Week in Review (January 17 - January 23)

Tuesday (12,748 steps) - Stopped at Target on my way TO work to get more bins. I was worried about the weather coming in after I got off. Work in the office. It was actually nice out, so I went for a walk at lunch. Took Olive for a walk after I got home, beating the snow. Then I did a 30 minute Peloton ride and 45 minutes of glutes/legs, core and stretching. Woo.

Wednesday (15,880 steps) - SNOW DAY!!! It was quite lovely not having to get up early. Ariel and I spent a lot of the day (between working) continuing the project of organizing and cleaning up the closets, running gear and the rest of the mud room. 

Did you know that being organized reduces stress by like 200%?

I've actually done more cleaning/organizing since this picture was taken

We only left the house to take Olive for a short, snowy walk.

Thursday (24,786 steps) - Work from home. Wooo!!  Finally got around to making more quiches - they aren't even difficult to make, I just get really lazy sometimes :(

I spent about a half hour on chat with King Soopers (which was NOT fun) because they had one item they supposedly could NOT substitute with anything else, which caused my order to go under the delivery threshold. Needless to say, I was annoyed. THEN, I had to do my hill workout (that I hadn't done on Wednesday because of the snow). Greg likes to give me repeats on a hill with 10%+ grade. I didn't want to go all the way to Boulder or the foothills, but I did find a hill in Superior that was "close enough." Most of the run was perfectly fine! I ran well, and most of the repeats were ok as well, EXCEPT towards the top where there was a decent amount of post holing. I don't think I have complained enough about winter yet.

I stopped briefly at the Candela's King Soopers to get a few grocery items and got into an argument with the cashier about eggs ringing up incorrectly. EVERTYHING IS ANNOYING. After work, headed down to Belmar with Olive for run club! There was not a big group this week and Olive was definitely more relaxed. We did C25K with Paula & everyone again, and it was fun! Glad I had brought my spikes, park was icy. Cute pic of Katla & Olive.

Friday (15,400 steps) - Wash Park! Another small group of us, but it was nice enough out.

Worked a short day because A had a tour of the CBI scheduled for early afternoon. I met her and Gracie and her mom. It was really interesting, and Ariel has discovered that she really needs to be in the field, that straight lab work would not be thrilling for her. Good to know! Stopped and picked up groceries. Then it was home to do the workout I should have done on Thursday (weather really messed up my schedule). 30 minutes on the Peloton, 45 minutes of upper body, core and stretching. THEN, took Olive for a walk.

Saturday (42,495 steps) - Headed down to Chatfield for the Far Out 20 Miler. Wayne had sent out an email saying that conditions weren't great, so I planned on wearing spikes. Once I arrived, the parking lot seemed packed down, so I decided on my road shoes and Nano Spikes instead of trail shoes and Exo Spikes. I did NOT know that Chatfield does not plow at ALL, so I chose poorly with HOW MUCH SNOW THERE WAS. 

I'm on the far right in the red skirt/black tights

It was not nearly as cold as I feared, but man, the snow was really deep and running was tough. STILL, even in these conditions, I only took two short walk breaks, which is HUGE.

I decided I was not interested in doing the full 20 miles, and hopped on the road for a few miles, hoping that I could at least get miles in that way. Not knowing my way around the park that well I did end up back on the course. There was a 10 mile distance, so when I finished, I told Wayne to just mark me down for a "heavy 10 miler." For the first time in many years, there were still burritos left, which was nice because I was starving - I only ate a package of fruit snacks and some dried apricots on the run. It started snowing on the drive home. Freaking winter.

Ben and I made plans to get dinner together since A was working. We headed to Emilio's, and it was delicious. 

Sunday (31,049 steps) - Woke up ridiculously early so I could get my "real" run done. I had some overdue library books, so I made a detour to return them. Multitasking! 

I saw the injured coyote that I haven't seen in at least a year on the trail behind the library. He was not interested in me at all. It was a nice sunrise, but chilly. Also, I was glad that I had worn my spikes. The snow/ice is just NOT going away. 

