Fri 7/22 - AM 80 minutes

CR 3 to Mosquito Pass, or nearby to it. Made it to the ridgeline anyway, just below to be accurate as I caught up to the CH who was hiking the same route with headstart. Immediately felt the effects of the thin air upon heading up the road. As it got higher, the road got steeper, and the footing more problematic, which made for a triple whammy. Kept up the running until reaching the first major switchback crisscrossing the steep sides of the ridge, at which point I had to mix in walking breaks on the steepest pitches or else risk losing consciousness. Topped out somewhere a little below 13,000' which will certainly do. I had plans of trying to tackle one of the local 14ers but in hindsight the views were just as spectacular from the pass and the route smoother and more compelling. The CH and I hiked back down to the point at which the road changes from smooth wide gravel to rocky 4WD, where the car and lunch were waiting for us.

Thu 7/21 - AM 75 minutes

Out and back along the Difficult Creek Trail. First run of any substance since the race four days ago, finally feeling like something other than slow jogging. A junior version of the race in fact, with half the climbing and 2/3 the distance. And I wasn't racing which was the key thing, although at times I was rolling along at a pretty good clip. Some gnarly footing and steep pitches, more of an issue on the way up than down. In the afternoon drove back over Independence Pass and on to Leadville, soon after our arrival the daily rains rolled in harder than any of the previous days.

Wed 7/20 - PM 50 minutes easy plus 4.5 hour hike

After a strenuous morning hike in the Maroon Bells, up to near Willow Pass and back down, feeling rather strung out. Rallied enough to head back out on the bike path before dinner. Timed it just right to coincide with heavy rains, with big winds and the light show as well. The monsoon pattern has been both reliable and strong wherever we've gone it seems. Not unexpected but still it rained an awful lot. Legs tired after the hike.

Tue 7/19 - double, 80 minutes total very easy

AM - 40 minutes very easy, out and back at San Luis SP. An easy shuffle along the main drag next to the lake that's spawned the bugs that have been eating us alive the last two days, plus a short stretch on the highway before turning around and heading back in. First 15 minutes or so with the CH then the rest by myself, with only a very minor pickup in pace the last couple minutes. Legs still sore unsurprisingly. 

PM - 40 minutes easy out and back along the East of/East Aspen trail. As luck would have it, a dirt sidewalk/bike path/walking trail starts up at the entrance to the campground where we're staying, ever so gradual downhill heading into town then slight incline heading back to camp. Very relaxed putter and just the type of recovery I needed. Plus I got to avoid going into Aspen itself. Beat the afternoon rains. 

Mon 7/18 - 5 hour hike

Return to the infamous South Zapata Lake trail which humbled and dismissed the CH and I a year ago. This time we made it to the trail's end, a nice spot if ever there was one but a journey that seemed neverending at times. I had entertained notions of doing an evening run, which went right out the window given the length of the hike and the soreness in both legs from yesterday's pounding. Seemed gratuitous in fact, plus given how late we finished there really wasn't time for it anyway.

Sun 7/17 - AM 2 hours trail race Barr Trail

A stinker of a race and about what I expected. Simply too flat and tired to be in any condition to race up and down a mountain at altitude. Not using the rebreather in the lead up to this trip likely played a role as well but no gimmick or performance aid was going to make up for the crap way I felt right from waking up in the morning. Tried to hold something back early in deference to how flat I felt, still overdid it and felt myself give in a bit at about 25 minutes. As it turns out it was the first of multiple tactical retreats on the day. In fact the whole thing resembled a fartlek workout as there were (brief) moments of being motivated and interested bracketed by longer stretches of just not caring and trying to get through the thing without injuring myself. By far my worst time on this course, both up and down. While it was nice to be on the trail as always, I wish I had just been out for a run and not trying to race it. Finished feeling more used up and depleted than last year when I ran almost four minutes faster. Ugh.

Sat 7/16 - PM 30 minutes very easy

Garden of the Gods. Stop and start putter around the southwest corner of the park with the CH, with various photo ops along the way. Feeling spectacularly listless and unmotivated after both the day's travel and yesterday's long session in steambath conditions. Tired to the bone.