Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Track Intervals

Went to the Manual High School track at lunch today and did intervals. It was hot (90), sunny and no wind.

I did 5X400, 3X800 and 1 Mile @ 7:00 pace

Quads were tight at first from trail run, calfs were ok, right calf pinged me a few times, but nothing bad. I didn't push the intervals, did them about 80% of normal.

6.5 Miles total, 3.5 With Speed

End of the month, only 135.5 miles and 17 days running.
Very disappointing month.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Rest Day

Went to the Y for a quick workout at lunch, did some weights and stretching (quads and calfs).
Hot out there and I was feeling it from yesterday, so it was a good rest day.

Hope to get back on track (literally) tomorrow.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

White Ranch Park - Trail Runs

Ran 16.5 on trails today at White Ranch Park. Located near Golden State Park, part of Jeffco Open Space Recreation. Web site below. with trail maps, descriptions an directions.

White Ranch Park Web Site



My original plan was to do 15 long run, easy. The description for Rawhide Trail looks easy (flat rolling hills, easiest of the trails at the park) I didn't want a lot of elevation so I could rest my calfs some, but needed the miles. I wanted to do something new and run in an area I hadn't run before and Alicia wanted to do a long endurance run also, so she suggested this trail in this park.



I met Alicia at the trail head about 8:15, the parking lot on the West side of the park, 2nd one in. It was really pretty there this morning. Temperatures in the 50's, no wind blue skies, a nice view of the city over the mesa from the parking lot. I took a couple of pictures with my phone camera, but they do not do it justice, so I'm not posting them.

The Elevation at the parking lot is 7400 feet, so it's an increase from Denver, but not way up like Georgetown or Mt. Evans for sure. The total elevation gain/loss for the loop is 1300 feet each way. So total about 5000 feet elevation gain and loss for the day. Not bad.



There are bathrooms on the east side of the trail, so that was our first stop off the trail. The trail starts off with some easy downhill single track with some step drops and goes into the shade for more downhill down to 7100 feet. After about 0.6 miles, you cross a little creek and start going up. This part really reminds me of Pikes Peek. Climbing and switchbacks, roots and rocks. Luckily I had my trail shoes. When you get to the top of this climb, there is a great view with a lake in the distance. This view is so good, I stopped there every lap (3 times). OK maybe the climb helped me want to stop a bit too. Then you run along a ridge with some up and down a couple of other nice views. There are a couple of other peaks that you get to and then you reach the North Side). There is a bench here with a nice view of a Valley and Longs Peak in the distance. I wish I had a camera. The view through the bench to the Peak was perfect. This is the peak elevation point, 7554 feet.

It was at this point I stopped my watched and waited for Alicia to finish the climb. I forgot to start my watch again and so my total mileage and time is about 1.3 miles off. You can see it in my Garmin plot, the straight lines.

As you head west you go downhill again and it feels so good. It's still shaded for a while. The trail is in pretty good shape throughout even with all the rain we've had. The trail here is soft and nicer so it's a gentle downhill. You come out of the trees into a really nice meadow for a while and then back into the forest. You run down to a road where there are some campsites, this road is actually the trail. If you do this route make sure you look at the signs, it's well marked but there are a lot of other trails you could veer off on. Once on the road, you go through a series of 4 hills. The hills dip down to a gully/gulch and then there is a long slow climb back out. The grade isn't too bad and it is a nice workout and seems easy compared to Mt. Evans last week.
As you finish the last hill you can see the parking lot and you are back where you started. A 4.5 mile loop with 1300 elevation gain and loss, a good workout. 1 Down, 2 to go...

Alicia did well, she had done a really tough brick workout North of DIA (of all places) yesterday and had done a lot of biking and running in the heat. She wanted an hour and a half easy run. This was not easy and she had not done the trail work or elevation that I have, but she was still pretty close to me the whole way. We both re-fueled. I filled up my water bottle and had some GU.

