Races, Running, Trail run, Training Log

August 24-30 Practice Running

Monday, August 24, 2015, 7:41 pm

4.67 mi, 526 ft gain, 36:32. WFSP RR Grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #6.

A little faster run today. Trying one of the new pairs of shoes again. They worked alright.

I drove out to WFSP and ran up and down the RR Grade. I clapped fairly regularly to let any bears know I was coming. I didn’t run into any.

My left calcaneus/achilles was a little sore at first, but warmed up. I’m really unhappy that it’s happened so close to the race. I find it odd that it was fine until I started tapering.

I further modified the previous pair, red #4, later this evening. I cut a piece out of the forward edge of the outside midfoot strap on the right shoe where it pinches my foot. It seems to fit much better. I didn’t have the calcaneus issue in those shoes. Or I should say, they were broken in enough that it was no longer an issue. I don’t think the new pairs will be to that point before race day. I might start with #4 and give my Mom a couple extra pair to bring to the crew access aid stations just in case.

Average HR 155 bpm.

 

Tuesday, August 25, 2015, 6:59 pm

4.69 mi, 531 ft gain, 38:10. WFSP RR Grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #4.

Checking out this pair of shoes to see how the modifications work. They were great.

I ran kind of hard and fast today. My legs felt good. The taper is going well.

Average HR 149 bpm.

 

Wednesday, August 26, 2015, 8:02 pm

3.15 mi, 28 ft gain, 23:26. Around Town, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

I sped up as the run went on. I ate a fairly large meal before heading out. I felt fine, but my HR was a little elevated because of it.

Average HR 150 bpm.

 

Thursday, August 27, 2015, 7:22 pm

3.17 mi, 28 ft gain, 24:12. Around town, solo, New Balance MR10v2 white.

I took it a little easier than yesterday. The legs feel good. I charged my HRM for the race and didn’t want to have to charge it again, so I left it home.

 

Friday, August 28, 2015, 1:41 pm

3.08 mi, 28 ft gain, 30:13. Around town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2 white.

I took the dogs out with me for an easy, slower run before heading out for the weekend. I stopped a few times.

I didn’t wear my HRM.

 

Saturday, August 29, 2015, 10:00 am

68 mi, 14,200 ft gain, 18:25:xx. Cascade Crest DNF, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #4 (23 mi), 5 (30 mi), 6 (15 mi).

As the mileage says above, I didn’t finish. Intestinal issues together with the weather got me. Frustratingly, my legs still felt good when I quit. I’ll write a more extensive post about my race soon. I will be back, though. I quit at about 4:25 am, Sunday morning. At least my run streak stays alive.

 

Weekly totals: 83.9 mi, 15,257 ft elevation gain.

Running, Training Log

August 17-23 Practice Running

Monday, August 17, 2015, 7:53 pm

3.18 mi, 36 ft gain, 34:23. RR Access Rd, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2 white.

I was expecting to be a bit sore and stiff today considering how I felt yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised that it was only minimal.

We stopped a number of times so the dogs could pee and I could take a few photos. It was a pretty good sunset, and the views along the river are great.

It was a good recovery run and a good start to my Cascade Crest taper.

Average HR 116 bpm.

 

Tuesday, August 18, 2015, 6:51 pm

8.10 mi, 1452 ft gain, 1:43:42. RR Grade & Greg Ball, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #5.

My new shoes came today. I didn’t realize they were only coming from Spokane. I probably wouldn’t have paid for faster shipping.  But they’re here now, and I’m glad. I compared the two new pairs to the pair I’ve been running in. The band across the arch is back slightly on the new shoes, which is good.

I modified one pair and took them out for a test run. The band isn’t back quite far enough to not be a problem, though. It’s not as bad as the last pair, but I re-laced both shoes skipping the lower outer loop on the bands. They were great after that.

