Tag Archives: Running

Running, Trail run, Training Log

July 6-12 Practice Running

Monday, July 6, 2015, 8:08 pm

3.16 mi, 681 ft gain, 49:21. Reiter gate #4, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 red #2.

A little more vert than I planned, but good to get out and moving. My ankle was a bit sore, so the rocky trails at Reiter probably weren’t the best idea, but I took it very easy and was careful.

Average HR 115 bpm.

 

Tuesday, July 7, 2015, 7:52 pm

3.16 mi, 28 ft gain, 25:13. Around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

Another recovery run. My ankle is still a little sore.

Average HR 138 bpm.

 

Wednesday, July 8, 2015, 8:56 pm

3.15 mi, 28 ft gain, 20:45. Around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

Another easy run. Ankle is still sore, but getting better.

Average HR 158 bpm.

 

Thursday, July 9, 2015, 7:42 pm

11.06 mi,  840 ft gain, 1:30:43. Town to WFSP RR Grade, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

Ankle is still a little sore, but feeling mostly better. I went up the RR Grade to test it out. It went just fine.

Average HR 142 bpm.

 

Friday, July 10, 2015, 7:32 pm

9.31 mi, 2093 ft gain, 1:52:49. Woody trail, Upper Falls (35), Upper grade, detour, Greg Ball, RR grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #3.

Another ankle test run. I went up the Woody trail and down the Greg Ball because the Woody is steeper and rockier. I figured it was a little bit safer than going down the Woody trail.

Since I fell behind writing these, I don’t remember much else about the run. I’m pretty sure I pulled out my headlamp for the descent down the Greg Ball and RR Grade to be on the safe side.

Average HR 136 bpm.

 

Saturday, July 11, 2015, 6:36 pm

14.06 mi, 4066 ft gain, 2:58:30. Woody, Upper (36), loop, Greg Ball, Woody, Upper (37), loop Greg Ball, Woody, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #2.

The ankle was pretty much better.

Another write up from a couple weeks later, so I don’t remember a lot.

I ran the loop, with the detour. The second time, I went from the Greg Ball down the cutoff to the Woody trail and around again.

Average HR 139 bpm.

 

Sunday, July 12, 2015, 5:29 pm

17.78 mi, 4451 ft gain, 3.54:41. Woody, Upper Falls (38), W. Lake, J. Lake, Greg Ball, RR Grade, Woody, Upper Falls (39), Woody, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #3.

Ankle was good.

I tried going up the logging roads on Stickney, but they were massively overgrown with wildflowers and other things. After the bee sting the other day, and active bees on the flowers, I decided against it and turned around.

Before I turned around, I heard and saw a pika in the rocks on the side of the road. I watched for a little while. Then I went over and set my phone up next to its hole. I caught a little glimpse of it investigating things on video. It was pretty cool.

I continued out on the normal lake loop, even though there is still no bridge. The North Fork Wallace River leaving the Wallace lake is low enough that it’s really easy to hop across.

I continued out to the beach on the other side Wallace Lake for a few minutes then out to Jay Lake and back. I went down the Greg ball and RR Grade. Rather than going to the TH, I turned at the start of the Woody trail and ran to the Upper Falls and down again.

Average HR 134 bpm.

 

Weekly totals: 61.6 mi, 12,131 ft elevation gain

Running, Trail run, Training Log

June 29-July 5 Practice Running

Monday, June 29, 2015, 7:36 pm

9.14 mi, 2154 ft gain, 1:40:30. Woody trail, Upper Falls (31), Upper grade, Detour, Greg Ball, RR Grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #2.

I’m still behind on writing these, and I don’t remember specifics. It’s a pretty good time, though.

Average HR 148 bpm.

 

Tuesday, June 30, 2015, 7:39 pm

11.13 mi, 2053 ft gain, 2:08:32. Through town to Upper Falls (32), solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #3.

I remember that it was kind of hot. I only took one handheld water bottle. I refilled at the trailhead on the way in and out.

Average HR 137 bpm.

