Saturday, July 30, 2011

July 24 - July 31

Weekly Totals ~ Distance: 33.57 mi. Time: 6:18:35 Vertical: 6,202 ft.
Monthly Totals ~ Distance: 121.15 mi. Time: 20:41:49 Vertical: 17,805 ft. (Running)
Monthly Totals ~ Distance: 158.21 mi. Time: 30:43:08 Vertical: 23,260 ft. (Running, Cycling, Mountaineering)


Just shy of Kendall Peak. 
At this point in the running season I've been borderline desultory. Not out of laziness, but sheer enjoyment of running. My runs have been a fluid combination of feeling, restraint, and necessity. I've attempted to outline a  training plan, with no real success, at least three times since May, full of goal miles, times, paces, and everything else that seeps its way into a "training plan" like tributaries drain into larger and large bodies of water. A simple approach is fueling the fire, though, each week I designate a long run, a recovery run, and the rest are just base miles. I've dropped the notion of adding in an extra quality day until I'm consistently running fifty miles a week in the hills of the Issaquah Alps and Cascade Mountains for the simple reason that mountain running has attenuated the 'need' for harder workouts at this point. I'm running through postcards, wall posters, and dreams. My mental cartography skills are sharpening and more and more I'm able to concatenate routes. Loops are the backbone to mental running stability, for me. However, it seems pedantic to try and cull the 'best trails' in the hills of the Pacific-Northwest. Every trail offers a persuasive vibe for a return trip, but at the same time the persuasion rest on the piqued thought that there's something even greater around the next turn, over the ridge, or behind the mountain in the distance. This week, I came off a fabulous rest week and jumped into the soft pitches of Cougar Mountain and ran one of the most breathing taking mountain passes I've ever been on (Kendall Katwalk), but courtesy a snowfield that proved to be too steep and risky I'll need to return under safer conditions. The unusually high amounts of snow fall last winter and spring are still lingering and preventing safe passage to a lot of trails at elevations above 4500', but soon I'll be out there, in the wild. My Garmin, this week, by the way, clocked me at 128,910.3 mph. Usain Bolt watch out I may be dropping my distance for some sprints. Of course, at that speed I could be set to break every record on the books.

Sunday, July 24 ~ Marymoor Park ~ Rock Climbing
Distance: n/a
Time: n/a
Vertical: n/a

Some great, and relaxed climbing with Charlie B., Laura Kay Y., Max F. and Erin S. Climbing is so important to the physique of runners. I just wish more people would realize the core strength and neuromuscular development attained during climbing transfers completely to running.


Monday, July 25 ~ Cougar Mountain ~ De Leo Wall Trail

Distance: 4.55 mi.
Time: 0:51:18
Vertical: 1,039 ft.

I finally made it out to the De Leo Wall Viewpoint and I must admit that I was blown away at how high I actually was above the surrounding terrain. Definitely will be taking a camera that way soon.


Tuesday, July 26 ~ Cougar Mountain ~ Red Town to Wilderness Peak

Distance: 5.17 mi.
Time: 0:54:36
Vertical: 981 ft.

Just a quick route to Wilderness Peak. Nothing major, no issues. Well, the chest cold today wasn't the best feeling. Tomorrow, I've got a fun mountain run planned.




Wednesday, July 27 ~ Snoqualmie Pass ~ Kendall Katwalk (Pacific Crest Trail)

Distance: 11.00
Time: 2:30:36
Vertical: 2,715 ft.

Headed east to run my first trail run on the Pacific Crest Trail, today. I was pretty excited about the opportunity to what appeared, by any reports I had read, to be a great run with some great views. The day was cloudy over the mountains and cool. Ran as far as possible before a snow field forced a turn around for safety concerns. One thing I'm learning that I need to account for is drastic changes in weather from base to summit. Every thousand feet of gain the temp usually drops about 3 degrees, the wind picks up and if there's snow on the ground it can feel much cooler. I've got to start carrying more than I'll use, even if for only safety reasons. This will include, water, a light jacket, and a GU or two. I don't typically take anything during runs less than 3 hours, so it'll be a mental drag to carry stuff, but if I need it it'll be there, now.

