Dates, Dreams, and Reality

Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to have a "date" with my wife to celebrate her birthday. Time can pass so quickly and we have not had a real date since December. The weekly routine becomes, well, routine and the next thing you know a month or so has passed. In our case, two months. We had plenty of discussion time as the crowd at Zeitgeist was nil. The conversation wrapped around many topics from our jobs, our son, and our house. Agreeing we are happy for the most part but often asking ourselves, "is this really all there is to our life?" Don't get me wrong. We have an extraordinary life but I think it is only natural to start looking for more at this stage in our life. The good thing is Kari and I are on the same page and will decide and follow each other with what ever we do in the years to come.

After all the spirits-induced discussion I came to the realization this morning that yes indeed, my life is super. I woke up, spent a little time tending to my caffeine needs, and then decided to take an easy trail run in the cool, northern Minnesotan air. It was just after the thirty minute mark when I bumped into Charlie, who was out on the snowmobile trail on his Pugsley getting in his Sunday ride, when, after visiting for a short time I realized that living in Northern Minnesota is what I like. To see others sharing the great outdoors is what it's all about. The air was crisp. There was a very light snow fall and my legs felt like a million bucks while keeping the HR at an ultra-low level. I suddenly felt very content. Kari and I have discussed moving to a new city and restarting our lives but really, in a dozen years will we be needing to move again just to cure our sense of boredom? Maybe, maybe not. I guess time will tell but for now I am looking forward to a fresh week of running and increasing the volume to yet another level in hopes to have a spectacular six weeks until the base-phase of this training is over.

Here is a recap of week 6 of phase I base training:

Monday: a day home with our son. I ran on the treadmill just because it was easiest with the schedule of the day.

51:44 6 miles HR=125

Tuesday: A mix of trails and roads. This was week two of allowing the HR to venture near 140. I really didn't approach that often unless there was a hill to deal with.

1:18:20 9.5 miles HR=132

Wednesday: Easy morning. Mostly roads.

50:02 6 miles

Thursday: Out on the trails a bit then shifted to the roads to do my first true "fartlek" style workout. During the loop I did 8 X 45 seconds at 5:45-6:00 pace with 30 seconds of rest. It felt good to get the legs to turn over some. :)

1:07:45 8.8 miles HR=133

Friday: I was just happy to get out the door. Felt very tired as I stared into the morning darkness. I made it out though. Easy recovery.

44:43 5 miles HR=122

Saturday: The plan was to run a bit over an hour with Dave H. and Jonas. Once we got to thirty minutes I made the decision to make the run into a long effort. We hit the trails of Lester and Amity and made it back to the rose garden via roads. Legs felt great.

2:00:00 14.7 miles

Sunday: Easy run on the trails and snowmobile trails. Felt great!! Legs recovered well and I must say I am a bit surprised. (must have been the martini)

1:02:20 7.1 miles HR=127

Weeks Total: 57.1 miles

Years Total: 278.9 miles

Country Snowmobile Trails

I had a late night Saturday after driving to Edina and back in one evening to attend the 2010 Minnesota Runners of The Year Awards banquet. I managed to hold off my competitors (actually chase them down) in the 40-44 year age group. I will have more than my work cut out for me this year with some real speedsters joining the group. Anyway, it was a great night to be surrounded by other runners and share some winter training stories as well as future plans to bash head again come racing season! It's going to be anther great season.

To gain some extra hours of sleep I wasn't able to get out to the early morning running group but had the wonderful opportunity to run with Tony out on the snowmobile trails northeast of Duluth. The trails have been set quite firmly from the premature warm up we had last week and we took advantage of this by running out nearly an hour before making our return trek. Conversation made the time fly but I was feeling the fatigue after 90 minutes of ups and downs the trail had to offer. Being distracted by the excitement of running new trails with Tony I forgot any fluid or gels and was beaten down to the point of crawling on my hands and knees into the woods to punch holes in the snow in search of clean powder snow I could "eat" to gain some fluids. It worked. The last fifteen minutes were getting a bit challenging but knowing the car was just a hill or two away I was ready to dig deep to push on. The last 200 meters or so we had a nice downhill along a field and it was then I was so happy we decided on trails as the open roads would have been a chore. Good times!!

