Legs Are Thrashed, And a Few Changes

My legs are thrashed.

After the race on Saturday, because of my stomach issues during said race, my legs were not as tired as I expected them to be. On the one hand, this says quite a bit about my improved fitness over the past month or so (happy February!). On the other, this encouraged me to do a long, more difficult run on Sunday.

For some time, I have been meaning to try the classic Boulder run heading from Eldorado Springs, up through Eldorado Canyon, and around Walker Ranch. Done properly, this is a 18.5 mile run with a significant amount of elevation tossed into the mix. I knew there were others from the Boulder Trail Runners doing the same run on Sunday, but got a later start, and so was hoping to run into them out on the trail.

The first half went well enough. I had traversed this area before, during the Rattlesnake Ramble race this past fall (I took 13rh place, and hope to do better if I run it again next year) and so was comfortable with the fully expected elevation gain on Eldorado Canyon trail. What I was not prepared for, however, was the distance from the edge of Eldorado State Park to the Walker Ranch loop. I was also not prepared for my left ankle flaring up.

It's hard to see, but there's a train working its way up towards the Moffat Tunnel. The engines are at the center.

According to signs, it is 3.5 miles from the edge of Eldo State Park to the junction with Walker Ranch. My GPS said 2.5, but it's still a ways with a bit of vertical. However, despite the race the day before, my legs were feeling strong on the uphills, and I briefly gave thought heading up the West Ridge of Bear Peak and heading back towards the car that way rather than heading back the way I had come.

The downhill was my downfall, however. My left ankle, which I tweaked heading down Flagstaff a few weeks ago and had aggravated in the race the day before, started acting up, and I realized that even doing the full Walker Ranch loop was out of the question, let alone heading up Bear Peak from the west.

Coming back down through Eldorado
 State Park

Even turning around a mile into the Walker Ranch loop, my ankle started affecting my running about halfway back to the trail head. I noticeably slowed during this portion of the run, and was at a particularly low point mentally. I did not particularly care that I had to make it to my car one way or the other, I wanted to stop and call it a day.

Needless to say, I got through it, and even somewhat enjoyed the last bits of my run. But come the next morning,  I realized just how tired my legs were, and that there was no way that I was going to get a run in that day.

That said, I am actually quite glad I put in the 14 or so miles on Sunday. It was good preparation for the bad portion that often comes in races. And doing a long run the day after a race is great preparation for running while fatigued, which is also quite likely going to happen in some of the races I have on my radar this year.

That said, I have realized that I need to make a change or two in my training. First, and this was already planned, I need to push my long runs out further. The 14 I ran the last two weekends are a good start, but I need to push those out to 20 before long. I also think I need to up my overall mileage over what I did to prepare for the marathon last year. Finally, I need to work on my core strength. I believe that, along with the Gu issue, a somewhat weak core might be responsible for the stomach problems I had on Saturday, and felt creeping up again tonight when upped the pace a bit. So I will institute a core strengthening regimen (starting as soon as I finish this entry).

Finally, those of you who have readi this blog for a while might start noticing a few changes soon. I hope you'll appreciate them. I trust they will be welcome.