I grossly miscalculated my distance, and ended up running about a mile further than what I planned. I got home with enough time to use the bathroom, make a cup of coffee and threw Olive in the car so we could head to the Stanley Marketplace for the brunch run. I ended up run/walking with Pete and Janet, and Olive did REALLY well. Her longest "run" yet at 3 miles!

Most places at Stanley Marketplace don't allow pets, but Logan's, the coffee shop did. Olive was quite content lying on the floor while we had breakfast and coffee.

Took Olive for a walk later in the afternoon. Otherwise, no clue what I did. I believe A brought home queso.

Monday (21,055 steps) - Work from home! I clocked in early because I had my annual gyno appointment (blech). Closer to lunch time I took Olive for a short walk. Then, I had to get my hour run in. I can't figure out why the first couple miles I can keep my HR under 140, but then it suddenly spikes (usually on  downhill, without that much of a faster pace) over 160 and I have a hard time lowering. It does not SEEM like it is that much more work, and I realize that wrist HR is not as accurate. Either way, annoying. Also, still surprised at the amount of deep, chunky snow.

After dinner I did Ariel's taxes. I can't believe she is old enough to have a W-2?! It's crazy.

Stats:

• 163,413 steps
• 38.56 miles run
• 60 minutes of cardio
• 90 minutes of strength training

Week in Review (January 10 - January 16)

Tuesday (11,447 steps) - Work in the office. Got the email that I'm back on the Runners Roost team for another year, wooo!

Spent most of the day at work researching dog walkers for Olive. I found a guy that seemed like he was going to work great and he was willing to work with Olive's "insecure" behavior. Went for a walk at lunch. Took Olive for a walk as soon as I got home. Then, I did a 30 minute Peloton ride and 30 minutes of cross training (upper body and core). I was cleaning the carpet in the office where Olive has peed a few times and she went downstairs and peed by the front door (which is the other place in the house she has had accidents). Ugh with these issues with her peeing in the house. UGH.

Wednesday (19,597 steps) - Put a call out on Facebook for help with Olive's bathroom issues. the overwhelming suggestion was to crate her and "re potty train" her. Thankfully, I have amazing friends, and I had multiple people that were willing to let me have/use a crate (thank you, Paula!). Meanwhile, the guy that I hired to walk Olive was a dramatic no show!! I messaged him at 2:30 since I had scheduled the walk for 12:30 and I hadn't heard anything. I didn't hear a word until 3:15 when he said he had to Uber to the house because he was in a car accident? Whether that is true or not, why would he have not responded to my message from 45 minutes earlier? Luckily, Ariel was home and told him that she had already let Olive out and his services were not needed. What a disaster. 

Headed up to Boulder after work for my hill workout. After last weeks "success" I was fairly optimistic. I really shouldn't have been. It was a MESS on the trails. With the warmer weather, the lower trails were crazy muddy and all the upper trails were a skating rink. Thankfully, I remembered traction again.

It was also VERY foggy, which made it super hard to focus on the trails. Thankfully, I had also packed extra batteries in my pack, because I ended up having to swap them out mid run. This was really not my favorite workout.

Went back to the Roost to socialize for a few minutes, but I didn't stay long.

Thursday (13,875 steps) - Work from home. Did a Peloton ride in the morning. Took Olive for a walk at lunch. Also did an upper body workout and core. After work I headed down to Lakewood for Belmar run club! I haven't been there in YEARS - maybe not since before Covid?? 

I was a bit nervous for how Olive would do with all the people and dogs, but other than being shy and nervous, she actually did really well! I was wearing jeans and lots of layers because I planned on walking, but Olive had other ideas and we ended up hanging out with Paula doing C25K training. 

It was actually really fun, and Maya decided she can put up with Olive!

Friday (10,180 steps) - Wash Park! Almost everyone came this week. Pete's dog, Rocket, crossed the rainbow bridge earlier in the week and Rocket had joined us for almost all our walks for the last few years. He will be missed. Look at the amazing cookies that Kristin made to honor him! Looks just like him.

After work I headed to the High Lonesome lottery drawing that was being held a few miles from the office. It was quite the event! There was a film before the drawing and it was really good and got me pretty pumped for running this. I did not make the initial roster, but landed 4th on the waitlist, so I'm assuming I am running in July!

