and moving on. Work sucks and that's too bad. There's no time left at the end of the day for anything...or so I thought. Since my last post I have turned over a new leaf. I am doing something, every night no matter how late I get done with work.
This past 4 days I have run twice and done good long quality strength workouts three times. It's late when I get started and even later when I get done. But it is becoming a habit and becoming easier to commit to each night. Mornings aren't possible. I wake up to so many emails and "tasks" that I can't even begin to take time for myself with a clear conscience. But I can make this work.
So on to The Facts:
Tuesday: 4 miles on the trails at an easy, yet uncomfortable pace just as it was getting dark, chest and back strength workout afterwards,
Wednesday: 4 miles of technical trail running just around dusk. Durgintown Woods clockwise in 37:52.
Thursday: P90X Plyometrics in the late evening. 1 hour of pain and suffering.
Friday: 2 miles uphill on the treadmill followed by P90X shoulders and arms. Surprisingly, repaired left rotator cuff still hurts when I lift. I'm going to lift anyway.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
A Little Whining
I'm still alive and well in Kezar Falls, but all I have done for the past few months is work, work, and more work...with mountain biking and running pretty much confined to the weekends I have off from work. I never imagined I'd ever have a job that was this consuming. I loved my job a few short months ago. Holy Heck, how did this happen? Anyway, it can't continue for much longer. I have a life to live.
These changes at work have caused a brand new onset of nightmares, insomnia, gastric reflux, estrangement with friends and family, moodiness, and flabby thighs.
I was supposed to run a mountainous trail race next weekend, but after testing my legs on a very hilly 12 miler yesterday I realize it isn't going to happen. 2 days of training a week just doesn't cut it.
So change is in the works. I just hope it happens before the flabbiness moves from the thighs to the hips and belly.
These changes at work have caused a brand new onset of nightmares, insomnia, gastric reflux, estrangement with friends and family, moodiness, and flabby thighs.
I was supposed to run a mountainous trail race next weekend, but after testing my legs on a very hilly 12 miler yesterday I realize it isn't going to happen. 2 days of training a week just doesn't cut it.
So change is in the works. I just hope it happens before the flabbiness moves from the thighs to the hips and belly.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Birthday Weekend!
We had a fun, action filled weekend this past weekend in Northeast, Vermont. Saturday we rode the trails until our legs gave out on us. Here's a photo of Kevin on one of our favorite trails, the West Branch Switchback climb. He's one switchback above me.
Saturday night we went out to the Tamarack and enjoyed great food, beverages, and a pretty good live band, Wayland Speed. It just so happened that Kevin and the lead singer were both from Waldo County Maine and knew a lot of the same people. So it made for some interesting bar conversation before the show started. We always have a good time at the Tamarack, but this time of year is best because the summer folks are gone and the skiers haven't arrived yet.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
The Plodder
I first saw her early last January, shuffling along the worse stretch of road in the area for running. The South Hiram Road has no shoulder, the cars travel much too fast on it, and there is always a cold wind coming off the river in the cooler months. It is boringly flat and straight. The day I first saw her was the worse drizzly icy day we had had so far that Winter. She wore baggy snow pants, like the ones you'd buy at Walmart for your kids to go out and build snowmen in. She had a loose fitting quilted jacket with the hood pulled up and yellow work gloves on. This woman was big, probably 5 foot 10 and well over 200 pounds. And she was running.
She was grimacing into the wind. I could see that she was experiencing something far removed from the fabled runner's high. Her gait was awkward and slow, with short, low to the ground strides. Her arms moved stiffly in too many layers of clothes. I couldn't see exactly what she was wearing on her feet, but it didn't look like running shoes. I thought to myself, "New Year's resolution," and continued my drive home from work.
I'd had no intention of going out to run on that cold, icy, wet afternoon, but something about seeing that women struggling along step by step motivated me to get out the door and put in a few miles.
