Two week backlog, this time. I'm slowly getting back to once-a-week, but I've been busy with side projects, a new intern, and my department's upcoming 50th anniversary.
Monday: Off.
Tuesday: 12 miles, Foothills trail 2500ft of gain. The Foothills and Reservoir Ridge lollipop loop. I've got a little tweak behind my left knee that disappears after warming up a bit. I've had this before and have no idea what it is - some sort of nerve entrapment - but it usually goes away after a few weeks.
Wednesday: 8 miles, Foothills trail, 1000ft of gain. My usual out-and-back to the Laporte dam, plus a tagging of the big A. Pretty nice morning, cool with a bit of a breeze. Summer running is upon us!
Thursday: 8 miles, Foothills trail, 1000ft of gain; 4 miles, Foothills trail, 500ft of gain. Headed out before sunrise so that I could get to work early, then squeezed in a run on the Foothills trail by the department (rather than hitting Reservoir Ridge). The climb south from the Laporte dam is really good training for the backside of Hope Pass - very rocky and steep.
Friday: 6 miles, Foothills trail 1000ft of gain. Tagged the big A and then tagged the shore of Horsetooth Reservoir before heading back. I need to start mixing my routes up a bit or else it gets boring.
Saturday: 6 miles, Foothills trail 1000ft of gain; 5K, Burning Can Beer Fest. I warmed up this morning with a repeat of yesterday. It was scorching on the way to Lyons for Burning Can, and by the time the race started just before noon, it was already over 90 degrees. The course was short at about 2.5-2.6 miles, which was pretty lame, but I finished a distant first place in 13:33. I figure that's worth a mid-16's 5K, which isn't bad for the insane heat. I tried to take water at mile 2 but my throat was so dry I couldn't get it down. Stuck around for the length of the festival and imbibed many cans of beer; I had no idea that Oskar Blues made such a kickass Scotch ale. We could see a pyrocumulus to the north during the festival, only realizing on the drive home that the foothills west of FoCo were on fire again.
Sunday: 8 miles, Foothills trail, 1000ft of gain. Somewhat smoky down in town but it was clear up on the ridge; this is "typical" when we have a fire, as the smoke settles in the low elevations. The fire exploded yesterday and today to something like 40,000 acres.
Totals:
Mileage: 52 miles
Elevation gain: 8000ft
Monday: 6 miles, Foothills trail, 1000ft of gain. Smoky and nasty, what can I say? Today the smoke was in a thin layer between 5200-5400ft - rather odd.
Tuesday: Off.
Wednesday: 6 miles, Pineridge, 500ft of gain. Went to Dixon Reservoir and back as a tempo run to keep my leg speed up. Otherwise taking in easy!
Thursday: Off. Driving nine million miles through Wyoming to Sheridan.
Friday: Bighorn 100, DNF at Porcupine (mile 48). Talk about a blowup. I got sick to my stomach somewhere after Dry Fork and Cow Camp, and by Footbridge I had fluid coming out both ends. Every two miles or so I'd have to pull off to the side to puke, which was okay with me, or dig a cathole behind a tree, which got old fast. I pushed it on the climb up to the turn-around, hoping to use the well-staffed aid station to get revitalized. I was down 7 pounds when I arrived and spent the better part of four or five hours running to the outhouse and sipping on ginger ale. I stopped eating and drinking for an hour, which calmed things down, but by then I was completely trashed. I just called it. Apparently a lot of folks got sick over that same section - perhaps there was bad water or contaminated food somewhere along the route.
Saturday: Sitting at the finish, cheering everyone on and getting fluids and calories back in the system.
Sunday: 4 miles, Foothills trail, 500ft of gain. Back home and feeling fine. My legs are surprisingly fresh.
Totals:
Mileage: 64 miles
Elevation gain: 9000ft
No comments:
Post a Comment