Back Track

First, let's get the photos of Mae out of the way....I realize I should possibly change the name of this blog to Mountain Mae instead of Me.  But if you own a dog, especially a young dog, you know that they completely take over your life!

the "I hear a Subaru" face

close up

Snowshoe trail , so perfect for Mae~

Ok, now that that is done...let's back track a bit.  

Remember the book list?  There were a couple I wanted to mention.  The most memorable book I read last year was "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara.  Huge book, over 700 pages, and the Amazon description made it sound like a nice little romp through the lives of a group of college friends.  It was so much more!  And I won't spoil anything for you but I will say the reason it stayed with me and was so memorable is that the story was not what I expected at all.  The other reason was that the writing was VERY good , and in places (little places) even reminded me of Whitman.  However, there were a couple of flaws in the book that really made it  tumble off the GREAT list. One is the fact that you had to read about 500 pages to find out what had happened in the main character's life.  By then did I care??? No.   I pretty much skipped through that part of the book.  The other thing was that in places it started to feel like a script for Law & Order, SVU.   

A nice surprise was James Robertson's , "The Testament of Gideon Mack".  Very enjoyable, fun read about a man, a man of the cloth, who meets the devil!

Biggest disappointment?  Donna Tartt's , "The Goldfinch".  I had heard and read so much about this book and it is a good story, I'll give it that.  But I don't know....again, very lengthy and in places I felt it was just d r a g g i n g.   It wasn't completely satisfying for me. Was it for you?

The most unusual way to find a recommendation? Well it was word of mouth but I can't follow the dots on this one.  Too much music, too much beer perhaps.  I was out one night to see a band and met a professor of biology who was sitting next to me .  We got talking about beer, as he ran a beer club at the college.  Somehow he ended up recommending The Unbearable Lightness of Being....Remember that movie?  Well, it was dreamy right and  it certainly made me have a little crush on Daniel Day-Lewis.... it  was 1988, of course I had a crush on him.  But I had never read the book and of course the book is TOTALLY DIFFERENT.   Author Milan Kundera said later that he would NEVER allow a film from one of his works. I can't say that I blame him.

Running.  I will be honest I haven't had a real run since October!  I felt great then but in early November I got hit by some nasty virus that had me out for 3 weeks and then bad weather bollowed by our current snowpack have made actual running a bit problematic.  That's where snowshoes, xc skis and snowboards come in handy!  

Coffee.  Yup, still drinking it.  In moderation mstly.  I think I have found a balance with the bean.

Not much else to report here.  I got a splitboard for Christmas and hope to get out and use it soon.  A splitboard is a snowboard that essentially has been cut in half!  You can then wear it like skis with "skins" on the bottom to make it sticky and walk up the mountain. When you get to the top you  put it back together to ride down!   

"skinning" up

Happy trails!  Hope the new year has brought good fortune and good times!

Fitness Confessions

I had to go and look at my calendar to see when the last time was that I actually did a run.  Other than some short jogs around the neighborhood, the last real run was not this month, not June, oh, good guess but not May either!  April 4th.  that's right....there's a little hen scratched notation that I ran 31 minutes in new shoes, in APRIL!  Sure there are hikes noted, paddling in the lake, walks up the mountain.  But running?  Running doesn't make an appearance on my calendar.  I have a long list of reasons why I haven't been running, but let's just say that other things in life have gotten in the way of running plans.  Some of them are unavoidable life events, others are just run of the mill excuses .  Drinking beer with Ben and Jerry in the summer heat for example!

I had the foresight to know I wouldn't be running any races this summer but I did register my son and husband for the Refuse to Abuse 5k held in Safeco Stadium where the Seattle Mariner's play ball.  (note I said play not necessarily WIN)    It was the first race for my son and he had a good time! My husband did a lot of runs with his dad growing up so this is a great family tradition to continue!

Part of the race goes through the parking garage

There are a lot of races across the country held in sports stadiums and they are such fun events!  You go through parts of the stadium that you may never normally have  access to and this one ends out on the baseball field!  Plus this was for a great cause, raising awareness and money to help those affected by domestic violence. 

I hope your summer running is going great!  I'm looking forward to getting back out there and possibly registering for some fall races.  My son said he would do it again!  I think I'd better lace up my shoes and get running~

Things You Should Know If You Run With Me

Do you have a regular running partner? Do you run with a spouse, a friend, a buddy?  An entire GROUP?  Generally, I run alone.  In fact, on one of my playlists I even have a song that is my "running alone anthem".... No One to Run With Any More.  It's great, but sad, right?  