Throughout the Winter I would see her often, always on that same miserable stretch of road and always with too much clothing on. Over time, her shuffle turned into something just short of a jog. It never started to look easier or more fun for her, but it became more efficient and a little faster. By Spring she had shed a few layers of clothing and started to run in a big cotton sweatshirt and baggy cotton sweat pants. I began to notice she was loosing weight. She was still carrying a lot of extra pounds, but they were slowly coming off.
Day after day, she plodded on. Her eyes never strayed from the patch of road directly in front of her. When I gave her a little honk and a wave one day, she never looked up and her pace never varied. She was a woman on a mission.
In the hot, humid days of June and July she stripped down to a loose long sleeved cotton T-shirt and some loose cotton pants. I began to think her "comfort zone" involved keeping her body covered and hidden under loose layers of clothing and sticking to a familiar route. I thought, with time she may gain more confidence.
By mid August I started noticing that the stretch of road she ran out and back on was getting longer. Sometimes I would see her way out at the Cornish end and other times 4 miles down the road at the Kezar Falls end. Sometimes I'd see her at both ends on the same afternoon, meaning she was covering eight miles those days! Her upper body had thinned down to a fit, healthy woman's build but she still carried a lot of extra weight in her hips, butt, and thighs. Running still looked like an unpleasant job for her. Still, she plodded on.
Yesterday I had a very long day visiting patients. It had rained on and off all day and I was cold and soggy. I was also tired and in a bad mood. All I wanted to do was get home, put my feet up, and sip on a glass of wine. As I neared home I saw her plodding along. It was pouring rain at this point. She wore a wind breaker, orange hunting cap, yellow work gloves, and gray baggy sweat pants. All these were soaked through and hanging from her body. She had that familiar grimace on her face. The car in front of me drove through a big puddle and splashed water on her. She stared straight ahead and plodded on.
Suddenly I realized that she was way outside her comfort zone. It had nothing to do with clothing or route. Truthfully, it has been years since I pushed myself as hard as this woman pushes herself daily! This realization made me smile. When I got home I changed my clothes and headed out into the rain. I ran a very hilly four mile loop that I had been avoiding for months. I ran it faster than I had run it in years. It hurt and I was probably grimacing a little, but at the same time it felt good! I wonder how many other people in the community have been inspired by the Plodder. I'll bet lots.
Her stride may never turn into a comfortable relaxed gait, even if she looses the rest of her excess body weight. She may never experience that endorphin induced "runner's high." She might not ever shed those loose baggy clothes or buy a pair of real running shoes. She might not ever venture from that crappy stretch of straight, flat road. She may never loose the remainder of those extra pounds. But she has certainly graduated from plodder to runner in my eyes.
She was grimacing into the wind. I could see that she was experiencing something far removed from the fabled runner's high. Her gait was awkward and slow, with short, low to the ground strides. Her arms moved stiffly in too many layers of clothes. I couldn't see exactly what she was wearing on her feet, but it didn't look like running shoes. I thought to myself, "New Year's resolution," and continued my drive home from work.
I'd had no intention of going out to run on that cold, icy, wet afternoon, but something about seeing that women struggling along step by step motivated me to get out the door and put in a few miles.
Throughout the Winter I would see her often, always on that same miserable stretch of road and always with too much clothing on. Over time, her shuffle turned into something just short of a jog. It never started to look easier or more fun for her, but it became more efficient and a little faster. By Spring she had shed a few layers of clothing and started to run in a big cotton sweatshirt and baggy cotton sweat pants. I began to notice she was loosing weight. She was still carrying a lot of extra pounds, but they were slowly coming off.
Day after day, she plodded on. Her eyes never strayed from the patch of road directly in front of her. When I gave her a little honk and a wave one day, she never looked up and her pace never varied. She was a woman on a mission.
In the hot, humid days of June and July she stripped down to a loose long sleeved cotton T-shirt and some loose cotton pants. I began to think her "comfort zone" involved keeping her body covered and hidden under loose layers of clothing and sticking to a familiar route. I thought, with time she may gain more confidence.
