Week in Review (July 15-21)

And the end of #21KidFreeDays

Tuesday - I had planned a trail run after work but MORE afternoon thunderstorms and rain shut that down. So... went to the gym for a quick treadmill walk (just for the check in), and then (!!!) I actually did some Fitness Blender videos! I did the Upper Body Superset and Butt & Thigh workout (first time in ages I've done anything at home).

Wednesday - Run Club!!! The theme was Christmas in July, and it was pretty fitting as it was pretty dang chilly when we set out for our run. Pretty much the second we started the temperatures plummeted and we had some torrential rain and MORE thunderstorms. Of course, it stopped as soon as I got back to the store. North Face was the sponsor and I did not, sadly, continue my winning streak of winning the raffle (a $50 gift card!).

Thursday - My initial plan was to hike a 14er with my dad. But then we got a TON of rain and the temperatures dropped, it was windy... so we rescheduled. Instead, I left work a few hours early and ran Bergen Peak. The temperatures were PERFECT, and since it was in the middle of the week during the day, the trails were deserted. I'm getting pretty awesome at the trail selfies, no? The last time I ran Bergen was almost a year ago to the date. I did it 20 minutes faster this time, clocking an unheard of amazingly fast pace of 8:52 for my last mile.

Last time I ran Bergen it was too foggy to see the view - isn't it lovely??

Friday - Went to happy hour with the girls from work, and then pizza at home.
Saturday - Initially, I was supposed to be racing a half marathon in Keystone. Earlier in the week we found out that their permit got pulled, moving the race to Sunday and merging with another event that was only a 20k. Since the goal is all the half marathons, I decided to skip the race and roll my entry over to another race in August. A was due back and I ultimately decided to get in one last trail run.

Instead, I got up VERY early, like before 5:00 am to get in a "long run" before it got too hot. The forecast was highs in the mid 90's, which sounded Terrible. I thought I would head out to another "new to me" trail - Waterton Canyon leading into the Colorado Trail. I pulled into the parking lot just before 6 (it was about a 40 minute drive to get there) and there were already a decent number of cars in the lot. I had mentioned in passing on the Twitter that I might run 20 miles, but I figured I would see how it went and decide as I went. The first 6.7 miles are in the canyon on a very wide dirt road that is not closed to traffic (although I saw maybe 4 cars total the entire to/from on the road). The sun was coming up right as I started my run, but being in the canyon the sun wasn't high enough to heat up the road. The run felt very hard from the beginning. (After looking at Garmin data, that would be because it was a gradual uphill the whole way out). As usual, I took it easy, lots of pictures and walk breaks.

Finally, I got to the actual TRAIL and I perked right up. Have I mentioned that trails are MY FAVORITE??? The temperatures were still holding and I was feeling pretty good, and even when I got to a steep section (even the cyclists were walking up), I decided I would go for the 20 and turn around at mile 10. Where I turned around was a REALLY COOL section of trail. I hadn't seen anything so green and "wild" in a long time.

I checked my water bottles and thought I had rationed well on the way out and that I should have plenty for the way back. However... the air started to feel hotter and heavier. About mile 11.5 and I was sort of regretting going out so far. Then I realized... pretty much the entire way back was downhill. I cruised the downhills as much as I could and felt really great until I got back to the canyon. Did you know that it was the hottest and sunniest EVER when I got back? There were bajillions of people out and many of them did not even have water with them. My legs actually felt pretty good, and even with a lot of breaks, I think I maintained a fairly decent pace. I officially finished the last of my water at mile 19 (which was fine, I had 2 bottles of water in my car that I slammed when I got there).

Part 1 - In the canyon

Part 2 - On the trails

Miles 1-10 - 12:31, 13:13, 12:26, 13:42, 12:40, 13:13, 19:46, 19:37, 17:34, 24:36 (first half 2:39:23)
Miles 11-20 - 14:14, 19:35, 10:57, 9:42, 10:51, 11:46, 11:30, 11:57, 11:25, 11:21 (second half 2:03:18)
So the total time it took me was 4:42:41 with an average pace of 14:08. I wasn't in any hurry for this and there was 2500' feet of gain, so I'm very pleased with this. Oh, and the fact that I did 20 miles allllll alone. And did you know it was 87 degrees when I got back to the car at 10:45???? So. Hot.

My SIL brought A over in the afternoon. So happy to have her back! More pizza for dinner.
Sunday - School supply shopping. Which is just The Worst. A and I went to see Rio 2 (which was just ok), and then dinner with the SIL at Smashburger (which was delicious).

