Empty Nest Runner

Very slow, recovery run from mom's in Michigan. 50 degrees, but SUPER windy.  hard to find my rythm and really just covering the miles and reflecting on yesterday's race.  Drew looked rough in the beginning as well, but then magically sped up.  later found out it was because he had to find somewhere to go to the bathroom and just decided to run back to G'mas really fast instead...

Driving bak to Colorado today from Michigan, so no run for me!  not looking forward to 20 + hours of driving with three dogs in the car.  Thank god for Drew!

Hate to go 2 days in a row without some miles, but drove in to Colorado from Michigan at 7:00a.m.  Took 1 hour 10 minute nap, prettied self and headed to the clinic to open up for business (Iwas the only clinicain scheduled in for today, so could not NOT go in).  Conducting group therapy in a sleep deprived state is always fun.  Warned the patiens to just keep going if I fall asleep...Even skipped practice so I could get home and unwund enough to go to SLEEP!

Tuesdays are usually short, but today especially so.  Did 3 miles to warm up and moved inside gym to do Tuesday circuits.  Decided on Gambettas (with jay's mods) and did 3 x 20 front lunge with twist, 20 body squats, 40 step ups, 5 rocket jumps).  Then Drew conducted 35 minutes of wonderfully excruciating core and form drills (using steps)...  Flet great, but sure gonna hurt tomorrow!

44 + SUPREMELY windy!  Met up with the kids and guest runner Kara L all-American from Chico state to practically sprint through the bowl run.  Kids just wanted to get inside after fighting the wind...

opened the gym for some weight lifting, but opted out--still VERY tired from drive from Michigan...It is going to be a very low milege week at this rate...

Speed work day!!

Incredible 55 degrees and track almost clear of snow (but not fun, splish splashy water to run through!)  Split the workouts into three, as yesterday was kids first day back to school and we have new "joiners" that did not need speedwork on day 2!

1 mile w/u  stretching and drills

Group 1 ran the curves and jogged the straights for as long as they could tolerate + 8 x 100m strides

Group 2 helped Dalton prepare for his weekend indoor meet where he has opted to do the 60m, 300m and 600m.  Mile breakdowns x 3, made up of 800m at mile pace, 90sec rec, 400m at 800 pace, 90 sec rec, 200m all out, 30 sec, 200m all out, 400m jog.  Noticed that D was falling off on second 8, so took off from last set.  Got out blocks and had teammates help him learn starts.  8 accels from blocks.

Group 3 (mine) fartlek!!--did 3 x 10 minutes of 30 seconds at 2 mile pace, 30 seconds rec run.  Crazy strong headwind on backstretch

Set 1 paces:  6:21, 5:59, 6:01, 5:52, 6:27, 6:00, 6:31, 6:31, 6:45, 6:15

Set 2 paces:  5:31, 5:45, 5:29, 5:32, 5:09 (topped out at 4:30 pace at one point--Bryce joined in and got me flying!!), 5:45, 5:47, 5:52, 5:33, 5:49

Set 3, alone--everyone bailed and either finished mileage or joined Dalton for his last set...sigh:  6;15, 6:04, 6:22, 6:21, 6:15, 6:23, 6;16, 6:18, 6:21, 5:47

Pretty inconsistent, but not easy to do a workout, watch the other workouts and yell encouragements/corrections/random thoughts...Happy to get some movement in the ole legs adn be able to breath a bit better (recovering from strange cold and readjusting to altitude).

Got roped into doing a 12 mile snow shoe race on Saturday (WHAT??) and just booked flights for Cross Country Nationals in San Diego on Feb 5!!!!  REALLY excited about this upcoming racing season...

So today was supposed to be an easy recovery run for those that needed mileage prior to playing their weekly game of fottball/soccer/throw things at each other and run away.

Our highest milege boy (coming off a tough workout yesterday) decided he was feeling happy and combined with the power of Kara (miss All American!!), we set out for what I thought was going to be an easy 8.  After covering the first 3.5 in 6:30's, i realized that with a race tomorrow, perhpas I should take it easy??  I turned around and watched my happy runners continue their jaunt and proceeded to run my butt off to get back to the school before them.  i think that I was actually whimpering on the way out...

Should make for a fun race tomorrow then?

Hardwater Snowshoe Race

Gemini Adventures extended an invite to my HS'ers to participate in snowshoe race.  problem was, the two race distances were 20k and 30k and I was worried they would not make the whole way.  Race director opted to let us try the 30k as a relay, so of course we were in!

Got to bed around 1;30 this morning as we were gathering gear for the kids (I have not done a whole lot of mountaineering type stuff since my frostbite incident, so lots of stuff needed mending and washing...)  kids met at the house at 7-7:30 (supposed to leave at 7:15...)

