Camping with the kitty

Our camping trip started an hour later than we had planned, so by the time we got to Denali, we were anxious to get a camping site. The campground has cost us $14 in the past, but they must have changed the rules, because we ended up having to pay a park admission pass in addition to the usual campground fee. It was a lofty sum for a campsite that I couldn't even park my car next to the tent. After we paid, we found that the old parking lot was being used for construction equipment, the new overflow lot was a mile and a half away. $40 for a campsite, and a 1.5 mile walk to and from the car. I don't think we'll be returning to that campground again when it isn't free. (it's free in the winter) We had a good fire, roasted some mallows and dogs--then headed into mile 15 of the park to make use of the entrance fee they made us pay. When we got to mile 15, where private car access is restricted, everyone was buzzing about a bear in the area. They were all very excited, yet terrified of the close call they had just experienced. Matt and I carried on with our plans to hike on the Savage River. After all, we were tough Alaskans, we could handle bears. The brisk south wind pushed us along on the trail into the gorge. As it got later, we decided to turn around and head back to the campground--since we had a long walk back to the tent from our car.


Savage River and mountains



Snowshoe Hare

We got back about halfway and saw an animal cross the road. I yelled, "KITTY!!" and pulled the car to the side of the road. The lynx, our first ever! turned and sat to watch us. It was a large muscular cat with tufts of hair on his eartips and a cropped tail. Curiosity overwhelmed us both, as we stared at one another. In typical kitty style, the lynx quickly lost interest and turned to walk away. Matt got enough time to take two shots of him with our camera.



The last few miles back were gorgeous. My pictures don't really do it justice.




We also caught views of Denali, wearing a small cloudy hat, on the western horizon.



Beautiful end to a beautiful day.

It was a busy day. Somehow, I managed to get up early, shampoo the carpets, and do a load of laundry...all before 11am. All without coffee.

Carpet cleaning went easier than I thought it would, never having done it before. It's almost as easy as vacuuming. An hour after I began, my apartment was a sweltering tropical land of humidity. I hastily shoved the windows open and turned on my only fan. Then I hit the lemonade. It is still too humid for me to sleep. I'm writing this post at 11:30pm, a full two hours after I went to bed. (Matt goes to bed at 9pm when he has to work at 6am, so I go with him and usually fall asleep.) Maybe it was the nap I took. *shrug*

I've got a few exciting things to report :

1. I'm officially going to Germany in September. Matt and I bought plane tickets this morning and we will be meeting Chris in Munich.

2. Even though my legs were aching the entire time and I was constantly on the verge of losing my balance, I ran a six mile trail run today. My legs are finally recovered from the Angel Rocks run. There's still residual tightness, but I am able to walk at a brisk pace again.

3. Summertime is great for us saving money. It's strange, because Matt and I spend most of the summer on trips. The only difference is that our trips in the summer take us to remote areas, with no opportunity to spend money. We usually buy food and gas, and that. is. all. During the other seasons, we stay in town, go shopping, out to dinner...that all adds up fast. I'm happy to announce that, once we relocate, we have a down payment ready for a home.

Speaking of trips, our next adventure begins on Wednesday. We are car camping our way to Seward, and hopefully meeting dry weather there. We have several day hikes planned, so the trip promises to be active and scenic. I'm looking forward to it.

Angel Rocks to Chena Hot Springs Loop

Total Mileage : 16.5 miles
Total Elevation Change : 3,500 ft.
Total Time : 4 hours 20 minutes

Until today, our longest trail run this year was 9 miles. Until today, our longest hike was 8 miles (done in January). Knowing these facts, I knew that the last few miles would be a bizarre form of running torture. Nevertheless, Matt and I laced up our shoes, ready for what the day had in store for us.



The night before our hike, we packed up our gear. Just before bed, an amazing rainbow appeared and the skies opened up. 11pm and a rainbow, weird. The morning of our fast pack trip, we added rain gear to our list of things to come along. Afternoon showers were predicted...so we were ready.

The first 1.5 miles is on the Angel Rocks Trail. Most people only go this far and return the way they came. The trail climbed very steadily for 1,000 ft over the course of this 1.5 miles and the humidity forced Matt and I to walk, gulping down water between each deep breath. We broke into a drenching sweat, and mosquitoes swarmed around our heads. The majority of the bites I got were on this 1.5 miles...I later found lots of dead mosquitoes in my hair.



Miles 1.5-3 climbed even further onto a ridge, above treeline.



The trail went over several boulder fields and was definitely not good for running. Gorgeous views of the surrounding area were seen in every direction. We stopped to refuel about mile 5, and at the highest point of the entire trip.



A large dark cloud was headed straight for us, and we wasted no time descending below into the trees. Convinced the downhill would be the easier part of the trip, we took off at a much faster pace than normal.

At about mile 6, we hit mud just as we hit treeline. Firm mud, so we plowed right through it. Less than a mile later, the muddy trail turned into a stream of runoff. My shoes were inundated by the icy cold runoff. We tried to miss the deep parts, but a lot of the trail was too wet. It still surprises me how such a steep hillside can be so wet, but Alaska continues to surprise me in terms of what the terrain can throw out.



