Week two of training for the 15M Smith Rock Trail Race in May. This is the first time in YEARS that I have run more than three runs in a week. I’m still finding it a challenge to get in weekday training, mainly bc I haven’t disciplined myself enough to get in the run before work unless I’m actually running TO work, which is only 4 miles. This week, I ran after work, from the office up to Mount Tabor, around the rim of the park, and home, which came in at almost exactly 6 miles.
Thursday I repeated what I did last week – drove in a bit, and ran the remainder to work, where I met my running partner for our weekly 3.5 mile run around the riverfront. This seems to be working well. I used my new hydration vest made by Ultimate Direction, the “Ultravesta,” which combines pocket bottles, with many places for stowing gels, keys, phone, and in my case on Thursday, clothes for work. It is SUPER comfortable, and I love that the shoulder straps and top of the pack do not scrap the base of my neck, like the Black Diamond mini backpack I had been using prior. Here is a link.
On Saturday I ran a quick 3 mile trail run from the trailhead near the Audubon Society. It connected to the Wildwood Trail, and was nice a varied, a reasonable amount of elevation gain without being too strenuous. With that memory in mind, I imagined the Wildwood Trail to be a ridge-line trail, and decided to run the Wildwood for my long run on Sunday, this time starting at Washington Park, past the Japanese Garden to get to the trail. Well, this piece of the Wildwood Trail is completely different from what I ran the day before. Cripes. It took me up to Pittock Mansion, which I’ve hiked before but not in years. Damn that was a challenge. I was so excited when I finally made it to the top, and continued running past the mansion on the Wildwood. And the trail then went down, down, down. I finally decided to bail and turn around, knowing the amount of elevation gain could hurt my training rather than boost it. I ran back up, and then down, and ran some more to get the miles within Washington Park, which is one of my favorite scenic areas. Leif Erikson trail is great, but you can’t beat running through redwoods and magnolias and cherries…
Today is Monday, and yesterday’s run did some damage, despite the fact that I pulled the plug on my 10-mile intentions at 9 miles. My lower back is spasming, and my calves and feet are sore (I ran in new lower profile trail sneakers on Saturday). But at least I don’t have ITB pain. Taking today off and hope this doesn’t ruin my week.
Brine and Grit 