Saturday (39,843 steps) - LONG RUN. I had 3 hours on schedule, and due to the trail conditions I had to do it all on road. I was wearing some Smartwool capris that I had bought last year and quickly discovered that with my weight loss that I can no longer keep my phone in the pocket or they slide down. Good/bad, I guess. Thankfully, since I was planning on being out forever, I had my vest.

Clean, newish shoes and some of my favorite socks - Avo-cardio

Thankfully, it was not icy at all (or hardly at all), and I didn't really have to watch my pace since Greg had assigned Z2/Z3. I actually felt really good most of this run. AND, by the time I was getting ready to turn around it had warmed up enough that I took off my R1! Woooooo!

Strangely, even though the whole back half is uphill, I even managed negative splits. Go me. I had mapped out a route to gauge distance and it ended up working perfectly so that I finished with enough time to get in a quick shower before going to A's track meet. The meet was indoors at the Mines, and like I remembered (pre-Covid), it was crowded and chaotic. But, A ran really well for off-season and was only about 20 seconds of a PR.

I sat around watching TV since A had to go to work. I go this adorable picture of Olive and Batman getting sorta close to each other. Awww.

Even though I was really not motivated to leave the house, I went to Sully's for his Christmas/birthday party. I did not know ANYONE this time, so it was awkward just talking to him (since he is the host, I felt bad bout monopolizing him, but...). I was also not drinking, and the only other sober person was a lady that was 5 months pregnant. Needless to say, I did not stay for very long.

Sunday (33,532 steps) - I didn't set an alarm because I figured Olive would wake me up early. And she did, but then I went back to sleep and slept a bit later than planned. I had another 2 hour run on schedule, but I also had plans with Heather to meet up around lunch, so I had to get out the door. I overdressed a bit, but the run itself was actually pretty good. Quick shower, then I headed down to Denver to pick up Heather. We stopped at Tap & Burger to have lunch. I had a burger and sweet potato fries, and it was delicious. We picked up Olive and drove to Boulder. I wasn't sure how bad the Eldorado trails would be. A bit muddy, some ice, but not too bad, and Olive had a great time!

We stopped at the Roost to see if Sandy and Trish were working, but they weren't :( We still had Olive dressed in her dirt bag jacket, and my goodness, she looked so adorable!

Heather and I started to watch "Home Edit" - have you seen this show? OMG, I am addicted already. A was agreeable to join us for dinner, so we went to Salsa's. 

I took Heather home since it was getting late.

Monday (25,758 steps) - Made plans with Heather to go to Waterton. I was up early since Olive came to visit me when Ariel went to work. Isn't she adorable?!

Once again, I overdressed. I had 90 minutes "Z1/easy" on schedule.

I figured I was basically just going to be trotting to keep my HR that low. For the first mile, it worked fine. Then for WHATEVER reason, my HR was through the roof - like 160s and 170s even though my pace was crawling and it was crazy easy. Sometimes I think things just get weird in the canyon.

For the first time EVER, I actually saw otters in the water! They were so cute!

I was ready to be bummed at the lack of sheep, but there were a few only a mile from the car, so that was fun!

I gave up on trying to keep HR low, and my watch told me this when I was done:

Heather was already back at the car, and she found an amazing place to eat for brunch.

Bacon Social House! I had some delicious Carrot Cake pancakes. I'm aware that's not bacon, but they were soooo good.

We stopped at Target and somehow I ended up buying bins so that I could start cleaning/organizing the mud room. (Thanks, Home Edit!). Took Olive for a walk and then we decided to get pedicures. Ariel joined us and my toes haven't looked this great in ages.

And because Heather is an amazing friend, she assisted with cleaning and organizing. Not quite done yet, but it looks freaking amazing. 

We picked up Costco pizza for dinner and then I still had to drive Heather back to her hotel in Denver. A lot of driving this weekend, but FUN (and, strangely productive).

