I ran the last six days in a row, so today was a rest day.
This weekend, the plan is the Weekend Warriors workout tomorrow morning and a shorter run, and then a long-ish run Sunday. Not much else going on around here.
February 26, 2021
February 25, 2021
Training for 2/25/21
Clark got back from his work trip last night, so I didn’t have to get up this morning and take Pepper to his sitter, which meant I slept in.
I ran at lunchtime instead. It’s a warm, sunny day here, and a bit breezy. I did 4.2 miles at an 8:58/mile average.
This evening, I’m signed up for a strength training class.
February 24, 2021
Training for 2/24/21
Today is my one-year anniversary at my job! So far, so good.
This morning, I took Pepper over to his sitter’s again so I could go for a run.
I did a 6-mile out-and-back along the coast in Carlsbad. It started out at my usual easy run pace just below 9:00/mile, but I guess I had a little pep in my step today, because I sped up a bit every mile until I ran an 8:16 and finished the whole run at an 8:33/mile average.
Usually, I hang out at the sitter’s apartment for a little while after my run, trying to ignore Pepper, who stands impatiently at the door and whines because he wants to leave immediately.
This time, it looked like he was starting to squat down to take a dump on her floor, so I rushed him out and down the steps to some mulched flower beds… where he did not poop. He also refused to go back up the steps to her apartment.
The whole thing was a trick to get me to leave! Visit’s over haha.
February 23, 2021
Training for 2/23/21
This morning, I took Pepper over to his sitter’s, then ran 5 miles at an 8:49/mile average to Oceanside and back.
When I got back to Pepper’s sitter’s place, she told me he’d willingly walked up the steps to her apartment after their walk today. I guess he didn’t like getting dragged up there by Riley yesterday haha.
I’m signed up to do a strength training class this evening after I get done with work.
February 22, 2021
Training for 2/22/21
Saturday, Clark and I both did the Weekend Warriors workout. It’d been more than a month since I did one of those, which are longer than the weekday workouts — and I hadn’t done one of those in a while either ha. I knew I was going to feel that the next day!
Later that morning, I ran a hilly 6.5-mile loop I figured out a couple weeks ago. Most of it is just sidewalks along roads, but there is a brief trail section in the middle.
I climbed 777 feet and ran a 10:08/mile average, a little faster than the last time I did that loop.
The weather here this weekend was beautiful. We went into the village late Saturday afternoon to have a couple beers at Pure Project, which was just recently able to reopen.
Sunday morning, Clark got up early and met the running/biking group for a brick workout. When he got back, I went out for a run.
I intended on 8 to 10 miles, but I just wasn’t feeling it. It was pretty warm that late in the morning, there were a ton of people everywhere because it was such a nice day and I’d been right about my legs feeling sore after finally doing some strength training the day before.
I wound up running 6 miles at a 9:59/mile average, but I stopped the Garmin halfway through to walk on the beach down by the water, probably about another mile.
Clark had to go back to a job site for a few days this week. He left yesterday afternoon. After his coworker picked him up, I just watched the rest of the NASCAR race.
This morning, Pepper went to his sitter’s for the first time since he stayed there while we were gone. I think he was afraid he was being “abandoned” again for four days. He did not want to go up the steps to her apartment when I got there to drop him off, and then he refused to go up them again after she took him and her dog for a walk! But she has a leash that tethers two dogs together, so she put that on Pepper and Riley, and told Riley to get Pepper up the stairs. She said Riley looked like a rescue dog, pulling another injured dog up out of a canyon or something haha! But he got Pepper to the top.
Anyway, my run was fine, 4 miles at an 8:45/mile average.
February 19, 2021
Training for 2/19/21
“Training for…” is a misnomer today. I didn’t actually do anything.
The Calgonquin 50K is eight weeks from tomorrow though, so this weekend seems like a good time to get back to it. I’ve signed up for tomorrow morning’s virtual Weekend Warriors class — which will be the first strength training I’ve done in more than two weeks, by far the longest break I’ve taken from it since we joined this gym last January — and I’m planning on a shorter run tomorrow and then 8 to 10 miles Sunday.
I definitely need to keep going the hilly way on my runs for the next couple months. They posted the course map and elevation profile for the race. It’s very similar to the Bulldog 25K I did outside L.A. in 2011 — a 25K loop with a big climb at the beginning (about 1,400 feet in the first 6 miles or so in this case) and a lot of downhill after. Since I’m signed up for the 50K for this one, I’ll get to do it twice.
I remember being pretty freaking intimidated by that Bulldog course, since we were living in super-flat Delaware at the time and I’d intentionally avoided any race course with hills, but it turned out fine. I hiked the big uphill, like everyone else around me, and then skidded down the rest of the way. I do remember my quads were absolutely shredded the next day though, and that was after only one loop!
