A few changes in the works this week. First, I am starting to run the two weekly runs posted by the Sunrise Stiriders. A spinoff group from Pikes Peak Road Runners in Coloroado Springs, the group does two runs a week that comprise of either hill repeats, intervals, fartlek, tempo runs, etc. While my work schedule will limit how much I can actually run with the group, I can do the runs posted each week and hopefully make them happen on the Tuesday and Thursday posted by the group. The second change happening is that I hooked into the Team Crud folks and will be joining them for Saturday long runs when able. (CRUD stands for Coloradorans Running Ultra Distances).
Not only will being associated with these groups lead to hopeful running partners but the association will also continue to hold me accountable to the mission of improving the running and overall fitness.
Monday; March 14: Here we go again! Starting the week off with a day off from running. Leaving the house at 4am and ending up in Washington DC at 11pm, the day was gone.
Tuesday; March 15: After a charter flight with the Oklahoma Thunder, we flew the airplane from Miami to Fort Lauderdale...a 30 minute flight. I walked into the hotel room and right back out in a change of clothes. With not much daylight and not sure where to run in Fort Lauderdale, I hit the treadmill. The Sunrise Strider workout called for fartlek. So, that is what I did....warmed up with 1.5 miles, ran 5 sets of 4/10ths of a mile fartleks at 7.3 mph with a 2/10ths of a mile recovery and a short cool down. ...total of 5 miles.
Wednesday; March 16: An early departure and two legs, ending up in Las Vegas. Ok..there is just nowhere to run outside here! Nothing but sidewalks full of casino goers. And the traffic makes it impossible to run without stopping every block. Off to the gym...again! A 45 minute weight lifting of legs and abs and then to the elliptical for 7 miles and a switch to the treadmill for 3 more miles. Today, I worked on keeping the pace slower...feeling a bit overtired and with yesterday's fartlek and tomorrow's hill repeats, plus a long run this weekend, I am trying to keep the easy days ...well, easy....
The iconic sign of Vegas....or the pic below a better description?
Thursday; March 17: A non descript 9 miler. Gittin 'er done!
Friday; March 18: Similar to last week, this first day home from a trip was a nice n easy 8 miler with Traysen. The highlight of the slow trot was the flock of "squirrels" that Traysen saw, barked at, jumped up n down at.....Yes, he calls deer squirrels and everything in large numbers is a flock.....
Saturday;March 19: Met the Team CRUD group at 7am at the northern western end of Colorado Springs, an area I have not run in much. Some quick "good mornings" and we were off and running...well, most of them were running, I was trotting. The first 2.5 miles was an obstacle course....one fence jumping where my short legs didn't quite make the straddle and three gate passages. Luckily, the one and only "not so fast" fella, Julian, stayed back a bit and made sure I navigated this first section. From the last gate, Julilan says, "this is the Falcon Trail, it is a well marked loop, you'll be fine." And with that, he was gone! (And yes, I was perfectly fine on my own.)
Needless to say, the trail was beautiful, circling throughout the Air Force Academy with an assortment of hills and technical trail. Back up the long hill and through the gates, over the fence and an 18 miler was in the bag!
Personally, the run was not one of those "floater, easy going" efforts. The ole bones just weren't feeling the love, but the head was strong and that the going worthwhile. The goal for this run was to enjoy the new trails, run the entire 18 (no walking) and no stopping (unless absolutely necessary.) Well, all of those goals happened, although having to stop a couple of times between miles 10 and 14 was a bit more than expected. (An achy for no good reason back was the culprit.)
Over the years I have found that on days like this, it is a fine line between cutting the run short and pressing on through it. Which direction to take depends on being able to assess how the body/head are handling the sluggish run. Today, the legs felt great, there was plenty of energy, nothing else ached except the back (what tha...? was up with that?), and I really was enjoying the run.
Falcon Trail on the Air Force Academy grounds.
One of only a few mountain bikes...didn't even have to get the feet wet on this run!
Sunday; March 20: After a restless night, out the door at 645am for a descent 20 miler. Nothing special with this run except Traysen trotted along for the first 10 miles. It was easy to feel that the legs had worked quite hard on Saturday's 18 miler and as a result, today was a challenge on the uphills. The good news is that the energy level was good but I can determine that my head will soon need a break from the heavy mileage.
Summary: A good week of running with a total of 70.0 miles; one speed type workout and back to back somewhat long runs. Total running miles for the year: 654.0 The ole legs were plenty sore on Monday, so the longer runs over the weekend were strong. It's sometimes a challenge to keep the easy days and the hard days hard. We all have work, families, and other obligations that can sometimes leave us tired and drained. The key to managing all of this is to just allow yourself some time in the day/week to pursue taking care of yourself. Eating healthy and getting some form of exercise is a great way to keep oneself on the healthy, mobile side of life. With these warmer temps in most parts of the country, getting the body outside should be a bit easier.
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