Started the week at Thorncrag with Bethany. After running on the Breaker course so much, I think she was expecting Thorncrag to be easier...And I think it was, but we just ran it that much faster so it was just as hard. Beth covered the distance of the first loop of the Breaker 5 minutes faster than she'd been doing that loop. It was a nice change of scenery and a much quicker commute. I got in 5.76 miles.
Tuesday I headed to Bradbury alone. Bethany was coming, but going to be late; I really wanted to have more of the day left to get things done. I went out at a fairly relaxed pace and only walked the top 1/2 of the summit. I kept the pace pretty much the same on the second loop, but did walk some on the one steep, long part on the back of the Boundary. Knowing I was going to the full Breaker course two more time during the week, I opted to skip the South Ridge Trail and Summit Trail, going straight to the summit from the Boundary. I love the finish of the second lap; the Tote is always a reward and the Terrace is such a fun way down.
I'd seen Bethany's car in the lot after my first loop and it was still there when I got back from my last. I left a note on her windshield and went in the outhouse to change. When I stepped out I heard a friendly yell. Bethany, looking very strong, was coming down the Northern Loop into the parking lot. She was having a blast! I missed her on the trail by skipping the South Ridge. She'd taken a few wrong turns (had come down the Ski Trail), but basically was doing the course. She headed back out for her second lap and I headed home.
Wednesday my day was eaten up with errands. It was a good day to not be running; even in the air conditioned car, I was too hot. And from all accounts, the air quality was really poor.
Yesterday the crew from Mockingbird Lane headed back to Bradbury, it was to be the first time this year Linda did the full course and the the first time ever for Beth! Based on previous runs, I estimated that I should get in about 12 miles with the out and back method.
We got an early start, but the air was already (still) heavy. Everyone complained about breathing. I was coughing and clearing my throat a lot by the first mile. Oh well, it was the conditions we had.
Coming down the Switch Back, we'd been heading right to the parking lot to refill our bottles and such rather than following the new path out by the out houses - especially since the starting portion of the Northern Loop had been closed due to wasps. Since the wasps were gone, we decided to follow the actual race path. Unfortunately, the flags that marked where to head down had fallen and were invisible to us while running. When we got to a large pile of rocks, I pretty much knew we'd gone too far and headed down a small path back to where we belonged. Before I knew it, I was flat - flat out on a large slab-o-rock. I would say it was the wet moss that made me fall (it was also a good incline), but, that would almost make you think it was a cushioned fall. I think the moss could be better described as algae! In the heat and humidity we've had, I wouldn't be surprised if it really were a form of it.
I laid there a minute trying to figure out if I was hurt. My back had been stiff before the start of the run. I knew I was going to have a few good bruises, but that was fine (even good - nice to have something to show for it!). I stood up and stressed to Beth and Linda how slippery it was. Even though they witnessed the fall, I wanted to make sure they knew it was incredibly slick. Sure enough, even walking it, Linda almost fell.
We had gone nearly to the Feldspar Quarry on the Northern Loop. I wanted to go back, find where we would have come up, and follow the trail back up to see where we went wrong (oh, my back? It was like I'd had a chiropractic adjustment. Better!). When I got back up I found the downed flags and righted them. Then it was back to the parking lot to refill before the final lap.
Linda and Bethany convinced me to run ahead and not bother heading back to them because they both have the course down now and Linda wasn't even sure if she was going to do the full lap (her hammie is still a bit tight). So I set out on my own expecting to run pretty hard. Nope. The humidity and air quality (or lack there of) had taken its toll. I didn't run hard till the Tote Road. It's funny, but that's where the deer flies were thickest, in fact, almost where they were exclusively - good incentive to run fast!
Linda wasn't in the parking lot when I got back so I assumed she was doing the entire course. I headed back out, reversing the race. When I got to them, Bethany's enthusiasm was infectious. I love it when people catch the running bug! She's come a long way in a short amount of time.
My guess wasn't too far off; I got in 11.6 miles.
PS. I'm not rereading this and apologize ahead of time for grammatical errors and the like.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Not the Breaker
Today was the only day that I ran this week that I didn't head to Bradbury. I spent a lot of time in the garden weeding. A lot. Saw two praying mantis before I was done! By the time I was ready to run, I didn't feel like it much. To make it a bit different, I decided to do a short run in my VFFs in the fields.
