March 12, 2009

Eagle Creek Trail Run

Posted by Tony McCray under Running, Ultramarathon Training | Tags: , , |
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Early part of the Eagle Creek trail. Beautiful, even on a grey, rainy day.

Early part of the Eagle Creek trail. Beautiful, even on a grey, rainy day.

Last Saturday I went for a run with Jessica of Portland Trail Runners on the Eagle Creek trail in the Gorge. This is one of my favorite trails to run. If you live around here and you have never hiked or run up Eagle Creek, you are really missing out. The plan was to run to Tunnel Falls and back; a 12 mile round trip. Recent reports said there were a few blowdowns, small slides, and patches of snow to contend with, but overall the trail was pretty passable. We were going to find out!

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March 1, 2009

Randomness

Posted by Tony McCray under Running, Ultramarathon Training, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , |
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Am I out of shape? I got to thinking last night about the Hagg Lake Trail Run from last Saturday, and the Timberline “Half Marathon” from last September. The former race was about 15.25 miles. The latter about 14. Hagg Lake had 3400 feet of elevation gain. Timberline of 3500. (If we believe my Garmin Forerunner 305. I think it overshoots the elevation, but since I used the same device for both events, the numbers are comparable.) Hagg Lake had a lot of mud, but wasn’t too bad. Timberline was completely dry and warm.

I ran around Hagg Lake in 2:39:23, a 10:17 min/mile pace. I ran the Timberline Half Marathon in 1:50:28, about a 7:52 min/mile pace. And I won that race. What a difference a few months, and some very haphazard training makes! In thinking about my experience at Timberline though, I know where I can get fitness wise, and I know what it takes to get there. I’ve even got a plan. Now all I have to do is execute…and hopefully not get injured!

 

March 1, 2009

Saturday Ride and a Timely Catch

Posted by Tony McCray under Cycling | Tags: , , , |
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After about eight weeks off the bike I finally got out with my team, South Town Velo,  for a ride. I figured they’d hurt me a bit, since of course they have all been riding consistently since this time last year. Route choices included a 53 miler and a 76 miler – with plenty of logical bail out points throughout. I figured I’d be taking one of those bail outs.

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February 24, 2009

First Run after Hagg Lake

Posted by Tony McCray under Running, Ultramarathon Training | Tags: , |
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I made it out for a run yesterday morning, preceded by some light strength training, and followed by almost 30 minutes of stretching. Overall I didn’t feel too bad. An area on the outside of my left leg, below the knee, hurt a bit, just like it did after the race. It actually felt better after the run/stretch, and I fully expect the next few days, with no run training, will heal it fully. Otherwise I was just sore and tight. The pace/HR were both ok. I definitely felt slow, but during the faster part of my run I averaged a 9:11 mile with my HR barely into zone 2. The stretching at the end definitely felt nice, and I seem to be recovering well from Hagg Lake.

Just hoping now that I can continue training without further interruptions! An upcoming tooth ‘extraction’ (next week?) could take me out for a few days, but that remains to be seen.

 

February 21, 2009

2009 Hagg Lake 25k Trail Run

Posted by Tony McCray under Running, Ultramarathon Training | Tags: , , |
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After not running for almost three weeks (I actually ran about 3 miles yesterday :-) I went out and did the Hagg Lake 25k Trail Run. I originally registered for the 50k run, but clearly I wasn’t ready for a 31 mile run today. In all honesty I wasn’t really ready for a 15.5 mile run, but I registered, I needed to get back to training, and I needed to get out and run. So I went, figuring I would just take it easy.

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February 21, 2009

On Again Off Again (Again)

Posted by Tony McCray under Running, Ultramarathon Training | Tags: , , |
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I don’t really recommend anyone train this way, but it has been unavoidable for me lately. On again off again is how things have been for the past few months. After the Portland Marathon I made plans to do a 50-miler in July and my coach got me started on a training program. (more…)

 

February 1, 2009

Good Calories Bad Calories

Posted by Tony McCray under Diet and Nutrition | Tags: , , , |
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I just finished reading Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. This is a book that I think everyone should read. It takes a critical look at all the ‘research’ that has gone on concerning diet and nutrition, and what lead us to the things we believe today, such as that our diets should be low in fat (or at least saturated fat) and we should eat a diet balanced with ‘healthy’ fats, protein, and carbs.

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January 26, 2009

I Registered

Posted by Tony McCray under Running, Ultramarathon Training | Tags: , , |
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I finally registered for the Pacific Crest Trail 50-miler that will take place on July 25th. I had really started training for this late last year but Sun’s plans to reorganize, shedding 6000 jobs in the process, really derailed me. I’m still not 100% certain my job is safe, but I seem to have made it past the first round of layoffs.

Now I’ve got to come up with a strategy to actually train for it! A couple of books are going to help me along. I’m confident I can get there and make it happen!

 

January 8, 2009

Random Thoughts

Posted by Tony McCray under Miscellaneous Nonsense
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Interesting Data

Since I’m not really training for anything at the moment I’ve gotten back on top of the bike commuting. I rode to work and back twice this week. The route to work isn’t super easy, being a 38 mile round trip with, according to my Garmin Forerunner anyway, about 5600′ of climbing. That seems a bit high, but there are definitely some hills.

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January 6, 2009

Butter Cookies

Posted by Tony McCray under Miscellaneous Nonsense | Tags: , |
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I figured I ought to follow up on my recent post about butter cookies. Despite the disappointment of not being able to make gluten-free butter cookies during Christmas, I did find a great recipe afterwards that only required a little modification.

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