Week #2: June 18-24
Sunday - Drove from Denver airport to Gunnison, CO, the site of Western State Colorado University. The scenery was beautiful, with snow-capped mountains visible. Went for an easy 4.4mi at 6:52 pace this afternoon, plus some strides and stretches. 7700 ft elevation, but I did not notice much difference with the effort.
Monday - Woke up and ran a 2.2mi at 6:52 pace. Felt OK. Afterward did some stretching & core work and then ran 4.4mi at 7:00 pace in the afternoon. That last run was at 9,000 ft, and it definitely felt harder to catch my breath. Seems like we are keeping the volume low while we adjust to the altitude.
Tuesday - Woke up and ran 2.1 mi at 6:51 pace. Felt pretty good. Did really intense core work afterward. Later in the day we ran a hilly 5 miles at 6:48 pace. That one felt great! I think I'm starting to adjust to the elevation.
Wednesday - Morning run was 2.2 mi at 6:40 pace. Afterward we did lots of the usual core and flexibility. For the afternoon run, we ran 6.2 miles at 6:24 pace, which is slightly faster than my longer runs at sea level in Annapolis this past year. I'm feeling pretty good that I have been able to hold my own with the other runners here.
Thursday - Morning run was 2.2 mi at 6:32 pace. Felt OK. For the afternoon run, we ran 6 miles at 6:40 pace, on a flat, sandy road. Felt OK, but we were all a little slower today.
Friday - Morning run was 2.1 mi at 6:47 pace. For the afternoon run, we went back up to Crested Butte (elevation approx. 9,000 ft.) and ran 5 miles at 6:55 pace. Flat and windy conditions.
ALSO - Checked out out the Baltimore Sun All-Metro Track & Field team - congrats to Coach Johnnie Foreman and Gilman teammates Ayende Watson & Tory Young, as well as MIAA rivals Dalton Hengst & Lucas Wright. Hope to earn a place on that team next year.
Saturday - tough day. Woke up feeling pretty sore in my quads. Today was our long run, so we did it in the morning - 8.5 mi at 7:26 pace on a hilly course. That one felt pretty bad. I'm also not used to the intense core-work. I think my previous morning shakeouts have been a little too fast, so I'm going to ease my pace back a little bit on those short runs. The afternoon shakeout was 1.9 mi at 7:36 pace.
Every single day we did strides and stretches along with icing in a river for 15 minutes. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the work I put in this week, and I am relieved that I can handle the altitude. I am also excited to work with many elite runners who are arriving tomorrow for the next few weeks.
Total Mileage: 53.2
