Tuesday, July 29, 2025

July 21st - July 27th

"A day wasted on others is not wasted on one's self." - Charles Dickens, "A Tale of Two Cities"

-- Seemed like the right quote for this week considering I am pacing Don 25 miles at the Creede 100 this weekend.  


"Get up in the morning and live right." - Coach Joe Vigil

-- Had to include a quote from Coach Joe Vigil since he passed away this week at 95 years old.  He was a legend in the sport.  Look him up if you don't know who he is.


Monday:   

6 AM:  5.6miles averaging 7:35pace. Easy lap of the business center from work before the first meeting of the day. Super chill effort wise but felt pretty damn good today. Turn over was good but was a little sore in the joints afterwards. Need to get back to mobility more often.



4 PM: 44mins Garage gym session- lighter weight so I don't get to sore like last week.


Warmup: Rowing, Crossover and Mobility

3x30 DB Walking Lunges w/ 20lbs in each hand

3x10 Barbell Back Squats @ 115lbs

3x10 Barbell RDL @ 115lbs

3 Rounds
20 DB box step overs w/ 15lbs in each hand
10 box jumps

3 Rounds
20sec calf raises
10sec hold up
20sec calf raises
10sec hold up
30sec recovery

3x15 kb toe raises each leg

Tuesday:  
6 AM:  8.75 miles averaging 7min miles.  Zone 2 run around Davidson Mesa with 6x20-30sec strides in the second half of the run. Legs did not have the normal turn over today, guessing due to the lifting on the legs yesterday but not nearly as bad as last week. Seems to take a few weeks of lifting after time off for things to normalize.  Ran into Chris and Kunlong out there.  



--  Was planning on lifting this afternoon but Paula's surgery this afternoon took much longer than expected and she was in a lot more pain afterwards then expected.  By the time we got home and I got her feed and comfortable it was about bedtime so no lifting today.  All good.... 


Wednesday:
6 AM:  11 miles averaging 6:55pace.  Done over at Davidson Mesa again this morning.  Good place for a workout like this.  20 min warmup/ 4x5mins at marathon effort w/ 5min floats at 50K effort/ 20 min cooldown. Ran the marathon efforts between 5:55-6:15 pace (prob to fast) and the floats around 6:50-7:15 pace. Felt pretty good today. The first interval was a little rough like things were waking up and the last interval was rougher than the others due to the legs being worked some. Feel good about this workout.

2 PM:  38mins in the garage gym.  

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover and mobility

3 Rounds
10 DB Incline Chest Press @ 45lbs
10 Bench Dips

3 Rounds
10 DB Flies @ 25lbs
10 Hand Release Push Ups

3 Rounds
10 DB Close Presses @ 35lbs
10 Ez-bar skull crushers @ 57lbs

3x10 Ab Wheel Roll Outs


Thursday:  
  -NOTE:  Weight check in:  forgot this week.

6 AM:  8.2miles w/ 700ft of vert averaging 7:45pace.  Easy out and back straight west from Coalton Trailhead. About 2.75 miles in where you go through the gate by HWY128 to the Highland trail if you take a left instead the new tunnel under HWY128 is now open and connects to Rocky Flats and goes up a good size hill on a new trail into Rocky Flats. This trail is not on the maps yet. Once the new bridge over Indiana is done I can almost connect all the way to Boulder on dirt from home. So cool..... Legs are super tired from yesterday but did loosen up the second half of the run.




1 PM: 35min Garage gym session

30 pullups

3 Rounds
10 DB shoulder press w/ 35lbs

3 Rounds
10 Weighted GHD Hip Extend w/ 10lbs
10 GHD Hip Extend
10 GHD Situps

3 Rounds
10 DB Bicep Curls w/ 20lbs
20 DB Crossbody curls w/ 20lbs
10 DB Hammer Curls w/ 20lbs

-- Taking off for Creede to pace Don at the Creede 100 late this afternoon.  Most likely will drive about halfway around BV or Salida then finish the drive first thing in the morning after running.  Going to be a fun weekend!!!!


Friday:
Missed my run today, just had no motivation once I got to Creede around lunch. Spent the rest of the day helping Don get ready for the race tomorrow.  All good, going to be along night tomorrow night.



Saturday: 
8 PM:  25miles w/ 5500ft of vert in 7:47.  Pacing Don at the Creede 100 from mile 55 to mile 80. Most of this route was over 12,000ft with about 4-5 miles around 13,000ft or higher. He was dealing with a lot trying to stay awake and just being tired overall from running all day, nothing new in a 100 miler.  Got through the night then he was a new man once the sun came up.  Such a neat section I got to pace.  Basically a section of the Colorado Trail that has the highest point on the Colorado Trail at 13,200ft. 












Sunday:  
--Got done pacing just before sunrise, spent the rest of the morning crewing until he finished about noon. So no sleep last night.  He finished in 1st by almost exactly an hour in front of second place.  Congrats buddy!!!!  Thanks for letting me be a part of this adventure!!








Total Weekly Numbers
Not a bad week overall getting back so some sort of "real" training again and not just jogging around a little bit here and there.  Actually got back to doing Workout Wednesday's again which I will keep doing for a bit in the build up.  Feeling pretty good about the week overall.  The next 6-7 weeks will be crucial to get ready for the next 100 at the end of Sept.  Time to grind........















Monday, July 21, 2025

July 14th- July 20th

"Work often becomes a substitute for living. But I think the most successful artists, and the happiest people, find a fullness in both areas." - Faye Dunaway

Monday:
10 AM:  5.1 miles averaging 7:30pace.  Snuck out of work and did an easy work lap around the business center in the mid-morning. Super chill and ready to get back at it. Legs were not the best since they had 4 days off.

4 PM: 45mins Garage gym session- lighter weight so I don't get to sore like last week.

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover and Mobility

3x30 DB Walking Lunges w/ 20lbs in each hand

3 rounds
20sec calf raises
10sec hold up
20sec calf raises
10sec hold up
30sec recovery

3x10 Barbell Back Squats @ 115lbs

3x10 Barbell RDL @ 115lbs

3 Rounds
20 DB box step overs w/ 15lbs in each hand
10 box jumps

3x10 single leg calf raises w/ 25lbs


Tuesday:
6 AM:  6.8 miles averaging 7:20pace.  Zone 2 run with some strides thrown in during the second half of the run. 2 laps of Davidson Mesa before work. Can really tell that I have lost some running efficiency over the last month or so because the strides did not feel natural at all. They felt very awkward, that will change with doing them more often again.  Back to building again.

Wednesday:
6 AM:  7.7miles averaging 8min pace.  Easy jog from work over to Link Lake for a lap and back. Super chill today, legs are sore as hell from weights on Monday. Of course they got better as I went along.

4 PM:  46mins Garage Gym session

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover and mobility

3 Rounds
10 DB Incline Chest Press @ 40lbs
10 Bench Dips

3 Rounds
10 DB Flies @ 25lbs
10 Hand Release Push Ups

3 Rounds
10 DB Close Presses @ 35lbs
10 Ez-bar skull crushers @ 57lbs

2x10 Ab Wheel Roll Outs


Thursday:  
  -NOTE:  Weight check in:  weight:174.2lbs / 8.9% bodyfat. Up about 4lbs since before Western States. Time to get back on the wagon of eating better again. Play time is over.

6 AM:  7 miles averaging 7:15pace.  Two laps of Davidson Mesa at a Zone 2 effort with some 20sec strides thrown in during the 2nd lap. Legs are still feeling the weight lifting on them from Monday but otherwise all good. Just trying to get my turn over back which I seem to have lost the past month.

4 PM: 43mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

30 Pull-ups broken up as needed

DB Bent over rows
3x10 w/ 45lbs in each hand

3 Rounds
10 Band Pulldowns (green band)
10 DB Pull overs w/ 45lbs

3 Rounds
10 Weighted GHD hip extend w/ 10lbs
10 GHD hip extend
10 GHD Situps

3 Rounds
10 DB Bicep Curls w/ 20lbs
20 DB alt. cross body curls w/ 20lbs
10 DB Hammer curls w/ 20lbs

-- 20mins in the hot tub right afterwards.

Friday:
6:30 AM:  5.6 miles averaging 8min pace. Easy dog jog from the house before work. Ran the dog the first 2.5 miles then dropped her off to finish out the 45mins easy. Been a while since she has gone more than a mile with mom so need to be careful taking her out for to long.


1 PM:  Bike 11.8 miles in 57mins.  Easy gravel ride around the hood with Paula. Showing her a new way to connect to the dog park on dirt and went to see if the bridge connecting the dog park and Rocky Flats is done yet. Almost! Will be nice to connect all the way to the Boulder peaks on dirt soon.


Saturday: 
7 AM:  11.6 miles w/ 2500ft of vert averaging 11min miles.  Easy lap of Green Mountain with Dan and Donnie. Good to get back to some real trailrunning with some good vert. Legs could really feel it for sure but some of the heart/lung fitness is still there. Ladybugs are starting to come out on the summit of Green.




Sunday:  
7 AM:  7.9miles w/ 1200ft of vert averaging 9min pace.  Easy lap of Springbrook and Gashawk trails from Dowdy Draw trailhead. Legs are shot today, took forever for them to loosen up. The vert yesterday did a number for sure, have a lot of rebuilding to do over the next month. Super chill morning with no goals, so nice just to jog for an hour or so.




2 PM: 43mins in the garage gym, make up for missing it on Friday.  Followed this with 15mins in the hot tub.  Time to get back to heat training again.

Warmup: Airbike, Crossover, Mobility

Seated DB Shoulder Press
3x10 w/ 40lbs

3 Rounds
10 DB Lateral Raises w/ 20lbs
10 DB Front Raises w/ 15lbs

3 Rounds
30sec Plate upright rows
30sec Plate steering wheels

3 Rounds
20 Single leg v-ups
20 Bicycles
20 Ball Russian Twist 10lbs
20 High Plank knee to elbow

J-Curls
3x15 w/ 35lbs.

--  So PROUD of Paula.  She went down to Colorado Springs today and threw her hat in the Rocky Mountain Orienteering State Championships.  She walked away with the GOLD!!!!  WHOOO!!!


Total Weekly Numbers
Just a week trying to get back to it some.  Time to start building again for the next 8 weeks before another taper for the next 100.  Stepping back a little bit and relooking on how I want to approach this training block.  I have the Rut Triple Crown (51 miles w/ 21,000ft in 3 days) in Sept which has a lot of vertical but then 2 weeks later is a flat 100 miler in Nebraska, trying to figure out the best way to approach this block.  More to come on that in a later post, maybe. 
















Friday, July 18, 2025

Western States Photo Blog Post

 "I swing big, with everything I've got.  I hit big or I miss big.  I like to live as big as I can." - Babe Ruth

So this is going to more of a photo race report.  Photos will also not be in order since they come from lots of different sources, my Meta glasses, crew, pacers, friends, race photographer, Speedland/Deathmarch crew and the SaySky photographer that followed me.  Speaking of SaySky, they just posted the story on their website a few days ago, so cool.  https://saysky.us/blogs/saysky-journal/western-states-100-the-long-haul 

Enjoy!






























































That's all folks!!!!