Where's the Donuts?

Easy trail run in Illahee Preserve with Mike. We waited until the sun was up, but that didn't do us much good. Still cold and dark in the forest. But there's an advantage -- all the mud is frozen. Good to get out for a second day in the dry, crisp air, and start the year off right. 40:05

brooks cascadia IV

Another cold morning run, this time in Seattle. Forty minute on the Burke Gilman Trail, I clocked one at 7:30 and probably ran close to that pace the whole time. Not many out on a chilly morning, but it was nice. Also good to run three consecutive days, it's been awhile since I could say that. 40:04

brooks cascadia IV

Evening run at the Y on the treadmill. 7:30 pace throughout, felt fine but I don't like to go much further than that on the treadmill. 40:00

supernova glide -- 400+

Simply put, I hit the wall at work. It's been the busiest and most stressful work week of my career, and my brain was full by 3 p.m. Even though there's still a good day's worth of work left to do, I couldn't do anything but run. So I walked out (easier done when you're the boss), drove home and put my stuff on. Four refreshing miles on the YMCA loop during a wonderful break in the rain, probably 45 or 50 degrees, and a double-rainbow at the finish before the sky opened up again. I think I can go finish the day in front of a computer now. 31:05

supernova glide -- 420 or so? (New pair is waiting to be picked up at Poulsbo Running.)

Surprisingly nice weather for the morning run on Beach Drive, let's hope it gets progressive lousier until the 'Hawks kick off against the Saints. Show those NOLA boys what it's like to play outdoors in January. (I'm rooting for the Seahawks because they are the home team, but also so there can be a Bears-Packers rematch in the divisional round.) 

Met Mike early, eight miles on the usual Slug route. We got going at a good pace and kept it brisk, hit a few miles at 7/min pace. Felt good and healthy in the legs and lungs; good sign for January and capped off a consistent, if low mileage, week. Back on track, updating the 2011 race calender and goals soon. 58:27

supernova glide -- 430ish

I talked my friend and former ex-Loganite Brita into registering for Chuckanut 50k, so now when she asks to meet up for a trail run I'm more or less obligated. So this afternoon I skipped watching football and we went to Cougar Mountain, east of Seattle, for a few hours. The weather was cold at the start, but no rain or snow. We hit the snowline pretty quickly (from the Red Town Trailhead the path really just heads straight up to a plateau) and it was really pretty and nice with the snow-covered trees but non-snow-covered trail. Kept the pace easy and relaxed, and just kind of ran without a route. There's plenty of criss-cross in there, so we twisted and turned and eventually started heading downhill, and made it back to the parking lot in 90 minutes. Legs felt good, I'm tired now but not worked over. Good early season training run. 1:30:05

brooks cascadia IV -- 50

A quick three on the YMCA treadmill after a very long day at work. This week was another busy one (hopefully the last for awhile) and the running schedule suffered. 23:00

supernova glide

Got out with Mike this morning. We didn't run as far as I would have liked to go, but we were both in a hurry. Caught a nice morning though, no rain and it was pretty warm. A little tailwind on the way out even, and we ended up with some quick miles (7-minute range) and we were about a minute faster this week for the same run as last Saturday. I'm a little tired in the legs now, still getting that pace back to my system. 57:05

supernova glide

Turned out to be a wonderful morning to head up Green Mountain. I was alone at the start, and the weather was the usual: 45 and cloudy. I made it up to the road to the Green Mountain campground and took the Beaver Pond trail, then stuck to the correct trail (I missed a turn the last time out) and followed that for what must have been a six-mile loop (I need to check maps, this one is a 'timed' rather than 'distance' run. I'm guessing at the 11.). Really fun to discover a new trail, and by the then I was seeing some blue sky. I hooked back with the Wildcat/Gold Creek trails, took the vista route up to a point on Gold Mountain (which was socked in with clouds). But back on the Green Mountain ridge things opened up, I had a wonderful sunny view of Dyes Inlet, etc., and I cruised downhill at a great pace past all the slugs who had slept in. Warm, sunny, and a new trail. Legs felt a little low on energy, but otherwise everything's intact after the longest run of the year. 1:39:46

brooks cascadia IV -- 61

Too much working, not enough running today. Last night I left the newsroom at 1, and had to be back at 5 this morning. After a meeting I came home, took a nap, then a quick 3 on the Shore Drive short route. Felt amazing, and the new shoes didn't hurt. 23:04

supernova glide blue -- 3

Skipped the Slug gathering to sleep in, and Mike and I met at Evergreen Park after the sun came up. Pleasant morning to run, a little damp but no rain. We crossed the Manette Bridge, ran over to Lebo, through Lions Park and out Tracyton to Riddell, then back. Nine miles is the ballpark, but I'm sure it was close. Easy pace, though we pushed on the hills a bit. Then we sat at the bakery for an hour, which was great. Fewer miles than I planned this week, but I'm glad to even have this much energy right now. I'll rest up and get back to a normal routine next week. 1:05

supernova glide blue -- 12

Manette Hills route, up around the hospital, loop around the Y, and back on 11th. Steady pace once I woke up and got loose, felt healthy on the hills. 45:13

supernova glide blue -- 18

Mixed trail and road run. I took the day off and went to Seattle, picked up a new pair of Brooks Cascadia from Krissy, then we ran to Discovery Park from her house. One loop around the park, then we doubled-back, headed out the south entrance and ran the road ridge around Magnolia, then cut back up to Dravus. Not up-tempo, but we ran a really good, steady pace, especially once we hit the road. Shoes felt great other than a minor foot cramp (left) halfway through, and despite having a few cold symptoms my body felt fine once I got running. 1:24:00

brooks cascadia red -- 11

I'm headed in for a late shift tonight at work, which may be the case for awhile as we sort out editor schedules in our new set-up. But that means I can run mid-morning, which is nice. The rain had tapered off by the time I left the Illahee Forest parking lot, but it looks like I could have waited another hour and had sun. So it goes. 

Feeling a little sluggish getting going because of this lingering cold, but after 20 minutes I was in rhythm and could breath, etc. Kept an easy pace, didn't charge the hills or anything. Shoes felt good again on the soft trails, and I think the miles this week will show that I'm finally back in the groove. Time to start adding tempo and hill workouts next week, Chuckanut will come quickly. 40:00

brooks cascadia red -- 16

Ten with Mike down on Beach Drive, a good cap to the week. Only six hours of sleep didn't help, and I'm still working out a lingering cold, so I felt a little sluggish all the way through. But maybe that held our pace back, most miles were in the 7:10 to 7:15 range, with just two quick ones (7s) when we had a tailwind. 1:12:50 

supernova glide blue

Afternoon trail run w/Brita at St. Edwards Park in Kirkland. My first time there. Not a huge park, but a good trail network to get some moderate elevation work and technical downhill running. Legs were tired from the previous three days, so it was good to do some trails that weren't overly demanding. On a cool, gray day the park was really full and the trails pretty muddy and thrased. Kind of fun to stomp around in the mud. We went down to the beach, then up a longer climb on the north edge back to the seminary, then another loop down to the beach and back up on a different route, then a flat loop out to the road. 1:05:01

brooks cascadia IV — 68

Manette Hills loop, clear morning that wasn't as cold as I feared. Nice Pacific Northwest winter day coming at us. Easy pace, focused on the hills, felt fine. 45:06

supernova glide blue -- 34

Just a shorty before heading to work early. Easy running around the neighborhood, watched a wonderful dawn on what's going to be a clear, sunny day. Glad I don't live in the Midwest. 22:05

supernova glide blue

Morning run on Beach Drive with Mike. Light sprinkle when we started, but the temperature was nice, in the mid-40s. Weather turned out fine for a January morning. We ran a little faster pace than a week ago, hit most miles at 7/min, and a few in the 6:55 range. But I had much more energy than a week ago, and felt really smooth even at the quicker pace. 1:12:10

Sighting of the morning: After we finished the run and had some breakfast, I drove by one of the waterfront homes heading out of Port Orchard. A guy had walked down a long driveway toward Bay Street and was getting his newspaper — and remember, it's 45 and drizzly outside — in only a kilt. Just spendin' a lazy morning hanging around the house in a kilt. Keep Washington weird, my friends. 

supernova glide blue -- 47

Another gray, cloudy day, but perfect weather for a winter trail run. Up to Green Mountain, more cars in the lot than I expected, but once I got going it was peaceful and quiet on the hills. Saw a few runners I know early on, but then plenty of alone time on the Beaver Pond loop. 

Same route as a few weeks ago, I really enjoy that trail. Good mix of steady elevation gain and then bombing back downhill. Footing is iffy at times, and it gets muddy in there, but in an enjoyable way. I cut two minutes from the time two weeks ago, mostly by powering the hills and trying to get my turnover going downhill. Great run, though I was pretty hungry by the 90-minute mark. Took one Clif block, getting used to eating and running again. 1:37:14.

brooks cascadia IV -- 79

Chili time.

Morning loop through Lions Park, with 6x100 on Shore Drive to finish. 48:40

supernova glide -- 40

Late night plus early morning means a mid-day run. But the sun was out and it was a good time to sneak out of work. Quick four around Manette, got some hills in. 30:09

supernova glide -- 44

Predawn bridge loop run, plus Shore Drive. Fog hid the sunrise, which was too bad. Ran a medium pace, nothing fancy, and felt good. Still base building, but I should mix in a workout soon. Though our basketball game Thursday night did get me some sprint training work. 40:28

supernova glide -- 49

 Wonderful early season trail run on the OPG land in North Kitsap. Saturday's rain ended and we saw some sunshine, mild weather and trails that were muddy but not too muddy. The fun type.

