September 2nd- September 8th

"Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better!" - Ingrid Bergman

Monday:   

Noon:  Biked 20 miles w/ 1000ft of vert in 1:30.  Easy gravel ride with Paula from the house over to STEM Cider for a drink and a snack then back the same way. Just super chill enjoying the afternoon on our bikes since we did not have to work today. Today was sort of a date day, went out to breakfast, gravel ride, movies, it was a good day that we needed.

Tuesday:  

7 AM:  9.5 miles w/ 1000ft of vert averaging 8:30pace. Easy cruise from the Flatiron Vista trailhead. Mostly easy anyways with a little bit of a pick up in effort for 10-15mins or so in the middle of the run as I as doing the uphill part of Springbrook loop. So good to feel like I am working my way back. Calf still tight this morning but much better than it has been the past few days.

1:30 PM: 37mins lifting in the garage. Upper body focused.

Warmup: Airbike and shoulder mobility

Shoulder Press
Sets
10 Shoulder Press | 95 lbs
10 Shoulder Press | 95 lbs
10 Shoulder Press | 95 lbs
5 Shoulder Press | 100 lbs

Single Arm Dumbbell Row :
Sets
10 Single Arm Dumbbell Rows | 52.5 lbs
10 Single Arm Dumbbell Rows | 52.5 lbs
10 Single Arm Dumbbell Rows | 52.5 lbs
10 Single Arm Dumbbell Rows | 52.5 lbs

Dumbbell Pull Over
Sets
10 Dumbbell Pull Overs | 45 lbs
10 Dumbbell Pull Overs | 45 lbs
10 Dumbbell Pull Overs | 45 lbs
10 Dumbbell Pull Overs | 45 lbs

Ab Wheels :
Ab Wheel | 15 reps
Ab Wheel | 15 reps
Ab Wheel | 15 reps

Single leg calf raises
2x10reps

Plank
2x1min

--  Restarted 75 Hard today as well.  Not sure I will make it all the way through it but hopefully will last until at least Javelina.  I did make a couple of exceptions on it though based on past experiences.  Will be eating mostly Whole 30 again with the exception of allowing dairy like heavy cream, cheese, ect... Also will not be strict at all during long runs or bike rides over 1:30.  This will allow myself to make sure I am getting what I need during those longer efforts which should allow recovery to be better than last time I did this.  Last time I was wasted for a day or two after every long effort due to lack of calories during.  Should be fun...

Wednesday:

6:45 AM:  8.5 miles w/ 600ft of vert averaging 8min pace. Easy out and back on the Dirty Biz loop heading west from the Coalton Trailhead. First mile or two were a little slow and rough as I warmed up then flowed really well after that. Ended feeling better than when I started.

10 AM:  35 mins in the garage gym.

Warmup: Airbike and mobility

Box Squat
Sets
10 Box Squats | 100 lbs
10 Box Squats | 115 lbs
10 Box Squats | 120 lbs
10 Box Squats | 125 lbs

Elevated Goblet Squat :
Sets
10 Elevated Goblet Squats | 25 lbs
10 Elevated Goblet Squats | 25 lbs
10 Elevated Goblet Squats | 25 lbs
10 Elevated Goblet Squats | 35 lbs

3 RFT:
3 rounds of:
15 GHD Sit-ups
15 GHD Hip Extensions

3 RFT:
3 rounds of:
10 Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts
10 Jefferson Curls

-- Followed this up with 20mins in the sauna.

5 PM:  6.4 miles averaging 8:20pace.  Easy second jog of the day starting at Costco and doing a lap of Davidson Mesa/Harper Lake. Super chill for the legs were HEAVY after this morning's run and lifting.  Followed this with a cold plunge when I got home.

Thursday:  

  -NOTE:  Weight check in:  173.2lbs w/ 9.2% bodyfat.. Pretty much a wash from last week.  

