I had big plans for week eleven and then came down with a cold. My Wednesday workout's mediocre feeling was the first indication. The rest of the week I shifted into recovery rides and easy runs.

• 10 hours, 23 minutes all training

• 19.2 miles running

• 2,306 ft D+ running

It wasn't a terrible week, to be clear. I didn't fall apart physically, or anything like that. My concern is that it was the first week where I didn't progress very much in my Quad Rock training season.

I'm squishing four weeks worth of recap into this one post.

First, the numbers.

• 40 hours, 32 minutes all training

• 99 miles running

• 15,600 ft D+ running (and treadmill)

I'm less concerned with miles than I used to be, but I'm still writing these numbers down for continuity's sake.

I'm running four days a week and riding or other cross-training 2-3 days. Two of my runs are easy, but not slow. One has some high intensity intervals or hill sprints. The other is a 2-3 hour run with 45-60 minutes of tempo pace in the middle. My top speed hasn't increased in the past four weeks, but my easy pace has improved a lot. With five more weeks of training ahead before I begin to taper off, I'm looking forward to getting even faster at zones 2 and 3.

I've been switching between potential race shoes on my faster and longer runs. While the Hoka Tecton X 3 are growing on me, and the Kjerag are fun, I'm 99% sure that I'll run Quad Rock 25 in La Sportiva Prodigio Pros. They're well suited to the course, fit me well, and feel stable, fast, and adequately cushioned.

My favorite run of March was a Friday afternoon outing in Lory State Park with my friend, Dana. He's not training for any event, but is naturally faster than me, so our runs are a great opportunity to go a little harder. On this occasion we did two warm up miles in the valley and then went rapidly up Quad Rock climb no. 3 and quickly down descent no. 3 to what will be the finish on race day. I recorded segment times that were only a few seconds off my personal bests, and wasn't wrecked afterwards.

Last Sunday I went out by myself and ran through the first and second Quad Rock climbs (and matching descents). My calves and hamstrings cramped after a long, hard push in the middle of the run, and I struggled for the last four miles. That's the first time this season, a good reminder to fuel better on my long runs.

30 minutes of mobility and core strength exercises every morning are keeping my body in good shape. I've no Achilles tendinitis. My hips and back are pain free. No foot trouble. Inflammation and swelling in my right knee is troubling, but I'm keeping it in check with ice and, sometimes, ibuprofen. I hear that some people benefit from tart cherry extract as a supplement, and I'm going to give that a try.

After a couple years of being injured, I'm grateful to be close to 100 percent. It feels good.

I ran four times, did one elliptical recovery spin on cold day, a recovery bike ride, one weight-lifting session, one yoga class, and the daily mobility and core workout six times.

• 12 hours, 56 minutes all training

• 27.2 miles running

• 6,100 ft D+ running *

I put an asterisk by the elevation gain, because two-thirds of this was on a treadmill during interval workouts. There were no matching descents, and that's the toughest part of running in the mountains.

Running uphill is hard, but also relatively low impact. That's a win-win for my training. I'm doing almost all of my intense running right now at 10-12%, on a treadmill or steep road. In week six, I did 27 minutes of hard 30/30 running. Running on an 8% incline at an 11 minutes per mile pace felt more fun than going slower on a steeper setting. I'll do more of this.

I'm adjusting my Quad Rock training plan a bit to match my current fitness and race goals. Since I want to run the race faster and am responding well to the speed work that I am doing, I'm going to do more. Instead of four evenly sized four-week blocks of training, I'm switching to three blocks. A final block dedicated to improving my all-day pace isn't the best way to help me finish a 25 mile race in under five hours. Instead, the last block before the race will be devoted to zone 2-3 efforts and downhill running. I will also expand the length of my tempo run block from four to five weeks. In a nutshell: more speed, less slogging.

Unusually mild weather helped make week five productive. I can feel the benefits as I write this, a week later.

• 11 hours, 37 minutes all training

• 19.3 miles running

• 1,890 ft D+ running

Tuesday I did hill sprints on the "Wallenberg Wall" in my neighborhood. My cadence has increased, and I was a second faster on average. 23 seconds instead of 24. Getting faster is one of my goals, and I'm making measurable progress.

Thursday I tried my first running intervals: 9 minutes at 9.5/10 rate of perceived exertion (RPE). This was on a road that starts at 5% incline and increases to 12%. To help keep the quality of the running intervals high, I'm practicing 30/30 running like I did last year, interleaving 30 seconds of maximum effort with 30 seconds of micro-recovery high effort. I ran by a utility crew on Centennial Drive and got some cheers and good-natured heckling for my effort.

Tuesday and Friday, I lifted weights at the gym. I'm doing 5 x 5 sets of back squats at the rack to build more muscle and increase the power of my legs. It's going well.

By Saturday, my legs need a bit of a break. I went for an easy ride with a few hard pushes, and gave the single track stretch of Timber trail a go. I can ride it cleanly on my mountain bike. It's more challenging on a gravel bike with no suspension and narrower tires.

Sunday, I did a long-ish run on the ridge east of Horsetooth Reservoir. "The reservoir", as we say here, though there are many reservoirs, because it's the biggest one. I went at the pace I'd like to run at Quad Rock, and felt good during the run and afterwards.