As we were driving up to nederland, we commented on the complete lack of snow visible to us.  We were kinda hoping this wouold turn into a footrace instead...

Reached 8250 ft and found--SNOW!  reached the rec center almost as the race director was leaving for the trailhead.  Quickly secured numbers, turned in waivers and off we went for the 15 minute ride to the trailhead. 

Arrived at the trailhead to hear the 5 minute warning.  Spent some time making sure the kids were equipped and THEN tried to get my gear put together/on.  Hobbled to the start line with one shoe on/one off while my son was dressing me and Coach Mitch was trying to get my other snowshoe on.  i was giggling which made it more difficult.

Off we went, and unprepared me settled near the back of the pack.  Mitch and I planned to run up the mountain with Eduardo for 10k, where he would "hand off" to Stefan for his 10k leg.  At that hand opff point, the 20k'ers would turn around to dash down the mountian back to the sart, while the 30k'ers (and our relay) would lollipop for 10k, and hand off where we were turning around, with Drew (my son) the anchor for our relay team.

With Mitch running ridiculously hard with Eddie, i opted to be social and fell abck with some ladies that had planned to do the 30k, but were starting to think more and more about the 20k.  We looked at animal tracks, talked about girl stuff and, of course, took a wrong turn.  No harm, it was quick as we soon realized that there were few if any snowshoe tracks going our new way. 

We doubled back,  had a laugh and some gus and chews and off we went.  The trail was pretty packed by the time we crossed, though the edges were certainly post-hole quality (as I found out time and time again when I would fall into the snow--just to check of course!).

The first 10 k was primarily uphill, so we opted to walk the ups and run the flats and downs 9until of course on of us would inevitably fall....)  At some point, we caught up to Eddie and Mitch.  Apparently our school snowshoes that have not been trail tested since the fire disintegrated upon contact with frozen water.  Mitch's crampon had completely removed itself from the shoe, so he had to unlace his running shoe to tie the snowshoe onto his actual shoe.

We sent Eddie on while we finished playing and I stayed back with Mitch while he hobbled the rest of the way to the turn around.  our plan was to switch out shoes with Eddie and then make it back.

Up at the adi station, we found out the many of the snowshoes were having difficulties.  Drew volunteered to run with one shoe, but was quickly overruled by mom/coach.  Mitch traded out a shoe leaving Drew with two left snow shoes, which was better than none.  I let Mitch relace his shoe and started back down the mountain (knowing he would catch me as we descended for our final 10k). 

At some point during the race, i accidentally mooned some skiers that were off trail (as i was off trail taking care of some business...)  OH what a day!

Mitch caught me about halfway down and we decided to walk/jog until we relaized that people were actually catching us.  We then decided to RACE down the hill, til we both felt like puking, and then ran some more.  We put a significant amount of distance between us and the two folks that were coming up on us.

SO, not sure what place we took or what our time was...we won a hat and water bottle, so probably not too good!  At the end we were laughing so hard at our race day antics that we nearly forgot that the boys were still up t he mountain.  OOPS!  only one boy would be making it to where we finished, so Mitch changed, downed a sandwich and went in search of the other two that we left at the aid station (where they had several vehicles that they could stay warm in...we're not completely bad...)

Waited for Drew to finish and found out that the same place i got lost (once going up and agian coming down) was the same place he headed off trail.  So proud!  Drew was ecstatic and stated tht next year, he wants to do the whole 30k!

We thanked the race director, who gave the boys some neat hats, changed, drank yummy chocolate milk and made our way down the mountain right before sunset (only because I got lost on the way home).

Full day, but definitely amazing.  i hurt so bad..........Thank goodness we have a long run tomorrow..........Yikes!

Waterton Canyon

Opted to go a bit short for long run day.  Woke up to amazing, beautiful snow.  What a surprise after having 50's most of the week. 

Met Kara at the Canyon and we decided on 10 (5 up and then 5 down).  Drew had 17 with last 12 at 6:20, so we figured we could hang for the first 5...

Though I am not sore (surprisingly) from yesterdays snowshoe race, I am TIRED!  After about 3 miles I convinced Kara and Drew to take off as I was starting to slog.  At about the 5 mile mark i waited for Kara to come back down.  Drew tends to get happy and not check his distnace and forgot to tell Kara where her turn around was.  Kicked it up a notch on the way down and had great conversation with Kara--who is just an amazing person and truly great runner.  Excited that she is with us one more week before whe has to get back to Chico.

