Thursday 7-16-2009

Been awhile since my last post. Have been having a hard time getting back into the swing of Colorado running since getting back last week; I really think I responed well to running at near sea level whereas returning to Colorado has been difficult.

Today was only my second run of the week as yesterday was Lily's birthday and the day before that was my niece's birthday. I was able to get a hill workout in on Tuesday in the neighborhood, but I ran around 4:45pm during the hottest part of the day. Wow, that sucked for sure. It took a long time to cool down after the effort. Did four laps up the Washington/Tyler hill and then down Pine. Each lap is almost exactly a mile with about 120 feet of climbing every lap (in about a quarter mile I guess). The splits show that I started too fast on the first one and each subsequent lap was a bit slower. First lap was an average pace of 7:29 with the last one at 8:15...kind of sad really, but made sense given the heat.

Today I headed out for what was supposed to be between 6 and 7 miles at marathon pace. Not really knowing if am doing a marathon yet this year and therefore not really being sure what my marathon pace should be; I targeted hitting between 7:30 and 7:40. But, alas I pushed the pace as usual and ended up with an avg pace of 7:20 for about a 10K in a little over 45 minutes. Honestly I am kind of happy with this run as it was only a little over a minute slower than this years BB and I did it without really feeling too pushed or spent. Additionally, no real pain to speak of...legs are feeling pretty good to be honest.

More later....

Sunday 7-05-2009

Long run in Chicago for 15.36. Ran the first 7.6 or so with Katie at an 11 pace with less than a 130 HR. Then did another 7.6 in 8:03 or so for a HR of 162. First 7 was great, last was quite a bit harder...have not run this long since the Denver Marathon...the road is hard for sure. Spent almost 2:20 on mostly pavement...miss the trails, but glad to get some real miles.


Not much pain, gait was good with no real issues of concern. Need to keep these long ones in the program to build endurance.

Thursday 7-02-2009

Easy run along Lake Michigan. Felt a little tight this morning, but wanted to get a few in just the same. Felt smooth overall with some calve tightness in the last mile or so. Kept the HR around 142 with a max of 152.

Matt Carpenter

Read the article, never saw the video...

Wednesday 7/1/2009

Negative split/progression run on the Greenbay Trail in Chicago. Arrived yesterday with the family in Chicago for our yearly visit with the in-laws. Woke up this morning with an unfamiliar ache in the legs...I think I was just ready for a real run after a day off. I am also hoping that my legs are finally adjusting to another level of fitness after all of the hill and trail work.

Whatever, started off with an easy 3.60 staight up the trail to about Glencoe. Average pace of 8:06 with an avg HR of 148 / max of 155. I would like to think that the pace and HR had to do with my fitness, but alas it probably had more to do with arriving at near sea level from Boulder. Regardless, felt smooth and relaxed with a great gait. Turned around and headed back home. Notched up the pace to around 7 and below. Tried to keep it around marathon pace, but I just felt too good. Notched 3.62 in an average pace of 7:08. AVG HR was 166 with a max of 173. At the end of this workout I felt I could have kept going and going...really did not want to stop. But, there are several more runs this week including a 16 sometime this weekend, so I want to conserve a bit.

Awesome.

Monday 6/29/2009

Easy run in the morning. Thought I would have been more soar or sluggish, but felt fairly good overall. 4.41miles in 37:19 for a 8:28 pace with a 148 avg HR.

Sunday 6-28-2009

Easy long run at Springbrook/Dowdy. Felt kind of slow and sluggish throughout for some reason; not sure if I was expecting to feel better with all of the trail/hill running or if I was just focused on pace too much, i.e. looking at the damn Garmin. Overall my pace was better that when I first did this run and I felt a bit fresher at the end even though I added two miles...stretching to 12 miles.

Overall 12 miles at an average of 9:09 with an avg HR of 151. Compared to the 10 mile a few weeks ago I did 10, avg of 152 HR with an average pace of 9:39 (total time of 1:36 vs. 1:50 today).

A little right foot pain. Can't tell what this is from; either the additional miles on the week, the 4 miles in the Frees yesterday or the hard run on Thursday. Iced today and it felt much better.

About 35 on the week with one tempo on Tuesday and a few pickups on Thursday. Overall I am starting to feel better and slightly faster than before the BB.

5 Runs on the week for about 34 miles.

Great quote

Am in the midst of reading not one but two books about running at once. My wife as usual just rolls her eyes, but it was her who facilitated the purchase of both. I just could not wait to finish one before starting the other.

The first one I started was Once a Runner by John Parker. I have been wanting to read this book for a long time, but I was unwilling to fork over the 100+ for a used copy of the original self-published book. Fortunately the book was finally re-released as a hard-copy.

