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Colorado: Wilderness Trekking School – Snow Day

Posted on April 29, 2013 by lynne @ lgsmash

File this one under: Incredibly glad I learned it but hope I never have to use it.

This week in Wilderness Trekking School (Dry Land Travel & Navigation weeks here), we learned about traveling in snow. Less winter camping and more winter hiking and climbing.

In our classroom section, we spent our time learning a little bit about avalanches. A few days before this class last week, an avalanche killed 5 people at Loveland Pass so this class was incredibly sobering. The room was rapt with attention – the seriousness of this information hit extremely close to home. Spencer Logan, an avalanche forecaster for the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, spoke to us about what causes avalanches, how to avoid avalanches and equipment to always bring (avalanche shovel, beacon and probe).

While there is a LOT more Alex and I plan to learn about avalanches next winter before playing around in the backcountry, one thing we did take away from the presentation was to always look at the ‘Obvious Clues’ before deciding to head into avalanche terrain:

Avalanches (has there been an avalanche within the last 48 hrs?)
Loading (has there been moisture loaded onto the slope by snow, rain, wind, in the last 48 hrs)
Path (is the slope an obvious slide path?)

Terrain Trap (are their terrain features that increase risk: gullies, cliff bands, tight trees, etc?)
Rating (is there a rating of ‘considerable’ or higher rating by avalanche forecasters?)
Unstable snow (can you see or did you experience symptoms such as collapsing, cracking, whomphing, etc?)
THaw Instability (has there been recent warming of the snow due to sun, rain, warm temps?)

A handy acronym is ‘ALP TRUTh’ to make sure you’ve covered your bases. These are questions to ask before and during a backcountry trip – we should be continually evaluating the potential for snow to avalanche. After that, you need to be sure you travel safely in avalanche terrain – just because all the clues point to no avalanches doesn’t mean the snow CAN’T avalanche.

And since 9 out of 10 avalanches are started/caused by the victim or someone in the victim’s party – everyone who travels in the backcountry in winter needs to be aware of how to avoid being caught in an avalanche. There are many places to take Avalanche Level 1 Course (a 24-hour class taught over 3 days to learn the basics, in-depth) and for anyone playing in the backcountry (ie – not at a ski resort), it’s imperative to take this class. To see what an AV1 course entails, check out Heidi and Heather‘s posts.

After our classroom session, we prepped for our snow field day on Saturday. THIS was the fun stuff!

We headed up to St. Mary’s Glacier (yet again – I think I’ve been there 4 or 5 times in the last year!) to practice walking on a glacier, learning to self-arrest (stop) if we ever fell on a slope and learning to glacade down (more safely than when Alex and I tried it before!). New (for us) equipment that we used was an ice ax and helmet.

I wore snow pants that were far too small. Not very fashionable but extremely functional! I didn’t want to ruin my ‘real’ snow pants that I love so I brought out the backups for this weekend.

So ridiculous looking. I can hear my mom now…. ‘Where’s the flood, Grannen?!’

Our day was perfect at the glacier – Blue skies, no snow or rain. It was really windy as per usual at St. Mary’s but the wind died down in the afternoon for us.

Our first lesson was in ‘Self Belay’ while traveling on snow/glaciers. This means that when you’re walking, you always need 3 points of contact – 2 feet and an ice ax dug into the snow. The ice ax is either secured to your wrist with a leash or, ideally, secured to your harness. We used only a leash for this day.

It took a LONG time and a lot of effort to traverse the glacier. With each step, we had to kick in the snow to create a divet for the person behind us to step in to. We took turns being the first person in line (the person who does the most work) but it was still tiring!

Once we got to the top, the fun began. We practiced self-arrest positions on a relatively flat part of the glacier before moving up to the steep slope.

