December 9th- December 15th

"Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about your outer self.  It's about accepting all of yourself." - Tyra Banks

Monday:   

Had plans to ski this morning but shitty sleep last night made that not happen.  Could not shut the brain off last night.  Woke up at midnight and have been up since.  Between work shit, stressing if the renters are going to renew their lease at my house or not and some personal stuff been pretty stressed out lately.  Need to figure out a way to let it go and sleep when this happens.  Spent most of the night just reading.

10 AM: 1 hour in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover and mobility

4 Rounds
12 DB Incline Chest Press 45lbs
12 Dips

4 Rounds
10 DB Flys 30lbs
10 Hand Release Pushups

4 Rounds
12 EZ Bar Narrow Chest Press 77lbs
12 EZ Bar Skull Crusher 57lbs

3 Rounds
10/10 ATG Split Squat
10 BB Seated Good Mornings 45lbs

4 Rounds
15 GHD Situps to parallel
15 GHD Hip Extensions

1 PM: Walk 3miles with Venus around the hood.  Beautiful afternoon.

Tuesday:  

6 AM:  55mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

45 Pullups- broken up as needed

4x10 Barbell Rows @ 105lbs

4 Rounds
10 Band Pulldowns (green)
10 DB Pullovers 45lbs

3 Rounds
10 GHD weighted hip extensions 10lbs
10 GHD hip extensions
10 GHD Situps

4 Rounds
10 DB Bicep Curls 20lbs
20 DB Crossover Bicep Curls 20lbs
10 DB Hammer Curls 20lbs

4x1min planks w/ 30sec recovery

--  I get asked all the time what I have in my garage gym.  Here is a quick tour which of course does not show everything in there.  There is also a hot tub and cold plunge outside on the back deck. 

1 PM:  7.6miles w/ 600ft of vert averaging 7:45pace.  Easy run from the house up to HWY 128 and back on the new road on the Simms hill. Stayed on the roads/sidewalks do to the ice from last night's storm and cut out the strides. No need to risk any falling at this point.

Wednesday:

6:30 AM:  58mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

DB Shoulder Press
12 @ 35lbs
10@ 40lbs
8@ 45lbs
6@ 50lbs
4@ 52.5lbs

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

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

4 Rounds
20 Single Leg V-Ups
20 Bicycles
20 Ball Russian Twist 10lbs
20 High Plank Knee to Elbow

3 Rounds
10/10 ATG Split Squats
10 Barbell Seated Good Mornings @ 50lbs

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

1 PM:  10 miles w/ 1100ft of vert averaging 7:30pace.  Workout Wednesday! Warmup followed by 5x4min hill tempos with a jog back to the start then steady state back home. Ran from the house to the base of the big hill on Simms next to the airport and did the repeats on that road. 4mins hard uphill is a long damn time! Used to do 3min hill tempos all the time but first time doing 4mins, that extra min is rough. Almost called it after 4 of them but stuck out the 5th one which was much slower at a higher heart rate.

--Meet with the renters for dinner this evening to discuss the lease and they want to renew it for 2 or 3 more years.  Not what I was expecting, I was thinking they wanted to move and I would be selling the house.  Now it is decision time, current lease expires end of March.

-- Finished book #28 of the year this evening.  Most likely the last book of the year.  Went over the goal of 24 on the year.  Of course if you are looking for something to read, every book I have read since 2010 is listed under the Books Read link at the top of the blog.

Thursday:  

6 AM:  45mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover and mobility

30min EMOM
40sec Rowing
40sec DB Burpee Deadlifts @ 35lbs
40sec Pushup w/ 2 Mountain Climbers
40sec Alt. DB Snatches @ 35lbs
40sec Butterfly Situps
--20sec rest after every movement--

3x10 Single Calf Raises 25lbs

11 AM: 7.5 miles averaging 7:45pace.  Easy jog around the hood in the open space again. Took Venus with me for the first 5 miles and dropped her off once she started falling a little behind me instead of being in front like normal. Of course she would keep going but don't want to run her into the ground, she is starting to become a senior dog at 7 years old now.

-- Spent the late afternoon at PT trying to figure out why when I ride my bike that my left knee starts to hurt and I am hobbled for a day or so.  We dry needled the shit out of my right quad to try and loosen it up.  That hurt, much worse than needling my Achillies, back or hips in the past.

