The calendar states that March 20th is the first day of spring but every runner knows spring starts with daylight savings. As if on cue Mother Nature had the same idea. Colorado got hit with a blizzard on Saturday. The clocks sprang forward at midnight and Sunday brought sunshine and temps in the 40's. We are looking at several days in the 60's this week. It's time put away the headlamp and start stripping down the layers.
My training is jumping to the next level with the change of season. I got in an incident free 48 miles last week and should push over 50 miles this week. I'm running a flat FA 50k on Saturday. I'm looking forward to getting reacclimated to the higher mileage. The 50 mile weeks feel so much better than the 30 mile weeks. I love the tired and strong feeling that goes along with it.
The past couple of months I've been struggling with an internal tug of war. I'd go through some short spurts of good training and then lose interest. My goals were still too far out to really focus. The weather, darkness and the desire to be with family all played their roles. With only 8 weeks until Zane Grey it kind of clicked. I'm looking forward to my races coming up but I'm also looking forward to taking some time off after they are over. Until then it's time to focus.
I've committed to the Ken Caryl Trail Club this year. Our first meeting is on Wednesday. The Club has done some great work on the trails in recent years and I feel it's time I give back. I will also get legal access to the Willow Creek trails. That adds about 30-40% more foothill terrain. It will be a good experience that I'm looking forward to.
I've been planning a foothill traverse over the last couple of months. Details are firming up. It's looking like 20-30 miles with over 8k of climb bagging every peak along the way on the point to point run. About 40% of it is off trail. I'm trying to nail down some final details regarding private property. I'm ok with doing some poaching but I don't want to get shot.
Enjoy the extra daylight!