6:30 AM:  1.3 mile dog walk.  Paula is gone the rest of the week dog sitting out east of Brighton, so way out in BFE....  So it fell on me to do through the weekend.

3:30 PM: Biked 22 miles w/ 1100ft of vert in 1:31.  Easy ride from the house around the normal hood loop with a few modifications here and there. Was annoyed it took me until late afternoon to get out due to work but it ended up being the best part of the day weather wise since it was raining on and off all morning.

Friday:

7 AM:  9.6 miles w/ 1000ft of vert averaging 8:30pace.  Easy trail run with 6x20sec strides w/ 2-3min recoveries in the middle of the run. Ran most of the strides uphill with a few on the flatter sections. No issues at all with the calf! It still gets a little sore later in the day, feels like I got it dry needled, but don't feel it during the run like I was.

10 AM: Walked 2.5 miles with Venus.  Easy dog walk around the hood. Need to do these walks more often after runs, feel much looser this afternoon.

-- Came across this gem on Facebook in a Cyclocross group.  It is from last week's race in Golden.  Need more cyclocross racing for sure this year, just hard to do with trying to train for a 100 run as well.  Yes, I have become that guy who tries not to wear a cycling kit, I will keep wearing my Rabbit button down shirts, plus it was 1980s theme to the race.  What says 80s more than a shirt that could be on Miami Vice? Of course no one else figured that out... sigh....

3 PM:  38mins In the garage gym

Warmup: Airbike and mobility.

Bench Press :
Sets
5 Bench Press | 165 lbs
5 Bench Press | 165 lbs
5 Bench Press | 165 lbs
5 Bench Press | 165 lbs
5 Bench Press | 165 lbs

3 RF-ME:
3 rounds of:
10 Dumbbell Tricep Extensions | 40 lbs
max rep Deficit Push-ups | 16, 15, and 16

Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curl
Sets
10 Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curls | 30 lbs
10 Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curls | 30 lbs
10 Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curls | 30 lbs

L Sit : 6x 20 secs
Sets
L Sit, 20 secs
L Sit, 20 secs
L Sit, 20 secs
L Sit, 20 secs
L Sit, 20 secs
L Sit, 20 secs

-- followed this up with 20mins in the sauna and a 6min cold plunge

Saturday: 

7:30 AM:  14.2 miles w/ 1000ft of vert averaging 8:45pace.  Easy run from the Flatiron Vista trailhead over around the Dirty Bizmark Loop. The plan was to do the loop then head over to Springbrook after refilling the bottle for another 8-10 miles. When I got back to the van at mile 14 I was wasted. Barely running (with some walking) and my other calf that has no issue was cramping hard. Pulled the plug and focused on getting in fluids instead, it was really hot out already this morning at 85 degrees. Took over 3 hours and 5 bottles of liquid before I was able to pee again. Guess one bottle of water during that loop was not enough. Live an learn.  

Went home and took Venus for a walk to get a few more miles.

2 PM:  Biked 20 miles w/ 1100ft of vert in 1:23. Easy afternoon gravel ride around the hood. Feel much better this afternoon than I did this morning. Not sure what the hell happened on the run this morning.  Pretty sure I did not drink enough, rookie mistake.  I thought I would handle the heat better with all the sauna training I have been doing lately.

Sunday:  

7:30 AM:  12 miles w/ 600ft of vert averaging 7:45pace. Decided to join the Boulder Track Club for their Sunday long run which is open to everyone, even non-members. It has been a few years since I have come to this, I used to all the time when I was training for Boston back in 2016. The main group was doing 14 miles but they were a little quick for me so hung back with 2 other dudes who were doing 12. Slow start but then fell into the 7:30-8min pace after the first mile which was perfect for me right now. The main group averaged sub 7 min pace, good to see things have not changed in the last 8 years, hammer-fest up front. Going to keep going to these and work my way back up to the main group and of course I was the oldest one there by 10 years. That was new to me.

