Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Q&A time and a little mountain run

That Chris K over at The Manly Runner thought he'd be really cute and invite bloggers to ask him questions so he could weasel out of writing a normal blog post, like us normal people do.  And to be even cuter, he tagged me to do the same.  What a lucky girl am I!

So, as Chris said: let's give it a try.  Ask me anything.  No holds barred.   No subject too serious or frivolous.  I can't guarantee that I will answer every question, but I guess we'll see.

Want to know something about my prior training? 
Want to know about my heel?
Want to know the secret to being happy?
Want to know what I do when I am not running my kids all over creation?
Want to know what I'm going to do to my hair today?

All sorts of thrilling questions are out there just oozing with anticipation to be answered, so ask away.

In the meantime, I spent a little time up in the mountains on Friday where I failed attempted to do a little high altitude trail running.  The boys and I ventured over to this trail we did a couple years ago called Hell's Hole - and the name is pretty fitting.  The trail is only about 3.5 miles long, but it gains about 1900' in elevation - for me, that's steep. 

Ryan took off like a bat out of hell, he can now run probably 2x my speed, brat, so Brendan and I somewhat stuck together.  I'd run slow about 10 minutes or so and turn around go back down to find him and repeat until it got way too steep and I was spent so we just hiked together.  About 2.75 miles in (yes, laugh away...but we climbed about 1800' in that short distance, this is taxing on my out-of-shape bod.  Bleh!), this huge, black cloud rolled in and it started raining; that was enough for me to panic and turn around.  Storms in the mountains come quick and hard and way too many hikers end up not so fortunate getting down and I didn't want to be one of those statistics. But I got a lot of cool pics on the way up:








These trees were all leaning over sideways - very odd.  Any ideas why?
Going down this trail was not making my foot/heel happy - at all!  By the time we got down to the bottom, I was in agony and after we drove a short ways into town for some lunch, the bottom of my ankle was throbbing and I couldn't walk on it.  ARGH!!  I threw off my shoes and found instant relief.  Still painful, but at least I could walk.  I am pretty stressed out about the shoe situation - again - and not sure where I need to go with trail shoes.  I'm all about the minimalist shoe and firmly believe they are what has helped me get back on the road running....but the trails are another beast.  The Pearl Izumi shoes I have been wearing have been causing me some discomfort but they are not a true minimalist shoe, and I'm not sure if my ankle problem (which is just a continuation of the heel from hell saga - my ankle has been one of the many cuplprits to the heel situation) from the run stems from too much shoe or not enough shoe.  Very frustrating trying to figure this out and the clock is ticking....I need to figure this out.

Anyway, when we got into Idaho Springs, I noticed the river was running crazy wild with all the rain we've had this past week so the boys wanted to run the rapids, as they say...



They had an awesome time.  Because the water is flowing like wicked crazy, they were done in an hour and I barely had time to tag along on the frontage road for pictures, but said it was the best rafting trip EVER (and those boys have done a lot!).  

Saturday I was fortunate to meet up with blogger Matt of Matty Run Run for some lunch at Whole Foods.  Matt's one of my favorite blogs to read - he's articulate yet funny and really provides a good read.  He and his awesome wife just had a baby - meet Matt, his wife Sara and their new baby boy, Henry!

Some of you may remember that little video contest Matty was holding where I submitted my physical therapy exercises and begged for votes to win that cool canvass of Matty doing clam shell exercises on the beach. Well.....

Henry obviously notices his daddy!
Yeah, I WON!  What an honor to have the man himself, in live person, here to get a picture together.  Dang it though, I forgot to have him sign the thing - it'd be worth millions if I had the foresight to do that. 

Thanks, Matty - was great meeting you and your beautiful family and can't wait until you're back in town again.

I'm happy to report that my ankle is better and I am back to running my ploddingly (that's a word you know!) slow pace.  Going to head to PT today to make sure I didn't do something drastic to it...and have him check out my rib muscle, which is obviously better but still hounding me now and then.  And that bee sting from last week???  Um, yeah...that sucker swelled so bad it looked like someone slugged me, but thankfully it's now almost all okay (a little itchy, but the grapefruit-sized growth on the side of my face is thankfully gone.  Check back next week to see what new catastrophe I endured). 

