Photo courtesy of Andrew King - D4 Productions

Monday, December 31, 2007

11 myles - 1.38:52

East-West/HR loop - noon
20 degrees, strong Southeast wind
crusty wind blown snow, clear
felt strong
no Achilles pain
easy effort

Goodbye 2007! Hello 2008! Fresh legs and a fresh mind for a brand new year!

The snow on the trail was terrible because of the wind, post holing a bunch on the trail. Needless to say it was slow and go for most of the time. Even though I kept time for this run, I'm not gonna worry about it because of the conditions. Although I am really happy to see I spent over an hour and a half on my feet and felt great in the end. The HR loop will now be closed for January and February as the elk and deer bed down for the winter. So for January and February most of my runs will be out/back to Daniels park.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

December 24-30 2007

  • Monday 10 myles
  • Tuesday 8 myles
  • Wednesday 11 myles
  • Thursday 5 myles
  • Friday off
  • Saturday 16 myles
  • Sunday off
  • Total 50 myles
Pic of the week - Jaxon and Myles Xmas morning

Obviously the highlight of the week was Myles first Christmas and Jaxon's sheer joy! Not to be out done by Jaxon running his first 5 k. He ran 32 laps at the gym all by himself!! (40 minutes)

Christmas morning brought a huge snow storm that dumped a good 8 inches of snow on the ground. As my father-in-law cooked breakfast I knew I had to run despite the horizontal snow 'cause I was about to pig out! Turned out to be an epic run! In fact, all week was snow storm after snow storm. I increased my mileage, even going snowshoeing on Wednesday for 2 and 1/2 hours. I feel very positive about the effort this week and think I took a huge step towards overall body health. I'm no longer concerned about my Achilles, which is a huge confidence builder. I can now focus on speed and a little bit more mileage. The week ended with a 16 mile run that I feel very good about, finished strong and recovered quick. I thought I might struggle the last few myles but my body and mind seemed to get stronger. I will take the watch next week and see if I can run not for the watch but run on feel. My hope is that I feel good and my splits are encouraging. Only time will tell....

Saturday, December 29, 2007

16 myles

Daniels Park out/back - 10:45 a.m.
Clear, low 20's, snow packed road
No major body issues - knees felt a little achy
No Achilles pain running, sore afterwards
Moderate effort

Took a day off yesterday to go skiing with my son Jaxon and the Stemmon's. Doesn't matter what kind of shape you're in, those long cruiser runs still burn the 'ol quads. Needless to say I woke up this morning a little stiff but once I started to run I felt fine.

This route is similar to the Sante Fe loop run but rather than a loop I run out/back via Grigs. This is my staple run and will vary the distance depending upon the day. I decided not to do the Sante Fe loop run because I didn't feel like I should go 19 just yet. I can always make the distance I choose but I gage my fitness with my recovery. With this run I'm completely satisfied because I finished strong and recovered quick. I also did a speed check at mile 12 and mile 16. Mile 12 split was 7:12 in which I normally run about 6:45 - a little discouraging. Mile 16 split was 6:38 in which I ran 6:52 on clear roads the other day - much better. I pushed the pace for mile 16 because I wanted to see how my body would respond. My breathing was relaxed and body was clickin' with the effort about 80%. With no speed work in my legs yet, I think a 6:38 last mile is pretty good sign of things to come.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

5 myles

Treadmill - Rec center 1:00 p.m.
15 degrees, snow, snow, and more snow
felt great
no Achilles issues
easy effort

With the work I put in yesterday, I really should have taken the day off. But with my son (Jaxon ) asking if we could go to the gym and run? How could I possibly pass that one up?!?! Once we got to the gym my intentions where to run around the track (10 laps/mile) with Jaxon as long as he wanted. When we got there he said he wanted to run alone because I might hold him back... So Jaxon proceeded to run around the track while I ran on the treadmill - 40 minutes later Jaxon had run 30 laps!!! 30 laps!! A guy on the treadmill next to me saw that I was helping keep track of his laps just smiled and gave me a thumbs up. Another lady that had been walking the track stopped to give Jaxon a high five and asked how many laps he did. I am soooo proud of him!! Of course I got off the treadmill and we did 2 more laps to make it an official 5 k. A 5 k in 42 minutes is pretty impressive for an 8 year old, don't you think???

