To the Mountaintop. . . Almost
Turns out I did get a run in yesterday. I met up with the Tuesday 6:30 Art Museum crowd yesterday evening and got John W. and Stevus to take it a bit farther than the John Kelly Statue that is the turnaround for most folks. They're good guys to run with, easy conversation and 7:20ish pace, and they kept me company up Kelly Drive, over the BN and then through Fairmount Park until we parted ways at Belmont Plateau. Total run for me was 14 miles in 1:42:06.
I'm not an afternoon runner for various reasons, but perhaps the hardest thing about an occsasional afternoon run is that I have to turn around and run again the next morning. I made sure to get a good night sleep, but my legs were still not rested from last evening's run. Deirdre was the only one that showed and we ran the usual Acme loop. Neither Deirdre nor I were particularly up for running this morning. I said that thanks to her I ran about 5 minutes faster than I otherwise would have, she said that thanks to me she ran about 5 minutes slower than she otherwise would have.
I noticed this morning how running affects my conversation. I'm generally don't talk that much because I don't feel I have that much interesting to say. With running not only is there a captive audience but you also have ample opportunity to pad conversation and pass time. I took advantage of that this morning and yapped away, including much about last weekend's trip.
The highlight of the weekend was the run/hike. I outlined the details in yesterday's post on my trek to Snowmass Lake. I did it as a bit of trailrunning, as then I didn't have to get a separate run in and I could go farther than I otherwise could hiking. I felt like a complete novice, however, as I didn't know what to expect and had many anxieties - altitude sickness, sunburn, dehydration, sudden showers and temperature drops - to name a few. So i took a day pack and overpacked it and still left feeling unprepared. I have very little experience with trail running and realized how different it was from regular running, the running cadence is much different and must adapt to the surroundings, and you have to be alot more focused on the environment to avoid falling and getting hurt. The trail to Snowmass Lake was alternately described as 8 or 10 miles and, not surprisingly was steady uphill. I kept a mellow pace interrupted by frequent little walking intervals when the path got particularly rocky or filled with other obstacles. I also walked some when the scenery was particularly spectacular - in trailrunning you're more aware of your immediate surroundings but you also lose much of the bigger picture because your eyes are peeled on the ground. At about 50 minutes into the trail leaves the side of a stream that its been following and I hit the first snowbank that I have to climb over, and then the trail starts swiching back and gets rocky. After that comes an evergreen forest where the snow starts getting heavier and I gingerly try to walk on top of it. This works most of the time but once every seven steps or so I sink into snow up to my knees. I keep thinking the snow will clear up around the bend but after about 1:15 into the run, I'd guess between five or six miles into it, I realize that the snow is with me and its pointless to continue. So I turn around and head back. Curiously the way back was not much quicker than the way up, as going downhill on a trail demands more caution than going up. I also stop more and am amazed at the scenery. In addition to the evergreen forests and going through the trees creekside, the terrain also goes through meadows and rock fields in places, and offers in-your-face views of immense nearby snowcapped peaks. I'm also amazed at the bright colors in the landscapes, especially the countless different shades of green.
Ever conservative, I called the whole trip 10 miles of gallowalking at about 2.5 hours. Afterwards I thought of Kerouac's Dharma Bums:
...mountain is a Buddha. Think of the patience, hundreds of thousands of years just sittin there being perfectly perfectly silent and like praying for all living creatures in that silence and just waiting for us to stop all our frettin and foolin. And, at least while you are there, there is no frettin and foolin or you are silenced by your awe of the mountain.
Good to put a bookmark here for today.
I'm not an afternoon runner for various reasons, but perhaps the hardest thing about an occsasional afternoon run is that I have to turn around and run again the next morning. I made sure to get a good night sleep, but my legs were still not rested from last evening's run. Deirdre was the only one that showed and we ran the usual Acme loop. Neither Deirdre nor I were particularly up for running this morning. I said that thanks to her I ran about 5 minutes faster than I otherwise would have, she said that thanks to me she ran about 5 minutes slower than she otherwise would have.
I noticed this morning how running affects my conversation. I'm generally don't talk that much because I don't feel I have that much interesting to say. With running not only is there a captive audience but you also have ample opportunity to pad conversation and pass time. I took advantage of that this morning and yapped away, including much about last weekend's trip.
The highlight of the weekend was the run/hike. I outlined the details in yesterday's post on my trek to Snowmass Lake. I did it as a bit of trailrunning, as then I didn't have to get a separate run in and I could go farther than I otherwise could hiking. I felt like a complete novice, however, as I didn't know what to expect and had many anxieties - altitude sickness, sunburn, dehydration, sudden showers and temperature drops - to name a few. So i took a day pack and overpacked it and still left feeling unprepared. I have very little experience with trail running and realized how different it was from regular running, the running cadence is much different and must adapt to the surroundings, and you have to be alot more focused on the environment to avoid falling and getting hurt. The trail to Snowmass Lake was alternately described as 8 or 10 miles and, not surprisingly was steady uphill. I kept a mellow pace interrupted by frequent little walking intervals when the path got particularly rocky or filled with other obstacles. I also walked some when the scenery was particularly spectacular - in trailrunning you're more aware of your immediate surroundings but you also lose much of the bigger picture because your eyes are peeled on the ground. At about 50 minutes into the trail leaves the side of a stream that its been following and I hit the first snowbank that I have to climb over, and then the trail starts swiching back and gets rocky. After that comes an evergreen forest where the snow starts getting heavier and I gingerly try to walk on top of it. This works most of the time but once every seven steps or so I sink into snow up to my knees. I keep thinking the snow will clear up around the bend but after about 1:15 into the run, I'd guess between five or six miles into it, I realize that the snow is with me and its pointless to continue. So I turn around and head back. Curiously the way back was not much quicker than the way up, as going downhill on a trail demands more caution than going up. I also stop more and am amazed at the scenery. In addition to the evergreen forests and going through the trees creekside, the terrain also goes through meadows and rock fields in places, and offers in-your-face views of immense nearby snowcapped peaks. I'm also amazed at the bright colors in the landscapes, especially the countless different shades of green.
Ever conservative, I called the whole trip 10 miles of gallowalking at about 2.5 hours. Afterwards I thought of Kerouac's Dharma Bums:
...mountain is a Buddha. Think of the patience, hundreds of thousands of years just sittin there being perfectly perfectly silent and like praying for all living creatures in that silence and just waiting for us to stop all our frettin and foolin. And, at least while you are there, there is no frettin and foolin or you are silenced by your awe of the mountain.
Good to put a bookmark here for today.
posted by seebo | 8:56 AM
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