Ending Base- Week #11 Review

I am heading into week number 12 of base-phase and I am now just feeling like I am beginning to roll. I really feel like I could use another month and build up the volume but that may change once I start doing workouts and such. For the next week I plan to do much the same, two medium distance runs with some uptempo along with a two hour long run on the weekend. I have been doing some reading and I think I know where the next phase will be focused with little to no change in overall volume of running. Mentally I am looking forward to some new training zones and I hope my physical being will follow once I start paying attention to the pace and heart rate zones a bit more closely.

I found myself with good company this weekend on both my runs and the miles just clicked off on little effort. I believe I had my last effort of any kind on the trails on Saturday and will be stuck to road loops for a month or so. Maybe the snow will continue to melt and give us some added motivation going into April. Having a little grip under the feet during some harder efforts sure is a nice thing.

My week in review:

Monday

The easy, recovery loop was stretched out to a full hour and will continue to fall in that time frame from here on out as long as things remain to feel good. Woodland/Vermilion loop to UMD and home will be a Monday staple.

1:03:00 7.8 miles HR=125

Tuesday

I kept the heart rate up a bit on this run and meandered through Woodland hills and Howard Gnesen before making my way home via Martin, Eagle Lake, Riley, Jean Duluth, Martin, Vermilion, UMD.

1:24:12 11.5 miles HR 138

Wednesday

As I woke up to Vortex winds and NO snow I was happy/sad. Happy with the no snow part but just pissed at the winds. Instead of hitting the treadmill for an easy hour I just made myself a cup of coffee and read the morning paper. Mental break day.

0 miles

Thursday

Out and back on West Skyline to 28th ave west. The morning was perfect and I had a bit of a cold wind to deal with on the return trip but I am very familiar with those so no big deal. Legs felt great and I managed to squeeze in 12-13 X 30 seconds at 5K pace with one minute rest.

1:30:39 12.6 miles HR=138

Friday

The same as Monday with a little more added through UMD. Feeling great!

1:04:56 8.2 miles

Saturday

Nic and I ran some roads before making our minds to at least try some of the snowmo trails. We did, but they sucked. Too much ice and uneven surface made for a full body muscle contortion every time going over the brown sheets of ice that covered the trails.

I was very happy with how the miles felt and it was a run to mark myself getting fit.

2:03:00 15.8 miles

Sunday

Out in Lester with Dave and Henry. We did 7 bridges road and some gravel roads out in the country. A very nice switch in running terrain and it was a loop I wouldn't mind repeating a bit more often.

1:11:00 9 miles

Weeks Total: 65 miles (6runs)

Years Total: 525.1 miles

New Photo

I have been looking for a new photo for some time to really say what I love most in my life. The two individuals in the photo are two of the best things to ever happen to me. Without them I would be nothing. I realize that most running blogs have a runner or the like on their banner but the Lift Bridge is such an iconic symbol of Duluth and after all, that is where we live and also, it's home to one of the best marathons in the country. I hope you enjoy the change and it will take quite a photo for me to replace this one. Thanks for reading.

Smell of Spring

The smell(s) of spring are present. I had a nice early morning loop on Friday and I could smell the fresh air and everything that comes with spring. Yesterday our trio couldn't help but smell the odors of dog feces throughout the run and at random times. This morning was back to the wet, damp odors and yet I enjoyed every minute of it.

The latter part of this week I really fell into form and had three nice days of running. I banked myself some serious sleep this weekend and that seems to help a ton! With the energy I had all weekend I hope to "spring" into form this week as I start to do a little more "work" on Tuesday and Thursday. This will be a transition week into the next phase and I am looking forward to the change in paces.

Here are the last few days of the week:

Friday

I will be getting back to doing this loop as one of my regular recovery type loops as the trails in Duluth will be non-runnable very soon. I like to run up Woodland to Martin and return via Vermilion road and loop in UMD before making it home. It's a good hour with some ups and flats. Keeping the HR low is always the goal.

1:02:31 7.9 miles

Saturday

I met up with Dave and Jonas to run some flat road miles out and back on Park Point and then some added time on the Lakewalk. We had many laughs during this low stress run and it felt good to do some mix-up fartleks the last thirty minutes. My legs felt fine and I am hoping to springboard into a new zone of fitness after this week.

2:00:00 16.4 miles HR=133 *i like that!

Sunday

A surprise of wet, heavy snow this morning made it very difficult to find footing if one were to run in my neighborhood. I didn't. I ran from Chester, along with Tony and Brian, down to the Lakewalk and I ran out to 36th before making my way back via Superior street and then doing a little hill running back to Chester. My legs felt awesome and if I had planned better I would have run another two hours with these guys. I hope tomorrow feels as good. (first time I forgot any watch on a run in some time so I had to ask Tony the running time and then look at my car for hours when I got back to the parking lot)

~1:02:00 ~8 miles

Weeks Total: 64.1 miles

Years Total: 460.2 miles

Black Ice Season

It's that time again. The temperatures create some nice melt and the early morning runners have an extra variable to be aware of while attempting to open one's eyes. Most of my routes are mostly clear of ice but you always have to have your eyes open and having a good, bright headlamp doesn't hurt either.

For some reason I am fighting some tiredness in the early morning hours. The alarm is waking me but I have the snooze-factor going on for some thirty minutes. To get my allotted time for each run I can't afford to snooze that long. Once I'm out on the roads I feel decent but before and after the runs I am just ready to crash and take a serious nap. Hopefully that's something that will adjust, or I'm fighting a bug, or I just need to buck up and get my arse out of bed and get moving.

The runs this week have gone well. Four days of alternating very easy days with some 80 minute faster runs. I have one more week of base and then I will be working on some strength and shorter repeats. I'm looking forward to the change and that alone may help me get out of bed.

Here is the week so far.

Monday:

*almost a zero for the day but I finally got out and took an easy spin around the cemetery loop.

32:40 4 miles

Tuesday:

out to Howard Gnesen and Martin roads, home via Vermilion. i found it very symbolic that my headlamp faded to a candle light, and my gps watch battery died two miles from the house. i was just wondering if i was going to have some issues next?

1:21:00 11 miles

Wednesday:

another easy, modified cemetery loop that took me out to Glenwood and home via Snively. legs felt good and I kept the HR ultra lowwwwww.

47:18 5.7 miles HR=122

Thursday:

my skyline out and back morning. after four miles i added 12X20 seconds at 5K pace with 30 seconds rest. those repeats felt really nice! no skunks so that was nice.

1:19:43 11.1 miles HR=135

First Crack At 20, Almost

In summary, the rest of the week went well. I did take Thursday off for a mental break and woke up Friday ready to rip it. I adjust the daily assignment and ran near 80 minutes at my upper HR limit. It felt great but the constant near run-ins with the skunks are getting old. I say "near" because I have yet to see one but I know they are close.

The weekend was great with my first run near 20 miles this year and a wonderful trail run today to flush out the legs. (it's early to comment but I am sure Kari and I will have fun at tonights first Shamrock Pub Shuffle. We are running a short (3+mile) loop with a bunch of others form the DRC and will be stopping at two participating pubs for a pint. I am so looking forward to this as it will be a wonderful social event. More on that tomorrow.

Here is the latter part of the weeks running totals:

Friday:

1:18:07 10.2 miles HR=134

Saturday:

2:29:17 19.6 miles

*had a great "bonk" that last thirty minutes

Sunday:

1:07:38 7.2 miles

Weeks Total: 60.1 miles (6 runs)

Years Total: 396.1 miles

Making A Jump

I woke up Monday to some fresh powder. We received about 2-3" of light powder and the temperature was near 10F when I ran. Making my way to the trails of Hartley was first in my mind and hitting the trails early guaranteed me a first around the loops. First two-legged anyway. There were numerous other tracks from various four-legged beings out there and that kept my mind occupied while I made my loop. The easy, recovery run was much enjoyed.

Total: 56:27 6.3 miles HR=125

Tuesday I started with a short section of trails before making my way to the roads of upper Woodland neighborhoods. Once out on Arnold and Martin things were clicking just fine. I didn't add any fartleks but just kept the pace steady but focusing on my HR. It was this run I realized I had made a nice jump in fitness again. I realized this past weekend that my long runs are becoming easier and now some of the mid week medium distance runs are clicking rather nicely as well. These are all good signs going into the next phase of running in about a month.

