Week in Review (November 6 - November 12)

Tuesday (16,283 steps) - Went to the gym during lunch and did a random TRX/core workout. Met up with Mo & Colfax, Dulce, Zach and Paula for a loop around Sloans. We then went to Alamo Drafthouse to watch Bohemian Rhapsody for A's "birthday" movie. It was a lot of fun, and I'm happy that we had about 20 friends show up to join us!

Wednesday (10,215 steps) - Did something completely insane... signed up to run the Tahoe 200. Yes, I signed up to run a 200 mile race.

I went to the gym during lunch to use the stair climber. It was terrible. After work we went to the happy hour at BPCO, then walked over to the Oriental Theater for the Trail Running Film Festival.
Thursday (7,279 steps) - Left work early to pick up my wallet at the theater - and promptly got a flat tire on the drive home. YES ANOTHER FLAT TIRE.

Ben was nice enough to bring A and I Pho for dinner and call AAA to deal with my tire.
Friday (10,137 steps) - Nothing?
Saturday (16,959 steps) - Set up our aid station and then went over to the Denver Roost for the team/community scavenger hunt/run! A super fun time with Ted, Michael, Mo, Colfax & A. Stuck around a bit for food/snacks before going to pick up our stuff and heading home.

Second Saturday at Dulce's! An especially fun evening celebrating all the November birthdays.

Sunday (10,795 steps) - Nothing. It snowed a ton overnight. Stayed in bed insanely late. Only left the house to go to Torchy's for food.

Walked on the treadmill for a few miles just to get some sort of exercise.
Monday (12,917 steps) - Left work early to take A to Lakewood to audition for the county honors orchestra before heading over to New Terrain.

We barely missed the start of the run and decided to just run along the canal since it was dark and icy. Stuck around for the podcast recording with Courtney Dauwalter. They didn't even start until 7, so we had to leave at the halfway point. Fun night though!

Stats:

• 84,585 steps
• 8.6 miles run (really?)
• A few trips to the gym (stair climber & random core/TRX)

Week in Review (March 24 - March 30)

Tuesday (17,821 steps) - With A on spring break in Moab and no plans (I'm super lame), I still headed to the gym. Walked about an hour on the treadmill. Still taking it easy after Moab.

Wednesday (13,738 steps) - Super weird freak snowstorm/blizzard-like conditions in the morning, and then by the time I got out of work and headed to run club it was nice and sunny. Colorado, you so crazy! Run club was a lot of fun, I tested out some Hokas (which seemed so cushion-y) and did a few slow miles with Heather. There was of course beer! Then Dan and Heather let me tag along with them to get some Pho for dinner. I was out waaaaay past my bedtime (like 9:30!)

Thursday (13,720 steps) - For weeks Lisa and I had planned on going to Denver Beer Company for the untapping of a new beer - the Cocoa Creme Graham Cracker Porter. It didn't disappoint! It's so bizarre going out during the week. Miss seeing her during work so it was fun to catch up for a few hours.

 

 

 

Friday (13,581 steps) - Nothing except.... PIZZA FRIDAY!

 

Saturday (24,024 steps) - Headed out bright and early in the morning to do some miles at Sloans Lake. Legs help up pretty well, and I was happy to get the run over early as it was supposed to be HOT later in the day.

A and I had plans to go to Runners Roost for a special event with Frank Shorter, Healthy Learning Paths and Newton running. Unfortunately, we found out after we got down there that Frank had cancelled due to a family emergency. We enjoyed hearing about the Healthy Learning Paths program and spent some time with a Newton elite doing some activities. I am SO LAME for not remembering what his name is! We walked away with free entries to the Healthy Learning Paths 5K, some Newton socks and A also got a trucker hat (so cute!). A tried out the Boco shoes and is already wanting a pair... "thankfully" Newtons don't come in kid sizes. Although in the next year or two she will likely be wearing those sizes.

We went to Fuzzy's Tacos for dinner, got some ice cream, and stopped for a beer at Arvada Beer Company - where we played some Sorry! (I did NOT win, A beat me, and my next draw gave me second place).

Sunday (22,6776 steps) - A and I got up relatively early and hit up Sweet Tomatoes for breakfast. Can't even remember the last time we did that! Then we headed down to Waterton Canyon for a run/ride. The sheep were out and the weather was great! However, I should know better than to have a big breakfast and then exercise. It was a bit tough getting those 7 miles done. Good news is that I just had some "normal" fatigue and not fire calves.

