A nice 20 miler on the hike/bike path in the woods by the river. DD was training and giving tips to a guy who’s doing the Mongol Derby this summer. So I got a head start on the horses but they hunted me down after 3 miles. Then they went out 15 miles where I was only going out 10. So on the way back it was a matter of seeing if I could get back before them. I should add I was on the more dirarct path while they were on the meandering horse trails. I got back 5 minutes before them!!! I should add, they didn’t know it was a race...
They were gong to do another 50 miles (each riding three different horses), while I went home and took a nap.
qotd: Any wildlife today? I probably saw 10 deer. I also thought I heard a hog, but that might have been me snorting. Oh yea, and two horses.
tbd.
Faster Than Your Couch!
Looks like the weather is too nice to be posting today. Getting ready to head out in a little while for a run in the sun.
Sandy: Nice miles, and sounds like fun with the horses.
QOTD(2): What was/is the worst athletic facility you have ever been in/at, and why? (gym, pool, stadium,...)
QOTD1: None so far, but I'll keep you posted.
QOTD2: The locker rooms/showers at the University of Vienna's Athletic Department track, which also was the starting point for trail running. Way out of town, close to the Vienna Forest, at the end of a huge park. That's where the trail running group met every Saturday for a longer run. I went there about 4 more times every week, because, you know, I loved running back then already.
I had to take a 45 min. ride on the streetcar, then walk 15 min. to get to the track. The changing rooms and showers there both were not heated at all. So in winter, it could be a cozy 10 degrees in there. If someone had used the showers in freezing weather, and it did not dry up while temps were high enough, you'd encounter a sheet of ice in the shower room. 3 showers in 1 room, all just concrete and tile, no curtains. One sink. But hey, the water was always nicely warm (unless you were last to come back and everyone showering before you had used up all the hot water already - too bad for you).
And after the shower, I walked back 15 minutes to the streetcar, and rode home, 45 minutes.
Quite a humbling experience, but fun, as I was young and tough at the time, so it didn't faze me at all. I thought it was normal.
Run for fun.
running under the BigSky
well we were two hours and ~ 10 degrees too late getting out today (thanks to DW cracking the whip to get the house clean )
5 miles with some sloppy snow (not all sloppy, but most)
qotd: ravens and magpies was all I saw today- fresh deer and elk tracks (probably this morning)
qotd2: in college I worked out at an old (real old) gym- I'd go there, lift weights and get the hell out of there; the locker room was abysmal
2023 goal 2023 miles √
2022 goal- 2022 miles √
2021 goal- 2021 miles √
Just a very few hilly miles today. I was working on proto type # on the running vest/belt/harness I was more focised on that than I was in logging significant miles. Tonight I will make more changes and tomorrow I'll take it out for a spin. Trying to get the world's of convenience and comfort to collide and morph my collection of widowed and orphaned pieces and parts into something I like.
Qotd#1: just the usual deer.
Qotd#2: FTYC there is NO WAY I would take a shower on those conditions. How could they even have running water? Wouldn't the pipes freeze? Damn...you are one tough and determined cookie!
I can t think of anywhere I have been that was too bad ..but I don't go to many gyms.
January , 2022 Yankee Springs Winter Challenge 25k
3 miles at daybreak. 1.5 mile hike later.
QOTD: I did not see a turkey this morning, but I heard three different turkeys gobbling. I also ended up spooking a hen and hearing some more cackling as they flew down off the roost. I may check them out again in the morning. I never call to turkeys before the season, but this morning, I brought along my homemade, wingbone turkey call that I made a few years ago. I called to him a few times, and he answered it twice.
QOTD 2: I think the base gym we used to go to when I was in Okinawa, Japan. It was pretty much a dungeon, but we liked it. That was the first place I ever bench pressed 315 pounds, which was always a major thing for me back then. Sometimes, I wish I was more into running back then, but looking back, I really enjoyed lifting weights in that hole.
LB2
Are we there, yet?
A windy 10 miles.
Sandy - Is DD doing the Mongol Derby again this year? I really enjoyed following her progress the last time.
qotd: As far as wildlife today, just a few birds, robins, Canada geese, and quite a few I couldn't identify.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Mini RR for Knickerbocker Canyon 35k race in Auburn today: After rain all day yesterday and overnight, it finally stopped just in time for the race. Trails were wet ‘n wild. Creeks covering sections of the trail, waterfalls, water crossings, puddles, and lots of mud (which sucked my shoe off, lol). Lots of rocks, roots, and climbing, about 4000’. 4:42, good for 2nd in AG! Can’t post pics from my phone but will add tomorrow.
QOTD: no wildlife today, just lots of stupid runners flailing about in the mud.
QOTD 2: nothing comes to mind... but I have learned over the years to always wear flip flops in gym showers.
MTA: From the race yesterday:
5/11/24 Grizzly Peak Marathon, Berkeley, CA
7/20/24 Tahoe Rim Trail 56 miler, NV
9/21/24 Mountain Lakes 100, OR
5 miles yesterday with the group. Legs felt sluggish, but I counted that up to some recent and increased rowing. Then a swim meet. Today is basically a repeat of that. though I will likely put off my run until the swim meet so that I can hit the trails nearby. Might be a little muddy.
qotd1: Nope. though on my way to meeting the running group, one of the friendliest dogs i the neighborhood was out in his yard and we had a nice moment at the fence.
qotd2: Nothing jumps to mind, but I lived on fishing boats for a year, so my ability to withstand difficult living conditions sets the judgement bar really low...
