June Running Recap

Training for the Siskiyou Outback 50K have been going well. Instead of writing a series of weekly recaps, I'll include some highlights from the past few weeks to give you an idea of where I've been. I'm halfway through my first of two peak mileage weeks and feeling pretty good right now. Here's hoping that continues.

June 7-13
Running Miles: 49.5
Runs: 6
Other: Yoga (2), Strength: Core, legs, Shoulders (2), Hikes (1)
Kitties: 42
Notes: I spent most of the week rushing around trying to wrap up race business and cleaning up my house for guests. Did I mention I decided to paint my bedroom in that time period too? Whew, no wonder it all felt rushed.

Favorites:

The week began with a toasty running of the 10.5 mile race course. Even though I am very slow on warm days, I love sweating this much. It makes my skin feel so clean!

Kitty Sprints: 5 miles, 20 kitties, 20x20 sec. sprints
Mile 1: Two kitties, on an uphill. But it’s no big deal because I’m still fresh. I bound up with a smile on my face. I catch a glimpse of one more on a downhill and I sail back down.

Mile 2: Nothing. Nobody. Recovery mile.

Mile 3: Ten kitties, I kid you not. It’s too bad I didn’t bring my watch because I bet I had a new road mile PR. Just as I was about to let up on a sprint, another would appear. Then sexy time kitties came out to play and I had one seriously torturous 40 second burst. Up hills, down. Round corners, dodging cars. I’m pretty sure the kitties had it out for me.

Mile 4: My recoveries slowed to nearly a walk and it took a ton of mental power to keep looking for the kitties. I wanted so very badly to stare at the ground in front of me and hope I didn’t see any more. But I didn’t. I kept looking and luckily only found two, on a downhill. Whew.

Mile 5: By this point, I couldn’t tell whether I was relieved to still be alive or truly masochistic, but I found that sick part inside of myself who truly enjoys this kind of thrashing. Endorphins, come to me! Five more jerkface kitties just to make sure I don’t get to jog it in.

Hike 6 miles in Prairie Creek
I saw a picture of Crater Lake on my high school best friend’s mom’s (kinda my second mom’s) Facebook feed. “If you make it to my corner of California, let me know!” I wrote. Usually friends say they don’t have time to make it up here since it’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Much to my surprise, an hour later a plan to get together was in the works.

Matt and I had just enough free time to meet them halfway between where they were headed and our house. We spent the morning ogling giant trees at Prairie Creek and catching up on life. I love how our worlds align for the briefest and most unexpected visits.

18 Mile Long Run
Long runs in the evening sun make me happy happy happy.

Tempo Run
As horrible as running at my lactate threshold is, I'm convinced it produces the best runner's high.

June 14-20
Running Miles: 61.25
Runs: 6
Other: Yoga (3), Strength: Core, legs, shoulders (2), Hikes (3)
Kitties: 45
Notes: Family visits. It's times like these that my family truly sees how much I run. "Do you run every day?" Grandma asked. Pretty much.

Favorites: 

Short Hikes with Mom and Grandma

Another Evening Long Run: 22 miles
My fourth Grasshopper summit this year and third in June. The light during this run was gorgeous the whole way through. Finding out Lanore is coming just before I'm about to leave was icing on an already perfect day.

Yoga
When I first started up a yoga routine on June 1, I had planned to do 20-30 minutes a day, but my body had other plans. After three days straight, my back was so sore that everything felt a thousand times harder. How can it be possible to need to do something as gentle as yoga in moderation? Since then I’ve cut back to 2-4 times a week and guess what?

It’s no longer half an hour of “Ouch. Too tight for this pose. OUCH”, uncomfortable shifting, and disconnected body movements and breathing. It is actually starting to feel good and refreshing again. This week’s favorite pose is the upward bow. I’m hoping to grab a couple drop-in classes in the near future and brush up on some poses that I’m sure I have forgotten.

Rest Day on the Beach with Matt
Sunny mornings are so rare here that if that bright light greets me when I open my eyes, I spring into action before it has a chance to cloud and fog back up again. Matt had a day off and was able to join me for a pastry and coffee breakfast at the beach. The sun eventually popped out and we tucked ourselves into a small cove and to marvel at how small the waves were. It was almost like looking at a lake! 

Dow's Prairie 6.1 Mile Race:
A new PR and a really strong mental day. I think I actually prefer having an "on" day rather than a PR, but hey, I got both!! :) Yippee!

June 21-27
Running Miles: 26.75
Hiking Miles:  20.25
Runs: 5
Other: Hikes (3), Yoga (3)
Kitties: 21
Notes: Wow, what to say about this week. Just by the numbers, it looks pretty weak and uneventful but to me it was so much more (and it was at altitude, so there's that). My next blog post will include some specific adventures, but I'll tell you I spent most of it at Lassen Park by myself and it was incredible. Two mountain peaks, one disappeared lake, and three runs on the PCT. It was lovely and I can't wait to go back!

Lassen and Brokeoff Mountain Summits

Looking at Brokeoff Mtn from Lassen Peak

Looking at Lassen Peak from Brokeoff Mountain

Runs on the PCT
I'm always impressed by how beautiful even the less exciting parts of the Pacific Crest Trail turn out to be. Well-trodden and marked beautifully, I would love to do larger sections in one go. Coincidentally enough, the 50K in July will also be partially on the PCT.

Solo Time with two really good books

At home, I'm not much of a reader. Shameful, I know. I really enjoy reading blogs and articles online, but for some reason, hanging out with a book makes me restless and feel lazy. Without any other distractions, I was able to mow through two books that week and it sort of rekindled my love for printed literature. Books I took along for all you curious bibliophiles: Dear Sugar and What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding.

Yoga Essentials

At the end of the trip, I spent a day in Redding. Since I was solo, I took advantage of being able to do all the things Matt hates. After spending far too much time at Dairy Queen stuffing myself with yummy things, I stopped in at Balance Yoga and took their beginner class. Since it was 108F and my first class in over ten years, I was happy to focus on the basics at a slow, cooling pace. I didn't tip over or fart loudly, so it was a success. I'm definitely shopping for a home class to take, but will keep this one in mind when I visit again.

Hammond Hill 5K Challenge

As the name implies, this race has a hill. A big one. Way too many feet of up (132) for only 5 kilometers. Goal was top 5 women, and I made it hurt, but fell three seconds short of a new course PR. I’m a little bummed to come so. very. close. Another 5K next weekend. My 5K goal this summer is to embrace the hurt. I’ve got two more on work on this. Hopefully one of the next two, on much flatter courses, will also yield a new PR.

Eight Years with My Best Friend

Each year, we take a portrait like this. I have a collection going and in twenty years it will be so fun to look at how we've changed. :)

June 28-30 (this week so far....)
Running Miles: 40.25 (shooting for 60-65)
Runs: 3
Other: Yoga (1)
Kitties: 38
Notes: So far so good. Due to yet another 5K race on Saturday, I'm trying to front-load my week as much as possible. Hopefully I'll have enough energy to have a speedy day.


Totals for June:
Running Miles: 219.75
Hiking Miles: 22.25
Kitties: 154