So, what's up?

So, what's been going on running-wise?

For me, I've been preparing for a solo attempt at a marathon in November.  I have several ideas in mind as to the course, but haven't settled on one just yet.  Out and back would be OK, but not ideal since I'll have to figure out how to stash supplies along the way without having an animal steal them or have the water freeze.  A loop course would be better since I could stash supplies in my car and use it as an aid station.

My training plan for the marathon attempt is pretty simple:  Run!  Mas!  That's it.  Nothing fancy.  I'll save the more advanced stuff for next year when I'm preparing for an ultra attempt.

I'll spare you the boring details, but I am on track to break 200 miles in September.  It will be a personal best month for me.  Woo Hoo!  It also means I am wearing out shoes faster.  Boo!

Fall is most definitely here.  The colors are brilliant.  Too bad when I am running in the dark in the morning I can't see them.  The stars are pretty though.  Venus is easy to pick out in the eastern sky.

The 2012 racing season is almost over for me.  There's a half marathon coming up in October and a 5K in November and then that's it until next spring.  I've started penciling out plans for 2013, but nothing firm yet.  It's looking like I will be spending a lot of time in Michigan's Upper Peninsula next summer.  There's a trail 50K, a trail marathon and a trail 25K up there that I want to run.  We'll see how it all works out.

Whew!

With the ending of the tax filing season today I am breathing a big sigh of relief.  For the last six weeks its been lots of work, too much stress eating, and not enough running.  Last week I ran 5 days for the first time in a month.  It was hard work, but felt great.  Thankfully, I don't seem to have lost too much fitness and should be back up to where I want to be in no time.

So, what has the running been like lately?  Here it is by the numbers:

March
Miles run:  94.0
Warmest run:  78 degrees
Coldest run:  5 degrees
Longest run:  10.9 miles
Shortest run:  3 miles
Average run:  5.9 miles

Yes, I cut way back due to workload, to make room for family time, some minor injuries and just because I was exhausted.  April isn't exactly getting started with a bang with a 5.3 mile average so far, but I am building back up.

What's coming up?  A trail half marathon on June 2nd.  It should be a blast.

Now, to get off my rear and get out there...

An update in handy bullet form:

• A ligament (or ligaments) in my left knee is upset with me.  I think I stepped wrong or something the other night and twisted or pulled that area which made the ligament not happy.  I've been resting it for a couple of days.  Tonight it seems better and I may give it a try tomorrow sometime.  It really doesn't feel like a long term injury.  It feels like I strained or pulled something and a little rest should have me back in business real soon.

• I am a CPA by trade which means this time of year I am really busy at work.  That means less time for running if I want to eat, sleep and/or see my family.  So, I cut my mileage back a bit for the month of March.  Basically I just try to run at a maintenance level for now.  In April I'll pick things back up.

• We went straight from deep winter to summer.  A couple of weeks ago I was running in snow and single digit wind chills.  This week it's been sunshine and 70 degrees.  Crazy.  Of course, all the snow melted.  Rapidly.  Some of our daffodils and tulips are beginning to sprout.  The canes on the rose bushes are turning green.  I just hope we don't get a hard freeze that kills off all the flowers this spring.

• The trails are open to me again which means that as soon as the ligament in my knee calms down, I can resume the virtual trail tours.  I have some new to me destinations planned for this year that I'm really looking forward to sharing with you all.

• Have I mentioned that I really like ice cream?

What is Strong?

Strong is what's left after we've used up all the weak.

I love this kind of stuff.

Rain + Cold = ??

What do you get when you combine rain and then cold?




Time to break out the microspikes.

Hello Winter!

Dear Winter,

Nice of you to show up finally.  You were only a few weeks late.  Please don't get too comfortable.  Spring is coming in March and you will need to be gone by then.


Yeah, so winter finally showed up with all the snow and cold those of us in northern climes expect.  To top it off this is my busiest time at work.  It has been a struggle figuring out my routine to get my runs in between working, eating, sleeping, shoveling snow and spending time with my family.

A quick review of January so far:

Week 1 - Ran just over 40 miles.  Weather was decent.  More autumn-like than wintery.

Week 2 - Ran 41 miles.  Weather was OK.  Started to turn wintery towards the end of the week.