Ok, that's a wrap!  Chris states I am to bestow this Q&A Award to five people who have to do this on their blog, then pass it on to five others  - and use that same image file above.  Since I'm horrible at picking, I'm going with the first 5 who commented on my last post.  The lucky recipients are:

Marcia @ The Studly Runner
Julie @ You just have to TRI
Jamoosh @ Last Mile Lounge
Abbey @ Have Dental FLoss, Will Travel
Liz @ Runner Mum

Ha - teach you guys to rush out and comment on my posts, huh?? 
I'll give you til Sunday to ask questions (you know I can't rush into another blog post this week already) and I'll post the answers early next week.  In the meantime, RUN STRONG, Friends!

50 comments:

Christi said...

Jill, it looks like you had a great weekend despite the pain. I hope nothing drastic happens this weekend!

I love all the pics! I especially love the one of you sitting down. Very cool!

Have a great week!

CautiouslyAudacious said...

Love the pics and awesome trail!! So how do you stay motivated while working through your heel problems?

Amanda@runninghood said...

You have me sooooo missing Colorado!! OMG! My heart! The columbines, Idaho springs....be still my heart. I miss it like no other right now. Beau Jos Pizza and a night Georgetown sky is calling my name. Funny how this stirred things up and made me want to go "home".

How long does it take to adjust to altitude for say a high altitude race?

What is your favorite place to go if you want an excuse to "dress up"?

A guilty pleasure?

xo

ShutUpandRun said...

Sounds like an amazing trail run with your boys. Summer in CO is the pits, no fun, no time to be outside, crappy weather and scenery.

Hope that heel is okay!

Question: If money, training, injuries, time were not a concern, what race would you most want to do and where?

Anonymous said...

And you are associating with a self-professed "Manly Runner" because...

Adrienne Langelier, MA said...

I could read your blog just for your awesome pics!!

So, my question is kinda dumb, but do you ever get used to running in the mountains, or ever wish for different terrain?

Hope that makes sense!

Run Happy!

Patrick Mahoney said...

If I had magical powers and could move Colorado to another location completely intact, where would you want it moved? To the coast? To a different time zone? Farther south? Another planet? Since this is a completely hypothetical question the answers "nowhere" or "I like it just the way it is" are not acceptable answers.

Petraruns said...

If you could force Patrick to race in a major race in any outfit which would you choose?

When are you coming over to run with me in Europe?

Can I really be on your relay team next year?

Julie said...

Well thanks for sharing the love... :) I will have to come up with a really good question for you.

But right now I just have to say OMG!!!! My parents and my boys and I are suppose to go rafting up near Buena Vista this weekend, and I am SCARED TO DEATH!!!! Seeing these pics doesn't help so much!

Oh I have a question!!! Which state do you want to ride across with me next year...Colorado, Iowa, Wyoming Nebraska...? :)

Julie said...

Oh and can you make me a faster a runner without to much pain?

misszippy said...

Here's mine: Since you are the blog meet-up queen, who haven't you met that you are dying to meet? (I'm sure tough to nail down, but give it a go!)

Anonymous said...

My question is:

Do you miss me?!

I miss you ;)

-Jessica

Caroline said...

Questions ok...

have you visited other cunttries?

where did you go on your honeymoon?

Guilty pleasure? if it is Jersey Shore I am not sure I will get over it...

most embarrassing moment as a mom?

how old were you when you ran your first marathon?

if you could have dinner with Lance or Dean who do you pick?

Abby @ Have Dental Floss, Will Travel said...

That's what I get for commenting early!

Tell me about your BQ - I'm gunning for one this fall and love the inspiration of reading about others' attempts!

Jennifer said...

If you could have a third arm, where on your body would be located?

Good to see you out there again, even if it is still-faster-than-me slow! XOX

Anonymous said...

Hmm oh geez! I can't think if a good question! ACKKKK!

funderson said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVEY LOVE my new Keen trail runners. I know I gushed about them before, but so far they are stellar for the trail and I think you should go try on a pair. I'm sorry it still hurts..boo!!!
I think the quakies lean over from snow push...just a theory...I have no proof.
What is with this stinky rain business??

ajh said...

Okay.......

If you couldn't live in CO where would you live?

