12 myles - 1.37:43

Lone Tree loop - 10:30 a.m.
3" of new snow, mid 20's, clear
mind/body - clear/left calf is tight
easy effort

So Jaxon got home from school yesterday and I asked him where he learned the motto: nothing is impossible. He said he heard it on the movie "The Incredibles". So there you have it, modern day movies can have a positive impact on kids these days.

Nice blanket of new snow this morning. I decided to stay off the mucky roads and went over to the Lone Tree loop. I did 3 loops (22:44, 22:08, 22:36) pretty consistent and really didn't even push the pace. Today was more of a recovery run than anything else. On the way back my left calf started to tighten up, I stopped to stretch but it's still tight. I'm running the red line as far as injury is concerned so I will take tomorrow off and go over to the Sanctuary hill on Saturday.

16 myles - 1.55:47

Daniels Park - 11:00 a.m.
partly cloudy, high 20's, slight south wind
mind/body - clear/fresh
medium effort

I think I have officially run out "da poison" from my body. I felt great again today! Having said that I really didn't need any extra motivation to get me out the door but I just happened to read a story that Jaxon (my 8 y.o. son) wrote in school. This is what it said: "The Great Ball. Once, not long ago in 1869, something great happened. The Sky got a new constellation. It's name was the great ball. The ball got there by Jaxon Jaime, a famous basketball player. After each game he tried to shoot his ball into the sky. His motto was "nothing is impossible". One night he shot it so hard he saw a light. After that we all saw the ball. The End" Right now he's really into space, UFO's, and basketball if you couldn't pick up on that. But the most amazing thing in this story is his motto! I don't know where he learned that but if he thinks that way already, he will do alright in this life. I'm really proud of him, can you tell?

Anyways back to the not so important stuff, my first/last were: 6:49/6:42, which is the best I've done running 16 myles. Even though my time was slower than yesterday, today I had to navigate 1500 ft. of elevation gain, pretty similar to what the Red Hot 50K + elevation rate is at. Speaking of which, I looked at the entrant list today and my goodness is this going to be a fast race! Kyle Skaggs, Ian Torrence, Karl Meltzer, Tony Krupicka, Johannes Rudolph, just to name a few of the fast guys. I'm sure there are others that I missed but my point being is that as good as shape as I think I'm in, I'll be lucky to be in the top 15! But then again, this is just a training run for me. I have to keep reminding myself because if I "race" Red Hot, turn around 3 weeks later and try to "race" Way Too Cool" I will bonk hard! I would rather have a full on "race" at WTC rather than Red Hot. The new and revised Fast Ed says "pick races to train and pick races to race"

15 myles - 1.47:00

Chatfield loop - 12:30 p.m.
clear, crisp 30ish, slight wind
body/mind - responsive/clear
easy effort

Now that's more like it!! I was not looking forward to the run today simply because I didn't know how my body would respond. Turned out to be great! I had no major issues and felt pretty fast today, albeit the course was mostly flat. I averaged 7:03/mile without pushing the pace at all so that tells me that tempo and hill work is starting to paying off. I should be able to go the same distance tomorrow but I'll have to wait and see how the 'ol body feels. My goal is to be able to do 4 - 16 mile runs in a row before American River 50 mile. Thanks to those who put up comments when I was down the other day, it really helped!

Jan 21-27 2008

1. Monday-16 myles
2. Tuesday-10 myles
   
3. Wednesday-14 myles
   
4. Thursday-5 myles
5. Friday-off
6. Saturday-off
7. Sunday-30 myles
8. Total-75 myles

Pic of the week - The good 'ol boys

Well the week certainly started off with some good work but the way it ended yesterday was a disappointment. Initially I wanted to hit the 80 mile mark but with the little Winter Park excursion I only made it in the mid 70's. Having said that, 75 myles is the most I've run in one week since last summer so that makes me feel good.

