Amy and the Mountain

I have a problem with high-fiving before thinking.

Last year I was drinking my coffee at my friend's restaurant and she said "hey, I heard about this race where you go up and over a mountain and it's so hard grown men cry and throw up after crossing the finish line!" And I said "no way, it's so hard you're likely to vomit??! I'm in!" and we high-fived on the spot.

A month later we stayed up till midnight waiting for registration to open for the 2010 Imogene Pass Run. They only allow 1500 people to register and it closes out fast. Yes, it's THAT cool.

I registered and then I trained. Training involved getting up every day around 4:30 or 5 am and hitting a trail at the base of a small mountain pass in the middle of Phoenix. It's only about 3 miles total but I did it every day and worked on being able to run more and more of the trail until I reached the climb. Then I power hiked to the top. It wasn't a lot of miles, but I did it almost every weekday for a couple months.

This was a pretty big feat for a girl who thought she was done with running at the end of 2009. For a girl who was in constant pain with a tearing posterior tibial tendon who walked out of a doctor's office refusing his notion of surgery. I felt pretty good!

And so in September last year we climbed into cars and took the 7.5 hour drive to Telluride, Colorado. And on September 9, 2010 I pinned on my race number and hopped on the bus from Telluride to Ouray on my way for that crazy race that can make grown men cry. I knew I wasn't ready-ready, but I felt semi confident.

Here's a quick description from the website about the Imogene Pass Run:

The Imogene Pass Run (IPR) is a 17.1 mile point-to-point mountain race within the western San Juan mountains of Colorado, run along a route which connects the towns of Ouray (7810 ft.) and Telluride (8750 ft.) by way of 13,114 foot Imogene Pass. This spectrum of weather during the race is in fact part of its lure and mystique. In good weather years the challenge of the mountainous traverse is rewarded by unsurpassed vistas and no small feeling of accomplishment upon crossing the finish line. In bad weather years, the wind, fog, rain and/or snow along the course make the successful arrival in Telluride a virtual rite of passage into the realm of true mountain running.

Each participant should keep in mind that the IPR is a mountain run in every sense of the word, and that "The Mountains Don't Care". The reality is that despite whatever emotions we may have for the mountains and their environment, they are in fact unfeeling objects and they follow the natural rules of physics which are not always benevolent toward living creatures, great or small. It is up to the participants themselves to be properly prepared for the challenges of this alpine foot journey, fair weather or foul. Despite the enthusiastic volunteer support at intervals along the course, each participant is ultimately responsible for his or her own safety and risk.

Sounds fun, yes?

I started the race with great enthusiasm and was pretty quickly out of breath. It's a climb straight from the start - and there's no break. Coming from sea level Phoenix to a race that STARTS at 7,800 feet and starts climbing right away is no joke. It became clear that running it was not in my future. It became clear that continuous forward motion was my only strategy and I could only hope that was good enough. By the time I reached upper bird camp at 7.5 miles I had missed the cut-off time by at least 20 minutes and was officially out of the race. They allowed me to continue warning me twice that I was on my own, there was no race support and no one would be sent to rescue us. But the weather was great and I wanted to finish. And luckily I wasn't alone, another girl in our trip was in the same position as me and she also chose to press on. I was so thankful for her company! 

The next 2.5 miles to the summit was the longest 2.5 miles of my life! I was altitude sick and stumbling like a drunk person. A mere 20 yard hike left me out of breath as if I had sprinted around a track! I don't know how long it actually took us to finish last year - 8 plus hours? We watched the aid stations and port-a-potties get hauled away from the trail below while at the summit. When we reached the finish line .. there was no finish line. It had long been packed up but we were greeted by wonderful friends and I felt a HUGE sense of accomplishment.

Take to 2011

Registered! And did I train! And this year I was in MUCH better shape. 6 months of Crossfit training promoting strengthening and self-healing of my tendons. I was running on a regular basis with a group of girls who really pushed me to be better and faster and push harder. I had already run TWO half marathons and each time got a new PR (personal record). I was still struggling with some things with my body but so much better. My goal this year? SEE A FINISH LINE. Make the cut off time at upper camp bird. Survive again.

