We got snow shoes for Christmas. Here is a video from the Mississippi River taken a week or so ago starting at Pike Island. It was fun to wander around the island and the rivers.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIvmTvHydSs
See the map here.
[tags] snowshoeing, pike island, fort snelling, mississippi river[/tags]
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Earlier this week I did a run on a flooded Pike Island. Here are two videos that I created from that adventure. The first is a short “remix” and the second a longer one. If you are prone to seizures or vomiting you might want to skip the second one!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6pbtUdnyuE
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjWbT01F29U
[tags] Pike Island, Fort Snelling, Minneapolis, Running Routes [/tags]
Another week in the book. It seemed to go by super-fast, without a lot happening either…
I didn’t run on Monday and belted out my Week 4 push ups. I completed a total of 97 push ups. My core workout for today included Prehab: Core, Hip, and Elasticity.
Tuesday I ran about 4.25 miles from my house downtown and back. It was a little cold (20) and windy. Running into the wind wasn’t exactly pleasant but not unbearable either! Since I’m not doing all of the Core Performance workouts, I didn’t have any core work to do today!
On Wednesday though it was even colder with a wind chill of 3, which I didn’t realize until I got home. The weather app on my phone said it was in the 20’s, but didn’t show a wind chill. Learned the hard way! I ran 3.25 miles around a snow covered Powderhorn Park. The required 113 push ups really started hurting by the last 2 sets. It was painful but I also don’t want to fail! Today was a physioball workout. I also bike commuted to work which takes a bit longer when there is snow on the ground, not only riding but also the whole layering system takes time. I didn’t slip or get too cold so that was good!
By Thursday I was exhausted and didn’t run. I almost ran in the evening to blow off some stress but opted to just relax at home. I did my Prehab:Core, Hip, and Elasticity core workouts though.
Friday morning was the coldest yet with a wind chill of 0. I wore 4 layers on my upper body and felt comfortable, except for not wearing my face mask! It was a very uneventful 3.1 mile run. On days like this it is hard to keep the body temp comfortable, when I was running into the wind my body was on the cold side and with my back to the wind it was on the warm side. The joys of winter running! I also completed the required push ups – 140 to be exact. I almost couldn’t get the last set of 33 out – I had to pause a few times, but I made it!
Saturday was the weekly Polar Bear runs and it finally lived up to its name! We woke up with an inch or two of fresh snow on the ground and the temp was in the mid-teens with a harsh -3 windchill. We ran a loop around the Mississippi River from Lake Street to Plymouth Ave which is just under 11 miles total. The run out was brutal because of the wind and the River Road’s trails hadn’t been plowed yet for most of the run. That made for a tough workout, between the poor footing and losing some of the normal return it required more energy to complete the same workout from 2 weeks ago. We finished right at 1:26:00 for about 11.78 10.78 miles. I did my push-up exhaustion test, completing 36, which keeps me in the middle column going into Week 5.
It was bitter cold on Sunday for the 7.25 miles that we put in. It was an interesting morning though – Rob and I were followed by a weird stalker guy while driving to Fort Snelling. He started tailgating us and honking his horn, matching our every turn and then passing us on the right when we entered the parking lot. Rob called 911 to report him and we followed him around the parking lot before parking. Then he pulled into the spot right next to us (on my side) and just sat there with a weird look staring at us. He would also randomly just honk his horn. Rob got out and talked to some of the guys to tell them what was up and then when the whole group showed up we got out. Nathan tried talking to him, but I don’t even think he rolled down his window. Paul told him we had already called the cops and he finally left – we thought maybe he’d try and run us over but everything seemed fine once he left. After that adventure the run was really good. We ran on the snow covered trails of Pike Island. Down on the island the windchill doesn’t feel as fierce but the temp was about 4 degrees with a -3 wind chill. We didn’t see any deer until we got into the middle of the island and then they were everywhere. It was a good run!
