Random training log

01/20/15

Night at Tha Nut

I’ve spent most of the week fighting allergies or some kind of upper respiratory infection. In summary, I generally feel drained and I’m hacking up an alien fluid from the depths of my esophagus. Combining this with a thorough body-weight circuit, it certainly made my night at Walnut a semi-slog. Anthony planted the idea-seed in my head that I should be moving fast through tha Nut since my last 3 sessions were on hilly/technical terrain . I went out fatigued but otherwise dug deep for a consistent 11 mile run. What I thought as screaming fast was otherwise proved incorrect by Strava. Regardless, was a solid training bout on tired legs and tight right hip flexor.

Regarding Strava:

Hmm Strava. I’m still a little suspicious of the app. For starters, the last Canyonlands trip recorded 2400 ft gain while the data from Anthony’s Suunto watch calculated 1800 ft of gain. Another example of inaccuracy is knowing I ran a familiar ll mile course last night. On the other hand, Strava recorded 8.9 miles total distance. These are huge gaps! What’s up Strava?

01/19/15

Feeling even stronger:

Went out to run Bull Creek to the trail head at St. Eds and back. While Strava tells me my avg pace/mile was 10:30 something, I felt amazing. I felt like I used to. Strong, mobile and confident, I traversed some rather challenging trails with less struggle compared to say, New Years Eve. The weather was in the low 50’s, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and I was actually having a good time the entirety of the run. There was a general lightness to every step. I hadn’t run like this in over a year! A very solid 14 mile adventure.

The ground looks flat, but the photo is deceiving. This ancient machine is tipped over on the side of a steep incline almost at the top of a ridge line. Makes you wonder how the hell it got there. This isn’t the only ancient machine that can be found in Bull Creek.

01/16/15

Went out to the Canyonlands for a skirmish with my semi-regular training partner, Anthony. I showed him more of what we call the Rim trail which I had discovered on my solo outing. In addition, we found a short little  tangent that would keep us from back tracking  a mile or so. In the end, we created a nice, almost 16 mile out and back with limited time spent on the Jeep trails. That kept me happy! I initially felt sluggish but my energy came back with a vengeance until we pulled over several times for the Mountain biking kiddos near the end. But hey, I’m happy the kiddos are getting out there.Almost 2 K worth of gain depending on who’s Strava you go by. Although, I think I’ll trust Anthony’s over mine!

Pretending to run fast on the Rim.