If you coud do any race no money involved to get there, stay, race........what race would you do?

Who is your favorite person from Vermont?

C2Iowa said...

Love the pics.

Ok~I will ask a very important question: What is the key to a "perfect" Margarita?

or seriously -- do you really miss this humid state that cannot decide if it wants to cook us or marinate us?

tahoegirl said...

What is the best compliment someone has given you that has affected you still today?

Adam Culp (Crazy Floridian) said...

That looks like fun. I should get out to your area in the summer.

DRog said...

1)does the laundry / dishes and general mess that having 3kids make, specifically 1 older child and twins a couple years younger....GET ANY BETTER EASIER OR TOLERABLE?
at least the laundry tell me it gets better


2) have you been swimming lately?!?!?!

D

Teamarcia said...

Chris K who? You mean the one who's all gaga for his dreamy new girlfriend? Ha! the ONE time out of a billion I comment first on your blog! So I'm to ASK you a question? Or I'm to get people to ask ME questions on mine. I'm slow in more ways than one obviously.

The gorgeous pics and that columbine on steroids make me wanna return to CO so badly!
Just learned theres no RNR Chicago half for me this August. Toying with the Diva half in Vail. Talk me down from my ledge!

Terzah said...

Hi Jill! My question is....tell me how to train for Pikes Peak. OK, that's not formatted as a question. Let's try....how should one train for Pikes Peak, if one wanted to do the ascent?

I can't wait to hear the answers to some of these other ones too.

See.Kate.Run said...

What a beautiful hike!! Love the pic where you are sitting on the rocks. So cute! :) What is the toughest race you have ever done? What is your favorite movie?

XLMIC said...

First, those are amazing pics ... i love the mountain hikes and rides you show us. And that rafting... crazy! whoa!

Second... here are the questions...

1. what did you do with your winnings from that kick-ass 'dance video' contest you won?
2. when is your debut on 'dancing with the stars'?
3. if i gave you a cherry popper, would you really use it?
4. do you have a blog-crush? will you tell us who?
5. do you have a celebrity crush? will you tell us who?
6. what brand and flavor of toothpaste do you use?
7. do randomly odd questions annoy you?
8. are you already planning a 'return to running' race for the not too distant future? which one?
9. what is your favorite indulgence?

Liz said...

That trail looks really tough. Thanks for tagging me! My questions are: Have you ever run a race outside the US? Have you ever been to the UK?

Johann said...

I'm actually amazed you got through all of that without some serious injury or mishap. I really hope the heel is OK. Take care Jill!
Question: When you get over the heel issues completely, what running goal do you still want to achieve?

Big Daddy Diesel said...

- Whats your dream race?
- When are you going to quit your job and become a pro cyclist?
- When is are you going to announce your return to triathlon and take over the Colorado race scene?
- If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?

Jason said...

Here are my questions:

What is your infatuation with Twinkies? And I hope they are the old school kind not the new kind they try to pass off as Twinkies these days.

What would the bakery cost to buy? That means you have to go there for us and find out.

When is the next time I can come to CO to bother you?

Where is your Twitter account?

Kandi said...

My question: Do twins run in your family?

Love the pictures from your hike, especially the one with you sitting on the rocks. Such a cool angle.

A Prelude To... said...

Love the pictures! That "run" of the rapids looks simply AWESOME!!!

Let's see...my question will be...
1) Do you remember a perfect day or moment where it all just seemed right? Not when your kids were born or wedding day, but a time that you felt like a little bit of Heaven was surrounding you. I would love to hear about it!

2) If you could never watch tv again, would it bother you? Are you addicted to a tv show right now?

Aimee said...

That hike looked so beautiful! Sorry going down caused you more foot pain..ugh! I actually started wearing the Merrel Pace Glove on the trails b/c it's a true minimalist shoe. Have you tried it? I think finding the right shoe is soo hard!

Question: do you like your job? If you could do anything, what would it be?

Anne said...

I can so relate to the two steps forward, one step back progress of a big injury. Maybe new shoes will help. And I'm so looking forward to our meetup at Meg's house, now just a couple of weeks away. Hooray!!

Bubble Boy said...

