded running in them.  In my opinion, you shouldn't have to work at liking your running shoes.  You should LOVE them the moment you slip them on and prance around for the first time.  There are rare exceptions, of course, but for the most part that's how it should be :) 

It's great to feel like an ultris runneris again and I'm finally starting to look forward to Zane Grey in April.  I'm sure there will be days where I'm cursing it, but for the most part I am really excited for a new challenge (and what a challenge it will be!).  After a little vacation getaway this weekend we'll really crank it up again.  On on!

Paige, out.

The Sophomore Slump

Last year was a big year.  Lots of big accomplishments, lots of strides made (literally and figuratively) in my running life, lots of awards, lots of miles, lots of PRs.  Lots of things.  I love looking back on it.

It was fantastic.

It was pure.

It was exactly what I wanted out of my 2011.

And it completely drained me.

How do you follow up a performance like last year?  I know I can, and I know I will, but in the throes of a full-on burnout it's quite difficult to imagine.  And almost as equally as exhausting!

But, I'm pulling out of it.  I feel like I will be back in love with running very soon.  I just needed to retreat for a short bit and just stop thinking about it all.  Rather than fighting my loss of mojo and the burnout this time I just let it run its course.  Sometimes that's all you can do to make it through with sanity intact.  I feel remarkably sane considering my seven mile week last week :) 

I also let a bout of the flu run its course.  I'm quite lucky, though.  My version of the flu is considerably less crappy than most others who've experienced it, thanks to all that running and good health otherwise.  So I can't whine too much, but I sure am glad to crave food, and sunlight, and the smell of brand new running shoes again!

It was only a week of darkness, but it was a very long week.  I called the time of death on my running streak on January 22nd after a particularly awful long run that morning, and claimed a 25 day streak as my very own.  A pretty hefty achievement considering my usual streak lasts, at most, six days.  My body was ready for a rest as I had run it pretty ragged, and that's probably how I came down with the flu.  Live, learn, blahblahblah :)

So tomorrow I will attempt to pull myself out of this sophomore slump of sorts and get moving again.  Maybe I'll love it, maybe I'll take some more time off.  No sense in getting too crazy just yet.  Though we do have all sorts of ass to kick come late April, at Zane Grey.  But I feel very confident in my ability to be ready for that :)

Oh, I have another blog!  I've kept it kind of quiet the last several months and didn't do much with it, until recently.  I decided to make that a space to post tasty vittles I concoct in la cucina de Dunmore, among other non-running related tid-bits.  Check it out if you like, or don't :)  But I think you may enjoy it as a nice change of pace:

The Back Paige

I shall now get back to conquering the world and start dreaming up which shoes to lace up for tomorrow's run (I've got a couple new ones to choose from!).

Paige, out.

I'm a Morning Runner

Last night's run sucked a**.

I know we all have 'em, it's just been so long since I've had one: a crap-filled run.  I said to Geof that I couldn't remember feeling more awkward running, other than my first run back after Vermont 100 in 2009 (my first hundie).

Everything felt off.  My feet felt like balloons.  My ankles felt brittle and ached.  My knees ached, too.  My hips and hamstrings felt tight.  My stomach was sour.  My mind, good grief my mind, was on a rampage.  The wind howled on the way out, but pushed us along nicely on the way back.  We both grunted and grimaced most of the way, otherwise running in silence.  At least we were in the same boat :)

Four miles never felt so long.  My legs never felt so slow.  The night never felt so foreboding.  City noises never annoyed me so much.  All I could think about was getting home to warmth...and pizza.

I am definitely a morning runner.  Especially in winter. 

This morning's run was infinitely better.  But the bitter taste of a crappy run still sat on my tongue.  Good thing it's nothing a hot cup of black tea can't snuff out! 

I can't wait for tomorrow's run :) 

Random Nature Note:

Last night we came home to our mini-tree/plant-that-we-are-unsure-of-what-it-is (aka "Stella") drooped at a 90 degree angle, leaves pitifully limp and dangling ominously.  I never realized how attached I am to our house plants until that moment.  My heart began to sink.  "Stella!"  I poured her a tall drink of water as we left for our run.  When we came back, I hopped into a hot shower and Geof burst into the bathroom, "Stella just shot straight up!"  When I finished, I stole a peek and sure enough, she was standing fully upright, leaves once again wide and firm.  Stella was once again stunning :)  Isn't that incredible?

Nature, my friends, is awesome.

Paige, out.

Fastest Guns in the (Mid)West

Okay, not really, but that's what popped into my head when I started dreaming up the title for this post :)  But, it's not totally unrelated to the content...!

