Where's the Donuts?

Annual New Year's Day run up Green Mountain. It was pretty cold (28) when I met Chris at the Gold Creek parking lot, and very few horse trailers. The run is up to the horse camp, where a group of riders cooks a pancake breakfast. We took it our slowly and went up the GM6 road rather than the steeper Plummer/Gold Creek trail. About 42 minutes to the horse camp, very gradual climb other than the last half mile or so. Pancakes were ready yet so we cooled our heels for 10-15 minutes (it was still pretty cold). Then ate quickly and started again. Sun was really bright by then, it was a georgeous morning as we got up on the Wildcat trail ridge. Then we summited, ran through snow at the summit parking lot and on the rocks at the top. Great view of the peninsula to start the year. Then we hustled back down Gold Creek/Plummer, past more groups of hikers and horses headed up. Packed parking lot by 10 a.m.

My hip flexors, particularly the left, were pretty fatigued for the second half of the run, a few quick breaks offered a needed rest for those. But no problems or pain since. Hopefuly that just means they are getting some needed work on the hills. 1:30 total. 

Out to Illahee State Park and down to the dock, then back up the hill and home. Cool, cloudy morning. Felt good, no hip flexor weakness or pain from Thursday, and I picked up the pace coming back on Trenton. I missed yesterday's run because I worked late, so the week wasn't quite as planned, but not a terrible start to the year. 49:20. 

Illahee Preserve before the rain started coming down. Legs felt good, ran pretty briskly once I got going. 38:00

Y basketball, 3 on 3. 

Evening run on the Y treadmill, easy pace. Felt fine. Did a little stretching and core afterward. 31:00 

Another after work run on the Y treadmill. 31:00 

Morning basketball. 

Good morning run to Lions Park then back through Evergreen-Manette-Shore Drive. Ran more briskly than I planned, felt strong other than a minor left hamstring twinge near the end. But that was just being tired, I think. 47:50 

Just a quickie before work, kind of an altered/backward Shore Drive-11th route. Everything felt good. 23:20

My usual Tuesday night run at the Y. 31:00 

Y basketball, 3-on-3. Big Kenny came back, so there was some banging. My right ankle/foot felt a twinge, minor pain when I'd cut or push off. 

Easy little shake out run before tomorrow's race, the short version of 11th-Shore. The pain in my right ankle that I felt yesterday came back about a mile in and lasted for about a mile, but by the end I couldn't feel it anymore. So hopefully it's something minor. 22:58

Annual trip to Skagit Valley for the Nookachamps race and winter fitness check-in. Cloudy morning, but not cold (45-50), and just a little drizzle in the air. Spit just a touch in the middle of the race, but otherwise the showers held until the afternoon. 

About a mile warm-up around the college from the start, then just 5-10 minutes of stretching and out for 1-2 strides. the start came really quickly this year. Out of the gate from the front line, so it was quick, but I tried to consciously keep it light and easy. I settled in with a guy before mile 1 and we ended up running the whole race together, which was fun. (And he beat his goal by 2:30, so I must be a good pacer.) 

Ran 6:05 on the first mile, which has a slight hill, then a 5:50 on the mile with the big downhill. Very little wind in the flats of Francis Road, unlike a year ago, and having the guy alongside was helpful. Then a 6:58 back up the hill and through the dairy (smelly) to Swan; tried to go easy on the hill to stay conservative. The guy with me pulled ahead maybe 10-15 feet, but I pulled him back in once we hit Swan Road and we settled back into the pace, and ran a 6:17. The fifth mile is mostly rolling downhill, with a short, steep portion on the turn on Martin. We cruised down, kind of pushing then pace, and ended up at 6:29, which felt really good for that stage. The last mile.2 we had to weave through a lot of 5k walkers because of the timing, which was annoying, and I did feel much speed at that point. The guy alongside (Scott) led me after the 6-mile mark, but I passed him on the last loop through the woods just west of the finish line when I could tell he had no kick, and I edged him out by 5 seconds or so. 7:44 for the last 1.2. 

Overall felt really good, my foot didn't bother me at all. A little tightness in my left hamstring around mile 6, and after the race on my cool down my left hip flexor really tightened up. I ran back to my parents house, about 1.5 miles, then iced and had some Swedish pancakes. 

