Chicago Marathon

Finally it's rest and healing time! I've been waiting to get this over with for a couple months now. I registered for Chicago months and months ago with the hope it would be my big goal race (and big PR) for the year. Unfortunately I had a tough late summer and fall but resolved to run the race anyway as I'd paid the entry, the hotel, and the airfare. Also my wife was hoping to BQ in Chicago, and I felt she had a great chance at it.

The Chicago Marathon was a nice experience. The parts of the city the race goes through were diverse and interesting. The buildings are fun to look at, and the people were very nice. The race organization was the best of any megathon I've been to (which I confess only includes Boston, New York, and now Chicago). The start corrals were very effectively managed and easy to get in to, and there was plenty to drink on course.

My goal for this race expired back in late July with a back injury I couldn't shake for nearly a month, followed by a medication reaction that dramatically affected my blood pressure and pulse rate, followed by a foot/ankle tendon injury in August I'm still suffering from. I reduced my weekly mileage from a goal of running in the 80s miles per week to running around 50 miles per week with all runs being recovery and easy pace but for a very few slower progression runs. I was able to get in several runs of at least 20 miles, so even though I wasn't going to be fast I felt I could easily handle the distance - and I made it to the race AMA (against medical advice).

I decided to just run the race by effort monitored by my HR and take what I got. I expected to be able to run in the 7:00 to 7:20 mpm pace based on a 10k time I ran several weeks ago. Running slow for so long definitely doesn't make me faster!

It turned out my waning fitness was the least of my worries however. Chicago once again had an atypically hot day in store for the race. The temperature at the start was already in the 70*s, and it was in the 80*s at the finish. I resolved to drink more on course than I ever had before and run with a smart, conservative effort and finish with no further injuries.

My time at CIM last December put me in the A corral, and after dodging the pee puddles at the start I quickly established a pace and thereafter just monitored my HR to keep it in the 171~173 range. I ran a race at a 170 HR (on a much cooler day) way in April and still got a 3:01, and my PR came at an average HR of 175 last December. I drank one cup of Gatorade and one cup of water at each of the 18 or so aid stations, and followed that up over the last several miles with a third cup over my head. At around the half way point it seemed like lots of people really slowed down. I probably passed several hundred runners over the last half - and I had lots of energy left for a fast last 2 miles. I finished in 3:08:49 too easily.

I think I was too concerned over my lack of fitness and my foot injury to see what I could really do even on a hot day with sub-par training. I believe I ran far too conservatively based on how I felt at the end. I could have kept running at that pace for several more miles. On the one hand it was great to be passing people for half the race, but I almost feel guilty I didn't leave everything out there like many of the people I passed. The heat I'm sure made my HR higher than it would have been for the effort, and my plan to run based on HR probably cost me several minutes - but in the end what matters is I'm still bipedal and will be ready to go again soon I guess.

I couldn't find much in the news, but I can tell you the ambulance sirens were pretty much going non-stop for several hours. A great many runners left the course in the back of a rig with needles in their arms - and I didn't!

ps. My wife, Cherie, had a tough day with the heat and some late hamstring cramps and missed her BQ with a 4:04 (needing a 4:00). She did get a 2+ minute PR though. I've been telling her she did great on a less than ideal day, that a PR is something to be proud of no matter what, and that she'll get to Boston and there's no hurry.

Snoqualmie Ridge 5 mile Trail Race

Wow, what a nice weather day last Saturday! Shawn and I went to this event for some speed work on soft trails. About 90 people showed up for this first time low key event. After my poor outing a couple weeks ago at a 10k I wanted to try and get another handle on my fitness. A hilly trail race on very soft footing however is not the best way to get such an evaluation :)

A couple faster guys showed up, but I figured I should still be able to get a top 5 finish. We warmed up on the course with a 3.5 mile run, then lined up at the start line in a grassy field. At the gun I took off way too fast - in fact I was in the lead for a couple hundred meters. All that did is put me in oxygen debt for the hills, and I gave up several positions and felt whupped. I eventually steadied up and got going again, and by the two mile point was in 3rd place. There was someone right on my shoulder for a half mile or so, but he finally fell off after a hilly section. From there on I was running by myself for the rest of the race.

I finished strong and fast the last 3/4 mile or so, but I was disappointed with my slow time once again. I averaged only 7:00 mpm, and the course had less than 300' of elevation gain/loss. I should have been able to average at least 30 seconds per mile faster than that I feel. I somehow have lost a tremendous amount of fitness over the last couple months. I'm really looking forward to getting past the Chicago marathon in a couple weeks and hitting the 'Reset' button. I think I'll try and take the rest of October off from running then begin with a much reduced weekly mileage with a day per week on the track and start building back up again.

Tacoma Bank to Bay 10k Race Report

Wow, my last 10k was such a stunner and huge PR (back in June). Since then I've run a tough 50k, strained my back and missed a little running, tried picking it back up and sprained/damaged my left (usually good) ankle/foot, and last Monday - Labor Day - I cracked a rib as a result of a dirt bike fall (crash?).


