My Legs Hurt!

We had a red white and blue sky the evening before July 4th. I didn't run on the 4th though, I was sort of in pain.

After the solstice jog, I took it fairly easy for a week. I ran an hour daily after taking a couple of days off. Then life got going again and I didn't have much time to run, so I did an hour a day of running. Then I had an appointment cancellation last Wednesday and decided it would be the perfect opportunity to get some vertical in on some Rock Repeats. Since my biggest vertical so far has been in the neighborhood of 3000 feet at a time, I decided that 4000 or so would be a good progression. Four Rock Repeats at 1100 feet of climb and descent each. That yields 17.2 miles and 4400 feet of vertical. A nice morning workout.

I felt good and consistent on my climbs and descents, wasn't slow at all, and ran a good bit of the way up too. Along the way I also saw two fawns with spots, 2 snakes, one four foot bull snake and a skinny racer, about a dozen deer, and a lot of people. On the last descent I could feel my quads and I knew I was in for some soreness, but I didn't realize how much.

It's Sunday morning and my legs HURT!! They were not too bad the first day after, but by Friday they were screaming and I was hobbling down the stairs. Dennis gave me a massage and I walked 5 miles, but that didn't do too much. By yesterday I was still hurting. And here it is Sunday, I thought maybe they'd be better by now. Going down the stairs this morning hurt, just not as bad. I am going to try running today but it might end up as a walk.

Being Fourth of July weekend we hung out around the house. Dennis had a long weekend and did some work on the yard, I got some work done in the cave.

Today is Isabelle's 14th birthday and we are having a party. Our friend Anna is coming over to celebrate with us, and she will be staying with the girls later this summer when we go to California.

Having two fourteen year old girls is pretty awesome. I'm glad they are so much better behaved than I was at fourteen. I think about it everyday, I know they won't last forever, but they're still in good health and I am thankful for every day I have with them. And they're so beautiful, cute, entertaining and funny.

The good thing, despite all the discomfort, is that I feel confident about pacing Bob a lot of miles in Death Valley next month if he needs me to. He's designated me as crew chief for the return trip. Ha! Not sure I ever wanted to be THAT responsible. But it's fine. It will be fun and I know what to do. It's been hot there, like 125 degrees lately. A good supply of ice will keep me going. I'll keep on progressing the vertical over the month, trying to get one good run a week in over the next few weeks. I have not been up to altitude yet, I am going to try to get up to Estes Park to climb Longs to the Boulderfield at least a couple of times before I leave for Death Valley.

Bob still hasn't secured enough permits for Mt. Whitney, I might end up not doing that climb as a result, but it's okay. I am planning a trip to Sushi Koma and the Neon Museum when I'm in Vegas. Nice distractions.

Vertical and heat training will have to resume after Death Valley, to be prepared for the Grand Canyon in October. I have so few days to get out for long or serious runs, probably one per week if I'm lucky. I can't even plan ahead much, I have to go by my brain's rhythms. I work my butt off in the cave for a few days and get a lot done, and then my brain is fried, I need to get away from thinking and writing.

My dad is in California for most of the summer, he just started his new chemo and I'm hoping he'll feel okay most of the time, and can enjoy being at the beach and getting out without too much fatigue.

Sorry I don't have a lot of running adventures to report but there will be more as the summer and year goes on. Bob's return trip will be a TRIP, that's for sure. He always tells me I'm a TRIP, so I will make sure we all have a TRIP to remember.

I'm keeping it open-ended because I have no idea how long it will take us to get back to Badwater from Whitney, but I want him to have a successful outcome. That's the most important thing. Get back to Badwater safe, in one piece, and with the satisfaction of being the first 70 year old to ever complete a double. Pretty awesome in my book.