Total Weekly Numbers

Very solid week even though I missed a bunch of miles on my Saturday long run.  Also still holding on strong on the 75Hard challenge as well and feeling pretty good too.  Heading up to Steamboat Tuesday through Sunday to crew Don at RRR100 so lifting will be less this week but hopefully the running miles will keep increasing.  Feel like I might be finally hitting my stride a little bit.

August Recap

 Getting back to somewhat normal monthly volumes across all activities.  Of course 20 plus hours of this was helping Jeff Browning on the Colorado Trail which was a blast.  Here to a good September to get ready for Javelina 100!

August 26th- September 1st

"Years ago, I tried to top everybody, but I don't anymore.  I realized it was killing conversation.  When you're always trying for a topper you aren't really listening." - Groucho Marx

Monday:   

-- Few postcards in the mail when I got my mail from last week.  Looks like someone is out on an awesome van trip last week.

2 PM:  3.5 miles averaging 8:30pace. Easy afternoon dog jog from the house. Just some loops in the open space and little through the hood.

2:30 PM: 35mins in the garage gym, upper body and little core.

4-5 sets of
Bench Press
Dumbbell Rows
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Bicep curls
Skull crushers
Planks

-- followed this up with 20mins in the sauna.

Tuesday:  

7 AM:  7.25 miles w/ 600ft of vert averaging 7:50pace.  Easy out and back up heading west from the Coalton Trailhead. Super chill on the way out and tested the calf a little bit on the way back increasing the speed a little bit. Ran more like a progression run with the last mile being around 6:40pace. Could feel the calf and a little sore there afterwards but survived. Testing it because I am worried about the paces this weekend at the burro race.

Wednesday:

7 AM:  7.25miles averaging 7:40pace.  Easy 2 laps of Davidson Mesa and 1 lap of Harper Lake. Solid run overall. Calf is still sore from yesterday but no sharp pains today. Also starting to get back to what my normal easy pace used to be, figures crossed I keep progressing in this direction.

10 AM:  40 mins lifting in the garage.  Easy lifting on the legs and core.

Bunch of sets of:
Back Squats
Bulgarian Split Squats
Sled Push
Jefferson Curl on Slant Board
Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

-- followed this up with 20mins in the sauna and 4min cold plunge

4 PM:  Biked 7.5 miles HARD..... Cyclocross race in Golden. First 1.4 miles was the warmup then game on. Been a bit since I have done this (over 5-6 years) but man did I have fun. Had to start in the way back due to not having any USA Cycling points anymore but worked my way up a little bit finishing mid pack. Going to take the whole season to work my way back up front. Do need to work on my handling skills as well, made a few mistakes that cost me a few positions but that will come with time.  Hit a max HR of 202 and an average of 160.  The average HR would have been much higher if the warmup was not in the file, I was never under 170 during the 30min race.

Thursday:  

  -NOTE:  Weight check in:  172.2lbs w/ 8.6% bodyfat.  Lost 4.6 pounds last week on the Colorado Trail helping Jeff.  That was surprising.   It was probably more than that since I have been home the past 3 days stuffing my face.  Makes me wonder how much he lost doing the whole thing.

10 AM:  1 hour at Crossfit

Warmup: Rowing, mobility and drills.

AMRAP 20 mins: 10 rounds + 2 Toes-to-bars
20:00 AMRAP:
8 Toes-to-bars
4 Deadlifts, 70% 1RM | 245 lbs
Dumbbell Farmers Carry, 50 lbs, 200 ft

-then-

3 RFQ:
3 rounds of:
10 Weighted GHD Hip Extensions | 26 lbs
12 Tib Raises | 18 lbs
12 Calf Raises | 26 lbs

3 PM:  Biked 20.5 miles w/ 1100ft of vert in 1:26. Easy cruise from the house around the normal loop through the hood. Legs were a little dead today, guessing that is from all the work I did yesterday between running, squatting, and mostly the cyclocross race last night. Good ride today.

