Dan: If those are the only pair of 'trail shoes' you have and it feels fine running, you should be okay. I would wear the Brooks b/c they will feel more comfortable. You will probably feel the weight of the Columbia at/after mid-point but the 'walk breaks' should help as long as you are taking them at certain times and/or during 'difficult' portions. Looking at the photos, I don't see too much technicality, there seems to be alot of grassy and dirt portions. Thread is most important when running on crushed gravel and muddy/rocky terrain, IMO. Like Ray says, 'just do your best and don't forget to enjoy the view' .....or something like that, it helps me .
adkkev: Running in the rain isn't so bad on humid days but scary when there is thunder/lightening. Better safe than sorry.
Chantilly: I thought you were retired .......great consistent mileage!
Today was pretty nice, in the 60's, partly sunny and about 18mph wind. I could feel the wind the first couple of miles running against it but it got 'cool' in the shade, and it calmed down after 4 miles, perfect!! It was one of those days when it felt great to keep going after 8 miles, then 10 miles, then just squeezed in another mile, finished 11.1 miles, YIPPEE!!
Fletch
Good running, everyone. And thanks for the kudos on the race, and for pointing out that I should go with the certified distance and ignore what my gps said.
I mentioned the Bacon Run that I did this past Sunday with some friends. They are part of a large group of local runners, all ages, male and female, that sometimes race and train together. I know several of them through non-running activities. A few years ago, 4-5 of them started a Wednesday morning speed workout. It has grown over the years, and they have been asking me to join them for a couple months now, which I did for the first time this morning.
23 runners turned out at 4:45 this morning! Started with a one mile warmup...then the painful part! 3 pickups, 20 seconds each, then 3 of 40 seconds, 3 of 60, 3 of 80, 3 of 60, 3 of 40, 3 of 20. 20 second recovery between each. Cool down at an easy pace back to the parking lot. Total was 5.25 miles. Exhausting, but exhilarating! We run right through the middle of our little downtown, deserted at that time of day (saw a total of 2 cars the entire run this morning).
I'll probably try to incorporate this workout into my training plan for the HM in November. It's a good group of folks...nice support and encouragement.
Happy Running.
az2mntrail I had one boyfriend in HS who had a Triumph 650 and another one who had a Kawasaki 500.
My Dad forbid me to ride, but I snuck out anyways. ...miss those times...
Fletch_NC A group is really great for making you run faster than you would on your own.
RE: bacon. A few years ago in the Salt Lake City marathon, some guy was cooking bacon on the barbeque out on the sidewalk, offering it to the runners. It sure smelled good!
justrundan Good luck!
adkkev You've had your share of storms lately.
7 miles outside at 6 AM.
"dancing on the path and singing, now you got away,
you can reach the goals you set from now on, every day"
Sonata Arctica
Wednesday: 6.75 miles around town after the t-storms rolled through ... & the humidity dropped a bit as well. Supposed to clear up & be really nice & comfy for the next few days.
Fletch: 23 runners at 4:45am??!!?? Most impressive indeed. I have only run in the early morning hours during our nasty humidity wave last summer ... and that was only for a few days.
Dan: I'm thinking that your Columbia shoes will feel pretty heavy after a while ... I have run my trail races in Montrail Masochists & Hoka Mafates ... the Montrails were good for the rocky trails but a little on the heavy side so now they are my hiking shoes. I wore the Hokas on a 30k and a 50k last summer, the 30k was a bit wet & so altho the Hokas were comfortable they just didn't have the traction that I needed in those slippery & muddy spots (actually got stuck in the deeper mud with them) ... on the 50k I feel that they helped keep my feet & legs comfortable for the whole run. And now that I've been running only in Altras (Torin), I would probably buy a pair of Altra Lone Peaks for any future trail run/race.
Good morning, all.
adkkev - glad you finally caught a break from the storms, and the humidity. Nice 6.75 mile run. Most of my runs are early morning, not just because of the heat, but because it fits my schedule better. It was really cool to run down the middle of the street, in the dark of night, in a pack of 23 runners! I'll try to snap a pic next week.
chantilly - nice 7 mile, early morning run. I do love the smell of bacon cooking, but I can't imagine having it as a snack in the middle of a marathon!
4 miles this morning, at a steady 9:36 pace. Had to pour the sweat out of my shoes at the end! At 6:30 this morning, it was 75 degrees, with 85% humidity!
Happy running!
Home from Michigan yesterday after a great visit with my sister-in-law and her family. Ran yesterday morning; cool but humid so I stopped at three miles. A nice 40-minute walk this morning, cool again. I'm still planning my 5K or 10K for Saturday morning, but there's a chance of thunderstorms overnight Friday into Saturday, so I'll hold off on registering until race day.
Fletch: I like to run early, but not at 4:45. My idea of early is 5:30, at which time you were probably done.
2014 Races:
Wisconsin (Half) Marathon, May 3, Kenosha, WI
Dam To Dam HM, June 1, Des Moines, IA
Garry Bjorkman Half Marathon, June 21, Duluth, MN
Des Moines (Half) Marathon, October 19 (registered)
Fletch_NC That would be a little humid…and early, too.
SteveBikeRun Good luck on your race!
5 miles at 6 AM.
1 hour of yard work/flower beds.
Checking in again, I'd hate to think anyone here would forget me, so I'm trying to hang around just often enough so that doesn't happen...
