Stormy Weather

   I could tell today was going to be  "treadmill" kind of day. After much procrastinating, I got my butt out the door this afternoon and down to the gym to get in my four miler. Got her done in 35:19. Felt good (for a treadmill workout!)
Hoping for better weather tomorrow, then its back outside!!! 

Manic Compression

Well, August ended with an Earthquake, a hurricane and lots of hills!
 The quake that was centered out of Virginia did send a rumble through North Carolina, ruining a really great nap I was taking at the time. Other than that, no damage.
    The hurricane pelted our area with rain and some wind. My evacuation plan had been set in place months before, as I had registered for the Continental Divide Trail Race. It was strategically located west of the hurricane's path, in the mountains of NC.
The weather in the mountains was great! Low humidity and cool. The course was a killer! Lots of hills, both up and down, and around mile 5.5, a nice vertical climb up a rocky face! (It was a 10K). I must say it was a great touch that there was a bagpiper right at the base of the climb!
I hung on and survived, finishing in 1:19:23. One of the hardest races I've done, for sure!

We Stayed another night in the hotel, freaking out other guests by wearing our compression calf sleeves around the lobby. The next morning we set out for a "easy" recovery run, which turned out being a ten miler with 3900' of climbing. Most of the climbing was during the first five miles, then we tagged the summit at the Blue Ridge Parkway. We then began the somewhat harrowing descent. Racing back down the mountain, semi out of control, I felt I needed one of those gravel escape ramps they have for tractor trailers, in case I missed a switchback. Needless to say, it took half the amount of time coming down as it did going up.
  What's better than a grueling recovery run the day after a hard race? Why it's jumping in a car and riding home for two hours! That gives a chance for all that blood to pool in your legs. Gotta love looking like Fred Sanford as you get out of and start walking away from your car.

  Now the focus turns from climbing hills to running flat for hours on end!  The Lake Hinson 24 Hour Run is coming up for me on September 24th. I guess I have to come up with a strategy for this run, although I might be better served by not thinking too far ahead and freaking myself out! If nothing else, it will be a good training run for my upcoming 50K.

Now that September is here, I am hoping for cooler temps and lower humidity. It will feel nice not to be loaded down like a mule with water on those long training runs!

Run Hard, Run Happy!

Catching Up

It has been quite the hectic two weeks since the last post.  I celebrated my 48th birthday on the 13th of this month, to limited fanfare, except for a nice 20 mile trail run at Umstead park. Training has been going well, we have had a little relief from the oppressive heat that plagued us earlier in the month.Ive been extremely busy with my "real" job, plus teaching spin class 2-3 times per week, and trying to fit in at least five runs per week on top of that!
Last weekend I busted out the bike to do a leg of our local triathlon. It was a sprint distance of 11.4 miles and I wound up averaging 19.2 miles an hour.

Today, another milestone. I am sending my first daughter off to college. She is attending East Carolina University, majoring in Athletic Training and Sports Medicine. This is good news for the old man. Perhaps I can get a little "pro bono" work out of her.
I have not stopped to contemplate what my reaction will be once we get her moved in, get back in the car and head home. True to my Irish heritage, I am a classic weeper. I pray I don't encounter any form of bagpipe music on the two hour drive home, for I might lose it all together.

I'm sure I will sort through some of these emotions when I get out for my 10 mile trail run on Sunday.
May have to pack some tissues in the old Nathan Hydro vest, just in case...........

Movin" right along

Had another good week of training last week. Once again I had to resort to some "creative" scheduling to fit it all (okay most) of it in. I got some good cross trains in by teaching spin three times as well.
Got the weekend off to a nice start Friday morning with a seven mile run with my friends Mika and Hannah at 7am. Saturday morning I taught spin class, then got home and finally mowed the lawn! My neighbors can probably tell when my training ramps up by the condition of my yard! (priorities!!)
  Saturday afternoon I went out shopping at my "Holy Trinity" of stores: All Star Bike Shop, Fleet Feet and Whole Foods. I got a new rear tire for the bike, some energy products at Fleet Feet and some good vegan stuff from Whole Foods!
Sunday was long run day. The initial plan was to get up and out early. Noon is early, right??? It was nice to sleep in, plus my running partner Hannah and I were still debating over where we should run our 18 miles. We finally decided on the trails around Falls Lake. Ignoring the ominous clouds that were forming during the drive, we arrived at the trail head and started the run. The first six miles were great, nice easy pace, plus we were the only people on the trail. We were going six miles out and back on the east side of the trail, stopping back at the car to get more water and food at mile twelve, the going three miles out and back on the west side.
Around mile 7-8 is when the heavy rain and thunderstorms hit. Even with the canopy provided by the trees, there was no escape from the deluge! After freaking out a bit, I settled myself back down and began splashing my way down the trail.

By the time we had made it back to the car at mile 12, the rain had stopped. We stripped off our water logged gear and both of us changed into dry clothes. My GoLites were so soaked I switched into my Nike Free 3.0 for the last six miles.
We fueled up, refilled our water bottles and headed out for the final 6 miles. It felt good to be in dry gear! Thankfully, it did not rain for those final six miles. My Garmin had stopped around mile eight, when I took it off and put it in a pocket of my belt, fearing it would get trashed by the rain. As I write this, my camera is still drying out, foggy screen and all.
Got home, had an awesome shower, slipped on the compression calf sleeves, made some Soba noodles with spicy peanut sauce and hit the couch.
Remembered about the 50 pound bag of nasty water drenched running gear in the car, so I retrieved that, did laundry and went to bed.
Rest day Monday, then back to it!
Have a great week! I cannot believe it is August already!