October 6th- October 12th

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"Confidence is the freedom to set your own standards and unshackle yourself from the need to prove yourself." -Ryan Holiday

-- This photo of Venus pretty much sums up how I have been feeling all week..... 

Monday:

Woke up feeling like I was run over by a truck while I was sleeping.  Took the day completely off from working out just to be on the safe side.  I think that it is from the drastic weather change last night plus a little touch of something.  Hope so and that I am not getting full blown sick.  Needed DayQuil to function normally today at work.  

Tuesday:  

9 AM:  5.1 miles averaging 8:20pace.  Easy cruise from work around the CTC. Shorter today for I still feeling the sickness that hit me yesterday. Better overall but needed to move some. Trying to build up some daily momentum again which is always easier said than done.

Wednesday:

10 AM:  5 miles averaging 7:15 pace.  Easy lap of Davidson plus a few extra to get my 5 miles today. Today things seem to be turning a corner. I ran at what felt like an easy pace but much quicker than yesterday. Hopefully we are coming back. Plan this week is 5-6 miles at an easy RPE this whole week.

2 PM:  Walk 1.6 miles with Venus in 25mins since Paula left today for Michigan until Monday.  She is going out there to pace her friend Erica at the Wolverine 100.  May have to put that one on the calendar in the next few years if Paula likes it.

3 PM:  30mins Garage gym session- Super light leg session for range of motion.

Warmup: Airbike, Crossover, and Mobility

Barbell Box Back Squat
10@ 135lbs
10@ 135lbs
10@135lbs
10@135lbs

Trap bar Deadlift
10@ 155lbs
10@ 155lbs
10@ 155lbs
10@ 155lbs

Single Leg Calf Raises
4x10 @ 25lbs each leg

Thursday:  

10 AM:  5 miles averaging 7:15pace.  Easy cruise at Davidson again. Body feels great but this head cold is getting worse, all in the sinuses. Came home from work so I don't get others sick.  Most likely will work from home tomorrow as well which I am sure Venus loves since Paula is out of town all weekend.

2 PM: Walk 1.5 miles in 25min followed by 20 mins in the hot tub.  Hoping that doing a bunch of heat exposure will help whatever this head cold is.  Tired of hacking shit up all week.

Friday:

8 AM:  5.6 miles w/ 400ft of vert averaging 7:15pace.  Out and back going west from the Coalton trailhead up the hill. Super chill effort wise but the body felt good this morning even though I was stuffed up from this head cold. Think I am finally getting into a groove and will start increasing the daily mileage again.

3 PM: Easy 2 mile walk with Venus followed by a 5K row in the garage gym.  Followed this all up with another 20mins in the hot tub.  Hoping that the hot tub will help get rid of this stupid cold and help get ready for the heat of pacing at Javalina in 3 weeks.

Saturday: 

8 AM:  8 miles w/ 400ft of vert averaging 7:20pace.  Easy cruise from Stern's Lake doing the 8 mile loop over to Link Lake and across the hwy and back. Good 8 mile loop both close to work and home. Super chill and was raining on and off during the run.

10 AM: Another 2 mile walk with Venus and 20mins of hot tub.

Sunday:  

7:30 AM: 12.3 miles w/ 900ft of vert averaging 7:35pace.  Sunday Long Run with the Boulder Track Club. Time to get back to these. Turned into sort of a progression run where the last few miles were faster than the beginning by quite a bit. Will miss next week since I will be house sitting in South Denver so made it a point to go today. Had plans to cut it short before the start but so glad that I did not, felt much better than I thought I would.

Noon: Another 2 mile walk with Venus and 20mins of hot tub.

Total Weekly Numbers

Not a bad week starting to get back to it after a recovery week.  Still battling this stupid head cold that will not go away.  The mornings are the worse for the first 2-3 hours that I am up.  Hopefully that goes away soon and we can get back to normal programming.  Sorry about all the weird links in this post, there is an automatic AI generated link button that I tried out for this post.  Not impressed, will not be doing it in the future.  Could not figure out how to reverse it back.

