I’m pretty good at setting goals for myself. Less so about setting actual plans to attain those goals. I don’t like too much formality infringing on my hobbies. I reach my goals based on vibes. I find though that when I do go to the trouble of establishing a plan, I have a better success rate at meeting my goals.

The first step in the plan was to run a marathon for each season of the year. I’ve already registered for them, and ran the Austin Marathon in February for the winter, so I consider this step on target for the plan.

Step 2 is dieting. I want to qualify for Boston. That involves losing weight. I’m over-weight according to any standard medical chart. I’ve successfully dieted once before and it involved Karen monitoring me on a Weight Watchers plan, so I’ve reengaged her as my nutritionist once again. She’s good at it. I started 3 weeks ago and have been losing 3 pounds per week. On paper, I’ll achieve my goal of running my next marathon at 165 pounds or less. That’s a racing weight for me. I’ll be competitive.

I’ll need to be competitive because my next marathon is the Colorado state marathon championships. It wasn’t always. I took a couple of 2nd places before it began to host the championships. It’s bigger now, not too big still, and way more competitive. I don’t normally care about my place but because I used to take top 3 here, I want to again.

So, in addition to the diet, monitored by my wife/nutritionist with a 3-month subscription to the Weight Watchers app, I put together a weekly mileage plan. This is my own plan and not some coach-sponsored thing. I did consult my ChatGPT as I do with all my running goals. I modified it a bit based on the generative AI feedback, but I know the basics of training plans. Build up distance and include recovery. For my age, recovery is more important than for youth. I don’t run at all on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Those are my strength days, so I’m still doing something, but I’m not running.

Runners feel differently on strength training. Most don’t give it enough attention. They’re right on the math, a distance runner gets more from running than strength training. But that math changes as runners age. And at any age, strength training helps stave off repetitive use injury. I focus on my legs and core. I perform two upper-body routines, but there’s not much ROI there. I started out with twice a week and have now added a 3rd session on the weekends. The strength gives me confidence and it keeps me from over running.

Ten years ago, I would have worked my way up to 100-mile weeks. I won’t exceed 70 miles with this plan. Maybe it’s my 63 years, or maybe work just has me too busy, but I think 50 to 70 miles per week will suffice. What I’m doing different is running a 20 miler every weekend. I generally run one, two or three 20 milers as part of prepping for a marathon; this time I’ll run seven 20 milers in seven weeks. 20 miles will feel routine after seven weeks. My goal is to feel comfortable for the first twenty miles of my pending race. I’ll also run three 10 milers each week. That’s a good distance. It’s more than a 6 or 8 miler. It’s a pretty serious distance and that will also feel routine after my ten weeks of training.

That’s it. A 10-week training plan with 3 weeks behind me. It includes dieting because I don’t just want to run a marathon, I want to qualify for Boston and I can’t do that being over-weight. Normal weight for my height begins at 168 pounds. My plan has me there in two more weeks. Stay tuned.

I’m back in ATX to run my 5th Austin Marathon. I ran my first in 2011 in 4:23, about the same time I expect to finish tomorrow. In between, I ran 3 under 4 hours; 3:45, 3:39 and 3:54. I’m running a bit heavy so this might be my slowest. If you want to track me, download the app. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/austin-marathon/id1141037258

Because I know my way around Austin, I parked in the Bouldin neighborhood to easily get to the Expo at the Palmer Event Center. I was in and out before the average person could park their car in the garage. I got back to my car just as the rain began to pour.

We spent Friday night at my in-laws. So much family showed up to wish me luck, it felt like Christmas. We ate dinner with my family tonight at Iron Works.

Forty years ago, I took Karen dancing at Maggie Mae’s on our first date. She wore a short skirt and a long jacket. I fell in love with the sway of her hips, not knowing she was a ringer on the Texas Dance Team.

We stumbled out tonight just like the first time. Tomorrow might not be as warm as I feared, but the humidity will be 80%. I’m going to leverage the BNP electrolytes at the aid stations to eschew a vest, hoping that will help my sweat to evaporate. I’m too out-of-shape to maintain a hard pace, but I might be able to maintain 10 minute miles for a 4:22.

