June 15th - 21st

Sunday: Great run today but it was very hot. The plan was to run out and back on Coal Creek picking it up a little bit every 10 minutes. I crawled out the door and it was already hot. I felt really smooth and hit the turn around at 30:20. I felt great coming back but the heat was getting to me. I ended up closing in 26:35 finishing up the run in 56:55. Overall I was pleased but the hot weather was killer.

Monday: My recovery run today felt like crap. Well not the whole thing just the first 15 minutes. I just couldn't seem to get my stride to smooth out. After 15 minutes or so my legs started to feel a bit more like they should. That being said my hamstrings were still very tight and non-responsive. 42:35 around rock creek. + strength training

Tuesday: Today was my first day of drills for the summer. I know I should have started long ago but i didn't. I started out small with what I'm going to call Drill Package A.
Skips
High Knees
Buttkicks
Side Shuffle
Double-ups
Semi-frog Hops
Strides
I ran 30 minutes to the field and did 2 x 25y of all the drills and then 4x100y strides. I then ran 10 minutes back to my house. The drills felt fine but I'm going to be sore tomorrow. 40min run plus 15 minutes drills = 55min total

Wednesday: I wasn't as sore as I expected this morning but my hipflexors and low back regions were a bit tight. I stretched out for about 15 minutes and headed out the door for another out and back on Coal Creek. Nothing special just a nice easy 64:12 to the normal turnaround.

Thursday: OK so today I was a bit sore and ended up rolling my ankle trying to run on the grass next to the bike path. I ran through both north and south rock creek for 58:35. The ankle felt a little better in the evening so i went out for a shakeout with some strides. 15minutes to the field 8xstrides 15minutes home for a total of 37 minutes. 95:35 for the day.

Friday: My ankle is sore today on the lateral side but it's all good to run on. It's been hot all week but I got out a little earlier today and avoided the heat. I ran 72:48 down on the boulder creek path. Pace was very relaxed but I'm starting to feel better on runs lover then 70 minutes.

Saturday: Wow it was hot today. I'm glad I got up early and ran a total of 62 minutes around rock creek including strides at the field.

Summary: Not a great week but not a bad one either. I only had one good effort in and it was Sunday but I started my drills so I'm happy about that.

Saucony Tangent

So it was time to try something new. I've always been an Asics Cumulus fan (when I had the choice) and also enjoyed the Pegasis before Nike ruined them in 2002. I decided to change things up as I wasn't a huge fan of the latest model of the cums. I picked up the Saucony Tangent. This is a lightweight aka performance trainer with a medial post which i assume to be more cosmetic then anything functional. On first glance these shoes actually look very bad ass and are very comfortable. I've always liked the way that a shoe with a soft flexible feel forms to the foot. The upper is very comfortable. On the run these shoes are flexible, responsive and make me feel very fast and light. Anyone who has run with me knows that my heals never touch and the Tangent really allows me to get up on the balls of my feet and make it feel natural unlike some heavier trainers.While running on the road, track, or cinder trails I have zero complaints. They may be the best shoe I've run in in quite some time. On the more rough trails they do have a flaw. Every root, stone, bump, whole whatever I felt. The midsole is too thin and soft for offroading. Overall I'll give the Tangent a 5/5 for road use and won't rate its offroad capability simply because that is not what the shoe was intended for.

June 8th - 14th

Sunday: Today was a bit windy and warm but I headed out early and avoided both. Hitting the road on Sunday morning at six has it's own level of charm. I ran out through Interlocken and up by the airport. I wanted to get a solid hour in of fast running on some long gradual hills. I chose a great place to do it. 61:12. Later in the evening I hit up another 36:40 with Clint. We bombed out and back to Coalton and back. We headed a little up the hill and then back. It was faster then I had wanted to run but at no point did I feel like I was working at all. 97:52 total.



Monday: I woke up feeling great and headed out for 45:07 after my morning clients. My left shin is a bit tender but the run itself was amazing. Clint and Carl K asked me to run an hour with them tonight but I wanted to go do strides so I headed out solo. I zipped around Rock Creek north and hit the field at 30 minutes. After 8x100m I ran back home. The strides felt great. My body just wants to run fast. 43:18 for the evening. Total of 88:25.



