Runs in the rain
Here is how I've done since the race. The day after, Monday the 3rd I rested. Tuesday the 4th it was muggy and drizzly, just did not feel it so no run. Wednesday the 5th got to be 91 degrees! I mowed the front part of my lawn and went for a short 4 miles late in the evening when it had cooled to the mid 80s. Another hot day Thursday with like 94 degrees high. I finished cutting the lawn with frequent breaks to dip in the pool, but no run. Finally some cooler weather Friday, did 14 miles in a mostly sunny 68 degrees. Wish it was this cool during the race! Now I usually take the weekends off, but I am behind my minimum of 30 miles for the recovery week. So about 6 Saturday and 7 Sunday in a cool 55 degrees. Weekly total 31 miles. Now this week was another hard training week with a goal of 55 miles. Tuesday 13 miles 65 degrees. Wednesday 10 miles 69 degrees, humid. My shirt became sweat soaked and I took it off and put in my pocket. I guess on a humid day you can get very sweaty while I have run in dry 85 degree weather with no such issue. Heat was up again to 81 degrees this Thursday. My 17 mile run was planned with a break at a convenience store after 8 miles, one of my few long runs that pass by a store. I was shirtless, but put on a sleeveless sports shirt I had carried in my pocket before entering the store. I was very hot and drank a large bottle of sports drink and one of iced tea. However, after I left I started feeling thirsty as soon as I began running, I should have drank more and carried my water bottle on the run. After a big hill I had to sit down on the grass for a while and cool off a bit. I ended up taking a few more rest breaks, estimated 20 minutes total, not counting the stop at the store! The air was still, but there was an ocasional faint breeze the last miles of the run. When I got home I went in the pool, pool water was a chilly 66 degrees, but I stayed in there until my body tempature cooled off a bit. Then I drank 2 large glasses of a smoothie I made, an iced tea and a pepsi! Very dehydrated. My total time was just a bit under 4 hours, that counts the time I sat down but not the time in the store. This is the third time I have run this particular course and was surprised to see that time beat my previous best by a minute and my worst by 30 minutes! Finally, yesterday it was again 81 degrees. I went up to Rochester to run the flat canal path. I took my water bottle water and planned to stop at another store to get additional fluids. I planned to do my longest run of 18 miles, longer than the Hansons plan of 16 mile long run, but less than 20, sort of a compromise. Rest stops were planned since this was a hot day and my second long run in a row. So I found benches to sit at like very 3 miles and rested for like 3 to 10 minutes, total rest time estimated at 47 minutes during the run. I noticed that I would feel more of the heat whenever I stopped running and would start to sweat a lot, big drops were poring off my arms! You may say the running breeze was not cooling me when I stopped, but my theory is that the blood goes to the legs when running and when you stop goes to the skin to cool you off. At mile 12 a group of young men, maybe high school track members, passed in the other direction. They had music and were singing to a song from the 40's, "Mr. Sandman"! At mile 15 I stopped in a place with artisan gelato and got a vanilla milkshake. The proprietor mixed it with an eggbeater! He was a former runner who said he had stopped due to shin splint issues and a broken leg! He did not explain how he broke the leg. He also said he played rugby, he did not have an English accent and did not explain why he was playing that game. I told him I was trying to finish my long run and needed hydration and the sugar. He gave me a cold bottle of spring water on the house! The milkshake was good and gave me enough energy to finish my 18 miles and the cold water was good since I had already finished my water bottle. My weekly total is now 58.63 miles! Not quite matching my peak of 70 miles, but good miles for marathon training! Next two week more taper for the race, although I want to do another long run next week of about 16 miles. Hopefully the weather will be more fall like! Long range prediction for race day is low of 50 to high of 70 degrees.
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?Get up, get out, get out of the door!
Saturday, 9/15... easy 4 mile run on the trail this morning, legs were a little sore from yesterday's faster splits.
Sunday, 9/16... 10 mile road run today, solid run that started with early 9:30 splits to a 9th mile in 8:54 before easing up the last mile. I've been looking for another half marathon to run, but haven't found one that looks good yet. One is named the "Front Porches Half Marathon", a loop course that starts in one town, runs through the streets of a second town, before returning to the first town for the finish. The name implies running sides streets for 13.1 miles and the course description seems to bear that out. The second is a half that's run in conjunction with a full marathon I've run a number of times, the second half is also the half marathon course that runs through a bunch of side streets, including a cemetery. No thanks...
altair5... training's going good, eh? Hopefully the weather cooperates during the next 2 weeks of training as well as on race day. Are you getting the jitters yet? This is about the time it'd set in on me, but it's part of the fun of taking on a marathon. Just think how few people can actually do what you're doing and be proud, you're doing great!
