Trails for Two

Mark,
CBS Sunday Morning ran a story about a Portland not-for-profit ale restaurant.  It ran around 40 minutes into the first hour or so.

ounce wrote:Mark,
CBS Sunday Morning ran a story about a Portland not-for-profit ale restaurant.  It ran around 40 minutes into the first hour or so.

That sounds very Portland! And tasty. Might have to check it out!

Trail Run with Alita: 6ish miles

Weather: Partly cloudy and warm! 52° Gear: Lone Peaks, shorts (!), T, jacket.

Out for our scheduled 6-miler on the trails. We went back to Whipple Creek Park, and we were surprised to find patches of snow out there. It made for some tricky footing at times, but we managed it.

We kept it slow and easy, and I'm pleased with how well Alita did. We walked a few times on a couple of steep spots, but we were able to keep moving at a good steady pace.

One thing less certain is the actual distance. My 305 said 6.02 miles, but Alita's iPhone on Strava said 6.8! The "corrected" map in RunningAhead said 6.42. Hence the "ish." :-)

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire run: 131. Max 144.

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20 miles for the week. Feels like we're really getting started now.

I'm sure 52 is warm to y'all after the snow and cold of last week, but 52 is cool to me.  Maybe since we've had 70's more than we've had 40's might be it.  

Looks like y'all had a good run, however ishie it might be.

ounce wrote:I'm sure 52 is warm to y'all after the snow and cold of last week, but 52 is cool to me.  Maybe since we've had 70's more than we've had 40's might be it.  

Looks like y'all had a good run, however ishie it might be.

Yep. It's all relative. If I hit a 52° run in the middle of the summer, certain parts of my anatomy might turn blue.

Low HR Run: 3 miles with Alita

Weather: Partly cloudy, cool. 46° Gear: Topos, shorts, T, jacket, gloves.

Out for our Monday easy/recoveryish run after yesterday's longer trail outing. Alita did well, not stopping at all during the run while maintaining a pretty consistent pace. She pushed it a bit harder at the end before the cool down.

Walked first and last 5 minutes

Average HR: 125.

Walk: 3 miles

Weather: Partly cloudy, 37, a cool breeze.

A chilly wind kept my walk along the river just on the edge of uncomfortable, but it was better when I turned around and headed back. This is my first lunchtime walk in a few weeks, thanks to a schedule adjustment at work that had me doing nothing but night shifts for the past two weeks. It's nice to have things get back to normal again.

Barefoot Run: 3.1 miles on wet, cold asphalt

Weather: Overcast, moist, chilly. 35° Gear: Bare feet, tights/pants, T/long-sleevedT/pullover, jacket, wool cap, heavier gloves

I wanted to get a barefoot run in, since it's been a while, so I did my overdressing trick and headed outside. The first mile was pretty uncomfortable on my feet, until the heat I was building up in my core reached a point to where it needed to escape through the only uncovered portion of my body: my feet. Things warmed up nicely at that point, and I even shed the hat and gloves in the last lap. I let my body find a pace, and it stuck around 10:30-10:40/mi the whole time.

Part of this run was to figure out why I blistered on my left foot last time (right behind the 1st and 2nd toe joint. I focused on a lift-off rather than a push-off, and it didn't seem to solve the problem. I have a hot spot (two, actually) right there. Hm. This is new, and a puzzle.

Average HR for entire run: 140

Mark B wrote:Walk: 3 miles

Weather: Partly cloudy, 37, a cool breeze.

A chilly wind kept my walk along the river just on the edge of uncomfortable, but it was better when I turned around and headed back. This is my first lunchtime walk in a few weeks, thanks to a schedule adjustment at work that had me doing nothing but night shifts for the past two weeks. It's nice to have things get back to normal again.

Were the bugs and rodentia happy to see you again?

ounce wrote:

Mark B wrote:Walk: 3 miles

Weather: Partly cloudy, 37, a cool breeze.

