Days 114 - 120: Banff and back

Oh geez, fail week, training and blogging.

So... Monday afternoon we had free time from the conference, so my lab and I rode a gondola up Sulfur Mountain and hiked all around the top. There were mountain goats and a cosmic ray station (I don't even know what that means) and an amazing view. Besides the wooden paths they had set up to the very top of the mountain (7,500 - 8,000 ft), we decided to hike one of the dirt trails. Going down seemed so easy, but when we decided to turn around to head back to the gondola... who knew it was that steep? We all almost passed out. Does that count as hill training? Definitely not stretching, but I think I got my strengthening in... all that climbing = buns of steel!

Tuesday I was supposed to run, but didn't. My coworker and I instead went hiking along the river over to the Banff springs hotel, where we ate lunch which consisted of banana chocolate bread pudding that's been featured twice on the Food Network, and two rounds of drinks, 1.5 of which were complementary (we're just that hot, I guess). We hiked for about 1.5 - 2 hours total, so we probably did about 3 - 4 miles.

I tried to make up for my failed running by doing some speedwork on the indoor track on Wednesday. Did 3.5 miles of a sprint ladder, 200m to 1 mile and back down, with 200m walking as my recovery. Was hoping the training in the altitude would help me out. Also went horseback riding... a little extra workout for the legs.

Thursday I actually ran, 3.5m on the treadmill and 2 more miles of sprint work. Couldn't make the last mile I was supposed to though; I guess I still wasn't adjusted to the elevation, and I was extremely tired and dehydrated and sick to my stomach afterward. After some water and rest I recovered enough to dance the night away at our end of conference dinner dance.

So, all in all, despite the massive amount of food consumed at breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets all week, I feel I didn't fall too far behind, and maybe mixing up the workouts was good for me.

Friday was a rest day spend traveling back to the States (cell phone again, woohoo!). Saturday I didn't work out... I slept for 11 hours, stayed in bed until 3, did some errands, made dinner, and went for a walk... while eating frozen yogurt. Oh well. It was my first weekend off in a long time, and I was determined to enjoy it and recover from the stress of international travel.

Today... 15 miles. Tried to carb up beforehand with some oatmeal and a banana, stashed several drink stops and a banana for Chris and I to split at mile 10, stretched, and got a good start a little after 9. But too much sitting and not enough yoga this past week made my legs feel super tight, so it was a bit of a struggle. Maintained a 10:30 - 11:30 for most of it, but once we hit mile 13 I thought I might not make it. Pace bottomed out around 13:30 - 14:00 in mile 14, and we had to walk the two hills at the very end because I just couldn't run them. We did run a little extra distance at the end to try to make up for it. We finished in 3:01:33, and crashed with our legs in the pool for a little while to try to recover, but my legs are so sore it hurts just wearing jeans. I'm hoping it was just a bad run from jet lag and too much rich food all week and not being diligent enough with my running while I was away. Because if all the long runs are going to be this bad, I'm not sure I can do it.