9 miles; Twins Game

My running is going great. I got up early (thanks kids) this past Saturday and headed to the Gateway Trail. Plenty of parking near the trail makes it easy, and running in the trees is much better than along the road. The paved trail is nice, and running parallel to it is a dirt trail. I ran a 9 mile out and back, with most of the return trip on the dirt. I only got a few mile splits (9:14, 8:36, then on the dirt: 9:29, 9:46, 10:06). It was a great run and I had a chance to try a Powerbar gel for the first time.

And it was my longest run ever both in miles, 9, and time, 1:24:43. 

My wife had tickets for the Twins game last night.  Parking, and taking the light rail to the game, was so easy; and they won 6-0.

View from the Budweiser Roof Deck.

Afton Trail Run 25k

I've been thinking about this for awhile, and finally signed up for the 25k Afton Trail Run.  After reading the McNaughton Race Report from Westy's Running I had a good feeling about doing a trail run.

Now I have a reason to add trail runs to my workouts!

Metronome; Getting Sick; Swimming Again

I finally got a metronome (from Amazon). I really like it and I’m getting used to moving my feet a bit faster.

I had some sort of cold the last 3 weeks and as a result I had to cut back my training. Since running is the focus, and following the Core Performance workout is part of that, I didn’t want to cut those. So I cut my swimming. I missed it, but was glad that I had something I could cut back on and not impact the core of my workout.

Now that I feel better I started swimming last night. And since running is the focus I’ve decided to do about 2,000 yards a workout with the focus on stroke drills and IM.  Since I am still learning the TI method I have plenty of drills to do.

4/13
Ran 4 miles in 35 min; 69 degrees out
- Shoulders very tight
- Using Metronome at 57
Swim
6x 150 Alt. swim/kick
8x 100 drill (Zipper, Over, Under, Swim)
200 kick
100 swim
2,000 total

4/11
Ran with the Stillwater Marathon training group
7 miles in 1:05 min; 35 degrees out at start, ended at 50
- Had pacer (and others) to run with

4/10
Ran 3 miles in 28 min; 45 degrees out
- No metronome

4/8
Ran 3 miles in 28 min; 48 degrees out
-Using Metronome at 57
skipped swimming

Yosemite National Park; San Francisco Run

I was in Yosemite National Park snow camping this past weekend. 6 of us started from Badger Pass and hiked 7 miles to Horizon Ridge and set up camp. As we unpacked one of us found a wet sleeping bag (from a leaky water bottle). Lucky for us the snow was thin in a few areas and we could make a fire to dry out the bag. I made a burrito that was outstanding (red beans, rice, guacamole, shredded cheese). I also took a complete salad mix from Trader Joe’s.  It was about 10 degrees when the sun went down, but the fire kept us warm. It was good to see my California friends again.

The next morning two of us got up early (most of the group were late sleepers) and headed to a nearby peak with great views.  Me in the picture.

The weather forecast changed from light snow to 2-3 feet of snow, so we packed up and headed for the cars.  One of the guys knew of some apartments/condos that we could rent for the night.  Lucky for us they had one open that could accommodate 6 people.  The next morning our cars looked like this:

The roads were clear so we went to the valley before heading back to San Francisco. The valley was magical covered in snow.

On Tuesday I had the morning free before my flight and got a nice 7.8 mile run in. It was my longest ever, and took 1:26 (including photo and walk breaks). We ran stairs, hills, trails, asphalt, and stopped halfway at the Golden Gate Bridge. It was great.

St. Patrick’s Day Human Race 8k

I ran my second race ever on Sunday, the St. Patrick’s Day Human Race 8k. I finished in 38:53 (7:49 per mile)! I was shocked to go that fast, and it was a huge confidence boost. I think my technique must be working as I felt pretty good on the run. I’m excited at setting the bar higher and think I should have a good showing at the Stillwater Half Marathon.

Special thanks to the guys I hung with for the first two miles (at 8 min miles); and to the woman who ran the last mile with me. Her heavy breathing right behind me helped push me along. And then she passed me at the end and I had to really fight to keep up. Thanks.

Tuesday
Skipped run to relax from race
Swim
- Stroke felt off after 5 days out of the pool
3x 200 swim + 100 kick
1000 swim
100 down
2,000 total