Race season has officially started! Despite the road races I did earlier, I feel like my first trail race of the season marks the start of running season for me. What better wait to start than one of my favorite marathons: Salida Run Through Time.
Currently the weather is looking awesome. Per the race director there's snow on the course which might stick around this week. I'm ok with that. Snow, mud, ice, rocks to trip on, that's all part of the fun of trail running. It is nice to not have to post-hole, but I can manage a little muck on the shoe. Snow and ice make downhills a challenge which is frustrating. I've become accustomed to running as fast as I can downhill to make up for some slower uphill climbs. The word of warning on the email was "no records will be set" so that sort of sets the tone for my expectations.
My training, as I'm beginning to realize at this point of the season, is minimal but doable. I again didn't get in as many long trail runs as I would like and in all honestly I've been a huge slacker the last few weeks. Largely due to being out of town so much. So it is what it is. I would be lying if I wasn't a little disappointed in myself, but I can't change that in a week so I just need to move forward with the current tools in my toolbox.
My time last year was 5:32. I'm hoping to beat that time. Optimistically I would crush it and get 5hrs, realistically if I run a 5:31:59 I'll be happy and count it as a win. I feel physically stronger than last year. I crushed Quad Rock, but that was with the benefit for several more months of training. That training doesn't carry over to this new year, but I am definitely stronger so I don't think it is unrealistic that if I feel good I can do it. I'm more worried about the fatigue that sets in at mile 18 and if my knee is going to do that weird thing where it hurts a lot from mile 17-20 and then mile 22, and then mile 24...etc.
I am also in a much much better mental space than I was last year. I think I literally made it to Salida and ran the race on fumes in 2014. Said fumes also carried me through a night of drinking and loud closet discussions with Tower. (Yes we literally sat in a closet and had a discussion, I don't really remember why). My brain was all over the place, emotionally I was drained and physically I was unprepared. It's actually pretty amazing that I finished last year in retrospect. Being fueled by stress, WTF am I doing with my life, and pure adrenaline doesn't usually last an entire 26.2 miles. So I'm headed in to this race feeling pretty positive about life in general and pretty pumped to run some trails with some awesome people.
Speaking of awesome people:
I'm extra excited because there's a good crew of newbies joining me. I unintentionally started a mission to convince ultimate frisbee players that trail running and distance running is awesome. I think it's working. There will be an awesome crew running the half marathon and I think they are going to love it! Wait until they see the bounty available at the aid stations: M&Ms for everyone (except for the 2 milers you just get to chill at the finish and drink beers).
It's going to be a great weekend to cap off 4 weeks of traveling every weekend. I get to stay in Colorado, run on trails, drink beer, and be with friends. Woop Woop!
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Friday, March 6, 2015
Pride or acknowledging your greatness
It's not always easy having confidence in your abilities and even harder to have pride in them. I get asked pretty often why I run and have some good answers depending on the crowd. What I still have a difficult time with is when people are impressed by what I do. All I do is put one foot in front of the other; I just do it longer than some people and cover a few more miles. In all honestly, this type of attention and praise makes me really self conscious and slightly embarrassed. Being in front of groups is never something I've struggled with when it comes to presenting or giving speeches. When the center of attention is about me specifically it is really hard to put off that same air of confidence.
I don't win races, I don't win my age group (unless it's a 5k in Bentonville Arkansas), and, as with my 50 miler last year, sometimes I just try to get to the end in enough pieces to count.
Nothing that I do as a runner will show up in my college alumni magazine or get me a running sponsorship. So perhaps it's uncomfortable for me to receive praise when I don't feel like I've done any of the things that warrant it.
