I needed it.  A weekend away in the desert.  Moab, Utah for The Other Half half-marathon. 

I went with a bunch of friends that were running the race as well.  No significant others or children came along.

Moab Diner

I drove with another woman who wanted to leave after work.  We arrived Friday night late and promptly found our room in the condo and just went to sleep.  In the morning, we got up, drank coffee and the four of us who stayed in the condo just sat around talking. Finally, we decided to get dressed and head out for breakfast and packet pickup and to pick up supplies for dinner at the grocery store.  We ate breakfast at the Moab Diner.   Packet pickup had a few vendors and they were selling shirts from previous races, finisher medals and glasses.

Landscape Arch

Fallen Arch - before 2008, after

After lunch, we went back to the condo and prepared for dinner.  When dinner was underway, five of us (two more of our party had arrived) piled into one big truck and drove to Arches National Park just outside of town.    Getting out of the car in Arches, I simply stood and took a deep breath.  I often miss the desert and it felt so good and right to be there. We did a short hike to Landscape Arch and the fallen arch called Wall Arch. It was a warm day and I was sweating profusely by the end of the short hike.

We returned to the condo and finished up preparing dinner.  Several other friends joined us for dinner.  We had pasta, fruit salad, mozzarella salad, green salad, green beans, bread and apple crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert.  All of us ate too much, at least I know I did.  After the dishes were done, we sat around a little bit, but we were all tired and planning to get up early in the morning, so we just went to bed. 

The condo was alive again by 5:30am. We had to check out of the condo, so we had to pack our bags, clean dishes, gather towels, and strip the beds before leaving. And get to the shuttle parking lot by 7am to get to the start. 

Dewey Bridge

The start was at a landmark called the Dewey Bridge.  It was a suspension bridge, but it burned a few years ago and all thats left are the cables.  Since it was still chilly in the morning race officials had set up small fire pits and may have been handing out coffee. I just joined everyone else in a port-a-potty line.

The race started promptly at 8:30.  At that time, the morning was pretty cold, but I knew that it would get warmer as the morning went on.  I started in a just a shirt, shorts and some disposable gloves.  

Fisher Towers

It’s very difficult to describe the beauty of this race.  We started out before the rocks turned red and ran into some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.  We passed by Fisher Towers and other beautiful landscape.  I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning.  The run was hard but doable and although I finished slower than I would have liked, at least I passed the woman who had a shirt which read “I’m going this slow because I am pregnant.”

Sorrel River Ranch Resort

The finish of the half-marathon was at the Sorrel River Ranch Resort.

After the race, we made our way back to our cars a couple of miles away, stopping to soak feet in the Colorado River. We started on our way home, making a stop in Glenwood Springs to soak, take a shower and eat some dinner.

Running at Betasso Preserve

I ran this morning with a group of people at Betasso Preserve outside of Boulder.  http://www.bouldercounty.org/play/recreation/pages/betassopreserve.aspx

Betasso Preserve is a 3.3 mile loop that makes for great trail running.  Last week the city opened the new Benjamin Loop which is another 3.1 mile loop added to the current trail.  In a few months, they will open a link to Fourmile Canyon, where we live. 

This was not my usual group of runners.  I was invited to the group by my friend Eric when I asked if he wanted to do a bike ride.  He is a member of a trail running group that I was a member of a few years ago.  I left the group because I really wasn’t a very good trail runner and I wanted to run roads and triathlons again, not because I didn’t like the group.  It was good to see them again.  One woman who was there was in one of my first Bolder Boulder training groups.  Another couple just came from Missouri  and they will be the honored guests at a baby shower tomorrow which we will be attending and used to be coaches in the running group I was in. The leader of the group, a guy they call Mountain Dave, was in my former trail running group.  He is now the coach and I bet he is a good one. He seemed to recognize me from a few years ago and was very welcoming.

