Four months and counting

Running:

Haven't posted much. A lot of that has to do with starting my new position at work in July. Life was busy before, but now there doesn't seem to be time for anything extra. That combined with my not being able to run. I had started this blog with the idea of posting my running updates as a few of my friends were doing. Then decided to also post about my other past times of gardening and hunting as well.   Obviously with no running there has not been much to post here.

I still haven't been able to run other than a few test miles since June 18th. That's four months and counting.  This past week I saw a different doctor with the hopes of getting a second opinion and seeing if he could use his minimally invasive techniques to try something different. The bad news was, his opinion was the same as the first guy.   If I ever want to run again I will need to have surgery to remove the bone spur that resides behind and up into my achilles tendon. Here is a link to what that surgery will entail. I have a really big decision to make. As of today the pain and swelling has subsided. There is no pain at all doing any regular activity. I can hunt, walk in the woods, climb trees to get in my stand, and was able to drag a deer out of the woods with no problem. I can garden, mow my lawn, and do any outside chores just fine. I can bike, use the elliptical, or my rowing machine for exercise. This makes the decision harder. While both surgeons were confident they could help me, there is no guarantee things will be better. There is a slight risk of infection or improper healing. That is my biggest fear is that something goes wrong and all the activities I can do now will be impacted. Then I'm out a lot more than not being able to run. On the other hand running is such a part of who I am. The other forms of exercise give me little pleasure compared to getting outside for a good run. For now I'm just going to sit on this decision. With hunting season here I am not going to risk anything for a while. I likely wouldn't do anything until late this year or early 2012.

Hunting has gotten off to a decent start. I've had fun putting out a couple trail camera's in different locations to see what is out there. I've had a couple does and fawns regularly coming into the back yard. As of yet I haven't seen a buck out there. I'll likely not hunt there until I see that a buck has shown up. The food plot looks great right now and should help provide some excitement as other nearby food sources run out. I did get a real nice 11 point on camera on a different property back in early October. Right now that is the one I'm after. Last week into the weekend was a four day antlerless season here in SE Wisconsin. On Saturday it was very windy. I was able to get out late on Saturday at about 5:00. The wind died down a bit as the sun started to set and the woods became alive. I could hear deer and other animals moving all around me. At 6:15 three deer came out of the thickest part and stopped only 10 yards away from my stand. I thought for a while about letting them all pass and then changed my mind. I picked the biggest deer and fired. The deer ran off a short distance and I heard it fall. After a short search I found it about where I thought I heard it last. It was a long drag out from where I was, but despite my foot I made it out just fine. The next day I didn't need to go out so I spent the time butchering the deer. I must be getting better at it, as it only took me about 3.5 hours to complete the whole job this time. Today was back to bow hunting. I could have easily taken another doe both in the morning and this afternoon. I saw a total of 5 deer today, but not the big one I'm after. I'll be heading out again both morning and afternoon on Sunday.

Gardening:
2011 was a real good year for the garden. I'm sure part of that has to do with my water line that was put in this spring. Made watering chores so much easier. I had well over 100 pumpkins this year that I either sold, traded, or gave away. I picked about two bushel of pears and five bushel of apples this fall. Still don't have the spraying quite right, but the fruit was pretty clean considering. Biggest problem was with scab or deformities more than bugs or worms. The hot humid August could have had something to do with that too. Lots of squash, carrots, and potato's to get through the winter. Just this week picked the last of the tomato's, peppers, and kohlrabi. I've rototilled the garden already this fall and have begun to dump the chopped leaves I bag up on the garden as I've done the past several years. Got a deal on tulip and daffodil bulbs last week. I've got lots of planting to do before the ground freezes.  

Grandma's marathon recap

It took far to long to write this but here is a race recap for Grandma's marathon back on 6/18.    It is still painful to think about marathon number 19.

As I posted previously I signed up at the very last minute on June 1st for this race.   I had run it a couple times before and really love the course.   The weather unfortunately in my previous attempts was terrible for running. Both years were very hot and one of them the course was even black flagged. Despite that these were still two of my fastest marathon times.   I just hoped the weather would be OK this time and besides that my wife and kids were not going to be around that weekend so it just made sense to me to try it.   I had run the IceAge 50k only 5 weeks before but was feeling good as race day approached.   Running back to back long races makes training properly difficult. I t's hard to rest for a couple weeks, train hard for one, and then start the taper again.   On the other hand you are not starting all over again with base training so resting properly actually becomes the most important facet of the short cycle.

I paid extra to have my race packet sent to me.   This allowed me to leave a little later in the day Friday as I didn't need to get to the expo.   Previously I had stayed in Superior with my sister, but this time because the rest of the family was away I had to take the dogs with me.   I stayed at my mom's house in Bayfield instead. This meant I would need to get up a little earlier, but not by much.   I had to be in Superior by 6AM to catch a bus to the start line so leaving by 4:30 at the latest would give me plenty of time.   I made it to Bayfield in time to watch the local news to catch the forecast for the next day. All week the forecast looked like it would be perfect running weather with only a real small chance of rain introduced late in the week.   Well Friday night that all changed.   They now were calling for soaking rains all night and well into the morning.   I was able to get to sleep shortly after 10:00 and actually slept pretty well for a race night.   The rain pounding on the roof did wake me at least once.

Waking in the morning it was pouring.   A quick look at the weather channel and it looked like the forecast from the previous night was going to be right on.   Nothing but green well back into western Minnesota. I ate my usual prerace meal of pancakes and a couple banana's.   Accounting for what looked like a race in the rain I repacked my drop bag to be sure I had enough warm and dry gear for after the race.   A cut out garbage bag for the start of the race and an extra rain poncho for the time waiting until I needed to get the drop bag in the truck and line up were added as well.   I was underway well before 4:30. It rained hard the entire way to Superior.   It rained hard as I made my way to the bus.   It rained the entire way to the start in Two Harbors.   Funny thing though as our bus stopped the clouds got lighter and the rain quit.   I didn't expect it, but it didn't rain again the entire day.   We arrived about 6:45 or about 45 minutes before the race start. I quickly got in line for the  porta potties.   I knew this would take a while and I was right. With about 20 minutes to go I changed into my race shoes and got my other gear (watch,  Gu, etc...) ready to go and packed up my drop bag.   Got the drop bag to the truck and fought my way towards the appropriate starting place.   The temperature at the race start was about 50 degrees with a NE wind off the lake.   This is as perfect as it could possibly get. I decided I would attempt to go for it.   I was going to run with the 3:10 pace group and at least give myself a chance for a PR.

