January 2012 Summar

# of Runs - 23
# of Running Days - 22
Avg Miles per Running Day - 9.8
Vert - 13,000'
Weight Lifting Sessions- 9
Days Completely Off - 2
Injured - 0

(Adding in a few metrics for the hell of it)

The Bad:

The Beer Mile - Wow, I sucked at that. 4 laps around the track + 4 Champagne of Beers = a 30 minute-ish finish.

Over Doing It - While in the weight room this month, I've tried to push hard each time. Not a bad thing when focusing on the upper body. A bad thing when focusing on the legs. A snapshot of my last set early this month. 3 sets x 12 reps of Dumbbell Lunges. Starting with 35lbs in each hand, then 45 and finishing with 55. Not sure what I was thinking but I wrecked myself for the remainder of the weekend.

Bagged a long run after 13 miles. Struggling to get even 6 the next day. One thing to enter all my other weekend runs a tad tight. Another thing to enter my weekend runs toasted. Lesson learned.

The Good:

Weight Lifting - The end of the month marks 10 straight weeks of very focused lifting of 2 times a week. Outside of my blunder mentioned above, I couldn't be more happy with my recent streak. Each session has been focused with a goal on what I want accomplished for the morning. Attention is paid to form and a consistent recovery time between sets and reps.

Running - I stuck with my 5 days a week and 50-ish mile a week average. 2 weeks were just touched the 60s with one week in the mid 30s thanks to being a meathead in the gym. What I'm most excited about is my miles were never once forced and combined a nice mixture of long, tempo and recovery runs.

More miles could have easily been had but I just never saw a reason for it. I hate chasing miles and posting a 70 mile week right now just seems pointless. There will be plenty of time for that once the high country single track opens up for me to party on.

Family Time - Having my training not interfere with my family time is my #1 goal this year and so excited that it didn't this month. Just amazing how easily my body has adapted to early morning runs and weight lifting sessions regardless of how crappy the weather might be or how high the desire to sleep in is.

Looking Forward:

I'll start February a bit slow with a week break from the weight room and a family get away the first weekend. After that, it'll be back to the same routine with a slight change.

Squeezing in run #6 of the week into the mix. The run will be easy and short and sandwiched in between tough mid week runs. I feel it's an important move that will benefit me as I start to shift away from the gym and into more miles.

Speaking of shifting away from the gym, I'm really struggling with when to begin that process. Right now, I'm aiming for some time in March right before the Salida Marathon with a complete transition by early May during my focused training period for Leadville. I'll keep up with stuff like push/sit/pull ups and other backyard routines, but taking a complete brake from the gym will have to happen by then.

2012 Pikes Peak Ponderous Posterior 50K

Outside of the Pikes Peak Marathon course, I had never stepped a foot on any other trail in the surrounding Colorado Springs area. Well I got my fair share this past Saturday on what turned out to be a magnificent day in the Springs.

First things first, huge shout out to JT and everyone else involved in putting this run together. Course was well marked (with the exception of Red Mountain which a group of us skipped out on since we didn't see the turn off) and the great after party had plenty of food, beer, old friends and new. As for the trails themselves, simply awesome!

It wasn't till late Friday afternoon that I was clear of any Saturday work conflicts which allowed me to make it down to the Springs. A late night at work left me with maybe 5 hours of sleep for the 7am start. Temps were already in the upper 30's and a sunrise just minutes away.

I have never been on the incline before and I was pretty excited for the adventure up that bitch. I started my lap button way to early (at the gate), mix in a photo, taking off my jacket and readjusting my gear and I was finally stepping on the first step.



Non-stop and just working the best I could. Lap said 36 minutes and 41 seconds. I'm guessing it was closer to 33 had I timed it accurately. None the less I was worked and only 11 miles into a 30 mile run.



A minute later PG came up and we spent the next 10 or so catching our breaths, admiring the views and me watching him throw down a PBR. Took a mile or so to get my body and legs groving again and thankfully they did. The Waldo aid station honestly came up much quicker then I initially thought it would. Body feeling good and looking forward to the second half of the course.

Waldo and Williams canyon had the most ice on the course but thankfully manageable. Better yet, the views offered up of Pikes Peak were downright amazing. Was such a treat to finally set foot on these canyon trails.

