Category Archives: Running

Goals, Running

Goals VS Expectations: to Strive or to Settle

I never really bothered with goals until the past few years. During my run on Monday, Sep. 15, I was thinking about the upcoming Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence 7 Hour Race, which I’m running on Sep. 21. I’ve gone back and forth over what goal to set for myself.

One moment I’m thinking about how far I might be able to go on my best possible day. Then a competing thought comes in and tempers my goal with my reasonable expectations.

Based on my 50k times from races earlier this year, my reasonable expectation is breaking 40 miles. If I run the first 50k (about 31 miles) in the same time I ran for my PR in April, I’ll have about 2.5 hours to cover 9 more miles, which I could almost walk.

I’m faster now and can better manage my effort over the distance. If everything goes right, I think I can hit 50 miles. I haven’t run the course, but I know the park and there are a few very small hills. Cumulatively, they might be too much for that kind of effort. I can still try.

Anyway, I kept having these thoughts battling over what my goal should be for the race. Then I realized that if I limit my goals based on reasonable expectations, there’s not much point in setting a goal. I want to strive for my goals, not settle. They should be beyond my currently perceived limits. How far beyond those limits is more a matter of time-frame.

There’s nothing that says you can’t have different levels of goals for the same situation or event either. I’ll have my reach goal of 50 miles. I’ll also have my 40 mile goal for if things aren’t quite going my way.

And I’m OK with failing. I won’t be devastated if I don’t make 50 miles. I know that I will have given my best effort. There’s always next year, or I can go out on my own. And if I do reach 50 miles or even close, that will be awesome. Then I’ll raise the bar next time.

Running, Training Log

September 8-14 Practice Running

Monday, September 8, 2014, 5:00 pm

4.33 mi, ft gain, 59:20. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #1, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5.

Some DOMS in my legs, but not too bad. Went out for an easy recovery run. Took a few minutes for my hip flexors to loosen up again. I took a turn that I haven’t taken in months. I forgot how hilly that road was. Not long hills, but kind of steep. I was rewarded with some chanterelles though. Once back to the main road, I headed to Olney Creek for the dogs. Legs feel better than when I started, but still a little DOMS.

 

Tuesday, September 9, 2014, 4:36 pm

8.1 mi, 1079 ft gain, 1:29:38. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5.

Hip flexors still a little tight to start. Fine after getting going. Took it easy again. Went up the little hill to the NW and continued on the blocked off logging road heading uphill until the overgrowth was too much. Then went to Olney creek for the dogs. Then up the bigger hill and most of the way over the other side. Went a little farther than I expected, but I felt good.

 

Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 4:16 pm

9.14 mi, 1402 ft gain, 1:38:25. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #1 to Wallace Lake, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red.

Legs still a tad bit sore at first. Loosened up after a little over a mile. Took it fairly easy today. Still longer than my regular weekday runs though. Stopped at Olney creek for the dogs. Stopped at the beach on the north end of the lake for the dogs. They were slowing a little on the way back, so we stopped again at Olney creek. They certainly do better now that it’s getting a little cooler out.

 

Thursday, September 11, 2014, 4:43 pm

7.11 mi, 782 ft gain, 1:05:36. Discovery Park, Seattle, solo. New Altra Superior 1.5 Blue.

I went into Seattle today to pick up some new shoes. Back in July, Seven Hills Running had a contest to guess the finishing times of the Men’s and Women’s winning times for White River 50. I came closest and won a $50 coupon. I finally got around to heading down there today. I got another pair of Altra Superior 1.5, in black/blue/gray this time. That’s just what they grabbed for me, which is fine. I don’t care about the color, but it will make it easy to tell the two pairs apart. My others are red/black/yellow. I also picked up a Nathan Elevation Race Vest. Hoping it’s easier on my collar bones and underarms than my old Deuter pack. It seems to fit well, but I’ll find out on my long run this weekend. I got another handheld bottle as well, an Ultimate Direction Fastdraw 20. I like that the zipper on the pocket opens much more than my other two UD handhelds.

