Hello everyone! Quick check in. Still in AZ. And today is WINTER WONDERLAND!! Snowed a few inches and the photos that Altair5 posted might as well be my own from northern AZ. The 2 friends from MN arrived last Saturday. Drove to Grand Canyon on Sunday. Hiked 'rim to rim' on Monday, from South Kaibab trail to the bottom, ate lunch along the Colorado River, then headed up Bright Angel trail. It took us 10.5 hrs for the one-day hike. Overall, good weather, the overcast in the morning hours definitely helped but we got some hot temps for some of the hike back up the rim but it cooled off and was pretty breezy at the finish!! Just spectacular, the whole trip was amazing. Next day, Wednesday, we drove to Monument Valley. Had to get a photo of my friend 'running' on the highway with Monument Valley in the background. She just "felt like running" LOL!! We arrived at Canyon de Chelly later in afternoon. Wednesday morning, we hiked down the canyon which is only 3 miles round trip but the river in the canyon was unbelievable!! Had to cross a small ankle deep wash but it was worth it!! Then we made it back to Flagstaff later in the afternoon. Just a wonderful trip with fantastic adventurous friends!! It snowed last night so I guess our timing of the hike and trip was perfect!! All is good. Will respond to each of you later. Sorry. Take care and run safe!! Happy SPRING!!
3 quick miles this morning. A fast moving storm system passed through the area yesterday afternoon and through the night. Rained a little here but was fine in the morning. Weather is about 15 degrees cooler and cloudy.
AZ - The storm system that passed through the state left you with snow and down here a little rain. Sounds like you had a blast on your little trip. Did a similar trip many years ago. Yes, Canyon de Chelly is amazing. A lot of beautiful sites around the area up there.
Art in AZ
Mesa, AZ
Friday, 3/24... tried something different the last couple of days, ditched the walking boot and walked 2 miles at a decent clip in running shoes and Yaktrax yesterday, then back on the railtrail today for a 3 mile walk / jog in running shoes and Yaktrax. Yesterday's walk went good and today's walk / jog felt ok while I was out, but now my heel's a little sore, so we'll see what tomorrow brings...
Art... lots of running options for you on the canal path, eh? And the new multi-use path in Tempe sounds like it'll be good for biking and running, nice! Nice mileage lately!
Chantilly.... if you saw me type, you wouldn't apologize for typing something wrong. My fingers and brain seldom work together, either one or the other lags behind, making the backspace key the most used key on this computer...lol I meant to tell you too that I never got a chance to speak to the dog sledders again, so don't know what their racing schedule is. Today on the railtrail was typical, I could see where the sleds had stopped and turned around in the snow, marks that weren't there yesterday, so they're still actively using the railtrail, I just never managed to be there when they were.
Mike... every run isn't the same, is it? Some make you feel great, others make you wish you never left the house...lol Most of the time with me, within a mile of starting a run, I feel pretty good, but on those occasions when I don't, I don't hesitate to bag run. It's all part of running, sometimes our body just needs a break...lol Sounds like you're bouncing back nicely, good luck getting back on schedule....
az... that was quite a week you had last week, who needs running when you can hike the Grand Canyon, eh? Sounds like a great time, wow!
Altair - I'm a few posts behind! Nice pics and some good mileage your racking up there. There was an article in NY Times this week on HIT intervals being especially good for older athletes - it's in the health section. The HIT in the study it referred to was stationary bikes, but probably a similar result would show up in equivalent for running. When racing you can use the runners around you for motivation, but I think it is extremely important to do so within your capabilities. Awfully hard to know sometimes...HM about a month out is a good indication (I hope) of how things are going - I'm pretty much where I want to be, rule of thumb says double that and add 10 minutes for marathon time...we'll see.
Rich - I know it's hard waiting for things to heal. Hope you've got some entertainment hand when doing the TM. I tend to take 2 sessions on the TM to watch a movie and then watch it again a second time - you know, to catch the scenes I missed the first time around. Just finished "For a Few Dollars More" and the "Last Samurai"
Art - Some nice runs along the canal and I like the idea of switching it up! Sounds like it is a bit more convoluted though. Some good runs for you too!
