Things have been going pretty well training-wise since the Trudge. I have primarily hit the mileage I wanted and have felt decent doing it. The feeling of coming around, getting more fit, and not struggling every run is one that I am glad to have again. I have had some good hill workouts and some good weekend long runs, including trail runs on Blue Sky in Fort Collins, the Mickelson Trail in South Dakota, and up at Curt Gowdy.
The only issue I have had is my seasonal affectiveness disorder. Spring is a tough time to train in the mountain west. Such a mercurial climate is always getting one's hopes up only to bring them crashing to the ground. Just last week, we had a surprise blizzard Monday afternoon into evening that dropped about half a foot of snow. Two days later, I was running at lunch in a t-shirt, getting sunburned on my ever-more-exposed forehead in 60 degree temperatures. By my long run on Saturday, I was fighting a howling wind, trudging in remnant snow on the Gowdy trails, feeling like total waste. Such is spring in Wyoming.
I am starting another "up" phase in my mileage build-up this week. By the end of this month, I hope to be back up to 60 mpw. I have been taking Mondays off. While it flies in the face of my New Year's resolution, I really need that day off right now. My body just simply does not handle mileage like it used to. In fact, my body never really handled mileage all that well to begin with.
I am heading down to Moab the latter half of this week with what consists of the majority of the Wyoming men's cross-country team from 2002-2006. It is turning into a reunion of sorts, and I am excited to see the guys again. Some I have not seen in several years. I am also looking forward to getting in a few miles on desert trails. While the weather reports indicate that we may not have the best of weather gracing us down there, a change of scenery is always welcome. I have mentioned this previously, but Laramie is wearing thin on me lately. Plus, I have always been infatuated with the desert and its canyons. No wonder Edward Abbey wrote so vociferously about it. It is truly beautiful and encapsulating in its simultaneous grandeur and stark emptiness.
Week of Feb. 11 - Feb. 17
20 miles in 3' 22" (lazy week)
Week of Feb. 18 - Feb. 24
35 miles in 4' 55" (Trudge week)
Week of Feb. 25 - March 3
44 miles in 5' 29"
February: 132 miles (18' 29")
Year to Date: 239 miles (33' 58")
Week of March 4 - March 10
50 miles in 6' 06" (weekend runs in the Black Hills)
Week of March 11 - March 17
40 miles in 4' 57" (felt sub-par toward end of this down week)
Gear: Asics SpeedStar 6 (276 miles), Asics 2000 Trail (186 miles), Saucony Peregrine 2 (385 miles)
