Drinking Dilemma

Here's the problem...

This summer, I carried one or two 20 oz. hand held bottles of Heed. If I needed more, I'd use my Fuel Belt two bottle carrier (not the most comfortable) and one hand held. I'd average 20 0z. every 5-6 miles.

Lately, I've been using my Nathan pack, taking only water and Endurolytes if needed. On my recent 12 and 14 mile runs, I drank around 30 oz. Way too little. I'm not sure if I remember to drink more regularly with the hand helds or if Heed just works better for me.

The reason for using the hydration pack is that I'm always on-call and have to take my phone EVERYWHERE. I also tend to explore new trails with no particular time limit. Which means I need some kind of pack to carry phone, water, gels, map, etc. The pack is extremely comfortable, I don't mind using it at all, but I'm having a hard time adjusting to running without Heed.

My question?
Will I eventually adjust to just water? What's your hydration system preference? Especially for those of you who prefer sports drinks over water? I'm looking at one bottle packs that also have storage, but want one with minimal bounce. Any recommendations?

Tidbits

Just watched "Run for Your Life," the story of Fred Lebow and the New York City Marathon. Interesting movie. Even Steve, the non-runner, was intrigued.

Bought and love the Pearl Izumi Alpine Pant. I'm not a fan of traditional running tights, and wanted something warm for the cold, windy days. Wind and rain resistant, fleece lined, with vented knee panels. A big thanks to Melinda at Big Sky Cyclery for finding them for me. This is probably not a purchase for those of you who run in shorts at 40 degrees. You'll be sweltering. If you are like me, cold most of the time, you'll find them cozy enough to sleep in.

Congratulations to Deb and Rebecca for finishing the New York City Marathon last week!

Great having a visit from Danni this week. She was sweet and took me to dinner at On Broadway. Good food, relaxing place, and so fun to catch up. Thanks Danni!

Friday night, I checked out Sommeliers with a couple fellow therapists from work. First wine bar I've been to in awhile, and fun to get to know co-workers better.

As for my own running, this week was not so consistent due to work and socializing. I managed a couple fairly fast 3 milers and this morning's solo 14 miler on muddy roads. Perfect weather for me. 45 degrees, overcast and misty. Despite the gradual uphill for the first 7 miles, I felt ok. I didn't push the pace, kept my heart rate low, and just enjoyed the quiet solitude.

Grizzly Gulch

Lime kilns along the way

Of course, this week was hugely important as far as elections are concerned. But, I've decided that this is not the place to reflect. I can say, however, that my thoughts were with one particular family in Anacostia who I worked with a few years ago, and the many conversations we had learning about each other and celebrating diversity. I would have liked to have seen them this week.

A "me" day

It's Saturday, and I should have been doing paperwork. Instead, I played hooky. I got up early, made Steve breakfast before sending him off to work, hopped in the car and drove to Bozeman to exchange a pair of running shoes. It was a beautiful day for driving, exploring, and with a new pair of shoes, running! I've been looking at the the Brooks Adrenaline ASR's primarily for winter road use, but also trails when weather allows for it. I finally made the purchase and took them out for a combination road/trail 12 miler, my longest run since Elkhorn.

The Shoe Review:

My favorite trail shoe is the Cascadia, and I went into this run knowing the experience would be different. The Adrenaline has a higher platform and more stability. It's also a lot less flexible (responsive?) than the Cascadia. But, it felt cushioned enough for both the road and the trail, and stood up well even for the rocky sections. It seemed to have enough traction, but I'm curious to see how it does in wet and/or muddy conditions. The shoe does seem a bit more narrow, even at the heel, so I don't think I would have needed to do any special lacing. I was worried that my big toe issue (the dance bunion thingy) would be a problem, but nothing was aggravated. No blisters, no callous pain flare-up. The Cascadias are still my favorite trail shoe, but this one works as well. How's that for loyalty to Brooks?

The Run:

I'm trying to use the heart rate monitor. My heart rate is usually out of control running up trails (like in the 180's). Based on my MHR and RHR, I should be doing recovery runs at about 150 AHR. So, I tried to keep it under 160 today. I did fairly well, except for the occasional big hill, but I was sooo slow. For 12 miles, with only 2,000 feet elevation gain, I averaged a 12:30/mile pace. I want to get faster!!!!! I know, patience, patience, patience.

Here are some pictures from the run. The views were spectacular, the sun was warm, my Nathan pack weightless, and I got to run in shorts and t-shirt the first day of NOVEMBER!

Hazy, sunny day

Diretissema Trail

Rocky mess above the trail

Dump Out Trail

More of Dump Out Trail - for me, the "Always Seem Lost" Trail

View from Dump Out

End of the trail portion for me - wish you were here?

Acceptance

Although not catastrophic, my move from Kalispell was a significant personal change. I feel as though I've been viewing myself from afar for several weeks. I was in between worlds, one foot in each place, not ready to make the final leap. As a social worker, I could see myself moving through the stages of grief, incapable, or possibly uninterested, in changing the course of events or my reaction to them. Then, one day last week, I realized that I'd quite suddenly reached acceptance. I'm sure I'll continue to have a faint sense of loss, but there are many good things about my life.

