September 14th- September 20th

 "Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud." -Maya Angelou

Fell a few weeks behind on my weekly post due to work travel and just getting a little overwhelmed with life in general lately.  Guess it is what it is.  Here are the updates from 2 weeks ago, will try to be caught up later in the week.

Monday:

6 AM: 9.1 miles averaging 7:45pace.  Easy pre-work loop from work. Out to Sterns, then looping back behind the new Medtronic building and down HWY42. Always a great loop, will be doing this loop going forward from a different starting point, this might be my last day in Louisville moving over to the new building for good, we will see.

4 PM: 1 hour Garage gym with Paula... focus on chest, tris, and bis..

-- Decided to put in for Fatox 100 again before the price increase.  Lets see if I can get that course record back in Nov.  

Tuesday: 

6:30 AM:  10 miles averaging 7min pace.  One of the better workouts in a while. Felt smooth for a change which was nice. Think I needed that 5k last weekend to get my ass going again. Legs were good, achilles was good, just a good morning.

Workout was:

20 min warm up

15x1 min fast/1 min float think 10k effort on fast and 50k effort on float

20 min cool down

3 PM: 55 min garage gym session with Paula this afternoon.

Wednesday:

6 AM:  56 mins lifting.  First time lifting at the gym at work. Focused on shoulders and back this morning before my early calls.

11 AM:  9.4 miles averaging 7:25pace.  Ran over to a hill by work to do the hill repeats then back to work just in time to join the 5K they were putting on over the lunch hour. About 200 other Medtronic employees jumped in as well. Kept it moderate for the 5k not going all out and still got 3rd, did not time it so no idea on the time of it but was probably around 19 mins so not too hard.

Headed up to Steamboat late this afternoon to help Mindy run RRR100 on Friday.

Thursday:  

11 AM:  9.1 miles averaging 8min pace.  Easy cruise from the condo in Steamboat along the bike path to the other side of Steamboat and back. Raining most of the time but was not that bad.  Spent the rest of the day getting Mindy ready for RRR100 tomorrow including getting her checked into the race.

Friday:

Took the day completely off, was not planning on that, just happened.  Got to busy crewing Mindy's Run Rabbit Run 100 race and just did not get my workout in.  She had a great day and I should be picking her up sometime in the early morning before sunrise to bring her in.

Saturday: 

4 AM:  28 miles w/ 4600ft of vert averaging 18min pace.  Pacing Mindy from Dry Lake to the top of Mount Warner where others ran her to the finish while I took the gondola back down the mountain. 28 miles of rain, hail, and lighting was enough for me. LOL. It was quite the morning for sure.  She got it done in 28:29 for 8th female in the Hares division.  Not bad for only her 2nd 100 miler.

Sunday:  

9 AM: 8 miles averaging 7:40pace.  Easy miles over at Davidson Mesa. Sore as hell from pacing Mindy yesterday, did not expect that since it was mostly a walk yesterday. Guess 28 miles is 28 miles no matter how you fast cover them.

Total Weekly Numbers

Not a bad week and even took a day off.  Pacing RRR100 was an experience, one of the top 5 times that I was so cold that I thought I was going to end up in trouble.  Got through it with no issue but damn 45 degrees in the rain and your runner is just walking is fucking cold!  Next week is going to be a disaster training wise, traveling for work.  Not sure what I can get in but we will see.

Thoughts....

 "I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." -Christopher Reeve

Traveling this week for work so falling behind on my weekly posts, oh well.... at least I get to see my mom and sister on this work trip.  Few thoughts I had this week that is worth thinking about.

The older I get, the more I realize that growth is not about fixing all of your problems, rather it’s learning which problems aren’t worth fixing.

The one I struggle with the most...

The quality of your life is directly proportional to your tolerance for uncertainty.

And my sister's dog is a weirdo....

September 7th - September 13th

"All your life, you will be faced with a choice.  You can choose love or hate... I choose love." - Johnny Cash

Had to do a Johnny Cash quote..... just seemed right this week with Great Uncle John's funeral.....

Monday:

6 AM: 15.3 miles w/ 1600ft of vert averaging 8:20 pace.  Happy Labor Day!! Easy long trail run before heading to Uncle John's funeral at noon. Super chill hitting up Marshall Mesa, Springbrook, Gashawk, and Flatiron Vista. Really liked this big loop I did. May do this again in the future, good route for Javalina training if you have that coming up.  I am doing the 33K night run there on Halloween night.  Can't wait.

