"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift"
-Pre

Friday, April 26, 2013

RECAP: April 15 - April 21

Monday - 04/15/13

Pineridge - 34:55

Work closed at 3pm due to the blizzard that began to move in across town early in the morning.  Was hoping to get in more time on my feet since I essentially had more time because work shut down so early.  But road conditions were deteriorating quickly.  Took me an hour to drive about 5 miles to pick up Eliana after I finished my run.
Fresh powder though -- boo yah!



Tuesday - 04/16/13

Around town plowing through snow drifts -- 1hr 12 mins

By noon there was a solid foot of snow on the ground. Work shut down at noon and let us go home. Road conditions were awful for driving.  4 accidents in 3 miles along the road.  Decided to head home and run from my doorstep instead of trying to make something happen on the trails.
I trust the lugs on the bottom of my shoes more than I trust the rubber wheels of my truck on ice/snow.



Wednesday - 04/17/13

Another trot through town with 3ft + drifts -- 65 mins

Slogging through 20 inches of snow over unplowed sidewalks essentially made for a 1 hour "high Knee" workout session.  Man, I am looking forward to having my feet make contact with a grippy surface once again.  Snow is fun and all, but C'MON summer!




Thursday - 04/18/13

Foothills Trail + Centennial road - 46 mins

Road conditions were drive-able today so I decided to head over to Maxwell TH for a run up the hill and see how it goes.

hard to see the "trail"


every other step was a knee deep sinker

frozen tundra


View of Horsetooth

Lory across the way



The effort it took to slog my way through a few miles of knee to mid thigh sinkers every few steps was brutal.  So by the time I got up to Centennial Road I had decided to stay on the road and head back to Maxwell TH that way.




Friday - 04/19/13

Pineridge - 42 mins

2 feet of fresh snow on top of a good 4-6 inches of wet slush --- made for yet another slow slog around Pineridge.  Felt like I was running through a Pina Colada flavored slurpee machine.  Winds were whipping pretty good today.



Saturday - 04/20/13

2 X Horsetooth Mtn rock summits + Falls loop - 2hrs 35 mins

Decided to head up a little higher out of the slush pools back in town for a run up in Horsetooth.
Workout went like this:

Main TH > up rock trail > Rock summit > down rock trail > Main TH > back up South Ridge > Audra Culver > Rock summit > down rock trail > Main TH > Falls trail > turned around at falls and back to Main TH

Trails were a mix of ice/slush/packed snow/powder --- good times!

Easy effort, but felt good to get in some vertical finally for the week with the double summit today.  Its been rough trying to get in anything with the blizzard earlier this week.



Rock summit on ice!





Sunday - 04/21/13

Horsetooth Mtn - 90 mins

Workout went like this:
Main TH > rock trail > southridge > towers > down spring creek > falls > Main TH

A slow slushy grind in parts, super easy effort -- felt great.



valley from Spring Creek


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  • Didnt get in nearly as much mileage as I would have liked because of the blizzard.

  • Slogging through 2 feet of snow isnt as easy as it sounds sometimes!  

  • Quad Rock 50 miler is only 3 weeks out.  I feel great right now -- lets hope some of this snow melts away before race day.



Wednesday, April 17, 2013

RECAP : April 8 - April 14

Monday - 04/08/13

Pineridge - 31:09



Tuesday - 04/09/13

AM: Pineridge - 31:20

PM: Easy 40 minutes around town. Started at 9pm.



Wednesday - 04/10/13

Horsetooth Rock Summit - 52:10







A fun run to the summit in fresh powder. Cold. Was super quiet up top and could actually hear the sound of the train horn from town!

Rock Trail up > Rock trail down.



Thursday - 04/11/13

Foothills Trail (medium loop) - 41:22



Friday - 04/12/13

Horsetooth Rock Summit - 50:44




Its amazing how much the weather can change out here in Colorado.  First picture from Wednesdays run is close to the same spot as the second picture posted above.
A beautiful day!