A chilly wind kept my walk along the river just on the edge of uncomfortable, but it was better when I turned around and headed back. This is my first lunchtime walk in a few weeks, thanks to a schedule adjustment at work that had me doing nothing but night shifts for the past two weeks. It's nice to have things get back to normal again.

Were the bugs and rodentia happy to see you again?

No bugs, no rodents. But I got a look from a couple of middle school students walking to the bus stop. 

Treadhill workout: 2 miles @12% grade (1,267' climbing)

Weather: Indoors, 70° Gear: Topos, shorts, T. (and a towel to mop up the sweat)

I decided to up the level of difficulty on my treadmill hill workout today, increasing the treadmill's slope to its maximum grade of 12%. I had to ease back on the speed a bit in the first minute, as my legs tried to figure out what I was doing to them, but I was able to get the speed back up to my normal 3 mph (20/mi) and hold it there. My HR gradually rose throughout the workout, finally reaching the low 150s before it was time to shut it down.

I think I'll be keeping it at this level from now on. I'll probably increase difficulty by increasing the length of time on the workout (thus the distance/climbing) rather than trying to speed up. At least for now.

I ended with 5 minutes of flat walking but didn't include that in the timed section.

Average HR: 145. Max HR 156

If only Fluff could find the quick drop button on that treadmill.

ounce wrote:If only Fluff could find the quick drop button on that treadmill.

Boy, that'd shake things up, wouldn't it? Our treadmill makes so much noise that the kitties tend to stay away from it, thankfully.

Low HR Run: 4 miles

Weather: Partly cloudy, chilly and damp. 33° Gear: Topos, tights, long-sleeved T, pullover, jacket, hat, gloves.

Our Saturday run steps up to 4 miles this week. Alita didn't feel like parading in front of traffic, so we headed out to the Salmon Creek Greenway Trail. The main trail was cleared of fallen trees after our snowstorm earlier this month, but a spur trail we tried still required some climbing through branches.

The run went fairly well. I've switched my watch to track instant pace as well as heart rate, to keep us at a steady level, and paces were generally in the upper 11s to low 12s, with a few walking breaks thrown in.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire run: 117. Max HR: 142

Looks like you and Alita are getting back on track with your training.  This winter has been tough on training plans.  Your treadmill workout sounds like a tough one but it's probably a good choice.  How is Alita getting her hill work in?

nkrichards wrote:Looks like you and Alita are getting back on track with your training.  This winter has been tough on training plans.  Your treadmill workout sounds like a tough one but it's probably a good choice.  How is Alita getting her hill work in?

This winter has been rough for outdoor training. Still, we've got gear that can handle most of what winter usually dishes out here (damp and chilly), so that helps. But some forecasters are making noise about another possible snow event at the end of this coming week, so there's that. 

Alita is doing the same sort of hillwork as I am, on the treadmill. I started her off with a shorter time on the 'mill, and keeping the grade at 10%, so she can build up gradually. Hill climbing has been a weakness for her, but she's getting better at it.

Her running is getting better, too. She has good form, a nice rapid turnover and a nice bit of stubbornness that encourages her to keep going. I think she's going to do well.

Also, it was chilly but pretty scenic this morning out in the greenway. I got this photo on the return trip.

So sorry to hear about your winter especially since I am totally avoiding that this time around.  Shoot it was 70F here last Wednesday when I returned from slushy Boston.  But it was 32F on Sunday morning so a chilly long run.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:So sorry to hear about your winter especially since I am totally avoiding that this time around.  Shoot it was 70F here last Wednesday when I returned from slushy Boston.  But it was 32F on Sunday morning so a chilly long run.

Hi, Michele! Yeah, it's been an unusually cold and snowy winter around here. In fact, we may be in store for more of it later this week! Heck, the piles of snow haven't melted from the last time...

Enjoy your warm runs in Atlanta. You've frozen yourself enough over the years. You deserve it.

Mark B wrote:

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:So sorry to hear about your winter especially since I am totally avoiding that this time around.  Shoot it was 70F here last Wednesday when I returned from slushy Boston.  But it was 32F on Sunday morning so a chilly long run.

