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
Always the optimist, Sarah!
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