Mile 7 forced us to decide : go up on another (maybe drier) ridge and add 0.5 miles to our already 16.5 mile run, or go down (wetter) into the muskeg. We took our chances with the lower. After the rains we were having, Matt figured that lower would be just as wet as upper. Also, we'd taken that path before and there were less opportunities of becoming lost. We saw no bugs the entire way down, even though it was by far, the wettest part. Go figure. They probably knew I was eaten already and weren't up for sloppy seconds (meant to sound dirty, but look at the next picture---it was dirty).



About mile 8.5, we joined up with the gravel two track trail of Chena Hot Springs. It was much easier to run and we just let our legs sail down the hill. My knees started hurting near the bottom, so I slowed. We passed several tourists, whom looked at us funny, with our muddy legs and feet, sweat stained faces, and grimaces of fatigue across our faces. This time of year, we look out of place amongst them and their "vacation" clothes of brand new hiking clothes and shoes that have never seen the trail.

The Hot Springs Rd. back to the car was straight, flat, and the most terrible end to a run one can possibly imagine. It was more difficult to run, being able to see at least a mile ahead of myself. Feels like I'm going, and going, and never getting anywhere...especially compared to the trail, where I could only see 100 ft ahead at times. It actually hurt more to run on pavement than I ever thought possible...funny, because that is where I do 90% of my running, and it never hurt like this did. About mile 16, we came across two horses grazing on the side of the road. One of them followed us onto the road as we passed. The owner came running out to coax his horse back to the yard. Horsey wanted to run with us. :) Four hours and 20 minutes after we left the car, we came returned to our car. Armed with flip flops and chips, we headed for the river to soak and wash our legs and feet.



My shoes are still stained with dirt, and my legs are too sore to run on, but wow...that was a great day.

Epiphany

Summertime is usually a time of manic sleep patterns and an abundance of energy. This year seems different. I lack motivation to go out backpacking, exploring anywhere outside of Fairbanks. I've been trying to figure out why, but have come up empty handed, a confused look on my face. Until today.

At first I thought I was just settling into Alaska, not really excited to see new places because I'm very near to finishing off my adventure to-do list. Then I finally realized, I needed to change my perspective and planning a little. I never really liked carrying a 30 lb pack on my back. It slowed me down a lot and every step became a laborious effort. Today I had an epiphany, combine loves of hiking and running into what some call "fast packing". It's basically running until terrain forces you to walk. You cover more miles in less time, get a run in, and lets you get home at night where a cozy bed, warm meal, shower, and ice pack are waiting. It also eliminates the 30 lb pack, horrayyy!! You're out less time, so you need less clothes, less food, no tent, no sleeping bag.. heck yes! Our inaugural fast-pack trip is scheduled for Thursday. I'll let you know how it goes.

Midnight Sun

Summertime in Alaska means an extra boost of daylight hours. Right now, it doesn't get dark anymore, and won't until the end of July. It's kind of weird to see people out and about after midnight. Kids playing in the yards is the the weirdest part. It has been difficult for me to sleep ever since I got back from my Lower 48 trip. The blinds aren't doing a good enough job. I wake up at about 5:00 every morning, realize what time it is, and force myself back to sleep.

Long daylight hours allow for late night disc golf. Matt worked an afternoon shift one evening and when he was finished with work, we played some 11pm disc golf :



This is about as dark as it gets these days. Broad daylight.


This morning we decided to do some speed training. Again, it wasn't dark. 4:45am and it was completely light outside :


Still needed lots of coffee and a nap afterward, but darkness. A total non-issue. I wish I could bottle up some of this 10pm-4am daylight and save it for winter. That'd be really great.

New Mexico

After years of accumulating airline miles between Alaska and the Midwest, I finally have enough to make a rewards trip! Although I could only get a free one-way ticket because of availability, I'm totally happy. I spent 45 minutes on the phone waiting to book my flight, but I finally can say that I am going to Los Alamos, New Mexico to visit Chris on less than $300. It is impossible to get out of Alaska for that price. I'm totally excited. Now to figure out how to avoid altitude sickness.....

Normally, I don't run with an iPod. I usually have one or more running buddies to talk to instead. On the rare occasion that I am running solo at about mid-day (I don't take music if I run alone after 8pm), my trusty iPod in it's pink crochet sweater, comes along for the ride. Today, I did.

I felt really tech-ed out. Garmin Forerunner watch on right wrist, iPod shuffle in the other hand. I was ready to go. Music usually pushes me to run faster, gives me a little adrenaline boost, really. I was flying. As I cruised down CST Rd, Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer was ringing through my headphones. At the exact moment that "we're halfway there", I glanced down at my watch and 1.50 miles was staring back at me. HALFWAY on my 3 mile run. Exactly halfway. WEIRD. :) 3 miles, sub 9:00/mi. Sunny. No smoke. I was in heaven. :) ...if only for a mere 26 minutes.

Smoke? Fire!

