Summer is almost over...waaaaa!

It has been quite a year. My first year in the desert, in Albuquerque, teaching for New Mexico State, and being sponsored by... oh wait, of course I don't have a sponsor!

And that is just fine.

I have had the bejeezus scared out of me recently. Sadie, Scout and I ran up Embudo for about 3 miles. That meant we got to turn around and run DOWN Embudo. I love running down hill. I was cruising as fast as my old legs could take me. I cam around a switchback and realized that my foot was on course to land on a snake. How can a person change direction in mid air? I don't know but I missed the snake by a couple of inches.
Now that snake was about 3 feet long with a pattern on its back. I quickly glanced on that head...a beautiful head!! A beautiful snake. In other words, non-poisonous.

Once I recovered enough to breath, I started off down the hill again, but a bit more slowly this time. And that was good because about 10 steps further on I saw another snake. This time, there was no need to examine it. I KNEW it was a rattlesnake. Again, about 3 feet long but much fatter than the gopher snake I had just avoided. This scared the crap out of me (ok, not literally).  This snake was stretched out across the trail and both dogs were on the other side. I guess they just ran right over it. When I stopped, they decided they'd better come back and check on me. NOOOOOOO, I yelled. Sadie came trotting up the trail towards me. She was just about to step on it but it moved its head to look at her. She jumped to the side, right into a prickly pear cactus. Then Scout figured she'd better join us. She walked right over it. It looked at her but didn't strike. It then slithered off the trail.



Ya know, that was way too close.  That was way scary. I really really didn't like that.

Pikes Peak or Bust

It has been quite a summer! Whooohooo (or "woot" as the cool people now say)!! I have so enjoyed my running. So many trails, so many wildflowers, friends, dogs, mountain highs and river lows. I don't feel old today!

I reminded Linus that he had called me a dusty ole gramma. He look chagrined. He said I am not a dusty ole gramma. I am a nice gramma. I feel redeemed. Actually, Linus can be a tough cookie. We had some real butting of heads last year. But now, he is ready to start kindergarten and he is a much easier little guy.

I spent two days with the grands last week. Avery, Elise and I ran a couple miles together. Elise did great. Avery did fantastic. Wish I could run with them often.

Now I am thinking about Leadville 100 for 2014. I set a goal of running it every even year until at least 2014, when I will be 60. Few women over 60 have successfully completed it. Who knows how many will make it this year (we will find out tomorrow at 10:00 AM). I missed 2012 due to surgery. I have not really felt committed to the task, but now I am thinking about it. I will need to sign up in January  if I want to do it. It is not cheap.The entry fee is substantial, enough so that you don't sign up "just in case I decide to do it." I have asked a couple of people to help crew and pace. They are excited about it. So, maybe I will!

Mixing running and human rights

I completed the San Juan Solstice. I actually (is "actually" actually necessary) finished 20 minutes faster than I did 6 years ago. The conditions were perfect this year: stream crossings were very low, no snow fields, no lightning, no storms, not too hot, not too cold. The only real threat was smoke from a massive forest fire not far from the Continental Divide. 

What occupied my attention for 14 hours and 46 minutes (besides how good dinner was going to taste)? Prior to the start, I was talking with a couple of people: One man from Brooklyn and one woman from Virginia. And then there was me. We were chatting about races we have done "back east." She (M from VA) mentioned the race series put on my David Horton. I grimaced and said I wouldn't run his races because of his promotion of certain religious statements (his beliefs that are not just personal, but also political). She said, "Yeah,  but he has done a lot for trail running." T (from Brooklyn) said that we shouldn't mix running and religion or politics. He said that Horton is just promoting the values of his workplace. T said, "You know, he doesn't have a choice." I shot back, "Neither do I." Both T and M looked uncomfortable but stuck by their earlier statements: don't mix politics/religion and running.

So, that occupied my mind for a large portion of the race. As Mary Ann pointed out, this issue doesn't personally affect T or M, so they can easily dismiss Horton's intolerance. But when do people take a stand? When is running a particular race less important than supporting human rights? 

It would be easy to compare this exchange to the famous argument about those who failed to stand up to the Nazis (Martin Niemoller: "First they came for the socialists..."). There is one very important difference between the evangelicals and the Nazis: the Nazis wanted to kill all of those who were impure (Jews, gays, lesbians); the evangelicals only want to get rid of these people by converting them, ie by changing who they are. 

Yes, I admit this is an over-the-top comparison. But then again, after living in the same city with Fred Phelps and his parishioners and their blatant hatred of gays and lesbians, I sometimes get a bit defensive. For me, I will continue to run races that are not associated with intolerance.

Will I Finish or am I finished?

We runners are a very self absorbed lot, with our plans, our training, our races, our mileage, our equipment, our food, our FEET. I have often rationalized that being obsessed with the details of something which really does not matter (my completing the race affects only me and only for a short time) helps me deal with the "real" problems in life.


