Sunday 053115

As defending champ, you have to think Krar is the favorite at Western but I am liking Bowman FTW given his spring form.

Crazy running weekend with Comrades, Pre, DD30, Meb’s masters debut in the SD half marathon and a boatload of other races.  I think the Efraimson’s 4:03 1500, AJR has to be the performance of the weekend.  With that she surpassed Cain’s record.    see it as another case of how crazy good kids are becoming these days.  At the same time, I would not be surprised to see Alexa have a similar sophomore slump like what Mary is going through right now. 

20.1 miles in the afternoon.  I probably should have jump on this run first thing n the AM but I was not wholly sure of my schedule at that time.  And so when I got out it was hot and windy.  I felt fine, and just backed off the effort to adjust for the mid 80 something temps.  I really felt no issue from yesterday’s run, and this one was fine too – except I got a bit parched at the end. 

I feel really good with this second 20 on the weekend.  It was just auto pilot and no big deal.  I have run longer on a weekend, but it usually comes in a lump of a single effort (like a race).  Backing it up this way was (as many have noted) less of a physical thing and really just a mental confidence boost from how I felt.

 

As I mention in the video, I want to get some “stretch myself but don’t wreck myself” training in over the next ten days, bringing myself to nearly a cracking point before heading out for a window of time in which I will probably accomplish very little running. 

93 on the week, 12 something hours, 3610 feet on the week.  May finishes with 353.7 miles, about 50 hours and 22k of climbing.  Not a huge month, but I feel pretty good with it given the 2 weeks of business travel, a root canal and being pretty sick for the first half of the month.  On the year I am sitting at 1716 miles, 232.25 hours and just under 90k feet. 

Saturday 053015

 

AM- back in CO and and easy non issue 20. Obligatory sun on the water shot.

Friday 052915

The Billy Yang video for Dave Mackey is pretty good.

AM – 5.3 miles before heading off to Heathrow for the flight back to the US.  The Virgin Atlantic b-class lounge is ridiculous.  First you get your own security line, then you get put into the club house where there are typical amenities but a barber shop, a salon with massages and manicures, a library, a video game room, a person shining shoes, on and on  … all “complimentary.”  

 

Nice case (NOT) of Boulder’s finest enforcing the law.  Thankfully the DA decided to set them straight.

Holy crap on the snow on Pikes. 

Thursday 052815

AM – 5 miles.  Dragging a bit.  Last run in Cork before the trip home.  Off to Heathrow tonight.

Love this little coffee shop bakery next to the hotel I stay in. 

More on the Blogger –Live Writer fiasco. 

Vid on Dave Mackey’s mishap.

Heathrow … not far from it there is a great park to run in with a lot of grass. 
I followed the Hillingdon Trail out of the park and through a small urban area, and then along a canal. 

10.1 miles in the evening.

Wednesday 052715

AM - 8.1 miles. 

Zero soreness.  No lung rattle.  In other words, no indicator I did a race.  And really this is not surprising.  When fit, your ability to push boundaries is greater and you are more likely to take your physical self into a place where you leave it hurt, particularly in a speedier event like a 5k.  But when you are not fit, your body is limited in being able to do that.  Given I have limited myself with not training for a 5k, I am not really able to get to a place with it where I can get sore.  Probably a bunch of other factors (excuses) that weigh in on that too (jet lagged, travel food heavy, on penicillin, that I was dumb enough to do hills in the AM).  

Also I wore the HR monitor for the race last night.  It took a while for the HR to elevate and then it only maxed at 178.  But it was only at something like 167 at mile 1.  Some of that is probably my HR dropping with age, but this sort of rings a bit of stuff I have heard Franky Castle talk about.  When your HR is low to a pace, you are either really fit or tired.  I am guessing the latter in this case.  I went with the HR monitor again this AM and I think it sort of re-illustrated this.  I was running below 7:30 pace but the HR was often below 140.

Pix from last night's race (actually an incredible number of pix ...)

Blogger did something to break Livewriter and I am reminded how much I hate the straight up Blogger UI.  Frankly, I think if I had to (or have to) use it regularly, I'd probably drop blogging (like many have).  

