April Recap

 Not a bad month overall considering half the month I was in recovery mode from the 100 run at the end of March and dealing with this ankle issue the past 2 weeks which seems like it is finally settling down. May will be the key month in the build up to Western States for sure and started off the month today with a nice 9 mile mountain jog this morning.  LFG!!!!

April 21st - April 27th

"Life is so much more rewarding if you strive for something, rather than take what's is given to you on a plate."  -Amy Winehouse

-- This quote really speaks to me.  I am not a natural at this endurance shit like everyone thinks I am.  Took years of hard work and a lot of miles over the years to get to where I am at which honestly is not that much more than a little above average when you are talking about endurance athletes in the Boulder area.  I am just focusing on trying to maintain this as long as possible as I age going into my 5th decade.  Which leads me to this quote, " The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." - Lucille Ball.  Just need to learn how to eat slowly..... 

Monday:   

9:30 AM:  5.2 miles averaging 7:45pace.  Easy loops of the open space by the house just as a shakeout. Was going to take the day off but hard to do when you have been watching the Boston Marathon all morning... make me really ponder a trip back next year.

--Congrats to Don on his first Boston finish!  

3 PM: 38mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover and mobility

EMOM for 20mins
15 Russian KB Swings @ 55
20 Push-ups
10 Goblet Squats @ 35
10 Barbell Rows @ 105
30sec Farmers Carries w/ 50 in each hand

- 20mins in the hot tub right after lifting.  Then cruised up to Boulder for a PT appointment on my ankle that has been bothering me since last Wed.  Got some Posterior Tibialis Tendonitis going on in the tendon down by inside of the ankle bone.  Will be doing a bunch of dry needling and white laser therapy on it to get it to calm down over the next few weeks.  Told it is okay to keep running since it does not hurt once I am warmed up and as long as the swelling or pain does not get worse after my runs.  Fingers crossed....  This was most likely caused by how tight my right calf was after that 100 three weeks ago, will also need to try and keep my right calf as loose as possible.

Tuesday:  

7 AM:  52mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

Pullups
35 total broken up as needed.

Bentover Barbell Rows
3X10 @105

3 Rounds
10 Band Pulldowns
10 DB Pullovers @ 45

3 Rounds
10 Weighted GHD Hip extend @ 10
10 GHD Hip extend
10 GHD Situps

3 Rounds
10 DB Bicep Curls @22.5
20 DB Cross body curls @22.5
10 DB Hammer Curls @ 22.5

3x1 min planks w/ 30sec recoveries.

-- few mins on the Mobo Board on each leg

2 PM:  11 miles w/ 2200ft of vert averaging 8:10pace. Done on the Flagstaff road in Boulder. Workout was 4 x [8 min uphill progression at SubTH/Tempo (RPE 6-8) w/ 2 min AeT float (RPE 4-5)]; AeT finish. Easy cool down last few min at RPE 2-3... All I can say is 8 mins is a long damn time to push hard uphill. That one was super tough. Even did the recoveries slowly jogging or walking uphill, cooldown was coming back down to the car. Super happy how this one panned out.

Wednesday:

7 AM:   8 miles averaging 7:15pace.  Couple of easy loops of Davidson Mesa and Harper Lake. Legs were shot when I started and the first mile was slowwww but loosened up nicely. Kept HR around 130 most of the of run. Fitness is coming along but legs are a little beat up.

-- Got some exciting news on a new shoe made just for me for Western States from Speedland.  Can't share any photos or details on it yet due to it being a prototype but should have my hands on them by Friday.  More to come once they give me the OK to share information about them.  

Also the custom Death March Running Company shirt they are doing for my Western States is pretty awesome as well.  I will share that prob next week or two.  In the meantime if interested let me know your size and I will get one for you, you won't regret it.

20 mins in the hot tub this afternoon, trying to do some sort of heat every other day.

Thursday:  

7 AM:  52mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

DB Shoulder Press
3x10 @ 40

3 Rounds
10 DB Laterial Raise @ 25
10 DB Front Raise @ 15

3 Rounds
30sec Plate Upright Rows @ 25
30sec Plate Steering Wheel @ 10

3 Rounds
20 Single leg V-Ups
20 Bicycles
20 Russian Twist @ 25
20 Plank Knees to Elbows

3 Rounds
10/10 Single leg split squat
10 DB seated good mornings

3 Rounds
10/10 single leg RDL @ 25
10 Jefferson Curls @ 45

2 PM: 10.6 miles w/ 2200ft of vert averaging 9:35pace.  Cruise up Bear Canyon until I saw over 2k vert on the watch then headed down. Still about 0.75 miles short of the summit of Green. Thought about going all the way up but needed to get back to work. Solid run today.

Friday:

  -NOTE:  Weight check in:  Forgot both yesterday and today.

7 AM:  46min in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, Mobility

5 Rounds
1 min Ball Slams @ 40
1 min Sumo Deadlift High Pulls @ 75
1 min Box Jumps
1 min Push Press @ 75
1 min Rowing
1 min rest

11 AM:  6.2 miles averaging 7:30pace.  Easy cruise on bike paths in Boulder from my PT office. Thought it would be best to run before getting laser treatment on the ankle verses running afterwards. So ran from there ending 5mins before my appointment. Of course it was raining out but at least it was not to cold out.

Saturday: 

7:30 AM:  11.5 miles w/ 2600ft of vert averaging 10min pace.  Easy cruise from Bear Canyon trailhead to the top of Green and back in the new prototype shoes. Rained last night so all the rocks were wet.  The traction was not the best for wet rock but that should not be an issue at Western States so otherwise they are good so far.

Noon: 6.8 miles averaging 14min pace. Rocky Mountain Orienteering Club meet at Chatfield with Paula. My first meet ever. Just followed Paula trying to learn what I can. We were doing well until checkpoint 11 were we could not find it and spent over a half hour looking for it, well we were on the wrong trail. Good learning experience. Good times and plan on doing more of these as time allows.

Sunday:  

8 AM:  19miles w/ 600ft averaging 7min pace.  Run with the Boulder Track Club on the Boulder Creek Path. 14 miles with them and the rest solo to get my mileage up. All sub 7min pace when with them and slower solo of course. Good mix of hills and faster running this weekend. I really think this combo of both is what will be needed to do well at Western States.

Total Weekly Numbers

Solid week this week.  Wanted to run more in the evenings but cut that to try and keep the ankle swelling down and let it heal some.  Trying to find that balance between still gaining fitness but letting it heal.  The weird part is that it is mostly cosmetic, there really is no pain anymore like last weekend.  Just really tight when I get out of bed as it warms up for the day but that is it.  Anyways more of a recovery week this coming week as we are heading to Fruita on Thursday so Paula can do the 18 Hours of Fruita Mountain Bike race this weekend.  More adventures in store!  If interested there is a short video Paula did of my ankles as we were leaving Costco after my long run on Sunday at the bottom.  Yes it looks bad but there is no pain or anything, so weird.  Can you guess which ankle I am referring too?

April 14th- April 20th

"Follow you enthusiasm. It's something I've always believed in. Find those parts of your life you enjoy the most.  Do what you enjoy doing." - Jim Henson

Monday:   

10 AM:  45mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

30min EMOM
30sec single unders
30sec knees to chest
30sec Devil Presses w/ 25s
30sec Russian KB swings w/ 55
30sec Sit-ups

then

3x10 single leg calf raises w/ 25

3 PM:  5.25 miles averaging 7:20pace.  Easy few laps over at the open space by the house between work meetings. Just needed to do some sort of shakeout. Felt much better afterwards than before.  This new Death March shirt Kody gave me today is the bomb... might have to get some more.

Tuesday:  

6:30 AM:  8.6 miles w/ 1750ft of vert averaging 9:30pace.  Easy loop from the South Mesa trailhead heading up Shadow then taking the Mesa cutoff for an out and back to Fern before returning via Mesa/Blue Bell. Nice solid run and the legs are finally coming around to trails. First trail run that felt normal and not clunky if that makes sense.  Chilly this morning at 33 degrees.

1:30 PM: 53mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

DB Shoulder Press
3x10 @ 40

3 Rounds
10 DB Laterial Raise @ 20
10 DB Front Raise @ 15

3 Rounds
30sec Plate Upright Rows @ 25
30sec Plate Steering Wheel @ 10

3 Rounds
20 Single leg V-Ups
20 Bicycles
20 Russian Twist @ 25
20 Plank Knees to Elbows

3 Rounds
10/10 Single leg split squat
10 DB seated good mornings

3 Rounds
10/10 single leg RDL @ 25
10 Jefferson Curls @ 45

--  20mins in the hot tub right after lifting and 90min massage late this afternoon.  Much needed.

Wednesday:

6:45 AM:  8.1 miles averaging 7:10 pace.  Easy laps of Davidson Mesa this morning. Right Achillies was a little sore this morning so keep the hour easy flat for that reason. Body is still trying to get used to vertical again I think. Quicker pace than expected, when running I just keep the HR under 140, most of the time was in the 120s.

3 PM:  Walk 2.7 miles in 42mins.  Easy walk getting a few more laps of the open space with Venus.  Only 775 laps to go for 2025.

Thursday:  

  -NOTE:  Weight check in:  173 lbs @ 7.8% bodyfat.  Finally got onto the scale to see how much I gained since before we left for NC at the beginning of March.  Up 3lbs but the funny part is that the bodyfat % did not go up.  Which means I am retaining some water or gained a little bit of muscle.  Either way time to quit the pre-bed binging I have been doing the past month.

7 AM:  45mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, Mobility

Walking Lunges
3x40

Back Squats
10 @ 125
10@ 125
10@ 125
10@ 125

Barbell RDLs
4x10 @ 115

3 Rounds
20 box step overs
10 box jumps

3x10 GHD Sit-ups

4-5mins on the Mobo board

2 PM:  10.2 miles w/ 2200ft of vert averaging 9:40pace.  Out and back up Bear Canyon. After a short warmup pushed just a little bit on the uphill keeping the HR around 150 and just an easy cruise coming back down. Did not want to risk an ankle roll coming down by pushing to hard, achillies is still sore but not affecting my gait so just ignoring it for now.

Friday:

7 AM:  7.7 miles averaging 7:45pace.  Easy loops in a snow storm at the open space by the house. Added another 13 more loops which means I have 762 more to go for 2025. LOL... just silly. Legs are shot from yesterday so just a jog at a RPE of 4-5.  Crazy weather after it was 75 on yesterday afternoon's run.

2 PM: 41mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

4 Rounds
10 DB Incline Chest Press @ 45
10 Dips

4 Rounds
12 Chest Flys @ 25
12 Hand Release Push-ups

3 Rounds
10 EZ-Bar Narrow Chess Press @ 77
10 DB Skull Crushers @ 25

--  Paula and I headed up to Shoes & Brews up in Longmont this evening for somewhat of a date night.  Went out to dinner at a new place then headed over to Shoes & Brews for the Hardrock gathering Dale (race director) was doing.  Of course I won in the raffle again walking out with a bag full of shit with a shirt, 2 hats, tailwind, and a free month rental of an altitude system.  Great to catch up with a bunch of people I have not seen a bit.

Saturday: 

8 AM:  17.6 miles w/ 3000ft of vert averaging 8:50pace.  Run up to Gold Hill and back from about 1.25 miles up the canyon from the Lion's Lair cutoff trailhead. Thought I was moving really slow up the hill but not to bad after looking back, more walking than I would have liked in the last few steeper miles but overall a good run. Dirt roads were a sloppy mess from the snow the day before. Achillies swelled up nicely after this one... this could be bad.

Sunday:  

8 AM: 14.6 miles averaging 6:50 pace.  Boulder Track Club Sunday long run. A lot of the group is in Boston for the marathon tomorrow and half of the 20ish people that showed up were decked out in Boston gear. From Niwot Market north onto the dirt roads and a small 5 mile trail system called Lagerman. Pushed a little harder than I planned but HR never go that high, average was 134. Achilles was better after todays run than yesterday, guessing due to lack of vert today but it still was grumpy afterwards.

-- Followed this up with a 2 mile dog walk with Venus and 20mins in the hot tub.  Also finally grabbed the mail and got this postcard.  Been a bit since I have been to the Sand Dunes and Paula has never been there, need to plan a van/training weekend there soon.

Total Weekly Numbers

First real week back to training to get ready for Western States and of course I aggravated some tendon on the inside of my ankle next to the achillies.  So frustrating...... Was told to replace all my runs after Saturday with the bike but as you can see that did not happen on Sunday.  Was also told to do that this upcoming week, not sure if I will just back off and let it calm down or push through it.  Right now it is manageable which is why I am having this debate in my head.  Guess we will take it day by day.  Anyways solid week and need about 8 more weeks like this or more to be where I want to be on the start line.

April 7th- April 13th

"When you hate, the only person that is suffering is you because most of the people you hate don't know it and the rest don't care." - Medgar Evers

Seemed like a good quote with all the weird shit going on in the world this week.

Monday:   

7 AM:  4.7 miles averaging 7:40pace.  Easy spin around the CTC by work since I needed to be in the office this morning. Was supposed to run with Chris but he got food poisoning so solo morning today. Super chill on roads.

4:30 PM: Long work day today in the office and at a supplier site.  Lot later than I like and almost skipped it but got it in.  Followed this up with 20min hot tub as well.

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, Mobility - light today to get back to moving well

Walking Lunges
3x40

Back Squats
10 @ 115
10@ 115
10@ 120
10@ 120

Barbell RDLs
4x10 @ 115

Single Leg Calf Raises
3x10 @ 25

Tuesday:  

7:30 AM:  40mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

3 Rounds
10 DB Incline Press @ 45
10 Bodyweight Dips

3 Rounds
10 DB Flys @ 22.5
10 Hand Release Pushups

3 Rounds
10 Ez-bar chest press @ 82
10 DB Double Skull Crushers @ 22.5

3 Rounds
10/10 ATG Split Squats
10 Seated DB Good Mornings @ 40

4 PM:  7 miles w/ 500ft averaging 7:50pace.  Easy miles from the Greenbelt Trailhead for a lap of Marshall Mesa from the backside. Super chill today, stomach was not great this afternoon. Had to make a pit stop at the gas station on 93 due to no bathrooms yet at the Marshall Mesa trailhead with the remodel. I would have thought there would have at least been porta potties for the construction workers, but nope.

Wednesday:

3:30 PM:  Missed my run scheduled for today.  Feeling like shit today and figured a rest day would do me good which sucks considering it is the perfect spring day out there today.  FML..........  Guessing this is all caused by stress from work, like I tell people all the time.  The body does not know where the stress is coming from, it just knows stress.  It reacts the same whether it is from a long run or from work, stress is stress...  Chalking up today and moving on.  Will make it a point to get out earlier in the day tomorrow, seems every time I wait until the afternoon I have some sort of issue.

On a brighter note did get about $1500 worth of gear from SaySky to use for Western States.  I was blown away they sent all of this for Paula, Don, and me for Western and to train in.  Super nice gear and can't wait to train/race in it.  Thank you SaySky and Don for hooking us up!

Thursday:  

  -NOTE:  Weight check in:  Nope

7 AM:  10.5 miles averaging 7:10pace.  AeT Effort at Davidson Mesa. Was not sure how today was going to go due to how I was feeling yesterday but it went well. Started slow and of course after lap one I barely made it to the restroom which is why I choose to run here for there is a restroom on each end of the loop. After that pit stop all went super well and was able to lock into the AeT effort which is around 6:40-7min pace (based on 130-140 HR). Hopefully things are starting to come back around again but still getting a little light headed in the mornings and upset belly issues but better than the last 2-3 days.

3 PM: 45mins in the garage gym followed by 20mins in the hot tub.

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

Pullups
35 total broken up as needed.

Bentover Barbell Rows
3X10 @105

3 Rounds
10 Band Pulldowns
10 DB Pullovers @ 45

3 Rounds
10 Weighted GHD Hip extend @ 10
10 GHD Hip extend
10 GHD Situps

3 Rounds
10 DB Bicep Curls @22.5
20 DB Cross body curls @22.5
10 DB Hammer Curls @ 22.5

3x1 min planks w/ 30sec recoveries.

Friday:

7:30 AM:  8.6 miles w/ 2000ft of vert averaging 11min miles.  Some hillier miles from NCAR going along the Mesa Trail with a few out and backs and loops thrown in. I have no hill fitness right now, no uphill power due to all the flat running I did to get ready for that 100 last month. I have a lot of work to do over the next 2 months. Really need to think about how I am going to do this.

Missed my lifting session this afternoon due to work blowing up and date night this evening.  Ended up in South Denver having dinner with Don, Amy, Mike, Nancy and of course Paula.  Really nice to catch up with them, been a bit since Paula has seen them.

Saturday: 

9 AM:  12.75 miles w/ 3800ft of vert in 2:39.  Easy lap of Bear Peak and Green Mountain from Bear Canyon trailhead. The normal loop of up Fern and down Bear. First real hills this year and fuck did I feel that. Felt super slow going up Fern but was actually an okay time and this might have been a PR on the loop without trying. Will need to keep an eye on this for I will be doing this more in the coming weeks.  Ran into Dan Springborn and Gerber.  Always nice to see buddies out there crushing it.

Sunday:  

8 AM:  8.7 miles w/ 800ft of vert averaging 7:10pace. Playing water boy for the Boulder Track Club long run today. Meet them at mile 5 and mile 10 with everyone's drink. Of course I did my own miles around each water stop while waiting for them. Got a free pair of Metaspeed Paris supershoes for joining the club and playing water boy today. This might be the lightest shoe I have ever had coming in just over 6ozs.

11 AM: 4.2 miles w/ 800ft of vert averaging 9:50pace. Easy up and down from the Lion's Lair Spur trail to the top of Santias and back. I was expecting this to be much longer than this. Super nice route if one just wanted to get in a short hill. Paula did her thing with a 15lb pack, we meet at the summit then back at the car.  

Followed this up with lunch at the Gold Hill General Store.  Paula has never been there before and wanted to check it out since it was only 7 or so miles up the road.  This might actually be the best cookie in the state, between this and the bakery in Alma.

Total Weekly Numbers

Not a bad week to kick of the Western States training considering I even missed a day which might actually do me some good in the long haul.  Quads are sore to the touch this Monday morning as I am typing this from all the hills this week but that will get better as I keep it going in the coming weeks.  This next week should be more of a build, trying to decide today if I should sign up for Rock Hawk 25k next weekend or not in Castle Rock.  It closes tonight so need to make up my mind soon.  

March Recap

Just realized I missed the February Recap due to travel to NC.  Spent 28 days of March either traveling to/from or in the Outerbanks, NC which is why the vertical is so low and zero biking.  Also have a taper and recovery for a 100 miler in there as well.  Anyways good to be home.  Here is the breakdown.

March 31st- April 6th

  "One cannot grow fine flowers in thin soil." - Virginia Woolf

Seemed like a good quote for this week.  Gotta make sure I recover well and my soil is not too thin before going back to heavier training in the coming weeks.

Monday:   

8 AM:  40mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, Mobility - light today to get back to moving well

Walking Lunges
3x30

Back Squats
3x10 @ 115

Barbell RDLs
3x10 @ 115

Superset x3
20 Box Step Overs
10 Box Jumps

Single Leg Calf Raises
3x10 @ 25

10 AM: Walk 2.8 miles w/ 1000ft of vert in 40mins.  Treadhill at Vasa. Set the treadmill at 9% incline and just walked while Paula was in a class. Need to start bringing my weight vest for these.

