Upward Over The Mountain: Week In Review 8/20-8/26: New Kicks & Gore Range Recon

   If this post had been written two days ago it would have been quite melancholy and blue, but fortunately my body regrouped and I ended the week feeling great. After a really funky day last Saturday, which required my working from 2:30am until noon, and then a pacing stretch that lasted from 5:45pm until 3:45am, my body was thrown out of whack. No soreness or anything, but I felt like I weighed 250 pounds on every outing.

   I don't know if its merely coincidence or if it gave a bonafied boost to my morale, but after getting a new pair of New Balance MT1010s in the mail, I returned to normal (whatever that means). Either way, in the three runs I've had in the new kicks they have worked flawlessly. I look forward to testing them out on some longer runs on the Run Rabbit Run course this week.

   I got to see some new trail this week, too, which is always a delight. We set out to do the Lost Man Loop off of Indy Pass, but I was just feeling so lethargic we only went out a couple of miles. I look forward to seeing the rest of it. I also set out on a not-before-seen section of the Gore Range Trail, leaving its southern terminus at I-70 and running up 7.5 miles to north Ten Mile Creek. The Gore Range Trail runs between 45 & 49 miles with about 10,000 ft of elevation gain. Rumor has it that the FKT is somewhere around 12 hours at present. I would like to give it a go in October and see if I can lower that time to somewhere below 10 hours. Whether I run it in sections or do a thru-run, I really want to see the rest of this seldom-traveled gem of a trail.

Monday 8/20-
   X

Tuesday 8/21-
   4 miles with Luke, Luna, and Mel on the Lost Man Loop, :45, 400 ft

Wednesday 8/22-
   6 miles with Luna on the Boulders trail, 1:00, 800 ft

Thursday 8/23-
   15 miles with Luna on the Gore Range Trail, 2:50, 2,800 ft

Friday 8/24-
   AM- 3 miles with Luna on Boulders, :30, 400 ft
   PM- 6 miles with Luna on the CT at Tennessee Pass, :50, 400 ft

Saturday 8/25-
   7.5 miles with Andy, Luke, and Luna on the Highline Loop, 1:15, 1,400 ft

Sunday 8/26-
   6 miles on the Boulders trail with Luna, new PR, 24:08 to the road crossing, 44:15 round trip- the ascent was about 30 seconds faster than the previous best, while the round trip time was over 5.5 minutes faster!?
   I was pretty pumped about this run, I ran with music for the first time since I ran my fastest time up and down Elbert (do I sense a PR trend?) and really enjoyed it. Many thanks to the Alabama Shakes, Ratatat, and the Local Natives, you all will be joining me on the upcoming 100.

Totals: 47.5 miles, 8 hours, 7,000 ft