FTYC: Enjoy the FA race today. Sounds like some crazy weather conditions. Should be fun.

I am working this morning so I had to get up at 2:30a.m to get my 30 miler in. Felt really good and probably ran faster that I should have (4:50).  Everyone enjoy your weekends/runs.

qotd: For ultras I say gun time. What is a few minutes, am I right. For shorter races you have to go chip time!

Morning folks! Looks like we got about an inch of snow last night (In so. Utah) should make today's planned 1.5 hour trail run entertaining And muddy. I think I'll wait until the sun comes up to head out though. I'm going to take it super easy on the run.

FYTC: have fun today, here's to hoping your buddy has a good run too.

Tmotmo: thats dedication.

lace: I'd take 25 F today too.

In other news, I've been having some knee discomfort lately, and have finally made an appointment witht the sport med doc next week.

Ive also added a turmeric supplement to my daily fish oil and glucosamine. I'm almost starting to get desperate. I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in both knees in my early 20's, but I never gave it much thought until  recently. On long runs with lots of downhill, it just seems to flare up a bit. It hasn't stopped my running, but when it gets goofy, I have to slow way down. After reading everything about distance running and NSAID's, I've been avoiding ibuprofen and trying to turn to more natural remedies, hence the turmeric. Anyone have success with anything else? I've been told by a friend (a nurse who works with the sport med doc) that he'll most l ikely recommend a cortisone shot in the knee to see if that works. That also has me a bit nervous. I'll just have to see how it goes.

QOTD: they time us at races? I'd probably run faster if someone was chasing me with a gun. If they were chasing me with a chip, I'd probably slow down, cause I like chips, especially with Herdez salsa.

morning everyone  strength training on tap today (although it looks like a glorious day-sunny w/ highs in the 30's)

qotd: only been in two races, both were gun time- haven't used a chip; in larger and/or shorter races a chip sounds like a necessity

10.2 today:

0.7 with the dog around the block

4.5 on snowy  trails with the usual Saturday group, including some uphill log carrys and burpees for *cough* "fun"

5 solo on trails with 4-6" of fresh unbroken snow, occasional 12" drifts

QOTD: Chip time when I actually care about the time.

Wow, I was feeling pretty good about my 16 miles on snowy trails until I checked in here.  Some serous mileage going on today!  We didn't get too much snow from Blizzard Nemo, but enough to make tracks.  I saw some other foot prints out in the woods today so someone had the same idea to run the single track and stay away from the snowmobile areas.  I heard a few sleds, but didn't see ant of them, so a good day.

QOTD:  In my previous life, as a anal-rententive road runner, exact race times (chip, watch ) ruled my life.  I was always the guy with the bad marathon finish photo because I was stopping my watch to check for a PR or a BQ.  Now, I don't care so much.

Got my FA "race" and the long run in.

In the race, I stayed with my running buddy, and we didn't do so bad. 58:something on 6.2 miles in the snow and ice are quite decent for my "slow" pace. We had a good run and really enjoyed it. At the start, the icy wind was bad, but in the mountains, we were shielded, so it was bearable. Two people ran in Vibram 5-Fingers with no socks, and of course, the obligatory guy in shorts and short-sleeve tech shirt was also there. Seem to be some hot-blooded runners!

After the race, I ran the remaining 15 miles home, so my long run totaled 21 miles. It was very hard, due to the snow, the cold and especially the wind. Gusts were around 20 mph where they hit - luckily in the woods and mountains it was not too often the case, but it was bad on the last 5 miles home. The cold wind hit me head-on, and I was already struggling with cold-induced asthma. When I came home, I had had enough.

Guess I'll have to get used to some longer distances again, I think I haven't done anything of significant length in the last 3 months, thus the exhaustion. Or it may be the 57-mile week behind me? Oh well, still many weeks to my 50k.

Birdwell, I take Glucosamine daily, and that helps me a lot with joint inflammation. I had severe arthritis after my first child, not so bad after the others, but I am always watchful. I also take fish oil, this seems to complement the effect of the glucosamine. There's glucosamine, glucosamine with MSM, and glucosamine with chondroitin. For me, it's all the same, but you may try what works best for you. It may take up to two months until you get the full benefit, so be patient.

I was able to get in a 20 mile training run on the Black Hills 100 course, just hours before an impending "winter storm". Mid 30's, little wind, very nice day so far. My Garmin totals show 4,735 ft. of elevation gain, and my pace was 4.0 mph, which has me a little freaked out about being registered for the 100 miler in June. My advantage (or disadvantage) is being able to train on the course. This is not the Lean Horse 100 by any stretch.