Thursday, July 28 ~ Cougar Mountain ~ Red Town to Wilderness Peak

Distance: 6.85 mi.
Time: 1:09:53
Vertical: 1,057 ft.


I enjoyed yesterday's mountain run so much that I just felt the need to get some vertical in. That and I knew if I waited until Friday or Saturday a delayed on-set of soreness was bound to keep me low. The run was relaxed and I can't complain, no real fatigue, yet.





Friday, July 29 ~ Renton, WA ~ Coal Creek Parkway Out & Back ~ Recovery Run

Distance: 6.01 mi.
Time: 0:52:10
Vertical: 410 ft.


Ok, the fatigue set in. Woke up to run and fell right back to sleep, ha. Told you. Ran after work, so my legs were a little more fatigued than an AM run. I noticed a slight tweak in my right hip-flexor, nothing major, but something I'll watch over the next couple of days. Mountain run Monday's start next week. A new mountain each week is the crazy plan. The actual date is subject to change depending on fatigue, but even if it's on a different day I like the title of Mountain Run Monday's. Maybe I'll make a t-shirt for it.

Saturday, July 30

Distance: n/a
Time: n/a
Vertical: n/a

Fatigue is gone. I feel recovered. Cold is on it's last few days. Except for the slightly nagging hip flexor issue I'm ready to get out on the trail, but I've decided to take a rest today and keep tomorrow just a rock-climbing venture, maybe a 5 mile run in the morning. We'll see.

I leave you with a video of the band I'm going to see tonight. Met these fine folks at a trail race. Pretty good stuff. Can't wait for the concert. Peace.








Monday, July 25, 2011

July 17 - July 23

Weekly Totals: Distance: 34.22 mi. Time: 9:43:45 Vertical: 6,319 ft.
(Totals include all Rest week activities)


This week was a designated "rest & recovery" week. I take my recovery weeks as weeks to institute an emphasis on activities other than running. I do believe that the closer you get to training the more appropriate it is to keep as much running in during the week as possible, but I'm a good ways away from racing, and there are a ton of other legitimate cardio adventures to take part in. This week I rode my bicycle, ran a few miles (15.77 mi. to be exact), rock climbed, did some mountaineering (well, incredibly steep hiking on a glacier at midnight), got little chest cold, and amazingly stayed awake for 37 hours only to follow things up by a 13 hour nap. Although, I'm still getting over the chest cold, the exhilaration of all the different activities has left me yearning for more adventures. Running in the upcoming week will be somewhat dependent on the cold, I'd rather take an easier than planned week than run through a cold for five weeks. Did it last year, but I don't think it was completely helpful. The weather has been fantastic, although, the cloud cover is a bit of a change from the usual cloudless hot, muggy, humid days I'm used to.

Sunday, July 17 ~ Cedar River Trail ~ Cycling
Distance: 10.48 mi.
Time: 1:00:28
Vertical: 120 ft.


Bike ride with Dad and Charlie on the Cedar River Trail. A light mist kept things cool, felt good to pedal around.


Monday, July 18 ~ Loop O' Joe-Gee'Z' ~ Running
Distance: 6.25 mi.
Time: 0:55:34
Vertical: 549 ft.


Max F. and I ventured to the trail and found some road. We made a fun little loop and both decided we didn't feel all that great and the pace showed it.








Tuesday, July 19 ~ May Creek Trail Search (didn't find) ~ Running
Distance: 6.00 mi.
Time: 0:51:21
Vertical: 591 ft.


I searched and searched for a trail that's labeled on one of my maps, but I just haven't found it, yet. So, ran an out and back on the road in trail shoes. Not my favorite, but doable.

