Moving Forward

Been thinking a lot lately about my running moving forward. What is the next challenge??? Anymore racing in 2009? How am I going to improve in 2010 without it costing too much...in time or money? How do I balance an obsession with running with a growing obsession with my career? Again, how does this all fit in with the family...three kids, two of them playing soccer, one soon to be playing basketball, an impending ski season (a pass for the first time since before the boys up at Eldora), etc., etc., etc.

Lots of questions, no answers....

A few potential goals that have been milling about for the past 6 months, not sure where to focus next considering the above. Obviously I would need to choose maybe one or two key races for 2010; but I definitely need to pick something(s) now so I at least have a focus unlike this summer where I was just wallowing back and forth between several ideas finally settling on Breck Crest which was great, but more as a B-race rather than an A-race. The marathon would certainly have felt like an A-race.

1. Colfax Marathon - May 15-16

2. Bolder Boulder

3. Spring Desert Ultra (25mile) - April 18th

4. Pikes Peak Marathon 2010 - August

5. Leadville Marathon - August

6. Breck Crest Marathon - September

7. Denver Marathon - October

8. Blue Sky Marathon

Lots of options of course. Obviously a big split between the trail races and the road races. I definitely have to admit that I really enjoyed the Breck Crest as there was no focus on pace, catching runners...just the beauty of the trail and the challenge of the terrain; simple and elegant. However, I have such a feeling of unfinished business with Denver last year knowing that I am capable of so much more. It truly seems that the biggest thing holding me back now is the lack of mileage. Even though I have not tested it yet I feel that if I was able to tick off 35-40 mile weeks through base and build and then 45-50 during the big marathon weeks I would really be able to nail these longer races. Watching BF progress his training dramatically after upping his mileage is such a great example of what I am talking about. I just am not comfortable running much more than 13 right now mostly because I really don't run that far very often. I started getting in the habit of getting up fairly early on Sunday mornings for some of my longer runs this summer which did help. However, after finally deciding on Breck Crest I tended to focus these runs in the hills and on the trails not really getting big mileage, but getting decent time and elevation. So, again; I need to find a focus and stick with it.

Or, I could just take a step back from running and simply focus all of this energy on other things like the career. The family of course will be the constant of which I will not take real time from. So, any alteration in training will have to been taken from somewhere else, like early mornings, lunch runs and maybe evenings here and there. Real mileage increases will have to be gained by doubles and consistent long runs on those early Sunday mornings.

Or, I could keep the running status quo hitting 20 and 30 mile weeks consistently with smaller races in 2010 as with 2009. Will this be enough? Status quo could mean the same time focused on getting the article written, the CRA completed, the consulting gig in the bag, and maybe an application for speaking at RSNA 2010?

Lots of options to choose from.

More to come....

Made in the USA!

I think the new NB MT100 are my next trail shoe! I am getting sick of carting around the Cascadias even though I loved them when I first bought them. I have just become used to thin and light...my Precision 8's are not close to 400 miles and the Lunaracers are hanging strong at about 70 miles....although I still can not run them longer than 7 miles as they are just too narrow for my foot. So, it is time to find some more minimal trail shoes. Hope they work!

I have been wanting to run NB for a long, long time...probably since I was a kid and visited the factory store with my mom. I remember thinking they were the coolest sneakers around growing up and I seem to remember that my first running shoes were actually NB's I got at the factory or maybe at Marshals. There is a lot to be said about shoes made by New Englanders!

Atomic Nomad Crimsons!

First new pair of sticks since before the boys were born. Picked these babies up at Snigrab today for 499! Great deal since the 2010 models retail for 1300 or so and older pairs like these (2008/2009) are still way over $600. Came with bindings and all.

Excited as these appear to be a nice cross-over GS/race ski with a much wider foot print and a lot less weight.

Can't wait to try them out both front side and back side!

9/6/2009 Breck Crest Half Marathon

Awesome race!

Continued my new attitude of not stressing before races by focusing on simply having fun and enjoying the scenery. Ever since Imogene in 2007 I have been transfixed by running at attitude surrounded by the majesty of the high peaks. AK does such a spectacular job describing the feeling of running in the hills, in fact mountain running is what I would prefer to do most had we not decided to live down in Louisville.

I did not really sleep well the night before or the night before that. For some reason my parents up in Dillon felt the need to transport one of their 30 year old mattresses from Vermont out to Colorado...needless to say it is not very comfortable and amazing loud! Yankee frugality just does not go away. Anyway, got up to Dillon on Friday evening with the family. Did a small warm up run for about 30 minutes on Saturday...felt a little slow and out of breath. Started thinking to myself that I should have done more elevation work as my Eldora 10K and the training run the week before up to 9800' probably was not enough. But, I put this out of my mind as I could not do too much about that now. Enjoyed the rest of the day with the kids nonetheless.

Continuing on with the theme of not worrying before races we choose to stay up late the night before the race to finish State of Play. I guess I should have looked at how long the movie was and done that time math after getting the kids down...needless to say it was probably 11pm before we got to bed. Took awhile to fall asleep as usual and then woke up a few times through the night for various reasons. Alarm jarred me from my fitt-ful sleep around 5:15 (not too bad) and promptly worked on my usual PB&J. Had enough time to down the sandwich and enjoy a coffee with dad over Fox News. He seems to have become more conservative as he has gotten older. Made a conscious decision not to talk politics; even though I was not stressed about the race an argument over Obama probably would not have been a good idea.

