We are all smiles, perkiness and giggles even at 4am.

This morning my sister and I decided to get up at 4am to hit the Headlands up for a nice 11 mile-ish trail run before work and before I fly off to Atlanta for work. Life is so much better at 4am. You’d think it would be hard to get up, but if you time it right, like we did, you can be much more perky than you might be at 5 or 6am. Just have to hit it right at the best point in the sleep cycle. This morning was beyond ideal. After a few days of overnight rain, we woke this morning to crystal clear starry skies and perfect upper 40s temps.

Everything is alive at that hour and it is just thrilling to tool around on the trails illuminated only by the narrow beam of your headlamp. The trails were good and muddy because of the rain we’ve been having down here in SF, but nothing Bridle Trails or Hagg Lake- esqe. I don’t know what it is about that hour that just makes you feel like you own the world. Your senses are heightened, your mind focused and getting your blood flowing sets you up for a great day, even if you may lose a bit of steam mid-afternoon. It is worth it to me.

When I was in Atlanta, I was in the habit of getting up at 5am and running. My days are so much better when I get up and out the door for a run before work. It may be hard to extricate myself from underneath the covers, especially on a cold day, but once I am up and out, I never regret it. Before most people are awake, I have gotten my blood flowing and worked up quite an appetite. My mind is focused, even if I am tired, my body feels ready to take on the world. I got out of the habit of getting up at 5am since my routine is different in Seattle and I haven’t felt quite the same. The something that is missing is that morning run. Yes, I still run morning or mid-morning, but the longer I wait the less day I have to be productive. If I get myself out at 5, by 7 am I already have a huge sense of accomplishment. I can’t explain it, I just feel better.

There are many who say that getting up at that hour is craziness, ridiculous or unnecessary, but I reminded myself today that I don’t believe that. While I won’t be routinely getting up at 4am any time soon, I am going to try to get back in my 5am habit. I just love owning the city, the trail, the road. When you wake up that early, you tend to be a bit loopy and have a propensity for running in the middle of the street or breaking into bouts of whooping and hollering. I personally just can’t help it. Days like today just make me giddy.

I heart mud and EMRs (early morning runs) and my sister

I am on the road as many of you know, traveling about for work, training, racing, and hopefully somewhere in there pleasure (of course). One of the first things to go when on the road is the ability or moreso, the stability to throw down in the kitchen on a regular basis. Life seems to unbalance itself more when you are living out of a suitcase and not necessarily in a bad way. It is just hard to have a routine and find a rhythm to life when you have more life factors going on than the usual day to day (which is the case for me right now). I am not complaining, heck no! It keeps me on my toes and even better, gives me perspective. As I left Seattle this trip, I realized that something had fundamentally changed in me. I was no longer a wandering spirit, I am no longer someone who craves to be up and gone to the next biggest thing or after the next shiny object like I have been for a few years. I was worried for a while that I was forever going to be a malcontent who couldn’t stand to stay in one place for a long time. But as I drove out of Seattle, I realized that things were different this time. Instead of relishing my vagabond status, which mind you I do appreciate the luxury of having, I realized that I am ready for something more in life. I am moving into a different stage of life. I have been on the cusp for a very long time, but this was the tipping point. I am ready to dig down and grow roots. I thought I was ready to do that when I moved to Seattle, but I realize now that I wasn’t quite there and my experience in Seattle has illustrated that. But something changed and now my priorities are shifting. Instead of the next big short lived adventure or soul searching endeavour, I am looking forward to roots, routine, community and life building. Alot of the things that slip in my life on the road like blogging, writing, cooking, journaling, music and art, I want to find a place for and I tend to do those things more when my life is stable. Its a funny thing, but I like it.

But in the meantime, what I can do is thrive in the situation I have and work to change things where I can. It is not overnight. And in the meantime, I have to insert my passions into the fray where I can. One such occasion was two nights ago when I cooked dinner for my sister and our friend Robyn. I had to take a page out of the Sandra Lee Semi-homemade school since I was short on time, kitchen space, etc. I threw together a homemade pizza, salad and a side of brussel sprouts (for good measure). The pizza was a hit and Robyn was keen to take the recipe and use it for entertaining later in the week! When it comes down to it, homecooking is not that hard no matter where you are or what you are up to. I lived for 6 months in London where all I had was a hot plate and I never missed a beat on the homecooking. No excuses!

Vagabond Pizza

1 store bought ready made Organic pizza crust

Marinara Sauce

turkey pepperoni

Sauteed / roast veggies ( I used a combination of caramelized onions, garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper, squash, zucchini)

Parmesan

To construct:

Put a healthy layer of marinara sauce on the bottom, then the turkey pepperoni and a sprinkling of cheese. Artfully arrange the sauteed veggies and top with more cheese. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or whatever your crust insists. See easy. Throw together a quick green salad and you have a whole meal in no time flat.

