Yesterday we took a trip to Lincoln City on the Oregon coast. It was sunny but very windy. We went on a long walk on the beach and the way out was against the strong wind. Normally I wouldn't consider a walk to be a workout, but in those circumstances, it was.
This morning we went on a family run around the neighborhood. The little guy was pooped from the trip yesterday (he ran circles around us while we walked), so we ended up at the school. He played on the play structure while Marc and I took a few more laps around the school yard.
Speaking of Marc .... On the drive home from the coast yesterday he had a revelation. He finally admitted that he might actually be a runner. Yes dear, I think after completing a 50k trail race, you are a runner. He'd always thought of himself as a mountaineer, who sometimes ran. Or a body builder, who sometimes ran. Or a practitioner of tai chi, who sometimes ran. Never a runner. But now, I think he may even try another ultra.
As for training, I'll probably hit the trails for a run on Saturday and probably Sunday too. But I'm playing it by ear. The McKenzie River Trail Run 50K is in 5 weeks so I'll get back to a regular schedule next week. I think I could get used to doing long races every 6 weeks or so. I like the flow of a week of recovery, a week to ease back into training, a couple of weeks of harder training and then a few taper weeks.
I'm looking for something else to run in October. I have a few races in mind but suggestions welcomed.
P.S. A few responses to the responses:
Michelle suggested the Portland Marathon. While I do want to focus more on trails, I'm not against road races and may run Portland again some day. However, I'm already signed up to run the kid's 2 mile run with the little guy. So I'll be there!
Ginger B. suggested McDonald Forest. Its only the 15K in October (the 50k is in the spring), but I'm definitely considering it. I'd like to do some shorter trail races too.
The longer race I really have my eye on is the Sister's Poker Run on Oct 22nd. Seeing Glen Tachiyama's pictures from last year's run is what set the ultra wheels in motion for me. There's a big fire over there right now and I'm not sure if that is going to have any effect on this year's run.
9 comments:
That's funny about Marc.
As for what to run, I'm afraid I can't help you there, but a comment over at Michelle's makes me think that maybe there's some ironing for you to do while you're on vacation?!
:-)
Does a person who's blog is titled "Hooked on Trails" ever do road races? There's the Portland Marathon on October 1st - with the added bonus of meeting both Rob and I!
Oh, so Sarah wants you to head up to my house during your vacation to catch up on some ironing? Sounds good to me.
Have you checked out the calendar at trailrunner.com? They have the whole country listed. If you don't want to travel too far, there's Baker Lake in Washinton (http://bakerlake50k.com/)- it'd be beautiful out there in the fall - or you probably already know about McDonald Forest at the end of Oct. - I think it's short, though, by your standards.
Oh, wait - McForest has both short and long distances . . http://www.mac.oregontrailseries.org/
Which ones are you already thinking about doing? I want to oooh and aaaah over the course descriptions.
Johnny likes to think of himself as a mountain climber who likes to run. Or a runner who runs mountains just to get to the top faster. Or a mountaineer who likes to rock climb (because the rock climbing is part of summitting). Or a mountaineer who is a fastpacker. It's all about being a mountaineer who moves quickly up the mountain...
what a great way to relax after the race. I read about the poker run in last year's Ultrarunning, and it sounds like a brilliantly fun race!
have you been taking it easy like me this past week? vacation after your first 50K is so perfectly timed...smart woman! :)
A little R&R.....have a good time you earned it!!
I have not run the Sisters Poker Run, but I have run the Peterson Ridge Rumble in Sisters, which I think is a similar course. I love Sisters and the view of the mountains is well worth it. I will look forward to your report of McKenzie River. I have heard great things about it.
Climbing mountains is a good way to increase your red blood cell count. We should all be mountaineers who like to run!
Post a Comment