Blistering Speed

i took advantage of wonderful weather this past Friday to try to catch up on some litte chores around the house. After running a few errands, I got clearance to go for a run.
My goal was to use the run to test out Ensure again and to be out for longer than 6 miles. The out and back that i have done on the AT from Norwich south to the shelter and back gives a nice, slightly challenging, 7 mile loop. Seemed perfect.

note: it is now a WEEK since the activities i am about to describe.

off i ran. and ran. i was feeling GOOOOOOD. dashing up hills that usually slow me down. i could 'feel' the trail, if you know what i mean. i could anticipate the climbs, was ready for the down hills. it was nice.

i ran without headphones so that i could listen to the forest. chipmunks were everywhere, gathering nuts, running up and down the stone walls. i spooked a partridge, thought i saw a deer; you know, the usual fall activities in the Vermont woods.
did i mention that i was feeling really good about the run? at the ususal turn around, i was still going strong(ly?). i decided to extend my run, and gave serious consideration to going all the way to west hartford (the OTHER trailhead) and then turning around. that would have made the run into just over a half-marathon, right around 14 miles. i was REALLY considering this to be a good idea. (foreshadowing).

around mile 4, which isn't much beyond the shelter, i started to feel a hot spot on my left instep, at the height of my arch. hmmm. not good. didn't feel any debris in there. hmm. no socks. did i mention that i wasn't wearing socks? at this point i have about 20 miles on these shoes, all without socks, and have had no troubles. the day and the trail were dry, so...why not?

did i mention the hot spot? i now had one on my RIGHT foot, too. dammit. do i turn around, and go 4+ miles back, or do i just call Mike to rescue me in W. Hartford and make the mileage only 6? run, run, run, try not to think about it, run run run....

ut-oh. down hill coming up. long one. ouch. ouch, OUCH! stop. tighten laces. less slipping=less rubbing=less blister, right? TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE. decided to run until Teri (Garmin (p.b.t.n.)) chirped 5 miles, then turn around. make 10 out of it. why not, right?

blister central. ouch ouch ouch. managed to make the return trip in just 5 minutes longer than the first part, which i think is GREAT considering that my left arch had pretty much turned into ground beef. (see photo of 1 week old wound)


fast forward to today. one week has passed, and i am still limping on that foot. i have soaked in epsom salts, which helps, but maybe haven't done it enough. i am trying to air it out at night, which helps, but me thinks the clogs are not helping. too hot. the skin is nice, soft, and pliable, but it is ringed in RED, sensitive tissue. YEP...looks like a localized infection. bugs have taken up residency in my left foot. WHAT???

walk-run

Monday, afterwork, I headed out to a local trail system. Hurricane Forest is a town park (i think) that has multiple trail systems, at least 2 ponds (no boating/swimming allowed, though), and some nice benches.
Oh. and HILLS.
Got a text from the Weeb-Meister just before i headed out, and she said that she was going to call me in a few. So i set the fazer to "stun" (cell phone to vibrate) and ran off into the woods. just before a big hill, the phone rang (buzzed). YAY! sweet reprieve!!!
we chatted for almost a mile, which translated into about a 15 minute mile....
then i picked up the pace, completed the loop, and then ran a second time around. saw NO other people. Amazes me how no one is ever out on this trail system. Very well kept secret, i must say.
Before the run I drank a vanilla ensure. The run turned out to be short enough that i am sure that things would not have been any different if i did have it, but i really wanted to see how it would sit in my belly after all that running around. it was fine. my belly was fine. no sudden urges to 'move things along', which is what i was totally expecting.
so, good.
good run, good trails, good chit chat with the Weeb-meister.

tri-fecta

so i did it. thank you, T.
left work a bit late on thursday, then drove straight to Newport. Parked, got my stuff situated, grabbed the map and headed up the trails.
i haven't ridden on 'serious' trails in many years. let's say a ba-jillion. the short version is that i had a great time. i got turned around a few times, nothing major, and i found that i was taking the map too seriously. bike survived, i survived, and i didn't crash. ALMOST did 3 times. but i didn't.
got back to the truck, and some dude who was putting his road bike away came over and started talking to me. i gotta work on that sign that says, "does not play well with others". anyway, it was a decent short conversation. he is racing as part of a team, doing the road bike leg. he seemed impressed that i had chosen this race as my first one back on the bike. why wouldn't I?
then i tried to salvage the little time i had left for a run. i ran 2/3 of the trail run course. by itself, the course is nothing really special. i could see myself running back there quite a bit if we lived closer. wish we had something like that around here. maybe i should explore Hurricane Forest more.
back into the truck (gotta name that thing) and ZOOMED back to WRJ to pick up Z and Justin from practice. I MADE IT! woot, woot!

took Friday off, and inadvertently Saturday, too. might try to squeeze in a ride today. somehow.
must
14 days left.

2 fer

see my report card, waaaay down there in the bottom right? see how it barely fits? yea, i don't know why it does that. ANYWAY....
what i really want you to see is that i got in TWO DAYS IN A ROW! (today, the good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise) i will go for three.
my Coach (T) told me to go to Newport and "do something". So i think that i will hit the trail portion of the race. Look here tomorrow for some sort of report.
Are you making signs for the race? got cowbell? just sayinnnnnnn.