Getting ready to head out for 5-6 miles. Got out of work late this morning, but the nite was quiet so I got enough sleep I didn't need to sleep all day . Then it will be back to the slave galley.
Run - I wish I had some nice dogs like that in my neighborhood. That way I wouldn't always have to worry about what defensive measures to carry with me.
QOTD 1: A lot of deer out in the fields grazing for some some reason. Looks like ours held up to the winter very well. Not surprising as we didn't have a lot of snow cover.
QOTD 2: I've not been in enough gyms to really have been in any bad ones. Truck stops on the other hand..............I've seen a few disgusting ones. Back in the late 80s, early 90s the ones up in New England were just flat out disgusting. There was only one in Connecticut that was half way decent. It was one of the old 76 truck stops. It would fill up by 2 pm. The rest of them were so bad that I would avoid taking a shower in them if at all possible. One in Albany NY, was extremely gross. It was just so old that the showers were falling apart but apparently the local slime ball crooks politicians had imposed so high of building permit fees that the place couldn't afford to fix them up. There was also one in South Jersey that was really disgusting. That one had group showers that only got cleaned once a day . When a new Petro truck stop went in a few miles away that one soon closed up. Then there was one in northern Delaware that looked pretty bad from the outside but actually had nice, very clean showers. I guess at that place the Ladies of the evening wanted clean clients . Needless to say I always carried flip flops with me in the truck.
DS played some BB games at Carson Long Military academy. I pitied the kids that went there. The gym itself was so small that they couldn't have a 3 point line all the way around the basket. DS said the locker rooms were horribly tight as well. It was just a old, old, old school in a really nice area. I think they finally shut it down. Never could figure out why people would send their kids there. Seemed like there were a lot there from out of the country so maybe the parents were looking at nice brochures and never saw the actual facilities.
10 miles this morning, slow and sluggish. But this weekend was a jump-start on ramping up the miles, so that was good. Then went to the gym with DW. I mostly do stretching and core stuff while she swims laps. Then we meet at the pools and do the hot whirl pool / cool dunk circuit a few times.
wc - no DD say's she's "retired" from the Derby, but people come from miles around to come for a training day and to hear tips on what to expect. This guy drove down from somewhere near the TX/OK border north of Amarillo. By the way they ended up with 95 miles yesterday. She said he's a very good rider and should do fine over there.
Congrats Gatsby!!
qotd(2): After some long trail races I've been in some pretty bad showers in state parks or ranches. I don't mind the dirt so much, but there is also some pretty bad mold sometimes, I've even kept my running shoes on one or two times.
Gatsby- nice work
6 miles on the trails with Tiny Elvis; got an earlier start AND it was overcast- made for much better snow conditions
Still no pancakes for me, we are having turkey leftovers. Oh, wait, this is not the cooking forum.
3.7 fast miles through the hood. Well, relatively fast. Not anywhere where I used to be, but, I am having fun and it feels good.
moonlight: I think it is the quality infrastructure with pipes deep underground in Austria, and concrete and brick buildings which are well insulated. Frozen pipes are not much of an issue there, despite cold winters, you rarely hear about it. That track with its locker rooms and bathrooms was weird. But it was the only place where I could change into/from my running clothes out there right at the trailheads, and I did not have a car then. For sure it taught you to speed up toward the end of the run!
LB2: Isn't it strange how you can get addicted to dungeons if it's for a workout?
Gatsby: Congratulations! Sounds fast to me.
wc: Lots of nice birds. I like Canada geese, but haven't seen any in a while.
traildc: I am sure you have seen your share of "dungeons" on those boats!
DD1: Sounds like you'd have a lot of strange stories to share from that time. Or, maybe I wouldn't want to know all about it.
warden: Funny, while everyone else reports the trail conditions, you report snow conditions. Actually there's still snow above 1000 ft here, too, but I guess it's going to be gone and done in a few days now.
QOTD1: Did not see anything exciting, but the birds are singing wonderfully in the morning and evening now.
Sue
20 ish today Beautiful weAther ... and spring abound.
Qotd: Felt a pain on my shine as I shiwered after run f&cking tick....shin is sore, swollen, and a big red spot. 😮 hope that is all it us.
qotd: like Sandy said campground showers can be pretty gross.
Sandy: Love those races in our heads
gatsby: i was talking about you today... one day we shoukd meet for a run. Congrsts on your placing
05/13/23 Traverse City Trail Festival 25K
08/19/23 Marquette 50 dns 🙄
It is. I think I have some sort of fascination about breaking things down into their most basic parts to understand them better, especially with work processes. I think when you get too fancy (with a gym or anything else), you can miss the point of the whole thing. I have, at times, been accused of stating the obvious. But my response is always the same: "If it was obvious to everyone, we wouldn't be discussing the problem, which stems from a lack of understanding of the basic concepts, the fundamentals." That usually shuts them up.
Trails
Saturday I watched DGD while DD and SIL moved part of their apartment to the new house. We went and had pizza and then I had to go home to take care of the farm. DH is in AR with his sisters trying to get his moms house ready to sell. Sunday normal chores and 10 miles sun came out in the afternoon so I played with the dogs for a little while.
qotd 1: I see red tailed hawks but if I go out on the road I see cows (lots) some horses, a few dogs, and goats.
qotd 2: Army barracks - not really dirty altho once there was a feminine hygiene product on the floor but they were communal and some Army women are just weird. Most recently the one at the campgrounds for the Outlaw. I wore my water shoes that I wear kayaking. Those are my go to when showering in odd places.