Friday:

1 PM:  10.5miles w/ 1600ft of vert averaging 8:30pace.  Moderate trail miles around Spring Brook, Gashawk and into Eldo Springs State Park. Pushed some of the uphills but about half of it was ice and snow so only so much pushing you can do on those without falling on your face. Great afternoon out there!

Saturday: 

7 AM:  40mins lifting at VASA followed by 20mins in the sauna.  Went to VASA instead of the garage gym because I had some cable movements on the schedule.  I don't have a cable system in the garage anymore.

Warmup: Rowing and mobility

3 Rounds
10 pushups
10 Dips

Bench Press
3X10 @135lbs

3 Rounds
10 DB Chest Flys @ 25lbs
10 DB Narrow Chest Press @ 25lbs

Tricep Tri Set 3 Rounds
8 Left Single cable tricep extend
8 Left Single cable cross tricep extend
8 Left Single cable overhead tricep extend
8 Right Single cable tricep extend
8 Right Single cable cross tricep extend
8 Right Single cable overhead tricep extend

Straight Leg knee raises
3x10

10:30 AM: 4 miles averaging 8:45pace  Easy group run with the Death March Running Company crew around Louisville followed by a social gathering afterwards. Love this crew!

Sunday:  

8 AM: 12.25 miles w/ 1300ft of vert averaging 8:15pace.  Joined the Boulder Track Club again today starting at Foothills Community Park and running the North Sky trail out to Joder Trailhead and back. Added on another 2.5 miles at the end to get closer to a total of 1:45 worth of jogging. First time on that trail and really liked it! Would be the perfect rolling trail to do tempo effort on and I will be back for more on this one.  No photos from today's run.

3 PM: Walk 2.5 miles in 40mins with Venus.  Easy dog walk around the hood during halftime of the Broncos game.

-- Super proud of Don's 24 hour result at Desert Solstice the past 24 hours.  He covered 154.1 miles in 24 hours running around a damn track.  Mind blowing!!  This should get him on the USA 24 Hour team to compete in France in the fall of 2025.  Of course we will be tracking that result.  Added to my Ugly Feet page what his feet looked like after 154 miles.  Enjoy.  LOL.

Total Weekly Numbers

Solid week overall.  With the decision that I am not going to run Coldwater 100 in Jan down in Phoenix I cut back the long run on the weekend from 22 miles to just 1:45.  Going to keep this going for a bit and work on getting some more speed again until it is time in Jan/Feb to add the longer runs back in to get ready for Blackbeard 100 at the end of March in NC.  That really is not a goal race, just one for fun since we will be there anyway helping Paula's mom at the beach house for the month of March but still want to put a a decent effort there.  They allow pacers for the whole 100 miles which is really weird, if you want to come check out the Outerbanks and do some running hit me up.  Also time to start finding my so called training races to do in my build up to Western States before they start all filling up.

December 2nd- December 8th

"Life is like a trumpet. If you don't put anything into it, you don't get anything out." - WC Handy

Monday:   

6:30AM:  56mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

40 Pullups- broken up as needed

4 Rounds
10 Band Pulldowns (green)
10 DB Pullovers 40lbs

4x10 Barbell Rows @ 105lbs

3 Rounds
10 GHD weighted hip extensions 10lbs
10 GHD hip extensions
10 GHD Situps

4 Rounds
10 DB Bicep Curls 20lbs
20 DB Crossover Bicep Curls 20lbs
10 DB Hammer Curls 20lbs

4x1min planks w/ 30sec recovery

6 PM: Spin class for 11mins with Paula at Vasa.  Left knee was really bothering me so bailed so that I would not be limping around like I was on Saturday after riding.  Weird that riding bothers the shit out of it and it swells up but running is okay.  I would rather have that then the other way around.

Tuesday:  

6:30 AM:  52mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

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

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

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

4 Rounds
20 Single Leg V-Ups
20 Bicycles
20 Ball Russian Twist 10lbs
20 High Plank Knee to Elbow

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

2 PM:  8.1miles averaging 7:10pace.  From Home Depot in Louisville up to Davidson Mesa for 1.5 laps plus Harper and back. Did 6x30sec strides throughout the run, first 2-3 were clunky then they got faster and so did my easy pace. Need to do these more often.

