After running recently in snow, single digits and arctic winds, we now have pouring rain, fog and temps nearing 50F. Funny what can change in 24-48 hours. Waiting for the rain to pass so I can get out in the sun and warmth this afternoon. Will check out the creek levels too.
Qotd: Any changes recently to your goals? Running or racing plans? After low miles in January & Feb due to issues and illness, I'm rethinking my spring plans. I may have been too ambitious to take on goals for speed, weight loss AND increasing race distance. Probably am dropping plans for longer races this spring (i.e. DE triple crown). Some trail HM and ten milers seem more attractive right now.
Speed work with Sandy. Hendersonville was a sheet of ice at 5 pm yesterday. No ice north or south of here so everbody got cought in it.
Had to help DW & DD home. They have no clue when it comes to ice.
qotd Hurt foot in last trail race so I missed 2 mos. training. Injury healed but not in top shape yet. 25k sat. My goal this year is a sub 1:40 1/2 road race.
Tim
Really wanted to get outside, and even dressed for it and had my screw shoes on, but 2" of heavy rain after we had 5" of snow made for too much ice an nowhere to run. I made it 1/4 mile from my house before turning around when it was obvious that I could pose a safety risk to drivers out there. I didn't see any cars, but they would have had a hard time on the icy roads trying to avoid me, so came back and did a TM run. Now I have 2 sets of clothes to wash after a day of running. The screws held up pretty well, but feet were soaked in no time.
QOTD: I have no goals, and that's a good and bad thing. I need to get more focused for a 24hr race in May. Otherwise, starting to plan some overnight fastpacking tips with DW.
“Paralysis-to-50k” training plan is underway!
I ran a 2.5 mile loop this morning before daylight. Nothing too hard or long. It was pleasant.
QOTD: Very appropriate question for me. I ran the Cottonmouth 100 in November and did some pacing at Cajun Coyote (40 miles), but through Christmas and the first of the year I really slacked off too much with bad weather and/or holiday commitments. I was going to run the Equinox 100 in March, but I decided to run the 10 miler instead. Despite the 100+++ in November, the 40 miles in December, and another long run in January on the Equinox course, I just do not feel ready to run another 100 miler. I am sure I could physically get through it, but mentally, I do not have the desire to run it right now. And without that mental desire to finish it, I don't even want to start it and hope for motivation along the way. My only race plans for the whole year will be this 10 miler then some work to be ready to pace at Hardrock in July. After that, I may turn my sights on Equinox in 2017 and possibly another run or helping someone out at Pinhoti. Then again, mid-summer, I may decide to jump into a fall 100. We'll see. I just want to run for the sake of running for awhile.
LB2
running under the BigSky
Did my high rep body weight work out yesterday (too windy to run) 20 sets of 20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups and 5 pullups, took just over 30 minutes. Today I am very sore Going to try and get in 6-ish miles this evening, wind is supposed to start dying down- we'll see.
qotd: not really recent, but I'm going to forego any ultra distances this year, most of my planned races are in the 15-25 mile mark. still plenty tough as all are mountain races with lots of gain/loss
2023 goal 2023 miles √
2022 goal- 2022 miles √
2021 goal- 2021 miles √
Sue
Seems a few of us are thinking the same...run for fun...slack off on the training for long runs. We may have forgotten why we run and started hitting the long runs to validate us. Remember we are Trail Runners which does not mean we have to be ultra runners!
hmm I think I am going to sign up for Marquette 50 and skip the November MI wedding.
05/13/23 Traverse City Trail Festival 25K
08/19/23 Marquette 50 dns 🙄
QOTD: I've been running just to be in the woods and run the mutts. My long run has been maybe12 miles. Just taking it easy. It has given me more time to do other things and actually taken some stress off me. Sometimes when I run long after 3 hours I start thinking about all the stuff I need to get done this weekend and I just want the run to be over. As a side note I am constantly thinking about signing up for a long run to give me a reason to run long and you know start stressing again!!!
I sort of do that too. But I can usually get up early and run 3 to 4 hours before everyone wakes up. It is the 6 to 8 hour runs that cause me the problems. But I try to space those out to every 3rd weekend to make it manageable, and I probably only do two 8 hour runs leading up to a long race, not counting a 50 miler or something that I might sign up for as a training run.
15.2 miles in 2:07, felt comfortably despite being the absolute adverse conditions I've ever ran in - 1" of fresh snow that was thawing in the 32 f light rain when I started, temp climbed to 36 and heavy rainy by the time I was done. Overall, one of the most enjoyable runs I've been on too. Love those middle miles and I don't check paces until the run is over but I do look at a heart rate. Last time I ran this distance two weeks ago was in dry condition without ice and snow and was harder physically than today so I feel like my training is working!When I got home I changed and jogged to the gym immediately for another 4 miles since I wanted to hit 18 or 20 today.~20+ miles before lunch QOTD: main goal is to run through winter, I had goals of attending uphill ski races but when I heard they were changing the rules to how many laps of uphill and downhill you could do, I decided it wasn't for me. I'm a snowboarder but I like XC ski, I think I would get injured if I skied downhill.Other goals haven't changed really - wanted to run a 50k on April 10 in Cape Cod but it sold out so now I found a Fat Ass 50k on April 2nd in VT. I'm cool with that. Marathons are expensive, I thought about one in town in May but $100? I'm still not sure I want to fork that over. Other goals are do a bunch of 5ks type trail races during summer in the area, work a lot and save money to hike the PCT in 2017. Not sure how much i'll save though, that will dictate how far I hike. The desert section (first 700 miles) would be fine, move to mammoth for that winter, save money and do the rest another year?
