Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

Race start  7:30 AM  58F w/ FOG!!!! at the start, sunny and 67F at the finish.

Executive Report (caution, exclamation point abuse ahead):  UNDER TWO HOURS!!  (A first!) And a 6 minute PR! With hills!! Five of my miles at or below what I consider to be a “tempo run.”   I only pause occasionally in my incessant grinning, to facilitate a few tears of joy.

I left home at 4:30 AM in total darkness to catch the early shuttles from Tacoma to the race start in Gig Harbor.  I got an awesome free parking space just two blocks from the finish.  I don’t believe in omens at all, but in hindsight it’s pretty fun to pretend that’s what it was.  And then another one: fog! As the shuttle approached the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the previously clear skies suddenly had a bit of low clouds about, and next thing you know - fog!  I wonder where I can purchase a bumper sticker that says “i (heart) fog.”

But not everyone likes fog, the poor dears.  I distinctly heard some complaining from the seat behind me, and our bus driver was having trouble finding the way.  I knew this shindig was “by the airport” (a very small airport  in Gig Harbor), but it turns out that the start is IN the airport.  Not such a good feeling, to be lost in the fog and suddenly be passing small aircraft... visions of wandering onto a landing strip tried to break into my fog-induced calm.

But we made it there all right.  The packet pick up was inside a hangar - how cool is that?  A small plane and a helicopter sat nearby as I waited in line.  I soon saw AuntieEm and another Ravelry friend. It was actually COLD, with a breeze and the fog.  What a happy feeling, after the 100+ temps this week.  

I had 2 trips to the Honey Buckets, 1 to the woods (long lines at the HBs!), and warmed up with 1.43 of jogging and some drills.  I joined the crowd at the start 5 minutes before gun time, but the race was another 10 minutes late.  All the while, there is a loudspeaker up near the front, which sounds (as it always does) like, “Wah wor ver har her wah wor race ver raha werwa roh...”  What? Something about the race?  When will they learn we cannot hear anything past the first 10 bodies?

Course map is here: http://tacomanarrowshalf.com/map.html, but the elevation chart that accompanies it seems quite inaccurate. For one thing, it appears to follow terra firma under the water instead of over the bridge!

(1) 9:00  Gun goes off, and despite the fact that I’m lined up appropriately I am surrounded by - walkers!  Gaa!  The first mile was quite crowded, so I went ahead and did a bit of weaving.  I felt really good, but tried not to spend too much energy playing dodge-the-jogger.
(2) 8:27  We were running on a highway through very tall conifer forests, full of fog.  :D  Absolutely beautiful; classic Pacific Northwest. Bit of downhill here and a turn onto the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.  Bit of downhill in this mile.
(3) 9:00  The bridge is about a mile long and the first half goes uphill of course. It actually felt like a longer segment than half to me, but that may have been an illusion.  There was a cross wind on the bridge that was fairly strong here. Had to be careful with those cowboy-sneezes.
(4) 9:01  We finished the bridge and immediately had another hill to climb.  I still felt extremely zippy, and I wasn’t sure how long the fog would last, so I kept my pace up a bit higher than I normally would on a hill.  We crossed a freeway and leveled out a bit as we headed into a residential neighborhood.
(5) 10:07  More hill, and my slowest mile. I feel discouraged. I say a bad word. Repeatedly. I begin to question whether I had made the right choice to push up that earlier hill.  I had harbored a “best” goal of going sub-2, but this is way too early to feel this tired. I decide to just do my best and stop looking at the watch.
(6) 8:51 Things felt better here, and I rallied.  We were out of the neighborhood diversion and there was a bit of downhill.  Here we ran on a bike path along the side the freeway. If it weren’t for the lovely fog, I would have really hated this.  The path here was mostly flat with some undulations. 
(7) 8:48  I started to pass slower people, always finding a little hidden energy whenever I’m boxed into a group of runners.  About this time, I started sensing a pain on the outside of my foot, at the base of the big toe. It feels like... a blister. But I don’t get blisters.  I begin sending strongly-worded memos to my foot, hoping it will remember company policy and stop hurting.
(8) 8:45  I definitely have a blister.  I say another bad word. Also, I am getting hotter, so I start pouring water on my head at each aid station, which feels wonderful. I notice my fingers have swollen up and my face is scratchy with salt, but I don’t have any nausea yet. Fog has become more of a low cloud.
(9) 9:07  We ran a diversion through Cheney Stadium, our only bit of running on dirt (inside the stadium).  The stadium was mostly empty and music was playing for us. That was nice, but something about it reminded me of the empty hotel in The Shining, and I was glad to get out of there.  
(10) 8:38  At this point I really wanted to stop and get something on my blister. I also wanted to use the Honey Bucket, but we were so close and I still felt I was running well.  A bit of a self-pep-talk convinced me that I would be fine; moreover, I’d be happier later if I just toughed it out.
(11) 9:16 There goes the cloud cover. The wretched sun came out and the path went steeply uphill again.  Good thing I had finished the should-I-stop debate from mile 10.  A few Marathon Maniacs passed me here (this race was a reunion race for them).  Dead bird in the middle of the bike path. The uphill was mercifully short.  
(12) 8:22  We got off the bike path here and ran through a very ugly industrial area. The sun beat down and the new black asphalt felt like an oven. There was also a wicked-steep downhill here that I was glad to put behind me.  Early in this mile, one of the M. Maniacs caught up with me a chatted a bit; I was wearing my Big Sur shirt and he had run it twice. A casual conversation turned into a jolt of energy when he said, “yeah, we’ll break 2 for sure.”  We will?  I had stopped looking at the Garmin and had been running by feel for at least 3 miles. “Oh yeah. You could jog it in and still make it.”  Words cannot express what that did for me.  I picked up the pace just as the terrain started to slope downward. There will be no “jogging it in.”
(13) 8:27    My blister hurt and my legs felt a bit weak, but I had plenty left in the fuel department.  Except for a bit of rough road and a short downhill section that was so steep I had to actually slow down, this was a very happy mile.

