Miles for the week: 5 (1/4)
4 miles: 49:15, average HR 165
Weight: 119
didn’t do resting HR or fitness test

Mixed-up busy week, I gave blood Tuesday which was also Election Day so I had to leave early, and we went away for the weekend so I tried to do my long run Friday. Giving blood messes with my running for quite a while, although one theory is that like training at high altitude, donating blood can eventually make your red cells bounce to higher levels than they would otherwise. I notice a strong effect from donation for at least 3 or 4 days, but it seems to go away within a week. I did schedule myself to give again at the beginning of August, when my training will be well underway; but by marathon day maybe I’ll be benefitting from the red cell spike! Anyway, the four-mile run Friday morning (I didn’t have time for 5 miles) was very hard. I ran to the State Game Lands which start across the valley from where we live, all the way to a beautiful little trail maintained for hunters (so it’s not a nice loop, just a dead end). I was excited that it’s just a little more than 2 miles from our house to the end of the trail, so that’s a good 4-miler. 2 very very steep hills (our cross-country cyclist friend Talbot said that the road was harder to bike than the Continental Divide!) up and down, so good hill training. Saw the first Canadian goslings, just hatched; three flickers squabbling and chasing each other; flowering grass (sedge actually) with fuzzy yellow blooms; bluets (also known as “Quaker Ladies” or “Innocence”–very evocative names! they are the mystery patches of white I see on lawns while driving at this time of year, that almost look they they hover above the grass because their stems are so thin); violets.

I am finally registered for Steamtown! There are currently 13 people whose last names start with C registered. One of them is also from Friendsville, which is amazingly coincidental.

Miles for the week: 10 (2/1/2/5)
5 miles LSD: 58:19, average HR 149
Weight: 119
Restiing heart rate: 49
Fitness test: 42

Ran in the rain twice this week: 2 miles Friday (steady drizzle), 5 miles today (varied between nothing & moderately heavy rain). This is good because my one fear about weather on marathon day has been “what if it rains all day?” 5 or 6 years ago it rained for Steamtown and I remember reading how miserable people were. I haven’t gotten soaked to the skin or run with wet feet, or through a real downpour, but the moderate rain wasn’t bad at all, so I feel more sanguine about running no matter what on Oct 10th. (Chances of really heavy rain must be slight, after all).

What a good run today–felt almost effortless, second-best time ever, but also the lowest average HR ever. And yet I stopped at the peak of the first hill to greet the dogs who live there. I decided that I shouldn’t get so time-obsessed that I can’t stop for something like that. The joy of seeing a happy dog running toward me (especially the shepherd cross, whose tail looks like a propellor as he slowly gallops over) culminates in actually petting said dog, so I’m adopting “stop and greet the dogs” as my new running motto (“stop and smell the flowers” is already a principle I like, so this is a natural extension). Lots of new spring things to notice: much more green (more grass, the daylilies sprouts are much taller, the birch, weeping willow, honeysuckle, and lilacs have all greened up). the maples are in full bloom (some of the flowers are already dropping, but it’s not a red carpet yet like it will be next week probably), a few serviceberries starting to bloom white, sprouting horsetails (at 4-6 inches tall, they look like the taiga seen from a plane), and fiddlehead ferns. Maybe I’ll pick some for dinner tonight! What I thought were violet leaves a few weeks ago are now much larger and coarser–I think it’s a woodland plant that has small white flowers, but I can’t remember its name. Lovely spring rain smell, especially mixing with woodsmoke. Factors that made it an easy run, I think: lots of sleep last night, and also the night before; I didn’t run first thing, so I was more warmed up and also had had coffee (caffeine certainly helps!); I’ve been hauling manure all week which is building up my endurance; the rain prevented me from getting overheated.

Miles for the week: 9 (2/2/5)
5 miles LSD: 1:01:09, average HR 153
Weight: 121
Resting heart rate: 51
Fitness test: 42

A very stressful week, burning the candle at both ends & running on adrenaline fumes, so I didn’t get in my intervals. One of the neat things about running (or any focused physical training, presumably) is noticing the immediate impact of amount of sleep, quality of diet, stress level, etc. Normally I run in the mornings, but by Friday afternoon I had only run 2 miles, so I did a 2-miler in the evening and had my best time for that distance (20:01). I’ve heard afternoon/evening is the best time to run for avoiding injuries, because you are the most loosened up. The spring peepers were in full chorus (they are asleep in the morning, I guess), and it was cool to run by the swampy areas and hear them at maximum volume. It’s such a strange experience–they are so loud, the noise is everywhere, and yet there is nothing to see. There must be hundreds of them within a few square yards, but they are so small and well-camouflaged that they are effectively invisible. I wonder if the sound of chorus frogs is one of the origins of classic horror-movie music–the eerie, shrilling violins. When you know what they are, they sound like a triumphant “spring is here!,” but if you were lost in the swamp at night, with this incredibly loud shrill noise coming from everywhere and nowhere, it could feel ominous. It was my first time in shorts this year (more on that later!), and I could feel the river of cold air, about knee-high, pouring down the slopes towards the lowest spot in the valley. That area is swampy but has no peepers–I wonder if it’s too cold.

