Monday, September 1, 2014, 3:06 pm

6.31 mi, 265 ft gain, 48:26. To Wallace Falls TH and back, Solo. New Balance MR10V2

Drenched in sweat. If I didn’t already know it, I’d guess I had a great run. Today was going to be an easy day. I felt good, so I kept going and kept the pace up a bit. At least I kept the terrain easy by keeping to sidewalk and roads. Went to the Wallace Falls trail head and back. It’s a good turnaround spot with a water fountain and restroom. Just a water stop today.

I’ve never done a 10k race, but this would count as my fastest. I’ve been thinking more about doing speed work, and I might have the bug. I’m not going to do too much for now. I still have some long run goals for the year. Strava best estimated 10k of 47:19. Maybe I’ll do some shorter races this fall or winter.

 

Tuesday, September 2, 2014, 4:06 pm

4.05 mi, 195 ft gain, 38:48. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

Took it easy today. About 1.5 miles to loosen up. Rain let up for the run. Wet feet from overgrowth though.

 

Wednesday, September 3, 2014,  4:50 pm

3.3 mi, <20 ft gain, 29:36. Through town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2

The dogs like to pull on leash for the first little while, which makes me go a little faster to start than I otherwise would. Made a slight detour around the block in town because there was a loose dog and people trying to catch it. I didn’t want to complicate the situation taking my dogs into the mix. Nice easy road run.

Wednesday, September 4, 2014,  6:05 pm

2 mi, unk ft gain, walk. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #2, solo. New Balance MT1010v2

Just a wander in the woods exploring.

 

Thursday, September 4, 2014, 3:10 pm

7.1 mi, 993 ft gain, 1:10:39. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #1, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

Brief stop at Olney creek for the dogs. Headed up the hill towards Wallace Lake, but turned onto another road that I haven’t been on yet. Went to the top of the clear cut that two lower roads go across.

 

Thursday, September 4, 2014, 6:00 pm

2.1 mi, unk ft gain, walk. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #2, solo. New Balance MT1010v2

Just another wander in the woods exploring.

 

Friday, September 5, 2014, 1:42 pm

5.2 mi, 623 ft gain, 55:45. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

A little longer to warm up since I’ve been running everyday. But just fine once I do. Out to Olney creek for the dogs to cool down. It was warmer than the past few days. Then up the connector hill. Right at the top of the climb, the dogs scared up about half a dozen grouse hiding in the brush on the side of the road. About a half mile farther over the hill, the dogs scared up another 10 or so grouse in the brush. I’ve never seen that many together in the tree farm. The heat was starting to wear on the dogs for the last mile or so. Black fur in the sun will do that. I slowed down to accommodate them.

 

Saturday, September 6, 2014,  4:44 pm

20.02 mi, 3081 ft gain, 3:49:26. Wallace Falls, Wallace Lake, Jay Lake, solo. Altra Superior 1.5

I wasn’t sure where or how far I was going to run when I woke up. I had tentatively planned to go long Sunday, but decided to do so today instead.

Stopped at the grocery store on the way running to the trail head. Bought a bag of dates. Wore my hydration pack today. Stopped at the trail head (3.2 mi) to refill to 2 liters. Chatted with a couple guys who had just finished for a couple minutes. One was talking about recently going up Baring Mountain, something I’d like to do.

I took it easy to the upper falls (~5.5 mi). Stopped for a minute or two for a water and food break. Legs were a little heavy once I got up to the DNR rd. They felt better after another mile or so on the relative flat of the road.

Saw two people at the picnic table just over the little bridge by Wallace lake (8 mi). There was a tent by the beach on the other end of the lake, but I continued on.

I made it to Jay Lake (9.5 mi) and saw some more campers. I used the facilities and headed back.

Just a little ways back down the trail I saw a couple chanterelles just on the edge of the trail. I didn’t notice them on the way up. I brought a bag with me for just such occasion. I spent a few more minutes going off trail a ways and found a few more.

I stopped briefly at the beach at Wallace Lake and spoke with the couple camping there. There was a very nice breeze on the beach.

Doing some math in my head, I wanted to get a little more distance to make it an even 20. I decided to turn onto a logging road at one of the forks a little way back around the lake. However, my math was bad. I went out and back .25 mi. I needed closer to .5 mi.

The two people were still at the picnic table. A little farther, there’s a turn off for the camping area. Their tent was setup in one of the spots.

My legs still felt pretty good, so I picked up the pace a little on the DNR rd. All the stops I made ate up the extra time I thought I had before dark.

I made good time on the descent from the top. Farther down I had to slow down to be sure of my footing as it grew darker. I made it back to the trail head (16.6 mi) with some light left still.

I ran out of water a couple minutes before getting back to the trail head. My guess of 2 liters was pretty good. I refilled my hydration bladder with another 1.5 liters, filled out the trail log book, which I forgot to do when I got there, and headed for home.

I stopped under a street light about .5 mi down the road to get my headlamp out of my pack. I didn’t need it to see, but wanted to be seen by passing cars. I settled into a better pace than I expected that far into the run, 8:20-8:35/mi. I kept it up pretty well.

As I got to my driveway, I realized my math mistake. I was going to be about .2 mi short of 20. I turned around and ran back down the road for another lap past the neighbor’s property and then finally came back. It was just the moon lighting my way by the end. Plenty of light for road running.

Legs are a little sore, but it was fun. I had 3.5 dehydrated bananas, about 8 dates, 3.5-4 liters water and 4 salt caps. It was 90 degrees when I started, and much more pleasant by the finish.

Sunday, September 7, 2014, 4:50 pm

10.09 mi, 1096 ft gain, 2:17:51. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #2, solo. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

Hip flexors were tight starting out. Loosened up after about .5 mi. Felt good after that. Kind of surprised how good I felt after yesterdays run. I still took it easy and stopped to explore a number of times. Ran out to the small hill, through the trail connecting to the next road, followed that road to gate #3 and back. Continued up the bigger hill. Scared up 2 grouse near the top of the first climb. Scared up about 8 more grouse just over the top on the other side. Mile 10 was my fastest.

 

Weekly Totals: 60.1 mi, 9h 40m, 6252 ft gain

Weekly mileage PR. Also most time spent running in a week.