Duluth

Where The Sidewalk Ends

Last week was a bit light on running since I didn’t run from Dec 24-26, but I still got in a couple of relatively decent runs, most of them outside!

I got my safety vest and headlamp and was raring to try them out, so I did a couple of road runs Monday and Wednesday. They were both terrible. The runs, I mean, both items worked well and I felt very safe running.

Monday’s run was slick and difficult. Many stretches of sidewalk were icy, and in some spots the ice was uneven and rutted, making it tough to find good footing.

Wednesday’s run was sloppy and wet with new snow. It was snowing most of the time I was running, which meant the sidewalks weren’t shoveled, and in some places the snow plowed from the street had spilled over onto the sidewalk. It was 34 degrees so there was plenty of slush and my feet were soaked. I was concerned about getting cold, but my feet felt fine the whole time, and I wasn’t even wearing fancy winter socks.

Both runs were infinitely better than running on the treadmill.

I’m a little concerned about running this upcoming week. It snowed on Saturday, and when driving around Sunday, it appeared that the sidewalks were hit or miss as far as shoveling was concerned. Running in the street is not an option as the streets are already narrowed due to the snow. I can’t handle the treadmill every day, so I’ll have to figure something out in the meantime, and hope that people get around to shoveling.

The weather has been great, though. Highs in the 20s every day except yesterday! I can handle the annoying sidewalks if the weather stays this nice!

Ease On Down The Treadmill

Well, two days of running in a row, hooray for me!

I ordered a headlamp and reflective vest today. I was going to pick both up at the store this evening after my (one and only) final, but they didn’t seem to have any good headlamps (only cheapo ones) and they only had one running vest left that wasn’t the right size. So I found a couple deals online and I have free 2-day shipping from Prime, so now I can run outside in just a few days!

The treadmill is unpleasant, and my body already hurts from it, specifically my hips. I’m not doing any speed work and not pushing at all, to try to minimize the stress on my body.

Monday I was absolutely dying of boredom, running at a 3.8 mph pace for 4 miles. And I was so hungry I whined aloud about it at several points. My cats were terrified. Yesterday was a lot better because the Wild were winning.

I found myself wanting to push the pace up a little (especially since I had mileage goals, rather than time goals, for the workouts) or lengthen the workout, and I held myself back both times. I took two weeks off, I can’t go from zero to 30 mpw the first week back. So, I can pat myself on the back for not overdoing it.

I can’t pat myself on the back for the poor time management that forced me to miss one of my last weekday afternoon workouts. I could have gone trail running, but instead I had to study. I had plenty of time to get started studying for the exam, but started Monday night, then didn’t get up til 10:30 or so on Tuesday, and then realized I had a lot more studying to do than I thought. So there was no chance for the 6 mile trail run I thought I’d do from about 12-2 (test was at 4). Alas. I won’t get another chance at a trail until Saturday.

My HOPE is that the precipitation we are supposed to get over the next few days is solely snow, and not rain. I’d rather have snow on the ground than ice/cold mud on the trails. We’ve gotten far too much rain, and it makes me nervous, especially since I drive over the high bridge for work, and don’t feel like driving over it when it’s slick with ice.

Ah, winter. Welcome back.

Race Report: Gobble Gallop 5K

Official Results:
Time: 32:31
Pace: 10:28
Placing:
Overall: 1030/1802

App Results:
App: MovesCount
Time: 32:35
Pace: 10:27
Distance: 3.12 mi
Heart Rate: N/A

Goals:
A: 33:00
B: 34:00

Food:
What I ate the night before: Qdoba burrito bowl
What I ate on race day: 2 Starbursts
What I carried with me: Nothing

Gear:
What I wore: Hoodie, short sleeved tech tee, medium-weight running tights, buff (as headband), gloves
Gadgets: GPS watch

Discussion:
I woke up early after dreaming that I was late to the race. Actually no. I dreamed that I was with 3 of my high school friends who I’d convinced at the last minute to run the race. They needed to sign up, so we needed to get there early, and I was lollygagging around, and then we arrived too late for them to sign up. I woke up feeling like a jerk. Then I was too worried about being prepared for the race to go back to sleep. Annoying.

