Eureka!! Here we come!

Very early this morning, Workforce Management called Matt (just an hour into his night's sleep after a midnight shift) to offer him the Eureka, CA job. He accepted.

Now we're both ready to burst with excitement. The trip to CA alone will be an adventure. Will we drive the AlCan? Will we take the Alaska Marine Hwy (ferry)? Hmmmm... One place we regret not visiting is Southeast Alaska. The ferry would give us the chance. But the AlCan Hwy would be just as cool, but in a different way. I could add two new provinces to my list, too. Ahh the choices.

And we leave for Germany on Thursday.

What an exciting week this is turning out to be!

Joy of Taper

Matt and I completed our final long run, a 22miler, on Friday. It was really hard. We ran from Patty Center to Equinox mile 5 (via T-Field) and then the rest of the marathon course. I decided that since Ester Dome isn't going to be runnable, no matter how slow I go on the rest of the course. So the miles leading up to Ester Dome will be at a nice clip, and to hell with it, I'm walking the 4+ miles up Ester Dome, then cruise back down to the finish. Sounds easy enough right?

Well I decided to test that out. Somewhere near our mile 10 and barely the crest of Ester Dome, I felt like I was going to die. Was my race strategy going to fail? Did I really need to conserve the energy on the other parts? By the time I resigned myself to all the walking, it worked out well. I also shaved a little off of my per mile time. Yes, this is the way I'm going to race. You win, Ester Dome. I'm hoping that my magic Lucky Charms/Coffee/Gatorade mix will give me wings again and I'll be faster yet...but we'll see.

Now I get to enjoy the reduced mileage, just in time for my trip abroad.

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What I have noticed in this summer of training is not that my times have improved that much, but that I recover so much easier. I don't know if it's the trail long runs (vs. road) and less pounding or if I really am getting more accustomed to high mileage. Is it a better diet, because I eat like a teenage boy now, lots of everything, ?? Is getting off of the birth control pill better for me? I wish I knew the answers to these questions so I could make things even better for my recovery time.

*sigh* When are they going to invent a magic machine that will give answers to all of life's questions? (and the magic eight ball doesn't count).

Bump

I've got a bump on my finger. It's on the bone, feels like bone itself, and almost pointy. And it scares the crap out of me.

All because it is on my left hand. I wish I could be one of those people who accept a bump is just a bump. Pain + bump = cancer. That's all my brain is thinking. I don't want to lose my hand. or my arm. It better damn well be nothing, but I'm getting checked out on Monday with my regular doc. I may go this weekend if I worry too much before then. But I'd really rather see my usual doctor so I don't have to go and tell a new one my entire medical history. Mine doesn't give me a pity party like new doctors seem to do.

Please be a bone spur. One that will require no attention and go away on it's own. Or a bump I can massage away. That'd be great. k. thx.

Feelings

Sometimes I struggle a lot to share my real feelings. Growing up the oldest, I was supposed to be the leader. The one who was stable, a role model. I'm particularly bad with my blog. It's always on the surface. Fluff, if you will. So here's my attempt to share feelings, for the first time since I restarted this blog in March :

I EFFIN' LOVE MY NEW COUCH!! It is brown and suuuper comfy. When I take off all the goofy pillows, it fits me and the hubby. So we can snuggle. Gosh, I love snuggling. His arms wrap around me like a warm security blanket. Heck yes. It was a bit crowded in the living room this afternoon with the lumpy futon and the new couch. ((Hubby and I also found a desk at the dump, so we had two desks too--but that's another story for later.)) We sold the futon to friends. They'll probably take the desk tomorrow if they have room in their cabin.

My couch is brown. It's stain-resistant. It's got cushions that I can reupholster when they get worn out. It will be easy to clean with cushions that come off. Easy to find missing change or hunt for Cheetos to snack on. Easy to hide things. Easy for a pillow fight. Easy to doze off on. Easy place to write this blog. It came with matching accent pillows, which I'm totally stoked about because I'm horrible at matching colors. It's the same color as my cat, so the fur won't show up much. YES. YES. YES.!!!!!!!!!!!

