Weekly Summary - 12/26

Monday: 6.0 Miles - The mill

I had planned on taking the day off, as I felt good about the prior weeks effort and felt that I should take a day. After a little reflection, I decided against it. After all, if your body isn't necessarily saying "stop," then what's the point? I did feel that I should take it easy, so I opted for a slow run on the treadmill. I took a book that Christine and I are currently reading together and keep my pace slow enough to read. I found the time flew by as I read and pondered. I thought the multitasking approach was a good compromise.

Tuesday: 8.2 Miles - The mill

I was hoping to get a lunch trail run in today, but Christine had a flat on her bike....husband to the rescue. That said, I was lacking in motivation today. So, after getting home a little later than anticipated from work, I decided to mill it again today. I didn't feel too terribly bad, getting 8 in right at an hour including a slow warm up. I did start having some calf tightness during last couple miles so I backed off, which is frustrating. I've only had a solid week of running without discomfort in my right ankle and now this. I'm finding that running is a sport where it's critical that you listen closely to your body. If you feel the slightest ache or tightness, it's better to slow down, stop, stretch, take a day off, etc or risk a serious injury. Hopefully I'll be disciplined enough to follow my own rules!

Wednesday: 6.0 Miles - Rabbit Mountain

After I saw that most everyone had left work early for the upcoming Christmas break, I wasn't planning on being the overachiever! I left while there was still daylight and did a couple loops at nearby Rabbit Mountain Open Space. The sun was trying to pop out from behind the clouds and I enjoyed picking up the pace on the semi-flat (around 400 vert ft) yet technical terrain. My thoughts migrated toward mileage, and just how many miles one needs to get in daily, weekly, etc!?!? I've been enjoying reading a lot of people's blog lately. They give me encouragement, inspiration, and motivation to move forward with my running. I've also noticed how different each runners weekly routine looks. Some are just running up a mountain everyday. Some have weeks that blend the trail, road, and track. Some seem to have little to no set pattern, just running however it feels good or fits into their schedule. Other than routine (i.e. just running trails or being more regimented in various running exercises), many of the runners I've been following (i.e. of the ultra-marathon breed) report a huge variance in weekly mileage totals. Some are getting in 60-100, while others are hitting 150 plus. My question is, is there a such thing as good miles and bad miles? Ok, maybe I answered that before I asked! But seriously, can one person get in, say 50 miles, while another is doing 100, but the former make much more of his 50 and be in better (i.e. faster and stronger) shape? I guess where I'm going is looking inward. Recently, I've been working to get my weekly mileage totals up. Ensuring I'm running at least 8 miles a day, as well as getting a long run in on the weekends. Should I focus less on the quantity and more on the quality? If so, how is that done? Ah, questions questions!

Thursday: 10.5 Miles - Picture Rock

Christine and I headed to Picture Rock for a Christmas Eve run. We drove separately so I could get a few extra miles in. We did the first 5.25 together. The first part of the run was a little choppy, having to constantly stop to allow mountain bikers to pass. After I said goodbye to Christine, I headed out to retrace our steps. I held a fairly solid pace for the out portion. Just as I hit my desired turn around spot, a mountain biker passed by me heading back toward the Picture Rock trailhead. I thought this would be a great opportunity to get some turnover in the legs, so I tried by best to stay with him. I stayed about 30 yards behind him for about a half mile, then he stopped to wait on another rider. I quickly passed and gave it all I had to stay in front, knowing these 2 guys would be gaining fast. Even though the descent was at a slight decline, I was able to hold them off due to the abundance of switchbacks. I figure I held a solid 6 min/mile pace for about a mile before they caught and subsequently passed me. I was able to keep them within 40 yards for another half mile before the trail smoothed and straightened out, allowing them to really kick it in gear. It was a great exercise to test my speed out on a semi-technical trail going downhill. Plus, it was super fun to give it all I had against a couple cyclists.

Friday: Off
A little ski cross-training

Saturday: 6.0 Miles - Rabbit Mountain
After enjoying our Christmas morning, filled with gifts and great food, Christine and I went to nearby Rabbit Mountain Open Space for a run. Christine and I had set a pretty low budget for our presents to each other. I pretty much stuck to the plan, trying to be as creative as possible with my gift purchases. Christine, on the other hand, broke the rules. She, along with one of her best friends, got me (and her friends husband) lift tickets to Silverton Mountain, which is an all guided back-country ski operation based in Southwestern Colorado. Knowing that Christine had gotten me a great gift, plus talking to others about their respective gifts (iPad, Wii, etc), I started feeling a little sucked in to, shall I say, consumerism. After running the first mile in pretty much silence, Christine asked me what I was thinking. I, speaking as honestly as I could, told her I had this strange desire to buy something. It was almost as if I felt entitled to purchase something....anything....big. I rarely, if ever, feel like this. There was definitely a weird battle playing out in my thoughts and they were taking me to a place I'd rather not visit.

