I am the Seattle Quest Eveng Center ... So many goodies ... Looking around for spandex socks ... Vibrams 5 fingers and ... runner's diarrhea remedy lol

Survivor run ... 4 hours to race start ...

I woke up 4:30am this morning, it’s a wet rainy day like any other day in Western WA, well not quite like any other day.  I run the Survivor Mud run in a few hours.  I contemplate what I am about to get into and stare into the unknowns of the race.  I know the obstacles, the mileage, I know I’ll be wet and cold, exited, tired and challenged.  I don’t know how it will all come together ... the little things, the intangibles ...

I woke up refreshed and ready ... mind and body are ready.  I refrained myself from working out yesterday afternoon all the while I feel like my body has been stocking up for the race since yesterday evening ...  The amount of food I consumed ins’t commensurate with the level of activity I had yesterday.  Especially yesterday evening I craved eating yet I wasn’t quite hungry. Bread, milk chocolate, pasta, juice, lots of fig newtons ...  A weird feeling really but maybe a sign of adaptation.  This morning I feel energy overflowing, I am restless  ....    Nothing shall take me down today ... I am up for the challenge, bring it on!

Course Map

Differen' Strides ...

That's right ...Remember that 70's show Diffen' Strokes ? LOL

Really there is more to training than just running and I forget that a lot of time.  Half and full marathon training programs have them, strides that is, a different kind of training.  The article below explains more ...


www.runnersworld.com article on Strides

I am looking to modify my training routine that will help me break from the 10 - 14 miles range.  Maybe that will help ... I will consider doing more of these, re-tructure some of the training   ... See if it affects positively my performance on long distance ...

Well what's saying?  well I got distracted and forgot my line of though ... oh no that's gotta be my most senseless post to date LOL

Ta ta

Discovery ...

Discovery of new routes is one of my favorite thing about running.  Sightseeing the route but also "feeling", "reacting" to the route, its pavement, its twists ... When I run a new route it's almost like making love to my girlfriend.   The route is unknown yet I anticipate the run as I have usually looked up the map to estimate elevation and mileage.  I plan a pace and start running along the pavement, turning with each twist like the running the back of my hand on her hip ... I follow the trail wherever it leads like following her spine along with a finger ... It talks to me and I stimulate its energy ... adjust my pace to the rhythm of the run ... And in return, the trail smiles back at me with its scenery ... 

Well this evening was no different as I headed down the Langus Riverfront trail.  There isn't much special about it.  I saw the trail head a few days ago and I figured it would be a nice change of scenery from my usual urban runs.  I looked up the area on Google maps earlier to see whether the trail head I saw would lead anywhere interesting to run.  The trail goes under the I5 overpass along the Snohomish river then starts snarling thru mashes:

I noticed a couple of small trail bridges across the marshes so I think there might be another route hidden there but no there isn't access to these bridges from the trail.  However, two miles later, I reached THIS bridge ...

I crossed the wooden span into an unknown ...  not sure what was on the other side ... I just knew there is an island of some sort in the area ... How exiting !  A sign on the other side of the bridge as the route splits northbound and southbound around what I think is Spencer Island ...

I headed northbound ... the southbound  looks like that's the loop that goes around the back area back to the Langus Riverfront Park and would be too long to run in the amount of time I had.

The northbound trail was short but  very scenic ...  Here are a couple more pictures:

This last picture is actually the end of the trail at 2.72 miles from the park !

Well the total run for 5.38 miles so a nice midrange run for the middle of the week.  I will be back here for sure and will check out the southbound fork :D

Happy Trails everyone !

What's my inspiration to run ?

I have not posted for a couple of weeks now.  I have not been getting my kicks from the runs the last couple of weeks and I have been wondering why.  Is the excitement of my last races passed?  Have I lost my motivation?  I though about what running means to me.  On National Running Day, of all days, I didn’t feel like running yet I posted on my Facebook reasons I like running ... I realized these reason were more like the by-products of running, such as guilt-free eating and it's good for my colon LOL.   But what is inspiration?  Where does my drive came from and where did it go?  When I was feeling down last week, running didn’t pick me up like it usually does.  So I started thinking about Humboldtcindie who posted about being inspired by my half-marathon run ..  

Here, one day passed since I started writing on this subject ... Inspiration is a hard topic to write about LOL ... Well picking up where I left off.  SGF surprised me yesterday by having cottage cheese for snack instead of take-out.  You see cottage cheese is “my” snack, I mix it with special K cereals and I find the two fix most my cravings ... so how surprised was I when SGF mentioned that she was going to snack on cottage cheese, yet I knew it was another little change I inspired ... I went for a short run in the afternoon before a dinner and a movie with SGF, just 3.66 miles but it felt great afterwards ...

I am humbled that Humboldtcinie was inspired to run all week and that SGF had cottage cheese yesterday.  No matter how small the changes may be, it is exiting to know I had a part in it :)  When I didn’t feel like getting up Saturday I though about how disappointing it would be to Humboldtcindie.  I put my running hat and my shoes on and got dropped off by SGF at 20th street E in Lake Stevens and pick up the centennial trail there and run as far north as I could.  The entire run distance wise was about 12 miles but at least a third incline so I wasn’t sure how the run would turn out.  I had SGF on standby to come pick me up ... She did come rescue me a couple miles away from the home.  I was prepared mentally to push 14 but relieved when she drove by me ... Go Team SBF !!

That Saturday ended up being one of the greatest run I had in while.  I am glad that the inspiration around me motivated me to get out and somewhere along the trail I found my mojo back.  So thank you Humboldtcindie for your inspiration !