I don’t post every run I do on the Powerline Trail in Redmond since it would get incredibly boring and repetitive (the posts, not the runs), but once in a while they’re just too great to ignore. I’ve realized (in spite of my perfidious thoughts last year) that I am incredibly lucky to live within a mile of several trails where I can run whenever I want and go for miles and miles without hitting pavement.

Anyhoo, back to my run last Friday. There was sunshine. In early February. I wore a t-shirt! I discovered a new (to me) trail system off the Powerline. I experienced an endorphin rush so intense that it made me run much farther than I probably should have given my current physical shape…and I realized that if running is capable of giving me this kind of a buzz, I really need to do it more often. Maybe I really should sign up for a race, something to motivate me to get out on that Powerline Trail even now that the weather is back to its normal, dreary self. The Sun Mountain 25K in May, perhaps?

*well that can’t be a good sign.

JK and I have been talking about doing a trail race forever, but, since we’re extremely efficient procrastinators, this has yet to come to fruition. Back in December we heard about the Orcas Island 25K, part of the excellent Rainshadow Running race series. Unfortunately it was already full, but we figured we might as well sign up to volunteer. Besides, it was an excellent excuse for us to visit Orcas Island for the first time.

JK (and Wellie, who by default won both the canine division and the age 1-5 group) signed up to sweep the course (run behind the last racer and make sure that everyone gets off the course safely) while I was part of the aid station crew on top of Mount Constitution. Sweet!! The view was surprisingly good given the weather (but check out the view from the aid station during the 50K race the following weekend – them bastards stole our sunshine!), and we were kept busy supplying the runners with food, drinks, and electrolytes.

Helping out at the aid station was lots of fun, trying to anticipate what the runners might need (hot soup? blister pads? an excuse to stop and rest for a few minutes?), attempting to make PB&J sandwiches with frozen peanut butter and watching the front of the pack zoom past us even at the top of that monster of a hill.

As I stood there in my humongous puffy jacket trying to keep warm in the hail/snow/murderous ice pellets, I was secretly pleased with myself for not being one of those poor runners out on the course…but when they started pouring into the aid station, looking absolutely elated (well, most of them), I realized they were the lucky ones. I also realized that I really really do want to run a race like this one day.

Between the beautiful course (even in this weather), mellow vibe, excellent post-race meal party with live music and, if I do say so myself, a fabulous aid station, I would love to come back and race this in the future. JK has his sights set on the 50K next year, so it looks like we’ll both have to start training.

I woke up still feeling pretty sick after our run on Cougar the day before, but I was determined to sweat it out – nothing else appeared to be helping anyway. To the Redmond Watershed Preserve! JK was going for an additional short loop, so we both put on music and ran at our own pace. I don’t know if it was the fresh-smelling woods (didn’t see any bear scat that day), the happy faces of fellow runners and hikers I met along the trail, the utter joy of running to Faithless again or, most likely, my total lack of expectations that day, but I had the best run of my life. Seriously. I entered that elusive state of flow, and when I finally came to myself and realized that hey, I’m still running, it turned into a massive endorphin high (see maniacal smile in cell phone pic).

I didn’t bring any water since I’m trying to train myself to drink less during short distances, so near the end when I started feeling parched, I resorted to swallowing little slurps of post-nasal drip. I kid, I kid! (Sort of.) By Monday my cold was gone and I felt human again.

Another January, another chance to be resolute. Looking back on my hopeful scribbles from last year, in 2011 I intended to:

1) Write more trip reports | A gloriously unquantifiable resolution. I’ll just say I failed, mostly.

2) Not freak out if I miss out on trips | I actually worked hard on this one and have become much more comfortable spending weekends in the city or on lowland trails. Or maybe I just lost my sense of adventure.

3) Lose weight | I happily ignored this one until I came home from Utah in late October and saw video footage of myself. Gadzooks! I’m starting 2012 20 lbs lighter than 2011, so I would call this a success…but it obviously still needs work.

So to keep working on all of these resolutions, I plan to dust off my blog and post all our adventures, big and small. It’s ok if I only have crappy cell phone photos (see below) and it’s just a quick run in the Watershed or the Issaquah Alps. Anything goes.

Last Saturday was actually my first time out of the house in days; I had spent most of the week hibernating with a stubborn cold. Everything from the neck up was still stuffy and runny and generally charming, but my body and mind were getting restless. JK and I decided a short run on Cougar Mountain was in order to clear our sinuses.

It was my first real workout since our pre-Christmas xc ski to Tipsoo Lake, so it was shocking that my body even remembered how to move. JK’s body seemed to remember it a little bit better than mine (and he’s training for a trail race), so he ran the hills and doubled back to me for extra elevation gain while I slowly shuffled along, feeling like I was going to die. In a good way, though. Sort of.

Well, it didn’t take long for this to become a literal challenge! On Friday I couldn’t for the life of me find the motivation to exercise, so I called for backup. JK agreed to a quick run in the Redmond Watershed Preserve after work…but when we got there, I could barely find the energy to walk, let alone run. At least I got to use JK as my personal therapist to let off some steam about how crappy I was feeling (words flow freely when you’re walking in nature) and that I felt guilty for not doing something more challenging for GOYA.

JK’s words of wisdom for the day: “Focus on what you are doing, not on what you think you should be doing”. (Yes, everything I need to learn about life always essentially boils down to “Be here now”.) I decided to try to take his advice, and suddenly I was able to run again and get lost in conversation.

Side note: we saw two piles of bear scat in the Watershed. It still amazes me that there are bears and cougars running around here.

I kept that mindset going throughout the weekend when we both realized that we just didn’t feel like hiking. Instead of feeling guilty about not being out in the mountains on a weekend in September (the best hiking month in Washington), we made some good food and enjoyed curling up at home with our books. This also gave me a chance to come up with some good cross-training activities since I’m trying to ease back into running.

First up, yoga. Omgz, GOYA is an anagram of yoga – surely that must be a sign! JK and I both used to love Ashtanga Yoga, but we just stopped practicing after we left California. Dusting off my mat felt amazing, and I can’t even remember the last time I was this sore. Since I was already feeling all New Age and junk, I tortured myself for fifteen minutes on my Shakti Mat to really get the blood flowing.

Sunday was a day of epic laziness, but we took our bikes out for a ride on the East Lake Sammamish Trail and stopped by Marymoor Park on the way home so JK could boulder for a bit. We only biked 16 miles since my butt hasn’t touched a bike seat since the dawn of time (between that and the Ashtanga, tomorrow should be a hoot), so I felt like I didn’t get a good workout in. It would help if there were more hills; all the elevation gain is from the one evil monster of a hill that leads back up to our house. Now that part just about killed me.

I’ve come to the conclusion that if this project is going to work, I need to push myself harder (bigger rush of endorphins and sense of accomplishment) and do so earlier in the day (so I can really benefit from the rush).