1) Re-connecting with my husband - Despite the physical distance between us for so long, it never really negatively impacted us, but it sure is nice to see him walk through the door often, prepare meals together, have bagels and coffee while reading the Sunday paper, or just sharing the events of our days. Such simple things, but great things.

2) The trails - a whole lot of miles of them for me to lose myself. Best of all, they provide respite on the windy days. A brief set-back after a major toe against cast iron end table incident. It's slowly recovering and I'm running again.

3) Working in a high school again - I grew up with my father as teacher, coach, principal and my mom as our school chef. Our life was based on school seasons and bulletin boards, cleaning beakers, moving desks, serving food for basketball games, etc. I love every aspect of being part of that setting again, even in the role of therapist (minus the fee for service program, billable hours and paperwork) and am so thrilled to be in a place where teachers take an alternative approach and WANT the kids to be there. Plus, I have an office with red walls and student artwork - how crazy good is that?

4) New and old friends - So thankful Rebecca moved here before me. Her presence has helped in more ways than she'll ever know. Also thankful for the visit from Bernie and Diane. As Bernie said, anticipation for an event can sometimes outweigh the actual event - but not so for that evening. The hours of conversation and laughter with two people I truly admire was exactly what I needed.

5)Family - My niece turning one year old. The intuition and support from my parents. It just amazes me that they just KNOW, from miles away, nuances of how I'm feeling.

6) Health - The Milk Dud crisis has passed. You know you're in a funk when an entire carton (the big movie theatre kind) is emptied on an almost daily basis. I've now moved on to real food once again. My body thanks me.

I'm hoping to figure out the next phase of running soon. My first plan is to find an ART chiropractor to help work out some kinks from a major summer of adventure. Second, I think there's a Fat Ass 50k in my future. Third, this winter I'm going to try some snow shoeing and cross country skiing. We'll see what happens...

Saturday morning, I got up to assist Rebecca with her 5k to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. Steve was supposed to help out too, but unfortunately, he was the recipient of a nasty virus and stayed in bed with fever, body aches and headache. Despite the snow, cold and blustery wind, nine brave souls showed up to support the cause. The YMCA was nice enough to provide a cozy room for pre-race instructions and the post-race awards. Please visit Rebecca's Team in Training site if you'd like to contribute.

Race director showing off fancy technology

Sunday, I woke up to snow and felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I downed some food, dressed in warm layers and my Gore-Tex Salomons, put the truck in 4-wheel drive, and headed to the trails. No one had touched the snow yet, so I blissfully made the first tracks through several inches of new powder. It was tough going, but SO MUCH FUN! Most of the trails were runnable, but it was hard to tell where the trail was in areas, so glad I chose a familiar one. I slid hard on a couple switchbacks, but the pillow of snow protected my bottom. The return trip was cold on the face due to the windchill, one of the things I've got to get used to again. The following are pictures from my adventure. They are fairly dark due to the snowfall. The last picture is of me covered in ice.

Am I ready for this?

"A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for the southern half of Montana including Helena and Great Falls through the weekend until Sunday. A major winter storm and below average temperatures will impact the state for the duration of the weekend with the potential for a significant accumulation and slick roads with the full on winter conditions. Saturday, snow on and off and heavy at times especially in the mountains. Highs only in the 20's to around 30. Snow will come to an end Saturday night into Sunday. Total accumulations will range from 2"-8" in the lower elevations, and possibly more than 2 feet in the mountains. Sunday, slow clearing and windy, highs around 40. "

I hope the weather cooperates for everyone traveling to Hungry Horse to run Le Grizz...

Learning to run uphill

Today was my second week joining the local club for a short trail run. I can't say enough positives about this group. Many of the runners are veterans of ultra distance and would kick my butt on any day. It doesn't seem to matter because they always wait at various points along the trail to make sure no one is left behind. How great is that?

After the first run, it was very obvious that I don't have much experience RUNNING uphill. Partly I've been too lazy, but also there wasn't regular access to these kind of trails where I used to live. But, I'm trying and I'm determined to get better. The main concern is my heart rate. Once I start heading uphill, it sky rockets. My goal tonight was to keep the last runners in the group in sight, and just focus on doing the best I could. It was a blast. The trails were new to me and the views were beautiful. Plus, once we got going, I completely forgot about the crazy wind.

Another change is that this group is made up mostly of men. I'm used to running primarily with women. It's not a negative at all, just different. I very much appreciated the encouragement from the group, especially Martin coming back down to run with me up the last bit of uphill!
I also got to enjoy some local history facts regarding some of the trails from the only other woman running tonight. Several members of the group are running Le Grizz this weekend, so am wishing them luck and good weather!

The following pictures were taken this past weekend. After running 10 miles with Rebecca on Saturday, Steve and I did some hiking to check out the fall colors. The sun wasn't cooperating with me, so the pictures don't quite capture the scenery, but I'm posting them anyway.

View of a lone biker on the trail across the gulch.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. We're helping Rebecca put on a 5k to raise money for Team in Training Saturday morning and then off to Bozeman for some much needed shopping!