Week of April 23 to April 29

SUNDAY

Back was no good. Spent the entire day with the heating pad in front of the tv. Thank God for hockey


Week ending Sunday April 29
Hudson 8.9 miles with 1 summit of Sanitas
Chris 37.2 miles with 9,509' and a good showing in the 15K


SATURDAY

Not doing as many long or fast runs so chose to run a 15K race this morning - the "Boulder Distance Classic"

Sadly, after I paid my $30 and was tying my shoes my back "fucked up" like it did last December. I had 30 minutes to try and loosen it up - with only modest success at best. I started the race and running was ok. Started too fast with a 6:?? minute mile. Ended with an average 7:39 pace - good for 65th

Maureen rode her bike to the Reservoir (9 miles) and we had free pizza and beer courtesy of the race sponsors. Back is sore so will spend the day with a heating pad in front of the tv


FRIDAY

Dry Creek with Hudson. 2.1 miles. There's a "new" woman who runs early with her 2 Husky-Malamute mixes. Hud is happy to see them but remains wary

Did a new mountain late in the afternoon - Flagstaff. You start at the Gregory parking area and it's pretty mellow. 3 miles with 1,120'


THURSDAY

Dry Creek with Hudson. 2.1 miles + lots of sprints after a frisbee with a border collie

Green after. 5.3 miles and 2,344'


WEDNESDAY

Dry Creek very early with Hudson. Brisk pace as you need to worry about coyotes before sunrise. 2.1 miles

Green after with a sense of urgency as I was hosting a conference call at 8:30am - no time to deal with any falls. Solid time of 1:18:11. 5.3 miles and 2,344'


TUESDAY

Sanitas early am with Hudson. Mellow pace. Hud gave a St Bernard / Shar-pei mix a pretty mean barking that took everyone by surprise. It was warm - when we finished just after 7am it was near 70

2.6 miles with 1,357'

Green at noon. Hot and humid - the car was over 90 when I finished. 5.3 miles and 2,344' as storms rolled up north

MONDAY

Day off

Week of April 16 to April 22

SUNDAY

Another great sleep and a speedy 2.1 miles with Hud at Dry Creek

Went to Green Mountain for 5.3 miles and 2,344'. Was going to add Flagstaff Mountain at the end but groin was a little sore from biking yesterday

Week ending Sunday April 22
Hudson 11 miles with 1 summit of Sanitas
Chris 45.9 miles with 9,083'


SATURDAY

A great sleep and a late start with Hud at Dry Creek. 2.1 casual miles as Hud goofed around with other dogs

14.6 miles of biking after buying a bike. Stops included University Bicycles for a few supplies, the Farmer's Market and Snarf's for subs


FRIDAY

A very brisk 2.1 miles with Hud at Dry Creek. While a Green Mountain or Mount Sanitas is more of a challenge for Hud, Dry Creek is a great workout for him. I'll run at a consistent pace and he'll stop to sniff until I'm 50 yards ahead - then he'll sprint top speed 100 yards and this repeats itself for 19 minutes

Was not motivated for an afternoon run but needed to a distance run. 12.3 "easy" miles (as in not particularly fast) at Teller Farms with 694' - it felt like more. I'll toss this run in the "absolutely not fun but very useful" category


THURSDAY

Late night last night watching the Vancouver victory so a late start on Green Mountain. Just me - Hud seemed ok with the day off. 5.3 miles with 2,344'

Tennis with Hud in the evening at the local school


WEDNESDAY

Dry Creek with Hudson early. Saw two large Husky-Malamute mixes - Hud gave them the old "back-off" growl. 2.1 miles

Green Mountain after. Near the summit heard a runner about a switchback behind me. Took a look - it was the legend, Anton. I sprinted the rest of the way so he didn't pass me. Barely made it. We chatted a few minutes - no doubt quite a thrill for him.

5.3 miles with 2,344' - my happy day immediately ruined back at the car when I saw how many work e-mails I had from lawyers


TUESDAY

A brisk ascent of Mount Sanitas with Hudson - made it to the summit in less than 26 minutes



2.6 miles with 1,357'

Went to Bobolink after work. A brisk 6.75 miles


MONDAY

Took the day off

Week of April 9 to Tax Day

SUNDAY

5 miles and 750' with Hud at South Mesa. A little snow overnight



Hudson snarled and barked at the 2 German Shepherds - not a great idea to mix it up with two 110lb tough dogs who do 5 miles daily



Week ending Sunday April 15
Hudson 13.2 miles with 1 summit of Sanitas
Chris 41.8 miles with a personal best 10,239'


SATURDAY

Dry Creek at 7:30am with Hudson. We were going to run but he ended up playing with a lot of other dogs. Maybe 1.4 miles of walking with additional sprints for Hud

Green Mountain after. The last third of the ascent was with another runner at a good pace and a good pace down. 5.3 miles with 2,344' in 1:16:26 - plus I managed not to fall which is great


FRIDAY

Dry Creek at 6:15am with Hudson. A brisk 2.1 miles

Green Mountain after. I was a minute ahead at the summit but must have been too cautious or slow on the way down as I was a minute slower than yesterday. 5.3 miles with 2,344'


