Well hello there halfway mark of marathon training!!
For such a momentous point, my running this past week was pretty underwhelming.
7 miles.
Yup, that’s all I ran.
Before I begin, I want to announce the winner of the Slick Laces giveaway….CONGRATS
Tricia Vaughn @MissSippiPiddlin.com
I’ll be sending you an e-mail soon to discuss details!! A big thank you to Slick Laces and all who entered 😀
And back to my training recap:
On Monday, I spent 30 minutes on the bike.
On Tuesday I ran 4 miles and on Wednesday I ran 3.
And that’s pretty much it for running, ja!
It was actually pretty funny that the only two days I ran were these particular two:
Heat warning, shmeat warning
Tuesday I met up with a few friends in the evening and while the group usually does a 3 miler, I added an extra one. It was definitely hot (108 degrees at the 6 p.m. start) so I took it nice and easy.
Wednesday I was back at track for some more Yasso fun. I don’t know why I like doing these so much lol!
It was another 108 degrees at the start but somehow despite the heat, I was able to pull off 6 solid 800s.
4:00, 3:56, 3:53, 3:58, 3:58, 3:54
#eyeofthetiger
Thursday was the first day back at work for teacher meetings and right after, it was pick up kids and head straight to dinner/play date. No running. It happens.
Friday was another work day and right after my husband and I loaded our truck and headed up north for our Mt. Humphreys hike the next day 😀
Road Trip!!!
It was a considerable weather difference in Flagstaff compared to Phoenix. So much so, that I was very, very glad I’d brought my jacket. It was raining like crazy and all we kept hoping for was that it would stop when we started the next morning.
It did.
We got going at 6 in the morning starting at 9,000 feet. You begin the climb right away and it was pretty much straight up for the next almost 5 miles.
It was sooo cold!!! I was triple layered with a running shirt, pullover sweater, and a jacket (that jacket saved me!) and I even had gloves on! My hands were freezing and were getting badly swollen the higher I climbed. One girl in our group didn’t make it all the way up because she was freaking out about her hands.
It was also extremely foggy so we didn’t get any views as we climbed. That kinda bummed us out but we were glad we were still able to do it and weren’t rained out.
Hello, fog!
There wasn’t a whole lotta picture taking climbing up as we were concentrating on getting to the summit. The trail is well marked but it gets a little dicey the closer you get to the top. We reached one last flat spot with one last climb ahead and we knew we’d done it. We were finally at the top, 3,000+ feet and 3 and a half hours later.
Humphreys Peak 12,633 ft.
We didn’t hang out long at the top; it was so cold and windy. Plus, there were no views as we were pretty much in the clouds.
So we headed back down and as we descended, there were areas where the fog cleared up enough for us to see some landscape.
Even though going down was in some ways easier than going up, it still took us a while. We kept thinking we were further than we were only to be told by those going up that we were still a ways from the start.
The closer we got, the clearer the skies got and we told those beginning their trek that they’d fair better with the views than we did lol! It was all good though. In a way, it was kinda cool to have hiked it with fog all around us.
When we finally reached the plains at the bottom, we were so happy! It had been a long hike at a little over 6 hours. We had stopped along the way to eat (I packed jerky, an orange, cereal bars, and some twizzlers) but I was ready for a burger and a Coke.
Done!!
Even though we hadn’t gotten the amazing views Mt. Humphreys has to offer, it was still an incredible experience and adventure and I’m stoked I can cross it off my list. I can officially say I’ve been to the highest point possible in our state 😀
And that was my week! Pretty uneventful running wise (7 miles) but hella awesome hiking (10 miles). <— Totally counted that as my long run, lol!
–Do you know what the highest peak in your state/province/area?
–Are you afraid of heights? Hiking your thing?
Have a great week, amigos! Back to school/work I go! ❤ , helly
Ah! Loved seeing your photos of the hike. I love hiking and don’t do it enough. I think that counts significantly towards the long run 😉 xoxo
Right?!? That was a tough hike, there was no way I couldn’t count it lol!!
How gorgeous! It’s incredible what a temperature difference there is. It is always so hard for my body to handle changes in temps like that. I saw that one of my athletes I am training commented on your Facebook post about your heat and joked about it being “dry” heat. You are inspiring my runners!
