Just a really quick post...I'm at work and need to do stuff, so I don't have much time. I'm writing just to stay caught up on my blog.
I didn't run last night. We had a radio-thon to raise money for the Sky Lakes Medical Center Cancer Treatment Center, and didn't get home until about 6:45. The wind was blowing pretty hard, I was hungry, and couldn't convince myself that I needed to run two days in a row, so I took it off. Another excuse I have is that as I was leaving home to go back to the Radiothon at 4:30 Janet came trotting up the road as she finished her 5 mile jaunt. She looked like she was about to die, and I decided at that point that I just didn't feel like running.
Today, however, is a new day....and I'm going running either at noon, or immediately following work. We're supposed to get more wind, so it's not going to be pleasant no matter when I go. Forecasts call for 40 mph gusts again, which definitely makes for miserable running. I don't think it's supposed to snow today, so if it doesn't THAT will be a plus, but it still won't be fun. I'll probably make it another 2 mile adventure, although I'd really like to go 4. We'll see what happens and hopefully I can give an update tomorrow.
Happy Spring!! (I'm ready for something else.)
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Spring in Klamath.....SUCKS!!!
Some places in the world have 4 seasons. They have a nice, warm, summer with green grass, flowers everywhere, blue skies dotted with puffy white clouds, birds singing, bees humming, and kids playing. Then in late September the grass quits growing, deciduous trees turn vivid shades of red and gold, geese head south in ragged Vs, and kids head back to school. Generally after Thanksgiving Old Man Winter gradually takes hold, and the land is covered with a beautiful mantle of white fluffy snow, that deadens sounds, and gives photographers the opportunity of taking wonderful pictures of snow laden evergreens dotted with fluffy chickadees feasting on whatever seeds they can find. Sometime around mid-March, the snow gives way to extended periods of sun...the snow melts, tulips sprout, grass turns green, and leaves start showing their foliage.
In Klamath Falls we also have 4 seasons. 4 seasons of winter. There is no summer...I've seen it snow on the valley floor every month except August. There is no fall. We head from August (which can have temps in the 90s one day, and highs in the 30s the next) directly into winter. There might be a couple of days where we think we'll have Fall, but those thoughts are short-lived when temps drop into single digits and it snows in September. When winter hits in September, it stays...and stays...and stays...and stays...and stays...and stays...you get the picture. Then in January, for very brief time (maybe 4 days) the weather here TRIES to pretend that we'll have Spring. The sun will show its face, it will warm up to 70 degrees, kids will start playing baseball, insects will come out of hibernation (I've gotten attacked by mosquitoes in January), and everyone will be happy and positive. But it's all a facade...shortly winter will rear it's ugly head, the winds will reach gale force, and whatever snow we get comes in the form of snirt.
That's what we've had since mid-January. Cold, windy, miserable, winter. I ran 2 miles last night in 30+ mph steady winds, with gusts that hit 40. We have snow on the ground this morning, with more forecast for later in the day. It's March 28th....it's supposed to be Spring, with flowers peeking out of the ground and buds on the trees. But this is Klamath Falls. The land of perpetual winter. Where it's tough to go for a run. If you live in a normal place...somewhere where there are 4 distinct seasons...enjoy them. I'm jealous.
In Klamath Falls we also have 4 seasons. 4 seasons of winter. There is no summer...I've seen it snow on the valley floor every month except August. There is no fall. We head from August (which can have temps in the 90s one day, and highs in the 30s the next) directly into winter. There might be a couple of days where we think we'll have Fall, but those thoughts are short-lived when temps drop into single digits and it snows in September. When winter hits in September, it stays...and stays...and stays...and stays...and stays...and stays...you get the picture. Then in January, for very brief time (maybe 4 days) the weather here TRIES to pretend that we'll have Spring. The sun will show its face, it will warm up to 70 degrees, kids will start playing baseball, insects will come out of hibernation (I've gotten attacked by mosquitoes in January), and everyone will be happy and positive. But it's all a facade...shortly winter will rear it's ugly head, the winds will reach gale force, and whatever snow we get comes in the form of snirt.
