When I got back from Arizona, I decided that I would try to rehab my IT Bands. They hurt the worst going downhill, so I thought maybe staying flat – on the pavement trails around my house – would help. Over the course of a few weeks, I did 6 flat runs. I would do stretches on the trail every 1/2 -1 mile for 20-30 seconds on each side. It actually worked pretty well and by the 6th run I…
Ok, I have been seriously limping around AZ all week. That last run was a mistake. I should have taken it easy. But, I just could resist. Well…today was our last full day down here in the valley of the sun…so I thought I would throw caution to the wind and run again – suffer the consequences later. I had my wife drop me off at the Pyramid Trail TH with the plan to meet up with her, my kids,…
One positive to having family in Arizona is visiting there for the holidays. My word – 60s-70s feel glorious. I have a problem though – my right foot is still quite painful. So – do I take advantage of the warm weather and trails, or be a good boy? I opted for the trails. Today I started at my sister’s house (on the south side of Phoenix’s South Mountain in Ahwatukee) and accessed the trail system there. I took a…
Ok, I did something to my ankle yesterday. The outside arch of my right foot KILLS! Stuff online suggests that it might be a pulled peroneal tendon – which wraps around that outside part of the foot. The ankle is sore a bit by the ankle bone – also where the tendon goes. In any case, I bet that running on the snow is what did it. It is not just an uneven surface (dirt and trails is always plenty…
A couple months ago I won a pair of Montrail Badrocks from Max King on facebook. They just arrived and I got them specifically for wet. snowy, or muddy conditions. So, I grabbed my neighbor Matt and we did an EARLY morning run up Farmington Canyon, which was snowpacked. It was my first run on the snow and the shoes did great. Unfortunately, my knees did not. I gave them an almost 2-week rest, but wasn’t very diligent at using…
After last year’s Turkey Trot I thought it would be fun to make it a tradition. I ran from my parents house up the the old RR track trail system to Whatcom Falls Park and back. I can’t believe how lucky I was growing up here. This was a 1.5 mile jog from my house. Nuts. Also – IT Bands not happy. 3.9 miles @ 10:31 min/mile and 340 ft. elevation Pedestrian bridge selfie on Alabama Hill Lower Falls…
I grew up in Bellingham, WA and spent a lot of time hiking and mountain biking in the AMAZING sets of trails in the Chuckanut Mountains that creep into town from the south and east. These trails are amazing. The Galbraith (Lookout Mountain) trail system is world famous for Mtn. Biking trails. I spent so much time up there as a teenager, but didn’t realize how good I had it until I moved away. I never ran those trails though. …
Following on the smashing success of last weeks pre-dawn run up City Creek Canyon to Ensign Peak, I thought I’d go for a repeat. This time I took the trail on the SE side of the canyon, following it to the East and up to both of the Avenue Twin Peaks. Aside from a dog who brushed against my leg and freaked me out, the run up was uneventful. On the way back, I followed the north ridgeline (which looks…
So, I was wondering how I could reduce my DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. You know, how on the 2nd day after a big workout or run you are crippled with stiff sore muscles. Well, if I wasn’t such an idiot, or had just done a little reading, I would have learned that you should ingest certain things to RECOVER from strenuous activity. Namely, protein. So, right after the morning run two days ago I chugged a protein shake. …
Fitting in a good trail run is tough when you have a family that A. Demands your time; and B. With whom you really want to spend quality time. The most obvious solution is to run at times when I would otherwise not be spending with family. Or, when I would otherwise be sleeping. I decided to try out waking up early and hitting a trail with a headlamp. I am 100% an evening workout type of guy. Waking up…