Came home and decided to take the dog out for a run. My calves were still pretty sore from the ascent of Mt Shavano on Saturday but I needed to get out to stretch them.
5.72 mi, 144 avg HR. I read over Hadd's training guide again a couple weeks ago and am going to give it a shot for a while. The gist is lots of miles at low intensity. The science behind it sounds pretty good and I've got to find something that will allow me to run faster at lower intensities.
new digs
Moved the blog over to blogspot because I got sick of trying to keep my copy of Wordpress up to date. I'll try to get this place polished up a little bit more in the coming days.
mt shavano
Met up with a few people to climb Mt. Shavano on Saturday morning. I spent most of Friday night digging out and packing my gear and finally figuring out why my heart rate strap replete with fresh battery still wouldn't talk to my Garmin 305. Thankfully that was a top 5 hit on the Garmin support center knowledge base and a quick rescan for the HRM and the watch once again displayed a pulse.
I rolled out of the rack at 3:45 on Saturday and headed to the west side to meet the rest of the group. We finally got to the trailhead at about 8am. That trail has more hiking under treeline than I was expecting, but once we finally hit treeline, we could see that the clouds were settling in on the summit. We caught a couple groups coming down and asked for a report of the conditions on top. It didn't sound promising but we continued up with the promise that if we ever got into any nasty weather, we'd turn back. We never did hit any nasty stuff and a little over an hour later we were on the summit with some beautiful weather and plenty of amazing views. After spending close to 45 minutes hanging out on the summit and visiting with other hikers we headed back down. We finally made it back to the trailhead a little after 3pm. It made for a long, albeit pretty leisurely hike
A quick stop for some beers and mexican food at the Coyote Cantina was an excellent finish to a long day.
I rolled out of the rack at 3:45 on Saturday and headed to the west side to meet the rest of the group. We finally got to the trailhead at about 8am. That trail has more hiking under treeline than I was expecting, but once we finally hit treeline, we could see that the clouds were settling in on the summit. We caught a couple groups coming down and asked for a report of the conditions on top. It didn't sound promising but we continued up with the promise that if we ever got into any nasty weather, we'd turn back. We never did hit any nasty stuff and a little over an hour later we were on the summit with some beautiful weather and plenty of amazing views. After spending close to 45 minutes hanging out on the summit and visiting with other hikers we headed back down. We finally made it back to the trailhead a little after 3pm. It made for a long, albeit pretty leisurely hike
A quick stop for some beers and mexican food at the Coyote Cantina was an excellent finish to a long day.
barr trail to 7.8 to go sign
Disappointed with last Sunday's workout, I decided to launch a midweek assault on the trail. Maybe if I surprised it, it would be much easier for me. It didn't really work out that way, but I did get in a much better workout than Sunday. I hit the trail a few minutes after 6am on Wednesday morning and took my sweet ass time through the W's. The intent was to watch heart rate and keep it in check, but even with a new battery in the heart rate strap, the watch didn't recognize it. WTF?
Once up past the W's and into the flats, I was able to move pretty quickly and it the sign at 1:51. Subtract a few minutes for the time it took me to get to the station and I guess I'm ok with regards to hitting cutoffs for the BTMR.
I hammered most of the downhill and made it back down in less than an hour and ran up Hydro Street to see how the race finish really feels.
Once up past the W's and into the flats, I was able to move pretty quickly and it the sign at 1:51. Subtract a few minutes for the time it took me to get to the station and I guess I'm ok with regards to hitting cutoffs for the BTMR.
I hammered most of the downhill and made it back down in less than an hour and ran up Hydro Street to see how the race finish really feels.
incline club to no-name
Pretty crappy run from Memorial Park up to No Name Creek and back. One of these days I'll learn to stop drinking beer on Saturday night before planning to go run with the IC. Seriously considering getting in a trip to Barr Camp one morning this week if I can swing a late arrival at the office.
At least I got some time on my feet.
At least I got some time on my feet.
big month
Just took a look at my MB log and my last 10 runs/hikes were on the list dating back to May 19. Since that time I've run/hike over 71 miles. That is a huge number for me. I'm usually not as concerned with volume as I need to be since it seems I'm always nursing an injury or making excuses. I just felt pretty good about that number after putting together a few solid weeks of time on my feet.
