Week Ending Jan. 29 & Yeti Chase 10K

Another solid week in the books.  The next couple of weeks will be focused on building up some miles in preparation for the Trudge.  I'm curious/cautious going forward from here since the mileage figures I have on the schedule the next few weeks will take me into territory I haven't been to in nearly six years.  I'm very comfortable with 45-55 right now.  I'm interested to see how my body reacts to 65-75 again. 

I also am looking to spend the next couple of weekends up in the mountains trudging around.  It seems odd to really focus and train for a free "race" in February, but given my past soul-crushing experiences at the Trudge, I really want to actually be somewhat prepared for once.  And I feel the best way to do that is to simply do it.  I've had my fun the last month with some shorter, faster road races, but that probably won't translate too well to trudging through the snow.  I was going to find another road race sometime in the first couple of weeks in February, but I think my time (and money) will be better spent focusing on some mountain training.

I had a pretty damn good race, a fun weekend out of Laramie, and a good time with good friends, both old and new.

Mon. Jan. 23 - 4 miles in 60 min (15:00 pace).  I wasn't feeling super hot all day but decided to head up the mountain after work and hike/run around a little bit.  I went in on the Pilot Hill road and followed a ridge running east parallel to Highway 210.  I stopped as it got dark, built a fire, made some dinner, and sat for an hour or so enjoying the evening (it was calm, no wind, WTF?).  Then I packed up and hiked/ran back out.  Nice way to relax after a somewhat frustrating day.

Tues. Jan. 24 - 10 miles in 75 min (7:30 pace).  TUESDAY NIGHT HILLS.  Three mile warm-up over to hospital hill, then 6x530m hills with jog downhill rest.  We got a little excited on number one and ran it stupid fast in 1:46.  We settled down and I hit 1:52, 1:51, 1:53, 1:53, 1:50.  Because of the stupid fast first one, rests were longer than last week's session, and I thought it would have been a little more productive to go out in and average 1:51 and finish up with a sub-1:50.  Oh well, six in one, half a dozen in the other, really.  Three-mile cool down run home.

Wed. Jan. 25 - 4 miles in 27 min (6:45 pace).  Morning run on the Greenbelt.  I fought the wind on the latter half and was a little whooped from the hills the night before.

Thurs. Jan. 26 - 4 miles in 28 min (7:03 pace).  This is the worst run I've had all year.  I didn't want to run, but gave into my compulsion (like I proclaimed I wouldn't do in last week's post) and forced myself out for four miles.  I was not checked in mentally and did the bare minimum.  I got home and did a pretty thorough core workout to try to make up for it.  That actually felt pretty good.

Fri. Jan. 27 - 5.5 miles in 39 min (7:09 pace).  Form workout at the fieldhouse.  I felt better this morning than I did the previous evening, even in the snow that fell during the run.  Usual Friday program: 2x form drills followed by 8x180m laps with same as half lap rest.  Averaged 32-33 for the first seven and came home in 28.9 on number eight.  Cool down run home.

Sat. Jan. 28 - 11 miles in 71 min (6:27 pace).  YETI CHASE 10K.  Scooch and I made it down to Golden Friday evening where we stayed with the Delaneys.  I got up Saturday and made the quick jaunt down to Bear Creek Lake Park in Lakewood.  I met up with Evan, Kennedy, Elizabeth, and Courtney, the other Laramigos down for the race.  The event marked Kennedy's first 5K.  Congrats!

L to R: Me, Kennedy, Elizabeth, Yeti, Evan, Courtney

I did a quick couple of miles of warm-up, and made the decision to go shorts and singlet in what was a fairly chilly and breezy morning.  We lined up for the start and I looked around and realized I didn't know anyone.  I have been out of the racing circuit, especially in Colorado, for many a moon.

The race started and it was immediately down to a lead group of five, with two runners setting the pace and me and two others about 10 seconds back.  The first mile had one nice downhill in it that set us up to hit a 5:15 split.  Once down, the wind was a bit of an issue, so the other runner, a younger guy named Collier, asked if I wanted to split duties fighting the wind with him.  I agreed and we made the rounds, drafting off each other for the next half mile or so.  We hit mile two in a 5:33 split, which I felt was quite a bit more comfortable than 5:15.

From mile two, we had some uphill that I felt comfortable on (hooray for Tuesday Night Hills) and I started to feel Collier struggle a little.  Once over the hill, we dropped back down onto a flat section around a lake.  We hit mile three in 5:43 (16:31 for three miles) and started a pretty challenging uphill section.  I dropped Collier on that hill, and again thanked the hill workouts we have been doing.  I made it over said hill and turned downhill where I did relax a little in order to recover. 

I hit mile four in 5:51 (22:22 at four miles) and firmly in third place (mile four pic here).  I saw second place maybe 25 seconds in front of me and thought, "let's see if I can run this guy down."  I spent mile five recovering while trying to reel him in (mile five did have another small hill) and hit the split in 5:41 (28:03 for five miles).  Mile six was pretty flat, but we caught the tail end of the 5Kers who had started before us.  For the most part, this wasn't an issue, though I did have to dodge a couple of people, and I lost sight of  second place in the crowd.  I still dropped down to 5:29 for the mile six split, but by that time, things had been determined.  I came home third in 34:39, with second finishing in 34:25.  I was reeling him in, but not quickly enough.

Third place was good enough for $50 worth of prize money, which covered the entry fee and some of the gas cost to get down there.  I ran a cool down with second place, Frank Therrian, who spent his college days running for Central Michigan.  We spent a couple of miles swapping college cross country stories.  Nice guy, hope to race him again soon.

After a cursory glance at some of my old mileage logs, I came to the conclusion that the 34:39 may be the fastest road 10K I've ever run.  I don't believe I've ever broken 35 on the roads.  My pr 31:41 was on the track at Stanford, and I've hit 32:03 on a cross country course in Arkansas.  I really feel that had the course been flat, I could have run low to mid-33 minutes.  That makes me feel pretty good.  Maybe this old dog does have something left in the tank.

Sun. Jan. 29 - 13 miles in 98 min (7:32 pace).  Jason and I met some of his fellow BRC-Adidas teammates for a wind blown run up and around North Table Mesa in Golden.  A couple of the climbs up the mesa left me pretty empty, but overall it was a great group run on dry trails (what?!), even with the wind.  Then we spent the day eating, drinking beer, playing with Jason's two little ones, and eating some more.  Good weekend.

Totals:
Week's Miles: 52
Running Time: 6:38
Year to Date: 191 (23:45 running time)

Gear: Asics Speedstar 5 (482 miles), Saucony Peregrine (182 miles), Asics HyperSpeed 3 (92 miles)

*Linked pictures from SkiPix.com*