Gonna need a bigger drawer

for all of these ideas that i keep coming up with. they mostly need to be filed under "w" for "wth was i THINKING???"

as you probably know, i have a big race coming up in OCT. i am pretty psyched for it, actually, and can't wait for it to get here. the logistics for spectators sounds kinda funky, though. yes, the transition area (from sport to sport) is all in the same location, which is nice. same place as the start/finish. the course is so spread out, though, and since i am not the faster runner in the stable, Dad sightings are going to be few and far between.

unless....unless....unless they use the leap-frog method of spectating that T, Z, and B employed during the 08 CHaD Half. genius. so here, if you are planning to watch (anyone, not just me!), is my idea to optimize seeing your racer along the course(s):

Start. enough said.
Drive north on 10, turn left at the airport (2nd left), park by the covered bridge. nice little shady spot. kids can chuck stones into the river while you wait. yell, "GO DAD! (or whomever)" at the appropriate time. Clap, snap photo, get back in car.
Drive back to school, cheer as your racer transitions from running to Mountain Bike. Cheer loudly as they head off into the woods. Chill. Drink coffee. Bribe kids with gummies, etc. to keep them calm while Dad is in the woods for about 35 minutes.
Cheer like mad again when he emerges and scoots out onto the road. Don't get TOO close, or you might get splattered with mud/debris as he heads out onto the road.
Gather the little ones, get BACK into the truck, head north on 10 again, honk/yell wildly as you pass your athlete. TURN LEFT at the Croydon Fire Station (just past the lakes), and head UP the hill. While driving up the hill, think of how your husband will be pumping his legs to get to the top. ugh. gasp. he.will.NOT.walk.
At the top, there is a nice clearing on the left. park long there somewhere, and yell as he gets to the top and slowly passes you, on his way down. before it gets too steep for him to focus on anything but the road.
Get BACK in car, head BACK the way you came, and go to the school. CHeer like a banshee for the last transition, and watch as he heads out to the woods for a trail 5-k-ish run. this should take about 40 minutes. should.
Get ready to cheer like wild again when he crosses the finish line. Yes, it has been a LONG morning for spectators. Racers, too, but hey, THEY (we) want to be here. spectators might have something ELSE to do on a chilly Sunday morning.

BUT....most importantly, a HUGE THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

Love, LOVE the pillow(s)

Quite a while ago T (aka MLW) came up with a top ten list for me of things to always remember. I wrote some of them down, and try to remember the rest. #10 was probably to NEVER forget the list. hmm.
high on the list (low in number) was "Love, LOVE the pillows". We had just gotten new ones, and I wasn't too sure about them. That was 3 pillow changes ago (I am not sure exactly why, either), and I must have learned to Love, LOVE the pillows. I can't get my lazy butt out of bed in the mornings. I set FOUR alarms. They go off. I turn them off. I go back to sleep. I stay asleep. I finally wake up in a PANIC, run around the house like a maniac, and dash out the door. If i had to actually put together clothes to wear to work, it would be a disaster. I am SO happy that i have to wear scrubs at work. easy-peasy, lemon squeezy.
Anyway, I need to find a better method to get myself out of the house and running or riding every day. Hear that, self? EVERY DAY. My 'big' race is 21 days out. I bought some new tires for the MTB that are 'comfort tires'. huh? well, that's what the box says, so we'll go with it. I am tempted to try them out, but a bit afraid, too. i did a coasting test down the driveway, and was still going pretty good half way down the street. hmmmmmm....might break a speed record. so far i think i have maxed out at 29mph.
At any rate (speed), i won't ever have to worry about it if continue my love, LOVE affair with the pillow(s).

shameless begging

Several months ago I was looking for a 'cause' to which i could attach my running. You know, a bigger cause than just "it will make me healthier to run".
I scoured the web, asked around, and came up with two worthwhile charities; The Lance Armstrong Foundation (of which I am certain you have heard (LiveSTRONG bracelets??)) and the other, not so famous Athletes for a Cure Foundation, which is an off-shoot of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. (They, too, have cool bracelets!)
I gave serious consideration to the LAF, especially since I lost a friend this summer to lung cancer, and then another patient to colon cancer. I have nothing against the LAF, and am an avid fan of Lance as an athlete.
But I decided to go with the AFaC/PCF for more....um....personal reasons. For those of you not aware, yes, i HAVE a prostate. NO, I don't have prostate cancer. But chances are good that I will get it. One in Six men will. The chances go UP if you are blood related to someone else who had it.
So i sit here on my couch and look at my family. There are 4 males in the house. Add in a brother in law and his 2 boys. And another brother in law. And 2 grandfathers, plus a great grand father. That's...wait...hold on....ELEVEN. Factor in the family history, and BAM! TWO or MORE of us are likely to be stricken with Prostate Cancer.
The choice was simple. I have aligned myself with Athletes for a Cure. I haven't tried to raise money for a cause since I was in grade school, jumping rope for HOURS in the gym, raising $$ for MS. Remember those days? That was FUN. And so it goes, and so it goes. This go round, my efforts are in running. I just raced in a half marathon that raised money for a local children's hospital. No extra fund raising by me, as I was saving my begging for my 'big' race of the year.
On October 4th I will be racing in the Pinnacle Challenge in Newport, NH. The race is a double duathlon, in that we run on the road, then mountain bike, then road bike, then trail run. For details and to register go to http://www.team-pinnacle.org/pinnacle_challenge.php.
But that's not why i posted this long note.
I posted it so that you will go to this site:

http://athletes.kintera.org/other/genesoboleski?faf=1&e=2688066868

and help me raise funds. From there you should be able to link to the Prostate Cancer Foundation site to get more information. They can even send you brochures for free. Gotta love FREEEEEE! If you can't find the link, the site is www.pcf.org. Simple.

Again, thank you very much. Please FEEL FREE to send this to any of your friends. My shameless begging is not limited to you, my lucky facebook/internet friends and family. ALL are welcome and encouraged to donate.

Thank you,
Gene