Joy and Pain

Remember this song?

If you have been a runner for a long time you have most likely encountered a lot of joy and some pain.

Today I took advantage of the awesome 75 degree weather and tested my foot out on the trails.

When I told my wife that I was going to do some trail running she warned me that it might be muddy out there today. Hello Mrs. Obvious, that's one darn good reason to be out there!

 My left heel is still pretty tender and my trail shoes don't have quite as much cushion as I would like in them. I decided to try pulling the insoles out of a pair of my Asics and adding them into the shoe. It worked great. I also shortened up my stride and found it kept from aggravating my heel too badly.

I decided that I would alternate running for 7 minutes and walking for 3 minutes just to keep myself from overdoing things. That also worked out well as I was able to run for 80 minutes without much trouble.

I did some mud surfing down a couple of hills and splashed through 6 little stream crossings.

Definitely a joyful part of my day!

Yikes...as I write this, I have 56 days until the Ice Age 50.

PsychoWyco Run Toto Run 2013

Wyandotte Park trails, aka Wyco, is about as fun as it gets for a trail race. When signing up for the PsychoWyco Race you have the option of doing 1 - 3 loops of the course with each loop being 10.35 miles. Two years ago I ran the 10 mile version, and you can read about that here. This year, I upped the ante and signed up for the 20 mile race.

Right about mile 2, no mud....yet.

My running has been very hit and miss lately. I have had some strong weeks and solid back to back runs and then I have had the last couple of weeks where I ran twice within two weeks of this race. So going into this I was not expecting anything spectacular. My objective was to have fun, enjoy the course, and be able to finish. That is exactly what I did. There is really nothing dramatic to report, I met a friend from Nebraska and his family at the race. He did the 50K and ran a great race. I mostly took my time, had some great conversations out on the trails, bombed down the hills where I could and successfully finished without falling. Trust me, the part about no falling was no small feat. The trail had several muddy areas that were either slick, or sticky enough to suck your shoes off of your feet.

Dancing over the rocks

Phew, I made it!

If you are up for a challenge with some great terrain and an awesome group of people, this is the race!

Going from one hill

...to the next

When I finally came through the finish 4 hours and 8 minutes later....

My legs and my shoes were a good indicator of the mud we had faced.

My mantra was to "just keep moving forward", and in the end it was well worth it. This is the largest race medal that I have ever received, and yes, the little tornado even spins.

Back to Back

Ice Age training is still pretty spotty but I have still managed to get in a few quality runs. This week I did back to back 12 milers on the trails. Both runs really went well and even though I ran pretty much the same course both days, there was a big difference in the trail conditions. Saturday was dry and dusty, Sunday was rainy and muddy. Good clean fun!

I was a little tired towards the end of my run today but I still managed to finish fairly strong and only about 6 minutes slower than yesterday. With the muddy conditions I am very pleased with my finishing time.

The warmer temperatures make the trails still look like fall.

It's a tough march up that hill, especially when muddy,
but it's really fun bombing back down it!

I was amazed at how bright orange the leaves were today.
This is a really pretty area of the trail

Because it rained all night there was no shortage of standing water or muddy areas

This creek bed was dry most all of last year.
It's not flowing, but it's a start.

There really is sort of a trail here. They did some clearing this fall which
created a big open dirt area / mud pit.

This trail area provides a good combination of mostly flat areas where you can really get some speed going of you choose to do so, and several challenging hills that will leave you gasping for air on the way up and praying not to fall on the way down.

Below is an elevation comparison between my 12 mile run and the first 25 miles of the Ice Age 50K from last year.

12 mile trail run

25 miles of Ice Age 50K

I believe that they are fairly comparable other than not so many flat areas in the Ice Age. 

This weekend was a great test of endurance before I participate in the Psycho Wycho Run Toto Run 20 miler in a couple of weeks. It is one of the toughest courses that I have ever run. It is a 10 mile loop that you choose to run from 1 - 3 laps. I am going to run two laps (20 miles) because I don't think I am ready to run another 50K right now. Especially on this course!

All in all it was a very solid training weekend. I am trying to focus on good recovery habits such as stretching and rolling. We have also started to shorten up our core workouts a little and add in some yoga for the last 15 minutes.

At the end of the day, you can't hardly beat a nice long meditative run on through the rain and mud out on the trails.

Signs of a good time!

The High

I didn't run outside yesterday, but I did get up early enough to get to the gym before work. I spent 40 minutes on the treadmill and I wasn't really into it for the first 10 minutes.

Then I got rolling along and just lost myself in my thoughts. Many people don't really care for the treadmill but I find that I can zone out and pretty much meditate through my runs. Treadmill runs also give me an opportunity to really focus on my form and cadence.

I had a great run yesterday morning and I felt fantastic from that run all day long, I definitely was riding the runners high throughout the day. It was an awesome day and now I am ready to begin an awesome weekend with family.

