I keep meaning to post something here and there but never get around to it. A lot has changed since I last posted here. We are now residents of Castle Rock, which is awesome. I work in the Littleton area, which affords me a nice view and occasional trips to run around on the foothills in Deer Creek Canyon Park before work. My wife and I are expecting another kid in October and I'm feeling decent about Pikes in a few weeks.
I've hiked/jogged on far more 14ers this summer than I have in summers past. I've knocked out 3/4 of the Decalibron on an outing in late June. Followed that up with a run up to Barr Camp and back. Two weeks ago, I tagged the summit of Grays, but skipped Torreys due to lack of time. Yesterday, I went up Bierstadt at a fairly encouraging pace. I'll probably focus the next couple of weekends down on the Peak.
In other news, I'm going into the race the lightest I've ever been going into Pikes. Thanks in part to a Whole 30 which I'm on day 22 of today. I was eating mostly Paleo leading up to starting the Whole 30 so I'm sure cutting out beer and cleaning things up is helping. I have a bunch of leftover quality CO micros from my daughter's first birthday party, but they will have to wait for another couple weeks.
pawtoberfest 5k
I was pretty excited when we originally registered to run the Pawtoberfest 5k to benefit the Pikes Peak Humane Society. When I woke up this morning and saw the weather, that excitement quickly diminished. The wife decided to stay home and keep the kiddo warm but I didn't want to let the rego money go to waste. I threw on some decently warm clothes and grabbed my rain jacket on the way out the door. When I got to the start, it was still snowing pretty good so I tried to find shelter while waiting for the start. We got directed to the check-in tent on the other side of the park and they funneled us right across the grass which was oversaturated so my feet were soaked before the race even started. I briefly th0ught about grabbing my bag and getting in the car and heading home but I decided to stick around.
Once the race got started, I settled into a decent jog and finally started warming up. I didn't have a watch with me and didn't see a clock at the line so I have no clue what my time was. Probably over 30 min if I had to guess, which was fine given the conditions. Ready for the 70 degree weather to come back next week.
Once the race got started, I settled into a decent jog and finally started warming up. I didn't have a watch with me and didn't see a clock at the line so I have no clue what my time was. Probably over 30 min if I had to guess, which was fine given the conditions. Ready for the 70 degree weather to come back next week.
incline friday
Rough morning up there and my legs and head never felt into it. I bailed at the cut-off and jogged back down Barr. Had planned to hit Grays and Torreys this weekend but sounds like there is more snow up there than I want to deal with. Backup plan is Mt. Rosa from Gold Camp Rd. Looking forward to a local hike that isn't Barr Trail. Supposedly some good scenery at the St Mary's Falls and nice views from the top.
incline 9/14
After getting up the incline in a relatively quick (for me) 47 minutes and change last Friday, I followed that performance up with a 63 minute effort this morning. I started out pretty quick but I could tell soon that my HR was way high and it wasn't long before my legs felt like weights. Took a break at one point and just sat on a rock trying to fight back a puker. Thought long and hard about heading back down to the bail out point but got off my ass and headed onward and upward.
Didn't feel great on the run down the Barr Trail either. Just glad to get it over with.
Didn't feel great on the run down the Barr Trail either. Just glad to get it over with.
what's been goin on
Since April some pretty cool stuff has been going on....
I was slated to run the Colfax Marathon in May but was tapped for a three week trip to VA for work which started a week before the marathon. The heavy end of the training block wasn't going great so I was prepared to jump into the half but ended up not running it at all, obviously.
When I returned, I took a little break from running to get my house in order. I was still making twice weekly trips to kill myself on the incline and then a nice leisurely jog down Barr, but wasn't doing anything remotely close to real running.
Fast forward to middle of July and my wife and I welcomed our first baby. Being a Dad is the coolest thing in the world and this baby girl teaches me something new every day. Since Jaelyn's birth, I've managed to get a few runs in and feel pretty good. Obviously, this was a big part of the reason I did not sign up for the Ascent this year. My wife has been gracious enough to let me make the trip over to Manitou to spectate. I'm actually kind of excited since I've never seen the start or finish from that perspective. Looking forward to watching that unfold on Saturday.
Nothing real firm planned for running. Just trying to find time to get out and run when I can. My wife has been awesome so far and is always open to letting me get out of the house for a run.
catching up
After my last post, the hip started acting up a little more. With a trip to Puerto Rico for my sister's wedding on the horizon, I took the opportunity to heal a bit and take it easy while on vacation. Several days I toyed with the idea of running but I never got out early enough and didn't want to mess with 85+ degrees and humidity. Once back in CO, for the final weekend of March, I got a short run in on Saturday and managed to hobble 13+ miles on Sunday in the fog and cold. Welcome back, indeed.
