Monday; June 27th: Off to work today and a day off from running.
Tuesday; June 28th: Was hoping to sleep late in Spokane, but the ole brain started at 6am; so down to the hotel gym at 7am or so for abs, shoulders, and biceps. Out the door by 830am for what was supposed to be a nice trotter run along the Spokane River and Falls. Well, it was nice for a couple of miles, although quite warm. BUT THEN! There was this little piece of pavement on the bike path...it was sticking up in the air about a quarter of an inch! Now, do you think I could navigate over/around/through/beside this little bump in the road? OH NO>...head over tea kettle! There were two guys walking towards me and not sure what was behind...but as I sat on the ground, assessing the damage, I heard this: "Wow, it really cut your leg pretty bad." (I think my less than ladylike words told him all was really ok.) Since all parts were still attached...well, minus some skin over various places....the dirt was brushed aside and off I went again....with the two fellas exclaiming what a tough girl I was...OH Palezzzzz...it hurt like *&%$())@%^! As usual after a fall, things loosened again and I finished the run. Now sporting rashes, cuts, scraps on the right knee, right shoulder, both hands and right side of the ribs, tomorrow morning is gonna be stiff at first! Mileage today? Hopefully 5 total.
Spokane Falls.
Wednesday; June 29th: Maybe it was a good thing that the day started with work early and ended late. This morning my body looked like it had been in a discussion with the entire gang from Harlem after I had encroached on their territory! (In New York tonight.) Didn't think it was that bad of a tumble, but it appears that pavement was ANGRY!
Thursday; June 30th: Nuthin! Working all day.
Friday; July 1st: Nothing fancy this morning, just a quick 5 miler with Traysen.
Saturday; July 2nd: A 230am wakeup to go running....Yep, I am psycho! BUT, it was well worth it. Meeting about 10 of the Team Crud fellas and Gina (the only other girl) at the Cog Parking lot, it was a 430am start up Barr Trail. Darkness still hung over the trail for the first several switchbacks through the Ws, but what a beautiful sunrise. The guys and Gina quickly left the ole girl in the dust, but that was ok. With Leadville in two weeks, this had to be an easier effort. (Luckily, the effects of Tuesday's digger had faded.) As the climbing continued, the Ws passed and the scrub oak took over; one thing noticeable over the last few runs on the Peak is that the trail is washed out with many areas needing the annual dose of filler dirt. (Or is that these short, stubby legs are just noticing the rock hopping more these days?) From the Ws to Barr Camp was the usual trot and at this time of year plenty of wildflowers to view with No Name having a good display of columbines. Climbing through Barr Camp went quickly (no stopping) and then it was into the challenging 3 miles to A Frame. I find this section particularly difficult with the technical aspects of continual large rocks and tree roots....not to mention a gain in altitude of about 1500 feet. Today proved to be quite mentally taxing during this 3 miles and a few times I thought that 20 miles round trip would quite enough, but alas after moving past the A Frame sign, the trail moves into a favorite section of twisted pine and alpine wildflowers. From there the climbing returned to an easy effort and the ole mind was revived into continuing to the top. A non stop fast hike until reaching the 16 Golden Stairs...I think there is a huge wall there and I just fizzle .....from the bottom of the stairs to the top (about a half mile? total), I crawl, stop, boulder hop, cuss, huff, puff, hands on the knees rest, BUT what a great feeling to reach that sign at the top. A quick breather and a swig of water and back down the trail.
Maybe I am getting old and more conservative ...or maybe I am just a wimp in terms of downhill running...or maybe it is the numerous downhill diggers encountered over the years..... BUT blazing down Barr Trail ( or most any other downhill, technical trail), just doesn't happen, It's more like tip toeing through the tulips, carefully placing each foot and working diligently to stay upright. Nothing eventful happened on the trot down and the effort was completed with only one stop at Barr Camp to refill a water bottle. One aspect very noticeable was the temperature! That trail has never been hotter! And it was still late morning!
All in all, a nice run....not a fast effort that would be attempted in an actual race, but the run had these highlights;
*turned what has always been viewed as an intimidating race into a training run; a huge mental confidence increase
*stayed upright!!! OH yeah!!!
*trotted up to Barr Camp; trotted all the way down
*beat my race ascent time by quite a bit; beat my overall race time by a good margin and the effort was not fast as would be in the race
* did the run unaided....two water bottles and a couple of gels with some endurolytes
*the distance was not a challenge; all systems were working great
Areas to improve:
*run more from Barr Camp to the top, especially once past A Frame
*gain more confidence in running downhill at a faster rate
*continue to work on hill climbing and a faster pace.
Total miles today: 25.0
Forget me nots....common flower above treeline
The east face of Pikes Peak can be a mentally tough view, knowing you have to climb that entire section through a series of switchbacks. Honestly, it is only about three miles total!
Sunday; July 3rd: Up again at 230am! Why did it seem easier on Saturday when the plans were to go running up and down Pikes Peak verses going to work!?
Flying all day and a 100 degree temp in Salt Lake yielded a day off.
Perfectly sore after yesterday's effort; just what would be expected.
Summary: A good off/recovery week of running. The best day of course was the run on Barr Trail, an outing I have wanted to do for a few years. Again, this is now a training run and not the intimidating race/challenge it has been in the past, a paradigm shift. During this effort on Saturday, I was often reminding myself of a paragraph from the book, To The Edge, by Kirk Johnson. As he is running across the Badwater course in Death Valley, he continually reminds himself to just make it to the support van up ahead; do not think about what is beyond that van. Once at the van, refill water and continue to run to the van again...and repeat and repeat. He finished the race. As the Barr Trail climbs, there are points where the summit is clearly visible; it is at these sections where this "run to the next switchback/tree/rock" comes into play and the rest of the trail will take care itself. Looking at the Peak so far away and so high can mentally shoot you down when you consider the whole challenge at once.
From here, I can have a goal to better Saturday's time on the same course. Hopefully, Tuesday was the once a year digger and the remaining of year will be all efforts in the vertical position!
Total miles: 35.0
Total miles for 2011: 1625.0
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