Started off with Mike, we let three or four guys race out and settled into a nice pace leading a group of four or five. That dwindled to a group of three (me, Mike and this guy Miles) who stuck together until the home stretch. We weren't much for conversation, but it was fun to catch up with Miles a bit and have the pack for motivation. Kept a really good, even pace, competative but conservative enough that we had energy for the whole way (and Miles, who's training for Hardrock, did a second loop for 50k). The singletrack there is really windy and hard to get any pace on, but we ran the downhills pretty briskly. We also ran really well on the hills, I was proud of the momentum and consistent pace on all the uphill stretches. Good sign for Chuckanut.

We caught two younger guys and one stuck with us, then did this really strange surge at the one-hour mark, sprinting ahead. We reeled him back in within eight minutes, and taught him a lesson about surging during trail races (this was his first). We dropped him and beat him by 13 minutes.

Within 10 minutes of the finish our pack spotted second place. Didn't totally chase, but we had a solid pace and slowly reeled him in. He didn't see us until a water crossing and then knew we had him. Turned a corner with 1/4 or so on a road and I snuck by him by taking a sharp corner and burned it in. Mike tried to hang with me but I outkicked him by 20 seconds or so. Really strong finish, and that snuck me under 2 hours for the race, which was my goal. Two years ago, on a slightly different course in very different weather, I ran 2:04.

Overall a really fun morning of running. Maybe the best course markers I've ever seen (probably because they were all scrambled last year.) Good crowd as usual, we hung out for 45 minutes cheering others and talking to folks. I felt beat, but not destroyed in the legs, and got a nice boost of confidence from this one.

brooks cascadia 6 -- 26

Brisk morning run around the City Walk in Orlando (which I learned at the end of the run is prohibited by rule; no wonder all the dawn laborers were yelling at me). On a work trip this week, running has not been what was planned and turned out to be a down week. 22:00

supernova glide blue 43

Another morning run in Orlando before meetings got started, had a little more time and took the long loop around the block surrounding Universal Studios. Warm and humid morning, even with cloud cover, which felt nice. Not as fast as Thursday. 31:53

supernova glide blue -- 47

Sunny Sunday afternoon in the Pacific Northwest, and I made up for Saturday's slack-off travel day with a good run. Out to Tracyton boat launch, trying to keep the pace easy, though it was chillier than I planned. But the sunshine makes me forget that. 

Got to the boat launch and had some knee trouble with the left one locking up some, but that may have just been the cold. I did a few hills around Tracyton to add some extra distance and my left knee seemed to loosen up. Back at a decent pace, then along Shore Drive and home. 1;20:49

supernova glide blue -- 58

Good start to the week with these back-to-back, especially seeing the sun both days. Breezy, and downright windy at times so it wasn't exactly warm; but the Vitamin D makes me forget that. I ran over to Evergreen Park, where Mike was waiting, we did a loop up the Warren Ave bridge and around Lion's Park, then back to the Manette Bridge. We stopped halfway across and talked to the construction workers about the new bridge project. It's a fun route to run because you get to see the new bridge being build just feet away, you can almost reach out and touch the new girders. 

Legs felt good, we didn't rush at all but managed a decent pace after warming up. I was spent after running home though. Took Warren Ave. back and added a few hills up above Harrison Medical Center. I usually run that route backwards and before dawn, I didn't realize how steep some parts were. Exhausted after finishing for some reason (may have been the cold air and jet lag as much as the exertion), I napped for almost 90 minutes. 1:16:55.

supernova glide blue -- 69

Workout day. No snow on the ground or in the air when I woke up, which was a great sign. Not even as cold out as forecast. 

Three-mile warmup around Manette, then I hit the Jacobson Hill for 1-minute sprints. It's about a 250m incline that I run, and then back down taking two minutes slowly. The first was at 1:00, then they got slower before finishing a little better: 1:03, 1:07, 1:09, 1:06, 1:04. Legs felt strong up the hills, it's the fitness that isn't there. One mile cooldown. 45:58

supernova glide 75

Morning run on the Warren-Manette bridges loop. Pretty cold, but absolutely beautiful sunrise. Rainier was a silouette and the Olympics lit up pink. 37:03

supernova glide blue -- 80

Icy at the start for this one, and I even waited until later in the day. But 32 feels like, oh, zero here after a mild winter otherwise. I went to Green Mountain, and after the first half mile or so I had passed the other hikers who had parked and had the mountain to myself. Wonderful peace. 

The trail was iced over in places where there's usually run-off, and a few little frozen puddles, but otherwise it was in really nice shape. Twenty minutes in I had warmed up, and didn't have a problem with frozen digits after that. Kept a better pace once I warmed up and got past the icy uphills also, and I really enjoyed the Beaver Pond loop today. Got a good clip going.

I ran to the Gold Mountain parking lot, but skipped the little jaunt up to the vista (it was gray anyway, and that last stretch is all rocks. No reason to slip on an icy rock today.) Then zipped back down to the parking lot, feeling great. Really happy for a run that I thought might be a slog, and capped a pretty productive week. First one over 40 miles, and it'll just go up from here. 1:33:10

brooks cascadia VI -- 36

Miserable weather outside and last night after the trail run my left arch/ball of the foot started to hurt, so I tried to take care of both with a treadmill run. Six at 7:41 pace at the Y, I could feel my arch to start but once I warmed up nothing to worry about. Tried to be light on my feet to not pound it too much. Spent longer than usual stretching afterward as well, I think my calves, etc. are tight and that may play into some foot/ankle soreness. Good recovery run to start what should be another week to increase the mileage. 46:05

supernova glide blue -- 86

I got zonked with something yesterday afternoon, either a cold coming or just the week landed on me in one shot and stuck me on the couch. Went to bed feeling really fatigued and sore. Sleeping in this morning helped (I'm on a late shift this month), but I wasn't going to pile miles on feeling this way. Shorty around Manette to shake my legs loose and sweat a bit. I -- as usual -- feel better after finishing. Tossed in a serious hill up Cascade Trail for good measure, just to tack something helpful on at the end. I'm still planning a high mileage week and I want to be above 50 by Saturday, so back to drinking Vitamin C. 35:04

supernova glide blue -- 90

There seems to be a theme among FRBers I follow this week, so I jumped on board and hit the treadmill again. Actually, I didn't need peer pressure. My cold is sticking around and it was 30 degrees and sleeting again, so I decided to just go sweat for 30 minutes and hopefully rest up for a high-mileage weekend. 

Easy pace, 4 miles. Foot felt fine, for the most part. Energy is just low. 33:00

supernova glide blue -- 94

Manette Hills loop, minus the extra loop around the YMCA. Rained, then hailed, then the sun came out. Kept a medium pace, but I'm low on energy and still a little sore as I recover from the mini-cold. A lot of sweat though, so hopefully I'm getting flushed out. 43:11

supernova glide blue --  100

Day off for a Chuckanut prep run. Drove up to Skagit Valley and got to the empty parking lot around 1. Gray day, but 47 degrees and no rain, so I felt good about heading for 18 solo. 

Clayton Beach to Cleator Road in 40 minutes even. I was slower on the climb to Fragrance than planned, my heart was racing and I just wasn't warmed up for those hills. At Frangrance I found my first patches of snow, enough to cover the ground and make things a little slick, but not too tricky. 

Up Cleator Road to the gate in 22 minutes, but here's where the run went awry. Out of nowhere you hit snow where Cleator gets steep. Just 2-3 inches initially, but that was 5 by the gate and 8-10 inches at the switchbacks before the ridge entrance. I was trudging through it, picking my lines and paths through the two or three sets of footsteps in the snow, but it was tough.

I started heading out the ridge, the trail was covered but not as deep because of the tree cover. The wind and rain picked up there, however, and freezing to death on that ridge alone wasn't a good plan for the day. It's pretty exposed. So I turned around. Went up Cleator to the Chinscraper trail and ran that backward. The last bit before the parking lot was snowy, but it cleared quickly in the trees there and the rest of the trail was fine.

At the base of Chinscraper I did the Lost Lake trail climb backward, hit snow again but this was also quite a bit less (maybe 2-4 inches) than the road. Got to the top there and ran back down, then found Frangrance Road (hopped on at a dry point) and ran back to the parking lot. I knew I was short from skipping the ridge and the climb out of Lost Lake, so I took the Interurban for another 30 minutes. Probably 15 total. Tired but not slammed, and probably could be considered "good" after dealing with the week's fatigue and recovering from the cold. My energy uphill through the snow was encouraging, the first 1/3 of the run when I was finding a rhythm was not. 2:30:00

brooks cascadia VI -- 51

I stayed in the valley to have dinner with friends after the run, and didn't get to my bed until 11:30. So the 5:45 wake up to go meet Mike came early. But it was kind of intentional, I wanted to run early to get some work on tired legs. 

We ran 12 on the Beach Drive course, kept the pace pretty easy (I wasn't pushing or surging, that's for sure). My legs felt shot three miles in, and the last four coming in were a grind. We were still hitting 7:30 pace. So it was punishment for a cause, and piling some miles on tired legs will help.

My body wasn't so happy overall though, breakfast didn't sit well and I even struggled through my afternoon nap. Just exhausted for a good week of training, I guess.

supernova glide blue -- 112

To cap my big mileage weekend on Sunday, I joined Krissy and two other friends for another early morning, this time at Cougar Mountain. My body was really screaming about another 6 a.m. wake-up call, but it was good to put these all together. And it turned out to be a really nice morning. Wasn't sure what I'd have left, but who cared at that point. 