I haven’t run many trails lately.  It felt great to get out.  After our last week of rain and more rain, I was hoping that the trail wasn’t a mudfest that would stick to the bottom of shoes and make them heavier and heavier.  It wasn’t.  The trail was packed down.  Even though there were some puddles to avoid, for the most part it was just simply wet.  Since the trail just opened this week, there were very few people on it. The group stopped and regrouped a lot which was good because I was toward the rear. We also stopped  to look out over the Fourmile Fire area.  I couldn’t see my house, but I could clearly see a couple of the neighborhood houses.    It’s hard to believe that this wonderful 7 mile trail will soon be walking distance from my house.  What a luxury. 

Running trails is harder than running on roads but the scenery is prettier (when I am not making sure that I am going to trip over rocks).  I loved being out there again.  After the 7 miles, the group got more water and food from cars and got ready to head out for the 3 mile loop again.  My watch said that we had already been out for an hour and forty minutes and I was feeling tired so I decided to stop.   

Fire Academy - week of February 14

February 20, 2011

This weekend turned out to be a firefighting weekend.

Thursday night was our regular Academy training class. It started getting us to don and doff all of our gear. I am definitely getting faster and closer to the two minute time limit although I still need to practice.  This was followed by lecture on fire behavior. The teacher was excellent although he didn’t follow the text.  To show fire behavior he had a candle at the front of the room. He ignited coffee creamer in the air and then showed that it couldn’t be ignited on his tray. He lit gasoline in a beaker.  He gave each of us tea candles and we looked at the flame.

I got home about 10:30 on Thursday night from fire training.  Around 11pm, the pager went off.  There was an accident on Boulder Canyon.  A man, probably drunk, had driven his car off into Boulder Creek.  Unfortunately, he also hit another car, although that driver was not hurt. For two hours, I assisted with traffic control. The man got out of the car by himself and was taken by ambulance to the hospital.  The tow truck driver had a hard time getting his truck out of the creek and back up to the road.  Friday morning and work came too early the next day.

On Saturday morning , Boulder Emergency Services was doing car extraction training.  Since I missed the training for our department last week, I attended this one. I ended up on the haul team, helping to haul the litters up the hillside.  I learned a lot of practical tips and tricks and things to look for.   I need to keep other gloves with my bunker gear and latex gloves in case there is a medical issue.  I need to put a pouch in with my bunker gear if I forget to take off my rings. 

This morning (Sunday), the pager went off at 7:30am.  Another accident on Boulder Canyon.  Three cars hit some black ice.  I was assigned to help another firefighter who didn’t have a radio.  This traffic was different than Thursday night.  There were so many people going up to Eldora for skiing and lessons that when traffic was closed down, the line stretched all the way down to Boulder.  I spent a lot of time answering questions.  Most people were patient, although there was one driver who went around the car in front of him to get stopped again.  After traffic was finally flowing again, I was able to go to the accident scene.  Although I thought that the cars had been taken away, they were still there and the tow truck operators were still getting them on their rigs. The owner of a B&B had piled snow partly onto the road, it had frozen and there was a black ice patch.  That’s what started the accidents. 

This afternoon, a woman was checking out her truck and let us know, so I joined and learned again how to engage the pump and fill the tank.  One of these days, all this will stick. 

Firefighter I Academy - week 2, 3 and 4

The first week of Firefighter Academy, we learned about  the PPE -- our Personal Protection Equipment.  PPE is the bunker gear, pants, coat, helmet, gloves and boots as well as the SCBA.  SCBA stands for self-contained breathing apparatus which is the air tanks and face masks. 

On our first practical day, we examined our gear to make sure they had no wear or burns and we still compliant.  My coat is nearly 20 years old which means that it is almost out of date.  My gloves are too big and the cuffs interfere with the cuffs of my jacket making them fit even worse.  After the practical day, I bought new gloves online that fit much better.  We spent time putting on and taking off all the gear.  We leave the boots inside the pants and just take the pants down to the top of the boots.  One thing we are going to be tested on is putting on all of our gear in two minutes or less.  This includes the air tank and mask.  We practiced this and I was always longer than two minutes. Not more than a few seconds, but it is something that I am going to have to practice.  In the two minutes we have to:

1.       Put head shroud around neck

2.       Step into boots and pants

3.       Pull up the pants and secure them.  Put the suspenders on.

4.       Pull on and secure the coat, making sure that the shroud is sill accessible for later.

5.       Open the regulated on the air tank and verbalize how full it is.

6.       Put on the air tank harness and secure and tighten straps.

7.       Put on the air mask ensuring a tight seal around the face.

8.       Pull the shroud over our head.  At this point there should be no hair or skin showing around the face.  I was having a lot of trouble with my hair. It is too long and it would stick out.  I am thinking of getting it cut very short or bringing headbands or hair ties for the next class.