Wednesday:

7 AM:  52 mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover and mobility

30min EMOM
40sec Single Unders
40sec Hanging Knee Raises
40sec Devil Presses 25lbs
30sec Russian KB Swings 55lbs
40sec Butterfly Situps
--rest to the top of the next min--

3x10 Single Calf Raises 25lbs

3X10 Tib Raises w/ 10lbs

2 PM:  WORKOUT WEDNESDAY!!  8.5miles averaging 6:55pace.  Done at the open space by the house. Workout was 15mins easy warmup then 5x4mins @ 10K pace (6min pace or quicker) with 2 min floats for recovery followed by 15 min steady state (7:20ish pace). Was dreading this workout like I always do but after the first interval things clicked into place. Felt pretty good overall but of course now as I am typing this I am wiped out. One more brick in the wall for next year.

Thursday:  

Took the day off work and drove all the way up to Eldora at 6am to do my first uphill ski of the season.  Of course when I got there I realized that I forgot my helmet.  I promised Paula that I would not ski without a helmet so I turned around and went home instead.  Sucks....

10 AM: 5 miles w/ 1300ft of vert in just under an hour.  Easy lap of Mount Sanitas heading up the ridge and down Lion's Lair. Did take the road back to the trailhead the last 1.5 miles due to Sunshine Canyon trail being a sheet of hard ice. The new Speedland GL:SVTs are quite the shoe!

2 PM: 3 miles averaging 7:50pace.  Easy dog jog around the hood and open space with Venus to get her out a bit.

4:30 PM: 1 hour at VASA.  Studio Red class at VASA with Paula. This is basically a 1 hour HITT class with many different movements. Might actually go to this more often if VASA does a deal for New Years.  Parked my ass in the massage chair for 20mins afterwards as well, need to use these chairs more.

Friday:

7 AM:  1 hour in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing and Mobility

DB Walking Lunges
4x40 @ 15lbs

Back Squats
12 @ 125lbs
10 @ 135lbs
8 @ 145lbs
6 @ 165lbs
4 @ 175lbs
2 @ 185lbs

Barbell RDL
12 @ 115lbs
10 @ 125lbs
8 @ 135lbs
6 @ 145lbs
4 @ 155lbs
2 @ 165lbs

3 Rounds
20 DB Box Step Overs @15lbs
20 Box Jumps

2 PM: 5.5 miles w/ 400ft of vert averaging 7:20pace.  Out and back from the Coalton Trailhead up the hill and back. Had plans to head over towards Superior as well up that hill too but work blew up while I was out here and had to bail back home.

Saturday: 

9 AM:  4.7 miles w/ 1000ft of vert averaging 10:30pace.  Easy lap of Anemone from Ebin B Fine park to make up for cutting yesterday short and to distract myself from all the lottery stuff going on this morning with Western States and Hardrock. Towards the end of the run my phone started blowing up. Considering that I had a 25% chance of getting back into Hardrock and only 3% to get into Western I just assumed I got back into Hardrock. NOPE! WE ARE WESTERN STATES BOUND!! WHOOOOO!!!  Also did get drawn in Hardrock as well at number 32 on the waitlist, to far down to make it in but did get drawn for the 4th year in a row.  LOL.  Photos below are from Daniel on the Speedland team that was at the Western States lottery draw in CA.  Thanks bud!!  Of course I am dropping out of the Tahoe 200, it is 2 weeks before Western States and that is not going to work.  I don't just want to finish Western States, I want to give it my best effort.  This will most likely be a one and done for me.

Sunday:  

7:30 AM: 13.5 miles w/ 700ft of vert averaging 6:55pace.  Joined the Boulder Track Club for the Sunday longer run out on the dirt roads by the Boulder Rez. You can imagine that motivation was high so stayed with the front group.  Starts out pretty mellow at 7:30ish but just keeps cranking up as we go along. The last half mile was under 6min pace. Of course I was wiped after this run but to be expected. Not only was I the oldest person there by at least 10 years but it has been a bit since I have done this with them. Thinking I will be including this more on my build up for Western States, thinking maybe every other week or so.  These runs helped me run 2:43 at Boston a few years ago, they should help a lot for Western as well.  Just have to be careful not to over do it.  No photos this morning, to much of a hammerfest for my fitness right now.

12:30 PM:  5 miles w/ 700ft of vert averaging 8:45pace.  Paula went to run with her friends from South Mesa trailhead so I tagged along and did my own thing heading up the road to Eldorado State Park. Was planning on doing 20 miles total today but with how fast this morning was I needed to split it up some and run the rest super chill on trails. Not quite 20 on the day but close enough.

Total Weekly Numbers

Solid week of quality runs.  Between Workout Wednesday and Sunday's long run I can feel it.  Have some work to do over the next 5 months in the build up for Western States.  I have not been this motivated since the first year I got into Hardrock.  Will share my goals for Western in a future post, still pondering them to see if they are doable or not. 