After a few more miles of running and talking, I realized, with thankfulness, that I was in the midst of what I really enjoy and desire. I was with my wife, outside, on a beautiful, sunny day, in the mountains.....and it was all pretty much free and created for my enjoyment. Trail running had become another activity to help reorient my life to what's important. For me, it's easy to lose sight of the things that are (what I consider) good and right. I need things (including people) to help me reorient and gain perspective. Today, I was thankful for the gift of trail running.

Sunday: 6.7 Miles Total
4.2 Miles - McIntosh Lake with Christine (AM)

Got up for an early morning run around the lake with Christine. We were both feeling pretty tight in our joints. It was nice to be out early, watching the sun rise higher and feeling the warmth it brings.

This is actually the second day of Christmas. The 12 Days of Christmas actually begin on Christmas Day, rather than Christmas Day being the 12th day like many folks think. The 12 Days of Christmas actually culminate on the Day of Epiphany, which is when the Magi (sometimes referred to as Wise Men or Kings) came to visit Jesus after his birth. There's a lot of interesting stuff here, I just don't take enough time to study and learn it.

Hot Yoga - 1 Hr + 2.5 Miles - Prospect Loop (PM)


Overall, this would be considered a mediocre week of running. I had a few runs that would/could be filed into the good+ category. Most of the runs were just getting the miles in. I also didn't get a long run in, which I've managed over the past few weeks. I do plan on getting at least one substantial run in this coming week before heading to the mountains for a long holiday weekend in Grand Lake.


Here are a few pictures from one of my evening runs at Rabbit Mountain:

Christmas Eve Eve Skiing

Today I had the opportunity to take an awesome young man from my church skiing. Actually, he's the son of the pastor of my church. He recently turned 16 and he's a great young guy. As I've gotten to know him, he's mentioned on several occasions that he's a snowboarder.....and that he's willing to go skiing with me anytime.....anytime! Knowing that I had the day off, I asked him if he wanted to head up into the high country for a little back-country riding. After approval from the parents, he gladly accepted.

Then came the hard part......where do you take a younger guy skiing? First of all, I wanted to ensure he was safe everywhere we went. I didn't want him traveling or skiing anything dangerous, which means sticking to 20ish degree slopes and being extremely careful where you're touring. Secondly, I didn't want to wear him out on a climb, leaving little chance he'd enjoy the trip down or the overall experience of being away from the crowds in the mountains.

Lastly, there was the logistics of getting him up the mountain. He's a snowboarder, whereas I typically telemark ski in the back-country, using climbing skins to tour and get me up the mountain. I've ridden with guys that use a split-board, giving them touring capability with their snowboard, but I couldn't find a setup for him. I've also ridden with guys that use snowshoes (or slowshoes as some call them) but I wasn't sure how he'd fare.

With all that in mind, I decided to take him to a local mountain pass where skiers and riders often go. By hitching to the top of the pass, you get halfway 'free!' Then, there's always a solid bootpack to follow up to the ridge. Lastly, a good portion of the bowl and runout sits at 18 degrees or so. I thought this was the best option.

For a high school sophomore, he was up early! I picked him up at 7 AM and we headed up to the high country. We talked about school, girls, music and all that lies in between. As we headed up the mountain, I ran into a co-worker who decided to join us on our outing. We hiked in great weather, with temperatures in the high 20's and virtually no wind. We couldn't have asked for better conditions. The snow was nice as well, giving us the opportunity to open it up a little in the bowl, having confidence there was little variability in the snowpack. As we were in the parking lot, munching on snacks at the end of our day, my young ski partner said, "that wasn't so bad.....I'd say it was pretty equal to track practice!" And with that (and a quick stop by Starbucks), we headed for the Front Range.

