gon4run

Feb 20 to Feb. 27

2012-02-28T17:18:00.001-08:00

A week of recovery is in order so nothing to spectatuclar to report.

Five days of running with a total of 45 miles for the week; brings the yearly total to 497.0 Most of the running was doen at home with one quick 6 miler in San Diego.

It is, however, official.....I have entered the GA Jewel 100K race on April 7th. The entry is in and confirmed. So I am committed now or else blow $70 on an entry fee.

The race start! Or maybe this is the outhouse?

http://georgiajewel.com/Site/The_Jewel_100K_50K.html

Feb. 13 to Feb. 19

2012-02-19T14:48:00.000-08:00

Off on a new week of running and with vacation, it should prove be a great time for many miles.

I was recently asked "How often do you change running shoes?" The basic answer is "Not often." Several sources, including Sportsmedicine.com , indicate we should change running shoes every 350-550 miles. OH, very funny....for those of us who about 2500 miles a year, that comes out to just over 7 pairs of shoes a year! (based on changing every 350 miles). Let's see....since a new pair typically cost about $100, that's $700 a year for shoes. Not too bad for a hobby that some of us take very seriously. The real gotcha is in the breaking in of a new pair of shoes. Personally, new shoes are a menace. Even with my own knowledge of what works for my feet and what doesn't work, it is a best guess as to whether a new pair is going to be able to go the distance and not cause issues. I written in the past that a New Balance 1123 has been a great shoe for these feet; however one flaw is that I constantly clip the opposing ankle due to the very wide, straight lasted mid sole. On the last shoe buying venture (always at my favorite store, Smith and Davis in Fayetteville, GA), I bypassed those NB 1123s and went to a Saucony Pro Grid Lite and a Adidas Kanadia trail shoe. So far, the Sauconys are proving to be a great shoe, very light weight, and have provided enough stability for trail running. The Adidas shoes are still in the closet. As for when I change shoes: it depends on the shoe. Once I see it is breaking down around the toe box and not providing enough stability in the forefoot, it is time to retire that shoe. As for mileage, I have no idea how many miles I put on a pair of shoes before retiring that shoe, but it is certainly far more than 550 miles!
Changing shoes is as personal as running itself. Some folks prefer a new pair every couple of months while others of us tend to run the things to death. It is a matter of finding what keeps you from getting injured and what allows you to run your best.

Monday; Feb. 13th: So much for the miles today. Needed the day off.

Tuesday; Feb. 14th: It's Valentine's Day....nope, no chocolate here....Just an early session in the gym for abs, wall squats, triceps and biceps. Then out the door solo for a brisk 9.0 miler. Traysen seems to have kinked his left front leg and is now being called, "Gimp Hound." A great run that was almost effortless!

Wednesday; Feb. 15th: A chilly start to the 10 miler that was again, effortless. Not sure what has brought on these easy runs, but they are just a hoot!

Thursday; Feb. 16th: Meeting up with Sandra at 630am in Garden of the Gods yielded a nice 6 mile effort on the outer loop trails; with work looming, Sandra was done and I took off for another 6 miles, covering some the same trails with a few twists. A very nice 12 mile effort on a beautiful morning.

Friday; Feb. 17th: One lazy family here! None of us stirred until 6am! Finally out the door for a slow 6 miler. Time for a very easy day as I head into the weekend with about 42 miles of running scheduled!

Saturday; Feb 18th: An early start with a half inch of fresh powder on the ground and about 15 degrees, a great start to a long run. This run went amazing well with plenty of energy, plenty of endurance, no aches or pains, and a nonstop, steady trot effort of 25 miles. It is runs like this that make long distance running worth the passion.

Sunday; Feb 19th: This will now be known as the "Girls Run with Horses" run. Sandra, Lori, Lynne and I met at Marshal Sprague Park in Colorado Springs for a bright n early outing on the Falcon Trail at the Air Force Academy. Much to the delightful laughter of Lori and Lynne (aka...long legs 1 and 2) Sandra and I provided much entertainment as we blundered over the fence to get to the access trail. Through a few gates and we found ourselves trotting down a dusty trail and to our surprise, we came up a herd of about 15 horses. Being comfortable with these varmits, I suggested we continue to follow them down the hill as they trotted in front of us. As they slowed we soon ourselves running amongst them for awhile and of course we were now going in the wrong direction. Luckily, Sandra said we needed to be "way back up there" so it was a reverse back to the proper trail and onto the Falcon Trail. An amazingly beautiful single track, complete with lots of rocks, tree roots, some snow, some ice and some wonderful cruiser sections with nothing but sand and dirt, this trail has something for everyone and I find it a refreshing outing from nonstop steep hills. With our detour to play "round up" we covered 18 miles. Way to go Lori, Lynne, and Sandra (who just completed her first back to back long runs this weekend!!!).

Total for the week: 80.0
Total for 2012: 447.0

Summary: A great week of running with plenty of quality training with some great friends. At this point, it is interesting to note that the only ailment is a bit of a blister on the left foot. Nothing serious, but just an annoyance on these last two long runs. The training is going perfectly well and hopefully that will continue.

Feb. 6 to Feb 12

2012-02-13T10:04:00.000-08:00

Back to running in the high altitude and hills this week with a brief excursion to Dallas, TX for work. The goals are lots of miles and to finally get my sorry butt back in the gym!

I have been reading The Lure of Long Distances by Robin Harvie. Not quite what was expected in this novel, but interesting nevertheless. The author describes how he developed the goal of running the Spartathlon in Greece; below is an except from the website, describing the origin of the event.

The Spartathlon revives the footsteps of Pheidippides, an ancient Athenian long distance runner, who in 490 BC, before the battle of Marathon, was sent to Sparta to seek help in the war between the Greeks and the Persians. According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides arrived in Sparta the day after his departure from Athens. Inspired by the report of the Greek historian, in 1982 five officers of the British Royal Air Force (RAF), who were also long-distance runners, traveled to Greece, led by Colonel John Foden. Their purpose was to ascertain whether it was possible to cover the 250 kilometers separating the two towns in one and a half days. The enthusiastic British team showed that the report by Herodotus was entirely plausible.
A man is indeed able to cover 250 km in less than two days and in fact in less than 40 hours. After the success of the project, the architect of the feat, John Foden, began to envision the establishment of a race that would bring long distance runners to Greece from around the world to run on the trail of the ancient runner Pheidippides. The next year a multinational team of British, Greek and other enthusiastic supporters of the idea, led by Michael Callaghan, a philhellene, organized the First International Spartathlon (Open International Spartathlon Race), wherein the name for the race combines the Greek words for Sparta and Feat.

http://www.spartathlon.gr/en.html

While training for this epic event, Robin gives insight into his childhood and how those years developed his need and desire to become a long distance runner. He relates several stories of how he and his brother spent hours exploring the country side of his Denmark home and all the while, he was becoming one who was unknowingly lured to long distances covered by the feet. Robin also relates the reasoning's or maybe some insight as to why some of us choose to run vast volumes of miles. One such relation describes runners as "solitary figures" and when asked why they run these miles, many describe various reasons, various crosses to bear, and various tragedies and various positive events that have inspired them to run; however, with all due respect to these mundane "reasons" long distance running comes down to a way of life. To run ultra races (any race over a marathon), takes a commitment; however, it is also a way of life with the efforts needed for training, for rest, for nutrition and those of us who run these races (or just run the long distances)willingly choose this way of life. For us it is not a sacrifice, not a burden but a wonderfully simple way of living our lives in a way that is meaningful to us.

Monday; Feb. 6th: A very slow start to this day but finally Traysen and I made it out the door for a basic 7 miler.

Tuesday; Feb. 7th: After getting my sorry butt down to the gym (three weeks off!!!) for a session of abs, back, and triceps, it was out the door....solo, without Traysen....It was about 10 degrees and he opted to hang out with dad in the gym....why do I think he is smarter than Mom? Well, smarter or not, he missed out on a very nice 12 mile run! Wonderfully cold and crisp with plenty of energy today!

Wednesday, Feb 8th; Work called for a day off!

Thursday; Feb. 9th: Sleeping in a bit in Dallas, my slacker butt finally wandered down to the gym in the late morning. After working chest, shoulders, wall squats, and abs, it was to the treadmill and ellip. Even though the weather was perfect, there is no where to run in this part of Addison, TX. Honestly, it is all concrete and roads with way too much traffic. So, with 11 miles on the agenda, it was a combo treadmill and ellip. effort. A nice workout with some hill repeats on the treadmill and lots of AC/DC, Led Zepplin, Billy Squier music!

Friday; Feb. 10th: A good early start for a 15.0 miler today. Traysen opted to stay home and be a lazy dog!

Saturday; Feb. 11th: A slow start today but Traysen and I made it out for a chilly 7.0 miler. Nothing special, just a nice jaunt around the house.

Sunday; Feb. 12: An early start at Red Rocks with 11 degrees! Ran the first 6.5 miles solo then met up with Sandra for a beautiful 12.0 miles that took up the Inteman Trail, Section 16 and back into Red Rocks. There was just enough snow to make it amazingly pretty while also providing some traction on the icy sections. Sandra, being the smart one, opted to say that 12 was enough, I took off for another 6.5 miles which took me through the Hogback Trail in Red Rocks. This is a nice steady, long climb...a great way to end the 25.0 miles for the day!

Summary: An awesome week of running with a long effort of 25.0 miles and one medium effort of 15. miles. Everything seems to be working perfectly so the training continues. I was recently reading the course description for the upcoming 100K...it went something like this: up the hill and then down the hill, around the barn, up the hill, down the hill, then through the creek, up the hill, down the hill and then through the woods to grandma's house we....(Opps....that's another story)...this is shaping up to be a wondefully challenging event.
total miles for the week: 75.0
total miles for 2012: 367.0

Jan. 30 to Feb. 5

2012-02-05T13:11:00.000-08:00

In Atlanta all week with the folks will prove to be a great time for some good mileage on the trails in Peachtree City, Ga. Since Savanna, the Tart Dachshund, is showing for 4 days a few of those runs will have to be afternoon events, which is not a bad thing.

Monday; Jan. 30: A day off was in order since it was a late night arrival from Ocala, FL.

Tuesday; Jan 31: Out the door early near the house for an 8 miler. A bit sluggish, it was still nice to get out in the early morning cool air. Traysen had a great time barking at numerous squirrels, squirrels with antlers, and a few passing bicycles!

Wednesday; Feb. 1: Time for a long run of 22 miles!! Out the door well before daylight and leaving Traysen at home with the grandparents, it was a parking lot start at Braelinn Village. (no headlamp or flashlight) Once there was just enough daylight, to the trails and many wonderful miles of bliss! The routing took me south for quite a distance, wandering around the outskirts of a few subdivisions, through some woods, and finally back to the car for some water at about the 15 mile mark. (no water bottle holder or camel back). Downing the H2O, back to the trails and ending the effort with an hour on the Stinky Trail! No kidding, that is the name! No, it was not stinky! It was actually very beautiful and full of rocks, tree roots, leaves, and a few small hills! I had read about this trail and wanted to give it a try; it was pure trail heaven! Overall, a nice long effort but not as much energy as I had hoped.

The Stinky Trail in Peachtree City, GA; honestly, it did not stink!

Thursday; Feb. 2: With dog showing today, out the door way before daylight. Traysen opted to sleep in again so it was solo AND in the dark! Once there was enough light so as not to bust the face, off to the trails it was! A wonderful 13 mile outing that went quite well. I am learning how to run on the side of the cart paths, in the dirt, leaves, rock, roots, and hopping the occasional dog droppings. This part of the country just doesn't have the vast mileage of dirt trails that Colorado is known for, but luckily, I can make it work in Peachtree City by running the few dirt trails available and then resorting to running along side the paved cart paths.

These paths are over 100 miles in length!

Friday; Feb. 3rd: With Savanna, the longhair mini dachshund, showing early, it was an afternoon run with Traysen. A nice cloud cover kept us somewhat cool as well as our romp through the bike trails near the Hwy 74 Soccer/Baseball Complex. An odd assortment of trail that winds around itself about 4 times to cover only about 2.5 miles! Needless to say, we loved the dirt, rocks, and tree roots and after 2 laps or so, we opted to run the empty soccer and baseball fields. A nice 8 miler.

Saturday; Feb. 4th: Again, with dog showing early, Traysen and I were out on the trails (paved paths today) around the hottest part of the day, about 1pm! Oddly enough, even with us cold weather souls, it was an awesome run on a beautiful day. An easy 10 miler with a couple of stops at the ponds for Traysen to cool off.

Sunday; Feb. 5th: With the last day of dog showing in Atlanta, it was out the door at almost daylight for a misty, cool , humid 9 miler. Traysen opted to hang out with his Grandma and scarf as many treats as he could. Even though it is February, the afternoon was warm and very sunny...can't ask for better weather in the middle of winter.

Summary: An awesome week of running in the Atlanta area with some dirt, some paved paths, some rocks and tree roots....and there was that one tick!!! YUCK! Yes, those little bug things that dogs get was stuck to ole Sarah.....ewwwww!!!!

Total miles for the week: 70.0
Total miles for 2012: 292.0

The Dork and his Mom!

Jan. 23 to Jan 29

2012-01-31T02:05:00.000-08:00

An odd week with some work, some travel to dog shows, and time for a reduction in mileage. The miles logged this week were good with all systems in full working order, no aches or pains and the fatigue not as noticeable.
Highlights: A nice 7 miler with Traysen at home on Thursday; this was a good outing considering Wednesday was a very long day of 20+ hours. A couple of nice runs in Ocala, FL with Traysen. Oddly enough, it was a bit cool (although still good for tshirt and shorts) at 630am! Needless to say, there was not one step of hill training on these two runs! Lastly, a nice 8 miler in Peachtree City, Ga rounded out the week. As mentioned before, this is my old stomping grounds and the cart paths are endless. Even with Traysen along, I tried to run in the dirt, leaves, etc as much as possible on this run. (That pavement is going to kill the hips and knees.)

total miles for the week: 33.0
Total miles for 2012: 222.0

Jan. 16 to Jan. 22

2012-01-23T15:14:00.000-08:00

With another work week ahead, the miles will be a challenge. As always it is about making choices: either forego other activities and get the miles in or whine 'cause I didn't get the miles in. The choice is clear and easily made!

Jan. 16: Well, the choice was made for me today! It was out the door and off to work very early. Flew to LAX and then flew the LA Lakers to Newark. A very long day indeed.

Jan. 17: Waking up in Newark with a one leg flight to Atlanta after a short night, , running on the treadmill was not even an option. (Did I mention getting in the miles this week was going to be challenging?) Luckily, once at home with Mom and Dad, the rain had stopped and Paddy, the dog, was ready for a walk. Out the door for a 2 mile fast paced stroll with Dad and Paddy and then nice 6 miler at a fast clip. Total miles today was 8 with the walk.

This would be running near Newark Airport.

Or a walk with Paddy the dog! It was worth waiting for an afternoon walk and run!

Jan. 18: Running in the southeast in winter is almost a treat with the cool damp temps. This morning it was a dark departure and about 40 degrees. The first mile or so was with way too many clothes and after dumping half, it was an awesome 11 miler! Fayette County has finally added a paved path along Redwine Rd that leads to town. Oddly enough, as a kid, going to town was a big deal since it seemed like we lived way out in the boonies! It was only 4 miles but it sure seemed like quite a bit farther to a young kid. Now, running to town is not nearly enough miles and to get the full distance of 11 miles required a trek through various neighborhoods. These neighborhoods used to be cow pastures which I used to run through or ride horses through!