 

Wednesday, July 1, 2015, 7:33 pm

6.88 mi, 1917 ft gain, 1:23:44. Upper Falls (33) via RR grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #3.

I wanted to go longer than just up the Woody trail and back, but not as long as a full loop. I took the RR grade up then went down the short connecting trail to the Woody trail and continued to the Upper Falls. I went back the same way.

Average HR 141 bpm.

 

Thursday, July 2, 2015, 7:55 pm

4.27 mi, 938 ft gain, 1:03:30. Reiter gate #3, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 red #3.

More cars at the first gate. Decided to go to the third gate instead of the second. The trail from the second has become rather overgrown with grass and a few blackberry vines.

Average HR 133 bpm.

 

Friday, July 3, 2015, 7:27 pm

11.68 mi, 2178 ft gain, 2:16:35. Woody to Upper Falls (34), Upper Grade to Wallace Lake, DNR rd to RR Grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #3.

An extended loop. I felt like going longer, so rather than turning onto the Greg Ball trail, I kept going on the DNR rd down to the bike path connector, then the RR grade.

Average HR 136 bpm.

 

Saturday, July 4, 2015, 4:16 pm

12.74 mi, 4191 ft gain, 3:42:19. Tunnel Creek to PCT to Trap Pass to Thunder Mountain Lakes, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #3.

I had just seen a couple trail reports about the Thunder Mountain lakes and decided to check it out. I’m so glad I did.

The Tunnel creek trail is fairly steep. I wasn’t worried about time, other than not really wanting to run in the dark, so I did more hiking than I would have otherwise. It was good practice for Cascade Crest 100, and I wanted to save some energy for tomorrow.

I got to the junction with the PCT a little faster than I expected. I ran part of this portion of the PCT last year. Back then I turned around before getting to Trap Lake.

Running on the PCT was great. It was rolling, and the climbs weren’t too steep. Once to Trap Lake, the climbs got a little steeper.

At Trap Pass, there’s a boot path (not an official trail) heading up the ridge line. It’s quite steep in places and not much of it is actually runnable. It’s fairly easy to follow, though. There are some very rocky parts that involve a little boulder scrambling, but nothing too technical or exposed. There were cairns to mark the way, but they were occasionally hard to spot.

Any difficulty getting there was absolutely worth it. There are several craggy peaks and subpeaks along the ridge and around the lakes. The lakes themselves are gorgeous. It’s a high rocky basin with beautiful aqua-blue water.

I chatted with a couple guys who were camping. There were about 5 small groups camping up there. I guess other people saw the recent trip reports as well. I refilled my water at the first lake and headed down.

It was a little easier going back down the boot path than I thought it would be. The rest of the trails back to the car were just fine.

Average HR 134 bpm.

 

Sunday, July 5, 2015, 4:44 pm

17.5 mi, 4268 ft gain, 4:40:40. East Fork Foss River to Necklace Valley, Jade Lake, Emerald Lake, Opal Lake, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #3.

The plan was to go up the Necklace Valley as far as possible in the time I had, possibly up to the La Bohn lakes. I didn’t have enough time, though.

I’ve been up to Jade Lake before. And I’ve been up to the bridge over the East Fork Foss before that as well. I knew the trail on the East Fork Foss section of trail very well. Most of it is rather boring, and way more so on the way out.

There was part of the trail that was a little overgrown and had a bit of stinging nettles. I definitely felt the nettles, but it really only lasted maybe 5 minutes after I finished passing through.

The climb up after the river was fun. I hiked much more of it than I did last year, and I still beat my time up handily.

The lakes were all pretty low. Last time I was at Jade Lake, the water was over part of the trail along the shore. It wasn’t even close this time. I ate a little at Jade Lake and took some photos, then continued up the valley.

I came across an old cabin, the Necklace Cabin. It was built in 1950, dedicated to Jack Streeter, a WW2 soldier. It’s seen better days, but it’s still standing.