Saturday - 04/13/13

Horsetooth Mountain - 3 hrs 44 mins

Workout went like this:

Main TH > Rock Trail > Westridge > Towers > L down Mill Creek > Lory closure sign (see pic) > Back up Mill Creek > R on Towers > L on Westridge > Rock summit > down Wathan > L up Spring Creek > R down Towers > R on Herrington > L on Spring Creek > R up Wathan > L down Rock Trail > Main TH



Mill Creek - Fire scorched area on left of trail

Mill Creek - Fire came within feet of crossing over Mill Creek

Lory - burnt areas

Mill Creek / Lory intersection




Rock summit

A great long run today.  Felt really good!  Legs felt solid on all the climbs.
Ran down Mill Creek to take a look at some of the scorched areas from the Galena fire last month.  Still smells like a campfire in parts.  Amazing to see just how close this fire came to lighting up Horsetooth Mtn.

2 Gu's - 20 oz water.



Sunday - 04/14/13

Pineridge - 33:12

Easy recovery jog.  Legs felt surprisingly fresh.  No stiffness or lag from yesterdays long run.  Wanted to go further but opted to keep it an easy recovery day instead.



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  • Felt great to get in 3 summits of Horsetooth this week.
  • Another solid long run.  Was amazing to see the damage from the Galena fire up close along the trail.



Thursday, April 11, 2013

RECAP : April 1 - April 7

Monday - 04/01/13

AM: Horsetooth Rock Summit - 51:47

Main TH > Rock trail up > summit > South Ridge down > Main TH


PM: Pineridge - 32:25

One lap around Pineridge starting from Maxwell.

Horsetooth Mtn Summit -- looking East





Tuesday - 04/02/13

Foothills Trail (Long Loop) - 46:12



Wednesday - 04/03/13

AM: 1 min easy/1 min hard climb up Towers - 32:44 up  (56:55 total)
easy jog back down.

Really put in a good quad busting effort on the hard parts of this workout. 
Made the easy parts..REALLY easy --- borderline crawling pace.

PM: Pineridge - 32:17



Thursday - 04/04/13

Pineridge - 33:12



Friday - 04/05/13

Horsetooth Mtn Park ~ 25-26 miles - 4hrs 19 mins

Workout went like this:

Main TH > South Ridge > Rock Trail > Westridge > Towers > L down Mill Creek > R on Loggers > L on Sawmill > R on Stout > R up Towers > L down Spring Creek intersection > Falls > Main Th --- refilled water bottle --- Main Th > Falls > up Spring Creek > R down Towers > L on Stout > L on Sawmill > R on Loggers > L up Mill Creek > L on Westridge > Rock trail > South Ridge > Main Th 

Great run, lots of climbing and descending --- felt good.  Easy/moderate effort throughout. Took the downhills easy. Nothing kamikaze! Focused on the climbing sections.

Worked a half day today since I have Eliana all weekend long and this was the best day to find time for a long run this week.



Saturday - 04/06/13

AM: Horsetooth Falls hike with Eliana.

having a blast!

snack time!



Falls....more like a trickle right now!

PM: easy 40 minutes (20 out/back) with Elli in the stroller along the Spring Creek trail.


Felt good to loosen the legs up with the hike in the morning, and get in an easy recovery jog in the afternoon after her nap.

A great Daddy-daughter day!



Sunday - 04/07/13

Easy 50 minutes in the PM around town after Andrea got back home from visiting with her good friend Dionne for the weekend.



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  • A Great Daddy-Daughter weekend!  Elli loves nature -- exploring and getting her hands on rocks and water...etc   I really enjoy these "just the 2 of us" weekends from time to time.

  • A solid long run on Friday afternoon felt good.  Cant wait until Quad Rock 50 next month!

  • Now that I have a parking pass, I hope to get in more Horsetooth Rock summits this year. I plan to get up there as much as I can from here on out.(work schedule aside)

Monday, April 1, 2013

RECAP : March 24 - March 31

Monday - 03/24/13

Foothills Trail "out and back" -- 1hr 25 mins

45 mins out - 40 mins back along the foothills trail.  



