Apex Trail

I have been meaning to blog about my favorite trail runs, but I always forget my camera. So today when my friend and I decided to run the Apex trail in Golden, CO and I actually remembered my camera and decided to document the run.

First of all this one is about 20 minutes from my house so pretty easy to get to. We haven't gotten much snow this winter so it was runable today!




My friend Jamie :) At the beginning.

One perk is that there is a porta potty at the trailhead.

Today our run was 5.75 miles and average pace was around 12 minute miles with a 1200 ft elevation gain.
It was 27 degrees when we started and by the end it was in the 40's.

The loop we did today was rolling so worked hard on the climbs and enjoyed the downhills except on the snowy/icy sections.

Lots of rocks.



At the top



More views from the top...



Heading down....

We usually see lots of wildlife while trail running!

Great trail run today!

 Overall a great day to trail run in Colorado!

How often do you trail run?

How far are you willing to drive to a trailhead?

Increasing mileage....little by little

My new BFF is my treadmill.

A Monday, Wednesday or Friday morning during a work week looks something like this:

I set my alarm for 4:55 am chug some water and push snooze once.

I have my usually mismatching running outfit laid out on the bathroom floor and then head to the basement to start my day.

I turn on the TV and DVD player and while (currently) season 6 of FRIENDS starts up I put on my shoes and I am on the treadmill.

I usually am starting by 5:10 -5:15

My first mile is SLOW....usually in the 10's but sometimes a high 9.

After that I start speeding things up.

Every workout is different...somedays I just run in the 9's and somedays I go faster after every quarter. Somedays I do 800's or 400's and others a tempo. I usually have the incline at 1%.

I need to start getting ready for work by 5:55 so usually get 3.5-4.25 miles in depending how I am feeling. When I feel good I get in 4-4.25 miles with an 8 something average (including the 10 minute mile).

By working on speed and tempos on the treadmill I have improved my 5k time by quite a bit.

When I am on the treadmill I don't have the fear as much as I do as when I run outside for speed workouts. I seem to push myself more on the treadmill.

I have never run more than 5 miles on the treadmill and am not sure if I ever will. I get my long runs in outside on the weekends.

I am trying to increase my mileage with adding in a 3 mile run after work on trails with co-workers one day a week.  I also will need to add another weekday 3-4 mile run after work. The double days are pretty fun so far :)

The first week of 2103 I ran 20 miles!

The next week only 13 as I had to bike one day because I felt something weird in my leg.

This week I will go back to 20.

The week after I have 23-25 planned

And after that 27+

I plan to run then an easier week.

Eventually I would like to stay consistent and have weekly mileage of 25-30 with an 8-10 mile run on either Saturday or Sunday. The weekend runs are a variety of either trail, dirt paths or roads. My body can't handle too much more than that...

I used to despise the treadmill but with my busy work schedule I cherish the mornings I run on it.

I don't bail on the treadmill either as I have gotten older my brain doesn't seem to have as many commitment issues with working out :)

The only thing is sometimes a girlfriend and I will meet up at 5am outside and run but until the weather gets nicer I am very content with running in my basement!


Do you have a treadmill at home?

What do you watch or listen to while on the treadmill?

2012...a good year

2012 was a great year for me and I think 2013 will even be better! I think I have better odd years and since my birthday is on the 13th (of February) then 2013 should be awesome!!!

A few highlights from 2012:

In January I went with an awesome group of ladies to Houston to watch the Olympic marathon trials and then ran the marathon the next day. I hadn't ran a marathon since 2005 and had a great experience!

February I participated in the Nighthawks program at Eldora ski resort and snow shoed at night. This made the winter go by so fast. I enjoyed snow shoeing at night in the cold more than ever! I can't wait for Nighthawks 2013!

In March my husband and I traveled to Sedona, AZ and had a great week of exploring, hiking and relaxing.

I ran a half marathon in May and in April while training my career world changed quickly and I got a new job! I didn't train as much as I wanted to. I most likely will run the Palisade half marathon in 2013.

In the summer we had my dad and step mom come and visit and showed them a great Colorado time.
We also road tripped to South Dakota and Santa Fe, NM

We hiked 12 14er's the most that we have ever hiked in a season! My favorite was our Chicago Basin trip. One of the hardest things I have done.

August we traveled to Charleston, S.C for my step sisters wedding and had an amazing time.

In the mix also was lots of biking, thrifting/antiquing, Colorado road trips and fun adventures.

Running...

I ended 2012 on a high note with a 5k in November (22:34) and a great 10k in December (47:24). I was thinking I hadn't raced in awhile and wanted to run one a month for the next few months.

The 10k I was very pleased with as my splits were very consistent. I am usually not a consistent runner and my splits were between 7:38-7:42! I also placed 8th in my age group and there were some great sponsored athletes. I wanted top 10 so I was happy with 8th. The course was a little icy so I feel like I can still improve my 10k time.

I started 2013 with a fast 5k in my neighborhood (22:34 same time as race in November..WEIRD). I had run the same race/course last year and was 56 seconds faster this year!I also miraculously ran a negative split!

I think this is because I have been doing more tempo runs and my overall fitness is improving! I am so happy. Next goal break 22 minutes!

For now my 2013 goals are to run a race a month. I also plan to run a half marathon in May.

Happy 2013!