On Tuesday, I worked really hard at the gym. Like, reeeally hard. I did several heavy compound exercises, bodyweight exercises, and even some supplemental movements. Squats, overhead press, bench press... pullups, dips... side-to-side sit ups, lateral raises, pushups, and even a plank. And then I rowed, with as good of form as I possibly could, for 40 minutes.
Then, less than 12 hours later, I got my butt up to do that Incline with Sharon! I was slower than last time (no surprise), but still landed a 36:01:
It was nice to see Steve on the way up. The Incline was super foggy most of the way up, although we never actually got rained on.
It was crazy, because we came up to the top still shrouded in fog, but when we turned the corner before the trail heads down to No Name Creek, the fog cleared out and the sun began to shine!
And also we found a friendly chipmunk.
It was so cool going back down into that sea of clouds!
On Thursday, I did what I considered to be some "light" weightlifting at home. I did some deadlifts because I hadn't done those on Tuesday, but I also did more squats and some core work. I didn't think I worked that hard, but I was still feeling those deadlifts on Sunday, so I guess I did.
On Friday, my family and I went for a hike at Cheyenne Mountain State Park! I must say, I love how they've designed and marked the trail system. Each trail is color coded, and the trail markers match the map. The kids had fun climbing around on some of the big chunks of Pikes Peak granite that are strewn throughout the park.
Now that the Dixon trail to the summit of Cheyenne mountain is complete, that has made my list of goals for this summer. It's one that I'll have to do as a trail run - at 14 miles round trip it's much too far to take the whole family. But we hiked for a couple miles and generally enjoyed the atmosphere while I scouted out the trail for future runs.
On Saturday, we took the day off and went to Elitch Gardens. After waiting in line for over an hour, we finally got to try out the new Meow Wolf ride... and it wasn't quite worth the hype. Hopefully the Meow Wolf Denver exhibit will be better than the themed ride. The only reason I mention this is because it may have had an impact on my run on Sunday - standing around an amusement park for hours, and being bounced around on roller coasters, might just have an effect on my training. I'll have to avoid doing that immediately before the Ascent. One wouldn't necessarily include roller coasters in one's mountain training, but I've come to see that it can be taxing on the body in a different way.
Sunday's Incline was even slower than Wednesday's. In 38:46, at least I was under 40. However, my perceived effort was quite high. It "felt" faster than my last Incline, but it wasn't.
It wouldn't be an Incline if I didn't see Steve coming down as I was headed up!
The painful Incline would only lead to a painfully slow Barr Camp day for me. I felt like my hips and lower back were screaming at me. I figured the deadlifts were still talking to me. It's not much fun to find the ghosts of deadlifts on Barr trail! But tough days like this test what we're made of, and how far we can push while already exhausted. At least that's what I tell myself.
I got a chance to chat with Jonathan about the area trail conditions while I was at Camp. The trail had been completely clear on my way up, and he reported that Elk Park still harbored some patches of snow, but they were likely to melt off quickly. Good news, as Sharon and I are planning to do Elk Park in a few weeks!
Unsatisfied with my Barr Camp time, I decided to climb a rock outcropping (this one is almost immediately off of Barr trail) just to get some photos and breathe deep in the mountain air, at least so I could say I got something out of the day.
I will say that I love rock scrambling! This is an easy scramble, and although it didn't improve my overall energy levels (that would be tough for how tired I was), it definitely provided inspiring views.
As I made my way down the mountain, the weather began to change a little, bringing some clouds in.
As I was nearly done, I ran into Craig almost at Soda Springs park. He had done a PR on Rampart to Woodland Park, and he had also done over 50 miles (!) On Rampart earlier in the week. This guy... he is just amazing! He's in his 70s and doing the kind of mileage that I dream of doing. I've only broken the 50 mile barrier once in my life so far. And here I am, feeling beat down by a lowly 12ish miler? Wow.
Well, the weather is supposed to change this week, and we might be getting more snow up on the Peak again. I might be in for some more weightlifting and rowing at the gym if the weather isn't really conducive to running outside. What I probably need is some light swimming and yoga, though!
I do hope that my tough week is just a "building block" on the way to a fast Ascent. It's difficult to see past the immediate sometimes, but I believe that I have been consistent in my training, and not every workout is going to leave me feeling amazing afterwards. It's all just another step in the process.
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