We started mercifully slow on the initial ascent, which my legs actually handled with some strength. Once we leveled out I felt almost loose and springy, which I didn't expect. Justin eventually pushed the pace a bit, but I felt fine sticking with that, and the hills toward the middle and finish breezed right by. I could feel the miles from the weekend stacking up, but it wasn't slowing me down.

I wasn't totally rested, but as the run finished my body kind of snapped back to feeling healthy. Really positive way to finish a big weekend. 1:30:00

brooks cascadia IV -- 61

Manette-Warren bridge loop. The sheath outside and above my left ankle flared up after the weekend. Nothing serious, but some pain. So I'm on the ice schedule, and I may take another day off just so I don't bug it. 40:08

supernova glide blue

Tracyton Beach Road and back. The inflammation above my left ankle flared up about 2 miles in, but didn't get really sore. I took it easy on the way out, picked up the pace a bit coming back and loosened up. Little side trip through Lion's Park. Felt pretty strong overall, not as fatigued this week due to the lowered mileage. Should be in good shape for the race as long as I baby the ankle a few more days. 60:08

supernova glide blue

Another rainy day run, and thus another day to be jealous of Jon Allen's blog. (And eager for his reports of sweltering through the South's August humidity.) 

Met Mike at Evergreen Park, we skipped yesterday's run for today because he had plans and I had plans to sleep in (and then I never found a chance to get out for some miles). But we couldn't shake the rain, and it was pretty wet. Crossed the Warren Ave bridge, down through Lions Park, then back to Manette with a loop of Shore Drive and return on the bridge and through downtown. Nice time, although Mike definitely pushed the pace (and complained about it the whole time). Ankle flared up a bit at 16 minutes or so, so I'm still being cautious with that for another week. 53:40

supernova glide blue

Beat the rain for an easy run on the 11th-Shore Drive loop. Left ankle wasn't as bad, but the arch was bugging me. Being careful with both heading into the weekend. 36:11

supernova glide blue -- 143

Turned out it wasn't my day, but that's the selfish way to look at it. The course was much improved from two weeks earlier, the rain held and by the finish the sun was even out, a lot of familiar faces were there, and I finished without injuring myself. So I have a smile on regardless. 

I slept in Mount Vernon the night before so I didn't have a long drive before the race. Cup of coffee and a plain English muffin for breakfast. Arrived in plenty of time, though I was one of the last four people out of the bathrooms before rushing to the start. I jumped in line next to Brita, who I drove up with, well back in the pack.

The first mile or two was slow, just staying in that pack as we stretched out on the Interurban. Like last year I didn't want to waste any energy there. I ran alone, mostly passing people, and hit the 10k in 49 minutes. A minute slower than '10, but right where I wanted to be. One gel on the way out. Small cup of water at the station and then up the hill. I was with a pack of guys headed up to Frangrance, and one older runner and I ended up leading the whole climb. We really trucked through, it felt great and I was really strong on the climb to the lake. I ended up passing the older guy, though he stayed close and moved ahead of me on the Cleator climb. But I made the Cleator station in 38 minutes, feeling good.

Walked through that aid station and got going again up the long climb. Other than a four-minute walk on the steeper early stretch and a short walk near the top on a steep turn, I moved pretty well. Just over 30 minutes to the Ridge (though I can't compare to last year because the station moved, I think the time was faster overall). I felt in a much better place than the year before at that point, and started off strong on the Ridge, catching a few people quickly.

But, at 2:30 or so, the cramping started in my calves. I still had energy and felt strong, but I was a little worried. Same place it happened last year. I managed through, walked some of the steep bits and slowed the pace some, tried to fuel. I have a feeling I had less water in me than I should have. Took some salt tablets, and made it back down to Lost Lake trail. Took it easy up that trail, trying to work the cramps out (or at least hold them at bay). Kept moving at a decent pace, though I hiked the last uphill up to the lookout. Heading back down to the Chinscraper start was brutal though, I was completely zapped and cramping all the way through my legs by then. No water left either, and I was just clinging on until that aid station.

Hit it in 1:19 for that stretch. By then I knew a pr was pretty much impossible. I spent some time there refueling with soup, electrolytes, etc., which helped some. A group of us scaled chinscraper toghether, mostly hiking, in just under 20 minutes. At the top, however, the three or four I was with bolted and I had nothing to go on. The cramps whacked me again. I made it down (because, well, it's downhill) in 26:00.

I was at the last aid in just over 4 hours, so I wasn't sure I'd even break 5 at that point. I was a little broken in my head, knowing that. Just kind of frustrated, tired of battling the cramps, second guessing everything I had done in preparation (or had not done); I wasn't hurt at all but I was broken in my mind. I ran slowly in, walking occasionally when my legs would cramp up, and I was passed by at least four or five people. At some point I finally told myself, 'just finish, don't worry about it.' So I let go of the 5-hour goal, tried to grind through and find some enjoyment in looking out at the water as I squeezed the last drops out of my body. Hit the finish in 5:04:42, and all I could think about was food despite the gels, shot blocks, etc. I just had nothing in the tank and could feel it.

I could make excuses all day about the performance (and sitting here thinking I'm coming up with more). But there were a few that probably affected me which I can address before the next race: my mileage for both January and February was slightly below last year; I've been working an odd shift at work the past three weeks, which has thrown my rest out of whack and fatigued me overall; work has been particularly stressful the past two months, which I think has worn me down mentally and made it tough to focus on the race; my nutrition in the four or five days preceding the race was abysmal, I was skipping meals and eating less than the best when I did eat, which I think explains some of the dehydration and definitely the lack of energy in the last few miles.

The rest of the afternoon was good, sat in the sun and talked to people, watched awards, all that. After eating my head straightened out, which was nice. So it wasn't my best race, but I'm not too beat up now (a little shin pain and swelling is about it) so I'll get another one on the schedule soon to test myself again.

brooks cascadia VI -- 92

Back after a three day rest. Spring has started, Manette in the mid-morning is full of retired people gardening, my legs are recovered other than a little bruising/inflammation in my right shin, and it's time to begin again. YMCA loop, so I could feel a few hills. Other than the shin, fine and dandy. Race plans are forming again in my head, and hopefully they make their way to the blog soon. 33:33

supernova glide --  147

Warren-Manette bridge loop on a dry but cloudy morning at a medium effort as the run progressed. My right shin seems to flare up more often as the week goes on, especially after sitting for awhile. I feel it while running, though it's worse when walking, oddly enough, and tender to the touch when I massage it (which helps). Ice ice ice, some patience and crossed fingers. Other than that, no hangover from Chuckanut in the legs or overall energy levels, which is really encouraging. 42:00

supernova glide -- 152

Seven or so with Krissy at Discovery Park, not the usual loop because we were hustling back to get to a show. So I'll estimate. Really strong, steady pace, so my legs are fine. The shin edema or whatever flared up once, but it's improving. No run Saturday, but still a good active recovery week. 55:00

 supernova glide

Quickie across the two bridges, cloudy morning in Bremerton. I'm a little frisky for some reason and started at 7/min pace despite a good headwind (maybe it's The Mondays--or just the two days off). I shouldn't complain. Felt good to start the week. 36:49

supernova glide -- 164

Tonight was the first practice of the year for the youth team I coach, the Bremerton Jaguars. The philosophy this year is that for the first three weeks, at least, we do nothing but conditioning. Let the kids whine. We broke into groups of five (we have 35 on the team now, which should grow to between 50-75) and did workouts of 5 minutes running broken up by short sprints (a set of 50m, then a faster set of 25m, then running stairs). It was fun to get started, and actually there wasn't too much whining. 

So when we finished I put in four miles around the track. A few kids jumped in with me for a lap, but every one of them got gassed quickly at 7/min-ish pace. I'm going to keep doing post-practice workouts in front of the kids, hoping some of the better ones (who have plenty of energy left, I think) get pulled in more often for a mile or two.

supernova glide -- 168

Tracyton Beach turnaround, didn't have time to make the boat launch. Windy day, but the drencher forecast is being blocked by the Olympics. So I won't complain. Quick pace, though I felt a little low on energy. 59:00 or so.

supernova glide -- 176

 Five days was certainly too long of a break, but I did a massive amount of yard work Saturday and Sunday. When you let it go for five months, several of them very rainy, the lawn and weeds tend to get a bit cataclysmic. So you can't say I didn't get a workout in over the weekend. On Friday and Monday I was just lazy, though.

So I came back with a small workout, after track practice tonight. Mike's daughter is running on our team, so he showed up to watch her and then we did a little work. Really windy day, so the backstretch was always a chore. We ran a mile-plus to warm-up, then 5x800 at 3:00 per, with a lap in between each. We hit that 3 almost right on every one, I think only the first one was 3:05. Then another mile to cool down.

Good to be out again, I was energized a bit after a great practice with the kids. And Mike just read 'Once a Runner' so he had some juice as well. I almost left him to do another 25 800s on his own. 

supernova glide -- 182

Warren-Manette bridge loop. Been a lazy week. 38:43

supernova glide -- 187

Beach Drive w/Mike, started dark and early but it was warmer than usual. Quiet out there today. Good run for my first long one in a few weeks, 7:10-7:30 pace the whole way. Only problem in the legs was rust, stopped and stretched and I felt fine. Recovered the week a bit with this one. 1:18:20

supernova glide blue -- 205

I went to bed and woke up sore and a little achy in the left hip from the 18. Thought I'd go to the Y and do an easy recovery run to shake out the pain. But I got there, a friend was shooting hoops, so I decided to warm up with that. Two and half hours later I was done playing, we ended up running full court four on four most of the time. 

And my legs feel great right now. So maybe that's my recovery plan. 

No "miles," but a pretty good workout for an off-day.