Krissy and I taking a dip in the cold lake after a great race
Hagg Lake 50k

I admit it. I haven’t been bloggerific lately. And yet, I probably have the most to say right now than any other time, just not the time to say it. I have officially hit the road for some races and some work and trying to keep everything balanced when you are living out of your car and a suitcase can get interesting. That said, I am finally healthy, though not necessarily back up to speed. It is good to be running again and I am infinitely thankful that I am able to do what I do.

Hagg Lake 50k
I hit Portland on the first stop of my first travel bender of the season to take part in the Hagg Lake 50k. I wanted to run a race pre-Napa and get some distance back in my legs and also to gauge if Napa was even realistic. With mounting pressure about me being the return favorite, Napa as a “training race” was looking like it was going to not allow me to gracefully slip into the mid-pack. As much as I like to think that I don’t care what others think or say about me, Napa is a race I would like to be fit enough to defend at, even if it is part of a 34 mile day (as was the plan). Hagg was the first race of the Oregon Ultra series and I was excited to meet alot of the Oregon runners whom I know via blogs and in passing but haven’t really spent much time around. It sounded like a fun mudfest, so I figured I’d give it a go. Krissy was coming down from Seattle to run it, so it was a great opportunity to see her before I continued south for Napa, work, and Way Too Cool 50k. In brief the race was awesome. Well put together, beautiful course (double loop around the lake with a out and back at the start) and the sunny clear crisp day helped produce smashing fast times. Krissy and I went out together and decided to run as much as we could together since this was her longest run of the year and I wanted to just have a good race but not burn too much before Napa. We clipped along in 2nd/3rd place behind Joelle from Boise, who won Orcas 50k a few weeks ago. I was resolved to let her go as Hagg was more run than race in my mind. I have become better at being able to let things like that go. It is better for the bigger picture. Krissy was feeling good and I wanted to see if she could use that and go after Joelle, so I “stopped to tie my shoes” and told her to get going. We stayed together through about 24 miles and then I stopped for a minute or two at the aid station at the dam to re-up on my salt since I had forgotten to put my Nuun in my bottle and was super low on salt. I dumped straight salt down my throat and off I went. It took me about 2 miles to stop feeling like I was going to throw up, but I managed. It was a great day and in the end, it was Joelle, Krissy and then I and all three of us broke the previous course record, which shows you just what an ideal day it was! I was glad to get in a good fast pace but not too taxing effort and my legs felt great after a dip in the icy lake and a delicious Buffalo burger enjoyed with Krissy and Dagan after the race!

Napa Nada
It had looked like I was going to have to do another “temporary indefinite” stint in Atlanta for a minute there. We got a big project for work which we need to hit quickly and get out the door. I don’t have to go forever, but I do have to go from this Friday until March 12th to help with the load. For that reason and also because of my injury, even though I am recovered/ing, Napa just doesn’t fit into my schedule in the same way. I was looking forward to the race, but I was also looking forward to being in 2:45 as a training pace shape. I am not there anymore, I am working my way back and trying to keep my eye on the bigger goals of Boston and WC100k in Belgium. Napa will be there in the future and I look forward to doing it again at a different time.

Small Things
My runs this week haven’t felt great. I have felt slow, heavy and tired. I don’t like that feeling. I have had the pleasure of running some of my favorite trails while down here in SF but part of me would enjoy it so much more if I felt “runnerly“. I just haven’t had the spring in my step I did pre-injury. I was feeling fit and strong then. It takes time to come back, even though it was just a two week layoff. I think part of me still hesitates in pushing myself because I fear getting hurt again. I am still doing the mileage, but cautiously. After an ok run on my favorite 50/50 run (50% trail, 50% road) this morning and narrowly escaping a really bad accident when a nail went through my shoe and into my foot, I was feeling kind of downtrodden (and very thankful I wasn’t going to have to sluff through Napa on Sunday). I decided to eat a hearty snack of gluten free cereal and take a nap before going out and trying a second run. I woke up feeling a bit better, but not expecting much from my run. But as I took my first few strides, I could tell I was just feeling it. I floated, I zoomed, I was effortless. I smashed down along the water through Sausalito and to the out and back in Mill Valley. As the sun set at my back, I knocked out 5.3 miles at a 5:50 average pace and arrived barely even breathless at the turn around point. I eased up for the recovery back home, but still average 6:40 for the run. I couldn’t help but feel even if just for a fleeting moment that this was just a glimmer of what is to come if I just keep on hammering, being smart and keeping my eye on the prize. If nothing else, the injury gave me a renewed perspective, a reconnection to the deeper nature of why I run and how much I appreciate everything beautiful and passion-filled that comes into my life.