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Today was another long run, this time 14.4 miles in 2h 48m. What's really neat to say is that it turned out to be an easy 14.4 miles! I don't know why but I felt really good running today. I managed to establish a slower pace (11:40 per mile) and keep it consistent. I was probably running about 11 minutes a mile, with the :40 coming from when I'd stop to walk so I could drink.
Speaking of which, I carried with me a 1L bottle of Gatorade and by the time I got home, what was left had frozen into a slushie! In fact, I was drinking slush for the last hour of running. Normally when I carry drinks I hold them in such a way so that they *don't* slosh around because 1) that wastes energy, and 2) it makes the drink all foamy. Today's 20-degree temp and strong west wind were cold enough that I had to allow my drink to slosh so that it wouldn't freeze up!
While I was running Amanda rode the stationary bike again, going 45 miles while watching Return of the Jedi and Jurassic Park on DVD. She noticed that at the end of ROTJ they replaced the old Anakin ghost with a Hayden Christiansen version.
In other running news, I've started running with a few guys from work during the lunch hour. They run Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but because of my Sunday long runs I just run Wed and Fri - I need to recover on Mon! We usually run about 5 miles.
One of the guys is Bob, who's in his early 50's and just a couple years ago he ran the Boston Marathon! You have to be pretty good just to qualify. Bob is now "done" with marathons and is running 50-mile races now. He'll be a good resource since I'm looking at doing a 50-miler next September.
Another co-worker I run with is Ty, who's a family friend of Josh - they're neighbors at their cottages. Ty was telling me how all of those cottages have been in the same family for four generations. I also found out that Jaime is pregnant and due in late April!
As usual I went for my weekly long run today. This time it was only 11.6 miles; however, all but three of those miles were on the North Country Trail. Making things more interesting was the 25-degree temps and 4" of fresh snow on the ground! I was properly dressed (note the photo Amanda took before I left) and carrying more than enough food and water, and even an extra jacket. My pack wound up being very heavy.
For some reason I started out very slowly - maybe the heavy pack, maybe I hadn't eaten much (I left at noon yet Amanda and I were planning to eat lunch after I got home). So I was slow. Then I hit the trails and it's amazing how much snow can slow you down. I knew I would lose some efficiency due to less traction, but simply plowing my feet through the snow really adds a lot of drag!
Believe it or not I wasn't making the only set of tracks in the woods. I saw fresh footprints on most of the trail and judging by the track, it was a 6-foot guy running! And probably running faster than me. Sure enough about 45 minutes into the run I crossed paths with that guy, who had just turned around to head back. Not me. I saw the spot where he turned and kept going - I may be slow but I ran farther! Slow indeed. I frequently walked the uphill portions since my legs were quickly tiring from the extra work.
On the return leg I stopped for a few seconds at a scenic spot on the trail that overlooks the Flat River. Lo and behold I watched as a bald eagle flew just below the treetops over the river. It was hard to follow its flight since he was brown and white, as were the trees and snow through which I was looking. No other bird around here, however, has such a large wingspan and powerful wingbeat. Any other time of year I'd allow that it could've been an osprey, but they all should be far south by now.
After 2 hours and 39 minutes of running I finally made it back home. During my entire run Amanda went for a ride of her own on the stationary bike, traveling 37.5 miles in a total of two hours, plus 30 total minutes of dumbbell exercises. She started right when I left and had just finished when I returned home. Once we recovered a bit we went out to Chili's for a well-deserved dinner!
Today I went for my weekly "long run", although usually I run those on a weekend. It was just 30 degrees F and somewhat windy, so I wore long underwear and my long trekking pants. I also carried my hydration pack with 2.5L of Accelerade, which I was trying for the first time. My legs feel pretty good so maybe that stuff works, but it sure tastes nasty!
I set out from home and headed for Seidman Park, since Amanda was going to meet me there so that she could try some of the orienteering course that I had run on Sunday. It was an 11.4 mile run out to the park. The first four miles I felt awfully slow, but then I found my groove and ran a nice, steady ten minute pace all the way until mile 10, where I called Amanda for her cue to suit up and drive out to meet me. After I got off the phone my legs felt rather tired (I walked while talking) and it didn't help that the last 1.5 miles were all uphill! But I finished in 2:16, not too bad for a cold, windy day.
Amanda showed up about five minutes later and we each ate a stick of string cheese while I changed into my hiking shoes and put on a coat. When I ran the o-course (orienteering course) two days earlier, orange and white flags marked each point. Those markers were only there for the GRAAR event, however, so there would be no flags today. The plan was for Amanda to carry the map and compass and do ALL of the navigation while I tagged and along and merely verified that she had found the correct location where the flags used to be. Amanda loves to navigate with the compass and keep it simple - follow the bearing. She was walking pretty fast and my 11.4-mile-old legs were struggling to keep up. Sure enough Amanda hit every CP right on except for one, where she missed by only 50 feet. She was quick to point out that she nailed CP2, which my team had struggled to find earlier!
After an hour we had found the first five CPs and were getting hungry, so we nav'ed back to the parking lot and headed out for lunch at Noodles & Co. Mmmmm!!! I had leftovers so I can eat that when Amanda eats her leftover chinese food from dinner last night near Kalamazoo with friends.
You know you're a dog person when you splurge on an item of home decor just because it matches your dogs' beds! That's what Amanda and I did today. We spotted a comforter while shopping and even though we didn't need a new bed cover, and certainly not one for $90, we let sentiment get the better of us. :) 
Haven approves of the spontaneous purchase.
Beacon begs for me to throw another snowball.
Today was the first snowfall of the year! It was pretty late in arriving this year since usually we've had some snow around here before the end of October. There's never been a "first snowfall" in which I haven't thrown at least one snowball. It must be a tradition.
This year Haven and Beacon were the recipients of said tradition. We turned on the backyard floodlights and threw snowballs for them to chase, a game that they absolutely love! Albeit for different reasons: Haven loves the *chase* aspect and prefers that I zing the snowballs along the ground so she can run them down like a rabbit; Beacon, on the other hand, loves the "kill" aspect and simply wants to catch the snowball in midair or pounce on it if it's on the ground.
After about 20 minutes of "chase" and "kill" the dogs were completely worn out. Now they're sleeping soundly between Amanda and I in the computer room.
Beacon (L) and Haven (R) are all tuckered out.
Mmmmm.... salty snacks.
The weather is amazingly windy with gusts over 50 mph today! It made for an interesting run. I ran from home to Whitneyville and then Amanda met me part way on the return home, good for 17 miles total. Around the 7 mile point I was running due west past some open farm fields to my south and was just blasted by a steady 30 mph wind for a mile. The powerful weather made for some nice scenery out in the countryside.
The photo is when Amanda picked me up. You can hardly see the Salomon hydration pack I'm wearing with my water... or rather, ice. I put too many ice cubes in the reservoir and it didn't melt fast enough, causing me to run out of water around mile 10! Hence the Pringles can... I had to stop at a gas station (mile 13) and buy some salty food and refill my reservoir in the bathroom to stave off some cramping in my quads. All told it was an enjoyable 3.5-hour run and I didn't feel terribly worn out when I was done.