Tartan Terrible 4-Mile Race

Wednesday, August 17, 2011:

The Tartan Terrible is a goofy, cross-country, almost-steeplechase 4-mile race held in 3M’s Tartan Park. I love it and run it every year. It includes mowed grass, paved trail, gravel road, rough trail, steep little hills, and even calf-deep water. Runners are advised in advance to wear old shoes. It’s always on a warm Wednesday evening, and this year the temperature was 72, perfect for spectators and good enough for runners, all of whom enjoyed peanuts and cold watermelon afterward.

The course is not measured, but is probably about 4.3 miles. This year I needed 43:03 to finish, a half minute more than last year, but last year I hadn’t first run 18 miles earlier that same day. Ten-minute miles, it’s a good enough pace and I had an enjoyable run.

Now, though, it’s the next morning and I’m feeling a little bit of a groin pull on the right side. I sure hope that’s all it is. Anyway I’m already up to 33 miles this week, so no more running until Saturday, longer if the groin pull doesn’t go away.

Yours truly cruising toward the finish:

Legal Performance-Enhancing Drug

Wednesday, August 17, 2011:

Caffeine. I had an energetic long run last Wednesday, and another today. Both times I took Clif Shot Mocha gels containing 50 mg of caffeine. This time I took three gels, about 45 minutes apart, and did notice a pick-up from each of them.

I also ran the same Gateway Trail route and in the same fashion as last Wednesday, running 30 seconds and walking 25. It works - the walking helps with the PFS in the right knee and minimizes muscle fatigue, and the running helps with my back and gets me there faster. 18 miles in 3:15:00, for a pace of 10:50, not quite as fast as last week, but I’m fine with it. The last few miles were some of the fastest.

The right knee with PFS muttered and mumbled most of the way, but was never a problem. 20 miles next week?

Splits: 11:26, 10:18, 11:51, 10:02, 10:48, 10:58, 10:50, 11:24, 11:08, 11:12, 11:10, 9:50, 22:27 (2 mi), 10:10, 10:38, 10:08, 10:36.

Monday, August 15, 2011:

Not every day is a great day for running. Today I felt sluggish (definition of sluggish: like a slug). I ran 3.7 miles on the grass trails, and then enough on the paved trails to make five miles or so. Time 1:01, which is no great shakes. Oh well, another day will be better.

Breakfast:

No Walking

Except a little in the last mile. 5.8 miles in 55 minutes, for a pace of 9:29. Because the grass was wet from a hard rain, we ran on the paved trails. I was determined to run the whole way, but in the last mile the sun popped out and I melted like butter in a fry pan.

The pace was good enough, though, and the right knee with PFS didn’t bother much. It’ll do for today.

Lunch. Wild-caught canned Alaskan salmon under two cheeses, organic vegetable mix with a jalapeno sauce, organic fresh nectarine:

Someone Spiked My Metamucil!

I feel so good today. After 16 miles this morning, I ran another five with Rich and the Woodbury Runners tonight and felt great. Except for the right knee with PFS, actually, I felt wonderful. Toward the end of the run I was sensing a potential emergency and ran on ahead to the bathroom, at a (for me) very sprightly pace for at least a half mile, some of it uphill, and felt better than I had at the beginning of the run. Energized.

1:01 for the five miles, hardly a blazing pace (we walked some), but the last half mile was magnificent. I felt like I used to feel before the chemotherapy. I don’t really take Metamucil, of course, because a proper diet with fruit does the trick nicely, but something is different. 21 miles today and it’s time for bed and I don’t feel tired. It really is a masterpiece.

33 miles for the week. I’ll quit while I’m ahead. The next week starts Saturday.

As Good As It Gets

Wednesday, Aug 10, 2011:

A few days ago I chortled about the wonderful weather, saying it couldn’t get much better. I was wrong. This morning was as good as it gets. We three ran the Gateway Trail in 63 degree weather, a bright sun flickering occasionally through the trees that border the trail for most of its way. No wind, low dewpoint, just about perfect.

I ran and walked, running 30 triplets, then walking 20. A triplet is three footfalls, a convenient measure because a triplet takes me almost exactly one second when I’m running. It takes a bit longer when walking. The 30 running triplets take 30 seconds, and the the 20 walking triplets take about 25 seconds. Seems boring, counting all the time, but it gets pretty automatic and there is plenty of room in the brain for other thoughts. Long division is difficult, but everything else is fair game.

I went 16 miles and felt stronger at the end than at the start. 2:50:20, pace 10:39. I was trying to take it easy, but that’s a pretty good long-run pace for me.

Two gels, two salt tablets, and 40 ounces of water. The right knee with PFS did hurt a little most of the way, but I’m happy. It’s a masterpiece!

Monday, Aug 8, 2011:

The weather is improving. This morning was cooler, though the dew point was still in the 60's and the grass in the park was pretty wet. But I enjoyed running on the hilly grass trails anyway. Not a too-energetic run, just a nice cruise in the park. 6.9 miles in 1:18, pace 11:18. It’ll do. 12 miles for the week so far.

Breakfast after this morning's run. There is oatmeal under there somewhere:

St Croix Valley Runners

I think there were nearly a dozen runners at the St Croix Runners this morning. All guys, too, which is a shame. I don’t know where the girls were. Roy showed up, a rare treat. We meet at 7:00 am every Saturday at the Northland tennis courts in Stillwater.

Dave and I took the Lake McCusick route, and the others took Manning. Both routes are five miles. Dave went out ahead in the uphill part of the last half mile and I was last to arrive, but still finished in 48 minutes. I’ll take it.

There really is oatmeal under there:

Delightful Morning

Friday, Aug 5, 2011:

Another gallop on the grass trails in the park, early in the morning, with light fog still drifting through the trees and over the trail ahead. The temperature was about 65, not much wind, just a superb August morning.

I ran the full 4.8-mile loop, walking only going down the steepest hills, running up all of them. Finish time was 51:00, for a pace of 10:38, which is three minutes faster than the last time I ran this loop. It’s OK for this kind of trail. The right knee with PFS did hurt a little, which is why I walked downhill, but otherwise it wasn’t a problem.

Wednesday, Aug 3, 2011:

Twelve miles in the park, mostly on grass/dirt trails. I do love running on those hilly trails, even if it is a bit harder than running on flat pavement. The trails were a little muddy here and there, because of all of the rain we’ve had lately - an unusually wet July and already some rain in August.

I took water along, 20 ounces, and one gel. The temperature was modest, but not the humidity, and I got pretty warm. Sunshine said my face was a little red even after my shower, though that could have been from the sun too. The right knee with PFS did hurt some, especially downhill, but it wasn’t a limiting factor. Nice run, though, enjoyable. I had plenty left afterward.

Monday, Aug 1, 2011:

Five miles on the paved trails in the park. I didn’t have my watch, so I don’t know the time, but I suspect it was less than 50 minutes. We were concerned about a looming thunderstorm, so we had our eyes turned westward a lot, but we got back home before it hit. Good thing, too, because it hit so hard that power went out for an hour or so.

Nice run, some pain in the right knee, but easily tolerable.

Wild-caught Pacific cod, organic turnips, rutabaga, parsnips, onions, & strawberries, with organic relish: