Mainly Marathons Aloha Series Day 2

I could hardly walk last night after running Day 1.  This morning I had recovered a bit so decided to give it a try today. I actually wondered if I'd even be able to do the full marathon, and figured I might need to stop at the half.  This race was gorgeous, all along the ocean on a mostly flat smooth bike trail.  As soon as I started, I realized I was not going to be running today.  I ended up walking right from the beginning.  But walking didn't hurt quite as much as any attempts at running. The jarring of running was excruciating and I knew that wasn't going to be an option.  I was extremely slow and felt a bit guilty because I knew they would have to wait for me because I would likely be last.  And I was last. It was painful but I was at least moving along.  But the last couple of laps were really terrible because it started pouring rain.  The rain was icy cold and the wind was blowing so hard that it was difficult to move against it. I ended up getting a big garbage bag and wearing it as a raincoat.  That helped a little. But I was very slow and of course was last.  I even got the coveted caboose medal given to the last finisher.  I was a bit embarrassed, but at least I did finish.

Mainly Marathons Aloha Series Day 1

I'm still in a lot of pain from my fall on the ice back home, but I managed to run the whole way today and finish.  I ran a lot of the time with another runner, and the company was great to have.  Now my back pain seems to be migrating down my left leg making it difficult to put full weight on that leg.  I find that it hurts less if I run than if I try to walk. 

This is a beautiful run through the Smith Family garden, an extraordinary tropical garden paradise.  We are so lucky to have the help from Kamika Smith and his family who have allowed Mainly Marathons to put on this beautiful event. I went to the luau here last night and it was wonderful.  I really love Kauai and all of Hawaii.

Maui Oceanfront Marathon

A beautiful course and perfect weather today in Maui.  I love this marathon and consider it one of my favorites.  But today was much more difficult than usual.  Three days ago I had a bad fall at home.  I slipped on the ice and landed on my back.  I'm having some serious lower back pain and it bothered me the entire race.  I was doing OK for a little while but as the day wore on, it felt worse and worse.  The traffic along the highway seemed worse than the other times I've run this race.  But part of that could just be because I took an exceptionally long time to reach the finish line due to the pain.  But I did finish. I wasn't last but there were only a couple of runners behind me.  I did the early start which was really a good thing! I'm disappointed in my poor time, but still happy that in spite of pain, I was able to finish the race.

Official Finish Photo

Archangel Valley Skiing Again

Another gorgeous day to be outside in the sunshine.  I'm flying to Hawaii late tonight.  But couldn't pass up a chance to get in one last ski workout.  Unfortunately, I slipped on the ice at the gas station in Palmer and landed on my back.  My tailbone and the back of my head both got a good smacking.  But I picked myself up and drove on up to Hatcher Pass.  I was definitely feeling some pain when I put pressure on my left ski. It was more like agonizing when I got into my car because I had to put all of my weight on that left leg.  But I'm assuming with a little Advil, I'll be able to run the Maui Oceanfront Marathon in 3 days.  I think I'll be glad that I've chosen the early start on that race!

Fog was rolling in on the Matanuska River on my way home. so I drove down to the river and took this interesting fog photo of Pioneer Peak.

Archangel Valley

A perfect day to practice some more with those skate skis.  Wow, I must really be out of shape.  Or maybe just haven't mastered them yet.  I seem to be able to motivate correctly with them, but I get extremely winded very quickly.  So there are probably muscles that I don't normally use, kicking in to complain about the new type of movement. I definitely did better than yesterday though.  I think if I can get out several times a week through the winter, I may finally master them.  I'm really hooked though, in spite of how poorly I seem to be performing.  I love how skating makes me feel.  It's really a lot more fun than classic skiing.  So I will probably try to use them a lot more than my others.  There are some narrow hilly trails where they would be almost impossible to use, so I will reserve those for my classic skis.  But wider trails like today at Archangel or yesterday at Eklutna, are perfect for skating.

Eklutna Lake

It finally warmed up enough that I felt like stepping out my door.  It was hard to get motivated with subzero temperatures.  Today I went up to Eklutna Lake and tried out my skate skis on the Eklutna Lakeside Trail.  The snow was good for skate skiing because it was smooth and fast. Nut there has obviously been significant wind recently because there were twigs and branches scattered all over the trail.  I had to take care not to catch a ski on one and end up on my face.  I'm still very poor at skate skiing, but I did see some improvement.  I am starting to get the rhythm down, but I lack endurance with that particular motion.  I'm sure like with anything, it just requires more and more practice.  I think I now prefer skate skiing to classic skiing. 

It was a spectacular day for photography because the afternoon light was perfect.

Government Peak Ski

A beautiful day skate skiing at Government Peak on perfect powder snow.  It's a very hilly area and I definitely need some work on those uphills, especially on skate skis.  But it was nice to get out into the sunshine after a month in darkness up in Deadhorse.  I'm still not adjusted to sleeping at night again, so I am very tired. 

It was really nice to see the sun again too.

Matanuska Peak in the Sunshine