Week in Review (October 20 - October 26)

Tuesday (9,752 steps) - Work in the office. Headed straight to A's "not award" ceremony for cross country at the local park. Happy to report that she was one of the kids the lettered as a freshman! Go A!

The "Little Mermaid" award (whatever that means)

And for fun, a picture of Pika with a leaf on her head.

After the ceremony, I took Pika for a walk on the path while A played on the playground with her friend. Unfortunately, Pika KNEW A was nearby and almost ripped my arm off trying to get back to where she was.

Wednesday (12,459 steps) - Work from home. Batman got to go on another walk since the weather was nice! The newest fire in the area made the air super smoky (but pretty):

Thursday (8,960 steps) - Work in the office. That's it?

Friday (11,852 steps) - Work from home. Nothing else?

Saturday (22,210 steps) - Up not too early to drive to Hildebrand Ranch. Like last year, I was going to be running the Two Brands trail race. Unlike last year, I would only be running five miles instead of ten. This was also going to be my first post-Moab run!

I arrived only ten minutes before the start and barely had time to get my bib and use the bathroom before we started. Only running for an hour meant I didn't have to carry any water, which was nice. Because of COVID there were no water stations, but I knew I'd be find for five miles.

My goal was under an hour. I thought in my head that I had run just under two hours last year for ten, so it seemed like a good starting point. I didn't feel too terrible, outside of my normal struggles with breathing and tightness. I walked a decent amount in the early miles and I'm sure I irritated the ladies near me that I kept passing and then slowing down again.

The forecast was finally for warmer weather, although you wouldn't know it by how people were dressed, lol. I was wearing one of my thin Columbia shirts and had to roll up my sleeves by the time we were maybe 2 miles in.

This was the course I had fallen on last year and hurt my rib. Wondering exactly what rock I tripped over last year occupied most of my thoughts between miles 3 and 4. Thankfully, the entire last mile is alllll downhill, and I was able to run in pretty strong for finish.

With the course being a tad long, I didn't "quite" get under two hours, but I figure I was close enough:

Garmin time - 1:00:26

Garmin distance - 5.21

Garmin pace - 11:36

Elevation gain - 472'

Mile 1 - 12:14

Mile 2 - 11:44

Mile 3 - 12:27

Mile 4 - 12:17

Mile 5 - 9:59

Mile 5.2 - 8:26 (whoop whoop!)

Post-race with Jandy (who paced me a BUNCH at Moab!)

Jandy and I stuck around to watch other people finish and chat for a bit. Finally, I figured it was time to head out, so I grabbed my free burrito and Gatorade.

Ariel had made plans to go to the skate park while the weather was nice. Ben and I dropped her off and then took Pika for a walk before going to Denver Beer. 

THEN, we had to go look at two different houses - and we didn't like either of them. Super cold evening walking Pika.

Sunday (7,866 steps) - THE COLDEST DAY. (Well, the coldest day so far this winter). Mountain breakfast!

Really no recollection of the afternoon, other than we took Pika for a walk, and it was freaking cold.

Monday (12,802 steps) - Work from home.  Even colder. SO COLD WALKING PIKA. Need to find my mittens that I took with me to Moab.

Ben picked up pho for dinner and we watched "It" (Chapter 1). I am really enjoying post-Moab recovery!

Stats:

• 85,901 steps
• 5.2 miles run :)
• No cross training

24 Hours of Palmer Lake (Race Recap)

Saturday, April 9 - Sunday, April 10
Palmer Lake, CO
Ultra Marathon #17
Weather - All 4 seasons

The 24 Hours of Palmer Lake event is a low-key, "family-friendly," almost fatass style event. The registration cost me only $28, and A, being under 12, was free. I asked her if she wanted to come (we would be able to set up a tent), and she could run as much, or as little, as she wanted. She seemed PUMPED. So I signed up.

The weeks leading up to the race were filled with anxiously checking the weather (forecast of rain), and both of us having colds. By the time race day rolled around, things were as good as they were going to get.

