Sunday, February 23, 2014

And Another Pretty Good Week - Back in Aspen

It's been a good week overall training wise.  3:23 on the bike and 9:10 running for a total of 12:33 for training time for the week.  I also managed to get a crap ton in elevation gain running this week too.  I'll take it.

It has been great this past week with the weather improving as it has.  There was only the one day this week and that was Thursday that I needed to ride inside.  Even more promising is that after my run on Friday I was walking the last two blocks to the house and I heard some birds singing at sunset.  It is hard to describe but it is just the kind of bird sounds that I associate with spring starting to happen.

Even here in Aspen this morning when I took Asia out to go potty, there were robins everywhere.  I know this is Colorado and we can still have two more months of winter weather but it is so nice to witness the beginning of the end of this winter.  And even better, daylight savings time begins in two weeks!  Yay for more sunlight and longer days!

The drive to Aspen yesterday was okay.  I actually made it here by dusk and the roads were pretty clear.  The streets here in the neighborhood are mostly clear too but you should see all of the snow piled up on the sides of the streets and what not.  I bet some of this stuff doesn't melt until May.

Today I ran from the apartment up Castle Creek Road to the townsite of Ashcroft.  Ashcroft is a popular Nordic Skiing area. Anyway, my original guess was that it was about ten miles from the apartment but it is really just a smidge over twelve miles with about a 1500 foot gain.  Long steady grind up there and a long pounding descent back down.  Going up Castle Creek Road is really pretty and I was able to see some of the trailheads and Jeep roads that I will be riding and running on this summer.  It made for a long 24.2 mile run.

One thing is for certain, I could definitely tell today that I have spent the last six weeks at 6K instead of being up here in Aspen with a base altitude of 8K.  My heart rate didn't have any problems at all getting up into Zone 2 and staying there without much effort.   Can't wait until I am up here full time and get fully acclimated.  That will be nice.

I am up here until next Saturday.  Melissa has her ACL surgery in the morning and I will be here helping her get around the next week.  After that it is back to the springs to finish up stuff there.  But soon, soon I will be here permanently.  I'll say within eight weeks.

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