November Recap

 "The world cares very little what you or I know, but it does care a great deal about what you or I do." - Booker T. Washington

Not the best of months, between the recovery from Javelina and travel to Texas for Paula's family stuff it was a down month training wise and a bad month eating wise.  Actually scared to weigh myself if I am going to be honest.  Four more weeks to see if I can get the yearly total of miles covered by foot well over 2500 miles which should not be an issue, sitting at 2351.39 miles as of this morning.  Thinking should be shooting for over 2600 which would not be bad considering I barely ran most of the summer with my hip injury. 

Did get new glasses last night so it will be interesting to see if people I have not seen in a bit recognize me right away or not.  Totally different look for sure.

November 25th- December 1st

"The better part of one's life consists of his friendships." - Abraham Lincoln

Monday:   

7 AM:  42mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

35 Pullups- broken up as needed

3 Rounds
10 Band Pulldowns (green)
10 DB Pullovers 40lbs

3x10 Barbell Rows @ 95lbs

3 Rounds
10 GHD weighted hip extensions 10lbs
10 GHD hip extensions
10 GHD Situps

3 Rounds
10 DB Bicep Curls 20lbs
20 DB Crossover Bicep Curls 20lbs
10 DB Hammer Curls 20lbs

3x1min planks w/ 30sec recovery

2 PM: 3.5 miles w/ 400ft of vert averaging 8min pace.  Easy lap of Coyote Ridge Open Space in Rock Creek. Super chill since I have taken 2 days off. Just needed to get out and move to get some of this swelling out of my feet from the weekend of eating like shit.  Followed this up with 20 mins in the hot tub.

Tuesday:  

7 AM:  55mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

DB Shoulder Press
3x10 @ 35lbs

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

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

3 Rounds
20 Single Leg V-Ups
20 Bicycles
20 Ball Russian Twist 10lbs
20 High Plank Knee to Elbow

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

3 Rounds
10/10 Single Leg RDLs 25lbs
10 Jefferson Curls 45lbs

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

1 PM: 6.75miles w/ 400ft of vert averaging 7:10pace.  Costco loop plus extra around the park to get closer to 7 miles. Put in 6x30sec strides at around 5min pace in the middle of the run with about 3 min easy recoveries between them. Used the new GL:PDX shoes I got today. Love the feel but not sure if they will work with my achillies or not so more to come on that as I keep testing them.

Wednesday:

7 AM:  56mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover and mobility

30min EMOM
30sec Rowing
30sec DB Burpee Deadlifts @ 35lbs
30sec Pushup w/ 2 Mountain Climbers
30sec Alt. DB Snatches @ 35lbs
30sec Butterfly Situps
--30sec rest after every movement--

3x10 Single Calf Raises 25lbs

Single Suitcase Hold 2x1min each side @ 55lbs

1 PM:  8miles averaging 7:30pace.  Workout Wednesday!!  On the treadmill at Vasa due to snowy and icy out. Did not want to take a chance on slipping and getting injured again. Workout was 15min warmup then 5x3mins at Tempo pace w/ 2min easy recovery, then jog out the hour. The intervals were around 6:15ish pace so not super hard but hard enough for the first real workout in a while.

-- directly into the sauna at Vasa for 20mins after running.

Thursday:  

8 AM:  8.2 miles total between warmup and racing.  2 mile warmup at 7:20pace then Broomfield Turkey Trot 10K in 37:38. Went out much harder than I was expecting too but guess that is due to the 5K starting at the same time. First lap was around 18:30ish for the 5K then tried to hang on to the pace as much as I could but was hard with lapping hundreds of people and having to weave through people for the last 2.5 miles. Actually thought I was leading the 10K but it was hard to tell with all the people (2600 total which half of them I lapped) in the second lap, actually ended up second overall. First was 11 seconds in front of me, if I would have known I would have pushed a little harder the last mile on the road but thought I had it in the bag. Bunch of sneaky youngsters, yes first and third were both in their 20s. Live and learn.

Friday:

9 AM:  8.6 miles w/ 1500ft of vert averaging 10min miles.  Easy run with DTR at Centennial Cone. Only Adam and I showed up so super chill. Was expecting it to be icy but the trail was 90% clear and the rest was snow packed with no ice. Was a great morning out there today! 