Smoke is in the air. I can smell it. My friend, Oliver, is relatively new to Alaska and wasn't around for the wildfire season of summer '09, has said that everyone keeps telling him they smell smoke, but he can't notice it. But after experiencing that smoke smell in much stronger potency, even trace amounts send my nose into alert mode. I've been smelling smoke all week long, on and off, and usually worst in the mid-afternoon. I'm hoping that we'll have a soaking rain someday--but no such luck. Just dry thunderstorms. Great, more lightning to spark more storms and no rain to snuff them out. One fire has even survived through the winter. How, I have NO idea.

The trail Matt and I were thinking of hiking on Tuesday is closed for the holiday weekend because of wildfires nearby. Since wildfires are important to the ecosystem of Alaska, fires are left to burn out and aren't fought until lives or structures are threatened. IE- Black Spruce cones only open in fire's heat and release seeds into the wind from cones positioned at the top of the tree. Fireweed, a pink wildflower, thrives on the fire-damaged areas and fields of it can be found amidst the burned out tree trunks the summer following the fire. Pretty cool how it is so important, but equally uncool that if the wind is just right, it drops a giant smoke cloud and/or ash over the Fairbanks area. It makes outdoor activities hazardous and unpleasant. Also, driving a car during the smoky/ashen time can suck ash into your car and create all kinds of problems.



What does the smoke smell like? Campfire. At first it reminds me of camping. At first.

Hopefully we get a soaker soon or it will look like this :

Giant smoke cloud seen from UAF West Ridge.


Definitely not fog.

Happy Fire Season ...ugghhhh

Heatwave!!!

It has been 70-80F everyday since I returned from vacation. It's great for my garden plants, which grow soooo fast with all the added daylight and heat. It's not great for doing things at home. We have no AC because it's summer only a couple of months out of the year, but when it gets hot, it's unbearable. It could be worse with higher humidity. Despite all the trees and plants, interior Alaska really is desert dry. How things survive is still a mystery to me, but I think it has something to do with the permafrost. Perhaps it draws moisture from the melting permafrost layer, just below the ground.

I bought a new dresser a few days ago. It is an upright version and much more space efficient than my previous one. I'm still in the process of selling it. Horray for free ads on Craigslist.

Today was my first trail run of the year. I ran the first 6 miles of the Equinox M. trail and then back on the trails to where Matt works. Matt, Oliver, and I ran at a pretty conservative pace. It was good though. We're still recovering from the marathon, it was 75F already, and was Oliver's first run over 4 miles. We all did great, despite hindering factors. I've always hated trail running, but here, it seems like a welcome training option when I practically wear my own foot impression on my other routes. It felt great to run in the woods, in the shade, dodging all the roots in the trail. Up, down, through a black spruce forest, through a wooded neighborhood, through a field. It's definitely more engaged running than on a paved bike path, especially finding secure places to step. I looked back at my posts over the last few months, and running is definitely a recurring topic. I guess the only thing I can say is : I'm hooked. I run a lot. It's a big part of my life, thus, a big part of my blog. :) May backpacking trips take over my blog soon...I'm getting the backpack bug too. Next time Matt has a weekend, we're definitely going.

Really Free?!

There's a new summer tradition that UAF has started : the Really Free Sale. It's like a garage sale, except everything is FREE! They have some really good stuff. Last year, we got a nice electric meat grinder. This year, we got a duffle bag, a backpack, yarn, and a mountain of clothes.

Matt and I have a summertime tradition of our own. When he has Friday or Saturday morning off, we go out on our bikes, into our neighborhood, hitting all the nearby garage sales. Our neighborhood is mostly families, and there always seems to be at least an hour's worth (4 or 5 sales) each day on the weekend. Today, we hit all the garage sales nearby and then went to the Really Free Sale. It's amazing how courteous people are, considering the first person to grab something gets it. Myself and a couple ladies had a really fun time sifting through a giant mountain of clothes (abandoned in the UAF dorms at the end of the year). She invited others to join her in the giant heap, "Just pick a spot and start excavating". I found a 10 year old girl buried in a spot near where I was digging. I don't think she was free. The mountain was on a 15 x 15 ft tarp and piled at least 1 foot deep. I found a bunch of nice American Eagle jeans and a Marmot windproof jacket, among other things.

Tables that were full at the 10am opening time, were all but empty by 10:30am. Only a portion of the mountain of clothes remained, with people still looking through it all. We had quite a load on our bikes on the trip home. LOVE GARAGE SALES. LOVE REALLY FREE SALE EVEN MORE!!!

Two Things

Thing One : I'm feeling sort of a separation anxiety from my marathon training. I feel like I have no focus to my life. This doesn't even include the withdrawl I've been experiencing from lack of endorphins. Must. find. new. training. plan. sooooooon. Actually, tomorrow I'm embarking on a 10K/Half Marathon/Full Marathon 18 week plan. I blended three programs together to create one summer full of craziness. Maybe I'll throw in some backpacking too. :)

