“Vacation” at Ace Adventure Resort in West Virginia August 9, 2008

This is Rams Head Cliff as seen from the mountain bike trail across the gorge.

My husband thought it would be fun to do an outdoor vacation this year. We packed up the car and drove about 6 leisurely miles south to Oak Hill, West Virginia for a fun-filled week of whitewater rafting on the Gauley and New Rivers, mountain biking, rockclimbing and rapelling, and horse back riding. Sounds like a blast, eh?

Well, for me, who has done none of these things before, it was one stomach in my throat activity after another. I was sacred to the point of tears every single day. I have to admit, the first day of rafting down the Lower New was exhilarating after the initial fear was over. I even jumped off the 25′ “Jumping Rock.” It was so scary, but I was wearing a PFD and after watching 20 other people do it, I had to. I jumped and plunged into the warm 75 degree water. It was thrilling to challenge my fear of heights. At the end of the day I thought this rafting business is not so bad.

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_2378#rapid141

The second day was a different story. We went on the Upper Gauley in single man “duckies.” Duckies are like inflatable kayaks or rafts. I was terrified. The Upper Gauley was supposed to be the most difficult whitewater in the area. After just one day on the gentle Lower New River in a big 14′ boat with a guide on board I was not ready for such a difficult challenge. When we got in our duckies I thought, what the hell was I thinking. The water was 60 degrees, freezing compared to the New River. We rolled out of our duckies into the cold river to practice getting back in because “if you can’t do it in calm water how will you do it in the rapids.” (There was a comforting thought.) The guides were supportive, funny and helpful. Nonetheless, I “swam” (the rafting word for falling out of your raft) many times and I every time I got more and more scared. I would have been so happy just to leave my boat ashore and hike my way out. Unfortunately, once you start there is no turning back. When I fell into the Class V Iron Ring rapid, it felt like I was under for about 3 minutes, but the guides assure me it was only for a few seconds. I remember finally coming out of the water and one guy with bulging muscles was just hanging onto my PFD and I was so grateful that he had me. I grabbed his rope and then he said let go and grab the other guides rope and he will push me in the Flume (that was a chute of water, like a water slide made of rocks and emptying into churning whitewater, that take you away from the dangerous part of the rapid-we all jumped into that for practice as well). I didn’t want to let go of anything! But I did because they were yelling at me, and grabbed the other rope. The guide pulled me to the flume and away I went through the chute and saw my husband once i came up from under that water. He had my duckie and paddle which already floated down the rapid. From then on I was terrified and just got progressively worse. Fear is not something that helps you paddle through whitewater. Finally, the last rapid was more my speed – I forget what it was called, but it was actually fun, so I am sure it was a Class 1 or something. When we reached terra firma, I was relieved, especially since on the bus ride back, the guides told us someone actually died in the Iron Ring rapid the previous year.

The next day, we did Mountain Biking. I mistakenly thought it would be along a gravel path, with a few rolling hills. Oops, I forgot that my husband planned this vacation. We went up big hills, down steep hills filled with rocks and roots. We pedaled through mud and along paths that were about 3 feet wide with a huge gorge on one side. To make matters worse there was a huge thunderstorm that just stopped right before the ride. This was not the leisurely ride through abandoned towns that my husband promised me. Nonetheless, I biked that 19 miles through rocky terrain and although I was basically biking alone because my husband and the guide were so far ahead of me, after each mile, I gained more confidence in myself and my bike with its big fat tires.

The next day in hell consisted of rappelling off a 180 foot cliff called Ram’s Head. I remember looking up at it from the New River while rafting and also across at it when we were mountain biking. Rappelling off the cliff was so terrifying that I was in tears. Our guide, Josh, was so patient and encouraging and helped me go over the edge inch by inch. I am so scared of heights, that even going over a high bridge gives me the heebie jeebies in my legs. I can’t believe that I hung over the edge and went down, not once but I had to do it twice so I could get a picture of myself going down. After we went mountain climbing and my husband was a downright spider man scrambling up the cliffs. I was a slug and only made it part way, but I was Ok with that.

