RECAP : Jan 1 - Jan 8

Monday - 01/01/12

4 x 1/2 mile Centennial Hill Repeats (3:27, 3:33, 3:36, 3:32) + 30 minutes on Foothills trail.

Since the Rec center was closed because of New Years (so no treadmill climb), and the trails have been a hit or miss with either an icy crunch or a sloppy mud fest, I decided to get in some hill repeats on the road....Centennial Road. For those that don't know, Centennial road on the West side of Fort Collins is filled with a handful of decent 1/2 mile or so long uphill climbs, so it is always a good place to go when wanting to get in some hill repeats.

Workout went like this:

Parked my truck at the West most parking lot at Pineridge. Then ran the 1/4 mile or so uphill climb to the "T" in the road. From the stop sign I did 4 x 1/2 mile repeats up the hill. This hill gains about 250ft of vertical over this half mile stretch of road!

The first couple of repeats I was feeling good, but the last 1/3 of the 3rd repeat really put a good sting in my legs for the 4th and final repeat. I had to dig down deep on the last one....wheww, feel the burn!

After my 4th repeat I decided to tack on an additional easy 30 minutes of running. From the stop sign I turned North on Centennial Road and ran up and over monster hill, and then dropped down the back side of the stadium along the Foothills Trail, then ran past Maxwell TH and up the short climb in the road to my truck. 30 minutes even.

The trails were pretty sloppy, but I wasn't running hard, so I didn't mind the slipping and slopping down the trail.



Tuesday - 01/02/12

OFF- SICK

and when I say sick, I mean SICK! woke up at 4am early Tuesday morning and on top of having my face hovering over the toilet, I had muscle aches, cold sweats, involuntary muscle contractions, nausea.....yeah not good.
Spent the next 20 out of 24 hours sleeping in bed. I could only muster up enough energy to drink some OJ and head down to the kitchen and consume whatever food I could handle...then back to laying my head on a pillow.



Wednesday - 01/03/12

OFF - SICK

Woke up this morning feeling better than yesterday. Of course, "better" is all relative. Gone was the nausea, vomiting, muscle aches, cold sweats...etc. However, I was super fatigued and flat out exhausted. I slept in till 11:30am and worked a half day. However, I use the word "worked" very lightly. Came home from work, ate dinner and took a solid 2.5 hour nap, before waking up, eating some food and going to bed.



Thursday - 01/04/12

OFF - SICK

I felt better today. Technically I probably could have got out for an easy run, as my energy levels were back up to normal. However, I didnt want to risk it. So I took this day off as a precaution day. I figure an extra day off would serve a better purpose then getting in an easy 30 minute trot around town. When not sure, err on the side of health and safety.

Temps were in the mid 60's, so it was hard to let a perfect running day get away from me. But oh well, there will be more warm days in the future.



Friday - 01/05/12

Horsetooth Mtn.

Feeling better, and itching to hit the trails after feeling ill and fatigued for the last 3 days, I decided to head up to Horsetooth Mtn park for a solid trail run.

Not having any energy whatsoever for the last few days I had no idea if I was gonna get 10 minutes into my run and feel a wave of fatigue hit me and just take a nap on the trail, or if I would feel nice and fresh since I haven't ran much this week. Thankfully it was the latter and I had a fresh bounce in my step.

Workout went like this:

Horsetooth Mtn liquor store > Main TH > Falls > South Ridge > Westridge > to Wathen, turned around at Wathen > back down Rock Trail > South Ridge > TH > back to truck.

I originally was going to run the summit of Horsetooth Rock, but the further up I ran, the more and more ice covered the trails. There were a couple 1/4 mile and longer sections of trail that turned from dirt to ice. Making traversing up the trail very difficult and a slippery mess. I decided to turn around at Wathen (after realizing I wasnt about to ice climb to the summit of the Rock), and thought I could continue on my way running the Horsetooth trail race course. But the trails were covered in ice and I had no traction whatsoever. As I looked up ahead the trails that got sunlight appeared to be dry, but once again I didn't feel like slipping and sliding my way to get there.

The run down the Rock trail was much drier than the run up South Ridge. I should have taken the Rock trail up.....but ohh well.

