Faster

Another treadmill workout for me today, as we got about 2 inches more of snow and it's still coming down. I drove by the high school track today, to scout it out for a potential long run on Sunday, and it's untouched! Nobody has been out on it! That might be to my advantage, spend a few laps getting a path beat down in the snow, and then get some miles in!

Back to the treadmill. I walked a mile, and noticed that I was able to walk a bit faster than my normal speed. Hmm. Is the interval treadmill work helping? I'm noticing when I push it, at a pace faster than I normally go at, bumping up the pace doesn't adversely affect me.
So I did some interval/incline preprogrammed work on the treadmill, then walked another mile. 15.11 for me. Now, that may be really slow for you, walking, but that's been at a speed where my short little legs (29 inch inseam) has had to break into a trot. Am I improving my leg turnover? Is this endless treadmill season being beneficial to me? It seems like, YES!!!

Quilt

Isn't this awesome? My mom made this for me, a combo Christmas/birthday present!!

45 minutes of various interval programs on the treadmill for me today.

6 Hour Rogaine Planned!

Okay, getting things finalized... going to run a Rogaine with

my beloved Mikey the first week end of February.

What's a ROGAINE you ask? Well, one, it's usally a hair application applied to balding scalps, which does work BTW..

Second definition: Rugged Outdoor Group Activities Including Navigation and Endurance i.e. ROGAINE. We'll have points set up that we have to navigate and run to, using compasses.

I need to learn how to use a compass, and requested a compass for my birthday present. We spent about one hour this morning briefing me on the compass, how to use a topo map, the features of a topo map, and how to walk a heading or whatever it was called. I'm going to need more education and experience with a compass and map, since I have my Appalachian Crossing in September. So a ROGAINE event in February should be great training toward this!

Chilly Run

Today was supposed to be a 20 mile run at Lake Park, on the bike trail, in Coshocton, the town that I work in. As I loaded up my vehicle with my supplies, I noticed my sidewalk was pretty icy, since it was back to 20 degrees. I threw my trail shoes with the screws in at the last moment-smartest move of the day.

When I got to Lake Park, I switched immediately to the trail shoes. While the bike trail was pretty free of snow, all that water from the awesome warm day of Friday had frozen, making patches of ice all over the trail. If I hadn't had my trail shoes the run would have been impossible.
There was one person walking their dog when I started, and then I had the park to myself, just me and the ducks.
I started out in a windshirt and a knit cap. By one four mile rotation through the trails, I was sweating. I stopped at the vehicle and removed the windshirt and cap. I started up the trail again and got right into some wind, and then went back to the vehicle and added another long sleeve shirt. That seemed a little better.
As I ran endless rounded in Lake Park, changing up the course, I reflected I've become a little mentally tougher with repetitive routes. In my training for my first ultra, a 50K in 2004, I ran almost exclusively here in Lake Park. I became sick to death of the place and would dread doing the same loops over and over. Now, I just simply deal with it. It doesn't really bother me to do the same route again and again. It's just another thing to deal with, if you don't make it a big deal, it won't become a big deal and a detriment to training. Lake Park is a good, safe place to run at, especially when the bike trail is clear.

This was interesting. (And I didn't spot it on the previous 3 runs past it.)

This big black bird, motionless in the tree. A crow. How did it die? In the tree? Yes, it's stuck up there in the tree. Natural causes? Did it hit a plane? Was it an old crow and just it's time to go?

I wasn't running as fast as I wanted to. The icy sections were slowing me down. There is a bridge that I use to cross the Walhonding River, which was about six inches of pure rutted icy. This was a walking section through here!

(bridge in warmer days)

As I continued my run, I checked my watch and saw I wasn't going to get my 20 miles in my allotted time for the run, and I decided one last loop out past the softball fields and I would call it good. Although the temperature was about 20 degrees F, the wind was really nippy. My upper arms were really cold for some reason. I didn't want to lose my core temperature to the wind though, and stopped at 13 miles. A good workout in the cold temperatures. I'm really looking forward to spring!

Mood Enhancement!!

I don't know if the temperatures got this high or not, but it was still in the 40's when I exited the hospital promptly at three thirty. To my surprise lots of snow was gone. I was happy to see the bike trails at Lake Park were actually bare. I made the decision to do my long run there on Saturday instead of the high school track as planned.

I ran a mile on the bike trail, then crossed the road and got back on my beloved little trail!! In the first thirty feet, I scared up three deer that were bedded down not two feet off the trail. They didn't go far. In fact, one deer was lame, and only hobbled about ten feet away from me. Of course I didn't bring my camera on this run!

