Snowing, snowing, snowing. Great googly moogly....the weather people have been correct 2 times this winter! Its a miracle! Ok, even though I have decided NOT to do the 50 K, I somehow still found myself out in the beautiful snow....as it fell....with wind....for over 3 hours, running, already today, and it is not yet 1pm. MyKaren, BeB,Twila, and Jenny met at Reedy Creek for a little run as the snow fell this morning, and we were not the only crazies out. I ran a little over 3 hours, MyK and BeB ran close to 4. It was nice, and pretty, and cold, and windy and wet, and hard. We ran east on the fire road to Belle Island, the Lost trail, the fire road, up around the top of Belle Island, the canal walk to its end, over the Mayo Bridge, the floodwall, and the fire road back. Crossing the river was freakin cold, my right ear was completely frozen! Running as it snows is nice, but very cold. I kept getting ice crystals on my eyelashes, across the front of my legs and chest, and my whole head was white. The ice crystals on my eyelashes actually began to impact my vision, so I had to clear them away, which made my fingers cold. Oh, well what the heck do I think will happen when one runs in the snow?
I think in the hours that we ran, it snowed about 4 inches. It's defintely coming down pretty hard. Good thing we have enough milk, eggs, and toilet paper!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
1/25/2010
So, winter training is coming to a close this week at the new place. Not sure if I feel ready for real training to begin, but don't feel completely out of shape either. Next week will bring a new training regime and group to train with, and I am looking forward to it...at least for now. I can't even fathom IM training right now, 2 hours on the bike seems long as does an hour of swim lessons, but at least I've run some long runs.
I am considering, not sure how seriously, doing or attempting, the Holiday Lake 50K, but I have not yet signed up. I am not sure how this happens, but I keep signing up for things I had no intent on trying...first half IM, then IM, and now, perhaps the 50 K. What is going on! I think I have just lost my freakin mind.
Somehow, unless something physically prevents me, I see myself on the start line, in the dark, with other crazy people, attempting to run further than I have ever run, on a trail or otherwise in mid-February. Or, maybe not.
I am considering, not sure how seriously, doing or attempting, the Holiday Lake 50K, but I have not yet signed up. I am not sure how this happens, but I keep signing up for things I had no intent on trying...first half IM, then IM, and now, perhaps the 50 K. What is going on! I think I have just lost my freakin mind.
Somehow, unless something physically prevents me, I see myself on the start line, in the dark, with other crazy people, attempting to run further than I have ever run, on a trail or otherwise in mid-February. Or, maybe not.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Swinging Bridge 35K Report
So, after the crappy weather training for the 35K, the day dawned beautiful, not hot, not too cold, not raining! ProK, MyK and our dogs all drove to the wonderful cabin at Bear Creek on Friday afternoon, and we relaxed and cooked my favorite pre-race meal as we waited for the remainder of the race crew and family members to arrive. They did so, but we had eaten already and we fed them the ground beef/feta/mushroom/pasta dish that I love to eat pre-race, along with salad and garlic bread. The gang numbered 8 adults, 2 kids and 4 dogs. Thankfully, we were in 2 cabins so it wasn't crowded.
Trail races are very low key deals, sort of milling around, a few announcements about flagging and markings to look for to stay on the trail and then off we went. Running nearly 22 miles on trails takes some time...for me quite a bit of time, but it was a nice run nevertheless! I pretty much ran with Jill and Lynn, and was a bit surprised that the first aid station took us over an hour and a half to reach, we thought it was at mile 5, but it was more like mile 6. Shortly after the aid station, the front runners started showing up...Tyler was running 3rd overall, and Bryan looked strong. I was also surprised when ProK sped by, close on the heels of the front women, running 3rd at about mile 14 or so. On and on we ran, and finally reached the turn-around point, with some people who manned the aid station, they were very nice. The food was not quite IM standards, but still, with M&Ms, pretzels, coke, and animal crackers, it was better than most! I Gued my ass off, taking and eating all 5 of them that I brought with me. As we approached the last few miles, my freakin back started seizing up, and it was hard to run. I had hoped to finish in 5 hours, but didn't quite make that goal. MyKaren ran back up the trail and met me with a little less than a mile to go. I struggled to the finish, in 5:11. I was tired, but other than my back, I was not as beat up as I normally am after a long run like that.