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

11 myles - snowshoes

East-West trail/HR loop - 10:00 a.m.
15 degrees, clear, 10 inches of new snow
body felt strong
Achilles stressed a bit
easy effort

After a big snow storm on a clear day like this, if you wanna run two things are required: sunglasses and snowshoes. I wore Smith Frontline glasses and Tubbs Catalyst snowshoes. I bought the snowshoes last year for $250 so I'm gonna get $250 usage outta them, they worked perfectly. My good friend Aric Manning supplies me with Smith sunglasses so today I started digging through my "sunglass" drawer and pulled out the Frontline. I had forgotten how comfortable these frames are. With the rose lense and the frame-less bottom I could see perfectly with no fogging issues.

I didn't leave the house till 10 a.m. so I thought for sure the trail would be tracked up but to my surprise not a soul had been out. What normally takes about an hour and 15 minutes took me 2 and half hours - double the time, double the work. Like I said before, not much of a chance to work on leg turnover but I took a page from my friend Tim Hola's book. He introduced me to what he calls "Power 50's". I think he would use those during swimming workouts but they work like a charm with snowshoes as well. Power 50's are nothing more than a sprint for 50 steps, preferably up a hill. That'll help with the leg turnover, not to mention the 'ol lungs.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

8 myles

East-West trail/HR loop - 9:00 a.m.
5 inches of fresh pow-pow, 15 degrees, still snowing
Body felt good
Achilles stressed a bit
easy effort

MERRY WHITE CHRISTMAS!! Bundled up for the run this morning after opening gifts. Initially I didn't want to go because of the horizontal snow but after I got onto the trail it turned out to be the most serene run yet. There's something about fresh powder and a snowstorm that creates a calm, yet motivated run. Maybe it's the fact that you're all alone tracking up unmarked powder - I love it! I could have easily skipped today but with all the food my father-in-law cooked for dinner and breakfast, I had some extra fuel to burn. The only downside to running in the snow is that it doesn't do much for the leg turnover.

Monday, December 24, 2007

10 myles

Griggs out/back - 10:00 a.m.
30ish, North wind, clear, scant snow on road
Average feeling run
Achilles tight at start
moderate effort

I couldn't resist a time check today: last myle 6:52. I did not push the pace at all, kept my pace steady throughout. In all honesty I felt like I was faster than that. But now I have piece of mind to know that I'm right on track. I think tomorrow I'll do the same run with the same last myle time check. The last couple of runs I've noticed that I always start slow and towards the end I'm running a lot faster with minimal effort. Now the question is, what's my lactate threshold and how much liver/muscle glycogen before glycogen depletion? The only way to answer that question is to go loooong.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

December 17-23 2007

  • Monday 4 myles
  • Tuesday 7 myles
  • Wednesday 8 myles
  • Thursday off
  • Friday 8 myles
  • Saturday 13+ myles
  • Sunday off
  • Total 40 myles
Pic of the week - The REAL Myles

Another solid week! With all the snow on the trails, it made for time on my feet longer than a normal 40 myle week but that's O.K. The most important thing (as far as running goes) is that my Achilles is strong. Obviously, the overall most important thing is the thing that powers my life - my family. They ARE my gel packs. They ARE my carbs. They ARE the magic potion. Without them I am nothing. Without them running is nothing. With them running is inspiring.

