It was by volunteering at Greenland that Roberta and I heard about the incline for this gal with a spark in her spirit named Jill. Later that day we looked it up on the Internet. Roberta and I instantly thought the same thing. GOOD TRAINING! I didn’t like volunteering that much actually. I can be selfish at times and don’t like sitting on the sidelines as much as participation but it was an experience and I’m grateful for that. Also even though the event organizers were very nice but some of the other volunteers were getting stingy with the food for the shorter distance folks. (Identified by bib numbers) I for one feel the beginners and shorter distance people need more if not equal support.
Eventually we decided on a date and posted on face book. I only got one response besides Roberta from Krista. Krista is an awesome new friend that I met on face book simply because she belongs to the same running club I do. I had never met her in person and we run in different pace groups so we may have never met otherwise. She has a blog and she has also had the Exercise Physiology Testing done with Lactate and VO2Max testing that I am about to undergo. So we emailed back and forth about that because I had lots of questions about what to expect as well as some fears about that because of my run/walk method and my unwillingness to abandon that method since it works for me and is the reason I now call myself
a runner.
So Krista asks about the details of the Incline and we didn’t really have a plan but one quickly developed and we are on our way. (Thanks Krista) We met her at the park and ride and she followed us up there. It was cool to communicate to each other and make sure everyone got what they needed out of the day. I love it when there is no guessing. It’s my favorite way to be. Show up and everybody does there own challenge. We get there and the parking lot was tiny and packed. My bug did fit but Krista had to park down the mountain and enjoy an extra workout.
Krista made her way up the hill from the parking lot and I introduced her to Roberta, funny because I had never actually met her either. Roberta says I’m brave because of that. I just figure life is too short not to experience new things with new people because of fear. Face book is just a way to make that happen.
It was the day before my birthday and I though it would be a good present to myself. So we start climbing. Part of the staircase is supposed to be no trespassing but I think the owners are working out a deal of some sort because it’s full of people. The beginning is like going up stairs. Then it turns into more of a double stair step. Scattered throughout the entire staircase are these rusty pipe like things that made me glad I’ve had my tetanus shot. I was mentally prepared for what one website called a false summit. Then there is a bailout trail if you want but that sort of thing just will not do for me. I feel like I’m cheating myself if I drive my bike to a bike path, lol. So I can see my friends ahead of me but I have to work out in my head that I’m climbing my own climb and racing my own race and there is some other inner dialog that goes on before I get into a groove and start being nice to myself. I reach what I think is the false summit and then look up and it still looks really far away and almost unattainable but not doubting for a second that I can, in fact, DO IT! It gets really steep and then I see people and think to myself maybe that is the false summit? So I start asking people and then I see Roberta and Krista and I realize I have made it to the top. So I say, ”Incline Bitchezzzz!” (My term of endearment that I often want to post on my wall but don’t because I don’t want to offend anyone who doesn’t quite get it.) To which someone reply’s “incline ain’t shit!”
That is a great feeing! I can really mess it up by saying things about how long it took and how easy it for some, like that really old guy, but I resist. I’ll just breathe it in for a moment. Then I think I need my sandwich, on sprouted bread because I read somewhere that was better for you than the regular stuff. And we are off to go down the trail. We got to know Krista a little better and we talked about our plans to do the Leadvillle heavy half. I knew she was extremely cool because the first thing she said was “If I was going to be in town I would crew for you! What? You’d think someone would be thinking about “what’s in it for me but that was not the first place she went with it ………that makes her Ultra Cool! The trail down was more technically difficult that I had expected. Its both loose gravel and rocky not to mention steep and many people are running down it! They don’t say “on your left!” or “runner back” even though I continue to do it. The director in me wants to teach everyone trail etiquette but I have to keep telling my self that we share the trail and that its not going to mess with my chi. If you’re not running it and you feel someone come up behind you it makes you want to jump out of the way. Roberta almost got injured for doing so and that just can’t happen, as she is my partner in crime. Maybe there is some other way I’m not aware of to work this out. Eventually I just accepted that it was going to just be that way and it all worked out. Next time I might attempt to run down when I feel I have my bearings a bit more on trails. So I can live to run another day, lol.
So Krista moves on ahead and we stroll on down and go to some hooka place for lunch. Then on the way home we discuss the possibilities of running the Nike next year because both of us want tiffany necklaces and can’t think of a better way to get one than at the finish line from a fireman, lol. That was cool but also the part where Roberta is explaining that she needs to sort out the things she want to do but is afraid of vs. the things she is just not interested in doing. Cool insight!!!!! Then we get home and I still have 2 hour’s of free time so Roberta calls me again and says “lets go on a short bike ride!” we do and then I do some heavy lifting and have a lovely birthday dinner with my family.
