Squeezing the Lemmon - Hairpin Wall (Left)

Day 3 - More Climbing!

We tried Green Rocks, but it was a little out of our capabilities so we ended up at Hairpin. Old Pueblo readers - if you climb, Hairpin is a real treat. We had several 5.8s-5.9s to chose from and the rock was close enough to the highway to be convenient, but far enough away that we didn't hear much car noise.

Picking out the rock

S&P were kind enough to lead the walls, set anchors and let us top rope. I think we did 6 routes on this day. Again, I freaked on the 5.8 and did well on everything after that. According to S, I just need to jump right to 5.9's.

Climbing is a very serious sport and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

L was able to do another lead climb! 

Me looking up at L

The truth is, I'm terrified of heights. I had the same problem (still do!), when I started skiing. I can't shake the paralyzing fear. It's not about making a wrong move and slipping, it's just this irrational "oh shit..." that sneaks in whenever I look down and process the distance between myself and the ground. Fortunately, I recognize what it is and I'm learning that my new process is 1) get to height. 2) freak out. 3) cry. 4) get to solid ground, take lots of deep breaths and focus on the ground. 5) Keep breathing to try to relax the knots in my core. 6) begin to feel better. 7) realize I CAN do whatever it is I'm trying to do. 8) get back up and try again. 9-many more times) Success!!! My issue is not lack of skill and technical ability, so once I calm the flight-instinct I can generally remind myself that I'm ok, and pick up and carry on.

Me on a 5.9

L said it shows I have tremendous character and he was really proud of me for not letting my fears get in the way of things I want to do. (this is hands down one of the most touching compliments he's ever given me. I got all verklempt.) S echoed what he said and commented that she was really impressed at how willing I am to keep trying things, even if I find them scary. I'm still undecided as to whether I have character or I'm just stubborn, but I'll take the compliments either way.

Squeezing the Lemmon- Jailhouse Rock

It's not running related but it's... um. cross-training! Yeah, that's the ticket....

unwinding

We spent our second day of S&P's visit trying to find some climbing spots on Mt. Lemmon.


S&P also helped us de-virginize the rope we received from SC friend's as a moving gift well over a year ago. We'd have taken it out ourselves, but we're not certified to lead climb and have none of the necessary gear.







Mt. Lemmon is Tucson's big mountain and it has well over 1400 climbing routes on it. Because it's warm at the bottom in the winter, and cool on the mountain during the summer, it's really a climber's paradise. We used a combo of the 12-year old guide Squeezing the Lemmon (be sure to get the mile marker updates online!), and Mountain Project  in order to find routes.

We tried mid mountain first. Windy Point? Aptly name, too windy and cold. Ridgeline? Would have been great if we could find it.

Jailhouse Rock? Check!

The day was warm in the sun, but chilly with winds averaging 20 mph and gusts up to 40mph (brr). I simply could not get or stay warm. However, the short hike out to Jailhouse rock and the climbing itself was fantastic.

 I stuck to my consistent pattern of freaking out and only getting 1/2way on a 5.7, and then going on to climb 5.9s with ease. I confuse myself, but at least I"m consistent.

Me, about to get stuck on the easiest route of the day.

S&P kicked ass, took names, and looked good - all while building anchors that could support 8,000 lbs (yes, you read that right).

But the real highlight of the day was watching L do his very first lead climbing outside. If you look at the above photos, you can see the rope is holding us from above. (you can see the rope red through the blue anchor above my head). This is called top-roping and is very secure b/c you are held throughout the climb. 

In lead climbing, the rope hangs off the bottom of your belt and every couple of meters you clip it into a carabiner, creating a mini-top rope situation. But, once you move above the clip, if you fall, you fall back down below the most recently clipped clip. Basically it's scary, but it's how you get the rope to the top and allows you to climb in many more places.

L about to clip with his left hand

S, our ever-vigilant photographer, captured the climb on video. (you can also see the windy conditions we climbed in).

