Yes, this poses a risk to the Rainier trip in July. A bum hip certainly won't feel good on ~9000ft. worth of ascent. But to not even try, well, that would be the sissy-la-la way out. Sissy-la-las need not apply.
Anyway, that's my epiphany. I already paid the money and I have a good idea of what I'm getting into. It's going to be a suck-fest, but nothing worth having or doing comes easy. Sometimes it just sucks. And then you have a beer and tell a great story.
As for the last three weeks, I've struck a balance that I feel is starting to work. I was primarily biking three or four times a week with the occasional hike and no running. Last week I decided to give running a go and found that with an easy pace and book-ending the run with core work and stretching, I can run without a lot of pain. It's not 100%, but it doesn't nag and throb like it did a month ago. Last week I also began to alternate run days with bike days which, for the first week at least, worked pretty well. I plan to keep that up this week and next going into Bighorn.
Tues. May 15 - Rode 7 miles in 40 min (10.5 mph). My first time on my bike, on the trails in nearly four years. Had a rude awakening on the Summit-Browns-Headquarters loop. Turns out, I currently have bike handling skills on par with the six-year old version of myself who was just learning how to ride a bike.
Wed. May 16 - Rode 8.5 miles in 44 min (11.6 mph). So, after my first ride in four years, I decided it would be a great idea to immediately enter a mountain bike short track race. Joke's on me, I got my butt kicked. I hit up the third and last of the Laramie Short Track races out in the prairie. It was a lot harder than I anticipated. Turns out, running fitness doesn't translate to cycling fitness (who knew, right?). While I have a pretty good cardiovascular system, I lack some of the musculature for cycling and I certainly lack the bike handling skills necessary to be, you know, good. I took DFL in the short track, even getting lapped. What can I say, it was a humbling experience. Sometimes you need to get your ass kicked so you remember what it's like to not be on your high horse.
Sun. May 20 - Rode 5 miles in 30 min (10 mph). I went for a quick ride at Happy Jack on my way to Cheyenne. Felt pretty sluggish.
Week's Miles: 20.5
Saddle Time: 1:54
Mon. May 21 - Rode 10 miles in 60 min (10 mph). Longer ride at Happy Jack on a beautiful evening. Went out Upper UW and Headquarters, then rode the entirety of the Crow Creek loop, back to Headquarters to the Summit cutoff, then back in on Lower UW.
Also, I bought a car from my parents. My mom bought a new one, and offered her old Bonneville to me for a discounted price. Considering my truck has been A) broken (ball joint was going out; it's in the shop now getting fixed) and B) gets such amazing gas mileage (13 mpg on a good day, oh yeah!), I had been shopping around for a new car for a while. This one, while not exactly new (2002 model year), is newer than the truck (1995 model year), is in great shape, has pretty low mileage, and can pull 35 mpg on the highway (pretty dang amazing for a full-sized sedan with a 3.8L V-6). I figure it'll serve me well for a little while. Hard to turn down that deal.
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| Meet Silvie. Even got a bike rack thrown in, so I can look like a total yuppie. |
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| Now Chuck the Truck can be used exclusively as pictured. |
Thurs. May 24 - Rode 8 miles in 60 min (8 mph). I went down Pole Creek to the base of the Bitch, then turned around and came back up Middle Aspen. Forgot how much Middle Aspen sucks.
Sun. May 27 - Hiked 6 miles in 90 min. Elizabeth and I went up and hiked Crow Creek on a sunny, but windy morning. The weather all Memorial Day weekend pretty much sucked. The hike was good, with great company. I'm looking forward to more hikes with her, if we're ever in the same place for an extended period of time. June is a busy, busy month.
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| I'm a dumbass, Elizabeth is a bobblehead. |
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| Dead trees and the Front Range on the horizon. |
Total Time: 3:30
Tues. May 29 - Ran 6 miles in 52 min (8:39 pace). First run in a month. The return of Tuesday Night Trails. Rachel, Daniel and I went for a very relaxed run on the Summit loop. Good news, the hip felt pretty good. This excites me.
Wed. May 30 - Rode 8 miles in 60 min (8 mph). I started at the Summit trail head, then went in on Lower UW, bombed down Middle Aspen, suffered coming up Aspen proper, then went back out Headquarters to the Crow Creek Cutoff and back into the trail head. I'm still very green on the bicicleta.
Thursday May 31 - Ran 5 miles in 38 min (7:35 pace). I ran the fence line loop out in the prairie in the morning. I felt pretty good. I book-ended the run with a lot of core work and stretching.
May Miles:
Cycling: 47 (YTD: 47, 4:54)
Running: 40 (YTD: 765, 86:48)
Hiking: 13
Total: 100 (15:20)
Fri. June 1 - Rode 10 miles in 70 min (8.6 mph). Started at the Summit trailhead, then out Summit to Browns, down the backside of Headquarters to Blair Wallis road, then in on the Old Happy Jack road, up Pole Creek, and back in on Upper UW. Nice ride. I'm feeling more comfortable on the bike.
Sat. June 2 - Ran 7 miles in 51 min (7:17 pace). I ran the Headquarters-Summit Loop. The hip bugged me a little toward the end. The uphills (particularly Overlook) aren't feeling super great. Turns out, you need the hip flexor to lift your legs up when going uphill. News to me.
Week's Miles: 36 (18 cycling, 18 running)
Total Time: 4:31
Gear: 2004 Specialized XC Pro, Saucony Peregrine (369 miles)
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