In just over a month, I am once again off to Flagstaff on a running vacation, this time with my wife, rather than my daughter and a former high school runner, now an advanced ultra marathoner. The last time, originally slated for April 2020, got shifted by covid to April 2022, I had designs on flogging myself up to twice a day, playing the role of a running dirtbag, eat, run, sleep – repeat. I hoped to feel what it would be like to be a semi-elite runner looking to make the jump. I wanted to test some limits, reveling in the effect altitude had on my physiology. I wanted a glimpse into what being a pro runner might be like.
But the glimpse I got was a lot more simple. I learned what I already knew regarding my physiology does not like training at altitude. I’m what they call a slow responder. I didn’t need a PHD to know my breathing was a slow responder. At Flagstaff’s 7000+ft, I simply felt like I was breathing through a plastic tarp, independent of what the effort was. I could almost feel only old and out of shape at the lower altitude in Sedona, at a 2500 ft reprieve This glimpse wasn’t the glimpse I had hoped for, however I learned to enjoy the experience over time.
Not that the experience was bad, on the contrary. I had a great time in Flagstaff, enjoying the scenery, the lifestyle, the history, the grandeur, the company and all the outstanding runs we did. That part was great but I had envisioned some great epiphany about altitude training, unveiled by my own increased capacity. And that really didn’t happen. One of the reasons my daughter was along, both being on my cross country teams and my student doing an independent study in exercise science, was to look at the effect of altitude, and see over this short week whether there were any measurable increases related to running performance.
And on that front the trip was mostly a bust, with three repeated runs and no noticeable changes in elapsed time, heart rate or perceived effort. The only somewhat real discovery came after we returned home, with my resting heart rate for the week following averaging five beats per minute lower than it was prior to our trip (thank you Garmin for recording my regular life too).
However this time I’m headed out to Flagstaff, along with Prescott, Sedona, the Grand Canyon and Phoenix, with a different plan. The plan is still to run; the main underpinnings for this trip to be honest. But as my running has shifted over these last four or so years, my interest in my running has shifted as well. This trip is going to specifically be about the experience (which is what the last trip turned into) with some of our adventures happening a little on the outskirts of what most people plan for their Flagstaff experience.
While I was originally contemplating a more Albuquerque/Taos/Santa Fe based trip, I realized while I had the Flagstaff/Grand Canyon experience, my wife had not. Checking out various itineraries and ticket costs, I realized that Flagstaff by way of Phoenix was going to be significantly cheaper. With some of the adventures worth repeating and some we weren’t able to fit in, bringing my wife along on a trip I felt was a must see made a lot of sense. We had passed on so many other opportunities due to our timeline and goals from the last trip. I felt I could go back, show my wife some of the spectacles of the region while exploring new things as well.
So that’s the plan. On the docket is obviously the Grand Canyon where we will probably do the same run Tori and I did down to Indian Gardens and back (as it is supported by water.) This time we won’t have to wake up at 1:30am or wait until 6pm for someone to return from their Rim to Rim to Rim run. We will also likely repeat the Hangover Trail run in Sedona as it’s hard to beat. But we’ll be adding the Highline trail to Cathedral Rock, also in Sedona. After watching clips on the Cocodona 250, I wanted to get to the Granite Dells in Prescott, and an easy five mile loop around Watson Lake will allow for that. Depending on the temperature and how our legs are feeling before we finish up our week, we may visit A mountain in Tempe, checking out a bit of a natural oasis smack dab within the city proper.
This is not to say I think this trip will be better, no, just more likely to live up to the expectations I have in mind for the trip. I’ve been scoping out additional sights to see along with intriguing places to eat. I’m a sucker (I suppose I could leave it at that!) for Tex Mex food, and no place like the Southwest for that. I’ve lined up some highly rated coffee shops for my wife as well. Two years ago I made a similar trip with my other daughter, taking her to Washington State on a running/sightseeing trip with runs into waterfalls and swimming holes, not so much for the training aspect but for the running experience and absolutely loved it. I’m imagining much the same for this trip.
And while I’m doing all the planning, I’ve learned that I also need to plan for some unplanned time as well. For most of my previous vacation styled trips I’ve tried to make sure we used all the available time to maximize the experience. What I’ve been learning is there needs to be space for the experience to evolve, unfettered by plans. We enjoyed a similar trip a few years back in Salt Lake City and hope to expand on this here. I’ve got some time to make sure that can happen.
I’ll see you out there.
