Thomas Edison once said, "I haven't failed, I've just figured out 10,000 ways that don't work." Surely he must've been a runner.

Back on the bike, up in the air about what's next. The Positive Pollyanna side of me tries to keep things in perspective and see the glass as half-full, because in all actuality, it is half-full. It's not as though your life is really that hard, it's just that you're spoiled. Aren't we all? And the Negative Nancy side of me says, "Screw you, Pollyanna!" And just wants to bang my head against a wall out of bewildered frustration, punch myself in the face as punishment for committing another fatal error, and wonders why on earth I keep coming back to this running thing (sometimes I sort of think of it as my imaginary abusive and manipulative boyfriend...or something...). Oh but wait, that's right....because you don't know who you'd be, what you'd be, or where you'd be without it. Combined with the fact that the peaks make the valleys worth it, and the process is just as worthwhile and enjoyable--often more so--than the result. And because, by God, ONE DAY it's GOING to pay off and I don't care who says it's not! But where have the peaks been lately? Valleys are getting old. Especially when you just nose-dive straight into them. Is it too much to ask for a gradual descent?!

I'm hoping 2011 will be a breakthrough year, and hoping to lay down some long overdue PR's. I think everyone deserves an occasional breakthrough and a few PR's after the effort put into training over weeks, months and years. The fruits of your labor so to speak. Unfortunately getting de-railed and starting over at square one every few months really hinders those efforts. Not to mention shakes the confidence. And let's face it, any runner can attest to the fact that there is no joy in struggling to defend your hard-earned fitness while not being able to train. Whatever happened to the good old days of lots of miles, tons of workouts, and being exhausted and stale long before being hurt?? How was that me?!!? You get better with the passing of time, right?

The whole being self-coached thing has been a good learning experience and definitely forced me to take ownership of my own running--and that means the successes and the screw-ups and everything in between. Maybe I'm blind to some obvious errors; at best I stayed the same, at worst I went backwards. I'm not too proud to say that the writing's on the wall. Somehow things seem to be going in a circle. So maybe it's time for some serious adjustments and some much needed outside perspective. Being successful post-collegiately takes a lot more than just knowing how to push yourself--all you need is a goal and lots of motivation for that. But you have to know how to fine-tune yourself too, and how to really see the big picture rather than just the right-now-this-instant-today. You know, the "microwave" mentality. There really is a lot to know, and evidently I know NOTHING.

So we will see how things go in the coming weeks. Till then, good riddance to 2010 (you won't be missed), this year seemed like one big tease as far as running is concerned. So here's to hoping for some great things in 2011. What is it that they say? Oh yes, plow the fields and pray for rain.

Capping off the Year

Club XC, what a weekend--lots of plusses and a few minuses. Highlights from the trip include but are definitely not limited to:
1) Tera's race. I mean seriously. I think that she needs to patent a training program titled something like, "From-Boot-Back-To-Badass-In-Just-Six-Short-Weeks!" She could make millions. (Individual results may vary.)
2) Running Republic of Who?
3) Mechanical Bull Riding. Enough said.
4) EVERYONE'S mad dancing skills.

<--Tera on a mission.

Now on to the race. Bittersweet. On the whole we ran well, second only to McMillan Elite--worthy competitors to say the least. Our scorers (Tera, Ali, Cassie, Nichole and Stephanie) packed it up and did a great job. Well no, everyone did a great job, we've got serious depth, and it's only going to get better. But alas, no three-peat for us this year. The course, outside of a crazy bottle-neck start made more crazy by the fact that there were about 250 people in the race (even more for the guys), was about as fast and flat as they come, minus that one doozy of hill--namely the backside of the hill, where it was about everything that you could do not to fall straight down it. Conditions were great.

Wendy, Kristin and me on the homestretch.-->


Individually though it was tough not to be more than a little disappointed. My initial goal was a top-30 finish, realistic considering the quality and depth of the field. Despite running what I thought to be a relatively smart race, I finished back in the 60's and ran a time equivalent to what I've run 5,000+ feet higher in elevation. No excuses, I got spanked, that's all there is to it. But needless to say I've got some reassessing to do and 6 weeks until USA XC, so maybe there'll be a shot at redemption there. But talk is cheap, so back to work.