Since I'm supposedly running Chicago in four weeks I figured I'd find out how out of shape I was by running the Tacoma Bank to Bay 10k. I'd never run it before, but it is billed as a fast 10k. I ran most of the course for a warm up and found the race starts at about 50' elevation, goes up to 140' elevation, drops down to 0' for a while, goes over a high bridge for another gain of about 40', then repeats all the above after the turnaround - not my idea of a fast course, but not necessarily brutal either.

My left foot mostly bothers me on downhills, but my broken rib hurts with any jarring motion, any bending motion, or any deep breathing. Not that I'm using that as an excuse :)

I ran as hard as I thought I could, and even picked it up to 5:30 pace for the last half mile to bury a couple guys before the finish. I ended up with a very disappointing 39:30 - my slowest 10k since at least 2005 I believe.

So with 4 weeks until Chicago I guess my pace will be about 7 mpm - arghh. I can't believe I've gotten 2:30 slower over 6 miles in 3 months! I guess since I'm so slow and feel like I won't have a fast Chicago I may run a 50k (Cle Elum Ridge 50k) this coming weekend (with 7,000' elevation gain/loss). My slowness won't matter much there, but I also don't want to aggravate my left ankle/foot issue and miss Chicago entirely. I have a couple more days to decide I guess.

My first ultra - the Siskiyou Out & Back (SOB) 50k

My buddy Shawn got me interested in doing an 'ultra' trail race earlier this year. He mentioned the Siskiyou Out & Back - a 50 kilometer race starting at the Mt. Ashland ski area and running along the Pacific Crest Trail. I like running on trails, I've run several marathons (and they no longer seem as 'long' as they used to), and welcomed the idea of doing something new, so I decided to run it!

My training wasn't really anything special. I did quite a few trail runs earlier in the year and have averaged about 50 miles per week for this year so far (despite starting from 0 at the beginning of the year with an injury). I've pretty  much been doing base building this season with a couple shorter races and a marathon thrown in for good measure. I also didn't obsess over this race and thought I'd treat it like a fun learning experience while also trying to at least run a respectable time (whatever that  might be for something like this).

I was a little curious what effect the forecast hot (mid 80*s) weather and the elevation (the race began at 6500') would have on me though. I really wanted to be able to run below 4:30:00 for this race, but really had no clue how it would  play out. The course only had about 4200' of total elevation gain/loss, which is less than  many of the training runs I've done - though I have never run farther than about 25 miles on a training run and 26.2 miles in a race.

Shawn and I drove down to Ashland Friday and had a fairly uneventful trip. It's about a 9 hour drive though. We arrived in Ashland in the afternoon and checked out the Rogue Valley Runners store, had a bite to eat and a cool frosty beverage, then headed up to the ski area about 40 minutes out of town. It was 97* in the town of Ashland, but as we climbed up to the ski area the temperature kept dropping. By the time we arrived at the parking lot the temperature was around 73*. We hoped that race day would offer similar high temps! We met the race directors, and one of them - Erin I think - offered us another cold frosty beverage. Sweet! I am beginning to like trail runners!

I set my tent up and hit the sack around 9:30 or so. At 5:00 am sharp the loud music started. That gave us a couple hours to get our race packets, get some food down, socialize, and get our drink and fuel stuff situated. It was already in the 60*s an hour before the race, so I went with my trusty Race Ready shorts and no shirt. I did apply lots of sunscreen though! I also decided I'd try to run the race in the Inov-8 X-Talon 212 shoes. However I placed my trusty old Brooks Ravennas in a drop bag to be placed at the 22 mile point of the race if the Inov-8s weren't working out.

The race start was a very laid back affair with the RD asking everyone to move forward to the line. Then we were off! I settled in to what I hoped was a reasonable pace pretty  much right away, and the first half of the race was uneventful. I hit the half way point in about 2:15 so was right on pace. I also felt very good, but was pretty hot. The trail was heavily cambered which is something my body really doesn't like, and I hoped I'd do ok with it. However between the cambered road and the super lightweight shoes I began to have some issues with  my right foot. Between miles 15 and 22 I was limping a bit and really concentrating on letting my left side do the most work. My right ankle and foot were quite painful. I swapped shoes at the 22 mile aid station - losing 6 or 7 positions to the necessary task. Thankfully it was a good decision as  my foot felt much better in the Ravennas. After the 22 mile aid station the course was pretty  much 4 miles of unrelenting uphill running. It didn't take long before I was reduced to run-walking. It was surprising how fast I'd lose my breath! Even with this 'failure' I was able to get back 3 or 4 positions by the end of the race though - and had a good kick-fest with another runner the last .25 miles or so.