So nervous this year. So excited. So dreading it. I remember how I just wanted to lay down and go to sleep last year. How LONG those miles felt. And then I remembered how hard I worked. I made a plan to run for 4 minutes, walk for one until I was forced to only hike. I envisioned a 5:30 finish in my head and how I'd celebrate.

See that grey mountain looming behind the others
in the upper left? Yes, that's where we go up
and over and begin the descent into Telluride.

And then we started. I was amazed and horrified at how quickly my dream of running a major portion was squashed. The immediate and continuous climb hit me immediately and hit me HARD. I was in for another long climb. But I pushed on and pushed on. At mile 6.5, I didn't know if I could make the cut-off. And sure enough, I reached Upper Camp Bird and the cut-off time was 5 minutes passed. I was so sad. There was some confusion at the camp, with one women trying to teach me how to rub my chest for elevation sickness and another man scribbling down my number and asking if I had given up. Finally a woman asked if I planned to continue ... and I really thought about it ... a nice hike back to a comfortable bus returning me to Telluride and a cold beer ... but NO. Finish I must. The girl before me was still in the race - the girl after me, her friend, had also missed the cut off. But we pushed on. I even passed a few people on my way to the top. And after the summit, I actually ran.

At the summit!

On my way to the summit, looking back at how far I'd come.
Ouray is somewhere back there ...

It was hard. So hard. But not as bad as last year. That 2.5 miles from the camp to summit was long but not the longest of my life. Those 7.1 miles after the summit? Not so long - but still hard. My feet were tired, my ankles sore. But no so bad.

And guess what? I saw a finish line. With an actual countdown clock. And 20-some minutes to spare. And I got to run across it. AND I got a finish time: 6 hours and 38 minutes. And people finished AFTER me. Yeehaw!

So I need some serious climbing and elevation work. Watch out - next year 5:30 will be easy. HIGH FIVE!

Those mountains don't look THAT tall ... right?

Sometimes it's the little things ...

It was one of those days today. I hit the ground running and had high hopes and a plan of attack for my ever-growing mountain of responsibility ... I had a GREAT workout to start my day ... had a great lunch packed that I made overnight in the crockpot, packed my iPod full of Podcasts and was ready to dig in ...

And then unexpected pleasures that are I.T. Where things go wrong and every phone call I took led to a solution that unveiled new problems and it spiraled and spiraled ... I was on the verge of stress hyperventilation multiple times today ... and I actually started to tackle my planned tasks at 5:30 pm today. UGH.

But I still had a few moments of pleasure:

There are some minor grammar errors on an application on our website and we received an email SCHOOLING us on needing to check our grammar. But of course, the email had a spelling error/typo. *sigh* is it wrong that I receive pleasure from someone failing while showing such attitude? I don't care if it is.

This email from my friend Brian (Hi CheapBlueGuitar!):

(I know it's silly - it really made me giggle)

And an amazing Paleo dinner leftover from last night: Sun Dried Tomato Baked Chicken with Turkey Bacon Brussel Sprouts (Thanks Every Day Paleo!) with a glass of sparkly water made in my Soda Stream.

Life is still good - and tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'm going to kill it. (I have to!)

Paleo is doin its thang - scale headed DOWN!

I'm happy to report that on Day 28, I have stepped on the scale and I'm down 7 pounds from where I started 28 days ago -- woo hoo to that!! Now I'm at the number where I needed to lose weight before - lol. But still - progress. I see progress.

I'm in the range where I always seem to stall in the past  but I'm going to continue to push forward with this Paleo clean eating and see where it takes me! It's not stopping when I hit my 30 days!

I feel good. I feel in control in this area of my life and that's a good start.

MAYBE though I have to give some weight loss credit to this week's hair chop ...

Here's me last weekend making a maniacal joker face hanging out with my friend Brian. With my hair:

Here's me Wednesday night after the big chop and after what seemed like hours of blow drying and tons of product (and I couldn't see through my hair driving home):

And here's the normal sweaty face new me without all the salon-stylin':

I like it - pretty easy to manage and FAST to wash! The simplification of life begins?