After the nearly four inches of rain that we've had in the last few days, the fields were wet. My little brook was probably quadrupled in volume - maybe more. What I learned is that I'd rather run totally barefoot than in the VFFs when it is wet. They are instantly wet and rather uncomfortable after that. Still, I enjoyed the free feeling.
After the nearly four inches of rain that we've had in the last few days, the fields were wet. My little brook was probably quadrupled in volume - maybe more. What I learned is that I'd rather run totally barefoot than in the VFFs when it is wet. They are instantly wet and rather uncomfortable after that. Still, I enjoyed the free feeling.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Break, Breaker, Breaker
Sorry about the lack of creativity in the titles of late. Seems like the trail never gets old, at least! So, Thursday was a day off for errands. Friday it was back to the mountain early with Linda and Bethany. We met Beth's friend Tina there. The goal was to get in almost the full Breaker, just leaving the South Ridge Trail and Summit off on the second loop.
I did my usual - running my pace but coming back to keep the group together. Linda had taken a tumble on our run on Wednesday, bloodied her knee, but was fine. This day, she caught a root and managed to stay up, but tweaked her hammie in the process. A little stretching and she was able to keep running. I don't think it was long into the second loop when she did the same thing. When we got to the Summit, she opted to head down the Terrace and skip the Tote and Northern Loop. It was probably a wise decision since she was limping later in the afternoon.
Bethany and Tina were really psyched with their runs because it was the longest ever for each of them! Both were surprised that the first mile on the Boundary goes much quicker (or seems to) on the second lap. It was a good demonstration of why a warm up is a good idea. They got in a bit over eight miles. I was able to get 9.9!
Today Rick and I headed over again to run with the TMs. There was a big group. I didn't know everyone, but there were Ian, James, Erik, Four, Lily, Yana, Blaine, and Erin. Steve Day, a friend of Rick's from Rumford, also joined the group. There was a fast group and then a couple of slower groups. I felt pretty good on the first lap, but don't know if it was the previous day's run, the cumulative days of humidity, the late night with beer or what, but I struggled a bit on the second. Rick's IT band was getting grumpy and I was happy to bail with him after coming down the South Ridge Trail.
After a shower, lunch, an hour or two in the garden weeding, I couldn't keep my eyes open and took a very rare nap. Then it was on to the Frontier Cafe to use my gift certificate I won as an age group prize in the Scuffle. It was Rick's first visit there. Yum! And we noticed that next weekend the movie is Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
I did my usual - running my pace but coming back to keep the group together. Linda had taken a tumble on our run on Wednesday, bloodied her knee, but was fine. This day, she caught a root and managed to stay up, but tweaked her hammie in the process. A little stretching and she was able to keep running. I don't think it was long into the second loop when she did the same thing. When we got to the Summit, she opted to head down the Terrace and skip the Tote and Northern Loop. It was probably a wise decision since she was limping later in the afternoon.
Bethany and Tina were really psyched with their runs because it was the longest ever for each of them! Both were surprised that the first mile on the Boundary goes much quicker (or seems to) on the second lap. It was a good demonstration of why a warm up is a good idea. They got in a bit over eight miles. I was able to get 9.9!
Today Rick and I headed over again to run with the TMs. There was a big group. I didn't know everyone, but there were Ian, James, Erik, Four, Lily, Yana, Blaine, and Erin. Steve Day, a friend of Rick's from Rumford, also joined the group. There was a fast group and then a couple of slower groups. I felt pretty good on the first lap, but don't know if it was the previous day's run, the cumulative days of humidity, the late night with beer or what, but I struggled a bit on the second. Rick's IT band was getting grumpy and I was happy to bail with him after coming down the South Ridge Trail.
After a shower, lunch, an hour or two in the garden weeding, I couldn't keep my eyes open and took a very rare nap. Then it was on to the Frontier Cafe to use my gift certificate I won as an age group prize in the Scuffle. It was Rick's first visit there. Yum! And we noticed that next weekend the movie is Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Breaker, Break, Breaker
Monday was another day at Bradbury with Linda and Bethany. We got a bit of a late start and missed a small window of what seemed to be cooler, drier weather. After one loop of the Breaker, Linda and Beth decided that was enough for that run. They encouraged me to go on if I wanted. I ended up just doing the Boundary and South Ridge Trails to bring my total to 7.4 miles for the day.
Tuesday I took a day off. Hadn't really planned to, but ran out of day.
