Hello Monday!!
The Museum fire has been downgraded, about 60% contained, good news but it destroyed about 2000 acres of our beautiful forest. The smoke is still smoldering in some areas, it looks like a low lying fog from our view. Many of the trails are still closed including my uphill training trail to/from Mt. Eldon. I have other options but the steepness of many of these trails aren't as great in grade % or distance but I could be in MN where most of the state is pancake flat, right? I still hope to hike/run Mt Humphrey (about 12,200 ft) at least once, or twice. Need to check if the trails near there are open though.
Saturday: I didn't meet with the running group, I actually overslept, WHAT?!? I didn't set my alarm, didn't think I needed to since I've been waking up around 5 am . But huge cumulus clouds starting rolling in by late afternoon. Around 5 pm, I took off on the trails near home. It sprinkled now and then which was nice but it got muggy. At least 16-18 miles was my goal but around mile 12, my blisters started to get more inflamed and beginning to hurt, affecting my gait. I pushed to finish 14 miles, oh well. It was a good run though.
Sunday: recovery run of 5 miles, easy effort even with the hills on nearby trails, just under an hour, YAY!! Bandaged the heck out of the blisters!! LOL!! And wore the most cushioned trail shoes, it worked!
Monday: Rest Day today. We will be leaving for the work house today. DH only has 4 more days to work this week!! He's so happy that even the stray cat is getting treats!!
I got my long run done today, two miles with the dog, then 12.4 solo. I/we ran on the MoPac, a nice rails-to-trails that is maybe 50% shaded. It's a good place encounter lots of friendly runners (sometimes friends), bikers, birds, dogs, and (earlier in the summer), mulberries. Today the temp ranged from 75F to 84F, but it wasn't muggy, so it was a pretty nice run. I was still pretty wiped for a few hours after, though.
Led: I had to look up "MoPac" trail ...........it's in Nebraska .........and your name made more sense, duh!! DH went to U of NE, Lincoln. And I'm very familiar with the area as I drive through parts of it, mostly central/western area, when I make my trip from AZ to MN and back. I usually stay around Valentine/North Platte. The rolling grassy hills are beautiful. That's a good run in that heat. Humidity is all relative, right? LOL!! To be honest, I hope I never run a 'rails-to-trails' race again ........ not my fave. The crushed gravel is like running on road, too painful for my poor feet. But to each, his own. It's nice to run into running friends, hard not to stop and chat. How old is your running companion? How far does he like to run? name? Our dog died about 4 yrs ago (after about 15 years) but he was never a running buddy. All excited to get out when he saw me lacing up but after a quarter of a mile, he just turned back and run home! Crazy dog! He was just too scared around other dogs but LOVED being petted!
I just searched Facebook for photos of the Oak Tree and found these images of myself! Quite a surprise! Note these two pictures and my avatar picture must be from different years since the bib number is changed, but I am still wearing my lucky shirt! As you can see Altair is not my real name, but we already have one Art. The first photo comes with the goal I listed in my entry form: and winning a random drawing for a loaf of bread baked in a local monastery!
I just searched Facebook for photos of the Oak Tree and found these images of myself! Quite a surprise! Note these two pictures and my avatar picture must be from different years since the bib number is changed, but I am still wearing my lucky shirt! As you can see Altair is not my real name, but we already have one Art. The first photo comes with the goal I listed in my entry form:
and winning a random drawing for a loaf of bread baked in a local monastery!
Altair: I remember your "lucky shirt" ..... and the photo of you being so excited on winning the raffle for the bread, LOL!! How long have you had the shirt? Yes, you did mentioned running the race before. You're still doing well and hanging in there. How many can say that? Love the photos of the town, and the race route really says alot about how much the city supports it.
NH: good to hear that running on road didn't cause problems!! You are really doing great in getting back to training ....... I think you have enough time to train for the Sept HM. Remember you are coming back from injury so just run your race and you'll rock it. I always enjoy the photos of the covered bridge on your running route, and the history behind it.
Art: The triple digits are predicted for this week again, just sounds so uncomfortable but you are a trooper in getting nice workouts done in that heat. Have you decided on any upcoming races?
Brilliant: congrats to your son!! You sound so busy, glad you had time to get in some running. What race are you training for?
