Monday, March 9, 2015

Relax... Slow Down... Have a Beer...


My long run in the Gorge this past weekend was a "step back" run of only 16 miles. Only. Of course, when you climb 5600 feet over those 16 miles - most of that was really in the middle four miles slogging up the tricky, rocky and very technical Wyeth Trail - it feels a lot longer. I knew it was going to be a nasty climb. I didn't realize it was going to be quite THAT nasty. I should have looked a little more closely at the topo map.

What to do when a run turns out to be a lot tougher than expected? Relax. Don't sweat your pace. Enjoy it. The weather was unbeatable - low 60s under a clear blue sky. I had a brand new Sony compact digital cam with me, so I took the opportunity to get some pretty fantastic pictures. The Gorge is a great place for photography, even if, like me, you're not a particularly good photographer. Just point it somewhere and shoot. You'll get a cool picture.

More pictures
https://plus.google.com/photos/108216029714705859702/albums/6123709451452847841

Also relatively new on this run - my shoes. My attempts to deal with my calf strain issues have led me back from a neutral shoe like the Inov-8 Trailroc to the Brooks Cascadia. I wore the Brooks on last week's long run in Forest Park, too, but the trails there are more forgiving. Less rocky. Less steep. Overall, I'd say I don't mind these shoes. They're heavier than my Trailrocs, but they were pretty comfortable and they dry out a lot faster - yes, I purposefully slipped... I mean, uh... stepped in a stream to find out! Footing was good with them and I didn't experience any ankle rolls, despite the Wyeth Trail's best efforts. I'm not sure if they're doing anything for my calves, but I don't supinate in them as much as in my neutral shoes.

I'm done with the crazy hill climbs for a while. My 50k race only has about 4000 feet of uphill. Over 32 miles, that's not bad at all. I'm going to stick closer to the Gorge 400 trail, which doesn't have the crazy climbs but provides some decent technical work and fantastic scenery. I'll still run up in Forest Park, of course, but there's no point in killing myself on hills at this point, especially with my calves being so delicate. Injuring myself before the race is not a good plan for successfully completing the race!


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