Thing Two : I hate that Alaska has the 4 oz. pot rule. You can have and smoke that much in your personal residence. My downstairs neighbors smoked at least that this afternoon, all at once. I had all my windows open, letting in the fresh air from the most gorgeous summer day we've experienced yet this year. I had to close them because of the contact buzz I was getting. A giant smoke cloud filled my apartment as well as those of all the neighbors. I called the cops. Nobody came. Called my landlord, she doesn't know what to do. The landlord of the people downstairs from me doesn't seem to care about anything and ignores the calls of everyone complaining about them. No idea what to do next. If I could find a place as nice as this one, as close to NWS, as cheap, and as willing to take on my kitty, I would be gone in a heartbeat. Ok, so maybe I don't hate the pot law, I just hate my neighbors. OH, Btw, they're playing music REALLY LOUD right now. After all the crap with them today, I feel like I need to punch something. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

My 2nd Marathon

I awoke at 3:45am on Sunday, marathon morning. I couldn't get back to sleep. Excitement and nerves swirled through my head. I tossed and turned until my alarm went off at 5:30am. Matt and Joel got up with me. We watched the weather forecast on tv as we had breakfast. It was predicted to be a beautiful day : 50F at the start, and about 65F by the finish. Partly cloudy. PERFECT. My breakfast was a mix of gatorade, Lucky Charms, yogurt and half a PowerBar. I have this superstitious belief that if I eat Lucky Charms before a big race, it'll go well. This was confirmed when I didn't eat them before my disaster of a first marathon. Matt had a typical runner's breakfast of bagels and gatorade. Joel, the crazy one of the group, had Cheetos and gatorade. I wish my stomach could handle Cheetos.

7am : We pause for the national anthem on our way to our place in the starting line. We didn't quite find the 4:30 pacer, but were somewhere just behind the 4:15 guy. The first mile was congested and we didn't get across the start line until it was 7:03.

Mile 2 : I break a sweat so powerful that I believed I was going to melt. I found myself almost wishing for the 0 degree running days again. Who knew that I'd say that May in Wisconsin is too warm??

Mile 6 : Mom and Dad are waiting for us with the camera. We smile like idiots and keep running. Right on pace for a 4:15 finish. Each of us has a pacing tattoo that shows where you should be for each mile at each time of the race. Matt has the 4:15 tattoo and I've got the 4:30. Felt great and began to believe that a faster finish was possible. Joel and Matt stop for the bathroom, both vowing to catch up to me.

Mile 9 : I thought that Matt would catch me earlier, but the slightly downward sloping miles have sped me up a little bit. He finally catches me and we run together for the rest of the race. Joel never catches up to us. Caught up with our paparazzi again at mile 10.

Mile 11 : The half and full marathons split course. The half goes to Lambeau for the finish, and the full heads to DePere. Immediately the crowd thins out. Later, I find that only 2,000 of the 7,000 racers are full marathoners. No wonder it was so empty. :)

Mile 15 : DePere has a beautiful downtown. It's home to St Norbert College, a very conservative catholic university. I went to an honors band weekend there in high school. I also ran past a coffee shop that I went to once when in school in GB. I tell Matt about those things as we cross the Fox River to the other half of De Pere's downtown. We hop on the Fox River bike path and it's a small but steady uphill climb. About here, I'm feeling the wad of GU gels in my stomach. It sloshes around in the Gatorade. UGH too much sweetness. I vow to drink nothing but water until the finish.

Mile 19 : We spotted Dad in the group of people lining the trail. He ran a few hundred yards with us until we got to the spot where Mom was waiting. It was what I needed to keep going. I remember thinking, "who knew that Dad could run". Other runners near us cheered for Dad running with us. It was great. The next few miles were marked by someone's chalk messages : " keep going" ..."and going" ...."and going"---this lasted 3 miles and there were hundreds of the "and going" marks. Someone was quite busy the day before. haha. It made me laugh. Some other runners commented on the inspirational signs saying," ha! you want us to run faster!? can tell you're not out running with us!" Mile 20 had an inflatable wall to signify what some runners call "the wall". Since most training plans don't surpass 20 mile long runs, some runners say that anything past that distance is like hitting a wall. I thought it was a little mocking. "here's the 20 mile mark, ya know, just in case you can't feel it yet." There were tons of extra people cheering at this spot though...so I'll forgive them.

Mile 22 : The drawbridge across the Fox River, back to the side with the start/finish was the biggest hill on the course. Someone was on the bridge with a microphone yelling, "Keep going! You're almost there!!" Just what I needed.

Mile 24 : I asked Matt to tell me a story. Sometimes, to pass time on our backpacking trips, we tell each other stories. The ones he tells me are about Princess Karen and Puffball, her kitty. Our last marathon, I had him tell me one when I needed a distraction.... I did the same here too. The story didn't help at all this time. My legs hardly bent at all and my stride had shortened to a shuffle. Tight, fatigued muscles slowed down me significantly. It was the longest mile of the entire race. It was hot, it was sweaty, and the angry GU in my stomach hadn't gone away yet.

