Week in Training April 19, 2020
So this week I was a bit lazy. It may be that I had been doing too much exercise over the past several weeks, but I was extremely tired all week and didn't manage to get out to run on any work days at all.
Week in Training April 12, 2020
This week I increased my overall distance slightly. I probably would have increased it by an additional kilometer or so but the weather turned bad and my planned long run had to be done on a treadmill. After an hour and forty minutes of running on the treadmill I was so bored I couldn't convince myself to go another kilometer.
Week in Training April 5, 2020
I tried a 12km run that was about half on concrete this week. It did not go very well. My knee has been complaining since then. I still did a hike/run the following day which went all right, though my knee was complaining some by the end of the day.
Week in Training March 29, 2020
Not too much to say about this week. My one fast run ended up being a bit more intense than anticipated. My knee has been complaining a little bit so I will have to be careful this coming week. I'm hoping to do a half marathon distance next Saturday, if my knee holds up. If I manage to run my planned route, it will be on the Santa-Fe trail starting at Monument Valley Park and initialy heading north.
Section 16 Loop
Today I decided to run a trail I have been meaning to do for some time. The Section 16 trail, just west of Colorado Springs, is a 5.5 mile fairly strenuous trail. While it is a very popular trail, it doesn't see quite the traffic of the Incline and the Barr trail, so it can serve as a nice break from the weekend conga lines on those trails! You can look at the HikingProject page for the trail for an overview of exactly where it is.
While not quite as intense of a climb as the Incline, the route does have a section that is 1.4km in length which gains 255 meters of elevation (working out to an 18% grade). Here is the Strava segment. It will certainly keep you working!
Week in Training March 22, 2020
Due to some long hikes at the beginning of the week I didn't get as much running in as I had planned. All the upcoming races have been canceled at this point, though, so I have plenty of time to build base and distance before I end up testing it in a race situation. I probably will try to run a half marathon distance on April 4, mostly as a benchmark.
Trip to the Desert
The plan had been simple. A long, 4 day weekend filled with skiing and possibly a trip to Aspen. Then COVID-19 happened and the governor, in his infitine wisdom, closed all ski areas state wide. I didn't have my back-country gear with me, having been planning on ripping groomers all weekend, so anything ski/snow related was out. Trying to make the best of the situation, a change of plans was made.
Week in Training March 15, 2020
Week two of training complete. I should have run one more day during the week but the weather wasn't the greatest after work on a day or two and I didn't feel like running after a multi-mile hike.
Knee is not bothering me much at this point, mainly if I try to go too fast downhill. Not seeing too much of an improvement in my exercise tolerance just yet, although my right calf is bothering me less when I am running.
Overall stats for the week are:
Total Distance: 23.2 km
Total Time: 3 hr 20 min
Elevation Gain: 288 m
Sunset over the Collegiate Peaks
I was browsing through my photo collection and realized I had a timelapse video from a number of years back that I had never put together. The timelapse was taken with an off-brand GoPro type camera, set to take one photo every 5 seconds. I was camping at the KOA campground just east of Buena Vista Colorado the evening of the video and there was a nice set of rocks behind the campsite to serve as a foreground.
Week in Training, March 8 2020
Week one of training is complete! It feel so good to be back running! My injured knee seems to be holding up fairly well. At this point it is more the calf on that leg that is giving me some problems. It constantly feels tight and like it wants to cramp. I may have to talk with a PT about it.