I am lifting heavy weights-probably up to 90% of my one lift maximum for the deadlift and squat. Always makes me feel like a badass! Also, looking at maps and planning my next summer goal, which is to hike 28 miles in the desert in one day The most I have every hiked is 15 miles. . I don't like to backpack, but want to see lots of territory, and then return to my cozy camper van at the end of the day. Polly
Congrats again on your beautiful Grand to Grand finish! I especially appreciated hearing more about the off-the-grid aspect of it, and all the gifts that brings. These photos are just wonderful, too. Thank you for sharing, Sarah.
Non-running things I'm currently enjoying: reading and writing, of course; having attended a myofascial release (owww!) and yin yoga (ahhh!) workshop last weekend; teaching Sahale to read; also, letting her choose our afternoon activities (instead of always building her schedule around my own), based on whatever she's feeling like in the moment; this equates to a lot of chasing after her on her balance bike to go to the library and find/read books about Moana and Elsa and Anna. But hey, fresh air and books and river time (our library is built on a bridge over the river in our town) ... I can't complain. + This weekend I'm babysitting kids for a few different parents running the new Larch Madness trail race out here; paying forward the gift of free childcare!
P.S. Thank you, too, for sharing my latest post. :)
Besides running, I do martial arts (Muay Thai and jiujitsu). Besides being a great workout, I love the community as you see your classmates regularly. Outside of fitness, reading is definitely my favorite thing to do to relax.
Beautiful photos! Both of G2G and of you on Maverick. 😍 I’m on an extended break from running trying to heal my partially torn proximal hamstring tendon. Had a PRP injection a few days ago, and the doc said to avoid stressing the hamstring for a month! I can walk the dogs, but not very far or fast. Other than that, I’m pretty much limited to upper body and core training (so long as it avoids glutes and hamstrings). Mostly I’ll just be swimming with the pull buoy for the rest of the month. Sigh. That balance board looks like a great training tool, though, for when I can get back to leg work!
Dogwalking. Started noticing heart rate spikes during endurance training after 70, eventually getting an atrial fibrillation diagnosis. The cardiologist gave me a scrip for a $1200/month drug, but a friend recommended a book called ‘The Afib Cure’. Realized I probably could deal with it myself: committed to not running a step for a year and to focus on better sleep/less stress (a lot easier said than done). Anyway, started taking the dogs for longer walks instead of running, working up to 2-3 hours and 10 miles at 10,000-12,000’. Dogs off-leash, mostly on abandoned mining roads/trails. Haven’t had a dpike for several months, so hopefully the heart issue has resolved. Incidentally, this is not a rare episode among life-long endurance athletes … 🤓
I love dog walks 95 percent of the time (the other 5 percent being less enjoyable and more stressful due to my dog's run-ins with aggressive dogs or wild animals and/or when my dog runs away to hunt something and I can't get her to come back). I'm glad your cardio health is improving! Thanks for reading.
I now use a tracking collar when my dog is off-leash. Avoided it for years because I thought it was a cruel device. Not so. I easily trained her to return with a low intensity tone. When I first adopted her she "got lost" a few times. The screen on the hand-held unit showed me where she was.
Hi Chuck, My spouse is on an expensive afib drug. A few years ago she figured out how to get it for much cheaper mailed from Canada. If you ever decide to go the drug route, let me know, and I will get the details from her.
I can't believe that you managed that long hike so soon after! I did a marathon last Saturday and am (hopefully?) doing my first 50K in early Nov, so this week I've just been going for easy walks and stretching, before I briefly get back to training next week. This winter I'm planning to back off from running significantly and get back to lifting, though.
Great post and awesome advice. Just got back from a vacation in South Africa which has been in planning and saving for over the past year. I like hiking when I’m not running too. I can’t ride my horse yet but working on ground work and he will be 3 in March so hopefully breaking this summer.
That's great! Training with a loaded pack is great for strength-building; just be careful not to overdue the lower-body impact on the downhills. Thanks for reading!
Congratulations Sarah on what sounds like a challenging but fun week! Thank you for sharing your experience.