I need to stop eating entire burrito bowls before races, because I still kind of felt full. I mean, it was good on one hand, because I didn’t need to eat anything, but I could have maybe eaten 3/4 of the burrito instead and not felt so… uffda. The quintessential Scandinavian-American onomatopoeia is the only appropriate word for it. So I was a little worried.

I left for the race at about 9. I love the races around here, they start so late in the day! 9:30! I thought parking might be an issue, but that was dumb. It’s Thanksgiving, businesses aren’t open, their parking lots were fair game. I parked up the hill about 4 blocks. That was good thinking on my part. It was snowing but not too windy, which was nice, and the streets weren’t slick, which I was worried about. A large portion of the race was run on brick, which can get a little tricky.

I warmed up without feeling self-conscious! That was nice. I just kind of trotted around for awhile and then watched the end of the mile race. The winner of the mile race was also third place in the 5K. I hate him. Most of the runners of the mile were kids (or their parents) and most were faster than me. Some fairly small kids are really freaking fast. So now I’m jealous of 9 year olds.

I spotted Joe, a friend of mine, and glommed onto him until race start. He is a fast runner so he of course lined up well ahead of me, but it was nice to have someone to talk to for a little bit. I lined up at the back as usual. It was a bit more of a bottleneck at the start, since the pack was wider than the start/finish gate we had to go through. The results don’t have gun time/chip time differentials posted but I think I started about 2 minutes after the gun time. At first I wasn’t even sure the race had started because it seemed like nobody moved.

Throughout the first half of the race, I had to tell myself to slow down. I kept going under 10 mins (I was looking at my watch way too much during the race, but clearly I needed to) because it felt good. I am glad that I kept reminding myself to back off because I needed that energy at the end, although I probably could have pushed a little harder. (Especially if I hadn’t eaten the burrito the night before, as I had a feeling of fullness in my stomach. Nothing more concerning than that, but it was still annoying.)

My splits were fairly even: 10:23, 10:31, 10:34. So it’s clear I started a little faster and backed off, but that’s fine. That was tempered by slower segments where I was moving around runners. Because of the delay in the start plus my overall slowness, the first runners passed me on the way back before I reached the first mile marker. So that was a little demoralizing, but it makes sense. 10:23 + 2 minutes after gun time = 12:23 with less a mile to go for the lead runners, and the winner finished in 15:36. Joe passed me going the other way relatively early on too and I yelled at him to get after it as he blew by.

The race itself was fairly straightforward, with little elevation change, although I could definitely feel those small inclines. A young girl said to one of the adults with her that she was “definitely feeling the burn.” I was, too. I tried to take advantage of any slight declines to speed up, and then dialed it back on the inclines. I knew at the halfway point that there was no doubt I was going to at least meet my B goal, based on my average pace so far. I had that set up as one of the displays on my watch so that I could see it the whole time, since I was so obsessed with setting a PR.

With 0.2 mi to go (according to Strava, I didn’t know this at the time), I started to kick, and then with about 0.1 miles to go I hit another gear and zipped in. Joe waited around to cheer for me at the end for a second, which was nice! I had a lot more juice in my legs than maybe I should have had left, so I guess I left something out on the race course. Oh well, that just means another PR next time.

Because yeah. That was a giant PR. 1:50. I clearly didn’t see that coming, since I thought 33:00 was a stretch. I am excited and happy, and I am glad to see some improvement after stepping away from racing shorter distances for four months to focus on my half marathon. I know that PRs come easy at the beginning and in a few years I’ll be happy to shave a couple seconds off a 5K time. I’m still going to soak it up and enjoy it because I did earn it, and I did work hard to get to this point, even if it wasn’t a goal race.

