Tag Archives: trail running

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

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.

Running, Trail run, Training Log

August 3-9 Practice Running

Monday, August 3, 2015, 8:27 pm

3.09 mi, 40 ft gain, 28:53. RR access rd, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2 white.

My legs were a little sore, just the muscles, but not all that fatigued. I took the dogs out along the RR access rd and the park. I kept the pace fairly easy.

I didn’t wear my HR monitor.

 

Tuesday, August 4, 2015, 7:23 pm

4.04 mi, 37 ft gain, 38:44. RR Access rd, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2 white.

It was cool again today. I decided to take it easy again to let my legs recover a little more for one last long run this weekend before Cascade Crest. My legs were fine.

Average HR 126 bpm.

 

Wednesday, August 5, 2015, 4:55 pm

3.17 mi, 28 ft gain, 23:11. Around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

I ended up doing another short run. I wasn’t really feeling up to it, but went anyway. It was raining a little when I started, but it got heavier about 5 min in. I considered going about 6 mi or so, but decided to run shorter and faster instead.

It felt good to go faster. Running in the rain was great too. It’s been a while since I had a good soaking rainy run.

Average HR 147 bpm.

 

Thursday, August 6, 2015, 7:46 pm

4.64 mi, 1745 ft gain, 55:57. Woody trail to Upper Wallace Falls (51), solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #4.

I went out a bit late today. I kept it short again, but not so easy. My legs feel a bit flat and oddly heavy, like they do during a taper. Maybe I’ve taken it easy for too many days in a row.

I started out at a moderate pace for the first 0.5 mi or so, then sped up as I went along from there. I’d say I was running a moderately hard effort from about there until a little past the Valley overlook. Then I pushed a little harder. I made it to the Upper Falls at about 30 min. I took a few minutes to recover up there before heading back down.

I stopped after the descending the first flight of stairs to tighten my shoelaces. After that, I let gravity take over for most of the descent, slowing a bit down toward the bottom due to diminishing light.

It was great to put in a reasonably hard effort.

Average HR 155 bpm.

 

Friday, August 7, 2015, 6:50 pm

9.93 mi, 2:04 ft gain, 2:04:47. RR Grade, Greg Ball, Wallace Lake, Upper Grade, Upper Falls (52), Woody Trail, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #4.

My legs felt a little rough today. My shoelaces were too tight starting out. I stopped once on the RR grade and again on the Greg Ball trail to fix them.

At the top of the Greg Ball trail I saw a “Road Closed Ahead” sign. I decided to head out to Wallace Lake anyway. They still haven’t replaced the bridge. I crossed the Wallace River where the bridge should be quite easily, it’s so low.

I decided to see if I could get down to the lake by the campsites. There was a good trail down there. I passed three women with presumably their daughters who appeared to be coming from their campsite. I didn’t see them again on my way out.

I continued around the lake loop towards the falls. I saw another road closed sign at the fork for the detour and the Upper Grade. It was on the side toward the detour, but there were heavy equipment tracks going out on the Upper Grade. I took the Upper Grade anyway.

The excavator tracks were rather uncomfortable to run on. They only went to the edge of the more thick woods. I continued out to the falls. I didn’t see anyone or any equipment.

I tightened my shoelaces again at the Upper Falls before heading down. My legs were a little tired on the descent. I think I should have eaten closer to the start of my run.

Average HR 134 bpm.

 

Saturday, August 8, 2015, 6:20 pm

9.25 mi, 3476 ft gain, 2:07:00. Woody Trail to Upper Falls (53, 54), solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #4.

I felt a little better today than yesterday. My calves were just a little tight on the first time up. There was a woman with a bunch of boys, a teenager and on down from there to about 5 or 6 at the youngest. I think there were 5 kids. The youngest one said, “You’re really skinny.” I chuckled and said that’s because I’m a runner. The oldest said something about running. Then the youngest said, “I mean it, you’re really skinny.”

I had some water and a couple dates, then tightened my laces before heading down. The descent was better than yesterday.