Anyway, thanks to Cody for keeping us all in line (and defending us from the onslaught of creepy cowboys at Whiskey River), Eron for the sweet Adidas gear, and of course everyone on the team for your....awesome-ness. Bigger things to come for 2011!

club cross

I haven't been this sore since my first marathon in 2005. Today is 3 days after club cross and it won't go away! I feel like a little old lady. Racing so soon after such a long post injury break (6 weeks in a boot) was definitely jumping the gun.....But I'm happy I got to help out my team and be a part of it instead of my original plan of being the water girl. I am THRILLED to be running again pain free and getting to race was a huge bonus. Although our team didn't win we had a great weekend and I'm pretty sure everyone had an awesome time.
I'll admit it....I stayed up way past by bedtime and danced for 5 hours straight Saturday night. (can I count that as my long run?) It's not something I do often. I'm pretty much always in bed by 9 reading and sometimes even earlier. But sometimes its good to let off some steam and there's no one I would rather do that with than my BRC teammates.
I don't know whats up next. I don't have anything on my racing schedule because I had no idea how long my foot would take to heal. It didnt hurt after the race so I think I am good to go once the rest of my body comes around.
In non running news I'm looking forward to going to Chicago this week! I love the city at christmas with all the lights and window displays. I have been wanting to see wicked since it came out and its finally going to happen. Plus I get to eat potbellys everyday for almost a week and see a bunch of friends and family. It's going to be a very merry christmas.

The Hay's in the Barn

Well, here we are 8 days out from Club XC and looking at the start lists as well as listening to folks talk about it, it sounds like it might be a better field than in previous years. I don't really know because I've never run it before. But I'm pretty excited, the better the field the more honest the race so bring it. The course looks a little more pleasant and lovely than what I generally prefer, and it would make me even more excited if it would dump rain or snow or something all over it and get it as muddy and nastified as possible. Maybe an earthquake or something to shake things up (pun...ha? No.). But whatever the weather it should be a great race.

Anyhow, training's gone pretty well the last few weeks. I hit a couple small speed bumps along the way and didn't get in the tune-up race that I wanted to last week. Not perfect, but you have to roll with it. At any rate, I had a great workout yesterday and will have one more on Tuesday then all that's left is to beat the Voices of Doubt into submission and it's go-time. Thankfully this time around I have not been overcome with fits of ridiculous nervousness that leave me wanting to curl up in the fetal position in the cabinet underneath the kitchen sink for days at time and think irrational, self-defeating thoughts. Is that a good thing? I'm thinking so. But we'll find out.

Alright, since this post is not particularly interesting or insightful or humorous and I'm really only writing it in an effort to procrastinate on going to do a spot of pool-running, I'm going to leave it off here. However, I will include this below photograph to give it at least one redeeming quality:

There.

Ok. That's all I got. Hopefully we'll all have wonderfully exciting blogs about the race coming up soon.

On the Up-and-Up

You know that winter is impending when not only is the oh-so majestic and glorious Pike's Peak crowned with whiteness, but when you can no longer take a pre-workout leak in the bushes because all of the leaves have fallen off of them, leaving you open to the scrutiny of total strangers. Boooo. But nonetheless it doesn't matter what season it is, this is a dang good place to train. Those things crossed my mind while I was getting dragged down the trail by Ryan Hafer this morning. In case you were wondering.

Back to buisiness. In a nutshell I feel fabulous and have been training and racing really well and couldn't ask for anything more than for things to stay on track. I got to travel with the UCCS team up to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships in Las Vegas (New Mexico that is) last weekend and they had as usual an open race preceding the collegiate races. It was a good opportunity to get in another cross country race and it went very smoothly. I felt great the entire way and ran a faster 6k time than I've ever run at altitude, and got to win too, which is always swell. Now granted this is cross country and there is always the possibility that the course is a smidgeon short or a tad long, so I don't generally put too much stock into times in XC. It's more about competing, which is one of the things I like best about it; no nit-picky split-taking nonsense. RMAC always has some great races to watch, so that made for some spectacular post-race entertainment. A very good time for sure.

