Go slow to go fast.

Did a fun snow covered trail run on the Bonneville shoreline trail in Draper with jun and scott.  Nice to meet you both!  That was really fun and it was a gorgeous morning with the full moon over the awakening valley with fog settled below us everywhere.

I only slept 4.5 hours which is not enough for me, and then on the drive down to the trail the food I ate the night before began wanting desperately to exit and it was not a pleasant drive.  By the time I met jun and scott at the trail I wasn't feeling well at all.  We started up the trail but I told them to go on.  Then I lost 3-4 pounds next to the trail almost instantly and felt almost instantly better.   I covered up the mess for the benefit of myself and others who would be passing by there multiple times and then went back to the car to charge my garmin and rest for a few minutes.

Then I headed up the trail again.  I was really slow because I was tired and my body felt weak from fighting off whatever was in the bad combo of food I had eaten the night before.  But my feet felt great and totally recovered from the barefoot new years excursion.  

 I met jun on his way back at about mile 3 and then I started going faster to keep up with him.  I was warmed up by this time and it felt great.  It was a really enjoyable run, I really like that trail.  My feet felt great in the FF's but the traction on those things is non-existent which makes it a little challenging on the super steep parts of the trail.  My next shoe purchase is going to be the FF treks.  They have a lot of traction and have great reviews as a trail running shoe.  

I ended up doing less than mileage than jun and scott, here's what I did:

6.2 miles - HR: 139 - Elevation: 1435ft - Time: 1:19. 

I felt like I had bumped up to a new level of fitness today...it felt pretty good. All of a sudden today at an avg 150 heart rate I was able to hold a much stronger pace than before.  My legs and feet feel stronger than they have in a while and after a super hilly 10 mile run I feel great.   My heart rate for that pace on that hilly of a run a few weeks ago would have probably been 10-15 bpm higher I'm betting.  FEELING GREAT! I'm really grateful to be able to run!  Its such a blessing.  Running, and exercising in general, improves my mood and my life a lot.  I notice a drastic difference in the way I feel (for the worse) on days I don't exercise my body.  And I really enjoy doing it.  I vaguely remember back to the time when exercising was a burden, and it just seems odd to me now how I could have felt that way.  Running and biking these days are one of my favorite parts of the day. Here are my stats for today: 10 Miles - Time: 1:22:07 - Pace: 8:12/mile - HR: 151 avg - Ascent/Descent: 1065 Ft I'm pretty pleased with the direction my fitness level is heading.  Its nice to see progress in my pace vs. heart rate sometimes.  That's one reason I like tracking all the data on my runs, its nice to have data to show me how my body performs, rather than just guessing based on how I felt.  I used to get discouraged sometimes on slower days by seeing the data.  But now I just appreciate knowing it, because I realize on days I feel like going slower that is just what my body needs that day.

Ran 7 miles Time: 59:37  - 8:31/mile - HR avg 143 -  650 Ft Elevation gain/loss

1 Degree F + 3 inches of fresh powder + Vibram Five Fingers + Bright sun = One beautiful and enjoyable run!!

OK, I'll admit, when I looked at the temperature outside on the computer I immediately thought "Gym".  But then the morning gym plan got de-railed by my 1.5 year old Ali being really fussy and sick so I couldn't take her to the gym day care.  But it turns out I'm really glad, because that was a really sweet run.

I think it must have been warming up quick because the sun was out in full force, and I never got cold once.  I was wearing tights and leg warmers, 2 long sleeves and a jacket, and 2 pairs of gloves, plus injinji socks in my FiveFingers though.  I ended up taking one pair of gloves off half a couple miles in because I was too hot.

IT WAS SO GORGEOUS OUT THERE! 

And it was super duper (and I mean duper) fun getting fresh powder tracks on a nice smooth trail for an hour.  (OK, not quite as fun as fresh tracks bombing down a steep, deep, 35-40 degree mile long bowl full of powder on a snowboard, but pretty fun in a different way)

I have been telling myself lately I wish it were warmer so I could go run easier in the mountains, but today made me really grateful for seasons, because that was really fun.  Seriously...how often do you get to prance around for an hour on a sunny morning in 3 inches of soft fresh snow?  It was not too deep to be annoying at all, but deep enough to make every step feel extra soft and smooth.  And with the layers, if anything I was too warm.  A lot of things have to fall together just right to make conditions like that, and while it is not rare to be able to run in the snow in colorado, running in that type of light fluff on a sunny morning without other crud on the trail isn't that common.

That's weird.  It seems like I'm destined to only go 13.1 miles on my longer runs for some reason.  Today I planned to run for about two and half hours, but I started heading for home a little sooner than planned.  It was getting colder outside and I was just wearing shorts and a tank top, and my left leg started to feel very slightly tightness at about 1:20 in.  I stopped and stretched a little.  Then headed toward home.  I decided to add more on closer to home if I felt good still.

 Anyway, I decided to go home once I got closer and as I hit my door step the mileage hit 13.1.  Just as it has on numerous other occasions without me planning and on various different routes.  Weird.

That was a great run though.  Just took it really easy and enjoyed every minute.  I started listening to the Dan Brown book "The Lost Symbol" and I was kind of caught up in it the whole time.  His books tend to suck me in pretty easily.  I wore my nathan waste strap with 2 bottles and drank water consistently throughout and ate a gel pack every 30 minutes.  Nan got me the waist strap for Christmas and I really like having it for hour long runs or more (which seems to be almost all my runs these days).  I never took water on my runs in the past.  But I also rarely ever ran longer than an hour.  I like to have consistent water flow when I run now though.

13.1 Miles - Time: 1:55:02 - 8:46/mile - HR: 139 bpm - Elevation gain: 1200 ft. 

7 Miles - 1:10 - Pace: 10 min/mile - Avg HR - 126 - Elevation: 700 ft

Wow, that was slow.  I started out slow because I was warming up and my feet felt a bit stiff.  
Also the ground felt really cold for the first 5-10 minutes since my feet were bare and it was in the 30's initially.  I was really focused on making this run as comfortable on my bare feet as possible as compared with the 5K I did on New Years which resulted in pain because I pushed the pace too hard.  That resulted in a really slow pace today because that's what felt best on my feet.  Really quick light steps, but not pushing the pace at all.

 The result is that my feet feel great and other than the warm up, and a few sections of  really gravelly road, my feet were comfortable the whole time.

7.5 Miles - 1:01:05 - 8:08/mi. - HR: 155 avg - Elevation gain/loss: 912 Ft

"I shed my common sense, in exchgange for newer skin" - The impossibles - Plan B

That was a quote from the second song I listened to on the run.  They were one of my favorite bands when I was in high school...anybody heard of them?  Anyway, it just felt like such a fitting line for me that I couldn't get it out of my head.  I just kept thinking that's exactly what I do each time I go out for a barefoot run.

I usually run a lot faster when I listen to music.  Today that was definitely the case.  Tuesday I ran basically the same route but I did it 2 min/mile slower.  Today I just felt like going at a stronger pace the whole time.  I'm sure the music had a lot to do with that.

What a beautiful run!!  I feel so grateful for having a healthy body and being able to go run for an hour.  I just blasted some great music and cruised along on perfectly smooth sidewalks and streets barefoot, in 40 degrees, which was a fantastic temperature.  It feels like summer compared to last month.  My feet only took 3-4 minutes to get warm today.

