Today was black and white, yin and yang, apples and oranges. I woke up feeling hungover but without the preceding good time to go along with my sluggishness and ill-will towards pretty much the world. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with work being nuts and the week going quickly but being jammed packed and getting the opportunity to relax let all that tension out in a negative way. So there was one thing I was looking forward to: doing a big run to purge the nasty's. But the day kept throwing me curveballs. First a family outing took longer than planned, than another round of thunderstorms rolled through pushing back a planned 3pm start time to 5pm. But regardless...there I was in the early evening ready to run.
Depending on your source, the loop around Kenoza Lake is somewhere between 4.2 and 5.1 miles. The sign at the park states the latter while I used Google Earth and came up with 4.2. Granted my margin for error was high because you can't see the trails on GE, and I wasn't really taking my time. But for ego's sake, I'm going to roll with the higher number...and I did three loops tonight. The best part is that as I was finishing up my third lap, I totally felt like I could rip off another one.
As I figured, the bad mood dissapated and now I'm just whupped. Going to cut this short though, as I'm meeting a buddy at 6am for a mountain bike ride up at Pawtuckaway State Park in So. NH. I've never ridden there, so I'm pumped to have some fun on the bike and check it out.
'night.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Daylight...she's a fadin'...
I've been able to get on the trails yesterday and today. Apparently the dark skies on Tuesday morning were mostly from the storm we were getting. That being said, even though I was on trails the past two days, it was just light enough. Pretty soon it will be too dark at that time, storm or no storm, and morning's will become road runs.
So the big loop is listed at Winnekenni (the one I did twice on Sunday and plan on doing three times on Saturday) as being 5.1 miles long. If that's accurate than I should hit 15 miles on Saturday and if I come through feeling pretty good, than I'll be more than ready for next weekend's 10 miler in Nashua.
Work is nuts right now. Super, super busy and between that and early morning runs I'm a bit tired today. The good thing is that I've been running in the morning and adding in some evening workouts at the gym so this afternoon I was pretty spent. Day off from running tomorrow (will hit the gym in the evening) than run Saturday/bike Sunday. Good times!
I need to get more creative on this thing...but usually when I have time to make posts it's late and I'm whupped and I'm not feeling like being creative...but it's on my radar. Stay tuned.
And as the pictures may indicate...I'm very much looking forward to some snow!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Road Run!
So it's come to this. This morning I got up to run and by the time I reached the trails it was too dark to run without lighting...so I did the unthinkable and did my entire run on the road.
Now, it was super cloudy and storm was moving in, so there's a chance that tomorrow morning if it's clear out I may be able to get in some trail time...but the writing on the wall is clear that if I want to keep running in the morning...I better map out some good road runs and/or get a good lighting system for running!
Today was also Lily's first day at her new school and it went great! She had a good time with all her new friends and her teachers were really impressive. I'm sure there will be an adjustment period, but overall we couldn't be happier about where she is going.
Off to the gym...
Now, it was super cloudy and storm was moving in, so there's a chance that tomorrow morning if it's clear out I may be able to get in some trail time...but the writing on the wall is clear that if I want to keep running in the morning...I better map out some good road runs and/or get a good lighting system for running!
Today was also Lily's first day at her new school and it went great! She had a good time with all her new friends and her teachers were really impressive. I'm sure there will be an adjustment period, but overall we couldn't be happier about where she is going.
Off to the gym...
Sunday, August 10, 2008
A chewed up puppy and a long(er) run
Crazy day today. This morning while taking the dogs out, Porter was off leash and ran out to greet some folks who were walking there dogs on the sidewalk. Well, one of their pups, an older Golden Retriever, wasn't too psyched about Porter's enthusiastic greeting and gave him what for. Totally our fault for having Porter off leash and the Golden was on leash. Porter ended up with about a three inch laceration on the left side of his face and had to be taken in for a slew of stitches. Poor guy had to go under to get them and now his looking like he survived a bar fight. Some lessons are learned the hard way I guess...for him and us both.
