Greetings from the Blue Ridge Mountains in central Virginia, where in a day’s time I’ll be joining over 300 runners in racing the Promise Land 50K. Yesterday I ran from Sunset Field on the Blue Ridge Parkway down to Apple Orchard Falls and back, which many consider the most beautiful and challenging part of the course.Continue reading “Promise Land 50K Tomorrow!”
Author Archives: Liz Anjos
The Open Road
“What is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks disappearing? —It’s the too-huge world vaulting us, and it’s good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy adventure beneath the skies.” -Jack Kerouac Two days ago I kissed my husband André goodbye, gaveContinue reading “The Open Road”
Don’t Think, Just Run
This morning as I woke, the line between dream and reality was a bit blurry as I came to. I didn’t even remember falling asleep the night before. I felt around and under my pillow in the dark until my hand enclosed around the silicone case of my phone. I tapped the screen to checkContinue reading “Don’t Think, Just Run”
Looking Within
As I tend to do, I’ve been dreaming up possibilities for the future. I feel physically recovered from the Appalachian Trail, though the emotional aftermath still comes and goes like aftershocks following an earthquake. I’ve run 60ish miles per week for the past 14 weeks with more vertical feet than I’ve ever covered outside of the AT.Continue reading “Looking Within”
Growing Pains
The hardest part about hiking the entire Appalachian Trail wasn’t hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. It was the “before” and “after”. After doing things more or less the same for most of my adult life, and being content in doing so, I preemptively put the AT on my calendar for the summer of 2020 aboutContinue reading “Growing Pains”
A Run Up Saltzman
Training in Portland this winter has me feeling a bit like a caged lion. With Forest Park practically in my backyard, I’ve gotten to know its trails like the palm of my hand. Each day sort of melts into another, most runs feel more or less the same, and any sort of forward motion orContinue reading “A Run Up Saltzman”
Look at the Bigger Picture
On my 38th day on the Appalachian Trail after setting off at 4:00am with aching, blistered feet, I walked through the lush forest of the Green Mountains in Vermont as the sun rose. I tried to wrap my head around the gigantic task that lay ahead in completing nearly 50 miles before midnight, and per my unintendedContinue reading “Look at the Bigger Picture”
You Can Take the Runner off the Track, But…
I’m a creature of habit. I like everything from my daily routine to my calendar year to be “just so”. Since 2012 or so I’ve done my hair the same way, latched onto a style that my friend Lauren calls my “personal color palette” which has remained largely unchanged, I’ve eaten the same thing for breakfast and lunch everyContinue reading “You Can Take the Runner off the Track, But…”
The Winds of Winter
Get to know me well enough, and you’ll learn before long that I’m a wee bit obsessed with George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire. In this fictional world, seasons last for years and end unpredictably. Once, winter lasted an entire generation. It was a period known as theContinue reading “The Winds of Winter”
A Long Way to Go
Maybe I’m tempting fate. Or is it simply a calculated risk? Should I listen to the alarm bells going off in my head, permeating through my body in shivers and shakes? What if? What if? What if? As an athlete, I’m continually seeking to expand my limits when it comes to my physical and mentalContinue reading “A Long Way to Go”