Stats:

• 154,232 steps
• 39.56 miles run
• 60 minutes of cardio
• 60 minutes of strength training

Week in Review (January 3 - January 9)

Tuesday (17,246 steps) - Work in the office. Had 75 minutes of running on schedule, but I was afraid of coming home and then having Olive go berserk, plus I didn't want to go "too" far from home so I wouldn't be home late. SO, I headed to the rec center so I could run Big Dry Creek. I haven't run this in over a year, and there was still construction happening and detours. It was pretty icy and cold out, glad I was wearing trail shoes. (Honestly, probably should have been wearing spikes too). Overall, this was fine.

Wednesday (17,074 steps) - Work in the office. Headed up to Boulder after work. I had a hill program that I needed a 10-20% grade hill for (oooof). I was pretty shocked by the amount of snow that was still on the trails! Glad I had my Exo Spikes though! I went up Skunk, across Mesa, and then I had to do 4/3/2/1 sprints up Bear. The only one I "failed" at was the first, 4 minute, one. I made it just over 3 before I had to hike the rest of the way up. Overall, however, this went WAY better than I expected. I'm so pleased with how my training has been going working with Greg.

Went back to the store for a few minutes.

Thursday (24,738 steps) - Work from home. Took Olive for a walk at lunch. Still no "bathroom breaks" on walks, which is somewhat frustrating! Never met a dog that sniffed and didn't pee/poop! It was sunny out and the snow by the lake was a lot deeper than I expected.

Had another 75 minute run to do after work. Olive is still scared occasionally (or maybe resistant?) to coming inside, so I got out later than I had hoped because she wouldn't come inside. The run itself was fine, but incredibly icy, so I was glad that I was wearing my micro spikes on this. With the full moon, I actually never needed to use my headlamp. This run was also fine!

20 minute core class before cooking dinner.

Friday (14,166 steps) - Wash Park! A small group, and we met a tiny bit later than usual since it's been so cold. We also moved faster since there weren't any dogs with us. Coffee at Stella's with Pete before going into work. Today was the first day that Olive was home all day alone (although A went home at lunch to let her out). I stopped at the grocery store to pick up an online order and took Olive for a walk. I was grateful that nothing seemed destroyed when I got home. Her bow tie that I ordered off Etsy finally came (from the UK!) and it looks adorable on her:

Saturday (36,868 steps) - I was on the fence with doing Runners Edge or something like Waterton for my long run. Turns out Olive would wake me up early enough that I figured I would stick around closer to home for my run. The run was an out and bacon on Sand Creek. I ran the first 3ish miles with Janet (at probably a faster pace than what I would have done alone) and the rest by myself. It was a nice and sunny day, but still pretty chilly and icy/snowy out. Surprised I wore my jacket the whole time!

Saw a fox (both directions, same(ish) spot, but on the way back I noticed he was favoring one of his paws, so he was probably injured. Very cute, but hurt :(

Stopped on the way home for coffee, then took Olive for a walk.

Came home to a package being delivered with our matching pj's. I'm ridiculous.

We ended up playing some games before/after dinner (checkers and rummikub), which was a LOT of fun, and not something we do often. 

Sunday (10,079 steps) - Up very early again (thanks, Olive). Did some reading, then went to brunch with Ben, which was delicious. Took Olive for a walk. Olive finally has figured out the frisbee!! She was having a blast running around the yard with it. So cute!! More reading. Met Ben at Salsa's for some chips and queso before heading home. Went to Costco for gas and ended up going inside and getting some stuff. Did my 25 minutes of core while cooking pizza. Low key night for everyone. What a week.

Monday (25,927 steps) - Work from home. Up early again (hi, Olive). Picked up Dunkin' for me and A. Took Olive for a walk at lunch and in VERY exciting news, she finally pooped! Still no pee, so we will have to keep working/hoping for that, haha.

Had a 90 minute run on schedule, so I headed out just after work. It was "mostly" clear, but a shocking number of people still have incredibly icy sidewalks, and again, every road crossing was treacherous. But it was a really a fantastic run overall. Felt really good the whole time.

Olive had looked so excited when I put on running shoes, I think she thought we were going for a walk. I heard her whimpering when I got home, so I immediately put her harness on and took her out for a bonus walk. Even though the walks aren't "productive," she seems to enjoy them. 

Stats:

• 146,098 steps
• 38.13 miles run
• 0 minutes of cardio
• 45 minutes of strength