Thursday, December 31, 2009
End of year mileage summary
I went through almost four pairs of road shoes, and nearly five pairs of trail shoes. My total was 2131.7 miles.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
I'm so glad they kept her safe!
Dutch girl missing after thwarted global sail trip
To summarize: A young teenage girl, who has been sailing her entire life, wanted to sail solo around the world. Her country's government got word and promptly stepped in to stop her attempt "for her safety." Now she's gone missing.
To be sure this would have been a risky endeavor for anyone, but really it is a manageable risk considering that humans have been sailing the world for thousands of years. Also, with the current state of communications, you can honestly say that help would only be a few hours away, at the outside. Unfortunately, the idea that a child is exposed to any risk apparently switched off some brains, so she was made to stay at home, where she would be completely safe. We'll just ignore things like getting hit by a car walking around her neighborhood, being mugged, getting kidnapped, or say, running away from home.
So instead of letting her proceed with her sailing attempt, where they would be able to monitor her constantly via electronic devices, they now have absolutely no fucking clue as to her location or whether or not she's even alive. Way to go folks!
Oh, and the truly funny part of all this. The government is trying to find a girl whose passion is sailing by monitoring the country's airports! What a bunch of dumbshits!
To summarize: A young teenage girl, who has been sailing her entire life, wanted to sail solo around the world. Her country's government got word and promptly stepped in to stop her attempt "for her safety." Now she's gone missing.
To be sure this would have been a risky endeavor for anyone, but really it is a manageable risk considering that humans have been sailing the world for thousands of years. Also, with the current state of communications, you can honestly say that help would only be a few hours away, at the outside. Unfortunately, the idea that a child is exposed to any risk apparently switched off some brains, so she was made to stay at home, where she would be completely safe. We'll just ignore things like getting hit by a car walking around her neighborhood, being mugged, getting kidnapped, or say, running away from home.
So instead of letting her proceed with her sailing attempt, where they would be able to monitor her constantly via electronic devices, they now have absolutely no fucking clue as to her location or whether or not she's even alive. Way to go folks!
Oh, and the truly funny part of all this. The government is trying to find a girl whose passion is sailing by monitoring the country's airports! What a bunch of dumbshits!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Some time off
Skipped my runs for Friday and Saturday to give my body some more time to recover from over training. It remains to be seen whether or not this is enough.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Treadmill Speedwork (~7mi)
Very cold and rainy today, and giving the dog more recovery time. Switching to the treadmill to do some speedwork.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Easy Run (8.2mi)
Starting my taper for next week's race. Went for a slightly faster, but shorter, trail run with the dog.
Tempo Run (8.1mi)
Starting a new training schedule with a short run with the dog, followed by a fast paced tempo run.
Post Race Recovery
Spent Friday through Sunday recuperating from my race. My activity was limited to warming up and stretching. Took the dog out for walks in the mornings & evenings to keep her from getting too restless.
XTERRA Topanga Turkey Trot 15K Race
The second race of the 2010 series was much tougher, but I was able to reach my goal time. I came in 2nd for my age group.
Weight: 135 lbs
Time: 1:10:25.17
Preparations for the race went very well. I was adequately rested and had a good pre-race dinner of mashed potatoes. The day was not particularly cold at home, but once I got to the race site it was around 35F. I ended up just wearing my gloves during the run to keep warm.
The race went very well, but was tougher than anticipated. I cut my time by about four minutes from last year, coming in at 1:10:25 for the 15 km. On a level road that time would suck, but this course is pretty gnarly. They like to tell people that the first two miles is straight up, which doesn't feel too far from the truth. By the time we reached the end of the first major climb we've gone a bit over two miles and climbed at least 800'. While this section is on a wide fire road, the next 3.5 miles is on nasty single track.