Chantilly - We can always count on you to get some good runs in! DW was disappointed with her time and DS1's SO went out too fast, but didn't mind their age group placings. We did well as group, but doesn't hurt that the field was smaller the usual
Mark - Runs after a layoff are always tough for me! Seems to take awhile to get back in the swing - so, don't get down. Biggest thing is to be consistent in your training. Early on, you'll get more out of putting mileage in or time on your feet. My first 1/2 marathon was a 2:14 which got me to actually follow a formal 10K training plan that had me consistently running 40 miles/week. 10K time went down from just over 50 minutes to just over 45 and my second 1/2 marathon dropped to 1:48.
Az - Sound like a great road trip! DW and I visited the North rim, but we had a dog with us, so had to stick to the top. It is truly spectacular! Cool that there was some running too!
Sunday turned into a unscheduled rest day. Did a fair amount of walking while installing a new rain barrel. That is to say, got my 20K steps in without any running.
Monday, DW got done with her final and wanted to see a movie, so another URD - ouch! Right calf was a little tight from the race, so I didn't mind too much.
Tuesday, 7.3 miles on TM at an easy pace. Calf was still a bit tight at start, but loosened up nicely.
Wednesday, ran outside after work and it felt cold, 8.3 miles at sub 8 minute/mile pace. Was pretty happy with it.
Thursday, 7.6 miles on the TM at slightly faster easy pace.
Rain today, which will cancel my docent led run on Sunday - but, no one signed up anyway. Think I need to "sell" it more in the description and might need to change it up a bit as in slow the stated pace down or not mention it at all. What type of trail run would you be most interested in doing? Distance? Pacing? Single track or fire roads? ? Feed back is appreciated.
Ray
mfender It would have been lovely to go to the Keys. Hope your race goes well. Some days are just like that, slow, no energy, can't always figure out what was wrong, sometimes nothing is wrong and we have to get through those kinds of runs to get to the other side.
Art in AZ A nice couple of runs there. Hope it stays a bit cooler, so you and your garden can ease into hotter temps.
az2mntrail What a good time hiking for you and your friend! And lasting out there for 10.5 hrs.! Your leg must be doing much better.
NH Runner I read that the Iditarod was a week ago or so, which is what made me remember to ask about the dog team. That's pretty good runs if the heel is only a little sore.
rmcj001 Some good maintenance runs for you. The training is in the bag, so to speak. Yes, you might get more participation by asking those questions and see what people expect/want out of those docent runs.
A couple of days off/work
3 mile run outside, a bit slippery due to mud/ice, but temp was 48F and sunny.
Walked 20 minutes.
Washed off my bicycle, but tires need air, so didn't go for a ride. Will walk it over to the gas station in a couple of days if it stays nice out.
"dancing on the path and singing, now you got away,
you can reach the goals you set from now on, every day"
Sonata Arctica
Sunday, 3/26... early 4 mile run today on the railtrail while the temp was still below freezing. There's a few muddy sections that are better navigated when they're frozen and why I wanted to get out early. Not a steady run, I'm so out of shape I have to stop every once in a while to catch my breath, but it beats doing nothing, so I'll take it. My heel still isn't pain free, but I'm hoping the increased circulation from running keeps it headed in the right direction...
Ray... my technique for relieving boredom on the treadmill is to watch just the distance traveled as I run, then envision where I'd be on the railtrail if I were running there. Weird, but it works...lol However, I'm not covering 7+ miles either, so movie watching may be in my future...
Chantilly... I'm keeping my fingers crossed I'm finally getting past this heel injury, so far, so good. There's still a chance I'll see the dogsledders before the snow's gone, I took yesterday off and saw when I was out today where one sled team had turned around yesterday...lol Would really like to know if they took part in the Iditarod. Saw where some brave soul rode a bike on the railtrail today, I'm still wearing Yaktrax, so the bike's still out for a while...lol
Runs in the rain
Some photos from today's ten mile run. The first, the area with the oak trees again, but where has the snow gone? Then, an interesting tree with the valley in the background. Finally, the answer to where the snow went, a little stream filled with water from the melting snow and the rain. I will catch up with my written posts soon, just wanted to share this.
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?Get up, get out, get out of the door!
Back from a long weekend to Northern Az.
5 miles Friday morning before heading to Flagstaff. Packed my cold weather running stuff because I knew it would be cold.