I finally broke through my 13.1 mile barrier today.

Total:  17 Miles - Pace:  ~9:42 - Time: ~2:45 - HR - 136 avg - Ascent/Descent: 1900 ft.

I met some of the guys from Your Castle Real Estate (the brokerage I have my license with) down at City Park to run this morning.  I got there about an hour early to get some additional time in.

I ran barefoot for a slow 4 miles or so.  It was pretty good most of the time, but there were sections of the path that were super rocky and painful.

I changed into my FiveFingers when I got back to the car for more comfort, and I met up with Charles Roberts, Drew Shope, and Pat Shamblin - and we ran a comfortable and easy 10 miles in various loops around the park.   I had a good time.  It's nice to have good company to run with occasionally.  I almost always run by myself (which I also love because I really enjoy doing my own thing and going my own pace a lot).

Then they left and I wanted to keep going a little longer because:

1. I felt great
2. I wanted to check the mileage on the smaller (3 mile) loop we did because I stopped my watch earlier on accident and 
3. I wanted to test out my new 'New Balance 790's' that came in the mail yesterday.

Time to start cycling again.

Now that the snow has subsided, I’m going to start rotating cycling and running every other day.  I may do both some days if time permits.

I want to be in good biking and running shape before spring and summer arrive so I can maximize my enjoyment of the mountains in the summer months.  The way I see it is the better shape I am in, the more terrain I can cover, and thus the more I can maximize the fun.

But right now, my biking legs basically don’t exist.  That’s ok though.  It feels great to get out, and I’ll get them back with a few weeks of consistency.

Here are the stats for today:

15 Miles – 55 minutes – 16.6 mph – HR – 113 (wow…I was hardly moving, my legs felt weak) – Elevation change: 800 Ft.

What a busy day.  Tuesdays are generally pretty packed for me.  I was gone by 7:30 this morning to a breakfast meeting with some investor friends.  Then out previewing houses to buy all day.  I knew if I didn’t get a run in I wasn’t going to have much energy to stay up all night researching which properties to buy.

When I got home at 4:30 I decided to try out a quick run in my new balance 790’s to test them out again.  I had been wearing them all day to brake them in.

I didn’t really like it much…at all…it turns out.  I turned around after less than 1/4 mile and came home to put my FiveFingers on.

Ahhhhhh....freedom.  I really don’t like my toes to be constricted and confined any more when I run.  Now that I'm accustomed to the freedom of bare feet, it turns out its annoying for me to stuff them back in confined spaces.  It just feels so much better when my toes are free to move around at will, and I don’t have to worry about how the shoe may be mes messing with my stride and bio-mechanics.

If I had shoes that had TONS of room to move my toes around, and if the soles were flat with no raised heal, I think that I could get into shoes like that possibly.  But that’s the Five Fingers…so I’ve already got them.

The pair of 790’s I have are just too constricting for me I decided.  Perhaps I just need a wider pair, but I couldn’t find any wider than D.   I’ll still wear them around, they’re ok walking around in.  But I don’t think I’ll run much in them.  I think I’m going to get some VFF treks to use for trail running and I should be all set.  They have similar flexibility and movement as my current FiveFingers, but with a bunch of tread on the bottom to protect the soles better and give traction on gnarly trails.

Today’s run: 5 Miles – 46:19  9:15/mile – HR: 131 avg – ascent/descent: 502 Ft

I was listening to a seminar about being a better landlord during the run…not super exciting…to say the least.

But good information which I really need to implement because I have been kind of a slacker landlord lately.  But it didn’t really get my blood flowing for running fast.  That was good though…my right ankle is still on the mend a bit from my long run Saturday.  My right inside ankle bone was really stiff for a couple days afterward, I think because I kicked it early in the run on accident.  Its feeling much better today, but not 100% yet.

I ran for 1/4 mile and decided to turn around because my ankle wasn’t feeling that great and I would rather give it a rest rather than pushing through pain and prolonging whatever the issue is.

I’m pretty sure it got tweaked from running in the new balance shoes on Saturday.  But not just running in the shoes, pushing a hard pace for 3 miles, in shoes, which I was unaccustomed to, which were new, which were too tight on my forefoot, at the end of a 2.5 hour run.  That was probably a stupid thing to do.  Oh well, its done.  I’m sure it will heal if I let it.  So in the meantime I’m going to bike more.  That doesn’t bother my ankle.

I went for a quick bike ride to get a small workout in...it felt good.

10.04 Miles – Time: 30:59 – pace: 19.4 mph avg – HR: 143 avg

50 Degrees, sunny, clear skies.  Gorgeous day to be out running.

Started out SUPER slow, like...12:30 miles, because my right ankle was feeling stiff.  It was feeling better and better about a half mile in so I kept going.

I just cruised with really fast cadence and slow speed for minimal impact on my ankle and I felt pretty good after the ankle warmed up.  I don't know what happened to it, but it feels like its getting better each day.  I LOVED the feel of the warm sidewalk barefoot.  It was nice not to have to warm my feet up for the first half mile.

4 miles - 42 minutes - 10:30/mile - HR 131  

I have decided to try not to run until my ankle is not feeling stiff in the morning.  I would just much rather get that thing completely healed than wonder each time I run if I'm prolonging the healing time.  It is already feeling a lot better today, we'll see how it is Monday.

Only did 9.5 miles this week.  Which is not a big deal to me.  I went biking twice which felt great.

Today I lifted for 40 minutes and swam for about 25 which also felt great.  I like changing it up and working exercising parts of my body every week also.

My ankle wasn't stiff anymore yesterday or this morning, and it felt fine running on it again, thankfully. 

 8 Miles - 1:10:40 - 8:50/mile - HR: 141 - Elevation: 630ft

I ran 4 miles out on the dry creek trail, downhill with a tailwind and was wondering why my HR was so low.

Then when I turned around and realized how stiff the headwind was on the uphill back toward home it all made perfect sense.

It felt great to get out and run for over an hour again. 

***later

My ankle was pretty stiff after my run for the rest of the day, which was annoying.  I will let it rest more this week. 

No running today - lifted and swam laps at the gym.  It feels good to mix up the workout and get different muscles going.

Barefoot and Minimalist footwear running study just published by Harvard

A study was just barely published in “NATURE, a scientific journal”.  There’s a corresponding website detailing the study that is well done in my opinion.  It is based on the findings of their research and pretty clearly states what things there are not enough evidence or research for.

Check it out!…

http://barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/index.html

3.35 Miles - 7:42/mile - HR: 155 avg - Ascent/descent: 381 ft (there's no such thing as a flat run by my house)

 My body felt good today but I decided not to do too many miles for the sake of not overdoing it on my recovering ankle.  I think with taking it easy the rest of this week and just running lower miles, I should be fine running longer again next week.  

Running is a constant learning process.  You keep expanding your abilities, running into new road blocks, having to figure out how to get around them and keep pressing forward.  I thoroughly enjoy the process.  Sometimes its discouraging when I can't run as far as I would like to.  But it reminds me to not be too attached to any one outcome, and I learn to appreciate just having a healthy body in general.

Running has so many parallels to life.  I feel like running keeps me conscious to life in general, because the lessons I learn remind me to live each day to the fullest and enjoy the journey every step of the way.  I guess that's part of why it feels so good to me to run. The combination of physical, mental, and spiritual betterment is just a great feeling way to live each day.

