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| 😱 |
I've now registered for my first UltraMarathon!
More to come... 😁😁😁
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Monday, May 27, 2019
Camping Weekend workouts
This past weekend was the best weekend I've had in a while - full of camping, friends, mountain biking, and a bit of running! The trails at Jackrabbit Mountain are great - set up kind of like a pinwheel, where there's a center loop with little side loops that extend out from the central (white) loop. It makes it easy to make a ride as short or as long as you want since each loop is just 1-3 miles each. The connector trail between the campground and the trailhead is about 1.4 miles one way.
Saturday a.m. ride - 11.16 mi @ 8.6 mph
First ride I did was Saturday morning (while it was still cool-ish) - Scott took D out in the Wee-Hoo and I followed on my bike. I did most of the loops (green, blue, red, and yellow) meeting Scott & D on the central loop as I went around, and made a nice long(ish) ride before it got too hot. The trails are super fun, not too technical, not too much climbing, but twisty and flowy with some nice views of the lake nearby.
Saturday a.m. run/walk - 1.87 mi
When we got back from biking, D wanted to go out on his bike so I followed him out on the trails for a couple of miles on the connector trail with his friend Cecilia & her mom who were hiking.
Saturday afternoon ride - 7.68 mi @ 8.8 mph
Afternoon ride with a couple of friends, and boy it was hot. We didn't spend very long out on the trails but it was nice to get in a few more miles for the day.
Sunday a.m. run - 7.13 mi @ 10:13/mi
Yay, trail run! I basically woke up, threw on running clothes, and headed out from camp before 7am. Felt so nice to be out early, and the trails were still pretty empty at this point. I just ran the white (center) loop + the green loop to keep it simple and so I could make it back in time for breakfast at camp.
Saturday a.m. ride - 11.16 mi @ 8.6 mph
First ride I did was Saturday morning (while it was still cool-ish) - Scott took D out in the Wee-Hoo and I followed on my bike. I did most of the loops (green, blue, red, and yellow) meeting Scott & D on the central loop as I went around, and made a nice long(ish) ride before it got too hot. The trails are super fun, not too technical, not too much climbing, but twisty and flowy with some nice views of the lake nearby.
Saturday a.m. run/walk - 1.87 mi
When we got back from biking, D wanted to go out on his bike so I followed him out on the trails for a couple of miles on the connector trail with his friend Cecilia & her mom who were hiking.
Saturday afternoon ride - 7.68 mi @ 8.8 mph
Afternoon ride with a couple of friends, and boy it was hot. We didn't spend very long out on the trails but it was nice to get in a few more miles for the day.
Sunday a.m. run - 7.13 mi @ 10:13/mi
Yay, trail run! I basically woke up, threw on running clothes, and headed out from camp before 7am. Felt so nice to be out early, and the trails were still pretty empty at this point. I just ran the white (center) loop + the green loop to keep it simple and so I could make it back in time for breakfast at camp.
Morning trails
Sunday a.m. run/walk - 2.89 mi
Once again, D wanted to go out biking on the trail so we did the entire connector trail from camp out to the trailhead and back. He almost pooped out, but some encouragement and promise of snacks was the motivation he needed to keep going. He gets moving pretty quick out there on some parts, so I was definitely having to run several sections!
Sunday night ride - 7.18 mi @ 8.5 mph
Group went out after an early dinner for a night ride - started in the early hours of sunset, hung out with some beers on SABA Beach (one of the trails, built by the Southern Appalachian Biking Association, goes out to a nice sandy beach area with nice views of the lake), and then biked back to camp in the dark with our headlamps. So cool! I've done one or two other night rides before, so I'm not very experienced, but it is a lot of fun, especially on these trails that I feel like I know pretty well and aren't too difficult.
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| Family night ride! |
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| Not too shabby. |
Monday held no formal exercise, but I hit 10,000 steps just in all of the unpacking activities that ensued once we got home. Definitely going to sleep well tonight!
Friday, May 24, 2019
It's gettin' hot in herrrrre
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| Eugh. |
Did: lifting
Yay, another good strength session. Somehow I managed to push through a late-afternoon lack of motivation and got a great workout in. Yeehaw. I'm noticing the routine I've been doing is feeling easier, so it might be time to step up the weights a bit on a few exercises (as long as I can keep this momentum of regular workouts... ).