Queen If your thinking on Marquette you'll have to start thinking 100k. I think the 50k and 50m have filled.
QOTD: not a lot on my plate this year besides Marquette although I am giving serious thought to a spring 100. There is a new one acouple hours from my house. It would be a shame not to go.
I did the usual 6 this am, can't wait for better weather so I can start stretching things out.
I missed the old days when you didn't have to make plans a year out!!!
Le professeur de trail
Will hopefully get in some mileage tonight. As other east coasters said, strange weather. Snow, freezing rain, and then downpours as the temps rose. Our road this morning was a river of ice floating down towards the plugged up drains.
bagge - nice distance and pace - and all before noon.
QOTD: Despite lower than desired mileage in January and a bit lower in February, I am still looking to keep my plans in place. I am going for more quality training than quantity. I feel like I keep learning new things about how my body works and responds to various activities and it's been fun.
Have a great day!
My favorite day of the week is RUNday
Faster Than Your Couch!
A snowy night run yesterday, 6 miles up and down the mountain. The snow was so heavy at times that it blinded my headlamp, and my glasses froze over, so it was hard to see. Add to that rocks, roots, and a completely snowed-in trail that blends in with the surrounding woods - it was a miracle I found my way home and did not make close contact with the ground. A deer jumped right in front of me, which made me jump, too. The poor guy probably was on his usual night walk, and I must have scared him crazy. I felt bad.
On the way out, I met Craig Flemming, the RD of Hyner and ES 100, and we chatted a bit. Hyner 50k seems to be very attractive this year, and he was excited about the two races. Hyner is sold out, and ES is about to, only a few spots left.
This morning, it might have been the worst commute ever in my career. Freezing rain, on a 2-inch thick layer of completely frozen snow. I was struggling going up a 2%-incline on the interstate because my wheels kept spinning without traction, and the car just swerved its way up. Took me almost an hour to cover the 10 miles. On the interstate.
Then 11 hours of work because too many people had called off. And not exactly a quiet day, despite the weather. Now I'm exhausted and ready for a run!
QOTD: After a few weeks of slacking, I've found my mojo again. Now I just have to get back in shape. I have signed up for my personal grand slam, which I posted here last year after finishing MMT, and which has also been picked up by keystone in the fall. Maybe we can get together our own "Trailer Trash East Coast Grand Slam" - MMT 100, ES 100, Grindstone 100. XT, AT, Jamie, anyone?
Run for fun.
Today is a planned SRD (switched with Friday).
We are on a little cold snap / warm wet cycle at the moment. But it's mostly cold, crisp and windy.
qotd: I also seem to be getting back on the horse after a few months of "cutback". I still have my goal of doing the Mt. Fuji 100 miler in Japan next September. I will do it to avenge my DNF there last year and I also need it as a qualifier to apply for the 2017 Hardrock. I'm thinking about doing some Korean trail runs, something called the Jiri Mountain Traverse (abt 50k) in May, the Ultra Trail Geoje (80k) in June, and a Night Challenge (20k) in July as training tuneup. That's if I can figure out how to register for them. . .
2/17/24 - Forgotten Florida 100 Mile, Christmas, FL
A snowy night run yesterday, 6 miles up and down the mountain. The snow was so heavy at times that it blinded my headlamp, and my glasses froze over, so it was hard to see. Add to that rocks, roots, and a completely snowed-in trail that blends in with the surrounding woods - it was a miracle I found my way home and did not make close contact with the ground. A deer jumped right in front of me, which made me jump, too. The poor guy probably was on his usual night walk, and I must have scared him crazy. I felt bad. On the way out, I met Craig Flemming, the RD of Hyner and ES 100, and we chatted a bit. Hyner 50k seems to be very attractive this year, and he was excited about the two races. Hyner is sold out, and ES is about to, only a few spots left. This morning, it might have been the worst commute ever in my career. Freezing rain, on a 2-inch thick layer of completely frozen snow. I was struggling going up a 2%-incline on the interstate because my wheels kept spinning without traction, and the car just swerved its way up. Took me almost an hour to cover the 10 miles. On the interstate. Then 11 hours of work because too many people had called off. And not exactly a quiet day, despite the weather. Now I'm exhausted and ready for a run! QOTD: After a few weeks of slacking, I've found my mojo again. Now I just have to get back in shape. I have signed up for my personal grand slam, which I posted here last year after finishing MMT, and which has also been picked up by keystone in the fall. Maybe we can get together our own "Trailer Trash East Coast Grand Slam" - MMT 100, ES 100, Grindstone 100. XT, AT, Jamie, anyone?
Don't include my name in that. I will be lucky to someday try for one hundred let alone three bad boys like that in one year. But I will watch with eager anticipation as you suffer run!