Looking forward to another run with the IC on Sunday and I might even get there to sign in on time.
I'm trying to figure out a way to get some pictures added to this damn blog in an easy fashion but not having much luck embedding them into the posts. I'll probably just add a lightbox and link to it in the post and call it good.
Looking forward to another run with the IC on Sunday and I might even get there to sign in on time.
I'm trying to figure out a way to get some pictures added to this damn blog in an easy fashion but not having much luck embedding them into the posts. I'll probably just add a lightbox and link to it in the post and call it good.
La Luz
Headed down to Albuquerque on Sunday after running the GoG10M and had planned on tackling a La Luz roundtrip while I was down there. After running the 10 miler on Sunday and then sitting in a car for near 6 hours almost immediately after that, I was a little sore for the remainder of Sunday and into Monday. I started feeling well enough Monday afternoon and made a trip to the store to get some fuel for the trip.
My alarm never went off Tuesday morning and I woke up about 75 minutes later than I wanted to. It was still plenty early but I almost talked myself into going back to sleep. However, I somehow dragged my happy ass out of the bed and hurried to get dressed and pack all the stuff I needed. I think I finally hit the the trailhead around 7:15. I didn't have the required $3 to pay to park at the trailhead so I decided to chance it after scrounging change in my wife's car turned up fruitless.
I started up and was running every other switchback for the first couple miles up the first face of the mountain. Once the trail turned into the first canyon, I settled into a quick pace as the trail is relatively tame until the last couple miles. It was pretty lonely, to be expected for a Tuesday, as I only passed 3 people on the way up and was passed by a couple of runners with about a mile to go. As I came into the canyon at the bottom of the Rockslide area, I stopped for a minute to stretch and dig a Powerbar out of my bag. I started my way up the Rockslide and was good for about the first half of it. The top half really slowed me down and I felt pretty beat until I saw the split for the Sandia Crest trail. The sign read 0.6 miles to the crest but it felt more like 1.6. That final section is pretty steep in parts but worth the pain for the views at the top.
Finally, about 2:50 after I started I was at the Crest parking lot. I snapped a few pics and then hit the viewing deck from the Crest house. I didn't hang around long before heading back down. I realized just how steep the Crest spur is on the way down as it was difficult to sustain a controlled run without feeling out of control. The Rockslide is just as difficult going down as it is coming up with the unsure footing and jagged rocks dominating the trail. Once at the bottom of the Rockslide, it was an easy run through the majority of the sections to get back to the trailhead. When I hit the last ridge, the heat really kicked up and I could really feel the 14ish miles taking its toll on my legs. I kept moving and made it back to the trailhead about 1:45 after leaving the crest house.
I would have liked to reached the summit close to 2:30 but I am definitely stoked about getting over 14 miles in with no injuries, aside from a sweet sunburn on my dome, to speak of.
My alarm never went off Tuesday morning and I woke up about 75 minutes later than I wanted to. It was still plenty early but I almost talked myself into going back to sleep. However, I somehow dragged my happy ass out of the bed and hurried to get dressed and pack all the stuff I needed. I think I finally hit the the trailhead around 7:15. I didn't have the required $3 to pay to park at the trailhead so I decided to chance it after scrounging change in my wife's car turned up fruitless.
I started up and was running every other switchback for the first couple miles up the first face of the mountain. Once the trail turned into the first canyon, I settled into a quick pace as the trail is relatively tame until the last couple miles. It was pretty lonely, to be expected for a Tuesday, as I only passed 3 people on the way up and was passed by a couple of runners with about a mile to go. As I came into the canyon at the bottom of the Rockslide area, I stopped for a minute to stretch and dig a Powerbar out of my bag. I started my way up the Rockslide and was good for about the first half of it. The top half really slowed me down and I felt pretty beat until I saw the split for the Sandia Crest trail. The sign read 0.6 miles to the crest but it felt more like 1.6. That final section is pretty steep in parts but worth the pain for the views at the top.