I've had some time this morning to reflect on my run yesterday and I've come to conclusion that it was a freak thing. I'm not 18 anymore - meaning I can't go out with my friends for two days and expect to rebound right away. I think back on previous days when I just didn't feel right and I've cut my run short, but for some reason yesterday I had to prove something to myself. Maybe I needed to prove that I'm not invincible, maybe I needed to hurt that bad so that I'll remember next time. What ever it was, it's over and I'm not gonna look back on it.

Looking forward to next week I need to do two 19 mile runs during the week, split up by a longer recover day. I will also go back to the sanctuary hill one day. With 3 weeks to go before Red Hot 50K + my taper starts now thus will be in the mid 60 range for mileage next week.

And to the weeks end I'll end with a quote: "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." -Helen Keller

30 myles? - 4.35:20

Platte River - 10:00 a.m.
clear, mid 50's, North wind
mind/body - fresh/tired
Medium effort

Uh-Oh!!! What a disaster today! I put the ? after the 30 myles because I'm not sure if I can count all 30 myles. I went out 15 myles in 1.51 then turned around into the wind. I went through mile 26 in 3.23 but I had been suffering for the last 7 myles. I had been out of water since mile 20 and only took 2 power gels. I should have known better because it was hotter today and the wind was blowing, which makes it worse w/o water. I stopped at a food market at 26, filled my water bottle and immediately drank the whole thing. My legs were achy and I had a little nausea. I was in pretty bad shape and was reduced to walk the final 4 myles. So should I count those last 4 or not? I say yes because it's all about time on your feet and even walking I was still feeling terrible.

Hmmm, maybe I should have skipped the 10 cupcakes, 4 late night quesadillas dripping in butter, the couple slices of cake, and all that beer on Thursday and Friday. When will I learn that bad food choices dictate my running performance? Coupled with the bad choice to only take 20 ounces of water and not enough calories disaster was just waiting.

I guess everybody has bad days but this was a bad day to have a bad day. I was going to use this run as a confidence booster for Red Hot 50K +. Is this the beginning of the end for me? I hope it was just a freak thing. Only time will tell.....

5 myles - no time

Winter Park - 4:00 p.m.
single digits, snow everywhere, clear
mind/body - refreshed
easy effort

I met some friends up in Winter Park today. Aric, Phil, and Scott all drove out from Utah to celebrate Lenny's 40th birthday. Lenny had no idea these guys were coming so when he saw them, he had to take a double and even triple take! T'was great!

Before the festivities began, myself, Aric, and Phil went for a short run to get the legs loose. They'd been driving for 9 hours and I needed to get the blood flowing so we took it easy and enjoyed the run. I really didn't need to anything today because I've been running for 6 straight days. Although I probably won't run for two days so I had better do something. My plan was to hit the 80 mile mark this week but it looks like I'm gonna end up in the mid 70's, which is completely fine with me. Taper starts after 30 myles on Sunday, wuhooo!

14 myles - (1.28:01 for 12)

Daniels Park + Sanctuary hill - noon
mid 20's, clear, Southwest wind
mind/body - fresh/tired
medium effort

Warmed up with a 6 mile run to the mutha of all hills - THE sanctuary hill! I look at the profile and can't believe it's only 123ft in 2 tenths of a mile! But then again, put into perspective that's 615ft/mile or just over 3000ft /5 miles. Bfish if you read this - Mt. Falcon has nothin' on the this hill!

After I warmed up with 6 myles I did 5 reps up the hill (2 myles total). I made a concerted effort to make each one faster than the last (1:24, 1:21, 1:20, 1:18, 1:16) ...success! All said and done I proceeded to cool down with another 6 myles home. I was tired when I got home. I'm getting tired and look forward to start my taper next week.

10 myles - 1.08:36

Daniels Park out/back - 1:00 p.m.
clear, low 30's, calm
mind/body - fresh/fast
sustained effort

A sustained effort is just an increased leg turn over workout, little bit more than medium effort but not a lactate threshold effort. Believe it or not, every single one of my runs last year were at this effort... hmm no wonder I was dreading my training runs??