September 29th- October 5th

"The really frightening thing about middle age is the knowledge that you'll grow out of it." - Doris Day

Monday:

Another rest day today.  Might be a few of these this week and this could be some boring reading the rest of the week.  Did get in for a 90min massage this morning so that was much needed.  Ate all the foods I could today as well.  According to the tracker I only burned 18,000 calories on Saturday.

Got everything put away, laundry done, packed for work tomorrow, and even did some chores around the house like installing a new Nest in the house.

Tuesday:  

Rest day again... I had the plan to try and get out on the bike after work today but just did not happen.  Went home and chilled instead.  Did sneak out to the van over my lunch hour and take a nap.  LOL... that always helps.  

Wednesday:

11 AM:  1 hour at Koda

 

Every 90s for 10 Sets (5 of ea)
E: 3-5 Weighted Chinups
O: 10 Snatch Grip RDLs (35% DL)

B1) 3 Sets
15-30s Bent Arm Bar Hang +
10 Bent Over BB Rows

B2) 3x30/30 1LEG Banded
Hamstring Curls (Prone)

3x60s Chinese Plank

4 PM:  Gravel bike 10.4 miles w/ 500ft of vert in 44mins.  Easy cruise on the neighborhood loop making it a little bit shorter than I normally do. Felt good to get in some movement today.  Going to try and do this a few more times this week.  Missed my bikes.

Thursday:  

Rest day yet again... body wise I feel fine but energy wise I just don't have the energy or motivation to get back at it yet.  Guess this year is starting to pile on me a bit.  I had the whole week off on my plan so not concerned quite yet but I don't want these days off to become a habit.  Once you start doing that it gets harder and harder to get back to it with every passing day.  

Friday:

Happy Birthday to Don!!!  Welcome to the 40s!

7:45 AM:  1 hour at Koda

A) 4 Sets
10 Bent Over A-T-Ys
40s Conc Crunch w/Med Ball
10/10 Alt SA Russian KBS

B) 6x 2:30 ON, 2:30 OFF
400m Run, then
In time remaining
E: ME C2B Pullups
O: ME Line Facing Burpees

4 PM: Biked 11.5 miles w/ 500ft of vert in 54mins.  Easy ride around the hood on MTB with Paula. We wanted to go over to the new bridge over Indiana connecting Westminster Hills to Rocky Flats but even though the bridge is done they have it fenced off. Some kind of stand off between the Federal government at Rocky Flats and the local government of Westminster. Such bullshit...

---  Got this in the mail today as well.  Thanks JT!

Saturday: 

7 AM:  5.5 miles averaging 8min pace.  Easy run with Taylor and Veronica from Stern's lake trailhead. First real run back since last weekend. Rough but okay.... 

--- Spent all afternoon over at Koda Crossfit being a judge for the Koda Iron Games.  Doing shit like this really makes me want to go back to the gym.  

Sunday:  

8 AM: 10.1 miles averaging 8:30pace.  Easy cruise around Wash Park with Don and Darian. Worked out well because Don is tapering for 24 hour Worlds in France in a few weeks and this was my first real run back so easy pace was perfect.  Felt pretty good until mile 8ish then the legs got really heavy quickly. Also a bad choice on where to meet, the Hot Chocolate run was going on this morning so there was about 5,000 runners in the park. Little bit of a cluster fuck.

Total Weekly Numbers

Not a bad week back.  About the same amount of miles this week as did the week after my last 2 hundreds this year.  Super run down this Monday morning as I am typing this though.  Woke up with a sore throat which I hope is nothing.  The weather changed drastically last night so I am just hoping that is the cause of it.  Would like to get up in the 40ish mile range this week.  May also throw my hand into a Cyclocross race next weekend and do that for the rest of the month.  Love getting my ass kicked at something I suck at.

September Recap

 “Maybe working on the little things as dutifully and honestly as we can is how we stay sane when the world is falling apart.” - Haruki Murakami

Another solid overall month with of course the Cowboy 100 at the end of the month.  That should it this year for ultras but I am still on the fence if I am going to CIM or not.  Need to make up my mind in the next day before my free entry from Asics expires.  May just go do it even if I don't go all in on the training the next 8 weeks, I do have a solid base but the turn over to get a PR is not quite there.  Anyways, enough race talk.  

Still dealing with some brain fog post 100 but much better than it was earlier in the week.  This week is all about getting caught up at work and starting to slowly get back to some sort of training.  

September 22nd - September 28th

 "When you start a new trail equipped with courage, strength, and conviction, the only thing that can stop you is you." - Ruby Bridges

"Worrying gets you nowhere.  If you turn up worrying about how you're going to perform, you've already lost." - Usain Bolt

---  Seemed like a 2 quote week with the Cowboy 100 this weekend.  I put a lot of effort in getting ready for this one so fingers crossed.

Monday:

6:30 AM:  7.6 miles averaging 7:55pace.  Easy hour cruise around the roads and trails from work. Made it an effort to go super chill today. Tired today due to the late night airport pick up of Paula last night. Need to focus on sleep this week.  We plan on heading up there on Thursday morning.

11 AM: 1 hour at Koda...

Warmup: Run and mobility

A) 12min AMRAP
200m Run
1 CB Pullups (+1/Rnd)

B) 3 Sets
60s Wgt Chinese Plank - R90s
60s Weighted Plank - R90s

C) 12min AMRAP
250m Row
5 WBS (+5/Rnd)

--  This evening went in to PT and had the calves dry needled to try and get them as loose as possible before this weekend.  Always hurts like hell on the calves do to how tight they always are.

Tuesday:  

-- Woke up to dumping rain and the calves being sore from the dry needling last night.  With the rain I did not get out before work like I have been.  We will see if I can get way from work today or not, weather dependent, no need to suffer through the rain this close to the race.  What is the point?

-- Took a complete rest day today, never stopped raining and since I have not run on a treadmill in ages it was not worth the risk of getting sore from it with the race being only 4 days away.  Rest will do me good.  Spent the day trying to get ahead a bit at work since I will be off from Thursday through Monday.

Wednesday:

6 AM:  5.7 miles averaging 8min pace. Easy cruise before work on the roads and trails close by. Super chill taking my time and just getting the blood moving some. Glad I took yesterday off for the calves feel a LOT better today but at the same time I hate taking a day off, always feel sluggish the next day. Anyways, the countdown to Saturday is on.  Looks like Longs Peak and Indian Peaks got a bunch of snow while we got rain yesterday.

--  Hit the hot tub for 20mins when I got home from work then finished packing for the weekend, plan is to leave around 9am tomorrow morning.

Thursday:  

6:30 AM:  6.1 miles averaging 7:25pace.  Easy miles this morning at Davidson Mesa before hitting the road to Nebraska. Legs were snappy and ready to go this morning after the first mile. Funny how one both dreads and can be excited for a 100 mile race at the same time.

-- left around 9am to start the drive to northern Nebraska.  Realized we would be driving right through Arnold Nebraska which is where one set of my grandparents are buried so had to make the stop to say hi.  Have not been here since 2010.

Friday:

8 AM:  4 miles averaging 7:30pace.  Easy out and back from the hotel on the Cowboy trail. This section I will not be doing in the 100 mile race for we start about 15 miles west of here in Atkinson but the 200 milers who started early this morning should start coming through tonight. This would be mile 85ish for them. Threw in 4 strides on the way back as well.

-- After my run I picked up Paula and drove her to the trailhead and told her I would pick her up in the next town 10 miles away. So she got in her run as well on the Cowboy trail today.  

Saturday: 

8 AM:  Cowboy 100-- 98.26 miles w/ 900ft of vert averaging 10:04 pace which is 16:31:36 overall time.  Got it done... Cowboy 100 for first place and a new course record bringing it down from 18:48 to 16:31. This course can be run so much faster but this is about all this old man had on this day. I would say for the right person this could easy be a 13 hour course, weather dependent. One of my better 100s overall in how I managed everything from heat (it was HOT!) to lack of aid stations for long stretches.  I could not have asked for a better day. Of course I owe a lot of this to Paula and Donnie, they both kept me on track and on the goal of going below the course record. Donnie did exactly what I wanted him to do, keep me on pace to run the last 26 miles in 4:30 or less, we ran it in 4:29ish. That was my A goal for this race, to go under the course record and where ever I fell placing wise is where I fell. Today it just happened to be 1st. This is now my 100 mile PR.  Lots of stories of course coming out of this day that I am still processing.  Always up for a run or coffee if you would like to hear some of them.  My brain is not working well enough yet to type them all out.  I owe a huge thank you to Paula, Donnie, and Matt.   