A and I went to the cheapo movie theaters and saw "Night at the Museum 3" - which was actually really cute. We played with her Minecraft Legos for a bit and then I was super motivated and actually did a leg video and an arm video. All that really told me is that my lack of strength training over the last year or so is very obvious. I cannot even believe how HARD these were. So sad.
Monday (23,193 steps) Super motivated! Did a not-so-awful hill program on the treadmill, cranking out 5 miles.

• 128,753 steps
• 19.4 miles run
• Some walking, no real cross training
• 20 minutes of strength training

Everything Else

• A and I "finally" finished cleaning her room (meaning - donating and trashing a lot of stuff that she has been hoarding) - it's so freeing and wonderful to have it done!
• I have also been going through my things and have been letting go of a lot of excess.
• Nothing else.

Week(s) in Review (March 3 - March 16)

Tuesday, March 3 (17,661 steps) - 50 minutes on the Crossramp and an upper body video.

Wednesday, March 4 (16,750 steps) - 4 miles on the treadmill. Felt dizzy and slightly sick the whole time so it was not a great time.

Thursday, March 5 (19,201 steps) - Yet another blah run on the treadmill, 5 miles.

Friday, March 6 (8,664 steps) - Clearly, I did nothing.

Saturday, March 7 (20,994 steps) - An "unofficial" Runners Roost run was planned for Waterton Canyon. I wanted to go but didn't want to pawn A off on my parents. I was given the suggestion to bring A along with her bike, so I did. Ended up running late because A's bike had a flat and I don't have a bike pump so my dad had to come over.

 

 

It was a gorgeous day for running. I was way overdressed and my legs were SO ANGRY - return of the FIRE CALVES. I was chatting with Laura (one of the Roost ladies) and was telling her about my symptoms with my angry calves. She though it sounded a lot like exertion compartment syndrome. When I got back to the car and looked it up, it sounded about right. The tightness, the pain and the numbness - all signs. Anyway, we got just over 6 miles in and A had a great time.

 

 

Kids were panning for gold...

 

 

Sunday, March 8 (10,798 steps) Got a text from my older sister asking if we wanted to go to the climbing gym with her in Boulder. Sounded like fun, so of course we went up there.

 

 

 

A pretty much had no fear. I freaked out about a third of the way into my first climb. After I got used to it, it wasn't nearly as bad. We both had a great time and I could not believe how sore my inner arms were (for daaaays). We went to lunch together with my sister, her husband and kids. Always nice to see them, we need to do it more often. A and I were pretty tired but we still did a short run at the lake.

 

 

We were both exhausted and ended up playing with Legos for a bulk of the evening. I think these "bad guys" from the Minecraft sets are adorable.

 

 

Monday, March 9 (14,967 steps) - So my legs were dead. Still. I walked for a bit on the treadmill at the gym. I made an appointment to go to Accelerate Health to have them possible test my legs for this compartment syndrome.

Tuesday, March 10 (18,123 steps) - I had an appointment during lunch to have my legs looked at. The therapist agreed that my legs were ridiculously tight. She did some ART therapy (essentially a form of deep tissue massage) and suggested that I come back in a few days. More walking.

Wednesday, March 11 (11,967 steps) Open house at work now that we have been in our new space for a few months.

 

 

Thursday, March 12 (11,383 steps) Went back to get more ART done during lunch. She also did some dry needling, which left my calves VERY tender. Finally finally FINALLY - we had our team meeting for the Runners Roost race team!! I was so excited to meet all my teammates and to finally get my gear for the season. I was really pleased to find out that our color this year is NEON YELLOW!! Neon is my favorite :)

 

 

 

Came down with a full-blown cold. By the time I got home I was congested and having a hard time breathing. More tired than usual and feeling lethargic.

Friday, March 13 (12,615 steps) Worked, popped zinc and cold medicine all day long, ate pizza, drove to Salida.

Saturday, March 14 (35,791 steps) Run Through Time half marathon.

 

 

 

When we got back to Denver I picked up A at my parents, took a super fast shower and met up with Jessa and Lisa for the St. Patrick's Day festival in Olde Town for Jessa's birthday/St. Patricks. We spent most of the time at the festival standing in line for face painting for Jessa's son. When the festival was done we went to get dinner, ice cream and a beer at the Arvada Brewery. Fun day!

 

 

 

Sunday, March 15 (15,219 steps) Run around Sloans Lake with A in the morning. For the first time I had to tell A to slow down. My legs were still so pissed at me. Running a trail half with a crapload of gain was probably not the smartest and maybe my "shake out" run not a great idea either...

 

 

We spent the afternoon with Jessa and her son - a few hours of that was at the park. Such a gorgeous day for Colorado "spring."

 

 

Monday, March 16 (18,258 steps) Still no running. A walk on the treadmill at the gym. Did a legs/squats video.