Dad drove me over getting to Breck around 6:50 or so. Did not do too much of a warmup, spend most of the time circling the Riverwalk Building while taking numerous bathroom breaks. Started to get nervous that I was going to have some GI trouble up in the hills after all of these pitstops before the race. Anyway, focused again relaxing. The race was very small with just over 300 participants between the half, the full and the 5 miler with about 115 of them in the Half. Not overwhelming for sure with a very relaxed atmosphere at the start as is typical with the trails races I have participated in.

The gun went off right on time at 7:30 and we were off. Concentrated on staying slow and controlled for the first mile or so before hitting the trail. Slowly passed the slower runners so as to get a better position on the initial single track. The trail started going gradually up around mile 1.5 or so. The trail dumped onto a road around 3.5 miles or so. At this point I was feeling pretty good following a guy who looked to be about 50+ plus with the chiseled, lean features of someone who has chosen to run and workout rather than play golf. Once I hit the road the grade went up a bit with a few short, steeper sections. This is the first point I chose to walk as it seemed more efficient to speed walk than to run and I was not loosing ground to those around me during a few of these breaks. Hit the first aid station at 4.5 miles in 47 minutes or so which was at about 11,000 feet by this point. Looking at the data I am surprised the station was this high as the climb seemed very gradual from the start...1500 in the bag. Definitely not moving too quickly, but fairly constant. Problem was that I was a bit tired at this point. Had some gatoraide and then attempted to open my GU Chomps. For some reason the package must have gotten a bit hot as the things were all kind of "glued" together. This experience getting the things out of the package should have been a warning as I struggled with these things for about a quarter mile. They just seemed a bit too difficult to eat versus a gel. Got about 2 of them down and continued on.

Beyond 5 miles we entered single track again with some short, steep inclines here and there with everyone around me walking these little sections. I chose to follow suit which seemed fairly comfortable. We crested an incline and then we were presented with our real challenge...probably 1000 feet of climbing up a ridge. We could see all the runners snaking well above us. It was a sight to see! Looking at this scene and then the surrounding high country ridges I was definitely motivated and happy to be participating. This is why I race trails in the mountains!

Just got in line and plodded up. Crested out at 12,500 or about 1500 feet in one mile. Awesome. After cresting we ran along a ridge with the world far below for about a half mile or so. Hit aide station number 2 here. This is the point where the marathon and half-marathon groups split. The marathoners were presented with a left turn pointing higher up on the mountain and we were presented with a dreaded ski resort work road! From this point it was down all the way. The road at this point was very similar to Imogene after the summit in that it was very rough with lots of large rocks to trip up the gait. Was able to move along somewhere between 7 and 8 minute miles only limited by my risk aversion. Had a few more Chomps maxing out at a total of 6 (probably around 150 calories today for 2:27 of running)! In hindsight this lack of calories contributed to my crash as soon as the trail leveled near the bottom of this road. Once I hit mile 11 I was done, the legs just did not want to move. Fortunately it was still kind of down, but I just did not have much left. Hobbled into the finish in 2:27. Not bad I guess, finished in the top quarter of the group with an average pace of just under 11 minute miles.

I am thinking of coming back next year for the full as it surely would have been fun to continue a little longer way up in the mountains as the full traversed another couple of miles above 12,000 feet. The race was very convenient, cheap and beautiful...almost as stunning as Imogene. I am still transfixed by PPM, but this race seems a bit more varied rather than straight up and straight down. I may also consider the Leadville Marathon as well...Brandon wrote a great report on his experience there this year.

A couple of learnings...

1. The hand-held worked well, but I did not drink enough. This is the problem with cool races...I just don't drink enough. I did have two cups of gatoraide, but I did not finish my water bottle. Need to get down at least 15+ ounces an hour in the future

2. Need to try the Chomps again, but I should have finished two full packets on a race of this time; not finishing one definitely contributed to my crash at the end

3. Need more miles on the weekends. I need to get comfortable running over 2 hours

4. Need to get more sleep!

5. Need more hills; probably alternating long runs on the weekends with Front Range Ascents. Need to continued doing the Tuesday Tempo Runs during the summer as these really force me to run fast up!

Overall a great day!

Sunday 8-23 Long; ~14 miles

Left around 7:45...already getting hot. Ran ok for the most part, a little sluggish here and there. No real pain, gait was good in the old Mizunos. Final hill up South Boulder to Mcaslin a bit rough. Probably had more miles had I taken another gel. One full pack of the Chomps with about 26 onces of water total.

Switched back to Running Ahead from Connect.Garmin. Garmin is just SOOO slow whereas Running Ahead has all of the functionality including mapping and elevation with direct integration with the Forerunner. Works great!

Ran in the Precisions 8's...they are over 1 1/2 years old. Pretty much forefoot the whole way with no pain on tinges anywhere. Probably going to shoot for 1000+ in these and may even alternate with my original pair of Precisions (red). They are as thin as racing flats and fit me great. I can't seem to get the LunaRacers to NOT give me blisters on the outsides of my big toes. Will use these for shorter races (10K and less) and maybe some tempo runs. Precisions for everything else.

Great post from Tony here on his shoe progression. Bummed for his race yesterday as I was looking forward to him getting the record which could have motivated Carpenter for a repeat visit. May want to check out the new NB trail runners he helped design.

Signed up for the Breck Crest Half Yesterday. Getting Psyched.