Saturday morning was in the upper 30s in Flagstaff. Yes I was cold but the run felt invigorating just because I was running somewhere new. Ran to Lowell Observatory and back to where we were staying. About 3.5 miles. It was overcast and on the way to the top saw a few people out watching the sunrise. There was no sun to see because of the clouds but the view from up there was pretty amazing. Could see the higher mountains to the North that were covered in snow. Rest of the day was a combo of sun, clouds, drizzle, wind mixed up throughout the day. Took a trip to Bearizona and drove through the park where you could see the animals in a somewhat natural environment. We were able to see some goats, big-horn sheep, deer, wolves, bobcat, bison and of course bears. Then walked around in a separated area setup like a zoo with different animals in their enclosures. Nice trip and an enjoyable couple of hours.
Sunday morning went to the Flagstaff Extreme Adventures place to play on an adult obstacle course. I was looking forward to doing this with the grandsons. There are 5 courses that make up the whole course. Green course starts low to the ground and easy. Silver goes a little higher and becomes moderate in difficulty. Then blue being a little higher and difficult. Then comes red and you get higher still and more difficult. Finally there's the black course being the highest and most difficult. Throughout the course there are zip lines, walking across bridges with the planks spread out, rope ladders and bridge, walking across swinging logs, swinging on a rope from one location to the next. Stuff like that. It was a blast. Out of the 5 of us the youngest (age 11) quit after the blue course. He was the shortest and had the most trouble trying to span the bridges. Daughter-in-law got stuck in the middle of the black course and couldn't proceed and had to be rescued. She was just out of reach of both platforms and couldn't swing to either one. You had to swing from bar to bar (4 bars) to get to the other platform. Think trapeze bars.. Son-in-law, other grandson (age 13) and I finished the course. You needed good upper body strength for the black course. They say only about 25 - 30 percent finish the course. Going through it I can kinda see why. You need to have upper body strength to do the red and black course. Weather was sunny and very cool at the start but warmed up throughout the course making it good for this type exercise.
Drove home this morning going through Sedona and stopping there to walk around before driving home.
5 miles this morning getting back to the swing of things. Though cool out it was definitely warmer than Flagstaff.
Rich - Nice couple of runs trying to ease back in. That pain sure is persistent.
Ray - Isn't it amazing how many steps we take just walking and doing stuff like that. I'm sure we would never guess that high of a number if someone asked. I don't have much to offer on the docent runs. A couple of running groups have group runs but they all are run at your own pace. Most of the runs are flat but they do trail runs 2 - 3 times a month. Wouldn't it be hard for everyone to try and keep the same pace?
Chantilly - Hope the gas station isn't too far away. I'm lucky that I have a big compressor in the garage. Makes filling tires much easier.
Altair - I thought that tree looked familiar when I first looked at it. Is that stream deep enough normally to fish in? I remember a few streams back when I was in Illinois where you could fish all the time, others were just little streams of water normally.
justrundan
DW & I arrived in Tucson Saturday morning and have been enjoing ourselves immensely. Even though she came down with a cold on Sunday.
We drove up Mt Lemmon after church Sunday; we drove as far as we could and DW wanted to hike the rest of the way. It was chilly and as we got nearer the top there was still snow on the side of the road. About 3 miles round trip, basically all uphill then all downhill!
Monday we toured Mission San Xavier south of Tucson, then visited a winery further south.
Today we went to the Arizona-Sonoma Desert Museum, very very nice. On the way back to our VRBO spot we drove through the Saguaro National Park. I got to use my $10 lifetime national park card again! I did find a good place to run earlier this morning and got in 4 miles, the first run in over a week.
Thus endeth the travelogue for today.
Will try to catch up soon.
Dan
Hi everyone!
Dan: sounds like the southern AZ trip is going well despite DW's cold. Sorry to hear about that, hope she can enjoy rest of trip w/ her personal live-in/traveling Doc's care. Yes, Mt Lemmon does get some snow. The annual Tucson marathon is held on that road. Its race director is a local ultra-runner Pam Reed who won the Badwater Ultra race twice!! A grueling bada$$ desert ultra event!! Hey, all that Hiking counts as cross-training!!
