Category: Leadville

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Week 26 – Training for Leadville

Training for Leadville

This is the last week of training before the real training starts for the 25 week training plan for Leadville. Not to say that I haven’t been pushing it; I have. Saturday’s 16 mile course was hilly with 1,123 elevation gain and a post-run recovery hike with the dog. I was sore before bed and woke up Sunday morning groggy; but not sore.

Sunday morning I couldn’t imagine running 10 miles. But after a lot of coffee and a breakfast of eggs and toast, I headed out. I completed the 10 miles and actually felt pretty good during most of it. I hiked and ran in a wintery mix, snow and rain. My heart rate has normalized on tough hills and I don’t feel like the hills are killing me anymore.

I’ve been reading so many website and blogs about gear, training and nutrition. Saturday night I ordered an Osprey hydration pack for long, mountain runs.

I’ve been watching Ryan Clayton videos: I like that he doesn’t post videos that have him explaining something while he runs. Okay, maybe he does once in a while. Ha. I like his athletic background and video style; I can learn a lot from his YouTube channel.

I also read Heather’s blog/website, Relentless Forward Commotion. I find her tips and exercise ideas really helpful as I build miles and try to get stronger.

I’m trying a new gel. I notice that some backpacker/hikers use Muir products so I thought I would give it a try. I’m typically a Hammer devotee because it works for me, but I will give it a try.

PS: I also love my Injinji socks. I wore these on my Saturday run and seriously, I didn’t even think about my feet the entire time. That has got to be a good thing.

Average Weight: 158

Average Resting Heart Rate: 50

Training Time: 9:28 (includes weight training)

Total Vert: 3,286

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The Road to Leadville: Week 27 Recap

Week 27 went well. I did all the miles on the plan: 36 miles.

Two days were spent running on the treadmill due to weather; mainly icy roads and sidewalks. But both weekend runs were outside: Saturday morning temperatures in the 30s, Sunday sunny and cold.

I smiled and was happy for 90 percent of Saturday’s 14 mile averaging 10:30 min miles which is really good for me. The course was hilly with a 933 ft. elevation gain so I’m making progress and getting stronger. I had the same pace for the Sunday 8 miler but this course was relatively flat. I’m just getting used to back-to-back runs; the 8 miler felt slow and was a bit painful. I’m ready to ramp up the miles and get back on trails.

I had a deep tissue massage on Saturday which was painful but needed.

I did weights/core three times this week and loved doing it. I’m adding more weight slowly and trying different exercises. I added Box Jumping this week.

Average Weight: 158

Average Resting Heart Rate: 48

Training Time: 7:05

Next Week’s Plan:

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Training Week 28 Recap – The Road to Leadville 100 Run

The Road To Leadville

This week I did every run on the training plan. It’s not the official plan since the Official 25 Week Leadville 100 Run training plan doesn’t start for 3 weeks but I’m getting the disciplined training down.

After running twice on the treadmill this week due to icy road and trail conditions it was great to run outside on Saturday and Sunday despite the frigid temperatures that forced me to wear a balaclava.

The treadmill is just so boring.

This week I did three weight room training sessions for the first time. This is week 4 of weight training and I started slowly with two times a week. I do feel stronger and pushups are much easier. I’m gradually adding different options and getting advice from the trainers.

I’ve been thinking that I may plan a trip to Colorado in June for the Leadville Marathon in addition to going out in July to hike Pike’s Peak with my Colorado friends. It would be good altitude training for the August 100 miler.   

The next few weeks of running look like this:

Each run during the week has a purpose:

Tuesday: Hills
Wednesday: Speed Work/Temp
Thursday: Recovery Run


I do have a little issue with my low resting heart rate and low blood pressure again. I am monitoring it and salting all my food. I just need to stay healthy and get stronger; I can do this!

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It’s a Wrap, on Winter Warrior 2019

On the coldest day of the year I walked 5 miles outside. 44th Place.

Now I can run inside if I need to, which I wasn’t doing in January to get miles in for Winter Warrior. Feb. 1 marks full-on Leadville 100 Training.

Today also marks the end of week 2 weight training. I felt comfortable doing some real weight training today with a bar for squats and some true dead lifts. I can’t wait to increase weight in the weight room next week. Feeling strong and ready for Leadville weight and run training.