Dear Santa

This is not my last minute wish list to the guy in the red suit.  The Santa I'm referring to is Santa Ana, as in Santa Ana Winds.  We have had wind advisories for the past two weeks.  They have driven multiple fires in our area, leaving a large path of destruction.  The largest, the Thomas Fire, is on pace to become the largest in the history of California.  It's been burning for two weeks now with expected full containment in January.  The LATimes had an interesting article showing how the fire is larger than many U.S. cities.

We were advised on Tuesday, December 5th, to be prepared for evacuation due to the Rye Fire that was burning in Santa Clarita.  We were fortunate that the fire did not come to Simi Valley, but the winds have continued to blow.  We had a short reprieve on Friday, but the calm brought its own trouble - smoke from the Thomas Fire.

It's obviously not advisable to run in these conditions.  So what's a non-gym membership having, non-treadmill owning runner to do?  Les set me up on his bike trainer.  I used this at the first of year when we were getting a lot of rain and I had forgotten what a great workout it is.  The commentary on the screen is helpful and often entertaining.

This was a workout called "Fang Mountain."  A series of "under/overs" that kept things interesting.

This was a 90 minute session I did last week.  With a name like "Mary Austin" I wasn't expecting it to be so tough!

I am hopeful that the winds will die down this week.  Our current advisory is suppose to end at 9:00 a.m. today and the forecast is looking promising with cooler temps.  So in the meantime..

Dear Santa,
Okay, I believe!  I've seen my neighbor's reindeer fly.  Now please pack up your winds and go away.  Merry Christmas!

What's on your weather wish list this year?

Tuesday Rambling

I have a lot of little things on my mind, none that deserve a full post, so here goes:

1500
I crossed the 1500 mile mark for the year sometime last week.  I also crossed the 1500 mile mark on my Specialized Vita that I got in March of last year.  Cycling miles add up quickly.  Unfortunately, my running miles have been on the low side the past couple months.  I've had IT band issues that make anything over 3 miles really painful.  I miss being able to go out for a medium/long run but I really want this to go away, so I'm trying to be patient and smart.

McBRAAM
Les and Lance have now ridden over 1,000 on their cross-country cycling trip.  They are making their way to Texas today - state #4!  I am continually amazed at how well they are doing.  They are loosely following America By Bicycle's Fast America South route.  They have already made one change - Friday's ride was 144 miles, Saturday was to be a rest day, followed by about 135 miles on Sunday.  They chose to split Sunday's ride in half, making Saturday and Sunday "short" rides of just under 70 miles each.  Les said as long as their bodies and the weather holds they really don't want to spend a full day hanging out at a hotel.

I'm really enjoying their trip from afar!  It's been amazing to see their progress and I'm glad everyday when I hear from Les that another ride is complete.  He is super upbeat.  They will have stories to tell for the rest of their lives.  Les has been the primary writer of the blog so far and he really is that entertaining in real life. 

Coming up on October 21st is the annual University of Tennessee vs. Alabama college football game.  This year it takes place in Tuscaloosa.  Les and Lance are both Tennessee boys, their parents and sister still live there.  If they stay on schedule, they will be riding in to Tuscaloosa that weekend.  They won't be wearing their UT cycling jerseys!

Pumpkin Muffins
About a month ago I had to go to Fresno for the funeral of a former boss.  I was asked to speak and decided to go up the night before to see my sister and her family.  I baked a batch of pumpkin muffins, took half with me and left the other half at home.  When I came home, a mere 24 hours later, they were all gone!  While I was at the grocery store today, I decided to pick up the ingredients for another batch.  I spotted a Devil's Food cake mix and decided to make chocolate pumpkin muffins instead.  They definitely don't have as strong of a pumpkin flavor, but they are still good.

Pumpkin or Spice Muffins

Makes 18 muffins
1 Spice Cake Mix
1 15 oz. can Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) OR
1 15 oz. can Sweet potatoes in light syrup
1/2 cup Almond milk

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325.
Grease cupcake pans.  Puree sweet potatoes in the blender for about 30 seconds.  Mix ingredients (no egg or oil, just the cake mix, milk, and pumpkin or sweet potatoes) and pour in prepared pans.  Bake according to mix instructions for cupcakes, using the full amount of time (approximately 25 minutes).