Friday:

9 AM:   7.6 miles averaging 7:45pace.  Easy spin around the hood. First 3 miles were with the Venus (dog) then dropped her off to finish out the hour. Felt really good today!  

-- Heading out just after lunch to start making my way down to South Fork, CO for the burro race tomorrow.  Not sure how far I will make it tonight but at least will take off 3 of the 4 hours of driving.

Saturday: 

10 AM:  11 miles w/ 1100ft of vert averaging 9min miles.  South Fork Burro Race... This was one for the books. Had to really work to win this one with Yukon. Both donks did not run like their normal selves so Bob and I had to work extra hard to keep them up towards the front. We really did not have it in the bag until Harrison who was in front of us after the turn around took a wrong turn that cost him 10 seconds which was just enough to get Yukon and Sugar Ray in front of him, this happened with less than a mile to go and that was all it took for us to grab first and second place. What a stressful race...

Sunday:  

8 AM: 14 miles w/ 2700ft of vert averaging 12min pace.  Easy run with Darian, Don, and Donnie at Stauton State Park. We did a really nice long loop which I really enjoyed. The calf was on fire today from yesterday but ignored it for the most part. Glad I did because it felt better after the run than it did before the run.  Great to catchup with the boys, been way to long since we have run together.

Total Weekly Numbers

Solid week overall.  Running is coming back over the past few weeks and will keep building that back up.  Also first cyclocross race in over 5 years which rocked me in a good way.  Can't wait to do it again this next Wednesday.  The build for Javelina is on, hopefully I can hold it together the next 7-8 weeks.

Side note-- Hit 40 nights in the van since March this weekend which was the goal for the whole year.  So yes, I use our van a lot.

August 19th- August 25th

"When you're climbing Mount Everest, nothing is easy.  You just take one step at a time, never look back and always keep your eyes glued to the top." - Jacqueline Susann, from "Valley of the Dolls"

Monday:   

7 AM:  7 miles averaging 8:20pace.  Easy two laps of Davidson Mesa and a half lap of Harper. Tried to keep it chill since the legs are so damn sore from Saturday on Mount Werner. Did feel the calf again today which bugged the shit out of me, just slowed it down when I did.  Half mile cooldown walk afterwards.

9:30 AM:  35mins lifting in the garage doing only upper body movement and some core due to how sore my legs are this morning.  Followed this up with 20mins in the sauna and 6mins in the cold plunge.  Always feel better after a cold plunge.

--  Took off to drive most of the way to where I am to meet Jeff Browning tomorrow to help pace him on the Colorado Trail over the course of the week.  Heading towards where the trail crosses over HWY 114 about an hour southwest of Salida.  Made to just outside of Salida about an hour away this evening.  Plan is to work some from a coffee shop tomorrow then head the last hour down to the meeting point.  Someone was not happy that I am leaving without her.

Tuesday:  

5 PM:  20.5 miles w/ 5000ft of vert in 6:10.  Pacing Jeff Browning on Section 17 of the Colorado Trail. This is from Hwy 114 to Sergent. Had a few issues with being sleeping and had to take a 7 min dirt nap about halfway through this section but overall was moving really well considering this was miles 180 to 200 for him. I got worked a little bit due to the 6 liters of water I had on my back, that was a lot of weight but had no choice due to there being no streams on this section to filter from. Got to sleep about 1am and woke up in the middle of nowhere as you can see in the last photo below, this was at about 11,600ft....

Wednesday:

Rest day:  Rest day today as Jeff keeps moving along.  Slept late today since I did not get to bed until after 1am.  Next pacing duty should be over Hope Pass tomorrow morning.  Spent the morning driving to BV and the afternoon working in the coffee shop.  Don joined me before heading up for his section tonight from Cottonwood to Sheep Gulch. 

Thursday:  

  -NOTE:  Weight check in:  Nope out in the van all week with no scale.

