Tues. Dec. 20 - 6.5 miles in 48 min (7:23 pace). Greenbelt run after work. Felt pretty decent, especially considering I hadn't run since the previous Wednesday.
Wed. Dec. 21 - A.M. 3 miles in 21 min (7:00 pace). Quick morning run on the Greenbelt to complement this evening's pub run.
P.M. - 5 miles in 41 min (8:11 pace). Start at the Alibi, on to Front Street, Ranger, Bud's, Altitude for dinner, and a night cap Guinness with Harnisch at 3rd Street. Nice, relaxed social run with great company.
And that was it for that week. I went home to Cheyenne for Christmas and neglected to do anything other than eat for the next four days.
Totals:
Week's Miles: 14
Running Time: 1:09
Tues. Dec. 27 - 4 miles in 29 min (7:15 pace). Quick post-work run on the Greenbelt to loosen up. Followed with a thorough core workout. Felt good to do something physically productive after sitting on my ass for nearly a week.
Wed. Dec. 28 - 8 miles in 75 min (9:22 pace). Snow shoe run in the morning before work. Parked at the Summit trailhead and proceeded down Crow Creek, up and out Headquarters, Browns Landing, Summit, and Headquarters back in to the trail head. I had a skier mouth off to me when I used a section of groomed trail to connect Headquarters and Browns. I ignored him.
The nordic ski club grooms a network of trails at Pole Mountain all winter long. I have a small grudge going with the local skiers concerning my use of these groomed trails with my snow shoes (I don't ski). The skiers can be particularly dickish about snow shoers being on the groomed trails. My response is to point out that Pole Mountain is NOT a ski resort. It is a multi-use recreational area within the boundaries of a public-use national forest. Therefore, as a good, tax-paying American citizen, I'm going to snowshoe wherever I damn well please. Especially considering the groomed trails follow the established trail system in most places, and you don't see me whining when I see skiers on what have been designated (by the nordic association, no less) as "snow shoe" trails.
I've been fighting with those guys for the better part of ten years. I'm just going to continue to ignore them and snow shoe where I want. Free country.
Fri. Dec. 30 - 4 miles in 29 min (7:15 pace). Post-work Greenbelt run. Tried to do a short 6x35 sec. with 35 sec. rest pick-up in the middle, but I'm not sure I was really picking it up all that much. Oh well.
Sat. Dec. 31 - A.M. 3 miles in 21 min (7:00 pace). Fought the wonderful Wyoming wind which has made its reappearance this week. Hurricane force gusts (90mph) with sustained speeds of 35-55mph. Awesome.
P.M. - 8 miles in 53 min (6:37 pace). I drove to Cheyenne mid-morning through some amazing weather (wind, blowing snow, little visibility) and learned, when I got to town, that I-25 south to Colorado was closed. Chris Schabron and I had been planning to head down for the KRFC Resolution Run 5K in Fort Collins that evening. At noon, we decided that we were going to stay home. By 3pm, the wind had died down, the sun had come out, it warmed up, and most importantly, the roads south had opened. Race started at 7pm; Chris and I decided at 5pm that yes, we would head down for the race.
My dad drove us down so he could watch and we got to the CSU (boo!) campus about 40 min before race time. Packet pick-up left us with about 15 min to warm-up as best we could.
Now, I wasn't feeling super hot on the ride down (I still don't; there is definitely something wrong with me) and I hadn't been very consistent with my running over the last month and I hadn't raced since Silent Trails, nearly three months before. So, I had zero expectations going in and was hoping to perhaps place top-ten and maybe run in the 17s.
The race started and I went out conservatively. At the half mile or so, I was feeling pretty good so I decided to catch up with Nick "Cosmo" Cramer who had gone out with the lead group. I caught Nick and was surprised at how good I was feeling after that little surge. I yelled at Nick for not wearing his Hungry Dog jersey and decided we should start rolling up the ten or so guys in front of us. I went through the mile at 5:12, which surprised me since a) I had no idea I was running that fast and b) that 5:12 felt very good.