Tuesday
Did: 6.2 mi @ 7:53/mi avg (4x1mi @ 7:00/mi)
Oh yeah, treadmill speedwork for #10kTuesday today. I thought about going outside because it was really nice this morning, but mentally I needed some speedwork. Decided on something simple - mile repeats! I told myself to do 3 and see how I felt... luckily the endorphins kicked in and I definitely wanted that last one. Felt great to push and really didn't feel too worn out by the 7:00 pace... hmmmm.
Wednesday
Did: 4.03 mi @ 8:53/mi
Ran the trails at work - wasn't really feeling like running but it ended up being quite a nice day (cooler than expected, overcast).
Thursday
Did: rest
Well, I followed D around the trail at the Short Track races for his practice lap... but that's it.
Friday
Did: 5k trail walk
Did another "tour" of the RMC Trails at work. We walked the entire 5k course today! It was already hot out... but nice to get outside.
Ending the blog here now... because the long weekend will be a mountain biking filled weekend at Jackrabbit Mountain! We're going camping until Monday... a separate blog will come next week to recap the weekend.
Monday, May 20, 2019
Almost a normal week?
Monday
Did: strength training
Solid hour of lifting... finally! Nothing spectacular just finally got a solid workout done. Hooray.
Tuesday
Did: 6.56 mi @ 8:03/mi
Did the "Right on Rice" route with the early downtown group. It was a push because this route is hilly! And of course the run leader set a pretty blazing pace. All of us stopped to walk at the top of a couple of the hills though (thank goodness). Felt great to get out and push, especially in this gorgeous mid-50s low humidity morning!!
Wednesday
Did: 14.4 mi road bike @ 15.8 mph
OMG I haven't been on my bike since January 6th. WHAT. Finally got out on the bike with Scott during lunch today and had a great ride! Surprised with the speed I was able to maintain and makes me less apprehensive for this weekend's planned 30+ mile ride with some friends who will be visiting. Yay biking! 🚲
Thursday
Did: 1.6 mi walk w/ D
Things and stuff and excuses during the day... had grand plans to leave early enough to run at Paris Mtn after work but that didn't pan out either. Picked up D and grabbed his bike, then headed over to Furman so he could ride around the lake and I walked with him. He got tired towards the end so we didn't go as far as I'd hoped, but it was at least something and we got outside.
Friday
Did: 1.6 mi walk on trails
After being in the audience for a panel discussion about healthy lifestyle changes at work earlier this week, a lot of questions came up about the trails on our campus. People didn't know where they started, how far they went, where to even begin. So I took it upon myself to organize a "trail orientation" and I took a group of folks out for a walk on the trails on Friday morning. It was great!
Saturday
Did: 27.8 mi road bike ride, 14.1 mph
Originally we'd planned to do a ~30 mile ride to climb the Saluda grade with some friends who were in town, but they ended up being sick and not being able to ride... so we decided to do a ride from the house (logistically simpler). It was a nice morning - warm but not unbearable, low traffic for the most part, and it almost felt like "the good old days" of a morning summer bike ride followed by an afternoon at the pool. We stopped at the TR Farmer's Market on the way back, got a popsicle for D, and then I even felt good enough to take the long way home on my own.
Sunday
Did: 3.3 mi stroller run/walk + 5.7 mi trail run
This day didn't go exactly as planned... had some morning stomach issues (this has been happening more frequently... need to figure out the cause) so the planned morning miles with the stroller turned into a run/walk (mostly walk) around the neighborhood. After that, we packed up and headed to Pleasant Ridge to meet Scott so that he and D could bike and I could run a loop on the trails. I've found that trail running is incredibly humbling - whereas my road pace is usually sub-9 these days, I'm hitting 12's and 13's on the trail. Whew! Still, I felt good by the end of the run (thank goodness) and enjoyed my time in the woods.
Did: strength training
Solid hour of lifting... finally! Nothing spectacular just finally got a solid workout done. Hooray.
Tuesday
Did: 6.56 mi @ 8:03/mi
Did the "Right on Rice" route with the early downtown group. It was a push because this route is hilly! And of course the run leader set a pretty blazing pace. All of us stopped to walk at the top of a couple of the hills though (thank goodness). Felt great to get out and push, especially in this gorgeous mid-50s low humidity morning!!
