Hills

I love running with the boys, but running around the neighborhood is always tough due to the hills. Today I elected to try a different route that would put the big hills at the beginning of the run rather than at the end. It ended up being shorter than I wanted (5 miles) but the hills were pretty tough. I still haven't fully recovered from the race on Monday, so my quads were "moody" all day. Tomorrow I'll be running in Boulder, and I think I'll take the flat route over the really hilly trail run. Then Saturday will be a rest day.

And the time is...

It's official, the times are in from the Bolder Boulder: 46:11! That puts me at an average pace of 7:24 min/mile. I knew that I had padded my watch time on either end a little but twenty seconds was a surprise. I'm really pleased with my time and I know I'll be back next year to try to improve on it.


I did 7.5 miles today at a pretty laid back pace as my legs were still a little achy. By the end of it though I was feeling pretty good. Tomorrow I will venture out with the boys for a nice run while mommy is off at the dentist. Should be a fun time!

Bolder Boulder

Well it's a bit anticlimactic as I was hoping to have a finishing time to post here, but technical difficulties have delayed those results. But, despite the lack of an official result I'm going to have to post something about the race.


For the initial waves of the race, everything went off like clockwork. The starting gun goes off for a wave, everyone moves forward, waits and the gun goes off for the next wave. My wave left at 7:07 and I was across the starting line in less than 30 seconds. Because a qualification is required, everyone in the wave seems to start off at about the same pace. I kept pace with the group to make sure I did not go out too quickly. I passed the first mile in 7:30 according to my watch, which was perfect. I wanted to make sure that I did not hit the hills too hard and run out of gas in the end, so I raced smart, slowing down a bit on the hills and booking it down the other side. In the end I didn't have to worry as the hills were not nearly as bad as people had lead me to believe. In the end I had plenty of gas left to book it through the end of the course and finish with 46:30 on my watch.


In the end it was a smart race, but conservative. I'm really happy with the result and I feel like I can improve upon it in the future. Now that it's over I'm going to continue my training and see if I can find some interesting races to tackle this summer. I kicked it off today with a 5 mile run.

Ready to go!

I did an easy 3 miles today and was definitely holding myself back. I'm pretty fired up for tomorrow. Apparently I will get my results and split times when I turn my chip in at the expo, but they may be online if anyone is interested. Go to http://www.bolderboulder.com and go to the results section to look me up. My bib number is CA416.

Resting up

I did run Thursday and Friday this week, but I managed to keep it to a pretty decent pace and lower milage. I did 7.5 miles yesterday and 6.2 today. I feel quite a spring in my step, which is a good sign that I am recovered for the race on Monday. I will take tomorrow off (maybe take a walk) and then do 3 or 4 easy miles on Sunday. Then I'll be good to go!

In the nick of time

It was so nice this morning that I convinced Todd and Jake to go running earlier than usual. It was a good thing too as the rain rolled in pretty quickly and we just barely got back before it hit. We cut it short to 5 miles, and it was a nice pace. We'll see about tomorrow, there's a talk I want to go to so I may just give it a miss for a total rest day.

This is taking it easy?

I'm supposed to be running pretty easy this week, but today I went pretty hard for 8 miles. It's supposed to rain tomorrow though so I'll either take a rest day or go for a really short one. As long as I get a few recovery days before next Monday I'll be good I think. I'm pretty nervous about this race, so I need to start forgetting about it and just letting it happen. If I overthink it it will end up being worse in the end I think. I certainly feel like I'm prepared, the hills yesterday were pretty gnarly with the joggy stroller and I had no problems at all. I just have to let go and rely on my preparation to get me through.

Well we had lots of fun this weekend even though we didn't end up going to the railway museum after all. We went for a nice 5 mile walk yesterday as a family, heading up to Caribou for a smoothie, and then off to the firehouse for their open house. We got to see the flight for life helicopter come in for a landing and then had to head home due to a hungry baby.


Today I got out for a 10 mile run around the neighborhood with the kids in the stroller and hit the hills pretty hard. I feel like I could keep running forever on days like today. Elijah and Miles are awesome to let me take them out for so long.

Another big week

With the 6.2 miles I did today that's another 45+ mile week for me. I feel pretty good though, knock on wood. Tomorrow we are off to the railroad museum for a free day, assuming that Elijah is well behaved. It's supposed to be in the 80's this weekend so the weather will be perfect for being outside. Some family walks will be in order I think.

Achy Legs

I had a weird running dream last night and I woke up with achy legs. But since I knew it was going to be a fairly laid back pace today I still went out for 7.5 miles. Afterwards I actually felt much better. This week's mileage has been pretty high for me, but I'll be scaling back next week in preparation for the race. I can definitely feel that I've been pushing myself, so I hope I have some results to reap in the race.

Here comes the sun

The sun returned today and warmer temperatures came with it. Beautiful weather in the upper 60's. I did 7.5 around Bluff Lake with Todd and Jake. It turned out to be a pretty busy day, but fulfilling. My legs were still kind of sore from yesterday, but they warmed up okay.

