Bear training weeks 13-14 recap

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.