I had no intention of going faster today based on my 16 mile effort yesterday but once I got started I felt really good! This is a good sign because it shows that my body is recovering a lot quicker and can handle a little bit more stress. After the run I went and lifted at the gym for about 1/2 an hour.

here are my splits:

1. mile 1/10 6:47/6:39
2. mile 2/9 6:58/6:29
3. mile 3/8 7:17/6:34
4. mile 4/7 7:10/6:36
5. mile 5/6 7:18/6:43
6. Avg. 6:51

I listed the splits this way because they represent the same stretch of road. The only difference is that one is uphill the other is down hill, can you tell which is which??

16 myles - 1.58:33

Daniels Park out/back - 11:45 a.m.
15 degrees, snowing, South wind, everything frozen
mind/body - fresh/tired
easy effort

The storm and cold front I was talkin' about is here! The cold temps made for a slow and go run, albeit my body was a little tired from the long run on Saturday. Once I got going I warmed up pretty quick and then with the wind at my back I started to sweat. I didn't know how much I was sweating until I started running into the head wind on the way back. My top layer was frozen but with my wicking layer underneath I was still relatively warm. The only time I have ever been cold during a run was last year at Hard Rock at 4:30 a.m.. I was just leaving Telluride, heading up over a big pass, for some reason I started to sleep on my feet so I stopped. By the time I got to the top of the pass I was shaking uncontrollably! So the moral of the story is "if you're cold during a run, go faster!"

My first and last splits today were: 7:02/7:07. That's a pace that is easy for me, I'm not breathing hard and I'm not making a concerted effort to increase leg turnover. If I can do this over 30 + myles and throw in a few hills, now were talkin'!!

Jan 14-20 2008

• Monday 6 myles (rec.)
• Tuesday 10 myles (LT)
• Wednesday 9 myles
• Thursday 8 myles
• Friday 0ff
• Saturday 27 myles
• Sunday 6 myles (rec.)
• Total 66 myles

Pic of the week - Myles sportin' his FastED one-zee

Actually the Fast Eddy one-zee was Jaxon's made for him by this guy. This was the original logo I used for a soccer team I used to play for in a previous life.

I would consider this a recovery week despite the second highest mileage. My goal was to do shorter runs and integrate a lil' speed work, which I did. But where I didn't feel like I needed to recover was the long run. If there's one thing I've learned is the simple fact that I have to train long if I want to race long. I used to believe quality over quantity but having that strategy hasn't worked to my advantage in the past so why not change it up a bit. Even though I managed to work in 66 myles during a recovery week, the myles came easy or should I say easier than the past building weeks. My mind and body still feel fresh but I have to admit after each long run my Achilles is really, really sore. I'm not second guessing my long runs but it makes me wonder if I continue to train by adding more myles per week, will I make it through the season? No turning back now, full steam ahead and pray for the best.

Next week I will ramp back up the myles and hope to reach the 80 mile mark. The only way I'll be able to do this is to have a couple 16 + days (in a row) and then have a 30 mile run on the weekend. I think I'm ready for that! I also think I'm ready for some hill work, which I will probably incorporate during my Wednesday run. After this week I will have 2 weeks before Red Hot 50+ to taper. I really hope for the best there because that will be the first indication if my training has been true to me.

And to this weeks end I'll end with a quote from Tom Fleming (running coach) - If you want to be a better runner, you've got to run more. It's as simple as that!

6 myles - recovery

Grigs out/back - 1:00 p.m.
calm, clear, mid 30's, wet road
body/mind - really good, no aches
recovery effort

Another gorgeous (gay Boston accent) day here in Colorado! This may be the last of them for a week or so.

Doing a recovery run is harder mentally than anything else. I find myself trying to come up with every excuse in the book NOT to run. But once I'm out the door it is the most relaxing run of the entire week, I dare say I didn't break a sweat today. Based on last weeks recovery run and the way I feel right now, recovery runs will be part of my normal routine - barring injury. The only down side to this is that I'm running 6 days a week instead of my normal 5, which is a little stretch for me.