On this side of the hill, the snow was melted off more. I scared up six more deer as I climbed up toward the golf course. Then, as I rounded the hill, I was then on the north side, with considerable more snow fall. This was actually hard to walk uphill in. The snow was very slippery, and I really had to dig in.

I cross the golf course, which is on the top of the hill. I paused and looked around. The sun was shining at this moment; not a soul around. The white golf course was only marred by the hundreds of little deer trails criss-crossing the course. I savored this beautiful midwinter moment, grateful for the respite from our two weeks of cold.

I haven't been on this trail since November. There were several huge tree blowdowns. Some had been cleared from the trail, others I had to detour around.
The biggest detour was around a bridge. A bridge had been built across a very steep ravine. A tree had uprooted and crashed down the hill, taking the bridge with it. I had to do a careful crawl through some mud to get across the ravine. A bridge down doesn't stop a trail runner!!

This was a greatly needed run. Although I had just run a 50K trail on Sunday, that seemed like so long ago. Maybe it was also the warmer temps today that really put a great spin on this run!

Cross Training!

Finally my husband deemed the pond frozen through for me to skate on. This was the first time I've been on skates in 12 years or longer.
The first steps were kind of wobbly, but I quickly got the rhymthn back. I didn't accomplish skating backwards; I could kind of do it, but need a little more time on the skates for that.
The triple axel will have to wait until next week.

Pics from the 50K

Buckeye Trail 50K Report-Life is Good

I woke up at 315 am-"this was a dumb idea". The dumb idea was getting in some extra miles before the 50K race. Of course, staying in the nice warm bed was the good idea..but I was out the door by 430am. On the radio, Joe Walsh came on singing "Life is Good" and was back to ready to get on the trails.

I got started about five am. I started on the Pine Lane Loop because I knew that trail better. A few more inches of snow had fallen, but not enough to really change the trail conditions. The trail was well covered and rutty. I knew the trail would evolve over the course of the day due to the temps and the hundred or so intrepid runners out there.

We had gotten *lucky* and the race started in the 20's, and it didn't move from there. I ran the Pine Lane Loop and almost got back to the Boston Store for the start of the race. As I ran through the line I was about five minutes past starting time. I started down the "easier" loop (The Brandywine Falls) and tried to catch up with the 50K runners. I wasn't sure how long this loop was.

The runners started to come back at me, Dave Peterman in the lead with a close pack just a few minutes back. I whipped out my camera to snap some pics of everybody while everyone was still fresh!

I never did catch the 50K runners, and headed back to Pine Lane. On this loop the aid station was open (I was too early on my early start) and I shot the breeze for 5 or 10 minutes with Bob, who owns property down my way. Then I decided I really should get down the trail!

As the day went on I saw more and more tired faces out there. The very slow trail conditions were tiring; the trail was uneven, you really had to watch your feet. I realized my neck was very stiff and my back was stiff. I tried to straighten and not hunch over so much, but I was still trying to get the best possible tracking.

As I hit the Brandywines Fall AS for the second time, I realized I wasn't going to be able to get any extra miles in. With the time limit of 430pm, I would be good to get another Pine Lane Loop in, and that would be my 50K!

As I was heading back toward the Boston Store, Dave Peterman passed me, going in for his win. Then, just a few minutes back, was my neighborhor, Gabe Rainwater, chasing Dave down!

There was few folks left on the trail. Some would stop at the marathon mark; others I knew would go on for their 50K race.

I felt good out here on this run. I ate well and hydrated. I really wasn't too tired nor did my ankles ache as bad as they did on the Buckeye Trail two weeks ago.

I finished up and got my AWESOME finisher's jacket and some equally awesome chili!

Big Thanks to Tanya Cady for another well run and organized and caring race. Thank you to all the great volunteers for giving us their day and staying out in the cold weather all day!


I have some good pics to upload, I will get to them tomorrow!!

I'm here!

Just haven't been blogging. Had the dickens of a time getting over this cold. Took last Thursday and Friday off from work. Went to WV for the weekend, for the annual meeting of the West Virginia Trail Runners Club. Had a wonderful time, as always, but even skipped the run there, due to my cold.

Got on the treadmill Tuesday, blew off Wednesday's workout, then actually got my 4 miles in on the treadmill today. Felt good to get the speed up to a decent pace.

I apologize for turning on the word verification! I got hit with robot spam all of a sudden, and turned it on this morning. I'll shut it off again soon, because I hate doing the word verfication myself.

Looking forward to the Buckeye Trail 50K Race on Sunday. Sounds like the race itself may turn into an epic adventure. I know how to take care of myself during long cold workouts; I hope the newbies on the Winter BT route will get advice from folks and garb themselves accordingly.