(Final .1 kick) 7:58  There it is.  A “one” on the clock...  So happy. So very happy.

Award was a commemorative drinking glass.  Found AuntieEm and shared congratulations. Good band playing.  Blister attended to by nice med-man.  Happy ending!

Regarding my Victoria Marathon in October ...  Don't say it!  You can think it, but don't say it.  Really, please don't.  I just want to know what anyone's opinions are about the most important kind(s) of workout(s) I need to be doing next.  During the last half of this race, I was thinking what I always think during a half-m: it's a good thing I don't have to do this for 26 miles.  So a 9:00 pace is going to have to feel easier than it did today, or at least not horrid.  Four hours is just too long to "tough out" a too-fast effort.  So tempo runs & MP runs? More V02?  All of it?  I'm inclined to focus on tempo and MP runs, but maybe I should just keep everything in the mix, ala Hudson.  Mark your ballot - but don't say it.

11:00 AM, 75F, and hot sunshine. Objective: recovery run/walk. 

It felt great to sleep in, though getting up was still a Senior Moment.  Very stiff and sore. 

Mr. Sno came out with me for this little capillary-opening exercise, he barefoot and I in my old trainers. (Our first ever "run" together, though I wouldn't really call it running.)  I haven't worn these shoes in quite a while, and boy did they feel clunky, stiff and heavy! 

My blister hurts quite a bit with just a bandaid. I think I'll dig out my old Moleskin and do the hiker bandage on it, with the hole in the middle.  Now that I get a good look at the thing, it seems to be two blisters: a long narrow one and a smaller, rounder one right beneath it.  I am just cracking up, because it looks like an exclamation point! Hahahahahaha

62F, sunny w/ a few high, thin clouds. Another recovery run.

These legs feel pretty dead today. The first mile was incredibly weak and awkward. I was so glad to feel them loosen up after that.  But when I stopped for water, and started up again, they got wonky all over again. The second day is always the worst. Tomorrow will be better I'm sure.

60F & clear. (Dark @ 4:55am, autumn coming.) Easy run, still recovering.

I'm still pretty stiff and the quads are still sore, but I had a very pleasant run.  Lots of smiling runners out this morning.  I also ran into a former running partner, who took some time off from running but is now back at it. She and her husband signed up for the Seattle Marathon, so I should be seeing her more often. 

For podcast fans, here is an interview with Christopher McDougall, author of Born To Run.

