--- Monday - 02/06/12 ---
Treadmill Climb - 2,630'
Today was a busy day. Had zero time for a run during the day and had to wait until after dinner and after Eliana went down to sleep before I could get out the door and head to the Rec for a solid treadmill climb. The trails are sketch with a mix of 1-2 feet of snow drifts and hard packed, "crunch" type footing...not the best for hard uphill pushes. My last several Monday and Thursday "hill" days have been hill repeats, and so I was actually looking forward to this treadmill climb for a change.
Got to the Rec at 8:30pm.
On a side note, my new MT 101's came this afternoon and I find it ironic that my first workout in my new minimal trail shoes...will be on a treadmill. sad.
Workout went like this:
5 minute warm up
40 minutes @ 10% grade @ 8:57 pace
5 minutes @ 10% grade @ 8:30 pace
2 minutes @ 10% grade @ 8:00 pace
5 minute cool down
2,630'
New 101 kicks felt good. Not as slipper like flexible as my 101's with 1,000+ miles on them....but still a nice lightweight and cushy ride. Felt good to push the pace near the end.
--- Tuesday - 02/07/12 ---
Track Workout - 4 x 800m (2:26 - 2:27 - 2:27 - 2:26) w/ 400m recovery
Chilly afternoon. Temps were in the mid to upper 20's at time of workout, with a slight 5-10mph breeze.
1 mile "warm" up, then 1 mile cool down + 2 laps of straights and curves.
I sure wish it was about 40 degrees warmer on this day! Is it summer yet??
--- Wednesday - 02/08/12 ---
Foothills Trail & Pineridge - 67 minutes
Since the last couple of days of running has either been indoor or on the track, I decided to venture back out on the trails for a crunchy, slippery trudge fest on the Foothills Trail and a small loop in Pineridge.
Workout went like this:
Starting at Maxwell TH I ran up the hill behind the stadium, turned North at the "Y" junction and ran on the East trail that parallels Centennial road for about 3/4 mile. Then crossed over Centennial and ran the "Ridge" South, eventually crossing back over Centennial road and back down the hill behind the stadium. Ran through Maxwell TH and tacked on a 1/2 loop of Pineridge before heading back to Maxwell TH and to my truck.
Total Time : 67 minutes
Some parts of the trail are packed down and other, lesser run parts, are more of a sketchy crunch. And then are parts of the East "trail" that parallel Centennial road that are at least 20-30 feet off the actual dirt trail that sits under the snow. And so who knows what rocks, holes, prairie dog lairs ...etc, are under your feet in these parts. I guess it makes the run somewhat more interesting. Although a tad bit more sketch.
--- Thursday - 02/09/12 ---
1/2 mile Centennial Hill Repeats x 4 - (3:21 - 3:20 - 3:25 - 3:20) + 20 minutes @ Pineridge
These hill repeats are always a hard grunt when run hard. With 250ft of vertical over a smooth 1/2 mile of road. And the fact that the temps were in the upper 20's with a decent breeze from the North made my lungs burn real good! After the first one I was ready to call it a day. But then I just told myself, "one more"...then, "one more". And before I knew it I had finished all 4 lung burning, frozen face... repeats. Wheeww! How many more months until summer?? uggh.
After the hill repeats I ran an easy 20 minutes through part of Pineridge as a cool down.
Then hopped into my truck and cranked up the heat! :-)
--- Friday - 02/10/12 ---
Centennial Road & Foothills trail - 32 minutes.
A chilly afternoon, maybe 20 degrees with light flurries.
Starting at the Maxwell TH I ran the first 2 miles of the Horsetooth Half Marathon course, then dropped down behind the stadium and finished up at my truck in a smidge over 32 minutes.
Despite the weather, I felt pretty good. I hit the HHM 2 mile split in a sniff under 16 minutes (15:50), which was good considering I was just out jogging for the most part.
This was a pretty short run, and felt like I hadnt even broken a sweat by the time it was finished. Its nice to finish feeling this way sometimes.
--- Saturday - 02/11/12 ---
Easy neighborhood running - 29 minutes.
Today was mostly a family day as we celebrated Valentines Day by spending the day together and going out to dinner and dessert...all 3 of us. But I managed to squeak in another short cement scamper around town.
--- Sunday - 02/12/12 ---
OFF- ;-(
Today was a super busy day. After church in the morning we spent the rest of the day and afternoon visiting family and friends near Denver and simply had no time to run. Got home just after 9pm...temps hovering at about 15 degrees, and all I wanted to do was put my feet up and relax. The thought of squeezing in a run after we got home did cross my mind several times. After all, it was my New Years resolution to run everyday of the year. And after a couple of lackluster outings the past few days an hour run in the dark and cold was tempting...but in the end I chose to kick my feet up and hit the sack.
I might try to make up this workout later in the week if I have time...so technically I will still get it in, maybe....we'll see.
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The weekend running just wasnt there this week. Which is something I plan to change. I really need to start getting in my weekend long runs now. No excuses!
The track workout and the treadmill climb were great workouts and my leg turnover and leg strength are starting to feel real good. This is a good sign, as I generally wait until the spring/early summer months before attempting any speed or hard hill pushes (basically when the temps are consistently over 60 degrees)...so hopefully getting these winter workouts in now will payoff down the road. At least thats the plan.
My new MT 101's came last week and are replacing my older MT101's with over 1,000 miles on them. Surprisingly these shoes have held up very well with all those miles. The only major structural issue is that part of the seam near my right foot big toe was literally busting out the seams. And of course the regular wear and tear.
Check out the comparison pics :
New shoes feel good. I think I need to break them in a bit before they are as slipper like as my older ones, but the soft cushy ride is nice for a change. Getting these new 101's has been severely overdue for quite some time.
And on a racing note, I finally registered for the Quad Rock 50 mile trail race, in May! 11,500+ vertical ft.
It is my official first stab at a mountain Ultra. Which I am super excited about.
The race is local, I train on these trails regularly, and I am fairly confident that I wont take a wrong turn somewhere and get lost. All good things for someones first mountain Ultra.
Anywho - Now that I am officially on the entrants list, I will begin to have more race focused training that will reflect what I will experience come race day. Which basically means...long runs and trail specific training routes in HMP and Lory.
...3 months away! This is gonna be fun!
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