This middle segment should be a chance to improve your time by building up some downhill speed, but it's just too fucked up for that. The first mile and a half is just a long series of switchbacks that keep you from building up much speed. Also, the ground is very loose and crumbly. In fact, I twice had my footing completely drop from under me as I reached for branches to steady me. As for the branches, they were EVERYWHERE! Unless you're 4'3", you had to duck almost constantly through this section. Needless to say, compressing my lungs by ducking didn't help my ability to run quickly. Also, ducking didn't always help since I ended up with a bloody scrape along my right temple (which was better than the > 6' runner I saw later with a huge gash going from the center of his forehead all the way over the top of his head.) Before I forget, I should probably mention the fallen trees (granted, only a few inches in diameter) randomly strewn across the trail. This is all in addition to the usual assortment of large rocks, dry creek beds, etc. that I've come to expect from the sadists at XTerra.
At around the 5.5 mile mark we finally got out of the brush and onto another fire road. The fact that it was all uphill didn't make it any less enjoyable since it meant we could at least stop ducking and jumping. We had another 800' of climbing, but it went quickly since more than half the race was done. Once we got to the second peak things got even easier.
Last year I did very well on the first climb, but sucked during both downhill segments. The single track really threw me last year, but I still did well since I got ahead of all but a dozen or so runners before getting to it. That year, more people passed me in the final three miles because of how slowly I went down hills. The past several months I've been working on my downhill form, and can easily go faster than a 6:00/mi pace (10 MPH) often sticking to a 5:35/mi pace when I know I don't have to worry about holding back at the end of a race. This is what I did this year, flying through the last third of the race and coming in around 10th overall and 2nd for my age group.
Weight: 135 lbs
Time: 1:10:25.17
Preparations for the race went very well. I was adequately rested and had a good pre-race dinner of mashed potatoes. The day was not particularly cold at home, but once I got to the race site it was around 35F. I ended up just wearing my gloves during the run to keep warm.
The race went very well, but was tougher than anticipated. I cut my time by about four minutes from last year, coming in at 1:10:25 for the 15 km. On a level road that time would suck, but this course is pretty gnarly. They like to tell people that the first two miles is straight up, which doesn't feel too far from the truth. By the time we reached the end of the first major climb we've gone a bit over two miles and climbed at least 800'. While this section is on a wide fire road, the next 3.5 miles is on nasty single track.
This middle segment should be a chance to improve your time by building up some downhill speed, but it's just too fucked up for that. The first mile and a half is just a long series of switchbacks that keep you from building up much speed. Also, the ground is very loose and crumbly. In fact, I twice had my footing completely drop from under me as I reached for branches to steady me. As for the branches, they were EVERYWHERE! Unless you're 4'3", you had to duck almost constantly through this section. Needless to say, compressing my lungs by ducking didn't help my ability to run quickly. Also, ducking didn't always help since I ended up with a bloody scrape along my right temple (which was better than the > 6' runner I saw later with a huge gash going from the center of his forehead all the way over the top of his head.) Before I forget, I should probably mention the fallen trees (granted, only a few inches in diameter) randomly strewn across the trail. This is all in addition to the usual assortment of large rocks, dry creek beds, etc. that I've come to expect from the sadists at XTerra.
At around the 5.5 mile mark we finally got out of the brush and onto another fire road. The fact that it was all uphill didn't make it any less enjoyable since it meant we could at least stop ducking and jumping. We had another 800' of climbing, but it went quickly since more than half the race was done. Once we got to the second peak things got even easier.
Last year I did very well on the first climb, but sucked during both downhill segments. The single track really threw me last year, but I still did well since I got ahead of all but a dozen or so runners before getting to it. That year, more people passed me in the final three miles because of how slowly I went down hills. The past several months I've been working on my downhill form, and can easily go faster than a 6:00/mi pace (10 MPH) often sticking to a 5:35/mi pace when I know I don't have to worry about holding back at the end of a race. This is what I did this year, flying through the last third of the race and coming in around 10th overall and 2nd for my age group.
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