We’re having an interesting winter here. This area is a shrub steppe; weather-wise, it’s similar to a high desert. Our summers are hot, our winters are cold, it’s dry — we average about 8″ of precipitation each year — and it tends to be windy. Going into this winter, the weather prediction model suggested higher-than-average amounts of precipitation. Thus far, we’ve had a very snowy winter. Continue reading →

Today starts Week 14 of training for the Badger Mountain Challenge 50K. I’m still intimidated as all get-out, but I am also confident I’ll be ready come race day. The interesting thing is I’ve started thinking about what will come next. Continue reading →

Happy New Year. I’m happy to see 2016 behind me. Usually I can pick out the good and focus on it, but 2016 made that difficult. When asked, the best memory of 2016 I could point out was my exhilaration at seeing Hillary Rodham Clinton earn the Democratic Party’s nomination for President. (I didn’t think I’d live long enough to see a black man elected president; a woman president seemed completely out of reach.) It was a lovely feeling, while it lasted. I watched Mr. Trump do everything he could to derail his own campaign, and I was certain HRC would win. While 2016 had a lot of awfulness in it, the last two months cemented its place in my history. Here’s hoping it’s the last awful year for a very long time. Continue reading →

I am now in Week 12 of training for my first ultramarathon. The terrifying part of that is that I have less than twelve weeks to prepare.

Endurance training always involves the athlete learning about herself. One thing I’ve learned: I believe I prefer focusing on one sport. It’s been months since I’ve been on my bike, and I think I’ve swam once in the last four months. It’s been running, running, running. Perhaps my obsessive nature thrives on obsessing over one sport instead of trying to balance three at once.

I’ve also learned how important it is to play. I am enjoying this training. I ran twelve miles on Friday, and it felt like forever but I enjoyed it. I ran eight miles the next day, and I was pleased that I was able to push my pace a bit, despite the tired legs. I love the challenge of trail running. But I haven’t done anything just for fun. Continue reading →

Today’s workout is a 12-mile run. I’m killing time – dragging my feet – before heading out for the run. It’s in the 30s, no appreciable wind, and we got a dusting of snow overnight. It’s now about two hours after breakfast, so I’m hoping to start my run within the next hour or so. Continue reading →

REST DAY!

I attempted the speed workout on Wednesday. It was hard. First, it was on a treadmill, and I believe I’ve clearly expressed how much I dislike running on a treadmill. Second, my legs were tired. The fastest pace I could reach was a 10-minute mile, and I was only able to do that very briefly. I’ve yet to replace my footpod, so I don’t have detailed information about my pacing; I believe the longest I was able to maintain 10:00/mile was a minute. After that, I’d do it briefly during the speed phases. That shit hurt. My quads were aching. Continue reading →

Immediately after the race, I was able to walk around bit. There were plenty of seats available in the tent, as most runners had finished well ahead of me, but I knew better than to sit down. I grabbed a piece of pizza immediately. There was only one kind of beer left, but slowpokes don’t get to be picky. (When I went to get a second one, there were none left.) Continue reading →

Heck of a way to wrap up a training week! The important part: I finished, and I accomplished my goal of learning what I can to ensure a better race for my 50K. I have a lot of work to do, but I have a lot of reasons to be confident, too. Continue reading →

Today’s a rest day. Tomorrow I’m running the Deception Pass 25K. It’s a test race. The race has 3,000′ of elevation gain and loss, but the highest elevation is Goose Rock, only 450′ above sea level. The elevation profile is constant up & downs, rather than BMC’s up up up down down down over & over. The trail is not what I’m used to – narrow, twisty, roots, etc. – but it’ll be good footwork practice.

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Week nine! How did this happen? It’s going by so fast…

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