Monday: Monday morning dawned (metaphorically, since it was still dark out) delightfully snowy.  We got about 4″ of snow overnight, and it was still falling when my alarm went off at 5 am.  I felt pretty perky this morning and grabbed my running gear to get onto the treadmill and knock out a couple solid miles before work.  Unfortunately, my legs had other plans.  I felt like total crap.  It was one of those runs where every step was a struggle.  So I slogged through for a grand total of 1.5 miles and then walked a bit, and headed to the kitchen for breakfast.  Not the best start to my day, but it was better than nothing.  After a ridiculous drive to work (as we live in the mountains, we have to drive down one of the canyons to get to work, and the drive that normally takes 25 minutes took us 2.5 hours because we got stuck waiting for a vehicle that was blocking the road to get moved, and everything was an epic shitshow of slipping and sliding), and a crappy morning run, it would have been pretty easy to just retreat to our mountain hermitage, put on some PJs and curl under a blanket for the evening.  But rather than throwing in the towel, I managed to hop back in the treadmill later that night and knock out another 3.5 miles that felt really strong, so I was pretty pleased with that.  My ankle was sore from when I rolled it and faceplanted in the driveway the day before, but it wasn’t anything that was going to keep me from running.  Mostly I just need to make sure I don’t sit funny and bend it weird.  All in all, what started out as a pretty crummy day turned out to be a semi-decent 5 miles with a bit of a push for the last mile or two to increase my pace and get things moving.  So not bad.  Today’s treadmill movies (all Ginger Runner): Training for TransRockies 2016 Episode 1 and Episode 2 (my favorite, as they were in Boulder for this one and on some of my favorite local trails), GNGRBTS # 14: Trail Running of Orcas Island, 2014 Sean O’Brien 50 mi/50 k/26.2 race, Chasing Western: The 2015 Gorge Waterfalls 100k (featuring a win by the awesome Michele Yates!), and Training for Squamish – Episode 1

Tuesday: Rest day!

Wednesday: I resisted the 5 am desire to just crawl back into bed (I think I’m getting better at this!) and quickly grabbed my running clothes.  This morning was a quick 3.1 miles on the treadmill, trying to increase my pace each mile.  I’ve gotten comfortable with the moderate jog pace of trail ultras, and I’m trying to use the treadmill to push myself for some speed again.  It’s a slow evolution, but I’m seeing improvement.  After work, I busted my new Milestone Pod out of the box and got it set up.  I ordered this a couple days ago after hearing some friends rave about the metrics and biomechanics feedback.  Of course, there was no way I was waiting until the next morning to try this thing out, so it was back to the treadmill for another 3.1 miles.  The pod was spot on with my garmin distance, so that was pretty good.  And I really liked the metrics.  It will be interesting to see the feedback from these over the next few weeks.  I’ll write up a full review once I’ve had a chance to use it for a bit.  Today’s treadmill viewing (all Ginger Runner again… I’m sensing a theme here): Training for Squamish – Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, and Episode 5, Running 100k – the 2013 Cuyamaca 100k, and The 2014 Gorge 50k & 100k Behind the Scenes.

Thursday: Running with Kaitlyn day!  We like to meet up some morning each week and do a run around Boulder, and today was the day.  Kaitlyn has been ready to start pushing her distance a bit more, so we ended up doing 5 miles along the Boulder Creek Bike path before work at a comfortable pace.  Originally, I was going to run on my own and do some speedwork afterwards, but it was way hotter out than I anticipated and I was feeling pretty wiped by the end, so I left it at a nice 5 miles for the day.

Friday: Rest/fieldwork prep day!

Saturday: Kaitlyn and I made a game time decision Saturday morning to scrap our high mountain run near my house (8400″, where it was 30*, windy, and snowing) for a fantastic 10 miler in the Boulder front range.  We had a great day knocking out Kaitlyn’s first double-digit run up Bear Canyon to Green Mt. and then back down.  2000″ of climbing in 5 miles and then bombing back down to the trailhead.  The weather was perfect, and we finished up right as the winds were picking up and getting crazy.  Kaitlyn did awesome and I had a fantastic time too!  Then it was home to pack for fieldwork and get myself situated for the week ahead.

Sunday: This is completely a guess, since I’m writing it ahead of time.  I’m going to try to wake up early enough to get at least 3 miles in on the treadmill before having to head out to Utah for fieldwork.  I’ll be out in the field for most of this coming week, pretending to be a Mars rover (more information on my work page), so I’ll get lots of hiking in at least.  Hopefully some post-field day runs too.

What worked well: I think I’ve got my food pretty on point now, and I’m feeling strong in my workouts.  Focusing on consistency has been working well, even if it’s just a couple miles on the treadmill to squeeze something in.  Also, running with Kaitlyn has been great and I really look forward to it each week.

What I struggled with: My ankle is hurting quite a bit from when I bit it in the driveway last weekend, so that’s annoying.  But it’s not debilitating.  Overall, it was a pretty good week.

What I will do to improve next week: Continue with consistency, and get more time on trails (yay!) since I’ll be out in Utah for fieldwork (double yay)!

Total weekly mileage: 29.3 mi, assuming I get in the 3 mi on Sunday morning before fieldwork.