10.27.08 - 11.2.08

M- 10
T- 7(am) / 5(pm)
W- 10(am) / 4(pm)
Th- 8
F- 13
S- 6

Total = 63

Not bad for a recovery week. Got a couple of good fast miles in, and one day at Mathew-Winters (Friday). I had planned on doing 4 laps at M-W to make for just over 26 miles, but then talked some sense into myself. I realized that if I did such a thing I would be a very unhappy person at work Friday and Saturday night. I'll try to actually get some good long ones in over the next few weeks on the trails before the snow starts to fly.

On my run today I ran near City Park for a bit and passed a guy with an HMI 25/50k shirt on from this year, I had mine as well. What are the odds? He switched directions and we ran together for a bit until we got back to his office. It was kind of nice to have somebody to chat with. His name was Ray if I remember correctly. I'll have to check the HMI results to see if I can't locate his info. Nice fella.

Hey Sarah Palin

10.20-26.08 (getting faster)

M- 16(am) / 6(pm)
Tu- 7
W- 14
Th- 12(am) / 6(pm)
F- 0
S- 11
Su- o

Total = 72

I was well on track to hit 90 miles this week but then work got in the way. Initially I was scheduled to work Fri night only from 9pm-3am, but that changed and I ended up being there Thu, Fri, and Sat from 9pm-3am (except Fri, got out at about 12:45am). This really screwed up my running plans and messed with my head. To survive the late nights I was downing insane amounts of coffee and now I'm exhausted! I'll take it fairly easy the next 7 days and hit it hard after that. Hopefully I'll have found employment by that time that has relatively "normal" working hours.

Regarding my speed: it's picking up. Must be the 50 I ran and the vitamin supplementation I started. Recently it has occurred to me that I may be deficient in B vitamins and iron (anemia?), and that it is to blame for my poor energy levels, trouble concentrating, and decreasing aerobic ability. I've had some of my fastest runs ever over the past few weeks and I'm actually think that in the next few years a sub-3:00 marathon is possible, maybe even 2:45 (for me that would be warp speed).

10.13-19.08

M- 15
T- 5
W- 18
Th- 9
F- 12
S- 0
Su- 13

Total = 72 miles

Didn't get the 21 miles in today like I wanted (had a bit too much fun last night with some friends - tequila is evil), but still had a good week of running. Made it to the Buffalo Creek access point to the CO Trail and had some fun beating the pants off of some mtn. bikers today. Started the day off by hanging out at Wash Park and watching a bit of the Denver Marathon, good times. Congratulations on 3:31 Kevin! Also need to mention that a friend of mine ran a mary in New Mexico today and set a pr of 3:24. Good job Matt. I was definitely a bit bummed that I didn't run the 24 Hours of Boulder this weekend, but there's always next year.

10.1-12.08: Back at it

W- 0
Th- 0
F- 11
S- 0
Su- 10
M- 10
T- 5
W- 18
Th- 15
F- 6.5 (am) / 4.5 (pm)
S- 13
Su- 0

Total (12 days) = 93

I finally took some time off, and guess what happened? I feel a great deal better! In fact, I have dropped a considerable amount of time from my regular routes around town. Imagine that, rest does pay off. Granted my endurance on the long runs is going to need a bit of work to build it back up, but I'm looking forward to starting on stronger legs and seeing how a more relaxed approach works over the next four months. Instead of trying to get in 2-3 days a week of 20-40 milers, I'll be doing 2 at most and really stressing getting to a point where I only knock out one mega run once every week or two. I hope to stay between 75-110 miles per week through February (not including recovery weeks). Then the fun of back-to-backs will start up in March to ramp up for a summer of racing. Of course this is easier said than done. I'll probably be itching to get out in the snow when it starts to fly and be on the trail more than I should be. What can I say? I love it.

And another thing... there is now a North Face store in the Cherry Creek North area. It is around 2nd and Detroit. I've applied for a job there since recently discovering that getting out of work at 3 am isn't for me, and I would love the discount. My brother, Dax, hooked me up with Jet Entertainment Group to barback at their hotel on Friday nights, when they turn the lobby into a swank nightclub (Saturday as well, but I probably won't be there). So if any of you want to see me suffer through a shift serving the LoDo crowd come on down to Jet Hotel on Friday nights. Things don't really get going until about 10:30 pm; damn that's late. I have another job catering for a local kosher catering company that I've been with for 7+ years now, but the work isn't reliable, and I have to pay the bills.

9.24-30.08

W- 6
Th- 5 (am) / 3 (pm)
F- Rest
S- 17
Su- Rest
M- 26
Tu- 6

Total = 63 miles

The 24 Hours of Boulder is out, and I'm ok with that. I'm still going to go watch and volunteer my help. Maybe somebody will want some pacing help. For the next month or two I'll be running for the sake of running and get away from the rigors of the ever-present spreadsheet on my fridge. During this time I want to give bouldering a shot as well. Nora has been bugging me for over a year now (almost two) to climb with her at The Spot near her work in Boulder. I've been too focused on training to go. How lame is that? School is starting to take up my mental/emotional energies as well. Time to get cracking on all of those projects and papers that will be due soon. Basically, I'm looking forward to finding that balance in life in that I seem to lose with high-mileage training. The miles run over the past year have been great though, and I learned a great deal about myself and where it is I'd like to go with my running. I have two major goals I'd like to accomplish in the next two years: a 100 miler, and running the Colorado Trail. I feel like I am capable of both and should be able to do fairly well. Time to hit the books. You all go find some good dirt for me while I sit in front of this computer all day.