Monday, March 23, 2015, 6:15 pm

3.15 mi, 28 ft gain, 23:56. Around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

I was still a little sore and stiff today. I decided to keep it short today. I warmed up fairly quickly and sped up a bit. Running faster than I have been felt pretty good, greater range of motion.

Like most of my road runs, I sped up towards the end. It was fun to run faster today.

Average HR 136 bpm.

 

Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 6:07 pm

7.28 mi, 867 ft gain, 1:33:32. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Blue.

I kept it relatively easy again today. I felt a little better starting out than yesterday. We stopped briefly at the seasonal ponds, then headed for the connector hill.

On the way up the hill, I noticed that the other road connecting to the gate #2 road had been cleared. I decided not to check it out until on the way back.

I got up to the next intersection and had to make another pitstop. I tried eating some refried beans with dinner last night for the first time in probably at least a year. I also had a little bit of mashed sunchokes. I’m not sure which of them was the culprit today. Fortunately, unlike when my colitis was active, it wasn’t an urgent matter. I found a spot with a nice view of the valley to the east.

We continued up the hill from there, going out to the bottom of the short descent just past the little marsh on top, then turned around and headed back.

I opened it up on a couple of the descents on the way back. Once back to the newly cleared road, I decided to check it out. Right near the intersection there was a 55 gallon barrel turned into a wildlife feeder. I couldn’t tell what kind of animals it was for, but the feed looked like it was probably deer. I looked around for game cameras but didn’t see any. I didn’t see any markings on the barrel either. It was chained to a tree with those chain ratchets they use on logging trucks, then the handles zip-tied.

The road has a gentle downhill grade as far as I followed. They didn’t clear it all the way to the other side though. Looking at a map, it looks like they stopped about 0.25 mi short.  It was fun. I looked around the feeder again on the way back.

Vida got really muddy again, so I got her to jump into one of the relatively clear water holes on the way back. It made a bit difference. She really loves to run in the mud and muck.

Average HR 119 bpm.

 

Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 6:36 pm

7.34 mi, 1300 ft gain, 1:17:12. Olney Falls DNR rd, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #2.

It was raining a little today. I’ve seen a couple locals out walking on the Olney Falls DNR road, but figured they probably wouldn’t be out with the rain. I like running into people unexpectedly while the dogs are off leash.

I felt a little better starting out today. But my right shoe has been digging into the top of my foot a little. I think it’s the forward edge of the plastic overlay that holds the midfoot tight in place. I tried to adjust it a couple times. It got a little better when I left the lower portion more loose when I tied the shoe.

Climbing was good. For some reason, I can keep my pace low enough on this kind of climb to keep my HR under control better than on trails like at Wallace Falls. Maybe it’s because that kind of trail requires more lateral movement and varied strides.

Vida had trouble keeping up on the way back to the car today, even more than usual. Later in the evening, she was limping more than she occasionally does at night. I’m going to give her some time to recover. I might still take her out every 2-3 days, but only for a few miles.

Olney Falls was roaring and a little silty from the recent rains. It wasn’t quite as big as during the flooding in the fall, though.

Average HR 123 bpm.

 

Thursday, March 26, 2015, 3:05 pm

14.74 mi, 4303 ft gain, 3:37:50. Wallace Falls & partway up Stickney, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #2.

I felt pretty good today. I didn’t want to run the road to and from the park, so I drove.

I took two handheld water bottles with about 8 medjool dates. I used the restroom and headed out. I took the Woody Trail to the upper falls. I still didn’t quite go as easy as I would have liked on the climbs. My breathing wasn’t as labored as I would expect with my HR.

I stopped briefly at the upper falls to take in the view and ate a couple dates. Then I headed up to the DNR rd above the falls and out towards Wallace Lake. I didn’t go all the way to the lake, though. I thought I heard a waterfall off the trail to the right, on the mountain side of the road, so I went off trail uphill a ways. I found a cool stream coming down the mountain, but no waterfall. I went out to the edge of a boulder field before heading back down. On the way down, I managed to go around most of the devil’s club patch that I went through on the way up.

Next I took a right at the road that goes up Mt Stickney. Just a little ways past the boulder field above where the road turns, I thought I heard another waterfall. This time I managed to find it. It was really steep and slippery. It was a really cool spot, and I’d like to go back when it’s warmer, but I don’t think think it will still be flowing then. After a couple pictures, I headed back down. I managed to slip going over a log and tweaked my left knee a little bit. It didn’t hurt at the time, but it was a little sore the next day. I also slipped and slid down a little ways on my butt.

I still felt good, had water and food, and the weather was great, so I decided to check out how far up Mt Stickney I could follow the road. I went around the washed out part of the road. Unlike the climbs on the Woody Trail, I kept my HR under control on this climb. In some sections, the road is completely covered in moss and makes for really nice, comfortable running.

Up a ways farther than I had previously been, the road levels out a bit, and there’s a small pond with lots of logs down in it. I tried to get some photos, but the bugs found me pretty quickly, so I continued moving.

The road was still pretty easy to follow for a while farther. But after a turn or two, it started getting kind of rough. First I ran into a creek that had taken over the road bed. There was some water, but I managed to stay mostly dry on the way up. After the next turn, it was a different story. Then the road was overtaken by salmon berry bushes. A sort of trail though them had been cut by someone, making it mostly runnable for a while. But the farther I went, the more overgrown it became and the more beating my lower legs took. Eventually, the path ahead got worse and my legs had enough.

