Sunday, May 31, 2009

Long Run - 17

Did a long run today, the plan was to go 16. Coming off the Mount Evans training run and the recent races, I wanted to go slow and easy but do the full 16. Although I felt good after yesterdays run, a little dead in the legs and some aches, but I'll take it. I consider 16 actual long run territory and a good base as I build toward a fall marathon and pikes peak in August. How did I end up at 17?

Gina and I met her sister Lisa and husband Greg and Creyton at CC Park this morning to walk the dogs. They just got another dog, they are crazy, they just got a Rottweiler puppy 2 months ago and already had a big dog. They got a full grown Pyrenees, looks like a polar bear and has to go near 200 pounds. Anyway, we took our dogs and met over by the East Side boat ramp. I walked with them over to the swim beach at 9:00. Telling them how crazy they are, classic empty nest syndrome and we are going to have an intervention because they keep accumulating pets. Below is a picture of Lisa and their 3 dogs, the new one (Herculese) is the polar bear on the left.


Then I started running. I ran back to the car and got my water pack and drank some gatorade and I was off. I went through the wetlands trails, the bugs were really bad where it was swampy or near the water (gnats). But it was cool in the wetlands with lots of shade and great trails to run on. I weaved through there and then out toward the path. I had arranged to meet Alicia over where she finished Chilly Cheeks to do a few miles together (5 or so) at her pace and then I was going to run home. I ran over to the Marina and had about 15 minutes till we were to meet. I ran around some and over to the path on the dam that goes about 2/3 across the lake, I had seen it and Jill told me it was good to run on so I went out and back on it. There were lots of pelicans in the water and some cranes, it's a wide path with cinder and plenty of room even with fishermen and people walking. The lake was packed today with boats and jet skis. In fact the whole park was packed, lots of bike riders. So I headed over to the marina, used the bathroom, had a gu and then ran over to meet Alicia, right at 10. I saw her running down from the Park entrance on the west side, right on time. I was at 5 miles total, so 5 with her and then 6 home and that would give me 16.

We talked a bit, she brought me a cold gatorade which was perfect. Thanks Alicia! I drank half and put it in the bushes for when we got back. We talked about our run and she wanted to do trails, which was good with me, but she wasn't real familiar with the park. I knew the 5k loop from there, and a trail that would add another 2 miles or so, so I took the lead. We ran over to the middle school and then down the cinder path toward butterfly hill (where the pope was in 1994 or something). I took one wrong turn that led to a neighborhood so we had to double back out. It is a hilly area with ups and downs. We headed down to the road and then I took a right over to the trails that run along the road past the shooting range. The trail here turns into single track and can be a bit rough, wasn't sure if Alicia wanted the footing, but she said it was fine. As we were running we talked about running, training, races etc. She's a triathlete so running is a secondary sport to her, but she is very good at it. We held around an 8:30-8:45 pace which is what she wanted and it worked good for me too.

I wanted to loop back around and take the bike path back to the starting point, but I got on the trail and could not find the feeder back to the bike path. Everything is so overgrown with all the rain. That's how I ended up with 17. I ended up doing 7 miles with Alicia by the time I found the feeder path and we got on the bike trail and we took it back. No big deal but it was an extra 2 miles, worked out well for her because she only needed 10 more minutes to run after we were done. We finished and then ran down to the water and bathrooms where I filled up my water bottle, finished the gatorade she brought, got a gu and went to the bathroom. We said goodbye and she ran off to her car and I started my run home in opposite directions.

6 Miles the shortest way, so that would put me at 18, 2 over what I wanted. It was also getting hot and the sun was out. I knew this would test my endurance, but did not want to get injured or miss a lot next week trying to recover. I decided I would walk the hills back to my house. There are 3 major hills on the way back, so I walked them and ended up just over 17. My pace slowed down on the way back too and I was starting to feel the aches and pains all over (my hip every time I stopped to walk and started running) and the heat and the weekly mileage (52 Miles this week, the most yet). Anyway I made it home just under 2:30:00 running time, right before noon. I grabbed some ice packs and jumped in an ice bath right away, icing my knees and hip while soaking my legs, it felt good.

Thanks for the run Alicia, it was fun and you helped me get through an overdue long run and push my endurance.

17.1 Miles 2:29:46

Garmin Watch Data for Run

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Mount Evans Echo Lake to Summit Lake - 9

We did a group training run today. Mount Evans from Echo Lake to Summit Lake about 9 miles on road with 2600 elevation gain from 10,000 feet up to 12,600.


It was a really nice day for it, it was sunny most of the run with some clouds, no wind and temps in the 40's. Wore 2 shirts, 1 short, 1 long, gloves and shorts and I was fine. Got a little hot a couple of times but not enough to take off the shirt. No wind makes a big difference.


