Week in Review (January 11 - January 17)

Tuesday (10,527 steps) - Work in the office. Longer walk at lunch because the weather was nice. 

After work I rowed (for the first time in like 7 months), then did a Peloton ride.

Wednesday (25,969 steps) - Decided to get up early to get my run out of the way. First real workout with the new coach. I had two different runs to do, the first was a short warm up, then tempo, then cool down. The warm up and tempo went ok, but I had completely depleted my legs and I had to walk a large amount of the "recovery" which probably should have been more running. Then I had some run/walk intervals that were much better. While I don't like getting up that early to run, I do like being done with it before I even go to work.

Short walk at lunch. After work I drove up to Louisville for a community run/event at the Runners Roost for the community after the Marshall Fire. Since I had already run, I walked with a few of the reps that were there. It was a nice evening!

Headed home before it got too late and made dinner. Ben had a long day and had to get his run in after work since he overslept, so he was still running just before 10 pm!

Thursday (20,439 steps) - Work from home. For my run I decided to go to North Table. I had originally just planned on a small loop, but when I realized that Rim Rock was open I decided to check it out. All in all the run was ok, but it was a lot muddier than I like to run in - except the top which was snow-packed and/or icy.

Took Pika for a walk, and after work I did the 40 minute video that my coach recommended. I honestly didn't care for it, so I don't do it again. I think I'll stick with building stacks on Peloton - they really are a good workout!

Friday (10,980 steps) - Wash Park with the gang! The weather was much nicer than I expected after driving there and seeing how windy it was. 

Turns out, that was the nicest part of the day as the snow rolled in around lunch. By the time I got off work and was driving home, however, everything seemed to be melted and the only remnant of the snow was blowing off people's roofs. I picked Ariel up from practice and then had to pick Ben up from  work since his truck is in emergent need of brakes. We stopped for a quick beer at Odyssey on the way home. Loved that their Christmas tree was still up!

Saturday (35,568 steps)  - Up really early so I could drive Ariel to the airport. We had found a really cheap flight for her so she could visit her Granny and cousins NOT over Christmas. I had decided to drop in with Runners Edge since the weather was so cold and gross. The group is soooo much smaller than it used to be. I was not at all amused that it was A LOT colder than the forecast said - about 10 degrees. Ugh. I ran for a bit with Sheila, but my lack of consistent running was evident and I ran most of the day by myself. 

Originally I had planned on doing two of the 8 mile loops, but after realizing how icy and NOT FUN the conditions were, I decided to turn around after 7 so I wouldn't be tempted to not go back out.

Shortly after turning around, I noticed a small farm and took a short video of the goats and kept going. Then I heard them bleating behind me - they had escaped out of their yard and were following me up the street. I stopped filming help corral them out of the road. Luckily the owner was outside and he was able to squish them together and pick them up. Oh my lord they were SO INCREDIBLY  CUTE.

On the way out there had definitely been some areas where the route markings were not very clear. Alex had marked it the day before and thanks to the snow and overnight freeze, some of them were not visible. I figured it would be easy to figure out going back... turns out I was wrong. I missed a turn and by the time I realized that things didn't look familiar I was pretty far off course. I pulled up Sheila's strava and created a route so I could figure out where I was and how to get back on track. Genius thinking on my part, and I'm glad I pay for the premium membership!

My run that I thought was going to be about 14 miles ended up being nearly 15.5. Ooops. I had finally started to warm up a bit but left all my layers on. Got back to the start and was surprised to see Sheila and a few others still there. I got a smoothie before heading home. SO MUCH DRIVING TODAY. Took a shower, then Ben and I went to the new(ish) Mexican restaurant up the street. I've decided cheese enchiladas are the best food after a long run! Ben's truck was finally ready to pick up around 5, and then we headed to Kokopelli for the anniversary party and met up with Kristin and Doug. It was NUTSO busy.

Scary sight to see - very hungry animals!

Ben made burgers for dinner.

Sunday (12,293 steps) - Tried to sleep in. Failed. Did my Peloton ride before driving up to El Dorado to do a hike/jog with Pika. Had to wait a bit to get a parking spot - I think because the weather was nice, but also because so many of the trailheads are closed right now, either because of the fire or because of mud. The mud was only bad on the trail closest to the parking lot and a bit up near the top, otherwise I think it had dried out pretty well. 

Pika was still a little sluggish - but not nearly as bad as last weekend.

