Dave's Addiction

Standard pre-race strides

I didn't have high expectations for this race since I had like 12 miles the prior week and only two decent workouts this week, plus I was recovering from the trip to the Philippines. All I wanted to do was go out hard and keep on truckin as long as I could. Well that turned out to be a good strategy. I lined up with Riley and other Dave and figured I might actually make the podium if I could keep a good pace! I saw Scott and Mike on a morning run, looked like they were going to accompany the front guys so woohoo! It was no challenge to jump out front as usual and I stayed there until the first little uphill, then Riley, Mike and Scott passed me (albiet very slowly). I was trying for a 5:10 first mile and I got 5:18 and 5:21 for the first two, so not bad! Then a 5:57 on the flat which seemed a little slow but there was no tailwind this year. On mile 2 as I went into the flat I was passed by Dave Olson, he was really long and slow on stride length. I decided to try it for a while and stuck with him for about .1 just for fun. It didn't feel much different, but a few small muscles were starting to complain so I decided to go back to the quick short style which was a relief.

Then I found The Pace. It was so cool. I was feeling a little tired so I backed off ever so slightly and tried to feel waves of oxygen renewing my legs, and it worked! It felt like I had finally figured out how to run tempo. and I focused on maintaining that feeling without (much) regard for hills. I got a little lacticed by Timp park so I walked a few seconds while drinking a gatorade, that's when I was passed by Brandon. I figured no biggie, I was already off the podium anyway because Robert was out of sight, but I hung with Brandon and passed him, then he passed me, and by 4800 North I was feeling not any more tired at all whereas he had been working pretty hard and had to drop back a little. I decided to try and maintain 4th but not push out of the magic zone, and managed to run a bunch of 6 flats all the way to the end. I figure if I subtract out the walk break and the no wind, I would have broken my record from last year, but close enough. That may be the best workout I have ever done.

I feel strong from Saturday. Sore too. What a great workout.

Aborted the ladder workout, the Saturday effort was too strong I guess. I owe the speed gods 1.3 miles

Had to pay the speed gods, I did a .4 masty hill sprint (7:00 pace), a .4 slightly uphill sprint (5:15 pace) and a .4 13 MPH TM run.

One zippy lap on the bike around the town

Standard pre-race strides (flat, TM, hill)

1.5 to and from the pickup in the evening

I thought this race looked like fun, and it was certainly that (and quite scenic). It looked like it might rain all week, and I had to hide in Cafe Rio the night before during a fairly impressive thunderstorm, but the only precipitation we had was a little soft hail and rain at the start. I was hoping for something in the 1:13s but the course was a lot more rolly than Hobble Creek and had some gradual uphill in the last 5 K so it was not to be. The race started 15 minutes early, and we almost started before the last bus got up (what a hoot) but everybody made it OK. I was not in first for about three steps, but then I got up to speed and tried for the standard 5:10 mile. It was a little uphill at the start and in the middle of the mile so I ended up with a 5:23. By the end of the first mile I couldn't hear the people any more, but I just knew somebody would pass me so I kept up the pressure, dropping to 5:32 and then into the 5:40s for most of the rest of the downhill. By mile 4 I couldn't see anybody in back of me on the long straight stretches so I figured I might be able to pull it off since most of the people that pass me do it by mile 4. I kept putting seconds in the bank and dropped to 1:15 flat by mile 10. When I passed the sprintasaurus marker at mile 6 (a little 800 race inside the half on the steepest downhill) I tried to really jam it, and I got about a 5:12 AP. The second box did not make any noise though so I think that part of the race may have been broken, plus the boxes were actually about .7 apart. Mile 7 ended up being the third fastest of the race at 5:32. Miles 11 12 and 13 were mostly flat and I got 6:05, 6:14 and 6:01 on those, so I ended up with a 75 instead of a 74. Fun race though! Chris Pope came in second and broke his PR by 50 seconds, but I get to have the coveted CR next to my name for the first time!

Standard 6 mile gym route

A truly stunning tempo run, I don't know what happened. I wasn't really paying attention, just trying to push it a little more than half marathon pace. The first mile is a little downhill, I usually get 5:20. Today I got 5:03. I was stunned. I felt fine, just like normal. The second mile I pushed it a little and got 5:47, that one is flat. I jogged about .25 and then ran 1.25 at 5:46, also flat. Jogged .35, then .7 uphill (slightly) at a shocking 5:45. It was all around crazy.

