Saturday, August 14, 2010

6 Miles and Black Cloud

Great news! I ran!

Up until Thursday, as you may recall, I have encountered every hurdle in my runs out here; I've gotten cramps, out of breath,...well I guess that's it, but it has happened every time I try to run! I attribute it to the altitude and to my avoidance of running (due to the cramps, I know, it's a never-ending downward spiral). I FINALLY got past that wall on Thursday, but it took some persistence. Here is a summary of my trip, in outline form.

1. Awake at 8am, very small breakfast of water and approx. 22 goldfish crackers. Checking weather and convincing myself that I can run today
2. 9am, drive to Conundrum Trailhead for a trail run
3. 9:30am, arrive at trailhead and wait for the sudden rainfall to stop, temp is 55F
4. 9:35am rain lightens, fellow hiker at the parking lot yells to me to get out my car
5. 9:37am, dodging mud puddles and rocks on my first true trail run in Aspen
6. 9:47am, thunder heard overhead, I decide to stick it out
7. 9:48am, lightening spotted overhead, I decide to turn around if I see more
8. 9:49am, more lightening, I turn around
9. 9:50am, rain and hail. Goody!
10. 10am, arrive back at car. Perhaps I ran about a mile?
11. 10:05am drive to Aspen airport to wait out the rain and get much needed gas for my car. This run isn't over!
12. 10:30am Arrive at Rio Grand trail, unpaved portion at the end of Cemetery Lane. Sit in car to wait for the rain to stop.
13. 10:40am Running!
14. 11:15am Rain again, not stopping this time!
14. 11:55am back at the car, 6 miles in the bank! No cramps:)

So there you have it. That is how mu Thursday went down. I am grateful to have the time and resources to finally achieve a "long" run in Aspen. I attribute my success to a very small breakfast, the early morning, and pure determination. I'm so glad it finally worked! Now I can seriously get ready for my half marathon on September 12!

The next day I left open for a hike up Colorado's tallest mountain, Mt. Elbert. At 14,443 feet it offers 360-degree views of the Collegiate and Snowmass wilderness regions around Aspen and Leadville near Independence Pass. In the lower 48 states, it is second in height only to California's Mt. Whitney, which stands at 14,505 feet tall. Bryan and I got a perfect day of weather for the hike-not a cloud in the sky!! We left Marolt at 4:30AM, drove across Independence Pass, found the trailhead, and started hiking at 5:50AM, just when the sun was rising. The Black Cloud trail is considered the most difficult of the three trails that ascend the mountain, so naturally we wanted to do that one. It rises over 5,000 ft. in about 5 miles. Let me tell you, it was steep!!! In the first mile, I was seriously regretting my 6 mile run on Thursday and wondering if I was going to make it up the mountain. In my hiking this summer, I have learned to keep my mouth shut when it comes to personal doubts I have in my mind. Unless I am in danger, I will only raise concern and give merit to other hikers' doubts if I share my own. Bryan buys into this too, so we are almost always confessing our fears and doubts to each other once we reach the top:)

After a bunch of rest stops to catch our breath, lots of cold wind, and many false summits, we made it to the top 5 hours after we started. The visibility and the view was SO great from the top that we stayed up there for almost an hour!! It was a popular hike, so we had plenty of company. On the way down, we didn't need to stop as much so we got to our car in about 3 hours. It was a FANTASTIC hike, and a great day. I am so glad that I was able to do it. Check out my Aspen photo album on facebook for lots of good pictures from the hike.

http://www.summitpost.org/route/166522/black-cloud-trail.html

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Dudley lessons

I have completed my 3 hours of lessons with Chris, and I have a lot of reflection to do! I played minimally in lessons; I did more absorbing and thinking than playing. I am grateful for these lessons with Chris because it is very much just what I needed. When we talked about books covering the mental approach to playing in brass lit. this spring, I knew that I needed to be more in touch with my inner monologue, including my ability to control and/or free my thoughts. Chris touched on a lot of this in my lessons and master class. Now as long as I continue to work with it, I will make progress in the way that I want. Thanks, Chris!