Why is it that I feel like every race report I read has a variation on a theme – “Some course markings got sabotaged so the trail we were on came to a dead end.” ??  (via Cory).

Stay tuned for…  How to Vandal-proof an Ultra.

After a long hot summer, with mostly lackluster running, I am finally feeling somewhat back in the saddle.  The Leadville Rebound took a couple weeks longer than usual, but has been in full swing lately.

I am at exactly 2200 miles for the year, only 25 more than this point last year.  Fail.

I have taken approximately 22,000 more photos than last year.

Probably some correlation there.

Speaking of photos, I randomly came across two of me from races earlier this spring.  It was a little funny because I distinctly remember being photographed in each case, but the pics never turned up in any of the usual spots after the races.  Then 6 months later I stumble across both of them in the same week.  This one back in April was a pretty good race for me (other one is Copyright so I’ll not post it here).

Looking serious at the Earth Day 50K.
Credit: unknown (sourced from Michele Hartwig’s blog)

This week was my first 70+ total in a while.  70 used to be the default, now it is the goal.  My how things change.

I am signed up for the Rock and Roll Denver Marathon this Saturday.  Going to use it (possibly along with some extra miles) as a long training run.  I have been toying with the idea of another 100 miler this fall, and there are several I would love to do.  Boulder is not at the top of that list, but it may prevail simply due to logistics.  Also looking at the 24 hour option.

Monday
10 miles

Boneyard. Includes 4 laps @ 8:42 pace. Felt decent. Much better than last week.

Tuesday
10 miles

Out and back on east west trail. Felt a lot stronger than I thought I would.

Wednesday
14 miles

Awesome trail run at red rocks with Tim. Im not feeling 100% yet, but 80’ish is amazing compared to what I have been used to.  Really felt strong today.  Cool and misty weather helped a ton.

Thursday
8 miles

Easy jog.

Friday
7.8 miles

Boneyard. Lots of txt messages. Had to play catch-up with Stu and ran fairly hard on tired legs.

Saturday
20 miles

Figure-8 loops on the East/West trail. Test driving the New Balance MT1010s. Pushed a little beyond comfortable from the start, trying to set up for a good effort. First 10 went well, but probably dug a bit too deep passing and then staying away from rattlesnake-guy who made an appearance around mile 5. Monarch was tough, legs were toast. Feet killed me from mile 6-14, especially the left. Not the shoes fault.  Spent some quality time with the knife digging out the callous afterwards.

Sunday
OFF

Chased the sunset instead of running. Could have used a little more pop in the sky, but I found a sweet location.  It’ll be awesome in another week or two when the leaves change down here.

Total: 70 miles / 11:24