I did some hiking today on the TM at the gym with a backpack and a 10 lbs. weight. I did 2.5 miles this morning with % grades ranging from 10 to 15. I finished last week with 6255 vertical feet of climbing. I don't know if that is good, but it is more than most people around here get in a month. I think my goal is to be at 10K feet of vertical per week by the end of August, and 15K of vertical per week by the end of September. I will add weight as the weeks go by. Again, I don't know if that is good or bad when training for a race with 16K of vertical for 100 miles, but it is way more than I had last time I tried this event. My legs felt "okay" when I had to drop, but they didn't feel great. On that one, I had done absolutely no hill work whatsoever.

QOTD: If you are racing, regardless of distance, how much time do you spend analyzing the trail and other race reports?

I just sort of get the high points of reports and look at the course profile a couple of times. But I find those course profiles, and many race reports, to be somewhat deceiving. Most of the nightmare parts of courses that everyone talks about seem to be anti-climatic once you get there. The things that seem to create problems for me are almost never this climb or that descent that you read about or hear about.

Morning Folks!  Strength training this evening and riding the bike to work.  Legs are still a wee bit sore, so another day will surely help.

qotd: not enough, I think I've underestimated almost every race I've entered

7 this a.m. on road/rail trail.  Had a good long run on the trails yesterday, and happy that my legs don't feel beat up at all today.

QOTD:  I read all the race reports I can find, but mostly to get a general sense of the tough parts of the trails, big climbs, how much hiking people do and where, etc.  I agree that many race reports exaggerate the trail difficulty, but the drama is also what makes them interesting to read.

Licking my wounds after a DNF at mile 30 on at the TRT 50 mile Saturday .  I have come to realize at this point in my life working with some really worn out equipment , big climbs are probably not a good idea . I would dearly love to complete that course but it might not be in the cards for me . Trying to find races in the West that don't have big climbs isn't easy .

QOTD:  I do look at elevation profiles now .  On the TRT course most talk about the Red House loop as being bad , it's really not , it has two steep sections going down then back up but a good bit is nice fire road . The climb up Diamond Peak is everything it's advertised to be . Technical is hard to judge , I would try to avoid what I consider technical but I recently read somewhere that a section of the TRT I run is considered technical . It's pretty much a really well used maintained trail that in my mind is a safe trail . Pictures I see of rock and root strewn Eastern trails is what I consider technical.

Second early morning in a row taking family to the airport .... going to try an evening ride today .... if I get started by 5 or so I am hoping to avoid traffic on the way up (smaller roads) and on the way back (hopefully post commuting hour). I will bring lights to be seen but hopefully the loop takes under three hours and so I will be back before sunset (though it gets dark early in the redwoods).

QOTD: I do try to look at the route ahead of time .... reports less so unless that is all you have to go on. In a long run or ride, there will always be surprises unless you have done the entire route.

LB2 -- 15K a week of vertical sounds like a lot to me (in a good way). If you tolerate it well, great. If it feels like too much, 7.5-10L of quality should be enough, I would think? Apologies, which race is this again?

Heading out for a loop or two...7 or 14. I am hoping for 14. That is what I hate a out loops. Too easy to get to the car.

Qotd: I have not traced much. I look at race reports but I am not at a skill, experience or difficulty level to plan much.

Muggy it is, or at least it feels that way.

15 miles with lots of hills, on technical and swampy trails. The flies and gnats were almost unbearable on some stretches, especially later into the day.

I was not having a good day, it seems that moderate temperatures (low 70's) and higher humidity (65+%) are not my friends. If it's hotter, or/and more humid, I'm fine, but this regimen just throws me off, making me feel dizzy, nauseous and weak.

After the first incline (1100 ft on less than a mile), I was passed by another female trail runner. Whereas usually, I pick up the pace again after the steep incline, all I could do today was trot along, stumbling over the rocks, sometimes not knowing if it was uphill or downhill at all.

So she passed me at the speed of lightning, leaving me in the dust, thus adding insult to injury.

I decided to just crank out my miles, regardless of speed, and go with the flow, and I got through the run.

Jumped over a snake again, probably a garter snake this time. I stopped to take a picture, but the snake is not easy to distinguish between the rocks and grass. I'll post it later.

After my run, I made tsatsiki with garlic and cucumber from the garden - no chance for any vampires to stop by our house for the next couple days now!

QOTD: I study maps and elevation profiles, and try to get an impression of what the trails look like by checking photos and race reports. As of yet, I have only run races in PA and MD, so I can usually guess well what to expect, and adjust my training.

I think I tend to over-analyze rather than not put in enough time and effort to run the race successfully.

7 miles as the evening settled in, nice cool breeze blowing (delta breeze for the NorCal folks) in the hills.  Perfect weather For an vending run.

QotD:  I usually look at the course profile, and cutoff times.  I pay the entry fee to enjoy the support and frienship on the course, and just look to finish.