2008 year in review

What the heck has happened to this blog?!

Two things, primarily. First, I've been engaged in an ongoing pursuit of a new home, a process which consumed a great deal of attention in November - December particularly. Second, I've been taking an online class for work (pretty tough class, incidentally). This is on top of normal stuff - work, family, etc. That doesn't leave enough time for reading other blogs or writing my own. The class ends in a month, and with any luck (though it's been limited so far) the real estate search will wrap up this winter.

I've always been reflective at the end of a calendar year, while thinking ahead to the next year. So, let's review 2008.

2008 began well with a gradual buildup in running, continuing what I had started in 2007. By January 2008 things were moving forward, I was running three days a week, and my long run was at 4-5 miles. Rather than run more road 5ks this time around, I got into trail running. Here are some of the running highlights and low points of 2008:

January - increased weekly long run from 5 to 7 miles
February - First race in over a year - Valentine 5K Run at Silver River State Park in 25:37. Pretty satisfying given the soft sand and very relaxed first mile.
-increased weekly long run to 9 miles
March - Trout Creek 15K Trail Run in 1:24:06. Technically my longest race ever, this featured a totally unfamiliar course and flooded bridge crossing at 5K. An epic running adventure.
April - Flatwoods Four Trail Run in 34:35. Crowded, twisty, rooty first mile, but ran middle two miles under 8:00 each. Good effort.
May - increased long run to 11 miles and spotted black racers seemingly with every run on the Florida Scenic Trail.
-joined local runners group and began running more on roads and hills.
-injured right Achilles tendon.
June - rest/recovery. Working on 100 pushups challenge.
July - rest/recovery. Still working on pushups.
-moved to CT.
August - more rest/recovery. Did 40 straight pushups.
September through December - Easy walking/running. Trying to get used to hills. Pushups kinda fell through the cracks.

Two steps forward, one step back. Hopefully 2009 will see another step or two forward in fitness. I'm looking forward to getting in shape for more trail runs this coming spring.

New personal bests (and an open letter to trail spiders)

This past weekend's 11 mile trail run was my longest in some years in distance, and my longest duration run ever (1 hour 50 minutes running time, not including walk breaks). There were some neat changes of scenery, from oaks to pines, to open areas with fewer tress, to a (controlled?) burned area. On the way back, I scared a black racer next to the trail, which slid rapidly away, and to my astonishment, it crawled right over another black racer! If I interrupted a reptilian romantic moment, I apologize.

If that was an unusual sight, there were some weird parts to the run, such as a 15' x 10' paved area seemingly in the middle of nowhere, with the trail running right over it. Bizarre. I also ran past a number of white vertical pipes sticking out of the ground, again seemingly far from anything other than a dirt road.

The worst part was the bugs. The biting fly season season is really picking up. Two weeks ago, 2 deerflies. On this date, 18 flies dispatched, a new record. Technically, I think these are actually yellow flies, not deerflies, based on their focus on my legs more than my head. They were on me pretty quickly when I took walk breaks, which discouraged me from taking too many photos, and encouraged me to get running again quickly. Fortunately, they were not up to full speed, and I was able to outrun them without much difficulty. However, as I recall from previous years, as the season progresses, it requires a full sprint to elude these flies.

Another less-than-fun aspect was repeatedly getting hit in the face with spiderwebs, which has prompted me to draft the following...

An open letter to trail spiders
Ok, arachnids. You have my attention. Last weekend, running on the Cross Florida Greenway, I ran through web after web, destroying your beautiful work, quite by accident. You see, I often cannot see your webs on these trails at running speed, and even if I could, avoiding them could be a real challenge. Some of you went so far as to rebuild your webs after my first pass, unaware that I was running an out-and-back course that day. That's a lot of work, without much to show for it, if I may say so.

I would like to propose something mutually beneficial. If you could simply build most of your webs off the trail - there are plenty of good locations between trees there - I would not run through them. This would save us both a good bit of grief. In return, I would leave for you any and all deerfly/yellow fly carcasses you may find along the trail.

Thank you for your consideration!

Every path leads me to somewhere

After my last long run I happened to hear Alice in Chains' "Rooster" on the radio in my car. I might have changed the station, as these days I tend to prefer something more upbeat than the often bleak Alice in Chains songs. For some reason I paused for moment - could this song be related to running in some way?

Ain't found a way to kill me yet
Eyes burn with stinging sweat
Seems every path leads me to....

...nowhere is the next word in the song, which is about where my interest in the song waned that day.

