Chantilly: way to tough it out, girl You crossed the finish line, woohoo!! 40mph wind?!? holy moly, a step forward, two steps back kinda feeling, I'm sure. So the medics rode alongside you to the finish? Were you limping or did they just assume you were in pain? You did it, that's what counts! Boy, you're really ramping up the marathons. So what do you think about Oct in NM? Hope the recovery is going well.
Dan: taper time is always nice! Those double runs are great for strength and getting legs using different muscles to help out the tired ones used earlier. I won't run the DWD series all at once, but I'm keeping them in mind just in case. I would probably run the marathon distance b/c it's a long way to travel just to run a half or shorter race. Christie and I are thinking of the Marquette 50 though held in mid-August. https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=42001 We are thinking of the 50 miler, if not, at least the 50k. CRAZY
Didn't get in my run yesterday. Still getting organized, following list from movers on what they can take (most is pretty obvious), but didn't know they couldn't take nail polish remover or batteries (small ones). Anyway, time flew. DH's dad decided to visit us and he drove in at 11 pm last night!! He's retired and had all day to get here, it's only a 5 hr drive but he sleeps late so didn't get on the road till late afternoon. I had to wake him up just to make sure he was ok, it was close to NOON!! DH is keeping him busy today and tomorrow so he doesn't sit in front of the TV all day. He needs the exercise. I went to the state park this morning. Sunny and breezy. Finished 8.2 miles, some short hill runs on the X-country trails, nice!
Monday, 9/11... since my last post I've run 41 miles, rode the mtn bike 18 and played numerous rounds of golf. Said farewell to DW's brother this morning, his 10 day visit finally over...lol An outgoing guy who loves get-togethers, golf and beer, but not necessarily in that order...lol
I'll try to briefly touch base here. Altair and Ray did well running their half marathons, so congrats. are in order. Dan smacked his shin bones and gets sympathy points. Chantilly, congratulations on your marathon finish, it takes guts to jump into one of those things knowing you're under-trained, you just know it's not going to be easy. Az... you're eyeing a 50 miler..? I'm having trouble eyeing a 10 mile training run...lol Art... still dealing with the heat I see, better days are coming...
az2mntrail Thanks. Hope you are feeling better. "natural" is usually better for coughs, colds, etc. It seems like you have a lot to move. Did you have a garage sale to help out?
I am also looking at Duke City Oct. 22. I hope to go to NM someplace.
Are you really going to drive all the way up to Marquette next year? There are only hunters, big dogs, bigger trucks and lot's of guns up there during August to November.
NH Runner Nice to have a visit with family members, but I bet you are itching to get back out on the rail trail.
Walked 45 minutes. Very stiff in the quads and hamstrings.
There are about 10 medics on the marathon race course, so I guess, since I was 3rd last, they didn't have anything else to do but ride beside me, but it still bothered me at the time and I felt like I had to explain why I was so slow.
"dancing on the path and singing, now you got away,
you can reach the goals you set from now on, every day"
Sonata Arctica
Tuesday. 9/12... yard work and 8 mile mtn bike ride on the trail today, meant as a recovery ride. Last week a woman stopped me while I was riding the trail to ask if I'd seen her dog. A miniature collie who somehow got away from her and ran off. They set out trap door type traps with food and tacked posters of him on trees hoping someone would find him, but as of yesterday they hadn't had any luck. Hopefully they'll find him, but each day the odds get worse, especially with the critters we have roaming the woods around here...
Chantilly... I managed to get in a few runs while 'family' was here, but having visitors for an extended period of time is bound to be disruptive. I enjoyed the visit, but happy to get back to 'business as usual' now that it's over. Marathons where you run strong right 'til the end are the easy ones, one like you ran the other day where you're out there for over 6 hours? Those are the ones that test your mettle, no need to explain or be embarrassed about anything, marathons aren't meant to be easy... Good luck with your recovery...
