Week Ending April 29

Mon - Off. Wow, picked up a stomach bug from Stella that quite literally put me on my back. I haven't been out of commission like that in quite some time. Running was completely out of the question, and with Dana knocked out too, parenting was also a near impossibility. Thankfully, Alistair found some empathy and behaved himself while the rest of us wallowed in self pity.

Tues - AM: 5 miles (1,000') easy. Falls. Miraculously, I woke up with at least some energy, and the stomach problems seemed to be largely gone. Definitely tired, but was at least able to jog.
PM: 6 miles (600') easy. Valley loop. Still tired, but jogging seemed to help.

Weds - Noon: 8 miles (2,000') easy. Horsetooth summit on Southridge/Audra, descent on Wathan/Spring Creek. Still not right, but definitely better.
PM - 6 miles (600') w/ 3 @ tempo. Jogged out to Arthurs from Soderberg on the east valley, then came back on the west valley / nomad at a solid tempo effort: 24:40 out, 18:35 back.

Thurs - AM 16 miles (3,800') fartlek. 2:28. Soderberg - Spring Creek - Towers (to top and then back down) - Shoreline - Sawmill - Loggers - Carey Springs - Towers - Secret Trail - Westridge - Rock - Audra - Southridge. Put in a tempo-type effort (if not speed) coming up Spring Creek (17:42, 3-way to Towers) and Sawmill-Loggers-Carey to Towers (19:17). Legs were pretty flat from the tempo effort yesterday, in addition to general flu fatigue.
PM: 7 miles easy. Social run with FCTR. Boom, and just like that the stomach bug was back. This was one of my more miserable runs in recent memory.

Fri - PM: 5 miles easy. Valley trails at Lory. Still not right, low energy levels, but better than the night before.

Sat - AM: 27 miles (6,000') long. Ran the Quad Rock loop from my house at a steady training pace (3:58). Original plan was to run some varied paces and push hard up the last climb, but due to continued stomach-bug bloat and low energy levels, I just plugged the whole way.  

Sun - AM: 20 miles (2,100') long. Initially I was going to complete the Quad Rock 50 course by running it in reverse after yesterday's clockwise loop, but I just couldn't face it. I was definitely feeling better, but I chose to run some faster mileage to give myself a break and get the run over with. Circumnavigated the reservoir from my house, with an attempt at connecting on the north end via a supposed (mythical) trail off the north dam. Ended up bushwhacking most of the way into Lory and down-climbing off a cliff band. Clearly, I need navigational help next time I attempt that. Bushwhack aside, most of this was at a comfortable 6:50 - 7:50 pace, with a 7:30 average.
  
PM: 5 miles (1,500') hike. Escorted my niece, Alistair and Stella up to the top of Horsetooth where we enjoyed a nice picnic and a chance encounter with Alistair's kindergarten teacher. As usual, hauling baby weight up and down Horsetooth proved to be as a good a workout as any training run.


Total: 105 miles (17,600')

Battled through a rough week with a really nasty stomach bug, but I think I'm through the worst of it. Hopefully, this week will be a nice rebound week and I'll be able to get some quality work done.

It was fun to run the Quad Rock course on Saturday. However, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor saps who'll be running the full 50 as I was finishing up my single loop. The course is plain old tough. If it's a hot day, I'm predicting high levels of carnage, and a 50-mile finisher rate close to 50 percent. Of course, I hope to be proven wrong. Plans continue to come together. We've lined up 'R&B-flavored' Lee Holiday and the Time Off for musical entertainment; Pateros Creek will be serving their English Mild, which we have dubbed the '51st Mile;' we've got a kids' course mapped out; schwag a plenty to dish out; and a nice cool reservoir to dip your tired legs in post race; oh, and a sizzling BBQ too.

Today is the last day to register. Yes, we're sold out, but due to a number of runner cancellations, we've decided to bump onto the start list anyone from the wait list who registers by tomorrow. But registration will definitively close EOD tomorrow.

And how about Team Pearlie? Dylan and Timmy sweep the top two spots at Leona, while Ashley picks up second in the women's race. With Dylan now on the start list for Western States, PI officially has a scoring team at the event (if, of course, there was a team event). On the right day, I believe that all three of us have a legitimate shot at the podium. The race is stacked like never before (seems like I've heard that before), with the international component being especially intriguing, so maybe some team dynamics might come into play. A little shoulder nudge here, a loose foot there, the team break from the peloton at a well-timed aid station. Who knows? The Big S will be bringing their star-studded cast of international runners + massive support crew, but you better believe that the Dirtbag Pearlies will be scrapping the whole way.