I have been spending my time the past few weeks suffering from self doubt regarding my ability to complete the San Juan Solstice 50 miler. OK, finishing or not finishing...not a big deal really. Not nearly as important as poverty, child abuse, gay rights, gun control, etc, etc.

I did a quick assessment of my recent running: since 2009, I have "failed to complete" five 50 milers. In one, I switched to the 25 mile option, in another I became hopelessly lost and had to hitch a ride back to town and in a third I failed to make a cut off. The others? I was too hot or too cold. This is becoming a habit.

I never used to DNF. If I started a race, I finished the race unless I was injured. I finished one 50 miler without being able to keep food down beginning at mile 13! I finished a 40 miler with a sprained ankle, and a 25 miler 5 weeks after a hysterectomy.

Now I am obsessing over not finishing. I have begun telling myself that if I quit another race, it means I am done. If I do not finish, I am finished. I am too old, too dusty, too weak-willed. A couple of friends on facebook just DNF'ed 100 milers. They have a slew of comments on their attempts. I'll give you a sample:

• It takes a lot of courage to gut it out for as long as you did in those conditions and then make the SMART move to know when to fold em' as the Gambler once said.
• you are awesome!! No one else does that. That's just amazing to me!! 
• you always amaze and inspire me! Rock on!
• That was an incredible effort with superb training benefits. I know you will put the experience to good use
• You're not just a great runner, you're smart too. 
• Hey that is Awesome...75 miles...omg! So proud of you!
• You had the courage to say yes to running 100 miles and you started... that's the victory. You rock
• u should be proud of what you did accomplish, and to run 50 miles through that terrain is mind boggling. You are always an inspiration and I send you three cheers - hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray!! 
• What an accomplishment!! Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Now don't get me wrong. I understand the need to support a friend who has just had to abandon a goal. but is it ok to drop out of a race?

As Yoda said: Do or do not, there is no try. If I "do not" finish this race, do I switch to "do not"? Am I finished?

Going to Los Alamos and the Jemez trail runs

We had quite an outing in the RV. This little Lance is just 14 feet long and weighs 2100 pouncs empty. The biggest thing we can pull with the Taco.

Our first trip was destined for greatness. After struggling mightily, we managed to get the trailer hooked up to the Tacoma and drove it over to our house, where there is no parking, and set it all up,blocking our neighbors' driveways for only a little while. After a great deal of organizing and figuring, we got it all set to go and headed to Los Alamos. Both dogs were in the back seat of the truck. At least initially.

It's a two hour drive to Los Alamos. Oops, make that three hours when towing the trailer. And going into a dead end lot. Which meant I had to back out...oh hell, call it four hours. Meanwhile, in the back seat, Sadie is getting irritated with Scout because Scout keeps stepping on her.

Finally we made it to Los Alamos and headed to Camp May. Our plan was to boon dock somewhere along the road, but after driving up the road, we realized that the "dispersed camping" we'd read about was really just some washed out roads.

So we headed UP the Camp May road. Straight up!  Holy shit, it's a narrow, winding road going straight up. We made it, in first gear, and found a site. Definitely have to back in and the drive was angled the wrong way. OK, no problem. Problem. Problem, problem, problem. I'm driving and Mary Ann is giving me directions....turn your wheel the other way. No, the OTHER way! Come on back, STOP! Pull forward. The other way! Two hours later (OK, I'm exaggerating. It was only 90 minutes), we're almost (so close) to being in the spot. But the damn truck has over heated. It's smoking and smells really bad. 

Now, perhaps I should say that this is a beautiful area, above 10,000 feet. Big aspens, ponderosa pines, and hummingbirds. Not many people. No water, no electricity, no TV. Beautiful. But it is NOT an RV park.

There was a much nicer site just across from the one I was trying to get into, but there was a truck in it. As we're sitting there waiting for our truck to cool down, a man comes hiking back to the truck in the "nice spot."  He says, "this site is nicer and I'm leaving." I say, "Great! Can you back this trailer into that spot for me?" He says sure. He pulls forward, he backs up and it is in the spot. He gets out and I say, "Will you marry me?" He says he just got married two weeks ago. There's one lucky woman out there!!

So, we set up, had dinner, and it was time for bed. The table converts to a bed. You just flip the table, pull down the cushions and arrange them so that....wait a minute...how did they do that? They don't fit this way or that way or this way or that way...are you kidding me? I check the manual. It says, "Arrange the cushions to make a bed." I stepped on a dog. She yelped and I stepped on the other dog. I put the dogs in the truck. 

Thirty minutes later, we have a bed, with two cushions that don't seem to fit anywhere. I put the dogs back in the trailer, and we go to sleep. Within 30 minutes, Sadie is snuggled up next to me. Within an hour, so is Scout. I am wedged between two Rhodies and cannot possibly move. It is a long night. I definitely did not get cold.

