The Recent Lull

by Maria Torres




It has been several weeks since I last posted, and I am happy to report that Sooie has made a full recovery. I'm glad some of you enjoyed the graphic photos of her wound (Haley) so I'll be sure to post more if anything else like that comes up in the future.

Alright, so about running...two Sundays ago, I ran just about 19 miles - my longest run yet. I got a later start than I had hoped, and I knew I would be running part of it in the dark. I packed a headlamp in my Camelbak, and set out around 4:40 p.m. I wore my gloves the entire time because it was so cold, and the sun going down didn't help with that. I have only run a couple of times at night, and it actually worked out better this time because there was a full moon to light the streets. All things considered, I felt pretty good at the end of the run and know that I could have kept going had it been marathon day.

Unfortunately, in the last two weeks, I have fallen off of my running schedule. But luckily, I've managed to come up with some really good excuses. First, I traveled home for Sara & Taylor's wedding, and that took about 3 full days of driving. Next, I returned to Colorado with poison ivy covering my arms, neck, and eyelids. That made running just a little painful - the sweat really irritated my already swollen and bright red eyelids. Finally, I'm in the process of moving to Denver at the end of this week. The disorganization and chaos that comes with packing and moving has pushed running to the bottom of my priorities. I need to get it back up to the top though, because the marathon is 18 days away. *GULP*

I'm excited to spend the last couple of weeks trying out some new runs in Denver and Boulder. While in Denver last week, my friends Annie and David suggested an excellent route which follows the river downtown. I had a lot of fun on that run - it actually started pouring rain, and all the homeless people gathered under the bridges for shelter. They got a big kick out of Sooie running along right by my side, and she relished the attention.

With the marathon just around the corner, I have no choice but to really pick up the pace, so to speak, in the coming weeks. After moving this weekend, I plan to post much more frequently up until marathon day. I appreciate all of you who have followed this blog since July - it makes me feel so good to know there are people who actually do read it. When I saw Sara (now Mrs. Staley :) & Kathy (now Mrs. Farver)in Arkansas, they mentioned my latest post and it made me so happy! Thank you girls for reading it!

Finally, I want to ask all of you to be thinking about Stacy, my running cousin-with-the-mostest, who has been diagnosed with tendonitis. She had to skip the Tulsa Run, and has had to take some time off to let it heal. Allowing it to heal by not running on it is pretty much the only way she would still be able to run the marathon. Please keep her in your thoughts!

Pumpkin Bread Batter for the Soul

by Maria Torres

My little running buddy was injured yesterday at some point during our 9 mile run, so this post is dedicated to her :) Outfitted with her new dog pack to carry our water, Sooie was stylin' for our early afternoon run.

It fit everything we could possibly need: water, treats, an energy gel, and her leash. Several people on the path laughed at Sooie because she looked so freakin' cute, but the pack is really practical too! Since she has more than enough energy left over after every run, why not let her carry some of the weight? It worked really well, and I didn't even know she was hurt until later that night.

On the car ride home I noticed Sooie was licking her lower leg, but when I looked at it I didn't notice anything. She was unusually quiet the rest of the evening and hung out by herself downstairs. When it was time for bed, I noticed a blood spot on the comforter. David held Sooie so I could get a closer look - it turns out she had a deep gash on her inner arm. I guess she was licking her lower arm after our run because she couldn't reach the spot where it actually hurt. Poor baby! She has never been hurt before, so I was pretty upset. She let David and me put first aid foam & antibiotic ointment on her without even squirming. She's such a good girl. My brother said it was past the point where she could get stitches, so we're just going to have to let it heal on its own.


I'm not sure where/how it happened, so I'm having second thoughts about letting her run off-leash. There are certain areas of the trail that are completely away from traffic, so on those parts I just carry her leash and let her run free. She always stays close by, and it has never been a problem before. The only thing I can think of is at the very end of the run, I stopped and pointed down to the river where she could go drink some water. She walked through thick brush to get down to the river, so something sharp could have been hidden in there. I've seen guys sitting in that area drinking before - maybe there was some broken glass covered up by the brush...I don't know.

It's a well-known fact that nothing makes a puppy feel better than pumpkin bread batter, so:

She's acting just fine now, but please keep her in your thoughts! And keep me in your thoughts this weekend, when I have to run 18 miles. *Gulp*

That's me modeling the wool running top with thumb holes (my new obsession) David gave me :)

A New "Mile"stone: 16 Miles!

by Maria Torres

I was in Tempe, AZ, the weekend of the 15 mile run and I ended up skipping it altogether. I did find a gym there to do some of my shorter runs, so at least that was something. I am disappointed with myself that I didn't just go ahead and run it on Monday when I got back to Telluride, but I am still planning on running it in the coming weeks. This will be increasingly difficult as the runs get longer with each passing week, but I want to have completed every single training run before I run the marathon on November 16th.

The 16 mile run was this past weekend, and I finished it feeling great. The only real obstacles that stood in my way were: 1. the wind at the end of the run, and 2. my poor decision not to take my Camelbak with me. Stacy and I didn't stay together during the run (she did do really well considering the high altitude & the hilly terrain here), and I had planned on drinking some of the water Justin had on his bike. That didn't work out, so by mile 15 I was delirious. I finally stumbled into a gas station and asked the guy at the counter if he had any "bottled water...fountain" - he could tell that I needed water pretty badly. When he asked how many miles I had run, I told him I was almost at mile 16. He seemed pretty impressed, and he offered up the gas station as my water headquarters for my upcoming runs. He was a lifesaver!

The wind tried to see to it that I didn't complete mile 16, and I just barely won that battle. It didn't help that the last leg of the run was uphill either. I felt like I wasn't moving towards the end. I am really glad I have 1.5 months of training left, because I didn't have 10 miles left in me last Saturday. The best part of the whole run though came at the end. David had already finished his 16 miles, and when he saw Stacy & Justin and realized I hadn't had access to water for the entire run, he got on his bike and rushed out to find me. When I saw him, he stopped, quickly jumped off his bike, and held out the hose to his Camelbak so I could drink some water. It was the sweetest thing - I knew how exhausted he must've been, and that didn't stop him. I'm getting a lump in my throat typing this, so I'm moving on...

To make up for the 8 miles I missed last Wednesday (9/24), I ran it on Monday, my day off. I ran 4 miles on Tuesday, and 8 again yesterday. So after I finish my 5 today, I'll be up to 25 for this week - and that doesn't even include my 12 mile run this weekend. We're definitely starting to put in some serious miles, and my appetite sure reflects it. In the morning, a bowl of cereal only keeps me full for about an hour. By the end of training, I'll be craving a big steak dinner for breakfast. Ha ha!

Happy October everyone!!