Skirting Injury

This whole past week I have  been dealing with the after-effects of the Kings Peak in a Day (KPIAD) run. Mostly, it has been my calves that have been screaming at me.  The last couple of miles of KPIAD I had a couple of sharp Achilles twinges on my left leg, and after I got home and rested my legs for a couple of days, I realized that it wasn't really my Achilles that was hurting, but rather the Soleus muscle that runs under the calf muscle (the Gastrocnemius).  The Soleus attaches into the Achilles (or Calcaneal tendon, as my muscle therapist likes to call it.  I respond by calling it the Achilles.  I think it kind of bugs him just a little bit that I continue to call it that.  That, and the fact that I call the lateral posterior lower leg tendon the Peroneus, and he calls it the Fibularis, but I just like to think that I'm sticking with what the Greeks named these things, and the Greeks knew their anatomy well enough to name it, so... )

Anyway, I diverge.  So, my Soleus muscle was really hurting.  I mean really.  Like, "just place your fingers on the head of the fibula and I wanted to throw up" kind of hurt.  The Soleus had become so tight, that it was increasing the tension on my Achilles and thus causing the Achilles to ache.  (FYI ~ don't even Google fibular head pain if you are a runner, because it will come up with all of these horrific syndromes that you just don't even want to know about.  Trust me on that one.)  And with about 3 weeks left 'til Wasatch, I was really starting to freak out that I wouldn't recover in time, or that I would do more damage by continuing to train on an injured limb.

So I went to see James on Tuesday (my muscle therapist) and he worked on both my fibular heads, my Soleus (Solei?) on both sides, and my Achilles.  I didn't feel a whole lot better by Tuesday afternoon, so I fired off an email to my coach, Ian, to let him know that I was feeling really reluctant to run my planned 30 miler on Saturday, followed by a 90 minute run on Sunday.  His response was nearly immediate and very serious.  He changed my whole training plan for the week, significantly reducing my mileage and asking me if there was any way I could cross-train and give myself some extra rest.  He bumped my long run to Sunday to give me an extra day of rest and reduced it to 3 hours (instead of 6).

So on Wednesday, it was off to the pool I went.  I don't even remember the last time I swam a mile.  Probably in 2006 when I did the Shermanator triathlon with my cousins.  Dude, 5 years ago? Wow.  Well, it took me 45 minutes to swim the mile, but it's always taken me about that long.  I did a couple of nearly flat jogs of about 3 miles in Park City, one of which was on the Rail Trail, which I must say is a lot nicer for skate skiing in the winter than it is for running in the summer.  Yuck.  I swam another mile on my lunch break on Friday, cruised an easy 3 miler on Saturday in Park City, and by Saturday afternoon I had the nagging thought in my head that I still was not as recovered as I wanted to be.  My calves (mostly my left one) were not screaming anymore when I touched them, but they were still super tender at the fibular heads, albeit somewhat improved as I was able to jog without having any stabbing pain in the Achilles.

Hmm.  What to do.  I had the three hour easy run on my schedule on Sunday, and I really wanted to be able to do it.  I had been talking on the phone with my friend Brian in Colorado on Friday night, as he has been having some medial knee pain (I'm thinking it's patellofemoral syndrome from increasing his mileage too quickly) and we had talked about acupuncture for over-use injuries and I started really thinking about going back to Master Lu.  I didn't want to spend the money, but hell, I wanted to be able to say that I'd done everything to get this problem licked.  So far:  reduce mileage, cross-train (swimming), muscle therapy (twice, because I went back to James on Thursday too), stretching, foam roller, stick massager, kinesiotape.  I even took some Ibuprofen for a few days.  Seriously ~ acupuncture was all I had left in my quiver of tricks.