A little stiff after Sunday's hoops, I wouldn't describe my legs as heavy, but they weren't fresh either. Just a different pounding, I suppose. Did the Manette hills loop to grind uphill a bit, kept a pretty good pace throughout and even threw in Alder Street at the end for a little extra climbing punishment. 44:01

 supernova glide -- 211

We had a little bonus practice for some of the Jaguars kids this afternoon. After an hour or so of drills and some sprints, this 9-year-old kid Keith wanted to keep running. And he wanted to know if we could have practice again tomorrow. This stuff keeps me going. How could I not be ready to get a run in after that? 

So I went to Illahee Preserve, had the woods to myself for awhile and wound my way around until I had done six miles or so. 43:00

supernova glide -- 217

Tracyton Beach Road for a medium workout. Two to warm up, 3x1 mile at 10k pace (5:30, 6:00, 5:15), three to cool down w/5x100 striders. 58:40

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Four hours of sleep before an early long run with Mike. And I have no one to blame but myself, because I suggested we bump it up to 16 on Beach Drive. (And I set the work schedule that put myself on the late Friday shift.)

Started in a bit of a mist, but it turned out to be a nice morning to run under some clouds. Not so nice on my legs, even at our 7:20 to 7:30 pace (which was perfect), I felt sluggish and sore. Not cramps or fatigue, but just worn down and beat up. Heavy legs, but more specific pain in my hips and right hamstring in particular. I suffered (though Mike cruised along, talked about how good he felt). But we made it. Then track practice, where I did no running. 2:02:26

A decent week, I'm getting back in a groove. Need to get my hips stretched out though, they have really started bothering me.

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Brisk evening run on the 11th-Shore Drive loop. Not tempo, but a quick pace that felt good. Hip feeling better, but I'm pretty tight through there. 36:26

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Cut this one a bit short, probably even short of 6. My left hip flexor tightened up two miles in, and that seemed to put a little pain behind my knee. I wasn't hobbling, but something definitely felt off about the run. By the time I was back to Shore Drive it didn't feel right, so I headed home. Flying to San Jose now for work meetings the next few days. 39:00

supernova glide -- 251

In San Jose for an editors' meeting, I took a morning jaunt through the neighborhoods to check out the city. I probably turned the *wrong* way, but at dawn there's not much trouble even in the grittier neighborhoods. I started on a trail that ended quickly, my hips were really bothering me early. But things loosened up, I finally made my way back to where I could figure out my location, and I eventually ended up at San Jose State and checked out downtown. Then I sat there in a cold conference room for a day. 43:06

supernova glide -- 257

 Shorter post than this run deserves, but I need to get something up and move on. I missed runs Friday and Saturday in San Jose because I stayed up late with my editor friends misbehaving (that and the boss didn't adjourn the meetings early, as promised). I made it to San Francisco Saturday night, and after a few hours of sleep I got up early Easter morning and ran from my inn toward Golden Gate Park. Mist turned into some good, warm rain, and I wound through the Japanese garden, flower conservatory, by the museums, and eventually found a trail. Rambled downhill on the trial until I hit the Pacific Ocean, and stopped to marvel at a cold, damp Sunday morning right on the country's coast. It was marvelous. I turned around and trucked back up the hill through the park, really ran a quick pace actually. Then I wound through neighborhoods until I was back in Hayes Valley, got cleaned up and went to church. Wonderful way to explore a great part of an incredible city. 1:28:00

supernova glide blue -- 269

A short evening run, my hips were bothering me so I cut it off and came home to spend time stretching. I'm not sure what the deal is, just very tight and sore despite how much effort I put into loosening up and stretching. The good news is that is doesn't feel like an "injury," but more an annoyance that just hangs around. 23:00

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Turned out to be a light week, but I'll pretend I'm tapering for Bloomsday. The race is Sunday morning, I was coaxed out this morning by the sun for five miles to shake my legs and see how everything felt. Much better through the hips after a few days off with just stretching, it was nice to feel normal again. Who knows what will happen in the race because I haven't exactly been diligent in training the past month, but at least I won't worry about limping through.

It'll be an early morning tomorrow. I'm picking Henry up at Sea-Tac at 8, spending at least two hours at our Jaguars track meet in Seattle, then heading east to Spokane so we can hit the expo by late afternoon. It's been cool over there as well, hopefully the sun comes out for the race.

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Second time at the enormous Spokane May 1 race, with some real similarities to a year ago. Rain showed up the night before, we ate dinner at the same restaurant (which actually isn't that good, I think tradition will change) and the skies cleared before we left. I slept on the floor at Donnie's, and got great sleep somehow. Woke up Sunday morning to clear, sunny skies and 40-degree weather. 

Mike, Henry and I snuck through the Second Seed pit as close to the elites as we could, even eight rows back or so there are hundreds of runners to weave around. Didn't have to stand around much, perfect timing and warmup. There were 50,000 finishers, and that lead group is pretty bunched up so you're in a big pack. The other downside is that I missed the first two mile markers because the pack was so thick. Other than a pace check at mile 3 (I was running sub-6) and at mile 5 (outside shot at sub-43:00) I had no idea of pace. The funny thing is I almost race naked just for the heck of it so I would race and not get hung up on pace; probably wouldn't have hurt me.

I felt good through miles 1 and 2, but thought they might have been a little slow in retrospect. At the uphill coming toward 2 I started to work, and I passed my first large portion of runners there and kept the pace honest after that. By mile 4 things had thinned out and I really focused on pushing the pace toward Doomsday Hill. After all the hip and plantar pain the past two weeks I was worried how my legs would feel, but when I was halfway through without any soreness or tightness I had a good feeling.

I maybe passed one guy up Doomsday, then crested and saw the clock and knew that two sub-6 miles and a really fast 0.4 would sneak me under 44 minutes, which was the goal. (44:21 a year ago.) I tried to push and lock in a pace with a guy 10 yards up who was running well. I had a momentary loss of focus, just spacing out, and felt like I floated the pace a bit. I straightened my head out quickly and got back to it, caught the guy I was looking for at maybe 6.5. I ran smart toward the last mile marker, picking up everything I could and starting my kick prior to the last right hand turn. The finish is a quarter mile downhill, so it goes quickly. I let my legs go as they could, but the really fast turnover just might not exist anymore. There was one guy dying that I didn't quite catch, would have liked to get him but I needed another 10 yards to do it.

But a PR nonetheless, I felt great at the finish and that sub-44 was definitely within reach had I started in a better position. Definitely spent more time manuvering through slower runners than I would have liked to. But that's part of the fun, I suppose.

Then we sat around in the sun eating pizza, donuts, apples and drinking coffee. It's a fantastic post-race spread. Then we all went back to Donnie's and had the traditional nacho table, which is the Bloomsday version of a bruger. Good weekend.

Kind of an odd workout for two days after a race, but it's an odd week. After being out of the office most of the afternoon (and drinking too much coffee during said time out), I went in and touched my desk then left for track practice. We worked the kids hard with 300m repeats, then a post-practice coaches meeting turned awkward and kind of dissolved when one guy got all upset. So I walked away and started to run on the track, planning for a few easy miles in circles. But 200m in I was striding out and thought 'Hey, why not...' and put together three miles in 18:05 without a warm up other than dinking around with the kids. And my legs felt great, so, yeah, why not?

Then I cooled down for two miles and decided it was time to head home and eat dinner. 32:20

supernova glide 

Hey, where'd the sun go? I had the yardwork vs. evening run argument in my head after work last night, and the lawn won. I figured the sun would stick around another day to run, but I guess it had somewhere to be today. So a cloudy, damp morning trip to Tracyton Beach Road, the 8-mile turnaround. Comfortable pace. 59:02

supernova glide -- 290

Evening workout after Jaguars track practice. We're trying to make the kids work a little harder, so they did seven 400s tonight. Half of me was inspired by watching them push themselves, the other half of me was frustrated because some of our best runners have an attitude about running one silly lap around a track. A 400 makes them "distance runners." Oy. I'd love to sit and tell a 50k story to them, but they already think I'm enough of a crazy white boy. 

So when practice ended and everyone lingered around on a sunny evening (hey, spring!), I started running. Easy mile to warm up, then I exhumed my mix of inspiration/frustration with a 3 miles at a 10k pace. Miles were 5:50, 5:55 and 5:54. Pretty good run, actually. I was tempted for another and really should have done it, but it was getting dark and I was hungry. I'm always hungry. One mile cool down and went home.

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February returned today, so a soggy evening run broken into two parts. Stage one was with the Jaguars, and I'm surprised as many kids showed for an 'optional' practice as were there. I took 10 kids on a 2.5 mile run in the rain to Lulu Haddon park, which includes two three pretty good hill climbs. The best part was that they all finished. Some even thought it was fun and kept running the whole time. 

The best part for me was that is was the first truly easy pace I've run in awhile, so I finished the 2.5 at 9 minute pace or whatever, which felt great, then I stood around for a bit with the coaches until I was shivering (the February bit) and went for another 5. 55:26

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I should have a long explanation or some stories from the road since this was a 20, but I don't. Simply, it was just a good run with Mike out to Yukon Harbor and back. I really felt good at a pace between 7 and 7:30, and a few hours later, my legs still do. Uncharacteristic for that distance, but whatever. 2:27:00

supernova glide blue -- 322

 Warren-Manette bridge loop, with a little extra swing through downtown Bremerton to keep it an honest six.

supernova glide -- 328

Last week's promising start crash hard Tuesday night, when I picked up a case of food poisoning I'm still battling through a bit. So the foundation of that 20-miler, a wonderful few days of sunshine, and the Rhody Run 12k were all lost. No running for five days, a combo of the lingering sickness, no appetite and lethargy, sleeping more to try and get healthy, and just a busy weekend that didn't leave time for even a short run. It's not been fun. 