9.       Connect the air to the face mask and start breathing.

10.   Put on, adjust fit and secure strap for helmet.

11.   Put on gloves.  Done.

For the next couple of weeks, we are supposed to practice using the air.  How long does it take to drain to half when we are doing vigorous work?  These are supposed to be 45-minute tanks, but the amount of time each person uses it depends on their size, how fit they are, and what they are doing.  At half-tank, we are supposed to be trying to get out of a building.  At quarter tank, a low air alarm will go off and we should not be in a building at that point.  We are also supposed to practice how long it takes to go from half full to the low air alarm if we are still and practice some various breathing techniques. 

I am really not very claustrophobic, but the bunker gear is big and bulky and can get very warm.  The face mask and the air can be scary and close.  It’s definitely something to practice with.  We also learned how to fill our tanks and that is going to be another thing to practice. 

After this first week of Academy, we had two weeks of Hazardous Materials training.  More people joined our class and we got a new instructor and book.  Hopefully, at the end of two weeks, we will pass the test and the practical and then be certified at the Hazardous Materials Operations level.  We will be able to support a Haz Mat team and do decontamination on a site.  The class was taught to have us pass the test.  The test was 50 questions with a passing grade of 80%, so only 10 questions could be missed.  I don’t know if I passed.  I do know of a few questions that I missed.  The night after the written test was the practical exam.  We were given a pesticide label and told to find the relevant information concerning its ingredients.  We were also given an MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheet) which is something a company is required to have on hand when they work with chemicals.  Using the MSDS sheet we were to fill out a form identifying the health and safety risks of the product.  After finishing these exercises, we had three other tasks to perform.  We had to pull a firefighter out of a hot zone to a warm zone, remove the bunker gear and get to medical personnel.  We had to dam and dike a spill to contain its spread.  Finally, we had to talk about what to do in the scenario with a tanker with pressurize cylinders that are smoking near an office building.  We did all of these as a team.  All of these scenarios were simulated and the leak was just water from a fire truck. 

Hazardous Materials training is complete and the next weeks we return to fire academy. 

Firefighter I Academy - week 1

I am training to be a firefighter. I am taking the Spring 2011 Firefighter I Academy through the Boulder County Firefighter Association.  When I have completed the academy, I will be certified as a Colorado Firefighter Type 1.

Why am I doing this?  I am a wife, mother, and professional in my mid-forties.  I enjoy doing endurance sports like running marathons and doing triathlons.  I joined my local volunteer fire department a couple of years ago.  We had lived in the district for several years, but I had never gotten around to joining.  I kept telling myself that I was too busy and that I would think about it later.  One of my neighbors is the radio controller for the department and his wife was active in the department.  The fire chief lived on our road.  The fire chief was at a neighborhood party and I talked to him about it.  He was very encouraging and suggested that I could be a wildland firefighter and fight forest fires with my endurance abilities.    So I decided to join.  I don’t do any sort of volunteer work and this was something that I could try.  I thought it would also be a way to meet the people who live near me. 

I’m a joiner.  I have running, biking and swimming groups.  Since I am a naturally introverted person, joining groups has allowed me to make friends in a number of areas. Joining the fire department was just another group to join and meet new and different people.