Weekly Summary - 12/19

Monday: 11.6 Miles Total
4.2 Miles - McIntosh Lake with Christine (AM)Enjoyed waking up and getting a morning jog with Christine. Neither of us were feeling very spry, but being together made the run the nice.
7.4 Miles - Hall Ranch (PM)
With the amazing weather today (60F and sunny!), I couldn't help but get a few more miles in. I headed over to Hall for a little vertical fun. I'm hoping that I could feel Saturday's effort....otherwise, my strength is going the wrong direction. Besides a little soreness in the legs, I was pleased with the effort and was thankful for a day off to enjoy being outside during daylight hours.

Tuesday: 7.1 Miles - Neighborhood Figure 8 (PM)
I didn't feel half bad tonight. Since Christine had to work late tonight, I thought I'd just enjoy a nice and easy (i.e. slow) loop around the neighborhood. After a short warm up (speaking of warm it was super nice out tonight....maybe still 50F) I easily picked up the pace and held it for the majority of the run. There were a few times when I had to make myself slow down, as my legs were getting a little tight and I didn't want to risk an injury. I've read plenty recently of folks getting injured on random training runs, so I backed off, pretty much trotting the last half mile. I feel like I'm starting the week out well, in terms of both mileage and the way I'm feeling physically.

Wednesday: Off

Thursday: 6.1 Miles - The Mill

Friday: 8.1 Miles Total

5.0 Miles - Picture Rock with Christine (AM)

I haven't been sleeping well for the last 3 days so it was a challenge just to get a few miles in. My blood sugar also seemed to be screwed up, so I was struggling to say the least. I guess I have to look at days like these as giving me more mental toughness!?

3.1 Miles - The Mill Just a little shake out before heading to Boulder for the evening.

Saturday: 16.5 Miles - Picture Rock (Lunch)

Slept in today.....finally was able to get a good nights sleep, although I felt lethargic from my schedule change. We lounged around during the morning and decided to head out on a run. We drove separate cars, since I was planning to get a few extra miles in. Christine and I did the first 6 together, doing an out and back. It actually worked perfectly, as my legs were feeling tight and it gave me ample time to loosen up. I also enjoyed getting to run with Christine, talking about our previous week, the Holiday's (including our upcoming trip to Michigan) and the coming year. I'm really thankful to get to share time on the trail with my wife. It's a great time to connect while enjoying the outdoors.

After a quick pit-stop and a hug good-bye to Christine, I headed back up the trail. I was a little unsure of how much I was going to do, knowing that my left quad had been tight all morning. I did want to ensure I got in as many miles as last Saturday.

Just before Christine and I hit our turn-around point at the 3 mile marker, we passed a runner going the opposite direction. When we arrived back at the trail head, this same guy was heading back up the trail. I wasn't sure if he was doing laps or had parked at the Heil Valley Trailhead, but the thought of catching him gave me something to work for. About a mile and a half into the ascent, I saw that he was about 5 minutes ahead of me. With that, the thought of catching him left and I just settled into a manageable pace. Another mile up the trail, I caught a glimpse of this guy again, seeing that I gained a couple minutes. The chase resumed, and I picked up the pace a bit in hopes of catching him before my turn-around point. I ended up catching him and ran behind him about a mile. At the junction of Picture Rock with the Wild Turkey loop, we exchanged a few words before he went on his way. Turns out, he was on the homestretch of a long run. He mentioned he had been at Hall Ranch that day as well, venturing to Button Rock reservoir. I'm guessing he knocked out a solid 35+ miles. I must say, I didn't feel quite as good about my meager 16.5 miles on the day, knowing this guy had been running for hours. Regardless, it was encouraging to run into someone on such a long run, on my backyard trails.

Sunday: 4 Miles - Rabbit Mtn with Christine

Just got out for a little jog today to stretch the legs. I could definitely feel the tension in my legs from the prior days effort, but nothing that felt bad. Tomorrow will be the true test, as it seems I feel the most soreness two days after a hard effort. The weather was amazing today, running in shorts. When I get out on days like this I'm always thankful, but I'm really hoping winter will come soon. I miss the snow!

Overall, I think this was one of my strongest weeks of running yet. Breaking the 50 mpw mark feels good by itself. I was also glad that I got in a decent long run. Besides feeling a little fatigued during the last 2 miles, I felt pretty solid. I only took one bottle and zero gels, so I was pretty gased at the end. Anything longer and I need to ensure I bring fuel along.

