Sept 26th: 7 miles, 2000 vert, Shanahan/Table Mesa out-and-back, easy pace.
Sept 27th: 12 miles, 2750 vert, Royal Arch via Shanahan/Table Mesa/Enchanted Mesa/Flatirons Loop. I have to cross north quite a ways along the Mesas to get to the first Flatiron (I start in Shanahan), so this is actually quite a solid run. Didn't realize the trail up was closed, so I climbed the Flatiron Loop and then threw in Royal Arch as a consolation. Rock steps in the rain are a bit terrifying.
Sept 28th: Off.
Sept 29th: 9 miles, 2000 vert, Shanahan/Table Mesa/Kohler out-and-back in the mist.
Sept 30th: 17 miles, 5800 vert, South Boulder Peak, Bear Peak, and Green Mountain loop. 3:22. This route left me spent. I went sans food and definitely bonked on the final few grunts at the end.
I set out up the Shanahan South Fork trail, climbing up through the damp and the dark of the old ponderosa stands. It was going to be a blue bird day, but the rains over the past week soaked everything and made for a humid warmup.
After topping out on the ridge, I cruised the Mesa trail over to the Shadow Canyon north spur. The steep, rocky rollers along the base of Bear foreshadow what lays around the corner in Shadow Canyon. I've never gone up Shadow Canyon - only down. And for good reason. The "trail" is a debris pile in the steep canyon that ascends 1700 feet in one mile. Ouch. Lots of large boulders and rock steps necessitate some seriously high knees, and it quickly takes a toll on your muscles. I probably pushed too hard, but I was trying to top out on the saddle before it got too hot.
Just before the saddle the trail mellows out into a series of sandy switchbacks that were a pleasure to run, if only to cool my hiking muscles. The final jaunt up to South Boulder is a steep, narrow trail, and I transitioned into a hands-on-knees power hike, blasting by a few other folks on the way up. After scrambling up the pile of boulders at the top, I turned around to retrace my steps back to the saddle and cross over to Bear. After tagging Bear, which was a detour of at most a few minutes, I started the slick descent down the backside of Bear. The trail cuts its way through a talus slope, and at the pace I was dropping I was sending piles of stones skittering off the trail. Sometimes I wonder how much humans are accelerating the erosion at the tops of mountains. Makes me feel a bit guilty. I'm of the belief that there is almost no "sustainable" human activity.
Anyway, back to more lighthearted things. The west ridge of Bear is one of the most cruisey trails in the Boulder system - it's the perfect grade, and the curves are the perfect radius, for getting up some solid speed. Crossing Bear Creek, one begins the climb up to Green rather abruptly for a few minutes until the trail chills out a bit. I like running up Green-Bear and the west ridge of Green. It's a minimally technical, steady climb that's runnable with a bit of effort. The last mile up to the top isn't so bad - by that point, it's only another 500 feet of vert. I felt some fatigue up the final quarter of a mile to the summit; the rock and log steps burned my quads and knees, the ghosts of Shadow Canyon lingering on.
I decided to descend the front-side of Green via Greenman and Ampitheater. It was packed to the gills with groups of students and older folks getting out the enjoy the weekend weather before the storms hit again. It's an extra challenge to manage while ping-ponging boulders, hairpin curves, and slick rock.
After hitting the bottom at the Gregory Canyon trailhead, I did my usual punishment slog up Bluebell-Baird and Ski Jump and dropped down to the Chautauqua station for water. It was heating up so I chugged half a bottle, refilled, and then got to it back up the Chautauqua trail. It's a steep, punishing 600-700 foot ascent through the crowds back up to Bluebell-Baird. But I knocked it out pretty fast this time and dashed over to the Mesa trail without much effort. The climb up and over Enchanted Mesa felt pretty rough, but once the trail leveled out above Skunk Canyon I was able to get my speed back up to snuff.
The final few miles are gravy - it's the middle of my daily run so it's a series of climbs, booters, and rocky stretches that I know well. That's useful to me, because I can compare how I feel on this section to what I feel like fresh. I was definitely bonking here, but I was able to muster enough gas to push it up and over Shanahan Ridge without too much embarassment. All around a good push. Maybe I'll throw in Flagstaff next week for extra mileage.
Oct 1st: Lifting, 5x5 overhead press, bench, squat.
Totals: 54 miles, 14,550 feet of gain. That's stout! If I can continue this kind of training into next year, I think I'll be doing well.
Given the numbers, and the effort per mile, I think this week is equivalent to a 65+ mile week back in Fort Collins. I know I can add more mileage by running 6 days per week, but for me that treads into injury territory. For now, focusing on five solid days of quality running seems to be paying off.
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