We are our own harshest critics and I was reminded of that this past weekend in Vegas. Trouble in Vegas is a low stress, have fun, be silly, drink beer, and get no sleep tournament for the post college teams. It's pretty much the opposite of playing at Nationals, Fright Flight might be the only tournament more opposite than that. So again, this is a tournament that doesn't matter with teammates who put more emphasis on funny groupme posts and eating ground fruit than winning all the games. So it's silly that in one of our games I got down on myself. I dropped two discs in the endzone. Which is uncharacteristic of me. I was so mad at myself. I had to take time on the sideline and throw/catch with a teammate to reset. But my frustration did not go unnoticed by one of my teammates. So now I was in a position on the sideline having to listen to someone tell me, remind me, that I'm a great player and to get out of my head.
Why is it so hard for us to acknowledge our greatness when things go right? Why is it so important for us to acknowledge it when things go wrong?
I feel fortunate for having a new friend/teammate remind me of the bigger picture of my role on the field. It's so important to acknowledge your greatness when things are going horrible in ultimate for two reasons. First: if your opponent sees you down and mentally out of the play that's a big tasty weakness to exploit. Second: if your team sees you down and mentally out they worry about you and not about the right here right now moment of the game. Two drops over the course of two days, 9 games, hundreds of points, cases of beer, is actually pretty good. We won the tournament. Not despite the fact that I dropped two discs, but because I was a fully engaged member of my team. You can't be perfect, but you can be your fabulous self. It's hard to accept praise and harder to do it when you feel like you don't deserve it, but it's so important to acknowledge your greatness and allow others to do the same.
This tournament helped me remember the bigger picture of my role in running and races. A lot of ultra running, especially getting to the finish line, is convincing yourself that you can do it. Convincing your legs, feet, head, arms, stomach, that everything is ok and you just need to keep moving. Unlike ultimate I have no opponent I'm trying to outwit or a team I'm trying to support. I am the opponent and I am the team. I can't let me see a gap to exploit to not keep going. I can't let me see doubt. It's ok for people to be excited, amazed, and impressed by what I do. It's not easy and I work hard to accomplish my goals.
I will still feel uncomfortable being the center of attention and hearing someone tell me how awesome/amazing/crazy it is to run. I come from the land of powder milk biscuits; they help shy people get up and do what needs to be done. But I'm working on being more confident and proud of myself and I can see that only benefiting me in the long run.
Wow you run ultra marathons? Damn right I do, I finish them to, usually in one piece.
I don't win races, I don't win my age group (unless it's a 5k in Bentonville Arkansas), and, as with my 50 miler last year, sometimes I just try to get to the end in enough pieces to count.
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| Catt and I post Quad Rock. I'm wearing one pant leg, one shirt arm, one shoe, and my knee is bleeding...Enough pieces to count says my finisher mug. |
Nothing that I do as a runner will show up in my college alumni magazine or get me a running sponsorship. So perhaps it's uncomfortable for me to receive praise when I don't feel like I've done any of the things that warrant it.
We are our own harshest critics and I was reminded of that this past weekend in Vegas. Trouble in Vegas is a low stress, have fun, be silly, drink beer, and get no sleep tournament for the post college teams. It's pretty much the opposite of playing at Nationals, Fright Flight might be the only tournament more opposite than that. So again, this is a tournament that doesn't matter with teammates who put more emphasis on funny groupme posts and eating ground fruit than winning all the games. So it's silly that in one of our games I got down on myself. I dropped two discs in the endzone. Which is uncharacteristic of me. I was so mad at myself. I had to take time on the sideline and throw/catch with a teammate to reset. But my frustration did not go unnoticed by one of my teammates. So now I was in a position on the sideline having to listen to someone tell me, remind me, that I'm a great player and to get out of my head.
Why is it so hard for us to acknowledge our greatness when things go right? Why is it so important for us to acknowledge it when things go wrong?