After the Porter Incident (as it's come to be known), I took advantage of a beautiful afternoon to do my double of the 4.5 mile loop at Winnekenni park. I parked my car and left a water bottle on windshield so I could grab a sip on my way by. The run went great. I actually felt my best during the second lap so that was very encouraging and after an off-day tomorrow (from running, still planning on hitting the gym tomorrow night), I'm going to do my morning run Tue/Wed/Thurs with another possbile off day on Friday, then do a triple of the same loop on Saturday. That should push my towards half-marathon distance and get me ready for the 10 miler in two weeks.
Overall this was a great last week. I mixed it up a bit yesterday by going out on the Mtn. bike instead of running and it was super fun. The trails are really wet right now from all the rain we've been getting so I was pretty well coated in mud by the time I finished up. I definitely miss biking more, but I'm feeling great about my running and it fits into the schedule the best. The majority of my down time belongs to Lily so running fits in great and it's somewhat of a relief to not have to train for multiple sports. To focus on one is refreshing. I'm sure my ADD will kick in in a few months and I'll be itching to focus on the bike, but for now as long as I mix in a bike ride here or there, my running is still a lot of fun...which is the point.
Also this weekend we hit up an organic pick-your-own farm in Hamilton. The wet weather hasn't treated them very well and the only things they had for picking on your own were string beans and herbs. We indulged and picked a full bag, than bought the rest of our weekly produce at their farm stand which had tons of veggies that they had grown by organic means on the farm. Lily got to feed tomatoes to the farm's pigs, and we saw a ton of turkeys (sure to be gracing a table near you this November). Felt good to support a local farm with the major pay off being that the veggies we bought will taste awesome and fresh.
**Note: our camera died. Hence the lack of current photos recently. We'll be getting a new one in a few weeks, but wanted to call that out. I'll continue to post older pics just so my posts aren't so boring.**
After the Porter Incident (as it's come to be known), I took advantage of a beautiful afternoon to do my double of the 4.5 mile loop at Winnekenni park. I parked my car and left a water bottle on windshield so I could grab a sip on my way by. The run went great. I actually felt my best during the second lap so that was very encouraging and after an off-day tomorrow (from running, still planning on hitting the gym tomorrow night), I'm going to do my morning run Tue/Wed/Thurs with another possbile off day on Friday, then do a triple of the same loop on Saturday. That should push my towards half-marathon distance and get me ready for the 10 miler in two weeks.
Overall this was a great last week. I mixed it up a bit yesterday by going out on the Mtn. bike instead of running and it was super fun. The trails are really wet right now from all the rain we've been getting so I was pretty well coated in mud by the time I finished up. I definitely miss biking more, but I'm feeling great about my running and it fits into the schedule the best. The majority of my down time belongs to Lily so running fits in great and it's somewhat of a relief to not have to train for multiple sports. To focus on one is refreshing. I'm sure my ADD will kick in in a few months and I'll be itching to focus on the bike, but for now as long as I mix in a bike ride here or there, my running is still a lot of fun...which is the point.
Also this weekend we hit up an organic pick-your-own farm in Hamilton. The wet weather hasn't treated them very well and the only things they had for picking on your own were string beans and herbs. We indulged and picked a full bag, than bought the rest of our weekly produce at their farm stand which had tons of veggies that they had grown by organic means on the farm. Lily got to feed tomatoes to the farm's pigs, and we saw a ton of turkeys (sure to be gracing a table near you this November). Felt good to support a local farm with the major pay off being that the veggies we bought will taste awesome and fresh.
**Note: our camera died. Hence the lack of current photos recently. We'll be getting a new one in a few weeks, but wanted to call that out. I'll continue to post older pics just so my posts aren't so boring.**
Friday, August 8, 2008
Weekend and No OR
The weekend is upon us and we don't have any firm plans...while I'm happy about that in one regard, another part of me hates not having a plan. I'm sure we'll end up doing something fun.
For the first time since Summer Market 2004 I'm missing Outdoor Retailer. OR is the bi-annual tradeshow in Salt Lake City where outdoor product manufacturers show off their new goods. I'm psyched to miss the rigamaroll that the show puts you through (set-up, late nights, long time away from family, break-down, more late nights, lots of booze) but I have a lot of friends that I made through the Outdoor Industry who I won't see now until perhaps next OR (if I go to that one). I have a feeling when I figure out what I'm doing this weekend and it includes mountain biking, trail running and/or hiking I'll be a lot happier to go outside and do those activities versus being stuck in the Salt Palace talking to people about doing those activities. But I'll still miss my pals.
