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).