Don't Let The Old Man In

 Yes I listen to a lot of country music and one of my favorite songs of all time is "Don't Let the Old Man In" by Toby Keith.  I have been saying that a lot to myself this year when I am struggling with about anything, especially if it is something physical like during a run or race.  I always thought he wrote it when he found out he had cancer and it was a fight song against his cancer which he died of a few months ago but I was incorrect in my thinking.  It actually came about from a conversation he had with Clint Eastwood.  See below....

"I don't let the old man in.....That's the response the admired nonagenarian actor Clint Eastwood gave to country singer Toby Keith when asked about his secret to staying active and vibrant at his age.

"Every day when I wake up, I don't let the old man in. My secret has been the same since 1959: staying busy. I never let the old man into the house. I've had to drag him out because he was already comfortably settled, bothering me all the time, leaving no space for anything other than nostalgia. You have to stay active, alive, happy, strong, and capable. It's in us, in our intelligence, attitude, and mentality. We are young, regardless of our ID. We must learn to fight to not let the old man in.

That old man awaits us, stationed and tired by the side of the road to discourage us. I don't let the old, critical, hostile, envious spirit in—the one that scrutinizes our past to tie us up with complaints and distant anxieties, or relived traumas and waves of pain.

You have to turn your back on the old murmurer, full of rage and complaints, lacking courage, denying himself that old age can be creative, determined, and full of light and projection. Aging can be pleasant and even fun if you know how to use your time if you're satisfied with what you've achieved, and if you still maintain enthusiasm," adds Clint Eastwood, a legend with ten Oscar nominations, of which he has won four statues—all after crossing the threshold of sixty. That's called "not letting the old man into the house."

These words resonated so deeply with country singer Toby Keith that they inspired him to compose the song "Don’t Let the Old Man In," dedicated to the legendary actor."

April 15th- April 21nd

“It's your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself, that determines how your life's story will develop.“ – Dieter F. Uchtdorf.  

Monday:   

10 AM:  1 hour in the garage gym doing the workout with Paula.  Ended up covering 3.5 miles with a 45lb pack on.

Warmup: Measuring the route around the hood for 400 meters then some mobility.

FT: 
40 Ruck Ground-to-Overheads, 45 lbs
Ruck, 45 lbs, 1600 m
30 Ruck Ground-to-Overheads, 45 lbs
Ruck, 45 lbs, 1600 m
20 Ruck Ground-to-Overheads, 45 lbs
Ruck, 45 lbs, 1600 m

6 PM: Spin class for 1 hour.  Spin class at Vasa with Paula, keeping up with my promise that I would try to join her once a week as she gets ready for Unbound Gravel in 6 weeks.

Tuesday:  

10 AM:  1 hour at the gym

Warmup: Airbike, mobility and drills

3 RFT: 13 mins 33 secs
3 rounds of:
21 Power Cleans, 60% 1RM | 115 lbs
25 Assault Bike Calories
Plank Hold, - same time the bike took each round

-then-

20mins of core work

2 PM:  7 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 8min pace.  Colton Trailhead directly west up the big hill into the 30mph winds. Super slow heading out but easy as hell coming back with the wind pushing me.. Need to quit putting the run off until the afternoon and get it done first thing in the morning... arggg.

Wednesday:

7 AM: 7 miles w/ 550ft of vert averaging 8min pace.  Easy loop from Flatiron Vista- Dowdy Draw- Community Ditch- Marshall Mesa back to Flatiron Vista. Almost a perfect 7 mile loop with a shitter halfway which is why I choose this route, stomach was not happy this morning.

11 AM: 1 hour lifting in the garage.  Just lifting and not to heavy on the legs with the 50K coming this weekend.

Warmup: Airbike and mobility

Barbell Calf Raise :
Sets
12 Barbell Calf Raises | 135 lbs
12 Barbell Calf Raises | 135 lbs
12 Barbell Calf Raises | 145 lbs
12 Barbell Calf Raises | 145 lbs
12 Barbell Calf Raises | 145 lbs

Barbell Step Up (Back Rack) 5x20 :
Sets
20 Barbell Step Up (Back Rack)s | 95 lbs
20 Barbell Step Up (Back Rack)s | 95 lbs
20 Barbell Step Up (Back Rack)s | 95 lbs
20 Barbell Step Up (Back Rack)s | 95 lbs
20 Barbell Step Up (Back Rack)s | 95 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

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

Romanian Deadlift : 10-10-10 :
Sets
10 Romanian Deadlifts | 95 lbs
10 Romanian Deadlifts | 105 lbs
10 Romanian Deadlifts | 105 lbs