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 18 muffins
1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 15 oz. can Pumpkin
1/2 cup Almond milk

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325.
Grease cupcake pans.  Mix ingredients (no egg or oil, just the cake mix, pumpkin and milk) and pour in prepared pans.  Bake according to mix instructions for cupcakes, using the full amount of time (approximately 25 minutes).

All of these are very dense muffins.  The spice cake mix is slightly higher in calories, each muffin is about 150 calories, while the chocolate are slightly under 100.  Not bad for a quick snack or addition to breakfast. If I was going for Wife of the Year, I'd Fed Ex some of these to Texas or Oklahoma...

Fall Running
This is the one time of year that I start getting a little run envy.  People across the country start talking about cooler temps, morning runs that are glorious, and needing an extra layer.  I know that I am spoiled because I can run outside all winter, but my least favorite is our current weather pattern.  Our temperatures are moderate, but Santa Ana winds are blowing and our current humidity is 10%.  We have a tree down in our front yard from yesterday's winds.  With my cranky IT band, I'd rather be on my bike, but when the wind is over 20 mph I'm a little afraid of being blown right off the bike!  If we didn't have weather, what would we complain about?

April Wrap Up (Weeks 16 &17/52)

Happy May Day!  2017 continues to move at the speed of life...

Mid April was not kind to me.  The hormone monster reared its ugly head with hot flashes/night sweats.  They weren't as bad as I've experienced in the past, but the night sweats lead to insomnia, which lead to a very tired runner.  We flew home from Hawaii on the 19th and insomnia combined with jet lag really knocked me for a loop!  My long run on the 22nd ended up being only 8 miles that felt like I was running through sand the entire time.

Some of our roses

I turned a corner this past week and for the most part started sleeping (and feeling) better.  I went for a trail run on Wednesday and ended up having my second best time for the entire 7 mile out and back.  I'm a big fan of the saying, "Comparison is the thief of joy," but sometimes it's good to compare how far you've come and see improvement.  My 53 year old self is still keeping up with PRs I set three and four years ago. I was also thrilled with my 39 mile bike ride on Thursday.  It was my longest ride to date and we had a great time.

Post trail run socks

Our hills are quickly losing their green, but there is still evidence of all the rain we received this year.  I am allergic to something that is blooming!  I'm pretty sure whatever it is, it hasn't bloomed in about a decade because I've been coughing and sneezing up a storm.  We also had pretty strong winds for several days to keep things stirred up. But I keep moving forward.

Picture in March

Same hill, five weeks later...

Totals for April:
Running: 82.95
Walking  18.45
Cycling 60.66
Total:  162.06

And that's my April!  How was yours?  Do you have seasonal allergies? 

Of PRs and Long Runs, but Not PRs on Long Runs (Week 14/52)

This was week seven of marathon training and I really mixed things up by flying to Hawaii on Tuesday.

Sunday - Rode 13.02 miles
This was an uneventful ride, but I knew it would be my last time on the bike for a few weeks.

Monday - Rested
I had good intentions but I spent Thursday through Sunday participating in a music workshop at our church.  Long days and nights finally caught up with me.

Tuesday - Travel Day

Wednesday - Walked 3.6 miles

Thursday - Ran 9.28 miles
This was my best run of the week!  I ran to and around Diamond Head.  I also went up the road that leads into the crater.  There is a short segment called the "Pokapahu Climb."  It is 0.2 of a mile with 234 feet of elevation gain.  My PR on this, from 2013, is 2:56.  I ran it in 2:57 on Thursday!  For some silly reason this accomplishment did not show up in Strava even though it is clearly recorded in the file.  I also had two PRs on the run - "Downhill Chicken Suey" - that I have run 38 times and a big one "Diamond Head Cliff Westbound" 1.4 miles with 108 feet of elevation gain.  I have run this 34 times, including during the Honolulu Marathon.
Also walked 2 miles