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| These knuckleheads won a spikeball set and your hearts! |
This tournament helped me remember the bigger picture of my role in running and races. A lot of ultra running, especially getting to the finish line, is convincing yourself that you can do it. Convincing your legs, feet, head, arms, stomach, that everything is ok and you just need to keep moving. Unlike ultimate I have no opponent I'm trying to outwit or a team I'm trying to support. I am the opponent and I am the team. I can't let me see a gap to exploit to not keep going. I can't let me see doubt. It's ok for people to be excited, amazed, and impressed by what I do. It's not easy and I work hard to accomplish my goals.
I will still feel uncomfortable being the center of attention and hearing someone tell me how awesome/amazing/crazy it is to run. I come from the land of powder milk biscuits; they help shy people get up and do what needs to be done. But I'm working on being more confident and proud of myself and I can see that only benefiting me in the long run.
Wow you run ultra marathons? Damn right I do, I finish them to, usually in one piece.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Running is just controlled falling
Running and walking is just controlled falling, at least that's what I've been told many times. It makes sense, we propel our body mass forward only to catch it with our feet, absorbing the shock into our joints only to do it again with the other foot. If you have ever watched the start of a sprint race (think 100 meter dash) you will see the athletes barely catching themselves, driving their knees forward just before they would actually tumble to the ground. It's actually a really cool thing to watch in slow motion. Here's a video I found, look at how far forward they lean into the start!
Sometimes I'm better at the falling than I am the catching myself.
I am not sure if I would say I'm "known" for falling a lot. But a few friends have made the comment once or twice that I do seem to fall a lot when running. I wouldn't say that I fall a lot, but I do fall on occasion. I remember telling my friend Ryan that I was proud when I fell for the first time on a trail run at Salida. I felt like a real trail runner. Many races later I feel less like the graceful video above and more like this:
I am not sure if I would say I'm "known" for falling a lot. But a few friends have made the comment once or twice that I do seem to fall a lot when running. I wouldn't say that I fall a lot, but I do fall on occasion. I remember telling my friend Ryan that I was proud when I fell for the first time on a trail run at Salida. I felt like a real trail runner. Many races later I feel less like the graceful video above and more like this:
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| QWOP just do it, for your country. |
If you haven't played this game yet please try it. You will get a great ab workout from laughing.
No I don't fall constantly, but I do fall sometimes. Falling and faltering are just part of the game. Thankfully I haven't fallen and been unable to continue. That's something I can really thank running for showing me. Life can really trip you up and knowing that you can fall, gash your knee, and finish a race is actually a pretty big deal.
You have to have the courage to put yourself in that position. Yeah, yeah you have to sign up for a race and all that jazz. But it's more than that. You have to take some risks. If you recall from my Quad Rock Re-cap I had a pretty epic fall at the end of the race. I was tearing down this downhill section feeling pretty confident and then ate shit on a rock on the flat section. I didn't think much about it at the time, but I was charging that hill pretty hard and tried to keep that rolling. I can think back to me running even a year ago and I would have been much more tentative and careful on that type of terrain. This time I put myself out there, literally, and went for it. So I fell, I also got up and finished the race faster than I've ever run it before and...didn't shed one tear as the EMS people cleaned out and taped my knee back together. Sometimes you have to take a risk in a race like charging up a steep incline early in the race risking blowing up at mile 18. Sometimes that risk pays off and you kill it. Sometimes you fall, but you finish, you dust yourself off, you feel bad for what happened, but you finish.
So you have to keep going. Falling sucks. It hurts. I fell at a snow shoe race last year and spent 10 minutes trying to untangle myself on the side of the trail after my snowshoes somehow knotted themselves together. That wasn't physically hurtful, but it did a bit of damage on my ego. But I eventually got up and kept going and finished the race.
Sometimes I do wish I wouldn't fall so much. But, I'm so glad that I'm the type of person that can put myself out there and risk a fall.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
In 2015 I will...
I'm not really one for making New Year's resolutions. Primarily because why would January 1st be any different than any other day to make a change in your life? There's something symbolic, I suppose, about the "first of the year". It's a bit easier for us to take a moment and think about what we want to do better or how to be a better person. Maybe we get hopeful and ambitious because a lot of people are spending that day in their pj's watching football and you have to do something productive after you've seen that Skeletor car commercial for the 10th time.