I ran up the RR Grade and Greg Ball Trail. About 0.5 mi up the Greg Ball trail, I heard something off the right side of the trail. It was a small size bear about 50 yards away. It stopped on a log looking at me. I was actually able to get a short video of it, though it’s not that great. I kept making noise, speaking loudly and throwing rocks near it to scare it off. Nothing really worked until I started kicking brush and making noise that way. Then it slowly walked away down the log. It was pretty cool, but I didn’t stick around that long. It was kind of small and I wasn’t sure if it was a cub with a sow hidden in the brush or not.

The rest of the run was good. I tried to keep an easy pace. I tightened my shoes before heading back down.

It was a good run, though maybe slightly harder than I’d normally do during a taper. Or maybe not. I might to a relatively easy 10-11 miler this coming weekend.

Average HR 127 bpm.

 

Wednesday, August 19, 2015, 7:56 pm

3.18 mi, 28 ft gain, 29:28. Around town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2 white.

Much like last time I was cutting back mileage for both the taper and recovery from Rattlesnake Ridge 50k, I’m finding it kind of hard to get excited for runs this short and to keep them this short.

I had planned to to just a little longer, but decided against it. Maybe tomorrow. I waited until later in the evening when it cooled down for the dogs. They enjoyed it.

We ran pretty fast the last 0.1 mi or so. My legs felt great. I don’t expect to get anywhere near that speed on race day.

Average HR 132 bpm.

 

Thursday,  August 20, 2015, 7:52 pm

3.27 mi, 28 ft gain, 25:56. Around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

My legs felt good today. I ended up going shorter than I wanted to anyway. More of the lack of motivation during the taper, I guess.

The pace was a little faster, probably mostly due to “resting” so far this week.

Oddly, my achilles were both tight and slightly sore later in the evening after the run. I didn’t tweak them or anything on the run, so I’m not sure what’s going on.

Average HR 138 bpm.

 

Friday, August 21, 2015, 7:01 pm

5.61 mi, 51 ft gain, 56:54. RR Access Rd, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 red #6.

My achilles were a little sore again. I think it might be from rubbing against the back of the MR10v2. The heel cup is a little hard. I ran in the other new pair of shoes I recently got instead, partially due to that. I also wanted to test them out. They were just fine. I’ll decide over the next week which pair to wear, but I’ll probably have the others in a drop bag or something.

I was going to run out to WFSP solo, but changed my mind at the last minute and took the dogs on the RR access roads. We ran out past the gate toward Startup a little ways and turned around.

Once back to my road, there was a slow moving train just coming up to the RR crossing. I continued up the frontage road while we waited. I turned around when I could see the end of the train. It had sped a little by then and passed the crossing well before I got there. Another slow train was coming the other way. I wasn’t quite fast enough to make it before the train, so I had to wait again. We waited in place this time.

It was a pretty good run. I had a minor issue around my right ankle/upper foot occasionally that I couldn’t figure out. It went away by the end.

Average HR 131 bpm.

 

Saturday, August 22, 2015, 7:33 pm

4.67 mi, ft gain, 42:06. WFSP RR Grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #5.

I went a little short today. I forgot that some friends were having a party and stopped by there before heading out to WFSP for my run. I stuck around at the party a little longer than planned. I figure it’s ok during the taper.

My left achilles is still a little sore. It loosened up after about 1-1.5 mi and felt fine after that. Overall, the run was pretty good. No animal encounters.

It was hazy all day, but the smoke wasn’t really a problem on my run. I couldn’t smell it.

I really hope my achilles recovers soon.

Average HR 139 bpm.

 

Sunday, August 23, 2015, 7:22 pm

3.01 mi, 32 ft gain, 32:16. RR access rd, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 red #6.

I shortened my run quite a bit today. I wanted to get in about 10 mi or so. The smoke was worse today, though, so I cut it short.

I couldn’t really smell the smoke, but I could feel it in my throat after a while. The wind is forecast to change over the next couple days. Hopefully that will help come race day. More importantly, I hope the fires are out soon.

I felt pretty good, but I slowed down anyway. I also stopped more than usual for the dogs. I saw a pear tree in the park between the highway and the RR tracks that I hadn’t seen before. There were only a few pears left on it, and they were out of reach.

Average HR 128 bpm.

 

Weekly totals: 30.9 mi, 2075 ft elevation gain

Philosophy

Why Would Anyone Listen to Me?

