Feb 20 to Feb. 27

A week of recovery is in order so nothing to spectatuclar to report.

Five days of running with a total of 45 miles for the week; brings the yearly total to 497.0 Most of the running was doen at home with one quick 6 miler in San Diego.

It is, however, official.....I have entered the GA Jewel 100K race on April 7th. The entry is in and confirmed. So I am committed now or else blow $70 on an entry fee.



The race start! Or maybe this is the outhouse?

http://georgiajewel.com/Site/The_Jewel_100K_50K.html

Feb. 13 to Feb. 19

Off on a new week of running and with vacation, it should prove be a great time for many miles.

I was recently asked "How often do you change running shoes?" The basic answer is "Not often." Several sources, including Sportsmedicine.com , indicate we should change running shoes every 350-550 miles. OH, very funny....for those of us who about 2500 miles a year, that comes out to just over 7 pairs of shoes a year! (based on changing every 350 miles). Let's see....since a new pair typically cost about $100, that's $700 a year for shoes. Not too bad for a hobby that some of us take very seriously. The real gotcha is in the breaking in of a new pair of shoes. Personally, new shoes are a menace. Even with my own knowledge of what works for my feet and what doesn't work, it is a best guess as to whether a new pair is going to be able to go the distance and not cause issues. I written in the past that a New Balance 1123 has been a great shoe for these feet; however one flaw is that I constantly clip the opposing ankle due to the very wide, straight lasted  mid sole. On the last shoe buying venture (always at my favorite store, Smith and Davis in Fayetteville, GA), I bypassed those NB 1123s and went to a Saucony Pro Grid Lite and a Adidas Kanadia trail shoe. So far, the Sauconys are proving to be a great shoe, very light weight, and have provided enough stability for trail running. The Adidas shoes are still in the closet. As for when I change shoes: it depends on the shoe. Once I see it is breaking down around the toe box and not providing enough stability in the forefoot, it is time to retire that shoe. As for mileage, I have no idea how many miles I put on a pair of shoes before retiring that shoe, but it is certainly far more than 550 miles!
Changing shoes is as personal as running itself. Some folks prefer a new pair every couple of months while others of us tend to run the things to death. It is a matter of finding what keeps you from getting injured and what allows you to run your best.

Monday; Feb. 13th: So much for the miles today. Needed the day off.

Tuesday; Feb. 14th:  It's Valentine's Day....nope, no chocolate here....Just an early session in the gym for abs, wall squats, triceps and biceps. Then out the door solo for a brisk 9.0 miler. Traysen seems to have kinked his left front leg and is now being called, "Gimp Hound." A great run that was almost effortless!

Wednesday; Feb. 15th: A chilly start to the 10 miler that was again, effortless. Not sure what has brought on these easy runs, but they are just a hoot!

Thursday; Feb. 16th:  Meeting up with Sandra at 630am in Garden of the Gods yielded a nice 6 mile effort on the outer loop trails; with work looming, Sandra was done and I took off for another 6 miles, covering some the same trails with a few twists. A very nice 12 mile effort on a beautiful morning.

Friday; Feb. 17th:  One lazy family here! None of us stirred until 6am! Finally out the door for a slow 6 miler. Time for a very easy day as I head into the weekend with about 42 miles of running scheduled!

Saturday; Feb 18th:  An early start with a half inch of fresh powder on the ground and about 15 degrees,  a great start to a long run. This run went amazing well with plenty of energy, plenty of endurance, no aches or pains, and a nonstop, steady trot effort of 25 miles. It is runs like this that make long distance running worth the passion.

Sunday; Feb 19th: This will now be known as the "Girls Run with Horses" run. Sandra, Lori, Lynne and I met at Marshal Sprague Park in Colorado Springs for a bright n early outing on the Falcon Trail at the Air Force Academy. Much to the delightful laughter of Lori and Lynne (aka...long legs 1 and 2) Sandra and I provided much entertainment as we blundered over the fence to get to the access trail. Through a few gates and we found ourselves trotting down a dusty trail and to our surprise, we came up a herd of about 15 horses. Being comfortable with these varmits, I suggested we continue to follow them down the hill as they trotted in front of us. As they slowed we soon ourselves running amongst them for awhile and of course we were now going in the wrong direction. Luckily, Sandra said we needed to be "way back up there" so it was a reverse back to the proper trail and onto the Falcon Trail. An amazingly beautiful single track, complete with lots of rocks, tree roots, some snow, some ice and some wonderful cruiser sections with nothing but sand and dirt, this trail has something for everyone and I find it a refreshing outing from nonstop steep hills. With our detour to play "round up" we covered 18 miles. Way to go Lori, Lynne, and Sandra (who just completed her first back to back long runs this weekend!!!).



