Running Chick

I can now officially say that I ran from Calumet to Houghton.

Josh and I were doing our final long run together and we picked up the railroad grade, which is actually the old Mineral Range Railroad, in Swedetown around 9:30 Saturday morning.  It was sunny, but windy and cold. My poor nose didn't stop running until the half-way point.

The trail is also known as Trail #17 - Jack Stevens Trail to the snowmobilers.

The trail was in good running condition, being mostly hard-packed gravel/stamp sand. There were a few sections around Boston Pond that were full of golf ball sized rocks, which made things a bit unpleasant, but still manageable. 

Just outside of Swedetown, we came across a quarry (gavel pit?) run by Moyle Construction.  There were a few folks poking around with metal detectors, I think they were surprised to see us.

There were points where I was certain I could see all the way to South Range. It was neat & depressing all rolled into one.

I believe there were three bridge crossings along the route, which surprised me. And also made me realize that it would probably be fairly miserable in mosquito season.

Clearly we were heading in the wrong direction.

This is where things got interesting. We knew that the Sisu Shuffle was happening on Saturday morning, but neither of us knew when it started or where the route was until we came around a corner and found their turn-around point.  Good grief what a quagmire of strollers, wheelchairs, dogs, people walking 6 abreast and kids running amok. I think we added an extra mile to our run weaving and bobbing through that mess. I was so glad to leave them behind at the fairgrounds.

I told Josh to stand by this sign & I’d take his picture (his long run was 12 miles), but he was running on fumes and he had all he could to do keep his feet moving. I believe he responded with a grunt and that was that. Photo opportunity gone.

After 11 miles on gravel, I was so happy to see pavement.

Josh’s run ended at 12 miles and I continued on, finishing up at the bridge with 14 miles.  Since we didn’t have the foresight to leave a car at our end point, we had to hoof it across the bridge and up the hill to get home. Let me just say, oof.

And with that, the bulk of my training is over and now I get to taper into race day.  I ended this week with a couple of milestones: highest weekly mileage ever (24) and highest run mileage (14).  Whew!

My goals for the next two weeks are to eat healthy (which includes cutting our beer GASP!) and remain injury-free. Fingers crossed!

* Myles, Joshua. Long Run. Mile 4, Jack Stevens Calumet-Hancock Rail Trail. 28 Apr 2012.

I headed into the week dreading my 12.5 mile long run on Saturday. My last long run was 11 miles and I was completely wrecked afterward and a little bit into the next day, so I was more than a little nervous heading out Saturday morning. But, I tweaked a few things with my nutrition and hydration and experienced success! angel choir

Previous years, I’ve relied on Gatorade and gels to get me through long runs. They worked well but now they just tear up my stomach something awful, so I switched to Fig Newtons. They do pose a bit of a transportation issue (Fig Newton crumbs smashed into my new phone – not cool) and they tend to crumble apart before they hit my mouth (precious calories on the ground), but they worked great and best of all, no tummy troubles.

I ended up having four Fig Newtons in total (two at miles four and eight), ate Swedish Fish in the middle and drank Nuun every two miles.  By the time twelve miles rolled around I was feeling great.  My legs were a bit sore from a hilly course, but that’s about it. I could have continued on, and thought about it, but I was out of fuel and the sooner I quit, the sooner these babies would find their way into my mouth.

An Oberon and a salad also found their way into my mouth, but the french fries were the pinnacle of my post-run food binge. It sure felt good to wrap up the week on a good note. I’m a little less worried about that 14 miles I’m doing the week after next (or maybe not).

Speaking of wrapping up, this week I logged just a little over 21 miles @ 10:51 - Tuesday 5.4 @ 11:43 (joined Josh on his run), Thursday 3.25 @ 9:26 (tempo), Saturday 12.5 @ 10:50.

Random junk.

Cholula Hot Sauce on popcorn is awesome.

Posted on the wall at the Suomi Restaurant. I am apparently breaking rule #3 by allowing my servant Josh to answer the phone. Uh oh.

My cat likes to play with his toy mouse while inside his toy tube. Yeah, he’s still a weirdo.

This is so Scout.

Hey, head over to Josh’s blog for his 10 miler recap. It’s a hoot.

First, Happy Zombie Jesus Day! The Easter Bunny didn’t bring me anything, I wonder if that means he thinks I’m fat? Loser.

Second, I think there is something wrong with my cat: he’s a big weirdo.

Third, I sort of blew by my weekly mileage to join Josh on his runs. We ran 18 miles this week (4.5 on Tuesday & Thursday, 9 on Saturday) and I was only supposed to do 12.  Oops.  My legs are sore and achy. Maybe it’s time to schedule a trip to the masseur.

Fourth, here’s some random shit from this week.

A picture outside the bathroom of the Forestry Building. I’ve only ever been in the lobby/atrium area, I had no idea they had all sorts of dead animals down the corridors. We had to make an unscheduled stop less than a mile into our long run on Saturday because  somebody ahem forgot to take care of business before we left the house. Have you ever tried to pull spandex back on when you’ve been sweating in it? Impossible. I spent the next three miles trying to align/adjust/readjust my shorts back into position.

Chassell trail. Naked for now.

We finished up our long run and headed to the DT for beer & food. I swear, sometimes the thought of eating french fries is the only thing that gets me through those last miles. We headed over to the KBC afterwards and we were talking about our next long runs (Josh has 10 and me 12.5) thinking that we were all hot stuff, when the lady sitting next to me starts telling her friend that she’s training for a trail ultra and she ran 27 miles that morning.  Let’s just shut up and drink our beer, shall we? I was totally jealous of her. And I bet she was jealous of me wearing my sexy slippers to the bar because I got a blister on my big toe and every shoe I had hurt to wear. Even-steven.

Weekly recap: Tuesday, 4.5 @ 11:47; Thursday, 4.5 @ 11:21; Saturday 9.0 @ 11:53.  Next week, have 4.5, 4.0 and an at the moment sounds really long 12.5. I’m not looking forward to it, I don’t know why. French fries, french fries, french fries.