Running in the Rockies

10.15 mi in 10 min avg pace.

I took Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off in an attempt to let the knee rest and hopefully heal and decided to put the long run off until Monday. I ran 3 w/ the pup, also his first run in a couple weeks and his paw seemed to be okay- no limping anyways. We ran our usual 3 mile loop and I wore microspikes because the dirt road is packed snow and ice. The knee was feeling tight, but okay. I dropped the pup and the microspikes off at home and headed out for a 4.5 mile out and back.

The knee starting feeling worse around mile 5, sort of a dull ache on the outside and inner back section of the knee. I turned around at 7.5 and starting running back down and this is when things degraded pretty quickly. The right hip was feeling tight and the outside of my right ankle was starting to have a dull pain. By around mile 8, the upper section of the calf was feeling achy and when  I would mis-step due to ice, shooting pains would radiate around my knee cap. By mile 9.5ish it started to feel as if my lower leg was actually going to separate from my knee and my foot from my ankle- it was feeling very odd and somewhat scary because I felt like I had much less control of foot placement and I was having to dodge icy sections of the road. My upper right quad was also feeling very tight and almost numb. I finally gave in and started walking around mile 10, I walked for maybe 100 m and then tried to run again.. not possible. The knee was feeling very stiff now and lots of shooting pain. I decided to walk the steeper downhill section (downhill seemed to feel much worse than uphill), and then run the uphill section back to our house. But after walking for about a mile, the knee was not happy about running again and it really felt like my lower leg was going to separate at the knee. So frustrated and freezing at this point. The sun had dropped below the mountains and the temperature dropped very quickly. I only had on a very light weight underlayer and a long sleeved cotton shirt, tights, a hat, and gloves- but I was drenched in sweat from the run and walking the last two miles home in the wind and cold was less than ideal. When I got home I couldn't move my arms, hands, or fingers. I had to drive down to pick up the hubby from the bus stop and I took it very slowly since I was not really able to get my extremities to react quickly. Precarious to say the least.

Took a hot shower after we got back home- had to keep the hands and fingers out of the warm water for a long time because they felt like they were being burned.. not good. I stretched and iced the knee for a long time after dinner.

Really frustrated. How does this happen? I finished the marathon last month and had basically zero soreness afterwards. I go for a 4 mile run and an hour bike ride two weeks ago and the knee has not been the same since. There was no traumatic injury.. no seemingly overuse issue.. I'm just confused. And what's really discouraging is that I pretty much had the next 4-5 months to really focus on my running and fitness since my work load is somewhat reduced. Depressing.

Attempted to run. Hobbled 1/2 mile, outside of right knee down through the outside of ankle feeling very odd, similar to yesterday when it felt like the lower part of my leg would separate from the knee, and the foot separate from the ankle, but this time with more pain. At about 1/2 mile, I came down on the right foot and shooting pain went through my knee to ankle and I came to a sudden halt. It felt oddly similar to when I tore my MCL skiing a few years ago (same knee). I tried to stretch the leg and run again but the hobble was much more pronounced- so I turned around and walked back to work.

 Walking is okay- not great. Going down the stairs is pretty painful and going up isn't good either. I called my physical therapist, but she can't see me until Friday the 14th. I'm thinking about calling a knee specialist to get an opinion. I'm thinking it seems like IT band issues- but I'm not sure. 

 May try the bike or snow shoeing this evening.

Looks like I need to adjust my race schedule. First thing to go is the marathon in February. Incredibly disappointed.

PM: After considering the knee issue a bit more and realizing that the pain this time around was significantly worse than it was ~1.5 years ago when I was having some swelling and achiness post run (which was diagnosed as lateral plica syndrome + illiotibial band tightness), I decided to call the knee specialist I saw before. I figured it would be a couple weeks before he could see me, so maybe it would be prudent of me to go ahead and set something up.  In short, the great news was that he had an opening today at 4pm. The bad news is that he prescribed serious rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory meds for the next 7 days, then PT for an extended period of time and worst of all.. no running for 4-6 weeks. It was as I suspected, IT band issues/ tightness/ syndrome. He said I'm presenting classic the symptoms and just by moving the knee around and prodding various places around the knee that the IT band is incredibly tight and inflamed.

So, I'm incredibly bummed. But after sulking for a couple hours, I've determined to make the best of the next 4-6 weeks.. eat right, sleep well, and get strong. I forgot to ask about skiing (specifically telemark) and snow shoeing, but I can swim, bike as long as my right foot is free so as to not irritate the IT band, lift weights, and do copious amounts of yoga and pilates. I suspect at PT we'll be concentrating on old and new strengthening exercises and stretches and probably graston.. ouch.

I also realize that this is completely my fault. I slacked on the stretches and strengthening exercises the last 6 months or more. I am grateful that I was able to stay healthy through marathon training and even through and post-marathon. He suspects that when I attempted to work on my running form that I may have set off the chain of events and it's going to need some serious rest and rehabilitation to get it back into shape. If this doesn't work, he suggested we try a single steroid shot which may clear up the issue. He only does 1 shot though and if it doesn't work, the next option would be surgery. I'm not fond of either of those two options, so I'm going to work towards getting it healthy through rest, physical therapy, foam rolling (for 1/2 hour every day), and strengthening the quads, hips, glutes, and ankles. To stay in the habit of writing in this blog, I'll be writing about the road to recovery instead of the miles logged. Wish me luck.

A.M. Didn't make it out of bed before 5:50, will try for 5:30 tomorrow. After starting a fire in the stove, making coffee, and getting the pup and kitty fed, I got around to doing about 2 hours worth of stretching, foam rolling (ouch), and hamstring/glute strengthening exercises. I can tell that it's been awhile since I wasn't able to complete my full reps and I felt the burn. I walked the mile or so down to the bus stop and wow, it was windy! Almost 'stop you in your tracks' windy.. kind of fun actually. This evening I hope to get out for a short easy hike with the pup, bike for 1/2 hr or so, and do some upper body weights and core work. 

I've also decided to try and record my sleep and weight over the next 4-6 weeks in an attempt to keep myself honest. One reason I love running is that I get to eat a bit more than a normal person should, and I LOVE food. I don't think I over-eat any one particular thing or at any one sitting, but I love to cook and snack, and my night wouldn't be complete without at least a glass of wine or a dessert of some sort. We usually eat vegetarian and I'm gluten intolerant, so there is lots of rice and potatos, and squash right now (from our CSA- community supported agriculture). But my eating might be my downfall during this 'off' time, so I am going to weigh myself regularly and try to keep a log of the food I eat.  I know I could spare more than a few pounds already (I'm only 5'6.5") and that's even with a fairly regular running regimen.  Hopefully I can adjust my diet so I don't gain 10 pounds in the next month.

P.M. Too windy for snowshoeing, so I played fetch with the pup for a while. His paw seems to be almost heeled and he's not visibly limping anymore. Rode the bike for 1/2 hour, then lifted weights (bench, lat pull downs, dumbell curl, and tricep extensions). Foam rolled for only a few minutes on the IT band.. very sore from rolling this morning.

A.M. Slept in. All sorts of sore today from the stretching and strength exercises yesterday. Will try for a solid P.M. work out. 

P.M. Forgot my headlamp on the way out the door, so my hike with the pup was cut short. I think we only did about 2 miles. He loved every minute of it though, sprinting back and forth along our snow covered route. The light was amazing in the setting sun- wish I would have taken my camera. Had planned on some stretches and weights afterwards, but realized that it was getting on dinner time and the hubby would be home soon. He's done so much cooking in the past few days that I felt bad for being such a slacker. So, I opted to make dinner instead. Acorn squash and leek/onion/garlic/ olive oil pasta + parmesan cheese.. not bad for having no plan for dinner and 1/2 prep time. 

A.M. Tried to get some stretching and strength exercises in before leaving for work, but only got about 10 minutes in before I remembered that I had a doctor's appointment today to discuss the vaccinations I will need for our trip to Panama in april. Spent a solid hour looking for my medical records and vaccination booklet.. never found them. It occurred to me during this frantic searching that I really need to get organized at home. 

P.M. Got 3rd installment of Hep A/B booster in right arm and Yellow Fever in left + 1st oral vaccination for typhoid and anti-malarial drugs for the trip. Needless to say, I'm not feeling so hot and both arms ache.  

A.M. went up to the ski area before work today. Love being the only people in line for the chairlifts (lasted for almost the entire time we were there). Only did about 5 green runs on telemark. Definitely can tell that my right quad/knee is not as strong this year as it has been in previous years.. right turns were just ugly. Overall, pretty pleased with the effort and both knees felt okay after about an hour. 

Mid-A.M. worked from home today and interspersed working with stretching and strength exercises.

Mid-P.M. took the pup for our usual trail run loop, except I hiked instead of ran. Most of the snow was packed down from our snowshoe yesterday, but some sections were unbroken (past where we snowshoed yesterday). Unfortunately I only wore the mico-spikes- so I was post-holing a bit. The knee started to hurt on our way home.. might have overdone it a bit today. Lots of ice, ibuprofen, and stretching tonight.

A.M. worked early

P.M. bike 1/2 hr, weights- bench, lat pull downs, bicep curls, overhead press. Stretched for 1/2 hour, foam rolled for 5 mins, and worked quads, hips, and glutes. All done while hubby made an excellent gluten free, vegetarian lasagna.. yum!

A.M. stretched and worked hamstrings, hips, glutes, and core. Plus plank and side plank 30 sec x3. Hiked with the pup for about 2 miles. The wind had covered the trail with drifts of snow pretty successfully, which meant I was breaking trail most of the way. I have no idea why I didn't think to use x-country skis or snowshoes..ah-well.

A.M. Chopped the rest of our wood for about 2.5 hours. 

P.M. Snowshoeing with friends. They showed me a new trail new our house that I am excited to run once I can run again. Probably hiked about 3 miles.

Later P.M. Ice skating! I haven't ice skated since I was in high school and wow, have I missed it. I was a little shaky starting out, but felt better and better as the night went on. I do not even know how I was doing turns and such, I guess it is just muscle memory. Crazy how that works. I think we skated for about two hours.. such a blast and definitely want to go back soon.

A.M. Went into work early and then to mid-morning physical therapy. Lots of deep tissue massage again and I'm still sore from the massage on Friday. I also brought in all my running shoes for her to watch me run in. The best so far are my neutral-cushioned shoes (the Cumulus) with a red sole insert. She said I should retire the motion-control Kayanos because they aren't right for my feet and normal pronation. My right arch falls very slightly and causes a bit of overpronantion for the right ankle, but it apparently is very difficult to discern. She said I could keep using the GT-2150's for short runs only if I swap out the insert for the red soles (solftec response custom footbed). She also thinks maybe only two more weeks fully off of running! Yippee!

 P.M. Cross-country skied the usual 3.5 mile hiking route. The snow was crap and I should have worn snowshoes. Varied snowpack and sticky snow with well developed ice layers in lots of places. Because it's been so windy (and was during the ski as well), there were patches of exposed dirt and rock.. not fun trying to turn away from those sections on narrow downhills. It was so windy in fact that our out trail was almost completely covered by the time we turned around and headed back. Quick upper body weight lifting session when I got home.

A.M. Managed to get up at 5:20.. making progress. Stretched and did quad, hip, and glut strength exercises for 2 hours. Hiked with the pup ~2 miles in microspikes. Should have worn snow shoes.. why don't I learn? Maybe I like post-holing? Tomorrow I am wearing snowshoes!

A.M. Graston at physical therapy. Ouch. That is all I have to say.

P.M. Lots of ouch and major bruising. I don't remember it being this bad the last time I had graston done.  Went snowshoeing with the pup, we did the usual 3.5 mile loop. I have found that my snow shoes aren't great in the really deep stuff. I went with a 'running' pair, but have yet to actually run in them. May have to consider a larger backcountry pair if I ever use them in the backcountry with a pack.

A.M. Slept in an went tele-skiing this morning. It was bitterly cold, but the snow was nice. It took me awhile to get the knee/quad loosened up from the graston scrapping yesterday. The turns weren't pretty and I was very cautious not to fall. Falling on that hip/knee would have ended my day real quick. Will try for some stretches and strength exercises this evening. 