Wednesday
Did: 14.4 mi road bike @ 15.8 mph
OMG I haven't been on my bike since January 6th. WHAT. Finally got out on the bike with Scott during lunch today and had a great ride! Surprised with the speed I was able to maintain and makes me less apprehensive for this weekend's planned 30+ mile ride with some friends who will be visiting. Yay biking! 🚲
Thursday
Did: 1.6 mi walk w/ D
Things and stuff and excuses during the day... had grand plans to leave early enough to run at Paris Mtn after work but that didn't pan out either. Picked up D and grabbed his bike, then headed over to Furman so he could ride around the lake and I walked with him. He got tired towards the end so we didn't go as far as I'd hoped, but it was at least something and we got outside.
Friday
Did: 1.6 mi walk on trails
After being in the audience for a panel discussion about healthy lifestyle changes at work earlier this week, a lot of questions came up about the trails on our campus. People didn't know where they started, how far they went, where to even begin. So I took it upon myself to organize a "trail orientation" and I took a group of folks out for a walk on the trails on Friday morning. It was great!
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| Trail walkers! |
Did: 27.8 mi road bike ride, 14.1 mph
Originally we'd planned to do a ~30 mile ride to climb the Saluda grade with some friends who were in town, but they ended up being sick and not being able to ride... so we decided to do a ride from the house (logistically simpler). It was a nice morning - warm but not unbearable, low traffic for the most part, and it almost felt like "the good old days" of a morning summer bike ride followed by an afternoon at the pool. We stopped at the TR Farmer's Market on the way back, got a popsicle for D, and then I even felt good enough to take the long way home on my own.
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| Nice country roads |
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| Climbing hills |
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| King of Pops! |
Did: 3.3 mi stroller run/walk + 5.7 mi trail run
This day didn't go exactly as planned... had some morning stomach issues (this has been happening more frequently... need to figure out the cause) so the planned morning miles with the stroller turned into a run/walk (mostly walk) around the neighborhood. After that, we packed up and headed to Pleasant Ridge to meet Scott so that he and D could bike and I could run a loop on the trails. I've found that trail running is incredibly humbling - whereas my road pace is usually sub-9 these days, I'm hitting 12's and 13's on the trail. Whew! Still, I felt good by the end of the run (thank goodness) and enjoyed my time in the woods.
Bonus: we did Sunday Funday yoga at Mountain Goat - love these Sunday afternoon stretch sessions with good friends and beer. :)
Week ending thoughts:
Not as many running miles as I would like for a week, but I did get out on the trails and I got on the bike not once but twice! And oh yeah, the summer heat is setting in... gonna have to get adjusted to that. 🌞
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Training Planning... some thoughts.
So the last time I started training for a 50k I'd devised a pretty reasonable plan. I've also checked out Hal Higdon's 50k Ultramarathon plan (I always like Hal's plans and have found much success in the past) along with a few others...
- 18-week Hilly Trail 50k plan
- 14-week comprehensive plan (including strength & other technique suggestions)
- Online training plan generator gave me this:
So.... I have a lot of reading to do. The good news is, even the longest plan (Hal Higdon's = 26 weeks) wouldn't kick in until the first weekend in June, so I have a few weeks to figure out what I'm gonna jumble together.
Oh yeah, I mentioned a 50k... right now I plan to sign up for the Cloudland Canyon 50k (race date Dec. 7th). Registration doesn't open until May 27th so I'm eagerly awaiting that date.
Monday, May 13, 2019
May Days
Week Beginning thoughts: Going to be a busy week of solo operations.
Monday
Did: short core workout
Only had about a 30 minute time slot to work out between meetings and such this morning, and then got interrupted because the first responder team was doing a drill, enacting someone having a medical emergency while working out and calling in the first responders from across the campus to attend to him. So I had to move my workout into the other room and it just threw off the routine I'd had in my mind. Eh, it was something which is always better than nothing.
Tuesday
Did: 6.28 mi @ 8:47/mi avg
I hit the trails at work today in honor of signing up for the Sky to Summit 25k. Felt good but a bit slow, though apparently my pace didn't reflect what I felt. Heh.
Wednesday
Did: rest
Thursday
Did: 3.13 mi @ 11:44/mi avg
Went to Paris Mountain after work and signed up for my annual park pass which took longer than I'd hoped, so I was shorter on time than I'd anticipated for the run. Oh well, it felt so good to be out in the woods on REAL trails (not just the cross-country grass trails at work). It was a bit humbling, as you can see by my average pace, but I was enjoying every step. A little paranoid about snakes, and for good reason because I ran into one at the end of the run!