Wednesday, July 20 ~ Rest Day
Thursday, July 21 ~ Rest Day


Friday, July 22 ~ Coal Creek Parkway Trail ~ Running
Distance: 3.52 mi.
Time:  0:32:46
Vertical: 388 ft.


Definitely developed a chest cold, today's run didn't not feel well. But it was good to get a lot of heavy breathing to clear some of the congestion out. Hopefully it won't effect my ability to hike tonight. Got a great planned hiked from Paradise to Camp Muir at midnight. Tested out some Montrail Rogue Racer's today. I'll post a review after I've run about 50 miles in them.






Saturday, July 23 ~ Paradise to Camp Muir ~ Hiking/Mountaineering
Distance: 7.97 mi.
Time: 6:23:35
Vertical: 4,667 ft.


Erin S. took me on my first adventure up a sizable chunk of Mount Rainier. Couldn't have been better. We left my apartment at 10:00 PM, started hiking around 1:00 AM, and I went to work at 10:30 AM for a 9.5 hour work day. The adventure was amazing and the company was just as good as the hike. I did make the rookie mistake of not wearing enough clothing. Lesson learned.
Here are the maps, elevation profiles and some great pictures. Click the photos for a larger size.

The view of the mountain on the hike up. Depending on your screen resolution you can kind of see it.

Erin S.'s silhouette against a Left Coast Sunrise at 8,881 ft.


Above photo local: 46° 49.479' N 121° 43.722' W

Erin S.'s silhouette against a Left Coast Sunrise at 8,881 ft.

A Mountaineers Bikini pose.

That's a steep grade. Disappointment Cleaver, and Summit in this photo.

Mount Adams. Erin S. schooled me on identifying distant mountains. I owe her dinner, now, due to a lost bet. <Sigh>

Fun ice formations. Tough descending.

Mount Rainier Summit



Our route and elevation profile.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

July 10 - July 16

Weekly Totals: Distance: 28.96 mi. Time: 4:50:12 Vertical: 2,923 ft.
Interesting Data: Average Hear-rate: 148 bpm, Average Run Time: 1:12:33



A little late on the post, my bad. This week was great, mileage was okay, vertical was not really anywhere close to what I imagined, and I felt more and more confident on every run...and bike ride. I've introduced the new elevation profile charts and some topo maps for the routes, let me know what you think. If you click on the picture it should enlarge to full size. Also, check out my buddy's blog: http://thepathtoinspiration.blogspot.com/ It's more in-line with triathlons than just running. J.Reed is my best friend, and has some great things to speak (write?) about, including gear reviews: Louis Garneau Race Day Revo Transition Bag,
and puts a lot of heart toward his training. I'll even make it easy to follow his blog, click here.


Sunday, July 10: Westport, WA ~ Recovery Run
Distance: 4.96 mi.
Time: 0:50:49
Vertical: n/a

Post Race, SCOTT Cougar Mountain 10-mile, I don't really want to add to the fatigue. Although, Saturday's race was more of a five mile workout with five miles of easy-ish running, it's still important to give the body the rest and recovery. It's better to be under-trained, than over-trained.


Monday, July 11: Westport, WA ~ Recovery Run
Distance: 6.85 mi.
Time: 0:58:48
Vertical: n/a

Another day, another run, and another ocean-spray film to shower off. Felt great, legs are fine, feet are sore, but another easy pace. I've been wearing my hear-rate monitor, lately, and today, even though it felt easy, was a bit too much of an effort for recovery. I'll learn.








Tuesday, July 12 ~ Cougar Mountain
Route: Red Town TH - Indian Tr. - Far Country Tr. - Shy Bear Tr. - Deceiver Tr. - Long View Tr. - Wilderness Creek TH - Wilderness Cliffs Tr. - Wilderness Peak - Shy Bear Tr. - Far Country Tr. - Indian Tr. - Red Town TH

Topo Map with Elevation Profile: 
Distance: 10.27 mi.
Time: 1:59:32
Vertical: 2,250 ft.