Emerald Lake was absolutely gorgeous. I went down to the water and refilled my hydration pack. The bugs were thick, swarming around me whenever I’d stop moving. I tried not to stay in one spot for more than a few seconds at a time.

I continued up the valley looking for the next lake. I went right past it. Opal Lake was so low, the lake bed is mostly just grass land. That made it pretty easy to miss, since the trail doesn’t go right along it. I ended up finding my way down to what would have been the shore, but was really just the edge of the grass.

I figured it was about time to turn back to make it back to the car before dark. The descent down the steep trail to the river was mostly fun. The return trip along the river trail was not so much. I probably should have pulled out my headlamp for about the last mile. I ended up rolling both ankles. My right ankle was ok. My left ankle was sore for several days afterwards.

I’d still like to go back sometime to make it farther up the valley and maybe up Mt. Hinman as well. It might be a while, though.

Average HR 141 bpm.

 

Weekly totals: 73.3 mi, 17,700 ft elevation gain.

Practice, Races, Running, Trail run, Training Log

June 15-21 Practice Running

Monday, June 15, 2015, 8:18 pm

6.11 mi, 581 ft gain, 1:15:03. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 red #2.

We stopped at Olney Creek for the dogs to take a dip before continuing on towards the hills. I decided to take a different turn this time. The one shortly after crossing the small bridge at the bottom of the hill. I’m not sure I’ve been on that road before, maybe once a year or two ago.

It was fun. There were a couple shorter off-shoot roads that we went on as well. One had some tall grass and flowers growing on it. The dogs had fun running through them. The road ended at a logging landing, but some tracks from heavy machinery continued a little farther.

I wasn’t concerned with pace, with the upcoming race on Saturday. I looked around a bit and let the dogs sniff around too. There were lots of deer tracks on and around the landing.

I felt good on the run back to the car, imagining myself on the final miles of Rattlesnake Ridge 50k, running on the Snoqualmie Valley trail. If I stick to my race plan, the pace should be similar too.

Average HR 127 bpm.

 

Tuesday, June 16, 2015, 6:55 pm

4.16 mi, 37 ft gain, 34:55. Around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

Feeling pretty well today, as far as tapers go. More visualizations of the final 9 mi of the race. I took the pace up a little bit today.

Average HR 138 bpm.

 

Wednesday, June 17, 2015, 5:58 pm

4.91 mi, 186 ft gain, 1:12:54. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1 & up Olney Creek, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #3.

I’ve been getting kind of bored running the same routes around town and in the tree farm. But I want to keep it pretty easy for the taper. I had an idea recently about running up Olney Creek from one of the bridges, possibly all the way to the next one up stream. Today I decided to check it out.

It was a lot of fun. In the water, out of the water, rocks, sand, logs, fish. The rocks under water are quite slippery, but I managed to stay upright. There were a couple places where the creek splits into more than one channel, and one was completely dry. Some of the “rapids” were no more than a few inches deep, while nearby pools were 3-4 ft deep with that crystal blue colored water.

I went a bit over a mile upstream before turning around. I didn’t have the time, nor the inclination to find out how far it was to the next road today. Travel was relatively easy, with few blowdowns to navigate and only a couple places where the water was over my knees.

I didn’t bother emptying out my shoes before heading back to the car. There was quite a bit of sand and small gravel, but it wasn’t too bad for the short trip.

I wasn’t the only recent human traveler through the creek bed. There were at least two other shoe tracks, probably anglers. I also saw all kinds of deer tracks.

Looking at my track on Strava, it appears to be another 1.5 mi or so to the next bridge.

Average HR 116 bpm.

 

Thursday, June 18, 2015, 5:54 pm

4.81 mi, 183 ft gain, 1:08:03. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm gate #1 & up Olney Creek, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #2.

I had so much fun yesterday, I decided to do it again today with the dogs this time. They weren’t sure what was going on at first when I started wading through the water upstream from the bridge. After a little coaxing, they joined me.

