Whew...! Lots of walking today but so many positives as well. Like these.
- In spite of having to walk lots the only times I actually stopped were once to piss and twice to enjoy the view.
- I finished the run pain-free!
- I finished my longest run in five months.
- Looking back, and assuming I found all my times on this loop, today was my fourth fastest and only 4.5 minutes off my best. WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?
The trail conditions were freaking epic/fast today. No doubt that contributed to my time and it sure made for fun running.
I have never seen the mountain so free of foliage as today. The ground was dry and firm. I think I literally never stepped in mud but I did crunch through the frost a few times and I slipped on ice once. Luckily I saved myself.
The top of the mountain was covered in 1-2" of snow and a dusting of snow was on the ground all the way to perhaps 1/3 of the way down from the top. It was very pretty. I actually took my camera with me but then couldn't figure out a convenient way to carry it so left it in the car. Shoot.
Dog owners continue to baffle me. One time while descending I came up behind this guy and his dog (off leash of course) and when I was maybe 40' behind him I said, "Excuse me." First he freaked out, then his dog freaked out and then he scrambled to get his dog under control. I had slowed down by this time and so jogged past and when I was about 20' past him I heard him say, "Slow down!" C'mon...
Another time I surprised a couple with their dog (also off leash of course) coming around a switchback. This time when the woman made a startled noise the dog went for me! I stop, she starts shouting at the dog to calm down and I'm thinking what bummer it would be to get bitten on such an otherwise beautiful day. Thank goodness the dog stopped short and she was then able to grab its collar. At least they didn't tell me to slow down.
On the climb I was nearing the first summit when I passed two women out for a hike. They had just stopped to enjoy the view and as I went by one of them said, "That's an amazing view!" For a change I stopped as well and turned around to look in a spot that never have before. Because the trees were all devoid of leaves you could see the Cascades to the north and it was amazing!
After cresting the second summit and going back into the woods the trail was crazy! There must have been a freezing rain recently as all the trees were still iced up on the side that was in the shade. But tons of ice had melted just enough to fall off and for perhaps 1000 m the surface of the trail was like running through a cooler full of ice. Some of the chunks were bigger than my fist and it was like being on marbles; I had to slow way down but it was an experience I have never had before. Fun!
One time as I was running up the trail an elderly couple was hiking down. As we passed I said hello and the man tells me, "Now that's the way to do it!" It was a nice boost.
Prior to this run I attended an event where they served a very typical and very lame hotel breakfast. I destroyed my body with greasy bacon, greasy scrambled eggs, greasy hash browns and bagel with cream cheese and jam. I know, and it wasn't even any good. That was at about 9:30? Word to the wise, two hours is NOT enough time to digest that damage. And I was SO winded at the start... I bet all my blood was in my gut and none was getting to my legs. My stomach didn't feel normal until I was maybe one mile from the top.
| Sleep | 6 |
| Waking HR | |
| Body Weight | |
| Body Fat | |
| Breakfast | 9:30 - bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns, bagel w/cream cheese & jam, decaf coffee |
| Lunch | |
| Dinner | |
| Workout Food | 2 bottles each with 2 scoops HEED, GU |
| Injuries | |
| Therapy | |
| Time of Day | 11:40 AM |
| Workout Type | endurance |
| Weather | mid 30s, dry, partly cloudy, mostly calm |
| Course | |
| Results | |
| Time | |
| Distance | |
| Pace | |
| Equipment | Brooks Cascadia 8, Garmin Fenix, UltrAspire Alpha |
| Clothing | Injinji Run Original Weight Mini-Crew, Brooks Equilibrium CoRe Short, Brooks 5" Essential Run Short, Brooks long sleeve undershirt, SmartWool long sleeve hoodie, Patagonia Capilene gloves |
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