2 PM: 50mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing and Mobility-- still lighter but little increase in weight and reps

DB Walking Lunges
3x40 @ 15lbs

Back Squats
12 @ 115lbs
10 @ 135lbs
8 @ 145lbs
6 @ 155lbs
4 @ 165lbs

Barbell RDL
12 @ 95lbs
10 @ 115lbs
8 @ 125lbs
6 @ 135lbs
4 @ 155lbs

3 Rounds
20 DB Box Step Overs @15lbs
20 Box Jumps

3 Rounds
10/10 single leg calf raises @ 25lbs

3 Round
12/12 Tib Raises @ 10lbs

Saturday: 

6 AM:  57mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover and mobility

4 Rounds
10 DB Incline Chest Press 45lbs
10 Dips

4 Rounds
12 DB Flys 25lbs
12 Hand Release Pushups

4 Rounds
10 EZ Bar Narrow Chest Press 77lbs
10 EZ Bar Skull Crusher 57lbs

3 Rounds
10/10 ATG Split Squat
10 DB Seated Good Mornings 40lbs

3 Rounds
10 Single Leg RDL @ 25lbs
10 Jefferson Curls @ 45lbs

10 AM: Biked 31 miles w/ 1500ft of vert in 2:10.  Joining the group ride from the Trek store in Broomfield with Paula. Super chill group. Basically rode out to I-25 then over to Erie and back. Nice loop but no dirt, only Paula and I were on gravel bikes, everyone else was on skinny tire road bikes.

-- Head over to Rails End Brewery to catch GZ with his new band Pinebox Sleepers.  Had a blast!  Good show buddy!

Sunday:  

9 AM: 16.9 miles averaging 7:50pace.  Easy flat long run doing 5 laps of Davidson Mesa and one lap of Harper Lake. Donnie showed up and joined me on my last lap. Could really feel it after mile 14. Been a while since I have gone that fair. Time to get back to it.

Total Weekly Numbers

Not a bad week after somewhat of a down week last week with the travel.  Finally got in a decent long run for a change and lot of quality this week between the 5x3mins and the 10K.  Actually pretty sore this Monday morning as I am typing this.  Will be somewhat of a recovery day today.  Not quite sure what is next, thinking I may sprinkle in some more 5Ks and/or 10Ks over the next month or so.  I think people who do ultras need to do more faster running and I actually enjoy it as well.

November 18th- November 24th

"Grief is the price we pay for love" - Queen Elizabeth II

Monday:   

7 AM:  45mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

30 Pullups- broken up as needed

3 Rounds
10 Band Pulldowns (green)
10 DB Pullovers 40lbs

3x10 Ring Rows

3 Rounds
10 GHD weighted hip extensions
10 GHD hip extensions
10 GHD Situps

3 Rounds
10 DB Bicep Curls 20lbs
20 DB Crossover Bicep Curls 20lbs
10 DB Hammer Curls 20lbs

3x1min planks w/ 30sec recovery

1:30 PM:  3.2 miles averaging 7:55pace.  Easy dog jog around the hood with Venus. Super chill...  Just laps of the open space next to the house.  Nothing special.

6 PM: Spin Class for an hour, 16.6 miles.  Spin class with Paula at Vasa, miles are from the display on the bike.  Most likely more line 14 in real life but whatever, all I can go by.

Tuesday:  

7 AM:  50 mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, and mobility

DB Shoulder Press
3x10 @ 35lbs

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

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

3 Rounds
20 Single Leg V-Ups
20 Bicycles
20 Ball Russian Twist 10lbs
20 High Plank Knee to Elbow

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

3 Rounds
10/10 Single Leg RDLs 25lbs
10 Jefferson Curls 44lbs

1:30 PM:  7.7 miles averaging 7:25pace.  Easy Run w/ 6x30 sec Strides-- Laps of the open space by the house. Each lap is .62 miles so I would do my 30secs fast then jog out the lap for each one. Worked great doing it that way, could draw a line in the dirt after the first one and run to line each time and not have to look at the watch. Last few strides were under 5min pace.

-- 20mins in the hot tub right after the run

Wednesday:

7 AM:  50 mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing and mobility

30min EMOM
30sec Single Unders
30sec Hanging Knee Raises
30sec Devil Presses 25lbs
30sec Russian KB Swings 55lbs
30sec Butterfly Situps
--30sec rest after every movement--

3x10 Single Calf Raises 25lbs

Single Suitcase Hold 2x1min each side @ 55lbs

2:30 PM:  8 miles w/ 600ft of vert averaging 7:25pace.  Easy jog from the Coalton Trailhead straight west up the hill on the Dirty Biz trails. Did try to keep the HR under 140 at all times with an average of 130 which is about perfect. Feel like things are starting to click again after Javelina, just hope I am not speaking too soon.

