Week 19 Recap

The most mileage yet and I’m feeling it. 38 miles this weekend!

I hope after the last few week I’ll be ready for the first race of the year – next Saturday. The race is a 50K on trails.

This week I am back on track with weight training and stairs. I’m up to 1,200 stairs on the stair climber. I slept well all week except for Saturday night. However, I wasn’t too stiff/sore when I woke up on Sunday to run 12 miles. I feel like my knee is 100% back to normal after Saturday long run that was mostly on trails. It didn’t hurt at all on Sunday’s run. Icing and ibuprofen really worked well.

One note about Saturday’s 25-mile run. I started running at 10:30 which is really late to start a 25 mile run. It was also the hottest and most humid day of the year so far. I wasn’t prepared for the heat and overdressed; and ran out of water when I was about two miles from the house. Also by starting late, I ran into more people on the Concord Trail system. There were a lot of dogs too; all very well behaved!

But since it was the first warm day, I also saw more people outside their homes on the routes I usually run super early. When you run at a different time, the typical run routes are like a new world.

I’m excited for tomorrow’s rest day and will not mind the rain that is in the forecast.

Average Weight: [I’m just going to remove this category on future posts]

Average Resting Heart Rate: 48

Total Vert: 6,229 ft elevation gain (woot woot – high score)

Miles: 58 (includes hiking)

Born Free – Long Run Playlist

For my Saturday long run I always create a new playlist. This Saturday I added some new songs I haven’t heard in a long time from the Dixie Chicks to Trisha Yearwood.

The one song I added but didn’t really know was Born Free from Kid Rock. I have some of his songs on other playlists like Cowboy and Wasting Time but I added Born Free not really remembering what the song was about but curiously remembered when the new CD came out – oh so many years ago.

As I’m running up the big Carter Hill Born Free plays and now, a few days later, I remember every word as my heart is pounding and the wind is whipping in my face.

Calm facing danger
Lost, like an unknown stranger
Grateful for my time with no regrets.

Close to my destination
Tired, frail and aching
Waitin’ patiently for the sun to set

And when its done believe that
I will yell it from that mountain high

Kid Rock, Born Free

I think a lot about my life while I’m running for hours in my home state of New Hampshire. So many songs remind me of my time out west, chasing dreams and living the life west of the Continental Divide in the high peaks of Colorado and the deserts of Arizona. I lived out west for almost 15 years and it was my dream. Now, as I get older and I’m back east, I’m trying to find out new dreams and figuring out how to make my life extraordinary. Songs like this remind me to not give up, and make me feel so lucky that I can still go find my dreams because we are born free. We are free – don’t take it for granted. Seriously, there is still so much to do, achieve, dream and be. Songs like this remind me of that.

New Gear Monday

One of the things that long back-to-back weekend runs does, is it tests your gear. After running for a few hours I become a bit delusional and I can’t even unzip pockets quickly much less adjust bottles on my hydration vest. A few gear-related issues that have been bothering and frustrating me the last few weeks while running need to be fixed as I’m out on the trails longer.

This morning I bought a few things online to remove my frustrations and make me more happy while running.

Wireless headphones – long overdue.

A GPS watch with a heart rate monitor on my wrist

A new running vest that is waterproof and wind resistant

My headphones have been driving me crazy with the wires. With wind and hydration flasks moving and shifting they hit my headphones a certain way and they move position in my ear. They typically don’t fall off but it’s annoying. I did a few searches and while I really wanted the Apple AirPods I decided to go with running-specific wireless headphones and opt for Jaybird X4 Wireless Headphones. I’ll let you know how I like them.

My heart rate monitor with my Suunto Ambit 3 has been driving me crazy lately. For two months I’ve been wearing it with no problems but the last two weeks the chest monitor is either too tight and restricting my breathing, or too loose and falling down. I need to try something new. I don’t feel too bad about buying a new GPS running watch since I’ve used the Ambit 3 since my bike crash in 2014 when my Garmin was destroyed.

I opt to go back to Garmin and bought the Garmin Forerunner 35. I like how it monitors health-related options like resting heart rate, which is still too low for me right now. I might just wear it all the time like a regular watch.

And, since I bought the Garmin with REI dividends and a special member sale, I added a vest for spring running that has been on my wish list for a long time.

I’m excited for a complete day off today. I will also be paying special attention to one of my favorite Instagram accounts I follow: Rest Day Brags

One my favorite accounts to follow


Leadville Training Week 23 Recap

The week started off rough but got better after Tuesday. My calf injury is completely healed and I resumed my training plan. YEAH!

Wednesday and Thursday intervals were run OUTSIDE!

The ice and snow has gone from the roadways but the trails are another matter.

My Saturday and Sunday long runs were on the road. The trails are a mess after 60 degree temperatures on Friday.

Spikes are needed on the trails. So much ice!

After running 18 miles and 1,200 feet of elevation gain, I ran well on Sunday with a 10 mile run and very little elevation gain.

Saturday stats

Leadville is 14,000 feet of elevation gain so next week I’m going to beef up the elevation and head to the mountains on Sunday for a 4,000 footer hike/run.

I booked my flight and car for Leadville and Mark has booked his flight. So this is happening!

This Week:

Average Weight: 156

Average Resting Heart Rate: 51

Training Time: 9:30 (includes hiking) – no weights this week 🙁

Total Vert: 3,175

Miles: 47.9 (includes hiking)

Next Week:

Looking forward to Week 22!

Epsom Salt baths are magical

After tweaking my calf this past weekend and knowing that I had to take care of it right so that I don’t miss anymore training I followed the advice of the massage therapist: RICE + Epsom Salt bath.

Two nights in a row of ice, stretching, foam rolling and then a hot, Epsom salt bath has cured my muscle strain. It is 100% back to normal; no pain, no more hobbling around.

Lesson learned.

While there is no scientific evidence that that epsom salt really works, it may just be the relaxing hot bath that did the trick. I’m not sure. But one thing for sure, as I get older I need to do more work to stay injury free and that includes foam rolling, stretching, weights and core work. It takes more time but I willing to do what it takes to prepare for 100 miles. 157 days until race day.