Week ending 23FEB2020

Monday AM - Eagles had the day off today because of King Day but we still had practice.  10.2 miles all told.  Got in some miles with Ian, Greg, Braun and Marissa.

KZ headed to Germany for a semester abroad.


Tuesday AM - 4.2 slow wake up miles.  I start the liquid diet and the "bowel prep" today.


Tuesday afternoon - 6.8 miles with 8x70" hills on Main.  Good work for me.  Flying with the Eagles.

Wednesday AM - 3.8 with Greg.  I was pretty tired from the workout yesterday and also not having had solid food for a day.  But good enough for easy stuff.
Wednesday PM - a bit sluggish post the colonoscopy so I kept it light.  4.4 miles.

Colonoscopy was a non issue as far as the prep and the procedure.  In a weird way, if you can get past the entire thing of not eating solid food for 25 hours and that you'll empty out on the toilet with a fair amount of frequency ... well, you actually feel pretty good.  The procedure itself was fine.  I was knocked out pretty quick and woke up without issue (no pain, bleeding, etc).  It turned out I had an 8mm polyp.  That was easily removed and sent off to pathology for analysis.  I should know if it means anything in a week.

Thursday AM - 5 degrees.  5.5 with Greg

Thursday afternoon  - a super easy 5.3 miles.

Friday - 10 miles.  About 20 minutes tempo.  Ticked over 500 miles on the year.

Saturday - 15.1 miles with Greg.  Did the first half with him and Braun and the second half as a part of Eagle practice.  Averaged 7:40 pace.  Not bad.  I screwed up by not eating anything ahead of time and was regretting it as I could smell breakfasts wafting up from places we ran by.


Sunday - traveled to Melbourne FL.  Nice little shift to 79 degrees and some humidity.  Got a total of 8 vertical feet over a 10 mile run.  Easy aerobically but legs were a bit tired.

75 plus on the week, with a fair long run and the workout earlier in the week.  Not bad given the medical fun I had mid week.  72 runs on the year so far over 528.8 miles (meaning the average run is 7 and a third miles).  It is my fourth week of seventy or better in a row - something I don't think I did in 2019 at all.  I have the Okpik snow cave course this weekend and so I think the travel week and that will bring that streak to an end.

Thursday night I played the mic at Rails.  I ended up going on much later than I thought I would and this got in my head a bit.  Lessons from the mic still.  New band name might have to be the bad haircuts.

I played "Preacher's Daughter" by RCPM, "Rhinestone Cowboy" by Glen Campbell, "Teenage Anarchist" by Against Me! and "Banditos" also by RCPM.  A guy played drums on Preacher and that sort of messed me up a bit too because I wasn't expecting that.  Earlier in the night, a guy named Pete - who I had never met - asked me to play on his set.  It was basic blues tunes but it was pretty cool to do a few tunes with him.  As the place shut down, Brent had me play his Gibson Les Paul goldtop and as we screwed around I did "Midnight Train To Memphis" with Aaron and Brent, "Better Now" and then "Copperhead Road".



So a weird night ... you just don't know what you are going to get pitched ... you have to roll with it.  Like I see with people racing - you expect a certain something, get pitched something different and if you are tied to expectations, you can get all mucked up.  I got a bit mucked up.  And that is just not necessary.


From Melbourne ... City 17.

Ms. Potatohead

I keep bugging KZ for some of the pix she has taken in her Europe travels but she has been pretty stingy with them.  In fact when I asked her for a recent shot, she sent me this: 

Damn smarty pants teenagers.

More seriously, she does seem to be having a great time and enjoying the experience of Europe.

And from her internship at a local German hospital.

Another 10 today.  My calves are a bit sore but mostly that is from the renewed stimulus of running.

I really hope I am wrong but all of you who have been direly waiting for the end of this season of America on Tuesday are due for a surprise come Wednesday and beyond.  Don’t expect a cliff hanger either.

When in Rome …

It was a good week of running.  It was the first one in quite a while and I pretty happy with that.  The hip is not 100 percent in the clear but my doctoring of my right shoe with the creation of a home made wedge seems to be helping (or perhaps hiding) that problem to manageable levels.  I got in over seventy on the week, a few single runs over 10 miles, some tempo work and a few shorter efforts at sub six pace.  Again, nothing amazing but enough to get me thinking of some possibilities again.  If I can keep this glued together for a few weeks, I will probably line up for Thanksgiving Day racing  - admittedly with low expectations however.

