Trails!

AM: Standard monday morning 10 mile run.  I did have a bit more fatigue this monday compared to others.  It took a while to get the body rolling, but towards the end, things were better.

T- 1:14:56 (7:29) 146 ave *750' vert

PM: T-ball then Landfill Loop (6) then Mowed Lawn.  Tired

Big Trail Workout - 

I joined Jon (joe was a no-show) as we re-visited a classic once a year run that I just have to do.  It about killed me last year, but this year it would be different.  The difference this year, was that we now know very well the trail up to the Wind Caves Saddle (Birdineau).   Last year there was some serious bushwhacking but not this year.   I wasn't feeling terribly well today so took it easy from First Dam to Guinavah Malibu (6 miles in 49 mins).  Things didn't improve on the wind caves trail (3 miles in 44 mins - 2200' climb).  Jon was hardly working the uphills.  He sure felt better than I did on the climbs. 

We stopped at the summit to enjoy the view before blasting down the Green Canyon side hurdling the hundreds of tree roots.  Things suddenly perked up for me on the downhill and soon I was out of range of Jon.  I took a nap waiting for him at the bottom, but soon enough he arrived and it was time to hit the singletrack out of Green Canyon.  He was whining and moaning so I left him again.  Too bad the whole run today wasn't downhill as I could do that just fine.  Before long, we finished the short BST section and we were back at the car. 

I looked back at the run data from last year and this year, we ran the Wind Caves climb 4 mins faster (even though sticking to the correct trail we added 1/2 mile) and picked up another 5 mins over the last 6 miles.  Fun run, but that one time is enough for the year.  I will be back next year...

T-2:17:52 (8:53) 156 ave 180 max

3000' gain according to SportTracks. 

8.5 slow miserable miles.  Providence via Von's park. 8:25 ave pace 450' Vert

I opted to scale back the small workout I had planned for today due to lingering fatigue.  It takes a bit longer for me to recover from big workouts while running high mileage. It is a bit ambitious to run 2 big or even 1 big and 1 small workout PLUS a long run.  So, today I just ran.  At times it was fast, at times it wasn't.  I did the providence star loop plus an extra mile on Deer Fence for 11 miles.  

T-1:21:30 (7:25) 148  *875'

Long day today.  It all started with a Ragnar speaker system blaring into my house from the start of the relay at 5am.  Seriously.  I heard "5 minute warning".  I thought the neighborhood was being evacuated and we had only 5 mins to get out.  That woke me up good.  Never mind that, it is just a silly relay race thingy.  Anyway, I couldn't get out of work until 6pm so I rushed over to the start line to attempt a world record vertical climb contest thing on a treadmill, but by the time I got there it was all taken down so dejected, I decided to run the first leg of the course.  For those lucky enough to run as runner 1, you probably didn't take much notice, but you entered hallowed ground as you ran on the "Planet Walk" today.  Congrats on that achievement.  Anyway, I followed the course until Zollinger Park in Providence and decided I had enough and headed home.  

Long Trail Run - 

Today was another day I have been looking forward to.  I love exploring new trails and being fit enough to cover so much terrain in one swoop.  This is why I run...  Today's expedition was another section of the Bear 100 course.  This time it was almost 80% (total guess) of new trail for me.  We started right where we left off last week at Right Hand Fork.  The first section was up Willow (not new) over to Temple Fork (new) down Temple Fork (not new).  This spit us out to where we met up with Jon's car that we stashed and the start of the Out and back up Blind hollow to Tony Grove (all new).  I was feeling great after this first section but it was a good thing because the fun was just starting.  Time to climb 2400' in 5.25 miles then descend 500' to tony grove.  It was made more challenging by the rough ground, rocky footing, 20 fallen tree crossings, moose blocking the path, etc.  Very eventful section.  I was quite grateful to finally made it to the lake only to be surprised to see that it still had ice on it.  In mid June.  Crazy.  The snow on the hillside (that we found our way through) was quite substantial too.  Too much for this time of year (IMO).  By the time was finally made it back to the car I was pretty tired and glad to be done, but what a run! 

T-3:48:12 (10:33) 5200' climb

Weekly summary: 82.5 Miles 9825' Climb (big week for climbing - PR)