Category Archives: training

Rest week.  It wasn’t really planned, but I could feel like I was really going to have to fight to get the miles in so I decided to back off.  I hope it was the right call.  My thinking was I should just take a few days off rather than trying to force runs where I didn’t feel like it and end up with a mediocre week – and still no rest.

This was my lowest mileage week of the year.  I even had a higher total the week after my 100 miler in March.  I’m using it as a mini-break to mark the change from the winter/spring season and get ready to ramp up for summer.  At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Monday
0 miles

Graduation!

Tuesday
7.1 miles

Calves super tight.  Even had to stop several times and shake them out.  They were ridden hard and put away wet after Saturday’s race and I’m feeling every bit of that plus the two complete days off which allowed them to set up into concrete.

Wednesday
7 miles

Much better than yesterday, but still had to stop 3x to let the calves settle down.  Up @ 3:45 this morning with our first bear visit of the year.  Dogs barking up and down the street, trash cans getting ravaged, etc.  I was too tired to get up, but couldn’t go back to sleep either.

Neighborhood coyote:

Thursday
11 miles

That’s more like it.  Got a desperately needed good night’s rest (all 6:50 of it) and felt much better today.  Ran easy for the first couple, then a hilly relaxed tempo, easy finish.

Did 31 on the mtb in the evening.  Was supposed to be a group ride, but I ended up going solo due to some no-shows.  Made the best of it – what an awesome time.

And my vote for Best Switchback on Planet Earth:

Friday
6.6 miles

Easy run at the Boneyard.

Saturday

OFF

Celebrated my daughter’s birthday, then headed out to try and get some shots of the sunset.  The air quality was terrible due to smoke from a New Mexico fire.

I thought it would make for a dramatic sunset.  I was wrong.  Total bust.

This little guy was holding on for dear life in the 20-30 mph winds.

Sunday

OFF

Total:  32 miles / 4:40 run – 31 miles / 2:36 bike

Josh Cox tweeted:

Everyone loves the idea of success but few love the work it takes to get there. Passionately pursue the process and fall in love with the grind, success will follow.

Not quite as catchy as embrace the suck, but I do like the message – fall in love with the grind.  I thought of that several times this week when I was tired and not looking forward to another mile.

Monday
10.6 miles

That’s more like it. A very good rebound run after a poor weekend showing. This has to be one of my favorite types of training run. A warmup, a strong and controlled tempo, and a cool down.

Ran by the biggest swarm of bees I have ever seen. I heard them long before I saw them.

Tuesday
8.4 miles

Up early (4:45) to try and capture the sunrise.  Mixed results on the photo.  Easy 8 at the Boneyard.

Wednesday
20 miles

Busy weekend coming up, so I decided to do my long run on Wednesday evening.  I ran on the East/West trail and didn’t feel great, but not bad.

After about 5 miles I came up on this guy (Mom, you should probably skip this part…)

I wasn’t worried about getting around it, but wanted to get it off the trail so it wouldn’t cause any trouble for someone else.  I had the bright idea to kick a few pebbles at it to see if that would hurry it up.

Yeah.  That worked out.

That thing was super onery.  I’ve seen them coil up and get in a strike position before, but this one raised up super high.

It was perfectly hidden from view, especially for someone coming in the downhill direction.  It would have been impossible to see under that leafy plant, and it was facing the trail and just a wee bit agitated.  All because of me.

So I couldn’t just trot off and leave it there.

I backed off quite a bit in an effort to let it calm down.  During that time a guy came running up the trail from the same direction I had come from.

With repeated gesturing, due to the earbuds I could hear from 50 feet away, I flagged him down and got him to stop so I could warn him about the snake.  Well, stop is more of a figurative term here.  He continued to jog in place, earbuds blasting, while I pointed down the trail.  It took 3-4 tries to get him to realize what I was saying and notice where the snake was.  When he spotted it (I’m still not really sure if he ever did), he mumblegrunted something and took off through the weeds on the opposite side of the trail.  Leaving me there shaking my head.

He did turn and yell thanks once he was clear.

I was hoping he would help me fix the situation and not just take off.