A section of trail showing the ice covering

view looking Southeast from South Ridge

A few deer on South Ridge with Longs Peak in the backdrop

A more technical section of the Rock Trail

Total Time : 68 minutes



Saturday - 01/06/12

Foothills Trail.

A pretty chilly afternoon made all of the lower elevation trails in the area turn from a muddy slop, to a hardened mud trail...easily runnable.

With this being the case I decided to head over to the Maxwell TH for an easy trail run.

Workout went like this:

Maxwell TH > up the hill behind the stadium > foothills trail on West side of Centennial > looped back around down the hill > back to Maxwell TH

This was a planned easy run, as it was only my second run since Monday after being sick earlier in the week. Felt good today. Had a nice bounce in my stride. I could have easily ran further than I did, but I didn't want to tax my body and get sick again.

It felt good to get out and hit the trails on this chilly afternoon.

looking South from Foothills trail. Pineridge in background.

stormy clouds floating over head.

looking South.

Bambi on the trail.

Foothills trail on the way back

Total Time : 40 minutes



Sunday - 01/07/12

Blue Sky + Rim Rock loop

Starting from the Horsetooth Mtn Liquor store I ran over to the Blue Sky TH (an easy 1 minute jog).

Then proceeded to run South on Blue Sky. My legs felt good throughout this run, a sure sign that whatever bug got to me earlier in the week was gone.
The first part of this run had me running on a thawing mud pit. Thankfully it was still early in the morning and the cool temps were keeping the muddy sections fairly hard and easily runnable. When running these muddy sections you just gotta take short quick steps, and think "tap, tap, tap, tap" and traverse your way across the mud in pitter patter steps. At least that's what works best for me.

Just one of several muddy sections of the trail

I haven't ran The Rim Rock loop, or Coyote Ridge for that matter, since we moved back to the Fort from Loveland a couple of years ago. Living in Loveland at the time, Coyote Ridge and Devils Backbone were my regular stomping grounds for about 5 years while we lived there. And so it was nice to run the trails in the south valley for a change.

Blue sky trail is always a fun run, as it is filled with up and down rollers for several miles.

Blue Sky looking South

From Rim Rock, looking South in the Blue Sky valley

Blue Sky Rim Rock intersection

Rim Rock loop is a fairly short loop that is made up of a combination of dirt trail and rugged technical rocks (hence..rim ROCK)

Yes, this rock path is the trail!

another section of technical trail

Blue Sky trail looking North. Horsetooth Rock in the distance.

Total Time : 72 minutes



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Well, on the running front the week started off strong with some solid hill repeats. Then spent the following 36 hours feeling ill and sleeping 20 out 24 hours a day. Then recovered, and had a few nice runs over the weekend.

I really wanted to get in a long 20+ miler over the weekend. And although I felt well enough to do so, I didn't want to take a chance taxing my body to that extent after getting the flu. If I was 99% healthy I didn't want the remaining 1% to come back and bite me and send me back to the medicine cabinet. And so I took the weekend easy. I am glad I felt strong and had a good pep in my step on my runs because I thought I would be fairly fatigued and have some sort of flu-like hangover on my first few runs feeling healthy again. But it was the opposite, I felt really good.

A great way to end this week.
Looking forward to a healthy running start of next week.

RECAP : Dec 19 - Dec 25

Monday - 12/19/11

Treadmill Climb.
Workout went like this:

10 minute warmup
20 minutes @ 10% grade @ 9:30 pace
10 minute cooldown

After Saturdays 18 miler on pavement I took off Sunday to let the ol' bones rest. I was definitely sore on Sunday, not from the miles (18 miles on 2 GU's actually felt fine), just a hunch, but I think it was the complete lack of stretching before AND after that led to the extra soreness and stiffness in the joints. Anyway, because I was a tad on the stiff side, I cut todays treadmill climb short. My left patella was super tight, as were my hammys. And any extension of my left knee was borderline painful to the touch, but mostly more or less a "stiff" feeling.

1,110'



Tuesday - 12/20/11

Track Workout:

3 x 800 (2:22, 2:25, 2:24)

1 mile warm up followed by 1 mile straights and curves.