We learned and practiced the 4 different ways a person could fall down a slope, from easiest to hardest:

Feet first on our stomach
Feet first on our back
Head first on our stomach
Head first on our back

The goal is always to get to the ‘feet first on your stomach’ position to self-arrest. Like this:

I took some video, too. Here’s Ryan going down feet first on his stomach:

And Alex sliding head first on his stomach:

And Alex sliding head first on back:

For each position, we practiced at least 2 runs – one using the ax on our right and once on our left.

Snow day and self-arresting was REALLY fun…when I knew I was in no danger. The reality is that self-arresting is only successful 50% of the time. As the sun warmed the snow, we quickly discovered that soft snow did not stop us as quickly as the harder snow – so, if you’re gonna fall on a glacier, do it before the snow gets warm!

But in all seriousness, the best way to keep yourself safe on a glacier is to self-belay and to NOT FALL. If you don’t fall, you have a 100% chance of not needing to self-arrest.

After a few hours of practice, we ended our day glacading down a steep part of the glacier back to the trail to hike out. Glacading is basically a longer, slower self-arrest – and LOTS of fun!

Unfortunately, Alex and I don’t own ice axes or helmets yet but I think this will be our next investment – I know a few hours of practice is not enough for me to feel comfortable putting self-arrest into immediate practice if I needed. The good news is that means more play time in the snow! And that I’ll be able and ready to save myself if I ever find myself sliding down a glacier.

Side note: it’s Monday and my arms, shoulders and core are STILL sore from snow day. Who knew gripping an ice ax, thrusting it in the snow and clinging on to stop 160-lbs from sliding would require so much muscle? Side side note: of COURSE it requires muscle. And this is why everyone in Colorado is fit.

Marriage: Home Alone!

Posted on April 24, 2013 by lynne @ lgsmash

Alex was out of town for a business trip this week and returns today. Like Kevin McCallister, I’ve been watching gangster movies on repeat, jumping on my bed and relishing my free time My time home alone may have been planned but that doesn’t make it any less exciting to me.

I love living with Alex more than anything but being an independent woman who lived solo for 1.5 years before he moved in means I miss my completely-free-no-one-else-to-worry-about-(except-Philly) alone time occasionally. Fortunately, a short 2-3 day business trips are the perfect length for me to live it up and start to miss him. And then – BAM! He’s home! Perfect!

While Alex was gone, I did all sorts of things I can’t do (or choose not to do, or do with great infrequency) when we are together.

I chatted on the phone with a friend for 2 hours. About girly things like boys, emotions and good books to read.

I worked late because I had work to do and didn’t have to worry about picking anyone up at a certain time. (You know you’re an adult when this is a highlight of your ‘completely-free-no-one-else-to-worry-about’ time)

I made popcorn and watched a movie I’ve been wanting to watch stretched out in bed, staying up way too late for a school night. Twice!!

I played my Justin Bieber and Passion Pit Pandora stations in the car and loudly sang along instead of listening to NPR.

I’m going to a Yelp event tonight and not thinking twice about coordinating car logistics! (A HUGE luxury as we are a one car family and have to coordinate every activity and every ride)

And much like people joke about how ‘men can’t take care of themselves when their woman is gone! Whatever will they eat when left to their own devices?!!‘… well, that sentiment is gender neutral over here because the same holds true for this gal. No, I didn’t order delivery pizza and gorge myself on candy.

Our morning routine is such that I take the dog out and Alex makes our lunches/snacks and coffee (and breakfast burritos when we haven’t planned ahead). Alex clearly drew the short straw.

So with Alex gone, I realized… it’s kind of difficult to get up at the same time as normal, take the dog out, make breakfast, lunch AND coffee and be out the door on time. So something had to give and it was lunch. I’ve been strategically eating my lunches out – stretching a Subway sandwich into a lunch and afternoon snack, Chipotle into lunch and dinner.

Thankfully, Alex comes home tonight and order will be restored. As much as I like eating out, I’d prefer my homemade sandwich and his master cooking again tomorrow.