Anyway, as far as the rest of the weekend goes, we don’t have any big plans. There’s another NASCAR race to watch Sunday though. I’m so glad it’s back!
February 18, 2021
Training for 2/18/21
After four complete rest days, I finally felt like going for a run today.
Back to my regular running scenery:
It was a beautiful afternoon for a run here. I felt OK too. Nothing is sore at all anymore. I did an easy 4-miler at an 8:56/mile pace.
February 16, 2021
Algonquin 50K race report
About 24.5 miles and at least five hours into the Algonquin 50K, I arrived at the fifth aid station. A volunteer told me I was visibly shaking and led me to stand under one of the gas-powered heat lamps they’d brought in. The guy in charge of that aid station, Mike, asked me if I was glad I’d flown back from California for this.
“It’s 60 degrees and sunny at my house,” was all I could think to say.
Another volunteer, bundled up and standing behind a grill just inside the tent protecting him from the freezing rain, laughed.
“That sounds awful!” he said.
This year’s Algonquin 50K in the Pocomoke State Forest — the fifth one — was by far the worst conditions we’ve had. Anyone who’s been reading my race reports here is probably used to me complaining about all the standing water and mud on the course, but this year, it rained and snowed more than usual leading up to it. There was running water in places that are usually dry.
Worse, however, was what was coming down on us. We’ve always had a dry day for this race, but this year, we got freezing rain. It was an onslaught of icy water from every angle.
As a result, most of us had a pretty bad time out there. (The winning men’s time was still under four hours, and the women’s under 4:30, so some runners weren’t too bothered by it!) But out of 192 starters, only 140 finished under the eight-hour course cutoff. Another six made it to the final aid station quickly enough to be allowed to continue to the final stretch, but lost too much time there that they finished over the cutoff.
The other 46 starters had to take a DNF, either because they voluntarily dropped out or they didn’t make it to an aid station by its cutoff time.
Personally, it took me 6:48 to finish, almost a full hour longer than my fastest time on the course, in 2017.
But hey, look at this mug collection! Worth it.
Anyway, going back to the beginning. Friday morning, Clark and I got up early and finished packing for the trip. I took Pepper over to his sitter’s, where I accidentally let her dog out while she was still putting on her shoes. We got him back but I was late getting back to our house as a result, and the Uber driver was already waiting for us.
Halfway to the airport, I realized in my rush, I’d run out without a winter coat, which I was definitely going to need once we landed in Maryland. Off to a stellar start!
The flight was surprisingly full, but uneventful. We landed at BWI and picked up our rental car, then headed over to the Eastern Shore, with stops at Chick-fil-A for one of my favorite pre-race dinners, three chicken strips and waffle fries, and the Columbia outlet in Queenstown so I could get a coat.
I dropped off Clark at his parents’ house and then went to Melissa’s house, where I’ve stayed every year the night before this race.
She’d picked up my race packet for me. This year, we got long-sleeved technical shirts, a black or red beanie, a free pair of Injinji trail socks, a sample of Squirrel Nut Butter and some more magnets and stickers to add to the collection.
I’d taken my anti-jet lag pills on the flight, but they didn’t seem to work as well as I’d remembered last year. I had trouble falling asleep at a decent time. However, when my alarm went off at 4:45 a.m. — 1:45 where I’d come from — I didn’t feel bad at all, so maybe they did do some good. Who knows.
I had some coffee and oatmeal with peanut butter and honey at Melissa’s. Another runner, Mike, met us at her house to ride with us, and we picked up two more local runners, Ryan and Kaytlyn, along the way. We got to the race site at the Milburn Landing more than an hour before the start time.
They were discouraging people from congregating under the pavilion at the start, due to COVID regulations, so we just kinda hung out in Melissa’s car between making runs to the bathroom for pre-race evacuations.
The five of us were all in the first of two waves, but we almost missed the start! It wasn’t in its usual spot on the road near the pavilion; it was farther down, past the end of the parking lot, on the grass. I got there with less than a minute to spare. I don’t know if they did that to give us more time to spread out before we hit the single track trail or what.
And then we were off!
The first few miles of the race made it clear the course was in bad shape. There usually isn’t much mud or water in that section, but that was not the case this year. My feet were already soaked and freezing cold less than a mile in. Oh well.
However, the rest of me almost felt a little too warm. It’d only been slightly misting at the start, and I felt a bit overdressed in tights, an Under Armour mock neck top, a water-resistant New Balance pullover, a buff, an earband and a baseball hat.
I just grabbed a gel from that aid station and kept moving. The next mile-plus of the course was on a long hard-packed dirt road that, this year, was all sloppy mud and puddles.
I think it started raining harder in this second section. Soon enough, I did not feel overdressed.
We ran through some grassy areas, down a short paved stretch and then got back into the woods. There were some massive “puddles” in this section, where it’s usually pretty dry and runnable.
