Mon, Feb 20

4 miles easy jog today, followed by some lightweight dumbbell overhead presses.

***

Tue, Feb 21

3.5 miles with Pippin in the evening, before the temperature drop and cold front came in at night.

***

Wed, Feb 22

45 minutes on the row machine, followed by dumbbell front raises.

***

Thu, Feb 23

We decided to bake cookies with the natural food color dyes that we got. They came out very interesting in color! The base color of the dough was supposed to be a mint green, and it was more of a green apple color before baking. After they came out, they were red in the middle and mildly yellow-green on the outside. Strange but delicious! 😂

I didn't work out today, but we went dancing to the club at night... My husband and I danced for a couple of hours, what a blast! I call that a fun way to take an active rest day 😂.

***

Fri, Feb 24

50 minutes on the row machine in the morning. 

I wasn't planning to run today, but the afternoon was so nice and the sunlight so warm that I did decide to go with Pippin. It was tank top weather along the long top of the mesa in Palmer.

We made it right to the overlook just as the sun was setting behind the mountains!

What magical timing!

Pippin enjoyed feeling the warm sun on his back at the overlook, and then we headed down and back home before dark.

We got a total of 7.4 miles today.

***

Sun, Feb 26

Today I met with Sharon and Charles again for our Sunday Speedwork!

We did the same ladder as last week: half-mile, mile, half-mile. My times were faster across the board this week! It was encouraging.

I ran 3:44, 7:22, and 3:34. That last half-mile was a good push! I hope to be able to go under 7 minutes for the mile within a few months of our training.

Our total distance was just under 6 miles for the day.

Later, I took Pippin out for a jog over 5 and half miles as well, making my cumulative mileage for the day 11.6 miles, with 2 of those miles at high effort.

***

Mon, Feb 27

Today, I did 8.5 miles at slow/recovery pace, and then took Pippin for 6 miles to the overlook at a  slightly more moderate pace. My total mileage for the day was 14.5 miles. I am trying not to go overboard, I really am! 😂

***

This week was fun. And thanks to Sharon and Charles, I made my twice-monthly speedwork goal for February! Despite it being a short month and also my injury at the beginning of the month.

Looking forward to more fun and fast times as March comes around, and maybe even some mountain runs!

Tue, Feb 7

Dumbbell front raises, with the 10 lb dumbbells. Both unilateral and bilateral.

***

Thurs, Feb 9

Seated chest flies with the 10 lb dumbbells. These felt quite good.

Tried rowing; ankle is still too tight.

***

Sat, Feb 11

Seated barbell bicep curls. Approximately 50 lbs on the barbell total, without being completely certain how much the barbell itself weighs (it's a weird one).

***

Tue, Feb 14

Dumbbell overhead presses. Standing today. I tried to make sure I was standing evenly and engaging my core.

***

Wed, Feb 15

Today I was able to do 35 minutes on the row machine.

The ankle felt a little tight a couple times, so I didn't want to go any longer than that today. Also, I did go at a very light effort level today, just enough to get moving.

Later, I did some sets of dumbbell front raises.

***

Thurs, Feb 16

Yesterday, we had a big snowstorm. In classic Colorado style, the melt-off started today. The roads were still snowy but also beginning to get slushy and sloppy.

Naturally, I decided to pick today to do first run since my ankle injury two weeks ago.

I took Pippin. We went slowly, and did not go very far. But we got a little bit of road, a little bit of trail, and 350 feet of elevation.

2.6 miles today. Short to not over exert the ankle.

Later at home, I decided that I wanted to supplement today's very short run with a little additional cardio, so I did 35 minutes on the row machine.

***

Fri, Feb 17

My ankle is feeling much better overall. Today, I did 6.3 miles with Pippin.

The road to the overlook was still closed to vehicles, but it was completely melted off. The best kind of day to run along the top of Palmer Park, soaking in the sun along the long, flat mesa.

***

Sat, Feb 18

I did a total of 16 miles today. The last 6 were with Pippin.

I am feeling like myself again!

***

Sun, Feb 19

Today, I met with Sharon and her husband Charles for an interval session.