Bench Press : 5-5-5-5-5 :
Sets
5 Bench Press | 155 lbs
5 Bench Press | 160 lbs
5 Bench Press | 165 lbs
5 Bench Press | 170 lbs
5 Bench Press | 175 lbs

Thursday:  

A big fat ZERO today on doing any activities.  Between the snow/rain mix, work being swamped, and hitting a depression cycle I did not get out the door or to the garage gym.  Hell I was at my desk from 6am to 6pm and never got out of my PJs.. go figure...  Of course this leads to binge eating for me as well... Gotta get my head screwed back on straight again tomorrow.

Friday:

7 AM:  6.4 miles averaging 8min pace.  Easy 2 laps of Davidson Mesa in the rain and fog. So foggy that could not even see Harper Lake from the parking lot which is only about 20-30 yards away. Super chill and legs felt pretty good with taking yesterday off. Tomorrow will just be about covering the miles and not racing, easier said than done.

--  Took off for Canyon City in the van around lunch today to camp for the weekend at the Royal Gorge.  Venus's first trip in the van finally.  

Saturday: 

7 AM:  32 miles w/ 5300ft of vert averaging 9:35pace.  Royal Gorge Groove 50k- Fun race and trails down there! The plan was just to use as a long supported run in the build up to Hardrock. So with that in mind the first 30k loop I tried to keep my heart rate under 140 as much as possible and on the second 20k loop I tried to keep it under 150 to account for cardiac drift. Success on that front with an average of 135 and a high of 151. Only struggled a little bit the last 1.5 miles as the legs were super crampy and tired but otherwise felt great! Ended up 8th overall and only one over the age of 40 in the top 15. Had 10 or more years on everyone else... yes I say that because it is an ego boast for me as I am turning 49 this year.   Achilles was not happy a few hours after finishing, limping around but was fine during the race... Damn it... Overall a good day.

Sunday:  

Had to take the day off... achilles was not happy and limping around. Was supposed to run/hike for 1:15 but that did not happen.  Watched Paula race the mountain bike on the same course I ran yesterday and hung out with Venus at the van all day.  Did get in some short walks with Venus throughout the day but that was about all the achilles could handle today.  All good, will be back in a day or two.  So proud that Paula put herself out there and rode this course.  Lots of black diamonds and double black diamonds on this course for the bike.  She got it done!  Great weekend down south!  Next up... Buena Vista in 2 weeks.

Total Weekly Numbers

Not a bad week but also not a great week.  Missed 2 days this week.  One for mental health I guess you could say on Thursday and one because my body made me on Sunday.  Still got the overall stimulus that I wanted this week with the 50K so we are at least still moving forward.   Was planning going to Fruita this coming weekend to train but plans with others seem to have fallen through so might be a weekend at home training this coming week, we will see.

April 8th- April 14th

“Bravery is a deep breath in the face of frustration when all you want to do is walk out and give someone the middle finger. It's the courage to approach situations with an open mind and a welcoming heart. It's being a bridge-builder, a door-opener, a life-changer. It's a reservoir of good intentions, compassion, and a generous heart that welcomes second chances and new beginnings.” - Athena Perez 

Monday:   

1 PM:  Bike 10.75 miles in 50mins.  Easy gravel bike ride around the neighborhood just to move the legs some and hopefully help the quads work out all the soreness. Super chill and even stopped at Starbucks for coffee as well.

3 PM: Walk 3.2 miles in 54mins. Easy walk with Venus just to keep things moving like the bike ride. Had to make her slow way down for the quads were painful to walk fast. LOL... so nutso.  Hopefully they feel better tomorrow and I can try jogging.

-- Some cool photos from RUFA-Moab came out today that I downloaded online.  I love Moab...

Tuesday:  

7 AM:  8.75 miles w/ 1000ft averaging 9min pace.  Easy loops at Flatiron Vista, Dowdy Draw and Springbrook. Been a bit since I have been over there and it is only of my favorite areas for easy trail running. Need to keep that in mind for the easy days going forward.  Super chill for the quads are STILL SORE as hell but at least not to the touch like they have been the past few days.  Could not run fast at all downhill, more like a slow hobble downhill. 

5:30 PM: 3.4 miles averaging 8:30pace.  Easy lap of Marshall Mesa to get in some easy miles while Paula was running with her friends. Super chill even stopping to talk to a gym buddy I ran into for a while. Awesome evening out being in the low 60s.

