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.

July 28 - Aug 3 (14:23)

Mon (3:02)
am (2:32) Fireblades. Ran Cataraqui Trail to Newburgh and back. Legs a little tired from yesterday, but was happy to get a good back-to-back effort after Sunday. Pretty hot out and tailwind on the way back. Got water at the store in Camden East.
pm (:30) Frees/Barefoot. Easy run on our grass trail. First 10 mins with shoes, then last 20 minutes barefoot. Felt good to loosen up the legs after this mornings run. (abs)

Tue (2:31)
am (1:13) Gazelles. Nice relaxed run on cinder trails at Lemoines. Cool morning. Legs were a little stiff until I got going, but then felt good and like I could have kept going a long time.
pm (1:18) Skylites. Tempo Run. Warmup to Cataraqui Trail for 18 mins, Tempo run for 40mins out and back on Cat Trail East, Cooldown for 20mins home. Felt pretty good. Legs were a little tired from the last few days, but felt strong. Got stung by a bee again (second time in the past few weeks), but didn't react badly.
~ During my tempo run today I was coming to a narrow, heavily treed area of the trail and noticed about 15 wild turkeys. Some adults, some young. They aren't the swiftest of birds, and I felt as though I could have almost caught some of them that were trying to fly along the trail away from me. I wasn't exactly flying during my tempo, however wild turkeys don't do so well in that department either. Too bad we don't eat meat, or I might have been able to catch dinner!

Wed (1:22)
am (1:22) Crosslite3. Ran Cataraqui Trail West to grass hill. Felt quite good after tempo last night. A little tired at beginning, then felt much better and could have kept going. Just doing one run to take as a recovery day today. Felt a strange twinge in my left ankle/shin on medial side after coming down hill on my way back. May have slightly twisted it or something.

~ We had my Mom (Grandma Rosie) and Dad over for dinner tonight to celebrate Grandma Rosie’s 70th birthday. As you can see from the attached photos, everyone was in good spirits during dinner and it looked like an enjoyable evening was going to be had by all. That was until the smack talk began shortly after dinner. We were talking about how fast Brennan had gone on his record setting ride on our 500m grass trail last week (see http://www.healthandadventure.com/58101/index.html ), when Rosie quickly exclaimed, "That's nothing Punk. Let me show you how it's done!".

We're not sure if it was the beer talking, as Dad seems to have found an increasing number of beer empties along Switzerville Road since Rosie's Rodeo, but the challenge was laid down and Rosie bet Brennan 20 bucks that she could kick his ass on the mountain bike.
Sunset came and found Rosie and Brennan at the start line on their bikes. Bren got an early lead off the line and through the trees with Rosie hot in pursuit. Once out of sight, all we heard was the sound of flying elbows, broken branches and some foul Fitchett-eese language. A short while later, Rosie and Brennan were seen walking back to the start line with anger in their eyes over the apparently aggressive riding tactics they each felt the other displayed.
What could have turned into a brawl on the race track was soon averted as Brennan offered to show Rosie how to do Catwalks (popping a wheelie) while mountain biking. Soon the two combatants were seen comparing bike tricks suitable for a rodeo indeed and all was forgiven.

While Rosie may not realize that the qualifying period for the 2008 Olympics is past, I expect that she is in hard training on the trails of Switzerville for the rematch...or the London 2012 Olympics.

Happy 70th Birthday Grandma Rosie!

Thu (1:56)
am (:40) Frees. Easy run on our grass trail. Ran last 20mins with Siku. Shin is still a little achy, but not bad. Didn't notice it while running.
pm (1:16) Gazelles. NDSS track. Warmup: 24 minutes (including stretching, drills, strides), 12 x 400 with 90 jog in 81,80,79,78,80,78,78,77,77,77,77,76. Felt really quite good. Was a little tired going into the workout, but after the first few repeats got into a nice smooth groove. Felt comfortable. Pleased that leg speed feels pretty good considering the high mileage and long runs.
Fri (2:01)
am (1:21) Crosslite3. Easy run on Cataraqui Trail West to Grass hill. Legs a little tired from track last night, but loosened up. Feeling pretty hungry by the end.
pm (:40) Skylites/Barefoot. Easy run with Sara on road/trail. Ran last 16 mins barefoot on our grass trail. Felt good. (abs)
~ Went to Tasha and Evans Kingston wedding reception. Tasha is Gene and Sue Steacy's daughter (they live in Canmore now). Feel a little old when I realized that I've known Tasha since she was in diapers. Was great to get caught up.

Sat (1:25)
am (:34) Gazelle. Easy run with Gene Steacy in Kingston on streets. Ran RMC route, then along the waterfront. Legs felt good, even though on pavement.
pm (:51) Gazelle. Steady run on Cat Trail West. Felt really good. Wanted to run longer and harder, but taking a few recovery days before heading to Adirondacks for some bigger days from Sun – Tue.
~ Was great running with Gene again this morning. Went for coffee after and swapped running stories. I've known Gene since the early 1980's when we both worked at Footlocker, while I was in high school. Gene went on to eventually run a 2:26 marathon and still loves running as much today as I do.