L all the way at the top

The panned out view of L at the top

4 of us after a day of climbing

Buzzing 'Round the Old Pueblo

This past weekend two good friends came to visit. They came to network at the U and maybe do some city-scoping. We'd love for them to decide to move here and expand our friend network from 2 to 4. Avid outdoors folks, we tried to show them a lot of what the Southwest has to offer. Particularly in February.

Day 1 - 8 mile RT hike to the 7 Falls.
By far my favorite hike in the area. Beautiful, not particularly strenuous, runs a long a river, and ends with waterfalls. Hard to beat. After all the running, this felt like a really long hike. My quads were definitely heavy by the end, but it was nice to take a long distance at a slower pace in order to really enjoy the scenery, rather than stare at my feet and try not to trip over rocks, as I do when I run.

The mighty saguaro

Lunch Stop

See, there is water in the desert!

P resting on water-smoothed rocks

Splash!

Headin' home

Return of the Side Stitches

Today's run was supposed to be a 5 mile loop with fartleks. I started faster than I should have (about 9 min miles), and ran my intervals WAY too fast. By 2.5 miles my left side was one giant know and I couldn't breathe into my diaphragm. I tried to slow down to loosen everything up, and did, but then stupidly picked up the pace again and ran head first into cramp land.

I know what I did:
-failed to breathe properly b/c of stuffy nose
-started out way too fast
-"recovered" at way too fast a pace

I also know why I did it:
-I'm getting faster and want to go even faster. right. now.
-I don't want to plateau, but be faster every time.
-I'm pushing myself before I build up the strength I need to handle the speed I want.

So, I'll try again tomorrow, but I'll focus on:
-a slow, mile long warm up
-not running fartleks as fast as I can, but just picked up a bit from my normal pace
-concentrate on recovery. recovery is as important as the speed bursts.

There's no point in running fast for the first 30% of a run if you're dead the rest of the way back.

Skirt Chaser 5K

This past Saturday my mom, Luke, and I all ran the Skirt Chaser 5K in Tempe. The idea behind the race is that the women get a 3 min head start on the guys, and the guys have to chase them to try to catch up. Cute? Yes. Oddly gendered? Oh, yes. But perfect fit into the schedule and supports Nicole De Boom, skirtsports, and getting women out and moving? hell yes.

My mom has been preparing for the race with the Couch to 5K program. She started in December and made it through week 3 before she got hit with bad calf cramps. It took a few weeks to figure out the culprit (needed more vitamin D and potassium), but she did a great job of walk/run training and is going to keep going with the program over the spring.

We decided that mom and I would walk/run, and Luke would just run and meet us at the finish line. As we get there I make a quick stop in the porta-johns only to discover that my fucking period started. I had no idea it was coming so I wasn't prepared. It's 15 min before the gun. Luke kept going on his warm up while mom and I asked around for a first aid tent.

No one knew where the first aid tent was. So I'm at ostensibly a women's race and there's no available "feminine products" (god I hate that term) and I can't find the first aid tent for the life of me. It's now  5 min to the start.

My mom was worried and wanted to stay with me. I told her to go on ahead, that she's been training for this for several weeks and she should run. She took a deep breath and got to the start to begin her first race ever, and without the daughter she was hoping would be there to support her. I'm so proud of her for doing that.

I, on the other hand, googled a pharmacy and found one about .5-.75 miles due south of the start. I took off running. I realized that if I ran fast enough I could run to CVS. Buy tampons. Get prepped. Run back, and hopefully hit the start only about 15 min into the race. My mom was doing just under 15 min/miles. If I then continued to run, I knew I could catch her.

Am I crazy? Yes. But you already knew that. What was my other option? Just wait at the finish line? Pshaw.

By the time I did my shopping and hit the starting line, the clock had been running for 14 min. I pushed, pushed, pushed, and caught up with the stragglers in no time! Keeping my eyes peeled, I managed to catch my mom as she rounded the 1/2 way point, yelled "WAIT!!" and jogged to her side. We then finished the last 1.5 miles together.

Going strong at mile 2! Damn, my mom's cute.

We pulled across the finish line in 43 or 44 min total. Luke, the sweetheart that he is, had finished much earlier and headed back to the car to get our stuff and the camera. He finished a 22:32 5K. I'm constantly amazed and impressed by his running.