I'd be dis-honest to not include my disappointment in the lack of vertical gain. I mean this statement honestly and not egotistically. Reason being, I really thought by adding the Wilderness Cliff route I'd surmise some vertical over 3000'. Guess not. Oh well, the run felt great.


Wednesday, July 13 ~ Coal Creek Parkway
Distance: 6.88 mi.
Time: 1:01:02
Vertical: 408 ft.


I just could not find the rhythm of the concrete trail. I was on a 6/8 count and the road was 4/4, tonight. Relatively flat, but the run just felt harder than usual.


Thursday, July 14 ~ Rest Day


Distance: n/a
Time: n/a
Vertical: n/a


Not much to report, just a rest day.


Friday, July 15 ~ Lake Washington Trail to I-90 Trail to Seward Park (cycling)


Distance: 18.60 mi
Time: 1:52:15
Vertical:


Seattle has got to be near the top of cycling friendly cities. 'Rents were in town this week, so Charlie, Dad, and I planned a sweet ride from the house, up the lake, across the I-90 highway bridge trail (pretty spectacular), and down to Seward Park. We took our time and stopped randomly to take a deep breath and enjoy the views. Wouldn't mind riding this one again, but it won't be the same without Dad.


Saturday, July 16 ~ Rest Day


Distance: n/a
Time:n/a
Vertical: n/a









Sunday, July 10, 2011

SCOTT Cougar Mountain Trail Series - 10 miles

July 09, 2011 ~ Race #3 ~ 10 miles
iStockphoto.com
This week began with no intentions of racing, or even the notion of a race being in the near future. It's common practice to race a good number of varying distances through-out the year, however, it's physiological more appropriate to truly race only two, maybe three -maybe-, races a year. The year, or the training period, should have three types of races: 'A','B', and 'C' races; appropriately scattered between day one of training and race day. -Yes, on a side note and in the wake of the recent Oxford comma drama, I do use and encourage the use of the Oxford comma. AP style needs to get with the program.- These types of guidelines don't mean that you can't enter more races than two, but to ensure the highest caliber of performance for yourself you need to use the 'B' and 'C' races as workouts, fitness gauges, runs to break-up the monotony of training, and/or as motivational tools. You don't need to have an all-out performance, but you don't need to walk either. I generally pick a couple of 'C' races and one 'B' race through-out the season and each race will have a different focus. For instance, during last season I ran the Sweetwater Half-Marathon as a way to get to know the course for the upcoming 50k at the same state park. Unfortunately, it turned out to be my only race of the season courtesy an Achilles injury. C'est la course à pied. (literal translation: racing on foot) 

This Saturday's (July 09, 2011) race was no different in terms of running with a focus, 'hammer the Wilderness Creek Tr. and Deceiver Tr. section'. With the 'hammer' section sandwiched between mile 4 and mile 8, I planned to spend miles 1 -4 relaxed and in the back, and miles 8 - 10 relaxed, but with a consistent up-tempo pace. After a brief introduction about the race from race director, Eric Bone, covering flag/marker colors, turns, cut-off times, etc., we lined up at the start line.  Race start time was set for 9:00 AM, and we more-or-less started on time. The weather was, well, it was perfect: 58°F and low humidity, and by race end, for me, the temperature had only risen to 60°F. Temperate, doable weather it just something I'm really not used to in July. In Georgia, same race start time, it was 78°F and 81% humidity. By the end of the race, in Georgia, for me, it would have been 90°F. -I'll cordially pass.- 

