Not Feelin' It

Today:
Run 11 miles
Bike Commute 3 miles

Yesterday:
Run 20 miles

After yesterday's run I've decided I really need to start focusing my training more consistently on running. For the past several weeks it's been about 1/2 running and 1/2 biking but with the weather getting worse and worse for biking and with how crappy I felt running 20 miles yesterday it's time to start trying to get a decent run in at least 5 days a week. I don't know what it was yesterday but I just felt like every mile was a struggle both physically and mentally. Felt a lot better today so hopefully it was just a funk I was in for a day. At least the scenery was nice:

Recipe For a Power Vacation

Ingredients:

• Round trip ticket to Vegas
• Rental Car
• Borrowed Mt. bike (thanks Dave)
• ~12 old friends
• ~12 new friends (it's ok to substitute Internet friends for "real" people when trying to make new friends. They're much easier to meet and typically add better flavor)
• 1,500 miles of driving
• 100 miles of Mt. biking on desert doubletrack with new friends
• 50 miles of riding on desert singletrack
• 50 miles of trail running
• 2 hours of soaking in hot springs
• 90 minutes of running with Karl
• 60 minutes of riding with Lynda
• 3 hours of riding with Dave
• As little sleep as possible

Directions: Preheat Earth's surface to 70 degrees and sunny. Use plane ticket to get to Vegas. Use rental car to leave Vegas and head to Utah as soon as possible. Combine all remaining ingredients, stir, and enjoy (it also helps to remember more than one set of almost completely dead batteries for your camera - unfortunately these were the only pictures I was able to get):

Sunrise over the White Rim

I'm sure there was a much better view off to the right but I thought this picture of everyone else taking pictures off to the right was too funny to pass up.

Dan, Jefe, Chris, and Chris

Soaking at Diamond Fork hot springs with Nate, Shanon, and Anna

Riding in St. George with Dave H. ok, so you can't see Dave in the picture but I promise he's out there somewhere in the distance. Wish I had a chance more often to be the slow guy. It's more fun trying to keep up than waiting around for others.

Daily/Weekly Stats

Today:
Mt. Bike 16 miles
Run 7 miles
Lift 16 lifts
-3 sets of 12 reps.

Totals for the week: Run 50 miles; Bike 65 miles; 15.5 hours.

Quick Post From Juneu

Today:
Run 15 miles
Bike Commute 3 miles

Yesterday:
Off

Wednesday:
Mt. Bike 35 miles

I'm back in Juneau after a very busy and very enjoyable vacation (and quite expensive). Lots of time spent outdoors and catching up with old friends and making new friends. Hopefully I'll have some time later to post some pictures... although I didn't take very many because my batteries were dead on my camera most of the week and I kept forgetting to buy new ones and suddenly I would be off running or biking somewhere in the desert with great views in every direction and a dead camera in my pack.

For now it's out for a run in the 35 degrees of wind and rain that has greeted me in Juneau.

Quick Post From STG

Today:
Hike 5 miles

Yesterday:
Run 8 miles
Mt. Bike 11 miles

I've made my way back down to St. George after a couple days in Salt Lake. Gosh, I'm sure digging this sun. Tomorrow it's supposed to be close to 80 degrees and sunny and I've got the entire day to spend out biking.

It'll be after my ride tomorrow that things get hectic. I've got a 7am flight out of Vegas on Thursday which will mean leaving St. George at about 3am. And then I'm supposed to be to work 7 minutes after I get back to Juneau. It'll be bad enough flying back into the cold, dark, and rain, but going back to work just as soon as I get home will really be the nail in the coffin on that day. For now though I'm more concerned with tomorrow, which will hopefully include a ride with Dave H., which means I better get to sleep now and eat a big bowl of Wheaties in the morning.

