Wow! Guess I get to be first
Art - Hope the run this morning felt good. Enjoy the reset day. That first mile is a doozy
Dan - I guess that's why we need to make running more of a habit - so, those negative feelings only rarely win!
DW went to a talk on Otters last night and I needed to meet her there. Got in a quick 4.7 before I got there (a bit late ) and then another 4.1 at a slightly slower pace 2 hours later. Had to get up a bit early to do some quick yard cleanup, so I'm feeling a bit tired.
Ray
justrundan
5.4 somewhat hilly miles yesterday, 6.1 easy miles today. Now for some December yard work before our late fall nice weather disappears and winter reality sets in next week.
Dan
Scottsdale Hot Chocolate 15K race report
Weather was sunny and in the upper 50s when the race started and low 60s at the finish. Nice running weather. Race was held at Diamondbacks Spring training facility. Nice park. There were over 5,000 runners in the 5K and they started based on your corral, staged 3 minutes apart. After they finished the 15Kers line up according to your corral. There were over 3,300 runners in the 15K. I was in the first corral based on my estimated finish time. Course was on city streets so nothing special there. They had timers at every mile marker which was nice as you were able to see your pace.
So off we go with everyone jockeying for a good position the first half mile. After that we were fairly spaced out and there was room to move around. First mile was at a 7:40 pace. Nice I thought as I planned around a 8:00 pace. Second mile was about the same. Time at 5K mark was 23:53. Just ran a steady pace. Time at 10K mark was 48:57. Pace was slowing but was keeping up with the group around me. So we're all feeling the same. We're stretching out a little more with a few pulling ahead and a few falling back a little. Counting down the miles as I get closer and at the 9 mile mark try to speed up a little. And a little is all I got. Ended up crossing the finish line with a time of 1:14:22. Good time I thought. A little better than I thought.
Got my finisher's medal and keychain, drank some water and went to check my time and get the finisher's mug with the hot chocolate and hot cocoa. Cocoa was good and hit the spot. The hot chocolate was dark chocolate and you got a banana, pretzels, candy cane and a couple of roll cookies to dip in the chocolate. Turned out there was no timing tent. The awards ceremony was for the overall winners. The times were posted online so I couldn't check on my time until I got home. They will mail out the age group medals. I was first in age group so I get to wait and see what the medal looks like.
Overall, not a bad race. I wasn't thrilled with the course because they kept in close to the park to minimize traffic disruption. The runners jacket they gave out as part of the swag is nice. I will be wearing it on those cold days here.
Ray - Yard work. The never ending chore.
Dan - Nice couple of runs. And more yard work. My mom said the same thing. Trying to get in as much work as possible before the cold arrives and stays. She has landscapers that take care of the subdivision but is real picky about how her yard looks. So see gets out there and takes care of her plants and bushes.
Art in AZ
Mesa, AZ
Sunday, 12/3... backing up to Friday the 1st, I ran a 5 miler on the trail. Saturday was just a 2 mile hike and today I decided to try running in a pair of shoes I'd set aside as junk. What made me think they'd improve by just sitting there is anyone's guess, but a mile into the run I was already having regrets and turned back at 1.5 miles for 3 total. I'll set those shoes aside again because they're no good for running, but next time I try 'em, who knows, maybe they'll change...
Ray... thanks for starting out the month. You didn't get to listen to the talk on otters, eh? We've got 'em here, but they're river otters. Some years, you'll see their tracks in the snow where they've traveled on the river where it's frozen, then their tracks will disappear where there's a spot with open water. I've never seen how they spend their nights here when there's 2+ feet of snow on the ground and temps below zero.
Dan... you and Ray are just now getting to your yardwork? I've got this rake I pull behind the lawn mower that's probably 4 feet across and has a capacity large enough to bury a small car. Every few days I break it out and run it around the yard to stay ahead of the deluge of new leaves coming down, that and the hand raking that takes place where the mechanical rake won't go keeps me busy for weeks. I think I need to move to Florida...lol Nice mileage Sunday and Monday!
Art... that's a great time in the 15K, congrats.! And some nice Swag too! lol You must have been pleased with the weather, the temp was almost perfect. Enjoyed the race report, congrats again!
Art - Congrats on a nicely run race! Awesome result! 10 minutes better then 2nd in your Age group.
Dan - A excellent start to December for you. Are you doing the Holiday Streak this year?
