Week in Review & a Bonus Day (June 13 - June 20)

Tuesday (15,118 steps) - Literally nothing.
Wednesday (23,780 steps) - Bee Rad was hauled away as we were heading out the door for work/camp. Sad, sad day.

Denver run club! Our regular run club coordinator couldn't attend, and I was asked to head run club for the night! It sounds a lot more important than it really was, basically just stood on a chair and did announcements. Altra was there demo-ing shoes, and A tried on a pair and really liked them. I asked her which ones they were, and she said "the blue ones." That's super helpful!

Maureen wanted to get in about 4 miles, so we did a random route - which ended up being really pretty as we went by giant homes with beautiful lawns. There was supposed to be a presentation with Jason Schlarb (Hardrock winner!) but no one could seem to get it together. Went out to eat with Mo, Heather and Eric. Fun night!
Thursday (20,213 steps) - Barre with A before taking her to camp.

Belmar run club, which again, we were really early for. I ran with Mo and A walked with Heather and some other people.

Ben, A, Dulce on the left, Ang on the right

It was stupid hot out. Summer is terrible.
Friday (15,851 steps) - Nothing! Stopped and picked up a pizza on the way home.
Saturday (20,981 steps) - Runners Edge season kick off at the Denver Roost.

We had the aid station at the start/finish so we didn't have to leave incredibly early. We ran 6 miles with Heather and Doug and then hung around the store until about 10. Quick stop to get some new flats for work (and A managed to talk me into a pair of Converses) before heading over to Heather's house. Quick shower and lunch, then on to Gateaux, where we met up with Maureen for cake testing!

Full size slices of cake - yes, please!

On to Olde Town, where we met up with Lisa and Jessa for the grand opening of Denver Beer's second location. We were having a good time on the patio until it started to rain...

Tap & Dough for dinner before heading home.
Sunday (40,458 steps) - Had my alarm set for 4:12 in the morning. Being an ambassador and season pass holder for the Endurance Race Series for a second year means I run all the races... except that I'm going to be out of town for the newest race, the Eagle Trail half marathon. Jeff, the race director, allows pass holders to run the course on their own and still get credit for the race towards the series awards. Not knowing when else I would have the chance to run it, I opted to get up stupid early and drive to Eagle (which is about 20 minutes further away than Vail).

The start was a the elementary school and the "trail head" was a neighborhood path. Thankfully, Jeff had posted the mapmyrun route and given turn by turn directions. I had the foresight to screenshot the turn by turn directions, just in case.

I had not used the mapmyrun app in so long that I didn't have the location turned on. Once I adjusted my settings it was actually very helpful! Shockingly, I had not looked at the profile or course. The first 1.75 miles or so were on paved bike path and felt like a gradual uphill. I had started the run at 7:00 and I was already feeling hot, there was NO shade. We finally got on some single track and looped around the golf course. There was one bathroom maybe 2.65 miles in, which I did not end up needing. The terrain was mostly jeep roads, which I don't love running on. My ankle, that I had twisted at Dirty 30, was screaming a bit. I hadn't taped it because it had felt fine during my runs earlier in the week. I had thought that there was a decent amount of climbing and was wondering where/when that would be. Well, about mile 5. Lots and lots of climbing... right around  mile 6 I accidentally turned the app off and then since I had no cell phone service, I couldn't use it properly. That's where my foresight in taking screenshots of the turns was helpful.

Lots of pretty wild flowers, although they never photograph well

The last half mile or so to Hard-Scrabble road was pretty much the worst. When I finally turned around, it was tough to bomb the downhill because of the steep grade. Once I got through that initial mile of downhill, it leveled out a bit. The way back was exponentially better and it took me a half hour less to get down. I had been aiming for about 3 hours, and finished (long, I think the tiny out and back spigot I ran too far) in 3:04.

It was just after 10 am when I started the drive home, and thought (ignorantly) that I left early enough to miss the weekend mountain traffic. It was stop and go all the way from Georgetown past Idaho Springs. Got home shortly after 12:30. A had made me the most adorable and touching card for Father's Day - she is such a great kid!

After lunch we went roller skating for a few hours, quick trip to the store and then picked up Tokyo Joe's for dinner. I ended up having to take a nap at 7 pm because I simply could not keep my eyes open! Got most of the packing done, which was a big relief.
Monday (14,165 steps) - Barre. Heather had picked up A so they could have a girls day. While I was out to lunch with Janna, they messaged me that they were right down the street, so I went to say hi to them before my break was over. After work I drove over to Heather's to pick up A. Re-packed and double-checked everything.
Tuesday (14,316 steps) - I had thought about going to barre in the morning but decided to sleep in instead. Triple checked packing. Torchy's Tacos and packing (again).