Turns out its good to be old...I came in 1st in my 50-54 age group, of course there were only 2 of us. ProK came in 2nd, as did Tyler. MyKaren came in 4th of the women, and I am very proud of her!
Next up? I think its the Shamrock 1/2.
Trail races are very low key deals, sort of milling around, a few announcements about flagging and markings to look for to stay on the trail and then off we went. Running nearly 22 miles on trails takes some time...for me quite a bit of time, but it was a nice run nevertheless! I pretty much ran with Jill and Lynn, and was a bit surprised that the first aid station took us over an hour and a half to reach, we thought it was at mile 5, but it was more like mile 6. Shortly after the aid station, the front runners started showing up...Tyler was running 3rd overall, and Bryan looked strong. I was also surprised when ProK sped by, close on the heels of the front women, running 3rd at about mile 14 or so. On and on we ran, and finally reached the turn-around point, with some people who manned the aid station, they were very nice. The food was not quite IM standards, but still, with M&Ms, pretzels, coke, and animal crackers, it was better than most! I Gued my ass off, taking and eating all 5 of them that I brought with me. As we approached the last few miles, my freakin back started seizing up, and it was hard to run. I had hoped to finish in 5 hours, but didn't quite make that goal. MyKaren ran back up the trail and met me with a little less than a mile to go. I struggled to the finish, in 5:11. I was tired, but other than my back, I was not as beat up as I normally am after a long run like that.
Turns out its good to be old...I came in 1st in my 50-54 age group, of course there were only 2 of us. ProK came in 2nd, as did Tyler. MyKaren came in 4th of the women, and I am very proud of her!
Next up? I think its the Shamrock 1/2.
Monday, January 11, 2010
1/11/2010
Cold. Cold. Cold. That pretty much sums up this year so far! We had a wonderful New Year extravaganza with some crazy friends at the beach in NC! We got a road ride in on roads and areas of the Outer Banks that I had never visited, and also got a New Year's Day trail run (yes, a trail run on hilly terrain at the beach--who knew?). We also had some spirits, food and Wii competitions, and great company!
Since we are "training" for the Swinging Bridge 35K, MyK and I left on Saturday so we could run long on Sunday. The weather turned cold, and windy, which made it very cold. Sunday morning, it was 19 when we left our house for a 3+ hour run. MyK, ProK, Lynn, Sharon, BryanD, Jill and I braved the cold and actually showed up and ran. We made it about 3 1/2 hours. Running in the woods wasn't bad, the wind was cut enough to where it was cold, but not uncomfortable. Then we crossed the Nickle Bridge (Boulevard Bridge) and the wind screaming downstream across that bridge was freakin COLD. I actually got an ice cream headache from the wind freezing my sweaty head, and one side of our nostrils got frozen shut. Good stuff. The bad part was knowing we had to cross back under the Lee Bridge. The trip back was just as cold, the only difference was that the opposite side of our heads and nose got frozen. It was all OK, when we were done and eating breakfast with hot coffee!
My off season training continues to kick my butt, Mondays and Thursdays are especially hard, as I have 3 training things those days. Swimming is back so Monday I swim in the morning and then have spinning and weights in the evening. Thursdays is an am run, with the spin and weights in the evening. I am struggling with trying to get my training schedule figured out so that the sessions are evenly distrubuted. Its a work in progress. So, Tuesday is track, and ProK decides we will meet indoors. Sounds good, right? Wrong. Running the stairs at UR Robins Center is not easy. I almost puked or passed out, perhaps it was both. Can't wait for tomorrow....
This weekends run was a taper one, but just as cold. There were a bunch of us, along with the usual suspects, we some newbies. Somehow the run became quite an adventure, including some rock/cliff climbing and off trail explorations. Good stuff and it was fun to branch out a bit. Most ran about 2 hours, I only got in 1 1/2 but felt that was what I could do on that day. Next weekend is the 35K. I am worried about making the 5 hour cut-off. Oh, well, if I do, great. If I don't, I'll be fine. Right?
