Pikes Peak Greenway

11.30 Miles 6:40 average per mile
12:00 pm) 60's Sunny!
Good run today but it was a not a easy effort. I got pretty tired
by the end. Going to start doing long flat runs again as I'm training
for a flat marathon December 10th. Also will incorporate some
sort of speed work and a tempo run each week. I'm excited to be
training for another marathon. I love the process of training for
something. It keeps me motivated! My goal is of course to try and
PR so sub 2:42. Would like to be in the 2:30's.

B/a11r/322

Manitou Incline & Barr Trail

6.10 Miles Total
1 Mile Incline 26:43
First time on the Incline in a few weeks. I was kind of slow today.
I expected it though. Felt great coming down Barr trail in my new
shoes. Brooks Pure Grit handled the trail nice. Shoes are not so
great though on the paved road. Not enough cushion for my liking
on the pavement.

B/PG/48

Pikes Peak Greenway

8 Miles 51:30 6:26 average per mile
11:45 am)50's sunny!
Took off yesterday just because it was the day after and thought
I should take a recovery day. Today I felt awesome! I felt no
soreness from the marathon. I ran hard the last 4 miles to start
working on some faster turnover. I plan on doing a marathon
December 10th so I need some faster runs. I have the endurance
already with all my races in the past 7 weeks.

B/a11r/310

Xterra Cheyenne Mountain State Park Trail Run

26.2 Miles 3:45:05 8:35 average per mile
1st Place!
8:30 am) 30's Cold, Windy, Rain, Snow & Mud
Going into this race I did not feel good at all. I have felt run
down all week. I even took some days off due to fatigue. Morning
of the race woke up and felt no better. This was the worst I ever
felt on the morning of a race. Plus to make matters worse the
conditions outside were not ideal to say the least. Of course
though I was going to give it a shot I always do.
I got to the park and sat in my car with the heater on. I was
chilled. I really considered just leaving. I called my mom and
she even encouraged me to just go home. I'm stubborn and I
decided well I'm here I will give it a shot and at least try
to do one loop 13.1 miles. Race was delayed and we got started
a half hour late. This really was no big deal though as I was
not that anxious to get going anyway.
Race got under way and right away I noticed my breathing was
very labored not a good sign. After a few miles my breathing
settled down but I just felt tired. By mile 8 I almost convinced
myself that I would drop out at 13 miles the end of the first
loop. This was not an easy decision for me as I have never had
a DNF. Got to my 11 and was still not great but no worse started
to think maybe I will not drop. Finally made it to the end of
the first loop and not sure what happened but quiting was not
an option and I kept on going. It was like a switch went off
I got past that negative thought pattern and my brain switched
to race mode finally. My energy picked up and I started running
faster. The course was getting very muddy on the second loop
but I was still running faster than the first loop.
I was pulling away from the other runners that were right with
me at the end of the first loop. I was gaining confidence.
I was strong the entire second loop I only slowed the last
few miles due to conditions more than anything else. My new
shoes were awesome. Yes they slipped around in the mud but I'm
pretty sure any shoe would slip in that mud. I wore the new
Brooks Pure Grit trail shoes.
So the lesson I guess I learned from this race is never give up!
If you feel bad it can turn around. I now believe you should only
DNF if it's due to injury or a true health concern and not just
fatigue.
So this was my 27th marathon and first marathon win. Only my
3rd ever win at any distance. I hope I can get a few more wins
before I get too much older.

Pikes Peak Greenway

3.5 Miles
Tired today should have just taking the day off. I was going to
run more but decided to cut it short. Besides being tired I actually
wasn't really motivated which is very unusual for me as I'm
usually super motivated. I think work is effecting my training
for sure. Lately my part time job is full time. This is good for
paying the bills but hurts the training and motivation to get out.

B/a11r/302

Cheyenne Mountain State Park

10.25 Miles 1:30:00 8:47 average per mile
8:00 am) cool & sunny
Ran here for the first time today. I have wanted to run here
for a long time now but never got around to it. Plus the $7.
daily use fee makes it less appealing to me. So many good
trails here I can run for free! I wanted to run here today
though as I'm racing here on Saturday and wanted to get some
feel of the course and terrain. I ran today with Dan Vega
he knew some of the trails so I was glad he joined me. Plus
I always enjoy having company when out running.
Wore my new shoes Brook Pure Grit today. I really am liking
them. I'm going to use them Saturday hopefully they will be
okay for 26.2 miles.
The trails are really nice at this state park well groomed.
It will be a challenging marathon as it's far from a easy
course lots of climbing and lots of turns. Not sure what
time I can run I'm not going to worry about it. Last year
the winning time was 3:30. Probably a solid time considering
the course and altitude.

B/PG/16

Rest Day

Decided to take the day off. I'm feeling kind of worn out so
I will listen to my body plus I worked 9.5 hours so that was
a major factor. I'm very motivated to run right now so it's
hard not to get out. Sometimes I think not running is better
for me so I consider this part of my training plan.
Registered today for the trail marathon on Saturday. Hard to
believe but it's going to be COLD! It's 84 right now in
Colorado Springs!