Yesterday Linda, Beth and I went back to Bradbury, but earlier; we may have been running by 8:15. This time, after the first Breaker loop, Linda and Beth joined me on a different shortened version of the second loop. We took the Boundary all the way to the summit, skipping South Ridge, and then went down Terrace back to the parking lot. It was 7 miles for them and 8.3 for me.
Instead of trying to run the entire summit without stopping, I've been running it with stretches of walking back down to Linda and Beth and walking with them back to where I had stopped running. I did this both days. I think I will still walk most of it on race day (more to save me for the rest of the race), but think I'm close to being able to run it non-stop.
We're headed back there tomorrow with two of Bethany's friends. Partially why I'm not driving there right now to run in what I imagine are really cool, muddy, wet conditions. If someone takes up my offer on Facebook, I might not be able to resist!
Tuesday I took a day off. Hadn't really planned to, but ran out of day.
Yesterday Linda, Beth and I went back to Bradbury, but earlier; we may have been running by 8:15. This time, after the first Breaker loop, Linda and Beth joined me on a different shortened version of the second loop. We took the Boundary all the way to the summit, skipping South Ridge, and then went down Terrace back to the parking lot. It was 7 miles for them and 8.3 for me.
Instead of trying to run the entire summit without stopping, I've been running it with stretches of walking back down to Linda and Beth and walking with them back to where I had stopped running. I did this both days. I think I will still walk most of it on race day (more to save me for the rest of the race), but think I'm close to being able to run it non-stop.
We're headed back there tomorrow with two of Bethany's friends. Partially why I'm not driving there right now to run in what I imagine are really cool, muddy, wet conditions. If someone takes up my offer on Facebook, I might not be able to resist!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Breaker, Breaker...
...If I knew any CB lingo I could do more with that title, but...Any way, I ran at Bradbury with Linda and Bethany on Friday. We saw Snowman's car when we got there. I wrote a quick note for him on the back of a grocery receipt and put it under his windshield wiper. I assumed he'd be working on the Breaker course, too, but we would definitely not be catching up to him so...I guess he could have lapped us.
We ran the first loop which goes down via the Switch Back and then up the Northern Loop all the way to the 2nd loop come down trail, the Terrace. With my back and forth, I got in 6.9 miles. For the mountain side, the deer flies were about there worst I'd seen. When we got back to the parking lot, we found Ryan. He'd done a loop of the Breaker and then run the Scuffle course. Yikes - we'd been there two days ago and knew how the deer flies were then! The flies may have driven him mad(der?). He demonstrated his running and flailing moves.
I took Saturday off for a surprise party for my college roommate's 50th. She's the one that recently had foot surgery, got a migraine during recovery, and then an infection in her foot. She still can't drive. So the party came to her. And she was surprised!
Yesterday, Rick and I headed to Bradbury again. He's never run the Breaker and the Scuffle had been his longest run since Blaine and Erin's fat ass in January. We decided to run 1 plus loops. Luckily the humidity was not as bad as in the recent weeks. The flies, though out, also seemed less in numbers.
After the first loop, we opted to run the Boundary all the way up to the summit, leaving off the South Ridge Trail. From the summit, we went down the Terrace. That was enough for us. It turned out to be 7.1 miles. We each took a spill: Rick on the rooty Tote, me practically back in the parking lot on the Northern Loop finish. Neither of us would have won the award for best injury, but I did tweak my back a little. We'll see how that is today.
I don't know if it was the heat and humidity of the week catching up to us, the party the day before, the Breaker course, or a combination of those things, but both Rick and I were pretty wiped the rest of the day.
We ran the first loop which goes down via the Switch Back and then up the Northern Loop all the way to the 2nd loop come down trail, the Terrace. With my back and forth, I got in 6.9 miles. For the mountain side, the deer flies were about there worst I'd seen. When we got back to the parking lot, we found Ryan. He'd done a loop of the Breaker and then run the Scuffle course. Yikes - we'd been there two days ago and knew how the deer flies were then! The flies may have driven him mad(der?). He demonstrated his running and flailing moves.
I took Saturday off for a surprise party for my college roommate's 50th. She's the one that recently had foot surgery, got a migraine during recovery, and then an infection in her foot. She still can't drive. So the party came to her. And she was surprised!
