Week in Review (June 24 - June 30)

Tuesday - Normally I do my speed work on Tuesdays, but I had the opportunity to run in the morning, so I headed out for a run. Only manged to get 4.8 miles done, but still so much better than being on the treadmill. After dinner, went on a bike ride with A, and then did some stretching. Been SO tight and sore lately. I need to do this more often.

Wednesday - 10 minutes on the stairmill before class. ALMOST DIED. How how HOW can stairs be SO hard. I thought I was having a heart attack. Then, BodyPump. I'm still the weakest ever. More stretching once I got home.

Chickie in the sports bra set up like a FOOT away from me in class. WHY.

Thursday - Decided to do the speed work I did not do on Tuesday. I had 2x1200's on schedule, along with 4x800s. I did not have it in me to do the 1200s, so I decided to give it my best effort with 800s, doing 6 sets. Goal pace on the 800s is 9:05 (so roughly a 4:33 800). My lower right back had a weird "ache" to id and it was actually sort of painful to run, especially through my warm up. Actual - 1 mile at 10:53, 4:36, 4:32, 4:28, 4:25, 4:23, 4:17 and cool down 1.25 in 13:17. Pleased with this workout. (A bit disappointed that my 800's used to be sub 4:00, but I'm working on it). MORE stretching, and lucky for ME, Fitness Blender had recently done a video specifically for loosening the back, just what I needed.
Friday - Company BBQ. I was dreading this initially, but it turned out to be a LOT of fun.
Saturday - Up early (unfortunately a bit hungover), for another run on the Apex Trail. I was not feeling great, so I cut it a bit short, running only a little over 9 miles.

Unrelated - my cat of 16 years has been sick for the last year with hyperthyroid issues and he has gotten much worse. After not eating for days, I had to have him put down. The treatments weren't working. It was the WORST. He was still "fine" personality-wise, still mobile, yet he wasn't. SUPER depressing.

Literally, the last picture of Chilly, taken just a few minutes before they took him back :(

A and I spent the afternoon at the pool with a friend, then we had to do last minute packing for her visit to Texas. Womp.

Sunday - A had a very early flight, and after I dropped her off at the airport, I decided to go hiking. Initially, I wanted to climb Mt. Bierstadt, but I had some pretty terrible directions, and by the time I got to Guarnella Pass Summit, it was already about 11:00. I found a spot on the road to park and when I saw there was "a trail," I decided that whatever was there would be fine. I planned on running (lolololololol) and hiking the steep inclines. Now, the lower part of the trail was pretty muddy and wet. Apparently, there is still a substantial amount of snow at this elevation.

Yes, this "creek" is the "trail"

I had to do some "snow crossings" - which got my feet a bit wet. VERY little, if any, running was taking place. I finally got to a sign that gave me two choices of where to go. I picked what looked "flatter," but ended up turning around as there was a TON of snow and I didn't feel comfortable navigating the side of a mountain, it "easy" trail shoes and slipping and sliding on the rocks. Did I mention that I saw NO ONE out there? So, I headed back to the fork in the road. I looked at my other option. I saw NO actual trail. I did, however, see a guy in no shirt waaaaay up at the top. Well, I will go that way. HOLY CRAP I ALMOST DIED. (I'm just being dramatic. Sort of.). I have not "climbed or hiked" in a very long time, probably since I did Inca Trail and the Leadville marathon. Did you know that there is NO air when you are in the 13k range? I was taking like 15 steps, stopping, hyperventilating, repeat. I actually had a mild panic attack when I realized I could not see a single person, and I was on no idea WHAT mountain with no clue if/where there might be a summit. I took about 20 steps back down the mountain before I convinced myself I would be very upset if I didn't TRY to get to the summit.

This is the "trail" / "hill" that almost killed me. SO STEEP.

Once I got my breathing under control I headed back up. And up. And up. I saw one cairn on the trail. Tons of rocks, wildflowers and MORE SNOW. I thought I got to the top... NOPE, false summit. This happened twice. And then... I WAS THERE. I saw a huge cairn at the top. I MADE IT! (Didn't know WHERE I had made it (at the time), but it was somewhere, and it was high up and it was gorgeous).

Thanks to Garmin data, I know this is the summit of Square Top Mountain - the 111th tallest peak in Colorado

I had to be extra careful on the way back down because of the loose rocks and the steepness, so again, NO RUNNING. The snow on the way back was slippery (I know, I know) and I pretty much skied down. HUGE sigh of relief when I saw people again. So. That was fun.

According to Garmin data, my moving time and elapsed time were different by over an hour. Did you know, at one point I was moving so slow the Garmin couldn't recognize my pace? hahahaha! On the drive home I got stuck in mountain traffic, so I stopped in Idaho Springs at the Tommyknocker Brewery and had a chili beer. Yum.
Monday - I had gotten the Worst Sunburn Ever during my hike. Yes, I had put on sunscreen, but apparently, when you are ON THE SUN, you need to apply more than once. I debated on not going to Chaos, but since L was going, I also went. It was hard, as usual, but I'm glad I went.

Weekly Miles Run - 19.27 miles
Minutes of Cross Training - 5+ hours (long hike, bike ride, stair mill, CHAOS)
Minutes of Strength/Stretching - 3 stretching videos, 44 minutes

Weekly Gain - 0.4 pounds (121.0)

• I watched calories pretty well. Not sure why the gain this week, although I did have a little more beer than usual. Not too worried or concerned about this, just going to continue to be conscious of my choices and hope things don't get too out of control.

Everything Else 

• For real, nothing is happening. My goal while A is gone is to stay busy and to get out and do the things I say I always WANT to. So far, so good.