Weekly Mileage
Running – 28.6 miles
Biking – 7 miles
This Week Last Year
I posted a guest review of the Monster Mash Dash in Indianapolis and completed the third part of my training analysis which was for my Mid-South Half-Marathon. And of course Foto Friday! Last year’s mileage was 9.5 miles on the (indoor) bike, 1.2 miles on the elliptical, and 15 minutes on the rower.
Image via Wikipedia
After the marathon, my legs and body were pretty sore and beat up!
I really enjoyed this quote that @runtowin posted on Twitter.
“I felt like I played in a very rough football game with no hitting above the waist.” — former NFL DT Alan Page after a marathon
I actually saw Alan in the early miles of the marathon playing his tuba! But everything above the waist felt great, while it hurt to walk around!
I did find that the more I walked around the looser and better my legs felt. But if I sat too long at my desk I’d get really stiff. I got a massage on Monday which helped my walking since it loosened up the calf and hamstring muscles. Tuesday was feeling better but still a little stiff. By Wednesday morning I was feeling almost normal again and decided to bike to work. I biked a total of 8 miles and felt pretty good. I tried to take it nice and easy and not push too hard. On Thursday I rode to work again and had Christy meet me afterwards for a casual ride to enjoy some of the changing leaf colors and enjoy the nice weather. We ended up riding almost 18 miles! Friday I left for a work retreat, we went just out side the metro-area to a beautiful YMCA camp and spent most of the day inside. But on Saturday we did a high ropes course 30 feet in the air! It is amazing how much energy can be expended on a ropes course. I had brought running clothes but didn’t wake up in time to run before breakfast. I finally got around to running on Sunday. I had planned to go running at Pike Island, but on the way there decided to try a new place.
I had a vague idea of where I was supposed to be going to get to the start but it is a little confusing of an area. I hadn’t brought my cell phone which has Google maps built in, so I was pretty much just guessing! I wanted to go to Sibley house and run those trails, but instead ran along Crosby Farms. When I got back and looked at a map, I realized my mistakes, but this was still a nice 5K run. I actually ran on the river bank for a little while before running on a dirt/sand trail and then using a paved path to get back to my car! It was a nice, scenic, and refreshing first run back. I was in no hurry and finished in 25:22. I was a little stiff at the beginning but it worked itself out by the end. My legs are still a little tired!
Weekly Mileage:
Running – 3.1 miles
Biking – 25.8 miles
[tags] Marathon, Crosby Farms [/tags]
I probably say that every month seems to fly by, well September was no different. The middle school I work at started right after Labor Day and it has meant some busy weeks. It is good to have the students back though, they help give purpose to my work – since my job is focused on finding opportunities for volunteers and community organizations to engage them, this makes sense! I also celebrated my second anniversary!!
It is a little odd to interrupt the flow of marathon related posts considering that the marathon is a few short days away, but it is good to look back on the month while I still have it fresh in my mind. As you know marathon training has been going well and weeks 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 were successfully completed!
If I wasn’t out running a long run, it seemed like I was racing and happily setting PRs. This month I just raced the City of Lakes 25K – my furthest race distance and left feeling super excited. I really enjoy running in Minneapolis because there are so many different place to go running. I just wish there was more dirt trails near my house! Some of my favorite places to run include the Minneapolis Riverfront and Pike Island.
I continued sharing about my experiences in Africa and different programs of World Vision. I wrote about Hurricane Relief, making Caregiver Kits with Cindy McCain and Laura Bush, the World Vision Experience, and I shared from my journal some of my initial thoughts about Ghana.
Blogging is fun, so I’m glad to see that the new USATF CEO has started his own blog.
Last Year a friend wrote a guest review of the Lewis and Clark Marathon, it was much better than this year’s rain soaked affair. My blog last year was called Run Central Indiana and it was the featured blog of the week over at the Phedippidations podcast. Two important but often forgot about training tools are accellerations and strides. I ran a DINO Series race (15K trail races) and wrote a nice review and had fun despite the muddy conditions. Finally, I shared what was currently on my mp3 player. The list has changed some but some of the shows are still there!
Monthly Mileage
Running – 160 miles
Biking – 146 miles
[tags] Highlights [/tags]