Back at it again.  The past couple of weeks were an interesting experiment.  I completed the North Fork 50 mile race on Saturday the 16th, had one day off, then left for a week long backpacking trip in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness Area.  I was a little worried about how I would do hauling a full pack up into the mountains so soon after a race, and even took two trekking poles this time to help with the task.  I couldn’t be any happier with how it turned out.  My legs were definitely tired, but not sore at all.  I kept up with the group just fine and really didn’t have any lingering problems from the race.  The trip was a huge success.  I didn’t get any running in, but spent the whole time hauling packs over mountain passes and summiting some 14,000′ peaks along the way.

This week was all about getting back to the routine.  I felt a little rusty to begin with, but then had a decent run at the group trail run on Wednesday night.  That left me a little wiped out, though – and I took the rest of the week pretty easy.

The countdown to Leadville is under way.  Three weeks from right now I will hopefully be sitting in the gym waiting for the awards ceremony to start.  I’m taking a different approach to the race this year – as in no approach.  It’s just another race on the calendar instead of the capstone to the summer that has been the role it has played for the last two years.  No real goals, just want to check another 100 off the list and move on to the next one.  I’ve been doing an ultra per month since March and would like to continue that for a while.  This will also be the first time I’ve done multiple 100 mile races in the same year, and I would even like to add a third if I come out of Leadville somewhat intact.  I got kind of burned out on the whole build-up and peak approach that I have taken before, so now it’s time to just run and see what happens.

Monday
Run – 10.2 miles
Ran a 7:30 effort that netted an 8:30 pace. Legs are a bit rusty to say the least. A few more runs like this and I should start getting some snap in them again.

Tuesday
Run – 9.3 miles
Better than yesterday. Harder course, easier effort (or at least easier to hold the effort), and slightly faster pace. Feel like I’m :30-:45 sec slow for a given effort level, but can tell I’m getting the rubber band wound up again. Almost got mowed down by a stupid cell-phone-talking lady in her smart car. Should have just hurdled the thing.

Wednesday
Run – 21.4 miles
Great run at Centennial Cone with Leila, Patrick, Andy, and the rest of the DTR night crew. Lucked out with some thunderstorms and had mostly pleasant weather to run in.  These runs are my favorite training runs ever.  I love starting in the daylight and running into the night.  Patrick got rolling on the final descent and I hung on for all I was worth.  That was a great way to finish the run!

Thursday
Run – 7 miles
Very sluggish today. Starving, too. I even bit my own finger while wolfing down a sandwich!

Friday
Run – 10.8 miles
Ugly.

Saturday
Run – 7 miles
Good run up to the state park and back.

Hike – 4.5 miles
Took the family up to Loveland Pass for some hiking along the Continental Divide. Got a little bit of running in as well. Then went and played around at a lake on the way to Leadville.

Total – 70.3 miles, 12:01