The unfortunate part is that 3 days wasn’t long enough for me to break out the gangster movie line. Next time, ‘Tell the pizza man to ‘Keep the change, you filthy animal” moves to the top of my completely-free-no-on-else-to-worry-about to do list.

Colorado: Wilderness Trekking School – Navigation

Posted on April 22, 2013 by lynne @ lgsmash

This week’s lesson in Wilderness Trekking School was navigation – learning how to use a map and compass to navigate our way around and off trails. Until last week, I hadn’t used a map and compass together since 5th grade social studies class. Thankfully, like riding a bike, once I started thinking about degrees, directions and triangulation again, it came back quickly.

On Tuesday, our weekly classroom session, we learned about map and compass basics – what it looks like, how to read it, aspects of a map, how to read maps, etc. – as a full group of 120 students. Then we broke into our smaller groups to put pencil to paper and plot a list of points on our quadrangle map of Evergreen/Genesee where we’d hike on Saturday.

After the first couple of points, our group got the hang of plotting and we breezed through the 20+ points we put on the map.

On Saturday, we met at the Colorado Mountain Club’s building in Golden for a final mini-lesson before caravaning up to Genesee to do our field work. Once our group met at our designated parking lot, we learned how to count our paces to help us measure distance when out on the trails.

To pace, we walked for 1/2 mile and counted our steps. But here’s the catch! You only count ONE foot’s step – so every right step or every left step. At the end of your half mile, you should have counted somewhere around 500 paces – higher if you have a shorter stride, shorter if you have a longer stride. I came in just at 500. Then, you’ll multiply your paces times 2 to find your paces per mile. From here, you can divide down your paces to figure out the specific distance you’ll need for travel.

We hiked up a short ways and our field work began – we had to find our first point that we plotted on Tuesday.

Using our map, our compasses and things around us, we were able to figure out exactly where we were and how to get to point 0.

We found it! Our points were marked with a tiny metal plaque on a tree and ribbons tied around the base. In years prior, the instructors found out that just denoting a point with the metal plaque was extremely difficult (but helped with accuracy!) so they’ve added ribbons to make the point more obvious.

We then learned about contour lines on a map. Contour lines denote elevation on a map. Each point on a specific contour will be at the same elevation. Our point 0 was near a small, closed contour line which meant it was at the top of the hill. We measured the distance of the contour line on our maps and then spread out to stand in the approximate location of the line. This gave us a good idea of how map size translates to ‘real life’.The next navigation tactic we practiced was called ‘Leapfrogging‘. If you need to stay on a specific contour line off a trail, one way to do that is by leapfrogging with others in your group.

Essentially, one person will use an inclinometer (our group has compasses with an inclinometer) to track elevation off the other members of the group. The person with the inclinometer will stay back while the rest of the group walks forward at different heights. The person with the inclinometer will watch the other people walk, looking for one person’s head to be level with their inclinometer – this means that person is on the same elevation as the person with the compass. The person with the compass then walks to the person and the group starts walking again. The leapfrogging continues until the group reaches the destination.

Wilderness Trekking School - Navigation // lgsmash.com

Bushwhacking while Leapfrogging – Traversing at different heights so our navigator can pick a person at the appropriate elevation

Leapfrogging is a lengthy and painstaking process but very effective when needed.

We hit a few more pre-plotted points on our map before breaking for lunch.
I’m certainly not complaining about this view!

We began our wet trek back out after lunch – it was a fairly warm day so the snow was rapidly melting in the afternoon. Thank goodness for microspikes and gaiters! We bagged 4 more points before hiking back out. In total, we covered 5 miles. I’m not sure of the elevation gain/loss but I know we went up and down MANY contour lines over those 5 miles!

A post-hike stop at a local bar is always part of our field days. Even though we ‘only’ hiked 5 miles, we are always hungry after a field day and a cold beer always sounds delicious.