The race started at Palmer Lake, near Monument. I had been there only time, it was the start of the American Discovery Trail marathon I ran in 2014. We left the house by 6 in hopes of arriving with enough time to set up our tent/home base, and get ready to run. We met up with our friend Jandy, and sure enough, we had time to do all those things and were ready to go when the event began at 8.

Minutes to race starting!

A, Jandy and I lined up near the back. Our motto for the day was "slow and low, that is the tempo." The course was a small (0.82 mile) loop around a beautiful lake. The terrain was packed dirt (albeit somewhat rutted from cyclists) and FLAT AS A PANCAKE. We started by doing a slow jog, and never really sped up. The altitude in Palmer Lake is just under 7,300', and that, coupled with the flat terrain made it more difficult than I would have imagined.

Rainbow bagel tights, not to be confused with her donut ones

Lake in late morning, before the weather rolled in

We jogged the first few loops in our hoodies and then as we warmed up moved on to just tee shirts. The weather was bizarre. Hot on one side, cold on the other. AND CRAZY WIND. But not everywhere... how could there be so many weather variables in such a small space?

Anyway, loop after loop after loop. Jandy and I stuck together almost the entire time. Which wasn't something I was expecting at all since she is substantially faster than I am. A had a plan to complete 2-3 loops at a time, then take breaks. Jandy and I just kept moving, but moved into a run/walk much sooner than either of us would have hoped. I believe the first beer was cracked by 10 am.

Me (in my beer skirt), Jandy, and A

Double digits!

Angry clouds rolling in

Half marathon done!

We had some really strange weather roll in early afternoon. There was a lot more wind, some hail (we think), some rain (but nothing major). This went on for a few loops. I was relieved that it never developed into a major storm. That would NOT have been fun.

20?!?! (watch dead by this time) 

Really bizarre rainbow

Dusk

Marathon!

After A went to bed, the real struggle commenced. There were over 100 starters, and probably 15-20 that were out at night. Jandy and I talked and talked and talked to pass the time. There were salamanders that kept appearing on the trail, so that was something that took our mind off things as well. I even picked one up and moved it off course!

Sometime around 1 am I was offered a ski shot of bourbon. I have no idea why I took one. I don't drink liquor, ESPECIALLY bourbon... but apparently, the best decisions are NOT made at this time of night after being on your feet for billions of hours.

I'm in black. I don't think the others are still running...

I wasn't even really tired, or that cold, but I was a bit concerned about driving home early in the morning so I opted to take a very short break around 4 am. It was so damn windy that I didn't want to go to the tent, so I sat in the car. (Related: how on earth did A sleep for seven plus hours with the win and noise?? In addition to the rain flap moving around the train went by like a billion times...)

Sunrise!!!!

A's final loop at 7:20 am - they let her "break the tape"

All the kid's got trophies (She really earned it!)

A completed the second most miles of kids. The winner did 36 miles (and was the winner last year as well)

This is how we kept track of loops. Super official, right?

It's funny how long 24 hours is, and yet how I can barely remember any of it. We celebrated a LOT of milestones with A. Her longest run, her first double digit run, first half marathon, first 20 miler, first marathon, first 50k and finally - 32 miles. Yes, A completed 32 miles. She took plenty of breaks to play Minecraft, play on the swing set, chat with the volunteers, nap, etc., but she did it. Honestly, I was really surprised. She had the best attitude all day long, smile on her face, saying goofy things, giving other runners high fives and cheering them on. This is a day I will remember for a LONG time.

Stats:

• Miles completed (me) - 66.42
• Miles completed (A) - 31.98 (we rounded up, ok?)
• Beers consumed - I *think* five. Not entirely sure on that number.
• Shots taken - just one shot, around 1 am. Not the best decision I ever made. Bourbon is gross.
• Pieces of cold pizza eaten - 6? Pretty much all I ate. I had a brownie or two, a couple handfuls of chips, 2 gels and one bite of a very stale Honey Stinger waffle.
• Stories traded with Jandy - hundreds. Seriously, we pretty much talked the entire time.
• Breaks taken - Two. One at 11 pm when A went to bed (rested my eyes for about 20 minutes), and a second break around 4 am, which I think was about 50 minutes.
• Memories made? LOTS.

Lastly? What did A think of the whole experience?