Why should anyone listen to me? Should people only listen to the “experts”, or can I, as just another guy on my own journey, offer something as well?

I often have at least a hint of self-doubt when writing these blog posts or speaking as some sort of authority on a subject, even when people ask me directly. I figure, though, that we all have different gifts, ways of learning and knowledge we’ve gained. Sharing those things with others and learning what they have to offer as well helps us all grow as individuals and as a society.

I also realize we don’t have to listen to everything that everyone says, nor do we have to share everything. We can decide what we find useful or not and whether to incorporate it into our lives or dismiss it and move on. So feel free to ignore anything or everything I’ve said.

Philosophy, Practice

Oscar the Grouch, Eeyore and Me

Oscar the Grouch was one of my favorite Sesame Street characters. I don’t really remember why. What I do remember was that almost nothing anyone did for him made him happy. There were occasions where he’d come out of his grouchiness momentarily, but it usually didn’t last long. He seemed to genuinely enjoy being grouchy, though.

Eeyore, from Winnie the Pooh, was worse. Even when reunited with his oft missing tail, no one could make him happy. Fortunately, his mood didn’t rub off on Christopher Robin or the other 100 Acre Wood residents much, unlike it can in real life.

Happiness is a choice you can only make for yourself. You can’t make others happy. They have to decide how they’ll react. Choose to be happy yourself, and maybe they’ll get the idea.

Running, Trail run, Training Log

August 10-16 Practice Running

Monday, August 10, 2015, 7:58 pm

3.15 mi, 28 ft gain, 26:32. Around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

Just a relatively easy run around town. My legs were a little sore, but not all that fatigued.

Average HR 129 bpm.

 

Tuesday, August 11, 2015, 6:59 pm

9.85 mi, 1465 ft gain, 1:49:07. RR Grade, Greg Ball, DNR rd, Bike path, RR Grade, solo. Altra superior 1.5 red #4.

The sky was pretty hazy today. I decided to run a different route at WFSP to hope to get some decent sunset views.

My calves were a little tight on the way up. I called a friend on the upper part of the RR grade. They’re able to take the dogs for me during Cascade Crest, which was a big load off.

Once I hit the Greg Ball trail, I ended up vlogging the whole way up. It helped keep the pace relatively easy. I may split it into a couple videos.

I turned left at the end of the Greg Ball trail instead of right to Wallace Lake. There are a few spots to catch a view of the sunset on the DNR rd toward Sultan. The sunset itself wasn’t that great, but the 20-30 min leading up to it were pretty amazing.

I took the bike trail turn off back down to the RR grade.

Average HR 136 bpm.

 

Wednesday, August 12, 2015, 7:11 pm

11.08 mi, 864 ft gain, 1:41:18. Town to RR Grade, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

I haven’t quite decided yet if I’ve started my taper yet. I might get in one sort of easy long run this weekend, but I don’t know. On days like this it’s a little more about getting out for the time, not as much the distance. And it’s not really like traditional thoughts about time on feet in regards to ultra training. I’m not sure how to explain it.

About 0.7 mi up the RR Grade, I heard something off the side of the trail, so I clapped a couple times. Then I saw a coyote going up the trail as I came around the next corner. I tried to pull out my phone to get some video or photos while running after it. Then there was a much louder noise from something moving through the brush not too far off trail to the left. It was a bear. It ran a few yards then climbed up a tree. I moved a little bit up the trail and stopped to try to get a good view for some photo or videos, but decided against it. I may not be that familiar with all the things bears do when startled, but I’ve never seen an adult bear climb a tree like that when there’s plenty of room to just continue running away. It didn’t look like a cub though. I kept moving up the trail a little farther when it started huffing at me. Then I heard another huffing sound coming from another tree on the other side of the trail. I wasn’t sure which one was the cub and which was the mama bear, or if they were both cubs and mama was nearby, so I started talking loudly and moved another 30-40 yards up the trail. I threw a few rocks down the trail to make more noise. Just around the bend, I started back to running again, back at my normal pace. I saw the coyote running up the trail again shortly after that. It was quite an exciting experience, if a little nerve racking.