Got back to the car, stretched and watched Drew come flying down the canyon.  Fueled him up and set him on his way while a walked a bit as a ccol down.  Went back to car to wait (25 degrees out didn't want to be out too long) and began to worry when the time elapsed that I expected him in. 

Moments later, he came in laughng...apparently he did his math wrong and went over what he was supposed to do.  if this is not a marathoner or ultra marathoner in the making, I don't know what is.  Nothing like a proud mama momnet when your son goes 18 miles instead of 17.  oh to be young again...

Not to dissuade anyone from snowshoeing--I thought I would share a pic of my ankle from yesterday's race:

SO, having Reynauds means I do not feel when it is cold out, but having neuropathy means I will feel this eventually and BAD.  I kept clipping my ankle with the side of my snowshoe...Didn't know I was tearing it up so bad.  UGH.  Asked the kids if they did the same thing and one of them remarked, "Well, sure.  I did it once and then learned".  oh, well...

Chilly EZ Run

SO, it started at 18 degrees and dropped to 9 degrees over the run.  hard to find areas that were ice and or snow free, so made the best of it.  Ran first 4.75 with Drew, Kara and Angela at welcome 8-8:30's, dropped off Ang at the school and continued on, while trying to pick it up as it was getting steadily colder.  Finished last almost 4 ish in 7:30's/7;40's which was not bad considering the footing.

Happy my banged up ankle did not even whimper!  And feeling much better energy wise than yesterday.  But it was REALLY FREAKin' cold!  thought the boys team was wussing out, as we did not see them at warm up, but found out they warmed up elsewhere and went on with their run.  I am SO proud!!

Gorgeous Colordo day!

SUPER EZ run

Continuing to be ridiculously cold out...usually tuesdays are circuit days, so primary focus of run was to be absolutely aerobic (esp with the slippery conditions and frosty air).  Went out on the back path, because it was plowed better than the streets, and safer as there was little chance a car would slide into us.  Did not, for the record, see any bikers out...

Group did an out and back and I quickly fell off  the back to be aone with my thoughts (or to be lazy...).  wish I had a camera to run with, as on the way back it was absolutely beautiful.  Only here in Colorado would I be running on a plowed bike path next to a running stream for 2.5 miles.  Absolutely gorgeous.

For circuits, i tried to incorporate some sprinter specific exercises.  the sprinters have not had a coach with them this off-season and have decided that i am their coach too.  For the record, I know nothing about sprinting, jumping and only a bit about throwing (my College coach fancied me a multi-event person and started training me on Shot--you really have to imagine a 112 pound skinny trying to heave a ballistic--think Olive Oyl lofting a cannonball and you'll get a pretty good pic!--my distance competitors would make fun of me that I had to ice my twig arm before I raced...For the record i am nowhere near 112 pounds anymore...)

SO, the sprinter exercises just did not make a whole ton of sense to us distance runners-who by virtue of the fact that we are distance runners are not playing any other sports that call for coordination.  We had some giggles, moved our muscles in a new way and went on to lunge matrix and Drew's core work.

Luckily for the sprinters, Drew has a 200m workout on Thursday that they can join --as Drew is doing it as "pace work", they will be doing it as tempo.  both groups will be challenged as Drew is not naturally fast and with only one minute rests, this should challenge the sprinters aerobic system.  Hopefully the football coach/sprint coach will see the potential for me doing much damage to his athletes and will step up!

EZ 4 miler on the slippery snow.  The guys had free fartlek today.  I actually had to put parameters around this workout for them so that they would not go TOO fast..you knwo it's a great day when I have to tell my runners to slow down!

Anyways, I pretty much played sag wagon behind them by trying to maintain 7:30's whenever I was not on ice!

Afterwards, our corss training session took us to the track, where we had a 200m snow shoveling race!  We only had 2 shovels so broke up into 2 teams to see who could uncover the number in lane one at the 200m mark first--by going around the track, clearing the lane, in opposite directions.  My team seemed to be leading, but somehow the other team found the number first.  When we jogged each other's half of the track, we found out why.  Whereas my team was very proud and using "quality control", the other team merely shoveled one shovel width and went around any tough spots.

My sprinters, Drew and Kara have 200's tomorrow.  Boy will they be surprised when the hit the other side of the track and are zig-zagging!

We had a blast AND got the track prepared for tomorrow!  Great Day!

On a life related note--had an interesting group therapy session with my "guys" at work.  Simply asked how well they know themselves as an intro to taking an inventory on life (versus making resolutions, which is a huge NO NO with hard core addicts...)  that simple question kept us going for almost an hour and a half...Good times!!!!

Gorgeous 50 + degree day. 

Had some guys working 200's on the track, a few us us doing 1000s near the hills and quite a few doing hill strides.