We met Ben at Resolute for a beer. Normally we aren't too crazy about their beers, but they had a few new ones on tap that were pretty good.

We had Pho for dinner and watched the newest Resident Evil movie. It was actually pretty good!

Monday (17,274 steps) - Another failed attempt at sleeping in. 

Pika REALLY wanted to be let outside to chase that bunny

I had 45 minutes of strength training on deck, so I created a stack of three videos - lower body/upper body/core. I had never done any of these particular ones and they were all REALLY good. Ended with a nice stretch after. Solid!

After a quick lunch we took Pika for a walk. The lake is still REALLY muddy. Ugh, I hate this time of year.

We took down the Christmas tree (yes, finally), ran some errands, and then went to Odyssey for a quick beer. We had plans to meet up with Phil at New Terrain for a run at North Table for the full moon. I still had "sorta" speed work on schedule, so I started early and did my run on the flat canal trail. I managed to hit some paces in the mid 7's!! I hate running fast, but I like feeling fast, haha.

Moon was super cool looking, but of course photos don't do it justice

It was still nice outside, so we sat on the patio at one of the fire pits and had a beer. Went home and had dinner and then had to leave around 9 to pick Ariel up at the airport. Thankfully, her flight landed early, but we still didn't get home until after 11. I'm too old for this.

Stats:

• 133,050 steps
• 34.26 miles run
• 65 minutes of cardio
• 102 minutes of strength training

Week in Review (February 11 - February 17)

Tuesday (15,700 steps) - Core class during lunch. After work I picked up Kristin and we headed to Louisville to do hill repeats with Rev Run! I was not optimistic, as I hadn't done anything speed related in years. Turns out, I was the fastest in our pace group! Messed up the watch a bit since it was confusing, but I managed 3 x 90 seconds around 9:30 pace, then 3 x 70 seconds around 8:30 pace, and my 3 x 45 seconds were around 7 minute pace. Whoop!
Wednesday (13,008 steps) - Upper body class during lunch. It started snowing like crazy around lunch and Ariel and I decided to skip going to Boulder to run. Instead, we took Pika for a (very slick) walk, and A went back to school to volunteer for the evening at family dinner.

Thursday (18,604 steps) - Core class during lunch. Left work early for a dentist appointment. Then, I did something super crazy and opted to skip (all the) run club(s) in favor of going to Boulder with Kristin for a progressive tempo run with Rev Run. I programmed the hour workout into my watch and it was actually a REALLY great run. Very pleased to have not taken a single walk break and hit all my target paces. Woot! (35 min easy, 10 min @ marathon pace, 5 min @ half marathon pace, 5 min @ tempo pace, 5 min easy). I have no idea what my paces "should" be, but i'm programming in "harder" paces for me and seeing how things go.

Friday (10,381 steps) - A very sweet FB post from Ben this morning:

Ariel had her Mathcounts competition that was rescheduled from last week (thanks a lot, Colorado snow). Since Ben had the day off, he went all day to watch her compete. So sweet!

No gym today, left work early to pick up Ben's Valentine's Day present. I wasn't sure what to get him, and wanted to get him something "practical," so I picked up the Black Diamond vest he had been eyeballing.

A was having dinner with friends after her competition, so I met Ben at 4 Noses, and was very surprised when.........

Pika walk and picked up food at Torchy's.
Saturday (36,339 steps) - Long run with Rev Run! First 12 mile training run in a long time, and it wasn't super terrible.

Quick stop at Target and then a beer at Under the Sun. Ben & A worked a cookie booth in the morning. Nap and then we worked another cookie booth. Met up with Kim at Denver Beer for a beer and burgers. Long day!
Sunday (23,733 steps) - Up early for RMRR February race. It was much colder than I thought it would be and the race didn't go great.

Apparently the only pic I'm even "in" - I'm behind that gal in the white long sleeve top

Garmin Distance - 6.93 miles

Garmin Time - 1:13:01

Garmin Pace - 10:32

Mile 1 - 10:12

Mile 2 - 10:39

Mile 3 - 10:01

Mile 4 - 10:38

Mile 5 - 10:55

Mile 6 - 10:51

Mile 7 - 10:29

Of note, splits actually aren't terrible, but I went out too "fast" and walked a TON in the back half. So surprised they were all under 11 minutes, but not surprised that it was so hard after the longest run I've done in a while.

A decided as we were leaving the house that she didn't want to run, so she worked the finish line for the first time - and yes, she wore shorts in this freezing cold weather!!