Eventually we decided on a date and posted on face book. I only got one response besides Roberta from Krista. Krista is an awesome new friend that I met on face book simply because she belongs to the same running club I do. I had never met her in person and we run in different pace groups so we may have never met otherwise. She has a blog and she has also had the Exercise Physiology Testing done with Lactate and VO2Max testing that I am about to undergo. So we emailed back and forth about that because I had lots of questions about what to expect as well as some fears about that because of my run/walk method and my unwillingness to abandon that method since it works for me and is the reason I now call myself
a runner.
So Krista asks about the details of the Incline and we didn’t really have a plan but one quickly developed and we are on our way. (Thanks Krista) We met her at the park and ride and she followed us up there. It was cool to communicate to each other and make sure everyone got what they needed out of the day. I love it when there is no guessing. It’s my favorite way to be. Show up and everybody does there own challenge. We get there and the parking lot was tiny and packed. My bug did fit but Krista had to park down the mountain and enjoy an extra workout.
Krista made her way up the hill from the parking lot and I introduced her to Roberta, funny because I had never actually met her either. Roberta says I’m brave because of that. I just figure life is too short not to experience new things with new people because of fear. Face book is just a way to make that happen.
It was the day before my birthday and I though it would be a good present to myself. So we start climbing. Part of the staircase is supposed to be no trespassing but I think the owners are working out a deal of some sort because it’s full of people. The beginning is like going up stairs. Then it turns into more of a double stair step. Scattered throughout the entire staircase are these rusty pipe like things that made me glad I’ve had my tetanus shot. I was mentally prepared for what one website called a false summit. Then there is a bailout trail if you want but that sort of thing just will not do for me. I feel like I’m cheating myself if I drive my bike to a bike path, lol. So I can see my friends ahead of me but I have to work out in my head that I’m climbing my own climb and racing my own race and there is some other inner dialog that goes on before I get into a groove and start being nice to myself. I reach what I think is the false summit and then look up and it still looks really far away and almost unattainable but not doubting for a second that I can, in fact, DO IT! It gets really steep and then I see people and think to myself maybe that is the false summit? So I start asking people and then I see Roberta and Krista and I realize I have made it to the top. So I say, ”Incline Bitchezzzz!” (My term of endearment that I often want to post on my wall but don’t because I don’t want to offend anyone who doesn’t quite get it.) To which someone reply’s “incline ain’t shit!”
That is a great feeing! I can really mess it up by saying things about how long it took and how easy it for some, like that really old guy, but I resist. I’ll just breathe it in for a moment. Then I think I need my sandwich, on sprouted bread because I read somewhere that was better for you than the regular stuff. And we are off to go down the trail. We got to know Krista a little better and we talked about our plans to do the Leadvillle heavy half. I knew she was extremely cool because the first thing she said was “If I was going to be in town I would crew for you! What? You’d think someone would be thinking about “what’s in it for me but that was not the first place she went with it ………that makes her Ultra Cool! The trail down was more technically difficult that I had expected. Its both loose gravel and rocky not to mention steep and many people are running down it! They don’t say “on your left!” or “runner back” even though I continue to do it. The director in me wants to teach everyone trail etiquette but I have to keep telling my self that we share the trail and that its not going to mess with my chi. If you’re not running it and you feel someone come up behind you it makes you want to jump out of the way. Roberta almost got injured for doing so and that just can’t happen, as she is my partner in crime. Maybe there is some other way I’m not aware of to work this out. Eventually I just accepted that it was going to just be that way and it all worked out. Next time I might attempt to run down when I feel I have my bearings a bit more on trails. So I can live to run another day, lol.
So Krista moves on ahead and we stroll on down and go to some hooka place for lunch. Then on the way home we discuss the possibilities of running the Nike next year because both of us want tiffany necklaces and can’t think of a better way to get one than at the finish line from a fireman, lol. That was cool but also the part where Roberta is explaining that she needs to sort out the things she want to do but is afraid of vs. the things she is just not interested in doing. Cool insight!!!!! Then we get home and I still have 2 hour’s of free time so Roberta calls me again and says “lets go on a short bike ride!” we do and then I do some heavy lifting and have a lovely birthday dinner with my family.
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