Week Ending June 6 (WS - 3 weeks)

Mon - 13 miles (4,300'). Round Mtn, plus second lap to two mile & back.

-----------------------------------------------
Jan: 252 (33,700')
Feb: 189 (33,500')
March: 488 (70,000')
April: 482.5 miles (72,700')
May: 439 miles (79,500')

2010: 1,850 (289,400')
Avg: 370 (58,000')
-----------------------------------------------

Tues - PM: 6.5 miles (1,200'). Easy social run with FCTR at Reservoir Ridge.

Weds - Noon: 6 miles easy (500') on valley trails.

Thurs - Noon: 6 miles easy (500') on valley trails.
PM: 10.5 miles (2,000'). 3.5 warm up on valley, then 7 up and down Towers with FCTR. Overdressed a bit to add a little heat.

Fri - Noon: 10 miles easy (1,200'). Soderberg to Well Gulch and back. Overlook/valley trails. Heat run: winter hat, gloves, long sleeve top + 80 degree temps. Got some funny looks.
PM: 6 miles easy (500') on valley trails.

Sat - AM: 18 miles (1,900'). 15.5 (25k) race, with 1 mile w-u & 1.5 c-d.

Sun - AM: 24 miles (5,300'). Horestooth/Lory outer loop, or Double Dick, as Maire likes to call it. Went from my house with Pete. We we are both planning a three-week taper for States, so we figured it would be fun to round out the heavy lifting together. Tagged Horsetooth off the bat, then went Westridge - Mill Creek - Howard - Arthur's Rock tag - Timber - Valley - Sawmill - Herrington - Spring Creek - Soderberg - home. Knew I needed 24 miles for the century on the week, so went the long way home to earn the last half mile needed (according to Pete's GPS) ... yeah, I know ...

So anyway, went pretty easy through the early going to the top of Arthurs, then picked up the pace a bit coming down on Timber. Legs felt super solid from Lory, so I hit the final climb up Sawmill/Herrington hard then easy back home from Spring Creek/Soderberg. Great way to round out a solid, solid block of training.

Total: 100 miles (17,400').

Well the work is done, the money has been deposited with the bank and hopefully come race time it will be there for withdrawal plus interest. I can safely say, I have never been fitter. Sure, I'm carrying a few niggles, but I now have three weeks to let those heal up before race day. This will be my first real taper of the year, so after all these miles I'm sure I'll be bouncing off the walls with the reduced load, but I am determined to take this taper seriously and get to the start line fresh and ready to race hard.

So now the taper is on, a quick look back at the training block since qualifying for States on January 10 at Bandera:

1. 85 miles (9,900'): 62 mile long run (6,500').
2. 40.5 miles (4,500'): 38 mile long run (4,500').
3. 53.5 miles (8,100'): 20 mile long run (1,000').
4. 53 miles (9,600'): 17.5 mile long run (1,200').
5. 25.5 miles (4,900'). Injured.
6. 34 miles (1,600'). Injured.
7. 51.5 miles (7,700'). Getting better.
8. 78 miles (19,300'). 15 miles (5,600') & 17 miles (4,300') B2B.
9. 113 miles (22,700'). 25.5 mile long run (6,200').
10. 100 miles (10,800'). 26 mile long run (4,000'): Salida Marathon.
11. 117 miles (19,600'). 27 miles (1,200') & 17.5 miles (4,300') B2B.
12. 100.5 (13,500'). 32.5 miles (4,000'): Antelope Island 50k.
13. 116 miles (11,900'). 16.5 miles (2,00').
14. 107. 5 miles (20,000'). 20 miles (5,500').
15. 110 miles (15,100'). 52 miles (8,000'): Fruita 50.
16. 108 miles (18,500'). 25 miles (7,800').
17. 129 miles (14,700'). 14, 14, 14, 14, 16.
18. 102 miles (19,600'). 25.5 miles (8,200') & 18.5 (1,000') B2B.
19. 75 miles (15,000'). 19.5 miles (4,700') & 20 miles (4,800') B2B.
20. 103 miles (20,200). 50 miles (12,200'): Jemez.
21. 116 miles (21,000'). 31 miles (7,100') & 21 miles (5,200') B2B.
22. 100 miles (17,400'). 18 miles (1,900') & 24 miles (5,300') B2B.

So 13 weeks at or above 100 miles in the last 14 weeks, with 9 weeks over 17,000 feet of climbing. A total of 17 runs over 20 miles, and 11 over 25 miles.

I'm a firm believer in consistency, and I love what I see in those numbers. Obviously those stats don't come easy, and I have had my fair share of running through pain and running with niggles, but luckily I have - by and large - come out the other end relatively pain free. I need to address some pretty consistent achilles aches and a more recent hamstring issue, but if push comes to shove I can run through this stuff without any adverse effects to performance, but I would rather not.

I know I'm fit, I know I'm strong, and most importantly I know I can run for a very long time without getting tired. Now it is time to consolidate all that with some rest & recovery. Bring on the taper.