It's official. I am kicked out of the trail club. Instead of driving to the trail last night and running up and down hills and on dirt and rocks I went to the local community park and jogged 4 loops on the 1 mile path of asphalt with the walkers, strollers, dog walkers, and in the midst of the frisbee golfers. I did not hate it either. I will try to get to the trails today.
QOTD: Describe a bit about your first year or two of running.
I was an adult onset runner in my mid 30's, still a smoker. I decided one day to get off the bike and stair stepper at the gym and try the treadmill. I think I set the timer to 24 minutes and went for it. I don't remember the distance. So I ran on the treadmill a few times a week for maybe a year before deciding to try the roads and explore. Then it became fun. I explored maps, found all the backroads, etc. The goal of each run was to run faster than the run before. I never went very far, 4-6 miles at most. I did not even consider racing as I felt too slow (I wasn't) until about 7 or 8 years of hobby jogging. Somewhere in that time frame I quit the cigs too.
In dog beers, I've only had one.
I ran 3.5 miles this morning. It felt pretty good out there compared to the last 2 weeks. After that, I lifted weights, just pushups and curls.
QOTD: I started running in my late 30's. The goal was to get to a point where I could run 3 miles comfortably. Our preacher and I ran together 2 or 3 times per week until he finished his Ph.D. and "felt the call" to go to a bigger church for twice the salary. Funny how that works... Anyway, he was a nice guy, and I liked him. I just kept on running, and the next thing I knew I ran a 10 mile run. Then, I ran a half marathon. Then, I ran a 50K. Then, I ran a 100K. Then, I ran a 100M. What I miss about those first couple of years is just the complete bliss I was in, knowing nothing about what I was doing but running.
LB2
Did 5 mi before heading to the airport this morning. It was 75° so felt cooler that the last few months. Now sitting on plane to NY.
qotd: I’ve had 3 phases of my running career: high school XC, sporadic to nothing for 20 years or so, then the marathon/ultra years. The first few years of the marathon/ultra phase I had decided I wanted to do a marathon so I just started training for it and about 4 or 5 months later I ran the NYC marathon as the first of many…..
tbd.
Are we there, yet?
May be only a leisurely walk today. Tried a fast finish run yesterday and it wiped me out.
QOTD: Got back to running 4 years after high school with a goal to beat my HS PBs and maybe even run a sub-5:00 mile. HS PB was 5:22. Ran 4:56.4 two months after I started training, which blew me away. Coach suggested some longer road races for endurance. Ran 43:28 for 6.8 miles, equivalent to a 39:30 10K after training less than 4 months. First indoor track season saw me setting PBs of 2:08.0 for 880 yds, 4:46.4 for the mile, and 10:41.7 for 2-miles. As my one year runniversary approached I moved back to the roads and ran 48:40 for 8-miles and 1:13:03 for 12-miles setting some intermediate PBs as splits along the way. As my 2-year runniversary approached, peer pressure prompted me to enter the Boston Marathon, something I thought I would never do as my focus was the mile, and ran 2:59:50 gun time. At the end of two years of running I also had PBs of 16:19 for 3-miles (16:55 5K equivalent) and an estimated 10K equivalent of 35:59 from a 38:22 in a 6.6 mile race. Besides the track and road races, I had access to the Nipmuck Trail behind the UConn campus as well as the UConn xc course, so I was no stranger to trail running.
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.
I'm still babying the extensor tendonitis, pretty sore and swollen where the top of the left foot joins the ankle. I'm going to consult an orthopedic surgeon (aka Dad) when I go up to check on him today.
QOTD:
Year one: I'm in my mid-30s, DH was around 40. BIL says we should all go run the Maui Marathon. I ran a little bit around the neighborhood, did one LR consisting of a HM, did the Maui Marathon, and it sucked. We stopped running for six months.
Year two: DH and I decided to take a trip to Scotland and do another marathon. I ran a little bit more than last time, did a LR of 20 miles, did the Edinburgh Marathon, it sucked a little less than the first one. We stopped running for a few months, but started thinking about where we wanted to go next.
Etc.
5/11/24 Grizzly Peak Marathon, Berkeley, CA
7/20/24 Tahoe Rim Trail 56 miler, NV
9/21/24 Mountain Lakes 100, OR
Got in a solid 50 min core/ST workout yesterday after work. For the first time in a weeks I tried some piston squats and was very surprised at how much stronger my left leg is now that I've been doing the weighted sled pulls. This morning was supposed to be 45-1hr bike ride, but I slept in. I have another training session tonight, so I'll get in a good workout anyway.
QOTD: I wasn't an athlete in my younger years. I played volleyball in high school, but sucked at it. I met the woman who is now my best friend playing Bunko and she started talking about trail running. At the time I was doing "The Firm" in my living room and needed a change. When I started running, it was definitely a run/walk thing, but I clearly remember the first time I ran 3 miles without stopping. It wasn't pretty, but I did it. My friend then invited me to go on a trail with her. It was "only" 5 miles, but I thought I was gonna die - but I went back! Together, we progressed from there. Did my first 8 mile road race in San Francisco while she did her first half marathon. After that, we stuck to trails and started running ultras together. My first 50 miler was American River and I came in DFL with 7 min to spare.
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
Last night's run with the brewery group felt pretty good, despite some humidity. Beer afterwards was even better. Today is hot and humid, but tomorrow's forecast is much better, so I'll run tomorrow. Also evidently a hobby jogger.
qotd: Oh, I went running with my best friend maybe two miles around our neighborhood. Middle school age. I kept running, she did not. I did not run XC in high school because that was also swim season. I did run track. My hobby jogging has had it's breaks over the years, but I've always maintained a pair of running shoes.
running under the BigSky
5 miles (800') with Tiny Elvis- this AFTERNOON ; yesterday's high 94, todays high 70!
qotd: Didn't start running until my mid 50's (excluding running when I was kid/high school); it was a voluntary fitness deal we were doing as a group of game wardens. I don't think I could even run a mile, pretty soon a mile was down, then two, then three and all of a sudden I didn't dread it and actually started liking it. Within a year started doing some trail races, slowly increasing the distance.
Now I'm back to hiking
2023 goal 2023 miles √
2022 goal- 2022 miles √
2021 goal- 2021 miles √