November 3rd- November 9th

 "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde

"Three secrets to success: Be willing to learn new things. Be able to assimilate new information quickly. Be able to get along with and work with other people." - Sally Ride

Just felt like another 2 quote week.  I have such a large collections of quotes I backlogged I may do 2 a week for a bit.

Monday:

6 AM:  9.2 miles w/ 400ft of vert averaging 7:25pace.  First few miles were a little rough but everything loosened up nicely. Nice for it to be light again at 6:30 even if that is short lived. Easy with 4x30sec strides in the middle.

11 AM:  1 hour at Crossfit Koda

Warmup: Bike, mobility and drills

A) 12min EMOM
1: 3 Hips to Bar or Jumping BMUs
2: 5 Weighted Cuban Presses
3: 5/5 Hip Flexor Raises

B) 3x8min AMRAP, 1min REST
15/11 Cal Row
11 Box Jump Overs (24/20)
15/11 Cal Echo Bike
1 Chest to Bar Pullup (+1/Rnd)

-- 25mins in the hot tub when I got home from work tonight.  Thinking I should do this a few times a week incase CIM is hot for some reason.

Tuesday:  

6 AM:  10 miles averaging 6:35pace.  

20 min warm up

8x1k at goal half marathon effort with 90 sec-2min rest between each

20 min cool down

Done on the roads by work. There is a nice 1 mile stretch on 104th in the CTC with a wide bike line that works well for workouts like this. Was able to move much quicker than I was expecting. I was thinking most of the intervals would be between 6-6:10 but they were all well below 6. Never really looked at the watch, just ran by feel. Left calf is a little sore after this workout so will need to keep an eye on that the next day or two.

Wednesday:

6 AM:  10.1 miles averaging 7:35pace. Easy cruise from work around on some of the trails and some roads in the CTC. Can really feel the left soleus. Not super painful but there is something there just below the actual calf muscle. Super tight... Kept today super chill and will do the same tomorrow. Usually when this happens it turns around within a few days.

Thursday:  

6 AM:  8.1 miles averaging 7:30pace. Easy cruise from work around the Tech Center. Just getting in the min time/distance today.  Super tired, have not been sleeping well all week.  Found out yesterday that I did not get the job I put in for that I had such high hopes for.  Will keep trying of course.

Friday:

9 AM:   14 miles averaging 6:35 pace.  

20 min warm up

3x3 miles with 3 min jog between each at goal marathon pace and option to push a bit the last mile or so if feeling great on each interval. (davidson mesa)

20 min cool down

--- Was dreading this one because I knew it would hurt, especially on the third one. Got through it better than I thought I would at quicker paces. Maybe things are coming around.  Did pull the plug in the last 10 mins of the cooldown because I was starting to feel the calf I have been struggling with all week and jogging another mile was not worth the injury risk since I could feel it cramping.

Quick story:  On the third one I stopped to take a pee, looked around and no one was within a half mile of me (you can see pretty far at Davidson Mesa). Could see an older lady off in the distance so took a leak real quick facing away from her. As I was passing her in the opposite direction she started yelling at me (could not hear due to headphones) and videoing me as I passed her. What a tool.... I just yelled back while she was videoing, "Thanks for filming me you perverted Karen!" Fucking people.....  And yes of course she was wearing a fucking Trump hat.  Expected to see her at the trailhead when I got done but she disappeared like a ghost.  Guessing I embarrassed the shit out of her.

Saturday: 

7:30 AM:  9.7 miles w/ 1500ft of vert averaging 9:15pace.  Easy real trail miles with Donnie and Dan from Dowdy Draw. We did a loop of Springbrook, Gashawk, and an out/back to Eldo Springs. Started out super cold (20 degrees) but was perfect the second half of the run in the sun. Donnie tweaked his knee so hopefully that is okay.

1 PM: Walk 2 miles around the hood with Venus while Paula was out doing her training.

Did get this in the mail this weekend.... Most likely will be there on the 28th bud but won't be drinking.  

Sunday:  

8 AM: 20 miles w/ 700ft of vert averaging 6:50pace.  Joined the Boulder Track Club for the first 13 miles then did the rest solo afterwards. Of course the last 5 miles of the first 13 were down in the 6-6:15 range which always happens and one of the reasons I join these runs.  I feel like trying to keep up with the younger guys that are sub 2:40 guys will do me a lot of good in the long run, at least to this build up to CIM in 4 weeks.  The solo miles were more mellow and just chilling listening to podcasts.

Total Weekly Numbers

One more week in my 40's, holy shit....  Much larger week this week running wise than I was expecting which is why the gym time was pretty low.  The intensity is also much higher right now than the rest of the year, even during the build up to the three 100s I did.  Much more time doing speed work and running at tempo pace than what I am used too.  With all the work stuff this week I was hang on by a thread by the end of the week.  Hopefully I adapt to that some and this coming week will be much easier mentally. 