A run I want to do one of these days....

Eldora 10K pictures online

La Sportiva Eldora Trail 10km

Excellent race this weekend. Ran in 52:40 which is over 2 minutes faster than my 2006 time (last time I ran this race). Really focused on having a great time in the mountains with a controlled pace. I have been curious to see how I have been responding to my less-anal training regimen this summer with some biking, water-skiing, Tuesday Tempo Run Hammer Sessions and less long miles. Well, this strategy seems to have worked as I felt really great throughout the race.

Took it slow off the start up the first hill, probably mid-pack. From there I stayed mostly in line for the first mile or so until the little hills started coming. Picked off a bunch of other runners during each of these little hills. Kept the pace constrained and within myself focusing on nice short strides never really feeling out of breath or over the line. The first "real" hill went ok with no real problems, passed a few more. Then, the first technical downhill approached...this was in the trees on very tight, technical, rooted and slippery single-track. I was able to pick of one of the early runners that passed me as well as a few others. Loved the down-hill...running with the "laughing girl" who seemed to be having such a great time in the woods that she could not contrain her joy. This is trail running/racing at its best...just plain fun in the mountains.

Continued to keep things under control in the second half although I could tell I was getting a bit tired at the second to last aid station...paused a bit for some water mostly because the guys I was running with did the same. Started up again quickly without loosing any places and approached the last real challenging hill. I did a quick downshift to a race walk as it seemed I was at the pace that this seemed to make more sense. This worked as I again lost no places and felt a bit better than the guy in front of me sounded. Kept going for the rest of the run not letting anyone else pass. Was pleasantly surprised to see Bernie B. out there near the finish snapping pictures...he even shared a couple of words of encouragement.

Overall a great morning and a great day...especially with KT and the kids waiting at the finish. I definitely felt I had a little more to give out there, but I was very happy with the result nonetheless.

Looking forward to the Tuesday Tempo Run already!

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

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

Blog Update - 4-05-2009

Been having a great training progression over the past couple of weeks. The training program I am using is designed by Keith Watson, a local professional tri coach. Yes, I am simply training for the BB, but it seems his focus is working well for me. In general we have a workout every day with about 5-6 runs a week and with 1-2 days of cross training. In addition to this, there is at least 2 days of core work with some strength training. I have continued doing the core workout I got from RW awhile back at two sets. In addition to this I have added push-ups generally doing about 4 sets in 20-25-20-20 so far. I will probably add to this next week. I also need to add some of the other strength stuff that he has added to the program, specifically the leg squats (no weight). The most unique part of his training program I feel is the focus on running drills and form. He is very focused on a high turn-over count of at least 90 foot strikes per minute with preferably 95 or higher. The purpose obviously is to get us to have a more mid to forefoot foot strike without concentrating on the actual strike as this is often the key to injury. I am definitely feeling like I am running with less effort these days with a little more speed. What I notice most is that I am not nearly as tired after a run and especially on the day after as I was before. I think a lot of this has to do with the better form...the IT problems have all but disappeared at this point even with 1:24 for 10 miles yesterday. This of course confirms what I had learned from Jeremy Rodgers that IT is most typically the result of over-striding. There are of course other causes like muscle imbalance, leg length discrepancies, etc. However, form is the typical culprit.

Overally, yesterday was a good test of my fitness I think. I did a nice 10 with an average pace of 8:06 with 3 pickup for 10 minutes each starting with 7:40 down to 6:45 for the last one. After the 6:45 I walked for about 60 seconds and started back up again. I was able to maintain a mostly sub-8 pace for the rest of the run. Additionally, I was not that tired at the finish and I felt fine for the rest of the day. Today, I had a 10X60" session generally running between 5:40s and 6:00. Definitely a little sluggish, but overall the speed was still there.

We will see how this ramps through the session. I am a little concerned with the lack of track work, but I think the fast intervals and progression runs might be a nice substitute. I guess we will see!

Easy run with Lily in the Jogger - 4.38miles

Easy run with Lily in the stroller. Easy on a Friday!

Started a BB09 training program yesterday with a coach. Focused mostly on drills and form. Heal-strike bad, mid-foot good. 90+ strikes per minute cadence, looking 15 feet out front with elbows driving straight back and hands near the chest. Amazing how much easier it is running with a shorter gait and a quick stride...

4.86 Home from Hospital

Felt great today. Knee is definitely getting better, just a few little "tweaks" here and there. Ironic today, really bad accident in front of the hospital on the way home. Would have had to exit via the Campus Drive exit which would have surely been backed way up...287 north was really bad. So, running home may have saved me time!

Anyway, really encouraged after today. May be able to do some tempo or intervals tomorrow morning. May do some hill repeats next week as well, but will ratchet back to 2-3 max and then make way up from there...as the article suggested of course.

Great article by MF on stride. Definitely a big interest of mine over the past year...almost an obsession for sure. Fascinated by the ability to mitigate injury through form. I guess this appeals to my ski racing and crew days where form is almost everything (well, strength and endurance are important as well). Really want to try those Lunaracers as the LunaTrainers definitely did not work for me. The weight of the things are amazing!

Great post by JOHN HALAMKA on Google Health. Fascinating technology, but so simple. Disruptive? Not sure.

