Bad cold plus good friends means great workout

Sunday's forecast was for high winds so I was a bit concerned about how far we would make it. I wanted 10 miles but with this lingering cold I didn't think it would happen. Jodi was kind enough to drop me off where I met two other runners who left their cars because Jodi also agreed to pick us up whenever and from wherever we called at the south end and bring us back to the starting point.

We headed up the Pino Trail, Trail # 140, to the junction with Trail # 341 and turned north to # 230. The 230 loop back to 365 made this first section, coming right past where we started as we headed south, add up to over 4 miles. On the beginning climb my running partners gained a pretty hefty lead on me but as the route turned downhill and became more technical due to the fact I run trail and have been running on ice a few times this winter I caught up to them. That changed again as the route turned uphill and my yucky lungs took control. I caught them one other time on a downhill but after that it was a solo run.

We were fortunate that the wind never did get too strong and as the sun came out I was a bit overdressed but I didn't want too much exposure to the wind to make the cold any worse. I felt pretty good until about 7 to 7.5 miles but from there, which included the Glenwood Hills road section, there was a lot of walking. I was still moving and adding miles to the legs but ....

I did finish on a run and felt good about it. With the beginning loop being longer than I thought we actually did 9.4 miles. Not bad for my lungs screaming and sucking on cough drops the whole route.

Let's take a rest day or two.

More miles of walk, no run

Saturday Jodi and I were supposed to run with a friend on the dirt trail on the Bosque north of Alameda but run was not in my vocabulary this morning. I might have forced it but my lungs did not need to be excited and get things moving anymore. So I saw them off and headed the opposite direction.

I enjoyed a nice walk with views of the river, several birds and then as I was headed back across the bridge toward the parking area I was awarded with the sighting of an adult bald eagle soaring far above the trail. Very cool. I knew a pair lived in the area of the river but had not seen them in a couple years or more. It did make the walk worthwhile for sure.

Hopefully I can breathe a little better to run tomorrow.

Just adding miles to the legs

Well, not all runs are totally productive but at least any time on the legs counts. Wednesday the 8th my cold was much worse and I did not care a thing about trying to go fast or long but I didn't feel like taking the night off either.

I ran 2 slow miles from home on road. It was better than no run and I still enjoyed it. Time to rest.

Great after work run

On the heels of a very cold Sunday run, and a worsening cold, I was glad to see warmer weather Tuesday afternoon. It was still cool but not bad. I headed to the UNM golf course immediately after work and hit the uphill counterclockwise route first because I knew Jodi was joining me for the next lap. On this first one I took the very farthest outside route I possibly could then ran the bike path back to where Jodi was to meet me.

I didn't make it back to the car before I met Jodi so we turned around and did a clockwise route. We also took the very outside so I could so Jodi this little twist. After this lap she was feeling pretty good so we turned around and headed back up the hill for the counterclockwise route. At the north end we split up and Jodi took the outer route and I took the inner along the very hilly upper section. This is the first time I had done it this direction and on the third lap I was beginning to get tired so it was very fast but it was still fun.

I finished with a little out and back and forth on the bike path to finish 7 miles for the night, my longest ever run in the evening after work. I was very pleased and off to another good start for the week's mileage.

Can anyone say DAMN it's cold!! And windy!!

Serena made my day when she said she would run with me with Kim's group on Sunday 5 January. The planned route I knew was going to be one tough workout but good training both for me for my Phoenix race and Serena for the Mt. Taylor Quad in which she is doing the cycle and run portions next month.

We met at the home of a couple of the members of Kim's group and it took only a moment of discussion to agree to Kim's Plan B because of the amazing cold and wind. Ok, amazing is an exaggeration but it sucked. Instead of heading up to Tramway the to Forest Rd 333 and up to the LaLuz Trailhead we crossed Tramway and continued to climb through the neighborhood so there was more protection from the wind.

After climbing, and climbing, and climbing up rollers we started down and over more rollers then hit a dirt path that took us down a good fast downhill behind County Line BBQ and back to the Tramway bike path where we circled back to the house. I added just a little to complete 5.5 miles to make my mileage for the week hit 25.

We were frozen to the core but the homeowners had prepared great snacks and drinks to help us warm. The welcoming spirit of these trail running groups totally amaze me. On top of running lots of trail I'm making a lot of good friends along the way.

Training run that helped Jodi a lot also

Saturday Jodi decided she wanted to see and run the route of the Sandia Mountain Shadows 5k I raced in October. The start was kind of hard for her as it started on a road hill and she hadn't run a lot lately but after a kind of rough start she kicked in and ended up with a good pace and a nice run for me as well.

She wants to do this race in October so I would say we'll be running this route many times this summer. Her next goal, the 10k for the Zoo in May. She's got plenty of time to be ready for both. It should be a good year for her as well.

For me, I've got many miles of trail yet to do. I'm trying to stay on track but I'm also still fighting off a cold.

Off to a good start

I was a bit tired after the half and had to work Thursday so I took the day off from any exercise at all. Friday evening, January 3, after work I opted for an easy run from home. I kept the pace up a little better than I expected and when I got near home I was too close to a 5k to stop. Circling the block in front of our house twice would be just right as well as allowing me a couple good hill sprints on the north side. The longer I ran the better I felt. But I had told Jodi we would run on Saturday so I stopped at 5k. Another fun recovery run.

Next.