Happy
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Got my sorry ass back on the trail this morning for a 10.45 mile dirt run. Have not been running all that much between my recent 40 milers. Body has some issues. Today I used newly purchased but not yet broken in Mizuno Ascend Trail shoes. Wow, they have a bit more support than my Brooks Cascadia and the feet seemed to have liked it - I'm in love.....
Gotta get myself a couple of semi long runs in before the next trail Ultra in the beginning of June - OOPS, that's very soon, ain't it?!
Bacon Party!
Awesome runs PffssrR and Liz - congratulations on the fine achievements. Way to go with the food and drink festivities after the run Liz!! ___ Got my sorry ass back on the trail this morning for a 10.45 mile dirt run. Have not been running all that much between my recent 40 milers. Body has some issues. Today I used newly purchased but not yet broken in Mizuno Ascend Trail shoes. Wow, they have a bit more support than my Brooks Cascadia and the feet seemed to have liked it - I'm in love..... Gotta get myself a couple of semi long runs in before the next trail Ultra in the beginning of June - OOPS, that's very soon, ain't it?!
Thanks Flower! I had a great time. Now, I just need to string together a few more long runs before Mohican - time to get my butt in gear.
Hope the new shoes continue to make your feet happy - it's always exciting to find something that works.
Liz
pace sera, sera
Been incommunicado for a few days. I was in Sacramento for 5 days for a conference. Made Thursday my LR day and thought, great. I'm going to have to run on the treadmill. Was all set to do so, about to walk out of the room when I remembered, I'm in Sacramento! There's a river! And a bike path that I'm all too familiar with! Yep, I can be slow that way. Had a nice, albeit flat, 14 miles, in about 2:40. I wasn't in any hurry.
Now I'm back home and yes, Flower, I'm ramping up my training again for SOB on July 10. I'm also looking over a few 50-milers for next year. Would like to do two, but we'll see. With me going to conference every 3 months (I'm serving at the state level for the next 2 years) and races, I end up being gone almost every month. The Hub would really like to get a vacation in there somewhere, and I don't want to be running extensive miles at the same time. Problems, problems!
Later ~
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
"Run slowly, run daily, drink in moderation, and don't eat like a pig" Dr. Ernst Van Aaken. Sorry ultrasteve.
Imminent Catastrophe
Awesome runs PffssrR and Liz - congratulations on the fine achievements. Way to go with the food and drink festivities after the run Liz!!
Here's my RR from the trail race. It was a really nice trail run, Hopefully I'll be back next year.
"Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"
"To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain
"The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.
√ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015
Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016
Western States 100 June 2016
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Good pictures - I can see how the engineering of the lake is an interesting one; but it would be nicer to be able to see the lake from the rock-path, rather than being below the surface of the lake.... It was probably a short stretch?
Leslie - you did an awesome job running a 14 mile long run while away from home. If your hubby wants more week end time with you you may have to do more of your heavy duty long-runs while away on conferences etc. If it is practical. I know all about how difficult it is to give the honey enough one-on-one contact while training for long distance. My children are active too so they have to go to meets etc which is also on the week ends.
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More later
Great report, Perfesser. And beautiful pictures. Got a chuckle out of the "thump-whack" part. I've fallen once during a training run, but not during a race . . . yet. (knock on wood)
I think you hit the nail on the head when you commented that the RD should've talked about trail etiquette. The only time I wear an iPOD is during my weekly runs. I never wear one on my LR because I don't wear one during races for the very reason you just expressed - I need to be able to hear people around me.
And I have to add: this pre-menopausal stuff seriously stinks. I have the hardest time coming up with words lately, and for the life of me could not remember how to spell "etiquette." Lordy . . .
under a rock
I enjoyed your race report Perfesser!
I am always surprised at the amount of people that wear headphones at trail races. Drives me nuts. I guess I don't understand why someone needs it for these shorter races that I do a lot. If you can't get through a 5k trail race without music then what are you doing out there? For me the trails offer so much mental stimulation that I rarely get bored. I've had to resort to tapping people on the shoulder because they can't hear me yelling, "Passing on the left!" while I'm all up in their bumper. I hate having to touch people because I don't want to frighten them, but if they are holding up the trail they need to know. If you must wear them at least use only one ear bud. I definitely like to look for races that ban headphones.
I've been lurking a lot lately since I haven't really been doing anything too interesting. The only thing in the works is a half trail marathon on the 5th at a private nature preserve only 15 mins from my house. I have high hopes that my IT band will behave. If it behaves I will train for an Oct trail marathon, if not I'll stick to HM's and shorter until I get ironed out. So far it's feeling great with just over. a week to go!
I do nearly every solo run w/ my mp3 player. Absolutely love it. Different strokes for different folks, I guess... I just do what makes me happy.
In races I keep it low enough to hear people behind me and usually don't turn it on for the first 20-ish miles, to let the crowds thin out.
. . . and usually don't turn it on for the first 20-ish miles, to let the crowds thin out.
Some people would look at "first 20-ish miles" and think "20-ISH"??
I do have to say that I seriously considered using mine at certain points during AR50, but I kept forgetting to ask for it from my crew when I came into the aid station. When I do wear one, though, I keep an ear free so I can hear what's going on around me.
I do sometimes wear an iPod on long runs or marathons, if it's a small race and I'm by myself for long stretches. But like Leslie I only wear one earbud, that works well for situational awareness.
I think the earbuds also block more sound... they don't stay in my ears, so I wound up switching to some Sennheisers that are more of a "normal" around the head type of deal. They don't really go in the ears, so I can hear ambient sounds better (ie, I can easily hear and carry on conversations, hear footsteps, etc). They are pretty sweet, if anyone's in the market for an earbud replacement.
I'll keep my money and find a race that allows me to enjoy the race the way I find suitable.
I am getting off the soap box now.
I plan to use the mp3-player for the last part of an ultra. That's when I am kind of fried and many hours have passed and most of the runners have already had their beer and their bratwurst and have gone home. It can be lonely out there when all the other runners have finished the race...... So what's wrong with a little Bob Marley or a harder hitting thing like Nirvana or Pearl Jam - just cheers you up!!!
Happy trail running girls and guys. Hit them fast!!
If you are like me, you've been seriously injured by barefoot and minimalist shoes running. It has been very very difficult to recover from the injuries that I had - more than a year later I am still not able to run as hard, as fast, or as much volume as I was before w/o feeling some of the pains revisiting.
The following is an article on this subject by Matt Fitzgerald of Competitor.com. I think you should read it before you invest a lot of money and or time/effort in minimalist shoes and barefoot style running.
http://running.competitor.com/2010/05/features/the-barefoot-running-injury-epidemic_10118
Interesting article, Flower. I'm a firm believe that people tend to get all caught up in the hype of something - including me at times - and don't completely think through the consequences. My MAT therapist is 100% for barefoot running and has tried over and over to get me to switch. Although I think I could definitely benefit from doing more barefoot walking or walking in minimalist shoes to help strengthen my feet, I won't ever be a barefoot runner. It doesn't appeal to me for various reasons.
So I will keep walking barefoot in my house and around my yard, and I will eventually force myself to get some good minimalist shoe walking worked into my repertoire, but I won't ever go all the way with this.
Also from Flower:
That's when I am kind of fried and many hours have passed and most of the runners have already had their beer and their bratwurst and have gone home. It can be lonely out there when all the other runners have finished the race......
I hear ya! I will always be a back to mid-back runner, but at least I'm out there.