Wheeler Farm Loops

AM - 6 miles. 

PM - 6 miles.

Late morning nordic-style ski tour up the Swan Flat Road in Logan Canyon... to Idaho and back. Just under two hours of skinning followed by a 10 minute straightline to the trailhead. Another gorgeous day.

AM - 10 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

AM - 16 miles w/ 14 miles at 90% AT / Steady State in 1:19:36 (5:41/mile avg). Tempo loop w/ finish to IMC - to add a few hills on the back end. Probably the best I've felt on a run since some point in the first 15 miles of Chicago. Have to be careful to not let these runs get too much faster for the time being (target was ~5:45). I'm pleased with how smooth it felt.

PM - Skinned 2650' at Brighton w/ Andrea.

AM - 8 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

An Inside Look at Saucony's Innovation Lab. 

AM - 10 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

AM - 6 miles.

2015 USA Cross Country Championships - 40:42, 48th place

The course was in excellent condition considering Boulder received significant snow last weekend, followed by warm and sunny weather (not to mentioned seven races before our race started at 1pm). The grass was a little spongy, but only muddy in a couple spots (including the ditch). There weren't any hills to speak of  (very nice) - the challenges were the altitude (5550') and the temperature (70s!).

I had a goal of breaking 41 minutes (6:50 per 2K lap). I knew the best strategy was to start at the back and just try and work my way up throughout the race. Passing people (opposed to being passed) builds momentum and positive energy. As you can see by the splits / place chart, I executed that plan about as well as I could have hoped to. There were 114 runners on the starting line, and almost all of them were ahead of me a few minutes into the race. On the first lap I just tried to avoid tripping, then kept moving up once it spread out a bit. I kept the effort very even for 11K, then picked it up and ran the last kilometer in 3:08. Maybe left a little too much left in the tank, but for my first race since Chicago, I wanted to err on the side of being conservative and be sure to finish strong.

I felt good about the effort and about running a smart race. Five weeks ago, I didn't think there was any way I'd even be in decent condition by now. I didn't get crazy, panic, or attempt to squeeze in a bunch of hard sessions to prepare specifically for this one. I just stuck to being sensible with my workouts (long-term vision) and let my body gradually adapt. I feel myself starting to come around now.

That will be the theme as I continue to build towards London. I'm not expecting (nor attempting) any fast tuneup races, and I'm not going to try and beat the big/benchmark workouts of prior training cycles. I believe that training accumulates over time and I've been at this for about four years now. If I stay consistent, healthy, and patient, I think I can time it right and be really fit in April... while continuing to have fun doing all the other things I love doing (ie. skiing a lot). 

I'm glad I decided to open up the season in Boulder. There's always something worthwhile in running in national championship events. And there's something to be said about getting outside of your comfort zone (lacing up the spikes instead of flats) once in a while. I'll definitely make an effort to get to Bend over the next couple years for the upcoming cross country championships.

Andrea took lots of fantastic photos. She was all over the course with our friends from Colorado, who came to watch. Catching up with my old housemates from Vail was a major incentive for making the trip, and we ending up having a great weekend.

Full Results. Major highlight was watching Conner dominate the Junior 8K race. 

More photos on Wasatch and Beyond.

AM - 3 miles.
PM - 12 miles. (3 up, Race, 2 down)

AM - 7 miles. Boulder Creek trail, up the canyon a little way and back.

PM - Hiked Mt. Sanitas w/ the people responsible for teaching me to ski... and every dog in Boulder.

AM - 10 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

AM - 14 miles.

PM - Skinned 2650' at Brighton w/ Andrea.

AM - 10 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

AM - 14 miles.

PM - Skinned 3500' at Brighton w/ Andrea.

AM - 18 mile long run w/ 14 miles at 90% AT / Steady State in 1:20:14 (5:44/mile avg). Tempo Loop.

AM - 7 miles.

PM - 10 miles.

AM - 8 miles. I've been running lots and lots of horse park loops this winter, more than I expected... and here's why.

PM - 5 miles.

