9/24 - 9/30

Mon: Off

Tue: Off

Wed: 10 mi (1:34, 2,000') Mesa Trial to Shadow Canyon junction
After a couple days of rain, including today, the trails were refreshingly cool and wet. Since I started at 5:30 pm without a headlight, I didn't have much remaining daylight, so I ran pretty quick compared to my usual effort on the Mesa. I arrived back at Chautauqua Park in the dark, but could still make out the trail pretty well.

Thu: 10 mi (1:30) Bobolink from work
Another evening run. A little sore from the previous night, but warmed up about thirty minutes in and felt good the rest of the way. Beautiful evening.

Fri: 6 mi (1:06, 1,300') Mesa Trail to top of Bear Canyon
Pretty tired on this morning run. Ended up topping out at Bear Canyon and hung out on the rock overlook for a few minutes.

Sat: 4.4 mi (1:02, 2,400') Green Mtn
Tried to get a PR on the ascent, pushing hard up Amphitheater, hitting the top with a PR 7:50. Then hit the SR/Greenman junction in a PR of 23:40. Then the wheels fell off and I slogged the rest of the way up, tagging the summit in 41:26. Oh well. Had a speedy descent though, :21.

Sun: 10 mi (2:02, 2,000') Mesa Trail to Shadow Canyon
Really slow, mellow run. Pretty warm morning. Cruised up the Shadow Canyon connector for a bit before turning back. This little meadow is pretty choice, affording nice views of Devil's Thumb and smooth singletrack; not a soul in sight.

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Totals:
Miles: 40
Vert: 7,700'
Time: 7:15

The last two weeks of tapering have gone well and I think I'm ready for this year's Blue Sky Marathon. This will be the first time I've run a race more than once, so I'm excited to see if I can improve on my performance from last year. We shall see.

The last month has been a well-balanced mix of running each week with one or two mountain summits,  a couple dead-flat runs, and some long runs with short rolling climbs. Also mixing up the shoes has added a bit more variety, which I believe has helped in muscle recovery and reducing the chances of over-use injuries. The shoes: Montrail Bajadas for long runs; New Balance MT110's (previously, my go-to shoe for every run) for technical mountain runs and flat runs; Pearl Izumi Peak 2's for super rocky, talus-literred runs; Adidas Mana 5's for everything else.

As for the rest of the year, I'm hoping to get back into running Green and Bear much more than I have in the last few months. And I'll likely shoot for 200+ miles each month of the last quarter to maintain a base in preparation for the San Juan Solstice 50 in June.