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.
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!!!!
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!!!!
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