Week 3 (so far) - Winter hit us full blast.  Miles were down due to stormy weather and busy work schedule.  Decided this would be a good time for a cutback week.

We finally have enough snow to break out the snow shoes and we're going to do that this weekend.  I hope the kids enjoy it.  I know as a kid I always thought it was fun to feel like I was floating on top of the snow.  It's fun, easy, good exercise and will teach the kids that just because it's winter it doesn't mean we are trapped in the house.

2011 Boxscore Edition

Looking back at my 2011 running boxscore:

• 2011 was my first full calendar year as a runner
• Ran 1,280.3 miles
• Best month was December with 158.8 miles
• Worst month was May with 56 miles
• Average miles per month was 106.7
• Races completed:  4 road 5K's; 1 trail 5 mile; 1 trail half marathon; 1 road half marathon.
• Coldest run was 2/8/11 at -7F air temp.  I didn't record the wind chill that night.
• Warmest run was 6/8/11 at 84F air temp.  Wind chill was not a factor ;-)
• Shoe mileage:
• Nike Air Peg Trail - 491 miles (494 total miles), most likely retired due to excessive wear in the heel area
• Asics Cumulus 12 - pair a - 528 miles, still going strong
• Asics Cumulus 12 - pair b - 179 miles
• New Balance 876 - 82 miles, took the Nike Air Peg's place

Foodie Friday

It's Friday.  There's a holiday coming up, so I decided to just have a little fun today.  This is marginally running related as I am highlighting my favorite post-race foods.

First up:  Pizza.  Chicago style or New York?  Chicago for me.

Absolutely perfect to induce a nice post-race coma on the couch :-)

Next up:  Wings.  How do you like yours?  Hot, mild, bbq?  Mild for me with a side of bleu cheese dressing.

Not exactly coma inducing, but definitely hits the spot after a hard race.

Last, but not least:  Pancakes.  What's your favorite toppings?  Mine are bananas, pecans, walnuts, peanut butter, strawberry jam, blueberries, chocolate chips and/or real maple syrup.  Not all at once, but some combination of the above.

What's your favorite post-race refueling choice?  Feel free to share in the comments.

Tuesday Night Adventure

Tuesday night I went out for my normal short, easy run.  Since I run at night and it was one of the coldest nights of the season so far I really didn't expect to see anyone along my route.  Even when the weather is nice I don't normally see other people very often.  Well, Tuesday was different this week.

First I came upon a teenage girl standing in the middle of the sidewalk texting.  She didn't know I was there until I was 2 feet from her.  She jumped about 8 feet and screamed.  LOL!  It was awesome.  I think she needed clean undies.  Hopefully she learned something about situational awareness at night in parks.  Not everyone is a Ninja Runner out for lulz.

Next I came upon an older gent out walking his dogs.  No biggie.  Totally normal occurrence.  He was on the right side of the street, I was on the left.  Then suddenly he swerves over to the left DIRECTLY in front of me so I have to swerve out to the middle of the road to miss him and his giant dog.  Of course the dog immediately starts yanking on the leash and barking.  The guy yells "Hey!  Watch where you're going!".  Wha...?!  Who cut off who Mr. Cranky Pants?  Well, I briefly considered flipping the guy the bird, but thought it would be better for everyone if I just ignored him and went on my way.

What an adventure for a Tuesday night run out in the wind and cold.

Midweek Stuff

Hey everyone.  Just kind of realized I forgot to do a weekly review on Sunday.  Oops!  Sunday was kind of a crazy day at our house.

A real quick review of last week:  Weekly speed work continues to go well.  It seems to be helping the rest of my running as well.  On Sunday I did my long run on the bike path so I could stay out of the woods (it's rifle deer season right now).  Ended up fighting a cramp in my left quad and hamstring for the last 6 miles.  Not fun but it seems to be all good now.

This Friday I have some field "research" planned for another installment of the Virtual Fall Trail Tour.  I hope you will enjoy it as much as I will :-)

If you are in the US, I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving!  For everyone else, have a great week!