Cloudy! :) 58F  Easy run. 20 min. weights.   Feeling impatient to get my legs back, I decided to make this run shorter. My quad soreness is gone, but the legs still feel really dead.  So this run was what I consider a "virtual" day off.  Hopefully I will feel the benefits tomorrow.  That's the trouble with racing, at least for me.  I can cheat a little on the taper, but there is no way around losing the time it takes to recover.  Love the weather change!  

55F, cloudy. Objective: still easy, but extend miles and try to pick up the pace. 

My legs have progressed from dead to sluggish, better than no progress.  In honor of my cloudy morning, here is an a cappella African Thunderstorm.   No instruments, not even the percussion - it's all done with human sounds.

55F, cloudy. Another beautiful day!  Objective: short run in VFFs.  20 minutes strength.

I let myself sleep in a bit, so with only about 35 minutes to run I decided to make the most of it and do a VFF workout.  I am still not very comfortable with the toe pockets. It's odd that that should be the only trouble I have with them. I wonder if I will ever really get used to it.  I think I might be most comfortable in something like a moccasin, or these.  

The VFFs are a lot of fun to run in.  What has struck me the most is the fact that I can run on grass with stability.  I believe I have mentioned on my blog in the past that even a little parking strip of grass will put me in danger of rolling my ankle if I'm in shoes.  With the VFFs I feel totally stable and secure on all surfaces.  Slow, but stable.  And man am I slow in these!  It just goes to show how much speed comes from the bounce of rubber in shoes.

High 50s to low 60s F, lovely cloudy day. Objective: endurance, club run, S.C. Hill. 

Very satisfying run. It was a little far to go on not-quite-recovered legs, but I am willing to pay the price of sitting on the couch the rest of the day. ;)  In truth, my legs feel horrible at the moment. Like, almost post-marathon horrible.  But they did a great job up until mile 16 or 17, then they had to be forced. Only a week from my half-marathon PR, so I'll take it.

Interesting route today: down the Parkway, to the club meet up at the high school, around the Mill Pond Rd and some other back roads of Snoqualmie I've never seen (never even knew they were there!), back into town (said goodbye to club), up the Spirit Crusher Hill (actually felt slightly easier today!), continued up to and into Deer Park, back down to central area and finally out to The Heights and back home. 

Dead deer story...  At mile 2, going down the Parkway, there was a dead doe in the road.  I approached her to make sure she wasn't still alive - she wasn't - and saw her poor body actually dented by the car or truck that hit her. The saddest thing was that her surviving friend was still hanging around, waiting for her in the bushes on the median strip. A police car happened by and stopped to take care of the situation, lights flashing.  Even then she still lingered near us.  So it is with death among social creatures; the pain goes on in those who are left behind. 

It was hard to shake that experience off, but running with nice people is good therapy.  A very nice 16 y.o. girl joined us today for the first time, and there were 4 of us in my pace group today.  Blackberries are starting to come ripe, and the roadsides are covered with them, so I had a little supplemental nutrition from time to time. Yum.

Here comes the cavalry! Sean Sundwall is looking at my training plan for the next couple of months and we'll be talking about it tonight or tomorrow.  As soon as he said "I like your mileage," I was ready to swear my loyalty.  Having someone look at my age and tell me to stop running quite so much is one of my biggest fears about having a coach.  I am really looking forward to having some extra guidance.  There is definitely something missing from my training, as evidenced by the inconsistency of my race times as I progress to longer distances.  For example, as I was telling Sean, my VDOT number (from Daniels Running Formula) is a 39, 37.5 or 36 depending on which of my race times I use, 5K, half-m or marathon.  Sir Sean will work all that out for me and help me get that marathon time down where it should be.  :D

Low 60s, cloudy. Objective: active recovery.

I slept like death, as my grandmother used to say.  I went to bed hobbling, weak and sore.  But this morning I felt great!  I was slow, but I had zero soreness.  Ten hours of sleep is my new miracle-recovery plan.  Trouble is, one cannot always stay asleep, even if one makes time for it.