Jan. 19: A basic slog fest of a 6 miler. Mostly a walk, but sometimes that's how it goes. The important thing is the legs and butt were out there!

Jan. 20: With plenty of sleep, a great 10 miler was in store today. Traysen and I took off quite late (730am!) and blazed through the 10 with no effort. These runs are always a hoot and provide inspiration on those days when the slogfest occurs.

Jan. 21: Today was the longest run of the week with 19 miles on the agenda. Traysen opted to boycott the whole mission so I was out the door at 620am with just enough daylight. Those first few miles in the cold air brought an easy spring to the step which included a nice solid 1 mile climb around the 7-8 mile mark. All was going well heading into the half way point but then all &)))$$$#$@@@ broke loose! I was up ....and then I was one with the dirt. The classic chest, right knee, right elbow plant!!! Nope...no tree roots, no rock poking through the dirt....basically a benign stretch of dirt road tripped me up! This one took a few minutes to move past. A ripped up knee and no air in the lungs were slight cause for concern; however, some forced efforts to pull some air back in and off I went...at a slow walk, then a slow trot, and then back up to full speed within 10 minutes of impact. The knee? What's a few more holes in the skin with a bit of blood spewing? The remainder of the run went just as well as the first half before the head over teakettle incident.
More on falling: For those that run trails, there will be falls. They just come with the territory...sometimes it is rocky, tree root infested territory! The key to these deviations from the vertical progress is to first, not panic or freak out that there is most likely blood coming out of some newly created orifice or that you may not be able to breath with no air in the lungs...not to mention the forward momentum has been completely bashed to the ground! While it is important to take a moment or two to assess the damage to determine if you can continue, it is actually better to get back on your feet and slowly start moving again. The longer you sit on the ground and whine about it, the quicker the muscles shut down and become cold. The usual associated stiffness can often set in quickly also and your mental well being has already taken a huge blow so it is better to regain composure and start moving. Now, this is not to say that all falls allow us to start moving again. Some are very serious and seeking medical is sometimes needed. It's a judgement call to say the least.

Sunrise this morning.

Jan. 22: Well, the damage from yesterday's fall was not too bad. Some early morning stiffness, some bumps and bruises, but there were 13 miles on the agenda today! And so out the door with a slow start. Quickly, however, it was up to full speed and a wonderful outing! The minor aches and pains subsided, becoming almost an effortless outing. One oddity was the lack of confidence in the step. By this, I mean the mind was playing very close attention to NOT falling! Each time I pondered going head over teakettle again, my step was much more cautious.

Summary: A great week of running! Even with a digger on Saturday, the body and mind are at full steam ahead! As mentioned, trail running and falling go hand in hand...or is that foot n foot?
Total miles for the week: 67.0
Total miles for 2012: 189.0...which is 30 miles ahead of last year at this time...so much for cutting back on the miles!

Jan. 9 to Jan 15

2012-01-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

With work this week, getting the miles in is going to be a challenge. But as I always say, "it's a choice...run the miles and forego other mundane activities!"

Jan. 9th: To the basement gym with Trayen for biceps, shoulders, abs and wall squats. Have you ever tried to wall squats with a 90 pound doberman leaning on you? He always adds a new twist on my workouts. Then we were out the door for a brisk 8.0 miler. Despite this being the 8th day in a row of running, the effort was a strong one and the legs felt great.

Jan. 10th: Off to work before daylight and then flying all day. A day off from running was in order.

Jan. 11th: Waking up in Spokane, a favorite layover, it was a pleasant 8.0 miler along the river. The good news is that I was able to discover the trail continues for several miles north of my usual turnaround point so it was easy to get a nice out n back run in.

Jan. 12th: In Washington DC today and even though a beautiful day outside, it was to the hotel gym. In order was a workout of chest, triceps and abs; a sloppy effort with a healthy dose of fatigue built in! This used to be a favorite layover, but since we stay in downtown DC and getting to the trail along the Potomac River is almost impossible, I opt to hit the treadmill and elliptical. This mornings effort was 6 miles on the ellip and then 6 miles on the recumbent bike. I use a 3 to 1 ratio when on a bike....3 miles on the bike equals 1 mile of running. So the running total was 8.0 miles today. (Can't remember where I came up with the 3 to 1 ratio, but it seems logical enough and the bike allows for a brief period of cross training and something new for the head and legs. )

Jan. 13th: Still a favorite layover, the short San Fran is always a welcome part of the schedule. Staying at the Westin along the Bayfront Trail is a nice run to the south, ending in the Coyote Point, a beautiful park encased in Eucalyptus trees. Even with not much sleep and the end of a 4 day trip, it was a nice effort of 8 miles. The shorts and t shirt weather may have had something to do with the easy, carefree run.

Bayfront Trail near SFO Airport.

Jan. 14: It's the first day back from a 4 day trip with a few country crossings. What more can I say....the run was blah! However, 12 miles was in order and that is what we did....it was a slow go, but Traysen dragged ole Mom up the hills and through the woods. Git 'er done!!!

Jan. 15: After watching the NFL playoff game with the NE Patroits and the Denver Donkeys til the 2nd touchdown by the Patroits (which all happened in the first 8 minutes of the game!), it was to bed early on Saturday night. Good thing because Sunday was a long run day and then a long day.
Met with running buddy, Lori, for a wonderful 10 miler in Red Rocks, Bear Creek Park and then back out for an easy 6 miler, going solo. Lori is a great running inspiration. She has a nice steady pace and never gives up on an uphill!!!! Of course, she and I look a bit funny running together....she goes "plomppp, plomppppp" while Sarah goes "plod, plod, plod,plod, plod, plod"....We differ in height by several inches!

Yes, this is what we run!

We also run this mundane type of trail. Very beautiful area for exploring, whether running or leisurely stroll.

Summary: A good week of running, especially in light of a solid work week. The training is going well and the 100K race in April is still looming in the plans. One aspect of running ultras is the unknown. Sometimes we are not sure of ourselves or our abilities to run a given distance or a given time, but as the training continues, the confidence builds. It's all about pushing yourself beyond your comfort level and realizing YOU can do what is "out there." Personally, pushing the mileage up this fast in an effort to get ready for the farthest distance I have ever run is definitely going beyond the comfort level. However, I have the confidence that my body and head can handle it.
Total for the week: 60.5 miles
Total for 2012: 122.0

Jan. 2 to Jan.8

2012-01-08T15:34:00.000-08:00

The first full week of the new year and it is one mostly of time off from work. Physically, the ole body could use a rest week, but with the upcoming work schedule, it is best to "make hay while the sun is shining" and get some good miles in.

At the moment, I am reading Relentless Foward Progress by Bryon Powell, somewhat a "how to run an ultra" volume. As with many aspects of ultra running, the book is full of inspiration and other words of wisdom from experienced ultra runners. One such paragraph from Krissy Moehl:

"How often in life do we have the opportunity to inspire ourselves?...Pushing your physical limits, putting yourself to an unknown challenge is personally inspiring. It inspires you to get out of bed in the morning and train no matter what the weather. It inspires you to learn more about nutrition, training, and equipment to help you accomplish the task. To make it to the starting line is personal inspiration and to pull off the feat is an accomplishment hard to match. It is a very personal goal and one that will fulfill a soul."

As an ultra runner, we often do find personal inspiration within ourselves; however, it is also through each other that we find inspiration. Those fellow runners who have run a race you hope to run, those who have achieved fitness levels you aim to achieve, and through the encouraging words passed on to each other we find inspiration. My own inspiration: the pure joy of running itself, the benefits gained both mentally and physically, the ability to enjoy the outdoors by own two feet, and the ability to pass on to others what I gain from running. That last piece of inspiration has always been a big reasoning for this blog...to inspire others to believe in themselves and to push themselves beyond perceived limits.

Monday; Jan. 2: After a very late night in LAX, three hours of sleep and a return flight to Denver, it was a day off.

Tuesday; Jan. 3: Out the door not too early, it was a nice 8 miler around the house. A bit of an achy back (no idea why) made for a slower trot.

Wednesday; Jan. 4: Finally getting it together and down to the gym at 5am for abs, wall squats, back, and triceps. (up to 2:15 for three sets on the wall squats). Then out the door with Traysen for a quick 7 miler, some of which was in the dark. Can't beat that early morning light when you almost need the headlamp and but then again you don't.

Thursday; Jan. 5: Traysen was being one lazy boy today so it was a nice solo outing on not much sleep. A quick 8 miler was the order of the day. As I have mentioned before, sometimes even a sleepless night will yield a quality run the next day; never will figure this one out.

Friday; Jan. 6: Down to the gym with two dogs in tow. Savanna, the longhair mini dachshund, and Traysen did their best to push Mom through legs and abs today. Then out the door with Traysen for a slogfest of a 6 miler.

Saturday; Jan. 7: With snow predicted on Sunday, today was the long run day. Traysen and I took off about 615am. After 10 miles, he was done and I was done dealing with him. (The boy cannot run a straight line and he has to "water" almost every tree.) Back out the door for another solo outing of 4 more miles. A great run in some wonderfully cold temps.

Sunday; Jan. 8: Well, the weatherman/woman/whatever was way off on this prediction. Only an inch of snow at the house and nothing in the Springs, so quite an early start to meet good running friend, Lori. A Garden of the Gods start at 630am in the thick fog had us staying on the roads for a couple of miles. With a bit of daylight, onto the trails we went for an awesome 4-5 miles and then peeling off for a few more solo miles. Total today: 11.0 miles.
Garden of the Gods is always a favorite running spot.

The early morning light with a light dusting of snow.

Summary: An excellent first full week of the year. At the moment, the head and body are ready for some focused training. With those thoughts, the 100K race goal comes to mind and after searching every known ultra race calendar website available, I have chosen the Jewel 100k in Dalton, GA on April 7th. Being three months away, the mileage will increase quite rapidly from the 45 a week to 80 a week. While many folks would raise the eyebrows at that one, I know my body can handle it and my training base has been very solid for a long time, especially over the last few months. So, doing the back to back long runs most weeks along with a medium length run mid week will get the head and body ready for the new distance. Also, this race is at almost sea level, has only a few "hills," and is not too technical on the trails. The biggest challenge will be that it is four loops on a 15+ mile loop!!!! It will be a mindset not to get all wrapped up over that issue. So, it looks like the focused training for a race has begun and so far, it is going very well!
Total miles for the week: 54.0
Total for 2012: 62.0

Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, 2012

2012-01-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

The last week of the year is here and with that it is time to wrap up the mileage totals. As mentioned, a goal of 2900 miles for the year has been set and honestly, the specific number just came to mind when I realized the mileage of this year was going to exceed the mileage of last year; 2784.0 an all time high in one year. Analyzing the time frame of when I crossed the 2784 mile, the goal of 3000 miles for the year was just too much given work, winter, and other commitments. So, 2900 it is! This will be the most mileage I have ever run in one year. Will there be a goal of 3000 miles in one year? Only time will tell.
So, starting this week there are 38 miles to go to complete the mission.

Monday; Dec. 26th: A short night in Cincinnati and then one very long leg to Seattle produced a lazy bum today. Plus it was time for a day off. A very relaxing afternoon in the rainy northwest was a much welcome relief.

Tuesday; Dec. 27th: UP n at 'em early in Seattle. To the treadmill for a nice 8 miler, some abs and a some wall squats. Then a full day of flying and ending the night in Salt Lake. Nothing special about this effort; just some nice miles at 9:00/ mile pace with some hill repeats. Those wall squats are kicking my butt!!! Literally!

Wednesday; Dec. 28th: Given a fairly early start to the work day, it was off to the treadmill at the La Quinta in Salt Lake. While not a favorite location (meaning the treadmill at this particular hotel), the cramped room does allow the window to be opened to allow the cold outside air in. Most likely hotel management would not understand my efforts to heat the outside of the Salt Lake basin?!
A nice 8 miler was the order of the day while listening to AC/DC, Tone Loc, Motley Crue and even a George Winston or two!

Thursday; Dec. 29th: Here we go with the first day back from 6 days of being on the road. Lazin' around til 645am, Traysen and I made it out for a slog fest of 7 miles. Great to be back in the hills and altitude of home.

Friday; Dec. 30th: Well, you would think almost 12 hours of sleep would produce a nice run, but unfortunately, it was a bit of a slog fest. Just slow to get going and never really picked up speed! It was an 8 miler with Traysen and the course is set to accomplish the 2900 mile goal.

Saturday; Dec. 31st: Here it is ....the goal of 2900 miles is looming and it is time to git 'er done! With a commute to LAX today, it was out the door very early, in the dark, at 540am. After much prodding, Traysen the doberman reluctantly plodded along for the 7 miles. And a wonderful run it was; cool, dark, slowly becoming daylight, and no other creatures except me and Traysen.

Sunday; Jan. 1, 2012: What seemed to be an easy trip on paper turned into a bit of work! Getting to Denver slightly late on the 31st, waiting on a crew van, etc at the airport and a long drive to downtown, it was a very late night. Crawled into bed only to be shattered back to life with the hotel fire alarm! In the 24 year airline pilot career, this was a first! Luckily, it was a false alarm except for the drunken idiot who pulled the handle and woke the entire neighborhood up!!!! (Yep, I'll remain a lady and not voice my real thoughts of the drunken idiot!!!)

Nevertheless, after some sleep, it was down to the hotel gym to start the year right. A weight lifting session of biceps, shoulders, abs, and wall squats was a solid start and then a nice 8 miler on the treadmill. Hill repeats were the order of the day: 6 x .25 mile at 3% incline at 6.6mph pace.

Summary: Well, it happened...the 2900 miles for 2011 is complete and the body is healthy and ready for more miles. A return to focused training has come to mind and the start of a new year is a perfect time to renew the training. More on that later.
Weekly Total: 45.0 miles
Yearly total for 2011: 2901.0
Yearly Total for 2012: 8.0

Dec. 19 to Dec. 25

2011-12-27T07:12:00.000-08:00

Christmas Week is here and with that work will be in full gear. Most folks take the two weeks around the holidays off; however, I usually choose the other routing and fly quite a bit. The mood at the airports is often "interesting" with many people hustling to get to their flights, carrying way too many bags. Kids are all over the place with way too much sugar ingested (always fun to bring them into the cockpit). As pilots we are able to steal ourselves away in the cockpit and avoid much of the confusion that sometimes ensues.
As for running, it will be a high mileage week with the 2900 goal looming.

Monday; Dec. 19th: Well, so much for the mileage today; it was an early departure out of Orange County and then a full day of flying with the ending commute.

Tuesday; Dec. 20th: An odd and short day of running with only 3 miles! It happens sometimes due to time restraints.

Wednesday; Dec. 21st: Down to the gym for abs, chest, and triceps; an added bonus is wall squats. Three sets of 2 minutes each. These are very effective at tightening up the quads and glutes. Out the door for a great 12 miler. Traysen was being a lazy boy so it was a solo outing starting at 615am, not quite daylight, not quite dark.

