4/21 to 4/25

4/20, Sunday

Off. Knee is super stiff from Saturday's incident on Green.

4/21, Monday

6 miles, 49 minutes, 500ft. Pushed it a little bit on the creek path, I held low 7 high 6 minute pace for the first 3 miles till I got to Settler's park and indulged in a quick ~300 ft hill climb and some scrambling. Took the return trip a little easier at first before ending with a 6:40 for the last mile. This actually got me decently tired (finally), though my primary source of fatigue today was the left calf which has been somewhat out of service for a while. Hip feels tired, but not hurt.

4/22, Tuesday

Physical therapy in the morning on the hip. Biked the creek path for the first time ever, which seems odd given I've ran it probably 40 or 50 times. 10 miles, 38 minutes.

A blossoming pinecone on the 2nd, something I'd never seen before.

4/23, Wednesday

Hip is the definition of sore. Oddly enough there is a definite difference that I can distinguish between hurt and sore/tight. Neither situation feels good physically though, so I took the day off.

4/24, Thursday

Hiking with a lap up Freeway (39:13, but with a friend), the backside of the 2nd and the backside of the 1st, where I found a more efficient downclimb strategy. Looking to try and get a sub 15 time on this route tomorrow (see Friday). I can get a more than a fair cardio workout that is much easier on the hip through these excursions as well as building technical prowess; I should be doing this near daily in my opinion. And further, I should probably bring non-running friends or wear flip-flops so I don't run - that is, until I have enough self discipline to not run.

Working around the Southwest face of the First Flatiron with Henry, with dwarfed pines beneath.

4/25, Friday
More hiking. Running is not worth the anxiety of potentially doing something bad nor the consequence of actually doing something bad to the hip; but I'll not be complaining of this adventure. No matter, my heart rate still hit the ceiling on this one. Started off with a speed lap on 2nd Flatiron's "Freeway" in 11:46, another huge PR. I've gotten to the point on this where skill-wise I feel comfortable at every part of this route. Today, I was audibly wheezing and working hard to find the sweet spot in my exertion level without tipping the scale and going anaerobic. Awesome line. I then proceeded to tackle the "Baker's Way" (or at least what I thought was) route on the 1st Flatiron. It was more tricky than I would have hoped, but whenever I felt the route above me was too bad, I looked to my sides; nine times out of ten, there is a better option. I was hoping I could find a route that I would feel comfortable bringing friends on, but alas it wasn't much easier than the standard route - just shorter.

Wonderfully clear days this week. Boulder may be green and dry, but the continental divide still looks buried in snow.

I hiked back down to the base of the second and meandered my way up along the "Dodge Block" route, its much harder than "Freeway" (which granted, isn't saying much) but offers a degree of difficulty which can get me out of my comfort zone but not so much so that I feel scared or nervous. I looked for a way up to the true summit of the 2nd, but came to conclusion that every possible way up is far from the scope of my abilities (probably like a 5.10 or higher). Whilst down-climbing back down, I ran into an old classmate I hadn't seen since 4th grade who had moved to California prior to enrolling at CU. We both near immediately recognized each other and shared some old memories before he continued his ascent and me my descent. Awesome outing. 4.5 miles, 2,500ft of vertical, 3 and a half hours.