-- Spent the rest of the day at the funeral for my Great Uncle John and visiting with family.  If we could all count on living to 92 years old like he did.  He was still sharp in the mind, the body is what gave out.  And yes that is my grandma, how many 50+ year olds can say they still have a grandparent alive, blessed.  Uncle John was her older brother.

Tuesday:  

6 AM:  11 miles averaging 7:05 pace.  Workout Tuesday. Little flat today due to longer run yesterday but all good. Not the best turn over on the 2mins and did dry heave at min 10 of 15 so stopped for a second, lol... but got back to it. One of those mornings but got it done!

20 min warm up

5x2 min fast/2 min easy can be on flat or uphill for the fast intervals. think an effort you could sustain for 45-60 min of hard running
jog 3 min
15 min at 50k down to marathon effort

20 min cool down

4:30 PM: 1 hour Leg day in the garage gym with Paula. Lots of Squats, RDLs, and Lunges.

--  Started 75 Hard today as well.  Pretty sure I will not make it all the way through but needed some structure around eating, working out and daily activities for a bit.  Having that structure seems to make things less stressful for me.  We will see how it goes, should end the day of Fatox 100 in Nov if I decide to do it all the way through which is one of the reasons for jumping into doing the challenge.  Don is also doing it with me as well.

Wednesday:

 -NOTE:  Weight check in:  169.8lbs at 7.7% bodyfat.  Up 5 pounds since Hardrock 6 weeks ago but the bodyfat % did not jump much.  Feeling bloated and fat was another reason I jumped into the 75Hard challenge again.  No real goals on body weight, just want to feel good again when running, lifting, ect.  Just feel like a slob right now and guessing that is mostly due to my diet the past 6-7 weeks which has not been good, lots of pastries. 

6 AM:  9.4 miles averaging 8min pace.  Easy cruise from work around Link Lake and back adding in what was needed to hit 75mins or so. Started out super chill to warm up and just flowed into the run. Thought the legs would be more worked from yesterday than they were which is good.

2 PM:  46mins Garage gym session doing Chest, Tris, and Bi's...  yes Venus is a garage gym dog.

Thursday:  

 5 AM:  7.5 miles averaging 7:55pace.  Dead legs today, probably from all the weed pulling I was doing last night. Still have days more of that crap to do. LOL... Otherwise all good. Not going to Imogene, to much to do at the house to get it ready to put on the market hopefully by Oct 1st. Will do the Denver 5K instead but not sure how hard I will race it due to how the legs and turn over have been this week.

Friday:

6 AM:  5.5 miles averaging 7:35 pace. Easy first run from the new Medtronic building. Moved in this morning. Super chill heading east on Rock Creek turning around at NoCoast. Also did 4x20sec strides at the end. Those felt awkward but should get better.

1 PM: 1 hour doing Shoulders, Back, and Arms in the garage gym this afternoon. Did not feel like going to VASA.

Saturday: 

7 AM:  Walked 1 mile.  Easy warmup walk with Paula before getting ready for the 5k. Just trying to loosen up some.

8 AM: 9.75 miles averaging 7min pace.  This is the warmup, 5K in 17:51, and the cooldown all together. 5K went better than expected. I honestly did not think that I could break 19min yet alone 18mins. I honestly thought I would be in the low 19's. Ended up 4th overall and of course won the age group.  I trashed myself doing this so hopefully I gain some fitness from it and not just putting myself into a hole. Fun morning before going and spending 6 hours the rest of the day at the rental house pulling weeds which are now done, filled the large 96 gallon trash can with just weeds from the rock areas around the house.

Sunday:  

6 AM: 14.6 miles w/ 1200ft of vert averaging 8:15pace.  Had Paula drop me off at the Coalton Trailhead in Superior and ran to the Fowler Trailhead in Eldo Springs where she was doing a hike with friends. Nice to do a point to point run for a change verses a loop or an out/back. Fun to run from the plains to the mountains. Dead legs today and HR was about 10 beats above normal for the effort I was putting out, guessing that is all from yesterday's effort. Going to get fit again at some point. LOL

Total Weekly Numbers

Finally a good week overall, of course there was a lot of bumps in the road this week but I would take this type of week anytime.  Next week should be a bigger week as well.  Not only doing my normal training but then add on 25-30 miles of pacing overnight at Run Rabbit Run 100 in Steamboat next weekend as well.  Can't wait to get up there and see the leaves.  LOVE THAT RACE!  Not as much as Hardrock but it is up there.  Speaking of Hardrock, some news on what I have been working on for them should be coming out this month sometime.  Can't wait to share this once they share it first. 