It's morning. The sun is warm, the air is cool, the birds are singing. We let the dogs out (no one is there) and they play chase. We have our coffee and our oatmeal. Damn, this is great. Wait a minute, where did that man come from? What? You say this park is closed and we have to leave?  We finish our breakfast and do the dishes. We hook up the trailer and head back to the road. 

But we can't get out. They have closed the campground road by putting big boulders in the middle. Are you kidding me???? I take off walking and find the man who put the boulders there. He takes his big machine and moves them for us. Have a good weekend, he says, in all sincerity.
We head down the road to find the other campground. 

I pull into a promising road. Nope, no place to park a trailer. And then I realize that I will have to turn around by backing up. An hour later, we're on our way again. We find a real campground and a pull-through spot. Hallelujah!!!! We're down around 7000 feet now and it is hot. We sit in the shade with the dogs, who must be on leash at all times. I loop a long tie-out chain around a tree and attach one end to each dog. They get tangled, I free them, they get tangled, I free them, they get tangled....

We eat and get ready for bed. This time, we put the dogs in the truck for the night. At 3:15 am, my alarm goes off. Time to get some coffee, some oatmeal and get ready for the race. It's a 5 am start for a 50 mile race. I slather sunscreen (do you ever use the word "slather" for anything other than sunscreen?) all over me. I then slather vaseline (hmmm, I guess you can slather other things) all over me, especially my feet. I grab my very special toe socks. I love my toe socks. They keep my toes from rubbing each other and getting blisters. They are good! But alas, there's a hole in my toe sock!!!! Oh crap. I do have another pair of socks but they are not toe socks and they are not good socks. 

The race starts and we run past a corral of horses. It is dark and we're all wearing headlamps. The horses kick and buck and neigh. They must think the demons are out. The sun comes up and  it immediately begins to heat up, but we go up to 10,000 feet and it's nice and cool. I see columbines, shooting stars (flowers), wild iris, blue birds and hummingbirds.

The toes on my right foot start to hurt. The toes on my left foot start to hurt. The bottom of my right foot starts to hurt. I've only gone 15 miles. That means 35 more to go. I take off my shoes and rearrange my not-good socks. At about 20 miles, there's an aid station. I take off my shoes and socks and slather vaseline on my feet. That's better. At about 25 miles, my feet hurt with every step. At 37 miles, I quit the race.



We return to camp. I am filthy!! Amazingly filthy. I will take a shower in our little trailer!! I open it up and hear beep.....beep....beep....beep. It's the smoke detector. The battery is dead. We do not have another battery. I can't stand the beep. We take the battery out. Beep....beep....beep.
OK, let's just go home, We hook up the truck to the trailer. This should be fairly easy but for some reason, things just keep going wrong. An hour later, we're on the road. We arrive home at 11:30 pm. The smoke detector has quit beeping. 

My socks are too dirty to put in the washer with other clothes. I put them and my gaiters in a tub. I rinse them, throw out the dirty water and refill the tub. They are still too dirty. Maybe I should just toss them?

Another good race experience. 25 miles at Collegiate Peaks. Maybe those calf compression thingies do work!

While standing around inside, waiting for the race start, I noticed an older man (60's? 70's?). Now, if Mary Ann had been with me, she would have raised a ruckus because he had on....um, how do I say this...uh, "old school" running shorts. Remember about 10 years ago the fashion was the short shorts? He kept his. He kept his in spite of the fact that the elastic in the liner had obviously given way to gravity. And that was not the only elasticity that was stretched beyond capacity. In other words, I wish I hadn't looked. I couldn't get that picture out of my head. I kept thinking, "If only I had seen him OUTSIDE, where the temperature was in the 20's." Then maybe the old cremaster muscle could have done its trick.

The pup is here, the pup is here!! 
Scout is, of course, the smartest, cutest, sweetest, fastest puppy in the world. Of course. I have started "running" with her. This means I go out for about .5 to 1 mile, alternating between running and walking. I do the zig-zag pattern on the trails, training her to watch me. It is a blast!!

Other news? Feeling so much better about running. Did a 28 miler with no "events." I think I have figured it out. I was suffering from a terrible case of hypochondriasis. I was sure I had a heart arrhythmia. As I have explained, when I am running hard, my heart starts to thump out of my chest and my vision becomes weird and I become dizzy and the only thing to do to fix it is lie down on my back. I thought that I felt this and then stopped running. I have now figured out that I stop running AND THEN this starts to happen. What a silly ass I am....when I stop running hard, the blood pools in my legs and my blood pressure drops. Solution? Don't stop running? I bought some compression socks. So far, so good.

Running is great right now. Work is a drag. Not bad, just a drag. Race this weekend in Buena Vista. A mere 25 miles. Let's see if I can go two for two with the socks.