Saturday morning we're up at the crack of yeehaw dreaming up our run for the day.  We were planning to head up to the Kettle Moraine since the weather was phenomenal (full sun, 30s, rockin' awesome) and began to make motions towards that goal.  Some mid-winter camping had been on the agenda as well, but we scratched that idea upon waking Saturday morning.  We also wanted to make our usual stop at the La Grange General Store for lunch, so that meant we needed to get the show on the road. 

For as early as we got up, we didn't end up heading out the door until close to noon :)  What on earth were we doing all that time?  I have no idea.  So, to the Nordic trail we headed!  We're within 20 minutes of our final destination when I decide Facebook needs to know what we're up to, so I post a quick little status update.  Almost instantly (not really, it just seemed like it) I got a reply from Brian telling me to check out a post from someone else and to "be careful out there."  Ummmmm, what?

I couldn't see the post so I asked what it said and he sent me a text with the information...basically, there was a gunman on the loose on the Nordic trails and a fellow runner was greeted by 20 some odd policemen with their guns drawn when she came off the trails after her run.  She ran right by the guy!

In any event, we had no idea what the trail situation would be so we started altering our plan a bit.  We pulled up to the Nordic trailhead only to see that it has been blockaded and an officer steps out of his truck to speak with Geof while another officer is off to the side doing nothing out of the ordinary...you know, just strapping on a bulky bullet proof vest and tossing an enormous gun across his back.  Gave me chills!

So it turns out, allegedly, some dude not wearing blaze orange (i.e. in plain clothes) shot directly at a hunter and his son, the hunter shot back, and then the dude took off.  Police were on the hunt for him, choppers were called, area houses were put on lockdown, and the Nordic trails were closed off.  But, according to the gent Geof spoke with, it was okay to run the trails across the street.  Seriously?  How was that expected to be safe?  Heh.

In the end, all we could find out was that the search was "called off" later that evening.  No explanation of what happened, or why it was called off, or if they caught their perp.  Nothing.  Isn't that strange? 

We ended up driving up the road to the Highway 12 trailhead and ran to Rice Lake and back.  It was AWESOME!  Lots of hunters out on the trail, which is always creepy feeling, but they are always very nice to us.  I love this section of the KM100.  It's technical, it's hilly, it twisty-turny.  Lots of rocks, a miniature pine tree alley that makes me feel extremely tall as we run beneath the stunted canopy of pine.  I endeavored to run the entire way out; running every up and every down, maintaining a consistent cadence the whole way.  I did it, too :)  It burned on some of the steeper climbs, but I was able to keep moving at the same pace regardless.  We reached the turnaround at Rice Lake and headed back the way we came.  I kept the same goal in mind, but at two of the sections with railroad tie stairs (going up this time) I let myself reduce to a brisk hike for a moment, but still the same cadence.  It felt so good.  The weather was just fantastic, and other than the sprinkling of hunters alongside the trail near County Road P, we more or less had the trail to ourselves.  Some spots were a little mucky, but for the most part it was in great shape.

I wore my La Sportiva Quantums and enjoyed a solid ride the whole way.  When you step in tacky mud it sounds like peeling velcro as my foot leaves the mud.  It sounds pretty funny, but it also means I'm getting great traction even on the slippy-slidey stuff.

After wrapping up our run we quickly changed and headed for the warm goodness of the General Store.  We shared a hot Fajita Pita for lunch, and I enjoyed my very first kombucha tea (ummmm, holy deliciousness!).  There was a specific dinner spot we had in mind on the way home, so we didn't want to spoil our appetites before we got there.

After sufficiently relaxing our legs and bellies we hopped back in the truck and headed for Woodstock, IL an hour or so away.  The Woodstock Public House has the sort of charm and ambiance I think only exists in movies or made-for-TV-dramas.  I'm pretty sure I mentioned it before (when we went apple picking back in the fall), but the town square is so perfectly perfect it makes me squeal with delight when I see it.  We parked on the far end and walked around the Square to the Pub where we grabbed a high-top in the front room (it has the best people watching :)).  I ordered the most divine pumpkin harvest soup and melted into the bowl as I drained it of every last drop. 