Other than running, I have three main hobbies: reading, writing, and coaching youth sports. The latter takes up a good chunk of time (and I suppose right now, I'm coaching XC so it's not far off from running), but I love interacting with the kids and doing my small part to develop them as athletes and people.
Good for you for coaching! I was a para helping a special-needs student on our local XC team last year, so I got to see how the coaches did their jobs, and it is a big commitment but so important. And good for you for making time to read.
Epic photos from Anastasia, and the photo from your husband of you riding Maverick is stunning - what a place to live!
Outside of running, my days are mostly filled with chasing my two toddler boys. I do my best to be present and enjoy the moment, which I’d say qualifies as wellness, but let’s be real, half the time I’m pulling my hair out! They’re also my little workout buddies, as I get most of my runs in with them in the double jogger, and join me for little strength & mobility workouts throughout the day. Outside of that, I’m trying to listen more to my inner creative voice and make things, from writing and drawing to legos :)
And thanks so much for sharing my newsletter, The Ultra Minute. Made my day!
hi Ken, thanks for making time to read my Substack and produce yours. Check out the comment from Yitka on this thread, and I hope you read the post by her that I linked to, about parenting and ultrarunning. When my kids (now 23 and 26) were six months and 3, back in 2001, I was more of a road marathoner, training for the Chicago Marathon postpartum before transitioning to trails and graduating to ultras. Running was my only time alone and my escape. My "free time" was all about kids' activities, laundry and grocery shopping, reading to the kids, and getting my firstborn to/from preschool with the baby in tow. I distinctly recall my desperation as I'd drive them in their carseats in an attempt to get them to nap, singing to them as I drove, and my eyelids grew so heavy that I had to stop to take a five-minute nap while they stayed wide awake fussing in the back seat. I thought I was going crazy with fatigue and frustration. Paradoxically, my life felt easier in some ways when they were 3 and 6 I went back to work full time with a commute and full-time nanny for a while, because I had a work life distinct from home. But that was crazy difficult too, and I didn't like being entirely nanny dependent. The point is, I get how you're in a phase of life with zero wiggle room. Hang in there, it does get easier. Empty-nestdom with adult kids who are my friends is truly rewarding and wonderful.
I have enjoyed taking walks in the woods above our condo and noticing all the interesting and colorful fall foliage. The gold aspen leaves get all the hype, but taking time too look down and see the variety has been lovely.
So happy for you and your life-giving G2G !! Thanks for sharing your take aways...
The G2G adventure you had is remarkable. I hope you can be gentle with yourself now, and the Covid shot reaction may have hit harder with your body in recovery mode? Be well! I wanted to add a yoga shout out as a compliment to running and strength training. I really enjoy my local yoga community, surrounding myself with people who are interested in the body mind connection and wellness. And just basically a chill group. The mental calmness yoga brings keeps me coming back. Also, I enjoy surfing, being in the water, especially when experiencing a sunrise or sunset and the life in the water all around you is wonderful and this feeds my soul.
Thank you! I love yoga, but practice it solo at home with a YouTube yogi for time efficiency. However the chill group you describe I get from two book clubs organized by our library. I love these twice-monthly meetings.
The race photos are amazing!! I’m doing a lot of strength training these days and loving it. Yoga and Pilates might be a good switch for you. Take care!
Good job! Strength and mobility should be part of any run training, in my view. I use the Yoga by Kassandra channel on YouTube for good yoga videos. Thanks for reading.
This is the time of the year when I slip off the trail and bushwhack in the forest for hours in search of Chanterelle mushrooms. While the pace is slow the steep climbs in soft terrain give my legs plenty of work at a peaceful, leisurely pace. And I typically get lost to add an extra hour to my exit
Good for you! I live in an area full of foragers, with a famous annual Mushroom Fest, but I never learned the craft. I do love chanterelles from the farmers' market, however.
I am lifting heavy weights-probably up to 90% of my one lift maximum for the deadlift and squat. Always makes me feel like a badass! Also, looking at maps and planning my next summer goal, which is to hike 28 miles in the desert in one day The most I have every hiked is 15 miles. . I don't like to backpack, but want to see lots of territory, and then return to my cozy camper van at the end of the day. Polly
You are the most badass septuagenarian I know! Way to stay strong. Lift heavy and keep moving!
