How I nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at the Grand to Grand Ultra but ultimately had my best race in 25 years of running.
Tag Archives | Sarah Lavender Smith
My Gear, Food & Training Essentials for 2019’s Grand to Grand Ultra
The Grand to Grand Ultra is two weeks away! As with past stage races, I’ve made a list of my gear & food to help others who may be preparing for a self-supported stage race, or who want to find out about ultra-lightweight gear for fastpacking and camping.
Why Katie Arnold’s “Running Home” Got to Me
This is a book about the therapeutic power of running and becoming a top ultrarunner. But it’s the backstory about her family, and her personal development, that drew me in, even when chapters served as a sometimes-painful mirror of self-reflection.
I Fell For the Whiskey Basin 88K Trail Run
OK, so maybe I’m all by myself in a high-desert forest running 56 miles in a giant circle for no better reason than to order a pizza at the end, but at times out there, it feels purposeful and connected to something larger, like …. like … oh Christ I don’t know. Are you there, […]
How to Get Started and Get Past What Holds You Back
Why I’m thinking about parties, ropes and chainsaws—and what they have to do with procrastination, running, parenting and aging.
Why I Raced a Road Marathon Even Though I Didn’t Like It
The farther away I got from road marathoning and that PR set in 2009, the more intimidating and daunting it felt to try it again.
What Makes a Long Run Suck, and Why You Get It Done Anyway
I made a mental list of circumstances that make a long training run extra challenging. What happens when all these things conspire on the same run? Let me tell you.
Today I’m Gonna Run Like It’s 1999
A flashback sparks excitement for training and racing 20 years later. Here’s my lineup for 2019.
The Week I Started Running Again, and It Meant the World
To breathe deeply, to see the horizon clearly, to talk to old friends, to move your legs up and down a mountain—how marvelous and precious this life on earth is, the more imperiled it becomes.
I Don’t Love Running Right Now, And That’s OK
I wanna run and feel like I did in that photo from 2015. I can’t recall a time I felt this degree of ambivalence about running, which is supposed to be my passion. Perhaps I’m fitting the profile of burnout, but burnout usually follows overtraining, and since September I’ve been undertraining.