Stats:

• 164,882 plus Tuesday steps (8 days instead of 7)
• 26 miles run
• 2 barre classes

East-West Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Saturday, June 10
Highlands Ranch, CO
Half Marathon #164
Weather - SUNNIEST AND HOTTEST EVER

I started watching the forecast about a week out and knew that it was going to be an insanely miserable day at the East-West trail race. Due to construction, there was a course change and we would be starting at a different location. Very little of the course would actually be the same, but it was nice that there would be more single track.

Race Day

The half marathon (which I was running) started at 7:30. A and Mo would start at 8:00 for the 10K. We got up around 5:40 and headed out around 6:00. Siri sent me a totally bizarre way to this race. I've always taken C-470, and for whatever reason, she had me driving all over the place. We arrive around 6:45. Packet pick up was easy like usual and then I cycled through the bathroom line. We went back to the car to drop stuff off and apply sunscreen, heading over around 7:15. I thought that would be enough time to go through the bathroom line again, but it wasn't.

I lined up towards the back, knowing that with the course being all uphill the first mile or so, that I would be in the back. I took quite a few walk breaks, having no desire to overexert my self in the first fifteen minutes. About 1.3 miles in we jumped onto the single track trail that we usually run for Chase the Moon.

It was already getting crazy hot, but I tried to enjoy the views the best I could - to take my mind of dying of heat stroke. I was really enjoying the trail itself but my legs felt like lead. It took until I got to the first aid station (which wasn't until 3.5 miles in), when I started to feel a bit better. I could see Kristen ahead of me and desperately wanted to see if I could catch her. I somehow managed to pass her just before mile 5 - and as I told her, that shouldn't happen as she is a much faster/stronger runner than I am. She did say that she was just not feeling it with the heat.

I did manage to pass people in the second half of the course, simply by running when I probably normally would not have. Around mile 11, we turned onto a different section of single track. I had been chasing a woman that I had been in the bathroom line with. She was run/walking ahead of me and just as I almost caught her, she kept going straight on the road and didn't turn onto the single track. I tried yelling at her that she needed to turn off, but she had headphones in and couldn't hear me (or ignored me). So then I spent the next mile concentrating on running as much as I could because I didn't want to be beaten by a course-cutter.

The last mile THANKFULLY was all downhill and I bombed it. I could see the woman in front of me and I manged to catch her maybe a third of a mile before the finish. I was so annoyed I said "you shouldn't run with headphones, you cut the course!" She claimed to have run that section earlier. NO YOU DIDN'T, YOU LIAR. Ugh, at least own it if you were so focused on walking that you missed the turn. But at least she didn't beat me.

I ran into the finish and seriously felt like I was going to pass out immediately after crossing the line. I grabbed a beer, took off my pack and shoes, and went to sit in the shade. Finally, after about 20 minutes I felt better. We spent a long time hanging out at the finish - it's so nice to not have to leave right after races anymore!

Yep, this was my face right after I got my medal

Roost teammates!

ERS ambassadors (Lynette, Tom, Stacy, Me, and honorary A)

A's Time - 1:16:56
Overall Place - 93/135
Gender Place - 52/89
Division Place - 2/2 (The winner was 18)

There were FREE race pics again - a few good ones of A. (Somehow, out of the 904 pictures posted, there are ZERO of me... bummer!)

Official Time - 2:47:45
Elevation Gain - 1322'
Overall Place - 66/91
Gender Place - 39/59
Division Place - 13/21
Garmin Time - 2:47:47
Garmin Distance - 13.12 miles
Garmin Pace - 12:47
Mile 1 - 13:39
Mile 2 - 12:07
Mile 3 - 14:50
Mile 4 - 12:10
Mile 5 - 12:11
Mile 6 - 12:02
Mile 7 - 11:55
Mile 8 - 14:01
Mile 9 - 14:27
Mile 10 - 12:43
Mile 11 - 13:07
Mile 12 - 12:36
Mile 13 - 10:21
Mile 13.12 - 14:03 (very cruel hill in the last tenth!)