Anyhow, initially I had all of these bright and shiney new training ideas to try out in the upcoming weeks, but I feel like things are going so well and keep getting better so I don't really see the sense in changing much. Don't fix it if it ain't broke. The biggest challenge over coming weeks will be tempering my enthusiasm enough to not do any of those "Well in retrospect, that was a poor choice" things. Obviously there are always a million hiccups along the way, but overall consistency is always the goal. I really want to be booking a flight to Spain with a USA singlet in my bag come this February, and so long as the wheels stay on, who knows what could happen? But first things first, and the next goal is to help make sure that Club XC trophy of the really manly-looking runner lady still belongs to our team in a few weeks.

Change is in the Air

I haven't posted in awhile and a lot has changed over the past several weeks. First, I am working...A LOT. It is really nice to be done with grad school and be in a career where there is actually a demand, but I tend to over-extend myself. A couple of weeks ago I was scheduled to work 13 days in a row--with no break--at 3 different jobs. I ended up getting a small stomach virus so I got an extra day off that I wasn't expecting in the middle of that, but I was tired by the time that stretch ended. So, the paychecks are nice and so is getting caught up on bills, but it has been a hard transition back into the working world and getting up at 4:30 am to get my runs in before work.
The other thing that has changed is that I am actually doing workouts, things are going well and I am healthy. My mileage is still really low, but we are finally to a point where I am no longer under-training and I am actually pushing my body to get stronger. Over the past few weeks I have been doing tempos at the end of my long runs, one track workout with shorter/faster intervals and then one longer interval day (this has been 2x2 miles). The fun thing is that the times are getting progressively faster while the effort is staying the same! So, that means I am getting into shape! Right now I am not very fit, but all of the work is building my momentum and hopefully letting me get ready for some late fall/winter racing and a spring marathon. So, in the meantime I am hoping that the trend continues and that I can actually get out there and get some racing in finally!!

What's my Worth?

Hello everyone, I know I have been MIA for quite some time now. I still see what everyone was and is doing. Great job to those who have been doing well in their running this past summer and fall! I wish I could say the same for myself! I decided to take time off from the sport a while back. Since I had last posted, I was in the process of getting back in shape. I trained for 2 weeks straight, then one day I just decided to take some more time off. Thats where I am now. I just barely started training again after 7 months of doing completely nothing that involved fitness. Just sat on my ass pretty much the whole time. Just feel like my life has changed as far as priority goes. I am going to finish school in december, then I am getting out of Alamosa for sure. I've been pondering Colorado Springs a bunch. Anywho, that will come later. But during the time, I have gained weight, pulling way too much all nighters, Alcohol has gotten the best of me. Its been quite a transformation for me. I don't really like it, but in the back of my mind, I feel that I missed out on my college days being a crazy person. I also see and think about my wife and how much I have missed out on our relationship. If she was a runner, things would have been simple. I could go on with my life knowing she is on the same page as me.
Feeling like I have lived 2 lives, my running and my marriage. I have had to maintain both. sure some might say, thats easy... but, if you are in my shoes, my partner doesnt care for sports. she supports me, but one can only take so much.
Long Story Short..... I am showing her the ways of an athlete now, so she can see what it takes and I want to go back to kicking some ass!
So of course I won't be going to Nationals this year.... I have let you guys down, and for that I apologize.

