Rounding out July

The Numbers for July:

Miles: 187

Vertical feet: 25,592

Time: 33:45:46

This was a good month in running. I progressed toward building more mileage and vertical feet. In the case of the latter, I climbed 10,620 feet more than June (14,972 ft), which helped me to ascend two of Boulder’s iconic mountains (Bear Peak and Green Mountain) for the first times this month. I’m confident that doubling up the climbing at Teller Farms was key to building a larger vertical base to do this. All I can say is that I anticipate on incorporating ascents of both of these mountains into my weekly long runs and maybe even some weekday easy runs in the near future.

Weekly Update: 7/25 – 7/31

Tuesday – 11 miles (1:45, 1,574 ft) easy run at Teller Farms – This was a really, really slow and mellow run. Coming off of the weekend’s sickness, I was apprehensive about the pace I would be able to maintain on this run, so I took it easy.

Thursday – 8 miles (1:01 w/7:30’s) tempo run around Celestial Seasonings – A bit of a throwback run, but I thought it’d be good to toss in some flat, faster running since the last several weeks have been exclusively on trails with considerable climbing and relatively slow pace.

Saturday – 10.55 miles (4:59, 4,300 ft) Green Mountain Bear Peak via Gregory Canyon – This was sort of a discovery run with a friend check out both Green Mountain and Bear Peak in a single run. The time is crazy slow due to the frequent stops to check out the scenery of the Indian Peaks and Continental Divide, lingering on the summits, and general putzing around. This was certainly not a run worthy of being timed. I will say that with all the casual meandering, we both happened to run out of water a bit too early in the run and with the hot summer sun cresting over the peaks, we bolted down the canyon with a quickness to get to the frosty beverages awaiting us back at the trailhead.

Sunday – 17.5 miles (2:54, 787 ft) – Long run at Teller Farms – I intended to run 20 miles, but after the rather long day on the mountain the previous day, I cut it a little short.

Weekly Update: 7/18 – 7/24

This week was rife with monotony, humidity, exhaustion, and ultimately sickness. Yay! I started the week with the intention to run three eleven milers at Teller Farms, one of which a tempo-ish run, and to end the week with a sixteen miler on the Mesa Trail. Things started ok, but progressively turned to shit as the week came to a close.

Tuesday – 11 mi (1:37, 1,574 ft) tempo run at Teller Farms – I realized I could park at the trailhead (rather than further down on a small trail that leads to the trailhead) and do a double out-and-back, turning around just at the end of the hills. This was a great plan because I could effectively double the climbing from 787 feet to 1,574 feet. Great! – I thought. Posthumously, I realized this might have contributed to my demise in the coming days. This run, however, ended relatively strong and I felt great. The heat was just as relentless as it had been weeks prior, but I had dialed in my hydration well to compensate.

Thursday –11 mi (1:33, 1,574 ft) Easy run at Teller Farms - The second eleven miler, again at Teller, as a more assiduous run as it was focused on tempo work, with some stronger paces during the middle of the run. I hadn’t kept track of my splits during the tempo, but I knew I wasn’t holding out well enough at tempo pace and backed off a bit early. Again, this is on the hilly section of the trail for the entirety of the run. I ended this run a bit more exhausted, which is usually the case with my tempo runs, so I didn’t think about it too much. Though, in hindsight, I probably should have eaten and drank more in recovery for the easy run the following day.

Friday –11 mi (1:39, 1,574 ft) Easy run at Teller Farms – I started with a nice and easy pace for the first 5 miles, but for the second out-and-back I foolishly chose a slightly faster pace. I was dealing with some annoying indigestion throughout the first half, which I probably thought I could simply run off by going faster. Stupid. By the end of the run I felt unusually tired. Not exhausted, but drowsy. This would be the last run of the week.

Later that evening, I left work with a wicked fever, which put me in bed for the whole weekend. It sucks skipping runs, but long runs are tough to pass up. Drats.

Weekly Update: 7/11 – 7/17

Tuesday – 9 mi (1:19, 787 ft) tempo run at Teller Farms– I had some energy coming off of last week’s easy runs, so picked up the pace a tad.

Wednesday – 7 mi (58:50, 787 ft) Easy run at Teller Farms

Thursday –9 mi (1:23, 787 ft) Easy run at Teller Farms

Friday – 20 mi (3:27, 3450 ft) Long run on the Mesa Trail – I had hopes of attaching a Green Mtn summit to this run, but considering I had to go to work afterwards, I played it safe and just ran up Doudy Draw to Spring Book then cruised over to Community Ditch and ran the full Mesa Trail from the Eldo trailhead. This run wiped me out last time, but this go around felt much nicer. My legs didn’t feel tired at all toward the end. Despite starting at 5a.m., I didn’t get to see any animals. Though, later in the evening I saw a moose cross the Buchanan Pass Trail on my way up camping. That thing was massive - truly a privilege to see.

Weekly Update: 7/4 – 7/10

This week was an easy one, though I didn’t feel tired enough to warrant it.

Monday –Avery Brewing 4k on the 4^th (17:28) – Officially the first “race” of the season. Man, these short races are really a test of one’s VO2 max. I can’t say mine was tiptop considering the heat and my lack of real preparation. I was really hoping to get into the 6 min/miles, but 7:02s were all I had. Bummer. Placed 14^th in my age division.

Tuesday – 9 mi (1:31, 787 ft) Easy run at Teller Farms

Thursday –9 mi (1:23, 787 ft) Easy run at Teller Farms

Friday – 9 mi (1:22) Easy run at Teller Farms

Sunday – 8 mi (2:00, 2,100 ft) Green Mt via Bear Creek Canyon – This was my first summit of Green. Since I was unfamiliar with this trail, I took it really slow and stopped a few times to take in the beautiful, lush canyon views. Fortunately, substantial rain the day prior, created a very wet and fun run.

Weekly Update: 6/27 – 7/3

I’m a little late posting this update because last week was pretty hectic with work and personal biz.

Tuesday – 9 mi (1:23, 787 ft) Easy run at Teller Farms

Thursday – 9 mi (1:16, 787 ft) Tempo run at Teller Farms – I gave this trail a shot for a little tempo run figuring the mild undulation and ruts would give me some good footwork practice for more technical trails like Mesa and such. It turned out to be really fun, though I need to hit this trail earlier because once I get out into the open prairie by 8ish, the sun is killer.

Friday –9 mi (1:24, 787 ft) Easy run at Teller Farms – Kind of a recovery from the day prior. Nice and mellow. The view of Indian Peaks heading west is always a pleasurable way to end a run…..and it gets me pumped to run alpine trails.

Sunday – 16 mil (3:11, 3,450 ft) Long run on Mesa Trail w/ Doudy Draw– After running this trail five times, it’s still totally exciting. I kept the pace really mellow on all the climbs and even on the flats. I happened upon a rattlesnake, which was my first encounter ever! My foot landed within five or six inches from the little rascal. In fact, I didn’t see it at all, but was warned by its distinctive rattle and turned around to verify. We hung out for a bit. What a cool little creature. Super pretty.