The dogs had at leas as much fun as I did. We didn’t go quite as far today, though. They both love the water, but Vida is sometimes tentative to go into water where she can’t touch bottom. Once she’s in or if she’s really motivated to get a stick or something, she’s just fine.

Once back to the bridge, I took short look downstream to see if it was passable in that direction. There were a lot of blowdowns crossing the whole creek bed in the first few hundred yards. I’m not sure about beyond that.

I cleaned out my shoes before heading back to the car this time. I sat by the water, pulled off one shoe at a time, swished it around in the water to try to get the sand and gravel briefly in suspension, then dumped them out. Then I rolled my socks down to my toes (putting wet Injinji socks back on sucks), swished my feet in the water to get the sand off and out, rolled them back up, swished around again to get the sand off the exterior, then put my shoes back on and headed out.

Average HR 118 bpm.

 

Friday, June 14, 2015, 4:01 pm

3.18 mi, 28 ft gain, 25:30. Around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

Last taper day. I ate shortly before heading out, so my HR was elevated, probably by about 10 bpm. My lower legs just above my ankles were a little tight. They loosened up before too long.

More visualizations of race day. I felt pretty good besides the early leg tightness.

Average HR 148 bpm.

 

Saturday, June 20, 2015, 7:33 am

50 km, 6439 ft gain, 5:20:03. Rattlesnake Ridge Run 50k, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #3.

I had a great race. I stayed fairly conservative going over Rattlesnake Ridge and back. My split was maybe a couple minutes faster than last year. I made up most of the 11 min improvement over last year on the last 9 miles. I’ll post a more detailed race report soon.

Average HR 153 bpm.

 

Sunday, June 21, 2015, 6:17 pm

3.62 mi, 944 ft gain, 1:13:37. Reiter gate #2, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #3.

I forgot about the terrible Sunday traffic westbound on US2, so I didn’t run where I had planned.

It’s getting pretty overgrown with grass and blackberries on parts of this route. Fortunately, the creeks are still running in the area, so the dogs had plenty of water to drink and cool down in.

I found some more old 4×4 trails up the hill. I ended up going much steeper today than I had planned, which ended up meaning a lot more hiking than running than planned as well. That’s ok. Just getting moving and keeping it a relatively easy effort was the goal.

Average HR 117 bpm.

 

Weekly totals: 56.9 mi, 8370 ft elevation gain

Running, Training Log

June 8-14 Practice Running

Monday, June 8, 2015, 8:14 pm

4.42 mi, 265 ft gain, 48:53. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #2.

I felt much better than I expected. I’m very grateful that the pulled muscle I suffered a week ago healed so quickly. I was able to get pretty close to my normal pace for the effort today. We went out to Olney Creek, and the dogs played in the water a bit. Then we finished the loop and headed back to the car.

Average HR 128 bpm.

 

Tuesday, June 9, 2015, 8:07 pm

5.05 mi, 96 ft gain, 48:57. Around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

I felt pretty decent today. I had a little minor piriformis soreness, but not bad. I warmed up fairly quickly. I picked up the pace to fast but comfortable. I ran out for 20 minutes, which happened to be just barely over 2.5 mi.

I picked up the pace a little more on the way back. I saw a friend in front of his house on my way back and stopped to talk for a few minutes. I sped up a little more when I started again. I picked up the pace again over the last 0.3 mi. It was nice to run faster for a change.

Average HR 141 bpm.

 

Wednesday, June 10, 2015, 8:01 pm

9.12 mi, 440 ft gain, 1:16:09. May Creek Rd around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

I feel about like I did during the taper before Capitol Peak 50 mi. So I guess it’s probably going well. I wanted to go a little longer today. I decided after I started that I’d hit the long loop around town.

I started out fairly easy, but picked up the pace as I warmed up. I mostly kept my HR in the low 140s bpm. I was comfortable, but moving pretty well.

Once almost around to the “Y” at Ley Rd, I decided to run out to Wallace Falls State Park to use the restroom and add another mi to the run. I used the restroom and got a little drink of water. I wasn’t all that thirsty, but I got a little anyway. Then I headed out for home.

