RECAP : June 25 - July 1

--- Monday - 06/25/12 ---


Coyote Ridge - 56:27


Hot!--- 103 degrees hot! -- ice cold hand held water bottle was luke warm by the time I got to Rim Rock.

Temp in my car after the run

Hottest run of the year by far. And with zero shade cover --- just brutal.

Thank God for air conditioning!

--- Tuesday - 06/26/12 ---

Treadmill Climb - 4,000' -- 1 hr 22 minutes total

Workout went like this:

5 minute warmup

1hr 12 minutes @ 9:30 pace @ 10% grade (4,000')

5 minute cooldown

Was a sloppy sweaty mess after this run.  Temps outside were once again above 100, so a solid treadmill climb in the air conditioning sounds much more appealing.

* most vertical gain in a treadmill climb to date

--- Wednesday - 06/27/12 ---

Easy 45 minutes in the PM

Ran throughout the neighborhood in the PM.  Started around 9pm.  easy effort.

--- Thursday - 06/28/12 ---

OFF

Super busy day at work left no time for a lunch run and Andrea had a church commitment in the evening and so zero chance for a run today.

--- Friday - 06/29/12 ---

Pineridge - 39:16

One lap around Pineridge starting from the dogpark.  Stressful day at work and so I took out some frustration on the trail.  felt solid.

--- Saturday - 06/30/12 ---

Horsetooth Rock Summit - 1 hr 5mins

Workout went like this:

Horsetooth Liquor store > Main TH > South Ridge > Rock Trail > Summit > back down to truck the same way up.

This was the first run back in Horsetooth Mtn park since the High Park fire started last month.  They re-opened the park a few days ago and I have been wanting to run up to the summit and take in the views of the fire damage on the West and Northwest side of the park.

Dark storm clouds were rolling in as I was getting ready to start the run and so I left my camera (phone) back in my truck in case it started to rain hard.

It was a surreal view from up top.  You can see where the fire burned and the places where nothing was touched.

Felt good to get in some decent vertical for a change.

--- Sunday - 07/01/12 ---

Track Workout - 10 x 400m (all 72-74 sec -- with 100m recovery)

1 mile warm up

1/2 mile cooldown

For some reason I was thinking that the 4th of July was next Saturday, maybe its because most races fall on a Saturday.  But it wasnt until today that I realized that the Liberty 5k was this upcoming Wednesday!

Which meant I needed to get in at least ONE speed session before the race!

Temps today at the track were a solid 96 degrees...ughh!

I was planning on doing some sort of interval/tempo run on Monday and Wed of this week -- thinking that the race was Saturday. oohh well...

Its been TOO long since I have I done anything fast or even slightly up tempo in the last 8-10 weeks.  Almost all of my runs have been easy trail runs or slogging up the occasional mountain-side --  with the occasional surge here and there or bombing the descents --- but nothing I would call up-tempo or speed sessions by any means.

So today felt good to get the wheels moving a bit. I havent ran a 5k -- or even a road race -- in over a year, and so I have no idea how I will perform on Wednesday. 

However the race goes I am sure it will be a fun time. Andrea will be pushing Elli in the stroller and we will have a dozen or more friends from church there as well.  Since the proceeds from the race go to Life for the Innocent.  A ministry at our church that helps free children from the sex trade in India.

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• I am a few days late in getting this post out -- its been a busy week!
• It felt good to get that run in up at Horsetooth Mountain park -- its been about a month since I last ran there before the fires.
• 4,000 vertical on a treadmill is pretty mind numbing -- but felt great  to get it in!
• I dont know how I forgot about the 5k race day -- but am glad I got in at least one track session prior to the race.
• Just found out the Barr Trail Mountain Race next weekend has been cancelled due to the Waldo Canyon Fire. So now I have zero race plans for the rest of the summer --- gotta find something soon!
• Currently working on a new workout plan for the rest of the summer and year that will be more user friendly in terms of allowing time for work, family and other time commitments. Its been super busy lately and I need to come up with something that actually fits into my day. I'll see how it goes.
• I often wonder how runners -- or Ultra-runners -- have the time to log 100+ miles a week having to work 8 hours a day 5 days a week, have day-care commitments before and after work, have family obligations to their spouse and children,  spend time with family and friends on the weekends, and take care of yard and household projects during the week.....and still get 8 hours of sleep a night! ----- if someone has the answer please fill me in!  :-)
• The Liberty 5k RACE REPORT !