October 27th- November 2nd

"Have no fear of perfection- you'll never reach it." - Salvador Dali

Seemed like a good quote for this week since I missed a bunch of miles on Sunday last week and Monday due to being so tired from travel and crewing/pacing Javalina 100.   In the big picture it really means nothing even though it eats at me.

Had to share this photo of my girls.... 

Monday:

Travel day home today.  Flight was delayed a few hours sitting on the runway due to the lack of air traffic controllers.  Good times.... Skipped my run today, as I said last week I have not slept for more than 4 hours at a time since last Wednesday and I am wiped out.  Did take an hour nap then in bed by 8pm tonight.

Tuesday:  

6:30 AM:  It was 29 degrees out which felt super cold after being in AZ for the past week so I made a change to the plan and went to the gym instead this morning.

1 hour at Crossfit Koda

Crossfit Koda

Warmup: Bike, mobility and drills.

A) Every 90s for 10 Sets (5 of ea)
E: 3-5 Weighted Pullups + 3-5 Strict Pullups
O: 5 Seated Box Jumps

B) 7 Round Partner WOD
70-60-50-40-30-20-10 for time
Inverted Rows
30/22 Cal Echo Bike
*split reps between partners

1:30 PM:  8.1 miles averaging 7:30pace.  Easy cruise from work between my afternoon meetings. RPE felt easy but my HR was about 5-10 beats higher than normal for these paces. Guessing that is from all the fatigue from the lack of sleep since last Wednesday. The only night I have gotten more than 4 hours was last night so still playing catch up.

Wednesday:

10 AM:  9.5 miles averaging 6:50pace.  Workout Wednesday.  Done between meetings from work.

20 min warm up

8x30 sec fast/2:30 moderate (think 5k effort on fast and marathon effort on moderate)

20 min cool down

-- had to stop a few times after number 5 to let the HR come back down some, was dry heaving a few times. LOL... good workout for sure! Much harder than it looks.  

This guy is not starving... 

Thursday:  

6 AM:  1 hour at Crossfit Koda

Warmup: Rowing, drills and mobility

A) 5 Sets
10/10 DB Rows
15 Seated Banded Jefferson Curls
5-10 Reps Kipping Skill Work

B) 2 Rounds for time
30/22 Cal Row
30 Box Overs (24/20)
30/22 Cal Echo Bike
30 Pullups

10 AM:  10.25 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 7:25pace.  Easy jog from work between meetings yet again this morning. Did not look at my watch just ran by RPE for the most part. I could feel yesterdays workout in the legs, they were not very poppy today. Hopefully the turn around before tomorrow's workout.

Friday:

8:30 AM:  11.25 miles averaging 6:45 pace.  

20 min warm up

4x1 min fast/1 min easy 5k effort
jog 2 min
20 min tempo at marathon effort or just faster
jog 2 min
4x30 sec fast/1 min easy RPE 9-10

20 min cool down

Taylor joined me for this one at Davidson Mesa which was great. Always makes it easier when you are suffering with other people. Overall this went very well. One of the tempo miles was under 6 which surprised me. Ran it all by RPE and looked at my HR once in a while pulling back when I would hit 160 or higher. Still think that hitting my goal at CIM is a huge stretch but workouts like this make it seem like it might be within reach. Tried out the Asics MetaSpeed Sky super shoe that the Boulder Track Club gave me, killer shoe and plan on using that for CIM since Asics gave the club the shoes for people and the entry to CIM to me.

Saturday: 

8 AM:  9.4 miles w/ 700ft of vert averaging 8:10pace.  Easy run with Don and Conner at Bear Creek Lake getting the lowdown on Don's 24 hour Worlds experience in France a few weeks ago. Super chill for this was his first run back. Cold as hell this morning at 20 degrees. First day this fall I put pants on to run.  Lots of shit happened over there which some of it we know from social media and other things we don't.  Not my stories to tell.

Sunday:  

7:30 AM: 18.6 miles w/ 1200ft of vert averaging 7:30pace.  Holy wind…. The wind turned this into a threshold effort at times, uphill into the wind on Dowdy Draw the HR got high. First 10ish miles with Boulder Track Club then solo for the rest. Covered in salt and didn’t take much during the run. Last 2 miles felt like a slog due to low salt. Was not expecting it to be in the 60s almost 70 at the end when yesterday we were running in the 20s and 30s. Bad planning on my part. With all that feeling good about this one.  Also dragged Taylor out with me for the first 10 miles as well, all he had to say was, "Now I understand how you maintain your fitness at 50.".  LOL...