I picked up the pace a little more from there, pushing my HR closer to 150 bpm. Then a little over 1 mi out, I went into the low 150s bpm. I gradually sped up more once I passed the grocery store in town.

Once I turned onto my road, I pushed a little harder. I really cranked it up over the last 0.2 mi. It felt great to move my legs fast and get my lungs pumping hard.

I was imagining the final 9 mi of the upcoming Rattlesnake Ridge 50k for much of today’s run. It has about the same elevation gain, though it’s more spread out over the end of the race than on today’s route. I’m feeling pretty good about my race goals.

Average HR 142 bpm.

 

Thursday, June 11, 2015, 6:14 pm

6.61 mi, 2514 ft gain, 1:32:42. Lake Serene, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #3.

I haven’t been to Lake Serene in quite a while. I lost my Strava CR for the ascent earlier this year and wanted to get it back sometime. I made a go at it today.

I didn’t push too hard for the lower portion to just before the trail to Bridal Veil Falls. I wanted to save some strength for the upper part. It’s much more steep with lots of stairs and quite rocky. I hiked some of the stairs and a few spots that were particularly rocky and tough. I kept the pace pretty hard most of the way. I started pushing harder once past the majority of the climbing.

I wasn’t sure if I had made it when I got to the lake. I started my gps when I left the restroom, and I wasn’t exactly sure what the CR was. I knew I was close, though.

Once at the lake, I spent a few minutes cooling down. I took my UD Fastdraw 20 with my Sawyer Mini in the pocket. I drank a full bottle on the way up. I didn’t really want to carry a full bottle back down, so I used the filter and squeeze bottle. I filled the squeeze bottle in the lake and drank the whole thing. The squeeze bottle that comes with the filter is kind of small, only 16 oz. It’s kind of tough to fill completely, though.

Anyway, I had some water, took a couple photos, enjoyed the scenery and headed back down. It’s so rocky on the upper portion of the trail that it’s tough to go much faster on the way down than on the way up. If it was loose rocks and such, it wouldn’t be so bad. But the rocks are mostly tightly in place and at odd angles. It takes a lot of concentration to go very fast. I bet I could get better at it with more practice, like I’ve done at Wallace Falls.

As it turned out, I did get the Strava ascent segment CR and came 2nd on the descent. I didn’t really push too hard on the descent, maybe next time. I also missed a couple of the shorter segment CRs by just seconds.

Average HR 153 bpm.

 

Friday, June 12, 2015, 8:22 pm

8.13 mi, 358 ft gain, 1:17:24. O&B to hill on Maycreek rd + WFSP, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

I wasn’t sure how far I was going to go today. I started out on my normal route toward WFSP. I decided I’d turn onto Maycreek Rd toward the loop to US2. I was going to turn around at 3.5 mi, but I was coming up to the short hill, so I decided to run to the top then turn around.

On the way back, I needed a restroom, so I went out to WFSP too. I used the restroom and ended up talking to a guy that I see at the park fairly regularly. I got some water, then headed home.

Right around the time I turned the corner back on to US2, I realized my ID had fallen out of the key pocket in my shorts. My key was still there, fortunately. I’m not sure exactly when it fell out. I remember it uncomfortably digging into my waist out on Maycreek rd somewhere. I adjusted it so it wouldn’t dig in anymore. I felt a brief pressure at the bottom on my upper leg, then it went away. I didn’t check on it or feel it again after that. I’m not sure if it fell out there, or later. Once I got home, I drove along the route I followed. I drove slowly looking for it. I went to WFSP and looked around in the restroom. I didn’t find it.

I called the park the next day and asked about a lost license, but they hadn’t found one.

Average HR 132 bpm.

 

Saturday, June 13, 2015, 6:44 pm

8.21 mi, 359 ft gain, 1:24:46. Same as yesterday, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

Since I had no luck finding my license, I decided to retrace my route from yesterday. I went slower today, keeping an eye out for my lost license.

I still had no luck, but the run was nice, again, even for road running.

