Zombie Trail

 On Sunday when Jim and I ran he fell and scraped up his arm.  He also bumped his knee.  He has been complaining about his knee ever since.  Today he did not want to run because of his knee.  I went to Sherman Beach and ran to the Zombie Trail and up the hill then back for a total of 7 miles.  It was a nice 62 degree day.

Today I wore an old pair of Champion shorts that were on the bottom of my shorts pile.  They are oldies but goodies.  I wore my official Boston Marathon Qualifier shirt.  It is really cool because it is meaningful but it is not the most comfortable.  The fabric does not breath well.  I should save it to wear with jeans and not for running.

Crazy Runners

 Today Jim and I went to Sherman Beach.  We were running the Stinging Nettle Loop and connector trails.  Jim caught his toe on a root and went down hard.  He usually falls gracefully, rolls and springs back up.  This time he went splat.  There was blood on his hand, elbow, knee and forearm.  We ran some more then he wanted to go home.  We had a discussion.  He wanted to give me the keys to the car and he was going to walk home.  I insisted that he take the car and I would walk/run home.  Then I said that we would both go home I and would run the subdivision to get in a couple more miles.  He said that I should stay and run the trails.   In the end I ran off so he took the car and I ran some more trails then headed home on the road.  I have always seen people running on St. Paul and thought they were crazy.  Today I was one of those crazy runners on St. Paul.  I was careful and made it home just fine.  The hill up St. Paul is a challenge.

Today's running outfit - black Nike.

Easy Saturday

Today was an easy run on the Stinging Nettle Trail.  The trails are more crowded on weekends. The county has kept the trails well maintained.  I previous years the weeds grew so much in the summer that we were bushwhacking our way through the Stinging Nettle.  This year the trail weeds are cut back so there is a 5 foot wide path.  I think that because of COVID they are keeping the trails wide so there is room to pass.

Today's running outfit - bright green!

No Races

Due to COVID 19 there are not many real races.  There are virtual races but not real races.  Wildwood put out in their newsletter that they were going to have a real race on October 30 - the Shivering Shadows 7K.  I was ready to sign up but when I went to sign up they had cancelled it due to COVID.  Right now the Wildwood Trail Marathon is on but subject to cancellation.  I don't want to waste my time and money signing up for a race that will probably be cancelled.  So I just run for fun.

Today I took Willow to the zoo.  It was a nice 6 mile walk.

Zombie East

Today was a beautiful day for running.  We started at Sherman Beach and ran down to the Rock Hollow Trail then we ran up Rock Hollow and ran the east side of the dirt trails.  It made a nice 7.5 mile run.  There are lots of hills on the trail but they are all runnable.  Staying with an easy 4/1 run/walk.

Today I wore a pair of Brooks Shorts that were buried at the bottom of my shorts pile.  I really like them.  The fabric and fit are comfortable.  I also wore my West County Spine and Joint t-shirt.

Finally Fall Weather

 We have had some nice fall weather lately.  It is great for running.  Today we ran from Sherman Beach to the Zombie West Trail, up Zombie West which is dirt then down the Rock Hollow (Zombie) Trail.  It was a total of 7.6 miles.  All my miles have been very slow.  I have enjoyed running for the fun of running and not worrying about pace.  Someday I will sign up for a race then I will have to think about training.  Right not I am just running to keep some level of fitness.

Global Trail Running Day

 Today is Global Trail Running Day not to be confused with Global Running Day which is in June.  Therefore, we had to do a trail run.  Yesterday Jim and I went to the store and I talked Jim into buying some new trail running shoes.  He was complaining that the rocks hurt his feet.  He actually tried on several pairs and settled on some Asics which he thought felt good.

Today we ran from Sherman Beach toward the Stinging Nettle Loop.  We crossed back and forth on the trail connectors to get 7 easy miles.  The weather was beautiful.  I wore a short sleeved t-shirt.

Chubb Trail

I have been wanting to go to the Chubb Trail for a long time.  Today Jim and I went to the trail head near Lone Elk Park.  The trail head downs a hill then it flattens out.  We decided to leave the Chubb and do the Castlewood Loop which is on the other side of the Meramec River than the main part of the park.  Many parts of that loop were mowed grass.  We should have sprayed for bugs.  After getting home we took showers hopefully to wash off and ticks and chiggers.  We will go back another day to run the entire length of the Chubb. It was a nice run.

Today I wore an Athleta brand tank.  I like it because it fits my long torso and the fabric is comfortable.  I also wore a pair of Nike shorts.  These earn a place in my running gear drawer.

