My motivation to run is having some serious issues lately.  Well, at least the last couple of weeks.  I find ...   more »

Last Sunday my friend, Stan, and I were running in the DNR land/forest and we became lost (see prior posting).  ...   more »

Stan Reitan and I traveled across the big water this morning on the red eye to participate in the Nookacamps ...   more »

I am always looking for something that will motivate me to keep running through the coming Dark Months - Months that usually rob me of my desire to keep running.  I know, motivation should come from within, but during the Dark Months my inner motivation usually stays in bed on those cold, dark mornings.

Back in the 70's I considered writing a book titled, "How Can I Train For The Olympics When I Can't Get Out Of Bed In The Morning".  It would have made a great movie.   I have the same problem now as I did then.  I call it Warm Bed Syndrome or WBS.  I am sure most readers have had dealt with WBS at one time or another.  You know what I mean.

For this coming  season of the Dark Months I am using the Chuckanut Mountain 50K Race which is on Saturday, March 17 as my motivation.  This trail run is held in the Bellingham area and is popular for island trail runners.  You can learn more about the race by visiting http://www.gbrc.net/chuckanut50k.php.  A 50K race is equal to 31.068 miles.  About five miles longer than a marathon.

The profile of this race is basically running straight up and then running straight down, with a bunch of little ups and downs.  Should be fun, right?

My training for the next couple of months is basically this:  get out of bed in the morning and run and where from 3 to 10 miles.  Depending on the day.  And running up and down any hill I can find.

Stay tuned, this should be interesting.

I finally have my running site for local information, routes, races, training programs and general updates.

www.runninginthesanjuans.com

My buddy, Ian Byington, has posted an article, results and photos from The Loop run this past weekend.

Ian is a web designer here on San Juan Island and does our www.sanjuanislandmarathon.com page.

Thanks Ian!!

Here is his link:  http://www.sanjuanupdate.com/

sanjuanislander.com has the results of The Loop Run.  You can find age results here:  http://www.sanjuanislander.com/events/races/loop-run-2006.shtml and men/women results are here:  http://www.sanjuanislander.com/events/races/loop-run-2006-by-sex.shtml.

Local runners did a good job with some fast times.  Ross Lockwood ran a 37:28 with Paul Hopkins running 37:41.  Paul leaves on Wednesday to compete in the Canadian Iron Man event this coming weekend.  He told me he was going to run this race slowly and at 37:41 I would say that his definition of slow is different than mine.

Jane Hutchinson did well as always finishing in 43:50 and Boo Boo Keane finished in 48:06.  Jen Fleming arrived in 50:09.

I think having so many local runners running fast is very cool.  Congrats to everyone who participated.

The Loop Run is now history.  I have had better runs and better races in the past, but today was a nice and slow run with a few buddies.  Well, at least at the strart I had buddies, but after the race started I was on my own, until I met up with Brian Calvert.  He asked me what kind of finishing time I was hopeing for and I told him that the ferry left at 5:35 and I needed to be on that boat.  He thought that was good enough. 

Brian has been of friend of mine since I moved to the island.  I traveled up the West Coast in a Selene 42' with him a few years ago.  Brian always runs from Roche Harbor to town on his birthday, which is in November, and the route is close to 10 miles.  I have run with him on a few of those birthday runs.  We also have run together over in Port Townsend for the Rhody Run - the same year as the comet Hale Bopp.  The t-shirt was a cool design with the comet on it.  We have had many runs together over the years.

We moved through the race course and talked about things that have happened in our lives over the past year.  Brian sells boats and spends part of his time in Friday Harbor and some of his time in the Seattle area with his wife, Sasha.  We had a nice visit and a nice run.

Just short of the finish line I met up with my friend Paul, who asked me if the Argyle Hill has as bad being out of shape.  I flipped him off.  Samanta and Jen were there giving high fives. 

Finishing time 1:04.  Last years time 41:48.  Some twenty-three minutes slower.  Almost a minute a pound, since I am close to 30 pounds heavier than last year's race.

Next year is the 30th!!!

I have been thinking of starting a Cross-Country Team for adults.  This co-ed team would/could participate in meets in the Puget Sounds area, mostly on Saturdays through out the fall and winter.  This could be a great way to continue a running program into the winter.  If interested, leave a comment.