So the goal here will to build on that a bit in terms of getting a touch more quality in that, and maybe make some of the runs that I do a bit longer (probably not increasing overall weekly miles in as much as reducing the number of runs).

Meanwhile … KZ made a pass through Italy.

Today’s listening was rediscovering one of my favorite albums from the 90s … Candlebox …

I have also been digging the new Metallica.  I also dig “Blood Eagle Wings” by Anthrax but if I never see that video again it will be too soon.

The Gap Year

The boy went and “dun good” in a recent FBLA competition.  His team got second, and that was good enough to land that team enough shekels that I told JZ that he was buying dinner that night.  Show me the money.



In the comp, they had to come up with a local business problem, define how they were going to resolve it, define the business prop (as in how they would make money on it), etc.  JZ’s team decided to create a local job board on the web for teens, allowing local businesses to post jobs and teens to search for them based on various criteria.  JZ took on the web site creation, and his prototype was pretty cool.
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JZ also finished the XC year in the league meet this past week.  He was pretty focused on PR’ing one last time and breaking a number barrier that would get him the varsity letter standard.   It was going to be close to do that, and unfortunately the weather was uncooperative … almost maddeningly so … it was cloudy and overcast for the period just before the races, the clouds broke for the races and the temps slipped into the mid 80s … and then as the races finished, the clouds came back in again.  I was bummed for him, but he kept perspective:  he is happy with the season he has had, he can see the gains he has made with some dedication, and he has eyes on what he can accomplish in the future.  His formal season is done but he is saying he is likely to continue training with the XC varsity squad (who is prepping for state) to see if he can bring together a solid fall race.

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The hip is coming around.   Or at least I think it is.  Maybe the discomfort in it is becoming less or maybe I am just getting used to it.  Given it has been a slow heal (almost two weeks now), I am thinking that it is probably some sort of stress fracture.  Or I don’t know – maybe not. 

I am not really interested in heading to get it imaged to tell me that … that just sounds like shelling out bucks for an expensive picture that will a.) tell me it is a fracture and that I need to rest, or b.) be inconclusive and I still can’t really run anyway.

With the slightly better feeling to it, I am very tempted to run on it but I recognize I ought to sit tight a while longer.  Which means probably another week or two of the bike. 

The bike.  I sort of dread it but I am also thankful for it.  I dread it because it is not my thing … I am not good at it, I have nearly killed myself by nearly taking out prairie dogs that decide to bolt in front of you on the trail when you are buzzing at a good clip, it makes my neck hurt, I don’t think I am getting the same sort of workout from it, and I have gone through three tubes in the past two weeks because of damn goat heads. 

Based off the reaction of folks who have seen my ride up close, I am doing some sort of “old school” thing.  Here’s a vid of the setup:

Here is a shot of the 6k and the 8k.

Despite the dread there is an appreciation I have for it.  It gets me outside, and I have been able to get to see some stuff that I don’t normally get to.  It gives me the time I usually appreciate in running to reset and reboot.  It can make me breathe hard and make my legs ache.  I have been enjoying exploring the various strips of concrete ribbon that connect towns together along drainages.  Until they stop for no reason …

… but it is fun looking for the connections, and seeing how far I can get along a stretch before I need to find something else.  And trails I have never heard of … like “Hall Grange.”

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So as I have noted here before, KZ is in a program that has brought her to Germany for a year.  She started there in June, has been in a German language immersion school, taught some English at a camp, been in a German HS, and soon will start a program of various internships.  In short, it is a “gap year” program, meaning that she is taking this path rather than a “traditional” path from high school directly into college.

I put “traditional” in quotes because a.) I am not sure that a path from HS to college is truly traditional and b.) I am not sure if KZ will follow that so called traditional path anyway.   Her gap year is providing her an opportunity to explore Europe, learn some (specifically the German language) and figure out what she wants her next steps to be. 

It dawned on me the other day that I too am having a gap year of sorts.  I have left a corporate job of nearly two decades, and am in the midst of getting a new business off the ground with my partners.  It is not “rocket surgery” to own your own business, but there are big differences than working for someone else.