Race volunteers

Had some snacks and a beer before going to Aspen Grove to get A's phone fixed. Then back home for a walk with Pika. Ben and I dropped off my ring to get resized and then we went to Kokopelli for snacks and drinks. 

A and I had to drop off cookie money and then I took her to a friend's house for a sleepover. We went to 4 Noses for happy hour and then had pizza at home.
Monday (16,129 steps) - Pre-work dog walks are finally around sunrise, so that's nice!

Lower body class during lunch. Ran errands after work, and then meal prepped chimichangas and crock pot lasagna. Ariel and I watched "Cube" while we waited for Ben to get home. He brought home pho for dinner and we watched Criminal Minds.

Stats:

• 133,894 steps
• 28.3 miles run
• 4 gym classes

Week in Review (December 17 - December 23)

Tuesday (19,505 steps) - Strength class during lunch. Milk Market run club! We met at Engine Room instead, since Milk Market was closed for a private party.

It was cold, and we did a crazy thing - RAN OUR LOOP IN REVERSE. I struggled a bit with this one again, but it's always nice to run with Paula. Pizza!

Wednesday (21,744 steps) - Core class during lunch. Runners Roost Boulder! Ariel didn't come because she was volunteering at family dinner night at school. Ben brought Pika and was confident that she would be able to run the entire loop. They were a little late coming in, so we started without them and they met us at the trail head. I really really really really struggled through this one. I don't know if it's the combination of the low miles I've been putting in (basically since Tahoe), general fatigue, or what. But man, this one sucked. Trails were pretty icy, but it was nice to be back out on them!

Fun night with a "holiday party" after, when I picked up our custom Hydro Flasks for running over 200 miles with the group this year!

Ben and I stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings on the way home.
Thursday (24,465 steps) - Left work a few minutes early to run extra miles at Berkeley Park. The first couple miles weren't great, and I really struggled with... everything, especially breathing and being tired. The last few miles weren't bad, but I finally got in a second 6+ mile run during the week.

Met Ben and Ariel at the store. A decided to stay at the shop with Phil, Ben ran with the group & I took Pika for a walk around the lake. THEN, we went to Goldspot for the last trivia of the year with Greg.

After doing so awesome in previous tournaments, we came in LAST. Boo, hiss.
Friday (9,213 steps) - No core class today because my trainer wasn't working. Nothing else.
Saturday (40,065 steps) - Up early for a long run. Runners Edge was doing an informal trail run way down in Castle Rock, but that seemed too far to drive, so I headed alone to Boulder to run the Dirty Bismark loop. I started right at 7:30 and thought I would be running about 15 miles. Turns out I made some weird turns and my "15" mile run ended up being nearly 17 miles.

The trails were actually in pretty decent shape, although by the time I was finishing it was a tad muddy. Right as I was finishing, Ang sent me a text that she was on her way to meet us for breakfast. I had Ariel head there first, and I arrived only about 10 minutes late. Good catching up with her. Ben and I took Pika for a walk and then went to Denver Beer so I could try the new Cinnamon Toast Crunch graham cracker porter.

Olde Town Arvada Square

Picked up Torchy's for dinner.
Sunday (14,244 steps) - SLEPT IN. We all went to the grocery store to buy food for Christmas dinner. Ben and I went to Diebolt to meet up with everyone for the ugly sweater beer run. I'm glad I was smart enough to wear a festive singlet underneath my ugly sweater as it was really warm!

Good to see everyone. Ended up having a weird night with Ben & Ariel napping, so I took Pika for a walk and then had cheese and crackers for dinner.
Monday (7,748 steps) - Core class during lunch. Met Ben, A and Greg at Kokopelli for pizza and beer.

Ben and Ariel surprised me with a REAL CHRISTMAS TREE! We spent the evening putting ornaments and lights on the tree. 

As you can see, Pika was a tad leery of a squirming Batman Sour right behind her. Unexpectedly fun evening!

Stats:

• 136,984 steps
• 43.7 miles run (well that escalated...)
• Three gym classes

Random:

Sooooo..... it's time to admit that I have to get back on the "counting calories" and/or "quit drinking so much beer" train. My weight has been heavier than I would like for a few years now, and is bordering on what I'd call "The Danger Zone." Ugh. I'm not posting a number, but I really could stand to lose about 15 pounds, and it seems that with my first race of 2020 coming up in just a few weeks, and a road marathon in just a few months, now is as good a time as any to start. Sigh. #noteatingallthethings really sucks.