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2011 Training Log–Week 17

Tried to maintain the delicate balance this week of recovering from one race while getting ready for another.  Now it’s time to rest up and get ready to run 50 miles on Saturday.  I hope my cold is gone by then, it still has a pretty good hold on me.  The weather is looking great and I’m excited to get out for a nice long run and to see a bunch of my running pals.

Monday
Run – 7 / 1:06 / 130avg
Easy recovery jog.

Tuesday
Run – 14.1 / 1:57 / 145avg
Longer and steady. Lots of hills on this one. Held up fairly well, but still coughing like I smoke 2 packs a day. It’s easy to get jaded as a runner, there are so many mind-blowing performances turned in every week. I caught myself kind of smiling on this run. Here I am cruising along for 14 after just doing 34 a couple of days ago. Nothing mind-blowing there on the larger scene for sure, but in my own little world it was fun to think back on how my first 8 mile run nearly killed me. I hope I don’t ever get too jaded, or caught up in comparisons with others, to appreciate the progress I’ve made.

Wednesday
Run – 7 / 1:02 / 138avg
I paced a buddy to his first ever sub-9 average. It was awesome!

Thursday
Bike – 27.2 / 1:27 / 134avg
Bleh. My last ride was back on the 5th. Can’t let that much time go between rides. Legs were pretty weak today. Although I didn’t run that hard on Saturday, a 6 hour run still leaves a little bit of a mark. I could feel it down deep when I tried to sprint up some climbs. Not happening. I settled for a 21.1mph average over my 20 mile route.

Friday
Run – 7.5 / 1:17 / 132avg
VFF jog at the boneyard.  Very tired, just got it done.

Friday (2)
Run – 13.4 / 1:58 / 143avg
Ended up with some free time in Highlands Ranch so hit the East/West trail for some evening miles.  Felt good once I got rolling.

Saturday
Day off. Must have been pretty tired. Took the family out to the movie and slept through half of it, then fell asleep hard after dinner.

Sunday
Run – 3 / :30 / 128avg
Easy TM recovery.

Total Time – 9:19

Bike – 27.2 / 1:27
Run– 52 / 7:52

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Pic of the week:

Dusk on the East/West Trail.

2011 Training Log–Week 16

I could have easily let this week beat me, but I made it through.  I got very sick early in the week and spent a couple of days riding the fever/chill roller coaster.  Along with a pretty nasty cough.  My daughter tested positive for strep on Wednesday, so I’m sure I was fighting off something similar.

Not exactly a good way to prep for an upcoming race, but I made the best of it and am very glad I got to go run the Cheyenne Mountain 50K.  Very fun course and well done event.  Had my son with me and that really made it a great trip.

Time to get all the way better and kick the last of this cough and throat thing that is still hanging around.  Next up, Collegiate Peaks 50 miler in 2 weeks.

Monday
Run – 11 / 1:35 / 147avg
Good steady run at the boneyard. Such an awesome place to train for being in the city. Endless rollers and singletrack. Resting HR pretty low today, but was 6-10 beats higher than normal during the run.
Tuesday
Run – 7 / 1:11 / 124avg
Ugh. Just a casual jog, but felt pretty awful. Fighting a cold. Very tired and achy.
Wednesday
SICK.Have been suffering with fever and chills since yesterday afternoon. Hit 101 at midnight and it has been coming down a bit since then. Feeling achy and wiped out. Stayed home from work.
Thursday
Run – 8.3 / 1:12 / 151avg
Still feeling sick, but a lot better than Tuesday and Wednesday. Ran this to make a go/no-go decision on the race Saturday. It won’t be optimal, but it’ll be doable. Heart rate very high for the effort I was putting in. I’ll have to run very conservatively at the 50k just to survive…
Friday
Run – 4.3 / :45 / 124avg
Easy jog around the boneyard. Still not feeling too hot. Tomorrow is going to be interesting… Looking forward to getting out on some great trails, though.
Saturday
Run – 33.4 / 6:10 / 148avg
Cheyenne Mountain 50k. I survived, but struggled quite a bit as expected. Good long training run, anyway.
Sunday
Run – 6 / 1:02
Treadmill recovery jog. Didn’t run hard enough yesterday for anything to be sore.
Total Time – 11:56

Bike – 0 / 0
Run – 70.1 / 11:56

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Pic of the week:

Malcolm ran about 7 miles in his orange VFFs meeting me at various points on the course to cheer me on and take pictures, helped out at an aid station, and ran with me for the last 3 miles of the race.  All while having a ‘this is awesome’ time.  My kind of kid.

2011 Training Log–Week 15

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

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Pic of the week:

The Playground.