My running has taken a back seat as I have worked through (and am currently working through) a couple of injuries that are probably outcomes of age and decades of bouncing on a tilted frame. Mileage is lowest it has been, racing is the least it has been, and days off are the highest they have been in probably 10 years.  2015 left me skidding at its end and it took me a bit to get back on track in 2016 … and I might not be on track yet. 

I have become heavily involved in the local high school cross country team as a volunteer coach, and spent more time helping out with my son’s Scout troop. 

In a similar fashion to KZ, I am exploring, learning, and figuring out what the next steps will be.  Of course there are significant differences between our “gap years” other than location, but I do see some similarities.

XC PRs and Zurich

Big day for this kid on Friday – he PR’d over the 5k distance by 30 seconds.

His bump in performance reflects the steady process of his work over the fall.  Getting on a course that was not going to eat the racers up (like heavy grass courses) and a nice weather day (it was 70 rather than 80 plus) certainly helped too.  It is awesome to see him realize the rewards of his efforts.

Nonetheless, he is dealing with the typical runner’s curse – and that is while he set a PR, it ain’t quite meeting the target and goals he wanted.  Had he run about 4 seconds faster he would have landed a time that met the varsity letter standard for the team.  He has a shot again this Friday at that target.  Any seasoned runner has been here … you have had the big PR performance, but … gosh you look at that performance and you are wondering if you can eek out a few more seconds to get through that silly numeric barrier.  A 3:59 mile is more than 2 seconds faster than a 4:01 sort of thing.

Regardless if he meets his goals or not, I have a deep appreciation for the process he is going through and a strong belief that it adds to the foundation of his strong positive character.  I really think it is life changing.

While I understand that there is a focus on times for these kids as a measure of how they are improving, and I even can see how I contribute to that focus, I think there is a bit too much emphasis placed in XC on it by kids these days. There is such variability in XC courses that times from week to week ought to often not be compared.  XC instead is about placing but I think that view has been lost.  We can all see on the internet instantly how such and such competitor did in this race.  There are few dual meets left, so the dropping of a 15 on another team is a concept kids don’t even have an awareness of.  All courses are 5k so there is a natural inclination for to compare.  I think almost every course I raced in HS was somewhere from 2.5 to 3.5 but the distance was different every week.  The only time that you sort of compared week over week was your home course time.  Certainly putting a letter standard out there in terms of a number puts a focus on it as well.  I think kids at altitude focus on it a bit too because they see these super zippy times from kids at sea level and so a meet like Liberty Bell or a trip to sea level becomes a bigger deal because that is a number you can shop with a prospective college. 

So I get all the focus on the numbers, but I try to drum at the kids the focus on the process of training, and racing.  The times, the outcomes will come.  I probably could learn a lesson or two myself from these philosophies.

Meanwhile in Zurich …

Wakeup 5K

Did the Waneka Lake 5k.  Not a pretty result or one worth writing a long race report about.  My fake until you make it strategy worked for about a mile and a half but the wheels came off in the third mile.  Legs were fine in this effort, but I had no lungs or aerobic capacity in the latter stages of the race.  But I got what I came for:  a kick in the butt showing where I was at and a clear message that I got some work to do if I want to get to a standard that I consider self respecting.  I think I can back under 18 by Thanksgiving with some focused work. 

I was asked this past week if my helping of the XC team was a way for me to “relive my glory days.”  I immediately laughed and said no, because I don’t look at my HS years as so called “glory days” and I really don’t look at my involvement as a way to do that even if they had been.  But I do recognize I get a buzz off of being a part of this.  The excitement of a XC invite on a Saturday, watching kids test themselves, find their limits, enjoy what they accomplish but also have an eye on the future in how they will improve the next time they tow the line … pretty hard to beat that.  Those are things I certainly enjoyed in high school, and perhaps by being involved as much as I am this year with BrHS XC I am happy to seek that out again.

We had a call with KZ today.

Bart v. the Sprinkler

Some shots of KZ in France (she travelled there from Germany as a friend from here passed through)

End of First Week in August

KZ visited Beethoven’s house.  Like in Germany.
 

Running – Thursday …a little over an hour on my feet.  Did 10 soccer diagonals in the middle to mix it up some.
Friday … a touch sore from the sprints yesterday, but not bad.  Around 50 minutes but then a half dozen harder strides.
Saturday – took the day off in prep for Boom Days race.

Good stuff.  Thanks Shad.

