Superior training week nine recap

What a crappy week for America, a country where half the residents think that the root of the school shooting crisis is not guns, but too many school entrances and exits. America is sick and it feels like it's getting worse, not better. I escaped into trail running: six runs on six days, one hill interval workout on Towers Trail, and back-to-back long runs in the foothills of the Rockies on Saturday and Sunday. Here are the numbers.

• 11 hours, 5 minutes

• 50.5 miles

• 8,582 ft D+

Saturday I went out intending to do two and a half climbs of Horsetooth and Arthurs Rock. After about seven miles I started feeling pain in my right shin, just above my ankle. It gradually increased and so I stopped at 13 miles and skipped the last climb. Evidently it was not a stress fracture because I was able to hike and run with no pain today. Only an irritated tendon, I think. My new-ish Speedgoat 5s are not a great fit my slightly smaller right foot, perhaps my ankle tendons were fighting a loose fit.

Today I wore my newest pair of the Speedgoat 4, deployed my hiking sticks, and reached the summit of Crosier Mountain (9,257 ft) just before the first thunderstorms developed. I've never been up this trail before. It's a wonderful mix of steep switchbacks and highly runnable singletrack. There's not a lot of shade and no water to speak of, so it could be grueling on a hotter day. I felt great and got to the top in a respectable time. This was my first run over 8,000 ft in 2022. I'll be doing more of this as the snow recedes. There's still quite a bit above 10,000 ft.