The second aid station was at mile 10. I was so excited for this one because Kelly and Susan were volunteering there! I hadn’t seen either of them since we ran this race together last year. They got me hooked up with a potato covered in salt and Old Bay. I could’ve hung out there and talked to them for hours, but I was on a race clock unfortunately, so I was only there five minutes or so.
As I was leaving, Susan pointed out I still had 22 miles left. I could already feel my hip flexors starting to sting from all the trudging through mud and water.
The next section is a sandy trail we usually hate, but this year, it wasn’t bad at all. All the rain had packed it down, but hadn’t turned it to mud.
That lasted about a mile, and then we were on a section of trail that had signs warning they were closed and we should stay out because there was heavy equipment.
It threw me off when I came up on a section I didn’t recognize, because of whatever work they’re doing there. But there was a woman standing in the middle of a mud pit taking pictures, so I figured I was on the right track after all.
We had another photographer in this section.
Around the half marathon mark, the course rejoined the Algonquin Cross-County Trail, which we would run all the way back. I ran into the leaders, at mile 21-ish, when I was at 14. Amazing! They made it look easy.
The next aid station was at mile 15. I was quick there too, just grabbed a PB&J square and a banana. I ate it while I walked out toward the out-and-back that made up the next 4.5 miles or so.
I started running again and got to the turnaround point, where people were huddled under a little tent with a gas-powered heater, yelling encouragement and taking our pictures right where the course went from pink flags (out) to blue (back.)
Then I headed back. I think I took something to eat at the mile 19.5 aid station but I don’t really remember.
After that, we were back on the Algonquin Cross-County Trail.
I don’t remember a whole lot in particular about this next roughly five-mile stretch. I just know all my clothes were wet and I was freezing, and those little muscles connecting my legs to my hips were feeling it more and more, especially on my right side.
Also, the rain had started knocking off piles of snow from the trees, which was falling on us too. At some point I got blasted in the head by a snowball as I was stepping into a knee-deep puddle, and I just busted out laughing. It was absurd.
Eventually, I heard music blasting, and then I was at the mile 24.5 aid station. That’s where I got to stand under a heater for a little bit. I also got some more potato and a little cup of scalding hot apple cider, that I took with me to keep sipping on when I left. That hot cider really helped!
Just 7.5 miles to go. Easy, right?
We trudged through more water and mud, then crossed a road and got back on trails we’d run on the way out. We had to run down the dirt road too, which had only gotten muddier and sloppier since the first time through. A truck rolled by and threw waves of muddy water on us. I don’t think any of us gave a solitary crap.
The last aid station was at mile 28-ish. I got more potato and hit the trail.
This was the section we’d first run, when it was just muddy. Now it was completely under water.
I’m not kidding, if there’d been another aid station between there and the finish, I’d have seriously considered dropping out. The entire trail was a river, if you could see where the trail had been at all. Parts of it were just a swamp. The only indicator you were even still on the course were a few blue flags sticking up out of the muck. If I’d gotten off course, I’d have just sat down and cried.
Eventually I caught up with some other runners, which helped.
Those last few miles felt as long as the entire previous 28 before that last aid station. My front leg/hip muscles were screaming with every step, to the point I’d see a small root on the ground and be amazed I didn’t involuntarily trip over it because I couldn’t lift up my leg high enough. I ran as much as I could, but those last few miles were all over 15 minutes each.
Around when my Garmin beeped 31 miles, I fell in step with a guy and that woman in the photo above, who was still just behind me. The three of us ran the last mile-plus together.
We finally emerged from the woods for the last time. As we ran toward the finish area, I told them I hadn’t been this miserable in a really long time. The woman I was running with said she couldn’t wait to get some more of that piping hot apple cider so she could throw it directly on her face haha.
“Second degree burns sound pretty good right now!” the guy agreed.
And then it was over.
6:48:51.
Our race dictator, Trent, sounded almost apologetic about the conditions as I stopped my Garmin. But then he told me to pick out one of the beautiful ceramic mugs handmade by a local artist for this race, and all was forgiven.
I felt like I was the last runner in the race, so I was surprised by how many mugs were still left to pick from. Turned out I was the 57th to finish, and 226 had originally signed up for the race (several had deferred because of COVID, injuries or whatever), so yeah, there were still plenty left.
Even better, someone at the finish line told me Melissa was hanging out in one of the cabins there, which some of her other friends had rented, and I could go in there too, to warm up and PUT ON MY DRY CLOTHES.
I got my stuff out of her car and hobbled over there. Some nice drunk lady I’d never met helped me peel off all my soaking wet clothes. Someone else handed me a beer. I felt so much better in dry clothes, with my feet on a heater and a beer in my hand.
A funny thing happens when a shitty race is over and you’re talking to other people who suffered through it too. It starts to already become a fun memory. By the time we left there, I was glad I’d done it.
