Friday, 8/29... attempted a 5 mile road run today after running 4 the previous day on the railtrail.    I wanted to see where I'm at with injury recovery and ran the first 4 ok, but had to pull up and walk / jog the last mile when a little pain set in.    Splits were 9:39, 9:34, 9:39, 9:27 and 11:45.    No real harm, I just bit off a little more than I could chew...

Saturday, 8/30... 8 mile mtn bike ride on the railtrail in 37:07.    A good pace and moral booster...

Hang in there with Odie, az...

And if anyone needs a little inspiration, this should do it... https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153154817558902

gito... my granddaughter stood me up, little monster went to a friend's house instead...   She forgot we were supposed to run... lol

Rich~ Twelve year olds can be so fickle!  

Chantilly~Nicely done, you continue to ramp up those miles!  September marathon, right?

Postponing today's 11 mile run.  Right calve is super tight, and knee is aching.  What's up with that? Foam rolled and RICE yesterday and this morning.  Going out for a bike ride to the lakefront with DH and DS2 today, instead.  Heavy ground fog, going to wait for it to clear.

Run strong, friends!

Chantilly-not ready, after all those miles?  You've put in the hours, enjoy the race!

Debra- tightness&aches&pains do seem to come out of nowhere sometimes. A bike ride instead of a run sounds like a great plan. If weather allows DW&I hope to do the same tomorrow.

Altair- looking forward to the RR.

4 miles yesterday with DW on the Riverwalk. Ran into part of the city we haven't driven through before & explored the composting site the city runs. DW saw a grey fox while she was waiting for me.

Going to taste of Madison with DD&SIL today, then seeing their new apartment.

Enjoy the extra day off tomorrow!

Hi everyone! I Got up early for my HM today. This was after working from 7am to 10:30 pm the day before, I had to do a double shift to get this Sunday off. I took my vitamins in some applesauce and ate a cup of greek yogurt with some mixed in oats for breakfast. I then drove to the High School and then ate a trailmix bar and drank a vitamin water. I was worried the race would be canceled because of scattered thunder storms, but all was OK. Race started at 8 am and it was about 70 degrees and drizzling lightly. Note that I have posted my map of the race course in this user group's maps. Did my first mile in 10:02 as we ran to the village of Geneseo and turned around at the bear fountain. I then slowed to a 10:20 pace just trying to take it easy and not start too fast. Now we passed the fields with the 300 year old oak trees from which the race is named. Despite the low 70's temperature I was feeling the humidity and my cotton shirt was soaked. At mile 3 we take a left onto a dirt road and soon are going downhill, about 230 feet decrease for the next mile. I chose this opportunity to pick up my pace and passed runners who were still going at the same speed. Ran past a couple in green kilts playing bagpipes by the side of the road! At mile 4 my watch time said 38:45, a much better pace than I expected! Took my first water break. Soon passed some more music by the side of the road, an old timey band including a banjo and a fiddle! At 4 1/2 miles starts the first big hill which climbs about 270 feet up to mile 7. My running dropped to a lower gear, but I started passing some who chose to walk up it. Here is where my hill training was paying off! Then started downhill dropping off about 200 feet to mile 10 3/4. I again ran a bit faster, although not as fast as the first downhill as I was starting to feel the fatigue. Now this part finishes a loop and runs back over part of the course we ran before. I was still maintaining a overall pace of less than 11 min per mile. The drizzle stopped and there was a light cooling breeze, but still overcast. Passed the old timey band again, now playing the folk song "Going Down The Road Feeling Bad". I still had strength left as I hit the last big hill which rises 230 feet over the next mile. Now I know I am running with the slower runners in the back of the pack and I see half of them are now walking up this hill. A girl walking comments to me as I pass "they would put a hill a mile 10" and I say back "well, it's the last hill". I am still jogging up it at low gear, no rest walks for me! The dirt road section ends and it is fairly flat run past the oak trees again and onto the High School track. There is a run around like 3/4 of the track to the finish. I pick up my pace at the end and pass a few more runners. Just as I am about to reach the finish I start to pass a runner and he hears me and does a sprint to beat me! In hindsight I wish I had sprinted and tried to beat him, but I just let him get ahead of me. Looking later at the results I see he is my age, 63, and he came in at 9 out of 11 in the 60-64 group beating me by one second! My chip time was 2:19:37, but 2:19:23 by my watch. A 10:39 min mile pace! Not bad and certainly better than the 14 min mile pace I was afraid I might get! I was 9th in my age group and 241 out of 328 runners. First in the male age group 60-64 was 60 years old and finished in 1:50:59. The overall first place was a new course record of 1:08:27. I stayed around and ate some of the food, all the pizza was gone and the coffee too, bummer! I watched the awards and won a random drawing - a gift certificate for a pair of Asics worth up to $100! Overall I am pleased with my race results and hope to improve next time.

