Enchanted

July 5-12. 60mi. 6 days.

At last, a return to the 60 mile week :) I was in the neighborhood in mid-May and have been firting again for the last two weeks. Even more importantly, I put in a solid 5 hour 10 minute effort in the hills near Leavenworth, WA on Wednesday afternoon. In each of the last three summers I have ventured further and futher into the Enchantments basin in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area - and each time I am blown away by the carrot at the end of the stick. This year in particular, I was able to get beyond the last major climb to Lake Vivianne and to check out the mix of snow and water and granite that grace this incredible spot. Quite a "hump" getting there, as folks will say, as it took 2:50 for me to cover only 11.5 miles. There is about 5600-5800 feet of elevation gain and 4000 ft of it takes place in the first 6.5 miles. All in all, an excellent run. Topping that off, I ran 11 miles on the Wenatchee "Apple Loop" -- a flat to rolling paved bike path along the Columbia river -- on the day after. My legs were tired, but I ran the loop in about 1:20 (pretty close to 7:20 pace) so it was a solid back-to-back effort. The chaffing carry-over was the worst part!

As it stands, I'm still a little on the fence about my Wasatch bid. Back in the right training mindset - I think - but I'll have to decide for certain (and log my trail work hours) in the next 2-3 weeks.

Limited Speed

June 29 - July 5
55mi. 6 runs. 2 bike rides. 1 hike.

A little heat training too... somewhere in the neighborhood of 97-100 degrees during my 12 mile run to Mazama on Friday afternoon. Too hot, in some respects, for that to have been a wise choice on my part, but I took plenty of water and 80% of the run is in the trees. Also a nice exploration of Buck Mt./Buck Lake this week, and a 3+ hour run again on Sunday morning coupled with a 3+ hour hike on Sunday afternoon. Off to the Leavenworth area for a solid long run next week!

June Totals

June: 203mi. 24 runs.
YTD: 903mi.

Pretty similar to April, and just a little more than May. I'm consistent, but need to step it up a notch. I'm on a slightly better trajectory than I was in 2007's Wasatch approach, but would love to eek out a little more.

Almost...

June 15-28. 97mi. 11 runs.

Remember now, that's 97mi in two weeks time. An OK, but uninspired 40mi week to start things off, and then a much better 57mi week - especially considering my travels for Summer Reading. Also, a 3000ft gain in my long run on June 19, 3000 additional feet of gain one June 23, and 5-6000 feet of gain in the 22mi West Fork to Hart's Pass run on June 28 -- at least that's what Andrew was thinking. I really need to get back in the 5-6 hour range again soon, but 4:30+ on Sunday was a step in the right direction. Plus, I'm getting work done AND still getting good sleep.

I'll take it!