rtroeh

Warmed up 20 minutes treadmill 14% incline, starting at 4.0 mph and working up to 4.5 mph. I hit 1028 ft of elevation gain in 20 min which I don't think I ever did during Pikes Peak training the first time around. Lifted total body weights, 2 sets of each. Abs and lower back. The stairs up to my building were pleasantly challenging on the walk back.

Perfect weather for a hard outdoor workout. Ran from work down Lamar to Indian Creek Trail. Ran 10 repeats on the hill behind Shawnee Mission South High School Perfect hill for this, by the 6th repeat my HR was maxing out each time. After toasting my legs on the repeats, the run up Lamar into the wind was interesting, to say the least!

Perfect morning for a run! Nice and cool and cloudy. I met with TNT at Roe Park. There was a great turnout. I also ran into Nikki who was doing 20 miles, and her training partners had stood her up so I ran with her for the first 10. I intentionally left the Garmin at home. It felt great to "just run". I would guess we were around 9's, very relaxed. As I sit here typing this I feel like going out for another run! I'll hold off until tomorrow...

What a beautiful day! A little windy, but I'll take it! I ran from the fitness center at work, east to hit the trail off of Tomahawk Creek Pkwy, took the trail to I-Lan Park, up to 127th St, over to the golf course trail, across Lamar to Nottingham Downs Park trail, to 123rd St to Metcalf to 119th back to campus. I know this is over 7 miles but I think less than 8 so I'll call it 7 1/2. I feel great just running with no concept of speed.

Post Oak took a little more out of me than I initially thought. My legs felt pretty good on Monday, but then were fairly sore on Tuesday and still sore yesterday. I took yesterday completely off. This afternoon was perfect running weather. I headed out to Little Blue Trace which was a muddy mess. I was glad I had chosen my old trail shoes. I had planned on just 4 or 5 easy miles to loosen my legs up, but by the end of 2 miles, I felt so good that I kept going 4 miles out before I turned around. This was one of those runs where I definitely felt better afterwards than before! I'm so excited that spring is upon us!

Warmed up 10 minutes on the elliptical. Lifted upper body and abs.

A little muscle stiffness from yesterday's 50k, but not too bad! I did 30 min on the Arc trainer and ran 1 mile easy on the indoor track.

Travis and I drove down to Tulsa on Saturday. The drive was uneventful except for when we were merging onto I-44 and a SUV came to a complete stop on the onramp right in front of us. An alert semi managed to get over and give us space to get around, but that was close! We stayed at the Hampton Inn which was very nice and gave us a 3 pm checkout so we could go back and shower after our run. We went and picked up our packets, and then went and had pasta at the Spaghetti Factory. Ugh! Definitely not recommended. My lasagna was cold and I had to send it back, and even then it was not very good. We went back to the room, laid our gear out and settled in.

On Sunday morning we went for the early start at 7:00. The weather was perfect, about 32 degrees and not much wind. I started out in shorts, 2 short sleeved shirts, arm warmers and light gloves. I hand-carried a water bottle with Hammer Sustained Energy with 3 Gu�s mixed in for flavor. There were maybe 20 people starting early, several who had run the marathon the day before. Our instructions were to follow yellow ribbons, and when we had run the 25k route, which was a 15k and 10k loop, we would then run both loops in reverse. Travis and I had planned on letting someone else take the lead so we could follow, but nobody else wanted to lead so we went on ahead. We came to a road and there was an arrow to turn right, then we came to a tree with yellow ribbons leading down a trail which we followed. We got about ¼ mile down the trail when people yelled at us that we were going the wrong way. We went back and followed the group who had passed us by. This was just the first of many confusing points. The trail was narrow, very technical with loose rocks, roots and mud all over the place. My feet were wet within the first mile. We got to the first aid station and the volunteers were not there yet. There were 4 different trails with yellow ribbons converging, and nobody knew where to go. We chose a trail, but I�m pretty sure it�s not the same one that others chose. Travis went on ahead and ran the early hills while I stuck to my plan to walk the hills. Every once in a while where there was a decision point he would stop and wait for me. At mile 9, when I was running alone, I passed a group of slower runners who had only logged 7 miles on their Garmin. What a mess! We got to the next water stop where there were volunteers, but they did not seem to be very well briefed on the course and they were confused as to which direction to send us. I decided very early on that today would not be a race as nobody is running the same course anyway, and I would just enjoy a nice day on the trails with support and perfect weather. The weather has been just brutal since December and I was just so happy to run in comfort! We went up and down some long steep hills, and trampled through several areas where you had to choose between shoe-swallowing mud or thorn bushes along the sides. By the middle of the race our legs were completely covered in mud and blood. At the half way point, Travis and I were together and we decided to stick together the rest of the way. Somehow he had found an extra .6 miles along the way. We passed the same people who were slower than us several times. By the time we finished, some of these slower people were already at the finish area. No big deal, it was through no fault of their own, it just means that the results are pretty well meaningless. I would not recommend this race until they work the kinks out, and would probably not do it again myself unless I just needed a long run toward something else as I did today. With that relaxed attitude, I had a great day and enjoyed myself immensely! After we finished, we were informed that they had run out of medals, also inexcusable. They will mail them. I did have a really nice cold beer just past the finish line. Yum!

Did 30 minutes on the Arc trainer, then stretched my legs really well. Bring on the trails!

Warmed up 1 mile easy on treadmill. 2 miles barefoot on indoor track. 1 more mile with shoes on indoor track. Was going to do a few striders but figured that speed is not the objective for Sunday, so I just saved my energy.

Ran up to 24 Hr Fitness (1/2 mile uphill). Started out 1 mile on treadmill, 7.2 mph. Did 4 miles worth of: 1/2 mile 14% incline, 4.2 mph, 1/2 mile 1
% incline, 7.5 mph. Which section is the rest break? I think the 7.5 mph was easier... finished out treadmill session with 1 mile starting at 7.5, increasing .1 mph every 1/10 mile. Ran home 1/2 mile downhill.

Working from home. Went to 24 Hr Fitness and ran at lunch. Planned 6 miles. Started at 6.8 mph, increasing by .1 every 1/2 mile. My Ipod died. After 4 miles I saw Carol on Stair Climber so went over to chat. Did 100 floors in 14 minutes.

Early run. I ran from home and met Carol and McKensy on 39th St. They were running 13, McKensy's longest run to date. Great job! We kept it nice and easy, and walked the top part of some of the hills, which I will need to do as I start back into ultras next weekend. I feel great!

Ran 6 miles nice and easy on the treadmill. 6.4 mph start to finish, barely broke a sweat. Watched the rain turn to big beautiful snow flakes, and watched Tiger Woods press conference on tv.

Warmed up 1 mile flat on the treadmill. Did 3 miles worth of 1/4 mile intervals of 13% incline, 4.2 mph alternated with 7% incline, 6.0 increasing to 6.5 mph. Ended up with a total of 1680 feet of elevation gain. Cooled down 1 mile barefoot on indoor track.