A.M. worked early

Afternoon: Finally made it to the gym. I have been a member now for almost 2 weeks and this is my first time going. That is terrible. I don't necessarily think it was laziness, but anxiety about doing something new. I'm sort of weird like that. Routines are comfortable for me. So hopefully, this was the big hurdle for me to get over in order to go every day (or every other day). Stationary bike for 35 mins on interval setting- which felt kind of easy, so perhaps next time I will just ride a 'manual setting'. Did some upper body weights, lunges and quad/hip stretches:

bench press: bar x 12, 3 reps

alternate front raise, 10 lbs x 12, 3 reps

lateral raise, 10 lbs x 12, 3 reps

bent-over lateral raise, 10 lbs x 12, 3 reps

one arm dumbell raise, 10 lbs x 15, 3 reps

two arm tricep extension, 15 lbs x 12, 3 reps

stationary lunges: 20 x 3 reps

quad stretch: 60 sec x 3 reps

hip stretch: 60 sec x 3 reps

P.M. Date night and we are off to the symphony. Dvorak's New World.. very excited!

Yikes! It's been a whole week since I've entered anything here. I've been a blog slacker. I've also been a bit of a exercise slacker due to the insane work schedule last week. I did manage a few yoga classes, weight days, and hikes with the pup, so last week wasn't all for not. Anyways- hopefully will be better about blogging this week.

 A.M. 2 miles in super slow pace! Went to the gym early, unfortunately I chose a morning that saw all of Boulder covered in a thick layer of ice. Everything was super slick- I am surprised the bus didn't have more trouble. I was cleared to try running today though, so no little layer of ice was going to stop me! I put on the micro-spikes and went out to the Boulder Creek Trail for a short and easy 2 miles. I tried to stay on the grass for the most part and the knee was feeling stiff for the first ~10 minutes, but started to loosen up thereafter. However, the left ankle is not feeling so great. Sharp pains near the base of my achilles and heel. I think I over-extended in one of the yoga classes last week.. awesome. Did some upper body weights and lots of stretching afterwards.

 P.M. Very cold. I waited for at least an hour for the bus to go home today. My feet were little frozen icicles. Wanted to get out for a hike, but may just ride the bike this evening.

A.M. Worked from home today trying to keep the house warm and pipes from freezing. I integrated stretching, leg strengthening, and core work while trying to finish up some data analysis for my next paper. 

P.M. Hour on the bike trainer. It was frigid and I wussed out. 

A.M. Physical therapy. More graston and stretching. They think the IT band and quad are looking pretty good, so I'm cleared to jog slowly for 2-3 miles a day for the next 5-6 days. Next week, we'll reassess and determine if I need to schedule any follow-ups for the following week. If not, I'll be able to ramp up the mileage and schedule something in 2-3 weeks.. fingers crossed.

 Lunch: Yoga. I don't understand why they keep the yoga rooms so warm. It wasn't even a 'warm' yoga class.  I think I would pass out if I tried a 'hot' yoga class. It just makes me feel light-headed and gross. No good.

 Our kitchen pipes and radiator pipe that heats our A-frame froze over night. The hubby stayed home this morning to try to heat the house up enough to get them to unfreeze but had to leave around lunch to get into work for a meeting. Hopefully I don't come home to a flooded house. Ah, fun in the mountains.

Lunch: Yoga

Afternoon: 3 miles in ~9:46 avg pace on Boulder Canyon Trail

A.M. 4 miles in 11:43 Avg pace.

Wow! I am slow and out of shape. Ran the usual 4 mile loop near our house with the pup. It was nice and snowy out and very calm. Knee felt great

Lunch: Shoveled snow for an hour

Afternoon: Snow shoe with the pup, probably 3.5 miles, but it took us awhile. I was breaking trail through hip deep snow drifts and piles.. We had an excellent time!

A.M. Usual 3 mile loop in 11:31 avg pace. I guess everyone has to start somewhere.

A very lazy day followed. Did some baking, some reading, and some hanging out with the hubby who had been sick since Friday (it's Wednesday and he's still sick with a really nasty cough, somehow I may have managed to escape).

P.M. Graston. I was released for a couple weeks to ramp up the mileage! They think the quad/IT band are looking much better and as long as I do not have any pain, I'm free to run easy.

A.M. Went tele skiing for 1.5 hrs. I think I am making progress. Legs were super tired after about 4 runs and it was mighty cold out. The hubby is still sick and we didn't want the cold to irritate his lungs too much. Poor guy. 

3 in ~8:30 avg pace

5 mile loop in 10:45 avg pace

3 miles in 8:40 avg pace

6.5 in 9:20 avg pace (in Phoenix) 

6.8 in 9:15 avg pace (in Phoenix)

Garmin died, no idea what the pace was, but probably very slow.

Usual 5 mile loop in 11:09 avg pace

3 miles in ~15:00 avg pace. 

Was post-holing most of the way and watching to make sure the little one was following along. So, it was probably 1/2 running and 1/2 walking. Saw a couple elk- they were enormous and only about 10' off the trail. Glad that the pups came back to me and we turned around and headed back the way we came!

Afternoon: Yoga

PM: 3 miles in ~9:09 avg pace along Boulder Creek path

AM: 3 miles (in ~15:45 avg pace) on trails near house with pups. Snow worse today. Saw lots of places where elk had punched through almost 1.5' of snow- post holed up to my knee a couple times. Precarious running to be sure! The little one did pretty well. 

Afternoon: Yoga

PM: 6.4 miles in Boulder (9:30 avg pace)

A note: I haven't been blogging or running too much lately partly because work as been insane and partly because of this:

My husband surprised me with this little girl when I came home for a trip to AZ in Feb. We'd been talking about getting our pup a new sister or brother, but was sure that the hubby thought we wouldn't have time for a puppy. He adopted her from a pound up in Rangley. Our friends and neighbors adopted one of her sisters- and that has been fun and helpful. We've sort of set up a doggie co-op for days when we have to be away for longer than 4-5 hrs at a time. So, we've had her for about 3.5 weeks and she's almost 12 weeks old.  Her mom was a great pyrenees and her dad a border collie, so we have no idea how big she will get. She's a handful, but incredibly sweet. Her brother and her are getting along marvelously.. our cat is not too sure yet, but is getting more and more interested in her. It will probably be a year or so before she becomes a regular running buddy- but she seems to have the energy for it already!

10 miles in ~9:52 avg pace. Avg elevation ~8,500' and 695' gain.

~3 mile loop + 1.5 on trails in ~12:43 avg pace. Avg elevation ~8,300, 643' gain. 151 avg heart rate, 177 max heart rate.

4 miles in ~13:10 avg pace on trails. Avg elevation 8,500', 665' gain. Avg heart rate: 160, Max heart rate: 182.

3 mile loop + 1.5 on trails in 11:54 avg pace. Avg elevation:8,500', 664' elevation gain. Avg heart rate: 162, Max heart rate:185.

3 miles on treadmill in Panama. Hot and humid! Avg heart rate: 142, Max heart rate: 164.

6 miles on beach in Panama in 10:26 avg pace. Started too late in the morning. Ran 3 out in cloudy conditions, turned around right when sun came out. Brutal! Super hot and humid. I guess it is central america and in the tropics. I have no idea what the temperature was, I would guess mid 90's with 90% humidity. Beach running is also not easy. Avg heart rate: 165, Max heart rate: 186. 

~1.7 on beach before tide forced me in doors and onto the treadmill, where I added on another 4. I got up early and left by 6:30am, unfortunately that was right at high tide- so the beach really wasn't runnable. Bummer because the temperature was very nice. Avg heart rate:142, Max heart rate: 159.

4.0 barefoot miles on the beach in Panama in 10:24 avg pace. Amazing morning for a run. Wanted to keep going but was concerned that my feet/ankles would not be very happy (I usually do not run barefoot). Turns out, they were super sore two days afterwards. Good thing I did not go longer. Beautiful morning and awesome run. 

5 miles on trails in 12:56 avg pace. Still slightly snow covered and re-acclimating from trip down to sea level last week. Avg elevation: 8,500', 791 gain. Avg heart rate:150, Max heart rate: 177. 

 The newest and smallest (but not for long!) member of the family is doing really well on our trail runs. She still despises the leash though and her recall isn't the greatest. Luckily, we don't see many people or other dogs on our trails... now wildlife is a different story.

5 miles on trails in 12:33 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500', 800' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 153, Max heart rate: 177. Feel like I am still acclimating, super tired at night and little energy for running. 

18" of snow fell on the evening/night of 4/13. So happy because we desperately need the moisture. 

x-country skiing for ~1.5 hours. Shoveled very heavy, wet snow for ~1.5 hours. 

Short hike with pups in AM. Very tired and sore from skiing and shoveling yesterday. 

Show shoeing with hubby and pups for ~1.5 hours. Snow was really sticky and heavy and it was quite a slog. But nice temperatures and good to be out in the woods. 

AM: 5 on trails in ~14:28 avg pace. The run was somewhere between post-holing and running through slushy wet snow. The pups were also not really cooperating today. I had to stop almost 4 times in order to call them back to me. Stubborn pups. AND first tumble of season! Rolled the ankle/stumbled on a slick rock and went flying. Landed on right elbow/forearm and hip.. no serious damage done. The pups looked back at me like.. " what was that for??" Avg elevation: 8,500', 766' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 161, Max heart rate: 179.

 PM: ~3 mile snowshoe with friend and pups. 

AM: 5 miles on trails in ~13:41 avg pace. Trails are getting better. Slightly less snow, but where it is, it is pretty difficult running. Avg elevation: 8,500', 792' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 160, Max heart rate: 178. 

AM: 5 miles on trails with pups in 12:48 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500', 804' gain/loss. Avg heart rate:154, Max heart rate: 178.

It appears that as the snow melts off the trails, my average pace drops. It's still pretty tough running, especially in the rockier areas that are only partially snow covered. I move pretty cautiously at times. Beautiful morning for a run. We got about 3" of snow last night and it was cold enough to keep the new snow and old stuff from being too slushy on the trails. I overdressed though and was shedding my hat, gloves, and pushing up my fleece sleeves after the first mile.

Unplanned day off. Work,work, work, and then work some more.

AM: 5 on road with older pup + 1.5 with younger pup on trails in ~12:30 avg pave. Avg elevation: 8,500', 905' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 154, Max heart rate: 176. Running the roads feels much easier after a couple weeks of trail running. Snowed pretty heavily at times and we were soaked by the end. Snow was super sticky on the trails, making foot a bit difficult when you are carrying at extra few inches (+pounds) of snow on your shoes. 

Afternoon: Meditative yoga. Nice change of pace.

AM: 3 w/ older pup + 2 on trails w/ younger pup for total of ~5.25 in 11:24 avg pace. Ave elevation: 8,500', 797' gain/loss. Avg heart rate:149, Max heart rate:174. Nice and brisk this morning so what snow that was left on the trails was more like ice and easier to run on with the microspikes. Almost able to run the trails without the microspikes.. maybe in a couple more days. Although, I think the forecast is calling for rain/sleet/snow this weekend. I can't complain- we still need the precipitation. 

 I have been really good about using the foam roller on the IT band. 5 days in  row! Should probably stretch and foam roll twice a day, but it's a good start towards consistency.

AM: Planned on running the 15k at the Boulder Distance Classic. Left the house ~6:30 in the pouring snow. The roads were pretty snowy/icy and I managed to make it a couple miles down the canyon before realizing that this was crazy. I saw at least a couple tire tracks off the road, I was sliding around a bit, but the decision was solidified when I saw a car slide out in front of me and then another person behind me slid around a corner and then proceed to tailgate me. Awesome. I don't understand why people think that just because they have 4wd, they can drive like the it's the Indy 500 (and I have 4wd). Anyways, if I were the only person on the road and I didn't have to deal with crappy drivers- I might have decided to head on down. I was also thinking to myself.. 'Yes, I would drive this for some sweet untracked powder, but a running race, is this really worth it?? Why don't I just go for a nice long trail run on this beautiful snowy morning?' And that is exactly what I decided to do. And I have no regrets.

Ran ~6.16 in 13:24 avg pace in the new La Sportiva trail shoes ( + microspikes) that I just bought on sale. The shoes were pretty nice- I felt like I might get a hotspot on one of my heels if I had to do a LOT of climbing- but I figure it might just need some wearing in. Overall it was a lovely run through 3-4" of fresh snow.  Avg elevation: 8,500', 941' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 156, Max heart rate: 174.

