Trailblazer!

Today the afternoon temps were in the mid 20s so I went outside for my run. I ran through the golf course to avoid the sidewalks then I hit the prairie dog trail. I was the first one to run on that path, I love the feeling of running on fresh snow. There was only a few inches of it, which made it a bit of a resistance workout, but didn't slow me down too much. I ran for an hour and went about 6.5 miles. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as nice.

Snow and Ice

Today was snowy with icy roads and sidewalks, so I elected to do my running at the Trails instead of outside. It ended up being pretty good, I did three miles at about a 7 minute mile and another mile or so at a little over 8. So for a half hour workout it was pretty good. The roads here suck so driving anywhere takes forever and even with leaving work a little early it still took me almost an hour to get there. Tonight is supposed to get down to 0 so it will be a chilly one. Hopefully I won't get called in to a cold magnet!

Back to Work

The holiday was great and I am really looking forward to enjoying the Christmas season. Today though it was back to business as usual. I did have a great run, 6.5 miles or so (3 times around Bluff Lake), and I had some company for a change. The weather was quite a bit cooler than it was a little while ago, but it was still nice. This week is going to be challenging with the cold temperatures that are due to hit us. I'm not looking forward to that.

Turkey Trot!

Well I finished the Mile High United Way Turkey Trot this morning, and had a blast. It is a 4 mile course and I finished (according to my watch) in 30:34. We'll see what the chip time turns out to be, as that is what I am hoping to use as my entry time for the Bolder Boulder in the spring. It was not my best run as I certainly went out too fast in the beginning, but it is easily my best time so I'm quite happy with the result. My mile splits were as follows: 7:11 (Yikes!), 14:48 (Still Yikes!), 22:30 (But I'm dying!), and 30:34 (Crikey!). I swear the first two miles did not feel that fast, but the last two certainly felt slower than they actually were. Ideally the spilts should have been the other way around, but I still feel like that was the first race where I have really been able to race up to my ability. It sure as hell wasn't easy, but I made it!

Pseudo Taper

As part of my scaling back my mileage to prepare for the race on Thursday I only went running on Saturday and today for only about 3 miles each. My legs are feeling much better and I hope to be able to push the pace up a little on Thursday. As usual though I will take advantage of the crowding at the beginning of the race to make sure I don't go out too fast from the start. My goal is to run under 36 minutes for the 4 miles. More than likely I will not run tomorrow and try to get out of work early instead. I remember last year trying to drive home the day before Thanksgiving and it was painful. Check here for an update on Thursday with my race time!

Tumbling Tumbleweeds

I thought it was going to be a great day for a run today. It's 65 degrees out there and I was able to go out with just shorts and a T-shirt. But not two minutes after I left, the wind started blowing like crazy and quashed any aspirations I might have had about a nice long run today. But I decided to roll with it and fought the headwind all the way to Bluff Lake before turning around and taking advantage of the tailwind to do some aerobic intervals. Ended up being only about 3.5 miles, but with the speedwork it was still a good workout. It's probably good to have a week with less mileage, it seems like I've been pretty sore this week. But when I run it works out all the kinks and I feel great, although a trip to the hot tub would be nice...

Perfect Day

It was a picture perfect day for running today, clear, sunny, no wind and nice and cool (45 F). I put in a couple of loops around Bluff Lake for about 5.5 miles. I tried to push the pace a little as well which made it a hard workout. This week I have been doing most of my runs around 1, and eating my lunch at 12 to give me a good energy base. I think it has worked out well, much better than what I was doing before which was having a piece of fruit around 11 and going for a run at 12. I should probably work a small taper into my training next week to get ready for the turkey trot. I can't wait for Thanksgiving!

Blustery 7 miles

It's pretty windy here today but I was keeping an eye on it before I left for my run and it didn't get too much over 10 mph. So I decided to go out for my run anyway. It wasn't too bad, the wind was at my back on the way out, but the way back was a little tougher. When I got back I checked the weather and the wind was up to 20 mph! Still, I got through it and it ended up being a pretty good run. Shoes are still working out great, although it takes some getting used to when your old ones were worn down to almost nothing. Tonight Elijah and I are going to hang out while mommy goes to the gym, I'm looking forward to it.