Wednesday:

--Fasting today... have a colonoscopy tomorrow so no calories or eating today... first time and going from averaging 3500-4000 calories a day to pretty much 0 will be interesting.  I feel sorry for Paula, sure I will get cranky at some point.  Weighed myself now as the fasting starts and tomorrow after all the crap I have to drink cleans me out just to see the change, that could be interesting.

7:30 AM:  9.5 miles averaging 8min pace.  Easy miles over at Davidson Mesa this morning. Super chill.... Still got some minor soreness in the legs but much better than the last 2 days.

3 PM:  1 hour lifting at the gym.  Just lifting, not Crossfit today.  Went to open gym hours just for a change of environment and to get my mind off food and wanting to eat.  Little bit of everything over the hour.  Followed with 20mins in the hot tub at home, need to use this more for the legs feel a lot better afterwards.

Thursday:  

  -NOTE:  Weight check in:  Starting weight before the fasting and being cleaned out was 173.6, weight this morning before heading to get the procedure done is 165.4..  8.2 pounds lost in 24 hours.. lol... guess we are all full of shit.

Total day off... had plans to go to the gym and just do some easy movement but decided I could use a full rest day.  Actually slept a lot of the day away after being up most of last night.  Back on track tomorrow.

Friday:

7 AM:  8 miles averaging 7:50pace.  Starting at Costco, ran the bike path up to Davidson Mesa for a few miles then back. Few out and backs to get the mileage up to 8 which was my min mileage I wanted for today. Started out a little slow and sluggish due to yesterday but rebounded towards the end of the run. Now we are getting back to normal programming. Quads are finally not sore anymore from the weekend, knees are still a little grumpy.

Saturday: 

7 AM:  9.4 miles averaging 7:45pace. Same route as yesterday for the most part with a few changes up on Davidson Mesa. Getting the run done early so that I can go join Paula for Gravelanche ride in Boulder later this morning. Trying to fit it all in.

10 AM: Gravel bike 36 miles w/ 1600ft of vert in 2:40.  Gravelanche Ride from Sports Garage in Boulder. Something they put on yearly to celebrate the day they opened. This year it will be 30 years, longest opened bike shop in Boulder. Had no idea. Had a blast, we stayed with the group through mile 17ish then got tired of stopping all the time so we took off and rode the original route. Guess the group changed the route on the fly and made it shorter due to wind.  Paula and I did the complete route.  Few hundred people were there and they even feed us lunch afterwards.  Great morning.

Sunday:  

7 AM:  10.5 miles w/ 3000ft of vert averaging 12:30pace.  Easy lap from NCAR across Mesa, up Amp to the top of Green Mountain then down Bear Canyon back to NCAR. Used this route a lot when training for Hardrock the first time 2 years ago. It is perfect training for the direction Hardrock is going this year, up the faces and down the ramps. This loop is the same. Will be doing this 1-2 times a week if I can.

2:30 PM:  7.5 miles averaging 8min pace.  Broke my long run into a double today so that I am a little bit more fresh in this coming week. This was somewhat of a recovery week after the Moab race. Way of making it a little bit easier but still getting in some miles. Some HOT easy miles over at Davidson Mesa this afternoon in 80 degree weather. First 80 degree day this year and I surely felt it....

Total Weekly Numbers

Not a bad week considering it as a "recovery" week and took Thursday completely off.  This coming week will be a little bit of a mini-taper week for the 50K on Saturday.  No real goals except to cover the distance and keep adding mileage to get ready for Hardrock.  All training and racing points to July... LETS GO!!! 

April 1st - April 7th

“Fear is the silent destroyer of dreams.” - Gary Haugen

Monday:   

10 AM: 1 hour at the gym

Warmup: Running, mobility and drills

AMRAP 25 mins: 15 rounds + 5 Strict Pull-ups + 8 Push-ups
25:00 AMRAP:
5 Strict Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Air Squats
Run, 200 m

-then-

10mins of core work

-- 2 total miles of running in this workout today.  Was surprised when I did the math...  This was all at 6min pace or faster.

6 PM:  1 hour at Spin class with Paula at Vasa.  Cycling computer said 15.5 miles so going with that. Was a bit of a sweat-fest night as we focused on climbing most of the class.

Tuesday:  

7 AM:  9.25 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 7:25pace.  Combo of the Costco loop and Davidson Mesa. Another nice loop that I put together that I enjoyed a lot. Run was 30min warmup, 20mins at a steady state, and then cooldown back to the truck. Was able to keep the steady state of the run between 6-6:30pace at about 145 heartrate. Super pleased with that.

