Week 18 was my biggest, most social, most fun, and most satisfying week yet. I did a gravel ride with a friend on Wednesday, hiked to the alpine tundra in Rocky Mountain National Park with my daughter on Thursday, ran in 35 °C heat on Friday, and then treated myself to a fast run up and down Horsetooth Mountain early this morning.

Outside of training, I quit taking Naproxen, continued passive and active heating training, and started seeing a physical therapist about my Achilles tendinopathy. I learned that part of the solution will be loading my calf muscles, but without lengthening the muscle and thus stressing the tendon. The therapist also reassured me that I can run when it feels good. I don't need a boot or crutches or anything like that.

Here are the numbers for the week:

• 20.3 miles running (and hiking)

• 14 hours, 59 minutes all training

• 4,187 feet D+ running (and hiking)

The hike to Flattop Mountain in Rocky was super fun. I loved the chance to spend all day with my adult kid and help her kick off a "couch to Fourteener" program. It was my first trip on foot this season to treeline and above, and I felt good. I was also impressed at how well my Salomon Ultra Glide shoes served on an alpine trail. I'll feel confident wearing them at Never Summer or The Bear, as long as conditions are mostly dry.

Yesterday (Saturday) I went for a nice long bike ride in the heat of the day. Today I got out of bed early to run in the coolest part of the day. I took just one handheld bottle (2 scoops of Tailwind) and hiked and ran to Horsetooth Mountain via the Spring Creek Trail. I went pretty hard and was just a little off my personal bests (from 2021) for some of the long uphill segments. I'm very excited about this. Consistent training, even if not in my favorite form, has been working.

Coming off the summit, I met a friend and chatted for a while, and then headed down, down, down to my car. I had to take a short walking break after a sharp rock strike on one of my heels, but was otherwise able to run three miles to the bottom without riding my brakes.

Next week is a scheduled rest week. I plan to do some high intensity workouts of shorter duration, some recovery rides, short easy runs, yoga, Pool HIIT, and sauna sessions.

I didn't do a lot of running in week 17, but none of it was flat. I did a solid uphill treadmill run on Thursday and a hot trail run at Lory State Park on Saturday.

• 12.8 miles running

• 10 hours, 40 minutes all training

• 3,667 ft D+ running

In addition to those two runs, I did a hard elliptical workout and rode a bike three days. I did some weight training at home and at the gym, and did two sauna sessions. I'm trying to do 2-3 20-minute sessions a week in June to get ready for potentially hot weather at Never Summer. Andrew Huberman has a nice long podcast episode about the science of deliberate heat exposure that I found super interesting. If you haven't heard it, it's well worth a listen.

I went out for 2.5 hours in sunny 30 °C conditions yesterday and felt warm, but okay. The modest amount of heat training that I've been doing seems to be working. I'm going to stick with passive heating in the sauna a few times a week and one hot run every week. As much as I enjoy hearing about David Roche's extreme heat traing regimen, I won't be buying a heat suit or core temperature sensor.

Like I said last week, I've found it hard to adapt to downhill running when I'm not doing much downhill running. Today my quads are quite sore after yesterday's three miles of steep descents. I need to do more, that's all there is to it!

Week 16, the end of the first half of my trail running season. I started out sick, but was able to get back into training pretty quickly. I had a nice gravel ride Wednesday, some tempo treadmill Thursday, a 2.5 hour ride on Saturday with a significant amount of comfortably hard uphill pedaling, and a 90 minute uphill treadmill run on Sunday. I avoided my usual group classes at the gym.

I continued with the therapeutic dose of Naproxen, iced my left Achilles tendon every night, and did no running on pavement or trails. Walking felt better all week, I'm happy to report.

It's seven weeks to Never Summer. It's weird to approach it with a base, a solid base, of cycling, and uphill treadmill and elliptical sessions, without the hundreds of miles of real trail running that I've done in the past.

My fitness level is pretty good. Based on my perceived level of exertion during workouts, my resting heart rate, and my body weight, it seems like I'm back where I was at this point in 2023. That's great, I'm pumped! I'm eager to do some fast downhill running before Never Summer. That's the thing that's hard to simulate in the gym, and I've been feeling soreness after my rare downhill runs this spring.