Runners were,

Andre, Dennis, Jill, Diane (wave 1)

Pete M, Craig M, Jeff (wave 2)


Things went pretty much as planned meeting at echo lake at 7, except Jeff forgot to get gas, so he didn't have enough gas to do the car drop off. Luckily Andre came along and had gas. Wave 2 guys also dropped water at mile 6 which was good. Diane was a lady we met in the parking lot who started with us, but turned back around 6 miles or so and ran back down. She was really nice and might join us for another training run in 2 weeks and is signed up for the race.


We had 2 groups this year, the wave 2 guys did the car drop while wave 1 started running, this was to save time and worked well.


Andre and I started together, he had a nice pace at the start that I fell into and felt good. I remembered my start last year was horrible (overdressed too much water, pack). Jill and Diane started behind us and we could hear them chatting as Andre and I slowly pulled away. About a half mile I pulled ahead a bit and still felt good. I wanted to get to the 3 mile mark before I started my usual run/walk up the mountain. I cannot maintain my uphill pace more than a half mile or so without a walk break. Training in the mountains and on evans helps, but I don't think I could ever make it all the way up without walk breaks.


At the 3 mile mark my legs were tight, breathing hard and my hip from yesterday was in pain. I stopped and walked a minute, recovered and ran. I decided to do 5 minutes running, 1 1/2 walking as long as I could hold it. Just past mile 4, Andre caught up to me, going the same steady 11 minute pace we started with at the bottom. With my walk breaks I was doing about 12 minute miles. Sometimes I would recover good and feel like running and sometimes it felt bad and didn't feel like running. He pulled away from me. At mile 6 he stopped for a water break and walked slowly till I caught up. I had a GU we talked and ran for a bit. I ran for about 2/3 of a mile and took a walk break, he pulled away and I said see you at the finish. Mile 7-8 1/2 were a hard stretched. I experimented with run/walking by taking shorter running and walking breaks, this sped up my pace a bit and felt much easier. I might try this during the actual race for brief periods where it is really steep.


The last mile is downhill to echo lake. In the past I picked it up here, but not today, just took it easy. Andre was pulling ahead on the downhill. He ended up finishing 1:36, I was 1:42. We got to summit lake and I opened my suv and we had snacks and gatorade in the sun while we waited for the others to finish. Jill was about 10 minutes after me, she had separated from Diane. Jill and I both improved from our training run time from last year. I took about 5 minutes off and felt much better.


We took some pictures which I will post later and hung out discussing the run and talking about running in general. Andre and Jill both told me I run too much and don't listen to them.


Pete M came in about 15 minutes after Jill, he did like 1:29, then Craig M was about 5 minutes later. Jeff about 10 minutes after that. It got cold as Jeff was finished, we chatted a bit, but then everyone started getting cold (especially Jill who had 5 layers on and waited in the car and maxed out the heater on the way back).


We drove back down, picking up our water bottles like responsible runners we are. We got to the bottom about 10:30 and dropped everyone off. Jill and I went back through Idaho Springs and stopped there and had a sandwhich at a cool deli, we also walked around a bit before the hour drive home.


All in all it was a great day and a lot of fun with some good running friends.


Friday, May 29, 2009

City Park Duck Pond - 5 Miles

Did an easy duck pond run (5 miles today), another beautiful lunch time run.
Big crowd today hadn't seen Andre or Dave C in a while.

A weird thing happened as we started back toward the Y past the duck pond. Running slow and easy and enjoying the day. I got several sharp pains in my upper right hip that I could feel through to my glute behind me. Felt like a pulled muscle, I almost stopped running. I stretched at the lights when we stopped and ran through it back to the Y, but it was definitely something there. Later at my desk it tightened up. I've never had a problem in this area before and I was running easy when it happened. I did do some weights and the back machine before going for a run. Hopefully just a temp cramp/type thing????

I hope this doesn't mess up my evans run and my long run on sunday and my 3 week ramp up schedule. We'll see. I might be walking up evans and get swept off the road tomorrow by the runners coming back down.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Wash Park 7

Ran the wash park 7 easy today. No Middle 3. My right calf spasms continued through today and that gave me concern. I ran to the start of the middle 3 and thought about it, but it felt off and a little tight and I have a lot of miles planned for this weekend, so decided to just go easy with Craig M we ran about a 7:30 pace.

Scott and Matt ran the middle 3, Matt ran a fast 8:20 half and then ran back with Craig and myself. Scott didn't time himself but I'm pretty sure he was around 16:30.

Nice day, getting warmer though near 80.

