justrundan
Finally got out after a busy week. Amazing weather change, 59 degrees and sunny here today! First 2017 outdoors run in shorts-I'll take it!
5.2 miles of run/walk, starting the process of getting some endurance back. and doing PT exercises for my piriformis, and other core muscles.
Mark- hopefully you can use the weekend to make up for those 3d without runs. Good luck! That's a nice pace on your training run. I might be able to hit that sprinting, downhill! I lived in Milwaukee 4 years in the late 70's, but was not a runner then. They have a great place to run along the lakefront,when the weather allows. The metro area also has a great parkway system where a lot of people run. I've been fortunate when I've traveled to conferences each year, the hotel is close to a good place to run outside. Last April in Baltimore running around the Inner Harbor area, and the year before in Austin TX. NOLA in 2 mo!
Rich- Wow, you have been getting blasted the last week. Hopefully some of this warm weather will head your way.
AZ- so glad you are enjoying your trip 'home'. So great to see family and friends, especially grandchildren. Have a great time hiking in the Grand Canyon with your MN friend!
Chantilly- you are wearing out that track- way to go!
Art- great day biking and gardening. My brother in Arkansas will be putting in some garden this month.
Dan
5 miles this morning before getting work out of the way. Took a short break and planted one tomato plant and three pepper plants into the garden. Weather is calling for a rainy weekend and wanted them in the ground before it rained. After work and dinner worked some of the sections in the garden again before it rained. Since I didn't water these sections it probably won't rain here.
Mark - Feels good to run after days off doesn't it. Visited family in San Antonio several years ago. Really liked the Riverwalk area.
Rich - Just because you're not running doesn't mean you can't talk to us.
AZ - Now that's a long trip home. But visiting family and friends is always worth it. I see you have really enjoyed being 'home' and getting to run on the trails. Too bad it's only for a couple of months.
Chantilly - Hi.
Dan - It's getting to that time of the year where the weather yo-yo's and keeps you guessing.
Art in AZ
Mesa, AZ
Quick status update. Thanks for all the safe travel thoughts. Trip is almost done, and most of the time has been traveling. Visiting DS2 in China. Been mostly running indoors on treadmills do to air quality. Will catch up when I get back...
Ray
Ray- Yes, I've known others who tried to avoid the outdoors in China due to poor air quality!
3.3 mi recovery walk with DW. 43 degrees @ 9AM.
6 miles on part of my canal route. Cloudy and overcast with decent temps so decided to go for run before it started raining. Got 2 miles out and it started to drizzle out. Was thinking is this one of those where it lasts a couple of minutes and stops on just keeps going. Goal was 6 miles so decided to finish the run. Of course the drizzle turned into a steady light rain. Hit the 3 mile mark and turned around and Pow! Got hit with a cold blast of wind and really felt the rain. Great. I've got this to run in all the way home. Saw a few other runners running in the rain and we all had the look that said 'Well it's not that bad so might as well finish.' Couple blocks from home it stopped raining. And it's been on and off since. At least the garden will get some water.
Ray - Nice that you can still get some miles in despite the bad air quality. A friend of mine has said the same thing when he visited China.
Dan - Did you wear shorts again? Probably not with going for a walk. Now you need to find that local coffee shop.
mfender Sounds like you are in shape for your race. I don't find it strange that you would drive aways for a good run. My group will drive 15 miles out of town to run in a river valley for "hills" because we live on the flat northern prairie.
NH Runner That is a lot of work for you to move the snow around in a limited area. It must be deep if the turkeys are getting so close to the house. As for the "caller" I've only seen Duck Dynasty on TV, not Turkey Tribe. LOL.
az2mntrail Sounds like you are having a good time in AZ. Hope the recovery continues and you can have fun in the Grand Canyon.
Art in AZ A good couple of runs for you. I guess you would have liked the rain a little later on, though. Are those jalepeno peppers or the regular ones?
rmcj001 Hope the treadmill keeps you in shape. I saw the air quality during the Olympics there, so can understand why you'd want to stay inside.
justrundan It warmed up there quite a bit if you're out in shorts. Are you going to DWD again this year?
