Building A Better Bumblebee

Trail: 3.6 miles

Weather: Are you kidding me? Partly cloudy, almost warm! 57° Gear: Terra Kigers, shorts, T. (Jacket on briefly)

I'd thought about resting today but I saw the thermometer and realized there was no way I could pass up 57 degrees. I drove over to my local trails and decided to explore a bit rather than run my usual route. It was a gorgeous day, and the trees dripped on me only a little. It rained earlier today, so it was muddier than usual.

I had a difficult time keeping my HR in the target range. I had to walk a lot - the park is quite hilly - and I even blew through my target walking up some of the hills. I suspect I'm feeling yesterday's stimulus. Even so, on the last climb up from the creek, I was possessed with the urge to charge the hill. It felt great, though it took a while for my heart rate to settle down afterward.

Here's the map and elevation profile:



Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire effort: 126.

And, oh yes... did I mention it was 57 degrees?

Rub it in - it is 11 here.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Rub it in - it is 11 here.

I would NEVER suggest that the almighty is DELIVERING HIS ICY WRATH unto the unclean heathens of Foxborough. Never!

Because, you know, that'd be kinda sacrilegious.

Though it's interesting to note that in this scenario, the almighty wouldn't be played by Morgan Freeman. It'd be Liam Neeson.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Rub it in - it is 11 here.

What a jerk, huh?

Nick Morris wrote:

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Rub it in - it is 11 here.

What a jerk, huh?

Hey, don't blame me -- my ancestors left the Midwest/East Coast well over a century ago. (Including several who arrived before the Oregon Trail.) Snow and cold on the west side of the Cascade Range is mostly an exotic treat.

Oh, and if it's any consolation, it's 43 degrees and raining like crazy this morning.

Jeez, Mark.  You've got the best of both worlds.  Get to brag about the great weather and in the next breath, lament the local elements as they've turned on you.  Wait, is that the best of both worlds?

Tom H wrote:Jeez, Mark.  You've got the best of both worlds.  Get to brag about the great weather and in the next breath, lament the local elements as they've turned on you.  Wait, is that the best of both worlds?

Hm. Good question.

One thing you forget, though, is that unlike where you live... the weather actually changes hereabouts.

Walk: 3.13 miles

Weather: Mostly cloudy, mild. 52° Gear: Vivobarefoot work shoes, shirtsleeves (ditched jacket after a while)

Another mild early afternoon, with a big rain system on approach, so I headed out for a longer walk at lunch -- crossing the Columbia River into Oregon, touching down briefly in Portland before looping under the freeway and heading back over the bridge.

It was a nice day for it. The overcast was high enough to allow a good view of Mount Hood on the eastern horizon, and I got a good view of the many ships awaiting loading or unloading downstream at the Port of Vancouver and Port of Portland. I had my jacket on to start with but took it off for the last 15 minutes or so.

Mark B wrote:

Tom H wrote:Jeez, Mark.  You've got the best of both worlds.  Get to brag about the great weather and in the next breath, lament the local elements as they've turned on you.  Wait, is that the best of both worlds?

Hm. Good question.  

One thing you forget, though, is that unlike where you live... the weather actually changes hereabouts.

Good point.  After all the hype about the "atmospheric river" coming from Hawaii it looks like it is going to miss us for the most part, hitting true Northern California instead of the SF area.  Now the forecast is for 0.5-1" in our area.  While that's good news for my running, it is a real shame as we really need thhe water.  Sierra snowpack is at something like 18% of normal.  I see water rationing on the near horizon.

Tom H wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Tom H wrote:Jeez, Mark.  You've got the best of both worlds.  Get to brag about the great weather and in the next breath, lament the local elements as they've turned on you.  Wait, is that the best of both worlds?

Hm. Good question.  

One thing you forget, though, is that unlike where you live... the weather actually changes hereabouts.

Good point.  After all the hype about the "atmospheric river" coming from Hawaii it looks like it is going to miss us for the most part, hitting true Northern California instead of the SF area.  Now the forecast is for 0.5-1" in our area.  While that's good news for my running, it is a real shame as we really need thhe water.  Sierra snowpack is at something like 18% of normal.  I see water rationing on the near horizon.