On the other hand, I didn't get in any speed work at the track or on the mill this week, which I think needs to be somewhere in the mix. With my current fitness level, I feel that I could venture off and run 15 pretty much anytime, but that 15 probably wouldn't be the fastest. My hope is that my cardiovascular system will improve with the long runs, which should inevitably aid my speed. Only time will tell and I feel that I'm in a good place going into 2011!

Coldplay - Lovers in Japan (Acoustic)

Happiness

I stumbled across this blog post recently and found it really interesting.

SetHigherStandards

I try to continually evaluate all the areas of my own life, from faith to marriage to career to activities I'm involved in and the like. My goal being to keep myself somewhat in check with what I'm doing, where I'm going, etc.

It also seems that everywhere you go, when striking up a conversation with a stranger, the question is inevitably asked about work and how well you....like, enjoy, are passionate about (you insert the word that best describes your conversations)......what you do. Most people brush over it.....I mean, it is a stranger after all. Some people answer the question very honestly, which usually leads to a lengthy discussion as to the reason for said work unhappiness. Regardless, it seems that happiness (however you choose to define it) is something we are enamored with and maybe even a little confused by.

Some time ago, I listened to a cassette tape (come on, you remember what those are) while driving home from college by John Piper on Hedonism. I was quite fascinated by his take on what he definied as Christian Hedonism. Where does our desire for happiness come from? Is it 'right' to desire said happiness rather than desiring other things.

Wherever you fall on the spectrum of happiness in what you do for a living, I think it's extremely important to keep the idea percolating through all that grey matter!

Weekly Summary - 12/12

Monday: Off
Another long day at work.

Tuesday: 8.4 Miles Total
4.2 Miles - Rabbit Mountain with Christine (Lunch)
What a beautiful day to be out.....too bad I had to go back to work.

4.2 Miles - Treadmill (PM)
Short warm up at 7:30 min/mile pace. Then 0.75 at 6 min/mile with 0.25 rest, then 0.5 at 6 with 0.25 off, and ended with a few more sessions of 0.25 at 6 with 0.25 off. I'm feeling pretty good at that 6 min/mile pace, easily getting the turnover. I need to hit the track soon to get the speed work at faster speeds.

Wednesday: 4.1 Miles - Treadmill (AM)

Another 5AM sluggish workout is in the books. I'm hoping that my body adjusts to being up early at some point, but that hasn't happened yet. The desire to hit the snooze button is there, but once I'm awake, I never feel tired. Ah, the necessity of discipline!

Thursday: Strength training (PM)

4.2 Miles - Treadmill (PM)

These 14 hour work days are playing havoc with my running routine, to say the least. My second large work project is winding down, so I'm hoping (and dare I say planning) to increase the weekly mileage totals in the coming weeks. Christine gave me the green light for some Saturday 'me' time. The only debate is whether to ski or get some major running vertical in. It's been too long since I've made a trip up Green and I'm thinking of throwing that into the mix for Saturday AM. Decisions decision!

Friday: 6.1 Miles - Treadmill (PM)

Saturday: 14ish Miles - Mesa Trail + Misc Detours (AM)

Christine was meeting her friend Jamee in Boulder for a trail run and was planning to do coffee/lunch afterward. I decided to go with her to Boulder and do my own run, starting at the South Mesa Trailhead. The plan was simply to log some miles. From the beginning, I was feeling sluggish and slow, and I knew this wasn't going to be an amazing run. I had various thoughts after I set out, such as crusing up Bear Peak or after I made it to Chautauqua, head up Green, but the legs just weren't cooperating. Besides not feeling speedy, I felt like I easily got the miles in, which is encouraging. Hopefully the speed on the long runs will come in the future.

I enjoyed running around in the Boulder area, something I don't do very often. It's pretty hard to justify driving to Boulder, when I have amazing trails in Lyons. Christine and I both commented post run on the number of trail runners on the Boulder trails today. Typically running the surrounding Lyons trails, we rarely encounter other runners. On a cold and gray day, it's possible to enjoy a day of running and have the trails all to yourself. Today, it reminded me of the fact that I spend most of my time running alone, with the exception of running with Christine. I find that I need the time to myself as I spend almost of all my day managing (and hopefully somewhat leading) people. Although, it was good to see folks out, getting to share both the trail and a passing hello.

