az2mntrail We saw a group of middle-aged bikers in Madison about 15 years ago at Super 8. I envied them their freedom out on their road trip across country.
It is a regular 220 m. indoor track with room for badminton, aerobics, spin class and fitness/weight machines.
1 friend died from cancer and another moved closer to her children, so I mainly run alone with headphones.
justrundan 5 miles is good after a race.
mKayc Hope you are feeling better!
It does require a kind of zoning out on the track. If it is not busy, I can run in any direction around the perimeter.
5 miles, then my foot was sore, so I went home and made a chocolate walnut pie to make it feel better.
"dancing on the path and singing, now you got away,
you can reach the goals you set from now on, every day"
Sonata Arctica
Chantilly: Gosh, you continue to amaze me!! Being so flexible that you can eat the chocolate walnut pie on your foot ........photo?
The wind gusts are around 20 mph!! NICE with less humidity . Rest day today for me. I have the group trail run tomorrow; the 'focus' is on running technical trails. Not a novice by any means but one can always learn something new from a different perspective. DH wants to go for a bike ride. He's not really interested in going to the car show unless he changes his mind to sell his 'race' car. We have attended the car show the last two yrs and it's more of a swap sale/rummage sale it seems, mostly an older crowd, and not too friendly both years.
justrundan
6 easy miles this morning, then pushed the pace for 2 more miles, 8 total. DW is back from her meetingin Green Bay, so we hope to run on the River Walk tomorrow morning, then hit the farmer's market, then coffee shop!!
AZ= thanks for the tip on the trail shoes, I'll look into those. My Brooks Ghost are getting about 350 on them, so I need something to switch out on consecutive days. You might see how the Ghost fits you, I really like them.
Chantilly- chocolate walnut pie, yea, that would make me feel better!
Fletch- good luck on your race!
Enjoy your weekend everyone!
Dan
10+ miles of canoeing on a beautiful Adirondack day!!
az2mntrail old car shows are interesting...up to a point. Group run on a trail is nice, for the company, even if the focus is on old info.
justrundan have fun! Sounds like a good day.
adkkev Quite a bit of paddling, there.
The chocolate walnut pie worked!
8 miles run outside plus an hour of yard work pulling weeds and doing flower beds.
Crazy Diamond
Enjoying summer, but it is a crazy time. Trying to catch up on all of you happy runners!
MaryKayc~WW works! Back in1980, I was going through a crummy time. Every one I knew was pregnant, except me. Put on 63 lbs., and lost it on WW. Not too personal, 5’9”; hover around 127 lbs.; size 4 w/ alterations.
Ray~Great job concentrating on your marathon training. Congratulations on hitting the 65 mpw high!
adkkev~Nice work getting in those muggy runs. The canoe adventures sounds marvelous.
AZ~Fantastic mileage for you so far this month, and sounds like you’ve had great running weather, too. Belated Birthday greetings to DH from me. The Brewers HM is 9/20, and looking for another to run in Oct/Nov. BTW-I’d love to run DWD, but my niece’s wedding is the same week. I’m sure I’ll have my parents staying with me, but will know more details by next spring.
Fletch~Awesome running for you – it is sweet when everything feels fun and fast! Unbroken - Led to one of the best discussions my book club ever had.
Chantilly~You’ve been putting in some big miles again – terrific! Pie is a cure-all for anything, and that pie sounds delicious.
Dan~Excellent RR – loved reading it. What a beautiful spot for the second aid station – not only is the view breathtaking, getting to it is as well! REI had Brooks Cascadia 8 on clearance ($86.97) in store when I stopped in this week. No longer available on .com, though. Maybe worth a call to the Madison location, though. It is DS2’s alternate training shoe, and he loves it!
Rich, Jo, Steve~Hope all is well!
I’m keeping to the HM training plan when thunderstorms don’t interfere. Missed half of my 8 miles on Tuesday due to lightning, but got the other miles in for the week. Today – ran 6 miles on the shady bike path. Tomorrow predictions for the warmest weather so far this summer – 12 miles on the schedule. Better get up and at ‘em around 6am!
Run strong, friends!
Quo Vadis?
Deb- I called Madison REI as soon as I read your post, but all they had were size 11, a little small for me. Looks like I may have to go with the Cascadia 9. Any other spots to look besides REI ?
5 miles on Riverwalk this morning then lots of yard work! Rest day tomorrow! Friends from Milwaukee coming for the afternoon.
Dan: check out www.roadrunnersports.com ..............free shipping and 90 day try out. I would try out a Cascadia in a local shoe store to make sure you get a good fit. Then search online for sales. Cascadia 9 is the newest so not too many sales right now but you can find Cascadia 8 at good prices now. It is suggested that for trail shoes, it's best to order 1/2 size or a whole size larger. I wear a whole size larger. A good fit allows the feet room for the swelling during a run, but not too much room for blisters especially running downhills and to avoid 'black toes.' A delicate balance. For me, it was all trial and error. Just my two cents.
Saturday's group trail run was short and sweet. It was pretty humid even at 9 am, zillion mosquitoes too!! Chris is the organizer, an ultra trail runner, and his wife, along with 6 of us made 8 runners. The only other male was also an ultra runner and he was visiting the area, and excited about joining our group to 'taper' for another ultra trail race, and finding new trails to run with us. He was very helpful in lending some info. Three of the ladies left after an hour and the rest of us decided to run a little longer. I finally ran with 2 other female trail runners, YIPPEE!! It was awesome and we ran a steady easy pace, a couple of good short hills. We were all soaked to the bone. One more group run scheduled for August. I got home and decided to run more, on the dirt road to the lake, but it got more humid and hot that it was taking more effort which my leg muscles refused to give after 4 miles, and heart rate felt like it was in overdrive. So I was 3 miles short of my planned 12 miles but did get in about 9 miles total, and that made 31.8 miles total for the week, YAY!! It took all day to hydrate while we stroll through the park for the art show, finding places to sit and stretch my calves especially. WHEW!!
