November 9, 2008 |

Holy moly finally a weekly update

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Stay on target. ~ Gold Five

Aw crap. Did I just quote Star Wars?!?!



Ok… the last couple of weeks were just nuts so I am finally getting around to a weekly summary. It is spotty, at best, so bear with me a little.


Anyway, needless to say, I have been pretty stressed. Working the campaign, several client projects, and trying to get back in the groove of training. “Busy” doesn’t begin to describe… So here is a feeble attempt to reenact the last couple of weeks — for your reading pleasure:


  • Sunday 10/26: Obama rally in Denver.
  • Monday 10/27: South Beaver run, 8 miles, 1:08. Felt like hammered crap. Couldn’t keep my heartrate down to save my life. Post race, I have really been struggling. I am going to lose the nail on my right index toe and my left index toe appears to have a bit of tissue damage that I am going to have to treat with rest and ice. It’ll get better and there is nothing wrong with a little rest.
  • Tuesday 10/28: Swim, 00:30. Just getting my low-impact on.
  • Wednesday 10/29: SKI DAY #1, 1:30. Toe was killing me but Pete and I had a great time at the Basin. More swimming, 00:42.
  • Friday 10/31: Halloween swim, 00:42. Not eaten by any zombie sharks.
  • Saturday 11/1: Swim, 00:45. I am getting better at this but am not a huge fan.
  • Sunday 11/2: Ran on the track, 2 miles then swam for about 30 minutes.
  • Monday 11/3: Lifted weights and swam a bit, 00:45. Cold and windy up here so I went to the gym for a bit.
  • Tuesday 11/4: Election day recovery run, 6 miles on the track, 00:48. Felt ok, not great. I was working the election for most of the day then did my run, swam a little, then worked some more and listened for the results. Needless to say, by the end of the day I was exhausted but thrilled to death to have a new President. Rach made phone calls to people all across the country to GOTV. I can’t wait until January 20th.
  • Wednesday 11/5: Aero run on the track with strides and barefoot, 9.5 miles, 1:12. Finally a great post-race run. Took awhile but I felt awesome and kept a solid 8-minute pace throughout. Did strides at every mile and then did 1/2 mile of barefoot. I think this is the fastest 9 miles I have run and running barefoot was actually kinda cool. Swam for a bit afterwards.
  • Thursday 11/6: Sat in front of the computer. Ugh.
  • Friday 11/7: Aero run with strides and a couple fast miles, 9+ miles, 1:10. Ran at the track, late in the evening because work took up the rest of my day. I felt great, actually, and was able to keep the HR down even at an 8-minute pace. Started doing strides at every mile then tossed in sub 7 miles at mile 7 and 9. Feeling really solid. Swam for about 15 afterwards to cool down.
  • Saturday 11/8: Recovery run in the woods, 5 miles, 00:47. Didn’t feel so red hot today but given the last couple of efforts, I am okay with that. First time outdoors for awhile and it was nice to get back out to nature.


All in all, I am feeling more and more recovered and am getting back in the swing of things. With the marathon in about 4 weeks, I am feeling fairly confident. I am not really looking forward to the aftermath but am hoping that my second foray onto the tarmac will be a little less painful. Very enthusiastic about laying down solid 8-minute miles without killing myself. Skiing is going to be a real distraction and work has been slaying me of late but I think I can manage to stay focused and do well at Vegas.


The Community Center has been a really awesome resource. Psyched I gave it a whirl. I anticipate spending some time there over the winter staying in good running shape.


Thoughtful strategy. Practical execution.

Clear thinking, honest perspectives, and experience shaped by years of doing the work. No shortcuts, no borrowed opinions, just lessons learned by showing up, solving problems, and following ideas all the way through.

Four hikers with backpacks walking along a rocky mountain ridge under a blue sky
May 8, 2026
We are each our own greatest inhibitor. People don’t want to do new things if they think they’re going to be bad at them or people are going to laugh at them. You have to be willing to subject yourself to failure, to be bad, to fall on your head and do it again, and try stuff that you’ve never done in order to be the best you can be. ~ Laird Hamilton Yesterday: Hit Range Balls/Hike – Casa del Critters, 1:15 Today: Run – GGCSP, ~2 hours Tomorrow: Ride – Somewhere singlespeedy, ~2 hours Yesterday, Rach and I took a nice stroll in the woods around our house. The songbirds were going crazy-nuts and surprisingly, we only saw one other person walking his dog. I love where we live – close proximity to fun trails and the ability to get away from it all in just a short walk from our house. During lunch yesterday, I went to the driving range to get a few cuts in before playing a round of golf with my dad next week. I don’t get to play very often so need to brush up on my skills (or lack thereof) whenever I can. I am looking forward to playing with my pops and hope to break 100. I shot a 102 the last time I played so I am within striking distance of the sub-triple-digit score. We’ll see how things go. I usually do okay for most of the round and then fall apart on a couple of holes pushing my score way up. Dad shoots in the low 80s usually (I think). I am not sure I will ever play enough to be that good but it is fun to get out on the course now and again. I also went to see Dr. Paul yesterday for my ankle problem (which seems to have been resolved) and my knee (which is still a bit swollen but has decreased in size markedly over the past several days). The knee stems from my unscheduled nose-dive back in May (see this post for details). The shot some pictures and believe that everything is a-ok so that was good news. I just need to select better places for splashdowns in the future. And today is Luke’s birthday. Age is one place where I will always beat him but visit his blog to congratulate him on trying to catch up. Until next time…
Runner silhouetted at sunset on a rocky trail, mid-stride between hills.
May 8, 2026
Progress comes from the intelligent use of experience. ~ Elbert Hubbard Yesterday: Run – Casa del Critters/Flume, 1 hour 15 minutes Today: Ride/Hike/Relax Tomorrow: Run/Hike – Pawnee/Buchanan Passes, 6 hours? Yesterday I ran around the house. Not literally, mind you, but in the neighborhood. It was a gorgeous evening – calm, cool. Perfect. The wildflowers are really starting to take off up here and I was treated with a bold display of color throughout my run. Tons of Columbine lined the trailside as I ran on old mining roads and singletrack trails. It is really fun to see how much differently I am able to handle familiar terrain. I used to have difficulties running this loop and would have to walk major sections. Last night, I ran the entire loop without trouble and was able to moderate my speed to maintain a steady cadence through the run. Good times. Contracting is staying steady. A bit of a drop-off this week given the holiday but I am still managing to put in a decent number of hours. I picked up another new project today and will need to get started immediately to ensure that it gets completed on time.  Tomorrow, we are going to head up Pawnee Pass and loop back around to Buchanan Pass in the northern Indian Peaks Wilderness. This should be a fun challenge as we’ll get up pretty high, have to navigate some snow (most likely) and will be out for quite awhile. I am looking forward to it for sure . Movie time: I forgot to mention Shopgirl, a Steve Martin vehicle, we watched the other night. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but found this to be a charming film about loneliness. It was well acted and would recommend it for sure. The pacing is steady throughout and some might find it a little on the slow side but it was an engaging film that had a lot to say without being overly sappy.
Hands holding a tablet displaying a video player interface. The video is paused.
February 20, 2026
In case you hadn’t seen these (and also for my friends at Adventure Film ), here are a couple of must-see running movies from Joel Wolpert:  Geoff Roes: Slogging to the Top