7 Miles 55 minutes

Happy Birthday Zach - 15...

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Wash Park 7

Ran to Wash Park today, 7 miles. It was a nice day, sunny, around 70 and everything is so green from the recent rain. Started with Jay and Matt, but they turned off at Cheesman so it was just me. Felt good to get away from work and just run easy on a nice day.

I stopped at the turn around and stretched out my calfs which were still tight from Bolder Boulder. I say Jeff and Jerry coming out of the park from an up-tempo bike ride 4 laps. We chatted a bit then I ran back easy. After my calfs were twitching at my desk.

I had a massage last night, it was good. I had Tara work on my legs for 50 minutes. Calfs, Hamstrings, Quads, Knees, ankles, front back everything. She asked me about the Relay and the Bolder Boulder. I am impressed she remembers what my races are, maybe she writes them in a log or something. I told her the good news about the relay and then I put more of a positive spin on BB than I really felt. She seems to take it personally when I don't have a good race like it's related to the massages. Ha! She asked me what my next race was and when I told her Mount Evans her mouth dropped. Why am I doing this race again? Oh Yeah Pikes Peak Prep. And why am I doing Pikes Peak again?

7 Miles 54 Minutes

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Rest / Recover Day

Took a rest day to recover from the race yesterday. My Calfs were tight especially my right after the race yesterday. Didn't really feel like running anyway.

Went to the Y stretched and did some abs and weights. I really didn't feel like talking about the race so I didn't chat to the other runners about it. I did trade a few emails and brief conversations here and there. Like Tom said, "Next Year will be different".

I have a massage tonight, I am going to have her work the legs. I am planning on ramping up my miles with more endurance (both mountain and long runs) over the next 3 weeks. I entered my plan for this week on my calendar. With both an Evans training run and a long run this weekend (I did it last year...).

The Colfax Relay pictures are in, not of lot of the whole team (Matt and Alicia are missing completely). A lot of me though especially at the finish. I looked at the other team pics to look for the clock in the finish and the DAC team clearly shows a 6 in the minutes when they finished and that was the girl that was ahead of me, so either she pulled up or got lost in the park because her 56 comes after our 55 shown on the finish photos.

Colfax Marathon Relay Photos

Monday, May 25, 2009

Bolder Boulder

Ran the Bolder Boulder today. 42:26. Not my best effort, mixed results
I was hoping for 41 or under, but it's my fastest Bolder Boulder ever and a 10k PR by 7 seconds. A PR that has stood since 4/30/1996 (ABQ run for the zoo).

Zach did 48:42, his first 10k.

45,000 runners. It is quite an event. The hills, crowded field, many turns and overall uphill elevation gain of this point to point race make it a tough 10k.

I started out good, following Craig Murray for the first mile, but he was pulling away from me a bit. Then struggled some on the hills and turns and fell off pace. My quads were really burning, I guess from last weeks 12k relay leg. I had an easy week between the two races though, so not sure why. I was around 21 at the 5k mark, and felt like I was losing pace. I had my Garmin but did not try to stay on pace with it.

Around the 5 Mile mark Bob Basse passed me and said "Come on Dennis, stay with me". I picked it up a bit and hung within 50 meters of him the rest of the race. At the 9k I got a second wind and gave it a hard push to the finish. I wanted to run faster to beat my PR as I hit the stadium, I knew it would be close and had about 200 meters to go.

After I finished I tried to say hi to Bob but he took off for the exit. I stayed and waited for the others who were just a few waves behind and within 10 minutes of me. I saw Tom, then Jay we talked a bit. The security people were trying to push us to the exits. "Move along". I saw Jill, went over to talk to her, she said she felt terrible and just wanted to go home, so I walked back over to Tom and Jay. Didn't see Alicia at the finish, but I found Zach. He did good and had a smile on his face. He was confused a bit by the Kilometer markings vs the mile, but figured it out.

We went to section 118 and Tom met his Niece (Peggy) who is really fast and was in my AA wave. Zach and I went to the expo and then dropped by the car to get some warm clothes and phones and drop off the goody bags. We went back to 118 met the others and hung out a while. Zach's friend was "running the race" way back in wave MH and was phoning zach updates as he approaced the finish. Zach, met his friend and walked around with him while I hung out at 118. Everyone else left so it was just me. Zach and Conner came back and we watched the elite men start and then left. On the way home it poured rain on us like I haven't seen in a long time.

My calf's were sore the rest of the day, I have a massage scheduled for Tuesday night, so I hope to get them worked on and probably take a rest day from running.


