Mon - 6 miles (700') easy. Valley Trails. Pretty stiff from the weekend. Went super easy with Sam.
Tues - AM: 7.5 miles. City Park workout: 1,200 x 2, 1,000 x 2, 800 x 2, with second of each 1,200 & 1,000 as fartleks. 800s were actually .6 of a mile. I was feeling stiff and full of leg crud from the weekend, so started out easy and then upped the effort for the last few: 4:23 (5:50 pace), 4:21 (5:48), 3:14 (5:12), 3:22 (5:23), 3:09 (5:15), 3:02 (5:03).
PM: 3.5 miles (700') easy. Reservoir Ridge Loop.
Weds - 6 miles (700') easy. Valley trails with Sam.
Thurs - AM: 11 miles. Thanksgiving 4 Mile Race. 21:38. 5 mile w-u with Slush, 2 mile c-d.
PM: 6.5 miles (1,700') easy. Beautiful afternoon, so snuck out for an easy summit of Horsetooth before cooking T-Day dinner.
Fri - AM: 9.5 miles (3,200') easy. Up Round Mountain with Pete and Alwesir. 38 mins to 3 mile, then notched the effort to get up in under an hour. 58:50.
Sat - AM: 21.5 miles (5,500') easy. With Pete and Alwesir on JV version of El Chub. Windy out and just a little fatigued there towards the end. Fun morning.
Sun - AM: 18.5 (5,800') easy. Double Crosier with Pete, Alex and Eric Lee. From Drake TH to summit, then on to Glen Haven TH, back up to summit and then down to Drake. Legs felt pretty beat up, but still plenty in there to grind on Crosier for a few hours. Beautiful day out, which made the views from the summit even more outstanding than usual. Best 9'ner on the Front Range.
Total: 90 miles (18,300')
Made the last-minute call to register for Western States last night. There goes another $370. Whoosh. Pains me beyond belief to register for these things so far in advance, but I guess it's the nature of the beast. I was going to wait until Bandera - see how things played out there - and maybe take a qualification spot from that, but there are other people running Bandera that I know want to run Western, so I felt guilty potentially taking a spot from the Bandera qualifying pool.
Moving right along. Here's an event that won't break the bank ... coz it's free. December 10. Email, comment, whatever, if you have any questions. But essentially, we will be following exactly the same arrangements as last year (detailed in link above). And of course, this is the free teaser for bigger and better things to come on May 12, 2012. Registration for Fort Collins' first ever 50 miler opens December 7. Website goes live December 1 (or so).
A Horsetooth taster from Saturday:
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It seems like there are plenty of areas along the front range, where the hills are just starting, that would be suitable for some fell races. Looks like a ton of fun.
ReplyDeleteDavid T.
I *might* be in England next June ... specifically near Maidenstone ... so if one of these fell races is out there around that time, I will look to do it. It be a sin not too ...
ReplyDeleteThat guy who ran with his kid probably would go faster if he left her behind.
Hearing word that the steamboat 50 will have a 100 as well ...
Dave - the off-trail stuff would be tricky with permitting issues on public land, but we certainly have the terrain.
ReplyDeleteGeorge - If you mean Maidstone, and I'm pretty sure you do, then that's just down the road from where I grew up. Will give you some pointers if it pans out. And, yup, Steamboat 100 is a go.
Those are some serious grades on those courses. My wish list was just modified - scratched off "do a fell race in the UK", and added "spend a few months in the UK and do a whole series."
ReplyDeleteRick - yeah, four hooves for some of those climbs!
ReplyDeleteBorrowdale fell race note the technique of the fifth person (Simon Booth)one of the fastest descenders of rough rocky ground http://goo.gl/bfYrp
ReplyDeleteFantastic video of the Wasdale fell race http://goo.gl/WCygN
There are some brilliant races in the UK,there is a 6 race series in the lake district called the lakeland classics,distances between 13 miles and 23 miles all with at least 4000ft height gain! Wasdale horseshoe is 21 miles with 9000ft of ascent!!,the mountains might not be that big but you are often climbing from sea level and there is lots of potential for grabbing several summits in a run.Really friendly low key atmosphere aswell.
ReplyDeleteAndy
Forgot to mention,have fun on the BG Nick! Hope the weather is kind
ReplyDeleteBill - my knees (and all other joints) hurt just watching that. That Scafell descent is part of the BG route, I believe. Morgan is of the opinion that I should be hitting it in daylight, which in light of that vid, seems like very sage advice.
ReplyDeleteAndy - thanks! Plans and potential pacing crew slowly coming together. Hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew with this thing!
what, no Oasis?
ReplyDeleteGood that you are making sure there will be plenty of comp at WS this year again!
ReplyDeleteRe Stemboat 100, will this be the real deal (i.e. with the $$)
Look forward to the 10th, I think I will be running the JJJJJV version ;)
Nick - yup on Steamboat. Wait, the JJJJJV version? What is that, the kids fun run?
ReplyDeleteThats the Scafell PIKE descent on the Borrowdale fell race the SCAFELL (different mountain) descent is not as rough there is a path winding through most of the scree (talus?)most of its on grass.
ReplyDeleteThe second video shows a lot of leg 4 as you can see a lot is very runable don't think you'll have much bother if the weather behaves.
Very mild here just now, running in shorts still, this time last year was around -5c at sea level with snow at that level as well.
Great that someone ponied up the cash!
ReplyDeleteAnd, yes it is sort of like the kids fun run...maybe just to the top of horsetooth and back. It is really more like a taper and enjoy the scenery before running in a circle several hundred times run :)
Damnit, I was hoping to win the JJJJJV run!
ReplyDeleteBill - thanks, that puts my mind at ease a bit. On the weather, I am expecting the worst/hoping for the best. Plenty of time for things to get ugly. Wasdale footage is stunning. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteNick - okay, now I know what you're talking about. Have fun in the desert!
Brownie - don't worry I'll contrive a special category that only you can win.
Cool to put some video to the places I read about in "Feet in the Clouds". Looks awesome.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can't imagine a fell style race on the front range... we just don't have the vegetation covering the ground or the moisture to grow back the vegetation quick enough from hundreds of people running off trail, well not quick enough for the F.S./S.P. people.
Are you planning on doing the Steamboat 100?
Good luck on the winter BG!