The Allman Brothers  Give it a listen while I tell my tale....

I used to have regular climbing partners, snowboarding buds, mountain biking madmen and general badasses to get out with and share crazy things we used to do.  But life stuff, joint replacements, a continent between us has made that difficult.  In December, I was lucky enough to have my husband go out running with me a few times.  After only a few minutes on the trail he yelled, "hey! Watch it with that snot!"  And I realized that maybe I have a few bad habits. Maybe if someone runs with me, they should know some things.

On A Mission, to FIND SNOW

Our snowfall amounts here are still seriously low.  It's rumored that the ski area is going to throw in the towel on the season soon!  Boo hissssss.

My husband went out searching for snow in other places and had a couple of successful snowboarding trips to Mission Ridge over in Wenatchee.  They don't have a great natural snow depth either but.....they make it!  AND, importantly, they GROOM really really well.

blue skies and a view

lunch spot at the top of Mission Ridge

sea of fog below

Groomed

Finally today we had enough snow for the groomer to cut track out on the Iron Horse Trail!  We saw the groomer go by and got out for a quick, early xc ski, the FIRST of the season.   It was a good thing we hit it early because about an hour after this photo was taken some blustery snow turned to freezing rain.... 

So glad we got out on this very gray day and had fresh cut track!  It may be awhile until this happens again!  Have a great weekend....and if you are a football fan, I have one thing to say to you....GO HAWKS!  

2015

There's a wish most of us have, to start anew with the new year,  to reaffirm our goals, be they any of the many forms of self improvement: get fit, lose weight, eat better, be kinder, sleep more, drink less, give up smoking, give up smoking weed, take a vacation, take a break, take a yoga class, call friends, call for the colonoscopy, call the dentist, get new eyeglasses, get new sneakers, get a haircut, get a foil, save money, save a date, save a life, donate clothing, donate cash, donate time.   Perhaps you see something on this list familiar to your own life? Or perhaps you want something different.  Perhaps you merely want to maintain the status quo...... keep your job, keep your lover, keep your spouse, keep your sanity, keep on keeping on,  keep on trucking, keep it up.  Ask yourself, Are you hep to the jive?  Do you know the score, following the script, following the story?  Do you know your lines?  Do you know where you are?  Do you know where your cat is?  

Well, deep breaths people.  It's only January 15th.  Take a big chill pill.  Put on some soft music.  Pour more coffee.  Look out the window.  2015 is still out there, waiting, in all it's bloated promise.  It's waiting for you to get on it, get on your game, put your best foot forward, make a plan, get with the program, stir it up, kick's it's ass, grab it by the neck and shake the shit out of it.  Run with the pack, leave the fools behind, do what you must.  But don't let 2015 be a big double goose egg on your back window....

Now go on out there and chase down that DREAM!

4:14.

My daughter was crying and complaining about an itchy rash on her legs.  I picked her up and carried her through a field of tall grass.  At the bottom my HIGH SCHOOL BOYFRIEND was waiting in a van parked by the side of the road. We reached the van and tumbled inside, it was warm and comfortable.  But my daughter suddenly turned into a cat and tried to jump out the half opened front window.

I woke with a raging headache to the sounds of truck noise on the highway and fumbled around in the dark for a bottle of Excedrin.  I was quiet, trying to not wake my husband, but after ten seconds stealth mode became bitch mode and I let out a loud "FUCK".  Husband later admitted that he was already awake because of the back up beeps of heavy equipment over in the sledding hill parking lot.  I medicated myself and got back into bed, cradling my head in the softest pillow I could find.  But it was no good.  Solid sleep never again arrived and I finally officially got up around 6 am.  

I was annoyed, filled with a sense of fleeting anxiety over my daughter . She is not 4, not small enough for me to carry.  She is 19 and at that time of day she was in fact nestled into her own bed, an hour away, probably with her cat.  I was annoyed at the truck noise, a constant here in our home, in the mountains yet far too close to the highway which brings us here.  I was in fact mostly annoyed at not getting to spend more time in the van with my HIGH SCHOOL BOYFRIEND.  It was warm, filled with golden light and a sense of peace.  Why am I thinking about HIGH SCHOOL BOYFRIEND?  Jesse.  That's right, I've watched too many episodes of Breaking Bad and "Jesse" is strikingly a dead ringer for HIGH SCHOOL BOYFRIEND.   