Friday Randomness

Friday randomness in handy bullet form:

• Last night I did my second speed workout ever.  It went way better than the first one a week ago.  I'll be curious to see what happens to my easy effort paces after a month or so.
• I'm racing tonight with my eldest daughter.  It'll be more of a fun run than a PR effort.  I'm looking forward to running through the Christmas light displays and then dinner afterwards with my daughter.
• Winter is doing its best to arrive in northern Michigan.  Had a little snow this past week.  We get a reprieve this weekend and then it's back to wintery weather next week.
• Rifle deer season has opened so it's time to make sure I wear orange when I go out in the woods.  I don't want to be mistaken for a deer.
• Somehow I need to get 17 miles in between now and Sunday night to stay on my plan.  I have tons of stuff scheduled this weekend.  Hopefully I can get it all in.  3.1 tonight, 4-ish on Saturday and then 10 on Sunday should do it.
• Next week is a formal cutback week.  I've never really built those in before.  I figured it was time.

Any weekend plans?  Anyone racing?  Doing a fun run or Turkey Trot?

My Running Rules

As I've learned how to be a runner I've learned there are a few rules that just cannot be broken.  To do so invites great peril.  Without further ado, here is my list of running rules (so far):

1. On race day, tried and true, nothing new.
2. When it's damp and cold it doesn't matter which direction you run, it will be straight into the wind.
3. After running for 10-15 minutes, never trust a fart.  Ever.
4. Wind driven snow flakes hurt.
5. Smartwool socks rock!
6. 4 miles into a 10 mile trail run and miles from an outhouse, I'll need to pee.
7. That wet spot on the sidewalk will turn out to be an ankle deep puddle of ice water.  Corollary:  That wet spot will turn out to be ice.

I'm sure you have some more great ones.  What are your "running rules"?  Please feel free to add to the list :-)

Break's Over!

Well, that was fun.  Break's over and it's time to get back to running.  I'm feeling rested and refreshed.  I hope you all didn't think I gave up running or anything :-)

I'll be starting back this evening with a short run to shake things out.  The goal for this week is something around 20-ish miles.  My project for this winter is to build my weekly mileage from my normal pre-break 30 mpw up to 40 mpw.

Here are some scenes from my extended break:

A "moderately" difficult trail in the Smoky Mountains

Laurel Falls, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The Smokies showing why they are called the Smokies at Newfound Gap

Abram Falls in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Mid-week Update

Time for a mid-week update:

A little quieter work schedule means I can get back to blogging a little more often.  Yay!  Right?

This week I weighed myself for the first time in about 3 months.  I went up by about 10 pounds.  Ack!  So, back to logging what I eat to get control of it.  I've concluded that I was snacking way too much without thinking about it.  I also need to weigh myself a little more often to nip these things in the bud before it becomes a problem.  Spending the summer working on the road and eating out a lot didn't help either.

Lately I've been working on keeping the easy runs easy.  I have a tendency to just take off at my normal pace and before I know it my easy run has turned into a medium effort run.  That's counterproductive and increases my risk of injury.  What I didn't realize was how much mental concentration it takes to slow down and keep to an easy effort.  By the end my brain is tired.

In October I am contemplating taking two weeks off from running entirely.  I'm sensing that a break like that would do my body good.  More on this later.

So, what's up with you all?

Running Under the Harvest Moon

These past few days those of us that run after dark have been running under the harvest moon.  Where I live the skies have been clear and the moon bright making for some beautiful runs with the moonlight reflecting off the lake.

Our next full moon will be the hunters moon in October.  I'm hoping the weather is nice and clear for that one as well.  For some reason I just enjoy running under the full moon.

At times I will turn off my headlamp and just run by the moonlight.  I love the stark contrast between light and shadow.

So how about you?  Do you have a favorite time to run?  Pitch black?  Full sun?  Rain?  Snow?

Hot Hot Hot

Because it's been a hot week for running for a lot of us. Embrace the heat but be careful out there. Hydrate and then hydrate some more.

Get to Know Your Blogger

Many thanks to Jess from Run with Jess for this.  She did it awhile back and I copied it from her.  Please feel free to copy it and use it if you like.

Today is Get to Know Your Blogger day.  Not really.  I just made that up.  But still, I wanted to help you all get to know me a little better.  If there's anything else you want to know, just ask.


What is your favorite type of cross training?
I’m not sure I have a favorite, but riding my bike is lots of fun.  Especially off road.