Total Weekly Numbers

Considering that I took Monday completely off due to how tired I was from travel to and from Javalina 100, not a bad week at all.  Got in some good efforts in there as well.  Finally got off my ass and booked the trip to Sacramento, CA for California International Marathon next month.  Still have high hopes that I can still go sub 2:45.  Going to give it my best shot and see what happens.  Flying there on a Friday and home on Sunday night after the marathon so a very quick trip, but before that we are off to Moab in 2 weeks for 4 days.

October 20th- October 26th

"A day wasted on others is not wasted on one's self." - Charles Dickens, "A Tale of Two Cities"

Seemed like the perfect quote for this week.  Spend the first half the week still watching Don's dogs and the back half of the week going to Phoenix to help Neal run the Javalina 100.  Will only be home on Wednesday which means over the last 3 weeks Paula and I will only see each other for about 3 days total between her travel and mine.  Sucks....  bad planning on our part.

Monday:

10:30 AM: 11.5 miles averaging 7:40pace.  Easy mid morning cruise between meetings on the Highline Canal trail from Don's house again. Nice out and back. Wind was nasty today and legs are pretty heavy as well. Basically 45mins out then ran back.  Ready to go home tomorrow afternoon.  I will only be home for about 36 hours before flying out to Phoenix Thursday morning but I am ready to be home.

4 PM: Was planning on lifting this afternoon in Don's garage gym but wasn't feeling it so just jumped into the sauna instead for 20mins.  These sauna sessions should pay off this weekend in Phoenix.

Tuesday:  

7 AM:  8 miles averaging 7:40pace.  Easy miles pre-work from Don's house on the Highline Canal yet again. Last run down south before heading back home this afternoon after a bunch of online job interviews. Super chill run and it was 31 degrees out this morning. Winter is coming.

-- Followed this up a few hours later with 20mins in the sauna.  

Finally back home for a day and half...  Missed this girl and of course Paula too.  

Wednesday:

6:45 AM:  9.2 miles averaging 6:55pace.  

20 min warm up

6x3 min fast/1 min easy think half marathon working down to 10k effort on these.

20 min cool down

Felt better than I was expecting. Might have pushed a little bit to hard on some of these for after the 5th interval I stopped for a few seconds dry heaving. LOL.... Been a long week and ready to head to the desert early tomorrow morning.  

  

Thursday:  

-- super early flight to Phoenix this morning.  Got up at 2:30am so we could leave by 3:30am to make it in time to the airport.  Normally I don't go 2 hours early for early flights but glad I did today, security was really slow this morning, not well staffed.  Guessing that is due to the government shutdown.

Noon:  9.75 miles w/ 900ft of vert averaging 8min pace.  Easy jog in the mid day heat on the Javalina course. Small loop from the Pemberton trail going over to the Four Stage area and back. Struggled a little bit with the heat even though I did some heat training but was fine. Going to be a fun weekend!

Friday:

9 AM:  4.5 miles averaging 10min pace.  Hoka Javalina shakeout run from the start/finish line. Ran the loop with the Deathmarch crew. Good times!  There was about 500-600 people there this morning.

Saturday: 

11 PM:  19.1 miles w/ 1200ft of vert averaging 18:30pace.  Pacing Neal one lap at Javalina 100... he got it done! We had a lot of issue for him to work through during the night and the next morning. I will leave those stories for him to tell since they are not mine to tell but he did learn something about himself, at least I hope he did.

Sunday:  

Rest day for the most part since I was up all night either pacing or crewing.  Neal did not get done until around 10:30am this morning and it was a few hours after that before we got back to the house.  Rest of the day was wasted laying around trying to stay awake so I could sleep some tonight before heading to the airport super early tomorrow morning to fly home.  

Total Weekly Numbers

The week started out great but fell off quickly with the lack of sleep from Wednesday night onward.... I don't think I got more than 4 hours a night from Wednesday night until I got home on Monday night.  I was also supposed to do 2 laps with Neal on Saturday night but only did 1 lap so I was short 19 miles this week, but that is okay since it would have been mostly 19 miles of walking with some short jogs in there.  I have 5 more hard weeks of training for CIM marathon before the taper.  To be honest I don't feel like I am even close to being in the shape I need to be in to hit my A goal of sub- 2:44 but will go out there anyways and give it a shot.  Could be a huge disaster but that is part of the fun of this sport.

October 13th- October 19th

 "Three secrets to success: Be willing to learn new things. Be able to assimilate new information quickly. Be able to get along with and work with other people." - Sally Ride

Monday:

7 AM:  9.4 miles averaging 7:25 pace.  Easy Monday morning mileage over at Davidson Mesa again before work. Had to force this one somewhat, hard to get out the door this morning. Never looked at my watch at all under all the long sleeves, just ran by RPE today.