Wow, I was totally surprised that I was able to bust out low to mid 2:20's right now. I was planning on keeping them around 2:30 'ish for this time of year, but after my first 800, I figured I would try to push out a couple more a little faster than I had originally planned.

The combination of hill climbs and track sessions every week have been gold!



Wednesday - 12/21/11

Horsetooth Rock Summit.

Starting from the Horsetooth liquor store I jogged to the main TH then ran:

Falls > Rock Trail > South Ridge > Rock Trail > Summit > Rock Trail > South Ridge > TH > back to truck


The trails were a mix of dry dirt and nasty, slippery packed snow (ice!) in the shady areas. I took my time on the climb as I wasnt trying to push very hard..just a nice day out to enjoy the views and fill up the lungs with fresh air. The last 1/4 to the summit was rough, and took over 5 minutes, as it was a complete sheet of ice! Try running up knarly climbs and steep descents on what felt like an ice hockey rink, wearing nothing but a pair of rubber on your soles.....Umm, yeah it was slippery and a SLOW go. The views up top were just great...as always. And the first 1/4 mile on the way back down was even slower than on the way up, as I did everything I could to prevent myself from simply sliding down...and off the trail. Once I got to dry dirt again...all was good and I was on my way.

Total Time : 1hr 16 min
1,500'



Thursday - 12/22/11

Treadmill climb.
Workout went like this:

10 minute warmup
38 minutes @ 10% grade @ 9:30 pace
2 minutes @ 15% grade @ 10 minute pace
5 minute cooldown

Ughhh....wow, this one stung! I was going to run the entire climb at 10% grade but at about 35 minutes in, I decided to crank it to the max for the final 2 minutes of the climb....15% grade! I did slow it down to 10 min pace for this brutal stretch. Even so, it was a lung buster! and my calves were tight from the steep grade. Anyway..super big grunt of a workout. Was glad to sit down and stretch for a bit afterwards.

2,317'



Friday - 12/23/11

Pineridge.

This has to have been the hardest "easy" run I have done in awhile. After a decent 10 inches of snowfall the other night, the trails have been pretty hard to run. Basically, it went something like this: Step into 10 inches of fresh snow, then land and crunch through the old layer of snow/ice mix of an additional several inches, then push off and slip....then repeat for several miles. Yeah, I basically did "high Knees" for 50+ minutes today. Quite the easy day workout.

Total Time: 53:25

Saturday - 12/24/11
OFF



Sunday - 12/25/11
OFF



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Overall, a very quality week of running. Surprisingly so, after my initial post long run soreness from last Saturdays lack of stretching. Speed session was faster than I had planned and had a couple of days of decent vertical. Saturday and Sunday ( and maybe even Monday ) were off days. A little down time, after a solid week of running...is always a great way to recover. And most importantly ....spend time with friends and family on Christmas Eve and Christmas day! A great time of the year to drink some Nog by the fireplace, munch on some truffles...and let the muscles recover and do their thing on these needed recovery days.

Which brings me to another area I have been thinking about. I have come to realize that consistency is a REALLY important tool in becoming more fit and achieving my running goals. And the evidence is in my weekly track workouts and treadmill climbs. Therefore, for my New Years resolution for 2012....I plan to run everyday of the year! Barring injury or illness, of course. And by running, I mean anything over 1 mile of continuous running. So that also includes easy recovery days and pre-race easy jog days. So because of that, it is actually a pretty reasonable goal for the year.
Anyway, I am pretty excited as I am sure that year-round consistency in training is one of the best things an athlete can do to achieve his/her running goals. Here's to 2012!!

RECAP : Dec 5 - Dec 11

Monday - 12/05/11

Treadmill Climb:

10 min warmup
30 minutes @ 10 % grade @ 10 min pace
5 minutes @ 10 % grade @ 8:30 min pace
5 min cool down

1,910'

This is becoming a staple of my winter workouts. Eventually I plan to get to 60-90 minutes of uphill running on the treadmill, by late spring. It is hard to get in a continuous climb for anything lasting an hour or longer in the area. Once the summer rolls around Rocky Mountain National Park offers some nice trail options if you are looking to get in a decent climb...but thats a ways out from now.



