I have a new camera!

01/03/08
Saturday

I planned a two hour trail run and brought my new camera which is a Nikon ( very thin and lightweight) ----Mental note....charge the battery first. I down loaded some pictures last friday and left it plugged into the computor assuming it would charge the battery (as most of my devices do) I found out I was wrong. So no pictures.

It was about 11 degrees when I left at 7 Am though it really didn't feel that cold. I planned a fairly difficult powerline run and felt the snowshoes were not needed.
I wore the Yaks and was quite glad I did when I found the beautiful but quite slippery rolling ice dams.

I wish the camera was working as these were so unique. Appearantly the water keeps freezing then running over the frozen area and freezing again. I call it rolling ice as it looks like the water thought it could make it across the existing ice without freezing....but didn't make it, so it builds up in layers.

Problem was that the powerlines were plagued with these ice patches and it really slowed down the pace. It was not too bad crossing these when the ground was fairly level but on the up and down grades it was much more tricky.

The first mile or so went well as there were snowmobile tracks and this made for somewhat level running. I wore the Northface gortex with gaters and Yaks. The gaters didn't work that well when I left the snowmoblie trail as the rear kept creaping up and allowing snow in.

The Yaks worked perfectly. They gave me plenty of traction on ice and didn't feel uncomfortable at all. The Northface did a great job of keeping my feet warm and dry and I seemed to have done a good job of wearing the right amount of layers for the temp.

One problem I encountered is after the first mile I hit areas where one snowmoblie had trecked a few days back and the ground was so uneven my feet were rolling all over the place. I knew for sure my ankles would be sore the next day....good thing about it is the workout I would receive.

Once I left the powerlines and hit some virgin trails, I was slowed by the 5 or 6 inches of loose snow. I didn't expect that as the powerlines were fairly packed. I explored a couple new trails and failed to find a trail I ran a few weeks ago (I was sure I would be able to find it) I didn't think running in the opposite direction would hamper finding this trail but it did. I will have to run the opposite way again and perhaps pay closer attention to landmarks.

I came across one trail that I think would have been a great loop to run but about one mile in I hit a tresspass with permission only sign. Now there was no phone number and no house nearby so permission was out of the question. Though it was appearant that this trail had been used recently, I turned around and backtracked.

This two hour run ended up taking 2:29:17 so longer than I planned. I was just enjoying it so much, the weather was perfect, my fueling was working well along with my energy level. Though my pace was a bit slower than I hoped, I did have to take into consideration the degree of difficulty as the terrain on the powerlines has extensive grade along with all the ice.

I averaged 13 minute pace but did accomplish 11 minutes in mile nine and ten then sub 9 in mile 11 with a kick in the range of 7:27 pace. I was quite pleased overall and felt quite strong during this run. I think it helped a lot that I went out on time instead of pace. It allowed me to enjoy my surrounding much more as I was in no hurry.

I was suprised at one point as a trail I was exploring ended up at the same graveyard my Dad was in so I stopped for a nice little visit. I usually don't go there in the winter as it is not plowed. I hope the other residents didn't mind.
My dad passed away when he was 53 years old, he always seemed to be between losing and gaining weight...A yo-yoer I guess.

My uncle who was two years older than my dad lays beside him and he died at 53 also. This is a critical year for me as I turn 53 in 4 days......The one thing I have going for me is the running and the other physical activities in my life. I remember my dad seeming old and feable the last couple years of his life......I don't feel that way at all.

Though I do tend to carry 10 of 15 uneeded pounds around with me, I am quite consistant and don't yo-yo up and down like my ancesters. I try to pay attention to what I eat and other than sweets, like chocolate, cake, cookies, breads, actually anything in the desert catagory.......yeah, that's where that 10 or 15 extra pounds come in....now that I write it out here I realize I could do a little better.

Anyway, Kind of getting sidetracked.


11 mile run X-country
2:29:17 13:35 pace.
av HR 139 max 163
Very enjoyable yet tiring run