I don't have any New Year's resolutions. I have goals, as I do most years. Goals for running and life. But an article I recently read, Finding your Life Purpose, made me think about goals and resolutions a bit differently. There are a lot of gems in this article and I encourage you to read the whole piece. I'm going to focus on one piece that stuck out for me, especially as I started looking forward to my race calendar for 2015; what will you give up?
Any resolution you make, or goal you write down means something has to give. There are only 24 hours in a day and assuming you spend some of that sleeping, some of it working, perhaps a bit of it blogging, there are not many hours left for the other stuff. So when you take on a new hobby or want to excel at a current one it's going to take the spot of something else.
So I challenge you not to focus on some abstract resolution for 2015. It's too easy to just make a list : lose weight, get a better job, find a life partner, buy a house, run 100 miles, etc. If there is something you really want to do better or new, whether you decide January 2015 or October 2015 really think about what it is you're doing, how you're going to do it, and if what you have to give up to accomplish it is worth it.
I made a commitment to myself about 3 years ago that I was going to run a 100mile ultra marathon. I've been working towards that goal ever since. Although sadly I just found out I didn't get into Leadville (I'm woefully behind a posts but will devote one to that rejection at some point). Leading up to that decision I found I really had to think about how doing this would affect me. Not just physically the day of the race, but leading up to and after the race. Running Leadville meant: not playing ultimate frisbee at the club level, missing a wedding of two of my good friends, foregoing a lot of ski weekends to run, foregoing a lot of everything to run, likely not being able to do much after the race for a month or two. I was at a new brewery down town talking with some of my good friends about this goal. That day I had drafted a training plan and doing that really made the whole "running is your life" doctrine sink in. It really is just a shitload of running. I looked at some weeks and did rough calculations of how many hours a week I would be running and in all honesty some weeks equated to a second full time job.
If you are one of those people who like to make new years resolutions go for it. I am 100% behind anyone and everyone striving to be a better person in the upcoming year and if the date 1/1 helps you vocalize it then do it. Just make sure you take that hopeful exuberance and pepper it with some real world allocation of that precious resource called time.
Whether we sign up for a race or get a gym membership writing down that "goal" is just one part of the whole pie. It does take a lot of courage to admit to yourself and your facebook friends that you are going to do something. It takes a lot more boring day to day planning and sacrifice to actually accomplish it. Just because I didn't get into Leadville my goal is still alive and well. It just means that my training plans have shifted to more 50 milers this year and maybe more happy hours too.
I want to delve more into the concept of choices in a later post, but since January hasn't ended yet I decided to sneak this post in while I can still call it a "new years resolution post".
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| Magic 8 Ball will I buy a Honda in 2015? Sources say No |
I don't have any New Year's resolutions. I have goals, as I do most years. Goals for running and life. But an article I recently read, Finding your Life Purpose, made me think about goals and resolutions a bit differently. There are a lot of gems in this article and I encourage you to read the whole piece. I'm going to focus on one piece that stuck out for me, especially as I started looking forward to my race calendar for 2015; what will you give up?
Any resolution you make, or goal you write down means something has to give. There are only 24 hours in a day and assuming you spend some of that sleeping, some of it working, perhaps a bit of it blogging, there are not many hours left for the other stuff. So when you take on a new hobby or want to excel at a current one it's going to take the spot of something else.
So I challenge you not to focus on some abstract resolution for 2015. It's too easy to just make a list : lose weight, get a better job, find a life partner, buy a house, run 100 miles, etc. If there is something you really want to do better or new, whether you decide January 2015 or October 2015 really think about what it is you're doing, how you're going to do it, and if what you have to give up to accomplish it is worth it.
