Hiking trip!

Hiking trip time! It doesn't really count as training for a run, but it will definitely get the legs into good shape.

After focusing on international trips for a while (Germany, Costa Rica, all of which were amazing), we decided to keep it domestic and see what the US has to offer. This trend was sparked by two short visits to San Francisco, both of which consisted of the city serving as a homebase for a Yosemite trip and a Mount Tamalpais day hike. Oregon and Washington State are on the list, as is Maine (Acadia!), but both of those destinations are somewhat unpleasant for March weather. This timing for the southwest, on the other hand, is perfect: right when the campgrounds and lodges open and right before the mandatory shuttle buses start, so we can drive to trailheads and experience hikes with the minimum amount of foot traffic.

Some highlights:

Grand Canyon, obviously.

We are hiking from the rim down to the floor and back up again. This concept is already very backwards in my head, because every hike I've been on either consists of walking up and then back down a mountain or along a trail that goes up and down in elevation through a range. I wonder how my legs will do with the uphill coming later in the day... may even be better, since downhill definitely hurts the feet more.

Bryce Canyon:

The whole point of this place is to feel like you're a bee in a honeycomb. Looks totally crazy, and there are real warnings to not go onto (or into?) certain trails without a park guide because you will get lost. Technically it's not a canyon but an ampitheater. Those pointy things are called "hoodoos," formed out of the lakebed by erosion. This place is much higher in elevation than Zion National Park, with the ampitheater's rim at a whopping 8,000-9,000ft above sea level.

Zion National Park:

Angel's Landing. Yep. Thousand feet drop on both sides, about a foot wide in some places, and a handy little chain to keep you there. This is definitely a highlight. There are apparently mountain lions all over this place, and things like this are not reassuring, especially since we're going to be camping in a teensy little thin-walled tent:

Monument Valley:

This is less of a hike and more of a drive, but it still is going to be amazing. Recognize this from Forrest Gump, Stagecoach and Back to the Future III? Just so pretty!

Arches National Park:

Another day hike for this one. According to Wikipedia, it is the home of over 2000 natural sandstone arches, formed when a giant sea evaporated, leaving a layer of salt beneath the ever-increasing weight of additional dirt and rock above it. When the weight became too great, the salt liquified, and thrust up layers of rock into big domes, which were then eaten away by the elements in various shapes.

Antelope Canyon:

There are really no words to describe this. Caused by water eroding the sandstone, this slot canyon's rock flows like a river itself. Light begins to enter through the top of the canyon starting March 15 (phew, we'll just make it!) and goes away every year on October 7. The only thing a little bit scary about this is that flash flooding does still occur, and eleven people were killed in a flood in 1997, which occurred when a thunderstorm dumped lots of water at the canyon basin seven miles away the day before. The only person to get out was the guide, who had already had "swiftwater training." The rescue ladders and nets were swept away... but now they're bolted on, and let's cross our fingers!

Natural Bridges National Monument:

We are going to be here in the evening, and it's a good thing, too, because Natural Bridges has the only night sky monitored by the NPS Night Sky Team that rates a Class 2 on the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, giving it the darkest sky ever assessed. That there is the Milky Way, kiddies. Ahhhh, we're tipping!

We are alternating camping nights with hotel nights and renting a car to drive the very long hours between these places. We'll end up at Salt Lake City to fly back to New York a week after we get out there, and here's to hoping it's an amazing trip!

This might actually be working!

Last night I ran 5.35 miles in 45:49 (8:34 pace). This was all up and through the park, so there were hills like a normal road instead of the flatness of the sidewalks. This was a major accomplishment so far because of a few things:

1) The fact that I didn't have to stop upon pain of death by asphyxiation! I've run the hill at the north end of the park 4 times now, and it's always been a struggle between my mind and my body that my body always seems to lose. In fact, I would start breathing harder before the trail even started to go up - panic attack? Oh God, oh God, I shouldn't have come this way? I had to stop at the top and walk it off every time, at least for a few steps, so that I could catch my breath -- but not this time! My technique was to really concentrate on my breathing and I ended up robotically counting them as I tried to breathe in and out through my  nose and stretch out my stomach muscles so I wouldn't get a stitch. Just FYI, I took only 67 breaths coming down the hill, but over 200 on the way back up. I lost count because I was getting distracted by my legs falling off. However, at the top, I just kind of leaned back and breathed deep and the next thing I knew I was down the small rise and still going!

2) The distance itself. Technically, the total amount that I ran yesterday was more like 6.5 miles, because of the distance to and from the park that I wasn't timing. The previous times that I've run ~5 miles have ended up with my feet going numb or something else hurting just from the repetition. This time felt wonderful, though; I actually ran right past the normal cutover point at ~84th street (which is usually the part that I barely make it to, feeling like it's my last dying action to get my butt up to the crosswalk...) and continued down to the 72nd street cutover. Well, at least it felt wonderful until I stopped and stretched and walked it out. Then it hurt. Like really hurt. I iced when I got back to the apartment but still looked like an old woman hobbling around. Speaking of which, the knees are still fine! Looks like appropriate shoes do a world of good.

3) Ok, ok, fine! I'll do a warmup and stretch before starting the actual run. *Grumble* Adam was right. The times that I run right through the first mile without stopping to shake out the legs are the times that I have to stop right in the middle because my shins are so tight I can't extend my toes. What a difference between Sunday (no warmup stretch, had to stop twice, was really, really trying not to puke on the people passing me) and last night (warmup stretch, never had to stop, was really, really trying not to laugh like a maniac as I passed people).

4) This isn't a real "accomplishment", but I just think it's funny because I NEVER thought I'd have to have a music collection to listen to that was longer than an entire cd to last a whole run. Yeah... 45 minutes is a long time! Btw, last night was Big D and Less than Jake and some Goldfinger. Gotta love the out-of-sync trumpets and power chords as you're triumphantly topping the hill.

5) Did you know they are ticketing bicyclists who are running red lights in the park, even after dark with no one in sight? That's a desperate city trying to rake in the dough.

"Many people shy away from hills. They make it easy on themselves, but that limits their improvement. The more you repeat something, the stronger you get."
- Joe Catalano

100 days til relay day!