My calfs were doing good, I did feel a few pains in each at different points and my right was pinging me more than the left. I rubbed Traumeel on each before the run and then at the pit stop at the car, I rubbed them down again and really rubbed in the sore points.

On the second lap, Alicia told me she was feeling the fatigue and told me not to wait, to go ahead, she was going to take it easy. So I pulled away from her and ran through the second lap. I was starting to feel it a bit on the second one too. The hills seemed steeper and clipped a couple of rocks and even rolled an ankle a bit, but that's trail running. I didn't mess up my Garmin on this lap and did it in 50:50. When I finished, I ran back to meet Alicia, she was only about a half mile behind me, and then finished with her, to get some extra miles.

Back at the car, I refueled and Alicia had her post run shake. She was done and I was going another lap. I ditched my shirt in the car, because it was getting hot in the sun and it was drenched and salt covered and starting to bug. I put some more Traumeel on my calfs, had some GU and a Granola bar. After a couple minutes of discussing the route, we said goodbye and I took off again.

On the third lap, I really felt it, and it reminded me a lot of Pikes Peak after Barr Cabin. I had to take a few walk breaks and then a few more. I was more cautious as the fatigue was setting in. I thought this is it, when I finish this lap, even though I'd be a bit shy of 15, I'd count it as 15. I ended up being 52:20 on this lap, not as much slower as I thought.

I got to the car, and I just didn't feel Done, it was a nice day, I was here, my calfs were holding out, why not go another short loop. I looked at the map and decided to give wranglers run a shot, telling myself even if I walked it all, it would be good. Wranglers starts out on Rawhide and cuts about 3 miles off of it with a short cut to the bottom of the 2nd hill on the west side. The shortcut part is tough to run though, skinny trail with high grass and uphill most of the way. Once back on the road, I ran/walked on each of the uphills. This time when I got to the car, I felt done and I was.

As I drove home, with the AC blasting, all sticky and salty and sweaty, I thought about what nice run it was today and a great workout and how good it felt to finish without injury or pain.

I would definitely recommend this for someone training for Pikes Peak. You can pick your distance by adding laps and get a lot of elevation without the constant climb. Not so good if all you want is uphill with no downhill though. Would have been a good tune up for the Balarat Trail Race I did last month.


Garmin Watch Data for Run

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Wash Park 7

Did the wash park 7 mile route with the group today. Felt good to be running with the group and to do 7. Calf felt good. It was hot and humid. Nobody ran the middle 3, but Jeff, Pete M, Jay and myself did the 7.

Pete M ran from his house and met us at the middle 3 start, then ran with us through to Cheeseman and back home. 16 miles on a hot day, he had water though. Jay got dehydrated and bogged down on the way back, it was humid. It did cool off a bit as we got to Cheesman on the way back.

It was raining as I was walking back from the Y to work and rained on and off all afternoon. Traffic is a mess, so I'm blogging and waiting it out in my office.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Congress Park - 5

Ran Congress Park route today.We had a big group today, 12 runners left from the Y.We did an easy pace and talked about Mt. Evans for the first couple of miles mainly.

When we got to Cheesman we split off, a couple did Cheesman.
The congress group (Craig M, Craig C, Alicia, Jay and myself did Congress)

The rest went to Wash park for the 7.

Alicia did the 5430 Boulder Sprint Trathlon yesterday in 1:30:29 and finished 2nd in her divison.

Congratulations Alicia

!http://www.myentryfee.com/results/RaceList.aspx?target=132

It was hot today, in the mid 80's at lunch and sunny.I wasn't sure if I should run today or give the calf a few days rest, but I rested so much last week and I need to get used to the heat for the summer so I decided to run.I was glad I did, my calf seemed to loosen up with the slow pace I am going to go every other day for the week and no speed work this week.

Hope to get in a long run next weekend. I am way overdue on that. I put my schedule on my calendar but I might try to do another run on Saturday if I keep improving.

