Blogolicious

I know, I know...I've been neglecting you, my faithful blog readers. So tonight you are getting a mack daddy blog, the most blogolicious of all blogs to date. A lot has happened since my last blog on June 3. I'll put the details in titled segments so you can skip the parts of which you are not interested.

June 8 - Rocky Mountain Half Marathon - Ok, I've had enough of the cold and rain on race day. A gorgeous week turned to crap on this particular Sunday. Hmmm...sounds familiar. Planning on using my time in this half as a platform for then next 13 weeks of training, I was looking forward to seeing how I could do. However, a minor mental breakdown set off by weather induced flashbacks from Brookings set me into a tailspin. I ran a good 10 minutes slower than expected based on training runs. Is it possible to get mental hypothermia? If so, I had it. I felt fatigued almost from the start although I believe that I had plenty of rest. I do know that I started off faster than I should have (surprise surprise), and had no idea what my actual pace was through the first 5 miles or so through the downtown Denver streets. It seems my Garmin does not like tall buildings and takes on a crazy bounce. I was getting pace readings of 3 min/mile while going up hill, followed by 20 some min/mile (slow walk pace) while going downhill. Regardless of the Garmin and my own poor pace setting, I felt like the weather...CRAP. What did I learn from this? 1) Start off slower (this is an ongoing lesson for me); 2) don't wear the Garmin and just let my body dictate the pace; 3) don't worry about the stupid weather; 4) HAVE FUN.

June 14 - Scott & Kathleen's Wedding - Absolutely gorgeous! Scott & Kathleen have been friends of ours for a number of years. Scott and Sargent met while training for an Ironman triathlon, and Scott and Kathleen met while training for a race. The wedding was held at Red Rocks, a perfect setting for the union of two remarkable people. Scott and Kathleen are Scout's wonderful caretakers when we go out of town. We were glad to be able to share this lovely day with them. I've added the song "The Story" to the playlist in honor of this couple. The song was sung at the wedding. Enjoy the pics.

June 16-20 - Family Road Trip - Grand Canyon, Glen Canyon Dam, Arches National Park - My dad, step mom, sister Lori, niece Emily and I all loaded up my dad's minivan and drove through CO, UT, and AZ to take in the sights. The whirlwind tour (not to be confused with the Grizwald's Vacation) brought us to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for a nice look a the big ditch, the Glen Canyon Dam of Lake Powell creation for a dam tour and some dam pictures, and Arches National Park near Moab. The trip allowed us to spend some quality time together without the distractions of everyday life. This is something I can't readily do since I live 700 miles away from the rest of my immediate family. Thanks, Dad, for getting us all together and making this trip happen. (My dad is good like that).

Training Plan (aptly labeled "part deux") - I finally received my training plan. I ordered this 12 week plan over a month ago from Greg McMillan at http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/ After 4 weeks of anticipation, the plan arrived. He has laid out a good mix of speed work, distance, and recovery runs. I'll follow this plan to the best of my ability, I'll stay within his expertly guided pace zones and hopefully the results I am looking for will come to fruition.

Back in the saddle again

Sargent's been bugging me for a couple of weeks to post a blog. It seems he is sick of seeing himself all stretched out with Scout as the first thing that pops up when opening this blog. I guess I've been holding off because I'm not sure what you want to know.
After Brookings I took a week off of running. I was planning on doing a 10 mile race in Durango on May 23rd but my calves were still shot from being cramped for 15 miles. I just re-read that sentence...it sounds like a scene from a cattle drive in which things go terribly wrong and the baby cows have to be put out of their misery. Anyway, a hilly race just wasn't in the cards for that weekend. So Scout and I hung out while Sargent and his friends did some riding and racing.

Here are some great pictures from the weekend. The first one is of the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde. The others are of the sun setting behind the Collegiate Peaks just north of Salida near Buena Vista.

I've been doing some easy runs - from 3 to 8 miles with a couple of tempo runs worked in there this week and last. I hope to do the Rocky Mountain Half Marathon on June 8th. My goal for that race is just to see where I am fitness wise and hope my legs hold out and don't seize up. After that, I'll focus on training for the Skagit Flats Marathon in Burlington, WA on Sept. 7th.

One more picture for the album...this is my cousin Anne's new baby, Jessie. Isn't she just the cutest little peanut? She was only a couple of hours old in this picture. I have some of her with the proud new parents too but they might not want me to post them for all to see. Jessie won't object...at least not until she becomes a teenager.