Saturday, 5/16... 7 mile road run today.    Leg's still sore, but no worse than yesterday... 9:31, 9:05, 8:53, 8:48, 8:54, 8:54, 8:56.    With my half just 3 weeks away, I really need to run something longer tomorrow...

Ray... when is your marathon?   Talk about rock solid, you're running really well right now!

Chantilly... the strain on my left leg is from getting it to do what I want (form change) and why it's a little sore.   All part of me getting lighter on my feet and hopefully nothing serious.    You're running well, but pulling weeds doesn't seem like a fun way to cross train...

adkkev... thanks.   Good news on the frost, eh?   Two morning's ago, it looked like moisture on my windshield, but when I hit the wipers it was frozen solid.   Temp. read 32 degrees.   Another nice run on the trail, good stuff...

Art... the trike's everything I'd hoped for.   Fun to ride and a decent upper body workout to boot.  People's reaction when they see it is priceless...lol    You seem to be getting enough rain lately, is Az. in a drought?    3 miles maintains your fitness level, good for you...

So, this morning I added a removal pocket to my hunting shirt.    If I'm wearing a jacket, the jacket pockets are enough to carry what I need, but if it's hot and I don't need the jacket, where do I put my extra stuff?    An additional removable pocket that Velcros to my shirt...

Slow week for running.  I did get in 7 miles on the trails at Devil's Lake yesterday morning.  I was going to brag about the 1200 ft elevation gain/loss, then I looked at the trail elevation for AZ's trail race!        Crosstraining with yard work today, finally had to get at some yard stuff I've been neglecting.

AZ- looking forward to hearing about your trail race, it looked very challenging on the map.

NHRich- hope the long run went well today.  You are turning in good paces with that sore leg!

Art- cloudy skies and cool temps- Nice running weather for you.

We have about 2 acres of prairie behind our home and last weekend I came upon an area with turkey feathers strewn over a small area and the nest the hen had been sitting on had been raided, all 9 eggs empty with barely a hole in them.  Some predator(s) had a great meal.

Hi everyone!  We just returned this evening from North Shore of Lake Superior.  It rained most of the drive back.

RACE REPORT:  Superior 25k Trail Race.  We left on Friday when DH got home from work.  I noticed my calves were achy & tight all day but thought the 4.5 hr drive would get them some rest.  Stayed hydrated all day.  Drove to Duluth and then north to Tofte, MN along the shores of Lake Superior.  We stayed in Tofte which is about 10 miles from Lutsen, MN where the race begins/ends.  Woke up at 6:30 am, calves still achy, tight and sore.  Not good.  DH massaged them.  25k didn't start till 9 am; 50k started at 7 am. It was nice to sleep in compared to other races where you have to be up at crazy 4 or 5 AM!  A light breakfast before heading out to the race site to check in and pick up my bib. Lots of runners and supporters at the race hotel.  Could. not. ask. for a more beautiful perfect day for a trail race! WOW!! It has been raining daily the last two weeks EVERYWHERE in northern MN. But race day was sunny and around 50 degrees!!  I overdressed. Oh well. Calves still achy, DH massaged them again while we waited for the start........just have to suck it up.  8:50 am, briefing by RD. I started in middle.  Strategy was to start slow but keep moving on first hill and re-access for the steeper second hill.  Hope to be at turnaround in 1.5 hrs. Wore my Nathan hydration waist belt with two bottles, one with water and the other with Hammer Heed, one GU gel. The first mile from the start to the trail turnoff was paved and then gravel. It was single-track once we hit the dirt trail .......and already a traffic jam!! MUD, and more MUD and humungous puddles.......embedded slippery rocks not visible, the first of many along the trail, resulting in ridiculous traffic backups!!  Strategy was not going to work.  Granted we had to walk through the muddy deeper portions, keeping upright by holding onto branches or each other.  I kept hoping I wouldn't lose my shoes.  A runner would slip and fall here and there even on the wooden planks which were very slippery from the mud, and the weight from the pounding of feet made them 'bouncy' (warped from the water).  It was frustrating to be stuck behind many runners who kept walking even on runnable portions of the trails that weren't too steep. The waiting to pass got me more tired. So had to re-access mental state to conserve energy:  "be patient, pass one runner at a time when clear of mud areas."  A runner would pass now and then on the downhill and I would follow.  And, my nose is running like no tomorrow, most likely from allergies, it was a nuisance!!  Around mile 5.5, most of us were walking through a deep muddy portion when a male runner tried to pass us all. He got to the front and we all heard a loud curse as he turned his ankle!! OMG!! We all stopped but he told us to keep going, "I've had worse, he says." A couple of us helped him to the side, made sure he had enough water, and told him we will let a course volunteer know. Not much else we could do.  I caught up with the others on the downhill and followed a female runner to the turnaround, 7.7 miles where DH met me.  I'm about 20 minutes behind my goal.  The only aid station. It was awesome, the food/drinks were great!!  Ate some oranges, 1/4 banana, 1/4 P&J, re-fill my bottles, grab a GU and another 1/4 banana and took off again. I ran alone, around 9 miles, I ate 1/2 of the gel while walking straight through the middle of a large, deep, longer muddy portion!!  That was 'easier' than walking along the side.  Gel fell out of my hands, OH NO!  Ran alone till I caught up with 5 male runners walking up a hill. I told them what happened and one of them gave me a gel. YES!! While eating half of it, a female runner passed us and I followed her up the hill. The steepest hill was tough!!  It felt endless.  Just 'ONE STEP AT A TIME' ...... passed runners who were cramping and catching their breath.  My calves were screaming but I was depending on my glutes. While walking through the last muddy area, I lost my right shoe TWICE!! I double-laced it so it was hard to untie it.  Met up with a group and one of the male runners slipped straight into the mud puddle, like a belly flop.  He was laughing as we helped him up.  WE all cracked up when we saw him covered with mud.  I saw him later near a bridge, washing off.  Then, my garmin stopped working!!  Damn it!!  Finally came upon 12 or 13 miles, and calves beginning to cramp, OH NO!! Massage them on level ground, kept hydrated but calves were working overtime.  Caught up with a couple and followed them. They walked up the last hill while I jogged, passed them and finally reached the trailhead.  Finish is less than a mile away........go for it!! Passed 4 other runners. Official time: 3:42:31. Overall 240 / 402. Female: 123 / 244.  AG: 8 / 26.  Time was slow, was hoping to finish between 3.0 - 3.5 hrs but I didn't get hurt, and I finished upright.  I know I was over-cautious and thinking of my upcoming races which I already paid for, LOL!!  Those are risks trail runners take.  It was tough as it was fun!!  These are the types of trail races I miss.  Really tested my strength and stamina, and I know I'm not as conditioned for tough steep hills like I was when running in northern AZ.  Gotta work on that.  Overall, it was incredible with gorgeous scenery.  Would run it again.