Sun (2:06)
am (:21) Frees. Ran easy with dogs on grass trail before leaving for Adirondacks until Tuesday. Planning to get lots of good long runs on trails and in mountains.
pm (1:45) Skylites. Mt Van Hoevenberg (2860) ft). Nice run with Sara this evening on trails up Mt Van Hoevenberg. This was the mountain where the Olympic Bobsled course starts. Very muddy in places, plus plenty of wet rock so had to be careful. Perfect run for this evening to get ready to do some longer and tougher runs over the next few days.
~ Camping in South Meadow, near Lake Placid. Great spot to camp for free in the High Peaks Region and have easy access to so many different trail options.

Week Ending Total = 14:23
~ Great week of running with some quality days while getting some good recovery days too. Nice back-to- back days from last Sunday and Monday. Some great runs lined up in the Adirondacks for Monday and Tuesday.

July 21 - 27 (13:45)

Mon (1:35)
am (1:00) Crosslite3. Legs a little tired from yesterday, but not bad. Loosened up as I ran. Ran north trail towards sandpit. A little muddy in places after all the rain. Ab workout.
pm (:35) Gazelles/Barefoot. Ran easy on home grass trails. First 18 minutes in shoes, last 17 minutes barefoot. Felt a little tired, but not bad. Nice to get back doing some barefoot again.
~ Cracked open a new pair of Crosslites today. Hard to believe that my old pair have lasted me since Feb as I've done the bulk of my running in them. Fit like a glove, lightweight and great traction. Awesome shoe! Sad to retire the old pair.

Tue (1:46)
am (:46) Crosslite3. Easy out Cataraqui Trail West. Light rain which helped to keep it a little cooler.
pm (1:00) Skylites. Warmup for 20 mins to trail. Tempo run for 30 minutes on Cataraqui Trail East. Cooldown for 20 mins home. Started out and felt great. Very comfortable at the beginning, but found that I had to really focus to maintain pace for last 10 minutes. Just a little rusty and lacking some strength still from being sick. Good workout though.

Wed (1:56)
am (1:16) Crosslite3. Cataraqui Trail West to grass hill. Pretty hot today. Got a little tired near the end but felt ok. Ab workout.
pm (:40) Frees/Barefoot. Ran easy on home grass trails. First 20' on shoes, last 20' barefoot. Raining pretty hard. Ran offleash with dogs in the rain which was fun.
~ Went to Skatepark with Brennan and Heather in Madoc. Very cool place for Skateboarding and BMX. Tried out Bren's BMX on the ramps. Wasn't brave enough to try his skateboard on them though.

Brennan showing how it's done at the Skatepark...


Derrick showing how it's NOT done at the Skatepark...


A couple of inukshuks...
Thu (1:44)
am (:30) Raceblades. Easy on grass home trail. Felt like I needed an easy morning, and planning a harder run this evening.
pm (1:14) Gazelle. Track workout at NDSS. Warmup: 22mins, stretch, drills, strides. 6 x 1000m w/2' jog recovery in 3:36, 3:34, 3:34, 3:31, 3:28, 3:26. Cooldown: 20 mins. Felt pretty good. Was tired going in, but pleased with workout.

Fr (1:51)
am (1:20) Waverider. Easy at Lemoines. Lots of water on trail. Left plantar fascia was a little tight after track last night so wore Waveriders. Felt much bulkier than what I have been wearing lately. Foot fine.
pm (:31) Frees/Barefoot. Easy on grass trail at home. First 15' in shoes, last 16' barefoot. Felt good. Ab workout.
~ Twisted my right knee on my shift at Running Room today and was a little tender. Think it is fine, but noticed it running tonight.

Sat (:45)
pm (:45) Skylites. Easy recovery day with Sara. Knee felt fine.
~ Power out for 5+ hrs today during bad thunderstorm. Decided to go to Boston Pizza for dinner with Brennan and Heather. Hope my stomach doesn't regret the restaurant food tomorrow.

Sun (4:08)
pm (4:08) Crosslite3. Frontenac Park from Trail Centre, Big Salmon South, north along east of Little Clear up to Birch Lake and around Arkon West to TC. Was a little tired going into it. Stomach upset from restaurant food last night. Felt a little rough from 2-3hrs, then began to feel better. Nice run. Sara had a great one. Funny, didn't see much wildlife other than 4 huge Black rat snakes (ugly buggers) and a whack of deer flies.
~ Oh yeah, the only other wildlife we saw was author/outdoor fanatic Alec Ross (Coke Stop in Emo). We never see other runners on the trails, but met Alec about a mile in, as he'd just finished up a canoe trip. Alec once gave me the tip to use Macademia nuts for fastpacking as they are high in calories/fat and very lightweight to carry....have used them often since and they have saved my butt a number of times.

