Just checking to see if we can update the blog from the iPad :)
Beautiful scenery! Lots of rain!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Test from iPad
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Day Five - Perfect Weather
I have had a smile on my face for most of the last five days while running. I am fully aware that the weather has played a large part in that joy. It is much easier to run in cool weather and complete overcast as compared to running under a burning sun with temps and humidity in the 80s and 90s. The weather was absolutely perfect today - complete overcast all day - temps in the 50s - no precipitation. The odds that we will have perfect weather again on the Run is very low - but we we can always hope and pray for it! No hip issues to report today!
Lots of turns today due to city streets and the use of portions of six different trails today - Interurban Trail, Rainier Trail, Issaquah-Preston Trail, Preston-Snoqualmie Trail, Snoqualmie Ridge Trail, and the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. I really enjoyed the trails today as we one again ran through some lush green areas. Justin saw a bear cross the trail about 50 yards ahead of him while running the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail!!! WOW! Primarily due to a wrong turn I was actually able to catch and run with Jennifer for 5 or 6 miles today. I note those miles passed quickly as we had our first chance to talk about past races we have run and to discuss other run related topics.
Food has been important to Justin, Jennifer, and myself as we have to consume enough calories to fuel the body each day. On Friday and Saturday the three of us and crew went to Harmon's Hub in Tacoma for dinner. We went two nights in a row because the food was absolutely superb!!! I had Italian Sausage pizza - a small one on Friday - but I went for the large on Saturday to keep me fueled. Riley was our server both nights and we received first class service for our dinners. Thanks Riley. Joining us for dinner Saturday night was Jim and Bernadette Miller. Jim and I served together at the Navy Personnel Command in Millington, TN and it was fantastic to see Jim and Bernadette for dinner two weekends in a row as we also had a great night the previous Saturday before the Run started. Tonight Karen and I ate dinner at Scott's Dairy Freeze in North Bend which has been in business since 1951. Later Jennifer, Karen, and I went back for ice cream. I already knew that the Dairy Freeze was a fantastic place since I stopped there twice while preparing for the Run, and I was not disappointed once again as I had a super Philly Cheesesteak and fries for dinner tonight which I followed later with a hot fudge sundae with whoppers as an additional topping. Ken - who had made my Cheesesteak earlier - struck up a conversation with the three of us as we waited for our sundaes to be made. It was enjoyable to talk to Ken about the Run. Later Ken came out into the dining room and introduced himself as the Mayor of North Bend. No wonder North bend is a great place. Seriously, I note that Karen really likes this town as the view of Mount Si is exceptional. North Bend - from what I have seen - is indeed a nice place. The Mayor's business card says, "North Bend; easy to reach, hard to leave." No disagreement from me!
Scorekeeper reports the following day five times for 39.23 miles:
Justin 6:04:12
Jennifer 7:49:10
Mike 7:53:51
Lots of turns today due to city streets and the use of portions of six different trails today - Interurban Trail, Rainier Trail, Issaquah-Preston Trail, Preston-Snoqualmie Trail, Snoqualmie Ridge Trail, and the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. I really enjoyed the trails today as we one again ran through some lush green areas. Justin saw a bear cross the trail about 50 yards ahead of him while running the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail!!! WOW! Primarily due to a wrong turn I was actually able to catch and run with Jennifer for 5 or 6 miles today. I note those miles passed quickly as we had our first chance to talk about past races we have run and to discuss other run related topics.
Food has been important to Justin, Jennifer, and myself as we have to consume enough calories to fuel the body each day. On Friday and Saturday the three of us and crew went to Harmon's Hub in Tacoma for dinner. We went two nights in a row because the food was absolutely superb!!! I had Italian Sausage pizza - a small one on Friday - but I went for the large on Saturday to keep me fueled. Riley was our server both nights and we received first class service for our dinners. Thanks Riley. Joining us for dinner Saturday night was Jim and Bernadette Miller. Jim and I served together at the Navy Personnel Command in Millington, TN and it was fantastic to see Jim and Bernadette for dinner two weekends in a row as we also had a great night the previous Saturday before the Run started. Tonight Karen and I ate dinner at Scott's Dairy Freeze in North Bend which has been in business since 1951. Later Jennifer, Karen, and I went back for ice cream. I already knew that the Dairy Freeze was a fantastic place since I stopped there twice while preparing for the Run, and I was not disappointed once again as I had a super Philly Cheesesteak and fries for dinner tonight which I followed later with a hot fudge sundae with whoppers as an additional topping. Ken - who had made my Cheesesteak earlier - struck up a conversation with the three of us as we waited for our sundaes to be made. It was enjoyable to talk to Ken about the Run. Later Ken came out into the dining room and introduced himself as the Mayor of North Bend. No wonder North bend is a great place. Seriously, I note that Karen really likes this town as the view of Mount Si is exceptional. North Bend - from what I have seen - is indeed a nice place. The Mayor's business card says, "North Bend; easy to reach, hard to leave." No disagreement from me!
