Hacklebarney State Park Hike & Sourland Mountain Preserve Trail Run

Bulleted delivery over the essay form is hopefully one way I can still get a few blog posts in, while still struggling to adjust to my new work and running schedule.

Here are some random thoughts and goings-on:

* Why are we always complaining about the weather? I can understand that while running in 90 degree temperatures and 80% humidity, the weather might occupy the senses a bit more than usual, but when the skies are pouring down bountiful rain after 2 weeks of scorching heat, I would expect people to be grateful. But all I hear is how everyone misses the sun! Oh, come on!

* I am contemplating moving my long run day again, from Thursday to Sunday. I used to do my long runs on Saturdays. But I now run with the club on Saturdays, and Sundays have become my "explore trails/new running routes/hill running" day. Long runs got moved to Thursday. But that was before I acquired a 1 1/2 hour commute one way (in traffic). After a fitful, 4-hour sleep, waking up at 4 AM for a 16-mile run (painful, by the way - cramping, tightness and muscle pulls dominating most of it), rushing through breakfast and a shower, then sitting in traffic for an hour, rubbing my sore achilles, it finally dawned on me that the easier option would be to switch my long run days back to the weekend.

* Your helpful suggestions on speedwork are greatly appreciated. I tried a pyramid interval and a Yasso 800 workout. My view on speedwork? Disgusting, nauseating...and enormously gratifying! If only the muscles, tendons and knees would co-operate, I would like to squeeze in 1 day of speedwork every week.

* Saturday run at the towpath: The towpath runs are always fun and a great way to begin a Saturday. Yesterday's run was one of the best. DH & I were joining friends on a hike later, so I started the run a little earlier than usual, broke it down into sections, running the first 1 1/2 miles with an eager-beaver newcomer (who had begun his running journey to lose weight, lost 50 pounds in a few months and gained an addiction to running), the next 3 miles with the speedy girls, the next 2 miles chatting with Wenchi/Oleg, then wrapping up the last 1 1/2 miles on my own. Very balanced run. And more miles than I had planned for the day.

* Hacklebarney State Park in NJ's NorthWest Skylands: I can't get over the fact that a charming place like this exists just 20 minutes from home. We hiked an easy 2.8 miles surrounded by stunning scenery, followed by a lovely packed lunch.

I am already planning a trail run there, with a post-run dip in the trout-filled Black River. Ahhh!

* I have been able to get a few friends interested in group trail runs, so we ran the trails at Cheesequake State Park a couple of weeks ago and Sourland Mountain Preserve today.

We had a couple of drop-outs unfortunately, but 4 of us showed up at the trail head at Sourland Mountain Preserve in Hillsborough this morning, bright and chirpy, ready to tackle the hilly, rocky trail. These pics (stolen from the web) are deceptive.

The trail...
...looks more like THIS!
After manuevring hilly sections with boulders for a couple of miles, we came upon wide open space with a view...that looks a lot more beautiful in the pic than it did at the time, because the last thing we were focusing on was the scenery! The sun beat down furiously; we were sweating buckets and beyond exhausted. And we were making our way down a steep downhill portion with sharp rocks and gravel. One wrong step and we would be sprawled on the ground, face-down, with a mouth full of gravel and almost certainly, broken bones.

After a mile in open space,we had a choice to enter the woods again or stay in open space all the way. We decided that the forest with shady tree cover was preferrable.

But we separated as we made our way through the forest to the parking lot, and Glenn got out first, covering the trail once. The rest of us got lost in the woods, in a maze of white-blazed trails. It was hard to tell if we were heading toward or away from the parking lot! Prem and Sandy were able to make their way back through the woods with the help of another runner, while I ended up at the clearing again, doing the 1 mile steep downhill run again.

After what seemed like ages, I got to the parking lot and as I was guzzling water, saw Sandy and Prem make their way out of the forest. I was a little relieved I was not the only one who got a little disoriented! I have been running trails for a little while now, but my sense of direction has not improved. I covered 5.75 miles in total (walking and running). This was definitely one of the toughest trails I have done so far, but also a lot of fun.

So much for a bulleted post, eh? Hope you had a wonderful and eventful weekend!

"Train"ing Run At the Towpath

The annual towpath "Train"ing run is a grand occasion for the club. Hundreds of runners flood the 34.1 mile towpath that runs all the way from Highland Park to Trenton, to celebrate National Trails Day.