4.98 to Work

Easy run to work. Terrible sleep the night before as we went to bed a bit late and O woke up not long after, was up for an hour or so. So, not in the best, most alert state for the run. Noticed that my legs were a little tired and my left knee kind of hurt early in the run. This evened out a bit, but might have been favoring the knee as my right one flared up a bit near the end. Really just sore with no acute pain, but annoying nonetheless. HR was much higher than it should have been given the pace. Was even a bit hot in my pants and shell. Weird weather.

4.77 Hospital to Home along Coal Creek

First run since the little knee "tweak" at Eldora on Saturday. Was going a bit fast down a narrow, groomed trail when I hit a slight knoll. Lost a little control as the stiff Volkl's unloaded out from under me. Saved the fall, but tweaked the back side/outside of my knee. No pop and was able to ski the next few hours without incident. However, on the way home had intended to do a Betasso loop or two. No dice, as each stride definitely hurt with a near feeling of the right knee giving out...or rather, it felt that way when it hurt during the stride. Anyway, iced and rested it since.

Today, after much worry about the potential for a prolonged injury, the knee felt ok. I could feel the tweak if I overstrided or landed with my knee straight, but as long as I ran with decent form and a slightly bent knee under my center of gravity the knee felt fine. I even did a stride down in the low 7's and it felt better if anything. So, it seems that there is no real acute injury and that whatever happened is on the mend. Even several hours after the run as I write this the knee does not feel tight or painful. So, no ACL tear for me...

Overally decent run at a reasonable pace given the slight uphill all the way up Coal Creek, through Old Town and to Home. Faster than I normally run this route...probably because there was not drastic head wind as I had feared.

3.45 Hospital - Home - Slow Tempo

Wow, new feature in RunningAhead for GPS integration. Works great! Love it. I have held off on switching to another log pending the delivery of this new feature, looks like it was worth the wait given that I have over 2 years of data already on RA.

Anyway, rushed workout...was going to bag it to drive home as Katie had to pick MollyO at the airport. But, said screw it and left work early. Took the most direct path home, straight into the wind up 42, by the stump dump and then straight up Pine. Ok run, had a decent pace as the run progressed. Fairly slow in the beginning, but worked into a sub-8 for most of the way after the bottom of the Aquarious Hill. Gait was ok. Knee was a bit soar to start, but went away after about 5-10 minutes. Felt great once home and showered.

I would classify this as a slow tempo based on the HR being over 160 for the last 2 miles or so.

5.63 3 X 3-2-1 at work

Tried a workout structured somewhat off of GZ. Thought it would be an interesting workout with an opportunity to hit it fast with a decent break. Rested between 60 and 90 seconds between most of the repeats. The first set and half of the second were into the wind and a bit uphill at the CTC. The second half of the second and the third were mostly downhill with a tail-wind. The hardest 3 was the middle where I maintained around 6:24 whereas the easy one was just under 6 minutes. Felt great overall, had a short, smooth gait with a quick stride. Felt natural and fast overall.

The right knee started out a bit sore but subsided as I warmed up to the point where I did not even notice it about 10 minutes into the run. Actually, it never felt worse as the day went on either which is good.

Tomorrow is K's 38th, so this will be a rest day. Looking forward to it for sure.

Lots of great posts out there recently. NYT article on Matt Carpenter was particularly great. What great motivation that buy provides, to still be killing it at 44 is amazing. I can only hope my improvement progression extends that far.

A couple of misc stuff; 12 chin-ups and 2 sets of the RW core workout.

Easy 4.64 at work with some hill sprints

Did an easy run from the hospital out to the EarthRoamer hill. Did a set of 6 10 second sprints at max with a full walk recovery after each. Felt great overall.

Had this sensation of speed today, had to hold myself back from inching below marathon pace and below(sub 8 min mile). Really worked on my posture today; noticed my torso was out of alignment with a sag around my lower torso. Straightened and felt like I was being pulled forward. Kind of cool. Unfortunately this sensation decreased after the sprints. And, a few hours later noticed my right knee was starting to hurt again. Like last week, should have limited these down to 2-3 to start rather than the 6 I did today. They just feel so great, just need to build up the joint strength I guess. Will ice tonight and re-evaluate the run tomorrow, may be another elliptical if necessary.

VERY easy 2.87 with the kids at Davidson

Ran with the kids. Pushed Lily and the boys rode their bikes....on the Mesa. Had to stop a lot with them, but it was nice to get out there with everyone, an extra 2.87 that I would not have gotten. Better than nothing for sure.

Started a push-up program for the heck of it. Inched out 26 decent form push-ups which puts me at level 3 which basically means that I start at week three of the 4 week program with 100 as the goal. Less than 30 minutes a week!

Got to keep the core going as well. Got this from Runnersworld. Two sets to start.

10 miles in 1:25 - 15X4 progression

Tried the 15 minute intervals at a steady increase in speed for each one. Did the first one a little longer at 16 minutes with a pace of 8:21. The second one was just at 15 in a pace of 8:01, the third one was at 7:39 and the last 15 was at 7:25. Took between 1 minute and 2 minute between each, just long enough to get some water from the pack and allow for the HR to settle back down under 130 or so. The first avg HR was 147, the second 153, the third, 163 and the final was 172 with a max of 179.

Overall great workout. Did not feel beat up at the end nor did I feel particularly tired. Was happy at the end of the last 15 though. Did an ok job with the short strides.

4.93 to Work

Easy run to work in 40:22 for a pace of 8:12 with and avg HR of 151.
Felt kind of sluggish and heavy today. Did 5 30" strides near the end
of the run. These felt a little better...

