Jen and Meg's Excellent Road Trip Recap: The Grand Canyon

Wowza, talk about getting sidetracked.  I started posting about Megan and I's roadtrip, unfortunately, less than a week later, Mike and I headed out on a short road trip of our own for a meetup with some of my family near Charleston, South Carolina (that post is coming soon).  So, without further adieu, I'll attempt to get back on track recapping the big road trip, starting with our visit to the Grand Canyon.

THE Grand Canyon

News flash: The Grand Canyon is big, real big.   Walking up, I didn't know what to expect from only seeing pictures in history or travel books.  But man, it is bigger than you could ever imagine.  At one point a park ranger commented that if you were a bird (or plane), it is just 10 miles across, but to drive around the whole thing is several hundred miles.  Don't quote me on that exactly, but hopefully you get the idea.  The Grand Canyon is so big that it make the Colorado River look like a stream.  In fact, in many places, it was barely visible from the top of the canyon.

The best view of the Colorado River from top of the Canyon

We chose to experience the scenery by walking the popular 'Rim Trail' along the South Rim of the Canyon, which is by far the most popular part.  The Rim Trail is about 5 miles round trip, and a pretty easy hike overall, as most of the path is paved.  Even so, most people seemed to stay within the first half mile of the trail - it was much less crowded as we proceeded further down the trail.  Below, and right, are a few pictures I took.  As the markings on the trail pointed out, the Grand Canyon is billions of years in the making and you can't mistake the distinct layers of rock no matter where your viewpoint.

I remember telling Megan the next time I visit the Grand Canyon, I would take advantage of the numerous hikes available.  I can only imagine how beautiful the view is within the Canyon looking up.

We camped overnight in the Desert View campground several miles outside from the main Visitor's Center, which had modest accommodations (no water), though it did have flushable toilets.  There was a fire ban in effect because of the dry conditions, so no campfires either.  Our one night there was pretty uneventful.  We each had a sandwich and a few beers, and laid our heads down shortly after the sun had fully set.  The next morning we woke up as early as possible and started our drive to Zion National Park in Utah.

Chicago Marathon Training Update: Week 9

I can't believe its only week 9 of the Chicago Marathon training program.  It feels like we have been running FOR-ev-er.  Of course, as my friend Michelle reminded me the other week, we only have about 10 weeks left until the marathon.  The good news is that I am feeling really good about where I am in terms of training.

Things have been going well these last few weeks (despite the lack of posts about my progress).  The night before we headed to South Carolina, Mike and I did a 12 mile run on the lake.  In South Carolina, we did one early morning run on the beach of 3 miles.  That was the only run we did that week, unfortunately, but we also went kayaking one morning, which we rationed was some form of "cross training."

Then last Saturday, while Mike was out of town, I did the longest run to date of our training - 13 miles.  I got a bit of a late start, but luckily the temperature was supposed to be pretty mild, and even a bit cool for most of the morning.  I attempted to change my running form a bit to make my steps/strides a lot easier on my knees, and it seemed to work.  I was a bit sore later in the day on Saturday, but all things considered, I felt really strong after the 13 miles.  Granted it was almost 3 years ago, but I remember being a lot more sore after some of the long runs when we trained in 2009.

This week is a roll back week - not sure if that's the official term - but it means our long run is only 10 miles.  You know you are training for a marathon when you can say things like only 10 miles.  As a result, we should have done some long-er runs during the week - 3 miles on Tuesday, 7 on Wednesday, and 4 on Thursday.  Well, we didn't quite hit that goal, but I personally ran 3 of the 3 days, I just didn't do all the mileage.  On Tuesday, Mike and I did 3 miles at a pretty good pace (see image below).  Wednesday I did just over 3 miles on the treadmill, again, at a pretty fast pace, and finally, I ran a 5k race (3.11 miles) last night with a few friends.  I averaged under 9min/mile, which all things considered, I was very happy with.  Had the weather been a bit cooler, I may have been able to push that more, but oh well.  After the race, I got to catch up and have a few beers with my friends Kate and Roni.  Today is an off day, so I'll spend most of the day watching the Olympics and doing some reading.  Lately, I've been reading a lot of articles/posts on the Gatorade Sports Science Institute website - everything from nutrition advice, how to improve sports performance, the best type of strength training, etc.  Its not just a big advertisement for Gatorade, its a sports performance virtual library. 

Another thing that has been invaluable in our training is the Nike+ running app.  So long as you have a smartphone, it replaces the need for the Nike+ iPod software that is still widely used by some people.  The old version involved a small sensor that tracked mileage based on steps, not unlike a pedometer.  It was linked to your phone or iPod, as the name suggested.  Unfortunately, as I learned recently, the sensor has a certain battery life, and once it dies, the only remedy is to buy an entirely new sensor.  At $20 per sensor, its a big waste of money.  The Nike+ running app was a budget friendly $1.99 at the iPhone App Store.  It remains the only app I've ever paid for, but has definitely been worth it.  It uses the GPS technology of your phone to track mileage (it is very accurate) and plays audio feedback during your run, if you choose.  The audio feedback includes your miles, total time, and per mile pace, which is a must when training for a marathon.  Finally, once you complete a run, you can sync all of your data to the Nike+ website, and not only view the information, but also link up with your friends to "compete," or just to get some extra motivation.

Nike+ running app tracks our mileage and other run info

In other exciting news, I got a new pair of running shoes!  For years, I have sworn by the Asics Gel Nimbus as my main running shoe.  It got me through the marathon last time without any major injuries and I've always found them oh-so-comfortable.  However, they are one of the more expensive shoes on the market, so I usually try to buy the previous year's model at a discount.  I mean, really, who cares if you are wearing last year's colors?  Since I've worn these shoes before and know my size is very consistent, I can also shop for them online and try to find the best deal (free shipping or % off and so on).  All in all, I think I came away with a pretty good deal, and some sweet looking shoes for the marathon.  It should make me a little easier to spot, right?!

New shoes! Asics Gel Nimbus 13 in black/green