Mile 25.5 : The course went right next to our hotel's parking lot. Such a tease. Just then we hit a Margaritaville themed water station. A lady in a grass skirt and coconut bra said that I could have a margarita, but instead, it was just water. How disappointing. We headed directly to Lambeau Field. Just before we got to the stadium, we spotted Joel with a finisher's medal and finisher shirt. I couldn't figure out how he had passed us without us knowing and was completely finished. hmm. We entered Lambeau Field through the players' tunnel. As we ran out of the tunnel, my eyes began to tear up. Lambeau Field! and less than half a mile to go. I fought back tears of relief, accomplishment, and Packer pride as I took my Lambeau Leap. (I wasn't the only leaper either!) My fastest mile of the marathon was that final one, almost 2 minutes per mile faster than the previous five miles. It was like someone had carried me. Or maybe I was just ready to be finished. Either way, we zoomed out of the stadium and immediately hit the finish line. I was met by an older volunteer whom put the finisher's medal around my neck and gave me a big hug. She said, "I'm so very proud of you, you should be too. What you just did was AMAZING. Congratulations!" I got a finisher shirt, in my size, which totally made my day. Since I'm a slower runner, my size usually runs out before I can get there to claim one. Matt and I finished at the same time, a respectable 4:34.42. That was nearly 25 minutes, 1 min/mi faster than my previous marathon. ((We're already building a training plan for our next marathon, either in Aug or Sept.))

After the finish, we found that Joel had switched to the half after puking up his Cheetos at mile 6. He's getting too old to eat crap like that before a race, I guess. *shrug* He was pretty disappointed to have to switch, after 4 months of training. He's looking for another marathon in June to rest up and try again. I suggested the one in Florence. Mom, Dad, and Emily gave us sweaty, salty runners a big congratulatory hug. I was so happy to share this day with my family.

My family went back to IM later that afternoon. JoAnne and her boyfriend, Josh came up for dinner and disc golf. Since I hadn't seen her since my wedding, it was the first time meeting her boy. They seem to be really good together. Unlike some of her previous boyfriends, I thought that he seemed like a nice guy. We played some disc golf, while I hobbled from hole to hole on sore marathon legs. It was great to see Jo again, finally!! We hit the hot tub and pool for a soak and stretch.

Monday, Joel went home and we went to the airport to rent a car. The guy at the desk saw we had reserved an economy size car and asked, "do you want to drive something more fun?". I asked what he had in mind and he offered us a Camaro. We went out to the lot and discovered our shiny new orange Camaro. Oh boy was that fun to drive. It went from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds. Soooo cool. Total cop magnet, so we didn't go much over 70mph, but it drove just like a race car. I hardly noticed the speed because it accelerated so quickly. We took it out to the farm to see Grandma. I had a nice visit with her and Aunt Carol. Grandma is starting to get a little forgetful, but she still has a lot of spunk. Matt got bored and went out to keep Uncle and Paul, my mom's cousin, company. Matt seemed to really get along with Paul really well. They had never met, and Matt spent most of our ride back to GB that night talking about how interesting he thought Paul was.

We had an ice cream date with Brianne, another high school friend that night. The great thing about Bree is that even if we're apart for a long time (hadn't seen her since the wedding either), it's like we've just seen her the day before. She's got such a warm personality that it feels like no time has passed. No awkwardness at all. She soaked in the hot tub with us and then went home.

Our flight back to Alaska was wonderful. No turbulence at all. The flight from Detroit to Seattle was equipped with free satellite TV and I played trivia games against other passengers while Matt watched the basketball playoffs. Time passed quickly. Our flight from Seattle to Fairbanks was nice because nobody was sitting the seat between Matt and I. Perfect for me to lay in his lap and catch some ZZZZ's. I also had taken a Benadryl, so bumps wouldn't have awoken me at all. I was very groggy when we landed though. Zombie like, in fact. But it did help me crash IMMEDIATELY after arriving home to my bed. I pet the kitty and went to sleep at 1:30am.

FANTASTIC VACATION!! :)

Da U.P.

The week with my family seemed to go by very fast, as it usually does. We arrived in IM on Saturday and spent all day Sunday (Mothers' Day) removing the walls and tub from the bathroom. It was a big disgusting project, but was kind of fun ripping things off the walls. We also went for a run around big Fumee. It seemed a lot easier going than it had when I ran it last. Horray for being in better shape!

Monday, Emily and I went to GB for her doctor appointment. I was kind of worried how it would go because she is a shopaholic to obsessive degrees (not an exaggeration). I wasn't sure if I'd get into a fight with her because I wanted to leave town before 4pm rush hour. Everything went pretty well though...no problems. She can really shop! I'm not used to shopping all day long because, let's face it, Fairbanks doesn't have enough places to go to make it an all day excursion. I was completely wiped out at the end of the day. Marathon shopping is harder for me than marathon running. WHEW.

Tuesday, Ryan came down from Marquette. The day was kind of chaotic with the bathroom being ripped out and family pictures that night, but we still managed to gorge ourselves at Peking, so mission accomplished. It was a good visit.

Wednesday, Matt, Chris, and I went to Channing to see Brian. We met his girlfriend, Erin, and met the famous Holmes. He was always the main character in Brian and Jake's outrageous stories. It was weird being sober for the night, but we still had a good time around the fire, on the pontoon, and in the sauna. The lake was a little chilly, but felt just right after a hot sauna.

Thursday was Matt's 29th birthday. I baked him a cake, we went for a run, had lunch with Mom at school, and played disc golf in Florence.

