Week Ending Feb 25, 2012

The week started with an absolute killer workout. I hate treadmills, but have decided I want to run a treadmill workout about once per month in preparation for Mount Washington. I ran a 4 mile warm-up outside and then started at 6.3mph and 9% incline. I then added 0.1mph every 0.25 miles until I ran at 8.0mph and 9% incline. The 6.3mph was not difficult; the last few stages up to 8.0 were very difficult. Then I tried 8.1mph at 10% and only lasted about 10sec. Those last 6 or 8 minutes were really hard - it was like sprinting uphill. I slowed down and dropped the incline a little after hitting 4.5mi in 38:30 and ran a total of 6mi in 50min. Monday was a long run (2+ hours) in Cheyenne Canon. Tuesday was a moderate 10 on Fountain Creek. Wednesday morning was another 10. I had the not-so-fun experience of having to take a dump while running. There really wasn't a good spot to go so I hopped behind some tall weeds and squatted. Unfortunately I didn't have any leaves or soft grass around to use as tp. Without going into more detail, I used what I found, which was a collection of weeds more like sticks than grass. Ouch. Man, my butt was raw and sore for a few days - lesson learned. Wednesday afternoon was an easy run. Thursday was a long run and it was wicked cold. I bundled up the most I've bundled this year and took off. After battling the wind for two hours, I came home with numb fingers and was definitely happy the forecast called for warmer weather the next few days. On Friday I zig-zagged through neighborhoods. I found an entire new set of streets I had never run and found an elementary school I had never seen. It's amazing to see something like a school for the first time even though it is probably only three miles from my house. Saturday was another long run in Cheyenne Canon. I took a side trail I've seen many times but have not followed. It simply went downhill to North Cheyenne Canyon Road. I ran back uphill and continued my run on other trails. The good news for the week is the toe problem seems to be completely heeled. I still have a corn on my fourth toe, but it is not rubbing against the pinky toe anymore and is not causing any pain. 96 miles for the week.

Week Ending Feb 18, 2012

Okay, I had a great week last week, minus the toe pain, and was ready to roll. Sunday was a long run on Fountain Creek. It was cold and I wore shorts (I almost always wear shorts). This was one of the few days I wished I had worn pants. Monday was a double of 4 in the morning and 10 in the afternoon. By Tuesday my toe felt so much better. It was not 100% yet, but I could walk and run with almost no pain. It is barely noticeable and I predicted I would be 100% by Thursday or Friday. What a pain in the ass that corn was. Tuesday was a moderate run which turned out to be a little longer than planned as I zig-zagged through neighborhoods. Wednesday was a long run on Fountain Creek. Thursday was a medium run through the neighborhoods again. Friday was a double. I ran long in the morning and ran into Ali Williams (athlete) and Scott Simmons (coach) of the American Distance Project. Ali just finished 14th at the U.S. Marathon Trials in Houston, so it was cool to see her hammering a tempo on the trail (I turned around on my out-and-back just after we passed, and she stopped about a mile later). I look forward to meeting and seeing more of the American Distance Project runners this spring and summer. I ran easy in the afternoon and was so tired and my legs felt so heavy, I only ran 3.25 miles. Saturday was a planned easy day: 4.5 in the morning and 4.25 in the afternoon. 96 miles for the week.