Friday - Walked 4.93 miles

Saturday - LSD Ran 13.44 miles
My training plan called for 16 miles and that's what I had intended to do.  My legs were dead.  I kept saying, "never trust the first mile."  I kept saying it through the first three miles and knew it was gonna be a long morning.  I almost turned around at mile 5.  I had nothing.  I paid for those Thursday PRs big time.  I finally got my first wind around mile 6 and kept a good pace for about 2 1/2 miles.  Then it was back to Bonksville.  I crawled home and was happy to be off my feet.  A day later I'm not feeling too bad about it.  I know I pushed hard on Thursday, which I normally wouldn't do.  I am also not at all acclimated to the weather.  But the scenery makes even a bonk beautiful!

Total:
Running:  22.72
Walking: 10.53
Cycling: 13.02
Total:  46.27

When it comes to bonking, it's a coin toss to keep going or turn around.  What do you do when you bonk?

Trail Run Tuesday

My training plan called for intervals this morning.  The weather forecast called for north to northeast winds 20-30 mph with gusts to 45 mph.  There's not much worse than trying to do speed work in the wind so I opted for a trail run instead.

The run was uneventful.  No animal sightings.  No humans until the final couple of miles coming back down.  I stopped over and over to take pictures, it was just too pretty not to.

I crossed the creek three times each way.  It's been years since it has been flowing like this.

I took a couple selfies, but who needs 'em when the scenery is this good?  And a bonus from our front yard:

Anything blooming in your yard yet?

Saga of the Long Run: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Week 12/52)

I'm getting into the heart of marathon training now - this week's long run was 14 miles.  That is a distance I did not run a single time in 2016.

Sunday - Rested

Monday - Ran 2.01 miles

This is the hill behind our house.  Loving all the green!

Tuesday - Ran 5.03 miles
I had planned on doing intervals but got rained on.  I am klutzy enough on my own, I didn't want to attempt speed work in wet conditions.

Wednesday - Rested

Thursday - Rode 9.33 miles

Friday - Rested
We have a lot going on in life right now and I'm not getting to bed as early as I'd like.  I had planned on going for a short run but couldn't get myself out the door.

Saturday - Ran 14 miles (plus 1.65 miles warm up/cool down)
My first 11 miles went great.  I ran from home and headed to Santa Susana Pass.  My plan was to run up and over and turn around at the 7 mile mark.  I made it most of the way down before hitting 7 miles.  I turned around and was back on the downhill side in good time.  About a half mile after I got off the pass my stomach got cranky.  Ugh.  I'll spare you the bad and ugly details!  I finished though, and that's a win after how my running was 6 months ago. My legs are telling me this morning that it's been a long time since I've run anything that long or hilly!  But mentally I'm feeling really good and that's a battle I couldn't seem to win last year.

Yesterday's elevation +1200'

Totals:
Running: 22.69

Cycling: 9.33
Total:  32.02

How was your week?  What are you training for?

Mud Slinger (Week 6/52)

This was another week that included rain!  We are now over 15" for the season.  After years of drought I am loving how green our hills are.

Sunday - Rode 15.15 miles

Monday - Rested

Tuesday - Ran 5.09 miles +559' elevation
This was a wet one!  The roads were wet when I got up but it wasn't actively raining.  By the time I made it downstairs the rain was coming down.  It let up so I decided to head out.  There was a heavy mist the entire time I was out but the temps were in the upper 50s so it felt great!

Wednesday - Ran 2.01 miles +169' elevation

Thursday - Rode 12.27
I hit the trail again and had my 10th best time of 105 efforts on the 3.4 mile climb.  The trail was much wetter than last week and there are a lot of puddles.  I hit one of the creek crossings wrong and splashed my way through.  A good trail ride includes a mud splattered jacket and a little mud on your chin...

Friday - Ran 1.97 miles +169' elevation
This was Les' second run of the week and he shaved 3 1/2 minutes a mile off his pace!  He has degenerative disks otherwise he would be crushing me on a regular basis.  I would love it if he could run long distances with me.

Saturday - Rested
It was raining again and I had zero motivation.  I spent the morning working on taxes, which is not even close to fun, but they are done and we don't owe anything so that's a good thing!