3 days off due to work and the painters here.
90 minute walk on the track after breakfast.
Walked around 3 home improvement stores in the afternoon dreaming of "what could be." 💡
Achilles still a bit tender.
"dancing on the path and singing, now you got away,
you can reach the goals you set from now on, every day"
Sonata Arctica
Late checkin but we are in Phoenix for weekend. Wedding today. DH flying back from Phoenix to MN tomorrow. Cold, snow predictions in the higher elevation of northern AZ, might stay another night before heading back to northern AZ home on Monday. Rained all day today so wedding was moved indoors. Great day!! Actually ran 6.2 miles on Thursday!! Felt good, took it easy and steady. Rested on Friday. Then was forced to run on TM in hotel this morning, finished 4.5 miles w/ 3 minutes of intervals after every mile. Lots of stretching and some weights afterwards.
Rich: don't stay away too long, love your humor and adventures everyday!
Art: yep, lots of rain in the valley. Gardening is always a challenge for me every year, my heart is in it but timing always gets in the way. Good solid miles!!
mark: I love exploring new trails so driving a ways doesn't seem all that strange to me .......of course, that also depends on the race. Hot and humid there?
Chantilly: you amaze me with all the piling of miles and cross-training!
Dan: wierd temp changes but it certainly is a welcome w/ the warm temps when you get to re-introduce to running shorts!
Ray: do you wear mask like some of the people there in China? Are indoors better to breathe? I can't imagine the air quality.
Good evening all! Life should start returning a little bit more to normal this week. Saturday was one of the "big" days last week. A lot of the teachers Friday would say things like "Goodbye Mark - have a good weekend." And I just smiled and said "You too!" But I knew that my weekend was really only going to be Sunday. I got to work Saturday at about 5:45 AM and finally left about 6:15 PM, on my feet the entire day. The pedometer showed over 23,000 steps at the end of the day. I didn't attempt a run after all that, but today got in a really nice 8+ mile run with all 8 miles between 8:30 and 8:50. It's a lot easier to keep the pace that steady when you're running on land as flat as a tabletop.
Dan - That sounds like fantastic weather for your run! It has to be great to be able to run in shorts and leave the gloves behind! So NOLA in 2 months? Are you going to be there for/during Mardi Gras? If that's your plan, I'm in awe of your courage. I don't think I'd try NOLA during Mardi Gras on a bet. Obviously a lot of people do it and love it. Just not on my bucket list.
Art - Nice early 5-miler! Great way to start the day, isn't it? And you're right - it felt great to put the running shoes on. Don't get me wrong - I love my job. But I love running more.
Chantilly - I hope the home projects keep going well, and that your Achilles is better soon.
Ray - I'm guessing that was a good call keeping your training indoors. Great dedication finding a way to get your workouts in despite the challenges!
az - A couple of great runs there! Nice dedication moving to the TM when you had to. Sorry to hear about the rain changing the venue plans for the wedding. And yes, the weather has been very un-winterlike here. Today made it into the 80s with some pretty serious humidity.
Have a great week everyone!
Mark
az2mntrail Hope you had a good time at the wedding, too bad about the rain, though. Nice long run for you. Sounds encouraging.
mfender You were sure busy at work, too bad about extra on the Sat....a lot of steps there and then the 8 miles the day after. You must be used to hot temperatures there? just not this early?
The past 2 days, I ran 2 miles/day and walked 45 minutes/day plus 11 minutes stationary bike at the track,
I hurt my knee at work, so am taking it a little easy. (more of an arthritis-related strain than a real injury)
painters/electrician are here today.
3 mile run
11 minutes stationary bike
20 minutes walking.
Runs in the rain
Hello everyone! I’ve had some setbacks. I did a 6 mile run Monday the 13th and went to run 8 miles Tuesday the 14th. My form was off and at mile 7 I faltered in my stride and pitched forward. I scraped up my nose and forehead and was bleeding. I was going to continue the last mile but thought better of it when a man stopped his truck and gave me a ride home. Because of the head injury I stopped running for several days and then resumed on Saturday the 18th. Since then I’ve been doing a 3.87 mile run each day. Because someone was coming to fix my bathroom floor this week I have been busy cleaning the house and have not had time for a longer run. The contractor is here now and I’ll soon have a repaired floor, a new toilet and vanity! I may be able to do a 8 mile run either today or tomorrow and hope to return to my long distance training next week. My face looked really bad after my fall, but it has healed quickly and is barely noticeable after a week. I am being a lot more careful and mindful of my form now as I run.