Start time is based on estimated pace and distance. The goal is for the entire mob to finish together at Johnson Park at 11 AM. The mileage covered by every runner is totalled and 0.50 cents per mile as well as part of the entry fee are donated to the Cancer Institute of NJ. Then the fun begins as sweaty, stinky runners mingle, enjoy the camaraderie and gorge on fresh burgers, hot dogs and salad.

We had a blast. Despite the blazing heat and humidity, the turnout was tremendous and we totalled close to 2000 miles, my contribution being a teensy 5.5 miles. What can I say? My long run days are on Thursdays! I ran with Ken (who I was seeing after a year) for the first 3 miles, then finished the run with John. Thank you, guys!

I planned to picnic for an hour or so and ended up staying past 2 PM. By the time I got home, the heat and humidity made me feel like a wilted head of lettuce. But a nice dinner at Applebee's with margaritas,
grilled Dijon chicken and portobellos, and a maple butter blondie restored me like nothing else can.

NJ Winter Trail Race

Blog update: After noticing an alarming number of unsolicited and totally unrelated comments, I have opted to moderate comments. Hope this doesn't stop you all from commenting...I LOVE hearing from all my blog buddies and non-blog buddies; I am just trying to avoid the weirdos that unfortunately also co-exist in blogdom.

Hope you are all keeping yourselves warm and toasty in this frigid weather. Last winter, running was not a very pleasant experience for me. While the rest of me warms up pretty quickly during runs, my fingers used to stay frozen. Every run was followed by a painful defrosting process. Dollar store gloves don't work for me...nor do the standard ones from Target. Even my ski gloves were useless.

This winter, thanks to a new pair of mittens, keeping my digits warm has become a lot easier and the trauma my poor fingers had to undergo after every run has become a thing of the past.

The following system works for me:

(a) 30-40 degrees: Polartec polyester gloves

(b) 20-30 degrees: Mittens

(c) Below 20 degrees: Mittens + Glove Liners

+

For prolonged exposure to temps below 20 degrees, a combination of (c) and hand warmers usually do the trick.

I am dying to try out the pretty pink gloves Glenn got me for Christmas, but they will have to wait till it is a lot warmer. I still have nightmares involving severely frostbitten fingers.

Moving on...

After 3 runs in the snow/slush this week, I am becoming queen of running in snow. Today, Glenn and I ran the NJ Winter Trail Race at Lewis Morris County Park in Morristown. We opted for the shorter 5 mile race...and while we were almost huddled at the start to try and keep ourselves from freezing, I was extremely thankful we had not signed up for the 10 miler instead! My goal was to just complete the race. I was pretty worn out from my "high mileage" week; I had never done a 5 mile trail race before, so had no PR to beat. Glenn reached the park before me and collected my race bib and T-shirt. Technical full-sleeve tee...love it! I would gladly give up all miscellaneous race chachkis for a technical tee anyday.

Though the race turned out to be a little less than 5 miles, it sure felt a lot longer! We had to watch for tree stumps on the narrow single-track trail, so we couldn't really enjoy the scenery. But there was something very serene about a bunch of runners silently plodding through the woods. It was not an awfully hilly trail, but it did have steep portions. I realized I suck at pacing myself on trails/hills. I was following a woman runner for 1/2 mile during Mile 2, then on a slight downhill portion, decided to kick it up a notch, and sprinted past her. Well, the engines were going OK till the next hilly portion when I went completely out of breath and had to stop and walk, while she (and several others) passed me easily. After that, I picked one steady runner and decided to let him do the pacing for me. I followed him till Mile 4 and when I was reasonably sure all the hills were behind me, I stepped on the gas and went sailing (i.e. was catapulted by tree roots and rocks) to the finish.

I was the 3rd female finisher and was handed an envelope with a "cash prize" of $15 and a $20 gift certificate to the Sneaker Factory...sweet! I do feel a tad guilty that I beat another woman by a couple of milliseconds at the finish...but I suspect the guilt will vanish while I am happily shopping for new sneakers. (She turned out to be very friendly and sweet and we chatted after the race...this was her first trail race as well; she and her husband are runners/triathletes and have completed several triathlon relays). Glenn finished strong too. We were both happy we completed the race in less than an hour.
Stats:
Bib: 31; 13 / 54 overall; 3 / 23 women

Total miles for the week: 42

Monday: 10 miles (1:28:30)
Tuesday: spinning (45 minutes), swimming (500 yards)
Wednesday: 6 miles (52:01)
Thursday: 14 miles (2:01:39)
Friday: rest
Saturday: 7 miles (1:07:39)
Sunday: 5 mile trail run (50:49)

There are so many awesome giveaways out in blogland, I need to devote an entire post to them!
Teamarcia is sponsoring a host of super giveaways, so be sure to check the latest one out!
Fabulous Recovery Socks Giveaway at Tall Mom on the Run.