I hit garage sales with mom and Em on Friday and also helped finish up the bathroom. Saturday was kind of a blur. We dropped Chris off at the airport. He's got a summer job at the same place as last year in Los Alamos, NM. Last year he was one of the flunkies, this year he has some of his own. We met with Joel right after the airport. Mom, Dad, and Em hung out in our hotel room for the afternoon. We just chatted. I got the best visiting time of the entire trip this day. It's hard to get everyone to sit down and visit sometimes, their lives are too busy.

Packet pickup and the marathon expo. Church. Pasta for dinner. Shopping for marathon breakfast. Hot tub. Lots of snoozing. . .

Camden

Early early early on May 1, we arrived at the Detroit airport. I didn't sleep at all. We flew over very active thunderstorms and the turbulence felt like someone was shaking me awake the entire time. We touched down just before a wild lightning storm hit. It was so cool! Fairbanks rarely experiences thunderstorms at all, let alone something this strong. I spent the morning with Sam and Grace. I also got to meet Sam's boyfriend, Josh. He seemed to be a really nice guy, they were cute together. All of us were tired so we hung out at Sam/Grace's and then went out for ice cream. It was great to catch up with them.

We went to the farm after Craig's graduation. I slept the entire way. I slept 10 hours a night for the next few nights and took 2 hr long afternoon naps each day--then I was finally rested. Springtime on the farm means lots of baby animals. I helped Matt's mom bottle feed the baby goats and new lambs. I didn't get to witness a lamb being born, but was there shortly after (10 min) an ewe had twins. Very cool.
Matt also showed me something cool with the chickens.
Step 1 : toss large pancake into chicken pen.
Step 2 : watch one chicken grab it in her beak and run away from the others, with giant pancake waving behind her.
Step 3 : Most of giant pancake breaks off without her noticing. Someone else grabs it.
Step 4 : repeat step 2. Different chicken steals pancake.

It's like watching a crazy soccer game, but it's with pancakes and chickens. Totally made my day.

We made a trip to Lansing in the middle of the week. We had dinner with Eleanor and Mike at Old Chicago. It was fun to hear about their upcoming move to Denver, for Eleanor's residency. Then we went to Nick and Michelle's and got a tour of their house. Joel lives only a few miles away and was there visiting too. We also got to meet Nick and Michelle's very needy labradoodle, Ernie. It reminded me of the dog in Shaggy Dog. ((Coincidentally, we'd watch The Shaggy Dog the morning of our marathon on TV while eating breakfast)) We went to the start of Joel's softball game. It started an hour late, so we had to leave to drive home after just one inning. Good visit with N and M, too. It made me miss the wonderful friends I had in college and high school.

Magnificent sunsets. Baby animals. Crazy thunderstorms. Not a bad week.

Flying and the Week Ahead....

I leave for the Lower 48 this afternoon. Usually, I'm so filled with excitement, I can hardly sit still. Today, parallel to our rainy (first rain since August) weather, I'm a little on the gloomy side.

I think it has the most to do with this being an over-night trip. I don't know why I keep letting Matt talk me into them. In addition to being jet lagged from a 4 hour time change, I get a night of restless sleep. 4 hr flight to Seattle. and another 5 to Detroit. When we get there, I'm not able to get a nap---it's 6am there and the day is just starting. Saturday is planned to be full of Craig's graduation stuff....so no snooze at all. I hope I'm imagining it worse than it will really be. At least we're flying down with AK Air...their seats are a little roomier and more condusive to sleep.

Also, I don't like to leave my kitty. She's my baby and it feels like I'm leaving my family behind. I've toyed with taking longer trips to see family (month-long ones), but always shorten them when I think of my Zoey, home all alone.

NOW FOR THE POSITIVE SIDE OF THE DAY:

I'm getting really good at packing light. Growing up as a chronic over-packer, it is a hard habit to break. I lightened it up as much as I possibly could for our trip to France, and found that I actually like packing light...even though I have to try really hard to do it. I went a little overboard for our trip to Vegas, taking only a hiking day pack, just a smidge larger than the average school backpack. I ended up feeling like I was wearing the same clothes every single day. This time, I'm armed with a carry-on suitcase and a backpack. We'll see if I feel like I forgot something essential.

This time tomorrow, I will be with my buddy Sam. He and I were high school/college summer buddies. We met at band camp when I was in 9th grade.. and played in the DCAB together every summer through high school and college. We bonded over our deep love of music, which is sometimes hard to find in a small town. I'm very looking forward to seeing him. :)

We'll be one step closer to the marathon. One of the biggest problems runners face with the taper is going crazy. For 15 weeks, it's all about building more mileage, strength, endurance. The last three weeks are called "the taper", and decrease by 50% each week, designed to rest the body before race day. Suddenly, I'm not running as much and am sitting here thinking to myself, "shouldn't I be doing something? running more?" Before my first marathon last year, we went on a backpacking trip, 7 days before the race. Bad idea. Not keeping with the resting mentality. I'm kinda glad that family visits will keep me distracted during this resting period.

