Got out of class a little early this evening after taking a test.  I had a few minutes to get to the gym but I decided to take the dog out for a run instead.  Extremely comfortable outside for a run tonight.  Took a lap around the neighborhood.  I’ll call it 2.5 miles and I was out for just under 30 minutes.  Apparently it didn’t phase the dog because he is still bugging the shit out of me.

This was a harsh reminder how much I hate running on pavement.  My shins were a little sore when I got home.  I hope I can get one more in before I head to London on Saturday.

Gonna make an effort to track weekly training

Mon - lifting/cross training 30 min

Tues - 3.5 miles on the treadmill. 10 min at 8.5% incline. 45min total

Thur - 3.25 miles on the threadmill, 40 min total

Saturday - 5 mi race, 54:28

Totals 11.75 miles - 2:20

I had talked to CBB on Thursday about running with the Incline Club on Sunday for their long run.  They were heading up Barr Trail to Barr Camp and back.  I’m nowhere near ready for that, but I was planning to at least get to No Name and turn around.  As luck would have it, we partied a little too hard last night and I was in no shape to get out of bed at 6:30 this morning to make it to Manitou by 8am.

I finally got moving around 10:30 this morning and decided that I felt good enough to take Boomer to Palmer Park and run there.  The weather was awesome again today so I through on some shorts and a t-shirt and headed over.  The trails were again pretty sloppy in spots but there wasn’t much standing water on the trail.  Not sure how many miles we covered but we were in the park for well over an hour.  I walked the last 3/4 of a mile back to the parking lot as the lack of hydration from the previous night’s debauchery was catching up with me.  Still I was glad that I was able to get out and do something which is certainly not the norm after a solid night of drinking.  I’d guess that I got in about 4 miles of running/hiking this morning.

Hope I can get on the treadmill a couple times this week and go lift at least once before leaving for England on Saturday.

Got up Saturday morning and headed up to the Monument area for the 3rd race of the Pikes Peak Road Runners Winter Series.  The course went from Baptist Rd into Monument just past the Hwy 105 exit and back to Baptist Rd on the Santa Fe trail.  The course was on a packed dirt trail and gained 200 or so feet in elevation on the way out.  It was pretty flat and there was little in the way of snow or water on the trail so it made for a comfortable run.

I went snowboarding on Friday and was still a little sore in my left hip area and both of my calves were feeling tight.  I wasn’t sure how they would hold up to 5 miles of running.  I got a number and ran up the trail about a quarter mile and back to warm up.  I went out pretty slow and felt ok.  I carried a water bottle so I wouldn’t have to stop to take a drink at the turnaround and could take a sip as needed on the course.  I had completely forgotten about any nagging pain in my calves or shins by the time I hit the turnaround and decided to pick it up for the way home.  I was picking off runners at a pretty good clip on the way back.  For some reason (mental mostly), that last mile seems to take forever and I never feel like I have gas in the tank when I pass that final marker.  I felt like I slowed down a little during the last mile but found a kick for the finish as some of the runners I had passed earlier were making a push at the line.

I finished at 54:28.  I was pretty pleased with that time.  Still under 11 minute miles and I was able to run the entire distance.  I fought back a side stitch a couple of times but it never got so bad that some controlled breathing for a few minutes couldn’t put it in check.  Next up is a 10K on Feb 23.  I’ll have to make some kind of effort to run during the week leading up to the race while I’m touring around London for work.

Took a break from the normal crosstraining routine at 123Fit and visited the gym at SAFB after work. 5 min warmup, 1mi at 10% incline, and then I flattened it out to finish up 3.25 miles. Definitely need to skip the cross training a couple days a week and run on the treadmill until the sun is up after work hours.

Weight progress.  I think I topped out at 217 in the fall before signing up for the Denver Winter Series.  I weighed 208 this morning.

So Michelle and I went down to ABQ for the weekend to meet her parents and do some wedding related stuff.  We got down to Santa Fe on Friday night a little after 8 and then headed to a restaurant for some new mexican food.  The food was ok, the bud lights were delicious.

Got up at 6am and hit the treadmill in the hotel gym before going to meet our photographer for some “engagement photos”.  Better late than never I guess.

I ran a little over 2 miles before slowing the speed down and cranking the incline up.  Put in another mile like that while my calves begged for mercy.   I still hate running indoors.   Michelle was able to run a mile without stopping for the first time in a long time too.   I’m so proud of her.  Hope she is able to keep it up!

On Sunday, we woke up and did the treadmill thing again, this time in Albuquerque.  I ran a few intervals of running and walking with the incline cranked up.  Michelle’s folks called and we had to meet them for breakfast before they headed back home so the run was cut a little short but it felt good.

