Monday - 5th street mineral belt improv (10 miles 1:37). fun little welcome back run after saturday's debacle and sunday spent licking my wounds:) i met up with mike and we opted to climb up 5th st and follow that out for a bit, hopping on the mineral belt trail and following it for a bit. i felt a little sluggish on the climb, but far better than on saturday. once we got on the mineral belt, things were feeling better, and i was moving all right. somewhere around cmc we lost track of the mineral belt and wound up passing through the college then heading down mcwethy and onto the finish for the 100. felt pretty good all in all. another good day enjoying a brief window of sunshine and blue skies.
Tuesday - 5.4 mile loop (5.4 miles 0:48). another solid run, the weather was a bit chilly, so it took a little motivation to get out the door. once i was out, it wasn't too bad, and i pieced together another solid run. i started out just cruising comfortably. when i started up the 2.5ish mile climb up mountain view i was feeling pretty good. I made a conscious decision to just stay comfortable and not push the climb. i felt good the entire climb making for a good finish and another positive day.
Wednesday - county road wanderings (9 miles 1:20). after a little hemming and hawing i was able to drag myself out the door and did a bit of wandering in search of some dirt, or packed snow to avoid the pavement. i was able to find a good little stretch of both dirt and snow, and wound up with a decent day of steady effort and a decent pace. most importantly i was enjoying being out and exploring some areas i haven't been in a while. 3 good runs in 3 days, let the ride continue.
Thursday - base work (7 miles 1:00). another chilly day with cloud cover and another good day of running. another day of a solid pace. 4 days, no hard pressing, and all of them with a good pace, and my legs are feeling good. perhaps this consistency thing is the way to go? i started a little begrudgingly due to the chill in the air, and my general lethargy, once out the door, i was feeling pretty good, and opted to stretch my usual 5.5 mile loop out a bit. i'm glad i did, and though i was not looking forward to the 2.5ish (actually closer to 3.5 with the extended loop) mile climb up towards the end, i felt good the entire time, and managed another great day out wandering around the streets.
Friday - 7th st out and back (6.2 miles 0:52). after a several days of feeling pretty good on the runs (though the mornings have been tough to get going), the scale seems to be tipping slightly. today's route is a climb until i opt out of the climb and turn around to enjoy the descent. today the climbing was all right for the first 1 - 2 miles, then it started to become incredibly laborious and slow. i continued to climb to see if things would turn around. the didn't, it just kept getting slower, so i turned, and opted to press the descent enjoying the work i put in and smiling lungs burning and legs doing all they could to keep pressing. no blistering times even on the descent, but a good little effort that should help improve turnover and remind me it's ok, and can be fun, to push the effort.
Saturday - vrb group run (11 miles 2:16). after a bit of a reprieve from consistently joining the VRB saturday runs, i dragged myself out of bed this morning, and made my way to breckenridge for some good company and fun miles. it was a bit of a slog up to sallie barber mine, everybody seemed to have a bit of a niggle, or something that was a bit off, i attribute this to a much too long winter and absence from the trails:) once at the mine, it's a fun descent back down into town, i enjoyed a good little push for a mile and a half on the descent down to the south parking lot. we regrouped and pretty much cruised the final 4 miles back into town together. a good day, great people, and a huge reminder that it doesn't have to be fast or hurt to be fun. it's all about perspective
tempo jaunt (2.6 miles 0:20). my legs were a bit antsy after todays outing, so i opted to get in a quick little loop from my house at a bit of an effort to shake out my legs and enjoy the sunset.
Sunday - sage cafe out and back (20.2 miles 3:18). went out conservatively, enjoying the trails and picking my way through several short snowy sections. after about 3 miles the fun single dropped onto dirt roads, still good, but not as much fun as the wiggly single track. I turned around at 1:34, hoping to stay within 1 minute per mile of my pace for the return trip (it's trending uphill on the way back). I was still feeling pretty good, and continued to feel good through 17 miles. i am sure i was a bit light on nutrition, as through 17 miles i only had 4 - 5 small nips (about 1oz and 90 calories) from the honey molasses concoction i am trying for nutrition. at 17 miles, i took about 1oz as i felt things slowing significantly. shortly after this, my foot punched through a snowy section and sent me sailing headlong into the snow. i laid there for a brief moment and laughed, just over 2 miles left and i'm laying here happy to be off me feet. in another entertaining twist, the sky decided to open up at this point as well, fortunately(?) it was cold enough that it was snow, and a strong head wind, as well as the brunt of the climbing to be had on the run. i hiked a bit of the longest climb, took another 1oz of my nutrition and decided to try and press the final 2 miles. it sort of worked, though i felt like i was running hard, the pace wasn't too impressive, but with the snow falling and wind blowing, i was more than ready to be back at the truck. as the terrain turned to rollers instead of steady climbing, i was able to move pretty well, and was enjoying the wiggling single track. nutrition: ~200 calories and 20oz of water
Retrospective: all in all a great week, some good mileage and my average pace is picking up, though i've been dragging a little from day to day, and slow to get out of bed, once i get out and am running, these things are falling away. i find myself consumed in the moment, looking neither forward nor backward, but being fully present in now. a welcome centering and balancing, as the week started off pretty rough and i have been struggling a little bit finding the positives. sunday's run was the icing on the cake, i was just out enjoying myself taking in the nature experience, despite the clumps of snow and significant fatigue i experienced in the final 3 - 4 miles, i enjoyed being out there and being in the present.
Summary:
Total Time: 11:32
Running Time: 11:32
Distance: 71.7
TSS: 786
Climbing: 6,330'
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