14 x Two

Back to back 14 mile days. Wow!

I took my Jeep to the bike/running trail this morning. Got a 7:40 AM start. After running 14 miles yesterday, I was back at it this morning in preparation for the 2007 Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge.

Yet another morning with very high humidity around 90%, but the temp was about 70F.

As I started, I hadn't really developed a pace strategy, but as the run progress I decided to see if I could run a negative split...run the second half faster than the first 7.1 miles.

• The first 7.1 miles were at a 9:33/mi pace
• The second 7.1 miles were at a 9:17/mi pace

Success!

Yes, I'm still able to walk. I can feel it in my quads, but other wise I'm fine. I've now racked up 119 miles for the month with one more run on Wed.

Fourteen Saturday

When I setup the Goofy Plan in early July, I had a simple concept of running 14 miles every Saturday for the second half of 2006. It was very easy to type 14 miles into a spreadsheet...a little harder to execute the plan!

Well, today is Saturday so it's a...14 mile day.

This morning the temp was about 75F with humidity of 91% when I set off for my run at 8 AM. The first 7.1 miles were at a 9:25 min/mi pace. I drank 16 oz of orange Gatorade. Couldn't get the pace faster because of the humidity. Very interesting how much harder it is to breath when the humidity is high. The running felt good even though a bit slow.

Saw some people walking dogs, but only a few runners. I told myself they were only running 3 miles in total. :)

The sun didn't break through the clouds during the whole run. But I got hotter as the miles rolled by. Shirt came off at 7.5 miles. It was soaking wet. Hat and shorts were soaking wet. I kept them on. I couldn't sustain the same pace. Slowed to a 9:49 min/mile pace for the last 7.1 miles. Finished in 2 hours and 17 minutes.

For the month I'm now at 105 miles. My second 100+ mile month in a row. Goofy plan calls for 14 miles again tomorrow!

No a Resting

With the temp around 80F and the humidity around 70%, I went for a 9 mile run this evening after work. I was on the Goofy Plan.

As I stepped outside, I realized I was waterless. Well, it's "only" 9 miles so I should be fine. Amazing how the mind works. I remember running 2.2 miles 4 years ago without water. Thought I was going to die.

This evening I ran the first 4.5 miles at a 8:34 min/mi pace. Ran the second 4.5 miles at a 8:51 min/mi pace. If I'd had some water, I could have done the second section faster. I was getting pretty hot.

Took this lovely photo with my Treo 650 once I was done running. If I'd had the height measure behind me, I'd been all set!

Total time for my run was a bit under an hour and 19 minutes. I'm gettin' Goofy!

Back to Fourteen

I did a 14.4 mile run this morning a bit after 8 AM. Ran about a 9:38 min/mile pace. Nice run. Not too hard.

Yesterday I missed my 14 mile run. It was the first total day miss since starting the Goofy Plan in early July. It was likely good for my body to miss yesterday, but I'm a little bummed I allowed that to happen.

I'm back on track again.

Wednesday Eight

After two days of no running, it's time for eight miles.

The Goofy Plan has every Wednesday adding an additional mile each week. Since I did get up early this morning for the run, I did it after work. I figured it would take less than 80 minutes. It took 76 minutes. A nice 9:30 min/mile pace. It was still warm outside. I didn't have to work too hard, but it was still a good workout.

An added bonus of running from work is that I can easily hook up with the bike trail for a few miles of scenic running. Snapped a picture with my Treo 650 as I ran through a wooded section of the trail.

Depending upon my schedule, I might do a track work tomorrow! It would be a little added workout that's not on the Goofy Plan.

Sleepless in Seattle

The Goofy Plan called for 12 miles today. My alarm went off about 6x but I didn't get up. I missed some hours of sleep Friday night after a day of hiking to Camp Muir on Mt Rainier then flying home from Seattle the next morning. So the sleep felt fantastic, but I was sleeping instead of running this morning.

This afternoon I finally got busy on the 12 miles. Even worked in another iRun podcast!

When I was all done, my watch said 1:59:30 and 12.1 miles.

Mt. Rainier's Camp Muir

I think it's good to mix it up. Let's go hiking!

On Friday I substituted Saturday's scheduled 14 mile run with a 10 mile mountain hike to Mt. Rainier's Camp Muir (elevation 10,188 feet).