By mid August I started noticing that the stretch of road she ran out and back on was getting longer. Sometimes I would see her way out at the Cornish end and other times 4 miles down the road at the Kezar Falls end. Sometimes I'd see her at both ends on the same afternoon, meaning she was covering eight miles those days! Her upper body had thinned down to a fit, healthy woman's build but she still carried a lot of extra weight in her hips, butt, and thighs. Running still looked like an unpleasant job for her. Still, she plodded on.
Yesterday I had a very long day visiting patients. It had rained on and off all day and I was cold and soggy. I was also tired and in a bad mood. All I wanted to do was get home, put my feet up, and sip on a glass of wine. As I neared home I saw her plodding along. It was pouring rain at this point. She wore a wind breaker, orange hunting cap, yellow work gloves, and gray baggy sweat pants. All these were soaked through and hanging from her body. She had that familiar grimace on her face. The car in front of me drove through a big puddle and splashed water on her. She stared straight ahead and plodded on.
Suddenly I realized that she was way outside her comfort zone. It had nothing to do with clothing or route. Truthfully, it has been years since I pushed myself as hard as this woman pushes herself daily! This realization made me smile. When I got home I changed my clothes and headed out into the rain. I ran a very hilly four mile loop that I had been avoiding for months. I ran it faster than I had run it in years. It hurt and I was probably grimacing a little, but at the same time it felt good! I wonder how many other people in the community have been inspired by the Plodder. I'll bet lots.
Her stride may never turn into a comfortable relaxed gait, even if she looses the rest of her excess body weight. She may never experience that endorphin induced "runner's high." She might not ever shed those loose baggy clothes or buy a pair of real running shoes. She might not ever venture from that crappy stretch of straight, flat road. She may never loose the remainder of those extra pounds. But she has certainly graduated from plodder to runner in my eyes.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Scout's Point of View
For our run tonight, Mom took me to a spot I'd never been to. I could smell the swamp mud as soon as we got out of the car and I got so excited that Mom had to use her stern voice with me, "out of the road, now! " Of course I know I can't step on the black hard ground without a leash, but sometimes I forget. Mom took me by the collar, which I find humiliating, and escorted me to the trail head. I was off in a flash as soon as she let go. Glorious dirt, mud, rocks, and roots! Hooray!
Mom followed. She tries to keep up, but she only has two legs. Plus she isn't exactly a puppy anymore. That's Okay. When I get too far ahead I stop and fool around until she catches up. I roll in stuff, chew on sticks, or practice lifting my leg. This leg lifting thing is new for me. I've been watching my neighbor, Apollo do it and decided to try it myself. Apollo can lift his leg straight out to the side and squirt urine on objects 3 feet off the ground. He's amazing. I can only get my leg up in the air for a few seconds, then I loose my balance and end up squatting. Also, sometimes when I lift my leg nothing comes out. So until I get this leg lifting thing down, I only do it out in the woods where Apollo and the other neighbors can't see. Tonight I lifted my leg at least 30 times and got it right about three times.
The trail we took tonight was awesome. It was long and straight and wider than what we usually run on. Dad calls it "double track" and he says it like it's a bad word. But I like it, this stuff is built for sprinting! Even Mom can get up a little speed on this sort of trail. After a while, we hit a stretch of mud holes. This was the stuff I was smelling when we got out of the car. Mom tried to keep her colorful foot coverings out of the mud but wasn't successful. I just plowed right through. A few times I stopped right in the middle of deep smelly mud and laid down. I did this just to get a rise out of Mom.
