June | 2014 | JUSTIN RUNS TRAILS

These past few weeks I have taken a step back from training plan to focus on life and to just enjoy running for what it is. I haven’t been going after certain mileage or wearing a GPS watch but still getting out on the trails about 6 days a week for an hour to three hours each time. I decided to not run the Summer Solstice ultra 54 mile “fun run” on the 21^stwhich I think was a good idea to avoid injury and just enjoy the weekend. I have been getting out more during the early morning to get runs in before work so I can enjoy evening doing other things. I have been on Berry Picker Trail on Vail Mountain A LOT, going from Village to Village mostly. I have also been on the North Trail a couple times this past week, also do Booth Falls and a group run on Beaver Creek. I am still trying to figure out this Run/Life balance thing. I feel better about being flexible with mileage and not worrying about my training plan so much. I really love getting out and running early when it’s nice out and it seems to help with having the evenings free to be social and take care of things. I just started a great new job with the Vail Daily as their Advertising Services Coordinator.

I am not trying to get caught up in the details but, here are some notes:

6/3-1:20-Berry Picker-Vail Village to Lionshead at 6am. 7miles. Great to be back, tired legs.

6/4-1:20-Berry Picker-Lionshead to Vail Village. Legs stiff and slow. Beautiful morning, love my Altras. Watershed higher than ever.

6/5-1:15-Berry Picker-Lionshead to Vail Village. Knee stiff, hiked up then crushed the downhill. Salomon XR Mission’s

6/6-Rest

6/7-Didn’t run in the AM due to knee bothering me but couldn’t help myself(Summer in Vail is so damn nice)in PM and went for 50 minute run out North Trail with my dog and another we were watching.

6/8-AM-1hr35mins Berry Picker-PM 1hr10mins Vail Mountain Service Road and some Berry Picker in the Rain-I love running in the Rain, it literally washes away any stress you may have.

6/10-1:20-Berry Picker Vail Village to Lionshead-Altras-Feeling good.

6/11-2:30-10miles Berry picker to Eagles Nest then back down to Vail Village. Nikes Keiger. Felt strong on downhill.

6/12-1:40-Lionshead trails to Cascade

6/13-1:20-Booth Falls-Only one on Trail early AM. Beautiful valley to some raging waterfalls.

6/15-2:25-North Trail-Son of Middle Creek section to Red Sandstone Section with Rooster and Luke.

6/17-70mins on Berry Picker from Vail Village to Lionshead

6/18-North Trail Red Sandstone-Took 2 hard falls, not sure if it’s the Altra’s, me not picking up my feet, or my dog tripping me up, maybe a combination

6/19-AM 8mile loop Berry Picker from Lionshead to Vail Village and Back on Service roads. PM-Vail group run at Beaver Creek on the Summer Solstice trail 10k course. As much as I have been loving being out on the trails around 7am, being out at 7pm can be just as awesome with those last few hours of light shining through the Aspens, it was nice running with no phone or dog and with a group of people.

So, while I may not be tracking every mile and getting caught up the details, I am still getting out there and enjoying the trails. I am focused on running strong at Run Rabbit Run 50 miler in September but, really want to enjoy Summer in Colorado and all the things that it brings.

5/27-5mi Buck Creek Trail with my buddy Luke and dog Rooster. Wore my Altra’s and felt really strong. Fun having a friend to run with. Buck Creek trail is in Avon with great views of the Beav, lots of Aspen Meadows and a nice creek with a pretty decent water fall.

5/28-Travel back to NY

5/29-AM 10mi in 2 hours on Mt. Greylock with my Dad. Tallest Mountain in Mass with great views and nice trails like Bellow’s Pipe and the thunderbolt ski trail, even some sections of the Appalachian Trail. Very busy at the top with backpacking groups, hang gliders, and tourist groups. You can drive right to the top to it sees a lot of traffic. We found a nice outlook on Robinson Point that was nice and quiet. Great being out there with my Dad, felt bad for him as he was having some trouble with his hamstring. I have been having some issues balancing running and life so it was great to spend some time out there figuring things out.

PM 7mi on country roads around Wynantskill, NY in some Hokas my Dad let me have. Felt great flying on the roads at sea level.

5/30-Rest

5/31-19mile Road Run in 3 hours around the country roads of Postenskill, Brunswick, and Troy, NY. Felt pretty awesome crushing roads in the heat. A lot of time to think more about running and what’s important, being around home and where I started running is very nostalgic. I saw lots of Farms and cows on the rolling country roads. It was a nice big loop and I felt pretty solid throughout the 3 hours. Wearing my Salomon XR missions and Nathan Vest, I had an organic sweet potato and apricot baby food and some tums with lots of water.

6/1- 7miles in 59 mins on more country roads around my childhood home. I wore the Hokas again and they felt really nice and floaty. I tried out a new waist belt to carry my cell phone my dad gave me and really liked it along with my Nathan handheld. I saw some huge wild turkeys in a field then stopped to see my Uncle Dan who is always a pleasure to chat with, true badass biker dude. I had some great music to add to the nostalgia and almost lost it to some Gregory Allen Isakov-Stable Song.

I think the overall theme of this week was that I had a big wakeup call and just see running and how it should fit into my life very differently. My girlfriend is not a runner but, she is someone I care about very much and want to spend time with and would love to do things like hiking, disc golfing, yoga, and seeing live music. It is also important for me to focus on other aspects of life like being social and having friends, improving my career, and taking care of my dog. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE running but there is a difference between enjoying something and being obsessed with it. I have always had an addictive personality and even though running is a good thing, too much of anything can be bad. There is a problem when you become so focused on yourself and making yourself better that you forget about those around you. I think a lot of it comes from social media and comparing myself to actual pros. In the past I have felt like running was the only thing making me happy or my only way to feel better about myself and that should not be the case. So I will continue to run and look forward to training for Run Rabbit Run 50 Miler but will be cutting back my training plan to max out at 50miles/week instead of 70 and decided to hold off on a 54 mile “fun run” in a few weeks. I would love to do more cross training and get back in the gym to get back some of the muscle I have run off myself.