Yesterday, Rick and I headed to Bradbury again. He's never run the Breaker and the Scuffle had been his longest run since Blaine and Erin's fat ass in January. We decided to run 1 plus loops. Luckily the humidity was not as bad as in the recent weeks. The flies, though out, also seemed less in numbers.
After the first loop, we opted to run the Boundary all the way up to the summit, leaving off the South Ridge Trail. From the summit, we went down the Terrace. That was enough for us. It turned out to be 7.1 miles. We each took a spill: Rick on the rooty Tote, me practically back in the parking lot on the Northern Loop finish. Neither of us would have won the award for best injury, but I did tweak my back a little. We'll see how that is today.
I don't know if it was the heat and humidity of the week catching up to us, the party the day before, the Breaker course, or a combination of those things, but both Rick and I were pretty wiped the rest of the day.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Not Thursday
Monday and Tuesday I did pretty identical runs, 4.5 in the fields. It was a pleasant surprise to see that Jerry must have mowed our path recently and parts are shaping up quite nicely. Now if the dew point would drop 10 degrees or so, the runs themselves would be pleasant!
I was rewarded with wild life. The first time around the field, I startled a brood (?) of turkeys. It's amazing how they can fly when they're still so small! I'd guess there were 6 to 8. The mom was no where to be seen. Then, crossing the little brook (really little - was nearly dried up before the recent rain), I noticed a lot of crayfish. While watching them scoot back under cover, I spotted what, at first, appeared to be the small, black, little polliwogs. Under further scrutiny, I was surprised to discover they were actually baby hornpout (we called them bullheads where I grew up, but found that here they were hornpout). They are such hearty fish, probably just go down into the mud when the water dries up until the rain comes again. I would guess that this is the only stage in their life that I would consider them adorable!
Oh! And I saw my hawks again - the ones I thought followed me during my winter runs. Rick says they've been shrieking at him on field runs. This time they were on the hunt. I told the red wing blackbirds that, instead of scolding and dive-bombing me, they should be watching out for the hawks.
Wednesday I headed to Bradbury with Linda and Bethany to begin work on the Breaker course. We did the first loop and then went across to the Scuffle course to check out the work on the detoured portion of Fox East. I ended up with 8 miles. The deer flies were horrendous - mainly on the Scuffle side.
No run Thursday, but we're headed back to Bradbury Friday.
I was rewarded with wild life. The first time around the field, I startled a brood (?) of turkeys. It's amazing how they can fly when they're still so small! I'd guess there were 6 to 8. The mom was no where to be seen. Then, crossing the little brook (really little - was nearly dried up before the recent rain), I noticed a lot of crayfish. While watching them scoot back under cover, I spotted what, at first, appeared to be the small, black, little polliwogs. Under further scrutiny, I was surprised to discover they were actually baby hornpout (we called them bullheads where I grew up, but found that here they were hornpout). They are such hearty fish, probably just go down into the mud when the water dries up until the rain comes again. I would guess that this is the only stage in their life that I would consider them adorable!
Oh! And I saw my hawks again - the ones I thought followed me during my winter runs. Rick says they've been shrieking at him on field runs. This time they were on the hunt. I told the red wing blackbirds that, instead of scolding and dive-bombing me, they should be watching out for the hawks.
Wednesday I headed to Bradbury with Linda and Bethany to begin work on the Breaker course. We did the first loop and then went across to the Scuffle course to check out the work on the detoured portion of Fox East. I ended up with 8 miles. The deer flies were horrendous - mainly on the Scuffle side.
No run Thursday, but we're headed back to Bradbury Friday.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Bradbury Scuffle - Race Report (Finally!)
I don't think anyone was more prepared (if prepared means having run the course a lot). I ran the course A LOT! Mostly at a relaxed pace with a lot of back and forth, but a couple of times at a pretty up-tempo and straight through. It was the only of the Bradbury series that I felt I blew last year. In 2008, I ran it in 56:25, but last year my time was 1:00:30.
I had gone out way too fast last year. My first mile was 8:20, my next 1/2 mile was at the same pace. Then the stitch that had been growing in the background became full blown. I found myself walking on the Bat Cave Trail, definitely a place to be pushing, not walking. I never really recovered. No way was I going to do that this year!
Yeah, right. Maybe I should have had a clue I was doing the same thing when I was still with Danielle and Chuck at the one mile mark. I was feeling good, though. But, not long after we got onto Fox East after the detour, I started to fight a stitch. I held it off till about 2 miles, but then - WOW. I walked a bit to try to reign it in. I got it to a manageable point and ran as fast as it would let me.