So, Master Lu it was.  When I explained to him what was going on, he smiled at me and told me (for about the millionth time) to do Tai Chi instead of running.  Yes, yes, Master Lu, I know...  Running *bad*, Tai Chi *good*.  But I want to be in the mountains, Master Lu.  So he took me back to the acupuncture room and stuck a bunch of needles in my calves and Achilles and I got the standard, "Now.  You relax."  Right.  And actually, I did.  I nearly fell asleep face down on the table.  I moved my legs a couple of times just to change position and also to stimulate the needles a little more (I always do that, to get a little better activation of the dry needling process) and I swear, the one in my popliteal space of my left lower leg was a cold type of pain that I thought would make me throw up.  I dared not move my leg again.

After 30 minutes, Master Lu returned, woke me up, and took out the needles.  I thanked him for the nice nap.  He asked me to return next week, and I rescheduled for Wednesday, after my muscle therapy appointment with James on Tuesday.  Should work out nicely.

Of note ~ as I walked to the car, I bent down to touch the area on my fibular head on my left leg where the nauseating pain had been, and (not surprisingly) it was nearly gone.  Gone!  I ran my 3 hour route on the Shoreline today (Sunday), expecting to have some sort of lower leg shut-down accompanied by excruciating pain, and it never happened.

I am in awe of how fortunate I am to have a coach who listens, a muscle therapist who is truly a genius, and Master Lu whose magic needles and acupuncture skill are not of this world.  Thanks be to all who keep me running.

(Post script:  Photos today are from the Shoreline Trail above Salt Lake, but on an adventure with the dogs in the Spring of 2010.  No photos were taken on the run today, but I didn't want to post without photos today.  The view from up there never gets old... )

A Check-mark on the Bucket List

Many years ago, my brother told a tale of when he and our dad drove up to the Uintas in his old VW bus, and they went backpacking in to Utah's highest peak ~ King's.  That was way back when, when I was still in high school and dreamed of exploring the mountains of Utah.  My brother bagged the peak, as my dad suffered from the effects of the altitude and waited down at Anderson Pass.  I believe my brother's old golden retriever, Copper, was along for the adventure as well (he may have hung out with our dad at the pass while my brother bagged the peak).

I've always wanted to get that peak, to check it off of my bucket list of "things to do before I can't do them anymore".

In recent years, as I've seen trail running grow and become popular (and myself being an enthusiast), I've heard more and more stories about people bagging the peak in one day.  It's about a 30 mile route if you take the "traditional route" from the Henry's Fork trailhead up to Gunsight Pass, drop into Painter Basin, and then proceed up to Anderson Pass and continue up to the peak.  The elevation gain for the trip is about 5,000 feet, which doesn't seem to be all that bad, but when you factor in that the majority of the route is above 11,000 feet, where the air is "thin", you start to realize just how big the undertaking is to get the route done in a day.

The fastest known time (FKT) was logged yesterday, on the same day that I got my first and possibly only day trip to King's Peak ~ the route was done in about 5 hours.  Also, the first "double" King's was completed, to the top of King's Peak and back to Henry's trailhead then turn around and do it all over again, in 19 hours 44 minutes and change.  My total time fell somewhere in between those two ~ total running time about 10 hours and factoring in time to chill out at the peak, at Gunsight Pass, and to talk with folks along the way it came to just under 11 hours.

I definitely felt the altitude, and suffered from a pounding headache for most of the day.  I was pleased that my left hip, which has been off-and-on bothering me for almost a year now, did not seize up, and that my stomach tolerated solid food and fluids well the entire time (after pre-medicating with anti-nausea medication) and I didn't throw up. 

Indeed throughout the day, I let my little aches and pains be known to my running partner, Sue.  She countered my whining with the response, "Whose idea was this, anyway?"  To which I had no choice but to reply that the idea was my own.  Towards the end of the day, with about two miles left, I felt a sharp twinge through one Achilles tendon and knew that although I would finish the adventure today, I wondered how my Achilles would hold up over the next few weeks leading up to the Wasatch 100 and at the big dance on September 9th and 10th.  About a mile after I felt my Achilles give me a little grief, Sue twisted her ankle hard but toughed it out and walked her injury off as well, finishing strong.