Sunday:  

We had plans to stay in Valentine at an Airbnb until Monday before driving home but the house we rented was pretty bad.  The whole place smelled like cat piss and it was making Paula sick so we headed out first thing in the morning.  Of course both of us were functioning off of 3 hours or so of sleep last night so we had to stop a few times along the way to nap and took turns driving while the other was napping in the bed with Venus.  We took an hour detour to Sidney to spend an hour or so with my Grandma.  Just had too even if it meant we got home a lot later.  Yes I am almost 50 and still have a grandparent that is alive. ;o)

Total Weekly Numbers

Hell of a week..... Finished my #1 goal for 2025 by completing my 3rd 100 mile run this year.  I have never done three of them in one year before and thought it would be a stretch considering I am getting older but it was a damn good year.  Won 2 of the 3 (no way I could ever be top 10 at Western) which actually blows my mind.  I never would have thought that was possible.  Yes I know they were smaller races but still, I can only race who shows up.  Next on the agenda is California International Marathon in December.  Right now I am not sure if I am going to go all in on this or not, I am so tired from this year currently.  My original goal was to try and break my PR of 2:44 that I set at the age of 40 during the Boston Marathon.  I thought it would be cool to break that at the age of 50 which I will be in December.  Right now I have no desire to put in 6-7 weeks of hard training again but that could change after taking a week off.  More to come on that decision over the next few weeks.  Guess I better get back to work and get caught up from being gone.  Until next week......

September 15th- September 21st

“I have two rules in life–to hell with it, whatever it is, and get your work done.” - Ray Bradbury

Monday:

10 AM:  8 miles averaging 7:30pace.  Run around the CTC from work mid-morning. Had an hour and half window from 10-11:30 this morning to get outside for a jog. Could not get my ass moving early this morning, getting harder now that the sunrise is closer to 7am instead of 6:30 or before. First few miles were rough from taking the last 2 days off and eating like shit all weekend in Steamboat but feels good to get moving again and back on track. Last real week before Cowboy.

4 PM: 35 mins Garage gym session

Warmup: Airbike, Crossover, and Mobility

Barbell Box Back Squat
10@ 155lbs
10@ 165lbs
10@165lbs
10@170lbs

Trap bar Deadlift
10@ 185lbs
10@ 195lbs
10@ 195lbs
10@ 205lbs

Single Leg Calf Raises
4x10 @ 25lbs each leg

Abmat sit-ups w/ 25lb plate
3x12

Tuesday:  

9 AM:  8 miles averaging 7:30 pace.  Easy cruise around the CTC and some on the Coal Creek trail from work between meetings again. Super chill. Paula got me a hDrop monitor yesterday and today was the first time using it. Interesting data.... Says my sodium lost is much higher than the Precision test which is what Browning told me would happen a few months ago. Will need to keep testing this over the next week to dial in hydration and sodium levels before Cowboy.

4:30 PM:  39min Garage gym session

Warmup: Airbike, Crossover, Mobility

Seated DB Shoulder Press
3x10 w/ 40lbs

3 Rounds
10 DB Lateral Raises w/ 25lbs
10 DB Front Raises w/ 15lbs

3 Rounds
30sec Plate upright rows 25lbs
30sec Plate steering wheels 10lbs

3 Rounds
20 GHD Sit-ups
20 GHD Hip Extensions
10 side crunches w/ 55lbs each side

Wednesday:

6 AM:  10.1 miles averaging 7:15pace.  Easy miles over at Davidson Mesa again with 5x20sec strides w/ 1 min jog between. Today things were clicking well. Faster pace than I expected, was not trying to push at all. Had to get this done early today due FDA audit at work the rest of the week and won't be able to get out later today.

