Missing mojo and such...

So the other day I went back to strength training. The same training that Eric and I were doing in Alaska. In the beginning of the year it took a while for us to improve and even start to enjoy it. Well needless to say the past few months have taken a toll on my strength. I really didn't accomplish much, let alone close to what I was at. To make things worse, the squats had me walking funny for two days after! I am not sure if I should try to approach different methods of training now that I am in Seattle (ie. I now have access to things like gyms, fitness groups, crossfit ($$$$), and the such) or just get back into the swing of things.

What I dream about the most during the day....

The problem with getting back into the swing of things is I have lost my motivation. It is way more fun after a long day of work to make a half-assed dinner, then lay on the couch with my wife and dog than train. The cool thing is we have been avoiding the half-assed dinners and are actually making some good food, but the laying on the couch has become my kryptonite.

Yet another picture of what I like to do best...

Soo...I have two options

1) Get my ass in gear before it gets huge

2) Get up in the mornings and train before work....

Option 1) is way more realistic than option 2), but only time will tell. I always feel wore out after work, so I may have to change my webisode to Before Work Workouts with Ed. Either way we will see. For the time being I have to start getting motivated and get my mojo back.  

Any suggestions on how I can accomplish such a feat?

The not quite spring run...

The weather out here in Alaska has not really been cooperating with us. Well when I say not cooperating I mean that the weather doesn't give a damn about us and is probably wondering why the hell is it that we live out here. With that being said, gearing up properly has become of the up most importance.

As you can see in this photo, a proper toque (beanie for all the Americans reading this), sunglasses, face mask and coat is required. The goal I always have before an intense winter run here is to not leave any exposed skin. Not always successful, but the little patches left open to the elements tend to freeze and lose all feeling, so overall not bad.

Now throw some wind, snow and hills into the mix, you have a challenge. When I started experiencing ice cream headaches I knew that I was running into the wind, and when I would fall flat on my face I knew that deep snow was ahead. When you are out in that type of weather all depth perception ceases to exist, so you have to be willing to fall. I am not a huge fan of it, but it is growing on me. Eric on the other hand, well he lives for this extreme weather/running.

As you can see here he is bombing down a hill.

Enjoying a celebratory hand stand for all the cool miles we covered (it was like three but took us an hour, the terrain was not pleasant...)

And a hand spring. My camera doesn't have the quickest shutter speed so this was the best shot I could capture. But I think I have made my point. Eric loves to run in the challenging weather. The moment I think "Its to crappy to run", he says "Awesome".

After we hit the hills and made our way home we captured what tundra running in the winter looks like:

Eric

AND

Ed

Is there any weather that stops you from going out on a run? Or do you just go for it not matter the rain, snow, sleet, or wind?

The first white trail of the season...

So Eric and I set out on our first run together in about three weeks. 

 

The air was crisp, and so was the newly fallen snow as we set out on a brand new trail. Well, it was a brand new trail for me anyways. Eric discovered this while I was gone, and I am very glad he did. It is hard to find new paths on our little chunk of land here in the middle of the ocean. But nonetheless yesterday was a first for me, and an exciting one at that. 

It has been a while since I had ran, due to work. Everything felt great until our first “hill”...more like a long gradual ascent along a access road. I was huffing and puffing right out the gates and reminiscing about that time two months ago that I could run uphill like a champ.

 

 All the effort paid off though, because once we hit the trail at the end of the road, the view was amazing.

Eric and I took in the view for a little while then set off back towards home. On our way back we decided to adventure from a previously trail a little and see what we could find. About ten minutes later we discovered this....

  

 Today I asked Eric if he thought that the sign meant landmines as well...his response was simply “Hmmm...possibly”. After running through the abandoned explosives cache (I may be slightly exaggerating this point), we made it home in one piece. It was great to get out again and explore some new territory. After a summer of running, I forgot how much I enjoy running in cold weather and the snow...it was cool to get back to it. I think it is going to be a great winter season! Happy trails....

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).

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.