The views from atop the peak were fabulous.  Let me reiterate:  the views the entire day were  incredible.  The wildflowers were magnificent and we must have seen at least five varieties of Columbine alone along with the seldom-seen Sky Pilot.  Rosey finches hopped along beside us on the snowfields at 13,000 feet, looking for bugs to eat.  The people we met along the way and at the top were some of the nicest I've had the pleasure to meet in a very long time.

Would I do it again?  28.5 miles, 5,280 feet of elevation gain, and 10 hours of continuous forward motion on foot... I'm not sure.  Let's give it a while for the memories of discomfort to fade and the positive memories to come to the forefront.  For now, I'm happy with making a check-mark on my bucket list.

at the trailhead at o'dark-stupid o'clock. can you tell i'm excited for this next adventure?  yeah, just a little

sunrise hits the peaks in upper Henry's Fork basin

Sue negotiates the footbridge at Elkhorn crossing

another early morning view of upper Henry's Fork basin

view of Painter Basin from Gunsight Pass

seldom-seen Sky Pilot

me, approaching on of the false-summits of King's Peak.  it felt like a never-ending rock pile

Sue approaching the peak

Sue and me on the peak ~ elevation 13,528

view of Painter Basin and Lake Atwood in the distance

view of the High Uinta mountains to the west

Sneezeweed on the east slope

Me and Sue at the finish.  one more adventure is in the books.  were we tired?  yes, we were very tired.

You can view the "movie trailer" that Sue made of our journey here.  Cheers!

overcoming insecurities ~ true endurance

view of the Salt Lake valley from Big Mountain

it's been seven weeks since i started training with my coach.  i've gotta say, i feel a lot stronger with my consistent training this year compared with last year.  last week i emailed my coach about my apprehension that i was turning in weeks in the 40-mile range, whereas last year i was getting some 50- and 60-mile weeks.  he set my mind at ease, pointing out that i have been much more consistent with my training this year.  i've felt a lot stronger this year when i do get out on those long runs, and i've done a 20-miler nearly weekly for the last several weeks.

wildflowers flanking the first big climb

last week, my fast-finish 20-miler in Millcreek and Big Cottonwood canyon had me feeling pretty achy for most of this week.  my myofascial therapist marveled at my ability to tolerate the pain of treatment, as my hip and lower back muscles had reverted back to their stubborn ways.  but i am determined to continue healing and getting stronger, so i grit my teeth through the session.  two steps forward... one step back... and i will make it to my goal.

delayed onset muscle soreness (doms) was the theme of the week for my quads, and for my left Achilles and calf.  so when it came down to Friday night before the PieNBeer trail marathon, i found myself wondering what i had once again gotten myself into, and that maybe i should just run a 20-miler on my own somewhere, away from the competitiveness of a bunch of other runners.

view of the Wasatch Crest from near Swallow Rocks

but then i switched my mindset.  this didn't have to be a race if i didn't want it to be.  this could be a warm-up training session on the way to the big dance in September.  take all the elements of the PieNBeer event:  waking up at 4:30, dealing with the energy of my own nerves and insecurity, paired with the energy of thirty-some odd other folks, wondering if my minor aches and pains would manifest as major injuries in the upcoming miles, wondering if my stomach would tolerate the food and the heat of the day, wondering if my quads would blow up on the 5-mile descent from Lookout Peak...  aspects of all of those things are bound to happen in a real race.  this would be a test to see that i could deal with all of those things in a single session.

so when the event organizer said "go" and everyone took off like a rocket, my stomach did another lurch.  the words of my coach echoed in my head, "start out easy and end this one strong... " and i vowed not to run 7-minute miles on the dirt road for the first 4 miles, but instead would settle into a nice 8:30-9 min-mile pace and see where the day would take me.

as it turns out, the day took me past a dozen other runners.  those people who had started out fast found themselves not able to hang on once the big climbs started at mile 8 1/2.  and i found myself chugging up the hill, not even feeling out of breath, easily overtaking a group of three.  my legs continued to feel strong after 15 miles, along the off-camber, brushy, overgrown traverse of Lookout Peak, and i found myself easily jogging along and asking three more if they would mind stepping aside to let me through.

