Being Hard Core Enough for the Trails

Comfort Zones are funny. Most of the time you don't even realize you are in yours, until you are totally immersed outside of it. The reaction is usually immediate: "Ooh, this doesn't feel normal!" Perhaps this is good thing. because the more you dwell about actually leaving your Comfort Zone, the less likely you will, in fact, leave it.


Today I completely got out of my running comfort zone and hit the trails. As a part of my Comrades training my coach wants me to run trails. First, it makes you run significantly slower (which is one of my biggest challenges) and second, it is a softer surface and gentler on the legs. When you are running the amount of miles I am planning to, anything that is gentler on the legs is a good thing. So, today was Day 1 and really the first time I have ever truly run on trails. I headed out to Blue Hills Reservation in Milton, MA (just a few miles south of Boston) with my trail shoes on, my cell in hand, and a naive perspective on the whole thing. For someone that knows running, I sure was stupid about trails today.


First off, I headed out at about 6:30am. I was trying to beat the rain (it has been terribly rainy all day) and trying to just get it done with early. Mistake #1-- don't go alone trail running without Pepper Spray that early in the morning. I found out after the fact that Blue Hills is notorious for attacks on women. Yeah, stupid me. I was lucky and didn't see anybody, but that still was stupid. I'll know for next time.

Peaceful

The trails were beautiful, but I didn't have a map. Online they said that at the visitor's center there would be Maps, so I didn't bother to print one out. Since I was so early in the morning, there were none. None at all. Instead of re-thinking the whole idea, I just decided to run an out and back (I pride myself on my sense of direction). The start of my run was beautiful...saw wild turkeys, deer, and a couple wild foxes. It was incredibly technical (I thought it was be a "Trail for Dummies", but this was more like rocky boulders). Still, I loved it and it was so liberating


When I turned around everything kind of hit the fan. First off, I fell on a huge tree stump. Luckily it was one of those falls that go in slow motion and you have enough time to brace for it. No injuries, but some dirty war wounds. Heck, it wouldn't be running in trails if I wasn't just a bit dirty. Then I started running backwards...I was good for the 1st 3 miles or so and then I just got confused. Was I going straight or did I turn? Sooner than later I was just frankly lost. It was one of those moments where you realize you have no idea what is north or south. Since my Garmin watch was broken I didn't even have a GPS compass. I started to try to follow these arrows that looked like they were the main trail but soon I was climbing over rocks and I was clearly not where I started. Bad, bad feeling.


It had started to rain at this point so I was feeling really anxious to just get back to my car. I had images in my head of sloppy mud and a lost Vera. This is when I had to result to my least favorite device ever...the cell phone GPS, which I have never used before. I remembered that my phone had Verizon Navigator and figured it could probably help me. So, I pulled it and accepted the $3.00 app fee willingly. Luckily, for me, I was so close to the main road and I managed to get back in the right direction and back to my car.

I think I expected more dirt



By the time I got back to my car, I had run 2.5 hours, fell once, made at least 4 wrong turns, and discovered that sometimes ignorance is bliss. No matter what, the trails were beautiful and the experience amazing. I cannot wait to continue my trail running this winter...but hopefully with a running partner and with a map.

I escaped my fall with only a dirty glove and knee. 

Top Tips to Survive Running in the Winter

Running is one of those things that is so easy, yet so hard at the same time. It's easy, not in the sense that it is physically easy, but in the sense that it is pretty simple to go out and do (no real equipment, no gym membership needed). Yet, it is really hard in the fact that there is nothing...and I mean nothing...to really help you out. No fitness instructor yelling at you or instructing you. No air-conditioned or heated gym to make the environment comfortable. It's raw and hard and you have to want to do it, or frankly, it is just too easy to NOT run. Winter running is some of the most brutal. The wind (which seems to change direction so it is always in your face), the ice, the snow, the "wintry mix" (my favorite), the feeling of snowflakes falling in your eyes and being just sharp enough to feel like razor blades, and the constant chapped lips and wind burned face (yes, that is the stuff nobody tells you about)