Monday
Did: short core workout
Only had about a 30 minute time slot to work out between meetings and such this morning, and then got interrupted because the first responder team was doing a drill, enacting someone having a medical emergency while working out and calling in the first responders from across the campus to attend to him. So I had to move my workout into the other room and it just threw off the routine I'd had in my mind. Eh, it was something which is always better than nothing.
Tuesday
Did: 6.28 mi @ 8:47/mi avg
I hit the trails at work today in honor of signing up for the Sky to Summit 25k. Felt good but a bit slow, though apparently my pace didn't reflect what I felt. Heh.
Wednesday
Did: rest
Thursday
Did: 3.13 mi @ 11:44/mi avg
Went to Paris Mountain after work and signed up for my annual park pass which took longer than I'd hoped, so I was shorter on time than I'd anticipated for the run. Oh well, it felt so good to be out in the woods on REAL trails (not just the cross-country grass trails at work). It was a bit humbling, as you can see by my average pace, but I was enjoying every step. A little paranoid about snakes, and for good reason because I ran into one at the end of the run!
Trails 💚
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| Happy. |
Unfortunate toad.
Friday
Did: lifting
Another short lift but this one was better than Monday's at least. Skipped leg stuff due to tomorrow's race but based on the weather predictions (rain, rain, thunderstorm, ALL DAY) it's probably not going to be a hard race effort. But hey, who knows.
Saturday
Did: 1mi WU, Zoom through the Zoo 5k, 1 mi CD
Not even going to bother with a race report on this one - just not even bothered by it. It was a decent race, pretty well organized, the rain held off for the most part, and I ran pretty well but while I was excited with my official finish time of 21:46 I was disappointed that the course was almost 0.2 miles short. I parked a mile away so I ran to and from the race to get some additional miles for the day.
The rain scared away a lot of people who had signed up, so we had a decent number of no-shows which is also disappointing. One of our runners was the #2 overall finisher, though!
Sunday
Did: 2.14 mi "hike" at Paris Mtn
I took D to Paris Mountain because he wanted to bike - he rode while I hiked behind him. Obviously wasn't strenuous and he wasn't interested in riding in the hiking backpack to do more miles, so we enjoyed our loops on the Turtle Trail and called it a day.
Week-ending thoughts: Decent week, but missed having a long run or bike ride. Darn rain.
Did: lifting
Another short lift but this one was better than Monday's at least. Skipped leg stuff due to tomorrow's race but based on the weather predictions (rain, rain, thunderstorm, ALL DAY) it's probably not going to be a hard race effort. But hey, who knows.
Saturday
Did: 1mi WU, Zoom through the Zoo 5k, 1 mi CD
Not even going to bother with a race report on this one - just not even bothered by it. It was a decent race, pretty well organized, the rain held off for the most part, and I ran pretty well but while I was excited with my official finish time of 21:46 I was disappointed that the course was almost 0.2 miles short. I parked a mile away so I ran to and from the race to get some additional miles for the day.
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| Milliken team! |
Sunday
Did: 2.14 mi "hike" at Paris Mtn
I took D to Paris Mountain because he wanted to bike - he rode while I hiked behind him. Obviously wasn't strenuous and he wasn't interested in riding in the hiking backpack to do more miles, so we enjoyed our loops on the Turtle Trail and called it a day.
Week-ending thoughts: Decent week, but missed having a long run or bike ride. Darn rain.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Race Registration: Sky to Summit 25k (Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019)
I signed up for a race!
Sky to Summit 25k
I've been toying with what to do with the second half of the year. I'd considered going for a marathon PR, or focusing on shorter distance speed... but the trails have been calling. I'd heard about the Sky to Summit from some of the early downtown run group and even thought of the 50k until I mentioned it and was told it was "basically a hike" and "one of the hardest 50ks". So I shifted focus to the 25k, and got ready to sign up on Tuesday morning when registration opened at 10am. The race is known to sell out in minutes so I made sure to be logged on right when it went on sale. Made me think of the good old days getting concert tickets on Ticketmaster. 😂
The good news: I got in! Even better, I convinced my running buddy Robin to sign up with me. Both she and Dale signed up! We're gonna do a trail run!
