Bear training week one recap

Am I going to do those damn recaps again in 2023? Indeed, I am!

I signed up for my first ever attempt at a 100 miler, the 2023 Bear 100, and this past week was week one of a 36 week plan. The time on feet and mileage all go up from here. I might do 20 hours and 100 miles or more in a week in July. Week one's numbers are a step up from my November and December running.

  • 7 hours, 56 minutes

  • 36.8 miles

  • 4,268 ft D+

This weekend I did back-to-back 2 hour runs for the first time since last August. I did a long slow slog on the bike path yesterday and then a hilly loop at Horsetooth Open Space today. I saw nobody in the park away from the trailheads, only birds. On Spring Creek I ran through a large flock of chickadees and at the Towers crossed paths with a Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) which seemed to be doing stooping exercises. From on high it would tuck its winds and dive headlong toward the ground, pull out of the dive, coast back up, and then repeat. Larimer County encourages Golden Eagles to nest at Horsetooth by closing a stretch of the Spring Creek trail each spring. I would love to hear about some breeding success this year.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52600881916_29872288ac_b.jpg

View from the Towers-Mill Canyon-Spring Creek junction