1 mile w/u / strething and drills

2 mile run to the hills / k's at 6:29 / 2 mile run back.  had to cut our k's a bit short, as the temp dropped and the road began to ice over very quickly.  Gingerly made it back to the school, though with purpose at 6:50s to top off our workout.

Returned to the school in time to change, send the boys for pizza and begin to welcome 8th graders at the High School.  incoming 8th graders for next year  wandered around our halls and cafeteria to learn about our sports and clubs and do preliminary sgn ups.  There was barely a break as we did double duty for track and cross country and got LOTS of contact info.  If we even get half the kids that signed up today, we will be HUGE!

Just found out that I won a comp entry into the Fast  and Flurry-ous 4 mile XC race in Boulder.  there's prize money, so many olympians will come over, do a quick tempo and leave with some cash in their pocket.  This will be a great shakeout for Cross nationals in San Diego on the 5th--AND it should be messy!!  with mud and melting snow.  Good times...

Taking Drew back to Alamosa tomorrow...sigh...so will have to run up there (at 8700 feet) for pre-race before I drive back down again.

EZ pre-race shake out

Another 50+ degree day!  LOTS of melting snow--should make tomorrow's XC race really messy!

Ran super easy + 4 x100m strides

Felt great--tomorrow should be fun!

The Fast & the Flurry-ous

SO, I won a comp entry into a cross country race in Boulder that offers prize money.  Nothing like a little Cha-Ching to bring out the pros (and apparently one fast 11 year old girl).  Not like the first 3 places in my race went to Olympians from 3 DIFFERENT countries or anything...

This race has been on my ta-do list for some time.  Small and intimate, yet it always brings out the talent.  Set at that pat Patten HS XC course, i was intrigued how I would do on some challenging terrain that I have coached kids to race on.  Nobody told me, it goes the opposite direction! 

Ran 99% on grass, snow or sand, the criterion course was 3 loops which was very spectator friendly, but alsomeant that I had to climb an ugly hill 3 times.  Opting for racing flats on this one was a good call, however, as the 1% was on a wooden bridge that I was pretty sure I would either imbed myself upon and need to call for help, or biff out on (which I heard one runner did...)

With the Olympian presence, i knew the pace was going to go out killer.  I had delusions that I would still be able to maintain at least a 6:30 pace and wanted to start out conservatively.  As I waited on the line, a perky, quiet waist high waif lined up.  Being nice, i stepped aside to give her room on the front line with me and tried to make small talk about Bratz dolls and barney.  instead of calling out "Stranger Danger" the little bell sprinted out with the pros at the gun.  Pretty sure she used pixie dust, cuz she certainly dusted me by a full minute!

Checking my pace, i was in the high 5's at the start and needed to reel myself in.  In retrospect I let a few more runners take off than I should have, but I made the pace correctiona nd got into the high 6;20's quickly enough. 

Then the snow and ice patches coupled with the rolling and challenging terrain (to include loose sand--I think we ran through a sand volleyball court??) started playing with my head.  Breathing wise i was fine, i just could not get my legs to turn as quickly and efficiently with force as normal.  Entertainingly, i watched a young gal go past me with one and a half shoes on.  Apparently her milers would not stay on and after 3 times of pulling off to the side to get it back on, she opted to run with them off!  What a warrior.

Wanting to take the first hill conservatively, I was still able to pass 2 gals and let loose on the downhill (slipping and sliding through this wintry wonderland).  I settled into what my son told me was 10th place, tucked behind 2 gals that looked to be about my age, using them for the moment as windshilds.  Slowly, they began to pull away and mentally I let them, saying to myslef that I would be able to pull them in on the 3rd lap.

OOPS!  That did not in fact happen, as we all began to pretty much settle into our paces, and knowing that I had a pretty good lead on the next gal did not help.  A few times, i tried to apply pressure and commit to the race, but apparently not with as much intention as I thought I was. 

Realizing that I had "settled" I at least did not want to be passed in the last mile.  Bearing down, i was able to pick up the pace just a bit and steadily increased through the last half mile, to apporximate a sprint to the finish.

Got connected with my race crew and watched the men's race unfold.  The dudes had an even deeper field, with lots of sponsored runners and teams present for the race.  jason Hartmann won the men's and had set the pace throughout the entire race, pushing just enough to make 2nd work and still win.

The after party had many a brat and Rice Krispie treats, so after a brief cool down and awards ceremony, it was back to Morrison wtih the memory of a very fun race (no awards for me, as 4 of the top 10 were, in fact, masters...so I had the dubious distinction of being the first master without an award...sigh...)