5 miles 40 minutes.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Mt. Evans Race

3:00:30

Evans, was different this year. It was foggy and cold at the start. They said it was so foggy up above 12000 ft it was too dangerous to drive on the road, so if the fog didn't lift they were going to stop the race at Summit lake at 9 miles. That stuck in my head and I started hoping for a 9 mile race instead of 14. He said they would post at miles 6 if it was a 9 mile or to the top race. Well the fog lifted some so it ended up being the full race.

It was really windy in one direction as you switched back and it was pretty foggy.My calf's felt really good last night and today, this morning so I had a good feeling. I started out slow, running with Jeff and Matt. Matt pulled away from us slowly and I fell in behind Jeff. About 1 1/2 miles into it I felt a pain in my left calf and from that point on it tightened up more and more. I made it to the 3 mile aid station and took a walk break (last I saw of Jeff and Matt). So I knew I was in for a long day, and I was really hoping for the 9 mile race to give me a reprieve. It got worse and worse, but I was determined to finish. I had to take more and more walking breaks since the calf would lock up on me. Craig Carver and I passed each other about 20 times. He was running slow and steady and I'd run/walk. It was kinda funny. He finished about 15 seconds ahead of me. I just could not push off that left leg strong or hold a pace for very long after about 12 miles. He finished 17 seconds ahead of me.

I ended up 3:00:30, which was 13 minutes off of last year, but my 2nd best ever. I'm disappointed with the calf but not totally surprised given where I was earlier in the week, but glad I finished at 3 hours with all the breaks I had to take. Mt. Evans feels so good when you finish, you can't help but be happy.

It was cold and windy at the top. I felt a little dizzy with my calf's locking up throwing off my balance too. I staggered around a bit like a drunk. Craig and I ate a sandwich and got our bags and waited for Jill to finish. None of the other guys were around (although Jeff must have just left). A van was about to leave so Craig got in it and I waited for Jill. My left hand was really getting cold. After about 20 minutes, I got a little concerned since she had the sinus and ear infection that either she was really struggling or she had dropped out at the 9 mile mark. I saw here bag there and got her number off of it and checked the dropped out runners list, and she had not dropped. About that time, I saw her coming in. It was hard to see very far because of the fog.

Dennis and Jill on top of a foggy and cold Mt. Evans or is it Scotland?

We got her stuff got in the Van and found out way down to the meeting point at the lodge. We ended up with the same carpool plan we started with, only we got into Craig's van. Craig already had his van at the lodge and we headed to where we parked off of Idaho Springs exit. Craig Murray had already left with his parents and Matt had to go to a picnic, so Pete, Jill, Craig, Chris and I went to TommyKnocker in Idaho Springs for a couple of beers and something to eat. It was fun. Jill's friends from Smoky Hill (Avid) were there too and we sat near them. Turns out the Diann we met on our training runs was in that group too.


It was fun and an interesting day, here's a link for how our group did...








My goal was to beat last year's time. Another missed goal. Got to get these calf problems figured out

Friday, June 19, 2009

Pre Mt. Evans

The night before Mt. Evans Race.
Not sure what tomorrow will bring. Will I sleep tonight? Usually not before a big or tough race.
Biggest concern is will my calf's hold and if not how much pain and will I finish.
I heard the weather could be rain in the mountains which could mean snow up top, could also mean wet. Another Pikes Peak type adventure?

No run or workout for me today. I worked through lunch and left early to take Zach to get his permit at the DMV, he got a 100% on the written test. Way to go Zach.

When I got up this morning my calf's were sore. I was disappointed. But they weren't as sore as earllier in the week. The felt ok walking around. As the day wore on they felt better and gotta admit they feel good tonight. I took some Aleve at the advice of Allison and others. I'll take 1 in the morning too, hopefully won't upset my stomach.

We had this nice carpool plan and then at the last minute it changed and Jill and I ended up getting de-carpooled, so not sure if we are riding in with Avid or on our own. I added so many runners to the car pool email that they ended up deciding not to stop and join cars in Idaho Springs.