To and from Reams to get eggs, to and from gym

7 bike and 1.5 hill/trail run on east Mapleton bench

Easy progressive, getting ready for the hill workouts of doom tomorrow

A wonderfully dry, long, hard and easy traverse of the Timp Trail Half course with an extra Dry Canyon run thrown in. Jammed it hard on the hills, took it easy on the flats. I feel surpisingly good! But I did take 2:20 to run it. Glad I wasn't in Ogden!

EZ run with mandatory hills thrown in (lots of those this week)

12 plates on the incline press

Flat tempo course - I had to see if something had happened. I am a bit faster, but as much as I thought. 5:59 AP, strong tempo. 5:39, 6:02, 6:10, 6:05, 6:01.

Nice and easy standard gym route

6.5 bike plus 1 trail run

Progression on the treadmill, ran out of juice at minute 24 so I did 1 minute fast, 1 slow ending at 9.2, 14.0.

Extended Mcdonald's run, up on the BST from the JD facility. Ran into the Live w Elle 5k at mile 14, passed about 100 people in a 1 mile stretch. That race is getting big! Got down to 6 flat at the end.

Hey, free race! Great chance to test the Fenix in high demand mode. Looks like my VO2max is stuck at 59, maybe I will try to increase during another workout this week. Anyway, this was more of a fun run so I just decided to hang out at the front and try to learn something. I couldn't quite catch the lead pack though - stuck about 100 feet back. Then they turned on to the 5K course and I was alone out front. Luckily somebody else came up but I was on the uphill so I got passed pretty bad. Then an SRC girl inchedever so slowly past me and I finally had somebody to latch on to! I stuck about 8 seconds behind her and started to close the gap on the downhill, but just didn't have enough to seal the deal as we wound through the 5k people in the cemetery. Great workout though!

Standard gym route

To and from the gym with 2x800 at 2:34 thrown in (one each way)

Standard pre-race strides

Looks like I am faster on the treadmill because I have less ground contact time. Interesting.

This was one of those days when I didn't win because of fitness, it was because of trailcraft. A really fun race as usual. I started off in second place as a high school kid passed me, but then he decided to hang back because it was his first longer distance race and we wanted to stay back with the people who knew how to pace correctly. Chortle. But he wisely dropped back a little more as I burned through the "first mile is free" on the initial hill. I kept expecting people to pass me but I was able to lay it down pretty good on the flat, even into the wind. When I turned to go up to the meadow I could see four guys really close. All would pass, and all would meet misfortune. 

The first two finally passed me on the big hill coming out of the meadow. They didn't get very far in front, but far enough.  A third guy just barely passed me going over the saddle. When we got to the upper road there was a group of hikers who asked us which way the course went, when I told them they started yelling down the road at somebody. I quickly recovered from the hill and dropped down to 6:10 or so, blowing past guy number 3 and moving at tempo pace so I could catch up to #1 and #2. I couldn't see them anywhere and after about a mile it hit me - the hikers were yelling at #1 and #2, and I was in front again! Oh boy. (They ended up at the highway and jogged back to the park instead of continuing) I came around the corner and dropped down to the water towers at a relaxed 5:20, ready for the big climb.

All this time I was starting to notice the heat, which was very warm, but I thought it was still in the green zone. I was wrong. When I started to go uphill again I had nothing. I was walking more and more - downhills were easy, but my heart refused to beat fast enough to clear the lactic on the uphills. I was dehydrated and still had to get up Dry Canyon. I figured if I could get to the aid station at the top before anyone else, I could still win it all. With all the walking though I lost 6+ minutes against last year and was caught just before the station, and again at the station, back into third. I grabbed some Coke and some water and hoped for renewal but it was still grim on every uphill. Finally I got to the top, cleared it, and started up the downhill monster. I was really hoping that nobody would pop up in the Mario Karts because I was going so fast that they would get aced. Fortunately nobody showed up. Unfortunately #1 and #2 didn't show up either.

When I got to the main road #2 was there looking confused and asked which way the course went. #1 had turned east on the road but I led #2 west. He said he would follow me. Yes, you will :) I still had 6:20 on the flat and he was dropping back severely, then I made the turn off the road, somehow made it up the gentle hill without collapsing, and barrelled down the trail. He had hopes of catching up at the end but I went to black at 4:30 for the last .5 and fell over on the grass at the end. I drank 4 bottles of water, a bowl ofchili, a bottle of OJ, and a Smoothie. I really need to drink more when it is over 50.