Since we are "training" for the Swinging Bridge 35K, MyK and I left on Saturday so we could run long on Sunday. The weather turned cold, and windy, which made it very cold. Sunday morning, it was 19 when we left our house for a 3+ hour run. MyK, ProK, Lynn, Sharon, BryanD, Jill and I braved the cold and actually showed up and ran. We made it about 3 1/2 hours. Running in the woods wasn't bad, the wind was cut enough to where it was cold, but not uncomfortable. Then we crossed the Nickle Bridge (Boulevard Bridge) and the wind screaming downstream across that bridge was freakin COLD. I actually got an ice cream headache from the wind freezing my sweaty head, and one side of our nostrils got frozen shut. Good stuff. The bad part was knowing we had to cross back under the Lee Bridge. The trip back was just as cold, the only difference was that the opposite side of our heads and nose got frozen. It was all OK, when we were done and eating breakfast with hot coffee!
My off season training continues to kick my butt, Mondays and Thursdays are especially hard, as I have 3 training things those days. Swimming is back so Monday I swim in the morning and then have spinning and weights in the evening. Thursdays is an am run, with the spin and weights in the evening. I am struggling with trying to get my training schedule figured out so that the sessions are evenly distrubuted. Its a work in progress. So, Tuesday is track, and ProK decides we will meet indoors. Sounds good, right? Wrong. Running the stairs at UR Robins Center is not easy. I almost puked or passed out, perhaps it was both. Can't wait for tomorrow....
This weekends run was a taper one, but just as cold. There were a bunch of us, along with the usual suspects, we some newbies. Somehow the run became quite an adventure, including some rock/cliff climbing and off trail explorations. Good stuff and it was fun to branch out a bit. Most ran about 2 hours, I only got in 1 1/2 but felt that was what I could do on that day. Next weekend is the 35K. I am worried about making the 5 hour cut-off. Oh, well, if I do, great. If I don't, I'll be fine. Right?
Thursday, December 31, 2009
12/31/2009
Well, the last post of 2009! The year has been busy with a race nearly every month, beginning with the New Year's Day 10K and ending with the Bear Creek 10 miler in early December. In between, I did a 5K (Forest Hill 5k); the Monument Avenue 10K, the Capitol 10 miler, Kinetic 1/2 IM, IM USA, VentureQuest, and Turkey Trot 10K. Of all the races, the Capitol 10 miler was probably the hardest, because I went into it thinking I did not have to train...I was wrong and paid for it with sore legs for a week. IMUSA was great, even though my bike time was terrible, I still finished in under 16 hours. All in all, it was a hard year with all the riding in the Blue Ridge Mountains in some pretty interesting weather, rain (sometimes torrential downpour, hail, winds, bears (well, only once bear cub). I also really enjoyed the LP torturefest in May, some hard riding in cold windy and rainy conditions, with a long run thrown in to boot. The eating and drinking that followed the training with fun people made torturefest a great trip.
I am thankful for the ability to do all the races, and training, with only minor mishaps, like the endo I did on Buttermilk where I thought I'd broken my wrist. Fun times. Otherwise, I was pretty much mishap free! That's a good thing!
I am hoping that 2010 will be a good one as well, and maybe I can complete IM Canada with a better time than Placid. Happy New Year to everyone and may 2010 be the best year yet!
I am thankful for the ability to do all the races, and training, with only minor mishaps, like the endo I did on Buttermilk where I thought I'd broken my wrist. Fun times. Otherwise, I was pretty much mishap free! That's a good thing!
I am hoping that 2010 will be a good one as well, and maybe I can complete IM Canada with a better time than Placid. Happy New Year to everyone and may 2010 be the best year yet!
Friday, December 25, 2009
12/25/2009
Merry Christmas. Here I sit, on my couch watching cheesy Christmas movies and writing this on my new laptop that MyKaren got me! So, we enjoyed the snow, which fell last weekend and we actually had a white christmas, if the leftover snow counts. Anyhoo, it was nice to have snow so early that MyKaren, Lynn, Molly and I decided to go for a nice snowy trail run last Sunday. After the rainy run the weekend before, running on snowy trails sounded like it would be fun.
