I've been absent from this blog because of a summer that has been just too much fun. Now well into autumn, it is time to catch up a bit. Here is the first post in the series I like to call Summer 2013 Megafuntastical.
--------------------------------------------------------
I love how the thread of life bunches up, sending me to
the Berkhsires tres veces in less than a month. It’s as though life writes its own
narrative, twisting and turning, falling and climbing, and I am but the transcriber.
Going Rogue
Memorial Day Weekend came and after months of preparation, on the road, in the trails,
and on a few excel spreadsheets, the team headed for the hills of
Berkshires.
Thirty six of us (or so)
drove a few hours in the rain so that we could run in the rain, cheer in the
rain, stand in the rain, and play drinking games indoors.
The trail was muddy and wet. The hills were steep and forced lots of walking. I started toward the middle, which may have been a mistake. My intention was to race, but I was stuck behind a few folks as the course funneled onto a single file trail in the woods. Luckily the runners were courteous and let me pass where possible.
The terrain was rough in some parts, the trail consisting of jagged rocks. And I saw people in nothing but Vibrams. I was pretty close to wearing my Merrell Trail Gloves and was thankful that I did not. I settled on the Merrell Mix Masters which served fairly well. I'm still not convinced about the upper, but the toe box and sole feel great.
I came close to falling numerous times, almost tripping or rolling my ankle, but managed to stay on my feet. Some teammates weren't so fortunate, arriving bloodied at the finish line- but with smiles, too, which I loved seeing. Throughout my run, other than my own survival and fun time, I was thinking of the team which we trained for this day. We took them to some pretty challenging trails in preparation, and I think that may have scared a few of them. The thing they hadn't experienced was the rain. I hoped they weren't hating life up in the hills. More than that, I was wishing they were loving it.
 |
| I didn't run with a camera, but one can always count on Rachel for pics. |
Why do I love trail runs? They're honest and unforgiving. To survive, much more than a road race, a runner has to yield to the terrain, taking only what it will give. There is need to anticipate each step, to be present and mindful. In a way, a runner becomes one with the trail and in this way can really get to know his/herself.
There's talk of us doing this again as the Rogue Alumni event for Summer 2014. That chatter has me a little bit excited. No lie.
The Union
My Guatemalan family arrived while I was away for the team's rogue event.
We spent the week in Brooklyn and I juggled work, running, and family as best I could. There simply weren't enough hours in the day. But on Friday, May 31st at approximately 10:41PM I crossed the 200 miles threshold for the month. A few
days later I was back in the Berkshires for my brother’s wedding.
I had been wanting to get back on the bike for
weeks. This was my first ride since
September. I left with a vague plan of tackling about 30 miles.
48 miles later, I had visited Vermont for ice cream and a cider donut, climbed a bunch of hills, and
made my ass really sore. I mean, really sore. It was great.
 |
| The Berkshires: Great landscape for a ride. Great views. |
 |
| Entering Vermont. On the hunt for ice cream. |
 |
| Assuming "biker" also includes "cyclist". Because we badass. |
On Wednesday, I was looking to run about 10 miles. Not wanting to do an
out and back, I searched for a loop on the country roads available to me and found a 12 mile loop that included a somewhat aggressive elevation climb. I realized as I got ready to leave that I forgot my water bottle which is kind of a drag for a 12 mile run, but felt I would be just on the inside of my dehydration range and would be fine. But whoops, I got lost and did 15 miles. That run kinda sucked at the end.
 |
| Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads... |
In the middle, though, it kinda ruled. I ended up hitting the trails for a second time in the Berkshires, parts of which reminded me of Scotland. And On the easier parts if this run, when I could think, I outlined the speech that I was going to give at my brother's wedding the next day.
 |
| Picture doesn't do it justice. So green. |
 |
| View from the top. |
Father’s Day Ride
Mark and I had been trying to make plans to train together all spring, but our fairly busy schedules never quite lined up. After he suggested a weekend of training near his home in eastern Massachusetts, for some reason I
suggested we ride from his house to Rotterdam.
Well, I know why I did. I wanted to spend father's day with him *and* my dad and this seemed like to logical solution. As things played out, it became apparent that my dad wasn't going to be in Rotterdam. He was going to be in Brooklyn that day, ironically, in my apartment.
We stuck with the plan, though, and surprised Mark's mom in Rotterdam on Saturday instead, and I got back to Brooklyn to visit with my dad on Sunday. Though it rained right up to the minute we started, the clouds broke and we saw nothing but sunshine from then on out.
 |
| Psyched to get started! |
 |
| Day One |
 |
| Day Two |
 |
| Ride Statistics |
The trip spanned 178 miles over two days with an overnight stay in Northampton. I made it a point to have us stop in Amherst for some Antonio's Pizza. The ride was quite manageable, even though I hadn't trained for this. I moved along at a fairly slow pace and Mark was patient with me. The hills were no joke, but it was a beautiful ride. This touring trip with the overnight stay was great fun. And it made me miss being on a bike.
And seeds of doing another Ironman were planted...
