5 Miles Stress Relief

What an insane looney day today was!  I got no sleep, lots of ridiculous phone calls and E-mails.  I was really way too tired to run.  But instead of tossing and turning dealing with all my stress, I just put on my running clothes and hit the treadmill.  Only 5 miles, but very helpful.  It was a pretty good run too.  I am probably going to be totally exhausted beyond words all night at work.  But at least I got a workout.

On the Treadmill Again

So boring on the treadmill, but so nasty, cold, windy, and snowing outdoors.  Just another 3 mile short run.  Not feeling so good today.  But at least I got moving for about 30 minutes.  I did go for a short drive and found my favorite little red fox out wandering around.  When he saw my car he came running to me.  Of course I tossed a cookie in that direction - totally against all of the rules around here, but don't tell anyone.  I can tell that I am not the first person to do that, because the minute I stopped the car, he started trotting in my direction. 

I will be heading home in 3 more days.  It has snowed a little in Palmer, but will probably still be good for outdoor running, and hiking.  Looking forward to going home.

Snow Snow Snow

I tried to run outdoors today but a nasty mini-blizzard passed through just as I arrived at my favorite running spot.  I stepped out of the car into that wind and stepped right back into the car!  I went back to the treadmill and did a short 3 mile run.  Gotta start getting up earlier because I didn't have time to do a longer run.  That's the problem with working 7 days a week. If you get more than 8 hours of sleep, it is hard to fit in a 2 or 3 hour run.  Call me lazy, I deserve it.  Maybe tomorrow I will do a longer run, but will probably just start with the treadmill instead of dealing with the wind chill of about 0.  It is 25 degrees out there right now and quite windy.

But interesting sky today.

Indoors Today

I drove down the road intending to do an outdoor run.  But when I stepped out of the car and got hit by that icy blast, I quickly changed my mind.  Back to the Prudhoe Bay Hotel, and the treadmill.  This was my first time to use the Nike+ with GPS on the treadmill.  I wondered how in the world it could actually track your distance accurately while on a treadmill.  I found that it didn't do a very good job.  But on the treadmill, I can keep track of my actual distance, then the Nike app asks to calibrate to the actual distance.  So, it was accurate in the end.  I only ran 4 miles, but ran faster than I have been lately.  In some ways, the treadmill pushes me more than I am able to do outdoors.  With the current weather conditions, I may use it a lot for the next couple of weeks until I go back home.

Snowing today - the first day of fall!

Snow

I didn't run today but did do a short 3 mile run yesterday down the road about 20 miles to get away from the rain and snow going on in Deadhorse.  Had to take a rest day today though because I had some pretty significant knee pain after the little 3 mile run.  It seems to be better now so I will hit the trail tomorrow.  It's snowing now so tomorrow's trail could be the treadmill. I really need a good long run but don't want to do it with knee pain.

10 Miles on the Sag River Access Road

Well I enjoyed a two day rest.  I really didn't mean to take a two day rest but was not feeling well yesterday so dragged my one day rest into two.  Having a headache and swollen legs and ankles.  Don't know what caused it but a 10 mile run seemed to cure it, for now anyway.  It was a fantastic day today, 43 degrees and just a light wind, and bright sunshine.  Such a nice day on the North Slope. 

Now I need to go for a 15 mile run.  I'm behind where I want to be for a marathon coming up on October 17th. But I will keep pushing. Gotta speed up!

3 Miles

I must be in a lazy mood today.  I slept for 9 hours then after a couple of important phone calls it was getting kind of late for a good run.  But I did drive down the road to my favorite little trail about 5 miles to the south, and ran back and forth for 3 miles.  It was pretty windy and about 40 degrees.  I was running pretty slowly.  I wasn't able to push myself into running any faster than usual. But I was glad I did get in a short run anyway. I always feel better mentally when I run for at least 30 minutes. I need to get in a good long run by the end of this week though.

GPS Experiment

I answered my question!  I was wondering if the new Nike+ with GPS iPhone app would work if I tried to use it where there was no cell phone service.  To my delight, it works just fine.  I did a short 3 mile run, trying to push myself a little faster, 22 miles down the Dalton Highway by Caren Pond.  That is about 15 miles south of cell phone service, and it recorded my run just like it does in Deadhorse.
 
It was a nice day to run, but a little windy down there.  I just ran right on the Haul Road.  It's a nicer surface than running around Colleen Lake and is also a wider road.  Not much chance of the truckers complaining about me running out there.  It was a beautiful sunny day.  How nice to have several of them in the last week.

