Is it spring yet? (training week 10)

Finally, towards the end of last week we started to see some sun, warmer overnight temps, and some legitimate melting! I think it is actually spring. The trails are crunchy and rough in the mornings and soft and wet in the afternoons. I have been sticking to the roads/multiuse paths lately to get my time in. I am still struggling with motivation to run but it is getting better. This week I switched my long runs back to Sat/Sun and it was much better, not having to stress about trying to fit it in on Friday.

Apr15-21
7:01, 40.89, 2505'
day2: doubled up with am run and pm pub run
day3: cold one
day4: convinced myself in the am that I would run in the evening and slept in. the run didn't happen that day.
day6: good 21.5 mile long run. took it easy and felt great the next day
day7: cranked out 8 miles on the dreadmill in the evening bc the day got away from me

So not much excitement but life is filled with the in-between.

 I teach yearbook at Service High School. They came in on Wed and are LEGIT! Students are really digging it this year. Cover design/photos by yours truly.

 Seniors at our school get to participate in "Senior Fun Day." They get breakfast at school then bussed to Kincaid Park for a BBQ, Karaoke, hanging out, prizes, inflatable games, and all around good times. Here's a photo strip of me with a couple of my students. We gots our stunna shades on.

Baby Z turned 2 on Sunday. What an amazing little guy. He really is our miracle baby. So much fun wrapped up in one little hurricane of emotion and activity. I wouldn't want it any other way.

back in the saddle... (training week8,9)

After 2 weeks of crud I eased back into the running over the past to weeks. Spring in Alaska this year means lots of new snow, sun during the day, but frigid still overnight. That has made it much harder to be motivated to get out of bed in the morning and get my run on. The snow has also made for good skiing so I have foregone some of the long runs instead opting for some splitboarding. I am still basing my training loosely on mileage, but mostly on time. I figure if I can get the time in I will be ready when stuff melts out enough to run...which I hope happens soon. They are actually calling for more snow later in the week...bleh!

Mar31-Apr6
5:17, 16.87, 2361'
shorter runs on M,T,W. 2:15 of splitboarding in lieu of long run on Sat.
also practiced with my jv soccer boys on Monday. man, that killed my knee.

Apr7-13
7:30, 29.19, 4626'
runs on M,T,W w/ :45 of soccer on M,W as well. Friday was my big day with a 2 hour run in the AM followed by a 2 hours of splitboarding in the afternoon. was hoping to get out Sunday splitboarding as well but ran out of time, not light though as the sun is currently setting around 9:30!

This week I am switching my long runs back to Sat/Sun instead of Fri/Sat. Since the runs have gotten longer it is too difficult to get them done on Friday when I work. I will switch it back once school gets out.

Here's a pic from splitboarding on Friday afternoon. Sweet sun and snow, was blowing like crazy up top and cold though.

the creeping crud, PLUS 2012 recap & 2013 plans (training w6,7)

I ran my 20 miler two weeks ago with a head cold. I felt fine and the run went great, but two days later, BAM! chest cold. I have bronchial asthma so as soon as a cold settles into my chest I am out of commission. This was a bad one. Two weeks of hacking, no energy, hit-by-a-truck feeling, cold. In the weekend between I had my Wilderness First Responder recertification, a 24 hour classroom/scenario course. It was brutal but I made it through.

This past weekend I decided to jump right in on Saturday for a scheduled 24 mile run. I made it as far as the front door in my running shorts before I called it. It was 530 AM, cold, and I could still feel a rattle in my chest. What's two more days off? So this morning I went on my first run in 16 days. It went pretty well so I think I am ready to ramp back up into the training.

Training for what? Well, I am planning on two 100 milers this year, with some other races thrown in for good measure. My current race schedule for 2013 looks like this:

May 23rd: Kal's Knoya Ridge run (8.5k, 4300') completed this for the first time last year. It's a blast!
June 29th: Sluicebox 100 (Fairbanks, AK) this is my first goal race. I'm shooting for finishing.
July 27th: Crow Pass Crossing (24mi) running easy as a final long run before tapering for...
August 9th: Resurrection Pass 100 (repeat of last year) I hope to better my time of 25:37 from last yr.
August 24th: Lost Lake run (16mi) ran w/ a team last yr. & might again this yr., maybe...
September 21st: Equinox Ultramarathon (64k) had a great time at this last yr. Hoping to be up for it.

My goal for the summer is to complete the two 100 milers and finish with Equinox. The other races are if my conditioning and health allow. There is a new race, Kesugi Ridge, in Denali State Park September 7th that looks really interesting, but I really want to be ready for Equinox so I'll feel it out.

On a side note, thought I'd post my 2012 totals here for the record:
Mileage: 1573.33
Training Time: 298:53 hours
Elevation: 133,468 feet

These totals are for running ONLY, no other activities are factored in (ie. hiking, biking, ski touring, swimming). Also, this is only for runs recorded via GPS and recorded on Garmin Connect or Movescount. There were several outings without a watch that were not recorded.

What's funny is to contrast this with my recorded totals from 2011: 185 miles and 21,228'. I have been running trail races since 2003 but have never trained. Amazing what one can do with proper preparation.

HE IS RISEN! Happy Easter.