This year's GTR Night Run will be held in Greenbush on Saturday July 13th at 9pm. Six miles of ski trails/mtn bike trails is the planned route. Anyone interested in putting in an extra 5 or 6 miles can meet up early at 7:30. There will be beer at the finish! The Night Run will start and end in the group camp parking lot at the ski shelter, this was the same location as last year's Night Run. To park in this lot you must have a state sticker or a daily parking pass.
Everyone is welcome, all four legged friends are warmly welcomed as well. Hope that you can join us for a night out in the great Kettle Moraine State Forest!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
Things That Occur When Running on Roads (That Probably Wouldn't Occur on the Trails)
I'm running an event that is about as opposite as a runner can get from the trails--a flat road marathon (Manitowoc Maritime Marathon). Because of this, I'm trying to get some leg speed back...although I miss using every hill I come across on the Ice Age Trail as a reason to Power Hike!
Tonight I again worked on speed. I set my Garmin Auto Lap at .5 miles, and figured I'd push hard for a mile, then try and cruise at my goal marathon pace for 1/2 mile, then push hard again for another mile. This worked great...with several exceptions:
At 1.5 miles, a dog ran out of his owner's garage and started barking and growling at me. Right out in to the road he came despite his shock collar (actually, I think it was a hunting collar, but either way) that was TOTALLY useless. Every time I turned to start my running again, this pooch would get aggressive again and start chasing. Then, his owner would alarm his collar to no avail. This process repeated itself for a full 3 housed down the road. Hey buddy, yeah, you, the one in the garage...COME GET YOUR DOG. Ugh! There goes one fast split...
At 5.5 miles I came across a controlled burn of a brush pile--firefighters, fire trucks, and a TON of smoke billowing to the west. A slight asthma flare up, and I was on my way again...but at about 30 seconds per mile off my pace.
At 6.5 I came across a pair of Geese Parents and their goslings. Not only do Geese crap everywhere...they're also not all that friendly to passers-by. I also have heard that the parents shed their flying wings when raising their babies. I'm not sure if this is true or not...but either way, a very defensive Papa Goose has exactly two ways to ward off a predator (or, in this case, just a guy trying to get some speed work in): Stick your tongue out and hiss, and charge the threat. These geese did both. I did learn something, though--if this happens to you, drag your feet on the gravel shoulder of the road, and they'll back off. They're not keen on loud noises apparently. Or, perhaps it was the action of me dragging my feet on the ground that looked so much like an injured animal myself, that they left me alone?
I really wish I would have had a camera around for all of this...and I really look forward to running the marathon on June 23rd, and promptly returning to the trails.
Just in time for the deerflies to arrive.
What don't you miss about the roads? What do you like about the roads?
-Nic
PS - Here are the splits...you can see the spikes in my pace pretty easily :)
Tonight I again worked on speed. I set my Garmin Auto Lap at .5 miles, and figured I'd push hard for a mile, then try and cruise at my goal marathon pace for 1/2 mile, then push hard again for another mile. This worked great...with several exceptions:
At 1.5 miles, a dog ran out of his owner's garage and started barking and growling at me. Right out in to the road he came despite his shock collar (actually, I think it was a hunting collar, but either way) that was TOTALLY useless. Every time I turned to start my running again, this pooch would get aggressive again and start chasing. Then, his owner would alarm his collar to no avail. This process repeated itself for a full 3 housed down the road. Hey buddy, yeah, you, the one in the garage...COME GET YOUR DOG. Ugh! There goes one fast split...
At 5.5 miles I came across a controlled burn of a brush pile--firefighters, fire trucks, and a TON of smoke billowing to the west. A slight asthma flare up, and I was on my way again...but at about 30 seconds per mile off my pace.
At 6.5 I came across a pair of Geese Parents and their goslings. Not only do Geese crap everywhere...they're also not all that friendly to passers-by. I also have heard that the parents shed their flying wings when raising their babies. I'm not sure if this is true or not...but either way, a very defensive Papa Goose has exactly two ways to ward off a predator (or, in this case, just a guy trying to get some speed work in): Stick your tongue out and hiss, and charge the threat. These geese did both. I did learn something, though--if this happens to you, drag your feet on the gravel shoulder of the road, and they'll back off. They're not keen on loud noises apparently. Or, perhaps it was the action of me dragging my feet on the ground that looked so much like an injured animal myself, that they left me alone?
I really wish I would have had a camera around for all of this...and I really look forward to running the marathon on June 23rd, and promptly returning to the trails.
Just in time for the deerflies to arrive.
What don't you miss about the roads? What do you like about the roads?
-Nic
PS - Here are the splits...you can see the spikes in my pace pretty easily :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)