It'll be interesting to see how I fare on an alpine run like Twin Sisters, for sure. I'm planning that outing now.

My doctor convinced me to try a two week course of Naproxen and more PT before jumping into steroids. I'm following her advice and also sticking to low impact exercise. I did manage 115 minutes of comfortably hard treadmill running and elliptical pedaling in week 15, which was a big bump up from the previous week. Otherwise, my numbers continue to lack luster.

• 4.9 miles running

• 7 hours, 1 minute all training

• 0 ft D+ running

That 4.9 miles was on a treadmill at a 7% incline. That would have been 1,800 ft of elevation gain on an actual trail. And I went hard on the climbs on my one hilly bike ride.

Friday I felt fatigued. I attributed it to more hard workouts. Sunday I was definitely feeling sick. Sore throat, sinus congestion, headache. Today (Tuesday) I'm feeling 50% recovered from this cold. I hope to get some real exercise tomorrow.

Thirteen and fourteen were another two weeks of tempo-focused training with minimal running. The 13th included a long day of hiking and trail maintenance work. Lots of time on my feet in the company of other trail runners. It was a bit like a trail race in that way, but much easier.

• 4.5 miles running

• 13 hours, 51 minutes all training

• 289 ft D+ running

Week 14 was a planned rest week, and somewhat lighter.

• 4.5 miles running

• 8 hours, 8 minutes all training

• 361 ft D+ running

Even though my left Achilles tendon won't let me run much, and working out indoors isn't very effective or satisfying, I've been managing to increase my training volume by doubling up on workouts. Both weeks were similarly structured. I biked and did a heated "power" Vinyasa yoga class at the gym on Monday, with some hot tubbing afterwards. Wednesdays I did a short tempo run outside at Pineridge Open Space and then went back into the gym for another tempo session on an elliptical trainer and some sets of back squats or box step-ups and jumps. This was my biggest day each week. Thursdays I paired an hour long lunchtime bike ride with an evening Pool HIIT (high intensity interval training) class and a sauna session. Fridays I went back to the gym for an hour long tempo workout on the elliptical and more soaking of my lower legs. This all adds up to 75 minutes of effort at 8-8.5 out of 10 RPE (rate of perceived exertion). I'd like to be at 90 minutes, but I'm doing the best I can.

I'm going to see my doctor tomorrow and inquire about an intervention for my chronically inflamed Achilles. The steroids I took last fall to treat my pinched femoral nerve and associated back pain also cured, as a side effect, the last nagging irritation in my right Achilles (that flared in July 2024 and ended my running plans for the year). I don't believe my left is seriously injured, and that it can bear more stress if I can get the inflammation down. I may be referred to a specialist about this.

The other specialists I'm seeing soon are the folks at a local eye wear shop to get sporty, photochromic prescription sunglasses. I tried and failed with contact lens in April. I can get them on my eyes easily enough, but I can't get them out by myself for the same reason that I have always struggled with opening produce bags at the grocery store: faint fingerprints. I just can't get a grip on the contacts. If the local shop doesn't have what I need, I may try sending my prescription to Julbo, the French company. I've been considering the company's reactive glasses for a while, and Bryon Powell's recommendation here is convincing.

I'll wrap up this longish recap with more about the trail work day. There is no trail running without trails (that would be fell running), and trails need regular care and maintenance. If trails are eroded, not passable, or persistently muddy, people will route around them and create new social trails. This leads to trail "braiding" and degradation of the natural landscape and ecosystem damage. Here in arid Colorado, vegetation grows slowly, and the landscape recovers slowly from injury. In Lory State Park, the situation is compounded by soils that turn into peanut butter when saturated.

Gnar Runners, the local running events org that manages Quad Rock and other races in Lory State Park, organizes a trail work day at Lory each spring and fall. I've been participating in the spring one for the last five years. As more and more trail races require proof of trail work or other volunteering, the number have grown. This year there were 24 of us. Ten were meeting requirements of the upcoming High Lonesome event in the Sawatch Range. The Bear 100 also requires eight hours of trail work or volunteering. A lot of us would do this even if it was not required. It feels right and good to take care of a place that you enjoy and depend on.

