The Subway

Green Mountain Fast

Columbia - Harvard Traverse

Rim-to-River-to-Rim, Nankoweap Version

Trihutca Ski Tour

Been wanting to give Green Mountain a good go for several months now.  Been training for this objective, actually, with the goal of breaking 40 minutes.  Was all ready to do this last week but been sick over the last week but rested a few days before today.  Snuck under 40 minutes (39:20)!  Looks like Danny and Bill Wright also gave it a hard effort today - a popular day to time trial!

Green Mountain used to be my go-to run.  I really got into it in the spring and summer of 2001.  During a run up Green, I met Scott Elliott (8-time winner of the Pikes Peak Ascent) and we were basically inseparable training partners that entire spring and summer (even though he was much stronger and faster than me).  He did not know how to train relative to today's understanding of training!  We would hit it hard almost every day, or at least 3-4 times a week.  Always as hard as you could go, more or less.  I'm grateful for those runs and allowing me to tag along and he also helped me run my fastest mile on a track (5:11), something I had never done before.

During the spring and summer of 2001, I ran Green Mountain (ASG) a total of 31 times in a 2-month period, all hard efforts (11 of those sub 40 minutes).  I was training for the Pikes Peak Marathon.  Starting in July of that year, my body couldn't take it.  I wasn't sleeping at night, I wasn't recovering, and I was extremely fatigued and burnt out.  I ended up doing the marathon after resting and taking it easy for a few months, but that was when I realized that my training strategy could not be that of Scott's (he was quite incredible).

My fastest time (35:53, way pre-Strava)  was the next spring (5/8/02) when I had a different training strategy (i.e., not busting myself almost every day).

Anyway, I'm super excited that in my late 40s I'm able to come within a few minutes of my fastest time from about half my life ago.  It takes a lot more structure and planning, easy days and hard days.  Thanks to Ella Nuttelman for coaching me over the last few months and also thanks to Dan Vega for the recent inspiration - he's still winning races outright well into his late 50s (or early 60s? - can't tell with him, he's going to outlive us all).

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Charlie N

Green Mountain Fast

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The Subway

Green Mountain Fast

Columbia - Harvard Traverse

Rim-to-River-to-Rim, Nankoweap Version

Trihutca Ski Tour

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