Anyway… Since I was already out there, and the shop is right down the street from Discovery Park, I took the new shoes and bottle out for a test. Ran the loop trail twice, once in each direction, and went down to the beach on the second loop. I switched directions because the trail is canted in one direction most of the way around. I like to try to keep things even. Several years ago I had ITB problems from running the same route in the same direction on the same side of the road when I lived in Seattle. Much like wearing elevated heel shoes can shorten the achilles and calves, continually running on a slanted surface like that can cause imbalances as the body tries to adapt the the stresses.

The weather was great. The trail was nice, with the exception of the stairs down to the beach. Most trail stairs I run are too far apart, these were much to small to run very well. It’s like they were built for people to walk on. The shoes were exactly what I expected. I have almost 290 miles in my other pair, and I think they’ve got at least another 100-200 left in them. I just sent of my registration today for a 7 hour race on September 21. And in what’s becoming a bit of a tradition, I’ll wear my new shoes. Third of four races so far this year in new shoes.

 

Friday, September 12, 2014, 4:36 pm

5.13 mi, 220 ft gain, 53:29. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5.

Took it slow. Left groin is sore. Out to Olney creek for the dogs. Out to the end of the left fork. Added a short out and back on the road to the west nearest the gate. Took a little bit for my groin to loosen up, but felt ok running after a little bit.

 

Saturday, September 13, 2014, 4:45 pm

5 mi, 188 ft gain, 1:04:32. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5.

My left groin is still sore, but a little better. Out to Olney creek. Played fetch with the dogs for a little bit. Went out further and took the right fork instead of the left. Lots of blowdowns, and more overgrowth than the other way. Was a little slow going. Went out the side road to the west nearest the gate on the way back to get the extra distance to hit 5 mi. Had some big buzzing hornet looking insect follow me back to the car. Hurried to get in without it getting in as well. I wasn’t planning to taper for the 7 hour race next weekend, but I’d like to run it without groin pain, so I’ll stick to these slow, easy runs.

Sunday, September 14, 2014, 4:38 pm

5 mi, 125 ft gain, 1:05:35. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #3, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red.

I rarely run from this gate. If the other gates have cars parked at them, I usually like to go to the blocked road instead. Never seen anyone else on those roads and there is some single track connecting roads there too. I got to go through the shorter section of single track today. Turned around at the other end. Wandered through the woods a bit too. The only water available for the dogs along this road is pretty swampy. They don’t mind, but I’m not fond of the smell on the drive home. Vida really loves to get in the muck too. I hosed both off when we got home.

I didn’t feel very well earlier in the day. Took a while to get into it while running. Started to feel better after a couple miles. Definitely glad I went for a run.

 

Weekly totals: 43.7 mi, 6h 44m, 4290ft gain

Running, Training Log

August 25-31 Practice Running

Monday, August 25, 2014, 6:56 pm

3.3 mi, 179 ft gain, 35:49. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #1, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

A little sore from the weekend, but not too bad. Feel better after the run than before. About half the run to loosen up.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014,  7:25 pm

5.1 mi, 526 ft gain, 59:39. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #2, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5

Felt about the same as yesterday. Warmed up a little quicker. Short climb felt good.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014, 6:12 pm

6.33 mi, 265 ft gain, 54:36. To Wallace Falls State Park and back, Solo. New Balance MR10V2

Nothing eventful happened during my last two days of running, but my ankles both had little twinges, left more so. So I stuck to roads for today’s run. Slow going at first, but warmed up after a little over a mile. Felt great by the bottom of the hill coming back from the park. Decided to try to pass a couple of people on bikes. Now I kind of feel bad about it. They were out of shape, and I hope I didn’t discourage them.

The run felt great, no discomfort. Took one handheld. Finished by the park. Refilled there and had 3/4 by the time I got home. Finished the rest walking around the yard afterwards. Dripping with sweat and it feels great.

Thursday, August 28, 2014, 7:09 pm

5.2 mi, 254 ft gain, 49:51. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #1, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

Took it relatively easy. Dogs splashed around in the creek, played fetch a little.