I made a commitment to myself about 3 years ago that I was going to run a 100mile ultra marathon. I've been working towards that goal ever since. Although sadly I just found out I didn't get into Leadville (I'm woefully behind a posts but will devote one to that rejection at some point). Leading up to that decision I found I really had to think about how doing this would affect me. Not just physically the day of the race, but leading up to and after the race. Running Leadville meant: not playing ultimate frisbee at the club level, missing a wedding of two of my good friends, foregoing a lot of ski weekends to run, foregoing a lot of everything to run, likely not being able to do much after the race for a month or two. I was at a new brewery down town talking with some of my good friends about this goal. That day I had drafted a training plan and doing that really made the whole "running is your life" doctrine sink in. It really is just a shitload of running. I looked at some weeks and did rough calculations of how many hours a week I would be running and in all honesty some weeks equated to a second full time job.
If you are one of those people who like to make new years resolutions go for it. I am 100% behind anyone and everyone striving to be a better person in the upcoming year and if the date 1/1 helps you vocalize it then do it. Just make sure you take that hopeful exuberance and pepper it with some real world allocation of that precious resource called time.
Whether we sign up for a race or get a gym membership writing down that "goal" is just one part of the whole pie. It does take a lot of courage to admit to yourself and your facebook friends that you are going to do something. It takes a lot more boring day to day planning and sacrifice to actually accomplish it. Just because I didn't get into Leadville my goal is still alive and well. It just means that my training plans have shifted to more 50 milers this year and maybe more happy hours too.
I want to delve more into the concept of choices in a later post, but since January hasn't ended yet I decided to sneak this post in while I can still call it a "new years resolution post".
Monday, December 22, 2014
2015 Race Calendar
As I worked on my potential Leadville 100 training calendar it helped me look at and lay out the races I'm going this season. I'm excited for some of my favorites and some new ones in the mix. Luckily a lot of the races correspond really well with training, allowing me to do some long runs as races which means aid station support. Here's what 2015 is looking like:
Winter Race Series
Littleton, CO along the Platte River trail
December 20, January 17, February 21
I'm excited to do these races with my friend Jill. The first one was this weekend and it's a 10k. I'm pretty pleased with my time. I did a fast 5 mile run the night before so I was a little tight going into this race but I felt pretty good throughout the entire course. I finished in 53:21. The January and February races are 10 miles which will be good fun fast road runs.
Salida Run Through Time
Salida, CO
March 14
This is one of my favorite marathons in one of my favorites places in Colorado. I've already signed up and I'm pumped to try and beat my time from last year. My tentative Leadville training is a good motivator to get me out on trail training runs more which I feel was what my running last year was lacking (among other life events).
Platte River Buckhorn Exchange Half
Littleton, CO
April 12
I did this race 4ish years ago. It's a pretty fast half along the Platte River Trail. I'm excited to run it well since I doubt I'll be out until 1am drinking the night before. Sorry Shelly, this time you won't be able to tell me I smell like a bar when I run by.
Quad Rock 25
Fort Collins CO
May
I just signed up for this race. I learned so much on the course last year and this will be a great race to work on my uphill speed walking. I also hope to not add a matching scar. Hoping Kate will be around for this one cause no one touches the King's Eggs*
Grandma's Marathon
Duluth, MN
June
This one is a maybe and it's only if my sister decides to run it. I told her if she signed up for it I would run it with her. I'm a little apprehensive about this since it is so close to some other runs. I want to heed the advice from Ryan about not doing anything stupid to compromise my training so I will have to play it by ear. The race never fills up so I can make it a game time decision, but I'm keeping it on my radar for now.
Northfork 50k/50mi
Pine, CO
June
So much depends on if I get into Leadville or not. If I don't then I want another go at the 50 miler. If that's the case then I'll have to disappoint my sister and bow out of Grandma's. If I do get into Leadville, I'd like to do the 50k as a training run. It falls right in the middle of a 30mi/10mi weekend set so I think it would be good to get an aided trail run in for that.