Dan~Check this Not sure what size you need but presently the red combo is still available up to size 13. Great points by AZ about going up a size, she's the expert when it comes to trail running! Hope you can find a deal.
AZ~So happy you've found a trail group to train with. Perhaps some of the group would like to run before/after the next scheduled run? Nice mileage week for you, and enjoy stretching out the calves. Humidity sure does a number on us!
Well, didn't get out as early as I wanted to this morning. At 8 am, it was fairly comfortable at 68, with a nice breeze on the bike path. The section of the path that isn't closed for renovations is 4 miles one direction, so ran back and forth a few times for a total of 12 miles in 2:19. One section is fairly open, and the sun was blazing on the asphalt. Had to cover that section 3 times, whew! Many runners, cyclists and a father/daughter using roller skis all using the path today.
AZ, Deb- my normal shoe size is 11, my road shoes are 11 1/2; you think I should go up to a 12 for trail shoe? I did get one black toenail after the trail run. If I get the 12, how will that work if I use it on the road? Just snug it up more? My ability to run trails would be limited to Friday/Saturday usually. Appreciate the wisdom of those more experienced!
Rest day today. The only exercise I got was walking the perimeter of our prairie with friends from Milwaukee who were visiting, and getting our bikes ready for riding a trail south of Madison this week. Hope to enjoy a relaxing week off!
Dan: Take a pair of socks you wear for road running when you try on the trail shoes. A pair of thin and a pair of thick ones if any. Ask the store if they have any. I would go up to a 12 for trail shoes. As for socks, I sometimes wear a thin pair (turned inside out) under a 'thicker' pair. Maybe it's the brand of socks? I found that I can wear only one pair of Feetures brand of thick socks without getting blisters. A bit on the $$ side but worth it. Less 'serious' trail runners will say that a regular pair of running shoes will do for trail running .......and it's true if you run one or two trail races/year on groomed/grassy/maintained 'trails'. But I would still invest in a good pair of trail shoes and switch them up between road and trail running (weekends in your case). Breaks up the monotony of road running, saves wear and tear on your road shoes, and not to mention, less stress on joints/muscles ......plus they are great for hiking!! Multiple uses!!
Deb and Dan: IMO, one of the 'perks' about trail running shoes is the wacky cool colors!! I love them!! Since trail running tends to attract the adventurous spirit within some of us, you never stand out at a trail event!! LOL!! Thanks Deb for the compliment .......it's all trail and error ....... of hitting dirt, ouch, LOL!!
Rest day for me. Gusty winds and rain with some thunder later in the day. Although overcast, it was very humid, temps in the mid-80s!!
Deb: WTG on getting those 12 miles in!!
Adkkev: How wonderful!! Canoeing always sounds idyllic to me. I've been thinking about 'paddle boarding?' I keep missing the 'try out' days here to get individuals interested.
Fletch
Happy Monday, everyone. Very hectic weekend for the Fletch household. I'll try to catch up here...
Az - Nice trail run. Glad you found a group to run with. I've been doing the same. It took me almost a year to get to the point where I was comfortable trying to keep up with others. The Freaky Fast Gang I've mentioned in previous posts is a great group to train with. There are some really experienced runners in the group, and many of them run the speed workout on Wednesdays. it works out well, though, because at the end of each fast interval, the speedy ones will circle back to pick up the group again before the next fast interval starts. So even though there are runners of all experience levels, for the most part, we run the entire 5 mile workout in a pretty tight group.
adkkev - canoeing - great fun! What a beautiful way to spend a beautiful day!
Chantilly - Great runs - still piling on the miles. RE: chocolate walnut pie - your foot was sore, so you went home and made a chocolate walnut pie to make it feel better. Usually works the opposite way for me...I feel bad about how much pie I ate, so I go out and run till my feet are sore!
Dan - Nice runs - hope you enjoy your week off, and the trail ride. DWD sounds like a great race. I'd love to run that one, but according to mapquest, I'm about 15 hours away. May have to save up for airfare!
Debra - Nice training. What plan are you using for your HM? BTW - if you're looking for one to run in Oct/Nov, here's the one I'm doing: http://www.outerbanksmarathon.com/. You could come join us for that one, although you'd have the same issue I mentioned to Dan above...probably quite a ways to travel for a race. RE: Unbroken : DW read it for her book club and recommended it to me. She really liked it, and I am really enjoying listening to it on my runs.
Rested Friday. Joined the Freaky Fast Gang for a Bacon Run Saturday morning. Cut it a little short, at 3.7 miles, because DW and I needed to get on the road to visit her father. He took a fall last week, and the EMT's felt he needed to be checked out at the ER. They admitted him, and found a place on his leg that concerned them. It started out as a boil, but had become infected. They did surgery to remove the infected area, and are now treating him for MRSA. DW and I, along with her brothers and their wives, are in the process of looking at rehab options, and housing options. Unfortunately, we do not expect the doctors to release him to go back home, even after the rehab. We have seen this coming for a while now, but it's still hard having to tell him that he will now be going to an assisted living facility, rather than returning home.
After the stress of Saturday, it was nice to get out Sunday morning for 6.2 miles, about half of it on the trails at our Reservoir Park. Played golf afterwards with my future son-in-law, then went back home and celebrated my birthday with DW, DD1, DD2 and their families. It was a really nice day, even with the FIL issue in the back of our minds.
Rest day today. In the early stages of 16 week plan for the HM in November. Probably will run a 10k in August, and an 8k early September.
Happy Running!