The race started pretty much on time at 7:37. Taking off with the pace group I didn't have to worry too much about a fast start.   These guys are usually pretty good at keeping pace.   The beginning was crowded.   As with most races there are people up in front of you that should not be there.   It didn't take more than a couple miles for things to spread out so you could get settled in.   I was feeling real good and passed the 10K mark right around 45 minutes.   About mile 12 I was back of but still had the 3:10 group in sight when I felt a little twinge toward the back of my heal.   Affected me for a few steps so I didn't think much about it at the time. I passed the half right around 1:37. I had fallen a little back of the 3:10 pace group, but was still feeling OK. I felt at this time I was still in for a good race, but didn't think a PR was possible any more.   I've never run the 2nd half faster than the first in 18 previous tries. So unless some magic would happen it was not to be.   The weather was good, the crowd and scenery were great and I felt good so I was just going to do my best and enjoy the day.   A few miles past half way the issue at the back of my heal started up again.   By mile 18 it was becoming a big deal and by mile 20 I had slowed from an early 10K pace of 7:14 pace to 7:42 for 20 miles.   It was right after this that I almost fell to the ground as I took a step on my right foot.   I stopped for a bit by the curb and pulled my shoe off to check for anything.   The back of my heal had swelled but that's all I could see. I starting walking for a while to see if the sharp pain would go away.   It did not. I contemplated dropping out at this point.   I had never DNF'd before so my stubbornness kicked in and I decided I was going to get that finishers medal if it meant crawling to the finish.   Little did I know it almost had to happen.   After walking for a while I tried to run again.   After realizing it hurt just as much to "limp run" as it did to walk I decided I would try to run.   Each step for the last 6 miles was harder than the one before it.   With the cool temperatures and the walking I really cooled off.   I believe I was becoming hypothermic as I was shaking uncontrollably.   I found a cut off garbage bag along the road and put it on to save some heat.   I wasn't running fast enough to generate enough to keep me warm though.   Now I'm coming into town with people lined up on both sides of the road.   I must have looked terrible.   At least people were offering lots of encouragement.   Nice as it was I really didn't want to hear it.   If they only knew.   Every time I heard "come on 4587 you can do it" or "one foot in front of the other 4587" or "almost there" as people were passing me all the time it was just frustrating as hell.   I just put my head down and tried to ignore it all.   These last miles were the worst running miles I have ever experienced.   Not anywhere soon enough the finish was in sight.   I struggled through the chute to pick up the well earned medal.   My finish time was a very disappointing 3:40.   I know many people will never run a marathon that fast, but for how optimistic things were after the rain quit and the race started so well it could only feel that way for me. Now I could barely walk.   My right foot was almost useless. I made my way painfully to pick up my drop bag.   I limped to the closest table I could find and changed into dry and warmer clothes.   I still couldn't stop shaking as I had gotten so cold again after stopping.   Now I had to walk almost a mile back to where I had to catch the bus.   On my way I stopped at the beer tent to spend the free beer ticket they give you when you finish.   I actually found another on the ground so I had a couple. I actually warmed up a bit in the tent and enjoyed the beers.   The alcohol didn't help much with the pain though. That was one long miserable walk to the buses just to pile on for the day.   I eventually made it back to the bus and then back to my car in Superior.   It hurt, but I was able to use my right foot to drive.

What a day.   I certainly hope this is not how I end my marathon career, but it just might be.   The update on my heal is that is is a bone spur or traction spur.   It is located at the back of the heal where the Achilles tendon joins the heal.   Underneath this is a bursa sack.   This also became inflamed and really swelled the back of my heal. I could not wear my normal shoes for about a week. I spent three days on crutches.   To this day over six weeks later I still have not run.   It is very possible I will have to have surgery if I am ever going to run again.   Second opinion coming tomorrow.

Marathon ready?

Running:
Marathon 19 is now only a couple days away.   For this marathon I will have to rely on the volume of training already in the books and hopefully a little race day magic.  At this point all training is completed and the only thing that can possibly help my time now is a couple days of complete rest.  Last week I ran a total of 31 miles with only one longer run.  On Saturday I ran 12 miles with most of the middle miles at expected race pace.  This was a good run and gave me a little confidence for my expected time on Saturday.  This week I only put in 14 miles with runs on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  I will be resting tomorrow and Friday.  My miles for this month are a little light, but that was on purpose.  A high volume since finishing the 50k about 4 weeks ago would not have been helpful.  For the year I've logged 1229 miles which is above where I have been the last few years.  As mentioned I will be relying on this base to get me through Grandma's.  Right now the weather is looking to be as good as I could ask for.  Low of 50 and a high of 70 with a chance for NE to E wind. 
Logistically this race will be a little tougher than usual.  I will be staying overnight in Bayfield so I'll need to get an early start in order to make it to Superior were I intend on catching the bus transport to the start.   If I get everything ready the night before I won't have to get up much earlier, just need to eat and get going right away.  Hope everything all works out.   Miles through today.
WTD 14
MTD 77
YTD 1229
ODO 28500

Hunting:   
Not much going on here.  I did manage to get the corn and sunflowers planted in the food plot.  I got them in yesterday just in time for the rain today.  I have some minor repair to do on my hunting blind in the back yard.  The wind blew off one of the windows.  The hinges were small and only into some thin particle board doors I had cut in half to use for the windows.  Didn't hold up too well.

Gardening:
Right now I have everything in the garden planted except one more crop of beans.  I saved a place to put in some bean towers to try growing pole beans for the first time.  First I need to build the bean towers.  I've seen a few model designs on the internet to try.  I still have a few weeks if I need it to get this done.   As usual there are a few seeds that didn't sprout requiring replanting of partial rows and to fill in squash and pumpkin hills.  The carrots got the worst of it.  They sprouted right when we had the three 90+ degree days.  Not good for such small fragile seedlings.  The strawberries are starting to come in.  This is a couple weeks later that usual for here.  There are quite a few though and they are quite large this year so far.  After I return from the marathon I will have the rest of next week off to try and completely catch up with all the yard work.  And there is a lot of it.
 

May wrap up

Running:
Since I’ve been on Facebook my postings have become much less frequent.  Much easier to just post a quick status update that type a long blog post.  First to recap the rest of May since my last post.  Running has gone quite well since the IceAge 50k.  Recovery was pretty quick from the longer effort.  I remember discussing this with a couple other runners on race day that it is actually easier to recover from the longer trail race than a road marathon.   Basically the weeks after the 50k were a reverse taper.  A couple days off and then 38 miles the immediate week after, followed by 44 the next.   No runs were longer than 11 miles.  On May 30th I made it out to Lapham state park and ran 9 miles on the trails.  It was a nice change of pace, and a great day for a run.  I’m beginning to learn the trails a bit.  There are a couple loops of the ski trail called “the rollercoaster” and “the wall”.  These portions are properly described.  After completing about 6 miles on the hilly east side of highway “C” I ventured across the road to the west side to see what those trails were like.  This area is much more open and prairie like than the heavily wooded hills on the other side of the park.  I added a nice 3 more miles before calling it a day.   Adding on 5 more miles on 5/31 and I brought my monthly total to 206.  A pretty good total considering there was a target race in the middle of the month requiring a reduction in miles both before and after.  This is the 5th month in a row over 200.   June 1 was the deadline for signing up for Grandma’s marathon in Duluth.  With only a few hours left I decided to register.   My dilemma now is to figure out how to train these two weeks until race day.  I’m thinking now I have a pretty good base.  I have 6 runs of over 20 miles in this year so far including a marathon back in April and the 50k last month.  I will likely go for something in the 2 hour range this weekend and then 1.5 hours next.  In between will be a few off days and runs of 5 to 7 miles.   Probably just some race pace miles,  short tempo, and fast finish thrown into the shorter stuff.  If the weather is OK on race day I will try to tag along with the 3:20 pace group.  If it is hot again like the last two times I ran this marathon I will adjust appropriately and also will never even think of running this again unless they move the registration close much closer to race day. 
Totals through May 31:
WTD 14
MTD 206
YTD 1153
ODO 28424

Hunting:
The clover I put in my food plot is doing quite well this spring.  My design will change a little this year.  I’m going to leave the clover grow basically in a circle outlining the area.  In the very center well within bow range I will plant several short rows of corn since this is what the deer seem to come in for come late season.  Whatever room I have between the corn and the clover I will plant with a fall crop such as winter rye or forage oats.  It is definitely fawning season now.  I’ve seen a couple probably ony a few days old over the last couple weeks.  You can also tell by the large number of animals on the side of the highways.  During rut season or fawn drop you always see an increase in road kill because of the increased activity.

Gardening:
I always try to have the garden planted by the end of May.  This year was no different.  After tilling once more a couple weeks ago I took a few hours before or after work in the succeeding days preparing the rows.  Then started planting this same way.  Potatoes one day, onions the next, sweet potatoes and peas, then sweet corn, then last weekend finished everything else including carrots, kohlrabi, beets, beans, lettuce, spinach, three kinds of watermelon, cucumbers, summer squash, and 4 kinds of winter squash.   Asparagus and Rhubarb harvests are well underway right now.  I have some space saved for an addition few rows of sweet corn and green beans that I will plant in a couple weeks.  My last thing to finish is my pumpkin patch.  This year I will plant 20 hills of pumpkins, 16 of an orange variety and 4 white.  As long as I get this done by this weekend there should be plenty of growing days left before we get a frost.   Here are a few pictures of the garden before much growth or the weeds try to take over. 

IceAge 50K 2011

Running:
This update will mostly be a recap of the Ice Age 50K trail race I competed in 5/14.  But first just a little catch up.  The two weeks prior to race day were mostly just a taper period for me.  I know not everyone who runs long distance agrees with the length or extent of the taper period.  As I’ve gotten older I believe in more rest time than I had previously.  My last long run was the 20 miler on the trails on May 1 with Dana and Chris.  The following week I ran only 44 miles with the longest being 11 miles on Saturday.  Half of these 11 miles were on the road and half on the trails.  On Sunday I went out to Lapham Peak and was planning on an hour run.  Shortly after I started, my GPS watch ran out of battery.  I just kept running for what I thought was just short of an hour.  To my surprise when I got back to the car I had already run 1.5 hours.  This run felt easy and fun and gave me a little confidence for race day.  I’ve run some at Lapham before, but I hit some new trails this time.  What a beautiful park to run in.  I definitely will have to do more running there in the future.   The week of the race I took Monday and Friday off.  On Tuesday I ran 6.5 miles, Wednesday 5, and Thursday 4.  This is pretty typical for a marathon or longer race week for me.  I read some time ago that you get no training benefit from the miles you put in from the immediate few weeks, and that in fact you can do more harm than good by overdoing it and not allowing recovery time for your legs to be strong heading into the event.  No matter how you slice it the last few miles of a marathon or 50K are hard.  I’d rather try to save a little strength in the legs and at least try to minimize the chance of injury.  Sometimes I still wonder if I shouldn’t rest even more than I do.

Race prep actually started on Friday night.  I got all my fluid bottles together along with all the race clothes and extras that would go into my drop bag.  The weather looked like it would be pretty miserable on Saturday with rain and wind forecast for most of the day.  With that in mind I packed more extra shirts, socks, and a pair of shoes just in case they would be needed.  The layout of the 50k course allows you to pass by the start area where your drop bag would be, two times.  This is great for a quick clothes change and also allows you to not have to carry a lot of gels or special fluids with you.  Race morning went pretty smoothly.  I slept pretty good for a pre-race night and got up around 4:30.  This was plenty of time to eat my usual pre-race breakfast of pancakes and bananas and drink a few cups of coffee.   I left the house around 6:15 which is the time I had  intended getting out there, but it was still plenty early.  Right after arriving I ran into Dana Schulz and Chris Ponteri, my friends I knew were running the race and training partners from a couple weeks earlier.  After picking up my race packet we joined back up and shared some stories, talked a little strategy, and watched the first of the 50 mile runners come through on their first loop.  They had started around 6am.  Some of the fastest guys were going sub 7 minute miles at that time by our calculation.   It’s hard to describe the feelings at about that point knowing the race start is not far ahead.  There is nervousness, anticipation, excitement, and even some dread and fear knowing the difficulty of the task ahead and the pain that will come with it.    About 20 minutes before race start I made the final clothing preparations and drop bag inventory and headed over to the start.

The race started right at 8:15.  I'm in this picture in the blue shirt right center.  Dana and Chris as expected took off well ahead of me.  I started towards the front, but not right up there.  Having done this race before I had hoped to run the first out and back (13 miles) in a little less than two hours.  Ideally in about 1:50.  What I tried to do was run 8 minute pace or slightly better when I could and then just take what I could on all the up hills.  A couple miles in I ran into a guy named Todd.  We were running a similar pace and talked a bit for a couple miles.  I wasn’t real comfortable yet and found myself huffing and puffing more than I remembered heading up the hills.  I did not walk, in that I used my arms and kept the running motion going.  I’ve found that to be easier than actually walking the steepest hills like most people.  Anyway Todd soon was out of sight and I fell into a no man’s land where there was no one either ahead or behind me for minutes.  I was still a couple miles from the first turn around when the first place guy came screaming past going the other way.  Several minutes back was a pack of 3 guys including Dana and again a few minutes back of that I saw Chris.  It was good to see both of these guys running so strong on their first ultra events. Counting the people returning I was in about 25th place at that time.   I hit the turnaround at about 57 minutes and took a decent amount of time to be sure I got a gel down and a good drink of water.  I was a good minute into the return trip before I saw anyone else.  On the return of the first out and back I started to feel more comfortable.  I knew I wasn’t pushing as hard as I could, but at least I found a comfort zone and a pace I thought I could sustain.  I ended up making it back from the first loop in 1:59.  A little slower than I had hoped, but feeling strong yet.  I stopped by my drop bag to get my special electrolyte drink and a couple more gels.  I went without a shirt change and decided since it was cool enough I would forgo my fluid belt for the first loop.    This stop must have taken longer than I thought.  Looking at my watch a little down the trail I was already at 2:02.  I knew now if I was going to equal or better my last 50k attempt I would have to run 1:20 or so for the first 9 mile loop and then still throw down a 1:30 or so second loop.  I pushed on.   I was still in a place where there were not any runners anywhere close to me.  A few miles into the Nordic loop I ran into the place where the half marathon runners join the same trail.  Most of these people were on their last loop and slower runners.  It was nice to see people but I was continually running past all of them.  Half way through the first loop, just past the aid station I ran into Todd again whom I hadn’t seen since early on.  Apparently he had a cramp that had slowed him that he had worked through.  We again started running together and were holding a pretty good pace.  We decided we would try to stick together for the rest of the race and try to push each other to break the 5 hour mark.  We finished the next 4 miles to the start area chatting and stride for stride.  I was looking forward to finishing with someone.  As we approached the finish of the first loop I was surprised to see Dana off on the side.  He told me he had dropped out after taking a wrong turn.  What a bummer this must have been after looking so strong in the beginning.  This first Nordic loop took about 1:25 as the total time back at the drop bags was about 3:27.   Now I know I needed a 1:30 final loop just to break 5 hours and that beating my last 50k effort was not possible.  I grabbed a drink, took another gel, changed shirt and hat, and put on my fluid belt with one bottle of electrolyte mixture and another of flattened cherry coke.  Todd and I met back up and headed off for the money loop.  Within the first 50 yards Todd pulled up with a cramp, and encouraged me to go on.  I wished him well and took off.  This was 22 miles in.  I was still doing pretty well considering, but knew the challenge this last loop brings.  The hills on this loop are not overly long or steep but at least on part of the loop they are relentless.  Up and down one after another.   Here is an example of one of the hills (not me).

The second time over them, this many miles out they really take a toll no matter how in shape a person might be.    About 7 miles to go I passed up a guy I thought might be my age group.  Turns out I was right.  Afterwards I found out he was last year’s age group winner.  With about 5 miles left I started sipping on my cherry coke.  I’ve done this a couple times before instead of taking another gel.  The calories and sugar boost have helped get through the last few miles.  Unfortunately not as much this time as before.  With about 5 miles I figured I still had an outside chance to break 5 hours but was struggling.  Not to mention it was about here the wind picked up and the rain started to fall.  So now I had weather, my head, and tired legs to overcome to make my outside goal.   I pushed on as best I could, trying to run a little faster downhill or when flat and still trying to run rather than walk up any hill.  With no one around me to encourage or anyone in front to try and catch it was just one foot in front of the other.  Finally  I hit the last two killer hills just before the finish, turned the corner and could hear the finish line crowd.  Giving all I could, I crossed the tape in just over 5 hours.  5:00:50 to be exact.   I was somewhat disappointed I couldn’t break 5 hours, but some of that sting came out a little later when the  results were posted.  I ended up finishing 21st overall out of about 140 finishers (20 or so must have DNF’d) and 1st in my age group of 33 people.  Let me tell you any time you can collect hardware, especially on a nationally known event such as this you had a good day.  

After the race I quickly grabbed my bag and changed into dry warm clothes.  I then met up with Chris who had a very good race for his first time at the distance.  He finished 15th  overall in 4:39 and 2nd in his age group.  He told me had talked to Dana who had just left back for home.  They have a really good post race spread with lots of good food and beer.  Chris and I and several other runners spent the next couple hours sharing lots of stories and partaking in the food and drink.  The award ceremony was a couple hours away so all this camaraderie made the time pass quickly.  Somewhere around 3 the ceremony was to start, but it got off late.  While waiting for the show to start I happened to run into Todd.  He ended up finishing about 4 minutes behind me and ended up taking the 3rd place award in the same age group as Chris.  One thing about these events is they are pretty laid back and there is an exceptional number of nice friendly runners and volunteers.  After Chris left, Todd and I talked a bit longer over another beer like we were old buddies.  Overall it was a good time with some old, newer, and brand new friends.  When you first finish you wonder why you do it, but then after taking in the whole experience as it is, you wonder how you could not do it again.     

I will need to decide by 5/31 if I will sign up for Grandma’s marathon which is 6/18.  Today I feel pretty good except for a little tweak on my heel.  If recovery goes well and I can get a couple quality runs in before the end of the month I will likely do it.
Recap of mileage totals through 5/15.
WTD 47.5
MTD 110
YTD 1057
ODO 28328

Hunting:
It's been a while since I posted anything about my favorite hunting shows or sites.  Here are a few links to a some of my favorite hunting blog sites.  I like these because they have good articles, good bloggers, good tips and advice, and good pictures and videos. 
The first is from field and steam called whitetail-365.
Next is a site from Deer and deer hunting magazine deeranddeerhunting.com
The third is from bowhunting.com bowhunting.com/blog/

Gardening:
Last Tuesday I took the day off from work and got caught up with a few chores.  I was able to get the lawn mowed and the entire garden rototilled.  I was hoping to get some planting in, but it's done nothing but rain and of course the weekend was filled with the race on Saturday and a birthday party on Sunday.  With lawn mowing season here I have recruited the neighbor kid to help me this year.  He was looking to make some money anyway so this will free up a few hours a week for me and allow him to buy the mini bike he really wants to get.  I may need a day or two off over the next few weeks to get caught up again. 

Back from vacation

Running:
It’s been an interesting couple weeks of running. Shortly after my last post on 4/18 we left for Florida for a week long family vacation. My youngest daughter needed to get her training runs in too so that helped to be sure I got out there. It felt so good to run in just shorts and a t-shirt and be warm. Some days it was a little warmer than I would have liked and certainly warmer than I am used to. Every day started off in the mid 70’s and got to mid 80’s. I ran every day while down there at least 1 hour and one of the days I ran 14 miles or about 2 hours. About .5 miles from the condo where we stayed was the entrance to Henderson Beach State Park. There was a loop of about 3 miles in length from one end of the park by the beach to the other end in the campground that was nice and quiet for running. The section along the beach gave good views and a stiff ocean breeze to keep things cooler. There also was water and bathrooms available throughout the park. There were no hills to be found anywhere nearby. The week of 4/18 which included 3 days running in Florida I logged 57 miles. Returning home to freezing temperatures was quite a shock. I got right back into the usual routine of running on my lunch break on week days. Saturday was very windy and I needed to spend most of the day at a track meet, but I did manage to sneak in 6.5 miles in the morning. Knowing I needed to get some trail miles in I contacted my friend Dana. He was meeting up with another friend Chris to run on the John Muir trails early on Sunday. This was perfect. I met up with Dana about 5:15 and we drove to meet Chris together. Chris was going to run 3 loops of the blue loop or about 28 miles. Dana and I felt a little less ambitious and only wanted to get about 20 miles in. It was a very nice run. I had met Chris briefly before, but had not run with him. I look forward to doing it again. It was great to chat with both those guys on such a nice morning for running. It sure made the time pass by quickly. Before I knew it we were done with the two loops. Dana and I then just ran an out and back of 1 mile to complete a full 20 for the day in about 3:10 and change. We ran a little slow for most of the miles, but that is OK for two weeks before the race. So my miles for last week were 58. I ended up finishing April with 220 miles giving me 4 in a row over 200. Sometime this week I will pass 1000 miles for the year.  After taking 5/2 off my miles through 5/3:
WTD 5
MTD 25
YTD 972
ODO 28243

Hunting:
The day after returning home from vacation the dogs were spending an extended period of time outside without returning to the house. It didn’t take long to see what they were up to. There was a dead deer, a young buck that was laying dead in the back yard. Apparently this deer had been hit by a car and wondered into my back yard to die. After making sure the dogs were inside I just dragged the carcass way into the back and am now hoping the coyote’s and crows eat it up before my dogs find it again. I noticed this video of the largest antlered deer ever recorded.  What a freak. If you watch close there is so much antler it struggles at times to keep its head up.

Gardening:
It’s getting to that busy time of year again. Good thing it has stayed a little cool as it has held things back a bit. I finally did order all my seeds, onions and potato sets. Now I need to till the garden so I can begin to get some of the early things planted. I’ve spent some time applying the 10 or so yards of wood chips/mulch I picked up. Just a little bit left before I’m done for now. I noticed that the asparagus is now up a couple inches so it won’t be long until it gets to the dinner table. Last weekend my friend Keith came over with another roll of PEX. We ended up extending the waterline we put in a couple weeks ago all the way back another 100 feet to my back garden where I grow pumpkins, corn, and have my food plot. I now have a working faucet near my main garden and way in the back. This is really going to end up saving me lots of time over the coming years.

April catch up

Running:
I posted last about my Trailbreaker run, but haven’t posted anything regarding training numbers so I’ll attempt to catch up a bit. There has been 4 full weeks since my last post.

I ended March with a total of 248 miles giving me 738 miles heading into the marathon April 2nd. This was my third month in a row over 200 miles and gives me a pretty good start to the year. I also noticed on my run log that after completing the first mile of the Trailbreaker my lifetime odometer number flipped over 28,000. As I mentioned in my marathon race post I ran quite a few of the miles this past winter on the treadmill. This allowed me to be consistent, but it’s just not the same as running outside. The lack of outdoor miles and particularly training on the hills hurt me a little for the marathon I’m sure. After the marathon my legs felt a little beat up. I basically did a full reverse taper, taking two full days off and then coming back slow with some recovery runs. I logged only 40 miles the week after with nothing fast or long. Last week I got back on track logging 59.5 miles over 6 days of running, including a 20 mile run on Saturday. The run Saturday was interesting. Initially I had thought of going out to run on the trails for my long run. The soaking weather Friday night and into Saturday morning changed my mind. I didn’t get out early because of the rain and did some other stuff until late morning when it looked like the weather was OK. I dressed in running tights and long sleeve shirt with my running vest. When I left this felt about right. About 9 miles into my run I came across a dog I had never seen running this same path hundreds of times. This was a large, thick pit bull looking thing that seemed to mean business. He started chasing after me and then when he got about 10 feet off to the side of me bared his teeth and went on the attack. I placed a well timed kick right to his jaw and he ran away whimpering. I hated to do it, but it was obvious to me I had to or I would be bit or worse. About 2 more miles into the run I had a deer almost run me over. It came busting over a hill across the road right in front of me. I could have reached out my hand and grabbed some hair it was that close to me. Now the temperature was beginning to drop dramatically along with the wind picking up. With the light drizzle that had fallen most of the run and the added sweat I was soaked. Dressed lighter than I otherwise would have been had the temp been that cold at the start, I could really feel the cold. Even to the point I was worried about hypothermia. I decided to pull the run short at 15 miles. I changed clothes quickly and jumped on the treadmill to finish 20 miles for the day in a total time of 2:41:21. Looking outside after my treadmill run the ground was white. It had gotten cold enough to snow again.

I think I’m on track for the 50K race three weekends from now. One more week around 50/60 mile range and then taper time again.  Through 4/17.
WTD 59.5
MTD 126
YTD 853
ODO 28,124

Hunting:
I noticed an article regarding the deer season framework. for the 2011 season. It appears that earn a buck rules may finally be eliminated in all but CWD zones. It’s about time. The other big thing is that the early October gun season also looks like it may go by the wayside except in CWD zones.  I still haven’t heard anything regarding the use of crossbows. This is one of the topics being brought up at the Sportsman spring meetings. I actually would like to see the use of crossbows expanded. I think it would get a few more people into the sport and would make hunting easier for older hunters who may have had to give up.


Gardening:
There has been a few nice days over the last few weeks to make it feel at time like Spring is finally here. Then we get a day like today where it’s barely above freezing all day and the ground was again covered with snow this morning. Work around the yard has started though. I finally finished all my pruning chores before any new growth started. I was able to get all the flower beds cut back from last year’s dead foliage, and grass pulled and raked up. I thinned and caned all my raspberries which is another job I should have done late summer or fall. I put fertilizer with crabgrass preventer in the few trouble spots I had last year and put Milorganite over the rest of the yard areas. Last Saturday I hauled about 10 yards of wood chips home from the recyle center.  I will use these on a few of the less visible portions of my flower beds and will get some good mulch in a few weeks for the rest.  A few things I still need to get to are cleaning the pond, and the first tilling of the garden so I can get early crops in like potato’s.

My big project garden wise was putting in a waterline from the house down to the garden. No more hoses across the walkway and lawn most of the summer. My friend Keith came over Sunday and we spend the whole day installing the line. He’s had experience doing this install at his and his mother’s house and offered to help me do it. We were working with a material called PEX . We put in 250 feet ¾ inch diameter of the stuff from the house down to the middle of the garden. We first dug a trench the whole way by hand. We then busted a hole through the concrete block into the house. Then we laid the PEX in place and connected it to the water supply. Then we buried the PEX into the bottom of the trench about a foot deep the whole way and covered it back up. In portions of the lawn where the grass was thick enough you can’t even tell where we were. Having ¾ inch uninterrupted water supply to the garden will allow me to run multiple sprinklers at once saving me a bit of time. I’m sure I’ll wonder why I didn’t do it earlier.

Trailbreaker recap

I had the Trailbreaker marathon on my radar as a possible race all winter and spring.  As the April 2nd date approached I kind of adjusted training as if I was going to run this.  I didn’t do all the preparation I would have for a usual target race though.  I did get plenty of miles in.  At the time of the marathon I had over 700 miles under my belt for the year.  One big difference from previous years was the number of miles I put on the treadmill.  I’m not sure of the exact number, but I’m pretty sure more than half of those miles were inside either at home or work.  This kept me very consistent, but in the long run didn’t help me with a difficult marathon.  I was able to get a pretty good 20 miler in a few weeks ahead of the April race date so I had some confidence I could at least run close to what I had done in the past (3:30 – 3:40) range.  I really only took a one week taper period for the race basically using it as a training run for the 50k trail race coming in May.  I took Friday as my off day and only did 4 easy miles on Thursday.  In hind sight I probably should have taken at least one  more day off.

I didn’t sign up for the race ahead of time.  I kept my eye on the weather and training and was up in the air until race morning.   I don’t suppose “carbing up” on pizza Friday night was the best decision I could have made.  I got up at my usual time a little before 5:00am giving me plenty of time to prepare.  I did my usual race morning breakfast of pancakes and banana’s.  Deciding I felt pretty good I made the decision to give it a go.  The morning was crisp and cold with only light winds at the time.  The forecast called for it to stay cold with winds picking up throughout the morning.  Good news the winds were supposed to be Westerly which would be at my back on the return of the out and back.   I made it down to Frame Park in Waukesha  in plenty of time to sign up and get ready.  They had a nice blue technical shirt as a race give away this year.  Right around 8:00 I got myself to the start line in time for the national anthem and then we were off.  I started off easy this time instead of blasting off from the start.  I stayed behind a couple people I had seen at previous Trailbreakers that finished around where I did.  I just tucked in behind them and tried to keep pace right around 7:30 miles.    This worked pretty good through the half marathon turn around point.  It was this early on though  I could feel my legs just weren’t going to have it that day.  I already wished I had only signed up for the half marathon.  I tried to hold the pace, but a group of at least 10 people passed me up in the next few miles while I slowed to the 7:45  range.  I pretty much hung in here as we got to mile 11 water stop.  It was at this stop they provide a place for a drop bag.  I had put a different pair of shoes and socks along with GU and hydration needs in my pack.  I made the decision to change into my trail shoes for the haul up the trail to the Lapham Peak tower turn around.   Even though it cost me some time I was happy to have made that decision.  This was my 3rd Trailbreaker and I never found trail conditions as bad as they were this time.  The ice from the previous week had mostly melted, but that made those areas really muddy.  There were spots where I was up to my ankles in mud.   I made it up to the top of the trail where there is a set of about 50 stairs before you reach the base of  the tower when I started seeing the people I had been running with early.  I would guess 3 or 4 minutes behind them at that point.  The picture of me at the top of these stairs above has me looking pretty defeated already.  I certainly felt that way too and the mental games had already begun for sure.  I fought my way to the top of the tower, gathered myself and headed back down the hill for the return.  On the way back down I slipped and fell.  I had hoped to make up a little ground here, but now had to run cautiously to make sure I didn’t get injured.  I made it back to the drop bag spot at approximately mile 16 and again changed shoes.  Again I think this was a good decision in that the others were very muddy, wet and heavy.  The wind was now at my back, but it didn’t seem to help or make any difference at all.  I had a lot of trouble with the transision from dirt trail back to paved trail this time.  I was kind of in no man’s land here for several miles.  No runners were around me either ahead or behind that I could see.  I just tried to focus and keep moving really fighting off the urge to drop out.  When I got to the half marathon turn around on the way back I knew I was in trouble.  In previous years I had run into masses of mid pack people running the half marathon.  The only people I was running into now were walkers or those struggling to make it through.  No one to try and run with.  I tried to focus on the next runner ahead of me until I caught them which isn’t saying much, but it was something to try and stay in the game.  Finally I got off the trail and back into Waukesha city limits.  I willed myself to complete the last couple miles until finally the finish was in sight.  I tried to give it a little the last couple hundred meters but my legs would have none of it.  It never felt so good to finally cross that finish line in a real slow 3:50:16.   So I did finish, but it was by far the hardest marathon I have ever run.  This was my 18th completed since 2004.  I picked up my medal and made it back to my car where I changed out of some of the wet clothes and put on a warm jacket.  I went inside to view results and have a couple post race beers while I was waiting.  Turns out my time was 30th overall and 5th in my age group. 

For a low key, early race this event is really pretty well run.  Signup on race day is a bonus.  The nice shirt they give away and the post race food and beer are also good things.   The point where the race turns north across highway 18 up toward the Lapham tower is only a few miles from my house so it feels like my home course.  I guess that is one of the reasons it tempts me each year.  I will consider doing it again, but not unless I think I’m more prepared than I was this year.  The only good thing about the race this year for me is I proved I could finish even if I was struggling with both the physical and mental part of running such a long event.    

Trailbreaker? Probably

Running: 
Last week I finally made the decision to try the Trailbreaker  marathon on April 2nd.  While the last several days have been cold the warmer weather over a week ago cleared most of the snow and ice. The long range forecast looks to be about normal or 30/50 low and high temps which is nice for a marathon. I haven’t signed up yet because I can do it on race day, so as long as the weather holds and the injury bug doesn’t bite I’m going to do it.  I’m not confident in guessing my time, but I would hope to be in the 3:30ish range as my last two efforts of this race ended up. Yesterday I ran the single track trail up to the Lapham tower and there was some slippery spots, but the trail was quite runnable. Both of the last couple weeks my total miles were 53. I got there in different ways though.  This last week my longest run was only 12 miles on Saturday and no day off.  I’ve still only taken one day this year so far.  With the marathon coming up this weekend my total this work week will be low. I may take as many as three days off including today to be sure the legs are rested enough.

The past week I’ve had to break out a couple new pair of shoes as my older ones reached the 500 mile level.  I scored on a good pair of Asics Attack trail shoes on eBay, and a pair of Asics 2150 trainers on sale at SportMart. Both were real good deals and much less than ½ retail price. The trail shoes are a bit lower heal profile which I found quite comfortable on the few runs so far, especially the trail yesterday. I will likely use these for the IAT50k run in May.  Mileage through 3/27 :
WTD 53
MTD 229
YTD 709
ODO 27980


Hunting:
I had a couple links presented to me that I thought are interesting the past couple weeks. The first is a link to a news clip regarding 7 deer killed in a Southern WI field by lightening.   A year ago or so I posted a link showing three bucks with their horns locked together.  Here is a link to another recent article and pictures with the same thing happening in Ohio this past December.

Gardening.
Two weekends ago I was able to finish pruning all my apple and peach trees.  Still some minimal pruning on the pear, cherry, and plum trees.  These don't need close to as much work as the apple and pear do.  I also was able to burn two large piles of brush accumulated from wind damaged limbs and normal pruning last year and this winter.  I noticed the crocus flowers were out as well as the leaves sprouting on the tulips on the sun side of the house.  Spring can't be far now.

Much needed rest day

Running:
Running continues to go well so far this year. Today I took my first day off since late December 2010. Yesterday I managed to get in my first 20 miler of 2011. I’ve put on a lot of miles with no time off, so the end of that run hurt a bit. I finished the run in 2:45:52 which wasn’t a bad time considering the volumes I have been running. I figure I’m due for a break before my body makes me take one. I’ll likely use this week as a cut back week. Then I need to decide if I will run the Trailbreaker marathon the first week in April. If I do think I will run it, I will not run anything too hard for a few weeks. Maybe one day of speed work and a moderate length run of 15 miles or so on the weekends. If I’m not going to run it, I will start to target peaking for the 50K race in May. I would likely start to pick up with some hill work and more tempo style runs for the next several weeks. I continue to run both outside and on the treadmill. I have put more miles on the treadmill this year already than any other year of my life. The one thing this has done is allow me to be consistent. There was never a day when I couldn’t run or didn’t want to run because of the weather. Totals through 3/13:
WTD 63
MTD 123
YTD 603
ODO 27874

Hunting:
I still have not been out in the woods to retrieve my stands. I contacted the land owner about a month ago to say I would be coming out one of these weekends, but something just keeps coming up. If I don’t head up north this weekend hopefully I can get it done. The last couple of weeks I have seen so many deer in the fields near my house. One day last week on the way to work in the field closest to me I counted 8 deer. That’s just the ones I could see in the field and a little ways into the woods. I didn’t see any with antlers so likely they have fallen off by this time. Many of these deer are also coming into my back yard searching for the last leftovers. The dogs are frequently barking at them when they notice they are out there. This is a real good sign for next season. I don’t ever recall seeing this many nearby over the previous 7 winters in this house. Just as I was beginning to feel guilty about not doing much late season scouting I read this blog post at bowhunting.com. It makes sense to me and made me feel better that I wasn’t wasting my time.

Gardening:Two winter chores still to finish. I have a couple of large brush piles that I want to burn before I lose all the snow. If I don’t get it done over the next few days I may lose my chance for this year. I still have to prune about ½ of my fruit trees before the weather gets warm too. I still should have a few weeks for this chore. This weekend I noticed my fish came out of hiding. I hadn’t seen them for months. I also noticed several frogs had crawled out. I guess two signs that spring can’t be far away.

February recap

I’ve been very neglectful in my postings this month. That’s mostly because on the topics of running, hunting, and gardening there isn’t much going on. At least much that seems worth writing about.  This update will be only on running and basically a recap of February

Running:
I finished February with a total of 254 miles and 479 YTD. This is slightly higher than last February, and keeps me in the ballpark of where I want to be heading into the spring season. The last 4 complete weeks I ran 62, 67, 61, and 66 miles.  My streak is still intact in that I have run a minimum of 5 miles every day this year so far. My longest runs were only 12 miles. From here forward I will be attempting to increase the distance of at least one of my weekend runs. This past weekend I did sign up for the IceAgeTrail 50K race in May. On Saturday morning I noticed a Facebook post that mentioned only 15 more openings for all races. It forced my hand. I quickly signed up and made it just under the wire. Shortly after there was a post saying registration had closed. Looking afterward I was the last person to sign up for the 50K. Now if I can get the proper training in over these next two months and stay healthy it should be lots of fun. I will need to decide over the next few weeks if I will run the Trailbreaker marathon the first weekend in April. If I can get my long run increased close to 3 hours I will consider it, otherwise I will just keep working towards the 50K in May. 

Totals for February:
WTD 7
MTD 254
YTD 479
ODO 27750

Just SUPER

Wow. What a season, what a victory for the Packers. I was so nervous for this game. I did all sorts of things to distract me on Sunday right up until game time. I don’t think I sat down much at all. I just kept pacing or going to get something to eat or drink. Even when the Packers were up 21-3 I felt better, but knew we were up against a tough team that had a history of fighting back all year. The outcome wasn’t known until 56 seconds left, but in the end they pulled it out as it should have been. An unbelievable end to an unbelievable year with lots of promise for years to come. It’s great to be a Packer fan right now. Kind of makes up for a couple of the lean decades while I was growing up. I couldn’t help thinking how great it would have been to have shared this game with my dad in person, but I know somewhere dad was watching with coach Lombardi and sharing lots of smiles. It was just SUPER.





Running:
Running continues to go pretty well. Two weeks ago I finished with 63 miles. Last week I finished up with 62 which gave me 226 for January. That’s a few less miles than previous years, but still a good start to 2011. For now I’m just trying to get the runs in. Nothing fast or far or difficult, just consistent. I’ve still got my streak going for 2011. I have run at least 5 miles every day this year so far. Most of the runs have been on the treadmill either at home or work because of the road conditions. My usual routes outside from work are the most dangerous right now. There is absolutely no shoulders to run on, the sidewalks are not plowed, and some of the roads are quite busy. Running from home the roads are more snow covered, but they also are quieter. Makes it a little easier to get out as long as the plows have been through and I get an early start. I can’t wait until things warm up a bit to melt all this snow we have. Since I have no planned runs on the books yet I can keep going the way I am for a few more weeks anyway. Pretty soon I will have to pick things up to get some more meaningful training runs in. Through 2/6:
WTD 62
MTD 53
YTD 279
ODO 27550

Hunting:
I still haven’t made it out to the woods to get my stands out. Every time I have wanted to something else has come up or the weather was brutally cold. Lots of time really just don’t want them damaged by the cold or the material chewed up by squirrels. I’ve noticed how many deer there still seem to be around since the season has ended. They are still digging around my food plot nightly to get under the snow to find whatever they can. I frequently see deer in the fields or woods on the way to and from work. Good signs for next year.

Gardening:
I got about half my apple trees pruned a couple weekends ago. It was a lot of work and was quite cold. I was happy to get a start on this at least. Probably will take the most of another day when I get a chance to finish one of these days. The apple and peach trees are by far the most work. Plums, pears and cherry trees only need a little work. We have gotten so much snow I needed to take the time to rake off my roof last weekend. This was a lot of work. Some of the drifts on the lower roof from off the higher ones were probably 5 or 6 feet deep. My shoulders are still sore. Good cross training and probably better than lifting weights.

Bring home the ring

What a sweet run for the Packers this year. Unbelievable that they are actually going to play in the Super Bowl. The NFC Championship game last Sunday was much closer than it should have been, but how awesome to beat the Bears and make it to the big show. It’s been 13 years since I will actually have an interest in the game. The Steelers will be tough, but I still think the Packers can win it all.  Bring home the ring boys!




Running:
Last week was a first for me. I managed to get 56 miles in. That’s not unique in itself, but the fact all of the 56 miles were done on a treadmill is. I’ve done all my miles in a week on the treadmill before while coming back from injury, but this total would have been less that 20 miles for sure.   I guess it was just a combination of bad roads, cold weather, work responsibility, and timing that caused that to happen. In past years I would have probably just skipped a couple runs, but with my new attitude toward the treadmill it allowed me to get it done. Last week’s total was the most since September of last year. The most unique run was on Sunday. I was so nervous in anticipation for the game I thought it would be a good idea to calm myself by running and watching at the same time. I ended up running for the entire first half, getting in 10 miles. Almost time to buy another pair of shoes to use for long runs. I’ve been keeping my eyes out for the right ones on eBay but so far nothing to pull the trigger on.  Still on track for 200+ miles in January.  Through today:
WTD 27
MTD 181
YTD 181
ODO 27452

Hunting:
I never got out to remove my stands from the woods last weekend. It was brutally cold and since there really is no hurry I thought it better to wait for the temperatures to moderate a bit before climbing up trees to unhook things with frozen hands. Cleaning up my hunting stuff last week I found my trail cameras which got me to thinking I should put them out for a few weeks to see what is still around after season. I’m especially curious on my bow hunting property to see what is making all the tracks and beds in a new area I found while last out there. One of my cameras is an old one that uses 35mm film. Hopefully I can still find some film and someone to process it. I wonder if Walgreens still does it and what it might cost?  Here is a link I found with ideas to help a hunter with post season cabin fever.  

Gardening:
This next month is the time to get out there and prune all my fruit trees. At least I need to do it before March and any warmer weather that would start the growing process. I really need to hit the trees hard this year as last year I didn’t do enough. It’s always hard as you think you are taking off too much and will hurt the tree or at least production of fruit. From everything I read and examples I have viewed of how to do it up in Bayfield I believe I can take off much more than I have been. With all the trees I have, to have less fruit but better quality would be a good thing.

Bring on those Bears

What a Packer game it was last Saturday. The whooping put on the Falcons was comparable to the game I went to against the Cowboys back in November. The game it sets up against the Bears is even more interesting. Playing your biggest division rival with a chance to get to the Super Bowl sets it up to be one huge game. I can’t wait until we put those Bears in their place next Sunday.



Running:
My running streak for the year is still intact. My runs during the week are still usually only 5 miles. This past weekend I ran 10 on the treadmill on Saturday while I watched the early football game. Then on Sunday morning I ran 8.5 outside in 1:08:54. It was only in the single digits, but it was a good run. The roads were quiet and in fairly good shape. I used my new Garmin for the first time on Sunday’s run. I did notice that it registers the miles a little longer than my old one. What had been my 8.5 mile run came it at only 8.25. I’ll have to check out a few more routes to see if this is a one time thing or if I have to adjust my route mileage a bit. Half way through the month I’m close to on track for 200 in January. Through Sunday:
WTD 43.5
MTD 98.5
YTD 98.5
ODO 27380

Hunting:
It’s a good thing there was some good football on this weekend now that the hunting season is over. It takes up some of the time until I adjust to not having that activity to do on the weekend. I got all of my hunting clothes and gear reorganized and put away this past week. This weekend I actually got the garage clean since it was empty of hunting gear. I can now park one of the other cars in there over night. I haven’t been able to do that since the beginning of fall. This coming weekend I’m going to try and get out to remove my stands from the woods. Hopefully get a little scouting done too to figure out a few things for next year late season. My fix for hunting for a while will have to be some of the shows on T.V.  Each week there are several that I can record that are worth watching.  Speaking of watching something.  Here is a short PBS video on the white deer herd in northern Wisconsin.  I think you will find it interesting.

Gardening:
The garden catalogs just keep coming. I also get bombarded by e-mail from the few places I typically order from. Some of these are kind of deceiving. The recent e-mail I got from Gurney’s told me about a big sale, up to 70% off. Go to the link provided and try to find anything approaching 70% off. I only saw a couple non popular items that were on sale for that much. I guess that’s the point though. Get you to go there and order early. I’m not ready yet.

1st post of 2011

Can't believe this is my first post of 2011.   It certainly has been busy the first 11 days of the month. Yesterday I had a tooth pulled and a post for an implant inserted. I was sure thinking the worst on how this would feel. Especially when they handed me the tooth and I saw how big the roots are on a molar. Then knowing they had to drill into the bone some to insert a post I wasn’t optimistic. Turns out it didn’t/doesn’t hurt much at all. Other than having to change what I eat for about a week it seems at least so far, this will be a non event. Thank God.

Running:
So far this month I’ve been able to run every day. All my runs have continued to be in the 5 to 7.5 mile range and 40 to 60 minutes of time. Again I continue to run outside as time and weather allow and on the treadmill when they don’t. I’m not purposely trying to start a streak it just turns out that way so far. Now that hunting is over I will likely try to increase the length of my weekend runs to get the weekly mileage back up near 50. When I get my mileage back above that I’m sure I will make at least one rest day part of the routine again. I still haven’t used my new Garmin, but that will change shortly when I run outside more consistently and on longer runs. I’ve given some thought to which races I intend to run this year. Tentatively I will shoot for the Trailbreaker (half or full) in early April, either Journey’s or GB or Ice Age50k in May, Grandma’s in June, Paavo Nurmi in August, and probably Whistlestop in October. I will also probably run the Lake Country half marathon Labor Day weekend and a few 5k’s over summer. Not much different than my plan for previous years. I just need to keep from being injured so I can run them all.

Through 1/11/11.
WTD 10
MTD 65
YTD 65
ODO 27336

Hunting:
I was able to get out hunting a few times in January and had several chances at deer, but chose to pass on all of them. I was really waiting for one last opportunity at a big one and didn’t need to get another doe. The last day of the season I received permission to gun hunt off my bow stand. I was really pumped about that. The last time I was there I saw 7 deer including two nice bucks. I was really hoping for a chance. I ended up seeing nothing in the morning, and it sure was cold. Temps were a few degrees below zero as I was driving out there. I only stayed a couple hours. In the afternoon I decided to forgo watching the beginning of the Packer/Eagles playoff game. I ended up seeing one nice buck that never presented a shot and two doe that I passed on. Next year this stand location will have to move a little bit. The tree I’ve been in the last couple years died this year and will likely not be safe next year. I have a couple trees in mind and will probably do the work to get the new location squared away yet this winter.

Sadly hunting season for 2010/11 has come to an end. The guns are already cleaned and put away until next year. It was a good year over all. I can’t complain with 5 deer total, including 2 nice nine pointers with my bow. Before the season began I was sure excited with being selected to hunt on the Ottawa conservancy. It was nice to have another option for gun hunting without having to go on public state forest land. It just turns out with the other success I had there wasn’t a lot of need to spend much time at another place. At first I was disappointed because all the other guys that hunted there had already taken all the prime locations. There were stands everywhere. After spending some time though I learned a few good locations way on the back of the property that I will use if and when I am selected again. Having access to the back side of the property through the land I have permission to bow hunt opens opportunity for me that is difficult for others having to access from the normal parking area. As always I learned a few new things this year and can’t wait until next year to take advantage.

Gardening:
As usual with the rolling of the seasons this is the slowest time of the year related to anything gardening. In fact with hunting ended and nothing much going on garden wise it is the slowest few months I have all year. I will be thinking about cutting down a couple of the big maples in the yard over winter. The silver maples are really messy trees with shallow roots and I think portions of the yard will do much better with them gone. There will also be garden catalogues to go through, hunting stuff to put away and some running to do, but that leaves lots of time for other things. Will try to make time for family things and house chores until spring comes around to busy things up again.