A perfect spring day for my 5 miles this morning–about 60, sunny but enough humidity that everything looked a little misty, perfectly still. The first mile was tough–I was hauling cartloads of manure for the garden yesterday and I think my legs got tired. It’s hard to balance wanting to go slow and keep my heart rate down with eagerness to see my LSD times improve. Heard mourning doves. The coltsfoot is in full flower now, not just a few but masses of sunny yellow. The catkins have suddenly appeared on the aspens (since they’re at least 3 inches long, it looks like magic–they must expand instantly when the bud opens); gardens are full of daffodils; the pussy willow buds are turning into green pincushions. Spring spring spring! But running in shorts is leading to a problem with chafing. Not a big deal over 5 miles, but could be a very big deal for the marathon. I have new shorts that I thought would be long enough to cover the problem area (thickest part of the thigh), but they ride up (I hate having to tug them down constantly). I’m going to look into tights–there must be some for warm weather as well as cold, I hope. That way I won’t have to worry about sunburn either.

Miles for the week: 10 (2/1/2/5)
5 miles LSD: 58:39, average HR 154
Weight: 121
Resting heart rate: 51
Fitness test: 37

Somewhat chilly, somewhat gray today–the sun visible as a white disc. The coltsfoot is flowering, so spring is officially here in my book. A first: I met ANOTHER PERSON RUNNING!!! This has never happened before, in four years of off-again on-again running. Our neighbors up the hill run, but they are a mile and half away and our paths never intersect except when we actually make a point to run together (Sue and I have driven to the Friendsville post office for that purpose). So I’m heading for the first hill on my run, and here’s this guy coming towards me! I start smiling, and as he gets closer for a minute I think it’s Joey Griffin from across the road, and I’m extra excited because I didn’t know he ran. I shout “Morning!” and then realize it’s not Joey. The guy gives me a brief smile but says nothing as we pass each other. In fact, he sort of looked at me like I was crazy! Then I realize: he must be someone “from away” visiting friends or relatives for Easter, so crossing paths with another runner is no big deal for him…

I stopped at the top of the first hill to greet the tubby black-and-tan mutt who lives there. She used to be accompanied by two asthmatic boxers, but I haven’t seen them in a while. I love how enthusiastic dogs can look as they run over to you. She stood on my foot and whined lovingly as I petted her, but didn’t feel like accompanying me for more than the token few feet. More dogs: yellow Lab, black Lab, and Norwich terrier on the far side of Stanley Lake. I’ve seen them a few times before. The yellow Lab saw me first and barked, but turned around to see where the others were before deciding what to do. The black Lab also hung back, but the terrier, last to catch on that there was something to bark at, immediately scurried towards the road. By then I was far beyond them. I’m lucky there aren’t any aggressive dogs along here. There used to be a Rottweiler who was a little scary, but his family moved away.

Five miles seems more & more routine. This is good! Still no application available for Steamtown, I keep checking.

Miles for the week: 10 (2/1/2/5)
5 miles LSD: 59:22, average HR 153
Weight: 120
Resting heart rate: 60
Fitness test: 37

Heart rate up, fitness down, but I hope again due to lack of sleep. Also what woke me up this morning was getting a hot flash, which I think messes up my HR, and that’s what the fitness test is based on (HR variability over a 5-minute period).

A quiet foggy morning for my long run. Pussy willows are out, and violets (just leaves, no flowers yet). A friendly young black and white dog joined me for a bit. I heard running and panting behind me–“wait for me!”, we introduced ourselves, and then he ranged ahead, circled around, caught up again, in classic dog fashion. I love how a dog running ahead will look back periodically to make sure you’re still following. We parted ways at the residence of a sleepy old yellow Lab who barely notices when I go by, but who greeted my new friend with lots of tail-wagging. I would have like the company a little further, but I worry about dogs straying too far from home (this one had no collar!), so it was just as well.