When you're running on a new trail, I suppose there is a risk that it will turn out to be a dead end, or seem like a trail to nowhere if you will. Even then, though, I think you could argue that every path taken is a path to somewhere, whether we realize at the time or not. It could be the greatest running trail you haven't yet discovered. Or it may be a bit of a disappointment, but still offer you a chance to learn something. A run can be a meditative experience.

*****************************************************

I've been tagged by Beth at 6 a.m. Running.

The challenge was to come up with a 6 word "memoir" to describe my life, then tag at least five more people. I could easily use the 6 words I began this post with, but I thought I'd use something different. So, here's my pithy statement:

Kid at heart, making a comeback

I still like games of many kinds, even as an adult. Sometimes I like games just for fun, sometimes for the competition. My running comeback features a bit of both. I'm doing it for my health, sure, but for other reasons too - to push myself, to have fun exploring trails, to make new friends.


I'm not an expert on tagging etiquette, so I hope this works out ok. Below are some of the blogs I've been reading, but I've not yet been a regular commentator. A couple are new to me, and the others read I've off and on for awhile this year. As you might guess, these blogs are about trail running, or they've at least had a post about a trail run or a run at a place near or dear to me. These individuals may not know me, but now they may know one of their readers a little better, perhaps.

I'm tagging:
Rafael at Fat Trail Runner
Trailbone
The Running Chick with the Orange Hat
Anne at Run DMZ
David at Adventures in the Thin Trade

Their mission, should they choose to accept it, is to:
1. Write a 6 word (max) memoir.
2. Post it on their blog and include a visual illustration if they wish.
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.
4. Tag at least five more blogs.
5. Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Summer weather is here, and so are the snakes... new section of the Florida Trail - I-75 Land Bridge trail

I successfully increased my long run to 10 miles (estimated) this morning on the Florida Scenic Trail. I kept the pace pretty slow as this would be my longest run of the year, and it was already 75 degrees when I got up before dawn. I was concerned about fluid intake, so I planned on splitting the run in half, running west from the trailhead, returning to my car for a reload of H2O, then running east, out and back. I normally prefer running a single out-and-back run, or a loop, but I'm glad I chose this plan as I drained my single water bottle by mile 4. I needed some walk breaks today to cope with the heat and a surprisingly hilly (for Florida!) stretch. This old Barge Canal project area is not as flat as a pancake! After 5 miles I stopped to get more water and met two fit-looking guys just returning from their own trail run. They had Camelbaks and suggested I give 'em a try, so I expect I will. My second half featured increasingly tired legs, so the flatter terrain was appreciated. I did get a treat on this stretch - yet another black racer sighting. I came right up behind this one before it knew it, and then it shot away.

Kudos to the volunteers maintaining these sections of the trail - it was totally clear of downed branches and trees.

Wildlife report: 1 deerfly attack, 2 spiders crawling on me, no mosquitoes, 1 small skink, 1 black racer - 3rd in 3 days - I saw one while running Friday and another behind my garage when I got home (wildlife report does not include the more common squirrels and barely glimpsed small birds and lizards).

Trail pros and cons (this section and time of year) -
+ mostly good shade throughout (I skipped wearing a cap and shades and didn't really miss them), western section heading across the I-75 land bridge - varied terrain, no observed poison ivy
- eastern portion had two areas loaded with poison ivy (recommend high socks) and I got some spiderwebs in the face (occupational hazard for trail runners though)

Florida Scenic Trail - Santos

New trail yesterday. There's nothing like finding a new place to run and enjoying it. I ran on the Florida Scenic Trail, starting from the Santos Trailhead near Belleview. I found this stretch well-maintained and encountered only two other parties (excluding wildlife) during my 90 minute run. This stretch of the trail, running southwest from the trailhead, is flat and well-shaded. I brought my sunglasses but found them unnecessary thanks to the foliage. I drained my Ultimate Direction water bottle in about an hour and will need to explore other hydration systems for longer runs, especially as the weather heats up. It was "only" 61 degrees when I got going but was into the mid-70s when I got home.

On my way back I started thinking how relatively rare it was to see a snake while actually running. Whamo! Within seconds - I kid you not - I came right up behind a 3.5 - 4 foot long black racer on the trail. He/she was facing away from me and we both paused to size each other up. Then, before I could whip out my camera, he was gone, as black racers will do. I was grateful to see this critter.

To sum up this trail...
pros: shady (!), quiet, reasonably firm footing for the most part (for a FL trail)
cons: narrow, many spiderwebs, much poison ivy at this time of year (winter/early Spring may be ideal)