Right after crossing the line the same RD who'd given me the beer the night before stood with a 22 oz. microbrew in each hand and said, "Pick one!" Nice! I definitely like this trail runner crowd! Did I mention that yet! There was a hose near the finish where I gave myself a nice quick and cold rinse, then I nibbled on finish line goodies and waited for Shawn to show up.

I ended up finishing in 4:47:30 which, despite being an ugly +17:30 positive split, was good enough for 13th place OA and 4th in  my AG (ten year age groups). The winner completed the course in something like 3:43 - damn! I've got some work to do before I do another one of these!

It's been a while

I  haven't been very good about updating this blog! The last several weeks have brought a recurrence of PFS (patellofemoral syndrome - commonly called runner's knee) back that I haven't had for several years. I don't know if it is a change in shoes, diet, or training. I'm actually running less steep trails now than earlier in the year, so it's  hard to blame it on the hills. I did try some minimalist trail shoes but have only put around 40 miles on them, and those  miles were interspersed with wearing other shoes.
These things can be extremely frustrating.

I will be running  my first 50k trail race (the SOB near Ashland, OR) this Saturday. It'll be the longest run I've ever done, and I'm really looking forward to it. However it is at 6500' elevation, and the temperatures are forecast to be in the 90*s. I'm not heat acclimated due to the cool spring and early summer we've suffered through here in the PNW, so the race could be quite a challenge. My plan is to try and drink lots of Gatorade, eat Hammergel every half hour, and maybe take a salt tablet halfway through if I think I need it. I'm hoping to finish in the 4:30 range, but that may be optimistic considering it being  my first effort at this distance and the elevation and temperature.
I'm going to bring three different pairs of shoes and decide on race morning what to wear. I'd really like to wear the Inov-8 X-Talons due to their traction and light weight, but I'm not convinced they aren't what contributed to my current knee problems.

Fall City Days 10k Race Report

I try and do this race every year. It's a fairly fast course with usually good weather for running. The last two years the organization has been lacking however as the RD dropped the professional timing/organizing company for a local middle school principal. They do their best, but it's not the same.

Anyway for background I've been doing mostly easy runs since the marathon a couple weeks ago. I have done a couple trail/hill runs though, and have averaged about 50 miles per week since the marathon. My goal for the Fall City Days race was primarily for it to be a training stimulus speed workout. I figured I'd be in maybe low 38 minute shape, but didn't really know. Since I hadn't tapered for the race and I've been dealing with some pretty severe patellofemoral syndrome pain in my knees I wasn't even sure of that goal.

Race day weather was in the  mid to upper 50s with occasional very light liquid fog - not bad racing weather! I warmed up with around 4 miles of easy running followed by 3 or 4 accelerations. The race started nearly on time this year which is always a plus! I tried to hold back a little bit the first mile as I always go out too fast. Also I had my GPS watch set to HR display and tried not to look at it during the race.

About one half mile in I was behind a young woman who herself was behind but on the shoulder of a young guy. The guy had headphones on. He turned and without looking launched a glob of spit over his shoulder and directly in to the face of the young woman. She was exceedingly displeased by this gesture, and I'm not even sure the dope who did it even knew. What a tool.
I followed a group of people for the next couple miles. There were no mile markers on the course, and even at the 10k turnaround cone there was no course worker - I guess they were operating on the honor system! Shortly after the turn-around I began overtaking the group ahead of me one by one. After the 4 mile point I had no one in front of me that was within reach. On straight stretches I could just see a bright jersey maybe 800 to 1000 meters ahead of me. Then I hit the 5k walkers. No longer could I run the tangents of the course, and I spent the last 1.5 miles or so weaving in and around them. I finished strong but could not see a finish line clock. I stopped my watch at the finish line matt and finally looked at it as a race volunteer cut the timing chip from my shoe. My watch said 36:58, but I was sure it said 38:something as there's no way I could have run that fast! That would have been almost a full minute PR from last fall when I was just finishing up a great training cycle. Then I looked for the water that is always at the end of a race. There wasn't any! All they had was some cans of something called Neve. It turned out to be an undrinkable heavily carbonated water beverage. Nasty.

After a 1.5 mile cool down I cycled back to see if the results were posted. The results listed my time as 37:00, which  must be the 'gun' time - so I guess somehow I did run that fast. It's still tough to figure out where an improvement that big came from though.

Newport Marathon 2010 Report

My wife, Cherie, and I ran the Newport, OR marathon Saturday. It was sort of local (a 6 hour drive), inexpensive, and had a great reputation - plus it was at the beach!

This is the first marathon I've run (of 7) that I didn't follow any training plan for, didn't have a time goal for, and didn't stress about. I've been pretty much doing base building this year, have averaged ~50 mpw this year, and have been doing lots of mountain/trail runs to try to prepare for my first ultra next month. I decided to run this race solely by HR - 5 bpm less than my marathon PR HR from last December - and hoped to have the will power to stick to that plan. I don't want to lose too much training time to recovery and hoped that running at marathon HR - 5 would be the ticket.