I also thought that it was something that my husband and I could do together.  He doesn’t do the running, biking and swimming that I do.  I don’t enjoy downhill skiing, kayaking or volleyball that he does.  We don’t even enjoy the same movies, TV or books.  I’m vegetarian and he is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. We have a really hard time finding things to do together.  He went to a couple of meetings sort of reluctantly. He treated it like they were just people doing dress-up because they weren’t “real” firefighters.  We went to one training where we put on all the bunker gear – the big coat and pants you always see – and SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) – the oxygen – and entered a smoke-filled, dark building.  It was summer and the bunker gear is very heavy and the SCBA can be panic-inducing because it covers the face and neck and it is not easy to get off.  He got very hot and the SCBA made him feel very claustrophobic.  That was the end of his training.  The chief told him that he could stick with other parts of the firefighting – like wildfire only – but he was done.  I did the same training he did and I also found it very hot, claustrophobic and hard, but I felt like it was something that I could learn to do.  I continued on the department without him.

One perk to the fire department is free training. There really are not many places where you can learn a new skill for free. If you are willing to put in the time, they will pay for the training.  I love to learn new things and firefighting is something that is completely outside what I have learned to do up until now. When you get into your forties, learning new and different things often takes work and research and it’s just easier to put it off and watch a movie instead.  Last year they offered a 40-hour course to become a medical First Responder.  I also got my “red card” after completing a 40-hour wildland firefighting class with a practical where we had to put out a real wildland fire as part of a crew. 

View of the Fourmile Fire from Boulder

Over Labor Day weekend, the Fourmile fire started.  On the first day, I joined a crew and dug line with the fire until two in the morning.   I watched one house start with the flames licking up the sides and watched it burn to the ground.  I later learned that a woman I knew had lived there. There was nothing our crew could do since we weren’t with a fire truck that had water.  Our house survived the fire, but we were evacuated for about ten days while the fire was put out.  Several of our neighbors lost houses and the view from our house changed significantly.

I am now starting the Firefigher I Academy being given through the Boulder County Firefighers Association.  Since we are all volunteers with other things in our lives, this class is being given evenings and weekends between January and April.  When we are done, we will be certified in Hazardous Materials Operations and a Colorado Type 1 Firefighter.  Class started this past week and we have had 8 hours of instruction so far, mostly on firefighting history and general topics.  There are 19 people in the class from various agencies in the county.  I was worried that being in my mid-forties, I would be the age of some of the students’ mothers.  Luckily, I was wrong.  Although there are some young guys, the instructor pointed out that there is a lot of “maturity” in the class.  There are also a significant number of women in the class which also makes it more comfortable.   I know I can do this and I am excited for the challenges that are coming up. 

Here are a few odd facts that I have learned so far in our classroom training.

·         Ben Franklin is considered the father of American firefighting.  He created the first fire company.  George Washington was also a volunteer firefighter.

·         Dalmations were introduced to fire departments when there were horse-drawn firetrucks to chase away dogs that would try to chase the horses.

·         Mrs. O’Leary’s cow did not start the famous Chicago fire.

·         Denver had a fire just 5 years after it was founded that destroyed most of the town. After the fire, the town mandated that new buildings must be made from stone or brick.

·         About 80% of firefighters in this country are volunteers.

New Years - Plan to Exercise Consistently

I wish that people would ask me for advice for how to exercise consistently.  I'm actually pretty good at getting exercise.  Eating right is another matter, which is partly why I exercise so much. The following is something I have developed over years and it works for me. I've seen it recommended in other articles about exercise.

1. On Sunday night or Monday morning, I plan my exercise for the week. I try to make a goal for the week, like trying to do X hours of exercise or run Y times and do Z classes. 
2. I then write down what I am planning to do each day of the week to get to that goal. I put it on a calendar or in my planner.
3. When I do what I planned, I circle it (in red) on my calendar and write down how long it was (bike - 30 minutes).  If it didn't get done, I don't do anything.
4. On the following Sunday, I look at what I did and if I reached my  goal.  If not, then I try to determine why not and what could be done the following week to get better results.  Sometimes  I have really bad weeks.   Then  I plan for the following week.

Articles about exercise often tell you to plan your workouts like I do here, but my big difference is circling the workouts that get completed. It's a great visual tool to see what days you have trouble with.    When things go well, its also great to see all the circles on the calendar.

 

I find that having a reasonable weekly goal helps get to the long-term goals.