Extended Run

I was meaning to go out for an easy run today, but the weather was the nicest it's been all week so I went for a full 9 miles. It was still cool, but the sun was out and I had enough clothes to be warm. This weekend is supposed to be nicer still, so hopefully I'll get out again on Sunday, but I think I'll take a rest day tomorrow. Maybe even a trip to the pool.

There's always one

Last night I went to bed with clear skies and a warm wind. Today I woke up to 3 inches of snow on the ground. It was not so surprising, there is always at least one spring snowstorm here. It didn't stop me from from running though, I donned my gear and had a nice 6 miles with some speedwork in the snow. The wind was bad at times, but it wasn't cold enough to make it really biting. It mostly was just getting pelted with snowflakes that was annoying. I was not about to lose another running day to snow though.

Blown Away

I remember training for the marathon last year and being frustrated with the wind, which seemed to be in my face every long run. This year I haven't really experienced much of that until today. It was 20 mph headwinds today and it felt like I got sandblasted running by the construction zones. But I had company so it wasn't as miserable as it could have been. I did 6 miles around Bluff Lake, and was also able to hit the pool for a half hour this morning. So all in all a pretty good day.

A Quick Five

Got out today for a quick 5 miles, even though it was pretty windy out. Turned out to be a pretty good workout, but it left me wanting more. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. Hopefully the rest of this week will pan out. We are supposed to get rain off and on for the next few days so that may interfere with my plans. I can't complain with the March we've had though.

Long Slow Day

I took Elijah out for a nice long run in the joggy stroller today, 11 miles! I took a pretty easy pace and enjoyed every minute of it. The weather was beautiful and not too hot. Elijah didn't last though and eventually fell asleep on the return trip. It was quite the change from yesterday, when it rained off and on all day. I did go to the pool yesterday for an hour though, so it wasn't a total wash.

A day late

I'm a day behind here, but that's okay, it's been busy. I did run yesterday for a nice 6 miles with sunny skies. It was a little cloudier today with rain coming in, so with all I had to do I decided to give my legs a break. I've done 22 miles in 3 days so far this week anyway, so it's good to have a rest. Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy, so I may hit the pool instead of running. I think I will try to put a longer run in on Sunday though just to round things out nicely.

Cross Training

I did a mix of things today. I started off heading out the door a little early to get in a pool workout before work. I swam for half an hour and worked a bit on breathing on my "off" side. I am much better at breathing on my right side and whenever I try to do it on the left I feel like a fish out of water. But I should be able to do both so practice I must. I got to work and got my helium fill done, then I was off for a 9 mile run with Todd. We ran out towards Stapleton today and ended up going under where the old runways for Stapleton airport used to be. It was kind of cool to see how big they were and how thick and reinforced the concrete was. It was a nice run and will probably serve as the long run for the week as the weather is not supposed to be as nice on Friday and the weekend. Anyway it was interesting to see that my body could still handle a run like that after already being a little tired out from the pool.

It's official!

When I got up this morning and looked out the window the last of our snow had melted. Considering that our blizzard happened on December 20, that means that there was snow in our yard for a solid 3 months (the entire winter in fact). Today was awesome weather, low 70s for my run, and I did a little over 7 miles. I'm starting to get used to the heat a little more now I think, and the sun has been doing me good.

More swimming

I went to the pool today again after church and worked out for about an hour. Ended up doing about 2000m in the end. It's gorgeous here this weekend, with temps in the mid 70s. A little warm for running if you ask me so I did my run yesterday in the morning. It was a nice 5 miles in the reservoir with a great view of the snow-capped mountains. It's almost enough to make me forgive Colorado for the winter we've had. Speaking of which, the last of the snow from the blizzard is just about gone. There's just a tiny patch in the corner of our yard, and that will probably be gone by week's end. I will be happy to see it go.

