Howling at the Moon

Epic run this evening. Kate and I were up in Bangor today to take care of some wedding planning stuff, but there was a nice bonus attached to the trip. With a full moon and clear skies on tap, Gary had organized a run on the Park Loop Road at Acadia National Park (18.4 miles). It's closed to cars and currently devoid of snow and ice, so it was the perfect setting. Nice to meet Matt, Eric and Tim who also took part in the run. All great guys.

I was the only non sub-3 hour marathoner in the group, so I knew I'd have my work cut out for me. We took it pretty easy in the first half, but once we started climbing some of the bigger hills in the second half we let the pace drop and it was a great workout.

The views from some of the higher points looking out over a moonlit ocean were simply incredible. The smaller islands were clearly visible in the bay as the full moon reflected off the water and it had a very Van Gogh-like feel to it. Pretty darn stunning.

Around mile 16, I simply couldn't keep up anymore and let the group move ahead. But just two and a half miles were left and I enjoyed having the peace of the night to myself for a bit, listening to the wind howl through the trees as the branches swayed to and fro. I reached the end and the others had just finished and we bid each other farewell. Really awesome evening.

Ran 18.4 miles @ 7:33/mile pace.
Paved roads.
Extremely hilly.
Mid 30s to upper 20s, clear skies, breezy.
Saucony Kinvara 2, long pants, windbreaker, long sleeved shirt, beanie, gloves, Salomon 45 water belt.

Interval Work

One of those days that when work was over, I didn't feel like running. But I forced myself to do it and as always, I was glad I did. Light interval workout on tap for today. Felt nice to give the legs some turnover. I did five reps, starting with 800M and alternating with 400M, and ran 400M of active recovery in between.

It went quite well. Felt better as the run went on and I warmed up more. Was a good reminder that getting in a longer warm-up run is a good idea for winter. Will remember that for next time. 

w/u: Ran 1.3 miles @ 8:15/mile pace.
800M, 400M, 800M, 400M, 800M w/ 400M active recovery in between: 2:55, 1:24, 2:58, 1:23, 2:48.
c/d: Ran 1.3 miles @ 9:49/mile pace.

Mid 40s, sunny, breezy.
Brooks Mach 13, shorts, long sleeved shirt, cap.

Winter Returns

A cold front pushed through and temperatures are finally back to where they should be. I felt a little bad about wimping out and not running yesterday. With the cold rain, I opted to stay later in my classroom and get caught up on grading (a decision I don't really regret though).

I think I'll be good to go at making up for the mileage bit by bit for the remainder of the week though. Good run today. Kept the pace easy. Thinking about doing some interval work tomorrow (400M and/or 800M repeats).

Second run in the Kinvara 2's. They're still a bit stiff but they'll loosen up soon, I'm sure.

Ran 10.0 miles @ 8:04/mile pace.
Paved roads.
Very hilly.
Upper 30s, sunny, breezy.
Saucony Kinvara 2, long pants, windbreaker, long sleeved shirt, beanie, gloves.

Running Home From Work

My car is getting new control arms and ball joints installed, so I was sans automobile this afternoon. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and just run home from work, rather than inconvenience anyone for a ride.

The car also wasn't the only thing getting new parts. My new shoes arrived yesterday and I was eager to try them out. I got a pair of Saucony Kinvara 2's, and the changes are supposedly pretty minimal from the original Kinvaras (which I owned two pairs of and loved).

Pumped up kicks

I left the school and they felt a bit stiff at first, but by the end of the run they felt considerably more broken in (though I suspect they'll need a few more runs to make them looser). Overall, very happy with them after this initial run. And while I like to put function over fashion, I must admit I really dig the colors.

The run itself went great. There's an escaped convict in the area and a big manhunt is underway (it's a big story in the local news around here). This meant cop cars everywhere on the roads, which also meant everyone was minding their P's and Q's while driving. So, much safer running conditions in that regard. 

I was wearing my Salomon water belt, with two additional Nathan pockets attached to help carry my keys, wallet, cell phone, charger cord, Gu packet and a full bottle of water. That's a lot of crap. However, my belt doesn't bounce much at all and it was quite comfortable and I forgot I was carrying so much stuff. Nice. 

Great run that went well with the only slight downfall being that with the overcast skies and the shorter days I was running out of daylight in the last few miles. However, not really an issue and it was a nice commute home. Unseasonably warm out to boot. We had record warmth this past November and December is off to a yucky warm start as well. I want my winter, dagnabbit. 

Ran 13.2 miles @ 7:41/mile pace. 

Paved roads. 

Very hilly. 

Upper 50s, overcast. 

Saucony Kinvara 2, shorts, short sleeved shirt, cap, Salomon 45 water belt (water). 

Trail Exploration

I knew I wanted to do a trail run today, but the usual routes from my house just didn't seem appealing enough. So, I decided to explore a trail in the woods out back that I had only been on a few times before.

The last time I was on it, I dead-ended on a long dirt driveway to someone's house. I followed it along, looking for other trails I might have missed before that might lead to new areas, but no luck. I ended up at the same dirt driveway, but I saw the trail continued on the other side. Cool!

However, my excitement was short lived. A hundred feet later, the trail ended at the equestrian park and there was even a sign indicating it was the trailhead. No horses or anyone else there at the time, so I circled the inside of the park looking for more trails, but no luck.

I headed back, but decided to take another side trail I had been on before that led to a swampy area. Last time I was here it was summer and I was blitzkrieged by mosquitoes, so I hoped today would bring better luck. I got further in, and came across a pristine stream that would no doubt make a good fly fishing spot or even a swimming hole if it were warmer and the bugs weren't bad. Nice. Turned around and headed home.

The End.

Ran 5.3 miles @ 10:09/mile pace (includes bushwhacking and a few short stops)
Trails.
Slightly hilly.
Mid 20s to mid 30s, partly cloudy.
Adidas Adizero XT, long tights, windbreaker, long sleeved shirt, beanie, gloves.

Mud, Sweat and Hills

Very good turnout at Bradbury Mountain this morning. Maybe around 15 of us in all (?), but from the get go we broke up into smaller groups to tackle different distances and paces. Ian, Jeremy, Brett and I formed our own little sub-group and overall we ran at what I would consider a moderate pace (for me).

Had a blast catching up with our little posse. Great weather to boot. Towards the end, Ian led us on a side route that was an out and back down and up a huge hill. By the time we got to the Bradbury summit I vurped a little. That was cool.

We topped off the morning with coffee and breakfast sandwiches at Edna & Lucy's. Ideal Saturday morning, fo' sho'.

Ran 10.3 miles @ 9:47/mile pace.
Trails (pretty muddy in spots).
Very hilly.
Upper 20s to upper 30s, sunny.
Adidas Adizero XT, long pants (first half), shorts (second half), windbreaker, short sleeved shirt, beanie, gloves.

Easy Fiver

Tempo run yesterday meant an easy run today. Went well, but I should have taken it even slower. I want to get in the habit of cranking it hard one day and going painfully easy the next day.

The mind continues to drift towards the Boston Marathon more and more. That's good. Also looking forward to doing more snowshoe racing this season, which will also fit into nicely for Boston training. And there's also Nordic skiing. Yessir, should be a fun winter!

Ran 5.5 miles @ 8:17/mile pace.
Paved roads.
Moderately hilly.
Lower 40s, sunny.
Saucony Kinvara, shorts, long sleeved shirt.