Quick Post From SLC

Yesterday:
Run 15 miles

Saturday:
Mt. Bike 104 miles

Friday:
Off

Thursday:
Run 15 miles

Wednesday:
Run 10 miles
Bike Commute 3 miles

I'm in the midst of a sunny Utah vacation. Keeping very busy. Flew into Vegas on Friday morning and since then I've either been driving, sleeping, biking, or running pretty much the entire time. Good stuff. Had a great White Rim ride on Saturday. I'll post pictures and some more about my trip when I get back to Juneau. Still have a few more days in the sun and then heading back Thursday morning. Getting out for a run with Karl M. later today and then hoping to get out for a bike ride with Dave H. on Wednesday.

Totals for last week: Run 36 miles; Bike 132 miles; 17 hours time.

Muddin' and Grinning

Today:
Mt. Bike 22 miles

Yesterday:
Run 11 miles
Bike Commute 3 miles

Sunday:
Off

Got out for a ride today on Jill's Pugsley. The plan was to ride it up the Treadwell Ditch Trail until it was too muddy and rooty and then continue from there running. Thing is I never got to a spot that was too muddy or rooty for that beast. Ever since moving to Juneau I have been harassed by wet roots while mountain biking. Some of them are so damn slippery that you just can't get over them without falling on your face. Trying to ride some of these roots on a standard mountain bike involves always hitting them perpendicular to the root itself. If you hit it with any kind of angle you are hitting the ground real quick. With Pugsley though it just doesn't matter. You just point that monster tire down the trail and pedal. Luckily this is the case because the head angle is so slack that at slow speeds it's not entirely easy to control, although I did fare much better with this after a few miles of getting used to it. When it was all said and done I was able to ride further on this trail then I ever have before, and the trail is currently about as wet and muddy as it ever gets. Can't wait to try it out when the trails are a bit dryer, unfortunately I have about 6 months to wait for that.

I was hoping to capture a particular muddy stretch of trail, but like usual none of it really showed up in the photo.

Hero or Dumb Ass?

Today:
Mt. Bike 49 miles

Yesterday:
Bike Commute 3 miles
Run 9 miles



Walking out of "Into The Wild" (Sean Penn's version of John Krakauer's version of Chris McCandless' life) last night my friend asked if I thought Chris McCandless was a hero or a dumb ass? My initial reaction was that I thought he was a little bit of both but as I had more time to think about it I realized that what I was really trying to tell her was that I don't think he was either.

Instead I think he was just a kid trying to figure out who he wanted to be as a man. A progression that most everyone goes through on some level. I think he was a kid who had a lot to offer those around him, but also a kid who made some mistakes that ultimately cost him his life.

When the story of his death became well known in the media several years ago there were so many in Alaska (an likely around the world) who just instantly wrote him off as an idiot "outsider" who went into the Alaska Wilderness under prepared and basically got what he had coming to him. Why were/are so many so quick to jump to this conclusion?

I thought about that question a lot last night and today while out biking. Sadly, I think for many it's simply that they want to see someone who chooses to live on the fringe of mainstream society (let's say a more adventurous life than most) ultimately fail. As if by pointing out the weaknesses/stupidity of someone like Chris McCandless they are somehow validating their life as an ambiguous cog of society. As if by pointing out that no one with any sense would have made the mistakes that McCandless did somehow makes it easier for them to ignore the idea that no one with any sense would be living the depressing, stressful, unfullfilling life that they are.

I told my friend last night that it's hard for me to judge Chris McCandless definitively one way or the other because in doing so I would be judging my own development from a boy into a man in the same manner. When I pointed out to her that for 7 years from the age of 18 to 25 I more or less lived the lifestyle and shared many of the same views that McCandless did, her response essentially was, "yeah, but you weren't a dumb ass so instead of becoming the subject of a movie by walking off into the Alaska wilderness to "die off the land" you moved on, integrated yourself smoothly into mainstream society, and get to go to the movies and spend $11 for a large popcorn and Pepsi."

What a depressing thought to start the weekend with.

Training totals for the week: Run 47 miles; Bike 101 miles; in 16.5 hours.

Brrrr!