2009 Bolder Boulder Race Results

My Individual Results

Garmin Watch Data for Race

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Country Club Hill - 6 Miles

Ran from the Y to the top of the Country Club Hill at Downing today with the group. It was a cool day 50's, clouds, no wind. Felt like it was about to rain but never did. Typical Denver memorial day weekend weather coming up. Supposed to be like this all weekend. Maybe it will make for a good Bolder Boulder on Monday.

Medium size group today, no mddle 3ers. All the BB runners were there Tom, Craig M, myself and Jay joined late and met us on the way back.

We talked about races, starting waves and a meeting point for after BB, section 118 if anyone else wants to join us.

Pete C and I charged the Country Club hill, about 1/4 mile uphill. I did three surges and Pete stayed with me on each one. Tom and Craig C were right behind us. Jeff and Craig M held back. Craig recovering from Colfax Half

Craig M and I are in the same wave at Bolder Boulder, should be fun trying to stay with him through 6.2, maybe we'll push each other toward sub-40.

6 Miles 46 minutes.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Rest Day

Took a rest day today. Felt good to go to the Y and stretch and do some weights.

My legs were a little sore from yesterday, but i didn't push that hard.

Zach went out tonight and ran for over an hour, came back after dark. Way to go Zach. He's in the CA wave at Boulder next Monday.

Graduation is getting close for Brittany. I have a lot to do on her video and getting ready for the graduation party.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Congress Park and the Track

My first double workout of the year, both moderate.

At lunch I ran with the group the congress Park route. When we got to Cheesman we did one interval along the long strecth. 1/2 Mile I ran a comfortable 2:53. It was hot but the park has lots of shade. Made it easier knowing there was just one. Then we went the Congress route. The pool has water but not open yet. Tom, Craig C. Pete C. and myself. When we got back to Cheesman Craig and Tom ran another 1/2 interval. My calfs and legs in general were still sore form the relay race.

After work, I went to the Laredo Track near my house and did some intervals when it was nice and cool. I ran some 800's with Jill (3X3:30) and did some 400's at my pace (75-85) with a long rest recovery in between. My last 400, I also ran another 400 with Jill with no recovery.

After the workout, Jill and I stretched some and talked about the relay, some fun stories but everyone except me hated their legs and running on Colfax in general.

They posted all the results for the Colfax Marathon Relay and we (Pick'd Pro's) got 3rd overall and 2nd in our division (#1 team was in our division). Only 5 teams including us were under 3 hours.

Link for Colfax Relay Results

9 Miles total for the day.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Race Recovery Day

Recovering from yesterdays race, so no run today. My legs (quads, calfs, hamstrings) were sore from the 12k leg yesterday. I felt good about my pace and effort. Could have probably done better on the uphill up 17th.

My plan is to arrive at Bolder Boulder on Monday healthy, rested and ready to race. I'm in the AA wave so it's going to be a fast group and I don't want to get left behind. Also I want a 10k PR that has held since 1996. My goal is sub 40, but based on recent races and paces, that seems a stretch.

Still haven't had time to blog on the relay. Such a fun day and some good memories I wanted to get down. The results are posted but they are confusing with some strange chip times. But it looks like they got our final time and our placing correct.


Here's our team picture in Alicia's front yard (Jill,Alicia,Dennis and Matt -Minus Niell) That's Alicia's dog Frankie. Matt didn't have a medal on him so I shared mine, but it looks like I'm checking his heart with a a stethoscope.

Went to the Y, chatted with the runners a bit about the race yesterday and then stretched, did some weights and some abs.

Need to figure out my schedule for the week that tunes me up for Boulder.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Colfax Marathon Relay - Team Pick'd Pro's 2:55:10

Colfax Marathon Relay - Team Pick'd Pros - 2:55:10

What a blast. I am exhausted so just a quick post and I will fill in the details laters.

Our team finished 3rd among the relay and 2nd in our division.

Fantastic Day. And what a great leg I had, neat route.

Different experince running in front like that. People cheering for me as though I were 22 miles into a marathon when I was only 3 miles into my leg.

Garmin Watch Data for My Leg



Me Post Race at Beer Garden City Park, Denver

Friday, May 15, 2009

Expo Run

Did the city park lake loop run and checked out the expo for the Colfax Marathon Relay. It's at city park right on our route. Craig Murray ran there too and picked up his stuff. Jay and Pete ran out and back. Very disorganized at lunch time, long lines at the Relay Pick up and confusion about the legs and bib colors.

Went back later to get my stuff after happy hour and the lines were short and more organized. If you want to go to the beer garden after the race (of course I do). They ID you and make you wear a bracelet all weekend till after the race (one of those tamper proof ones). Silly. They said it was Denver liquor laws. OK

3.5 Easy miles with a big break in between at the expo. Legs feel good

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Y to Country Club Hill - 6 Miles

Ran from the Y to the top of the Hill by the Country Club, no middle 3 due to the relay on Sunday.

