I was getting lazy with each hour but told myself that I would regret it if i don't get some miles in today!! It could be worse tomorrow!! It's cloudy, rained this morning, about 38 degrees, feels 32, about 12-16mph wind. Didn't feel as 'cold' as it sounds. Decided to see how the mtn bike trail was (after all that talk about Ryan Hall) .........NEEDED to run some dirt trail to get my 'fix' ..........Took about a mile before I felt "in the zone" again on dirt trail versus paved bike trail. It was GREAT!! Knee and ankles loved it!! Kept running even after the gentle rain started after mile 4!! Didn't feel the wind much due to the trees, YAY!! Got rid of layers after mile 2, wearing only a long-sleeved technical shirt under another short-sleeved by this time!! Finished 8.3 miles with some short inclines!! YIPPEE!! Wanted 10 miles but had appt with a consult for landscaping. AWESOME run, I really missed the mtn bike trail. Have not run it lately because of risk injury due to tripping/falling by leaves-covering rock/root. But the high wind in the last few weeks had cleared most of it on the trail. There were 'hikers' walking the trail. It was an invigorating (rainy) run!!
az2mntrail You're in shape if you're doing 18 under 3 hours. Maybe not "trail" shape, but still, very good!
8 miles. A marathon training group was there doing repeats. All were 30-40 yrs. old, and they were passing me like I was standing still. Quite motivating seeing them train.
Chantilly: thanks!! Appreciate your confidence!! It means the world to me!! It's true though that I may not be in "trail" shape but still trying to get close to it. I was elated finishing 18 miles in just under 3 hrs. That's 6 miles/hour so I 'could' run 24 in 4 hrs .........somehow I would like to 'squeeze' in the last 2.2 miles in those 4 hrs!! It's gonna be tough and not pretty ........ But I'm gonna give it my best!!
Good job on the 8 miler!! It certainly can be 'motivating' to those 'young runners' train but it's also quite encouraging that you can do your training all on your own!! WAY TO GO!!
Friday, 11/7... round 2 on the Irish Mail was a 4 mile ride on the railtrail today. It surprised me how much easier today's ride was compared to the 3 miler I did the other day. I still got tired, but not uncomfortable at all. Later in the day I grabbed Sim and the 2 of us jogged 2 miles on the railtrail. az... I've always associated Arizona with hot, dry air, but the country Ryan was running in was beautiful and I can see why you'd miss it. You had some serious company running the trails out there, McMillan and Ryan Hall. Wow!
Friday, 11/7... round 2 on the Irish Mail was a 4 mile ride on the railtrail today. It surprised me how much easier today's ride was compared to the 3 miler I did the other day. I still got tired, but not uncomfortable at all. Later in the day I grabbed Sim and the 2 of us jogged 2 miles on the railtrail.
NH: WOW!! I KNOW!! I was all ga-ga when I first recognized the runners!! I had to stop and take it all in, it was surreal and energizing!! After that, they became 'another trail runner' ..........LOL!! Flagstaff is intoxicating at 6500+ elevation with the spectacular mtn trails to run on!! Runners ....and walkers .....and hikers .......and mtn bikers everywhere!! You can't but want to be outdoors!! Yeah, I'm homesick, right?!? I'm hoping to go back for a visit in the spring when 'winter' is at its worst here in northern MN ......with the polar vortices and all .
Biking and running are awesome combination for a great workout!! Your area is getting hit pretty hard with snow and all the freezing temps!! Stay warm and safe!!
justrundan
Ray- the timing was off too because I had the 'autopause' feature turned on for training and didn't turn it off. So it registered 11.6 miles in about 1:57x.
AZ- I ran in my regular shoes because the trail is hard packed gravel, no loose stuff, and it worked fine. I had starchy meals for lunch/supper the day before, ate bagel with peanut butter about 3 1/2 hr before race, ate a fig newton 20 min before race, and had 2 gels during the race, at about 50 minutes and 1h40m. That seemed to be OK, don't think that was the problem with the latter half.
DW made the most amazing pasta dish, pasta carbonara, with thick bacon and angel hair past. It. Was. Incredible. I want to have it once a month now!
I'll take a look at those videos.
18 in under 3, that's moving, way to go!
Will try for a run in Door County tomorrow morning, but windy. layer/layer/layer!
Dan
Crazy Diamond
NH Runner~If you decided to run it, I hope you had a great race today! Can't wait to hear about it. Thanks for the tip on the arm swing. I'll keep it in mind on my 9 miler tomorrow. My right hip is one of my major weak spots. I have a tendency to supinate just enough with the right foot to throw off my gait. Gotta keep working at it!
AZ~You are unstoppable! "Hey, ho the wind and the rain" We've sure had out share in WI, too.
Dan~Carbonara is a hearty meal! YUM! Have fun running in Door County! I check the view from the 2 Fish Creek web cams every morning. Looks sunny, but those waves mean wind.
