February 9th- February 15th

"I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot. Why? Because when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result." - Michael Jordan

Monday:

--  Forgot to add this to last weeks post.  Thank you Rebecca... that was quite the surprise and I am super grateful... Tahoe 200 in 2027 is a full on go now.  I guess there is no backing out now.

6 AM:  30mins Garage Gym Session- Light Legs

Warmup: Airbike, Crossover, and mobility

Box Back Squats
3x10 @ 135lbs

Barbell RDLs
3x10 @ 95lbs

Single leg calf raises
3x10 @ 25lbs

J-Curls on a slant board
3x10 @ 35lbs

11 AM: 7 miles averaging 7:45pace.  Easy shakeout doing a large lap around the CTC and a neighborhood from work. Super chill today just to get some blood flow into the knee some which felt better afterwards then before. Super windy out as well which just gave me another reason to keep everything chill today.  Tired today which seems to be the norm lately.

--- 20mins in the hot tub this evening after dinner to get ready for the heat this weekend in AZ.

Tuesday:  

-- Took a rest day today to see if that helps the bothersome right knee come around a little bit before Black Canyon 50K this weekend. Would rather take a day off now verses pushing through on training that does not matter (easy run today) and have to take even more time off.    

-- Did at least jump in the hot tub for 20mins this evening... at least I did something that may help for the weekend.

Wednesday:

7 AM:  38min Garage gym session

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, Mobility

DB Incline Press
3x10 @ 40lbs

DB Chest Flies
3x10 @ 22.5lbs

Pull-up
30 strict breaking up as needed

3 Rounds
30sec Plate upright row @ 25lbs
30sec Plate Steering Wheel @ 10lbs
60sec recovery

DB Skull Crushers
3x10 @ 22.5lbs

DB Bicep Curls
3x10 @ 22.5lbs

11 AM:  8.4 miles averaging 7:15pace.  Worked from home today due to having to take the van in for some repairs so ran out the door over lunch. Easy pace is not much different than trail 50K pace for me so basically ran at dream race pace for Black Canyon (around 7:30s). Did throw in some 30sec strides at the end just to touch a faster pace a little bit. Knee was still there but seem to be less noticeable after 4 miles.

-- 20mins in the hot tub this afternoon as well..  Last session before we leave at 3:30am tomorrow morning.

Thursday:  

11 AM:  6.3 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 9min pace.  Landed in Phoenix early this morning and had to wait until 3pm to check into the house we rented so went for another shakeout jog to test the knee. Still there but better than it has been. Did a bunch of loops at Papago Preserve Park in Phoenix. This is right in the middle of the city but it feels like you are out in the middle of the desert instead. Such a little gem of a park.  Slow pace today because I was always looking at my phone trying to find the trails I needed to be on.

-- Went out to dinner this evening but had to take Paula on her first Waymo ride.  I could not stop laughing.

Friday:

10 AM:  4 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 10:30pace.  Went up to Black Canyon City Trailhead about an hour north of Phoenix to hit up the First Endurance shakeout run with the Boulder Boys.  Super chill run on the Black Canyon Trail with about 30ish people.  Afterwards heading over to packet pickup to get checked into the race for Sunday.

--  Went straight from the shakeout run and race check in to the Cubs Spring Training field in Phoenix to meet the rest of the people from the house as they had to check in for the Mesa Half Marathon on Saturday.  Such a cool field and we had a blast there.

Saturday: 

10 AM:   3 miles averaging 7:45pace.  Short shakeout jog with Taylor mid morning around the neighborhood of the house rental.  Super chill 2 laps around a small lake.  Spent the morning before this watching and cheering on others from the house who were doing the Mesa Half Marathon.  Most everyone in the house ended up getting a PR.  Awesome morning... game time for me tomorrow.

Sunday:  

7:30 AM: Black Canyon 50K - 31.5 miles w/ 2500ft of vert averaging 8:34pace or 4:30:16 total time.  Not my best race for sure.  Been a while since I have been humbled like that so that just means it was needed.  There was a half an hour delay at the start due to the buses being late but that was good for me, gave me time to use the restroom without any lines (I was dropped off by friends).  Started out great and mostly kept a 7-7:30 min average up until about mile 22 when the wheels fell off.  My knee started locking up some then my hips started flaring up shortly after that.  Needless to say the last 9ish miles turned into a walk/jog to the finish so not to cause anymore damage. I went from being on a 3:45 finishing pace to just getting it done which of course about 50 people passed me during that time frame.  All good, another ultra finish I guess.  

Super proud of Paula getting a finish here as well!!!  This was way out of her comfort zone being a 50K and in the desert but she got it done.  

Total Weekly Numbers

Low week overall due to a small taper for the 50K.  With how I am feeling this morning typing this up and the fact I took yesterday off as a recovery day I most likely will not be hitting over 300 miles this month.  This race took a lot more out of me than I expected and my quads are still sore to the touch 2 days later.  I am guessing that once my quads starting going out during the race that is what caused the knee to flare up.  Just an educated guess.  Anyways this week will be mostly a recovery week with some easy jogging then back to the plan.  Less than 100 days to Cape Town.

February 2nd- February 8th

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." - Robert Frost

Monday:

10 AM: 13 miles w/ 600ft of vert averaging 7:15pace.  Larger loop of Sterns, Link Lake, Rock Creek and CTC. Had 75-90mins on the schedule to made it on the long side since work was pretty mellow this morning and I had the time to get out. Felt super chill which the heart rate shows but the paces were solid which surprised me after the race yesterday, I felt a little beat up today. Another check mark in the training plan.

3 PM:  45 mins in the garage gym.

Warmup: Airbike, Crossover, and Mobility

30min EMOM
40sec jump rope
40sec hanging knee raises
40sec devil presses w/ 35lbs
40sec Russian KB swings w/ 55lbs
40sec butterfly sit-ups
1 min rest

-- 20mins in the hot tub right afterwards.  Need to focus on the heat training this week and next just incase it is hot at Black Canyon 50K mid-month.

Tuesday:  

6:30AM:  10.4 miles averaging 7:20pace.  Easy cruise again around the CTC, Sterns, ect before work this morning. I saw I was in meetings all day so wanted to get the run off my plate today early. It was actually a really nice morning out there this morning, I was expecting to freeze my ass off but it was perfect.

2 PM:  They opened a stretching/meditation room at work a few weeks ago.  Finally got in there today and spent 30mins doing a mobility routine in the middle of the afternoon.  Going to do this more often since I get to lazy to do it in the evenings at home.

Wednesday:

9:30 AM:  11.7 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 6:40pace.  

Workout Wednesday... workout was as follows:

20 min warm up

3k at half marathon effort
jog 1k recovery
6x1k at 10k effort with 3 min rest between each

20 min cool down

Veronica and Taylor joined me for this one which I am thankful for. I was ready to bail after the 4th 1K but they kept me in the game. Started at my work and warmed up jogging over to the Louisville Sports Complex which has a 1K trail with a small hill (40ft each lap) around the baseball fields. Perfect for this workout. Probably ran the 3K and 1Ks a bit hot which is why I wanted to bail after the 4th one but got through it. Hard fucking workout.

4:45 PM:  50mins VASA Lift class w/ Paula. Today’s focus was pull-up plus a bunch of accessory work to support pull-ups. Loved it….

Thursday:  

2:30 PM:  11.2 miles w/ 500ft averaging 7:30pace.  Easy cruise with Don and Taylor from work doing my longer loop around Link Lake, Sterns over to the hospital and back. Super chill the first half of the run then we dropped the pace about 30secs a mile the second half to follow what Don had in his training plan of being on the high end of Z2 the second half of the run. Great to catch up!!!!

-- 20mins in the hot tub when I got home as well.

Friday:

-- Took the day off work due to having to much vacation time saved up so had to burn some more.  First world problems I guess.

10:30 AM:  14.1 miles w/ 1000ft of vert averaging 7:30pace.  Easy lap of the Dirty Bizmark running by feel. Basically added on the few mins that I cut yesterday onto today's run. My legs are shot today, not a certain area just in general. Some throbbing the last few miles of the run when I would stop to take a photo but once moving the throbbing went away. Just a lot of miles for me the past 6 weeks for this old man. ;o)... Looking forward to an easy hour tomorrow.