Total: 1:54:00 14.3 miles (-split by 4 minutes)

Weeks Total: 53.4 miles

Years Total: 221.8 miles

Back To Reality/Winter Wind Storms

The heat wave that covered most of the U.S. early in the week is over and our temperatures plummeted -24 degrees in less than 24 hours.

On Friday I woke up to temps at 12F and a hellacious wind blowing. I didn't bother to turn on the TV to see the wind chills as that was not necessary, as I was going out running regardless. I decided on a road/snowmobile loop I had done many springs of past years. The problem with the loop direction I chose I ran the entire second half of the loop INTO the wind. OUCH! I really wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be as my major problem was keeping my HR under control with the headwind. My legs continued to feel like crap and heavy. When I have felt this way in the past and I don't believe I have been pressing the training too much I always turn to nutrition. Luck would have it that one lunch option at work was baked ziti with breadsticks. The evening meal would be more pasta, tofu, vegies, potatoes, and cheese. (I had to wash the evening meal down with a little New Belgian IPA)

Total: 50:36 5.9 miles HR=129

This morning I woke up to temps near 10F. The wind died down to nil. I really wanted to hit the snowmobile trails so I drove out to Vermillion road and hit the trails from there. The loop down Amity and returning via Hawks Ridge was just amazing. No slipping as I wore the "get a grips" over my Ronin 2's.

The nutrition worked yesterday. My legs felt amazing as did my overall energy!! Sometimes you gotta get a plate full of pasta and life sure improves. (you just can't overdo it that's all)

The snowmobile trails were filled with "dead-heads" from the canopy of trees. That sure was some wind we experienced. They say more snow is on the way but I hope not. The running is very good right now and a foot of snow sure would screw things up.

Total: 59.04 7.2 miles

Heat Wave

We're having a tropical heat wave! Wednesday when I got off of work I read 52F at 5pm!

A Duluth record for the day. I know it will not last but I'm sure the spring-like weather had lifted plenty of moods in the last 48 hours.

Wednesday morning was near freezing and the trails were still in great shape. I ran a loop out to the gas line and back along with a small road loop the campus to make my recovery run complete. Running easy is becoming really easy to do. It used to be a chore.

Total: 48:45 5.4 miles HR=127 bpm

This morning I woke up to fog and 36F. I opted out of the woods and hit an out and back course on Skyline. The roads were a bit wet but not too much ice to navigate which made things pretty decent for my hour run at the higher HR zone. My legs felt fair to the turn around and never got any better. I was happy with the pace but my legs felt flat. I know I didn't eat very well last night, and I hope that is what it was, but heavy legs off of easy running just doesn't make sense.

I'm looking forward to adding a little more spice to my Tues or Thurs runs next week. It's not much, but I will increase the HR zone just a tad for some fartlek intervals. I just have to finish off this week and keep pressing on during this base-phase.

Total: 1:01:18 8 miles HR=134 bpm

Ice on The Trails

With the weekend temperatures hovering at 45F I figured the trails in Hartley would be long gone and beat up. Not the case. On Monday morning I ran to the trail head and as I approached the true single track I noticed that the surface was in great shape, the only thing was they were slick since the temps had dropped below freezing. I treaded lightly through the main trail out to the roads and had a wonderful easy loop.

Total: 40:00 easy

This morning I woke up plenty early and made my way back to Hartley with the intention of looping the lower trails. With the Get a Grips on my Ronin-2's I was feeling very frisky and the scheduled HR was feeling just fine. I'm still amazing how much faster you can run by increasing your HR by 10 bpm. As I approached the turn out at the gas line I decided to take a quick look at the upper trails and talked myself into giving them a try. I managed to loop out to the guard rail and for the most part the trail held up to the warm weekend temps and I was able to make it through quite well.

In the end I was feeling a bit fatigued but managed to get in my time. A super run and I am now looking forward to the rest of the week.

Total: 1:04:00 7.6 miles HR 132 bpm (high of 142 on hills)

Week of Rest...I Needed It!