Thursday:  

7 AM:  55mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing and Mobility-- still lighter but little increase in weight and reps

DB Walking Lunges
3x40 @ 15lbs

Back Squats
3x10 @115lbs
1x10 @120lbs

Barbell RDL
4x10 @105lbs

3 Rounds
20 DB Box Step Overs @15lbs
20 Box Jumps

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

4 Rounds
15 GHD Situps to parallel
15 GHD Hip Extensions

-- Guess this is not happening next year.  Might find another Gravel race instead.  Was hoping to do both a 200 gravel race in May and a long ultra in June but will need to come up with another plan.

3:30 PM:  6.9 miles averaging 7:45pace.  Easy run in the open space by the house. Did not have time to go anywhere so out the door after my last meeting of the day. Hate running this late, belly is usually not happy so had to make a pit stop mid run which is annoying. Either way got it done.

Had some conversations with a buddy helping with my training this afternoon, Workout Wednesdays will be making a return next week. Been a few years due to all the injuries since I have been doing these. Actually really pumped about it. 

Friday:

5:30 AM:  45mins in the garage gym

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover, mobility.

3 Rounds
10 DB Incline Chest Press 40lbs
10 Dips

3 Rounds
10 DB Flys 25lbs
10 Hand Release Pushups

3 Rounds
10 EZ Bar Narrow Chest Press 77lbs
10 EZ Bar Skull Crusher 57lbs

3 Rounds
10/10 ATG Split Squat
10 DB Seated Good Mornings 35lbs

3x30 Plate Steering Wheel

3x10 Jefferson Curls 45lbs

7 AM: 30mins of follow along yoga on the phone.

-- Heading to Houston this morning for the weekend to Paula's family's house for the celebration of life for her father that passed away last month.  Going to be a rough weekend for everyone.

3 PM:  7.7 miles averaging 7:45pace.  Easy cruise in Sugar Land Texas on the bike path by Paula dad’s house. 75 degrees and sunny, perfect weather. Junk legs due to travel but well worth it to get out and yes I felt the heat somewhat.

Saturday and Sunday: 

Saturday was Paula dad's celebration of life.  Needless to say I did not get out to jog at all on Saturday or Sunday due to supporting her and her step mom anyway I could.  Helped to set up at the golf club for the event on Saturday and that took until about dinner time.  On Sunday was doing small chores around the house for her step mom who is 85 years young.  Needless to say it was a busy weekend and of course I ate like shit all weekend.  By the time I got home late Sunday night my lower legs and feet were really swollen from all the sugar and no activities.  Guessing I have eaten about 20 cookies plus other sugar treats over the past 48 hours.  Sigh.... 

Paula and her brother

Family card night after the celebration of life.

Total Weekly Numbers

Week started good then fell way off with the trip over the weekend.  This week's only focus is to get back on track both food and activity wise.  Need to get rid of all this inflammation I have going on in my lower legs and feet.  It is to the point that my shoes are really tight.  It is nuts.

November 11th- November 17th

 "Don't forget to tell these special people in your life just how special they are to you." - Bob Ross

Monday:   

3 PM:  3.1 miles averaging 8:40pace on a treadmill.  Easy shakeout jog on the treadmill at the hotel before lifting just to shake out the rust from the 4 hour flight. Feel like shit today.. hate work travel.

3:30 PM: 35mins lifting in the hotel gym. All upper body lifting with dumbbells in the hotel gym. Some benching, shoulder presses, arms, little core. Just doing what came to mind to get in my 35mins of lifting that I wanted today.

Tuesday:  

Nothing today.... To busy with work and travel to get something in. Time changed fucked me up. Getting up at 5am my time is 7am here and needed to get ready to go to a supplier by 8am. Hate traveling east, makes time management hard the first day or two. Thank goodness I am only here today, fly home tonight.

Wednesday:

Got home about 11pm last night from DIA and up at 5am for work calls.  Super tired today and kept pushing off my workouts and actually stuck in meetings most of the day until 3pm anyways.

3 PM:  7.3 miles averaging 7:40pace.  Easy 2 laps of Davidson Mesa and one lap of Harper. Had appts in Louisville so hit up Davidson afterwards. Felt much harder than the HR was saying today. Guessing that is due to lack of sleep, travel and eating like shit. Need to get my shit together again, I hate work travel, always messes me up and I don't deal with it well.  Missed lifting today.

