Monday, October 31, 2011

crossfit flagstaff and a couple more hikes

i don't think any of us got a lot of sleep after the canyon run, so we were up early and ready to head back to sedona. jd was feeling much better and managed to scarf down some pizza for breakfast. we also stopped at ick-me-donalds on the way, where i grabbed a vanilla shake. once we got to sedona, we spent the rest of the day hanging around, with some of us napping, and one of us going for a run . . . WTF ! anyway, steve and i managed a slow 'stretch out the legs' walk to the grocery store for some junk food around dinner time, and then we all settled down to watch 'captain america'. i lasted about 5 minutes, and then the guys had to turn the volume up cuz i was snoring so loud! ahahaha! we ALL slept good that night.

thursday i had begged the guys to drive me to flagstaff so i could take a crossfit class. they were all okay with it, despite calling it a cult, and asking if we had a secret handshake. we stopped for a short hike on the broken arrow trail along the way - felt good!

the happy foursome . . .

hay steve . . .

kool tree !!

ahahaha! just what chris' calves wanted - more climbing . . .

WOW!

and check it out - crossfit flagstaff !!!!!

everybody here was SO nice. they introduced me to the group as kendra from crossfit bolton in canada and then made me do all kinds of painful, stretchy, horizontal walking warm-up thingies! owww! the two trainers, todd and scott, were amazing! i am so glad i came, despite being still pretty stiff from tuesday! luckily i only had to do handstand pushups, kettlebell swings and air squats!

thanks crossfit flagstaff!!

after some lunch, we drove back to sedona, but not before stopping for a couple of hours on the soldier pass trail.

we spent another evening eating junk food and watching a movie - i managed to stay awake for this one. and then sadly, it was time to leave. i hugged my new buddies good-bye, with promises of future road trips, and made my way back to the treehouse!

dora the explorer is home from yet another incredible journey . . .

Into the abyss will I run
I can't let you go
Yes I am stricken and can't let you go

Saturday, October 29, 2011

R2R2R - death by rattlesnake - almost . . .

the alarm went off at 3 and jd had to yell at me 5 times and shake the bed to wake me up. guess i was tired! got dressed, had my sweet potato and a coffee, and piled into the van. we were on our way to run the grand canyon baby!!!

after a couple more visits to the port-a-potty, we were good to go. we started descending the south kaibab trail at 4:30am. it was dark as shit and the wind was nasty. so much so that the sand was getting under my contacts and making it hard to see. GREAT! a couple of times i felt myself being blown sideways even! kool !

it was a 7 mile downhill run to the suspension bridge which took us over the colorado river . . .

and into the phantom ranch. here are a couple of the cute little mules that the lazy people sit on going down into the canyon . . .

and here's a shot of the switchbacks we came down on, but weren't able to see cuz it was too early and too dark! i'm kinda glad i couldn't see them actually!

once we got to the ranch, steve and johnny m decided to go ahead - guess we were too slow for them! no worries, it was all about having a good time! anyway, the next 7 miles was a 'false flat', seeming to gradually run in an upwards direction. it followed the river for awhile and then just gave us one spectacular view after another.

being a goof, as usual . . .

the last 7 miles up to the north rim were pretty steep with lots of switchbacks. we climbed up to 8000' and i only felt the elevation right towards the top. my legs felt amazing - thanks alex !

ahaha! this one's for you leslie . . .

wahoo! made it! 12:10 and we were at the north rim of the grand canyon!

just in time for it to start hailing! luckily we were able to duck under a sign until it stopped!

the way down was wicked. we were able to run almost all of it! we stopped at the pump house for lunch and traded some medical tape for a bunch of m&m's from a group of hikers.

yes jd, you'd better apply more sunscreen . . .

the steady downhill pace was perfect and we got to see the canyon from the other direction!

we were moving along quite comfortably - it was around 4:30 - when i thought i'd spotted a mouse by my right foot. then i heard a rattling sound - i looked closer and instantly shrieked and yelled, 'SNAKE'! holy fuck! i'd almost stepped on a rattler! chris jumped about 10 feet backwards and jd was pretty much oblivious to the whole incident! sure enough, there it was - over 4 feet long and ready to strike. the guys said it was a good thing it was getting cold, or my run in the canyon might have ended with a helicopter ride to the hospital . . .