Average HR 129 bpm.

 

Sunday, June 14, 2015, 9:06 pm

3.15 mi, 28 ft gain, 21:46. Around town, solo. New Balanace MR10v2.

I considered going longer today. But I haven’t exactly been taking it that easy tapering. I went out comfortably, but sped up as I went. It was fun running fast.

Average HR 150 bpm.

 

Weekly totals. 44.7 mi, 4031 ft elevation gain

Running, Trail run, Training Log

June 1-7 Practice Running

Monday, June 1, 2015, 6:14 pm

4.31 mi, 271 ft gain, 48:57. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #2.

Today’s run was rough. My legs felt mostly ok, but my glute was not happy. It was definitely worse today than yesterday. Downhill was worse than uphill or flat. I think it’s the muscle contraction at that angle and the extra force going downhill. Other than that, I could move pretty well.

We ran out to Olney Creek. The dogs splashed around a bit. Then we finished the loop.

Average HR 118 bpm.

 

Tuesday, June 2, 2015, 7:24 pm

4.13 mi, 37 ft gain, 40:29. RR access rd, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

I felt mildly better than yesterday. I still couldn’t go very fast because of the pulled muscle. I was going to run my normal 5k-ish loop or out onto May Creek rd, but I had to pee, so I crossed over to the green belt, across the RR tracks and found a spot in the bushes. Since I was already over there, I ran along the RR access road to a little over 2 mi out.

It’s times like this, dealing with injuries or being really sore during tough recoveries, that start to sow seeds of doubt. I started to think about just not running until the muscle healed, but remember giving up like that in the past and it sucked. Not running sucked, starting again sucked, and I’m not really sure it sped up the healing process that much.

Anyway, other than a sore right butt cheek, it was a pretty good run.

Average HR 124 bpm.

 

Wednesday, June 3, 2015, 8:41 pm

3.14 mi, 28 ft gain, 27:53. Around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2 White.

The glute is slightly better again. I didn’t feel it much at first, but when I tried speeding up some, it let me know. My legs are still a little bit tired in general too, not bad, though.

For some reason the muscle along the outside of my right shin was compensating and working overtime. It was really difficult to try to get it to relax. It started to loosen up a little toward the end of today’s run. I did notice early on that my right foot was turning inward a little, so I was much more mindful of my form. Going slightly faster helped a little too.

I’m hoping it’s good enough this weekend for one more long run. I ended up with a 3 week taper for Capitol Peak 50mi due to minor injury as well. I don’t want to taper that long for Rattlesnake, or for any other race for that matter.

Average HR 127 bpm.

 

Thursday, June 4, 2015, 8:01 pm

6.16 mi, 822 ft gain, 1:13:14. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #2.

My glute is a lot better, but still has a little ways to go. My right shin muscle was tight again for the first mile or so. I took a couple breaks, concentrated on relaxing, and it loosened up. My right piriformis is acting up a little too. That should be alright though.

Once to the bridge at Olney Creek, the dogs decided to take the trail down to the creek. To keep from letting them think they’re in charge, I kept going over the bridge. Rather than go back up the trail and cross the bridge, they crossed the creek and scrambled up the bank on the other side.

We took a left after the bridge towards the mountains. I took the turn towards Wallace Lake, but stopped well short of it. There were a couple huckleberry bushes with berries starting to ripen.

This was a much better run than the last few days.

Average HR 133 bpm.

 

Friday, June 5, 2015, 7:34 pm

9.15 mi, 2014 ft gain, 1:50:11. Woody to Upper Falls (27), Upper Grade, Detour, Greg Ball, RR Grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #3.

My right glute felt ok, maybe just slightly sore. My lower legs, mostly the muscles on the inside between my calves and shins, were screaming at me for the first 3 mi or so. After that, they started to calm down pretty quickly. My right outside shin muscle was tight again for about the first mi.