Lots of stretching and foam rolling afterwards.

AM: ~1.5 hr hike w/ hubby and pups. Nice relaxing day off. 

Made some gluten free vegetable lasagna and gluten free vanilla cake + cream cheese frosting (with pink food coloring in honor of bunny day). Delicious.

AM: 6 miles on trails with pups in 14:19 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500, 967' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 161, Max heart rate: 179.

We got about 6" of snow yesterday and last night. The run was nice, just enough snow to make the uphills tough, but the downhills fun. My calves and ankles are a bit tired this evening though, lots of ankle rolling and some post holing.

Unplanned day off. Worked early, then two town meetings each ~3.5 hrs in length. Left the house at 5:30 for work and got home from the last meeting around 11pm. Luckily we got to come home after work and between the meetings for a little puppy play time. They still were not super happy with us though. Exhausting day.

AM: 5 on trails with pups in 12:41 avg pace. Avg elevation 8,500', 802' gain/loss. Avg heart rate:160, Max heart rate 176. Heart rate was slightly higher than normal today when I was getting ready for my run and that was sans coffee. I forgot to bring water to the two 3-4 hour board meetings last night and am pretty dehydrated today. Legs also felt like lead this morning despite taking yesterday off. Maybe just lack of sleep (~5.5 hours only)..wish I could take a nap today but the lab is calling and then another town meeting tonight. Ack. Sometimes I think I volunteer too much.

 Afternoon: Decided it was too beautiful of a day to be stuck inside a yoga class so I got on the day's tasks asap and finished my lab work early and then headed out for ~6 mile run on the Boulder Canyon trail. It was amazing. First, there is actually oxygen down here in Boulder! Who knew? Second, it's relatively flat... ahhh, so easy! Made for a nice easy jog on a beautiful spring day. Stats: 6.22 miles in 9:14 avg pace. Avg elevation: ~5,500', 394' gain/loss. Avg heart rate 158, Max heart rate: 170.

AM: 3.05 on trails with pups at 12:35 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500', 500' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 151, Max heart rate: 171. Beautiful crisp morning. Wanted to go longer but didn't get up early enough (still a little tired from meetings earlier in the week). Will try for a longish run later.

 Afternoon: Meditative yoga. 

AM: 3 on roads with older pup, then ~3 more on trails with both pups in 11:37 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500', 948' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 161, Max heart rate: 181. Felt pretty good this morning, beautiful weather.. not too hot, not too cold. Pretty much perfect. Although the snow that is still lingering is somewhat turning into cruddy ice- which makes navigation a bit more difficult and I haven't been wearing the microspikes. Might think about 3 more this afternoon, I think taking an easy day yesterday did my legs some good.

AM: Wow! It's chilly out there. Got down to the teens last night and suppose to again tonight. Low 20's for the run this morning with a fierce wind and spitting snow. Ran 3 miles by myself to get warmed up, then grabbed the pups for another ~5ish on the trails. Total: 8.17 in11:33 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500 with 1,170' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 154, Max heart rate 175.  I think I may be ready for spring now.

AM: 12.16 in 9:37 avg pace at the Boulder Reservoir. Avg elevation: 5,300, ~450 gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 153, Max heart rate: 175. 

 Decided to head down to the reservoir for a longish run this morning before work. Hubby and I decided to work this weekend so that we could take Thursday and Friday off next week and have a 4 day weekend. Really looking forward to that. The run was awesome. I really needed a nice easy long run over relatively easy terrain. I tried to keep my heart rate between 145-155, and I did pretty well except for the hills. Noticing some soreness on the outside of right ankle, so I think I will take tomorrow off and try to hit a couple yoga classes, lift, and do lots of stretching. 

AM: ~ hr hike with pups this morning. Pretty cold, but nice in the sunshine. Stretched and foam rolled when we got home. 

Work, work, then work some more! Looking forward to the 4 day weekend we have planned.

PM: Hot tub.. excellent.

AM: 5 on trails with pups + 3 more on roads alone near house in 11:22 avg pace. I forgot my heart rate monitor at work yesterday and it felt nice to run without it for a change. I should probably try to run sans watch a few times a week- would probably do me some good instead of looking at these incredibly slow paces. Avg elevation: 8,500', 1,170' gain/loss. Beautiful morning for a run. Legs felt pretty good, still some stiffness in lower legs- probably from all the trail running the last couple weeks. Need to do some stretching and foam rolling this evening. 

AM: 5 alone on usual route + 3 miles on trails with pups in 11:32 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500, 1,389' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 149, Max heart rate: 169. Felt a little more tired than usual this morning. I think working 12 days in a row is pretty rough on me. Am really looking forward to this long weekend. A bit windy today and spitting some snow. The little one demolished one of my favorite smart wool trail socks. Such a bummer, I think I wore them twice and they were so comfy! My fault though- I left it within reach. Ah-well. 

Another unplanned day off. Maybe for the best. I don't want to push the mileage up too quickly and get injured. We worked on the house all day and then took a nice walk down to town to run some errands. We are removing the front deck because it's a terrible fire hazard (forest fire) and we've decided to replace it with flagstone instead. Upon removing the wood, we realized that it was actually redwood and in pretty good shape in most places. It was painted, so we had no idea what kind of wood it was, but assumed fir. Why anyone would paint redwood is beyond me- what a beautiful wood! So we were pretty careful removing the screws and sections and decided to plane it (and maybe rip it if we can find a place that will do it for a reasonable price) and use it as wood flooring in the house. Sweet! 

 Lower back and hamstrings were a bit sore from leaning over to remove screws all day. Good cross training I figure. 

AM: Headed to Golden Gate State Park this morning with hubby and older pup (younger one still getting too car sick and this road would not have been pleasant for anyone in the car). Wanted to preview the 12 mi course for the Golden Gate Dirty Thirty in a couple weekends and the hubby was going to hike with the pup. However, numerous warning signs of recent mountain lion sightings left us feeling uneasy. The hubby wanted me to take the pup (who is really a medium sized, sweet, but wuss of a dog who often hides behind me when we approach 'scary' tree stumps... ha! not a lot of protection from him). I didn't feel comfortable with my hubby hiking alone so I decided to just hike with them and do the top section and second half of the 12 mile course. I know if I would have been alone, I would have just run it- but having the hubby and pup there and feeling responsible for their well-being probably lead to a better/safer decision. The funny thing is that I KNOW there are mountain lions where I run with the pups every day.. but somehow by not having warning signs makes the threat seem less imminent I suppose. The one thing good thing about the trails near our house is that they are closer to 'civilization' and a bit higher in elevation, which may make it less likely for us to become a tasty treat for a hungry lion??

Anyways, the hike was nice although there are definitely sections of the trail /course that I may not be able to run.. pretty steep in some places. I'm actually a little more worried about the downhill than the uphill though. Likely to be a quad/knee killer.

Decided to run up Rollins Pass with the hubby biking this morning. Gorgeous day and warm temperatures may have obscured my memory for how long the snow sticks around in the high country. Needless to say, we were stopped by snow within the first mile (started around 9,200'). We pushed on hoping that the snow would let up a bit, but it was post holing for the most part with the hubby walking his bike. We made it to the first switch back (~2.5 miles) and decided to turn around. I really wanted to get a long run in, so I decided to run back down Tolland Rd to Rollinsville. It's mostly downhill with some rollers. It was too beautiful of a day to miss out completely. So, the total mileage was around 13.6 with an average pace of ~10:30. Although, the run up the pass was significantly slower (some miles were ~15:00 pace because of walking/post holing) and the downhill section once I hit the road was ~9:00 avg pace. Starting elevation: 9,200, max elevation: 9,400, Min elevation: 8, 500. Avg heart rate: 154, Max heart rate: 180. 

~6.5/7.0 mile hike with pups. We watched our neighbors dogs yesterday and last night, so we had our youngest pups' sister, a cattle dog, and a collie/malamute mix+ our two dogs. Didn't take the oldest one (collie/malamute mix) because he was limping a lot yesterday. Pushed the hiking pace to simulate an 'easy' run. I think it's still harder than the easy run down in Boulder. The two siblings were exhausted when we got home and took a nice long nap in the sun on the back deck. I was surprised that the cattle dog and our other dog (blue heeler/ collie mix) were still somewhat awake/active when we got back. They had to have run twice as long as I hiked because I was playing fetch with them the entire time. I wish I had that kind of energy!

AM: 5.0 alone + 3.0 on trails with pups. No watch and no heart rate monitor. Lovely morning for a run. Need to foam roll and stretch more today. Feeling some tightness.

AM: 6 on trails with pups in 11:57 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500', 900' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 153, Max heart rate: 174. Absolutely amazing morning for a run. Perfect running temperature- slightly warm in the sun, slightly chilly in the shade. Wore gloves- but didn't need them at the end. The snow-capped mountains are looking beautiful and inviting. Maybe a snow shoe  up to the high country is in order at the end of the week. 

PM: 2 miles easy in 9:22 pace.

AM: woke to ~2 inches of snow this morning and by the time I got out the door it was ~4-5"! Love a nice spring snow shower. Went out for a longish run alone: 11 in 9:45 avg pace. Felt pretty good, but the downhills are slower than they used to be and I'm not exactly sure why that is. Maybe just not really in that great of shape yet. Min Elevation: 8,250', Max Elevation: 8,715', Gain/Loss: 830'. No heart rate monitor today. Got thoroughly soaked on the run by really considerate people driving 10-20 over the speed limit and not moving over one inch for me. On the way back, it had warmed up a bit and all the snow became a slushy wet mess that came up almost over my ankles. With the exception of intended stream crossings, my feet have never been so wet.

Got home and the snow was so nice in our yard that I decided to take the pups out for a ~2 mile snowshoe in the woods (after a change of clothes, socks, and shoes because I was pretty soaked and starting to get a chill). It was a really nice cool down and they thoroughly enjoyed romping through the snow. It's still snowing up in the mountains- some forecasts call for another 5-8", which would be great because we still need the precipitation!

AM: 5 with pups on trails. Garmin was acting up this morning, it had 99% battery when I went to bed last night and I double checked that the GPS was off. This morning when I went to put the watch on it said the battery was at 0%.. what?! I suspect that either our cat put it on and went for a 3-4 hour hunt last night or that the watch battery is starting to fail. The bezel has been acting weird and the battery has also been draining a lot faster than it used to. A few days ago after the 11 miler, it started saying low battery on the snowshoe hike I was on the with the pups (only ~2.5 hrs of having the GPS and training on). The watch isn't even a year old yet..lame. 

 Anyways, we got another few inches last night, so ~6-8" total. Most of it stuck around this morning and the wind hasn't picked up yet so it was a winter/spring wonder land. All the trees are covered in snow and it was still snowing some during the run. The snow is a bit heavy and sticky, but not too bad. Some post holing but the downhills were nice and smooth. The pups also enjoyed themselves.

AM: 9.08 in 9:26 avg pace. Min Elevation:8,249'; Max Elevation: 8,659'; ~650' gain/loss. Another beautiful morning for a solo run. Ran up the canyon and realized that two days ago when I ran up the canyon, the wind was from the east. Usually the wind is down canyon (from the west) as it was this morning. I think that snow storm actually came in from the east, which happens occasionally. That would also account for slightly faster times uphill than usual a few days ago. Was a little over dressed, had to wear the warmer tights because the other ones are in the laundry and two long sleeved layers + baseball cap and gloves (the warmer ones again because the light weight ones are in the laundry.. really need to get on the laundry tonight). Felt pretty good overall.

 Went for a cool down walk/hike with the older of the pups. The younger one refused to put on her harness and leash, so after dealing with a spazing out puppy for 5 mins I decided to put her back in the crate. I felt guilty on the walk without her. I know she was just super excited to see me and to go for her walk but she was being impossible. When we got back I took them out into the yard for some playtime before leaving for work today.

Not sure why I decided to run colfax half again this year. I forgot about the 6am start and the 'need to be parked by 4:45am'. Ugh. Left the house at 3:30 am and drove on the very slushy canyon road down to Denver (it snowed 5-6" up at our place on Saturday night). Arrive without too much issue and parked. They changed the set up of the course a bit this year and it is terribly dark at 4:30am in City Park. They didn't have great signage directing runners to the start or to the port-o-potties. I saw lines of people just waiting to use the standard park restrooms, likely because they didn't know where the POP's where. It was a chilly morning, temps probably in the upper 30's, low 40's with some drizzle. I opted for tights, long sleeves mid weight shirt with a light weight t-shirt over it + gloves and running cap. Brought along the hand held amphipod water bottle with First Endurance EFS and a Gu (no caffeine) (only drank 1/2 the EFS and ate less than 1/2 gu).

Ran 5 mins of warm up to get to POP's, then over to start. Stretched a bit on the starting line. Probably could have warmed up a bit more. 

 They used corrals this year and placed runners w.r.t. anticipated finish time. I'd say about only about 1/2 the people in my corral were actually suppose to be there. Many were from slower corrals (supposedly not allowed, but no one was checking). Of course, one of my biggest pet peeves in these larger races is 1) people that run with ear phones (because 9/10 times they have no idea they are cutting people off left and right) and 2) slower runners and/or walkers that start in positions that do not in any way represent where they will finish in the pack or even what their paces are. Anyways, I digress, somewhat... The start was pretty long and it took a while for the pack to thin out enough to even run. As expected, within the first mile people were walking and breathing so heavily that it sounded like they would pass out. It just seems to me that if you are going to walk in the first mile, you should be in one of the last, if not the last starting corral. I have no idea why people do this, it can't be fun or good for motivation. I guess my goal should be to get faster and try to legitimately be located in the first few starting corrals. I bet the faster runners do not have these sorts of difficulties to deal with.

 I didn't have time to really think about a plan for this race. I had intended to do that this past week, but never found the time. So, as usual, I decided to start slow and try to get progressively faster throughout the nice, flat course, with significantly more oxygen than I typically have available.

The breakdown from the garmin:

Mile 1: 9:37- really packed, not able to even run at some points.

Mile 2: 8:58

Mile 3: 8:59

Mile 4: 9:08- slight hill

Mile 5: 8:53

Mile 6: 8:54

Mile 7: 8:45

Mile 8: 8:31

Mile 9: 8:37

Mile 10: 8:31

Mile 11: 8:19

Mile 12: 7:55

Mile 13: 7:51

Forgot to turn off watch after I crossed the finish line, so I have no idea what my ending pace was. I felt strong on the very last stretch and the last few data points from the garmin were 6:55- 6:35 pace and it didn't feel like a sprint, just a strong finish.

Total (from garmin) time: 1:54:04

Ave pace (from garmin): 8:38

Started raining just as I finished and my hands were freezing by that point. I grabbed a banana and some water and headed to the car to change. I didn't wear my heart rate monitor, and I'm thinking that for the next race I may wear my watch, but set it into a mode so that I cannot see my pace. I'm thinking maybe I should try to race more by feel and see how that goes. I was running pretty easy (I doubt my heart rate was above 150) until about Mile 10, so I think if I adjust my race strategy and mind set, I'm probably capable of a sub 1:50 right now on a relatively flat course at lower elevation (5,000-6,000').

Ended up meeting an old friend for brunch down town after the race and it was great to catch up with him after ~5 years! ( I am just terrible at staying in touch.. really need to be better at that).

*I just looked back at my stats from this race last year and I ran a ~2:03, so I guess almost a 9 minute better time for this course is a good start to the season. Especially since I've only really been training for the last month after taking care of the IT band/ knee issues this winter.

AM: 5 with pups on trails in ~12:47 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500', 800' gain/loss. Legs felt a little heavy this morning, especially on the uphill sections. Probably just some fatigue from the longer day yesterday (I don't deal well with less than 8 hrs of sleep per night). It was a beautiful morning though with the snow melting off the trees in the morning sunlight. In the deeper parts of the forest it felt a little like the trees were crying on us and in the open sunlit sections it was a brilliant display of sparkling gems falling. Really very pretty. There was not a cloud in the sky, so the views of the snow capped mountains against the brilliant blue was also a nice touch to the morning run.

The negative aspect of the run occurred on our way back when we met a gentleman and his rather large australian shepherd and the little one refused to come back when called. My older dog is really very nice and submissive to almost all dogs he meets on the trails. He used to get excited (and he still does somewhat) and go running up to strange dogs and I was always more worried about him than the other dog or person. We finally got him trained so that when we call him, he comes back 99% of the time even if there are other dogs on the trail. The little one is a bit more aggressive though. She barks like crazy with all her hair standing up, it's less of  'yay! another dog for me to play with' and more of 'I am really not happy to see you on this trail and I will protect my person if I need too' .. So this is no good. There is always the possibility of meeting other people and dogs on the trails near our house and her behavior this morning was unacceptable. At any rate, we let the dogs meet (because she was NOT coming back to me anyways) and the other dog was growling at her (I would too- she was being super annoying) and I managed to grab her and put her leash on. I apologized to the man and he seemed to understand that she is just a dumb puppy. I kept her on the leash the entire way back home, which was just as painful for me as it was for her because she is a handful on the leash as well. But, I think it is going to be necessary for the next few months until she learns to come back when called. It is probably a good thing to start getting her used to running with me on the leash anyways.

AM: ~6.5 with pups on trails in 12:14 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500', ~930' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 154, Max heart rate: 169. Goal for this run was 75 mins at ~160 bpm heart rate. It was nearly impossible to get 160 on downhill sections and almost as hard to stay under 160 on the uphill sections. Although it was a nice change of tactics and one that may come in handy for trail running in general. Go very slowly up the hills and maintain a quick leg turn over on the downhill sections. Nice morning run with the pups though. They were relatively better behaved today. Foam rolling for 10 mins after the run. 

* a few people on the blog keep track of miles run with their pups and I think that is pretty cool so am going to be a copycat and do this as well. The older pup (L pup) has probably done about 1/2 of my total mileage since I've joined the blog and I ran with him ~ 1.5 years before joining, so I think 450 is probably an underestimate. The younger pup (B pup) has probably only done 1/3 of the mileage since March, so probably ~50 miles? This will probably also be useful for me to see how much they are running- I worry that sometimes I run them a bit too much.

AM: 5 miles with pups on trails in ~13:14 avg pace. Goal was 60 mins at a heart rate of 145 bpm, but again had problems maintaining 145 on downhills (usually around 120) as well as uphills (~150). IT bands were also a bit tight on both legs, likely from the faster downhills yesterday so I decided to take it very easy today. Avg heart rate: 134, Max heart rate:154. Avg elevation: 8,500', 788 gain/loss. Started out in sleet that became rain towards the end of the run. We ran through the clouds in the upper sections of the trail. Very peaceful morning. Foam rolled and stretched afterwards. 

AM: We got 6-8" of snow last night and was still hanging around this morning. Very slushy/sticky heavy stuff. Decided against running and took the pups for ~hr long snowshoe. They really love the snow. Foam rolled when I got home. Will try for a run in the afternoon in Boulder. 

Afternoon:  6.77 mi in 9:00 avg pace on Boulder Canyon trail. Goal: 60 mins at 150 bpm heart rate. Did pretty well. I feel like it is much easier to run based on heart rate down in Boulder. Avg heart rate: 152, Max heart rate 162. Min elevation: 5,340; Max elevation: 5,754. Rained the entire run. Thoroughly soaked.

 PM: Another 45 min snow shoe with the pups. They have too much energy.

AM: Attempted a road run this morning, but within 3 minutes I had almost fallen twice and decided the roads were just too icy at 5:30am. So, I turned around and went back to grab the pups for a trail run in the snow (~8" this morning). Goal for the run was 75 mins at 160 bpm, but I knew this was going to be really tough to do while post holing up and down moderate sized hills. So, opted for the usual 5 mile run at a  moderate effort. ~5.03 in 15:09 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 150, Max heart rate: 164. Avg elevation: 8,500', 793 gain/loss. It was a tough run and my legs are pretty tired from the post-holing. Beautiful morning though. I do love the snow. Foam rolled, stretched, and hip/glut exercises afterwards.  

AM: 10 miles in 9:50 avg pace. Goal was 90 mins @155. Avg heart rate: 152, Max heart rate 172. Min elevation: 8,428'; Max elevation: 8,711'; 1,000' gain/loss. Fairly nice run after two days off. Lots of house/yard work over Saturday/Sunday and today. 

AM: 8.46 in 9:20 avg pace. Goal: 75 mins @160 bpm. Avg heart rate: 158, Max heart rate: 171. Min elevation: 8,225'; Max elevation: 8,673'; 695' gain/loss. 

B pup went in for her spay today. Poor little girl was pretty out of it all night and looked pitiful. But surgery went well and we don't have to worry about little ones now. No activity for 10 days is going to be awfully painful for her (and us).

AM: 5.43 mi in 11:00 avg pace. Goal: 60 mins no higher than 150. Avg heart rate: 144, Max heart rate: 168. Min elevation: 8,252'; Max elevation: 8,554'; 700' gain/loss. Really hard to keep heart rate under 150 on the hills. Ran with L pup. Chilly and windy morning run. 

B pup seems to be recovery really well. She was already pouncing on L pup this morning and ate her full breakfast without issue. Going to be a long 10 days for her without any hiking/running/playing. And she has to wear the dreaded cone.. poor girl. 

AM: 7.29 miles in 10:20 avg pace. Goal: 75 mins at 145-150. Right away I realized this probably was going to be difficult for me this morning since my heart rate was already ~90 when I started the run (probably too much coffee and dehydrated from 4 hour meeting last night in which I again forgot my water bottle). However, the garmin was returning heart rate data that was all over the place. It would spike to 165 and then drop to 100. On the final ascent towards home it was giving me readings of 80-95 (impossible since my heart rate even walking is 130 up the steep hill). So, the heart rate data is crap for today. Even though I couldn't get an accurate heart rate reading, I still ran pretty easy. My stomach was a bit off and I knew I was dehydrated. Min elevation: 8,249'; Max elevation: 8,584'; 634' gain/loss.

AM: 7.32 in 10:22 avg pace. Goal: 75 mins at 145.

Unfortunately, my heart rate again was pretty high this morning. Not really sure what is going on with that. My heart rate was immediately in the 165-170 range running slowly up the hills. Usually it's in the 150-155 range if I'm running slowly. Maybe I have a slight bug or something. I have been feeling pretty tired and worked lately. Avg heart rate: 154, Max heart rate: 176. Min Elevation: 8,251'; Max elevation: 8,575'; 878 gain/loss. Anyways, ran the usual subdivision loop(s) with L pup and one of the neighbor pups decided to run with us today. She's a sweetie; part great pyrenees and probably part pit bull. Although, she looks a lot like a great dane. B pup and L pup really adore her.

AM: Quick 3 mi run on trails with L pup in 12:00 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 153, Max heart rate: 173. Avg elevation: 8,500', 530' gain/loss. Lots of house work. 

AM: House/yard work.

 Afternoon: 15 mi to friend's house for small gathering in 9:53 avg pace. Max elevation was at our house (~8,520) and min elevation was at our friend's house (7,290'), so a net downhill. However, there are a few really gnarly uphills spaced throughout and the final descent was a bit rough on the knees. Elevation gain: 1,223'; elevation loss: 2,449'. Average heart rate: 157, Max heart rate: 176. Beautiful day for a long run and it was nice to try a new route. Definitely not an 'easy' route, but not too bad. I would probably run it again.

AM: ~6 miles this morning with L pup. Woke up to sleet/snow on the ground and a fierce wind. Headed out to the trails for 75 min easy run (140-145 bpm). Avg heart rate: 140, Max heart rate: 167 and 79 minutes total. Carried a rock this morning. Felt like something was watching me most of the way- probably just on edge because friends and neighbors have seen a few lions the past couple weeks. Guess it's that time of year.

AM: 9.75 mi in 9:16 avg pace. Goal was 90 mins with 70 at 160. I actually thought the goal heart rate was suppose to be 170- oops, should have checked my schedule. At any rate, my heart rate was low this morning, so it was a tough run to maintain a higher heart rate. Avg heart rate: 157, Max heart rate: 172. Avg elevation: 8,500'; 715' gain/loss. The heart rate monitor was giving spurious readings at the end up the last hill; 165 to 112 while I was maintaining a steady pace.. I think not. Really frustrating when that happens, but it is also good to run by feel as well. I think I need a couple easy/slow days to give my legs a bit of rest before the trail race this weekend. Looking forward to it!

