Monday, July 20, 2015, 7:52 pm

3.16 mi, 34 ft gain, 33:31. RR Access Rd, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2 white.

My legs feel pretty good today, slightly sore, but not much fatigue. I still took it easy anyway.

We ran along the river side of the RR tracks much of the way out, and on the highway side by the park a little more on the way back.

We stopped at the river on the way out for the dogs. Vida went right in. Sigurd wasn’t very interested.

On the way out, I stopped at the plum trees briefly and managed to find 4 plums on the tree still. I had to shake branches to get 3 of them. I also had an apple on the way back.

It was a little cooler waiting until the evening.

Average HR 121.

 

Tuesday, July 21, 2015, 7:14 pm

8.26 mi, 2386 ft gain, 1:44:01. Woody, Greg Ball, Detour, Upper Grade, Upper Falls (43), Woody, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #2.

I was going back and forth between a shorter road run and a trail run. I decided on the trail run, but I kept it slightly shorter.

I felt a little sore and tight starting out, but warmed up within a couple minutes and felt pretty good for the rest of the run.

I started on the Woody trail, taking it fairly easy. I managed to keep my HR down more than usual on the climbs. I took the turn off up to the Greg Ball trail. Initially, I thought about doing a figure-8 sort of loop, but ended up not doing so.

On the Greg Ball trail, I checked out the possible waterfall that I looked at maybe going down to a little while ago. I made it down to one of the drops of the falls there. It was really cool. I think I can get to what looks like possibly two more drops below it. There also appears to be two more drops above it, but I’m not sure I can get there.

I picked up the pace a little after climbing back up from the waterfall. I took the detour route, still pushing the pace a little.

Somewhere along the Upper Grade, I pushed a little harder. I made pretty good time, so I didn’t need to pull my headlamp out on the Woody Trail.

Once to the Upper Falls, I took a quick look, but I felt good and didn’t really feel the need for a break, so I headed down. I started out a little faster than normal on the steps up high. Once down past the really rough top section, I opened it up. I stopped very briefly at the Middle Falls too. I ran fairly hard the rest of the way down to the TH. I set a PR on the descent from the Upper Falls to the TH by 0:45. I had a goal of going sub-20:00 and just missed it with a time of 20:06. So close. Now I know I can do it.

It was a great run, and a lot of fun.

Average HR 138 bpm.

 

Wednesday, July 22, 2015, 7:44 pm

4.70 mi, 2050 ft gain, 1:10:05. Woody trail to Upper Falls (44), solo. Altra Superior 1.5 red #3.

I was a little late getting out the door. I can already tell the sun is setting earlier. I’m not a fan.

Anyway, I thought about going to the Upper falls, then down to the cut-off for the Greg Ball trail and up there. But I just didn’t have time and didn’t feel like going in the dark. So I cut it short at just the Upper falls and back.

I took it easier than I have been. I kept my HR lower than usual as well. It was a good run.

At this rate, I’ll hit my goal of 50 times to the Upper falls in a couple weeks. I could hit other trails after that, or just stick to WFSP since it’s so close.

Average HR 138 bpm.

 

Thursday, July 23, 2015, 7:49 pm

8.36 mi, 273 ft gain, 1:17:38. May Creek rd loop, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

My legs feel kind of beat up today. I think it really is time for some new shoes. I decided to take it easy and stick to the roads.

I kept the pace comfortable until the last couple hundred yards. It was a good run.

Average HR 126 bpm.

 

Friday, July 24, 2015, 7:20 pm

11.04 mi, 819 ft gain, 1:45:17. Town to RR Grade, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

My lower legs were kind of sore, mostly the muscle behind the inside of my left shin. It felt mostly better after a few miles.

I kept a fairly easy pace most of the way. It was a pretty good run.

Average HR 129 bpm.

 

Saturday, July 25, 2015, 7:48 pm

4.24 mi, 40 ft gain, 45:00. RR Access Rd, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2 white.

I was more sore today. I’m not sure why, I haven’t done any hard runs this week. Maybe just overall fatigue. I don’t really understand it. I haven’t been sleeping very well. Perhaps that’s it. I want to get two more solid weeks of training in soon before resting up for Cascade Crest. I’m hoping the lower leg fatigue is mostly due to worn out shoes. A new pair is on the way.

The dogs were happy to get out. I haven’t taken them out running very much while it’s been so hot. Fortunately, it’s cooled down a little.

On the way out, we ran along the highway side RR access road, then the green belt between the RR tracks and the highway. On the way back, we crossed the tracks and ran the access road on the river side part of the way.

I definitely felt better after the run than before.

Average HR 122 bpm.

 

Sunday, July 26, 2015, 7:42 pm

11.06 mi, 864 ft gain, 1:28:55. Town to RR Grade, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

I felt much better today. I wanted to get in a good hard effort, but not something too tough on the legs, so I kept the terrain fairly easy.

I started out a little faster than normal and felt good, so I sped up and kept the pace going pretty good all the way to the park. I had a couple minute delay from a train crossing, but it gave me time to take a couple photos and video.

I had a little water at the TH and signed in on the sign-in sheet. I stopped briefly at the viewpoint under the high-voltage lines just before the trail goes into the woods. The clouds around Mount Baring, Mt. Persis and Mt. Index looked incredible.

I kept pushing the pace a bit on the way up the RR Grade. I kept my HR in the low 150s bpm most of the time, though. I certainly could have gone faster. I continued to push on the way back down as well, maintaining about the same HR. I stopped for a little more water and to sign out at the TH before heading home. I eased back into it until I got back down the hill out of the park.

On the roads home, I gradually increased my pace the closer I got home. When I turned around at the end of the RR Grade, I thought I might finish around 1:35 or so. The closer I got, I realized I could got under 1:30 if I went fairly hard. I’d call it a comfortably hard pace for the distance.

According to Strava, I set a 10 mi pr of 1:19:25. I guess I just don’t run fast for that long very often. I know I can do better than that.

Average HR 147 bpm.

 

Weekly totals: 50.8 mi, 6,467 ft elevation gain