Sat 7/25 - double, 1:50 total plus Humphrey's Peak hike

AM - 60 minutes up the Humphrey's Peak trail from the TH to saddle. I think this is a bit less than 4 "FLG miles" with the TH at 9500' and the saddle at 11,500'. The rest of the way to the peak and then back down were taken at a more sedate hiking pace. Crisp morning, clouds were building as we climbed though.

PM - 50 minutes, Mars Hill trail and back down via forest road 515 and Curling Smoke Road. My legs would have been better served by a flatter route, the pounding coming down off the mesa was not good on the right adductor. Better on the flats but still awkward. Humid and spitting rain much of the afternoon today.

Fri 7/24 - double, 2:10 total

AM - 95 minutes, AZ trail from Walnut Canyon Rd. to Sinclair Wash, passing through Fisher Point. Great place to run as always, but the remoteness and length of it kicked my ass once again. Ran out of steam earlier than I had planned, forgot about the difference between regular miles and "Flagstaff miles" when looking at the length of the route on the map. Right hip tight at first, loosened up eventually. Hit my stride from 40-60 minutes or so and from then on I was in get it over with mode. Broiled in the sun as well, finished up fairly dehydtrated and quite tired.

PM - 35 minutes in Sedona, Bell Rock TH to Back of Beyond Rd. Much more of it than I had planned was on the side of rt. 179 as the trail I had planned on taking was nowhere to be found. Still kind of stiff-legged but energy levels returned for the most part after a long afternoon nap.

Thu 7/23 - double incl. Grand Canyon South Rim hike

AM - hike on Bright Angel trail, round trip from the rim to Plateau Point. Started early, not quite early enough, but the rains came as noontime approached and made the temp a moot issue. The whole thing took about 6.5 hours, with about an hour or so spent resting in the shade and gawking. Stuck with speed-hiking the whole way, moved fairly smartly on the way down, then picked up the effort on the way back up so as to get to higher cooler climes.

PM - 60 minutes easy, Campbell Mesa. Legs predictably dead, right hip twinging because it was fatigued to start with. Did a few minutes at the end on the relatively flat and smooth Walnut Canyon road just to test and see if it would act up, thankfully it didn't. The whole thing was a slog but worth it for the stretching routine afterwards, sorely missed from yesterday's run. Overcast all day and a bit cooler and more humid than previous visits to FLG, seems to be a pattern here as well.

Wed 7/22 - PM 85 minutes

First day in Flagstaff, started from the hostel over to Buffalo Park then out the back to the Oldham/Easy Oldham area. Feeling pretty good on the climb up Oldham from the pipeline. Right leg feeling better as well, still moving somewhat gingerly on downhills but returning to what it felt like last week. It would appear the effects of hiking Mt. Elbert have worn off. Felt vaguely sticky at the outset of the run, odd for this place, then big fat raindrops fell sporadically, then hail, then a t-storm of biblical intensity.

Tue 7/21- double, 90 minutes total

AM - 50 minutes very easy/easy along the Cherry Creek path. Biked over to the shopping mall so I could run a different stretch of the path further out from town. Pleasant scenery, although less shade than I was hoping for. Stuck in low gear the entire time, legs leaden esp. quads. The past two days' efforts coming due.

Pm - 40 minutes, looping around Cheesman Park. Nice spot, if a little on the small side. Took another trip into town on the bike earlier in the afternoon, feels like I rode as much as I ran today. As such, not much zip in the legs, painfully slow the first 10 minutes especially. Right adductor still feels quite stuck, had I been able to push the pace it surely would have bothered me.

Mon 7/20 - double, 1:40 total

AM - 55 minutes, loop around Wash Park. Started out very easy, picked up the pace the second half of the run. Leg felt fine while going slow, at faster speeds it became obvious that the right adductor was stuck. Annoying but no surprise after yesterday's hike. Spent a long time afte the run working on the area.

PM - 45 minutes round trip to Confluence Park. Feeling better than the morning, but took a while for the stiffness to fall away. Able to pick up the pace fairly substantially on the return trip. Quads tender and sore, no surprise there. Had a brief and somewhat terrifying attempt to ride the flume on the N. Platte.

Sun 7/19 - double including Mt. Elbert hike

AM - hike up Mt. Elbert, an 8 mile or so round trip that took the better part of 5 hours incl. a 20 minute stop at the highest point in CO. About 4,000' difference between trailhead and summit. As 14ers go, this is apparently considered one of the easier ones to hike. Even so, it was atrociously steep in places and the three false summits were not appreciated. Not especially taxing from a cardiovascular perspective but the quads took a beating on the descent.

PM - 45 minutes to and from Confluence park with a dip in the creek (which was fantastic). Felt much better than I though it would after this morning. In a bit of a rush so I even pushed the pace a bit. Right leg feeling better than it did yesterday, thankfully.