--
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4.91 home from work...

Easy run from work. Had a nice short gait. Counted in the bigging, came out at 45 strikes per 30 seconds or 90 a minute. Need a little faster, but improvement nonetheless. Felt quiet for most of the run, but got a little harder near the end as I hit the slight hill up into Louisville. Good run, decent avg HR. A little headwind. Glad to be out without a gale-force wind!

3.77 on the elliptical

47 minutes for 700 calories. Great workout. Did 3 sets of 3 2 1 with a minute off in reverse. The 3 was at 15, 2 at 16 and the 1 at 17 (level on Sport.



Felt awesome.



Right knee a little tight from the hill workout, probably should have done 2 or 3 rather than the 5 sets. Pain is on the back side, deep inside. Very dull, non-acute. 1 out of 10.

Couple o runs

Having trouble hitting the 30 mile mark these days. Got some sort of a head cold on Saturday and as such kind of wimped out a bit on Sunday. Ended up with 8.69..fairly muddled miles. Ran with KW, our new coach for EGSMC. Somehow got the motivation to organize a training group at the hospital. Been wanting to do this for years as I have run across so many people who ask me about my running at work and about various races, etc. Just wanted to provide a good program to help people run and maybe run better. It is funny how this thing has evolved. Mentioned the group to a co-worker whose husband happens to be a tri coach who happened to be interested in doing some volunteer work/pr/marketing who happened to love the idea of a running group for fairly new runners in the 10min mile - 13min mile range. Funny how things work out. So, the vision has always been to structure this thing very much like the run-the-whole way pace groups at F4 or BBTC. And, this is exactly how it appears to be working out. Anyway, did my first run with KW the coach and he of course was naturally a lot faster than me, especially when I am feeling like crap. We started mainly sub-8 which really should not have been a problem for me, but it seems on that day I needed a bit slower of a warm-up to get going. Anyway, was able to chat about the program, goals, etc. most of the way regardless of the feeling of discomfort. Avg pace of 8:23 with an avg HR of 163...which really sucked. Should have been well below 160 for the avg pace. Oh well.

Missed my planned Monday as the day was perfect for a visit by the kids at the park by the hospital. Made a decision to prioritize the family! Well worth it for sure.

Finally got out today after blowing off my mid-day run. Went to check out the wind before my planned time...decided to bag it as the wind was just whistling through the hospital with dust storms all around the construction surrounding the place. Wise decision. Fortunately, left work early and was able to cobble together a decent 3.89 around old-town in about a 8:15 with an avg HR of 150. Funny how different this run was than Sunday, faster with a much lower HR. Weird. Maybe it was the tail wind in the beginning, although most of the second half was a combination of the Old Town hills and head wind. Regardless, felt a bit tight and sluggish today for some reason. Finished up the workout with a set of 5 X 10 second sprints up Washington. Modeled the workout from an article I read in the latest Running Times by B Hudson. Loved it actually. Felt like I was floating up the hill, total forefoot with very quick turn-over. Definitely "pawing" my way up the hill. Felt stronger after the workout as described in the article. Will keep this one up.

Short tempo to work

Did 3 sets of 5" on with 5" off. Last off was short as I made it to work sooner than the 5. Ran the first 5 in a 6:44, second in 6:34 and the last one in 7:03 with a 20' stop for traffic...would have been close to the first one I imagine.

Felt great!
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New and kind of new gear today

First run with the Nathan 008 backpack. Maybe will take a little getting used to. Like the ease of water access vs the hassle of my Amphipod bottles. Also preferred having the gear on my back rather than constantly moving around my waste...something about carrying 50+ ounces on my back is very appealing compared to the less than 30 I can carry with the belt. Just bought myself another hour! The front pockets are great as well. The only gripe at this point is the feeling of my breathing being restrained with the straps around my waste. Probably just need to futze a bit more with the various straps. Will try the pack on my work commutes without the bladder. May be better to carry the berry, wallet and additional crap I might need.

5th run with the Pumas today. Still feeling nice...had to switch out the factory inserts for my old Brooks. My feet feel tired after running in them. I think they are almost as flexible as the my old Frees, but with more cushion. I think my feet are just getting stronger. Or, they are just tired from my snug Technicas!
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The kids with the grandparents

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Easy 5 in the mountains

Did an easy 5 at 9000 feet today in Dillon. The run was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I thought it would be easy...even had hopes of hitting 10 or so. But, laziness got the best of me. Or, maybe I just wanted to get back before the movie ended that the kids were watching. I had a feeling that they would be challenging after the 3 hours they spend skiing lift 7 at Loveland (and the grandparents did not deserve this!).

Amazing day at the slopes. First day I actually skied next to and behind the boys as they navigated their way down the trail on their own. Nothing like seeing them learn a new skill, especially one that has been such a big part of my life. One of my first dreams about parenthood was one of skiing with my kids. We are now 1 day closer to skiing together all over the mountain. My 3 year old (the boys are 6) was even turning today ... On her own! Wow.

Anyway, back to the run. Started feeling a lot better after about 4 miles. Actually, I could have added a few more had I had a bit more motivation... And did not have the kids alone with the grandrents...

Regardless, it was a textbook recovery week. Down to 4 runs from 5, from around 30 down to around 20. Still a bit pathetic, but better nonetheless. Sticking to building base with some strides. Will add some 400's or 800's and maybe some 20" hill sprints. Back to 5 runs for sure.

