Miles: 79 mi
Vertical: 5,200'
Notes: Weather challenges this week. 3 weeks out from San Tan 50k.
Mon: 26.2 mi; 2,600' vert; Superior to NCAR and back; Exactly a marathon distance according to my Garmin. Completely unintentional. I was hoping it was a bit further actually. The outbound trail was perfect and the morning temps had the trails still frozen. The return was a bit muddy and sections were thick with clay so my feet got pretty heavy. I enjoy the route because it starts with gentle hills and moves to the more technical sections of Mesa..and finishes with the easier trails again. Just a great route I plan to run many times over. I think including the summits of Green, Bear, and South Boulder Peak would make this an all-out epic route for a future run.
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| Mesa Trail today |
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| I know. Incredible. |
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| A steep descent near NCAR |
Tues: 10 mi; Flatirons Vista; Pretty exhausted today due to an interpersonal conflict. Sometimes the challenge is not actually the mountain itself, but the people and situations that interfere with a healthy mindset. Tomorrow I will be clear-thinking and renewed.
Wed: 10 mi; Treadmill session due to snow storm. I've come up with some interesting treadmill workouts. I almost always make them my tempo run. Today, I set the dial at 8:30/mi and blasted Pandora on my iPhone. Mettalica, Coldplay, and Beastie Boys....with every new tune, I turn the treadmill up by 15 sec/mi. Before long, I'm playing air guitar at a sub 6 mi. During my run, this girl about two treadmills away stepped off and barfed all over the floor. I can't even tell you how disturbed I was. I wanted to run away...and I really tried.
Thurs: 9 mi; 1,800' vert; Mesa Trail; 3-6" snow on ground. Some large drifts with several feet. The trail was still runnable but pretty slow. Running in fresh snow is much like soft beach sand...and it takes quite a lot of effort to move along.
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| Mesa Trail with Fresh Powder |
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| West to flatirons off Mesa Trail |
Fri: 8 mi; Treadmill Tempo; Wind sucks! Seriously...there is nothing more frustrating than 20-30 deg temps and 20 mph wind. In lieu of strong feelings to completely blow off any training...I drove to a local rec center and did some "rolling hills" program on a treadmill. My endurancewife, Jen, came too and she enjoyed training "with" me for once.
Sat: 14 mi; 600' vert; Flatirons Vista/Doudy Draw. Ran with Kurt and Val...both training for Leadville 100. We started at sunrise and took off west into a bitter cold wind. The valleys provided protection and we trudged through deep snow drifts. It's awesome to have people to run with when conditions are difficult like this.
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| Saturday Sunrise southeast from Boulder, CO |
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| Kurt and Val driving into the wind |
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| Single Track near El Dorado Canyon |
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| Trail blazing an area nobody has touched since the last snowstorm |
Sun: 2 mi; Ran 1/2 barefoot and 1/2 w/shoes. I agree with barefooters that running barefoot helps people find correct posture and foot strike. Having said that, I believe new runners dive way too quick into barefoot running and risk really bad injuries. It would take years to develop the body back to jungle-style barefoot abilities. For now, I'll enjoy the benefits of a mile or two per week when weather permits. I ran this mile barefoot to fulfill a commitment I made to an Australian runner who challenged me to run 1 mi barefoot. Did it mate!
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| 1 barefoot mile |
"The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground."
-Buddha
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Thanks for your comments to Rise Over Run...I read all the comments and appreciate your time in sharing your thoughts. Run long, eat plants........Jerry