Art: glad you all enjoyed the adventures course at Ft Tuthill even tho' one had to be helped. It looks 'easy' but it can be deceiving and gets some people in trouble. I ran Soldiers Trail in that area yesterday. Weather has been a little crazy: sunny and nice one day then snow flurries and wind the next day!! Looks like you have been getting some great consistent canal mileage! This weekend is gonna be busy crazy w/ the Final Four crowds, bet you're glad its on the west side
Chantilly: dog sledding sounds so amazing!! I hope to witness such an event. Weather is crazy up there too!!
Mike: each run differs as you know and on race days, we just hope to finish upright. Sucky race days happen just as bad training days. I have had some sluggish runs lately but the walk/run/jog method keeps me going. Hope you are having better runs!!
Rich: glad you got some 'running' in there however slow and short. Been there, done that. Are you getting better temps and when is Isabel coming out of hibernation?
Ray: it's probably strange to get these many days of 'rest' but it won't hurt, right? I've had some tight calves since the GC hike but I think I figured out the problem, walking too much in Teva sandals which isn't as cushiony and almost zero heel drop, the foam rolling relieved it abit. Last couple of days, switched to better shoes, all better now! What kind of runners show up on your docent led runs? I think it would be smart to get some feedback from those who show up more, maybe ask about time of day too. Our trail divas runs are Thursday evenings and ranges from 3-6 miles or about an hour. No one runs alone though and we all meet back at start. Sometimes, we meet at one of runners place for after run snacks or the SOs/hubbies bring them to the trailhead.
Altair: love those pics, keep posting them! Ray has good advice/suggestions about what your body can handle. I'm one of those who find TM running really boring but sometimes, I have to run on them when traveling/staying in hotels. I know what my body is capable of so I pay attention. It's frustrating and requires more patience than I have but recovery is crucial, those rest days are my life line as far as I'm concerned. Racing events are for fun and allows me to explore places to experience the trails. However, the competitive spirit in me will take over when my body feels like it can push it, otherwise, I don't worry about it. Remember, it's suppose to be 'FUN.'
So, finally got a run in on Sunday on hotel TM, about 5.2 miles, 20 min elliptical, 20 min weights. We returned from Phoenix on Monday evening. Missed hitting 4 elks crossing the paved road on way home Now, DH believes me!! LOL!! Luckily no other vehicles hit it on the opposite side! It's a very popular crossing area for them! I wimped out on running Tuesday due to gusty cold winds. Yesterday, had errands to run in town and then drove to a different trail that I haven't run in awhile. Nice, quiet and only one other runner and a biker on the trail. Ran all the hills, quite technical in many areas but has dirt packed flat areas as well. Took couple of 1 min walk breaks and did some calf/hamstring stretching. Finished about 7.2 miles, 2 miles longer (on a different trail, out and back) than I planned but it felt great, and injury area was doing well. Spectacular views of the snow capped peaks of the San Francisco Mts. Later, DH and I were invited to a neighbor's home for grilled burgers, yummy! Might get in a short run today if wind doesn't pick up. DH will be flying back to MN on Saturday so we will be heading back down to Phoenix for his flight. I will be spending the weekend w/ the silly adorable GDs, DD and catching up on the Final Four championship games!! yippee!! It's being held in west Phoenix but I don't like going to arenas, stadiums, movie theaters, etc. I might catch part of the games on some wide screen sports bar tho' w/ DD and SIL, LOL!!
NH Runner You must have quite a snow accumulation, still. Run/walk will help you. I guess your lungs have to get back in shape. It is all melted here and I actually watered my front bushes because it may be a little dry.
justrundan Sounds like a nice trip for you and your wife..sorry she got the cold, but seems to be able to get out and about. I went to the Sonoma museum/Saguaro park many yrs. ago. I like desert plants.
az2mntrail You had better stay off the roads.re: elk/deer. ..you seem to find more wildlife on the road than on the trail!!?? www.mainlymarathons.com have added a new series.The Prairie Series.starts July 16 Brekenridge MN, July 17 Wahpeton, ND, July 18 Baltic, SD etc. (7 states in 7 days.) A runner can do one race or all of them, whatever they prefer. I might be able to drive down there for some of them. They have HM, FM, 10 Km, 5 KM for each race. Twin Cities is an 10 hr. drive. Fargo marathon is May 15. Did you ever run Fargo? Air fare is so expensive and time consuming here, I might rather drive someplace.
atair5 Those are some nice photos. Do you usually run on a trail? Nice scenic runs for you.