Rich - Good that you are back using the Tryke, good 9 and 6 mile rides. I've never seen a porcupine in my area but I guess they are somewhere not too far off. I've tried to increase my protein after your suggestion, hard to know how much I get, although the smoothies I drink after the runs get a scoop of 14 grams. I did eat some wild salmon last night but don't eat any meat. Your speed work is paying off, nice miles at a better than 8:30 pace! My garden is slowing down, but I picked a lot of vegetables today. Will make a vegetable stir fry with some wild shrimp for protein tonight. Good luck in finding a good half to run, the Front Porches sounds interesting, might see some beautiful homes. Surely you are not creeped by a cemetery? I lived next to one for a while, quiet neighbors! Just was looking at a nearby 5k for Halloween and it runs through 3 cemeteries! Yes, I am getting worried about my upcoming marathon, I'll post later on my concerns.
az - Some great runs with the "trail divas"! Going up and down hills are tough on the knees, but a good workout! Congratulations on the double digit run! Watch out for those storms, but at least they bring cooler temps. The Arizona trail seems like a scenic and shady run, good to meet your friend on it. I'll check out the surf the murph race link when I have the time.
Art - The remodeling sounds like it was a dusty job, good the face masks provided some protection. Great that you regularly do those 3.6 miles runs despite the heat. Still hot here but expect 40s next week after the remnants of the hurricane pass through. Hope it is on the chilly side on my race day!
Altair5... what's easiest for me to remember is a large chicken egg contains 50 grs of protein. Since we seem to be about the same size, we need about 77 grs of protein each day to support an easy workout. That number increases to about 115 grs after a hard workout. Like Az., I'm not interested in counting every gr. of protein after every workout, I just want to be aware of an easy source like an egg and roughly what I need to be taking in to aid with recovery.
As far as the jitters, I think it's normal to second guess whether we've done enough to get ready and every little niggle feels like a potential race ending injury...lol You're on pins and needles and the last thing you want is to be around someone who's got a cold or the flu...lol Sound familiar? lol
If you've got a lot of tomatoes out of your garden, I've got a great recipe for tomato soup. It's supposed to freeze really well, but mine won't make it to the freezer, we've consumed most of it already...lol
Rich - I am not really nervous, I just tend to analyse as to what I have done right or wrong this time. I have not thought about getting a cold, although I read somewhere that competitive cyclists will stay away from people in the weeks before a race. Guess I will eat more garlic or something to fight off any bacteria. I usually cut up my tomatoes and simmer them with herbs, peppers and onions from my garden to make sauce, which I freeze for later use. I have made tomato soup, also using onions and herbs, don't boil it down as much, I use a hand blender to liquefy it. I do like BLTs made with the fresh garden tomatoes, I use soy bacon. My big success this year will be the ghost peppers. I only got like 3 small ones last year and this year with the hot weather I am getting a large crop. I just hope they fully ripen and turn red before the season ends. Very hot, but flavorful if used sparingly in cooking.
hello everyone! Didn't realize its been about a week since my last post .......
Anyway, we've had less rain in the past few days, temps in the 80s but when there is a breeze, it's quite nice, and even nicer when clouds roll in.
So last week, I spent a few days with DH at the work house further up north.
WED: ran 8 miles in the early morning, cool and quiet. Trail is close to the house, and flat which my legs were happy for
THURS: 4 miles recovery run, slow and easy, did a 'loop' near the housing again, another cool early morning run. On last mile, saw another female runner on the trail. She only ran a couple of miles, meeting me at the perimeter of the fencing around the hospital. She is an E.R. physician and was getting a short run in before her shift begins. Originally from FL but has been working in the SW for years, loves it! What's not to love? LOL!! She doesn't run races but after her asking me questions about my trail races, she's ready to try some 5K/10K trail events. It's always great to know another runner! I left after DH and I had lunch.
After getting back to our northern AZ home, I met up with the trail divas later in the evening for my second 'recovery run'..........another 4 miles, slow and easy with couple of gradual hills.
