Weeks of 10-24 and 10-31

Week of 10-24-11:
Monday-Wednesday: Flu. Definitely had a few bugs catch me this Fall.
Thursday: 8 miles, 1500' gain, JCC to 5-way and back.
Friday: Off, still wasn't really 100%.
Saturday: 7 miles, 1500' gain. Up north gully over ridgeline, down into Mill Creek Canyon via trail to be known as "sketchy trail" (I don't think it's named and the last bit is barely a trail. Came down the rock slide from the lookout point at the end of Pipeline, which I will never do again. Beat the crap out of my hands and forearms through repeated falls on rocks at a 70% decline. Dumb idea.
Sunday: 15 miles, 2000' gain. Up north gully over the ridgeline and down into Mill Creek Canyon via "sketchy trail". Took Pipeline to Burch Hollow Trailhead, back along road. Holly did really well for her longest run yet.
Weekly total: 30 miles, 5000' gain. Missed over half the week due to feeling absolutely horrible. Not fun.


Week of 10-31-11:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 8 miles, 2000' gain. Up north gully over the ridgeline and down into Mill Creek Canyon via "sketchy trail", dropped down Rattlesnake, back along roads, with Holly. She did pretty well.
Wednesday: 8 miles, 2000' gain, same as previous day.
Thursday: Off
Friday: Off
Saturday: 10 miles, 2500' gain. North Research Park to JCC, up dry creek (not so dry anymore... lots of snow and mud...) along BOSHO trail to the 5-way and back. Brought Holly with me, who did great, once again. My super thin Saucony gloves weren't good enough, will probably just be wearing ski gloves from here on out.
Sunday: 15 miles, 2000 gain. Up and down City Creek including as much trail as possible. Worked my butt off at near max effort for the descent, so hard that I was actually a little dizzy when I finished. Felt great to run so hard. Trail was pretty wet/snowy/muddy, but in all honesty, a bit better than expected. Top of the canyon road was a bit icy in spots, but also a bit less snowy than expected. Semi-interestingly, one of my gels froze a bit. Today reminded me what winter long runs are all about. :)

Total: 41 miles, 8500' gain. Not huge totals, but I've honestly had a bit of a hard time getting out in the cold. Not to mention that, but I'm cutting calories to be back to exactly 160 pounds by the time I race Around the Years 24 hour at the end of December (yes, I am officially registered as of tonight), so this has taken a toll on my energy levels. Weight is coming down, but it's not really that fun to be so careful with eating. In any case, I figure that I'm better off finally being at race weight with less miles in my legs than having extra weight to lug around, even with better training. In any case, time to run some real mileage, or at least as much as possible over the next 7 weeks.