My time from last year was 2:47:52, will I beat it, will I finish? Check in tomorow...

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Cheesman Park - Easy 4

I ran an easy Cheesman Park 4 miler today to test out my calf for Saturday's Mt. Evans Grind. It did OK, not great/cured, but not as bad as I thought at the beginning of the week. Jeff went with me. I helped him with his new Garmin 405 and we talked running/injuries and Mt. Evans of courese

The acupuncture worked. My calfs were very relaxed this morning and the knots are either softer or gone. I can walk without pain and only occaisional minor pain and tweaks when I run. Was it the electric acupuncture, 3 days good rest, trigger point massage or all 3?

Now if it can hold out for 14.5 up 4000 vertical at Mt. Evans for 3 hours remains to be seen, but I am encouraged by the progress overnight. I will take a rest day tomorrow.

I went to a free running clinic last night at the Runners Roost by my house, it was on Sports Massage and Injuries. It was OK. They stressed regular massage to break up the scar tissue, core exercises to strengthen the small muscles to not stress the large ones and Yoga. It was about 1/2 sales pitch to join the Runners Edge running group and their core training boot camp and also to go see the Massage Therapist (Karen Kalbach). I became the "class example" since I had a recent injury and was already getting regular massages. She said my problems were probably in my pelvic region affecting my form, but would need to examine me in detail to determine for sure ($$$).

Also met the owner of the Runners Edge, David. He had a lot of runners he is coaching and is an experienced runner himself. He has had calf issues and runs on his toes also. He said Karen has helped him. He asked me about my races and I told him what I had coming up. He said he has a group doing Pkes Peak Full and one doing St. George and then a Boston Group all training on downhill.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Acupuncture

Day 3 of recovery, a visit to the Acupuncturist, no workout...

Went to the acupuncturist for my Calf(s) this afternoon. I went to her 4 years ago for a shoulder/back problem that she cured in 3 visits (after multiple traditional doctor visits and medication). She's a petite lady (Allison Dunn) but down to earth and common sense type stuff. We talked about my running and calf issues and the tightness and pulls/strains. She gave me some advice on supplements (calcium/magnesium at night before bed) and a banana a day (I hate bananas).

Then we started, face down, calf's up. She put about 8 needles in each calf and 2 in each wrist/forearm. A couple of them reallytwinged and she and I both said "wow". One in particular in my left calf, where my recent tightness/pull was from last Saturday was really active. She said it kept twitching for a long time. So she left me like this for 5 minutes till they calmed down. Then hooked up electricity to 4 needles on each calf (2 outer and 2 inner). These felt like tapping or spasms almost. She cranked it up till I felt it and then left them in for 10 minutes. She came back and switch to 2 needles on each calf in the middle of the calf. I really felt these pulsing, felt like a dance party in my calfs.

She took the needles out and again some of them twinged. She said the muscles don't want to let go, it feels so good. She put some Chinese liniment on them and told me some I should buy from whole foods and put on them every day. "Truameel" (from Whole foods).She told me not to run, stretch or massage them today, they've had enough work for one day, but should be good to run on tomorrow andfor the race (if it works, no guarantees). We discussed, if this works, it might be good to do a treatment every once in a whilebefore they get bad (keep doing the massage and stretching), also a couple of days before a big race (marathon etc.). And after myOctober 3rd marathon take 2 weeks for a full recovery and treat myself to massages and another treatment, to really let them healbefore running again.

She said they might be sore for a day or so and they are, but in different spots than before the treatment. Makes sense, time will tell, I guess.

I plan on an easy 4 mile run tomorrow to test them out and see if I can race on Saturday.

She said to write down how I feel after the treatment and let her know for next time. I told her I have a blog, so no problem there.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Rest Day

Recover Day 2
I read about the trigger point therapy for the calf region last night.
Looks promising. I started doing it last night and through the day.
6 times a day 20-30 seconds per trigger point both legs. Sometimes it takes a while to find the trigger point. It hurts, but it feels good type of hurt.
Felt a little better today.