After literally months of rain and 40* weather for my training runs, race day arrived with a starting temperature in the upper 50*s and bright sun. By the finish the temperature was well in to the 60*s. This was the hottest temperature I've run any marathon so far (and I know it's not that hot!).

Anyway I was able to stick to my HR plan for the most part. After 18 miles and in the direct sun my HR did begin to creep a bit - and my pace creeped the opposite direction. I'd hoped running slower than marathon HR would make this easier than it felt the last few miles. I did finish strong and felt great afterward (and today) with only a little soreness. The best part is my time was only 2.5 minutes off my PR from December. I'm a little surprised that running 'easier' than max effort (lower HR) on no training plan, no tempo runs, no marathon pace runs (except for a half marathon 4 weeks ago), and no sustained weekly 'high' mileage led to this result. I'd have to say the strength I must have gained from the difficult trail running has been the difference I guess.

My worst injury today seems to be my inverse-singlet sunburn, which is quite impressive. After I finished I went back up the course and cheered the other runners on for 1.5 hours with no sunscreen. Stupid is as stupid does as they say.

Results:
Avg. HR: 171
Gun time: 3:01:05
Watch time: 3:01:01

First 13.1 ~1:29:30

16th OA
5th AG (the #2, 3, and 4 runners were 47 years old and ran 2:45, 2:46, and 2:47 respectively)


Cherie's results:

I can't get her to write a RR. Briefly this was her second marathon. She had some injury issues in the buildup, but did average more miles than for her first marathon. I set the 'virtual partner' on her Garmin to 9:00 mpm pace for her, but she ran the first 8 or 9 miles at nearly her 10k pace. She gutted it out though and set a 17+ minute PR finishing in 4:06:28. I'm very proud of her but did tell her she deserved a spanking for not paying attention to her watch and going out so fast.

__________________

Weekend Double

This past weekend is one I always look forward to due to the Bloomsday 12k race in Spokane. I've run it every year since I discovered it (about six years ago?). The elevation changes and crowds (50,000 participants) make it a challenging race, and it is about the right time of year to officially open the racing season for me.

This year I've been able to get a pretty good base of mileage built up in comparison to previous years (though I haven't done much speed training yet), so I was hoping for a good showing (a PR and a sub 48 minute Second Seed qualifying time). Then a new race was created near my home town - a half marathon with a flat elevation profile - that would be happening the day before Bloomsday. There's something about first year events, especially ones in/near my town, that are very compelling. Also my half marathon PR is 5 years old and very soft, so I would be almost guaranteed a PR. Of course I knew it would likely have a negative impact on my goals at Bloomsday, so I initially fought back the desire to sign up for it.

Eventually the draw of running the new, local Saturday race overcame my concerns of the negative impact on Sunday's race and I decided to run it. Even up to the morning of the race I hadn't decided how I'd run the race. Should I make it a max effort? Since I had no marathon pace runs in yet this year should I make it a marathon pace run? In the end I decided to run it at a steady marathon heart rate level as I don't know what my pace really is right now. I drove down with Shawn, a running buddy from my neighborhood. Since we'd picked up our packets the day before we had plenty of time for a nice, slow 1.5 mile warm up. Once the race started I paced Shawn for the first three miles at a slightly lower HR, then tried to maintain a HR of 175 for the rest of the race. I averaged 178 bpm at  my last marathon in December, so I felt a 175 rate effort should leave me a little something for Bloomsday the next day.

As it turned out I was able to run 6:30 pace at that heart rate, which was a pleasant surprise. The last mile I ran in 6:00 minutes as I was working on passing the person in front of me. I passed him with about 400 meters to go, then really opened it up on the Mount Si High School track for the last 300 meters to the finish. My final time was 1:25:09 - good for a 3+ minute PR and 3rd place in the Masters division. I actually won $50 for that! Whoohooo! And Shawn kept me in sight and secured a 30+ minute PR for himself with an outstanding effort made even more remarkable coming just six days after he ran a 36 mile trail race!

After the awards ceremony Cherie and I headed home for a quick meal and a shower before making the long 4 hour drive to Spokane. We got to the expo just in time to pick up our race packets, then it was off to get more food! Race morning brought clear blue skies and temperatures in the lower 40*s - perfect race weather! Cherie and I headed toward the start and split up where she had to go in the Yellow start corral while I went down to the Second Seed corral. Since I'd just raced the day before I only did a short, easy 1.5 mile warm up instead of my usual 3 miles at increasing intensity warm up for short races. I worked my way up near the front of the corral and got a look at the elites about 20 yards ahead. The start gun went off and so did the runners! My intention was to try and go out at 6:15 mpm pace for the flats and downhills the first couple miles and see what I had for the hills. I was able to stay fairly strong on the hills including Doomsday Hill (see accompanying elevation profile) - I even high-fived the vulture at the top. The last 2.5 miles went well, and I was able to pick off a few more runners at the end. I finished in 47:22 and feeling good - like maybe I could have pushed a bit harder. Cherie finished in 1:01:59 which was a 7+ minute PR for her. She only has 4 more minutes to shave off before she too can start in the second seed corral!

