Go Discovery!

Photo courtesy of NASA TV

Space shuttle Discovery blasted off to a picture perfect launch this afternoon, carrying the large Japanese research laboratory named Kibo to the International Space Station. Among the seven astronaut crew is Minnesota native (and runner) Karen Nyberg. Karen will be the first astronaut to operate 3 different robotic arms during a single space flight.

It's difficult to comprehend travelling at 17,500 miles per hour!

Photo courtesy of NASA.

Getting ready to line up for the start of the 2007 Boston Marathon.

Midweek Report

Training has been a little more consistent this past week:

Fri - 10 miles

Sat- barefoot strength training circuit

Sun - easy 3

Mon- hike 3-4

Tues- 4 tempo

Weds - strength training & watch space shuttle Endeavor land after a marathon mission at the International Space Station.

This Saturday will be very busy:

Morning - I will be bringing my massage table and a biofoam roll to the MDRA 7 Mile to offer free PNF stretching and teach self myofascial release to the runners who participate. I've been doing this for several years as a way of giving back to the club, so stop over and say "Hi" and get stretched out before or after the race if you feel like it. The race is free for MDRA members!

Afternoon - Time for the annual orienteering skills clinic at Hyland Lake park in Bloomington from noon 'til 3 pm! Opportunities will be available for all abilities, including learning how to use a compass and read a topo map, pace counting, a few different courses of varying lengths and difficulties, adventure racing skills, etc. If you think running on trails is fun and dirty, here's your chance to try "cunning running" off trail! You'll also get a topo map of Hyland Lake park, like the one that I drew last years Trail Mix course on:

2007 Trail Mix course

MNOC also sells topo maps of other popular trail running spots, such as Afton, Murphy-Hanrehan, Lebanon Hills, Nerstrand, Jay Cooke, Wirth Park, Telemark, etc.

One Bitchin' Ride

Space shuttle Atlantis finally got off the ground today after a couple months of troubleshooting. Here's what a shuttle launch looks like from inside the cockpit (this was from STS-92 on Discovery a few years ago):

Nose Hair Awareness

Yep, it's been chilly around here lately. How chilly? Well, you know those mornings when you can hear the snow crunching under your feet and become acutely aware of your nose hair freezing as soon as you step outside? That kind of weather. On the upside, the ticks and mosquitos haven't been bad ;) Not that it matters much when you're a weather wimp and run on the dreadmill.

I didn't accomplish as much as I'd hoped to this week, but it wasn't a complete wash out either:

Mon: strength training + bike (intervals) for 30 min
Tues: treadmill run 3.0 miles
Weds: nada
Thurs: nada
Fri: very short strength circuit + 4.0 treadmill run
Sat: barefoot kettlebell circuit

Planned for Sun: 7 mile run
Hoping that STS-122 space shuttle Atlantis launches if they can get the bugs fixed.

Also did some X-Mas shopping this week - mostly online. In case you didn't already know, REI is offering $20 off purchases over $100 until 12/24. Coupon code = HOLIDAY7

Short Runs Are Better Than No Runs

With all the excitement of an epic EVA on the International Space Station (ISS) this past Saturday, I've only managed to get a few short runs in (2-3 miles). Haven't been out trail running since last weekend at Carver, so my short runs have been at Bredesen on asphalt or (gasp!), the dreadmill yesterday. It's the beginning of my official early off season anyway, so I'm really not off track at this point. Here's what I've done the last few days:

Saturday: watched an epic EVA all day, with astronaut Scott Parazynski out on the end of a boom.... which was being grappled at the end of another boom... then being carefully maneuvered out to fix a solar array wing while it had 100 volts of electicity running through it... in a procedure that had never been simulated or practiced before. I didn't do any running, but I think my heart rate was up.

Sunday: the crew of Discovery said goodbye to the Exp 16 crew on the ISS, but remained docked with hatches closed until all the leak checks, etc were completed on Monday. Managed to get a 2 mile run in at Bredesen.

Monday: Discovery undocks from the ISS. Check out how large the station is getting! Very windy outside, so I did 3 miles on the dreadmill after weight lifting at the gym.

All photos courtesy of NASA.

Today is a cross training day - combo of biking and rowing. Discovery is scheduled to land tomorrow, so maybe my training will become a little more focused by the end of the week :)

World View

I've been almost too busy watching the current STS-120/Exp 16 mission (space shuttle and space station joint ops) this past week to get much running in. Especially since they hit a few speed bumps and are now scrambling to come up with a contingency plan to fix the P6 solar array. I'll be tuned in to NASA TV this Saturday to see what they come up with! The EVA's (space walks) are fun to watch because the astronauts have helmet cameras, so you can see exactly what they're doing. And the view is incredible!

This photo was taken just before sunset over the Pacific Ocean by the Expedition 7 crew on the International Space Station. You can even see the anvil tops of thunderclouds if you look closely. Photo courtesy of NASA.