Training Break

I'm mostly recovered from the marathon, but have been busy getting Christmas shopping done and mailed for me and my mother.  I'm heading to Argentina on Sunday on a two week trek in Patagonia.  After that, it's back to traiining, then December in Prudhoe Bay, training on the treadmill.

January 17, PF Chang's Marathon in Phoenix.
I still need more fundraising for my Team In Training fund. Can you help?  Please?  It's an extremely important cause!

Nike Women's Marathon

I finished the Nike Women's Marathon today, another 26.2 miles. My 7th full marathon. What a beautiful race it is through San Francisco. The weather was kind also. It stayed a little foggy to keep things cool.  After training on the North Slope in 30 degree weather, sunny California seemed pretty hot. I was slow as usual, finishing somewhere right after 5 hours and 35 minutes. The official race results are not showing on the Nike site yet, but according to my Nike+ and my iPod, my chip time was somewhere in that area. I'm hoping one day to figure out how to pick up the pace.  


Maybe in January when I run PF Chang's Rock and Roll Marathon in Phoenix, for Team In Training, I will improve my time. But right now, I am just thrilled to reach the finish line. It is always a very emotional experience to know that you made it the whole way.

6 Miles With Great Hills

Ah, finally got to run from my house again.  I ran 6 miles to Wolverine Creek and back.  I remember a time when I couldn't even begin to run up that incredibly steep hill from Wolverine Creek.  Now I hardly notice it.  I was a bit worried after over a month up in the far north where the nearest hill is 60 miles to the south.  All my running up there had to be on totally flat land.  But I am happy to see that I can still run up hills.

It was very windy out by the hay flats, and raining a little, but compared to my last couple of weeks in Deadhorse, it was really balmy.  About 45 degrees!

Now to get back to the job of fundraising. 
Care to help out with a donation? 
Check out my Team In Training Page.

Cross Training - Hike

Today was a beautiful autumn day so I took advantage of it and went for a spectacular hike.  I had not been running or hiking any hills lately because the land around Deadhorse is probably about the flattest in the world.  So instead of doing a hike on the flatlands, around Eklutna Lake, I hiked up the Twin Peaks Trail.  It was cold and crisp, with some frost.  But Eklutna Lake is still open, and the trail was covered with fallen leaves.  It was a great workout even though not actually running. 

Home Again

I've been home a few days recovering and reuniting myself with my home. The trip across Alaska from Deadhorse to Palmer was fabulous. The road from Deadhorse through Atigun Pass was snow-covered but quite nice driving. Not to mention, absolutely gorgeous. The Brooks Range was sunlit behind the pipeline. As I got closer to the range, the mountains became more and more spectacular. I got to the Galbraith Lakes right at sunset. Atigun Pass was fabulous and I saw the moon rising from the summit looking to the south. I camped at Dietrich River on the south side of the pass and woke up to the fabulous view of the jagged mountain to the south.

Then of course there is the obligatory stop at the Arctic Circle crossing. Then the Yukon River where I found the lodge closed for the winter. Caught a good view of the pipeline after it crossed the river though. By Cantwell it was dark night again but the moon was peeking through the clouds. So now it is back to life as normal for a couple of weeks. I was having some fairly serious leg pain, suggestive of shin splints, so took about a week off my marathon training. But I plan to hike today and run again tomorrow. Next Wednesday I will be flying to California for the Nike Women's Marathon. Then a week visiting with Mom, then to South America for a 2 week trek in Patagonia in Argentina and Chile. Once I return from that trip in November, I will be hitting the marathon training hard again because the PF Chang's Marathon will be coming up in January. I will be running on the treadmill for the whole month of December because I will be back in Deadhorse that whole month.

Then, off to Phoenix to do my Team In Training event.