So, I'll be away from the computer for a couple of days. Stay cool and safe out there everyone!
not bad for mile 25
All - your comments on covered bridges and downhill marathons brought to mind the Colorado Marathon. Here's their answer to covered bridges:
It's all downhill, but not as extreme as the Revel races. I did it in 2016. A beautiful race, as you might imagine.
That's all just a historical aside, though, I guess.
Altair5 - The bread thing makes sense now, and I'd be happy to get a nice, fresh loaf of bread at the finish, too! That's cool getting $100 toward Asics as well!
Brilliant - Congratulations on your son's accomplishments, and our thanks to him for his dedication to serve! You know, I'm training for the Marine Corps Marathon, don't you? I don't suppose he'll be there, but I'll be thinking of him as his compatriots are serving at the race!
As for my running, I have had two slooow runs since my Saturday long run. It does take longer for me to recover from those than it used to. As long as I'm recovered enough to do a decent job at my Wednesday intervals, I guess the long runs may be doing more good than harm. This morning it was foggy. Kind of fun running through fog occasionally.
Rich - Good to hear the foot is still holding up! The covered bridge looks nice too!
Az - Keeping busy as usual. Sorry to hear about the fire, know all too well how fires can impact air quality - last year was especially brutal here in the bay area. Funny, I would think you would hardly notice the crushed rocks on the rail to trails, at least they seem pretty innocuous in Vibrams. Stay safe on your runs!
Art - I'm always surprised at how much of a difference direct sun makes. I've been running more around the bay lands here and there's no shade, but there seems to be a constant breeze (sometimes stronger then others ) that almost makes up for the lack of shade.
Altair - Gotta like the bread prizes! Local race director started awarding prizes (free entries and discounts) for top 3 finishers for races. Was a bit surprised when he did so and happened to finish 3rd in 1 race earlier this year. The discounts expire and I forgot to take advantage in time. Oh, well...
Led - Some nice long runs the last couple of weeks! The Colorado Marathon looks pretty good, tho, might be better at a slightly lower elevation . DW and I did Revel Rockies outside Denver 3 years ago (?) and the elevation killed us.
Brilliant - Congrats for your Son! The hill sounds like good practice. Oddly, running up hills is good for the quads, so I wouldn't avoid them completely.
Ended up taking off most of the week from running. Did a 9.5 miles on Tuesday, but couldn't muster the energy to squeeze in another run. Saturday went up to the Expo to pick up bibs. This was my 10th SF marathon and 7th in a row. I guess they printed up special shirts, so mine has a "7 year loyal runner" printed on it. Had trouble sleeping Saturday night and so slept maybe 2.5 hours before getting up at 03:30. Drove up to SF and got there just a few minutes before our start. Decided to hang out and go with DW's start group. Skies were pretty clear and temps were near 60F at start. Our group got started at around 05:42 and we wished each other luck and headed on our ways. First few miles went as I expected, they're fairly flat with a hill around Fort Mason. In mile 6 we start our climb to the bridge and mile 7 includes the crown, so those 2 miles were fairly slow. Mile 8 is down to the Aid station and mile 9 includes going under the bridge and then a steep climb back up to the other side and back across. At mile 11 I was feeling pretty good about things and still confident at mile 12. Foolishly, I got discourage at mile 13 as I was having problems reading my pace band and thought I gave up some serious time here and in mile 14. Didn't pay attention to my watch for the next couple of miles, but thought I was losing pace drastically. Turns out I was only slightly off pace a no where near as bad as I thought. I was still roughly on pace for a 3:50 (BQ) but was convinced I'd missed my window. My pace did drop off in mile 17 and by the time I got to mile 20 was calculating how much I had to do to keep it under 4 hours. Between mile 21 and 22 I caught my toe and took a fall on my right side. A couple of other runners helped me up and checked to make sure I was ok. Shoulder was sore, but I was more worried about smacking my head against the pavement. Those last 5 miles were just a grind. I wasn't really tired, but didn't feel like I could go faster and so I worked on just keeping each mile under 10 minutes. Around mile 24 we went by the new Chase Center (Warriors) and then Oracle Park (formerly AT&T, home of the Giants) and then down the Embarcadero to the finish. Was certainly relieved when I crossed the line with an official time of 3:59:51. Didn't get A or B goal, but really happy to get the C goal.