Hi, Michele! Yeah, it's been an unusually cold and snowy winter around here. In fact, we may be in store for more of it later this week! Heck, the piles of snow haven't melted from the last time...

Enjoy your warm runs in Atlanta. You've frozen yourself enough over the years. You deserve it.

Here comes the next storm system...fire up that treadmill...

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:So sorry to hear about your winter especially since I am totally avoiding that this time around.  Shoot it was 70F here last Wednesday when I returned from slushy Boston.  But it was 32F on Sunday morning so a chilly long run.

Hi, Michele! Yeah, it's been an unusually cold and snowy winter around here. In fact, we may be in store for more of it later this week! Heck, the piles of snow haven't melted from the last time...

Enjoy your warm runs in Atlanta. You've frozen yourself enough over the years. You deserve it.

Here comes the next storm system...fire up that treadmill...

Oh, joy...

From Monday (the site gagged when I was trying to post earlier)


Low HR Run: 3 miles with Alita

Weather: Overcast, 45° but it felt colder. Gear: Topos, shorts, long-sleeved T, jacket, hat, gloves (shed)

Out for an after-work run with Alita. The schedule calls for this as a recovery run, but we ran it a bit faster and at a steadier pace than previously. Our bodies are starting to respond. Woot!

We ran mostly at a sub-12 pace. She handled it well and had enough gas at the end to speed up to a sub-10 surge before starting our cool down.

Walked first and last 5 minutes. Average HR for entire run: 120

Barefoot Run: 3.25 miles on dry asphalt

Weather: Overcast, windy, 37° Gear: Bare feet, two layers on bottom, three layers on top, with jacket, hat, gloves (shed)

It's starting to get colder again, but the pavement outside the house is dry, which makes cold weather barefoot running a lot easier on the body. I went out for my standard 3.1 miles worth of laps but added a lap (.33 mile) after I forgot to restart my Garmin after pausing to reply to a text. The Garmin says 3.25, but it was actually 3.43, but who's counting?

The run went well. I'm still trying to get my technique back. I didn't get any blistering on my left foot, which is good, though I started to exfoliate off the remains of that blister that formed there a few weeks ago. Hopefully, that'll be the last of that issue. (I think it was partly cadence and partly forgetting to lift my feet from the ball first.)

My multi-layers did a great job of keeping my feet from getting too cold. In fact, I had to peel off my jacket and toss my gloves before I was done. Woot! Nothing like a striptease when it's 37 degrees and windy out.

Average HR for entire run: 142

Treadhill: 3 miles at 12% grade, 1,900 feet climbing

Indoors, 70° Gear: Topos, shorts, T.

Picked up the effort a bit today after last week's successful attempt at 12%. Today, I added another mile to the workout, bringing the total time to 60 minutes (at 3 mph) and the total virtual climb to 1,900 feet.

It took a while to get warmed up, but I eventually settled into a groove. My HR rose up to about 148 and held there for most of the workout. I paused 2 miles in and got some water and hopped back on again. It wasn't easy, but it didn't wipe me out, either. I'll probably keep it at this level for a month or so before deciding my next step.

Average HR for entire workout: 142

Nice effort on the TM!

I was surprised to hear that you were able to find dry pavement for your barefoot run on Wed.

Did you get the high winds?  My family lives in Sandy.  Mom lost power and my nephew lost several shingles off his roof.

nkrichards wrote:Nice effort on the TM!

I was surprised to hear that you were able to find dry pavement for your barefoot run on Wed.

Did you get the high winds?  My family lives in Sandy.  Mom lost power and my nephew lost several shingles off his roof.

Thanks! My legs are letting me know it was a good workout, even hours later. 

Winds weren't too bad at our house north of Vancouver, but down closer to the mouth of the Columbia River Gorge , the wind was howling. Driving to work was a surprise, when I drove into the airstream. Wowza. 

It's been dry, though. We had a brief round of sleet earlier this evening, and there's a chance of snow and/or freezing rain overnight, but it's looking to be less significant than originally feared. Whew! Those kids need to be in school tomorrow. They've missed too much already.