Sat 4/21 - AM 1:50 including trail half-marathon

Thank goodness I previewed this course the other day and knew what I was getting myself into. It lived up to expectations, rugged in the extreme. Woke up feeling some continued lingering cold symptoms, not expecially spry or energetic on the warmup. Thankfully the field was such that there was no competition in the age group, although I was a little concerned the first couple of miles with a few people who seemed like they might be stalking me. By the time we finished climbing (and climbing) no one was in sight behind me and with a turnaround at the 7 mile mark I was able to see that I had 3 minutes or so on the closest pursuer. Ended up running the entire race in fifth place, got close to fourth on the climb but lost him on the descents. Not my concern at all, by then it was about holding on to place and not falling. I did almost eat shit a couple of times, once on a tight left-hand turn with adverse camber, and again while ascending here:

in both cases, the 2-3 inches of loose gravel underfoot played a crucial role. No traction on the shoes didn't help either but I don't know if the shoes exist for that type of thing. Adductor seemed to hold up pretty well to the loose footing and sharp turns, I'll know more tomorrow though. Weather was warm, sunny and dry. For the first time that I can remember, my voice went hoarse immediately after the race, from all the heavy breathing in dry air combined with the sore throat no doubt. Cooldown was  superslow jog around the parking lot for a few minutes, eventually followed by a dip in the nearby creek which I could only take for about 45 seconds at at time.

Fri 4/20 - AM 60 minutes easy

Garden of the Gods. In desperate need of an easy putter after three days of running up and down mountains. That stuff is fun but too much of a good thing becomes a little rough on the system. Slept fairly well last night even though it rained and was downright chilly after the showers passed through. Probably not the best conditions for the kind of sore throat I'm dealing with right now though. Pleasant if a little breezy weather in its wake, but at least the sun is out. Went at an easy jog with various stops to take pictures. Best of the bunch is below, nothing that hasn't been photographed a million times before I'm sure.

 this view is on sale as a postcard in the gift shop

 Siamese Twins - above picture taken in between the two spires

 

the flatirons continue south of the park

Thu 4/19 - AM 2:20

Barr Trail to Barr Camp. Sluggish and lethargic most of the way. Could be I'm not as acclimated as I thought, or the ongoing minor low-grade cold symptoms, or yesterday's effort leaving its mark. Probably a combination of all of these. Kind of knew I wouldn't be bringing my A game so I went with a 5 minute break every half hour from the get-go. The first half hour of course was quite steep and the gradient alone buried me, by the time things leveled off somewhat I was already in trudge mode. I originally had planned to go as high as the snow line or Bottomless Pit, but I knew by the time I got to the Experimental Forest turnoff I wouldn't be traveling further than the camp. Weather not exactly cooperating, overcast with a brisk wind. Right adductor twinging today, as opposed to the left side that's been noticeable the past few days. Odd and unwelcome. Sleeping as well as one could hope for in a tent, hopefully this will facilitate some recovery between now and Saturday. Warmer temps would be nice as well.

Wed 4/18 - PM 1:45

In the mountains of North Cheyenne Cañon in Colorado Springs. Got to bed quite early last night, woken up a few hours later by coyotes chatting with each other, then noticed that my throat felt really inflamed, like I might be getting strep or at least a head cold. Ugh. Took it easy in the morning and made my way south to the springs eventually. Ran most of the course for Saturday's race as a preview and I'm glad I did because "rugged" only begins to describe it. Steep climbs and descents, washboard erosion in places from heavy mountain bike use (extremely annoying), and many many many switchbacks, most of them in loose gravel. Some spectacular scenery as well. I almost didn't bother bringing the camera but I'm glad I did.

view of mountains to the south

Garden of the Gods off in the distance

this is part of the course, yippee

tunnel on Gold Camp road

 aptly named

view from High Drive looking east

 Helen Hunt falls seen from High Drive

Helen Hunt Falls up close

The downhills on loose footing didn't treat the left adductor particularly well, which has been feeling stiff since last Friday's track workout. On the plus side, it feels like I'm better acclimated to the altitude after two full days here.

Tue 4/17 - AM 2 hours

Mt. Falcon. My well-worn copy of "Trail Running in Colorado" doesn't disappoint as this park lived up to expectations. After a far too eventful night of wrestling with a recalcitrant tent and attempting to use a camping stove under balefully windy conditions, I was still feeling a bit tired and so took it easy at the start. No real choice as the trail goes straight up for a couple of miles before leveling off just a bit. Still acclimating as well of course so the ascent was a real crawl. Eventually got to a plateau and feeling better. Underlying tiredness set in after 75 minutes or so which translated to a few short breaks to admire the scenery on the way down back to the parking lot. Some quad-thudding near the end of the descent but it was over with soon enough. Like yesterday, some muddy sections of trail but overall nothing major, but enough to leave a great substrate for mountain lion tracks of which there were plenty. I should have gotten a picture but these will have to do instead:

 the view from the parking lot - Red Rocks

 Also from the parking lot, Denver skyline off in the distance

 view from the tower at summit of Mt. Falcon

 same tower, slightly different view

 Near Eagle's Eye shelter, former site of a German family's summer cabin. Alas, there was no linden tree nearby given the elevation of 7500' or so

Another view of Red Rocks on the way down

Mon 4/16 - PM 75 minutes

Bear Creek Lake Park, Lakewood CO. Meandering loop around the park after a long day of travel and its attendant nonsense. Much-needed to blow off steam. Back in traveling mania mode, slept poorly last night of course with the flight looming and an early wake-up call as well. It will be a minor miracle if I get through the next week w/o getting sick, as I've been feeling some inflammation in the throat for a few days now. Trails were mostly nice, some muddy spots and of course the altitude kicked my ass as I'm not the least bit acclimated. Breezy as expected.

Sun 4/15 - PM 55 minutes easy

Area 51. Yesterday's brilliant idea of driving to NYC and back with a day spent gallivanting around the park and visiting the High Line and going to watch the Celtics play for the last time in NJ and then driving back in the smallest of small hours maybe wasn't so brilliant. Particularly on the heels of the trip to Toronto with another trip coming up. Got a late start due to shopping for the trip and packing, by the time I did get out the door I knew the run had to shorter than planned and anything resembling an intense workout was completely out the window. Warm sticky day, nothing like what's forecast for the unlucky marathoners though.

Sat 4/14 - AM 75 minutes easy

Van Cortlandt park. The Mayall world tour continues with a day trip to NYC. Easy recovery run after last night's workout. Got up into the northeast section of the park beyond the aqueduct. Left adductor sore but manageable.

Fri 4/13 - PM 65 minutes incl. 1600, 9x400

Deviated from an originally planned threshold workout. Pushing that back to Sunday, in theory. Relying on an old standby here with the 3 slower 400s bracketed by 6 faster ones, with the wrinkle that the recovery between the 400s was a 300m jog all the way through, no longer break after each 3rd rep. Splits:

1600 5:10.8 (2:38.2/2:32.6)
4.5R
71.9, 72.9, 72.1
76.2, 77.0, 76.8
71.7, 72.5, 72.2

Decided while warming up that a 72/77 split was what to shoot for. Consistent breeze from the west influenced this decision. Became challenging near the end but able to hit the marks throughout. The second set was well under control. Still some stiffness in right instep but it appears to be manageable at this point. Left adductor sore on the cooldown.