I did pick up the pace a bit to run with Jay and Pete C. Pete C turned around as did Matt. Matt was a bit faster, going his 10k pace. I did just below my 12k pace comfortably for 2 miles. It was warm, but not like Wednesday

Jay did the middle 3. He won today (if you toss out Scott which we always do). Tom ran the 6 easy with a big hike coming up on Saturday. Mike from the CAC ran it also, first time in months, coming back from a hip injury.

Scott did an "easy" 17:21. He did the Barkin' Dog duathlaon on Saturday and won the 50-54 age group and place well overall (especailly when you toss out the pros). He did a 17:21 5k 30k bike and then a 18:00 5k. I'll post it over on the prostates site when I get a chance. He's amazing

So Sharon is out for the Relay, her Fiance Neil is in, which takes off about 5 minutes from out predicted finish, now at 2:54:00. Which could be competetive depending on who shows up of course. I notified the race officials.

I felt some tightness in my right calf, gives me some concern. I might take an extra rest day as a precaution before the relay. I will evaluate tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Rest Day

Rest Day from Running, went to the Y did some weights, abs and stretching.

Might take the dogs for a walk tonight.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Wash Park 7 - Tempo Run

Ran a Tempo run to Wash Park and back. The goal was sub 7 for 7 miles.

Originally Matt was going to join and then Tom, but Matt couldn't make it today, so it was just Tom and me. It was hot, in the 80's hottest day so far this year and we felt it.

Pete C. joined us to Cheesman, then did some intervals. We finished at the Y together.

I was pretty consistent under 7 for the first few miles, kinda got into a middle 3 mode in the middle (did a 19:40 on the middle 3). I started fading towards the end of the middle 3 to Cheesman, stopped for water in Cheesman and I needed it. I did pick it up a bit the last mile running on the shady side of the street. Afterwards I was sweating really hard and was tired, but I felt good about the run despite the heat and the trail race on Sunday. According to my records that's a PR on that course from the Y going back to 2003. But I haven't run that route hard very often (obviously).


I separated from Tom about the time we hit the middle 3 mark. He did good though and ran just under 50 minutes which is a good 7 minute mile pace.

7 Miles 47:30

Garmin Watch Data for Run

Sharon on my relay team has an injured knee and we might have to replace her with her fiance who runs around a 35 minute 10k. Okay, if we have too... Lots of email traffic on the relay today.

After work I paced Jill for a mile at the SHHS track, she did a 6:53 under windy hot conditions. Nice Job Jill. Add another 1.5 miles for the day for me for 8.5.

Then I had a nice massage with Tara.
Rest day tomorrow.

Monday, May 11, 2009

In for St. George

I'm in for the St. George Marathon October 3rd, so let the journey begin. I already booked a hotel for October 2-4th. Now I can layout a Marathon schedule. I added it to my race list on the right. This race will best fit my current schedule/races and running style so I'm psyched about getting in. Goal is to qualify for Boston - sub 3:30:00.

I ran 7 today with the group at lunch. Andre, Matt, Jay and myself did the 7. Tom, Pete, Matt and Craig C went Congress. Jeff ran to colfax. I told everyone how Jeff sandbagged me in the race on Saturday, everyone was impressed with his race given the last 6 weeks.

It was a good run, nice temp with sun. We picked up the pace after the first couple of miles and really picked it up the last mile.

With Colfax coming next Sunday, I'm going to mix up my schedule this week to allow myself to recover and go into Sunday with fresh legs (hint to my teammates...). So probably an up tempo 7 with Matt and Tom tomorrow and them maybe a medium distance (9 ish) run for Wed or Thursday with a couple of rest days before Sunday.

I might pace Jill for a mile tomorrow after work at the track, and I have a massage tomorrow so it should be a good "run" filled day.

7 Miles 53:58.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mother's Day - Rest Day

Took a rest day today. Original plan was to do 10, but woke up with dead legs and sore muscles. Trail running muscles are sore from yesterday. All the ankle wobbles, jumping, downhill and the uphill climbing made me sore.

It was mother's day and with graduation coming up, there's lots to do around the house to get ready for guests and a graduation party for Brittany, so that's what I did all day. The weather wasn't so great either, with a cold rain in the morning.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Balarat Trail Race

Ran the Balarat Trail Race today.

It was a lot of fun, a challenging course that is very beautiful with nice trails, some dirt road and some single track.

The flyers say it's a 6 mile race, my Garmin read 5.5, took me 57:23.