That's what we've had since mid-January. Cold, windy, miserable, winter. I ran 2 miles last night in 30+ mph steady winds, with gusts that hit 40. We have snow on the ground this morning, with more forecast for later in the day. It's March 28th....it's supposed to be Spring, with flowers peeking out of the ground and buds on the trees. But this is Klamath Falls. The land of perpetual winter. Where it's tough to go for a run. If you live in a normal place...somewhere where there are 4 distinct seasons...enjoy them. I'm jealous.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Weekend Runs
The wind was blowing hard on Friday, so I opted to not go for a run after work. By about 10 pm, the wind had completely stopped, and I was really tempted to grab my head lamp and go out to the OC&E Trail for a quick run, but better sense prevailed (actually my wife told me that I was an idiot and should run with her Saturday morning) so I didn't go.
Saturday's run was okay, but it's pretty obvious that I'm not anywhere near being in decent shape. Janet was supposed to go for a 4 mile run, so I decided that I'd give it a shot also. I was hoping that she'd go in a different direction than I planned, but to my disappointment she opted to go the same direction. It's not that I don't enjoy running with her, but I was worried that either my pace wouldn't be fast enough for her and I'd kill myself trying to keep up and I'd keel over dead half way through, or I'd go too fast for her. I have a tough time running with other people because most of them are in better shape than I am and I wind up killing myself to try to stay up, and it makes the run less than pleasant. At any rate, we ran together for about 100 yards, and then I ran at my pace and Janet ran at her pace. I wound up walking another 1/4 of a mile past the 2 mile turn around point, so my dear wife finished well ahead of me.
The run was actually kind of fun. For a few minutes at about the 1 mile point I felt like I could run. The wind wasn't too bad (5-10 mph headwind going out), it wasn't very cold (38), and there were lots of critters to look at (cows, a couple of horses, and tons of birds). The bad thing is that I've lost over 30 pounds since February 1st, and don't have as much extra padding to keep me warm...even though I could easily stand to lose another 15 or so pounds. My hands absolutely froze. I was wearing a pair of cotton gloves, and within the first mile my fingers were icicles. I ran with my hands inside the pocket of my sweatshirt for a little while, but the damage was already done so I just toughed it out. I did manage to finish the run, so ran a full 4 miles!!! Success!
Yesterday after church I decided that I'd go for another run and asked Janet if she'd like to go along, but she's much smarter than I and stayed home. I went 3 miles...1 1/2 into a 10+ mph wind on the way out, and then a pleasant 10+ mph tailwind on the way back. No one was on the trail (probably because of the wind and 40 degree temps), so I didn't have to worry about looking like a runner. I got to just run.
I'm not sure whether or not I'll go again tonight. Janet will probably do her run early in the afternoon, and because it's Doug's birthday (home from BSU for Spring Break) I'm guessing we'll have dinner fairly early. We'll see how I feel when I'm done working today.
Saturday's run was okay, but it's pretty obvious that I'm not anywhere near being in decent shape. Janet was supposed to go for a 4 mile run, so I decided that I'd give it a shot also. I was hoping that she'd go in a different direction than I planned, but to my disappointment she opted to go the same direction. It's not that I don't enjoy running with her, but I was worried that either my pace wouldn't be fast enough for her and I'd kill myself trying to keep up and I'd keel over dead half way through, or I'd go too fast for her. I have a tough time running with other people because most of them are in better shape than I am and I wind up killing myself to try to stay up, and it makes the run less than pleasant. At any rate, we ran together for about 100 yards, and then I ran at my pace and Janet ran at her pace. I wound up walking another 1/4 of a mile past the 2 mile turn around point, so my dear wife finished well ahead of me.