Congrats again on your beautiful Grand to Grand finish! I especially appreciated hearing more about the off-the-grid aspect of it, and all the gifts that brings. These photos are just wonderful, too. Thank you for sharing, Sarah.
Non-running things I'm currently enjoying: reading and writing, of course; having attended a myofascial release (owww!) and yin yoga (ahhh!) workshop last weekend; teaching Sahale to read; also, letting her choose our afternoon activities (instead of always building her schedule around my own), based on whatever she's feeling like in the moment; this equates to a lot of chasing after her on her balance bike to go to the library and find/read books about Moana and Elsa and Anna. But hey, fresh air and books and river time (our library is built on a bridge over the river in our town) ... I can't complain. + This weekend I'm babysitting kids for a few different parents running the new Larch Madness trail race out here; paying forward the gift of free childcare!
P.S. Thank you, too, for sharing my latest post. :)
Bravo for babysitting for others!
I'm also on the balancing board! But the most fun I have is dance. The baby seems enamored to just watch me dance, so I do it every chance I get.
I love that. Rock on!
Besides running, I do martial arts (Muay Thai and jiujitsu). Besides being a great workout, I love the community as you see your classmates regularly. Outside of fitness, reading is definitely my favorite thing to do to relax.
Beautiful photos! Both of G2G and of you on Maverick. 😍 I’m on an extended break from running trying to heal my partially torn proximal hamstring tendon. Had a PRP injection a few days ago, and the doc said to avoid stressing the hamstring for a month! I can walk the dogs, but not very far or fast. Other than that, I’m pretty much limited to upper body and core training (so long as it avoids glutes and hamstrings). Mostly I’ll just be swimming with the pull buoy for the rest of the month. Sigh. That balance board looks like a great training tool, though, for when I can get back to leg work!
You also read more books than anyone I know!
Dogwalking. Started noticing heart rate spikes during endurance training after 70, eventually getting an atrial fibrillation diagnosis. The cardiologist gave me a scrip for a $1200/month drug, but a friend recommended a book called ‘The Afib Cure’. Realized I probably could deal with it myself: committed to not running a step for a year and to focus on better sleep/less stress (a lot easier said than done). Anyway, started taking the dogs for longer walks instead of running, working up to 2-3 hours and 10 miles at 10,000-12,000’. Dogs off-leash, mostly on abandoned mining roads/trails. Haven’t had a dpike for several months, so hopefully the heart issue has resolved. Incidentally, this is not a rare episode among life-long endurance athletes … 🤓
I love dog walks 95 percent of the time (the other 5 percent being less enjoyable and more stressful due to my dog's run-ins with aggressive dogs or wild animals and/or when my dog runs away to hunt something and I can't get her to come back). I'm glad your cardio health is improving! Thanks for reading.
I now use a tracking collar when my dog is off-leash. Avoided it for years because I thought it was a cruel device. Not so. I easily trained her to return with a low intensity tone. When I first adopted her she "got lost" a few times. The screen on the hand-held unit showed me where she was.
Hi Chuck, My spouse is on an expensive afib drug. A few years ago she figured out how to get it for much cheaper mailed from Canada. If you ever decide to go the drug route, let me know, and I will get the details from her.
Many thanks for the offer. I hope to stay off the afib drugs, though. We’ll see how that turns out …
I can't believe that you managed that long hike so soon after! I did a marathon last Saturday and am (hopefully?) doing my first 50K in early Nov, so this week I've just been going for easy walks and stretching, before I briefly get back to training next week. This winter I'm planning to back off from running significantly and get back to lifting, though.
Congrats!
Great post and awesome advice. Just got back from a vacation in South Africa which has been in planning and saving for over the past year. I like hiking when I’m not running too. I can’t ride my horse yet but working on ground work and he will be 3 in March so hopefully breaking this summer.
I've recently got back into rucking and lifting weights which is a nice break from running but also compliments it at the same time.
Travel is always on my activity list and hiking new areas of America.
