Mighty Mouse

Where can I pick up one of these genes?

This Trail's Not Big Enough for the Two (or Four) of Us

Maybe the 19 degrees on Friday was just a fluke. Yesterday and today have been warm (60's) and sunny. I have a feeling that my wish-upon-a-star has come true and we're going to skip winter altogether. Wahoo!

Sadie and I went out for about 21 miles yesterday. We explored some new trails. Ran through a smoldering section of the forest. It looked like a controlled burn, but the trail was ash for about a mile and some of the stumps were still on fire. I was a bit worried that it was too hot for Sadie to run on, but the freezing temps the night before left a layer of frost and ice over much of the trail and I guess cooled the ashes a lot because Sadie was actually have fun running through the soft stuff. It was horrible to breath, though. Just a few acres burnt and I had to eventually turn around and go another direction. I can't image how horrible it is to breath the air down in California with all those fires.

Near the end of the run we turned a corner and Sadie stopped in her tracks to look down below. Momma moose and baby moose. They were on the switchback section of the trail below us. Momma moose was sure to get between us and the youngster. Sadie made sure that she got behind me. What a wimp. Not one bark or growl or "Don't worry, Scott. I'll scare off any wild animals in our path." Nope, she just looked at me like, "Hey, you're the one with more cortex so you should be coming up with the bright idea. Not me." So with all my cortex I decided that the smartest thing would be to pull out my camera phone and click a few quick photos. I figured at this point I had already been 18 miles or so and if momma moose wanted to chase me there was no energy left in the tank to escape. After a few pleasantries we moved along and had to get a little creative with an off-trail detour around momma and kiddo. None of the photos show the calf clearly but in a couple you can see a few extra legs under momma and in the top photo you can see kiddo's rear behind momma's head.

Today I put in another 14 miles. 5.5 this morning and then 8.5 just before the sun went down. The 8.5 felt really good. I wanted to finish my highest mileage week ever on a strong note. I hit some hills and really pushed hard. Sadie even looks a little tired after this week. Well, not really, but I like to think that I've tired her out. It's funny because yesterday around mile 20 she picked up a stick and dropped it in front of my as I was hobbling down the hill. She wanted to play fetch! Didn't you just run 20 miles you crazy dog?!?

Two week taper and then race week. I feel strong and confident - though I'm still have trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that I will be attempting a 50 mile race. Those kind of thought are the ones that start giving me the butterflies even three weeks out.

I know I say this a lot, but I don't care because it's true - This is so much fun, isn't it?

Keep running!

Scott

Need Sleepy

Man I've been tired this week. I don't know if it's a lack of good sleep or if it's an accumulation of my miles adding up. It probably has a lot to do with the super super super busy week at work. My mind is numb. Maybe it's because I've been a vegetarian this week. Maybe more on that in a future post - in the unlikely event that it lasts. I know that now is probably not a good time to start radical dietary changes... Whatever it is, I've been low on energy.

Three weeks until JFK! I have a big weekend planned mileage wise. I'll see how my energy levels are and take it from there. For once I want to go into a race nice and rested.
The taper weeks are going to be a beautiful welcome.

I woke up this morning to a brisk 19 degrees. The season's first scrape the ice off the windshield/motorcycle morning. Only a handful of rides left before ice takes over the streets. Wasn't it just a month or so ago that I was running in 102 degrees?

There have been a couple decent runs so far this week. My main goal at this point is to stay injury free. Easy runs, generous walk breaks - just get the miles in. Shasta joined us yesterday for six miles. That ties her PR for distance. I'll never get tired of the looks I get when people see Shasta running along with me and Sadie. She has so much fun...most of the time.

I've been doing quite a few runs along the side of a rail line lately. It's virtually an unused track and the "path" along side is very rocky. Running on the rocks is my attempt to train for JFK's rocky Appalachian Trail portion of the race. Sadie met some horses and made friends. But she doesn't care about the horses as much as she cares about pouncing into the grass to stir up a rabbit or grouse. She's the best running partner a guy could ask for. She licks my wounds and urges me to keep going. I still haven't told her I'm going on an epic 50 mile race without her...

Jeanie's doing well. Things seem a bit more manageable after having a week to look at things.

A couple big runs this weekend and then taper. I'll try to grab a few photos along the way.

Keep running!

Scott

Raining Sideways

This has been a tough week on the home front. Jeanie received some unfortunate news on the road to her PhD. She's pretty bummed to say the least. It's not the end of the world or anything, but it looks like it will delay her progress and keep us around here in Pullman for a bit longer than we expected. :( (Not that I don't absolutely love Pullman....cough cough)

My mom called this evening and asked, rather seriously, if everything was okay. I assumed she was referring to how our week had been but, as usual, I deflected the question with a "What do you mean?" She said, "Your running. Are you still running? You haven't posted a blog in over a week." It made me smile.