Also made an appointment with an accupucturist, Allison. I went to her about 5 years ago for a shoulder/back muscle problem and she cured me in 3 visits. I am hoping she can help relieve the tightness and allow me to run on Saturday.

Went to the Y for a late workout after lunch. Rowed, did some weights and stretched a lot.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Recover Day 1

Taking a few days off to recover from calf issues to try to get healthy enough for Mt. Evans.

Day 1, went to the Y, stretched, did some weights and abs.



The stretching seemed to help and it felt better walking around and back to work.

Read some stuff on calf pulls and most do not recommend stretching for a few days to let heal.

I'll stretch some tonight.

I got some information from Alicia on trigger point/therapy on the Calf Musles that look very promising. Looks like it might be the Soleus and could be related to running on uneven surfaces, dehydration and circulation. I will try the therapy for the next few days.

Also got a contact info for her physical therapist in Boulder that has used dry needling to relieve tense muscles (something I've read and heard about).

Also looking at contacting my accupuncturist (from 5 years ago) for a potential quick fix for the race and maybe long term also.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Mt Evans Training Run

I met the group today for a Mt. Evans upper part training run. After yesterday's bad run, and calf injury. I wasn't sure if I was going to run or just drive everyone around and rest it. I really wanted to run to see if it was more than just tight and sore and get the altitude workout and test it for the race next week.


There were 6 of us today including Diann who we met last week. Once I got there and got in that Evans mood, I decided to run it and if I had to walk it and get swept so be it, but I was going to give it a shot.

Diann, Jill and I were only going to do the 5.4 miles from Summit Lake to the Summit.
Jeff and Matt did the 8.4 from Mile 6 up to the Summit, Pete dropped them off on his way up.
Pete and I did the car swap while everyone else was running. It was windy at the Summit, then Pete and I drove down and I dropped him at 7 miles. Took Jeff's van to Summit lake and I was finally running about 8:30.
The first mile is relentless up the bowl with no switchbacks or turns, just up. My goal was to run that stretch without walking. I made it to the 10 mile marker, which was a bit short of my goal. From the moment I started running I had pain in my left calf on every step. Even walking on that incline hurt most of the time. My other calf was tight also and in general I struggled even with the breathing part and had to walk often for the 5.3 miles with 2000 feet of altitude gain.
It was windy, but only in certain sections as you hit the switchback on the back side. At one point I thought Pete would pass me and I would tell him to sweep me when he got to the top, but I pushed through and when all was said and done it took me 1:05, which was 3 minutes more than last years training run. I counted 32 walk breaks based on my Garmin Data.

Wow, way more than I thought. A 12:18 pace. compared with 11:29 for the bottom half with no injuries. Pete finished right behind me and I could see him gaining on me on the switch backs.
Everyone else did really well and had a good time. We took some pictures at the top (thanks Jill). It was getting cold at the top with clouds moving in, so we headed down quick.


Diann, Jeff, Matt, Pete M. Jill and Dennis after the Mt. Evans Summit training run at the Summit.
We dropped everyone from Jeff's van and then followed them down. Jeff's a little on the cautious side as you can see from this picture, driving as far away from the cliff as possible.



Afterwards we hung out and had some lunch and then headed back to Denver, it was fun despite my problems.
Now I am faced with the delima of running the race or trying to heal.
I plan to take a few days off running and then test it on thursday with an easy run and make a decision on the race. I don't want to do a 4 hour mt Evans run with a lot of pain along the way and set back my training.








Saturday, June 13, 2009

Bad Day Running

I set out for my long run today around 8:45. The plan was to do 16-18 miles depending on how I felt. It was cool, in the 60's, but windy 20mph and humidity around 80%. I started out ok, running around 8 minute miles. At 2 1/2 miles by the 3rd bridge at CC Park, I took a bad step up from the dirt path to the bike trail. I barely caught my toes on the edge and stretched out my Achilles and calf and my toes on my left leg. For a while my toes hurt like they were sprained, then my calf/Achilles area started getting tight and I felt a pull. I stopped right away and stretched it, this was around 3 1/2 miles. After stretching for a couple of minutes I started running and felt ok, I thought maybe just a cramp, but this early into a long run, even a cramp is bad news.

