MON 4/28
super low energy today at work. i don't know what's up i ate alot and went to bed early and barely ran yesterday. ??? so i'm not going to run today. alison and i decided friday to go back to winthrop for another race(this time the sunflower 22m) and to check out the place we're hoping to move into in a couple weeks.
TUE 4/29
biked to and from work and cut the grass but i had no desire to run despite the nice weather-- again was super low energy at work.
WED 4/30
today i ate a lot more and had more energy at work but by the time i was home i was poop'd. i tried to run anyhow but quit after 2 miles. i hope i don't have the "never ending" sickness that has been circualting all year. biked to and from work.
THR 5/1 biked to work and to the run and back to town after. the run went great! i had lots of energy and felt strong on the climbs and had fun. 4 or 4.5 miles 0:34
FRI 5/2
no running today
SAT 5/3
sunflower 21.7m 2;40:22 5th overall 4th in my age group(30-39 is no picnic)
for the most part felt good and ran fast but the last 4-5 miles were hard on me and i slowed down quite a bit, maybe i was still feeling the race 2 weeks ago or just as likely is that i haven't been training enough for a fast 20+ mile race.
SUN 5/4
20 miles 6 hours with the cannucks(sally marcellus, rob lang, rob francen and super mike o'grady) who all ran the sunflower also and were also staying at chris and dave's paradise ranch in winthrop. we did a mix of dirt road, trail, animal trail and ridgerunning on the opposite side of the methow river from the sunflower course. my legs were initally tired but after the first climb i felt great and stayed that way it was one of my favorite runs ever and will surely become a regular route once we move out there in less than 2 weeks!
WEEKLY SUMMARY 48 miles 9.5 hours
the week started out real crummy but by the end of the week i was feeling great save for the last 1/4 of the race.
Monday, April 28, 2008
movin'
yup the cats outta the bag. alison and i are moving to the endurance sports paradise, winthrop, wa on the east side of the north casdades. there are tons of great trails for running, xc skiing, mtn biking, etc. plus road biking and bc skiing and rafting/kayaking. the house we're probably moving into has a small river in the front yard and trails in the backyard. come visit! we'll be there in 2 or 3 weeks!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
weekly training log 4/21 to 4/27
MON 4/21
no running today. worked then had a board meeting afterwards. legs no longer felt sore from the race on saturday. biked to and from work.
TUE 4/22
3 miles 0:30ish cooper crest out and back with alison and arlo. biked to and from work.
WED 4/23
10 maybe 11 miles in 1:20 with alison. we both felt good.
THR 4/24
5 miles group run
FRI 4/25
12 miles of course marking
SAT 4/26
helped at cap peak 50 then did olympia's arts walk with alison and her mom
SUN 4/27
3 whopping miles on the treadmill!
WEEKLY SUMMARY
33 miles for a week after an intense race i guess the mileage is ok but i wish i had done the 20ish mile run on sunday i had wanted to do.
no running today. worked then had a board meeting afterwards. legs no longer felt sore from the race on saturday. biked to and from work.
TUE 4/22
3 miles 0:30ish cooper crest out and back with alison and arlo. biked to and from work.
WED 4/23
10 maybe 11 miles in 1:20 with alison. we both felt good.
THR 4/24
5 miles group run
FRI 4/25
12 miles of course marking
SAT 4/26
helped at cap peak 50 then did olympia's arts walk with alison and her mom
SUN 4/27
3 whopping miles on the treadmill!
WEEKLY SUMMARY
33 miles for a week after an intense race i guess the mileage is ok but i wish i had done the 20ish mile run on sunday i had wanted to do.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
The Rattler Trail Half Marathon Report
well... i felt like if i could run the way i knew i could i might win the first race in the MVSTA's trail series in winthrop, wa on the eastern edge of the north cascades. it's not a big race, 55 starters this year, and rumor had it the runner who had the two fastest times in the past 3 years wasn't going to be there. but last year's winner in 1:34 was there and so was a guy who got 4th in 1:40 and you never know who might appear from nowhere and steal the race. but i hoped i would be that person.