We up in the "wet" Pacific Northwest have received a lot of rain this winter, but the little-discused fact outside of the region is that it's been so warm that we've so far failed to build a good snowpack in the mountains. That's our natural reservoir to support hydropower, irrigation, river navigation and salmon habitat throughout our dry summers. That could spell trouble.

Our friends who have spent their lives east of the 100th meridian might be surprised to know just how dry the West can be -- even the relatively few "rainy" parts.

Weird day yesterday. I couldn't get enthused about getting out there. As time dribbled away (and as the sky dribbled rain), I finally decided to head out for some barefoot laps. I made it maybe 50 feet before deciding, "nah..." and going back inside.

The thing was, it was rainy, but mild -- about 50° -- and I'd had a rest day and a walking day before. There was no reason for me to feel like that. But, as I looked back in my training logs, I see I've gone nearly a month without anything resembling a step-back week. I don't know how much that matters when you're at 20 miles a week, but since I'm asking so much of my body, maybe it matters a lot.

Uncertainty makes things complicated, which means the OCD part of me flips back and forth between worrying about going soft and giving up too quickly and worrying about ignoring the body's warning signs and ending up hurt or burned out. Thank goodness there are well-known training principles I can apply to create at least the illusion of balance.

I plan to get out today (it's still quite rainy, but mild), though I'm not 100% sure about how far I'll go. I should probably limit it, if this is indeed a step-back week.

I, for one, am not going to kick you out of our shrinking message board for taking a day off.  It's better to recognize it now that you just might need some rest than for your body to knock your head up against a brick wall to get you to recognize that rest is important.

Go back to sleep.

ounce wrote:I, for one, am not going to kick you out of our shrinking message board for taking a day off.  It's better to recognize it now that you just might need some rest than for your body to knock your head up against a brick wall to get you to recognize that rest is important.

Go back to sleep.

Mmmf... gbrhmmph... hunhh?

No! I'm awake. Really! Zzzmphnhhh....

I'll be getting out there in a few minutes. I just got done taking another swing through my race report from the Mount Hood 50. I haven't looked at it in months, so I wanted to read it through fresh eyes. The mixed feelings I had after the experience have faded with time, and I think I'm getting a better sense of the story and my place in it.

I still feel sorry for the bee, though.

Sometimes you just need a break.  Could be the body talking, could be time for a mental pause in training.  At least you aren't following a rigid training schedule that would drive you to stressing out too much about it.

Tom H wrote:Sometimes you just need a break.  Could be the body talking, could be time for a mental pause in training.  At least you aren't following a rigid training schedule that would drive you to stressing out too much about it.

Yes, that is something I keep telling myself. I have hopes to do an ultra (or a half ultra) in June, but I'm more interested in getting this body back into good running condition and see how my current experimentation on myself turns out.

LOW HR Run: 60 minutes (4.3 miles)

Weather: Rainy but mild. 53 degrees. Gear: Luna sandals, shorts, T, jacket, hat. Fuel: Carried water in handheld.

Since this is now officially a step-back week, I decided to make my sorta-long midweek run 60 minutes rather than 90. It's tempting to keep pushing it, but I'm slowly learning that -- in training, at least -- discretion is the better part of valor.

It proved a wise choice. After some initial creakiness in my right foot/ankle, I settled in to a nice relaxed pace that felt a bit faster but still below my HR target. I was very pleasantly surprised to see I went significantly faster in that first post-warmup mile: 12:29 at my target heart rate, on slightly undulating terrain. That's more than 30 seconds faster than my first MAF mile back on Jan. 18 -- on a nice, flat track.

So far, so good, right? Well, like I said, not pushing it too far was a good idea. Because the NEXT mile came in at 13:50, and a AvgHR of 130. Whaa? The mile after that was 14:06, but at least that included walking through the ravine.

Anyway, I see signs of progress in the early miles and confirmation of my hunch about step-backs.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire run: 123

One other note: It was pretty rainy all morning, so I ended up quite wet.



Thank goodness it was 53. So much more pleasant than 43 or lower.

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