Summit junkie!

My left hammy is still tight, so I figured I would rest it. 60 min on the elliptical. No big woop. 

Weights at the gym for an hour. Excellent workout today. 

7 at a 7:52 pace around my hood. I ran down to the Alpine Hwy and then turned north  to Kohlers and back. I felt really good today until about a mile to go and then my hammy started to get sore. The weather could not have been better. 

Spinning with the ladies again. It was probably the toughest spinning session so far. Sweat, sweat and more sweat. 

View Benchmark Peak solo:

I had a really awesome run today on Ann's trail to the summit of View Benchmark. It was cool, but not cold at the start. I had on my shorty shorts and a long sleeve shirt in case it got windy at the top. The trail was completely dry and I really enjoyed the run. On the steepest hill two mountain bikers came a rumblin' down a little out of control. There are a lot of rocks there and for a few seconds I thought they were going to nail me. The bikes looked to be just off the Wal Mart rack and I thought for sure a part was going to come flying off. One of the dudes nearly wiped out, but had a pretty nice save. I was kind of shocked they made it down in one piece. Haha.

I made it to the summit in 45 minutes which I think might be my fastest time up. It was very cold and breezy up there so I didn't stay long. My hands were slightly numb and I was wishing I had my gloves. I saw a golden eagle and a lot of deer out there today. I ran pretty fast all the way back to the car and enjoyed every step.

View Benchmark solo:

I woke up early so that I could get in a good run today. I had a lot of fun running to the summit of View Benchmark via Ann's trail. This is becoming my favorite training run. I love it. I just blasted my ipod and got into a good running groove most of the way up. I reached the summit in 47:30 which is a little slower than Thursday, but I still felt like I was pushing it pretty well. 

 I saw several deer and some cool birds, including a bird of prey with a small animal dangling from its mouth. I really love this run.

4 in the hood. No big woop. 

View Benchmark with Jun:

Perfect day for a run. I met Jun at Ann's trail and we had a very fun run up to View Benchmark. Jun had a pretty good pace all the way up and I just tried to stay with him. The sun was out and we enjoyed chatting most of the way up. We took a new route to the top that I really enjoyed. We hit the summit in 44:40 which is a new PR for me on this route. 

We spent a few minutes on top checking out some mountaineering routes on Timp that we will hopefully get on this spring and then we cruised back down. We picked up the pace on the descent and it seemed like each mile was a little faster. The last few miles we had a fun cruise at a fast pace back to the cars. It was awesome out there on the trails today.

PM- I hit the gym to lift for 45 minutes.

View Benchmark solo:

I had another incredible run on VB today via Ann's trail. There is a reason why I have been hitting this route so much lately. Actually more than one reason. First of all it is awesome. Second, it is close to my house and near the area where I have been working lately, so I can do a fun mountain run without taking up much extra time traveling. I have not even come close to getting tired of these trails. Today I only saw two other people the whole day and the trails are in excellent shape. 

My hammy was a bit tight today, so I didn't push it quite as much as I did yesterday. I just put on some happy tunes and had a nice cruise to the top. It was warm again today, but a little breezy and when I got close to the top it cooled off a lot, but I never got chilled at all. I reached the summit in 48 min, which was 4 minutes slower than yesterday, but it was still a good effort.

The run down was fun. I stopped at the benches to dump some rocks out of my shoes and stretch the hammy, but otherwise I had a nice cruise all the way back to the car.

PM- Weights at the gym for an hour.

Spin class with the ladies + one older dude in super tight biker shorts. Hot. Maybe I need to invest in some of those. Tons O' sweat again today. 

With the crappy weather I hit the track at the gym. I ran a mile with my friend Nate and then he hit the weights. I got into a really good groove and was running 7:00-7:30 pace for most of the run. It feels easy not running up a hill. 

I didn't have much time to run today, so when I found an extra 30 minutes I ran 4 in my hood. AP: 8:15. I ran down to the Apline Hwy and just turned around at 2 miles. There was a headwind on the way back, but the run still felt easy. I enjoyed it. 

7.1 solo around the hood:

The weather had been strange all morning. We had sunshine, rain, wind and clouds. I knew that the trails would be muddy, so I figured I would run my standard Alpine Hwy route. There looked to be a small break in the weather, so I grabbed my gear and ran out the door. As soon as I turned north on the Alpine Hwy the wind blasted me and I battled it for the next 2.5 miles. I took a slight detour in Highland to a park to use the bathroom, but it was locked. Dang!

At Kohlers I turned left (west) and I noticed that the wind wasn't as bad, but it started to rain a little bit. The next mile the rain went from a sprinkle to a downpour. Oh well, I was having fun anyway... ummm I was until I turned on 6000 W. (south) and noticed my tummy doing back flips. Ahhh man! The next few miles back home were horrible. I needed a POP. I was getting soaked and my glasses were fogging, but the tummy distress was the only thing bothering me. I picked up my pace a lot and was running in the 6's. I barely made it home. There were a few scary minutes there. Haha.Whew! I still had a blast out there even though some of it was crappy.

