Down Time

Haven't had much to say about running lately, so I haven't been keeping up with the blog. The last few weeks have been down time as far as running goes - only some short spurts (ie about 3 miles at a time) on the treadmill since Surf the Murph. The bursitis is improving, but still noticable. I also managed to catch a little bug that was going around, so I've been a slug lately.

Been busy watching the current space shuttle mission (STS-126), which is coming to a close after 2+ weeks. Never get sick of looking at the pictures of Earth from space. I could post lots of stuff about the mission, but...this is a trail running blog ;)

Photo courtesy of NASA

Also been loading up the Ipod with some tunes to get through running on the hamster wheel over the winter. Some of my recent additions:

Cities Sampler - Vol 20. Awesome 2 disc acoustic set that typically sells out within minutes the day it goes on sale.
Tom Morello aka The Nightwatchman - Fabled City. Rage Against the Machine guitarist who displays his more acoustic side as The Nightwatchman.
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges.
The Verve - Forth. A Storm In Heaven is still my favorite disc of theirs, but this one is pretty good too.
Ray Lamontagne - Gossip In the Grain. I like his first disc Trouble the best, but this is also a great listen.
Amos Lee - Last Days at the Lodge.
Coldplay - Viva LaVida.
Joe Henry (yeah, he's Madonna's cousin) - Trampoline.

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Toughest Kid in the World

I feel a little silly complaining about some minor bursitis when I think about Nick Nelson.

Off Season Plans

Now that the trail racing season has wrapped up, it's time to start thinking about next year. I have some preliminary races in my head that I want to do for sure: Chippewa, Superior, Afton, Moose Mountain, and Wild Duluth. I'm sure others will fill in, such as Runnin' in the Ruff, Chester Woods, and In Yan Teopa. Before that, however, I need to decide on my goals for the off season, and how they will play into next season's races.

So, from now until mid-January:

R & R - but just for a week or two.
It's been a long, wonderful trail running season and I hope to still get out for an occasional fat ass run. But right now my left heel is still sore (self diagnosis = retrocalcaneal bursitis), so I need to let that heal up. I think I'll also need some new trail shoes, as I suspect that may be most of the culprit for this particular issue. And I need a mental break, so active rest (basically just doing activities for FUN rather than a specific purpose) is on the menu for the next couple of weeks.

Lose 5-10 lbs of fat.
This is actually more vague than it should be: 5 lbs is more realistic, but since I'm not overweight (I just weigh more than I ever have - thank you perimenopause), I will still be at a healthy weight whether I lose 0, 5, or 10 lbs. I will accomplish this by:

a) limiting caloric intake to 1600 +/- 100 calories per day, 5 days per week.
b) engaging in more high intensity cardio intervals (anaerobic 1x/week as well as aerobic 1x/week) to increase exercise post oxygen consumption (EPOC).
c) maintaining strength training 2-3x per week. I may combine some of this with the anerobic intervals.
d) still doing some moderate intensity aerobic exercise including cross training (running, snow shoeing, rowing, biking, stair stepping) 2-3x/week.
e) dropping the bicep curls with Summit Extra Pale Ale from my routine.

Improve flexibility.
I am about as flexible as a redwood. As trees go, redwoods are pretty pliable, but.... I am not a tree. I will accomplish this by:

a) Self myofascial release using a biofoam roller. I have 2 of them, so I can do it in my living room every day if I choose to. No excuses!
b) Yoga sounds more interesting to me than static stretching, but I don't really want to drive to the gym in the evening to get into a class (and the class schedules change frequently). I see myself sticking to this more successfully if I do it in my living room in the evening as a relaxation thing immediately following the self myofascial release. In reality, it will probably be static stretching (or the PNF stretches that I can do myself without a partner) rather than yoga most of the time, but I've gotta start doing something. Preferrably most days of the week.

Correct muscle imbalances.
We've all got 'em and I am no exception. I'll accomlish this by:

a) doing a musculoskeletal assessment on myself to dial things in more precisely and monitor how what I've been doing has been working. Good thing I do this for a living, so I know exactly what I need to do.
b) Now I just have to do it more regularly ;)

Maintain a running base.
...even if it's minimal, so that I can jump in to my planned run training schedule beginning in mid-January in preparation for the Chippewa Moraine 50K in April. Up until then, most of my running will be at an easy pace and probably under 10 miles/run depending on how the heel and knees are feeling. I have a vague idea of what my Chippewa training schedule will be once we get to mid-Jan, but will not solidify it until assessments tell me what my strengths/weaknesses are at that time. Since I am historically weakest with strength endurance, I feel pretty confident that there will be lots of hills in my future.

