Hello From Utah!

Alternate title:

What Are Utah-kin About? 

And that’s the only Utah pun I could come up with.

Hello from the other side…of the country…slightly inland! I’m in Utah!

I flew out last Tuesday and don’t return home until this Wednesday, so it’s been a long trip. And yes, I am really missing Ellie. And Brian. But definitely Ellie. And my Squatty Potty. (Can someone invent a travel-sized or collapsible Squatty Potty so I never have to leave home without it?)

This trip has been a good lesson in “Expectation vs. Reality.”

I expected to wake up every morning and run lots of miles on the trails near my friend’s house. It would be so fun and beautiful!

The fun and beautiful part is true, but the “running lots of miles” part has been, well, LOL.

Running here is SO HARD!

First, there is the lack of oxygen. I’m going to start referring to this week as Altitude Training Camp. I may not be training for anything, but calling it that makes me feel hardcore. Every time I run, no matter how much I slow down, my heart feels like it’s going to explode out of my chest. I’ve been running without music out here, so it’s also fun to hear how heavy I’m breathing, especially when other people are around.

Then there’s the whole “we’re surrounded by mountains” thing. My friend’s house is situated smack in the middle of a hill. So you either have to start by going up, or you can go down — but then you’ll have to come back up in order to get home. I am really good at avoiding hills when I run (hello, pancake-flat New Jersey waterfront), but I can’t seem to pull that off here.

So mountains + altitude + wind + the fact that my diet out here has been like 90% sugar = good thing I’m not in training mode right now! My first few runs were totally brutal — I basically walked two miles and said “nope” and came back home. But I’ve also had two really great runs out on the trails, which were super hard, but the views were beautiful and I took lots of pictures, so…success!

Other than that, the trip has been pretty wild. My friend has two toddlers, so we’ve been running around and chasing them and wiping lots of boogers. (HI, MOMS AND DADS, POWER TO ALL OF YOU. THIS SHIT IS SO HARD. I just about had a heart attack at Costco — my first trip to Costco — when neither kid wanted to stay in the cart and instead wanting to chase through all the aisles and I tried to catch them and was sweating and terrified I was going to lose one. Or both. But I didn’t. Everyone is present and accounted for and we are all alive.)

There’s no real point to this post. I just wanted to say hi! So hi!

And a reminder that you have TWO DAYS LEFT to enter to win a Forestbound ESCAPE bag!

The latest episode of the Ali on the Run Show features Alice Saunders, the creator of Forestbound and a 3:19 marathoner. Alice and I grew up together, were BFF, lost touch by college, and then reconnected over Facebook thanks to running! I love how running brings people together like that.

In honor of her episode, Alice is giving a Forestbound ESCAPE bag to one lucky listener!

To enter, just download the episode (and enjoy!), and then leave a rating and review for the show on iTunes. I promise leaving a review is really easy — and it’s also the best way to help other people find the show and join our community!

Your review doesn’t have to be poetic (though haikus and limericks are always welcome) or long. Just a little helpful feedback for me and other listeners. (Yes, glowing reviews are nice, of course. But no pressure. The winner will be chosen at random and will be announced on this week’s show, coming out Thursday!)

Also, fun podcast news: Soon there will be more than one episode per week! In addition to an hour-long episode every Thursday (for your weekend long run!), I’ll also have shorter mid-week episodes that you can enjoy on your commute, your morning dog walk, or your trip to the mailbox (if your mailbox is like 15 minutes away).

As always, thank you SO MUCH for the support, love, and feedback so far. I promise to keep making the show better (and learning as much as I can about audio stuff to ensure a high-quality listening experience) and to bring on great guests. This week’s is really really good and I’m excited.

OK. The mountains are calling!

And by calling I mean “the mountains are laughing at me,” but whatever.

Have a great week!

OH OH OH I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU! On all my runs out here, I’ve only had to make ONE bathroom stop! All the others have been blissfully Crohn’s-free! YAY!!!