Back at Melissa’s house, I took a nice hot shower and had some of the chili her husband had made that afternoon. I hadn’t taken any of the post-race food, and all I’d eaten all day were a bunch of cold potatoes, so that really hit the spot.
I also realized I’d left my Garmin and running tights in that cabin. Melissa was able to get them back from her friends, but not before I had to leave the area, so she’s mailing them back to me today. So right now I don’t know exactly how far I ran, but I know it was past 32 miles.
Clark had spent all afternoon in Lewes with Bart and his new girlfriend. I drove to Fenwick, left my car at Clark’s parents’ beach house and took an Uber to Dewey, where I met them at Woody’s Bar and Grill. Our friends Glenn and Lauren met us there too.
We wanted to go to Woody’s so bad because they have the best crab cakes I’ve ever had, and I haven’t had a single decent one since we moved here. It was even better than I remembered!
We tried to go to Dogfish Head in Rehoboth after dinner, but it was already closed, so we just stopped and got some beers and then went back to the beach house for a while. Glenn and Lauren eventually went home, and Clark and I stayed there Saturday night.
Sunday morning, I wanted to see the Atlantic Ocean. It’d been a while!
It wasn’t raining anymore, but it was a gray, blustery day.
Then we went to Clark’s parents’ place, where his mom basically made their Christmas brunch for us, since we missed it the last two years.
Later, we stopped by Clark’s grandmother’s yard to talk to her from inside our vehicle, and we did the same at my parents’ house. It was such a cold day though, no one wanted to be outside in it for too long, so the visits were a little brief. But at least we got to see them!
We went to Clark’s friend’s house for the race. It started raining in Daytona only 15 laps into the race, but it was just as well, because I had a family Zoom call to join at 4 p.m. for my cousin’s son’s 16th birthday, which lasted for an hour.
We stayed at his friend’s house for quite a while, got our stuff from Clark’s parents’ house and then drove to D.C., where we stayed the night with Clark’s brother. We got to his place in time to see the last 40 laps of the race, which had finally gotten restarted. It ended around midnight, when Michael McDowell got around the big wreck on the last lap to take the surprise win.
Monday, our flight wasn’t until the middle of the afternoon, so Chad took us to walk around Rock Creek Park. We only saw a little piece of it, but I can see why it’s so popular with D.C. runners.
Then we dropped off the rental, got to the terminal and through security in time to eat more crab at Obrycki’s (that should hold us until the next time we get back) and flew back.
As soon as we got home, I went and picked up Pepper. He was very excited to see me, but his sitter had been sending me pictures all weekend, and I knew for a fact he’d had a good time!
I think we all fell asleep around 8:30. I didn’t take the anti-jet lag pills on the way back, but I don’t think I need them when we gain three hours in the air. I woke up long before I needed to start working today, and I feel fine.
So that’s my first race report in a year! It was a doozy.
Next up is the Calgonquin 50K in April! I think today will be another rest day. All the little stabilizing muscles in my legs and feet really hurt Sunday. They feel pretty much normal again today, so I think I’ll be fine to get back to training this week.
February 11, 2021
Training for 2/11/21
Today, I did one last short easy run, 5 miles along the coast. My Garmin died before I got back so I don’t know how fast it was.
Tomorrow, we fly back to Maryland! I still haven’t packed yet. Now the race day forecast has at least warmed up a little, so it won’t be snowing or icy, but it’s still going to be pretty cold and most likely raining, and the entire course is going to be mud and standing water. I don’t remember how to dress for this.
Unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to see my family, which I’m pretty bummed about. Clark and I have both tested negative for COVID — multiple times, in Clark’s case — but Clark found out two of his coworkers tested positive for it. Tomorrow will be a week since he was around either of them, and like I said, we’ve both tested negative and have not had any symptoms, but my dad is high risk and not vaccinated, so it’s not worth even the teensiest chance. We were going to watch the Daytona 500 at their house Sunday but now that’s been scrubbed. I hate this.
So that sucks, but I’m trying to focus on the bright side… like trudging through icy rain and mud for 32 miles haha.
Anyway, we fly back here Monday, so I’ll be here Tuesday to report on my first race in a year!
February 10, 2021
Training for 2/10/21
I’ve been taking it easy this week, “tapering” for the 50K now three days away.
Yesterday, I was just lazy. I didn’t get up to run before work, and then the Busch Clash (exhibition race) came on at 4 p.m. our time, so I watched that instead of running or doing one of the strength training classes after work.
Today, I did a short easy run at lunchtime, 4 miles along the coast.
One of my coworkers called and I slowed to a walk to talk to her for about a half mile, which brought my overall average pace to 10:02/mile.
I’m not doing a strength training class after work tonight either, because Daytona 500 qualifying comes on in 20 minutes.
A Simple Running Log 