Hip was still bothering a bit after that weekend so I made an appt to see the doc. Naturally, he was booked out til mid April so I opted to chat with the PA but that wouldn't go down until the 4th. I took the week off to let the hip rest in hopes that I could salvage a long run on the weekend.
Saturday, April 2nd, I headed out to tackle a long run. Things went fairly well until about 13 miles in when I ran out of water. Been a while since I've run in anything close to 70 degrees and it really got cooking around noon. Felt pretty good about the outing overall. Hip still a little bothersome but no worse than it had been before. By Monday when I was scheduled to see the doctor, naturally, my hip felt great. I had trouble explaining and locating the painful areas to the doc and he basically said it probably was not hip bursitis but just some general overuse of the fascia on the medial and upper iliac crest. So the layer of muscle that attaches to the top of the outer hip bone. Prescribed one PT session where they could show me some stretches/exercises for the affected area and wished me luck at Colfax.
Monday night I ran the 4 mi golf course loop and things felt pretty good again before and after. Will plan on running a little longer tomorrow and prepare for 17 this weekend.
Hip was still bothering a bit after that weekend so I made an appt to see the doc. Naturally, he was booked out til mid April so I opted to chat with the PA but that wouldn't go down until the 4th. I took the week off to let the hip rest in hopes that I could salvage a long run on the weekend.
Saturday, April 2nd, I headed out to tackle a long run. Things went fairly well until about 13 miles in when I ran out of water. Been a while since I've run in anything close to 70 degrees and it really got cooking around noon. Felt pretty good about the outing overall. Hip still a little bothersome but no worse than it had been before. By Monday when I was scheduled to see the doctor, naturally, my hip felt great. I had trouble explaining and locating the painful areas to the doc and he basically said it probably was not hip bursitis but just some general overuse of the fascia on the medial and upper iliac crest. So the layer of muscle that attaches to the top of the outer hip bone. Prescribed one PT session where they could show me some stretches/exercises for the affected area and wished me luck at Colfax.
Monday night I ran the 4 mi golf course loop and things felt pretty good again before and after. Will plan on running a little longer tomorrow and prepare for 17 this weekend.
sunday 3/14
Got out for a long run Sunday morning. Weather looked great from the bedroom window but the wind was quickly beating me down heading north. Once I reached Dublin, I finally turned and got some relief from the wind. Heading southbound, the wind was a big help in keeping me moving forward.
Ended up running north of 12 minute miles for most of it, but it was all really comfortable. Ended up with 12.1 miles on the day.
Got a couple issues that I'm trying to work through. My left foot, just below the middle toe there is some discomfort there. It's a really dull pain, but it's noticeable. Definitely hurts worse after a run and not much of an issue during. My left hip flared up a couple weeks ago one morning before the PPRR Winter Series 10K. I was able to work it out before the race started and it didn't bother me much after that. It has gotten a bit worse since. It comes and goes and certain movements upset it much more than others. Up high on the outside of the bone, it's a bit tender to the touch. Some web diagnosis leads me to believe it's trochanteric bursitis or greater trochanteric pain syndrome. During runs, I can just feel a little tightness that comes and goes. Even just standing and walking it's not noticeable. However, lateral hip movement or a steep bend at the hip makes it scream a little bit. I'm sure it's due to scoliosis wreaking havoc on my form/mechanics.
Heading to Puerto Rico later in the week. Looking forward to some long runs at sea level.
Ended up running north of 12 minute miles for most of it, but it was all really comfortable. Ended up with 12.1 miles on the day.
Got a couple issues that I'm trying to work through. My left foot, just below the middle toe there is some discomfort there. It's a really dull pain, but it's noticeable. Definitely hurts worse after a run and not much of an issue during. My left hip flared up a couple weeks ago one morning before the PPRR Winter Series 10K. I was able to work it out before the race started and it didn't bother me much after that. It has gotten a bit worse since. It comes and goes and certain movements upset it much more than others. Up high on the outside of the bone, it's a bit tender to the touch. Some web diagnosis leads me to believe it's trochanteric bursitis or greater trochanteric pain syndrome. During runs, I can just feel a little tightness that comes and goes. Even just standing and walking it's not noticeable. However, lateral hip movement or a steep bend at the hip makes it scream a little bit. I'm sure it's due to scoliosis wreaking havoc on my form/mechanics.
Heading to Puerto Rico later in the week. Looking forward to some long runs at sea level.