Swallow Rocks section

the descent from Lookout Peak proved to be likewise as fruitful, as my quads, which earlier in the week felt quite fried and maxed out, held strong and allowed me to charge downhill past another handful of runners and i got through what was later named the "ankle-twister section" without so much as a missed step.

re-tanking with a bottle of Ultragen at the aid station at mile 20 (i carried a ziplock of powder with me), i remained optimistic about the next downhill section which proved to be hot on the East Canyon Road.  before i knew it, i had passed three more people.  (heat is typically a nemesis of mine ~ just ask my friends about how quickly my attitude can change when i hit the heat-box section of any given outing.)

looking back at Big Mountain from below Lookout Peak

my misgivings about my capacity to endure were rewarded by my ability to overcome my insecurities from the night before.  when it was all said and done, i ran 24.6 miles, with 3600 ft of elevation gain and 4300 ft of loss:  without so much as a thought of nausea, shrugging off little aches and pains and telling myself they would not manifest into true injuries, through heat and adverse trail conditions, and translating inner negative thoughts of my own into real, positive mental and physical outcomes.

and to top it off, i got to eat pie and drink beer at the finish tent with my friends.  we congratulated each other on a successful day and i thought to myself how fortunate i am to be a part of such a wonderful group of people.  silly me for thinking i should run alone.  never underestimate the power of such an event with like-minded people.

link to the run is found here:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/101173757

training for the big dance on September 9th is going well.  i've been consistently logging over 40 miles per week, hitting my interval and hill workouts (except i skipped hills while in Germany, and took an extra rest day, but then made up the elevation later on a 19-mile long run).  i've been kind of stressed about my mileage, however, because i feel like last year i was logging some longer weeks... 50 and 60 mile weeks, and the 99 miles in 9 days as well.

so today i laced up the shoes and headed up Millcreek for a 20 mile out-and-back to prove to myself that i could log 20 miles in the Wasatch and not be completely wasted afterwards...

i headed up Bowman Fork after coming to terms with the fact that i really could not face the Crest trail on a weekend, as there was the likelihood that a fair amount of mountain bikers would be up there (later reports indicated otherwise, but hey...)

i met up with Roch Horton about 2/3 of the way up to Baker Pass, as he was coming down the trail and i was headed up.  and i've gotta say, it was such a delight to see him.  my legs were feeling a bit heavy and i was feeling as if i could have benefited from a second cup of coffee this morning.  meeting up with him definitely lightened my spirits.

i got to Baker Pass and there were already a few folks up there despite my early start, and i headed off the back and across the Desolation Trail.  met up with Emily and Megan as they were headed down-canyon, and explained the route to the Overlook trail to them, and we realized that we had mutual friend-in-common Liz Sherman and that Emily and i had actually run once together last year (although i was in a really sour mood, and she kicked my ass, and i was really not very nice to her, i'm afraid... ) but made up for it today, i hope.

i cruised along and though the entire time that maybe i should be running a bit faster, passed several hikers, but decided to keep things mellow and not push, because it's just training after all, and i still had a long ways to go, and it would heat up quite a lot before the day was done.  (in fact, the "hot" section of the Deso Trail on the return proved just that, despite a nice breeze and a few clouds throughout the day, that hot section just really seems to cook.)

got over to Dog Lake, and decided to stack my mileage by running halfway down Little Water and then back up Big Water.  it was a busy day on the "Water" trails, with lots of people and dogs, and i was happy to get back on the Deso Trail.

the traverse across Deso was relatively uneventful except for the heat, and i felt as though i pushed up to Baker Pass at a pretty good clip.  my coach's words rang in my head, "don't forget about the fast finish!" and after hitting the lap key on my watch, i made the most of a technical trail and even when i really wasn't moving fast because of the rocks, roots, and off-camber-ness of the route, i at least "thought" fast.  indeed, i made it down the 4.34 mi section in under an hour, which was my goal.  i even logged 7 min-mi on the last half-mile down the road to the car.  at one point, a kid about 7 or 8 yrs old, despite his father's words to "get out of the way!" crossed directly in front of me as i was hauling down a fast section and jumping a creek.  i pulled out some of my agility-soccer moves from my youth and only ended up clipping the brim of the kid's cap. 