Going into next week, I am tempted to take a watch. Not for overall time but just a time check without pushing the pace. This will enable me to check my progress, good or bad. A few times this week I pushed the pace and my body responded well but as I've said before, "I am a prisoner to the watch"



Saturday, December 22, 2007

13+ myles

East-West/HR loop - 9:30 a.m.
Upper teens, clear, 4 inches fresh snow
Body felt pretty steady
Achilles was tight towards the end
Moderate effort

I would say I was gone for a good 2 hours this morning. I know 13+ myles in 2 hours isn't that fast but with the fresh snow on the trails it was hard to get good traction. I always say, "it's all about time on your feet". Therefore, I feel pretty good with this effort but would dare say it's definitely pushing my limits. I did not feel fatigued in the end so somehow my body remembers what it needs to do. Now the question is, will my Achilles hold up throughout the year? I know it will get stronger the more I run as long as I don't over do it. Walkin' a very fine line here.

Friday, December 21, 2007

8 myles

Chatfield loop - 11 a.m.
mid 40's, partly cloudy, no wind
trail mostly covered with ice/mud mix
body felt great
no Achilles pain
easy effort

Man, I had the snap back in my legs again today! Just like two days ago, I felt fast and wanted to go faster but held back. Every once in a while I would push the pace for about 30 seconds to see how my body would respond but overall it was an easy effort. Normally when I run the Chatfield loop I go down one side of the Platte river, cross the bridge, and come back up the other side. This time I ran on the road for about 10 minutes towards Chatfield reservoir to get in a total of 8 miles. So far, so good.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

8 myles

Griggs - 11 a.m.
upper 40's, clear, slight wind, no snow
legs felt heavy, sluggish
some tenderness in Achilles to start
moderate effort

For some reason I felt really slow today. I didn't need a watch to tell me how slow I was going today but it doesn't matter because I'm building a base, right? If all goes well for the next 3 weeks then I'll start to add weightlifting 2 x/week and speed/hill workout 1 x/week.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

7 myles

East-West/HR loop
50 degrees, melting snow and a little mud
Body felt great
Tenderness in Achilles to start
moderate effort

I started off tentative because of the tenderness in the Achilles but I tell you what - I was really clipping along towards the end of this run. I had some sort of positive energy flowing through my body (Myles). I wanted to slow down but I felt SO good!

Monday, December 17, 2007

Baby today?!?!

Wait!! Today is Saturday, December 15th! Baby Jaime isn't due till Christmas Day - for real! We haven't even made it to the induction date of December 19th yet.

We were doing our Saturday thing, you know - cookie decorating party, Jaxon soccer game, short run - those kinds of things. Then all of a sudden Nicole started getting contractions that really hurt. They started out about 15 minutes apart at 10:00 a.m., then by 11:30 a.m. they were less than 10 minutes apart. Uh-oh!! Called the hospital, then the on-call Doc, went home got all our bags and we headed to the hospital.

By this time the contractions were almost unbearable for Nicole. They strapped her up to the monitors and first dilation check at 12:30 p.m. she was already a 7-8cm!! "Yep (the nurse says) you're gonna have a baby, we better get a room for you" Dr. Russell was on-call and when she came in and checked, Nicole was at a 9 and not even an epidural yet! Finally an epidural moments later and Nicole started to push. She pushed hard 10-12 times and we had a baby! Wham-Bam-Thank you ma'am. Nicole don't mess around!

Myles Patrick Jaime 8 lbs 6 oz, 20 inches arrived @ 2:44 p.m. Saturday, December 15th. Mom and baby are doing great, both are healthy. Today, we came home from the hospital and are starting to settle in. Jaxon is EXTREMELY proud of is new baby brother! Here, take a look at some photos:






4 myles

Griggs
50 degrees and a little snow on the side of the road
Body felt terrible - up all night at the hospital
No pain in Achilles
easy effort

Still no watch and I'm completely fine with that. However, I find myself looking at the clock before and after my run - I'm a prisoner to the watch. Hopefully this time without a watch will teach me that every run is not a "tempo run". In the past I have hinged my progress on mile splits not really taking into consideration how I felt on a particular day. I need to remember, hard on "hard days" and easy on "gettin' in the miles days".