After dropping off the members of my race crew (they can't yet drive), I did a very slow 2 mile shake out through the neighborhood to try and flush the ol' legs.  Checked the garmin, whcih measured the course at 4.2 (probably due to me being a pansy and running around some of the icier patches).

In retrospect, I was not happy with my time, placing or non-sompetitiveness today, but was happy that I showed the kids how courageous it was to hop in a crazy race knowing there would be Olympic talent...and the Rice Krispy bars had these neat little chocolate chunks in them!

To thank my race crew, met up with them at CPK (had a coupon) and then went to see Green Hornet!  Good times!

Met up with  a few folks out on High Line canal for a social run.  planned to take it really easy after yesterdays race, but surprisingly (or not so surprisingly considering my pace yesterday) I do not have any soreness or residual fatigue.

The canal was pretty spotty with large snow patches, some black ice and a few clear spots here and there.  Glad I latched on to some other runners (as I missed Stephanie for her run just a bit ago), as I would not have pushed myself at all today.  Ran out at 7:37 pace and back at 7:40 pace.  Felt great on the way back and had some GREAT conversation with a gal named Ashley that I just met who is training for Boston.  We would get "happy" and start running 7:20's pretty effortlessly, but opted to reel it in as it was supposed to be a recovery day for me and some marathon pace work for her.

All inall, felt very refreshed after the run--just what i needed!!

"In Mourning" Fartlek...

SO, took Drew back to Adams State yesterday.  Plan was to drive up, get in a run, have lunch and drive back.  Got sidetracked by one of Drew's teammates before we even left the house.  Apparently he (another Drew) was coming back from the UK and needed a ride.  he was not clear that he was, in fact, in England at the time of the request, so we waited for quite a while before he made contact again.  To make matters worse, there are 3 Drew's on the team and when they all start texting, noone can figure out which Drew is Drew...

Long story short, got out much later than anticipated and saw that the weather at 8000ft was taking a turn for the worse.  Scrambled to get off the mountain and the drive took 6 hours to get home (versus 3.5).  Wrapping up--did not run yesterday and feel very tight from being in a car for almost 10 hours.  UGH...

SO, I am in mourning again--certainly miss the little bugger already...

About the workout--Fartlek day moved to today (v tomorrow) cuz snow is due to hit the foothills right around practice time tomorrow.  Took advantage of the 50 degree weather.  2 mile warm-up + drills/stretching.

3-2-1 fartlek (3 mins hard, 1 minute EZ, 2 mins hard, 1 min EZ, 1 min hard, 1 min EZ)  3 sets + 18 minutes of solid work.  Short d guys had 5 min additional warmup and then straight in, whereas my long d guys (& Kara) had an additional 2 mile w/u before beginning.  I opted to do some "marathon pace" fartlek, as my bum was sore from my race on Saturday...and I think my legs were just tight in general from the ride.

2 mile w/u @ 8:00

3-6:59

2-6:52

1-7:03

3-6;49

2-6:51

1-6:46

3-6:42

2-7:03

1-6:42

Paces jumped around quite a bit (I'd like to say that it was due to terrain, but really I just was not focused today...)  5.5 averaged out to be 7:42 pace so not ALL bad...

2 miles cool down REAL slow

Meeting with Matt Hajny tomorrow (adult marathoner/trail runner that I coach that even after breaking his ankle and having surgery to keep the darn thing together with screws placed in, suffering a non-related bike accident and food poisoning just 2 weeks before, still managed a 2:47 at Disney, placing 17th!!).  We are going to plan our year of races and will decide on a marathon.  Any ideas?  looking for cheap and fast!!

Circuit Day1

SO, our snow 'storm" came in as expected jusyt as practice started.  The guys did 5 miles at aerobic pace adn came back looking like mini snowmen.  I had a sprinter girl show up and since she had noone to run with (AND it was her first day...)  I opted to run with her (always trying to convert the sprinters when the other coaches are not looking...

Yuck on mileage today, but hopefully made a good connection.

Did the machine 1.1 from jay johnson, but instead of running 700m at tempo, we did 2 minutes of "pretend" jump roping in between sets.  With jumping rope being somewhat boring and difficult for my sport-challenged athletes, we play a sort of follow the leader and change up our jump styles every 20 seconds or so.  The football players and wrestlers kept looking into the gym and finally asked why we were dancing...My poor boys--pretty sure they hate this more than they hate when I make them man up and skip like girls!

Will definitely be sore tomorrow!  Good stuff!

Met with Matt Hajny (just back from Disney where he placed 17th running 2:47 AFTER breaking his ankle, having surgery to put screws in said ankle, getting thrown from a bike thereby messing up his hip AND getting food poisoning about 2 weeks out from said marathon...) Can't wait for this training cycle--I mean what ELSE could go wrong?

