Week in Review (November 5 - November 11)

Tuesday (19,192 steps) - Strength class during lunch. Milk Market run club! First experience (basically) running downtown in the dark from beginning to end. Run was... not great. I started out too fast and then had to walk a bunch in the second mile. Pizza and salad for dinner.

Wednesday (18,511 steps) - Core class during lunch. Runners Roost Boulder!

The group opted to do a run that didn't loop all the way back around the trail head, so Pika, A and I did our own run, opting to go up Skunk and down Bear. Oh my lord was there soooo muuuuuch mud when we got up higher. It ended up being a little comical, but geez.

Thursday (14,401 steps) - Berkeley Park walk around the lake with Pika and Ariel. Ben was finally able to join us for run club, although he mentioned that he was having some fairly severe calf pain when he ran by us. Back over to Goldspot for trivia! We ended up having a tie breaker for the win - turns out second place isn't THAT bad, we still got a small bar tab.

Friday (10,338 steps) - Core class during lunch. A had spent the night at Abby's, so Ben and I went to 4 Noses for happy hour and then to Torchy's for dinner - where we ran into Maria and her husband (that we didn't know live only about a mile from us!)

Saturday (39,442 steps) - Runners Edge! I was not looking forward to running on Big Dry Creek (nor running 14 miles). I showed up in a skirt and tee shirt while everyone else looked like they were running in sub zero temps. I chose wisely, it really heated up quickly. The first 8-9 weren't terrible, and I ran most of the way with Jen and Lisa. Mile 12 was about when the wheels started to fall off. Ah well, got all the miles done AND it was my longest run since Tahoe.

New tunnel art

Ran some errands on the way home while waiting for Ben to finish up his adventure of the day. Ariel wasn't getting dropped off until later, so I picked up Chipotle for lunch and then took Pika for a long walk.

Went to Dulce's for second Saturday/November birthdays! Zach made pizzas again, and it was a really fun night.

Zach, Greg & A - November birthdays!

Sunday (25,229 steps) - I managed to get up early to run 6 miles at the lake (that was pretty awful and also hot).

We drove over to Resolute to meet up with Maureen for the Five Alarm 5k. She still isn't able to run, so Pika and I walked with her and Colfax.

Had a few beers before going to the grocery store and heading home to throw stuff in the crock pot. Tyler came over for a bit, then we binge watched a few weeks worth of Walking Dead.

Monday (8,028 steps) - Apparently, nothing?

Stats:

• 135,141 steps
• 27.5 miles run (and already "taper" time... haha)
• Three gym classes

Week in Review (October 29 - November 4)

Tuesday (9,967 steps) - Day two of the nasty cold front/blizzard that came in. I didn't even try to drive into the office today, and Ben drove me into work again. Strength class during lunch, and thankfully, the CEO called an early release after Denver Public Schools did, so I was able to get out at 2!! We decided that meant we could stop for a beer at Odyssey on the way home.

Wednesday (17,575 steps) - Late start for work. A also had a delayed start because our county was the only one in the area to not call a snow day. Core class during lunch, and I knew I'd have time to burn, so I also walked for a bit on the treadmill. Carpooled with Tyler to Roost and we did a VERY brisk modification of the 5K road route. Fun times getting to demo the new Hoka  Speedgoat 4, and if I ever go through all the 2's I have left I can't wait to pick up a pair of these. The walk was fine until Pika saw a raccoon run up a tree and I almost died.

It was really fun seeing all the costumes - even on dogs! I think Miles was the dog-winner. So cute!

Thursday (6,666 steps) - Halloween! Clearly, I didn't do much. (Except eat lots of sugar, like this adorable spider donut)

Ariel and her friends dressed up like Pac-Man and the ghosts (they actually researched and made the costumes themselves).

She decided to trick-or-treat with her friends (without me) and Ben, Pika and I went to Kristen's for trick-or-shot. De to the cold weather there were hardly any kids!

No kids, but a super great picture of me doing a shot with an excessive amount of whipped cream

Friday (10,854 steps) - Left work early because A had her annual doctor appointment. Ben had made a pot roast in the crock pot and it was delicious!

Saturday (29,815 steps) - Up early for Runners Edge. Last minute, I decided to sign up for the winter session (without doing an aid station) in an attempt to get my base miles up again. I've been struggling getting into a steady running pace after Tahoe.

I didn't recognize so many people in our pace group! It was actually pretty great weather for running, and I only had to take one unplanned walk break towards the end.

Hurried home to shower because LISA WAS VISITING FROM VEGAS! It took her forever to get her rental car, so we decided to meet for a late brunch (or early lunch?) at El Camino in the Highlands.

