Tim
8 miles with DW today. I had some extra miles since I got a text from DW saying she was lost. I backtracked a bit as I talked to her, on the phone, directing her back to the right trail. She was right behind me and I made a left onto a trail we always take and somehow she went straight. She said she was day dreaming.
Jamie - good luck. You had a really good build up, so I think you'll be fine. There is a lot to be said for muscle memory. Weather is getting better and that will help you.
Sue - hope the decatheterization goes well for Jack.
Good luck to any racers and pacers this weekend. Also happy "Taper Time" to those getting ready.
QOTD: Do you have a good sense of direction, and how about the rest of your family? DS and DD#1 both have my good sense of direction. I can make several turns in the woods and I always will know the general direction back to my vehicle. DW and DD#2 have no directional abilities, unless they are shopping, then thy know exactly where they are going.
“Paralysis-to-50k” training plan is underway!
Fall my ass !!! Crap it was killer this morning, I think 78 with 100%. My legs were dead after 7 or 8 miles, ended up with my planned 15, but it wasn't pretty. They were calling for rain, but it didn't happen until way after I was finished. But now I am officially tapering for the next 2 weeks. Yay, hay is in the barn and made it to the taper. Crap, the taper...
Unfortunately the rains near Mt Fuji didn't lighten up and after they shortened the UTMF 100 mile yesterday, today they had to stop the 50 miler STY while it was underway. No matter what language, it's a bummer. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hBSWyBbLs-0
Actually the conditions look just like what I had last year when I dnf'ed the UTMF.
qotd: I have a very good sense of direction, perhaps from all the sailing I did as a kid.
tbd.
5.4 miles last night, was a muggy 88°. Today the highs in the low 70s, much nicer!
Queen, I hope your puppy is doing better!
QOTD on the trails my sense of direction is quite good, I will run a new trail system and not even worry about getting lost. On the roads my sense of direction is not so good. I rely on my GPS a lot.
some call me Tim
I was going to get out to a local trail race to promote my event this AM, but DW had to leave town - her father's dying, and although in general I see that as a positive(loong and sad story), you only get one, and there's a lot of uncertainty for her right now. So I'll get a little run in today and have things in order for when she returns, then head out tomorrow to do a final LR before the taper.
I've been playing this game lately where I try to find road routes that have the most climbing without resorting to out and backs or any kind of repeated sections... been thinking of making it a challenge to the other crazies in my neck of the woods.. 1 big loop, under 26.2mi of public roads in a couple of the counties around here, you've gotta run it and most vert wins beer from me. I've been using CalTopo to help find steeper grades, but it's cool in that this also depends a lot upon city planning/street layout. It should produce some epic routes that I hope to set up group runs on. Thus far my best route gains ~3500 ft over 25 miles.. pretty good for the Buffalo area. That's what I'll run tomorrow.
Jamie - LB and I have answers on yesterday's thread. Rest up, but don't psych yourself out of a spot on the starting line. I'm curious.. I know you've complained generally about your legs feeling dead, but are you having specific problems? If you mentioned any, I must've missed it.
qotd: I'm pretty solid, but it *is* possible for me to get confused. I think I'd be better if I dropped the help from electronics. Driving directions from the phone, compass heading from the truck, and recently I followed a gpx track on my watch through a maze of unfamiliar trails. It's nice to have as a safety net, but I think sense of direction is kind of like a muscle - use it or lose it. DW is about average. The kids are little enough that I think a lot will change, but DD1(9) has a great sense of direction and DD2(6) is a space cadet and is always getting turned around.
ME WEBLARG
6 miles Looking Glass Mt. 1600' climb in three miles then back down. Good trail for two miles but the last mile is tough both ways.
qotd Look at every trail intersection from both directions. Never make more than three turns on an unmarked trail.
There are five mts in the county. If I get lost I can climb a hill and find my position from looking at the tops of the mts.
Don't argue with your compass.