After a horrid long run on Sunday I spent the Monday morning run in Hartley running easy. I kept the HR near 123 bpm and it felt just fine. When I woke up on Tuesday I noticed it took a bit more to get up and out and my legs were still fighting me. (also, it was -35F with the windchill) I took another easy morning and that was all I could handle to keep warm. Come Wednesday I was looking for a day off but talked myself into a road loop and I actually felt fine despite the -25F windchill. That wind sure can zap your mojo and I was looking for a break. Thursday and Friday I took that mental, physically I was ready to get back at it, but I just didn't want to fight the wind any longer.

Since I blew the week of running, or as I called it, an impromptu recovery week, I played with my son in the snow and came to the realization I ain't no youngster any longer. I was sledding and trying to snowboard on a sled and made myself nice and sore after a few falls. My neck and low back took a beating and Sunday my lovely wife and I took off for a snowshoe on my parents property and my dad surprised us by doing a loop backwards and joined us for the last half hour. We sure had a great time as the temperatures hit mid 30's while snowshoeing and would top out at 45F for the day time high!! Yes, spring is right around the corner.

Weeks Mileage: ~25 miles

Years Mileage: 168.4 miles

Ending On A Sour Note

The week went so well and having it end with a poor long run bums me out. It's really no big deal as this happens every single build-up. It's a natural occurring thing. One might have a series of weeks going well then, Bam, a crappy run. As long as the crappy ones are few and far between that is OK with me.

The run took me out west again and we traveled east on Grand and eventually Superior street until we hit the Rose Garden and turned back. I couldn't find a rhythm the first hour and just struggled to maintain the second hour. No major pains to report, just heavy sore muscles.

I am looking forward to my ultra-slow recovery run in the am and will more than likely perform another week of stellar training in the woods of Hartley Park.

Total: 1:52:00 15 miles

Weeks Total: 46.5 miles (5 days)

Years Total: 143.4 miles

Temperature Variance

I woke up Wednesday to howling winds. Lying in bed I figured that running conditions would be "less than ideal". I gave myself the chance and walked downstairs to check the air temps. It read -9F. I then turned on the TV to hear the reported wind chills in the -35F to -40F! No way! No outside running for me. It was an easy recovery day and I decided to take a nice fat 0! The coffee was brewing in less than 5 minutes and I was content on my decision.

Total: 0 miles

Thursday the temps were a bit better but negative below zero wind chills were being reported. I put on my gear and repeated Tuesdays run with a bit of snaking the Hartley trails. I continued to be impressed with the running terrain that greets me every morning. One month left and those conditions will be gone, if not sooner.

I allowed my HR to creep up to 140 once again but for the most part I saw 135 bpm. My legs felt better than Tuesdays run and the breathing is just fine at that increased effort.

Total: 1:00:12 7.2 miles HR:133

Friday was a super recovery-style run that felt awesome. I love these ultra-slow runs and doing them on trails puts the icing on the cake. The temps are moving on up and the weekend running may not be so great off pavement. For the morning though I did a series of mini loops and crested the ultra-high altitudes of Baldy once. The air is so thin up there I can only squeeze on of these crests per week right now. Maybe two summits next week.

Total: 48:35 5.3 miles HR:126 bpm

Saturday gave us wake-up temperatures of 25F! Really? With all the snow the roads and trails were "fair" at best. I'm spoiled having the last three weeks of exceptional traction in the Hartley system but the roads are just not as good right now. Soon, that will be my only option and I'm OK with that, but right now the more trail running the better. I did a mixture of trails in Chester and Lakewalk snow covered terrain to make my loop home via the Tischer Creek trail. Another nice and easy run this morning.

Total: 55:40 6.4 miles

A New Zone

Monday I found myself feeling quite well for being 24 hours post medium long run. My legs felt decent and my breathing was under control. I gave myself an easy day and I kept the heart rate as close to 125 bpm as I could. On single track at that heart rate my pace for the entire run averaged near 9:20/mile pace. I'm starting to move my "recovery" runs closer to an hour and should be there in a week or two.