It's about a half hour drive from Boulder. You drive through Jamestown via left hand canyon road (which is really a beautiful drive with some great views, scenery and houses). Jamestown looks like a neat little town, but didn't have time to stop either way. About 4 miles past Jamestown there is a dirt road turn off to the Balarat Outdoor Center. There were a bunch of firemen and people at the turn off, so I thought that was the start of the race. I parked and walked over to one of the fireman and it turns out they were training for rescue and the race was like a mile and a half up the dirt road. Good thing I asked.

So I get there and park and I'm way early as always. 8:30 for a 10:0 race start. It was about 38 degrees, but dry. We had a big rain storm in Denver last night and I though the place would be soaked and muddy but a volunteer told me they didn't get any rain.

They make you park about 1/2 mile from the registration and race start. So I kept on warm clothes and went down and registered. It's a very low frills race. Most of the volunteers look like mountain hippies but they were all nice. There's a school there and they had bathrooms and buildings so It was kinda nice. I registered and instead of a bib they give you a age group colored sticky to pin on your clothes, then when you finish they peel it off and put it on the board to show your place. The starter used a real rifle to start the race. That was load but kind cool.

After I got my packet and goodie bag and shirt a coffee and a bagle I headed back to my car. I forgot my gloves and my hands were cold. I warmed up in the car for a while. Didn't have a cell signal it was so far back in the mountains from Boulder. So I dressed out and started back down to the race with about a half hour to go. It was warming up and the sun was coming out, it was a nice day.

As I'm walking back this guy comes up and asks me about Pikes Peak, since I had my finishers shirt on from last year. His name was Rod Reego or Rodreego, not sure. Anyway he was a nice guy and we ended up talking a lot and running most of the race together. He's signed up for Mt. Evans and Pikes Peak, he might join us for some training runs. I gave him the web site address for the pickled prostates.

Just before the race I saw Jeff and his wife Dana. Jeff said he wasn't going to run it, but changed his mind. Dana was doing the 2 mile walk. Jeff has run 1 mile 2 days ago in the last 6 weeks since Moab. 1 Mile. He said he was going to run as far as he could and then walk the rest. A noble effort. I introduced Jeff and Rodrigo just before the start and we were off.

Jeff said good luck as Rodrigo and I ran up the hill. My Garmin data is below, it's a tough course that runs a figure 8 through the area, 3 major hills with great views at the top. Some Steep downhill but mostly Steep uphill with more gradual downhill. Some on the road but most on trails including single track. Lots of stream crosses that were kinda cool on these little wooden bridges. Also had to run through a few streams, but not deep.

Up the first hill, which turned out to be the toughest. I passed Rodrigo, some people where starting to walk, I passed a few and then the altitude and the steep grade got me and I slowed down and then had to walk near the peak. To my suprise Jeff passed me. I couldn't believe it. That sandbagger was going strong. I never saw him again. He ended up finishing 3 minutes ahead of me. Kudos to Jeff, for that. He always kills me in the mountain runs even today. There were 3 hills total, I had to walk / walk-run some on each of them. Reminded me of Pikes Peak and how tough that can be. The elevation went from 7500 to 8250, with 1400 feet gain and loss along the way.

So Rodrigo and I ended up passing each other about 6 times back and forth. We ended up finishing almost together, he was right behind me 57:23. There was another lady that I kept passing back and forth about 4 times. She ended up ahead of me, she was a strong runner. I talked to her after the race and it turns out she runs downtown at lunch with a group. I told her about our group and where we meet, she says she'll try to meet us by the Y. I told her we usually run toward wash park and she said she had never even gone that direction. Usually ran around toward confluence.

The finish was up hill. My calfs were a little tight and my heels sore from all the rocks and slipping that goes with trail running. They had a blue grass band and hotdogs and hamburgers with tea at the finish. It was fun. Talked to some other runners including Emily and Rodrigo and Jeff of course and had a turkey dog.

I had my Dallas White Rock Marathon shirt on and this guy comes up to me and unzips his boston 2009 marathon jacket and shows his white rock shirt and says nice shirt. We had both run that race last year. We talked about the wind and running. He's done Boston 9 times and does Dallas every year. He ws from Ohio and was visiting his daughter with his wife and decided to run it. He looked like a really fit runner around 50. Didn't catch his name. But 9 Bostons, you know he's a really good runner.

OK, I over-blogged again, but it was a fun race and a fun day and I wanted to get everything down before I forget it, for next year or whenever. I'd like to get a group together next year and do it. It's for a good cause and it's a neat course.