Return of nice weather

Yesterday was kind of crummy out so I elected to take a rest day knowing that Friday was supposed to be better. It was and I got in 9 miles today in a group of 4. I felt really good on this run and even had some kick left at the end to keep up with Ultra-man. It was a great run and the temps were perfect for it. I think my preparation was good too as I made sure to drink 16 oz of water and have a banana and granola bar a half hour before we left. I think that's what gave me the energy to finish strong. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice as well so I will get to take Elijah out in the joggy stroller, that will be fun!

Hot and Cold

I did yesterday's run (an easy 3.5 miles) in 70 degree weather and today's 6.5 miles in 51 degree weather. The wind was up today too, which made it a little chillier, but it was not so unpleasant once I got warmed up. I underestimated the temperature a little and I didn't bring my jacket in, so needless to say the t-shirt stayed on. Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler still, with a chance of rain so we'll see if I make it out or not. My knee has been bugging me since last Friday, but it doesn't hurt when I run so I'm not sure what's going on there. Icing seems to help so I'll keep that up.

Late Run

My nitrogen fill took forever today so I couldn't go for my run until 3. It was really hot and sunny by then so my 6.5 mile run felt more like 13. But afterwards I felt pretty good, although I have a headache tonight. Tomorrow may be late as well since I'm going to Boulder, and it's going to be even warmer tomorrow so I'll probably try to take it easy. I'm not very good with the heat but now is the time to start acclimating myself to it. It's not going to get any better as the year goes on.

1 mile!

I went to the pool today and I swam 1 mile! It's the first time I've gone that far. Now I have to admit that the 1 mile was made up of a series of shorter workouts with short breaks in between, so it's not like I just swam constantly the whole time. It was nice to be off my legs for a while. I did get 3 miles in yesterday at the reservoir, but my knee was kind of bugging me. I iced it last night and it feels much better today.

Another nine

I went out again today with Ultra-man and we did another 9 miles. I wasn't sure if I would do the whole thing but I ended up feeling pretty good so I went for it. Hopefully I didn't overdo it. Yesterday I didn't run at all so that I could recover a bit. It was hard not to go out as the weather was great for it, which was part of the reason I went longer today. When it's that nice out it's just hard to go back inside. Tomorrow I hope to take the joggy stroller out to the Cherry Creek Reservoir for a short easy run. The view alone will be worth it.

A perfect nine?

I went out for a run today with a couple of guys from a lab upstairs. One of the guys is a pretty exceptional runner and runs ultras and the like (for those unfamiliar ultra-marathons are usually 50 plus miles). We went out for 80 minutes on a route that I figured was about 9 miles, but for some reason he thought it was 10. I checked tonight and it was closer to 9 miles. Regardless it was a great run and longer than I have been able to do in a long time. I might add that it was so warm out there today that I actually ran the second half of the run without my shirt. Fortunately most of the run was on a trail so no accidents were caused by the sun reflecting off my pasty white chest.

Fabulous Weather

The weather here is amazing right now. 60 degree days, with sunshine. I'm running in shorts and a t-shirt and the remaining snow is melting like crazy. I did 6.5 miles today and I had a new running partner, so there was some good conversation too. Man I'm enjoying this week, I hope this spring thing sticks around.

Back to Work

I went back to work today after taking some time off to help Melissa with Miles. I had a lot of catching up to do, but I still managed to get a run in. I went for 5.5 miles which took me about 45 minutes. It's great to see how much snow has melted. Most of it is now gone, and there will not be much left after this week of warm weather is over. Tomorrow I will likely have some company too, so that is a plus. I did get out running once this weekend on Saturday, but it was only for 3 miles at a slow pace. It was probably good to take it easy as giving blood really makes a difference in my running performance and it takes a few days to get back to normal.

Indoors again

We had another snowstorm yesterday so today I was relegated to the track once again. I was planning on donating blood afterward so I only went 3 miles, but it was still good to get moving. The sun was out today but it was cold so things are still pretty icy. But with more sun tomorrow I may be able to get out without killing myself.