Thursday; Dec. 22nd: It's going to be a white Christmas at this house! Woke up to a few inches of fresh powder and it was still coming down nicely. After enough coffee, Traysen and I were out the door for a perfectly snowy 9 miler. With the looming holidays and the snow, we encountered only two cars along the dirt roads, several deer (aka: squirrels with antlers), and an assortment of birds and cotton tail squirrels.
It seems as though the running has renewed energy lately. Not sure of the full reasoning, but it is a welcome component. Could be the goal of 2900 miles looming; could be the idea of the 100k in the Spring;could be a slight shift in diet (over the last few months, I have reduced the sugar intake as much as possible; amazing where that little white powder hangs out!!) could be the running Gods are shining on little Missy Sarah....?

Flying Pie Ranch with a fresh layer of snow.

Friday; Dec. 23rd: With a commute ahead, it was down to the basement quite early for legs and abs. Then out the door...slowly out the door...it was about -12 degrees! Traysen opted to hang out with the wiener dogs so it was a solo run. A nice 9 miler was the order of the day. It is amazing how much energy it takes to run in the extreme cold!

Saturday; Dec 24th: Being Christmas Eve, where else would I be except working? Actually, it's by choice because I could easily bid the time off but choose to fly. Hopefully by me flying it allows another pilot with young kids to be at home; plus it is usually a fun and pleasant atmosphere around the airports during the holidays...Waking up in Salt Lake, it was to the treadmill for a quick 6 miler and then off to work. The treadmill was actually a welcome relief to the cold, hills, and altitude of home!

Sunday; Dec. 25th: Merry Christmas!!! Waking up in Atlanta at the folks house, I was out the door early for a drizzly 6 miler. Running in the southeast in December is a nice relief from the already cold temps of Colorado; shorts and long sleeve t shirt are the order of the day.
A full day of flying will yield a tired runner girl tonight. Working the holidays goes with working for the airlines and I honestly don't mind.

Mom and Dad's in Atlanta. My childhood home.

Summary: Wrapping up the week with 46 miles. I am now 38 miles away from the goal of 2900 miles for the year and there is one week to go! Barring any issues, getting the mileage in this week should be almost a no brainer.

The Three Month Update

2011-12-20T14:23:00.000-08:00

After becoming a bit bored myself with my own blog, I decided it was time for a break from posting. So, now a few months after the last post and after much prompting from a few different sources, gon4run will be resurrected from the dead!

As for the running in the last few months, not much has changed....which is a good thing...The miles have continued, the weight lifting has continued, the desire to run has actually increased, and life on the trails and road has been good. There have been no injuries to speak of and no real health issues that have caused any concerns. As of this writing, the yearly mileage stands at 2820.5. With another 11 days to run in the year, getting another 80 miles in should be a piece of cake. This will round the year out with an even 2900 miles and will be the most miles run in one year. And now that I have made it public knowledge where all of the mileage stands, one of the overall purposes of this blog has come full circle. I am now held accountable to outside sources to complete the mileage for the year.

Traysen and Mom hiking Barr Trail this past fall. To say that it was warm was an understatement.

And so, without further procrastination, another post from gon4run hits the Internet and I will continue informing all of you who have been so wonderful in your support. I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life who care and hold our connections close. thank you...

Sept 18 to Oct 2

2011-10-03T03:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't posted in the blog for two weeks now. Work, running, dogs, etc have kept me quite busy and I thought it was time for a break from writing. Hopefully, the blog can start taking on new content and inspiring others to run, walk, or exercise in some form.

As for running: It has been awesome! With the fall in full swing in Colorado, I have logged quite a few miles and have a few highlights on running adventures while working.
Summary of the last two weeks of running:
Sept 18 to Sept 25: Ran 55.0 miles with only one weight lifting session and one speed training session with the Sunrise Striders. Highlights: a great run in Spokane, WA, around the Gonzaga University campus; a great 10 miler along the Mississippi River in St. Paul, MN with about 7 turkeys along the route.
Sept 26 to Oct 2: Ran 60.0 miles with two weight lifting sessions and one session with the Sunrise Striders. Highlights: a Barr Trail/Barr Camp outing with Jim; an awesome run in Mueller SP with the aspens in full color.

Total mileage for the year: 2323.0

As for upcoming plans: Very simple actually: Run at least 2800 miles for the year and go to the Sunrise Stride's workouts when able.

Speaking of the Sunrise Strider group, I did a quick research on the benefits of running with a group. Of course, the Internet had much to say but most of it came down to basics. When you are committed to group running, the following often provides for better running:
*Safety in numbers
*Motivation
*Improved performance
*Socialization
*Consistency
Expanding a bit, perhaps the one concept I noticed in the websites I reviewed was that group running provides consistency and this in turn leads to the other concepts being realized. If you are consistent in meeting with your group, your running performances will improve and you will become a stronger runner.

Here are a few of the links I checked out:
http://www.lifemojo.com/lifestyle/benefits-of-running-in-a-group-16376676

http://www.seriousrunning.com/blog/running-clubs/benefits-of-running-in-a-group-or-running-club/

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/the-benefits-of-group-running/

So, if your running/walking is lacking "ummppffff", try running with a group!

Sept 12 to Sept 18

2011-09-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

Another week of vacation! It would just awful to have to work for a living! Even with a busy week, many miles are planned for the early fall season.

Monday; Sept 12: Down to the gym early for abs, chest, and triceps and then out the door for a basic, easy, no brainer 6 miles.
Fellow blogger, Wyatt Hornsby, recently published a post on his blog about consistency in running. As he pointed out, one would think that after running Leadville 100 Aug. 27/28, some time off from running or at least a greatly reduced running schedule would be in order. However, as Wyatt explains, this is not always the case. In the 3 three weeks or so since Leadville, he has returned to a couple of nice 60 mile weeks and has no plans to pull the running down yet. Is he leading up to injury or burnout? No, not at all because he is tuned into his body and mind and will know when it is time to back off. He also describes how ultra runners in particular continue to run consistently over the course of several years, not just consistently on a day to day or week to week basis. An example; If someone is training for a race from 5K to marathon distance, he/she can most likely start with a basic fitness level and build up to the race. Given the correct 12 to 15 week program, most folks can complete the race and live to tell about it. On the other hand, most folks will not be able to start from a basic fitness level, train for 12 to 15 weeks and then complete a 50K or longer race. Oh, they may finish, but it most likely be with resulting problems. Most ultra runners are very experienced in running and did not take up the sport of ultras without first logging years of consistent running. Running for ultra athletes is a way of life and pushing ourselves beyond a comfort level is a more normal existence than running for fitness or for a specific race that is marathon distance or shorter.

Tuesday; Sept 13: Down to Colorado Springs early for a run with the Sunrise Striders and a tempo run of a warm up, then 4x8 minute repeats. These went well and then it was a few more miles to round out the day at 11.0.

Wednesday; Sept 14: Being an at home day, it all started with a weight lifting session of abs, back , and shoulders. Out the door with Traysen with first light for a nice and very cool 10 miler. We are really enjoying these cool morning temps along with the slowly changing aspen leaves.

Thursday; Sept 15: Welcome to Seattle!!!! Or at least it feels that way with all the rain we have had in the last day or two. This morning was a beautiful cool drizzle for what was supposed to be a track workout with the Sunrise Strider group. Unfortunately, at the last minute the location was changed(due to a flooded track) and with such a short notice, I opted to run 12 miles in Garden of the Gods. While the track workout would have been very effective, this run in the cool misty morning could not be surpassed.

Friday; Sept 16: Meeting with a good friend for a craft show outing at 830am, it was out the door in the dark at 5am for a brisk 6 miler with Traysen. Always interesting running in the dark at home since Traysen can see or sense varmits long before I can. Not sure, but hoping, it was a deer that tweaked his interest a few times.

Saturday; Sept 17: Off to Mueller State Park very early for a nice 15 miler. The aspens are starting to turn as well as the scrub oaks and willows. Fall is by far the most beautiful time of year. Being able to run in such a pretty area makes me appreciate all that is in my life.
That is what running in the woods can do for a person. In what other activity can you get back to nature in a pure and natural form? A good pair of running shoes, some water, some basic clothing and off you go!

Always a welcome sight!! The aspens are turning nicely.

An odd black and white pic that shows one of the many aspen groves.

Sunday; Sept 18: An early start to the day with a drive to Rampart Res. and the running of the Pony Express race. This 15 mile jaunt circles the reservoir, covering dirt trail littered with roots, rocks and small hills. The last few years (with a few exceptions) I have volunteered for this event and have enjoyed the quiet atmosphere, low key morning, hanging out with good friends like Pat Lockhart (cancer survivor) and Larry.
It was then time for Traysen and I to log out a nice 12 miler to wrap up the week.

The east side of the lake and the direction of the race.

The race start/finish and our hangout for the morning. Can it get any better than this?

Summary: A nice week of running with no work!! These cool temps has many runners out on the trails and many folks are thinking of fall races. Several fellow runners are going to the Devil Mountain 50 in Pagosa Springs on Oct. 1 while Lynne, Lori, and a few other gal pals ran Lead King Loop 25K this past weekend.
total miles for the week: 72. 0 Miles for the year: 2208.0

Sept 5th to Sept 11th

2011-09-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

With a very busy week, running will most likely not be the mileage filled event it usually is each week. During these types of weeks, we just have to do what we can, realize we have other priorities in life and know that an unplanned slack week is not going to do our running life in!

Monday; Sept 5th: It was out the door at 430am this morning! No, not for a run but to travel to the Springs to head up Aid Station 13 for the ADT Marathon...and then to work! We had an awesome crew this year with about 6 individuals who cheered the runners with nonstop enthusiasm, "magic water," and "gogo gu." Thanks to all those who came out to support this annual event and make the day for many who were attempting that first marathon or half marathon or were just attempting to get the finish line!

What a great setting to cheer the runners on with water, Gatorade, and much hootin n hollarin!

Tuesday; Sept 6th: After yesterday's long day with the race, the commute, and a short workday (ending in Jackson Hole, WY), one would think of sleeping in....well, that did not work out! Out the door by 6am for a nice run through town and then out onto the elk refuge for a total of 7 miles. Then, a quick change of clothes and it was back out onto the trails near the lodge for some easy hiking. This was a rare opportunity of time with nothing else on the agenda and it was a nice outing to just enjoy the woods.

Wednesday; Sept 7th: In bed at 1am last night produced the usual slow day. A brief 6 miles was all I could muster, although the extra cool temps and quite a bit of rain made for a nice outing.

Thursday; Sept 8th: With a rainy night behind us, it was down to the gym for what is most likely to be the only weight lifting session this week. Abs, back and shoulders were the order of the day and then out the door with Traysen for a nice and very cool 10 miler.

Friday; Sept 9th: In Atlanta this weekend for a three day eventing horseshow with my Mom and Dad. (No, just as a spectator, not as a competitor....the ole wallet could never afford this sport!!!) Today was the dressage portion and what a beautiful event with the horses performing a set pattern of specific foot placements and pace changes.
As for running today, it was a 7 mile outing in the very early dark morning. The hot 90 degree temps have left the southeast and I was treated to a nice 55 degrees and not much humidity.

Saturday; Sept 10th: Day two of the horseshow lead us to the cross country portion, which consists of about a two mile course with various jumps and one interesting water feature for the riders/horses to navigate. Except for the spills of horse and rider (luckily neither were ever hurt), a very relaxing day sittin' on the grassy lawn in a comfy chair..
As for the run of the day: Wow....did I have fun!!!! Even though I didn't start til about 830am (and that was a bit late and warm), the area around the show grounds is amazingly beautiful with plenty of lakes, trails, woods, and some very small hills (small by Colorado standards). It was quite easy to put a great 10 miler while enjoying the serenity of Chattahoocee Hills.
This link below is the area where the horseshow took place....

http://www.chatthillseventing.com/about.html

And a pic or two:

These types of trails went on for quite a ways and usually wrapped around a lake.

The horse says, "Hang On!!!! We're goin' in!!!"

Sunday; Sept 11th: The last day of the horseshow consisted of the stadium portion, which is the show jumping competition. Very beautiful to watch as horse and rider blaze through a tight course of 5 foot high jumps.
The run today was much like Saturday; a wonderful 10 miler through the woods and trails at the show grounds. What a nice treat to run in such a beautiful area!

A couple more pics:

The stadium jumping matches horse/rider with 3-5 foot high jumps; all jumps must be completed and in done so in a certain time.

Sunrise at Chattahochee Hills.

Summary: Despite a very busy week, it was still a good week of running with 51 miles. The highlight of course was spending the days with my folks, watching the horseshow and exploring a new area of running!

Aug 29 to Sept 4

2011-09-04T12:20:00.000-07:00

Fall is just around the corner and that means many miles of wonderful trails to run with golden aspens rustling in the wind. With a vacation week from work, this week has plenty of running in the plan.

Monday; Aug 29: After the busy weekend, Traysen and I didn't make it out the door til 7am. By our return at 9am the temps had risen to about 65 and it was toasty!!! (Yes, that is warm for us!!! Plus the sun was blaring down....) A nice 10 miler started the week; the highlight was the twin fawns bounding through the woods. Traysen was sure he had found some new playmates.

Tuesday; Aug 30: With Mom catching a 630am flight, the timing was perfect to run with the Sunrise Striders. When I say "run with," I mean that very loosely. The run for today was to warm up for about 15 minutes and then do 4 x 7minutes tempo run with 3:30 recovery between. Well, for little Miss I am not so Fast Here, the warm up was almost like a tempo run! I hung with the group for a few minutes but they slowly pulled away and left only dust and Sarah in their wake. At the 15 minute mark, my speed increased to a good tempo pace and the 7 minutes was easily covered with no slowing down except on a few slight inclines. The 3:30 recovery was most welcome and I tried to keep it a steady slow trot so as to be able to hit the next repeat with full speed. The next three 7 minute repeats went well and the group caught me on the return as we were finishing our last repeat.
One key concept in this run was this: For all of this year I have been doing hill repeats and intervals; however, the intensity and the quantity have not been what they should have or could have been. All of this speed work has been done on my own with real exterior incentive to push myself. And even though I have enough inner drive to push myself, it is not enough to produce an excellent speed work session.

Wednesday; Aug 31: It is way past time to get back to the gym; took all of last week off. So, it was to the pumping iron bright and early for abs, shoulders and triceps. Then, out the door, without lazy boy, Traysen. A nice 11 miler was the order of the day and it was your basic trot around the neighborhood, watching early morning activities of the deer, squirrels, and rabbits.

Thursday; Sept 1: Today was a Sunrise Strider workout day, so Traysen and I jumped in the truck and off we went to find Eagle View Middle School. While he hung out in the truck I met up with the group for the interval portion of the run. We started with a warm up and it was here that the day took on a painful twist. In the first half mile, ole Clumsy here took a nice digger. The comments went something like this: "Ohhhhh, nice one." "Dang, that sounded bad." "Are you ok; you can't breath!!!" Instead of flipping them off, I managed a couple of "IIII'mmmmmm ok...jussttt neeeeddd aiiirrrr." With renewed air in the lungs, the warm up resumed, bloody hang and knee to boot.
The group's plan for the day was 8x800m with a 2: 00 recovery. Sarah's plan was to do as many of the 800s as possible, remain alive, and not go over head teakettle....again. The first 4x800m went very well. The time was respectable, the energy was good, the form was good,the fun was good, and so I did two more 800s. Again, all went well.....so, I did two more 800s!! At the end, I had completed all 8x800s and the time was within a consistent 15 second range for each interval. As I was gathering Traysen from the truck, Kenneth Chlouber's (Leadville 100 founder) comment came to mind: "You are better than you think you are and you can do more than you think you can."
As with Tuesday's run, this session proved it is easier, more effective, actually more fun to run these hard intervals with others. During this session I was able to latch onto a few folks and push myself harder than in the past and it felt good to mix up the running with a very challenging effort.
Traysen enjoyed his 3 mile trot through Ute Valley Park to round out the day with 8 miles.

