Roxborough, Running With the Stars, and Eating Like a Horse
OK - Lots to get caught up on! While I haven't been blogging, I at least have been RUNNING. The weekend was a busy but good one, and as with the previous weekend I opted to skip any running on Saturday and focus efforts on the the group run. We had about 125+ members out on Saturday, which is a pretty big number for our Winter Training Session. One unique thing about Runner's Edge of the Rockies is that we run year-round unlike most of the training groups in Denver, but we still have to compete with skiing and the colder weather. Let's just hope mother nature doesn't have a major say in the rest of this session, like last year's brutal winter! (And as I type this, the temperature is dropping steadily - Time to bust out the running tights!)
Sunday was absolutely beautiful (60+ degrees), and since Karen Kalbach couldn't run with the group on Saturday she asked me if I needed company for my miles on Sunday. Of course I did! So I loaded up the doggers, picked up Karen and we headed down to Roxborough State Park. We were thinking about running Sharptail Ridge, but that trail crosses into prime hunting land and was closed off to runners on Sunday. But it was OK because for all of the various trails I've run close to Denver I had never run Roxborough and was looking forward to it. Unfortunately, the grumpy park ranger said that no dogs are allowed inside Roxborough which was complete news to me, so Karen and I parked at the Fire Station back around the corner and decided to run the 2 miles up to the nature center at the center of the park.
It turned out to be a great move, as it added necessary mileage to our workout without having to do too much ascending. And while I like trails and ran the Pikes Peak Marathon in 2004, I'm not exactly seeking out hills at this point since Sunmart is very flat. But, we still did our share of climbing as the road up to the nature center climbed approx. 370 feet, and then we hit the trails. They were absolutely gorgeous and the views of the sandstone rock faces and wildlife (plenty of deer and hawks), kept our mind off of the exertion required for the run. 12 miles later we were back at the car; a perfect workout for such a great day.
Monday's mileage was pretty uneventful as I connected with Mike Kennedy for a run in Lowry. Mike is tapering now for the Tucson Marathon so I had to tack on a few extra to get my 7. The miles went by quickly as they usually do with Mike; one because we always go too fast when we run together and two because we rap about sports pretty much non-stop. He's the Sports Information Director for the University of Denver, and used to work for the Colorado Rockies. (And if you need any tickets to DU sports like hocky or hoops, let Mike know!)
Mike also joined me for my run this evening and we did 4 together and then I went back out again for another 5 (1 with Apollo & 4 with Champ) to finish with 9 total. One interesting piece of the run was when we saw a coyote cruising the streets of Stapleton, just two blocks east of Quebec! There have been a few coyote sightings lately and my next door neighbors have speculated that one killed their house cat who didn't come home last week. But after seeing it, I'm definitely very cognizant of my surroundings... Especially with the doggers. I don't think a coyote would want to take on Champ at 65 lbs. but Apollo is still probably little enough to create an interest.
A couple of quick things:
TRACKING MILEAGE
If you want to see how my training is going in comparison to the training schedule I originally built, I've added a log below of my actual mileage. You'll be able to see the two missed workouts from last week, but the weekly mileage total is a bit misleading though since I've had to move all of my long runs to Sun/Mon. (So technically the totals should be shifted a bit.) It's going to look really off this week if I get in all of my miles and crack 70!
TIGHT FIT
At the recommendation of Vince & Chris DiCroce who run in our group, I'm trying out a few quick-lacing systems. These are great for triathletes who need to get in/out of their running shoes quickly during transition zones, and there's always the chance I may want to change shoes at some point during Sunmart. (Because hey - 50M in one pair of shoes may not be comfortable!) So I'm doing a bit of experimenting... I've got Yankz on my trail runners and Easy Laces on my road shoes. Without question I can get in/out of my running shoes like slippers now however the jury is still out if I will actually use them in the race. At times both options feel too tight or loose and the last thing I want is unnecessary blistering!
DWTS
OK, so Julie is a huge fan of Dancing With the Stars... Who isn't, right? But as Mike and I were getting in our run tonight, Julie's top choice for this season -- Jennie Garth of 90210 -- was eliminated. And I have to agree that her dancing wasn't deserving of an elimination. (Good Lord, I can't believe I'm actually blogging about this!)
EAT, EAT, EAT!
I feel like I'm back in high school and college where I could go to a certain Mexican fast-food chain that rhymes with "Baco Tell" and literally put away 8-10 items in one sitting. As I continue to increase my mileage, my appetite is also making a big comeback to keep up with my increased caloric burn. And the good news is that I've had no "booting" (puking) on any of my training runs, even when eating solid food before or during the workouts. Tonight I put down a bowl of Ramen noodles prior to heading out the door with Mike, (a whopping $0.20 investment!), and on previous runs I've had trail mix, energy bars, cookies and even a pretty sizable Sambazon Acai smoothie. (The Acai is just PACKED with energy and antioxidants - Perfect for ultra marathon training!)
I love reading your blog. The DWTS commentary is especially nice. When they called Marie Osmond's name as a finalist, I cringed. She's great, but should have been eliminated weeks ago....too many fans! If she wins, I'll vomit.
Glad to hear your training is going well. I hope the team doesn't have to slip on those Yak Trax too much this season. Eat some extra Thanksgiving food for those of us who shouldn't! Happy Thanksgiving to you, Julie, Champ, Apollo, and Jr!
I concur with Diane....if Marie wins it's because her family clogs up the phone lines.
David, your training schedule is insane!!! I feel like such a slug for taking the winter off with the group after reading your blog. Good Luck at Sunmart!!!
Happy Thanksgiving to your family and I'll see you all in January for the start of the spring session!!! Tonia
I am probably one of the few who does not watch those dancers, no idea who those people are...
Anyways, just wanted to say GOOD LUCK with the race.
Neelia
David, Dogs are not allowed at Sharptail either. But, I do recomend that trail up into Roxborough, or over to Indian Creek