adkkev Hope you got some rain for your garden.

NH Runner …so... you don't think the boots and tramping around for turkeys are to blame?  That's the first thing I would think of, because it is the only thing that is different for you.

Art in AZ  Some nice workouts for you.. bike and runs!  Glad to hear that you put in some more watermelon!

justrundan Good running at elevation at the lake.  Didn't stop in at the casino….? 

az2mntrail Congratulations! I really enjoyed your RR! Sounds like a muddy race to me! Don't know how you can do it in those conditions….and losing a shoe, as well! 

Past 2 days off/work. 8 miles plus more weed pulling.

No running for me over the past few days ... concentrating on yard work & such so I don't look at it all later on this summer & wish I'd taken care of it earlier!  Sanded & re-stained/poly'd our front porch, that was pretty time consuming.  I think all that bending, squatting, brushing, and what-not can be considered cross-training.  And weeding the garden.  Good grief, those weeds just keep-on-a-comin'!!

And we did get rain Chantilly!!  And more rain forecast for tonight.  And cooler temps for a few days as well.

Our son and 2 grandsons have arrived for a ten day visit from their home in Alaska ... DIL had to stay behind because it's getting to be her "busy time of the season" (she's the lead NPS ranger at the Alaska Public Lands Information Center/APLIC).  Not sure how much actual running I'll get in for the duration but I'm guessing that I'll be moving around quite a bit with those two kids (one is 7, the other 3).

Az - that was some report and quite the challenging trail run for sure!!  Congrats on hanging in there throughout it all.

NH Runner  "tramping"  from the verb "to trample" ???  You need some stealth shoes for sneaking up on turkeys.  Hope the leg is better….and those dandelions were asking for it.…getting all over my yard.

adkkev  Good cross training between the yard and the porch work for you.

8 miles.  Planting some annuals this afternoon.

Chantilly - seems like a lot of 8 mile runs there.  So, the dandelions were asking for it?  DW is very much into planting natives, don't need as much water.

Art - Sometimes it's nice to zone out to music on the run!  Streak is at 38 days and 314 miles, hopefully I'll get to 45 and 360 - we'll see.

NHRich - Take care of the leg!  Trike sounds like it's doing its job!  Keep it up, but remember - take care of the leg!

adkkev - I'm with Rich, painting and staining among least favorite - not the applying it, the prep work...enjoy your time with GKs!

Az - Good job with the 25K! Those were tough conditions!  Congrats!

Saturday, 3 miles to keep streak going.

Sunday, 13.1 miles and ~2500' of elevation gain in 2:05+, a little bit of a regression compared to last year's time, but good enough.  DW finished in under 2:25 - taking a good 10 minutes of last year's time.

Monday, 7.6 mile recovery run.

Tuesday, 8.3 miles in just over 1:10 (1 hour 10 minutes).

Go Warriors!

Art in AZ mellow running!

rmcj001 Nice HM there for you and your wife.  Are you doing more races this year or about the same as last year?

NH Runner Good to get out for a walk with Sim.   I suppose he wouldn't be any help with the turkey...

I'm at the stage where I could live with dandelions in the backyard, they help keep the soil in place, but my neighbors were out with their weed killer, and kinda giving my yard the stink-eye...

7 miles, then more yard/bedding work.