But I got out for 40 slow minutes Monday night after work. Felt really rusty. But at least I did something. 40:15

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Warren-Manette bridge loop, medium pace. Finally feeling like myself again. 40:00

supernova glide 

Quickie on the short version of the Manette/Y loop. Sun came out as I ran. 30:00 

supernova glide

We have a little weekly sports publication at the newspaper I work at, and I write a monthly column about running. I mentioned this week how much I always underestimate how the longer days help my running. The summer kind of sneaks up, and all of a sudden it's light before 6 a.m. and much, much easier to get going early. After a cold, dreary spring like we've had it's an incredible relief to finally be confident leaving the house in shorts and a long-sleeve early in the morning. I've done it without even thinking twice this week, and both times got 5 minutes in before realizing 45 degrees doesn't really mean summer. I'll probably melt when it hits 75. 

Anyway, Mike I took advantage of another decent day by putting off our long run, of course. Saving the 20 for Monday, we ran 8 down on Beach Drive. Mike's training for an Ironman and was pretty taxed after a huge week, and I'm still building back some strength from the illness. But we ran a quick pace, first time running at 7/min in awhile for me. Felt fine after the first mile or so, and we threw in a few 6:50-6:55s on the home stretch. Then we had breakfast with the crew, now it's time for track practice. 59:02

supernova glide -- 351

Mike and I have developed a good tradition: If it's a Monday holiday, we meet at Evergreen Park at 7. Run, then coffee and treats at Samudra Yogo and Bakery. But no yoga. 

So we celebrated Memorial Day that way today, somehow navigated around the morning rainstorm that hit part of the county while circling Dyes Inlet. We went out Kitsap Way to Northlake Way, past the trailer parks north on Chico Way to Old Towne and the water front -- where there was a pancake breakfast going on -- and then back on Tracyton Beach Road and Boulevard, I can never keep them straight, capping it off with a loop through downtown, where the tourists were doing whatever you do at the Harbor Festival. Looking at the harbor, I suppose.

Felt pretty strong throughout, another encouraging 20 miler (these are getting easy, even). Two slow miles to start, but there are some hills getting out of B-town, then settled into 7:20 pace until Silverdale, and inched back to a wiser 7:30-7:40 pace on the second half. A lot of hills on this route. 2:35:47

Then I had a peach turnover, and made the people in the bakery feel guilty because they hadn't run 20 miles this morning. Or maybe we got the stink eye because we were the sweaty and smelly guys having a snack.

Time to mow the lawn!

supernova glide -- 371

Well, it had been a long week of work after the holiday, so I took Wednesday off also. I could get used to a one-day-on-one-off schedule. Actually it was a comp day because I've been working a lot, and since I'm the boss, I take comp days when I please! 

The weather foiled me a bit, me thinking the sun would be out an all, but oh well. Light rain never hurt anyone but witches who melt in the stuff. So I dinked around the house in the morning, ate a donut, then Krissy came over and we went and ran Green Mountain. Almost had the whole thing to ourselves (two other hikers), and the sun came out by the end. (Of course it did, we're in Bremerton! That's my joke that annoys everyone else.) 

Eleven solid, relaxed miles, though Krissy has the San Diego 100 next week so we went real easy, walked a few of the steeper hills and I had to wait for her a few times. I really like that forest though, wonderful day in there. Legs felt great after Monday's run, probably smart to take a day in between. 1:52:00

The other news is that I just got a free entry to North Olympic Discovery Half this weekend. The original owner came up with a sore back and knee, and his replacement was on a bike ride and got hit by a dog and went to the ER. So I'm the third stringer, but I can probably give "Rob Franzen" his pr for athlinks. So a race coming Sunday.

brooks cascadia 8

Just a little guy here. I ran a two-mile fartlek on the track with my team, sprinting the straightaways and jogging the corners. I planned to stay late and do a few more miles, but three of the kids on the team got caught stealing from Albertson's in the afternoon, so after practice I made them run stairs for awhile instead. Jaguars don't tolerate that crap.

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Easy race tune-up for Sunday, Warren-Manette bridge route on a wonderful sunny morning. Might be the nicest day of the year, and we're headed to Federal Way for a twilight track meet tonight. I'm a little stiff in the hips and my left plantar is still a little sore, but I stretched well and it should be easy to warm up tomorrow morning before running hard. 

supernova glide -- 378

I debated hitting the "race report" button or not... 

I don't know the etiquette behind running bandit. I'd never really thought about it much, and I've never done it. I suppose it's bad if too many people do it, but when it's a local sold out race on a gorgeous day and I know a friend had paid for an entry and dropped it -- who's really going to take the time to hassle me? So when faced with that choice this morning because of a snafu with my bib pick-up (I was replacing a guy, but he wanted the shirt so he showed up and took his packet and bib, and didn't tell me and left), I compromised: I'd run, but stick with Mike and enjoy the morning with him instead of a true race. That way, I rationalized, I'd still be a part of things, but I wouldn't be up with any leaders or mess up the timing system or lie if I won my age group (theoretically, of course). Sound fair?

Mike's three weeks out from Ironman so he wasn't racing either. We were there to participate and cheer his wife and sister-in-law in on their marathon. After packing away my guilty conscious at the start (I was certain everyone was eyeing the guy without a bib), Mike and I took it out at a really comfortable pace. We ran 7:15s the first two, chatting the whole time. Wonderful weather, sun came out, saw a few friends on the course, it was maybe 70 degrees, and NODM really is a jewel. The half is all on paved trail that runs through forests, lilac fields, and along the Straight of Juan de Fuca. Some hills, but for sooome reason they are much easier while running 13.1. (I felt them during a marathon last year.)

So we stuck that pace, with a few miles closer or at 7 minutes/per, for about 9 miles. Then we decided to get a little workout in. So we burned through a 6:55, 6:45, 6:35 and a 5:45. It was fun to feel that strong and stride out through the finish. I stepped off the course at the 13-mile marker, let Mike run 0.1 on his own and avoided any hassle at the finish. But, it wasn't a real race, I know that. 1:30 was a walk in the park with my friend on a sunny day that serves as a nice workout for the week, and that's fine. At least I didn't pay for it (or get the UGLY shirt they gave out), right?

(I should admit here, however, that I took full advantage of the generous post-race spread. Maybe some of my guilt is earned.)

adidas adistar -- 25

No idea of the actual distance here, so it's an estimate, and the pace was incredibly inconsistent, and I forgot to start my watch. But it was a great run. 

I was fully prepared to leave my khakis on and just yell encouragement at the Jaguars running in the rain today — until the head coach, after warm ups, tells the team they'll be following Coach Dave out for a run on the streets. So I hustle and throw some shorts on and lead my (surprisingly willing) troops from Memorial Stadium over to 15th and Naval. One of the steeper hills in town is at that intersection (not as steep or as long as Alder, where I live, but a pretty good grade). So we trucked these kids up and down and up and down and up and down, me running back and forth like a cattle rancher (or, more likely, the sheepdog who runs next to a cattle rancher doing the herding work). Most kids ran 4 to 6 repeats, we kept a few of the better kids out and dragged them through as many as 12. I'd guess I ran the hill 14 times or so. Only one of them was all out, when our star runner decided he was going to challenge the old man on a hill.

He fell over at the top, I headed down for another repeat. It's child abuse, but it's good for them.

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Easy Beach Drive run with Mike. He's tapering for an Ironman, I'm tapering because I have more important things to do these days and no immediate races scheduled. I'm flying to Kenya two weeks from today though, my brother and I are spending two weeks there at a small village called Rusinga Island, where a friend of ours is from, as well as some traveling around the country. Maybe I should be in shape in case the Kenyans want to challenge me. 59:40

supernova glide blue -- 390

Short morning run, trying to stay in some rhythm. 28:55

supernova glide blue -- 294

Easy a.m. on the YMCA loop. Sun was out but now it's gone away. Good thing I woke up. 29:53

adidas supernova -- 398

The truth is I'm just not running much right now. My priorities the past month were work and the Jaguars, and now I'm focused on preparing for Kenya. When I return I'll schedule a race, and start running again. I don't know if my training this year has "earned" down time, but I took it anyway.

What I notice is that my body now hurts when I don't run. That's never happened before. It's a different pain than training brings, but I've become very stiff without working my legs out and stretching regularly, and that tightness creates sore muscles in my back and legs. So I'm tired of that, and tonight's quick leg-stretcher with Henry (just around Manette after work) was incredibly pleasant. 

I'm still alive, but it's been awhile. Seven slightly laborious miles on Beach Drive with Henry, on a Seattle Summer morning (that is, it's raining pretty steadily). Nice to be back, but it's going to be rough until I get some fitness built up. 52 minutes or so, I didn't stop my watch during two bathroom breaks and a brief walk.

For those of you wondering why I haven't been running, I have been in Kenya. I only saw two runners the whole time, but they do love their marathoners. One of our drivers even had a son who's an 800 specialist for a national training team. 

Here's a blog with stories, if you're interested: www.nelsonsgotorusinga.blogspot.com

Oof, I'm slow these days. Evening run around Manette, Shore Drive, etc. 23:00 

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Afternoon run with Krissy over at Discovery Park, we hadn't run together in awhile so we caught up. She was planning a VO2 max test the next day and I'm woefully out of shape (though I felt better than Saturday), so it wasn't fast. Even walked in the last few blocks. 1:06:00 

supernova glide blue (lost count, but I have a feeling I'm heading over 400 for these guys)

Finally, a sunny morning. Back on the Warren-Manette bridge loop. The old Manette Bridge will be open to car traffic for two more days, and then it closes until the new one opens in November. At some point I'm sure they'll cut off pedestrian traffic, but very soon that old boy will be all ours, runners, walkers and bicyclists! 