Oddly, post race food and drink was lacking this year. I grabbed a water, a space blanket, a banana, they had fruit cups, but none that I could actually eat and a protein bar (couldn't eat it either, but thought DW might like). That was it. Got my gear check and slowly changed. Finally checked on DW status and she was around mile 23 with a predicted finish time in about 30 minutes. Visited the port-a-potty and started walking back to the finish area. Checked her status again and she was done! We found each other, visited the beer garden and got a "free" beverage and then slowly walked back to the car. We're both much sorer today, but glad to have another race out of the way.
Ray
Sunday, 7/29... 5 mile mtn bike trail ride today. Easy pace seems to have worked as intended, legs feel pretty good. Weather forecast for tomorrow is temp in the mid 90's and humid, not exactly running weather, but I'll head out early and play it by ear...
Led... the bear avatar is one of a number of sketches of mine that I was rotating in and out as avatars here, but the computer they were scanned into died not long ago, so the bear's all that's left. And you're right, the avatar and bear fountain are a nice match. Colorado's covered bridges are awesome! Lol
Altair5... a little clarification with the covered bridge picture in my link. That bridge is on the road, not the railroad, the original was burned down by an arsonist 25 years ago and it's replacement built the same way they were built over 100 years ago, right down to having oxen move the completed bridge into place. That 3.7 miler was in tough conditions, congrats for getting it in!
Brilliant... I did a doubletake when I saw "Covered Bridges Half Marathon", are you talking about the one in Vermont that finishes in Quechee? I've run that race 6 or 7 times and it's a really fun race. There's also a Covered Bridges Half Marathon here in NH, where runners actually run through 4 covered bridges, instead of just the one bridge in Vermont. I think I've run NH's race 5 times and it's the one I'm trying to get ready for now. Only about 300 runners, but a nice BBQ at the finish. Oh yeah, I posted a couple of tryke pictures about 2 pages back if you're still curious what it looks like. And congrats to your son on becoming a Marine, I'm an ex Marine myself. You must have noticed some changes in him since he completed boot camp, it's quite an experience to go through.
az... smart that you pulled up when the blisters started to complain, 14 miles wasn't what you wanted, but why make a bad situation worse. Good luck with the blisters, they're another running injury that's difficult to run through. Yeah, I'm pretty happy with how my training's going, but I'm NOT in shape to run a HM. I'll just keep plugging, trying to get in enough recovery days to make the workouts stick and take it from there. Sounds like DH is on cloud 9, good for him!!
Ray... It's awesome the way you and DW run and race together, lots of runners end up going it alone. Enjoyed your race report too, you didn't get the BQ, but managed to hit goal #3. And what a place to hit the pavement, 21 miles into a marathon! Yikes! All things considered, you did good! Congrats on getting another marathon under the belt
Rest day Saturday morning as I decided to do a few things with the car before it got too hot out. Prepped a section of the garden and then went inside for the rest of the day.
3.6 miles Sunday morning before getting together with family mid-morning. Spent the day just hanging out and visiting.
4.7 miles Monday morning under partly cloudy skies and very warm. Turned out we set a record of highest low temp of 92 degrees for the morning, again. This is the third day in a row we have tied the record. Storm and a cold front coming this way so temps are expected to drop 10 degrees or so. Rain and lower temps will be nice. School will be starting soon as I saw several high schoolers out running this morning.
Rich - Nice runs and bike rides there. A month is enough to get ready for the half. It may not be your fastest, but getting it done will feel good after your foot injury.
AZ - I saw the news where they said the fire was getting under control and hope the winds don't cause more problems and it rains enough to help. Still getting in those runs when possible. So you over slept. It's not like the rest of us have never done that. Too bad the blisters popped up on your run. But you took care of them.
Altair - That's pretty good that the Oak Tree races are that close to your house. Makes it easy to get to. I like the picture of the fountain. It has that small town feel to it. Winning that loaf of bread was nice. Now that's a good type of prize. I run by the park most days so I can get in those pull-ups and chin-ups. Part of my upper-body and core exercises. Wow. Another Art. That's surprising for this small of group. Must be a sign. A sign of what I don't know.
