Monday, March 9, 2015, 6:33 pm

10.88 mi, 1743 ft gain, 2:17:52. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #2.

I cut out the foam around the heel counter over the bump on my calcaneus, like I did with my other Superiors. It seems to work fairly well to reduce pressure and friction, but it makes the shoes feel a little loose.

I was a little stiff in my hamstrings and groin starting out, but warmed up and loosened up before too long. I started out taking a couple previously very overgrown side roads that they’ve cleared. They don’t go very far before they dead end.

Since I felt so good, I headed out the same direction as yesterday. I went a little earlier today, and the frogs weren’t quite as busy. I took a different turn up high today and ended up at the top of a little knob. I hoped that the road ended with a view over the valley and the sunset, but there were trees in the way. I’m glad they didn’t cut them all down.

To get my sunset fix, I headed back downhill. I was not disappointed. The Olympics were bathed and covered in red and orange light.

I had a big grin on my face for most of the run. The weather was awesome, and the views were fantastic. I love running.

Average HR 127 bpm.

 

Tuesday, March 10, 2015, 6:49 pm

8.03 mi, 271 ft gain, 1:03:32. May Creek Rd around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

I was a little stiff starting out, but warmed up. My right thigh felt better than it has, but I still had a little bit of a knot in my right glute.

I got up to pace nearing the top of the first hill on May Creek rd after turning off US2. I sped up a little more over the next 10 minutes. I tried to keep near my MAF threshold at 147 bpm. I kept near it most of the time once I warmed up. Until I came to the intersection with Ley rd. Just after turning left towards town, I saw two deer feeding in the vacant lot. I stopped and took a few photos. There wasn’t much light left, so they didn’t come out great. I was able to walk up to within about 15 ft from one of them before it hopped away a few yards. I left them to feed in peace.

I lost a few minutes, so I picked up the pace. My HR went up to mid 150s to 160 or so for most of the rest of the run. I picked up the pace again about 0.2 mi from the end.

I wanted to go under 1 hour. For some reason, my gps read a bit shorter than it has around this route in the past. I went a little farther up US2 past the turn for my house to make sure I hit 8 mi.

Average HR 141 bpm.

 

Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 5:42 pm

5.14 mi, 238 ft gain, 59:04. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #2, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #2.

Still a stiff start. I might need to scale it back for a little longer. I don’t know. I felt good after the first 2 mi.

I went up the little hill and on the trail to the next road out to about 1.5 mi, then turned back. Once back to the main road, I went out to Olney Creek and let the dogs play around a bit. On the way back to the car, I went down both of the recently cleared roads, to the end of one and just a little way down the other to break 5 mi for the run.

I still have a little bit of a desire to sign up for the Badger Mountain 100, so maybe I should just treat now until then as a taper and see how I feel the week before it.

Average HR 120 bpm.

 

Thursday, March 12, 2015, 4:54 pm

13.83 mi, 1028 ft gain, 2:12:39. Through town to WFSP RR Grade then around May Creek Rd. New Balance MR10v2.

I didn’t really know how far I was going to go today. I felt a little stiff starting out again, but warmed up fairly quickly.

I ended up going to Wallace Falls State Park, used the restroom, and headed up the RR grade. I went up to the end, used the restroom there, and headed back down. Another quick restroom stop at the TH.

I was feeling fairly good, so I turned left onto May Creek rd going the long way around. The good feeling didn’t last much longer though. My lower legs and around my ankles started feeling really fatigued. I just rolled over 450 miles on these shoes, and I wonder if that’s part of it. It actually felt a little better to speed up just a bit. I went online to get a new pair, but apparently they’ve been discontinued, and I couldn’t find my size.

I kept the pace pretty easy until about the last 0.2 mi.

Average HR 126 bpm.

 

Friday, March 13, 2015, 5:58 pm

5.24 mi, 458 ft gain, 58:53. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #2.

I felt pretty fatigued overall today. My legs felt better than yesterday. My arm joints were all sore as well. I’m not sure what’s going on with my joints.

I wasn’t nearly as stiff starting the run today. I took it easy. I felt less fatigued after about 2 mi, still a little tired though.

They opened up another overgrown road, so I checked that out. It went out to near the top of a little hill. Then we went out to the seasonal ponds out a little ways towards the connecting hill. The water has gotten pretty low there, but it’s supposed to rain over the weekend. Hopefully the water level will go up a bit so the frogs’ and their eggs will be OK.

From there, we went out to Olney Creek, and I let the dogs play in the water a bit. We continued around the loop to finish the run. I felt much better from about 2-4 mi, but started to get a little more tired after that. It was still better than when I started.

Average HR 113 bpm.

 

Saturday, March 14, 2015, 3:01 pm

5.02 mi, 95 ft gain, 38:18. Through town, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

Every joint in my arm aches today. I feel a little better today otherwise. My right hamstring was a little better as well. Just a little stiffness starting out, but my legs felt pretty good shortly thereafter.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from today’s run, not sure how far or fast I’d go. I started thinking of somewhere between 3-4 mi. Once I got going, my legs started feeling good. I came around the corner on 1st off US2 and saw another runner up the road, so I decided I’d go out about 20 min and turn around.

I was slowly gaining on the other runner when she started walking. I went by a little before crossing the bridge over May Creek. I ended up going just over 20 min and turned around at 2.5 mi by the vacant lot just past the top of the little hill.

On my way back, the other runner had started up again. We exchanged smiles as we passed.

I saw my 3 mi split at 7:38 and knew I had been speeding up as I went along. I decided to go for negative splits for the next 2 mi. I didn’t want to speed up too much, because I still think I have some recovering to do. I think my 4 mi split was about 7:20. I picked up the pace more for the last 0.5 mi. My final 5 mi split was about 6:53.

I also went faster today so I could get back in time for an auction. I missed a bit of it, but I got the two biggest things I wanted. When I resell them, it should pay for shoes for the year and maybe some race entry fees.

Average HR 150 bpm.

 

Sunday, March 15, 2015, 3:31 pm

3.16 mi, 28 ft gain, 22:58. Around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

My arm is a little better, but it still sucks. I wasn’t really looking forward to running in the rain today, but it wasn’t raining too hard when I went. I was still a little fatigued, but my legs felt good.

It was easier going from the start today. I decided to keep it short today for my shoulder, the rain, and to make sure my achilles recover more.

It felt good to pick up the pace again today. I warmed up more quickly today. The rain felt pretty good.

When I made the turn back towards home on US2, the wind picked up. Maybe it was blowing the whole time, but it definitely picked up after that. I had wanted to speed up more then, but the wind was enough to drop my pace even with added effort. When I tried to speed up again for the last 0.3 mi, a big gust came through, slowing me way down. As much as I didn’t like slowing down, it’s fun to run into the wind like that, really having to lean into it.

Average HR 146 bpm.

 

Weekly totals: 51.3 mi, 3832 ft gain