Need the running to stay motivated (and sane) everywhere else.


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~5 miles to work

Great easy 5 to work in around a 8:10 pace. Kept avg HR at 151. Pumas felt great. Switched out the original foot beds for some thinner ones. More room overall, good adjustment.

Stride was great. No pain at all!
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Take the day off!

A little tight in the right knee today, feels more like some simple soreness rather than anything acute...as if the knee is just getting in shape. This would make sense as my 11.8 mile run yesterday is the longest I have done since the marathon in October. Maybe I am just being optimistic.

Actually, as the day is going on the knee is feeling better.

Need to make sure to hit my 4-days this week as me and the family will be hitting the mountains this weekend; this no long run. I am not thinking this is a problem; kind of thinking of this week as a recovery week.
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11.83 Miles, Sunday Long Run

Beautiful day. First run on the new Pumas purchased at Solepeppers. Been dying to head in to get some shoes, easy decision yesterday as I received $63 in the mail for doing an online survey a few months back. Nothing better than cash in the mail that was not expected. Had a great experience at the shop, Alan was there helping another client while I was fitted with Alan's weekend guy. Definitely patient as I waded through most all of the neutral, low profile trainers. Finally decided on the Puma Tenos V. They just felt the most natural, almost sock like. They definitely fit a little small, but they seemed snug and comfortable around the store and the building.

Unbelievable run today. Did the first 4 or so with Bryan; basically a full Davidson Loop including the singletrack at the end (not the hill). This felt smooth. The shoes felt extremely natural on my feet. Definitely flexible enough to feel the trail and the road; had the same minimalist feel as the Precision 8's, but with more cushion and a bit more motion control. The posting was very minimal so much so that I did not notice it. They definitely felt like light-weight trainers.

The problem started at about mile 5 where I noticed a spot on the second toe of my left foot. I suspect that the toe-box was a bit too small and the socks a bit too thick. I ended up stopping and inverting the socks while drying out the foot for a few minutes. I could have developed a little moisture as I wore them with the same socks for about 1.5-2 hours before the run when I took the boys down to Louisville Elem. for a little b-ball practice. So, hopefully this was it because the shoes just felt great.

After my little foot break I continued down from the Mesa, behind Home Depot and then over the foot bridge. I basically tacked on the loop behind Costco, up to the newish Superior trail and then wound my way back to Louisville via the Coal Creek Trail. Just because I felt great, and the foot was feeling better, I tacked on a 2.5 mile marathon pace (someday hopefully) interval at about a 7:45 pace. This felt excellent with a avg hr of only 167 (not bad considering I max out in the mid 190's.

Overall an excellent run. No real knee issues. A drastic difference from my ten miler last week when I limped in with IT problems on my left knee. Today, the left knee was perfect and the right knee was only slightly tight. I definitely had many miles left in me. The shoes made it real easy to maintain my form, really had a nice short stride at a 176 strides per minute. Still need to get this higher, but today was a great improvement.

Just missed 30 for the week!

28.9 miles in 4:03:36 hours. Last week as 28.5 miles in 3:56. Overall excellent week. Took Saturday off after 4 days of commuting on foot. Felt excellent by Sunday morning and actually felt great Saturday as well. Starting to feel like the higher base-mileage is starting to pay off.

100.8 miles for January in 13.56 hours of running. Not a bad month, certainly a good way start a nice base for the spring and summer.

Goals for the year revisited

Still working on planning out the year. I think I have happened on the way I will be able to keep my mileage up this year while balancing family and work life...running to and from work. Did 4 trips this past week to and from work where I brought in clothes on Tuesday and Thursday, ran home both of these days and then ran to work on Weds and Friday. This worked great. When I was cramped to get in for an 8am meeting, all I needed to do was leave the house around 7:10am for the 4mile trip. This allowed about 30-35 minutes for the run (depending on place as I did a tempo one of the trips with an avg pace of about 7:20 or so) and then plenty of time to clean up and get dressed. I should be easily able to grow the mileage just by adding a bit to the runs. 

My goals over the next month or so it to hit the 30 mile mark consistently. For some reason this has proven more difficult than I would have thought. Last week I was close and this week I will just miss it again. But, I am happy with being more consistent with greater mileage as I hit 100 miles in January which is only the 6th time in the past 12 months that I have exceeded 100 miles in a month. The other times the great mileage was around the ramp up to Denver.

Pacing for the Marathon

Here is an interesting article on marathon pacing I discovered today (conference call surfing....). 

http://mysite.verizon.net/jim2wr/id208.html

Basically, the marathon/pacing calculators are fairly off for predicting marathon finishing times. A more conservative estimate puts the marathon finishing time at 5X10K time. This equates to a finishing time of 3:44 for me since I finished the 08 BB in 41:32. This is pretty close to my time of 3:49 this year at Denver...much closer to the predicted 3:25 from Mcmillan. I feel a bit better now....

2:30 hours for 18.3 miles week to date

Took a little break from blogging this week. Still trying to figure out the value of this process for me. The reality is that I look the details of my runs on RunningAhead.com, so the process of logging the text here seems a bit duplicative. Although it is nice to see the blog grow over time and it certainly has been a nice place to plan the year and discuss thoughts on form and training; just need to find time to fit it into the weekly grind on top of everything else going on.