I refilled my water, had a couple dates and took a few minutes break at the TH. I chatted with a guy and his son for a few minutes. They asked about my running and asked something about if I do long runs in the mountains. I mentioned the upcoming 100 miler. They wished me luck when I started my second lap.

Both times up were pretty close. There were fewer other people on the trail, so that was likely part of it. Again, I had some water and dates at the Upper Falls. I left my laces tight on the way up and they pinched a little on the climbs. Even so, I felt better the second time up. I think the difference was being warmed up.

I was pretty close on times for both descents as well. I had fun, and it was a great run.

Average HR 147 bpm.

 

Sunday, August 9, 2015, 4:55 pm

20.12 mi, 5833 ft gain, 5:34:27. PCT to Icicle Creek to Chain Lakes, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #4.

I had so much fun on this run. So much that I’ve considered not running races anymore, or at least fewer, so that I can do more adventure runs like this.

I got a late start. I had wanted to attempt climbing up Bulls Tooth. At the very least, I wanted to make it out to Chain Lakes just below the mountain.

My legs were a little tight, especially my calves, on the climb up from Stevens Pass. They loosened up after that. I passed a few groups of hikers heading the other way on my way up. The downhill on the other side of the mountain was a blast. I passed two more groups on the descent, one heading north, the other heading south.

From the bottom of the descent, there was another smaller climb up to the junction with Icicle creek and a little more up and then down around Josephine lake. The sign for the Icicle Creek trail was easy to spot, as was the trail.

Once down into the Icicle creek drainage, the trail was a lot less rocky. There were some roots, but it was pretty smooth for the most part.

I had little trouble finding the next trail, mostly because I was looking for it. The sign for the Chain Lakes trail is on the other side of a tree facing the other direction. The trail is fairly apparent, though.
The Chain Lakes trail is quite steep, especially the first 0.6 mi or so, about 1000ft gain. It was about 1800 ft gain total over 1.8 mi. It was fun climbing. I practiced my power hiking.

It was absolutely beautiful when I got up to the lakes. I was going to make my way around to the third lake, but the path I followed sort of just disappeared up on a little knob. I had a view of the third lake, but ended up turning around. I had wanted to at least see if I could spot the route up the mountain. It was too late for me to attempt going up, though. I didn’t want to be scrambling in the dark. I also wanted to make it back down the steep trail to Icicle Creek before sunset. I went back to the second lake and went down by a campsite. I chatted with three guys camping there for a little bit and refilled my water. They were heading to Doelle lakes the following day.

As tough as it was going up the Chain Lakes trail, it was a ton of fun going back down. I made it to the Icicle Creek junction about 13 min before sunset. I went for quite a while before breaking out the headlamp. I was a little low on energy for a little while. I started eating a little more often and stopped to snack on some trail-side huckleberries on the final climb up the backside of Stevens Pass. The huckleberries were amazing. I ran out of water somewhere around the top.

I felt pretty good on the final descent to the parking lot. Even with all the rocks and stuff, I got into a pretty good rhythm. There were a lot of frogs and salamanders out on the trail in the dark. I had to watch my step to keep from squashing them. There were also quite a few trails of ants crossing the trail. They stopped moving when my headlamp was shining on them.

Like I said at the beginning of this, I had such a good time on this run. I didn’t run too hard and kept the effort pretty even. The trails were fantastic and tons of fun. The scenery was gorgeous. I wouldn’t call it a runner’s high. I never really understood what people meant when they said they were “high on life” until this run. I must do more of this.

Average HR 133 bpm. HRM battery died after about 4 hours.

 

Weekly totals: 54.1 mi, 13,162 ft elevation gain

Running, Trail run, Training Log

July 27-August 2 Practice Running

Monday, July 27, 2015, 7:14 pm

4.02 mi, 36 ft gain, 38:34. RR Access Rd, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2 white.

Still a little achey today. With the weather still a little cooler, I took the dogs out. They really enjoyed it, like always. The aches mostly went away about halfway through.

Average HR 122 bpm.