Castlewood

 Today Jim and I went to Castlewood and ran the Skippo course with one modification.  It was a little cooler today than it has been.  We have been enjoying running trail nice and slow.  At one point I thought I was going to fall.  I caught my toe on a rock and was flying through the air with arms and legs flailing.  Somehow I landed on my feet.  Jim was not so lucky.  He took a tumble.  Jim is good at falling.  I think it is from years of playing football.  He is able to roll and spring back up.  I usually go splat.

It is doubtful whether there will be a Skippo race this year.  They have not obtained permits.  I have done this race so many times that I have a stack of shirts to prove it.  

Today's running outfit -my favorite Nike shorts and a Nike tank.

Drag a toe, down you go

 Today's run was from Sherman Beach to the Bluff View Trail.  Being Sunday there were a lot of bikers on the trail so we had to move off the trail for them to pass.  About 5 miles into the run I caught my toe on a root and went down.  I fell flat but caught myself with my hands and ended up with a little scrape on my palm.  

Today I work some light blue Nike shorts that I seldom wear.  I like them but usually prefer darker colors for shorts for a variety of reasons.

Short Run

 Today I had Willow so I did a short 3 mile run after Jen picked her up and before dinner.  It is still very humid here.  The only good thing about running in the summer is that I don't have to think about what to wear.  I just grab shorts and a tank and am ready to go.  When the weather gets colder I have to think about what layers to wear.

Today I wore some shorts and a tank I have not worn this season.  The shorts will be washed and sent to Goodwill.  I don't like the fit or the color.  The tank only reason to keep the tank is because it is the only yellow one I have and sometimes you just want to wear yellow.

Running Clothes

 There is not such thing as too many running clothes; however, there is such a thing a running out of room in your dresser to store running clothes.  I decided that if I have not worn something this season it's time to donate it.  So I dug through my clothes and found things I had not worn.  There was a pair of Brook shorts in blue with green stripes and an Under Armor green tank.  

Jim went with me and started at Sherman Beach and ran down the Al Foster then up Zombie West back down through the connector then up Zombie East and down the connector.  It was a slow, fun 6.6 miles.  We have been enjoying  trails lately.  It was in the low 80s but humid.  We brought our water shoes and cooled off in the river afterward.

I really liked the shorts.  They are a little longer than the Nike shorts I usually wear but were very comfortable.  They dried quickly after soaking in the river.  I also liked the tank.  It was cool and comfortable.  They both earned a place back in the drawer.

Right now I am not trying to train or run speed.  I am just trying to maintain some fitness.

Willow Wednesday

 I have my adorable Granddaughter on Wednesdays.  I do not get out for a run but do play, run, jump, and march around a lot.  She keeps me active and busy.  Of course I wear running shoes to keep up with her.

Cross Training

 I have been running every other day.  The alternate days I walk, bike or hike.  Today I did something I had not done in a decade - I played golf.  We have friends that invited us to play.  She promised she was a beginner.  We played on a little par 3 course and didn't even keep score.  I really had fun.  I did better than I thought I would.  I did wear running shoes for this event although there was no running involved.  We did walk carrying a heavy bag of clubs.  Hot and humid here today.

390 Days

 It has been 17 months since I have posted my running blog.  I am not going to try to catch you up on everything that happened the last 17 months but here is a short summary:

I ran the 2019 Boston Marathon with a bad case of plantar fasciitis.  It was painful but it was fantastic.  Boston was a great experience.  After Boston I rested a little then ran a 5K because it was put on by Wildwood and my slug sister came to run with me.  Then I ran in the Senior Olympics - ouch.  Not smart.  After that I went to the podiatrist and had shockwave treatments which worked miracles.  After resting for weeks and very gradually getting back, I was running again in the fall.  It was wonderful to run without pain.  I closed out 2019 with the Skippo 10K.  

2020 started with the Wildwood Frozen Feet Half Marathon in January, then the Castlewood Cup in February.  I was feeling good and looking forward to my year of running.  Then the pandemic hit and everything stopped.  Races were cancelled.  They even closed some parks for a while.  I kept running every other day.  

You may wonder why my blog title is 390 days.  It is One year and 25 days (390 days) until the 2021 St. George Marathon.  I am going to run this with my favorite running friend.  I have been such a slug lately that it will take a lot of training to get into form but I have 390 days to do it.  I have been running regularly but slowly.  

Today's run was 6.25 miles of trails.  It was hot and humid.  Jim has been running with me.  On hot days we have been taking a dip in the Meramec River when we are done.  It really cools us off.