In summary I'm quite pleased with how my body responded to the weekend double. My troublesome left achilles/soleus injury thing is a little more obvious today, but it's not too bad. I'll take some easy days this week before hitting a long trail run this coming weekend.

Shoe Report - Brooks Cascadia 5

I'm not a big fan of trail shoes and have only had one pair before - a clunky pair of Montrails. I find that my road shoes work quite well on the trails too. However I was in Foot Zone the other day picking up some Hammer Gel and, needing some new shoes, was looking at the offerings on display. The Cascadia caught my eye because it's light and low, especially for a 'trail' shoe. I tried them on in the store and found they fit me very well. I like a shoe that's narrow/tight in the heel with lots of room in the toebox. The outsole had nice traction lugs and a 'rock plate' to help keep stone bruises at bay. My only initial concern was how soft the cushioning was.
I tried them out on a 12 mile run including a climb up Cedar Butte on a wet day. The shoes felt good and had fair traction on the loamy soil, but when the trail was muddy the shoes didn't do as well. They also had NO traction on wet roots and rocks. I nearly fell a couple times due to this.
I wore them again on a 24 mile trail run featuring 6,000' of elevation gain, mud, snow, and dry surfaces today. The snow was soft and slippery and I doubt any shoe would have done well. These certainly didn't. I also seemed to be twisting my foot and ankle a lot. I don't know if it is because the soft cushioning of the shoe allowed more 'roll' or if it was just the trail conditions.
The Brooks Cascadia 5 seems like a shoe that will find a place in my shoe library due to its good dry weather traction, its fit, and its light weight and suitability for both road and trail running.

20 miles

In my pre running life (before age 40) I would have flipped if someone told me they were going to run 20 miles all at once. Why would anyone run 20 miles when they could drive - or at worst ride a bike?

One reason is simply that we (humans) can! We seem to be adapted to long distance running by evolution. It may take a while to get in condition to be able to do it, but I feel that nearly anyone is capable of these long runs and running marathons.

My last 20+ mile run was last Sunday. I'm in a mileage base building phase to prepare for a 50k trail race in July. I skied hard Saturday and pretty well thrashed my quads, so the run was a little more difficult than it might have been! I ran it as a progression run meaning I started off slowly, increased my pace in the middle miles, and increased my pace again for the finish. This makes for a good workout! Cherie rode her bike alongside me during the run as she did last fall when I was preparing for the New York City marathon. It was a great day with sun and temperatures in the lower 60s. We went to the pool for a few laps afterward and finished up by sitting in the club sauna for a few minutes. It was pretty much a good day!

Today I'm going out for around 12 miles including a couple repeats up Cedar Butte, a small mountain just off the Iron Horse trail near the house.

Mercer Island 10k Race Report

I decided to run the Mercer Island 10k pretty  much the night before the event. I had just raced a 5k the previous weekend and had a full week of running with a couple medium long (12~14) mile runs already. I have built up to a pretty good base so far this year and really should be transitioning to speed work about now. In a way races are speed work though!
This race was run along with a half marathon and a 5k to benefit colon cancer testing and research. I paid the most huge entry ($45) I've ever heard of for a 10k to get in too, but I figured it was for a good cause. The weather was cloudy, a little occasional drizzle, and around 50* for the start. The course is fairly hilly and features road, sidewalk, paved, and unpaved paths, and lots of tight turns including two 180* out and back turnarounds. So it's not a fast course! Since I hadn't tapered for this race and I'd run a race last weekend I really didn't know what to expect for a time. My goal was to go out at a less than breakneck speed and see what the course would give. Since I knew I wouldn't be setting any PRs here I raced a more tactical race - which can be quite fun! I've been practicing passing people such that I don't get passed back. I study the person in front of me to see how they handle the uphills versus the ensuing downhills. Do they slow on the uphill and speed the downhills? Are they fairly steady and even paced over varied terrain?
The big thing with passing other runners is to do so in a commanding fashion. If I just squeek by and stay only a little in front of them I risk them surging and re-passing me. So I pass with authority and keep the pedal down to demoralize them enough that they won't try and re-pass. It works quite well when I can handle it.
Anyway I passed a couple guys in the last half mile or so, and with a 38:57 time I ended up in 11th place overall (out of 725 runners) and 1st in my age group (of 29 total). I must qualify that result with the fact that the 10k was not horribly competitive. Most of the 'fast guys' were either running the half or weren't there. Hey, that's racing! You gotta take what you can get when you can get it!

3 miles warm up, 6.2 miles racing, 3 miles cool down for yesterday.
8 miles easy today (Monday)

Finaghty's St. Patty's Day 5k report

Time flies when you're living! Over the last couple weeks since I last posted I've built up to about 60 running miles per week, then took a cut-back week and ran a 5k race. I also signed up for my first ultra - though it is the shortest 'ultra' distance, a 50k. It is however in the Siskiyou mountains at 6500' elevation, so that will add to the challenge. I have until July to prepare for that.