Today:
Run 14 miles

Yesterday:
Run 8 miles
Bike 9 miles
Lift 16 lifts
-3 sets of 12 reps.

About once a week I do a run that I plan a day or two ahead and have a pretty specific distance in mind that I'm planning to go (the rest of my runs I just head out and see how I feel). Hardly ever do I not go at least as far as planned on these runs, and often I'm feeling good and stretch it out a few miles further than planned. Sometime yesterday I decided that I would do about 20 miles today. The plan was to head out the Treadwell Ditch Trail for 90 minutes and then back. I only made it 60 minutes out though. I was feeling great but the weather was horrible and I wasn't so sure it was safe for me to continue on for the full 90 minutes. It was 37 degrees and raining very hard when I left home. As soon as I gained a bit of elevation the rain turned over to snow. The trail was a mess and I was slipping and falling all over the place. I didn't mind that though. I kind of enjoy running trails that are hard just to stay on my feet. The cold was too much for me to deal with though. Within 20 minutes I was completely soaked from head to toe and then the wind kicked up. My feet and hands lost almost all feeling after 30 minutes and by 50 minutes I was getting concerned about hypothermia. I pushed on for 10 more minutes but couldn't bring myself to stretch it any further. I knew it was going to be very tough just to be out there for 2 hours and I wasn't sure I'd make it out there for 3 hours. The worst thing though was the first 15 minutes warming up when I got back home. Jill was out biking when I got back. I'm glad she was. I think it's best that no one saw me pacing around the house, nearly in tears, talking to myself, trying to find some way to ignore the pain of bringing my body temp. back to normal. I guess it's time to start dressing a little warmer when I head out on days like today.

Vegas Baby

Mt. Bike 15 miles
Run 9 miles

It's official, I'm heading to the desert in 10 days. I just booked a flight to Vegas for next friday. I'll be renting a car from the airport and heading up to Utah for 5 days of biking, running, visiting old friends, and soaking up as much sun as possible. Good stuff.

Dog Days Of Autumn

Today:
Run 7 miles

Yesterday:
Road Bike 25 miles

The monsoon season is in full force here in Juneau and It's definitely starting to bring me down a bit. It didn't help that yesterday was one of those days when every little thing went wrong followed by a morning today just the same. Then I got to go to work and find out that yet another co-worker of mine is quitting this week. Pretty soon I'm not going to have any more co-workers to worry about quitting. I work in a kitchen that should have about 6 steady employees to be adequately staffed and now we are down to 3. Good stuff.

On top of this I just haven't been feeling that great physically lately. I've had some weird pain on the outside of my left foot whenever I run on rough terrain (pretty much every run I do); I've felt very tired on most every run or ride for over a week now; and as of yesterday I have a sore lower back which has also spread to soreness in my upper legs.

All of this said though, I'm actually in a good mood tonight. I just got in from a mellow 7 mile run in the dark and that was just what I needed. My foot nor my back hurt tonight, and I had more energy than I've felt on a run in about a week. And there's something about running at night that just seems to always lift me up. Staring at that beam of light shining down the trail I find it really easy to block everything else out and just enjoy what's in front of me. That's what I really needed.

Going To The Desert?

Today:
Bike 8 miles
Run 11 miles
Lift 16 lifts
-3 sets of 12 reps

Yesterday:
Mt. Bike 11 miles

Thursday:
Bike Commute 3 miles
Run 9 miles

Wednesday:
Bike Commute 6 miles
Run 12 miles

Tuesday:
Mt. Bike 21 miles

This weather is just relentless. It has now rained for 30 straight days and there is no indication that it's going to let up anytime soon. My last post I was daydreaming about the desert, but another week of rain everyday has pushed me over the edge and now I'm thinking pretty seriously about going to the desert for real, not just dreaming about it. My plan would be to fly into Vegas on October 25th where I would either rent a car or try to get my friend Anna in St. George, UT to pick me up. From there it would be up to Utah for 5 days of desert relaxation which would hopefully include this WRIAD ride. (Gotta find me a bike to ride though because I'm not too into the idea of spending $200 to take mine down with me). I've still got a lot of things to work out to make this happen on such short notice, but I do have a plane ticket on hold that I need to decide on by Monday. I'm leaning toward going but we'll see.