So far I am definitely enjoying the book more than thought I would. More on this after I finish, but overall I am really loving the read.

The second book I am reading is Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. The is a much different book, a real page turner for sure. I am not reading this one before bed as I am sure it will keep me up into the wee hours until it is done... I will probably write a bit more of a review after I finish it, but in the meantime here is a qoute of a quote of a quote in the book...originally uttered by William James, pasted into the end of Scott Jurek's emails and then repeated in this book by McDougall...love the quote, will have to add it to my email signature as well!

"Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of strength never taxed at all because we never push ourselves through the obstruction." Words to live by!

Medium run from home - 7.35

Ran easy for the first 5.33, than picked it up for a 800 at a 6:58 pace followed by 1.16 at 7:20 with a small cool down. Felt good overall. The intervals felt great with no real stress...did not have to work hard to hit the paces at all. Maybe the hills are helping?

Ran in the Saucony's today and felt more secure than in the thinner Precision's. Will use the Saucony's for longer distances and save the Precisions for some speedwork.

Right achilles was a little soar when I stopped, but not during the run. It started a little last night, but felt fine most of today and for all of the run itself. I wonder if this is from the hills and from my focus on a mid-foot strike? Will ice a bit tonight.

Easy run at work in the heat - 5.50

9.04 pace in the heat, HR avg at 147 with a max of 162. Struggle to keep the HR low. Felt ok.

Tuesday Tempo Run BTR - 5.39 Miles

Dragged myself out for another Tuesday Tempo Run this week. Definitely a struggle as I have been hobbling around now since my mountain jaunt on Father's Day. It seems my legs are still not quite used to the big ups and more likely the downs of mountain running around here. Every part of my quads has been screeming at me to sit down and stop moving. So, getting out today was a small victory over couch. Regardless of this new pain, I am certainly reveling in shedding the boredom of long road miles and fast tempos for the fun of the trails.

Tonight we did a nice loop around the Mesa Trails starting at the South Boulder Trailhead on the way to Eldorado Canyon. The chosen route was to "warm-up" by running strait up Mesa to the Big BlueStem Trailhead. This "warm-up" encompassed about 400 feet of climbing over a little over a mile and a quarter. Fortinately we were running slow enough that my HR averaged about 164...hardly a real warm-up but certainly easier than what was to come. So after a break of a few minutes of chatter we were off straight up Mesa heading for the cut-off by the Miner's Cabin. This was a total of 864 feet of climbing over about 1.59 miles for an average grade of about 11+%. Not bad actually as I was able to maintain an average pace of about 10:23 with just a few small walking breaks at the steeper parts. My HR average about 173 for the climb which put me solidly in the tempo realm, certainly not slacking on effort. But alas, as has been usual on these runs, I was well behind the other 4 runners in front of me. These Tuesday runs are definitely pushing me to get better for sure but I definitely have a long way to go.

Easy 5-6 on the roads tomorrow.

South Boulder Peak and Bear Peak - Fathers Day 2009

Took advantage of Father's Day today by hitting some real peaks. I have not been up South Boulder Peak yet since moving here in 2000 and I have not been up Bear this year. So, no excuse was necessary to do a somewhat ambitious trail run. Plus, I have been reading lots of blog entries (BF and JP) lately about trips up South Boulder Peak and Bear so these peaks have been on my mind.

I was hoping to summit SBP in under an hour, but the trip took a little longer at about 65 minutes. I am starting to feel a little stronger on the hills but I fear it is going to take longer than just a few uphills sessions to erase some of the road warrior in me.

My first view of the summits as I hit Mesa.

Summit of South Boulder Peak facing Bear.

A little friend who was looking for a handout...not sure he would have liked my GU Chomps...

Bear looking North.

More later.....

Moderate run from home - 5.04

Excellent run this morning from home. Intended on doing an easy one, but after about 3 miles I felt nice and loose so I picked it up for a bit. Did about 3/4 miles at around a 7minute pace and then finished out the last 1.20 around 7:18. Not a real hard effort as my HR was around 164 for the .75 and then 161 for the last mile (kind of downhill for this part of the run). The run average HR ended up around 151 which is very close to where I should be for an easy run.

A little sore in the calves and a slight tightness in one of my right achilles. This feels like a result of my tight calves from the hill climb last weekend and the tempo on Tuesday as well as my renewed focus on mid/fore foot landing. So, this is why I took it easy today. Day off tomorrow for sure. Will wait a week for another big hill effort.

I am looking forward to a nice long trail run on Sunday for Father's Day. I will be heading out early again so I can get back home before 9:30. Maybe will start at the Colton Trail Head and head out to the Springbrook trail to Vista and back. Will have to map this one out first so I don't over-extend myself...more to come.