27 myles - 3.29:07

Lone Tree loop - noon
clear, mid 30's, no wind, 2 inches of new snow
mind/body - fresh
medium effort

What a great run! Finally the weather is nice again.... at least for today. Another storm and cold front is coming so I gotta make these nice days count. I had mentioned in a previous post that I wanted to do 10-12 laps at Lone Tree prior to Way Too Cool so I thought today would be a great day to try that. I turned out 10 laps with each lap being 2.7 myles for a total of 27 myles. I'm extremely satisfied with this run for one primary reason - even splits for all 10 laps! In the past I have been known to go out fast because I feel so good and then bonk in the end. Well today I "think" I learned my starting pace for a 50K.

The last two laps were difficult to keep with the even splits because there is a hill toward the end of the loop that is long and grinding, but I managed. Total climbing was 3,690 ft, which is pretty equivalent to both Red Hot 50K and Way Too Cool. My time wasn't blazing (7:44/mile) but with the elevation gain that's actually pretty good for me. WTC under 3.50 this year if my training keeps going this way!

So here are my splits:

1. 20:54
2. 20:45
3. 21:01
4. 20:42
5. 21:03 (1.44:29 halfway)
   
6. 20:30
7. 21:04
8. 20:51
9. 21:08
10. 21:03 (1.44:36 second half)
    

8 myles - 57:25

Daniels Park out/back - 8:30 a.m.
clear, 6 degrees, North wind, frozen roads
body/mind - good
easy effort

Ka-Ka-COLD! With the windchill: minus something that humans should not run in! I had to run early because I'm headed to Oklahoma City today for a meeting, will be back tomorrow. So rather than take two days off in a row it was either freeze or be in a bad mood. I felt really good this morning but when it's that cold it was hard to get any part on my body to move thus the myles were slower. All in all there is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people, right?

9 myles - 1.09:28

Lone Tree loop - 1:00 p.m.
overcast, exactly 12 degrees, snow
mind/body - feeling very fresh
easy effort

Man was it cold today! Cold enough to make me think about turning around after a block. Got a light dusting of snow overnight which created problems on the trail. The Lone Tree loop still had a layer of snow on it before last night and with the single digit temps it had turned to ice underneath. Terrible footing but I managed to do two loops (2.7 myles each) in 20:07 and 20:09, pretty even splits -eh? I would consider this run a "puttin' in the myles" run.

One quick side note: with it being overcast, a light dusting of snow, and frigid temps, my Smith V-ti's came through again! I wore the rose lens today, which is perfect for overcast days and snow on the ground. I dare ANY sunglass company to come up with a better frame and lens! It's not possible!

10 myles - 1.09:07 (LT)

Daniels Park out/back - 11:30 a.m.
overcast, 40ish, slight wind
mind/body - felt great!
hard effort

The verdict is in: recovery runs after a long run are goooood for me! I felt strong today and I attribute it all to my recovery run yesterday.

Today was a hard effort because of the lactate threshold (LT) myles put in every other mile. When looking at the splits it looks a bit uneven but the reason for that is because 3 of the 5 myles are up hill. Mile 2, 4, and 10 are uphill and mile 6 and 8 are downhill. Look at the profile to see what I'm talkin' about. I assure you I was redlining it more on the uphill myles than the downhill myles. If I did these myles on a flat track I would have to guess my effort was probably a 6 minute pace. All in all I'm very happy with my splits and feel very confident going into Red Hot 50K+. But then again, Red Hot is just a training run for Way Too Cool 50K right?

