The Week That Was...

Starting to get back into some structure and a wee bit o' consistency, albeit with some scheduling struggles. Solid week with a couple of quality days and some good runs in between.

Did all the runs this week in a pair of Saucony Peregrines. I've had these shoes since early summer, but haven't run much in them. Used them mostly as walking around kicks. Decided to try them out again since I was doing a fair bit of non-technical running (Sunday being the exception). I really like them...light weight, minimal heel drop.

Monday - off


Tuesday - Tempo - Upper Bear Creek Road - 1:13; 10 miles; 434 feet o' elevation gain. Jogged five miles up the road from the Evergreen Lakehouse, the turned around and headed back.  Stuck in two miles at 6:10 - 6:15 on the way back. Perfect chilly, sunny Colorado day.

Wednesday - off (unplanned) - Work schedule got the best of me and wasn't able to get the run in.

Thursday - Hill repeats - Quarterhorse Road - 4.64 miles; 40:18; 706 feet o' elevation gain. Pressed for time. Hauled myself the mile or so over to the bottom of Quarterhorse Road and did 3x3-minute hill repeats. Each was about .4 mile in length on a fairly steep dirt road. The plan was for 6x3-minute, but time was fleeting and had to cut things short.

Friday - Easy - Buchanan Rec Center - Troublesome Gulch - 55:20; 6.12 miles; 540 feet o' elevation gain. Easy jog with Steve F. Felt really solid and fresh. Great feeling. Hit the weights at the rec center post-run. Long series of squats, Bosu ball/dumbell squats, dumbell lunges, leg press, hip adductor/abductor machine, back extensions and calf raises.

Saturday - Easy - Buchanan Rec Center - Elk Meadow - Troublesome Gulch - 1:28; 9.01 miles; 928 feet o' elevation gain. Early morning run around the Meadow View trail in Elk Meadow followed by a run down Lewis Ridge Road and up Troublesome Gulch to complete the loop.  Ran with Steve F. and Steve G. Wind really started kicking up the last couple of miles.  Major stop-in-your-tracks gusts testing our mettle.


Sunday - Moderate - Bergen Peak Upper Loop - 1:35; 9.41 miles; 1,868 feet o' elevation gain. From the house, ran up the neighborhood access trail to the upper lot at Elk Meadow Open Space. Ran the upper loop clockwise. Trail conditions were pretty good with the icy sections confined to the dense tree sections. Hit the Summit Trail intersection in 49 minutes flat. Steady, but not hard effort. Felt great.  Back down via Too Long, Meadow View and Painter's Pause. Finished up in the dark with a mile of pavement.

I really enjoyed and respected Aaron K.'s pursuit of the Free Fall Marathon course record. Not only did he nab the CR, he also set a marathon PR in the face of some fierce Colorado winds.

With a month and a half to go in 2011, is it too early to declare the top 25 beers of the year?  Apparently not.  My favorite most-feared...the Mangalitsa Pig Porter, brewed with five cold-smoked pig heads and a bag of pig bones.