Sierra

Sierra
Sierra

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Tuesday, 9/23/08 Green Mountain

6 miles
2,500 vertical
36:46 up (from Chautauqua)
23:38 down
60:24 RT

Wow! What a difference a day makes! Yesterday I busted my b@lls trying to get a PR on SBP and missed by 2 minutes. I felt like I had two left feet on the descent and was trashed all day, culminating with a splitting headache that made me sweat that evening, I could hardly hold my head up.

9.5 hours of sleep later, I felt great and busted my hump at work all day doing very physical work. All afternoon, I thought I would get done at a decent hour and have plenty of time to go run at a leisurely pace, but I kept getting set back, culminating with an error which cost me an extra 45 minutes, so I was running way behind. I got to Chautauqua and figured I would see how things went and started up my new favorite route up Green, going up past the 1st Flatiron and then bushwhacking to the NE ridge, then up Greenman. Fueled by the adreneline of not having much time, and an espresso (I don't really ever drink coffee), I was jacked and feeling good.

I made it to the Mesa trail in 5, bottom of the 1st in 10:37, top of the 1st in 20, NE ridge in 25:?? then the summit of Green in 36:46, my fastest EVER from Chautauqua by a lot (don't feel like investigating previous PR now), but by at least a few minutes. So much for my confession yesterday that I need to take things easy. Today I just felt absolutely on top of things and would have done another lap if I had time, I felt that good. Legs were unbelievably strong, lungs and breathing were hardly labored, my focus was absolutely intense and I was even listening to my MP3 player (Competitor Radio interview with John Howard).

I ripped the downhill (for me), sticking to the Greenman, Saddle, Amphi trails. 20:10 to the Gregory lot jct, then another 3:28 to the car. I was hoping to have done the RT in under an hour, but missed it by 24 seconds...... Dang. Oh well, maybe next time. It is runs like today that produce such a high, it constantly keeps me seeking that next fix to match it and cancel out bad days like yesterday that make you wonder how it is you can derail so bad.

3 comments:

  1. WOW. Dude you are fit. FWIW - I think I have only gone under 24 on that descent once ... and I don't think that fast. No way I'd have kept up with today on that route. I'd have had better luck sticking to the regular route. Nice job man.

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  2. I don't know about fit, I just think it was the coffee, that stuff really gets me wired. I was setting PRs in the car too before and after!

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  3. Nice run JV. Do you know what the record for the descent off Green is via the route you took to the Gregory TH?

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