Soggy Parcheesi Board

Rain. The weatherman said it would be off and on but should stop by mid-morning. He lied. It's now mid-afternoon and it's still raining. I don't know why I even pay attention anymore.

Anyway... I got out the door a little after 10. I was dressed appropriately with a waterproof (and breathable, yeah, right) windshell, shorts and my OR Seattle Sombrero. Temperatures were in the 55-60 degree range but it was very windy driving the light rain almost horizontal at times. I was fortunate though because I had the wind and rain in my face for the 4 mile distance outbound to the end of Banklick and then at my backside for the return trip. Usually if I have the wind in my face outbound it changes directions and I have it in my face on the return also. Today though that didn't happen.

I don't mind running in the rain if it's not too cold. Today was about as good as it gets. Warm enough not to be bothered by wind yet cool enough to tolerate wearing a shell to keep most of the wet outside. By the time I got back to the house I was thoroughly drenched and slightly hypothermic. Nothing that a hot shower couldn't fix.

So, by my count for the week I've put in about 7 1/2 hours of running. That equates to about 35 miles or so. If it had all been done on roads I think the distance would have been longer but I'm not disappointed. I have to work for the next couple of days so my next run won't be until Saturday. The longterm forecast looks to be pretty soggy so my long run on Saturday will likely be wet too. Trails will have to wait, I guess.

Buzzy's got some sort of intestinal flu that has him down for the count. It started on Sunday and he's still not feeling well. He's already missed school all week and it sounds like he won't get back until next week. It's worrying mainly because he's never been sick like this before.

Oh, the title, I saw a Parcheesi board with all of the pieces scattered along the side of the road on my run this morning. It looked like someone through it out the window.

Tuesday at EI

Ran the trails at EI this morning. They were in spectacular shape and I had them all to myself. Ran for 1hr and 35 minutes. I did 1/2 the circuit and could have done more but was anxious to get home. If it doesn't rain too much overnight maybe I'll get back there tomorrow.

My Running Weekend

Up real early Saturday and out the door by 06:30. My plan was to run 20 miles. I wanted an easy course so I chose Lunken Airfield.

I left my car at about 07:09 and it was still dark and cold. No wind but it was still much colder than I anticipated and I almost returned to the car for gloves and another jacket. By the time I got to mile three I had warmed up nicely and was feeling pretty good. This good feeling continued through 10 miles. I pit stopped at the car and grabbed my gloves, more water and some raisins before heading out for loop 3. Interestingly there were only a few people on the course when I started but as it got light and warmed up it seems like people just multiplied exponentially. But I digress. Loop 3 was fine until about mile 14 when my calves really started to ache. I finished loop 3 (15 miles) and really struggled with continuing; I was in a lot of pain physically but mentally I was determined to finish. The last loop was a real struggle but I persisted and finished just under 4 hours.

I think it was my first 20 miler in over a year so it felt really really good to get it done.

This afternoon I ran for about 40 minutes at EI. The trails are in perfect shape. I was pretty stiff but it felt good to get my muscles warmed up and stretched out. I work tomorrow so I'll have a day to recover before getting out again on Tuesday. Hopefully the rain we're due to have will either wait until I'm finished or be light enough that I can run despite the wet.

St. Paddy's Day Run

Ran 2.5 hours this morning. Cool start but quickly warmed up. Little wind. Started at Mill's Road Park and ran the roads in the area. Lots of long slow hills. Tolerated well.

Topsy Turvy March Weather

Ran at EI this morning. Started cool and breezy in the 50s so I wore a short-sleeved shirt and a water-proof shell because it was supposed to rain. However, 15 minutes into the run I was so hot I had to stop and de-layer myself. It was just a beautiful day. Soon the sun came out and it got even warmer and I wished I had worn shorts. Oh well. The trails were perfect, soft but not oozy. No standing water. Surprisingly I saw no deer. Unlike Saturday when I saw 9! I ran for 2 hrs and felt pretty good. Soon I'll be up to 3. Actually I'm pretty confident 3 is possible now but why push it. Now getting into the 4 or 5 hr range, well we'll just have to work at that for awhile. Maybe by June but then you have to contend with the heat.

As I type this it's 69 degrees and very windy. I think we're supposed to top off somewhere around 75. Then we're supposed to get rain and tomorrow will be in the 40s. Like I said, March weather.

The rest of the week is pretty busy. Work tomorrow then meetings on Thursday and Friday with work over the weekend.

I Lied

Well, I didn't get to MAF this morning but I did get to Idlewild. Very warm, breezy, hazy sunshine and dry! I felt fatigued for most of the run which I attribute to the warm temperatures. The trails were in much better shape than Monday. Moist but not muddy. It's amazing how well they drain. There's still a lot of down tree branches and they're pretty obstructive in places but the trails are all passable. Ended up doing a half circuit in about 1.5 hours. Not too bad but my plan was to do the full circuit which would have taken me about 3 hours. We'll see what tomorrow will bring.

For My Friend Dorothy

Hey Dorothy,

I figured I should at least welcome you to my blog. You inspired me to make my first post in 6 weeks!

Two 12 hours shifts down and 1 more to go. The weather's warm and it will be warmer tomorrow. They say it will be nice over the weekend (sometimes weatherpeople lie so I reserve the right to be a skeptic).

I ran Monday for 2 hours. It was cold but the sun was shining. Of course all that radiant energy melted the snow and ice so it was often a muddy slog. At least I didn't lose a shoe. I can't wait for Saturday morning. Mt. Airy forest here I come.

Hopefully I'll be able to post some birthday pictures of Aiden later.