Category Archives: training
2011 Training Log – Week 33
Recovery week post-Leadville. Definitely the easiest week I’ve had coming back around after a 100 miler. That 27 mile hike at the end served as a great cool down. My legs feel pretty good and I’m ready to get back to some more focused training again.
Monday
Off
Tuesday
Run – 5.5 miles
Almost felt guilty on this one. No way my legs should feel this good. Definitely didn’t leave it all on the course at Leadville.
Wednesday
Run – 5.5 miles
Another easy cruise.
Bike – ~12 miles
Night ride with some buddies from work. Had a blast carving up the singletrack in the dark.
Thursday
Run – 8.7 miles
Pushed this one a little bit. Hot and hilly. Still feeling decent.
Friday
Off
Saturday
Run – 7 miles
Ran the annual neighborhood 5k/10k. Won the 10k. Legs weren’t firing as fast as I would like, but felt good so no complaints.
Sunday – Off
Total – 27 miles
Pic of the week:
Climbing above the city on our night ride
2011 Training Log – Week 31
Go time. Seems like I have been treading water for a while and now it is time to get through Leadville and move on. I had a difficult race there last year, and this time around I want to at least make it through without falling apart. One part of me sees that I am ahead (+200) on YTD miles vs. the year I ran well in 2009. So that gives me some hope. When I take a macro view, though – reality starts to set in. I trained hard in the summer of 2009 and put in 11 runs over 20 miles (including a few over 30) in the last 8 weeks before the race. This year that tally stands at 3. One of those being a race, and the other two barely breaking the 20 mile mark. That’s not so good, for a faster race anyway.
All I can do now is show up and do the best I can with what I’ve got.
Monday
Run – 7 miles
Nice steady run. Felt like I spent half of it doubled over laughing as we joked about various topics. Especially the ‘motivational’ self-talk we employ during runs and races when things aren’t going well. Not fit to print.
Tuesday
Run – 8 miles
Got in a nice run while waiting for the kids to finish XC practice. Stepped on a nasty rock 90 seconds into the run. That hurt.
Wednesday
Run – 7 miles
Easy day. Felt terrible for the first 6 miles, then decent on the last uphill mile. Better late than never…
Thursday
Run – 8.7 miles
Felt like pushing a bit today. Hilly route. First half was a smooth cruise, then fought the fade over the second half. Much harder effort to sustain the same pace.
Saw a girl get creamed by a car at an intersection while waiting to cross. She was riding a bike with her ipod on (attached to the handlebar) and rolled out into traffic when she didn’t have the right of way. Completely her fault – which she recognized. Banged up, but thankfully not too bad. Saw it all, held up traffic as I ran across the intersection to help get her bike untangled and out of the road.
Friday
Run – 5.5 miles
Easy run that actually felt easy for a change. Nice. Foot very sore from stepping on a stone Tuesday, but everything else is starting to feel pretty good.
Saturday
Run – 14 miles
Encouraging. I last ran this tough route a month ago and was 30 sec/mile faster today at a much lower effort. My calves were better today than they’ve been for a while, and I enjoyed having a decent run. Probably the best I’ve had since the backpacking trip.
Sunday – Off
Total – 50.2 miles / 7:31
Pic of the week:
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2011 Training Log – Week 30
Last week of any significant training prior to Leadville. Less than 2 weeks to go now, it’s about time.
I’m giving myself an easy ride this year with no time goals and no pressure. I feel like I am lagging 2-3 months behind where I would normally be at this point of the year. Strong enough to finish, and hopefully without too much damage (body, brain, or other), but definitely not fast. I’m probably still feeling the sting of last year a little bit, too. I was in great shape, but the race did not go well at all.
For the past 3 years I have run Leadville, I have pretty much dropped off the edge for the rest of the year with an injury or just being wiped out from training so hard and building up over the previous weeks and months. This time I am determined to run Leadville conservatively enough to get a finish and then keep on rolling. This year has been kind of a rebuilding time for me. I’ve been running an ultra per month since March and hope to continue that streak for a while longer, which I think will set me up nicely to really get after some goals next year. Instead of starting from scratch on January 1 as I did this year.
Keep getting stronger, keep making progress on the injury front, and things will start to come together.
More than anything, I’m excited for all of my friends that are running @ Pbville and are all looking to be in killer shape. It blows me away to do a run like the night run last week with these folks. I’m decently fit (you have to be to run a 21 miler on trails at night at altitude), but these guys make it look way too easy. I can tell they’ve been putting in the work, which is awesome to see. During that run I just kept thinking, I pity the fool that tries to hang on with a group of people two weeks away from their biggest race of the summer!
As for the training this week, I tried to pack in a bit of mileage in an attempt to revive my legs from the 50 miler and backpacking trip combo last month. They have been quite sluggish for a while, but are starting to come around.
Monday
Run – 12.2 miles
Steady cruise in the heat.
Run – 5.1 miles
Second run of the day. Felt good to get out and spin easily.
Tuesday
Run – 12.6 miles
Another good cruise in the heat. Trying to build up some miles on the front-end of the week.
Run – 3.1 miles
Another double. Very sluggish, but felt good to get out again.
Wednesday
Run – 7 miles
Easy day. Tired.
Thursday
Run – 9.25 miles
Good one. Pushed this just a bit. 8 miles with 1,000 feet of climbing at 7:58 pace. Ditched the heart rate strap and never looked at the watch. Just went with what felt like a good cruising speed.
Friday
Run – 5.5 miles
Easy day. Calves tight, but everything feeling good for the most part. Just very tired from being up since 04:00 due to a bear-raid of our garbage can.
Saturday
Run – 21 miles
Leadville night run. Good group of 12. Struggled big-time with calf and stomach problems. Felt a little better after about 15 miles and finished strong.
Sunday
Run – 4 miles
Easy recovery jog on the mill. Felt strangely good considering I ran 21 miles the night before and didn’t get to bed until 3:30.
Total: 80.3 miles, 12:58
Pic of the week:
Wicked fast runnah's (credit: Brandon Fuller)
The Scene Begins 