Week in Review (March 21 - March 27)

Tuesday (20,693 steps) - 5:30 am speed work in Lowry. After our warm up jog and drills we headed up the top of the dam for 5 x 1K repeats. As usual, the first one wasn't bad, the second was terrible, then the next few got gradually faster. I only had time to do 4 x 100 meter hill repeats (although A got in 5, because she is faster), but BELIEVE ME, it sure felt like plenty. Coach took a few pictures (look at that sunrise!) - one thing I notice comparing mine to A's is how much better her form is! I'm clearly hunched over and she is upright...

Another goal would be to jog the recovery instead of sloooooowly walk it

The drive took us a lot longer than I hoped it would (we got stuck in morning rush hour), so by the time we got home we only had 17 minutes for us both to shower and get out the door for work/school (which we SOMEHOW did). Gymnastics, dinner.
Wednesday (19,677 steps) - Slept in. Special off-site run club at Next Door (where we went last summer). I had 5 miles on schedule that I really didn't feel like doing. I ran 2 with Heather and finished up the last 3 with Dave. It was not a good run. Lots of walk breaks and felt pretty crappy overall. We stayed for a few minutes for beer and appetizers.

Thursday (30,883 steps) - An even yuckier run than the night before. 6 miles out and back by the lake. Overall just felt tired and sore and blah. SUPER happy to have those done.

Barre HIIT during lunch with Laura. Pretty sure I have never sweat so profusely in my life. Run club at Belmar, although since I had already run AND gone to barre, we just walked the big loop with Dulce. Rocko's afterward for nachos.

Friday (8,356 steps) - SLUG. Nothing all day. Literally the least active I've been ever.
Saturday (41,199 steps) - 16 miles with Runners Edge. We had the aid station at the mile 7 turn around. SUPER pretty while we were setting up!

The course was marked as a 7 mile loop, so A did the first 7 with us, and then Heather and I went out solo for the last 9. We did a random 2 miles mid run so we wouldn't have to run an out and back from the start. The route was new and a lot of fun! I really enjoy not always running somewhere that I have to cross roads and run on pavement.

I had worn long sleeves and a vest when we started out - it was only in the mid twenties! Sun was out, so it heated up QUICK, and I was happy to ditch the extra clothes at mile 7 and just run in a tank after that.

Lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, quick trip to the store. Cleaned the bathroom, showered, went to see the movie "Sing" and then did NOTHING the rest of the day.
Sunday (30,330 steps) - RMRR marathon training session ten mile run. I didn't even get up until 7:00, drove over to Twin Lakes, and was a bit surprised when I arrived at 7:45 to see we would be wearing bibs... that doesn't really seem like a training run! It was colder than I expected, so I wore my 1/4 zip (and was glad I did). A was volunteering with Lisa at the start/finish and then moved over to the 3/7 mile aid station. As for my run, the first 7 or so miles were pretty good, struggled a bit at the end. For the first time in AGES, both feet went completely numb. Painful and annoying, but I was able to run through it. Pleased to finish with no splits over 11:4x.

Lisa got this shot as I was coming in to the mile 3 aid station

Not much difference in colors from when I was last here in January

Bright colors on a dreary day

Started drizzling right when I got down. Back to Sweet Tomatoes since it was their "farewell" breakfast. Thankfully (?) it wasn't as good as we remembered. Showered and went to Grandma's House for foul-mouth cross-stitch. It was free with purchase of a beer, so it was a fun (kinda) and cheap way to spend the afternoon.  Pretty impressed I did this with NO template:

Bunny is A's favorite stuffed animal that she has had since she was 2!

Left at 3:45 to go to barre, then home for dinner and The Walking Dead.
Monday (12,387 steps) - A slept in a bit and then I took her over to Ang's house when I went to work. Went to Red Robin for dinner and then one more trip to the grocery store because we have nothing to eat for dinner this week. I watched House of Cards while A worked on her science fair project.

Stats:

• 163,525 steps (not too bad for not meeting my goal two days!)
• 43.2 miles run
• 2 barre classes

Everything Else:

• The spring burn-off challenge at the barre studio started this week. I'm not all in for the first time. It's just too much to do "all the barre classes" AND do "all the running." I'm entering into about 6 weeks of high mileage and just can't do it and get all the sleep and recovery I need. Will be interesting to see who will be champion of the studio!

Week in Review (March 14 - March 20)

Tuesday (25,623 steps) - A had student council so that meant no speed work. I had 7 miles on schedule and planned on running before work. I could NOT sleep (or stay asleep), so when I looked at the clock and it was 4:30 I figured I might as well just get it out of the way. STUPID DAYLIGHT SAVINGS. It was dark when I started and dark when I finished. It was not the greatest run, but I've certainly had worse.

