Sunday, 3/1... 6 mile run today. Temp was 30 degrees, so I decided to wear a light jacket that's not a windbreaker. Big mistake. I started out running the railtrail, but the footing was soft, so I turned back at a half mile and headed for the highway. Heading North on the highway out of town, I noticed a breeze at my back and realized I'd be facing a headwind coming home. First mile on the railtrail was 10:52, then I ran 9:09 for a first mile split on the road, then hit 8:45 after turning onto the secondary road that takes me through the covered bridge. On the return trip through the covered bridge I hit 8:43, then made the turn back onto the main highway headed for home. That's when the headwind hit, which wouldn't have been a big deal, except for the flimsy jacket I had on that was wet with sweat, along with the wet shirt I had on under it. I got cold immediately, but tried to bear down and run another sub 9 mile and pulled up short. I basically shut the run down at that point and jogged home. When you're wet, the temp's 30 degrees and the wind's blowing, it's time to get in where it's warm...lol
Anyway, some of the run was encouraging... February's miles were 59 running and 42 XC skiing. 101 total.
NH: How long did it take before you 'warmed' up once you got home? I feel the cold chill through my bones for a couple of days when that happens. WAY TO HANG IN THERE! You had some pretty good pace times though and 'jogging' home probably took forever, right? I learned the hard way too so I overdress and peel away layers when I need to. It helps that I can run by the house.
Decided on a rest day for me as 'stuff' I needed to do, pack, etc. took most of my time. Planning on a short run tomorrow morning before I leave. A predicted snowstorm tomorrow into Tuesday which was when I was planning on leaving. DH and I have been keeping an eye on the weather. So will try to avoid it as much as possible by leaving tomorrow during daylight and staying in Fargo. Storm should be out of that area by Tuesday morning. These are the races I have registered for in AZ.
http://www.aztrailrace.com/code/BLACKCANYON.html
http://www.aravaiparunning.com/mesquite-canyon/http://www.aravaiparunning.com/mesquite-canyon/
Art: Really was considering the "Going the Distance" HM in Peoria but wasn't crazy about it being a road race. I figure I can run a road race 'anywhere' and dirt trail races are few and far in between in MN. I was happy to find this in Cave Creek. Great way to start the month of April. I don't run 10ks much but if it's a dirt trail, I'm all for it. I will be returning to MN after that weekend.
http://www.cavecreektrailrun.com/10-k-run.htmlhttp://www.cavecreektrailrun.com/10-k-run.html
Eye-squinting morning. About 2 degrees, calm wind, feels 2 so bundled up and ran an easy short 6 miles. Wind picked up midway, BRRR and glad I had warm coverage. About 6 degrees, 8mph wind, feels -7 when I got back to the house but it was a nice 'cooldown'. It's 1 pm and temps have gotten better. 24 degrees, 11 mph wind, feels 13 degrees!! WOW!! It's SUNNY and gorgeous but the weather will make a drastic turn for the worst, we're told. The snowstorm will pretty much stay south of us although we will get some flurries and wind. My driving route will get hammered (SD especially) but staying north of that state should be a safer route tomorrow. Wed. should be SUNNY heading into CO. Northern AZ is getting some good snowfall, skiers are loving it!!
You all stay safe and warm! Will post when I can.
Monday, 3/2... 6 miles of skate skiing today. Base layer, wool sweater and wind breaker today...lol
az... that's quite a race schedule you've got lined up. Good luck and have a safe trip!
Quick 3 miles this morning before work. Cool, overcast and a little humid. Still no rain yet. So much for accurate weather forecasting. OK, it did sprinkle last night. But didn't even get the ground wet. Rain finally showed up around 11:00 AM and quit by 3:00 PM. Slow steady drizzle the whole time.
Rich - Nice downward tempo run. Running, or just being outside, when wet and cold is no fun any way you look at it. Good mix-up with the skate skiing.
AZ - I thought of possibly doing the Mesquite Canyon run but the large elevation change made me think about it. I'd have to put some practice runs in that had a lot more elevation change than I have been doing to see how I felt. The Cave Creek 10K looks to be a better choice but they do not have mail-in registration. I'll have to see about getting another prepaid Visa card in order to register. If you registered, so far you are the only one from MN. DC right?
Art in AZ
Mesa, AZ
Dan - Pi day sounds fun and this is the most accurate Pi day this century.
Az - Looks like some "technical" courses. You should have a lot of fun doing them!
NHRich - Gotta be tough knowing what to wear and when, so much easier here on the left coast. Of, course - we've gotta worry about where our next glass of water is coming from...Good job alternating your workouts - pretty even split last month.
Art - We got a little bit of rain Saturday and a little bit today. Good job getting your runs in!
Saturday turned into a RD, spent time with family and DW. Got my Zoom awards (Jacket, Mug, tech tshirt and a medal) and some free pizza.
Sunday, 4 miles in 33:55 on TM plus a 5 mile wild flower hike and gardening.
Monday, 8.4 mile in 1:13:44 with a bit of rain toward the end. Left knee is probably 90-95%, so getting better. Hoping that issues will be history by end of week so I can get a long run in.
Thought I should mention that I think some of my knee problems are related to my feet. Running in the VFFs I'm more dependent on the strength of my feet to maintain good form. I noticed in the training before last 1/2 marathon that towards the ends of my runs I was landing a bit more flat footed then usual. So, I believe I irritated knees on the long down hills during the 1/2 and then even more so by not being able to absorb shock with feet on subsequent training runs. Live and learn...
Ray
Tuesday, 3/3... 4 mile snowshoe run with the Tuesday crew today. They recommend no more than 1 or 2 snowshoe runs a week, so I was happy to find my legs had adapted pretty well after last week's initial run. The only issue is my ankles, I can't seem to run without the metal frames hitting my ankle bones. It wasn't as bad as last week, but when I hit 'em today, I hit 'em good! Ouch!
Art... thanks. Are you in the same drought conditions as Ray? The slow steady drizzle was good, eh?
Ray... you're maintaining nicely. That's good news about your knee. You already know I've been working to get lighter on my feet and have been dealing with the same issue you describe, your feet taking a bigger role in catching your weight as your run. It's described as "loading your legs elastically", which is nothing more than running with a slight knee bend, but it does take some getting used to. Being able to diagnose what caused you to get sore? Priceless...
NHRich - Ankle guards? Maybe, some pads? Wouldn't want to damage those ankles. Running in snowshoes sounds like fun to me. Hope you figure out a strategy soon to save your ankles.
Tuesday, 3/3/15, 8.8 miles in 1:14:56. Last .25 had an ultra-runner pacing me in what turned out to be a progressive/progression run. Splits were 9:47, 9:19, 8:40, 8:33, 8:22, 8:12, 8:05, 8:04 and 7:48 (last one is pace). Today's run had last three miles at a slight elevation gain. Followed that up with a mile walk back to the office.
Wednesday, 3/4... we hit 42 degrees today and I thought I was going to run outside, but the wind kicked up to a point where I decided to XC ski instead. Ended up with 5 miles of skate skiing. The trees helped block the wind, but the trail was rough and the skiing was lousy. Tomorrow's another day...
Ray... that's what I'm thinking for the snowshoes, ankle guards like the ones used for soccer. Excellent run yesterday, congrats!
NHRich - Bummer about the trail conditions yesterday, but good job getting the work out in! I would think about the ankle guards baseball players use - seem more suited for this use case...
Tuesday night, was national pancake day at IHOP restaurants until 10PM, we got there at 9:30PM and didn't get a table until 9:57PM were probably last customers served their free short stack...
Wed, 3/4/15, 8.6 miles in 1:16:33 - slight regression in left knee, so tried to flatten out the course a bit, but wasn't as successful as I thought.
Thu, 3/5/15, 9.2 miles in 1:20:23 - knee felt pretty similar as Wed with maybe a slight improvement. Weather was very warm today, with high expected to be 78F.
Here's picture of my short stack....
Thursday, 3/5... 8 mile railtrail run today. The temp dropped into the low 20's today and I thought the colder temps would freeze the railtrail and make for solid footing, but it didn't... Didn't matter, I need more running miles, so just bit the bullet and ran. Pace was slow, but I got in a decent workout by concentrating on running with good form.
Ray... you cut it close getting the pancakes, eh? lol Do they serve 'em with real maple syrup? Nice runs the last couple of days, but that knee sounds like it'd rather be somewhere else. I hope it calms down soon. I'll check out baseball ankle guards...
Friday, 3/6... I'm taking today off, but thought I'd post a picture of my snowshoes attached to my feet. The instructions say to line your foot up straight with the snowshoe before tightening the binding and I've done that, but not matter which foot I put a particular shoe on (they are different) they end up looking like the picture. Angled in so the front of the shoes are pointing towards my ankles. Just wondering if anyone sees something I'm missing...
Just looking at the picture things don't like right. Nothing really lines up correctly to me. It looks like the insides should be on the outside. I mean it appears the inside of each shoe extends further out from centerline. Which if you matched up with your shoes would indicate they are on the wrong foot. Makes sense?
I'm not sure why your running shoes end up angled in the snowshoe. Is there a different way to strap them on?
Art... you're right, nothing lines up like it's supposed to. If I take the snowshoes off and put them on the opposite feet, they end up looking exactly like they look now. You'd think the angle of the snowshoes would be reversed, but the fronts will still point inward.
There's no other way to strap them in, the straps are threaded through loops and all I do is slide my foot in and tighten the straps. I'm going to try a different running shoe the next time I run in them, the shoes in the picture have a real wide toe box and maybe their shape is what's wrong. I still feel like I'm missing something...lol
NHRich - ???!!! Think Az, Dan, or Chantilly would be you best bet for an answer Think the rest of us would just be guessing. You could try asking at a local shop? Someone with some experience. Does look wrong...upside down?
I ain't gotta clue...
Friday, 10/6/15, 10.3 miles in 1.5 hours. Again eliminated some of the steeper hills, but still managed 350 feet of elevation change. Last nights sleep was a bit fitful, knee didn't seem any sorer, but every time I tried to roll over seemed like it woke me up. Doesn't bother me when I'm running and seems to improve until I sit down. Sigh. Tomorrow might be a rest day and long run on Sunday...