Week 1 of the Dirt In Your Skirt Summer 100 Challenge

Monday, May 27, 2013 -

Monday, September 2, 2013

http://www.dirtinyourskirt.com

I decided to take on this challenge after carefully considering whether or not I could even complete it. I am like that...... I have to figure things out.  I pulled out the calculator and added up the days of the challenge--99 days. Hum, I can do this. And so it begins.

California Poppies

Day 1. Monday, May 27th
Yeah, I already fucked this up.  I did a 6 mile trail run yesterday that doesn't count. Today I rode a very brutal 35 miles on my bike, in the wind.

Day 2. Tuesday, May 28th
Hit the gym today on this last "teaching" day of the 2012-2013 school year. Oh yes! I did a 10 minute warm-up on the row machine (1100 meters) and my full arms and abs work out. I swam 50 laps in the pool (1250 meters). I am whipped. No miles towards the challenge today either.

Day 3. Wednesday, May 29th
REST DAY. Been going strong for the last five days straight. Had to do a fasting blood test anyway at 7 A.M. First day of finals. Still no miles towards the challenge.  Not off to a very good start.

Day 4. Thursday, May 30th
Issuing finals, day two. Also graduation night. So between the two I hit the gym. 10 minute warm-up on the row machine (1120 meters), full arms and abs workout, and 70 laps in the pool (1750 meters, just over a mile). I had never been to the gym at 2pm on a Thursday and I never will again. It was full of people. UGGGGGG. Had to wait for just about every machine and the pool was two to a lane. Yeah, never again.

Thursday night, dropping into Green Valley

Left the gym at 4:30 to head for food and then graduation but noticed 15 missed calls. Long story short, Green Valley was on fire. One of my worst fears. I looked towards the north and my heart sank as a huge plume of smoke was coming from my mountain. I made a few calls and headed home. Needless to say, no miles towards the challenge today either.

Day 5. Friday, May 31st
Last day of school. Long night of not-so-good sleep. We had mandatory evacuations which weren't really enforced. They lifted it two hours later. I did get the dogs off the property and hooked up the truck and trailer. We never did catch all four cats.  Another day of no miles towards this challenge. This is not going as planned.

At the end of the run. Smoke in the sky.

Day 6. Saturday, June 1st
Fire is up to 3500+ acres. However, it is moving with the wind--southwest, away from Green Valley. I put on my running clothes and my compression calf guards, grabbed my hydration belt and iphone. Before I could really think, I turned on Endomondo and my music and my feet started hitting the pavement. I ran southeast, away from the fire. The sky was blue. It was already hot, 88 degrees at 10:15. I told myself if my lungs started hurting, or the heat got to me I could turn around and go home. But as my blood started pumping and my legs started moving I stopped thinking and kept running. At a mile and a half I turned around. Now running northwest, I could see the plume of smoke if I lifted my chin. I just kept my head down and kept moving. It paid off. My fastest 5k yet--34:58. All three miles under the twelve-minute mark. I am so happy.

TOTAL MILES: 3.1

Day 7. Sunday, June 2nd
The fire exploded yesterday and grew from 5500+ acres to 19,500+ acres (~30 square miles). I had to unload 15 bales of hay (1500 lbs) out of the bed of my truck so I could hook up my trailer and haul my horses off the mountain. I am back up here now, just me and the cats, ready to leave if the fire crests either of the two mountains currently between us and the active fire. They are saying containment of the fire will not happen before a week from tomorrow.

Needless to say, the air quality is terrible.

The fire as of Sunday morning, June 2nd. The crosshair is the location of my house.

TOTAL MILES TOWARDS THE CHALLENGE: 3.1