Word is that A Wavers (maybe other waves as well) in the Bolder Boulder had their times posted as gun times rather than chip times, but chip times were used in the later wave.  This has some folks understandably irked - especially some who lost as much as 9 seconds.  This issue seems to come up periodically and it seems easy to just want to employ chip times for everyone.  It is not completely that easy however.  A gun time sets up for a fair start and thus avoids the scenario where a runner 1 gets to the finish line before runner 2, but then runner 2 is given the win (and in some cases prizes) as they posted a faster time.  Admittedly this could be a small portion of the race population and could be addressed, but it does get tricky as you move through age group and gender classifications.  You can imagine the scenario where someone looks back at a competitor and thinks they have them well beat but it is not really the case as that runner started 5 or 10 seconds back.

I was thinking this morning about the "things people say."  In Ireland I suddenly get insight into the little statements like "your man there," or "how ye doin' love?"  It is a bit charming.  I am more aware of the things in the US that drive me crazy like "it is what it is" or "I don't disagree" and the back and forth where someone asks someone else in a meeting "do you have anything to add Bob?" and Bob says no your wrapped it up well but then adds on for 15 minutes after that saying everything that was already said.  Less charming probably because I am more familiar with it.

I think I posted this before but I am in a conference room in Cork Ireland with this picture.

Tuesday 052615

AM – 4.6 miles.  Did Saint Patrick’s Hill enough times that the construction workers on the mid point of the hill felt it appropriate to give me some shit.  Got me to grin a bit.

I am no thrower or even a fan of the throws but holy crap.

Looks like Jerker is going after the AT.

Evening – well, I said I’d be lucky if I was within a minute of what I posted for a 5k here a couple of years ago.  I guess I am lucky because I was within that (55 seconds actually).   Lots of excuses I could toss out (up?  in?  off?) but basically I felt heavy and slow in the race (and I knew it in the warm up), probably because … well, I am that right now.  Never really got the running into the lungs, as the legs just were not moving well.  That said, given what I have been doing, I am not surprised.   18:42 on the effort (5:59, 6:11, 6:08, 24). 

Other than that – great event.  8 o clock start, 8 euros, walk up reg, dead flat, probably a 1000 people and the winner going under 15.  Just a great classic 5k in a city.  No doubt, doing 5ks gets my head thinking about doing more of them.  7.7 in the evening (3, 3.1, 1.6)

Results are up.  Best part is they list me as Georgie.

Monday 052515

Good luck to all the Bolder Boulder runners out there, particularly often time training partner JV.

My travels here had me miss the burro race up in Georgetown.  Justin has a recap of it here.

ET does a show on crossfit.  Love it or hate it … whatever.  I am game for folks moving and enjoying it. 

Article on Dave Mackey’s fall and rescue.

AM – 6.3 miles easy through the Cork streets, around the university.

When I last did the John Buckley 5k here, it was May 2015 and I put up a 17:46.  Here is the report from that … that year I had done a 5k or two in the spring.  I have done nothing of the sort this year and I am not expecting that I can hold 5:41s (I am not sure I can do 1 of those right now).  Some of that is okay, because I feel better equipped to jog all day right now, but I have typically put my fitness for all distances to be relative to my 5k, 10k time – and that is not there at this point.

Evening – 5.7 miles before heading out for dinner.  A bit tired.

Sunday 052415

Long day of travel to Cork, but smooth and uneventful. 

I am hoping to do this 5k Tuesday night.  I did it a few years back and got my arse handed to me.  I’d expect more of the same except in a double dosing this go around.

Best wishes in recovery to Dave Mackey who had a very tough day on Bear yesterday.   Little story about Dave – he and I went toe to toe at Mount Evans a bunch of years back.  I had the upper hand on him on road races that were flat at that time, and he was the mountain guy.  Mount Evans appears to be a good match up for us because while it is a climb to high elevations, it is never overly steep (although it can feel that way a bit at the top).  He got a step on me at three miles and built it until the drop back down to the lake.  I got a look at him on one of those switch backs and really tried to dig to get him but he held me off for the win.  I was pretty well wrecked in my car for about 2 hours after the race.  Dave brought out one of my better performances that day simply because he is tough as nails.