-- Went and got my problematic since my 100 miler right calf dry needled at lunch.  It was a rock and took 2 times of dry needling to loosen up.  Yes it was painful this time, usually I don't really feel the needles.  Sure I will be sore as hell later today and maybe tomorrow.

Tuesday: 

7 AM:  44mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

3 Rounds
10 DB Incline Press @ 40
10 Bodyweight Dips

3 Rounds
10 DB Flys @ 22.5
10 Hand Release Pushups

3 Rounds
10 Ez-bar chest press @ 77
10 DB Double Skull Crushers @ 20

4 Rounds
15 GHD situps to parall

5 mins on the Moboboard for calves and ankles

10 AM: 8 miles averaging 7:30pace.  Easy laps of the open space by the house getting another 14 laps with 6x30sec strides w/ 3min recoveries in the middle of the run. Legs are trashed between lifting and getting dry needled yesterday so the first 2-3 miles were rough along with the first few strides. Did loosen up and started rolling some, but stiff as hell this afternoon as I type this.

Wednesday:

6:30 AM:  7.4 miles averaging 8:15 pace.  Had to get this in earlier than normal due to the work day today, heading to Longmont to a supplier most of the day.  Just adding loops of the open space to the total. Will be doing a lot of loops this recovery week to try and make up for a month with no loops. Only 803 loops left... jezzz...  Legs were trashed today still.

Thursday:  

 7 AM:  8.1 miles averaging 7:25pace.  Easy loop laps at the open space next to the house. Trying to make up what I missed in March to hit my 1000 loops this year. Added another 14 laps today, less than 800 to go. Legs are finally starting to feel better this morning.

3 PM: 50mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

Pullups
30 total broken up as needed.

3 Rounds
10 Band Pulldowns
10 DB Pullovers @ 40

3 Rounds
10 Weighted GHD Hip extend @ 10
10 GHD Hip extend
10 GHD Situps

3x10 Ring Rows

3 Rounds
10 DB Bicep Curls @20
20 DB Cross body curls @20
10 DB Hammer Curls @ 20

3x1 min planks w/ 30sec recoveries

Friday:

9 AM:  6.25 miles averaging 7:35pace.  Costco loop... time to start getting out of my hood now since legs and energy are feeling a little bit better. Felt like I was barely moving but the pace was not that bad at all. Weird.

3 PM:  50 mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

Standing Shoulder Press
3x10 @ 35

3 Rounds
10 DB Lateral Raises @ 20
10 DB Front Raises @ 15

3 Rounds
30sec Plate upright rows @ 25
30sec Plate Steering wheel @ 10

3 Rounds
20 Single leg V-ups
20 Bicycles
20 Russian Twist @ 25
20 High Plank Knees to Elbow

3 Rounds
10/10 ATG Split Squats
10 Seated DB Good Mornings @ 35

3 Rounds
10/10 Single leg RDL @ 25
10 Jefferson Curls @ 44

Saturday: 

8 AM:  8.3miles averaging 8min pace.  Easy run at BPRunCo group run this morning with about 100 other people. Death March was doing a popup at the run this morning so went out to support them just by being there. Also got my kit from them as well, was blown away by the dry bags they gave me. Good dudes!

Sunday:  

9 AM: 8.1 miles w/ 1400ft of vert averaging 9min pace. Easy trail cruise from the Fowler Trail head over into Eldo Spring State Park then back out for a lap of Gashawk and Springbrook loops. First real trail run since I have been back from sea level and I could tell. I may be fit but not trail fit, have some work to do leading up to Western.  20mins in the hot tub this evening with Paula.

Total Weekly Numbers

Not a bad first week back to running again.  Now it is time to start ramping up for Western in the next 11 weeks before we taper again.  Looking forward to the progress to come.  It is going to be a grind with not only the running, but everything else that comes with Western like heat training, ect..  LFG!