I continued on to the second lap (different course this year from when I last ran in 2009) and continued rolling up the guys in front of me. By half-way around the second lap, I had caught up to Sam Malmberg. I sat on him for a few seconds before deciding to continue on around him. I entered the finishing lap around the oval in second place. I could see first place way out in front of me, already nearly half-way around the oval. That would be Scott Foley, a former Central High runner who was part of the senior class I "coached" in 2007. He's finishing up his last year at Boise State, and has been running phenomenally as of late.
I came into the finish feeling fantastic. Crossed the line in second place in 16:23. I have no idea where that race came from, but I won't question it. I felt great the whole race; never once feeling like I was struggling. Scott finished in 15:31, which he ran solo toward the tail-end of a 90 mile week. I'm impressed. That kid is arriving. I think if he sticks to it, he can make a push for the marathon trials in 2016.
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| 2011 KRFC Resolution Run. Southeast Wyoming crew (L to R): Me, Chris Schabron, Scott Foley, Sean Wilde, Maya Wilde, and the famous Rick Bishop. |
December Miles: 110
Sun. Jan. 1 - 9 miles in 60 min (6:40 pace). I went out to loosen up, my calves being particularly tight after the race the night before. Ended up feeling pretty good, so what was originally meant to be about a 7 mile run around the parks turned into a nine-miler with the capital loop added on. Turned into a nice day and...NO WIND!!!
Totals:
Week's Miles: 36
Running Time: 4:27
Gear: Asics SpeedStar 5 (397 miles), Saucony Peregrine (122 miles)
Now, I had mentioned that I wished to discuss this past year. While it was challenging and sometimes very difficult, it was also rewarding and eye-opening. I was motivated to begin this blog as more a motivation tool for myself than a way to share my training and thoughts with others, and in that regard, it has worked out pretty well. While I am still prone to some periods of being undisciplined and unmotivated, I have trained pretty consistently all year, something I hadn't done really since college.
I sat at my desk last January staring at a figure: my mileage from 2010. That number was 772. Since I started running when I was a 15 year old high school sophomore, that was the least I had ever run. And it showed. I was an ill-defined, slow, beer-bellied 185 pounds. I was unhappy and moody. I was 27 years old and questioned whether I would ever be able to recapture that little bit of my youth.
I'm not sure what it was I missed most. I think it was the sensation of running with little effort. For the past few years, the inconsistency with which I had run, due to injuries, apathy, and a myriad of other excuses, had made it impossible for me to run without it feeling like a struggle. And when I knew it would be a struggle, I would force myself to do it. And when I got tired of forcing myself to do it, I simply didn't do it. And the greatest gift I've ever had in my life was gone.
So, back in January, I vowed to make myself try a little harder. I made myself find the motivation and inspiration to get out and get it done. And in the course of twelve months, I found that there are many things I can do if I just try. And in the process, I made some close friends and rediscovered a part of myself I thought may have been lost forever. I am really glad to have it back.
I ran 1564 miles in 2011. I started the year at an amorphous 185 pounds and sit here today a much leaner and meaner 162. I brought my 5K time down from 18+ to 16:20. I ran my first sub-five mile in over three years. I improved consistently all year. I got some mojo back, I became a little more like my old self. I took steps to pursue my own happiness with diligence. I stopped drinking so damn much. I started eating a lot healthier. And I ran my first ultra; enduring the epic 50 miles across the Wind River Range with an amazing and inspiring group of individuals.
I owe a debt of gratitude to Patrick Eastman, Jeff French, and Alec Muthig for adopting me into their fold and showing me what running truly is, fun. I had lost that over the years between taking things too seriously in college, to spending a couple of years in there hating running and hating myself for not doing it. This year, I truly fell in love with running. The act of it, the practice of it, the fun of it. It's been an incredible year, and I thank the above mentioned guys for the help and friendship.
Here's to 2011. I think it will prove to have been a beautiful stepping stone to bigger and better things in 2012. And with that, I need to go run!
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