2 PM: 8.2 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 8:30pace.  Running donkeys with Bob over at Rocky Flats. Little rough going out for it seems they have not run together much over the winter but the 4 miles coming back we were rolling. Most likely was just me verses the donks but I regress.  Good to get to run Sugar Ray again and look forward to racing him a few times this year I hope.  Great to catch up some with Bob, been to long.

Wednesday:

10 AM:  1 hour at the gym

Warmup: Rowing, mobility and drills

Every 2 mins for 20 mins: Snatch : 2225 lbs
Every 2 mins for 20 mins:
5 Snatches | 65 lbs
5 Snatches | 75 lbs
3 Snatches | 80 lbs
3 Snatches | 85 lbs
3 Snatches | 90 lbs
3 Snatches | 95 lbs
1 Snatch | 105 lbs
1 Snatch | 115 lbs
1 Snatch | 125 lbs
1 Snatch | 130 lbs

-then-

10 mins RemReps: 106 reps
In 10 mins:
50 Dumbbell Snatches | 40 lbs
50 Dumbbell Lunges | 40 lbs
max rep Row Calories | 106

3 PM:  7.5 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 8min pace.  Easy miles doing an out and back on the big hill by Key Bank on the Dirty Biz trails. Super chill today for the legs are trashed today from the past few days. Feeling the achillies too which pisses me off. Thought I was finally past that. Prob to much of a quicker pace the last few days that triggered it between the 200m runs at the gym on Monday then the tempo and pickups that running with donks require on Tuesday. Over it.  At least it was a great afternoon weather-wise. 

Thursday:  

 7 AM:  9.25 miles w/ 2200ft of vert averaging 10:40pace.  Easy loop of Sanitas and Anemone trails again. Super chill for the legs are still trashed but feeling much better today. Just felt I had no real power uphills today but at least things did not hurt like they did yesterday. Could feel the achillies but was not limping or changing my stride so much better as well today. I really love this route. Such a great mix is steep uphills and runnable trails.

--- Planning on making my way to Moab this afternoon to train for a long weekend.  Shooting for Grand Junction or Fruita tonight then Moab tomorrow for a few days.  This is why we bought the van, for trips like this.  Just load up and go with no real agenda.

Friday:

6 AM:  1 hour at the gym.  Easy lifting at the Fruita Rec Center covering all major muscle groups. More light weight and focused on movement to be more of a mobility workout than lifting workout. Felt really good after this.

9 AM:  9.25 miles w/ 1600ft of vert averaging 9min pace.  Easy jog on the Pollock loops and side trails outside of Fruita. Just exploring and taking an easy. Such a cool area and need to bring Paula here in a few weeks when we plan on coming back to the area.  Got done right as the wind was picking up.

-- Headed to Moab after grabbing lunch.  The winds have picked up a lot and driving that high profile van with a sidewind is a bitch....  Of course had to have my pre-race dinner at Milt's and found a place in town where other vans were also hiding for the night... yes they don't allow this in Moab but people do it anyways.

Saturday: 

8 AM:  Running Up For Air 12 Hour- Moab.  37.5 miles w/ 18,000ft of vert in 11:37. 

Hell of a race... so much vertical. Not a lot of running was involved today, to steep going up and to technical for me to run down at a fast pace. More like just slowly jogging down the slick rock trying not to eat shit. The course was basically 0.9 mile up with 980ft then 0.9 mile down. Got in 19 laps total which got me 2nd place. First place dude was bombing the downhill all day. He ended up with 22 laps, not even close. Legs are totally shot after this effort, might be regretting this for a few days.

Sunday:  

11 AM: Walk 2.8 miles...  Easy hike from the visitor center at the Colorado National Monument to try and flush out the legs a little bit. Such a cool place and can't believe that in all the times I have been to Fruita that I have never driven up here. Need to plan a long run here sometime to really explore.

2 PM: Walk 1 mile... Easy break in the drive home stopping in Glenwood Springs to check out Doc Holiday's grave. Been wanting to stop here for years but never took the time. Check that off the list.

Total Weekly Numbers

Hell of a busy week... very pleased on this week even though I am having issues walking normal this morning.  Quads are sore to the touch, gotta love DOMS.  That makes 6 nights in the van so far in the first 3 weeks.  Guess I will get getting good use out of it.   This next week is going to be more of a recovery week for I am sore as hell today (Monday) which will be just an easy movement day and I have an out patient procedure on Thursday which will be a day completely off.   Then it will be back to normal programming next week.