I'm still unable to train consistently, but did manage a 1.5 mile walk / jog yesterday and have been making good use of the mtn bike. I wanted to share part of another e-mail from my buddy in Florida. It's heat related as well, but he tried a night run last night and it made a significant difference in the load on his heart. Remember, his heart rate got into the 160's running during the day in Miami's heat and humidity. Here's his latest...
"The run went good. I can't see the monitor in the dark, it doesn't have a light which is stupid. Anyways, Joe rode along on his bike and he had his phone on him. The monitor has blue tooth (wireless) so he was getting my pulse on his phone. lol He kept me informed of what I was doing. I never got above 136 and my recovery during my walks was a lot faster. I was getting down into the low 100's in a min."
It's amazing how much harder our heart has to work in the heat, this is stuff we should all be aware of.
And we should also be aware of fish hooks when we go fishing, I managed to bury one well beyond the barb into my finger the other day. Trying to pull the thing out was a lesson in how tough our skin can be, it wouldn't let go of the barb, period. I ended up pushing the hook through so that I could cut the barb off, then remove the hook.
These bits of wisdom are priceless, aren't they?
Good runs all...
az2mntrail I had one boyfriend in HS who had a Triumph 650 and another one who had a Kawasaki 500. My Dad forbid me to ride, but I snuck out anyways. ...miss those times...
Chantilly: My dad is the one who taught my brother and I how to ride a motorcycle in Jr. High, but didn't own/ride my own bike until I was 40 when DH bought me a harley on HIS birthday!! He got his own later on ........hmmmm, brilliant 'strategy' .......I don't tell my mom when I go on a solo cross-country bike ride like AZ to Canada, different routes, or when I rode from AZ to MN!! It's wild and love seeing different parts of this country from a biker's view!! I've ridden to a couple of HM events and ran and had to ride back, took longer than the usual 2 hrs, lots of breaks to stretch ......not smart but it was an experience!
NH: wondering how you were doing, keep checking in! Miss your humor . A slow recovery but you're being smart about it especially incorporating other activities. I have a mtn bike but can't seem to get myself to ride the 'flat paved trail/road' around here. Just too lazy to put it in my truck and ride at the Movil Maze mtn bike trail .......I would end up RUNNING instead. With our high humidity and heat combo (although it has been on the 'cooler' muggy side lately), I'm trying to 'train' my body to cool efficiently by running at different times on a given day but I tend to still favor running in the evenings. I do notice that running during the day when it's very humid and sunny takes so much more effort thus I take more walk breaks or slow down when I feel my heart rate increasing more than usual. You tend to have more toe stubs on the dirt trail too so it's about being safe, and I know that I need to hydrate as I am sweating more than the liquids I'm taking in. Tough to find the right balance but it's do-able as long as you're in tune with your body as you are running in such different weather conditions.
TGIF!! Week flew by it seems! Let me see: ran 5 interval miles on Sunday, 11.1 miles on Tues, 6.2 interval miles on Thurs (yesterday), rest days were spent on core exercises, weights, yoga, stretching, and health rider. Planning on running later today before the predicted rain. It poured like crazy last night. My garden loves it .....and so do those darn weeds and the skeeters lay in wait for me!! DH wants to visit/help his uncle/cousin with their drag race this weekend in Fargo so I NEED to run today. So I did run!! Went to the Movil Maze mtn bike trail again, I couldn't have picked a more HUMID/HOT time of day!! But I made it in the 82 degrees, high humidity, barely a breeze, sunny part of day!! Easy, steady 6 miles, was good 'recovery' run on the quiet trail. Walk breaks to hydrate. Skeeters everywhere!!
Dan: run a safe and fun trail race!!
Best of luck to you if you are racing this weekend!! Have fun, stay cool and run fast!!
justrundan
Thanks to everyone for your input, I'm definitely a trail newbie. As a newbie, I'm probably not picking a great race to start with!
Planning to take it easy and not be disappointed with my time, I know I cannot compare anything I've done on pavement to this! It will be a "learning experience"! I plan to wear my regular road shoes and carry a small water bottle to refill at aid stations if it starts out very warm. We may get some rain, just hoping the lightning stays away.
Good luck to anyone else racing this weekend. whatever you are doing, enjoy your runs!
Dan
Good Luck Dan!!! Enjoy the run ... trail runs are different than road runs ... and much more fun (IMHO).
6.6 miles for me Friday evening ... it was a beautiful evening for a run.
Finished Dances With Dirt unofficial time 2:54:--
RR later.
Crazy Diamond
Congratulations Dan! That is a great time! The humidity today was unbelievable! Running in it It had to resemble swimming, but not in a refreshing way. Looking forward to reading your RR. Thought of you running through Parfrey' s Glen, and praying you were able to take in and enjoy all the beauty of it.
Quo Vadis?
az2mntrail I can't imagine riding on your bike for 2 hours after a race, driving a car is bad enough. Looks like you had your week full with all that training!
NH Runner Now you are MacGyvering your finger? …..fishing is dangerous...
justrundan Congratulations! Looking forward to the RR.
adkkev Nice that you can enjoy your evening runs.
Self supported marathon put on by local runners this morning at 6 AM. We ran mainly on a paved path in a park, minimal street crossings.
About 50 runners there on a coolish morning. I quit at the HM mark in 2:16 with neuroma pain in the left foot. I should have worn a more cushioned shoe, that may have helped. Anyways, I couldn't see continuing another 2:16++ with the foot that sore. Not really that disappointed about the race.
2 hours of mowing and thinning out juniper bushes this afternoon.