I have not made any progress on my weight so far but it has been difficult for me to away from the holiday treats. I need to plan ahead for healthy eating and as I increase my mileage the weight should drop fairly quickly. I weighed in at 185 this morning and my goal is to reach 170-ish. I have found that 170 is a pretty optimal running weight for me. I have noticed though, that as I get older, I can't just run the weight off like I used to.

I wish you all a happy and healthy new year!

133 days until the Ice Age 50!

Chill

Even though we have snow, it has not been terribly cold here until the last couple of days.

2 days ago I was still running in shorts
29F
I didn't notice it until I uploaded the picture, but there is a ferocious cat beside me, waiting for the right moment to pounce on its prey.....stupid cat.

I had a short and sweet Christmas run this morning, but the weather was much different.

8F / -4 windchill

The photographer refused to go outside in the deadly cold for this picture.

Enter the Running Ninja!

I am grateful for my winter running gear. 

It is quite the assembly of brands including Under Armour (hat, baklava, pants, and undershirt), Manzella windproof gloves, Mizuno breth thermo shirt, and breath thermo shirt and socks, and my Road Runner Sports wind blocking jacket. 

It is not always easy to muster up enough will to get outside when it is this cold but I am always glad when I do.

Are you a cold weather runner?

What is your favorite winter running gear?

Winter Trail

Winter trail is here again

Balance

I took off from work a little early yesterday thinking that I would go easy out on the trails and get a couple of hours in on my feet. I struggled a little from the start but kept pushing on, I figured that I would loosen up and   fall into a nice comfort zone in my run.
After about two miles it just wasn't happening for me. It was colder and windier than I had expected and had not brought a hat with me. I was in a hurry getting out the door and forgot to grab my trail shoes. I decided that maybe this run just wasn't meant to be.
Maybe I needed a rest day.
So I took it today.

I hired a coach a couple of years ago because I find it difficult to not over train  I was at a point back then that I was running twice a day and sometimes felt like it wasn't enough. I knew that I wasn't doing myself any good.

I have 142 days to train for this.

My first attempt at running 50 miles.

Therefore I must listen to my body, train smart, and do my best to remain injury free.

That may be the toughest challenge of all.

The Next 145

145 Days until the Ice Age Trail 50

6 miles mostly power hiking

There is a short window of training so I have do my best to be smart about it

183 lbs

24 miles for the week

Here are some photos from the trail today

No snow yet

Lots of critters on the trail, and a few hunters...

Lots of mud...

Even a little blood...

With a Purpose

I think I am finally back at it with a purpose. I have been sick now for a little over a week with coughing, sneezing, congestion, etc. I finally felt well enough today to venture out for a run so I chose my favorite area of trails.

It wasn't a very long run but it gave me enough time to reflect a little about why I have really enjoyed running on the trails. It can be easier on your body than road running because the grass and the earth can absorb your foot strikes much better. But more importantly, trail running makes you focus on the task at hand. When you are on real trails, there is no zoning out like there can be when you run miles down the road. You have to focus on where you plant almost every foot step or risk falling and possibly even injury. Here is one of the hills I ran up, and then back down today.

It's a fairly steep but not significantly long hill. On the way down I really have to engage my core to control my speed so that I am not out of control while also trying not to step into one of the cracks in the ground. There is no day dreaming on this hill, it's all me with one goal at the moment; making it down this hill quickly and safely.

The other thing this area of trail running provides is year 'round beauty. I have had the pleasure of seeing plenty of deer, turkey, and raccoon while out on my runs. "My trails" are not perfect by any means. There are several areas where the grass is waist high and all you can do is follow the deer paths. The footing in most areas is pretty awful too, rarely is there much of a level area to step. But the changing seasons and variety of trails keeps me coming back. 

Who wouldn't want to run in a place such as this?

Sunday Photo-fest

It was a cool foggy morning on the trails. 

I ran across a couple of bow hunters, this means it's time to start wearing my blaze orange running shirts for safety. The funny thing about this... it was the first time that I can remember not seeing any deer or turkey at all on the trails.

The fog made for some interesting navigation, the trails looked different, there were a couple of times that I wasn't sure where I was and then was totally 

surprised about where I ended up.

I love the variety that this trail had to offer.

Shameless self-portrait

It's not mountain climbing, but there are some great rolling hills

In some places you really have to pick your way through the trail

The fog made for some interesting navigation

Dry stream bed

Trail Porn

Beautiful morning for a run!

Here are some pictures from Grand Trace Conservation Area today.

See the moon in the middle?

Mother Nature added some obstacles today.

Gorgeous Day!

How much for this ride? Two Bucks!

Hills!

No shortage of hills!

The grass (weeds) in some areas was waist deep.