Splits:

• mile 1 7:13
• mile 2 6:33 LT
  
• mile 3 8:10
• mile 4 6:26 LT
  
• mile 5 8:17
• mile 6 5:56 LT
  
• mile 7 7:22
• mile 8 5:50 LT
  
• mile 9 7:16
• mile 10 6:00 LT
  

6 myles + weights

Grigs road - 2:30 p.m.
clear, mid 40's, no wind
body/mind - sluggish
recovery effort

I was going to take today off but I can't pass on a beautiful winter day like today! Just so you know a recovery effort is slower than an easy effort so I didn't even bother with the watch. If I do anything else this week, this run was the most important. Important because it was all about recovery after a long run - gettin' out any soreness and gettin' the blood pumping again. Speaking of soreness, I didn't seem to have any soreness at all... good sign! In the past when I have had the opportunity to do a recovery run I usually passed just to get a day off. I'll have to wait and see how I feel tomorrow before I pass judgement.

Another reason this is an important run is because for the first time, I followed my long run with another day of running. As I get into my peak fitness my bread and butter will be back to back long runs, 30 myles followed by 20 myles. Running on tired legs and a tired mind is what ultra running is all about.

Jan 7-13 2008

• Monday - 16 myles
• Tuesday - off
• Wednesday - 16 myles
• Thursday - off
• Friday - 16 myles
• Saturday - off
• Sunday - 23 myles
• Total - 71 myles

Pic of the week - My 2008 sponsor!

There you have it! My 2008 sponsor, my family! What?? Not what you were thinking?? Based on the comments I KNOW it's not what you were thinking. Although I do have to admit I thought the puffed rice comment was the best! Go back and look at my teasers, make sense now? To put things in perspective, the family is the most important sponsor any ultra runner could have, without their support there is no ultra running. And with a new addition to Team Fast Eddy their support this year is the only way I could train and do the races I want to do.

So here's my take on sponsorship in ultra running: running for a team or sponsor has gotten totally out of control and in my opinion will self destruct itself within the next 5 years. For the last couple of years you see more and more sponsored runners at races, most of which are middle of the packers. Some aren't getting paid anything but the shirt on their back - to me that's just being a suck up, sell out. Nothing wrong with that if your just running for free stuff, but someone tell the CEO there not selling anything. Doesn't work for very long even in the deepest of pockets. I believe sponsorship should be a minority of ultra runners, not a majority. It should be reserved for guys like this or this, or maybe even this guy. All of which have made tremendous accomplishments in their careers and are highly respected in the ultra running community.

Having said all that, if I were asked to be sponsored by someone would I say no. The answer is "it depends". I would not endorse a product I don't believe in, I would only endorse a product that I currently use and could promote to fellow runners. But that's neither here nor there because I haven't done anything to warrant a sponsor. I consider myself the worst of the best and the best of the worst and that doesn't deserve sponsorship. Right now I like the fact that I can go to a race as a virtually unknown, place in the top 5 of a national race, and go home. No added pressure to perform. No running for ulterior motives; it's just me, the beauty of the course, and my own demons. I run for me. I run because I'm competitive. I run because it's hard. I run because it makes me feel alive. If for some strange reason I start to win some races in 2008 and someone notices me then great! I would be honored to represent a brand that I believe in. But as it stands right now I'll just be some non-descript Mexican dude running as hard as I can and enjoy what I do with my new endorsing sponsor.

Anyway, what about my running week?? I planned for 4 - 16+ runs and DID 4 - 16+ runs for a total of 71 myles this week! 5 weeks of solid building and I still feel great! Next week I should tone it down and go for shorter tempo runs to mix it up a bit. Maybe only 50 myles next week with one long run on the weekend. Red Hot 50K is coming up and I think I'll be ready with my new sponsor in tow.

23 myles - 2.58:21

Chatfield lolly pop loop - 9:45 a.m.
clear, calm, low 40's
mostly clean roads, muddy highline
easy effort

What a beautiful day! Not a cloud in the sky and no wind for a change. When I left my house this morning I didn't know where I was headed, I just started running West knowing I wanted to spend about 3 hours on my feet. I ended up running down an old route that I used when I was training for road marathons and combining it with the highline canal. I'm not sure how far the highline canal goes but it's a wonderful surface to run on - being a dirt road. Once on the highline I thought I could follow it to Waterton canyon, which was 10 myles away, but I ended up bush whacking parallel to the train tracks. I found my way back to Chatfield reservoir and back to my original tracks.

