Santa Fe

March 30, 2010
8.05 miles
1:19 hours
9:55 min/mile

Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Santa Fe. It is the most clear trail, offers the most variety and darn it, you just can't beat it when the weather's iffy.

Started at North Gate and ran down and up four miles each way. This stretch is good with rolling hills and, of course, that darn wind that gets you every time. Easy run after bumping up my distance on the weekends. I'm happy. The left knee still bothers me a bit but it is only on the side and nothing to major to worry about at this juncture.

Ran in the middle of the afternoon since I needed to clear my head from lesson prep for my 4 hour class tonight. Whew! Now, that will tire a body out very effectively.

Sunday's Long Run

Access Roads: Best & Andrews

March 28, 2010

18.12 miles

3:28:07 hours

11.29 min/mile

What a day. This was a very long, tiring run. I wanted to hit some nice trails - even thought about doing the Falcon Trail 1.5 times but the snow we had on Friday knocked that idea right out of my head. I am so tired of running on slush and ice. It is the end of March afterall, right?

With all of that in mind, I decided to run on the dirt access roads across the freeway from the Greenland Open Space and take advantage of the warmer wind drying out the roads. I got a late start this morning but that was just fine since our temperatures are commersurate with the amount of snow on the ground.

I decided to run up Best road first just because I wasn't familiar with either road and didn't know how long each were or where they went. I found out Best is only 3.5 miles long today and a very nice rolling, slightly uphill, dirt road - on the way out, and slightly downhill on the way down.

After running up and down Best, I ran back to the truck. I had a sleeveless shirt on and my camelback was chafing my underarms terribly. I quickly took that off and put on the only long-sleeve I had with me, my fleece pullover. This was fine since it was a still a little cool. I took off up Andrews next and found out that this road continues up and down, up and down, an unpaved Roller Coaster Road if you ask me. What a long, difficult road; but what a good workout. This day was definitely not a trash run day.

On the way back to the car, after going 5.5 miles up that road, I started meeting quite a few cars. One stopped and asked me where the road went. Since I did not run the entire length of this road, I had no idea; however, I told them I thought it would eventually hit County Line or 105. After this inquiry, I had quite a few more. The passengers in one car finally told me that 25 was backed up and they were trying to find a detour. Good to know.

This road was very challenging for me and I plan to run it again because of the hills and lack of cars. However, I do know in the summer the dust might choke me since it is exposed and windy.

At the end of the run, I was definitely tired; but happy I was able to get my 18 miles in even though it took almost 3.5 hours to do so.

ADA Step Out for Diabetes

Molly - Whitney's friend & Stormtrooper

Whitney and R2D2!

ADA Exposition

Denver Convention Center

March 27, 2010

12.2 miles

3 hours

Today was an opportunity to give back. I got an email from the American Diabetes Association asking for volunteers for today. Me, being me, I volunteered to walk on their treadmill for an hour this morning.

As usual, we had another spring storm last night and the roads were messy up here. I was late to my 10am shift on the treadmill and a little upset at myself that I would be on it just a little over 30 minutes ... Hah!

The 11am volunteer did not show; nor did the 12pm or the 1pm volunteers. Since no one showed up to relieve me, I told them I would stay on it until someone showed up or until the exposition was over - what's a few more miles anyway?

One hour turned into three and four miles turned into 12. I enjoyed it and Whitney and her friend Molly who were heading back to college stopped by and took some pictures of the Star Wars dudes hanging out ... who knew Storm Troopers had diabetes?

Tomorrow, good weather (hopefully) and at least 18 miles.

Short, Short Run

Baptist Road
March 26, 2010
3.1 miles
30:37
9:52 min/mile

Late for an appointment and late getting out so it was only a 5K for me today. Down and up and into the wind ... as usual.

Very short post today with a volunteer hour on the treadmill tomorrow instead of a run with the guys.

Treadmill

March 24, 2010
Treadmill
54 minutes

Yuck, yuck, yuck. Spring Break and another snow storm and what a doozy it was. Tuesday was spent with my girls in the Denver Science and Nature Museum and a lot of walking but no running. Today, snow, snow, and more snow all over the place; therefore, only the treadmill for me.

I hit it for almost an hour and then dinner was ready!

Long Run

Woodmen up to North Gate and Back

March 21, 2010

17 miles

2:51:27

10:05 min/mile

Beautiful weather with shorts on for a nice, long run and my new arm warmers! I started at Woodmen and headed up the prettiest part of the Santa Fe for the beginning of today's run. The wind played tricks and gave me a head wind on the way up and the way down ... I hate it when it does that to me; however, it did keep the temperature down, even though it wasn't all that warm and the wind was not all that bad.