--20 mins in the hot tub this evening.  Gotta get back on the heat training 2-3 times a week.

Thursday:  

7 AM:  1 hour at the gym.  Leg day over at Vasa. Can do more stuff at Vasa (gym like 24hours) than I can do in the garage gym so planning on hitting that once a week for leg day over there through winter. Bunch of hack squats, leg machine stuff, ect... things I can't do at home. Could feel it in the knees more than anything, need to get them stronger again.

1 PM: 7.25 miles averaging 7:40 pace.  Easy run from the house combining some of the crush gravel trails and roads. Did get in about half of the hill on the new open Simms as well into the run. Will be using that more often this winter I think.

Friday:

7 AM:  36mins in the garage gym.

Warmup: Rowing and mobility-- lighter today since somewhat sore from lifting lower body yesterday as well.

DB Walking Lunges
3x30 @ 15lbs each hand

Back Squats
3x10 @ 95, 105, 115

Barbell RDLs
3x10 @ 95lbs

3 Rounds
20 DB Box Step Overs @ 15lbs each hand
10 Box Jump
30sec rest

2:30 PM:  7.25 miles averaging 7:35pace.  Easy 2 loops of Davidson Mesa and one of Harper again. Kind of my go to when I am trying to build back I guess. Probably will be a lot of miles there leading into Blackbeard in 18 weeks, that race is completely flat with less than 500ft of vert over the whole 100 miles.

Saturday: 

7:30 AM:  50mins in the garage gym.

Warmup: Rowing, Crossover and mobility

3 Rounds
10 DB Incline Chest Press 35lbs
10 Dips

3 Rounds
10 DB Flys 25lbs
10 Hand Release Pushups

3 Rounds
10 EZ Bar Narrow Chest Press 77lbs
10 EZ Bar Skull Crusher 57lbs

3 Rounds
10/10 ATG Split Squat
10 DB Seated Good Mornings 35lbs

4 Rounds
15 GHD Situps
15 GHD Hip Extensions

Noon: 6.75 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 7:35pace.  Easy loop from Kings around Sterns and Link Lake. Decided to stay a little closer to home but still wanted some hills. Super chill but still an okay pace, felt like I was going much slower, legs were shit today.

Sunday:  

Happy Birthday to me... only 1 year left in my 40s, HOLY HELL!!!  Honestly I have thinking about the past and all things that have happened to me over the past 30 years I never thought I would make it to this point.  In my 20s I always thought I would be lucky to make it to my 40s.  Not trying to be dramatic or anything, just the truth on how I used to think.  There has been so many close calls through out the years and blessed to be able to be sitting here typing this right now.  That is all I am going to say on that topic for I could ramble on and on. 

8 AM: 5.2 miles w/ 1400ft of vert in an hour.  Solo easy lap of Sanitas this morning for my birthday. Super chill and of course Sunshine Canyon part (last 1 mile) was death ice so slow going. Felt like shit with body aches, ect so I pulled the plug on doing a second lap like planned. No need to drive myself into the ground quite yet.

Spent the afternoon over at Rails End watching a Broncos win and visiting with friends.  Thank you all for coming out to spend time with me on my birthday.  Meant a lot... Love you all.  Photo taken by GZ's new glasses.

Total Weekly Numbers

Pretty much a shit week again with a little bit more volume.  Work travel really did a number on me this week with crap sleep for 2 days straight.  Funny how much more sleep means as you get older.  18 weeks to my next 100 unless I decide to jump into Coldwater in January which is still possible.  Will make that choice after the lotteries in a few weeks for Western and Hardrock.  2025 should be taking shape soon.

November 4th- November 10th

 "You can't make a good decision unless you have good information and can separate facts from opinion and speculation." - Colin Powell

Monday:   

9 AM:  Hour in the garage gym.

Easy 5K on the rower in 21mins as a warmup

Then a combo of leg movements today with the focus on box and goblet squats.  Hit all the major muscles in the legs and lower back.  Followed this up with 25mins in the sauna.  Back to heat training 3-4 times a week.

Another surprise in the mail...

Howie's photos from Javelina last week finally got put up online.  Found 4 of them, grab 2 of them that I liked the most.  It was a beautiful run even if it was in the middle of Hell during the day.