Week in Review (December 1 - December 7)

Tuesday (12,417 steps) - Back at it. I looked at the wrong video before I went to bed so I was very distraught to see that I had a HIIT video on my schedule. Warm up (this is the REALLY LONG warm up that I find pretty unnecessary), HIIT (for a HIIT video it actually wasn't that bad) and cool down. Super unmotivated the rest of the day.
Wednesday (18,925 steps) - Thankfully a better set of videos (I really DO prefer the strength videos over cardio/HIIT - I just can't seem to stick with a good training plan if I do those exclusively). Warm up, upper body and cool down. I went for a run to City Park during lunch. With temps back in the mid 40's, that means it was tee shirt weather!

It was a bit of a struggle.When we went roller skating last my feet literally slid out from under me and I landed right on my tailbone, which was still sore. I was also sore from the HIIT video I did on Tuesday. Blah. I'm so weak. The best part of the day was that my microwave finally got installed!!! (Although I'll admit that I prefer the taste of my vegetables that are cooked on the stove top).

Thursday (23,683 steps) - Cardio (the first half is blah, I kinda  like the second half) and cool down. Lunch run to City Park - loving this warmer weather!

After dinner we made more Thin Mint mini cheesecakes for our Saturday holiday party. I'm getting a hang of this baking business.

Friday (19,720 steps) - HIIT and lower body strength. This one isn't bad. Well, except for the HIIT. I hate hate HATE broad jumps and star jumps. YUCK. After I picked up A at school we went over to the high school for the "Empty Bowls" program. Kids from around the school district make clay bowls, which people then purchase for $5. Parents and teachers donate crock pots of soup and chili (and there were also food donations from King Soopers - bread and deserts). All proceeds raised are donated to the local food bank. It was actually pretty fun and I enjoyed sampling various soups.
Saturday (23,065 steps) - Up early to go to Runners Roost for the special Runner's Edge "Toys for Tots" run. Instead of paying the nominal drop in fee, we were to bring a toy to donate. Since A and I were both running, I brought three. We chatted with Lisa and Jandy before the run started. They were planning on running 20 (and we were not). The weather was a bit chilly and some of the roads were still icy, but it was a great run with Heather. We ran 5 miles, which is A's longest training run ever! (She has done a 5 mile race, and two 10k's, but otherwise, this was a pretty big deal for her!)

I did not capture the size of the GIANT Santa - it was two stories tall!

 

We stayed at the store for a bit, socializing, and then we went home for lunch. After lunch I took A to meet her grandma at the Arvada Center to see "White Christmas." In my kid-free time, I drove up to Boulder and went to the Newton store to get the "ugly" socks (that are NOT ugly). I picked up A and then we drove down to a friend's house for yet another holiday party.
Sunday (16,417 steps) - I woke up fairly early (not by choice) and once again, put off my run. I finally headed out around 9 and did a random run to try to find Big Dry Creek trail. Which I did! I can access from two different places (one way from the dirt road by the lake, and the other on the Farmers' High Line canal. This is good information for when I want to do a "long run."

For this day, 5ish was plenty. A made me breakfast, and then we went to our friend's house for a "Pink Papaya" party. I like using the products, I just don't like the price tag attached. Womp. We hit up Chili's for dinner since I still have a gift card I'm trying to finish.
Monday (16,236 steps) - Actually did not get out of bed. I did not sleep well. Again. So I skipped my daily video. Lunch run to City Park again - this time in a tank top and shorts!

And the snow is melted! Practically summer...

It was in the 50's, but overcast, so it was actually perfect weather. We had our weekly dinner of Tokyo Joe's. I decided to do a new Fitness Blender video (that was blissfully short and did not involve HIIT).

Stats

• 130,463 steps
• 23.1 miles run
• 63 minutes of cardio/HIIT
• 68 minutes of strength/stretching

Everything Else

• Nothing much... it's been a crazy month with tons of activities. Even though I am not racing as much it seems we are cramming more and more into the weekends. I think I am DONE with holiday parties for the year (with the exception of my work party), which means I am DONE with baking mass quantities of things (for now). 
• Nothing else...