FRI: rest day. Later in the evening, met up with some trail divas at a local running store for a post-race talk from the winner of Leadville 100, Rob Krar, our local celebrity ultra runner. Check out his website and click on race results, he's incredible!! https://robkrar.com/
There was a raffle and I was "this close....." to winning a new hydration vest!! But one of the trail divas won a boatload of energy bars from Picky Bars. She gave me one to try (and did on Sat). Also check out this youtube about Gilda Swanson from 2015, just a nail biter!! I love watching this! She talks about it in another video where she was shocked to find Rob Krar (who finished/won the race day before) as a pacer before she enters the track towards the finish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqKinAETu8E
SAT: Got up early to get in a 18 miler ........did it!! Ran it on one of the 'flatter' dirt trails that I can drive to. It has some decent gradual small hills. But knowing I had to get 18, I took it slow but steady for the first loop, taking 1 min walk breaks every 2 miles. Stopped by car to replenish water and try a new energy bar: https://pickybars.com/ I think it helped but I was glad I had a frozen water bottle that was melting and the COLD water was a relief as the morning got warmer. Second loop was even slower, took 1 min walk breaks every mile this time.
Afterwards, I drove to the Nordic Center where the trail marathon was taking place. One of the trail divas who I tend to run with most often was running it for the first time. I ran it years ago. So I went to the Aid Station that runners had to pass a few times (there was also a trail HM). One of the trail divas was volunteering at this A.S. with 3 other people, so we cheered on the runners. Finally Tina shows up. She and another runner took a wrong turn for about 1/2 mile she says but found their way back. She was in good shape, and telling me that she was glad I didn't tell her about the LONG uphill ...........I did mention a 'hill' .........LOL!! Which you had to do TWICE!! She did great!
SUN: 4 miles recovery run on trail near my home.
Today: rest.
Tomorrow, I'm thinking of hiking Mt. Eldon and running 4-6 miles on top or maybe take the trail about 3/4 way down, and run on that.
Oh, I gotta go ..........sorry, I will respond to personals later. Take care everyone!
Saturday morning did 3 miles or was it 3.6? Any way, I got a run in before heading to do more work on the remodel. This was all drywall taping and getting the first coat on everything.
Sunday morning did a 15 mile bike ride. It felt hot out and just felt tired so I did the short bike ride. Then went to grandson's birthday lunch and then to daughter's again. Finished the second coat on everything. Finally. They have 3 days to lightly sand everything and mask the walls and floors before I go and spray the texture. Since the texture goes everywhere it will benefit them to protect as much as possible. It's easier picking up the plastic and paper then it is trying to clean all the splatter off what you don't cover. With any luck the spraying will happen on Thursday.
Monday morning did 3 easy miles just to get the body moving.
Altair - Running in the cooler weather sure beats running in the hot weather. Your mileage is expected to be a little low after a race so your body can adjust and get ready for the next one. It's hard to carry enough water sometimes when running longer distances in the heat. Having places to stop and refuel is always good.
Rich - Got some good pacing going on there deciding on the next race. Something's sure to catch your eye. Though that 'Front Porches' race sounds interesting just based on the name. Reminds me of a race through a small town where some of the people had set up additional aid stations, they had hoses for those who wanted more to drink.
AZ - Enjoying the cooler temps up there are you? Well, we're still flirting near the record temps it's supposed to cool down to the 90s starting Wednesday for a few days. Nice job on getting in the 18 miler. Having a choice of trails sure helps from getting bored with the same thing.
Art in AZ
Mesa, AZ
Monday, 9/17... broke out the mtn bike today and rode 8 miles on the trail. A bike ride always seems to revitalize legs that have gotten a little sore from running, works better than a recovery run. And it looks like the remnants of Hurricane Florence will arrive in NH sometime tonight, and depending where you live in the state, you could get no rain at all or as much as 3 to 4 inches. It looks like where I live we'll get some rain, but south of us is where it'll be the worst.
Altair5... the difference between fresh tomatoes vs. the store bought version is amazing, isn't it? From the sounds, you're already making good use of yours. I'm thinking about you wreaking of garlic on race day to ward of any bad bacteria...lol My kid eats a lot of garlic and you can always tell without asking if he's eaten any lately...lol Good luck with the ghost peppers, I put a little heat in chili, other than that, I"m not a big fan of 'hot' food.
Az... I took a quick look at Rob Krar's web site, what an athlete, eh? Wow! Lot's of solid training for you last week, nice!