Working hard at adding base miles. My goal is to start averaging 30+ miles every week for a month or so eventually getting into the 40 mile range for the early part of the spring. Was able to get in 5 runs last week and I am already at 4 for the week without the "long" run for tomorrow. If I can negotiate for the time I would love to get in a 10-12 miler this weekend just to break the 30 barrier. It is certainly hard to make it happen and the reality is that I need to be more creative and make a few sacrifices to hit 30+ regulary. 

I was able to do a commute this week where I ran home yesterday and then ran in this morning. This seems to work great as it combines two of my daily activities, i.e. the 10 minute 1 way drive and the run. So, if I could do this regularly twice a week I would bang out a quick 4 runs without working too hard. This means that I could add 1 run during the day of the work week and I could be at 5 runs for the week with little cost. This may be the key.

I have not added too much spice to the week, except for a few pickups and a 2 mile tempo today at 6:56. This seems to be working ok for now, seems to be kind of close to the MAF philosopy where Monday and Tuesday where around 147-148 for the AVG HR whereas yesterday was up around 156 due to the crazy headwind home and today was at 159 avg with the 2 mile tempo (169 avg during this effort). So, these two weeks have been nice bace training overall.

This week was another focus on form. Monday was one of the smoothest runs I have had. Had an excellent gait with a clear forefoot tendency. Felt real nice in the Mizunos. Tuesday I jumped back to the Brooks and I definitely did not feel as smooth and I was a bit tight from the day before. I was real tight on Wednesday which was why I took the day off. The run home was back to the Mizunos again and felt a bit better. Today was excellent. Felt smooth, especially during the tempo. 

Can't wait to try out the Lunar Racers or Trainers. I need to focus on the minimalist shoes for sure!

5.77 Run at Work

Mostly MAF run with 2 800 intervals at the end of the run. Ran the 1st half mile at 6.18 and the second one at 6.17 including a short stop for traffic. The 1st had a bit of an incline and the second was mostly a slight decline.

Second run with absolutely no pain. Feeling good about the foot plant. Maybe I am on the other end of this IT thing. Still want to consider a maintenance visit to Rodgers once I am feeling more confident about the form.

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Another Easy Run - 1/14/2009 - 4.69 miles

Great run, almost no pain. Really had a great stride going. It is amazing how long it takes to change the gait. I remember reading posts on the RW forum about guys who took almost a year to fix their strides. Now I know why. Had a great foot landing that really seemed comfortable. Felt like I was definitely landing on the mid-foot with a little forefoot. No feeling of forcing the landing, just eliminated the over-striding and the landing followed. Got to keep this going. HR was a bit high given the pace. Not sure why, could have been the coffee before the run. Overall, I was very happy with the run. Put in a nice pickup maxing out at a 5:30. This felt great, just wish I could maintain it for more than 20 seconds. Maybe someday!

1/13/2009 - 4.88 Miles Easy

Easy run from home up Washington, half Harper to Davidson. Mesa still had some snow and as a result found myself kind of slopping around. Weird, decided to hit the rounds instead. Kind of strange that would I rather run on the comfort of the pavement and ice rather than the trail-like experience of the trails. Anyway, just felt like a better workout to hit the round. Went back to the Brooks as I am feeling that the Mizunos are getting a bit old. Also, afraid that I am blaming the shoes for the pains rather than my form. So, tried the more cushioned shoes. And, it does seem that if I keep my stride short, or least a landing right under my COG, that I can stave off the pain. Not a bad run overall.

Core work with some pushups

Did 2 sets of the RW core workout (Feb issue). Topped it off with a quick 20 pushups.

Feels great! Hope I can keep it up.
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4.94 Recovery at Night

Easy recovery at night. Kind of relaxing to be running at night, very quiet, no one around. Had to work to keep the pace slow, but not too unsuccessful at this as I was a bit tight from the 5K yesterday. I think the Mizuno's are getting a bit old, looking forward to trying out the Nike Lunar shoes, just to see if they work. Definitely want to stick with the Neutral with minimal cushion. May try the Brooks again with a focus on form. It just seems that I get lazy in the cushion shoes. The minimals force me to run well.

Oatmeal Festival Race Report - 5K

Well, I need a little speed work. I finished the race in an unofficial 21:25 or so for a total distance of 3.14 according to my Garmin. I had a decent pace off of the start, probably in the mid 6's for awhile, but the subtle uphill progression slowed me down on the way to Waneka Lake. Unfortunately I did not adequately leverage the downhills on the way back as I was keeping it in the high to mid-6's where I should have been in the low 6's. I just think I slowed down too much on the little inclines and just did not push hard enough. My overall pace came in around what my BB08 was last year, so I should have had a bit more speed. 

Regardless, a very fun race with great family (me in the goofy blue hat) support. Had a wonderful cheering section near the finish. Even saw my boss there! 

No matter what, it is good to get a race under my belt so early in 09. 

Some details:

Race photos here...

Race Results here...

Xmas 2008 Family Picture

I could not resist posting this picture.

3.77 Mile Pre-race facilitation run

Did the 4X 15' 30' / 30' 90' intervals this morning. Felt very fluid and fast on each of the pickups. Even did the last one to a minute at a 6 minute pace with no real problems. Focused on a quick turnover and a short stride. Felt great overall. Did feel that the mile home on the concrete was a little harsh, not sure if I was over-striding again. Maybe the Mizuno's are starting to get a bit old as they are now alost 10 months old. 