Led - Solid run you got in after taking your dog for a run. So how many stops do you do when the mulberries are in season? That picture of the Colorado Marathon is great. That would be an awesome site to run through that.
Brillant - Congrats on son's graduation from boot camp. I second running the hill more. Even if you don't do any Revel races, it will help your running.
Ray - Good race report on your race. Sorry you didn't get your A or B goal But you did beat your C goal. If there is a cool breeze that does help. Unfortunately this time of year those are few and far between my runs. Some of the warm/hot breezes are just killers sometimes. On my runs to the East I do some North/South running so I get a little shade, but most is in the sun.
Art in AZ
Mesa, AZ
Runs in the rain
These are some photos I thought you might enjoy from the Oak Tree Race Facebook site. Here is a winner showing the crown of oak leaves and the prize of a live oak tree for planting:
'The Genesee Valley Conservancy runs the race for fundraising. Last year they had a painting event with like a hundred entries, some of those of parts of the race course. Here is one of the better ones:
An uphill section of the dirt roads. There is some gravel on them and footing can be tricky if you run over a large piece.
Another bear picture, this one taken during the race as the runners round the fountain.
The Geneseo String Band always plays for the runners enjoyment. Because the course loops back we get to hear them twice! There can be other live music along the course, we had a bagpipe one year!
'
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?Get up, get out, get out of the door!
Ray - Good to have your SF Marathon report. Sorry you didn't BQ, but you got that sub-4 after what sounds like a nasty fall. Congratulations on getting another one under your belt. I have never experienced a marathon where "those last 5 miles were just a grind" has not been the case for me! Say, another Vibrams user - we are members of an elite club!
NH - Sorry those sketches were lost. Hope you're still sketching; you obviously have talent that has totally eluded me.
Art - I have a hard time imagining life where the low is 92...and generally I like warm to hot weather. How AC has influenced life today - maybe it's made us soft! Back when I was a kid, the whole family would pile into our black Studebaker and drive down to visit relatives in Arkansas. No AC on that trip, but we were excited about stopping at the motel with the pool in Oklahoma City!
Altair - Enjoying your additional pictures! Keep 'em coming!
In my running, what a difference a day makes. The third day after my long run, my legs are finally ready to go again, and my pace was a full minute/mile faster than yesterday. Nice cool morning.
I just finished 9.95 miles! A bit short of the distance I would need for a mile and a half improvement from last week, but thundershowers were impending at 1 PM and I wanted to be sure of finishing way before then! Cooler, overcast, 74 degrees with occasional breeze conditions were nice for running, except the humidity is very high and I did get moist with the sweat not evaporating. Felt at times some drops of moisture, but not enough to even call a light drizzle.A few hills to climb and I was worn out by the end. Just as I finished there was a few seconds of drizzle and then the sun came out! It is after 1 pm now, no signs yet of the thunder showers, you never know about the weather! Light, scattered showers predicted for tomorrow morning, but is another day off so I will see what I feel like doing. If I feel up to it I might tackle a 10.4 mile run that covers much of the race course and take my camera with me.
Going to make a protein smoothie, relax and do some chores. This forum is very busy now, I was surprised when I got home from work last night to see almost everyone had posted and all with comments, a photo from Led and even Ray's race report! I will have to catch up with my own comments later!
Tuesday, 7/30... Got' ta love the weather forecasters, NOAA predicted "Heavy Rain" for us tomorrow and tomorrow night, so I decided to run long today and take tomorrow off. Now they've changed the forecast to "Severe Thunderstorms" after 2 pm and a "Chance" of thunderstorms tomorrow night. Too late now, I ran 10 on the railtrail this morning, now I'm sore and still taking tomorrow off! Lol And the deerfly patch I attached to the back of my hat captured about 40 of the little so & so's before they got the chance to bite!
Art... we hit 95 today, but that was our high! Lol Dew point of 67 still made it pretty uncomfortable though. Good that you're still getting in enough mileage to maintain, when your weather cools again you'll be ready to roll!