It was a simple and short ladder - I did half a mile, a mile, and half a mile. My times were 4:07, 7:32, and 3:40.

I took the first half mile a little slower. I was really happy with my mile being in the 7:30 range!!

Sharon and I did a bit longer cool-down and got a total of 7 miles. What a fun interval session 😲💯!

Later, I took Pippin to Palmer Park for a short 5 mile jaunt, bringing my total mileage for today to 12 miles.

I also walked a couple miles with the family. To be clear about my yearly mileage total, I don't include walks or hikes with the family into my running mileage. But any walking that is part of a run (like walking between intervals, or hiking on steep uphills in the mountains) I do include towards my yearly total.

***

To summarize, I did some weights while my ankle was injured. Once I began to feel better, I felt all better all at once. I still want to be careful and reasonable as I return to higher mileage, but I'm currently riding a wave of feeling good (likely as a result of all the rest!)

I was concerned that I might not be able to make my twice-monthly speedwork goal this month because of the injury, but as long as I go next weekend, I'll get it.

Sun, Jan 29

Barbell bicep curls in the morning. It was time for these. Standing, engaging the core.

6.5 miles with Pippin in the snow in the afternoon.

Actually it was snowing when we left, and stopped pretty soon after. Then it stayed nice and cloudy, but didn't snow anymore until after we got home.

***

Mon, Jan 30

This was the most picturesque day for canicross yet!

Pippin and I set out in single-digit temps. As the sun came out, it lit up the yellow sandstone mesas in Palmer Park, making the surrounding air pockets feel quite warm.

I wore spikes on crunchy snow and ice. I did a mix of trails and roads, since the road to the overlook was closed to vehicles due to the snow.

Pippin is nearly 100% trained now. It's been less than a month, and he already knows how to stay on the right hand side and not cross the trail; he understands his force and how hard to pull; he understands the command "whoa" to slow down. He didn't jump at a rabbit that we saw today, which is a first! He has a strong prey drive, but he is beginning to learn to curtail that instinct when he is "on the job" - aka pulling me on the run.

Today, we found a pocket of sunshine between the clouds surrounding us, and I got a lot of "classic Colorado" photos with the snow, clouds, mountains, and the rock formations.

It felt like running through a Bob Ross painting! 🎨

We ran 8.6 miles today, with a good amount of playing in the crunchy snowy playground of trails.

This was my 9th day in a row of running, and I'm feeling fine overall. I'll work on my legs with a massage gun tonight to help.

***

Tue, Jan 31

6.2 miles with Pippin in the park, 10th day of running.

Unfortunately, I stepped off the side of the road weirdly in the last two miles and twisted my ankle, so now I'll need to rest from running until it's healed.

Sad and upsetting, as I was just getting into a good running routine with the dog! My streak is ended after 10 days.

But I hope this setback will be minor, and I need to take the time to rest my ankle fully.

Bonus photo of our other dog, Buddy, in the collage. (As a short nosed older dog, Buddy isn't as much of a runner like Pippin.)

***

Fri, Feb 3

I'll be doing upper-body cross-training while letting my ankle heal.

Today, I did double dumbbell press-outs with the two 10 lb dumbbells, for a total of 20 lbs.

***

Sat, Feb 4

Unilateral 10 lb overhead presses, then also bilateral presses with both dumbbells together for 20 lbs.

This workout was sufficient for today, but since rowing involves too much ankle movement, I can't really do any cardio.

***

Sun, Feb 5

Side lateral raises with the 10 lb dumbbells.

***

Well, this week was a bummer in that I got hurt!

I am taking it easy and resting and healing. I am still able to do some lightweight arm work each day.

I am disappointed that my run streak was ended after 10 days, but after I heal, I hope to continue the pattern of running "most" days. Too bad that it might be another couple weeks before I feel comfortable and healed.

Wed, Jan 18

It snowed last night and today was bitter, windy, and cold. I still wanted to take Pippin out for a short while, but I didn't want either of us to get too chilled, so we just did 3.4 miles.

I felt like that was only good for half a workout, so I did a quick 30 minute row afterwards.

***

Fri, Jan 20

50 minutes on the row machine today, followed by my favorite lifting exercise - barbell overhead presses.