About all you can see at dark thirty

Barre during lunch with Laura. Pi day!! We had three types to choose from (chocolate cream, apple and cherry), but I decided to have a small slice of every kind. Why discriminate? A had gymnastics, and then back bend practice and dinner.

Wednesday (21,448 steps) - Run club! I had 5 miles on schedule and planned on running with Colfax. I suggested that A run with me tonight (since she usually walks with Mo on Thursdays). There was actually route (that I haven't run before) that would get all the miles in. Having a heat wave here in Denver and it was probably 70 when we started out.

It's been a long time since it was that warm, and I forget that A is totally miserable when it's warm and she doesn't have water. The first 2 miles were fine, then it was just a long miserable slog until we were done. (Not just A, Colfax didn't seem into it either). Didn't care much for the route, lots of busy roads to cross, plus we had to cross I-25 ramps in a few sections. But, we got it done.
Thursday (21,436 steps) - Morning barre. Instructor was "late" getting to the studio, started class late, and I had to leave before it was done. Every minute counts people!!

Super pretty sunrise as I was leaving class

Picked A up at soccer and then went to Belmar for run club. I started my run early again so I could be done in time for the raffle at the store. I didn't *quite* get it right, but I managed to get to the other park for more miles without having to cross busy streets. It was a hot, hot run.

Friday (11,042 steps) - Rest day! Busy day with other stuff (that I don't want to post publicly about), so I ended up having to work late to get everything done and have all my hours in. By the time I got home I was starving and not in the mood to cook, so we went to Old Chicago's to use our BOGO coupon. I got a giant calzone and A got a little pizza. A had a major allergy attack during dinner so we had to go to the store to buy some meds. In bed early.

Super tasty calzone!!

Saturday (32,800 steps) - Alarm went off without sound AGAIN!!??? We overslept by an HOUR for our run. Luckily, we had everything ready the night before so we were literally able to get out the door in 5 minutes. We arrived 17 minutes late. Super frustrating because it was supposed to 1). be stupid hot and we wanted to get done early and 2). we had somewhere to be early.

A had decided that she desperately wanted to run 13.1 miles. Yes, she wanted to do a long run of a half marathon distance. Her previous training run longest was ten miles, and she had skipped the run the week before. Looking at the course, she picked a good one to run long because there weren't many streets to cross and it wasn't very hilly. Based on our longer runs, I had estimated that it would take us around 3 hours.

The early miles were really good! We finally caught up to Pete and Janet about 3 miles in. A few miles later, around mile 5, we both needed to use the bathroom, so we went off course about a tenth of a mile to go to 7-11.

View at mile 3

Got a picture of A at the turnaround in the park, knowing that the way back was going to be harder for her.

She did really great until we got to maybe mile 9 or 10. She struggles with the heat more than I do and was having a hard time keeping cool.

As we got closer to being done she really perked up. Fastest pace of the day was the last half mile to the finish.

Not bad for a "practice" half marathon!

Ran into Starbucks for a coffee refill and a hot chocolate for A, and then drove over to the Armory so we could help package up the donated cookies that we were sending overseas to the troops. Numbers were down a bit, but our girls still sold about 1200 boxes to donate. Impressive!!

Boxing everything up took less time than we had planned so we were able to go home to shower before we needed to meet up with Jackie for lunch. We ended up chatting for almost FIVE HOURS!! Home for only a few hours before we went over to Jessa's for pizza and beers for her birthday! Out until almost midnight! Such a busy day.
Sunday (34,766 steps) - I snoozed a few times but still managed to get up and out the door to start a run before 7:30 at North Table. I had thought about maybe going to run Deer Creek with Runners Edge, but decided that a 7:00 start and driving all the way to Littleton was too much since I had to be home early. I didn't feel great for the first half of the run and thought to myself that it was probably the slowest I had ever run the loop. I saw Oza near the parking lot on the west side, and the last 4 miles actually went pretty well. I was really surprised when I looked at my stats later and saw a lot of segment PR's on strava.

Stopped at Sprouts for some groceries, got gas and a car wash and then barely had time to shower and eat a sandwich before we had to leave to drive to Bailey.

Tomahawk Ranch, one of the Girl Scout camps that A goes to, was having a "Centennial Campfire." I was actually surprised that she even wanted to go, since the premise of the event was to tour the facility - which obviously she has done because she has camped there at least three times. Apparently the allure of s'mores was enough to entice her. We got there in time for food, the ribbon cutting for the new arena, and a craft. A also took me on a walking tour of all the cabins she has stayed in, and we got to visit with some of the animals. I got selfies with most of them, A is apparently scared of goats though (this was news to me).