Week Ending Feb 11, 2012

After putting in a good showing with 74 miles last week, I thought I was back in the swing of things. Then I got an awful toe pain. I had had a little pain in my toes (the pinky toe of the right foot and the one next to it) for a few days, but it was nothing significant, and I hadn't thought much about it. It got worse and worse this week and I finally stopped to look at it on Tuesday. I had what looked like a plantars wart on the side of my fourth toe. It was a small circular thing with a dot (like a seed) in the middle. I couldn't believe this was causing so much pain. It felt like someone was squeezing my toe as hard as they could with every step. The pain was worse on Wednesday; it was really bad the first several steps after getting out of bed or after sitting and doing nothing for a while. It was brutal pain when I put on shoes and my toes were squeezed together in the toebox of the shoe. I taped the toe with athletic tape and ran anyway. The pain went away after 15 minutes or so. Thursday was like Wednesday, but worse. My pinky toe was hurting too and it felt like someone hit it with a hammer. On my Friday morning run I was actually limping. I really thought I had broken one of my toes even though I had know idea when or how - it's like the pain just came out of nowhere. I didn't think it was smart to run anymore because I was afraid of doing something to my knee or hip as a result of the limping. When I finished the run, I had a huge blister on the inside of my pinky toe. The taped fourth toe rubbed against the pinky toe so much it caused a blister. I saw our athletic trainer Friday afternoon and she said it was a corn. What is a corn? I certainly didn't know. The simple little corn was causing all my pain. My pinky toe was not broken, nor was anything wrong with it at all. She had me soak my foot (an opened blister) in epsom salt and gave me corn covers and gel type stuff to put over the corn. The stuff she gave me worked because my foot felt so much better on Saturday, then better on Sunday, etc.
As for running, I did not run on Sunday and ran slow and easy on Monday. Tuesday was a long day on Fountain Creek and Wednesday was a medium day. Thursday was a double (while in pain) of 5+ in the morning and a long 16+ in the afternoon. The long run was in Cheyenne Canon and I managed to find two trails I had never run before (I thought I had run every square foot of that entire area). I ran on the Upper Columbine trail (western columbine) to the Helen Hunt Falls parking area - I had been there many times, but never on that trail. I ran back on the trail and took the fork to the Spring something trail, which ended right by the first tunnel on Gold Camp. I can't believe I'd never been on that trail. Friday was 4.5 in the morning and then no more running due to unreal toe pain. I wrecked my car on Saturday. I was on my way to Frisco for a snowshoe race and started fishtailing on the icy roads outside of Manitou. So I came home and ran that afternoon instead. It was really cold and I ran hill repeats near home for two reasons: I didn't know how long I would last in the cold and my toe still hurt. I ran 9 repeats on a hill that takes about 2min 30sec. 70 miles for the week.

Week Ending Feb 4, 2012

This was my last week of 'slacking' as I've been telling myself I was going to start training hard and putting in doubles etc. again in February. The week started great as I ran for almost 2 hours in Cheyenne Canon on Sunday. I found a new loop I like to do, which takes me about 1:20. This was the second time I've done the loop and I was a little sore after racing on Saturday. Monday and Tuesday were both medium runs. I really wanted to get 80 ro so miles this week, so I put in a double on Wednesday. I ran 10+ in the morning and 5+ in the afternoon. Thursday was a shorter day - 7 miles. I don't remember if I got out of work late, or if it was really cold, or what, but I didn't run much. Friday was a disappointing zero. It was another one of those days at the end of the week and I just could not run. I could not make it out the door and took a big fat nap instead. I've been saying I need to see a doctor for about a month now - maybe I should. Saturday morning was another great run in Cheyenne Canon. I ran the new loop again and some other favorite trails for 2 hours. 74 miles for the week.

Race Report: Pike's Peak Road Runners Winter Series II

Pike's Peak Road Runners Winter Series II, Colorado Springs, CO - 01/28/12
I decided it has been long enough since I last raced, so about 10pm on Friday night I got on the internet to look for races in Colorado Springs. I saw the PPRR were having their second series race on Saturday and assumed several of my friends would be there. There were two races on Saturday: 4 mile and 8 mile. During warm-up I chose to run the 8 mile. I did my standard 4 mile warm-up and afterwards found out the races had two different start times. I had an extra 15 minutes, so I ran another mile.
My plan for the race was to go out conservatively, get into a nice hard tempo pace, and negative split the out and back course. I didn't care if I finished 9th, 60th, or 3rd place. The gun went off and I was quickly in the lead pack. Ryan Hafer started to gap us so I surged a little to put myself in second and stay with him. Mistake. I went through 1 mile in 5:10, which is 16:01 pace for a 5k. There was no way I was planning on running 16 flat 5k pace for 8 miles. I immediately slowed down and went through 3 miles at a more reasonable 16:51. At 4 miles and the turnaround I was a least one minute behind Hafer, and assumed I had a minute on anyone behind me. Wrong. The next two guys were less than 30 (maybe 15) seconds behind me at the turn. I knew I couldn't negative split after the 5:10 opening mile, but I still wanted to run in hard. Miles 5-7 were 11:38, a little faster than the 11:41 on the way out, and the last mile was 5:42. i finished 8 miles in 45:42, good for second place. I was cool with my time; sub 46 was where I wanted to be for a tempo run/workout. Hafer and I ran a few miles together for cool-down and that was it!