What is your favorite song to run to?
Depends on the day and what I am trying to accomplish.  For something with a fast tempo to keep my cadence up I am currently really liking Toby Mac’s Funky Jesus Music .  When I am doing a long, slow, distance run and I want to keep it that way I enjoy something like The String Cheese Incident Rhythm of the Road.

What brand of shoes do you wear?
Currently I am wearing Nike Air Pegasus+27 Trail shoes for trail running,  Asics Cumulus 12 for roads.

Do you wear a hat when you run?
Yes, most of my hair has abandoned ship, so I need a hat when it’s cold or when the sun is shining.

What temperature is your favorite for running?
Somewhere around 50 degrees, give or take a couple.

Do you have any big races coming up?
North Country trail half marathon on August 27th.

What is your favorite distance?
I don’t have a favorite race distance yet.  So far in my training I prefer longer over shorter.  I can get into a groove and just go.  Anything under 4 miles I have a hard time finding that groove.

Are you a morning, noon or evening runner?
Evening into night.  My best runs happen around 9 p.m. or later.

Do you run solo or with a buddy?
Solo.  No one wants to run at night.  In the dark.  On an unlit path.
 
What's your favorite post run snack?
Dried fruit, water, granola.

What's your FAVORITE race?
Any sort of trail race.  I love trails!

Do you wear a Garmin? If not, how do you track your runs?
No.  Sketchroute.com and my Timex Ironman watch are all I need.

What is your least favorite race?
I don’t have one.  All races are fun.

What race is your favorite medal from?   

The races I have participated in didn’t give out medals.  My favorite shirt is from the Fifth Third Bank Riverbank Run so far.

Who is your running idol?

I don’t have one.  I don’t know many of the runners who do it for a living.  Anyone who can go as fast as they do is to be admired I suppose.

How long have you been a runner?
Eleven months.  When I say it, it sounds so short yet I have come so far in that amount of time.

Do you run with your engagement/wedding ring on?
Yes.  My fingers don’t swell up that much, so I leave it on.

What's your favorite workout? repeats? long runs? tempo? fartleks?  
Long, slow distance is my favorite.

Back!

Back from vacation and just getting back into the swing of things.  Sunday I managed an 8.1 mile run which was my longest long run in quite awhile.  The knees felt good at the end so that was encouraging.  For my next long run this coming weekend I'm going to go for about 8.5 miles.  I think I'll be able to jump to a 10 mile long run in about 2 weeks.  Currently a week looks like this: 4, 6, 4, and 8 miles.  I think in a couple of weeks it might look like:  4, 4, 7, 5, 10.  I'll try to maintain  that mileage through August.

Tonight I have about 4-ish miles planned but I am waiting out a thunderstorm currently.  I'll run through a lot, but never lightning.  From the radar it looks like the worst of it will skirt just to the west of were I'm at.  Should be just some rain and thunder where I'm at.

For awesome cornbread I have determined that a cast iron skillet is required.  Just something about the way the cornbread bakes in the cast iron skillet gives it a wonderful texture.  Blueberry sauce over the still warm cornbread makes it even more awesome.

Yesterday...

Yesterday consisted of Twisting by the Pool.  No running got done.  Enjoyed some time in the sun though.

Today I fit in a little run at 6:30 a.m. before anyone got up.  The weather was perfect.  Sunny, clear, about 60.  No humidity to speak of.  Couldn't ask for better.  It still sucked for the first 15 minutes or so.  Morning running is just difficult for me.  I feel like I'm running in wet cement.

Today's oatmeal combo that worked well:  Honey, banana, blueberries and cinnamon.  Yum.

Random Rest Day Thoughts

It's a rest day, so here's some random thoughts for the day:

My fantasy baseball team stinks.  I can't seem to get a pitching staff together that can have an ERA of less than 9.00.  Ugh.

This is the final week of Girls on the Run for my oldest daughter.  We'll run a 5K together a week from Monday.  I'm looking forward to that in a big way.

It's finally getting warm out.  Last night it actually felt like a late spring/early summer evening.  Nice.  Winter seems to be nothing but a distant memory now.  Hopefully this means no more snowy runs for about 6 months.

I need a new background for my blog.  Maybe sometime in the next few days I'll go out and see if I can take some springy/summery pictures that would be suitable.

Ice cream is the best.  I like it.  Too much.  Hi, my name is Mike and I'm an ice-cream-aholic.