Thanks to Harsha Nagaraj's photos!!! Yes, I am smiling..guess I wasn't working hard enough on this particular interval!

Really...I am having fun!!!!

Friday; Sept 2: Today was a solo effort (since lazy boy, Traysen, decided to sleep in with the wiener dogs) of 12 miles. A nice run with plenty of "squirrels" to keep my company.

Saturday; Sept 3: It's Fall!!!!! Finally, it's Fall!!!! Meeting Lynne and Michele at the Rainbow Gulch Trailhead, we ran the 15 mile loop around Rampart Reservoir, complete with long sleeve t shirt temps, aspens rustling in the breeze and a nip to the wind. It is mornings like this that make running all the better...cool temps, good friends, beautiful trails.....and lots of miles. Michele is training for a 100 miler in November so it was good to spend some time catching up on her training efforts and progress. She should be in great shape for a fine showing at the Ozark 100.

Sunday; Sept 4: Down to the basement gym for abs, legs, and biceps and then out the door at just barely daylight. Traysen and I wrapped up the week with an easy 5 miler; the highlight being the very cool temp of 42 degrees!

Summary: A great week of running with 70 miles, including two workouts with the Sunrise Strider group and two medium long, back to back runs of 12 and 15 miles. Also , with two weight lifting sessions were tossed into the mix.
The weeks where I am not working at all gives a brief taste of what retirement could be like in terms of quality rest and evenly spaced, consistent workouts. The two speed sessions on Tuesday and Thursday are perfectly timed during the week and then the body is recouped from those by Saturday for back to back long runs on the weekends......so now, this how everybody else does it? Well, only 9 more years til I join all of you with a normal schedule!
OH...Why 70 miles this week? Because I can!!!!

Aug 22 to Aug 28

2011-08-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

An easy week of running is in order. There have been three weeks of 50+ miles, so it is time to cut back for a week; plus with work, my mom coming to visit and attending a dog show this weekend, it will be busy enough.

Monday; Aug 22: Still in Dallas this early morning and with 85 degrees at 5am, it was to the treadmill and the associated airconditioning. (Plus it was dark and the neighborhood at the hotel is not all the "nice.") A simple 5 miler was in order and even being in the A/C, it was still hot.

Tuesday; Aug 23: To say that ole Sarah is ready for winter is an understatement!!!! It was 70 degrees at 5am in Salt Lake!!!! But out the door I went for a 5 miler.....that was all the time I had in order to make the 8am departure.

Wednesday; Aug 24: Waking up in Jackson Hole, WY this morning but unfortunately, it was too early to get a run in .....maybe next visit. Arriving in Denver late, meeting my mom and the long drive home all produced a day off from running.

This view never gets old! The airport is located in the valley next to the Tetons and we get an amazing view on the approach and departure. (The two jets most likely belong to some rich individual who can afford their own wheels!!!)

Thursday; Aug 25: Waking up slowly at home this morning, Traysen and I went out for an easy 6 miler. A beautiful day to enjoy at home with my mom while we groom dogs for the upcoming show this weekend.

Friday; Aug 26: Sleepyhead..that would be Traysen...missed the whole outing of 10 miles in the early cool morning air. Towards the end of the run, the sweatshirt had long since been tossed as well as the t shirt. (Yes, I wear cotton t-shirts for running!) This time of year (as well as the spring) is always a challenge in terms of what to wear when heading out the door. When waking up, a cool chill is in the house, so I typically overdress and then start tossing clothes along the neighborhood, only to have to pick them up on the return trip home.

Saturday; Aug 27: A second day off this week!!!! Oh, it happens sometimes.....Mom, the 4 dogs and I are in Loveland, CO at a dog show. With an 8am start , much dog grooming to be done, and a rough night of no sleep, I opted to bag the run and focus on dogs. (This is part of the effort to focus on one or two things at a time instead of taking on 14 things at one time.)
How did we do? Savanna the mini dachshund did very well...made it to Best in Show but did not win the title. She was given the highest rating possible for a 12-15 month old puppy. Traysen, made it to a second place finish in Working Group and took Best of Breed for two shows. Both of the judges today also gave him the highest ratings possible for a dog over 18 months. (he is three years old) He hates the show ring and it shows!

Sunday; Aug 28: With a bit of sleep and an 830am ring time at the dog show, Traysen and I were out the door for a quick 6 miler at 5am. Still dark we appreciated the lighted streets of Loveland and were surprised to see and hear an owl. The run went well but it was easy to feel the early morning heat of 67 degrees with plenty of humidity in the air. The high temps for the last week in the Front Range/Denver area had been in the upper 90s and the forecast for Sunday was the same.
As for the dog show: Both Savanna and Traysen finished their respective titles we were attempting to earn and both received the highest ratings possible from all the judges. Very proud of the kids!

Summary: A nice and easy week of running. As I have mentioned before, allowing/undertaking/relishing/enjoying an easy week of running can do wonders for tired legs, bones and mind; however, even having said that, I always miss the high miles of most weeks and am often reminded that long distance running is my favorite passion in life. Spending time with the dogs is great at the shows, but the actual showing is secondary to the dogs themselves and to very secondary to running. .

Aug 15 to Aug 21

2011-08-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

Off we go with another week of summer and plenty of running....With most of the week off from work, I hope to get a good trail run in with some distance and one session of hill repeats.

Monday; Aug 15: Out the door with Traysen for a slog fest of 6 miles with a tired draggin' behind. Some days are like that. As I have mentioned in the past, you have to take the "lively" days with the "draggin' my behind" days.

Tuesday; Aug 16: Still opting to save time and driving, Traysen and I ran a nice 9 miler from the house. We are noticing these mornings are getting a bit cooler and fall is on the way! Personally, as August drags on, thoughts of fall mornings come to mind. Cooler temps with a slight breeze adds a new spring (oopps, wrong season) to the step. One of the highlights of the run below: There is a section of coreopsis flowers that line the roadside and spread across the field.

A sure sign of fall is the acres of coreopsis along the roadsides and throughout the fields.

Wednesday; Aug 17: Down to the gym at 5am for abs, chest, and triceps and then out for a basic 6 miler. The plan was for a 9 miler but it just didn't happen. This is one of the downfalls of not having a specific race planned ahead. It is hard to maintain the focus without a goal to aim toward. It's all too easy to give in to "oh, I am feeling a bit tired today" or "I am not training for anything so I can cut the miles short or just take it easy." On the other hand, allowing the mind to rest is just as important as allowing the body to rest. For those of us who a bit "over the top Type A" it is actually a good thing to relax the focus, the drive, the determination every now and then. Luckily, the comforting factor that exists is the confidence/knowledge/trust in yourself that you will return to the focus and determination when (because there will be a "when" verses "if") you pick a new goal, then the "no slacking off" approach will return.

Thursday; Aug 18: A quick drive over to Mueller State Park for a basic 12 miler. Was hoping for a longer outing of about 17 miles, but the ole bones wanted no part of that! One of the highlights; however, was that I ran some trails I had not been on in a long time and was able to climb the steep ascent on the Chesman Trail. (I usually run this section on the downhill). A good effort and the final pitch was rewarded with a greeting from 4 elk, 2 Moms and 2 babies. With the recent rains, the park was very green with lush fields of grasses and several types of wildflowers.

Wild Harebell flowers lined the trails and spread across the grasses.

Even though late in the summer season now, paintbrush are still abundant in several locations.

Friday; Aug 19: With a busy day ahead, it was up n at 'em at 4am and down to the gym by 5am. A good session of abs, back, and biceps (no wobbly guns here!!!) and then out solo for a wonderful 14 miles. (The doberman, Traysen, was being lazy boy this morning.) This run went very well and did wonders to restore the spirit to run long again. It always fun to be able to cruise along on a run with very little effort and end the run knowing you pushed the pace easily and could have continued with more miles. This is one of the reasons for running....enjoying those easy outings without having to put too much into it.

Saturday; Aug 20: Traysen joined for a nice 7 miler and then was done. Ole Hard Head here went back for some hill repeats of 4x3/10ths of a mile and a cool down to round out the day at 10 miles. A decent effort on the hills.
The motivation this morning was all of those runners who were tackling the Pikes Peak Ascent (and Marathon on Sunday) and those animals who were tackling the Leadville 100. As I trotted through my own meager efforts this morning, I reflected on how hard others were working on Pikes Peak and throughout the Leadville area. Mary, Wyatt, Rebekka, and many others (sorry, I am not remembering all of those who ran this ran weekend) were putting all of those training miles to good use and enjoying our beautiful mountains.

Sunday; Aug 21: A day off since it's been about 10 days worth of solid running. An odd afternoon after a short workday: I spent the afternoon in my hotel room in Dallas, TX!!! It was the 55th day of over 100 degrees and no rain in the area and even the hotel was hot. It was only in the hotel room with the AC running full blast that the temp was comfortable for this ole mountain girl!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903885604576488503338385680.html

The above report describes that this is the worst heat wave/drought in a 100 years!

Summary: A good week of running but nothing overwhelming to jump up and down about. Or could it be that I should hop around due to the fact that I can do this kind of running in the environment of Colorado? And not in the environment of Dallas, TX?
It is most easy to find someone...or someones?...or can find anything to complain about. It is most likely safe to say that these individuals would not find good in any situation/environment/venue. Sometimes we often have to dig deep to find the good in something. So, if I had to live and run in Dallas, I suppose that summer time would be the "slack" time of year and most of the running would be done on a treadmill. Possibly the good side of this would that I would have a wider musical library on my mp3 player? Or the good would be that I might learn to run outside in the hot n sweaty air? Or maybe I would even take up swimming? ....Well, no..probably not swimming....I float like a big rock!
Total miles: 57.0

Aug 8 to Aug 14

2011-08-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

Off on another week of running; this one will be challenging with work on the horizon.

Monday; Aug 8: A nice outing with Traysen around the neighborhood. We are noticing the mornings are a bit cooler and the daylight starts a bit later. Mileage today: 8 at an easy pace.

Tuesday; Aug 9: With the commute ahead, it was up n at 'em early with a weight lifting session of abs, back, and biceps and then out the door for a good 9 miler. I have decided I hate "squirrels." In particular, the fuzzy cotton tail ones! They wait on the side of the road til Traysen and I are right beside them and then they bolt across the road....which sends Traysen into a barking tizzy.

Wednesday; Aug 10: With an early start to the work day, it was a day off from running.

Thursday; Aug 11: Another early start today, but down to the hotel gym in Salt Lake for a good 6 miler on the treadmill.

Friday; Aug 12: An unexpected schedule change landed me at Mom and Dad's in Atlanta Thursday night. Good to see them if only briefly. I managed to get a quick 5 miler in the early morning not so hot part of the day.
A short work day allowed for another 6 miles on the treadmill. A good effort of 5 x 400 repeats with 1/10 recovery in between each interval. Also, managed to get a weight lifting session of abs and shoulders into the mix.

Saturday; Aug 13: With an 830am departure out of Charlotte, it was to the gym for a quick treadmill 5 miler this morning. These gym workouts can be a challenge on the mental outlook. They are typically a drab location with few or no windows, are often way too hot and the equipment can be "well used." I always look at the experience as it is better to get some type of run/workout in than nothing at all. Considering we pilots sit on our fannies all day, getting some form of exercise is really important, so putting up with lackluster gyms is not all bad. Adding some good tunes to the ears and sometimes a decent tv thingy attached to the treadmill makes the treadmill experience a bit better and the miles go by a little quicker. What I am always amazed at in these gyms with a central TV is that most folks will put CNN on and leave it at that! Oh Honestly, to each his own, but CNN provides the same "breaking news" segment til it is bashed into brain cell which has long since left the scene!

Sunday; Aug 14: Out the door at 6am for a 7 miler with Traysen and then another 8 miles on my own. As mentioned earlier this week, I have decided that I hate cotton tail "squirrels." Why? Well, they are all over the place and usually sit on the side of the road until Traysen and I are about 3 feet away and then they bolt across the road....all of this excitement sends the ole boy into a tizzy of leash pulling and barking! He calms down after a few minutes..and then usually only for a few minutes til the next little furry bunny scampers across the road...You know...I am not opposed to some rabbit stew!!!

Oh yeah, he's cute, but he would also be good in a stew pot!!! It's a rabbit...they mulitply rapidly!!!

Summary: A decent week of running with nothing to exciting. Just some basic miles with one long run, one interval session and two weight lifting sessions. The highlight was that the long run felt great with plenty of pep in the step and a genuine desire to run long. Total miles for the week: 55.0

Aug 1 to Aug 7

2011-08-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

Starting the third week after the Leadville race, it seems most of the recovery process is complete and it is time to return to some good training. The goals this week: run about 55 miles, 1 session of hill repeats, 1 long run of about 3-4 hours.

Monday; Aug 1: Already another month has started!!! Where does the time go? Anyhow, out the door for a .....well, a basic, slow, my rear is draggin' 5 miler! Just was a slug!

Tuesday; Aug 2: A nice 10 miler with Traysen at the house. This was the longest run since the Leadville race and it felt great to get a medium distance run under the legs. Even though we did not push the pace, it was a nice effort.

Wednesday; Aug 3: Lazy boy was still sleeping as I ventured out to enjoy the very early morning cool and post rainy evening. A very nice 8 miler where the pace was pushed on several sections of up and down hill.

Thursday; Aug 4: Having been a slacker all week in the weight lifting, it was to the gym in the basement for a good session of back, triceps and P90x abs. Out the door solo again for a good 6 miler with 4 3/10ths of a mile hill repeats on the neighbor's driveway. With all of the rain and no traffic on her driveway, it was a fun adventure trying to run very hard while jumping rivets in the road! The lungs and legs felt strong on the repeats.

Jim, Traysen and I then took for a nice hike in the Catamount Ranch/ North Catamount Res. area. Traysen really enjoyed a good swim!

North Catamount Res.

Friday; Aug 5: A nice weight lifting of abs, chest, and shoulders and then out the door early with Traysen. A good 9 mile effort from the house. The highlight of the run was the two little spotted fawns.

Saturday; Aug 6: Took the day off from running; however, Traysen and I went for a nice hike in the Catamount Ranch area. Very beautiful trails just to the west of Woodland Park; awesome views of Pikes Peak, North Catamount Resevoir, and the entire north slope of Pikes Peak.

The north slope of Pikes Peak as viewed from the Vayhinger Trail.

Sunday; Aug 7: Met up with good friend, Lynne and two new running friends, Lon and Shannon, we ventured to the Dome Rock Wildlife Area, just south of Divide. Shannon and Lon took off up the hill while Lynne and I enjoyed a more leisurely paced effort. The highlight was a detour onto a new trail we had not run, the Dome Rock View Trail. As expected, it climbed wonderfully through huge aspen groves and finally topped out with a perfect view of Dome Rock. An about face and it was back to the main Dome Rock trail, complete with several creek crossings and a long steady climb back to the finish. About 14 miles rounded out the warm day.

Dome Rock.

Several crossings of the creek provided for cooler but wet feet!

Summary: A good week of running, maybe a bit shy on the mileage goals for the week, but a good effort on the hills. Lynne asked if I was recovered from Leadville.....the answer is "yes, physically, but mentally I am not ready to take on 6 hour runs again for awhile.
Total for the week: 52.0 with two weight lifting sessions.

July 25 to July 31

2011-08-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

Still feeling the effects of a 50 mile race, this will be a "more lively" week than last but still not back up to full speed ...or distance! The good news is that the foot has healed well enough that it is not an issue.

Monday; July 25: A quick...well, maybe not so quick...8 miler with Traysen. Sluggish on the uphills but not a bad outing.

Tuesday; July 26: Down to the gym with two dogs in tow...a good session of chest, back and then easy abs. Traysen and I then headed out for a very nice 7 miler. While not a hard effort, it was a solid run.
Each day the ole bones are recovering from the race and soon the training will be back in full swing.
Not 100% sure I can make the outing, but good friend Lynne has proposed a girl's weekend out in September to run the Lead King Loop 25K in Marble, CO. This would be an excellent goal to pick up the speed training and run a shorter race.

A highlight of this run:

These two guys were bouncing around, most likely driving Mom insane!!!

Wednesday; July 27: Late night into San. Fran.; finally down to the sauna/gym around 8am. Despite messing with the thermostat in the small gym room, it was like a sauna! Way too hot!!! But still a good weight lifting session of biceps, shoulders and abs and then to the treadmill. (luckily, there was a fan in the room that was directed right at the treadmill). A nice 7 miler that included 5 hill repeats of 3% grade for 2/10s of a mile at 6.0 mph pace. Still not ready to really push the limits on the hill or interval training.

Thursday; July 28: Into Cincinnati after an ugly redeye; luckily, a descent amount of sleep and then down to the gym for a quick 5 miler on the treadmill. This was a "git 'er done" kind of day.

Friday; July 29: Waking up in SFO with very limited time, out the door for a basic 7 miler; although I was able to push the pace for several short sections. Running on the Bay Front trail just south of the airport is always a mix of beauty and buildings/pavement/people/trash, etc....I try to admire the flowers and shore birds and ignore the rest.

http://www.baytrail.org/Maps/SF_Peninsula.pdf

In the map above, the trail goes quite a ways. I usually run from the airport area to the Coyote Point Park area back....

Greenery!! Even with recent rains at home, we don't have this lush green!

Saturday; July 30: To say that I am ready for this trip to end is an understatement! A long 5 day saga with a redeye and short overnights along with 4 almost transcon flights...Yuck....With the early departure and long flying day with the commute at the end, it was a day off. Needed all the rest I could get in 10 hours off duty!

Sunday; July 31: A slow start but down to the gym for abs and legs and then out the door for a good 8 miler. While not able to push the pace, the effort was solid.

Summary: Nothing very exciting happening at the moment with the running. Which is ok....it is time to pull the focus back and just enjoy the running. A few thoughts have been going through the one brain cell: a. when ready for some intense training and a future race goal, pick something shorter and aim to run it faster than able in the past. (by short, a 25K or possibly a half marathon would be options) b. forcast the rest of the year to run more miles in one year than ever before (2780.0 was last year and was the highest year so far), c. find another 50 miler and focus the training there...this goal would fit nicely into the long term plans of wanting to run a 100K next year. All of these goals are easily accomplished concurrently; just a matter of making the commitment.
Total miles for the week: 42.0
Total miles for the year: 1822.0..which is about 100 miles ahead of this time last year.

July 18 to July 24

2011-07-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

Now that the Leadville race is over, what happens with the running now? As many posts have indicated, much effort was put into getting ready for this race and even though the performance was not quite as planned, the training efforts paid off. Needless to say, it is time for the mileage to reduce to a more comfortable level but yet hopefully the quality of the running can continue/return to a more intense level...after a couple of weeks to let the bones heal!

Monday; July 18th: Oh Paleeezzzeee.....running didn't even cross the mind! Ok..that's not true, but Traysen and I did not even go for a walk!

More thoughts: As mentioned in the Leadville report, a volunteer at the third aid station turned the race around for this ole girl. Not sure why her words made the difference, but this proves the importance/influence/effect a volunteer can have on a runner/competitor. We often give a cursory "thanks for volunteering" to those that dedicate their own time for another's benefit but often times many of us forget that if it were not for volunteers, these special events would not take place. Those in leading volunteer positions are often not paid but yet put in many hours of work and sometimes deal with frustrating issues. So, what drives these unpaid heroes to continue to give to others? For many, it is a belief in a cause...in the case of running, a belief in the benefits of promoting a healthy lifestyle and friendship through exercise/competition.....For others, it is a desire to give back to what has been given to them. Many of those that volunteer at our races are runners themselves and volunteering is one way to show appreciation to those who have volunteered at a race they have run. For some folks (and I have seen this many times at races), it is a parent volunteering with their children and thus instilling the gift of giving your time to others. Whatever the reasoning and whatever the amount of volunteering a person does, it is important to remember that giving your time for the benefit of others can be very rewarding and it could be your words, actions, or caring touch that can make the difference for a runner/competitor.

Tuesday; July 19th: Off to work. Except for that HUGE blister, running could have been possible this morning...

Wednesday; July 20th: In downtown LA this am, so it was a day in the gym. A decent weight lifting session of abs, shoulders, and back and THEN.....to the treadmill.....honestly, it did not go too bad...a basic 5 miler at 6.5 mph....that darn blister area was really the biggest issue, but the legs, back, etc were just tired but working just fine.

Thursday; July 21st: After a red eye into Indy, IN, it was a sleeping morning but finally down to the gym at 1pm. (100 degrees outside, so running outdoors was not an option). Nothing too fancy today; just a weight lifting session of legs and abs and then an easy 5 miler on the elliptical. Since the blister on the right foot is having ugly issues, I opted to just wear a thick bandage and a sock for the workout...does this count as a start into the barefoot running craze? (no, I am not going to take a picture of the foot and post it here.....that is gross! Some of you are really sick!)

Friday; July 22: Flying all day and then long commute home.

Saturday; July 23rd: A rough night of not much sleep so it was a gentle trot with Traysen for about 5 miles.
So, the question was posed: Why the blister in the Leadville race? I dunno! Well, ok...I can go with this: For the past couple years the training/racing has been done in New Balance 1223s ( a few pair); a big clunky shoe with a wide toe box and a straight last. When I was buying shoes this past early spring, I found some New Balance trail shoes, model NB 573, that fit like a soft glove. (After this many years of running, the ole foot knows if a shoe will work or not within the first minute of being on the foot; in fact, most times, I can eliminate shoes just by looking at the toe box and the last, without even trying a pair on.)
Anyhow, about two weeks prior to Leadville, the latest pair of 1223s had completely lost any form of support and had to be retired. The new NB 573s came off the shelf and had about 70 miles on them prior to the race. Even with my massive mileage, this would have considered them "broke in." However, there were two key aspects that had not been tested with these shoes. 1. the longest run on these puppies was about 15 miles; no problems at that distance. 2. these shoes had remained completely dry in the first 70 miles. Not sure if any other trail runners notice, but shoes change once they get wet; while still 100% usable, the structure changes to a more stiff shoe and often times they develop a curved feature along the bottom. With the 1223s (and many other models I have worn), there is not a problem with increasing the miles on a shoe or with getting it wet. As has been mentioned, the shoe works when trying it on for the first time or it does not work and back to the store shelf it goes. So, there would have been no reason for me to believe that this shoe would not work once wet or once the mileage increased.That is all I can come up with for the blister problem. Or it could be that the ole Murphy's Law kicked in...(remember my last?) and anything that can wrong, will go wrong...and will go wrong at the most inopportune time!

Sunday; July 24th: A third weight lifting session for the week with P90X abs, biceps and triceps. Then out the door at the house with Traysen. Just a basic 6 miler.

Summary: A decent recovery week from last week's effort and an improvement on the weight lifting.
Over the years, especially in more recent times, I have read numerous blogs, books, race reviews, etc and have noticed how many individuals come up with "mantras." Also known as a key phrase to keep the ole body moving when the mind wants it to stop....or maybe when the mind thinks it should stop! Here a few that I have "borrowed" during these times of forcing body over mind:

"You can always do more than you think you can." by race director for the Leadville 100.

"Relentless Forward Progress", a book by Byron Powell of iRunFar.com

"There will always be a rough spot in an ultra; it was the runner does with the rough spot that determines the outcome of the race." A video by Geoff Roes, ultra runner who has won 7 out of 8 100 milers.

"When you transition from a walk phase back to the running in an ultra, ease back into the running." article in Running Times Mag.

" Don't worry too much about a plan--keep it simple and minimize anything that distracts from the actual doing. " by Tony Krupicka on his Incline Club profile.

"Just relax and GO!" This is my favorite since I heard a few thousand times from my skating coach. He would be on my tail as we flew around the skating floor and would repeat this phrase in addition to this: "don't let those big boys kick your butt!"

"The Race is not always to the Swift but to those who keep on Running." a quote found on an inspiration plaque on my desk. This is perhaps the phrase I live by on a daily basis.

July 11 to July 17

2011-07-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

Well, it is the week of the Leadville Silver Rush 50 mile race, to be held on Sunday. Am I ready? About as ready as a girl can get! Some short, but somewhat intense runs are planned for the first part of the week and then a day or two off as we get to the weekend.

Monday; July 11th: Lazy family here....finally crawling out from the covers at 430am...and down to the gym by 525am.....a good weight lifting session of P90X abs, chest, and shoulders and then out for a quick, push the pace for 6 miles.
A discovery was made this morning: Traysen the doberman likes run quite a bit faster than ole Mom here. So, in an effort to keep him entertained and in an effort to run faster, I let him set the pace today. Obviously much faster than my little trot, we now have a new method of speed work! Just let Traysen set the pace!

Tuesday; July 12th: An easy 6 miler with Traysen...feeling not so overtrained or tired....

Wednesday; July 13th: Arriving in Missoula around midnight and then up way too early today, the run went actually quite well. A nice 5 mile trot on the flat Kim Williams trail by the Clark Fork River. At the end, it was a U turn back to the Hellgate Canyon trail, a steep climb through the Lolo National Forest. Always a favorite running spot since this is a rocky, steep climb on a single track with nothing but grasses, moss, trees and wildflowers along the way. With the Leadville race on Saturday, I opted not to go to the top and turned around a one of the switchbacks for the easy downhill trot back to the hotel. Total for the day: about 10 miles.

ftp://ftp.ci.missoula.mt.us/Maps%20and%20Graphics/Parks%20and%20Rec/Trails/mapside11-9-final_s2_web-small.PDF

Home away from home in Missoula; the Doubletree Hotel.

Thursday; July 14th: Off due to work.

Friday; July 15th: Off due to working around the house and trying to taper for the race on Sunday.

Saturday; July 16th: Couldn't stand another off day...so, down to the basement bright and early for a weight lifting session of abs, biceps and triceps. Then, out the door with Traysen for a basic 4 miler! Yes, that is four miles......and only 4 miles.

Sunday; July 17th: Leadville 50 mile Race Day!!!!
Well, I finished...but here are the details:

As for the race: The Leadville 50 mile Silver Rush starts in Leadville and travels throughout the old mining roads/trails to the east of town. An out n back course, it starts at 10000 feet MSL and crests 12000 + feet MSL four different times and involves nothing but hills,....mostly up! ....some running water crossings and quite a bit of dusty trail! The beauty of the course is amazing. With the mining tailings, the aspen lined sections, the low lying areas full of snow melt water that runs swift, the wide open views of Iowa Amphitheater and Ball Mt, and especially the wild flower fields coming into and out of Stumptown, the half way point in the race, the course will keep the eyes filled.
The race organization is top notch. Started on time, well marked course, well stocked aid station all day long, and amazing volunteers that made the race a success. A visit to the website will give quite a bit of detail on the race itself and all was as is posted.
As for Sarah's adventure: In a nutshell: Ran ok and finished in my predicted time, but could have run much better. No sleep the night before, a slightly tweaked back, and mostly "couldn't get my head together" for the first 19 miles lead to a less than "lively" effort. It all started off reasonably well, but it was a struggle to get through those first 19 miles. At each aid station I was considering calling it a day due to a now very achy back and my head just wasn't in the right place. And as most of us know, if your head is not screwed on straight in a race, it often leads to valid or invalid body issues. The back hurt, there was a blister developing on the right inside foot (what tha? I never get blisters!), it was getting hot, and a variety of excuses/issues wandered through the one brain cell. However, as each of the first three aid stations was passed, the ole body kept going and it was in the third aid station that a volunteer turned the entire race around. As I was standing with water in hand and most likely a strained look on the mug, she said, "how ya feeling?" The reply, "Awful...nothing serious...but awful." She then quickly said, "well, you are going to go down this trail for another 6 miles and then you are going to be at the halfway point and this race will be in the bag. Then, you are going to come back through here and go that a way til you get to the finish." For whatever reason, her words changed everything because as I took off ....well, resumed relentless forward motion. anyway.....everything was much better, although the back and the blister were now very valid problems. The next 6 miles did go quite well with mostly a steady trot down into Stumptown where a wonderful crew of one husband and four dogs awaits the arrival. What a sight to see 4 waggin tails and a "what do i do?" husband!!! The licks, hugs, kisses, diet coke and poweraid were a most welcome relief and then it was back out to the task at hand!
From Stumptown, the trotting continued, well, except for that steep slog up Ball Mt... through aid station 3 (about 32 miles into the race), all systems, except the back and rapidly growing blister on the right foot, were working well ..... as soon as I rolled into the last crewed aid station, Jim and Traysen were there with fresh diet coke and poweraid..and some much needed ice to cool the radiator. The next 4 miles or so were not too steep but yet not too gentle climb back up to the Iowa Amphitheater crest. This section went fairly well despite a mid day sun with no cloud relief. At one point, the ole internal radiator was overheating and the pace had to be reduced for a bit. Once cresting the top, it was a long 10 mile mostly descending trail back to the finish. This section should have gone quite well; however, a blister on that right foot had now burst (yes, yuck and ouchy!!!) and was providing considerable "issue." And after that uphill from the last aid station, the back was trashed. (too many ibuprofen had already gone down the gullet so that was not an option at this point) So, when I should have been blazing down the trail, the ole bones were tip toeing as if walking on pins n needles. Finally, after reaching the last aid station at 43.0 miles, the painful foot and back had both reached a level of comfortable pain and the pace was quickened til the finish line. Speaking of which....that finish line was a welcome sight along with my wonderful crew of one husband and 4 wiggly dogs!