AM: Easy 5 on trails with pups in 12:27 avg pace. Avg heart: 145, Max heart rate: 167. Avg elevation: 8,500',810' gain/loss. Legs were tired and heavy this morning so I took it really easy. May drop back to only 3-4 miles tomorrow morning to hopefully have fresh legs on Saturday. Also made the mistake of eating banana and peanut butter sandwich about 15 mins before the run. Definitely was hard on the stomach for the first mile or so. I usually have a snack before I run + 1 cup of coffee, but I was starving this morning. First run back with B pup after her spay. We are a day early, but her stomach looks good and she is just a ball of energy (sprinting laps around the house last night), so I took a gamble this morning and figured she could handle an easy run in the woods.

 PM: Easy 2 with hubby and pups. The hubby wants to get back into running so I suggested we start with an easy two mile loop after work every other day for the next few weeks. He will be running faster and longer than me in no time.. he's just one of those people that are even in shape when they think they are out of shape. Insanely jealous of his genetics.

AM: ~hour hike with pups on trails. Legs are feeling okay, but realized that I may be slightly over the total weekly mileage if I ran this morning. Plus, it felt nice to just hike. Unfortunately, we met about 10 trail runners on the trail this morning. This is essentially unheard of. We hike/run these trails nearly every other day and occasionally see 1 other people and maybe his/her dogs. At any rate, L and B pup were TERRIBLE.. really embarrassed me. Now, of course- I know my dogs wouldn't hurt a fly, they are super sweet and friendly, but really excitable. However, I know from my own experience running out on somewhat remote trails that coming upon a barking dog that is obviously happy about seeing me and trying to jump up on me is slightly disconcerting ...and I love dogs! But you just never know. At any rate, I saw the first runner and grabbed L pup, but B pup didn't even turn to look at me when I called her. She was off and running and barking. I yelled out that she was friendly, just young and stupid and he seemed to understand. I got up to them and grabbed her and a couple more people went by. Unfortunately, they didn't mention that there were a few more people coming over the hill, so not seeing any one else I let them go. Stupid me. L and B pup both saw the additional runners coming up on the trail and again took off to meet them- I yelled and yelled for them to come back, but nope- not interested. I felt SO bad and was so embarrassed. I work with them and work with them, but the reality is that we rarely see anyone else that we do not know on the trails, so it is incredibly difficult to train the dogs for these situations. However, this is no excuse. I realized that if they are not 100% reliable 100% of the time, they are not allowed to be off leash. Which means that they can't accompany me on the majority of my runs because they are typically impossible on leash. I'm a bit depressed about this at the moment.

 The other aspect that I will have to contend with is, oddly enough, my husband. I get the feeling that he simply thinks we are just not working with them enough and that if we put the time and effort in, they will become good companions on the trails (and off the trails). It does not seem like he has not been very supportive about finding trainers or even reading books on dog training. Additionally, he usually also does not want to deal with them in social situations (easier to just leave them home). My opinion is that they will never become better behaved in social situations (hiking on well traveled trails or even taking them to a farmer's market) if we do not introduce and familiarize them to these situations. We can't expect them to magically learn the correct behaviors. Anyways, definitely disappointed in myself for not being on the ball and getting them the proper training sooner. But we will be starting today on more basics and hopefully finding some classes/trainers in the area soon. If anyone has recommendations for good books on the subject, please let me know!

Bit disappointed with my overall time on this race. I figured since it was nearly in my backyard and I run trails and hills almost every other day- I could easily finish around 2:30 (12:30 pace). However, this was not the case today. I ended up walking the uphills much earlier than I thought I would and I think I did okay on the downhills (although, definitely not as fast as some people- I really wish I knew how to fly like some of these runners.. wow, they can move!). The other issue that arose was around mile 3-4 my toes started to go numb. Then when I started the big uphill to Windy Peak, I realized that both feet were cramping up near the balls of my feet and first three toes. I'm hurting pretty bad at this point and was feeling depressed about the fact that I was walking and it was getting pretty hot so I kept telling myself that I was being a wimp and I should just suck it up. Well the cramping/numbness continued throughout the remainder of the race- alternating between numbness on the downhills and cramping on the uphills. I've been pretty good about hydration lately and eating well, and I had first endurance EFS drink in my bottles so I knew my salt should be good (and I felt hydrated, not over drinking or under drinking). I've run in these shoes for almost a month now and never had this problem. However, the trail was much steeper on the incline and decline than what I am used to, so perhaps it was just all the pounding. I also felt like my breathing was way out of control when I tried to run up the steep sections. I purposefully switched my garmin so that I couldn't see my heart rate (knowing it would be really high for most of the race). And I was pretty bummed that I felt the need to walk so early and so often. I was wondering if mentally I was slacking off when I saw other people walk. I don't know. At any rate, here's the stats from the garmin:

mile 1: 10:59

mile 2: 9:57

mile 3: 17:25

mile 4: 19:03

mile 5: 9:24

mile 6: 9:56

mile 7: 21:18

mile 8: 21:05

mile 9: 15:01

mile 10: 10:22

mile 11: 16:23

mile 12: 9:38

Total: 2:50:06, Avg pace: 14:10. Avg heart rate: 170, Max heart rate: 183. Min elevation: 7,616'; Max elevation: 9,126'; 3,110' gain/loss.

 The after race was pretty nice. I got the opportunity to meet Stacy from the blog and that was awesome! So glad we got the chance to meet face to face and chat for a bit. Definitely the highlight of the race for me. I grabbed a bit of food, soaked my feet in the river, and bought a new Nathan hydration backpack (proceeds went to a local group that works to get youths out into the mountains- what a great cause!). The waist belt did not work all that well on the fast downhills. I actually lost a gu and feel terrible about littering. I didn't know it fell out until much later.  Oops. I also purchased some compression sleeves for my calves. I've never tried them before and I thought- 'what the heck..' We'll see if they make any difference. I stuck around for the awards and giveaways at the end. As usual though they didn't do the name drawings until almost 2:15, and by that time most people had left. So- like many events, they just started handing stuff out and it was a total cluster! I don't like to be near these situations, makes me feel a little nauseated.. maybe that makes me weird. My hubby came back to pick me up around 3 and we went and grabbed a burger at one of the local bars in town. I was SO hungry- they didn't have much GF food, so I survived on 1/2 gu and small chicken salad for the better part of the day. I do not eat red meat (or any meat) all that often, but the burger (sans bun) was SO delicious. I even had bacon on it.. shameful, I know.

 After I downloaded the data from the garmin, I did not feel as bad about my time. My average heart rate was 170 and that is pretty high for me. It was definitely a tough course and I felt like I worked pretty hard. I do think I can run more sections of the course though and so I'm determined to run a rematch sometime in the near future. Additionally, the numbness/cramping in the toes did turn out to be real. They were numb the rest of the day on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and now it is Tuesday and while they are getting better, the numbness feeling is definitely still there. Weird and annoying to say the least.

AM: 5 on trails with pups + 2 on roads with hubby in ~12:08 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 144, Max heart rate: 175. Min elevation: 8,370'; Max elevation: 8,697'; 1,025' gain/loss. 

We are taking care of our neighbor's three pups until Sunday, one of which is our little one's (B pup)  sister (we will call her N pup). N pup is even more stubborn than B pup, so I decided to run with both of them on leash this morning. L pup and Q pup joined us off leash. B & N did pretty well, although they ran a little slower than I would have liked sometimes, so I ran into the back of them a couple times. We occasionally had to stop and check some pee mail or nibble on a flower, and sometimes B & N wanted to go in orthogonal directions- but for the most part, they ran side by side. Pretty cute. Got home and wanted to do another 5, I convinced my hubby to run 2 with me. On the way back from the little two mile loop I realized that my IT band was pretty tight and maybe I should just use the time I had to do some foam rolling. Plus, I skipped breakfast before the run and was starving at this point. Three largest toes on right foot are still numb and second toe on left foot is still a bit numb. They've been numb since the race on Saturday. Definitely an odd feeling.

AM: 3 miles on trails with pups + 9 on roads alone. In summary: 12.13 miles in 10:48 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 159, Max heart rate: 180. Min elevation: 8,250'; Max elevation: 8,703'; 1,129' gain/loss.

B& N pup on leash, L& Q pup off leash. B&N did pretty well, they only really pulled (nice upper body workout) for the first 10 minutes and then we settled into a fairly good/slow pace. L is still being kind of stubborn about coming back when called, don't know what his deal is lately. We turned around near a trail entrance with a small (like 2 cars) turn out where people sometimes park. Well, this guy was flying down the road coming towards us (thank goodness we were not on the road), sees us and then swerves over into the little parking area to allow his fairly large, mean looking dogs bark like mad at us. I know this sounds insane, but he was smiling at me while his dogs were going crazy trying to launch themselves out of the back of his truck- so it is the only logical thing that I can think of.. nice huh?! Some people.. I just don't know. Anyways, Loki acted like he was going to have a go at the dogs (unwise- there were 4 of them and like I said.. not exactly friendly looking)- so I had to scream at him to come back to me.. he's such an idiot sometimes. I'm SO glad that I had the little ones on leash- I am sure if given the chance they would have taken off to case them. Just as we crested the hill heading back the way we came, the guy peeled out of the parking area and took off down the road. Awesome.

Dropped the pups off, changed out of the trail shoes, grabbed a water bottle and went back out for 9 on the roads. The pups were not pleased to be left behind. This was suppose to be an easy run (heart rate ~145ish), but I knew right away that goal was going to be out the door. My heart rate was super high this morning (likely the two large cups of coffee I had with breakfast). I felt like I was barely moving and my heart rate varied between 165-170 on the way out and 160-165 on the way back, with the final uphill 170-180. And my pace was painfully slow. Additionally, I noticed some tightness/soreness in my lower right calf. It only got worse and by the time I got home- it was pretty painful. So, I tried to do something that I have not done since college soccer days- ice bath. I only managed 15 secs x2... I remember why I have not done these since college- so painful! So I foam rolled it for a good while, put the compression sleeve on, and will be icing later. I may try to stand in a bucket of cold water later as well. I may have to work up the ice bath again. I really hope I didn't do any serious damage. That would be such a bummer.

PM: Afternoon run with pups on trails. 3.13 in 12:35 avg pace. Some stopping to meet mt. bikers and to smell the flowers. Avg heart rate: 142, Max heart rate: 169. Avg elevation: 8,500', 560' gain/loss.

AM: 7.35 in 9:24 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 156, Max heart rate: 180. Ran a mile down to the bus stop, then road the bus down to Boulder for run and PT appointment. Heart rate high even in Boulder. Maybe I need to cut back on the coffee for awhile. Sigh.

PT said trail shoes are no good for my feet and are likely the culprit of the initial shin splits/ renewed knee pain. Did some graston on calf/tibia and quad on R leg. IT band was surprisingly good- yay foam rolling!

Visited Fleet Feet and after trying at least a dozen shoes, decided to go with a pair of Saucony progrid mirages and a pair of Brooks Cascadias + red soles, which are still in good shape. I hope this solves some of the lower leg problems. Shoes are not cheap and sadly it looks like I am no longer able to just run in whatever pair of shoes are on sale when I need a new pair.

AM: ~4.5 mile hike with hubby and pups. Left much too late in the morning and was bombarded by mt. bikers. I'm all about sharing the trails, but it's pretty tough to share a trail with someone that is flying down the hills around blind corners. Had to put all dogs on leash because we needed to be able to pull them off the trail in a hurry when the next 5 bikers came around the corner without warning. Don't get me wrong, I love mt. biking- but so far this year, I've not been impressed with the trail etiquette of the mt. bikers I've met.

AM: 16.20 in 10:47 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 157, Max heart rate:174. Min elevation:8,043'; Max elevation: 8,712'; ~1,700' loss/gain. Left around 8:30 this morning and it was already warm. Only brought Nathan handheld water bottle and probably wasn't enough. Wore the compression sleeves on calves and the R calf/shin felt pretty good the entire run. Some soreness in R quad from graston on Friday. Oddly, on some downhills the L quad felt a bit tight. Beautiful run even if a bit warm, definitely need to get out the door earlier next weekend. Saw a bunch of runners out on Magnolia looking strong- wish I looked that strong. Maybe someday. Sat in cold water bath afterwards (we are turning our hot tub into a cold tub for the summer-looking forward to chilly water after long runs). Beautiful day in the mountains.

