[ksrunr]

77 degrees and high humids but a slightly cooler North breeze made it tolerable. Ran 6 miles and hope to run a few more tonight.


Hoping September brings in some cooler temps.

 

[ksrunr]

Took tues and wed off. 6 miles this morning.

 

[ripvanracer]

Hi KS

Had a fun race last weekend. First mile was on a flat trail that was formerly a canal. We ran through an old canal lock. Next 2.5 on single track. Lead runner pulled away from me but we both beat the guy marking that section of the trail. Ran back on the canal trail to the start where we turned on a paved bike trail for a bit. After that was a mile of single track. Where I passed about half the 5k runners who started after we did. Back on the paved bike trail to the hardest section which was a 2.5 mile single track with 3 pretty good climbs. Had to walk a few steps on the last two. We then went farther out the paved bike trail to a turnaround. I finally saw the lead runner and timed how far ahead he was which was 3 minutes. After the turnaround, it was 20 minutes of flat running to the finish. I ran 1:41:36 for 20k getting beat by 3.5 minutes.

This week I ran 2-5 miles per day and am running a trail half marathon tomorrow morning.

 

[ksrunr]

Good racing as usual.

No hint of fall weather yet down here. 12 sweat fest miles this morning.

 

[ripvanracer]

Back to hot and humid here but it was a cool 52° when I got up Sunday. Close to 60° by the time we started the half marathon. The turnout for all the races (5k, 10k, half) was more than double expected so instead of starting with the 10k runners, we started 5 minutes after them. The advantage was that you knew who was in your race, but the disadvantage was that I had to pass most of the 10k runners during the first loop.

The first 1.3 miles was on grass and flat. When I heard a couple runners watch beep, I figured that was 1 mile. I looked at my watch to see 7 minutes. I was in 4th but got passed by another runner before heading into the woods. The trails were not very hilly but rarely went straight for more than a few feet. They were definitely mountain bike trails as they also had numerous small man made hills to run over. After a couple miles of trail, we exited the woods to run across the dam where we got to the first aid station at 3.7 miles. I was still in 5th but wasn't far behind 4th. After the aid station we ran uphill on a gravel road and then along the Pa/NY state line rd before going back into the woods to run the pine switchbacks. This section had even more turns that the first trails. After a short section running by the reservoir, we went into the woods for more traditional single track. After completing this section, we had a couple more minutes back to the finish line where we got to do the course again. I had caught up with 4th place but didn't pass. He pulled ahead a little but stopped to get a drink before the second loop. I passed and didn't see him again. I did see 3rd place in front of me and timed how far behind I was which was about 50 seconds. I saw him one other time after going into the woods but was still pretty far behind. By the time I got to the aid station, he was 70 seconds ahead. I was also running about 15 seconds/mile slower than the first loop. I stayed in 4th place and finished in 1:49:32.

This weekend I am running the Helvetia mountain 10k. Two miles flat, 2.5 miles up 750 ft, and then 1.7 miles down hill to the finish.

 

[Laura in Houston]

Hi KS and Rip!
I've been running, though not as much as this summer as I was in the Spring. With both boys home, I spent more time with them, including staying up later, and that made getting up earlier pretty hard, so I just decided to have a fun summer and do just enough running to keep me from having to start all over.
Jay is 22, and will graduate from Sam Houston State University in December. Ryan is 19, and is playing baseball for Tyler Junior College. He redshirted his freshman year, so this year is the do-or-die. Either he makes the team as a starter, and works to find a D1 school team to transfer to, or he'll stay on the team to support them this year, and then transfer to A&M to continue his studies. Having them both home was fun, especially watching the Olympics this summer - loved the women's beach volleyball, all the swiming, everything Usain Bolt did, the women's gymnastics, and I also managed to see the women's triathlon finish which made me all verklempt! Somehow I missed men's gymnmastics and synchronized swimming entirely, and I like both of those too.

I had a couple of 1st place AGs this spring, and I'm currently in a Nike Running Club training program, a new app from them. I've used the Nike+ app for years, and just switched to the smartphone version a few weeks ago. Then Nike+ changed to Nike Running Club, and it all went to ****, which usually happens with new apps in my experience. I went out to do a 5 x 400 workout, and there was no warmup - just go fast at the start, and no voice coach to tell me when I had run 400 meters or when the 45-second recovery between intervals was up. Same thing later in the week for the 7 x 400 workout. I managed some sort of workout, but it wasn't what I'd hoped for. I've left feedback, and am planning to quit this plan and start over, hoping it will work out this time.

Today was a 3.5-mile, supposedly at a 10:00 pace, but it was 10:33 instead. Clear blue skies, but not too hot here in Houston, even though I started at nearly 9:00am. But it was supposed to be a recovery run, and that's what I did. The plan also had me do a Nike Training Club workout, a HIIT type thing, that really kicked my patootie Monday morning. I was super-sore for the next 2 days, but I could tell it was what I've been missing.

I know I always say I'll come back here more regularly, so I won't promise that this time, but I hope you are all well, and looking forward to fall racing! I don't have anything planned - we've had so many unexpected expenditures that I can't splurge on race fees right now. But I can train for free, so that's what I'll keep doing!