The Road To Rim Rock

He ran toward me as I was finishing up my last mile on the Audubon section of the Colorado River Trail. I had about a hundred yards to go, and I noticed that he looked like an experienced runner. He was wearing a jersey sporting the name of some race and lots of logos, skimpy running shorts and an iPod strapped to his upper arm. We exchanged the typical head-nod and he slowed down long enough to say, “Wow, you look like my wife. She has the same outfit!” “Cool!” I thought, “That means I must at least look like a runner!” I felt pretty good about that until it sank in that the guy was in his early 70s, so his wife had to be around the same age. Bummer, I thought, as I gasped my way back to my car. I consoled myself by thinking maybe she was wife No. four and only 32 years old. All of which leads me to two important questions: Are there any trails in this valley that start downhill? And if the uphill is 2.3 miles, how can the downhill on the same route be less than a mile? It’s important because I’ve set what I think is a pretty aggressive goal for myself — to run in this year’s Rim Rock Run on Nov. 8. Maybe “participate as an entrant” in this year’s 22.6-mile Rim Rock Run would be more accurate. It also takes some of the pressure off me. Understand, the pressure is self-imposed. I like to go for long walks and hikes, I always have. I’ve always hated running, too. But at some point (I think I was late for cocktails) I finished up my hike by running the last part of the way. The next time I ran a little more, then a little more. It didn’t kill me as I fully expected it might, so I incorporated a bit more running each time. (In the interest of full disclosure, it wasn’t really running. It was better defined as walking fast while bouncing up and down.) About three weeks ago in the middle of this activity I had this crazy idea. The blood flow to my brain was restricted because it was all going to my heart, lungs and legs, but I thought, “Hey, you’re about to turn 50 this summer. Maybe you should have a goal. Like train to run the Rim Rock Run and live to tell about it! Maybe you could write about it and somebody else would be inspired to try it too. What do you have to lose? If you don’t make it or wimp out, you’re only humiliating yourself to like, 80,000 people!” So I talked it over with the-one-we’re-so-glad-to-have-back, Laurena Davis, sure she would diplomatically find a way to say, “No thanks. We can’t spend perfectly good money on newsprint for something like that.” But surprisingly she smiled and agreed it could be fun. Laurena, for the record, ran this race in 2002 and has my eternal admiration. I have since embarked on a rigorous training schedule that at my current pace will allow me to finish the race in 5 hours and 55 minutes! Hey - it’s a 37K race. That’s a lot of Ks to cover in that amount of time. I’m not really sure what form my training will take, or what form my writing about it will take either. Right now I’m trying to run — see above definition — 3 miles a day at least five days a week, when it’s not raining. Or too windy, or too cold. I’m a picky runner. So far I’ve managed to do that since March 30. I push myself, physically and mentally, but I don’t try to fool myself. My body is close to the half-century mark and any sprains, pulls or tears will take about that long to heal. Some days I feel really good and think there should be champagne corks popping for me. Some days I want to smack myself upside the head for thinking I could pull this off. Most days I just think I need way better music on my iPod. Last week I registered to run a 5K that’s a fundraiser for Girls on the Run of the Grand Valley. It takes place at Long Park on Saturday, May 3. It gives me a short-term goal to work toward, but the best part is that all finishers get a Wondergirl Medal! How cool is that? Check my column in The Daily Sentinel on the 4th Tuesday of each month to track my progress. I’ll be posting more frequent updates on HAUTE MAMAS. Oh - and one of the benefits to all this running around is that it really does get you in shape. Check me out: