It's back to work this week, which will work out perfectly since this is a recovery week for running. The goals are to keep running with a high intensity but pull the miles back to about half or so.
Monday; May 23: After last week's 87 miles and the back to back 22 milers, it was a day off.
Tuesday; May 24: Down to Colorado Springs to run with JD and the Garden of the Gods group. We were greeted by a wonderfully cool rain to start our 5 mile tempo run up and down the hills. It's odd that the rain did not discourage anyone! It was the usual 50+ folks who were standing around in the rain, yapping before getting started. Seems the weather was a welcome change.
After the 5 miler, I continued on for another easy 3 miler, rounding the day out at 8 miles.
Wednesday; May 25: A commute and then flying all day produced the day off.
Thursday; May 26: After yesterday's long venture of dodging thunderstorms, it was a sleeping in morning. Waking up in Vegas sent me to the gym for a weight lifting session of abs, legs, and biceps. Then, onto the elliptical for 8 miles of pure fun while listening to some AC/DC, Tone Loc, and Led Zepplin. Once that was mission was complete, off to the treadmill for 4 miles worth of hill repeats....6 total at 3-5% incline for 3/10 to 1/2 mile each. A total of 12 miles total to round out the day. A good effort despite being tired from work.
Friday; May 27: OUCHY!!!! A redeye from Vegas to Cincinnati! Sleep was easy for a few hours and then hit n miss for a couple more hours. Oddly enough and despite crawling down to the sauna/treadmill the run went rather well. The first 6 miles being on the elliptical and then 2 more miles on the treadmill. This two miler was a good exercise and purposeful exercise at practicing some of the uphill walking stuff. As I have posted before, I do not like to walk during a run and will avoid it unless absolutely necessary. BUT....knowing Leadville will most likely reduce me to a walk in some sections, I had better practice the routine and get good at it. (Also, TrailRunner Mag had a great article on the subject recently..thanks Lynne) So, with the incline set at 6%, it was power walking for 2/10 of mile at 4 MPH and then trotting at 4% for 2/10 of a mile at 6MPH, for a total of two miles. A good effort to get the head/body to go from running to walking to running. A total of 8 miles today.
Saturday; May 28: Waking up in Vegas after not enough sleep produced a very easy 6 mile effort. At least this was outside verses the sauna/treadmill. Running outside in Vegas is always an effort in dodging the riff raff from the night life on the streets. That place never sleeps and I never quite understand the lure of drinking, gambling and debauchery. Some folks enjoy the whole Vegas strip thing, but I just don't get it. On the other hand, many/most folks just don't get running in mountains for hours on end! Nevertheless, a run outside was a nice break from the previous two days of inside running.
Sunday; May 29: A just git 'er done kind of run...an easy 8 miler.
Summary: An easy week as planned. Just a couple of decent workouts with hill repeats and the rest "filler" runs. It is always amazing how work can affect the running. Some work weeks, the miles happen with ease and the logbook reflects 70 miles , but other weeks, it's all I can do get 40 miles in at a reduced effort. Sometimes I wonder how other folks train for these ultra races or just enjoy the pure fun of running many miles. As we all know, doing our hobbies/passions often requires us to "just do it" and to "just do whatever it takes" to get the activity in. Also, we are all fully aware that if we wait until we have time to exercise or time to pursue our passions, we will most likely never get to that exercise or passion. It has to be part of your day.
Total miles: 42.0
Total for the year: 1265.0
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
May 16 to May 22
Being home from work all week should produce a banner week of running! The basic plan is to run another hard, high mileage week and then next week reduce the miles for some recovery...plus I have a hard 5 day trip, starting on Wednesday.
Monday; May 16: Well, this is a fine start to the week since I took the day off from running! Just needed it after Sunday's effort. No real aches or pains but definitely some fatigue happening in the legs.
Tuesday; May 17: Down to the basement for an early weight lifting session and then out the door...solo...lazy boy was sleeping in !
Nothing exciting here...just a basic 12 miler that went well. These are often called "filler" runs since there is not much distance and no real meaningful hill or speed work. The benefits gained are miles run (often on tired legs), time on the feet, and of course, the pure joy of running.
Unfortunately for Traysen, he missed these guys:
Red Tailed Hawk. We have one that hangs out in the meadows near the end of the driveway.
An aberts squirrel.
Wednesday; May 18: A good outing with Traysen for 8 miles with 5 "pick ups" or more like a fartlek type run on the hills around the house. After the big boy was done, I went out for a couple more miles with hill repeats on Vicki's driveway. It was very easy to feel that the legs are quite tired right now. That's ok since it is the cumulative effect of running 160 miles over the past two weeks. This week should top out around 85+ miles and then next week is a recovery week. Dealing with tired legs or an overall tired feeling is part of the training for ultras. One of the key factors is to determine what is basic fatigue and what is burnout or injury.
Thursday; May 19: A slow start put the ole bones at Mueller at 645am! Nevertheless, off I went on what was supposed to be about 15 miles or 3 hours, whichever came first. The first hour and a half went well but then I fizzled! Just no pep in the step so I was able to practice some of that run then walk a bit then run then walk a bit. So, it was the 3 hours that came first and a quick analysis revealed a mere 10 miles. Just one of those sloppy run days.
On the bright side, Mueller was in rare form this morning. With yesterday's rain/snow mix, there was a light fresh layer of snow on the trails and throughout the woods, which made for a soft and smushy romp. Within the first few minutes, I passed over turkey tracks in the snow, heard numerous birds, saw a few "common" residents of the woods...squirrels, rabbits, and a few deer. However, the following pics show a few more varmits that crossed the path this morning:
Several of these guys live all over Teller County, CO. We are blessed that many of them hang out in Mueller where they are 100% protected.
These three ladies were wandering through a meadow, munching on bugs, grass or ? Oddly enough, they knew I was very close by but did not high tail it to the woods.
Way too cute fella, searching for mice?
Same mission as the above fox! This particular guy looked very healthy with a full coat.
And then there was this undetermined species! Known to run hither and yon for long distances....claimed to have a very hard head and not an ounce of common sense!
Friday; May 20: A day to remember! Jim Case has put up with the above "undetermined species" for 11 years! And how are we celebrating? Well, I am running and Jim is working. Oh seriously, we have learned to celebrate on whatever day it works with the schedules. I appreciate all Jim does for us and truly value his care, support, and love.
As for the working out today: Savanna (youngest mini dachshund) and I were in the basement by 5am for a weight lifting session of abs, chest, and biceps. Traysen joined us just before we finished so he was alive for the start of the running portion. Off we went for an easy 8 miler of a tempo run , where the highlight was listening to the meadowlarks. After dropping the big boy off at the house, it was a cross country romp through the neighbor's property. These little outings are not only fun, but they force me to pick up the feet. So, a nice 11 miler.
Saturday; May 21: Many of the Team CRUD folks are running a very difficult 50 miler today, the Jemez 50. Here's hoping they all did well.
An early start sent me to Mueller State Park. This place is amazing at 545am..no cars, no people, no noise...just me n the varmits. Oddly enough there is a small herd of deer that hang out at the visitor center and have greeted me several times. Nevertheless, off I went on my usual routing on trail numbers 4, 6, 1, and then down the closed trail to 18, 20, 1, 6, 4 ....and back to the visitor center. (You gotta look at the map to know where those trails go.) http://parks.state.co.us/SiteCollectionImages/parks/Parks/Mueller/MuellerNewTrailMap.pdf
Lynne and Lori had driven up and were ready at 8am sharp....after quick good mornings, I asked, "are you guys up for an adventure?" Both agreed and off we went.....onto trail number 3....Now, I knew the adventure would involve hills since that is all there is in Mueller, however, very soon we realized we had stumbled onto the biggest, baddest, steepest, lung busting hills in Mueller! Cussing myself, we slogged up these monsters, huffing n puffing like three steam engines! An interesting note is that Lori is just coming off of a sidelining bout with plantar fascitis that has kept her from running for a few months! And she had just spent the last week on the east coast! She did great and I don't think she was bashing ole Sarah too much.