On the way back I saw the little red fox again.  He is very friendly and I was finally able to get a couple of cute photos of him.  I just love the foxes.  They are some of the cutest animals around, kind of like puppy dogs.

Colleen Lake Run

What a perfect day for a run around Colleen Lake.  It was cloudy but the perfect running temperature.  56 degrees, with just a light wind.  Just perfect for running with my light windbreaker.  It was muddy on the north side again, making my shoes gain weight for a while.  But otherwise it was really nice for running.  A couple of times I jumped off the road and ran on the tundra because of heavy equipment along the road.  But the tundra was actually a little firmer than the muddy road in those places.  I was happy that no one bothered me to tell me that I shouldn’t be running there.  It is a public road so no one can legitimately tell me that anyway.  I was also happy to see that my Nike+ with GPS was right on.  The distance was exactly what I found when I drove the route in the car.  I like how it showed a little map of my run.  My mother called in the middle of my run, and when the phone call came in, the program paused my run until I hung up the call, then it automatically resumed the workout.  Very cool technology.  With the more accurate measurement of my pace, I can monitor my progress more efficiently.

Now I just have to pick up the pace!
Satellite image of my run:

Beautiful Day

What a glorious day!  It felt more like Hawaii than Deadhorse.  I drove around for a while looking for wildlife and any other interesting photo subjects but didn’t fine much.

I am having a hard time picking up my running pace.  So today I just did a 3 mile run and ran as fast as I could push myself.  I was still pretty slow, but did pick up the pace a bit but am still much slower than I want to be.  I am assuming that my Nike+ with GPS is recording my time correctly.  My marathon times have been getting longer and longer when I feel they should be getting shorter and shorter if I am actually progressing.  So pushing myself with sprints will have to be my new focus.  Nice days like today do give me incentive.

I need to get signed up with another Team In Training event.  My next marathon is the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco on October 17^th but I am not doing that as a Team In Training run.  I like to always be fundraising.  It is still possible to donate to this important cause through my last event, the Prudhoe Bay to Palmer bike ride and Big Wild Life Marathon at Prudhoe to Palmer.

GO TEAM!

5 Miles Today

This was my first run with my new Nike+ with GPS.  How awesome!  It not only recorded my time and speed, but even the elevation.  On the Nike+ site it even shows my run on the map.  That is just amazing!

It was a really nice run too, although I was pretty slow.  I definitely need to pick up the pace somehow. 

I forgot to bring my camera, mainly because the weather was awful.  But on my way back to my hotel I saw a cute little red fox.  At least I did have my iPhone so got a picture from afar.  I guess I will always bring my camera from now on!

10 Miles on my Favorite Trail

It was 62 degrees and sunny today.  What a fabulous day to be outdoors!  For the first time that I can think of, I actually was able to run in only a T-shirt.  I felt pretty sluggish though.  I had hoped to run 15 miles but after 10.4 miles I decided to call it the end of the workout.  I guess I will have to call tomorrow a much needed rest day. 

I'm trying to do a better job of keeping my weight where it belongs.  I stopped eating breakfast when I get off work in the morning.  It seems the same as having dinner at midnight just before you go to bed.  I found I slept just fine on the empty stomach.  It annoys me that some people can manage to lose 200 pounds in a few months yet I can't take off a stupid 5 pounds in many months.  Just what kind of discipline to I have any way!  Food can be pretty tempting up here with an unlimited free supply down in the dining room of the Prudhoe Bay Hotel. 

I need a good long run soon.  I will try for 15 miles again in a day or two.

5 Miles on the Trail

Another beautiful sunny day on the North Slope.  I drove down the road 20 miles, looking for wildlife but only found a few Canada Geese.  I ran 5 miles back and forth on my favorite little trail that leads from the Haul Road to the Sag River.  I thought I had figured out a way to beat the problem I have been having with my Nike+ I simply used my iPod instead - that will show old Nike+  Well, guess what, it congratulated me on reaching my goal of 5 miles.  But when I synced with iTunes to upload to Nike+ nothing happened.  In fact, if I look in the history, it doesn't even show my run.  How is that for ANNOYING!  I guess I am about to give up totally on Nike+

I did order a new sensor, so when it comes I will try to use both the iPod and the iPhone at the same time and see if one of them will actually register.

Lots of geese out there today.

Very Short Run!

I was going to take a rest day because I woke up really late and it was so beautiful and sunny outside.  I wanted to just cruise down the road looking for photo subjects.  I didn't find many but it was a nice drive.  I did see a couple of caribou across the Sag River, but other than that, just a few geese here and there.  I decided to run 3 miles along the little trail off the Haul Road where I like to run.  My Nike+ quit after 2.20 miles which really annoyed me.  So it was short but not quite as short as Nike+ seemed to think.  Oh well, using the iPod next time.  I give up on the iPhone if it is going to keep quitting on me, mid-run.