My Worst Nightmare

The Boy Who Ran Like a Deer


No deer today thankfully after reading this story. I did a nice 4.5 miles around Bluff Lake in my new shoes. They were very comfy and I am looking forward to putting in some serious miles in them. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to go running today as the weather was supposed to get pretty nasty this afternoon, but so far it has held off.


Yesterday I took a rest from running but I stayed active by going to the Trails to swim a few laps. I ended up swimming for about 15 minutes before my form started going downhill fast and I took that as my limit. It wasn't too bad actually considering the last time I tried to swim I went out far too hard and had problems even finishing a few laps. I really like swimming, so I hope it is something I can consistently add to my weekly activity. Having the membership to the Trails will really help in that I think.

New Shoes

This morning was pretty busy for us. I drove Melissa to the Trails for her workout and then ran up to the Piney Creek trailhead to meet Shaun for our run. Put in a good 4.5 miles or so for a total this week of 32 miles. It is windy today, but warmer than I thought it would be. I had a quick shower at the Trails and then we were all off to Runner's Roost to buy my new shoes. It's amazing how much better they feel than my old worn out ones, I can't wait to put a few miles on them. I'm making banana bread now, and after lunch we are off to the pediatricians for Elijah's flu shot. I'm sure we'll have to comfort him afterwards with a trip to Peet's.

Big Deer!

The big buck was out today, and he was huge! Also one tried to run by me without being seen, they look kind of funny when they are bounding from their back legs to their front legs. I did just 4.5 miles today to take it easy, but I was feeling really good at the end. I don't want to risk injury though especially with my old shoes. I'm going to try to buy new ones this weekend so that I can break them in before the turkey trot. TGIF, this week seems like it's gone on forever. Tomorrow I get to have my run with Elijah, I love Saturdays!

Happy Gary

Gary now has a new battery, a new alternator and a new serpentine belt! He's a happy car. We didn't make it to Melissa's appointment this morning, but they were all done with the repairs by 9:30, which isn't too bad. They had a copy of Runner's World there so I was all set.


I went out for a 7 mile run at noon today and really enjoyed the cooler weather. It was 80 yesterday and 46 today so it was quite a front that moved in. No major precipitation though and we are not supposed to dip below freezing so I doubt we'll get any snow out of it. It was perfect weather for running although the view of the mountains was obscured by clouds. I'm definitely a cold weather runner, I feel like my strength is sapped when it's hot out and the sun is beating down. Give me cloudy and cool any day! I'm glad to have the right gear for it too, my jacket and pants keep me nice and toasty warm even when the temps get pretty cold. I just need a shell now to keep the rain and wind out. But with the car repairs that will just have to wait.

Cue the Stripper Music

It was so hot for my run today that I actually took my shirt off for part of it. That does not happen very often. I took it pretty easy after yesterday and only did 4.5 miles around Bluff Lake. It was a good break in the day and nice to take advantage of the great weather we have right now. I think a front is supposed to move in tomorrow night so it may not be as nice for the weekend as this, but for November I can't really complain.


Tonight I am going to make enchiladas for dinner (thanks Cate and Kaisara!) which I love so I'm looking forward to that. That's assuming I can start the car to get home. Yesterday the battery light came on while I was driving home, which usually indicates that there is something wrong with the alternator. It started fine this morning so I suspect that the alternator is just on its last legs and not completely dead. So tomorrow Melissa will have to take it in to Sears to get that replaced. I really can't complain when anything goes wrong with Gary, he has been such a reliable car and with more than 120k miles to his credit it's not so surprising when a part wears out.


[UPDATE]: Well the alternator is dead, I barely made it into a shop before the car conked out on my way home. They sold me a new battery to get me home and I'll head back there in the morning to get the alternator replaced. Hopefully it won't take too long as Melissa has a doctor appointment to get to. Oh well, there's nothing we can do about it now.

Oops

You'd think I would know my body better by now. Today I didn't leave Boulder until quarter to one so I ate an apple before the drive home so that I would have some energy for a run. I ended up crashing pretty hard towards the end and regretted not eating more. When I got back I downed my sandwich and felt much better afterwards. It seems like I really need a pretty good energy store to do my runs and breakfast just doesn't hold on that late.


I got home early enough to take Elijah swimming at the pool. He had fun I think but was still pretty cold as he doesn't like to move around much in the water. We swam for about 20 minutes then had a nice warm shower. Since I had such a late lunch we just had dinner after we got back. Spaghetti, tasty!

Getting away from it all

I did a nice 6 miles today which was a great break from work. The only problem was that we've had some water quality issues at work and I had to walk to a whole other building to fill up my bottle. It was great weather, and I almost had to go shirtless I was so hot. No deer today, I must have gone too early.


I watched the highlights of the NYC marathon yesterday and was pretty surprised by the outcome. I ended up feeling pretty unhappy about the coverage that such an event received from the media, and I boycotted football for the rest of the day. It's not like there was anything on that early on a Sunday morning that couldn't have been preempted for live coverage.

All on our own!

It was just Elijah and I for our run this morning. It was warm, even though it was still fairly early. We went for 3 miles as I didn't want to push too hard having run 34 miles this week total. That brings my total mileage right around where I want it to be. Tomorrow will be a nice day off to recover. Today we went to Cherry Creek to get the oil changed. Melissa and I were lamenting the fact that Cherry Creek just doesn't offer what it used to. There's no real bookstore there now and Harry and David is gone too. The only reason we go is to go to Sears usually as we can always go to Peet's in better locations. Southlands is so much better for our shopping needs now.

Gotta love Denver

Today it is beautiful outside. Perfect temperature in the mid 60s and sun, sun, sun! I went out for 5 miles around Bluff Lake and saw the deer again. This time I caught sight of the buck too, just a young-un, only a few points. I think I'm pretty well recovered from my blood donation now, so I'm thinking about signing up for the Denver Turkey Trot at Washington Park. It might be nice to kick off the T-Day with a little run. I can't believe that thanksgiving is so close, Christmas is just around the corner. I'm surprised Melissa hasn't started playing Christmas music already, usually she breaks it out Nov. 1. I bet it will be playing this weekend for sure.

Warmer weather

Today was quite a bit nicer than yesterday and I went out running in my shorts. I still had my jacket on, but I could have almost taken that off towards the end. Did a nice 7 miles or so at a good pace. It was tiring but rewarding. So far I have run everyday this week to a total of 24 miles, I can feel the cumulative mileage in my legs, but other than that I feel pretty good. I think I'll do a shorter run tomorrow and then Saturday will be a pretty easy run. I don't know when it happened, but at some point I transitioned from "someone who occasionally runs to keep fit" to a full on "runner." Some people may see me as a nut for that, but I think Melissa understands. I'm lucky to have such a caring and understanding family!

Deer!

Today I was solo for my run, but I got to see some deer up close as I was running through Bluff Lake. I think I surprised one deer as I didn't even see her until I was right next to her. She couldn't have been more than 6 feet away, I was actually a little scared. It was nice to see them again. Bluff Lake is looking pretty good too, there is actually water in the lake for the first time that I have ever seen. According to the Bluff Lake guy I spoke to there is 4.5 feet of water! Hopefully that will bring some waterfowl to the area. I just went for 4.5 miles or so due to my long run yesterday. I'm on my own for the next couple of days too, but I think the kick start I've had will give me enough momentum to get out. The only problem is that we have to do laundry every two days since I only have two sets of running clothes. I should get another set from Target now that I am running more often. That and a new set of running shoes. I can't complain about that I suppose, they have carried me over 600 miles this year.