July 4th- July 10th

 

“Courage is knowing what not to fear.” - Plato

Monday:  

11 AM:  3 miles w/ 300ft of vert averaging 6:55pace.  Burro Buster 5K in Fairplay... planned to run this for fun but shit no one would go so I did.  Only just averaged 6:55 pace and still won by over 3 mins.  Love the stairs in the run coming up from Fairplay beach towards the beginning of the race.  Told the RD that he needs to reverse the course so you end on the stairs about 50 yards from the finish, think that will the plan for next year.  He loved the idea.  You are welcome.

Spent the rest of the day taking in the Fairplay 4th celebration going on with Paula, Don and Amy.  Such a fun damn day!  Also got me a new custom hat from Colorado Mountain Hat Company in Fairplay.  Wish I still had mine from when I was younger but this one should last to the day I die.

Tuesday:  

11 AM: 6.1 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 8:08pace.  Easy cruise from the coffee shop in Fairplay out of town on a dirt road towards Mt Silverheels and back.  No real effort, feeling great!  Sleeping one more night at George's cabin and heading back home early tomorrow morning for the day to get my Hardrock gear then coming back up here to stay at Don's until it is time to go to Silverton.  Trying to set myself up for success with being high as long as possible before the race. 

 

6 PM:  Came back from working remote all day in Fairplay to the cabin only to discover that I locked myself out.  GOD DAMN IT.... GZ's brother in-law tried to help me get in with no luck so headed home to Broomfield get the spare key from GZ this evening.  At least I got a night in my own bed.  With that as GZ'z brother in-law was looking for the key, this happened.  Might have been a blessing in disguise I locked myself out so he could scare this bear away from the in-laws house before any damage was done.

Wednesday:  

 

9 AM:  5.1 miles w/ 400ft of vert averaging 7:45 pace.  Out and back on the Dirty Bizmark from the Coalton Trailhead.  Just a great morning to be out there cruising.  Felt really good after the first mile once I was warmed up.  Had to keep pulling it back.  Heading back to Fairplay this afternoon to hopefully unlock the cabin and move over to Don's house until it is time to go to Silverton next week.

Thursday:

9:30 AM:  7.2 miles with 2900ft of vert in 1:57.  From the house outside of Fairplay to the powerlines on the ridge where I went up and over and back 3.5 times then took the long way back on the dirt roads to get in some normal running.  The powerline section up and down was super tech and no defined trail reaching about 25% grade, see the photo below.  Loved this so much, it was a blast. 

Friday:  

6 AM: One week to go..... hope all this time in Fairplay above 9,500ft helps get me ready.  By the time the race starts it will be over 2 weeks up high.  Thanks again GZ and Don!!! 

 

9:30 AM: 4 miles w/ 500ft of vert averaging 10min pace.  Easy cruise from the house in Fairplay on dirt roads and a little bit of single track on the ridge.  The single track was only a 1/2 mile long before it ended so mostly on the dirt road.   Darian showed up and joined me as well before heading to Leadville for the 50 tomorrow.  Good luck buddy!  I will be following along.

4 PM: Got into Don's massage person up here in Fairplay for 90 mins of loosing up.  Doing everything I can to get ready for next Friday at 6am.   Also returned back to Don's house with a package for me from Speedland with some new kicks for Hardrock.  Hell to the yes!!!

Reading this evening between surfing the web and Ultrarunning Mag.... both of these blew my mind.  How does Killian not have pacers for Hardrock yet?

Saturday:

7 AM:  9.3 miles w/ 3200ft of vert in 3 hours.  Easy lap of Mount Sherman (14.043) and Gemini Peak (13,958).  Mostly hiking but some jogging here and there.  Kept it super easy even on the downhills so not to make myself sore in anyway.  So many damn people on Sherman but once I went over the summit and followed the ridge to Gemini I was alone until I returned to Sherman.  Awesome morning out there!

Sunday:

7 AM:  6.1 miles w/ 1000ft of vert averaging 9:30pace.  Easy cruise on the Tie Hack loop which is right off the road to Mount Sherman.  It rolls between 10,100ft and 10,600ft.  Stopping now and again to take photos of some of the awesome wild flowers.  Such a great morning out there running through the aspens and did not see another person at all this morning.

Total Weekly Numbers

Great taper week hanging out at Don's house in Fairplay.  THANK YOU DON!!!!  Basically in the last 2 weeks I have been over 9,800ft with the exception of one day where I had to run home to get a spare key for locking myself out of GZ cabin and to grab more gear for Hardrock.  I have done everything I can the past 6 weeks so we will see how it plays out on Friday.  I plan on staying here in Fairplay until Tuesday where I will drive to Ouray for Tuesday night then off to Silverton early on Wednesday morning.  Can't believe it is here already, time sure flies anymore.