I gave it a few more minutes and then was able to approach quietly without setting it off again.  I tried aiming a little squirt from my water bottle right next to its body – and it worked!  It started to uncoil and so I gave it two more shots and got it moving in the direction I wanted.  Now I’m a snake-herder.  I’ve tried the water bottle thing before without success, so I was glad to see it work this time.

Sorry to upset you, but glad to see you move on.

I felt bad for this little guy hanging out about 20 feet away.

The rest of the run was decent.  I got rained on a few times, but ran at a steady cruise and finished in just under 3 hours.

Thursday
8 miles

Very tired.  Hit a 2-year low on the scale today.  Felt very bonky and fuzzy-headed for the first two miles, then got better.

Friday
10.7 miles

Tired again, legs were a little better.  Hilly paved route.  Nice and steady.

Spent the evening marking the course for tomorrow’s Rox Trot.

Saturday
12.5 miles

Showed up a couple hours early to run the full 10k course and check on all the markings.  Cleared dozens of pine cones and rocks off the path from the recent rain.  Weather was bad and getting worse.  Thankfully we pulled off a successful event and everyone survived.  I raced the 10k and finished first.

Sunday

OFF

Total:  70 miles / 11:09

The week started strong, but by the end I think a combination of last weekend’s long run, some long work hours, and lack of sleep all caught up to me.  I’m happy with the intensity I was able to get on Tues and Weds, but I would like to get a solid week in from start to finish one of these times.  Seems like it has been a while.

Monday
11 miles

Soggy.  Rained all day.

Played around with shooting short range with my long lens (300mm).  Really liked this one of my daughter playing the piano.  She has become a very good pianist over the past couple of years and I enjoy hearing her practice.  The lighting was poor, and I didn’t use a flash.  Instead, I had her turn on and adjust the small lamp on top of the piano to shine on her hands.  The sharpness of the extended finger is what I like best.  I came up with a little free verse to describe the scene.

Then I went outside and shot some flowers in the yard.  The rain had just let up and it was still heavily overcast.  The colors were all very deep and rich.  There was the tiniest kiss of light on this flower bud that totally made the shot.  Probably my best yet in terms of lighting.  My wife said it looked like a Mother’s Day card so I added a verse to it as well.

Tuesday
7 miles

Hit the roads for this one. 1 warmup, 5 medium tempo (7:11 pace, 158 avg hr), 1 cool down.  Felt ok, need to keep injecting a little faster running into the week.  My fitness and strength are good, but my coordination and efficiency are way behind.

Wednesday
12.6 miles

Waterton Canyon.  My wife rode alongside on her bike and we had a great evening in the canyon.  I had a good run, keeping it steady up to the the dam, then ramping up the effort each mile on the return to finish the last 6 miles with a 6:48 average.  That felt awesome!  I like how the heart rate graph shows the increasing intensity over that stretch.  I ramped it up nicely and finished strong.  Needed that!

Thursday
10.3 miles

Feeling a little worked from last night, but things got better as the run progressed.  7 laps @ the Boneyard.

Friday
14.1 miles

Tough day after a late night of work and getting up early again.  Struggled through this one, but got it done.  The weekend doesn’t look good for getting much of a long run in, so this will be it.

Loving the wildflowers this time of year.

This tree looked like some sort of anteater if you were to turn it sideways.

Saturday
5.8 miles

Worked all morning at a garage sale for our kid’s scout activities and girl’s camp fund raiser.  It was cool and damp, but thankfully the rain held off and it was a big success.

Headed out for a run in the afternoon and felt terrible.  Bagged it early and headed home.

Came up on a fox while it was catching a rodent.  Crunch.

Next!

Had to pick up some supplies for tomorrow’s dinner, so we stopped and checked on our shopping center owls.  No signs of flight yet, but they are getting big quickly.

Sunday

OFF

Happy Mother’s Day!

Took Jessica on a drive to see the ‘Oreo Cows’.  They were spread out and far away when we first got there.

Never fear, she knew just what to do.

That’s more like it.

I’m calling this guy Double Stuf.

Total:  60.8 miles / 9:23