February Run Climbing Challenge Progress:  892 meters/2,927 feet - 44% complete
I didn't get quite as much climbing in this week but the second half of February will be all running - we booked a last minute trip to Hawaii and leave on Tuesday.  Tantalus, here I come!

Total
Running 9.07
Walking 0.00
Cycling  27.42
Total  36.49

Time on the Trail is Time Well Spent (Week 5/52)

I had a good last week of January/first week of February.

Sunday - ran 4.8 miles
I was asked to teach our Youth class at church and was pretty focused on that while out for my run.  We were also having strong Santa Ana winds, so this one was pretty challenging.

Monday - Rested
It has been a long time since I had a migraine but I woke with one on Monday.  I use to get them every month (#hormones) but didn't recognize the signs until it was full blown. 

Tuesday - Rode 12.2 miles
This was my first trail ride in about two months.  My migraine was gone and I felt awesome!  So awesome that I left Les behind.  This is a rare occurrence.  The trail is in pretty good shape due to all the rain we've had recently.  Although this wash out made me a little nervous...

Wednesday - Walked 1.97 miles
I knew I wanted to go for a trail run on Thursday so I took it easy on Wednesday.

Thursday - Ran 8.07 miles
I kicked off the Strava run climbing challenge with over 1,000 feet of climbing.  This is an out and back with 900 feet happening in the first four miles.  300 of those feet happen between 3.4 and 4.0 miles.

Friday - Rested
Rained out.   We got almost a half inch of rain, bringing our total to over 13".  Great news from the California Drought website: "Currently, about 39% of the state is identified as drought-free. Areas under extreme drought conditions fell from 41% to only 2% over the past month."

Saturday - Ran 8 miles
I had planned to go for a bike ride but the roads were wet so I hit the hills instead.  My Suunto had about 800' of elevation gain but Strava gave me 1,001'.  Since Strava will determine how I do on the Climbing Challenge, I'll use their numbers.

February Run Climbing Challenge Progress:  618 meters/2,027 feet - 30% complete

Total
Running 20.87
Walking 1.97
Cycling 12.20
Total 35.04

How are the hills where you are?  Is this a challenge you could/would do?

Recovery Week, New Phones, and More Rain (Wk 3/52)

After two high mileage weeks my legs really needed a break.  I put in about 40 miles last week from Thursday to Saturday and I don't quite have the endurance for that.

Sunday - Walked 3.01 miles
During church on Sunday we noticed that something was wrong with Les' iPhone.  With our travel schedules that is something we can't live without so Monday turned into a research mission.

Monday - Rode 10.56 miles
Les and I have had iPhones for years.  We don't upgrade often, as long as they worked we were happy.  My iPhone 4 was about 3 1/2 years old.  There was a bit of a sticker shock as we started researching our options.  We visited the Apple store, the Verizon store, Best Buy and finally went to Costco.  A very long story short - we switched from AT&T to Verizon, saving $15 a month for the same plan, and got two Galaxy J3 phones free from a promotion that Costco had going.  We are super happy with the decision and are already enjoying the Android experience.  We're really not anti Apple, but they did not give us a compelling reason to stick with them.  The phones came with 16GB of internal storage but Les was able to get SD cards with an additional 128 GB and install them on our phones himself.  Our biggest challenge is getting our music from iTunes to Google Play.  How about them (non) apples?!

Tuesday - Rested

Wednesday - Walked 5.03 miles
This started out as a run but my knees were cranky.  I think they were just a little worn out.  Every time I started to run they hurt so I opted for a long walk.

Thursday - Rested
It was raining again so I was happy with a second rest day for this week.

Friday - Rode 12.53 miles
It was pouring on Friday so I did another session on the trainer.  I did what is called an FTP test which is a whole post on its own that I need to write.  Our rainfall for Friday was over an inch and we have now received over 11 inches since the beginning of this season (July 1-June 30) and we now have more rain for the season than we have had in any of the past six seasons.

Saturday - Ran 7.01 miles
There's nothing better than the morning after rain in So Cal.  It was a cool 40 degrees and the skies were clear blue.  My knees were fine and it was a great way to finish off the week.