Enough with my feelings....back to boring topics tomorrow.

Recently, I've begun dabbling in photo editing. Here's a one from Sunday's 5K, taken by Matt.

Bus Stop

Today, as I waited for the bus, another woman waited with me at the stop. She came up to me :

Her- "I envy how skinny you are."
Me- "It's only because I work really hard."
Her- "What, do you exercise or something?"
Me- "Yeah, I'm a marathon runner."
Her- "Oh, I couldn't even run to the mailbox."
Me- "Sure you could, everyone starts out that way."

Then she lost interest in talking and walked away. I firmly believe that everyone has the capability to exercise. It's funny how some people believe that thin people are just lucky genetically. You envy me? HA! Although that made my ego soar, it also angered me because the way I look definitely does NOT come naturally. GRR!

I also was taken aback by my own words : "marathon runner". I've never referred to myself as that. It has always been "runner", but within the last year, I've been transformed to "marathoner". Eventually, that label won't feel so weird. :)

Victory!!

All summer long, I have been planning on running the Run Lu Lu Run 5K, just to see if I really have gotten any faster. No training, just a fun "tempo" run. Since Matt and I did a long trail run on Saturday, I was thinking of abandoning the idea of racing on Sunday. When the alarm sounded at 8am, two hours before the race, I turned it off and went back to sleep. I awoke at 9am, completely jittery and still indecisive about the race. I had Lucky Charms for breakfast, just in case I decided to go. By 9:30am, I was running to the start (the race began about .25mi away from my home), and waiting in line to register. This is a small 5K/10K combo, most people running the 10K as a training for next month's Equinox Marathon. Mostly people who think a 5K is "really far" run the 5K. That's good for me though, because I place high for how slow I really am. Last year, I was second woman, fifth overall with a time of 27:19.

This year, I used those jitters to fuel a mad dash for a new PR. My previous PR of 26:10 was set in early April, just as ice began to melt from the roads. A fall 5K would accurately show how far I've come this summer, and this summer alone.

I ran the race at a very constant pace, and started out at about 5th, with the pack just behind me. Then I passed a guy at mile 1, and another at the mile 1.5 turn around. I couldn't see who was ahead of me, but people were cheering as I passed, "way to go! first woman!" I thought to myself, "What? Me? There's got to be someone else up there". At about 2.5 mi, I passed a heavier-set guy, not the usual guy you'd see at the start and think "he looks fast". He put up a fight. It took me until 2.75mi to catch him. We were going at a 7:00/mi pace. It took me finishing at a 6:45/mi pace (which I've NEVER run, not even in training) the last quarter mile or so, to lose him. He eventually caught up a little, finishing just one second behind me. WHEW! :)

I finished 2nd overall, the first woman, in 24:31. Since this race was so close to home, it was on my usual running route. I knew where the course gently sloped up and down. I knew where to push myself more. Since I ran without Matt, I had time to analyze things while I ran, and discovered a few things about myself :

1. Running a 5K is about 90% mental. How long can you hold onto the feeling of nearly collapsing?

2. I like running with the boys. Since most of Fairbanks runners take the winter off (or cut back), running straight through the winter puts me ahead of the casual female runners I'm used to. I especially like the feeling of passing a boy.

3. I like the look on the face of a guy when I pass him. It's the "oh crap, it's a girl" face. It's the same whether you're running at 10:00/mi or at 8:00/mi. Priceless.

4. Garmy (my GPS running watch) is becoming my BEST FRIEND. He's great for pushing me. If I want a certain finish time, I don't let myself run any slower than "x:xx/mi". If I'm huffing and puffing, I can look down and see that I'm not going "that fast" and maybe I should hold back. Or if I feel particularly punishing, the reverse is true as well. I can't wait for us to Equinox together, friend.

Twelve Mile Summit

Plans changed a lot for this weekend's excursion. First, we started out with a float trip with a friend. She bailed, so we decided on backpacking Pinnell Mountain Trail in the White Mountains, 100 miles NE of town. Then we decided, in a moment of insanity, to run the entire 27.3 mi trail in one day (plus 23 mi bike ride to get the car at the other end). Finally we settled on a day trip, a 12 mile out-and-back, starting at the Twelve Mile Summit trailhead.