It has been pretty chilly and still icy out, so I've switched to a little more indoor exercise lately.

***

Sun, Jan 22

Sharon met me at the track for our second week of repeats!

The track was rather snow packed from the most recent winter squall, so our laps were a little long because of having to avoid the snow.

We opted to do the same workout as last week. This worked out great, as it made a good comparison of times.

My times were pretty similar to last week. I ran 1:45, 3:43, 6:00, 3:53, and 1:40 for the 400, 800, 1200, 800, 400.

I was more rested going into the speed workout this week, so I felt more energetic than last week. I hope my body is getting the hang of running at a decent race-pace effort.

As we both said at the outset this morning, we weren't necessarily looking forward to the actual speed work, but staying consistent and getting it done is good.

And as always, it's far easier to maintain motivation with a friend - it's too easy to cop out if I was doing it on my own!

As this was our second track workout of the month, I've met my twice-monthly goal for January.

I hope to fit a longer run in before the end of the month.

Today's total mileage, including warm-up, repeats, and cool-down, was 6.5 miles.

***

Mon, Jan 23

Today I took the majestic trail dog 🐕, Pippin, out for a run on the Rock Island Trail.

We got 7 miles in on partly-snowy, partly-slushy, partly-sloppy trails.

***

Tue, Jan 24

6 miles total, out to Grandview Overlook and back.

It was cold with a bitter wind, but when that bright winter Colorado sun poked through the clouds, it made the temperature feel much more tolerable.

***

Wed, Jan 25

5.8 miles with Pippin. Nice evening run. Felt fast in the cold air with no wind. I could see my breath in front of me in my headlamp.

We got over 700 feet elevation gain from going out to the Grandview Overlook and back.

***

Thurs, Jan 26

With Pippin again. Rock Island Trail.

6.1 miles with full sun and nice temps. Glad I wore shorts.

Later on, just a few sets of regular push-ups.

***

Fri, Jan 27 

I tried to not run today. I really did. I wanted a rest day from running, and I even did 40 minutes on the row machine in the morning.

But by the time evening rolled around, I was too tempted by the running dog... He looked at me 🤣 and I took him on a run!

We did 7.3 miles with 950 feet elevation, although I went a little slower today.

***

Sat, Jan 28

I now have a one-week daily run streak under my belt.

I felt a little sore a couple days ago, but overall I feel stronger today.

I am not intentionally doing a run streak, but I decided that I don't have to feel guilty about wanting to run every day, and I'll continue to do so until life forces a rest day (which will happen eventually, I'm sure.)

I did some more reading about running with dogs, and found out that what I'm doing by training Pippin to run on a waist leash is called "canicross." It's a whole sport consisting of cross country running with a canine! Or, more specifically, a human-dog running team.

Pippin and I did 8.5 miles today, and 850 feet of elevation.

He has gotten so good with his training! He only requires minor adjustments each run now, but mostly stays on my right-hand front side. He knows how to pull consistently, to help me run faster but not pull me down.

I also found out that blue heelers are actually the blue-colored variation of Australian Cattle Dogs, so that is what Pippin is. They are perfect for canicross! They are very active working dogs, so they respond well to training and have a tendency to "herd" which translates great to pulling when on a canicross lead.

***

What a nice week (and a half.)

I made my goal of two speedworks for January, and got Pippin trained for daily runs. Now I am going to have to run every day (mostly) - it's for the sake of the beast 😂!

Tue, Jan 10

Ran with Pippin for our second run together today! We did a shorter and quicker run along the Rock Island trail, adding 5.2 miles to the books.

***

Wed, Jan 11

50 minutes rowing. Haven't done this in a little while, so I didn't go too fast.

***

Thurs, Jan 12

10.5 miles today, mostly flat.

***

Fri, Jan 13

8.6 miles today, on the bluffs. 1200 feet elevation.

I got to see a lovely sunset with shades of golden yellow and sky blue.

Unbeatable!

***

Sat, Jan 14

Pippin was just begging for a run, so we went to the trails in Palmer Park.

Some of the trails were sloppy with ice, snow, and mud. The perfect test of a true trail dog! Pippin did just great.