Thursday - 4.63 - easy

Did a nice easy jog at work. HR average of only 145 with a max of 169 on one of the little inclines. Ran in the Precision 8's today with a focus on form. Time of 39:26 for about a 8:31 pace.



Felt good overall.



Will probably do some track work tomorrow; most likely 3 X 1 mile around 10k pace. We will see.

Last few runs update

Been meaning to update lately, just have not had the time.


Did the Tuesday Tempo Run tonight with the Boulder Trail Runners. Great fun on the Shanahan Loop. We did the short one for about 3.56 miles or so. I think I was still a bit tired from my Sunday Run. Did the loop in 31:00 at an average pace of 8:42 overall with 1389 of climbing (probably about 800 or so of verticle gain). Not bad. Shins were tight on the descent...need to shorten the stride more and keep the toes down. Probably will run with this next week as well. Cascadias were again excellent, great grip, feel relatively light with nice trail feel.











Did an easy recovery run before work yesterday for just under 5. Really worked on the form concentrating on a forefoot/mid-foot stride. Definitely tight with a slightly elevated HR, but smooth overall.



Sunday AM did a full Flagstaff TT from Gregory to the Leaving sign. I am feeling really good about this workout mostly because I finally got one in the bag and that I was able to run most of it to just past the firestation. As I feared, I tired when it got steep and took a few breaks. Overall did the run in 52:08 for 4.56 miles and about 2129 ft of climbing according to the Garmin. I definitely feel I could knock about 2-3 minutes off of this fairly easily in the next few weeks as I eliminate more and more of the walking. Splits as follows:


1: 10:19
2: 9:51
3: 10:13
4: 14:19
5: 13:14


On the way down I ran the road till it intersected with the Flatstaff Trail. Hopped into the trail to get a little footwork practice in and to eliminate some of the road pounding. The trail saves about a mile off of the distance, but it was a heck of a lot more fun.






Looking forwarding to doing this monthly or more to track progress. Will be adding in some Green, Bear and So Bo Peak in the next month or so. Loving being out on the trails and/or hills. Running the trails is so much more enjoyable for me this days. Feel reinvigorated for sure.


I need to sign up for the Eldora 10K and the Golden Gate Trail Run as these will be my next few races. Will see if something else comes up between now and then.

Tuesday Track Workout

Excellent track workout this evening at LMS. Did 6X800 and then one 400. Generally positive splitted as I ran the first one in 3:06 or about 6:06 pace. This felt a little fast, especially since I wanted to do at least 5 or so. Also, wanted to a general Yasso workout where the time equals my projected (dream) marathon time. So, really wanted to be between 3:20 and 3:15. Overall the remaining ones were just under 3:20 with one at 3:22. The 3:22 felt excellent and quite a bit easier than the sub 3:15 sessions. So, after doing 6 of these generally under 3:20 I am feeling that a 3:20 marathon would be possible this year...if I had the time to train for one and if my training progressed to being able to do about 10 of these. Regardless, feeling ok about the speed. Definitely wish I had done a lot more track work prior to the BB as I seem to respond well to this type of workout. Did one final 400 in 1:39 at a pace of about 6:12. Felt tired, but good.

Great post today by GZ. Need to read this one again and let it sink in. It is right on with my current training.

Springbrook Trail Run

Did a great trail run this morning over at the new Dowdy Draw Trails. Ran Dowdy to Spring Brook to Gowshawk Ridge back to Spring Brook South and then to the top of Dowdy Draw and then back for 10 miles even. This all worked out to about 2100 feet according to the Garmin but probably about 1400 total verticle.

 

 

Overall I felt ok at the start, but mostly sluggish for the majority. I am not sure if this had to do with the climb right (gradual the whole way which is somewhat depressing) out of the gate or if I was just tired after two nights of crappy sleep. Overall I averaged about 9:40 for the whole run including the ups and downs. I guess this is better than last week at BlueStem where I ran about 10min miles for 7.20 with only about 1700 feet according the Garmin.

 

Regardless, I am really enjoying the challenge and the solitude of the trails. Springbrook itself was truly amazing and I was totally blown away at the amount of trails that are rideable from my house. I basically could link these new trails from on the mtn bike with little road work. Amazing. Gowshawk is off limits to bikes, but it was a great run overall. It ended up looking down on the Town of Eldorado and probably links up with Fowler which I believe would link with Rattlesnake. The end part of Gowshanks dumped onto what appeared to be an old rail road as it snaked through the ridge via this amazing curzed cut in the mountain...should have taken a picture of this. A great run when I am in better shape would be to do Springbrook to Gowshawk (or just Springbrook to Fowler to shorten the trip) and then up Rattlesnake for some excellent climbing. I would also like to do the same loop and then jump up Dowdy to the new Flatirons Vista. This would have added about 2-3 today as I essentially climbed the hill to the plateau right near the Vista Trailhead (I guess based on my review of the map).

