Trinity Groves – Big Guy Hiking

Training with 3 weeks to go

I did not have a race last weekend. I have two half marathons in the next two weekends. Both are rail trail races, they mimic the look of the 100K . I have really ramped up my running on relatively flat trails. I have also started again with tire pulls. The 22 pound tire really is a tough workout. I have been doing hills with the tire and then small hills the next day. The rest of the week I will go to Trinity Groves.Trinity Groves flat and fast

I will also throw in a bonus Sunday run on trails that are runnable but have some little hills. I have also been trying not to run stupid but it not working out. I still start way to fast and hang on to a finish.

The temperatures have dropped about 15 degrees and I have been running well. I guess all the summer heat training is paying off. I did something earlier this week I have never done before. I ended a run with negative splits. The problem is that the pace was still too fast. I was trying to do 13 minute miles for 10 miles. I went out too fast and settled for 9 miles.Negative splits for 8 miles

I will try again for the 13 minute mile pace. I have developed a race plan though. I am going to try to do 13 minute miles for the first 31 miles. The next 17 miles just try to hold that for as long as I can do it. The last 14 miles I am going to drop the hammer and try not to go over 16 minute miles. If all goes right and the temps stay low I might be able to get done in 14 hours. If I have a good average race I should be able to finish in 15 hours. If all else fails it is going to be a long day and a half.

Two more months as of now

I have nine weeks till my 100K. My “see where I was at run” was not what I expected but many funny stories will come out of my Habanero experience. I am currently putting in 30-40 miles weekly on different terrain. I did flat and fast at Trinity Groves with a tire pull for desert.Tire pull crew a few weeks ago.

I also did 1000 feet of elevation gain with hill repeats at Dogwood Canyon in just under six and a half miles.This picture was actually taken at Cedar Ridge Preserve overlooking Dogwood Canyon.

The best thing about my training is my runs on Wednesday and Thursday. I get to do group runs with the Dallas Dirt Runners. It took me a long time to get use to group runs and at times I still run alone during group runs or run as a sweeper in the back. I am a bit more motivated when running with familiar faces. Thursday night group at Norbuck ParkWednesday night group at Big Cedar Park.

I also need somebody to keep me from signing up for races. I signed up for another 25K in Oklahoma because I liked the background picture. I hope I am not being catfished. It promises thousands of feet of elevation gain and scenic canyon views. It was priced right but just two weeks away. Oh well.

Next week is a half marathon and then the newly registered 25K.

Hiking on Hold but still on the Trails

I have only done about a half dozen hikes this year. I could blame the weather but I have not been away from the trails. I have several big trail runs coming up this month. I have a half marathon and a 50K trail run in a two week period. Also in April and May I have four races on technical terrain each ten plus miles long. I then take a two week break and go into 100K training. I like hiking and if I never started hiking I would not be trail running. I have a great group to run with and I happen to live in an area where I have six great trails within fifteen minutes from home. So here are some pictures of places I am training and people I am training with.Eagle Mountain ParkCedar Ridge PreserveNTTR Group when I am up north of the metroplexDDR when I am in my neighborhoodTrinity Groves with downtown Dallas in the background.The main group of crazies.

The places and the groups make training fun and interesting. I miss my solo hikes but running with a good group of people helps me take my mind off the training. This big guy will be back hiking soon enough.

Trinity Groves Dallas, TX

I like running on all the trails I can find in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Being a trail runner and hiker, for that matter, is that weather sometimes determines how much outdoor time I can enjoy. The rain in 2018 was the second most in the area since they started recording rainfall. The most just happened to be 2015. The rain floods the trails and the they get closed for weeks at a time. I would usually trudge to the gym and get a workout there but I found with the help of my running buddies a great place to get some trail time. Trinity Groves on the west side of downtown Dallas. The trail is crushed gravel and drains really well, so running can be done even on raining days. The light from downtown Dallas keeps the trail lit fairly well, so I can run at night with or without a headlamp. I have been running here regularly but am anxious to get to some less urban trails. The trail is flat and fast but you can add hills when running down into the levee. This part gets flooded when it rains a bunch and the Trinity river rises and covers the lower trail. The is an out and back for the most part but you can run a 16 mile loop, so I heard. I particularly do not like out and back runs but when returning on this trail you get great views of downtown Dallas the entire time. The lights of the city keep the run interesting especially during any event. The buildings in the city will have a light show that correlates to the event.