Snow Rain Sleet, Repeat

For color, part of our vintage snowboard collection

And don't forget the fog.....I think that is the recipe for November.  We always remark every year that November is the worst month on the mountain.  There is not enough snow to go full out in winter activities, but just enough to make running, cycling, dirt biking, hiking, even walking the dog just a miserable or impossible task.  Though this week twice now I have risen to the occasion and gone out for two adventures.

You've seen this before?  Ya, I think I need new running clothes!

The first was a hike up my usual route to the beer can and then along the road and eventually just going straight up the ski slope through the area that slid a few years ago.  By then it was foggy .  The footing was about two inches of crusty snow which honestly, provided some traction.  Except for the spot that looked good but turned out to be a snow covered, ice covered boulder!  I fell down, like a clown....But it was fun! I made my way back through the slide , bushwhacking for a bit to the access road and managed to have some sort of workout for over an hour.

Yesterday, I kept waiting for the rain to end or change over but finally just went out.  I headed down the rail trail, which in winter is a groomed xc ski trail.  Once I got past the section where the local kids had been driving their lifted trucks the night before, it evened out and wasn't too bad.  No, I wasn't on skis.  I was running, like I was wearing army boots in sand....It was a blast!  So tiring though that I had to only run part of every minute, counting off the steps, lifting my legs high and then stepping where the snow crust was smooth.  I saw Bobcat tracks.  LOVE to see animal tracks....as long as they are small.

Anyway, that's November.  You have to either fly to Hawaii and forget the month or go out and make the best of it.

Left Right, Right left

While I haven't worn them often, (they weren't very comfortable) I've had these socks for a couple of months and JUST noticed they are left/right designated.  Seriously?  They were a tad better today.....

The same thing happened with my headphones.  Because I have a wire chewing cat, I had to replace them, again.  The sound quality wasn't great and I wore them about a dozen times before I noticed they are left/right ear pieces!  They are still a bit tinny, but hey, they were only $6.99! 

Last week I wore my shirt inside out for about half the day.  Around 2 pm my daughter said,"hey Mom, your shirt is on wrong you know".  Mittens on the wrong hands?  that's me.  Snowshoes on the wrong feet, yup.  Knit hat inside out?  Done that.  I've put on my jacket inside out and have been frustrated by the lack of pockets and not being able to zip it up....Wrong eye glasses?  All the time.  Sometimes I look at myself and see Dennis the Menace, Pigpen and Ramona the Pest all rolled into one.  But that's okay.  They might be a great big mess but they always seem to be having fun!!  I'm gonna get out a Sharpie and mark my headphones.  Enjoy yourself out there today! And if you do something crooked or backwards let me know!  We can form a club...

Monday Things

Finally, it feels like spring to me and I got out for the first trail run of the year!  Thought I would share a few things.....Monday things, to get the week going....

For lazy evening watching Dallas craft beer night: Stone, Enjoy by 04.20.14 IPA.  Good stuff.

 I bought new socks in Portland last week.  I have to say these Icebreaker merino socks?  Are way smarter than the other merino socks I usually wear.  Love the fit!  Like nothing on my feet.  Great spring color.  I also got a pair in orange (men's).  They may well move to the head of the smarty pants socks class. 

In LOVE with these trail shoes....The Brooks PUREGRIT.. Damn fine running shoe.  The trails I run are sandy to hardpack without a lot of rocks. The tread is grippy as hell!  Minimal feel but not super thin.  Seriously, I LOVE them.

Tomorrow is APRIL.  Happy Spring.  Get outside!

Running Streak Challenge

Stars

Everyone Knows It's Windy

Remember that song?  I am pretty sure that they were just mispronouncing "Wendy", but it is a darn catchy tune.  

When I am not in the mountains, I am in a valley.  I mean that literally (though it does make me a bit sad); I am in a valley.  Two things stand out to me there.  It's very windy, and when it's not windy, there can be bad stagnant air.  It makes exercising outdoors rather challenging.  It can be really cold! Mostly it's just uncomfortable and annoying.  Typically I will get up early and walk the dog. It can be a beautiful spring day. But by the time I finish my morning chores and step back out to run, there's a 40 mph gust waiting to greet me.  I can never get it through my head! I go back inside and add a few more layers....maybe I am just being hopeful, choosing to ignore the hurdle mother nature has thrown at me?  Apparently everyone knows it's windy, except me. What are your weather hurdles?  Can you run in rain and snow or do you head inside to a cozy treadmill?  Does the wind drive you crazy? Do YOU know Windy?   Happy running~