Felt pretty sluggish again, still regaining some fitness. I'm really stiff too, stopping at 20 minutes to stretch was perfect. 40:00

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Evening run from work over to Lions Park and back. Warm evening. Maybe it's because I was going from work, or just coming at the end of a big weekend, but I was really sluggish. I hope it's not a sign from the running gods, but I lost my watch also.

supernova glide blue

In Wichita, Kansas for the Junior Olympics track meet with two of the kids I coach. It was a very lovely 107 on Thursday, and probably 85 and steamy when I ran at 6:30 a.m. Three miles was enough to get a good sweat going, and any more may have melted me as I sat in the sun the rest of the day. 

Another hot, hot, hot run in Kansas, and this time I was wise enough to wait until 9, when the concrete really started baking. 

Back in pleasant, mild Washington, and the old YMCA loop. The Manette Bridge is temporarily closed so I may have to get creative with some runs. I'm still not feeling right,  kind of drained of energy and sluggish. I hope it's just being a little out of shape. 

Slowly getting back to it, I'm starting to feel like myself again. Another fairly short run, no watch and I kind of wound around Manette to enjoy the evening sun. I did find my watch after I finished though, I had left it on a lawn chair out on the deck sometime last week. 

supernova glide blue 

Longest and best run in weeks, finally feeling a bit more like myself. Henry and I ran on Beach Drive, he started too quickly but I hung on, then pushed him on the return for a series of 7-minute miles. There wasn't any real reason to run faster like that, but it felt good and kind of fun to push the pace. 1:11:00

 supernova glide blue

Late night at work last night, so I'm hustling to get to the office on time this morning. The Shore Drive run, abbrieviated. 22:00

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Cougar Mountain trail run with Krissy and Justin Engle. I took the morning off to meet these guys, I hadn't been to Cougar in awhile. We did a shorter loop to accomodate schedules, which I thought was a good idea since I'm still working back into some shape. But I felt pretty strong throughout, which was encouraging since we ran at an honest clip on the uphill portions. It was a great mid-week run, I can probably call myself a runner again.

Eight's a guess since it wasn't the loop I'm used to. A little over an hour on my new watch. 

brooks cascadia

Quick evening run before Quiz Night at the Manette, I cut it a little short so I'd be there on time. Warm evening, my legs were a little tired from Wednesday's run. YMCA loop, which is a bit hilly so the pace it a little slower. 31:09

supernova glide blue

I decided to run a trail half marathon tomorrow up in Port Gamble, so I took it easy this morning. Gray, cool start to the day with the marine layer hanging around, which was nice and comfortable. I ran alone, started slow but worked into a decent, smooth pace. I have a thought in my head to run the Bellingham marathon in six weeks so I spent the run doing the training math. I'll see how tomorrow goes, and then do a road half on Labor Day to gauge my fitness and see if a quality marathon in September is realistic. Part of me says it is, because I had a good early season base before my mid-summer break. The other part says 'you better cram some workouts and 20+ runs in to the next month, or you're a dead man.' Both are probably kind of right, I just need to find where the truth lies and see if I'm up for it. 

Anyone have thoughts on whether six weeks is enough time? Any advice on where to focus? I'm not way out of shape, but I got a little rusty after going to Kenya and it's been slow going to get back in shape. 

42:47

supernova glide blue

Today was one of the worst races of my life. But it was also a pretty nice run through the forest for a Sunday morning, and perhaps a really good reminder of what a lazy summer of running feels like. 

My friend Doug Stutz and I drove up to Port Gamble on a cool, cloudy morning for the annual Roots Rock Port Gamble Trails Half Marathon. It's part of the series I like to go to up there, which I've rambled on here about on other occasions. All races are in a really beautiful piece of woods (4,000 acres, in fact), every one is a smoothly run race, and this time there were post-race burgers on the BBQ and locally brewed beer for all participants, since the owner of one of the county's newest microbreweries also happens to be a runner.

So I can complain about a poor performance (I got through 10 miles at a good pace and then my body had enough), I can't complain about the morning.

The short version of the race is that I went in with a desire to gauge my fitness. The last time I ran this far was in June, at the NODM half. So it's been awhile since I've seen this distance, and I knew that would be an obstacle. I started near the back to try and hold myself back and it worked for two miles or so, but I got caught up with a crowd on some single-track stretches, hooked in with this guy named Terry between 5 and 10 and we kept up a good clip, and then I packed it in. We weren't screaming (just under 8/minute miles), but after 10 I really lost all energy (I've never been so hungry on a run) and slowed down quite a bit. I haven't struggled mentally like that in awhile either, which was a little disappointing. At least six people passed me over the last three miles and I didn't have it to hang with any of them. My legs were pretty shot at the finish, more than I'd expect from 13 miles.

This was a new race course, and featured significantly more single track. It's a really winding, up-and-down, narrow course now, which keeps you from ever really striding out, and does tax the legs pretty well. It's fun to run, but even the lead guys had to treat it as a workout rather than a place to run a great time. But at least it's easy to have a great time up there. I'll leave with that memory, and get back to work running now.

brooks cascadia -- I've liked these shoes, though I'm a little worried at the cushioning. My feet really felt beat up by the end. That is expected on a rooty, twisting course, I suppose, but it may be wise to try something else before another 50k attempt.

Easy miles on the Shore Drive loop, legs were a little heavy from yesterday. I rode my bike to/from work as well. 30:25

supernova glide blue

Surprisingly good workout for two days after the wreckage on the trails and after a few months away from the track. I ran after work at Bremerton High, it was in the 70s and sunny, and I almost had the place to myself. 

Two miles warm up, then a ladder of intervals that increased by one minute each, from 1 to 5 and back down to 1. One minute rest between each, though I cushioned the 5-minute interval with an extra minute of jogging on either side. I ran 5:50 pace the whole workout, which I was surprised by. Felt the drag by the 3-minute session on the way back down, but still made it through. Another mile cool down. 54:14 total.

adidas adistar (I really like these)

Quick morning run around the neighborhood. 24:04

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Wonderful morning on Beach Drive, no marine layer today and the sun was shining over Mount Rainier nice and early. Met Henry, we ran six or so then met up with Mike, who's still getting back in shape. Medium pace, Henry tends to pull a little out of the gate rather than ease into it. But we were around 7/mile to 7:15/mile the whole time. Felt good, even after the stepped-up mileage this week. So that's a good sign I'm getting back in shape. 1:05:10

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YMCA loop, easy pace after work. 33:14 

Beach Drive w/Mike. 

Warren-Manette bridge loop. 40:57

Shore Drive and about. 22:45 

Illahee Preserve in the mid-morning, headed to work late. The weather in unbelievable these days, I could have stayed for hours if I had more time. 36:00

Hit the trails in Banner Forest with Mike and our friend Chris Lemke, who more or less lives in there. He led us around and about for an hour, it's not a hilly forest but the trails wind and turn every which way. I'd get lost on my own, so it was good to have a guide. 60:03 

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An evening quickie on the YMCA loop, really nice moonrise. 32:05

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Evening run on the 11th-Shore Drive loop. A lot of running traffic, which is kind of interesting for Bremerton. 31:00

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Skipped the Saturday run to go bike riding, so I met Mike at Evergreen Park for a rainy Sunday morning jaunt. Warren Ave bridge, two loops at Lions Park, then back over the Manette Bridge and a downtown loop. Almost no one else outside, but the bakery by the park opened just as we finished. Perfect timing. 47:17 

Today was the first day of Bremerton Jaguars XC practice. And one kid showed up. And I had never met him, so his mother didn't see me at the stadium (there was a JV football game going on) and I left before we got to do a workout. I'm hoping for better turnout Wednesday, but I'm going to have to get on the phone and re-recruit all the people who said they'd show. 

But, that meant a nice trail run on a beautiful autumn evening. Illahee Preserve for a few loops among the off-leash dogs (seriously folks, it's not that hard). Felt great. 37:00 

A run in two parts. First I ran with the three kids who showed up for Jaguars XC practice, we did about three miles (very slowly), including 6x250 striders. Then I ran another three (normal pace) on my own. 44:20 overall. 

Saturday's run in two parts. First an 8-mile run (56:40) on Beach Drive with Mike, lovely autumn morning down there with the sun out and short sleeve weather hanging on through the month.We picked Tony up at 2.5 or so and got to talking, which meant the pace crept down to 6:50s. Too fast, but oh well.

Then breakfast, then over to the track for Jaguars XC practice. Only two kids showed up, but we had a good workout. About 1.5 miles at an easy pace to Evergreen Park, then stretching/form drills/strides, then about 11 minutes looping the park on the grass with 8 35-50 second fartlek intervals thrown in. Then another six minutes back to the track. Even though it's a little disappointing, the small turnout kind of helps when it's the right kids because they stay focused rather than goofing around or complaining. Fun practice, and they were beat by the end. 

Downpour last night, then another round of rain after church. But the sky opened up into a perfect autumn day and I couldn't resist a Sunday afternoon run. Really gusty, but the sun stayed out.

Warren-Manette bridge loop, with a loop around Lions Park added. The park was empty today; yesterday at the same time it was packed. Kept a good pace throughout. 50:39

Another two-part run, adding up to 6.5 or so. 