It started to get tight and hurt again, so I stopped a couple of more times to stretch it and rub it. A little over 5 miles into the run I used the porta potti and thought it's decision time, do I go and risk injury or turn back and lose a valuable long run in my training schedule....

I took some electrolyte pills and some water and the GU and decided it wasn't worth a long term injury and headed back. As I was heading back, both my calfs were tightening, including my right. That leads me to think I was dehydrated, and it must have been before I even started because it happened within 5 miles. It was a humid day.

Anyway I walked/ran home the shortest way, ended up running about 8 miles and walking 2 on and off I think. When I got home I iced the left right away and elevated and iced the right. I am also hydrating.

I hope I can run mount Evans tomorrow. I tested running up hill on the way back and it hurt, but I could run.

I don't know how I got so dehydrated, if that is it. I have been drinking a lot of water at work. Although it has been humid with the rain, I have sweated a lot during speed workouts last week. I did have 2 glasses of white wine last night, 1 with dinner and 1 after. Surely that little amount did not do it, but no more white wine before a run.

Garmin Data from today's disaster run

Friday, June 12, 2009

Rest Day

Took a rest day today before my weekend training. Also a potluck/baby shower thing at work took over my lunch anyway. So all I had time for was to get my gym bag and running stuff out of my locker at the Y.

Long run for tomorrow and Mt. Evans altitude run for Sunday are the planned runs for the weekend.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Middle 3

18:30 on the middle 3 for me today. Slower than last week for sure. I felt my right calf the whole way but it never felt like it was going to pop or pull, just a dull ache.

It was a nice cool day, with clouds. More humid than normal but temperatures in the 60's.

It cooled off at the end and started raining as some of the guys finished. Chris, Craig and Pete C. ran it. Jeff and Matt did an up tempo wash park run.

Mark was out running today and we saw him on the course, then he ran the last couple of miles back with us in a pouring rain. He told us about his marathon, it was really cool and wet in SD last weekend. He's feeling good and ready to do some shorter races leading up to the relay.

By the time we got back to the Y we were drenched. Some close lightning strikes to downtown area also.

As I was going into the Y I noticed another running group meeting on our corner at about 11:40. Funny I looked at them and they looked at me. I didn't recognize any of them. How dare they use our corner. :)

Talked to Dena some about the relay team and her being our "alternate" for team 2. She says she's ready to start running again.

7 Miles 51 Minutes

Garmin Watch Data for Middle 3

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Easy 5 at CC Park with the Dogs

Ran an easy 5 at CC Park with the dogs.
I took the day off work to do a college tour of UNC (Northern Colorado) with Brittany.

So I loaded up the dogs, drove down to by the old library and took them to the dog park for a run. I took it easy, real easy and let them stop and swim and play. They probably ran about 3 times as far as me.

It was nice and cool and mainly on a dirt road or path. Perfect easy miles.

The trip to Greeley was good. I think Brittany will fit in well there. We walked around and saw her dorms and the campus.

A storm moved in just as we got back home and we had a lot of rain and thunder and lightning. I took a nice afternoon nap, it felt so good.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Track Day - Intervals

When to Manual HS track for Intervals.

I did 6 X 800 in 2:56,2:56,2:54,255,256,253

Pete C went with me and did 4X800 + 1 400

Jay got there late and did 3X800

Tom did a couple of 800's and left with Dave C who did a few 200's.

Nice day temp wise with clouds, but very humid.

My calf got tighter and tighter as I ran. I might have tempted fate on the 6th one. Ran back easy but it was tight and hurt.

