Slow Going / Potawatomi Practice Run

It’s been pretty slow again. Mostly doing short, 4-5 mile runs at a very quick (for me) pace. Last week’s 12 miler didn’t quite hit the spot. When the weather’s not raining ice it’s just barely scraping the double-digit mark. I realized I wasn’t fully utilizing my thirty dollars per month YMCA membership fee, and am trying to get in a little more treadmill time in the midst of these sub-zero wind chills.

Am planning my first visit to the Potawatomi Trail this Saturday, which will also be my first practice run for the Running Fit Trail Marathon in April. I’m ambitiously looking to do all seventeen miles in the big loop, but will realistically [probably] keep it around ten. Five miles out and five miles back.

I’m also hoping not to get shot by any hunters.

Pebble in a Flat Pond

The goal of 10 miles melted into 7 miles, but took as long as 12 would have were there not 6 inches of snow to jump through. I tore through the house looking for my new gaiters. Not finding them lead to such frustration that I almost wanted to lay down and cry, in a manly way, however. My headlamp and reflector vest were nowhere to be seen, either, and I was convinced the three had disappeared together. By this point I didn’t care, and I headed out more or less naked to the night and elements.

The first 1/2 mile getting to the main road is paved side streets and therefore slushy or slippery. Not bad for warm up, but not quite long enough to prepare me for the 6 miles of snow that ensued. It ranged from 3 inches to over a foot in some places, and despite the thrill it provided I clocked a dismal average of 13:30 miles.

The snow reflected the moonlight enough to make up for my lack of headlamp and reflector vest, and some sort of magical fairy dust must have prevented the snow from melting through my tights/Injinji/Salomon XA combo. Every mile or so I’d stop and brush the packed snow out from behind the tongue of my shoe, but the moisture never made it in, despite being in knee-high snow at some points, jumping in and out of plowed banks.

In all, a nice start to a new year. This was the best run since before the marathon, and I can feel the bug brewing again.

I’m submitting my entry form for the North Country Trail Run tomorrow, thus emotionally committing me to the rigid training schedule I’ve got planned. Running gear comes to work from now on, and two sessions per-day should become the norm.

My new year’s resolution, aside from the 50 miler (though logically intertwined) is to stop taking on freelance projects, despite the economic niceties they afford. A couple extra grand in your bank account at the end of the year isn’t worth missing out on time with loved ones (or stressing out when you’re with them), and missing out on life in general. I’m going to try a new concept called ‘40 hour work week’, and make efforts to put life before work and not vice versa. I’ve tried it one way, now let’s go for the other. If my suspicions are correct, both my outlook and therefore the quality of my work will improve.

And plus I’ll get to run more.

The New Year Post

We’re well rested. A month of nearly 70 hour work weeks including freelance work that follows you from the office until the moments before you go to sleep meant a physically and emotionally grueling December. I haven’t worked a day since the Friday before Christmas, though, and it’s been wonderful.

For an actual break, we headed out to New York City for a few days of shopping and enjoyment. I love the city as much as ever, but am now forming a clear distinction in my mind separating it from a place I once wanted to live to a place I should only visit once per year. In addition to virtually bleeding money every minute you’re there, it wears you down. At least this is the case the older I get. The city is beautiful but my mind is elsewhere. I don’t seek out the hustle and bustle like I used to, and would rather have trees, mountains, solitude and a few good miles of great trails.

To cap off 2007 we saw the legendary Les Paul perform at the Iridium Jazz club, just north of Times Square. At 92 years old, how many more opportunities will we have to see him (though he is a weekly act there)? The show was amazing, but the food and service a disaster on account of poor management. We felt bad for our waitress, having to spend her New Year’s Eve placating irate customers, and ended up tipping her an additional $50 in cash and a hug to hopefully be some glimmer of light in the midst of an awful evening. Further proving the notion of Karma, a few minutes later when we were exiting, we got to meet none other than Les Paul himself. I asked permission to shake his hand, and we talked for a few solid minutes about the Detroit Jazz scene, the clubs he once played and old contacts he had in the city. We hopped a $20 rickshaw ride the mile back to our hotel at 57th and Lexington, and got to soak up some final glimpses of New York City on New Year’s Eve. All-in-all great night, and a complete contrast to what we did last year. Something I’ll always be thankful I did, but probably something I only need to do once in this lifetime.

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In terms of running it’s been a disappointing few months. The Marathon required a few weeks of recovery, but not as much as I took. A nagging knee pain (probably my perpetual IBS) was the continuing excuse, but work was the primary cause. It’s a cruel irony that when I need it most is when it’s hardest to fit it in. I guess that’s what separates the hardcore from the hardest-core; and I’m obviously not yet the latter.

As I look out my window though, the 11 inches of snow are stacking up against the early setting sun. It’s the first day of 2008, and the official 1 year anniversary since I began running seriously. This day last year I set out for a 5 mile run in the bone-chilling winter winds of Northern Michigan. I made it maybe 2 miles before I was attacked by dogs and had to return home, with my figurative tail between my legs, but the training went full force from that point on. Ten months later I ran the Detroit Marathon.

Tonight I’m inclined to set out for an ambitious and symbolic 10 mile snow run. I’ve got the gear and feel mentally prepared. The sidewalks aren’t shoveled so it might as well be trail running, except for the storefronts and streets on either side of me (and thus the perpetual risk of getting squished by a car). That said, it all seems a great start and a necessary step for the year I plan on finishing my first ultra: the North Country Trail Run 50 miler.

9 months and counting.