Weekly Summary: May 31 - June 5

5/31 - 3.90 miles, 50:43

6/1 - Off

6/2 - 7.08 miles, 1:25.33, .30 mile cool down, 4:00.13 (1800+' v.).  First time running up to Valley View via the Whistler Park game trail.  The trail gains roughly 1600' from miles 3 to 5 and is exceptionally steep in a few sections.  There are a trio of progressively higher vistas along the way the allow you to great views of the valley.  The descent is fun, starting with  mountain bike single track, followed by dirt road, so you can open up the stride a little bit.   A short run on the bike path and a couple of streets takes me right back home.  


6/3 - 6.55 miles, 1:05.03 (700-800'v.), .1.01 mile cool down, 7.56 miles.   Whistler Park hill workout:  Warm up run to the park followed by some moderate effort trail running before working some short, steep climbs.  After the initial climb, there is a loop trail offers a runnable 150' climb and descent with a flat, recovery section.  I ran  3x150'v., reverse direction 3x150' with .3 mile recovery between ascents.  Progressive effort on each lap had me huffing and puffing but I feel like I am getting stronger. 

6/4 - Off

6/5 - 10.74 miles,  1:42.35 (1500-1700' v.), .35 mile cool down, 4:57.80.  Very little pain in my left foot fascia this morning.  Tendonitis swelling on right heel looks noticably better.  Sick "early season" run on Spring Creek Trail in lieu of doing the Steamboat Half or 10K.  Started on the trail behind the high school and ran all the way up to the canal before doubling back and getting on Spring Creek.  Then, power hiked a steep 150' climb back up to the canal on a rough drainage track, turned around and dropped back down to Spring Creek.  I ran a few uphill miles through the aspens to the 7th bridge (elev. 7902')  before turning around.  My legs were getting a little fatigued but bounced back on the downhill and I had a great time racing down the forested single track, most of the time with a fully swollen Spring Creek raging at my side.  The unmuddy sections were perfectly tacky and easy to grip.  Dealt with a little snow and mud, just enough to keep it fun and I even wanted to get my feet wet towards the end so I ran though a few puddles and drainages.

Totals:  29.85 miles, 3900-4200+' v.

Stepped up the trail vertical a little bit this week.  There's now dry trail up to about 8000' where there are still lingering pockets of snow.  Last year on this day, I was able to run all the way up Spring Creek to Dry Lake and then run a couple more miles up Buffalo Pass Road.   Today, I had to turnaround about a mile short of Dry Lake.