Garmin Watch Data for Run

6 Miles 57:23

Friday, May 8, 2009

Middle 3

Ran the middle 3 today, it was warm and sunny. Pretty average 18:54. Matt, Tom and myself ran it. Matt smoked me by at least 30 seconds. That's 3 in a row (CC Sneak, Bannister and today). He has improved a lot and keeps getting faster. My legs were still a little tight from the mile and the last mile of the middle 3 really hurt. I got a side stitch in the first mile, that was weird. Took a while to recover and then ran back easy with Tom, no up tempo last mile today. Ready for a rest day, this is the 6th day in a row of running.

Garmin Watch Data for Run

7 Miles 50:54

Matt gets his picture on my blog for consistently kicking my butt over the last 2 weeks.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Congress Park Easy 5

Ran the Congress Park route today at an easy pace. A little sore from the mile/relay yesterday but not as bad as a full track workout. Ran with Matt, Craig C, Jay. We took it easy, although Jay had fresh legs. Matt said he was sore, probably more from the 200 in the relay than the mile.

Nice day, very sunny and near 70.
I'm starting to feel good about my running again.
I plan on doing a middle 3 tomorrow and resting on Friday, but my boss is in town, so not sure if I'll get away or have enough of a window to get the 7 miles in.

5 Miles 40:39.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

2009 Bannister Mile 5:35

Our Group ran it’s annual Bannister Mile in honor of the 4 minute mile being broken by Roger Bannister 5/6/1954. This was Dave Caprera’s idea back in 2004 the 50th anniversary, so it’s our 6th year doing it. Dave couldn’t make it this year. We meet at the Manual High School track on the closest Tuesday to the date since that’s our track day for training. We invite a bunch of former runners and people outside our group and they invite people too, so we get a pretty good crowd and you never know who’s going to show up. This year Carlos talked it up at the Y and got a couple of ladies to join us. I invited some people around the Y and some other runners and the ladies from my Colfax relay team (Jill, Alicia and Sharon), none of them could make it so only 2 women this year.

We had 17 runners, plus Carlos, George and Doug helping out. We only had one wave, but it was a fast group this year 10 runners under 6 minute miles.

I was going for 5:30. My PR was 5:40 set last September. My strategy was to run 80,85,85,80 400 laps.. I ended up running 79,85,88,81. The 3rd lap is always the hardest and slowest, I was surprised more about my 4th lap, usually the fastest. I felt good through the whole race and after so I think I didn’t push hard enough. I had Chris and Craig just in front of me so I had motivation to kick it in the end and still fell a little short of my goal. But a PR is a PR and I am happy with that.

We ran the two miles from the Y, about 10 of us started out from there, the rest met at the track. It was a comfortably cool day, no wind and clouds,

Biggest surprise for me was to see Charley Perez, hadn’t seen him in 3 years or so. He was a top ranked tri-athlete in the 50+ age group and an outstanding runner.. He once gave me a free pair of Aasics. He’s still in great shape and running smooth.

A few newcomers including the ladies Carlos brought.

After the fast guys all “warmed up” and the rest of us chatted or stretched. Scott put on his spikes as did Craig C. There were 4 new people this year, so I introduced myself 2 came from Carlos, 1 from Charley and 1 from Mark.

Carlos gave us a 3 minute countdown and lined us up

We gave Scott the pole position as he deserves it, and everyone lined up more or less how they thought it would start off without having to pass anyone Carlos said go and we went. I felt good at the start, my goal was to stay just behind Chris Kamper for the first lap, which I did. We were 40 at the 200 and I felt like I was running smooth and felt good. The first lap went well and I stayed with the front pack behind Steve, Matt and Chris we hit the first lap at 79. Scott was already way ahead of everyone.

2nd lap I backed off just a bit since the first lap was so fast, but I still felt good. The pack pulled away from me some, they were still on an 80 second lap pace. As I looked over my shoulder on the curve I didn’t see a lot of runners on the straight so I knew it was a fast group behind me. I hit the 2nd lap at 2:45 which was perfect. I remembered thinking if I was running 800’s at the track and did a 2:45 I would be gassed, but for whatever reason the mile is different.

I knew the 3rd lap was the hardest so I thought just run another 85 lap. On the curve Craig M and Dave Chipman passed me. I stayed with them through the most of the lap but Craig and Chipman were pulling away. I hit the 3rd lap at 4:13. I had lost a lot of time on that lap and 5:30 was looking doubtful but I felt good and thought maybe I could catch Craig M and get a 5:30.