PM- 2.1 run/walk with my daughter! :D 

Monday through Sunday weekly tally = 51.31 miles.  53.41

58F, mostly cloudy, windy (~10 mph), pretty pink sunrise, waning gibbous moon. Objective: easy.  5.74 miles alone, then 2.09 w/ Young Miss Sno!  (20 min strength work)

I am very pleased and excited to have had some running with my beautiful daughter!  She has two speeds: fast and walk.   We did a fun loop through the neighborhood, choosing landmarks and running to each one before taking another little walk break.  She is much faster than I am, she just needs to develop some aerobic strength.  If she continues to run this week (3x), she will get her own running blog, something she really wants. She is already planning her blog name: SnoFlake.  :)

How did this come about?  Yesterday we did a bunch of shopping for her fall wardrobe, (home)school supplies and shoes.  She is growing so fast, we had to replace nearly everything -- including sneakers.  And I suppose that is where the inspiration came from... next thing I knew we were lacing them up and going out for a run together.  We both noticed that the early evening run (on not quite digested dinner food) felt a little uncomfortable, so I told her that if she was up and ready when I returned from my run this morning, she could come out with me and do her miles.  And so it begins.

Someone who loves running as much as I do cannot help but be totally overjoyed to share it with someone I love as much as I do her.  I don't want to push it, because as we all know, you have to have the internal motivation or it will never get anywhere.  But I am already hearing, "this is fun!"   :D x 1,000

59F w/ steady rain.  Objective: easy to moderate pace w/ a few form drills. 

I cannot even remember the last time it rained here. June maybe? As Cliff Mass explains, our region really isn't its stereotypically wet self in summer.  But even this long drought is atypical.  All the plants in the neighborhood seemed to be sighing with relief. 

It can be tricky to dress correctly for rain in the summer, when higher temperatures might make me too hot and getting soaked might make me too cold.   Knowing I would be out in it for a while, I stayed conservative and went for warmth: my thinnest running tights, a long sleeve shirt of the thinnest fabric and closest fit, a nylon vest and gortex cap.  There is no point in trying to stay dry; temperature control is everything. At the last minute, I also slipped on my thin Smartwool glove liners. Every single inch of me got soaked, but I was perfectly comfortable throughout the run.  I believe my pace may have been hindered by carrying so much water, but I had a great time.

When I was a little girl, if I ever was at home during the morning of a weekday (eg sick, school vacation), I remember my mother watching and following along with Jack LaLanne on TV. I still have an LP record of his that my mother had purchased to get some extra exercise when she couldn't watch the show (it's blue vinyl!).  So I particularly enjoyed this little piece on Jack LaLanne. In addition to the powerful photos, there are two short videos embedded: the first about sugar consumption (as valid today as it was 50 years ago), and a self-improvement plan that is absolutely charming.  If you need a smile this morning, I highly recommend them.

60F, raining (light, heavy and everything in between).  Two runs: 1) V02 & leg strength (hill repeats), and 2) run/walk with my daughter.  

55F, cloudy, dry.  Easy run. 20 min. strength work.

I had a fine run, but I am starting to feel a bit sleep deprived. Might have to "go to bed with the chickens" tonight.   Hm. That doesn't sound right, does it?  Well, to bed super early, you know? An old idiom.

This morning I was pondering something that confuses me.  If I wear the Nike Lunaracers, which have quite a bit of bounce, when I do my speed work, am I cheating myself of the full workout?  Furthermore, if I do not plan to wear them in the marathon, should I perhaps not wear them for speed work? It almost makes more sense to wear them on easy days, ironically.

Though I am yet again pressed for time, I just have to mention my new toy: an iPhone.  How did I ever live without it???   All that stuff I used to have in my pockets (voice recorder, iPod & phone) when I went running is gone, replaced by this one little unit.  I also have email, internet, a notepad, 150 classic books, tides, maps (including real time traffic), MapMyRun, Kindle, a translator... I cannot even list it all.  Mr. Sno and I both got them.  The only drawback is that we had to go over to the dark side and use AT&T.  And the only inconvenience is that I don't have much time to play with it all! :)

Apologies for not getting to everyone's blogs lately. I will try to catch up later.  Cheers.

54F, heavy rain, some fog.   Part 1: easy run w/ 1.5 @ MP (9:00-9:15) near end.  Part 2: run/walk w/ SnoFlake in VFFs. 

It was what I call a saturation run, with actual squishing sounds coming from the water-logged feet.  It's one click below a car wash run, which has the additional feature of wind. But we so need the rain!  "It's only water, it's only water, it's only..."

