A Sunrise at Bergen Peak

Total: 55 miles

Mon: 5 mi 5K at 5K race pace
Tue: 12 mi easy
Wed: 7 mi moderately hard
Thu: 5 mi trail run +2200' pushing the little man (see pictures on the trail running partners thread)
Fri: Rest
Sat: 21 mi trail run to Bergen Peak +5700' felt good, strong on the latter half, should get another one of these in soon
Sun: 5 mi trail run +1300' pushing the little man (REALLY SLOW)

This was the biggest week I've run to date, and I can feel the heaviness in my legs. The good think is that my legs are just that, heavy, not hurting. I took an icebath Sunday night and that was the best decision I made all week. The Saturday long run I got in was really good, it was a chilly start and the fog reduced visibility to about 15'. To be honest it was such dense fog that I took two wrong turns on my way up to Bergen Peak trail, ending up at the upper parking lot once, and almost back to the lower lot the second. Once I woke up (it was 5:30am) and got on the right path I settled into a moderately slow climbing pace I started to liven up. The trail gets more technical the higher up on the Peak you get and I needed to stop and tighten up my shoe as I felt my left foot start to develop a hot spot while sliding around a bit in the toebox. I took in 2 GU (just plain) gels and drank some GU20 near the top as I was trudging through the packed snow at the summit.

Once I turned around I began tearing down at a blistering pace. The one aspect of my trail running that I feel is really accomplished is my ability to run smoothly and extremely fast over technical terrain. I think this comes from my mountain biking days and learning how to pick lines on the fly. The descent is long and steep and I felt a bit out of breath as I got back to meadow view trail. From here on out the trail is rather non technical with only a small amount of climing. I met up with Roy and Joanne from the Evergreen Runner's Circle for the last lap and cruised in at comfortable pace. I'm excited for May 23rd in Gunnison and I think I'll be able to turn out a good time, probably better than Prickly Pear despite the massive difference in terrain and altitude.