I was looking back on my 2014 year end summary and that was one rough year to say the least, 2015 turned out to be much better in every way. The amazing thing is that my prediction in my #1 goal of “Get Healthy” actually was pretty accurate. I expected to be over SIBO and healing my gut but didn’t expect to be feeling really good until 2016 but really I ended up feeling pretty good by mid-2015. I stopped taking anti-microbials in May and declared myself cured of SIBO in June and since then have been getting better and better each month with no relapse in almost eight months now. On top of eradicating my SIBO the last round of treatment I did got rid of my blastocystisis hominis too which was excellent news – SIBO and parasite free finally. I also got good news that I do not have the auto-immune condition that is a major cause of SIBO which is why I think I’ve avoided relapse for so long.
Category Archives: Trail Running
Redmond Reindeer Romp 5-mile
My second event in the Winter Trail Run Series was at my old stomping grounds – the Redmond Watershed. The last two years this event is a way below freezing ordeal but this year we had mild temperatures but with some wind and heavy rains threatening at any moment. Luckily when I arrived for setup the rains were holding off and we got everything set up and registration done before even a sprinkle appeared. I opted to run the 5-mile distance. I had thought about increasing to the half but figured I’d wait until spring and not push it, it turned out to be a good move since the cold downpour happened about halfway through for the half marathon runners.
Ravenna Refresher 8k
Luna Osos with Polar Fleece Tabi Socks
The weather is below freezing so it must be time for the Northwest Trail Runs Winter Trail Run Series again. The series actually started a few weeks ago when I was in SoCal so the Ravenna Refresher was the first event I got to run and it felt like winter. It was 24 degrees in Fall City at 7 am when I took off for the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle to help setup, do registration and then run the 8k (almost 5 mile) course today. I bundled up big-time even with my snowshoe boots, fleece tights and flannel lined pants, three tops and a fleece jacket for setup and reg so I wouldn’t get too cold like I did at the last event when I cramped up immediately after starting to run and it was way colder today.
Run With the Kokanee and 2015 Wrap-up
Saturday was my last trail run of the regular season for 2015, the Run With the Kokanee 10k sponsored by the Bellevue/Issaquah chapter of Trout Unlimited and Northwest Trail Runs. I walked this event last fall, it was the first even I’d been to in several years after being sick so it was good to be able to go back and actually run it this time. This is a “trail” run in that it is all on trails but about 2 miles of the 3 mile loop is paved bike trail and the last mile is packed grass trail plus it is dead flat which all adds up to a perfect PR course.
I ran with my Luna Sandals again on this event as I have at all events this year but forgot about the pavement and I kind of hate using Lunas on pavement. After doing reg and sitting around for 2 hours then taking off at a good clip at the start my left calf cramped up about one mile in and I wasn’t really sure I was going to do the second lap but luckily by the time I got to the end of the lap @ 25:12 (my fastest 5k time by far), I was feeling better so went for it. The second lap was much easier though I slowed a bit and ended up crossing the finish at 51:18. This beat my previous best 10k time by 9 whole minutes.
The old PRs continue to fall
Ignore that distance, it was 10.4 miles. GPS in the Watershed is always off.
Today was the Summer Blast at the Redmond Watershed put on by Northwest Trail Runs. The Watershed and this run are special to me since I ran my first ever trail run, a 10-miler, at the Watershed, did my first marathon at the Watershed and ran my fastest half there too. Plus I spent a lot of time running in this park when I lived in Redmond, it was my primary training ground.
I was originally signed up for the half thinking maybe I’d be ready for it by today but alas, I was not. I stopped running for the most part after dropping weight again so since the Lord Hill 10k I’d run maybe twice and those were 4 mile runs. So I hadn’t even made it half of a half marathon in distance yet. On top of that we are heading to Mount Rainier on Monday to do the Northern Loop and I didn’t want to be totally wiped out before starting that. So, I bumped down to the 10-mile run figuring I could bail at 5 if I needed to.
Lord Hill 10k, SIBO has made me fast
The evil elevation chart from the route
Today was the “Pie High” Lord Hill 10k run from Northwest Trail Runs and I really wasn’t sure I was going to be up for it. First off, this was going to be the longest distance I’ve run yet this year, I did one other 10k up Tiger 3 a few months ago but haven’t gone past 5 easy miles other than that. Second, I ended up riding a lot longer to and from the NW Roots Festival yesterday and had a sore knee by the time I got home. Third, I just knew Lord Hill was going to be a mother from having done a previous 10k and half marathon there.
Rattlesnake Ridge 5-Mile
When I signed up for the Rattlesnake Ridge run back in the winter I had hoped to be ready to do the half marathon up and over the mountain but that wasn’t going to happen so I switched over to the 5-mile run which isn’t even on Rattlesnake proper but instead does an out and back on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. Nice smooth, gravel bike trail with only a few hundred feet of elevation. Pretty easy and fast.
I arrived at 6 a.m. to do setup and registration in the morning. I got through the 50k people by 7:15 or so then the half marathoners began showing up and that went until about 8:30 when they moved the last of registration for that over to the start line. Then I did the 5-mile registration and finished up just in time to go tear off my pants and jacket and get into my sandals. The Lunas got a lot of comment from other runners, they could not believe anyone would run in sandals and this was the most sandal friendly course I’ve ever used them on.
We started out fast, I didn’t want to get behind a bunch of people. On the way down to the turnaround there were 3 people in front of a pack of 4 of us and we just kept changing lead position but were not going to catch the leaders. At the turnaround I was shocked, I’d been keeping a pace barely over 7 minutes a mile! I climb better than many so the slight uphill was nothing and I got past two of the guys in the group easily while one passed me and continued gaining on the next guy. I just kept going fast since I was feeling good and crossed the finish in 37:43, a 7:34 pace! That is the fastest trail 5 mile I’ve ever run, the fastest road 5 mile I’ve run even. 5th overall, just like the Cougar 5k last week. Next up, Lord Hill 10k in July.
Cougar Mountain 5k
photo by Takao Suzuki
It had been a few months since I’d run an event but I started running again lightly a few weeks ago and decided it was time to get back with my tribe and do an event. The Cougar Series had already started and I wasn’t up for 8.2 miles so I signed up for the new 5k option which was mainly for beginning trail runners to get acquainted with the sport but heck, Eric Bone was running it too so I knew there would be a few of us who were not newbies.
The day was perfect, temps in the 50s at the start and the trails were in great shape since we’ve had no rain to speak of. I opted to run in my Luna Sandals since it was such a nice day and I knew the 5k loop was pretty mellow with only 350′ of gain. I toed the start line so I could stay ahead of a lot of the new runners and hopefully not have to pass on the single track at all. We started and a few of us took off fast, Eric was cruising from the start like Flash. The run started down the road and I was pretty much immediately in 5th place overall and ended up staying there. I lost track of Eric before the single track turn-off but could still see everyone else in front of me make the turn.
The loop was easy enough, some single track, some road. I got passed by a few of the longer distance fast runners but by no one doing the 5k. On downhills I’d occasionally hear someone getting closer to me but then on the uphill I’d gain distance again. I picked it up when there was about 1/2 mile to go but then realized I’d picked it up a bit early when I got to the real final stretch but I was able to keep going at that pace. Crossed the finish in 26:59 officially, my watch showed 26:44 so I’m not sure what that was about. Kept an 8:30 pace which is pretty good for me on a trail run, that was my old half marathon road pace when I was 20 years younger. 5th overall, and 2nd in my age group. Eric, by the way, ran a course record of 19:44. The Lunas did great, glad I chose to run in them and it was good to be back out there on the trails. Next up, Rattlesnake 5-mile on next Saturday. I originally was hoping to do the half there but there is no way I’m up for that climb yet.
Cedar Mountain 5 Mile Run
I couldn’t run the 5-mile Watershed run last week because I was just overbooked so I moved my registration to the new Cedar Mountain run in Renton for today. I wish the weather would have been like last week, instead it was pouring rain all night long and was still pouring this morning when I showed up at Petrovitsky Park. There were very few runners since this was sort of a last minute event, we had 29 signed up ahead of time and had about a half dozen day of registrations show up so registration was pretty uneventful.
Luckily the rain seemed to die out just as we were about to start the run at 9:30. The few of us gathered at the start for a brief talk and off we went. The course started on pavement in the park and followed the road for just under a mile before heading up into single track that was some of the softest single track I’ve been on around here. We then crossed another road and onto a bit more technical single track but still not nearly as bad as Soaring Eagle, even though it was wet and slick in a few spots with some roots and fallen trees to contend with. The 5-milers did a lollipop at the end of this stretch on some gravel roads and more single track while the 10-milers branched off to actually run up Cedar Mountain itself. Once I hit the turn-off I was on my own, I didn’t see another 5 mile runner until I was back on the pavement. On the last stretch coming into the park I got passed by another runner, I was taking it pretty easy on the pavement since I’m not used to running on it at all these days. Crossed the finish in 46:24, at a 9:05 pace, quite a bit faster than my 9:40 pace at Soaring Eagle or my over 10 minute pace at all the other winter events. Maybe I just run better in the mud and muck or all this running on Tiger is doing the trick and getting me into good shape again.
Winter Trail Run Series Recap
After a long time away from running due to either injury or illness I used the 2014-15 Winter Trail Run Series from Northwest Trail Runs to try and get back into shape somewhat and get back into running a bit of distance. I managed to volunteer at every single one of the seven events this year and was able to run in five of them. I missed one due to the distance being a bit much for me at the time and another due to just not feeling well enough to run even though I had registered. I got to run the Carkeek Cooler event with Kristen and the Absolution Run with Chris so it became sort of a family series too this year.