Art in AZ That Extreme Adventures' courses sound quite difficult. Good for you to complete the black course! I bet the finishing percentage would be a lot less than 25-30% for your AG! Your young relatives are pretty strong, also.
No runs because of a sinus/cold/sore throat thing.
Walked outside every day for 10-20 minutes to get fresh air.
Thursday, 3/30... Yesterday and today were 3 mile walks on the railtrail. The trail's a mess with mud and slush and my heel's still a little sore, so walks it is. Was surprised when looking at this year's Boston runners to see Shalane Flanagan's had to drop out. She's fractured a bone in her back... http://www.flotrack.org/article/52287-shalane-flanagan-withdraws-from-boston-marathon-due-to-back-fracture#.WN1zA4WcHcs
The saying..."March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb" is a little off this year. Early March the Nor'easter dumped over a foot of snow on us, now we're forecast for another 8 to 10 inches tomorrow, the last day of the month...
Art... pretty impressive upper body strength to finish the Extreme Adventure course, sounds like everybody's fit in your little group. Running's going good too, eh?
Altair5... enjoyed the pictures of your run course, seems a little unfair there's no snow in those pictures though...
Dan... what a nice break in Arizona. Enjoy the rest of the trip!
az... it's a busy time for you, eh? Nice trail run too, 7.2 miles ain't too shabby. Isabel's sitting on the basement floor missing some of her parts. I've got the next generation trike ready for welding and borrowed a few of her parts to get it done. My buddy doing the welding is into the maple syrup business big time, but tells me he should be available to do the welding this coming Monday. Where Isabel's a single speed, the new trike will have 7, hopefully making it easier to climb hills.
Chantilly... yes, we've still got snow on the ground and if you read my post, know we're about to get more...lol This time of year, it's Spring weather one day and Winter the next...lol Those are serious races you're looking at, good luck getting to run a few...
Another 8.4 mile canal run this morning. Great running weather for me. Passed my monthly goal today so I can work on the yearly deficit tomorrow. Sunday is a bike ride to Tempe using the new bike path Mesa did. Suppose to be a good day weather wise.
Dan - Glad your enjoying the Tucson portion of your trip. Lots to see and do down there.
AZ - The weather was crazy also when we were there. Still enjoyed the time and experiences I had in Flagstaff. Sounds like that trail run was good for you. You are getting in a lot of driving time for the week.
Chantilly - Hope you feel better soon. Not feeling well puts such a crimp in our plans. I didn't find the courses that difficult but heard others describing how they thought it was hard. I think it was because they haven't done something like that before. As I was turning in my harness A woman in the group there asked how it was and if it was hard. I told her to take her time and think it through and she should be able to finish. She then asked if it was high up. I told her the height was relative. Since I use to sky dive no it wasn't that high. To someone that never gets offs the ground it will be high but you are clipped to the cable all the time and won't fall to the ground. You might hang there for a while but you're perfectly safe. SO go have a good time. The grandsons play football and baseball so stay fairly active.
Rich - I never believed in that saying much. So you're working on a new tryke. Will this be Isabel II or does this new tryke get a new name?
Quick drive by since it has been a week since last post...I'll need to catch up later.
Friday, 3/24, 7.6 progressive miles on TM.
Saturday, 3/25, 7.3 easy miles on TM.
Sunday, 3/26, 15.8 long miles on the flats around home, last 5 miles at marathon pace. It was a bit breezy and did a good 3 miles near Facebook by the bay where wind was a bit more intense. Feeling better about marathon coming up.
Monday, 3/27. just over 5 progressive mile run average 8:04/mile.
Tuesday, 3/28, legs felt a bit tired so 3.1 mile run followed by 1 mile walk and the 3.5 mile run.
Wednesday, 3/29, unscheduled rest day - wasn't feeling it so skipped it.
Thursday, 3/30, Decided to do a 5 mile run at work and somehow missed a mile and did 6.2 and then in the evening 6.5 on TM.
Friday, 3/31, wanted to get 10 miles in to finish the month off, so 5.2 miles at work and then 5.5 on the TM in the evening.
March total is 233 miles. Feeling better about Marathon in 2 weeks, need to get in close to 17-20 miles this weekend and then start the taper.