The good news is that last year, when I was hurt and woefully out of shape and the weather was horrendous, I ran 44 minutes here. I've off my best by nearly two minutes, so I am getting older, I suppose, and I was about 30 seconds off my goal time. But things could be worse, and it was fun. 

After church Sunday morning I drove over to Little Mountain to explore some trails that have been built since I moved away from Mount Vernon. Parked on the south side of the hill on a really small trailhead in a neighborhood, I can't imagine very many people use this access. 

I puttered out a logging road and back, then found a cairn leading up the hill. A steep intro got me on a really neat network of trails and I kind of picked routes hoping they'd keep heading toward the top. About 20 minutes of steady, but not intense, climbing put me back on the road that goes to the summit, which I recognized, so I rounded out the last few minutes of climb on pavement. Spent two minutes at the top enjoying the view, then headed down a different route that was fairly technical (for the PNW) in places, had a really cool north-facing viewpoint that is new, and eventually connected back to the original trail. 

My right ankle/foot really started to hurt on the way down, it wasn't something from Saturday's race but another nagging thing I noticed at basketball last Thursday. Nothing hurts while climbing up, but the pounding on the downhill really was beating it up. I'll want to watch it. 

55:00 overall, not really sure on the distance so I'll ballpark it. 

Y treadmill after work, took one more day off than planned. My right foot/ankle (though it's more in the foot, far outside) started to hurt during the first mile. But not painful enough to stop me, so I kept going a bit. By mile two the pain went away and it felt fine through the rest of the run. So I'm hopeful this is more some type of strain than anything structural. Iced it at home, and I'll watch it carefully. 39:00 

Basketball at the Y, 3-on-3. 

Snuck out of work early and got in a quick one at Illahee Preserve before some other plans. Still a little pain in my right ankle, I think it's definitely some kind of strain that is also connected to my arch and possibly a tight Achilles. Ran into Jon Buesch in the woods, so I broke for 2 minutes or so to talk with him. 31:47

Not quite as long as planned, but I ended up staying in Seattle Friday night so it threw off my day a bit. From Bryce's house out Burke-Gilman to Matthews Beach and back. Comfortable pace out, but I admit I turned it into a tempo run on the return. I was feeling good, maybe a little inspired by seeing a lot of runners out there, and I wasn't getting longer trail miles as hoped, so I decided I may as well get a good workout for the day. My ankle bugged me a bit, but not too terrible. Left hamstring/glute very tight on the return though, which has come up a few times when I get runs nearing an hour. I think I need a massage. 57:15 

Morning run on a warm winter day (55 or so). Home to Evergreen Park, then Warren Bridge (extending up to Callahan) then down to Lebo and back through Manette-Shore Drive. Ankle definitely not as sore. 42:30 

Lazy 2-on-2 basketball. Basically a rest day, but at least I was up early. 

Y treadmill after work. Easy pace, just ran 8/min miles the whole time. No pain in the ankle whatsoever, which was really encouraging. 40:00 

Bball, 2s but a better game than Monday. I think our game is dwindling, which is probably ok because I can add back a day of running. 

Odd day, but I got out of work while it was still daylight and had time to sneak in a run before another activity. Just ran from my house, stopped at Bachmann Park, where people were looking for some orca whales that showed up in the afternoon, then continued down Shore Drive and wound back home by going up Wheaton and then across the top of Manette. Felt really nice after two very stressful days, even if it was a little short. Legs felt great, no pain in ankle. 21:00 

Big trail training run at Green Mountain. Started in pretty thick fog, no one else out there. From Wildcat parking lot, where they've rerouted some trails, up to the Horse Camp in 22 minutes. Felt fine. Then on Beaver Dam, where a team of 8 guys was doing some trail work. Ankle starting bugging me through here on the downhill, about 35 minutes in. 

Down to the junction and I hopped on Plummer, then took a new cut-through I'd never seen before called Tisi's or something like that. Ended up on Gold Creek and took that up to the summit, where the sun had come up. Just beat two other hikers to the top. Ankle had loosened some, and going uphill doens't hurt as much. But still felt great at a little over an hour. 

Then back down, kind of pushing the pace a bit and making myself hurt. The ankle was definitely bugging me after passing the horse camp, then my left hip flexor starting feeling tired too. Nothing painful, but pretty worked after not running this far for awhile. So I slogged it in through some serious fatigue, which is good for me. Took 40 minutes to come from the summit, total of 1:47:19. 

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