Time: 1:34
Distance: 8.21
Effort: Easy
Body: Poor
Weather: Sunny and warm
Dashed out at the end of the day with dog in tow for a run around the upper loop at Bergen Peak, part of the Elk Meadow Open Space. I enjoyed being out in the spring-like temps, but the run was a tough one.
My lower back has been barking at me this week. Despite a two-hour session of Thai and traditional massage last night, things hadn't improved much this morning. I hoped a run would shake things out, or at least not make things worse.
Things were fine (but slow) on the ups, but on the downs, I caught a toe on a rock, which thrust me forward and tweaked my already tweaked back...right where the lower back meets the pelvis on the left side. I didn't go down, but whatever was tweaked was pushed further. Not good.
Still, it was good to be out. Maya certainly thought so. She made good use of the remaining snow banks.
A few pics from the run.
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| Heading up the Bergen Peak Trai |
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| View of the Mt. Evans group from the Bergen Peak Trail |
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| Another snow bank at the top of the upper ridge off the Bergen Peak Trail |
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| Pikes Peak from the Too Long Trail |
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| Yet another snow bank. |
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| Looking down toward Elk Meadow from the Too Long Trail |
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| A lot of elk were grazing in Elk Meadow this afternoon. |
Also, I signed up today for August's Pikes Peak Marathon. Decided to skip the Ascent this year. I put my projected finish time as 4:50. I ran a 5:11 last year the day after running the Ascent. I had a poor ascent during the marathon, hitting the summit a good 22 minutes slower than the day before.
1,635 feet o' elevation gain.
I like the snow bank look. Looks a lot more enticing than the double.
ReplyDeleteI think you are gonna kill it this at PPM. It is amazing that you can essentially run what you do in the Ascent anyway, and then do the RT.
The Double is about as insane as it gets if you are really trying tag both (callin' Mr. O'Day).
I have a Brother in law who's daughters name is Maya.. good choice! I got it PPM as well... Looking forward to seeing all my blogging friends again.
ReplyDeleteMaya is adorable! Great to see you having a blast with her.
ReplyDeleteOn the fence with PPA. Gotta pull the trigger soon if I want to run it. And I'm with GZ, you're going to rock that PPM on fresh legs.
Yeah...looking forward to the PPM. Hope to connect again w/ you, Ward.
ReplyDeleteJamie - you had better move very quick!
GZ - thanks for the vote o' confidence. I'll have to try whatever special sauce you pulled out of the cupboard last year!
PPM again? You got a case of the Zacks!
ReplyDeleteI do whatever GZ tells me to.
ReplyDeleteTake it out as hard as possible through the Ws.
ReplyDeletewhat camera do you use for trail running? I am in the market for a new one.
ReplyDeleteThe camera is a Canon SX210. I've been pretty happy w/ it, but I'm not sure its the best thing for the rough world o' trail running. I have been thinking about getting something a little smaller...a little more durable...a little more water (sweat) resistant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment.
I love the dog stuff, she'll be a great training partner.
ReplyDeleteHow do you feel about your 2009 PPA/3:06 and Evans/2:29? Would you say they were both solid times for you in 2009? Or, was one a bad day and the other a good day...?
Rick - interesting questions about the PIkes/Evans times. Today, I don't feel that great about either of them. I remember at the Pikes run feeling satisfied that I ran about equal to my training, which is to say well below potential, but decent given the amount of time/effort I put into it. I definitely wanted sub-3 hours, but was pleased to knock a bunch of time off the PR. I'm shooting for something much closer to 2:50 this year on the ascent portion of the marathon. As for Evans, I went into that race with no idea what to expect...no splits to chase...no goal...just hoping to run it reasonably well. I honestly don't know if that day was a good one or a bad one. I just don't know that race well (even though I've run it twice). I would say I could do substantially better now than I did then. So, I'd say that for me, both were somewhat solid days given the training I was doing then, but far from what would satisfy me today...or something like that.
ReplyDeleteYou'll lower that 2:56 to 2:50 for sure this year. 2:50 was always my goal to shoot for on PPA, but things never came togather for me after A-Frame on race day. On 2 seperate days, when I lived in Woodland Park, I ran the PPA course on my own in the 3:05 area. Using that time I'm trying to come up with a ralistic goal for Evans. If 3:05 translates to a 2:29 I don't know if I'll be happy with that ;-) I've got some work to do!!
ReplyDeleteI had a couple close-call-stumbles Saturday on the Ponderosa Loop at Heil. I keep wondering what's gonna happen when I actually hit the dirt and worse the rocks. Not looking forward to that :)
ReplyDeletejc
Jchrysler - I hear you...every now and then I catch myself thinking..."what would happen if I had tripped in that section back there." Unproductive thoughts, to be sure. Still, hard to help, every once in a while, pondering the "what-ifs."
ReplyDeleteRick - you should be able to crush the Evans 2:29. Looking back, I didn't run it as hard as I could have. For example, I know I didn't push hard on the big downhill section to Summit Lake. I also know I didn't run as hard as I could. Plus, one of the times I ran the race is was very cold and very windy (they almost called the race at the half-way point and sent us up the hill not knowing if we'd be allowed to go past that point). So, hope for a sunny, still day!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jim!
ReplyDelete