Rerunning in the Rain

If I was hot and female, I would have looked somewhat like this while running in the rain. Unfortunately for you I'm an overweight and balding old guy. :D

Friday I ran the 5 1/4 mile Interurban Trail course, the weather was as wet as I had ever seen while running. The wind was out of the south at 5 to 15 miles per hour with occasional gusts higher. The rain was coming down like a sideways soaker hose. With the wind from the South my back received a good dousing on the way out. The temps were in the mid to upper fifties so it was still comfortable if you keep moving.
At around the 2 mile mark the rain let up briefly and a rainbow appeared - one of thos "double rainbows" with two separate arcs. the first arc glowed brilliantly - it scintillated. The second arc was more subdued, but still quite visible. As the rain resumed I was concerned that my electronics might be damaged - as I jog, I am a veritable nexus of electronic regalia - Blackberry, Garmin, and Zune. well no worries, my back is to the rain. At about the 2.5 mile point I realized that that would not be the case for the last half of the run (dur!)
I turned at the 2.6 mile point at Willis Street in Kent and was met by a wash of rain to the face - not the large pelting drops that hit with a "thwock" but a full and gentle wall of droplets that soaked you, but did so in a most civil manner. I began to theorize on the amount of current that the headphone were carrying and considering the shock hazard , but the two electrodes would need to arc across a large vacuum so I deemed myself safe. my electronics for the most part was covered by my shirt and in either a holster (Blackberry) or pocket (Zune) but my Garmin bore the brunt of natures wrath sitting, like a mighty bulwark upon my wrist.
The wind from the south which for the first half had been pushing me along ever so gently, had become a fierce adversary pushing back at my progress. It also served to keep me cooled down and I completed the rest of the run with good pace.

The weekend was spent chilling at home and church (Saturday is my sabbath as Sunday is a very busy day!)

Monday I repeated the run, but had procurred new running shorts - no room for Zune! The weather was cloudy and the rain was minor and spotty. Now I am settling in to the whole "5 miles is normal" routine and feeling quite happy with myself. my pace is adequate at 5.5 mph. I'm sore after the run it's a "good" sore, and no injuries yet (knock on wood!)

I found out that my wife is going to need some help Wednesday unloading hay, so I move my next run up to Tuesday - I've been trying to get my church friends to join me on a run and the Aviator agrees and makes it out. Although the pace is slower, I like having a partner to run with - conversation while running is difficult, but it helps build endurance. No rain Tuesday at all during the run, it's a bit brisk though. Today (Wednesday am) I'm feeling a cold coming on so I'm going to take it easy for a couple of days and let this run through. I'll have World of Warcraft and a new level 80 to keep me busy while I get well!

Running in the rain

If you want to blog at least blog about goals.



The past few weeks I've been dealing with foot pain - particularly on the outstep of my left foot. After doing my first 5 mile run, my foot ached enough to cause limping. I went to the running shoe store owner, he got me on the treadmill and said YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG! and told me to change up my running style completely I tried what he said, but it was uncomfortable and my heart rate was near max the whole time. Then as luck would have it my wife was thrown from her horse ( I'm a funny guy!) I took her to the doctor and while we were discussing the wifes broken thumb in the Xray I asked him about my predicament. He said in essence "YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG!" and told me that the way I run is ok - for now. I should expect some pain as my foot gets used to being in the proper geometry in these most expensive shoes,. I originally bought the shoes to help with Achilles tendon pain and the releif was instant. The Doc said "Sam, you have to expect that those portions of your foot that are being used for the first time may be a bit tender, but they will get in shape in time.

So Monday I did a 3 mile run and felt awesome - my zune was dead so I had to entertain myself - I whistled the tune "Take me to the River" (8 weeks at number 1 on the MP3.com Christian rock charts back in the mid 90s) now my pulse was in the 150-160 range, but the run was very do-able.

Today I made it almost 5 1/4 miles non-stop. I ran the way I normally do, maybe a bit better posture but not any big change. My zune was fully charged and I chose to run with Diana Krall (The Girl in the Other Room and Live in Paris)
This is the farthest I have ever ran in my life, and although it's a monumental occasion I could have kept going! I'm hoping to do my first race in December - a 10k and although I have no illusions about finishing in the top 10 (or 20, 30 etc) I am very confident that I will finish it, and that will be a win for me.

Autumn is Setting In

Leaves are falling all around, Its time I was on my way. Thanks to you, I'm much obliged For such a pleasant stay. But now its time for me to go, The autumn moon lights my way. For now I smell the rain, And with it pain, And its headed my way. Ah, sometimes I grow so tired, But I know Ive got one thing I got to do

My beloved Lake Fenwick will be wet for the foreseeable future as the rains moved in last night. The trail isn't bad, but the boardwalk is treacherous when wet. So I think I'm going to start track running, although I may do some neighborhood runs, I really dislike breathing exhaust from vehicles while running.