We left around 2:30 and headed to barre. After class we stopped to get some ice cream - have I mentioned that it was in the 80's this weekend?? (For reference, it was in the 20's and 30's on these dates last year).

Monday (14,267 steps) - Morning barre with Karen. I liked her class - it was tough! I may be feeling this for another day. Kind of a stressful day at work with the first of the reassignments now that another paralegal/LAA is leaving. Womp, womp. Met A and her Girl Scout troop at Mint & Serif - I tried a new coffee - caputo! (Am I the only person on earth that is perfectly fine drinking plain, black coffee?) By the time we got out of there it was almost 7 so we did a quick trip to the store, dinner, bed.

Stats:

• 161, 382 steps
• 40.3 miles run (SOLID week - no racing!)
• 4 barre classes

Week in Review (March 7 - March 13)

Tuesday (19,750 steps) - 4:30 am wake up call. This week's speed work was at Cranmer Park in Denver, and a bit further away then where we went the last time. Our email indicated there were no bathrooms where our workout would take place so I had to allow for bathroom time. Even with our stop we arrived at about 5:20. It was substantially colder than a). it was at our house and b). what the forecast said. Our 15 minute warm up jog was very cold, especially with the breeze! After plyos we began the workout, which was 100 meter sprint hill repeats, with the same distance of recovery. When I first read this workout I thought, eh, six of these? No big deal. HAHAHAHAHA. The first two or three were fine, then it just got bad. First problem was that I didn't seem to be able to recover in that short of a period of time. There was also no break between repeats. Instead of an easy jog I had to walk in my recoveries on the last few. Blah. Part two of the workout was park loops, with about half to be run "hard" and the other half to be recovery. Thankfully, this didn't seem as hard, and my third (and final) loop "hard" pace was about an 8:30.

Barre with Laura during lunch. Pretty excited to have news of some new classes arriving soon at the studio. Gymnastics, a stop by A's scout leader's house to drop off our remaining cookie money.
Wednesday (14,682 steps) - Had my alarm set to run 5 miles before work. When it went off, I could HEAR the wind, so I promptly went back to sleep. Between the wind and my weird calf/foot ache, I figured another day off couldn't hurt. A had her second orchestra concert, which was a lot of fun, but LONG - we didn't get out of there until almost 8:30!

Thursday (22,618 steps) - Morning barre with Gabi. A had her first soccer practice for the spring session, then we headed to Belmar early for run club. 6 miles on schedule, so I headed out about 20 minutes early to fit them in, and A walked with Mo and Colfax. I guesstimated incorrectly a loop to run and ended up running a bit on a hilly/busy/narrow shoulder. Next time I'll do better.

We actually went to Rocko's after and got some basic planning for our summer vacation done.
Friday (15,909 steps) - BUSY day, but thankfully a rest day. Took my car in to get an oil change, went to Runners Roost to pick up our ROTG packets during lunch. Ended up staying at work until 6, then took A to a sleepover in Thornton. Evening was spent catching up on House of Cards and getting my aid station ready.
Saturday (30,931 steps) - Got to sleep in a bit since my aid station wasn't very far away, at just west of 14th and Wadsworth. Then kept heading southwest until I got to the RTD at the Jefferson County government buildings. We had a fun run planned - a point to point "net downhill" run. When A was still planning on running we had a goal of 8 miles. I had 10 on schedule, but got talked into doing 12 since that's all the course was set up for. The first time I ran a "net downhill" race in 2010 I was really surprised by how NOT downhill so much of the course was. The first few miles of this route was similar. It was really cold and misty and a decent amount of climbing. I was really tired but had only one goal - no walking outside of the aid stations - which I did! I didn't quite hit "goal pace" miles, but I'm actually on a recovery week so technically those weren't on my schedule anyway. The first 8 miles felt pretty good, 8-10 weren't terrible, but I was really done after that. The just proves that I need to get back into these longer weekend runs to re-build my base!

Lisa waited for me at the light rail station at Mile High, but we missed the train because we hadn't purchased our tickets. D'oh!!! Then we had to wait 15 minutes for the next one. By the time we got back to Golden it was already almost 11, then I still had to pick up my aid station (and someone stole my container of pretzels!!) and get back up to Thornton to pick up A. We stopped at the house for long enough for A to brush her hair and teeth and me to change out of my wet running clothes. Dropped A off at her Scout leader's house for an activity and then drove back down to Denver to volunteer at packet pick up for ROTG. I STILL DID NOT HAVE TIME TO EAT ANYTHING. Jandy, Heather, Eric and I went to Old Chicago for a much needed replenishment. Sicilian pepperoni roll mac & cheese for me, and then back home to meet up with A. Blarg!! In bed early for daylight savings / race day.
Sunday (21,9888 steps) - ROTG.