Still trying to pick a marathon--possibly for May or June!

Serious danger of not making mileage this week...

Initally had 2 meetings this afternoon and did not think I was going to make practice.  Boss was sick so #1 cancelled and the second mtg was at a bar, and since I do not imbibe and spend most of my day trying to get folks off the stuff, really did not feel like going to watch my coworkers gte sloshed...

SO, went to practice.  Sprinter girl returned (we did NOT scare her off, whcih makes me question her sanity...), but since there are no sprint coaches coaching and no other girls, i felt a need to work out with her again to keep her company.  Guys went out for a traditional 20 minute tempo...sigh...

So "warmed up" by jogging 800m, then did a series of 150m striders with 50 m walk recovery x 8 (so about a mile) and then cooled down for a lap.  Went inside to await the return of the tempo-ers and showed sprint girl lunge matrix and myrtle.  While the guys showed sprint girl some core work (she in turn gave them dating advice--they are so socially awkward!!), I hoped on the dreadmill.  Already feeling like a hamster, I was able to monitor the guys lifting, but felt very awkward as there  football/basketball and wrestling were all sharing our gym time.

Attempted to do a bijillion mile progression run, but only made through 20 minutes before one of the runner's mom's stopped by to "talk".  Can't talk and run treadmil at the same time ( I fall off...), so had to abandon workout.

Really concerned about my mileage for the week, so will have to run mega miles fri and sat just to break even...On a good note, i am delightfully sore from yesterday's circuit training!!  YAY!

Even my eyelashes hurt

SO, in an effort to salvage this week's mileage, I figured out that I need to do 25 miles in the next 2 days.  Unfortunately, i also needed to get in my tempo run that I missed out on yesterday.  On a positive end, it was in the 40's with bright sun (at least when i started...)

Angela met me on the track with her dog and helped me bank some miles before my tempo run.  We ran an easy four miles catching up ojn our juicy gossip.

As the runners were returning from their aerobic run to do striders, i began my lonely tempo run.  Goal was 6:30's for 20 minutes as we are still in base building AND the wind was kicking!  Tempo felt amazing.  Fought the wind (where my pace would drop to almost 7:00) and felt great!  5k split was 20:37, which I am happy with considering the weather and training phase.

With 6 miles more to do, decided to take a 4 minute break to change out of my flats and since it was now dark, opted to run on the track for a bit.  Decided to do the next 5k as a progression run, starting slowly and increasing pace every lap by 10 sec/per mile.  Gotta love that we have an amazing track, but no lights?!  (No one could see how pathetic I was reaching for my mileage)  began to feel it by 2.75, but pushed through as there was chocolate milk waiting for me. 

Cooled down with another 3.2ish to call it good!  Now I can't stop eating...

Thank Goodness for friends!

SO, afraid I might not make mileage this week(due to snow storm Monday & training sprinter girl throughout the week) I opted to pack in a tempo run and 13.5 miles yesterday leaving me with an enviable 12 miles today!

Called out to my peeps for some love and we decided to run Waterton Canyon before it closes for the year.  Ang blew me off this morning (10 minutes before the run) with some wierd "slept on my neck wierd" excuse, only to tell on herself and fess up that a big b-ball game was broadcasting early.

Met Matt H and Stephanie at the trailhead and embarked on my mission.  Weather looked great, but glad I opted for a windshirt, as we encountered headwind, tailwind and revers wind as well as some rain/snow mix and that was just on the way up!  Matt and Steph took me up the hill at a ginger 7:56 for 6 miles.  Awesome conversation to keep the mood light and dreaming of our next marathon in April or May!!!

Stretched at the top (I tried to become one with the earth, but they made me come  back down the hill...)  The weather was unbelievably beautiful all the way down.  After about 2 miles, Stpeh and Matt let their legs go a bit and I dropped off, though pictured a tether toe ach to try to let them drag me down the hill.  Some garmin problems coming back, but lloks like it was &:29 for 6 miles, meaning that Steph HAD to be going 7:19 or FASTER all the way down--even with a tender hip!!!!  WOWZER! 

Celebrated my mileage binge with some mint choc covered oreos (that i am sure are laced with crack, as I cannot stop craving them...) and some choc milk!

Met with Matt to frim up our marathon schedule for the year and it looks like....possibly Illinois in late April and CIM in December!  Anyone else in for these?

THANK you so much Stephanie and Matt--really would not have done it with out you.  Now must sleep!

Super EZ day.