This is my last race of 2015. I was going to race a December 5K, but the one I had in mind turned out to be next weekend. I didn’t want to run back to back races, so there we have it. Ending the racing year on a high note!

Gobble Gallop Goals

The Gobble Gallop is tomorrow, so I guess I have some goals.

The course is really easy. It starts and ends and Duluth Running Co. and goes down Superior Street and back. It’s easier than the course for the Fitger’s 5K, which goes over I-35 and therefore has two large (for a 5K) hills. Of course I don’t mind a hill or two but this should be a faster course.

I’m not really sure about my speed right now but I’m just going to throw it out there, why can’t I shave another minute off my current personal best (34:21)? Okay, more like a minute and a third.

A Standard: 33:00
B Standard: 34:00

Why not? My treadmill repeats are faster than those paces. I’m stronger and I’m (slightly) leaner than I was back in June when I ran the 34:21. 33 minutes is a 10:37 pace and 34 minutes is a 10:57 pace. Obviously I have to run a little bit faster than those paces per my watch in order to ensure I come in at my goal times, just in case my watch is a little generous with the distance. I just need to be careful I’m not throwing down a 9 minute pace right out of the gate.

I’m fairly certain I’m physically capable of hitting my A Standard. I just don’t know if I’m mentally capable. I am more cautious than most runners, I think, or if not cautious, just unaware of how much harder I can push under certain circumstances. When I ran the Be the Match 5K, I let my cousin run ahead of me at the end because I felt like I couldn’t run any harder. She finished maybe 30 seconds ahead of me, I seriously could have hung on for that, but I let myself fall back.

It should be a fun race no matter what, although I’ll be a bit lonely since I don’t know anyone running. As long as it’s not raining and it’s not icy, I can handle it!

Race Report: Harder ‘N Hell Half Marathon

Official Results:
Time: 3:51:24
Pace: 17:40 (Assuming 13.1 miles)
Placing:
Overall: 118/142
Gender: 54/72
(Updated to include official results)

App Results:
App: Strava
Time: 3:52:18
Pace: 17:04
Distance: 13.6 mi
Heart Rate: N/A

Goals:
A: 4:20:00
B: 3:59:59

Food:
What I ate the night before: Chicken tenders and fries
What I ate on race day: Large latte and bagel with cream cheese
What I carried with me: 2 handheld water bottles, fun size Snickers bars

Gear:
What I wore: Long sleeved tech tee, short sleeved tech tee, shorts, buff (as headband), over the calf socks (which fell down immediately), gloves
Gadgets: GPS watch, iPhone with Strava and MapMyRun running

Discussion:
What a great race. I am thrilled!

Race day I woke up before my alarm and tried to go back to sleep, but couldn’t. I got up around 7 and my friend (who was also running the race and who was staying with us) and I drove to get coffee. He was planning on leaving at around 8:10 to leave his car at the finish and take the bus to the start, but he couldn’t find one of his gloves, so he decided to ride with me to the start. I wanted that little extra bit of control, plus if it was cold then we could huddle in there. He drove to the finish line, I picked him up there (after making two wrong turns, one because I was zoning out and started driving to work, and one because I didn’t realize a street was closed), and we made it to the Spirit Mountain trailhead at about 9:05, giving us 10 minutes before the race briefing was scheduled and 25 minutes before the start. It was cold but not overly cold, and I realized I probably could have gotten away with a short sleeved shirt plus arm warmers. Eh. It wasn’t like it was the difference between winning and losing or anything. I didn’t do any warming up, which was dumb, but I don’t feel like it was a big deal.

The race briefing actually began right before the race was scheduled to start. I started my phone apps in advance because I didn’t want to be messing with my phone while running, especially since the pockets attached to my handheld were jammed full of stuff and my phone had to be wedged in. I didn’t realize once we went to the start, we would just… start. So my watch wasn’t ready, and it took forever to get the GPS to find a satellite, and then I realized at some point I hadn’t started it. I think I was about 0.4 miles into the race at that point but I had no idea. So the start was a bit rocky.