Today's workout was kind of weird, but great.

I ran 1/2 mile warm up to get to the gym from the Tire store where I dropped my car to get new tires.  My ankle felt a bit weird.  I thought I would just lift weights and swim at the gym.

 Here's where you can tell I'm kind of hooked on running.

I was in my running shorts and a tank top and FiveFingers, fully intending to go lift weights.  I stashed my bag in the locker, and headed out to lift some weights.  Before I knew it my feet had taken me up the stairs and I was running around the track.  And I was going fast and feeling really good.  Just passing the same people running about every other lap.  My whole body felt fantastic, it was so easy, and smooth.  

I was just counting my laps.  Didn't have a watch on or heart rate strap.  But I looked at the clock when I started.  After 2 miles it was about 13 minutes, and I felt like I was just getting warmed up.  After 3 miles I decided to stop because even though my ankle felt completely fine, I really do want to take it easy on it to let it heal completely.  

 I did 3 miles in under 20 minutes, I checked my heart rate and it was in the low 160's when I stopped.  MAN that felt good.  It's kind of cool to know that I can run a little faster pace and not be maxing my heart rate out.

Then I went and lifted for a while.  Then I ran back to the tire store, but when I ran outside my ankle was hurting.  I wonder if the 26 degrees outside is part of the problem on my sore ankle tendons?  It didn't hurt at all to run inside, but before and after when running outside it was bothering me a little.   Weird. 

Running Fast and Injury Free - by Gordon Pirie

This is a really interesting book relating to injuries, shoes and racing in general by Gordon Pirie.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13695/Gordon-Piries-Running-Fast-and-Injury-Free 

 If short on time, just look at Chapter 3 specifically...interesting stuff.

I'm going to bike most of this week to let my right ankle hopefully complete the healing process.

The nice thing is that its a good excuse for me to start to get my biking legs back, and its about the right time because I want to be ready for the mountain trails in a couple months.

Short ride, 12.17 miles - 42:34 - 17.2mph - HR: 117 - 528 ft.

It is gorgeous out there this morning.  Really sunny.  But I could definitely go for some warmer temps.  30 degrees isn't the most optimal cycling weather in my opinion.  My feet were only mildly cold though because I wore wool socks and neoprene boots.  

18.69 miles - 1:01:06 - 18.4 mph - HR: 149 - Ascent/descent: 1033 ft. 

Spent all morning puking - not the most comfortable morning I have ever experienced.

Fortunately I felt great by Noon and was back to normal.

I flew to Seattle tonight, and it was really funny to show up on Danny's door step and see the bewilderment on his face at that fact that I was standing there.  It took him 5 or 10 minutes to come to grips with the fact that I was actually at his house because Jenni (his wife) and I secretly planned me to show up and run with him for his 30 mile 30th birthday run.

I'm excited to be here and to go running tomorrow at sea level in a 57 degree forecast.   I haven't run for a week, I was saving up all week to run tomorrow, but I didn't want to post about that so as not to give it away to Danny.  I don't know yet how my ankle is going to hold up tomorrow, but it hasn't been giving me any problems and I gave it a week of rest, so I will just find out how long I can run tomorrow.  Who knows....maybe I'll do my first ultra marathon tomorrow!?  Stay tuned.... 

WOW - What a FUN RUN!  Seattle today was absolutely AMAZING!.

So it wasn't a race at all, but it was an 'organized run' and this is a longer report so I checked it as a race report.  

7.5 Miles - 53:15 - 7:06/mile avg - HR: ~165-170 - ascent/descent: 0 ft.

 I'm loving how my body feels today.

I ran on the track at the gym because it was cold and snowy and I didn't feel like running in the cold today.  I warmed up in a 7:50 mile and then the rest of the miles were between 6:40-6:50 I think.

Although my heart was in the 170's a lot of the time, it felt great and not difficult at all.  I think I was grinning the whole time at how smooth and good I felt.  I'm really pleased with how my body recovered from that 3.5 hour run on saturday and how much good the week off last week did for my ankle.  I don't feel any problem there at all anymore

Today I was focusing on my upper body form, staying very upright and pumping my arms fast and tight the whole time.  I noticed that if I wanted to speed up, if I focused on my arms, my legs just naturally seemed to flow and have great form and speed.  I think there is a lot to be said for good upper body form. 

I'm feeling like running 30 for my 30th in a few weeks is going to be fun and that my body can definitely be ready for it. 

Did my favorite 1 hour road bike loop to change it up this morning and give my running legs a day of rest.  Sunny and beautiful - mid 30's - felt great.

18.67 Miles - 1:03:20 - 17.7mph - HR: 141 - Ascent/descent: 1050ft.

That was LAME!

Had a really great and fun run on Friday.  But after the run, and for the rest of the day my right hip became more and more stiff...DANGIT!

I caught the hip bug somehow that's been going around.  BE CAREFUL OUT THERE, IT'S SPREADING!

Saturday I was still sore and could feel the inflamed tendon going over my hip socket.  Not cool.

Looks like this week is going to be a biking week!  I'm definitely not going to run anywhere until the inflamation is gone.  I'm going to see my massage therapist this week, Sherry, if you're reading, can we move the appointment up to monday?

So what did I do wrong? 

I think its pretty clear that I just ran too much too soon.  I didn't realize I was doing that, but it hindsight I probably should have waited another few days to do that long of a trail run.  I went from running 0 miles 2 weeks ago, to 46 miles in a one week period.  Which is way more than I have ever run in a one week period, and I ran a lot of those miles at a fast pace, and then finished myself off with over 2000 feet of climbing on a 2 hour run.   The reason I didn't realize how much I had run, is because I had only run 14 miles this calendar week.  But the previous saturday I ran 21 miles.  So in a 7 day period I had run 46 miles, which was obviously too much for me at that point.

I felt fine going into that last run, so I'm not sure what to do differently for the future.  Other than just watching my weekly mileage and bumping it up more consistently, I'm not sure...any ideas for me?

3.63 Miles - 31:28 - 8:40/mile - HR: 142 - Ascent: 408ft

I went out for a really easy short run to see how my hip would feel.

The good news is that I didn't feel any pain at all!  That was pleasing.

The pain in the tendon right across my hip was gone by Monday morning, but my glut muscles all around there were tight.  Went to my Nan's ART therapist on Tuesday and I think that stuff was really beneficial.  He recommended I keep running on it and recommended core and hip exercises.  I'm going to run easy again Thursday morning and I will add the core and hip exercises into my routine daily.  I'm pretty happy that it doesn't appear to be a major injury, just a minor setback and a good learning lesson.

4.63 Miles - 40:35 - 8:46/mile - HR: 143 - Ascent: 430ft

Just taking it easy.  My legs feel fine.  My right glut still has some sore muscles, but it doesn't hurt at all to run, and I haven't felt any hip pain while running.   

6.15 Miles - 54:38 - 8:53/mile - HR: 134 - 650ft. elevation gain/loss.

That was a nice easy run again today.  My legs feel fine.  My right glut is feeling better, still some residual minor soreness, and I noticed my right hip/butt feeling slight tiredness at one point in the run, but no pain.  I secretly want to get up early and go run for 4 hours just because (ok I guess its not secret anymore, ok jun, you're giving me the bug), but I'm restraining myself on account of...well...prudence I guess.