Halfway there

Today I broke 500 miles and am halfway to my goal of 1000 miles in the year! It couldn't have been a nicer run either, I went to the Chautauqua Park in Boulder and ran the trails for an hour or so. The weather was perfect, overcast and cool, and the views were breathtaking.

Quick Six

I managed to squeeze a fast 6.25 miles into my crazy schedule today. I was hoping to do the Bluff Lake loop twice, but I decided I had better get back a little earlier. Tomorrow should be better as I am planning on getting out while I'm in Boulder again. That is if the weather will cooperate. My legs are doing really well with the miles I've been putting on them, but I can certainly tell that my mileage is up. I am really tired in the evenings and I am constantly hungry. Speaking of which, I need a snack.

Long Run for Momma

I took the boys out in the joggy stroller today for 11.5 miles so that Momma could have some time to herself. We had fun and my pacing was good because I was able to push 8.5 minute miles for the last 2.5 miles. Always nice to have gas left at the end. We saw a big snake on the path right at the end of the run and had to stop quickly to avoid running over it. Elijah thought it was pretty cool, but the snake didn't seem to want to hang around. We waited until he was safely off the path and then we finished our cool-down.

It just keeps getting better

This week has just been getting better and better weather wise. Today was in the 80's and gorgeous. All of us were kind of tuckered out after a big week of running so we took a laid back pace for 8 miles. We went through some of the trails and although I managed to stay dry, I got a thorn stuck in my toe and tons of sand in my shoes. Still it was a nice run, good for helping me get used to the heat. Tomorrow is a rest day and then I'll try to get out on Sunday with the boys. I'm glad the weekend is finally here.

Same old, same old...

Ran the same circuit as yesterday for 7.5 miles. Tomorrow I'll have to mix it up, but today I went with the majority. We did a pretty slow pace so it was a nice break. The weather has been wonderful so getting out for a run is great way to enjoy the outdoors rather than being cooped up all day. I'm looking forward to this weekend though, with a road trip up to Boulder in the works.

Heating Up

Temps were in the mid 70's today but I didn't find the heat to be that bad. I did my 7.5 mile loop pushing 8 minute miles. This gives me confidence that my sub 50 minute 10k is an attainable goal. Once again I was on my own, but mostly because I had to be back in time to get my helium delivery. It was good that I got the run in when I did though as I was slammed the rest of the day. When I have problems to deal with at work I know that my run gives me the energy and clarity I need to push through.

Am I Fast Yet?

Couldn't find a running buddy today so I went out for some speedwork. Once again my butt was kicked. I know that it is supposed to help, but man it sure is hard to push that hard for 2 minutes. That 2 minutes is like an eternity and then the 1 minute recovery goes by in an instant. But the idea is to not fully recover before the next speed interval, so I guess I'm doing them right. The rest of the run was nice though, sunny and in the mid 60s. This week is going to just get warmer so it was a good opportunity to get the hard stuff out of the way while it's relatively cool.

3 weeks to go

That's right it's three weeks today to the Bolder Boulder and my training is in good shape I think. I did 8 miles today with Todd at a pretty fast pace. It took us just over an hour to finish! I should be able to run in the realm of 7:00-7:30 for the 10k as long as I can get moving that fast with the crowds. A few more speed workouts and a long run or two and I'll be set.

Would have been a good day for a Garmin

Today's run was 7ish miles. I think. I ran to meet Shaun at his place, and then we ran a couple of miles from there. After I left there I ran up a new road and up a bunch of hills before heading home. Unfortunately because the road is new it is not in Google maps so I have no idea how long it is. Plus I didn't bring my watch. In the end I was gone for about an hour and a half. It was a nice slow pace, so a great way to kick off the week.


EDIT: I went back and mapped the run as best I could and came out with closer to 8.5 miles. Sweet!

A hard rain's a gonna fall

The weather took a turn toward the cool and rainy today, but it still made it into the 50's by noon so I was able to get out while it wasn't too bad. I did 9 miles with Todd and we did some trails on the way too. It was great and I feel really good considering I've run every day this week for 37 miles. It's been a good week at work, but I'm glad it's Friday. This weekend may not be so nice weather wise so I'll be able to catch up on some household chores. Perhaps a trip to Peet's will be in order.

Big Group

We had five people for our run today, and had a great time. The weather was gorgeous, mid 70s and sunny, and the pace was good. I ended up going 7.5 miles and felt great at the end. It looks like the weather might suck this weekend, so I'll get them in while I can.

Fast Sucks

I did speedwork today at Bluff Lake. I ran there at a slow pace and then did 2 minutes fast, 1 minute recovery for 2 loops. With the added hills and headwind it really kicked my butt. While I was doing it I seriously questioned why I was subjecting myself to the torture, but after it was over it felt great. Hopefully doing workouts like that will get my legs used to running fast for the Bolder Boulder.

New Trail

I ran in Boulder today up the Boulder Creek Trail into the canyon. I went with a guy who has a Garmin so I know that we went 7.7 miles. It was a nice run through beautiful surroundings, and a great change from routine. I also broke 400 miles today, so that's an impressive goal already. 600 more to go towards my 1000 miles in '07 goal.