The last day was supposed to be relaxing. A nice horse back ride. I have never been on a horse and I had to stand on a picnic table to get on it becuase George was so big. We went over the rolling mountainous terrain and I marveled at how close the horses got to the edge of the gorge and yet they didn’t slip off the trail (Thank GOD!). They navigated over rock flides and huge logs over the road. By the middle of the 13 mile ride, I was more relaxed and actually enjoyed myself. The horses just walked, so my husband was not thrilled with the ride, but this day was about me!

This blog though was about running not my terrifying vacation. The two are analogous though. I did tings this week, which totally stretched me beyond my limits and yet I did them with a lot of people’s support and patience. All the guides at Ace were wonderful! I know i can run this marathin with the support of my friends and family who want to see me succeed at something else that seems impossible right now.

Running at Ace was awful. I ran 2 3 mile runs and one 5 mile run during this week. I was grateful for my Garmin 405, which told me that the first hill I had to climb was 0.6 miles long and when I inputted the data the elevation I ran ( if you want to call it that) was about 200 plus feet. By the time I reached the top I was exhausted. I ran it 3 times and each time my time was slower! Only the top was flat and during my five mile run (which I ran after the 19 mile mountain bike ride) I took advantage of it and zigzagged around campsites so I can get rid of 1.5 miles on flat terrain. After the mountain camp sites, I ran past the stables, and around the property going up and down and up and down and up and down (there is no flat in West Virginia). I loved looking at my Garmin to see how many miles I had left; I did not like seeing how slow I was going. My pace ranged from 9:30 to 18 minute miles. No Kidding! After each run I was exhausted, and although my average pace was about 11 minutes, I finished. And this week, just finishing was good enough for me.

8 miles with the Garmin Forerunner 405 – Silvia August 2, 2008

When I got home from Columbus I was greeted with a present from my loving husband.  It was a Garmin Forerunner 405.  What is that, you ask?  Well, its a GPS-enabled sports watch with wireless sync.  At first, I thought it would show me little maps where I could run and avoid nasty stuff like hills, but it’s not like that.  You can go for a run and then it can take you back home using a compass like feature.  I didn’t use that feature.  I don’t even know how to use that feature yet.  I just used the Training mode to show how far I ran and what pace.  It was like running with my treadmill!  I could see how far I still have to go and the time.

This run I took Barclay, my border collie.  I am happy to report that when I untangled him from the leash at around mile 5, he did’t stand there to wait, he actually lied down!  I was gleefully delighted.  Tired, are we, little doggie?  At mile 6.77 I was dying.  I wanted it to be over already.  I looked at my pace and it said 14:48 minute miles. No kidding!  I was practically walking!  What is more shocking I felt I was running!  At mile 7.9 0 sprinted the last bit and I only reached a 9:34 min/mile pace.  I did the 8 miles in 1 hour and 24 minutes, which is about a 11/mile pace.  I am not upset.  That’s why I am training for this marathon.  I realize that it is hard work and it may not look pretty but I can do it!

Right now I am going to download the software for the Garmin.  A new tech toy!  I’m in heaven!

6 miles – Silvia July 21, 2008

This morning I woke up not wanting to do anything except drink coffee and look at our garden which is overflowing with blossoms. It looks like an artist took his paint colors and strewed them over our backyard. Alas, Yoga starts at 8:15 and I need the stretching. It felt good to stretch, difficult but good. It’s like my body was saying thank you, thank you. I remember when I was in middle school, I could have done all the poses easily, but now, I feel like an 80 year old woman trying to contort her body into simple poses like downward and upward dog. My favorite part is the end, the last five minutes are spent in the Savasana pose, which is a fancy yoga word for lying down on your back with your eyes closed just breathing. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Bliss.

After that I did my “Power Flex” workout, which is 45 minutes of strength training using barbells and weights. I read that strength training is important for runners. I have been doing it since April, and I like it. Probably because there’s loud music and an instructor telling me what to do. I love not being alone with my thoughts. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it. I don’t like relying on me. I am too weak.