Finally, win cool FlexFit gloves at Erica Running.

ENJOY THE SUPERBOWL!!!

January in Review

It has been a crazy few weeks at work and I apologize for the sporadic commenting. Almost all of my life outside of work came to a screeching halt. Except for running, of course. I need endorphins...cannot function without them...wonder how I survived before I started running.

Some of you asked about the 15-minute power workout that brought me to my knees a couple of weeks ago. Here is what I remember of it. We started with dumbbells...40 reps each of front raises,

lateral raises

and shoulder presses.

Then, there were jumping jacks, different types of ab crunches and squats,

pushups

and reverse pushups...

...as many reps as we could each manage. That was the trick...you don't know how many reps you can handle until a day after the workout!

My "training" has been humming along, according to plan. Last week was a "high mileage" week, by my standards.

Total mileage for last week: 40

Monday: 10 miles - 1:29:26 (8:57 pace)
Tuesday: biking & core work
Wednesday: 6 mile tempo - 1 mile warm-up, 3 mile tempo (8:09, 8:00, 8:08), 2 mile cooldown
Thursday: 12 miles - 1:50:50 (9:15 pace)
Friday: rest
Saturday: 7.22 miles - 1:39:18 (13:46 pace) - Jockey Hollow (hilly trails)
Sunday: 5 miles - 45:48 (9:10 pace) + Glenn-designed "bootcamp"

By the middle of this week, there were little twinges in my knees, so I went easy on the mileage.

Total mileage for this week: 29.75

Monday: 6 miles - 53:50
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 6 miles - 53:26 & strength training (abs, biceps and triceps, lunges and squats)
Thursday: 4 miles - 39:31
Friday: swimming 750 yards
Saturday: 7.25 mile group run on the towpath - 1:04:03
Sunday: 6.5 miles on Thompson Park trails (some hills) - 1:02:00

This brings my total mileage in January to 152.2 miles...the most monthly mileage I have done in over 6 months.

I ran the Thompson Park trails today with Jorge, who has run sub 3-hour marathons in the past. He is suffering from an injury which is now forcing him to run at my pace. I warned him that that wouldn't stop me from bragging that I ran with (and kept pace with) a sub 3-hour marathon runner!

So, what am I training for? Well, my training is always designed with a marathon in mind...the NJ Marathon? I dare hope...

And there are a few fun races to consider along the way. More importantly, I'd like to maintain a consistent and injury-free base mileage of 25 - 45 miles a week, even when I am not training for anything. I was more ambitious last year but a couple of injuries made me re-evaluate my goals. Now, weekly totals are not as important as they used to be. I am trying to throw some hills and speedwork, aka tempo runs into the mix. But as I experienced a couple of days ago, my body may not be in the mood for a tempo run on the day I schedule a tempo run.

Frank the Forerunner has become my cherished companion. Though I've had him for the past month, I only recently started downloading all the cool training data (never thought I would ever call data "cool"!). I must say, I am digging all the elevation, speed and pace graphs and charts. I changed some of the settings, so Frank now pushes me to be faster and nudges me with a "Speed Up" beep when I slow down for a water break. A watch used to put pressure on me...but I now realize (after a lot of trial and error, mostly error) that every day is going to be different, and a 8:40 pace on one day could become a 9:40 pace another day. So, instead of kicking myself like I used to, I am just having a lot of fun...even on those days when my legs are toast.

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Bruised and sore

Where did this weekend go? Let me see...

A friend and ex-colleague invited me to a "power workout". She assured me that her workout, though only 15 minutes long, would make every muscle cringe. I am always looking for new and better ways to strength-train and I was intrigued by the idea of this super workout. I met Mars early Friday morning before work. We worked our shoulders, biceps, triceps, hips, quads, hamstrings, obliques and muscles I never knew existed...all in 15 minutes. And it didn't feel like we were working out because we were chatting and having fun the whole time. She warned me a couple of times not to overdo it. I laughed it off, thinking, "Piece of cake...I can handle this".