I was listening to "The Revolution" by Ron Paul for the 2nd time on my run this morning.  I highly recommend reading it for a fresh perspective that doesn't get much attention unfortunately.

Revised goals:  

(Oh...and I just signed up for steamboat and golden gate...drew the line in the sand and crossed it.  Anybody want to join in on the fun?) 

Beautiful sunny, snow-packed road morning.  Body and hips felt great.

6.12 miles - 44:10 - 7:12/mile - HR: 157 avg - 911 Ft gain/loss. 

5.98 Miles - 49:39 - 8:18/mile - HR: 145 - 731 FT gain.

I felt like running up and down a hill today, so I went to the cement trail down to the pond a block away and ran to the top and bottom over and over.  It was .68 miles.  

It was a beautiful sunny morning and I was shedding layers...I'm really looking forward to warmer temps and just running in shorts.  But I'm happy to be running in any weather...to be able to get out and run is a blessing.

Had an enjoyable workout at the gym this morning.

Spun for 15 minutes at about 135 HR

Then I ran around the track for 1 mile in 7:05 at 155 HR

Then I spun for another 15 minutes at 150 HR

Then ran 1 more mile on the track in 5:37 and had a HR about 170 at the end.

Then I did pullups, dips and some other weight lifting.

It felt good.  I was itching to go run up a mountain this morning.  But I resisted the urge, because my right glut is still kind of tight and I would like to wait until I can tell it has settled down.  My hip doesn't hurt anymore but I can tell that it is still healing and I want to let it.

Went swimming and lifting at the gym for a little while.

 I'm taking the week off running and biking to let my right glut settle down completely. I had an ankle issue, and I gave it an entire week off, and it hasn't been back since.  I'm hoping with a solid week of rest, I can start building back up my mileage from a 'non-overused' status that will give me better results.  

I've been itching to get out though. 

Swam for 1 Mile - that felt great.  Just under 30 minutes of swimming.

Then I did pullups and dips and some other weight lifting that felt really good also.  

I really enjoy getting a good workout in, regardless of what it is.  The body just always feels so invigorated when it is exercised. 

Did a little over a mile in the pool again this morning.  Felt great.

I went to Richey, the ART therapist/Chiropractor.  

He worked on my right butt/hip and my left quad/knee and adjusted my mid back and it felt great!  I feel like going running tomorrow.  I think I may.  I think my butt has had enough rest for now. 

Aaahhhhh...barefoot in the sun with shorts and t-shirt.  What a glorious morning run.  

My legs felt great...feet took a mile to get used to running barefoot again, it has been a while.  My right hip was kind of telling me it was there, but was warmed up within the mile.  It felt great to be out running in the sun...spring is in the air, which makes me happy.

5.2 Miles - ~45 Minutes - 8:40/mile - HR 145 - Elevation change: 600 ft 

Lifted weights for 30+ minutes, Ran 1/2 mile around the track just to move my legs a little, swam for 20 minutes.

My quads have some lactic acid build up in them from yesterday that I can feel when I go up and down stairs.  I'm definitely going back to that trail again this week sometime...now I completely understand why Bryce runs the same peak by his house over and over, I didn't quite get it before.

Easy loop around my neighborhood first thing in the morning.  

 Felt good. 

What a crazy week.  I don't know how some people live on 5 hours of sleep at night.  I die on 5 hours of sleep.  Right now after 3 days straight of about 5 hours of sleep I'm wasted.  

Monday-Wednesday this week were so GORGEOUS!!  And I have been working 16 + hour days all those days because I think my boss is crazy.  It has been driving me nuts being out driving around in this amazing weather and not being able to go running through the hills in it.  

I did manage to squeeze in a quick run this morning finally.  It was about 50 degrees, sunny, perfect weather for an easy run around the neighborhood. 

Every night this week I have only had 5-6 hours of sleep.  So I went to bed early last night to catch up because I was exhausted.  Then I woke up at 3 am and couldn't sleep anymore.  

So I decided to go running.

Went running for 8 miles really slow in the dark and wet as the snow began falling.  Sometimes the snow was coming down hard and sideways in my face, so I changed directions.  I was wearing sunglasses even though it was dark outside, just to shield the snow.

Then I came home and laid down on the couch for a while, enjoying the book "Atlas Shrugged" that I have been listening to.

Then my son woke up, and soon I saw the parade of happy kids coming out of Breanne's room after Abe went in dutifully to pull Ali out of her crib.  I'm not usually up at that hour and it was fun watching them greet the day with so much enthusiasm and joy, and then burst out in screems of "Daddy" when they noticed me in the living room.  

We hung out for a while and Nan got up and made some oatmeal, then I put on my dry treks and went back out for another 7 miles.

The first 8 took me 1:18.  I must have been awake for the second 7 which took me 1:01.  The whole run was really light effort and enjoyable, just caught up in the story I was listening to, wanting to keep running all day, but needing to move on with the day. 

15.21 Miles - 2:19:46 - 9:11/mile - HR: ? no strap - low, probably 130-135 avg - 2135 FT ascent/descent 

Nice sunny day.  Caught up on sleep for the week this morning and then had a fun party for my 4 year old Breanne's Birthday.  Then went for a run in the FF's, but had some chaffing in the arch so kicked them and my jacket off after a mile and felt better.  Super easy, slow run, just enjoying the sun and listening to 'Atlas Shrugged', which so far I am enjoying quite a lot.

5.03 miles - 47:14 minutes - 9:23/mile - HR: 129 avg - 800 ft ascent/descent

7.35 Miles - 1:00:40 - 8:15/mile - HR: 142 avg - Ascent/Descent: 650 FT

Nice sunny run today.  Felt really good.  Took me a few miles of down hill running to warm up, then I held the same pace coming back up the hill.

7.16 Miles - 1:08:09 - 9:30/mile - HR: 135 - 750 FT Ascent/Descent

It's really sunny and beautiful this morning.  Nothing eventful today, but really enjoyed an hour run in the sun with a good book. 

Spring time in Denver has crazy weather.

Tuesday morning I was running in bare feet, Sun, and a T-shirt. 

Wednesday morning I woke up to about 10 inches of Snow.  Took a day of rest.

Then by today a majority of the snow was gone.  But it was kind of icy, so I sported the FF treks and did a quick run around the neighborhood.  

I felt good after a day of rest and going 7-7:30/mile pace up the last mile hill felt really easy and only held my HR about 150.

5.61 Miles - 43:51 - 7:48/mile - HR: 143 avg - 500 FT ascent/descent 

 Oh yeah, and I'm stoked today! Because my friend from Kindergarten T-ball the great Jentron signed up for the golden gate dirty thirty and is now committed to doing it with me. 

SO GLAD TO BE BACK TO THE MOUNTAINS TODAY!

Here are my stats for todays run, which was epic and highly fun:

8.6 Miles – 2:33:13 – 17.48/mile avg – HR: 138 avg – 4300 Ft ascent and 4300 Ft of descent

It was really muddy the first mile, then snow pack the second mile, third mile was steep and deep to the peak.  I love running in the mountains.  I must say though that I am eager to bid a fond farewell to winter this year and welcome spring and summer mountain running with open arms.

Here's some video I took on my phone today:

Well...back to cycling for a while it looks like. 

