Leadville Trip...Success

I have a lot of catching up to do for this blog if I want keep it going.  But tonight I'm still feeling very tired from the quick trip to Colorado to help pace at the Leadville 100.

I'll write more and provide some photos later.  I was fortunate to meet a lot of folks that I had previously known only through the internet so that was an added benefit of the trip.

Later.

Unscheduled Day Away

Sudden change of plans resulted in a day trip to Rochester, MN.

Scored though:

1. Bag of whole bean Peet's coffee
2. Loaf of whole grain bread from Great Harvest
3. 4 pints of Furious IPA by Surly
4. A bottle of Hop Stoopid by Lagunitas
5. Noodles and Co for lunch
6. Coldstone for ice cream
7. and Four Daughter's Winery for tasting!

Back to normal routine tomorrow then trip to Colorado on Wednesday for Leadville 100 this weekend.

And the Rain Finally Arrives

Seems like forever since the Mason City area received any rain to speak of.  It finally showed up overnight and the day was cool and dripping from morning to night.

Watched the Olympic men's marathon this morning starting at 5 AM.  Also spent a fair amount of time tracking how Lucho fared in the Leadville 100 mountain bike race yesterday and 10K run today.  Apparently, he made up some time today after losing a little ground in the Leadman competition yesterday.  Sets up for an exciting 100 mile race next week!  Hope that it works for me to be out there crewing/pacing Jeanne McCurnin so should be able to see Tim in his competition and also meet some other folks that I've "met" only through cyberspace so far.

6 miles on Saturday and again today for a week's total of 61 miles...puts me over 2000 for the year so far which means I'm headed for a better than average annual total if I don't become injured before January.

Confused

OK, so now I'm floundering in just what to do for training and racing.  

I feel like I'm still in pretty good shape off of training for the Black Hills 50 but I haven't been keying on anything in the near future.  It's been tempting to race some more road races simply because I've turned a new age group, but I have plenty of t-shirts and the entry fees these days are ridiculous.

So that leaves me out on the trail with no real incentive.  At least it seems that I'll be heading to Colorado to help pace a Leadville runner.

Ran 7 miles this afternoon and will hike tonight.

Born To Run

Even though I read the book "Born To Run" a couple of years ago, I downloaded an audio version of it and have been listening to it during my workouts this week.  It's surprising how differently it interprets when someone else reads it, with their emphasis, compared to what I remember from reading.  I am really enjoying it this time around even though I've already been through it once. Especially, the descriptions of the Leadville 100.  When I first read the book, I was unfamiliar with the course and aid stations.  Because of crewing/pacing duties last year and anticipated this year, I am able to connect to the book much better!

Ran at Lime Creek this morning then went to NIACC to help a bit with their progression run this afternoon.  With tonight's hike I chalked up 11 miles for today's total.

Carpe Diem

Another busy day with water and waste water testing up at Plymouth and a quick meeting with NIACC coach Curtis Vais.  Then it was back to the Lime Creek trails for a 7 mile jaunt!

The low moisture this summer and resulting low river levels has placed a lot of stress on the fish in that river.  Lately, it's been a common sight to have schools of fish clearly visible just below the surface as they (mostly carp) are trying to find as much available oxygen as possible.

7 mile run and 3 mile evening hike

Back to the Knob..2nd Highest Point in Iowa

Pilot Knob State Park claims the second highest point in Iowa as well as trails that include hills that are not available in Mason City.  I used the Knob to help prepare for the Black Hills 50 and now we're using the terrain for NIACC's cross country team.  Saturday I was on the trails to mark the major intersections in order to keep the teams from getting lost today.

It was plenty warm out and the major complaint for the workout was lack of water...the men ran around 9 miles followed by 10 hill repeats; the women ran 6 miles with 6 hill repeats at the conclusion.  Curtis and I ran the 6 mile out and back.  All in all the trip was worth it and a great workout resulted.

Using the sledding hill rather than the Knob because of the available shade difference.

I had been out to Lime Creek before noon for a 4 miler and with my evening workout, I'll have better mileage today than I've been keeping recently. Most likely, I'll be heading to Colorado next week to help crew and pace a runner in the Leadville 100 so I'm becoming more motivated again...ain't life grand!

13 miles for the day

Complexing the Schedule...XC Begins

When I began this blog my intent was to record my progress in the workouts and also make notes about many different aspects noted along the trail.  Since riding RAGBRAI, I've found it difficult to sit down and make the record each day.  I now am working again with the city of Plymouth and as of yesterday, NIACC's cross country camp has begun.

I did record rather steady mileage last week with two workouts each day.  Ended up with 64 miles for the week ending Sunday August 5.

The XC squad starts the year with 14 men and 7 women.  Today will be a one mile, baseline time trial to help gauge where the athletes are relative to the sessions we have planned for the next few weeks.  Curtis and I are both excited for what appears to be another great fall season!

A couple of brisk miles at the college then a good hike yet tonight!

The drought this summer has left the streams and river along Lime Creek as low as I've ever seen them.

Maintenance Running

I haven't been posting every day because I was spoiled while on RAGBRAI and didn't have access to a computer.  Now my daily habits are still readjusting to being back and catching up with work and chores around the house.  

My runs are not very inspired and I'm basically just getting out on the trails for time on my feet and to let the legs return after all the biking.  I run a bit longer each day but the weather, hot and dry, is also less than encouraging for long runs.

8 miles on Monday, 10 yesterday, and 9 today.