Weekly training (and life) update 8/9/2019

After the loop with Jim a week ago, I took both Saturday and Sunday off. On Saturday we took the kids to the swim beach at Aurora Reservoir since it was Aurora Pride. Sunday I was going to go to the gym, but pretty much slacked around for too long.

Instead I went to the gym on Monday, did some plate squats, and got in the pool for 45 minutes.

On Tuesday, I ran the Templeton loop at Palmer Park, all the way around the northern mesa. Dude, it was hot! Especially on the sun exposed parts, I felt like the heat was reflecting off the rocks and making the run even more intense.

Then I went back to Palmer Park in the evening with my family, and we had a picnic up top and climbed around on the rocks with the kids for a while. Kids are natural climbers, making adventures out of all the neat formations that are in the park.

Then on Wednesday, I ran the 10-mile loop from my house that is mostly on the western Rock Island trail and the Legacy Loop.

I felt pretty good and not really burnt out by the end of 10 flat miles, considering that I haven't been doing a lot of flat mileage this season at all.

When running with Jim last Friday, when our conversation turned to racing goals, I mentioned that my planned goal race for next summer was the Silver Rush 50. This race is held up in Leadville, mostly on dirt roads. He suggested that I needed more high altitude flat mileage because most of my mileage at altitude this year has been steep climbs. I either need to change my training or change my goal race.

I've taken his advice to heart, and decided that instead of changing my goal race, I'll be doing a lot more flat mileage in the coming year. I'll start with mostly flat runs in town in the winter, and graduate to longer flatter runs at altitude as the spring comes around. Of course, I'll still have all autumn to play in the mountains, and I won't give up adventure runs next summer, either - they'll just be a smaller overall portion of my training distance.

Anyway, on Wednesday evening, I walked about 3 miles with my children to the playground and back. Even a short evening walk after a morning run can feel revitalizing for the legs.

On Thursday, I did some lifting at home. Not enough to really fatigue myself or knock me out for a few days (I've had heavy lifting sessions in the past that left me sore for a week!) But just enough to keep my muscles accustomed to the major motions of squats, overhead presses, pushups, etc.

And then today (Friday), I ran flat again, this time on the Rock Island trail to the east from my house. This direction has a little bit more pavement to pound than the generally gravel trails to the west, so my ankles were a little more sore from the 8+ miles I put in today. Also, it was still hot outside.

Still, I tried to stick to the dirt where I could, and I mentally tried to tell myself that prepping for heat is a good way to ensure that I'm not surprised by a super hot race day.

I'm looking forward to a Pikes summit trip with Sharon on Sunday. Our final summit before the Ascent!

I'm happy that I'll have run four times this week. This kind of mileage isn't anything new for me, but it's been almost a year since I've been this consistent about my running mileage. In previous years, I typically ran five days a week, but after my ankle injury in July of last year, I really cut back and did mostly cross training and weight lifting. The truth is, I miss running more often, and I'd prefer to get back to a typical week featuring at least four runs for me. It makes me happier and more centered to run more often, even if it comes at the cost of slightly less time in the weight room. I still plan to incorporate at least two days of lifting in my normal routine, but it might be less overall effort compared to how much time I've been putting in this last year.