It is pretty eye opening about Dave taking that spill because Bear is a peak he has been on hundreds of times.  I was just up there earlier this week and finding my not so coordinated self not digging the mist induced vertigo and the slipperiness of the rock.  Dave is sort of super human to me on that stuff.  I remember one time trying to haul ass down Green and I looked behind and he was literally just ho hum walking. 

This incident just reminds you that sometimes shit happens.  All the best in your recovery Dave. 

And as a side note, the group of guys that troll those hills regularly – aka, the Minions … these are the guys who run, hike and climb the peaks with a regularity that they know it better than most people know their own back yard.  The call went up, these guys were on the scene and helping the incredible RMR – not because they are the organization to do that, but because they are bonded as brothers.  JV and I have joked if either one of us ever gets hurt on the hills, the first people to call are Bill Wright and Dave Mackey.  It sort of worked out that way yesterday.

Afternoon – 14 miles in Cork.  I felt good but fuzzy from the jet lag.  But I figured I better go on a run while I had the window (versus the two day lag I typically get).  My eyes look pretty beat in the video below: 

Finishes up the week at 71 miles, with 8400 of climbing.  Not a great week – again, but I felt that I made some ground in getting past the sickness, getting through the rain, through the big travel from Israel, and getting back to some good habits with a longer climb. So not a poor week – just not pushing things forward much

Some old Cork, some new Cork …

Saturday 052315

AM – 5.5 around the block loops before heading out to the airport.  I did the loops (0.9) because I wanted to be sure not to miss KZ before she headed out for the day (she is not graduating but was up early to get out for that as she is part of the choir that is singing and then she has a day of grad parties, etc).

Picked up the Robert Gates memoir, Duty at the airport.

On the flight out caught, Edge of Tomorrow  I have found the sci fi flicks Cruise has done to be enjoyable.  And this has enough of a mix of Groundhog Day in it that it had me suckered in.

The cross the pond flight was on Virgin Atlantic.  I have never flown with them.  Apparently they have bars on the plane.

On the trans-Atlantic I watched American Sniper.  Wow. 

I really don’t understand English in England.

Friday 052215

Nice write up on Sonia O’Sullivan.  I will probably end up running on the track named after her next week.

A cold wet AM.  Met up with Bob and started up the Flagstaff Road.  Just before the 3 mile mark, JV popped out on the trail ahead of us.  We took to the Summit from West Green.  JV headed down the front and Bob and I retraced our steps for the most part – we took the spur road up to Flagstaff to spread things out a bit.  14.3 miles. 

EP’s latest ATC and I get some play with a question I asked.  Coincidentally Bob and I ended up talking about walking and hiking today.  I think I am getting some of it (even this week with Fern) but it is one of those things I probably get a little more practice with.  Lucho and Tawnee really cover the question in the podcast.  If I have not made it clear to folks who are looking for ultra advice ought to listen to that podcast, let me be clear:  go listen to that podcast.

And later today, I walked 2.6 with TZ.  That lady does not stroll.  It is a WALK.  She was more gentle on the post dinner fooseganer, 1.7 miles.

Thursday 052115

Root canal in the AM.

The doc/endodontist asked if I ever get tired of travel.  My travel seems like a lot to some people.  It is about 20% actually (and right now on the year it is less than).  It is pretty hard to grump about travel to places like Tel Aviv and Cork and Vancouver.  But there are definitely days that are long and you really wish you were home with your family.  I asked him if he ever got tired of reaching into people’s mouths.  He seemed to think that was funny. 

Got to post this one today.

Afternoon – 12 miles.  I actually felt a bit human again, after feeling a bit lethargic the last couple of days (weeks?).  The water is really moving out there.

Latest Tony video.  Dude is a good cat.

This, however, might be the loudest news in my small world today.   I applaud Robert Gates for taking the issue on, despite previously stating it was something he did not wish to engage in. 

