run, run, run

Colorado Springs, CO

Altitude, heat and a chest cold made for a rough run today. Ran 3 miles up Cheyenne Mtn. Blvd. and turned around. Not used to the heat yet either. Legs and feet felt good. Had trouble getting air in my lungs.

Colorado Springs, CO

Pace: 8:37

Still trying to shake this cold. Felt better today. Ran on Santa Fe Trail from Woodmen Rd. up into the Academy. Kept it at an easy pace. Planned on doing 8 miles but turned around at 3.5. Felt myself running out of gas. I think it is more my health than the altitude. Lack of sleep isn't helping much either. Not used to working nights.

At the turn-around I stopped and watched AFA Cadets on parachute training drops.

Colorado Springs, CO

Pace: 8:48

Much better today. Didn't sleep much last night, but I left a little earlier because I had to drive to Denver this morning. I ran the same route as Wednesday but this time it actually felt like a six mile run. Still took it kind of slow and easy today, saving up for tomorrow's 10k. Not as pessimistic about that prospect now.

I wore my Robie Creek shirt today. It is a good looking shirt that wicks moisture, but it isn't made from the smoothest fabric. I was wishing I'd broken out the little round band-aids if you know what I mean.

I saw a little snake on the edge of the sidewalk.

The race: A nice community fun run. This was the race's 30th anniversary, so they pretty much had it down. The course was relatively flat with only one significant hill at the end, but it was only about a block long. It was mostly shady and on city streets except for about a mile on a crushed gravel trail.

My race: I worked until midnight the night before and after fighting a cold for most of the week, I still wasn't 100% (excuses, excuses) but I didn't suck wind the way I had in some of my training runs earlier in the week. So that was good. This was only my second 10k, the first being the 2006 Speedy Spaniard. I had been running for less than a year at that point and finished in 55:56, so I was curious to see how much I would improve.

I didn't push myself real hard until the final stretch. The course made a U-turn just before mile 4 and it was encouraging to be able to see that I was not, in fact, in last place. The hill just before mile 6 didn't bother me much and I was able to use it to my advantage, passing a couple of my fellow runners. I finished pretty strong with a good final kick at the end.

All in all I enjoyed the run and felt good about my finishing time. I'll be trying another 10k race next Saturday in Idaho so I'll see if I can't improve in a lower altitude and a little more sleep.

 Funny thing -- I'm working at the Gazette tonight and one of the sports guys publishing the race results just complained to me that my name is too long to fit in the agate column.
 

Falcon Trail, Air Force Academy, CO

Pace: 9:15

A great run. The Falcon Trail is a 13 mile loop around the Air Force Academy campus. A beautiful and very hilly trail with great views of the valley, the academy chapel, and stadium (site of many a beating of the Falcons by my Cougars) but most of it is just a real nice run through the forest.
I forgot to bring my water bottle or belt on this trip, so I stashed a bottle of Gatorade at mile 8. I could have used it a lot sooner, but it all worked out.
Some of the hills were rough, but I have to remember that what goes up must come down and the downhill stretches were awesome. This is why I run. Pushing yourself over the hills then cruising though the woods really makes you feel alive.

Colorado Springs, CO

 Pace: 8:54

 Went back up Cheyenne Mtn. Blvd. Was dragging a bit going up the hill (go figure) but picked up the pace on the way down. A warm day, but not oppressively hot. An enjoyable, but pretty uneventful run.

 

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO

Pace: 9:17 

 Hot. I didn't get out running today until 11am. It's my last day in Colorado Springs, so I thought I would run in GOTG one more time. It was a warm day, but it's always a great run through there. I carried a bottle of Gatorade with me which got pretty warm by the time I finished it off.

Mmmm, who doesn't love warm Gatorade?
 

Meridian, ID

Pace: 8:30

I didn't run on Thursday. I traveled home from Colorado and had a softball game in the evening (I hit 3 for 4 in a losing effort). I thought I would put Friday morning's run here and save Friday's entry for the Main Street Mile race.

 I went out at 6:30 to maybe catch up with Randy (I forgot to call). He wasn't there so I went out on my own. A very pleasant run around the neighborhood. After two weeks of working nights, it was nice to get out early before the heat of the day sets in.

A new pair of running shoes arrived while I was gone, so I tried them out this morning. Felt really good. I was wearing 8.5s but kept getting black toenails. So my wife convinced me to try out a pair of 9s last time. They were ok, but I needed to wear two pair of socks to get them to feel right. I went back to 8.5 this time. I guess the black toes will be coming back soon.

The Main Street Mile is a one mile race in downtown Boise. Basically you run around the block twice.

I've wondered how fast I could run if I was only running one mile (not holding back for the rest of a longer race). I guess the answer is 6:05.

It was a really fun race. The short distance with so many people made for a fun atmosphere, and I got to see my wife cheering me on twice.

I ran in the geezer race (over 40) and placed 27th of 88. If I had run in the open race I would have finished 23rd. There are a lot of fast old people.

As I turned the final corner and saw the clock it read 5:40. I thought to myself "can I run this block in less than 20 seconds?" I couldn't. Even though it was a short distance, it was one of the most difficult races I've run. Good thing the pain didn't last long.

Under 6 minutes next year!

Just a small local fun run. The course was flat and the weather was perfect. I hoped I would do better than the 47 minutes I did in a 10k in Colorado a week ago. So 44:48 was good for me.

My wife's friends that she runs/walks with in the mornings talked her into running the 6k. She said she had fun and I enjoyed being able to talk about each other's races afterward.

One thing that was unique about this race is that they handed out gear bags instead of t-shirts. Nice for a change. You can only use so many race shirts.

Boise, ID 6:30 am

Pace: 8:36

We added a new member to our running group this morning (I guess now it is a running group. Before it was two guys that run together.) It was nice to have someone new. We had already gone through everything I know about electrical engineering and everything Randy knows about newspapers.

Good to get out on a morning run before leaving on vacation. It will be interesting to see how many chances I get to go out and run this week between camping, the zoo, water slides and the big Hannah Montana concert (my daughters are a little more exited about that one than I am).