Aug 4 - 10 (19:29)

Mon (5:49)
Am (3:33) Raceblades. Giant Mountain (4627 ft). From Keene Valley. Very muddy and steep climbing. Not many switchbacks, so makes for tough running. Rain and cloudy. A few good views on the way up, but nothing at the summit. Came down alternate route which was nicer. Started out on Rocky Peak Ridge, but unsure of weather, so didn't go far. Much more runnable on the way down with lots of flat rock and better footing. Sara bashed her knee on this run, but was able to continue ok.

Coming down Giant Mountain...




Pm (2:16) Crosslite3. Lower Ausable River West Trail. Keene Valley. Got a great tip from Drew Haas at The Mountaineer Store about this great trail. Began run a few hours after finishing morning run and grabbing some lunch. After lots of climbing this morning with plenty of rocks, it was nice to get on some soft pine needles. Trails were great for running and came across a beautiful waterfall. We did end up getting a little turned around and began climbing quite a ways. Not sure where we were heading but thought it best to turn and go back the same way. Definitely want to explore these trails further. Check out Drew's blog as a resource for some great trail runs in the Adirondacks http://www.adktrailrun.blogspot.com/ .

Lost on the trail, but a beautiful waterfall...

A friend on the trail...
Tue (3:55)
Am (3:55) Raceblades. Mt Marcy (5344 ft). Highest peak in the ADKs. Our plan was to run up Phelps Mt, but Sara's knee was unfortunately pretty sore from hitting it hard yesterday and wisely thought that the downhills would be too much for it. We ran easy together into Marcy Dam hoping that Sara's knee would loosen up, but it didn't, so Sara decided to turn and head back. I was hoping to get a 4 hour run in, so decided at the last minute to make a dash for the summit of Mt Marcy. I told myself that if I made it to the Phelps junction by 50mins that I'd keep going up Marcy. The trail was very muddy and there were a few sections where I thought I would lose my shoes in the deep mud. The rocks were once again very wet and I had to be careful. My La Sportiva Raceblades gripped really well however. The last time we ran up Mt Marcy was a couple of years ago in November. Conditions then were cold and icy then, compared to the wet conditions now. I was still able to make much faster time even with all the water and mud though. There were a number of stream crossings that required rock-to-rock jumping to get across. I hadn't noticed Indian Falls the last time up. It was a beautiful view with the water running down the flat rock overlooking the various peaks in the distance. Just before the final push to the summit, I was surprised to see that the boardwalk that was laid down was completely submerged in water. I had wet feet for pretty much the entire run. Once getting close to the summit, it was so much fun scrambling up the rocks. Even up until the final 15 minutes before getting to the top, I thought that I was going to have a great view, however once I final hit the top, I was totally surrounded by cloud. I did get a quick glimps of Mt Haystack, but only briefly. My total run time up was 2:08 right from South Meadow. Since we started pretty slow and the footing was very wet, I feel as though I could definitely run this considerably quicker. I stayed at the summit for about 5 minutes and had some Clif Blocks before heading back down. The way down was pretty quick, but once again, you had to pay close attention to the wet rock and not lose concentration for even a moment. I refilled my waterbottle at Indian Falls and enjoyed the coldest, best tasting water ever after treating it with my Steripen. The remainder of the run down was great fun with some sections where you could really open up and run hard. My feet were a little sore after finishing from all the rocks, but overall I felt great and could have continued on longer.

View over Indian Falls...

View, or lack there of, at the summit of Mt Marcy...
Coming down Mt Marcy in the fog...
Wed (2:04)
am (1:01) Gazelles. Back home. Nice easy run along Cataraqui Trail West. Felt kind of good to be back running on the flats today. Felt surprisingly good. Quads and glutes a little sore after last few days, but not bad. Seemed like I could have kept going comfortably.
pm (1:03) Crosslite3. Easy-Steady on North Trail, then back Cataraqui Trail to Boundary Road. Brennan biked with me, which was nice. I think Bren found it amusing that the deer flies seemed to be more attracted to me than to him. Legs loosened up nicely.

Thu (2:28)
am (1:27) Crosslite3. Cataraqui Trail West to Curl road. Met Rick P. part way back so headed back out with him for a bit more. Legs still a little sore, but loosened up and felt fine. A little cooler this morning.
pm (1:01) Gazelles. Started out on road to Colebrooke, then Yarker, before hitting Cataraqui Trail to Boundary Road, then road home. Felt pretty good.

Fri (1:30)
am (1:00) Skylites. Cinder trails at Lemoine Point. Going to take a couple of easier days to recover now. Legs still a little tired. Feel good once I get going and like I could go forever, but not much spring in stride.
pm (:30) Skylites. Easy run on our grass trails with Siku.

Sat (1:50)
am (1:30) Raceblades. Easy on Cataraqui Trail West with Sara. Felt good.
pm (:20) Frees. Easy on our grass trail with dogs and Sara.
~ Went to dinner at Sara's parents with Brennan and Heather and then to the Steve Earle concert in Gananoque. Great show. Outdoors and we were only about 30ft from the stage. I've wanted to see Steve Earle for a number of years and felt fortunate that he came so close to home. He is one of the best singer/songwriters who is still recording new material. He played a great selection of songs from his entire career, and played mostly solo with just him playing (guitar, mandolin, cittern, banjo and harmonica), which I felt was the best way to see him. I'd like to see him again sometime playing with his entire band, but this was probably the best concert I've ever seen. Great songs, with a story, and many with a strong political message.

Sun (1:53)
am (:30) Frees. Easy run on our grass trail with Siku and Jesse (and Sara). Legs feel well recovered after a couple of easy days.
pm (1:23) Skylites. Tempo Run. Warmup to Cataraqui Trail East. 45 minute tempo run on Cat E to Harrowsmith, road for 1km west, then back on Cat trail. Cooldown home. Felt quite good. Decided to wait until Tuesday to run long after big days earlier this week.

Weekly Total = 19:29
~ Great week with lots of great running in the Adirondacks early on. Have been trying to decide what race to run at Haliburton next month, but took the plunge and have signed up for my first 100 mile race (yikes!). Being sick in early July with SJS for 3 weeks affected how much training I was able to get in during that period of time, but I've bounced back well and had some great training since then. Haven't gotten as many super long runs in as I would have liked, but have done pretty well with getting moderately long runs in while running on tired legs daily which will help. My #1 goal for Haliburton is to finish and learn about what it's like to run a 100 miles in one day. I'm looking forward to it.