Thoughts:

• It was something crazy like 88 degrees when we finished - too hot!! This course is very exposed, so it was pretty brutal. Glad I had my hydration pack! Jeff (race director) has already said that the half will start at 7 next year. Woo hoo!
• Course was very well marked, yet I was behind people in two different spots that missed turns. Pay attention people!!!
• The half had four aid stations, although the first one was really far away! Plan ahead and bring what you need. Water, electrolytes and sport beans at all.
• Finish line party was awesome like always. Plenty of places to sit in the shade (I love you shade) and of course lots of food and beer.
• Gender specific shirts and cool medals again (although I think I liked last year's compass medal a little better).

Westminster Trail half marathon (race recap)

Saturday, April 29
Westminster, CO
Half Marathon #162
Weather - Cold, windy, snowy

While the 10 day forecast always had snow in the forecast I was optimistic that the weather-people would be wrong. Fair to think that... they have been wrong a LOT lately. However, the snow started falling right on cue as I was getting home Friday night.

The Westminster trail race start only being about 10 minutes from our house we didn't need to get up until about 6:30 - and even then, we were parked with about 50 minutes until the start. Picking up our packets was very quick. As an ambassador/season pass holder, all my stuff was pre-packed and ready with no wait. A only had to wait a few minutes for her stuff.

We sat in the car until about 10 minutes until my race was supposed to start (and even then, I only got out of the car so I could use the bathroom). Met up with Francesca, Lisa and Becky and lined up towards the back. A's race started 10 minutes after ours did and she saw us off.

Kristen and I started together and although I felt super crappy and tired, the first hour ticked by with conversation. We (and by we, I mean I) had to take quite a few walk breaks, especially within the first two miles. It was about 30 degrees and lightly snowing. Not the worst I've ever run in, but certainly not ideal. Kristen dropped me around the 5 mile mark, which was fine, I was running pretty poorly. I did start to feel better after the second aid station around mile 5.5 and ran fairly decently through the turnaround. 

By the way back the wind had picked up and the moisture had made the trails really muddy. Like super muddy. I was having some cramping and was very glad that the city has put in a permanent port-o-potty that I would hit around mile 10. Shortly before arriving there I saw a giant coyote running across the trail. He seemed to be enjoying the weather. I felt much better after stopping and ran... ok until about mile 11.

The small loop around the lake was crazy muddy and slick. A bulk of that section I couldn't even run, and at one point I almost lost my shoe!! The wind really picked up the last mile and the snow became the weird pellet snow that stung my face. I did not enjoy the last part of the race.

I was a tad disappointed to have finished a little slower than last year, although keeping mind I did use the bathroom this year AND trail conditions were much worse. So, meh. Probably a pretty comparable run. (Comparing my mile splits from this year to last year, I actually ran a much stronger second half this time, even though I did have to stop).

Met up with A, Kristen and Becky and waited until Lisa and Francesca crossed the finish line and the scurried out pretty quickly.

Official time - 2:31:18
Overall place - 78/101
Gender place - 41/61
Division place - 15/17
Mile 1 - 11:25
Mile 2 - 11:56
Mile 3 - 11:31
Mile 4 - 11:07
Mile 5 - 11:01
Mile 6 - 10:56
Mile 7 - 10:50
Mile 8 - 11:53
Mile 9 - 11:10
Mile 11 - 13:07 (bathroom)
Mile 12 - 11:54
Mile 13 - 11:18
Mile 13.2 - 10:13

A had an INCREDIBLE race - she got a PR of about 3 minutes in these horrible conditions!

Official time - 1:04:22
Overall place - 54/94
Gender place - 28/59
Division place - 1/1

Thoughts:

• This is not the most interesting route, especially since it is in my own backyard. Since it's not shaded at all, the weather was actually preferable to a nice sunny day, and the weather made it... interesting.
• It's a bit of a stretch to call this race a "trail race," although there are dirt sections, it's best to look at this as an "urban" trail. 
• The medal is huge, and the post race "party" is awesome. (Although, no beer at this one - per city rules, and the party was a bit of a bust due to the crappy weather. We were given about a dozen Noosa samples, so it wasn't a total loss).
• Other than the FYCO "races" that A put on, this was my first half since the first week of February?!

Week in Review (April 11 - April 17)

Tuesday (17,043 steps) - A had student council, so no speed work. With this THANKFULLY being a recovery week, I did an easy 3.5ish miles before work. It was chilly, but nice.

Pretty cool to see the moon set!