7.3 miles today.

***

Sun, Jan 15

Finally, today it was time to start on my goal of twice-monthly speedwork!

Sharon met me at the track. It was nice to have her with me, as it's easier to do hard workouts with friends.

This was my first track session in over three years, so I was glad to start with a simple ladder.

We did 400 (once around), followed by 800, then 1200, 800, 400.

I was around 1:45, 3:45, 6:00, 3:45, 1:45. So, I'm around an 8 minute mile race pace. I need to work on retaining focus on the second lap especially, as it seems consistently slower than the first lap.

For the first session in so long, I would not say it was fast but I would say it was successful. I'll be happy to gradually improve upon my times as we continue to train!

My total distance for today, including warm-up, workout, and cool-down, was 6 miles.

Then, we took the afternoon to go to the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum in Denver.

This was a cool museum to check out, and especially neat for anyone who is interested in aviation.

***

Mon, Jan 16

8 miles today on the eastern Rock Island Trail.

***

Tue, Jan 17

Today we took the kids for a mini hiking adventure in the lower part of Section 16 (the upper trail portion is still closed due to a rock slide). We climbed up the ridgeline and made it to the top of the first major rock outcropping. What a beautiful view and the kids had a nice nature experience, too!

Husband and kids and jagged red rocks, part of the Fountain Formation, at Section 16.

Later, at home, I did 35 minutes on the row machine, followed by triangle pushups.

I haven't done the triangle pushups in a while, and they seemed to help focus on stability muscles in the core. I'll have to try to incorporate these into my workout routine more often.

***

Overall, I feel good about my workouts this last week. The first speedwork session of the year was a success, and I'm looking forward to more soon!

Sunday, Jan 1 (2023!)

I wanted to start the year off right - with a long run!! Right off the bat, before the year gets going.

I'm really excited for this year in running!

I also had motivation to run long before the next wave of snow hits the Front Range tonight.

I didn't have an exact route in mind, although I knew I wanted at least 20 miles today. Alex dropped me off at the corner of Red Rocks Canyon and 31st street.

The first hill at the trailhead was immediately icy. I put my spikes on, but as soon as I hit the Lower Codell trail, the ice had melted but the ground was very wet. The Codell trail runs along the Niobrara sandstone ridgeline that was once a part of Colorado's Cretaceous Seaway. The sandstone is very fine, almost a siltstone, and it had melted in the freeze-thaw cycle, creating a layer of thick clay that was sticking in clumps to my spikes and shoes.

Top: Some foraging deer were unperturbed by my presence. Bottom: The Codell trail runs along a ridge of Niobrara sandstone that used to make up the shoreline of the Cretaceous Seaway, 70 million years ago.

Not wanting to muck up the trail any more than necessary, I dipped out to the road at the intersection of 26th street & Gold Camp Road.

I decided I'd rejoin the trail higher up, where the ice- and snow-packed trails would put my spikes to better use.

I jogged up Gold Camp all the way to High Drive and then up to the saddle. From here, I turned westward and joined the Captain Jack's trail, which ascends the east flank of Mount Buckhorn.

At some point in this section, my GPS accidently paused and I only realized it a half-mile or so later. I laughed that it was the first run of the year, and I'd already gotten some bonus mileage! 🤣 It was also a good reminder that, even though I enjoy tracking my distance data, it's not a perfect system and my "yearly mileage total" is probably off by a small percentage.

When I joined the Captain Jack's trail, I saw the type of conditions I expected from the outset of today's run - hard-packed ice that was perfect for my nanospikes.

Views from Mount Buckhorn. The true summit is the top of that round rock (right), which I did not climb up.

I ascended to the summit of Mount Buckhorn (a right turn off of 667), turning around after the boulder field at top. I said hello to a climber who was perched atop a summit rock, soaking in the views.

I descended the short trail back to the trail junction with the main 667 trail, and took a minute to look around with the mini binoculars. 

This is when the climber caught up with me, and we had a chat! It was a pleasure to meet Erika, and nice to welcome her to Colorado and this great area for hiking and the outdoors that we have in the Pikes Peak Region. I'm thankful that it's day one of the year and I'm already working towards one New Years goal - to meet with friends, old and new, out on the trail!