Matt likes to do projects when we go visit family. He likes to play farmer when he goes to visit his parents : work in the field, feed the animals, etc. That's fine, except it usually leaves me alone in the house with his mom. She's really protective of Matt and sometimes takes little teasing comments the wrong way....kind of creating a rift between her and I. *sigh* so this time I'm bringing my crochet project, a yellow blanket for Andrea and Jason's soon-to-arrive baby boy. I'll get to play with the baby goats though, so very looking forward to that. I want a baby goat.
He's redoing my parents' bathroom with Chris when we are in IM. Emily has a photography project she's working on, so that will keep her and I busy. :)

WOW. Too much coffee = long post. :) Time to finish packing and cleaning...

20 Miler #2

Sunday morning, armed with caffeine buzz and sheer determination, Matt and I set out on our second of two twenty mile runs, to finish off the build-up part of our training plan. I was still suffering a lot with coughing fits and not enough sleep because of them.

The first three miles are a gradual uphill along the highway to Anchorage. As we passed the sign that said Nenana is 50 miles away, Matt mentioned that we would be running the equivalent to halfway there. Man, that seems like a lot. Five miles out, we turned off the busy highway to a country road, and encountered an one mile uphill. At this point, I was ready to collapse on the side of the road. Several coughing fits while running had caused several side stitches. And we were only 1/4 the way there.

Miles 5-10 were the most technical, with two more 1/2-1 mile long hills. One of these hills is really steep and I have never gotten all the way up without stopping to walk. Perfect time for a gel boost.

Miles 10-15 brought us to the campus of UAF. Earlier this season, it was always a comfort to finally get to the university campus. This meant that we could run without staring at the ground. UAF knows how to clean their sidewalks. Thank you. :) As we took in the second gel, we looked at the Alaska range, glimmering in the sunshine from nearly 80 miles away. We stopped for a water walk at the reindeer farm. Several new babies scurried around. They seemed to have two speeds : run like crazy with spindly legs flailing under them, and stop. So adorable. I could've sat there all day watching them play.

Miles 15-20 were finally flat. It's an out and back that starts really close to our apartment. When I first planned this route, I thought it would be torture to come that close to home yet still not be finished with the run. It has proved to be the easiest part of the course. I've run that part many many times and my body almost went into auto-pilot for those last few miles. Mentally, it was easy to handle because I told myself, "It's flat, and you've run this route before--it's not THAT far." These last five miles were the worst for my coughing fits. After examining the pace chart that my Garmin watch makes, I noticed that there were a lot more slow spots because I had to stop to cough, and then begin running again. I arrived home thoroughly exhausted. I could have run another few miles, but only if someone was chasing me. Although I was pretty sick, we managed to finish two minutes slower than the previous 20 miler (which I felt fantastic for!)...and about only 5 seconds/mile slower. If I had been well, there would have been a deficit. 20 miles in 3:27. Definitely puts my goal time within reach.



With this run behind me, I can rest up (and get rid of this pesky cold) and enjoy the taper down to race day. Green Bay. 26.2 miles. Here we come!

Summer Nights

I love summertime in Alaska. I wait nearly nine months for it to arrive, and when it finally does, it's the most amazing thing in the world. Everyone comes out of hibernation. People and animals are everywhere. Bikers, walkers, people gardening. Animals reappear too. The birds sing, squirrels scurry across the ground and through the trees. The extended daylight hours provide lots of extra time to enjoy the summer. Right now, daylight emerges at 3am and it finally becomes dark about midnight. In about two weeks, darkness will be gone completely...only to return mid-July.

As wonderful as summer is, there is one thing I really miss during the Alaskan summer that I enjoyed in Michigan and Oklahoma : the stars. I had a spot in my hometown that was enough out of town to be dark, but close enough to see the lights of the city. Here, there is a 2 week window that allows for comfortable viewing, with a dark sky and high enough temperature. Matt and I leave for his parents' next Friday, April 30, so tonight and tomorrow night (when he doesn't work at 6am the next morning) are our chance to view the stars. We will still have to dress warmer, pants and a jacket, but it will work...if the sky is clear. Maybe that clear sky will produce some aurora too. *siiigh* I'm so glad winter is over.

Camping Disaster

The camping trip started out great. Temps were in the 40s and 50s during the day, and didn't get too cold at night. Clear-ish skies during the day, a little cloudy at night. Sounds perfect, right? Early Saturday morning, I awoke with the worst sore throat I've had since I was a kid. It was hard to swallow, talk, even breathe. After a wonderful breakfast quesadilla of cheese and onion, I started to feel feverish. We loaded up the car with our snowshoes and headed into the park. Our first stop was the winter visitor's center. There we discovered, in addition to the use of a plumbed bathroom, it was free admission to all national parks for the week. What luck! After a quick sponge-bath shower with baby wipes and a sink hair washing, we were set to go. ((I'm 100% religious about washing my hair each day and have done so at temps below -10F where I had to wash with extra hot water and rinse through the ice chunks))