Everyone situated themselves behind the starting line, two bright orange road cones, in their pre-race, self-chosen, starting spots. Garmin 'beeps' became louder than the mid-summer chirping birds as the runners synced their chest worn heart-rate monitors with their GPS-enabled watches. Eric stood proudly about 10 yards ahead of the pack and gave out last minute updates. The anxious chatter slowed to a dull roar, the nerves settled to a focus, and the front-of-the-pack racers were leaning motionlessly forward, as if bronzed statues, their finger tips resting on the start buttons of their watches, their eyes focused two feet in front of them on the long somewhat manicured grassy field before us. The middle-of-the-pack was full of runners that longed to be lined-up in the front, their outfits mirroring the elites, from hats to shoes, but their bodies showing a different type of commitment to training. Bringing up the tail-end of the group of 200+ runners were the beginners, too nervous to get mixed up with the soon to be onslaught of jostling arms and legs of the first two miles on the single-track course. Occasionally scattered through-out the loosely defined groups were the rogue runners, content to allow the race sort itself out over the course and not worry about position, or watch accuracy, or that they wear cotton in a time of synthetic fabrics. Some of them were once elite, others run because they're not elite, and some run to search for themselves as they become lost and separated from every day life. To be honest, when the dust settles I've only been in one other group that brings a more varied group of individuals together with one purpose, and that group required camouflage, plus a minimum four year commitment. The race was started and we were off.

After a short loop -and by short I mean about a 1/5 mi.- around a grassy meadow we headed off into the woods. The trail was one lane and well lined with overgrown plants. Occasionally the turns offered a wider gap and allowed a quick, sprint-like pass. I started near the back of the pack to keep my amp'd-up adrenaline from getting to me and causing me to run too fast, too soon, and for too long. After all, this is a 'C' race for me, so I didn't want to be too exhausted post-race for the upcoming week's training. After a couple of easy miles and some nice chats with some other runners, maybe three, it was time for the hills and the tempo section. I don't think I've ever run down a hill quite that fast. The turns came up fast enough that there were plenty of close calls on the steep switchback terrain, but courtesy the risk I passed about ten racers and moved up into the top 25, by my best guess. I wouldn't really know until I finished the race. Seriously, the risk I took on the downhill came to the tune of: It  usually, during training, takes me about 23 minutes to descend safely. It took me about 9 minutes during the race. My legs felt so incredibly fatigued, but I felt really confident about how my training has been going. Of course, after any downhill there's an uphill. This one, conveniently has about 600 ft. of gain in about a mile. I really anticipated running very well to the top, but due to my "lets throw caution to the wind" descent my legs were shot and wound up just holding on to a steady pace, which gave way to passing three more runners on the ascent. Not too shabby. The next couple miles involved me running easy until I caught a glimpse of someone ahead of me and then working to pass and put space in-between. By the end of the race I finished 18th overall, and in 1:31:06. 15 minutes ahead of my planned time.

Finishing thought: The back-of-the-pack start enabled me to stay fresh. The voice of G.Songer in my head on the downhill section repeating, "Trey, you have to learn to run downhill," enabled me to literally be greeted by multiple runners after the race saying, "did you have a late start?", "how do you run downhill so fast?", and my favorite, "that kind of speed is just too dangerous." And, in closing, my racing mentality slowly began to trickle to my legs as I started to pick runners off on the flats. 

SCOTT Cougar Mountain Trail Run Series - 10 mile course
Here's the weekly training details:
Weekly Totals ~ Distance: 30.16 mi. Time: 5:01:16 Vertical: 4,668 ft.


Monday, July 04 ~ Tiger Mountain
Distance: 10.27 mi.
Time: 1:45:31
Vertical: 2,021 ft.
Max and I headed up Tiger Mountain and through some over-growth and finished with a quick clip on the road back to the car (6:30ish mi/min pace).

Tuesday, July 05 ~ Cougar Mountain
Distance: 5.20 mi.
Time: 1:02:33
Vertical: 911 ft.

Headed on a recovery run with Laura Kay (her weekly long run) around the mountain playground in our backyard. She's doing well with her training build-up.

Wednesday, July 06 ~ Hazen High School Track
Distance: 5.09 mi.
Time: 0:42:05
Vertical: 53 ft.

