Week 25 - 7,000' (308,680')

Need to do a little catching back up here and get back on my vertical posting schedule.
The last big run I had was Sunday June 12th, I went about 2.5 hours with 3,500' of vert. About 30 minutes into the run I rolled my ankle pretty good, but, as usual, I kept running and within a few minutes all was well. However the next moring as I went out to do an easy run on the roads my ankle was in pretty bad shape and a little swollen. Called it quits after about 15:00 when it just seemed to get worse and not loosen up. The next few days were the same and the ankel wouldn't loosen up on an easy walk, so decided to give it a full weeks rest.
Got back at it this past Monday and the ankel felt about 90% and is now back to 100%.
So, days 164-170 = 0'
And, days 171-175 = 7,000'
The last 5 days I ran the same 1,400' up/down portion of the Shut-In Trail. Monday I felt like total garbage, couldn't believe how hard that run was after taking a full week off. I had run everyday for the first 6 months of the year so I guess my body did not like that abrupt change. It wasn't until Wed. that my legs started coming back to me and today I actually put in 30:00 of 1h/1e on the up ortion of the run. Nothing zippy, but starting to feel good again and getting my HR elevated a little definately helped.
The week off was a good test of the metabolism shift I was able to make the last 6 months. Seemed to drop a little weight even during the 7 days of inactivity. Appitite was a little down adjusting to the inactivity instead of the ravage devouring I used to crave. I really do contribute this shift to just getting out and doing something everyday; just like when I was a kid. Sure there was the growing factor involved as a kid/teenager, but there are still overweight kids/teenagers, so I truly believe that, for me, it's a result of everyday activity.

No Mt. Evans for me.

Something abruptly came up and the choice to cancel my trip to CO and run the Mt. Evans Ascent was a no-brainer.
Thanks to all of you who followed my training and offered words of encouragement through the training - very much appreciated.

Days 155-163 = 14,000'
Year to Date = 301,680'
As far as running goes, I'll keep at it. It's great therapy and allows me to be healthy and a great example.
The fitness I've gained through the training won't go to waste. It will allow me to do some great exploring on the trails.

I think the single biggest reason I was able to train well this year is because I didn't look to make time to run. I let the time come to me. When the time was available I went running.

Week 22 - 8,900' (287,680')

148 - 1,000' on a mix of pavement, dirt and woodchips. A 7.5 mile progression in 3/2/1.5/1 increments.
149 - 1,400' 1hr. on Shut-In. This was suposed to be a long run, but bigger/better priorities took over. This is pretty much the first scheduled training run I've missed during the 8 weeks of Evans specific I've been doing.
150 - 1,400' 1hr on Shut-In.
151 - 1,400' 1 hr on Shut-In
152 - 850' on rolling dirt. 9 mile progression. See this post.
153 - 2,350. 3x1mile, then 4x800 all on 400 AeT recovery. See this post.
154 - 500' on neighborhood streets.
Felt pretty good this week, mostly because of the skipped long run. I have a pretty hard long run scheduled for this Sunday, so I'm looking forward to a little more fatigue setting in before taper time.
I recovered very well from the Wed/Thur back2back runs and felt like I could have done alot more today. I'll save it for Sunday, though, and really make the most of, probably, my last hard/long run before Evans.

More Back2Back Baby!

Just finished my favorite part of the week with my back2back quality runs.

Yesterday was a 9 mile progression on a nice rolling dirt road. This was done as a 3x3 with the last 3 done at or near Threshold. Felt strong and ready for tomorrow.

I was well warned ahead of time that today's run would be a tough one. But still had to experience it for myself to understand. When Lucho says it's one of his favorites it's not because it's fun and feels good - it's because it only feels good when it's over.

On the treadmill at 5% was 3x1 mile and 4x800 all on 400 recovery, but the recovery was done at just 15-20 bpm's below LT.

The screen on my treadmill went out so to keep things simple I just decided to pick 8mph for the miles and 800's and 6mph for the 400's and keep the incline at 5% for the whole run.

I went into this thinking that if I made it through the 3x1 miles it was in the bag - no problems. The first mile was a little tough, still warming up, 2nd felt pretty good, strong. The 3rd I had to work a little, but knew I had it w/o putting myself into any difficulty before the 800's.

The 1st 800 was good, the 2nd was a little tough and I knew that the last 2 were going to be harder than any of the miles and they were. The last 2 800's of this workout really hurt. Without the full recovery these last 2 really snuck up on me and pushed me as hard as I've been pushed this year. Great session that I'll definately use again!