The run was actually kind of fun. For a few minutes at about the 1 mile point I felt like I could run. The wind wasn't too bad (5-10 mph headwind going out), it wasn't very cold (38), and there were lots of critters to look at (cows, a couple of horses, and tons of birds). The bad thing is that I've lost over 30 pounds since February 1st, and don't have as much extra padding to keep me warm...even though I could easily stand to lose another 15 or so pounds. My hands absolutely froze. I was wearing a pair of cotton gloves, and within the first mile my fingers were icicles. I ran with my hands inside the pocket of my sweatshirt for a little while, but the damage was already done so I just toughed it out. I did manage to finish the run, so ran a full 4 miles!!! Success!
Yesterday after church I decided that I'd go for another run and asked Janet if she'd like to go along, but she's much smarter than I and stayed home. I went 3 miles...1 1/2 into a 10+ mph wind on the way out, and then a pleasant 10+ mph tailwind on the way back. No one was on the trail (probably because of the wind and 40 degree temps), so I didn't have to worry about looking like a runner. I got to just run.
I'm not sure whether or not I'll go again tonight. Janet will probably do her run early in the afternoon, and because it's Doug's birthday (home from BSU for Spring Break) I'm guessing we'll have dinner fairly early. We'll see how I feel when I'm done working today.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Another Run
I went for another run last night. 3 miles. WITHOUT WALKING!!! The pace was really slow, in fact it wasn't much faster than when I do walk....but that's okay. The important thing is that I went.
The wind wasn't blowing much at all, so when I got home from work Janet and I headed out to the OC&E Trail so she could get her work out in. She was supposed to go 3, and I was originally only going to do 2 3/4, but I thought I would run with her and see how I felt and MAYBE do the full 3. I was actually looking forward to running with my wife, but when we got ready to start she decided to run with the wind at her back for the first 1 1/2 miles so she could have a cooling headwind on the way back. Cooling headwind? It was !! Who needs a cooling headwind when any exposed flesh freezes? I didn't have gloves, and my windbreaker wasn't long enough to tuck my hands in the sleeves...my hands had icicles hanging off each finger! Anyway, Janet headed east and I headed west, so we didn't run together. I felt really good when I got to my original turnaround point, so I headed to the point that would give me a 3 mile run. When I made the turn and headed for the parking lot the wind was at my back, I had a slight downhill for about 1/2 mile, and I actually felt like a RUNNER. It was GREAT!!!
We're going again tonight. Right now it's snowing, but temps are in the high 20s, and the forecast calls for highs around 50, so by 5:00 it shouldn't be too bad. I'll give it a shot again tonight and see how I do.
The wind wasn't blowing much at all, so when I got home from work Janet and I headed out to the OC&E Trail so she could get her work out in. She was supposed to go 3, and I was originally only going to do 2 3/4, but I thought I would run with her and see how I felt and MAYBE do the full 3. I was actually looking forward to running with my wife, but when we got ready to start she decided to run with the wind at her back for the first 1 1/2 miles so she could have a cooling headwind on the way back. Cooling headwind? It was !! Who needs a cooling headwind when any exposed flesh freezes? I didn't have gloves, and my windbreaker wasn't long enough to tuck my hands in the sleeves...my hands had icicles hanging off each finger! Anyway, Janet headed east and I headed west, so we didn't run together. I felt really good when I got to my original turnaround point, so I headed to the point that would give me a 3 mile run. When I made the turn and headed for the parking lot the wind was at my back, I had a slight downhill for about 1/2 mile, and I actually felt like a RUNNER. It was GREAT!!!
We're going again tonight. Right now it's snowing, but temps are in the high 20s, and the forecast calls for highs around 50, so by 5:00 it shouldn't be too bad. I'll give it a shot again tonight and see how I do.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Nasty Weather
I decided not to run last night. Winds were HOWLING! When I left work we had 25 mph sustained winds, with gusts up to 35. Except for the fact that it was only about 40 degrees, it was kind of like spring in The Dalles. I used to run in that kind of nasty weather, but with less than 10 total miles under my belt for 2012 I'm not in any kind of shape to fight the wind.
We got a skiff of snow last night, and the forecast calls for more of the same for this afternoon. Even though I like living here in Klamath Falls, it WOULD be nice to have a warm spring some year. Whether the wind is blowing, it's snowing, raining, or the sun is shining brightly (slim chance of that) I'm going running tonight.