It was really fun to catch up! We took a long walk (everyone!) to the library so I could vote, and then me, Lisa and Ben went to 4 Noses. Interestingly, my original bar tab was lost (no complaints, we spend a decent amount of money there). It was super crowded, and we decided to pick up pizza on the way home.
Sunday (26,325 steps) - Me, Ben and Ariel were up early-ish to go to RMRR for the 9 mile race at Prairie Gateway Park. (After looking, this was my 4th time running, although the first year I ran the race was actually 10 miles). Initially, I thought the race might go ok considering my run had been fine with RER. I was wrong. After the first mile I was hot, so I took off my long sleeve. Then I had to start intervals, which at least I was basically able to maintain for most of the run (3:00 run and :45 walk). Even though Ben started more than 20 minutes after me, he passed me with a few miles to go. I finished only about 11 seconds over predicted pace, so it could have been worse.

Garmin Time - 1:36:53
Garmin Distance - 9.01 miles
Mile 1 - 10:20
Mile 2 - 11:05
Mile 3 - 10:50
Mile 4 - 9:58
Mile 5 - 10:47
Mile 6 - 10:43
Mile 7 - 11:21
Mile 8 - 11:00
Mile 9 - 10:44

Ariel also struggled a bit with her run, and even though it was a while before she came in, she still ran faster than I did (she had just started later).

We left after awards and met up with Greg and Lisa at Old Chicago. I was starving when we got there, yet I was only able to eat half my burger. That was weird. Spent the rest of the day feeling kind of blah. Took Pika for a walk, watched the Broncos game.

Eventually, we decided that we would go to Torchy's for dinner.

Basically the most unflattering picture of me ever

By 9:00, I was exhausted, so I headed to bed. Such a fun, but always too short, weekend.
Monday (15,696 steps) - Ben was up crazy early because he was heading to Vermont for a visit with his parents for a few days. Took Pika for a walk, and really appreciated that it was much lighter out! Of course by the time I got home from work and we went out for a 2.5 mile walk, it was NOT pleasant. I really don't enjoy headlamp season :(

Stats:

• 114,898 steps
• 16 miles run
• 2 gym classes and LOTS of Pika walks

Week in Review (October 22 - October 28)

Tuesday (24,435 steps) - Strength class during lunch. Milk Market! Although I had a rough day at work and also realized my next marathon is in four weeks and need to bump up miles, so I started early and ran just over 7 miles. Temps were pretty perfect for running, sad that the snow is coming.

Dinner was burgers and onion rings. Yum!

Wednesday (17,968 steps) - Core class during lunch. Runners Roost Boulder!
Since we had Pika with us and we weren't sure if she could do nearly 7 miles (tbh, I wasn't sure I could do that much either), we drove to the trail head again.

It was not snowing when we started, and Pika was really pulling a lot because everyone in front of us was running faster.

About a mile in was when the Star Wars snow started. It was pretty intense and hard to see (thankfully not super cold though). The way down was pretty sketchy too.

Drive home was one of the scariest I can remember in the recent past. Have I mentioned that I hate winter?
Thursday (13,475 steps) - Berkeley Park!

Ariel and I walked around the lake with Pika - beautiful sunset.

We hung out at the shop for a bit before going over to Goldspot Brewing to play trivia! Greg is a fun announcer, and I'm happy to say that WE WERE VICTORIOUS. Yay!

Friday (18,679 steps) - Core class during lunch. After work Pika and I walked to the lake with Tyler. It ended up being a little muddy on the way back, but good exercise.

Ariel had gone to Breckenridge, so I was home alone for the night, doing what I do best on those nights... laundry and watching TV.

Saturday (36,229 steps) - Got to sleep in a tad, and took Pika for a quick walk before heading to Morrison to meet up with Lisa, Jandy and Alexa for a run around Red Rocks and Dinosaur Ridge. The first few miles were pretty hilly and I haven't really been doing much consistent road running, and this 10ish mile loop was pretty fatiguing.

Glad to get a long run done before the weather rolled in. A few errands before taking Pika for a long walk.

Then it was getting ready for Brian & Katie's annual Halloween party!

Everyone loves treat time!

Ben and I didn't stay long, but we had a good time.

Sunday (19,859 steps) - Weather rolled in overnight, but thankfully it didn't really snow as much as we feared. Took Pika for a walk to the lake.

Ben and I headed to Berkeley around noon for the "Beer Run After All." What was supposed to be 6 miles and 4 breweries ended up being over 7 miles and 2 breweries and cider joint. Much fun was had by all.

Picked up pizza on the way home and watched The Walking Dead. (I'm actually thinking about giving up on this show - is anyone still watching it? I just super don't care about most of the characters anymore...)
Monday (5,767 steps) - The storm REALLY came in. The office gave us a two hour delay, but by the time they announced it I was already outside dealing with my car. I headed out and promptly turned around and Ben (and his 4 wheel drive) took me to work. That of course meant he had to come and pick me up later that afternoon, but since A was still with Rachelle we made a quick stop at 4 Noses for a beer.

Stats:

• 136,412 steps
• miles run
• Three gym classes