Impressions

Tonight I landed in Graz, Austria, for a business trip to work with some of my colleagues here in Graz. After arriving at the hotel the first thing I did was put on my running shoes, check a map, and head out the door. I've heard many a runner say that it's a great way to get a feel for a new place and to reset after a long flight. I've never done it so I thought I'd give it a try.

While most posts are about runs, this one will simply  be impressions of Graz, Austria, from the point of view of a first run in a new place.

The first thing I noticed was the humidity; Boulder has been incredibly dry so any moisture in the air feels humid. Next was there was air! Graz is 4000 feet below Boulder and it's quite noticable. I charted a route that would take me to the Mur River and I figured there's be a path there to run along so that's where I headed. The streets were typical European with older buildings several stories tall. All different colors. The smaller European cars darted here and there.

After just a mile I found the river and a beautiful park. What a great sight! Lots of people, beautiful green, and mellow sound of the river. I started down the path and soon heard and saw a band playing along with food tents set up in the park. What the heck - I stopped and listened for a little bit. I believe it was a Middle-Eastern band - the language definitely wasn't German and there were melodies and influences from the little I know of Middle-Eastern music. Kids danced on the stage as if they belonged there and no one cared. Large circles of people dancing were in front of the stage. Holding hands, smiling, all ages, doing what looked like traditional steps. What a great community event; I'm sure there was hundreds of these happening all over the world on this Sunday night bringing peopletogether.

I had to learn the rules too. Should I wait at stoplights for the light to change - that one is a yes, everyone does. When I pass should I say on your left (or the German equivalent) - that's a no. Where should I run, the bike lane or pedestrian lane - I never did figure that one out, but ran in the pedestrian lane.

The people aren't so much for smiles or waves or eye contact, still they are friendly and have a sweet respect for each other. Walkers, runners, cyclists, roller bladers, even someone keeping a hula hoop going as she moseyed down the path. Plenty of playground equipment for kids, a lot of which looked like so much fun and the kind you won't find the U.S. anymore. No one in a hurry, almost like they were being with the river and matching its flow. I remember a woman on rollerblades as if it was second nature to her; and I can only presume a boyfriend behind her struggling to keep up. Friends sharing conversation, families strolling together.

While I didn't start out looking for a rhythm here, as my post from earlier would have talked about. That's exactly what happened though. I found my rhythm here in a new place. Yes, I was a visitor, but not a foreigner. I felt completely at home here. What a great welcome to Graz.

Finding the natural rhythm

The last three weeks may Friday run has been a a pacing run. The goal has been to maintain a consistent, strong pace for about 40 minutes. It has not been as easy as I would have thought. Over the past year I have done a lot of running while running a pace that felt good.

During the past two Friday runs I have had trouble holding the designated pace. In fact the thought that went through my head was 'this pace doesn't feel natural'. It wasn't a pace I'd normally run at. my body either wanted to go faster or slower.
As I started my pacing run this past Friday, the same thought came back. It was followed by another thought of this workout isn't going to work and have the proper effect if I let that thought continue.

Instead I knew I needed to find a new way to approach this. How did I want to run? I wanted to run and have it feel natural and have a good rhythm. So that's where I went - 'find the natural rhythm in this pace.' Almost as soon as that intention and idea came forward, everything about the run changed. My breathing eased, my stride opened up, there was more bounce in my footfalls, my mind quieted. The run was suddenly a gift!

It occurred to me that life can be similar. We End up in situations that are not ideal or even close. And we struggle trying to change it. What if instead we found the goodness, the naturalness, the rhythm in each moment. Our energy would improve and we would be more in a flow state, instead of a flight or fight mode.

I'm looking forward to practicing finding the natural rhythm!

Introducing ... Tailwind

Unfortunately I can't do one of those big introductory voices through text otherwise it would be a fun way to start this.

I just returned from a quick trip to Durango to visit some old friends, Jenny and Jeff, and to see some of the Race Across America teams comes through Durango. I met both while living in Seattle and I thoroughly enjoyed
the drive and the visit!
While I was there I had a chance to talk with Jenny and Jeff quite a bit about their new venture - Tailwind Nutrition. Tailwind has just launched a new Endurance Fuel a few months ago and Jenny has been itching to get me to try it. On a short and easy Monday run I did take some Tailwind with me and my first impression was that I liked it. It was indeed easy my stomach. They graciously gave me a few packets to try when I got home, which I will do. This isn't a review - that will come later after I've tried it on more runs.

What was far more interesting to me was our discussion about Tailwind, how it started, what the premise is, what the differentiation factor is. We talked through quite a few things like research, quality of ingredients, size of the company, marketing challenges, and so on.