Finaghty's 5k:
Cherie, Jesse, Brendan, Shawn, and I went to Snoqualmie Ridge for the St. Patty's Day 5k on Saturday. The course is on streets, trails, and occasionally sidewalks and is a bit hilly with lots of tight turns, so it's not what I'd call a PR course. It was overcast with occasional sun breaks and rain breaks with the temperature around 40*.
Shawn, Brendan, and I ran the course as a warm up, and I had time for a couple accelerations. Then we watched the start of the kid's 1k race. It always cracks me up how the little guys and gals go out at a full blown sprint!
This early in the season my goal for the 5k was mostly to see where I was at with training and as a good fast tempo run. At the start as usual there was a small crowd of 7 to 10 year old kids at the very front. They typically go out at a full sprint then slow dramatically after a hundred yards or so and become moving obstacles.
I ran the first mile at around 5:45 pace and the second more uphill mile at around 6:10 pace. At about the two mile mark a guy with male pattern baldness passed me. Figuring he was likely in  my age group I hung close though. The last half mile before the finish featured a pretty good climb followed by a short downhill to the finish. I passed the guy who'd passed me on the uphill section and powered up the hill to beat him by several seconds. This got me a 3rd place in my age group. Cherie got a 2nd place in her age group!

Long Sunday

My wife, Cherie, and I left the house early to get to the ferry in Seattle with our bicycles for the Chilly Hilly bike ride. The weather was cooperative and the ride was nice if a little crowded. We finished and caught the ferry back to Seattle, then stopped in Bellevue and put in a nice run, then went to the pool and swam. We didn't get home until nearly 6 pm!

I was able to get a run in Saturday with Brendan, a neighbor who coaches high school track and cross country. He's dealing with a hip issue, so we took it fairly easy. I went a little longer after Brendan called it a day and ended up with around 12 miles total. My weekly total running last week hit 52 miles. I'm about ready to start up with some long runs every other week I think - though I want to continue with my weekly hill repeat workout and track workout at least through April before committing to long distance work primarily.

Today (Monday) I did a little over 9 miles including a trip up Cedar Butte. Tomorrow will be an easy 5 or so for recovery so I'm ready for the hill repeats on Wednesday.

Fraud

Somehow a low-life got my business credit card information and made some online purchases. I've cancelled the card and now have to remember all the vendors who have it on file. Gak.

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to a full day of work missed so I can keep current on my EMT instructor status with the department. I'm only a little behind now at work :). Friday is a ski patrol night and Sunday is the Chilly Hilly bike ride on Bainbridge Island. I have Saturday free for work catch-up.

I went with Shawn on an 11 mile trail run Monday. The run finished with 3.5 miles of steep down hill running, which is rather hard on me. My right arch still hurts, my quads are sore, and I'm not quite recovered yet. I did put in an easy 5 miles yesterday and a 7.25 mile progression/tempo run today on tired legs. I'll finish the week out with a couple easy effort days and either a hill repeat or a track workout day Saturday morning. Maybe the rain will have stopped by then?

7.25 miles running today, 22.5 for the week so far.

(motor)Cycling

What an amazing week weather wise in the PNW! It was nearly 60* today with nary a cloud in the sky. Yesterday was a track day for me with 6 x 800 m repeats and a total of 8 miles. Today I did an aerobic 13 miles in only a t-shirt! That put me at 54 miles for the week which is good for me at this time of year. Hopefully the base I'm building now will translate to faster race times this summer and fall.
I worked on one of my motorcycles today too - solving (I think) a random loss of power issue it has had since I got it (and the reason I got it so cheaply). It was a pretty easy fix with no $$ involved too - the best kind. A test ride went well enough that now Cherie and I are going to go for a short ride.

13.2 miles running today.

Spring

Wow, it was an incredibly nice day outside today. Bright sun and unseasonably warm temperatures made for a nice run - at least until the hill repeats started. After a 3.5 mile warm up run I was able to take off my jacket and run in my short sleeve shirt. I did 8 of my 'water tower' repeats. it's a hill that starts off at around 7% grade and finishes at over 20% grade over about 200 or 250 yards. I hammer up then turn around and jog slowly back down and repeat!

I'm still a little thrashed this evening from the workout. I already saw the news about who did what in the olympics, so I don't really care to watch them (delayed broadcast is a greedy, stupid way to telecast the olympics in my opinion).

7.5 miles with 8 x 200 m hill repeats today.

Dogs and their owners

I have a dog. I like my dog. I put my dog on a leash when I take him for walks. However in my area (where I run nearly every day) there are many people who do not leash their dogs. This area is a dog-leash area. Many of the unleashed dogs are well behaved and controlled by their owners; some are not well behaved and are controlled by their owners, but a few are both not well behaved and not well controlled by their owners.