Today - SRD, did some stretches this morning. Should be out raking leaves, but the 30 mph wind gusts make it a futile effort! Pulling the remnants of this year's garden bounty from the garden. Brussels sprouts still hanging on.
Quo Vadis?
Saturday, 11/8... 4 miles today with the Eastman "Run for the Pie" 5K in 28:38. Tough course with way too many hills for a guy on the comeback trail, but I'm happy with the run. I'm not fit enough to go hard for 3 miles, but I'm gaining. Small crowd, I finished 3/6 age group and 50/101 overall.
az... congrats getting back to running on your bike trail, 8.3 is awesome!
gito... I mentioned arm swing because it's exactly what I did. My niece was telling me one day she can always tell when it's me she sees running in the distance on the highway because I only swing one arm. I'm like... "whaaat?" lol Next run I checked and sure enough, I had my left arm tucked in and not swinging at all. I'd been fighting Plantar Fasciitis and pretty sure the weird running form was my body trying to compensate. I thought something like that might be going on with you. Wouldn't it be nice if it was that easy of a fix? lol Anyway, good luck, you're an experienced runner so you'll figure it out...
Edited to show the results in my age group, plus the only woman to run in her age group. Thought the ladies here would get a kick out of this...
FEMALE AGE GROUP: 60 to 69Place O'All Time Name Age Sex Race# City/state ===== ===== ======= ======================== === === ===== ======================= 1 29 25:20 Elizabeth Gonnerman 69 F 57 Hanover NH MALE AGE GROUP: 60 to 69Place O'All Time Name Age Sex Race# City/state ===== ===== ======= ======================== === === ===== ======================= 1 36 26:36 Neal McBain 67 M 81 Lebanon NH 2 47 28:22 Patrick Noble 61 M 84 New London NH 3 50 28:38 Richard Davis 65 M 83 Newport NH 4 66 30:53 Joe Peritz 67 M 2 Grantham NH 5 78 33:00 Edgar Forrest 65 M 73 Springfield NH 6 80 34:11 Larry Schissel 60 M 105 Newport NH
gito57 Sorry, I missed your post on page 2 flipping back and forth. Nice runs out in the cold and wind. I love Brussel sprouts, surprised that they would last this long outside.
NH Runner Nice job in the 5 Km for coming back off injury. Your only lady finisher aged 69 is pretty speedy.
az2mntrail Glad for you being back out on the trail.
Did you ever run The Lost Dutchman marathon? Such a great medal and looks like a good course. But the time of year doesn't really work for me.
justrundan You had some good eatin' there! Be strong in the wind.
Yesterday: I helped out at an aid station for a couple of hours. (30F and windy.)
Today: Ran 15 miles and walked 2 miles on the track. Lots of people there doing various activities.
"dancing on the path and singing, now you got away,
you can reach the goals you set from now on, every day"
Sonata Arctica
NH Runner~Congratulations Rich! I bet it felt great to be out there again. Great run considering you are recently back from injury and it was a hilly course. Hey, that 69yo lady is quite the speedster!
Chantilly~Awesome on the 15 miles! Aid station in the wind - yikes! How do you keep the cups from blowing around? I'm sure the participants were appreciative. Sprouts love the cold, we've harvested them as late as mid-December. I'm thinking of sauteing them in a bit of olive oil, with some pancetta, Also, I make a Guinness stout glaze, but that's for special occasions!
Today - 9 easy miles, with the final 20 minutes at HMP. 40F, 15 mph with some hefty 25 mph gusts. Training plan wanted that to be uphill, but the hill was more at 7 - 8 miles. DH followed along on his bike, and I asked him to observe my arm swing. He mentioned it is a good swing and even, no cross over. On the longer runs I keep working on the right foot strike, and had him watch that for me, too. Treated him to breakfast afterward for all the running form evaluation efforts! Today was one of the strongest mid-long runs I've had in a long time. This may be the right training plan for my next HM!
Run strong friends!
Sluggo - Nice swim. Go get that run in too!
Az - Nice 8 miler. Thanks for all the stretches, think they're working.
Dan - Hope you got your run in. Going to change that auto pause setting?
Debra - 9 miles sounds like a good HM run. Good job!
Chantilly - was that 15 on the track? Either way nice run.
NHRich - Good race! Gotta run them smart and sounds like you did. Your 69 yo runner grades out to 87.5! That's a national class age group runner! She's something special!
Friday, 10.1 easy long run. Had to check my watch a couple of times and slow down.
Saturday, no runs, but about 14 miles of hiking.
Sunday, 18.5 long run. Last 1.5 miles were at marathon pace.