Where the discussion came to at one point was about the people and company behind a product. What's the company like? What's their motivation? Are they truly bringing their passion to what they offer? This is entirely a reflection of the people, especially in a small company. For me it's important to know that the people that work there believe in what they are doing and have winning motivations for themselves and their customers. That kind of quality and personality is what really stands out and makes a difference.

I certainly want a high quality, well thought out, product that works for me. But if I had to choose between two products from different companies, the people and the company would make the difference to me about which I would choose.

Jenny and Jeff are fantastic people and they have come up with a new product that's very worth considering. Without more trail I can't say any more about how effective it is, but so far according to them the evidence suggests it's accomplishing what it set out to do. Moreso though, consider Tailwind because of who's behind it and the passion they bring to life in this new fuel.

World - say hello to Tailwind Nutrition.

Pacing

Since I began running a little more than a year ago my idea of pacing has been to listen to the rhythm of my body and let it find the perfect pace for each mile, or each hill. It's worked really well with some fantastic runs in that realm.

I'm now heading towards a race in a few weeks and asked my friend Marty for some advice on final preparations. He was kind enough - and I am quite grateful - to offer his wisdom from so many years of running. The primary workouts Marty has planned for me are pacing workouts - holding a specific pace. Being able to monitor, assess, and hold a consistent pace will be key to keeping my energy strong and heading towards a solid finish.

I haven't done this type of focused pacing for perhaps 20 years, but so far it's been another thrill to really tune in to my body. I'm having to focus effort to within a few seconds over a half mile or a mile, and then do that again and again. Or in some cases go 2-4 seconds faster over the next interval. Finding that precise rhythm has been fun even with its challenges and newness again.

In one of the movies about Steve Prefontaine, Pre as he was called, finishes a race, a 5000 meter race I think. In that race he sets a personal best (and maybe even an American record, but I can't remember). After the race Pre walks over to his coach, the famous Bill Bowerman and the first words from Bowerman are 'you could go 10 seconds faster.' Pre stands there dumbfounded and even a little pissed after running the race of his life. Bowerman then proceeds to rattle after precise quarter mile splits. If Pre had paced right the race he just finished would have been even faster.

Putting all that together has given me a new appreciation of the importance of pacing, and a finer sense of the rhythms of my body on a run which I'm really enjoying.

10,000 Feet

Most of today's run was above 10,000 feet on the beautiful Sourdough Trail. The group met at the south end near the Rainbow Lakes campground and headed north to Brainerd and then back. I've done a few high-elevation runs this year (about 7000 feet), but this was the first really biggie.

What I really liked above today's run was that almost all of it was runnable. I much prefer to keep an easy steady pace on an uphill that to be begging for up and having to walk up a steep grade. I also appreciated the cool air at that height which makes for some very pleasant running.

Having lived in Boulder for more than 5 years I was used to the mile-high elevation in Boulder and even fairly comfortable up to around 7000 feet. The race at Golden Gate State Park and today's run offer a truly different perspective on running and the need to slow down.

It was very obvious from the start in the parking lot that oxygen was in short supply. You are immediately confronted with the need to slow down and find the balance between oxygen to the legs and oxygen to the brain. Of course we usually want to run faster which means more oxygen to the legs so they can do what they do best. It doesn't take long after that before you caught a toe on a rock and manage an unsightly twist before regaining balance. What just happened? Well with all that oxygen going to the legs, the brain didn't have enough to pay attention.

I love running on trails and part of that is the required awareness and attention on staying upright, finding the perfect landing spot on each step to keep balance and forward movement. Some of the awareness is clearly in the realm of grace and cooperating with the energy of nature and the trail to guide you. Still there is some human attention needed as well, that's where the brain and oxygen come in.

What a joy today to explore and completely enjoy a new trail - all the while finding that balance of oxygen deployment on every part of the trail.

Dancing With the Dirt Rating Today - 9 out of 10!

Ninety-what?

The plan for today’s run was to meet my friend Dina at for a 15 mile run in the Boulder Ranch Open Space this afternoon. Dina’s training for her first 50-miler in a few weeks so our run was going to be her cooldown after her 20 miler in the morning. A midsummer afternoon run in Boulder is usually met with temperatures well into the nineties, however an early June midafternoon is usually in the 80s. I much prefer cooler temperatures and for this one I was going to consider this an experiment – what’s it like to run in hot weather. A chance to keep a slow steady pace, monitor nutrition and fluid, see how my body does.