It was so nice and warm and not even very windy.  A little piece of summer!

Ran 6 Miles

I ran from the hotel to the lake and around it again today.  Not sure exactly how far it is, but according to my Nike+ it is about 6 along the route I take.  I stopped and took a few photos along the way.  It was really nice today with just light winds, though of course there was still lots of mud along the north shore.  I get my little extra workout when my running shoes gather a few inches of concrete-like mud, making them a whole lot heavier.


Then there was the grumpy trucker from Ch2MHill who found it necessary to chew me out for running on that road.  Someone needs to tell him that it is a public road and not HIS personal road.  I wasn't even close to in his way at all.  I love running that road because it seems kind of wild with birds and caribou tracks and the sound of the water lapping on the shore.  I even saw a bit of a rainbow there later today.

Around the Lake Again

Amazing, I finally saw the sun today.  A nice change from perpetual fog and overcast. But it is now overcast again.  I had planned to do a long run but decided to take advantage of the nice weather and drive down the Dalton Highway a bit to see if I could find any interesting wildlife.  Didn't see a single animal.  But it was a nice drive.  When I got back, I did my run from the hotel around Colleen Lake and back, around 6 miles.  My Nike+ is still working, which I really like!  The sun was out but that didn't make the wind stop blowing.  Not quite as strong as yesterday but still a challenge. Plus the water truck had been by on the road, followed by the grader, thus leaving a muddy mess for me to run in.  It just gave me a better workout because so much mud was clinging to my running shoes that it was like running with lead weights on my feet.  I have to have a positive attitude about things like that.  I do love running around the lake.  It sure beats running back and forth on a 1/4 mile stretch of the road like I so often have done in the past.  It gives me a continually changing scene, and a lovely one at that.

There was a bit of early autumn color showing out on the tundra so I did take a few photos.  This was my favorite for today.

Windy 6 Miles

Another very windy day.  Officially at Flight Service it was about 26 knots but around the lake it was clearly a lot stronger, probably more like 35 knots.  I ran around the lake and back to the hotel.  Running into the wind was incredibly difficult, I felt like I was barely moving.  But downwind I felt like I was flying!  There were big white caps on the lake, and waves were breaking on the west shore.  But it was a great workout.  I'm learning that I can probably run in most conditions unless the road is too muddy or of course, if it is stage 3 blizzard conditions with zero visibility.  But that is not likely to happen in September - I HOPE!

My Nike+ finally started working after resetting my iPhone and resetting my sensor a dozen times.  I hope that is the last time I have that ridiculous problem.  I really like to keep track of my runs on the Nike website.

I wonder what my next Team In Training event will be.  For now my Prudhoe to Palmer site is still functioning, and it is still a wonderful cause.

Colleen Lake x 2

My Nike+ seems to be down for good, at least with my iPhone.  The brand new sensor never did link to the phone. But I decided to just use Colleen Lake here as my 5 mile measure for running.  Yesterday I ran around the lake once for 5 miles.  Today I ran around it twice for a 10 mile run.  The weather was less than ideal with winds gusting to 25 knots.  It wasn't terribly cold though, about 44 degrees, so it was tolerable even with the wind.  On the north side of the lake it was raining sideways and my left arm and leg were wet, but my right side was dry.  I ran out of the rain then everything dried out.  Since I am running along the road wearing a black jacket, I asked a friend to mail me up my bright yellow/green bicycle jacket so I would be more visible to the truckers as they drive by.  Today was quite foggy so it is even more important to be visible since it is usually foggy up here in Deadhorse.

The lake actually had white caps on it!

Prudhoe Bay

I'm back up in Deadhorse working for the month of September.  Funny how I am more able to work out when I am working than when I am at home.  Today I ran from the Prudhoe Bay Hotel around Colleen Lake and back.  It is about 5.5 miles, but my Nike+ sensor quit transmitting at the 3.28 mark.  So that is the 2nd sensor to die mid-workout on me lately.  I have a brand new unopened one that I will use tomorrow. I hope it was just the sensor and not my iPhone that is messing up like that.  I really like being able to track my runs on the Nike website. 

I'm planning to be very serious about my running and working out this month because I was really falling behind in August.  I would really like to do much better on October 17th when I run the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco.  Hoping to get signed up for another Team In Training event soon also.  But the fundraising site is still active for my Prudhoe to Palmer event.