the nite before the race it was windy, cold and snowy. we awoke to a warmer than expected 29 degrees and a dusting of fresh snow on the higher hills. we drove over to the start and mingled with locals and friends from the other side of the mountains. the race director yelled go and me and one other fellow led the group up the hill to the trail. after a quarter mile as i hit the trail the other guy already had more than a few steps on me but i didn't worry-- it was way too early to start racing. besides from my reconnessaince the day before i knew how tough this first 4 mile loop was and was content to use the intial miles as a "warm up". i never looked back but i seemed to have just as much of a lead over the rest of the pack as the leader had on me so i tried to keep him in sight but settled on "my" pace and just ran.
at the end of the loop i droped my hat and longsleeve shirt and grabed my water ultimate directions bottle with two gels tucked in the handy pocket with barely a pause. i estimated i was 20 seconds back after running 28:40 for the first 4 miles that included the only substanial snow on the course. in my opinion the next section of the course is the best, the route makes it way up to the canyon ridge only to drop down into a valley before regaining the ridgline for the rest of the way to the bottom of the canyon at mile 9. after climbing back up to the rigde for the 2nd time i had caught up the leader who i later found out was last year's winner and local author erik brooks. we ran together, with him a few feet-yards ahead, on the rolling ridgline with views of the big snowy peaks of the nearby north casacades and okanagon mountains, he offered to let me pass but i was content to catch my breath and wait until a little later to make my move. as we approached the end of the ridge the trail plunges down to the mile 9 aid staion on valley floor. here erik stepped aside to let me go by, i guess he too had noticed i was taking the downhills a bit faster than he. i joyously ran, jumped, slid and hurdled my way down the steep, rocky and narrow path. just before the aid station the trail levels somewhat, here i pushed the pace intent on holding on the slight lead i now had. i ran thru the aid station giving thanks and not taking anything.
after the aid station the course makes it way back up the canyon on an abandoned road far below the ridge we had just traversed. it's a gradual but steady climb with long straight stretches so i knew erik would often have me in his sights so i implored myself to run as fast as i could. maybe 20 seconds after passing the aid station i heard them cheer so i knew erik was close enough that if he just ran 5 seconds per mile faster than me for the final 4 miles he'd catch me. afraid to look back i just put my head down and motored on. two more times i'd pass specators on my way to the finsih and neither time did i hear them cheer after i had gone by but i didn't let my guard down and ran harder and harder as i approached the finish line.
i crossed the line in 1:34:43 just 13 one hundredths of a second faster than erik had last year. i expected him any second but instead he finished 3 minutes later. i had felt great and focused the whole race and the weather which had been predicted to be horrible actually turned out great with blue skies mixed with clouds and temps in the low 40's.
alison finished 11th overall, 2nd female and first in her age group. the lead woman ran away with the race which left alison in a 4 way back and forth battle for 2nd which she also took control of on the last descent with her superior downhill ability!
chris took 3rd in her age divison, bettered her time from last year and felt like she could've gone faster!
we hung out at the finshlline until nearly everyone was finished and then headed into town to claim our winner's loot, alison and i got a sweet handmade mugs for winning our age groups and i got a matching plate for 1st overall made by a local potter.
after that we went across the street to the lost river winery for a wine tasting where chris graciously bought alison and i a bottle of their finest for our accomplishments!!!
the nite before the race it was windy, cold and snowy. we awoke to a warmer than expected 29 degrees and a dusting of fresh snow on the higher hills. we drove over to the start and mingled with locals and friends from the other side of the mountains. the race director yelled go and me and one other fellow led the group up the hill to the trail. after a quarter mile as i hit the trail the other guy already had more than a few steps on me but i didn't worry-- it was way too early to start racing. besides from my reconnessaince the day before i knew how tough this first 4 mile loop was and was content to use the intial miles as a "warm up". i never looked back but i seemed to have just as much of a lead over the rest of the pack as the leader had on me so i tried to keep him in sight but settled on "my" pace and just ran.
at the end of the loop i droped my hat and longsleeve shirt and grabed my water ultimate directions bottle with two gels tucked in the handy pocket with barely a pause. i estimated i was 20 seconds back after running 28:40 for the first 4 miles that included the only substanial snow on the course. in my opinion the next section of the course is the best, the route makes it way up to the canyon ridge only to drop down into a valley before regaining the ridgline for the rest of the way to the bottom of the canyon at mile 9. after climbing back up to the rigde for the 2nd time i had caught up the leader who i later found out was last year's winner and local author erik brooks. we ran together, with him a few feet-yards ahead, on the rolling ridgline with views of the big snowy peaks of the nearby north casacades and okanagon mountains, he offered to let me pass but i was content to catch my breath and wait until a little later to make my move. as we approached the end of the ridge the trail plunges down to the mile 9 aid staion on valley floor. here erik stepped aside to let me go by, i guess he too had noticed i was taking the downhills a bit faster than he. i joyously ran, jumped, slid and hurdled my way down the steep, rocky and narrow path. just before the aid station the trail levels somewhat, here i pushed the pace intent on holding on the slight lead i now had. i ran thru the aid station giving thanks and not taking anything.
