Refocus and Weekly Miles 4/5 - 4/11

Bad news on the race front! Bummer, Jon and I went to register for the Big Horn Trail Race (me the 50K and the 50M for him) and they're full up! Both of us have emailed the RD to see about a possible wait list but it seems for now that we're out of luck. I have however booked Rachel and Xavier tickets to go down to Texas for that weekend so I have some options on what to do. At the very least we'll head up to Wyoming and make a running/fun times vacation if we don't get in off the wait-list. Otherwise I've been looking around the US to see if there are races that weekend in the general area that Southwest flies (ie. cheap). I've come up with a few options. There's a 5oK/50M race at Sun Mountain in Washington that would be favorably similar in topography to Big Horn. Less technical, more climbing. The 50K and 5oM have about the same gain so I'd be in for a tougher run, or a more fun run depending on your outlook.

Another option is a 40M race in West Virginia which would bridge the gap between our perceptive distances. Both of these races require decent amount of driving from the airport (~4hrs+) but would be places I've never been. What caught my attention today and has me actually a bit excited is the Rock Creek Stage Race in Chattanooga, TN. 3 days of racing (22/18/20) and lots of fun. Camping, ice baths, and beer. Also, my good friend Emily from back home in Salinas, CA now lives in Nashville (the fly in spot) so I'd be able to catch up a little with her. We'll see, but we probably need to make a decision fairly soon if we decide to not go up to WY.

Another refocus for me is that I've registered for Sageburner, but not the 25K, the 50K. This week has given me a lot of confidence that I can hit May 29th rolling and in far better shape than last year. Actually, I think that physically I'm probably already in better shape than last year and that's exciting. I think I can take a minimum half hour off my time and get into the top 10 in what is generally a fast race thanks to the Gunny locals that will no doubt light it up again. Timmy (3:46) and Duncan (self proclaimed "bad day" 4:14) will be in their backyard to be an almost lock for the podium. I'd be shocked if either of them weren't in the top 3. I'll be shooting for a 4:45 minimum with hopes of going lower. I've set the bar a lot higher for myself this year, but I've also been training with a more developed purpose.

Here's my week in full. Feeling strong tonight after a bigger week:

Mon- 7m nice and easy in 57:54 (8:16/m) at WP x2

Tue- 8m horrible mile repeats (6:07/6:42/6:23/6:34) was not feeling good and the piss poor results speak for themselves.

Wed- 10m tempo in 1:13:39 or 7:22/m avg including an 8:24/m warm up mile. Felt good during the run. Much better than Tuesday.

Thu- Nice easy 5m in 38:44 (7:45/m) at WP

Fri- UGH slow 5.5m WP+ in 48:33 (8:50/m) felt like shit, just no other way to say it.

Sat- Solid long run 20m at Bear Creek Lake + Greenbelt and Stone Horse Trail in 2:45:55 or (8:18/m) total. We fell a bit off the pace after the unexpected 3 high water crossings about nut deep and freezing ass cold! Charged it up the back side of Carbon to beat out some cyclocross guys and felt a bit like puking (you know when it's been a good run when you get that feeling).

Sun- 8.5m on Stone Horse trail + Greenbelt nice rolling climb up the backside of BCL to the gate and back, pushed the hills up and down and came away with a nice run feeling stronger than I've felt in a while. Was surprised to roll out 1:03:44 (7:30/m avg) and it didn't feel good until about a little over half way. To start I was breathing had, but I found a rhythm after the top of the climb around 7:20/m and started to reduce the heart rate and breathing, I was back to the car before I knew it.

Total Miles: 64m in 8:29:39. Perhaps my strongest week ever, I'm feeling really good about where my training is now. Next week will be a jumbled week for me because I'm travelling to San Diego with Xavier (Rachel's an RD for a non-profit fundraiser this weekend the West Side Stride 5K and if you're needing a nice run, this one's for a great cause!). I'll try to keep the miles up by doing some more moderate longish runs mid week, maybe 1.5hr + 3 days but I'll have to see what I can get. The only thing I'm not stoked for is the Cherry Creek Sneak 5K I'll run the week after that, I'm not fast and I haven't been training well for it (or really doing anything that I should be to run a fast 5K) but it should be fun for whatever. We'll see...