I really did not feel like doing any MP miles, but forced myself; there is always a good chance that race day will be wet around here.

Tomorrow I'll just do a short run with my club and Sunday will be the long run.  Counting Monday through Sunday, I hope to crack 60 miles this week.

SnoFlake's new blog should be up and running by tonight. She submitted her data, but nowadays Sasha has an approval system to keep out the riff-raff.  :)

54F & cloudy.  Short & sweet w/ club & SnoFlake.  

I was up way past my bedtime last night (dinner at friends') and was happy to keep it short and slow (run/walk) this morning with SnoFlake.  I need a nap!  Our club had very few runners today.  SF is too young to join but ran w/ me as a guest, and one other woman, who was getting back to running after a 3 week absence joined us. SF is doing really well. We walk a lot, but I think that it's better for her than flash-in-the-pan runs.  I am very lucky; she is such a pleasure to be with, and we have a great time.   I'll do my long run tomorrow, and unless something goes awry I will go over 60 miles for my Mon-Sun week.   :D

Speaking of 60 miles, that looks like it will be the way of things for a while.  I finalized my running schedule with Coach Sean this week.  I am really pleased with the schedule. With all the workouts to choose from, it is very nice to have someone else say which ones on which weeks and not worry that I'm missing something.  The basic structure is ~60 mile weeks, some long runs w/ MP running (some without), and alternating weeks of hill repeats and a tempo run (2 quality workouts) with various intervals (just one quality workout). I get to make the choice of days for each workout, so there is plenty of flexibility for this stubborn old gal.

Since I'm also running shorter run/walk workouts with SnoFlake, my mileage may look a lot higher some weeks, but I'm keeping careful records so I make sure I get my fill of solo running - my SnoFlake workouts are just frosting on the great running cake of life.  :)

Mid 50s F rising to mid 60s during run. Cloudy, changing to mostly sunny. Breezy.  Objective: endurance, w/ miles 16 - 17.75 going up Spirit Crusher Hill. 

The only really positive thing I can say about this run is that I completed the planned miles, and I came up the hill w/ only 2 brief walk breaks (when my breath was too short).  I was tired and uninspired nearly the whole run, but especially when my nice clouds went away and the sun came out.  I still feel like I'm recovering from staying out late Friday night - what a wimp. Anyway, this was a very tough run.  Some days are just like that. 

Mon-Sun weekly mileage = 62.29

57F, mostly clear w/ a bit of light fog early, breezy.  Recovery run, last 2.36 w/ SnoFlake.  20 min. strength work after.

I feel pretty good this morning.  I kept my solo run very short to make sure I had the low miles for recovery (adding SnoFlake miles at the end).  I spent most of my solo run working out a problem I have - running is so great for that.  So I was all warmed up and carefree by the time I ran with SnoFlake.  All in all, an easy, pleasant hour of running. 

60F, clear, really pretty sliver of moon w/ dark side showing prominently.  Objective: leg strength & VO2 (Hill repeats on S.C. hill, approx 15% grade: 6 x 1:00 up, 2:00 recovery).

Garmin results:
(distance/pace)
.11 / 9:14
.11 / 8:54
.11 / 8:58
.11 / 9:12
.12 / 8:37
.11 / 8:47

I observed something during last week's hill repeats, but I think my brain ejected the thought before I could process it: if each repeat is exactly one minute, and the distance covered on nearly all of them is .11 of a mile, then the variation of pace does not make sense.  Not that it really matters. I just think the Garmin data is a bit inaccurate.

By my 4th repeat, I noticed my legs felt kind of shaky going back down the hill.  May it be a harbinger of stronger running.

64F & clear. Slow & easy.  8.26 solo, 2.4 run/walk w/ daughter. 15 min abs & upper body.

I ran with the stars and the sun today.  That's a rare advantage of being a slow runner, and today was especially slow.  The legs are tired and it took me a long time to warm up.  I take that as a good sign of yesterday's effective work.   Busy day...  cheers.

70F at 4:50 AM! And humid.  Yuck.  But I felt much, much better running in it than I did a couple of months ago.  Easy run, w/ pretty good energy considering I was on my feet all day yesterday.  (Also did 15 min. strength work after run.)