Tuesday: I was planning on doing a workout today and taking tomorrow off but I reversed the days. I'm feeling fine but It's hot and windy today and tomorrow is going to be cooler and calm. I still did my strength training and I'm planning a Fartlek for tomorrow.



Wednesday: I woke up really sore this morning for some reason and I hoped that I would feel better this afternoon but I didn't. Overall the fartlek wasn't as good as I had hoped but I can't complain as I finished strong. Total time running was 68:25 with 6 x 3min w/ 2min recovery. The efforts weren't really fast but good enough.



Thursday: Today was another windy day. I've felt like it's the wind of march in New England for the past week. 63:15 on Coal Creek. My hamstrings are tight.


Friday: I wanted to hit two runs today but I ended up covering for someone at work during the slot for my morning run. Because of this I had to forgo it and just get in 70min this afternoon. It was quite windy and warm. Strength training after the run.



Saturday: Double day today. It was very warm by 9am and I knew it was going to be a scorcher later on. The morning run was the typical 30min to the football field w/ 8 strides finishing up in 45:20. The strides felt decent but the mileage was sluggish. Afternoon run was very hot with the temp standing right around 92 and 30mph winds blowing my hair back. 43 sweaty minutes later i arrived home from south rock creek and slugged down half a gallon of gatorade.



Summary: I'm not overly excited about the quality of the work this week but the runs themselves felt really nice. I'm really happy that everything is rolling along in the right direction. I talked to my dad this week and he was reminding me to train smart. "Carl, take your recovery days easy and don't let that hip hurt. You know you get fixated on the numbers so just be smart and have fun." I don't do quotes in my blog but that one works for me.

June 1st - 7th

Sunday: It was really hot today and I ended up bonking a bit out there. The plan was for 90 minutes but I was hurting pretty good. No muscles were fried I was just dehydrated. That's really my own fault. I ended up cutting back a the short way on the creek path only getting in 83 minutes.

Monday: Damn I really was stupid yesterday with that long run. I doubled today to try and get a little extra volume in. Morning was shorter due to having only an hour slot to get it in. I ran from work up in the hills behind the club. Slow but not real easy for 31:15. My second run was out on Coal Creek Trail and was a bit faster but felt pretty easy. I went out for 25:30 and back in 24:41 for 50:12.

Tuesday: Same Fartlek as Saturday but a little longer. I got through another set going 1,2,3,2,1,2,3,2,1,2,3,2,1. The 3rd time through hurt a bit on the last 3 and 2. The effort was very smooth though and there were much fewer people in my way today. I hate running around families on their bikes. 84 minutes + strength training

Wednesday: I feel great today considering I ran hard yesterday. My right calf is nagging a bit but I'm not going to complain about it. I did an out and back on Coalton even though I hate that run because it runs me right by my football field for strides on the way back. 68:30 including the strides.

Thursday: Out and back on Coal Creek today. Out to the end of Aquarius. I felt a little shitty and it's a bit windy coming back. 64:26 + strength training

Friday: Today was very windy but I still had a workout scheduled. The plan was for 8x2:20 w/ 90sec back behind Safeway. It's not quite a half but it's somewhere in the area. I have run that quite a bit in the past and just wanted a stop and start point. I ran the first out of the wind and felt like I was being blown all over the place. The second was into the wind and was just awful. I ended up stopping after 4 because I felt like I wasn't accomplishing the goal of running smooth and fast. 2:17, 2:31, 2:18, 2:34. I came back in the afternoon because I was brooding about that workout all day. I hate not completing things. The wind had stopped but it was 84 degrees. I ran out there and hit 2:12, 2:09, 2:14, 2:14. It hurt way more then it should have and I ran too fast but I was taking it out on myself. 91 minutes total.

Saturday: I was a bit hungover this morning so I waited to run until this afternoon. I know that's not what I should be writing in here but it's the truth. Nice and easy on Coal Creek for 65:20.

Summary: One great effort and one shitty effort for the week. The volume was good though. Calf feels decent but not great and my left shin is a little sore. Seems like nothing that a little ice won't fix up.

May 25th - 31st

Sunday: Today was another decent day to run and I did the same out and back as I did yesterday. My right soleus is a bit tender on the lateral side but nothing major. 62:41.

