As Ray already mentioned, we have actually have rain here in CA. Got out pre-dawn yesterday for a 4-miler with my dog before the rains started. Still raining today, but today is a planned workout in the weight room anyway. I'm hopeful the weather will allow an early morning run tomorrow, but if not I'll have to jump on DW's TM. Planning for an 8 or 9-mile run on Saturday morning.
Don't quite have time to answer you all individually today, but wish you all a good day and good running!
Rich
PRs: 9/1/2012 Disneyland 5K 27:08, 01/06/2013 Resolution 15K 1:30:17, 03/10/2013 San Diego HM 2:18:05, 04/19/2014 ACT! Today 10K 51:54
Fletch
WDW Rich and Ray - Glad you guys are getting the much needed rain, but I hope you can avoid all the mud slides!
20 runners showed up this morning for the weekly speed workout. 48 degrees, but the fog was so thick, my hair was soaked by the time we finished. 5.5 miles. Now at day 7 of the Holiday streak.
az2mntrail A 50 Km trail would be a good distance for you. I think that I could get used to the heat better than the cold.
I ran up and down South Mountain one year. (We stayed at the Arizona Grand Resort) It was hot and I could only do 30 minutes at a time, but I liked it.
rmcj001 Hope your TM wasn't shaking when the giant worms appeared!
WDWRich Nice to see some rain for your area!
Fletch_NC Wow! Fog...Good to do a speed workout. And that's a great turnout.. more runners than degrees.
10 miles. A bit of speed play with this other (50ish) lady who takes aerobics classes.
Everytime I caught up to her, she sped up so that I couldn't pass. It was fun. (We've said "hi" for years.)
"dancing on the path and singing, now you got away,
you can reach the goals you set from now on, every day"
Sonata Arctica
Thursday, 12/4... yesterday's weather included snow, freezing rain and rain, but not much accumulation. With the wind blowing, I thought the railtrail would be a good place to run today, I'd just wear the Yaktrax to deal with the ice and everything would be fine. Problem was, the footing was too soft and made for lousy running, so I ended up running just 4 miles before calling it a day. Struggling with the footing made for a good workout, but I kept thinking I should have broken out the skis...
Congrats to the Left Coasters on the recent rain, here's hoping for more this winter to get you out of this drought!
Ray... I think it's the investment in training a runner has to commit to in order to run a marathon that makes us second guess whether we've done enough, etc. You and az are both inspirations in the way you've hung tough in the weeks leading up to your tapers. Let's face it, training for a marathon isn't easy and you both should be proud. I'll be thinking of you this Sunday and hoping for the best....
Chantilly... I hope riding the tryke is going to give me the upper body workout I've been missing. I've tried doing push-ups, sit ups and lifting dumbbells, etc., a number of times, but never stayed with it. The tryke isn't boring and I'm hoping that's what'll make a difference.
Everyone's running really well, this is talented bunch for such a small group...
Hi everyone!
It was a glorious day, about 15 degrees 'warmer' than yesterday (according to weather site) ........Sunshine All Day!! Love it!! So around 1 pm, it was about 21 degrees, 5 mph wind, feels like 16, NICE!! Bundled up and ran along frontage road, fairgrounds, neighborhood. Most of the road portion was dry with snow on shoulder; fairgrounds trail is snow covered but it was quiet. Finished 8.5 miles!! COOL BEANS!!
WDW: YAY on the needed moisture!! Why did I think you lived in FL? (WDW, Disney World?) .......I'm always so impressed with "pre-dawn" runs by anyone!! Never was an early morning runner.......except on race day. Having a home TM does come in handy in inclement weather, good job on your planned weight workout.
Fletch: Hope you're taking it easy on those 'speed' workout .......injury may rebel. Glad you're being consistent with all the life changes recently. <<<high five>>> on the continued holiday streak!!
Ray: Is DW going to the race too? Hope she gets some pics of the event!!
Chantilly: You go, girl!! Way to keep on her back though!! Love it!! It is fun; every now and then, a student runner will do the same with me on the track, they may be fast but they don't run as far as I do, it seems. It is a weird motivator for me to keep going. I love your running adventures with those die-hards, LOL!! I try to meet up with the dirt trail runners when I'm in PHX and 'Flag'. Lots of different dirt trails to run and South Mt is a great one with the inclines. Miss them. I hope to run an XTerra trail event and then an Aravapai trail race in one week (in March). Yeah, 50k TRAIL run is on my bucket list. Awesome 10 miler!!
NH: THANKS for the encouragement!! it is tough training for a marathon with all of life's interruptions, work, etc. I'm embracing the weather here in MN as much as I have embraced the challenges all my running years. Ray is such a speedy runner, I can't wait for his RR. Sorry the run was cut short but 4 miles is 4 miles! I haven't tried the yaktrax .......don't think I'll make the investment as long as my trail shoes is doing the job. I know what you mean with making time for total workouts, and doing push-ups, etc. can be less than motivating. It forces us to find creative ways to incorporate the needed workouts exercises, and you seemed to have nailed it!!
Dan, Deb, sluggo, Kay: hope all is well and safe and warm!
justrundan
AZ- you really have embrace the northern MN winter; you are out there much more than last winter! Way to go. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?!
Chantilly- nice you some 'competition' on your run. The only thing around when I run around our home are the cows, and they just stand there looking at me!
Fletch- nice turnout for the speed workout!
RAy- Good luck this weekend! Looking forward to the RR.
3 miles this morning in the cold dark WI morning. This time tomorrow I will have gotten my run in and worked up a good sweat, I'll be running in Orlando. Flying out very early tomorrow for nieces wedding on Saturday. DW unable to go due to commitment to a Christmas dinner theater she does every December.
Have a good weekend everyone.