after the aid station the course makes it way back up the canyon on an abandoned road far below the ridge we had just traversed. it's a gradual but steady climb with long straight stretches so i knew erik would often have me in his sights so i implored myself to run as fast as i could. maybe 20 seconds after passing the aid station i heard them cheer so i knew erik was close enough that if he just ran 5 seconds per mile faster than me for the final 4 miles he'd catch me. afraid to look back i just put my head down and motored on. two more times i'd pass specators on my way to the finsih and neither time did i hear them cheer after i had gone by but i didn't let my guard down and ran harder and harder as i approached the finish line.
i crossed the line in 1:34:43 just 13 one hundredths of a second faster than erik had last year. i expected him any second but instead he finished 3 minutes later. i had felt great and focused the whole race and the weather which had been predicted to be horrible actually turned out great with blue skies mixed with clouds and temps in the low 40's.
alison finished 11th overall, 2nd female and first in her age group. the lead woman ran away with the race which left alison in a 4 way back and forth battle for 2nd which she also took control of on the last descent with her superior downhill ability!
chris took 3rd in her age divison, bettered her time from last year and felt like she could've gone faster!
we hung out at the finshlline until nearly everyone was finished and then headed into town to claim our winner's loot, alison and i got a sweet handmade mugs for winning our age groups and i got a matching plate for 1st overall made by a local potter.
after that we went across the street to the lost river winery for a wine tasting where chris graciously bought alison and i a bottle of their finest for our accomplishments!!!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Democracy Now!
today while listening to the independant news program Democracy Now! on my local community radio station KAOS 89.3 i realized that i should use my blog to spread the word about this great program. this news program covers the stories you rarely if ever see covered by the mainstream news outlets like fox,nbc,abc, cbs, cnn, msnbc, npr, ap, new york times, washington post, etc. but it is these stories that are so important to our lives and to functionality of democracy. you can listen to the program on your radio(check the website to find out when and on what station it plays in your town) the old fashioned way or on your ipod or stream it from the internet.
today's show was good as always but a lot of the topics really appealed to me specifically because they were issues that i deal with personally. since it's tax day the first two segements revolved around our tax dollars and war spending. next was a segement on torture(the aclu is calling on congress to start an investigation into the bush administration's authorizing of torture). the last two were on portland and how it's a great city for bicycle communting and on the dali lama's visit to seattle.
i try to bike(or run) to work or to do errands or to go out around town but i don't do aswell as i should. and although i'm not a disciple of any religon or religous person the dali lama does have lots of good things to say so it's always good to hear that people are embracing his message. and who(other than bush and co.) isn't opposed to torture!
but i guess it was the first two segement that really were after my heart. the first one was about a couple that has been resisting war for 30 years by not paying their income taxes, i too have been doing the same for the last 4 years. in the second segement host Amy Goodman interviews us congressperson Jan Schakowsky about the press confrence that she and some other representatives are holding today on the cost of the war here is a small part of the interview:
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about what you’re going to say today?
REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY: Well, we’re going to, on Tax Day today, show that the Iraq tax bill for the average family of four is $16,500 per family of four. It’s only one way of expressing how much the war costs, of course, but the dollars are pretty significant, and most people understand that. In fact, 89 percent of Americans believe that the cost of war has contributed to the US economic problems. And certainly, it’s been a problem for them in their own families.
AMY GOODMAN: And how do you calculate the cost of war?
REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY: Well, we looked at what the total bill is to date, over half-a-trillion dollars, and just divided it out among the families. And that’s a lowball number, because we aren’t considering the other costs, including the care of veterans, all the healthcare costs. So it’s really a modest number that, you know, could go into the trillions of dollars for the whole country.
today's show was good as always but a lot of the topics really appealed to me specifically because they were issues that i deal with personally. since it's tax day the first two segements revolved around our tax dollars and war spending. next was a segement on torture(the aclu is calling on congress to start an investigation into the bush administration's authorizing of torture). the last two were on portland and how it's a great city for bicycle communting and on the dali lama's visit to seattle.
i try to bike(or run) to work or to do errands or to go out around town but i don't do aswell as i should. and although i'm not a disciple of any religon or religous person the dali lama does have lots of good things to say so it's always good to hear that people are embracing his message. and who(other than bush and co.) isn't opposed to torture!
but i guess it was the first two segement that really were after my heart. the first one was about a couple that has been resisting war for 30 years by not paying their income taxes, i too have been doing the same for the last 4 years. in the second segement host Amy Goodman interviews us congressperson Jan Schakowsky about the press confrence that she and some other representatives are holding today on the cost of the war here is a small part of the interview:
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about what you’re going to say today?
REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY: Well, we’re going to, on Tax Day today, show that the Iraq tax bill for the average family of four is $16,500 per family of four. It’s only one way of expressing how much the war costs, of course, but the dollars are pretty significant, and most people understand that. In fact, 89 percent of Americans believe that the cost of war has contributed to the US economic problems. And certainly, it’s been a problem for them in their own families.
AMY GOODMAN: And how do you calculate the cost of war?
REP. JAN SCHAKOWSKY: Well, we looked at what the total bill is to date, over half-a-trillion dollars, and just divided it out among the families. And that’s a lowball number, because we aren’t considering the other costs, including the care of veterans, all the healthcare costs. So it’s really a modest number that, you know, could go into the trillions of dollars for the whole country.
weekly training log 4/14 to 4/20
MON 4/14
no running today but i did spend three hours doing trail work up in capitol forest.
TUE 4/15
alison and i ran the 8 mile lost (in the mud) valley loop in capitol forest 1:14
felt sluggish at first but by the halfway point felt great and stayed that way. alison suggested that i may need more carbs in my diet--i;ll give it a shot i've been feeling low energy on too many runs lately and besides i love to eat!
WED 4/16
more trail work toaday in cap forest. and i ran 3 fast miles(sub 7's).
THR 4/17
nice and easy 4 mile run with the group at priest point including the cliff. hopefully the legs will be ready for a fast 13 miler this saturday. winning times the past 3 years at the rattler have been in the mid to low 1:30s.
FRI 4/18
after the nearly 5 hour drive to winthrop i nearly imeadiately after arriving went over to the rattler course to run the only part i hadn't seen yet, the first four miles. i took the camera(i'll add pictures later) and took my time covering the distance in just over 40 minutes. there was snow patches up on the higher part of the loop that i post-holed thru. other than that and the decent amount of climb it wasn't any harder than i expected but still i figured it would be one the harder parts of the race especially since lately it's been taking me 3-4 miles just to shake the rust off the legs. the rest of the evening was fun hanging out with alison and chris at her house just a couple miles from the race course.
SAT 4/19
rattler trail 1/2 marathon 1:34 (1st place)
everything felt great after finally "warming up" around mile 4
SUN 4/20
alison and i explored some of the winthrop trails. we took our time for about 10 miles and 3 hours.
WEEK SUMMARY:
42 miles 8ish hours
if you win a race it must have been a really good week
no running today but i did spend three hours doing trail work up in capitol forest.
TUE 4/15
alison and i ran the 8 mile lost (in the mud) valley loop in capitol forest 1:14
felt sluggish at first but by the halfway point felt great and stayed that way. alison suggested that i may need more carbs in my diet--i;ll give it a shot i've been feeling low energy on too many runs lately and besides i love to eat!
WED 4/16
more trail work toaday in cap forest. and i ran 3 fast miles(sub 7's).
THR 4/17
nice and easy 4 mile run with the group at priest point including the cliff. hopefully the legs will be ready for a fast 13 miler this saturday. winning times the past 3 years at the rattler have been in the mid to low 1:30s.
FRI 4/18
after the nearly 5 hour drive to winthrop i nearly imeadiately after arriving went over to the rattler course to run the only part i hadn't seen yet, the first four miles. i took the camera(i'll add pictures later) and took my time covering the distance in just over 40 minutes. there was snow patches up on the higher part of the loop that i post-holed thru. other than that and the decent amount of climb it wasn't any harder than i expected but still i figured it would be one the harder parts of the race especially since lately it's been taking me 3-4 miles just to shake the rust off the legs. the rest of the evening was fun hanging out with alison and chris at her house just a couple miles from the race course.