I never once pushed the pace, it was more of a casual/pedestrian pace throughout. This run was a perfect example as to why I use my first/last splits to measure my fitness: 7:00/7:44 today. Having said that, this is my longest run since September so I know I was dipping into the red a bit. I still felt good in the end (albeit slow) and recovered quick which is always a good sign.

2008 "endorsing" sponsor

A few more teasers about my sponsor:

• They have been involved in ultra-running for 5 years
• They have been watching me over the last couple of years
• They say the reason they are sponsoring me is because of my blog.... meaning they now know how hard I've been working and feel I will be committed to the team.
• They have had some ties with other sports but have since pulled out.
• They have been in business for almost 14 years.
• They love being involved in the ultra-running community.

That's all for now so for you 2 or 3 people who actually read my blog, stay tuned.....

16 myles - 1.55:45

Sante Fe out/back - 11:30 a.m.
mid 30's, partly cloudy, Southeast wind
body/mind - felt great
medium effort

Today is a great day! Great because I had a very inspired run! Why inspired? What inspired fastED today? Well, I just got word that my title sponsor came through! Who, you might ask?? Check back on Sunday when I post my weekly review and I'll tell ya. A little hint though - this sponsor has created a new team this year. I would not be able to do all the races I want to do without this sponsor as they have agreed to pay for all my travel and entry fees - Wuhooo!!!!

3rd run of the week with 16 myles and I feel great! My first/last splits were: 6:45/6:26.... I did have a tail wind on the last mile so it's really not that big of a difference. During my runs I find myself casually looking at my watch at known mile markers, trying to calculate what I made the last mile in. I told myself I wouldn't do that but it's a habit that's hard to break. I have to keep repeating to myself, "time on my feet", "time on my feet" over and over again until I get it.

I re-read my post from yesterday and kind of felt I was denouncing any speedwork, that's not true at all. In the past, my main focus was on speed rather than the endurance. Moving forward my main focus will be endurance first and incorporate speed work into the long runs. I think the best way to do that is to pick out 3 or 4 myles during a long 3 + hour run and make them lactate threshold myles. This way I get time on my feet as well as a few spurts of good leg turnover. I still believe speed work is important no matter the distance raced but I've gotta be able to make the distance first.

16 myles - 2.00:11

Sante Fe out/back - 11:00 a.m.
overcast, 20-30 degrees
South wind, mud-snow road
body/mind - fine
easy effort

Half way through my week of 4 - 16 + mile runs, feeling pretty good! Got caught out in the weather today. Started out about 30 something degrees (in shorts) and two hours later it was a balmy 20 degrees..... in shorts. I don't think I sweat at all today although I did take 16 oz of water for good measure. The last two days I have not taken any calories with me so that I can boost my glycogen stores.

I settled into a pace that was completely comfortable and was breathing very relaxed. I'm not putting too much thought into my time because..... well, what's more important at this point is that I'm getting time on my feet, feeling very strong in the end and recovering very quick. My first/last splits were 6:46/6:48 so pretty even effort all the way around.

I do believe my mind set is changing. For instance, last year I was so concerned about each and every split, every run. The reason for this (speed) was for the simple fact that I wanted to cruise more efficiently at a faster pace. During races last year my strategy was to use that speed early on, create a gap, and hang on till the end. In a few (maybe more than a few) instances that came back to bite me in the butt because I couldn't hang on and suffered mightily. This year I've come to the conclusion that I need quite a few more longer, sustained runs of 4 + hours rather than shorter speed workouts. Having said all that, I'm building right now to get to a base of 90-100 mile weeks as opposed to 50-60 mile weeks last year. My mid weeks runs have to be 16 myles or 2+ hours and on the weekends get a 30 or 40 mile run in. Jasper Halekas took up this strategy last year which catapulted him into the "elite" status if you will.... maybe not "elite" status for me but definitely winning a few races could be the result. Life is made of either reasons or results.

