2018 Loony Challenge - The Plan

Year 4 of running the TC Loony Challenge.  Here's year 1 in 2014, year 2 in 2015, and year 3 in 2017.

Things that have worked well in the past are back to back long run days, weight lifting for strength, and proper nutrition.  New this year will be adding plyos 2/week and more targeted ab workout.

Running:
Build 3 Weeks; then 1 step back week.
Building Weeks:
Sunday: 6-10 Miles at MAF, Sunday Kettlebell Workout, Sunday Abs
Monday: 6-10 Miles at MAF, Plyos
Tuesday: 4-6 Miles at MAF, Lift Weights
Wednesday: 1 Mile Run,
Thursday: 4-6 Miles at MAF, Lift Weights
Friday: 1 Mile Run
Saturday: 4-6 Miles at MAF, Plyos.  Maybe walk with Dungeon Master?
Step Back Week reduces mileage but keeps the cross training.

Nutrition: Mostly Whole30, which I've done a few times.  This year, I'm not writing up a report of what I wrote every day.  That got to be too much.  The longest I've kept up the nutrition in the past was for about 40 days. This time, I’m trying for a Whole100 or so, to see what life can be like with proper nutrition.

Cross Training:
Sunday Kettlebell Workout, all 5 sets of 5 reps
Single bell shoulder press (stand on one leg)
Squats, two bells in rack position
High pulls

Sunday Abs: 35 second of work, 25 second of rest (increase to 40/20 or 50/10 at some point?)
Superman
Bird dog (left leg out)
Superman
Bird dog (right leg out)
Toe taps in imprint
R side, side laying leg lifts
L side, side laying leg lifts
Toe taps in imprint
R side single leg raise
L side single leg raise

Tuesday Weights
All: 2 sets warm up weight, 3 sets working weight.  5 reps each.
Heavy Squats
Barbell Rows
Dumbbell Bench Press

Thursday Weights
2 sets warm up weight, 3 sets working weight.  5 reps of:
Assisted Pull Ups (I can’t wait until I can do a real one) 
Dynamic Squats
Overhead Press
Dead Lift 1 set warm up weight, 1 set working weight, 5 reps each

Plyos: Build to 3 sets of 15 each
Side to side hops
Front to back hops
2 leg hops (up onto curb/step)
Toe taps

We Walk - 18 Weeks To Go

Plan: Hydrate.  OMG.  Hydrate.  Go "just a bit further" than last week.
Route: Another one of my regular running routes.  This one starts downtown and is just shy of 6 miles.  (5.85 today, because the pedestrian bridge is closed so we had to take our lives in our hands crossing Lyndale.)  I think starting next week, we'll have to find a different starting point due to a host of logistical issues.
Weather: So so hot. May have started in the 80's.  Definitely finished in the mid 80's.
Wardrobe: Shorts, tank top.  Remember last time we walked and I had to wear an extra wool shirt?
Execution: This walk was actually faster than last week, despite the heat.  I hope I didn't hurt Dungeon Master with the speed. 
Nutrition: We tested hydration, nutrition and salt tabs.  She wasn't a fan of the salt tabs and will try pickle juice next time.  I had bacon and eggs about 90 minutes before the walk and that was the best idea ever!
Bonus: I am such a grump, I didn't even take any pictures.  Instead, have a look at Dungeon Master's Blog. 

We Walk - 20 Weeks to Go

So, I find myself simultaneously training for Loony Challenge, year 3, and a walking half marathon.  We did this in 2016 and then took 2017 off.  The walking half marathon usually involves one workout/week with the Dungeon Master.  Dungeon Master asked me about starting a blog and my advice was 'take all the pictures'.  I also had to discuss using real names versus not.  And then we re-lived the story of how she got her name.

Plan: Walk for about 2 hours.  Dungeon Master wanted to do 8 miles, up from 3 and I was all "No, you'll get hurt"

Route: Similar to the way I often run, started at the gym, headed out along the trail and then turned around and went back into town. 

Weather: It was windy and chilly to start and sunny to finish, in the 50s.  We saw a beaver out too.  That was weird.

