Queen of 3rd Place
I'm baaa-aack! At least for now!
Condolences to Jim. Your dad had a good run, we can all hope to be so lucky. Glad to hear that your harvest is turning out to be acceptable, sure sounds like a lot of extra work and worry.
Leslie - feeling extra tired...worrying about weight...methinks you have taper-madness! Looks like the weather's going to cooperate for you. The course sounds awesome but that last climb around mile 42 looks like something that deserves respect. What's your goal time?
ev. hey there.
Joe - nice work ramping up so quickly! Wow!
Decided to cut my trip short and came back Saturday instead of this coming Wednesday. I've been in the middle of the country on a motorcycle when it's over 100...once was enough! Instead I hung around in Utah for a few days, where I had perfect riding weather. Been too long since I've hung around there. Beautiful country, little traffic. Didn't get much running done except for one treadmill run. Perhaps by coincidence or maybe because of the layoff from running, the ol' back is doing much better. Got in 14.5 on Sunday with little problem, 6 yesterday, going to cautiously try a couple of 1 mile repeats tonight.
Thursday I head out with a small group for Mt. Whitney, which has a new elevation (it's GROWING) of 14,505'. I'm calling it cross-training. At least it's better cross-training than sitting on a motorcycle.
Ex runner
Welcome back, Arla! Utah is beautiful. Have fun climbing Mt. Whitney!
4 slow miles this a.m. Tomorrow 5, then I'm done 'til Saturday. Suppose to run some miles Thursday, but I'm leaving around 5:00 a.m., so I ain't gettin' up at 3:00 to run.
I posted this last week, but just in case any of you are interested checking on my progress Saturday, supposedly (if I set things up right) you can do it via my facebook page, nspirelive, and Twitter (although I have absolutely no idea how to use Twitter). It's the Mt. Hood 50. There's a 13-hour time limit for the race since I'm taking the early start (5:30 a.m.). I have no grand goals except make the cutoffs and finish uninjured. Puking or pooping is optional.
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
jfa
Puking or pooping is optional.
Ha! We watched the movie "Bridesmaids" last night. Plenty of these going on.
Hang in there Leslie with your taper, Saturday will be here before you know it.
Hottest run of the summer so far yesterday. 11 miles in 99*. Don't know why the hottest days seem to coincide with scheduled double digit runs, but I got er done. Plenty of shower stops along the way.
Arla- Utah sounds beautiful. Glad your back's better. Good luck on your climb.
Leslie - we'll need some pics or video! Just not of puking or pooping. I would not be surprised if you absolutely crushed the 13 hr cutoff, but you're wise to take advantage of the early start, if only to take the pressure off.
Joe - I hear ya on heat and long runs. 11 in 99 is brutal!
Happy hump day to the rest of you!!
Tested out the back with some 5 min intervals last night at 7:45 - 8:15 pace with 4 min jogs in between. Was supposed to to 5 mi of that total but did about half to be safe. Felt good! That really brought my spirits up!
Arla - Glad your back is holding up. Sounds like totally laying off the running for a few days was the ticket.
Joe - Hot days + double digits runs make a Tuffer Runner.
This morning's 4 miles got interrupted around Mile 3.3 when I went by Winco to use the bathroom. Didn't get inside when I went to investigate what sounded like a puppy crying. Ended up being a long-haired Chihauhau (sp?) tied up outside the store. She was so scared. As soon as I walked up to her and started petting her, she stopped, and when I squatted down she climbed into my lap. She wasn't abused and had a nice leash and an ID tag, but I sat there for 45 minutes with her and nobody came out of the store. My thought: You've walked here with your dog. How many groceries can you be buying if you're walking? I ended up making the decision to take her home with me, after which I called the number on the tag. Those people (who were great!) left a message on the owner's answering machine while I was on the line and put me in contact with the owner's emergency backup. Within a minute or two of hanging up, the owner called me. Ends up she lives right across the street from the store. She can't get around very well, was using the store's electric cart, and was in the store for an hour - a lot longer than she intended.
I've always hated seeing dogs tied up outside of stores, etc. Anybody can walk off with it, and me walking off with Chewy is proof. Maybe I shouldn't have taken her with me, but I just couldn't, in good conscience, leave her there. The dog was really sweet and she's back with her owner. I just hope the lady, who also was very nice and understood why I did what I did, thinks about how easily she could've lost her dog to someone who wouldn't have cared who she belonged to, or worse, taken by someone who would've hurt her.
Tomorrow I leave. I'm packed and ready to go! Not taking my laptop with me, so unless my in-laws have a computer, this is the last time I'll be in here until next Tuesday or Wednesday. Stay out of trouble while I'm away.
Trails are hard!
Leslie--afraid I'm a little slow and you're already gone, but have a GREAT race.
Need a fast half for late fall. Then I need to actually train for it.
Good Luck Leslie!
Best wishes Leslie!
One advantage of getting through those hot runs is that when the temps drop, I feel like a new man. Only 90* for my 12 er today. Pretty nice.
My heart goes out to Cindy and all the folks that live in Colorado. They sure have had to endure a lot of pain brought down by those who can only be defined as truly evil.
Leslie's 6 hours into it.
Go Leslie!
read on the daily that Leslie finished!!!! WTG Leslie!!!!!!!!!!
flatland mountaineer
Yes Congrats Leslie!
The whole world said I shoulda used red but it looked good to Charlene in John Deere Green!!
Support Ethanol, drink the best, burn the rest.
Run for fun? What the hell kind of recreation is that? quote from Back to the Fut III
Congrats Leslie!!!
Let's keep this one going till Leslie shows up.
So it's not me! Temps dropped into the 70's and a new (4th replacement ) Garmin 610 combined to finally give me a decent feeling long run. I had been really struggling, and only at 14-15 mile weekly long runs. All of them were in the 90's* and I have had a suspicion that my old 305 has been giving me a slow pace count. I have been comparing the 305 and the new 610 ( 1st would power itself off. 2nd had the black square for a lap display stuck permanently on the screen. 3rd would would not charge.) and the 610 is much closer to what I had been feeling.
Anyway, 16m at 9:26 ap.
Hi, Folks - I'm back in the land of technology. Got home about 45 min ago after 9+ hours on the road. The Hub helped me unload the car, then immediately left for an AA meeting/camp meeting. He's leaving tomorrow for a 5-day AA camping adventure about 45 min south of us and has the truck all loaded and wanted to leave it in the driveway, so he needed the car. Kind of cracks me up that he's leaving for 5 days after I've been gone for six and on the day of our 25th anniversary to boot, but no worries! Like I told him, if I didn't leave him after last year, the fact he wants to leave for what amounts to a 5-day AA meeting on our anniversary isn't a deal breaker.
The Race - WHEW!! I'm going to write a race report over the next few days, but I will say it was tough, I had two pretty good low periods, I am SO glad Kate was there 'cause I learned a lot. Finished in 12:13:341 - a 40 min PR from American River 50 two years ago. Woo Hoo!!! I am so frigging happy!!!! . . . . . . . . . . . I'm going back.
I thought about you all a lot and knew you were rooting for me. It helped in the low periods.
Well, like I said, I just got home, so I'm going to go decompress. Will chat with you soon.