WDWRich - I could run the Disney races in CA but the travel is a killer. FL is not that cheap either but has deals. I'm off to SF next weekend to run that race I registered for last year and couldn't run. The air and hotel (2 nights) will cost $1000. Cincinnati is not exactly a hub. I need to develop a network of friends who live where I want to race or maybe invest in camper and pickup to tow it.

NHRich - Nice 6 miler last Monday. Time on your feet is good!! Also good biking and walking with your friend! That's the way to build back. What a sweetheart your granddaughter is running with you! Looks like she's motivating!! You are picking up speed nicely!! She'll blow you off now n then; its normal.

Fletch - So sorry for the loss of your FIL!! My sympathies to you, DW and your family! Your running will hopefully be a comfort later. Take good care of yourselves.

AZ - so sad about Odie!! Huggs to him, you and DH!! Nice three day running streak and so glad you're having comfortable temps!!

adkkev - Nice 5 canal way miles on Monday and Thurs. I'll bet you've done more, too.

Debra - Hello, new shoes! We are going to for some fine runs!! Great speed on your track work!! Take care, that humidity will sneak up and drain you! I'll bet that six miler in the clearer weather felt great! Nice five day streak!

Chantilly - track or not, you got'er done! Sometimes we have to adjust. I'm just thankful I can still run!! Hope you're not still feeling the pinch! Nice cross training and great 11 miler! No humidty? You can have mine!! You'll be fine w your races!! I'm betting you'll love that 6 hr ultra!

Dan - so glad you didn't get caught in that storm! Nice six mile hill run!

Altair - You had a great HM yesterday!! Congratulations!! Great AG and overall placement!! Race jitters! Grrrr. As AZ said, you have to trust your training. I hate carrying a bottle and hydration belts leak or spill so I wear a vest for really long runs. Love having all the pockets! It can be overkill for runs under three hours but I like racing w it. It's nice to bypass water stops and control what i'm drinking. Posting pix: open a Photobucket account; upload pic to account; copy the "direct link"; click on the picture icon in your RA post; paste the link into the location window, forget the label, and click "insert". Hope this works. After such a long day at work Saturday, I'm not surprised that your legs are sore! Enjoy NC!! The area around Boone is just gorgeous! Bet it has a lot of trails to run?

So it's been a week since my last post. If any of you are/were Catholic, that's reminiscent of the kid I used to be. Anyway, it's been a 24 mi wk. which is a small wonder w my health and the weather. Tues, 3 mi. outside in H 3 (Hazy, hot and humid), only 1.6 actually run. Wed., 2.3 mi. in the gym felt like slogging through jello, Thurs., 6 slow Tmiles, Sat. tried for LSD outside but got 2.64 w another H 3 day but yesterday I finished 10+ Tmiles in 2:50 that felt good! Actually my feet and calves hurt after 90 min. but pushing through felt better. Today both knees are crying when I stand. Wore the Hokas. When I didn't wear them, all my knee pain was on one side. I'm taking this as an improvement.

Happy Labor Day!!