A nearly full moon over Main Street

We walked around the Square once more on the way back to the truck, and we dreamed up Sunday's run/workout.  The day wasn't even done and I was already chomping at the bit for the next day's run :) 

And, in closing, I stumbled upon Joe Grant's blog yesterday (if you don't follow it you should consider it :)) and fell in love with the writing.  He's got great style.  He wrote a short post on his 2011 streak and I cannot get this clip from his post out of my head...it's some serious truth: 

"There's something special about devoting, even the smallest amount of time, each day to something that you love. In many ways, it is no longer a question as to whether or not I will run today, but rather about the excitement and anticipation of what the run will bring."

And that is yet another reason I run...for "the excitement and anticipation of what the run will bring."

Paige, out.

NON-RUNNING CONTENT...But Still Pretty Cool

Now it's at four posts in five days...amazing! :)

Here's a little peak into my non-running life (does such a thing exist?!)...My older brother, Tate, has a band called How Far to Austin and I just received their newsletter containing a link to a music video they made recently. 

It's AWESOME!  I got goosebumps watching it, then I wanted to dance so I watched it again!  It's their version of Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" and it'll give you a pants party.

How Far to Austin - Proud Mary Video

My brother is the guitarist, in flannel (how many of you were able to pick him out??).  He looks just like me so you can't miss him :)  Except I have a flatter set of abs currently (shhhhhh, this'll fire him up!) and he is quite a bit funnier.  I have much to learn about the written word from him. 

Me and my big brother

My sister-in-law, Katie, is the female vocalist.  She's got some serious chords.  My niece has some big shoes to fill!

Anywho, I was just so dang proud that I wanted to share it here.  I remember Tate's first electric guitar and watching him play the first few chords of some Jimmy Hendrix song over and over and over because I'm pretty sure that's all he knew how to play.  Now he's a bonafide Chicago rockstar.  Pretty neat.  Makes my running seem so...pedestrian :)

Enjoy!

Paige, out.

Here and There

Wow, three posts in the span of four days...it's like the old days of blogging, when I'd post every time I batted an eye ;)

It's been pretty cold here the last week or so...I'm talking downright arctic blast.  At least for me; at this point; compared to, like, Southern California.  Or maybe not.  I have no idea what SoCal's weather is currently like :) 

We've resolved to train through the winter, as usual, which means running in friggin' cold temps since the new year.  Good thing I've learned how to dress for the cold.  Except for my hands.  I managed to under-think it yesterday and didn't grab my windproof mittens for our Tuesday Ten and my fingertips were in pain for far too long afterward.  Lesson learned.

Another lesson learned.  A really good running jacket makes the world go round.  Or at least it makes the cold miles fly by.  I went out on a limb and snagged a jacket that cost more than $40, and wasn't on the REI clearance rack :)  I bought the Brooks Inifiniti Jacket.  Me likey.  This isn't a product review; I just love this jacket so much I wanted to share it with the world.  It's pretty thin and very lightweight (no lining), and has really awesome windproof-ness and some waterproof-ness.  I also like that it has what I'm calling 'wrist gaiters'.  I don't know what they're really called, but I love them, and they have thumb holes.  Which I also love, but don't use much since it's buttass cold and I'm wearing gloves anyhow.  Since it's not insulated you do need to layer up underneath, which I am a big fan of.  Layers, that is.  I'm also a big fan of walnuts these days, but that's neither here nor there.

So, if you're in the market for a new winter running jacket, and already are a fan of layering, I recommend this jacket.

Speaking of running, Tuesday Ten was fabulous.  We ran a modified route due to ice and crap covering our usual route, and due to my paralyzing fear of ice.  Our runs are a fair bit slower during times of frozen stuff, but that's okay; it teaches me patience...and how to settle down quickly when my heart rate has spiked through the roof because I merely saw a patch of ice off in the distance.  (Imagine what it's like when I'm actually running through ice.  I get instant hot sweats and my heart pounds ferociously in my chest whilst breathing heavily.  Oooo, even just thinking about it gets my heart pounding!)

In any event, we've been enjoying playing along with 31 Days of Adventures!  It's so simple and fun, nothing crazy, just ways to help you see and exeperience your world a little differently.  If you want to join in, it's not too late!  You can do make-up work :)  Today's adventure is to learn something new.  I'm going to learn how to make mashed cauliflower (like mashed taters, except different :)). 

Photo: www.buttermilkpress.com

See, nothing crazy, just fun.  I'm documenting my 31 Adventures on Twitter, so if you want to keep up you can follow me there.  My twitter name (or whatever that is called!) is @paigeruns.  Fitting, no?

I've got a fun little giveaway in the works, so stay tuned for that!  Oooooo, a giveaway!  And it's running related, too :)

Happy First Week of 2012 (aka The Year of Woohoo!)!

Paige, out.