Another steady week of training. Nothing too ambitious, but right where I want to be right now.

Totals for the week: Run 39 miles; Bike 69 miles; 13 hours 45 minutes time (amazingly similar to last weeks totals - total coincidence).

Missing The Desert

Today:
Run 6 miles
Bike 8 miles
Lift 16 lifts
-3 sets of 12 reps

Yesterday:
Mt. Bike 12 miles

6 weeks ago I thought that I would be taking a trip to Utah this week. My job and my large amount of debt kept me from doing it but now I really wish I was. After however many straight days here with rain (I think it's about 28 now) it sure would be nice to be spending the next week in southern Utah where it's supposed to be sunny and about 80 degrees everyday. I've got a bunch of friends doing a Cataract Canyon rafting trip this week and then this coming weekend is the 24 Hours of Moab. Damn that would have made for a nice vacation. Hey, but at least I get to be here to see if we can pass 30 straight days with rain.

Following A Loose Plan

Today:
Run 16 miles

Yesterday:
Bike Commute 3 miles

A friend of mine who spends way too much time reading this boring blog told me that I don't write enough about my training anymore so this post is for her:

I've been feeling good on most of my runs or rides. I'm not really pushing the intensity or the mileage much at all right now. I'm just going out for runs when I feel like it and biking when I feel like riding. And on the days when I just can't deal with the weather I go to the gym and lift some weights. It's actually rained 23 days straight right now so that's been a little tough. I kind of like running in the rain but not biking so much. I would actually prefer to be riding a bit more than I am right now but I just can't find enough dry weather to get out on my bike much more than 5 or 6 hours a week.

My next race is still so far away that I'm really not trying to get too specific with my training. My general plan is to increase my hours of training about one hour per week such that I'm putting in about 16 hours by the end of October, 20 hours by the end of November, 24 by the end of December, and then peak at about 25 in early January before beginning to ease back slowly by mid January. As the weather turns to winter I'll replace most of my biking time with cross country skiing and much of my running will become very slow on snow packed trails, dragging my sled to get used to the type/pace of travel I'll be doing in The Iditarod Trail Invitational.

I'm also throwing the idea around in my head of biking the Susitna 100 which is one week before the ITI but that would involve taking an extra full week off from work (I would probably stay up there between the two races rather than flying back and forth to Juneau) and the two races combined would cost almost $1,000 just in entry fees! Throw in the travel expenses and missed work and I'd be looking at nearly $3,000 to do two races. Yuck.

Anyway, that's were my training is at now and where I see it taking me in the next several months. Is that better Nykole?

Totals for the past week: Run 41 miles; Bike 69 miles; in 13 hours and 45 minutes time.

Kicking It Recreational Style

Today:
Mt. Bike 25 miles

Yesterday:
Bike Commute 3 miles
Run 7 miles

Today Jill and I went out together for a 2 1/2 hour mountain bike ride that was quite different than most of the rides or runs I've done this year. It wasn't about fitness or about preparing my mind and body for an upcoming race. We just went out and rode our bikes for fun. We chatted quite a bit and took some long breaks. I stopped to try riding technical stretches a second or third time that I couldn't get the first time. We traded bikes for a few minutes so Jill could try out my Monkey. In all we just went out and rode our bikes completely for fun. And the sun even broke out for awhile. Unfortunately I decided at the last minute not to carry a pack on the ride which means I didn't take my camera but Jill did get a few nice pictures which I'm sure she'll be posting soon on her blog. The other unfortunate thing was that I was quickly snapped back to reality when we got home and I had a message from a co-worker informing me that I should come into work as early as possible because another co-worker had not shown up to work for the 2nd time in 3 days. What I need now is to find a way to make that ride today be my "reality" and the remainder of my day at work the anomaly.