Tuesday:  

7 AM:  5.5 miles w/ 450ft of vert averaging 7:45pace.  Easy cruise from the Coalton Trailhead straight west up the hill to the gate and back. Super chill effort this morning and felt really good. Think we are good to go. Bunch of shorter runs this week getting back to normal training next week.

2 PM:  1 hour in the garage gym

Warmup: 500 Skierg and mobility

Bench Press
10 @ 135lbs
10 @ 155lbs
4 @ 175lbs
1 @ 185lbs
1 @ 190lbs
3 @ 175lbs
7 @ 155lbs
8 @ 135lbs

Dumbell Flys: 4x10 @ 25lbs

Dumbell Skull Crushers: 4x10 @ 25lbs

2 sets
10/10 ATG Split Squats
10 DB Seated Good Mornings @ 35lbs

3 sets
50m Suitcase Farmers Carry @ 53lbs
20 Russian Twist

Planks 2x1min 

 Row 7x400m w/ 1 min recoveries for 2800m total

Wednesday:

7 AM:  50mins in the garage gym.

Rowing 3576 meters

15 mins with the following breakdown every min:
50sec moderate
10sec hard

Warmup: the row workout and mobility

5 Rounds
5 pullups
10 pushups

Barbell bent over rows
4x10 @ 95lbs

Dumbell pullovers
4x10 @ 40lbs

EZ-Bar bicep curls
4x10 @ 42lbs

2 sets
10/10 ATG Split Squats
10 DB Seated Good Mornings @ 35lbs

4 sets
15 GHD Situps to parallel
15 GHD Hip Extensions

3 PM:  5.1 miles averaging 8min pace.  Easy run with Venus in the open space by the house. Super chill due to ice and snow. She had a blast, been a bit since she has run with me. Cool weather means she had no issues.  

-- Directly into the hot tub after the run to keep up some sort of heat training.

Thursday:  

  -NOTE:  Weight check in:  Nope, will try to get back on this next week.  Actually a little scared to know, been eating like an asshole.

7 AM:  Rowing about 20mins for 3500m

4 Rounds Tabata rowed as:

1- 20 SPM
2- 24 SPM
3- 28 SPM
4- 30 SPM

7:30 AM: 35 mins lifting in the garage.

Warmup:
3 Rounds
10 airsquats
10 walking lunges
4 square drill
stretch

3 Rounds
5x Front Squats (115,120,125)
stretch

3 rounds
10 weighted situps - 25lbs
10x kneeling slashers - 25lbs
30s Plank
10x back extensions

3 sets of calf raises w/ 25lbs

2 Rounds
10/10 ATG Split Squats
10 Seated Good Mornings - 35lbs

11 AM:  5.2 miles averaging 7:40pace.  Easy cruise around the hood on all roads. Did not feel like messing with ankle plus deep snow today so stuck the the bike lanes around the hood. Snow was not sticking on the roads.

-- Took off for the weekend around 2pm.  Heading to Fruita so Paula can run a 60k with her friends celebrating Rey turning 60.  Should be a fun weekend!

Friday:

10 AM:  5.1 miles averaging 7:40pace.  Easy out and back from the Airbnb in Fruita on the farmland roads outside of town. Super chill and flat but pretty in its own way. Legs are trashed today and right foot hurts in the middle of the foot. Foot has been bothering me for a few days so might skip tomorrows race.

Saturday: 

9 AM:  10.3 miles w/ 1200ft of vert averaging 7:02 pace.  Kessel Run 10 Miler- 1st overall.

Well was not planning on that. Signed up for something to do while Paula was out doing her 40 miler with the plan to make it a tempo run. No one jumped on the starting line with me and lead it from start to the finish. 2nd place was almost 10 mins behind me by the finish. Did not go all out but did go a little harder than I should have.  Did not want to give up 1st once I was there and could not tell how far behind second place was.  Great course and I would do this course again in a heart beat.

Sunday:  

 Spent half the day driving home from Fruita and we got lucky with good roads.  I-70 has been getting shut down on and off all weekend due to the amount of snow and wrecks.  By the time we got home I did not feel like doing anything and my foot was bothering me so took the day off.

Total Weekly Numbers

Still a down week trying to recover and of course racing Saturday did not help that.  Overall feeling pretty good with the exception of a spot in the middle of my foot.  Started last Wednesday, basically why I took Sunday off.  I don't need a stress fracture right now so backing off.  Off to FL for work on Monday and Tuesday.  Sucks..  No personal time on this trip, fly there most of the day Monday, meetings all day Tuesday and fly home Tuesday night.