August 31st - September 6th

 "Adversity, if you allow it to, will fortify you and make you the best you can be." -Kerri Walsh Jennings

Monday:

6:30 AM: 9 miles w/ 400ft of vert averaging 8min pace.  Still dealing with the cold/covid but not as bad. Legs are shit from the last 3 days of running but did loosen up the last few miles so I guess there is a silver lining. Maybe by the end of the week we will be back to normal? Fingers crossed. Also did 4x30sec hard hills towards the end of the run.

Tuesday:  

6:30 AM:  10 miles averaging 7:20pace.  Somewhat of a workout day from work around the tech center. Workout was:

20 min warm up

5x3 min HARD (think close to mile effort on these. Full recovery between each 5-8 min jog

20 min cool down

Not quite the HARD he had in mind but quicker to try and get the legs to move faster again. It was a struggle, not going to lie but needed it. Felt awkward of course if that makes sense which I know will go away, just a weird feeling. Hopefully this will be the gate to better running going forward, reminded my legs how to turn over again.

--  My renters are finally out of my house so went over there this afternoon to see what the condition of the house was in.  A fucking disaster.....  I have so much work to do to get it on the market.  Really disappointed considering they were acquaintances of mine.  Guess you can't trust people you know, sigh...... most people are assholes I guess.

Wednesday:

6:30 AM:   10.6 miles averaging 7:40 pace.  Easy few laps of Davidson Mesa. Just cruising with no agenda.  Nothing else to really report today.  Did do some work over at the house today in the front yard. 

Thursday:  

8 AM:  8.2 miles averaging 7:40 pace. Easy cruise from work going to Sterns and around the new Medtronic building. Think I am finally getting past all this bullshit cold/covid stuff. Last 2 days felt good for the most part. Legs still don't want to turn over quickly but are getting better. Now I need to sleep better so I can recover. Been battling that for a bit due to stress but getting better. At least I know what it is.

4:30 PM: 50mins Lift class with Paula at VASA... upper body day.  Time to get back to lifting again.

Friday:

6 AM:  10.6 miles averaging 7:10 pace. Today was rough… everything was about 30secs per mile slower than it used to be but got it done. Just shows how much I lost since May and how much work I have to do. Back on the left side is aggravated after this run, sciatica pain shooting down my leg. Took some Aleve so that should help so I’ll keep an eye on it. Workout was:

20 min warm up

6x2 min at 10k effort/ 4 min at marathon effort. Keep foot on the gas throughout. Really pay attention to efforts here. Want to focus on buffering lactate.

20 min cool down

--Followed this up with 20mins in the hot tub in the afternoon to try and loosen the back which seemed to help.

--  Went to Garth Brooks this evening with Paula, Don, and Tasha.... SO GOOD!!!  One of the artist on my have to try and see them before they die list.  

Saturday: 

9 AM:  5 miles averaging 8:15 pace. Easy neighborhood jog, so tired from the Garth Brooks concert last night and lots of work at the house to do today. Legs are dead today.

-- Spent about 7 hours today over at the house pulling weeds and laying new rock out front.  Good times.... not.

Sunday:  

6 AM: 9.2 miles averaging 7:35 pace. Easy laps of Davidson with no real agenda once again. Did do 4x30sec hills in the hilly neighborhood on the backside of Davidson, photo below. Perfect spot for shorter hill reps up to 3 mins.

-- Spent 8 hours this afternoon putting in a new sliding glass door at the house with Chris.  Now that was a damn project.  Learned a lot from Chris.

Total Weekly Numbers

Not a bad week getting back to it after the 2 weeks of that head cold/covid that I was dealing with.  Little rough overall but it will come back around.  Super busy week too between trying to work on the house, Garth Brooks concert, and work of course, still trying to figure out my new role.  Just need to get this house ready and that will take off some stress off me and a lot once it is sold.  Front is mostly done, still a lot of yard work in the back and inside for the remodel.  Don't think I will be driving down to Ouray for Imogine Pass run the next weekend, just to much to do around the house to get it ready which sucks.