Monday - CHAOS. A very "shoulder heavy" workout, due to the wheelbarrows and shoulder presses. Also, I've realized I have flabby abs. Maybe, if I weren't so lazy, I would work on that.

Weekly Miles Run - 31.6 (2.1 road and the 29.5 on trails)
Minutes of Cross Training - 60
Minutes of Strength - 67 (better than the 0 from the last few weeks)

Weekly Loss - 0.4 pounds (121.4)

• I love pizza the most. I think this is probably what kills all my eating for the week. Oh wells.
• Had burgers twice this weekend, and they were both delicious.
• And donuts.
• And beer.

Everything Else

• I had a pretty great #21KidFreeDays. Unlike last year when I spent the bulk of time wallowing, I went out and did things. I was not home that much and I discovered a bunch of new places to run - and they are all relatively close to my house. Yay!
• I am so over the moon pleased with my Orange Mud purchase. I have used it on all my outdoor runs since I bought it. The fit is fantastic, I can hold all my things in there and it is SO EASY to keep clean. If you haven't checked them out yet and you are looking for a hydration system, it is WORTH IT. Check them out HERE.
• I have officially filled the rest of my 2014 race schedule (with the exception of one race in December where registration doesn't open until September). That means I actually registered for two MARATHONS prior to NYC, both of them in Colorado Springs. They were only $20 more than running the half, and I feel like getting more distance/time on my feet will help. They are obviously not "goal" races, but I would like to see where I'm at since I have essentially had my marathon training on hold for the last month, in favor of running trails.
• Sooooo. Now that A is back, I'm unfortunately back on the treadmill for the bulk of my runs. Wah wah wahhhhhhhhh.
• Nothing else!!

Week in Review (July 8 - July 14)

Continuing on with #21KidFreeDays

Tuesday - Planned on my last longish run before my race. I didn't want to run TOO far, but I also was hoping to run closer to six miles. So... I headed back out to Golden to run North Table/Mesa Top. I went the other direction this time, and it ended up being the perfect distance. My run was a bit slower than usual as A FaceTimed me and since I hadn't talked to her in a few days, I was THAT person screaming into my cell phone on the trail...

Wednesday - Run club! New Balance was the host and I tried some of their shoes... A week later and I can't seem to remember what they were, but I wasn't super thrilled with them. I also tried the Brooks PureFlow 3's on the treadmill for a few minutes... I really think I like them! Vfuel and the Hot Chocolate race were ALSO there, so it was a full house. I entered the Vfuel raffle and won! Two weeks in a row I've won something, hurray!!!!

Thursday - Went to the gym after dinner and walked on the treadmill (I really need 12 visits a month for my insurance reimbursement). I didn't want to do anything super active.
Friday - Took the day off from work. Watched lots of Law and Order and had Pho for lunch, a piece of pizza for a small dinner/snack before Chase the Moon.

Saturday - Oh hey, more moon chasing. I got home, took a quick shower, ate a piece of pizza and crashed from about 9:30 to noon. Unsure of what I did the rest of the day, but I'm betting it was mostly sitting on the couch.
Sunday - Up early to volunteer with my nephews at the Boulder Peak triathlon. This time, I was working at the finish line. It was crazy chaotic as I was the ONLY volunteer handing out water, and it was in the mid 80's for most of the finishers by the time they got done. Lunch with my sister and her family, and then a pedicure. Early to bed again.

My nephews, watching for their mom to come out of transition

Monday - Somehow, I still managed to get to CHAOS. Lucky for ME, it was not a heavy leg day, as my legs are still not recovered from my little race.

Weekly Miles Run - 52.76 (Yeah, pretty much my highest week in a billion years)
Minutes of Cross Training - 60, plus about 5 miles of treadmill walking.
Minutes of Strength/Stretching - Bit fat zero...

Weekly Gain - 0.6 pounds (121.8)

• I love that I gain weight on high mileage weeks. Nothing too crazy consumed this week, other than a lot of pizza. I don't think any amount of weight loss is worth giving that up. I just love it so much!!
• Beer was about the same as usual.
• Maybe more cookies than usual?
• Ultra running is the only time I drink a lot of full calorie soda, and I had LOTS of it during my race.
• Oh wells.

Everything Else

• For the second (third?) time, I have deleted and quit the online dating. This time, the straw that broke the camel's back was the guy that I had exchanged 2(?) messages with over the course of a week. Essentially - "Hey, it says you like to run, do you race a lot? I run too." Me "Oh? Yes, I've raced a lot, I run a lot as well." Then he asked if I wanted to go hiking and I said I would not feel comfortable with that being a first meet. Then I got THE LONGEST MESSAGE EVER about how "you're on a dating site, wtf are you doing here if you aren't willing to meet people?" I did actually respond with a Seinfeld-ish response "I'll meet with you if you can tell me what my name is..." UGH. I HATE PEOPLE.
• Related: Clearly, dating is not for meeeeee!
• Really, nothing else has been going on. I have been staying busy, trying not to hang around the house too much. The last few weeks have gone by really fast and A will already be back on Saturday. YAY!!!