Sunday, December 16, 2007

December 10-16 2007

  • Monday 4 miles Griggs easy
  • Tuesday 5 miles East-West easy
  • Wednesday 5 miles East-West easy
  • Thursday 6 miles Lone Tree loop easy
  • Friday Off
  • Saturday Off
  • Sunday 11 miles East-West/HR loop easy
Total 31 miles easy

Very first week back! Did not take my watch all week and will continue to do so until 2008. Lots of snow and cold weather this week so my movement was a little exaggerated. Exaggerated movement is good at this point because at the end of week 1 my Achilles still feels strong. In fact, I never feel my Achilles during the run it's usually at night or early in the morning. I'm also doing some modified Yoga everyday. This includes very slow push ups, different types of sits ups, and very slow squats on my toes. Hopefully this will strengthen my core and prepare my body for the beating in 2008.

11 myles

HR loop via East-West trail
32 degrees, clear
No pain in Achilles
easy effort

Beautiful morning with about 4" of snow on the trail. Slow and go, didn't push the pace at all but because of the snow I bet it took me close to 1.45. Still have not brought watch along. I will not look at the watch until the new year.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Sick again?!?!

It's not as though I just got sick today but this day it all came crashing down. I've been fighting a cold or two for the past two weeks, starting with a cough and now nasal stuff. I guess it doesn't help trying to run on the brink of getting sick and it being sub 30 degrees for the past week either.

Needless to say I didn't run today. Either way I had planned on taking today off because I have been running for 4 straight days now. I'll run 4 miles tomorrow and 10 miles on Sunday to make a total of 34 miles for the week. I'd say pretty good first week back!

On another note, my wife is set to be induced for the birth of our second child on Wednesday. I am nervous and excited at the same time. Every time we talk about the birth of our new son, Jaxon (our other son) gets giddy. He starts to laugh out loud so I KNOW he's excited.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

building a base

The nice thing about building a base is that time doesn't matter. This whole week I have not taken a watch on my runs. No added pressure of performing each mile. I know my routes, I know how long they are so it's nice just be out running and being healthy.

Today I ran about 6 miles on a new route that I'll call Lone Tree. It's a loop trail run with a little elevation. Ran for about an hour. Midday run because it's been so cold, today about 30 degrees at 2 p.m. with a little cold wind and snow on the ground. Fourth consecutive day running and Achilles still feels great, body feels great, and most importantly I look forward to my runs.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Running again

Quick recap of 2007:

After a long hiatus from running (2 month to be exact), I feel like I am finally back! 2007 has been a loooong year! My racing started in January and continued every month through September. Here is what it looked like:

January Calico 50K
February Pemberton 50K
March Way Too Cool 50K
April nothing
May Jemez 50 mile
June San Juan Solstice 50 mile
July Hard Rock 100 mile
August Highline trail - Uintas 80 miles
September Wasatch 100

In reality, my season never ended from 2006 as I ran Sunmart 50 mile in December of '06. Looking back at my schedule I knew I needed a break or something in me would break. Sure enough after my 80 mile Uinta trip I experienced severe Achilles pain in my left Achilles. I thought a couple of weeks might heal it but I took 3 weeks off leading to Wasatch, ran Wasatch, and two weeks later started cyclocross racing. Dumb move on my part because cyclocross involves getting off your bike, running over barriers, and jumping back on. Needless to say I wasn't doing my Achilles any good.

I stopped riding the bike the second week of November after I crashed pretty hard and decided that two weeks of doing absolutely nothing was needed. Fast forward to today, third day straight of running no more than 5 miles per day at an easy effort with relatively no pain.

Monday December 10th 5 miles Monarch trail
Tuesday December 11th 5 miles Monarch trail
Wednesday December 12th 4 miles Griggs

There is no looking back now. My race plans are shaping up rapidly for 2008:

March Way Too Cool 50K
April American River 50 mile
May Jemez 50 mile
June San Juan Solstice 50 mile
July Hard Rock 100 mile, Mountain R.A.T.S. stage race
August Leadville 100 mile
September Wasatch 100 mile
October White Rim trail

I will keep this blog updated for my sole purpose of logging my training days and races. I have used log books in the past but feel this might be easier to keep up to date.