Wardrobe: I started with light sweat pants a shirt and quarter zip, but I added a wool shirt that I grabbed from my emergency stash at the gym.  I wore the wool 'till about half way. 

Execution: Felt fine to me but I was stiff by the end.  Foam rolled like it was my job. 

Nutrition: Part of this workout was to practice nutrition for both of us.  For me, I had two hard boiled eggs before the walk and dried apricots on the walk.  For the future I need something to eat as soon as I'm done, probably nuts or some other kinds of protein.  Because I was fine but ready to eat at the end of this.

Bonus: We had a double bonus day. First, I met a couple people from Mile in My Shoes who had a water stop and we talked to them.  They are also now my bourbon sisters.

Second bonus was this miles long line of bikes that passed us.  We still don't know what they were doing.  No joke, it took them five minutes to pass. Dungeon Master points out they're all white and mostly men and I quite agree with that assessment.

TC One Mile - Race Volunteer Report

One of my 2018 goals is to volunteer in at least one race.  I'd always wanted to check out the TC One Mile.  I've never run it because I've been intimidated by the logistics.  (I'm not even going to lie. It looked complicated.  It's not.)  I decided to Course Marshall this thing so I could see the logistics in all of their glory.

Start time: I was expected to be there by 5:30pm.  Races started at 6:30pm.  Last race started at 8:01pm and ended roughly 4 minutes afterwards.

Weather: 60 or so and kind of windy. Somewhat cloudy.  I'm not gonna lie.  I was cold.

Wardrobe: I wore pants and a light jacket and I should've dressed significantly warmer under the wind proof jacket.  I was freezing my ass off by the end of this thing.

Transportation: I had a free bus pass, so took the 14 to the race.  Afterwards, the connections with the 14 were ridiculous (here, wait 20 minutes in your too cold clothes) so I got a Lyft.  My driver and I talked about all the construction in South Minneapolis.

Route: I was on 13th Ave S at a U of M parking garage near the bike path.  The cops had to deal with the bike path. Cyclists stopped and asked what was going on, and were generally pleasant.  The cars I had to deal with were also very nice and just wanted to not hit people.

Bonus: Totally nabbed a picture of Steve in a Speedo as well. How could I miss him in those shorts, right?

Blue Hill Trail - Sherburne Wildlife Refuge

Trail: Blue Hill Trail at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge.  Here's a map and some other info.  If the Mahnomen Trail is anything like Blue Hill, I want to explore it too.

Parking and Logistics: This trail head has a legit identifiable parking lot off 289th Ave NW.  It has pit toilets which are clean and well tended, just lacking plumbing.   It's good enough to check all the items on my list.

Hills:  Not really.  This route had a couple speed bumps but was pretty flat.  There was an optional quarter mile climb up a hill to an outlook which I did not do because of scheduling issues.

Ease of Running: This is one of the most runnable trails I've ever been on.  I wish it wasn't so far away.  This starts out on a semi-sandy part, goes to praire, lake shore, pine forests, and then oak/cottonwood forests before coming back to the parking lot.  Everything is wide and totally runner friendly.  I had a blast.

Nature: I did not see any Sandhill Cranes, but I may have heard them.  I heard lots of birds and all of the little frogs.  I saw a lot of what I believe is fox poop.  I had to google black bear poop to make sure it wasn't that.  I was all 'what would I do if I saw a bear out here on this prairie?  I would be dead.' 

 
Will I come back: I mean, I hope so.  That trail was wonderful, just the right distance, and utterly runnable.  There's another trail down the road I'd like to check out, and it's also close to Sand Dunes State Park.  I've been there, guess I should write that up too.

Running Conditions: April

I keep trying to remind myself this April set all kinds of records.  Snowiest April ever.  The snow in April also made it the snowiest year to date.  Some of the latest ice-outs on the lakes.  Self: this is not normal.
I did get a fantastic break in CDMX in early April, where I got to run in shorts and search for oxygen in the air at 7,000 feet.  Not pictured.  It would confuse me.
I came back to a blizzard.  Running in that blizzard is what finally did in this pair of Yak Trax.  I guess I'll need a new pair for next year.  Sigh.
After the finally blizzard, things improved dramatically.  The end of the month has been pretty freaking sweet.