Gettin' Creative with my Meat

(Did that make you giggle like it did me?) Doing this whole Paleo thing (Day 28!!) means a lot of meat and veggies. I've been experimenting with different things to mix it up a bit. Friday I bought some poblano pepper pork wheels from Fresh n Easy. I think pork probably isn't my best choice over lean chicken or turkey but sometimes I want a change ... they looked weird. Kind of like a cow patty.

Someone at a party told me the other night how easy it was to grill veggies (specifically eggplant) on the George Foreman grill and since I'm also looking to mix it up in the veggie department, I tried that as well. A half of zucchini (quartered) and some eggplant slices, rolled in some olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt on the George Foreman grill. Super simple - super yummy!

The cow patty review? Decent but not as spicy or as tasty as the label implied. I probably won't go back to get some more. But a pretty hearty lunch! (Obviously food photography isn't my specialty!)

Admission: while I haven't completed my 30-day "hard core paleo" challenge, I decided to make Saturday night a cheat night. The plan wasn't to go crazy with my cheat but to venture off plan just a titch. I won tickets to the Diamondbacks game at the TGIFriday's tables. We got these awesome seats and $90 in food & drink for the table! A pretty sweet win! The planned cheat? Beer. Beer at the ballpark - come on, I had to!!

I pre-studied the menu online so I would be prepared with healthy food choices. I felt confident I could go with minimal damage to my plan. Small snag - they post their menu online for the ballpark but during game time, they feature a smaller menu -- with none of my choices I had planned for. Then my table mates started talking appetizers and NONE were healthy. It sounded like I was going to have a plate of loaded potato skins in front of me ... uh oh. But after thinking about our $90, and the mystery price of the cocktails (Friday's also changes the prices of their drinks during game time to a higher cost and so the menu has no prices and when you ASK the price the waitress says "about $5.75" in a guessing voice ...), we opted to each get our own dinners and no apps. After some hemming and hawing, I came up with a turkey burger, no bun, avocado and a small side salad in place of the fries. Victory! Great game (Diamondbacks win!), great company and minimal damage and guilt. Happy Amy.

(Little whine to TGIFriday's - I get the limited menu so you can pump out food for the larger crowd in a quick time, but the mystery drink prices? Do you really have to jack those prices up too? Also, I ordered a soda water - most places treat it like a water because it is water with bubbles and a button right next to water on their soda fountain - they charged $3.88 for one glass of soda water. Lame.)

Running with purpose

I found out today that a woman on our city's police force passed away yesterday of breast cancer. She was young. Too young. She was diagnosed in July of 2010 and I think at some point the doctors had given her a month to live, but she passed their date and came back to work while continuing to fight for her life.

This spring her fellow officers put together a 5k to raise money for her mounting medical costs. She participated in the 5k and her family flew out to participate. You could feel all the emotions as they spoke to the crowd - hope for the future, gratitude for being there that day, gratitude for the support of friends ... it was a good day. I ran in the 5k and was happy to be a small part of this event. While I didn't really know her, I heard great things -- and was very saddened to hear the news today. My heart goes out to her friends and family.

I've been struggling with my training this year and the Arizona heat has really gotten to me. Tomorrow my plan is to run 14 (or maybe 12) miles. It's supposed to be 113 degrees. I've been kind of dreading it. And then I thought of Julee. I CAN run tomorrow. So it will be a little hot, so I'll be a lot tired, so what. I need to remember to be grateful that I am healthy enough to do it - and to embrace every moment. It may be a somewhat corny saying but my mantra tomorrow is: Today is a gift, that's why it's called the present.

Have a blessed day - no matter what you do!

Happy FOUND Day to Mehmet

One year ago today I was up in Flagstaff hiking Mount Humphreys with some friends. It's a difficult hike - mostly due to elevation - and we were all tired. We drove home in the pouring rain and I went into my house with the top priorities of taking a shower and getting a good night's sleep. It was really raining with a major thunder & lightening show. As I walked through the living room, I heard the dog across the street bark and I could tell - he was barking at another dog.