AM: Early morning PT apt. Stretching and lower back/SI adjustments, then strength, then graston. Ouch.. Legs are already tired! But no soreness from long run yesterday, so that is good. Had planned on an easy 8 afterwards, but as I was walking back to the office to drop my bag off I noticed that there was some wonkiness to my left shoe.. I thought maybe I had stepped in gum or something. When I inspected the shoe I saw that the shoe was completely separating from the sole at the heel through the mid-foot section! What?! Ugh- these are the Asics Cumulus shoes that probably only have ~250 miles on them and are the 'ideal' shoes for my foot strike/gait. So, I am trying to super glue it back together right now- probably will not work, but feel like I have to try. Run will be put off until this evening since I didn't bring a another pair of running shoes down today. Sigh. 

PM: 5 on trails with L and B pups, then 3 more on roads alone. Total: 8.17 mi in 12:06 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 144; Max heart rate: 168. Avg elevation: 8,500'; 1,160' gain/loss. Lots of stop and go on trails with pups today. Met a few bikers and a couple people walking their dogs. Kept B pup on leash the entire time, and L pup when on and off a few times. He did not listen very well when we met people hiking with their dog- totally left my side to go say hello even though I was telling him to stay and/or sit. Ugh. I've got some nincompoops for dogs. Good thing I love them. In other news, my new Brooks Cascadia shoes were super comfortable. 

AM: 5 on trails with pups in 12:11 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 142, Max heart rate:167. Avg elevation: 8,500'; 800' gain/loss. Drizzled a bit at the start of our run, nice and chilly and saw a rainbow. Gluts and quads are super sore from the strength training at PT yesterday. I think I am actually walking a little funny they are so sore. Made it tough to run this morning, but I managed a slow steady pace. B was on leash and L was on and off depending on if he was staying near me or running up ahead and then not coming back when called. Such a stubborn boy. B kept lagging behind, so there was some stopping and correcting going on this morning. Will be nice when I can just run with them and not worry about them not coming back or pulling me off my feet. Someday.. maybe. Foam rolled and stretched afterwards. 

AM: 10.15 in 10:00 avg pace along Boulder Creek Path. Goal was to keep heart rate around 145. Ended up with Avg heart rate: 153, Max heart rate: 168. Got to work on keeping the heart rate down! Much easier to run in Boulder though. Min Elevation: 5,244'; Max elevation: 5,764'; ~500' gain/loss. Ran in the new Brooks Cascadias and things felt pretty good until I hit about mile 2 on the concrete (~8 on the run). The front part of my R foot started to feel numb. Soaked my lower legs in the creek afterwards. The icy cold snowpack melt runoff was painful at first, but felt nice after a couple minutes. The creek is running pretty high and water started going over the spillway at Barker Reservoir on Monday afternoon. 

PM: PT apt. more graston and added a 'cookie' to the R shoe under my arch. Hope this solves some of the problems. He said I probably shouldn't do long road miles in these trail shoes. Ugh. Wish I could find a 'good' shoe. More glut/quad/hamstring strength training afterwards. Still sore from Monday's workout so I am sure I will be hurting for the next few days (in a good way).

AM: 5 on trails with pups in 12:44 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 140, Max heart rate: 160. Avg elevation: 8,500'; 770' gain/loss. Might as well start logging these runs as part running and part dog training time. We stopped at least a couple times each mile for correcting/teaching. Met a guy on the trail early on and L pup was not listening to me at all (was telling him to sit and he refused)... and B pup was going crazy barking and trying to jump up on the guy (luckily I had her on leash). He said he would pet them but they were not calm.. Ha! Calm is not in their vocabulary. Sort of embarrassing though. L pup did pretty well heeling but ran off at one point, so he went back on leash. I stepped on his paw as he was running sporadically in front of me- he yelped and it broke my heart.. but no serious damage done. I almost kicked B in the head as she tried to jump on top of L and fell on the ground in front of me.. luckily, I have reflexes like a cat.... not really, but I managed to avoid her all the same. Silly pups and the things we put ourselves through to make them happy.

Yesterday we came home to a 1.5' deep hole dug into the ground right next to our concrete footer for our deck. L pup was filthy, so it was obvious who the culprit was. He knew right away he was in big trouble.. all I had to do was give him the evil eye and say 'Bad, bad boy' and he slithered away like a snake refusing to look at me or the hole. Hopefully he learns- we can't have him undermining the deck. I think eventually we will put down a flagstone patio there so that the pups don't dig and lay in the dirt all day while we are at work. Anyways...They are passed out in the sun now. Legs are super sore and tired from the strength sessions this week. Foam rolled and stretched. House cleaning on the docket for the day as we have friends coming into town for the weekend. Looking forward to spending some time with them and catching up.

AM: PT apt. Lower back adjustment and stretching. Made another insert for my road shoes. She said it was okay, but not great and we may want to consider orthotics when I get back in August. Definitely do not want to do stability shoes as they would not work with my feet, but the difference between R and L may benefit from custom orthotics. We shall see. 

 Afterwards ran 6.18 in 9:23 avg pace along Boulder Creek Path. Had to remove insert at mile 4 because a blister was forming, unfortunately I think I got a small one- hopefully it heals quickly. But before I removed the insert, my knee felt great, so I think adding a little more support under my arch may solve a lot of the knee/hip problems. Goal for run: 145-150 heart rate. Avg heart rate: 148, Max heart rate: 161. Min Elevation: 5,350'; Max elevation: 5,748' ; 390' gain/loss. Beautiful morning. Perfect temperature. Now off to spend the weekend with good friends.

Mid day: 16.27 in 10:36 avg pace. Avg heart rate:171; Max heart rate: 182. Min elevation: 8,431; Max elevation: 9,527; 1,117 gain; 739 loss. Husband and friends dropped me off in Rollinsville and I ran up Moffat Tunnel Rd and then up the old Rollinsville Pass rd until I met up with them (they were hiking up the old pass) and then I turned around and ran down until they caught up with me. Felt pretty good until the downhill started. Pretty bad knee/hip pain at the end- each step hurt. Bonked pretty bad afterwards. Not a great run.

AM: 5 on trails with pups + 5 more on the roads alone in 12:38 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 157; Max heart rate: 177. Avg elevation: 8,500'; 1,410' gain/loss. Pretty tired today. Quad sore from graston- apparently there were lots of adhesions created after the long run on Monday. Not very awesome.

AM: 10 mi along Boulder Creek trail in 10:36 avg pace. Min Elevation: 5,248; Max elevation: 5,773'; 530' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 155; Max heart rate: 170. Goal was an easy run with a heart rate no higher than 145. Major fail on that front. I felt like I could not run any slower without walking and the heart rate still maintained at 150-155. It was a little warm by the time I got out the door.. maybe I should not have had the iced coffee beforehand either. 

Glued the inserts into my shoes today at my PT apt. Pretty big, painful blister has already formed. I hope the skin toughens up quickly. Undecided about July marathon at this point. Ugh.

Missed a few runs this week and today was no exception. After I slept in a bit this morning I realized that I needed to run B pup into the vet this morning to see about some sedatives for the car ride tomorrow. She is still not able to ride in the car without vomiting and drooling all over herself and L pup. I really hope she grows out of this. I may try to squeeze a short run in this afternoon if it isn't too hot (unlikely) and will probably try for a medium long run tomorrow morning early. Definitely a low mileage week for me, but I guess that is okay. I ramped up the miles somewhat quickly and maybe some of the recent knee/quad issues are the result of that. Need to focus on some strength in July. Jury still out on marathon in July.. really unsure about it. We're leaving tomorrow for Rapid City where the field course starts. Will likely be MIA on the blog until I return but will be keeping track of miles the old fashioned way in a running log. Nervous about leaving for 6 weeks but excited to get back into the field and teaching. 

 Happy July!

~2pm: 12 miles in ~9:52 avg pace in Rapid City, SD. Min elevation: 3,233; Max elevation: 3,413; 784' gain/loss. Much more O2 down here- but still some topography! Rolling hills for 12 miles isn't necessarily easy even if there is twice as much O2. Plus, I waited until after I had checked into my hotel room and checked e-mail, did a bit of work, had a pity party for myself before I finally got out the door. Started in low 70's and felt like upper 70's along the main highway sections near the end of the run. R knee didn't feel great and blister from new insert on R arch tore away somewhere around mile 9- got the squishy/yucky feeling for about 3 miles.. Hope it heals up quickly. Not sure what I will do if not.  Also realized I forgot my heart rate monitor at home so hopefully the hubby can throw it into the box of food I packed for myself to be shipped out to the field station (mostly gluten free stuff and extra calories). Overall run was okay. I always think it will be SO much easier to run when I come down in elevation, but it is not always the case.

The pups did pretty well yesterday, last night, and this morning. We stopped by Cheyenne to see some friends and their newbie. B and L pup had fun playing with their dog for an hour or so. We actually ended up giving B pup a mild sedative from the vet and she didn't puke, but drooled nonstop. She finally passed out somewhere around hour 3 of the trip. Decided to stay in a hotel in Hot Springs, SD that allowed dogs. B pup fell asleep okay but was scared to be in a new place with odd noises, so she would bark at almost everything. I figured that was pretty uncool to our neighbors so I took her out to the car and slept with her out there all night. The car was actually more comfortable than the bed and luckily I am short enough to fit into the back with the seats down. It was kind of scary staying the night in the car- heard some drunks out and about and some shouting.. of course B pup slept right through all that ruckus. Only managed a few real hours of sleep though. Got to Rapid City around 9ish and had breakfast before the hubby had to head back to CO. Tougher than I thought it would be to say good bye. I know it is only for 6 wks, but I got all choked up. Silly. I think it is maybe a bit more than just not seeing him for a few weeks. I know I will miss him but I also think maybe I'm enjoying the comforts of my life a bit too much these days and I am more weary than I used to be about stepping outside my comfort zone. I think I've become much more of a control freak in the last few years and knowing that I will not have much control over my daily schedule or even eating options is maybe more difficult than I was originally willing to admit. But I am determined to make the best of the next 6 weeks and I am sure once the course is in full swing the time will fly by. Of course, I will still miss the hubby, B &L pups, and P kitty.. and CO.

AM: 10.20 in 9:48 avg pace. Min elevation: 3,108'; Max elevation: 3,345'; 285' gain/loss. Much nicer run in the AM this morning. Blister is still getting worse and may take the Soles + insert out for tomorrow's run. Suppose to get blazing hot the rest of the week so I am not sure if I will make any PM runs after field work for the day. Hopefully I can manage to get up early and get a run in before we leave for the day. 

AM: Ran ~3 in 11:47 avg pace with L and B pup. Avg heart rate: 150, Max heart rate: 179. Avg elevation: 8,500'; ~400 gain/loss. Legs felt awesome after the 6 weeks off (more on that below), heart rate was all over the place and I'm wondering if that was me or the heart rate monitor. Maybe a bit of both. The hills felt so easy after hiking all summer so I need to keep this leg strength up throughout the next few months (and hopefully longer). The breathing wasn't so great, but not as bad as I thought it would be. The pups did not do so well on leash on the roads. L pup has gotten significantly worse since I left in June.. not sure what that is all about. Maybe he is emulating B-pup and thinks that is okay? He did better towards the end of our little run though. B pup was just terrible. She's much stronger now than when I left and she does not run in a straight line, pulls terribly, tries to chase cars, and wants to bark somewhat aggressively at other dogs, mailboxes, and sometimes large rocks. I think she's just young and a little stupid yet. I think the hubby allows them both to pull much more since he is stronger than I am, but my form was just terrible with them and I think I may have pulled a muscle in my back trying to keep them from chasing another dog. Ugh. Definitely need to look into some training for them.

