Monday, October 31, 2011

Day 1466 -- Jogger's Progress

TripYTDOct
Distance9195.21182.2101.3
Time64 days, 0 hrs, 57 min 8 days, 22 hrs, 25 mins 18:36
Days146519918
States35122

Yes, it has been a while. Partly I've been busy, and partly I have not had a lot of interest. Not in running, I've been running away like crazy.  But I haven't been really highly motivated to blog. 

OK, "like crazy" is a bit of an exaggeration. I only got in 18 days in October, and just barely cracked 100 miles.  I skipped my long run the last two Sundays.  No particular reason.  I just didn't feel like running.  I can pretend that I was tapering for the Pikermi this upcoming Sunday.  I think I'll be OK.  The last long run I did was almost 18 miles, and it's not like I totally stopped running.

Tomorrow, I'll try to figure out where in Kentucky I am, and get a picture posted. 

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Day 1457 -- Grayson

It was a really nice morning for a run.  Right at 40 degrees, and fairly still.  I got in almost six miles in a little over an hour.  And ran back in time to 1952, when this photo of downtown Grayson, KY, was taken. 

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Catching up to Day 1456

Well, I have been running this week.  I just haven't been posting.  I got in almost 6 miles on Wednesday, 3 each on Thursday and Friday, and a whopping 16.7 today.  That was quite a bit, but I wanted to get in a good long run.  I have one more Pikermi scheduled, for the first week in November.  Now I feel like I'll be ready.

Some time in those four days, I ran into Kentucky.  If I dug around the AARoads site a little, I might be able to find the correct "Welcome to Kentucky" sign, but I didn't.  This sign welcomes you as you drive north on I-75 from Tennessee.

Sunday, October 09, 2011

Day 1452 -- Huntington

Starbucks, anyone?  I happen to like my coffee strong, so I like Starbucks.  My favorite part is that the urn for the decaf says, "Mild", and it tastes like battery acid.  I'd like to know what "bold" tastes like.  Or maybe I wouldn't.

This particular Starbucks is in Pullman Square in Huntington, WV.  It looks like you can sit and sip your coffee and watch the fountain.

I plodded out almost 11 miles this morning.  It was a beautiful morning, although I don't think my form was particularly beautiful.  But I made it, and I'm feeling OK now, so that's good.

Saturday, October 08, 2011

Days 1450 and 1451 -- Milton

I have a thing about covered bridges.  This particular bridge is on the Milton, WV, Message Board

I ran Thursday and Friday, but took today off.  I want to get in a semi-long run tomorrow, if I have the energy. 

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Day 1449 - Hurricane

After 40 years as mayor of Hurricane, WV, Raymond Peak retired in 2007.  The story at activerain.com featured this picture of the Hurricane City Building.

It has been a while.  Sunday was a planned day off, after the triathlon.  Monday was a semi-planned day off.  I set my alarm, but when it went off, I didn't feel like running, so I reset my alarm and slept another hour.  Tuesday, I popped out of bed, put on my running clothes, and then realized I hadn't rereset my alarm.  I was an hour late, and with an 8:00 meeting, I didn't have time to run. 

So I finally got back on the road today.  It was a nice day, and I got in a fairly nice five miler.

Saturday, October 01, 2011

Day 1448 -- Race Report: Kickapoo Reserve Dam Challenge

Everything went as well as could be expected.

We got up early.  It was a little over an hour's drive from here.  It was me and my friend Bob, Mrs. J and Bob's wife, Mrs. H. 

The first thing that we did was to drop our kayaks off at the entry point, seven miles upstream from the main exchange point.  We were actually there pretty early, which was good.  They lined up the canoes and kayaks as they came in, and when we went into the water -- an hour and a half later -- we went in in that order.  So we actually got to go in pretty quickly.

We drove back down to the exchange area and dropped off our bikes.  We checked in, got our numbers, our timing chips, and our t-shirts.  Mrs. J and Mrs. H took all the stuff that we didn't need, and Bob and I jumped on a shuttle bus back up to the entry point. 

Things at the entry were pretty well organized.  They had four or five people in waders in the water, and they helped us into our boats one at a time and floated us out to the official starting point.  Every thirty seconds, someone blew a whistle, and the next boat was off.  The guy behind me was some 25-year paddler with an ultra-lite kayak.  I swear he passed me before the echo of his whistle died down.

Other people passed me, and I passed one or two.  Mostly people were passing me.  I'm just not that great of a paddler.  My main concern was to keep on top of the boat, and to keep out of the way of the faster people as they zoomed past me.  My arms aren't in great shape, and by the end of the kayaking leg, I was pretty tired.  I was looking forward to getting out and giving them a rest.

The second leg was biking.  I haven't biked that much this summer, but at least it was my legs that were carrying me.  The bike route was quite a challenge.  It's a big loop, which starts and ends down by the river, so of course the first bit is going to be mostly uphill.  It started out pretty gradual, but once it had softened you up, it hit you with the Big Hill.  I admit I got out and walked for a little bit.  I didn't want to, but I did.  The second half of the ride was mostly downhill, and it was kind of fun.

The run had a pretty good hill, too.  I walked up that one, too.  It was largely trail, which meant I had to be more careful where I put my feet.  I didn't exactly tear up that three miles, but I finished, and I felt pretty good.

My overall time was 3:33:17, which I consider satisfactory.  I didn't have any particular time goal in mind.  Bob wanted to beat three hours, and he did, coming in at 2:50-something. 

Mrs. J and Mrs. H tried at first to get out and see us in the water.  They stopped at a couple of bridges, but they really had no idea when we were going to get in the water, so they didn't know if they had missed us or if they should wait, and if they did wait, they didn't know how long it might take.  So they gave it up, and slipped off to a nearby town to get a bite and do a little shopping.  They didn't quite get back in time to see our finishes.  So no action shots, but Mrs. H took the shot above before we started out.