7 Miles today, some 5's on the weekend.

Saturday and Sunday morning I ran 5 miles each day around campus. It was a nice a quite run both days with the low temperatures I enjoy.

Today I did a loop run/hike I've been wanting to do for a long time. I wasn't sure how long this path would take since it is a lot of trails.

 It was shorter than I expected which is good because it means I can do it more often. The first three miles were on trails, mostly downhill and mainly done by hiking. The trail normally would be more runnable but now there is a heavy leaf cover and rocks underneath and could cause a twisted ankle, something I am trying to avoid.

(The trail crosses the stream at the bottom of canyon)

The second three miles were on a road, mostly uphill, and mainly done by running.

(last of the trail head up to the fire tower)

4 Miles: Clifty Falls State Park Run/Hike

This morning I went on a 4 mile run/hike at Cliffy Falls. I am really starting to love the trails and road there for running. I could actually train for the Two Bear marathon here because it is so hilly. The vertical profile of the run is below.

Video of my location during the run. Note the sunrise.

and here is one picture.

6.3 miles and the week.

Turns out blogging is taking a back seat to work. Hard to justify the time to blog during the week when I can work and make money. 

Anyway, I have been running. I do most of my weekly runs at the park - those are about 4 miles but hard because of the trails and elevation change. On the weekend, I run on campus.  Today I got in the planned long run of 6 miles. 

Next weekend the long run is 7 miles. I'm just adding a mile to the long run for the next few weeks.

Missoula Marathon signup

I've signed up for the Missoula Marathon. It will take place in Missoula, Montana on July 12th 2015. The training program I like to follow for marathons has me starting with a long run of 10 miles in March, 2015. It is good I have that much time because right now I could not go run 10 miles.

I've plotted a training course to get me to 10 in later November and then to improve speed from then till March.  It feels good to be signed up for another Marathon. My running seems to go better when I have a specific run in mind and a training schedule laid out.

After the run, we will be heading to Glacier National Park for a week long vacation!

3 mile campus run

Today I ran 3 miles around campus. The weather was great and it was a good run.

Random Runs 30 to 60 minutes

Over the past few weeks I have been doing a few runs a week with most of them being between 30 and 60 minutes in length. Some have been at the local state park (Below) but most have been around campus.

3 miles: all better

My back is fine again and I went on a run this morning. Good run overall no back pain. Was a bit humid compared to last few days but nothing compared to the south.

Thursday: 2.5 miles "the back"

Thursday I went 2.5 miles. I ran 1.25 before my back was hurting too much to keep running. I'm not exactly sure what happened. It could have been from any number (or all) things from the day before. I was throwing frisbee, kicking a soccer ball, swinging a bat, hauling boxes of rocks, moving 5 gallons jugs of water and moving stuff around the garage. I also may have just slept wrong.  Anyway, my back hurt and I took two days off.

3.5 miles: Morning campus run

Today I ran 3.5 miles around campus. It was great as the temperature was in the upper 50s or lower 60s and it felt cool because the humidity was low (relative to Franklin).

Edit: "Turns out" the humidity was not actually low; it just felt that way. The humidity is still at 91% as I make this edit.

3 mile campus run

This morning I did a three mile campus run. The campus is not that big but I am still finding some new views.

Sunday evening run and Monday bike run.

This last Sunday I did a half hour run in the evening and then Monday I did a run with the kid on a bike. Both runs lasted about a half hour.

3.9 miles: Rain run

(Experimental video above - text reads "Me")
This morning I went on a 3.9 mile run around a rainy campus. It was a good quite run. No pictures today because it was raining, not hard but hard enough to leave the phone at home. I used my Garmin instead.

2.6 miles: Wifey run

Today I did the single loop run down the trail with the wifey. I had planned to stay up on campus but she wanted to see the trail and had time to run with me. Good run.

3.7 is not five

Today I did the trail over the hill twice. I ran to one end and turned around and ran back home. It was an out and back.  Either end of the trail is rather steep and long enough for a good workout. The elevation gain and loss was 1220 feet. It took me just over an hour although I wasn't trying to race. I just ran when I felt like it and hiked when I wanted.

The goal will be to do this run once or twice a week until I get it under an hour. I'll then add distance somewhere and then try to get that under an hour.

Tomorrow I'll have less time to run and so I'll just stay up on campus.

This trail will not be passable at certain times of the year and after rain storms. It cuts across what is now a dry creek bed twice but clearly would be to much to cross when it is full. So, since I can use it now - I will.

2.5: Half of five

Today I did another short run. When will the errands end after moving into a new house? Well, not this week.  This was sort of a trial run to see what the distance would be if I went on the shortest loop possible down the trail and back to the house. The idea being to do it once going one way, and then turn around and do it again going the other way.  So that is the plan for tomorrow. I may have to add a little bit of distance on somewhere to get to five because I am not going to run all the way home before turning around.

2.9 miles: The fog

This morning I did a quick run around campus. This run took about half of time yesterday's run of nearly the same length took because I did not go down the trail but just around campus which is nearly flat.  The fog was heavier than it even looks in these photos.

3 Miles: Trail run

Today I did the trail from yesterday but took a slightly different path there and then took an extra side trail.  It was a great run/hike. The change in elevation makes it more difficult than the distance would imply. I could train on these trails for a trail marathon by running this loop a few times.

3.7 miles: Two foxes loop

Today I went 3.7 miles. I found  great loop to run and hike. There is running to and from the trail head and then some running at the bottom of the hill and fast hiking down and up the steep sections.  I could probably get to the point of running most of it. Not there yet, but this could be a good loop to do once a week to test my progress.

In the wooded sections of the run I saw two large foxes. I thought they were coyotes at first due to their size but then saw them move more like foxes and saw their colored tails as they bounded away.

Tuesday and Wednesday: quick runs

Tuesday and Wednesday I went on quick runs (< 30 minutes) while running next to the kid on his bike. Faster than normal runs with some stopping and quick starts.

3 mile: Running with a bike

Today I ran about 3 miles.  I ran for the first 1.5 miles with my kid while he rode his bike. This is good training as I likely went faster than I would have otherwise trying to keep up. I then dropped him off back at home and went for another 1.5 miles around campus.

30 minutes: Sunday

Yesterday I did about a 30 minute run around campus. It looked like it might rain so I didn't take my phone. However, here is one from a different run:

3.7 miles: Run, Walk, Hike.

Today I went 3.7 miles.  I ran on the cross country path (above), walked and ran on campus and took a hike (below) down the hill towards the river.  Good day but sunny.

3 miles: Running Hanover

Today was my first run in a while and the first at our new location at Hanover College. The views were great compared to the roads of Franklin.  This was a slow run with some walking. However, I can tell this place and my new schedule will be good for running and I expect a return to form (slow but steady runs) over the next month or two.

Blogging Hiatus

My busy work schedule has limited me to running about 3-4 miles 5 times a week. I mostly have been running 3 miles during the week and 4 on the weekend, taking the snow days off we have been having.

The blog was to be about interesting longer runs exploring Franklin, TN. A blog about running 3 miles around the soccer fields every day seems pointless.

The blog will resume later this summer when we move and I am running to explore a new areas.