Saturday: 19mi trail run; Sunday: 18mi bike ride

First off, I apologize for the lack of postings. A lack of postings also means a lack of running. Most of it is trouble getting up early enough to run before work. I will be better. One thing I have been consistent with this month is my circuit strength training at lunch 3 days a week. I think I only missed one workout all month! Staying consistent with this program will pay off huge dividends on these long trail runs.

My feet have been bothering me for the past week or so. I find my feet have been extra tired after these long trail runs. It is amazing how much harder they have to work out there. On the road they basically go to sleep as the surfaces are consistent and the shoes are more familiar. I have only used my new trail shoes (New Balance 921) on my three trail runs so far and it takes some time for feet to get used to new shoes. Talk about baptism by fire!

Off the subject, Jenny Barringer (American Record Holder in the steeplechase), just signed a shoe contract with New Balance. It was a big deal on flotrack. Just before CIM I switched over to New Balance and now coincidentally I am running exclusively in New Balance. On the road I am wearing New Balance 1224 or 1225. On the trail I am wearing New Balance 921 and I am liking them both. Did you know that New Balance is the only running shoe company that has a factory in the United States (Boston)?

Saturday Clay and I drove out to the start of the Leona Divide 50, at the Lake Hughes Community Center, with a plan to run the first 12.9 miles and then run back down to the start for a total of 16-17 miles. I had not run this part of the course before so I was excited for this run. I hit the first aid station in 1:12 and the second aid station just under 2:00. A sub two hour time at aid station #2 would have put me in 24th place at that same point in the race last year. I then decided to continue on for a while on the PCT and turn around after another 15 minutes to run back to the car and meet up with Clay. By that time I was half way down the mountain toward Lake Hughes Rd and decided to continue to aid station #3, then run up the road back to the Community Center, and see if I could beat Clay to the car (he took the originally planned route). I beat him by only about two minutes. I ended up running 19 miles, the last 3 miles were on the road.

I learned a few things on the run this Saturday: 1. Don't over dress, the sweaty shirt was rubbing my nipples raw. 2. If I use a camelback make sure the cap is sealed tightly, my back side was soaked by the end of the run. 3. Make sure I clip my toenails before any trail run longer than 2 hours, OUCH.

My legs were pretty thrashed after the run, and my feet were tired, but they are not too bad today. Total mileage for January was a measly 102 miles. I only ran on 2 weekdays in entire month.

Sunday Andi and I met our friends Ron and Julie in Yermo, CA. "Why Yermo?" you ask. Well it is just about half way between the AV and Vegas. Ron helped Andi pick out and buy a road bike in Vegas and he went above and beyond to help her get it as soon as possible. We made a date out of it and met the two of them for a test ride. I borrowed a bike from Clay's son Zac and we all rode around Yermo together. We did a loop up to the Calico Ghost Town and then took another road for a few extra mile toward Fort Irwin. We ended up riding about 18 miles. It was a great day for a ride and we had fun catching up with our friends Ron and Julie. Ron gave Andi a lesson on caring for her new/used bike and gave her tips on shifting and riding etiquette. Here's a big shout out to Ron and Julie and a big thank you for meeting us to pick up the bike. You guys are great friends! We had fun today!

Andi now has a bike to train on for the Iron Girl triathlon in Las Vegas May 15th!