After 2 arduous days abck to back, opted to do some ultra training.  Geared up with a hydration pack and some goodies and headed to the park where the "Yeti Chase" was going to be held.  Plan was to meet BQ'er AShley to help her with her 14'er today and watch/cheer for some of the local talent as well.

Arrived in plenty of time to see folks warming up and spoke to several of our Sunday group (as they opted to race today), but no sign of Ashley.  Hung out with parents of one of my HS runners (who took 2nd in the 5k!!  AND could have taken first, but still lacks the confidence to get out and lead...)

Stayed to watch the 10k develop and, since no Ashley, took advantage of an offered ride home.  Ate some pancakes and french toast and took a LONG nap.

Feeling relatively good, but very glad in retrospect that I didn;t have to tag on 14 additional miles today...

Finalizing spring racing plans....looks like it is the Illinois Marathon in late March (as marathoner Matt graduated from there) and possibly Canyonlands Half as a tune up.  Have not run Canyonlands yet, so anyone else going or run it before??  Looks like I'll be tripping over the state line into bountiful Utah after all!

Distance-y kinda day

1 mile warm up/stretching/drills

2.5 miles easy

4.5 miles @ 7:07

2.4 miles super EZ

Ave. 7:44

OK, time to start dropping the hammer a little and take this old engine out for a run (hoping I don't get a flat along the way...).  I've spent quite some time kicking the tires and revving the motor, so now it's time to see what I gots.  The next 10 days are going to be a bit brutul, as I am not naturally fast--just usually can run longer than the average bear.

SO, in an effort spruce up my long run, I opted to drop the pace for a bit in the middle.  Felt GREAT!  Would have gone longer, but I had to make a pretty major pitstop and really could not find my zone again after (plus it felt great to also go nice and easy on the way back...).  Ran the 2.5 EZ with the newer boys and then had the benefit of the next 1.5 chasing down the boys that were falling off the fast pack.  After that, i was on my own to see how long I could hold 7's for.  Goal was 4 miles and accomplished 4.5 before the GI decided it would have no more...

Working on pushing the PH balance up in the ol' sanguine a bit over the next 10 days in an effort to have a mini peak for Cross nats.  this could either go wonderfully delicious or insanely bad.  Basically it means that we are doign...GULP...speedwork...agian, not my favorite.  Still planning to hld at 50 miles this week and drop to 35 to feel fresh next week, where 90% of the mileage is NOT aerobic.

Wish me luck as we begin the final 2 weeks before the Colorado Indoor State Championships (the boys) and Cross Nats (One boy, my son and myself!)  AND time to test out whether notion that chocolate is the BEST recovery food EVER!!!

(Oh, and if anyone actually reads this...anyone doing Canyonlands this year??)

Mile Repeats

WU/Stretching & Drills

2 Strides

4 x (200m @6-6:30s, jog 100m)

2 minute jog

5 x 1 mile with 2 minute active rest (jogging) between

Ran these at the track with the boys and basically acted as the caboose (though the last one was fun when they were really tired and i caught a few!!)  Choose to run these slower than our 8k paces with the focus being on the "3rd lap" snce I have so many milers in our group.  Weather started at upper 40's with full sun...

SO, my splits were as follows (with the goal being 6:45's so just under AT pace)  6:46, 6:48, 6:43, 6:42, and 6:20.  Had too much fun on the last one, so I know there really was room to go faster on these.  Generally I start the boys here just to bust  the rust a bit.  Compared to the summer, the boys had a hard time just doing 3 of these at this point to compare.  With me being the caboose this time, it is definitely time to step up their pre-season paces!!!  YAY!

Cool Down.

Also very excited to see them talking through most of this workout (until the 3rd laps where I asked them to be "present").  Good stuff!

Trail running day

Nice recovery day.  Took the boys out to the woods near the school where they proceeded to play "follow the leader" through the mostly singletrack trails.  Hopped over logs, crossed creeks and got really, really muddy!  The boys were flying at 7:00 to 7:30's which was impressive given the terrain...

Jogged an additional half mile with Angela at the track and then did some form drills and strides.  ALWAYS cracks me up to see the varying levels of coordination present on our team.  Also love the enthusiasm with wich they tackle my goofy drills!  Makes my heart happy...

Partial Athena Medicine ball routine.

Low mileage today.  Hope everyopne is feeling fresh for tomorrow's track workout!!

58 degrees, no wind and SUNNY!  Perfect track workout weather

w/u, stretches and drills

4 x 100 strides

Continuing to get ready for XC nationals in just over one week.  New guys joined the team today and acted as Pace B's for the rest of us.  As we d our speedwork, they run continuous and do pickups for about 100-150m whenever we come up behind us.  Gives us some extr help through our harder stuff...