I couldn’t run very fast, or even run that much on the way back down through the bushes. Once I got back to the creek bed part of the road, though, I had a blast running down it. The mossy part of the road was cool running down too. My legs were kind of tired by the time I got back down to the normal gravel part of the road. I was out there longer than I had planned, though not necessarily farther than I planned.

My lower legs were a little tired on the DNR rd back to the Woody Trail, but not too bad. I opened up a little bit to stretch out my legs. I didn’t stop at the upper falls on the way down. I stopped for a few seconds at the middle falls. It was roaring, and it looked cool the way the sunlight struck it.

I ran out of water a few minutes from the end. I probably could have used a little more water today, but I was fine. It was a great run.

Average HR 139 bpm.

 

Friday, March 27, 2015, 6:35 pm

4.09 mi, 38 ft gain, 52:38 (about 20 min stopped to chat). Through town, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

I gave the dogs another day off today. I was more sore than I expected from yesterday’s run. I wasn’t very stiff starting out, though, so that’s nice.

I took it easy for a while, but when I got around the corner onto 1st, I decided to open it up a bit to stretch out the legs. After I turned onto May Creek rd, I saw someone I know out in her yard. We exchanged brief greetings as I ran past. I went another block to just past 2 mi and turned around. I stopped to chat on the way back. I ended up talking with them for about 20 minutes.

On my way home, I kept the pace up a little bit. Then with a little less than 1 mi left, I sped up a little more, and again with 0.3 mi to go.

I didn’t have the legs for all out top speed, but mid 6 min/mi was fairly comfortable. I definitely felt better after the run than before.
Stretching and manual massage seems to be helping a bit with the tight spots. My right glute isn’t a problem anymore, and my right hamstring is slowly getting better. I think some of it also has to do with how I stand at my standing desk. I seem to favor standing on one leg with my hips tilted to the side. I can’t tell if I do one side more often than the other, but when I notice that I’m doing it, I try to switch to the other for a while, go to both feet, or try to keep my hips more level while remaining on one foot.

Average HR 118 bpm.

 

Saturday, March 28, 2015, 5:35 pm

4.47 mi, 383 ft gain, 58:14. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Blue.

Still a little sore from Thursday, but not too bad. I took it easy anyway. I started going counter-clockwise around the loop today, which I haven’t done in quite a while. I wanted to see if I could find Upper Olney Falls.

Just before the bridge over Olney Creek, I saw the faintest hint of a trail off into the woods. It got a little difficult to follow, but not hard to find the general direction to the falls. I was surprised at how cool the woods on either side of the creek were. Not far beyond that were clear cuts on either side. In that little hollow, though, there were old growth trees, moss and fern lined forest floor and an incredible waterfall.

With the recent rains, Upper Olney Falls was pretty impressive, even at only 28ft or so tall, throwing off mist over 50 yards away. Unfortunately, signs of “civilization” are scattered around down there, glass bottles, styrofoam, and plastic bottles.

After some photos and taking it all in for a while, I made my way back out to the road and continued the rest of the way around the loop. It started raining rather hard with just over 1 mi left. It was already a little cool, so I sped up a bit to stay warm. Another 0.4 mi later the rain stopped.

The plan is to go for a long run tomorrow, approximating the average climbs at the Capitol Peak 50 mile race. I looked at the course profile and compared it to some of my runs on Strava. It turns out that the Olney Falls DNR rd up to Wallace Lake is a very slightly steeper grade than the climbs at Capitol Peak. I’m not sure, though. I don’t feel like I’ve recovered completely from hard and long efforts over the past couple months before going into the next one. I’ll figure it out tomorrow.

Average HR 113 bpm.

 

Sunday, March 29, 2015, 3:54 pm

20.16 mi, 2806 ft gain, 3:53:20. Olney Falls DNR rd to Wallace Lake & Jay Lake. Altra Lone Peak 1.5.

I wasn’t sure what this run was going to turn into. I planned at least 17 mi to Wallace Lake and back. But I wasn’t sure how my legs would feel. I was a little bit sore starting out, but not bad, and I warmed up after a couple miles.

This was a good run. From about 3 mi to 14 mi or so was the most relaxed I’ve been on a run in weeks. The climbing was fun and fairly easy. I ran into a couple groups of people. The first was three guys just above the first trail from the RR grade. They asked how far it was to the parking lot, and I told them they were close to the trail back down there. The next group was a couple just a little ways up the turn off the DNR rd toward Wallace Lake.

I got to the lake and found a good spot for photos. I still felt good, so I decided to continue out to Jay Lake. I almost kept my feet dry the whole way to the lake. I think I had one misstep on a spot where a stream had taken over part of the trail.

I had a pitstop at Jay Lake before heading back. Running back down to Wallace Lake was good. On the way down from Wallace Lake, I saw 8 deer in a 3 mi stretch below the Greg Ball Trail. The first one surprised me. There were 4 singles and 2 pairs of does with yearlings. I only managed to get a photo of one.

Right about the time I saw the last deer, my lower legs started to get pretty sore. Maybe it’s all the long, hard efforts I’ve done this year and not quite enough recovery, or maybe it was using the Lone Peaks today instead of my Superiors. I don’t know. I’m going to try to take it easier for a few days.

I chose this route after comparing several of my past runs to the course profile of the Capitol Peak 50 mile. This and the race’s climbs in the first 25k or so are fairly comparable. This route up to Wallace Lake might be about 10 ft/mi more gain, which isn’t much.

Average HR 129 bpm.

 

Weekly totals: 61.2 mi, 9697 ft gain.