You have a bad heel, but you still have more energy than the Energizer Bunny! Looks like a great weekend with, Or at least trying to keep up with the boys! What lucky kids you have, such a good Mom!

Molly said...

gorgeous photos as usual, sorry that heel didn't behave.

Colorado looks like such a beautiful place to live, do you think the high altitude makes you a stronger athlete?

Black Knight said...

Great pictures of beautiful places. The trail looks tough but the landscape is wonderful.
I hope you feel better soon.
Question:When will you come to race (or to make some workout) in Europe?

Kenley said...

You just know how to rock a good time huh? Question: What is your fastest mile on the track, and when did you start running?

HappyTrails said...

What a wonderful day with the boys! Love the pics! Uh-oh on the shoes. Bummer. We need to put our heads together and talk trail shoes. Maybe you should go try on every trail shoe in the store and just go with the one that plain old feels good on the foot. I still have not found the perfect shoe - close but not there yet.... I have had a couple of bees go down the front of my bike jersey while riding - not a good thing! VERY hard to stay calm while a bee is buzzing around your chest. Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Chris K said...

Oh, I thought the person who did the tagging didn't ask the questions too.

1) Does Jamoosh like me?
2) Your heel is injured? Really? Cuz you haven't written about that have you?
3) What are you going to drink when we have our Blogger Meet Up in San Diego?
4) How many Bloggers have you met in person?

Jenn said...

You and your pictures of desolate blech. Quit posting. I absolutely LOVE that you have a close enough relationship with your boys to go on runs with them. 1900 feet-AHHH!

1.) Maximum weekly mileage ever

2.) Does altitude feel like humidity? I've never run in altitude

3.) How many actual pairs of tempo shorts

4.) Would you ever get married again?

5.) Favorite running book?

Have a good weekend Jill!!!

RunToTheFinish said...

glad the ankle is feeling better and the running is slowly getting better...i have no good advice on the trail shoes. Wasn't it misszippy who just did some trails in minimal shoes?

hmm my question.... do you dream about a post race meal during your race?

Kate Geisen said...

How do I keep missing your blog posts? I think I must be on the mini-subscription or something.

The worst part (other than not seeing those gorgeous pictures til now) is that all the good questions have been asked.

Hmmm...when are YOU coming to visit ME? :)

What's the best thing about coaching? What's the most frustrating?

What has been the hardest part about biking other than it not being running? :) Do you use clipless pedals or regular platform pedals?

What do your kids think about your blog?

Caratunk Girl said...

AH I see it pays to always be the last one to comment ;) ha ha

UGH. Still working through your heel pain - I am so sorry it has lasted so long. That stinks. I am glad you are able to start running a little though.

Your pictures are awesome as always, and congrats on winning the Matt Clam picture. I know that sounds kind of weird taken out of context....

Caratunk Girl said...

AH I see it pays to always be the last one to comment ;) ha ha

UGH. Still working through your heel pain - I am so sorry it has lasted so long. That stinks. I am glad you are able to start running a little though.

Your pictures are awesome as always, and congrats on winning the Matt Clam picture. I know that sounds kind of weird taken out of context....

Caratunk Girl said...

AH I see it pays to always be the last one to comment ;) ha ha

UGH. Still working through your heel pain - I am so sorry it has lasted so long. That stinks. I am glad you are able to start running a little though.

Your pictures are awesome as always, and congrats on winning the Matt Clam picture. I know that sounds kind of weird taken out of context....

Cory Reese said...

I love those mountain pictures! That looks like an amazing place to run.

Jess @ Blonde Ponytail said...

What beautiful scenery!!! OH, CO is beautiful and time spent outside with your boys!!

And congrats on winning the canvas!

I have been asking this to some others, but who would play you in a movie?

Why did you begin running?

What is your FAVORITE post-race or long-run food/meal?

Glenn Jones said...

Whew! Glad I'm really really far behind in my blog reading! Ha ha!

The trees leaning? You're in the mountains right? I think an avalanche is likely to be the culprit. I see that a lot in the Sierras - especially in an avalanche run out zone.

The Boring Runner said...

Oh my gosh, so awesome that you were able to meet up with Matt. He's taking a bit of a blog hiatus, but that doesn't make him any more funny in pictures obvs. :)

My question is:
What is your favorite part about coaching?