Rich - Your shoe story sounds familiar. There's a restaurant in Palo Alto that has been there as long as DW and I have been living on the Peninsula, every decade or so we forget why we don't go there and other people seem to like it, so try it. Slow service, mediocre food and high prices - oh, yeah that's why we don't eat there. Oh, I got to hear a little of the talk and all the questions afterward. We have both sea otters (can see them in Monterey Bay) and river otters - there is at least one that hangs out on a stream near one of my brothers home. Pretty cool animals!
Friday squeezed in a 5.3 mile run on the TM. Just couldn't get going on Saturday, but got a late 10.4 mile run in on the TM - watching second half of Wisconsin / Ohio St game, had to stop when Wisconsin punted late in the 4th quarter down by 6. Got in 8.2 yesterday -- again on TM while watching TV. Almost caught up to the pace bunny.4 weeks tleft catch the varmint...
Monday, 12/4... wore a pair of 'Zero Drop' Altras for today's run, 7 miles on the trail. I've decided to donate the shoes I wore for yesterday's run to the local thrift store. I'll put a tag on 'em that reads..."These shoes are not made for running".
Ray... LOL about your restaurant experience... It's like my shoes, if I don't get rid of 'em, I guarantee I'll try run to in 'em again at some point. I suppose it's not a bad thing, I'll take an optimist over a pessimist any day...lol You're making good use of your treadmill, nice runs lately.
Since my latest 'comeback' from an injury, it seems like I'm not recovering after a run the way I used to. Whether it's age related or just the fact I was down as a runner for so long my fitness suffered, who knows? At any rate, I've been looking at different options to help with recovery and came upon this, https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/the-benefits-of-tart-cherry-juice-for-endurance-athletes/ Cherry juice. I've been drinking it for a few days now and couldn't find straight Cherry juice in the local grocery, instead having to settle for a mix of Cranberry and Cherry sweetened with sugar. Even with the watered down version, it actually works pretty good, muscle soreness and recovery time is noticeably improved. I'm curious if anyone else has tried this and what your results are. And if you haven't tried it, you really should.
Tuesday, 12/5... NOAA said the rain today wouldn't start 'til after noon, but a quick look at radar made me think they might be wrong. I was out the door a little after 9:30 for a 5 mile trail run and finished just before the rain started at 10:30...lol
Took Monday off just because so no running but got a little exercise in.
Did an easy 3 miles this morning under overcast clouds. Temp was in the upper 40s so I wore the pullover from the Hot Chocolate and it kept me warm. It's a nice running jacket with a high collar that I like for these cold days. Probably should have worn gloves as the hands got cold. They still feel cold right now.
Ray - That's the way to multi-task. Run while watching something on TV. I bet that helps with the boredom.
Rich - I see the weather is still messing with your runs. I've never tried cherry juice. I like fresh cherries but don't see them in the store that often. Usually in season and on sale. I might try it if I remember when I'm in the store.
Wednesday, 12/6... easy day today, 3 mile Nordic Walk on the trail.
Art... It's not the weather messing with my runs so much as it is the forecasters who seem obsessed with getting me wet...lol I think it was Mark Twain who said, "Never trust a politician or the Weather Channel". Never mind that television hadn't been invented yet...lol Anyway, after a little research, it looks like there's plenty of Cherry Juice products being peddled to athletes as recovery drinks, so they've been around a while. Locally there's nothing, so I'll be buying on-line and if I find something worth passing along, I'll let you know. Sounds like the running jacket's working great and your weather's just about perfect. When the temp drops below 50 degrees, I wear gloves. Light ones at that temp and heavier as the temp drops...
Happy December everyone!
Thought I posted at least once for this month, but nope........
ART: the post-race snack was worth the run it seems!! Love dark chocolate cocoa. WOW, swag sounds awesome, can always use another running jacket. Maybe the medal will be made out of chocolate, LOL!! Congrats on the AG place and that is a great finish time!! I just returned from 'the valley' today. Spent visiting DD and GDs and a friend who lives north of Fountain Hills. Felt like I spent half of each day DRIVING somewhere, glad to be back in Flag, traffic doesn't seem so bad after Phoenix, HA!!
Rich: I've read about the tart cherry juice early this year. Haven't tried it yet .....and you're right, hard to find. Sorry to hear that you're not recovering as quickly .......lots of factors involved ...... at least from my experience but it takes some time to work up to the level you are at prior to any injury. I'm incorporating more core exercises ......my back got a beating from running in the deep deep sand.