Overall I feel ready for tomorrow. Still shooting for a sub-20. Probably want to do the first mile in a 6:20 or so, the second in a 6:30-35 and the final in a 6:40 to just hold on. Its going to be close. 

4.91 - Run to work

Just finished my first commute to work on foot. Tried a slightly longer route today via a partial Coal Creek jaunt. Hopped onto 42 at Aquarious and then leveraged the tail wind for a LT/Tempo. Overall it took 37:25 minutes for a pace of 7:37 and an avg HR of 150. Not bad, seems low given my overall pace of just over half marathon pace.

PM: Did the Runners World core workout again, 2 sets in 15 minutes. Feels great.

In preparation for the Oatmeal Festival, will takes Thursday off and then do a pre-race facilitation on Friday morning before work. Will be rolling out the old F4 workout of 4 sets of 15-60, 30-90 second pick-ups. Still not sure what this workout really does, but hey; why change my routine before a race as I have been following this workout now for the last few years before each of the races I have completed. 

"A" goal, break 20 minutes

3.57 Miles - Run home from work

First day of running home. Brought clothes for tomorrow so that I can run to work in the morning as well. Took the most direct route that I could think of, amazingly it was only 3.57 miles which I covered in just under 30 minutes. Funny as this is barely over 20 minutes longer than driving the car. Definitely want to do this a few more times but it seems that this little experiment could be a success. Maybe I could do this on two days or so for a total of a minimum of 4 trips through the week. There are plenty of ways to make the run a bit longer or a lot longer. Just adding a little over 15 minutes will add over 2 miles one way to the commute which is awesome. This may be the way to get a bunch more miles in during the week without taking more from the family or work for that matter. An extra 15 or so minutes at the beginning and end of each day is surely not a lot and it seems better to tag on the runs at the beginning/end of the day without having to worry about a run in the middle of the day. Honestly I am barely able to get three of these work runs in a week and these are usually between 4 and 5 miles with a max of just over 6 on a quiet day. Eliminating the middle of the day distraction may be a great benefit. We will see.

elliptical - 3.25 miles

Did a nice 40 minute workout on the machine. Kept the level medium to low at a 6 in the Sport setting. 40 total minutes for 623 calories. Did 2 reverse sessions of 5 minutes.

Great workout, nice to workout with a movie. Watched most of the second half of Wimbledon. Not a bad sports movie crossed with a bit of romantic comedy/chick-flick. Fun.

Started the session with 2 sets of the core exercises in this months RW. Have to start somewhere!
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Easy Sunday run with a few pickups - 7 miles

Went back to the Brooks. Definitely felt a little pain coming back to the knee. Weird as I felt like the gait was fairly on. I wonder if I just run more naturally with less cushion. Maybe the cushion makes me more lazy? Maybe the knee would hurt regardless of the shoes. Anyway, the run was good overall. Ran the first 1 and a quarter alone and then met Bryan. Did a full Mesa with a full Harper. Did some small pickups of under 2 minutes throughout the run. Felt good to pick it up.

Jack and Owen resting at Loveland

A well earned rest!

Hit Loveland for the first day out with the kids. Yesterday Katie and I hit Keystone and with a few runs with A & J. The weather was great, however, the conditions were just ok. Keystone definitely needs snow as the trails with no snow making were a little thin. Nonetheless got in a good 5 hours of groomers and a bit of short turns. The snow was icy in places, too much for my amazingly dull boards. I will get them tuned one of these days.

Back to Loveland. We usually hit Keystone with the kids as it is 5 minutes from my parents place, but this year the price was a little steep, 45 for us (comp tickets since my dad works at the Beav) to ski the beginner lift and 50 for the boys as they are now 6, a little bit of a reach for them trying to act like 4 year olds. Also, a lot to spend for a few runs on the magic carpet and the short lift. So, Loveland seemed like a great place to try as they have Lift 7 at the smaller area that is only 25 for adults and 18 for kids over 5. Plus, we could head home after skiing, a pass closer to home. What a deal especially since the parking is free as well; right next to the lift. Everything seemed to go well getting there until we discovered that the kids mittens were still back in the dryer from the day of playing in the snow yesterday. No worries as Loveland had 3 pairs of mittens for 10 bucks apiece! Not bad really. I guess it always pays to have a few pair of extra mittens for the kids. 

Finally, after all of the bathroom breaks, ski pants and boot buckling we got the kids on the lift. Of course their first run was a little rough, but it was clear that all three of the kids were going to make the leapt this year. It seemed that each time we told them to make the pizza pie they actually did it! I could not believe it as last year was simply doing loops on the magic carpet with one person at the top and one at the bottom catching them. This year the kids (even Lily at 3...not surprising since she started riding a 2-wheeler this summer a full 2 years earlier than the boys) were clearly ready to start turning or at least start getting to the point where they can slow themselves down. Anyway, many runs later with each of them getting a bit better each run, we almost had all of them making turns on their own. The last run with Owen I never touched him or held him...I just skied backwards in front of him and told him where to turn; and he turned! Pretty cool. Can't wait to go again with them. Maybe Eldora next as we now have all of the equipment at home rather than at the parents!

NYT: Bigger Than Bush

Makes me understand why I am a Democrat....at least a Blue Dog one.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/article;jsessionid=9545159C119278A4B0DAD4FF689C1F4D.w6?a=281683&subSection=Columnist&f=28

or try this one

http://tinyurl.com/86k5av