AZ- How nice to get to visit all those relatives and friends! You seem happy to do your dirt mountain trail again. Will you be doing the NM 10K trail race? I wish I could hike along the Grand Canyon, must be beautiful! I also have had the experience of training in cooler weather and then running a marathon in near 90 degree weather. I did not puke, but ended walking the last few miles. Never did the international marathon and now you need a passport to cross into Canada.
Rich- You are really getting hit with the snow! Tough to clear it once it freezes! It has been unseasonably warm here this winter and I’ve done about a half dozen runs in shorts and tee shirt when it gets to near 50 degrees or above. No snow on ground still and I even found some yellow dandelions in my yard, holdouts from last fall! Also, today I saw the snow drop flowers out as well. Record breaking temperature near 70 is expected before it drops back to freezing over the weekend.
Chantilly- Good millage! Hope your knee will not set you back. I’ve been thinking about running longer distances myself, perhaps sometime doing a 50K (31 mile) run. I like the long slow runs and looking at scenery. I looked at this book and put it on my “want list”: "Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons" by John Morelock.
Mark- I sympathize with getting antsy with having several days with no running, good that you got back into it with a 8+ mile run! I also work weekends from 7 am to 3 pm, Thursdays and Fridays are my days off. Hope your 5K training continues to do well!
Dan- Great that you were able to run in shorts again! Feels good, don’t it! It is nice to go to a charming coffee shop to sit and sip coffee after your walk.
Ray- I am a fan of Chinese painting and poetry. I envy you being able to visit that part of the world. Hopefully the Chinese will get it together as far as the air pollution goes. I looked into Hanson’s method. It seems like a strictly scheduled high intensity workouts plan. I am sure it is effective, but at this time I want to try it my own spontaneous way and see how I do.
Art- Good 14 mile bike ride! I want to do more bike rides myself as the weather improves. I think they exercise different leg muscles than running. The advantage of having it start to rain halfway through a run is at least you are warmed up! I hope you have a green thumb with your garden. I will not be able to plant tomatoes or peppers until sometime in May, but have given some thought to lettuce and spinach soon, maybe getting some seedlings started indoors and then setting them out with a plastic crop cover. Once it gets hot the spinach in particular tends to get bitter and bolt, so it’s best to start early.
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?Get up, get out, get out of the door!
Happy Friday everyone!! It's about 40 degrees, windy which makes it colder due to the 'coldness' off the snow-peaked mountain, but it's SUNNY!! Love the sun peeking out despite the cloudy days now and then, nothing like ALL DAY bleakness of no sun for DAYS in northern MN. My 'injury' is healing quite well and has not complained at all although I think I've gotten use to being overly cautious on more technical trails but I'm feeling great about it. Ran 6.2 miles on Tues, rest Wed. and got my butt up early (35 degrees) on Thursday (yesterday) to avoid the predicted gusty winds, the sun kept me warm but it was chilly in the shade of the trees. There are nice dirt trails near my home, with a couple of short gradual although rocky inclines, awesome!! Finished 6 miles!!! YAY!! Hope to get in a 7 miler tomorrow. Slowly progressing on the distance and making sure I'm keeping up w/ the exercises that the PT showed me. It really has been helping. Also, it is fostering the planned hike in the Grand Canyon, so excited about it!!
Altair5: OH MY Goodness!! So glad and relieved that you are okay. It's good that you got a ride home instead of continuing on, better safe than sorry. I've had some falls on dirt trails and luckily, it's only been knee/palm scrapes. Great stories to go w/ those and show off the tough earned scars! HA! Good job on the short miles, better than no miles for sure. Long runs will come, and so will speed. Recovery IS SLOW but it's worth not risking further injury. I say that but I'm the last person to have much patience. I'm pretty sure I will be running the 10k trail race near Albq, NM on March 11. Most of my family/friends will be there ..........no, not to cheer me on .........they will be cheering my high school girls basketball team at the state tournament, in full swing the same weekend. Very tough team, my great niece is playing. I will try to catch a game. So I will be visiting them while staying with DS/DIL.
