Fri 8/9 - double, 55 minutes easy

AM - 35 minutes easy, Crested Butte. Out and back along the lower loop trail. Not feeling especially energetic from the jump, choosing the flattest route possible a no-brainer. Still downright chilly in the shade, but warming up quickly in the sun as befits being at this elevation. Right hammie annoyingly stiff.

PM - 20 minutes easy, Ouray. Easy shakeout after plenty of time spent driving the byways of Colorado, also getting a look at the first couple miles of the course for tomorrow's race. More importantly got a chance to do a thorough round of stretching afterward, and rolling the piriformis/glute on the lax ball which was very necessary. Left knee sore in quadriceps tendon, unpleasant surprise.

Thu 8/8 - double, 70 minutes easy

AM - 35 minutes easy, Salida. Over the river to the Tenderfoot Mtn. trails, went up the dirt road to Frontside trail and took that back down. In hindsight it might have been a little easier to do the route in reverse but no complaints overall. Left thigh is feeling better, still not quite all the way back though. Got in a thorough stretching/core routine after the run and before breakfast which was very necessary.

PM - 35 minutes, Crested Butte. Out and back on the winding recreation path that leads from CB to Mt. CB. Going from 8900' to 9200' or so in a bit over 2 miles. A couple of short steep stretches otherwise the "path" (paved sidewalk more like) gradually winds its way up the slope. A bit of monsoonal weather tried to push through, no real rain to speak of but very threatening skies until right when I was finishing up the run. Combined with a gusty breeze it felt fairly chilly in fact. This weather pattern is not what I signed up for alas.

Wed 8/7 - PM 35 minutes very easy

Little Rainbow trail, Salida. Desperately in need of r+r after yesterday's misadventure. After a relatively decent night's sleep, spent the day doing as little as possible. Crappy weather including a cold rain at lunchtime made this easy. Finally, as the clouds broke and sunset approached I decided to visit Methodist Mountain and try the half of Little Rainbow I didn't cover back in April. Taking stock from yesterday's slog, somewhat surprisingly it turns out the left thigh took the brunt of it. Quad sore and adductor a stuck mess, which made any kind of downhill running/walking a pain. Felt better after doing some direct pressure and cross fiber friction on it afterward. Run itself was as mellow as could be other than that, very easy of course. Along the way treated to scenes like this:

Someone's a big fan of the Lion King apparently

Tue 8/6 - AM/PM 6 hour run/hike, Pikes Peak

Further proof I'm a stubborn slave to habit, did the course preview last year at about this point in the trip and decided it would be a good idea to do it again to see the course ahead of time. A worthwhile endeavor but I doubt it's worth what it took out of me this time. Sleep issues haven't smoothed themselves out like I'd hoped they would, stayed up far too late last night for no good reason and it left me feeling flat and listless from the jump. Also meant I started later than I would have liked, which meant by the time I got to Hydro parking lot it was completely full, so back down the street to park in town instead. This added to the distance of course and more climbing (and much later, descending). First 45 minutes of the climb felt utterly lethargic, took a gel for the caffeine. I think it started to kick in by the time I got to Barr Camp, not that I was burning it up. Took a leisurely break at the cabin before pushing on. Still running up to about 11k elevation, after that the lack of acclimation became blatantly obvious as walking breaks inexorably took over. Next to last mile was mostly walking, last mile was all walking. Breathing really hard and feeling utterly terrible, no nausea but a headache which is probably that altitude related brain damage I've read about. Or maybe it was more due to dehydration, although I did my best to take fluids throughout and thought I was well stocked. Plenty more fluids at the summit before heading down. Legs good and tired by this point and quads in particular. The descent went slower than in the past I'm guessing, with more walking throughout. Fatigued and sore which isn't a good combo. By the time I left Barr Camp on the way down it was full on get it over with mode, zombie trudged it in. In hindsight, nothing about my training this summer has really supported this type of effort, at least in terms of length. As for my ostensible purpose i.e. to see the trail it's more eroded than I'd like to see between the Ws and Barr Camp, gully splitting the path in places. The stretch between Barr and A-frame is just as obnoxiously boulder-strewn as I remember, but there was more of that type of thing in the last 3 miles than I had remembered. Something to look forward to. In 11 days time hopefully I'll be much more acclimated, or at least recovered from this because it's certainly going to leave a mark. 

Obligatory pictures:

 east of Sheep Mountain I think

 hummingbird at Barr Camp

 12,500', two miles to go

view from Golden Stairs, lots of switchbacks and Lake Moraine

Mon 8/5 - double, 80 minutes total

AM - 60 minutes very easy, Cheyenne Mountain SP. After breakfast, went for a jog along Blackmer and Cougar's Shadow trails. These epitomize the trails here in general, very twisty and constantly rolling. Not a bad thing but not exactly conducive for establishing a rhythm or progressing the pace. Not that I had any energy to do either of those things, cut the run a bit short in fact. Right hamstring and calf are sore, likely from yesterday's downhill pounding. Necessitated another full round of stretching and core work after the run.

PM - 20 minutes very easy followed by drills and strides. Superslow putter around Red Rock open space trails. Extremely lethargic, feeling quite fried at the moment. The drills helped a bit to dispel that but the fatigue runs quite deep. Like clockwork the storm clouds rolled in but little to show for it. I'm coming to the realization that the monsoon pattern is the norm for CO this time of year, esp. in an area like the Springs. The past two years were the exception with the dry conditions throughout the day most days.

Sun 8/4 - double, 1:35 total

AM - 35 minutes easy, Cheyenne Mountain SP. A pre-breakfast shakeout in the fog that was rapidly climbing in from the valley floor. The fog more or less matched my physical state, sort of shuffling along throughout. Made it an out and back when I realized the loop I had in mind would take far longer than the length of time I had in mind. Legs still feel stiff from yesterday's travel, but I did do a full round of stretching afterward. For the first time in far far too long alas.

PM - 60 minutes, out and back to St. Mary's Falls. Another day, another downpour. Unlike the Arizona monsoons I've experienced this version doesn't clear up in an hour or less. Sat in my car in the Gold Camp Rd. parking lot waiting in vain for it to subside. More concerned about the frequent and terrifyingly close thunder and lightning than the rain. Eventually decided to risk life and limb to revisit ground I last trod upon in April, when the waterfall was frozen. I had vague memories of the trail getting nasty near the falls and indeed it does, esp. the utterly miserable last .2 which cannot possibly be an accurate measurement. The trip down was more slippery and messy than I would have liked, but avoided any catastrophes. Legs are tired as is the rest of me. Photographic evidence of foolhardiness forthcoming.

 April

 August

 too flustered by thunder to hold the camera steady

 utter horseshit

Sat 8/3 - PM 40 minutes easy

Cheyenne Mountain SP. After a day of traveling, hit the trail just as the threatening skies let loose with cascading sheets of rain. At least it wasn't nearly as windy as the last time I was here in April. Some stretches of trail quickly became quite slippery which was obnoxious. Since the entire park is on the flank of the mountain there isn't really any flat ground to speak of and after 25 minutes or so I was strongly smelling the barn door. Took the most direct route back which meant a long grinding climb up the main road to the campsite. Really, really tired to begin with of course, and right leg tweaked as well.