Art... between the bike and running, you're doing good staying active in the heat, good for you. Almost done with the remodeling too, once you spray the texture, that's it, right? The Front Porches HM would be run in small towns. I haven't given up on it yet, but it's within a week of a 5K I intend to run, it's the race to see how much I've closed the gap on the competition from a year ago. I think I'll be close, but will still come up a little short on the guys who finished ahead of me. At this point, it's all about endurance, the speed's there, but can I hold it for 3 miles...lol
So I did the hike up mt Eldon this morning. About halfway up there, stopped and talked with a hiker who started from the 'other side' of the mountain and hiking around base of mountain to meet up with his brother. WOW!! He was up pretty early! On my way back down, there's a junction to stay on the trail or take another one that meets it after about 2 miles. I took that, ran the 2 miles back to the trailhead. It was pretty warm even tho' it was not even 10 am. So DH and I will be in Chicago for a few days next week. https://runmfg.com/events/chicago10mile Thinking about running it ........it's a road race, ouch!! But I can say I ran in Chicago,
Art: you're quite a handyman!! Are you for hire? LOL!! DH is good about lots of stuff like that but he doesn't spend too much time at home to enjoy his cars so he says he would rather hire someone to work on any house stuff. I'm still waiting for the master bath to be redone I'm sure those bike miles aren't getting any cooler but a few degrees there can sure make a difference!
Rich: another biker, good job on getting some new muscles workout. You're getting speedy too. You and yours take care with that weather! Sure looks scary on TV. I have 2 nieces who live in NC, one of the husbands is in the navy there. They are doing ok so far.
Altair: I sweat ALOT so I need fluids on my runs even in the winter. Nice to have some stops along the way to replenish.
Wednesday, 9/19... took yesterday off due to the remnants of Hurricane Florence that kept us in rain for a good part of the day. By the time it got here, the rains were nothing more than your typical soaking rain, no wind or flooding. Today's run consisted of 8 miles on the trail. Funny how your legs are ready to roll one day and the next it's tough to get going. It was a decent workout, just not what I expected after taking the previous day off.
az... it must be quite a workout to hike up Mt. Eldon, walk part way down, then run another 2 miles back to the trail head. I walked behind my mower today for an hour cutting grass after my run, but it's probably not quite the same thing, eh? LOL Seems like Chicago is the marathon that got shut down a few years ago halfway through the race due to excessive heat. 10K's a much better distance, good luck if you decide to run it...
NH: glad it was only a soak from the rain in your area. Lots of cleanup for so many areas hard hit. My knee was complaining yesterday ......thinking its part from the hike day before and the cool rainy day we had all day. Anyway, nothing a day of rest can't cure. oh, the Chicago race is a 10 miler, not 10k. I don't run 10k road races, that's a sprint and I'm no sprinter
So spent yesterday going through/getting rid of files (past bills, etc) from my file cabinet ......now that I found a local company that can micro-shred and recycle them. Very reasonable too. Already took some stuff I don't need/use anymore to Goodwill/Savers. DH dreads the days when I start de-cluttering ........he hangs on to stuff too long. I keep telling him that there are other people who need it more than we do. But he calls them "one of these days, I'll need it" stuff .....LOL!!
Ran 4 this morning, on trail near home. Will meet up with trail divas this evening and run 3-4 again. I think this might be the last one for the year, we pick it up again in the spring. But we meet up with NATRA running group on Saturdays, running trails in Sedona area one Sat., then the following Sat, we run here. It's a mixed group and we have coffee/breakfast afterwards if you want.
I'm planning on running 20-22 miles tomorrow. I may volunteer for the Stagecoach 100 ultra race Sat and Sun.
Have a great weekend you all.
Thursday, 9/20... 3 mile trail recovery run this morning, yesterday's 8 miler made me a little sore.
Friday, 9/21... 7 mile run today, first mile warm-up on the trail, then the 6 on the roads that include the local covered bridge and hill. I was trying to duplicate the run I did last week where I hit 8:29 and 8:28 splits in miles 5 and 6, but didn't even come close. Looking at my log, I'd played 9 holes of the day before that run and rode the tryke 2 days before with no running either day. Good to know, my next 5K is just 2 weeks away and I want to be properly rested.
az... I've got in-laws in both the Carolinas, the ones in North Carolina boarded their place up and rode it out right there. Some trees were down, but no flooding in their immediate area. Not a sprinter, eh? LOL I guess you get to brag if you can handle a 20 - 22 mile training run...LOL Good luck!