Once on the trail, it was a nice mile of boardwalk. A steady, unrelenting hill. When it finally leveled off and my lungs calmed down, we hit boulders. The trail remained that way. It was like running the tire part of an obstacle course, with the center of the tire filled with boulders. After a few near faceplants and never finding a stretch more than 10 ft long that was runnable, we decided to walk. Fast. OOH BERRIES.





I got distracted by the wonderful blueberries, lining the trail and covering the alpine ridges. We ran three miles out, in about an hour, and decided that was far enough. My poor ankles wouldn't go further.







So we decided to run back to the best berry spot, at 4.5 miles into the run. We parked ourselves there. We pack extremely light on running trips, so we didn't have anything to put berries in. But wait, WE DID. We opened the bag with our emergency blankets (foil blankets from a marathon) and filled the bag. Still more berries for us? We got greedy and made a sack out of the emergency blanket. I knew they would somehow come in handy!!



Our run back to the car on the boardwalk was nice, Matt carrying a sack of berries in his hand. We ended up with about 4 quarts of berries. Our running plans were failed, but we ended up having a nice BBQ dinner on the summit, and came back with berry loot. Just as we finished dinner, wildfire smoke from the north rolled in.



We stopped at the Chatanika River on the way home.



It was pretty.

Kind of a failed day when compared to our original plan. But just the day we needed. We ran a nice long run today at a pace that made me very happy. So it all worked out.

Eureka!

Today, Matt has an interview with the Eureka, California office. I'd be lying if I didn't say I had mixed feelings about the possibility of moving. I really love the beauty of Alaska and would miss it a lot. On the other hand, living in a place with constant 50F all year round, on the ocean, shopping!, and flying home for only $300 sounds appealing. I never had the chance to love Edmond, only living there eight months, but Fairbanks and all it's quirks has grown on me. We'll see how it goes.

Elections

With the primary elections coming up soon(Aug 24), local street corners have been bombarded with signs supporting the different candidates. The intersection of University and Geist has been a favorite for Joe Miller's (running for US senator) supporters. Today, all of his people nowhere to be found. Three p.m. on the first day of school, less than a mile from campus, and no signs for him? What I did notice, no signs for him, but for the late Senator Ted Stevens. His memorial service was in held Anchorage this afternoon.

Senator Stevens was the longest serving Republican in the US Senate. He began his career in the US Senate in 1968 and served up until 2008, when he lost his spot to Mark Begich amidst hearings about finances regarding Stevens' earnings. Despite all that, he did some great things for Alaska. A lot of the local parks and community buildings were funded by earmarks proposed by Sen. Stevens. He focused on the little things like that, in addition to protecting the usual political agendas.

I thought it was touching that campaigning stopped for one day, to honor his memory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Stevens

Valdez, 3 of 3

We toured Valdez harbor again with Oliver. I had a cocoa at the only coffee shop that I've ever been to in Valdez (Three Chicks). They make amazing cocoa! We sat on the boardwalk and enjoyed the boats and sunshine. Oliver said that it felt just like a California beach town. He was ready to move here and stay forever. Brittany and I had to remind him that it usually isn't like this here. From our spot, we could see at least ten glaciers. Each mountain had it's own.





We stopped for photos at a few glaciers and waterfalls. Keystone Canyon, about 30 miles out of Valdez, was the highlight of the drive. This area was carved out by the army about a hundred years ago. Before the path through the canyon, travelers had to make the dangerous trek up and over the Valdez Glacier. Worthington Glacier was up over the pass and looked wonderful bathed in sunshine. It was a beautiful blue and white ice wall.

Bridal Veil Falls :


Horsetail Falls :


Worthington Glacier :


Near Summit Lake, we got our first taste of the fall colors. There were just a few bright colors in a sea of green, but fall is definitely near. Winter comes soon! Eek! (Thankfully, this area is about three weeks ahead of Fairbanks in appearance of fall colors and winter.)