We park about 1/2 mile from where the trail starts. Elevation 5,000 feet. Put on hiking boots instead of running shoes. Pack our backpacks with food, water and clothes. Put on my trusty Garmin Forerunner watch. Eat a sandwich. And also pack my Treo 650 phone/camera.

From the trail it's 4.5 miles up to Camp Muir. The trail is paved then turns to nature trail. This stops after a few miles when we get to a creek. After crossing the Pebble Creek by stepping across rocks, the trail turns into a 45 degree climb in snow. It levels out some. Maybe only a 15% incline now, but continues in snow. There isn't a "trail" for the next 2.2 miles to Camp Muir. It's all snow. The incline is like a ski hill. It's fantastic.

The view is incredible once we're above the clouds at around 8000 ft. The air is thinner. I can hear my heart beating as if I'm running even though I'm only doing a .5 min/mi pace!

We make it to Camp Muir! Eat some more food. Take a look around then head back down.

After completing the hike, I checked out the Camp Muir website to learn more. I really didn't know much about this hike prior to put on the books.

"Although thousands of people hike to Camp Muir each year, it is not for the inexperienced or novice hiker. This hike is long, arduous and potentially hazardous if the weather turns nasty.

Mistakes in navigation when traveling to or from Camp Muir during storms or "white-outs" have resulted in lost climbers and hikers and occasional fatalities."

It was a great cross training workout and I didn't die!

Thanks to Dan for taking me.

Seattle

Got in a 3.5 mile run along the water in Seattle on Wednesday. I was scheduled for more miles, but didn't have the time alotted in my schedule.

SO, this was my first mini-miss in my Goofy Plan, but none the less I was out there getting in a workout as scheduled!

No Resting!

Two runs yesterday for 18 miles and now a 10-mile race this morning? Yep.

Race was scheduled for a 8 AM start along Lake Michigan. Very cloudy with thunder rumbling in the west. About 75 degrees. I'm not completely awake, but need to get registered and ready to run. There's an option for only 5 miles...hmmm. A daydream for a moment. Nope, I have 11 miles on my Goofy schedule so I can't do just 5. Bad enough I'm only racing 10 instead of 11!

Since my legs still feel connected and not too bad, I'm attempting a 9 min/mi pace. 10 miles in 90 minutes, that's the goal and a nice way to wrap up 28 miles in just over 24 hours.

My Treo 650 is on my desk at the office so I'm running without any photo ops. A few miles into the race, the sky opens. At least my phone isn't get soaked, but I sure am.

At 4.5 miles someone is breathing down my neck. HEAVY breathing and heavy running. Ah, he's only running 5 miles today. This is his push to the finish. We're running a loop. 1x for the five miles and 2x for the 10 miles. I'm feeling a since of eliteness for a moment as I don't enter the chute to finish at ONLY 5. The eliteness vanishes in the next breath as I hear high school girls chatting 10 yards behind me. They're also running 10, but certainly not having any difficulty. It's like they're out for a Sunday stroll. Which they are AND they of course pass me like I'm running backwards.

The rain continued. It's keeping the temp pretty nice. I'm keeping a 9 min/mi pace. I'm actually slightly below that. Cool!

I cross the finish line at 1 hour 28 minutes and 38 seconds.

4-Miler Race

After 14 miles in the morning, I did pull off running in the local 4 mile race through town last night. Still do not know my official time, but it was 32 minutes & something. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to keep my time under 36 minutes, but my legs felt pretty good considering the morning run.

It rained for the last mile of the race. It cleared for a few minutes of fireworks after the race. Listened to the band for 30 minutes. Talked to some friends. Had a nice time!

777

Hit the local bike trail at 7 AM for my 7 miles out and 7 more miles back. Now deemed the Lucky 7.

Last Saturday it wasn't a lucky 7 as I got over heated. This morning I did fine. I ran a 10:38 pace including the walk breaks. About a 2 1/2 hour workout. Slowed the pace down a bit. Set my Garmin Forerunner 201 to beep after each mile so that I could take a short walk break. I was very aware of not over working my body on the 14 miles today BECAUSE I'm running a 4 mile race tonight and then running a 10-miler race tomorrow morning. This will be my first "test" in my marathon and Goofy build up.

Next post I'll let you know how 4 miles went. It's a race through town at night. Fun run time!

Made Up Miss

I missed my scheduled 6-miles on Wednesday, but made up for it on Thursday with a 55 minute 6 mile treadmill run at home.