Apres-race is basically a big party. The race is sponsored by 4 Peaks Brewery and it's so close to ASU that it had a college-party atmosphere. After some wrangling for a wrist band, we snagged our two free beers and sat out in a sunny 80 degree Tempe February (yes, I'm bragging).

Pre-race at mom's. The purple skirt was the "race T". I now have more of these than I am comfortable admitting (all bought 1/2 price!).

Immediately after the race. I need to get Luke a bright shirt so I can spot him! 

In which we drink all the beers.

Even mom posed with a red cup.

The race was a lot of fun and I would certainly run it again. I'm looking for another 5K to do with my mom in April/May, once she's a little further along in her training. I'd love to do one with mom and sister. Luke and I likely have the Sabino Sunset Run 12K in April and the Cinco de May 10K in May. I'd also like to add a 10 mile trail race in April - but we'll see. I love racing and I love racing with my family. It's inspiring to see my mom tackle new challenges in her 6th decade, and I am always impressed and inspired by watching Luke gracefully lope along a trail as if it's no effort at all.

UPDATE: Mom came in first in her division!!! http://results.active.com/pages/oneResult.jsp?pID=121085359&rsID=122892 (also only runner in her division :) ).

Seeing the Impact

Yesterday I ran a quick 4 miles at a 9:02 or so pace. I'm really impressed at the impact of long, slow runs on my shorter distances. It seems counter intuitive that longer slower distances would quicken your shorter runs, but it works!

I'd love to do a long run this weekend but am mainly focusing on the 5K with my mom on Saturday. It's possible that Luke and I can sneak away for a long run on Sunday, but I'm not counting on it. Maybe I'll try to work one in on Monday. I never in a million years thought I'd want to run for 1.5-2 hours, but I really love every minute I'm out putting in that time and distance.

On a side note, it's already warming up here in Tucson. As in, it's February and I'm in a tank top.

Fleet Feet Arizona Trail Run 2012

On Sunday, Luke, Collette and myself ran the Fleet Feet Arizona Trail Run out by Colossal Cave. The route was 8 miles and we were just hoping that it wasn't anything like our recent attempt at running Esperero Trail last week. 2300 elevation gain in under 3.5 miles? No thank you.

The event was limited to 250 runners and you could tell that these were serious folks. I saw a woman in her mid-60s that I've spied at other Tucson races in the past year. It's nice to think that I do enough local races that I'm beginning to recognize the hometown "crew". I find her, with her butt-long grey braid, to be an incredible inspiration. Although I'm always impressed by the folks who whiz in at the finish line with an average 6+ min/mile pace, I'm much more inspired by the 60-80 crowd who still get out and run.

Like the Tucson 1/2, this was a chilly start. According to one participant, her car was reading 32 degrees before she just stopped looking at it. Fortunately, the even was small enough that we didn't have to wait around long before the start.

The trail was beautiful and the sunrise was stunning over the desert. The trail was mainly a dirt single track that wound through Saguaro. the total elevation gain was about 500, mainly rolling hills. We stayed with the pack for more of the first half. I didn't want to push too hard and get tired, and passing people was kind of tricky. By the turn around loop I was really warm and able to push the pace the rest of the way home. In retrospect, I should have started faster (and just passed those people), and I could have pushed more on the return. On the other hand, I had a really comfortable run with no cramping- which is a victory in itself.

For nutrition I started the day with my banana + PB. I didn't take water b/c there were water stations ( I recently bought a hydration belt, but didn't want to introduce a new element on race day - aren't  I a good runner? ). Because the race was on the short side, I didn't want to take a gel. Instead I took a few Jelly Belly sport beans at miles 3, 6, and 7. It actually worked pretty well and I'm going to play around with nutrition throughout the run (rather than a gel intake 1/2 way) a bit more.

I ran in my Brooks Cascadia 6s (love them), my tough girl skirt sport (pants + skirt), a long sleeved new Blanance shirt, and my new balance running jacket. In retrospect I could have ditched the jacket, but it was nice in the beginning.

Now onto the Skirt Chaser 5K with my mom and Luke on Sat!