Running through the Tulips - April

[Crankin]

I haven't run in 10 days or so... too much cycling fun.
This morning I ran 2.25 miles continuously. It was 36 degrees out at 6 AM , but I really like running in the cold. In fact, I was on the edge of feeling a bit warm, but I took my head band off and that solved most of it.
Felt kind of slow and this run involved uphill in the last half, since I didn't have time to drive to a flatter place. Total pace, including warm up was 11:30, so I am thinking my run average was around 10:30, which is OK, but not what I want. I sort of have it figured out, in that I can do my runs by tacking on a neighborhood that is off of my neighborhood and my run will stop either right where the 10% grade starts, or about half way through. Today was the latter. This way, my cool down is a bit longer that the C25K plan has you do, but hey, at my age, the more warm up and cool down, the better.

[7rider]

I ran a good race---went at a fast clip for most of it. This was my longest race in years, so I was surprised that I didn't run out of gas. Physically, felt fine.

My results: pace 8:25; finished 26th of 163 in my age group; finished 281 of 1,445 women.

Congrats to both you and Brian. I looked up your time. Great job!

[OakLeaf]

Nice job, Selkie!

7 and Crankin, looking good - hope you can both continue to run pain free.

Solo, yikes that is steep.

Emily, hope it stays cool enough for you to run and/or that you get acclimated to the heat sooner than later.

Ruby, did you try on Leming (fka Stem) shoes? They claim a 2 mm sole, but that's the part in between the lugs, so what they actually have is the flexibility of the 2 mm between the lugs, plus maybe another 2-3 mm of protection in the lugs themselves, no cushion to speak of. I don't know how minimal you're looking for - I can't run minimal (yet) myself, but I just adore mine for walking in, and people do run in them.

Yellow, hope you're regrouping well. Smackdowns s*ck, hope you can make yours a learning experience.

Anyone I missed while I was otherwise occupied mentally ... hope your running is going well! Working on my race report.

[limewave]

Tonight I'll have to read the thread and catch on everyone's runs. Sounds like there's some exciting stuff going on with everyone

I haven't been running much. Yesterday, however, I crept out of church early so I could get in a 7 miler before DH had to leave for the day. I had to keep a quick pace because I had 1 hour. That was it. No lolly-gagging for me!

I cannot believe how exhausted I was afterwards! My legs tingled last night.

[rubysoho]

Ruby, did you try on Leming (fka Stem) shoes? They claim a 2 mm sole, but that's the part in between the lugs, so what they actually have is the flexibility of the 2 mm between the lugs, plus maybe another 2-3 mm of protection in the lugs themselves, no cushion to speak of. I don't know how minimal you're looking for - I can't run minimal (yet) myself, but I just adore mine for walking in, and people do run in them.

Nope, hadn't heard of them. I took home a pair of Brooks PureFlow a couple weeks ago but wasn't satisfied. They were too squishy and that makes the tendon on the outside of my ankle hurt. The Adizero have less cushion but enough without getting so blocky. I think the heel could still have less but the heels don't get in the way like some of the other brands I've tried. If I were only running on trails then I'd stick with the VFF's but I just get the feeling a little bit of cushion is good for all the road time in the near future.

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, hope it stays cool enough for you to run and/or that you get acclimated to the heat sooner than later.

Thanks, oak. Unfortunately, I am not coping well with the heat. The combo of heat above 80 and high humidity just kills me. It's even hotter in the morning than the afternoon (try 85 degrees at 7:30 am on for size), but I MUCH prefer to run in the morning because I get busier in the afternoon, things come up, I need to walk the dog and make dinner, and before I know it, I've run out of time to run.

Oh well, rainy season will be here before too long, bringing some cooler mornings and afternoons. If I have to take a running break for a couple of months, I am sure I can get back to it. But if we have another "cold front" and it's a few degrees cooler, I'll get out there again. At least I can ride in the heat!

[yellow]

Congratulations to all of the racers! We are so bada$$!

This past week was better than the previous one, although I was a bit short on mileage. I took and extra day off because my legs were so trashed from the previous weekend. My long run this week was good, but then it was about 25 degrees cooler and the course was not as mountainous. I'm with Emily; the heat just absolutely KILLS me. And it's not even humid here. I normally just get kind of whiney about the heat, but this year I am having a plethora of physical reactions. I'm working on some new strategies for hydration and electrolyte supplementation (clearly, what has worked for years is no longer working). But of course now it has cooled down...which is good (and bad--means I can't continue to acclimate).

April was my "big" month for the 50 miler training; 3 big weeks in a row (57, 57, and 50). I'm on an easier week this week, maybe one more run in the 25-30 mile range the following week, and then the downhill slide. I'm more exhausted by fitting everything in. Between running, weekly PT, taking care of a budding garden, work, overseeing the household because of traveling husband, and needing to sleep, I'm not getting basic things like grocery shopping and laundry done!

I need to keep reminding myself to slow the heck down. We're off to Zion for a long weekend. I am looking forward to doing some slow, scenery-gazing running in the park. Have a great week, everyone!

[solobiker]

Got in a nice 4 mile run afterwork today. I did not run over the weekend but did get in some long, high alpine hikes.

[katluvr]

8 slow, hot & humid miles this AM. Darn quads! Just the beginning of many more long & hot summer runs.

K

[Crankin]

Not a real "run," but yesterday, I decided to go to a yoga class during the time I normally would be riding (it was raining). I hate doing yoga with cold muscles, so I got on the treadmill and was able to run between 10:00 and 9:15mm for a nice 15 minute warm up. That's never happened before. I've never been able to maintain a 10mm for more than a minute on a treadmill.

[solobiker]

4.5 mile trail run for me. Might not sound like a lot..but there was over 1000 feet of climbing involved which is a little challenging for me. It took me a little over an hour. I took my time on some of the downhill so I would decrease my risk of tripping over rocks or logs. It was getting to be on the hot side for me...low 80s. Hope everyone is doing well.

[skhill]

Looks like it's the season for new roofs and other remodeling around here. I've seen a lot of tarped roofs and construction dupsters on my runs this week. Combination of warm weather and tax refunds, maybe?

It feels more like mid-June than May this week, and so my speed is down. Lots of slow easy miles-- today was 6 miles, at a 9:30 pace. Planning on doing a 5k tomorrow; it's pt to pt and I think it includes one of the biggest hills in town, up only. Heat + humidity + hill = slow time