Aww, thanks! Yeah, we get that a lot. As if it being dry heat is supposed to make us complain less, jaja!! It’s still super hot! 🙂
Wow! I start complaining when temps go about 80… I can’t imagine 113!! Your hike looks gorgeous, though 🙂
You acclimate but it def is still tough, lol!
Wow, that hike looks amazing even with the clouds 🙂 It’s been a few years since I did any real hiking but we have a beautiful spot about 20 minutes from where we live called Cape Split – it’s amazing. Not high elevation but stunning views!
That’s awesome you have a good place so close by!
Wow that is a helluva climb, great job! Why did your fingers swell, what causes that?
Dunno? But it happened to a lot of us–circulation? elevation? not dehydration b/c we all hydrated very well. In fact, I read somewhere that over drinking can cause swelling. Who knows, lol!
That hike looks awesome! I am actually terrified of heights, but I love hiking! haha
Lol! I have some friends who are like that! One of them did R2R last year 🙂
YES your hike definitely counts as your long run! I go back to work next week for teacher stuff then the kids come the week after. What age/subject do you teach?
I teach high school English–freshmen and juniors 🙂 you?
Wow, you did SIX 800m repeats that’s awesome. Love all your gorgeous pics. I’m not the hugest fan of hiking because walking tires me out more than running! But the scenery is pretty worth it.
I’ve talked about that paradox before–it definitely rings some truth!
Nice hike! I haven’t gotten to do any hiking this year, and it makes me sad.
😦 there’s still time 🙂
Yay thank you for the giveaway! Your hiking pictures look amazing. I do not know Mississippi’s highest elevation something to look up!
No problem! thanks for visiting! 🙂
Ughhhh that weather forecast looks terrible!! We have been in the 90s here in NC, but that probably feels cool to you 🙂 Love the pics, looks like an awesome hike!
90s would be amazing! 🙂
This is awesome!!! Congrats on the amazing hike! I can’t physically climb the highest peak in my state because it’s literally the tallest mountain in North America and I’d need a guide, oxygen, etc. to get to the top. I will never climb Denali and I’m okay with that!
Yeah, Alaska. Legit.
Awesome hike- I’m jealous! Well kind of, that elevation is intimidating, not sure my lungs would like that very much. 🙂 It totally counts as your long run!
It was def fun and I’m totally glad I counted it lol!
The only thing I did not like about your post: Thursday was the first day back at work for teacher meetings. That’s going to be me in about a week and a half, eeek! I can’t believe how fast this summer went. That hike looks incredible!!! What a cool accomplishment. Your pictures are fabulous. I was cracking up that you ran on the hottest days of the week! You crack me up!
It has been insane now that I’m back at work! Such a challenge trying to fit everything in!
I just canNOT imagine running in the heat you guys have. But then I guess you can’t imagine running in our East Coast winters either 😉
That hike sounds amazing! Pity it was so foggy, but that doesn’t take away from the accomplishment 🙂
Exactly. I can NOT imagine running in your cold. Never, ever, ever! lol
Wow, those views!! I miss mountains!
I can’t believe your at your halfway point!
Me either!! eeek!
That looks like an awesome hike!! I’m not sure of the highest elevation here. When we lived in Colorado we lived very close to Pikes Peak which is 14,000 feet. My hubby climbed it, but I haven’t. And I love Yasso’s too, they are a great challenge 🙂
Pike’s Peak sounds amazing!!
I’m doing Mt.Humphreys during week 7 of marathon training (there are 20 weeks total in the plan I’m using). The long run is slated for 15 miles. I’m curious how you adjusted your marathon training that week both before and after the hike, if at all? I have a feeling I should cut back either the five miles the day before the hike and/or the six miles the day after, but wondered what your experience was. Thanks!
P.S. – (I’m terrified of heights, but have done Camelback a few times, albeit slowly…not sure I’ll even make it to the top of Humphreys…!)
Hmmm, I didn’t intentionally cut back, my schedule that week kinda forced me to. I would’ve definitely ran the Thursday before (Fridays were my rest days back then). Humphrey’s was hard and I totally thought it was sufficient enough to count as a long run for me that week–I think I was supposed to do 14?? So 10 high elevation miles were good. I’d probably cut back the miles on the day after b/c you might be sore. Good luck and hoping you have good weather!! It was such a fun hike 🙂