Rod Jetton- Rain and Cooler Weather Speeds Me Up!

My eyes opened and my alarm clock that shines the time up on the ceiling said 4:07.  I was hot and needed some water so I got up, went to the kitchen, and then my mind started racing about all the work related things I had to do today.

I sat down and my laptop and started working and then the storm blew in.  There was lightning and thunder and rain but by 6:30 it seemed to be over.  I started thinking this would be a great morning for a run.  So I got my shoes on, filled up the camelback and took off running.

My pace was faster than last week and I was really wanting to perform better than I had then, hoping the cooler weather would help.  On the way down a big hill about 2 miles from the house I tried to step off the side of the road because a big truck was headed toward me, but slipped in the wet grass and went down.  I scraped up my hands in several places on the asphalt and they were bleeding, but I told myself that trail running was about falling down and not letting it bother you.  Even with the fall, at the three mile mark I was 1 min ahead of last weeks pace.  I ran up the big hills in town and through sunset park, then down to the trail.  It was wet and after my fall I took my time and walked over the rougher parts.  I noticed I had a lot more energy than last week at this point.

Looking up some of the stairs

Looking down some of the stairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the top looking down at the Lake

I did walk up all the stairs and even took a few photos to show how steep it was.  The first two are of the steps looking down and up.  The last one is at the top looking down to the valley and Lake Taenycomo below.  At the top I took off down the trail and really felt good.  I was 5 min ahead of last weeks time at the trail head.  I ran over to the office which included one very long and steep downhill and a massive steep and long uphill which I briskly walked up.  I then kept up a good pace to the office and got there at 1:29.  I was tired but felt MUCH better than last week.

Me at the office after the run

Over all it was a good run and gave me hope that I can finish the 50k race in October.  
                                                  

Rod Jetton- Bring on the Heat

I'm doing the math and it looks like I have 14 weeks until the 50k.  That means only 14 more chances to get a long run in.  So I planned Saturday for my long one.  I didn't measure the course but we have a 2 mile trail in Branson that goes down a steep cliff along Lake Taneycomo and back up again.

My plan was to run from my house to there and then follow Hwy. 76 back home.  All in all it would be about 4 mile to the trail then 2 miles on the trail and then another 4 or 5 back home.  Not a real hard day for a in shape runner but for an overweight guy just gearing up it seemed like a good way to hurt.

My first mistake was not getting up at 6am and starting.  I waited until 8am and the sun was already starting to heat things up.  I filled my camel back up and started off with a very slow suffering pace.  Now Branson has some huge hills and the first three miles were all downhill to the Lake and then i jogged along to the trail and it started getting rough.  I love running trails but man are they hard.  The terrain isn't level, the hills and inclines are steeper and i was already tires from my jog.

One interesting fact about this trail is the 316 steps built in 1938 that lead to the top.  I love running this trail but today i walked up the whole way and was fairly proud of myself for not stopping and taking a break.  At the top I jogged to the trail head and was tired enough that I planned on calling my wife to come and get me and calling it a day.  I had already run 1 hour and was tired but for some reason at the top I decided i better get used to pain and so i kept running.  Well at least jogging.

Fortunately Hwy. 76 is downhill so it wasn't that hard to shuffle along the sidewalk.  By this time it was hot and I was drinking water as fast as I could.  I was getting tired and hurting but kept telling myself 50k would be very painful and I better get used to it.

I made it to the start of the big 3 miles of uphill back to the house and started walking.  I called my wife to come and get me but no answer.  So I kept walking up the hill.  By this time my fat legs were chaffing and i had more pain that just my lungs, legs and body!!  I ran out of water and started feeling dizzy but i kept going.  About that time my wife called back and came and picked me up saving me the pain of walking the last mile.

It took a shower lots of water and nap to "kind of" recover from the run and I felt sore but good Sunday. It's sad to think how far I have to go to be able to finish a 50k trail run this October but hopefully i can cut some weight, get up earlier and beat the heat.  It took me all day Sunday to get re hydrated but I'm feeling good today and can't wait till next weekend and my pain session.  maybe i can finish this time.

Thanks and take care,

Rodney

Rod Jetton- Keeping Fit In The Boundry Waters

Well I took a break from trail running during our fishing trip to Minnesota.  The good news is I definitely got in some workouts and i am way out of shape.  The boundary waters are a group of natural lakes on the Canadian and Minnesota boarder where you have to hike in and they do not allow engines on boats.  It is beautiful and the water is so clear and clean you can drink it right out of the lake.

Posing with the timer on

What the rules mean is that you have to carry everything you need for the week including your canoe.  Our first hike or what they call a portage was a 280 rod jaunt (about 8/10 of a mile) into the Boundary water Canoe Area (BWCA) from the road.  It took each of us two trips to get both canoes and all the gear to the water.  I carried our 64 pound canoe on my shoulders with a food pack on my back for my first trip then I jogged back and strapped two packs on the front and back of my body with several other things in my hands.  Needless to say that was a good workout but I was pumped up and full of energy with all the excitement of getting there.

Dad with all the gear he brought with him

 
We then paddled all the way through three big lakes to our campsite.  It was about a 4 mile trip, which was another good workout.  First, there was Little Gabro, then Gabro, then into Bald Eagle.  There were some rapids going into Bald Eagle and with all our gear in the canoe we had to get out and carry it over a few rocks and into Bald Eagle Lake.  Of course once we got to our campsite and unloaded everything we decided we didn't like it, so we scouted around and found a better one and had to reload everything and transport it over to the new site.  All in all, it was a full day of hiking, paddling and loading gear.  If you look at the center and bottom of the map below you can see the lakes we were in.
 

Map of the BW with all the lakes showing

That was day one and I will continue this tomorrow.  Thanks and take care.

Rodney Jetton

 check this link out for more photos

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