Sat, April 1

3 miles with Pippin in the morning, and 30 minutes on the row machine in the afternoon. 

***

Sun, April 2

This morning, Dionne and her friend Nichole met me for an Incline day!

I wanted to test out the last three months' worth of speedwork, so I tried my best to push myself.

I didn't feel like I was going very fast, mainly as I couldn't quite catch my breath.

But as I got close to the top, I peeked at the time and saw that it was just under 33 minutes. I pushed the last few steps and made 32:55! 😁

I'm over two minutes faster than last time, in December. I think it's our speedwork that's paying off!

We all gathered at the top of the Incline, which was busy on this nice spring morning.

I jogged down the connector trail with Dionne and Nichole, before splitting off back up the big hill.

I ran back up to No Name Creek trail sign, turning towards the Experimental Forest split. Barr trail looked a little icy going up from No Name Creek.

I ran up through the Experimental Forest, down Longs Ranch Road and Ute Pass Trail.

There were great views of the Waldo Canyon area to the north and some of the old burn scar.

As I descended the trail, the day warmed up nicely.

My GPS got a little messed up after the top of the Incline, showing only officially 10.5 miles for today's run, although the real distance was a little over 11 miles! I won't count my missed half mile towards my overall distance this time (Although it does make up for some of those walks between intervals that go towards my running distance 😅).

After I got home from my Incline adventure morning, I wanted to do a little upper-body workout to balance the day.

I did several sets of front raises with the 15 lb dumbbells this time. Both unilaterally, and bilaterally (30 lbs together). These are still on the heavier side for my front raises, so sets were around the 9 to 12 rep range.

***

Tue, April 4

I felt a little under the weather after the Incline and LRR run, but was still able to meet with Sharon for a short run this morning. We did 4.5 miles with a few bursts of speed. I won't count this run towards my monthly speedwork goal, but I easily exceeded my (twice monthly) goal for March, so I'm not too concerned this early in the month.

Afterwards, I did want to take Pippin out for a while. The weather seemed to improve temporarily when we set out, and the sunlight enticed me. We did 7.7 miles together, making my total for the day 12.2 miles.

***

Wed, April 5

Some inclined push-ups with the yoga trapeze. These are good for targeting the chest and also stability muscles because of the need to stabilize myself while performing the push-ups.

***

Thu, April 6

Still feeling fatigued and a slight cough today from the mild cold I somehow acquired.

Nonetheless, I ended up having a pretty decent exercise day. First thing in the morning, I did 35 minutes on the row machine. (Even before coffee ☕!)

Then, I had my coffee and did my morning work, and waited for a lot of the snow to melt off the roads and trails from last night's wet spring fluff.

In the afternoon, I took Pippin for a little more than a 10k, just under 6.3 miles.

The sun was bright at the "sundial" rock at the first overlook.

I sat for a few minutes, looking out across the city at my favorite mountains. I look forward to being up there soon!!

But I didn't want to linger too long, as a cold wind picked up and I still felt a little weak from the illness. Not wanting to chill myself too much, I ran out along the road with Pippin to the other (Grandview) overlook, then home.

***

Fri, April 7

30 minutes on the row machine in the morning.

In the afternoon, I did a weight workout including:

* Dumbbell press-outs

* Dumbbell front raises

Finally, in the evening, I decided to take Pippin out for a "short" one. 

The weather, the air temperature, the sunset... Everything was amazing.

I smiled the whole time, and couldn't stop running. Pippin and I ended up doing 10.6 miles with 1500 feet of elevation, and he was leading and pulling perfectly. What a night.

We went out and back to the Overlook 3 times along the road. What a fun, fast, breezy sunset/ nighttime run on this Good Friday.

***

Sat, April 8

* Dumbbell overhead presses

* Push-ups

***

Sun, April 9

Pippin and I snuck a run in on this lovely Easter Sunday between family activities. We got 9.5 miles on the Eastern Rock Island Trail.

Mostly flat, very warm, and breezy. Classic trail, where the mountains meet the plains.

Our family had a lovely Easter, with bunnies, baskets and all. 🐰

* A few ab-wheel roll-outs in the evening.

***

Mon, April 10

8.5 miles, mostly flat, in the morning. Nice sunny day, it's getting warm early these mornings already. Feels very summery.

In the evening, I couldn't help but take Pippin out, since he still needed his run. We did 8.2 miles, bringing my total to 16.7 miles for the day!!

I felt good doing that amount of running split between two runs.

A good base mileage day.

I will try to go easy tomorrow, since Sharon and I have speedwork planned for Wednesday and I want to put in a solid effort.

***

What a great week!

I just cannot complain when the weather has been fantastic, and I feel good getting out and running almost every day. (With a few cross-training and rest days thrown in now and again.)

I'm getting close to some of my fastest times ever on the Incline and in the mountains.

Moreover, I'm leaner than I have been in years, and I feel strong and ready to tackle the trails. I think I'm right around the "Racing Weight" that Matt Fitzgerald writes about in his book.

So, let's go out and tackle some runs! Get in touch with me and let's run 😁!