Ascent and Descent

I have been stringing together nice runs of varying difficulty and each run has had some form of incline.  My climbing is getting better and better up these steep roads. Today, I ran out along Highway 11 and up along Signal Hill Road in Mcgraw, a very steep steeep steeep road. With the winter fast-approaching, the sun sets by 5 pm so my afternoon run at 4:15 was light for the majority of it before the last 20 minutes were in the waning darkness.

My next race is going to be the Cortland Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day.  I decided that it would be a great opportunity to be a spokesperson for Olympia Sports and see if I can bring home a turkey for the family.  So if you want to go to a great race in Cortland, the Turkey Trot is where it is at and I will be handing out 20% coupons from Olympia as a portion of the goodie bags for the event.  There is hope to provide Olympia as being a more integral part of the Cortland Community.

My next big race will be December 8th for the It's A Wonderful Life 5k which is a historic race in Senneca Falls NY and has 100 for first place that I hope I can bring on home!

In the meantime, I am just training hard running my 80-90 miles a week and just running the flats some days but have been running the ascents and descents really hard so that I can build that strength for snowshoe season come January!

I had another nice run today---My Karhu Fast 3's are getting used up as while I descend, my forefoot is ailing me a little bit from the worn cushioning.  I have the chance to demo a pair of Scott Sport Support shoes to see how they work out but I bet Karhu at the least will win in functionality and color style.  My November 18th run took me out along Kellogg Road out to Blodgett Mills then up the steep steep steep climbs to the backside of Virgil, NY. THis run is such a nice one as the roads here split and create  tough climbing. I ran all the way up probably in the 1,800-2,000 mark and let me tell you, all this 6%-20% degrees of climbing has made my legs and lungs strong and I can really power up those inclines better than ever before. I hope to continue my training and just enjoying the fall/winter weather where 40's-30's and 20's remain supreme which honestly has been lovely running weather.  WHen I run in the afternoon the 48 degree day cools in the shade of the mountains and as the sun sets, the temperature drops.

Had a nice Tuesday morning run---Wore my new Scott Support 2 trainers---these things are amazing. So light weight and the support is great on the shoe.  The rocker technology is just like Karhu with their Fulcrum which is cool. The upper is nice and breathable and the fit of the shoe works with my foot though all Scott Shoes should be sized up a half size.  Then I also was able to get a zip top from the company and these are soooo soft with the internal fleece. I want more of them as they are not only stylish but so comfy.  I ran out along East Homer and headed to Health Camp Road running up and down the big hills of Homer.  Love this route as I am up in the clouds and there are no cars maybe a few tractors and farmers but really not much of anybody.  Such a great run with beautiful views of the rolling glacial mountains.  Upstate New York is visually sooo beautiful and outdoor recreation is supreme from running to biking, hunting boating golf you name it.  I ran a nice 80 mins and am preparing for the Cortland Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Morning.  I hope to bring some Olympia Sports glory as I am giving away 20% coupons for all those that attend the event.  So come on down and support the Salvation Army and the Clothing Bank this Holiday.  ANd may the fastest person win a Turkey!!!!! I hope that will be me!