Oddly enough, I didn’t look at my watch but focused on Craig and gained a bit on him. Chipman was really pulling out. Scott was way ahead and Matt and Steve were real close to each other but ahead of Dave who was gaining on Chris so 7th place. I had no idea who was behind me or how close. With 200 left, I looked at my watch and saw 455, no 5:30 today but a PR was definitely within reach. Craig M was really kicking and I was trying to catch him. With 100 left to go he was about 2 seconds ahead, I gave it a good kick but finished a second behind him. I was a bit winded after but recovered quick which makes me think I didn’t push hard enough the last lap early on. Chipman told me later I started out too fast and should have hung with him and had a fast last lap. He’s run a 4:02 mile at BYU so I guess he knows what he’s talking about, he ended up 5:23 today.

When I finished I grabbed my knees and some air to see how everyone else finished. Eric and Mark were right behind me. Mark surprised me how much faster he has gotten in the last year. Eric doesn't do track work very often but always has a fast base. The group was spread out pretty good and we stood around and clapped as everyone finished. Candace, who Carlos had talked into coming from the Y came in at the end and got the biggest applause, she's a bike rider at the Y who doesn't run a lot but was out there giving it what she had. Most of us had lapped her on the last lap.

We ran the relay afterwards. Carlos, George and Steve figured out the teams. They were well matched this year. 8X200. Very competitive, Matt gave us a huge first leg advantage, he was flying. I ran the 3rd leg against Chipman. We had batons this year, thanks to Steve. I can’t remember the last time I passed a baton in a relay on a track. Tom handed off to me and I probably had about a 3 second lead. Could I hold off Chipman in a 200 for 3 seconds? I ran as hard as I could after a good exchange from Tom. Hamstrings, calfs, groin be damned, Chipman was not going to pass me/our team without a fight. I held him off although he picked up a second or so. The legs were all pretty close, the anchor was really exciting with Eric a few seconds behind Steve but closing the gap. Our team won 4:09 to 4:11, it was a much faster relay than in previous years. Fun Stuff. Luckily nobody pulled anything or any injuries this year.

Results are posted on the pickled prostates web site.

http://www.pickledprostates.com/2009/05/2009-bannister-mile-results.html

This is a PR for me and I met the first of my 2009 Goals on the right of my blog.

Easy Cheesman 4

I ran 4 around Cheesman today with Pete C. We ran an easy pace. I was still really tight from yesterday, debated about not running at all versus an easy run, which would be better for the mile on Tuesday? Went for the easy run to get some soreness out. About 2 miles in I started to loosen up so I think it was the right decision. It was nice and cool.

Scott ran a few blocks and then went back, maybe that's what I should have done, but I didn't loosen up till 2 miles so???

None of the other Bannister guys ran today, except Chris K was tearing up the treadmill. I heard Carlos talking it up at the Y, wonder how many of them will show up.

4 Miles 33 Minutes

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Long Run - 14.5

Did a long run today, first one since before Moab. I felt it too.
It was warmer with some sun today, good running weather, I left about 1 in the afternoon. I went around the Cherry Creek Dam, 14.5 mile loop back to my house. My legs were really dead at the end, which was good, I needed to push my endurance.

Last night I was coming down the stairs barefoot and stepped on a dog chew bone with my right foot. This caused me to jump up and slip down the stairs. I slamed my left foot into the stairs and jammed my middle big toe. It was swollen and red, not sure if it's broke or just sprained. When I was running about 4 miles in it started hurting but then just got numb after about 7 miles. My left knee started hurting about the 12th mile and hurt after.

I was really tired and sore, I soaked my feet and legs in the bath in cold whater and then I took a shower and had a nap, which is rare after a long run for me. This run felt a lot longer, my endurance is really suffering, I need more long runs and some mountain running.

14.5 Miles 2:00:04

I saw Jay Survil up by the Dam Road going the other way and then again at Parker and Quincy at the light. We chatted for a couple of minutes about Cherry Creek Sneak and upcoming races. He had done the same loop around the resevoir but in the opposite direction.

Garmin Watch Data

Saturday, May 2, 2009

5 Easy

Ran 5 Easy with Zach this afternoon. We took the dogs, he had Lucy and I had Levi. We ran down to Piney Creek Over to the 3rd bridge. Let the dogs get a drink in the creek and ran back. On the way back it started sprinkling. It was kinda nice to run in the rain for a change. It was cool and cloudy out.

5 Miles 43 minutes.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Rest Day

Took a rest day from running today. Felt I needed a rest day after the 3 speed workouts within the last week. I will run Saturday instead of resting.
May 1st, looked and felt like Feb 1st outside.

I went to the Y did some abs, stretched and had a good weight workout. Felt good to stretch too.

Got my CC Sneak pictures, there were some good ones, they had good photographers, I put my favorite on my blog profile. Also got my official results, I finished 100th overall, they must have tossed someones results out.

Cherry Creek Sneak Pics