Tuesday - 12/06/11

Track Workout:

Ok, so it was 11 degrees outside after work and getting dark, and the first 3 lanes of the track had an ice/snow crusted slickness to them. Despite these conditions, I still wanted to try and stick somewhat to the schedule as this is my "track workout" day of the week. Although I was at the track, this workout was by far the "easiest" track workout I have ever done, due to the frigid temps and iced over track. It went like this:

1 mile warmup (laughable in 11 degrees)
20 minutes of straights and curves. (Basically striding out on the back stretch and home stretch, and a simple jog on the turns. Ran in lane 4)
1 mile cooldown (I was already a frozen popsicle..but hey, its an extra mile in the books)

...then hopped in my truck and proceeded to defrost.



Wednesday - 12/07/11

Horsetooth Mtn Park. With the consideration of running the chubby cheeks 50k this upcoming weekend I wanted to check out the trails, since most of the trails lately have been pretty sloppy. And by sloppy I mean packed snow and ice, knee deep trenches, slip and slide mud pits...and the occasional "dry spots". Seeing the trail conditions of a section of the race course one last time would either make or break my decision to run 30+ miles on Saturday.

Workout went like this:

Horsetooth Liquor store > Main TH > Rock trail > Soderberg > Spring Creek > falls > TH > back to truck

50 minutes

After running the trails, I decided to opt out of the chubby cheeks 50k for Saturday. The trails, for the most part, were runnable. Icy in parts and 2-3 foot snow drifts here and there, with the occasional dry patch. But I really wanted to run this one hard and open it up on dry terrain, not on crusty packed snow/ice mix. Nice to jog on. Not nice to race on.



Thursday - 12/08/11

Maxwell TH > foothills trail. easy 33:30
Ran up the hill behind the stadium and then turned around when I got to the road. Ran in the dark on the way back with a flashlight in hand. Trails were packed snow in most areas and cold, 20 degrees.



Friday - 12/09/11

OFF - deep down I was still undecided about the 50k on Saturday, so took the day off in case I changed my mind last minute. I wanted to be rested for the 4-6 hours of running that might be on Saturday.


Saturday - 12/10/11

At 6am as I sat in my warm cozy bedroom I stared at the nicely folded pile of running attire I layed out for myself the night before, which was stacked alongside a pile of GU's and my hand held UD water bottles. Contemplating the idea of running 4-5+ hours in the snowy mountains....then with a "sigh", I rolled over and went back to sleep.

That night however, I figured out how make 25,000 people disappear. Run through campus at night the weekend before finals! Not a peep in sight.
At 8pm I ran from our house to campus via the mason street path, then ran a lap around the oval and cut across campus to Moby and back down Shields to Horsetooth > back home.
Cold and dark. 25 degrees.

1 hour even (well...1 hr 40 seconds to be exact)



Sunday - 12/11/11

Pineridge. Starting from the dog park I ran a lap around Pineridge. Rolling snow covered trails are fun to run on. Not easy, but fun.
An easy day of jogging in the snow...44:24

A few pics of Pineridge trails covered in the snow:

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A good week of running. Its been cold and icy/snowy everywhere as of late which made the track workout feel like I was running laps in my freezer. But the treadill climbs have been a good consistant hard effort each week.
I am looking forward to the 2.5 weeks off work during Christmas and New Years.
Time to relax, reflect upon on the year, look ahead into 2012, and of course...get in a few quality runs!

RECAP : Nov 28 - Dec 4

Monday - 11/28/11

Lunch : Horsetooth Mtn Park, 1hr 16 mins. Parked at the Horsetooth liquor store and jogged the mile or so to the trailhead. Then ran: Horsetooth rock trail > South Ridge > Audra Culver > back down Horsetooth Rock trail > Soderberg > Spring Creek > falls > to TH > down the road to truck.
Felt great on this run! Ran most of it at a moderate pace. The last mile from the falls I pushed hard as I was wanting to break an hour for the TH to TH loop. I jogged to the trailhead (TH) in an easy 9 minutes then got to Audra Culver in 26 min flat (17 mins from TH). The footing on the trails were great and the weather was warm. I actually overdressed and had to shed a layer of clothes on the way up, and picked them back up on the way back down. Just after reaching the falls I looked down at my watch and realized I was at 55 minutes on the clock (not including the 9 minute jog to the TH), and decided to open it up a bit and try to hit the sub hour mark. Got to the trailhead in 59:48 :-)
I think I can go even faster as I wasnt really running hard until the last bit, felt great throughout the run. One of those days that I wish today was race day. Felt like I could run all day and still feel good. Why cant more days feel like this? lol
then jogged easy 8 minutes or so back down to truck.
total time 1:16