During Saturday's run I was threatened by a dog's owner as he recognized me as someone who had defended himself against said owner's dog in the past. This infuriated him to the point he began threatening me. Monday's run up Cedar Butte I was nipped by a large german shephard. During Tuesday's run I was attacked by two dogs whom the owners could not control and was threatened with three more dogs by said owners (after the first two attacked the owners said, "and we have three more here somewhere."). I also have a long standing battle with a thoughtless hind whose dog always rushes at me in attack mode. This gentleman has also threatened me during several of the 'events'.

Some people say I should carry pepper spray, but the cost would be ridiculous. I'd have used over $30 of it just this week. When it got bad last year I started carrying a collapsible baton similar to what the police use on unruly offenders. I've had to deploy it only a couple times and have yet to have to actually strike an attacking animal. So far the sound it makes as I whip it out has been enough to repel the dogs and enrage the owners :)

I haven't carried it on runs for almost a year, but after this week I guess I'll start again. It won't do much good if one of the owners turns on me I suppose, but I don't want to start an arms race!

It's time to go in to battle - er, go for a run I mean. It's a nice morning if a little cold (below freezing) right now, but it is supposed to get in to the mid 50s later today. If I have time I may take my bicycle out this afternoon to get it some exercise.

5 easy miles running today.

Lawn

The bio-mowers are out again. I haven't had to mow the back yard once this unseasonably warm winter as the deer are doing it for me. I walk back and forth from the shop to the house several times a day for various reasons, and each time there are two or three deer in the yard it seems. As I type there are three munching away 30' from me. It's too bad they can't just stick to eating the grass. They particularly like anything we've planted in the garden, the blueberry plants, or any other plant that costs money.

I had a nice easy run in the rain this morning. My legs were a little tired from the run yesterday. I'll take another fairly easy run tomorrow then do a track interval workout on Saturday morning - at least that's the plan. I also need to do two ski patrol shifts this weekend - one on Friday night and another all day Sunday. Cherie will likely come up with me on Sunday.

I asked her if she'd rather have flowers or an entry to the Chilly Hilly bike ride that comes up at the end of the month. She didn't have to think about this at all and picked the Chilly Hilly! Right on!

5.4 miles running today.

Tax time

I've been busy the last couple days both with business taxes, personal taxes, and a burst of new work (which is a good thing). I gave up on having tax professionals do my business and personal taxes as they increased their prices each year. The last time I paid them I was charged nearly $700! So now I do them with Turbotax. I may miss a couple things they'd catch, but I doubt I miss $700 worth.

I meant to go out for an easy five or six miles this morning as I also meant for this week to be a cut-back (in mileage) week. I wore some old worn out shoes that had Superfeet insoles in them to see if that would affect the shin pain I've been having. I started out slowly and felt no twinges, so I turned the run in to a thirteen mile progression run - starting at 9 minutes per mile and finishing at sub 7 minutes per mile. So much for taking it easy.

13.2 miles running today.
6.3 yesterday.

Superbowl (tm) Sunday!

It's Superbowl (tm) time, and it looks to be a good game this year! Cherie and I will likely go to an SB party to watch the game with friends this year. Actually I'll watch the game and Cherie will mostly watch the people I'll bet.

Ski patrol last night featured spring skiing conditions (corn snow) which is pretty sad for the first week in February. It's looking like it'll be a short season this year.

This week Arielle (middlest daughter) got her car smashed. A friend was following her to an event when Arielle stopped and the friend ran in to the back of Arielle's car. Her car is driveable but totalled from a repair cost standpoint.

I did a hill repeat workout this morning featuring a five mile warm up, 6 x max effort repeats up a steep 300 meter hill, then 1.75 mile cool down. It was a good workout, and I'm sure my legs will feel it tomorrow. As soon as Cherie gets back from her run we'll go to the pool and swim some laps before heading to the SB party. Busy day!

9 miles running today, 500 meters swimming.
5 miles yesterday and 4 the day before that. Next week will be a cutback (recovery) week.

Elk

This morning's weather was awesome. Clear and sunny and 40* out, so I had to get out while it lasted. I did a double yesterday and felt a little tired during my run today. I flushed a six-pack of cow elk from the trail right before my turn around point.

It's Thursday, so I have fire department drill tonight. I'm suffering from extreme apathy with regard to all things FD right now, and I don't see how I'll stay on. You know how it gets when you just can't get past the negatives of a thing - whether it's a job, relationship, or whatever.

I think I'll go out for Thai food for lunch today, and maybe even ride my motorcycle - though it is getting pretty windy. You just have to take advantage of the good days when they happen!

8 miles medium pace running today.

Finally back to rain

Our stretch of unseasonably dry weather has come to an end. All good things I guess. I got in around 5.5 miles this morning which included 2 x 2000 m at tempo pace and I did another 2.1 with Cherie tonight in the rain at an easy pace.

