Wed 7/28 - AM 6 hour run/hike on Pike's Peak

All the way up and down the Barr Trail, a bit over 3 hours up and 2.5 down. The stretch above Barr Camp is indeed difficult, a different world from the lower stretches. On top of the thinner air, I was surprised at how rough the trail surface was in places. It felt like I was sidestepping boulders much of the time. The uppermost stretch was a fight to keep moving forward, closest I've come to feeling altitude sickness, became tough to think straight. Summit was surrounded by rapidly developing clouds by the time I got there, a bummer. 30-40 degrees cooler at the summit than the base. A surreal experience to reach the top and find a restaurant/gift shop with all the amenities, but the bathroom and water fountain came in handy. Not planning on doing much if any running on the trip down, no wish to fall again like last week in the race, but after getting off the highest steeper stretch I found I was able to run at a moderate pace with a reasonable sense of security that I wouldn't eat shit. Finished feeling tired but nothing like Saturday's mega-hike. Post-run soak in the creek was maybe the highlight of the day, legs felt much better for it.