Over the course of the fourteen hour drive, I learned a lot about my travel buddies. I never knew so many things that I say in English can be taken so literally, in a derogatory sense, by a non-native speaker. Oliver is from Norway and speaks fluent Academic English. His slang understanding is reasonably good, but hidden cultural meanings are frequently misunderstood. I also learned how left-sided his political views of American government are. Since Norway's army is less aggressive than ours, he had trouble understanding why we're in Iraq. I only know that it started because of 9/11, and we don't want to pull out now without a victory because the efforts, and sacrificed soldiers, would be in vain. He also didn't understand the distinction between supporting troops, and how it doesn't mean we necessarily support the war. He was deeply offended when our friend Becki had mentioned supporting troops on her Facebook page. Even after we explained it, he didn't think we should support the (individual) troops and their sacrifices.

When I got home, Matt had already left for his first overnight shift. So I went to the office to say hi and went back home for bed. Fun *exhausting* trip!!

Valdez, 2 of 3

During the night, the rain stopped. I awoke to blue skies with just a few clouds, horray!!
While Oliver was fishing, Brittany and I went for a run on Solomon Gulch trail. We climbed nearly a thousand feet over two miles, with beautiful waterfalls marking our rest stops. Running with humidity is a lot more exhausting--so much sweat! Finally at the top, we were rewarded by views of Valdez and Resurrection Bay in the valley below. Int he other direction was a man-made lake that looked like it was straight from a tropical lagoon. The water was green and the mountains were entirely covered in foliage. (Technically, Valdez is in a rainforest, so I was right on in my description.)




Beautiful!!

We ran into Bob, a friend of mine from Fairbanks, by accident. He was fishing alone on a weekend trip for work. He joined Oliver at the fishing spot on Alison Point. Brittany and I checked out Valdez with Paula, Oliver's friend's friend (if that makes any sense). The last time I was in Valdez, it rained, so seeing it in sunshine made it appear entirely different. You could see all the mountains, most of them sporting their very own glacier. This is one of the few regions in the world where the glaciers are growing, due to record-high snowfall.

We enjoyed the harbor and all the fishing boats and yachts. Then we returned to where the boys were fishing. As we drove there, we spotted a black bear feasting on salmon. He was being very selective while sifting through hundreds of already-spawned fish. He was happy..and so was I! I got some really nice black bear shots on my film and digital cameras. In all, we saw four bears. Each grabbed a few fish, ate til they were satisfied, and walked away. I was about 50 ft away in each of these shots. This bear wasn't much of a threat, he was just chilling eating his dinner.






We had dinner at the Valdez Glacier, not far from our campground. Then we went to bed.

Valdez, 1 of 3

After living in Alaska for a few years and visiting Valdez before, I didn't think of this trip as something new. Today was a bunch of firsts for me.

1. First trip without Matt. He had to work and is transitioning to overnights by sleeping a lot, so when friends, Brittany and Oliver invited me, I said yes!

2. First night in this tent alone. Matt slept in it alone on a work trip in July, but I have never had it all to myself. It's very roomy without him. My suitcase fits inside with me, too. Woohoo!!

3. First time driving in the mountains after dark. Scary when it gets foggy and rains so hard that you can't see a moose cross the road until it was 20 feet ahead of us.

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We stopped in Delta for a snack. Again in Paxson for a $3 cup of really bad coffee. Yuck! Mine was heavy with creamer so it wasn't so bad.

The rain started about a hundred miles outside of Valdez and continued---long enough to soak my tent in the five minutes it took me to set up. I'm glad I brought two sleeping pads, the wetness might not soak through it and get to my sleeping bag. My pants are wet, so I use the backpacker trip for wet clothes : stuff them in your bag and they'll be dry by morning. 98F body heat is great to dry out damp clothes. (Make sure it's done in a synthetic sleeping bag though, your down one may never dry out if you put wet clothes in it!)

The forecast said dry. My personal weatherman said it would be dry. Why did I ever believe that coastal Alaska could be anything other than wet? I'm such a fool!

