Carb O.D. at the Silver Grill

It was long past time to get back up on the hill and do Rock Repeats. I miss this workout, but I wasn't doing a lot for hills all year. I don't need much vertical for what I do, but it helps for strength, and it's a good break from the usual pavement.

The Rock Repeat course is a wide service road in the park, it's dirt with a few slightly rocky sections but nothing approaching technical. It's a good compromise for my weak ankles, a chance to get off the pavement, go up and see the views, without dealing with rocky stuff that hurts with every step. In the summer it has the added benefit of being wide enough to see the snakes.

Wrapping up an 80 mile week today wasn't too bad. I thought I'd be tired but I felt good. So good that I ran two Rock Repeats at a pace I haven't run since 2007. Almost my best splits ever on that thing both up and down, and I walked a majority of the uphills. I felt strong on both the uphill section, and coming down, I could feel that I have more turnover in my legs. What holds me back on the downhills is my brain, worried about my ankles.

There were no snakes to be seen today, though. It was a cool morning, I was cold at the top when I stopped to take some pictures. The flowers were out everywhere, we've had some rain lately and everything is green and blooming. The trail was busy with hikers and mountain bikers but very few runners. I got started late, didn't get to the trailhead until 8:30.

After the second Rock Repeat I knew it wouldn't be wise to do another whole one, because as past experience tells me, I will most likely be extremely sore for several days after this. I went partway up the dirt road, for about a mile, then came back down and finished the last couple of miles on the paved road to Redstone Canyon. Not a bad 13 miles with 3000 feet of climb and the same of descent.

After I got home Dennis twisted my arm into going to the Silver Grill where I downed two huge plates of food. A plate of cinnamon roll French toast and another huge plate of hash browns with green chile. More carbs than I've eaten all week, but it's what I needed today. If you are ever in Fort Collins you should eat breakfast at the Silver Grill. I think it might be the oldest restaurant in town, or close to it. Anyway it is an ideal place to refuel after a long run.

I'm refueled from today's run, and getting prepped for next week's triple digit mileage. As Wheaties Boy would say, "now shit gets real".