RECAP : April 16 - April 22

--- Monday - 04/16/12


Horsetooth Rock Summit - 1hr 20 minutes


Workout went like this:

Horsetooth liquor store > Main TH > South Ridge > Audra Culver > Rock Trail > Summit > Rock Trail > Wathan > Spring Creek > Falls > Main TH > back down to truck @ Horsetooth liquor store

I had some time today for a run up at Horsetooth Mtn Park and with a semi-overcast covering...I headed out the door the moment I had the chance.
I still have yet to purchase a parks pass this year and so I still have to run the extra mile from the Horsetooth liquor store, to the main trailhead -- an all uphill 8-9 minute jog.

Felt pretty good today and made it to the Audra Culver turn-off in 17 minutes flat from the TH. Semi-Casual effort.

Legs felt good rock hopping the descent down Wathan.

Rock Summit -- Longs Peak in background

Looking North West into valley

Overlooking Fort Collins

South East view from summit

--- Tuesday - 04/17/12 ---


Foothills Trail (medium loop) + short loop in Pineridge -- 54 minutes


Felt really solid today. Legs felt strong -- effortless.




--- Wednesday - 04/18/12 ---


Two laps of Pineridge - 1hr 2 minutes


Starting from Maxwell TH I ran 2 counterclockwise loops around Pineridge.




--- Thursday - 04/19/12 ---


Foothills Trail (long loop) + Pineridge -- 1hr 25 minutes


Starting from Maxwell TH, I ran one long loop on the Foothills trail and then tacked on one lap of Pineridge at the end.
Felt really good today again.




--- Friday - 04/20/12 ---


Pineridge - 32:20


Easy pace. One lap around Pineridge starting from Maxwell TH.




--- Saturday - 04/21/12 ---


4 x Towers Road Hill Repeats - 25 miles, 6,800'

Elevation Profile of Towers Road 

When it comes to local hill climbs, Towers Road is probably the best option around. At just over 3 miles from trailhead to summit and about 1,700 vertical feet, it provides some of the greatest lung busting, uphill trail running in the area.

Towers Road by the numbers:

Start: 5459'

Finish: 7146'

Vertical feet per half mile:

0 - .5 = 90'

Swan Johnson Trail + part of Towers = 90'

.5 - 1 = 340'

1 - 1.5 = 300'

First full mile on Towers = 640'

1.5 - 2 = 280'

2 - 2.5 = 130'

Second full mile on Towers 410'

2.5 - 3 = 350'

3 - 3.5 = 195'

Third Full mile on Towers 545'

Total vertical gain ~1,685 - 1,700ft

For todays workout I ran up and and down Towers Road 4 times. A solid 25 miles, and about 6,800 vertical feet. This was probably one of the most mentally exhausting workouts I have done. After each repeat, the thought of turning around and running 3 miles back up this beast was mind numbing. 

The first two repeats I started at the Soderberg trailhead. The first one because this is where I parked and began running and the second one because I had to make a pit stop at the trailhead porto-potty.  The 3rd and 4th repeats I ran down Towers to the intersection of Towers Road and Swan Johnson trail ( a short connector between the TH and Towers road -- about a 4 minute jog) and turned around and ran back up Towers from that intersection, and so that explains the difference in my split times below. (*)

Obviously there is no water along the way so I hauled in about a gallon of water to the Swan Johnson/Towers intersection and filled up my hand held bottle after each repeat. Because I was running 4 repeats I tried to keep the pace fairly even throughout. I didnt want to PR the first climb up and then bonk on the final 3 climbs.

Workout went like this:

Up # 1 - 33:12 --- Down # 1 - 22:35

Up # 2 - 32:50 --- Down # 2 - 22:15

*Up # 3 - 29:33 --- Down # 3 - 18:25 *

*Up # 4 - 30:50 --- Down # 4 - 19:05 *

The summary of each repeat are as follows:

#1 -- Still half asleep and trying to pace myself accordingly

#2 -- Starting to find my groove. Legs "waking" up and starting to feel good

#3 -- Mentally the hardest repeat. Had to force myself to turn around and make another 3 mile climb.

#4 -- mental and physical fatigue setting in. Felt a burst of energy knowing this was the final climb and descent of the day.

Drank the entire gallon of water I hauled in as well as a bottle of Gatorade I had waiting for me back in my truck. A character building run for sure!

One of these days I need to make a serious effort in running a PR up Towers.


--- Sunday - 04/21/12 ---


Pineridge - 41:00


Easy recovery day.
Ran 1 lap of Pineridge starting from the Dog park at the end of Horsetooth Rd.  A beautiful day. Trails were packed.




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Saturdays  4-pack up Towers was epic, and could possibly be the most mind numbing workout I have ever done. About 25 miles of up and down carnage with roughly 6,800 vertical feet -- Solid.
Quality -- yes, worth it -- yes.
With only a few weeks before Quad Rock 50, I have only 1 or 2 hard workout sessions planned. The rest of my workouts will be just that --- rest. Rest as in easy days, allowing any little aches and pains here and there to heal and go away. Essentially begin my taper. The last thing I want to do is show up on race day with heavy legs or wishing I had taken more easy runs in the final few weeks leading up to race day.  If its one thing I have learned from my 20+ years of running (dating back to 7th grade cross-country), is that rest is just as important as the workout itself. It is during this time that the human body repairs itself from the break down of muscle tissue from your previous hard workouts -- allowing you to feel healthy and stronger for your next hard run or upcoming race.  To ignore this fact will eventually only lead to poor race performances and possibly injury.

Looking forward to my final 1-2 hard workouts in the next week or 2.  However, I think I am looking forward to the easy recovery days surrounding those hard runs even more!