So my Friday run was canceled. I knew Asa's school had 'Western Day" planned for Friday ( she wore a cowboy outfit), but I found out when I dropped her off that they were having a show at 3pm. No way I could've gotten back in time had I gone to the mountain. Which turned out fine, cuz I was feeling cruddy on Friday anyway.
I did watch Les Stroud's new show on survival where he hangs out with primitive cultures to see how they survive. He hung out with Sea Gypsies off the coast of China. I forgot how much I like Les. Those sea gypsies have a hard life indeed. It's a great show to watch especially if you liked Survivorman.
So I got up early this Saturday morning to hit the mountain. It's so odd for me to get up specifically to run ,it almost makes me nervous like I am going to a race. Ate some fruit and bread, filled up 80 oz of liquid in 3 containers. Packed a banana, peanut butter sandwich, an apple, a lot of other odd items , and off I went.
I went a different way than normal. Instead of going up all the switchbacks to get to the top, I drive a little further and just go up one long road, about 15 miles straight up. I passed about 15 cyclists on this road. I go way around them too, because these guys are just grinding it nonstop uphill the entire way. I think that's gotta be a sunofabitchof a ride! I did see one woman running downhill. She looked fit as could be from shoulder to calves and was moving at a good pace too. I have to wonder where her starting and stopping points are. A crazy thing was on the way home I saw a guy in full battle dress uniform, including a hat and camelback running through the cactus where there is no trail. This was at noon too in the hotter portion of the desert. I thought that guy is training from something hardcore like badwater or Green Beret school.
It's the weekend and there are a lot more people on the mountain today. I've decided to go to the other trailhead and see what that portion of the trail is like. I've brought my Brooks Mach 11's with me today. I tried on 2 pairs of La Sportiva trail runners at REI and man they both felt really good. The Crosslites feel a lot like the mach 11 only with big rubber nubbies on the sole. I managed to refrain from buying the Sportivas on the thought that I'd try the machs first.
I'd done a lot of reading and pondering on how to carry liquid. A camelback just seems better built for a bike or hiking with the straps on the shoulders. Another option are various waist packs that hold bottles on your back or waist. I was all set to get one of these, but you really have to wear the belt on the outside of your shirt, which I don't think I'd like. So I went the cheap route. 2 cycling water bottles holding 24oz each. It's all about symmetry. Most people don't like the sloshing and your arms do get a little tired, but it didn't bother me so much last week.
This other side of the trail is completely different than last week. Last week was a mostly 6ft wide path of rocks and gravel, that while bumpy was fairly uniform. This upper side is thin, much more technical with huge rocks and roots, very steep in some places, lots of very uneven footing twisting all over the place. Going up on a mountain bike would be crazy hard I think. The first mile and a half was really difficult. I was out of breath a lot with a lot of walking. I felt like I was climbing bleacher steps in many places. Some of the downhill areas came to just a foot wide on jaggy rock. I made sure to walk on that. If you slipped off it wouldn't be certain death, but a high chance of something being broken or sprained.
Soon I started to get some groove going and then it hit me. I have to pee!! I couldn't see a good place to go either. There were lots of people out as I could hear them talking. I'd have to be quick. I saw a big rock up ahead and thought why not. I started ascending up this loose soil slope trying to step on craggy rock. After about 10 feet, my stupid light came on. I looked back down and thought, ok this is nuts. This is sprain my ankle city. So back down I went and onward I went. Luckily the urge went away for a while.
I met several dogs today. All of them very nice. One looked as if it had a Corgi head, a bassett butt and tail and was colored like a dark german shepherd. Very cool dog! One dog started running along behind me for a while. I never did see his owner. I didn't come across another runner the whole time. Lots of hikers though of all ages. I passed 2 guys and I heard one say, "I remember when I could do that." Then I came behind 2 hispanic guys with hiking poles. One of them whips around with his pole like he was being snuck up on by an attacker. His face had a big smile though and he made a noise like gotcha! I laughed my ass off at this. Totally unexpected funny for me it was. I ran past 4 hispanic women sitting on a log and I heard one of them say, "oooh so healthy". I don't feel like I'm a super healthy person or anything. I'm pretty slow when it comes to running imo, but running through the mountain today, people look at me like I'm crazy and super fit. It's kinda cool I guess. I finally went down a side hill and peed behind a big tree. Had to get some rocks out of my shoes too.
I ended up just running the whole trail back to the trailhead from last week. I figured I'd just run up the road to the other trailhead. Jeez that was hard getting on pavement and going up really steep hills. Lots of walking that was. I got back to my truck and put up my water bottles and decided to go on the trail again for about 20 min. I ran really fast at first psyched to have my hands free, but got out of breath really quick again. 9000 feet is hard!
Walking in a section of yellow leaved aspens though is really nice. It's a nice serene glow with warmth to it. I saw a sign on a tree and stopped to read it. It was a paper with a picture of a man. I can't remember his name, but someone was thanking him for showing them more to life. A strange memorial really. As I stood there, it occurred to me that it was really quiet and I could hear my own heartbeat very well. I was pretty amazed that I could hear it so clearly. Can't remember the last time that happened.
Soon I decided I'd had enough and went back to the truck to eat and stretch a bit. I walked up the street and took this pic of the area. ( psst click on it!)
My quads don't feel quite as obliterated as last week. But my ankles are none too happy. We shall see how they feel tomorrow. I'm torn over getting those Sportiva shoes, the grip would be welcomed in some spots but maybe not so much in others. Seems there is no perfect shoe either. Anyway, I should be ready for the Leadville100 by next year (insert maniacal Santa laughter right here!)
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