Le professeur de trail
Just checking in. No run. No walking either other than mowing the lawn and hanging out at DD soccer game this morning (she scored another goal!!!!!). But I read everyone's response to my question yesterday and appreciate the feedback. Walking is good. I do plan on walking tomorrow - probably at the gym and then get in a workout. I need to get the heart rate up.
My "injury" is not just dead legs - or so I think. I had this stupid injury 3 years ago that started right before a 50 miler. I ran the race and ended up in a 1.5 year period of mostly not running, multiple doc appts, PT, Chiro, etc. to figure it out. The only diagnosis came from the PT who said it was an adductor strain. This is what it feels like again. It's a horrific dull achy pain in the inside of both my legs from my knee up to my groin. I slowly worked back to running well late last year, ran a 50k and 50 miler then another 50k in April this year. I worked my way up, did ok at Montour in July. Somewhere between then and a couple weeks ago, something went wrong.
Today my legs do feel better though-- or at least better than the last 2 days. I will slowly work this thing back up in the next 2 weeks and be ok for OC. It just sucks. These things become such a mind game. Ok...end of rant. Carry on.
QOTD: I like to think I have a good sense of direction. But that is usually because I study a map prior to getting out somewhere new.
Have a good evening!
My favorite day of the week is RUNday
Got up early this morning, went out and drove around until I found a bunch of crazy looking people. Then we all went for a nice jaunt through the woods for 24-27 miles. Heck, maybe it was a little bit more than that even, you know how those GPS things are. They never agree with each other. My feet are sooooore.
Blarg - Sorry to hear about your FIL. Sometimes death is better than life, but the going part is never easy, especially for the family.
QOTD: If I need to, yes. I rarely get lost on the road, just turned around and not always sure where I'm at. It's 50/50 as too whether I should ask for directions as these days most people can't give them. In the woods I can often look at a map before I go somewhere and figure out where I'm at if I get confused. That being said, when I'm at a race I expect the course to be marked and if it's not then it might take some time to figure things out. In that case just remember where you started, how you got there and plot a course off the sun if it's shining. DS's sense of direction sucks which is due to him using GPS all the time.
Daydreamer - Thanks for the kind words. Even if DW has been estranged and with good reason, this whole experience of coming back together with her family and revisiting scenes from childhood has been largely positive.
And Jamie - Oh, I know that sinking feeling - "I've felt like this before." But.... Well, you all know I have drunk the Mobility Project kool aid, but it so happens that I've had some mild adductor issues that I managed to correct. More than that, my wife had some pretty debilitating adductor issues leading up to her second marathon in 2014. There are a couple variations on this one mobilization that flat out solved the problem. I'm talking MAGIC here. It may not work for you because sometimes it's just not that simple or the tissue is already damaged, and it took maybe 10 or 12 days of doing this for a few minutes every day for that magic to happen, but this is also not an anomaly. I collect mobility success stories. And I think it's just that we get ourselves into slightly compromised positions or our mechanics are off a little, and over time the muscles that compensate for it get tighter and more gnarly which only makes things more compromised and eventually it reaches a breaking point. And we aren't taught to do the basic maintenance that keeps us out of the doc/pt's office.
I'll link two videos. The first one begins with Dr. Kelly Starrett giving you some info and tests which may or may not be useful and are geared at the crossfit crowd, but eventually he gets to the Super Frog, which is gold. You can give the second homework a shot if you like.. maybe that flexor is involved, but in terms of the adductor, my number one roll/smash priority would be the head of it - on the inside of the thigh, just above the knee. Loosening that up may give you some slack in the rest of the adductor and consequently, some relief. With the Super Frog, it's important to get a good stretch in that area and hold it for a few minutes... soft tissue won't make change in less than that. Expect discomfort, but there should be no sharp pain.
So yeah, Super Frog for 3-5 minutes (and weigh that knee down with whatever works), foam roll or what have you up/downstream from the problem area for 3-5 minutes. Don't go out to fix it all at once, but depending upon how tight that area is, you may see dramatic results quickly.