I checked my garmin at North Gate noticed I had 7.79 miles and wanted to get 16 in for today; I also felt pretty good so I decided to continue up the old road that intersects the trail until I hit 8. Of course, at 8 miles, I still had not seen where the road went so I added an extra half mile to the run. Finally, at 8.5 I turned and headed back down. I thought of the sign at saw at Leadville last year, "Run as hard and fast as you can for as long as you can, then turn around."

About the 11 mile mark, a runner passed me but was not going so much faster than me so I decided to hang with her and talk to her for a bit. She said it took awhile to catch me and she would love the company. I think her name was Rebecca, and she told me she's active duty Navy and training for a half marathon, out on her ten mile run. She had a great pace and I told her I would lose her in the section I call the Narrows since I was already at 12 miles. I did, she was five miles into her run and much fresher than me. Once I popped up from the narrows, I saw she had stopped to remove her outer layer and I passed her but not for too long. About another mile later she passed me again and I said goodbye for the last time. By then, I had gone 14 miles and was getting a bit tired and decided not to give chase.

With about two miles left, I spied Felix running toward me and we stopped and chatted for a bit. I had not seen Felix in a long time and and wondered how his ankle was doing. He seriously hurt it during Leadville two years ago and had surgery on it last year. Felix said he was finally getting into his groove again and told me he was training for the Ascent this year. Just proves you can't keep a good man down!

After I left Felix, I was tired and the last two miles were not pretty: my pace fell to the 10:30's for both miles. Overall, I would have to say, a very good run with minor problems, nothing major.

Santa Fe Regional Trail

Baptist Road Down and Back

March 20, 2010

7.17 miles

1:09 hours

9:42 min/mile

Before I get into today's run, I have to mention my first mountain bike lesson on Thursday. What a great teacher and friend and a new open space I've never tried. Jim is patient and explains everything to me and hopped off his bike numerous times to make sure my seat, suspension, etc. was adjusted just right. Too bad I didn't have any back brakes to speak of during the ride/lesson. Guess what? Yep, did it again. Yeah, fell. This time with a bike on top of me. I now have my daughter yelling at me telling me to be careful! Watch what you are doing! And really, Mom! When are you going to stop running on trails?! But I wasn't running this time Jess, and it wasn't bad, and it was on the other leg; so now I have a lovely bruise on my left hip and a couple of little scratches here and there on the left side to match the huge side-swipe on my right side.

Now, today's run: I ran on the Santa Fe Trail from Baptist Road down past North Gate on USAFA and back. This was a decent run with only pebbles in my shoes to bother me; I must remember to wear my dirty girl gaiters more!

The knee has calmed down a bit and I am definitely happy about that. I also had a nice little head wind on the way back. Yes, I am actively running down hill first with the tail wind and up with the head wind. I really am trying to love the wind and remember my Idaho mantra, "The wind is my friend, the wind is my friend."

A nice, little run today with promise of a good, long run tomorrow.

Tucker's Tie In

Woodmen South and Back
March 17, 2010
5.86 miles
54:18
9:16 min/mile

Another two days between long run and first run of the week - I'm blaming the left knee which hurt pretty bad after the Falcon Trail. Great weather and beautiful run, despite head wind back up to Woodmen.

I started at Woodmen and decided to run the city portion of the Santa Fe and hit pavement to keep any unnecessary jarring from bothering my legs too much. I felt pretty decent until 2.5 miles and then the left knee began hurting. At that point, I cut my planned 7 mile run down and began the return trip back. Not a fun run for me. Headwind and knee pain led me to finally stop at 5.86 and walk the rest back. Yuck.

At least I got out and stretched the legs, pushed the pain to the threshold and ... yeah, got out and ran. Yeah, that's the bright side of this day.

Falcon Trail

March 14, 2010
Falcon Trail
12.71 miles
2:17 hours
10:49 min/mile

Jeff and Mike volunteered to run with me today so I wouldn't have to do my first long run since my lovely spill by myself. I love the Falcon Trail so suggested that and the guys agreed. We met at 8am and began at the stadium parking lot.

Very cool morning with the threat of snow in the air. The trail was pretty clear with just the east side of the trail a little snowy and icy. Mike and Jeff ran a 5k the day before, thank goodness for me - I was able to keep them slow enough for me to enjoy the run and convince them I needed to power hike the up hill sections!

Overall, I felt pretty good except my left knee really began to ache around the IT band area. Really bad, especially after a stop: it took a good, long while for the ache to subside.

That was my only problem until mile 11 .... and Grace struck again! Yes, I tripped over another root and landed on the exact same leg as last week. Good news, this section of the trail was covered in pine needles and a lot softer than Waldo Canyon's Pikes Peak Granite. Bad news, Jeff was behind me ... again - anybody else beside me see a pattern here?!

