Boulder Train-cation: day 5

Day five of our train-cation included a little cycling and a lot of running.

Karel and I started our morning around 8:00am with a 24 minute run, starting from the park at the base of Sunshine Canyon. We ran down 4th street and made a big loop that included a lot of up and downhills.

We kept the effort super easy since we had two more workouts on the daily to-do schedule.

Our friends from our cabin cycled down to the park and we all started our ride toward Flagstaff Trailhead.

The climb to our look-out point was around 3 miles. It included several switchbacks but nothing too steep (except for at the beginning of the climb). It was an absolutely beautiful climb as you could see all of Boulder during the climb. When we got to the top, we enjoyed the view and then it was time to make the descend back to Boulder.

Karel and I rode back to our car at the park on the base of Sunshine Canyon and the guys continued on with their ride. Karel and I ended up with a little over 1 hour of riding and 1500 feet of climbing.

We put on our run gear and off we went for our first long run in Boulder.

We choose a new path, the Boulder Creek Path, which was another amazing trail/road running route.

Karel and I started the run together with a 40-minute EZ, slower than Ironman-effort pace. Karel ran with a 4-bottle flask and I ran with two bottles. I always tell my athletes to never ration their hydration and to drink frequently during runs but I didn't take my own advice on this run. I didn't realize how far I was running before we ended up at our turn-around and after quickly going through 1 x 10 ounce flask with 80 calories of Clif hydration, I found myself needing to ration my other 10 ounce flask (with Clif hydration) to make it back to a water fountain.

Karel and I ran a bit up 4-mile canyon before making our turn around. Our next set in our long run main set was 30 minutes at IM effort...then 20 minutes faster than IM effort.

I really enjoyed the trail and all of the beautiful sights during our run but the way out to our turn-around was tough because it was slightly uphill. I managed to stay with Karel for another 1.5 miles before I let him go to continue on with the set and I choose to run/stop and take pictures and to make sure I didn't risk a health issue by running with so little hydration/calories.

I enjoyed my stop breaks while still managing to hold sub 8-minute miles on the trail and when I got to a water stop, I decided to just run EZ as the last few miles were not ideal with so little nutrition/hydration.

I met up with Karel after around 90 minutes of running and we both jogged easily back to the car.

Here are a few pics from the run:

Karel ended up with 1 hour and 50 minutes of running and I finished with 1:40. Added to our 24 minute run before the bike, we both were exhausted...but in a good way.
The altitude still has an effect on how were are training but we are happy with how we are performing and recovering. But above all, we are having a lot of fun and really enjoying this train-cation.

On our drive up to our cabin, we made a stop to say hello to a few furry friends that we spotted on the side of the road. I wonder what Mr. Lama would think of all of these friends?

After a bit of recovery (food, hydration and rest), we all headed out to Avery Brewing for a well-needed post-workout meal.

You better believe that our group enjoyed this beer list. Karel got two different IPA's and a brisket sandwich with a side of roasted carrots.

I ordered the veggie tacos - which was amazing!!

This train-cation has been so much fun for me and Karel but even more so, to enjoy food, training, fun and laughs with our friends.

Our friends/athletes, Kristen and Trent also joined us (we stayed at their house for the first 3 days of our trip - and I love their three furry children).