Barre with Laura during lunch.
Wednesday (16,441 steps) - Run club after work.

I was actually going to be on a panel for a presentation on beginning trail running, so I didn't have a ton of time to get a run in. A and I started out with Mo and Colfax running the 2.3ish mile loop that we did last year, but we picked up the pace a bit because we needed to be back.

The panel was actually a lot of fun and it was CRAZY to me that people came up afterwards and wanted to ask me questions and get advice. I still consider myself a novice as well, but it was SO nice to see people so excited to get started!
Thursday (17,636 steps) - Opted for sleep instead of a morning barre class. Belmar run club. Mo was able to run 1.4 miles out of the 2.5 mile loop.

A found a lot more eggs than I did

Decided to go to Rocko's for nachos after, then headed home to start packing.

Friday (12,956 steps) - Rest day! Picked up beer and Domino's for dinner, finished packing, went to bed early.
Saturday (124,136 steps) - 24 Hours of Palmer Lake.

Sunday (49,179 steps) - More 24 Hours of Palmer Lake.

Had to stop and take a 15 minute cat nap again on the drive home. Took a shower and then a nap. Intended to rest for only a few hours, ended up sleeping until after 3. Went to IHOP for omelettes and pancakes, then a trip to the grocery store.
Monday (11,730 steps) - Another rest day!

Stats:

• 249,121 steps
• 83.8 miles run
• Just 1 barre class

Week in Review (March 28 - April 3)

Tuesday (24,170 steps) - 4:30 wake up for speed work with Runners Edge, and for the first time, it was going to be on a track! I have to admit that I was TERRIFIED for this workout. I *used* to do speed work years ago, but it was always on the treadmill. I was not looking forward to seeing how slow my pace would be in comparison.

After a few weeks of warm weather it was a little colder, with rain in the forecast. I was wearing a tech tee and my Ultimate Direction jacket, which ended up working great. We did a 20 minute warm up (at about an 11:30 pace) on the dirt in Cherry Creek State Park. After drills we headed up to the track.

A had read through the email and decided for the mid-level ladders. She ended up finishing only about 5 minutes before I did, so I take that as a big win!

400m - 2:09 (8:29 pace)

800m - ??? (hit pause instead of lap)

1200m - 7:26 (9:46 pace)

1600m - 9:49

1200m - 7:28 (9:51 pace)

800m - 4:49 (9:33 pace)

400m - 2:12 (8:50 pace)

200m - 0:53 (7:00 pace!)

There was a two minute recovery between each interval, which I desperately needed! I'm most impressed that I got through every single interval without walking! And ALL intervals were sub 10 pace, which I haven't seen in a REALLY long time. Felt very accomplished when I was done with this workout! 7 miles total, and we finished just in time - the rain came in on our drive home.

Wednesday (20,229 steps) - Barre before work with Gabi. Sitting pretzel is really the most awkward movement (and pointless) for people who have extremely weak hips. Best run in ages at run club - 5 miles round trip to Wash Park.

Thursday (30,955 steps) - 7 not-so-great miles. 3.5 out on roads, but the sun was already coming up so I jumped on the trails on the way back. Legs just tired I guess after a hard effort the night before. Always appreciate of a pretty sunrise though!

Barre HIIT with Laura during lunch, which was just what I needed after a horrible morning at work. Belmar run club. I did a run/walk with Mo and Colfax (about 1.5 walking and 1 mile jogging).

Friday (15,319 steps) - Rest day! One year follow-up appointment for my lasik, otherwise nothing!
Saturday (44,843 steps) - Thankfully, the storm didn't amount to anything major. It was definitely colder than I am used to running in and I kept my long sleeves and jacket on for the whole run. The route was set up as an 8 mile route. A stopped after one loop and I went out and did another 10. The first 17 went pretty well, but I was certainly ready for it to be over.

This guy would NOT look at the camera!!

For all the hills and stopping, really pleased for a sub 12 pace overall!

Sunday (31,405 steps) - Up early to run miles before my ERS training run. Everything, of course, took longer than I planned and I only had time for 5.5 miles before I was supposed to be there. I ran an out and back, which included a section of the new bike path to Boulder. Legs felt pretty good for these miles.

The training run itself was sort of a bust, only a handful of people came, and most of them decided to walk. I ran 4.5 (out and back) on Big Dry Creek with Tom and it was HARD... he is a fast guy and I was working way too hard to try to keep up with him. The 45 minute break between my two runs probably didn't help either.

