Friday, June 17, 2011

Elevation Profile Proves Motivational

Sarah and I planned on running Pin Cushion MTN this morning for 3hrs.  PCM, has approx. 900 feet and 4km return trip.  So our thoughts were 5-6 repeats depending on how long it would take us per loop.  Well, I felt horrible... and I mean horrible, but I had to call Sarah last night and let her know that I just wasn't up for a 6am start.  I started to feel run down on Thursday and it has felt like my weeks just keep getting more and more crammed.  More and more scheduled and just too fast paced for me.  I was worried that another night of only 6hrs would be the straw that broke the camel's back.  So I elected to sleep in and do my repeats later in the day.  Unfortunately, Sarah was on a tight schedule herself on Friday leaving her less options.  I will say that a sign of a true partner is one who understands, supports and doesn't judge.  Sarah was all this and more, which allowed me to feel good about my choice.

I ended up sleeping for 9hrs and woke up feeling recharged.  I didn't actually get out of bed until 7:30am!  Although I was still quite lazy and needed to detach from responsibilities and just take the morning to veg. 

I found my way to PCM by 11am and the first thing I did was pin Stage 5's elevation profile up on the trunk of a tree.  I had planned 3hrs of running/hiking up/down repeats and figured I might need a little motivation to meet my 1300m goal for the day...


So every repeat I could see it coming down the last 20m and it did indeed remind me of what I am working so hard for.

I wore my La Sportiva Raptor trail shoes and I am just so friggen impressed with these shoes.  My first 4 laps went by with dry skies but my 5th lap it pissed and these shoes gripped the rock and trail with no issues.  PCM is rather technical with roots, rocks, large jagged sections you have to boulder over and lots of scree/baby heads.  The Raptors kept my feet feeling secure and going fast.

Trent rode his bike from home and met me there for my last repeat.  The push was good and it was my fastest ascent time of the day. 

The best part of it all was going for lunch with Trent and my brother Kenny at Bliss Bakery afterwards though.  Red Curry Soup, espresso, fresh breads and home made PB/Choc cookie.  Training for the ALPS also consists of hitting coffee shops post-runs.

Run Details: 3hrs, 1350m, approx 20k

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