July Summary, Trail Marking, Steve Hawthorne

August sneaked in under cover of darkness, and pushed July out the window. Sorry to see July go, it was a good month of real summer weather: hot, humid, lots of thunder storms, hot, humid. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it, including riding my bike home through many of those storms. Every time I rode my bike to work in July, it rained on the ride home. On some days I got only a sprinkle, on others it rained so hard I could have paddled rather than peddled.
I didn't do much speed work in July, mostly due to trying to get enough miles in to prepare for my first ultra. I did go to the track on Tuesday of this week. Despite the nagging thoughts that I hadn't given myself enough time to recover from the BT50k, I was pleased to clock three miles as follow: 5:56, 5:55, and 5:54. That is probably the best, most consistent interval session I've had. It was reassuring to know that I could bounce back from the 50k so quickly. I went right home and had a beer to celebrate.

Totals for July 2008
- 206 miles running
- 175 miles biking




I marked trails for the Burning River 100 Mile Endurance Run for 8 hours on Saturday (with Paul R.) and four hours on Sunday, I met up with Paul R. and Jeff U. yesterday at 5:00 PM and we marked trails until around 9:30 PM. The race starts tomorrow (Saturday, August 2) at 5:00 AM, so we had to be sure to get this last section done. On Saturday morning, I'll run sections of the trail to check for storm and/or vandal damage to the markings. During the race, Sue and I will be working the Aid station at the Boston Store. Among all the other things going on, I'll try to take some photos to include on the next blog post, because this blogging thing gets a bit tedious without colorful, fun images.

Steve Hawthorne, an extraordinary human being.

June and YTD Training Summary

June was a good month. I got my miles in, 231 running and 138 on the bike. Per the plan, I increased the ratio of trail to road miles. 34% of my miles were trail running, which is about 15% higher than it had been in the first five months of the year. My left knee and right Achilles have forgiven me for the brutal, unfair way that I treated them in the first half of the year. I put them through miles upon miles in ridiculously bad weather, preparing for Boston and Cleveland marathons. When they complained, I ignored them. The more I ignored them, the more they complained. Finally, they gave up the fight, shut up, and got back to working they way they should. As a reward, I am taking them on 50k trail race filled with hills, water, hills, mud, hills, and hills. YEAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Just as a side note, I have totaled 1139 running miles in the first six months of 2008. That is nearly exactly my total for the year in 2006 (1170 miles), and a couple of hundred miles shy of my total for last year (1362 miles.) The best part of this is that I feel great, I am looking forward to the BT50k, the Chicago Marathon in October, and a few distance races to be determined in between.

The Bike:
Ive been riding to work two days a week for over a month now, and I am in a groove. Although it is a road/racing style bike, I equipped it with a rack and panier like a commuter bike. It nicely accommodates my notebook PC, my office clothes and shoes, and my lunch. The round trip is 25.5 miles, filled with hills. Seriously, there is not one flat stretch of more than 1/4 mile. I leave in the morning right at dawn, about 5:45 AM this time of year, when there is very little traffic. Even so, I must look like the a UFO with all the flashing lights and reflective clothes. (Note the neon yellow top and red reflective vest. Stylin', oh yea.) Coming home, the traffic is much worse, so I take the longer way that winds through the Bedford Reservation. It takes about an hour and twenty minutes, but it is a scenic, less stressful ride.