Total for the week: 80.0
Total for 2012:  447.0

Summary: A great week of running with plenty of quality training with some great friends. At this point, it is interesting to note that the only ailment is a bit of a blister on the left foot. Nothing serious, but just an annoyance on these last two long runs. The training is going perfectly well and hopefully that will continue.

Feb. 6 to Feb 12

Back to running in the high altitude and hills this week with a brief excursion to Dallas, TX for work. The goals are lots of miles and to finally get my sorry butt back in the gym!

I have been reading The Lure of Long Distances by Robin Harvie. Not quite what was expected in this novel, but interesting nevertheless. The author describes how he developed the goal of running the Spartathlon in Greece;  below is an except from the website, describing the origin of the event.

The Spartathlon revives the footsteps of Pheidippides, an ancient Athenian long distance runner, who in 490 BC, before the battle of Marathon, was sent to Sparta to seek help in the war between the Greeks and the Persians. According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides arrived in Sparta the day after his departure from Athens. Inspired by the report of the Greek historian, in 1982 five officers of the British Royal Air Force (RAF), who were also long-distance runners, traveled to Greece, led by Colonel John Foden. Their purpose was to ascertain whether it was possible to cover the 250 kilometers separating the two towns in one and a half days. The enthusiastic British team showed that the report by Herodotus was entirely plausible.
A man is indeed able to cover 250 km in less than two days and in fact in less than 40 hours. After the success of the project, the architect of the feat, John Foden, began to envision the establishment of a race that would bring long distance runners to Greece from around the world to run on the trail of the ancient runner Pheidippides. The next year a multinational team of British, Greek and other enthusiastic supporters of the idea, led by Michael Callaghan, a philhellene, organized the First International Spartathlon (Open International Spartathlon Race), wherein the name for the race combines the Greek words for Sparta and Feat.


http://www.spartathlon.gr/en.html

While training for this epic event, Robin gives insight into his childhood and how those years developed  his need and desire to become a long distance runner. He relates several stories of how he and his brother spent hours exploring the country side of his Denmark home and all the while, he was becoming one who was unknowingly lured to long distances covered by the feet. Robin also relates the reasoning's or maybe some insight as to why some of us choose to run vast volumes of miles. One such relation describes runners as "solitary figures" and when asked why they run these miles, many describe various reasons, various crosses to bear, and various tragedies and various positive events that have inspired them to run; however, with all due respect to these mundane "reasons" long distance running comes down to a way of life. To run ultra races (any race over a marathon), takes a commitment; however, it is also a way of life with the efforts needed for training, for rest, for nutrition and those of us who run these races (or just run the long distances)willingly choose this way of life. For us it is not a sacrifice, not a burden but a wonderfully simple way of living our lives in a way that is meaningful to us.

Monday; Feb. 6th:  A very slow start to this day but finally Traysen and I made it out the door for a basic 7 miler.

Tuesday; Feb. 7th:  After getting my sorry butt down to the gym (three weeks off!!!) for a session of abs, back, and triceps, it was out the door....solo, without Traysen....It was about 10 degrees and he opted to hang out with dad in the gym....why do I think he is smarter than Mom? Well, smarter or not, he missed out on a very nice 12 mile run! Wonderfully cold and crisp with plenty of energy today!

Wednesday, Feb 8th;  Work called  for a day off!

Thursday; Feb. 9th:  Sleeping in a bit in Dallas, my slacker butt finally wandered down to the gym in the late morning. After working chest, shoulders, wall squats, and abs, it was to the treadmill and ellip. Even though the weather was perfect, there is no where to run in this part of Addison, TX. Honestly, it is all concrete and roads with way too much traffic. So, with 11 miles on the agenda, it was a combo treadmill and ellip. effort. A nice workout with some hill repeats on the treadmill and lots of AC/DC, Led Zepplin, Billy Squier music!

Friday; Feb. 10th:  A good early start for a 15.0 miler today. Traysen opted to stay home and be a lazy dog!

Saturday; Feb. 11th: A slow start today but Traysen and I made it out for a chilly 7.0 miler. Nothing special, just a nice jaunt around the house.