Lori hung with us a while longer and then Lynne and I took off for more hilly fun....one of which was the long climb on the Cheesman Tr. Running that bad boy nonstop, we trotted a ways on the road before parting company with me peeling off onto the dirt and Lynne heading back to the visitor center. That last bit on the trail was an easy jog to round the day out at 22 miles.
More on Lori's injury: Her case of the dreaded PF was quite painful, requiring various forms of rehab and NO running! She did all the right things and is now slowly working herself back up to her former level of fitness. (Lori has run an assortment of marathons and a few ultras and at the time of the injury she was running steadily with the Sunrise Strider group for speed work.) For some folks this would be the time to give in to age and injury and fall into the category of "I used to run/exercise But....." It takes quite a bit of mental will power to resume running after an extensive layoff. There is the pain of bringing yourself back up to the comfortable level you once were since the body is now conditioned to not put forth considerable effort. Also, after an extensive layoff, our minds have usually found several other "more important" activities such as sleeping in! So, coming back from an injury is often as much of a mental effort as a physical effort. Now, there are situations which warrant hanging up the running shoes, but these are often extreme and hopefully a person can find another form of exercise.
Lori is a true runner and will work herself back to where she was before the PF took over. And Lori...I promise not to take you trail number 3 in Mueller until you are kicking my behind once again!!!! Which will be soon!
Sunday; May 22: The hard head was determined to blaze up/down Barr Trail today for another 22 miler, but some "issues" came up which forced the run from the front door of home. The good news is that the 22 miler went very well, was done on dirt, on hills at 8500' to 9000". So, while not exactly what was hoped for, the run happened and it was a good strong effort. The other good news is that by running from home, my four legged running partner, Traysen, was able to join for 9 miles of the run.
Summary: An amazing week of running!!! The second highest mileage week of all time at 87.0 miles!
Total for the year is 1223.0. A reasonably good quality week: some hill repeats, two long runs, a few days of "filler" miles, and 2 weight lifting sessions.
With all the miles, the body/head are a bit "worn".....the key is to determine when you are tired, when you are injured or when you are burned out. And then once you figure which is the issue, then you can make adjustments and correct what is not working. In this case, it is a matter of being basically extra tired from all the miles. It is not burnout because each day I cannot wait to get out the door for a run. And it is not injury...no real aches or pains that are constant or of concern. A simple case of many, many miles and the body and head needing to pull the efforts back a bit and allow for some recovery. To continue without a reduction/recovery would lead to the burnout and the injury. This coming week will provide the reduction in mileage but yet hopefully I can continue with the speed work efforts.
Monday; May 16: Well, this is a fine start to the week since I took the day off from running! Just needed it after Sunday's effort. No real aches or pains but definitely some fatigue happening in the legs.
Tuesday; May 17: Down to the basement for an early weight lifting session and then out the door...solo...lazy boy was sleeping in !
Nothing exciting here...just a basic 12 miler that went well. These are often called "filler" runs since there is not much distance and no real meaningful hill or speed work. The benefits gained are miles run (often on tired legs), time on the feet, and of course, the pure joy of running.
Unfortunately for Traysen, he missed these guys:
Red Tailed Hawk. We have one that hangs out in the meadows near the end of the driveway.
An aberts squirrel.
Wednesday; May 18: A good outing with Traysen for 8 miles with 5 "pick ups" or more like a fartlek type run on the hills around the house. After the big boy was done, I went out for a couple more miles with hill repeats on Vicki's driveway. It was very easy to feel that the legs are quite tired right now. That's ok since it is the cumulative effect of running 160 miles over the past two weeks. This week should top out around 85+ miles and then next week is a recovery week. Dealing with tired legs or an overall tired feeling is part of the training for ultras. One of the key factors is to determine what is basic fatigue and what is burnout or injury.