Wednesday, 9/13... 10 mile trail run this morning. Good workout, but it convinced me I'm not ready to run the half that's coming in less than 2 weeks...
NH Runner After what you have said about the bobcats, I have little hope that they will find that dog. Nice bike ride and a 10 miler out on the trail..be careful out there...
yesterday walked 40 minutes to the store and back.
3 mile run and 30 minute walk today.
Thursday, 9/14... EZ 7 mile trail ride today on the mtn bike. Dew point was right up there, so it was the bike or nothing...lol
Chantilly... the woman who told me about losing her dog on the trail said he was "scared to death". The way ATV'ers travel on the trail, my guess is one or more went by going WAY too fast and scared the dog to the point where he ran off. Simba would have done the same thing, but I always kept him on a leash knowing the way they travel. And yeah, the odds of a small dog surviving more than a day or two on his own are pretty slim. You're slowly getting back out there, good for you. I can't believe how long it's taking me to get back up to speed, I'm making myself sore trying to hurry the process...lol
Chantilly - Congrats on your marathon! The streak is alive! I'm going to echo Rich, that's a long time to be out there and you have my respect!
Dan - Gotta love taper time! Fortunately, I'm more of a late night person -- early morning runs are tough!
Az - Good to hear you're feeling better. Lots of good runs for you and sounds like the move is near the end? Ambitious race schedule. Was checking my race history and decided I need to go back to doing a few more shorter races and cut back on the number of longer races. Don't know if I was just younger, but results were better with a more even mix.
Art - You've been fairly consistent (I think) in your running, that's good! Where you are, it is more important to get the run in when it's coolest and that would mean early morning just before/after sunrise. IIRC, temperature calculators adjust 2-5s/mile for every 5F change up from 60F(?).
Rich - Foot is healing! Good to hear you're back running more consistently (there's that word again). Understand the tentativeness in running a longer race. Is there a 10K nearby coming up?
Altair - I like the shirt, think it's kind of cool that you always race in it. Cotton is just a little to absorbent for me these days, I sweat way too much...
Monday night we got treated to a spectacular lightening show here in the Bay Area. Reports were of 2000 lightening stikes with 7000 bolts. Our poor older dog didn't see the beauty of it. I've been a bit more consistent, working on a 13 day streak at the moment and should, cross my fingers, reach 100 miles for the month tonight.
Ray
Friday, 9/15... humidity is still up, so the shade of the trail won out over running the roads this morning. A 6 mile run that went pretty well, the soft footing and high humidity are only minor inconveniences compared to being an injured runner unable to run...
Ray... yes, the heel's behaving, but I still get these gentle reminders it's not 100% yet. As long as I do my part, I should be able to continue running as it returns to normal. Thunderstorms are Nature's version of a fireworks display, eh? Fun to watch from a distance... lol It makes sense that running more shorter races would quicken your times, something about incorporating more fast twitch muscle fibers if my memory's correct. You've got a nice streak going, 100 miles for the month already, WTG! And yes, there's a 10K not far from here that's run as a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot. I may jump into that one and for sure a couple of 5K's in the next month or so. I have NO speed, but hopefully there'll be another runner at the back of the pack I can duke it out with...lol
Saturday, 9/16... out early to beat the heat and humidity, 6 mile road run through the local covered bridge, then a decent half mile hill to climb before turning for home...
justrundan
Wo-Zha-Wha HM report. In short, hot and hilly. I kept my goal pace the first half of the race then the wheels fell off with all the climb on the back half. Not as much elevation gain as Dances with Dirt trail race, but I was not in the kind of shape I needed to be. Official results not yet available, but I was about 2:40 or so. Had hoped to better my time from 2 years ago, did not happen. Back to the township roads for more training!