After about an hour of steady running, we came to a river. It wasn't wide and shallow and fast like the river we usually run beside. This was narrow and deep and slow. The banks leading down to the water's edge were steep. This river's bottom was sandy instead of the rocky kind of bottom I'm used to. I went barreling down the steep bank and ended up in the river with a big splash. I found that I couldn't touch the bottom so I started paddling around. I paddled up the river and then down the river. I paddled across. I paddled around under the bridge. I got out and climbed the steep bank, then ran back down and splashed into the river again. I started doing this over and over again, up, down, splash, up, down, splash... I got out of the water and picked up a big stick and started running in circles. Then I carried the big stick into the river and tried swimming with it in my mouth. I got out and rolled in some moose turds. I tasted one, but it wasn't fresh so I spit it out. I lifted my leg and peed on my own foot. I shook the water and mud off my coat onto Mom and I was ready to go.
The run back seemed tougher. Mom was ahead of me instead of behind. She had to wait for me . I walked up the big hill. I squatted instead of lifting leg when I felt like peeing. I jogged past a perfectly good pile of deer poop without even giving it a sniff. I edged past Mom and tried to slow her down by blocking her way. But on that Damned double track, she had plenty of room to go around me. Mom joked, "you simply must learn to pace yourself better!" I fell asleep in the car on the way home and dreamed about running and swimming. I can hardly wait for our next run!
Mom followed. She tries to keep up, but she only has two legs. Plus she isn't exactly a puppy anymore. That's Okay. When I get too far ahead I stop and fool around until she catches up. I roll in stuff, chew on sticks, or practice lifting my leg. This leg lifting thing is new for me. I've been watching my neighbor, Apollo do it and decided to try it myself. Apollo can lift his leg straight out to the side and squirt urine on objects 3 feet off the ground. He's amazing. I can only get my leg up in the air for a few seconds, then I loose my balance and end up squatting. Also, sometimes when I lift my leg nothing comes out. So until I get this leg lifting thing down, I only do it out in the woods where Apollo and the other neighbors can't see. Tonight I lifted my leg at least 30 times and got it right about three times.
The trail we took tonight was awesome. It was long and straight and wider than what we usually run on. Dad calls it "double track" and he says it like it's a bad word. But I like it, this stuff is built for sprinting! Even Mom can get up a little speed on this sort of trail. After a while, we hit a stretch of mud holes. This was the stuff I was smelling when we got out of the car. Mom tried to keep her colorful foot coverings out of the mud but wasn't successful. I just plowed right through. A few times I stopped right in the middle of deep smelly mud and laid down. I did this just to get a rise out of Mom.
After about an hour of steady running, we came to a river. It wasn't wide and shallow and fast like the river we usually run beside. This was narrow and deep and slow. The banks leading down to the water's edge were steep. This river's bottom was sandy instead of the rocky kind of bottom I'm used to. I went barreling down the steep bank and ended up in the river with a big splash. I found that I couldn't touch the bottom so I started paddling around. I paddled up the river and then down the river. I paddled across. I paddled around under the bridge. I got out and climbed the steep bank, then ran back down and splashed into the river again. I started doing this over and over again, up, down, splash, up, down, splash... I got out of the water and picked up a big stick and started running in circles. Then I carried the big stick into the river and tried swimming with it in my mouth. I got out and rolled in some moose turds. I tasted one, but it wasn't fresh so I spit it out. I lifted my leg and peed on my own foot. I shook the water and mud off my coat onto Mom and I was ready to go.
The run back seemed tougher. Mom was ahead of me instead of behind. She had to wait for me . I walked up the big hill. I squatted instead of lifting leg when I felt like peeing. I jogged past a perfectly good pile of deer poop without even giving it a sniff. I edged past Mom and tried to slow her down by blocking her way. But on that Damned double track, she had plenty of room to go around me. Mom joked, "you simply must learn to pace yourself better!" I fell asleep in the car on the way home and dreamed about running and swimming. I can hardly wait for our next run!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Getting Technical
I think I have been getting spoiled by the smooth, flowing trails of Northeast Vermont. Yesterday we mountain biked at Bradbury State Park in Pownal, Maine. Early on, Kevin looked back to ask how I was doing and I answered, "I have butterflies in my stomach." Sure, there are some tough trails at the Kingdom Trails, but we know those trails so well it's easy to ride the correct lines to set up for whatever obstacle is coming. And tough sections at the Kingdom Trails are broken up by long stretches of smooth, fast, riding. Bradbury is alternating twisting, rocky, rooty, steep, loose, muddy, log hop, step up, drop down, high narrow bridge, stone wall... you get the picture.