Thursday; May 19: A slow start put the ole bones at Mueller at 645am! Nevertheless, off I went on what was supposed to be about 15 miles or 3 hours, whichever came first. The first hour and a half went well but then I fizzled! Just no pep in the step so I was able to practice some of that run then walk a bit then run then walk a bit. So, it was the 3 hours that came first and a quick analysis revealed a mere 10 miles. Just one of those sloppy run days.
On the bright side, Mueller was in rare form this morning. With yesterday's rain/snow mix, there was a light fresh layer of snow on the trails and throughout the woods, which made for a soft and smushy romp. Within the first few minutes, I passed over turkey tracks in the snow, heard numerous birds, saw a few "common" residents of the woods...squirrels, rabbits, and a few deer. However, the following pics show a few more varmits that crossed the path this morning:
Several of these guys live all over Teller County, CO. We are blessed that many of them hang out in Mueller where they are 100% protected.
These three ladies were wandering through a meadow, munching on bugs, grass or ? Oddly enough, they knew I was very close by but did not high tail it to the woods.
Way too cute fella, searching for mice?
Same mission as the above fox! This particular guy looked very healthy with a full coat.
And then there was this undetermined species! Known to run hither and yon for long distances....claimed to have a very hard head and not an ounce of common sense!
Friday; May 20: A day to remember! Jim Case has put up with the above "undetermined species" for 11 years! And how are we celebrating? Well, I am running and Jim is working. Oh seriously, we have learned to celebrate on whatever day it works with the schedules. I appreciate all Jim does for us and truly value his care, support, and love.
As for the working out today: Savanna (youngest mini dachshund) and I were in the basement by 5am for a weight lifting session of abs, chest, and biceps. Traysen joined us just before we finished so he was alive for the start of the running portion. Off we went for an easy 8 miler of a tempo run , where the highlight was listening to the meadowlarks. After dropping the big boy off at the house, it was a cross country romp through the neighbor's property. These little outings are not only fun, but they force me to pick up the feet. So, a nice 11 miler.
Saturday; May 21: Many of the Team CRUD folks are running a very difficult 50 miler today, the Jemez 50. Here's hoping they all did well.
An early start sent me to Mueller State Park. This place is amazing at 545am..no cars, no people, no noise...just me n the varmits. Oddly enough there is a small herd of deer that hang out at the visitor center and have greeted me several times. Nevertheless, off I went on my usual routing on trail numbers 4, 6, 1, and then down the closed trail to 18, 20, 1, 6, 4 ....and back to the visitor center. (You gotta look at the map to know where those trails go.) http://parks.state.co.us/SiteCollectionImages/parks/Parks/Mueller/MuellerNewTrailMap.pdf
Lynne and Lori had driven up and were ready at 8am sharp....after quick good mornings, I asked, "are you guys up for an adventure?" Both agreed and off we went.....onto trail number 3....Now, I knew the adventure would involve hills since that is all there is in Mueller, however, very soon we realized we had stumbled onto the biggest, baddest, steepest, lung busting hills in Mueller! Cussing myself, we slogged up these monsters, huffing n puffing like three steam engines! An interesting note is that Lori is just coming off of a sidelining bout with plantar fascitis that has kept her from running for a few months! And she had just spent the last week on the east coast! She did great and I don't think she was bashing ole Sarah too much.
Lori hung with us a while longer and then Lynne and I took off for more hilly fun....one of which was the long climb on the Cheesman Tr. Running that bad boy nonstop, we trotted a ways on the road before parting company with me peeling off onto the dirt and Lynne heading back to the visitor center. That last bit on the trail was an easy jog to round the day out at 22 miles.
