These things that I destroy.
3/10/14 – Sanitas
Don’t laugh, but I’ve started working at a shared working space. It keeps me on task, most of the time. The weather forecast said 70 degrees this day, and staying inside sounded like hell, so I thought I’d try that thing where you go do something active on your lunch break… thing.
At around 1:00pm, I nonchalantly left my desk, with my running shorts in my hands, and made it to the bathroom to change. I left the office, and stuffed the rest of the clothes into my bag on my bike, and shuffled to Sanitas, which is like, a few blocks away (it’s sort of insane). Felt good, so I just thought, “well, let’s go!” with the goal of Not Dying, while trying to make it to the top. Did OK! Didn’t really pause at the top, and just let ‘er loose in one of those sort-of-in-control descents, all the way back to work.
Grabbed my clothes, changed again in the bathroom and made like nothing happened. Which would have worked, but the cycling cap I had been wearing was drenched with sweet. It was sort of nasty, until I finally took it off. Anyways, great time going up and down, and didn’t feel like I wasted a beautiful day
3/12/14 – Longs Peak Duathlon
3/16/14 – Full Moon Flagstaff
Longs Peak took it out of me – Thursday was sort of just this daze trying to recover mentally and physically, that I checked out for a few days, and just focused myself on my work – as, well I’m trying to save up for the Summer of Summers to End All Summers
Thought I’d take a quick spin up Flagstaff since it’s like: right there! And my first race this year looms over me. Put in a good time – def. feeling fitter and fitter at each go at the hill. A lot of this is just my legs remembering how to ride a bike, as I should in general be in awesome shape, and I weigh about 10lbs less than last year, at this time (thanks(?) running). My bike is still heavy as all hell, but I guess that’s a good thing, at the moment.
Week total on my feet: 17.0 miles, 6,628
feet
Week total on the bike: 113.5 miles, 11,743 feet
Finally reaching my goal of summiting Longs Peak in the winter, solo, with a bike approach (Duathlon!) was a good payoff for all the hard work of hiking and climbing and running and cycling I’ve put in. Great time riding up, but once I hit the trail, I felt like total and complete shit, which is a pity. I’m betting a lot of this was a function of not really eating a proper dinner the night before or breakfast the day of, and then just snacking on like peanuts and raisins throughout the day. After a 4 hour bike ride, glycogen stores are gonna be gone, gone, gone and the few handfuls of almonds I tossed in my mouth before shoving off wasn’t gonna make too much of a dent. Nerves, man. They’ll be other days.
Another moronic move was to not apply sunscreen – I got roasted. Even my (admittedly cheap) sunglasses helped little to ward off a serious altitude/hungry/sun exposure headache when up high. Nothing I haven’t experienced before, but I haven’t in a while, and it never gets funner. I’ve since bought a tiny bottle of the stuff, which I’ll keep on my bike, at all days.
Only went climbing once – on… Monday? Nothing too special to note, except I’ve started down climbing some of the routes after I’ve climbed them. Good for the ol’ endurance, which is sort of my Thing, so…
I’m a little bummed for taking 3 whole days off in a row, but the body needed rest, and the times on Sunday were good, meaning I’ve recovered. Would have been nice to sneak in a climbing session in there, but my middle finger isn’t doing too well – I believe it’s called, “Being Injured”?, so giving it a break seemed prudent as well. I dunno, I just wanna be moving 24/7.
This week – man, who cares, I’m just so happy to have bagged Longs. I could see myself doing a repeat of that, Knowing What I Know Now (it WAS my first time on the Keyhole route!), with a lighter kit and a more intelligent eating plan. I could see a quick trip up N. Arapahoe – riding my bike to the TH of course (Magnolia to Ned.!), as the hill looks not so much like a snowy avalanche of death waiting to happen. I also see a ton of cycling, as I try to get ready for a 160 mile bike ride on April 5th. It’ll be a casual affair as “races” go (wouldn’t have it any other way!), but I’d like to actually, I dunno: finish.
In one of my more genius strokes I signed myself up for a race the very next weekend, in Durango – no idea how I’m getting there yet, but if I get out there, I’d like to stay for a little more than just the race. How I’d get back afterwards – man: that is anyone’s guess.
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