August 26th- September 1st

"Years ago, I tried to top everybody, but I don't anymore.  I realized it was killing conversation.  When you're always trying for a topper you aren't really listening." - Groucho Marx

Monday:   

-- Few postcards in the mail when I got my mail from last week.  Looks like someone is out on an awesome van trip last week.

2 PM:  3.5 miles averaging 8:30pace. Easy afternoon dog jog from the house. Just some loops in the open space and little through the hood.

2:30 PM: 35mins in the garage gym, upper body and little core.

4-5 sets of
Bench Press
Dumbbell Rows
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Bicep curls
Skull crushers
Planks

-- followed this up with 20mins in the sauna.

Tuesday:  

7 AM:  7.25 miles w/ 600ft of vert averaging 7:50pace.  Easy out and back up heading west from the Coalton Trailhead. Super chill on the way out and tested the calf a little bit on the way back increasing the speed a little bit. Ran more like a progression run with the last mile being around 6:40pace. Could feel the calf and a little sore there afterwards but survived. Testing it because I am worried about the paces this weekend at the burro race.

Wednesday:

7 AM:  7.25miles averaging 7:40pace.  Easy 2 laps of Davidson Mesa and 1 lap of Harper Lake. Solid run overall. Calf is still sore from yesterday but no sharp pains today. Also starting to get back to what my normal easy pace used to be, figures crossed I keep progressing in this direction.

10 AM:  40 mins lifting in the garage.  Easy lifting on the legs and core.

Bunch of sets of:
Back Squats
Bulgarian Split Squats
Sled Push
Jefferson Curl on Slant Board
Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

-- followed this up with 20mins in the sauna and 4min cold plunge

4 PM:  Biked 7.5 miles HARD..... Cyclocross race in Golden. First 1.4 miles was the warmup then game on. Been a bit since I have done this (over 5-6 years) but man did I have fun. Had to start in the way back due to not having any USA Cycling points anymore but worked my way up a little bit finishing mid pack. Going to take the whole season to work my way back up front. Do need to work on my handling skills as well, made a few mistakes that cost me a few positions but that will come with time.  Hit a max HR of 202 and an average of 160.  The average HR would have been much higher if the warmup was not in the file, I was never under 170 during the 30min race.

Thursday:  

  -NOTE:  Weight check in:  172.2lbs w/ 8.6% bodyfat.  Lost 4.6 pounds last week on the Colorado Trail helping Jeff.  That was surprising.   It was probably more than that since I have been home the past 3 days stuffing my face.  Makes me wonder how much he lost doing the whole thing.

10 AM:  1 hour at Crossfit

Warmup: Rowing, mobility and drills.

AMRAP 20 mins: 10 rounds + 2 Toes-to-bars
20:00 AMRAP:
8 Toes-to-bars
4 Deadlifts, 70% 1RM | 245 lbs
Dumbbell Farmers Carry, 50 lbs, 200 ft

-then-

3 RFQ:
3 rounds of:
10 Weighted GHD Hip Extensions | 26 lbs
12 Tib Raises | 18 lbs
12 Calf Raises | 26 lbs

3 PM:  Biked 20.5 miles w/ 1100ft of vert in 1:26. Easy cruise from the house around the normal loop through the hood. Legs were a little dead today, guessing that is from all the work I did yesterday between running, squatting, and mostly the cyclocross race last night. Good ride today.

Friday:

9 AM:   7.6 miles averaging 7:45pace.  Easy spin around the hood. First 3 miles were with the Venus (dog) then dropped her off to finish out the hour. Felt really good today!  

-- Heading out just after lunch to start making my way down to South Fork, CO for the burro race tomorrow.  Not sure how far I will make it tonight but at least will take off 3 of the 4 hours of driving.

Saturday: 

10 AM:  11 miles w/ 1100ft of vert averaging 9min miles.  South Fork Burro Race... This was one for the books. Had to really work to win this one with Yukon. Both donks did not run like their normal selves so Bob and I had to work extra hard to keep them up towards the front. We really did not have it in the bag until Harrison who was in front of us after the turn around took a wrong turn that cost him 10 seconds which was just enough to get Yukon and Sugar Ray in front of him, this happened with less than a mile to go and that was all it took for us to grab first and second place. What a stressful race...

Sunday:  

8 AM: 14 miles w/ 2700ft of vert averaging 12min pace.  Easy run with Darian, Don, and Donnie at Stauton State Park. We did a really nice long loop which I really enjoyed. The calf was on fire today from yesterday but ignored it for the most part. Glad I did because it felt better after the run than it did before the run.  Great to catchup with the boys, been way to long since we have run together.

Total Weekly Numbers

Solid week overall.  Running is coming back over the past few weeks and will keep building that back up.  Also first cyclocross race in over 5 years which rocked me in a good way.  Can't wait to do it again this next Wednesday.  The build for Javelina is on, hopefully I can hold it together the next 7-8 weeks.

Side note-- Hit 40 nights in the van since March this weekend which was the goal for the whole year.  So yes, I use our van a lot.