-  Jeff hit the struggle bus in the last 12 hours so took a long break to sleep on top of Cottonwood Pass for over 6 hours this morning.  He is super swollen and having a lot of pain in his joints and stomach from it.  Thought is maybe a longer sleep will help clear it up a little bit.  FKT is out now unless he can get back to the speed he was at the first day but now I think we are to the point of how far can he go without compromising his health.  Here are some photos of sunset last night and the swelling we are dealing with.

5 PM:  12.2 miles w/ 2000ft of vert in 4 hours.  Switched my section with John who took Hope Pass so he could catch a plane tomorrow.  Paced Jeff from Twin Lakes to Mount Massive trailhead. On the struggle bus big time this evening. The swelling is still there but manageable because Jurek showed up with this air boots which seemed to push a bunch of fluids out allowing Jeff to start bending his knees again. Slow but we got there. He took a long sleep at Massive trailhead as did I since it was 1am when we got here.

Friday:

6 PM:   17.75 miles w/ 3600ft of vert in 6 hours. Pacing Jeff from Camp Hale to Copper Mountain. Nice steep one up and over the ridge between Leadville area and Copper. I have never been on this section and man was it neat. I need to go back and see the second half  on the Copper side of it during the day. We were just below the top on the Leadville side when it got dark. Scared a bunch of elk and a porcupine up around 12,000ft on the ridge. He was moving much better this evening verses last night.  We jogged most of the downhill.  The boots were a game changer..

Saturday: 

3 PM:   12.5 miles w/ 1300ft of vert in 3:25. Pacing Jeff from Georgia Pass to Kenosha Pass. This is a new section for me as well, the first half of it anyways, the second half of it I do often when I drive back from Fairplay as an out and back. Moving really well through this section. Every time we use the boots, the first half of that section he is moving then as the swelling sets back in he slows. We did have to avoid a moose on this section, that woke us both up! Once we got to Kenosha Pass he took a 2 hour nap in my van.

9 PM: 14.5 miles w/ 2400ft of vert in 4 hours.   Pacing Jeff from Kenosha Pass to Long Gulch trailhead. After a 2 hour nap in my van and a session in the leg boots we took off for what would by my last section with Jeff. This was also a new trail for me for I always head west when I run at Kenosha, never east. That is going to change. Even though it was dark the whole time it was a beautiful trail, need to see this in the daylight as well. Few of the miles were even through the Lost Creek Wilderness. Long Gulch aid was basically on the side of the trail, the crew had to hike everything in including the boots at 1am. This crew was something else.  

Sunday:  

- After passing out at 3am and getting up at 7am I spent the rest of the day following the crew to the last 2 aid spots and the finish.  Over the course of the whole trail there were basically 3 main pacers with few others sprinkled in to give us some rest.  Jesse Haynes did most of the miles in the first 3rd of the trail, I did most of the miles in the middle part of the trail, and Scott Jurek did most of the miles in the last 3rd of the trail.  Honored to be given this responsibility and trust, especially considering coming back from an injury which Jeff was fully aware of.  He has been writing my training and helping me get back without putting me in a hole or getting injured again.  This has been such an awesome thing to get the chance to be apart of and made some lifetime friends on this trip.  We did not get the overall Colorado Trail record that was set in the other direction about a month ago but we did get the Northbound Collegiate West route FKT at 7 days 9 hours and change.

Below is a photo bomb of the last 2 aid spots and the finish on Sunday.  CONGRATES BRONCO BILLY!

Total Weekly Numbers

What a fucking week.  Most mileage in a week that I have done all year.  Yes they were slower than normal for me which I think is a good thing to build up more strength in my so called comeback.  Now I need to keep building on this for Javalina in Oct.  Next week, burro race in South Fork.  I just hope I can run fast enough for Yukon and Bob.  I can do the distance but been a bit since I have tried to run at a faster pace.