Home for a quick shower before we met up with Lisa and Jessa for brunch at Billy's Inn. Ended up taking a short nap and then went to barre.
Monday (10,919 steps) - Rest day.

Stats:

• 47.4 miles run (no races!)
• 177,840 steps
• 3 barre classes

Week in Review (December 13 through December 19)

Tuesday (19,062 steps) - Totally motivated to get out of this "lazy" slump. Up a few minutes before my alarm, put on ALL the warm weather clothes and went for a 4ish mile run by the lake. It was damn cold, that's for sure. The fleece tights definitely seemed warmer, although my legs still felt cold and were red when I got home.

Went to Laura's barre class during lunch. Gymnastics after school/work. Watched The Talking Dead and part of an episode of Friends before bed.
Wednesday (19,084 steps) - Picked A up at school and then she came back to my office while I finished up the day. We went to the Runners Edge holiday lights run for the second year. Thankfully, it was a lot warmer than the forecast said, although it did get really windy on the way back.

We went to Amato's for a while, I only had a beer. We had dinner at home (really trying to save money).
Thursday (14,109 steps) - Went to Meredith's barre class before work. Picked A up at school again, this time taking her home because I had my ERS ambassador dinner after work and she wasn't going. I stayed at work until about 5:40 and then sat in wretched traffic. The dinner was at Kachina, and it was delicious. Happily, ERS picked up the tab, so I had beer, shared some appetizers, and had some tasty enchiladas. It was nice chatting with everyone, especially Stacy.

I had told A we would eat at home (when I was expecting to have to pay for myself), so I stopped and picked her up some Torchy's Tacos on the way home.
Friday (26,814 steps) - DRAGGING this morning. Runners Edge emailed to cancel our Saturday long run because of the predicted polar vortex temperatures (that are suggesting wind chills of -20). Since finding out that the office would be closed for everyone, not just those attending the party, I packed my running gear with hopes of getting in a good trail run before the cold weather comes. Got off work just before 2:00 and drove out to North Table. It was overcast, but had warmed up to about 30 degrees. I headed out for a the big loop, just under 9 miles. As usual, I struggled with the climbs, and I bit it pretty good about 3 miles in. Around the halfway point, on the west side, the wind picked up quite a bit and it got pretty chilly. There was also some snain, so that was fun. A called me, forgetting that I was running before picking her up.

I got done in about 2 hours, and picked up A right around 5. We made a quick stop at the grocery store on the way home.
Saturday (17,960 steps) - Runners Edge canceled due to the snow and cold. Threw some chili in the crock pot. We had gotten a lot more snow than was predicted, but since I was up I decided to go to a barre sculpt class. Traffic was light, but the road conditions were terrible. I couldn't park where I usually do because nothing had been plowed. I squeezed into a metered spot right before class starts. Of course, about 5 minutes into class I realized I had not fed the meter, so I waited until we were done with the set and threw on my boots and ran out to put money in. So embarrassing. The class was really good, unlike any other barre class I have taken.  A made breakfast and we vegged until it was time to take her to her birthday party. I decided to go for a run (in 0 degree weather) at Lake Arbor, because they always plow there. ONLY THEY DID NOT PLOW THERE. I had the right gear, but I don't love running in deep snow.

Did three miles and then went home for shower and lunch. Picked up A from her party and stopped at Sprouts and Yogurtland. Stayed up ridiculously late putting together the puzzle A had gotten for her birthday from GrandMo.

Sunday (12,110 steps) - TV. Decided to get Torchy's Tacos and then more TV.

Went to Jump City and A finally braved doing a back handspring.

More TV And then barre. Quick change of clothes and then to the bowling alley for Jake's birthday. Took two hours to bowl one game.

Monday (16,563 steps) - Picked up A from Scouts, where she had painted a really cool picture.

Then we headed down to Coohill's for Runners Roost holiday run. We of course got there late because traffic was horrendous. I ran a few miles with Colfax and then we socialized for a bit. As usual, the food was delicious, and the beer was great.

I was told my ugly sweater was too "pretty"

Stayed up too late watching the finale of Gilmore Girls.

Stats:

• 125,702 steps
• 23.2 miles run (including a before work run, a trail run, and a 0 degree snow run!)
• 4 barre classes
• Current weight - ??? - still not weighing in

Everything Else

• Works sucks and I'm never going to survive working another 30 years.