After the race Maureen, Heather, Eric, Jandy and I went to Yard House for lunch (I got a BBQ chicken pizza and some fries) and then we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory on the way back to the car. They had a new flavor, Hazelnut Crunch, but A didn't think that sounded good so we stuck with a plain chocolate mousse. I had just enough time to take a quick shower before going to barre - AND SOMEONE WAS IN MY SPOT DURING CLASS!!!! Don't they know it's MY spot?? (I almost wrote, lol, but I didn't, because it seriously messed with my head being in a different part of the studio). Mo and I went to Prost Brewing after for a beer - IN DAYLIGHT. Wasn't super impressed, think that is a "one and done" brewery. Stopped at Sprouts on the way home for some last minute groceries, cooked dinner, watched the Walking Dead.
Monday (14,431 steps) - BLAH BLAH BLAH. Rest day, thankfully. After I picked A up at Scouts we made a run to the grocery store.

Stats:

• 140,309 steps
• 27.1 miles run
• 3 barre classes

Runnin' of the Green 7K (Race Recap)

Sunday, March 12

Denver, CO

Weather - chilly at the start, windy at the finish

I had never run the Runnin' of the Green, even though it is an extremely popular race, and the season kickoff for the Runners Roost team. This year, the team was lucky enough to get entries into the race, so I was going to be running. A had run it last year when I was volunteering, so she would be running for a second time.

We remembered from last year that as long as you arrived early, the parking wasn't too bad. And THANKFULLY, the race is on a Sunday, which means the parking meters are free!

We got up at 7:45 and were out the door by 8:15, parked just a few blocks away from the start by 8:40 (for a 10:15 start). We spent the next 95 minutes at the Runners Roost tent chatting with all our friends and teammates (and lamenting about how cold and breezy it was!)

Deserted street hours before the race starts

Team pic!

Matchy matchy skirts (and Mo and Colfax)

Ditched all the layers about 15 minutes before the start and got into the corral. A had plans to run with Lisa and Jandy, Heather and I were running our own races. Within about 30 seconds they were already ahead of me. I knew the course was "hilly," but of course I hadn't taken the time to look to see where exactly the course went.

Jandy, A and Lisa - super stars!

Early on, I took my gloves off after about 10 minutes

I tried to take it easy the first mile, knowing that if I go out too fast the first mile that my calves will cramp up. There were already some hills early on, and by the time we got up to Central Parkway, about a mile and half in, my legs were already toast. I hoped that getting some water and walking through the aid station would release some of the tension, but sadly, we headed up north and then I had to walk up a bulk of 15th street. Once I hit mile 2 I hit my groove and was able to run pretty well.

Saw Jandy turning the corner towards the aid station. Lisa and A were at the 3 mile marker when I saw them, so they were about a third of a mile ahead of me.

A looking happy with 3 down, 1.3 to go!

I walked through the water station, and figured I had about 3/4 of a mile left. I did walk a bit up the hill on Central heading back into downtown. Kicked it in for the last .4 of the race, posting my fastest pace of the day.

Not even sure what this expression is - probably pain!

Got in line with Chris for food and beer, and then finally met up with everyone at the Roost tent for socializing. We ended up staying at the finish line until probably 1:30 pm! Such a fun day with everyone.

A new PR for A (by a LOT):

Official time - 41:39
Official pace - 9:35/mile (last year she was 11:01!)
Overall place - 755/2246
Gender place - 298/1295
Division place - 13/75

As for me...

Official time - 46:42
Official pace - 10:45
Overall place - 1184/2246
Gender place - 555/1295
Division place - 212/418
Mile 1 - 10:11
Mile 2 - 12:04 (Bah)
Mile 3 - 10:15
Mile 4 - 10:23
Mile 4.4 - 9:33

Obviously I have some work to do, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it could have been. I could have run this a bit better, but this is a "glimpse" of getting back some of the speed I once had! Hopefully with a few more months of speed work I can get back into some faster times.

A hijacked my phone and took selfies with everyone that she could find.

 

Post-race team pic - requested by the race director

Thoughts:

• As I've gotten older/slower, I have really avoided running shorter distances. It takes me so long to warm up and my "fast" pace is the same as my "normal" pace. This was for sure a hard and challenging race for me - complicated by all the hills! Super fun though, I think I'll go for it again next year, and run it a bit smarter.