5 minutes @ about half m pace (my goal was 6:45 did 6:47)

2 minute jog

4 x 2:30 at about 10k pace or faster with 90 seconds jog recovery (goal pace:  6:23--did 6:07, 6:17, 6:16, 6:11

2 minute jog

Back to 5 minute @ about half m pace with the verbal prompt to control the pace and not let the pace coontrol you! (6:40)

Cool down and sand box drills.  Luckily it was warm out, as the boys had decided it was a good idea to paint their abdomen regions with our school colors (which would have ran onto their shirts when sweaty!)   Made for a very colorful workout.

Felt great during the "on" times" but probably took my rest times a bit too slow, as I was often belting out instructions or interacting with the various moms/staff/kids that like to talk to me while I can barely breath...Good times!

65 degrees & sunny = CRAZY good hill workout

Ran 2.1 to my favorite hill along the golfcourse at a respectable clip 7:20-7:30.  (Yes, here in Colorado, even our golf courses are hilly!)  This particular hill is along a bike path that goes from the golf course to the top of a dam.

SO, we decided to do 7 hills.  1st minute at a very controlled but challenging pace with a POP for 30 more seconds (kinda' as all out as one can get after running up a major hill for one minute), focusing on big arms and quick feet.  A random fella joined us--said it looked like we were having fun! He described himself as an 'age grouper" 1:20'ish half mara dude.  So, of course i FB stalked him!  BUT, it is good to know that even when writhing in pain, we "look" like we're having fun.

Hills totaled 5k for me, so must have been slighlty longer for the boys (and our new found friend...)  Ran back to the school for another crisp 2 miles, laced up the "Spikes" and did 7 minutes of diagonals on the soccer turf and then 8 minutes sock foot to stretch my feet out a bit.

Planning on wearing spikes for XC Nats, but have not worn a pair in over 20 years!!!  YIKES--my calves are going to hate me...

EZ run today just to shake out the tightness from yesterday's hill workout.  1.25 warm-up/stretch/drills

Ran around Herriman Lake with "purpose" and farltek'ed every time I say a dog.  There were LOTS of dogs today...so felt like I was practically sprinting around the lake!  BUT it felt really awesome with only a minute amount of soreness.  Will probably pay for it tomorrow.

NEXT WEEK:  TAPER  YAY!

Taper, sweet taper

Met up with Stephanie to do a late morning jaunt along the High Line Canal.  Temperature starting to drop transitioning us from the 60 degree weather he have been enjoying to the GULP 3 we expect tomorrow??

Since this is my taper week before Cross Country Nats in sunny San Diego, we opted to just do 8 this morning, again with purpose as I am trying to not do too many aerobic miles this week. 

Warmed up wtih  one easy mile and then hopped into a progression run of sorts after stretching and little drills.  We planned on going 8, 7:50, 7:40, 7:30, 7:20 and then 7:10.  We ended up averaging 7:29 with 8, 7:47, 7:33, 7:29, 7:13, 6:54. 

LOTS of runners out today as the "trail" is a wonderfully groomed gravel/dirt bike path with little elevation gain (and unfortunately no bathrooms??) lined with AMAZING mansions.  In fact, Stepahnie initially thought one was an apartment complex--it was really THAT big.  She also got to enjoy the knwoledge that she was able to piddle in one of their backyards (guitly pleaseure of mine, due to the lack of public bathrooms anywhere along this route...

SO, besides the fact that Steph could have easily continued this workout faster for a longer duration, we noticed that anytime we were in the vicinity of MEN, our pace dropped dramatically!  We even "good gamed" a hot trio from afar...sigh...Oh it is good to be a runner!

Movie Review:

Though, not about running, I highly encourage everyone to go see "The King's Speech".  There is a bit of swearing (that is actually quite funny and pertinent to the story and not gratuitous), no real sexual stuff, and no violence.  That being said (have I lost you Burt??), the movie is an inspirational account on one man overcoming his past through perseverance and support from his family.  His "coach", wonderfully eccentric, seems to intuit ways to have his clients be forced through mini cathartic psychological breakthroughs that inevitably push the clients into a new realm of being.

Having not yet seen the other movies that are up for Oscars nor the other actor's performances, I would be surprised and a bit disappointed if Colin Firth does not take home the gold statue for his portrayal.  It was also amusing to see Helena Bonham-Carter acting as  aproper Englishwoman.  She should get a prize of sorts for acting so completely different than what we have seen of her lately...

Just got a text from one of my runners (Painfully shy young man) that he is going for his first date!  As this was a team effort to help him obtain a date prior to graduation, I will be giving the team a day off this week as promised!