But it’s not just a chance to refuel and bond as a group, we also learn about and practice different knots used in mountaineering. Last week, we practiced some of the basics (Square, Double Fisherman’s, Prusik and Bowline). This week, we learned about Figure 8 Loops, Figure 8 Retraces and Taut-Line Hitches.
Wilderness Trekking School - Navigation // lgsmash.com I really enjoying learning about the knots – I’ve never known how to tie specific knots so learning about the how and why of each knot is fascinating to me. Some of these knots are what keep you from falling to injury or death when rock climbing!

This week’s class is all about snow travel. And not like winter camping – like traversing a glacier and learning how to self-arrest when sliding down ice. And given that Denver/Colorado is scheduled for snow AGAIN this week, should be a fun day in the field this weekend!

Life: Enjoying The Last Winter Snows

Posted on April 18, 2013 by lynne @ lgsmash

We’ve been having random blizzards the past few weeks here in Denver. As much as I love the snow (and I do love the snow!), I’ve been bummed that it keeps interfering with my morning run meet-ups and have been reduced to running on the treadmill. It’s been too snowy or icy to safely run.

But one little puppy is LOVING the weekly snow. After a mostly snow-less winter, Philly has been over the moon to play outside recently. She’s a very mild and timid dog generally…until she gets outside. Then she’s a wild child – zooming back and forth in our little backyard area, half barking (she never barks), and jumping around.

These past few weeks, she’s been noticeably even more enthusiastic about being out in the snow – much like I’d feel if I was able to make it to the mountains to ski in all of this fresh, fresh snow so late in the season. She must know that these are the last few snows of this year, too.

Here’s to enjoying the last of the winter snow!

Boston: Choosing Hope

Posted on April 16, 2013 by lynne @ lgsmash

In the absence of knowing what to say, I won’t say much. Like you, I found myself glued to the radio, Twitter and YouTube videos of news coverage of the explosions in Boston yesterday afternoon, watching and listening with rapt attention. Yesterday, my heart was heavy, as every runner, friend of a runner and human felt and might feel today too.

As a friend said:

‘This makes me sick to my stomach thinking that in somebody’s proud moment, somebody would want to evoke terror. Do what you can today to be a better person and produce some positive energy.’

All across my social media channels today, I’m seeing runners wear race shirts and run miles to show their support, friends posting #PrayForBoston and #RunForBoston hashtags. In a moment when we all could feel anger and sadness, hope and heros are what we’re talking about instead. The people who ran TOWARDS the explosions and the first responders. The solidarity of the running community and of Americans.

I read somewhere else yesterday that: if you want to break the human spirit, marathoners should not be your target. Marathoners, runners, Bostonians and Americans are resilient. We don’t crumble. In times of turmoil, we band together to help each other, to forget our differences and to bounce back, better than ever.

Today, I’m choosing not to be sad – To not forget those who were killed and seriously injured and keep their family in my heart but also choosing to look at the positive. Choosing to think about the people who ran back to help, those who gave their safety to keep other safe.

The world and bad in it can pull and hold you down if you let it. But there is so much more good in the world than bad. I choose to recognize that today. Today, I’m choosing hope.

Colorado: Wilderness Trekking School – Dry Land Travel Hike

Posted on April 15, 2013 by lynne @ lgsmash

Hiking and backpacking in the spring, summer, fall (and now winter!) is one of my favorite ways to spend my weekends. When Alex signed us up as members of the Colorado Mountain Club, we knew we wanted to take Wilderness Trekking School (WTS) in the spring. WTS is a class designed to get beginner hikers out on the trails and enjoying the mountains safely. As much backpacking as we’ve done, Alex and I feel we have a good handle on how to be safe and responsible but know there is a LOT we don’t know. We decided to take this formal class as a way to fill in the missing bits and pieces.