Mile 1: 18:30
This is a little messed up because as I said, I started the app before I walked to the starting line, so it includes that walking time. That means the distance is a little messed up, too, but the data from my watch is all kind of messed up since I didn’t start it on time and it was underestimating the distance. My watch had me running several 20+ minute miles and had an average pace of 18:17, which would have had me finishing in 3:59 (for a true 13.1), so that data is basically garbage. So, Strava it is.

Anyway the first mile was typical of a trail race, I gather, in that we were all bunched up. The stairway to hell was no problem because everyone else was going up it slowly, too. I let people go by me and went along at my own pace, and pretty soon I was basically in last place. Not a problem, someone had to bring up the rear.

Mile 2: 16:41
There’s a big descent here so it went by pretty quickly. I was a little bummed because there’s a couple of gentle descents/flats that I like to let loose on, but I couldn’t because we were bottled up, but I guess I made up for it by scaling the hills more quickly. I ended up in the middle of a running group somehow, which was awkward. Their leader told me they were aiming for a finish time around 4:30, so I told myself I hope I didn’t see them again. (Spoiler alert, I didn’t, but they were a fun group having a blast and I wished their time goal had been closer to mine so I could have joined them.)

Mile 3: 17:25
Uneventful. I was following a woman in blue patterned running tights and trying to keep her in sight the whole time. I think I might have had my first candy bar here, or slightly after. I felt a little gaggy from the bagel and cream cheese, which weren’t very good (from Starbucks. God I wish there was a Bruegger’s up here.) I had taken a couple of Pepto Bismol tablets pre-race as a precautionary measure but they hadn’t kicked in yet, I guess. I took my gloves off during this mile because my hands were getting warm and I’d need my hands free to unwrap my Snickers. I stuffed them down my shirt into my sports bra, so I am sure I looked a little lumpy for most of the race. Oh well.

Mile 4: 16:47
As I was crossing Cody Street I passed a woman who was cheering people on. She said “I’ve seen you out here training, great job!” It made me smile, it was a nice thing to say. I guess I am pretty distinctive looking since most people do not run wearing glasses, I’ve noticed.

Mile 5: 20:26
Yeesh. I tried eating another candy bar and nearly threw up. It was rough and I was slowed to a walk for quite awhile. I was pretty low for this mile, though I faked it for the race photographer. I thought oh man, I’m going to barf all over the trail, I won’t be able to eat anything the whole race, I won’t make it. It was depressing. The first aid station was at the end of this mile and I walked right through it, since I hadn’t consumed much of my water and I couldn’t imagine eating anything else. This ended up being a good idea because I got ahead of a bunch of people that way. I just kept moving and tried to will my stomach to calm down.

Miles 6 and 7: 17:50 and 17:06
I started feeling better at this point and the race turned around for me. I got passed by a few people fresh from the aid station while I was walking, but I ended up passing a couple of them when they stopped to pee. Another one followed me for awhile and didn’t pass me despite the multiple opportunities I gave her to go by. She finally rushed by me on the side, which was kind of annoying. I passed her when she stopped to take a photo, and but she seemed to keep me in her sights.

Mile 8: 16:47
I was still being pursued by the woman who rushed past me, and she got pretty close as I’d slowed down to eat a Snickers and I took the descent to Haines Road carefully. There were a couple of really slippery spots on the trail (like the first mile or so, which was covered in wet leaves) and the rocky descent down to the tunnel under Haines was one of them. I went slow and still nearly biffed it. In the tunnel I tried to really hit the gas and that was the fastest little snippet of the race, according to my Strava results. I was passed by a couple of mountain bikers on the gravel on the other side of the road. My pursuer was absolutely killing herself to catch me, which made no sense. I looked over my shoulder as I was heading back up into the woods and saw her bent over, hands on knees, stopped, at the edge of the gravel road and the woods. That was the last time I saw her. I did hear someone coming up behind me at one point but it turned out to be the winner of the 50k.

