Recap: Week of 1.23.17 – 1.29.17

HQW – High Quality Week. Anybody else catch that phrase on Rob & Big back in the day? I’ve been saying HQsomething for like a decade. I am totally a TV junkie. No shame.

Rob&Big POSITIVITY MOTHERLOAD. Clearly.

Anyway, finally taking lunch with some time to update:

To kick off this recap, let’s make a note on how my world works when I’m trying to accomplish something out of my comfort zone. Right now, I’m trying to be all turbo-healthy and stuff. That means I have temporarily shut down the beer and pizza departments (Dying here. It’s awful. 0/10 Do not recommend.) I gotta drop a few LBs so my poor Dragon Spikes don’t snap under the pressure. Well, really with tasty beer, it’s more about dehydration for me at this point. Even coffee is a bad idea for me at altitude. I keep it to a light cocktail or two if our group goes out on the weekend because ya gotta live a little! And with pizza, it’s about my body’s general habit to bloat when digesting cheese. Running with the bloat is the worst. That being said, I’m trying to ignore all the hoppy and cheesy tastiness in this world and that’s apparently dang near impossible. It’s like the universe just wants me to be me, not a health nut. Understandable, so OF COURSE…

Lemme tell ya what’s up. BELL’S BREWERY. That’s what. I’ve been asking around town for my favorite beer since I got to Colorado because my Midwestern soul misses it so much. I spotted one brew up in Nederland, CO at Backcountry Pizza last year and then “Poof” gone. I figured they sampled this territory and noped out. I had pretty much given up on ever seeing Bell’s out here again and was doing pretty well forgetting the existence of craft beer altogether (for now). Then I see this in my Facebook feed:

Bell’s let’s talk a minute. All this time, Kim’s been trying to enjoy fancy tasty craft beer in CO while missing you and you’re nowhere to be found. Then, Kim goes on an evil anti-beer diet and you show up.              WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO ME!

Needless to say, if they import Two Hearted to Colorado all bets are off on this beer break thing. Give me like 3 more months of training before you do that, Bell’s. I know you have a heart! You’ve got Two Hearts! In every wonderful bottle. Work with me here!

Sidenote: Rogue sponsors runners. Just think of me, Bell’s, when you want to expand into a carb-loading runner territory. I love you and I will run fast for you while wearing my 2H T-Shirt and spreading the word of your glory.

And if somebody opens a Giordano’s here, I’m dedicating my life to obesity. Gonna be a running Sherman Tank. (Kidding! Obesity creeps me out about the same as anorexia and bulimia. Pretty gross, illogical, extreme, stupid, insecure stuff and not my jam. Take care of yourself and don’t get involved in that junk!)

But back to that running thing now, I guess. Here’s the week:

Monday: 

Easy, breezy 8 at a relaxed pace. Nothing much to even talk about with these easy ones anymore. I’m zoned out, with that 45 degree look ahead thing going on (Another great gift from my high school coach). I turn off Garmin notifications and just kind of know where my mile markers are. Same route almost every time. No thought. Just brainless runnin’. I have to think enough with school and work. Running is time to clear the mind.

Tuesday:

3-4 miles of 400 on/off repeats was the meat of this one. I did the full 4 and felt fine. Sure, I’m not cranking my (relatively) fast ones yet but I’m getting the effort in there with both breathing and turnover. I’ll never be fast at these things. I think my fastest 400 was 1:11 back in 2006 on the MIT track when I ran with the BAA group for a bit. Some big talkin’ dude referred to himself as “The Flash” and I was like “mkay” and just felt like kicking his arse every week. Talk is cheap and I got results! (I’m a bit competitive.)

Back to the workout. Fun part: I faceplanted. Twice. In the same spot. Two laps in a row.

Even in top shape, I bump into walls. So, still building up fitness, I’m surprised I remember how to walk. Being clumsy is in my genes. Last May, I tripped over a curb while running just outside of Baltimore and needed nine stitches in my head. (I’ll spare you the horror of the pictures.) This is my life. I accept it.

This is a picture of the most-likely-imaginary speed bump that tripped me up:

A bump that is only seen by Dragon(s)…spikes.

And here’s some GPS/heart monitor abstract art of the second faceplant moment…right at the start of my intervals (also shown). This was much more awe-inspiring than the warm-up tumble and I see it as share-worthy. This defines elegance.

Hashtag ART.

Coach monitors EVERYTHING! No hiding here!

Later in the day, I did 45 minutes of climbing. Much more exciting than just doing PT exercises for my back…which I do all the freekin time.

Wednesday:

Covered in some hawt track rash, I hit the roads again for an easy run of about 7 miles. It was an optional cross training day, but skipping a run wasn’t on my agenda. So, I did that and an hour spin session focused on hills later in the day.

Thursday:

HILLS. If you know me, you know I love hills. Hills make me fast. I had 20 minutes of hills in a 9 mile run. Now, sure I could go back and forth on some rollers for 20 minutes but that’s boring. I just figured NCAR is about 20 minutes (not including the lesser hill to get there) and I needed to get a nice sunrise view. Mission accomplished.

NCAR – Pretty popular with runners and cyclists.

Elevations Min / Avg / Max

Later in the day, we hit up the gym for 45 minutes of climbing. I’m at about 5.10 now for that. Getting there again….

Friday:

Friday was another easy, relaxed run at 65%-75%. I changed up my route a bit to hit the trails. 400s usually make me sore the next day and trails work that out. The sandstone here isn’t ideal but it’s good enough.

Then it was evening spin class – focus on speed. I kept it easy and loose just to shake out my legs some more and followed that up with some serious rolling when I got home.

Saturday:

Long run day – 16 miles with the second half a bit harder than the first have. I’ve felt better on long runs but this is where the patience comes into play. I just haven’t had much endurance since moving here. But, I don’t plan on wasting races at altitude anyway unless it’s just tune-up type of stuff. I’m going to head for humidity and sea level. Not too worried.

Sunday:

Not gonna lie. I was tired from the long run. This was an easy 6-8 and I just focused on 6ish with no pressure. Coach’s plans really have gotten me to be more controlled. It was something I needed up here due to a requirement for more recovery.

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Focus on the positive. The negative never wins. See ya next week!