A Trail Run

Finally!

Got out to Hyland Lake yesterday for my first trail run since Surf the Murph last Nov 1. Did 3 laps of an abbreviated version of the Trail Mix course for a total of 18.2 miles.

As far as trail conditions go, I thought they were in very good shape considering it's late March. Almost all of the snow is gone with just a few small stubborn patches that don't really matter. I got there early enough that the air temps were still below freezing, so my first loop went fairly easy. As time went on and the temps got warmer, the mud began to thaw so that the second and third loops were progressively muddier. Still, the trails are very runnable, and in many places are dry and in excellent shape!

Felt good to be out in the woods listening to the woodpeckers, geese, and all the other birds and critters.

Sick of Winter

The title of this post says it all! With all of the cyclic snow melting and refreezing on a daily basis, I figure we'll have pot holes big enough to water ski on in another week.

Since I don't like running on ice or the treadmill, I've really been struggling to get motivated for long training runs. As a result, Chippewa is shaping up to be a power hike/death march rather than a trail race next month. Longest run to date since Surf the Murph last November was only 16 miles a week and a half ago, and similar to a 13 miler the week before, the bottoms of my feet were really sore after about only 12 miles or so - almost felt like they were bruised. I've even been running in new Mizuno Waveriders, my road shoe of choice for the past 7-8 years, so I thought I was going crazy! Then I got the latest issue of Run Minnesota published by MDRA which had this to say about the new Waveriders in their spring shoe review:

"The Waverider alternates between being a performance shoe and a midweight training shoe. Version 12 has slimmed down to a Performance weight (under 340 grams). The midsole is noticeably thinner. The ride is more responsive, which is good for lighter runners and shorter runs, but on longer runs, testers noted that it seemed a bit less cushioned than earlier Waveriders."

I'd say that review is spot on!

Hopefully the trails are starting to thaw out so I can run on nice, soft mud instead of pounding the asphalt. Either that or I'm going to have to head back over to TC Running for road shoes that can handle a few miles.

This weekend I'll be doing my annual stretching gig at the MDRA 7 Mile in Hopkins on Saturday morning, so Sunday is looking more likely for a longer run. We'll see.

First Week of March

...went so-so, but not as good as I would have liked on the running front. I am really behind in my base building and am starting to panic a little about Chippewa. Only got 20+ miles in this week, and that has actually been one of my better weeks this winter :(

Mon: cross training on bike and elliptical, strength training upper body
Tues: 5 miles on the hamster wheel with a couple tempo run miles and a couple hill miles at a brisk walk
Wed: strength training legs
Thurs: man my legs are sore after yesterday's 5 set squat pyramid. Nada.
Fri: legs still sore, strength training upper body
Sat: 13.5 miles around the Lakes. Was kinda wishful thinking for 16, but my last "long" run was only 13 and that was a month ago before I got sick for 2 weeks. Thirteen felt harder than it should have, and my feet were killing me. Reminded me why I run trails instead of pounding the asphalt. On an up note, I finally found the perfect combination for carrying water on a long run!
Sun: strength training upper body and a short 2 mile tempo run on the treadmill. Heel bursitis is holding up pretty well - about 99% healed. I was pleased to be able to run today without any problems after a relatively longish run yesterday that left my heel a little sore.

I'm really looking forward to spring so that I don't have to choose between treadmill vs ice! And I really, really need to get out on trails to start some serious hill training (up AND down) in addition to ramping up the mileage.

Snow Shoeing at RTA

What a perfect day to be outside!! My biggest dilemma this morning was to decide what to do and where to do it. I knew that Alicia and the Afton regulars were having a snow shoe fat ass and potluck at Afton State Park which was extremely tempting. Then Brad from the MN Dead Runners list posted an open invite to join him at RTA with a local Eden Prairie reporter doing a story on snow shoe running. A few others were planning on a 50K fat ass through the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul. And yet someone else wanted to go snow shoeing at some park I've never heard of.

After a few sleepless nights at the end of this past work week, I decided not to set my alarm and just let nature take it's course. Woke up about 7:30 to see that temps were 3 degrees. (Heavy sigh). After futzing around waiting for the temperature to rise and trying to decide what I was going to do, I ended up heading out to RTA for my first round of snow shoeing all winter. Can you believe it? It's March Eve and I'm finally getting around to snow shoeing :)

Got out to RTA at about 10:30 to find absolutely nobody there. Apparently, not too many people joined Brad this morning as I only saw 2 sets of snow shoe tracks. The snow was perfect. About 6-8 inches of fresh fluff, clear blue skies, sunshine, and no wind.