For the first time since Summer Market 2004 I'm missing Outdoor Retailer. OR is the bi-annual tradeshow in Salt Lake City where outdoor product manufacturers show off their new goods. I'm psyched to miss the rigamaroll that the show puts you through (set-up, late nights, long time away from family, break-down, more late nights, lots of booze) but I have a lot of friends that I made through the Outdoor Industry who I won't see now until perhaps next OR (if I go to that one). I have a feeling when I figure out what I'm doing this weekend and it includes mountain biking, trail running and/or hiking I'll be a lot happier to go outside and do those activities versus being stuck in the Salt Palace talking to people about doing those activities. But I'll still miss my pals.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Blueberries!
Last Sunday to celebrate being back in New England after a week in Delaware, the family and I went up to Stoddard, NH, about 35 miles west of Concord, to pick wild blueberries on Pitcher Mountain.
The day started as a hike. The trail to the summit is a short half mile and graded gently over only 400 feet of gain so it was
the perfect trail for Lily to claim her first 'summit' on her own. H
owever, about 2/3 of the way up the dark skies that had been lingering around opened up on us. This being pe
rhaps the first time in years that I've been hiking without shells, we turned around and went down.
In the parking lot the shower had passed and we found that there was a dirt
road that went up the backside of the mountain to where the bulk of the blueberry fields lie. So we hopped in the Matrix and drove up.
We spent the next two hours picking, and ended up with about three quarts of ber
ries. These are the good wild berries. Super small, but super sweet.
Not like the cultivated jumbo blueberries you see at the store most of the year. Lily soon discovered the fun of eating them right off of the branch and we talked at length about how blue our poop was going
to be the next day.
That night we went home and Carli made Acadian Blueberry Grunt. So good. Wild blueberries are one of things I missed about New England so having them now is like a welcome home. Plus it means that apples and pumpkins are next...fall is on our doorstep.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Back on the Trail
I'll post a blog about a great Sunday spent picking blueberries later as I have pictures, but they're on my other computer. Check out the picture to the left to get a feel.
Today however, dawned with me getting back on my local trails. I'm afraid that within a month my morning trail runs are either going to be first shortened significantly than go away altogether. It's definitely darker at 4:45 than it was a month ago. Now when I hit the first trail on the way to Winnekenni park it's getting tough to see in the woods whereas before it would be pretty bright at that time. By the time I'm in the woods of Winnekenni it's brighter, but every day is getting shorter and while on one hand I'm super pumped because I can't wait for a good New England autumn...I'm also bummed because it means that it's getting closer to the time I'm doing more road running than trail running. Ah, so it goes.
This morning it felt great to be back on the trail. I'm battling some pain in my left shin (I'm going to blame my two road runs at the beach last week rather than the more obvious slack off in training), but once I warmed up I felt great. Tomorrow will be a better gauge of how this will play out. I think I'll be good to go though. This weekend I'm planning on doing the 4.5 mile loop twice in order to up my miles a bit as I prepare for the 10 miler at the end of the month. I'm going to plant a water bottle by my car so I can refresh at the halfway point. Looking forward to stretching it out a bit and start doing some longer runs. Next weekend the intent is to do three laps.
Which brings me to something that has me nervous...no more GoLite footwear. Having worked for both sides of the GoLite brand (footwear and apparel/gear) I've been in constant supply of my favorite trail running shoes for over a year now. Say what you will (and many have) about the shoes, but I'm convinced that the technology in the outsoles take a lot of stress off of your body...and I'm on my last pair. I actually have a pair of the first season Sun Dragon's left, but the fit in those are subpar to the newer Versa Force that I'm currently running in. Thankfully the shoes appear that they will live on with a new home away from Timberland...but they won't be available for some time which means...I'm going to have to buy new shoes.
First of all, I haven't had to buy new shoes for a long time. One of the perks of my previous life, but that's not the problem. I'm going to have to be super picky about the brand that replaces GoLite for my feet. Based on prior experience I'm going to give the initial edge to Saucony, because I always liked their road shoes. But I'm going to shop long and hard and take a long time to make this decision.