Finally getting some cooler days. Started my taper this week. About 7 miles Monday, overcast and 77 degrees. A nice cool 66 degrees and partly cloudy Wednesday. I did about 8 miles. Thursday was a day off, but I did not feel it as far as my running plans went. Some stressful situations at work and I spent the day weeding the gardens just to relax. Friday it started getting hot again. My backdoor thermometer said 84 degrees, I think I am in a cooler micro-climate with the woods around my house. My run took me past the High School and the clock there showed 87 degrees. The official high in Rochester, just north of here, was 92 degrees. Did 10 miles and this included the 200 foot hill that I ran up in my race. Glad to cool off in the pool which was 66 degrees after the run. A cold front moved in later in the evening dropping temperatures by 30 degrees with a line of thunderstorms and high winds which passed quickly through. Saturday, after work I went to a Sports store with my girlfriend. I got a new water bottle and some GU gels for my race. After that we had dinner by the canal in a Greek restaurant. Today it was in the 50s this morning, I did another 10 miles after work. My thermometer said it was 61 degrees after my run. Still felt hot, even though I had taken off my shirt during the run. Did the "Nestea plunge" (for those who remember the ice tea commercial : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIAfo6GKCaA ) into the pool, the water was now close to 50 degrees. Very cool, but felt good for a short while. For those keeping track that brings my week total to about 35 miles, not as much as planned, wanted another 10, but good for the taper. The cooler weather days felt good after all these hot, humid days. Wish it was like this during my race earlier this month!
Been about a week since I was last here. Wonder where the time went. Thursday worked in the morning then went to daughter's house and textured the walls. They did most of the prep work but didn't do one area so they had more cleanup there then they would have if things were covered. They were going to sand the walls and start painting Friday afternoon and Saturday. They got new overhead lights for the kitchen so I went over there Saturday afternoon to do that electrical work. I wanted to see how the drywall work turned out after it was painted. Nope. She decided to start painting the upstairs cabinets instead. Told her to finish one job before starting another one. I think it went in one ear and out the other.
3.6 run Thursday morning.
Friday turned into rest day.
4 miles Saturday morning. Weather starting to cool off in the morning a little. Upper 70s for the run.
Sunday morning did the Tempe bike ride route so got in 29 miles. I need to work on the road bike and see how it goes. Got passed 3 times by guys on road bikes. They must be training for something as they were moving pretty fast. Tried to keep up with the second guy but couldn't sustain the speed he was going.
Rich - Nice runs there. If the 5K was before the half that would be better as it could be a short race pace run. If after, I can see the dilemma.
AZ - You're really getting your miles in on the trails. Have the trees started to turn up there? I know it's getting close as we were discussing going up to Sedona in a couple of weeks.
Altair - Taper is going good I think. At least the weather is better. Hope it stays that way for you.
Monday, 9/24... walked 3 miles on Saturday, the 22nd and took Sunday the 23rd off. We ended up going to an apple orchard in Vermont for that yearly ritual, lots of fun. And people! lol When I got up this morning the temp was setting right at 32 degrees and a little ice had formed outside, yesterday the state had "scattered frost", but the temp was 33 degrees, so locally we missed it. I headed out to run at 9:30 this morning after the temp had climbed to 40 degrees, in running pants and a long sleeved shirt. 6 miles total, basically just logging miles at an easy pace.
Altair5... is your marathon this weekend? That's what's in my head, but I don't know if that's right. That Nestea plunge into 50 degree water must have gotten your attention...lol Everything's looking good with your training, now you just need for the weather to cooperate!
Art... a couple of nice runs and a good long bike ride! Yep, you need to get your road bike in shape to ride, there's a BIG difference in what they're designed for, that mountain bike's no match for a road bike on the highway. Take both bikes for a trail ride and as you know, it's the mtn bike's turn to shine. I don't ride my road bike much, nothing to do with the bike, I just don't like being out on the highway with distracted drivers...lol The half marathon I thought about running is this weekend and the 5K is next weekend. If I was in better shape, it wouldn't be a big deal to run both, but that'll have to wait for now. I am thinking about running two 5K's the first weekend in October though, one Saturday and one Sunday. Sunday's 5K is the brainchild of the local rec. center director, a point to point run that drops 400 feet from start to finish. I think I'll be ok, Saturday's race is reasonably flat, so I should come out of it in good shape.