running and running and running

i did a 34 miler yesterday--ran over the 59th st bridge, around central park, along riverside park and the hudson river, up around the cloisters, then back down the hudson, and took the 7 train home. it was a pretty crazy amazing run, full of snacking on pretzels, thinking about life, love, running, amazed at how beautiful new york city can be...

but early on, the pain took forth. no, i wasn't experiencing any running-related pain other than the chafing of my fuel vest against my back. it was hot (mid-eighties) so i skipped a shirt in favor of a sports bra and feeling cooler. well, i felt pain. around mile five, i began feeling the chafing, and i tried to rearrange things but it wasn't happening. i ended up buying vaseline, but that did little to soothe my pain.

my bright idea: remove my underwear (hey, the shorts have inside underwear) and tuck it into my sports bra to provide an extra layer. while they kept moving around, i must admit, it totally made things MUCH more comfortable.

great quote from haruki murakami that i've thought myself multiple times....

...where did their thoughts, their hopes and dreams, disappear to? When people pass away, do their thoughts just vanish?

olympics

years ago, i protested, "NO OLYMPICS IN BEIJING UNTIL TIBET IS FREE!"

tibet is not free. sadness. i still hate the chinese gov't for what they've done to the tibetan people.

however, i am (i'll guiltily admit this!) obsessively watching the olympics. right now, i'm watching the women's marathon (my favorite race, my favorite event in the entire olympics!!!) happily. deena kaster DNF'd due to injury--sadness. she was my favorite runner.

song in my head

i've been listening to a lot of bob dylan lately, and "the lonesome death of hattie carroll" is one of my latest favorites. i just read this article about that song, and became even more profoundly depressed.

Quote

"I always loved running..it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs."

--Jesse Owens

next steps

with 55 days until the vt 50 miler, i'm really trying to step up my mileage and strengthen myself for the challenge that lay ahead. crista and i are running it (and completing it) together. we're both quite nervous, as the time limit of 12 hours will definitely force us to work hard. we have the next two months to experiment with race day nutrition, long runs, and delirium.

at jay, i hallucinated a person reading a book on a tree stump, and then i thought a man at an aid station was wearing american flag shoes. he was wearing trail shoes. crista hallucinated once yesterday. good times. i guess we'll have to figure out how to prevent getting too slap-happy

we did a 33 miler in minnewaska state park, one of my favourite places to run. the path was rolling hills, rocks, but carriage paths. we hid a gallon of water and a small bag of food (pretzels and sliced oranges) under some bushes by the start of our loop, so every 11 miles we were able to recharge ourselves. we both learned that pretzels are a godsend for trail runners. i can't wait to get my new running vest, which hopefully has additional room for running snacks. i just checked the tracking, and it should be arriving today. hurrah!

my knees feel a little stiff and i know i need to take care of my IT band. t is going to sea for a week, so i'm going to take advantage of his absence and hit up some yoga classes, maybe punk rope at the gym, get extra sleep. i have to comb through my cookbooks and find some yummy stuff to make b/c i'm in a vegetarian rut...you know, tofu stirfry, pasta, rice & beans, veggie burgers, and repeat.

but i'm super excited abt the 50 miler, and even more thrilled we completed yesterday's run in 5:51:19. hopefully, this means that we can complete the vt 50 miler before the 12 hour cut-off. and if we can't? well, at least we had fun trying.