It's also fun to make new friends and share running stories and plans. Brad Bishop and Nick Clark, the Gnar team, have directed and run more ultra marathons than I ever will and I always learn something new from them. Nick's a legend of the sport, after all. It's like I'm cleaning trail drains with Larry Bird. And some years, like this one, elite contemporary racers come out to work alongside the mere mortals. It'll be extra fun to follow the Western States Endurance Run this year, knowing somebody who is aiming for the podium.

I did no outdoor running in week 12, so the numbers are a little sad.

• 2.5 miles running

• 10 hours, 26 minutes all training

• 0 ft D+ running

I had one good tempo workout on an elliptical trainer, the usual yoga and pool HIIT, and 70 miles of biking with a good amount of climbing.

Saturday I rode my bike over the steep hills alongside Horsetooth Reservoir to Lory State Park to watch runners at the Quad Rock 25 and 50 mile races. 300 meters before the 25 mile mark (and finish line), the route crosses Lory's main access road. I stopped there and hung out with two volunteer course marshals for an hour and a half.

I missed seeing the eventual winner, David Roche, by two minutes. The runners in second and third place came through fifteen minutes after I arrived. After the first three 25 mile finishers came in I got back on my bike and pedaled home.

My left Achilles is feeling pretty good after this week-long break. I was overly enthusiastic about icing one evening and gave myself a touch of frostbite and a blister. No serious harm seems to be been done.

Week 11 was light on running. I balanced workouts, my nagging left Achilles strain, and an extra gnarly project at work. Almost all of my tempo effort was on an elliptical trainer or stationary bike. The level of effort was better than the raw numbers, so I'm not concerned.

• 7.8 miles running

• 7 hours, 22 minutes all training

• 335 ft D+ running

Today I got up extra early to start the Colorado Marathon's 5K event with my family. We parked downtown, took a shuttle bus to the starting line, and ran down the Poudre River Trail to the center of town. My effort was a little disappointing. Heel pain, a massive bout of hay fever, and an unfortunate need to visit a port-o-let held me back. Nonetheless, we had fun seeing the half marathon leaders and cheering other runners from the finish line while waiting for the first marathon finisher to arrive.

Week ten was a fun and productive one. I ran five days in a row, one on the treadmill, with 80 minutes of tempo and hard running or elliptical pedaling.

• 33.5 miles running

• 10 hours, 30 minutes all training

• 4,304 ft D+ running

Sunday I logged my biggest elevation gain and longest run of the season in Horsetooth Mountain Park. After a few days of rain and drizzle, there was water in the creeks, no dust on the trails, and the scents of damp soil and pine bark were in the air. The sand lily and springbeauty continue to bloom, and I saw the first flowering larkspur. At the end of the last long ramp on Towers Road, aka Creeping Death, I found some mountain ball cactus with bright fuschia flowers.

My friend John Bender came along as I was photographing the cactus and we ran together for more than an hour. He has lived adjacent to the park for almost 40 years and is one of the founders of the local trail running community. I'll be cheering him on at Quad Rock in two weeks.

Week 11 will have more tempo running, and instead of a weekend long run, a 5K race with my family, all four of us in the same running event for the first time.

I have enjoyed a rest week. I exercised every day, but nothing intense or long, with double easy workouts on Thursday. I did a short bit of tempo pace running on Thursday, 8-8.5 effort out of ten. It felt great.

• 16.3 miles running

• 7 hours, 16 minutes all training

• 981 ft D+ running

Next week I'll be diving into tempo runs for real as I get into my second eight-week training block.

I brought running back in week eight. I ran five times, and four days in a row for the first time since early June, 2024. The numbers:

• 31.9 miles running

• 12 hours, 12 minutes all training

• 5,171 ft D+ running

Tuesday I did hard running and hiking intervals on Towers road, 5.5 km of 10% grade. 30 minutes at 9/10 effort, my biggest single workout of the season. I'm only a minute slower on the climb than early season runs in 2020 and 2021. That's very encouraging.

Today I went back to the hills for an easy long run. It felt easy until mile eight, where I boarded the struggle bus for the last two and a half miles. Still, I enjoyed the entire run, saw lots of hikers, and the season's first wildflowers: sand lily, clematis, pasqueflower, and springbeauty.

Conditions are very dry in our foothills. The creeks in Well Gulch and below Arthur's Rock often have running water into May, but have none now. It's not a good sign.