Leadville 100
Leadville, CO
August 22
So that's the tentative calendar. Really the results of the Leadville lottery will determine a lot of what my summer race calendar looks like as well as my ultimate calendar. I'm playing a few fun tournaments (New Year's Fest in Tempe over Super Bowl weekend, Poultry Days, and Master's Nationals which are in Colorado this year!!!)
Winter Race Series
Littleton, CO along the Platte River trail
December 20, January 17, February 21
I'm excited to do these races with my friend Jill. The first one was this weekend and it's a 10k. I'm pretty pleased with my time. I did a fast 5 mile run the night before so I was a little tight going into this race but I felt pretty good throughout the entire course. I finished in 53:21. The January and February races are 10 miles which will be good fun fast road runs.
Salida Run Through Time
Salida, CO
March 14
This is one of my favorite marathons in one of my favorites places in Colorado. I've already signed up and I'm pumped to try and beat my time from last year. My tentative Leadville training is a good motivator to get me out on trail training runs more which I feel was what my running last year was lacking (among other life events).
Platte River Buckhorn Exchange Half
Littleton, CO
April 12
I did this race 4ish years ago. It's a pretty fast half along the Platte River Trail. I'm excited to run it well since I doubt I'll be out until 1am drinking the night before. Sorry Shelly, this time you won't be able to tell me I smell like a bar when I run by.
Quad Rock 25
Fort Collins CO
May
I just signed up for this race. I learned so much on the course last year and this will be a great race to work on my uphill speed walking. I also hope to not add a matching scar. Hoping Kate will be around for this one cause no one touches the King's Eggs*
Grandma's Marathon
Duluth, MN
June
This one is a maybe and it's only if my sister decides to run it. I told her if she signed up for it I would run it with her. I'm a little apprehensive about this since it is so close to some other runs. I want to heed the advice from Ryan about not doing anything stupid to compromise my training so I will have to play it by ear. The race never fills up so I can make it a game time decision, but I'm keeping it on my radar for now.
Northfork 50k/50mi
Pine, CO
June
So much depends on if I get into Leadville or not. If I don't then I want another go at the 50 miler. If that's the case then I'll have to disappoint my sister and bow out of Grandma's. If I do get into Leadville, I'd like to do the 50k as a training run. It falls right in the middle of a 30mi/10mi weekend set so I think it would be good to get an aided trail run in for that.
Leadville 100
Leadville, CO
August 22
So that's the tentative calendar. Really the results of the Leadville lottery will determine a lot of what my summer race calendar looks like as well as my ultimate calendar. I'm playing a few fun tournaments (New Year's Fest in Tempe over Super Bowl weekend, Poultry Days, and Master's Nationals which are in Colorado this year!!!)
Friday, December 19, 2014
Idiots out wandering around
Training summary for December 14 - December 20
Recap of last week:
Well I didn't succeed in all of what I wanted to do last week. I got up a bit late on Saturday so didn't get a run in before the first official meeting of the Bagel Trust. It was ok though, I got some killer bagels and rugelach. I did get out on a run later that afternoon, 6 miles on the road so not the trail run I had hoped for. So I could be mad, or I could just be happy that I got a good night sleep, good bagels with good friends, and a run in. Not too shabby.
Total Miles: 24
Week 2:
Sunday - eek, didn't get a run in. I have no excuse except for being out late on Saturday night, drinking a bit too much, and then going to a boozy brunch Sunday. I did get a heck of a lot done on Sunday, but none of it involved running shoes.
Monday - Mondays and Fridays are technically my "rest" days. But, understanding that life happens I know that sometimes I need to do runs on those days. So I pumped myself up as I left work on Monday and geared up for a longer run. I had a new podcast to tryout, Risk! and it was a great fit and something I'll add into my road run motivation set. I did a little over 8 miles and felt pretty good about myself after my lack luster weekend performance.