More on Lori's injury: Her case of the dreaded PF was quite painful, requiring various forms of rehab and NO running! She did all the right things and is now slowly working herself back up to her former level of fitness. (Lori has run an assortment of marathons and a few ultras and at the time of the injury she was running steadily with the Sunrise Strider group for speed work.) For some folks this would be the time to give in to age and injury and fall into the category of "I used to run/exercise But....." It takes quite a bit of mental will power to resume running after an extensive layoff. There is the pain of bringing yourself back up to the comfortable level you once were since the body is now conditioned to not put forth considerable effort. Also, after an extensive layoff, our minds have usually found several other "more important" activities such as sleeping in! So, coming back from an injury is often as much of a mental effort as a physical effort. Now, there are situations which warrant hanging up the running shoes, but these are often extreme and hopefully a person can find another form of exercise.
Lori is a true runner and will work herself back to where she was before the PF took over. And Lori...I promise not to take you trail number 3 in Mueller until you are kicking my behind once again!!!! Which will be soon!
Sunday; May 22: The hard head was determined to blaze up/down Barr Trail today for another 22 miler, but some "issues" came up which forced the run from the front door of home. The good news is that the 22 miler went very well, was done on dirt, on hills at 8500' to 9000". So, while not exactly what was hoped for, the run happened and it was a good strong effort. The other good news is that by running from home, my four legged running partner, Traysen, was able to join for 9 miles of the run.
Summary: An amazing week of running!!! The second highest mileage week of all time at 87.0 miles!
Total for the year is 1223.0. A reasonably good quality week: some hill repeats, two long runs, a few days of "filler" miles, and 2 weight lifting sessions.
With all the miles, the body/head are a bit "worn".....the key is to determine when you are tired, when you are injured or when you are burned out. And then once you figure which is the issue, then you can make adjustments and correct what is not working. In this case, it is a matter of being basically extra tired from all the miles. It is not burnout because each day I cannot wait to get out the door for a run. And it is not injury...no real aches or pains that are constant or of concern. A simple case of many, many miles and the body and head needing to pull the efforts back a bit and allow for some recovery. To continue without a reduction/recovery would lead to the burnout and the injury. This coming week will provide the reduction in mileage but yet hopefully I can continue with the speed work efforts.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
May 9 to May 15
Here we go with another week of wonderful running. With a good 7 weeks or so until the Leadville race, all systems are working great.
Monday; May 9: A late arrival into Missoula and a light all night drizzle forced a sleepy head til about 8am. With 2 cups of Wolfgang Puck coffee, out the door for a beautiful 12 miler in the 45 degree drizzle. The first 8-9 miles of the run was easy enough on the flat paved/dirt/rock trail along the Clark Fork River trail. During the first hour, the ole legs were cranking out some nice miles then the next half hour was a reduced effort. Opting to avoid the homeless creature along a remote section of the trail, I took off up hill on the Hellgate Canyon Trail. Oh wow!!! This was a wonderfully steep haul up to the top of Mount Sentinel; the trail was quite technical being covered in lots of small rocks but the surrounding edges were nothing but trees and very thick moss. The whole run was pungent with the sweet Cottonwood trees in bloom smell, but on this particular trail, the aroma was most intense. I call this the "sweet Alaska smell" since it is very common in the Anchorage area in the early spring. Even after the 20 milers over the weekend, the legs were able to tackle this climb quite well, but I could also feel they were tired and a bit sore.......all good news since this means improvement.
The view from the top of the Hellgate Canyon Tr. Clark Fork River in the center and Missoula in the background.
The open portions of the trail were nothing but rock while the tree covered portions were nothing but lots of moss!
A runner's dream trail.....a somewhat flatter section of Hellgate Tr. with no rocks......this was just about Heaven.
Hard to see, but the sides of some of this trail were covered in nothing but moss!
One of my favorite flowers was just coming into bloom. A shooting star flower.
Tuesday; May 10; A 5:55am (ouchy) departure out of Missoula and then the commute home yielded a day off from running.