Yesterday's run saw my fastest sprint time on the boardwalk - 14.8 MPH which if I could keep it up would be a 4:02 minute mile - how anyone could run a mile at that pace is beyond my comprehension, after 1/10th I was at the end of my rope.

A Hike During The Break


Last Friday my church's Music Director and I went hiking up in the cascades to a little place called Snow Lake. The locale was some of the most beautiful real estate in Washington. Approximately 4000 feet up in the Snoqualmie Pass area - just above Alpental Ski Area. The terrain was not too intense lots of forest with old growth, lots of boulder strewn hillsides. and most often a pretty good rise in altitude. The weather reports called for morning clouds until around 11:00 am so we thought that the hike would be nice and cool - we were surprised to find blue sky from sunrise on and the hike was warm - cool breezes were interspersed along the ever upward switchbacks and we made excellent progress. I was so thankful for the stairs at Fenwick, if it were not for those I might have had a bit of an issue with hike. Maybe the altitude was a factor, but wow, those switchbacks were a killer!

Lunch at the lake consisted of some energy bars and a package of beef jerky - a true hiking lunch if ever there was one!

Sitting at the lake, surrounded by the beauty really was the most relaxing time of my entire two week vacation. There were other people about but the lake seemed to emanate a peace force field that suppressed anything but a palpable sense of well-being and serenity. It was nice to see ground squirrels - not the large grey ones, but the little brown ones - showing up in goodly numbers along the trail.

A full day of hiking, we met at the church at 10:00am and returned at 4:30pm. I really thank Dean for the time and look forward to more exploration of the beauty this state holds.

A question of distance

First week of vacation is down - lets have a status check

1. Achieved a workout goal
2. Relaxed
3. Went to breakfast with the "guys"
4. Obtain illicit substances! (?)
   

Last Monday was a personal best workout - 13 miles at Lake Fenwick in 4 hours. I did four reps of the park at 3.3 miles per rep. I was a machine, but not without side effects, by the end of the hike my hands had swollen considerably, this was easily fixed by a good dosing of Ibuprofen when I arrived home. My muscles were sore, particularly groin area and hamstrings. I'm not sure why - the trail was dry so I had no balance issues. well, the soreness only lasted a day - and I took a down day afterwards so all is good.

Wednesday I cut my workout short, only 2.5 miles. I misjudged time and had to cut it short to be able to grab breakfast with friends from church. I had a great time, they are truly good men, and time with friends is something to treasure.

I spent much of the rest of the week playing video games and bought a new hard drive - 1.5 TB should be enough to keep my out of disk space issues for some time!

Saturday I hit the trail, it was early and it had rained the night before the trail was moist, but not slippery. The boardwalk was quite slick and I exercised caution traversing that hazard. On the way back I got to the boat launch and looked down, there was a baggy of pot - quite a goodly quantity of it too. Now having grown up in a permissive generation I had a quickly quenched tinge of temptation before calling 911
"No, this is not an emergency. I've found a large bag of marijuana and don't want to throw it in the trash"
I provide my name, location etc
"We are sending a patrol car to pick it up" the dispatcher's voice is emotionless
I move back to my truck. My inner teenager is shaking his head "wow this is the first time in your life you've found a large bag of pot and you are actually turning it in?"
The question kind of rang in my head and it was rather refreshing to snap back to him saying "Well ya, you dumb shit".

As I was waiting for the police to arrive, a blue "ricer" car with a big fin on the back pulls in to the boat ramp road and parks. three guys get out. They are not wearing jogging outfites, they have no fishing gear and they are looking down and walking towards the general area where I found the bag. Whoops! "Well boys, if you would have gotten here 10 minutes ago you would not have to look for such a long time." The police cruiser arrives about 15 minutes later and I pass him the bag. I don't say anything about the ricer car guys - they've had enough bad luck for one day.

So last week I had a great vacation - achieving goals, enjoying friendships, thwarting criminals and disciplining teenagers.

Week two looks just as promising.

Fall - Autumn, Fall - Down, Fall - Rain

The peace and serenity of a thousand gnomes with bubble-wrap

The weather for today's workout was overcast, but in the woods the rain fell from leaf to leaf. The forest has assumed the demeanor of fall, and with a temperature of 52 f, it felt like a fall morning . One lone soul had ventured out in his boat on the lake at around 8:30am. Fenwick is an "electric motor only" lake and from the other side, he was silent. I noticed as I started my workout that one of the maples had lost a large branch - a good 1 1/2' diameter branch came down in yesterday's gusty rains.

I thought the grass in the field would be slick, but my shoes kept me well in line. as I hit the first board walk I found that it was a bit slippery - but very manageable at a jog. Silence. Early mornings seem to be a wonderful time for a run. No one is out on the trail yet and I can be lost in a zen-like jog. I notice as I run down the trail that the indigenous creatures of the forest are scurrying about more - like they are trying to get their morning activities done and I am encroaching on their time. "Not to worry, I'll be quickly past and you can continue your morning activities".