Enjoy the offseason!

Surf the Murph 25K

What a perfect morning for a trail run! Crystal clear skies with stars twinkling, no wind, temps in the mid-30's, frost on the grass. Got up at 5 am to make it to the trailhead for the start - about 60+ people showed up for the first "official" Surf the Murph 25/50K races (there was a fat ass last year). Bonnie and Donny wheel measured and marked the course, and Donny mentioned that he planted some animals in the woods. We lined up in the dark with head lamps and flashlights for the 7 am start, then off we went into the woods for either 2 or 4 laps of the 8-ish mile course.

It was pitch black at the start of the race, so everyone was pretty laid back with their pace. The wide trails made it easy to pass or run side by side with another runner. The first 4 miles were pretty hilly - some were steep and had loose gravel, kinda like Afton. Then we got to the previously locked gates and finally got to sample the south end of the park. [As it turns out, hikers are apparently welcome on all of the trails and the closure signs are primarily to keep horses and 4 wheelers out of certain areas of the park. They still don't want folks trespassing during nesting season for the rare bird species....it seems like the park staff could do a much better job of marking/explaining the trail closures, especially if they apply only to certain modes of travel (ie horse, bike, ATV, or feet)]. The south end was much gentler, although there were some sandy and/or rocky bits. Nice little piece of single track shortly after the 5.5 mile aid station - I think that was probably my favorite part of the course.

I ended up running a liesurely pace with Wayne for the entire 25K distance, then he continued on for another 2 laps. It's nice to have company during longish runs - makes the hours and miles fly by! We saw 2 white tail deer bound across the trail directly in front of us, then a pair of wild turkeys later in the day. Thanks for the animals Donny ;)

My finish time for the 25K was one of my slowest, but I really didn't care. I wasn't pushing at all - just enjoying a great morning in the woods. I'm glad I didn't continue with the 50K as my left heel was getting pretty sore. Not sure what that's about - perhaps it's time for some new shoes.

Thanks to RD Les & Cindy and all of the volunteers for a great event in a beautiful park! I hope to be back with my snow shoes in a couple of months!

Change of Plans

As much as I'd hoped to pull off my first ultra this fall, I've decided to cut back to the 25K distance at Surf the Murph this weekend. Mainly because of lackluster training since Moose Mountain and a jam packed schedule this Saturday - and I want to be able to attend and enjoy ALL of my Saturday events!

And, frankly, I'm a little mentally burned out.

See you on the trail....

2008 MN Trail Run Series Revisited

I did it. I shot the moon and ran all 12 of the 2008 MN Trail Run Series races along with Wayne, Jim, and John. What a whirlwind it was! It seems like just a few weeks ago we were all lined up at the early spring races, wondering how to dress for the weather while tromping through snow and mud. Then heat and humidity. Now tripping over rocks and roots covered by leaf litter. I thought it would be fun to think back about some of the highlights from each race:

Trail Mix - I was so excited to see my running buddies after a long winter of slogging on the hamster wheel! We were gathering for the start, all wondering how to dress for the 40ish degree temps on a cloudy, windy day. Most of us decided on shorts, and we all had pasty white legs ;)

Runnin' In the Ruff - Two things really stand out about this one: the ankle deep shoe stealing mud with knee deep water on top of it, and running directly under a bald eagle nest with both parents present. A very windy day - all of us were huddled together on one side of the picnic shelter waiting for the awards and door prizes. Keith scored some home made chocolate pecan bark, Wayne got a martini mix, and Kate got the coveted pink garden hose. Oh, and Steve suffered the first of what would turn out to be a long string of injuries by rolling his ankle.

Superior 25K - Beautiful double rainbow over Lake Superior the evening before the race. Race day was very windy, and there were A LOT of blown down trees on the course - one of which I became stuck on. A few days later, one of the Lutsen condos that some runners stayed in burned to the ground.

Chester Woods - Man, I have never run in a down pour like the one that occurred during this race! It was so dark in the woods I felt like I needed a flashlight, and I had to keep tugging my water logged shorts back up before they fell off. The Burma Shave signs and post race dill pickles were fun, and legendary running coach Segred Levert stuck around to chat 'til the very end.

Sour Grapes - I ended up being in a sour mood for Sour Grapes since my neighbors had an all night party the night before and I didn't sleep. At. All. This was the race where I learned who the 4 runners who were trying to "shoot the moon" were - Wayne, Jim, and John in addition to myself.