Fortunately for me I love cycling or I might be tempted to be bummed out.

I'm actually looking forward to the excuse to ride up super steep canyons as the weather is now getting warmer.

I am still dreaming of running all the peaks on the Front Range that stare down at me every day, but for now I will take of advantage of enjoying riding again, up into the hills while my foot heals.

I'm not sure that I have a stress fracture, but I think I do, in my 5th metatarsal.  I'm going to get it checked out to be sure though.  In any case I'm going to bike this week instead of running.

 Just did a quick ride this morning with the time I had:

14.72 Miles  - 17.8 mph - HR 127 avg - 715 FT elevation. 

14 Miles - 41 Minutes - 20.5 mph - HR: 145 - Elevation: 780 FT.

After about 2 miles of riding today my rear derailleur cable snapped.  For about 5-10 seconds I was bummed because I had JUST BARELY commented to myself in my mind how much I was loving being out riding, and then I thought my ride was going to be cut short.

Then I realized I could just single speed it for the rest of my ride.  My chain was stuck on the smallest 12 tooth cog on the back.   So then as I cranked it up the steep hills I realized that I really enjoyed it and having to stand up and power climb all the hills felt almost exactly like running up steep mountain trails.  And I loved it.

 And now I understand single speedsters a little bit more, and I am actually considering leaving my derailleur broken.  It forced me to get an awesome workout up the hills and simulate mountain running a lot more.  Plus my overall speed for the workout was way faster than it has been in previous rides using the sissy gears.

I love the fact that my ride should have been done for, and my plans to ride spoiled and instead, because of the mishap, I enjoyed it twice as much!  Life is cool.

15 Miles - 48:45 - 18.4mph - HR: 146 avg - Elevation: 1074 FT

Took my new single speed out for another enjoyable spin today.  

I'm loving the single speed for some reason.  Its fun to be out of the saddle climbing straight up hill for a mile or two at a time.  Shifting up is for pansies.  (ok, I admit I would totally shift up to an easier gear if I had the option readily available, but can't you at least just let me pretend to be tough this one time?) 

6.5 Miles - 1:02:49 - 9:40/mile - HR: 151 avg - 1750 FT Elevation gain/loss

That was nice!  Felt so great to be out running again.  There were huge winds in the valley but running on the Mesa Trail in the foothills of the front range there was hardly any wind and it was an epic sunny afternoon.

That is a fantastic trail.  It climbs about 900 FT in the first 2 miles from 5600 to 6500 FT, so its steady climbing but not insanely steep.  Then the trail rolls up and down along the foothills at about 6500 FT.   

My foot is a little sore from the work done on it yesterday, but didn't hurt while I was running.  I'm going to roll it with a tennis ball and ice it now per doctors orders. 

Tried out some P90X this morning...very good stuff.  Kicked my butt.  

Then I did a quick bike ride over to a house we just bought that happens to be near mine.

My heal started hurting tonight out of the blue...it was weird.  The pain on the side of my foot went away, and was replaced with sharp pain just in front of my heal when I put pressure on it.

 11.28 Miles - 42:13 - 16 MPH - HR: 127 - 670FT

Went to Richey the ART therapist this morning.  

He said my bursae in my foot was probably inflamed with too much fluid for some reason causing my heal pain.  Told me not to run on it for a couple days and see how it feels.

Didn't have much time this morning after waking up late and having meetings to be in with my employees at 9:30. 

So I got a quick 35 minute ride in on my broken road bike.  Felt good to get out and move a little at least.

 In the evening I bought P90X from someone for $60...I'm looking forward to the diversity of getting into better all around fitness.  I know a number of people who have been swearing by P90X so I decided to check it out. 

Did the p90x yoga today for 90 minutes and learned something new...

THAT I AM A TOTAL FREAKING WIMP!!!

I couldn't even do HALF the crap those people were doing and I was dying.  And my flexibility is basically ZERO at this point.

I am convinced at this point that my core strength being completely pathetic is not helping my ability to run far distances.

So I am excited to take on the challenge of working on my overall strength each day.  I'm going to start the 6 day per week/1-1.5 hour per day p90X program on Monday, in addition to running (as soon as my foot will allow again) and biking a few times each week.  I'm really looking forward to it.

p90x for 1:15 - Arms, Shoulders, Core - Felt great.   My core is pathetic.  That is my main focus for the next couple months.

No running today, my left heel is still a bit sore, getting a little better each day though. 

Did P90X plyometrics today for 1 hour.

Everyone told me, including the p90X people, that it was the 'mother of all workouts'.

not true.(for me)

The yoga kicked my butt twice as hard as the that.  I did double time on some of the plyometrics segments just to make it harder.  It's probably because the plyometrics is all in the legs and lungs and that happens to be the only part of my body that I consistently work out and I'm already strong there.  Whereas yoga is all core strength in which I have never consistently worked and at which I am currently a completely pathetic weakling (that I am going to change however).

In any case, it was still a great workout and worked muscles I would not normally have worked.  P90X is proving to be a pretty great overall strength/core workout...I'm digging it.

Average HR for the plyometrics hour:  133 (including warmup and cooldown)

I couldn't resist running barefoot in my shorts and tank top in the 60 degree sun afterward!  The inflamation in my heel is gone and it felt great to get out and run again after another week off.  I took it easy and ran on the sidewalks and grass around the neighborhood...it was a nice reward after solid workout.

Run stats: 3 miles - 26 minutes - 8:40/mile - HR: 147 avg - 331FT 

P90X Chest/Back and Core today 1:10

Did a total of 240 various types of push-ups, 50 door jam finger pull-ups (because I didn't have my pull-up bar yet until today).  Then did the Ab/core workout that kicks my butt each time and which I can only do about half of.

My left foot is kind of sore in the cuboid area.  Its weird because the pain went away there when I had a weird heel pain for 4-5 days.  Then the heel pain went away and the cuboid pain is back.  Unfortunately Richey is gone for the weekend so I have to wait until next week to get it worked on again.  But the good thing is that it gives me a good excuse to work on my core strength right now and build a better foundation, which I really need.  So I'm taking it as a blessing. 

90 minutes of P90X Yoga today.  Kicked my butt as usual.

P90X this morning, working legs and back.

Basically did hundreds of squat variations and about 100 pullups of different varieties.

Awesome workout, my gluts loved it, my upper body loved it.

Finished off with 15 minutes of Ab work which is just crazy hard, I only get through about half the moves, but it leaves me feeling fantastic the rest of the day. 

------------------------

saturday

P90X - Shoulders/Back/Abs 1:10

P90X plyometrics - very good workout, and really good for the gluts and quads. - 1 hour

Ran 3 miles afterward in 8 min pace.  Ran in my new balance 790's because I'm trying to give my left foot as much cushion as possible as I'm letting the cuboid issue fully heal.  It is almost gone, I don't ever feel it getting worse and its only vaguely ever noticeable anymore, so that makes me happy.

Now my right knee cap hurts though.  It's pretty minor, and I know what the issue is, its a tight quad, so I've been rolling it like crazy and I'm getting some ART tomorrow for my foot and right knee now.  It started getting tight a month or so ago when I climbed Green mountain 3 times in 1 week, and I neglected rolling it for too long I think.