We searched for a good place to start our snowshoe. We originally had planned on the Savage River to see some Dall sheep, but the path was icy and the wind was blowing. A chinook (very windy weather pattern that brings warmer air for a few days) was coming through the area and the 50mph wind was too much to handle. We backtracked a little bit and found a storm/melt-off river to hike up. At this point, I wanted to just go to sleep in the car and skip the trip. I downed some Dayquil and was on my way. I kept having to add and remove clothing layers the entire hike. I think this is when my fever started to kick in, because suddenly I was sweating in places that I only sweat when I'm sick (i.e.- stomach). We turned around after three miles of walking uphill through various depths of snow. The view was spectacular. The mountains that were shrouded in fog when we started out were suddenly revealed. This was our earliest trip (only one in April) and the park looks so different under a blanket of white. After taking in the view and enjoying the sunshine on our faces, we headed back to the car. It took us about 1/3 the time getting back as it did on the way out. All four of us following in a line had packed down a pretty wonderful trail in the snow. That was good though. When we got to the car, I was beat and nearly fell asleep with my snowshoes still strapped on. Once in the car, I re-drugged myself, blew my nose until I was out of breath, and almost fell asleep on the way out.

One final stop on the way back to the campground was to visit the park rangers' sled dogs. Since the park is motor-free in the winter, rangers travel between the different stations throughout the 90-mile park road area by dog team. This has been the tradition since the park opened as Mt McKinley National Park nearly 100 years ago. The dogs were well-behaved and we got to pet and play with them. We left at 5pm, when feeding time occurred. The dogs knew what was going on too. As the ranger disappeared into a small shed, the dogs grew quiet and hopped onto their individual dog houses. Not a peep came out of them and they all looked toward the shed. The ranger emerged with a bowl of water and food for one dog at a time, but once the first was fed, the barking erupted and was nearly deafening.

We returned to our campsite at 7pm, with plenty of daylight to build a fire and make dinner. I was thoroughly spent by now, and even with a cold med arsenal in my stomach, I still was ready to collapse. Brittany started to feel really awful too, with a terrible sore throat. After some debate, and neither of us wanting to be the one to end the trip for all of us, we finally decided that it was probably best to go home after dinner and a fire than to sleep restlessly on the ground for maybe another two hour hike the next morning. Brittany and I sat in a drowsy daze in the back seat of the car while Matt and Oliver chatted happily about weather related things. Oliver is a meteorology grad student in the building Matt works in, so they had lots to talk about.

When we were approaching Ester, we could see the lights of Fairbanks in the distance. It was then that I realized, we have never driven back to town in the dark. Our trips were always during the midnight sun or early enough in the day that it wasn't dark yet. At about midnight, we were finally home. We abandoned all of our camping gear in the living room, pausing only to remove smoky clothing layers. I took a bubble bath. The steam of the bath helped, but I still felt terrible. Matt and I slept for 10 hours until noon on Sunday. Definitely made the right decision about coming home early. We are both fighting off our cold today, Brittany uses me as a forecast of what is coming up in her cold's progression. We didn't give it to her, but she seems to have the same illness, with a 24 hour delay. Oliver escaped unharmed. Lucky bugger. We all vowed to go on another trip soon, one that promises to be more successful than this one.

Run & Denali

Matt came down with the plague last night. Not sure what it is, but it's like a cold mixed with allergies. Or maybe it is just a cold and onset of his seasonal allergies. Either way, he's miserable. And we had a long run to do today. We managed 14 miles with the help of DayQuil and coffee. Now he feels like death. :( We're supposed to leave for Denali Park this weekend. Hopefully it still works out. Only weekend until our trip--only spring time (no mosquitos!) trip.

We did manage to run a few errands today. Most notably, our poor car got a wash. First one since the Haul Rd trip in August. They don't put salt on the roads here, so it's easier to go all winter without a wash and still retain all the paint on your car. :) Anyways, we have this ritual of going to the automatic car wash and once the soap comes down in a curtain over the car, we make out. Nobody really knows about this, and I doubt we're ever seen. But it's a fun little thing we do.

Happiness

It's amazing what I can get done on non-running days. My to-do list is nearly complete. It is much easier to get a lot of stuff done while Matt is gone too.

In our three years of marriage, I have finally figured out how to balance all my work with him. At first, we split the chores 50/50. Since my (paying) job was more sporadic, it seemed that I always ended up doing his things anyways. Now we have a plan that works a lot better, and makes both of us happier. He does dishes. PERIOD. From time to time, I do dishes for him if he's had a particularly busy week, and he helps me clean the bathroom or do laundry sometimes. I still remind him to clean up crumbs he leaves all over the kitchen and to put things away after they've sat out for a week (and he does so for me too). I like that we've finally gotten things to the way they work for us. On days he works, I catch up on things around here.

I guess that makes me a housewife. That's alright. It used to bother me that I didn't have anything to say when new people ask what I do. The biggest problem was that it seemed everyone my age was working and I didn't. It's mostly because they had to work, not that they had a choice. Since Matt and I lead a relatively simple life as far as spending goes, working is an option. Sometimes it feels like being a "trophy wife", a term I prefer to housewife, isn't enough. Those thoughts usually coincide with thinking of starting a family, but I don't want to do that because I'm bored. Not a good enough reason.

What do I do everyday? In a word : hobbies. I read, play piano and sax, craft, garden, and keep the house squeaky clean. It's awesome :) Maybe someday I'll learn to squeeze a profit out of that, but for now, it's all good. My life makes me happy.