Higher and Higher

Wasn't exactly feeling all that recovered from last week's race but I'm already started to obsess over my next race and by Saturday I knew I had to suck it up and get back out there for something beyond easy recovery training.  The School Bus Trail is not in the West Mag closure area and there's a way to access it also without going into the closure area if you know how.  My next race is the Xterra Mountain Championships in Beaver Creek, just outside of Vail, and that race is all about the climbing.  And not just climbing but climbing at a high elevation.  The bike ranges from 7425' to 9456' so I decided I'd better hit the high country at least once this weekend.  Plus, so hot in town, not quite as bad up at 9000'.  This trail felt so much steeper than 900' in 3.25 miles though to be fair I rode more than that.  Not sure where on the trail this map is measured from.  In all I rode 11 miles in 2 hours, 5 minutes, the portion up School Bus taking about 50 minutes from the start of the trail at the road to the top which I suspect is farther than the 3.25 miles shown on this map and measured from a different starting point.  I think I was around 5 minutes faster than a few weeks ago.  Didn't feel as hard anyway.

School Bus Trail

The bike portion of my race has a climb of 2000' in 5 miles and an overall elevation gain of 3600' in 15.5 miles.  The good news is that I don't think the trails are all that technical but I'm not sure I'll make it up there to pre-ride the course.  The run has a total elevation gain of 1300' in 5.75 miles and consists of 2 climbs separated by a downhill section.  The biggest of the climbs is around 607' in 2 miles.  So today I went up to Heil Ranch which isn't all that high but I didn't feel like driving and it's only 12 minutes or so away and provides a climb of 822' in 2.5 miles, just a bit steeper than my race.

Somehow the trail didn't feel as steep as it usually does but this could have been due to the snail's pace I was running thanks to the over 90 degree heat.  I was in the woods and there was occasional cloud cover but still, a hot day for a nearly 2 hour run.

I went a bit farther than this, linking up to Wild Turkey via Ponderosa Loop and turning around after I'd run for an hour.  I'm guessing it was maybe 6 - 6.5 miles in 1 hour, 52 minutes.

Not sure how this bodes for my race in 2 weeks but not much I can do about it at this point.  Most people pick Mountain Championships and Nationals for their 'A' races but I'm not feeling the love for this race being an important one for me, mostly because of the timing.  I've decided to look at it as another nice hard training day in preparation for Xterra Indian Peaks three weeks later.  Since I've already done that race and have a point of comparison I can try for some better times, especially on the run.

So the next 5 weeks leading up to Xterra Indian Peaks will see bike intervals, run intervals and as much hills as I can shake a stick at.

Poor dogs, it's too hot for them to do very much.  I'll have to pull out the hose and the weave poles so at least we have some kind of practice before Wednesday.  I found out the site isn't air conditioned, just swamp coolers so that could get interesting.  Don't know why I thought it was air conditioned.  I think I'd almost rather be outside but I guess we'll see what it's like and it's only Grand Prix and Steeplechase so hopefully won't be too long of a day.  Have a hilly bike ride scheduled for after the trial and Jonny laughed pretty hard when he saw that but I'm on a mission here so I'm determined.  But I do have some wiggle room in the training schedule if I end up too tired.  Hmmm, who's idea was all these races?

Winnie the Pooh does Chautauqua

I have a couple of days off.  Ah the luxury.  I had a leisurely early morning swim at the Rez with the masters group then an even more leisurely breakfast then decided a steep trail run was in order.  I settled on my old standby Enchanted Mesa/Skunk Canyon/Mesa Trail loop that starts at Chautauqua Park, a mere 12 minute drive.  I takes me just under an hour, I'm guessing it's around 4 miles or so but there are some good steep bits as well as some steady climbs so it's perfect training for my race plus beautiful scenery and most of the trail is in the woods and shaded.

I went back and forth about whether or not I should take Strummer.  Dogs are allowed off leash and he's very good on the trails but this time of year there are rattlesnakes to worry about never mind the mountain lions and bears plus it's a bit hot for him.  In the end I decided I didn't want to have to watch out for him and worry about him overheating.  Sometimes I swear I must by psychic or something.  Because 4 1/2 minutes into my run a guy with a poodle coming the opposite way down the trail is waving his arms at me.  I assume he's a guy I know from agility and start asking him how he is but it turns out he doesn't know me but he does want to warn me about the bear up ahead.  Very close up ahead.  Walking right down the middle of the trail.  I hesitate about going on.  I've spared you the details of how long it took me to park and how crazy crowded Chautauqua was and how oh so wrong I was about how it was going to be empty because it was a weekday.  First of all it's the height of tourist season and secondly nobody works in this town anyway so weekday means nothing to the La De Da Crowd.  Anyway, I've parked in the next county and braved the throngs of tourists, trust funders and kept spouses to get here, I'm not letting a silly thing like a bear turn me back.