By the time we hit mile 25 on Rampart Range Road, it was nothing but a long downhill grind to JTs house. PG and I caught up to S O'D at this point and we just cruised on in with some fun conversation.

Stats can be viewed here:
Skipping out on Red Mountain accidental probably left off like 500 feet of climb and .5 to .75 miles on the day. Never hit stop on my watching and guessing moving time was closer to 5 Hours 40 Minutes for the day. Thought the vert would be closer to 7,500, but then again, who the hell cares.

2012 - A schedule and a goal

At the beginning of each year, I have one simple goal. To be better then I was the year before. This applies to every aspect of my life. A better husband. A better father. A better runner. Better mentally. Better physically. etc....I may sound like a broken record on this front but this will never change.

With that said, I have numerous goals surrounding running/training for the new year. None that I will bore anyone with but do want to state one of them.

Training not impacting family life - The unfortunate reality is my Saturday and/or Sunday long runs will get in the way of family time and this honestly kills me. However, for the remainder of my training, it'll be up to me to make sure it doesn't get in the way. This means many runs before the family is awake and after the family has gone to sleep. It won't be easy but I have no other option.

Now my 2012 race schedule (only including ones I've committed too) as follows:

March 10th - Run Through Time Marathon, Salida, CO - I'm treating this as a training run with no intentions of resting up for the race. Conditions will determine how hard I actually push it.

May 12th - Quad Rock 25, Fort Collins, CO - Likely giving this one a hard effort since it'll only be 25. I had contemplated the 50M but I'd rather not risk a long recovery considering the vert involved.

June 23rd - San Juan Solstice 50, Lake City, CO - HELL YEAH!!! My favorite race in one of the coolest locations this state has to offer. Any excuse to run in the San Juans is a damn good one. While I won't kill myself during this run, I'm giving it very strong effort.

August 18th & 19th - Leadville Trail 100 Run, Leadville, CO - My A race of the year. Every single run and weight lifting workout is being done with this race in mind. No short cuts here. Just a shit load of hard work. Can't F'ing Wait!

Pumped Up Kicks

Not to be confused with these Kicks.



Damn right Raggedy Ann approves with 2 thumbs up.

My only question though, am I expected to go shirtless and sockless while wearing the MT110s?

2011 - A Quick Look Back

I don't believe in luck. However I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world whenever I look at my daughter. The love and joy my little one brings to my wife and I since she entered I our lives back in February is beyond any words I can throw out there. To have so much love for someone still blows my mind and for that I'm a better person.

Speaking more on being lucky, I'm damn lucky having a wife who means the world to me and is so damn supportive of this damn running habit that seems to get worse as each day passes by.

Now on to other exciting highlights that aren't nearly as cool as my family:

Runs - 285 (Roughly 2,300+ Miles, 18,000 Vert Feet)
Workouts - 50 (With a bulk coming in the past 3 months)
Injured - 0 (Specifically resulting in time lost to running)

Never do I look back in my life and want to change things. I learn from my experiences, regardless of how good, bad and ugly they may have been. However there is one thing I would have changed in 2011. That being the breaking of my left arm. Simply put, it sucked and I gained nothing from the experience other then the art of wiping ones ass with both hands is an underrated talent. You try wiping your ass with your other hand and you'll quickly understand.

With regards to my races, which I won't rehash, I had a strong race in June. A poor race in May. An extremely memorable race in September. All great experiences that leave me feeling extremely confident heading into 2012.

I was extremely fortunate to pace 2 friends this past year during 100 mile outings and both experience, while completely different from each other, left me impressed. The mental toughness displayed by SK at Hardrock and PG at Leadville is much more impressive then the physical strength needed to complete 100 miles. Even during their darkest times, the focus to not quit was awesome to watch. It's this mental fortitude that sticks with me as a new year of racing begins.

Lastly, numerous solid runs and encounters with folks on the right hand column who's blogs I read frequently. They continue to inspire and motivate and for that I thank them all.

My favorite (non-daughter) pic of the year is one I already posted. While pacing at Hardrock and getting this amazing view of U.S. Grant Peak with a barely visible Swamps/Grants Pass to the right.

I'm not going to lie, it's not my favorite peak in the San Juans (that would be Sheep Mountain - I'll let you find that one on your own) but it ranks way up on my list. What stands out about this photo is the hell that SK and I went thru to get from that tiny looking pass to the point in which I took the photo. An experience I will never forget.