The stairs are wet, the handrails wet and cold. The spiders know that I am the first one here. Pulling the morning's web production off my face and arms I head down the stairs. When cold, the air may be thicker, but it seems not to help too much during the climb of the stairs, although I am recovering from the exertion quickly. I start to run at the bottom, but check my speed as the trail is wet and I don't want to end up in a heap. Not to fear, the traction seems to be good, just wet earth, not slippery muck.

The boardwalk at the other end of the run is a completely different story, what is my fastest area, normally managing 8 mph. This is now a deliberate act of concentration and foot placement. No jogging will happen here, and so my speed is limited to 2 mph or under. The park entrance at Reith Road opens up and I notice the clouds starting to give way to blue sky - in the woods the rain still falls from tree to tree, but the day promises to become more summer like.

How many miles?

W00t! another milestone achieved!

Tonight I celebrate a literal "mile"stone, I ran 4 miles today which is the furthest I have ever gone without stopping in these 45 years. It was a good running day - I had a good breeze for most of the run. I also had great distractions.

In the middle of this track was a soccer field and a group of about 8 boys between 8 and 12 years old were practicing. There were no adults around supervising, just kids trying and doing an admirable job of being organized - sure there were moments of individual chaos, but those were short lived as the olders made the youngers toe the line. there were whoops and hollers, teasing and cajoling, cheering and jeering. All in a raucous preadolescence that was wonderful to witness.

At about the 12'th lap a father and son wandered out on to the track from a yard that adjoins the school property. I'm thinking the dad had recently helped his son discover the rudiments of two wheel travel, and the little boy - maybe 5-6 - was exuberantly pedaling around the track, finally rid of those dratted training wheels, he was free! He passed me in a flurry of activity and determination, then a pit stop where dad adjusted the seat and he was off again.

At the 14th lap (3.5 miles) I was through convincing myself that I should stop and I was actually in a "zone" where my mind was not as concerned with my legs and breath- I was more focused on my average MPH which was 5.0 at the moment, but I was running 4.6. I picked it up a bit - up to 5.5-5.7 and my heart rate started spiking into the 160s, but I was not straining, I was comfortable as my heart was pumping all the blood I needed. so during the last quarter lap I stretched out my stride and grunted across the line to stop at 4 miles.

Describe a quiet Lake

Placid serenity, interrupted by a sweaty old guy.

No one was out today - the weather turned overcast and while warm, had a feel of fall to it. Before I left for the workout, I received an IM from my friend John - not the "Stair Master", this John is the "Aviator" and was hoping to meet me out here but was unable to. I offered to do stairs for him.

As I arrive, one car was parked on the boat ramp road - a white haired lady is sitting at a lone picnic table looking after her rather portly beagle-mix dog tottering through the field. I stretch my calfs and shins as the dog wonders about intermittently interested and disinterested with his surroundings. Hitting the "start" button on my Garmin I began my run. After taking notice of me, the dog makes a half-hearted chase, but although I was something new, I was quickly placed in the "not that interesting" category. Wrapping around to the south and started back along the trail to the waters edge, I notice the lady had packed her dog into her minivan and began to leave. I was alone.

Past the boat launch, the wooden floating walkway thumps loudly with my foot falls. I'm usually concerned that I might be scaring away fish, but no one is here. The ducks sunning themselves in the overcast on the walkway do not approve and appear exasperated as they hustle into the lagoon to the left - Lilly pads abound and a Great Blue Heron is often seen standing on the branch of a semi-submerged fallen tree. To the right the Lilly pads give way to Lake Fenwick proper which looks particularly dark green and calm today.

A little further on I am back on a trail - this one is not dirt, but mostly gravel. So far the path is level but I know that a more strenuous portion is just ahead. Arriving at the field in front of the park's main lot, the brown grass crunches dryly underfoot as I run uphill for 50 yards. My heart rate is not ramping up anywhere near as quickly as yesterday. *note to self: eating 3 or more hours before exercise is best. Once across, the trail returns and I am engulfed in a tunnel of forest, more gravel trail, but it is slowly giving way to normal trail dirt. as it does the terrain becomes much more varied with hills and slopes. Still running, I adapt my pace to the differing path.

I approach the North parking lot and run around the perimeter taking advantage of the asphalt to increase the distance of my run by 1/10th of a mile - now comes the hill. The wide gravel path, one long switchback, winds it's way south along the other side of the lake and up we go. My heart rate is elevating nicely now in the 150s and my breathing cadence which was 3/4 time now is cut time. the switchback levels a bit and I am pleased to note that my pulse slows by ten BPM while still running. At the end of the switchback, the trail elevation raises very quickly and my lower pulse respite is only a memory as I am now flirting with the mid 160s. I will not slow and my legs move with purpose through the trail-steps, a few of these require a significant effort to traverse. I could run around them but they are put there to test me and I must defeat them! I could stop at the last stair - as I've done before, but I will not be tamed and I run until I reach the bench placed at the corner for lesser being to rest after their ordeal. The lake is now to my back and as I walk to Hell's Stairway I still have not seen another soul on the trail.