10 AM:  1 hour at Koda this morning.

A) Every 3:00 for 5 Sets
2.2 Front Squats 115-135lbs
7 DB Z Press - 30lbs

B) Every 2min for 10 Sets
E: 16 Alt DB Lunges 30lbs
O: 15 Dips

C) 5min AMRAP
3 Pushups
3 Banded Tricep Extensios
3 Squat Jumps
(+3/Rnd)
-- made it through the round of 15reps each

--  Got home to finish the day at home working and took Venus out for another 2 mile walk.  Paula finally gets home tonight so that will be the end of the walks for a little bit.  Heading to watch Don's dogs and house on Wednesday through next Tuesday in South Denver while he is overseas racing Worlds 24 Hour.  

Tuesday:  

9:30 AM:  9.25 miles averaging 7:14 pace.  Big loop from work between meetings this morning. Had plans to do it before work but woke up coughing and sneezing really bad so put it off until the head cleared up some. Body is still feeling good but the cold just keeps hanging on.  

-- Looks like I sold my Gen2 Starlink on Facebook market place so a big upgrade for the van with a Starlink Mini coming soon.  Hopefully they show up tonight to pay and grab it.

Wednesday:

6:30 AM:  10.4 miles averaging 6:50pace.  

20 min warm up

3 sets of 3/2/1 min fast/1 min easy at 5k effort with equal recovery between each rep. Then 3 min jog between each set.

20 min cool down

First set my legs did not want to turn over very quickly but got better the second and third set. Little dry heaving might have been involved, been a bit since I have gotten the HR that high (over 165). Did use 2 gels and a bottle of Skratch this morning just to make sure I did this with fuel. Legs are good and cold was better this morning, more than it has been anyways.

 ---  Headed down to Don's this afternoon where I will be house/dog sitting until next Tuesday afternoon.  Here are the 2 babies I am caring for.

Thursday:  

10 AM:  11.6 miles averaging 7:25pace.  Easy run from Don's house on the Highline Canal trail behind his house. Out and back going out to University and back. Felt super chill for the most part. Tomorrow I will go in the other direction to see what is that way.  Head cold was much better this morning than it has been, but it is still there for the first hour to two in a major way then I am good the rest of the day.  I was thinking of doing a 5 or 10 mile race on Saturday but going to go join Neal who I am pacing at Javalina next weekend for his last longer run at Waterton Canyon instead.

3 PM:  33mins Garage gym at Don's house, less choices of equipment here than at home.

Warmup- step ups for 3 mins plus mobility

30 pull-ups broken up as needed

3x10 barbell bent over rows @95lbs

3x10 dumbbell pull overs @35lbs

3 rounds
10 DB bicep curl @20lbs
10 DB hammer curls @20lbs

-- Followed this up with 20mins in his barrel sauna in the backyard.  Gotta get in some heat before going to the desert next weekend.

Friday:

-- Finished book 22 of the year this morning, American Kings. It is a new book that was just released about a month ago.  If you are a football fan this is a must read on how the quarterback became the most important position in sports.  Covers all levels from high school, college, and the NFL.  

10 AM:  8 miles averaging 7:25pace.  Easy run in the other direction on the Highline Canal trail from the house. I could run on this without getting to bored if I lived here. With all the people out there it reminds me of Davidson Mesa and people watching there.  Tomorrow we will go over to Waterton Canyon and run with Neal's group.  Neal is a buddy of mine I first meet when I started running over 20 years ago.  I am pacing him at Javalina next weekend so thought it would be good to touch base before the trip to Phoenix next weekend.

3 PM: 20 mins in the sauna again... 

Saturday: 

7:30 AM:  12.5 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 8:40pace.  Joined Neal and group over at Waterton Canyon for his last longer run before Javalina next weekend. Super chill and stayed mostly with him the whole time talking about next weekend. Windy cold morning this morning.  Came across about 20 wild turkeys, lots of Rams, and 2 bucks fighting locking horns.

Sunday:  

8 AM:  14.4 miles w/ 1100ft of vert averaging 7:35pace.  Back to Waterton again this morning to run it at my pace and to get in my 2ish hours. Went about a mile farther than yesterday up onto the single track of the Colorado Trail getting in a little bit of climbing as well. Was hard to get motivated today but once I got going all was good. Did pick up up the last 3ish miles to finish strong around 6:15-6:30 pace. 

Total Weekly Numbers

Solid week overall getting back to somewhat higher mileage with one workout in the middle of the week.  Been somewhat challenging this week being at Don's all week to get motivated, I don't do well when I am out of my normal routine when it comes to training.  Anyways, this next week is going to be worse, at Don's until late afternoon on Tuesday.  Then I am home one day on Wednesday which I have to be in the office, before flying out to Phoenix to pace at Javalina 100 super early on Thursday morning (5am flight) until Monday morning.  Going to be a busy/stressful damn week.

October 6th- October 12th

http://

"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.