Friday, December 24, 2010

Day 23 - Last day of work

My last day at work for the year is finally here. I changed my loop up for my walk today and it wound up being 3 miles. It felt good to see some different scenery. The wind was really blowing when I hit the wide open fields. All my fast walking so far since starting my training back up I have been using the Keen Voyageur Mid hiking boots. They feel like sneakers and with the side ventilation they don't get hot. A great hiking or walking shoe.

Today at work I was listening to some faster up beat music and that got me charged for tonights run. At that point I knew I wanted to run at a faster pace for my 7 mile loop. I haven't ran all out since last week so I was ready to give it ago again. After the 3rd mile I started to have a little down moment with my stomach and this is where you have to remember to keep pushing on. It is real easy at those points to slow down and go easy. After a couple minutes it felt a little better so I kept pushing along and held on for the last 2 miles. 48:06 was my final time for my 7 mile loop and my fastest time so far this month.

Below is a video of the song that got me charged up to go out and run at a fast pace. The Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl puts everything into this song and I tried to do the same thing with my run tonight. You can just feel the energy in the crowd and on stage - great song!



12-23-2010 - 3 miles - 38:23 - walk
12-23-2010 - 7 miles - 48:06 - run

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Day 22 - Club run

No deer on my walk today but I had my camera ready. That is probably why I didn't see any. The picture below I snapped today on my walk with my cell phone. Then I tweaked it a little more then I normally do.  Not sure if I really like it. My legs are really feeling strong on my walks. Usually when I start up walking the first couple of weeks my shins get pretty sore from the fast pace. The hiking I did in October and November I think really helped make my legs get stronger than other years.


I headed down to the Wyomissing tonight to run with the running club I belong to (Pagoda Pacers). The traffic was heavy and I hit almost all the lights on my drive down. I actually got there with a couple of minutes to spare. The run tonight had over 30 runners making there way around the area. It is always nice to see a lot of people showing up for club runs. I can't make them all but I try to get to a lot of them. Tonight the run went along busy roads, through the Holiday Lights at Gring's Mill, Penn State Berks campus and some shopping center parking lots. You know most everyone in there cars that we ran by were out fighting their way from store to store to get last minute shopping done. I'm so glad I was the one running tonight and not in my car being stressed out looking for gifts that are sold out.


12-22-2010 - 2.8 miles - 35:49 - walk
12-22-2010 - 5.35 miles - 45:00 - run

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Day 21 - What the buck

It was another sunny and windy day on my walk at lunch. A couple clouds in the blue sky. On my way back I pass a wooded section of land. There was a stick on the ground and I kicked it off the side of the road. When I did that I kicked up a bunch of stones into the leaves and scared two deer a buck and a doe. They popped right up running into the field above them. They might sit in there every day and I never noticed them. I will be keeping an eye out for them from now on.

I made it out the door around 6 tonight and the moon was looking pretty cool with some clouds around it. I usually try an run fast on a Tuesday night right from the start but not tonight. I just wanted to keep a nice pace the whole run not to fast and not too slow. I had about an hour and half to run so I thought I would try to get in 10 miles. I looped around town trying to hit all the hills and then finishing with a really flat section. The final mile and a half was really fun checking out all the holiday lights around the neighborhood.

Tomorrow I will be running with the club and I can’t wait. Running alone is ok but when you can share it with other runners it is so much better. Below is a video from Málaga, Spain of the El Caminito del Rey walk way that will get your heart pumping and your hands sweating – CRAZY FUN!



12-21-2010 - 2.8 miles - 34:56 - walk
12-21-2010 - 10 miles - 1:19 - run - 450 feet elevation

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Day 20 - Almost full moon

Today’s walk at work my legs didn't feel the greatest but the time was as good as last week’s time when I felt great. Some days you don't feel the best but your time doesn't reflect it. You don't always feel the best in a race at different times and you will have your ups and downs and try to keep moving forward. Training when you don't want to helps push through times like this in a race.

Tonight’s run I really didn’t feel like going out but I couldn’t miss the almost full moon at the top of the mountain. Full moon is at at 3:13 a.m. Tuesday. I was slowly out the door around 6:50 but within the first half mile I was moving along well and felt good. The moon was in and out of the clouds my whole run. When it was out I didn’t even need a headlamp. If there would have been snow on the ground it would have looked like daytime. When I made it up to Pulpit Rock the wind was blowing. I got my camera out and got a couple of pictures after the clouds moved – not the best but they look all right. It is always fun trying to warm your fingers up after having them out of yours gloves for a couple of minutes in the cold. I put my camera away and ran back down. I hit the road section and saw some eyes staring at me about 50 yards ahead. I’m not sure what it was maybe a cat but I had to run by it. So I picked up the pace running towards the eyes and the eyes started to run away from me stopping to look back at me a couple of times until ducking in the trees. Then I took off in a full out sprint not sure why but I did and it was fun.