Headed up to Staunton State Park to help support the overnight runners for the Running Up For Air 24 hour race.  This got me my Hardrock volunteer hours that I needed for this summer but I would have done it anyways.  This is year number 5 in a row of volunteering up here for this race.  Love this race and what it stand for along with Peter and Suffer Better.

Saturday: 

9 AM:  7.5 miles averaging 7:20pace.  Jetted down the hill after volunteering all night at RUFA early this morning to make the group run with the Boulder Track Club from MEND. Just a mellow loop but they were cranking a little bit. Then we spent an hour afterwards going over strength training for runners with the MEND staff. Fun morning!!!  Time to rest and try to get some sleep... 

Sunday:  

8 AM: 13.6 miles w/ 2000ft of vert averaging 8:40pace.  Joined the Boulder Track Club but forgot I had water duty today so my run was kind of split 3 ways. Made it really hard to get in the 30mins of effort so that did not happen and just ended up being a 2 hour easy run on all trails. Probably good I did not do some effort due to my right knee acting up. Every time I would stop either for a photo, bathroom, drive to the next location, my right knee would lock up and was some what painful. Once I got going again it would loosen up and be fine until I stopped again. Little bit of soreness in it as I am sitting here typing this now. Thinking I am getting a little bit of touch of runners knee. May need to keep an eye on the over the next week leading into Black Canyon next week.

Total Weekly Numbers

Another solid week of being right around 80 miles, 7th week in a row.  That will change this week with a mini taper heading into Black Canyon.  My right knee is not to happy with me right now but it is better than yesterday so think it is just a small tweak which I am not sure how that happened.  Started in the middle of Sunday's trail run so thinking I must have twisted it when landing on a rock weird or something, nothing sticks out that may have happened.  Oh well, manage it and move on.  Excited for a long weekend in the desert next weekend, it is much needed.

January 26th - February 1st

"I can't go back to yesterday- because I was a different person then." -Lewis Carroll

Monday:

--  Had to burn another vacation day at work due to having to much so hit the trail this morning after an early blood draw at the hospital in Boulder.

7:30 AM:  7.6 miles w/ 1400ft of vert averaging 10:40pace. Easy lap of Sanitas via Lion's Lair up and down. First tracks all the way up in about 2-3 inches of fresh snow. There was some drifting to break through as well the last 1.5 miles on top in a lot of areas of mid-chin level due to the high winds all morning (constant 15-20mph with 40mph gust). Character building this morning for the wind chill was below 0 when I started.  Sat in my truck for about 15mins getting myself mentally ready to deal the conditions.  The first 20mins were rough going into the wind up Sunshine Canyon but then it was a great morning after that once I got on Lion's Lair.  

3 PM:  48 mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Airbike, Crossover, Mobility

Seated DB Shoulder Press
12 @ 35lbs
10 @ 40lbs
8 @ 45lbs
6 @ 50lbs
4 @ 50 lbs

4 Rounds
10 DB Lateral Shoulder Raises @ 22.5lbs
10 DB Front Shoulder Raises @ 15lbs

3 Rounds
45secs Plate Upright Rows @ 25lbs
45secs Plate Steering Wheel @ 10lbs

4 Rounds
20 Single Leg V-ups
20 Bicycles
20 Russian Twists @25lbs
20 High Plank Knees to Elbows

-- 20mins in the hot tub right after lifting.

Tuesday:  

2:30 PM:  13.4 miles averaging 6:45pace.  Done from work over on 104th on the edge of the CTC.  Nice mile long road with a nice crush gravel trail running next to it, just back and forth on that section.  This was a very sneaky workout. On paper it looks super easy but they really started added up in the second set. Pretty wiped and stiff after this one but overall no issues.  Taylor jog over from his house and did the first one and half sets with me.

20 min warm up

3 sets of 30/60/90/120/90/60/30/ with equal recovery jog between each. These should be controlled but fast. no too concerned just want the body moving well, like you have power!
take 3-4 min between sets.

20 min cool down

--  Annual checkup today at the doctors, we decided based on family history that I will go get a heart scan to check out all the plumbing.  With my age, diet, and how much I exercise there should be no issues unless it is genetic which we will see.  More to come.