Mile 9: 18:07
Uneventful. Passed by the 50k 2nd place runner. I think I had another Snickers here, the last one I ate, and then I had a mint.

Mile 10: 16:24
Passed by the 50k 3rd place runner as I was crossing Skyline. Started to realize I wasn’t as far off my goal as I thought. I still thought I’d be over 4 hours, but I really couldn’t tell. I ran alongside a guy with trekking poles for awhile and we chatted. We talked about how nice the new boardwalks were; they had just been added in a few weeks ago by some fabulous volunteers. I asked him about his trekking poles and he said “They saved my life.” He had a total knee replacement and this race was the longest he’d run since then. I might have to look into them since he said they lessen the impact of downhills and my knees are pretty creaky today. He got ahead of me as we hit 10th street, but I caught up with him at the aid station at 24th Ave W.

Mile 11: 17:55
I stopped at the aid station at 24th Ave W to fill up one of my water bottles, and then I kept on going. There was food there but I decided I wasn’t going to eat anything else. I saw the woman I’d seen earlier (the one who’d seen me training), she appeared to be a friend or family member of the guy I’d run with. He stayed at the aid station a little longer than I did but he was soon coming after me. I thought he would get by me but he didn’t. I saw him finish and he told me he ran out of gas in the last few miles. I got passed by the 4th place 50k runner (who looked really miserable), the last one to pass me for the day. I really started to pick it up out of the aid station, I really wanted to get to Enger Park and start the downhill part of the race. I drank a little too much water and felt sloshy for a few minutes but my stomach calmed down.

Mile 12: 16:55
I realized at this point that 4 hours was within my grasp and I was really motivated. I knew the last bad hill was ahead of me heading into Enger, and I was ready to attack it. I passed a guy on the hill who was absolutely SUFFERING. I felt really bad for him, and told him it was the last bad hill and then it would be all downhill. I wanted to ring the peace bell at Enger but this tween girl seemed to be hogging it so I just kept going. She rang it as I ran by. I passed Twin Ponds and had a moment of sadness for the woman who was struck by a car and killed there earlier in the week. I didn’t know her but many people I know did, and it was a sad, preventable accident that has resulted in criminal charges. I passed a guy here as we crossed Skyline and started to open up a bit.

Mile 13: 14:15
I was flying at this point. It is a fairly steep descent but it was manageable and I was running it perfectly, no tripping or slipping. I passed a few other people here, including the only half marathoner to pass me back. A friend of mine lives just down the road from one of the road crossings, so I’d told him to be out cheering, but he wasn’t. Oh well. I didn’t need encouragement at this point, I was practically grinning. I was checking my watch to see my pace rather frequently, and I knew I was going to make it under 4 hours. I checked the actual time just to be sure, and confirmed it. The only thing I wasn’t sure about was where the actual finish line was. I mean, I knew it was in Bayfront, but where, and what was the path to get there? I was flying over the pedestrian bridge across the highway, but started to lose energy a little bit (and got passed) when I was running along the train tracks.

The rest (0.5 miles according to Strava, who knows what it really was): 11:40 pace
So the finish line wasn’t visible until the very, very end. That was a little bit annoying. I ran along Railroad St, turned at 5th Ave W, turned again and starting running through the Bentleyville tunnel, and then FINALLY saw the finish line. Since I was so far ahead of my expected finish time, no one was expecting me. In fact, my husband said that my friend’s parents had just asked when they expected to see me finish, and he said “Between 1:30 and 2… or right now” as I had just come into view. I saw the clock, saw I was well under 4 hours, and blew through the finish line with a smile on my face.