Scorekeeper reports the following day five times for 39.23 miles:
Justin 6:04:12
Jennifer 7:49:10
Mike 7:53:51
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Fourth Day - Lessons Learned(?!)
Back in July 2010, I ran the Last Annual Vol State Run - commonly referred to as Vol State. Vol State is a 314 mile run across the great state of Tennessee. The first three days of the run were oppressively hot and humid with feel like temps of 110 plus at times. Day four dawned with overcast skies and lower temps - a break in the weather!!!! However, I could not get my legs to turnover. I could walk, but I just couldn't get the legs to run. It was very disappointing - especially since "decent" running weather had finally arrived. I really, really wanted to drop out the run as I am a runner not a walker. Kevin Dorsey was crewing for me at the time and he convinced me to remain in the run. As an aside, I did drop out of the 2010 Vol State on day 6 due to shin splints.
Fast forward to day four of the Run Across America on Trail. The weather was perfect at the start - 54 degrees, overcast, no precipitation. After three good days of running the legs felt a little "heavier" this morning - and the left hip (my biggest injury concern due to previous left hip issues) wasn't 100%. Not surprisingly it took more effort to get the legs to turnover at the start, but turnover they did as I covered the first four miles of the day at exactly 11 minutes per mile. I was very happy when I looked at my watch and noted that time. However, the good times didn't last long as a rain commenced and I got just a bit colder than I would have liked. The hip didn't like that at all and I was forced to a limp by mile 6. I didn't panic. I met up with Heidi and Karen (and Daphne - our dog) at mile 7 and changed from my RaceReady split cut running shorts to my RaceReady compression shorts that I wear when biking. I did this since my hip has proven to prefer the slight compression of the compression shorts. I took some Advil and applied some Qi Extra Strength Recovery Cream. I left the Roadrunner and executed Operation Fast Walk, ie. walk quickly which I am able to do. For you number folks out there I walked mile 9 in 14:48. The hip kept feeling better and better and at mile 10 and a half I started to punctuate the walking with a little slow jogging. As the miles went on I slowly increased the running to walking ratio so much so that the I ran the last four miles of the day at 11:10 pace. I could have definitely done without the forced limping and walking today, but with the help of Heidi and Karen I was able to resolve my issue and continue the needed relentless forward motion. All in all it really was an enjoyable day of running - but days of 50 and 60 degree temperatures won't last long.
National Trails Day is the first Saturday of June each year. There were many trail event held throughout the country today at state and national parks. We did our part by running 12 of the 14 paved King County Interurban Trail miles on the 2012 National Trails Day.
Scorekeeper reports the day four run times below for the 38.06 miles:
Justin 5:57:57
Jennifer 7:13:46
Mike 8:45:35
Fast forward to day four of the Run Across America on Trail. The weather was perfect at the start - 54 degrees, overcast, no precipitation. After three good days of running the legs felt a little "heavier" this morning - and the left hip (my biggest injury concern due to previous left hip issues) wasn't 100%. Not surprisingly it took more effort to get the legs to turnover at the start, but turnover they did as I covered the first four miles of the day at exactly 11 minutes per mile. I was very happy when I looked at my watch and noted that time. However, the good times didn't last long as a rain commenced and I got just a bit colder than I would have liked. The hip didn't like that at all and I was forced to a limp by mile 6. I didn't panic. I met up with Heidi and Karen (and Daphne - our dog) at mile 7 and changed from my RaceReady split cut running shorts to my RaceReady compression shorts that I wear when biking. I did this since my hip has proven to prefer the slight compression of the compression shorts. I took some Advil and applied some Qi Extra Strength Recovery Cream. I left the Roadrunner and executed Operation Fast Walk, ie. walk quickly which I am able to do. For you number folks out there I walked mile 9 in 14:48. The hip kept feeling better and better and at mile 10 and a half I started to punctuate the walking with a little slow jogging. As the miles went on I slowly increased the running to walking ratio so much so that the I ran the last four miles of the day at 11:10 pace. I could have definitely done without the forced limping and walking today, but with the help of Heidi and Karen I was able to resolve my issue and continue the needed relentless forward motion. All in all it really was an enjoyable day of running - but days of 50 and 60 degree temperatures won't last long.
National Trails Day is the first Saturday of June each year. There were many trail event held throughout the country today at state and national parks. We did our part by running 12 of the 14 paved King County Interurban Trail miles on the 2012 National Trails Day.
Scorekeeper reports the day four run times below for the 38.06 miles:
Justin 5:57:57
Jennifer 7:13:46
Mike 8:45:35
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