Old Man Still running

At 4:00 a.m. I went out in 15 degrees in ran up Lake Mountain, climbing about 2,500 feet.  It is time to start reducing the flat miles and increasing the climbing feet.   My total miles per week will probably go way down from here, but it is time to start getting back in shape for mountain runs.   For the past couple months it was fun to pretend I was a road runner, now it is time to start acting like a mountain goat again.

The going was slow climbing up Israel Canyon Road.   At times it was like going up stairs int he snow.   Nearing the top the snow became softer and my feet started to break the surface.  The road is packed down from ATVs, but toward the top, fewer have gone all the way and the snow is softer.  So I eventually turned around and had to be cautious coming down near the top because my feet would sink in and try to twist my knees or ankles.  

There is a little bit of an inversion going on, because it felt a little warmer in the canyon.  Returning to the car in the foothills, I could feel the temperature dive down.   It was a nice two-hour run.   I'm sadly out of shape for climbing and I could feel it in my quads.   It will take a few weeks.

I couldn't push myself two days in a row out into the cold early morning.  At 4:00 a.m., I was on the treadmill for a very tough hill workout.   I ran for 90 minutes averaging 10:00 pace with an incline between 10-15 degrees, never below 10, holding on lightly to the front of the machine.  I think it did the trick.  I now have sore quads.   The machine thought I climbed 5,700 feet and burned over 2,000 calories.   It felt closer to about 3,000 feet.

A repeat of the treadmill workout from yesterday, a couple minutes faster and quads feel better today.   9 miles, 10:00 pace, 10-15% incline, 5,800 feet up (if you believe the machine), plenty of sweat and groaning along the way.

PM

Three miles at the Legacy Center indoor track.  I lost interest after three miles and quit.  Boring!

This morning I almost wimped out again and headed to the treadmill, but when I got up at 3:45 a.m., I had already had all my warm outside clothes ready to go, so I didn't have any excuse.  The temperature was 22 degrees, so not bitter cold.   OK, I sucked it up, and headed outside.  

From my house on the shore of Utah Lake, I ran up the foothills of Lake Mountain, into Lott Canyon until it ends on a high ridge overlooking Eagle Mountain and the Ranches.   This is a good touch climb, up about 1,500 feet.   My climbing gear felt pretty good.  The snow was packed down by some ATVs, until the last 1/4 mile which required me to do a little post-holing in the snow, but I didn't sink in too deep.

I had a great time!  My flashlight reflected off of the crystalized snow going up which presented me with an amazing light show.   Coming down, I always enjoy seeing the lights of the cities across Utah Lake.  

It was a good workout.   Treadmills just can't duplicate it.  I could tell my ankles needed the uneven surface to get in better shape for the mountains.  Also, the downhill run worked my quads well.   I've got a ways to go to get back into good mountain trail shape, but I'm well on my way.  It is amazing how you don't really lose it, that it comes back fast.

With the warm tempertures, the trails are slushy and muddy.   I did hill repeats running up and down Grandview Blvd up toward the explosives plant.

I decided at the last minute to head up to Ogden and test my elderly speed against the competition in Northern Utah.   The Striders Winter Racing Circuit 5K is held at Dee Events Center at Weber St. University and winds through hilly neighborhoods.  Hills is what this race is about.  

I arrived in time to drive the course which helped to set my expectations mentally because I didn't want the hills to suprise me and wanted to know when I should back off or open it up.   I then went back to the start and ran in the neighborhoods for a mile warm up and did some sprints and stairs.   I think my warm-up helped.

Looking at the results from last year, I thought a top-3 finish in my age group was very possible and a top-30 finish overall possible.

I toed the start line with 458 runners, a big event for the winter.   Off we went and I started off sprinting like crazy with the top-10 pack.   After a quarter mile, I found a more sane pace as my breathing became labored.   I didn't want to burn my lungs out like last week, so I concentrated on good breathing.   Next, we hit the long hill.   At first I was able to pump the legs fast and re-passed several runners, but then just fell back to a nice even pace and was again passed by several others.  My quads started to burn, a result of my hill workouts this past week.  At the top, as the downhill came, I kicked it into high gear for several hundred yards and cruised by about five runners pretty fast.  

Back on the flats and rolling hills, I again slowed.   I missed my split at mile 1, but at mile 2 I was at 14:19.   I hoped to be close to 14:00, so I was happy with my progress.   I noticed a guy about my age pass me.  It was Steve Haslam.   I was motivated to stay close to him. I passed him on the downhills but he passed me back on the flats.  On the last hill, he pushed ahead by about 50 yards.   I hoped to find a kick on the final downhill to catch him.   My third mile split was 6:30.   Not bad.   I tried hard to find a kick to catch Steve, but it didn't happen.   He finished 11 seconds ahead of me.

I finished up in 21:32, 34th overall among 458 runners.   I placed 3rd among the runners age 50+ (64 runners).   Not bad, I was pleased.   It was a tough course and it felt like I had a stronger race then last week when I finished in 20:23.

After I returned home, I went out and ran 4 fast miles with the dog.   I was very impressed that this little dog, less than a year old ran a 6:30, and 7:00 mile with me.