No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Heb 12:11
Screwshoes
Poor man's cleats. this works a LOT better than you would think! Very quick and easy.
LittleHotties
Are you cheap like me? Put those little hotties in a ziplock bag and use them again tomorrow!
Kickstart your dead Garmin
Hold down the reset/lap button and the mode button together to get your 205/305/310xt to restart if it won't turn on or if it freezes up.
I originally planned to rest up today so I'd have fresh legs for the big hike tomorrow, but Preston wanted some company on his long run and said he would slow the pace to 7 for the first 10 miles if I went with him. The first 8 weren't bad, after that I was looking for excuses to quit. I managed to hang in there for 11 and keep on pace then slowed down a bit for the final slog across the field behind my condos. This is the first time I've ran four consecutive 10 mile days since May '09. Now I have to finish packing and get some more sleep. I leave for Leaveworth at 2:00am.
The Enchantments Death March was difficult, but not really a death march. We covered about 20 miles between the Stuart/Colchuck Trailhead and the Snow Lakes Trailhead in 8 hours. This wilderness area is the coolest place I've ever been. Every time we would crest a hill or come around a corner the view would be even more amazing than before.
I left home at 2:15am for the 3 hour drive to Leavenworth. The rest of the group was a little late and we had some trouble finding one of the trailheads so we didn't get started until 7:30. The run started at around 3000 feet and topped out at 7500 on Aasgard Pass. The first 5 or 6 miles to the pass was a gradual climb on very technical terrain. The ascent up the pass was mostly rock climbing for about a mile. At the top we took a break and got some close up pictures of some very curious mountain goats. From there it was mostly downhill. The route was still rocky, but mostly runable at a slow pace with lots of lakes, waterfalls and a few snowdrifts. The last few miles were switchbacks descending to the Snow Lakes trailhead that seemed to go on forever, but were the most runable miles of the day. We finished the day with a huge pizza and breadsticks in Leavenworth around 4:30.
I'm still sore everywhere from Saturday's adventure, especially my quads and torso from all the downhill and the weight of the camelbak. Even with all the soreness, I felt like I could fly without the extra weight or the worry of what was going to be under each step. I felt stronger with each mile as my muscles started to loosen up. I have a feeling this is going to be a very good week.
Swirling vortex of wind resistance. 6 miles out and back + a 4 1/2 mile loop and the wind was in my face every step of the way. It wasn't a strong wind, just enough to blow the rain into my eyes. Goggles would have been nice on this run :)
I ran with Preston again this week. The plan was to run 7:10ish for the first 10 miles, then pick it up a little from there. We met up at 3 miles and did 7:10ish for one mile. After that, the pace would creep down into the 6:40s and I would try to hang back to slow us down to 7ish for a mile or so, then slowly, like boiling a frog, he would creep back down into the 6:40s. We continued that back and forth trend until mile 11 when I just went with it and managed to stay in the 6:40s for my last two miles. I was more than ready to quit at 13.1.
I was trying to use this run to find my goal pace for my 1/2M next weekend and I'm pretty sure I can shoot for 6:55 and still feel better than today at the end if I keep it nice and steady. The last time I did this relay in 2007 I finished my run in 1:58:29(8:59), today's time was 1:31:49(7:00).
I got a sharp pain in the bottom of my foot just behind the middle and second smallest toes. I tried walking a bit and it was worse than running so I continued to run back home. It was much better by the time I got back home and I considered finishing the run, but decided to just take it easy until Saturday.
What the heck? It still hurts off and on when I walk. It feels like there's a little rock or something inside my foot that's grinding against the bone when I take a step, but not all the time.
Grand Columbian 1/2 Iron Triathlon Relay (13.1 Miles) 01:39:07
Total Distance
13.11
3:00pm
This race really chewed me up and spit me out. The wind and the hills were just too much for me today. The course went out and back twice on the same U shaped route and more than half of it was on primitive dirt/gravel roads chock full of pot holes etc. There were plenty of aid stations, but they were strategically located on the uphill grades so to get a drink you 'd have to break your stride mid-hill, and then struggle to get going again. My foot didn't bother me much until the second time out, and then on the way back the long uphill grade on the dirt road just did me in. I couldn't handle the extra pressure on the ball of my foot from running uphill so I walked nearly all of mile 11. I was already exhausted from running against the wind and the fact that I was still catching up to the runner in front of me didn't give me much incentive to speed up. At the top of the last hill on that dirt road I figured I would at least try to run the downhill side. My foot still twinged a little with almost every step from the uneven surface, but it felt a lot better than it did running uphill. Once I got back to the pavement it was ok for the last mile or so on the highway even though it was uphill again. The last .1 was an easy down hill into the park which took the pressure off of my forefoot enough that I was able to kick across the finish line and not look like a total loser. Technically, I guess this is a PR for the 1/2 even though my average pace was slower than my last full marathon.
My foot is still hurts walking without shoes, but I HAD to run today! I put some homemade foam inserts in my shoes and hit the road listening to Keith Ferrin read the book of John. He is a lot more expressive than the Max McLean audio Bible I usually listen to and I quickly got caught up in the Gospel. About half way through the run I realized how fast I was moving and that my foot wasn't hurting at all. I spent the rest of the run listening and thanking God for every step. Anything is possible with God, and anything I do without Him is meaningless anyway.
Update: My foam inserts were completely crushed and thin as a sheet of paper when I checked them after my run so I sprung for a pair of real gel inserts at Walmart, actually 2 pairs for $10. I'm such a big spender! I'll test drive those tomorrow.
