Running towards my goal

Well, training has officially started. I’ve spend the last couple of months just trying to maintain some base fitness. I’ve been doing one day on the spin bike, 2-3 days of cardio strength classes at CAC and mixing in a couple of runs on the weekends to keep the legs moving.

I met with a lady by the name of Junko Kazukawa. at Colorado Athletic Club to do some personal training and to look over my planned race and training calendar leading up to Leadville. A little tiny Asian lady, Junko is a legend in the local amateur ultrarunning community. Junko has completed the LT100 a handful of times, a grand slam (four 100-mile races) last year, and is training for UTMB this year (one of the toughest 100 mile races in the world). Here is a great article published on Junko in December: http://www.denverpost.com/lifestyles/ci_29311090/denver-woman-completes-grand-slam-ultrarunning-and-leadwoman

I feel like Daniel San training with Mr. Miyagi, and I am soaking up any ounce of wisdom Junko can throw my way. We have made a few tweaks to my calendar and she is giving me some advice on race pace and preparation. Through some personal training sessions, she is also giving me some good exercises to work on my core and leg strength and flexibility.

My confirmed race calendar for the year leading up to Leadville looks like this:
•    APRIL- Cheyenne Mountain Trail Run 50K
•    MAY- Quad Rock 25 Mile Trail Race in Fort Collins
•    JUNE- Dirty 30 50K in Golden Gate Canyon
•    JUNE- Leadville Marathon
•    JUNE- Leadville 3-day Run Training Camp
•    AUGUST- LT100

Time to start training…

I went on my first mid-week training run this morning. Only about 6 miles long, I ran slow in an effort to keep my heart rate in zone 2 or below. If I rose into zone 3, I walked until my heart rate came down. I feel like I’m starting at square one. 6 miles and my legs are sore, I had a hard time keeping my heart rate down, and I am tired. Let’s pray that turns around quickly! The good news is that my left hamstring and foot that has been giving me problems felt pretty good most of the run.

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