before getting into the car, i plopped in the creek for a few minutes, to cool down my legs.  after a couple of hours of rest, i'm walking again :) but my left lateral ankle is tweaking just a little bit, and i'm afraid my peroneal tendon is a bit upset with me right now.  i iced it down for a good half-hour, so hopefully he will not stay upset and will be all fun and games again when it comes to my 60 minute run that is on the schedule for tomorrow.

stats for today:  20.5 mi, 5 hr 56 min, 8268 feet vertical.
estimated calories burned:  1853.  calories consumed ~ 900.

going to eat some Thai food with a friend... very hungry.  all in all, a very good day!  and i proved to myself that 20 miles in the Wasatch (at this point in my training) will not kill me.

the Story of the Steinbock

Kochler Alm (hut)

I set out to knock a hike off my bucket list:  the Benediktenwand (the Benedictine Wall) in Bavaria, southern Germany.  my goal was to go all day.  I was not sure how far it was, or how long it would last. 

happy cows by the Staffel Alm

I asked a friend of mine (my favorite Dutch Uncle, Jan ~ pronounced Yaan) how far it was from my starting town, Kochel, to Lenggries, the town at the other end of the Benediktenwand ~ he said, “about 5 hours”.  Hmm… I wasn’t sure how far 5 hours would be, and he wasn’t sure either.  I figured it had to be about 10 miles away, over the mountains.  So, if I was going to get about 20 miles on the day, I would have to do an out and back.  I had a back-up plan that if I got tired, I would take the bus back home to Kochel.

after consulting the map (Jan gave me an updated map, as mine had routes on it that I think no longer exist… ) it looked as though I could hike up to the Kocheler Alm (hut), over to the Staffel Alm, and then take the high route to the cross at the peak, and take the low route back to the Tützinger Hütte (large hut) to say hello to a family friend, and then make my way back the way I had come.

Staffel Alm

after about an hour of fast hiking up the forest road, I was at the first hut, the Kocheler Alm.  I kid you not, as I passed by the Kocheler Alm, a man yodeled off in the distance.  this was starting out to be a beautiful day.  the weather was cool and partly cloudy, and I started having thoughts of possibly bagging a couple of peaks (Rabenkopf ~ the Ravens’ Head and the Jochberg ~ the Yoke Mountain).

I quickly made my way across to the Staffel Alm, where I saw one other hiker who had just come off the Rabenkopf and we said a quick hello.  I jogged down past the friendly dairy cows of the Staffel Alm area and was at the World War memorial cross in no time.  I would now be heading into an area that I was more unfamiliar with.  Making my way down a path through a thick woods, I passed about 10 other hikers going the opposite direction ~ they all appeared to be retirees, and I was inspired by them.

gate at electric fence along the way

I hit the intersection for either the Tützinger Hütte or the Peak Cross (Gipfel Kreutz) and decided to bag the peak before socializing with friends.  I was not sure how long it would take me to cross over the ridge of the Benediktenwand, and there were some dark clouds rolling in, which made my decision even a bit easier ~ I would get the high route done first.

About two-thirds of the way up the last climb to the cross, I saw two horns poking up on the trail out in front of me.  Odd, I thought to myself.  Seems like a strange place for a deer.  I got my camera out, but then failed to see what animal the horns belonged to.  I walked another 10 minutes on the trail and came to a secondary junction, decided to take the left-hand fork, because the route looked a bit more direct up the ridge.  I came around a corner and to my surprise I was face to face with a Steinbock (Ibex).  Seriously, I just about crapped my pants.  He was about 20 feet away.  I quickly got my camera out and snapped some photos, not believing my eyes or my luck.  I thought about going past him on the trail as he lazily scratched his rear leg with the tip of his long horn, but then thought better of it after seeing the size of his genitalia.

Remembering the secondary junction just moments before, I retreated back down the hill, and proceeded along the alternate way to the cross.  I was hoping the Bock had not meandered down the trail to join me at the next junction, and luckily he had not.

steinbock with Benedictine Peak cross in the background

I busted up the last bit of trail to the cross and snapped some photos, wrote my name in the book, and thought of my parents:  especially my father, whom I had always hoped to have hiked this trail with.  I also thought of my mom and our German friend Liesi, as they had come along this route together many years ago.  I peaked over the edge of the escarpment and my stomach lurched and my legs tingled ~ it was easily a 1,000 foot drop down to the valley floor where the Tützinger Hütte lay.

Benedictine Wall Peak cross

As I hiked down the east ridge, which was quite rocky and steep I heard some very slow, heavy footfalls ~ thunk… thunk… thunk…  Oh, my God, I thought to myself.  another Steinbock.  I scrambled on the rocks as the sounds got closer, and then he poked his head around the corner!  I took a sharp breath in and I’m sure the look on my face was quite a sight to see for the other hiker who was coming the opposite direction!  “I thought you were a Steinbock!”  I said.  He laughed at me and wished me well upon my way, “No, I’m not a Steinbock…  I think I must have really scared you!”  “Yes, you did,” I said and explained to him that I had seen the Bock only moments before. 

As I made my way down the remainder of the ridge, I laughed at myself several times.  I’m sure that man will have a story to tell:  of the silly girl on the ridge who thought he was a Steinbock!

A brief hailstorm moved through the area on my last stretch to the Hütte, and I was glad to pass a couple of hikers (one of whom commented on my boldness on the trail… ) and ducked into the hut.  I went up to the counter inside the hut and said hello to the Wirt (Hut Host) and asked him if he knew who I was.  He said, “Yes, you’re the young lady who hugged my father at the folkdance festival a couple of nights ago!”  “Yes,” I replied and explained who I was and that his father and my father had been friends growing up.  I had a good chat with him and his wife and then explained I needed to be on my way because I still had some distance to cover.

Tutzinger Hütte far below

The next two hours were relatively uneventful except for the drenching rain that ensued and I decided not to bag any peaks on the way back home.  Uneventful, up until the time I got back to the Kocheler Alm and met up with a mountain biker who passed me on the way down.  He went a little ways and then turned around ~ I thought he might have forgotten something at the alm.  But no, he told me to keep running, that I had a very nice tempo going and just wanted to chat for a bit and see where I had gone today.  We wished each other well on the descent back down to Kochel in the rainstorm and I reflected on what a magical day I’d been so lucky to have ~ 19 miles, just short of 7 hours, and so many beautiful sights and great people along the way.

metal-cable hand rail

thirsty?  why yes, thank you.  nice clean spring water

Good to be Home

it's good to be home.  really, really good.  and after 8 1/2 hours in the car yesterday i was ready for a run today.  the weather, however, did not cooperate.  i ended up running for about 3 1/2 hours in a downpour with thunder and lightening, but my spirit could not be broken.  i'm home.

i missed Salt Lake so much while i was up in Gillette, WY for the last two months.  i got some good runs in about an hour away from town, but for the most part i spent most of my days wondering what the heck i had gotten myself into and wishing i could just be home.  it's not to say that i didn't run into some really nice people in Gillette, but the more time i spent there the more i realized that over half of the population of Gillette is comprised of people who have moved there for work because work cannot be found in their own home towns.  a lot of those people really just want to be at home like i did.  in the last week that i was there i had several people ask me, "so, how do you like Gillette?"  and honestly i couldn't hold back anymore.  i flat-out told them that i was moving home in "x" number of days and glad about it.

the drive yesterday was not an easy one.  about 5 hours into the drive i decided that i should probably let the dogs out because we hadn't even gone on our morning walk because i was so anxious to get the heck out of Dodge.  so i pulled off on a county road and let the dogs do their business.  i told them, "you'd better not get yourselves into any rattlesnakes."  and just as i said it i saw a dead rattlesnake in the middle of the dirt road.  i looked up to see Artemis sniffing at another snake in the road and i yelled at her, "NO!"  she looked dejectedly back at me and i realized that that snake was also dead.  "let's get outta here," i said to the dogs.  and after our 5 minute break we were back on the road.

it was fairly windy across Central Wyoming, but not too bad for the first few hours as we were headed in a southwesterly direction.  when we hit Rawlins and I-80, however, things changed.  headed due west, the headwind was so bad that when i looked at my gas gauge it read 22 miles per gallon.  granted, the car was loaded to the hilt and there's a box on top, but i usually get between 26 and 28 miles per gallon.

and the traffic ~ sheesh!  tons of cars and trucks on the freeway all the way from Rawlins to Salt Lake. several trucks thought that they were fast enough on the downhills to get in the left lane and pass slower-moving trucks, only to realize that when they were headed uphill against the stiff headwind they could only manage between 50 and 60 miles per hour.

i stopped at Little America to let the dogs out again (after getting a triple latte at the Starbucks in Rock Springs, which i'm certain saved my life if not at least my sanity).  the wind nearly knocked me over as i got out of the car.  it brought to mind traveling with my brother in his old VW bus years ago... when he opened the door to get out at the gas station and fill 'er up, the door was ripped out of his hand and his glasses were blown straight off of his face... his glasses went skittering across the pavement as he chased them, bent over at the waist, trying to catch up with them (he eventually succeeded).

as we drove the canyon from Wanship west to Park City, my anticipation of seeing the Wasatch Mountains grew.  popping out of the canyon i got my first glimpse ~ Deer Valley Resort still had snow on the ski runs, and the snow stretched all the way across to the Olympic Park.  i got tears in my eyes knowing that i was home and would soon be spending time in my home mountain range (but only if the snow decides to melt this summer!).

last night i stopped by a friend's house after picking up some mail at the PO Box at the Post Office in Sugarhouse.  we sat on the couch and chatted about running and biking and endurance stuff.  and it felt so good.  good to be home, around people who "get" me and people who have similar interests to mine and a similar outlook on life.

i spent most of my 18-mile run on the roads today, running in a deluge and flinching at the thunder and lightening.  and honestly, it was wonderful.  it's so good to be home.  you know you are having a good run when every song that comes on your play list, you think, "oh!  this is my favorite!" and just want to run forever and ever...

Dr Artemis offered to stay on and see patients in Gillette, but i told her i would miss her too much.

it's good to be home.

Finishing up... and moving forward.

i'm about to finish up my first week of training under the advice of my coach, and i gotta tell ya, i feel pretty good.  i'm starting to feel like maybe training doesn't always have to be so difficult and that maybe last summer i was "overtrained" and pushing too much all the time, trying to get a lot of hard miles.  on the other hand, maybe it's because i'm still running around town here in Gillette and in the Black Hills and the miles here are easier.  we'll see what things are like once i'm back to the Wasatch.

but the Wasatch Mountains are still covered in snow.  friends are sharing photos of ski touring (still... ) and local races have had to change their courses because the snow level looks to be still around 7,000 feet, and lower than that in the north-facing aspects.

i'm going into my last week of work here in Gillette, WY, and i'm so happy to be going home.  looking at race photos of the Wasatch foothills green and blooming with mule's ears (flowers) makes me so homesick, you don't even know.  i'll be back for a week of running in my local hills, then going over to my other homeland, Bavaria, Germany, for two weeks.

i have some good runs planned for Germany and am so excited to see family and friends.  our neighbor in Germany assures us that we will need to spend some time cleaning up the yard as well (he's pretty much a master gardener, which makes our yard look pretty plain and un-kept) and we'll have a bit of work to do in the house as well, cleaning out old belongings of my dad's and donating clothes to charity.

i'm going to miss my fluffy-dog running partners while i'm in Germany ~ yesterday we did a 15 mile loop in the Black Hills and last weekend we did a spectacular 14 mile run near Sundance, WY.  photos today are from those two runs.

loops on the upper trail of Dugout Gulch meant we hit this refreshing waterhole three times ~ the dogs were happy about that!