Friday, August 29, 2014, 6:52 pm

5.33 mi, 46 ft gain, 47:23. Ellensburg Iron Horse State Park, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5

Visiting family. Out for an evening run. It’s really flat out here. It’s quite windy too.

Saturday, August 30, 2014, 9:44 pm

3.17 mi,  <20 ft gain, 22:25. Through town, Solo. New Balance MR10V2

First run in the dark and rain in a while. The rain felt good. Warmup first mile. Cranked up the pace after that. Mile splits 8:17, 7:03, 6:14. Last .17 was at 5:58/mi pace. Strava estimated best efforts: 2 mi 13:05, 1 mi 6:11, 1 km 3:43, 1/2 mi 2:59. Made my actual 2 mi PR and near my best 1 mi time going all the way back to 7th or 8th grade. I think I could have run a little faster that last mile too. I haven’t worried about speed, so I’m not that sure about pacing for all out efforts. Based on today, I’m confident I can beat my previous 5k race PR of 21:58. I might be closer to my current 5k goal than I thought as well, sub 20min.

Sunday, August 31, 2014, 6:37 pm

10.02 mi, 751 ft gain, 1:45:05. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #4, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

I always feel so slow starting out at this spot. Wet feet most of the time from last night’s rain and the overgrowth on the old logging roads. I overestimated how much daylight I had left and had to cut it short by 2 miles since I didn’t bring a light. Still ended up going through some overgrown trails between roads in pretty low light. Managed not to trip or roll an ankle, and I tend to be a little less sure footed in the Lone Peaks than lower stack height shoes.

No more swelling in the left ankle. Still slightly stiff on climbs and descents. Might stick to minimal climbs and less technical terrain next week too.

Weekly Totals: 38.4 mi, 5h 28m, 2024 ft gain.

Monthly Totals: 188.7 mi (PR), 31h 27m, 33,120 ft gain.

Running, Training Log

August 18-24 Practice Running

Monday, August 18, 2014, 7:04 pm

3.1 mi, 138 ft gain, 42:00. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

A little stiff from yesterday, so I took it easy today. Olney creek for the dogs. Wandered in the woods a little on game trails. Started feeling better a little before 2 miles. Usually don’t take water on a run this short, but as I said in Monday’s post, I wanted to keep up my water intake.

I usually take the day after a long run off, but I’ve been thinking about running everyday for a while and figured I’d try it out for a while. Good so far after 6 days.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014, 6:48 pm

7.3 mi, 308 ft gain, 1:21:49 . Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #4, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

Legs a little heavy to start, warmed up after a bit over a mile. Ran the roads to the trail through a clearcut, meeting up with road #3. Ran to the trail connecting to road #2, then to Olney creek. The dogs played a bit. On the way back, we passed a family, couple and young son, out for a walk. The dogs were well behaved, which is not always the case when they see people after a long time in the woods without seeing anyone. Sometimes they start to think they own the place. Ran down road #3 the other direction a little ways before heading back. I really enjoyed the run.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014, 4:14 pm

6.1 mi, 280 ft gain, 1:13:44. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

Legs were kind of stiff. Took about 2 miles to warm up, but they felt good after that. Ran out past Olney creek to the end of the road at the wetland. Saw a large bird of prey in the trees between Olney and the wetland. Saw another one circling over the wetland. Posted a pic of the circling bird on Instagram. Ran up the small hill through the clearcut on the way back. Saw a small white bird along the road in the clearcut. It had small grey or brown markings, but was nearly all white. First white bird I remember seeing in Washington. Post a pic of the white bird as well, though I couldn’t get close enough for a very good shot. Looking online, it looked pretty close to a McKay’s bunting, but they’re very rare and live in a small area of Alaska, so I doubt that was it.

After the first couple miles I felt pretty good. My easy pace has gotten better this year. I might add some regular speed work this fall or winter.

