101 Days of 2010: April 5-11 Week In Review

Saturday marked the 100th day of 2010, so it is appropriate that this weekend has contained some running that has allowed me to take stock of my fitness and preparedness for racing.

On Saturday I continued my progression of the weekly long run with a rather ambitious circuit on some of Boulder's most sublime stretches of trail.  The morning started with the usual jog up through the streets to meet Jeff at the Gregory Canyon trailhead for a run up Green Mountain.  To my surprise, Brandon and Tim were along for the ride as well, with Brandon taking a liberal head start.  However, after making efficient work of Gregory Canyon, the ice on the Ranger Trail proved to be too gnarly for Tim's soles and Jeff and I continued to the top alone, slowed somewhat by the slick early-morning conditions.

At the top, Brandon, Jeff, and I took some time to chat it up, eyeball the incoming clouds, and get good and chilled.  After the 4-way junction, I was on my own; next destination: Walker Ranch.

(Saturday's route: 6h16min, 43 miles, 9000+' vertical = one big loop)

There were several good reasons to include Walker Ranch in this run.  A) It has to be one of the higher-quality trails in Boulder County (depending on one's criteria of course), B) After weeks and months of almost pure vertical in my training, it was time to get some sustained, faster-than-12min-pace running in my life, and C) On a run this long, Walker has to be visited in order to reduce the amount of repetition in the course of the route.

(The dissected terrain of Walker Ranch, as seen from the summit of South Boulder Peak.)

I joined the 7.8 mile loop at the Ethel Harrold Trailhead off of Bison Drive and turned west, headed around the curcuit in a counter-clockwise direction.  The Walker loop is defined by its "rolling" nature, but growing up in Nebraska, to call the terrain in the area merely "rolling" is euphemistic at best and probably more accurately described as cruel.  The buffed singletrack path takes one in and out of three separate drainages associated with the upper reaches of South Boulder Creek.  Each ascent/descent offers ~700' of vertical change, usually in less than a mile but all with excellently maintained tread.  This sort of profile compares favorably with the Miwok 100K course.

(Some of the pleasing sights in Walker Ranch: South Boulder Creek/Eldorado Canyon. Photo: Richard Ryer)

One hour and 27 minutes after entering Walker I stopped at the Eldorado Canyon State Park Visitor's Center for a refill on water.  I'd been running for just over three hours and 21 miles and the day's cloudy, humid conditions required rehydration.  After a quick tour through the hamlet of Eldorado Springs, another 700' climb-in-one-mile, and a traverse back across the base of the mountains on the Mesa Trail, it was time for the crux of the day's run: another ascent of Green Mountain.

Somewhere over the course of the previous four and a half hours and 6000+' of vertical, my legs had lost a little of their early morning pep.  I struggled through the dry trail in Gregory Canyon, but still managed to get to the cabin in a respectable 16:40 from the trailhead.  The sun's warming rays, however, had transformed the Ranger trail from ice into slush and my legs were not happy.  I tried--in vain--to channel the strength and power that I'd felt during last weekend's four-lap endeavor, but ultimately it was all I could do to eek out a 38:55 ascent, 25 seconds slower than the initial climb with Jeff earlier in the morning.  Down the hill, a couple miles of barefoot around Kitt, and another successful long run was in the legs.

(Those four successive 700' climbs in the middle ain't trivial, especially when bookended by my 112th and 113th 2010 ascents of Green Mt.)

This morning was one of those pleasurable days where you get more than you'd orginally bargained for.  I woke up feeling starved (not unusual the morning after a long run), but neglected to even tuck a gel into my shorts, thinking that my legs would be satisfied with nothing more than a typical ascent of Green Mountain.  Happily, the combination of the absolutely fantastic weather and the usual post-long run boost (tomorrow will be when the fatigue truly hits) was enough to convince me it was a Three Peak Day.  I certainly paid for my lack of food or water on this run (however, there was plenty of snow to eat up on South Boulder Peak), but all was made right with some Teahouse French Toast with Jocelyn and my visiting college buddy, Martin (fresh off a respectable 2:37 outing at the L.A. Marathon a few weeks ago), after the run was over.

(Three Peak Sunday: Green, Bear, and South Boulder.)

Due to the casual nature of this morning's outing, I did bring a camera, though:

(Self-portrait on Bear Peak's West Ridge Trail.)

(Glacier travel on the West Ridge.)

(Looking confused on a bluebird day on 8549' SoBo Peak.)

(Running down Shadow Canyon is often more of a controlled fall.)

 

(Excellent trail leaving Shadow and heading back over to the Mesa trail.)

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04-05-2010

Mon-AM: 14 miles (2:13) Green Mt., up Back/down Greenman, 2800'
Drunken sloth pace today. Getting passed by women pushing babies in strollers on the Creek Path. 42min to shuffle up the hill, and then nearly fell asleep on the summit rock. But, what else should I expect after a 60mi/16,000' vert weekend?
PM: 6 miles (:53) Creek Path+barefoot at Kitt w/ Jocelyn

04-06-2010
Tue-AM: 15 miles (2:16) Green Mt., up Back/down Greenman, 2800'
A bit peppier this morning, but still tired and sleepy. Lots of graupel on the mountain after the early-morning storm. Finished up with 2mi of barefoot on the Kitt Fields. Knee was a bit twingy/achey towards end. That, combined with lots of class/school-work, meant it was time to be careful and take the evening off. The old me would've probably soldiered on and made things worse.

04-07-2010
Wed-AM: 15 miles (2:08) Green Mt., up Back/down Greenman, 2800'
Felt good this morning. Rest finally kicked in. 39:30 up the hill but that was slowed a minute+ by the 2-3" of new snow up there.
PM: 8 miles (1:02) Goose Creek+2mi barefoot at Kitt
Legs felt great, but I should've been doing homework instead.

 04-08-2010
Thu-AM: 20 miles (3:03) Green Mt. and Bear Peak+barefoot, 4500'
Awesome run; this is what happens when I decide speedwork is dumb. 35:15 up the Front of Green, but I was on PR pace without trying before I hit the postholes and snow on the Greenman trail. West Ridge of Bear had seen only one other runner since it snowed yesterday, but it was never too bad until the last 10min through the rocks. Descended Shadow instead of Fern because I was worried about traction. 2mi barefoot at end. Watch said 4700+' climbing, but I only count 4000' with the big climbs...not sure if I want to start counting the 100-300' rollers on the Mesa trail as legit vertical...they certainly sting enough.
PM: 8 miles (1:00) South Boulder Creek+1mi barefoot
Nice jaunt with Jocelyn, Alex, and the Mold-sauce.

 04-09-2010
Fri-AM: 15 miles (2:14) Green Mt., 2800'
Up Back down W. Ridge-Flag Rd-Gregory. Ran easy with Moldy, but of course his shoes were slipping everywhere on Ranger so we bailed onto the road. Great to catch up and chat with him.

04-10-2010
Sat-AM: 43 miles (6:16) Green-Walker-Eldo-Mesa-Green, 9000'
Had to run to the grocery store afterwards for some Nutella so I could refuel.

04-11-2010
Sun-AM: 20 miles (3:04) Green-Bear-SoBo Loop, 5000'
Up Back of Green in 38:15; 24:10 for West Ridge of Bear.
PM: 6 miles (:51) Creek Path with Jocelyn and Martin

Totals
-Miles: 170
-Hours: 25h 00min
-Vertical: 29,700'
2010 Summits (Day 101)
-Green: 114
-Bear: 4
-SoBo: 1