This race is known for some beautiful views in the Georgia mountains, and I'm so excited to have something different to train for this summer.
Detailed course info here on TrailRunProject.com
Yippee, trails!
Sky to Summit 25k
I've been toying with what to do with the second half of the year. I'd considered going for a marathon PR, or focusing on shorter distance speed... but the trails have been calling. I'd heard about the Sky to Summit from some of the early downtown run group and even thought of the 50k until I mentioned it and was told it was "basically a hike" and "one of the hardest 50ks". So I shifted focus to the 25k, and got ready to sign up on Tuesday morning when registration opened at 10am. The race is known to sell out in minutes so I made sure to be logged on right when it went on sale. Made me think of the good old days getting concert tickets on Ticketmaster. 😂
The good news: I got in! Even better, I convinced my running buddy Robin to sign up with me. Both she and Dale signed up! We're gonna do a trail run!
This race is known for some beautiful views in the Georgia mountains, and I'm so excited to have something different to train for this summer.
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| Course Info |
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| Elevation profile |
Yippee, trails!
Monday, May 6, 2019
How is it May already?
Monday
Did: nothing, travel day
Return travel from Texas.
Tuesday
Did: 6.24 mi @ 8:00/mi avg
Ran with the early downtown group and man, we were truckin'! Started off with a pretty good group but I ended up breaking off with 2 other guys at the front and then eventually me and one other guy broke away in front. I finished with an extra mile at the end to get to my 10k and felt awesome.
Wednesday
Did: strength
Solid hour of lifting, felt good - incorporating more abs and core throughout the workout, usually doing the 4 sets with first 3 at higher weight and final set at lower weight focusing on form and using full range of motion. Nice and sore today (Thursday) so apparently was a good workout. :)
Thursday
Did: 4.66 mi @ 9:38/mi
Hit the trails today and it was a bit of a slog - definitely feeling the heat! But good to get outside.
Friday
Did: rest
Saturday
Did: 3.5 mi walk - March of Dimes March for Babies
Drove up to Spartanburg for the MoD March for Babies. Dale & Robin and two pups joined D and I on the walk. It was warm, hilly, but nice morning and D enjoyed meeting Spider-Man, jumping in the bounce house, and post-walk hotdogs.
Sunday
Did: 9.57 mi @ 8:48/mi avg
Wow, this didn't seem like that fast of a run but looking at the stats... hmm, not bad! We had planned to do a family bike ride to brunch this morning but some sprinkly rain showers derailed those plans. I immediately went and laced up to go run "for a while" without any plans or thoughts. I ended up doing almost 10 miles through the hills of Green Valley & TR and felt great!
Week ending thoughts:
Wow, an entire week where my workout plans didn't get totally derailed. How is that??
Did: nothing, travel day
Return travel from Texas.
Tuesday
Did: 6.24 mi @ 8:00/mi avg
Ran with the early downtown group and man, we were truckin'! Started off with a pretty good group but I ended up breaking off with 2 other guys at the front and then eventually me and one other guy broke away in front. I finished with an extra mile at the end to get to my 10k and felt awesome.
Wednesday
Did: strength
Solid hour of lifting, felt good - incorporating more abs and core throughout the workout, usually doing the 4 sets with first 3 at higher weight and final set at lower weight focusing on form and using full range of motion. Nice and sore today (Thursday) so apparently was a good workout. :)
Thursday
Did: 4.66 mi @ 9:38/mi
Hit the trails today and it was a bit of a slog - definitely feeling the heat! But good to get outside.
Friday
Did: rest
Saturday
Did: 3.5 mi walk - March of Dimes March for Babies
Drove up to Spartanburg for the MoD March for Babies. Dale & Robin and two pups joined D and I on the walk. It was warm, hilly, but nice morning and D enjoyed meeting Spider-Man, jumping in the bounce house, and post-walk hotdogs.
Sunday
Did: 9.57 mi @ 8:48/mi avg
Wow, this didn't seem like that fast of a run but looking at the stats... hmm, not bad! We had planned to do a family bike ride to brunch this morning but some sprinkly rain showers derailed those plans. I immediately went and laced up to go run "for a while" without any plans or thoughts. I ended up doing almost 10 miles through the hills of Green Valley & TR and felt great!
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| #churchofthelongrun |
Wow, an entire week where my workout plans didn't get totally derailed. How is that??
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