Similar to Winter Camping classes we took this winter, WTS has 1 classroom section and 1 day hike per week for 6 weeks. As WTS is the CMCs most popular class (it’s a pre-req for all of the advanced classes), we have 120 people in our classroom section and then break into smaller groups of 10ish for the day hikes. We’re split into smaller groups of people with similar ability and interest which is great – each group learns about things that are important to that group. If a group’s main interest is getting out for day hikes safely and with the right gear, their instructor would gear day hike lessons to that. Our group has some significant experience and is interested in learning about climbing big mountains and doing long backpacking trips – so our instructors are keeping that in mind during our hikes, too.

Our first classroom section was last week and we covered gear, the 10 essentials and hygiene; our first day hike was this past weekend to learn about Dry Land Travel.

We met at the CMC building in Golden and carpooled to Bear Canyon Trail near Boulder for our hike and started soon after 8 a.m. We have a not-awesome-car-for-mountain-driving so we usually hitch a ride.

Because this is a class, our goal is not to just hike to the top as fast as possible. We take frequent stops throughout the hike and day for learning. We all took turns being front and rear leaders, stopped frequently to check our position on the map, learned about inclines of rocks and how to walk on them, how to measure an incline with a compass and how to cross boulders/talus/scree, among other things.

Navigation check!

When we got to the top of the trail – we broke for lunch and in depth map and compass work.

We used our compasses to triangulate our exact position based on land features around us. Who needs a GPS when we’ve got a map and compass?! Map and compass is a skill that I felt pretty rusty about but it’s like riding a bike – once you do a few practice triangulations, it comes right back. Now, reading a topographic map? I definitely still need some work there. Halfway back down the trail, we stopped to talk about the difference between boulders, talus and scree – different types of rock fields found in the mountains. The difference is size: boulders are big rocks; talus are medium sized (greater than 4 inches) and scree are tiny sized (4 inches or less). After talking about the difference, we traversed this boulder/talus field.

Let me tell ya – walking across a giant field of mostly loose rocks is not my favorite thing. The more experienced hikers told me that I’ll soon pick up the difference between a loose rock and a stable rock after a few more trips across rock fields.

Our last stop before the parking lot was at a stream to test the waterproofness of our shoes. We only had a 10 minutes hike out so it was the perfect time to step in the water without fear of blisters forming or ruining our hike.

Despite a hole in my outter mesh and my shoes being really old (4 years), I was pleasantly surprised to find that my socks did not get wet! My shoes are, in fact, waterproof. Neat!

We finished our hike back out and headed to the bar to learn about knots.
We’ll learn more about knots in future classes but it was fun to refuel with a burger and beer and learn how to tie a few different types of knots and hear how we might use them in real life. We learned to tie a double fisherman’s knot and how to secure that to a rope and also how to tie a bowline knot.

We caravaned back to the CMC after eating and Alex and I got back to our car round 5. It was a full day of learning and hiking – 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. – and my body is sore from using muscles I haven’t used in a while. I spent Saturday night stretching and snoozing on the couch.

I’m looking forward to our next day hike – this Saturday – where we’ll learn more about maps, compasses and navigation. Definitely something I need to practice!

Crafterday: Happy Birthday Surprise Mail!

Posted on April 13, 2013 by lynne @ lgsmash

I love mail – getting it and sending it. Creating it and reading it. Scheduling the exact right day to snail mail an envelope so that it will arrive at the exact right time. This is something my friend Elizabeth (with whom I went to Japan!) and I have in common – we are big fans of checking our mailboxes. So when I saw a post about creating a birthday greeting in a mailing tube, I knew exactly what I would make to send Elizabeth on her birthday.

**Somewhere out there in the big internetz world is the post that sparked this project. Unfortunately, I don’t have it saved in my email or on my Pinterest and after hours of various Google search combinations, I can’t find the original post. So if you are the original poster of this idea, please let me know so I can share!**

Materials:

1 mailing tube (Container Store, $0.99)
1 piece of colored paper (paper store, $0.37)
Twine, string or yarn
Decorations (I used stamps and ink I had on hand)

Basically, this project is incredibly inexpensive and so much fun to make (and receive!)