Dan
Runs in the rain
Dan, I liked the way you pasted the race map right into your note! Sorry if your time was not quite what you hoped for, guess the hills and heat took more out of you than you expected. Good preparation by doing hard training is key. Speaking of which I am now feeling that I may not have trained enough to achieve the Boston Qualifier I am aiming for, just may not be able to keep up the required pace for 26.2 miles! Last Tuesday I attempted a 20 mile run after doing a hard 12 miler Monday. It was sunny and got hot. Because the weather has been cooler lately I did not chose to take my water bottle. The course goes uphill about 500 feet from mile 7 to 16. By mile 8 I was starting to feel fatigued and stopped at the cemetery at the top of the first part of the hill and rested on a bench. I walked around a bit looking at old tombstones from the mid 1800's to about 1930. I then tried to carry on. I wished now I had taken water. I took a few more rest stops and tried to slow my pace, but by mile 13 I was beat. I had already climbed about 450 feet and could not face the rest. I cut my route short and walked about 3 miles back to my house. I drank a sports drink and then jumped into the pool, with nighttime temps around 45 degrees the water was, shall I say, refreshing! Quickly got out and had more fluids. My energy must have been depleted by the previous days run and then the hills and heat got to me too! Lesson is to take water because it may get hot on a sunny day and to expect difficulty with back to back longer runs. I am resting this weekend, but want to re-tackle the 20 mile run Monday or Tuesday, but better prepared this time. I know it is less than 2 weeks before the marathon, but I'll just feel better if I show myself I can do this. I hope to catch up better with my responses and my own reports in the next two weeks before my race since I will be tapering and also will have two vacation days!
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?Get up, get out, get out of the door!
Sunday, 9/17... EZ 8 mile mtn bike recovery ride on the trail this morning. Hurricane Jose' is headed up the east coast and predicted to be a wind and rain event for us starting late Monday into Tuesday. I'd thought about riding Isabelle tomorrow, but if my legs are up to it, I'll run instead, take a day or two off 'til Jose's gone, then dust off Isabelle.
Dan... looking at the elevation map for your half, that's a tough course! Miles 8 through 11 don't appear to give you any break at all, no wonder the wheels fell off...lol Never mind that though, you had a good run on a difficult course and got tired late. Congratulations on a solid run!!
Been busy so here's the past few days.
Thursday 6 miles.
Friday 5 miles.
Saturday 13 mile bike ride and then a couple of hours of yard work before going to grandson's birthday lunch. After that was groceries and a few side trips.
Today (Sunday) 8.4 miles along the canal. Got a late start as it was a little after 8:00. At least the weather has cooled off a few degrees and finally is getting down into the mid to upper 70s in the early morning. But like Altair said, when the sun is out it gets warm out.
Chantilly - Congratulations on number 29. Are you planning for number 30 Duke City?
AZ - Some ambitious plans for the future there. You should be in Flagstaff soon.
Rich - Looks like your foot is better as I see longer runs from you. Way to go!
Ray - Nice work with the streak. I'm in Meas which is East of Phoenix.
Dan - Sorry your time wasn't as good as you hoped. But looking at the course map that second half did have a lot of up and down in it. Some family not too far from there in Pell Lake.
Altair - I have to say you are a brave man planning a 20 mile run and not taking any water with you. Regardless of the weather. But you were smart to rest and work your way back home and hydrate and relax.
Art in AZ
Mesa, AZ
Monday, 9/18... 10 mile road run today. Early miles went pretty well, then I had to stop and stretch a tight right calf muscle at 5 miles, then again at 7.5. Ended up walk / jogging mile 10 for the same reason. Progress...lol Met another driver who prefers to drive in the breakdown lane during this run, amazing how nonchalant some drivers can be as they head towards you at 50+ mph, this one clearly distracted by his phone...
Altair5... looks like you and I were typing at the same time in our last posts and why I didn't respond. I guess I'd agree you didn't give yourself enough time to recover from the tough 12 miler before tackling the 20. Good luck getting that 20 in if you take another shot at it, just be careful to give yourself time enough to recover for the marathon. And good luck...
Art... nice workouts the last few days. Yeah, my heel's doing better, I'm pretty happy to be up and moving again...