12-20-2010 - 2.8 miles - 35:48 - walk
12-20-2010 - 7 miles - 1:07 - run - 950 ft. elevation

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Day 19 - Fun in the sun

Lately the weekend long runs are a lot of fun. Just going out for a long time and not worrying about a pace. Right now I am trying to build some good base mileage and have fun. After a good night sleep the legs felt pretty good after yesterday. Today I made it out the door around 12 and the temps were above 30°F. Felt like a heat wave after running in the low 20's in the dark last week.

On the road for a mile or two and then into the mountains to get lost. When I run by myself I usually go right up the road hill to Pulpit Rock. It gets the heart rate up and is one of the steepest hills to run to get to the top. My thought is if I am training for a mountain race I need to hit the biggest hills I can find if I want to be ready for this race. 


The view from Pulpit Rock

The view from Pulpit Rock

After getting some pictures at Pulpit Rock the AT leads me to the blue trail which runs down to the Blue Rocks Campground. This place is packed in the spring/summer/fall with campers from all over. Right now it is a ghost town. Once you get on the blue trail it is a very rocky section which I like. Even after I rolled my right ankle really bad at the end of June on this trail. I still can't stay away from it. Below is a video I made to show what the last part of the trail looks like.



Leaving the campground you hit a yellow trail which climbs for over a mile and a half with over 700 feet of climb. I now realize carrying 3 full bottles, food and camera going up this climb makes your legs burn. That is ok with me. It makes you feel like you are running on tired legs which you can never have enough practice running with tired legs. The last section of the yellow is straight up for maybe 200 or 300 feet and your lungs and legs feel alive after that climb. Once you make it up the yellow you are now on the AT. From there I made my way to the the Pinnacle and it was real clear today. The houses and barns really stood out. Maybe it was the way the sun was shinning on everything.

The view from the Pinnacle

The view from the Pinnacle

Back on the AT to head home and I passed a friends dad that I know. He said he hikes everyday up here and that is his medicine to keep him healthy. I was thinking about that after he said that and it is so true. A lot of the people I met through running, I now call friends, say pretty much the same thing. We all like to get outside, run for hours, relieve some stress, have fun and feel so much better after - our medicine I guess. To this day it still amazes me that you can run with someone for a couple hours on the trail and you know them better inside and out than most people you knew for years. That is one thing that really hooked me to this sport. The honesty and kindness of the people I met running on the trail in the last 5 years is amazing. I love this sport!

The blue trail above the Hamburg Reservoir 


12-19-2010 - 15 miles - 3:08 - run - over 1800 ft. elevation



Day 18 - Long run day

Out the door a little after 7 a.m. It was cold but no wind. I was running by myself until 9 a.m. where I would hook up with some other runners at the Hamburg Reservoir. The run started with a down hill road section to the Bartram Trail in Hamburg. From there it is 2 miles until the Appalachian Trail crosses in Port Clinton. While running on the Bartram Trail I passed a friend Brian running with his dog. He was on his way back to the parking lot where he started. To get off of the Bartram Trail you have to go down a step little section and then go through the Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad Company's property.


A side view of the new bridge in Hamburg

Bartram Trail heading to the AT

The Bartram Trail with the sunrise
Once you get through the little town of Port Clinton the trail run's along the Schuylkill River. Then you go under the Rt. 61 bridge, cross Port Clinton Ave. and then the climb starts. The climb goes up about 800 feet in just over 2 miles to the top of the mountain. You really warm up on this section.  On top of the mountain you can look down on the town of Hamburg and see all the development over the last couple of years(Cabala's, Lowe's and soon Walmart) While running back to the reservoir I knew I wouldn't make it back in time to meet the group if I stayed on the AT.  I headed down a lower trail that goes to the same place but takes away a big climb away.



The view from the AT

Appalachian Trail

Looking down at Cabela's Lowe's and Walmart
Arriving in the parking lot at 9:01 the group was there and ready to run.  We headed back up the mountain running on the AT, Al's short cut where I tripped and fell, AT, Red Trail, Blue Trail, Spring Trail and back on the AT and out to the Pinnacle. We regrouped at the Pinnacle and looked around, got a group photo and back on the AT. On the way back Dan picked up the pace and we were flying over some rocky sections and it felt great. We regrouped back at Pulpit Rock, headed down the road hill to the red trail and back to the parking lot. I said go bye to everyone and ran back home. Great trails and great friends make a great way to start the day.


Lori, Kallie(dog), Dean, Joanne, Dan, Beth, Pete, Libby and Andy



Lori, Kallie(dog), Dean, Joanne, Dan, Beth, Me, Libby and Andy
12-18-2010 - 20.5 miles - 4:25 - run - around 2000 ft. elevation