Thursday, August 21, 2014, 7:33 pm

6 mi, 803 ft gain, 1:06:54. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

Legs a little stiff to start, loosened up fairly quickly. Out to Olney creek for the dogs to splash around. Then up the hill for a view of the sunset. The sun was about halfway past the horizon as I got close to the top, but just a sliver by the time I got through the trees at the top to a good view point. I was hoping for a photo before it slipped below the horizon. The view was still worth the climb. The climb was worth the climb too.

I’ve stuck to logging roads this week. After Sunday’s long run, the space between my left ankle and achilles was swollen. It was a little sore Sunday, but not really since then. The swelling was reduced after each run since then, but came back for a couple days. No more swelling today. There is sort of a popping or rubbing between my achilles and something else about an inch above my left ankle when it stretches to near the limit. I generally only reach that point on steep hills, so I’ll wait a little while to get back to more climbing. I could probably use the easier miles for a bit of a rest this week anyway.

Friday, August 22, 2014, 6:51 pm

7.37 mi, 814 ft gain, 1:13:55. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #1, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

No discomfort. Still sticking to logging roads. Wanted a little climbing. Felt good. There was a rainbow when I left the house. It lasted about 45 minutes into the run. Then there was a great sunset.

Saturday, August 23, 2014, 6:15 pm

13.17 mi, 2080 ft gain, 2:10:35. Olney Falls DNR Rd, Solo. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

I’ve wanted to run this road for a while and finally got around to it. Legs didn’t take nearly as long to loosen up as the past few days. The road was more hilly than I expected, but none of it was all that steep. I planned to do about 10 miles, but felt good so I kept going to make it half marathon distance. I saw a big bodied 2pt buck a couple miles in. I couldn’t get my phone out fast enough to get a photo though. I also saw a goldfinch around 6 miles out. They’re Washington’s state bird, but I’ve only ever seen a couple. Besides the bugs and the more common song birds, I had no other company on the run.

It was nice to turn around based on chosen mileage rather than lack of time to beat the sunset. I didn’t have much more time before dark anyway. Wallace Lake was another couple miles past where I turned around. Another time, perhaps.

I had 2x 20oz handheld water bottles, 2 salt caps and about a dozen blackberries from the side of the road. As I was about to back out of the dirt parking spot at the gate, a WDFW officer (fish and wildlife) pulled up. He was just checking on hunting activity in the area. Spoke briefly. I guess a couple more cars were parked there while I was running. I said that I didn’t see anyone.

The gradual ascent and descent (compared to a lot of the trails in the area), were nice. I don’t get too many climbs 5 mile long climbs. More often they’re steeper and shorter, or lots of little rolling ups and downs.

No discomfort from earlier in the week.

Sunday, August 24, 2014, 6:07 pm

10.1 mi, 2656 ft gain, 1:54:47. Wallace Lake via Upper Wallace Falls, Solo. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

Was planning to run the DNR Rd again. Traffic from weekenders heading west on US2 was terrible. Would have taken at least a half hour to go the two miles to the turn off for the DNR Rd. Went to Wallace Falls State Park instead. Steeper than I had planned. Didn’t quite have my climbing legs today, so I took it relatively easy up to the DNR Rd junction toward Wallace Lake. Some power hiking practice on the steep parts. Once to the top though, it leveled out pretty well. My speed legs were just fine today, however. I pushed the pace from the top of the falls to the lake and then back down to the TH. Had a new PR on the descent from the upper falls.

Weekly Totals: 53.1 mi, 7h54min, 7081 ft gain

Running, Trail run, Training Log

August 11-17 Practice Running

Wednesday, August 13, 2014, 4:05 pm


3.3 mi, 96 ft gain, 31:20. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm burmed road, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5

Legs were still a little tired from Sunday. Loosened up by the end.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014, 4:05 pm


1.1 mi, flat, 11:01. Down the road and back, solo. Barefoot

It’s been a long time since I ran barefoot. Thought I’d give it a go. A little gravel on my driveway then down the road and back. The road was resurfaced with tar and gravel. Not as smooth as just asphalt, but not too bad.