We weren't able to go after the ski objectives we originally had in mind for the weekend (not enough sun to soften up the bulletproof conditions in White Pine Canyon), but still got out for a nice tour in the backyard today. Even with the snowpack trending towards abysmal, I can't think of a better way to spend the day. [2700']

AM - 6 miles.

PM - 20 mile long run w/ 10 mile AT Tempo in 54:27 (5:27/mile avg). Tempo Loop. Almost exactly the same time that I ran for this workout three weeks ago, but it was windy today (N 10-15mph), so I feel like this shows some improvement.

AM - 8 miles.

PM - 8 miles.

The Banff Film Festival tour was awesome as always. My favorites were Delta Dawn and Sufferfest 2.

AM - 13 miles.

PM - Skinned 1750' at Brighton w/ Andrea. Forgot headlamps, skied by starlight.

AM - 12 miles.

PM - Skinned 3500' at Brighton.

AM - 12 miles.

PM - Skinned 1750' at Brighton w/ Andrea. 

AM - 20 mile long run with 4-3-2-1 mile AT/LT reps (0.5). Splits - 21:56, 16:05, 10:31, 5:05. Tempo loop. 

I feel good about the last three workouts (since Boulder). Looking forward to racing again next weekend.

AM - 6 miles.

Nice ski tour in Silver Fork today. The temperature was actually cold enough to wear a jacket and get this - it snowed - finally! Very nice to take the powder skis out for some laps [3000'].

This video sums it up...

More photos.

AM - 9 miles.

PM - 8 miles.

AM - 10 miles.

PM - Had a little extra daylight to work with, so Andrea and I went to LCC for a quick ski tour in Grizzly Gulch instead of the usual laps at Brighton. Up to Patsy Marley, then down and back up to Honeycomb Cliffs [2350'].

AM - 8 miles. LT Reps: 3 x 1 mile (0.3) - 5:11, 5:09, 5:05. Tempo Loop.

PM - Skinned 3500' at Brighton.

AM - 8 miles.

PM - Another quick ski tour in Grizzly Gulch w/ Andrea. About 4-5" of fresh snow which you have to take advantage of this winter! Did a couple laps in the trees off the pass... on skinny skis. [2000']

AM - 5 miles.

I've had a nice string of very good race performances in Arizona dating back to 2011. Eventually it had to end. I'm glad I kept it alive while my parents still lived there. Now I need to pick a destination where I can start a new streak. Europe would be good.

This exchange went on for a while longer...

Race recap - 1:09:46, 5th place

My goal was to try and stay in the 5:10-5:15/mile range. I figured best-case scenario was ~1:08, and I'd be happy to come in under 1:09.

A couple guys in green took off pretty quick, and I found myself in 5th place by the first turn, where I would stay the entire race. I came through 5 miles in 25:58, right where I wanted to be (5:09, 5:10, 5:13, 5:13, 5:13). Physically I felt pretty good at that pace - not the typical burn of a half-marathon. 

The 6th mile was only slightly outside of my target (5:17) but that's where I lost it. The guys in 3rd and 4th were only a little bit ahead of me, and I was in a perfect position to catch up and overtake them, but I just didn't care enough. I justified to myself that if I ran the rest of the race at marathon effort that would be good enough; I wouldn't risk aggrevating my hamstrings... and if I finished outside of the Top 3, I wouldn't have to worry about the awards ceremony and could get to the airport quicker for my flight. I just wanted to get the last 10K over with and go home. Not exactly an attitude I'm proud of, but that was my frame of mind at the time.

Mile 7 was 5:23, and that's the last marker on the course that I trust. Don't get me wrong, I think the Phoenix Marathon is awesome, well-organized, etc. They do just about everything right. But the course marks over the last 10K have been a little wonky the past two years. Next two splits were 6:47 and 4:08 (I either dropped the hammer on Mile 9 or these average out to 5:27 pace). Next 3 miles were 5:40, 5:10, 5:32, and the last 1.1 was 5:50 (5:16 pace). Then 19:01 for 0.3 miles of talking to Burt and retrieving my warmup clothes until I remembered to stop my watch.

Overall I ran ~5:13 pace for the first half and ~5:25 pace for the second half.

This was taken towards the end, when I was done. Here's an accurate caption: