12 myles - 1.26:57

HR urban trails
SE strong wind, low 30s, muddy/slushy
mind/body - good
easy effort

Prescribed workout: 90 minutes easy effort - keeping HR up on downhills

Actual workout: 12 myles 1.26:57 avg. 7:14 easy effort - not much downhill running

With the recent snow dump the trails are really muddy/slushy so I had to keep to the dirt roads for the most part. The minimal trail section I did get on was very slippery with mud so I wasn't able to keep the speed up. I've got a two day meeting starting tomorrow so my running is gonna take a hit but hopefully I'll be able to get on the TM for some fast uphill hiking.

I end March 09 with 240 myles. In comparison, March 08 I had 230 myles so relatively the same amount of myles. I figure April will be somewhere around 300 in preparation for Miwok.

16 myles - 1.56:16

HR urban trails/Daniels Park - 11:00 A.M.
slushy/muddy trails, clear, mid 50s
mind/body - good
easy effort

Prescribed workout: 2 hours with the last 30 minutes faster pace

Actual workout: 15.74 myles 1.56:16 avg. 7:23 - easy pace with last 4 myles in 26:40

Felt good again today to finish out the week with 70 myles. Pretty good considering being sick earlier in the week and the recent snow dump. In addition, I put in about 10,000 ft of elevation gain.

Even though we got about a foot of snow 3 days ago, the dirt is starting to show on the trails already. Having said that, the trails were pretty sloppy/slushy today freezing my feet as if I were in HR all over again - looking forward to it!

19 myles ~ 3.20

Manitou Springs - 7:00 A.M.
mid 20s, clear, some snow
mind/body - good
easy effort

Prescribed workout: 2-3 hours easy effort with hills

Actual workout: 18.43 myles ~ 3.20 easy effort with ~4000 ft of elevation gain

Joined the CRUD group again for the regular Saturday long run. Mostly the same group from last week except Grimes slept in, JT decided to roll away from the bar, and Tony is back from Ashland, OR. First time running with Tony and JT - kinda nice to chat with them. Although if I stand next to JT I'm underdressed, stand next to Tony and you would think I'm going to the North Pole! Hope I can get down there for most Saturdays moving forward as it gets me out the door and mixes it up a bit.

Today we went up Crystal Park road, down Palmer Lake trail, over Section 16, and finished on Intemann Trail for a nice big loop. Little bit of road, trail (mostly snow covered in which Tony broke trail with no socks), and dirt road - nice little loop. I get really confused up there because I don't know the name of anything but I'm learning quick. Next week the CRUD Saturday long run is coming North to Mt. Falcon for a double. You better be there BFish!

4 myles - 1.01:50

Treadmill - 5:00 P.M.
foot of snow outside, clear, slushy
mind/body - good
easy effort

Prescribed workout: 30-60 minutes fast walking

Actual workout: 4 myles 1.01:50 avg. 15:27 - 3.88 MPH

3rd day in a row on the dreadmill but it wasn't all that bad. I think variety is the key! I cranked up the TM to 12% grade and walked as fast as I could. In reality, this is a workout I never would have done in the past but when I think about how much walking actually occurs at HR - this workout makes total sense! I hope to do this workout at least once a week until HR and obviously when the snow clears it will be to a couple 14ers.

10 myles - 1.11:25

Treadmill - 10:00 A.M.
foot of snow, blowing, slick
mind/body - very good
easy effort

Prescribed workout: 60+ minutes easy effort - hill sprints or strides to end

Actual workout: 10 myles 1.11:25 avg. 7:08 easy effort - last mile intermittent hill sprints

Woke up to partly cloudy skies and no snow on the ground. Had my coffee and breakfast then started to gear up to go running, looked outside only to find a blizzard had settled in! It was a tough choice but I went for the dreadmill. Most of the run was spent at 6:49 pace and then threw in a few 8 MPH @ 8% for 45 seconds to finish so that I could simulate the hill sprints. I feel really good right now and maybe because I've felt so crappy the last couple of days.

10 myles - 1.09:11

Treadmill - 10:00 A.M.
upper 40s, partly cloudy, dry
mind/body - good
Hard effort

Prescribed workout: 75 minutes Kenyan cut down starting at 8 pace, add 0.1 MPH every 0.25 mile AND THEN throw in 4% grade on the last quarter each mile. Finish remaining time @ 6:30 pace

Actual workout: 10 myles 1.09:11 avg. 6:55. Started at 8 pace (7.5MPH), finished at 6:11 pace (9.8 MPH), remaining time @ 6:30 pace.

Ah yes - the famous Kenyan cut down workout! As if it wasn't tough enough to begin with?!?! Paul threw in a 4% grade every 4th quarter mile! Today I went to the local rec center to see if there was a difference in treadmills. I surprised myself at how far I made it so maybe my treadmill is a little tweaked because it seemed a little easier today. But nonetheless the last two @ 4% were tough at 9.4 and 9.8 MPH! I started to feel the lactate build up but then it was time to bring it back down so a quarter mile was just about right. On the flip side of that I noticed when I was level I was cruising pretty effortless.

I'll admit from week to week I'm always intrigued by what Paul throws my way but I think he may be a little sadistic...