Clark

I almost had an excuse to not run last night. 

The story begins on Tuesday night while we had just settled into bed when I was stung on my left wrist.  A few minutes earlier I had flicked that bee off the bed, but he must have hit the wall and bounced back to the side of the matress then climbed up to my new resting wrist and let me have it with both stingers.  I don't know if bees have two stingers, but it sure felt like it.

During Wednesday my wrist begin to swell some and was tender, but noth much discomfort than that.

So, why not run?  Well how would I wear my watch, cause I need to know how long I ran, right.

In the end I did get my butt out the door and headed down the Mother of All Hills and ran out past Deer Harbor area and then turned around and met Samantha and Jen, who were waiting for me at the marine.  I didn't need to run back up the Mother of All Hills, which I was grateful for.  Most of the run was on pavement, except for the 1.5 miles from our house to the road.  This was a non-stop run for me.

Total time running:  36:50, Heart Rate:  142/162 and Calories Burnt:  542.

Hey interested runners, check out the Running Category, located to on the left side of the main page, for news, training logs, races and other related topics for the local Running Scene here in the San Juans.

Besides my own training log I will have information and maps on local running routes and let you know which ones I think are really great and which ones I don't like.

I will also be posting information on group runs and workout sessions with your ability to respond.

See you on the roads,
Clark

ps  Don't forget The Loop Run on Saturday the 19th.

The Annual 8.8K Loop Run, formally known as the Journal Run and is always a part of Fair Week will happen this coming Saturday, August 19th with start time 9:15 a.m..  I am planning on running again this year, but I won't be winning any medals this year.

The running route is similar to the last miles of the San Juan Island Marathon, where it winds around Turn and Pear Point.  Great views!

For more information download the registration form at:  http://www.islandrec.org/forms/88krun2006.pdf

For the third time this summer I have started a running program for enjoyment, weight control and the fact that I have been a runner since 1976, OK, maybe 1977.  I can't remember that far back, though I remember I ran my first marathon in 1978, the Lake Sammanish Marathon.  It went around the lake before there were big and expensive houses.

Back to tonight.  Since living on Orcas Island my running has gone down hill and I have, embarrassing as it is for me to admit, gained closed to 35 pounds this past year.  I have nothing to blame for this except for myself and the commute to and from Friday Harbor which takes close to 3 or 4 hours out of my day.  Our day, as Samantha commutes as well.  And the stuff that I put in my mouth, I suppose that could have an effect too.  Through the winter when we were both leaving and coming home in the dark - and I mean dark as we live at the far end of a long, gravel road - I found it extremely hard to get any running in.  My lunch times are committed so before and after work are my options.

Again, back to tonight.  In my need to drop this weight of mine and feel better physically, I once again started my running program.  Simple goal:  run for 35 minutes every day.  Not that I need to run non-stop, I run till I get tired and then turn off my stop-watch, walk till I recover and then back to running.  The 35 minutes are Combined Time of Running (CTOR) or Total Time Ran (TTR).  My simple plan is just to go out and run my 35 TTR six days a week and see what goes.  Sounds simple, right?  The only thing is actually getting my now big butt out the door and put one step in front of the other in a quick fashion.

OK, back to tonight.  I leave work with this huge commitment to run tonight, but upon arriving at the ferry dock we find that the ferry was running late - again.  I think we finally arrived home around 7:00 and my determination was waning, some.  I quickly entered the house, went straight to our bedroom and changed my clothes into my running outfit.  I have learned that if I let my butt hit the couch or the bed or any of the chairs the battle is over and I don't go and run.  I need to just "Do It" as Nike would say.  After dressing I again quickly exited the house, only to sit down once to put on my running shoes and head down the  "Mother of all hills", which is our drive way, and run for 20 minutes and then turn around and head for home, only to walk some up the "Mother of all hills".  I hate that hill.  It is steep, ugly and has switch backs for heavens sake.  Total TTR:  38:24.  Total calories burned:  500.  Number of times I cursed the Mother of all hills:  32.

I was pleased with my effort and happy to get out with the late afternoon sun and smell the various smells of August.  I had a nice run and I didn't die, which is always a good thing.  Tomorrow will be a repeat, maybe a loop around the lower lake which is down the hill from where we live and yes I  have to run up and down the "Mother of all hills".