One Week To Go!

Have we really made it to the taper? Oh man, it feels so good to be at this point and injury-free! Mark and I have done it all, back to back to back long runs, steep ascents, steep descents, speed work, long miles.... we've run the Grand Canyon, a 30K in Malibu, some early miles in beautiful Sedona, miles and miles and miles of awesome trail around Flagstaff, and, recently, consecutive long runs above 11,000 feet around Silverton, CO. There really isn't anything we missed in our training. We're definitely coming to Trans Rockies as prepared as two middle-aged, middle packers can be. And we're healthy! No nagging injuries and no gaps in our training since the serious stuff began in late May, early June.

For our last high mileage week (80 freaking miles!) of training, Mark was really pushing for a road trip to Colorado so we could spend more time at higher altitude. While I was hesitant at first, I'm glad we made the trip. It was awesome. I felt like I was running just to run; and I took in everything, the wildflowers, the views, the trail. I think I've gotten to a point where running for hours just seems natural.

Heading back down to Ice Lake from Fuller Lake, @12,500'

Our first run was up to Ice Lake Basin. With over 5000 feet of climbing and access to several high alpine lakes, the run was incredible. Wildflowers were in abundance and we made the loop to check out Fuller, Ice, Island, and other unnamed lakes at over 12,500 feet.

View near the start of the Colorado Trail heading west from Molas Pass.

The next day we headed to Molas Pass where we hit the Colorado Trail for nearly 17 miles of running at about 11,500 feet. The elevation remained relatively constant, which was a delight after the steeps from the first day. It too was a beautiful trail. One I'd love to do again. Mountain vistas, waterfalls, and wildflowers gave this run something to focus on at every mile. I can't imagine it really gets any better than this portion of the Colorado Trail.

On the third run in Colorado and our final long run before Trans Rockies, Mark and I decided to try to soak in as much as we could by hitting two different trails that both started around Molas Pass. We first took the Colorado Trail east from the pass down to the start of some steep switchbacks. The view down the Animas River valley was spectacular from there. We then climbed back up to the pass and headed over to the Crater Lake Trail. Now, I've done the Crater Lake trail before as a backpack with my then 8-year-old son. So how hard could it be, right? Turns out that the run out to Crater Lake was a lot more difficult than I remembered. I found myself repeating at various times, "My 8-year-old did this?" The trail was a bit more technical than I remembered, and it climbed. It climbed a lot more than I remember. With the water on the trail, stream crossings, and rocky sections, the running was a challenge. But we made it to the lake, took in the view, and headed back. The run back was way easier as we made our descent to the trailhead. The mud didn't seem so muddy, the stream crossings were easier, and the rocky sections didn't seem so rocky. It was really just running with joy all the way back to where we started. This was it, these were the final miles of our "intensive" training for TR.

So now, here we are on our taper. I've got a trail half-marathon to run tomorrow and then nothing but easy miles until the start of TR on August 21st. The Colorado road trip was a great way to end the hard stuff and both Mark and I are absolutely certain that we're as ready as we can be for Trans Rockies.

-jea