Sunday; Feb. 12:  An early start at Red Rocks with 11 degrees! Ran the first 6.5 miles solo then met up with Sandra for a beautiful 12.0 miles that took up the Inteman Trail, Section 16 and back into Red Rocks. There was just enough snow to make it amazingly pretty while also providing some traction on the icy sections. Sandra, being the smart one, opted to say that 12 was enough, I took off for another 6.5 miles which took me through the Hogback Trail in Red Rocks. This is a nice steady, long climb...a great way to end the 25.0 miles for the day!

Summary: An awesome week of running with a long effort of 25.0 miles and one medium effort of 15. miles. Everything seems to be working perfectly so the training continues. I was recently reading the course description for the upcoming 100K...it went something like this: up the hill and then down the hill, around the barn, up the hill, down the hill, then through the creek, up the hill, down the hill and then through the woods to grandma's house we....(Opps....that's another story)...this  is shaping up to be a wondefully challenging event.
total miles for the week: 75.0
total miles for 2012: 367.0

Jan. 30 to Feb. 5

In Atlanta all week with the folks will prove to be a great time for some good mileage on the trails in Peachtree City, Ga. Since Savanna, the Tart Dachshund, is showing for 4 days a few of those runs will have to be afternoon events, which is not a bad thing.

Monday; Jan. 30:  A day off was in order since it was a late night arrival from Ocala, FL.

Tuesday; Jan 31: Out the door early near the house for an 8 miler. A bit sluggish, it was still nice to get out in the early morning cool air.  Traysen had a great time barking at numerous squirrels, squirrels with antlers, and a few passing bicycles!

Wednesday; Feb. 1: Time for a long run of 22 miles!! Out the door well before daylight and leaving Traysen at home with the grandparents, it was a parking lot start at Braelinn Village. (no headlamp or flashlight) Once there was just enough daylight, to the trails and many wonderful miles of bliss! The routing took me south for quite a distance, wandering around the outskirts of a few subdivisions, through some woods, and finally back to the car for some water at about the 15 mile mark. (no water bottle holder or camel back). Downing the H2O, back to the trails and ending the effort with an hour on the Stinky Trail! No kidding, that is the name! No, it was not stinky! It was actually very beautiful and full of rocks, tree roots, leaves, and a few small hills! I had read about this trail and wanted to give it a try; it was pure trail heaven! Overall, a nice long effort but not as much energy as I had hoped.



The Stinky Trail in Peachtree City, GA; honestly, it did not stink!

Thursday; Feb. 2:  With dog showing today, out the door way before daylight. Traysen opted to sleep in again so it was solo AND in the dark! Once there was enough light so as not to bust the face, off to the trails it was! A wonderful 13 mile outing that went quite well. I am learning how to run on the side of the cart paths, in the dirt, leaves, rock, roots, and hopping the occasional dog droppings. This part of the country just doesn't have the vast mileage of dirt trails that Colorado is known for, but luckily, I can make it work in Peachtree City by running the few dirt trails available and then resorting to running along side the paved cart paths.



These paths are over 100 miles in length!

Friday; Feb. 3rd: With Savanna, the longhair mini dachshund, showing early, it was an afternoon run with Traysen. A nice cloud cover kept us somewhat cool as well as our romp through the bike trails near the Hwy 74 Soccer/Baseball Complex. An odd assortment of trail that winds around itself about 4 times to cover only about 2.5 miles! Needless to say, we loved the dirt, rocks, and tree roots and after 2 laps or so, we opted to run the empty soccer and baseball fields. A nice 8 miler.

Saturday; Feb. 4th: Again, with dog showing early, Traysen and I were out on the trails (paved paths today) around the hottest part of the day, about 1pm! Oddly enough, even with us cold weather souls, it was an awesome run on a beautiful day. An easy 10 miler with a couple of stops at the ponds for Traysen to cool off.

Sunday; Feb. 5th:  With the last day of dog showing in Atlanta, it was out the door at almost daylight for a misty, cool , humid 9 miler. Traysen opted to hang out with his Grandma and scarf as many treats as he could. Even though it is February, the afternoon was warm and very sunny...can't ask for better weather in the middle of winter.



Summary:   An awesome week of running in the Atlanta area with some dirt, some paved paths, some rocks and tree roots....and there was that one tick!!! YUCK! Yes, those little bug things that dogs get was stuck to ole Sarah.....ewwwww!!!!

Total miles for the week: 70.0
Total miles for 2012:  292.0

The Dork and his Mom!