20 Mi Ester Dome Ass-Kicker

Total Miles : 20
Total Elevation Gain : 4,551 ft.
Total Elevation Loss : 4,553 ft.
Total Time : 3:49.47
Average Pace : 11:29/mi



Totally exhausting. This is the only one of my running routes that makes my quads scream the next morning as I get out of bed.

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We decided to do our first trail 20mi on the Equinox Marathon course, from Miles 5-25, so it included 2,500ft Ester Dome. Still achy from the half marathon just three days ago, our run started out terribly. I had forgotten my Garmin at home. As someone who hates driving to go for a run, it was a big deal for me. :P After a quick drive back to the apartment to rescue our abandoned running buddy, we began. I loved how the trails have become, over the course of this summer, like an old friend. I know where the best spots are for running, where to swerve for the ruts, where to cruise along faster, to make up time. By the time the race comes in September, I'm going to have an almost photographic memory of the course, mile for mile.

By mile 4 of our run, the kinks were worked out. Maybe because it was a slight downhill. About that time, we popped out of the trees and there she was. Ester Dome, staring down on us, yelling for us to BRING IT. I have to admit, my legs were still kinda sore and I wanted to turn around and save the 20mi for another day. But I kept going. Honey can't know I'd given up. After all, running this today was my idea. No, I had to keep going. The trail up Ester Dome is 4mi of straight uphill. I'm not lying. NO BREAK. I didn't even catch my breath while I was walking. For those four miles, we averaged a 17:00/mi (brisk walk), with a handful of 100-200ft jogs to break it up and not feel totally defeated. At the top, both of us drenched in sweat, a cool breeze blew and it felt like God had answered my "cool me off!" prayers.





At mile 8ish, we reached the highest point of the whole course.


The cruel thing that happens after that is that there is a 1.5 mi out and back that goes back down the other side of Ester Dome. So really, you climb up the darn thing TWICE (yes, the marathon will kill us both). We decided to skip most of the out-and-back and head down the Alder Chute. The Alder Chute is famous with all Fairbanksans, not just the runners.


Bikers actually ride down this thing(I don't know how!). It's about 1/4 mile and a quick loss of 500+ ft. (you can see it in my elevation profile). It is impossible to run. It looks like a washed out trail, littered with boulders. Every time I run this spot, I think of the guy ahead of me the year I did the relay. He didn't walk the hill, tripped, and slid about 50 ft on his face before coming to a stop. I always walk. We took this time to down our energy bars.



At the bottom, beautiful birch trees form neat lines along the trail. My pace quickens with the sudden flat and easy footing. As we hit the paved road near mile 15, my legs scream. They want the dirt back. As a career-long road runner, I feel like my legs have gotten wimpier to the pounding this summer. The trails have softened my legs. That doesn't matter though, the hill slides us both down at a nice 9:00/mi. I try to keep myself in low gear, to avoid quad pain the next day. As we hit Gold Hill Rd, a very familiar part of our usual 10, 15, and 20 mile road loops, I think, "I've never felt so horrible on this spot before". We dash off onto a trail beneath power lines. It's a two-track with absolutely NO level spot to run. As a severe over-pronator, I can feel it in my IT bands and through my hips. Being at mile 16 doesn't help either. This is the only part of the run I truly hate. We enjoy the gentle downhill slope back to the university.

The car traffic seems to have forgotten the teenager that died on her bike just a week ago. Pity. We straddle the white line on the road as few cars pass, hoping they don't hit us. At mile 19 of our run, we dive back into the trails and hit the final hill. It's brutal, and even though it's smaller than every other hill we ran that day, I was on the verge of collapse. I pushed myself up the hill, hands on knees, manually moving my legs along. (This is mile 25 of the marathon, and another cruel part of the course. Very few people actually run this hill.) At the top, I breathe a sigh of relief and make a 0.5mi loop around campus to round out the 20miles.

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In the evening, we hit our favorite spot on the Chena River for an ice bath. The 40F water is colder than our tap water gets. I let my legs numb and climb back in the car. My legs radiate coldness for nearly twenty minutes afterward. A quick trip to Hot Licks for a banana split and I'm off to bed.