It was nice to see TM Dora at the water station (about 3.78 miles into the 6 mile course). She's so upbeat and positive. I'm pretty positive I griped about my stitch. Took a water and the time for a few swigs. I knew it was time to push it on the way back down the snowmobile trail, just have to get over the two hills and then it's all down to the Knight's Woods Trail.
The rain the night before ensured that the big mud puddles on the return were just that - big and muddy! Ian, during the pre-race speech, had given us instructions to run right through them and think of Chris. I wouldn't have needed to be told; Ryan and I made sure we put the flags down the middle to indicate that was indeed what was expected. I even yelled at the guy ahead of me who skirted the two biggest. OK, and I didn't like that I hadn't been able to reign him in and enjoyed yelling at him. And, Chris, I did think of you as I splashed through and I know Rick yelled "for Chris" when he also took the muddy (read, best) path : )
The run down is fast and fun. Though it's not single track, there are lots of loose rocks to trip you up if you don't pay attention. I felt I was pushing about as hard as I could through there. The stitch crept back and, unfortunately, made me feel like I was justified in walking up that last hill on Knight's Woods. From there I was able to finish fairly strongly. I didn't have a "breakfast review", but not for lack of trying...I got myself away from people and had the dry heaves for a few minutes before I could rejoin the fun.
I want to be happy with my time: 57:10. The data from Chris's Garmin indicates I ran for 4.33 miles at an average of 8:36 min/mile, jogged (it considers anything above 10 min/mile to 15 min/mile jogging, above that, walking) 1.64 miles at 11:09 min/m and walked .11 miles at 27:33 min/mile (that included my post-race wretching however, since I forgot to hit the stop right away). I still feel I didn't have my best race. Lots of Trail Monsters had amazing races though. Just click on "my time" above to see all of the results. Blaine set a course record; he must have been flying!
And speaking of great results, Bethany finished about 15 minutes faster than I thought she would! Goes to show what a race can do for you. Great job on your first (of many) trail race!!
I had gone out way too fast last year. My first mile was 8:20, my next 1/2 mile was at the same pace. Then the stitch that had been growing in the background became full blown. I found myself walking on the Bat Cave Trail, definitely a place to be pushing, not walking. I never really recovered. No way was I going to do that this year!
Yeah, right. Maybe I should have had a clue I was doing the same thing when I was still with Danielle and Chuck at the one mile mark. I was feeling good, though. But, not long after we got onto Fox East after the detour, I started to fight a stitch. I held it off till about 2 miles, but then - WOW. I walked a bit to try to reign it in. I got it to a manageable point and ran as fast as it would let me.
It was nice to see TM Dora at the water station (about 3.78 miles into the 6 mile course). She's so upbeat and positive. I'm pretty positive I griped about my stitch. Took a water and the time for a few swigs. I knew it was time to push it on the way back down the snowmobile trail, just have to get over the two hills and then it's all down to the Knight's Woods Trail.
The rain the night before ensured that the big mud puddles on the return were just that - big and muddy! Ian, during the pre-race speech, had given us instructions to run right through them and think of Chris. I wouldn't have needed to be told; Ryan and I made sure we put the flags down the middle to indicate that was indeed what was expected. I even yelled at the guy ahead of me who skirted the two biggest. OK, and I didn't like that I hadn't been able to reign him in and enjoyed yelling at him. And, Chris, I did think of you as I splashed through and I know Rick yelled "for Chris" when he also took the muddy (read, best) path : )
The run down is fast and fun. Though it's not single track, there are lots of loose rocks to trip you up if you don't pay attention. I felt I was pushing about as hard as I could through there. The stitch crept back and, unfortunately, made me feel like I was justified in walking up that last hill on Knight's Woods. From there I was able to finish fairly strongly. I didn't have a "breakfast review", but not for lack of trying...I got myself away from people and had the dry heaves for a few minutes before I could rejoin the fun.
I want to be happy with my time: 57:10. The data from Chris's Garmin indicates I ran for 4.33 miles at an average of 8:36 min/mile, jogged (it considers anything above 10 min/mile to 15 min/mile jogging, above that, walking) 1.64 miles at 11:09 min/m and walked .11 miles at 27:33 min/mile (that included my post-race wretching however, since I forgot to hit the stop right away). I still feel I didn't have my best race. Lots of Trail Monsters had amazing races though. Just click on "my time" above to see all of the results. Blaine set a course record; he must have been flying!
