Mileage Reporting 26th Week of 2013

6 miles in the xero sandals today. I tried barefooting it but the pavement was burning hot and the grass was either to trashy or non-existent. Clearly I made a poor route choice and timing choice to run at 2 pm on a cloudless 93 degree day.. :)

Thankfully I had to cut the grass as well so I spent an hour or so pushing the mower around barefoot to let the grass massage away the memories of hot pavement.
 
Been busy with projects lately but did squeak in a few runs since my last post. Ran 5 miles today with left ankle back to normal. Had a great run this morning as temp was 66F after late morning thunderstorm yielding a much needed .85 inches of rain.

Did run some Saturday ( yeah, yeah I know this is last weeks news). :) Ran 4.0 miles early Saturday morning with lightening from an earlier storm nipping my heels. Well not actually but once I spotted the lightening and found it to be coming my way I cut my planned 5 mile run short by one mile and ran like the dickens as I was the tallest object on a fairly long section of the bike trail I've been running. Yikes! I don't like to gamble much with lightening. Oh and almost forgot my 3.2 mile run Thursday evening.
 
this morning: cooking, cleaning, cleaning, laundry. i moved nonstop and didn't even take a break for the bathroom until nearly lunch time. it was hot and stuffy in the house and i sweat, so this ought to count for something.
after lunch: 10 mi bike
afternoon: 1. 5 hrs at the pool. low key sometimes, more intense others. had kids w/ me in lane for about 45 min
evening: hike to the beach (maybe 1 mi?), splash, swim, goof off, hike back to car, get home late, eat dinner late, start to doze at computer.........................................................................................................
 
Sunday morning
6.68 mi / 10.75 km

After my usual breakfast of mixed nuts, dried fruit, OJ, and espresso, I rehydrated with 3-4 tall glasses of water and decided the time had come for another attempt at an early morning run. I had blown off Saturday afternoon's planned long run. Work was going really well and I didn't want to stop until I absolutely had to, which was dinner time.

We got some really big storms starting on Friday. One of them blew down one of our backyard neighbor's trees, narrowly missing both his house and garage, and left a huge amount of people in the Twin Cities without power, including my older brother just three miles away.

Sunday morning it was still raining and thundering and lightening a bit, but it was supposed to clear in time for our family picnic later that day, so morning was basically the only chance I'd have at getting in my run, and it had to be before everyone else woke up.

The last time I tried an early morning run, last Sunday, my legs felt pretty stiff, but this time they felt fine, almost chomping at the bit to get going. I ran a nice aerobic pace of a little more than 10mm overall, and kind of surprised myself when I found I didn’t need to stop and stretch at all. My legs felt really fresh and loose. I think this is the farthest I've run continuously, at least since my ITBS issues last fall, maybe ever. So that's a confidence booster. I didn't even need to stop at some of the major intersections because there were so few cars around.

A few geese hissed at me under a bridge. I guess with the rain and time of day, they thought the place was theirs. Other than that, just the usual rabbits and squirrels and a few brave dogs walking their masters in the driving rain.

I should mention that my Merino wool t-shirt performed beautifully in these conditions.

So anyway, once again, I’m now toying with the idea of running first thing in the morning, instead of at the end of the afternoon. It’s a great feeling, and a good way to beat the summer heat, but it does make me pretty drowsy later. We’ll see . . . I’m thinking I’d also like to squeeze in one more run a week, bringing the total up to four, maybe just a nice 2-3 miler. I hope I'm not underestimating the chances of the ITBS beast still lurking in the bushes, ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness or folly. But it's been about six months since I last heard from him, and I'm feeling like making a little push in my running fitness. Progress has been steady, but a little slower than I'd like. I just need a sign that I'm not being greedy and putting myself at risk again.

I just had a short 1.5-mile bike commute, also a nice way to start the day. And I’m negotiating picking up the kids with my bike at the end of the day too. My wife has just about signed off on it if I promise to always ride on the sidewalks. One way or the other, I’d like to get in a little more aerobic conditioning.
 
Another spur of the moment binge run. I had 3 days notice to prepare for this 34 mile trail run/hike. I believe my friend want to check out the Virgin River Rim Trail (with a side hike to Cascade Falls) (http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/virg-rim.htm) for a future 50K ultra race, but the trail did not prove scenic enough and the deadfall on the last section was numerous. It did have some very scenic sections of views of Zion and some red rock hoodoos, but most of the trail was forest running on the backside of the "Rim".

Had a great run and went a little more minimal this time with NB MT110 shoes. Feet held up great and I enjoyed the lighter weight as compared to my Altra Lone Peaks. Hydration and Fueling was better this time, but still struggled with the altitude and fatigue (high point was 9,500). Experienced some minor lows, but nothing like during my 100k. At times I questioned why I like these distances, but then there was the finish and eating after. Sure no metal or celebration after, this was just a training run, but the sense of accomplishment afterword was/is just as good.

So I need more conditioning. These binge runs are great, but I would like to perform better. I keep saying this, but I am going back to barefoot running, more often, and attempting a better schedule.
 