One kid showed up for cross country, but he's a little older so we ran at a decent pace. 1.5 mile warmup, stretching and stride drills, then another 2ish with 8 surges/strides of between 25 and 50 seconds. 33:06

Then I hopped on the track to do a few more miles, after 12 minutes or so a young guy showed up at the track and jumped on as I was coming around and ran up alongside me. We started chatting, he was a sailor on the USS Nimitz, and we ended up running a couple laps at 6:30 pace as we got going. It was kind of fun pushing a little bit. 20 minutes or so on the track. 53:03

I flew to Salt Lake City on Friday with a few friends from high school. Our trip was to go to the University of Utah/University of Washington game Saturday afternoon. I also wanted to visit a few old friends in Utah on the weekend trip, so I asked Paul if he wanted to meet up for a run. He didn't, but he told me about the little OctoberFast 5k that he was going to be in SLC to help out with. I haven't been training to race, but it was a sunny morning and I was on vacation. So why not? 

We showed up a little later than planned and walked onto the Highland High track at five minutes to nine or so. Jake and Andrea seemed willing to allow a late entry, so I jogged about 200 meters with a few strides, lined up and we were off.

I had zero plan going into this, so I just ran a comfortable first lap to see where I could be, then decided to hold the pace. I was around 85 seconds for the first two, but backed off to between 88 and 91 for all of the other laps. Jake and the other leaders moved out pretty quickly, but I ran with another guy for the 6 laps or so then was solo for the second half and just focused on sticking the pace. That felt really comfortable, which is fine because I wasn't sure how the last mile would have felt had I pushed more. (I don't always trust the altitude response, so I was cautious.) 

Ended up with an 18:30 and a smile on my face. Most importantly, Paul had donuts in the car waiting. Cooled down two more laps, then we went up the canyon for breakfast.

Jaguars cross country practice, another small crowd but at least the rain stopped and we got in a good workout.

14-minute slow warmup around Olympic College, form drills and stretching, then a half mile or so to a hill and 6x200 meter hill repeats. I ran them close to my normal pace, let the kids chase me. Then back to the track, and I ran another two miles or so on my own. 43:00. 

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Afternoon XC practice. 15 minutes warm-up to Evergreen-Rotary Park, stretching and form drills, then 6x250 with a rest of about 1 minute between each. Then cooled down back to Bremerton High. No additional run afterward. 29:00 

Foggy morning at Beach Drive, Mike and I left a little late (my fault) and cut the run short at 7. But a good pace and it was a really calm morning. New shoes felt good, I can tell the old supernovas had too many miles on them. 52:03

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Kind of a last-minute adventure into the Cascades with Krissy, Justin Angle and Bryan Estes. We met in the dark and drove up past Cle Elum to a trailhead to Ingalls Peak, where Justin had mapped out a loop of 20-25. Really pretty drive, and the sun was trying to come out as we arrived. 

The first 60 minutes or so were a steady grind, then we dropped down a steep descent to the campground and saw some hikers. We chatted it up, looked at the fall larch, and kept moving. Somewhere in the next few miles we lost our way, and the trails didn't match with our map. Too many unmarked ATV trails confused us, as well as one washout that we suspect may have been the turn we should have taken. So we ambled around, down and up one long hill, for an hour or so. We finally turned and decided to bag the loop, saw a bare ridgeline and decided to scale it just for a view and something different. It was steep, I was taxed going up that thing but the view over Ingalls Peak was worth it. We got a little misted on, but not soaked or anything.

Then we ran back, sun coming back out and day hikers heading up. The long descent to the car started working me over, my energy level was lagging by then but I kept up. Had been awhile since I'd gone that far.

Ended up being out there for 4.5 hours and climbed over 6,000 feet total, the 20 miles is kind of a guess.

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Jaguars XC practice. 15 minutes easy around Olympic College to warm up, 8 hill repeats, then back to the high school. Then another 1.5 miles on my own or so. 

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Morning run on 11th-Shore loop. Pretty nice actually, dry today and mild. Medium pace, my quads are still feeling beat up from Sunday's adventure. 37:59

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Today's trail run turned into a chantrelle mushroom treasure hunt, so it ended up a little shorter than planned. That's all right though, I'm now planning on the Lake Padden Trail Half next weekend and probably didn't need a real big run. 

Mike and I met at Klahowya Secondary School at dawn, and ran into the Newberry Heritage Park trail network just west of the school. 30 minutes or so in there, the trails are  very well maintained and marked, and there's nothing steep. Then we crossed the road into the new trail areas on the other side of the school, and at about 33 minutes noticed some mushrooms on the side of the trail (on the "Chantrelle Trail," of course). Finding chantrelles is like striking a vein of gold, so we stopped and followed it back into the forest, and picked three big bags. These things sell for $8/pound at the grocery store, so it's worth your time and a good idea to carry a plastic bag on October runs.

Then we stashed our pickings and headed out on the Old Trail loop, which is advertised as four miles but probably is short of that. Then we went back to the cache, pick up our bags and walked out with some old man and his dog. Sun was up by that time, looked like a beautiful day was coming, so we went and found some coffee. 53:25

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Evening run on the Warren-Manette bridge loop, watched the sun set in orange and purple behind the Olympics. Ran a brisk pace, in part to beat the sunset and just because I felt springy after work. Needed to burn some steam, I suppose. 37:25

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XC practice w/Asher; 14 minute warm-up, 12 minutes w/8 fartleks of 30-45 seconds; 6 minutes or so cool down; then I ran another 10 minutes on the track myself. 41:20

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I had this one one my mind for a few weeks because I'd been looking for a reason to drive up to Skagit Valley. But when I went to sign up the week before the race was sold out. I decided to go for it anyway, signed up for the wait list and figured if I couldn't run I'd volunteer then run the course after the race. 

I think the lousy October weather may have helped me this time. Woke up to a pretty steady downpour, and when we arrived at the race it seemed pretty sparse (everyone was probably in their cars). I went over to the registration tent, and then the woman said my name wasn't even on the wait list. So I explain to another woman what I want to do, and she says "You can have my number, I'm not running in this." So technically I was Teresa something for the official scoring (they corrected the name before awards, luckily.)

Anyway, the course was a lot of fun, I hadn't run at Lake Padden since high school xc. I tried to take it easy through the first loop of trails and was pretty succesful, I didn't get pulled along to fast and ended up catching a number of the guys who whizzed past early (but still hit the three-mile mark at 23:00 or so). The first half was a good mix of up and down, with some steady but moderate switchback climbs. Very messy, muddy and soaked trails, but that's fun once you get going. The sun even peeked out about 35 minutes in and the rain held off for the remainder.

After six the route loops Lake Padden, which is a fairly flat gravel trail. I ran that part solo, then reeled in four or five people on the second (shorter) loop backward through the trail part. I ran smart enough that I had energy to pick up the pace heading into the final three miles, and ran sub-7 for the last mile to finish strong and with a smile. Left two guys less than a minute in front of me, that's my only regret. Otherwise a really well-run race, fun course, a good confidence boost for me after the lousy trails 1/2 two months ago, and a little inspiration headed into the winter months.

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Dark and getting cold after work, so to the Y treadmill for 5 miles. 7:40 pace according to the machine, but it never feels like that. 

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Cold, wet and rainy run in Chicago, had the lakeshore path and Montrose Park by myself for awhile in that crap. Pretty quick pace though, I was hurrying. 56:10

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Six on the Des Plaines River trial near my parents' house. Really nice fall day in the Midwest, and it's a beautiful, flat trail to run on. 43:48

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Early morning five-mile loop through downtown Bremerton. I ran across the old Manette Bridge alone, then crossed it again and saw one bicyclist, three walkers, and one guy walking his dog. I finished that crossing and stood there for awhile talking to some guy, then they locked the gates forever. It will be torn down in a week, I was the last person to ever run across it. 38:00

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Mike was out of town, at least that's my excuse for a shorter-than-normal Saturday run on Beach Drive. I got there later than planned and ran out to Waterman Dock and back. 45:00

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YMCA treadmill, from 8 minute pace down to 7:30. 39:22

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YMCA loop at dawn, dry and mild outside. 31:20

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YMCA treadmill. 38:15

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Morning run, the Warren-Manette bridge loop is back open. First run across the new span, plus Shore Drive on the way back. 41:01

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Illahee Forest Preserve, where there's a carpet of fall leaves on the trails. Really nice and peaceful on a chilly and foggy fall morning, saw two other people in the whole preserve. 43:20

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Mike and I moved our weekly meeting to early Sunday morning for five miles or so, maybe a little more. Met at Evergreen Rotary Park, crossed the Warren Ave bridge and looped Lions Park, then returned on the Manette Bridge and ran through downtown. Pretty good pace actually, we get chatting and lose sense of how much we're pushing, so my five estimate may be a little short. 39:32

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Illahee State Park beach, which may have been the most peaceful place on earth this morning. Just silent there, no wind on the water, yellow leaves shuffling around, a few seagulls. I stopped and soaked it in, then hit the hill trails to climb out and get some uphill miles. 45:00

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YMCA treadmill, easy miles. 30:45

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Morning run to Lions Park, back through Manette and Shore Drive. Medium pace, I was a little winded but I think that's due to a cold I'm holding off. Colder morning, but dry. Little sore spot on my left hamstring, which has been hanging around all week and isn't enough to stop anything, but I hope it loosens up and goes away soon. 46:50

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Morning run with Mike, we were the only two Slugs on Beach Drive. Maybe everyone went to bed scared about the snow that was forecast, but other than a little ice on the windshield it was a really nice morning. Sun finally came up and I wasn't all that cold. We ran the first four miles at a good pace, between 7:05 and 7:20, then sped up and ran a few at sub-7. Wraps up a good week of consistent running, which is the goal for November as the winter gets started. A little tightness in my left hip. 56:45

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It is raining something fierce here his week (even for the Pacific NW), so I ended up with a day off and six on the treadmill today. Just too many puddles (lakes?) around the streets to navigate outside. Ran about 7:30 pace for most of the miles once I got loosened up, it seems to take longer to get stretched inside. 46:00