I have a massage tonight, that should help.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Rest Day

Took a rest day today. My right calf was sore and tight from yesteday and my quads from the weekend. Plus 4 days in a row, I was due. Also I want to

I went to the Y, stretched out, lifted some weights and did some abs. My calf felt better after stretching. I iced and massaged it yesterday some too.

Put up a post for Mt. Evans training #2 for Sunday at 7.

Saw the guys running at the Y, there was about 10 of them again today. Monday is definately the big group day now. Maybe next monday I won't be so beat up. I really wanted to run again today.

Congratulations to Mark Brown for running the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon on Sunday with a time of 3:36:01, finishing first in his age group and 38th overall.

http://www.onlineraceresults.com/event/view_event.php?event_id=3668

The Weekend Runs

I'm way far behind on my blog and have a ton of stuff to do, so here's a quick recap on the weekend runs.

On Saturday, we did a group run from Georgetown to Silver Plume via Guanella Pass, Jeep Road and Trail, did a quick tour of Silver Plume and came back on the bike path to Georgetown. A really neat and fun 10.5 mile loop.

Jill did a great job of describing the course and the run, with some cool pictures also. Rather than compete with her I will link to her site.

Jill's take on G'town - Silver Plume

The only negative was I was running ont the trail and tweaked my right calf, just a bit. I felt it tightening as I kept running. I was glad we decided to do the loop instead of the out and back which is 15 miles and rougher terrain and elevation.


Dennis Up Guanella Pass just before the Jeep Road
Taking a Break on a Bridge in Silver Plume

Garmin Data for Run (I messed up my watch a couple of times, so distance and pace are off)

On Sunday I wanted to do a medium distance run (8 Miles or so). My Dad is visiting so my weekend has been consumed visiting with him and May and catching up. Anyway I grabbed Lucy the Brittany Spaniel who has had a ton of energy and we went for a run. I met Jill at the park for about 3 miles, 2 easy and 1 at tempo (8:15), then Lucy and I headed back at the 4.5 mile mark. Heading back my calf started tightening and I was concerned I might set back my training. I stopped at Cherry Creek before the main bridge and let Lucy swim and run around (that dog never gets tired) for about 10 minutes while I sat in the sun and rubbed my calf. We ran home easy and my calf was tight.

Later in the day a big thunderstorm came through our part of Denver with hail and rain, most of it hit about 5 miles east (where my Sister and Gina's Sister both live and where we were headed for Dinner). A small F1 Tornado touched down at Southlands area and did some damage to the outdoor mall and some homes nearby. Jill has a picture on her blog of the Tornado too. She has become quite the Blogger.

I guess I'll rest today, so I can heal some of this up and have a decent track work tomorrow. I hate resting on Mondays though.

10.5 Miles Saturday, 9 Miles Sunday
43.5 Miles for the Week

Friday, June 5, 2009

City Park Duck Pond - 5

Ran the 5 easy duck pond route today. I was a bit sore from yesterday's middle 3 and Andre didn't run today so there was no push for a 7 miler around the golf course. Don't think I would have run anyway, although Andre can be persuasive with his "7 Mile Smack".

Craig C. had some good stories about when the Y guys used to do a Centipede race - 8 of them in a costume. This was in the early - mid 80's. They used to run a tethered 10k in 37 minutes.

I am experimenting with twitter to see if it would be a good tool for communicating internally and across vans and teams for the Colorado Relay. Plus allow friends and family to check in on the team during the relay.

I have added my twitters to my side bar on the right to see how it appears on the blog and how useful it is. I will twit my daily runs prior to blogging them when I'm able.

5 Miles 42 Minutes.

Mountain Run tomorrow early...

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Middle 3

Ran the Middle 3 today. 17:57. Fastest time since 10/4/2008. Last middle 3 was 5/7 and I improved by a minute over that, but I had 2 races (10k and 12k) since then.

Only 4 of us ran it today (Pete C, Craig C and Jeff). Pete's first middle 3 in a while, Jeff too.

