Dubya Tee Eff?

2010 has been a very odd year thus far.

After basically taking the winter off and then tweaking my Achilles in March, I'd really planned on getting some decent miles in the last couple of months. April was unseasonably warm and things were healing nicely. May started out pretty much the same way.

On May 8 while many of my friends were at Ice Age, I headed out to Afton for the first time this year (saw John P for the first time in awhile). Running on flat trails was going well and it was time to test the Achilles on hills. You never really know for sure if an Achilles injury is fully healed until you get some vertical miles in. Ran the Africa Loop and the Back 40 in mid-30 temps with a rain/snow mix. WTF? We haven't had any snow all of March and April, and now it decides to snow? I'd hoped to also get in Nigel's Hill and Campground Hill, but wasn't dressed appropriately for the "spring" weather. Cut it short at about 7 miles.

On May 16, I went back out to Afton while most of my friends were running Superior (saw Tom sans Nancy). One of the best things about running at Afton is I always see someone I know. Anyhoo, the plan was for a few loops of Nigel's & Campground Hills to get the aforementioned vertical miles in. Holy crap, it was humid! I felt very overheated after just one loop and pulled the plug early - only got about 6ish miles. WTF? Last week it was snowing and now I feel like I'm at Badwater.

Last Sunday I ended up at Hyland for what I hoped would finally be some double digit miles. Nope! The heat and humidity had me melting to the point of feeling sick to my stomach - done after only 6 miles. WTF? Done after six at Hyland?

This isn't exactly primo ultra training folks. I'm not even sure I dare sign up for the 10 miler at Chester Woods in 2 weeks - they might need a calendar instead of a watch to get my time. I'm glad I only committed to the 25K at Afton, and I'm thinking that the 50 miler at North Country is going to be an epic suffering session unless I can get things turned around in a hurry.

I've got a 4 day weekend coming up - not sure where I'll be running yet.

February Update

It's been awhile.

Haven't been doing any trail running, but have been doing lots of short barefoot runs on an indoor track. Only ran in shoes twice this month! Feels great, but is taking longer than I'd hoped to transition to longer mileage. Trying to be patient and not do anything stupid ;)

With the shorter mileage, I've also managed to put on a few pounds over the last 4 months since I've continued to eat as if I were still hammering out 20+ mile runs every weekend. Peri-menopause doesn't help in that regard either.

Been trying to eat healthier, as in more natural foods and in better combinations (ie veggies, good fats, protein, and carbs at every meal). This all came to mind after watching Food, Inc.and then listening to a dietician from Nutritional Weight and Wellness give a presentation. Even "good" carbs break down to sugar and result in insulin spikes when eaten alone, which in turn can affect blood cholesterol levels, inflammation, sleep quality, yadayadayada. Trader Joe's has an awesome natural peanut butter with roasted flax seeds (the almond butter with flax is pretty good too), and I've found a few local places that sell free range/grass fed meat, organic eggs, etc. Also found some awesome wheat berry and quinoa recipes :)

I've been enjoying watching the Olympics, though I seem to hear the results before I get to see the events, which kind of spoils it. I used to participate in alpine ski racing (the major source of my current knee problems), so those events are my favorite.

Still not sure what races I'll be doing this year - the column on the right side of the page will most likely change. Probably at the last minute in many cases. North Country 50 mile is the only race I've officially entered at this point, and I'll combine that with a family visit.

Can't wait for spring!

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.

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.

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.

Tenderfoot

As I mentioned in my Trail Mix report, I had some trouble with the muscles in my feet cramping during Saturday's trail race. Not my calves - my feet. I believe that this was caused by fatigue of muscles that simply don't get used very efficiently when running exclusively on paved paths or the hamster wheel, especially when constantly encased in shoes. There is a fair amount of peer reviewed research to support the notion that today's running shoes may contribute to many of the overuse injuries incurred by runners (feel free to do your own research using the Highwire link provided under "training aids"), and running barefoot allows your body to work the way it was designed. In the past I've never had problems transitioning from asphalt to dirt, probably because I was rock climbing on a regular basis (very effective strengthener of intrinsic muscles in feet!). Since I haven't been climbing much at all this past year and Trail Mix was only my second time off road this spring, things didn't go heavenly on Saturday as far as the tootsies were concerned. Anyhoo, I already knew about the potential benefits of running barefoot, but was too chicken to actually try going sans shoes outdoors - until I found out about Vibram Five Fingers KSO's from Keith.