Altair5... the winner in the photo looks pretty happy, that oak leaf crown looks a size or 2 too big though...Lol It's always fun to see where other people run, so I always enjoy your photos. Hey, you had a nice run today, eh? One step closer to being ready for your HM on 9/1! I ended up walking to start mile 9 today and took a couple of walk breaks in mile 10, but I'm blaming it on the extra weight the deerflies added to my hat. Congrats on today's run, you're making good progress!
Led... it's amazing the difference a day makes in running, isn't it? The blahs one day and flying high the next...Lol Good deal on today's run, for every bad run, we should be allotted at least 3 good ones...Lol
I'm blaming it on the extra weight the deerflies added to my hat.
Ha ha ha!
Brilliant - I was afraid we had lost you so I was glad to see your post! Congratulations on you son graduating boot camp and entertaining company and a party sound fun, but can be a lot of work also. Good that you found time to run! I've been wearing that tie dry shirt for all my races. It is made of cotton, so maybe not a good choice if the race is run in the heat.
az - You asked how long have I had that shirt. I first got it when I lived on Long Island just because I liked the design. I wore it for some races and now it is like an identity for me, makes me stand out and I often get compliments about it. I would say I have had it at least since 1999. In the attic somewhere I have a Newsday with the Long Island Marathon start on the cover and I thought I could see a microscopic image of the shirt, I will have to check the date on that. I can buy the same design online, but it costs $50! If you magnify the image you may be able to see the collar is getting a bit frayed and has some stitches holding it together. Too bad blisters cut your long run a few miles short, but 14 is a good enough distance.
Led - That stone arch looks cool to run through! I like the long slow runs myself, it's speed work that seems hard to me. I like the way things look in the fog, Visibility and cars are a worry though. It shows your conditioning to have recovered quick from the long runs and be able to increase the pace. Glad you liked the photos. I also like seeing what it is like where other people run. I wish I could watch videos of people running in different scenic areas.
Ray - Congratulations on finishing your 10th SF Marathon! Perhaps you worried too much about the pace, a lot of this game is mental and you may have "psyched" yourself out! I guess the "A" goal was to BQ and the "B" to be first in AG, but getting "C", a sub 4, is not too shabby! To hit one's head in a fall always should be cause for concern. Nice to run the race with your DW!
Rich - Sometimes a computer expert can recover data from a hard drive crash, but you should have backed up the data. You had mentioned railroad bridges in another post, so I was confused. We both did 10 with concerns of thunderstorms today! Most of the day was nice and sunny. We got a burst of heavy rain about 4 PM, no thunder as of yet. I think I do better looking at radar maps online and estimating myself chances of storms than relying of weather forecasts. I felt very tired after my own run and took a nap on the couch. That is a lot of deer flies to capture! Some little buggers were circling me today, but no deer flies.
Art - I worked at a place with two other "Arts" beside myself. It could be confusing when we got a page for a phone call! I also have a nearby park, about a half mile away, with an exercise trail with chin up bars and other stuff. I should take inspiration from you and take advantage of that! A temperature of 92 is hot for the start of the day, better enjoy the cold front when it goes through!
Tired and sore from yesterday's run, perfect to do an even longer run today! Well. the cold front went through yesterday, humidity is down, looked like a good day to run. Also, I had read about using the cumulative fatigue to simulate the last part of a race in the Hansons book. It was in the upper 60s early in the morning, but I had a dental appointment and did not start my run until noon. It was 74 degrees then. My run took me past the high school and much of it was on the HM route. I deliberately took it slow and easy since I knew another long run was going to be a challenge for me. The run took me onto the dirt roads. I would have taken pictures, but the battery was dead in my camera. Did a few rest stops. I did get buzzed by deer flies and one bit my leg, OUCH! It stung more than I remembered! At mile 6 I had a 225 foot hill to run up and my pace slowed to a crawl, but I was still jogging, not walking. Another fly started to bite my arm but I slapped it and killed it. I stopped in the track restroom as I passed the high school again and refilled my water bottle and rinsed my face. About two miles left to go and I was moving at a very slow pace. I was glad to finish as this was a real effort. Temperature was 82 when I got home, about 2 hours 44 minutes to run 10.4 miles. This puts me on track for the mile and a half increase I planned for the long run each week. I'm not concerned with my slow speed, just want right now to build the endurance to finish the half.