May 2014

Blue Sky Trail

May has brought big changes. We moved across the country to Colorado. Since the terrain here is much different I’ve added ascent to my Running and Cycling charts below


Running

Horsetooth

The problem with racing is that it interferes with training. In May I took some time off from racing and as a result I put in a serious block of training. I took a few days off in the middle of the month for our move, then hit the ground running in Colorado. I ran more miles in May than any other month on record, while at the same time putting in more ascent. While my typical 9-10 mile training runs in Saint Louis contained about 400 ft of ascent, the corresponding training runs here contain about 1000-2000 ft (depending on whether I choose an easy route or a hard route). I typically run more hilly routes on the weekends as well, and that hasn’t changed.

As I prepare to start racing out here I face three big challenges.

  1. The elevation. I’ve lived my whole life basically at sea level, so running a mile above sea level now is quite a bit more difficult. Each day feels a little bit easier though.

  2. The uphills. Running uphill is not my strong suit. Now with more opportunities I’m working hard to improve.

  3. The competition. There’s a much higher concentration of great runners here than there is in Illinois or Missouri (and who can blame them?). I can’t really do much about that, so I’ll have to raise my game to stay competitive.

Month Workouts Total Dist Avg Dist Total Ascent Avg Ascent
January 19 192.03 miles 10.11 miles 9620. feet 506.32 feet
February 19 227.4 miles 11.97 miles 12301. feet 647.42 feet
March 17 192.96 miles 11.35 miles 10819. feet 636.41 feet
April 15 155.20 miles 10.35 miles 10947. feet 729.80 feet
May 24 252.5 miles 10.52 miles 20364. feet 848.5 feet
Total 95 1030.34 miles 10.85 miles 65253. feet 686.87 feet

Running 2014 5


Cycling

Race

While the hills are much bigger here in Fort Collins, there is also much more flat ground as well. Nearly everything in Saint Louis is rolling hills, while here it’s at either end of the spectrum. I haven’t been out on my bike as much as I’d like, due to, um, scheduling conflicts with my running.

Month Workouts Total Dist Avg Dist Total Ascent Avg Ascent
January 4 64.74 miles 16.19 miles 1114. feet 278.5 feet
February 1 15.9 miles 15.9 miles 0. feet 0. feet
March 2 51.18 miles 25.59 miles 2115. feet 1057.5 feet
April 6 148.91 miles 24.82 miles 6250. feet 1041.67 feet
May 4 73.05 miles 18.26 miles 2810. feet 702.5 feet
Total 18 372.34 miles 20.69 miles 13444. feet 746.89 feet

Cycling 2014 5


Walking/Hiking

Trash

Month Workouts Total Dist Avg Dist
January 11 27.72 miles 2.52 miles
February 11 26.8 miles 2.44 miles
March 11 32.72 miles 2.97 miles
April 23 64.33 miles 2.80 miles
May 20 57.9 miles 2.9 miles
Total 77 213.97 miles 2.78 miles

Walking 2014 5