Saturday, November 28, 2009

15 Miles Today

I had a really fabulous run this morning on the indoor track at the Wasilla Sports Complex.  This will probably be my last day to run there until January because Monday I fly up to Prudhoe Bay to work for the month of December.  Then I will only have a treadmill to train on.  Prudhoe Bay is on the Arctic coast and the sun is not coming up at all this time of year, plus the temperatures are usually well below zero with a charming continual strong wind out of the North East.  There is no place even remotely safe for outdoor running.  Not just the dark, cold, wind, and ice, but big trucks are on the roads and would not see a runner.  Of course there is always the occasional polar bear to have you for dinner as well.  Although, I suppose one of them running after me would help me to pick up my pace!

I injured my toe on Thanksgiving when the chair I was sitting on suddenly collapsed into a pile of wooden legs that had been recently glued back in.  Apparently the glue was not the right kind!  That was a bad sign because I had not even eaten Thanksgiving dinner yet - and the chair I was sitting on fell apart.  But the sore toe didn't bother me while I was running so I guess I don't care that it is black and blue and my toenail will fall off.  It sure could have been a whole lot worse!

Want to help me fight cancer through my running?  Check out my Team In Training page.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

13.1 Miles Run Today - Half Marathon Distance!

Had a really nice run today at the Sports Center indoor track in Wasilla.  Too cold, dark, and icy to run reasonably outdoors, so decided the track was better than the treadmill.  In a few days I go back up north and all I will have there is the treadmill, so I thought I should grab the chance to run the track.  With luck I will get there again before Monday when I fly north to work. 

I had wanted to run longer but made the mistake of not bringing anything to eat and I felt myself running out of gas.  I usually try to bring something to eat and drink on long runs like that.  Oh well, next time.  I would like to get in a 20 miler before the marathon in January.  I guess it will be on the treadmill in Prudhoe Bay!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Skate Skiing - Again!

It's just such great skiing weather and I feel like I am running uphill when on those skate skis.  Hopefully this form of cross training is doing as much good as running.  So, I did another trip up to Independence Mine at Hatcher Pass today.  I may do that again tomorrow but I think a long run might be in order for tomorrow too!

I sure could use some more help with my fundraising.  I'm running out of time.  Any donations, large or small will be greatly appreciated.  Gotta get rid of blood cancers!



Sunday, November 22, 2009

Great Skate Skiing!

The temperature has warmed up to +20 so I took advantage of a nice day and did my daily workout on my skate skis this afternoon. It was a beautiful day up there today.  I tried not to be too intimidated as the high school ski team screamed past me on their way up the hill!  Funny how it took an hour for me to get up to the top and it seemed like about 5 minutes to get down.  But it was fun!


Thursday, November 19, 2009

I'm Back!

It's been a tough week for my training.  After the Nike Marathon, I went to Argentina and Chile for an awesome two week trekking vacation in Patagonia.  Amazing place. But it was a very tough workout in itself with hikes of almost 20 miles and at least 5 to 10 on the short days.  Some days we hiked for 12 hours, on mountain trails with unbelievable howling winds and blowing snow.  But that really only added to the adventure. 
I'm back in Alaska now and had some sore foot problems most of the week so only ran about 10 miles all last week.  The temperatures have been well below zero so I got myself a treadmill so I could run indoors when the darkness and cold were just too much.  Today I ran 10 miles on the treadmill and I think I may finally be over my jet lag. 
Now I need to concentrate on training for
PF Chang's Marathon for Team In Training in January.
Here is a peek at the beauty of Patagonia, Mt. Fitzroy - WOW!