Lessons learned/training improvements:
1. No camping the night before a big race. Although the campground did quiet down, it was difficult to get any sleep even with the proper gear. (usually sleep quite well in a sleeping bag). One factor in this camping issue is the prep...it is quite a bit of work to drag all the equipment out of the basement, get all the dog gear ready, load it all into the truck and then do all the setup at the campground. Not really a good idea to have a busy/somewhat stressful day before a big race. For this race in particular, a room at the Super 8 will be much easier and produce much more sleep.
2. While the training for this specific race was good, there is room for improvement. Train more on the course...it seems as though this ole head needs to spend as much time as possible on a race course in order to hit the starting line with full confidence. Also, even though I had trained on the various parts of the course over two different training runs, I needed to train on the more challenging sections, especially the steep climb coming out of Stumptown (halfway aid station). Additionally, there should have been more long hill repeats on technical terrain. Not necessarily rock hopping as is found on Barr Trail between Barr Camp and A frame, but more hard charges up sections that contain at least a 5% grade with many embedded rocks and tree roots on the trail.
3. Work on crew coordination. It was Jim's first time crewing and he did a great job! Thanks Honey...you made the day a success! But with more guidance from me we could have made the aid station breaks a bit more efficient. It doesn't seem like much, especially since this ole girl is not a front runner, but every second counts and spending too much time/energy on aid station stuff is mentally taxing. (And given me being not fond of stopping, these transitions need to be efficient)
4. Learn to enjoy the race itself. As I have mentioned several times in the past, the running is more about the training and enjoying being out on a trail with just myself, with Traysen or with a few close running friends. And while, I do not want the running to become some crazed, pressure filled endeavor, it would be better if I could just enjoy a race without all the mental anguish. It seems as though once I start walking or watch as some folks pass, it is difficult to stay in the race mentally. The whole attitude goes down the tubes and so does the performance and while I have worked on this over the last few years, there is considerable work to be done. Hopefully over time, the ole brain can really come to terms with this and I can just run my own race and realize and be happy with the idea that I am very lucky to be able to be out there running. Improvement can hopefully be found in just enjoying being on a beautiful course with like minded folks and also come to terms with the fact that, unlike in the speed skating days, I am not competitive as a front runner. (oh, no, age has nothing do to with it!!!)
5. While training for races of this distance, the overall weekly mileage usually prevents weight lifting sessions of more than a couple of times a week. And these sessions are limited to upper body only and nothing on the legs. So, an improvement on leg strength can be made with a change in the weight lifting.

Summary of the race: As mentioned: I finished and I actually finished in the time frame that was predicted. However, in reflection, the finish time could have been much quicker....at least an hour quicker. Also, instead of beating myself up on a performance that was not perfect, it has been easy to find areas of improvement and to be happy with finishing a very difficult race. Would I do this race again? Absolutely!!! In fact, that is another good point: by running a slower race, next year, it will be easy to beat the finish time! Also, and more importantly, with lessons learned and a dedication to make the improvements needed in training, a future Leadville Silver Rush 50 miler will no doubt produce a better performance.

A few pics:

Between aid station 3 and the half way point of Stumptown. Ball Mountain is on the left. The course winds around and UP this mountain.

This is the start of the race. A quick uphill blast that rewards the first female and male to the top of this little beast with a silver dollar! Most of us opted to save the energy and walk the darn thing!

Not sure, but this looks like Rebekka from our own Manitou Springs. She is training very hard this year for Leadville 100. Nevertheless, this is one of the easier sections of the course with not too many rocks or steep hills.

The mountain bike race is held on the same course the day before the run. This pic explains why running the course is much easier than biking it....why carry a 20 pound bike for a hike!?

Thanks to The Smudge Blog for the pics!

Summary of the week: With the race, a great week of running with additional highlights of the Missoula run. What is next? Well, no plans for races! It is time to pull the mileage back to something more sane (this will be difficult since I am never really sure what sane means?!). After a recovery from this race for a couple of weeks, hopefully the ole bones and head can change the focus and move towards those improvements mentioned.
Total Miles for week: 80.0

July 4 to July 10

2011-07-10T06:14:00.000-07:00

The year is now half over! And we are celebrating the 4th of July already! Is it Halloween yet? Christmas? Anywho....a taper week is in order. This means continued training but no distance over 15 miles and the goal for a total this week is about 50 miles.

Monday; July 4th: It's a holiday so where else would I be except working! Actually, this is a holiday that would rather be worked; just not a big bbq/beer drinkin', hootin' an hollarin' kind of girl. Waking up in Salt Lake, it was out the door to enjoy the cool morning air; however, Mother Nature had forgotten to cool off during the night and it was still a smokin' 80 degrees! So, a heated trot was the order of the day for about 7 miles; then to the hotel gym for an upper body and abs routine.
The work part of the day took me to Jackson Hole. While only 40 minutes on the ground, it is beautiful and great to visit for a few minutes.

The Tetons with Black Tail Butte in the foreground and to the left. The Snake River winds through the valley and provides a great moose hangout.

Tuesday; July 5th: A basic 6 miler from home.

Wednesday; July 6th: Off to Leadville with Jim very early. A 7am start from the race start and it was up the mineral belt trail to what I hoped was the race course. Once getting to a power line section, a left turn took the run north and unfortunately I ended up on the dump road! Yuck...but a quick turn around, a jig here and there and I was back on some mining road that was wonderfully rocky and climbing. Passing by the mineral belt trail, I took that out to California Gulch Rd, a right turn and then another nice climb up a dirt road to more bumpy mining roads. At just under the two hour mark, it was a U turn and back to the starting point, minus the dump road portion. About a 14 mile run.
What was good about this run was that it was a nonstop trot and the altitude was not a factor, although I only got to about 11,000 feet. and there are several areas on the race course that are much steeper than this run.

Purple Fringe flower. Plenty of these in bloom along the trails, mostly coming out the rocky sections.

Purple Lupine. Many varieties of this flower but the one grown in Colorado is often found in rocky areas and grows in large groups, covering the forest floor.

Yes, someone called me a "wildflower expert." With a biology degree and having spent time as a volunteer naturalist at a nature center in Littleton, CO, plus many hikes while carrying wildflower books, I know my flowers!

Thursday; July 7th: An at home day with the dogs. Started off with a weight lifting session of abs, back, and triceps and then out the door with Traysen. A nice 10 miler was the order of the day with the pace being pushed over about 6 miles of the run.

Friday; July 8th: We headed out quite early at 5am for a quick 7 miler. Nothing special, just pushed the pace again for about 4 miles.
The taper plan is going somewhat as planned. Although with the time off from work and all systems working well (and starting to not feel so overtrained), it is hard not to log the high mileage. Yeah, I know...pick up the pace and you will forget about the high miles!

Saturday; July 9th: At Lori's invitation/suggestion, I joined her and 4 other folks from the Springs area. Meeting at Starbutts at 5am and then an hour's drive to Frosty Park, on the southern end of Colorado Springs, somewhat near Cheyenne Canyon. About a two mile 4 wheel drive ride dumped us near Forest Service Rd 379 and below Mt. Almagre, our goal for the day.
As we started the climb, the chatter subsided....well, except for John and Bill....With their nonstop entertainment, crazy running stories, and picture taking, I have never laughed so hard while trying to run from 10,000 to 12,000 feet! John and I were running slightly ahead of the others and coming out of treeline when he observed, "you don't stop! and you don't look around much." The reply, "oh, (gasp) there will be some (gasp) sightseeing.....(gasp) and I hate (gasssp ) stopping." John was thinking he needed to determine a metronome/nickname for yours truly. Well, my running girlfriends call me Energizer Bunny, a friend of Jim's calls me BadAss and Jim, the husband, calls me Psycho...all of which are compliments!
Coming out of the trees, passing a gate, we came upon the dam for Stratton Resevoir. Unfortunately, no alpine swim today as the lake was only a mudhole. After a regroup of everyone (I thought we were at our turn around point so I stopped.), we started off towards the dam, where Lori had to give short stumpy legs here a boost to get up onto the dam wall! Thanks Lori...your long legs come in handy!) Then, it was the last 1.5 mile steep climb to the summit of Mt. Almagre. Beautiful views of Pikes Peak, Sentinel Point, the mining area of Cripple Creek, and a view of Colorado Springs. Not even on the top of Pikes Peak can you see far to the west and far to the east! A quick group photo or two and off we went back down the trail, a nice 6 mile cruiser with John pushing the pace a bit. At one point, as he was trotting and these legs were sprinting, he hollars, "I got it." Between gasps of air, "you got what??" I have now been dubbed "BadAss Psycho Bunny!!!" OMG!!! Too cute and just perfect!
A total of 12 miles and what a fun outing! Thanks guys....looking forward to the next high altitude adventure....This was one of those runs that makes this sport too much fun! Some good friends, good altitude, some dirt and rocks with some hills and a beautiful morning...doesn't get much better than that!

From Mt. Almagre, looking to Baldy.

Mt. Almagre in the upper right corner.

Looking to Mt. Almagre from the west.

BadAss Psycho Bunny!

Sunday; July 10th: A day off was needed. Traysen and I went out the door at 6am for a coffee cup in hand walk. With the rain of this past week, there is even a hint of green and the ground is soft. A welcome relief to the dry, fire prone days so far this summer.

Summary: A good taper week with a few nice runs. At the moment, all systems and plans are shaping up perfectly for the Leadville race.
Total miles for the week: 56.0

June 27 to July 3

2011-07-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

A recovery week is in order...at least til the end of the week anyway. With work this week, the running will be drastically reduced for a few days, but hopefully I can have a couple of hard workouts along the way.

Monday; June 27th: Off to work today and a day off from running.

Tuesday; June 28th: Was hoping to sleep late in Spokane, but the ole brain started at 6am; so down to the hotel gym at 7am or so for abs, shoulders, and biceps. Out the door by 830am for what was supposed to be a nice trotter run along the Spokane River and Falls. Well, it was nice for a couple of miles, although quite warm. BUT THEN! There was this little piece of pavement on the bike path...it was sticking up in the air about a quarter of an inch! Now, do you think I could navigate over/around/through/beside this little bump in the road? OH NO>...head over tea kettle! There were two guys walking towards me and not sure what was behind...but as I sat on the ground, assessing the damage, I heard this: "Wow, it really cut your leg pretty bad." (I think my less than ladylike words told him all was really ok.) Since all parts were still attached...well, minus some skin over various places....the dirt was brushed aside and off I went again....with the two fellas exclaiming what a tough girl I was...OH Palezzzzz...it hurt like *&%$())@%^! As usual after a fall, things loosened again and I finished the run. Now sporting rashes, cuts, scraps on the right knee, right shoulder, both hands and right side of the ribs, tomorrow morning is gonna be stiff at first! Mileage today? Hopefully 5 total.

Spokane Falls.

Wednesday; June 29th: Maybe it was a good thing that the day started with work early and ended late. This morning my body looked like it had been in a discussion with the entire gang from Harlem after I had encroached on their territory! (In New York tonight.) Didn't think it was that bad of a tumble, but it appears that pavement was ANGRY!

Thursday; June 30th: Nuthin! Working all day.

Friday; July 1st: Nothing fancy this morning, just a quick 5 miler with Traysen.

Saturday; July 2nd: A 230am wakeup to go running....Yep, I am psycho! BUT, it was well worth it. Meeting about 10 of the Team Crud fellas and Gina (the only other girl) at the Cog Parking lot, it was a 430am start up Barr Trail. Darkness still hung over the trail for the first several switchbacks through the Ws, but what a beautiful sunrise. The guys and Gina quickly left the ole girl in the dust, but that was ok. With Leadville in two weeks, this had to be an easier effort. (Luckily, the effects of Tuesday's digger had faded.) As the climbing continued, the Ws passed and the scrub oak took over; one thing noticeable over the last few runs on the Peak is that the trail is washed out with many areas needing the annual dose of filler dirt. (Or is that these short, stubby legs are just noticing the rock hopping more these days?) From the Ws to Barr Camp was the usual trot and at this time of year plenty of wildflowers to view with No Name having a good display of columbines. Climbing through Barr Camp went quickly (no stopping) and then it was into the challenging 3 miles to A Frame. I find this section particularly difficult with the technical aspects of continual large rocks and tree roots....not to mention a gain in altitude of about 1500 feet. Today proved to be quite mentally taxing during this 3 miles and a few times I thought that 20 miles round trip would quite enough, but alas after moving past the A Frame sign, the trail moves into a favorite section of twisted pine and alpine wildflowers. From there the climbing returned to an easy effort and the ole mind was revived into continuing to the top. A non stop fast hike until reaching the 16 Golden Stairs...I think there is a huge wall there and I just fizzle .....from the bottom of the stairs to the top (about a half mile? total), I crawl, stop, boulder hop, cuss, huff, puff, hands on the knees rest, BUT what a great feeling to reach that sign at the top. A quick breather and a swig of water and back down the trail.
Maybe I am getting old and more conservative ...or maybe I am just a wimp in terms of downhill running...or maybe it is the numerous downhill diggers encountered over the years..... BUT blazing down Barr Trail ( or most any other downhill, technical trail), just doesn't happen, It's more like tip toeing through the tulips, carefully placing each foot and working diligently to stay upright. Nothing eventful happened on the trot down and the effort was completed with only one stop at Barr Camp to refill a water bottle. One aspect very noticeable was the temperature! That trail has never been hotter! And it was still late morning!
All in all, a nice run....not a fast effort that would be attempted in an actual race, but the run had these highlights;
*turned what has always been viewed as an intimidating race into a training run; a huge mental confidence increase
*stayed upright!!! OH yeah!!!
*trotted up to Barr Camp; trotted all the way down
*beat my race ascent time by quite a bit; beat my overall race time by a good margin and the effort was not fast as would be in the race
* did the run unaided....two water bottles and a couple of gels with some endurolytes
*the distance was not a challenge; all systems were working great

Areas to improve:
*run more from Barr Camp to the top, especially once past A Frame
*gain more confidence in running downhill at a faster rate
*continue to work on hill climbing and a faster pace.

Total miles today: 25.0

Forget me nots....common flower above treeline

The east face of Pikes Peak can be a mentally tough view, knowing you have to climb that entire section through a series of switchbacks. Honestly, it is only about three miles total!

Sunday; July 3rd: Up again at 230am! Why did it seem easier on Saturday when the plans were to go running up and down Pikes Peak verses going to work!?
Flying all day and a 100 degree temp in Salt Lake yielded a day off.
Perfectly sore after yesterday's effort; just what would be expected.

Summary: A good off/recovery week of running. The best day of course was the run on Barr Trail, an outing I have wanted to do for a few years. Again, this is now a training run and not the intimidating race/challenge it has been in the past, a paradigm shift. During this effort on Saturday, I was often reminding myself of a paragraph from the book, To The Edge, by Kirk Johnson. As he is running across the Badwater course in Death Valley, he continually reminds himself to just make it to the support van up ahead; do not think about what is beyond that van. Once at the van, refill water and continue to run to the van again...and repeat and repeat. He finished the race. As the Barr Trail climbs, there are points where the summit is clearly visible; it is at these sections where this "run to the next switchback/tree/rock" comes into play and the rest of the trail will take care itself. Looking at the Peak so far away and so high can mentally shoot you down when you consider the whole challenge at once.
From here, I can have a goal to better Saturday's time on the same course. Hopefully, Tuesday was the once a year digger and the remaining of year will be all efforts in the vertical position!
Total miles: 35.0
Total miles for 2011: 1625.0

June 20 to June 26

2011-06-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

Off we go on another solid week of training. There have been three weeks of hard running and it should be time for a sloppy/recovery week, but with work looming next week and I am off this week, the hard training will continue. It's important to stay in tune with the ole body and know when you can push it and when to back off. Right now, all systems are operating very well and pushing it one more week will not be an issue.

Monday; June 20th: So, I took the day off! Spent it with my mom and two of the dogs.

Tuesday; June 21st: Dropped Mom off at the airport for the 630am flight YUCK!!! And out to Garden of the Gods for an 11 miler. Since the ole bones were feeling great, I pushed the pace quite a bit and found as many hills as possible. . Remembering JD's technique of speeding up on the uphills, I forced a quicker pace on these sections and used some of the downhills to recoop some oxygen.

Wednesday; June 22nd: In the gym at 5am for abs, back, and triceps and then out the door with Traysen. For whatever reason, he had a foot/leg issue and came back home after about a mile. (He probably tweaked something while playing stick on Tuesday.) Off I went for another 11 miles, again pushing the pace since all was feeling well.
Tile Man, aka, Jim the husband, has the house in disarray again. He is redoing his tile work from 10 years ago and adding a new section...so the carpet is almost gone!!! Oh yeah!!!! Do I help during these episodes? Oh NO...I just stay out of the way! Maybe I should have gone on an afternoon heat training run?!

Thursday; June 23rd: Lazy girl here.....slept til 515am! Woo Hoooo.....and then out the door with Traysen....but let's back up to yesterday for a minute....I found a few minutes to finally watch/listen to the film clip with ultra runner, Geoff Roes.
http://wpblogs.runningtimes.com/blogs/performancepodcasts/2011/06/video-geoff-roes-slogging-to-the-top/

In this short video (by Joel Wolpert), Geoff gives us insight as to what drives him keep running, to keep racing, and what to do when the racing gets tough. In particular, he points out that a runner will always experience a low/bad/sinker spot during any ultra. He explains that it is often what a runner does during this low/bad/sinker spot that determines the personal outcome of the race. If the runner can just get through the rough patch without losing their head, the race outcome is usually positive; however, if the runner blows up and falls apart mentally, it is all over and disappointment is the result.
As Traysen and I were trotting through a rather lethargic run (not a bad run, just not very "lively"), these thoughts came to mind: During our overall training we will always experience low/bad/sinker days where the running is not fast, long, or the quality we were hoping for and applying Geoff's theory of dealing with the rough patch will determine the outcome of the overall training. So, during today's effort, the goal was to keep running smoothly and comfortably and not get too wrapped over a slower run (or the fact that Traysen had to stop three times!). When race day arrives, the overall training will have been good and (barring any other disaster), the outcome will be positive.
One other note about the video: Like many of us runners, Geoff enjoys the training more than the racing. Just getting up in the mountains, outside in the woods, and testing our abilities is more meaningful than any one day of racing. I have often told myself that if I would race more and train with faster runners more, I would be a faster runner. But it is the solitude of running alone in the mountains or out with a few friends or just with Traysen that gives the real meaning to the running.

Friday; June 24th: At the Mueller visitor center parking lot at 530am for an early start to a very long and hot run. It all started with this sound.....

http://www.ilovewavs.com/Effects/Animals/Sound%20Effect%20-%20Turkey%20Gobble%2001.wav

(you gotta click on the link)

Then it was off to the hills and dirt for 30 miles of pure bliss....well, the first 4.5 hours was bliss, venturing all over the state park and discovering a couple of new trails I had not run yet. (Lynne and Lori, you gotta try out trail number 33....yes, it's hilly, but very beautiful). After a refill of water at the visitor center at 4.5 hours, the run went downhill; no really, it went downhill for a few miles, down to Brook Pond. Knowing it was getting hotter and the legs were very tired from 237.0 miles so far in June, the uphill portion was to be some training in walking and running uphill and transitioning back and forth between the two. This actually went very well and then to round out the 30 miles, I opted for the easy cruiser section of trail number 1. This particular trail is mostly tree covered and moss covered and it is amazingly pretty.

Sightings from this run:

Wild Paint Brush. Very abundant.

Colorado State Flower, Columbine. Just a few of these near the Brook Pond.

Saturday; June 25th: Sleeping til 5am was almost Heaven! An assortment of dogs (no, no husband...he is out earning the bacon this weekend...darn) kept me pinned in til all had to step outside.
And then out the door by 6am with coffee cup in hand. You know it's going to be a slow start to the run if you head out with a cup of coffee. That first half mile was a nice stroll and then off we went....like a herd of turtles! Traysen the doberman was rearing to go but ole Mom here needed to ease into the effort. Nevertheless, a nice 9 miler was the result. We walked, trotted, and charged up some of the hills and trotted all of the downhills. (no flat land near the house).
This morning I was thinking that at the moment I am bit overtrained. OHHH NOOOO!!!! Meeee? Overtrain? Run too much? NEVER!!! Well, maybe it is so at the moment BUT that is ok. At this point, there are 1544.0 miles in the logbook for 2011..as compared to 1369.0 at this time in 2010....so there has been some serious running this year...plus I have really worked hard at getting stronger and a bit faster....and a bit leaner! So, being overtrained right now is ok since I know the results come race day will be worth it. I also know that the next couple of weeks will be the taper weeks and the mileage will reduce as we get closer to the Leadville race. I am also aware that I can still cannot wait to get out the door in the morning and enjoy a nice run in our beautiful mountains.......additionally, after the Leadville race, there are no racing plans. Remember, I like the training/plain ole running more than racing. So, the overall weekly mileage will come down and the body/ head can recover.
Oh...out of curiosity, the formal definition of "overtrained" is :

Overtraining is a physical, behavioral and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individuals exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness.

Yep, that about covers it! The good news is that this ole girl is just on the very edge of overtrained and recognizes the condition.

Sunday; June 26th: Off we (Traysen and ole Mom here) went to Leadville...well before daylight! Arriving in town before 7am, we blasted off on the Leadville Silver Rush 50 mile course.....needless to say, it climbed ...and climbed....and climbed....all was going well as we nonstop trotted but THEN, my phone rang! Ringadingdingdong! No idea why I even answered and was even more amazed that I had enough air to say hello! It was my dad...he was in Florida...the other extreme from Leadville! (hot, flat, and humid) Somehow, we kept moving, talking and huffing....
The run was awesome....beautiful trails with lots of mud, lots of flowing water but no snow! and lots of climbing! The mining district in this section of Leadville is really lesson in history and it was all I could do to keep moving verses stopping and exploring some of the old mining remains. Once we reached a huge stream across the trail, we turned back and headed back down, but took a slightly different route and ended up on a paved road (eeewwwyuck), but took a final detour onto the Lake County Mineral Bike Trail. Even though paved, it was really pretty with lots of aspen and of course, it climbed..what else would it do? Ending up back at the truck after just over 3 hours, mapmyrun says we did 13.0 miles.

http://www.mineralbelttrail.com/

As for the quality of the run': could not have been better! a good pace up the hills, with an easy effort at altitude and hoping over rocks and dodging Traysen when he decided to stop directly in my path. (he also had to pull over three times...again! No more tuna for that boy!)

A few pics to highlight the run:

What tha? A wooden erector set?

Just a few of these in bloom. Scarlett Gila flower. Grows right on the roadside, very little moisture and rocky soil.

Summary: What a nice week of running, despite realizing the being a bit overtrained. This will be the last high mileage week until the Leadville race, July 17th. It is time to taper but not lose the intensity. Am I ready? Well, we will see...there should be about 2-3 more trips to Leadville to run the race course as well as one solo Pikes Peak Marathon next weekend. Other than those runs, there will be a few interval/hill repeat sessions and some basic "keep it together" runs.
Total for the week: 85.0
Total for 2011: 1590.0

June 13 to June 19

2011-06-19T06:22:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in last week's post, the training will be adjusted a bit so that the long 30 miler goes as planned. Unfortunately, some painful news this week: One of my running idols, Tony Krupica actually broke his leg and did some muscle damage in the process! Needless to say, he is out of running for quite some time but hopefully he can make a full recovery. Luckily, with the amazingly strong will he has, he will be back on the trails before we know it!

Monday; June 13: Up n at 'em at 215am....that is off to work, not running!

Tuesday; June 14: Waking up in Salt Lake, out the door for a run in the marshes of Salt Lake. Today was a non descript 10 miler but yet had these highlights:

One of my favorite birds...a western meadowlark. Their early morning call is really beautiful.

The shrill chatter of the killdeer is a distinct distraction from the pounding of the roads in the Salt Lake marsh area. These guys were buzzing around the ponds and dive bombing my head!

Wednesday; June 15th: Despite an easy two days of work, this was the usual slog fest of a run. A basic 8 miler; although a really pretty morning with no wind. Traysen really enjoyed getting out to see his "squirrels."

Thursday; June 16th: In the basement gym quite early at 445am and then out the door to drive to the top of Pikes Peak. Even though the run starts very late (830am), it is worth the effort. Unmatched views, perfectly cool morning and no people! This was the first high altitude run of the season and it proved to be a challenge. The normal trot down Barr Trail was with caution and there were about three short sections of snow glopping....yes, that deep wet, sloppy, icy, post holing goop that occurs at this time of year....luckily, they were easily navigated and the trotting continued all the way down past A Frame but not quite to Barr Camp. I knew the return trip was going to be slow so the goals remained simple: run, walk, crawl non stop to the top. And that is almost what I did.....at the bottom of the 16 Golden Stairs, I fizzled....just plain fizzled, was lightheaded, dizzy, and nauseated. Nevertheless, to the top and was happy to have spent the time above treeline.
These first excursions of the season to high altitude (or any new training regiment) can be frustrating in the beginning. The body isn't used to the new demands and it takes awhile to adjust. It takes patience and determination to work through the challenges. It helps to keep in mind that it is these challenges that are making us stronger. I am 100% certain my next trip above treeline will go even better. 10 miles for the day..
A few highlights of this outing:

Parry Primrose. Small ground cover flower growing well above treeline.

Alpine Buttercup. Very plentiful in the early spring.

Friday; June 17th: Up n out the door very early today. A basic 12 miler from the house; the run went very well, one of those "floater" types that required very little effort.

Saturday June 18th: Just an easy 7 miler today.

Sunday, June 19th: Out the door at 445am. Honestly, it is really beautiful at that hour! Traysen joined me for the first 10 miles; many "squirrels" out and about this morning. After dropping him at the house, I took off for another 20 miles to round out the day with that important 30 miler that has escaped the training over the last couple of weeks. Luckily, this one went very well with no real issues; the legs, lungs, energy, etc were feeling just right. A special thanks to Grandma (my mom) for taking care of the dog kids while ole Mom here trotted all over the neighborhood for 6 hours!

On a separate note: Happy Father's Day, Pa.....without your support and guidance I would never have come this far!!! Your occasional dose of reality has always kept thinking somewhat straight and steered me in a logical direction.

Summary: A fairly good week of running. The quality could have been a bit better but the ole body is dealing with accumulated running fatigue and an easy week will be due soon. The fatigue is not necessarily a feeling being overly tired since I am resting well but more a feeling of lots of good miles on the legs. At least there are no real aches or pains, just some minor stiffness here and there. I was explaining to my mom that running on a tired body is "normal" when it comes to training for these ultra distances. As the high mileage weeks accumulate so does the general fatigue; however, it is when we allow the body to rest that the body grows stronger and hopefully by race day, we have trained well, rested, and become stronger. (she still thinks I am nuts, but understands that is her daughter!)
Weekly mileage: 77.0

June 6 to June 12

2011-06-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

With only two days of work this week, it should prove to be a great week of running. From the hot temps in Colorado the snow is melting in the high country and on Pikes Peak. Goals this week are to run long and run hard.

Monday; June 6th: Well, not a day off but a slog fest on the treadmill. Waking up in St. Louis, the forecast was for temps to be in the mid 90s with plenty of humidity. Wandering down to the gym at 730am, it was 80 degrees in the gym! No kidding...80 degrees! Unfortunately, the hotel had locked the thermostat control behind a plastic covering. In some hotel gyms, those of us that frequent these places have learned to get past the plastic covering and turn the thermostat down to the mid 50s. This one was not one of those I could get into without a hammer. So, after some weight lifting it was to the treadmill for a basic 10 miler while pouring sweat from every pore! At least it wasn't like Ron White, the comedian, who says if he were to ever engage in exercise, he would sweat scotch from every pore.

Tuesday; June 7th: Ok, now a day off due to work.

Wednesday; June 8th: Out the door at 530am with Traysen. This was actually quite a nice 12 mile run. As I have mentioned before the first day home after a trip is usually not a very good run but for whatever wonderful reason, the ole bones were feeling great and we trotted through the effort with ease.
That's one of the great things about running ...or any kind of exercise/sport....some days we are very surprised at how well we are able to perform, even when we are tired or when we might usually expect a poor performance.

Thursday; June 9th: With the hardwood floor installer showing up at 8am, it was up and at 'em quite early this morning. (The carpet in the house is finally making an exit....!!!! Oh yeah!!!!) In the gym by 445am( with two dogs!), for back, shoulders and abs and then out the door. A nice 6 mile warm up and then 8 x intervals, ranging from 3/10 of a mile to 4/10 of a mile. These went well, so a good day of 9 miles.

Friday; June 10th: Another epic run on Pikes Peak today! Starting at 530am in Memorial Park in Manitou, it was a nice climb into the overcast of clouds. Into the lowest layer around No Name Creek (about 4 miles from the start) and then out of the thick layer around Barr Camp. Running in the misty fog was amazingly beautiful and gave the green trail a whole new look. Continuing up through the technical section to A Frame, the clouds thinned and I could see face of the Peak through the trees. Being about 10 miles up the trail, it was a turn around and the long downhill back to Manitou.
This was a good effort, not too fast, but all goals were met: run nonstop from Memorial Park to Barr Camp, mostly run from Barr Camp to A Frame (one total stop to regain some oxygen, about 11,000 feet MSL), and the ole bones stayed upright the entire run (no tripping or falling...oh, there was that one rock that my big toe collided with....Owwwwwww). Much stronger than last week's effort on Barr Trail, so progress is being made.

Barr Camp with an overcast layer.

A Frame; almost at tree line and about 11,000 feet MSL.

Saturday; June 11th: Sleeping in late to 545am, it was a late start for a nice and very easy 7 miler at home. Traysen and I started out with a walk and cup of coffee and after the coffee cup was empty, we just kept walking. At three miles into the walk, we were stopped by a neighbor....about 20 minutes later, we continued our walk; then we came across the husband/dad and talked for about 4 minutes; and then! Susan (neighbor) stopped us.....about 15 minutes later, we pressed on toward home! So, not much of a run or even a walk, but a welcome break from the hard efforts and based on tomorrows plan, this was good.

Sunday; June 12th: At the visitor center in Mueller at 530am for an early start to hopefully a cruiser 30 miler. It is hard to describe how this run went since some parts of it were good and some parts really sucked! The first hour was rather slow, consisted of two stops to unload clothes and then unload coffee but the next 2 hours were great....Since the usual route through the Cheesman Trail was closed I ended up running a section I had not run in a couple of years (trail numbers 13 and 14). (The Cheesman Tr. was closed due to elk calving season...now, did anyone tell the Momma Elk to just have their calves in this particular area?) The climbing on these two trails was good and a nice easy effort back to the truck to drop yet another light weight fleece top. Off onto some new trails I have never run (trail numbers 2 and 21) proved to be quite the challenge of the day. Lori and Lynne: Remember trail number 3? That was easy compared to number 21...this sucker went up very steep hills for a long time! And then there were these little bitty short downhills for the recovery....and then....another steep uphill....anyhow, I made it. Blazing by the truck and back out for another couple of hours proved to be the worst part of the run. It was hot, the legs were trashed from Pikes Peak on Friday and from trail numbers 2 and 21, and most likely there are several other excuses on the table, but nevertheless, the run was completed at about 26 miles today. The remaining four miles would not have been productive.
This week of running has brought a couple of things to light: 1. The runs on Barr Trail/Pikes Peak are definitely making the lungs and legs stronger; however, with the hard effort produced by that run there is not enough recovery prior to attempting a hard 30 mile run. So, the fix is to back off the hard efforts of Barr Trail for a week or two and get those 30+ runs in. 2. The other thing has come to light is this: Even though the last two weeks, the long run has not been what I had hoped for, the overall conditioning is improving. Last week after the Barr Trail run (16 miles), the legs were very sore and the long run was only 20 miles. This week, after the Barr Trail run (20 miles), the legs were not that sore and the altitude gained was higher than last week. While the long run this week was not the effort hoped for, it was at least a 26 miler on a very hilly course and the best part of the run was the beauty of Mueller State Park....so slowing down, even a bit of walking allowed me to view the scenery better!

