Still nursing some aches and pains. Ran six miles from the Sausalito ferry terminal home. A boring flat (reminded of Frannie’s “telephone poll to telephone poll” line) 6.25 miles. I really, really dislike running the flats. Could use some music to stick with it, but IPhone is dead. Nine minute miles, not a horrible pace, […]
May 16 — Feelin’ tired and sore
Monday morning out and back to Muir Woods. I’m a bit sore, and my time is disappointing to the key turnaround check point. How am I going to get faster in four weeks? I stop to walk a few times on the way back. Been thinking too much about my disappointing morning run, and the […]
May 14 — Engineering the perfect runner
Saturday crew ran the Dipsea trail to Cardiac, then we worked our way back over alternate routes. Four weeks to the Dipsea, five weeks to the Double — flippin’ time to get serious! My splits are ok. I’m about a minute and a half slower to top of Cardiac than in last year’s Dipsea, but […]
May 11 — Intervals!
Back to early morning intervals on RR grade. Five intervals of four minutes each up the 7% grade, pushing harder each time, heart rate peaking at 145, then 152, 161, 167 and 172. Recovering well in between. Good training for the up and down — gotta recover quickly — Dipsea. I sometimes think about that […]
May 9 — Bridger application day
Hit “submit” and registered/applied for the Bridger tonite. A simple data-driven form, with a little space at the end for 50 words to plead/ask for extra consideration. I hit “submit” and sighed. A not so comforting message back from the website: “Thanks for registering for the lottery of Bridger Ridge Run. Now relax, sit back […]
May 6 — Cycling dreams
Friday ride home from Sausalito after catching early ferry to go watch part of Matt’s high school baseball game. Because of my cranky right instep/arch, I’ve taken it easy this week, no running. Biked to work Wednesday and today as an alternative to miles on the trails. Better safe than sorry, so tweaks and pains […]
April 30 — Once I was seven years old
Another long Saturday run on tap. Started with the group at Peets, and ran the first four miles of the Dipsea (now six weeks away), regrouping at the top of Cardiac. Our fearless leader complaining about being slow, but he’s a few minutes ahead of me as we reach the water fountain with a few […]
April 29 — Backup plan
Registered tonite for the Aspen Backcountry Marathon. Two hundred and fifty runners. 3800 feet of climb over twenty six miles of trails, peaking at around 10,000 feet. Will be run on August 13. What am I doing? The Bridger is run on August 13! Have I lost my mind? No, I am still in […]
April 29 — Rob the “flag guy”
Friday morning ride into the City. Sun shooting over the horizon so much earlier now, I can safely stash my lights away for next four months. A friendly “hi” to Sam’s grandmother as I join the bike path near the high school. Gentle cruise through Sausalito then the climb to the bridge, keeping heart rate […]
April 23 — Thinking while running
What do people think about when they run? Especially when they run for several hours? Seems like you you should be able to solve world hunger, or at least a complicated quadratic equation or two. But truth is, you often don’t think about much at all. It has been said that long distance runners mostly […]