I did want to continue uphill on the trail today, so I continued west on 667. I climbed up the first major hill, and rolled along the saddle that followed.

The wind was beginning to pick up and I knew that a cold front was expected this evening. But I did want to get up high, somewhere that I could get a good vantage point.

Soon I came to a significant rock formation along the trail, which stands out along the ridgeline.

I scrambled a few feet up the side of the rock, and a great 360-degree panorama was in front of me!

Rock outcropping summit panorama.

Looking to the southeast, North Cheyenne Cañon was filled with snow-covered hills. It was easy to make out the old Gold Camp Road down below (the hiking portion).

Looking to the northeast, Bear Creek Canyon was thousands of feet below.

Looking east, Colorado Springs lays far beyond and below. Just ahead of me is the pinnacle of the rock outcropping I'm standing on.

I hung out here for a few minutes and used the binoculars to spot as many distant landmarks as I could.

Soon, however, the predicted cold front began to make itself known. Cold gusts of wind reminded me that I was but a visitor to these winter mountains.

The cold front was a slow-moving one. I could see it coming in from the west, with streaks in the clouds.

I reluctantly relinquished my perch, and headed back down the trail.

It was time to go anyway, as I figured I could be all the way down and out of the Cañon before it got dark. Then it was just some easy peasy flat miles to get home, right? 

Coming down from the high point of my run, I felt exhilarated! Especially as I jogged along the 776 trail, I was just coasting. I hadn't felt so good on a run in quite some time, and even if it was fleeting, it was so nice to feel like I was zooming.

I was running from the weather, into town, and I had a long, long, long downhill ahead of me before I'd hit the flats in town.

I decided that at this time of day, my best route was to just jog all the way down the trails back to the Cañon, and then jog down the paved road.

I loved my time jogging down the paved road, reminiscent of when I used to jog this downhill route more regularly in my younger days when I lived on the southwest side of Colorado Springs.

I glanced back up the canyon from the road, and saw the snow clouds coming in over the mountains where I'd just been.

The sides of North Cheyenne Cañon were already decorated with snow, and they'd be seeing more of that tonight!

I came out of the Cañon just a bit before it got dark, and joined into a southern portion of the Pikes Peak Greenway after a short jog along the sidewalks.

I took the Pikes Peak Greenway north along the powerplant corridor and through into America The Beautiful Park.

At this park, I decided to turn east and go home through downtown. I was glad I made this decision, as it gave me the awesome opportunity of crossing the new pedestrian bridge over to the Olympic & Paralympic Museum, which brought me right into the heart of downtown Colorado Springs.

It felt like I was a part of a futuristic city, crossing this new bridge! I'm so glad the city is making these improvements.

I continued running through downtown, and just as I got back to my neighborhood, big fluffy snowflakes began drifting down from the sky.

They were in no rush to reach the ground, swirling this way and that before finally melting into the warm ground.

As I got inside and comfortable for the evening, the temperature dropped and the snow began to stick, and I felt that pleasantly successful feeling of "beating the storm home."

I got a total of 24 miles for this run, with just under 4000 feet (total) of elevation gain.

***

Wednesday, Jan 4

8.3 miles, plus several sets of pull-ups to failure on my favorite pull-up bars in Monument Valley Park.

***

Friday, Jan 6

10.1 miles on the flats, nice day for it! Not windy or breezy at all. Some distant clouds drifted over Pikes Peak, but eventually evaporated.

The swirling clouds above St. Peter's Dome in the distance were quite cool.

I snapped a nifty pic of the sun mixing with the clouds.

I might have slightly over exerted myself on the pull-ups two days ago, so I'm taking a break from strength training until my lower back is fully recovered.

***

Saturday, Jan 7

6 miles, 950 feet elevation.

***

Sunday, Jan 8

My lower back was really sore for a few days after the pull-ups on Wednesday. I was still mildly sore today, but felt recovered enough for some dumbbell overhead presses.

***

Monday, Jan 9

Today I was so lucky that I was able to take our new live-in beast, Pippin, for his first training jog!