Tomorrow is a tempo run, and it is to be both longer and faster than any tempo run I've ever tried before. (One of Coach Sean's workouts.) I must admit I'm a little nervous.  What if I run at what feels like a tempo pace (8:30) and  I look down at the Garmin to read "9:45?" (Or slower?)  I certainly felt like I was working at a 10:30 pace this morning, but it was more like 11:15 when I checked.  I'm also worried that I won't be able to sustain it for 4 miles.  I guess I'll just have to do my best and live with it. One thing is for certain, I will be better off with whatever effort I can make than I will without it.  And I have the added benefit of the 8 hours of sleep I plan to get tonight (I get to sleep a little late tomorrow.)

58F, cloudy, a breeze drizzle shower, light wind.  Tempo run: 3E, 4T (goal pace 8:30), remainder E.   Tempo splits: 8:40, 8:37, 8:28, 8:28. 

That was hard. Horribly hard.  I would rather do a 20 miler every other day than this workout, but that won't get me what I want, will it?   So yay for me!  The legs got tired, but the worst was not having enough oxygen.  Is that significant?

After warming up by running over to the Heights and back, I wanted to get this workout done on relatively flat ground. So I ran laps up one side and down the other of Ridge St., between Fairway and Baker.  It's not flat, but it's the pretty close, with a little rise at one end and not more than 1% grade on the rest.

During this time, I didn't look at the Garmin very much, just a few checks to make sure I was below 9:00.  I tried to concentrate on running as fast and efficiently as I could run without breathing faster than 2-2  (steps in, steps out).  I also tried to think about running as fast as I thought I could maintain for half an hour. Nearly the entire time, I thought I wasn't going to make it (ie that I would have to slow down).  When the 4 miles were finally done I almost wanted to cry I was so happy to have done it.  But I also felt completely spent;  I wanted to collapse in a heap by the sidewalk.  I walked for about a minute, then slow-jogged, and finally got back to 10:30ish  miles to finish. 

I really got lucky with the weather today, for my first long tempo run ever.  Yesterday was so hot and muggy.  Between about 5 PM and 8 PM last night the temperature quickly plummeted, the wind kicked up and the clouds rolled in. Hallelujah! 

Well, I'd better go get myself clean and see what last minute housework I can do before my MIL gets here.   Thanks, everyone, for your encouragement yesterday. It helped a lot.  :)

Day off from running.  We had a short hike up at Mt. Rainier.

Mid 50s, rising to 60s during run. Mostly cloudy turning mostly sunny. Breezy at times. Objective: endurance run. 

Mon-Sun week total 63.1

I viewed my run today as a sort of extra-long recovery workout.  My legs were stiff and sore from Friday (proof of efficacy, yay), and I let the whole run be easy and slow. 

There are lots of race reports this weekend!  I am so impressed with others' abilities to race well in summertime.  We have some very accomplished runners here, and some very dedicated runners.  I'm leaving a few comments, but mostly reading, lurking and silently admiring; congratulations!

60F, sunny & clear.  Objective: easy & slow. 

My neighborhood has undergone its annual transformation for the Boeing Classic.  (golf tournament)   There are porta-potties everywhere (including 5 on the curb in front of my house), signs, lots of people about, one street that is lined with Cadillac SUVs (for players?) and Famous Daves has set up a Rib-alicious concession stand across the street.  It's all quite amusing, though I suddenly see how unworthy my yard is. 

Legs feel good, though a little tired today, but that may be due to other circumstances.   I do feel those fabulous 9 hours of sleep however.  Mr. Sno is off work while his mom is here, so I get to catch up on sleep a bit. 

58F, cloudy, breezy, occasional brief drizzle.  Easy run.  20 min. strength workout.

I love this weather, but my run was still as sluggish as if the hot sun were out.  Very slow pace, but I tried not to worry about it.  "It is what it should be, today."  Tomorrow I venture by car down to the high school track and these slow legs better be in a faster mood. 

52F, patchy fog. VO2 workout: 3 x 1 mile w/ 4 min. recovery.

Target pace: 8:00, splits: 8:27, 7:51, 8:04

Plenty of room for improvement in the Consistency Dept.!   lol   The first mile felt really stiff and difficult. The second & third felt much smoother but still quite difficult, especially the breathing, much like a 5K. 