More Stuff

It has been an interesting last several months, and while I am not a big believer in counting my chickens before they hatch, sometimes you've got to be an optimist and I think that the roller coaster ride of, "Um, I guess that run was pretty good" to "Um, did I really just drop like 10 minute miles for an hour and feel that bad?! Seriously? WTF." With no in between at all, might just be coming to an end! After a not-so-great chunk of training after the CC meet, the Rocky Mountain Shootout was a total wash (I'll spare everyone another self-deprecating story, it was really rough though). Excited as I had been to compete there, once the gun went off I was never even in that race. Well no, the brain was in it, but the body apparently not so much for whatever reason...maybe someone sent me some bad juju...I dunno. In any case, I finished a pretty dismal 20th. Prior to that day, I'd never thought of myself as a "choker" before, but that race left me wondering. But you can only accomplish so much by beating yourself up, and a race or two does not a season make. So I got back at it and thanks to some helpful advice along the way, I mixed up the training over the following couple of weeks and also quit doing most everything solo on the same routes. Okay, I still did most of the same routes--kind of a creature of habit like that--but sometimes I did them backwards or with no watch or at a different time of day or whatever. I guess that was just what the doctor ordered because the next week plus of training felt terriffic and my long run the following weekend was the best one I'd had in a couple of years, and at the Metro State Invite last weekend I actually competed instead of just survived. Even though I got out-kicked and it wasn't a "victory" on the results sheet, it was a huge confidence booster for a huge number of reasons and I felt more comfortable racing than I have in forever so I was extremely thankful for that. You have to enjoy all of the good races when you have them, not just the big ones. The meet was a smallish 6k collegiate race, but there was some very good competition there as with just about anywhere in the state, I really liked the course, it was a perfect day for an XC race, and the crowd support was awesome. Cross country meets are hard to beat.

Rocky Mountain Shootout


With any luck and a lot of work things will keep getting better from here. I think that they will. I feel like I have a ton of momentum right now and kind of just want to keep rolling out races every weekend, but also think I need a decent block of training to get things to the next level. I may jump into a Turkey Trot up in Denver or Fort Collins in a few weeks, but outside of that Club XC is the primary goal with USA XC couple months after, but one step at a time.

Anyways, great job to everyone who raced Chicago (Tera, Adrian, Robbie, Art, Paul, Greg, Tommy, Jason, and sorry to anyone I missed), Cow Harbor, and Tufts (Ali, Cassie, Amanda, and Wendy), keep up the good work. Happy trails.

marathon!

Every time I run a marathon I think.... why don't I do this more often? I LOVE the distance and last weekend in Chicago proved no different. I had a ridiculous amount of fun during the two and a half hours I was racing and I'm pretty bummed its over.
I was a bit nervous going in. I've been dealing with a foot problem for the last 2 months and didn't know how it would hold up. The morning of the race I was still trying to figure out what shoes, inserts, pads, etc I was going to wear.
I also don't particularly enjoy racing in the heat and was hoping for another 30 degree day like last year. It ended up being between 69 and 75 while I was racing. Not terrible but definitely not ideal.
I knew I couldn't do much about those things so I decided to stop stressing, try my best and have some fun. I felt fantastic pretty much the entire way. Normally in a marathon I'll have a bad patch or two but it just never seemed to come. I was really hot and very thirsty but never hit a wall or anything. My foot started nagging around 5 but thankfully didn't get really bad until after the race was over.
Now I'm looking at a nice long break to recharge the batteries and get my foot healed. Taking time off isn't my favorite thing but I know its good for me.

My new beard

Well...I haven't written anything in far too long. I apologize. I have been too busy running huge miles and growing this absolutely glorious beard.

But training has been going really well the past few summer months. I have traditionally been a low to mid-mileage person, but have made a concerted effort the past 2 years up here in Gunnison to try to get to the point where I could handle much higher mileage. I finally feel comfortable running 100 mile weeks with a few quality workouts. Where 90 mpw used to be a huge struggle, now it feels very under control (knock on wood.)

My hope is that the new strength will really pay off later this Fall, but particularly in the Winter and Spring.

But until then, I am hoping to see some progress in the next several weeks. I am going to attempt my first 1/2 marathon on October 16th (The Murfreesboro Half)! I figured if ever I was going to be in a position to run a half, now is probably the time. I haven't started Max VO2 intervals that would lead to a fast 5 to 8k yet, but I think my longer tempo runs the past several weeks should help over a half. We will see, I guess. :)

I hope everyone's training is going very well and you all are enjoying the cross season.



Paul