The Scene Begins

2012 Training Log – Week 20

chrisboyack — Mon, 28 May 2012 04:38:48 +0000

Rest week. It wasn’t really planned, but I could feel like I was really going to have to fight to get the miles in so I decided to back off. I hope it was the right call. My thinking was I should just take a few days off rather than trying to force runs where I didn’t feel like it and end up with a mediocre week – and still no rest.

This was my lowest mileage week of the year. I even had a higher total the week after my 100 miler in March. I’m using it as a mini-break to mark the change from the winter/spring season and get ready to ramp up for summer. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Monday
0 miles

Graduation!

Tuesday
7.1 miles

Calves super tight. Even had to stop several times and shake them out. They were ridden hard and put away wet after Saturday’s race and I’m feeling every bit of that plus the two complete days off which allowed them to set up into concrete.

Wednesday
7 miles

Much better than yesterday, but still had to stop 3x to let the calves settle down. Up @ 3:45 this morning with our first bear visit of the year. Dogs barking up and down the street, trash cans getting ravaged, etc. I was too tired to get up, but couldn’t go back to sleep either.

Neighborhood coyote:

Thursday
11 miles

That’s more like it. Got a desperately needed good night’s rest (all 6:50 of it) and felt much better today. Ran easy for the first couple, then a hilly relaxed tempo, easy finish.

Did 31 on the mtb in the evening. Was supposed to be a group ride, but I ended up going solo due to some no-shows. Made the best of it – what an awesome time.

And my vote for Best Switchback on Planet Earth:

Friday
6.6 miles

Easy run at the Boneyard.

Saturday

OFF

Celebrated my daughter’s birthday, then headed out to try and get some shots of the sunset. The air quality was terrible due to smoke from a New Mexico fire.

I thought it would make for a dramatic sunset. I was wrong. Total bust.

This little guy was holding on for dear life in the 20-30 mph winds.

Sunday

OFF

Total: 32 miles / 4:40 run – 31 miles / 2:36 bike

The Agile Fox Friday Foto – 05.25.2012

chrisboyack — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:50:00 +0000

After a year and a half of including a ‘pic of the week’ at the end of my weekly training summary, I’ve decided to let it stand on its own. I’m also implementing a rule that the Friday Foto needs to have been taken sometime in the last week. No recycling. I am doing this to keep me engaged in building my photography skills, and to make me work harder to get fresh shots. Click here to see my previous Friday Foto posts.

I took 795 pictures on Monday! Lots to choose from this week. Since I’m shooting in RAW+jpg that came out to around 18GB worth of data.

There were a couple of shots I really liked, but they were more of a candid nature. For these posts I’m trying to emphasize something I actually planned and set up for.

Malcolm’s graduation ceremony was really nice. They held it at Sports Authority Stadium out in Parker. Seating wasn’t too cramped, and we had a good view of the proceedings. Towards the end I started making my way down to get ready for the cap toss. I stood in an area that I had gotten booted out of earlier (but I did check to make sure I wasn’t blocking anyone’s view – all clear behind me). Such an outlaw.

As an added bonus, Cori got this shot of me while I was getting ready to take mine.

ThunderRidge Class of 2012
f/6.3, 62mm, 1/640 @ 100 ISO

2012 Training Log – Week 19

chrisboyack — Sun, 20 May 2012 22:21:17 +0000

Josh Cox tweeted:

Everyone loves the idea of success but few love the work it takes to get there. Passionately pursue the process and fall in love with the grind, success will follow.

Not quite as catchy as embrace the suck, but I do like the message – fall in love with the grind. I thought of that several times this week when I was tired and not looking forward to another mile.

Monday
10.6 miles

That’s more like it. A very good rebound run after a poor weekend showing. This has to be one of my favorite types of training run. A warmup, a strong and controlled tempo, and a cool down.

Ran by the biggest swarm of bees I have ever seen. I heard them long before I saw them.

Tuesday
8.4 miles

Up early (4:45) to try and capture the sunrise. Mixed results on the photo. Easy 8 at the Boneyard.

Wednesday
20 miles

Busy weekend coming up, so I decided to do my long run on Wednesday evening. I ran on the East/West trail and didn’t feel great, but not bad.

After about 5 miles I came up on this guy (Mom, you should probably skip this part…)

I wasn’t worried about getting around it, but wanted to get it off the trail so it wouldn’t cause any trouble for someone else. I had the bright idea to kick a few pebbles at it to see if that would hurry it up.

Yeah. That worked out.

That thing was super onery. I’ve seen them coil up and get in a strike position before, but this one raised up super high.

It was perfectly hidden from view, especially for someone coming in the downhill direction. It would have been impossible to see under that leafy plant, and it was facing the trail and just a wee bit agitated. All because of me.

So I couldn’t just trot off and leave it there.

I backed off quite a bit in an effort to let it calm down. During that time a guy came running up the trail from the same direction I had come from.

With repeated gesturing, due to the earbuds I could hear from 50 feet away, I flagged him down and got him to stop so I could warn him about the snake. Well, stop is more of a figurative term here. He continued to jog in place, earbuds blasting, while I pointed down the trail. It took 3-4 tries to get him to realize what I was saying and notice where the snake was. When he spotted it (I’m still not really sure if he ever did), he mumblegrunted something and took off through the weeds on the opposite side of the trail. Leaving me there shaking my head.

He did turn and yell thanks once he was clear.

I was hoping he would help me fix the situation and not just take off.

I gave it a few more minutes and then was able to approach quietly without setting it off again. I tried aiming a little squirt from my water bottle right next to its body – and it worked! It started to uncoil and so I gave it two more shots and got it moving in the direction I wanted. Now I’m a snake-herder. I’ve tried the water bottle thing before without success, so I was glad to see it work this time.

Sorry to upset you, but glad to see you move on.

I felt bad for this little guy hanging out about 20 feet away.

The rest of the run was decent. I got rained on a few times, but ran at a steady cruise and finished in just under 3 hours.

Thursday
8 miles

Very tired. Hit a 2-year low on the scale today. Felt very bonky and fuzzy-headed for the first two miles, then got better.

Friday
10.7 miles

Tired again, legs were a little better. Hilly paved route. Nice and steady.

Spent the evening marking the course for tomorrow’s Rox Trot.

Saturday
12.5 miles

Showed up a couple hours early to run the full 10k course and check on all the markings. Cleared dozens of pine cones and rocks off the path from the recent rain. Weather was bad and getting worse. Thankfully we pulled off a successful event and everyone survived. I raced the 10k and finished first.

Sunday

OFF

Total: 70 miles / 11:09