Total: 1:21:34 11 miles HR=135

This morning was nothing special. The trails of Hartley were calling my name once again and I grabbed my Yak's and made the best of an easy recovery loop. The legs didn't feel as peppy as Monday and Tuesday but very close. I managed to keep a very close eye on the HR and kept it as low as I could. Another great night of sleep helped with some needed recovery and I hope to carry some momentum to the latter part of the week and and the weekend long run.

Total: 50:22 5.8 miles HR=125

Two Months In

I am officially two months into my training. I had a bad patch in early January when our whole family got sick buy other than that I have had continuous weeks of progression. I hope to bump up the volume just a bit more before heading into the next phase of training. The goal of peaking at a 100 mile week always falls short but I must say I often feel very fit once I average 70's per week. Maybe 100 is too much? Hitting 100 miles in a week on singles is very difficult and running twice a day just isn't in the cards with my family life and work. Anyway, here is the summary of the weekend.

On Friday I woke up and pretty much knew I wasn't running. Thursday I made reference to it and I stuck to it once the alarm went off. I was telling Tony today that I believe it was much more of a mental break than physical. Getting up so damn early and fighting the wind and slippery surface is beginning to wear on me and I am looking forward to some change. The break on Friday was welcomed and come Saturday I felt great.

Dave H and I ran from the Rose Garden and hit Park Point. It has been some time since I ran on Park Point and I sure enjoyed it. We fell into a nice rhythm and on the return trip we ran negative splits while talking of the racing season coming up. Dave had a bit more to add after he dropped me off and I made my way home so my wife could get her long run complete.

Sunday I woke up and made plans to meet Tony at the entrance to Chester Bowl. Once we connected I ran us up Kenwood to the back entrance of Hartley single track where we did a loop through some surprisingly beautiful trails. It's amazing how the trails can change day by day and Sunday they wouldn't disappoint. Once we completed our loop I ran Tony back down a quad-pounding downhill to his place and I added some more miles on the Lakewalk before making my uphill grind to my house. I continue to be amazing how the body starts to fatigue near the end of these long efforts but at least the fatigue is waiting longer to show up each week. This week the last 15 or 20 minutes were tough, but then again, they were all uphill. Hmmmm. What a great day for a long run.

Total Saturday: 1:11:46 9.4 miles

Total Sunday: 2:01:40 14.6 miles

Weeks Total: 57.1 miles (6 days)

Years Total: 336 miles

Subtle Fatigue

After a weekend of great running I started the week with another easy day on Monday just to make sure the longer effort on Saturday was recovered from. I felt a bit "off" but nothing too bad, just a little heavy-legged running. I followed a similar path of Sunday's run that included single track, snowmobile trails and roads.

On Tuesday I managed to get in a little longer effort and stuck to the roads of Vermilion, Eagle Lake, Reily, Jean Duluth, Martin and home via Vermilion. I tried to keep the HR near 135-140 but my legs felt awful the entire run. Heavy legs out the door, heavy legs to return home with. Not good. I was just happy to get in the mileage and looked forward to a rest day.

Wednesday's rest day came at a cost. It was -9F with a -25-30F windchill!! I stared out the window and contemplated taking a zero. Well, I did't and the easy run in Hartley wasn't all that bad and in the end I was very happy to get out and run the firm trails.

This mornings run took me out on West Skyline just past Enger golf course and back. I added 9 X 45 seconds at 5:50 pace with 30 seconds recovery. I was thinking it would feel nice to get a little turnover in the legs and what I found was sore, tight hips, hams and glutes. The same muscles that hampered me so bad in October. I hope I can loosen things up and progress because to get all those muscles tight again would be a loosing battle.

So I sit and stew if I should take a zero tomorrow or get out and do my easy hour on the trails. I guess I will let my legs dictate that come 0445. I'm not entirely sure I am fighting a virus-bug that is causing some of this grief too, so a day off may help in recovery. Hmmm?

Monday:

59:08 7.1 miles

Tuesday:

1:16:11 10.1 miles HR=134

Wednesday:

46:14 5.3 miles

Thursday:

1:18:00 10.6 miles

9 X 45 seconds at 5:50 pace with 30 sec rest

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