Afton - Last year's run was my first trail race, so I had a time to beat. And I didn't, even though I felt like I ran much stronger. Bummer.

SMU Trail Scamper - What a fun little low key race! Just the 4 of us "moon shooters" and the first time I saw Adam all season - Jim and Adam both won age group awards. Put on by the SMU student athletes, they had a last minute land dispute which forced them to change the course from a 4 mile to a 5K just a few days prior to the race. I'm glad I didn't know about the timber rattlers that were on the course until after the race.

Days of Old Track and Trail - really fun trail when we finally got to the trail - unfortunately that was only about half of the race while the other half was running on dirt roads or along the shoulder of a highway to get to the trail. Lots of UMTR folks showed up for this one, so it was a fun social event.

Moose Mountain Marathon - This was the one I was looking forward to all season. It didn't disappoint, even though the trail seemed to be overrun by bees. An awesome race held on one of the most beautiful trails on Earth. Did I mention the bees?

Mpls Trail Loppet - With all of the trails in Wirth Park, I was hoping to run on more dirt rather than busted up concrete, old asphalt, or a sidewalk parallel to a freeway.

In Yan Teopa - I'd done this one last year too, so I had another time to beat. This time I did it. Very pretty run! Jim gave us a little scare by taking a scenic detour to get to the race and almost lost his bid for shooting the moon.

Big Woods - The final race of the series! Wish I had a picture of the sunrise in the dense fog - it was surreal. Another very pretty run through rolling, open woods with nice fall colors.

Thanks to those who shared the trail with me during this epic journey. What a ride!

Big Woods Half Marathon

The final race of the 2008 MN Trail Run Series is in the books! Today was the Big Woods Half Marathon that was run (mostly) in Nerstrand State Park, on a picture perfect fall day.

Got up early and headed down for the race in thick fog - the sunrise was surreal. Race headquarters were located at a church about a mile from the park, and the place was buzzing with runners and lots of cheerful volunteers. Got the table set up to recruit more members to the awesome Upper Midwest Trail Runners club and then got ready to line up for the start next to the cemetary. It was a cool morning - mid 30's at start time - and the fog was starting to burn off and give way to abundant sunshine.

The half marathon and 10K runners started together, and there were A LOT of us! The first mile was run on a paved road to get to the park, then we were off into the woods! I had no idea how many aid stations there would be (or where), so I opted to bring the Nathan vest instead of a hand held. As it turns out, there were several aid stations serving water and Gatoraid, the first at about mile 1, so a hand held would have been fine.

Soon after entering the woods, the 10K and half marathon runners parted ways. The half marathon course was billed as a hilly run, but other than a couple of noticable hills I found it to be rather flat. My garmin measured only 2136 feet of total elevation gain/loss for the entire 13.1 miles.

Very pretty course through open woods, the trail twisted and turned over gently rolling terrain. I had my camera tucked into my Nathan vest and was hoping to get some pictures of peak fall colors, but we were about a week too late. Lots of leaves on the ground which covered the roots - I saw more people take diggers during this race than any other all season! Someone must have gotten dinged up because a 4 wheeler pulling a rescue cart passed us on the trail.

I felt like I was making good progress for about the first 6 miles, then was starting to feel a little crampy. My hands were also swelling, so I took some Endurolytes. I had decided that since it was cool (and I'd had all summer to get acclimated to heat, which also results in more efficient sodium retention), Endurolytes would be sufficient rather than S caps. Big mistake! I was also noticing a blister forming on the ball of my right foot even though I've been wearing the same shoe/sock combo for more than a year. WTF? Wayne passed me around this time, and I had to start slowing to a walk for most of the uphills - even the gentle ones - to avoid cramping. More meandering through the twisting trail, then up one of the noteworthy hills with the "cheer leader of the year" shouting encouragement to all of the runners.

Popped out onto a gravel road where we had to do a little loop up and around a cone before trotting back for another short section in the woods. Finally we returned to the paved road for the last mile back to the church. There was a pretty stiff headwind by now - I hadn't noticed the wind at all in the woods. The ol' feet and legs were feeling a little crampy, so my progress was way slower than it should have been and I was getting passed by several people. I kept thinking that I am in big trouble with a 50K on the schedule in just 2 weeks and I'm limping in for a half marathon!

Finally got to the finish and met up with the usual cast of characters for the post race chat. We had a sit down lunch with soup, bread, cookies, bananas and oranges at the church - tomato vegetable soup never tasted so good!

Special thanks and congrats to RD Mark Bongers and ALL of the many, many, cheerful volunteers that helped to put on a great race!