Trace the message on your colored paper. I measured diameter of the tube (2 inches) and made my letter height slightly smaller (1.5 inches) so they’d fit nicely inside.

Decorate your letters before cutting. Given the small size of these cut outs, it’s easier to decorate them when they’re still as one sheet of paper. I stamped and heat embossed a party hat on ‘happy’, stars on the star divider and birthday candles on ‘birthday’.

Cut out your letters and arrange them as you’ll tie them to the string. Because I wanted to thread the twine through my letters, I poked 2 holes in each to make the threading easier. You could also tape the letters on – maybe with pretty washi tape?!

When you’re ready to thread, measure and cut your twine length. Be sure to account for the length of your tube – the length should be at least as long as the letters + the length of the tube for the message to read correctly. Tape one end of the twine to one of the caps of the mailing tube.

Thread letters and tie a small knot in between each to keep letters spaced correctly. Continue until all letters are on the twine. Tape the twine to the 2nd mailing tube cap.

Close it up, mark which side should be opened first and mail!

I wrote Elizabeth a little birthday note too (as you can see above) and secured it with washi tape and then stuffed the tube with some fun paper confetti I had laying around. To address the tube, I used a Paper Source address label (in the top photo) in Curry and then popped it in the mail.

Totally a fun take on sending a birthday card – especially great for someone who loves receiving mail!

Marriage: At-Home Haircuts

Posted on April 11, 2013 by lynne @ lgsmash

Marriage Wednesday is Marriage Thursday today. These posts are meant to share a snippet of my life with Alex and sometimes to relate a funny story.

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At-home haircuts are a regular thing in our relationship. In college, Alex was given a hair clipper set and started cutting his own hair. He recruited me to help him and after a major fail of a first try (it went something like: ‘now, when you’re cutting around my ear, be sure to hold the clippers parallel to my head so you don’t cut out a chunk of my hair’. But never one to wait for directions, I started cutting as he relayed this important information but – OOPS! – had cut the chunk of hair out before he got to the most important part. Needless to say, he was not as entertained as I was.), I became the regular hair cutter for Alex.

It’s only hair!

When Alex moved to Milwaukee and Fort Myers, he learned to cut his hair completely on his own but would wait for my visits to help him clean up the back and his neck. Alex continues to cut his own hair and I continue to help with the back.

I’ve always been jealous that he can spend 20 minutes and no money to have fresh cut. For us ladies, haircuts start at $31-35 without a tip. And because I only ever want my hair trimmed rather than cutting a whole lot off or getting a fancy new style, I balk at getting a regular haircut. But – as any person with hair that grows knows – we all need regular haircuts.

My last real haircut was in November. 5 months ago. My hair is wildly outgrown and looking kind of scraggly when I wear it down.

Scraggle city.

I tried to schedule a haircut with my favorite stylist when I was at home last weekend (Natalie of Rollers and Rouge!) but I was in town for a wedding and wedding festivities took precedence over my vanity.

Inspired by Erin (EFo Runner) and this post, I decided to turn the tables and ask Alex to help me with an at-home haircut. I only wanted the split ends cut off and the scraggle gone. I crossed my fingers that he’d listen to directions better than I did and handed over the scissors. There wasn’t too much he could do that would be unfixable. I mean, it’s only hair.

I showed him what I wanted trimmed and my interpretation of how the real stylists cut hair and let him get to work. I wasn’t nervous as I heard the scissors snip-snip-snip my hair off – I trusted him. He’s a smart dude who can cut a straight line.

After he cut the under half of my thick hair – the hair I can’t cut myself – I took over for the top half of my hair and (what used to be a million years ago) bangs.

Voila!

It’s certainly no salon haircut – no one shampoo’d my hair or massaged my scalp with essential oil – and it doesn’t look any different to anyone but me but it is a great fix in between my 2-3x yearly haircuts. It’s maybe an inch shorter and a lot less scruffy-looking. And no one has asked what happened to my hair yet so I’m taking that as a good sign.