Tuesday - 11/29/11

Lunch : Track workout - 4 x 800 (2:32 - 2:28 - 2:29 - 2:27) .
Another strong day. Fastest 800's I have ran in awhile. Legs felt strong and quick. Eventually I want to get these down to sub 2:20's, but I'll take it since it was only my 3rd or 4th track workout since May. Ran these with 200m recovery and a 1 mile warm up and 1/2 mile cooldown, followed by walking 80 yards back to my office ;-)



Wednesday - 11/30/11

Lunch : Foothills trail - 47:49. Starting from the Maxwell TH, I ran up the hill and then at the "Y" fork I turned right (North) and ran that all the way down to shoreline. Hopped on that and ran back South and eventually back down behind the stadium to the trailhead. Make it 3 days in a row of feeling great. I think I am finally getting my legs under me. From the trailhead to the top of the hill (there is a small sign there), about 100 yards before the "Y" fork, I like to check my split here. And clipped out a 12 min flat time, which is a PR split for me. I wasnt trying to get a PR, but I was just feeling so good on the hill...felt like I was running on the flats.



Thursday - 12/01/11

Lunch : Treadmill climb.
10 minutes warmup
30 minutes @ 10% grade @ 10 min/mi pace
2 minutes @ 10% grade @ 8 min/mi pace
5 min cooldown

1,611 ft vertical

Another solid workout. I am beginning to see the results of running these treadmill climbs on a consistent basis. The more I run them, the easier the uphill resistance feels. I enjoy pushing the last few minutes of these workouts hard, by either uping the pace, the grade...or both! What I like most about these treadmill climbs is that it is a constant motion...a relentless pace that forces me to keep me at an honest pace and doesnt allow for me to slow down. I run on a Woodway treadmill at the Rec and these tredmills are nice and are designed for runners. Would be nice to have one of these in the garage!

Haile running on a Woodway treadmill



Friday - 12/02/11

PM : Pineridge - 38:22. Ran in knee to upper shin deep snow for this "easy" run after work. With soo much snow covering the trails it was hard to make out exacly where the trail that I was trying to run on, actually was. And for the most part I am pretty sure I was off the trail the majority of the run, which made it difficult. Tripping and stepping on rocks that are buried under snow is never fun. Thankfuly this was a short run, but even so I still took 2 spills. Nothing major, as I wasnt running fast enough and I landed in a pillow of soft powder each time. I actually stepped right off a small footbridge and dropped down like 2 feet on one step, as I couldnt see where the bridge ended and the ground began.
Anyway, finished in the dark with a flash light in hand. Cold front coming and the snow and ice will be lingering for awhile.



Saturday - 12/03/11

AM : Treadmill Climb.
10 minute warmup
25 minutes @ 10% grade @ 10 min/mi pace
5 minutes @ 10% grade @ 8:30 pace
10 minute cooldown

1,624 ft vertical

Wasnt planning on running on the treadmill this morning, but all the snow on the trails threw out any chance of a decent workout on the hills. So I decided to head to the warmth of the Rec and grunted out a good climb. Felt nice running this on a Saturday morning and not having the feeling of being rushed having to get back to the office. So I took my time and stretched and even did some core stuff afterwords.



Sunday : 12/04/11

OFF

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This last week I felt great on every run. I have been really feeling the benefits of the treadmill and track workouts. I feel stronger and faster with each one. We finally got a battery for our truck (after an anonymous person at our church donated $80 to our family. A kind and generous act that is appeciated beyond words. Thank you!). Since I now have my truck back in action, I was able to get out to the trails a few times and that felt GREAT! after a month of jogging to and from work each day on sidewalks and streets...it felt great to be running in the mountains again.