I was kind of slow on the Woody trail, I stopped a couple times to try to stretch out tight lower leg muscles. I hiked a little as well. I usually try to run the whole thing, except maybe some of the stairs. I spent a minute or two at the Upper Falls trying to get my lower legs to calm down, then hiked most of the rest of the way to the Upper Grade.

I was still not feeling very good for a while after that. I walked a little bit, then took a brief pitstop in the woods. I started to feel better after that.

I didn’t have a lot of daylight left, so I turned at the detour road and didn’t go out to the lake. I had my headlamp just in case, though. I found myself a bit tentative going down the Greg Ball trail. It was kind of dark in the woods, and I had the trip and pulled muscle from Sunday on my mind. I was careful about foot placement and paid very close attention to the trail.

I kept the pace up a little bit on the way down, then kicked it up over the last 0.25 mi, and again over the last 100-200 yards. I managed to finish before needing to pull out my headlamp.

I am feeling kind of slow and tired, even though I finished quite fast. I hope the taper works out well.

Average HR 140 bpm.

 

Saturday, June 6, 2015, 7:06 pm

11.15 mi, 2082 ft gain, 2:18:25. Roads to WFSP & Woody to Upper Falls (28), solo. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #2.

After having such a rough time yesterday, I decided to run from home and use the 3 mi to the park as a warm up. It worked much better. My lower leg issues didn’t last as long and weren’t as bad.

I ran along the green belt instead of the sidewalk along US2. I tried to hit the grass and side of the road as much as possible the rest of the way. I felt good when I got to the park. I made a pitstop and refilled my water bottle then headed up the trail.

I felt better on the climbs than yesterday and walked less too. There was a little more foot traffic this late in the evening than I expected, but not too bad. I took the time letting people pass to rest a little. It didn’t really affect my time going up. It was pretty much the same as I’ve been doing recently. I took a minute or two to rest at the top before going back down. I also tightened my shoelaces.

I didn’t push the pace on the descent. Sometimes it seems a little easier to go faster on the descent. It went well.

I felt better on the road home than I did on previous similar efforts.

I didn’t take my phone, which I kind of regretted as I crossed the bridge over May Creek before getting to the park. There was a deer standing in the middle of May Creek with a duck in the still water nearby. It would have been a great photo. But it was also nice not having my UD belt around my waist or my pack on.

Average HR 134 bpm. The battery died after about 20 min. I forgot to charge it.

 

Sunday, June 7, 2015, 6:36 pm

12.04 mi, 2442 ft gain, 2:32:51. Woody to Upper Wallace Falls (29), Upper grade to detour to Wallace Lake beach +, down Greg Ball & RR grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #3.

I felt even better today than yesterday. I needed 12 mi to hit 50 for the week. I don’t know why it mattered that I hit 50.

Anyway, I was about as fast to the upper falls today again, even with a short pitstop off the trail. I also didn’t have any of the lower leg issues I’ve been having. There was a little soreness from the effort, but nothing else. I only stopped for a minute at the upper falls before heading up to the Upper Grade.

I find myself going kind of slow at first when I hit the Upper Grade, recovering from the climb I guess. Then I gradually speed up over the next 5-10 min. I stopped at around 3.5 mi when I saw a creek. I had my Sawyer Mini water filter and squeeze bag in the pocket of my Ultimate Direction Fastdraw 20. It took two bags to fill the bottle, with a little left over to drink before going again. I really like the Sawyer Mini. I prefer using my Platypus 1 liter soft bottle, but it won’t fit in the hand-held’s pocket.

I headed out to the lake, then around to the beach. It’s very tranquil and relaxing on the beach in the evening. It wasn’t quite far enough to hit my 12 mi mark, so I continued on the trail toward Jay Lake. I turned around once I had gone far enough.

Once on the Greg Ball, I went with gravity a little more than yesterday on the Woody trail descent. It was fun as always. I kept the pace up a bit on the RR grade and finished off the last bit hard. It was a great run.

I left my phone home again. Again, it was nice not having the belt or pack.

Average HR 134 bpm.

 

Weekly totals: 50.1 mi, 7669 ft elevation gain