Wish me luck!
We got a skiff of snow last night, and the forecast calls for more of the same for this afternoon. Even though I like living here in Klamath Falls, it WOULD be nice to have a warm spring some year. Whether the wind is blowing, it's snowing, raining, or the sun is shining brightly (slim chance of that) I'm going running tonight.
Wish me luck!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
3 In a Row!!
I went for another "run" last night...and managed to finish without crawling!! Amazing!! I headed out to the OC&E Trail after work to see if I could string 3 consecutive days of running together, and found out that it WAS possible!
As I was driving home before the run I was looking for every excuse I could think of to not go...Janet had already made me dinner, my left calf hurt, the wind was blowing 20+ mph, snow/rain appeared to be imminent, according to the Plan Z Diet that I've been doing I'm not supposed to exercise...those are just a few of the thoughts that popped into my mind.
So what did I do? As soon as I walked in the door I threw on my color co-ordinated jogging suit, complete with matching shoes, socks, gloves, and stocking cap and headed out to visit my bovine friends that frequently gather to cheer me on. But alas, when I left my truck to head into the wind, the friendly critters evidently had more sense than I do and were having a meeting on the leeward side of their barn. A couple of them DID manage to yell a couple words of encouragement (maybe they were actually words of derision....the wind garbled the words enough that I couldn't really tell) as I stumbled down the trail, so I felt pretty good.
How was the run? It pretty much sucked. I'm not in any kind of shape to be running into the wind yet. I tried to go slow at first (I knew I'd be going slow at the end) but there were a couple of other foolish people on the trail, and I went out faster than I should have. It worked out okay though. I walked about 50 yards 3/4 of a mile into the run (long enough to catch my breath) and then added a 200 yard recovery walk at the turn around point. Just to make up for the 50 yard walk early in the run I ran an additional 100 or so yards past the end point to ensure that my run was a full 2 3/4 miles. The run actually felt pretty good when I had the wind at my back.
I'm trying to decide whether or not to go again tonight. It would be 4 days in a row, and I know that I should probably do a rest day, but I can't run this Saturday, and there's a good chance that Friday will be out too. I'm really indecisive...I'm afraid of re-injuring myself, but don't want to break my strings of runs until I'm actually sure that I'll be able to start up again after a day's rest. We'll see what happens tonight...if I feel good or if the wind's not blowing, I'll probably go. If it's snowing sideways, I'll give it a rest for a day.
As I was driving home before the run I was looking for every excuse I could think of to not go...Janet had already made me dinner, my left calf hurt, the wind was blowing 20+ mph, snow/rain appeared to be imminent, according to the Plan Z Diet that I've been doing I'm not supposed to exercise...those are just a few of the thoughts that popped into my mind.
So what did I do? As soon as I walked in the door I threw on my color co-ordinated jogging suit, complete with matching shoes, socks, gloves, and stocking cap and headed out to visit my bovine friends that frequently gather to cheer me on. But alas, when I left my truck to head into the wind, the friendly critters evidently had more sense than I do and were having a meeting on the leeward side of their barn. A couple of them DID manage to yell a couple words of encouragement (maybe they were actually words of derision....the wind garbled the words enough that I couldn't really tell) as I stumbled down the trail, so I felt pretty good.
How was the run? It pretty much sucked. I'm not in any kind of shape to be running into the wind yet. I tried to go slow at first (I knew I'd be going slow at the end) but there were a couple of other foolish people on the trail, and I went out faster than I should have. It worked out okay though. I walked about 50 yards 3/4 of a mile into the run (long enough to catch my breath) and then added a 200 yard recovery walk at the turn around point. Just to make up for the 50 yard walk early in the run I ran an additional 100 or so yards past the end point to ensure that my run was a full 2 3/4 miles. The run actually felt pretty good when I had the wind at my back.