Wednesday:

9 AM:  8.75 miles averaging 7:30pace.  Easy run from work with Taylor and Veronica. Felt super chill but pace was good. Funny how the RPE is always off after a workout day. Mix of roads and trails out by Sterns Lake and back making a figure 8.  Lots of chatting about next month's trip to Phoenix and race goals.

-- Another day and another postcard... Yes Don, Paula and I will crew you at HiLo 100. 

Thursday:  

9 AM:  10 miles averaging 7:20 pace.  Easy cruise from work between meetings this morning. Finally a normal weather morning that was not freezing cold or super windy. Just cruised along not really looking at pace trying to keep the HR in the upper 120s. Stiff again afterwards, may need to up my daily carbs. Will try to remember to weigh myself tomorrow when I wake up since I forgot today.

3:30 PM:

Friday:

  -NOTE:  Weight check in: Forgot when I got up this morning... damn it. 

9:30 AM:  12.7 miles averaging 7min pace.  Fartlek Friday over at Davidson Mesa. Taylor and Veronica joined in on this fun. First one was more mellow than the last 3, sort of working into it. The 3rd and 4th one got a little spicy towards the end of them. I really enjoyed this one.

20 min warm up

4x8 min with the first 4 min being moderate(50k type effort) last4min being harder think 1 hr down to 10k effort of each interval, no rest between, roll right into the next one going back to 50K pace.

20 min cool down

--  Got another one in the mail from JT... took about 4-6 weeks to get here from Mexico. 

Saturday: 

8:30 AM:  10.1 miles w/ 700ft of vert averaging 8min pace.  Easy lap of Bear Creek Lake park with Don, Connor, Brandon, and Veronica. Super chill talking shit and plans for 2026. Always love these get togethers when we can make them happen. To much talking today that I did not take any photos like I normally do.

11 AM: 2 mile dog jog with Venus around the hood... 

-- Headed over to BPRUNCO to watch the beer mile at 4pm which will mark the end of the month long Burrito League.  Don won the beer mile and Matt won the month long Burrito League with 671 miles in 30 days, nuts.

Sunday:  

10 AM:  10 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 6:20pace.  This is the warmup/cooldow and the Old Man Winter 10K together. Did exactly 2 miles easy for the warmup then just rolled into the race. Did not run this 10K all out, kept it at about 90% until the last 2 miles then pushed a little harder to try and break 38. Final time was 38:07 but I keep telling myself it was a little long, which it was (6.4 miles). I always forget it is a little long (my 4th year in a row running it) and it is always a mind fuck for me the last half mile. Also no super shoes or bicarb today which of course would have helped the time.  Happy with the effort today considering I was planning on just jogging it. 9th overall, first old man.  

Paula ran the 5K and got a PR at the age of 55.  SO PROUD of her, she has been putting in the time and the training lately.  Excited for her year as well.

--  Finished book number 4 on the year.... way ahead of schedule right now but that will change, I usually don't read a lot in the spring once the weather gets nicer.

Total Weekly Numbers

Not a bad week.  With the race on Sunday it dragged down the overall mileage a bit this week due to no long run but there was 3 solid hard workouts this week with the race.  That is actually more intensity than I am used too and I really feel it this Monday morning as I type this out.  All good... one more larger week this week of around 80ish I think then a mini-taper for Black Canyon 50K on February 15th.  Still on the fence if I will race Mesa Half Marathon the day before the 50K or not, feel like I need to take advantage of being down there and getting it all in since I don't really have any goals for Black Canyon 50K.  Will need to decide this week.  Have a great week!

January Recap

 "I had reasoned this out in my mind; there are one of two things that I had a right too: liberty, or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man shall take me alive; I should fight for my liberty as long as my strength lasted." - Harriet Tubman

Seemed like a good quote for the times....  Solid month this month, only took one day off which was due to not being able to get out on a work day and did not feel like it afterwards.  Ready for the mornings to be a little warmer again so it is easier to get out before work but still have about 4-6 weeks before that will become regular again.  Let's see if I can keep this going through February.   Since there are only 28 days instead of 31 in February I am thinking maybe 300 miles for the month...  Doable I think as long as I don't miss a day again.