As far as workouts each week, I have decided that:

Monday and Thursday - will be treadmill climbs or hill repeats on the trails(weather permitting)

Tuesday - track workout

Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday - will consist of either easy long runs on the trails or treadmill...or OFF days.


....the weather forcast for the next week or so is cold. its actually 6 degrees outside as I write this. it feels good to be seeing and feeling the results from consistent weekly workouts.

Still not sure what races for 2012 I will be doing. Alot depends on the the ratio between the entry fee cost and the money in my wallet ;-)

RECAP : Oct 17 - Oct 23

10-17-2011
Mon - Off

10-18-2011
Tues - 55 mins
Pineridge + Foothills trail. Super windy afternoon. Easy effort after the last 2 days off, but that head wind was brutal. 40-50mph gusts!

10-19-2011
Wed - 45 mins
Pineridge. Easy. Legs felt good.

10-20-2011
Thurs - 50 mins
Foothills trail. Ran the ups hard. easy on the downs and flats.

10-21-2011
Fri - 1:20
Horsetooth Mtn Park. easy. Felt great. took several photos along the way. felt strong on the climbs. Parked at the Horsetooth liquor store parking lot and ran the mile to the TH. (no parking pass)
Falls > Spring Creek > Soderberg > Horsetooth rock > South Ridge > Horsetooth Rock > falls > 1 mile back down to truck.

10-22-2011
Sat - Off

10-23-2011
Sun - 35 mins
Troutman Park. Easy. Ran a few miles, on the grass..in the dark..at 9pm, throughout troutman park + 10 striders X 100m each (roughly).

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Overall another fairly easy week of running. I am enjoying this easy downtime as I know heavier traininig is just around the corner.

Saturday was super busy and we spent most of the day down in Denver visiting family and didnt get home until about 9:30 pm. Too exhausted to get out for a run that night. And Sunday was also busy (Tebow time!), but managed to squeeze in a short scamper through the park by our house at about 9pm. Striders on grass felt good for a change.

Still havent ran at the track yet or run anything super long....but that will slowly come into the picture starting in November.
I plan to slowly pick up the mileage and include some speed stuff Starting the beginning of November, in preparation for a long base building winter season.

Not sure what was the cause of my stomach issues last week, but whatever it was..it is gone.
Still looking ahead at the racing calendar for 2012, and besides Leadville, Im not sure what other races to register for. Since it is my first true go at the ultra stuff, I dont have any prequalifying times to get into several races that require a standard for entry. Perhaps in 2013, I will have a few ultras under my belt and can use those times for entry qualification.

But for 2012, I do have some local (in colorado or wyoming) options to choose from. Plan to start seeing what race options are out there starting in November. Hopefully 1-2 100 milers and 2-3 50 milers for 2012 (with a handful of local 5k and 10k stuff here and there)
....we'll see.

A few pics from Horsetooth Mtn on Friday:

Rocky trail heading over to the falls

looking back down on the falls trail and valley, just before the falls.

Intersection of Spring Creek trail and top of Horsetooth Falls trail

Heading up the trail towards Horsetooth Rock

...more steps on the way up!

Looking South from South Ridge trail

Looking East towards Fort Collins and the Reservoir from South Ridge

RECAP : (10/17 - 10/23) Total Time : 4hrs 5mins

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On a side note, Eliana turned 11 months old this past week!

Eliana playing with Daddy in the grass

Andrea has been working hard on her birthday invites. Its amazing how fast time goes by! Looking forward to watching Eliana dig into her slice of cake on Nov 22! ;-)

Eliana having a super fun time with Daddy!

RECAP : Oct 10 - Oct 16

10-10-2011
Mon - 47 min
Pineridge. easy

10-11-2011
Tues - 33 min
Foothills. easy

10-12-2011
Wed - 36 min
Pineridge. easy

10-13-2011
Thurs - OFF

10-14-2011
Fri - 50 min
Pineridge + Foothills. easy. I was feeling some spring in the legs and decided to give the 1 mile section along the west most trail at pineridge a little push. Rattled out a 6:12 mile on the rolling up and down stuff running South to North on the trail. Not all out by any means, but it felt good to up the tempo a bit and let some fresh air fill up the lungs.

