Weekend of training number 1

So, not much to report so far. Fairly anti-climatic. Did my usual run on Tuesday. Got some bonus miles on Monday returning a friend's car and running home, but nothing dramatic. Thursday was a frigid (by San Diego terms) run in the canyon highlighted by a pack of 3 coyotes, big ones, that were not at all worried about me. Very pretty, but ominous to Clairemont cats. Everything was frosted over, and Wundermap said 31 degrees. Brrr.

So, the weekend. I've decided to add an extra hillclimb into my usual Friday night run. Why? Well take a look below.

Ok, that's kinda tiny. And not enitrely accurate as it has Hardrock being run in the opposite direction that is being run this year. But you get the idea. Its a graph of all the climbing and altitude of various races. See all the pointy stuff on top? That's Hardrock. So, extra climbing it is.

My Friday Night Run, which I've been doing for about 6 years to start virtually every weekend, is to run from the end of Clairemont Mesa into Mission Trails, down into Suyacott Wash, up South Fortuna, down to the saddle, up North Fortuna, down along the ridge at the edge of Suyacott Wash and finish up on the rim trail. I can do it in about 1:15 to 1:20 depending on daylight, etc. When I was feeling bold, I'd add the Quarry climb which adds another 400 or 500 feet of climbing and a few miles, and I can do that in about 1:40 to 1:50. If I had to guess, the Friday run is about 6 miles with about 1200 feet of climbing and so the quarry run maybe 8 to 9 miles with 1700 feet of climbing? So, now instead of going down to the saddle and up Fortuna, I'm going to go down the alternate powerline trail all the way down to Oak Creek and then up to the top of Fortuna. That should add about 700 feet of climbing in about 3/4 mile. Bringing the run to about 10 miles and 2400 feet of climbing. Multiply by 10, and that would still be way, way short of Hardrock. Gulp. Hopefully I'm short on my guess of how much climbing is in the run or long on the distance. Anyways, figure its good for me to add another climb. More than anything else it means a later dinner. Boo!

Anyways, Saturday will be 10 miles in Mission Trails with Gonzo, likely on many of these same trails. Sunday will also be Mission Trails, but I think I will do repeats up and down Kway Paay which is 950 feet over 1.25 miles. I'll just knock out however many repeats I can get done in 6 hours, or two football games. I generally climb and descend that between 45 and 50 min, but I'm guessing there will be some degredation. I would be stoked to get 8. We'll see.

Monday, I got an invitation forwarded from the bad rats group of a christmas eve day run out in the Cuyamacas. I'm not a very social runner or a very good group runner, but I think I'll turn out anyways. The guy organizing it, Matt, is a great dude, and the weather is supposed to be rough, so it should be fun.

On the race side, I'm looking at renting a cabin at about 11,500 feet for the 2 weeks of Hardrock. The town Hardrock is based in is at 9,500 feet, so I figure I can get a jump on the altitude. Got a great note from Scotty Mills that he and his wife and maybe Angela are going to be at Camp Hardrock and an offer to help with pacing. With any luck, Scotty is going to get in (he's 9 on the vet waitlist as a five time finisher), and I will pick up my pacers from another source. In any case its fantastic to know that I have such a fabulous resource to tap for info. He will be sick of me.

Hopefully I have a few pics and good times to report on Monday or Tuesday. Hit the trails!