First training week recap

I just wrapped up my first week of training for the Quad Rock. I spent 5 hours running 29.4 miles on 5 different days and did another hour of cycling (not counting all commuting) and 40 minutes of non-running cardio exercise (rowing and elliptical). I pushed myself hard in a small group class at Become Fit (my favorite gym), adding a little more weight to my split squats. I did the deep stretch "yin" yoga at my local fitness center on Tuesday after my cardio workout and did the heated vinyasa "flow" class on Friday, my no-running day. The weather has been cool this week, but mostly dry and sunny, so I've enjoyed being out on the paved bike path and on the singletrack in the city's Pineridge and Maxwell natural areas.

Thursday night I waited until after dark to run; I'm going to have to do more running in the evening to get in my miles, and the sooner I get accustomed to this, the better. I also expect to be running the first ninety minutes, and first big climb and descent, of the Quad Rock in the darkness before dawn. I got a new headlamp and it works just fine. It's fun to look up as I run down the Spring Creek Trail and see the glowing beady eyes of raccoons.

My winter running gear for dry to light snow, 25-35 °F conditions consists of Patagonia Crosstrek pants (two thumbs up) that I bought at the REI store in Fort Collins and the Quechua softshell trekking jacket I got at the Decathlon store in Montpellier (1 thumb up, could be more breathable). On paved trails, I'm wearing Aisics Gel Kayanos, and on dirt and snow I'm wearing Nike's Terra Kiger 4. I took my New Balance Hierros out last weekend and found them to be terrible on ice. The Nikes have a grippy "clown puke" sole and I've got one pair in orange and one pair in a blue forest print.