 It seems like my body has been going through an entire phase of little growing pains over the last 4-5 months.  Once one thing goes away, another follows.  Maybe once I've made my way through every body part then I'll be some kind of bionic invincible man or something. 

p90X - shoulders/arms/abs/core - 1:15

p90X - Yoga - 90 minutes - kicked my butt as usual

p90X - Shoulders/Back/Abs/core - 1:15.

Did the workout in the hotel in LA after feeding the kids breakfast.  Then we went to Disneyland with the kids.  That was a much more challenging endurance event than I would have imagined.  Good memories, but not a relaxing vacation by any means.

That was an exhausting but good day.

We took the kids to Disneyland all day again today from about 9 am to about 6:30 pm.  My step-brother works as a cast member there and got is in free both days which was really nice.  We had a lot of fun with the kids, they loved splash mountain and space mountain and the other rollercoasters and stuff.  

But wow...were we ready to be done with that place by the end.  So exhausting.  Huge crowds of people, tired kids, out of their routine, battling through multiple different meltdowns.  A lot of highs and lows out there, a lot of (too much) stimulation for our little kids I think.  Any way, some good memories now, but not easy to come by, that's for sure.  And the excess and waste that goes on there is kind of unsettling for Nan and I. 

 Anyway, at the end of the day, after Nan and the kids were in bed at about 9 I went to the fitness center and did a really tough 4 mile run in 40 minutes.

I kept the pace at 10:54/mile for the first 2 miles, but every quarter mile I raised the incline by 2.5 until at mile 1.25 I was running at the full incline of 15.  That was maxing me out for sure.  I did 3 minutes of that and then progressed down by 2.5 per quarter mile until when I was nearly flat I started increasing the speed.  Ran the last mile at 7.5 mph (8:30/mile).  It was a solid workout and felt great.  

Then I rolled out my right quad on the edge of the hot tub that has a rounded stone edge, which worked amazingly well. 

Did a nice 5.5 mile run this morning on a trail around a lake by our friends house where we happened to be staying the night.

Missed P90X today, just couldn't squeeze it in.  Busy day after missing a few days from vacation. 

I did manage to get 15 minutes of Ab Ripper X in, which is pretty sweet.  I do it monday, wednesday, and Friday at the end of each p90X session and it is ripping my abs to shreds.  I almost have Heman abs already, its sweet.  Now if only I could get rid of all the flab over them you could actually see how awesome they are.

Seriously though, my core is already MUCH stronger than it was a month ago when I started.  I'm feeling pretty good about it. 

Double duty on the P90X today.

Got going at 6:30 am (which is CRAZY INTENSE EARLY for me) 

Did Chest and Back routine for an hour - 234 pushups and 65 pullups and a bunch of back exercise pulls with bands.

Then did Plyometrics for an hour - bunch of jumping and squats.

That was a pretty solid  workout, felt awesome.

HALLELUJAH FOR SPRING!

What a glorious morning/day it was today.

I kicked it off with a butt kicking arms/shoulders workout for 1 hour.

Then 15 minutes of Ab Ripper X.

Then I couldn't resist heading out into the 60 degree sunshine in nothing but a pair of shorts and for a 25 minute barefoot run.  IT GOT ME SO EXCITED FOR RUNNING SHIRTLESS THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS THIS SUMMER, IT'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!

Just dripping with sweat, getting odd stares from just about every car that passed me...always staring at my feet.  What's the big deal?  Is it really that weird?  I love how it feels to run barefoot, and I think its also kind of funny and odd how everyone is always so surprised when they see a mostly naked guy running down the street.  OK...I guess I shouldn't be that surprised.

Did 90 minutes of Yoga with Nan in the evening. 

That p90X yoga routine always gives me a solid core beatdown and feels really good. 

p90X Legs and Back routine for 1 hour - included a total of 110 pull ups.

Ab Ripper X for 15 minutes

Rolled out my right quad, which is my problem area at the current moment.  I think I'm nearly over it, but not quite.  I'm quite sure I over did it by running Green mountain 3 times in a week about a month and a half ago and that is what the issue with my quad/knee is right now.

Fortunately, it doesn't hurt when I run, just when I step deep up or down stairs occasionally, but each day it gets better.  And I'm taking it easy because I want it all the way better as soon as possible.

Because Nan and I are taking a 3 day 'kid'less trip for our Anniversary to Crested Butte next weekend, and I want to be able to run the trails A LOT there.  And I want to be all healed up so I can run 30 miles in the mountains on June 5 for the Golden Gate Dirty Thirty. 

Another great day in Crested Butte and Gunnison.  As great as yesterday was today rivaled it for sure.

We woke up and ran first thing in the morning.   Nan did an intense workout of 1000m repeats and I did a fun hour long loop on a trail down into town and back up to the hotel.  I met her on the trail on part of the run and tried to keep up with her in her 5:35 pace for 1000m and I was not hacking it.  I stuck with her about 500 m and then I was back to my leisurely 7:30 pace.  Then I hit the uphill again and it was 10-11 min pace. Splits for this run: 10:40, 7:52, 7:25, 7:10, 10:01, 10:03, 9:59 - 8:59 avg - exactly 1 hour - 1000 Ft down then 1000 Ft up.

After running we cooked up a delicious breakfast, did Yoga until about noon and then took a nap.

Then we went to Gunnison and hit up an AMAZING mountain biking/trail running scene at Hartman Rocks. We road our bikes and the single track was simply awesome.  Here's a quick video...

First time running this week, legs felt pretty sluggish.  Recovering I guess from bumping up my mtn. miles a lot more last week.

Just super slow and easy run around my neighborhood in 8:45 pace. 

My foot is feeling pretty much back to normal today so I headed out for a run this afternoon.  I wore my NB 790's for some foot protection since my foot is still slightly tender, but I don't think I needed them, and they gave me a couple small blisters, so i'm back to the FF's next run.

It was a gorgeous run.  70 degrees and sunny.  My legs felt great.  I ran a pretty hilly almost 10K route on rocky trails and really enjoyed it (except for a few moments when I found myself pushing too hard to try to keep my speed up and then my lungs/legs started burning so I backed off a bit in order to enjoy it again.)  I felt it would be a shame not to fully enjoy the entire run because it was so gorgeous out there.

I ran 6.15 miles in 44:39 -  7:15/mile.  It felt good to get out and run hard.  My lungs were kind of feeling it toward the end though because they aren't used to working that hard.

That was an experience.  Good and bad.

I'm in Phoenix this weekend with the family because one of my real estate mentors Dan Doran flew us down here because he wanted me to be in his new infomercial.  So look for me soon on late night TV...don't ask me why I agreed.  He's a great guy though, really helped me out a lot and I wanted to do what I could to help him, plus it was a free trip and we can see some family down here.

So congrats to Nan who SLAUGHTERED the competition this morning at a local charity 5K.  OK, there wasn't any competition really, but she did slaughter it with a 17:30 5K.  There were only 2 other guys who could actually be classified as runners and they were multiple minutes behind her at the finish.

Then I headed to the hills 15 minutes away for a trail run.  It was a phenomenal morning for a run.  85-90 Degrees, on the hot side, but not too hot.  I really liked it.   I love running with just shorts and some water.  I found a trailhead in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve that looked cool and started running up.  It was a pretty easy/moderate uphill run for the first 2 miles that kept getting gradually harder and harder.   The last mile was a true butt kicker in every sense of the word, but I was ABSOLUTELY determined to run the entire way to the top (of the pass.  I didn't see trails to the peaks, and I didn't want to be away from the fam all day, so I settled for the pass as my goal from the onset which was a 3.5 mile run out and then 3.5 back.)