That's great! Training with a loaded pack is great for strength-building; just be careful not to overdue the lower-body impact on the downhills. Thanks for reading!
Congratulations Sarah on what sounds like a challenging but fun week! Thank you for sharing your experience.
Other than running, I have three main hobbies: reading, writing, and coaching youth sports. The latter takes up a good chunk of time (and I suppose right now, I'm coaching XC so it's not far off from running), but I love interacting with the kids and doing my small part to develop them as athletes and people.
Good for you for coaching! I was a para helping a special-needs student on our local XC team last year, so I got to see how the coaches did their jobs, and it is a big commitment but so important. And good for you for making time to read.
Epic photos from Anastasia, and the photo from your husband of you riding Maverick is stunning - what a place to live!
Outside of running, my days are mostly filled with chasing my two toddler boys. I do my best to be present and enjoy the moment, which I’d say qualifies as wellness, but let’s be real, half the time I’m pulling my hair out! They’re also my little workout buddies, as I get most of my runs in with them in the double jogger, and join me for little strength & mobility workouts throughout the day. Outside of that, I’m trying to listen more to my inner creative voice and make things, from writing and drawing to legos :)
And thanks so much for sharing my newsletter, The Ultra Minute. Made my day!
hi Ken, thanks for making time to read my Substack and produce yours. Check out the comment from Yitka on this thread, and I hope you read the post by her that I linked to, about parenting and ultrarunning. When my kids (now 23 and 26) were six months and 3, back in 2001, I was more of a road marathoner, training for the Chicago Marathon postpartum before transitioning to trails and graduating to ultras. Running was my only time alone and my escape. My "free time" was all about kids' activities, laundry and grocery shopping, reading to the kids, and getting my firstborn to/from preschool with the baby in tow. I distinctly recall my desperation as I'd drive them in their carseats in an attempt to get them to nap, singing to them as I drove, and my eyelids grew so heavy that I had to stop to take a five-minute nap while they stayed wide awake fussing in the back seat. I thought I was going crazy with fatigue and frustration. Paradoxically, my life felt easier in some ways when they were 3 and 6 I went back to work full time with a commute and full-time nanny for a while, because I had a work life distinct from home. But that was crazy difficult too, and I didn't like being entirely nanny dependent. The point is, I get how you're in a phase of life with zero wiggle room. Hang in there, it does get easier. Empty-nestdom with adult kids who are my friends is truly rewarding and wonderful.
I have enjoyed taking walks in the woods above our condo and noticing all the interesting and colorful fall foliage. The gold aspen leaves get all the hype, but taking time too look down and see the variety has been lovely.
So happy for you and your life-giving G2G !! Thanks for sharing your take aways...
The G2G adventure you had is remarkable. I hope you can be gentle with yourself now, and the Covid shot reaction may have hit harder with your body in recovery mode? Be well! I wanted to add a yoga shout out as a compliment to running and strength training. I really enjoy my local yoga community, surrounding myself with people who are interested in the body mind connection and wellness. And just basically a chill group. The mental calmness yoga brings keeps me coming back. Also, I enjoy surfing, being in the water, especially when experiencing a sunrise or sunset and the life in the water all around you is wonderful and this feeds my soul.
Thank you! I love yoga, but practice it solo at home with a YouTube yogi for time efficiency. However the chill group you describe I get from two book clubs organized by our library. I love these twice-monthly meetings.
The race photos are amazing!! I’m doing a lot of strength training these days and loving it. Yoga and Pilates might be a good switch for you. Take care!
Good job! Strength and mobility should be part of any run training, in my view. I use the Yoga by Kassandra channel on YouTube for good yoga videos. Thanks for reading.
This is the time of the year when I slip off the trail and bushwhack in the forest for hours in search of Chanterelle mushrooms. While the pace is slow the steep climbs in soft terrain give my legs plenty of work at a peaceful, leisurely pace. And I typically get lost to add an extra hour to my exit
Good for you! I live in an area full of foragers, with a famous annual Mushroom Fest, but I never learned the craft. I do love chanterelles from the farmers' market, however.