Today also got me thinking of running goals. After spending a little time in Boulder, looking up at South Boulder, Bear and Green Mountain, I'm reminded of the Skyline Traverse. That's definitely going on the goal/to-do list. I'm not sure I'm quite ready for it now but I feel certain I'll be prepared by early 2011. Other than a few local trail runs, I still want to get my 5k and 10k's dialed by early Spring. I'm also toying with the idea of signing up for the Fort Collins Marathon in early May. I feel that, given my current level of fitness, I could be ready for a semi-solid performance in the next 5 months. As you can see (or read) things are still quite up in the air, but I feel that running has quickly become my go-to outdoor activity (which truly came to light this weekend, choosing a trail run over back-country skiing) and I think having goals for 2011 will only make it even more enjoyable.

Sunday: 5 Miles - Picture Rock with Christine (PM)


I feel that I'm finally moving forward in my running, gaining speed and endurance. I'm also beginning to incorporate the long run into my weekly routine, which I know are necessary for my 2011 goals. I'm expecting the coming weeks to calm down in terms of my work load, so I'm hoping to get a few more miles in as well as spend some much needed time with my wife, who tends to get the short end of the stick when my work hours increase.

Here are a few pictures from my Mesa Trail outing on Saturday:









Here's a gem of a song I found while doing a little blog surfing this week. It's been in my head the last few days. Little Comets - Joanne

Weekly Summary - 12/5

Monday: 4.0 Miles - Hall Ranch with Christine (PM)
I took the day off to spend time with Christine on her birthday. We headed to Hall Ranch in the afternoon for a little run. I was feeling really sluggish, the legs just not wanting to turn over. It was good to get a little vertical in and be back on my favorite trail. And, Christine got an added birthday present with a personal best to the first bench!

Tuesday: 7.0 Miles - Treadmill (PM)

Just a little shake out after a long day back to work. Not really feeling great and definitely not excited to be on the mill, but I just didn't have the motivation to put on more than shorts and a T-shirt.....that's sad!


Wednesday: 4.0 Miles - Treadmill (AM)

Man 4:50 AM came early this morning. Trying to get back in the routine of a few early morning shake-outs. I think my schedule is off drastically due to the long weekend. Although rolling out of bed wasn't easy, it was good to loosen up and get some good reading in this morning.

4.0 Miles - Neighborhood Loop (PM)
It's amazing how much better I feel in the evening/night versus in the mornings. Every morning that I wake up for an early run, I'm sluggish, feel slow (generally am slow) and really just grind out a few miles. But in the evenings, as was the case tonight, I felt great pretty much from the beginning of the run. I was only a short distance in the run and I had to mentally tell myself this was just a little shake-out. Then I made the mistake of picking up the pace too much at the end of the run and tweaked my right calf a touch. It stiffened up pretty quickly, but I have hopes I'll be good as new tomorrow. No AM run tomorrow as I'm meeting friends for coffee at 5:30, so I'll have the day for a little healing. Overall, the run was 100% better than this AM (minus the tweak).

Thursday: Off
After working 14 hours and hoping to just sit down and have a conversation with my wife, I opted for the day off.

Friday: Off
Another 13 hour work day.....seriously!

Saturday: 9 Miles total

4.0 Miles - Picture Rock with Christine
I had to work today.....on a Saturday.....but I had a surprisingly good attitude about it, despite not being able to get a long run in, which I had been mentally planning since Thanksgiving day's 14.5 miles. I was able to sneak away around lunch for 4 miles with Christine, although my stomach was giving me issues which made it less than stellar.

5.0 Miles - Rabbit Mtn
I left work just after 3 and was able to get a few more miles before Christine and I went to get a Christmas tree and get out of the house for a while. After picking out a nice little tree to go in our nice little apartment, we headed to the Pumphouse Brewery for good food and better conversation.

I was able to PR on the 4 mile loop. Things like this continue to confirm that my fitness and speed are improving. A 1 mile shake out to end the session.

Sunday: 13.9 Miles Total
7.4 Miles - Hall Ranch with Christine (Antelope side)
Enjoyed getting out with Christine, spending a little extra time on the trail.
6.5 Miles - McIntosh + Neighborhood
Went straight from the trail to pounding the pavement. I'm trying to get a few extra miles in on the weekends to hopefully transition to a true "long" run in the near future.

I've been thinking a lot about what my running goals are for the coming year. I feel that I've been more consistent with my running that ever before. I would still like to dial in my 5k and 10k in the coming months. I found a few 5k's in early January that I may sign up for. But my true motivations are of the longer distance variety. I'm really just searching to find both my capabilities and my limitations. More on this soon.