I wrapped up in a blanket right away to keep warm, even though I hadn’t felt cold at all during the race. I sat down for a little while and heard about how the race went for my buddy. He said he finished in about 3:02, which was a little over his goal, but he had a blast just as I did. He reminded me to go get my swag, which I hadn’t noticed. Instead of medals, we got a mug with a little spoon, which I used to get DELICIOUS chicken wild rice soup. I should have eaten like three more helpings. I felt pretty amazing right after the race and was surprised to see how easily my stomach accepted the soup and bread. My husband drove me back to Spirit Mountain to pick up my car, and then I went home to shower and get the snot and salt off my face.

I was pretty tired the rest of the day, probably because I needed more food. I had another latte (pumpkin spice, because I’m unashamed to be basic) while I was picking a friend up from the bus station (he was covering the Bulldogs-Gophers hockey game Saturday night) but I was really dragging. I tried to nap, but I couldn’t. I barely made it to the hockey game (UMD shut out the stinkin’ Gophers, so that was great!), but once I ate some glorious fries, I perked up again.

I am pretty pain free. Only a minor blister or two, no chafing, no muscular soreness, but some joint soreness and stiffness. My hips and knees aren’t pleased. I thought my back would hurt more since I didn’t do a good job working my core during this training cycle.

I am really glad I put in all that grueling training. I felt really prepared for the race, took all the hills in stride (huffing and puffing, but considering I barely made it up some of them during the first few weeks of training, it was an improvement), had plenty in the tank at the end, overcame nausea, and didn’t bonk. I’ll recap the training cycle in a later post, but suffice it to say, while it wasn’t perfect every week, it did the job.

I will definitely run this race again. It’s very low key, the volunteers were great, the trail is gorgeous, and it’s a perfect way to wrap up a distance racing season. (Of course I only ran one longish race, but that won’t always be the case.) Maybe next year I’ll run the 50k! Or try to beat this year’s time in the half, I don’t know. Thank you, Wild Duluth Races, for a great race!

Harder ‘N Hell Half Training: Week 4

A monster training week.

Monday: 4.5, trail (Bagley)
Tuesday: 5, treadmill (8×400 repeats)
Wednesday: 4, road
Thursday: rest
Friday: 5, trail (Hartley)
Saturday: 5, trail (SHT starting at Spirit Mountain)
Sunday: 7.3, trail (SHT from Getchell to Twin Ponds)
Total: 30.7

Last week was a good week. I probably increased the mileage too much, but I have been lower on mileage than I wanted so far in this training cycle. I am averaging 23 miles/week, which is really low. Obviously I had a bad week 2, but still.

Friday’s run was decent for the most part. I always enjoy running at Hartley. I came across a friend who was biking (actually we had a near-miss, as I was running across a long section of planks and was halfway through when his friend came around the corner of the trail and had to stop at the last minute before riding on to the planks), which was a first. Two minutes after I saw him I wasn’t paying attention and tripped. I landed hard, face-first, and ended up with a stiff neck the next day. I am glad it wasn’t worse, but I need to remember to PICK UP MY FEET.

Over the weekend I spent some significant time on the race course. Saturday I ran a depressing out and back over the first 2.5 miles of the trail. I felt kind of sluggish during the run, but I had a decent time on the stairs of death, only stopping once to catch my breath. There was a family waiting at the top so I felt stupid once I got up there, since they were probably waiting for me to huff and puff my way up. I staggered through the seemingly endless uphill on the way back, reminding myself that I’d not be racing that way (poor 100k runners, they will be!), but it was a bit disheartening.

Sunday I dropped my car off at Twin Ponds and then was dropped off at the Getchell/Highland parking lot. It was misty and cool, and I had on long tights and a lightweight long-sleeved tee, which was a little much. The long tights were fine, but a short-sleeved shirt and some arm warmers would have been better, I think. I didn’t get overheated but a little more ventilation would have been good.

I spent the first part of the run feeling a little nervous and exhilarated, partly because it was windy and partly because I was afraid that my car was so far away. On an out and back, I can always double back early if needed. With a point to point run, I am committed to the distance. I had my phone (in a plastic bag, since it could have rained), lip balm, a roll of mints (for nausea or for dry mouth), my keys, and an energy bar all tucked in the pockets of my handhelds (I brought both). It’s a little more than I carry for a normal run, but it eased my mind.