And speaking of great results, Bethany finished about 15 minutes faster than I thought she would! Goes to show what a race can do for you. Great job on your first (of many) trail race!!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
And a Love Song to Deer Flies?
Thursday morning was slightly better than the ones before just because of the fog and clouds. The humidity was still there. Rick was heading out "early" (I think he ran by 9am). I was thinking about going with him, but there were a few jobs I wanted to get done. He got in a drippy three and I still wasn't ready to go out.
Of course, by the time I was ready, the sun was out and it was hot. At least a breeze had picked up. I was staying in the fields, 3 miles in my Inov8s and 2.6 in my VFFs. If I needed to give this run a title it would be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There were stretches where I hated the run and couldn't believe how bad the conditions were and stretches where it was pretty OK. Basically, a head wind felt good. Any time I wasn't directly into the wind was pretty miserable.
Yesterday I headed to Bradbury to help Snowman mark a chunk of the Scuffle course. Ian was there. He'd run the course (at least Fox East, the trail that was under "repair") and told us what was going on there and gave us the marking flags. He also warned us the deer flies were at their worst. Having been there Wednesday, I knew. I came armed (sleeved?) with a long sleeve shirt because they'd already bitten the backs of my arms all up. I was going to put it over my short sleeved shirt till Ian and Ryan laughed at me enough to realized I would melt if I did that.
Ian headed to work; Ryan and I headed out with the flags. It's amazing how heavy they are; I don't even like to carry a water bottle while running. Ryan's trail marking philosophy is something like, not too many flags, but don't be mean either. I think no one will get lost on our portion...and it's their fault if they do! We also made sure the course went through what will be the big puddles if we get the forecasted rain. If not, we'll at least run through some mud : )
It wasn't long into our run (we did run between all flag placements) before I regretted my shirt choice. The damned flies bit through the shirt anyway. Ryan was dripping wet before the first mile. I took to calling him, Youk. Near the end of our task, between the humidity and the swarming deer flies, Ryan lost his grip on sanity and broke into a loud love song for the flying menace. It didn't have the wittiest of lyrics, but it was something! Seems like it should have been a miserable task, but we had fun!
Took us 1:28:26 to cover 5.3 miles. Mostly our pace was 10 min/mile when we weren't flagging.
Of course, by the time I was ready, the sun was out and it was hot. At least a breeze had picked up. I was staying in the fields, 3 miles in my Inov8s and 2.6 in my VFFs. If I needed to give this run a title it would be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There were stretches where I hated the run and couldn't believe how bad the conditions were and stretches where it was pretty OK. Basically, a head wind felt good. Any time I wasn't directly into the wind was pretty miserable.
Yesterday I headed to Bradbury to help Snowman mark a chunk of the Scuffle course. Ian was there. He'd run the course (at least Fox East, the trail that was under "repair") and told us what was going on there and gave us the marking flags. He also warned us the deer flies were at their worst. Having been there Wednesday, I knew. I came armed (sleeved?) with a long sleeve shirt because they'd already bitten the backs of my arms all up. I was going to put it over my short sleeved shirt till Ian and Ryan laughed at me enough to realized I would melt if I did that.
Ian headed to work; Ryan and I headed out with the flags. It's amazing how heavy they are; I don't even like to carry a water bottle while running. Ryan's trail marking philosophy is something like, not too many flags, but don't be mean either. I think no one will get lost on our portion...and it's their fault if they do! We also made sure the course went through what will be the big puddles if we get the forecasted rain. If not, we'll at least run through some mud : )
It wasn't long into our run (we did run between all flag placements) before I regretted my shirt choice. The damned flies bit through the shirt anyway. Ryan was dripping wet before the first mile. I took to calling him, Youk. Near the end of our task, between the humidity and the swarming deer flies, Ryan lost his grip on sanity and broke into a loud love song for the flying menace. It didn't have the wittiest of lyrics, but it was something! Seems like it should have been a miserable task, but we had fun!
Took us 1:28:26 to cover 5.3 miles. Mostly our pace was 10 min/mile when we weren't flagging.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
...Bradbury
Didn't get out on the Scuffle course till 9:30 Wednesday morning. It was hot and humid, but there was a bit of a breeze; you could tell it was better than Tuesday, but not by much.