Dan
Friday, 12/5... 7 mile road run today. The highway where I run goes North out of town and it seems like this time of year our winds either come out of the North or South, so I'm usually dealing with a headwind in one direction or the other... Today it was out of the South and the splits looked like this...9:16, 8:59, 8:52, 8:47, 8:47, 8:56 and cooled the last mile in 9:33.
az... your good weather days are pretty cold compared to what I'm dealing with, NH hit 32 degrees today. It's all about attitude, isn't it? I'm looking forward to race reports from both Ray and you, with race day getting closer, you must be getting excited...
Dan... what a change in weather you're about to experience! lol Not sure you could drag me back up here after spending time in Florida this time of year, enjoy the break!
az2mntrail Your training is going so well. Your trail shoes must have some good traction. The winter days are so nice when the sun is out!
I should have said run/walk on South Mountain. It was pretty steep for a prairie girl. Aravaipa has some great events.
NH Runner You have quite a lot of windy days there. Not something I associate with NH. The freezing rain, I do, though. Those are good paces in the wind. Watch those cars!
justrundan Good job to get out in the cold darkness. Have fun at the wedding.
worked last night, slept an hour, then walked 2 miles on the track while son had a run. Christmas tree is up!
az2mntrail Your training is going so well. Your trail shoes must have some good traction. The winter days are so nice when the sun is out! I should have said run/walk on South Mountain. It was pretty steep for a prairie girl. Aravaipa has some great events. worked last night, slept an hour, then walked 2 miles on the track while son had a run. Christmas tree is up!
az2mntrail Your training is going so well. Your trail shoes must have some good traction. The winter days are so nice when the sun is out! I should have said run/walk on South Mountain. It was pretty steep for a prairie girl. Aravaipa has some great events.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6X1q4U-kEM&list=UUOeUnUZ4zuWX4yBYAT5OaAQ
Chantilly: check out this video. Recognize any landmarks? The Aravapai trail running group I try to meet up with when in Phx; different meet ups at various trailheads in Phx area. Amazing how Jamil Coury (the ultrarunner/organizer) can run fast while taping a video!! Jamil and his brother are the ones that started the Aravapai running team. Don't know when we will get our tree up. DH still wants to put lights on the one outside and he better do it before the weather changes. How old is your son; is he visiting?
Some mornings you can't wait to go for a run, right? Wish I had more of those, LOL!! Well, it was around 20 degrees, 5mph wind, feels like 18 and another gorgeous day with bluebird sky. Just my luck that when I'm in TX, this weather will continue until I get back. Anyway, until then, I'm enjoying my runs outside. Bundled up with balaclava which I need to wear to avoid achy ears at night. A true recovery run. Nice and slow, stopping for few seconds for photo ops. Neighborhood road on the dirt portion was pretty icy in the shadows of the trees but paved portion in the sunlight was dry. Flat as a pancake. Fairgrounds area still snowpacked but vehicle tracks made for good running surface. Finished 5.2 miles, yay!! Muscles actually felt better, relaxed and keeping the circulation going. So far, my year's mileage is over 1000 miles!! WHAT?!? Thought I add some photos.
fairgrounds road
neighborhood road; snow on shoulder provide good traction
Ray: GOOD LUCK, speedster!! Run Fast!! Safe travels.
Dan: Run long and EVERYDAY while in the tropics!! WI isn't getting any warmer . Bummer DW couldn't take the trip. Run extra miles for her, LOL!!
NH: Those pace times are excellent!! I'm excited just to get out of the cold for a few days!!
az2mntrail Good video. I didn't continue on the trails, I only ran up paved streets behind Rustlers' Rooste and Baseline Rd. Some of the trail in the video looks quite smooth, but the parts with the rocks would hurt my feet, so I don't think I could run along the trail. It looks lovely, I have always found the desert to be quite beautiful. I like your photos of MN. Red pants are so elf-like!
13 miles. TRI group was there. They bring their own bikes and set them up on stands. Then they do stretches and warmups. Then they bike hard for ?? minutes, then run on the track hard for ?? laps, then back on their bikes, and so on for 90 minutes. Their instructor is an Ironman. Some of them have done a full Ironman and want to get better, some have done a half IM. A couple of them look like it is their first attempt and they are way behind the others.
Interesting to watch.
Quick check-in.
Wed, SRD - not even a real walk - just chilled.
Thur, 6.8 at 9 mpm. Followed up with an evening walk on TM or 4 miles.
Fri, SRD - walked 5 miles.
Sat, Quarry Lakes 5K, no watch - didn't want to be tempted to try and do something stupid so just off effort. Felt like I didn't really loosen up until mile 2. Let lead pack go and stayed with young woman until halfway where she slowed a bit. Trail was a bit wet in last mile, but felt I eased up a bit since there was no one around. Finished in 21:30 flat, good for 1st AG and 4th OA - so a 5K PR and everything else I wanted to accomplish with this run. Legs feel good, so I don't think I overdid it...
Gotta drive to Sacramento now and get CIM race packet...
Ray
Saturday, 12/6... got up to 4 inches of new snow with rain coming down this morning... Cleaned that off the driveway and ran 2 very easy recovery miles on the treadmill later in the day. Nice surprise to see 2 wild turkeys under my bird feeder today, hopefully they'll be back...
az... enjoyed the pictures, it's nice to see where others in here run. I was going to take a picture of my treadmill and post it, then thought..."nah." Old Man Winter's giving you a break, you're smart to take advantage!
Chantilly... the wind seems to blow more during the winter here some reason. Maybe it feels that way because it's usually bringing in colder air. I think Triathletes must be the fittest of all athletes, I can't even imagine doing a Ironman...
Ray... good luck tomorrow!!!