Stabilicer Sports

The second pair of Yak Trax are shot. The wires broke and then cut the rubber to pieces. This time, I went for the more expensive Stabilicer Sport Cleats. Putting them on was a bit of a challenge, but once in place, they weren't going anywhere. I didn't use the velcro they came with, primarily because each strip was as long as my leg, and I couldn't figure out what to do with all of it.

The cleats are replaceable. Although, after today, I can tell you it would take a lot to wear these down. It's just nice to know I don't have to go out and buy another pair if a cleat falls apart.

I found the perfect long hill covered in ice to try them out. We've had a freezing fog advisory, and all that was sloppy yesterday, was now a frozen pond.

Buddy and I covered 4.5 miles of ice without a single slip. We ran into an abyss of fog. The traction from the Stabilicers was really amazing.

So, the pros:

1) GREAT traction on ice. We detoured to a couple of snow packed trails just to try them out. Good traction there too.

2) Pretty simple to use once you figure out how to put them on.

3) They stay on really well without any binding. If I were to use them for hiking in snow, I'd probably try the velcro too.

4) Durable. Not much is going to damage these babies.

The cons:

1) Definitely heavier than Yak Trax. Also, a bit more rigid underfoot.

2) Hated them on pavement. Even though they seem more stable on pavement than Yak Trax (kind of like running on a platform), they were incredibly LOUD. Clacking along in an otherwise quiet world of snow was not appealing. I purposefully moved onto ice just to stop the noise.

3) More expensive but worth it for the durability.

Truth - I think I may just be ready for spring. Way to early, I know.

Pizza Bread for Superbowl

Steve and I stayed in to watch Superbowl and made our own favorite - except with some healthier twists. Brown about a pound of ground turkey, and throw in whatever you like. We added black olives, onions, green peppers, chopped fresh spinach, tomato and a little pepperoni for flavor. Next, add either a small can of tomato juice, v8 or tomato sauce and pizza seasonings. Or, you can use dried spaghetti mix. Last, I put in a small handful of mozzarella cheese.


While all the above is simmering, roll out thawed bread dough. If you make your own, more power to ya. Even better, use whole wheat. We were lazy, and used the frozen kind. Add your mixture to the rolled out dough and wrap it up.


Let rise for 30 - 45 minutes. If we'd been cooking it for others, I'd have tried a bit harder to make it look pretty. :)

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes at 375 degrees. You can lightly butter the top and sprinkle garlic and Parmesan on it the last few minutes of baking. Yummy!


If you've got too much, just refrigerate, and reheat for crunchy leftovers. Enjoy the game!

I've decided that when an "air stagnation warning" is posted almost daily, you've just got to run through it. With the weather reaching a balmy 34 degrees, Buddy and I could not resist a 4.5 mile run on sloppy roads up in the mountains. We watched the sun set as we cruised along. Buddy's favorite part was getting his muddy self towel dried and then snuggling in for hugs.

Shredding and other news

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The above message from Buddy translates to "Please stop typing and pet me."



The past two weeks I've stuck well to my training plan. Four runs per week averaging 3-5 miles and a long run of 10 miles each Saturday. Eliminating all walking except when taking a gel. Even Buddy has gotten serious, only stopping when absolutely necessary. In addition, I started this crazy thing.
Ouch. The workouts are only 20 minutes combining cardio, strength and abs, but ouch. I've done it twice after 30 minute runs. It's kind of fun, but not sure if my knee (old meniscus tear) will hold up. It's hard for me to differentiate between good pain and bad. We'll see how it goes.

February running in Montana has been a beautiful pain in the rear. It snows then melts, then turns to ice, then clears in places, but not others. My two year old pair of YakTrax are now shredded due to intermittent dry spots on the pavement.

I bought a new pair which came with the added bonus of hand warmers (love them for skiing and cold weather camping). Two weeks later, I'm searching for a pair of plyers to repair the new ones that have also fallen apart. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE YakTrax. Our winter weather just hasn't supported the proper use of them well.
Anyone have the Kahtoola microspikes? Do they hold up any better?