 

W/E March 9

• 109,035 steps
• 16.4 miles run
• 2 hours, 50 minutes of cross training
• 31 minutes of strength/stretching

W/E March 16

• 123,356 steps
• 15.8 miles run
• No cross training, but lots of boring treadmill walks
• 12 minutes of strength stretching

Everything Else

• Certainly a busy few weeks. Lots of stuff going on! Heading into the long spring/summer race season and getting all the little things done.
• A and I have been "clean sweeping" the last few weeks. We have donated an embarrassing amount of clothes and toys and books, etc. It certainly is a reminder (if only for a while) of how much stuff we accumulate and how much we DO NOT NEED.
• Still trying to figure out what is going on with my legs. Really need to be better about doing the videos and cross training, using my Roll 8 or stick and STRETCHING... I have barely been doing any running at all the last few weeks.
• With ^ that said, of course you know that I have to follow-up with my next idiotic statement. I am heading back to Moab this weekend for my 24 hours race. It will be interesting to see what I can get done...
• Work is still great by the way.
• Nothing else.

Week in Review (January 27 - February 2)

Tuesday (19,866 steps) Did an "easy" hill program, a 5K, on the treadmill. I will try to do a program at least once a week until I can get back on the trails. HILLS ARE KILLING ME.

Wednesday (16,380 steps) Run Club!!! Heather and I ran substantially further than we usually do - a 5K! (No really, I usually do a mile or so, just to "earn" a beer). There was even pizza AND CAKE after. First run club since before Christmas, so that was a  lot of fun :)

Thursday (20,971 steps) 5.1 miles on the treadmill. I had thought about doing speed work, but I wasn't in the mood for it. Also did a total body workout video - which I really liked!

Friday (10,638 steps) PIZZA FRIDAY!!!!

Saturday (19,535 steps) I asked my parents if they would mind hanging with A for a few hours in the morning so I could join the first ever "Happy Trails Run Club" monthly trail run put on by Runners Roost. There was snow in the forecast, but when I dropped A off at 9:30 it was just cold - no snow yet. The run was at Matthews Winters trail head - which is ridiculously close to me (out by Red Rocks), and yet I've NEVER run there. I opted for the shortest option - 4ish miles. Mainly because I didn't have a ton of time, and also because I knew I was going to be one of the slowest there and I didn't want to hold everyone up. I was, in fact, substantially slower than everyone else (hence the need for HILL TRAINING) - but I had a great time. The snow and wind started about the halfway point of the run, and the trail was a bit icy, but I was happy to have come out. In the afternoon we went to the mall.

Sunday (17,846 steps) A woke me up questioning if we were still going to run. Why? Well, it unexpectedly snowed about a half a foot overnight. I spent an hour shoveling the driveway and sidewalk and then we headed to Sloans Lake because I assumed it would be clear. IT WAS THE ICIEST EVER. And REALLY COLD. A did NOT have a great time, and honestly, I didn't either. I wore my trail shoes anticipating it being slick but I still slipped about 40 times. No falling though, so that was a win.



We went to Dunkin after for coffee and hot chocolate. Lots of TV in the afternoon. I also roasted a giant pan of veggies, made a delicious pork/salsa/pepper "thing" in the crock pot and baked a lasagna for dinner. So unlike me. We did NOT watch the Super Bowl. We DID watch the "Kitten Bowl" though.

This is about 1/6 of what I made in the crock pot

Monday (10,924 steps) Had plans to go to the gym but ended up working late instead. Settled for doing some squats and stretching videos.

What it looks like when you don't leave the office until 7:30 :(

Miles Run - 19.5
Weekly Steps - 116,160
Minutes of Cross Training - 0
Minutes of Strength/Stretching - 48

Weekly Gain/Loss - ????

So. No weigh in this week. No "tracking" - although as you can see, I'm doing a photo collage of what I have over the course of each day. (Because I know you are all fascinated by the sheer volume of items I'm able to consume).

If you can believe it, this is probably "less" overall than what I would consider "normal" (although Heather thinks I'm insane and that I eat a LOT). No eating out, other than the pizza.

I doubt I had a loss of any kind this week - and that's ok! It's really nice "not caring" about numbers - although as you can see - I spend a lot of time thinking about food!

Everything Else

• Had coffee with my old office manager in an attempt to finally get all the money owed to me (for old expenses). She brought no money when we met up and didn't respond to my email when I asked when I might see anything. Tired of the BS, I forwarded my sent email to the Managing Partners and had my money within the hour. THEN, I got a series of angry texts from her. THANKFULLY, I am done with her nonsense and I don't have to deal with this crap anymore.
• Did my taxes. On a Friday night! I sure know how to party :)
• Sounds like that's about it...