Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Tue, Jun 18, 2013

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:00:00

Last little mini-workout before Duluth. Ran out to Boyd Lake. Did 2x1-mile with 2-minute recovery. Splits were 5:04, 4:53. Slight net downhill. Jogged home. 12 miles total, 6:59/mile average pace.

Mon, Jun 17, 2013

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:00:00

AM - Fossil Creek to Mason Trail. 7 miles easy, did some strides on the way back. Averaged 7:30/mile.

PM - easy 5 miles on Fossil Creek Trail. no watch.

Sun, Jun 16, 2013

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:00:00

Took the day off. Because I can.

Sat, Jun 15, 2013

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 06:00:00

Red Rock with Mike and Craig. Great route, nice hard-packed dirt road up in the mountains, uphill the first half, and then down on the way back. Averaged 6:41/mile for 14 miles.

Fri, Jun 14, 2013

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 06:00:00

AM - Fossil Creek Park to Claredon Hills. 10 miles, averaged 7:10/mile.

PM - Fossil Creek Park, 5 miles, no watch.

Thu, Jun 13, 2013

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 06:00:00

Last big workout before Duluth. 14 miles to Boyd Lake and back. Did 6x1-mile with 2-minute recoveries. Splits were 5:12, 4:54, 4:56, 4:54, 5:01, 5:06.

First mile was slow due to early-morning blahs, and then the next three were probably too fast. Suffered a bit during the last one, which was mostly uphill.

Averaged 6:29/mile overall.

Wed, Jun 12, 2013

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 06:00:00

AM - Power Trail, then out to Strauss Cabin Rd. 10 miles, averaged 7:29/mile. Did some strides.

PM - Fossil Creek Park, 5 miles, no watch.

Tue, Jun 11, 2013

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 06:00:00

am - Fossil Creek to Mason Trail 10 miles, averaged 7:19/mile.

pm - fossil creek park with Zoe in the stroller. Very hot, and smoky from the fires. 5 miles, no watch.

Mon, Jun 10, 2013

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 06:00:00

Boyd Lake, 15 miles. Did 4-3-2-1 with 4-minute, 3-minute, and 2-minute recoveries, respectively. Splits were (5:45, 5:38, 5:19, 5:26), (5:16, 5:15, 5:15), (5:27, 5:21), (4:57).

Felt okay. This was my first morning workout, as it is now too hot to work out at noon. Morning are always a bit of a rough start for me, but usually feel fine after a few miles.

Averaged 6:06/mile for the entire run.

Sun, Jun 09, 2013

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 06:00:00

Fossil Creek Park, 4 miles, no watch.

Sat, Jun 08, 2013

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 06:00:00

Blue Sky Trail, plus some random single-track and dirt roads. Pretty good workout, although no formal tempo. Ended up with 17.75 miles before Iran out of time and had to end the run, Too bad, I'm about one mile shy of 100 for the week. Oh well. Averaged 7:07/mile for the run. Beautiful morning, great trail.

Fri, Jun 07, 2013

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 06:00:00

AM - Cottonwood Plains Loop, 6.25 miles, no watch.

Noon - ran home for lunch. 8.25 miles, did some strides. 7:15/mile average.

Thu, Jun 06, 2013

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 06:00:00

AM - Cottonwood Plains Loop. 6.25 miles, no watch.

noon - ran home for lunch. 8.25 miles, no watch.

Wed, Jun 05, 2013

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 06:00:00

Power Trail to Poudre Trail. Did 10x1km @ CV pace, with 60s recovery. Splits were 3:07, 3:05, 3:05, 3:06, 3:04, 3:04, 3:05, 3:04, 3:02, 3:03.

14 miles total, averaged 6:13/mile.

Tue, Jun 04, 2013

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 06:00:00

AM - Cottonwood Plains loop. 6.25 miles, no watch.

noon - ran home for lunch. 8.25 miles, averaged 7:29/mile. Did some strides.

Mon, Jun 03, 2013

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 06:00:00

AM - Cottonwood Plains loop. 6.25 miles, no watch.

noon - ran home for lunch. 8.25 miles, no watch.

Sun, Jun 02, 2013

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 06:00:00

Fossil Creek Park to Mason Trail. 9 miles, averaged 7:15/mile.

Sat, Jun 01, 2013

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 06:00:00

Boyd Lake. 4 miles warmup, then 10-mile MP tempo, then 4 mile cooldown. Didn't have much expectation for this workout, based on how I felt all week. Just tried to telax and let the workout come to me. Ended up going pretty well, and I felt good. Splits were 5:39, 5:34, 5:31, 5:30, 5:37, 5:30, 5:26, 5:18, 5:15, 5:13.

Averaged 6:16/mile for the 18 miles.

Big 2 weeks of training coming up. I essentially just have 4 more real workouts until Duluth, so hoping for one more big push.