11 AM:  1 hour at Koda Crossfit -  yes I went back to a gym and this is the first class.  Switched from NoCoast to Koda due to some personal reasons and location.  Koda is like a quarter mile from work.  Only planning on going 2 times a week at most, have to make sure I don't grind myself back into the ground like I used to, getting to old for that.

Every 2 min for 8 Sets:
E: 3-5 Weighted Pullups
O: 3 Deadlifts (75%+)

then

Every 2 min for 8 Sets:
B1) 4x10-15 Inverted Rows
RIGHT INTO
10-15 BB Curls

B2) 4x50 Banded Hamstring Curls
(2 sets seated, 2 sets prone)

then

C) 3x60s Chinese Plank
youtube.com/shorts/aAZmwHeM7Ww
Rest 2-3min between sets

Thursday:  

6:30 AM:  8 miles averaging 7:45pace.  Dropped Paula off at DIA at 5:30am then drove to work and ran before work. Cruise around the CTC at an easy effort. Legs are heavy today but all good.

---  Looks like Paula has a good view from her room.  Can you name that city? -- no peeking down below.

2 PM: 2 mile dog walk with Venus since Paula is gone until Sunday... Going to get a few walking miles this week to try and be more like GZ. 

Friday:

6 AM:  12 miles averaging 6:50pace.  Done over at Davidson Mesa again, such a good spot for early morning runs when you don't want to use a headlamp and for workouts.  Plan was 20mins easy/ 2x20mins @ steady state w/ 3mins easy between/ 20mins cooldown.  Good run overall, perfect morning out there weather wise for sure. Felt like my HR and RPE was running a little bit high for the paces I was holding. Not sure why that is or if it is all just in my mind. Either way happy with the outcome of this workout.

2:30 PM:  Walk 1.75 miles with Venus around the hood... Did kick a small pocket dog that came running across the street to attack us.  It was either kick it or let Venus kill it.  They should be thanking me and they should control their fucking dog.

Saturday: 

8 AM:  11.25 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 8min pace.  Easy run on the Clear Creek Path in Golden with Darian and Don. Much needed time with friends. Just an easy chill jog and of course the legs are heavy as hell today. Hopefully that turns around soon. Came back to the car to see the Golden Farmers Market was a block away so got all kinds of snacks post run over there. I think I actually like this Farmers Market over the one in Louisville.

3 PM: Took Venus for a 2 mile walk during half time of the Nebraska game which of course they lost but at least they gave Michigan a run for their money this year instead of getting blown out which is good progress for the program.  Followed this with 20mins in the hot tub.  Need to keep the blood volume up as the running volume decreases this next week.  Plan is hot tub or sauna every other day over the next week.

Sunday:  

-- Finished book 21 of the year early this morning before my run.  The Endurance Artist*...  Pretty damn good book.

7:30 AM: 8.2 miles averaging 7:20pace.  Easy laps around Davidson Mesa. Was going to go the Boulder Track Club run but did not want to get caught up in a faster pace like I usually do when I run with them. Kept having to make myself slow down today, think that is a good sign.  Will probably be running at Davidson the rest of the week as I taper, just easy to go there before work since it is so close to the office and exactly what Cowboy will be like trail wise next weekend.

3 PM:  Another 2 mile walk with Venus again this afternoon.

Total Weekly Numbers

More miles covered this week than I was expecting.  Hopefully that does not come back to bite me in the ass next weekend.  Overall feeling good but to be honest I am tired.  Have not been sleeping as well as I normally do and I will need to actually watch my diet the next week during the taper so I don't gain to much.  As they say, "The hay is in the barn.", I guess...  Still looking for a pacer next weekend in northern Nebraska if you are interested.  Looking for someone to do the last 26 miles with me trying to keep me in the 4-4.5 hour range for those miles, which is right around 10min miles I think.  That is about it for this week, gotta head to the airport and pick Paula up from her girls week in Chicago..  Next update will be all about Cowboy, 100 mile run number 3 of 2025... Giddyup!!