Tuesday - 03/25/13

Treadmill Climb - 3,428'

Workout went like this:
5 min warm up
50 mins @ 10% grade @ 9:40 pace
10 mins @ 12% grade @ 9:30 pace
5 min cool down



Wednesday - 03/26/13

AM - Foothills trail (medium loop) - 48:15

Trails were a muddy slop.  Got back to Maxwell TH and the park ranger was closing the Pineridge gate and was waiting for me to get back so that he could close over the Maxwell TH.  
Thanked him for waiting for me, and was glad I was able to sneak in a run before the trails got closed off due to muddy conditions.

PM - easy 30 mins at night around town.

Day total - 1hr 18 mins



Thursday -  03/27/13

Treadmill Climb - 3,689'

Workout went like this:
5 min warm up
30 mins @ 10% grade @ 9:50 pace
20 mins @ 11% grade @ 9:40 pace
10 mins @ 12% grade @ 9:30 pace
5 min cool down



Friday - 03/28/13

Horsetooth Mountain - 1 hr 45 mins

Workout went like this:
Horsetooth Liquor store > Soderberg TH > up Towers > R on Stout > L on Sawmill > R on Loggers > L up Mill Creek > Towers > Westridge > Rock Trail > Main TH > back down hill to truck

Felt great today. 
No water, no GU's. 
Temps in the 60's --  Spring fever is here!



Saturday - 03/29/13

Horsetooth Mountain - 1 hr 47 mins

Workout went like this:
Soderberg TH > up Towers > L on Stout > R on Spring Creek > L up Wathan > L on Westridge > down Rock trail > Main TH > Down to falls > R on Stout > R down Towers > back to Soderberg TH

Another solid run.  I finally bought a park pass for the year, so no more running in from the liquor store!
What a run -- temps started out in the mid 60's then by the time I was halfway up wathan the clouds rolled in and it began to lightly drizzle/hail and temps dropped.  Running down Rock trail I saw hikers on their way up taking shelter under boulders and large rocks.  Precip only lasted about 20 mins or so -- and it felt great... refreshing!

No water, no GU's.

Spent the first half of the day at the park, as the near 70 temps made it a perfect family day to walk to the park together.  Elli sure does enjoy her little red wagon!  

Chauffeuring Elli to the park, grocery store and back home!


Sunday - 03/30/13 --- EASTER!

Easy 40 mins at night around town


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I purchased some new trail shoes -- Salomon Speedcross 3's this week:









This will be my 3rd pair of the Speedcross series. I had a  couple of pairs of the Speedcross 2's last year. The last couple of years I have been running almost entirely in either Speedcross's or numerous shoes from the NB minimus line. (with the exception of one pair of Brooks Cascadia 6's that I got dirt cheap and decided to give them a try)
But I think I will be sticking with either Salomon or NB as my go to shoes for the foreseeable future.
Solid trail shoes that just work!

RECAP : March 18 - March 24

Monday - 03/18/13

Pineridge + Foothills Trail (medium loop) - 1hr 8 mins



Tuesday - 03/19/13

Treadmill Speed Climb - 2,850'

Workout went like this:
5 min warm up
10 x 3 mins @ 15% grade @ 8 min/pace --- (2 min recovery @ 0% grade @ 8 min/pace)
5 min cool down



Wednesday - 03/20/13

2 laps around pineridge - 58:55



Thursday - 03/21/13

Treadmill Climb - 3,420'
Workout went like this:

5 min warm up
60 mins @ 10% grade @ 9:40 pace
5 min warm up



Friday - 03/22/13

Foothills trail (long loop) + Pineridge  - 1hr 14 mins



Saturday - 03/23/13

Ran from my house to Pineridge. 1 lap around Pineridge and back home -- 1 hr 20 mins
Fresh snow powder on the ground and chilly temps made this a fantastic run. Knee deep snow drifts and getting pelted in the eyes ....felt like a kid again!  





Run through Pineridge was slow going...but the fun of trotting through fresh powder made up for it!



Sunday - 03/24/13

Same as yesterday - 1 hr 22 mins

Snow not as fresh -- crunchy snow pack in parts...but enjoyed every step along the way.


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