After that I was done. I was at the gym two hours already and wanted just to go shopping for my mom (I am going to Canada to visit and there’s stuff here she can’t buy as cheaply over there. For example,  there’s a tube of toothpaste at Trader Joe’s for 1.99 here and in Canada, it’s close to 6.00. No kidding. Keep in mind the dollar is basically at par. So there is no reason for the prices to be so much higher, but they are. I digress.)  So, I figure I would go shopping, go home and grout. (The stupid stairs are still not done! I figured out the secret to tiling stairs; pay someone to do it!) Then later this evening I would go back and run my six miles. I leave the gym, go shopping and was about to go on the highway headed for home, when I thought, who am I kidding. I won’t  go back to the gym. I will get sidetracked for sure, and progressively more lazy as the day wears on. So, like a good girl, I went back to the gym, hopped on the treadmill and began slogging the long, slow, six miles. I actually did 6.2, so it’s like a 10K.

Unlike, Meghan, I did not feel I could do more. I think that her body is just more conditioned. She has a great base with being a regular 5 mile runner. I am still in the process of building up my base. There is a reason that ‘they’ say that you should have been running for 8-10 weeks before you start training. I feel that I am not conditioned enough to make the training easy.

Today’s problem was sweat. Yes, I was in AC but I was soaked. I sweat a lot. I don’t perspire, or have a healthy glow. I sweat like a monsoon after the dry season in the Serengeti. That’s just me. I always have, even as a kid. I start sweating on my nose and then every other place that there is a pore in my body. I think that’s why I can’t keep those ear phones in my ear, the sweat slides them out. I sweat so much that when I run the marathon in Arizona I bet the desert will turn into a tropical rain forest. Anyway, what happened was that I began to sweat in my feet. I felt them get hot and sweaty. Then my toes began to rub together. You know what that causes. Blisters. Ouch. My feet burned. I just kept thinking, run through the pain, run through the pain. If I can’t run 6, how will I run 26.2? (Don’t forget the 0.2, that 0.2 will be so annoying by the end of the race, I just know it!)

Then my shirt got soaked. I mean soaked. So, you guessed it more rubbing. This time it was the bottom of my  bra strap and my skin. I felt it rubbing back and forth. I even tucked in my T-shirt into the strap   ( I didn’t care what I looked like, one look at my tomato red face tells anyone that I am not here to win any beauty contests) to provide a buffer, but the T-shirt kept coming out.  At last, after 58 minutes and 55 seconds, it was over. After my cool down walk, I got off the treadmill and couldn’t even walk properly on my feet they hurt so much. I had to walk on the sides of my feet. And my drenched shirt was just clinging to me. Luckily, I had sandals in the car and took my shoes and socks off to let my feet breathe. I wish I had those toe separators like when you get a pedicure.

When I finally got home, I struggled to take off my clothes. You know how hard it is to take off clothes after they are wet. I felt like I went swimming in salt water. When I had a looksie at where my bra was there was a huge red rash – like a rug burn. OUCH! The shower was painful. It burned when it hit my rash. After I couldn’t even put on a regular bra, so I had to hang free all day. Not comfortable at all for someone like me, I am not a woman of the Borneo rainforest. As I am typing this, it is still painful.

Nonetheless, week two is done. Hallelujah!

Exhausted-Kirsten July 16, 2008

Have you ever had one of those runs where even before you started you knew it was going to be a struggle the entire run? I knew the minute I woke up that todays run was not going to be fun. Well my mental prediction fell nother short of my physical state. I ran in the worst heat I have ever run in. I came home almost as wet as I did after running 5 miles in the rain. It was a struggle the entire run. I think today (or maybe I am just hoping) that I am just all around exhausted, and thus my running wasn’t the best it can be. I realize in this training you will have good runs and bad, you will love it and then hate it, you will feel you are progressing and then the next day you feel struggle. The bottom line is, you keep going no matter what, because the end will be worth it all.

I also realized I am not giving my body enough of the right energy it needs for my running. So I am really going to make more of an effort to be aware of what I am eating. The last run I felt sick because of the salad I ate (which while salad is healthy, it is not easy for the body to digest) and today I ate a hotdog and chips and my body was rejecting that food too. I am asking a lot of my body; in return I need to give it the right things.

Well, it’s over and I finished it. You just never know what a run will bring…it is so dependent on your mood, your environment, the day you had, the weather, the food you ate, the song you are listening to, the distance you have until the finish line, the elevation…the list could go on.