Wonder if she knew to stay in the blocked off area?.

Summary: A descent week of running but the training needs to be adjusted. As we all know, our life pursuits/goals/dreams sometimes need a revision. The key is to recognize this and then act upon it. If a new plan doesn't work, then we often have to analyze what isn't working and/or maybe we need to readjust our goals to something that is realistic. So, next week the training will be structured a bit differently. Let's hope it works!?
Total miles for the week: 80-82?

May 30 to June 5:

2011-06-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

Another hard training week is in order. This will be a challenge with only three days at home and then six days of work.

Monday; May 30: A day off due to work.

Tuesday; May 31: Up an at 'em quite early and down to Barr Trail. Starting in Memorial Park in Manitou, it was the long up hill to somewhere past Barr Camp, about 7-8 miles of nonstop climbing. Not being concerned with time, this was not a fast effort but a solid, continuous run excursion...oh there was slight digger when I tripped and ended up in the dirt; no damage but those little deviations from vertical always take the momentum right out of the run and force a few deep breaths to get going again.
Barr Trail is one of the reasons these ole bones ended up in Colorado. Many years ago I met a fella named Mike. He had just run the Pikes Peak Ascent and was raving about the adventure. Having heard of the Pikes Peak races, my interest was in full gear and so after many visits I eventually moved to Colorado Springs in the mid 90s. Many, many miles have been logged on that beautiful trail, including a few Ascents and Marathons. Favorite part of the trail? It varies, depending on the season. In mid summer, it is the area leading up from No Name Creek since it is full of green grasses and wild columbines. Usually when running the upper half of the trail the area just above A frame is a favorite with its' twisted bristle cone pines. Oddly enough, Jim, the husband, has never been on Barr Trail!!! Hopefully this summer we can make it happen.
A total of 16 miles today.

Wednesday; June 1: Yesterday's run was a wake up call! After climbing for the 7-8 miles on Barr Trail, these ole legs are trashed! Very sore today and no pep in the step. Even though many of the runs are done on hills, Barr is one of the few trails that presents a continuous uphill challenge; therefore, the legs/body are not used to that continual climbing. And I didn't even push the pace!
Today's run was a slow, painful (in the legs only; the rest of me was fine) effort of 20 miles. Even though the mileage and effort were not what had been hoped for, this was a good training run in forcing the body to do what it did not want to do......more head work than anything..... It would have been easy to cut the run really short at 5 miles, 10 miles, or ? but sometimes running just isn't easy and sometimes those rough days happen on race day. By pushing through an uncomfortable run, the confidence is stronger so that if the rough day happens on race or on a day where I really would like to complete a specific run in, on specific terrain, then I know I can make the head and body accomplish the goal. Could I have run more than 20 miles today....well, yes, but it would not have been pretty and it would have been counterproductive. I knew it was time to call it a day.
With plenty of time off from work in June, there will be several more runs on Barr Trail.

Thursday; June 2: Up n at 'em quite early today. Weight lifting with abs, shoulders, and triceps and then out the door with Traysen. Amazingly, the ole legs are still trashed from Tuesday!!! Maybe it was the downhill on Barr? Anyhow, we slogged through a 9 miler and then off to work.

Friday; June 3: This was an appreciation run. After weight lifting (chest, back, abs), I was really wanting to venture outside for a run (the gym/treadmill area was a sauna). Being in downtown Indy, IN the options were going to be limited but sometimes these downtown areas have paved trails nearby, often along a river. The nice fella at the front desk said to go out 'that' door, turn right, go three blocks, past the museums and turn right; the canal trail is right there. Sounds easy enough, right? No museums, no canal, no trail....just concrete side walk with several stops n starts to cross streets. I did find the Lilly (big drug company) complex and was able to run laps there without stopping and without getting mowed down by a motorized maniac on a cell phone. A couple of laps around the Lucas Oil Stadium parking lot and it was back to the sauna treadmill to round out the day at about 11 miles. Luckily, there was some opportunities to do some intervals around the Lilly complex and those went quite well.
I say this was an appreciation run because when forced to endure the chaos of a city, I truly appreciate our beautiful, quiet, peaceful, natural trails of Colorado. We are really blessed to live in such a perfect place.

Lilly complex; actually quite a few blocks worth of buildings, lots, etc. Being about 75 degrees and almost humid, that fountain almost had a visitor!

The Indy Colts know how to build a stadium; this thing is huge!!!

Ahhh, now this is a running paradise; Garden of the Gods with Pikes Peak in the background. Easy to appreciate.

Saturday; June 4: Still in Indy this morning and it was an early start on the treadmill. A good warm up of 3 miles and then it was 5x 3/10s of a mile intervals with a 2/10s recovery. These went well and it was good to get the run done early in the day.

Sunday; June 5: Spending the night in Salt Lake, it was a sleeping in morning and out the door at 7am! lazy girl! This was a good effort of 10 miles on the paved (yuck) roads. As the run progressed, the day was heating up and it was good to start getting used to the warmer temps and bright/blinding sun. This was also a bugs n breakfast run......the area is in the flat marshes just west of the airport and as such it is covered in grasses, water holes with lots of bugs and birds. So, while running here I usually ingest a few bugs along the way and of course, one or two has to zing the eyes. How do they aim so well as to hit the eyes?

Running along the roads near I-80 and near the hotel, the views of the marshes with mountains in the background are great.

Summary: Not a bad week of running....a good run on Pikes Peak, two weight lifting sessions, and one good interval session. Even though the 30 miler didn't happen, the ole head was able to slog through some runs with some very sore legs after the Pikes Peak/Barr Trail run. As I have mentioned many times, running these high mileage weeks if often at least as much mental conditioning as well as physical conditioning.
Total Miles for the week: 72.0.
As I was running on Sunday morning, I was thinking of a running friend who is training for Leadville 100. He has a family, a full time job and lives out in the flats of Parker, CO. He is also a high mileage psycho AND he is also fast! (ran a 24:00 hour Leadville last year and a sub 3:00 hour marathon) He too finds it difficult to juggle the mileage (and get the quality miles in), family and work. Hopefully over time he can come to terms with doing the best he can given the wonderful life he leads (Yes, he realizes he has a wonderful life but he also expects to be able to get the training in to run a high quality race time.) I often have to remind myself of this fact.....I am a pilot, not a paid, professional runner and as such my running is limited by work and my family always comes first. (Luckily, they (husband/dogs/parents )realize that I need to run to be worthy of being around and they allow me the time). I also have to remind myself that to run well, I cannot dog train/show, go to grad school (and make As), keep a big house clean, volunteer at races, work, take care of 4 dogs and one wonderful husband.....it is a matter of putting what is important in the forefront for now. For my friend, running Leadville 100 is most likely on his front burner and it takes a serious commitment to train properly for that race. No doubt he will do what it takes to get the proper training in and succeed in his goal of a sub 20 hour Leadville 100. Personally, Leadville 50 is on my front burner.
So, the point of all of this: We sometimes have to remind ourselves of our own personal reality and then remind ourselves of what we can do with that reality. Also, we often have to remind ourselves of our personal and immediate goals and make adjustments to our lives in order to meet these goals.

May 23 to May 29

2011-05-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

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

May 16 to May 22

2011-05-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

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.

May 9 to May 15

2011-05-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

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

May 2 to May 8

2011-05-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

Back to hard training this week. At least I am off from work til the 8th and after last week, it is a much needed break.
Being Mother's Day week, it is a good time to reflect on that special person called "Mom" and how much she (or in some cases He) does for us over the course of our lives. My own Mom has been my biggest fan, most loyal supporter, the one with the common sense, and the one who gently reminds me I am human and will have faults, make mistakes and sometimes I can be a real pain in the butt!

Monday; May 2: Finally somewhat rested, it was an early start with weight lifting, consisting of abs, biceps and triceps. (no jiggly arms here!) Then out the door to a winter wonderland of 18 degrees and 2 or so inches of fresh powder! Yes, fresh snow on May 2nd, but it is moisture and we need every drop we can get. Traysen and I bundled up and off we went....like a heard of snails! It was an ugly 8 miler. After a very easy week of running, it would seem logical that the next week the ole bones would be well rested and ready for some hard work. Unfortunately, I often find the ole bones sluggish, lethargic, fat feeling and almost like a brand new, out of shape runner and it can take a couple of days to get back up to speed....literally! Nevertheless, it was great to be back out the door and somewhat running, knowing it will only get better from today.

Tuesday; May 3: Hurried to Garden of the Gods to run with JD's group. Either I was feeling quite good and/or JD was pulling the pace back a bit because the first 5 miles went by very easily. From there Traysen and I trotted an additional 5 miles to round the day out at 10. A good effort. One of the guys on our run made the comment that Pikes Peak looks like a vanilla ice cream cone....what do you think?

Pikes Peak on May 3rd.

Vanilla Ice Cream Cone.

Pikes Peak will always look better than an ice cream cone!

Wednesday; May 4th: Well, now this is just a day to remember! Ole Sarah has entered the upper reaches of her age group! I am now in the 46 year old geezer category! To celebrate, of course, weight lifting and running were on the agenda. A basic 45 minute session with abs, back, and shoulders and then out the door at 545am with Traysen. After a 4 mile warm up, Traysen was done and ole...or more like OLD.....Mom here went back out for what was going to be hill repeats but I opted for intervals! Six x 3/10 of a mile of those lung busting things at 8500'. With recovery between intervals and warm up/cool down, a total of 8 miles today....
The highlight of this day is that I reached 1003.0 miles for the year! This is right at 100 miles more than last year at this time! Good friend Lori asked what happened to the plan of "taking it easy this year?" I dunno...with no injuries and very few other commitments, the running is going very well and ole Sarah is just going with it. That is one of the neat things about running: (or any sport with competition/ improvement): the plans made often take adjustments due a variety of reasons. When the ole body is working correctly and life commitments allow, that may be a good time to "kick it up a notch" and push yourself beyond the comfort level (all the while not overdoing so that you end up injured!). When life is a bundle of turmoil and/or the ole bones have one ailment or another, that is the time to pull the activity back a bit, but yet not totally stop what you like doing.

Thursday; May 5: Cinco de Mayo!!!It is also my oldest dog's birthday; can't believe Jordan is 10 years old. Starting the day at 4am, I made the 6am run in Garden of the Gods; although JD (usual run leader) was taking a break since he is off to run the Greenland 50K this weekend. But off we went with Gary, the leader of the slower group. Within a mile or two I was wondering what they mean by slow! But then again, these ole bones were a bit tired from the two hard previous days of running. An interesting route as we headed down into Manitou and then back up the dreaded Ridge Road, with its 7/10s of a mile with a 213 foot elevation gain....pure fun there!!!! The good news is that ole Sarah ran the whole hill...at least this time I didn't have Traysen attached for the extra pull! Once at the top, I peeled off onto the trails and completed the 12 miler, loafing around the hills in the park.
This was a sluggish, but yet easy run. Feeling a bit tired, I kept the pace slow. There was one sinker spot that everything did not want to carry on. Luckily, the latest issue of Runner's World magazine features trail running and one of the articles describes what it feels like to run 100 miles, written by Shannon Farar-Griefer. Shannon describes how this type of running often involves taking the bad with the good and "there are times when you are going to hurt and feel horrible out there.....But that's just part of the challenge." (Runner's World; Spring 2011; p. 15) The same can be said for the actual training of an ultra distance event. Some days you just float along for 20 miles and other days you would rather just stop and call it a day, but knowing the overall outcome will be a better race, we have to train our heads to determine when it is just a "sinker" or when it really is time to call it a day.

Friday; May 6: A very rare day off at home with no run planned! These happen about 5 days a year! Seriously, work usually dictates what day off happens during the week and it is quite rare for me to leisurely wander around the house in the morning. As I almost always do though, Traysen and I headed out for a stroll through the woods, coffee cup in hand. Below are a couple of pics from our walk.

A view of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. In the foreground is the rocks at the top of Slater Creek Valley.

An early morning view of the house. Yes, we would like green grass but this isn't Kentucky!

Saturday; May 7: With no snow and no mud, Mueller State Park was calling! An early solo start for the first couple of hours and then good friend, Lynne, joined in for another two hours; and then I took off for another 45 minutes of painful hill slogging.
. This particular state park is full of wildlife (other than Sarah and Lynne...and Lori when we can get her out) and this morning elk, fox, rabbits, birds of various types, as well a few chipmunks and squirrels were all gearing up for the summer ahead. The hills in Mueller are very challenging and today Lynne and I were able to tackle and run nonstop up the Cheeseman Ranch Trail, after it breaks off from the Elk Meadow Trail. A good outing of about 20 miles.

He says, "I know there is a mouse in this grass somewhere!!!"

The never ending view of the back side of Pikes Peak.

http://parks.state.co.us/SiteCollectionImages/parks/Parks/Mueller/MuellerNewTrailMap.pdf

Above link is the trail map for Mueller.

Sunday; May 8: With work looming in the evening, it was out the door before daylight. Traysen didn't even bother to lift his head from the pillow! Lazy Boy! Even after running 20 miles in Mueller on Saturday, today's 20 miler went quite well. No aches or pains and the energy level was adequate.
Recently asked about nutrition intake during these back to back long runs: these two particular runs on Sat. and Sun, I only took in water and a few endurolytes on Sat. Why nothing? For one, I wasn't hungry and felt the energy levels were fine (ok...maybe a bit down at the end of the Sunday 20 miler). But also, by not ingesting any calories, the body is learning to use what it has....excess fat! No, the fat is not converted to energy fast enough and thus somewhere after 20 miles, the body is too far behind the power curve that calories are a must. But 20 miles is not too far for the glycogen to be used and then the fat stores slowly deliver the remaining energy needed for that distance. As I have mentioned, the need for calories in a race or in training is 100% individualistic. After 46 years, I have learned my overall metabolism resembles that of a turtle or even a snail....it just does not motor along quickly. ....much like my running sometimes!!! Jim, the husband, meanwhile, has a metabolism of a feisty hummingbird. He is most likely enjoying another large slice of spice cake with lemon frosting as I type! And he has a six pack ......a six pack at 46 years old! So, calorie intake is up to the individual....whether running or sitting on the sofa!

Summary: An awesome week of running. Two sessions with the Garden of the Gods group, one session of intervals and back to back long runs. My good friend, Lori, asked what was the training plan between now and the Leadville race in mid-July. Quite simple actually: most every week will have the mileage at least 70 miles with at least one session of either tempo, intervals, or hill repeats and with either a very long run (30 miles or more) or back to back long runs (20 to 25 milers done on consecutive days). Adjustments may have to be made as work dictates, but the plan is to do the above as closely as possible.
Total miles for the week: 78.0
Total miles for the year: 1055.0

Happy Mother's Day, Ma...I love you and you are the best Ma there is!!!!