Decided to take a break from the hills and head out on the track for a good 800m workout. I didn't really have a plan going into the workout, just that I wanted to run some 800's. I decided on 5 X 800 w/ 1:30 Rest. Here are the splits: 1) 0:03:35, 2) 0:02:57, 3) 0:02:58, 4) 0:03:04, 5) 0:03:08.
Thursday, July 07 ~ Off day
Distance: n/a
Time: n/a
Vertical: n/a

Friday, July 08 ~ Off day
Distance: n/a
Time: n/a
Vertical: n/a

Saturday, July 09 ~ SCOTT Cougar Mountain Trail Run Series 10 mile Race
Distance: 9.60 mi.
Time: 1:31.06
Vertical: 1,683 ft.

See above.


Also, which elevation profile do you guys like better: light green or green and blue striped? Leave a comment and let me know.

Monday, July 4, 2011

June 26 - July 02

Weekly Totals ~ Distance: 28.72 mi. Time:  4:50:25 Vertical: 4,831 ft.
Monthly Totals ~ Distance: 86.75 mi. Time: 15:19:41 Vertical: 17,993 ft.

Running, this week, gave me the same nervously happy feeling you get when you're falling in love, or expecting something great to happen, or when you know that with beyond a doubt you've just won a judged contest in a landslide fashion. It's been a tough transition, mentally, to the Northwest terrain that I, now, call home. It's not anything negative, it's just different. For the past four to five weeks I've been slowly gaining momentum on the 'running habit' front, and I can't lie, it's been tough. I, now (May - present), average around 1,000 ft of elevation gain on any given run. Comparatively, in Georgia, this year (January - April), I averaged around 700 ft of elevation gain. Vertical is just another force to reckon with. The downhill depletes your muscles of tissue density, the uphill forces you into a state of mind that's neither on the run or in your body, and the flats are elements of surprise that are, now, no longer comfortable, but zones of recovery at faster paces. The change in physical environment is compliment by the outstanding running weather. It's mostly cloudy, temperatures rarely get over 78 degrees F, and it's relatively low on the humidity scale. As record temperatures sweep across the South, I'm here, wearing long sleeves to work, no shirt running, and catching glimpses of snow capped mountains that are less than a two-hour drive away on each and every run. 


At some point this week, during a run, I took a breath in of the cool morning air, exhaled, and watch the condensed carbon dioxide deposit assimilate effortlessly into the world around me and it was then, this simple moment, this moment that lasted less than a second, that the world seemed to slow down and my mind seemed to speed up and process information in a grand-scheme kind of way. It became the 'ah-ha!' moment that my Rhetorical Theory professor always described for us as we pulled apart historical speeches, categorizing each word, phrase, sentence, paragraph into an apropos artistic proof of either ethos, pathos, or logos. As Anton Krupicka most appropriately and eloquently put things: "Running, ultimately, distills life down to its basic elements. And that, I think, is a really valuable experience. Especially, in this day-and-age where life can get pretty complicated. When I'm out running everything is simple, in the moment, and totally makes sense."

Sunday, June 26 ~ Recovery Run - Home to Hazen HS Track (Out-&-Back)
Distance: 3.68 mi.
Time: 0:29:34
Vertical: 108 ft

By far the flattest run in a while. Moving up to Washington has somewhat altered my running, not only do I have to take into account mileage and time, but also vertical. In general, I average between 800 ft and 1200 ft. in elevation gain on any given run. This is by no means chance, but definitely by choice. After all, my backyard playground is a choice of three different mountains. But just like there's a need for different types of car tires for different types of terrain, distances, and weather, there's also, in running, a need for different types of training terrain, shoes, and focuses. Today, being a recovery day, I ran on flat terrain, wearing my recovery shoes, the Stinson by Hoka One One (review to be posted soon, I just need a little more mileage to give a sufficient claim to successes and failures and oddities) which won't make their debut in the United States until August or September, and focused on proper running form (cadence, forward lean, breathing, and foot strike) and maintaining a low intensity. I did manage to run a :30 negative split and stretched thoroughly afterward.

