Chasing the Long Run

I’m starting to panic.

For almost two weeks now, I’ve been chasing a long run that is longer than 15 miles. I ran 15 miles a month ago and it felt easy. I ran 13 miles two weeks ago with a friend and it hurt. I have no idea why, but my body ached after those 13 miles!

I set out last Friday for a 17 miler, feeling sprightly and confident. The weather was a perfect 25 degrees with the sun shining brightly in the sky. In short, the conditions were perfect. A friend agreed to run the first 5 miles with Tals and me before taking my pup home so I could set out on my own.

Clearly these are recycled photos…but I didn’t have anything else to put with all these words!

Alas, things didn’t go as planned! Per usual, Tals was running off leash, romping through the snowy meadows and sniffing everything in sight. We had just crossed mile 4 when I lifted my eyes to look for her furry butt– and saw nothing.

No dog.

No tracks.

No movement.

Nothing.

At first, it didn’t bother me. I was sure she had disappeared behind some trees and would return shortly. Tals is loyal to a fault and her biggest fear is losing her mama. She may skedaddle for a minute or two but she always comes running back, desperate to find her family. But this time was different– she was completely gone and the air was eerily still. I told my friend that we needed to stop and wait for Tals, but after 10 minutes, I began to stress. We were running on a trail at the base of a lake dam, so I made an executive decision: illegal or not, I was climbing the dam wall in order to get a better viewpoint.

The wall is only 100-200 feet tall but it’s very steep and covered with yucca plants and scrub brush. In the summer, it’s easy enough to hike up but in the winter, the snow drifts gather on the sides, rendering it largely impassable. Regardless, Renee and I head tackled the knee deep snow and slip-slided our way to the top. Naturally, something so stupid couldn’t leave me unscathed; I managed to run into a spiky yucca plant that broke off in my skin after stabbing my calf. I yanked the spike out, but I still have a portion left embedded in my leg. Let me tell you, it’s looking pretty hot {and slightly infected!} right now!

Once we reached the top, Tally was still nowhere to be found and I switched to full-scale panic mode. We were next to a frozen lake and in my mind, the only way she could abruptly disappear was if she fell through the ice. I called Will, crying, explaining that I lost Tals and that I thought she fell in the lake. He calmed me down over the phone, reassuring me that Tals was smart and had probably become confused and ran home. He suggested that Renee stay at the lake and that I run home to check for our pup.

I continued swallowing my tears and my panic as I sprinted back home. Seriously y’all, Tally is my child and this behavior was so atypical for her! I continued swallowing my sobs when I heard the most welcome sound ever: a loud signalling whistle!

I turned around and to my relief, saw a guy gesturing at me to run back. I had explained to this good Samaritan that my dog was missing and asked him to keep his eyes peeled. Fortunately, he saw her miles off in the distance and realized that she was running back for me. It took Tally awhile, but she eventually clambered her way through the snow and caught up with me. And truthfully, I still have zero idea where she went but she must have done some serious sprinting. She was so exhausted that she had to lay down on our half mile walk back to the house.

In short? I did not run my 17 miler on Friday.

Never one to be deterred, I scheduled a plan B. My friend Carrie is in the early stages of training for her own 50k and wanted to get 12 miles in on Monday. I found a fun 14-mile loop near Boulder and she agreed to the extra two miles while I planned to tack a few more on the end after she left. We both knew that the trails would be snowy since winter has reared its head, but I thought I was playing it smart. This trail is on the east side of the mountains and largely winds through open meadows with full sunshine. Plus, it’s Boulder, the land of the running zealots and pro athletes. Surely the trails were either melted or packed down!

Can you guess where this is going yet?

As soon as I opened my car door at the trailhead, I was greeted with an abrupt gust of wind that slammed my door shut. We were off to a good start!

We headed east on the trail and within 200 yards, we found ourselves in shin-deep snow drifts. My train of thought proved false and no one had been on this side of the loop! The trail was completely unpacked and we were post holing every step. This continued for maybe 1/4 mile before we looked at each other, wide eyed. Plan C!

We made a U-turn and headed back to the trailhead, a new plan in mind. Instead of heading east on the trail, we headed north towards Boulder. I figured the closer to the city we got, the more used the trail would be. Apparently, I was half right. The trails were definitely packed down, but we hadn’t accounted for the wind! As I later heard on the radio, Boulder was experiencing wind gusts of 90 mph and let me tell you– that was not an exaggeration!

Carrie and I ran, struggling to stay on our feet through the heaviest gusts and sliding on the slopes through the mild wind. In addition to the wind, the temps had increased to a comfortable 40 degrees which was awesome….except the snow was melting like crazy. Instead of packed snow on the trails, we were now trudging through ankle-deep slush that filled the tops of my shoes with every step. Honestly, I couldn’t tell what was worse: my water-logged shoes, the precarious footing or the wind gusts that felt like a 2×4 to the face. I even found myself on my stomach in the snow after losing my footing on the slippery slush!

In the end, Carrie and I decided to call it a day at a shortened 7.5 mile loop. It wasn’t even close to my planned 17 miles but it was the hardest 7 miles I’ve ever run, and possibly the slowest. We laughed at our 18 min average pace afterwards, and Strava even taunted Carrie, suggesting that she could run the route faster next time. What does Strava know?!

Now it’s Wednesday and I still haven’t run my 17 miler. I have another attempt on the schedule for Thursday which isn’t ideal for this weekend’s planned yurt trip. But, the way I see it, I don’t have much of a choice! The clock is ticking and with a mere 6.5 weeks until the 50k, I need to get a few 15-20 milers under my belt. Even if I know I can physically tackle this 50k, I need these long run for my mental confidence!

********************