 

Tuesday, July 28, 2015, 7:02 pm

11.03 mi, 824 ft gain, 1:36:00 Town to RR Grade, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

My left calf/shin is still a little sore. It felt better as I went along.

I ran fairly easy on the way to the park. I had a little water and signed the log. I went a little harder up the RR Grade, but not that hard.

The run back down to the TH was fine. I had a little water and signed out before heading home.

I picked up the pace a bit on the way home. I thought I might make it back under 1:38, but as I got closer, 1:36 looked possible, so I went faster.

Average HR 136 bpm.

 

Wednesday, July 29, 2015, 7:22 pm

9.94 mi, 3266 ft gain, 2:05:32. Woody to Upper Falls (45), R/T on Greg Ball, RR Grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #4.

First run in a new pair of shoes. They arrived today. I cut them up to my liking. I forgot how much breaking in the uppers need. The lower portion is just fine. The uppers have so much padding that in order to get them tight enough for my foot not to slide around, I the padding can cause pressure at flex points. It was really only an issue on the uphills. Since I run on the balls of my feet going uphill most of the time, the flexing at the forefoot put pressure on the outside of my foot. It caused the front outside part of my right foot up through my pinky toe was a little tingly. It went away shortly once on the flats or downhills.

Other than that the run was pretty great. My right calf was a little sore on the climb up the Woody trail. Sore like the burn from really working the muscle. My left calf wasn’t as bad. I think they just took a little longer to loosen up due to the little break from climbing.

I stopped briefly at the Upper Falls before continuing to the Upper Grade. Unfortunately, there was a road closed sign at the post for the “leaving state park” sign. I considered ignoring it, but decided not to. I’m not sure if it was closed due to the bridge construction, which doesn’t seem likely for that part of the road, or if they finally started logging at the timber sale area that has been signed and marked for about a year. It sucks that the state park doesn’t own that land, at least along the routes from one spot to another in the park.

I felt pretty good going down the Woody trail. I turned at the cutoff for the Greg Ball trail and ran up there. I felt much better going up the Greg Ball trail than up the Woody trail. Once to the DNR road, I ran up to the bridge and the fork for Wallace Lake or the detour to see if there were any signs about the road closure. There weren’t.
I put on my headlamp for the run back down. I didn’t go too hard, but it was fun.

I took the RR Grade down to the TH.

I saw three small groups of people on the first half of the Woody trail when I started, but then didn’t see another person for the rest of the run.

My left calf/shin was definitely better today.

Average HR 144 bpm. I didn’t charge my HRM, and it died just before I made it to the Upper Falls.

 

Thursday, July 30, 2015, 7:23 pm

9.4 mi, 2794 ft gain, 2:07:17. Woody to Upper Falls (46), R/T on Greg Ball, RR Grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #4.

The shoes were a little better today. I made it to the Upper Falls at about the same time as yesterday. I turned around there today instead of continuing the loop due to the road closed sign yesterday. My right shoe was still pinching my foot today. I think it might be the overlay band pushing into the top of my foot. I had the same problem with another pair of these shoes. With those ones, I just skipped the lower eyelet on the band on that side. It helped with that pair, so I’ll give it a try.

Again, the pinching went away on the downhills.

I turned up the Greg Ball trail again today as well. I also went out to the fork for the detour and the road to Wallace Lake.

I pulled out my headlamp for the descent down the Greg Ball trail and the RR Grade. The Descent seemed a little easier today.

Average HR 140 bpm.

 

Friday, July 31, 2015, 6:24 pm

9.33 mi, 3726 ft gain, 2:16:14. Woody Trail to Upper Falls x2 (47, 48), solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #4.

I changed the lacing of my right shoe like that on an older pair. It helped a bit. The excessive padding in the upper is going to take a while to break in.

My right calf was tight on the first time up, a little less so than yesterday. I made it up slightly faster than the last two days. I had a couple dates and some water, rested for a couple minutes and headed back down. The descent was as fun as ever. I made the round trip in about 1:05. I refilled my water, used the restroom, had a couple dates and water and started off for another trip.