I practiced a little nutrition experimentation. Around the halfway mark, maybe a little before, I ate half the energy bar I’d brought with. It was a pain in the butt, as the wrapper was hard to open and the bar was hard to tear. I wanted to just tear a chunk off, but it required a significant amount of force and torque to get even a small piece to eat. I ate the second half when I was nearing Enger Tower (a bit over 6 miles in), but I felt pretty gross after eating it. Mints to the rescue! I guess I can see the appeal of gels. I’ll have to give them a try, although I think for longer runs I still need solid food in my stomach to keep it from growling. We’ll see. I did get a nice boost in my step after eating, so I was glad to have the snack.

The best part about the run (physically speaking; the best part about the run OVERALL is the incredible view) was how I felt at the end. I was pretty excited to see my car and I had plenty of energy left in my legs to kick into another gear. I texted my friend David (who is also running the race) “WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS!!! IT’S GOING TO BE AWESOME!!!” Of course 7.3 miles is not 13.1, and I didn’t include the hardest part of the course, but still. I felt much more confident than I have been feeling lately! I may be slow, and I may be the last finisher, but I feel like I can run strong, and if I can have another 8 fantastic weeks of training, maybe I’ll surprise myself come race day.

Harder ‘N Hell Half Training: Week 1

Yay! Back to training again.

Monday: 3.8 mi, trails (Bagley)
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 4.4 mi, road + trails, 4 x Chester Bowl Ski Hill
Thursday: rest
Friday: 4.8 mi, trails (Hartley)
Saturday: 6 mi, trails (SHT)
Sunday: 4.8 mi, trails/hiking (SHT)
Total: 23.8 mi

This was a little low for mileage for the week, but I chose to take Tuesday off to spend time with family and it was a great decision. For week 2, I’ll be back to 6 runs a week and the mileage will be back up.

Running almost entirely on trails is a different challenge for me. I like it, but it’s more tiring and time-consuming. This isn’t a surprise, of course, but I was dragging on my hike yesterday, and even dragging on my run the day before. Of course, it’s hot and sunny, which is sapping my energy, but it’s also sapping my confidence a little, only one week in.

Yesterday I took a hike with my friend, who is also running the race with me. We started at the Spirit Mountain trailhead and power-hiked through to Skyline Drive/Getchell road. I thought it would be a slightly longer, run, but ended up just under 5 miles. It was fine with me, because my energy was sapped. I really needed a snack or something. I thought I’d eaten enough, but since we didn’t start til after 3, I think I needed something more substantial than a bagel slathered in cream cheese and a couple of granola bars. That works ok for a noon run, but not for a 3:30 pm run. I was glad to do a run that wasn’t an out and back! And I got to introduce David to the steps from hell, so that was fun. He made it up well before me but it wasn’t a picnic for him either. I still think my strategy of being dead last at the beginning of the race is genius. Then I can take as much time as I want on the stupid stairs.

Saturday I started at the Skyline Drive/Getchell road trailhead and did three miles toward the city and then looped back. I took a couple of terrible pictures. I didn’t know they were terrible at the time, but the lens was sweaty or something. The beginning of this part of the trail is pretty technical, and I was a little concerned about slipping and falling. There’s a lot of loose gravel/dirt in some very tricky spots. I sometimes wonder if I am too much of a wimp to be a trail runner.

The Bagley and Hartley runs were nothing to write home about. Standard runs I’ve done a zillion times. I covered the hill workout here.

Lessons learned this week: I need to get stronger in order to have a decent race in October. I did a crappy job of strength training this week, only doing a couple yoga workouts. I slept all right, but could sleep better. My nutrition still sucks. So the only one of my training goals I met was running hills. Whoops. It’s week 1 of 12, I think I’ve got plenty of room for improvement.