Guess what

I'm sick again. This time it's a head cold. Ugggh!!!

I stayed home from work today. Rather than go and be miserable AND infect everyone there, I stayed here. I'm feeling massively guilty of course, for not really doing anything here.

Man I hate being sick~!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Don't just count your years; make your years
count
-Ernest Meyers

Eating on the Run

Nope, this is not about grabbing that muffin or piece of toast as you head out to work, this is about eating while running!

Maybe a better title would be "Planning your Run: Nutrition and Hydration".

This subject came to mind because I now know of three friends who did not plan their needs out over runs this past weekend!

So for those of you who don't know any better, maybe this will help.

Ok. You've got a long training run planned. Twenty miles or so. First thing, you need to know where your water sources can be. This weekend, I knew there was water 4 miles into the run, and then somewhere *farther* down the trail. I chose to run with 2 water bottles. When I got close to my water stop, I made sure I drained one water bottle.

I've seen people come into AS with water still in their bottles. People, you need to drink that water! And then get a complete refill! You are always better off with the water inside of your body than hanging outside in a little bottle.


As I continued down the trail, I drained a water bottle and started on the second. I was around mile 13 into my run, which was an out and back. I started thinking about my water alternatives if the water source didn't materialize. (I was not sure where the stables were on this trail.) Snow is an option. I've done that before, stuffed it into a bottle. Second option was some creeks. Now, drinking water from unknown sources is always a crap shoot. It should be avoided about at all costs. But that was option # 2 if I needed it bad enough. Well, I found water at mile 14 and all was well.

If you can, at all, on a run on new trails, figure out where your water supply can be. Where you could drop a water bottle or Gatorade. Or suck it up and carry a bunch of water on your back.

FOOD

I am never without food. I make sure I have plenty with me. I've gone on short trail runs in West Virginia with enough food to sustain me for several days if I ate sparingly. But you never know what you might encounter out there. It's best to have the food and get it into your body then experience the "bonk" of low blood sugar.

How to carry? Stuff it into your pockets, your pack. Be inventive. Pin candy bars inside your shirt.

My handheld water bottle has a small pocket on it. I managed to cram 2 PayDay bars (the mini size) into it. I had my usual waist pack on. In that pocket, I had one pack of ClifBlok Shots, 1 PayDay bar, two Fig Newmans (leftover from the last long trail run) and one Hammergel. I also attached a clipon pouch that held my camera, small bag of jellybeans, and some chocolate espresso beans. I also had Hammergel in a flask. I stuffed that into an iPod carrying case that strapped around my upper arm. Overkill? Well, I was out there for almost ten hours. I had just a small amount of Hammergel left in my flask and a few espresso beans, I did eat everything else.
Oh wait, I just remembered I had tucked a Clif Fruit Twist into the sleeve on my running shirt and didn't eat that. But that was somewhere else to store stuff. If your sleeves are tight enough, you can tuck items into your sleeves. This is where my gloves go when my hands get too hot. This is also where my trash usually goes too as I finish eating.

So really, it's just a matter of planning out your run before hand. If you are running loops to your car, set up your next set of food before the run. That way, you can grab your food and go! Put the chips into plastic bags, divvy up your jellybeans, have your stuff ready to go.

So that's my take on eating on the run!

I've actually gotten workouts in on both Sunday and today. Sunday was 4 miles walking on the treadmill, trying to flush the lactic acid out of my quads, plus a bootcamp workout from SparkPeople. Today was 30 minutes walking/jogging and another video bootcamp workout from SparkPeople.

Buckeye Trail 50K FA Run

This was, officially, the Art Moore FA Run. It traditionally takes place on the Rocky River Reservation, in Cleveland. But it's run on asphalt trails. So when Pebble and I were together, after the URINEO FA, he mentioned he was going to run on the BT instead of the traditional course, I said hell ya! and joined him.

It turns out

Rob and Michelle also have the same idea of not running on asphalt, although they show up early, as they are planning on getting 50 miles in!

Brian and I wait for Michelle and Rob to return to the vehicles, and we start off from Pine Lane trailhead. We are going toward the Boston Store, and then follow the BT.

It's a beautiful morning for a run, a little cold, in the 20's, with the forecast of a high around 30. I'm wearing a new mask for my mouth, and this one seems to actually work. My excercised induced asthma really kicks in after hours outside, but this mask is loose enough to not choke me, and I do keep on on my face for at least more than half the run.








I stopped for this shot and a bathroom break, and that was almost the last I saw of Brian, Michelle, and Rob for the day! I did see them on some hills on the Pine Lane section, but then that was it!

I was heading downhill, almost done with Pine Lane, when two deer meandered over the trail in front of me. You could tell these deer lived in the Cuyahoga Valley (no hunting_) National Park because they didn't fear me at all. So I fumbled to get the camera out and snapped a shot.



I encountered a few runners on this section too, none that I knew, except some woman yelled "you're training for Burning River, right? I read your blog!" Which amused me. Back in the day, it creeped me out that I was identified from the blog, now I'm just used to it, and take it as quite a compliment!

I hit Boston Store, with its "always open" heated restrooms and topped off my water. I think I scared a few "day runners" with my garb. One runner said " you look like you're off for a long run today" and I shot back "yeah, just 50K today, training run". He looked properly awed/amazed. Or so that's what I believe!

This next section of the Buckeye Trail, I have ran parts of before, but it's been a few years, so lots of it seemed new. There were some very runnable parts of the trai, which I thought was great! After Slim Pickins, this trail seemed very well mangeable.




As I kept going, I kept an eye on my water supply. I was carrying two handhelds, for 40 oz total. I had drank one dry, and the second bottle was half gone. Brian had mentioned he thought we could get water at the Bridle Stables, but not being from the area, I wasn't sure where I would encounter these. I had already decided to run either 15 miles out; or run until noon and then turn. I didn't want to be on the trail after dark since I had no light.




I was just contemplating some snow for my water bottle when I saw big buildings right off the trail. It was the stables and there was water! I refilled, rearranged clothing, and went a short way down the trail. I stopped at mile 14, around 1140am, and decided to turn back and run. I could make up the extra miles when I was back at my vehicle.




I bonked myself around 18 miles. I think I fell behind my calories. I know I was dehydrated due to the limited amount of water available. I was getting the crabbies, unlike the Trail Goddess usual happy disposition!

A little bit of it was the trail conditions. This well used trail had frozen, which meant there were many sections that were mud, which had now frozen into ruts. My ankles were getting quite the workout. In fact, by the time I hit the vehicles, one one foot was aching badly from wear and tear.

I was quite happy when I hit Boston Store again, after all, it was only 4 miles back to the trailhead at Pine Lane. On this section of course, I started the wimping..well, I'll have 28 miles in, isn't that good enough? And if was one of my NEO Trail Club members, that answered this question for me. I could see Slim's face, saying "Oh Kimba, you only ran 28? That's no ultra. Why didn't you run 31 miles? It's only 3 more".

So, by the time I got back to the trail head, AND saw Rob's car still there, there was no way I was going to wimp out! They were already ahead of me in mileage, and still out there! They actually met up with me, as they were finishing their 40 miles. That gave me my incentive to get my last little miles in, as I puttered around the trailhead, and finally got the 50K done!

Then it was off! In a rush to Colleen's. Colleen is the "Purple Lady". She is the scribe and historian of the Mohican 100 Trail Run. She knows all history and all runners. Every year, after the Art Moore FA, she has a dinner for all involved in the Mohican. It's always a great spread and good to see all the different runners out there!




I got a chance to ask Rob about the Forget the PR 50K course at Mohican. I got to sample Leo Lightner's homemade mozzarella AND congratulate him on his age group record (ages 80-85!!!) at the JFK 50 Miler. I got to see Fred Davis pull out his 20+ year notebook to discuss races with folks who weren't so familiar with Fred's running past, now that was priceless!

Mike was also there, with his darling daughters. It was good see both him AND the girls!!

After a few hours of cheer, I was starting to fade, so I made a quick exit. THANK YOU Colleen and Deb, for the nice food and community spirit that you spread!!

The Trail Goddess Heads North

I am off to the Cleveland area for the weekend. It's the Art Moore FA 50 on Saturday. I will be running this on the Buckeye Trail though, rather than the traditional FA on asphalt. Then it will over to Colleen's house for food! Colleen puts out a great spread of food for the runners and assorted Mohican folks-a good time to see some other people!

I have lots of various errands to run on my way north. I meant to get these done last weekend while off but the flu had me incapacitated. Lots of items I want to look for-ice skates, running gloves, running bra, drymax socks, new Sauconys, new trail shoes, different hydration pack...not sure if I will find any of these in my limited shopping area, but it's worth a try.

1st Run of the Year

The sun was shining brightly, the temperature was a balmy 20 degrees, and I couldn't wait to get out for a trail run! This is Salt Fork State Park. I was running a bridle trail, called the blue trail. Not a soul was out here.

The trail was a bit rough. The mud had frozen, which was good, but there were many rough spots where the horses had really chewed up the trail. But hey, it IS their trail.
It felt good to see the sun and soak up some Vitamin D!


A nice 5.25 mile trail run for the new year!