Karen and I have hiked, I think, every weekend this year, and many weekends late last year, on the mountain trails nearest to our home. Mostly various trailheads to the Sourdough Trail but other trails in the area like Mud Lake. We call them Hallmark Hikes, because of the snow-covered trees and trail.

Sadly, we aren’t snowshoeing. Not enough snow. The snowfall is dramatically behind schedule. This weekend though finally brought the cold of winter. Odds are, it did for you too. It was about 10° during this hike.

Karen wore the balaclava she got from her sister for Christmas. So stylish.

My mind won’t let go of what it felt like to be racing in yesterday’s Colder Bolder. It’s been so long since I’ve put myself out there, struggling to keep up while in oxygen debt. This runner behind me was from the wave that started 5 minutes ahead of mine. He wasn’t someone I was caught up in a race with. There were two women I found myself passing back and forth with.

One of them was 55 year old Michele Delman, pictured here in the orange tank top behind me. I was 2 seconds ahead of her at the one mile point, even at two miles as she ran 2 seconds faster than me, and we ran even splits for the final mile but I somehow finished 2 seconds ahead of her – apparently from my kick over the last 100 meters. We probably passed each other 4 or 5 times throughout the race.

Racing was fun and I might train for it more the next time I run a 5K. My legs are as sore this morning as they are after a marathon. No doubt, from wearing zero-drop racing flats that I wasn’t prepared for. The fastest runner my age finished at a 6:30 per mile pace. I could only dream of running that fast. But I am dreaming of running that fast. Maybe next year.

I ran the Colder Bolder 5K this morning. Start time – 7:35 am. An early run for me. The temps weren’t bad though, around 40°, but with a bit of a breeze at 8 mph. I’ve run these events well below zero in the past, where it’s earned its name.

The rooftops of the buildings on the CU campus are still full of snow. I ran without gloves or a hat but still might have been over-dressed wearing two shirts. I saw runners comfortable in tank tops, others were shivering.

I might have run a few seconds faster than last weekend’s turkey trot in my neighborhood, finishing in 25:37, an 8:15 pace. I felt stronger today, but I warmed up for this run. This course is harder though, not with true hills, but constant slopes, which when racing at altitude, feel like real hills.

I haven’t run this event in 9 years. It’s a super fun atmosphere with breakfast burritos and beer afterward. Assuming you drink beer for breakfast. I was running 5Ks under a 7 minute pace back then. I have to say, last weekend and today is the first time in years I’ve pushed myself to run at my lactate threshold. That’s hard but it feels like true racing. I couldn’t last running a marathon in oxygen debt, but that’s what 5Ks are good for.

I took the entire week off from work for Thanksgiving for some much needed recovery time. Karen and I hiked the Sourdough trail early in the week and had to stop the car on the road to allow some wild turkeys to pass. Imagine that.

It was a bit colder than we expected at 8,000 feet. We could have used mittens.

Not too much snow on the trail though. We expect to get our first real snowfall this coming weekend.

I’ve put most of my focus this week into rebuilding my running routine, getting a 13 miler on Saturday, followed by 15 miles on Sunday, the hike with Karen on Monday and a 20 miler on Tuesday. I haven’t run 20 miles since the Boulder Rez Marathon in August. I ran the same 10 minute pace. I saw this buck in Niwot on my 20 miler.

I ended the week with another turkey, and family. And more running and hiking. Happy Thanksgiving.

Karen said let’s spend the weekend in a cabin on Fall River Road. By weekend, she meant Thursday night through Saturday. I worked on the deck Friday, over the noise of a strong running stream, Fall River which runs through Fall River Valley and empties into the Big Thompson River in Estes Park, like any other Friday.

I found time after work to run the Dear Mountain Trail before dinner. My annual pass to the park expired so I had to buy a new one. Because I’m 62 or older, I qualified for the Senior Pass – a lifetime membership for $80. A lifetime of running these trails. It was a good deal.

My first run after last Saturday’s marathon was today, a full week later. That’s been how the last month of running has been for me, lucky to squeeze in some weekenders. Still, I can wake up any given Saturday and churn out a full marathon. I’m happy with that. These pics are from last week’s marathon and a few from today.

Nice view of the Flatirons as I ran across the dam. The first aid station was near this point. Two miles in or so.

The water is on the right side of this photo, to my left as I was running. The Rez was full of small sailboats. With the Front Range as a backdrop, it was pretty scenery.