The second video is just a demonstration of the Banded Super Frog, for which you need a resistance band and a conveniently placed anchor point or strong helper. The band pulls that hip joint into alignment in order to get more out of the Super Frog, especially when your position is compromised by how tight things are in there. This is the one that worked wonders for my wife's adductor issue, but even if that isn't possible, the Super Frog on its own has done a LOT of good for me. Just take it a little at a time. And good luck!
Video 1
Video 2
Oh and congrats to the kid! I confess I really love the 'proud dad' feeling - there's nothing in the world quite like it :-)
Just checking in. No run. No walking either other than mowing the lawn and hanging out at DD soccer game this morning (she scored another goal!!!!!). But I read everyone's response to my question yesterday and appreciate the feedback. Walking is good. I do plan on walking tomorrow - probably at the gym and then get in a workout. I need to get the heart rate up. My "injury" is not just dead legs - or so I think. I had this stupid injury 3 years ago that started right before a 50 miler. I ran the race and ended up in a 1.5 year period of mostly not running, multiple doc appts, PT, Chiro, etc. to figure it out. The only diagnosis came from the PT who said it was an adductor strain. This is what it feels like again. It's a horrific dull achy pain in the inside of both my legs from my knee up to my groin. I slowly worked back to running well late last year, ran a 50k and 50 miler then another 50k in April this year. I worked my way up, did ok at Montour in July. Somewhere between then and a couple weeks ago, something went wrong.
running under the BigSky
got a good 12 miler in yesterday, thinking it may have been just a little too good- probably a little quick for my planned back to backs (yesterday and today)- oh well, won't be setting any speed records today.
looks like we're in for some nice Indian summer- temps in the 70's for the next week, but with lows in the 40's it's pretty tolerable
qotd: pretty good; a 25 year career working outdoors helps; but I do still manage to get off the mark (last weekend a couple of times) when there is no trail (or poor trail)- usually it's pretty short lived and I can back on track; my DW's sense of direction is fair- she's usually with me when we're out hiking, so probably is just depending on me for navigating- I should probably work with her so she we would be less dependent
2023 goal 2023 miles √
2022 goal- 2022 miles √
2021 goal- 2021 miles √
Are we there, yet?
Got in a good run with about 40 minutes at near tempo effort, then got home to find a message from work asking if I could work an evening shift. Guess I won't run a rare double after all.
QOTD: Generally I have a good sense of direction but if the trail or road takes too many turns I can get turned around. My DD I would trust but I'd hesitate with any other family members.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
It's absolutely gorgeous here today. I took the opportunity to wake with the sun and get out and run that hilly road 25+ I put together and it was better than I could have possibly imagined. Turned out to be ~3200ft of climbing, but it was the steep descents on the road that were the toughest. The great part about it was getting to all of these little traveled roads that go over the ridges and hills. The views were unlike anything I've seen before around here. One in particular, you could probably see 100 miles. This is going to be incredible once the leaves are really turning. I also got some practice grinding in low gear up some pretty steep hills and was happy with how my legs held up under the fatigue. Maybe those deadlifts and squats are helping?
Great weather here this weekend.. time pressed yesterday but I still squeezed out 9 on the trails, then today I went out thinking 1.5-2 hours but it was so nice ended up wandering the trails at French Creek for an extra hour. 14-15 miles I suppose.
QOTW: Yes, pretty good at directions. Except DC.. I always get turned around there for some reason.
In dog beers, I've only had one.
8 miles. Wintergreen Falls
I hurt all over, I'm too tired to walk outside the house and called off work sick. How could a little 24-27 mile walk through the woods beat me up so much . Especially when my average time per mile was something like 27-28 minutes? Well for starters maybe I should have trained for the off road vertical a little more .
Anywho, the DOMS has set in sooooo bad that today's planned 5 mile recovery slog didn't happen. Heck I'm having problems shuffling 50 yards.
NHLA - Nice scenery. You live and run in a beautiful area.