I felt better on the second time up. I think I was slightly slower. I had 2 dates and water at the top before heading back down. It was starting to get a little dark on the descent. I took it sort of easy. I made it back to the TH at just about the time of sunset.

Average HR 142 bpm.

 

Saturday, August 1, 2015, 6:26 pm

9.65 mi, 3940 ft gain, 2:22:30. Woody Trail to Upper falls x2 (49, 50), solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #4.

I went back for round two today. I felt better for most of today’s run than yesterday. My right calf was better, and the shoe pinching wasn’t quite as bad.

I made it to the upper falls about a minute faster on the first lap than yesterday. It’s not that fast for me, but it’s a fairly comfortable pace. There were two couples up there taking photos. I spent a few minutes resting, drinking water and eating a couple dates. They left a couple minutes before I did.

On the way back down, I took the Greg Ball connector to use the restroom at the end of the RR Grade. It added a couple hundred feet of elevation gain and 1/3 mi.

At the TH, I refilled my water, had a couple dates and talked to one of the park hosts. I asked about the road closed sign on the Upper Grade. She didn’t know but said she’d ask the ranger and let me know next time I see her. She mentioned that there had been a fire in the area, so that might have been it, but she wasn’t sure. I asked about a few other things, the trail from Reiter, and the trail extension to Shaw Lake. She said they’re getting worked on, but didn’t know when they’d be finished.

Average HR 141 bpm.

 

Sunday, August 2, 2015, 4:55 pm

13.79 mi, 4654 ft gain, 4:16:11. Surprise Lake, Glacier Lake, Surprise Gap, Surprise Mountain, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #4.

I wanted to get some good vert in today. I wasn’t exactly sure where I’d go, but I wanted to hit at least one peak. I settled on the Surprise Creek trail. I ran on the same trail last year up to Peiper Pass. I enjoyed it then.

I stopped after about a mile to change the lacing on my left shoe. It was pinching my foot like the right one had been. I skipped the lower eyelet on the outer overlay band like I did on the right shoe. The pressure was immediately relieved.

I passed about half a dozen groups of hikers on their way out before Surprise Lake. I took a wrong turn at Surprise Lake and ended up crossing a boulder field at the south end. After checking my map again, I decided to just go off trail nearly straight uphill and rejoined the trail. It was very steep going.

I continued on to Glacier lake, where I filled up my water. I probably had enough to make it up the mountain, but wasn’t sure if I had enough to make it back down. There was a couple camped by the lake.

Last year I had trouble finding the abandoned trail up to Surprise Gap, which was why I ended up going to Peiper Pass. I found it quite easily this time. As I came up to the trail, I saw a hiker coming down from Peiper Pass. I didn’t wait around long enough to say hi, though.
For an abandoned trail, it was in quite good condition. Lots of loose rocks, but that’s to be expected in an area like that. The view from Surprise Gap was great. The trail from there to Surprise Mountain was easy to follow and in pretty good condition.

The views from the peak were even better. I could see Glacier Peak to the north, Mt Daniel and Mt Hinman to the south. I thought I remembered reading about a boot path from Peiper Pass to the peak, but I couldn’t find evidence of it.

I would have liked to go down the south side from Surprise Gap and then back up around to Peiper Pass, but as it was, I was already going to be running in the dark a bit.

I think I need some more practice on trails like the abandoned one up to Surprise Gap, a mix fixed and loose rocks surrounded by boulders. I like some technical downhills, but this was a bit much for me to go very fast. Just a loose talus field would have been easier. It was fun though.

A little past Glacier lake on the way back, I stopped and tightened my shoe laces. My foot was sliding around a bit on the steeper descents with a more firm footing. It was good after that.

I pulled out my headlamp for the last 1.5-2 mi.

I hiked a lot more than last year, but I still made good time. I definitely want to go back and attempt some of the other peaks in the area.

Average HR 130 bpm.

 

Weekly totals: 67.1 mi, 19,239 ft elevation gain.

July totals: 279.5 mi, 55,042 ft elevation gain.