2012: Week 1

So far, so good. I ran 2 or more miles every day this week, and my legs are cooperating well up to this point. I will grant you that this was not a high-mileage week by any means. I ran a grand total of 30 miles, most of it in the second half of the week.

For the first half of the week, I made what I now realize was a mistake. Rather than follow my normal running schedule and take to the trails most days, I started running the roads from home in order to get the 2 miles in more conveniently. My legs very quickly let me know that they were having none of this road junk, and my calves started seizing up. I started to wonder if my running streak would be over almost before it began.

Then, on the Wednesday night run, I got the news I had been waiting for: the new M110s from New Balance had come in. I set a pair aside that night, and came back on Thusday to pick them up. My friend Matt happened to get a new pair of Altras the same day, so we decided to head up Flagstaff the next day to give our new shoes a try.

That run was exactly what I needed. I expected to feel flat, which is how I had been feeling for the past several days, but what happened was quite the opposite. My legs took to the trail like they never seem to do to the roads. The run up ended up taking about as long as I averaged this summer, despite the icy nature of the trail and the fact that neither of us had brought traction.

So my tactics have changed a bit, and when possible I will run at least 2/3rds of my miles on the trails. And if this method does not help, I will drop back to giving myself a day to rest out of each week. Keeping a running streak going is not worth reducing the overall quality of my running.

With that in mind, yesterday I headed to North Foothills Trailhead, with somewhat tired legs, to get in a flat(ish) run. Five and a half miles and 45 minutes later, I had a nice easy run under my belt, and the first few snowflakes were floating on the almost non-existent breeze.

The snow tapered off around 8 at night, so being a Minnesotan, I naturally assumed that the canyon would be passable in the morning. With that in mind, I woke up this morning planning to head up to Eldora and try out my skate-skiing legs for the first time since high school. Unfortunately, half a mile up the canyon, the road was already simply a layer of snow covering a significant layer of ice, the county apparently having decided that a desultory layer of sand, without de-icer, was sufficient. After the second time sliding out at 25 mph (with my snow tires!) I decided to throw in the towel and head over to old faithful: Green Mountain.

As I expected, given the general state of my legs, the run did not start out at, nor did it ever get to, a good pace. It was overall frustrating, fantastic, and frustrating again. Frustrating because I felt slow. Fantastic because of the gorgeous day. And frustrating again because I had significant difficult on the downhill today, for some unknown reason.

The frustration happens. Every time, there is something to learn from it. Today I think that lesson is to loosen, or lighten, up. I was tight when I started out, and I was tense and tight again on the way down from the summit. Not only does that not make for a fun descent, it in fact makes it more dangerous and, possibly, more damaging to your legs. And I can feel that after my run today. My legs are unusually sore for the amount of running I have done lately.  So the note to self is: lighten up.

On to the fantastic.

Today was absolutely gorgeous. We got about 2 inches of snow in Boulder last night, and I awoke this morning to bright sunlight and temperatures in the teens. I took my favorite route up Green: down Mesa to Bear Canyon, up Bear Canyon and Green Bear to the top.

Summer or winter, the Bear Canyon/Green Bear combo is one of my favorite routes. This morning it was even more so. The coat of fresh snow sparkled brilliantly wherever the sunlight hit it. The little creek that run downs the canyon was gurgling and laughing its way through the snow, now under the ice and now breaking free again, keeping me company as I kept a slow-but-steady pace up the canyon to my favorite spot in the Boulder Open Space.

About halfway up Bear Canyon, the trail, which until this point passes through evergreens and over rocks, opens up into a grove of young aspen, none more than 2 or 3 inches in diameter. And suddenly you could be 20 miles up the canyon in the high country, running in the mountains proper rather than their foothills. It is an almost magical transformation, and never fails to bring a smile to my face, no matter how long I have been out that day or how tired my legs are. This is one of the main reasons I choose this route so often.

Some day I will take a picture of the grove, but I fear I can't do it justice.

Through the grove, and on up the canyon, I came on the fork in the trail where you can choose to go up Bear Peak or Green Mountain. While Bear Peak had several sets of tracks on it already, I found that as of yet nobody had ventured up, or down, Green Bear. It is a rare day that, at 11AM, nobody has yet ventured on that trail, and I was glad. Something about making first tracks gives me an extra burst of energy, though I know it means that I will have to work harder for each meter I run.

The way up Green Bear is often a slog. The trail pitches up sharply here, with switchbacks and steps now interspersed with the gradual incline that had been the norm up until this point. I found myself often following in the footsteps of opportunistic deer and foxes, who had used the human-blazed trail to ease their own passage. Up to the intersection with Ranger, I felt good, and powered up the last sharp vertical to the summit of Green, where I found another runner just ready to head down.

The way down, as I already mentioned, was ugly. I would get into a good rhythm, only to foil myself by pulling up and trying to slow down. Several times I slipped on rocks where I normally would not even have planted my foot, and I came far too close to faceplanting more than ones.

After too many minutes of that, I arrived back in the meadow, and jogged the last half mile to the car, not bothering to up the pace as I usually do. Suffice to say I did not exactly PR today on this run. That said, I am also glad I ventured out for this route today, as the way up Bear Canyon was far from the normal experience today.

After all, you have to have the difficult days, or you will never now how to properly appreciate the good days where running is as natural as breathing.