Pippin is a blue heeler mix who I will be training to be a well-mannered trail dog (waist-leash trained.)

I'm so excited for our future runs! But I'm getting ahead of myself, because today was just our first day. I am teaching him to right-side heel with the word "side."

I took Pippin to Palmer Park. He was such a good boy!

He has a bit of a base from hiking, and is a very energetic and active 2 to 3 year old pup. We did 6.1 miles today, at a very moderate pace. Pippin will be a great lead dog.

Then, I was able to sit on my couch with a view of the mountains, and watch the sunset with Mount Rosa in the background while doing dumbbell curls. Inspired weight lifting!

I figured one supplemental lifting exercise per day is fine for now.

***

This blog got a bit long for only being the first 9 days of the year!

What an excellent start to the year for me.

As far as my twice-monthly speedwork goal, I haven't done any yet, but I am scheduled with Sharon for some track repeats. Can't wait to get after it and get faster together!

My Year in Running - 2022

Happy New Year!

What a year.

First off, let me state the format for this post - first I'll summarize the year and include the highlights. Then, I'll outline my goals for next year. Finally, at the end will be my regular weekly blog for this week.

Here is the link to last year's summary.

This year, I ran 1515.5 miles total. This is about 300 miles less than last year, but 300 miles more than the year prior. So it was a very moderate, middle-of-the-road mileage total for me.

However, I had only 138 run days this year, which means each run averages out to 10.98 miles. This is actually my highest average run distance since I've started recording my runs, so that's a small cause for celebration.

My average weekly mileage this year was about 29.1 miles per week.

Here's a few of this year's most memorable runs for me:

* Running a big springtime loop around the base of Mount Rosa.

* Being chased down from Almagre Mountain by a huge incoming thunderstorm.

* Completing my goal run of the year, a 41-mile journey out to Bull Park.

* Catching some fall colors on Kineo Mountain. 

* My first run with someone else since the pandemic began, when Sharon joined me for a Muscoco Mountain summit!

My main goal for 2022 was to run a solo 50-mile route. I didn't accomplish that goal, as my longest run topped out at 41 miles. Sometimes setting challenging goals means that you won't always achieve them. But that doesn't mean I will stop trying, or stop setting daring goals.

With that in mind, my goals for 2023 are the following:

* My main goal is to do quality speedwork sessions twice per month. I have had a serious lack of speedwork since the pandemic began in 2020, and it's becoming apparent in my slowing pace. It's time to fix that! By setting my goal to do speedwork only every-other-week (initially), I think I can improve my leg turnover without overtaxing my body.

* To set out and actually accomplish the 50-mile distance. I know I can do it. I need a better build-up and base than I had this year. Proper prior planning, and not allowing myself to cut it short! At this point, it's mostly mental, and I just have to force myself beyond my comfort zone. The marathon distance has become comfortable for me, beyond that is where I struggle.

* A final goal for me this coming year is to see many more friends out on the trails, and join people for adventure runs! I look forward to seeing many friends who I've missed ❤️ because of our strict lock down during the pandemic.

With that said, if you'd like to join me for an adventure run, please let me know! I'd love to see everyone. 

That concludes my yearly summary, and what follows is my regular workouts from the last week of 2022.

***

Tuesday, 12/27

45 minutes on the row machine.

Then, a few sets of push-ups, just so I'm not totally neglecting bodyweight strength work.

***

Thursday, 12/29

Heavy deadlifts in the morning. It was time for these for sure!

This one compound exercise alone was enough for today's weight session.

In the afternoon, a lot of the snow ❄️ from last night's snowstorm had already melted off.

So I ran up to Palmer Park and out-and-back to Grandview Overlook twice. It was lovely to slush around in the soft melting powder while the road to the overlook was closed to vehicles.

 

I got 8.1 miles and 1050 feet elevation. 

***

Friday, 12/30

Just a short one, 5 miles in Palmer. A bit icy. The clouds were really neat, creating an arch over the mountains. 

***

Saturday, 12/31

45 minutes on the row machine.

***

Head first into 2023! I hope to see many friends out on the trails this coming year and make the most of new adventures.