Finally, about 2:50 after I started I was at the Crest parking lot. I snapped a few pics and then hit the viewing deck from the Crest house. I didn't hang around long before heading back down. I realized just how steep the Crest spur is on the way down as it was difficult to sustain a controlled run without feeling out of control. The Rockslide is just as difficult going down as it is coming up with the unsure footing and jagged rocks dominating the trail. Once at the bottom of the Rockslide, it was an easy run through the majority of the sections to get back to the trailhead. When I hit the last ridge, the heat really kicked up and I could really feel the 14ish miles taking its toll on my legs. I kept moving and made it back to the trailhead about 1:45 after leaving the crest house.
I would have liked to reached the summit close to 2:30 but I am definitely stoked about getting over 14 miles in with no injuries, aside from a sweet sunburn on my dome, to speak of.
GoG 10M
Got up early Sunday morning to head over to Memorial Park for the Garden of the Gods Ten Miler. Rolling out of bed, I already felt kinda crappy and it made getting into a 10 mile mindset that much more difficult. W made our way over to Manitou only to find the streets backed up almost to Hwy 24. We split off on some road leading up to Manitou High School and found some parking on a street close by. As we started the walk down, I realized that it was really close to race time and I scurried to get to the park. When I got to the park, I pinned on my bib, grabbed a couple S caps from Josh and then headed to the porta-potties for one last evacuation. As I locked the door to my throne, I head the 1 minute to go call over the PA. Damn! I tied things off and hit the back of the pack just as the gun went off. I started my watch as I crossed the start line to get an unofficial "chip" time for myself.
As we moved down El Paso it was hard to go anywhere due to the crowd. It was much larger than I had expected. As we got closer to the park, things opened up and I got into a nice climbing pace for the first haul up to Balanced Rock. Once at the top, I skipped the first aid station since I had a bottle of Heed in my hand. I decided that to balance out any struggles up the hills that I would really hammer the downhills. I took off flying down toward the Trading Post. As the downhill ended, I would fall back into a comfortable pace and take it easy up the hills. A couple of hills did me in and I power hiked up them and continued to pound the downs around the park. I didn't really have any hard goals set for this race since it was my first time on this course and this distance. In the back of my mind I wanted a sub 1:50 and I barely eeked it out. Really enjoyed the race and felt fine by Monday evening.
As we moved down El Paso it was hard to go anywhere due to the crowd. It was much larger than I had expected. As we got closer to the park, things opened up and I got into a nice climbing pace for the first haul up to Balanced Rock. Once at the top, I skipped the first aid station since I had a bottle of Heed in my hand. I decided that to balance out any struggles up the hills that I would really hammer the downhills. I took off flying down toward the Trading Post. As the downhill ended, I would fall back into a comfortable pace and take it easy up the hills. A couple of hills did me in and I power hiked up them and continued to pound the downs around the park. I didn't really have any hard goals set for this race since it was my first time on this course and this distance. In the back of my mind I wanted a sub 1:50 and I barely eeked it out. Really enjoyed the race and felt fine by Monday evening.
more running
Nothing spectacular this week but I did manage to get a nice 5+ miler in on the trails in GoG on Thursday morning. I grabbed the dog and headed over to Memorial Park for the IC run at 8am this morning. I still can't figure out how to get there on time and as such the group is long gone when I get there. No big deal since I have the dog and would have to pull the back of the pack anyway. Boomer and I headed out of the park about 10 minutes after 8 and made it up to No Name Creek in just a hair over 1:30 running (mostly) every other switchback in the W's.
Gonna rest this week and try to get in a 3 mile or so run Thursday afternoon before shutting it down for the GoG10M on Sunday morning.
Gonna rest this week and try to get in a 3 mile or so run Thursday afternoon before shutting it down for the GoG10M on Sunday morning.
IC run
First IC run of the season. Better late than never I guess. Signed in a few minutes late and headed over to Barr Trail with the dog. It was a lackluster effort with lots of stopping and resting on the way up. After an hour up the trail, I turned around and headed back. I was maybe a half mile past the top of the W's when I called it. My whole body feels like hell today but I guess it's good I figure out where I stand now instead of a month from now.
Gotta make an effort to get more elevation in.
Gotta make an effort to get more elevation in.