Total
Running 7.01
Walking 8.04
Cycling 23.09
Total 38.14

How was your week?
What kind of mobile phone do you carry?  Any apps I might be missing?

Rain, Wind and a Double Digit Run (Week 2/52)

And just like that we are through the first two weeks of the year.  This was my 2 runs/3 rides week.  We've had some more rain which is great for the state, but it adds some challenges for cycling.  I will run after the rain, but am hesitant to ride on wet roads.

Sunday - Rode 13.01 miles
This was my only outdoor ride this week.

Monday - Walked 2.04 miles
It started raining just as I stepped onto our driveway.

Tuesday - Ran 7.04 miles
I beat the rain by about 15 minutes this time.  Our hills are turning green.

Wednesday - Rest day
It was raining steadily.  According to USAToday the drought is over in Northern California.  We live in Southern California, just north of Los Angeles, in the county that is still dark red (exceptional.)  We've received over 3" of rain this month and nearly 9" since July 1st so we're hopeful.

Thursday - Rode 11.83 miles
It was raining again so I opted for the trainer in the garage.  Les has a power trainer and uses TrainerRoad for his workouts.  I rode for an hour and was surprised at how quickly it went due to the changing power numbers.

Friday - Ran 10.02 miles
This was my first double digit run since October 1st!  It wasn't fast but my focus for January is endurance so that's all that mattered.  It was cool and clear with a beautiful full moon.

Saturday - Rode 16.84 miles
After my Friday run the weather took an ugly turn - Santa Ana winds started kicking up.  We are under a high wind warning, which means gusts of up to 45 mph in the passes and canyons.  I was pretty sure when I went to bed Friday night that I would not be riding outside.  Les set me up for a 90 minute trainer session and again I was really surprised at how quickly it went.  There were two 23 minute interval sessions with a 20 minute rest between and about 10 minutes warmup and cool down.  I'm hoping these bike interval sessions will help me with running speed.

Total
Running 17.06
Walking 2.04
Cycling 41.68
Total 60.78

This is the highest mileage I have had in a very long time.  My legs are a little sore today, which actually feels good!

Winter Running Tips from a Californian

I've read several blogs with winter running tips.  I'm in awe of runners who run when it's 17 degrees outside!  As a California native and life long resident, with a few years of Hawaii running under my belt, I know I am spoiled.  I run outside year round.  I haven't owned a treadmill in over a decade.  Actually, I'm not sure why I had one in the first place.  There is really only one crazy weather factor I deal with (and I've dealt with it in Hawaii, too) and that is WIND.   So here are my tips for running in the wind:

Your pace is going to suffer when it's windy.  Think of wind like hills - speed work in disguise.  After a week or so of running in the wind, I am so over it.  But when it stops and I run the same route, running feels effortless (at least for a few miles.)

Dress accordingly.  Check more than the temperature.  Most weather apps have a "feels like" temperature.  Layers are really the only way to go.  Southern California experiences Santa Ana winds for many months of the year.  These winds are fierce and can often be very warm with single digit humidity.  Even for short runs, taking some water along is a good idea.

Walking is not only okay, it may be necessary.  Sometimes there are downed trees that I have to get around.  On Tuesday there was a wall of tumbleweeds in my path.  I had to climb over a short fence to get around them and I figured I might as well take a picture while I was at it.  I've had a huge wind gust literally take my feet out from under me.  When I feel like I'm losing my footing, I walk.

Plan your route well.  There are some routes in my neighborhood that are a little less windy than others.  We live in a hilly neighborhood so the wind whips over the hills and through the canyons in all kinds of directions.  I know if I go counterclockwise from my house that I will encounter the least amount of headwinds.  I took a different route on Tuesday and had crosswinds (10-15 mph, with gusts up to 40) the entire time.  I won't be running that route again in the wind!

Wear sunglasses.  Getting dirt and debris in my eyes does not make for a fun run.  I have a pair of sunglasses that have three lenses, one is clear and I wear them if the sun isn't up.

How windy is it where you live?  Any tips I missed?