Bib 330

Third wave for me this year:   https://results.pikespeakmarathon.org/regstats/2026/PPM/

Seems like I got some grace with an expected sub 4 ascent.  Not sure where that came from.  

Week 35 August 2026 (week ending 30AUG2026)

M - travel to Burlingame and then work obligations, so this was a zero
Tu AM - 8.4 miles with SS and AS from work along the Bay Trail.  Super easy
Tu PM - was sitting in the hotel in the evening so headed out again ... 4.5 miles easy
We - dragging in the morning.  7 miles.
Th - 8 miles in BUR
Fr AM - back in Broomstock, tied up for time.  3 miles.
Fr - PM - 5 miles on the loop
Sa - post a Pinebox gig, so legs were dead.  Got out with GW for some and ended up with 7.6 on the day.

Su - headed over to Green.  Up via the Enchanted Mesa to Mesa to Bear Canyon, and then up whatever that last stretch is now called (West Green?).  Back down the Ranger Gregory route.  11.5 miles.  

Managed nice zone 2 ish effort on the climbs, maybe tagging 3 on occasion.  Took it super easy on the down, babying the knee.  Round trip was about 3 hours.  I should have brought water - I was pretty parched post two hours.  

Shit ton of lady bugs on the summit.  Glasses were battery dead at start so went "raw dawg" for the run.  It was nice.  The weather was a huge help - nice and cool for most of this one.  

A 55 mile week - not bad considering I missed Monday.  

Week 34 August 2026 (week ending 23AUG2026)

Rolled through 1700 miles on the year this week and generally felt good.  A couple runs with GW, a workout with the Coyotes Wednesday AM, a run up Green with JV on Friday AM and some basic miles for the rest of the days.  

52.5 on week
M - 7.2 miles, most with GW
T - AM 4 miles on the ditch, PM 4 miles on the ditch
W - 5:15AM with the Coyotes.  4x700, 4x400.  6:30-6:45 pace on the longer ones, 95-98 on the quaters.  8 miles
Th - solo, and dragging.  8 miles
F - Green, up ASG, down over to Flagg, then down Ranger/Gregory with JV and Bill W.  6.6 miles.  Slooow.
Sa - AM with GW for a good chunk, 7.2 miles
Su - mid day so in the 90s.  Kept it mellow, trying to keep HR low.  7.3 miles out to Interlocken and back on Ditch

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Pikes is a month away and I will have at least three of those weeks at sea level.  I'll need to take my wedding band off for race day, as I am sure I will be pretty swollen at the top.  Might be a good time to churn through this classic.  Also, as I was chatting up results with JV,  I was sort of surprised to learn that only four people in the 55-59 AG have broken 5 hours.  And all those guys were 55.  

Then as I thought about it some, I was not so surprised.  

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Today marks 642 days of being free of alcohol.  What started as a "I need a break for a week" that turned into a month, then a quarter has trended now to a habit.  It is not that big of a deal.  If anything, freeing to not be thinking about any number of things, like driving.

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Leadville yesterday on an altered course.  Not sure how much it impacted times or not.  Hearing the 10 mile aide station ran out of water.  My Goggins voice wants to say you need to be prepared for that, but my customer voice wants to scream - WTF, how do you run out of water at a 100 mile aid station?

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The latest Rolling Stone interview with Geddy and Alex from Rush is great.  The latest live album drop from The Tragically Hip is great.  Just two things out of Canada this week that are delivered free of tariffs and great.

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I have been doing a fair amount of walking.  This week (as of this writing) it was 7 miles, last week 12 plus.  It varies between 3 to 15 miles a week as measured walks (not just walking around the house).

Green with JV and BW 21AUG2026

Wednesday night, JV put the signal out for a lap on Green.  I joined him and Bill W this AM at 6.  We went up ASG, down Ranger, peeling off below the cottage to go over Flagg, before coming back down Gregory.  6.6 miles, but my watch screwed it up.  I stumbled near the begining and with my wrist flipping back on the watch as I caught myself, I stopped it.  I ended up wearing the watch upside down to not have that happen again.

Was definitely feeling the lack of mountain fitness, but the bigger issue is still the downs ... I can't really even get to a fitness problem ... my ability to descend on these knees makes it so I am unable to really work.  

A great morning out on the hill nonetheless

Wednesday 19AUG2026

About a year ago, probably a bit more, invited me to his AM run.  It is bunch of folks from his Catholic Church.  They have dubbed me, in good spirits, the sole member of the heretic division.  There have been other heretics that have shown up, but they ususally don't come back.  It might be the 0515 start that scares them off.

Every Wednesday they go.  In the winter it is at the BHS track, in the summer it is at BHMS.  Some of the winter workouts are tough to rally for ... heading out at o'dark 10 after is not easy when it is in single digits and the wind is tagging it.  But they must 3 to 10 people each week.  They call themselves the Coyotes because they saw one at crack of dawn on one of their first gatherings five years ago.  

This morning was a kind sixty something degrees, perhaps a tad humid for Colorado.  We did the typical ten minute warm up (too short for me so I add on a bit ahead) with a couple of strides and they talked through what they wanted to do.  This AM was 4x8, 4x4.  For the longer reps, it is understood that we will also "time out" the rep - meaning if the leaders hit the 8 in 3 minutes, anyone else short of that stops and jogs to the start.  This is done to keep us together on time (ish).  I was getting about 700 meters on the reps this AM, and then doing about 95 for the 400s.  

I have decided my only goal for these is to breathe hard, get the heart thumping vs. worrying about a specific pace.  It breaks me up from doing the typical 9 plus minutes stuff.  8 miles on the morning.  

Week 33 August 2026 (week ending 16AUG2026)

I have been plugging away with 50 mile weeks.  Hardly enough vertical to be considered a mountain or trail runner and so I will feel that next month if I line up down south.  I tend to bumble along around 9-9:40 pace, occasionally throwing in a day where I will do a some sub seven work, and occasonally even sub six.  

Yesterday, I did some bike riding with TZ up on the St. Vrain Greenway.  I looked at the watch and saw we were crusing at 11.5 mph.  I felt disgruntled and amused and a bit nostalgstic at the same time ... it used to be 10k pace on foot.  Ah, well.  

This past week was in Burlingame CA which meant AM runs along the Bay Trail.   These are almost always a grand pleasure.  

Been pretty consistent on the year so far ... 1670 miles.  

M - BUR evening - 7 miles out to Seal Point
Tu - BUR morning with SA - 7.3 miles out to Seal Point
We - BUR morning with NK - 7 miles out to Seal Point, PR'd the hill as NK kept me honest.
Th - BUR morning - 7.2 miles
Fr - afternoon before heading to ball game (so back in Broomfield) - 4.4 miles with some fartlek
Sa - later afternoon - 9 miles, sorta dragging on Interlocken ditch
Su - out on ditch towards HF, 8 miles, dragging again in the rain