and yep, the adrenaline sure was pumping after that!! i even managed a classic crossfit handstand on the canyon wall, much to chris' delight!! ahahaha! i'm such a loser!

we eventually made it back to the phantom ranch and refilled our water. i tried to get a coke from the 'canteen' but the guy refused to serve me. i walked in to a bunch of overfed tourists gorging themselves on prime rib and gawd knows what else. when i tried to 'beg' for one, the guy said he didn't have any, even though i could see a huge pitcher of it sitting on the table. whaaaaaa! i went back outside and started bitching to the guys, and it was at this point that i noticed chris wasn't looking too good. oh oh ! we still had a long, hard, uphill 7 miles to go. after a bit, we got him to his feet, and headed back over the bridge.


it got dark pretty quick, and things seemed to go from bad to worse. after around 2 miles, jd started to feel really nauseous - i guess a combination of too much gatorade, excedrine and altitude finally got to him. he sat down on a rock, tried a mouthful of straight water, and instantly hurled it back out, and the rest of the contents of his tummy. ewwwwww! now i can't handle someone barfing, so i had to walk ahead. i guess the good news was that chris started to feel better. poor jd lost it a few more times, and then managed to get back on his feet. we climbed another half hour, but it hit him again. ewwwww! it was at this point during my little jaunt to avoid the noises, that i noticed a teeney scorpion in the middle of the trail! awww! 30 minutes later, and during another bout of spewing, me and chris spotted a really big spider. yikes! i give jd the superstar award for sure. i could just imagine how awful he was feeling, and how he wanted to curl up on the side of the trail and sleep until morning. but he didn't and i wouldn't let him. with next to no energy, he pushed himself relentlessly until we finally made it to the top! the time was just after 10pm and we were ecstatic! we had completed the rim2rim2rim in 17 and a half hours! wa-fucking-hoo !!! i have no finishing shot cuz we hustled ourselves over to the van and made our way back to the cabins for some pizza and a hot shower! what a day!

and the best part - CHECK OUT MY FEET - no blisters, abrasions or contusions! wtf!? maybe just the loss of a toenail or 4, but nothing like they usually get!

so, in the end, like i said, we were 17.5 hours. johnny m was 12.5 and steve was 14.5. we all considered this EPIC and i still remember jd exclaiming 'unbelievable' at least a dozen times! as for me, i loved it. i felt super strong and knew all my training with derrick and alex had paid off. i loved running with jd and chris, and i can't remember one point where i didn't want to be out there! i was having soooo much fun! big monster thanks you two for making this one of my favorite runs ever.

so there's one more thing to check off the old bucket list . . .





R2R2R - the days before . . .

so after calling christine last minute saturday to drive me to the airport - like at midnight - i managed a fitful MAYBE 2 hours sleep before having to get up at 3am. we made it to the airport by 4:30 and after a nasty line-up at customs, i was on my way to sedona and my latest big adventure! jd picked me up in pheonix, and we then collected 2 more of our cohorts - steve and johnny m. after a so-so lunch at denny's, we went back to the airport and grabbed chris.

and THIS is where we stayed in sedona! nice condo jd . . .

johnny m, jd and steve . . .

just had to grab a shot of this . . .

we went for a short run sunday afternoon to stretch out the legs. did around 1:15 at a place called bell rock. man it sure was a lot hotter than we were used to!!

on monday we packed up our shit and headed to flagstaff and eventually the grand canyon! this is one of the places we stopped at along the way.

me and jd . . .

first glimpse of the canyon . . .

HOLY KRAP !

looking down the south kaibab trail . . .

no mules on the trail but avoided tons of mule krap . . .

okay - so we're going over THERE . . .

chris, me and johnny m . . .

ahahahaha! the BEST sign ever . . .

and this was the sky just as we were leaving . . .

anyways, had some dinner, packed up our stuff and went to bed early in anticipation of a 'really big day' . . .