10 days, 58.59 miles, 3 pairs

The streak is over.  10 days of running.  I logged a total of 58.59 miles over the 10 days.  In three pairs of shoes.  I'm feeling quite proud.

My training schedule called for 60 miles.  So I'm 1.41 miles short.  I was tempted to go out and do 1.41 miles this evening to hit the target, but instead I'm doing laundry.  Plus, if I did go on and tack on 1.41 miles to my 5.53 miles from this morning, would that make me obsessive?  Crazy?  Maybe.  I should stay away as far from crazy as possible.  After all, 65 days of training remains before race day!

My longest run was 14.67 miles this past Sunday.  My shortest run was Monday - a pathetic 2.02 miles...I just didn't have anything more to give. Hopefully this doesn't disqualify the 10 day running streak.

With the exception of Monday, I felt strong and ready to go every other day.  My IT band is a little cranky but nothing the foam roller and stretching can't fix.  Next up 18 mile long run on Saturday followed by a 8 miler run on Sunday.  Wish me luck!

Laura

Crossing Rivers

Happy Sunday!  Hope your weekend has treated you well.  Yesterday I did a small run with the group, went to the Renaissance Fair with my friend Beth and then shopping at Nordstrom's Annual Sale.  I bought a pair of Uggs.  I'm pretty sure I vowed I never would, but there you have it, I did.  I can't wait to wear them all winter long.  Yes, they are ugly.  But I think my feet will appreciate them. 

And another note, and please take no offense, but I'm not sure why the Renaissance Fair is of interest.  If I were to elaborate, I certaintly would offend, but one need just go here and understand why we have an obesity epidemic in the United States.  Can you say, outdoor mall food court?  Cheesecake on a stick?  I should stop, I'm sure I've offended someone...One more thing, we did see two guys in costume, with one of the dudes' white cheeks on display for the world to see.  OK, so maybe there was a little that was of interest...

I just finished day 6 of 10 days of running in a row.  I'm tired, but not over tired.  And yes, I feel strong.  In fact, yesterday's run while short was my strongest run of the session.  I was so happy to get my running mojo back!  Here's my week:

Monday: Rest (planned)
Tuesday: 6.76 miles (including 2 mile time trial)
Wednesday: 4.10 miles
Thursday: 6.03 miles
Friday: 3.05 miles
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: 14.67 miles

Weekly total: 40.67 miles

This morning I tackled part of the Bear Chase Race course.  Oh my.  Part of the running group was meeting up and I decided to start out a little earlier.  That was a good decision.  Apparently, I do not know my right from my left and tacked on an extra 2 miles to my run.  Even so, it was a lot of fun.  I've run parts of this course, and Mt. Carbon didn't seem as hard as it did the first time I did it.  Plus it really is a "baby" mountain.

Kinda weird how the sky is white?  It really was sunny....  Anyhow, after you come down Mt. Carbon, the real fun begins.  Not one.  Not two.  But three river crossings.  Well, creek crossings...Here's the first one:

And crossing #2:

And the last crossing (and the deepest):

These are my first water crossings and they were so much fun!  After these crossings, you are about 7.8 miles into the 12.5 mile loop (if you know your right from your left).  Up until this point, the course is varied crossing open meadows making your way through tree canopies along different creeks, etc.  But after the water crossings, there is 4.7 miles of exposed trail, that is pretty straight and parallel for part of the way to a busy road and irrigation ditch.  This was a hard part of the course for me.  And I'll need to do 2 loops come race day, so I'll need to have some strategies to help get me through this section twice.

Before I sign off, an update of me facing my fears.  Well, I failed in getting into my boss' two seater.  After a few delays due to bad weather, I got cold feet and flew commercial.  And I'm OK with that.  There are better fears out there for me to face! 

Laura

Embracing All Things Scary

Last week's training was pretty solid.  If you are a new reader, I'm training for the Bear Chase 50k on October 3 - my first ultra.  Here's what the last week looked like:

Monday: 4.07 miles
Tuesday: 6.02 miles
Wednesday: off (planned)
Thursday: 6.05 miles
Friday: 2.06 miles
Saturday: 16.03 miles
Sunday: 6.0 miles
Total Miles: 40.23 miles

This week's training started with a bang!  Well Monday was a rest day.  And today, Tuesday - A 2 mile time trial.  It revealed that I'm 30 seconds slower than I was a year and a half ago.  I wish I had more recent data on more recent 2 mile time trials, but I can't find it.  I knew I wasn't going to be magically faster - I just don't have the miles and speedwork in at this point.  I feared the information, but I still showed up...

Anyhow, it is what it is.  Boy, how I hate that expression.  However, its the truth.  I can make excuses or I can embrace it.  So I'm embracing it.  Embracing the fact that I am not fit as I once was.  Embracing that I have a lot of work ahead to get where I want to be.  Embracing the doubt of whether I'll get to where I want to be.  And I remind myself, its just a snap shot of where I am today.  Come October 3, I'll be in a different place. 

Today also starts 10 days of running.  I'm embracing my training plan as well.  Honestly, I asked my Coach first if this was "for real" or had he made a mistake.  So I tried to get out of it before truly embracing it.  I know 10 days of running will require focus, stretching, icing, sleep and good eats.  I will be embracing all of that!  When I saw 10 days of running, I immediately went to fearing injury.  But instead, I am embracing the gains in strength and power that I will feel at the end of 10 days.

