It’s 5:56 am and I’m just pulling up to a dirt lot with a small white tent. The sun isn’t up yet. I fish around in my backpack for my headlamp, secure the dorky thing around my bed head/top-knot and jog to the start line. I get to the hoard of runners right as they count down the final seconds to 6:00 am. With a little hootin’ and hollerin’ we just start running. This is one of the millions of things I love about trail running. There’s no music blaring, no shuttle to the start line, just a guy in a baseball cap who draws a line in the dirt with his toe and yells “GO!”
Before you know it, a steady stream of lights can be seen zig-zagging their way up the mountainside. Runners are casually chatting with one and another. I look over at my boyfriend and smile. We're running 50 miles!
4 years ago I hadn’t run over 3 miles. I was a calorie counter, gym goer and running maybe 6-10 miles a week for fitness and weight loss. Like a lot of people, I always wanted to run a marathon, so I just started running more. I'd run trails some days and roads on others, just trying to log more and more miles. I read a few books, blogs and training plans by Hal Higdon and Jack Daniels (not the whiskey, dang it) but quickly realized I didn’t like “tempo runs” or running at my “threshold” for 20 minutes. I just like running on trails! So one day (with some nudging from the guy I’m dating) I decided I would just go run a marathon! It was entirely self supported, on my favorite trails, in the snow and ice! I don’t remember how long that took or where I ran, exactly but I remember how I felt afterward; like I could do anything! And I think that is the best feeling in the world.
I started running 4, 5 sometimes 6 days a week. I upped my miles rapidly, maybe too rapidly, and I spent a lot of days feeling pretty lousy, but something kept pulling me out of my bed at 4:00 am, and making me squeeze in a run on my lunch break, or in the pitch black night. I was hooked! I ran a 50 mile race before I ever ran a (real) marathon, half marathon, 10k or anything. I guess some people might say I went about that all wrong, but I just don't ease in to things I love. I don't believe in moderation when it comes to passion. So maybe not every run was positive, but the outcome always was. At the end of the week I would add up my miles and elevation gain and scribble down the song that got me pumped up or kept me going and the next week I'd run hills a little quicker, run a little further, add another song to my play list and I'd keep running. It made me feel like I was working toward something. It made me feel powerful. I was running in the most beautiful places, seeing mountain goats on ridgelines and pausing briefly on some rocky summit, to look out into the miles and miles of wilderness. Now, don’t get me wrong, not every run is a mind-blowing, chart-topping, record breaking epic. For the longest time it was actually quite the opposite, and even still, some days aren’t fun at all. I tend to set really lofty goals, run races that are way out of my league, but I always tell myself, no matter how slow I’m moving; I’m lucky to spend another beautiful day in the mountains.
Something great that came from jumping in over my head was that I learned a lot about recovery, repair and nutrition. I know way too much about shin splints, muscle cramps and puking. Getting all of these things dialed in really helps you obtain a perfect, or nearly perfect, race. I learned a lot about Contrast Treatments. (This is where you alternate between ice and heat on an injury to pump blood in and out of the area, essentially. It really helps reduce swelling. It’s amazing.) I’ve become best friends with my foam roller and started doing a lot more yoga for muscle elasticity and mobility. For nutrition I realized pretty quickly that I can’t eat the fancy schmancy athlete food. I don’t eat blocks, or gels or bars at all. I like eating real, whole foods. I typically eat a big breakfast (with lots of starch and protein) about an hour before a long run, mostly fruit (fresh and dried) or cookies while running and something super packed with protein afterward. .. or pizza and beer :)
So let’s fast forward 4 years. I currently keep a baseline of 25 miles a week, no excuses. I like to get a few 50-60 mile weeks in before a 50 mile or 50K race. I'll do two or three days of intervals, really focusing on sprints and speed and then a couple days of hill repeats. On the weekend I'll go out for a long run, maybe 17-25 miles, and then try to get at least 3 miles the next day to shake it all out and remind my body it CAN keep going when it's tired. So there you have it! And here I am, after thousands of miles of running, triumphant successes, serious bouts of misery and vowing I'd never run again, and I just finished a 50 mile race. It was one of the most positive experiences of my life.
I’ve done four 50's now, I even ran 100 miles once, but that was heinous. I saw parts of myself I didn’t know existed! Silly parts, bull-headed, stubborn parts, beautiful and positive parts, and sad, sad parts.. I learned that it is so important to be able to see your strength at your most miserable moments. Running long distances can be an emotional rollercoaster. Learning who you are and how to smooth out those highs and lows is one of the reasons I keep going back. I keep thinking, if I can run 100 miles I will transcend all conceptual limits and be this superhuman, power babe. When, in actuality, I’m still going to be the same dirt bag with mud spattered legs and a tangled up ponytail, but I can honestly say, I love running! and it rarely, if ever, feels like suffering anymore. It’s fun, it’s wild, it’s therapy. It’s sunshine on my face, beautiful views from a mountain summit, with wind in my hair, rocks in my shoes and tired, tired legs.
Sometimes I don’t run with music, it’s nice to be outside and present with the sights and sounds of the mountains around you. But when I do, I have a pretty amazing playlist. Here’s a few jams I’ve been listening to lately:
Let everything inspire you.
Let beauty overwhelm you.