Fri, May 31, 2013

Fri, 31 May 2013 06:00:00

AM - Fossil Creek to Mason Trail. 6 miles, no watch.

noon - Loveland Trail toward Walmart. 8 miles, forget the pace.

Thu, May 30, 2013

Thu, 30 May 2013 06:00:00

Power to Poudre Trail. Legs still fatigued from the race, so kept things pretty easy. 14 miles, averaged 6:50/mile.

Wed, May 29, 2013

Wed, 29 May 2013 06:00:00

am - Fossil Creek Park to Mason Trail. 6 miles, no watch.

noon - ran home for lunch. 8.25 miles, averaged 7:30/mile.

Tue, May 28, 2013

Tue, 28 May 2013 06:00:00

Easy run home for lunch. 8.5 miles, averaged about 7:30/mile. Legs have no life in them after Boulder Bolder, although surprisingly am not sore at all.

Mon, May 27, 2013

Mon, 27 May 2013 06:00:00

Bolder Boulder this morning, my first 10K since 2011, I think. Goals going in were Top 10 and sub-32.

Race started and everyone goes out super-crazy. Probably had 10 guys in costumes out ahead of me. Amazing these guys qualify for the A wave, but gotta love it. I tried to stay at a reasonable pace and not get sucked out.

I spent the first 3 miles moving up in position, was probably 20th after 1 mile, 10th after 2 miles, and pulled into 5th by Mile 3. Even with supposedly trying to stay patient, I think I got out just a touch too hard. First three miles were 4:57, 4:59, and 5:05. Was 15:32 at 5K, and I could feel it.

Stayed in touch with the back of the lead pack through 5K, and then the top 4 guys pulled away a little bit. I ran by myself for Mile 4, which was 5:12. The 4th place guy fell off the pack, and I started reeling him in during Mile 5, although I was struggling too. Mile 5 was mostly downhill, but I could only manage 5:00. I got passed into 6th place somewhere in here.

I knew the last mile was an uphill to the stadium, and based on how I was feeling, I knew it would be a struggle. And I also knew that guys were coming up on me, so that gave me some fine motivation to give an honest effort. I finally passed the guy ahead of me that I had been reeling in, but got passed myself by a couple other guys. Entered the stadium, and could feel another person breathing down my neck, and gave it everything I had around the last curve and into the finish. Managed to hold off the guy behind me, and almost caught (or re-caught) the two guys ahead of me.

Mile 6 was 5:13. Final time was 31:32. I thought I finished 6th, but ended up 7th upon looking at the final results. Guess the last mile was kind of crazy, so lost track. But I was 1 second out of 5th, and 6 seconds out of 3rd...if my ability to close a 10K was just a little better, I think my placing would have been higher, but I'm not really that kind of runner anymore. Pretty happy with this time...I think can count this as my "uphill altitude 10K PR"

Sun, May 26, 2013

Sun, 26 May 2013 06:00:00

Easy 5 miles with some strides, no watch. Bolder Boulder is tomorrow.

Sat, May 25, 2013

Sat, 25 May 2013 06:00:00

Arapahoe Bend, did 4 laps on the dirt trail with Mike. 11.5 miles, averaged 6:45/mile.

Fri, May 24, 2013

Fri, 24 May 2013 06:00:00

am - cottonwood plains loop. 6.25 miles, no watch

pm - fossil creek park, 5 miles no watch.

Thu, May 23, 2013

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:00:00

Power Trail to Poudre Trail. 14 miles. Did a 3-2-1 workout. (3-minute recovery after the 3-mile, and 2-minute recovery after the 2-mile).

Splits were (5:36, 5:33, 5:30), (5:11, 5:04), and 4:59.

Averaged 6:20/mile overall for the run.

Wed, May 22, 2013

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:00:00

AM - Fossil Creek Park to Mason Trail. 6 miles, no watch.

noon - ran home for lunch. 8.25 miles, no watch.

Tue, May 21, 2013

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:00:00

Power Trail to Poudre Trail. Did 10x2-minute fartlek on the way back, with 60s recoveries. Pace was 4:40-4:55/mile on the interval portions, but had a tailwind for most of it, so can't read into it too much. 14 miles total, averaged 6:29/mile.

Mon, May 20, 2013

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:00:00

Took the morning off, and then did 7.75 miles during my noon run, no watch.

Sun, May 19, 2013

Sun, 19 May 2013 06:00:00

day off. Felt like I was due.

Sat, May 18, 2013

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:00:00

Bacon Strip for one last hilly run before Bolder Boulder. Did one full loop, and then an out-and-back for a total of 18 miles. Did 6 miles of MP tempo on the second part of the first loop, but couldn't get much going. Ran these miles at 5:40-5:50 pace. During the last 4 miles of the run, I did a fartlek of 60s on, 45s off. Had a net downhill and a tailwind for this segment, so it felt alright, a good way to finish off a long run. I think I ended up with 12 or 13 intervals.

Averaged 6:25/mile overall for the 18 miles.