Wednesday; May 11: The dogs kicked the ole bones out of bed at 520am...which is actually late! A slow start and Traysen and I ran in the midst of the blizzard. Yes, I said that correctly...Blizzard!!!! Complete with a cold stiff wind and blowing snow! After about 5 miles, Traysen's ears and whiskers were frozen and he was done. Unfortunately, I am not that smart and opted to drop him off at the house and go back out for 6 more miles of joy! Honestly, it wasn't bad; just kept telling myself it was January and to get over it. Running in bad weather is often a matter of having the correct gear (clothing, hats, gloves, etc) and the right frame of mind....and a hot shower at the end of the run is always helpful. A total of 11 miles today; not a hard effort, but not too bad either.
It's May 11th for crying out loud!!! And I was going to get petunias this week!?
Thursday; May 12: It seems as though this was a good time or just the day for a sloppy run...or more like a slog fest, walk the uphills, the ole bones just won't get movin' kind of day! As I have mentioned, some days are like that for no distinct reason and the key is to just get through it, knowing better running days are ahead. After 8 miles, Traysen told Mom to call it a day.
Friday; May 13: Friday, the 13th! Many, many years ago, a boyfriend (or whatever you call it in the 8th grade) took me to see the original movie, Friday the 13th. I slept with my mommy for 3 weeks! Not a horror flick kind of girl...more like Bambi movie type.
Even after Traysen was dealing with a tummy issue throughout the night (and getting Mom up three times), it was a very nice 13 mile outing. Instead of actual hill repeats, I opted to run "nonstop" hill repeats. As each hill (nothing but hills around my house) was approached, I picked up the pace and pushed until the top or somewhere below the top, then pulled the pace back to a steady trot. This means the recovery from the hard effort was done while still running a good pace, verses walking, stopping, crawling or turning around and trotting downhill. The lungs/body are forced to recover while still continuing a good effort.
I finally took the plunge today and got a massage from Leah, an excellent therapist in Divide, CO. For about a half hour, she worked on the upper back and the legs and it was well worth the $$$$. Almost immediately, the neck/upper back was much better and the soreness from hills/weight lifting was gone. I have always considered massages a luxury but as the body ages, it is becoming clear that more recovery is needed. This recovery can come in the form of rest (a nap every day and less life stress), stretching, yoga and yes, massage on areas that are stiff, tight or sore. So, hopefully these lovely treatments can continue at least through the race in July.
Saturday; May 14th: Sleeping in til 5am, it was quite a daylight start at 6am. Traysen and I headed out for a nice 8 miler and after dropping him off at the house, it was down to Vicki's driveway for some actual hill repeats. OUCHY! Running 3/10 mile hill repeats at 8500' will put hair on your chest!!! Oooppps....I am girl, but you know what I mean! A decent effort on the hills to round out the day at 10 miles.
On the walk back through the meadows in front of the house, I found a "prize."
One of the many great reasons to live out in the boonies! These are plentiful throughout the spring and summer. Finding them often requires wandering through the woods with eyes wide open.....
Sunday; May 15: Well now, old man winter just will not leave ...or is that he finally arrived? A cold misty drizzle was blanketing the Pikes Peak region this morning as I headed out for a very long run. Starting in Manitou, the climbing began up Ruxton Ave, up Barr Trail to No Name creek and then back down to meet Lynne after the first 2:30 of running....that's two hours and thirty minutes. That first portion of the run went very well, the climbing was easy and the heart rate stayed at a comfortable level. Barr Trail was wonderfully muddy and the higher the trail, the colder the temps and the more snow on the surrounding trees/rocks.