It was a busy day even though I didn't get much paying work done. Someone brought an FJ Cruiser by for a snorkel and driving light install job though. I also machined a thermostat housing from scratch as the one I needed wasn't available any longer. I've been struggling to get some parts I purchased on eBay. The seller relisted the item even though I've paid for it (a week ago). Ah the joys of feeBay!

7.5 miles running today - behind on swimming!

February already?

Wow, time is just flying past my window. I had another browbeating meeting with the career firefighter officer who's supposed to be my lead. My frustration level is very high right now with the department and its efforts.

On another note I googlestalked (tm) a runner who I've seen at many races over the last year. He's way faster than I am in the shorter distance events like the 5k and 10k. I saw a race result from 2008 where I'd beaten him at an event and wondered what he'd done to get so much faster in just a year. I found his online training log. He runs far fewer miles than I but does lots of 200, 400, 800, 1000, and 2000 meter intervals. My guess is he must have dropped at least two and a half minutes from his 10k time in a year. That's mind boggling to me!

So I might try concentrating on some similar training this spring. I won't go whole hawg on it, but definitely will sprinkle some in.

There's a 10k race this weekend at my middle daughter's college in Olympia, but I'm thinking of devoting the day to the StupidBowl instead. Olympia is a long ways to drive for a 10k.

6.3 miles of easy running on still sore legs this morning (3 miles yesterday).

Rattlesnake Ridge

I got up at the ridiculous hour of 5:00 am to run the Rattlesnake Ridge trail with Shawn and Marty - couple trail ultra runners (Marty a veteran of many 100 milers and Shawn training for his first this September). We ran with headlights and tried to not trip over the roots. There was a few inches of snow at the top which was fun to run in with the slipping and sliding.

It was drizzling and cloudy, so we didn't get to take advantage of any of the terrific views along the way. It even snowed on us a little on the way back over. Now it's time to try to warm up in the shower!

15 miles running today

18

Wholly Cow! My youngest daughter turned 18 years old today. I sure am proud of her and the woman she is growing in to.

Should I feel old now? I'll have to think about that.

Work

We're back to windy conditions here, but still no rain yet. I got to work early today to try and do a snorkel install on a 2010 FJ Cruiser but found out I'll have to do a little fab work as the 2010 is different from earlier models.

I really need to get a storage shed or carport roof up before the rain starts up again! I'm getting tired of moving all the motorcycles around in the shop, and I don't have the space to keep storing the pressure washer, paint sprayer, table saw, etc. in the shop any more.

Tomorrow is another Ski Patrol day at Alpental. I'm hopeful the snow conditions will be better than they have been.

Cedar Butte

I just got back from my first Cedar Butte hill run of the year. The trail was in great shape, and it's nice not to have to blast through brush (a benefit of winter trail running). As always it was great fun through the middle twisty rooty part!

I'm having great fun reading all the backlash from the State of the Union speech. It still amazes me that Obama says the buck stops with him and yet continually blames Bush for all the nations' troubles (not that I'm/was a big GB fan). Geez.

Here I am supporting my business by charging all bills and paying for product with the credit card all due to a big customer who always pays their bill 60+ days late. They don't see or care what this practice does to my business. Arghh. Thankfully I'm starting to get a little bit busier at work now with the phone ringing a little and orders trickling in.

Ran 8 miles today.

Winter?

The weather this morning is incredibly nice. It's 38* and rising with a bright sun and light breeze. It's pretty tough to not feel good today! This winter has been a huge disappointment for those of us who enjoy snow, and I feel guilty when I start thinking how much I have enjoyed the nice sunny days. The skiing has largely been more akin to ice skating, and I've only been snowmobiling once this year. On the plus side I have been out a couple times on my motorcycle.

Today is a run around day. I have parts and materials to pick up and will spend a large part of the day driving (and not in the shop getting things done). It's just one of the aggravations of being a one-man show at work.

Ran 4.2 miles today

Frustration

Last night I got an angry-toned phone call from a career firefighter regarding my participation in last year's VSET (a program requiring volunteer firefighters to work a scheduled shift each month with a career crew at the career station). This is the third issue this year I've had to deal with on this and related matters with my department.

Most of us volunteer firefighters joined up to help our neighbors and community in times of need. It can be a very rewarding experience - though it is also a time-intensive endeavor with all the training, station maintenance, paperwork, and other objectives that keep piling on. It is getting very difficult to remain a volunteer firefighter these days. I could go on and on about this, but in the end the day will come when I'll have to make a choice, and that day may be coming sooner rather than later.

6.3 miles running today.

First entry!

I am starting this on a lark. I'm not too sure about the whole idea of blogging. Do other people really care what I do and think? Probably not. Perhaps I'm the one who will get the most out of doing this. Maybe it will help organize my thoughts and experiences, and it will certainly be an easily referenced source of historical penned thoughts to look back on later.

5.5 miles running today.