Vibram Five Fingers KSO with Injinji socks

Took 'em out for their maiden voyage on the dirt paths at Bredesen Park this afternoon, and...WooHoo! Got to run through puddles, on soft dirt, asphalt, over twigs (ouch) and rocks (ouch), grass, etc. Still have tender feet! I only went about 2 and a half miles - my forefeet were starting to feel mildly bruised, but I expect that I just need to get used to actually feeling the terrain that I'm running on. Calves weren't tired at all. And my feet felt light as air (unlike Saturday at Trail Mix wearing clunkers that collected mud).

Oh, and the trees are budding, and turtles are popping up on logs in the ponds. It's officially spring!

Chain of Lakes

With all of the soggy, frozen, muddy, etc trail conditions being reported, I opted to do a 13 miler around the Mpls chain of lakes today. Game plan: park near Calhoun, head to Harriet, come back to Calhoun, take the Lake of the Isles detour, and do another lap around Calhoun. Almost exactly 13 miles.

Here's what really happened:
Slept like crap - woke up around 2:30 am and tossed and turned until it started getting light out. Finally crashed and got up around 10 am. By the time I ate breakfast, got dressed, yadayadayada, it was almost noon before I got to Lake Calhoun. Beautiful spring weather, with the temps already mid-50's. Realize that I am waaaaaaayyyyyy over dressed (shorts and t-shirt would have been ideal; I was in running tights and Under Armor winter gear mock T-neck). Being one of the first warm days of the year - and on a Saturday no less - at least half of the population of Mpls was also out enjoying the still frozen lakes.

Started out along the west side of Calhoun as planned. The dirt track next to the asphalt is in great shape - past the muddy stage. Took the detour over to Harriet - pretty crowded there too. More strollers - probably because it's the lake with the Elf Tree. BTW, the Elf Tree's door is pretty dinged up. Poor little fella...he's probably still at the winter cabin. Still some spotty snow pack on the path at the south end of the lake in the Elf neighborhood. Back over to Calhoun, north along the east side and the detour to Isles. Finally, an uncrowded path. A brand spankin' new path, with deep mud surrounding the path on all sides. They did a bunch of path reconstruction over the past few years, and grass has still not been replanted. Went back to Calhoun figuring that by now the crowds have probably thinned and I'll do one more lap. Wrong. Even more people have come! Picture Get in Gear where half of the people bring their dog. By the time I got back to my car, I couldn't stand the crowds anymore and pulled the plug. Only did 9.9 miles, but I felt a little gassed, overheated, and my knees were sore. Also starving, since I never ate lunch.

Knees have been pretty achy this week - especially after a 9 mile run on the treadmill this past Tuesday - and they are still buggin' me even now. I don't know why, but the treadmill really gets to my knees. Hopefully I can do a longer run outside on Tuesday since 10 miles is the longest I've managed so far this year and my first 25K is in 2 weeks. Yikes!

Sounds like we will be getting an all day rain tomorrow, which should melt a lot of the stubborn snow that's been hanging around. Actually, I think we are supposed to get rain every other day all next week.

Only 2 weeks 'til Trail Mix - I may need to bring a snorkel ;)

After 6 months of winter, I can't wait to get back in the dirt and see my trail running buddies!

Playin' Hooky

We are finally having some bona fide beach weather today - 46 degrees! Above zero. I snuck out for a quick 4 miler and ran through puddles of snow melt while bunches of robins were flitting around. First batch of robins I've seen this year!

OK - gotta go see another client....