I had no idea what to expect, I was thinking it would be a bit harder than normal, but had no idea just how hard it could be. The trail had been walked and run on, so there was a narrow sort of beaten down path to follow. First it was not bad, as we ran on the Buttermilk west and onto to the Boulevard bridge. It was sloppy, but crunchy. We got to the bridge, and it was closed to cars, which I have never seen. The only auto on the bridge was a crazy duo in a pickup that was racing up and back to "plow" the bridge. We ran on the bridge itself, since the sidewalk was unpassible, and as we got to the south end, the plow truck came roaring back and started to fishtail. I thought we were going to watch it go over the edge, but of course it didn't.
The north trail was waaay sloppier than Buttermilk which made it harder to navigate. We slipped and slid our way on the trail, Lynn stepped thigh deep into a drift but no one fell. It wore me out big time since no step was firm and sloppy. We ran one loop and it took 30 minutes more than normal and I was dead tired. Afterwards, tired and cold, we went for hot chocolate at Crossroads and then home to collapse. This trail running is hard!
I had no idea what to expect, I was thinking it would be a bit harder than normal, but had no idea just how hard it could be. The trail had been walked and run on, so there was a narrow sort of beaten down path to follow. First it was not bad, as we ran on the Buttermilk west and onto to the Boulevard bridge. It was sloppy, but crunchy. We got to the bridge, and it was closed to cars, which I have never seen. The only auto on the bridge was a crazy duo in a pickup that was racing up and back to "plow" the bridge. We ran on the bridge itself, since the sidewalk was unpassible, and as we got to the south end, the plow truck came roaring back and started to fishtail. I thought we were going to watch it go over the edge, but of course it didn't.
The north trail was waaay sloppier than Buttermilk which made it harder to navigate. We slipped and slid our way on the trail, Lynn stepped thigh deep into a drift but no one fell. It wore me out big time since no step was firm and sloppy. We ran one loop and it took 30 minutes more than normal and I was dead tired. Afterwards, tired and cold, we went for hot chocolate at Crossroads and then home to collapse. This trail running is hard!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Weekend Training When Rainina
Now that enough time has passed since the training whilst raining debacle of Sunday, I am now prepared to report on that event. Kidding, it wasn't traumatic, well, not really. ProKaren, MyKaren and I all went shopping on Saturday in NoVa with our winning gift certificates from the VentureQuest race in the fall. We managed to spend our prizes and got some socks, gloves, and other cold weather stuff. The only hitch of the day was the lunch at a Spanish/Mexican place, where PK and I got the same spinach-mushroom quesadella. I thought it tasted a bit off, but not off enough to scare me. As it turned out, we both felt kind of gastro rumbly that night, so I was a little scared of our scheduled run on Sunday.
Sunday dawned...rainy. We bucked up and took off for Pocahontas anyway, planning on running around 3 hours. As we started the run, it was cold, and drizzly. After a bit, the drizzle turned to sprinkles, and thence to rain, followed by the final downpour. PK and I both were not feeling great in the gastro department, but we persevered and kept running. We pretty much stuck to the Old Mill bike trail and then Fendley Station which are not easy but at least are not single-track.
As we slogged on, and of course pretty far from the start, I began to notice that I may need to go to the bathroom. Then, the need became quite significant. I didn't want to have a double-glove moment in the woods, but I was becoming concerned. At this point we were by the campground on the single-track, but of course the bathrooms were all locked....With no options I had to do as a bear does in the woods...in the cold pouring, pouring rain. Not my favorite moment, but thankfully there was no one around at all to witness it.
Always bring tp. You never know.
Sunday dawned...rainy. We bucked up and took off for Pocahontas anyway, planning on running around 3 hours. As we started the run, it was cold, and drizzly. After a bit, the drizzle turned to sprinkles, and thence to rain, followed by the final downpour. PK and I both were not feeling great in the gastro department, but we persevered and kept running. We pretty much stuck to the Old Mill bike trail and then Fendley Station which are not easy but at least are not single-track.
As we slogged on, and of course pretty far from the start, I began to notice that I may need to go to the bathroom. Then, the need became quite significant. I didn't want to have a double-glove moment in the woods, but I was becoming concerned. At this point we were by the campground on the single-track, but of course the bathrooms were all locked....With no options I had to do as a bear does in the woods...in the cold pouring, pouring rain. Not my favorite moment, but thankfully there was no one around at all to witness it.
Always bring tp. You never know.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
