On Lafayette Road, Strength from Firewater

I drove on that stretch of Lafayette, between Tidewater Campground and Life Storage, where the road bisects the marsh. On my left, the ocean lay a mile or two off, on my right, forest. It was morning, and the water of the marsh caught the light and reflected it back, orange fire. Everything glowed and it was so so quiet.

This was a moment that entered my heart and infused it with the strength and magic I would need. It was all so beautiful, and so available to me, right here, miles from home, on a morning drive.

I had entered that year repeating over and over, I just have to get stronger. And I wasn’t quite sure why, at times, those words, that mantra, rumbled through my heart over and over.

But I know when I saw the moonstone water diffusing the fire of the sky, it breathed power and strength into me. Much needed. Strength I would draw on a few short months later.

Hachoooooo: Simple remedies for a sinus infection/chest cold

I was going to be damned if I completely missed out on the long run this morning with the bunch of folks training for Chesterfield.

I’d been hitting the cold/sinus infection/whatever it was hard with 5-minute steam bowls throughout the day, probiotics. But on Friday, when I was texting with Steph, she reminded me of the power of the essential oils, which she uses for everything. Why didn’t I think of that? I wondered. Essential oil books literally make up approximately 1/10 of my library at this point. I rubbed a mixture of olive oil, peppermint, lavender and sweet orange on my chest and, I kid you not, almost immediately, the wheezing in my chest disappeared.

When I saw Steph that night at a friend’s house for the Phish web cast, she pulled out her Vera Bradley bag of essential oil goodies, all from doTERRA, that she’d promised to bring. She recommended eucalyptus, just right under the nose, as well as the Breathe mix, which I applied to my wrists. I’d avoid eucalyptus straight under the nose next time—I’d mix it with a carrier oil and put under the nose next time.

Between the steam bowls, probiotics, dairy-free diet, fresh air (just bike and walk, no running while it was in my chest) and the essential oil treatments, I woke up this morning with wheeze-free lungs. I’m not feeling perfect but I was able to get out for a 5-6 miler (…I didn’t have my watch and the run was a little discombobulated) and I’m stoked. I’m definitely still coughing some, but it’s a drier cough, and feeling on the road to recovery.
Bonus for the day: Maureen’s suggestion to check out Senita Athletics (per their Web site “Stylish, affordable active wear.”

OK OK. 50K.

It’s been years since I signed up for a race I had to train for.

I did the Marine Corps Marathon and the Philly Marathon and didn’t train a lick. This was a terrible move. I was hobbling and cursing myself for weeks. I swore I wouldn’t sign up for a race until I could commit to training for it.

And I really wasn’t planning on signing up for anything this year. But a whole host of people I love are running various distances at Chesterfield Gorge the end of May and it finally just seemed like I might as well too.

This time I want it to be different though. This time I want to know I’ve done everything I can to ensure my body doesn’t get injured and that I can finish happy and strong.

I’ve got 14 weeks (I’m docking myself a week, as I’m getting my ass handed to me by whatever nasty cold is walloping the nearby population) and the first step is picking some reasonable training plan as a guidepost. I’m not planning to stick to the letter of the law, but I need help as it’s been a long time.

I was slowly building a nice base when I tweaked my knee, which has healed now, but I feel like I’m essentially starting from scratch.

Nick said he’d help me look at a couple options. Here are a few of the sites I found:

50K Training Plan - MapMyRun I love this one, a collab w UnderArmour as it gives strength, recovery, stability exercises too. What I’m not sold on is the mileage and rest. Respectively, it seems low and there seems to be a lot of rest days in there.

David Roche’s article in TrailRunner Mag This one’s more tailored to an ultra over 50K but I like the mileage here better.

How to Train for your First 50K Not quite a training plan, but a good jumping off point with some ideas, esp for long run approach.

I’m leaning towards a mix of the two — taking the multifaceted nature of the top one and mixing the long-run approach of the bottom two.

And just like that, I’m getting excited.