Total: 50:21 5.4 miles HR= 126 bpm ave.

This morning I allowed myself to move up a zone in training. Most of my runs have been feeling very good and well under control. For this morning I put myself up at least 10 beats with a ceiling of 140 bpm. It's amazing how much faster you can run when you allow yourself to go 10 bpm higher in heart rates. There were times this morning where I actually wanted to slow down because I enjoy the low HR runs so much but I realize it is time to step up a bit and soon I will be doing structured workouts. By the end of the hour my legs were feeling the increase load and I was ready to finish. In the end, it sure felt good to run faster on the trails and by completing the hour at that pace I realized that my fitness it getting ready to make a jump.

Total: 1:00:56 7.2 miles HR= 133 bpm ave.

Slick Ending of Week

I made another trip out west to Jeremy's house. The four of us had some slick roads to deal with but we got it done. A few hills to challenge the legs a bit and we made the loop back home.

My body felt much better than last week. I can't believe how much the human body can improve in one weeks time. Crazy! Hopefully next week will feel as good and I can squeeze out a few extra minutes to the long run.

Total: 1:33:00 11.8 miles

Weeks Total: 43 miles

Years Total: 96.9 miles

Strap on The Snowshoes

I woke up pretty tired on Friday morning but got my butt downstairs and made my way out to the trials of Hartley in yet another balmy January morn. (22F) I started off a bit sluggish but soon I was ready to hammer and need to keep things calm as it is not "hammer season" yet. I didn't see any animals but I saw the usual deer tracks and some rabbit tracks to go along with some fox tracks. They are out there. They're just not willing to show their faces. I added a bit to yesterdays loop plus a repeat up and over baldy. I have done this three times this week and may try to sneak in some extras this next week.

Total: 51:40 5.8 miles

Saturday I woke up to ~4" of fresh, dry powder and realized that running on the roads or trails would be very difficult. (my Yak's are shot and new ones due any day so that wasn't an option) I made the quick decision to take out the snowshoes for a trip on the snowmobile trails. The trip down towards Amity was decent but boring! On the return trip I made it a bit more interesting and took the SHT from Hawk's Ridge to Vermilion. A good choice! My legs felt super, but my breathing, and I'm sure my heart rate, (no HR strap today) was spiked most of the return trip. I'm ok with that for one day, as it was a super workout.

52:00 ~5 miles HIGH HR!

Green Eyes in The Thickets

I've been hitting the stellar single track of Hartley everyday this week. The weather has been close to perfect, as far as January goes, and the wild animals probably agree. Hartley has tons of deer and lately I have been getting freaked out by all the green eyes watching me from the edge of the trails. I'm referring to the large herds of deer. I normally see between 4-6 deer each trip out. At least I'm not alone out there.

Tuesday:

I continued to feel great and added a bit to the loop from Monday. I managed to keep the pace very close and I'm sure the HR followed but I forgot to put on the monitor strap. My legs are taking on a new feeling for the better and my stride is following. Nice!

49:47 5.4 miles

Wednesday:

Another superb trip out to the trails. I was wondering at what point in the run I would start to fatigue but it didn't happen. I turned home because I figured I had to be cautious. A good move based on years of doing too much too soon.

Getting older I listen to my instincts a lot more and usually I am pretty close to being right. I know my body. Spending a few more weeks running very conservative will benefit me come the middle of the racing season.

56:55 6.2 miles HR=127 bpm

Thursday:

I knew I needed to be cautious yesterday and I am thankful I did. Hitting the trails this morning felt a bit "off" compared to the first part of the week. My legs were just a bit heavy and my stride was not as peppy as I would have liked. Good thing I had planned my run to be a short one and just shake out the lactate. Job accomplished.

Yak's are a must for grip. The temperatures are getting too warm and the added grip allows one to relax on the corners and downhills compared to sliding off into the rubarb.

38:55 4.3 miles

Need For New Yak's

I took off this morning for my usual warm up heading into the Hartely trails. It's all uphill from my house so I usually crawl up so I don't spike the HR too soon. As I entered the trailhead I noticed my right Yaktrak slipping form under my foot. I had forgotten to tighten the strap in my morning fog. What I also noticed was the right coils were broke in two spots and the left also is broke in two spots. I guess it's time for a new pair as I have a solid three to four seasons on them.

The trails were in great shape and I had a subtle wind of -5F to deal with in the open spots. Hardly noticeable compared to yesterdays negative digits. I was happy with how my legs felt considering I had run my two longest runs in over a month on back to back days. Tomorrow I will focus once again to keep the HR ultra low and just squeeze out some additional time. It's still several weeks away but I am already getting excited for the next phase of running to fall into place.

Total: 40:06 4.3 miles HR=126 ave.

Western Roads

I wasn't planning on this particular run this morning but it was a pleasant surprise and I will take it. Last night I got a message from Jeremy that if I wanted in on a 80 minute run come on out to his house for the 8am start. I decided to give it a go. Having the temps in the -15F range wasn't exactly what I wanted but that is what they made winter running gear for.

We ran a nice road loop up Highland to Proctor and returned home via West Skyline. With the exception of my left big toe, how important is that toe anyway, (i know, really important, as I know folks that have lost their big toe and its a new walking game) I felt really good. For the first ten minutes of the run I thought I was going to loose that left toe but I finally loosened up and had the blood rush to my digits much to my liking!

The time of the run was at my max for sure. I hadn't run that long since October and as long as the pace remained mellow I was able to complete the loop with minimal damage. (tomorrow will be the real gauge on that) Overall a very nice way to get a medium longer run in.

Total: 1:27:17 ~11 miles

Weeks Total: 31.6 miles (5 days)

Years Total: 54.1 miles

Cool Trail Running

Last weekend was a wash. To be honest, I tried to hang with a few 20-somethings (i did pretty well) for a night on the town. I had a few too many sociables and had to wipe Sunday off the fitness plans. Oh well, as long as those weekends are far and few in between I will be OK.

The laziness poured over into Monday and Tuesday of this week. I sat and stared at the window Tuesday morning and finally made a cup of coffee and made the lunches for the day. I got back on track (trail) on Wednesday and have been going strong since. My plan is to carry the momentum into next week and try for all seven days.

Monday: 0 miles

Tuesday: 0 miles

Wednesday:

I finally made it back to the trails and what a wonderful morning. I always feel so comfortable on the trails of Hartley in winter. (not so in the summer) It's funny because I was not feeling too peppy on these runs, but more of a "let's just get it done" kind of mode. I tried to keep the HR low but I think I failed.

38:49 4.3 miles

Thursday:

As I ventured out the door I figured I would cross paths with CG but we missed each other by a mere 10 minutes or less. I tried some new trail across the pond to Hartley Estates and looped back to the visitors center and CG had popped out of the trail and made his way for a second loop ahead of me. Next time!

I was feeling a bit better than yesterday but I was pushing the HR as well. I need to get back to controlling the lower rates better. My stride remains to feel choppy and I can't wait for that morning when I feel fluid again.

44:52 5.1 miles

Friday:

I woke up to the thermometer reading -20F without windchill! Easy decision. Stay indoors. I opted for a TM run later in the day. That didn't happen at work so I hit the 'mill at home after work.

What a terrible run. I was struggling with paces between 7:40 and 7:30 per mile. My legs were just not willing to flow lightly and I called it a run at half an hour. Better than a zero.

30:50 4 miles

Saturday:

Stellar run! It's funny how come late spring or summer I will look back at this run and say "big deal" but today it was a big deal. I ran a hour and felt great doing it. It was still -15F windchill but the woods of Hartley protected me for the most part. Now this was the run I have been waiting to have for two weeks. I can carry this energy into the next week and keep pressing the time of each run until I am over an hour a day. That will be great and then I will be ready for some easy fartlek workouts. Still a month away though.

1:02:39 7.2 miles

New Challenge

I managed to hit the trails one more time on Thursday and found myself working really hard to keep the HR down in the proper zone. I like that feeling. When things start to click I will become quicker at a lower HR and soon I will find myself looking to up the volume of my runs. I ran the same loops in Hartley and was loving every minute of it. We did get a light layer of fluff-snow but not too much to mess up the trails, yet.

