Best week of the year so far.  Very high quality for me.  This week had it all – doubles, VFF, barefoot, speedwork, a medium length tempo, and a solid trail run with a decent amount of climbing – and easy recovery days sprinkled in-between.  Very happy with how things are going.  I still have a few pounds to lose, but I can feel my body getting leaner and lighter.  The legs are strong and keep begging for more.  The only thing holding me back is my heel issues, but even they are improving.  I keep pushing them to the edge, then letting them recover a bit before going again.

So with it being the middle of April, I figured it was high time for me to get my 2011 race schedule set (most people do this in October/November of the year before…).  I’m excited to be feeling better and getting in some decent training.  I decided to shake things up a little over previous years in terms of my Leadville approach.  In the past, I have always used the whole summer to build up to a big peak for Pb in August.  This year I’m going to race more, and also toss in a 100 miler in June.  I want to get better at that distance, and at some level simply need to start running more of them to improve.

Here is the plan:

This Saturday – Cheyenne Mountain 50k.  Going to train through this one and use it as a last long effort before CP.

May – Collegiate Peaks 50M.  Not sure what to expect on this course.  Thinking I’ll be happy with anything under 9:00.

June – Bighorn 100M.  Awesome course and scenery.  Will probably carry a camera on this one and look for a good steady effort while enjoying the trip.

July – North Fork 50M.  Great trails.  Missed this one last year and wanted to get in on it this time around.  May be heading out for a week long backpacking trip in the Maroon Bells the Monday after the race.

August – Leadville 100M.  Gotta get sub-24 this time.

Monday Run – 11 / 1:38 / 142avg Good cruiser run at the boneyard. Going into it, I thought I would like to end up just under 9 min pace with a heart rate around 140. Pretty much hit that with 8:54 pace and 142 hr. Monday (2) Run – 3.5 / :34 / 121avg Easy jog to return an arm-load of books to the library.

Tuesday Run – 7.7 / 1:12 / 142avg Great day. First true workout in a very long time. Did 4 x 1k with 2min rest followed by 4 x 1min hill repeats. Felt strong and smooth for the most part. Very happy to get in some faster running for a change and come out of it feeling good. The 1k repeats were on a slightly rolling tight singletrack trail with few turns. The hill was pretty mellow for the first half, then steeper for the second. I felt my way through the first couple of efforts, then pushed a little harder after that. .65 / 4:19 (6:37) / 159avg / 166max .62 / 4:04 (6:35) / 165avg / 173max .67 / 4:03 (6:05) / 169avg / 176max .65 / 3:51 (5:58) / 173avg / 179max .19 / 1:06 (5:59) / 160avg / 171max .19 / 1:05 (5:46) / 158avg / 172max .18 / 1:07 (6:04) / 164avg / 175max .18 / 1:02 (5:48) / 165avg / 176max

Wednesday Run – 7 / 1:13 / 114avg Nice easy recovery jog. Crazy-low heart rate today.

Thursday Run – 11.2 / 1:25 / 159avg Steady tempo. Pushed harder on some hills than I should have. Feeling lighter. Still a ways to go, but I can feel it coming back. Thursday (2) Run – 4.6 / :44 / 128avg Really enjoyable 2nd run. Heel pretty grumpy to start, but settled down after a mile. Legs felt super, even good enough to hurdle the chains that are strung across the openings to the paths that I normally stop and step over. Finished with some barefoot laps at the soccer field.

Friday Run – 6.1 / 108 / 120avg Casual VFF jog at the Boneyard.

Saturday Run – 20.5 / 3:24 / 152avg Busy day today. Up early to help set up for the community Easter Egg Hunt. They were expecting over 1,000 kids to show up. Then it was yard work, lunch, and a visit to the dog park for the Corgi Meetup. About two dozen Corgis showed up and our dog had a great time running, barking, and herding the other dogs around. I was ready for a nap, but laced up the shoes and was out the door by two in the afternoon to hit the trails of Roxborough State Park. I ran from my house to the top of Carpenter Peak (8.6 mi, 91 min) and then added the South Rim loop for a little more distance. Great run (except for the heels as usual, those things felt like they were made of glass). I kept the effort level up on the climbs and on the descents as well. Nice to get a little bit of climbing in on the trails.

Sunday Run – 3 / :30 Easy recovery jog on the treadmill.

Total Time – 11:51 Bike – 0 / 0 Run – 74.7 / 11:51

Pic of the week:

The Playground.