In the It's-A-Beautiful-World Dept.,  the patchy fog in the predawn light was absolutely gorgeous. Mt. Si was visible and the cool air smelled wonderful. Then, just as the Garmin signaled the end of my last rep, the sun came up and golden light came all over the track.  I am not making this up! It really did.  Goodness knows my workout didn't deserve this kind of glorious finale, but there it was.   :)

Mid to upper 50s, clear.  Easy runs: 7.46 solo and 2.34 w/ SnoFlake. 

A pleasant run. I am feeling the satisfying soreness of yesterday's workout.  As always, it is a great pleasure to run with my daughter.  

I love sleeping 9 hours. I feel so good today.  :D  But no matter how much I love the sleep, I do always feel a little pitiful when a runner goes by in front of the house and I didn't get to run.  Why can't I have it all??? lol

I am being completely lazy this morning, possibly to make up for how busy I've been.  SnoFlake slept in too, and we are just now (at 9:30 AM) getting "put together."  I did a little internet shopping, cleaned out my email inbox, and am looking forward to having a giant airplane buzz my house.  This is great fun; they do it every year. We have some friends with machine-loving little boys who are stopping by to watch it with us.

The finale of the week-long Boeing Classic is the professionals (older guys) tournament this weekend, and even a non-golf fan like me gets excited to see such good playing. All the residents in Snoqualmie Ridge get 4 free passes so we can go see some pros make the little ball go right into the little hole. It's amazing!

Happy weekend running to all, and best wishes to those racing. I look forward to checking the race reports!

Upper 50s rising to low 60s, light showers.  Endurance run & club run + S.C. Hill. 

This was a really fun run. Great weather, since the rain was just very light.  This was the coolest temperature I have had for climbing up the S.C. Hill and it made a big difference.  I ran 10 miles with the Mt. Si Running Club, most of it with a young lady who is training for a half marathon in her near future.  It was fun to have someone to run with for longer than 5 or 6 miles.   

Please ignore the weekly mileage count!  This is why I like to count the week from Monday through Sunday.  Last week I had to wait until Sunday for my long run and this week I did one today.  After a little run tomorrow I should be up around 60.

High 50s, low 60s, light fog clearing to bright sun.  Easy run, w/ 1.4 in VFFs and .96 barefoot at end of run. 

I got the last 20 minutes of fog this morning, but it was worth missing out to sleep late. 

As I came home and switched into my Vibram Five Fingers, I wondered if I had lost all the foot toughening I had gained earlier in the month (or was it July?).  But when I decided to run the last mile barefoot I found it was just as easy as it had been (and when I stepped on a rock, just as hard).  So perhaps I can do a bit more barefooting before summer ends. The VFFs are great, except that my little toes don't like the pockets.  I'm not sure they ever will. True barefoot running can't be beat.

Mon - Sun mileage total: 60.19

58F, clear skies.  Objective - easy & slow. 

I got a late start and felt rather stiff and slow today, so I actually had to run the last couple of miles on my dreadmill.  Mitigation: watching a bit of Race for the Soul.  That's a great movie; I highly recommend it.  I don't believe I'll ever be an ultra runner because of my fear of being alone on trails, but I get a lot out of seeing other runners take on the challenge.  So many barriers we face are just in our minds.

On Old Shoes....   I noticed this morning that I have accumulated an unusually large pile of old running shoes.  I was retiring my old Triax 12's and as I opened the cupboard where such shoes live, it struck me that the thing is actually overflowing. 

What on earth am I keeping them for?  I do think there is a good chance of a coming depression, with hyperinflation, but in such a scenario, would I need so many old running shoes?  Would I trade them for produce on the black market?  ("...and these babies have only 450 miles on them, so how 'bout you throw in an extra tomato?") 

I used to send old shoes to Tanzania through an organization called "Shoe4Africa," but my current view of heavy running shoes now makes that an act of international hostility. 

And why oh why is it so hard to just pitch them into the donation box?  I know the Nike store near me takes shoes and grinds them up to recycle the material, but there is something very horror-flick about that.... Just grind them up? Like they have no feelings?!? 

(internet face slap) Okay, I'm going to go put at least 2/3 of these into my donation sack. The truck is coming today and I swear I am not going to look back; liberation, here I come.