10-15-2011
Sat - 1:08
Horsetooth park. Ran with Steve. Originally was planning on running: Inlet Bay > Soderberg TH > Shoreline > South Valley > Mill Creek > Towers > back to truck...
However, The combination of taking a wrong turn and having digestive issues right from the go (had to drop trou' 3 times!)..ugh! we decided to cut it short and basically turned around at the Arthurs Rock parking lot and came back the same way.

10-16-2011
Sun - OFF

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Another easy maintenance week by my standards. My legs are feeling fresh and strong and have barely broken into a sweat during most of my runs during the week. I dont know what it was, but for about 3 days last week my digestive system was not feeling it. Which is why I decided to take off on Sunday. The run on Saturday morning was cut short because of this. I was really looking forward to the climb up Mill Creek, as I wanted to give this section a solid push. But that wasnt going to happen based on how I was feeling. Planning on running this route sometime in the near future though for sure.

Registration for the Leadville 100 opens up in a few short weeks and I am amped about getting my name on the entrant list. Once my name is officially on the list.....let the training begin!

It will be hard to slack off this winter knowing that I will be putting myself through 100 miles of quad busting and lung burning pain.. all above 10,000 ft come next August. And I cannot wait!

In the meantime, I havent done speed work in months (literally since June I believe). I think I will be throwing in random fartlek workouts this winter on the trails, as well hitting the track on occasion. It just feels good to run fast sometimes! Also getting in some quality long runs with a good amount of vertical is something I plan to do once a week as the winter season approaches.

Another easy week of running is planned for this next week. Hopefully without any stomach issues.

Cooler weather is finally here, and it feels great to be running in the cool refreshing air that is Colorado right now. The crackling of multi colored leaves under my feet as I run down the trail is pure bliss
:-)

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RECAP (10/10-10/16) - Total Time : 3 hrs 54 mins

RECAP : Oct 3 - Oct 09

10-03-2011
Mon - 43 mins
Pineridge. Easy running. Really enjoy the west trail along Pineridge. tacked on the little extra climb near the west parking lot. A small climb that ends at the bench overlooking a nice view of Pineridge.

10-04-2011
Tues - 1:02
Horsetooth. Inlet Bay > Towers > Stout > Spring Creek > Falls > back down to truck. Felt great to run on different trails for a change. Always a fun time on Horsetooth Mtn.

10-05-2011
Wed - 45 mins
Foothills Trail. Easy running along foothills trail starting from Maxwell trailhead.

10-06-2011
Thurs - OFF

10-07-2011
Fri - 1:05
Foothills Trail + Pineridge. Easy.

10-08-2011
Sat - OFF

10-09-2011
Sun - OFF


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Overall a very easy week of running. I decided on the nay for Silent Trails 10 miler. A part of me wanted to run it and a part of me wanted to have a relaxing morning with the family. I decided on the latter. Which was probably a good idea as the weather in Fort Collins Saturday morning was in the upper 30's and raining. Which meant the the weather in Laramie was probably colder and maybe even snowing, and perhaps windy!
Coffee, fireplace, Sweat pants and TV sounded much more appealing at the time.

I actually wasnt planning on taking the weekend off, but decided to anyway. This is an odd time of the year in regards to running and training for me. I am not really training for anything at the moment. I might run one or two races later this fall and winter, but nothing major. Nothing I would consider actually training for. More like "hop in" races just to keep the wheels moving.

Looking into the future I know that next spring and summer I hope to be training like an animal with the hopes of finishing my first 50 and 100 mile mountain ultras. And with that being the focus I need to make sure I maintain a certain level of fitness this winter, without burning out or feeling the need to take time off just as I am about to ramp up the training next spring. I hope to feel fresh and ready to bring it next summer. So with that being said I think a good plan of attack will be for me to maintain my fitness this winter without overdoing it. Which means lots of easy and off days mixed with some longer days and perhaps a handfull of times at the track for some shorter up tempo stuff. Nothing brutal, just enough to keep my endurance and speed in check during these winter months.


The weather forecast has this week in the 60's, and this morning my truck was covered in ice for the first time this year. Hopefully a sure sign that cooler weather is here to stay.
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RECAP (10/03-10/09) - Total Time : 3hrs 30 minutes