Before you know it, a steady stream of lights can be seen zig-zagging their way up the mountainside. Runners are casually chatting with one and another. I look over at my boyfriend and smile. We're running 50 miles!
4 years ago I hadn’t run over 3 miles. I was a calorie counter, gym goer and running maybe 6-10 miles a week for fitness and weight loss. Like a lot of people, I always wanted to run a marathon, so I just started running more. I'd run trails some days and roads on others, just trying to log more and more miles. I read a few books, blogs and training plans by Hal Higdon and Jack Daniels (not the whiskey, dang it) but quickly realized I didn’t like “tempo runs” or running at my “threshold” for 20 minutes. I just like running on trails! So one day (with some nudging from the guy I’m dating) I decided I would just go run a marathon! It was entirely self supported, on my favorite trails, in the snow and ice! I don’t remember how long that took or where I ran, exactly but I remember how I felt afterward; like I could do anything! And I think that is the best feeling in the world.
I started running 4, 5 sometimes 6 days a week. I upped my miles rapidly, maybe too rapidly, and I spent a lot of days feeling pretty lousy, but something kept pulling me out of my bed at 4:00 am, and making me squeeze in a run on my lunch break, or in the pitch black night. I was hooked! I ran a 50 mile race before I ever ran a (real) marathon, half marathon, 10k or anything. I guess some people might say I went about that all wrong, but I just don't ease in to things I love. I don't believe in moderation when it comes to passion. So maybe not every run was positive, but the outcome always was. At the end of the week I would add up my miles and elevation gain and scribble down the song that got me pumped up or kept me going and the next week I'd run hills a little quicker, run a little further, add another song to my play list and I'd keep running. It made me feel like I was working toward something. It made me feel powerful. I was running in the most beautiful places, seeing mountain goats on ridgelines and pausing briefly on some rocky summit, to look out into the miles and miles of wilderness. Now, don’t get me wrong, not every run is a mind-blowing, chart-topping, record breaking epic. For the longest time it was actually quite the opposite, and even still, some days aren’t fun at all. I tend to set really lofty goals, run races that are way out of my league, but I always tell myself, no matter how slow I’m moving; I’m lucky to spend another beautiful day in the mountains.
Something great that came from jumping in over my head was that I learned a lot about recovery, repair and nutrition. I know way too much about shin splints, muscle cramps and puking. Getting all of these things dialed in really helps you obtain a perfect, or nearly perfect, race. I learned a lot about Contrast Treatments. (This is where you alternate between ice and heat on an injury to pump blood in and out of the area, essentially. It really helps reduce swelling. It’s amazing.) I’ve become best friends with my foam roller and started doing a lot more yoga for muscle elasticity and mobility. For nutrition I realized pretty quickly that I can’t eat the fancy schmancy athlete food. I don’t eat blocks, or gels or bars at all. I like eating real, whole foods. I typically eat a big breakfast (with lots of starch and protein) about an hour before a long run, mostly fruit (fresh and dried) or cookies while running and something super packed with protein afterward. .. or pizza and beer :)
So let’s fast forward 4 years. I currently keep a baseline of 25 miles a week, no excuses. I like to get a few 50-60 mile weeks in before a 50 mile or 50K race. I'll do two or three days of intervals, really focusing on sprints and speed and then a couple days of hill repeats. On the weekend I'll go out for a long run, maybe 17-25 miles, and then try to get at least 3 miles the next day to shake it all out and remind my body it CAN keep going when it's tired. So there you have it! And here I am, after thousands of miles of running, triumphant successes, serious bouts of misery and vowing I'd never run again, and I just finished a 50 mile race. It was one of the most positive experiences of my life.
I’ve done four 50's now, I even ran 100 miles once, but that was heinous. I saw parts of myself I didn’t know existed! Silly parts, bull-headed, stubborn parts, beautiful and positive parts, and sad, sad parts.. I learned that it is so important to be able to see your strength at your most miserable moments. Running long distances can be an emotional rollercoaster. Learning who you are and how to smooth out those highs and lows is one of the reasons I keep going back. I keep thinking, if I can run 100 miles I will transcend all conceptual limits and be this superhuman, power babe. When, in actuality, I’m still going to be the same dirt bag with mud spattered legs and a tangled up ponytail, but I can honestly say, I love running! and it rarely, if ever, feels like suffering anymore. It’s fun, it’s wild, it’s therapy. It’s sunshine on my face, beautiful views from a mountain summit, with wind in my hair, rocks in my shoes and tired, tired legs.
Sometimes I don’t run with music, it’s nice to be outside and present with the sights and sounds of the mountains around you. But when I do, I have a pretty amazing playlist. Here’s a few jams I’ve been listening to lately:
All I Do Is Win
|
DJ Khaled (feat. T-Pain. Ludacris, Snoop Dogg)
|
Reckoning Song
|
Asaf Avidan & The Mojos
|
Titl
|
Meghan Trainor
|
I Knew You Were Trouble
|
Taylor Swift
|
22
|
Taylor Swift
|
The Deadroads
|
The Rural Alberta Advantage
|
Pa Pa Power
|
Dead Man’s Bones
|
The Mother We Share
|
CHVRCHES
|
Recover
|
CHVRCHES
|
Let everything inspire you.
Let beauty overwhelm you.
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