Well, I was within 1/4 mile of the top and I stubbed my SAME STINKING INJURED LEFT TOE!  Such a pain.  I was barely moving going uphill at that point in about a 16 min/mile.  It hurt decently bad and I had to stop and sit down for a minute.  Which bummed me out, because I was feeling awesome.

By this point I was so close to the top I wasn't turning back yet, even though it was now hurting my foot a little bit to run on.  I figured I had to make it down 3+ miles still anyway, so it wasn't going to make a difference to go a bit more to the top. 

But the next 1/4 mile was pretty much straight up.  I love super steep running, it feels so cool even though I'm going so slow, it just feels cool to keep running even though its so steep, and passing hikers and blowing by them at a sizzling 18 min/mile is kind of funny.  Its just funny that I'm going so slow and yet everyone else is moving at about 30 min/mile or less at that point. 

I made it, and I felt really good about making it and not bailing because my stupid foot hurt a little.  But coming down was really slow going.  I was ultra cautious with my foot and I descended the 3.5 miles back to the car probably 10+ minutes SLOWER than I had ascended it.  It was between 35-40 minutes to get up, and a total of about 1:30 of total time out.  I don't know because my watch died after 2 miles, and my phone battery died, so I had no clue what time it was.  

Also, on the way down, the pads of my feet started hurting a lot, it was the weirdest thing.  I think I figured out why, and it was because of all the fine desert sand that got in my FF's and was grinding against the front of my forefoot.

Super interesting roller coaster of a run.  Never had that unpleasant of a downhill run before, usually I really enjoy the downhill, but because of my hurt left foot and the pads of my feet hurting, it was just kind of surviving the downhill.  LOVED the uphill though.

And I'm really considering getting some different shoes to try out to protect my toes a bit better.  It seems that when I'm tired, I get sloppier and I'm at risk of painful toe stubbs, which seems to be a drawback of the FF's in mountain running.

So anyone recommend a great shoe with a TOTALLY FLAT sole?!  I really don't like a raised heal at all and I'd like to find a mountain shoe that will work as a supplement for me.   I love running in my FF treks, but I would like an alternative for certain occasions when I want more protection, specifically like right now when my foot is trying to recover from injury. 

Haven't been running this week yet.  My foot is feeling a bit better each day, but I'm glad I'm still resting it.  I'm going to run 2 or 3 times later this week, once I get some other shoes to test out.

I purchased 4 pairs of Inov-8's of various styles and sizes in order to try them on.

Nobody in Colorado sells them, so fortunately Zappos has free shipping both ways and no tax, so I'm just going to try on a bunch and send back all but the best one and then give those a shot.

 I got 1 pair today, the Talons.  I think I got them too long, but the problem is all Inov-8's seem to be medium width with no other width options and I have wide feet.   So I ordered longer to see if that would help, but all it does it make them feel like clown shoes.  Taking out the insole seems to help, but I'm not sure there is a really good shoe solution out there for my wide foot that because all the wide shoes I can find all have big raised heals.   I really wish stubbing my toe wasn't an issue because I really love running in my FF's and they fit me perfectly.

I decided to go with the Inov-8 Roclite 295's.

I brought all my various shoes to the trailhead this morning because I still couldn't figure out which shoes to go with and I thought maybe the trail would fill me in on the decision.

As I compared I remembered that the only reason to get different shoes was for protection from breaking my foot on rocks and stumps.  And the roclites were the best choice in that regard.

 Also, they are by far the most comfortable fitting.  No tightness in the toes...and I didn't even have to remove the insole to get no tightness like I did in the NB 790's and the inov-8 talons.

Plus, jun and nevels, how could I resist your convincing conviction in the roclite 295's?  You guys may as well be sponsored by that exact shoe with how much you raved about it.

Well, I ran an easy 5.4 miles, about 45 minutes on a rocky, hilly trail by my house and they felt great and did the job well of protecting my hurt left foot from pain and further injury.  I'm very pleased with them and glad I went with the comfortable route rather than succombing to my ingrained desire to have as little sole as possible.  I think these are going to be a good trail shoe for me.

So thanks for the recommendation.

Today I just did about 90 min of p90X.  125 pullups and a bunch of lunges and squats and the glorious Ab Ripper X.

But last evening I got another 3.5 miles in, totally leisurely and half of it was hiking.  Nan and I got a baby sitter and went out to eat in Boulder.  Then we hiked Mt. Sanitas.  It's a 1200 foot climb in about 1.25 miles, pretty steep.  I hiked most of it and enjoyed it a lot.  But at the top I couldn't resist the urge to run the last 3-400 yards up to the peak, which felt great.  Then we ran the last mile or so down the end of the loop.  It was a nice date.  So much better than dinner and a movie.  Sitting on the peak at sunset looking at the lights come on over Boulder was a great way to enjoy time with my amazing wife.

That was an interesting run, it totally surprised me.  It was a blazing fast 6.75 miles in 1:38.

I went to run Green Mountain because I wanted to see how my fitness level was coming along with a run up green as a test (and because its just a sweet fun trail).

It was a COMPLETELY GLORIOUS spring day and ALL of Boulder was out on the trails enjoying it. There were people everywhere, but the trail is wide enough it didn't make it hard to run.  Seriously, its crazy how many cars and people there were around the base of the trails.  But once in the mountains it didn't seem like there were that many people around at all.

The first mile is super steep, tons of stair stepper sections, and climbs over 900 Feet in 1 mile - And I did it in about 16 minutes...which was actually really fast for me.

The second mile is more than twice as easy since it only climbs 400 Feet.  I got my avg pace down to 13:59 by the end of that mile.  I was shooting for a 15 min/mile avg total to the peak, so I knew I had some work to do in the last mile because it climbs another 1000 Feet in the last 1.3 miles.

Then all of a sudden I found myself mysteriously trying to make out a faint trail with dead tree fall crossing the trail all over.  At first I thought it was just a bit odd, and since I had never been this high without snow cover I just assumed that's what the trail looked like.  But the faint trail I was on was now going straight up an insane incline and I realized I was off track.  I had no idea where I had lost the real trail.  so just decided to keep heading up.  I got really disoriented and couldn't even tell if I was on the right mountain any more, it was really strange.  And it was disheartening.  And did I mention it was now insanely steep?  I was barely even walking at this point.  And at points I was scrambling up cliffs...yeah, I'm pretty sure I was off the trail.

Eventually (20 minutes later) I popped out on a trail and saw people and I was a 100 feet from the peak of Green, happily still on the right mountain so my bushwhacking could come to an end.

My detour had shortened the distance to the top by over 1/4 mile.  And I learned very clearly that you would have to be in some AMAZING shape to be able to actually run up an incline of 700 Feet over .4 miles which is what the last portion of my 'run' today was.  At that point in the run I was barely walking, let alone running up something that steep. My avg pace for the ascent ended up at 20:10 per mile...SMOKING FAST EH!?  

I felt like I could relate to the Barkley runners in some really tiny small way, and it did not give me any desire to ever do that race for some crazy reason.