Ran 4 hilly miles in my lunas. Ran the same route as last week where I almost got mauled by that dog. Last week I avg'd a 12:40 pace. Today.... 11:33 avg pace. Not sure what was in my water today but man I really cranked up the pace without trying on the last two miles. First two miles I felt crummy and was having a miserable run because I ate like crap yesterday. Mile 3 all that crap food must have burned out of my system because I ran a 10:12 without realizing it. My garmin beeped and so I looked at it and dang near fell over when I saw that pace. It was at that point I realized I was no longer miserable and was actually really enjoying the rainy hilly run. After the run I went to the gym and did an hour of st of chest, biceps, triceps, and abs. I have slightly altered my gym workout again as I am really trying to cram as much exercise in as small of a time period as possible. 13 different exercises in just under an hour in a sort of circuit training type style. It really seems to maximize my time spent doing exercises with less downtime and rest periods. Felt really good and strong today, but the real test will be in a week or so and if I am burning out or not. It's easier for me to not burn out too if I can see positive gains in the weight loss department so let's hope for that this week too. ;)
 
Forty five mins G-L-O-R-I-O-U-S run in the pouring and I mean pouring rain. IT WAS AWESOME!!! sorry I am just too excited!:happy: although I was scare at times because of the lightning but I thought, well, if it's my time at least I am doing what I love:)
 
DAY OFF! Jeez. I've been weightlifting and running every day for...10 days. I had to talk myself out of working out today. It is never a good idea for my mental health, nor the well-being of those around me, to take a day off from exercise -but, it has to be done occasionally! Plus, I massaged two people's butts and the spousal units calves yesterday and I did not use my body weight as much as I should have, and instead relied too much on my muscles, and OUCH! My pecs are bitter and angry as is a serratus mucles. Anyway, the spousal unit is going to give ME a massage tonight! I'm so lucky!!!
 
Started the week with a 10.5km (6.5mi) run, which included 4x30" at the end....Just arrived home when it started pouring down...Yay !!! First mile was very painful though, it seems my feet/ankles have difficulty to adapt to colder weather...After that was fine though, but I started thinking that maybe I should get my VFF out of the cupboard ...
 
Another spur of the moment binge run. I had 3 days notice to prepare for this 34 mile trail run/hike. I believe my friend want to check out the Virgin River Rim Trail (with a side hike to Cascade Falls) (http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/virg-rim.htm) for a future 50K ultra race, but the trail did not prove scenic enough and the deadfall on the last section was numerous. It did have some very scenic sections of views of Zion and some red rock hoodoos, but most of the trail was forest running on the backside of the "Rim".

Had a great run and went a little more minimal this time with NB MT110 shoes. Feet held up great and I enjoyed the lighter weight as compared to my Altra Lone Peaks. Hydration and Fueling was better this time, but still struggled with the altitude and fatigue (high point was 9,500). Experienced some minor lows, but nothing like during my 100k. At times I questioned why I like these distances, but then there was the finish and eating after. Sure no metal or celebration after, this was just a training run, but the sense of accomplishment afterword was/is just as good.

So I need more conditioning. These binge runs are great, but I would like to perform better. I keep saying this, but I am going back to barefoot running, more often, and attempting a better schedule.

1. I love that you call it a "binge" run. Feed that addiction, just don't purge.
2. I love that you are in good enough conditioning to do this on the spur of the moment. What a great way to be.
 
morning: about 6 miles, sandals on gravel trail, i'm sure it was slow, but it felt like a lot of work on very little sleep after yesterday's efforts. GLAD it happened though. Hot, humid morning: oddly, i like that. feels like real summer. enough wind that biting bugs were leaving me alone. Legs were tight at first, now feeling pretty good.

lunch: 40 min swim, easy does it, still tired from not enough sleep lately

evening: strolling around while my kids did swim club. found a great mulberry tree, but it was too tall for reaching the high stuff, and the ripe ones were mostly littered on the pavement. boo hoo. gotta go check the trail with my favorite mulberries and raspberries. bet they are ready for me.
 
Definitely one of those days where it was hard to get going, but since I ended up being able to spend 7 hours with precious 1 year old grandson, I didn't have to feel guilty about it. Then, at 4 PM, after I took him home, I made myself get on the spinning bike for 60 minutes, then go for my 4.65 mile run around the ponds. It was Oregon rainy weather (I spent most of my growing up years near Hillsboro, so I know), which means softer rain and lots of puddles. Versus Idaho rain which usually comes hard and gusty. So, it was a refreshing run, with just a couple of fishermen and a family with ducklings to keep me company. I think I went faster every loop, but my Garmin was out of battery, so I don't know for sure. I do know that it felt good.
 
I did 3.2km completely barefoot last night, my first proper barefoot run this year. :)

I went out intending to do a circular loop walk with my girlfriend and her brother around the streets near home, I was wearing my Lunas and we were all chatting about barefooting. They aren't runners more gym-goers, but said they'd try and run the 3.2km loop in their running shoes if I'd do the same properly barefoot (they didn't believe it was possible), so off came the Lunas and we had a nice slow 3.2km run. I'd forgotten how nice it is as I usually run in Lunas or VFFs. :)
 
1. I love that you call it a "binge" run. Feed that addiction, just don't purge.
2. I love that you are in good enough conditioning to do this on the spur of the moment. What a great way to be.


Thanks for the comment scedastic. The support I receive here has been huge at helping me achieve my goals. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to keep up on what the rest of you are doing lately. I hope everyone is having a great running season.
 
Took yesterday off after my 10 mi run Sunday. Just finished 4, was just going to do a fast 5k on my own for some speed work. Didn't run super fast but kept an even pace of just under 8 min/mi.
Forgot to mention and I was meaning too, I got two comments during the run. "Where are your shoe?" My reply, "I don't need those things." The next comment I got by a min wearer going the other way, pointing to my feet, "Now that is what I'm talking about!"