I have been away for a while, busy running and all, but I want to take an opportunity of downtime to write about my run today. My go-in plan was to hit a couple loops on Mt Si. Easier said than done, Mt Si is 4 miles long with 3500 feet elevation gain. I ran it before part of my Chuckanut 50k training. Muk Bob took me and Wendy, another trail runner up to it. I recall that run as a tough climb and a brutal downhill back to the trail head. We ran walked to the top the first time but I had a hard time keeping up. I felt I was holding the others back. There was snow the last mile or so of the trail. But once I got to the top it was an awesome feeling!
Then just jumped off the rock onto this tree. Keep in mind there is a hundred feet drop or more below him ... It was pretty amazing. Nature is beautiful!
I made the last quarter mile quickly, rested a moment and headed back down to the trail head. I got in the car and drove to Mt Si trailhead next. As soon as the trail started climbing I could feel it was going to be a tough one lol ... Reality sinks in. WTH did I come in for ... Because I started now I got to finish it ... And up to the top I went. I pushed through at a reduced pace and smaller stride trying to conserve energy and not over extend my calves and achilles. I monitored my heart rate up, keeping in the 160's BPM. I was hoping for a straight run to the top but started breaking down at about 3 miles up, from there on it was run/walk lol ... Now I would run/walk such a climb in a race anyway, but for training purpose I push through most my uphill runs in order to develop my climbing stamina further. I see that Mt Si still got some on me, so I'll have to come back and win it. Given the fact I did Little Si first it definitely had tired me first. My legs were heavy and I had lost the bounciness of my legs on Little Si. When I did finally reached the summit, it was such a treat though. I found a rock to sit on and just admire the view ... Yeah my personal couch was waiting for me up on Mt Si, in the shaddow of the Haystack ... and had a view too !
After my rest I headed back down for the downhill run. It's a grueling downhill, even for me today. I think they should call this trail the LegBreaker instead. But in comparison to last time I was on it I had directional control rather than just tumbling down a trail I was scanning and placing my feet at locations I picked, bouncing off the trail's banks, obstacles and trunks. I ran all the way down. No stops. My quads weren't burning although after a while I did feel quite a bit of impact back through my lower legs ... Then again that's what a 3500 feet drop over 4 miles will eventually do to you, right? Finally back at the trail head I took this picture as i was changing shoes ... All sweat and dirt. Mission accomplished lol
Proof I was there !
This isn't photo shop ... yep that's snow on the shoes thank you for my campons!
Wendy, Muk Bob and a random hiker on his way to the Haystack
The downhill killed my quads. It was brutal, uncontrolled at best and all I could think off was how bad it would hurt to trip and how much fun it was. We headed back up to the mid point of trail where it levels off a bit and turned back and called it a day. That was Mt Si training run 4 February 2012.
Fast forward to 8 September 2012. I am training up for my second ever 50k, which I slipped into my Quadzilla training well cause I figured with all the mileage per week I am doing why not. Good ideam, bad idea, only time will tell I guess. So Mt Spokane 50k has a 8,000 feet elevation gain over 31 miles. So I have been doing some trail climbs for my trails run portion of the Quadzilla training, and felt that I have progressed enough to consider hitting Mt Si again. That's how I ended up picking Mt Si trail for this weekend's trail run. I figure I could baseline today's run to February's.
At the same time I read hike reports about an "old Mt Si" trail which is really Little Si, a smaller version of Mt Si at 2.2 miles long and about 1,100 feet elevation gain. When I drove to Mt Si this morning I just ended up at Little Si and started there. The run up was fun. The trail very technical at times. Although hard I managed the climb to the top relatively easily. About a quarter mile from the summit I veered off to this lookout rock to admire the amazing view ... The lookout had a huge drop !
When I spot a drop like that in my runs I am reminded of Chuckanut's #12 ... Oh Yeah I wrote like 20 thoughs following Chuckanut 50k ... Check them out here. Twelve definitely applied here ! Moving on ... I was heading to the trail when I noticed this little guy ... can you spot him in this picture?
He dotted towards the "ridge" then shot accross towards me.
Stopped. Checked me out. I doubt he was expected food as he looks very slim ...
Then just jumped off the rock onto this tree. Keep in mind there is a hundred feet drop or more below him ... It was pretty amazing. Nature is beautiful!
I made the last quarter mile quickly, rested a moment and headed back down to the trail head. I got in the car and drove to Mt Si trailhead next. As soon as the trail started climbing I could feel it was going to be a tough one lol ... Reality sinks in. WTH did I come in for ... Because I started now I got to finish it ... And up to the top I went. I pushed through at a reduced pace and smaller stride trying to conserve energy and not over extend my calves and achilles. I monitored my heart rate up, keeping in the 160's BPM. I was hoping for a straight run to the top but started breaking down at about 3 miles up, from there on it was run/walk lol ... Now I would run/walk such a climb in a race anyway, but for training purpose I push through most my uphill runs in order to develop my climbing stamina further. I see that Mt Si still got some on me, so I'll have to come back and win it. Given the fact I did Little Si first it definitely had tired me first. My legs were heavy and I had lost the bounciness of my legs on Little Si. When I did finally reached the summit, it was such a treat though. I found a rock to sit on and just admire the view ... Yeah my personal couch was waiting for me up on Mt Si, in the shaddow of the Haystack ... and had a view too !
After my rest I headed back down for the downhill run. It's a grueling downhill, even for me today. I think they should call this trail the LegBreaker instead. But in comparison to last time I was on it I had directional control rather than just tumbling down a trail I was scanning and placing my feet at locations I picked, bouncing off the trail's banks, obstacles and trunks. I ran all the way down. No stops. My quads weren't burning although after a while I did feel quite a bit of impact back through my lower legs ... Then again that's what a 3500 feet drop over 4 miles will eventually do to you, right? Finally back at the trail head I took this picture as i was changing shoes ... All sweat and dirt. Mission accomplished lol
I did a few stretching and strength exercise when I got home but tonight I feel none of the inflammation that has plagued me the last few weeks. Shins are good, ankles didn't bothered much during the run but they still feel achy and stiff when I walk. The worst for today i think are 2 nasty knots on the outside of the leg where the ligaments attach to the calves. I rolled my legs without much success. However knots in my calves is nothing new so I still think that my training is improving my body's ability to recover.
My initial plan was to do 2 loops on Mt Si. But I didn't feel like pushing it. I am running the Air Force Marathon next week, and although 26.2 flat miles it's still 26.2 miles! I am going to run "kinda hard" this week instead of "hard" as I had originally planned to allow for more recovery leading into AFM. I'll be back at Mt Si in 2 weeks prior to Mt Spokane. Will run Mt Si first with fresh legs and once and for all own that mountain. Mark my word lol
Wow that's a long article I wrote. I hope you enjoy reading it, leave a comment either or on the new SBF Runs page on FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/SbfRuns . I created that page to allow for better interaction between you the reader and me the writer. Also I post comments about activities, articles I read etc ... Check it out and "like it"!
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