Monday August 20 - Sunday August 26

Monday: 2 mile walk to Kabuki
Tuesday: 5.5 mile run in Glenn Park Canyon.
Wednesday: Ran to the gym (3.5) and did TRX and Spin tonight. Great sessions and great effort.
Thursday: 2.5 mile walk to the shop.
Friday: 2.7 mile run from the shop 22 minutes at 7:20 min/mile felt great.
Saturday: Ran to the gym and did boot Camp & Spin this morning. Great effort considering the 3.5 mile run to the gym prior. Walked to work after (1.5).
Sunday: 2.5 mile run from the shop.

totals: 
                Run: 15 miles
                Walk/hike: 6 miles
                Gym: 1 TRX, 2 spin, 1 boot camp
                Bike: 2 sessions of both classes.

Monday August 13 - Sunday August 19

Monday: 2 mile run to CCSF Track and a session of dynamic stretches.
Tuesday: 2 mile run at CCSF Track and a dynamic stretch session.
Wednesday: TRX & Spin, excellent workout. Great energy, great people, great effort.
Thursday: Walked to work on my minimalist shoes and worked with them all day (2.5 miles).
Friday: Walked to and from work on my minimalist shoes (5 miles)
Saturday: Boot Camp and spin this morning, EXCELLENT workout. My best effort in months considering my body was not responding well.
Sunday: Off

                   totals:
                                  Running: 4 miles
                                  Walking/Hiking: 7.5 miles
                                  Gym: 2 sessions of both classes
                                  Biking: 45 min. Spin

Monday August 6 - Sunday August 12

Monday: Off
Tuesday: Light run to stretch from the race on sunday.
Wednesday: Off, hanging out with Marcela.
Thursday: Off
Friday: Light run at Glen Park Canyon with Karla and Kat. 2 miles or so.
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 5 mile early walk home from Mike's place on Sunset.

Slow week following Steep Ravine, Recuperating and hosted Kathy this week.

Steep Ravine 50k

Started out as a nice cool foggy morning perfect for running. It was such the pleasant weather that i got in a good flow and left most of the other runners behind, the problem in that however was that i didn't know the trails around the Muir woods or Stinson Beach enough to be on the lead. What happened next is a blessing in disguise, i took a wrong turn about mile 14 and my race was over. I crossed the finish line at 4:46 minutes with 28 or so miles under my belt and a DNF "did not finish". I waited at the finish line for the 50k finishers and they got in at around 5:40, what a bummer for me and great for them.

What i learned from this is that i need to get better at doing my homework about the races as i register for them and not line toe to toe with the big dis-advantage of not knowing squat about the coarse to come.

The following are things to prepare for about a race:

• Study the trail maps weeks before the race if possible.
• Talk to the race directors before the race and confirm the coarse on the website.
• Get familiar with the trails as much as possible before the race and run these trails and especially the different turns and turnarounds. 

This has come at a good time as i would have been disappointed at this happening to me in the middle of say The North Face Endurance Challenge in December or the Mt. Diablo Challenge. Not to talk down about Coastal Trail Runs, Steep Ravine or Wendell and his races, they do a fantastic job at organizing these races for us to enjoy. I just say this because i see these two latter races as a bigger challenge for me at this point in my racing/running. Focusing on these two races this year, what i learned from this event is so valuable and is going to give me that much more experience on executing race strategy. 

The Running was excellent. I felt great, the course was a moderate to tough coarse for the area events and i think i felt very comfortable without experiencing any significant low points at any point on the race. At some points i even pushed-it up a notch because i felt the need for speed but it was a single random isolated time. 

Overall, great event, great coarse, good people. Thanks to Wendell, Coastal Trail Runs Race Director for the free t-shirt and the hot soup after the race. 

Credit to Coastal Trail Runs for the nice finish line picture.

Monday July 30 - Sunday August 5

Monday: 7 mile run from Whales Cove to North Peak of Pedro Mountain. Ran slower than normal on my way up the hill and bit faster on the down-hill. Felt ok, maybe a bit exhausted. For some reason my thyroid or something in my lower neck felt like it was closing up. It felt like sometimes when i drink pills with not enough water and the pill does not go down all the way and stays in the upper esophagus. Like that i felt like i had something i needed to get down with some water or as flem. A whole lot of flem kept coming out of there so i had get it out and spit it.
Tuesday: 5 mile run to and from the coffee shop. Felt good, nothing to point or worry about.
Wednesday: Ran to VM for TRX/Spin classes. 4.5 mile run at moderate speed. Felt great during Tony's TRX and John's spin. 15 minute ad-ductors stretch. Nothing important to point out, just business as usual.
Thursday: Walked to the coffee shop and back on my amphibians minimalist shoes on my way back (5 miles).
Friday: Off from activity, walked to Potrero and 24th st. (2 miles)today and to my surprise i felt a bit of tingling sensations on my VMO's. Never felt this before but due to the intensity of the last two weeks is understandable to feel this way.
Saturday:
Sunday: Steep Ravine 50k race (went off coarse and as a consequence got a DNF, did not finish). Completed 29 miles 

totals:
                             Running: 45.5 miles
                             Walking/hiking: 7 miles
                             Biking: 1 bike session at VM
                             Gym: 1 TRX, 1 spin sessions at VM