watch cross
has your get up and go got up and went? is that first step out the front door getting more and more challenging with less and less daylight to run with?
go watch a middle school (or high school) cross country meet. watch the start of the race with the (sometimes) hundreds of kids streaming across a field. stand at the top of a sizable hill and encourage the middle/back of the pack runners as they struggle to climb.
see the proud smile of the kid who finishes first and notice the same beaming smile of another kid who fought hard to the finish. the next time you lace up those running shoes, that first step won’t seem quite so difficult.
8/26 – 9 miles
8/27 – 8 miles
8/28 – 7 miles
8/29 – 9 miles
8/30 – 9.25 miles
8/31 – off
August Totals: 281 miles
(29/31 days, 40 hours & 38 minutes)
** second best mileage total for a month, ever **
9/1 – 9 miles
9/2 – 7 miles
9/3 – 7 miles
9/4 – 5 miles
9/5 – 7 miles
9/6 – 19 miles
9/7 – 9 miles
9/8 – 7 miles
9/9 – 6 miles
9/10 – 5 miles
9/11 – 6 miles
9/12 – 5 miles
9/13 – 8K in 30:15 plus 2.5 miles w/u & c/d
9/14 – 10 miles
9/15 – 6 miles
9/16 – 7 miles
9/17 – 7 miles
9/18 – 7 miles
9/19 – 7 miles
9/20 – 7 miles
9/21 – 20 miles
9/22 – 5 miles
9/23 – 7 miles
MTD – 182.5 miles (23/23 Days, 26 Hours & 54 Minutes)
YTD – 1960.25 (254/266 Days, 286 Hours & 23 Minutes)
Odometer – 39,497 miles
finish line
this past weekend, a legend in the local running scene passed away after a long battle with cancer. i was fortunate enough to have recently been able to say hello to tom. however, it was another meeting with tom that happened years before that i’m most grateful for.
i was preparing for my first ice age trail 50 mile ultramarathon and took good friday as a vacation day. i’d shown up that morning at the trail head in the kettle moraine to meet up with anyone else who was available, thanks to an email that was sent out to local trail runners.
i knew tom from working at the same employer years before. he offered to run with me through the southern portion of the course. knowing of his experience on the course i was really appreciative of the offer. that said, i was a bit worried that i wouldn’t be able to keep up with him. i was thirty years younger than him but his fitness level was incredible.
we wound our way though the wooded trails single file with tom out front. the occasional open prairie sections allowed for running side by side which gave him the opportunity to quiz me on my training to that point. i remember a brief pause at the southern most part of the course when i stopped to retrieve an energy gel out of my hydration pack. while i found it and downed it quickly, he was at the ready for the return trip.
on the way back, when approaching a sizable uphill tom dropped to a brisk walk and told me this is the right hill to power walk up and grab another gel. further down the trail, he ratcheted up the pace through a winding single track section. when i was finally able to catch up with him at a road crossing he explained that’s the section he liked to press the pace. reaching the end of the twenty five mile training run, i remember being wiped while tom looked to be ready for another twenty five.
a month later i was able to finish my first ice age trail 50 miler and earn the coveted finishers belt buckle. without question, tom’s advice was very helpful in getting me to that finish line and i continue to be very grateful for the time and effort he shared with me that good friday morning.
comfort zone
so the first stretch of humid weather has arrived a bit later than usual. when it’s cold outside, keeping warm while running is fairly straightforward since you just put on another layer and go. however, keeping comfortable while running in warm temperatures and high humidity is another story. there is only so much gear you can remove without…offending.
regardless, there’s little choice in the matter since the weather is just one of many things that is beyond my influence. in the meantime, i simply step out the front door, start my watch and go.