After my initial shaky 5 or 10 minutes, I got into my groove and couldn't stop smiling. It is exhilarating to get over a big rock that I wasn't sure I could make, Ride to the top of a rooty rocky steep climb without coming off the bike, and find the nerve to finally ride over the high bridge (which has been shortened and lowered a little, I must admit). It's even fun to try to make it up or over something and come up a little short.
By the time we got back to the parking area my legs were wobbly. What a fun ride! And what a beautiful day! Today looks like another gorgeous late summer day. we are off for a paddle on Ossipee Lake.
After my initial shaky 5 or 10 minutes, I got into my groove and couldn't stop smiling. It is exhilarating to get over a big rock that I wasn't sure I could make, Ride to the top of a rooty rocky steep climb without coming off the bike, and find the nerve to finally ride over the high bridge (which has been shortened and lowered a little, I must admit). It's even fun to try to make it up or over something and come up a little short.
By the time we got back to the parking area my legs were wobbly. What a fun ride! And what a beautiful day! Today looks like another gorgeous late summer day. we are off for a paddle on Ossipee Lake.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Running, Riding, and Trail Building
Last week I made it through my planned training exactly to the letter, except for Thursday which I took off due to craziness at work which kept me sitting at my laptop far later into the evening than it should have.
Thanks to near perfect weather and fantastic trail conditions, Kevin and I had one of our best mountain bike rides ever on Saturday on the Kingdom Trails. It helped that we were both well rested and feeling energetic and strong, for me this was because I took Thursday off from running! See, things always work out for the best. We did our favorite long loop in three hours. This loop usually takes us three and a half to four hours. Leg fatigue didn't set in until the last few uphill climbs on Beat Bog, which is exactly how I like it. I'd hate to finish a good long ride feeling like I wanted to keep going!
Sunday we started laying out a trail loop around our camp. This is more difficult than you'd think. It is hard for me to tell if a climb or turn is going to feel fun and smooth on the bike or awkward and clumsy. It is also difficult to see where I am going and where I have been through the dense trees and brush. Luckily, Kevin has some experience in this and a good feel for it. This took us several hours, but now the loop is all marked. It will be a lot of fun to ride...eventually. We have a lot of work ahead of us.
Work promises to be even more chaotic and crazy this week. We are going through some "transitions" which are going to require us all to put in extra time. I can only take it one day at a time. So for today, I have to fit in eight miles at some point. Should be simple enough.
Thanks to near perfect weather and fantastic trail conditions, Kevin and I had one of our best mountain bike rides ever on Saturday on the Kingdom Trails. It helped that we were both well rested and feeling energetic and strong, for me this was because I took Thursday off from running! See, things always work out for the best. We did our favorite long loop in three hours. This loop usually takes us three and a half to four hours. Leg fatigue didn't set in until the last few uphill climbs on Beat Bog, which is exactly how I like it. I'd hate to finish a good long ride feeling like I wanted to keep going!
Sunday we started laying out a trail loop around our camp. This is more difficult than you'd think. It is hard for me to tell if a climb or turn is going to feel fun and smooth on the bike or awkward and clumsy. It is also difficult to see where I am going and where I have been through the dense trees and brush. Luckily, Kevin has some experience in this and a good feel for it. This took us several hours, but now the loop is all marked. It will be a lot of fun to ride...eventually. We have a lot of work ahead of us.
Work promises to be even more chaotic and crazy this week. We are going through some "transitions" which are going to require us all to put in extra time. I can only take it one day at a time. So for today, I have to fit in eight miles at some point. Should be simple enough.
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