Once meeting up with Lynne, we ventured into Garden of the Gods for more mud sliding. Of course, we had to run a short section on the far eastern side of the park where the black mud clings to your shoes and adds a weight lifting segment to the run. Otherwise, the trails were perfectly runable with plenty of mud and "horse apples." After 3:15, we ended up back in Manitou....that's three hours and fifteen minutes. Lynne had run a really nice day and decided that was enough. Throughout the run I kept mentioning to her that she should enter a race....like the Leadville 50 miler! Told her it would put hair on her upper lip!!!! Luckily, she has some common sense and indicated that if she ran that race she would have to write a book titled, "How to train for a 50 mile while running one day a week." Okey dokey...but she is really running well!
Being determined to round the day out with 6 hours of running or 30 miles, which ever came first, I launched into an additional 25 minutes of running and rounded the day out with about 28-30 miles. (Didn't measure it on MapMyRun, but this is a good estimate based on previous runs on these trails.)
Pikes Peak shrouded in the mist. The cloud layers started just above the cog railway this morning.
One of the highlights of the run: the wild clematis flowers are just starting to bloom along the dirt road section above Ruxton, leading to Barr Trail.
Summary: Wooo Hoooo.....what a great week of running! Plenty of miles, plenty of hills, and a few quality runs in some favorite places! Should a person really have this much fun running? Yep, my husband calls me psycho and I consider that a compliment.!
Total miles for the week: 82.0; Total miles for the year: 1137.0
Monday; May 9: A late arrival into Missoula and a light all night drizzle forced a sleepy head til about 8am. With 2 cups of Wolfgang Puck coffee, out the door for a beautiful 12 miler in the 45 degree drizzle. The first 8-9 miles of the run was easy enough on the flat paved/dirt/rock trail along the Clark Fork River trail. During the first hour, the ole legs were cranking out some nice miles then the next half hour was a reduced effort. Opting to avoid the homeless creature along a remote section of the trail, I took off up hill on the Hellgate Canyon Trail. Oh wow!!! This was a wonderfully steep haul up to the top of Mount Sentinel; the trail was quite technical being covered in lots of small rocks but the surrounding edges were nothing but trees and very thick moss. The whole run was pungent with the sweet Cottonwood trees in bloom smell, but on this particular trail, the aroma was most intense. I call this the "sweet Alaska smell" since it is very common in the Anchorage area in the early spring. Even after the 20 milers over the weekend, the legs were able to tackle this climb quite well, but I could also feel they were tired and a bit sore.......all good news since this means improvement.
The view from the top of the Hellgate Canyon Tr. Clark Fork River in the center and Missoula in the background.
The open portions of the trail were nothing but rock while the tree covered portions were nothing but lots of moss!
A runner's dream trail.....a somewhat flatter section of Hellgate Tr. with no rocks......this was just about Heaven.
Hard to see, but the sides of some of this trail were covered in nothing but moss!
One of my favorite flowers was just coming into bloom. A shooting star flower.
Tuesday; May 10; A 5:55am (ouchy) departure out of Missoula and then the commute home yielded a day off from running.
Wednesday; May 11: The dogs kicked the ole bones out of bed at 520am...which is actually late! A slow start and Traysen and I ran in the midst of the blizzard. Yes, I said that correctly...Blizzard!!!! Complete with a cold stiff wind and blowing snow! After about 5 miles, Traysen's ears and whiskers were frozen and he was done. Unfortunately, I am not that smart and opted to drop him off at the house and go back out for 6 more miles of joy! Honestly, it wasn't bad; just kept telling myself it was January and to get over it. Running in bad weather is often a matter of having the correct gear (clothing, hats, gloves, etc) and the right frame of mind....and a hot shower at the end of the run is always helpful. A total of 11 miles today; not a hard effort, but not too bad either.
It's May 11th for crying out loud!!! And I was going to get petunias this week!?
Thursday; May 12: It seems as though this was a good time or just the day for a sloppy run...or more like a slog fest, walk the uphills, the ole bones just won't get movin' kind of day! As I have mentioned, some days are like that for no distinct reason and the key is to just get through it, knowing better running days are ahead. After 8 miles, Traysen told Mom to call it a day.