Tuesday - Hill Repeats. We did a little under 8 miles. I am still a lot slower than everyone else running, but I feel like I've got so much faster compared to last year. I ended up finishing the workout by myself which was ok. I forget how beautiful it is to be on top of the mountain and over look Denver and it was a nice sight to take in by myself after a hard workout. When I got back to the parking lot I was pretty happy to see that Ryan left me a Ninjabread in my car door.
Wednesday - Trivia! I didn't run I went to trivia and the Japanese Honey Bees pulled out a last minute win by rocking the Christmas Carol final category.
Thursday - eek, another missed day. I was going to run at lunch, but I've been on the struggle bus every morning and ended up rushing to get myself to work on time. Therefore I did not pack stuff to run at lunch. After work we had a stitch and bitch so I was busy cooking and hanging. No run, but it was a fun night.
Friday - I knew I had to run today. 3 days off is no good for consistency. I did a short 5 mile run in the neighborhood. Not a lot of miles, but I'm super excited by my pace. When I do my afterwork runs I just try to get the miles in and not worry too much about my pace. I went into this run wanting to take it pretty fast and I did it.
Saturday - Santa Stampede! Jill and I are running the first race in the winter distance series!!! I'm super pumped for it, we get a Santa hat you guys! It's a 10k so I'm excited to run it as fast as I can.
I'm planning on a longer run Sunday, I don't know if the weather will be cooperative to get in a trail run but that'd be my preference. I think it will be a great challenge to run the 10k hard and be tired for my Sunday long run.
Recap of last week:
Well I didn't succeed in all of what I wanted to do last week. I got up a bit late on Saturday so didn't get a run in before the first official meeting of the Bagel Trust. It was ok though, I got some killer bagels and rugelach. I did get out on a run later that afternoon, 6 miles on the road so not the trail run I had hoped for. So I could be mad, or I could just be happy that I got a good night sleep, good bagels with good friends, and a run in. Not too shabby.
Total Miles: 24
Week 2:
Sunday - eek, didn't get a run in. I have no excuse except for being out late on Saturday night, drinking a bit too much, and then going to a boozy brunch Sunday. I did get a heck of a lot done on Sunday, but none of it involved running shoes.
Monday - Mondays and Fridays are technically my "rest" days. But, understanding that life happens I know that sometimes I need to do runs on those days. So I pumped myself up as I left work on Monday and geared up for a longer run. I had a new podcast to tryout, Risk! and it was a great fit and something I'll add into my road run motivation set. I did a little over 8 miles and felt pretty good about myself after my lack luster weekend performance.
Tuesday - Hill Repeats. We did a little under 8 miles. I am still a lot slower than everyone else running, but I feel like I've got so much faster compared to last year. I ended up finishing the workout by myself which was ok. I forget how beautiful it is to be on top of the mountain and over look Denver and it was a nice sight to take in by myself after a hard workout. When I got back to the parking lot I was pretty happy to see that Ryan left me a Ninjabread in my car door.
Wednesday - Trivia! I didn't run I went to trivia and the Japanese Honey Bees pulled out a last minute win by rocking the Christmas Carol final category.
Thursday - eek, another missed day. I was going to run at lunch, but I've been on the struggle bus every morning and ended up rushing to get myself to work on time. Therefore I did not pack stuff to run at lunch. After work we had a stitch and bitch so I was busy cooking and hanging. No run, but it was a fun night.
Friday - I knew I had to run today. 3 days off is no good for consistency. I did a short 5 mile run in the neighborhood. Not a lot of miles, but I'm super excited by my pace. When I do my afterwork runs I just try to get the miles in and not worry too much about my pace. I went into this run wanting to take it pretty fast and I did it.
Saturday - Santa Stampede! Jill and I are running the first race in the winter distance series!!! I'm super pumped for it, we get a Santa hat you guys! It's a 10k so I'm excited to run it as fast as I can.
