Some past photos...

In the past two years Eric and I have been on some amazing runs here in Alaska. I figured I should post a few photos from the past as a preview of what is to come.

On the trail after work one evening...

Top of the local snowboarding spot...

Eric's matrix impression...took us an hour to get him down from that pose, almost called in assistance

My arms were swing I swear...

I am going to try and remember to bring my camera for every run in the future. Key word is try. But we should get on some exciting runs here shortly...aside from my 3 week hiatus due to work (going to be out of communication, but Eric will be around).

Sun, rain and a little bit of pain...

As work was coming to an end the other day, Eric and I noticed that it was raining on the west side of the building and sunny on the south...the debate about whether or not to run started. After 4 days of bad weather and doing little to no exercise the conversation went as such...

Eric → It's sunny out and it looks like a nice day for a run...

Ed → I'm pretty sure it is raining on the other side of the building.

Eric → Ohhhh.....

Well it may not be those exact words but that is how I remember it. So we got ready anyways and started heading out at a nice and easy pace. That is when we realized

Bad Decision #1 → We wore shorts instead of tights.

Everything seemed okay for about 1/8^th of a mile, then we made our first turn which lead to a road completely exposed to the elements. We got sprayed with ice cold rain and winds of about 30 mph...give or take a couple mph. I said to Eric at that moment that wearing shorts in this weather for a run is like drinking milk on a hot day when your dry...just a bad choice.

Bad Decision #2 → Running along the beach.

Whoever invented the air freshener scent “Ocean Spray” got it completely wrong. It doesn't smell like that at all. The swell was so big along the beach (not really a beach as in a beach with sand, sun and surf...more like a beach with big akward rocks, intense wind and rain, with surf that would be a hell of a ride but surely would kill you) that you could hear all the rocks being dragged out to sea and slammed back to shore each time the swell would meet land. It was intense....

Bad Decision #3 → High-stepping the tall grass...along the “beach”

Well that lead to my first injury, twisted my ankle and had to walk it off. Still hurts today but I think it was just bruised a little, would have been fine if it wasn't for my second injury...more on that later.

Bad Decision #4 → Running a foot wide strip of land between a busy road and the ocean.

Oh and I forgot to mention the cliff...when you miss step like I do your foot slides quickly down said cliff and you have to grab on to the roads metal guard protecting cars from going over said cliff. Again it was intense...

Bad Decision #5 → Running behind an abandoned cannery.

Lots of slippery, wet, jagged rocks with debris and not much space. This led to my second injury when I jumped off an abandoned oil tank and landed my already injured foot on a rock very awkwardly. Eric was wearing Vibrums the entire time and was enjoying the adventure...well he did say it was a bad idea in the first place, but he will attempt it again....

At this point our run turned into a wet and cold, but relaxing jaunt home. It was prolly another couple miles but we took it easy. We ran past a few land marks like the abandoned knife, the truck with a snow plow someone randomly ditched off the road, our office, and the airport.

All in all it was a great run. Our bad decisions actually turned out to be little adventures that gave us something to talk about the next day. So they ended up being good choices (well except for anything that ended up in an injury...I did not actually know I would be injured so I am still saying it was a good idea). It was not a day that most would go running, in fact I wouldn't of went a year or two ago. I am slowing starting to discover there is a beauty in inclement weather that not many people get to see, so I am going to try to branch out and not stay inside just because it is not “nice”. I am sure Eric will make sure of that as well since he seems to thrive in crappy weather.

Does anyone else actually end up enjoying the days that it wasn't the best idea to go outside?

Introductions

Hello, and welcome to the Tundra Runners web log. Let us start with a couple of introductions:

Eric is the "crazy guy with the toe shoes," around here. He has been running off and on since high school, and has more recently taken up running in minimalist footwear. Though he spent a couple years training for a marathon he now thinks it is more important to enjoy running than hit a split time.

Ed is the "guy with the big watch". He started attempting to run for fitness in college with little success. He was far from in shape and wanted to stop every time he would pick up his pace beyond a brisk walk. After college he spent a couple years working at sea and spending most days traveling. He made a commitment that if he was to settle down he would get into some sort of shape. That time came just over two years ago (when he started working with Eric) and he hasn't looked back since.

Together we are the Tundra Runners, two guys who live, work and run in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.