I arrived back in CO late Monday night after the hubby drove all the way to SW Montana over the weekend to pick me up. It was a long drive home on Monday, but I'm happy to be back. While it was difficult to be away from home, the hubby, and the pups (and kitty) for so long, I had such an awesome 6 weeks! Great geology, awesome people, I had so much fun teaching again and I relearned so much geology. I also solidified a more permanent teaching position and so we will be making this course a constant in our summer schedule. Definitely not an easy decision, but we agree that it is really great for my career and I enjoy it so much. Other than being away from loved ones, a pretty significant downside is that running alone was prohibited this summer because a student was stalked by a mountain lion just outside of camp last year. I probably could have made an effort to run with some of the students, but I felt a little weird doing that. I also probably could have gotten away with running alone since I was staff, but I thought that would not be setting a good example. To be honest, hiking up and down 200-1000' ridges and hills multiple times a day, 6 days a week, for 6 weeks left me a little tired anyways. The schedule is pretty grueling- up at 6am, field work for 8 hours or more, grading, helping students for a few hours every night meant I didn't get to bed before 11 pm more than a few times. I probably should have done more cross training and strength training, maybe I can work that into my schedule next year.

So, I've obviously had to significantly re-analyze my race schedule for the year. I've decided on the CIM again this year. It is not ideal as I would much prefer to run a new race, but I fear that most races in October and November would be too soon and I would not be in good enough shape to do them safely. The CIM works well with travel to the annual American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco the following week, so that is a big plus.  I've put a few 1/2's in there and a couple 10k's, which I have not done in some time (I fear how slow I will be!).*Side note* Many of these races will be training runs. Especially those I've registered for in the next couple of weeks (e.g., heart and sole 10k, Coal Creek Crossing 10mi, and Boulder 1/2). I figured it was good to at least get some races on the calendar even if they are just for fun. Although, that being said, all races for me are for fun. Some races I just want to run faster than others :)

Hope everyone had a great July/ early August!

AM: 3.15 in ~10:45 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 158, Max heart rate: 182. Avg elevation: 8,500; 329' gain/loss. No pups today; arms are still sore from yesterday and L pup doesn't seem to be feeling well. He didn't eat dinner last night and has been pretty lethargic since yesterday afternoon. Although he ate breakfast this morning. Will see how he is feeling by the PM and maybe go for another short run on the trails with them. If he's not feeling better then I guess we're going to the pup doctor tomorrow. 

 Lower legs were a bit stiff this morning.. so maybe the lower leg strength isn't what I thought it was. I guess that makes sense; I was hiking in boots for the last 6 weeks. Best work on some ankle/foot strength. 

Mid-AM: Stretching and strength exercises. 

Noon: Maya Vinyasa Yoga. Awesome class and only ~1 mile from my house. Yay! I think no PM run. Lower legs are a bit sore from even the short runs the past couple of days. Would like to do 5 tomorrow and maybe 7-8 on Sunday. Fingers crossed. I also went back and looked at some data from after I took some time off this past winter for the IT band stuff. I'm doing better then what I could do back in Feb., so that gives me some confidence that I'll be okay for a December marathon. I'm certainly starting a bit earlier than last year and should have more time (not finishing up a phd and all). Plus, I think I've got a better base and am stronger this year than last year. We'll see. I don't know if I will shoot for a BQ though.. that may have to wait until the spring. Happy Weekend!

AM: 3.10 mi in 13:03 avg pace with L and B pup and neighbor's pups Q and N pup (whom we were watching for them yesterday and last night). Avg elevation: 8,500'; 523' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 155, Max heart rate: 179. 

 First run back on the trails. Felt slow and the pups didn't help. N and B are now too strong to run on leash without leash training (they pull like crazy!). Q pup is the same as ever.. mostly fine except he lags behind now and again. L pup was pretty bad, encouraging the puppies to run farther up ahead than I would like. Ran with all pups off leash and only met one other runner. B and N pups barked, but no one jumped up on her.. thank goodness! Progress? Maybe.. might also just be luck. 

Didn't run at all this weekend. Felt tired and well, just lazy. Did some work and cleaned/organized the house some. Legs were a bit tired- so maybe it was for the best. Beautiful weather today though, so hopefully will make it back out for a longer run (sans pups) this evening.

 Mid-morning: Maya Vinyasa flow yoga. Not as good as last week, but okay.

AM: 8.15 in 11:00 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 171; Max heart rate: 186. Avg elevation: 8,500'; 620' gain/loss. 

 Wow, I am at a loss for words. I am in terrible cardiovascular shape! I wanted to keep my heart rate under 160 and every time I looked down at my watch it said 170-175.. then into the 180's on the last hill towards home. Depressing. 

 Afternoon: Conscious flow yoga kicked my butt. The room got so warm I felt a little dizzy/wuzzy. No good. But a good workout.

AM: 5.05 with L and B pup in ~13 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 157, Max heart rate: 175. Avg elevation: 8,500',723' gain/loss. Nice crisp clear morning on the trails. Mountains looked beautiful. Didn't see anyone out, which was nice because B pup was off leash most of the run. I put her back on when she refused to come back to me.. didn't really seem to phase her much. Right knee felt a little weird/tight in the usual locations. Definitely need to get on the stretches.

Afternoon: suppose to get to a yoga class but meeting ran over. grrrr. maybe will try to hit two tomorrow. (note- I bought a month unlimited class since I have ~2 weeks 'off' before new job starts.. hoping to find a few classes I like so that when the schedule becomes more rigid, I can work those in. It is also fun to just do yoga all the time too.. I can't lie. )

AM: 5.04 with L and B pup in ~11:25 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 154, Max heart rate: 176. Avg elevation: 8,500', 740' gain/loss. I ran the roads around the neighborhood with L and B pup. I thought I could try L pup off leash, that did not work so well. He made it for maybe 5 mins at a time before doing something not so smart, like running into the road and or continually falling behind of ahead, or stopping to 'mark his neighborhood'.. seriously L pup... not necessary. I would give him a C- off leash, but on leash he was pretty good, so maybe an A. B pup however.. well, let us just say that leash training is going to take a good long while. Overall a D-. And she wanted to chase giant trucks.. so I'd make her sit and chill out for a second or two. Wow.. I do not think she would last long if Darwinian theory were the only factor in her life. 

 Missed Yoga again. Boo. 

AM: 3 on trails with pups. Don't know stats since the garmin watch was freaking out on me. This is actually the first time this type of glitch has happened. About a mile into the run, it started beeping at me and continued to cycle through power up and powder down mode. I tried the hard reset numerous times to no avail. When I got home, I plugged it in and it said 100% battery and continued to either power up/down or just beep with a blank screen with a single line across it. I got online and apparently this is a common problem and the hard reset usually does not work (the fix is to just send it back to Garmin for a replacement). I called garmin and got someone that said well, it was probably because the bezel wasn't working because it had gotten wet. Ummmm, no- it was a mile into my run on a crisp clear, COLORADO day.. e.g. there is very little humidity. I have had problems when I've run in the rain or snow melted on the watch, but this was not the problem. He insisted it was. Whatever. Then when I was on the phone with the guy, the watch just reset and came back on. (Of course, this time it said low battery.. not sure how that happened in the course of 2-3 minutes). Anyways, the guy said maybe I needed a software update and tried walking me through the steps of doing that.. thanks, but no thanks.. I can do that on my own. So- I'd say 0% helpful overall. I did the software update and did another hard reset so we'll see how that goes. 

 I have to say, I've not been all that happy with the recent garmin purchases I've made. I'm a pretty tech savvy person (work with GPS and satellite data for Earth and other planetary bodies).. so I should be able to get the software and products to function properly right? Not so much.  I bought a garmin GPS unit before leaving for field work this summer and it has been okay, but the preloaded software is unusable. Terrible- I will not even get into the details. Just don't go there. I think another real let down for the products has been the manuals and information available. It is basically non-existent. For the money you pay, I'd expect a bit more.

Mid-morning: Hatha Yoga.

Afternoon: Maya Vinyasa flow.

AM: 6.2 miles in ~55:30 (9:00 avg pace) at the Heart and Sole 10k down at the Boulder reservoir. Added on another 3 miles for a total of 9. I signed up for this as a training run, so I am sticking to that plan and not entering this in as a race report. The goal was a heart rate no higher than 160, but that totally went out the window about a mile into the race. 160 felt way too easy, so I kept bumping it up a bit every mile. I suppose that qualifies the race as a 'progression run'. I do not know what my final .2 pace was for the race because I forgot to hit the lap reset before heading back out for a 3 mile cool-down. I had a couple 8:40's in there and they felt pretty good. Avg heart rate: 172, Max heart rate: 191 (not exactly sticking to the 160 plan). Avg elevation: 5,175'; 185' gain/loss. 

Overall, the race was well organized and run by the Boulder Running Company. The after-race party had great food and the T-shirt is neon green/yellow.. sweet! I needed some more early morning reflective gear. Oh and the Saucony mirage shoes were very comfortable. I like running in lighter weight shoes.

AM: 3.04 on trails with pups in ~12:00 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500'; 500' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 147, Max heart rate: 171. L and B pup did pretty well off leash. Although, we did not see anyone, so there were no real tests. Towards the end of the run, B pup refused to come back to me, so she went back on the leash. R knee a little sore today. 

 Mid-morning: Maya Vinyasa Flow yoga

Afternoon: Slow flow yoga

AM: 3.08 on trails with pups in ~12:00 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 145, Max heart rate: 172. Avg elevation: 8,500', 530' gain/loss. R knee pain this morning- need to foam roll today. Also some lower back pain. Not sure what it is from, maybe too much yoga? I've been sitting a lot lately working on manuscripts, maybe sitting too much? I suppose my lower back/abs are not used to sitting for long periods of time coming off the 6 weeks of field geology. L and B pup were pretty good. It was a warm morning, so they were pretty tired at the end of the run. They are passed out on the floor now.. hopefully they will let me work for a few hours. 

AM: 5.08 with pups on trails in ~12:11 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 147, Max heart rate: 171. Avg elevation: 8,500',816'gain/loss. L pup didn't come back to me for about 5 mins during our run this morning. I actually had to stop my watch and walk back along the trail to find him. I called and called and started to get worried that a lion had gotten him (although, I knew I would have heard something if that was the case). He finally came running around the corner, his face covered with dirt. Looks like he was just ignoring me while he was digging up some critter's home. Needless to say, I wasn't happy and he went back on the leash for awhile. B pup was really good this morning, stayed mostly with me once she got a few good sprints in early on. She does have a tendency to run directly behind me and I've kicked her in the mouth a few times. I feel bad, but I figure she will learn that she shouldn't run so close to my heels. Glad to see that my heart rate is coming down slowly (although, sadly the pace isn't coming down any!).

AM: 6 miles in ~9:40 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 158, Max heart rate: 171. Min elevation: 5,350', Max elevation: 5,578' (~430 gain/loss'). Ran along Boulder Creek Path this morning after dropping the pups off for a play day with their friends (neighbors). They will get plenty of exercise today, so I do not feel too guilty about running without them. It was a bit warm around 9am when I started my run, tried to keep the heart rate under 160 and was pretty successful. Legs are feeling okay today, lower back still a bit sore. 

 I got on the scale today and I think I need to cut down on the calories a bit. I'm still eating like I'm hiking 6-8 hrs a day, every day,which is sadly not the case. 

Late AM: 5 miles on trails with pups.  Avg heart rate: 152, Max heart rate: 171. Avg elevation: 8,500', 820' gain/loss. Rather warm for a run..somewhere in the 80's. B and L pup were hirrible. They took after a man that we see fairly commonly with a huge german shepherd whom he always has on a leash because apparently he is not a friendly dog. They were maybe 10 yards ahead of me and flew like the wind towards him barking and wagging their tails.. they were more than mildly obnoxious and I was calling at the top of my lungs for them to come back. Yah.. they didn't even look my way. I ran up to them (they were at the top of a hill- so I wasn't exactly quick) and they finally came back to me. The man didn't seem too upset, I think he would just worried that there would be a fight. His dog could have easily eaten B and L pup if they had gotten much closer.. maybe would have been good for them to get the smack laid down. The guy also had a younger looking smaller black dog- probably a pit bull mix. He said it was only 1.5 yrs old and he had found it tied to a tree in the middle of the national forest so he rescued it a few weeks ago.  (What kind of people do these things- terrible and shameful! Makes me SO angry). I am so glad the guy rescued him. After I had my pups back on leash, his dogs looked like they wanted to play.. go figure.

