Weekly Update: 10/17-10/23

Arg! This week really fell apart on me. I intended to make this the last 60+ miler before I began to taper for the Moab Trail Marathon in a couple of weeks. Things started off well, but with a nagging foot issue, I had to bail on a couple of runs - one of which was the most critical, the Sunday 20 miler. Needless to say, I'm a bit disappointed, but sometimes other things get in the way of running and sometimes those things are a bi-product of running, injuries.

During the last few weeks, I've been running the South Boulder Trail to the Mesa Trail. The Sobo Trail happens to be littered with rocks. Running this in the early morning with only my headlamp as guidance, I often make a few painful missteps and the ball of my foot strikes directly on top of a sharp rock. I'd push off the rock and feel the bones and tendons in my foot stretch and crunch over the rock, leading to a series of discharged expletives.

After a few bad strikes, my foot was seriously agitated. When Sunday rolled around, I tested the condition of my foot at the South Mesa trailhead. I attempted to jog from my car to the start of the trail and quickly realized my foot was irritated so much so that after 20 miles, I'd likely make a bad situation worse, which could compromise the last taper runs leading up to Moab and maybe the marathon itself.

The week wasn't a total loss because after succumbing to the realization that I'd bail on my long run, I got back in my car and said, "I'm going somewhere I have yet to run - Ceran St. Vrain Trail". I landed at the empty trailhead parking lot 30 minutes later and enjoyed a few miles of rolling singletrack through thick lodgepole and aspen stands along the Ceran St. Vrain Creek. Not all that bad.

Wednesday 10/19 - 12.5 mi (2:09, 2,300') Sobo/Mesa to Bear Canyon - Pretty nice early run. Gettin' cold.

Thursday PM 10/20 - 5.4 mi (1:03, 1,000') Mesa from Chautauqua to Bear Canyon - This was supposed to be a longer run, but I got up there after work pretty late. I'm not good at PM runs - lots of cramps and general annoyance. For whatever reason, my foot really acted up climbing up to Bear Canyon.

Saturday 10/22 - 13.4 mi (2:13, 3,250') Mesa Trail - Although I started really late in the morning, I had a fairly good run. Pretty quick. The foot felt fine during the whole run too.

Sunday 10/23 - 2.5 mi (20 mins) Ceran St Vrain Trail - A negligible run mileage-wise, but a peaceful one nonetheless.

Weekly Totals:

Miles: 33

Vertical Ft: 6,550'

Time: 5:43