The Ranch Athletics - My New Sanctuary

The Ranch Athletics - My new sanctuary.
If you're wondering why I've been MIA lately its because life has kinda sucked. Literally. I feel like I've been sucked into a spiraling abyss of work with a cartoon duck at the center of it - spinning like in those old Twilight Zone movies. Then just when I seem to crawl out of that space I get sucked into another hole with HTML/CSS/JS/ fucking numbers, slashes and code everywhere and when I finally surface the sun is gone or its beer o' clock and time to go to the gym - not for beer (although my coaches know that a couple Loomis Basin Brewery growlers make me very happy), but to work off the stress of work and deadlines and the random call from the principal that my kid just intentionally peed on the floor of the bathroom at school just for giggles. It seems my only sanctuary now has finally arrived.


My ball slam fail. I fell over. My coaches were amused.
The Ranch Athletics.

Yes. They are finally open and they are a full blown, freakin heavy lifting, heavy pulling, get your ass in real shape training and gym facility now.

And, now, I feel like I need them more than ever. My confidence is quickly waning for this looming 100 miler coming up in September. I'm trying to stay positive, but honestly I felt my motivation take a nose dive about two and a half months ago, which scares me. I'm not trying hard enough. I'm not working hard enough. I'm not doing shit. I was the kitty snack at the VERY back of the pack on my all-nighter 20 miler out on the Western States a couple weeks ago. Struggling to climb out of the canyons I was dealing with some phantom quad cramping and a rolled ankle. Oh... and I forgot to bring my hand warmers and ended up with numb fingers halfway through. I also failed to bring extra batteries for my handheld and headlamp. Luckily, one of the other runners was kind enough to give me some hand warmers, and both lights were just enough to get me back out of the canyons in the dark and my new Merrell Mix Masters + new socks worked out great - drying quickly within almost five miles after my stream fail.


I must have been this kitty's snack.
OK. So I was running on no sleep. Literally. I had been awake since 5am and our run didn't start until around midnight that night. I was entitled to a few fails, but really, I had no excuse. Yeah it was some rough elevation from Michigan Bluff to Dardanelles and back up, but I should have been stronger. I should have been STRONGER. I wasn't.

Which is a little disappointing.


Apparently this kitty lost a toenail.
Maybe this kitty runs ultras.
So my plan is to get my ass in gear and step up my training. Transitioning to the new gym has been a bit of an adjustment for me. I'm not quick to latch onto a new routine (well... I'm not quick at anything really) and I feel a bit like the "stupid girl" always coming in last place, not being able to count the reps accurately, failing to figure out how much time I have left on the clock, etc... Despite my complete ineptness so far (I've already whacked my head on the bar in the squat rack) everyone is super supportive and cheers each other on. This gym is everything I hoped it would be and I know I just have to give myself a few weeks to get into the swing of things. I'm feeling really crappy about myself lately and I need to turn my shit around.

I'm hoping that my road trip with the DirtyGirlZ is gonna do just that. I'll be crewing and pacing my friend Maggie for her hundred at the Zion 100 in a couple weeks. This is more of an adventure than a race for all of us and as busy moms we all need this. We met last week to discuss crewing logistics, camping/lodging, planning and do a little pre-race fueling - with wine of course. We've all ordered our team shirts (designed by yours truly of course) and are preparing for our epic adventure. I'm really excited to be able to run the mesas and take in the beauty of Utah. Our drive will be epic in and of itself with 12 hours of non-stop driving to Virgin so we're planning on arriving with an extra day to work out our locked up car-bound muscles.

So the next few weeks are imbued with the busy and not the chill. But hopefully the busy will be of the inspiring sort and when the chill comes I will be very happy to embrace it.

Comments

  1. Nice to see you back. I don't think you realize just how awesome you are, even in your rough patches. Besides, you always hit a stride and dig deep and get back to a level that makes you happy. I'm sure you won't be running last for long. You'll climb your way up in the new pack you're running with.

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    Replies
    1. Oh wow. Vaud - you don't know how good that comment made me feel! Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. That seriously meant a lot to me. I hope to someday be half as good as the people I was running with for my all nighter. I'm just so glad they were so patient with me.

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  2. I've just started reading your blog and love it! Your accomplishments are encouraging to me as I start my journey into shedding the shoes and developing as a runner. Thanks for the brutal honesty...and the swearing! I can't wait to hear how you do on the 100 miler. Looks like you've got a good group of encouraging friends. I may be a new "friend"...but I think you're bad ass! Thank you.

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    Replies
    1. Wow. Thanks for the cool comment! Enjoy the path that you have in front of you. Despite some of my frustrations and discouragements my running journey has taken me WAY farther than I ever thought - literally. Ha! I hope it does the same for you. Have fun!

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  3. Good luck and have fun with the new gym and, of course, crewing for your friend's ultra.

    That's funny about the your son "making his mark" on the school bathroom floor. Kids.

    Wow, 100 miles-It's hard for me to wrap my head around that number. Enjoy!

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