Boulder has different ideas about the weather, opting for what I would guess is a record for the day. As I set out to meet Dina after 2pm, the temperature in my car said 98 degrees! Yikes – it was a little warmer than I hoped. It was just plain hot! Alright, let’s see what happens. Because of the heat we decided to shorten the run to just one loop of the Boulder Reservoir. I’m quite glad we did because this was hot. Even after a couple miles I had to walk for a bit, I had definitely reached a limit today. Dina on the other hand was running along just fine even with more than 20 milers in her legs, she’s definitely ready for her 50 miler.

I’m glad we went for a short run, and now I know I probably won’t do that again ;-)

Tip: Sloshing Be Gone

This will be my first tip officially listed as a tip. I suppose other posts could be considered tips, but this one is short and simple.

I run with a bunch of people use running backpacks with water bladders. As they head down the trail, I hear the sloshing of the water in the bladder. For some this isn’t a bother and they hardly notice it at all. This tip is for those who don’t like the sloshing.

Once you’ve filled the bladder, turn it upside down, suck the air out. By doing that, the air pocket in the bladder where the water sloshes around is gone.

No more sloshing!

Grace and Joy

No, I didn’t meet two woman named Grace and Joy recently, though the day before the race this post talks about had elements of that ;-)
Grace and Joy – that was my intention for this run.

The run was the Golden Gate Dirty Thirty 12 miler in the Golden Gate Canyon State Park near Golden, CO (yes, lots of Golden). This is the fourth year of the race with the premier event being a 30-miler, but also a 12 mile and 7 mile race. The entire course is on the trails in the State Park. I signed up this year after hearing good things about the race and course. I’ve also never run in the State Park so that was a bonus. When I signed up I didn’t look at the course details because I was interested in running in a new place, but several days before the race when I started checking out course details I found the course had more than 3000 feet of climbing in 12 miles. Yikes! Good thing I didn’t know beforehand.

So first, some results. My overall time was 2:11:05 for the 12 miles. I was 5th overall out of about 100 runners with half men and half women. I was also first for masters (40+)! I didn’t know it at the time, but second place masters was just 10 seconds behind me, and third just 17 seconds behind. I was thrilled! Overall a great race and great course.

But back to Grace and Joy …

Over the past 8 weeks or so, most of my weekend runs have been fairly targeted and somewhat hard. I’ve been practicing pacing, running for pace, running hard and fast. Really pushing edges and seeing what I could do. My body was telling me I needed more fun with no purpose – just to go out and run. Last weekend was one of those. This 12 miler was going to be another. I had no intention of racing – all I wanted to do was enjoy new trails and have fun! Joy – intention #1.

The night before I went through my pre-race ritual of getting everything ready. All my nutrition for pre-race, during the race, and post-race; clothes for driving to the start, during the race, and then after the race; Traumeel and Tiger Balm, compression socks. My mind completely focused in a ritual I’ve done dozens of times before, though usually it’s been for cycling. I was feeling ready. So as I lay in bed drifting off, I put some attention on my intention for the race. Certainly fun was the top of the list. I also wanted to feel the rhythm of my body, my legs, my breathing syncing with the flow of the course, the weather. Grace. Letting grace happen, being in the rhythm.

The morning of the race I awoke and felt good, I felt peaceful even with a short night of sleep. What occurred to me as I started my morning routine was something Roger Joslin writes about in “Running the Spiritual Path.” “Prepare mindfully for the run. Dress slowly, methodically as if you were a devout priest and your running clothes were sacred vestament.” With that in my heart, I began getting ready. What a difference that makes to start with that presence. I believe it helped set the tone for the rest of the run.

I like getting to events early, and because of logistics of the race, location, and shuttles, I had to be at the start almost 2 hours before the race began. During that time I make final preparations, stretched, and brought Joslin’s book to read. Somewhere in the book he recommends that if needed, read before a run – some Psalms, Rumi, poetry – something to again set the stage. Indeed I was reading Joslin’s book itself which was inspirational and quite appropriate for my focus and for the day.

With an intention of Grace and Joy, preparing with great awareness and sacredness, and some heartfelt reading before the start, I was in a great place to begin a run!

For the run itself – it was full of grace and joy. Steeped in rhythm and flow. The first mile I paced easily and smoothly letting my body warm up. The first big climb went by easily as I was able to run most of it. The downhill that followed was just fun! Dancing down through the rocks, in control, and flying! The second big climb was the lungbuster – steep and most of it I walked! With most of the race above 8000 feet, my lungs were the limiting factor today, my legs were along for the ride. At mile 8 we reached the top of the second climb at 9200 feet, from here it was almost all downhill. Again, what fun to prance and dance downhill, keeping in mind what my first lessons of downhill running from Jerry Lynch months ago. What fun to fly downhill again – in the process I caught 6 people in the last 4 miles and finished very strong.

For this run, I was blessed with grace and joy! Let’s do it again sometime!