Chantilly: hope the knee isn't too bad and doesn't keep you from longer runs. You're tough though!!
Dan: The "MN friend" is Christie and she is so excited to run a desert mountain trail race AND then hike the Grand Canyon!! We've been talking/planning every chance we get. She is SOOOO in need of a 'getaway' from the Midwest. We are planning on running the Afton (MN) trail race first weekend of July. Then a FM or HM trail race in western ND the end of July. Are you planning on running the DWD again this year?
Ray: hope the trip is going well. Do you make time to explore China?
Art: while in Phoenix/Mesa/Tempe area, I was checking out the canal areas in case I saw a runner!! Ha! The few rainy days was nice though, kept the temps down so it wasn't too 'hot'.
Mike: those are ALOT of steps!! Yep, running sure makes working a 'little' more enjoyable! What races do you have planned in TX?
The warm weather continued but I haven't been able to take advantage of it. I was upper 60's on Wednesday and overnight and today we had freezing rain and 2" of snow, supposed to get 1-3"more tonight. I got out to PT appt and when I came back our hill was all ice. Our Subaru barely made it up the hill! Will probably have to do TM this weekend to get any run in. After PT I did cross training, doing house cleaning with DW who was home due to the weather.
Chantilly- last fall DW & I planned a train trip to Glacier National Park, taking her Mom with us. I realized after we had booked that we will get back the same day as DWD, so I am missing it this year. I hope to run those trails for regular runs anyway, it's just a fun & beautiful place to run. Hope the knee feels better soon.
AZ- we will be in Tucson the last week of March, DW has her spring break then. Looking forward to that! Tell Christie hello from us! Since I'm not doing DWD I need to get another race so I have a goal. The Door County HM is great, but I don't really have time to train adequately. Maybe. Any races half way between Bemidji and Baraboo?
Altair5- glad you didn't break anything on your fall! scrapes heal quickly, especially on the face. Good luck with the longer runs.
Mark- wow, that is a long day on your feet! Great to get in 8 miles the next day. Mardi Gras is this next week, so everything should be cleaned up by the time I get there first week of April. I'm definitely not a Mardi Gras kind of guy, I wouldn't be going if it was the same week. Runner's World had a piece on running in NOLA in the Jan/Feb issue. some of the trails go right by the hotel where I'll be, so I may have to miss a few sessions!
Art- glad your garden got some water, sounds like running in it wasn't TOO bad. Why is the wind always against you an the way home!
Did a 12 mile bike ride today as a change of pace. Sunny and comfortable if you were walking around. Riding the bike added enough to make it a 'cool' bike ride. Stopped by the Phoenix Marathon expo and while it was packed and busy, it seemed to be smaller than years past. No, I'm not running it this year. Just stopped by to check things out.
Chantilly - Nice combination of workouts. The home improvement stores have a lot of ideas. I think it would be easy for anybody to dream of 'what could be'. Next on my list is to replace the interior doors with a different style. Going from the old smooth textured look to the six-panel type of door. I currently have one pepper plant of jalapeno, Anaheim and sweet banana. Will add a couple of regular probably next week.
AZ - Nice increase in distance and progression. Sounds like you are really enjoying being home.
Altair - Thankfully you weren't hurt more. And doesn't it make you feel good that there are still good people out there willing to help if needed? It's always interesting talking about the different areas and challenges in trying to garden around the weather. I started some things from seed so when the weather gets nicer I just transplant them into the garden.
Dan - My mom still lives in Northern Illinois and had similar weather. It makes for interesting driving.
Mark - That's a long time to be on your feet. I wonder how many miles those steps would equal to. I know it felt good running the next day.
8.4 miles doing the canal route. Took a couple of miles to warm up and felt comfortable after that. Nice easy run for a Sunday morning. Now I can spend the rest of the day working in the garage on car stuff.