Moving along...aside from the darkness in the morning, the weather today (and yesterday for that matter) was just stellar. The air is drying out and the temps were very nice. Getting to the point where I want to wear a shirt while running. As I mentioned I am very much looking forward to fall. Last year in CO, cold weather was pretty short lived. We had a few cool days in the fall, than some coldish weather around Christmas and after New Year's I really can't remember too many cold days. Many people would love this, and I have to admit it was nice to run in February in shorts and to bike on dirt trails in March was sweet, but I missed the harshness of winter a lot. Fall in New England is amazing and I'm really hoping for a good typical fall with foliage and snow in the high peaks followed by a cold snowy winter. All this means is that it will be warm and mild throughout and it will have been three years since a real winter for me, but oh well. The anticipation is great, and see the blueberries arrive means that the apples and pumpkins aren't far behind.
(Note: I tried to post a bunch of pictures that would relate to the content in this post, but for some reason I kept getting an error from Blogspot. Must be something going on with the site, so I'll add them in later.)
Today however, dawned with me getting back on my local trails. I'm afraid that within a month my morning trail runs are either going to be first shortened significantly than go away altogether. It's definitely darker at 4:45 than it was a month ago. Now when I hit the first trail on the way to Winnekenni park it's getting tough to see in the woods whereas before it would be pretty bright at that time. By the time I'm in the woods of Winnekenni it's brighter, but every day is getting shorter and while on one hand I'm super pumped because I can't wait for a good New England autumn...I'm also bummed because it means that it's getting closer to the time I'm doing more road running than trail running. Ah, so it goes.
This morning it felt great to be back on the trail. I'm battling some pain in my left shin (I'm going to blame my two road runs at the beach last week rather than the more obvious slack off in training), but once I warmed up I felt great. Tomorrow will be a better gauge of how this will play out. I think I'll be good to go though. This weekend I'm planning on doing the 4.5 mile loop twice in order to up my miles a bit as I prepare for the 10 miler at the end of the month. I'm going to plant a water bottle by my car so I can refresh at the halfway point. Looking forward to stretching it out a bit and start doing some longer runs. Next weekend the intent is to do three laps.
Which brings me to something that has me nervous...no more GoLite footwear. Having worked for both sides of the GoLite brand (footwear and apparel/gear) I've been in constant supply of my favorite trail running shoes for over a year now. Say what you will (and many have) about the shoes, but I'm convinced that the technology in the outsoles take a lot of stress off of your body...and I'm on my last pair. I actually have a pair of the first season Sun Dragon's left, but the fit in those are subpar to the newer Versa Force that I'm currently running in. Thankfully the shoes appear that they will live on with a new home away from Timberland...but they won't be available for some time which means...I'm going to have to buy new shoes.
First of all, I haven't had to buy new shoes for a long time. One of the perks of my previous life, but that's not the problem. I'm going to have to be super picky about the brand that replaces GoLite for my feet. Based on prior experience I'm going to give the initial edge to Saucony, because I always liked their road shoes. But I'm going to shop long and hard and take a long time to make this decision.
Moving along...aside from the darkness in the morning, the weather today (and yesterday for that matter) was just stellar. The air is drying out and the temps were very nice. Getting to the point where I want to wear a shirt while running. As I mentioned I am very much looking forward to fall. Last year in CO, cold weather was pretty short lived. We had a few cool days in the fall, than some coldish weather around Christmas and after New Year's I really can't remember too many cold days. Many people would love this, and I have to admit it was nice to run in February in shorts and to bike on dirt trails in March was sweet, but I missed the harshness of winter a lot. Fall in New England is amazing and I'm really hoping for a good typical fall with foliage and snow in the high peaks followed by a cold snowy winter. All this means is that it will be warm and mild throughout and it will have been three years since a real winter for me, but oh well. The anticipation is great, and see the blueberries arrive means that the apples and pumpkins aren't far behind.
(Note: I tried to post a bunch of pictures that would relate to the content in this post, but for some reason I kept getting an error from Blogspot. Must be something going on with the site, so I'll add them in later.)
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