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Six more at the Y on the treadmill. A little sore in the right calf, but I think that may be the treadmill as much as anything else. We'll see how it feels outdoors tomorrow. 46:30 

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Our annual Thanksgiving morning run drew 81 people! Really, really easy pace, and the people who raced out front were newcomers so we actually took the wrong route on the Clear Creek Trail. Newbies. But a good slow run with a big group of friends and I caught up with a few I don't see often. 39:30

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Slept in a little and ran downtown. Henry is up with his girlfriend from Eugene, and he took the ferry over to Bremerton. Mike and Donnie drove down, and we ran from the terminal on a really sunny morning. Warren Ave-Lions Park-Manette, finishing at the downtown Starbucks where we had a cup of coffee with all the shoppers headed to Seattle. Really fun to catch up with Henry. 55:30

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Ended up with a rest day Saturday, so Mike and I snuck in a Sunday morning trail run at Illahee Preserve in a real downpour. No one else out there, plenty of rain but runable trails other than a few soggy spots, and a relaxed pace. 46:50

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Pleasant morning to run, even if the elementary school kids at the bus stop called me a angler fish (the one with a light on its head, because I had a head lamp on). Medium pace, feeling fine, would be nice if it stayed dry for a few days. 39:15

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Manette Hills loop. 44:31

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Little more than 5 on the treadmill at the Y. The TV shorted out at mile 2.5 though, so I suffered through with my thoughts and a blank screen for half the run. 40:00 

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An odd afternoon start for the inaugural Jingle Bell Run in Port Orchard. This is one of those national fundraiser runs, I'm actually doing the Seattle version next week with my cousin. But since it took place on the Slug training course I couldn't say no. Mike and Brian joined me. 

Good winter afternoon to run: temp around 40, cloudy sky but no precipitation. It just felt Christmassy, and most of the runners had some goofy elf outfit or Santa hat on. Not me though. 

We let the high school kids sprint the first 400 as usual, then a pack of four pulled ahead and Mike and I stayed together 40 yards behind. We kept a good pace and stayed in touch, didn't rush and let the leaders drop. I left Mike at the two-mile mark or so (no markers, this was actually an extremely simple and unorganized race -- at the start, because they had so many more people show up than expected, the organizer finally just said 'no more numbers, just go run.') After leaving Mike I picked off two guys, then chased down second place and just about caught him. 75 more meters and he was mine, I ended back 3 seconds. (The winner ran away from us though, 16:37.) Then I got interviewed for the local online radio show (with tough questions like, "Is it cold out there?" and "You wore shorts?"), and went and bought a post-race donut from the bakery down the block.

As I sit here I'm a little peeved to not break 17 minutes, because I seem to be a little stuck there. But for a winter run without any recent speed work or even that many miles, it was pretty encouraging to stick that pace. So I'll take that, and decide this week whether next week's Jingle Bell will be an attack on 17 minutes or a fun jog with my cousin.

Sunny morning so I did a few easy miles around the neighborhood. Not that a 5k demands a lot of recovery, but I was a little stiff and it felt good to loosen up. 23:00

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Five on the YMCA treadmill after work. The problem is that only two of three treadmill TVs work there, and I drew numero three and couldn't watch the football game while I ran. At least it's a sucky game I missed while I stared at a blank screen. 38:00

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Dark and quiet run on a not-too-cold morning, Manette Hills loop. 45:05

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Ten with Mike and Brian on Beach Drive, on a cold, dry morning. We kept the pace slower, mostly hitting around 7:30 (one low-7 outlier). First time out to the five-mile turnaround point in quite some time. Feels good to be back in the rhythm. 1:15:00

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Technically this is a race report, but I wasn't really racing so I'm not categorizing it that way. I ran the Seattle Jingle Bell Run 5k, but as a pacer for my cousin's wife, who has been getting into running over the past year. It was fun, Alicia beat her goal by more than a minute, and we saw a lot of people in dopey Christmas costumes. And got free donuts at the finish. A little warm-up because I was running late after locking myself out of the house this morning. I was running to the start line from the parking garage, essentially. But I made it just in time.

We spent a lot of time on the first mile weaving around the slowpokes and strollers, ran a 9:30. I told Alicia we needed to pick it up, and she followed right along as we started to pass more people on the I-5 express lanes. 8:30 for the second mile. Then one just under 8 for the third mile, and 40 seconds or so for the 0.1. She was pretty happy with the time, and ran a smart race. No cool down, she had zero interest in that after the race. So we got coffee instead and watched the other finishers, there were plenty.

Morning run on the Warren-Manette Bridge loop, w/Shore Drive. Cold, but dry with clear skies as the horizon lit up. 39:27

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 Morning on the Manette Hills loop w/YMCA, great full moon for most of the run and finished off with a beautiful bright pink sunrise on the mountains over the Cascades. Good inspiration for the day. 44:10

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Two days off was probably one too many, but it's December, right? Back at it today, out to Illahee State Park and down to the beach, then back up the trail with a reverse loop through the campground. Tacked on 11th/Shore Drive to add two miles to the usual route. Ran into Justin J. walking his dog and I hadn't talked to him for awhile, so I took a break at 52 minutes then ran home. It was an odd, uniquely Pacific Northwest afternoon (took the day off today): extremely mild, kind of damp but not rainy, gray with some sun breaks far in the distance over the Cascades, and very quiet and peaceful outside. It's 5 now and I could probably go to bed, like it's hibernation time. You've got to be here to get it. 58:00

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Green Mountain. I outsmarted the weather by sleeping in and heading up above the marine layer of fog and clouds. I dropped off some packages at the post office in Silverdale, where it was gray and cold, and after climbing up Green Mountain and hitting the ridge just past the Beaver Pond found the day was actually clear and beautiful at 2,000 feet. 

I added an extra half mile or so to get to a better viewpoint, then followed the usual trail. I was a little sapped today, the later-than-usual start after only a banana for breakfast wasn't something I anticipated well. So I walked the hills a bit more than planned, and was pretty fatigued and hungry at the end. Wonderful weather at the viewpoint though, even saw Mt. Rainier. We call this "winter" in the Pacific Northwest, but it could have been April (I was overheating a bit with shorts and a long-sleeve) and I hope we get a few more weeks like this. 1:40:00

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Easy Sunday morning run with Mike, we missed our usual Saturday workout so today was fellowship day. Met at Evergreen Park, ran to Lions Park and then back via Manette Bridge and downtown. Then some coffee at Samudra. I was a little sluggish from Saturday and my left foot is a little sore on the outside edge. 40:30

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Morning on Warren-Manette bridges route. 37:25

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Just an easy shorty on the almost-shortest-day of the year so I could get to work early. The sun still hasn't come up. 11th-Shore Drive-home. 24:05

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First mid-week workout of the winter this morning. Two miles warm-up, then 4 tempo miles (10k pace) on Tracyton Beach Road — 6:09, 6:18, 6:05, 6:05 — then three cool down miles back. That last fast mile really taxed me, I was ready to be done about halfway through it. But I'm glad I went for four. Felt pretty good, actually, though breathing hard like that in the cold morning air takes some getting used to. 1:02:00

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YMCA treadmill, 7:40 pace. 35:04

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The Thanksgiving morning tradition has become a Christmas Eve tradition as well, and the same group of 70 or so runners got together in Silverdale again. Mike and both wanted more miles than the community run provides, so we met 30 minutes earlier and threw on another three miles to Old Towne and back. It worked well, because when we wrapped that up everyone was ready to roll, and the wind had calmed down and sun come up. Five slow miles followed, chatting mostly with Bill Dewey and Brian Begley. Relaxed way to start Christmas. 1:02:00

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Eight at the Illahee Forest Preserve, I've finally come up with a good loop that gets decent mileage without being too repetitive. It was really quiet in there today, I saw two other people the whole hour. But a classic PNW winter day: gray the whole time but mild; I ran in shorts, and on the golf course adjacent to the preserve I heard people golfing. Turned my ankle slightly at the 31-minute mark, but after giving it a minute or two and cinching up my shoes tighter it seemed to feel ok and not a big deal. Tomorrow morning will be the test, of course. 1:02:00 

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40 minutes on the YMCA treadmill, the dry December finally broke, and with a vengeance. I'm lucky the power was on to run the machine, though without power I wouldn't have had to watch whatever crappy college bowl was on. These are just filler so ESPN can sell more ads, right? Ugh.

On the bright side, my ankle felt fine after yesterday's twist. 40:00 

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Eight at a medium pace on Tracyton Beach Road, 7:15/mile or so. Rained hard, then sky broke, then more rain to finish. 58:20

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Unintended day off yesterday, but it'll still be a solid week and a great December to get the running year started. I went up to Green Mountain, cold at the start (well, cold for here -- 35 degrees) but actually pretty pleasant with some high clouds. Good Olympics views though the Green Mountain vista was a little socked in. 

I felt much better than two weeks ago; better energy and strength, and I spent much less time walking uphill than that run and was just moving far better. So that's a good indicator, even if some of it is simple fueling. The strange part is the time (1:40:58) was about the same. I think my lookout addition may have been a few minutes longer this time out, that may explain it.

So that's it for 2011. A bit of a down year for me in terms of racing and miles because of the break in late summer, but the past two months have me energized and back in shape, and I'm encouraged to start 2012. I've sketched out some races through June, with the focus on another Chuckanut 50k and the Newport Marathon. I have a few ideas for the rest of the year kicking around, but two employees going on maternity leave in May will dictate how some of my traveling goes over the summer, so we need to plan that out before any registration.