When I got to the top of the biggest hill overlooking Hwy 212, I had unmarked snow and got to make first tracks. The snow was a little thinner and kind of crunchy, but still plenty of cover for the Red Feathers.

I probably would have been better off trying to get a longish run in rather than snoe shoeing, especially since I'm waaaay behind on my mileage after picking up a stomach bug last week, but the trails had too much snow for shoes and I fear that the running paths were probably glare ice.

I'm glad I had a day to be outside enjoying the North Woods. Happy March!

This 'n That

Got in another build up run yesterday... 13+ miles around Lakes Calhoun (twice), Harriet, and Lake of the Isles. Great weather 2 weekends in a row! For such a low key run, my legs felt more tired than they should have :( Makes me a little nervous with Chippewa only 2 and a half months away. The heel is doing "OK" with the longer runs, but still doesn't like hills.

I've also been doing some short barefoot runs on an indoor track 1-2 times/week, which doesn't do much for increasing my running base (at least in terms of miles), but does help strengthen the intrinsic muscles in the feet and lower legs. Since I haven't been running on trails, this is a great benefit! And it feels great to run without the weight of shoes!

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Even though I'm feeling a little panic about getting ready for Chippewa, I found myself poking around the internet this weekend looking at 50 mile races. Not for this year, but within the next 2, possibly next year depending on how things go this summer.

Things to consider:
*Time of year (I don't like winter running, so putting in high mileage during those months probably wouldn't go well).
*Location (closer to home is cheaper and easier than having to fly somewhere, but not a deal breaker).
*Cut off times (I'm slow. And have NO experience pacing myself at this distance. Generous cut-offs would be an advantage; however, courses with generous cut-offs usually have them for a reason: they are much more demanding).
*Altitude - we don't have any here ;)
*Total elevation (hillier courses are harder and take longer).
*Trail type (singletrack is my favorite by a large margin. Not interested in a road run - or dirt road run).
*Course type (I prefer point to point or out and back rather than loops).

Of the races I'm aware of, my impression is that Voyageur and Superior are pretty darn tough for a slow first timer. Ice Age, Glacial, and Mohican are probably in the moderate category. Lean Horse sounds like one of the easier runs, but also sounds like it's more on dirt roads rather than trails? Bighorn is intriguing - I'll have to get more info from runners who've done it since we can't really prepare for high altitude or extended downhills/uphills in these parts. Rocky Raccoon has very generous cut-offs for the 50 and looks to be non-technical singletrack, but would require more travel and winter running than I really want.

So, any suggestions for a first time 50?

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I'm wondering how Carl did on his 100 miler at Rocky Raccoon this weekend?

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I rediscovered some music that I've had for ages and forgot I had: Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It's like getting new stuff without having to buy it :)

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Spring Tease

Well, I finally got my wimpy self outside for a run today - a 10 miler around Lakes Calhoun, Harriet, and Isles. The weather was positively spring like with sunny skies and the temp around 40! That's more than 60 degrees warmer than it was a couple of weeks ago.

The Lakes were busy with lots of activities: ice fishing, wind surfing on skis (not sure what it's really called), cross country skiing, hockey, ice skating, and mountain biking on ice. Oh, and lots of walkers/runners on the paths. The City of Lakes Loppet ski race was going on at Lake of the Isles as well as some type of mountain bike event out on the frozen lake.

It was a nice way to end January :)

Today's run was my longest since Surf the Murph on Nov 1 and my heels were a little sore after the run. Hopefully the bursitis won't rear it's ugly head again since I really need to get my mileage up and some hill work in for Chippewa, which is less than 3 months away. Yikes!

Good luck to all of the brave souls who will toe the line for the toughest race in Minnesota this Monday - the Arrowhead 135. You don't sign up for this race - you apply.

Facebook

Seems like a lot of the MN trail runners are also on Facebook!

Who knew?

Feel free to look me up - I post cool exercises to try (that may or may not have anything to do with trail running) every once in awhile.