It took awhile for my left knee to forgive me from stopping, from falling, and for starting back up again. Once I got back into a jog, it was just a little over a mile left and I toughed it out.

Overall, it was a very nice run with Mike and Jeff and one that went faster than I anticipated at the beginning of the run, especially since neither Mike nor Jeff brought water!

Greenland Open Space

March 13, 2010

Greenland Open Space

6.54 miles

1:07 hours

10:08 min/mile

Okay, note to self; if you want to run a trail by yourself that you've run with friends, i.e. Tracey, look at the map before heading out.

What a gorgeous day - running in long sleeve shirt and shorts and, can you believe it, only a teeny-tiny bit of wind! I headed out to run this trail since I'm running the Greenland Open Space 50K on May 1st instead of Collegiate Peaks 50 miler (see last weekend's post) and want to get familiar with the trail and course. My plan was to do one complete loop of 8 miles, maybe two, before heading up to Castlerock to watch Jess' softball tournament.

I started from the main parking lot and headed up to the left, which as I remember from running with Tracey out here, is the steeper section. Best to get the hills in first and then enjoy the rest. At the crest of the hill, the trail split in two. Huh, I didn't remember that when running with Tracey. I looked at the sign and the left trail said it went back to the Greenland trail, so I took that one. Like I said, next time, look at the map before heading out. After going down the left trail, I hit the main trail and stopped at the lollipop and looked at my garmin; I had only gone 3.32 miles. What? This loop was supposed to be 8 miles!

Now, completely discombobulated, I decided to do the same loop again and leave the real loop for another day. At least I'll know what trail not to take during the race! And, it was a good day with plenty of fellow distance runners out there. Too bad the trail was so soggy, I had to run on the lip of the trail for the most part.

Afterwards, a trip to the base gym's sauna! Felt great and my legs were pretty decent to me during the run; unfortunately, the sauna dried out my scabs on my legs and that was not so smart.

Let's see how a longer run feels!

Testing the Legs

Santa Fe Trail
March 10, 2010
5.05 miles
46:32
9:13 min/mile

Cool day and very windy go up towards Monument on the trail. I Gingerly began running - first run since the head gainer on Saturday - and really hurt for the first mile. That spill I took on Saturday messed my legs, especially my knees, pretty bad. At the turn around, I was finally limbering up and was able to get down in the 8's in the 4th mile and turned a 7:40 in for the last mile. Who knew?

Stiff and sore the next day though, and I ain't lying about that!

Flexible Response

March 8, 2010
Home


Flexibility is the key, right? In war, in yoga, in your self-made plans - one must be flexible.

I am still in pain from my lovely tumble Saturday and yesterday I re-evaluated my proposed runs leading up to Leadville. I did not get my 20 miler in yesterday that I wanted to and today is loaded with work and committments. Therefore, I think flexibility is in order on my plan.

What this boils down to is skipping Collegiate Peaks 50-miler in favor of the Greenland Open Space 50-kilometer on May 1st. Hitting the Mt. Evans Ascent (14.5 miles), the Leadville Marathon, and then, the Leadville Silver Rush 50-miler before my Leadville 100 Trail Run.

Good news/bad news scenario - Bad news (always first) is I'm only running one 50-miler; good news is that it is in Leadville, at altitude/elevation and I'm running more shorter (boy, that's relative) races.

Yesterday was bad - for the ego, for running, for pain, even threw in a bit of self-pity at the end. That is why I have had this re-evaluation of goals. It is difficult to remind oneself of how strong you are when you cannot walk without your legs hurting, when your significant other winces when you attempt to get up, when you grit your teeth to put the dressing on and mutter through clenched teeth that you're fine, really, I'm fine; just don't touch me.

That was my Sunday.

Waldo Canyon

March 6, 2010

Waldo Canyon

6.8 miles

1:35 hours

Bob sent the query out last night to see if anyone wanted to run Waldo with him; he wanted it to be a group activity. Sure! 8:30 am meet at the trailhead and I'm the last to get there. Bob, Chris, Mike and Jeff are waiting. The weather is great and I'm in shorts and and a long sleeve with gloves.

The trail is very nice to start with; but, by the meadow, we have hit ice on the path. At the loop, we all stop and try to decide which way to go to minimize the amount of ice on the trail. Bob finally makes the decision for us to go the opposite way we usually go and when the ice gets too bad, we'll turn.

We quickly hit more ice on the trail and me without my magic shoes - my microspikes! Darn it!. However, none of us are prepared and therefore, we all take it pretty easy on the slick spots. Chris takes the lead and somehow, we end up doing the entire loop. The steep way was actually better than the way we took; and that helps us on the way down.