16 myles - 1.54:56

Platte River - 11:30 a.m.
mid 30's, overcast, clear path
body/mind felt GREAT!
easy effort

To give you an indication of how good I felt today, my first/last splits were 6:58/6:36 respectively. And the best part about the last mile is that I could have gone a lot faster. My breathing was relaxed and my body was composed but I had no intention of making this run a hard effort so I held back.

I left from my house and ran down to the 8 mile mark on this route making it an out/back. I wanted to get a feel for how long it should take me to get from the Platte river back home so that when I run the 40 myles I can gage my last uphill effort. Going out is all down hill (56:43), obviously coming back (58:10) is all up, which is perfect training for American River. American River starts on a path in Sacramento and goes uphill to Auburn, at the 24 mile mark it goes uphill and I think off road.

This week is off to a good start, I hope I can finish it out the way I planned....

Dec 31 - Jan 6 2008

• Monday 11 myles
• Tuesday 12 myles
• Wednesday 9 myles
• Thursday 8 myles
• Friday off
• Saturday 20 myles
• Sunday off
• Total 60 myles

Pic of the week - 'ol man Cooper

Cooper is the pic of the week because he has really taken a back seat since Myles was born. We are trying not to forget him but I think he thinks otherwise. Although he has been happy lately because I've been running more and he knows he gets a good 15 minute walk during my cool down. Cooper has been the best dog a person can ever have, he was our first born, and has practically become human. If any of you know Cooper then you know what I'm talkin' about.

This week was another solid week! 4 weeks of building - doubling my myles in that time. Traditionally, as most books recommend, I usually rotate through a 4 week cycle (3 weeks building, 1 week recover). But traditionally I don't take 2 months off of running so I extended my cycle by one week. I feel very good with the base I've built and think that I'll be ready for The Red Hot 50 k+ in February. This week I did a tempo workout, hill workout, a long workout, and two easy workouts. Although I do have to admit that I feel I'm riding the red line as far as the injury bug is concerned.

So since I've broke away from tradition thus far, why stop now? Rather than scale my myles down next week I figure I will do less runs but make them longer. I haven't decided what days I'll be running but if I can do 4 runs, no less than 16 myles each time then I will have a solid foundation for these early spring races. After each run next week I'll take the following day off which will give me an additional day off for the week. We all know how plans work out so stay tuned and see if I can be successful next week.

I've added a new route called Platte river. This is a route that I've run several times in years past when the snow was too much and I was trying to get ready for a flat January or February race. I've mapped out 25 miles point to point but will vary the distance depending upon the race. If I have Nicole drop me off at the start of the Platte river, do an out/back and then run home, that will give me 40 myles and perfect course layout for American River.

20 myles - 2.39:17

Sante Fe loop - 10:45 a.m.
light overcast, strong North East wind, dry roads
body felt sluggish
easy effort

I had plenty of motivation to run today despite the 30 mph winds with gusts of 50mph. Number 1 and 2 motivation to run today was part of a package from my good friend Aric Manning. In this package was a DVD from our 1995 soccer national championship trip and a new pair of Smith V-ti sunglasses. Number 3 motivation to run is a quote: there is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.

The DVD was a complete surprise and after I watched it I got very inspired, needless to say it uprooted a whole lotta emotion. Playing soccer at Weber State was (and still is) the core of my essence. I always tell people today "running is what I do, it's not who I am" but on the contrary soccer is what I did and IS who I am. The person I am today is because of soccer, primarily from the friendships I formed and the coaches I learned from.

