Thu 7/24 - double, 60 minutes total incl. 5k road race

AM - 20 minutes very easy, Swellesley. T-storms passed through overnight and brought the humidity down somewhat. Creaky as usual from the outset.

PM - 40 minutes incl. 5k. The Harborthon once again. Feeling a bit more awake and alert than last year which isn't saying much. Realized on the starting line that this year's edition would be more competitive than the past few. Found myself in a dogfight with two others by the time the mile passed in 5:20. Found myself in the lead from just past the mile mark to the turnaround, at which point I thought I might be able to take the thing. This bit of wishful thinking persisted as we went through 2 miles in 10:35 even though I was no longer leading. Alas, I was popped by the eventual winner 2 minutes into the third mile (I checked my watch). Having thought the two of us had broken the third guy I relaxed a little bit only to find myself being stalked by the third guy who pegged me at 15 minutes (again checked the watch). It was abundantly clear I wasn't going to be able to stick with him either and I checked out for the rest of the way. Despite coasting in the last 500m or so I was feeling utterly spent in the aftermath. A bit depressing how enervating a 17 minute 5k felt. To be fair, hard to expect much different given how strung out I've felt lately and how little I've been sleeping. To wit, pulse was noticeably elevated for hours after the race. To add insult to injury the prize this year for a top 3 finish came nowhere near the level of prizes in past editions of this race, and the ferry ride back took at least twice as long as it should have. The summer weeknight races are a tough row to hoe it turns out. At least the scenery was nice.

Wed 7/23 - double, 75 minutes total plus 20 minutes in Walden

AM - 20 minutes very easy, Swellesley. Feeling the stifling level of humidity already.

PM - 55 minutes easy, Lincoln woods plus 20 minutes in Walden. I had planned on doing hill drills but there wasn't time. Probably for the best anyway. Quite gross conditions which made the pond all the more refreshing.

Tue 7/22 - double, 60 minutes total incl. 6x200

AM - 20 minutes very easy, Swellesley. Wasn't expecting to be able to continue the pre-breakfast doubles this deep into summer but here we are. A pleasant enough routine and the only time of day when the heat isn't oppressive. Incredibly stiff at the outset of course.

PM - 40 minutes incl. 6 laps of ins and outs. Very flat and tired after having an appointment push back the normal nap time. I had planned on perhaps doing two sets of 4x200 with a 200 float as a type of glorified strides. However, after shuffling through a 10 minute slow jog warmup in stifling heat and humidity I was having second thoughts and thinking of going straight to the pond instead. Stayed true to the cause though and soldiered on, but decided to do one set of six reps instead. It may have been one rep too many but I survived. Shooting for a 10 second spread between the faster and slower 200s, splits as follows:

36.3/49.2
37.3/47.2
37.3/47.4
37.1/46.6
36.7/46.8
37.6/45.5

Made it through in one piece, total time was 8:25. Awfully tired by the end though, and it felt like I had scraped my central nervous system raw while shuffling through the cooldown, which consisted of jogging over to the river, soaking in it for five minutes, and jogging back. As expected, too fried to even think about running as far afield as the pond after doing the workout on the track.

Mon 7/21 - PM 65 minutes easy plus 20 minutes in Walden

Lincoln woods. Extremely late bedtime after yesterday's late arrival home after an afternoon flight out of Denver. Predictably laid low by late afternoon, it'll take a couple of days to adjust I'm sure. Right ankle bruise is better, but the joint is still stiff overall as it was before I dented it on Longs Peak the other day. Speaking of which, some DOMS for sure in the quads. Despite this I was able to do some pickups on the way in and felt reasonably good the final 20 minutes after the dip, if not totally awake. Pond is noticeably warmer than before I left last week.

Sun 7/20 - AM 60 minutes very easy

One last putter around Denver before heading home. To Washington Park and back, with a break in the middle to check out the aftermath of a road race taking place with thousands of entrants, mostly walking. Some soreness in the legs for sure but less than I was expecting, esp. in the calves. Right ankle swelled up some overnight as expected, with bruising from the ding I took off the rock edge yesterday. Quite hot by Denver standards, although of course completely dry as well.

Sat 7/19 - AM 6 hour run/hike, Longs Peak

Something of a slog this time. More tired than I should have been, the hammering of various runs the past two days probably didn't help in that regard but also not sleeping enough despite being on vacation. I also have to wonder how badly the trail was damaged by the flooding in the area last year, it certainly seemed more ragged and rough than what I remembered from my last visit two years ago. Whatever the case, it was tougher going than I expected and the running changed to mostly hiking barely above treeline. Fatigue was quite apparent on the ascent as I was yawning repeatedly. While traversing the Narrows I dented the inside of my right ankle against the edge of a rock, no lasting damage but it hurt like hell and will surely swell up some the next few days. Upon reaching the top, found the scenery compromised somewhat by out of state wildfire haze. Pretty much a given nowadays. Similar to the first time I summited, took a nap at the summit hunkered down between two rocks. A surprisingly sheltered spot and a relatively refreshing nap for the trip down. Sort of chased a pair of runners scrambling down to the keyhole and as far as the boulderfield, whereupon I saw another pair jogging along what passes for the trail at that point. This spurred me to start running when I probably wouldn't have otherwise, and ended up running basically the rest of the way. The uneven footing made for tired legs of course but overall the descent went well with no twisting of either ankle. In fact only one slip of any consequence, going around a hairpin near the bottom. The very end of the trail below treeline seemed to drag on forever. Mildly disappointing that a side trip to Chasm Lake wasn't going to happen, esp. after the nap, but overall a good day. 

 preude to a warm day, at least below treeline

 lots of standing water below the trail

 keyhole, far away

 inside the shelter

 keyhole quite up close

 summit views

 summit is surprisingly big, even when it's not the first visit

about to head down, a bit crowded on the homestretch

Fri 7/18 - double, 75 minutes total

AM - 25 minutes easy, Cheesman Park. No repeat of yesterday's shenanigans, not enough energy for it.

PM - 50 minutes, City Park. Jogged over relatively easy, once I got to the park the pace picked up for a trip around the mile high loop. Perhaps overdoing it with the threshold stuff as I ran out of gas the last 15 minutes or so and had to putter it in. Hot again, dry again.

Thu 7/17 - double, 80 minutes total

AM - 30 minutes, Cheesman Park. Started out as a leisurely putter but turned into something else when a guy who was working way too hard passed by. Competitive juices kicked in and I proceeded to mark the guy, repass him, and put him away with a vengeance on a slightly uphill portion of the trail. Not the greatest idea perhaps but edifying nonetheless. Soreness in quads a thing of the past, not so much with the right ankle though.

PM - 50 minutes, Washington Park. Ended up something of a progression, not exactly planned. Feeling reasonably good and so went with it. Sunny and warm, no humidity though as the monsoons have passed for the time being. Locals seem to think conditions like today's are intolerable which is laughable.