 

Continue to be happy with the Brooks Cascadias. They felt even better today with no hotspots. Great traction and trail feel overall without being too heavy.

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday / Thursday

Easy recovery at work on Wednesday. Ran along Coal Creek up to the Aquarius Trailhead and back down 42 to the hospital. A little sluggish, but focused on an easy pace. Avg HR at 145 with a pace around 8:40 or so. Working at keeping the easy days easy.

Thursday AM did a traditional 3 mile tempo. Intended to keep the pace just under my project half pace of about 7:20-7:30. But, as usual I ended up pushing a little harder down closer to 10K pace. Actually, I ended up running right around my avg pace from BB09. Overall I felt a bit sluggish and tired….probably from not sleeping well. However, the pace did not seem too hard to maintain. Feeling positive about the run overall. The 3 was a perfect loop around Davidson Mesa with the recovery jog a half loop around Harper back home. Nice morning to be out!

Tuesday

3X1 mile with a 2 minute rest between sets. Did this in the rain. I ended up wearing my goretex Saloman Comp 4's just to see if I could keep part of my body dry. Overall they kept me dry, but they did not help my pace. They are definitely much better on the trail doing a hike rather than running hard on the pavement. Hey, maybe I can call yesterday weight training.

Overall excited to make the effort to 1. get out in the rain before work and 2. to actually follow-through on a "harder" workout alone. Overall I averaged under 7 on each of the repeats... so just slower than my goal 10K pace...but, reasonable given my current speed, the conditions and the heavy shoes. My HR was quite low on each of the repeats, so I guess I had a bit more speed left for each of these sets. Want to do this exact workout over the next couple months to test progress. I would like to regularly be down in the 6:30's for these.

Still trying to figure out my goal race/races for the summer. Here is what I am thinking:

- Eldora 10K - 8/2/2009
- Coal Creek Crossing 10 miler - 8/31/2009
- either the Gold Gate Trail Half Marathon (12.6 miles) or the Bolder Marathon Half - 9/20/2009. Golden Gate is a incredibly fun race with excellent climbs and views.


I may also want to add in a race in July as well. Torn between sticking to the trails and/or hills or trying to do a fast 5K or 10K. More to come.

I am thinking of 2010 as the year I jump back to the marathon. The kids will be older which will allow me a bit more morning flexibility for more running.

Hard a great trail run early Sunday morning. Did Big Blue Stem to the Towee Trail to Mesa to South Boulder Creek. Renewed my love for trail running for sure! 7.2+ miles at an average pace of 10:00minute miles with about 1100 feet of verticle. Great fun!

BB09 Race Report

I would have to say this year was one of the worst BBs on feel since my first one. Now that I have had several hours to stew about the day I am ready to put something down on "paper".


My 44:15 is just under 2 minutes slower than last years 42:33 (PR) and just about 30 seconds slower than 07 at 43:43. My pace was just over 7 on average with the first two miles under 6.


At first my excuse was that I went out too fast, but my times were near as fast this year as they were last year; should have been in range and maybe a bit slower than I thought I was capable of before the race. Maybe I just went out too fast for my current fitness. Strange as I really felt my legs were faster this year with a similar mile load as last year. I guess the biggest difference this year was the training program. I followed something a lot different with no track work and only 2 quality runs a week. The bulk of the hard Tuesday workouts started with 10x60" repeats followed by hill work later in the training; 3 sets of 6x30" up with 2 minutes after each set at just faster than race pace. The weekend "long" runs were always progression runs in 3 sets of 10' early in the program culminating with 3x15' with the last 15 at race pace. I thought this would do the trick, but in the end I kind of feel I needed to add more variety to the program with at least 3-4 track sessions.


This all may be true, but the reality is that I was just not mentally tough today. I probably could have kept my pace and bested 2007 and maybe come closer to last year. The reality is that I wimped out...even walked on Casey Hill! Oh well, just did not have it today.


At any rate, need to get down a few lessons.

• Have more fun, just did not have fun out there today
• Need more track work throughout the training; felt I had the leg speed, just not the horse power to sustain. This may mean much more tempo and LT at longer distances
• Need a better warmup plan; did a few pickups with some jogging and a bit of haphazard stretching here and there
• Need to cut the drinking earlier, had a full bladder through most of the race
• Get rid of the negative mental chatter, somehow thought myself out of this race early on...it should not be comfortable
• Really need to break the run in blocks, and focus on this
• Focus more on form, this would have been a decent distraction
• Get a good song ingrained...nice distraction

Use the Garmin, like the security of knowing my pace. Used my simple Timex today
More to come