Monday: I had a heck of a day at work today but still managed to get my two runs in. The first was an easy 35minute jaunt through Rock Creek from home and the second an evening run on a similar Rock Creek course ending with 8x100m strides. 74 minutes total + strength training

Tuesday: A bit windy today but no worries for a run. I got out early and ran a decent 61 minutes up on the south side of Rock Creek. It's hilly so there really is no easy. Calf is still a little sore but I'm working it out on the myo-release ball.

Wednesday: I had this afternoon off so I headed down to Boulder to run. Nothing special really just an easy out and back on the creek path. With my calf a bit tender I wanted to stay flat and easy. I went out for 28:00 and back in 26:21. + strength training.

Thursday: I did a longer double today then on Tuesday. I did the Coal Creek out and back for 64:21 in the AM. The pace was very easy but felt nice to float on the cinders. In the evening I did a Rock Creek run hitting the football field at 31 minutes where I did 8x100m and finished up running home at 44:10.

Friday: My hamstrings hurt a bit today and I'm not sure if it's the volume or the fact that I did my strides a bit too quickly. Real easy run today with no watch but right around 45 minutes + strength training.

Saturday: I feel much better today and I did the workout I had planned. I love this fartlek that I ran with James out at Harper lake this winter. It's a ladder of 1min, 2min, 3min, 2min with equal rest. It's not all that hard because the rests are pretty long but I like it because it allows me to get my legs moving without really building up any crap. I did 1,2,3,2,1,2,3,2,1 out on the creek path and felt really smooth. 81 minutes total.

Summary: I had a great week. The best I've had in a while for sure. I was pleased with the volume as well as the workout on Saturday. I hope to keep moving in the right direction.

may 18th - 24th

Sunday - Today was very warm and windy with temp at 87 during the venture to Marshall Mesa. I ran the normal loop out there with Clint in 64:17. Body felt really good and smooth. The hills weren't a problem but the last 15 minutes were really windy. I headed down to Potts and watched the Big 12 Champs afterwards. Some really great races. The 15 was amazing.

Monday - Another hot and sunny day but no wind. Run from home. Calves a little tight but no big deal. 58:35 out and back on Coal Creek.

Tuesday - 88 degrees and sunny. I was a bit dehydrated on this run but still felt very smooth. The calves were better today but the course I ran was very hilly for the first 20 minutes. I like this loop from my house but I ran it from work which allows no warm up before the climbs start. 54:29

Wednesday - Today was forcast to be very hot but I got out nice and early so I didn't have to deal with it. I'm not really used to running at5:30 anymore. What a kick in the face that was but once I got loosened up I felt amazing. I ran Coalton Trail out for 33:00 back for 30:42 for a total of 63:42 for the day. I may have to start heading out early when work permits.

Thursday - So when I say severe Colorado weather you probably think of huge snow falls, me too. Today however northern Colorado was pelted with golf ball sized hail and a tornado that devastated Weld County leaving many homeless and killing one man. I was totally oblivious to the severe weather forecast today and headed out to do a workout at Harper Lake. I made a lap warm up before the skies opened up and the deluge started. I love running in the rain so it was no big deal but when the sea salt sized hail started stinging my flesh and the winds picked up out of nowhere i ran ran for the car and drove home. It was then that I heard the tornado warnings and decided to call it a day.

Friday - We had much better weather today so i headed out to attempt that workout again. I went down to the creek path because it's fairly flat and marked off for distance. I did 4xmile with 1 minute rest. I figured that I should run about 5:20 to 5:25 pace for this workout but when I hit the first one in 5:10 i was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't until the last one that i ran into trouble and trouble hit hard. My splits were 5:10, 5:08, 5:12, 5:21. The last one hurt a lot for the last 2 minutes or so but i struggled in. I should have run it at the designated 5:20 pace but i got overzealous.

Saturday - I don't think there could have been a better day to run. At 3:30 I left the house and headed out Coal Creek to the end of Aquarius and back and it was just beautiful. 71 and sunny with big puffy clouds. There was a light cooling breeze from the west that just made today the quintessential spring day. Oh yeah back to the run. The run was 63:47 (32:18/31:28) and just felt really smooth. My calves were a little tight from running fast yesterday but overall I felt great. Well recovered from the intervals.

Summary - Not a bad week even if I did skip out on tornado day. I also got in 3 strength training sessions which I feel really help me. I know a lot of people say that strength training is a waste of time for distance runners but i disagree.