I was quite alert for the rest of the run in the park. I made it up to the end of the RR Grade and turned around without anything else noteworthy. On the way back down, I saw the coyote again, running down the trail the other way. It went off trail into the brush much more quickly than the way up.

It was a great run. I felt good. I warmed up well after the first 10-15 min.

Average HR 135 bpm.

 

Thursday, August 13, 2015, 7:07 pm

11.18 mi, 858 ft gain, 1:45:25. Town to RR Grade, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

Rerun from yesterday’s run. I warmed up about the same. As I came up to the Mexican restaurant, I saw someone had left their headlights on, so I went inside and let some servers know.

I saw some people on the RR Grade today, which isn’t usually the case this late in the evening. There was a group of two women on their way down, followed by another solo hiking woman who I’ve seen in the park before.

Sometime within the next mile there was another bear off the trail on the right side. This one kept running, though, making lots of noise crashing through the brush. There were a lot of birds on the trail as well.

On the way back home, there was a loose dog going near the highway. I walked towards it hoping that it would go back towards its home. It kept barking at me making a half circle around me. It sort of worked. It wasn’t actually very far from home. After a minute or so, a guy came out. It turned out to be his dog.

The rest of the run was just fine.

I felt good. It was a lot like yesterday’s run, beyond just the route.

Average HR 132 bpm.

 

Friday, August 14, 2015, 7:39 pm

3.18 mi, 34 ft gain, 30:16. RR access rd, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2 white.

It rained all day. It let up just a little before we started. I took the dogs out, since they haven’t been running in a while and it finally cooled down.

I ran through most of the puddles, and the puddles were big along the RR access rd. Vida didn’t really like that. She usually loves running through water, but I don’t think she liked being splashed by me. Sigurd was a little more tolerant of it at first, but eventually he started moving as far away to the side or front as he could on the leash.

My legs felt good, the rain felt good, and it was a great run.

Average HR 126 bpm.

 

Saturday, August 15, 2015, 7:10 pm

11.03 mi, 872 ft gain, 1:22:40. Town to RR Grade, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

I felt pretty good from the get go. It was still a little cooler out too. I started a bit faster than normal and decided to go with it. I kept it comfortable out to WFSP.

I went slightly harder up the RR Grade and back down. I clapped periodically on the trail to warn wildlife I was coming through.

I pushed progressively harder on the way home. It was a good run. I’m still having a little piriformis discomfort, especially during faster runs like this. It wasn’t too bad though.

Strava says I set 10 mi, 15k and 10k PRs. I guess I don’t run fast for that long very often. I know I can certainly go faster.

Average HR 147 bpm.

 

Sunday, August 16, 2015, 5:31 pm

11.45 mi, 3779 ft gain, 2:32:07. RR grade to Upper Falls (55), Woody to Upper Falls (56), with dogs. New Balance MR10v2 white.

One more good hard run before tapering. Well, I might do a fast shorter run sometime this upcoming week. I considered doing three laps, but, like all too often, I got a late start, so I didn’t have enough time before the park closed.

Instead, I extended the first lap by taking the RR Grade up and down, taking the connecting trail to/from the Woody trail.

My legs were kind of sore and tight starting out. The RR Grade was a good warmup. I had a brief pitstop at the restroom at the end of the RR Grade, then headed to the Upper Falls. My legs felt better once I hit the Woody trail, still kind of tired though.

I had some water and raisins at the Falls before heading down. I refilled my water, had some water, and sat on a bench eating some raisins for a couple minutes.

My legs were a little tired and heavy again when I started the second lap. They started feeling a little better as I went, but not great. I visualized myself toward the end of Cascade Crest as I was running, imagining myself feeling that good toward the end of the race. I think it’s possible, especially if the taper goes well.

Maybe instead of back-to-back long runs in the future, I should do long runs the day after a fast run. Might be worth a try, but it will be a while until I’m back to that point.

Bring on the taper.

Average HR 141 bpm.

 

Weekly totals: 60.9 mi, 7874 ft elevation gain.

A Wandering & Wondering Life