Alex, you’re hired!

Life: There’s No Place Like Home

Posted on April 9, 2013 by lynne @ lgsmash

There’s just something about being back in the city that you call home.

Maybe it’s the familiarity of the streets because you’ve driven miles and miles on them for 10 years. The knowing how to get somewhere without consulting a map or a friend. Maybe it’s the sweet smell of springtime and fresh cut grass in the cool, damp air. The clouds that hang in the air, full of moisture from the Ohio River.

Maybe it’s the food that you dream about eating. The chili and pizza that brings your mouth to water. The ice cream that always tastes better from the source. Maybe it’s the local beer that zaps you back to the days of discovering Beer That Tastes Good – the beer you can’t enjoy in your new home city.

Maybe it’s the friends you’ve lived with, laughed with and grown up with over the years and reuniting with them in your city again. The friends who know your awkward years, your teenage heartbreaks, your college nights. The people who accept you as you are because they know where you’ve been – because they’ve been there too.

But then, maybe it’s the family who make the city home. The ones who’ve been by your side from the beginning, through the hard times and the great times. The people who cheer you on when you’re flying high and pull you up when you’ve fallen down. And the new family – acquired by marriage who accept you as their own, who give the best hugs and light up when you’re home. The ones who get out of bed late at night to give you a kiss and welcome you back. The friends who become family and the family who become friends.

Home is always where the heart is and while my heart is very happy where I am, a big piece of it will always be at Home in Cincinnati.

Fitness: Does A PR Count If It’s Not During A Race?

Posted on April 1, 2013 by lynne @ lgsmash

I have a question for my friends in the blogosphere who compete in individual events/races, like swimming, biking or running race. Since I don’t swim or bike, I’m talking specifically about running but this question applies to any event/race in which you could compete in the distance on your own (ie: not in an organized race).

Here’s my question: Does a PR (personal record) count if you didn’t achieve it during an organized race?

This weekend, I ran a fast-for-me 5k at Wash Park by myself. I’d just walked a couple of laps with my friends but after they left, I decided to run one last lap on my own. So no one ran with me – just my trusty Garmin on my wrist.

I’ve been running faster than I used to (pre-surgery days) and as I got halfway around the park, I noticed that my pace was much faster than what I consider ‘normal’ for me – but I felt good and decided to see if I could keep it up for the rest of the lap (2.5 miles). Holding that pace soon became challenging – but still doable. As I got closer to finishing my lap, I decided I would run a bit longer to make it a non-official 5k.

Much to my surprise and excitement, I finished my 5k in 27:22.

That is CRAZY to me! I have never trained to run a fast 5k or raced an organized 5k – they’ve always been a fun run with my friends or family – so I think my 5k OFFICIAL PR is like, 30 or 31 minutes. Not awful but certainly slower than the 27 minutes I ran yesterday!

When I finished, I wondered: does this count? Can I call this my new PR?

When I came home and asked Alex what he thought (he used to run Cross Country in his younger years), he said he wasn’t sure but didn’t really think non-race PRs count. Because there are no official timers and because the person runs solo, there is room for speculation: did you stop your watch if you walked? For a bathroom break? Did your watch measure the correct distance? Did the GPS track you accurately?

I definitely see the point but at the same time, I ran harder than I ever have for 3.1 miles and too bad it was by myself and not during a race! I think non-race PRs should definitely count. Like Mel said, paying $30 and getting a race t-shirt doesn’t make it anymore official. (Okay, well, maybe a little bit.) Official timers are nice to have so a PR can live in internet race results history forever but that shouldn’t be the End All Be All of a PR.

For now, I will call this my 5k PR at 27:22. And maybe on May 31, I can set an OFFICIAL PR at the Underwearness 5k I’ve just signed up to run and remove any doubt of it being official!

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