 Anyways, I obviously felt horrible about my dogs behaviors and probably sound like a broken record. They are just NOT trustworthy with free roam. I know they probably wouldn't hurt a fly, but they refuse to come back when called. This is just unacceptable. Until I can get them into some classes, it looks like leashes for them (my poor arms).

AM: 9.02 in ~9:44 avg pace along Boulder Creek Path. Avg heart rate:156, Max heart rate: 171, Min elevation: 5,350', Max elevation:5,762', 630' gain/loss. Nothing to report.. nice morning and not too hot. Busy week ahead. Starting new post doc and consulting job. Have a million things to finish/start.

AM: ~3 miles on trails with B and L pup in 11:49 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 148, Max heart rate: 169. Avg elevation: 8,500',400' gain/loss. Slept in today and was just exhausted this morning. Feet felt like they were dragging and I stumbled more than once. Not sure what the deal is. B was on leash and L ran behind me 95% of the time. They both did really well, of course, we didn't see anyone on the trails this morning to test them. May try for some yoga this afternoon.

PM: ~ 6 miles on trails in 12:40 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 163, Max heart rate: 180. Avg elevation: 8,500',890' gain/loss.

AM: ~3 miles on roads with pups in 11:15 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500', 375' gain/loss. Avg heart rate:141, Max heart rate: 167. L pup was off leash 1/2 the run and did pretty well. Had to go back on leash when he decided to stop and check pee mail every 10'. Sigh. 

 AM: Hatha Yoga

Noon: Maya Vinyasa flow yoga

AM: 5 miles on trails with pups in 12:12 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 147, Max heart rate: 169. Avg elevation: 8,500'; 780' gain/loss. B and L did really well this morning. Met a bow hunter on the trail. Little scary. I kept L pup on a leash after that. I don't know if it is even bow hunting season yet. Guess I better get the bright colors out.

Mid morning: Foundations of alignments yoga.

3 miles on roads with pups in 10:43 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500';360' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 147, Max heart rate: 173. Gorgeous day for a run. Perfect conditions. 

AM: Ran the Boulder half marathon today at the reservoir. I used the race as a training run with the goal of around ~9 mins/mi and/or avg heart rate no higher than 160. The heart rate monitor was freaking out the entire race, yo-yoing from 80 to normal heart rates of 140-170. So, I mostly ran by feel and tried to keep the pace around 9 mins/mi. Really nice day, little warm towards the end. After race was okay, but I think the Heart and Sole race a couple weeks earlier had better food and post-race stuff. 

Final: 13.1 in 9:08 avg pace. Total time: 2:02ish (forgot to stop watch at the end). Avg heart rate: 155, Max heart rate: 184 (I have no idea if this is even accurate). Min elevation: 5,184', Max elevation: 5,475', ~400 gain/loss.

 Feeling okay with the effort. I've only done a handful of 9 mile runs the last couple of weeks and have only been back at running regularly for ~3.5 weeks. Not a bad effort for this early in the marathon training season. The reservoir is always tougher than I expect. For some reason I always think.. 'Oh, I'm heading down to Boulder, where it is flat'. In reality, it is more flat than the mountains, but the back roads definitely have some rollers. Good, honest training run.

Noon: Conscious flow. This class always kicks my rear! Awesome. Feeling some tightness in lower legs so opted for a day off running. Lots of work to catch up on as well. Sigh.

AM: 3 miles with pups on roads in ~11:40 avg pace. Left the house ~5:15am in the pitch black of morning. Ran with my head lamp, but the morning mist that sometimes occurs in the mountains made it beautiful and eerie at the same time. Heart rate monitor still freaking out, so I do not know my heart rate for the run, but it was easy. Avg elevation: 8,500'; 390' gain/loss.

PM: 6 miles on trails with pups in ~12:00 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 150, Max heart rate: 170. Avg elevation: 8,500';900' gain/loss. Pups did really well. L pup was mostly off leash and B pup on leash. B pup has been pulling a little more than usual, which isn't good for my form. B pup mostly stayed behind me on the trail. 

AM: 3 on roads with pups in ~11:30 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 146, Max heart rate: 167. Avg elevation: 8,500'; 390 gain/loss. B pup pulled a lot this morning, not sure what has gotten into her. L pup had to stop and check the pee mail every 100', so I had to put him back on the leash. I guess they have good days and bad days, just like everyone else. 

AM: 6 miles with pups in 12:50 avg pace. Avg elevation: 8,500'; 1,000' gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 147, Max heart rate: 170. 

What started as a wonderful run on a crisp morning in the CO mountains, turned into a MAJOR bummer of a run. I had B pup on leash the entire run and L pup off leash. We had already passed a few mountain bikers and they had done okay. However on our way home we came upon a large fluffy white dog and an older couple. I put L pup on leash and asked them if their dog was friendly, they replied that yes and he was only 1.5 yrs old. So we started to walk towards them and L and B were interested but were not acting aggressively. As we got closer to them, all of a sudden L and B pup both lunged at the dog aggressively barking as if they were going to attack. They took me right off my feet! I slide 5-10' down the trail trying to get some traction and somewhat lost hold of some portion (2-3') of B pups leash- so she was lunging at the dog and owner. I had L pup pinned to the ground and somehow managed to get back onto my feet and yank B pup away from the dog.We separated by about 30' or so and I assessed myself and L and B pup and then asked if they were okay. They said they were, but were just old (I am so ashamed! I am feeling SO terrible.. what if something had happened to them or their dog).. It looked like their dog was fine and I know the dogs never actually made contact for B or L to bite the dog. They said they understood and that their dog used to behave in a similar way. They actually recommended a trainer for me. I told them how sorry I was and that I had no idea that they would actually have been able to take me off my feet. L pup is ~50 lbs and B pup is ~35 lbs, but I suppose with combined vectors and me with unstable footing on rocks, it was a major crash.

 So we separate and they go their own way and we continue down the trail and then it all comes flooding over me. I realize that OMG, I totally have aggressive, mean, and unpredictable dogs. I am that person that has to tell people that my dogs are not friendly.  I have never laid an uncaring hand on any creature and have done the best I can to provide a nurturing and loving home for them and they simply do not obey me and are aggressive. And for some reason, unknown to me, I think they are becoming more disobedient and aggressive. In a wave of frustration, guilt, and depression I start crying right there on the trail. These are not little tears, I am sobbing like a big baby. I can not remember the last time I cried- years probably. I never cry. It is one of those things that stupidly I grew up thinking would show people my weakness and that is just a mortal sin in my family. Anyways, so there I was running and crying- which is actually pretty difficult to do. I run the ~2 miles home crying on and off and when I get home, the hubby asks what happened and I somewhat sob that they pulled me off my feet and tried to attack a dog. He asks if I was okay and I finally made an assessment of myself (I knew I hadn't broken anything right away), but I looked down and my left leg is bruised and bleeding in numerous places and I said I might have scrapped my upper thigh. He takes one look and his eyes bulge. I have a really nasty strawberry that is probably 6" x 8"  on the back of my left thigh/hip and it's bruised and bleeding and has dirt and small rocks lodged into my skin. Awesome. I am used to strawberries from playing soccer and slide tackling, so it was not all that big of a deal to me. It's a bit tight now that it has stopped oozing.

 So, I am at a loss. I love my pups like children and I have tried to do my best in training and nurturing them, but obviously I have fallen significantly short. The hubby tried to console me by saying that all breeds are different and these border collie/ cattle dog and border collie/great pyrenees mixes may just need significantly more and different training than we are used too. He suggested that we just never take them out again, but this is unacceptable to me. I would do that as the very last straw after we have tried everything else in the book. I love running with them and I know they love running with me. So, I decided that first off I would only run with one at a time since I know I can easily out muscle one of them alone and pick them up if need be. Second, we are getting help from a trainer. Third we will ramp up our own efforts in basic training. I do not know what else to do. If anyone has suggestions I would gladly accept them.

Noonish: 12 miles in ~12 min/mi avg pace. Min elevation: 8,214'; Max elevation: 8,711'; 1,345'gain/loss. Avg heart rate: 156, Max heart rate: 171. Really tried to keep heart rate under 160 and that was pretty tough on the uphill sections. At one point I think I was moving at ~22 min/mi avg pace. Wow.. but, maybe I need to run slow to run fast. Legs felt great despite the incident yesterday. Emptied the Nathan handheld water bottle by mile 10. It was cooler out, but still a little warm for my liking. The cold breeze felt good though. 

 I woke up hungry this morning (because I ate like crap yesterday) and opted for breakfast before the run. I made some scrambled eggs and homemade hash browns + coffee. I probably waited at least an hour before running to let my stomach digest a bit. However, this is now at least the 3rd or 4th time that I have run pretty soon after eating eggs and it is just no good for my stomach. I had cramps and heart burn almost the entire run. No good. When I got home from the run, I had 1 scoop Ultragen recovery.. 2 scoops always seems to turn my stomach a bit, and a full glass of water. I showered and then proceeded to prepare tasty things for dinner (we were having my aunt over). At any rate, maybe an hour or so after I had returned from the run, I felt incredibly dizzy and nauseated. I actually thought I may pass out, so I sat down and then I realized that I had not had any significant calories since I had returned and that we had skipped lunch. After eating some cheese and crackers, drinking another glass of water, sipping on some delicious iced coffee, and sitting for another 20 mins, I was back to 100%. This has happened to me a couple of times over the years, but I am not sure what I am doing (or not doing) to bring it on. Sometimes I can go for a much longer run (18-20 miles) on a piece of bread and a gu and not eat for hours afterwards and be totally fine. Weird to say the least. Definitely need to track these occurrences and see what I can do to eliminate them.

AM: 3 miles with B pup in ~12:13 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 146, Max heart rate: 176. Avg elevation: 8,500'; 440 gain/loss.

B pup on leash. I decided that instead of correcting her every time she pulled, I would just stop and make her come back to me. It seemed to work, but made for a very long 3 miles. D- for her this morning.

9AM: Maya Vinyasa flow yoga. Felt really nice to stretch this morning and get some meditation in. Stressful week coming up.

AM: 3 miles with L pup in 12:00 avg pace. Avg heart rate: 144; Max heart rate: 169. Avg elevation: 8,500'; 430' gain/loss. 

L pup was on leash and did pretty well. He still wants to sometimes stop and mark every 5', so that needs to stop. I would give him a solid B for the run. 

I called a trainer (http://www.tenderfoottraining.com/) for help with dog training yesterday. We have our first session with Loki on Thursday. Hopefully it helps. Also learned that B pup has sever separation anxiety when L pup is not around. She was only alone for 10-15 mins between the time the hubby left for work and L pup and I got back from our run. Luckily we had decided not to giver her access to the outside dog run. I could still here her barking from within the house from 1/2 way down our street. Ugh. So, we need to work on that issue as well. It's a good thing that I love them so much!

I also decided to hire a coach for myself. I have decided to work with Sonja (www.gosonja.com) and just had a really great first meeting with her over brunch. I'm super excited to have her help. I have been frustrated over my lack of improvement and I have also had many doubts over how I should be training since I live and train at elevation (~8,500'). I've been following her adventures on and off for the last couple years and really admire the way she approaches training and how she interweaves the various elements of her life to help her move towards her goals. She has numerous running, ultra, and triathlon accomplishments including a second place overall finish at the Moab 100 and qualifying for Kona twice! She's a speedy gal for sure and knows how to train and race the longer distance events. I'm very excited to have her expertise and help as we work together to accomplish my goals.

AM: 45 mins easy with B pup. HR avg: 144, HR Max: 167. Elevation: 8,500', 500' gain/loss. Really nice chilly morning.

PM: hr on bike trainer. Heart rate goal: 120-130, at high cadence. HR avg: 123.

AM: MAF test. 2 mile warm up, 6 x1 miles at HR of 153. 

Mile Splits: 9:46, 9:51, 9:51, 9:53, 9:52, 9:58.

2 mile cool down.

AM: yoga. 

Afternoon: Trail run. 1:40 run, 20 mins walking, hr running with HR Max of 155, followed by 20 mins walking. HR avg: 133, HR Max: 162 (some of the hills are so steep on my usual trail run, that even walking/hiking sends the HR over 162.. sheesh). Avg elevation: 8,500; 800' gain/loss.

Afternoon: 50 mins on bike trainer, goal of HR no higher than 135 with high cadence. HR avg: 122, HR max: 133.