Spring Snow

After a week of pretty reasonable weather, we get a nice snowstorm this morning.  Four to six inches worth of snow around the area.  Driving was miserable.  But since it is a Chicago spring, we are supposed to have rain tomorrow night and 60 degrees on Wednesday.  Goofy!

At The Mountain Goat

The Mountain Goat Run is done.  Surprisingly, I did quite well.  Much better than expected.  Ended up 26th out of 142 with a time of 1:12:01.  The hills were tough, but I handled them pretty well.  The weather was great.  Started out in the mid 40s and reached 60 by the afternoon.  A lot better than the weather at the Siberian.  Overall, I had a great time with a number of PSRR members who also made the trip down.  And as a waypoint in my training, it bodes pretty well so far.  Although, the quads are a bit sore today, they came through the way I had hoped.  Now for a little recovery over the next couple of days and then it is back to my plan.

Race Time Tomorrow

The Mountain Goat Run is tomorrow in Kickapoo State Park near Danville, IL.  It is a race that I have done a couple of times.  The last time was 2012.  I finished 52nd in 1:16:47.  It is a tough race, but can be fun.  It has 12 very steep uphills and downhills and is 8.8 miles long.  It will be interesting to see how I do.  I have been running pretty well, but I have done very little hill work, especially since we moved to the new home.  It is extremely flat around here.  So I expect it will be a struggle.  I will just give it my best and see what happens.

Good Long Run Today

With the weather continuing to cooperate, my training has been a little easier to get in.  I have had two consecutive Sunday long runs.  Last week it was a 15 miler and today was a nice 19 miler on the I & M Canal Towpath.  I parked at McKinley Woods and ran east to almost I55, then back.  After a quick stop at the car to refill my bottle, I then headed west for another couple of miles and back.  The towpath was a bit sloppy in places, but overall it was in pretty good shape after the winter's thaw.  I really felt good for most of it keeping my heart rate between 120 and 130 and clicking off 9 and a half minute miles.  The last couple of miles, however, I had a little knot in my left quad.  I really don't know why except that I maybe just did a couple of miles too much.  I have rolled it a couple of times so far and will probably do it once more before bedtime.  We'll have to see how it feels tomorrow.

The Weather Turns

Well, I think the weather has finally made the turn towards Spring.  The last few days the highs have been in the 50s.  It has felt so good running with only shorts and shirt or maybe a windbreaker.  And the sun actually feels warm.  It is amazing how one's mental outlook and attitude can really be revived with the change in weather.  I am not sure there is anything that compares with it.  Although I am sure it is nice to have warm weather all year round, I feel sorry for those who live in that climate.  They never get the chance to experience what it feels like to ride out a hard winter and then get this exhilarating feeling when the weather changes.  Yesterday, I ran easily a minute per mile faster without really seeming to put in any extra effort.  I flowed so much better than just a week or so ago when it was single digits.  And almost all the snow is gone as well.  Now I know we will probably still get some cold days, but it should be in short bursts and not nearly as cold.  So it will be much easier to get through them knowing it will warm up again soon.

Moving Day and Beyond

Been a long couple of days.  Did the big move on Saturday, then unpack and put things together on Sunday.  And more of the same today.  But finally we have Internet again and I can make this post.  Also, after no time to run the last two days, I finally got out there for a good one.  The legs were a bit dead after all this, but I was still thrilled to be out there.

I also want to give a big shout out to my two son-in-laws, who put up three overhead fan/lights for us yesterday saving me some massive struggles.  Thanks so much to both of you.  My daughters all helped their mother a good deal through the move as well.  I still have a lot to do (my study and organizing the basement as the two biggest tasks), but it will just take a lot of time.