There was still a decent core of runners to follow along my second time crossing the earthen dam, but not enough for a solid line. There were smalls groups of runners separated by the occasional solitary runner, like me.

The dirt was patted down by the previous night’s rains. Ideal. The mile or so of pavement per loop never got hot.

The photo above is the same view of the Boulder Flatirons from the earlier race photos, but from a few miles further east, along the East Boulder Trail.

Also on today’s 8 miler, the sliver of water you can see over the top of this cairn is the Boulder Reservoir – the site of last Saturday’s marathon. Each of the four loops around the Rez was a little over a 10K.

I felt strong though to the finish last week. I felt my hamstring tighten a little before 20 miles and slowed down for it but I’d taken a couple of SCAPs about two miles earlier and those salts kicked in. I was having to drink the aid station Gatorade the final 10K because I drank up my 500ml bottle of LMNT a lot quicker on this loop.

I ran the slowest miles of the day for the first 3 miles of the final 10K, but got a second wind and finished the final 3 miles strong. Overall, it was a very comfortable run. The right pace and good weather.

Here are some official race pics from the 2025 Bolder Boulder. The photo above is my favorite because it captures the gray mist of the early morning. Ideal race weather.

With nothing planned until the fall, I’m pivoting my fitness focus from miles to strength training. I’ll continue to run, but I’ll increase my intensity and time on weights. This will be a first for me. Ever.

I’ve started by adding 20 pounds to my squats and 10 pounds to most everything else. I kept my arm curls at the same weight but slowed them down by 3 or 4 times. This is an example of increasing the intensity of my workouts. When my focus was on strengthening for a race, I would go a bit light on things. I wanted to save my strength for my runs. I figure I have two or three months before I need to shift my focus back to miles for an October marathon.

Never having done this before, it’s hard to predict the outcome. My hope is that I’ll build more strength and that strength will lead to speed. Worse case, my legs will be fresh mid summer when it will be time to amp up the mileage. I do believe it makes sense for a runner my age to begin to emphasize strength training over running. It’ll never surpass running for me and I don’t know what a good ratio is. Yet.

With over 50,000 runners, the Bolder Boulder is not little. But I think, with the ultra and two marathons I’ve already run this year, a 10K is small in comparison. The Memorial Day run will be over just as my legs will be starting to warm up.

The photos are from the last time I ran this in 2017. I finished in 45:29 – a 7:20 pace. My fastest Bolder Boulder was in 1990 in 41:11. A lifetime ago. I’ve run twelve Bolder Boulders to date.

I won’t be running a 7:20 pace this year. And I can’t say how hard I’ll try to run but I’m pretty curious to know if I have any speed. My 9 minute marathon pace would have me finish under 60 minutes. I’ll be happy if I can run close to an 8 minute pace and if I could finish under 50 minutes.

I like to post a story before a big race. Predict my time. Push myself by making literal commitments. I can do that now.

I’m running the Colorado Marathon next Sunday. Initially, I thought I’d try to improve upon my recent finishing times, but I’m not feeling it this time around. I definitely want to run around a 9 minute pace for a 4 hour finish time, but I don’t think I even care about finishing under 4 hours. Give or take 10 minutes and I’ll be happy.

I’d qualify for Boston if I ran 10 minutes under 4 hours. And really, to be selected, I’d have to run another 10 minutes or so faster than the qualifying time. I saw myself doing that at the start of the year. Knowing my conditioning now, I don’t see that happening. The downhill lean of this course will help but I haven’t been putting in the miles to run faster than a 9 minute pace.

Training for the Bandera ultra really took its toll on me. I haven’t been training hard since. And I doubt I’ll try to run another ultra this year because of the commitment that is required. I have other things I need to focus on. But May is a big month because I have this marathon next weekend and then the Bolder Boulder at the end of the month. First time to run that since 2017. I don’t like to run it unless I’m reasonably fast and can compete for the top 10 in my age. Not sure I’ll be that competitive this year but it’ll be interesting to run such a short distance and to see what kind of speed I still have, if any.

Margot was supporting both her parents in the photo above at the Royal Gorge Ultra in Canyon City this weekend. I got in my last big training runs before the marathon. I don’t expect to race fast but I’m hoping for a good run.