I've got races picked out. More on that soon.

Slog - To walk or plod heavily.

Slogging is a great description for the challenging 10 miler completed yesterday. We received several inches of powdery new snow, making the roads and sidewalks a mess. Steve was working, so I first had to shovel the driveway and sidewalks before our nemeses decided to go on their daily walk (an older couple who likes to report things to the city such as overhanging tree branches, cracks in sidewalks, snow or ice, etc. that result in letters from the city threatening substantial fines to homeowners in the neighborhood). After my cross training, Buddy and I set out to complete the first 5 mile loop. We had to run in the streets because the snow was too deep everywhere else. As always, my Yak Trax worked great. Buddy kept up well and made surprisingly few stops along the way. It took us 55 minutes to complete the first lap because of traction issues. This did not include the detour to the Folf Course so Bud could scope out the latest deer tracks.
I returned to the house to drop Bud off (because of an old hip injury, he can't go further than 5 miles without a lot of pain), grab my Heed and Gu, and take off for the second 5 mile loop. My thought was that I'd be faster without dog and leash, but my body was a bit fatigued from the earlier cross training. By mile 9, I was truly slogging. I continued to run as my plan is to try and phase out all the walking I've been doing, but I think I might have been able to walk faster. It was a beautiful day though, with the snow continuing to fall.
As I walked up the street to cool down, I could hear frantic barking coming from my house. With dread, I opened the door to find this...
Apparently, Buddy was a bit confused and distraught as to why I left in running clothes and shoes without him. Somehow he got the closet door open, searched through various items and found his leash. Maybe he thought that if he could get to his leash, he'd be able to go out and find me? Unfortunately, in his efforts, he chewed through the leash, which meant yet another trip to Petco to buy a new one. Seriously, we should just buy in bulk.

Running and Restless Legs

Restless Leg Syndrome runs (no pun intended) in the family. I've struggled with it for several years, especially in my right leg. Lately, I've noticed that it becomes significantly worse as I build mileage. The last two nights have been awful, resulting in only 3-4 hours of sleep. My doctor indicated that dehydration and antihistamines can make it worse. I'd really like to avoid prescription medication, so if anyone out there in blog world has suggestions, please let me know.

Not being able to sleep has increased my trips to the local library in search of 2 am reading material. A couple of running related books I'd recommend include "The looniness of the long distance runner" by Russell Taylor and Bart Yasso's "My Life on the Run." The first is just a funny account of a first timer training for the NYC marathon; the second an entertaining recap of some great racing and traveling experiences.

Buddy and I are heading out for an easy run to celebrate an extra day off this week. Happy running everyone!

Saturday Group Run

After 12 months off, I rejoined the group for a Saturday long run. It wasn't exactly long - we decided on an 8 mile loop as most people were "recovering?" from last week's Fat Ass. The loop is pretty much 4 miles of gradual up and then 4 miles of down.

The up didn't go particularly well for me. The group shot off and I struggled to keep up. After the first mile, my right achilles was burning. After months of taking time to warm up, I just went with it and hoped for the best. DUMB. My mind waged a mental war the entire 4 miles up and I'm certain I wasn't fun company. Once we reached the top, M and T were waiting, which was nice of the them, but I hate the thought of making people wait.

We headed back down, which felt great. By this time I was warmed up, and I just wanted to fly on down. Even more so when we hit the pavement. This recent enjoyment of road running has planted a seed in my brain. It's a rebuilding year anyway, so maybe I should go with it and train for a marathon?

As for today, the ankle is again sore, but I'm not feeling pain. The plan is to ice, stretch and rest it today, and try an easy run tomorrow. As much as I like group runs, I won't make the same mistake again. I'll either have to run to our meeting place to warm up, or start ahead of the group. As slow as I am right now, the second option might not be a bad one!