Sunday, January 8, 2012

Jan. 2 to Jan.8


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

1 comment:

  1. Beautiful photo almost sorry it didn't look this pretty today. Great run, great company & we'll do it again next week! - Lori

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