Ray: amazing you can run that long on the TM Yeah, watching TV helps but I can only manage about 6 miles.......and that's ALOT of self-talk. But it's helpful for intervals which I can do for about 3-4 miles. I tell myself that if I can run 22 below zero with the wind chill when I was up in northern MN, I can get out there in the AZ cold ...........I say that now but might end up driving down to Phoenix to run and visit ....in that order, LOL!!
Dan: those are good miles you got in!! Good job. Yeah, I'm waiting for winter here too .....trying to get in some trail miles before they get covered by snow.
Chantilly and Altair: Hello AND hope you are doing well.
So last Saturday, met up with a different running group, NATRA, than the trail divas which will meet up again in March. We carpooled to trailheads and then meet up for coffee/breakfast after. So some of the trail divas decided to join me when I told them I was gonna run on Saturday. We carpool to the trailhead which was east of Sedona. An 8 mile out and back. Terrible directions of the trail from the 'leader.' There were 5 guys who took off together, the 'faster' runners. I started with the other ladies but I ended up passing them. Was alone, could see the guys ahead but lost them on the winding and the up/down portions. After about 3 miles, came upon a fork in the trail, I went to the right for about a mile, couldn't see/hear the guys anymore so turned around. Met up with others who told me that they went the other way, up the rocky hill. So I went up, very technical rocky up hill and it sloped here and there, for about 4miles. Found myself alone and decided to turn around due to time. When I got back on the 'main trail,' the guys came up behind me. They told me I was on the 'right' trail the first time. Told them where I ran, they all said I ran the difficult trail. They didn't run there. Anyway, I followed them back. Had to wait for the other runners/walkers. Went back with runners who didn't want to have coffee/breakfast. Probably ran about 10 miles. It was worth it though, the 'canyon' portion was gorgeous and summits had amazing views.
Monday: short 3 mile on hilly trail near home. Then left for Phoenix to visit DD & GDs & friend.
Today (wed): ran in a regional park. Lots of dirt trails, mostly flat, finished 7 miles.
Thursday, 12/7... 5 mile trail run today, backed off to a nice easy pace. DW went shopping for groceries this morning in the next town over and I'd asked her to check what was available for Cherry Juice. Got home and said, "Yeah, they had Tart Cherry Juice concentrate, but they wanted $7.95 and I wasn't about to pay that much...lol 'sigh' What was it Jackie Gleason used to say? "One of these days Alice..." lol
az... if I remember your marathon race report, you ran in soft sand for 8 miles, left that at mile 14, so still had another 12 to finish. There isn't much to compare that to, but the effort just to run in that stuff would make you sore. And yeah, core exercises are spot on, elite runners are all really strong through the core, Jenny Simpson, Paula Radcliff, Deena Kastor and Shalane Flanagan all come mind. For me, it's just steady Eddy lately, I'll keep logging miles this Winter and see where I'm at in the Spring. That 10 miler on the trail was quite a workout, your runs have been really solid lately..
3 miles this morning again. Got out the door and knew it would be a few degrees cooler so had gloves and hat on. As I'm going out the door I see the trees blowing in the wind. That looks pretty windy I think. Took about 10 steps and went back inside to put on a pair of sweats. It felt pretty cold. Running with the wind was fine but going against it felt like a struggle. And a couple of times I was blown sideways. So I just headed home rather getting in the extra 2 miles.
Rich - The weather is still decent that you can get out. I must be really acclimated to the weather here as I do not like the cold. I think I would balk at the cherry juice at that price also. I think there are a few places that grow cherries in Arizona but need to look further.
AZ - That trail run was not only a good run but a big workout also. I really like the jacket after wearing it a couple of times in the colder weather here lately. Haven't heard anything about the age group medal yet so I'll give it a little more time.
Friday, 12/8... 4 mile trail run today. When I ran the other day in shoes I'd set aside as being junk, I didn't mention they aggravated my heel from being just about pain free, to swollen and sore again. It's slowly calming down again, but I've had to back off a bit to make it happen. The Weather Guessers are predicting 3 to 5 inches of snow for us tomorrow with another storm coming in Monday into Tuesday, so running's about to get interesting. If I do anything tomorrow, it'll be an early trail ride on the tryke, so my heel will get a needed break...
Art... running in the wind can be tough, can't it? lol Especially if it's also cold. And I get a kick out of 'experts' who tell you to run against the wind on your way out, so you can have it at your back coming home. That's fine unless it's a crosswind like you dealt with today...lol Anyway, 3 miles is good under the conditions, there's always tomorrow. And with the Cherry Juice concentrate, I figured you were supposed to pour a little and add water, but could be wrong...