Fri 8/24 - 65 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Another trip around the sun completed. Went a bit longer than originally planned, in large part due to feeling the compulsion to work off a gluttonous pizza lunch. Predictably tired after work, predictably slow at the outset as a result. Drills on Pine Hill before hitting the pond, joints not nearly as sore as on Tuesday although left heel continues to feel tight. Also did pickups on the way in, relatively short if not incredibly fast. Humidity has been gradually building over the course of the week it seems, temp remains tolerable though.

Thu 8/23 - PM 80 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Thought I might go a bit longer today, but a late start meant I ended up hitting the average once again. Went around Farrar Pond for a change of scenery. Despite the up and down and sometimes dodgy footing, the pace got rolling after 10 minutes or so and stayed at a reasonably elevated level for much of the first hour. No windup or strides on the way in today, too pooped from the effort earlier in the run and the cumulative effect of the week as well. A bit stickier today than the past few days but still a far cry from what it could be.

Wed 8/22 - PM 75 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

I had planned going 5-10 minutes longer than this today, but the post-pond portion of the run went by quicker than I thought it would. This was in part due to a rather pronounced windup on the way in, the last couple of miles went by fairly quickly. Something I had planned on doing, working hard but still under control. Started slow after the now requisite long nap in the car, but the pace got to a reasonably steady level within 20 minutes. Left QL stiff from yesterday's fall and/or hill drills but it not to a debilitating degree. Another pleasant day for this time of year, mainly thanks to lack of overall humidity.

Tue 8/21 - PM 80 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Overall faster paced than expected, I suppose a result of being back in the thick air of sea level. Needed another long nap before starting out, made for a pokey first few minutes. Fog cleared relatively quickly though and cruising much of the time after that. Went up to the horse paddock, stopped for hill drills before jumping in the pond. The drills may have been asking too much, still some sore joints from Saturday, but I wanted to get back in the routine and routine trumps all. Took a decent spill around the 50 minute mark, no bruises but the left lower back was stiff by the end of the run and either the fall or the drills seems the likely cause. Maybe both. Another good weather day, not too hot and fairly dry to boot.

Mon 8/20 - PM 75 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden

Upon returning from the vacation, returned effortlessly back into the routine I was in prior to the trip. That is to say, staying up too late and being sufficiently tired by mid-afternoon that a nap is absolutely imperative. In fact more tired than usual post-work, nodding off at the wheel driving to Concord. The run took a while to develop not surprisingly, but eventually the pace got moving kind of quick. Turned it down a notch before reaching the pond though. Some lingering soreness in right ankle and left knee, on the medial aspect in both cases. No surprise after the climbing on Saturday. Warm and not overly humid, but still plenty different from what I became accustomed to over the past two weeks.

Sun 8/19 - AM 25 minutes very easy

One lap around Washington Park in Denver before I lost interest and stopped. Only looking to do an easy shakeout anyway so not a big deal esp. in light of yesterday's effort. Quads are feeling surprisingly good, soreness from the dunes is gone really. Some stiffness from the race, plus the right medial ankle which twinged a few times yesterday is sore from overpronation, something that's happened in the past with running up steep grades.

Sat 8/18 - AM 2.5 hours, Barr Trail

Pikes Peak Ascent. A modest time improvement from last year, missed out on the top ten this time after feeling like I had a really good shot at it until well above treeline. Like last year, didn't sleep particularly well, although I wasn't the basket case this morning that I was then. Mostly it was difficult to sleep due to the noise of campers showing up at 1:30 and setting up their tent nearby. I won't be staying at that particular campground next year the night before should I do this race again. The big excitement this time around came about an hour before the start when I experienced the most disgusting and appalling bodily function related thing one can deal with in this context. The less said about it the better but a wardrobe change was necessary. This negated any kind of warmup other than a few halfhearted drills, although that was basically all I was going to do anyway. Tried to stay well under control at the outset, and by the time I got to the Barr Trail itself and started slogging up the Ws the mantra commenced "adjust the effort" like last year. This is a fancy way of saying "back off, slow down" and was combined with "shorten the stride" when appropriate. Followed one guy fairly closely until sometime above experimental forest, while feeling like I was pulling away from two chasers. One of them, Romero, was the big competition in the age group battle. By the time the course flattened out between the exp. forest and Barr Camp, I felt like I was alone and in the clear. This feeling continued well beyond Barr Camp, even through the deceptively difficult stretch between Barr Camp and A-frame. I thought I had my spot established until a bit over 2 miles to go in fact, when I saw that Romero was closing inexorably. The pass came soon after that, we both passed a guy who looked to be fading. I faded myself though soon after and got passed back near the Cirque. Romero was by now long gone and my chances of getting back to the other guy, who was 10th male overall, were rapidly dwindling. It seemed like the last mile was in many ways even harder than last year and that I was walking more of it than I remembered doing then, but as I was clambering up the Golden Stairs I made a few checks of the watch and realized I could get under last year's time. Truthfully, running all the way through this time made up for some of the time difference. I had no interest or reason to run at the end last year. Overall, this year's race felt quite good until the last two miles when the effort got vastly more difficult. I can't help thinking that the stuff at the Dunes, coming hard on the heels of last weekend's activities in Leadville, left me worn out and overtired coming in. Certainly, the past 10 days haven't been how you would draw up a taper for this event. Not that I would take back most of it, but maybe shift some things around esp. visiting the dunes so close to race day. So many mountains, so little time.

Splits from the miles to go signs, if there was a 12 to go sign I missed it:

15:00 @ 11 to go
25:20 (10:20)
37:10 (11:50)
48:00 (10:50)
56:33 (8:33)
64:54 (8:21)
75:45 (10:51)
89:00 (13:15)
1:46:18 (17:18)
2:01:28 (15:10)
2:14:57 (13:29)
2:32:31 (17:34)

Also worth noting that the air seemed awfully hazy today, with a lack of visibility at the summit.

 compare to picture of same area in 8/6 entry