Back to Normality Again :-)

This year has absolutely flown by and I can't believe that it's August already. It's been an awesome year so far though - I've met loads of new friends here in Phoenix, I've had several successful races and some amazing training runs, and we've had tons of fun doing agility with both Wilson and Brandy, whilst this past couple of months we've introduced Wilson to dock diving which he seems to have thoroughly enjoyed.

The race at Bryce Canyon seems such a long time ago now and despite a DNF, I recovered pretty well and was back in to the flow of things within the week, With no other races planned until the Javelina Jundred at the end of October, I felt like I still wanted to make use of my fitness and get a decent race in between now and then. There are so many races to choose from and after much deliberation I opted for the Devil Mountain Ultra in Pagosa Springs, Corlorado on August 20th. This gave me ample time to recover and plenty of time to build up my mileage in preparation for what I hoped would be another great race.

I was excited to be going back to Colorado - last year I had done the TransRockies Run - 120 miles at high elevation in the mountains, and I couldn't wait to go back. I was excited about the training and was more than ready to put in that extra effort to get me in to tip top shape.

This is my first summer in Arizona and whilst I had been warned about the endless, unrelenting heat during the summer months in the lower desert, I wasn't quite prepared for the impact it would really have on my running. During June and July, we had temperatures well over 100 degrees every single day, and at one point, we had a streak of 110+ for 26 days in a row. I was craving rain, I was craving lower temperatures, but the annual monsoon was being a little shy this year and certainly in our neighbourhood, the storms I had been looking forward to have been non-existent and we've had continuous hot, glorious sunshine and clear blue skies for goodness knows how long.

I've never been a sun worshipper and much prefer the cooler climes of places like the UK and Canada, but in Phoenix there is no escape from the sun. Whilst such extreme temperatures are OK when you can lounge about and relax all day long, living with them constantly can be a drain. The heat forces you to stay indoors and all outdoor activities become limited. Our dogs still need to be walked, but walking them during the day is a no no as the pavements get so hot it burns their paws, and even the rocky and sandy trails can be too hot for them. Indeed, the City of Phoenix recently passed a law to say dogs are banned on trails when temperatures reach 100 degrees or more, so even some gentle hiking is out of the question. If you do go out, it has to be very, very early morning or in the evening after the sun has gone down, but even then, temperatures are barely below the 100 degree mark and it;s like constantly sitting in an oven. Everything you touch is hot, and even when drinking tap water to keep yourself hydrated, it comes out warm as the ground gets gets so hot.

Not surprisingly, my running started to go backwards. I was still following a programme but I was falling short of my target pace. Even a 10k run meant carrying a litre of water with me, and speed sessions or tempo runs have been tough with having to carry a backpack. My pace was getting slower but my heart rate was still the same which highlighted how much the heat was affecting my runs. I resorted to running some of my sessions on the treadmill - 14 miles one weekend stuck indoors whilst the sun is shining brightly outside! - and I even purchased an iFIT module to make things more interesting whilst pounding out the miles on a machine.

I have had some comment that living here in Phoenix is just the reverse of living in Canada - instead of staying indoors during the winter months, we do it in the summer, but I rarely stayed indoors when living in Calgary and the cold rarely bothered me - that's what layers are for, and you don't need to carry gallons of water with you. I was finding things tough and I was getting extremely frustrated about things.

The good news is that I have managed to get some decent runs in since Bryce Canyon on the trails around Phoenix, and I also headed up to Prescott for a week run to escape the heat. A couple of weeks ago, a group of us also headed over to Mt Ord and had a wonderful 25km to the summit and back - that day was hot, but we had the shade of the trees and were surrounded by greenery and the mountains. I've also sneaked in some runs with the AZ Traileggers - a great group of folks that have welcomed me with open arms - and we've had lots of fabulous runs on the trails in the north of the city.

the Mount Ord Gang ;-)

The trail up and down Mt Ord, and the amazing views :-)

This past couple of weeks however, I haven't been feeling myself and for some reason, I suffered my first ever panic attack. I have no idea what triggered it - the feeling of being out of control wasn't nice and with Andy being away for most of the week and me not knowing what was wrong with me, it has been somewhat scary. I've been fearful of running in case something happened and I was out on my own, and I felt like I didn't have anybody to turn to that could help get me back on track.

Yet here I am a fortnight later feeling much better, and I have so many people to thank for helping me through a pretty unsettling time. I won't embarrass them by naming them here, but if you are reading this, you know who you are and I really can't thank you all enough. One thing I have struggled with in the past is asking for help, and yet I have learnt that there really are some genuinely amazing people out there that are interested in your welfare and are more than willing to listen to you, to support you, offer advice and help where they can - not because they want to judge you, or laugh at you, or gossip and spread rumour, they don't do it for personal gain or to make themselves look and feel good. They do it because they want to and because they really do genuinely care. These people have seen me at my worst this past couple of weeks and they've helped me through it, guiding me through the US health system and encouraging me to see a professional.

AZ Traileggers - a great bunch of folks, and some AMAZING friends :-)
Photo Credit Jon Christley

I'm now back running again but I have decided to take a break from the structured training, and to just have some fun with my running for a while without worrying about what pace I should be doing and how far I should be going, and it's such a relief. It doesn't matter how hot it is outside, or how humid or how windy - I'm running how I feel, and I'm loving it again.

Last Friday I forced myself out for a run, and it felt good to be back out on the trails. I felt happy again, I felt like I was back in control, and I felt like I was getting back to my normal self. I headed to the Sonoran Preserve, and it was great to hear the sounds of the desert and to watch the sun go down, and I was grinning like a Cheshire Cat. A couple of days later, I joined the AZ Traileggers at Deem Hills and had a wonderful time running, chatting, laughing and eating extremely tasty homemade fruit muffins with some amazing people that made me feel so good afterwards.

The Sonoran Desert Preserve and happy to be back :-)

Deem Hills with the Traileggers :-)
Photo Credit: Jon christley

I'd already decided that I will not be racing the Devil Mountain Ultra in a couple of weeks as I really didn't want the pressure of racing again at the moment. However, I am still a member of the Aravaipa Running Racing  Team and I feel like I've missed them recently. There is a race in Silverton, Colorado on the same day as Devil Mountain - the Silverton Alpine Marathon and Ultra, and I have every intention of heading out to Silverton to offer some support to all those people that have supported me recently by helping out at an aid station or something. But I am also now considering running the marathon as I feel like I need to do a long run to give me some confidence back but without actually racing - i haven't yet decided and just want to keep my options open, but either way I'll either run the marathon or volunteer and see the race from the other side.

For now though, I'm just looking forward to our vacation to New Mexico and Colorado, and having some quality time in the mountains with the family. I'm looking forward to doing some trail runs with Wilson and Brandy, some hikes in the mountains, swimming in the lakes and rivers, and just generally relaxing and enjoying some cooler temperatures so that I can my mind, body and soul back to where it used to be.  The fall isn't too far away either which means lower temperatures in Phoenix and I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to the winter when even my running can get back to normal.