As I started my run I knew it was gonna be a long day not only because of the wind but because I just didn't feel it today. I didn't actively seek mile splits but I happened to glance at my watch after the first mile: 7:03. Not bad... and to tell the truth I thought I was slower than that. As I said before I usually gage my fitness on how strong I finish and how fast I recover, in addition I will sometimes see if I can match my first and last mile on an out/back. Well today, I took splits the last 3 miles with a concerted effort trying to stay within the 7:03 range. Last 3 were: 7:44, 7:35, 7:24 not as slow as I thought but I couldn't match my first and last which makes me believe that my fitness is still coming along. Normally this is a 19 mile run but I ran along Sante Fe for 12 minutes to make it a total of 20 myles

Last, and certainly not least, I wanna comment on my brand new sunglasses. The Smith V-ti are THE best glasses I have ever worn during a run. Aric told me Smith updated the Frontline model because bikers were complaining that the brow line was too thick and couldn't see. I thought the Frontline were comfortable but the V-ti was that much better! I put the polarized copper lens in today because of the thin layer of clouds, perfect choice! The frames are weightless on my face and the lens created a crystal clear view. If you do any activity outside you need these frames! I will never go without these again.

8 myles - 1.05:44

Courtesy Ford - 8:30 a.m.
mid 30's, overcast, some ice
no issues
easy effort

Did the Courtesy Ford run today, bright and relatively early. My little Escape' (pronounced ez-cop-ae) is having some shifting issues so I had to take it in and get fixed. I decided to run home and ended up taking a little detour to do some hill repeats. Last year at my peak I was running this hill in about 1:10 (5 times), today I ran 1:17, 1:14, and 1:11. I'm pretty happy with this because I didn't kill myself to get these times. My training is going good so I'm contemplating going up to Leadville on Saturday to do the 20 mile snowshoe race but it all depends if I get my Escape' back in time. Otherwise I'll be doing the Sante Fe Loop on Saturday.

As far as the Achilles is concerned, I'm going to stop reporting about it since I'm not having any issues right now. If that changes then I'll start talking about "it". I figure the more I talk about it, the more I worry about it..... see I'm rubbing "it" right now.

9 myles - 1.12:28

Lone Tree loop - 11:30 a.m.
clear, mid 30's, snow packed trail
no aches/pains
Achilles bothered me a bit
easy effort

If there's one thing I learned from last year it's that I should go "hard" on hard efforts and go "easy" on easy efforts. Last year I was always trying to get a better time on each of my routes, every time. I now know that in order to get faster and stay healthy I need to adhere to my prescribed run. Having said that, for this year I will take my watch every time for total time but as it relates to splits I will only record my splits per mile on tempo and LT runs. Each week will consist of a tempo run, hill/speed run or LT run, 2 easy runs, and a long run.

Today really was an easy effort - I just flat out enjoyed myself! The trail was snow packed, hard, and very unsteady so I just "sauntered" my way around the Lone Tree loop twice. Each loop is 2.7 myles with some elevation and to get there I need to go 1.8 myles making it a total of 9 myles. First loop was 21:21 and second loop was 21:48. Before Way Too Cool in March I'm going to do 12 laps out there as a test. If I can do it in around 4 and 1/2 hours then I know I can go to WTC and get under 3.50 - that's the goal!

12 myles - 1.25:00

Daniels Park out/back - 12:30
clear, low 20's, North wind, frozen road
body felt great
no Achilles issues
hard effort

I'm calling this a tempo run because I pushed the pace every mile.... on second thought, this is the first of any speed work so maybe it should be considered a "increased leg turnover" run rather than a "tempo" run. At any rate with all the snow creating the slow and go runs I felt like I had to do something.

Going out my splits didn't match my effort primarily because of the head wind - a little discouraging. But coming back I was running pretty effortlessly except for mile 7. Mile 7 is the Sanctuary hill which is a nasty climb for 1/4 of a mile, adding to the total climbing for this route of just over 1400 ft. In the last few runs my breathing has been very relaxed but my legs feel out of sorts, almost as if I'm running out of control at times. All in all I feel very composed and strong about my running right now. Here are my splits for today:

1. 6:40
2. 7:10
3. 7:37
4. 7:27
5. 7:46
6. 6:46
7. 8:00 (Sanctuary hill)
   
8. 6:35
9. 6:49
10. 6:34
11. 6:42
12. 6:48

Avg. 7:04