Recently, I've gotten some questions from friends of mine that are starting out with running outside in the winter. I decided it was only fitting to put together the "Best of the Best Tips for Surviving the Winter...while Running through it". Here we go:

• It really is all about the Gear and being smart about spending your money on the right gear, not the most expensive gear. There are couple "must haves" in any winter runner's closet:
1. 2 Pairs of High-Waisted (yes, you heard me right) Thermal Tights. You need two pairs because you need one that is thick for weather 30 degrees and below and then you need a slightly less thick pair for 31 degree to about 60 (or whenever you switch to shorts or capris). The second most important element of a good pair of tights is the height of the waist band. This isn't a time for fashion concerns. You need a pair that is as high as the belly button. This will allow you to tuck in your layers and keep the heat in. Ditch those cute Lululemon yoga pants. They aren't doing anything for you when it's 22 degrees...trust me. Cute butt does not equal a warm one. My favorite brand of running tights are Surgoi.
2. 2 different Running Jackets (1 waterproof and 1 not waterproof). Running jackets are key. They are an extra protection from the wind and you can store stuff in them during runs. I recommend 2 different jackets-- one that is light and more versatile and one that is waterproof. Waterproof ones tend to be less breathable and are usually too hot for any running above 30 degrees. But, they are key during those wintry runs when snow is falling or the temps are well below 30. My favorite brand is Brooks.
3. Thermal Base Layers. This is probably the most important out of anything you get. You need something that is NOT cotton and something that is form fitting and thin. Unfortunately, this is where many companies try to steal your money with expensive brands (Under Armour anyone). Yet, Thermals have been around forever and there are many brands who have them at very reasonable prices. My favorites are Duofold.
4. Gloves, Mittens, and a really great winter hat. Yes, you need both gloves and mittens. The best are the ones with the "snot wiper"...yes, you heard me right. I said Snot. When you run in the winter, your nose runs badly. You either are going to wipe it on your shirt or your glove. Might as well have a glove ready for the worst.
5. Night reflective gear. This is critical. It is most likely you will be running in the dark--unless you are gifted with a job that will allow you to run in the middle of the. With dark running, comes danger. Not so much from scary people creeping in strange spots, but from the cars that just do not see you running. The best way of protecting yourself is through reflective gear. It may be a hat or a jacket. I like reflective arm bands that you can snap over your jacket like a snap bracelet. Brooks has a cool pair here
6. Duck tape. Duck tape comes in handy when it is so cold that you just need every last bit of heat close to your body. You can use Duck tape over the toe box of your shoes or around your fingers. It really will help.

• Mental visualization will help you refocus your mind against the temperature. I find myself saying "I am on a beach...sweating" often during those 1st 2 miles when I am so cold it hurts. It doesn't take away the cold, but it refocuses you a bit.

• Warm up with Green Tea 30 minutes before and immediately afterwards. I drink a cup 30 minutes before and I put the kettle on immediately when I return. It helps you keep your body temp up during the 1st couple miles.

• Last, but certainly not least, just suck it up and go out there. The mental games we play with ourselves never work-- "oh I"ll go later...it will warm up". To that I say-- no, it won't warm up. But the more you dread the idea of running, the worse it will be. Just get out there and say you are going to do it. Worry about the rest later.

Thanks Asics, for the photo. I never have my camera when it's that cold.

When Good things happen to Good People

Today I was surrounded by Complainers. I mean the type of people that were dead set on finding something wrong with the day and everything that surrounded it."I'm tired", "This coffee sucks", "I can't figure this out", "I hate my job", "You didn't do this or that", "My lunch is terrible". I mean, honestly, you would have thought these people had the worst lives possible and were living on some tsunami-stricken island off the coast of Indonesia. But, no, they were sitting with me in a very comfortable, very climate-controlled office getting paid to sit on their butts. Not too shabby indeed.

The constant noise of complaints today got me thinking about how much we all focus on the "bad stuff" and the "unfair stuff" and how shitty things are happening to us all the time. Yet, we rarely think or dwell on the good. Frankly, why do we give the bad such control over us? Why do we let it own us while letting the good be forgotten? It seems so backwards. Sure, Bad things happen to Good people (including me), but hell, even better things happen to those same people. Maybe we just need to sit back and remember some of them. Perhaps we need to give them half the dwelling time we give the bad stuff.

For me, a lot of good has been handed to me. I have a great job, a great home, great friends, a great education, great family, and most of all I have seen the world. Talk about good-- that is f'ing great! Seeing the world opens you up and teaching you things no text book or even map can begin to explain. The scent of being in a Chinese Market, the way you can tell a Monsoon is going to start before it does, and silent joy of being somewhere so remote (like Iceland) that there is not a chance an iPhone would be found.

I tend to write a lot, so today, I'm going to let pictures tell a 1000s words. Here are some of my favorite moments of when great things happened, it unexpected places

 For any Jane Austen Fan...being in Bath near the row of townhouses so famous in her books is pure happy

 Sometimes travel requires a plane, sometimes it just requires a costume

 I've never been one for the Bikini-shot, but I still remember this perfect moment in Greece

 Climbing the Great Wall was one thing. Sitting alone in a watchtower on the Wall, was a whole other.

 We often don't capture then "unpoised" in our travels. Perhaps we should capture those moments of laughter a bit more

You can't talk Happy without talking Iceland. 

Let the Running Begin

Today I got in the mail 3, count them 3, new pairs of running shoes!! I was in desparate need of a new pair, since I swear I was near having no sole left in my current pair. I'm not sure how long these guys will last me, but I have 2 pairs of Stability and 1 Trail Pair. Brooks Adreneline and Brooks Cascadia (Trail) and then my favorite-- Saucony ProGrid Omni.

The 1st run after getting a new pair shoes is amazing. You literally feel like you are running on a cloud. Can't wait for tonight!

5 months and 29 days before the big day.

Today was one of those days that you look outside and think "I would rather do anything than go outside and run". It was simply was gross. You immediately go into convincing yourself that anything would be better for you than to go outside and brave the rain, wind, puddles, and unruly umbrellas. Spinning, yoga, kickboxing, and even the dreaded treadmill all sound like better options. It was one of those days that you have to need running so much so that no excuse is worthy. You have to need it more than to just "lose weight" or "de-stress". There has to be something much better calling you outside. There was a lot of reasons why I run, but today it was clear. It was my first day of training for the Comrades Marathons and there were no good excuses anymore. 

So, I put on all the layers I owned and I tried to pretend my feet weren't soaked within the 1st 30 seconds. It was one of those horribly noisy days, but silent runs. Traffic was awful, accidents were endless because of the rain, and sirens seemed to be coming from all angles. Yet, here I was running on the Charles River, a run usually filled with dogs, people and strollers, completely and utterly alone. It was like I was in this silent bubble and the cars and noise were just outside of reach. Surreal, actually.

When I run on days like this, sometimes I think and othertimes I just zone out. Today was a thinking day. I thought about how crazy the next 6 months are going to be. I thought about how different I'll feel on May 1st than I do on Dec 1st (both physically and, hopefully, mentally). I thought about how running is amazing and not enough people ask their body to do it. I thought about how, no matter what bad things happen to you, there really are no excuses to just lay down and quit. But, most importantly, I thought about how I'm going to figure out how to run 56 miles by May.

To me, it is still a crazy thought. It probably still will be on the starting line in South Africa in May. To put it into perspective, I started to think about the distance and what I could do in 56 miles. Here is what I came up with.

1.  My Mom's house in the Southside of Chicago is 23 miles from the Loop. So, I could drive there and back in 56 miles. Damn.
2. My commute from Boston to Woonsocket, RI is a terror and it is only 52 miles. So, I guess I could run from my house to work and then 4 more miles for "fun".
3. I could run to Portsmouth, NH in just around 50 miles.

I'm excited for the journey to start. I'm excited to see how I'll change over the next couple months. Yet, I'm most excited to not let whatever bad things that are going on right now, to have any sort of influence over this experience. Because, life isn't about letting bad things own you, it is about knowing when to let the "bad" go and let the "good" in. Welcome in Comrades!

I suspect I'll be a lot MORE excited than this when I finish Comrades