Week Ending Total = 13:45
~ Very pleased with week.

July 14 - 20 (10:37)

Mon (:50)
pm (:50) Crosslites1. Ran K&P from Sydenham partway to meet Sara who was running from Kingston. Took it easy and felt pretty good. Still weak, but feeling much better.

Tue (1:10)
am (:30) Zoom Streaks. Easy running on Fort Henry Trails. Felt good.
pm (:40) CL1. Easy with Sara on Cataraqui Trail West from home. First double since sick.
~ Finally on the mend. Celebrated by having lunch with Sara at Little Saigon before weekly shift at Running Room. Had, what else, a #64...Spicy tofu (instead of chicken....animals are human too!) with rice, peppers and cashews. Yum! If you haven't tried Little Saigon, you should! Great food, very reasonable prices and friendly staff.

Wed (1:21)
am (1:00) Gazelles. Cat Trail W and back. Nice run. Quite hot and humid today. Probably started a little harder than I should have, but felt good to be running more again. Last 10 minutes was a little tired. Got stung by a bee, but didn't react too much. Took Reactin, which helped.
pm (:21) ZS. Easy grass run on home trail with Sara. A little tired after morning run.

Thu (1:21)
am (:20) Skylites. Easy grass run on home trail with Siku the wonder puppy. Felt good.
pm (1:01) Skylites. Easy run on Cat W trail with Sara. Very hot out, but feels good to be running more.
~ Spent the early afternoon at skateboard park in Napanee with Brennan and Heather and I think I am improving...Brennan's not so sure I am though. I didn't fall once (definitely not once)!

Fri (1:36)
am (:30) Skylites. Easy grass run on home trail.
pm (1:06) Gazelles. Track workout (NDSS). Warmup, stretch, drills, strides, 8 x 400m w/90 sec jog recovery in 84,83,82,80,80,80,80,80. Ran steady, didn't push too hard as first workout back after beeing sick. Felt surprisingly good.

Sat (1:18)
am (:47) Skylites. Ran steady to Harrowsmith on Cat Trail East to Heather's soccer game. Very hot and very humid. Legs a little tired from yesterday.
pm (:31) Slingshots. Very easy grass run on home trail. Extremely hot and humid.
~ Heather's 2 final playoff games took place today and she played great. Probably her best games of the season. They won the first game 5-4, then lost the second game 3-1, so ended up finishing second in the B division. Great season. Heather improved a great deal over the course of the season, as did her team as a whole.

Sun
pm (3:01) Crosslites1. Good run at Frontenac Park with Sara. Ran from Big Salmon Parking along north shore, around Little Clear Lake, up Moulton Gorge and back along Arkon E, then added on an out and back along Big Salmon South. Felt great, but got a little tired near the end. Deer flies were vicious. Very good to be back running a little longer again.

Week Ending = 10:37
~ Feels very good to be back!

July 7 - 13 (4:03)

Mon
pm (:41) Gazelles. Ran Cataraqui Trail West. Felt good to be running a little more, but tired near the end. Still very weak.

Tue
pm (:37) Skylites. Cat W trail. Ran the first 20' easy with Sara and then a little quicker back. Not much energy, but better than last week for sure.

Wed
pm (:20) Zoom Streak. Easy on home trails.

Thu
pm (:45) Crosslite2. Easy on Cat W with Sara. Felt ok tonight.

Fri
am (:40) Frees. Easy at Lemoines. Didn't feel very good. Very tired.

Sat
pm (:20) Five Fingers. Easy on home trail. Felt a little better today.

Sun
pm (:40) Skylites. Easy on Cat W trail with Sara. Finally starting to feel a little better.

Weekly total = 4:03
~ Finally had an encouraging day and starting to feel better on Sun. Three weeks of down time is pretty frustrating, but hope to start increasing back towards normal this week.

June 30 - July 6 (2:57)

Mon
pm (:20) Fireblades. Easy on home trail.

Tue
pm (:20) FB. Same

Wed
pm (:20) FB. Same

Thu
pm (:20) ZS. Same.

Fri
pm (:33) Frees. Warmed up with Sara at Napanee track for 20' easy on grass. Then jogged another 13' during her cooldown. Felt a little better today maybe. Nice to see something different on a run. Still pretty weak and tired though.

Sat
pm (:30) Gazelles. Ran road to Warner trail loop with Sara. Felt like I had a little more energy today. Hoping to start feeling back to normal soon.

Sun
pm (:34) Skylites. Easy on road to Warner Trail, Cat E and back with Sara. Felt a little better today, but still pretty weak at time.

Week Total =
~ Very frustrating week, Thought I might have been feeling better, then started feeling worse again. It's been a total of over 2 weeks now. Hoping that the worst of SJS is behind me now and that I start feeling better soon and can run a little more next week.