By the time I was on top I was dripping sweat like crazy and it took me 10 minutes longer than it would have if I had stayed on track.

I felt great running down and felt like I was almost cheating being able to blast down rocky sections with my padded and protective roclites. 

I hope all the steep running I've been doing lately has prepared me well enough for MY FIRST ULTRA THIS COMING SATURDAY!  The race I'm doing has about 9,000 feet of climbing over 30 miles, but none of it is quite as steep as the Green mtn. ascent, so I think I've been training on the right terrain.  But also, 31 miles is way farther than I have ever run before,  I'm excited to see how it goes.  My body, legs, and feet all feel like they are finally ready to go and not injured, so I'm pretty stoked to go into next weekend feeling good...its going to be fun...I can feel it.

Getting so stoked for 31 miles of pure gorgeous weather mountain running beat down tomorrow morning!  Have I ever run 31 miles before?  No sir I have not.  Will I tomorrow?  Most likely not...since I'll probably be reduced to walking at some points.  But I'm certain of 1 thing...I will be making the 31 mile trek whether I have to walk half of it or not.

I didn't run this week since the Bolder Boulder until this morning I just did a nice and smooth 2 miles barefoot to keep loose.  My calves were kind of sore all week, just been rolling them, doing yoga, core synergistics workouts, etc.  I'm feeling pretty groovy now and ready to rock and roll.

My buddy Jentry who I've known since kindergarten T-ball on the cubs is driving here from Salt Lake right now...I'm totally excited that he decided to join me, and it is the virgin ultra-marathon for both of us, so we both have no clue...which is cool.  

And the weather is slated to be an amazing 70 degrees in the mountains tomorrow!  I predict it's going to be an incredible time.  Race starts at 6:00 am...I hope I can fall asleep!

Haven't been running yet this week, kind of busy, and fine with recovering from a big weekend.

Just been doing p90X in the mornings this week, it feels good. 

My legs felt completely recovered and fine yesterday.  I'm looking forward to a nice mountain early tomorrow morning though...I'm going to get out and see if I can be running at 5:32 when the sun comes up....wow, its an early sunrise around here already. 

Oh, and here's a quick video of the Dirty Thirty last weekend...I think I"m hooked...I signed up for another 50K next month.  As you can see, there was a lot of walking going on the first mile or two of this race.  Next time I'm going to start in the front and see if I can get more running in...I took it super conservatively and started at the very back for my first 50K.  I'm glad I did, but I'm going to step it up a notch or two next time.

So I just went out for a nice and easy recovery run to ease back into running after the 50K last weekend.  First run of the week.

But as I was sucked in by the mountain, It turned out I couldn't let it get the better of me.  And after only a mile or two my legs were feeling as good or better than they've ever felt, so I decided I was running every step to the top of Green mtn.

And that's what I did.

 But let me tell you, that was no easy task.  Because first you run up very steep inclines for 6 straight miles, then the last quarter mile to the top is like 2+ foot boulder steps straight up for almost the entire 1/4 mile.  Its AWESOME to finish off a peak that way.  I was NOT going to let the mountain win today.  It turns out it was just over 300 feet of ascent in 1/4 mile.   When I hit the peak I was hands on knees heaving breaths like a mad-man.   The old dude on the peak must have thought I was crazy, but he didn't say anything.  I sat down for 2 and a half minutes to absorb the amazing views and catch my breath, then I headed home.

Took it really easy on the way down.

Total: 2:33:00 - 12.5 Miles - 12:27/mile pace - 4643 feet of ascent according to the garmin. (I likey!)  That's half of the climbing I did on saturday over 30 miles, and this time I ran the whole thing instead of hiking.  I think my goal next year is to run the entire dirty thirty course with no hiking.  None of it is as hard as steep or long as what I did today...its just 2.5 times more miles.

Legs are feeling great afterward, I didn't push the pace, the only really tough part was the quarter mile to the peak, otherwise just a cruise through the mountains, albeit a really steep one.

And I'm pretty stoked because its the first time I have run every step to the peak of Green, and it feels good to know I can do it.   Mountain running = good stuff.

Today's run reminded me that I don't have to be a complete mountain snob all the time. Don't get me wrong, mountain running is by far the best running, but todays run was a blast and a nice little change of pace.  Variety is good.

I woke up feeling really crappy this morning.  Totally unmotivated to do anything at all...it was weird.

So I hung out and watched movies with the kids all morning while Nan was at her workout, and I managed to muster the energy to do a session of Ab Ripper X.

It was a rainy morning and I felt like the weather.

Then I decided a barefoot run in the rain was in order.

And that did the trick nicely.  I couldn't help but feel better the minute I started splashing down the street through the puddles.  And with every step and every puddle splash I just kept feeling better...until a couple miles later I found myself charging up the steepest road I could find by my house.  Then I came back down, about a half mile, and couldn't resist charging up the  hill again.  I love running up hills.

Finished off with a loop around the neighborhood feeling fantastic physically and mentally.  Running is great medicine.  And I really like the barefoot variety at times...it feels so smooth, easy, natural and fun.  Pushing hard up the hills felt great, and at 2 or 3 different points in the run I was just cruising down half mile stretches of cool wet grass in 6 - 6:30  pace, which was also very fun.

Ran 7.5 miles in 1:01 - 8:11 pace - 853 Feet ascent - there were 2 pretty decent 200 foot hill climbs included.  It was a pretty easy pace the whole time except I pushed the pace on the uphills. 

No running this morning...got up at 5:30 to do some lovely community service though!  My reward for being an idiot...I get to do it all summer long...hurray!  Cleaning up trash and sweeping at the city auto shop is total joy, just in case you were looking for something to do in your discretionary time.

But I did get a nice fast run in in the afternoon.  The weather turned gorgeous and I snuck out for quick 55 minutes and got 7.5 miles in at about 7:26 pace - about 600 feet of ascent on the out and back.  Felt really strong coming up the last mile up hill. 

That's two road runs in 3 days for me, I better repent and get back up to the mountains where I belong.  But I do admit it is fun running faster flatter stuff sometimes.  Running is just great all around.  I feel so fortunate to finally be able to run far without hurting myself after over a decade of being stumped by the whole deal.

Did a super easy mtn. bike ride this AM with a friend who has never been mtn biking.  He did great, it was nice to get out and just spin the legs, be in the beauty of the mountains and hang out with a friend.  Not much of a workout, but a good time.

This evening the kids were running around the block, so we started having family races around the block.  That was fun.  The kids did 3-4 quarter mile laps barefoot around the block and I did a couple with them.  Its funny to see how fast they get winded, but they love it.  And they stop after a quarter mile and just guzzle the water and hold their chest that hurts.  Totally fun running with the kids. 

6 miles super slow around my neighborhood at 11 pm. - 55 minutes - 9 something pace.

I was tired, but stir crazy.  I knew I wouldn't get to run in the morning and I hadn't done any exercise yet today, so I got out for a run.  It was very dark and I had no light so I was moving even more slowly, and I felt like taking it really easy in general. 

Felt great to get out and move for an hour, and running shirtless in the cool 70 degree clear moonlight was really nice....so glad its summer! 

We're going camping Friday night and I'm going to run trails early saturday, then the kids and I will watch Nan clobber it in a 15 mile dirt road race at 9000 feet afterward...its going to be fun.