Ray
Sunday, 11/9... nice to come back with a solid run the day after a race and I was able to do that today. Purposely chose a course with no hills... 9:07, 8:58, 8:45, 8:30, 8:27, 8:25 and cooled the last mile in 10:11. Tomorrow will be something easy, the trike and the dog both need a workout...
Chantilly... Nice workout! It's amazing the miles you run on the track...
Gito... it's nice when the training starts to pay off, isn't it? You must be making progress with your form change, feeling strong after 9 miles is awesome!
Wanted to see what the 69 year old woman looked like, but she probably looked closer to 50 and why I missed her...
Ray... missed your post earlier. Nice runs the last few days, that 18.5 on Sunday with the fast finish will pay dividends.
gito57 So nice to feel that you had a strong run. Your recipe for the sprouts sounds delicious.
Our aid station was set up like a tail gate party, so the wind wasn't a problem in the park. We had both hard and soft apple cider and hot chocolate for the ultra runners...maybe we had a sip or two...
rmcj001 Nice long run there plus the hiking will be helpful.
All my runs from now til spring will be on an indoor track.
NH Runner Those are some good paces for the day after. Hope Sim has a good workout.
4 miles this morning. Stiff and sore, kinda damp here. Wants to snow, but then it doesn't amount to anything.
Made sugar cookies.
Next 2 days off due to work.
Monday, 11/10... 4 mile railtrail ride on the trike today. I've changed the seat, added handlebars and a brake and changed the drive mechanism so it now has reverse as well as forward. Not much more I can do to it at this point, but I was wondering how one with shifters would work, a multiple speed version versus the single speed I just finished... I timed myself on a section of railtrail that's hard packed today and was doing about 11:15 per mile. Not fast, but it's a great workout and makes me wonder why hand powered carts have never caught on.
Didn't take Sim out, my son took him for a walk instead...
Chantilly... stiff and sore, that's me too... We're not forecast for snow, but its going to get down into the 20's soon...
Ray~Awesome mileage last weekend!
NH Runner~Nice post race run you had there. You have truly enjoyed assembling and putting the finishing touches on the trike. Fun, with benefits.
Chantilly~Hope the 4 mile run worked out the stiffness and soreness. Awesome aid station!
Today - Headed to the parkway along the river for an easy 6 miles, with 6 hill repeats. The hill parallels a public parking area, got a few stares as I did the repeats today! At the top of the hill is a mental health facility, they may have thought I belonged there. Absolutely lovely day - 58F, sunny, light breeze with a few colorful leaves still grasping on to the tree limbs. Probably the last day of the year to wear shorts, though. Snow predicted for tomorrow and the next week where 30F will be the high! Strength workout, then stretching, then foam Rolling at home.
Winter is here in northern MN, I don't care what anyone else says!! OH MY!! It is freezing cold and colder!!
My 8+miles run on Friday was probably the last 'nice' day for a run outside. I decided to take a rest day on Saturday, had errands and last minute happy hour get-together with a new friend in the education field. It was cold and snow flurries in the afternoon into the night. Sunday was not any warmer, colder with icy, slippery roads; it was about 18 degrees but the 12mph wind made it feel like 10 degrees, BRRRR!! Another rest day and now I'm getting depressed!! Monday, it was partly sunny, about 20 degrees, feels 16, 10mph wind; damn, it was cold but I got out there!! Can you believe that?!? Just crazy!! Ran only 4 miles and had to head home, feeling dejected!! Just too much icy sleek slick scary areas along the road even with less snow. One still has to go slow due to black ice!! Not just for me but cars!! YIKEs!! Not worth getting hurt before my race so I was complaining and not wanting to cave in to the indoors already (it's only NOV!!) ugh!! the dreadmill!! However, DH convinced me to get a month's membership at the university gym where he swims. Didn't want to hear my complaints this winter .......neither did I! LOL!! Gave in and drove to the gym. Is 'driving' in this weather (slick roads) to the gym any safer? One has to run 7 laps to get in a mile!! Boring! Just amazing how CHANTILLY does this but KUDOS to you, and that kept me going!! Anyway, I broke it up in segments to keep me focused. 2 miles (14 laps) on the short track, then 2 miles on the dreadmill, 2 miles on the short track, about 1/2 mile on TM for a cool-down. 20 minutes on the bike. I got it done, that is really all that matters!! So about 8.3 (still thinking of Fri miles, duh) 10.1 miles!! YAY!!
I was all caught up and ready to post when I dropped my phone and bamm! Gone! And I had no time left. So, now….
In the meantime, my heart goes out to you in the North - Az, Dan, Debra, NHRich, anyone else. If you're in the snow, I hope it melts!! If it missed you, I hope it stays away!!
Happy Veterans' Day and thank you to all who served!
Mary Kay
2013 Race PRs: FM - 6:30; 5k - 36:39; 10k - 1:24:06; HM -2:57:32
Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement - Matt Biondi
I am an extraordinary achievement - Me