July 2012 Summary

Runs - 32
Workouts - 0
Injured - 0
Running Days - 27
Average Miles per Running Day - 11.5
Vertical Climbing - 41,000

The Bad:

The Long Drive:  2 to 4 plus hours to drive to a trailhead.  6 to 7 hours to run. 2 to 4 plus hours to drive back home.  This stuff adds up way to quick and gets in the way of family time.  Yeah, I could have not driven so far away from home, but to get some real needed high elevation training in, I had to.  And I'm talking about sustained above 10,000 feet training in for hours at a time.

It would be one thing if it were a run here or there but I got in 4 straight weekends of this type of training in.  Was so happy to spend the last weekend of the month at home with the family with my long run in the foothills 20 minutes away.

The Good:

Overall Numbers:  I am so happy with the numbers when all said and done.  For most of the month, I ran very strong and smart...till my last long mountain run.

Worst Run = Best Run:  My last long mountain run around the Buchanan/Pawnee Pass Loop.  It was one of those days where I didn't even want to run 5 flat miles around Wash Park.  Yet there I stood in the Long Lake parking lot contemplating other shorter routes.

I finally said screw it and headed off to tackle Buchanan first.  Clumsy and fatigued from the start.  The number of falls during this run exceeded all my falls over the past 5 years (2 falls versus 1 fall).

Physically, it was simply one of those bad days.  Mentally, it was awesome.  I never once let my shitty state of running hamper me one bit.  Yeah it was frustrating at times to run so poorly but I didn't seem to care.  Before I knew it was knocking out Buchanan, then meeting up with the Cascade Trail and finally Pawnee.  I was walking much more then I normally would but I was moving the whole time.  And not at a bad rate either.  I finished up the loop in 6:30 (6:50 total time).  During the run, if you were to ask me how long it might take me, I would have guessed closer to 8 hours.

(Clumsy Runs result in kicking one to many rocks)

What this run showed me is that those last hours up in Leadville will be about how much I have mentally versus physically.  

Taper Time:  About f'ing time.  I've enjoyed my huge spike in training over the last few months but I couldn't be more thankful for 3 plus weeks of taper time.  It's come at a perfect time.

Looking Forward:

17 days till race day. 17 days filled with little running and heaps of stretching, foam roller, relaxing and hanging out with my beautiful wife and daughter.    

My goal back in November was to make every workout count while not having it impact my family life.  Looking back, I can say that I did a pretty solid job in nailing this goal.  It was tough at times.  Extremely tough but somehow managed.

Now work will be busy for the next month with my only escape being the race itself.  So I won't be spending much time between now and then worrying about the race.  I've thankfully got all items sorted out for race day.  Housing, logistics, clothing, fuel...you name it.  Only thing left is to put all this hard work over the past 9 months to the test come race day.  Can't F'ing Wait!