I was running with Bethany and two of her friends, Tina and Sunshine, relatively new to running. Their enthusiasm was more powerful than the humidity! We set off with lots of energy. They were amazed by the deer flies, who were out in abnormally high numbers. Since neither of them had on hats, I think they were targeted even more.
There were whoops of joy when we got to the end of each mile. I was impressed with how they were doing on so little previous running. By about 4 miles, the pace started to slow. I think 4.4 was their longest previous run (at least they'd been running a Thorncrag so trails and hills were not new); combined with the heat and humidity, this run was way harder than anything they'd done before.
By the end of the run, the Garmin said I'd gone 7.96. Not bad since I'd estimated I'd get in 8! Makes you wonder how many miles the dogs who run are getting in with all their out and back and scent following.
I was running with Bethany and two of her friends, Tina and Sunshine, relatively new to running. Their enthusiasm was more powerful than the humidity! We set off with lots of energy. They were amazed by the deer flies, who were out in abnormally high numbers. Since neither of them had on hats, I think they were targeted even more.
There were whoops of joy when we got to the end of each mile. I was impressed with how they were doing on so little previous running. By about 4 miles, the pace started to slow. I think 4.4 was their longest previous run (at least they'd been running a Thorncrag so trails and hills were not new); combined with the heat and humidity, this run was way harder than anything they'd done before.
By the end of the run, the Garmin said I'd gone 7.96. Not bad since I'd estimated I'd get in 8! Makes you wonder how many miles the dogs who run are getting in with all their out and back and scent following.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Off, Bradbury, Off, Off....
I didn't get a run in on Saturday; it was a travel day. I stayed at my friend's till I was sure she was on the mend and able to do what she needed to do solo. When I got home, it was time to get supper going. That's okay; after all my not sleeping, I think a day off was probably a good thing.
Rick was on weekend duty so I was on my own for a run on Sunday. Big surprise - I headed to Bradbury to run the Scuffle course. The heat had started building in by then, but it wasn't stupid hot yet. Still, I was very happy to have brought fluids along. I ran it in 1:02:27. That was about a minute and a half slower than the last time, but I felt like it was a much bigger effort. The weather made a huge difference.
Yesterday and today I had off and not just due to the weather. Monday I brought Ryan down to RI and then headed back to NH to check in on my friend (who is doing much better). I spent the night there and got home about 4:30 this afternoon. Not interested in running then!
Tomorrow I'm heading back to Bradbury with Bethany and her friend, Tina. Neither of them know the course so I will be doing my run-and-come-back-type run. I'm hoping to get in eight miles.
Rick was on weekend duty so I was on my own for a run on Sunday. Big surprise - I headed to Bradbury to run the Scuffle course. The heat had started building in by then, but it wasn't stupid hot yet. Still, I was very happy to have brought fluids along. I ran it in 1:02:27. That was about a minute and a half slower than the last time, but I felt like it was a much bigger effort. The weather made a huge difference.
Yesterday and today I had off and not just due to the weather. Monday I brought Ryan down to RI and then headed back to NH to check in on my friend (who is doing much better). I spent the night there and got home about 4:30 this afternoon. Not interested in running then!
Tomorrow I'm heading back to Bradbury with Bethany and her friend, Tina. Neither of them know the course so I will be doing my run-and-come-back-type run. I'm hoping to get in eight miles.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Where? Weare
My friend is much better today. Everything stayed down and the migraine was pretty well tamed. I think by the end of the day she was feeling almost human!
When she was ready for a nap, she had her oldest son take the dog and me to a great trail near their house. I ran while Justin walked the dog...really the dog ran ahead of me and then would stop when he felt we were too far ahead of his boy and we'd run back. I figured this was a good set-up cause I'd get more mileage and we'd both be back to the start at about the same time.
The trail was full of steep climbs that reminded me of Thorncrag, just a bit shorter, but with much more technical running because the trails weren't as well maintained. It was also marked for hiking, not running, so all the arrows and such were high up on trees. I managed, but had to back track a couple of times. I'm thinking it doesn't get a lot of use because there were still a lot of leaves obscuring the way.I'm struggling with Clarice's computer, so, when I get home, I'll add the links that I mean to along with the Garmin data.
If I had less buggy options here, I'd probably run this place September through May. The deer flies were pretty numerous and aggressive.