Total: 45:09 ~5 miles HR= 128 bpm average

Friday I woke up to 3-4" of fresh powder and the temps were in the mid-teens. This usually makes a really good recipe for terrible running. I didn't want to get locked in the single track with poor conditions so I opted for the roads. I don't think it made any difference as the roads sucked just the same and I struggled the entire loop. Lots of slippage and I had a terrible time keeping the HR in the zone.

When I finished the run I felt my mid back tightening up and after a half-hour of shoveling things stayed the same. I spent the entire day and evening with a sore back and had to opt out of a Saturday morning run because of it. It looks like my best bet for a workout on Sunday will be a ski somewhere.

Totals: 35:41 4 miles HR= 129bpm ave.

Saturday I did not run. Moved snow for an hour or so. Maybe a ski tomorrow.

Total: 0 miles

Weeks Total: 22.5 miles

Years Total: 22.5 miles

More of The Same

As long as the trails stay runnable I will continue to sneak on them in the morning darkness lit by headlamp. Today I was allowing myself 5 beats higher of heart rate and I found myself finishing with an average of just 2 heartbeats faster. I ran the loop with an average of 128 bpm compared to yesterday's 126 bpm. My legs continued to thank me and they responded nicely!

We are currently getting a bit of snow but I doubt that it will amount to much more than a dusting. Just enough to gain bragging rights of being the first out in the am to make the circuit.

Total: 40:12 4.4 miles HR= 128 bpm

Keepin' The Heart Rate Low

I have followed this type of training before and had good luck crawling out of the cellar. I am not too far out of fitness range but I could use a period of super-low heart rate training and now is the time.

The theory is to train all heart rates and start low and slowly introduce faster heart rates as you build stronger mitochondrial paths in the muscle. Arthur Lydiard was doing this long ago with his base-building phase.

This morning I ran the similar loop as yesterday but kept the heart rate (HR) as close to 125 bpm as possible. That was very difficult but I felt great afterwards. It just showed me that the day before I was pushing the pace just a bit. I hope to be up and running 40-50 mile weeks within the next three weeks then if all is well I will try to ramp up the mileage as much as my schedule allows for Feb, March and April.

Total: 43:00 4.6 miles HR= 126 ave.

Headlamp Single Track

I was surprised to bounce out of bed as easily as I did this morning and make my way for the "running change room" in the basement. I decided to wear 'get-a-grips' and that was the correct decision for the trails, you just have to remember not to put them on upside down as the spikes don't do any good pushing up to your shoes!

The single track of Hartley is amazing and I will continue to loop there until they become a mess. We are expecting some snow throughout the next 24 hours so maybe a snowshoe will be in store one of the mornings.

I felt decent this morning but was exhausted very quickly. At 25 minutes things were slowing down but I pushed on to do a loop nearing 40:00. A very good effort this morning!

Total: 39:40 ~4.5 miles

Remount

About 10 or so hours after my last post I was hit by some two-ton virus train and it rolled right over me. I got the flu or something associated with it and sat on/off the toilet for some 14 hours before the train slowed down. I continued to be down with little energy until Friday and Saturday.

I guess I will "remount" and start fresh this Monday. Today I spent the day with my son on the ski hill for near 4 hours and he has mastered the snowplow and is skiing independently. I'm so proud of him, as he listened and took the lessons learned from his Spirit Mountain class and applied them today and he saw success! For me, I could feel the legs and arms getting a workout and after he and I were done my sis and I did a half-dozen runs before calling it a day.

Looking forward, I know I was doing all this talk about skiing but once again, I have shifted mind-sets and will try to run at least 30 minutes per morning and if I have time will add skiing in the evening. I may dedicate one morning to skiing on the weekends but I guess I will see how the legs respond to the daily runs. Either way, I am looking forward to gaining some fitness and it's nice not to have any long "marathon" goals anytime soon.

Totals: 0 running for week, one day downhill skiing, sick the rest.