Monday, June 27 ~ Long Run - Wilderness Creek to Shy Bear (Loop)
Distance: 7.35 mi.
Time: 1:30:17
Vertical: 2,168 ft.

Planned to run with a co-worker today, but work (cordially) got in the way. Oh well, maybe later this week. I'm definitely in need of a running partner. Today's run, however was great. Ran a PR from base to summit (0:23:16), a straight-up hill ascent with a few long switch-backs that starts at an elevation of 408 ft. and peaks at 1,597 ft. a difference of 1,189 ft all in 1.65 miles. Which, I must be honest, is a bit stressful for the first part of the run sans warm-up. I do complete about 5 minutes of dynamic stretching prior to the runs here, but a 10 minute jog might be more helpful. After the PR peak bag I descend the Deceiver Trail (odd name, or I'm just smart, because it hasn't fooled me, yet) past a waterfall (Doughty Falls), that I haven't seen because I'm too lazy to venture onto the side trail, but I have heard it, and it sounds beautiful (good enough for me). A slight rise in elevation brings my heart rate back up after the (sort of) long descent and then it's onto the Shy Bear Trail. Maybe this is trivial, but I really like the name of this trail. Maybe I had a distant Native American ancestor with a similar name. Of course, 'Shy' isn't a title I tend to fall under or portray. Anyway, the trail meanders in an undulating fashion for a couple of clicks and then it's a quick rise and back to the Wilderness Creek Trail. The change of trails also means it's all downhill until the trailhead, literally.

Tuesday, June 28 ~ Cross-train - Exit 38, Interstate Park at Far Side
Distance: n/a
Time: n/a
Vertical: n/a

All day out on an open rock face about 500 ft above an interstate. Can't beat it.

Wednesday, June 29 ~ Base Run - Gene Coulon Park
Distance: 5.01 mi.
Time: 0:38:30
Vertical: 70 ft.

I planned on hitting up the trails after work, courtesy the sun doesn't set, right now, until about 9:30 PM and I usually roll out of work  by 8:15 PM. Even the most anticipated plans seem to run into setbacks. Setback is too strong. How about, 'oops, I forgot my trail shoes, headlamp, and I got out of work late.' Not worries, though. Running is about adapting to unforeseen circumstances. I laced up some road shoes, and hit the pavement and watched the sunset over Lake Washington. Aside from swallowing a piece of cotton, mindlessly adrift through the dry and windy Pacific-Northwest summer air, which basically gagged me and halted me mid-stride (the US may want to skip water-boarding for 'sudden inhalation during exercise of cotton choking', it's got to be worse. Or just end torture to begin with...not saying the US does, but I've heard rumors) , the run was great and I'm glad we paved roads, but the trail has much more meaning.

Thursday, June 30 ~ Off/Recovery - Rest
Distance: n/a
Time: n/a
Vertical: n/a

Skipped the run, tonight. I really wanted to go, but I have a longer trail run on Friday morning.

Friday, July 01 ~ Long Run - Squak Mountain
Run 1:
Distance: 8.68 mi.
Time: 1:32:03
Vertical: 2,484 ft.

Today's run is exactly what I needed. Almost. I could have done without the overgrown trail that has left my legs tingling from too much touch... but it felt great to run with somebody. The monotony of training solo has it's strengthens and it's weaknesses.


Run 2:
Distance: 4.00 mi.
Time: 0:42:56
Vertical: ???


After work, I went on an easy recovery run with Laura Kay and Max. We spent about ten minutes bush-whacking, and then found a better way to the trail.


Saturday, July 02 ~ Off/Recovery - Rest
Distance: n/a
Time: n/a
Vertical: n/a