Week in Review (July 1 - July 7)

Continuing on with #21KidFreeDays

Tuesday - Headed out to a "new to me trail" (North Table Loop / Mesa Top Trail) - even closer to home than I have been running. I planned on running about 2 hours. I was glad for it to be a "cooler" day as the trail I ran was very exposed - once I actually FOUND the correct trail. The first two miles were on a trail to the bike park. Then, I realized that a bridge I had run by in the first .25 mile was actually crossing the street TO the trail head. Duh. There were no maps available so I figured I would do a few miles out and then come back. There were a decent number of bikes and a few hikers. I hit what I figured was a decent summit and then headed back, enjoying the non-technical terrain. And of COURSE, that's when I tripped over a rock and slid, face first, down the hill. LOLZ. NOT on a technical trail, a pretty much flat one. 7.5 miles.

Looked way more disgusting a day or two after with it all scabby and pink and infected looking

Wednesday - Headed to run club! I was SORE after my fall on the mountain and figured I would do my minimal 2ish miles to earn a beer. I barely made it two miles, but got it done. Brooks was the sponsor of the night, and they brought "cornhole" for us to win prizes. I was the second person to throw and believe it or not, I got a CORNHOLE IN ONE!! As the first winner, I got to pick ANY pair of Brooks shoes, and I picked the PureGrit 3. I loved the original Flow's and figured I could use a new trail shoe (especially after my LAST trial run). So excited!

Obviously not a picture of MY throw, lol

Thursday - LONGEST.DAY.EVER. at work. I think we were the only people working, and, we didn't even get to leave work early. Skipped the workout and went to happy hour. I did go to the gym to walk a mile on the treadmill. I need to go at least 3 times a week to earn my $20 "health rebate."
Friday - Got up early for another "easy" trail run, testing my new PureGrit 3's, which I loved. Went to the same place (North Table Loop) where I fell earlier in the week, only this time, no falling. I also took a bit of a different direction (lots of trails on this mountain) and looped around with pretty much exactly what I wanted to do - another 7.5 miles.

Billions of hours in the car driving to Steamboat. In bed before the fireworks. I'm such an old lady.
Saturday - Mountain Madness half marathon.

Then, billions of hours driving BACK from Steamboat. I don't remember what I did that night. Must have done nothing. I think that was the night I went to bed at 8:30.
Sunday - NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING.
Monday - Chaos. Hard, like always.

Weekly Miles Run - 30.12 (15.01 trails, 2.0 road, 13.11 "racing")
Minutes of Cross Training - 60
Minutes of Strength/Stretching - um. none.

Weekly Gain - 0.2 pounds (121.2)

• Actually a little surprised it wasn't more. Again, I've come to the conclusion that I either care, or I don't. And right NOW, I seem to care during the week and not-so-much on the weekends.
• A former paralegal-turned-baker brought in a pizza box worth of samples from her bakery. Lemon bars and shortbread cookies covered in peanut butter and chocolate were my favorites.
• LOTS of pizza this weekend.
• Average amount of beer.
• Eh.

Everything Else

• I just have to say that THIS year, with A gone, I'm in a MUCH better place than I was last year. I'm still spending most of my time alone - a LOT of time on the trails, but I'm not super sad.
• Related: Eff this online dating nonsense. These "men" be CRAZY. I haven't even found one person in the last two months WORTH setting up a date with. I guess being picky will be my downfall (or saving grace?)
• Work has been crazy busy, STILL. Lots less time to play around on the Internet Machine. Good and bad, I guess. 
• I had registered for a SUPER CHEAP marathon in the mountains in September and I got the email this week that it has been cancelled - the race director wants to put more time into the ultras he organizes. Wah.
• Related: Um, so, yeah. I'm running a 12 hour endurance run this weekend. That starts at night. I haven't run anything further than a half marathon since March, when I ran that extra long 50k... Should be... fun. And hopefully not 1). A BILLION degrees (yesterday, it was 88 at 7:00) or 2). Monsooning (last night at 9:00 it was crazy windy, thundering and lightning and dumped a TON of rain). Current forecast is... high of 91 degrees, 30 percent chance of rain. Wheeee!
• NOTHING from the car I hit over a month ago. NOTHING. So weird.
• I swear there was something else, I just can't remember what...