I carry on up the trail at a walk and on red alert for Mr. Bear.  I don't see or hear anything for a bit and decide he's probably moved on.  I can't count the number of times someone has warned me about a rattlesnake or bear and then I never see it.  But then I hear a huge rustling noise right next to the trail about 10' away and sure enough an enormous black bear comes out of the brush and steps onto the trail right in front of me.  As he emerges from the brush and hopefully before he notices me I turn around and calmly walk back down the trail.  On the one hand you're not supposed to turn your back but on the other hand I want him to know I'm not a threat and that I'm heading out of his territory.  When he gets on the trail I turn back around and walk backwards so I can keep an eye on him.  He's so beautiful and I feel like I should be more scared but even though he looks right at me he seems relaxed and not bothered.  He slowly crosses the trail and ambles down the hill towards the Chautauqua concert and dining halls, perhaps in search of a cheesy omelette and some classical music.  I was half expecting him to nod and say 'Mornin'.  I can't imagine a more perfect way to see a bear, up close and in the wild but not in a threatening way.  I'm glad I didn't have Strummer with me.  And I'm very glad the man warned me or I would have needed a new pair of shorts.  Of course I didn't have my camera with me.

The rest of the run proceeds without incident.  I see bear poop but no more bears or critters of any kind.  The hills didn't feel too bad on my legs, maybe there's hope for me yet.  Now I have to figure out how I'm going to tire out Strummer for the day.  Maybe I'll risk the rattlesnakes and naked hippies out at the north side of the Rez so he can go swimming.  Heck I've faced a black bear already today, I suppose I can deal with the naked hippies.

It's Such A Gorgeous Sight

I’ve lived in Boulder over 16 years now and sometimes I still can’t believe how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful place. Three weeks in a row of agility trials has left me a bit burnt out so I decided to give it a rest last week and try to get my butt up into the mountains a bit more. Saturday I went for a run on the Mesa Trail, or more accurately some of the lesser used trails that branch off of it. I started off at the back door of Chatauqua away from the maddening crowds of tourists and wound my way up the relatively quiet Enchanted Mesa to the nearly deserted Skunk Canyon. The wildflowers on Enchanted Mesa were spectacular, I’ve never seen such a huge display of color bursting out everywhere. Coming up to the top of a hill I was greeted by a postcard view of the Flatirons with wildflowers as far as the eye could see just as the line ‘it’s such a gorgeous sight’ from The Cure came trickling through my headphones. Yes Mr. Smith I do agree though I’m sure this scene it not at all what he had in mind when he penned the song.

It’s a steep but short descent down into Skunk Canyon then another steep climb out to join up to the Mesa Trail. I had the joint to myself, running into just one person running with a dog. I turned off the MP3 player to enjoy the sounds of the birds and the peacefulness of the woods & the canyon. I can hardly believe all of this is only a 12 minute drive from my house and I don’t come here nearly as often as I should.

I headed south on the Mesa Trail to a steep descent and decide to head back. I’m trying to be sensible about adding on mileage esp. when it’s hilly trails. I went back north on the Mesa Trail and turned off onto Enchanted Mesa which is less crowded and nicer than the Mesa Trail. The whole thing took an hour and a few seconds which is what is normally takes me when I’m not in super great shape. I’m not pushing for speed at all on runs where I’m trying to build distance but I have been trying to push the pace a little on my shorter early morning runs these days.

I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera so I came back on Monday with Jonny & Strummer for a leisurely hike. The pictures didn’t come out as nice as I’d hoped but I still can’t figure out my stupid digital camera for the life of me. I’ve been thinking of getting a nicer one and a friend who just bought a fancy Canon brought it over to my house so I could try it out and the pictures I took still looked like crap. I think I need to break down and sign up for a class but yeah I have time for that.

Sunday Jonny & I went up to Buffalo Creek/Wellington Lake so I could pre-ride the bike course for my triathlon next month. It’s only 10 miles and as it turns out about 7-8 miles is on dirt roads. The few miles of single track are smooth and completely rideable though there are some steep climbs with a few tightish switchbacks. It’s a beautiful trail though a bit eerie as it climbs through an area that was hit by a terrible wildfire some years ago. There were some wildflowers and groundcover that have regrown but the burnt out trees remain. It was pretty cool though I’m concerned about passing during the race since it’s very narrow in places. I’m afraid I’ll end up with a trail of riders stuck behind me because there’s nowhere to let them pass and I’m not stopping on a steep narrow hillside anyway.

The singletrack is in the middle of the course and the first 3 miles are a steep descent on a dirt road that’s mostly in good condition but has some bad deep ruts and is partly washed away in places. It was no problem riding it on my own but with other riders there it could get tricky to pick a line past the ruts. The other problem with this is that I have to come back up the same steep dirt road at the end of the ride. Did I mention this road was steep? It took me 34 minutes to climb a measly 3 miles. I said a lot of bad words on the way back up. The best part is that I get to run afterwards. Better start doing some hill climb bricks. Not that that’s going to help all that much at this point.

Since the course was only 10 miles and we’d driven nearly 2 hours to get there we decided to do some extra credit on the Colorado Trail. Beautiful sweet singletrack as far as the eye could see, I’d much prefer riding this to the horrible steep dirt road but it’s completely not practical for a race. Oh well. This will be an experience but I doubt I’ll repeat it next year. I’d rather ride my bike for fun on really nice trails all summer than race on dirt roads.

The photos were all taken from Enchanted Mesa trail in Boulder with views of the Flatirons (with wildflowers in foreground) and Skunk Canyon. I apologize for the hodge podge layout, Blogger does that and I don't know how to control it (doesn't look that way when I lay it out). You can click on any photo for a larger view.