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)
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
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