Where's the Donuts?

Llllllllaaaazy these days. I'll start again soon enough. I was at a retreat/camp north of Cincinnati last week for a corporate leadership retreat. I was planning on a few days of running, but it snowed and was bitter cold and I did not come prepared for that. But I managed to get out one morning for a quick three miles through the farmland, it was nice. Probably time I start running again. 

Alright, back to it. Four miles after work on the treadmill at the Y in 31 minutes, then a little lifting. With the La Nina here for the winter there will be some treadmill time over the next month, I can tell. But whatever works to get my lazy butt back running.

Time to map out a 2011 race schedule.

supernova glide 

Another evening at the Y, getting back in the swing. One at 8 and three at a 7:45 pace or so. 31:00

supernova glide

Morning run with Mike, most of the club was racing a 10k so it was a quiet morning on Shore Drive. Although neither of us has been running very consistently, we set a quick pace from the start. Most miles at or a little under 7, it felt like we were rushing a little. But we kept the conversation going, so I suppose we were comfortable. No rain, which was nice. 56:40

supernova glide 

Crazy day, and I'm really glad I found time for the afternoon run. Heavy rain was forecast, and most of Saturday it rained pretty hard. I woke up this morning to a pond in the backyard, a few inches rushing over the patio, and the basement under six to eight inches. It was dumping. I knew I wouldn't get a run in (or much of anything else) and went to work pumping and just bailing water out from the basement to save the furnace. I got things under control and the rain slowed around noon, someone clear a storm drain on our street which helped a lot, and I felt alright taking off for a few miles. 

Really warm out (50s), which was nice. Did the Warren-Manette bridges route, plus Shore Drive and a little extra to get to 40 minutes. Felt good, ran at a good pace but not pushing. Even broke out some new shoes (since my adidas got soaked this morning accidentally), and got them muddy at the park. 40:22

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Manette Hills loop, though I skipped the loop around the Y this time (I was daydreaming and just forgot to turn up the hill). Slower pace than the other day, partly the hills and partly some shortness of breath I was surprised by 25 minutes in. 40:20

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Soggy morning on Beach Drive. I left my house and it was dry and 45, at the Annapolis dock is was pouring and 38. Not a good change. Mike and I slogged through the rain, it lightened by the time the sun came out. But still pretty wet, and we struggled a little with the pace. Didn't even clock the miles, but we did back off from the same run a week ago. Still getting back in the habit, I guess. 58:06

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Wonderful sunrise on a clear, crisp morning over in Seattle. Mount Rainier was out, wasn't that cold, good all around. I felt pretty sluggish though, took me a few miles to get a rhythm. Maybe the last one was alright. But a good morning to be out. 39:00

supernova glide -- 

Ok, an incredibly busy few pre-Christmas days meant I waited until the day off to get a good run in again. My brother and I woke up late on Christmas Day, looked out and saw no rain and 45 degrees, which was better than Santa showing up (which he did not do anyway). So we did a nice loop around Husky Stadium and the Burke-Gilman Trail at a slow pace, and then had brunch with some relatives. Then we went and saw 'True Grit,' which isn't a Christmas movie at all, but is a good thing to do when the rest of your family has other plans for the holiday. (And since the movie sold out 30 minutes before the start, others had the same idea.) A pretty great day, actually. 41:05

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Our non-traditional Christmas* continued on Sunday. My brother and I were up in Skagit Valley Saturday night to visit some friends, and we stayed. Another beautiful morning, this time a bright sun was even out over the water as we drove up Chuckanut Drive. We picked up my friend Brita and met Krissy and Brenda at the Clayton Beach parking lot for a Chuckanut Mountain route. Kind of an early Chuckanut 50k warm up run, on a great morning for it. No real plan, and since we had Timm we didn't want to get too complicated with the route or go very long (actually, everyone was in favor of that second suggestion). So we headed out on the course, then cut up the Frangrance Lake trail instead of looping around the lake, descended Cleator Road (much nicer than the race's ascent) and then headed back via Fragrance Lake. We lost Timm at the end (he cut off Cleator, then got lost) but found him. Finding him, however, meant an additional 2.5 miles for me backtracking on the Interurban. I'm guessing it was a 10-mile day, though that could be short. But we did some hiking as well. Legs were tired by the end, but not blasted and I was surprised at how easily I climbed the hills. 2:01 or so all together.

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*We didn't chuck all the trappings of Christmas, however. We did the family gathering on Christmas Eve, and went to the late church service, and Monday night my parents will be in town and we'll do our traditional Swedish Christmas. We just moved the dates around this year, freeing up some time for other stuff.

Slug Clug group run and New Year's breakfast this morning. A true winter run, it was 25 or so at the start and frosty out, with a thick layer of fog and clouds. But it was dry, and I'm glad for that. We took our annual photo at Annapolis, then packed up for some group running out to Waterman Dock and back. Easy pace. I've been sick the past few days, but the fever broke overnight and after 800m or so I started to feel normal, and the rest of the run was fine. Then breakfast at Brian's house. 45:19

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