Daylight saving time can’t get here soon enough.  I’m so ready to get in some runs after work while there is still some light on the trails.

Got winter series iii this Saturday.  I’m going to be dumb and snowboard on Friday anyway.  Hope I’m not last in my age group again.

Another weekend, another race. Luckily, the weather was much better than the previous two winter races. At the start, the temp was probably upwards of 40 degrees. The course was down on the south end of town and snow usually doesn’t last long down there. The second race in the series was a 4 miler.

I had planned on wearing shorts during the race and threw some wind pants over them on my way out the door. When we got to the start, the wind was whipping across the sports fields pretty good and it wasn’t pleasant. I thought I might just leave the pants on. However, once I made my way to the line, the huddled mass of runners provided a nice wind block and I shed my pants. The course was fairly flat headed north on the Pikes Peak Greenway trail. There were a few sections with some icy patches but the majority of the course was a nicely groomed dirt or concrete trail. I felt pretty good as I made the turn and walked a few steps to get some water down. I was able to run the entire course, save for a few steps trying to drink water at the turn. At the 3 mile mark, I started to feel some tightness in my knee and generally worn down. However, I kept moving. As I came off the creek and back into the sports fields, I wasn’t sure what my time was. The girl who had paced me during mile 3 had blown by me in mile 4 and was no longer in sight.

I made it to the line in 42:49. It took me a few minutes to realize that it was faster than I had ran a 5K two weeks before. It then dawned on me that had I just run a 5K I probably would have beat my best time by at least two minutes. I was pretty stoked with my performance and I am definitely looking forward to the 5 mile race two weeks from now.

After running a race up in the Denver Winter Series, we learned that the Pikes Peak Roadrunners would also be hosting a winter series of their own. It was a no-brainer to sign up for it. It was a) cheaper, b) closer to home, and c) 4 races instead of 3. The first race was a 5K in Fox Run Park in the trees just south of Monument. Monument gets more snow than the Springs and because it is up in the trees, it stays on the ground much longer. I grabbed my new Yaktrax and headed out the door a couple Saturdays ago.

Josh and I arrived at the park about an hour before race time but we still needed to sign up. They parked us on the edge of the forest and it was nice out in the sun. The starting line, however, was about a quarter mile away in the trees. We made our way up to the start and got signed up. I hung out in the small area where there were no trees to block the sun and tried to warm up. I think somebody said it was 18 degrees at the start.

There wasn’t much room to manage the crowd that had showed up for the race and I think there were still a few people signing up when they started us. We ran the quarter mile back towards the parking lot before turning into the trees. Once in the trees, the snow was pretty deep and the hills were difficult to climb. It was also hard to pass since there was a narrow track of packed snow and attempts to pass would result in post-holing in the fresh snow to the side of the trail.

I finally made it around the course in 44:08. I was pretty disappointed in the time but with the conditions out on the course, I didn’t take it too hard. Two weeks until the next race so I was looking forward to a little redemption.

Part of the Denver Winter Distance Series, we headed up to Chatfield Reservoir on December 15 to run the first of the jaunts through the snow. There was a pretty nasty winter storm that had blown through the front range the week of the first race so that made for some chilly and slick conditions. At the start of the race the temperature was somewhere around 12 degrees. The sky was clear and the sun felt awesome beating down on the course. Luckily, there was no wind blowing so it wasn’t terribly uncomfortable.

Once the race began, it didn’t take long for me to get a side stictch breathing in the crisp cold air. I was able to run through it but it wasn’t fun. The first half of the race was on a road that had been plowed to leave a thin layer of icy snow. It wasn’t too slick and made for a pretty easy run. At the turn around, where they forgot to put out water, we moved onto a bike trail. The bike trail wasn’t exactly groomed and also featured a lot more hills than the road out did. Up the hills proved difficult trying to propel yourself forward at the same time sinking in a few inches of snow. The last stretch moved back on to the road and I crossed the finish line at 37:33. Nothing to write home about but it was the first race I had run since the Ascent.

Took some time away from the running since I started grad school last semester.  It’s a lame excuse, I know, but working full time, going to school, and trying to plan a wedding isn’t easy.  I did manage to get to the gym a few days a week towards the end of the semester.  Josh and I decided we would get ready for the Winter Series of races up in Denver that I got an email about.  We met in Palmer Park a couple times before the race to get ready.  Although I had stayed fairly active in the gym, some muscles never get touched until you start pounding a trail.  Gonna lay out a program to start getting ready for the Peak again soon and really cut some weight for my wedding, too.