Once we hit the meadow, I take the lead and we cruise back toward the trailhead. After a stop on the trail, I take off after a runner heading down in front of us and quickly catch him and ask very nicely if we can pass - don't listen to what Mike says, he's wrong! The runner very nicely moved to the side and now I have open trail with no ice and the impulse is too strong; I stretch it out and pick up some speed then pull back. That felt so good I decide to do it again and again.

Unfortunately, the last time I decide to pick up the pace, the path is strewn with rocks and roots and yes, you guessed it, I trip over a root and head face first down the trail and, according to Jeff who was right behind me, slide quite a bit on my frontside. Ouch. The guys gingerly picked me up and I'm aching all over but don't want to sit; I want to walk it out before I look at the damage, before I realize how bad I hurt.

My walking quickly turns into jogging with a slight limp and a sore left arm; however, nothing appears to be broken - just bruised heavily. Thank goodness. We had about a mile or less left to go and the guys let me set the pace on the final section.

Once we get down, I finally look down and see blood on both knees, and my right lower leg is covered in road rash. I take off my gloves to inspect the hand that has bothered me and it only has one patch of skin missing. The elbow is bloody and so is my right thigh. Chris remarks, "Man, that looks like it hurts." Well, I ain't saying it doesn't Mr. Obvious!

What a silly mistake, to pick up speed over that section; I can't blame anyone but myself. And me, with 20 miles to run tomorrow!

After I got home, I finally allow a few loud shouts in the shower as I cleaned the damaged area. Thank goodness for Tylenol and neosporin! Trust me, the picture above doesn't do the damage justice! We'll see how I feel tomorrow for the 20 miles later~

Santa Fe again!

Santa Fe up
March 3, 2010
4.1 miles
40:39 minutes

Yes, a very short run today and a not-so-hot run at that. I wanted twice as much; however, my desk, schoolwork, daughter all called to me and I got sucked into the vacuum. Whit, you're not a vacuum, you were a welcomed diversion!

A very late night last night and fatigued today; but beautiful weather and how does one not take advantage of that?!

I started at Hwy 105 and thought I would run up to Palmer Lake and back down. Ha! About 1.25 miles up the trail, I turned. I couldn't take the ice/snow/slush mix anymore. It was miserable and where the trail was clear, it was sole-sucking mud.

Therefore, I ran back down, past my car and into Monument. Turned, ran back up the trail past my car and turned. Finally, after 4 miles, I said enough! As I went to my car I passed another runner and she told me she did the same as me - turned before Palmer Lake because of the trail conditions.

A friend of mine asked me today if I would fore go the rotten trail and do track work! In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny, "He don't know me very well, do he?" Yeah, I'll be all over that in a heartbeat. No, I do not like track work. Yes, I know all about the benefits. Yes, I will do track work with others when absolutely necessary - slushy trail conditions does not make track work necessary. And I use the treadmill only when injured and I cannot get out. I've run in hail, rain, snow, ice, etc.; so it isn't very often I cannot get out.

So, there you have it - a trash run today. Good news though -- oh, my! The temperatures were in the mid-40's and I got to wear a T-shirt and shorts!! So, there's my silver lining for today.

A New Month

Santa Fe

Beginning of what I call the Narrows
on Falcon Trail

March 1, 2010

12.6 miles

2:14 hours

All in all, February was a wash. Back pain slide-lined me for quite a bit and I hate that. I checked last year's running and I was about 15 miles off for the month this year. Not happy about that but it was necessary to knock out the back ache and pay attention to the left hamstring.

So, March is here and off I go!

Today was a nice run with wind. I knew it would be windy and I'm trying not to avoid it; but embrace it with the knowledge that it will only make me stronger. A nod to Neitzsche there.

With that in mind, I started at the Baptist trailhead and ran down toward the Academy with the wind at my back knowing I would be going up hill on the return into the wind.

I felt pretty good and enjoyed the long straight stretch at North Gate and down. I slid into my favorite part of the this trail on USAFA, the Narrows, and began working a bit. I wanted to do 18 miles today; however, I got out late and I needed to change for teaching so at the 6+mile point, with the trail getting soupier, I decided to turn around. Smart move - my hamstring began to make itself known at the 8.4 mile mark. During the run down, I was waiting for it to begin twinging and I was pleasantly surprised that it held off as long as it did - twice as far as last week. I'm on the mend!

The trail back up took a lot out of me and I got my heart rate up a bit pushing my body into the wind. The wind is my friend; the wind is my friend... one of my useless mantras that keeps me going on days like this.

Overall, a good, tiring run, albeit not as long as I originally wanted; but still good and the weather was nice except cool. I started with jacket, hat, and gloves; took them all off on the way down and then replaced them one by one on the way back.