Wednesday 052015

Afternoon – 8 miles, a thousand feet.  Mud, rivers, cows.  The trails are quite a mess. 

Slow going. 

Colorado actually outscored Oregon 55-44 at the distance events at PAC 12s, but did not win the meet this past weekend.  In fact, Colorado finished seventh to Oregon’s win in the meet, 152-68.  That’s right, CU men’s distance score 55 of their 68 points.  Think the facilities have nuthin’ to do with it?

Yes, it is a problem that Gatlin is PRing at 33 when sprinters typically do that in their 20s.

I have confirmed another pacer but as he drinks more beers in a week than does miles I might have to hold off on announcing him.

Tuesday 051915

12.2 miles.  It was raining.

Monday 051815

Joe Fejes is exhausted but in too much pain to sleep after running 600 miles.

The boy and a half dozen of his friends went to the Avengers movie last night and I was the cab, chaperone.  At the last second, I did something I never do at the movies:  I bought the extra large bucket of popcorn.  Clearly I was motivated by the “FREE REFILLS FOR EXTRA LARGE” sign.  And the gaggle of 14 year olds made it worth it: we refilled that sucker four times.

Afternoon – a misty climb up Bear out of Cragmoor. 

Part of the reason why I did this climb is that it is the only place on the south side of Boulder (10 minutes from my office) that I can get to without having to pay for parking.  Boulder has made ALL the south lots now fee lots.  And while a short run at 5 miles, it packs a punch with the vertical.

I used to do this route all the time and I got a reminder as to why I don’t so much anymore:  the upper parts of Fern on the north side of Bear are ridiculous.  It is more a challenge coming down for me than the climb up.  How Scott Elliott ever ran all that thing remains a great wonder to me.  That said, on a down in the snow one time JV and I got from the summit to the lot under 21 minutes, and I think we made it to the break in the path from the summit in 7.  5 miles with close to 3k of climbing.

Nice read on Melody Fairchild.

More brilliance from Sharpie.

Weekend 0516-1715

Saturday – I think I am nearly through this pretty nasty cold.  Still hacking up crap but it feels as if the worst of it has passed.  That was not a fun two weeks on the health front.  A busy day and an eye on a larger Sunday had me decide to keep this day light:  5 very easy miles.

Sunday – 2 laps of Green, all on the front side.  I thought I might do three if I felt good and the timing was working well.  I was not feeling particularly strong, and had ate up a fair chunk of the AM off two laps and called it at that.  I saw the hiker guy Skurka out there and had the pleasure of JV joining me for the second half of the climb and descent on lap 2.  Slow moving out there today, but the second lap ended up being faster than the first (call that the JV effect).  10.4 miles.

81.7 miles, 12+ hours and 7900 feet on the week; 1552 miles, 212 hours and 78k feet on the year.  May is about 190 miles, 26 and 3/4 hours and 10k feet (yes, over half my vertical this month came from today … that is what you get for running in Tel Aviv for a week).  Not a great week, not a horrible week, but less than the week I imagined in regards to running.  I struggled with this cold this week more than I care to admit.  I was catching on a variety things post international travel as well.  .

Friday 051515

Concert season:  KZ had a concert last night.

Afternoon – 16 miles.  Ran back from Boulder HS after JZ’s track meet.

Thursday 041515

JZ had a concert at school last night.  It was the final band concert for the director there, Mike Kreeger.  He has been teaching at the middle school since it opened in 1983.

Mike has made it a tradition of saying he is heading out for ice cream after the concerts, so TZ and some of the parents arranged that ice cream was brought to him this time.

Zach (he spells it wrong) Miller is moving to Barr Camp.  Kind of cool to see the local kid do the very local thing.

Fellow burro racer Leah N moved to NC and her running with a donk there is getting some attention.

I thought I was done with the cold, but I woke up realizing I have yet to shake the Hebrew Hack.  It is really annoying at this point.  Might be the worst cold I have had in years.

Stoked to see this guy move here to the superior in brew state than where he was.

Afternoon – 12 miles.  There are complete trails under water.