Weights at the gym for an hour. I'm taking a break from running for a few days to see if I can get my hamstring to calm down. 

Spinning with the ladies. I really worked hard today and about 50 minutes in after 4-5 sprints I felt like I was going to puke. I stuck it out to the finish, but I didn't enjoy it. Sweaty! 

This has been a very busy week for me and I have about an hour per day to workout, so I have been taking advantage of my Highland/Alpine route (Highland Hwy to Kohlers- to 6000 W. and back home). It is exactly 7 miles and I really like the route even though it is pavement. By doing this loop I can get 7 miles in an hour. It was cool and cloudy at the start, but by time I reached 6000 W. I pulled off my long sleeve shirt as the sun came out. I ran about 8:30 pace (headwind) up the Highland Hwy and about 8:00 pace the rest of the way. 

Highland/Alpine loop:

No big woop.

Highland/Alpine loop:

My hamstring has been bothering me for about two months, so I have dialed back my training the last few weeks and it has improved slightly, but it is still nagging, so I tried running today with a wrap on it and it seemed to help. It was very hot out and I ran right during the heat of the day and my body just isn't used to it at all. I had no energy and I was dragging the whole run. I took a gel near Wendy's in Highland so I could drop the empty package into the trash and my energy improved slightly, but I never did feel great out there. I have found that my hamstring feels the same whether I run on the flat ground or the hills, so I think I'll get back to the mountains next week. I'm pretty sick of the road. 

4 easy on the TM after everyone went to bed.

Back to the hills. View Benchmark solo:

I had a really fun run up to VB today. I was on a call with MattVS and then Jun called, so I ended up starting about 30 minutes after I arrived at the trailhead. I cranked my ipod and started with 30 ounces of water. It was hot, but not terrible yet. I really love this run and I just enjoyed running up the hill at a steady pace. I hiked the big hill so I could take a gel and then as soon as I hit the top I ran the rest of the way to the summit.

About 1/4 of a mile from the top I saw a mountain bike in the middle of the trail with nobody around, so I figured someone had dropped it to hike to the summit and around the next corner I saw someone on the last hill to the top. I picked up my pace and reached the summit just as she did. 47 minutes up. We chatted for a minute before she went down and then I was about a minute behind her, but I quickly passed her and cruised down the hills at a pretty fast pace. My goal was to beat her down and I did easily.

The last few miles were just a fun cruise. I ran out of water with about two miles to go. 30 ounces doesn't go that far when it is hot like it is today. I think I'll do a double or triple later in the week if anyone wants to join.

Weights at the gym for an hour working my upper body. Arms n back baby. 

View Benchmark with Jun:

I got up early to meet Jun at Ann's trail to run to the summit of VB. Temps were good and we chatted most of the way up. I fell just before mile two when my toe clipped a root. My bottle took most of the fall though so it wasn't bad, but I did have a few scrapes. We hiked some of the steeper sections and it wasn't one of our faster times up. As always the views were sweet, but we didn't stay on top long. 

We were having a nice cruise back to the trailhead and then Jun caught a toe and also fell. It has been a long time since I have seen him fall on the trail. The last few miles were a pretty moderate effort, but it was still a really good workout.

Today was crazy busy and I didn't have time to run until after dark and by then the rain was coming down hard, so I settled for 6 miles at the gym. I pushed the pace pretty hard the last 3 miles (between 6:40-7:20) and it felt really good. 

I wanted to get outside for a run, but it was really windy and I didn't feel like running in it, so I went over to the gym and did 6 on the track. I wasn't feeling great today, but I tried to keep the pace decent the whole time. BORING! 

I woke up early this morning so I could go run up View Benchmark via Ann's trail. It was colder than it has been recently at the start, but I knew I would warm up fast and I did. I was by myself so I put on some good tunes and got into a good groove. I hiked the steepest hill but ran everything else and I reached the top in 47 minutes. I stayed longer than usual enjoying the views and the early morning. I checked out a few trails on the other side of the mountain and after about 10 minutes I went down.

The run down is always fun and I really pick up the pace. I didn't see another soul on the trail the entire run. I think that that it is fair to say that View Benchmark is my new treadmill. It is the perfect training run for me and I'm sure I will continue to hit it weekly. 

I went to the gym to lift after the kids went to bed. It was the first time in a while that I have been at night and it was CROWDED and stinky! 

Here is some friendly banter between me and a 12 year old kid that was working out:

Me: Hey can you make your pecs bounce like this (showing him mine). The chics dig it.

Kid: No. Can you make your ears bounce like this (shows me)

Me: No. Do the chicks dig that too?

Kid: I don't know, but you're sweatin' like a pig.