Runny knows - Feb 12 to 17

I did my Saturday morning run and felt great so did a few 2:00 intervals to see if they caused any trouble. They did not! I have been to the gym since Tuesday so I suspect that it's the squats that are causing at least part of my troubles.

Checking in from Siberia....

OK, not quite, considering the high and low temps are steadily climbing and I can see parts of my patio. Seriously, we have so much snow this year I've had a hard time finding trails to run because the snow is so deep and the humidity so low that even the snowshoers aren't packing down the trails. Up until last week, I was skiing the trail that I normally run after work instead of running (this trail is in the city). But I've been getting lots of skiing in and have been getting acquainted with my new rollers.

I was entering today's run in my log and noticed lots of comments over the last month like "hip-deep drifts" or "crust on top of unconsolidated sugar snow" and "brutal". :rolleyes:

Anyhow, we're finally getting some sunny weather and because the days are longer, the temps are higher... but today I was really wishing I'd gone out earlier because the snow turned to goo. I tried a new trail running group today, but no one except for the run leader showed up (I suspect because it was cloudy and generally dreary to start). The run leader, a very nice young man in his early 20s, entertained my pace for about the first 4 miles, during which time the snow was very nice to run on. And then he started to run at his pace, and I was stupid enough to try to keep up ("I'll show his skinny young azz that this old lady can keep up." What the hell was I thinking?). And about this time the snow started turning to mashed potatoes, and I was breaking through to the unconsolidated stuff, fell in a couple of moose holes up to just above the knee, and generally slid all over the place. It was a blast! He quit after about 7 miles (and confessed that he was worked! hah!) but I kept going since I'm feeling the training need for a 25k I'm running 3/15 and a 50k I'm still thinking about that is in late April. I am worked. But it was still better than pavement (for me, anyway). http://smileys.on-my-web.com/reposit.../happy-074.gif

I had another interesting run earlier in the week...it was a very cold and windy day and my challenge was breakable crust, not mashed potatoes. I was the only idiot that had been on that section of trail that day (which was the day after a particularly big blasting storm with lots of wind).

I don't know how running on dirt will feel. I'm kind of looking forward to it even though I'm loving these 20s and 30s temps! :p

Yellow, I'm so happy to see you back on the board!!:D

I did my 10 km and a warm-up for a total of about 7 miles today. My times were not great but it was the learning experience that I had hoped for. I'm going to post more details on my intensities thread.

Happy running.

Wow Yellow! Those runs seem like a lot of hard work!

I wish you some "normal" terrain soon, but I enjoy reading your snowy stories!

8x2minutes with 1 min walking break in between. plus religious stretching before, after and massaging, and wearing my brand new calf sleeve - I'm working myself up there again....

The verdict this morning:

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/25/ednabt5.jpg

however, I stupidly was going to do lunges on the warmup and pulled summat in ma a$$. it's going away again but I was hobbling going up stairs all yesterday.

Ok, I just need to vent.

I just discovered (my own fault - should have figured that out earlier) that the city where my race is this morning (Fort Langley) is a good three degrees colder than Vancouver (they are 1 hour away from each other). I can't wear my training tights because I'll be too warm, I can't wear my 3/4 as I planned because I'll be too cold. I have to wear my thinner tights, which also happen to be a bit snug at the waist. That's okay for 30-minute run but for a half-marathon?

Ok done venting. I'll go figure out a solution. Thanks for letting me vent.

(I also woke up 1 hour ahead thanks to jetlag so I've got time to waste!)

3 miles today and it actually felt good!!! The weather was beautiful and the new shoes are making such a difference. I actually felt like I had a little bit of power and it's been a long time since I've felt that way.

Grog, grrrr. I can't wait to hear what you came up with and to read your race report.

Wahine, ouch! But fun, no doubt.

Yellow, sounds like fun too! Though I imagine when you get back to real surface, you will be kicking serious backside.

Thanks for the shoe info. I am liking these ones so far but I won't get more until I'm sure. There is still residual pain but it's going away. It actually makes me feel good about running which is pretty freakin' awesome :D

Ran 5mi today. It rained like crazy in the morning but turned out really nice for the rest of the day (mid 60s temp). Did 5 easy miles, was a little fatigued at about 3.5 but got out of it and finished strong.

Of note, I was wearing the Jenny t-shirt and had an older gentleman run up behind me and offer to be my running partner. Sweet offer but I was almost done and I think 1/2 my neighborhood was out walking/running.

What a GORGEOUS, GLORIOUS day. (Yes, it's worth the caps.)

This is certainly one of the most beautiful days I've seen in Vancouver and it was the day of our race! I don't remember racing in such beautiful weather. It was really cold in the morning, barely - and in some places not quite - above freezing level, so there was quite a bit of frost on the roads. But there was a small crowd - perhaps 1500 people? - and I ran hard.

This was also a hilly course, with almost 1,500 feet of climbing, which I took as a great challenge. I was prepared for that, I train almost exclusively on hills, don't really have the choice around here.

I started much, much faster than I thought. I was running nearly 45 seconds faster per kilometer (25 seconds per mile?) than I had planned. But whatever. I knew the big hills were at the end and I benefited of the easier start, and drafted a few tall men (including one with an endlessly beeping GPS... which motivated me to leave him alone after a bit) once in a while. I hit the 10 km mark at about the same time as I finished my last 10K race. Oh, I should add that the race took us through some kind of a zoo where they breed endangered species, and I saw a bunch of hyenas (very interested in the race) and a Brazilian ocelot (totally uninterested; sort of a medium-sized cat).

The third quarter was fine, but the last quarter was tough. The biggest hill hit at about the time when my legs were weakening and my left hip started hurting a little. I kept pushing on the uphill but not quite as fast as I did earlier, and my planned walking break was slower than usual. All along I had visualized myself sprinting the last km, but it just did not happen. I finished on my planned pace - 5 min / km - having raced the rest much faster, thus finishing about 6 minutes faster than expected. I was pretty happy with that.

I took four 1-minute walking breaks, and walked (30 seconds?) through three of the water stations.

Oh, and for the tights: I stretched the waist really hard a few times, each time until I'd hear a little "crack' indicating that the elastic band was loosing some of its grip. It felt all right during the race! Thanks for commiserating!

So...

I had a blast!

Now I need a massage....

Way to go Grog! That's so cool! And Yellow, OMG.

I finally started feeling healthy late yesterday. Stupidly, it was so good to go out for a nice dinner with DH that I wound up overindulging, and between that and the astronomical pollen count, I woke up with a splitting headache which I've had all day :rolleyes:

Still managed to get out for 3.6 - pace wasn't too bad considering it was the first cardio I'd done in a week. HR through the roof, legs sore - how is it that being sick sets me back so much??? Anyway, unlike what I thought last time, I'm really done with that infection now, and headache or no, I'm really glad.

Way to go Grog!! that's great running for a half mary!!