Friday; May 13: Friday, the 13th! Many, many years ago, a boyfriend (or whatever you call it in the 8th grade) took me to see the original movie, Friday the 13th. I slept with my mommy for 3 weeks! Not a horror flick kind of girl...more like Bambi movie type.
Even after Traysen was dealing with a tummy issue throughout the night (and getting Mom up three times), it was a very nice 13 mile outing. Instead of actual hill repeats, I opted to run "nonstop" hill repeats. As each hill (nothing but hills around my house) was approached, I picked up the pace and pushed until the top or somewhere below the top, then pulled the pace back to a steady trot. This means the recovery from the hard effort was done while still running a good pace, verses walking, stopping, crawling or turning around and trotting downhill. The lungs/body are forced to recover while still continuing a good effort.
I finally took the plunge today and got a massage from Leah, an excellent therapist in Divide, CO. For about a half hour, she worked on the upper back and the legs and it was well worth the $$$$. Almost immediately, the neck/upper back was much better and the soreness from hills/weight lifting was gone. I have always considered massages a luxury but as the body ages, it is becoming clear that more recovery is needed. This recovery can come in the form of rest (a nap every day and less life stress), stretching, yoga and yes, massage on areas that are stiff, tight or sore. So, hopefully these lovely treatments can continue at least through the race in July.
Saturday; May 14th: Sleeping in til 5am, it was quite a daylight start at 6am. Traysen and I headed out for a nice 8 miler and after dropping him off at the house, it was down to Vicki's driveway for some actual hill repeats. OUCHY! Running 3/10 mile hill repeats at 8500' will put hair on your chest!!! Oooppps....I am girl, but you know what I mean! A decent effort on the hills to round out the day at 10 miles.
On the walk back through the meadows in front of the house, I found a "prize."
One of the many great reasons to live out in the boonies! These are plentiful throughout the spring and summer. Finding them often requires wandering through the woods with eyes wide open.....
Sunday; May 15: Well now, old man winter just will not leave ...or is that he finally arrived? A cold misty drizzle was blanketing the Pikes Peak region this morning as I headed out for a very long run. Starting in Manitou, the climbing began up Ruxton Ave, up Barr Trail to No Name creek and then back down to meet Lynne after the first 2:30 of running....that's two hours and thirty minutes. That first portion of the run went very well, the climbing was easy and the heart rate stayed at a comfortable level. Barr Trail was wonderfully muddy and the higher the trail, the colder the temps and the more snow on the surrounding trees/rocks.
Once meeting up with Lynne, we ventured into Garden of the Gods for more mud sliding. Of course, we had to run a short section on the far eastern side of the park where the black mud clings to your shoes and adds a weight lifting segment to the run. Otherwise, the trails were perfectly runable with plenty of mud and "horse apples." After 3:15, we ended up back in Manitou....that's three hours and fifteen minutes. Lynne had run a really nice day and decided that was enough. Throughout the run I kept mentioning to her that she should enter a race....like the Leadville 50 miler! Told her it would put hair on her upper lip!!!! Luckily, she has some common sense and indicated that if she ran that race she would have to write a book titled, "How to train for a 50 mile while running one day a week." Okey dokey...but she is really running well!
Being determined to round the day out with 6 hours of running or 30 miles, which ever came first, I launched into an additional 25 minutes of running and rounded the day out with about 28-30 miles. (Didn't measure it on MapMyRun, but this is a good estimate based on previous runs on these trails.)
Pikes Peak shrouded in the mist. The cloud layers started just above the cog railway this morning.
One of the highlights of the run: the wild clematis flowers are just starting to bloom along the dirt road section above Ruxton, leading to Barr Trail.
Summary: Wooo Hoooo.....what a great week of running! Plenty of miles, plenty of hills, and a few quality runs in some favorite places! Should a person really have this much fun running? Yep, my husband calls me psycho and I consider that a compliment.!
Total miles for the week: 82.0; Total miles for the year: 1137.0
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