SAT 4/19
rattler trail 1/2 marathon 1:34 (1st place)
everything felt great after finally "warming up" around mile 4
SUN 4/20
alison and i explored some of the winthrop trails. we took our time for about 10 miles and 3 hours.
WEEK SUMMARY:
42 miles 8ish hours
if you win a race it must have been a really good week
Monday, April 7, 2008
weekly training log 4/7 to 4/13
MON 4/7
no running today. but i did get a great massage from alison which i belive to be a very important part of training!!!
TUE 4/8
literally i ran my errands today. 7 miles 1:20 felt good. i'm getting excited for the race this weekend.(editors note: the race isn't unitl next weekend! we had i written down wrong on the calendar)
WED 4/9
today i did more hiking than running. i first scouted out a portion of the capitol peak 50mile course for down tress and other things that might need attention befoe the race. i ran a 5.5 mile loop and found the snow to be 3-12 inches deep for most of the trail and i found about 20 down tress all bunched together near a road access so i drove back to that point on the loop and then hiked around and got all the trees. i'm guessing my total mileage for the day to be about 8 very slow miles. then later i biked home from downtown to add a little more exercise.
THUR 4/10
out and back on the bike to evergreen to use their computer(mine has been broken all week but should be back on it's feet later today)
thursday nite group run at priest point park
FRI 4/11
alison and i ran the out and back to cooper crest right before hoping in the car to go down to portland for her firend's birthday. i also biked to and from work.
SAT 4/12
22 miles in the gorge(5:30). alison and i ran on pct on the washington side. alison turned around right before the snow which started at about 2000ft and became steady at 2300ish and between there and 3600 got as deep as 3-4 feet in places but it was pretty solid so usally i only sunk in 3-9 inches. it was a beautiful clear warm(almost hot) day definitely the hottest day around here since last summer. on the ridge where i turned around i was able to see mt adams and mt hood which were super close by and mt rainier off in the distance.
SUN 4/13
30 miles on bike with a 3.5 mile run in the middle of it with jim.
WEEK SUMMARY
48.5 miles 10-11hrs
again not a big week but pretty consistent(ran 6 out of 7 days). legs felt better this week than last but still a little more tired than i would like them to be with so few miles. but the long run on saturday felt good so that's a good sign i guess.
no running today. but i did get a great massage from alison which i belive to be a very important part of training!!!
TUE 4/8
literally i ran my errands today. 7 miles 1:20 felt good. i'm getting excited for the race this weekend.(editors note: the race isn't unitl next weekend! we had i written down wrong on the calendar)
WED 4/9
today i did more hiking than running. i first scouted out a portion of the capitol peak 50mile course for down tress and other things that might need attention befoe the race. i ran a 5.5 mile loop and found the snow to be 3-12 inches deep for most of the trail and i found about 20 down tress all bunched together near a road access so i drove back to that point on the loop and then hiked around and got all the trees. i'm guessing my total mileage for the day to be about 8 very slow miles. then later i biked home from downtown to add a little more exercise.
THUR 4/10
out and back on the bike to evergreen to use their computer(mine has been broken all week but should be back on it's feet later today)
thursday nite group run at priest point park
FRI 4/11
alison and i ran the out and back to cooper crest right before hoping in the car to go down to portland for her firend's birthday. i also biked to and from work.
SAT 4/12
22 miles in the gorge(5:30). alison and i ran on pct on the washington side. alison turned around right before the snow which started at about 2000ft and became steady at 2300ish and between there and 3600 got as deep as 3-4 feet in places but it was pretty solid so usally i only sunk in 3-9 inches. it was a beautiful clear warm(almost hot) day definitely the hottest day around here since last summer. on the ridge where i turned around i was able to see mt adams and mt hood which were super close by and mt rainier off in the distance.
SUN 4/13
30 miles on bike with a 3.5 mile run in the middle of it with jim.
WEEK SUMMARY
48.5 miles 10-11hrs
again not a big week but pretty consistent(ran 6 out of 7 days). legs felt better this week than last but still a little more tired than i would like them to be with so few miles. but the long run on saturday felt good so that's a good sign i guess.
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