We shared the river with this fearless beaver.

Anticipation

I've never been good at waiting for things. Especially if I REALLY want them. Ask my husband. I always convince him, in one way or another, that we should open Christmas presents a day early. Usually it works out, since he often has to work on Christmas day. Well I'm getting sick of waiting to move.

I want to buy a house. I want to start a family. I want to be able to garden and raise chickens without having to abandon my entire setup within a year or two. I want to paint my house and decorate as I see fit. I want to put down roots. And I want to do it outside of Alaska.

Just as I realize that I can't take it any longer, Matt has been getting more luck with job opportunities. There are several places open that we are willing to move (anywhere but big cities and the South really---too hot and crowded). His bosses have been contacted for a couple of openings in the last week or so. Nothing may come of it, but it shows promise. Since you have to be high enough in the stack of resumes to get a call to your boss and an interview. He has been interviewed twice, once a year ago, and once two years ago. Then in the last week, two places interested. Keep your fingers crossed, I know I am!!

Santa Claus Half Marathon

Pre Race dinner at Gambardella's.

RACE DAY:
A beautiful 60F day. A really awesome post-race BBQ. and a dream for a PR.



This is the first race farther than a 5K that Matt have run separate since we got married. I was wondering how I'd do alone, how he'd do alone.

His previous PR was in 2006, my cancer year, in Green Bay at 1:53.
Mine was in 2009 on the Santa at 2:01.

I ran the first hundred feet with Matt and didn't see him again until just before the finish. He paced with a new running buddy of his, Colton, and they competed with each other right to the finish. Matt beat him by less than a minute to finish in 1:37.


My first miles were at about an 8:40/mi pace and I was surprised how easy they felt. A mix of coffee and Gatorade, I thought, must be the magic elixir (and the Lucky Charms of course). I figured I'd give the pace a try, even though it was well above my goal pace of 9:10/mi to break 2:00. I'm not going to say the miles flew by, because they were tough. But comfortably tough. As I approached 5 miles, I thought to myself, "what will happen if I keep this pace?" I decided to give it a go and just slow down later if I needed. I spotted Matt at the 13th Santa Claus marker (which are actually little Santas). Matt snapped a few pictures and ran the last portion with me, telling me, "Push! You're almost there!" I finished with a time of 1:52. My new PR, about 9 minutes faster than my old one.

Oliver finished his first-ever half marathon in 2:14.


Brittany finished shortly behind him in 2:17.




The post race BBQ was delicious, as always, although I wasn't as excited about the cake as I have been in previous years. TOO MUCH SUGAR!! :)

Last Week in Photos

After our bear encounter in June, we decided it was finally time to buy a small camera to take on runs with us. Since then, Matt has taken it EVERYWHERE and deemed it his own. Yesterday I convinced him to leave it home so I could get some photos from it.

Now I present to you, the final week of July 2010, in photos:

Beginning of the Gold Discovery Run, Sunday.


We explored downtown Fairbanks for the first time ever. We have lived here since February 2008. Here I am waiting for the bus.


Matt enjoying his lunch downtown at the River City Cafe, which we never knew existed until that day.

I hardly look Alaskan in this picture. I blended in with the tourists. The lady at the specialty yarn shop (which I never knew existed) kept asking where I was from, since I most definitely didn't look Alaskan.



Friday, about mile 14 of our 20 mile run. Quick photo and water break near Ballaine Lake.

Our run was at about 80F (too hot for us!). Between the two of us, we went through four GU gels, one pack of Clif Bloks (my new favorite!!), and three liters of water.


We iced our legs in the 40F Chena River later that night. Felt sooooo good. For the first time, we ran this 20mi at a 9:57/mi pace. Never before had I broken 10:00/mi at this distance. It was all road, moderately hilly, and promises good things for my November marathon in WI.


One of the top 5 reasons I love marathon training : CHEESECAKE!!


Another one of those reasons : despite regularly using sunscreen, a really glowy summer tan.