September 7, 2008 |

The week in review

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Man, just ’cause it’s a theme song don’t make it not true. ~ Kirk Lazarus


You read about my debacle last Sunday… the rest of the week went relatively well considering the hurt I tossed on myself. I screwed up by getting off my gameplan a bit in the later part of the week but felt okay most of the time. So I certainly am not going to complain any.


I rested up on Monday then did a “road” loop up by my house with some strides. Since the terrain up here is hilly, sometimes running strides can get a bit tricky. Either up or down, the undulation provides for some excitement. Technically, strides are supposed to be run at 5 or 10K pace. This is challenging enough when one doesn’t know their 5 or 10K pace — toss in a hill or two and things get really exciting. So basically, I just throttle it up a notch or three for what feels like 100 meters and call it good. Repeat, rest, repeat, try not to completely blow up. I definitely was still feeling Sunday a bit on Tuesday but the session went well.


Wednesday I needed to head down to Boulder for a film festival jury session so I went early and met up with Pete for a recovery run. Pretty much the perfect duration and tempo and it was great company. We just ran from his place over to the Boulder Creek path then up to Eben G. Fine (I think it’s “G”) then back at a steady, conversational pace. Perfect.


I had planned to do a 10-mile aero run on Thursday but the day got away from me then I headed to Boulder on Friday to try to do a make-up run but forgot my bottle, the weather was crap and Rach wasn’t feeling well so I bailed and just took the day off. Which left Saturday for fun and/or games. A 4-mile recovery run was on deck but I opted for a 13-mile loop mostly on pavement. This was supposed to be an aero run but screw it, I turned it into just a steady pace run. Push it on downhills to an approximate aero pace then try to keep a low 10 or better uphill. Probably too hard but it was fun. I did the loop at about a 3:40 marathon pace which is encouraging. At least that is what I am telling myself so please, don’t let me in on it if I am full of it.


As I said earlier, Rach hasn’t been feeling so hot of late but she is such an awesome pants that she went into the shelter today to help with a bunny massage class and meet with some volunteers. Someone accidentally locked her keys in her car so I jammed down on the cycle to unlock her car for her and then was just able to make it to a screening of Tropic Thunder. Pretty funny, I must say. Not the best movie ever by any stretch of the imagination but if you want to just kick back and be entertained for an hour and a half, I recommend it.


Tomorrow we head back to the shelter to clean runs and then will probably come back up to the hills where I’ll try to throw down a 15 miler. I may head to the dirt for this one or just head over to Mag or Rollins Pass and do something on the less technical terrain they offer. Haven’t decided yet. As always, I’ll keep you posted.



Today’s advice: Don’t punch anything harder than your hand. (That doesn’t relate to anything, I’m just sayin’ is all.)


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