8/1 – 6 miles
8/2 – 16 miles
8/3 – 9 miles
8/4 – 9 miles
8/5 – 9 miles
8/6 – 9 miles
8/7 – 9 miles
8/8 – 6.25 miles
8/9 – 17.25 miles
8/10 – 9 miles
8/11 – 9 miles
8/12 – 9 miles
8/13 – 9 miles
8/14 – 9 miles
8/15 – 10 miles
8/16 – 19.25 miles – uff da
8/17 – off
8/18 – 9 miles
8/19 – 9 miles
8/20 – 9 miles
8/21 – 9 miles
8/22 – 9 miles
8/23 – 10 miles
8/24 – 10 miles
8/25 – 9 miles
MTD – 238.75 miles (24/25 Days, 34 Hours & 27 Minutes)
YTD – 1735.5 miles (226/237 Days, 253 Hours & 18 Minutes)
Odometer – 39,272 miles
daily grind
running is rarely epic. in fact, it can be downright mundane. heck, the most extreme thing that has happened to me as of late was artfully dodging a leashed dog who opted to lunge at me as i ran past.
today’s nine mile run is fairly representative of my morning constitutionals. the alarm sounds at 4:30am and i’m standing at the end of my driveway at 5:15am. it usually takes me a few miles to wake up and warm up.
mile 1 – 10:04
mile 2 – 9:14
mile 3 – 8:46
by now i’m well outside the city limits as i run along a paved trail which used to be a railroad. each step is a bit more fluid and my thoughts are a bit more lucid.
mile 4 – 8:31
mile 5 – 8:16
mile 6 – 7:46
at this point i’m returning home and usually see a few other runners, walkers and cyclists. there’s a short section of a two lane country road that i have to pay close attention to vehicle traffic before turning into the safety of my subdivision.
mile 7 – 7:49
mile 8 – 7:46
mile 9 – 7:42
stopping my watch at the end of my driveway i’ll usually walk for a little bit (or put the trash to the curb) before heading in for a shower. that’s about it. nothing to see here. move along. move along.
7/22 – 9 miles
7/23 – 9 miles
7/24 – 9 miles
7/25 – 9 miles
7/26 – 9 miles
7/27 – 9 miles
7/28 – 9 miles
7/29 – 9.5 miles
7/30 – 9 miles
7/31 – 9 miles
**new mileage record for July (by 20 miles)**
MTD – 250 miles (30/31 Days, 36 Hours)
YTD – 1,496.75 miles (202/212 Days, 218 Hours & 51 Minutes)
Odometer – 39,033 miles
long sleeves
more often than not i run in the wee hours of the morning, especially during the week. last week the wee morning temps were in the upper forties and low fifties so i opted to gear up with a long sleeved shirt. while i wasn’t expecting to have to be thinking about keeping warm in mid-july i guess i really can’t complain about it either.
a funny thing happened on one of those cooler than normal mornings. about three miles away from home, a steady rain started to fall. backing up a bit, i almost always check the weather radar before leaving to run and this morning i hadn’t seen any green on the screen.
anyway, i sort of shrugged off the rain and kept heading west on the bike trail (away from home) as the rain continued. by the time i turned around at 4.5 miles i was fairly well soaked and my shoes made that squishing noise when i’d take a step.
since the rain didn’t let up like i hoped it would, i decided to pick up the pace to run home a tad bit faster than usual. while the rain didn’t ease up on my way home there wasn’t any accompanying thunder or lightning either. sometimes it’s all about how you choose to perceive and respond when the unexpected happens, especially when you have zero influence on it.
7/1 – 5 miles
7/2 – 5 miles
7/3 – off
7/4 – 1 mile w/u, 20K in 1:20:51 (cool down for what)
7/5 – 4 miles
7/6 – 7 miles
7/7 – 7 miles
7/8 – 7 miles
7/9 – 7 miles
7/10 – 7 miles
7/11 – 7 miles
7/12 – 10 miles
7/13 – 10 miles
7/14 – 9 miles
7/15 – 9 miles
7/16 – 9 miles
7/17 – 9 miles
7/18 – 9 miles
7/19 – 10 miles
7/20 – 6 miles
7/21 – 9 miles
MTD – 159.5 miles (20/21 Days, 22 Hours & 56 Minutes)
YTD – 1,406.25 miles (192/202 Days, 205 Hours & 45 Minutes)
Odometer – 38,943 miles