This past week started my official training for the Dead Horse 50 mile. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked off an actual plan and I’ve got to give myself kudos for hitting it pretty damn close. I really wanted to get eight on Sunday but I ran with my kid’s boyfriend and he only wanted five so we compromised. It was either that or run alone and though I’m improving on the self-kicks-in-the-ass, I still prefer company.

Here’s the summary of mileage — planned and actual

And some basic stats:
Tuesday — Evergreen Mountain, 778 feet of elevation gain, 14:52 pace
Wednesday — Elk Meadow, 719 feet of elevation gain, 13:41 pace
Thursday — Flying J, 922 feet of elevation gain, 13:21 pace
Saturday — Lair O’ The Bear, 1,686 feet of elevation gain, 15:12 pace
Sunday — Lair O’ The Bear, 896 feet of elevation gain, 14:12 pace

My pace is super slow these days. Granted I’m running trails that require a fair bit of uphill hiking and most of these runs include a variety of doggie stops (pausing for bikes, poop breaks, etc) but I would like to up the speed a bit. Dead Horse has 4,500 feet and, I think, a 12.5-hour time limit so though there’s no need to be speed racer, I don’t want to even risk not making any of the cut-off points.

And here are some pictures from the week:

And my absolute favorite pic.

This was at Lair O’ The Bear which is one of the many nearby parks. I’ve only run it a handful of times and there’s a side trail that I’ve always wanted to try and I’m so happy we did. We found such an incredible view at the top. Man I love where I live and run.

15 weeks until Dead Horse.