Work is at its busy season peak and since I'm on a computer all day I've been less enthusiastic this week about coming home and getting right back on the computer to blog and surf. And that's a big deal, because if I'm not on the computer when I'm in the house then there must seriously be something amiss. Yes, amiss.

The running theme for this week as been rain and wind. And cold. And darkness. Sadie LOVES running in the rain. She does circles in the mud. Bounces in and out of ditches. Catches raindrops with her tongue - inadvertently and "advertently." Jumps up and down on me because I'm just not running fast enough for her. But she HATES the bath she has to get when we're home.

This week I was supposed to hit 50+ miles but there was a bit of discomfort in my left Achilles tendon mid-week that forced me to pull back a little. Which was fine, because I'm too close to the JFK 50 to do anything stupid.

I did hit 20 yesterday and then 11 today to push me over 40 for the fourth consecutive week. The 20 was a flat out and back with at least a 20 mph headwind on the way back. With cold, sideways type rain. A big week this coming week and then a two week taper until race day. I'm getting anxious and excited.

I was hoping to join some crazies on a trail run with a view this weekend, but it just wasn't in the cards to make another 5+ hour (one way) trip again this weekend. When I traded my truck for a motorcycle last year - leaving Jeanie with our only "real" vehicle - I hadn't planned on becoming a traveling runner. My next goal is to get a sidecar that I can put Sadie in for our interstate trail running adventures. That would be awe some.

The photos are from our run today. We didn't get rained on during this run, but the dirt roads were fairly muddy. I'm learning that cold weather running takes some serious planning and some lucky guessing. How much should I wear today? Too much and you're carrying everything for 20 miles and too little you're getting yourself sick for 20 miles. How long until summer?

Hope everyone is running well.

Scott

On Trails

A first marathon high keeps going and going and....

Portland's been on my mind all week. And on my legs, too. This marathon was the goal when I started training at the beginning of the year. I'm just so thrilled at how far I've come. From squeaking out ten or so miles a week to completing an ultra and running a very successful first marathon. I proved myself wrong because I'll be honest that I didn't think I had it in me when my training first began. And I wonder how I would be doing if it wasn't for this blog. Runners are wonderful people and you all have been just as much a part of my training as my shoes have been. Hugs all around. (Check out the professional-but-non-downloadable-until-purchased photos of me at the marathon here.)

More than a few people have asked me how I would compare my ultra with my marathon. The biggest difference is that the Portland Marathon gave an awesome finisher's medal that I've been wearing to work all week. The Cle Elum 50k gave me a water bottle.

As awesome as the Portland Marathon was (and it was) I think it may be hard for me to get back on the pavement for that long of a run anytime soon as long as I have the option of hitting the trails. About the only thing that may entice me would be location (see Comrades Marathon). A big race like Portland has it's advantages: amazingly supportive spectators and very high energy. But a race like Cle Elum has trails. And more trails. I'm a trails guy.


Tomorrow is the Spokane Marathon. Since my JFK 50 training calls for a 20+ mile run this weekend I was entertaining the idea of running this race. But again, it's on pavement. And poor Sadie has been left behind on my weekend runs for three of the last four weeks. :( She become very suspicious of me. "Where have you been?" "Why don't you call" "Are those running shoes you're packing?" "Please tell me you're not cheating on me with another runner." "I licked your hand yesterday, doesn't that mean anything to you anymore?" So today Sadie and I had some bonding time on the trails.

Throw all sorts of goodies in the pack and let's go. Just you and me, Sadie. So I can prove to you what my true intentions are.

We saw a big bull moose as we were pulling into the trail head. Maybe not so big for a moose, but definitely bigger than a squirrel. Snapped a photo but it was too far away for my awesome camera phone to pick up.

I've been taking it easy this week. Putting in the miles, but going nice and easy to get all the kinks out from Portland. My legs have been pretty sore, but not so bad where I've wimped out and taken the elevator (are you proud of me Bella?).

Today's plan was to explore parts of Moscow Mt. (Idaho) that until recently I've never been in shape enough to reach in a single run. The Garmin came in handy also. I had no idea about the lengths of these new trails and off trails and crossing trails and up trails and down trails so it was nice to know how far I'd been running.

Everything is turning colors. Many of the trails I ran today were littered with yellow and red leaves. Nice to look at - but they hide the roots and rocks. Barely avoided a few big falls. Sadie was having a blast as usual and it was definitely worth skipping out on the Spokane Marathon to get some nice trail running in.

Stats: 23 miles - 4hr 33min
elevation chart to the right

My legs were tired but felt strong. (Does that make sense?) Sadie is currently asleep underneath my desk with her head on my feet. Today's run was the farthest she's ever been. Her previous PR was 20.5 miles. She's a good, good girl.

The JFK 50 is sneaking up on me and my dad. He's been scouting out the course over the last few weekends. A couple more weeks of putting in some good miles and then it will be taper time.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. I was slow on blog checks this week but should be back to normal soon.

Keep running!

Scott