Ultimately, it is not about the race, how fast or slow we run, it is about the people and the shared experiences, and that togetherness is for me what makes running in the mountains so meaningful.  Just catching up on the typical Hardrock carnage articles.

Headed up to Fairplay before buzzing over to Leadville for the Boom Days Pack Burro Days Race.   Before heading out of town, we stopped in at the send off for Emma Coburn and Jenny Simpson before they headed to Rio.

Once in the mountains, JZ got a bit of work on the stick on Grandpa’s old Jeep.


We headed over to Leadville to stay at Chauteu Bob.  His million dollar views have been upgraded with burros in the backyard.

The ride home from the weekend.

Amazing summer weekend in the Rocky Mountains.  I will get a post up about the Boom Days race separately.

KZ recent day trip to Cologne

KZ sent me a few shots from her recent day trip to Cologne. 

Weekend 01-04JUL2016

First – look at this awesome photo of the Boom Days Burro Race by Dave TenEyck from 1951!

AM – I met up with a former coworker for a jog on the Davidson Mesa.  50 minutes.
Once finished I drove immediately over to the BrHS practice and got in another 40 with those guys.  One of the coaches was there with his infant son in a push stroller / jogger and I pushed it a bit.  I forgot how hard it can be to run with those things. 

Links:

• Fast master mile, author of the Boulder Running Journal, previous team mate and friend Todd Straka has bought the Dash and Dine series.  Bummer Todd is not in the mile race this weekend.
• I will probably listen to Sage’s vlog on WS when I have a free 20.
• Maybe all you really need to know about ultra training?
• Or maybe just this?
• Apparently blogging is not completely dead as the 20 year old kid that just took home the Cougar does it.
• Jez’s photos of the Dolomites … yeah, I do want to visit there.
• Everything you ever wanted to know about the MWRR.
• Awesome daily raps on the OTs by HOR.

Raspberries are starting to come in!

Friday night TZ and I headed over to Flatirons to watch the mens 10k in the OT.  Coverage completely sucked.  Good news was these folks grumbled about it enough to make it fun.
Apparently Droddy is America’s next great running talent.

I didn’t get any running in on Saturday, making for my first day off in over a month.  I have said in the past that I don’t schedule days off because I feel they are often dealt to me.  This one was dealt to me.  The day filled with picking up JZ from his staff gig at Scout camp.  TZ and I got in a little hike on the St. Vrain before getting him.  I could have forced in a run in the evening, but I decided against it as I felt a bit tired.  It was time to take a day. 

Sunday AM – TZ and I headed over to Chautauqua.  2nd Green on the year for me this year … and this week.  I headed up the middle route.   Of course, my climbing gear is still crud at this point so it was a slow ascent, and I felt it particularly on the last bit back on Greenman – often forced to a walk.   That is as much my head as it is my legs. 

I came back down via West Green and then onto Long Canyon.  It appears they are looking to do a reroute of that trail on the upper section of that trail.  I can’t say that I am overly stoked about that.  I love the sections of that trail where there ferns grow so thick the trail almost starts to disappear (that is also a function of this trail not getting much traffic). 

I could feel the right Achilles on this a bit more than I have on runs lately, and the left leg quad weakness was making me a bit gimpy.  I might talk to the BrHS strength coach to see what he think I ought to do.  It is certainly more pronounced on downhill runs.

Sunday afternoon – 35 minutes long the canal.

The week (ending on a Sunday) was a bit lighter in terms of miles than the last few, but that is okay.  I needed the day, and for what it is worth, I got the most vertical in a week for a year (which is still pretty light compared to some, and even some weeks I have done in the past).  Still came in over 11 hours on the week, so all good. 

I definitely need to move from just doing basic aerobic stuff to starting to get into that next set of training … or tempo-ish (LT) work.

Monday AM – a couple of handfuls of XC kids showed up for practice today.  An easy 50ish minutes and then strides, A,B,C skips, lunges, planks, push ups. 

Mondy – PM – I had thoughts on a hill tempo but the heat just sapped me so I just went for a very easy 45ish.  Very warm.

Other recent shots.

KZ looks to have made it to Germany

Finally, I am looking for a USB Solar Cell charging system I could use for my phone while out backpacking, canoeing, etc.  As I use the phone for a camera, and in COE to contact people, I have interest.  If anyone has a suggested consider / do not consider – I’d appreciate it.