I'm planning on a longer run Sunday, I don't know if the weather will be cooperative to get in a trail run but that'd be my preference. I think it will be a great challenge to run the 10k hard and be tired for my Sunday long run.
Friday, December 12, 2014
Idiots out wandering around
Now that I officially put my name into the Leadville 100 Lottery I need to get some serious training in. To help keep myself more accountable than my kitchen calendar, I'm going to update the weeks training hopefully each Friday. I won't be linking these posts to social media (other than this first one) so if you're super curious about my training you'll have to come here by your self.
I have some newer posts in the queue that I'm working on, so have no fear my philosophical musing on running will reappear once I get my writing and editing on.
WEEK ONE
December 7 - 13
Sunday: I was in Minnesota for my cousins wedding. Sunday's training consisted of eating brunch, taking a nap on my sisters love seat, going out to a fat italian dinner at a place my mom called "pantaloonees", and watching A Christmas Story the Musical. Yep...successfully training for the day after Leadville. (Author's note I did run 4ish miles on Saturday so that's not too bad for vacation)
Monday: I flew into Denver at 6:50am and went straight to work. I took a nap in my car. Came home and helped my mom set up her new iphone. Fell asleep before 9pm. Hey rest is important for good racing!
Tuesday: HILL REPEATS! 8ish miles up Rooney Valley trail followed by 10 shorts (5 running hard downhill 5 running hard uphill). The weather was amazing. I felt good overall, not much knee pain on the downhill which is a bonus. I'm still way slower than everyone else, but it was nice to have people at the top to run with.
Wednesday: 4ish miles during lunch. It was a struggle, the day after hills always seems harder and lunch runs are tough for me. I had some commitments after work so I wanted to make sure I got a run in even if it was a bit shorter.
Thursday: 6miles, normal loop in the hood. Felt a lot better than Wednesday.
Friday: Today is a rest day, I've had two cups of Denver Bike Cafe coffee so I'm pretty jittery.
Saturday: My training sheet says 18miles, but I haven't built up my mileage enough for that. To avoid injury the current plan is to try and do 10-13 miles on trail and then eat a lot of cookies and drink delicious beer at the ugly sweater cookie exchange party.
I have some newer posts in the queue that I'm working on, so have no fear my philosophical musing on running will reappear once I get my writing and editing on.
Leadville 100 / 2015 Running Season Training
WEEK ONE
December 7 - 13
Sunday: I was in Minnesota for my cousins wedding. Sunday's training consisted of eating brunch, taking a nap on my sisters love seat, going out to a fat italian dinner at a place my mom called "pantaloonees", and watching A Christmas Story the Musical. Yep...successfully training for the day after Leadville. (Author's note I did run 4ish miles on Saturday so that's not too bad for vacation)
Monday: I flew into Denver at 6:50am and went straight to work. I took a nap in my car. Came home and helped my mom set up her new iphone. Fell asleep before 9pm. Hey rest is important for good racing!
Tuesday: HILL REPEATS! 8ish miles up Rooney Valley trail followed by 10 shorts (5 running hard downhill 5 running hard uphill). The weather was amazing. I felt good overall, not much knee pain on the downhill which is a bonus. I'm still way slower than everyone else, but it was nice to have people at the top to run with.
Wednesday: 4ish miles during lunch. It was a struggle, the day after hills always seems harder and lunch runs are tough for me. I had some commitments after work so I wanted to make sure I got a run in even if it was a bit shorter.
Thursday: 6miles, normal loop in the hood. Felt a lot better than Wednesday.
Friday: Today is a rest day, I've had two cups of Denver Bike Cafe coffee so I'm pretty jittery.
Saturday: My training sheet says 18miles, but I haven't built up my mileage enough for that. To avoid injury the current plan is to try and do 10-13 miles on trail and then eat a lot of cookies and drink delicious beer at the ugly sweater cookie exchange party.
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