Thursday, August 14, 2014, 5:10 pm


5 mi, 1949 ft gain, 56:57. Upper Wallace Falls, Solo. Altra Superior 1.5

Put in a pretty good effort today. It was wet from rain the last couple days. I took it easy on the gravel road starting out. I pushed the pace most of the way up. Got to the top at 32:40, one of my better ascents. Took about 90 seconds break at the top to catch my breath and drink some water. I took it easy for the first couple minutes down, to get my legs back from the hard climb. Also, the stairs at the top are steep and were slippery from the rain. My legs came back, and I started to let go on the downhills. It’s a little tough to go fast with all the switchbacks in a couple sections. Felt great by the time I made it back to the gravel road. I was running about 6:20/mi pace there, which felt easier than normal, so I sped up for the finish. Back to the trail head from the top was about 22:45, which I think is my fastest descent.  I even managed to not trip at all, which might be a first for this trail. Very rarely fall, but trip up when I look up for and at other people on the trail. There weren’t very many other people today.

I was a little unsure how the Superiors would do on the wet trail, but they worked great. One of these days I’m going to push for sub 30 min to the top.

Thursday,  August 14, 2014, 7:30 pm

2 mi, flat, 15:38. In town, with the dogs. New Balance MR10V2.

The dogs needed to get out and burn some energy, and I wanted to loosen up my legs after the earlier run. It started raining just as we started. I was soaked by the end, much more so than the dogs. Their fur repels water better than mine.

Friday, August 15, 2014, 6:49 pm


5.2 mi, 2246 ft gain, 56:10. Upper Wallace Falls, Solo. Altra Superior 1.5

Legs felt a little better today than yesterday, so I decided to head back to Wallace Falls. Put in a pretty good effort. Saw a couple, mother and young son, and a lone hiker on my way up. Beat yesterday’s time going up by a couple seconds at 32:38, and I even stepped off trail to pee. Took 1:42 at the top before heading back down. Legs weren’t as tired starting back down as yesterday. Still took it easy on the steps at the top. Then let it go. Managed to not trip at all again. Definitely easier when I’m not worried about running into other people. Down time was about 21:50, almost a minute faster than yesterday. Shoes were great. Sometimes my feet slide around in them on steep descents, not as much when I’m going with gravity rather than braking. Opened up a bit on the gravel road back to the trailhead. Went sub 6/mi for a bit of it. Bettered my times on several Strava segments.

Saturday, August 16, 2014, 6:47 pm


5.2 mi, ft gain, 1:14:47. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #2, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5

Took it slow and easy. Went out to Olney Creek to let the dogs splash around. Wandered through the woods a little. Followed some game trails. The dogs scared up a hen grouse and 4 youngsters that I’m guessing were spring chicks.

Sunday, August 17, 2014, 5:40 pm


15.3 mi, 2937 ft gain, 2:52:05. PCT Section K from Stevens Pass, Solo. Altra Superior 1.5

My beloved Garmin Forerunner 305 died completely last night. Bought a Suunto Ambit 2 R to replace it. Fairly easy to use, but will take some time to get used to it. My only complaint so far was that after it appeared to get full satellite signal, it didn’t start recording my route until about a half mile later.

And about the run. I got a late start, like all too often. I wanted to make it to Lake Janus. Instead, I decided to go as far as possible by 7:00 pm. I also wanted to go at least 15 mi. I was close when 7 came around, so I kept going. I ran into the only other person on trail right where I turned around, which was still at least 3 miles from Lake Janus.

I didn’t feel that great the whole run, just a little weaker than normal. I think it was at least partially the two hard efforts up Wallace Falls. It was still nice to get out, and the scenery was great. The part of section k I ran today was not as scenic as the part of section J I ran last week, mostly because of the first couple miles that parallel US2, in earshot, though not in view.

After not tripping at all this week, I managed to trip and fall on a pretty flat and smooth section just a mile or so into the run. I didn’t fall hard. I got a little trail rash on my left hip and forearm. I managed all the really technical sections just fine though. They require more focus, so I pay more attention to foot placement.

Weekly Totals: 37 mi, 6h10m, 7723 ft gain.