By evening, my quads were starting to ache...and by Saturday morning, I could barely crawl out of bed to meet the group at the towpath. Once I started running, the pain didn't bother me. I was able to keep pace with Sandy, who had already completed gazillion miles and was just finishing up her last 6 miles, still looking great and running strong.

Saturday was a beautiful day for skiing. DH and I spent 4 hours night-skiing on the wonderfully-lit slopes of Blue Mountain. Of course, I fell on the slopes...a night of skiing would not be complete without the ceremonious fall.

This morning, Sandy and I went trail running. We ran 6.52 miles on the winding 6-mile run trail in Somerset. The trail was strewn with leaves and in several places, there were little tree stumps that were hardly noticeable. Sandy stumbled at one point and I turned around to see if she was alright...and as I did so, I tripped on a stump myself and came crashing to the ground, my head hitting a tree branch as I went down. Luckily, I wore a thick cap which absorbed some of the shock, and apart from a few dazed moments and bruised knees, I was none the worse for wear and was able to complete the run.

After a hot shower and a nap, I took stock: Still very sore arms, shoulders, quads, hamstrings and hips, 2 stinging, swollen, colorfully bruised knees, a few nagging muscles in mysterious places and an imaginary headache...quite an eventful weekend, don't you think?

Total miles for the week: 32.1 miles
Monday: spinning
Tuesday: 13.1 miles - 2:03:27
Thursday: 6 miles - 57:46
Friday: power workout (ouch!)
Saturday: 6.5 miles - 59:52, skiing
Sunday: 6.52 miles - 1:20:21

6-mile Run

Hope you are all enjoying a wonderful holiday. I may have sounded a little wistful as I spoke to my parents and brothers on Christmas...I was with them in India, having a blast, this time last year. But I can't complain...I have a sweet husband and wonderful friends...and I got some solid runs in over the past weekend, including a trail run.

Last week, I was recovering. I had a lousy cough that accompanied me on all my runs. I was not able to run outdoors, so I hit the dreadmill...I still find it immensely boring (though I am thankful it exists). This week, I couldn't bear to run indoors any longer. I am now running outdoors, trying to pretend the cough does not exist.

The 6-mile Run State Park (there are a few trails and not one is 6 miles) that my brand new GPS took me to, was no more than a little parking lot with a porta-potty. Thanks goodness for the porta-potty!

I wanted to start Christmas with a lovely trail run. But the trail was snow-covered,

so I ran 6 miles on the road adjacent to the trail. The Delaware-Raritan Canal runs parallel to the road...

...so despite the dirty snow, bare trees and my incessant coughing, I enjoyed the run. I thought the view was pretty amazing.

This morning, I returned to the trail. The glorious 50 degree weather had melted the snow and I was running/wading through a scenic and slushy trail. I planned to run only 3 miles, so carried no gatorade or water, no cell phone, not even a trail map (this was supposed to be a simple trail...or so I thought). Predictably, I lost my way and sloshed/mud-skiied along the narrow trail for 3 more miles, by which point, I was parched and the forgotten cough had returned with a vengeance. I had also gotten my shoes and socks wet, scratched my leg on some briar and sported an impressive streak of blood...I even have proof...see! (as well as a very muddy sock).

This week: 29 miles (5 miles more than scheduled, thanks to losing my way on the trail today and being pulled into an uplifting discussion on holiday food at the group run yesterday).

Monday: 6 miles

Tuesday: 5 miles

Wednesday: Spinning

Friday: 6 miles

Saturday: 6 miles group run

Sunday: 6 mile trail run

2009 has been a memorable year for me. Injury kept me from a couple of races and I lost my race-mojo...but I joined a running club and started running in a group, found an amazing running buddy/friend, started trail and hill running and finished the year with a great race and am hooked on races again.

Wish you all a wonderful New Year...keep running!

Watchung Reservation Trail Run

When you run trails, you should be able to read a map. Or know someone who does. Without Glenn, there is no question I would have been hopelessly lost on yesterday's trail run at Watchung Reservation. He claims it is the additional iron in his nose that gives him the advantage. I am going to agree with that. Anything that makes me look less stupid is A-OK by me!

Let me also add that a search on Google revealed that Watchung Reservation is "one of the worst marked parks in New Jersey"...so that's my defense for staring stupidly at the trail map and the trail markers, unable to coax any sense out of them.

Glenn was brilliant. He not only read the map with ease, he was able to decifer the various multi-colored trail markings and turn us back when we meandered off onto an unused trail and got scratched by the briar. All I had to do was run alongside him and make conversation.

We parked by the Nature and Science Center and started our run here...it was a little chilly, but thankfully not too humid.

Our goal was 6 miles; we planned to combine different trails to make up the distance.

Hiking Trail Hieroglyphics:
A single blaze on a trail this indicates that the trail generally goes straight ahead.

For trail novices like me, when two blazes are painted together, one above the other, a turn or bend in the trail is indicated. The upper blaze will be offset to (not directly above) the lower blaze. Here, the yellow trail heads right.

Decision-time! Glenn did all the trail-marker decifering. We stopped quite a bit to read the map (each of us carried a map, and mine only came in handy when Glenn lost his toward the end of the run).

Along the trail...

A little after 2 miles, we found ourselves back at the parking lot and started on a new trail.
3 blazes indicate the beginning of a trail.

Animal-tracks (a dog's paw-prints?), where we crossed to the other side of Blue BrookLake Surprise (not tempted to jump in for a swim!). We ran sections of the Bridle trail, alongside the lake.

We had to watch our step. Most of the trail was rocky. We walked at the most rocky and steep portions.

We encountered a few small hills. Glenn, an advocate of "goal-running" (I'll let him explain) pushed me up one hill, by sprinting me to the next trail marker. Whew! Glenn, you know I mean this in the nicest possible way...you are a slave-driver. We finished by racing each other to our cars, gasping and out of breath. We completed 6.8 miles in total.

We then sat on the grass by the parking lot, munching on post-run fruit and granola bars, chatting about...what else...running...and planning the next trail run.

Next Sunday is the NYC Half Marathon, so this week's been a sort of semi-taper.

Monday: core work

Tuesday: 8 miles + spinning + BodyWorks

Wednesday: 6 miles

Thursday: rest

Friday: 10 miles

Saturday: 6.8 mile trail run

Sunday: core work

Total: 30.8 miles

Jockey Hollow Trail Run

Hope you are all having a good week. I realize my posts have gone from a biweekly occurence to a weekly one...and I am hopelessly behind on keeping up with your blogs. I miss all the lively chatter of blogdom, but blogging unfortunately has to take a backseat for a while, as I throw myself heart and soul into my new job, training and everything else that I have going on at the moment.

I will pop up occasionally to remind you of my existence and post pics...please bear with my irregular behavior for awhile.

Last week's highlights:

1. The running club's final day of the 2009 Summer XC series and Youth Series. I was still feeling a little spaced out in my effort to ward off the flu with too much extra strength tylenol, but had promised Ken to volunteer at the kids' races...and I thought some sun and air would pull me out of the drug-induced stupor. It did lift my spirits to see the little munchkins and the not-so-little munchkins take their races...and their pizza and cake...so seriously. Ken had it all under control, so I just doled out T-shirts and pretended to be busy at all times. I had so much fun handing out organic lollipops at the lollipop dash. I also took some not-so-spectacular pics. I am too embarrassed to upload them on the club's website, so instead, you will have the privilege of viewing them.

Here you go...some of the kids in action

Well-earned pizza

The lovely cake created by Rebecca

All eyes on the cake

2. Saturday's 8-mile trail run at Jockey Hollow...part of Morristown National Historical Park.After fumbling with the directions for a while, I got to Jockey Hollow at 10:45. It was hot and humid, but the trees provided good cover. I parked here...
...and not wanting to waste time finding the trails, I started running on the road. There were some pretty steep uphill and downhill parts.I went off the road at places,
...staying in the shade of the trees......finally finding the trails after 6 miles. The trails were well-marked and maintained, and easier on the legs than I expected.

Don't you just love this little bridge?

Tree-graffiti

Someone went crazy with the trail-markers.

Last week's workouts:

Monday & Tuesday: Sleeping Under the Influence of tylenol
Wednesday: Lazy 6 miles

Thursday: scheduled 18-miler, but was still feeling lethargic, so wimped out and slept instead (that's why training plans don't work for me; I need way too much flexibility!)
Friday: 8 miles

Saturday: 8 mile trail run with some hills

Very light week, I blame the bug. Summary of last week's runs: Enjoyable but exhausting. This week better be better!