Tomorrow I am headed to Cortez, Colorado.  I have fabulous water clients down there.  And I had an option.  Fly commercial or fly in my boss' two seater plane.  Here's a picture of his plane:

I call it the bumble bee.  It looks far bigger in this picture than in real life.  My first inclination was to fly commercial because I was so frightened when I went up in the plane last time.  But then I decided to embrace the fear and conquer it.  So if you don't hear from me, then you know I should have honored my fear because we crashed into the side of a mountain.  Seriously though, for many many years I hid behind an extra 100 pounds of weight because I was afraid.  So each time I embrace a challenge or fear in a way that lets me try to conquer it instead of letting it conquer me, I feel like I'm making up for lost time and showing myself that I won't live a life directed by fear. 

One of my favorite quotes that might sum up my intentions:

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely with a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather a skid in broadside, throughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming: "Wow!  What a ride!"

I wish I knew who said this to give them well-deserved props!

I know I promised a post of goals.  That one will have to wait until next time.  Have a great day!

Laura

Here I Am...

Here I am...I haven't left. 
Sorry I missed my Sunday once/week check-in but this past weekend was a little chaotic.  Here's what I brought to last week's training:

Monday:  Off (planned)
Tuesday: 4.04 miles
Wednesday:Off (lazy)
Thursday: 5.57miles
Friday: Off (lazy)
Saturday: 10.0 miles
Sunday: 5.71 miles
Not stellar.  But solid.  OK, maybe just somewhat solid.  And my training schedule did call for a "recovery" week.  I'll take somewhat solid because I'm working on stellar this week. 

The trail run was fun!  I decided to hit the Apex/Enchanted Forest route again.

While I didn't run with Mariah, I ran into her on the trail where she reported seeing a moose!  All I saw - lots and lots of wildflowers...

I started later in the morning and it really heated up, so I decided to spend more time on the Enchanted Forest trail because it has some really awesome shade!

Here I am...a year older.
Last Thursday was my birthday!  Happy Birthday to Me!  I was fortunate to celebrate often with friends.  I am the new owner of an orchid (which I hope I don't kill), a bouquet of sunflowers, and a red velvet cupcake.  Well, the red velvet cupcake is gone...trust me, it was yummy.  The favorite part?  The right frosting to cake ratio.  See...

And my mom sang me Happy Birthday!  Yes, I'm 44 years old but this girl still likes it when her mom calls to sing her Happy Birthday!

While I hate admitting I'm 44, I don't feel 44.  I feel much younger!  I also think I look much younger, if I do say so myself.  And I do!

Here I am...with time on my hands.
This past weekend's chaos resulted in me becoming a girl sans boy.  Sigh.  Sudden.  Shocking.  Surprising.  So I'm going through the normal craziness of sadness, loneliness, regret, hope, anger...you know all the stages of saying good-bye to a relationship.  My heart is broken.  But just think, in a few months, I'll have match.com stories to share!  If you are looking for a match.com fix right now, I direct your attention to "Its Always Sunny in Colorado."  Some interesting match.com stories that made me laugh and then groan.  Us human are quite an interesting bunch in our search for a companion.

Here I am...with renewed (and new) goals.
What better way to get through a relationship then revisit some goals.  I think I'll save those for my next post!  But one of them is posting on a more regular basis! Have a great Thursday!

Laura

Pushy Friends

Do you know what this?  Using my handy National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Rocky Mountain States...I'm guessing an Elk Thistle.  But then I did an on-line search and now I think it is a Musk Thistle.  What do you think?  If it is a Musk Thistle, well that makes it a noxious weed in Colorado.  If it is an Elk Thistle, then its a wildflower.   Anyhow, this is just some of what I saw this morning on my trial run out on the Apex and Enchanted Forest trails.

I have awesome friends.  Some are cheerleaders.  And some are thinkers (you know, rational - all the time).  And some are pushy.  While I love all my friends, I hold a special place in my heart for those who are my pushy friends.  They don't accept mediocre or fine.  They see the possibility in every opportunity.  And they believe I can accomplish things I don't always think are possible. 

The past few days I've had great times with some of my pushy friends.  Kari kicked my pathetic butt at bootcamp after getting it to Vail Pass on the bike just last weekend.  At bootcamp, she reintroduced me to my triceps and abs when all I wanted to do was drink beer.  Feeling my abs and triceps the next day (and the next day) reminded me of how strong I was when I was regularly strength training.  And Mariah, well she led by example this morning on our 5.5 mile trail run.  Running up hill like a damn happy mountain goat - really she was floating up hill as I gasped for air.  I said "I think I can" and she correct me and said "you can."  Running the backside of the trail was awesome and freeing. 

Thanks to my pushy friends.  It was a solid training week.   

Monday - 3.13 mile run
Tuesday - 5.59 mile run
Wednesday - Rest Day (unplanned - just lazy!)
Thursday - 5.57 mile run in the morning; bootcamp in the afternoon
Friday - Rest Day (planned)
Saturday - 14 mile run
Sunday - 5.5 mile run on trails
Total miles:  33.79 miles

No bike this past week.  Tomorrow is a cross-training day - and no bootcamp classes are being held due to the holiday.  So I'll be on my bike!

Laura