Nice day, temps in the 60's a bit humid but it felt good to me, partly cloudy. I felt good the whole way, but did have 3 traffic stops with 1 long one at speer on the way back (due to construction the light is longer). I was 5:58 at the 1 mile and 9:09 at the turn around, so I ran a negative split by 11 seconds which is also encouraging. I held back a bit at the end, where I think I could have pushed it had I had some friendly competition or really wanted to go for a PR, but early in the season with lots of running this weekend. Don't want an injury and I don't want to set the bar too high. :)

Garmin Watch Data for Middle 3

Total 7 Miles 49:57

Briefly saw Mark Brown at the Y, he's doing the Micleson Trail Marathon in South Dakota this weekend. Good luck Mark!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Rest Day

Took a rest day today after the double workout yesterday. I needed it, my legs were tight and sore. Also work was real busy with a new client going live so I could not even get away to the Y for a short workout or stretching.

3 days into June and I've had 2 rest days. Ha.

Looking forward to a good middle 3 tomorrow coming off a days rest. We'll see.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Tempo/Interval Run in the Rain

I did a different workout today. Not sure if I should call it a tempo run or an interval workout becasue it was a mix. Alicia calls it a "Lactate threshold builder" I met Alicia for a run at lunch and we did a workout her coach Susan Williams gave her to improve her 10k time. Susan was an Olympic bronze medalist triathlon in Athens in 2004 (Susan's Bio)

An easy 10 minutes, then a 20-minute tempo segment, 2-3 5-minute segments that are (order of magnitude) 15 seconds faster than tempo, and 3-5 almost all-out one-minute segments. Rests are easy jogging of 1-3 mins depending on interval length.

More 10k Lactate Threshold Workouts

It rained all last night (hard) and most of the morning and Alicia almost bagged it for the treadmill, but it cleared some just before noon so we did the workout. Easy up 16th to just before the park, then 20 minutes at near her 10k pace (7:30), 3 minute break and then 3 X 5 minute intervals (7:12-7:23) pace with a 3 minute break between. Then we did 5 X 1 minute blast runs at around a 6:15 - 6:30 pace with a 2 mintute rest as we made our way back to the Y on 16th, with about a 5 minute cool down run after we were done. It was a fun workout and something different from the usual group runs we do. Dare I introduce it into our group? Would Craig C. approve or bah hum bug it as usual?

It drizzled/sprinkled most of the time with temperatures around 50. I wore a long sleve shirt with a short sleeve under it, after the 20 minute tempo I took my long sleeve off and stashed it in a tree. It felt good around the park, but then I had to lug the sweaty shirt back. I had gloves that I took on and off. There was some wind which made it cold at times, but overall good for this workout.

Garmin Data for Tempo/Interval workout

After I got home I changed out, went to the track and did 4X800 @ 2:55-2:58. It was a good workout, kinda cold and misty. Had the track to myself.

12 Miles today, 7 speed. Rest day tomorrow.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Rest Day

Took a much needed rest day today after yesterday's long run. I went to the Y at lunch, stretched out and did a few weights. I stayed away from the back and abs machines since I think they might have casued my hip problems last week. I think it might be a nerve thing instead of muscular.

I saw some of the runners at the Y and chatted a bit with some about this weekend. 10 runners ran today form the Y. I counted them as they left from the upstairs window where I was stretching. That's a big crowd. I really wanted to run with them today mentally, but knew I had to rest. 52 Miles last week, big jump and biggest week in 2009.

Stats for May...

151.5 miles (21 running days).
Longest Run - 17 Miles
2009 Total 687.5 Miles (98 days 65%)
PRs - 2 (1 Mile 5:35, 10k 42:26)
Races 2

Compare with May 2008
167 Miles (22 Running days)
Longest Run - 16.5 Miles
2008 Mileage through May - 724 (107 days 70%)

So my mileage is down from 2008 by 10% and the number of total days running by 5%.
This is mainly due to injuries in the spring and more races vs long runs this year.
But my speed has improved over this time last year for most every distance and workout.