When she was ready for a nap, she had her oldest son take the dog and me to a great trail near their house. I ran while Justin walked the dog...really the dog ran ahead of me and then would stop when he felt we were too far ahead of his boy and we'd run back. I figured this was a good set-up cause I'd get more mileage and we'd both be back to the start at about the same time.
The trail was full of steep climbs that reminded me of Thorncrag, just a bit shorter, but with much more technical running because the trails weren't as well maintained. It was also marked for hiking, not running, so all the arrows and such were high up on trees. I managed, but had to back track a couple of times. I'm thinking it doesn't get a lot of use because there were still a lot of leaves obscuring the way.I'm struggling with Clarice's computer, so, when I get home, I'll add the links that I mean to along with the Garmin data.
If I had less buggy options here, I'd probably run this place September through May. The deer flies were pretty numerous and aggressive.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
L.ong Distance
OK, not a long distance run, but a long distance post. I'm hanging out in my college roommate's house, in NH, using her computer. She's recuperating from major foot surgery and suffering a migrain at the same time so needed some support. At least the puking stopped before I got here : )
Yesterday I had two shortish runs. The first was at Thorncrag. I knew I was going to run with Rick later, but, since I was going to Hannaford, I decided to check out the loop I ran last week without the Garmin to see if I was right in my guess of mileage. Well, I wasn't. I did two loops and thought the total was about 5 miles. Turns out one loop is just 2.2 miles. I kept running for the little time I had and ended up with 3.4. I know Thorncrag is hilly and thought my guesstimate would be closer than that. Still felt good about my run. I made it home just in time to run with Rick. We did another 3.2 ish run in the fields. Even with the drying out time, there was still a lot of manure tea.
Today Linda and I headed to Bradbury early. Since Linda had mastered the Scuffle course, not needing me to know the way, I decided to run straight through faster than my usual and then double back to find her. I ran fairly hard but never felt like I was at race pace. I finished in 1:00:59 - very good since that was just about my race pace last year. HOWEVER, last year, I went out way too fast for my own good; I was at 8:20 for the first mile. Somewhere before 2 miles, I got a stitch that I just couldn't get rid of. The first year, I ran the Scuffle in 56:25. That seems out of reach this time, but I'd like to be closer to that than over 1 hour.
I headed back for Linda thinking I was going to get in some pretty good miles, based on her previous Scuffle runs this year...Wrong! She ran hard herself. I met up with her about 1/2 mile back. By then she was pretty spent and we did some walking back. Her overall time was still good!
I hope that we have similar conditions for the race. We were actually chilly at the start, warm during the run, and then chilly at the finish - perfect! I love running!!
Bonuses - At Thorncrag I was rewarded with an Indigo Bunting (like the 3rd one I've ever seen) and I saw moose prints at Bradbury.
Yesterday I had two shortish runs. The first was at Thorncrag. I knew I was going to run with Rick later, but, since I was going to Hannaford, I decided to check out the loop I ran last week without the Garmin to see if I was right in my guess of mileage. Well, I wasn't. I did two loops and thought the total was about 5 miles. Turns out one loop is just 2.2 miles. I kept running for the little time I had and ended up with 3.4. I know Thorncrag is hilly and thought my guesstimate would be closer than that. Still felt good about my run. I made it home just in time to run with Rick. We did another 3.2 ish run in the fields. Even with the drying out time, there was still a lot of manure tea.
Today Linda and I headed to Bradbury early. Since Linda had mastered the Scuffle course, not needing me to know the way, I decided to run straight through faster than my usual and then double back to find her. I ran fairly hard but never felt like I was at race pace. I finished in 1:00:59 - very good since that was just about my race pace last year. HOWEVER, last year, I went out way too fast for my own good; I was at 8:20 for the first mile. Somewhere before 2 miles, I got a stitch that I just couldn't get rid of. The first year, I ran the Scuffle in 56:25. That seems out of reach this time, but I'd like to be closer to that than over 1 hour.
I headed back for Linda thinking I was going to get in some pretty good miles, based on her previous Scuffle runs this year...Wrong! She ran hard herself. I met up with her about 1/2 mile back. By then she was pretty spent and we did some walking back. Her overall time was still good!
I hope that we have similar conditions for the race. We were actually chilly at the start, warm during the run, and then chilly at the finish - perfect! I love running!!
Bonuses - At Thorncrag I was rewarded with an Indigo Bunting (like the 3rd one I've ever seen) and I saw moose prints at Bradbury.
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