I'm trying to decide whether or not to go again tonight. It would be 4 days in a row, and I know that I should probably do a rest day, but I can't run this Saturday, and there's a good chance that Friday will be out too. I'm really indecisive...I'm afraid of re-injuring myself, but don't want to break my strings of runs until I'm actually sure that I'll be able to start up again after a day's rest. We'll see what happens tonight...if I feel good or if the wind's not blowing, I'll probably go. If it's snowing sideways, I'll give it a rest for a day.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Better Day Today
First of all, thanks to my wonderful daughter Laurie for checking out my blog and posting an encouraging message! If by chance someone other than one of my family members happens to stumble on my feable attempt at writing, you can visit a REAL running blog at The (Mis)Adventures of a Jogging Stroller Mom.
Today, since yesterday's suicide attempt was unsuccessful, I decided to give it another shot. This time I decided to head out to familiar grounds, and loaded my carcass in my truck and drove out to the OC&E Trail where my only observers would be of the bovine persuasion. This time of year there are few H. Sapiens, because Klamath Falls, unlike Eugene, is not noted for Inclement Weather Runners. When the sun comes out and the temperature rises above 40 the Fair Weather Joggers in their color co-ordinated jogging outfits show up, but that definitely wasn't the case today. It was great....NO WITNESSES!!!
My run actually wasn't too bad. I was in a really crappy mood when I got home from work, and after snapping at my wonderful wife (who was completely undeserving of my animosity) I decided to try to make amends for yesterday's miserable attempt. So off I went. I ran really slow, but managed to make it a full 2 3/4 miles, and only walked about 75 yards...and that was only to look for one of the mile markers that some Klamath Falls Tool had evidently stolen. I don't know why anyone would get off on ripping off a 4 x 4 post with the number 6.0 emblazoned on it, but this is the Redneck Capitol of the World, and we're populated with idiots, so I guess it's to be expected. At any rate, my run wasn't that bad. My calf felt okay, I wasn't spitting blood, and when I got back to the parking lot I could actually get in my truck without feeling I needed help.
My pace was really slow, but I forced myself to try to run rationally. This is my only my 4th or 5th run since my ill fated Pear Blossom 5k last April, and I'm definitely not going to try to push the pace. I'm old, out of shape, and have nothing to prove to anyone. My goal is to be able to run with my wife as she trains for the Hippie Chick Half in Eugene in May. Today things are looking good. I'll try to keep you posted.
Thanks again for your comments, Laurie! Love you too!
Today, since yesterday's suicide attempt was unsuccessful, I decided to give it another shot. This time I decided to head out to familiar grounds, and loaded my carcass in my truck and drove out to the OC&E Trail where my only observers would be of the bovine persuasion. This time of year there are few H. Sapiens, because Klamath Falls, unlike Eugene, is not noted for Inclement Weather Runners. When the sun comes out and the temperature rises above 40 the Fair Weather Joggers in their color co-ordinated jogging outfits show up, but that definitely wasn't the case today. It was great....NO WITNESSES!!!
My run actually wasn't too bad. I was in a really crappy mood when I got home from work, and after snapping at my wonderful wife (who was completely undeserving of my animosity) I decided to try to make amends for yesterday's miserable attempt. So off I went. I ran really slow, but managed to make it a full 2 3/4 miles, and only walked about 75 yards...and that was only to look for one of the mile markers that some Klamath Falls Tool had evidently stolen. I don't know why anyone would get off on ripping off a 4 x 4 post with the number 6.0 emblazoned on it, but this is the Redneck Capitol of the World, and we're populated with idiots, so I guess it's to be expected. At any rate, my run wasn't that bad. My calf felt okay, I wasn't spitting blood, and when I got back to the parking lot I could actually get in my truck without feeling I needed help.
My pace was really slow, but I forced myself to try to run rationally. This is my only my 4th or 5th run since my ill fated Pear Blossom 5k last April, and I'm definitely not going to try to push the pace. I'm old, out of shape, and have nothing to prove to anyone. My goal is to be able to run with my wife as she trains for the Hippie Chick Half in Eugene in May. Today things are looking good. I'll try to keep you posted.
Thanks again for your comments, Laurie! Love you too!
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