I groaned, paused a few seconds and thought to myself: "If I don't look outside the window, I don't have to do anything." You see, I know that bark because since I moved into my house about 6 years ago, I've had over 10 dogs end up on my front lawn. Somehow they just seem to know this is where to go to get help!

Needless to say, I looked out the window and there was a little black blur streaking through the rain and flashes of lightening. Two plus hours of running through rain, sitting on a curb while he hid under a parked car (I'm in running gear and flip flops and freezing), I eventually called my neighbor to come help. She brought her car and we used her trunk liner to slide him out, I caught him in a blanket and this little guy came home with me:

Polly & Anna have had issues in the past with other dogs and so I never intended to keep him. I put his crate in my bedroom bathroom, put up a baby gate and put a sheet over it so he wouldn't have to spend the night with two strange dogs peering in at him. But Anna moved the curtain and spent the entire night looking over him.

I took him into a vet the next day - no chip. I spent a week putting him on every website I could think of and then pasted posters throughout the park. I drove to every apartment complex and condo complex up and down the Greenbelt (the park I live off of). Nothing. No one called. It was clear he needed a new home. I started that search - he went on two play dates for potential homes. The first one was another puppy his size and they fought violently. Then we went to another home who already had 5 other little dogs and he cowered in my armpit the whole time and I cried the entire time. He had already worked his way into my heart. He chose us as his new family.

His first bath:

His first haircut:

Polly and Mehmet - buddies at last!

Ch-Ch-Ch-CHIA! Energy for you!

I recently discovered chia seeds and learned how GOOD they are for you (more antioxidants than a cup of blueberries). Before I went Paleo and when I had vowed to eat a regular breakfast that was NOT a Starbucks breakfast sandwich, I was making an overnight oats recipe which included chia seeds. I didn't know what ingredient was working for me - the oats, the banana or the chia seeds - but something was good about that combo and if I could get some down on race day, seemed to really sustain me.

Now that I'm off the oatmeal, I had sort of let the bag of chia seeds just sit there. But then my friend Mandi with an I sent me an article by Blogger Ironmom that talked about all the artificial ingredients otherwise healthy runners consume each year in energy gels and Gu's and snacks. I hadn't thought about that yet - what was I going to eat while doing my long training runs? I've only recently tried and become a fan of coconut water, which replaced my post-run Gatorade. (It took a few times and a heat exhaustion moment before I became a fan, but now I'm cuckoo for coconut!)

The article mentioned making your own energy gel out of chia seeds and coconut water. There wasn't a recipe, so I just sort of made it up and added a dash of natural agave nectar for a sweetener. (I've since read a recipe that says 1 part chia seeds to 9 parts water). You can use normal water as well, I chose the coconut for the extra potassium and electrolytes. I mixed it in a small tupperware and set it in the fridge overnight and then in the morning, I spooned it into a baggie to carry in my Camelback.

It's not the most appetizing-looking concoction -- it kind of looks like caviar. And eating some from a baggy is not as convenient as tearing open an energy gel and sucking it down. But if you don't stare at it and spend a lot of time thinking about the things it looks like and whether that's gross or not ... it's not gross. I'm kind of a conceptual eater so if my mind wanders I can easily gross myself into gagging. This did not happen this weekend. I liked it!




If I keep this up, I think I'll buy some refillable tubes like this: http://www.coghlanscampinggear.com/coplsqfotu.html

Did it work? I'm not sure. I only tried a little bit and quite frankly, I've had such a hard time lately with energy on my runs, I don't think I would notice if this gave me a boost or not. I plan to make more and give it a solid "go" on my next long run. I think my body is actually starting to turn around a bit and embrace this Paleo thing and so maybe I can feel some of that energy people who go Paleo keep talking about!

Health benefits of chia seeds:

• Good source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids (more than flax seeds), fiber, protein and phytonutrients
• Good source calcium, protein and are rich in boron (which helps the body assimilate & use calcium)
• They absorb water so when consumed the chia seeds can help you stay hydrated and retain electrolytes
• Easily digestible
• Increase stamina and endurance
• Help to slim you. They are filling but also bulk up and help cleanse your intestines of old "junk"