THURSDAY

Gave Hudson the morning off and did Green Mountain. Not so much sleep last night as the thunderstorms kept Hudson up. 5.3 miles with 2,344' in 1:19:08 with one crazy wipe-out


WEDNESDAY

2.1 miles at Dry Creek with Hud. Had an easy day at AT&T and wanted to do Green but left knee was a little sore so rested


TUESDAY

Left at 6:15am with Hudson to do Mount Sanitas. He was still tired but he survived. He did look tired enough that a woman offered him water - he declined but licked her face. 2.6 miles with 1,357'

Afternoon went to Bobolink. 6.75 miles in the warm sun


MONDAY

Gave Hudson the day off after his superb week. With five more training weeks and one taper week before the Jemez Half it's time to kick up the runs. Did Hogback at a good pace - 3 minutes faster than last two outings - and added Lime Kiln for an additional 2 miles and 250'

Also found a nice pair of sunglasses

Week of April 2 to April 8

SUNDAY

4.6 miles and 700' with Hud at South Mesa. He was tired - but not tired enough to disappear off in the woods chasing some animal. I guess that's his new thing - disappearing on holidays (he disappeared for 15 minutes on Thanksgiving chasing a fox). It was a busy dog day - including a good visit with the 2 German Shepherds and their owner

Week ending Sunday April 08
Hudson 16.6 miles with 1 summit of Green
Chris 33.0 miles with 7,244'


SATURDAY

2.1 miles with Hudson at Dry Creek early am

7.1 miles with 900' of gain at Betasso Preserve. Fun mellow run


FRIDAY

Met Leadville Chuck for Green Mountain early am. 5.3 miles with 2,344'

"Tennis" with Hudson at the local school at noon before the winds


THURSDAY

Hudson set a PR on Green - 1:54:36. 5.7 miles with 2,400'




WEDNESDAY

Dry Creek early am. Ran a bit with another runner and his dog and then Hud got to play with two old pals

Hogback Ridge in the afternoon. Tough today. Legs may be tired from Sunday. 4 miles with 900'


TUESDAY

Sunday was 81 - today is 34 with light snow. Took Hud to Dry Creek for the 2.1 mile loop and some "training" as no one was there at 6:20am

Went to Bobolink later in the morning but it was slushy and cold - not motivated enough so bailed


MONDAY

Day off

Week of March 26 to April 1

SUNDAY

Half marathon went very well. Woke up early (2:30am) and didn't fall back asleep but had great sleeps all week. Had my lucky shirt on:



Ran a 7:31-mile pace the first half and a 7:36-mile pace the second half for a 1:39:06 - met one of my goals for the year. Woo-hoo! The last time I had looked at my watch was at the 8-mile mark and the time was 1:00:26

It was hot by the end under a blazing sun with no shade in sight - so I grabbed a veggie burger and some cold drinks and headed out. Sadly had to skip the beer tent

Took Hud to the school for a lap with a new buddy of his - Jackson the mutt

Week ending Sunday April 01
Hudson 7.6 miles with 1 summit of Sanitas and many tennis balls
Chris 39.1 miles with 5,672'


SATURDAY

Hiked nice and casual up Sugarloaf with Hud at sunrise

Did a few laps at the track to make sure all was good and no minor injuries needed attention. Then some "tennis" with Hud until his tongue was dragging

March
Hudson 48.9 miles
Chris 154.6 miles with 25,363'

6 Month Total
Hudson 312.6 miles - 62% to his goal of 500 miles
Chris 965.8 miles with 143,830' - a little light for the goal of 2,000 miles but good on the goal of 264,000' elevation gain


FRIDAY

Picked up bib, chip, shirt and glass this morning. Since they initially didn't have the shirt and I had to go back later in the day they gave me a free shirt and hat from last year. Nice

Took Hud for a short trot up Bald "Mountain" in the afternoon followed by some "tennis" at the school up the street. This was when we got home. Now he's on the couch snoring




THURSDAY

Planned to run Green Mountain with Hud at sunrise - last run before Sunday. We actually got to the trailhead too early - saw one animal go running into the woods as we pulled into the parking lot. Maybe a coyote - bigger and faster than a raccoon

Kept Hud on leash until the sun came up



Not sure - looks like coyote or fox scat



Hud seemed to have a sore front left paw so we called it at 25-minutes. Maybe a mile and a few hundred feet of gain. He still had a good time with the smells of spring and wildlife

I went back after dropping him off and ran Green. 5.3 miles with 2,344' on a fantastic sunny spring morning




WEDNESDAY

Day off but not intentional. Got real busy at work and had to run a number of errands


TUESDAY

Did Sanitas with Hud at sunrise. 2.6 miles with 1,357' and Hud got to say "Hi" to several dogs


MONDAY

Decided to do a final long run before cruising into Sunday. Went to Teller Farms - weird day. Got to the parking lot. Too windy for a hat (maybe a constant 25-35MPH) so I wore a winter toque. Too warm for a shirt - left it in the car. 6.15 miles and 52 minutes later at the turnaround I noticed how red I was getting. No problem - will run at a good pace back. Unfortunately the run back was into the wind. 12.3 miles with 694' in 1:47:47 with a mild sunburn - dumbass