6x15sec Hill Strides

Afternoon Hike

Trails again!

First off, the colors are poppin and this was a beautiful outing.  The trail had leafs down and some slick rocks, but overall the conditions were great.  I wore the thinnest tights I have and no shirt and barely got hot under the 55 degree F, partly cloudy sky.  The sun dipping in and out made for tasty colors changes.
Water springs were flowing heavy on plateau and westkill which was nice. Stopped at both to top off bottles.  This hunk of meat seems to need a lot of water even in cool conditions. I breathe like a hot dog 🌭 which adds to the parching.  Despite being a bit behind on water, nutrition was great. I got 1100 calories in during the run and half of that was tailwind since I needed to try the stuff out before going to my A-race next month.  
I was stoked to be on pace for 4:19-ish, then bummed to cramp all up and down westkill which required dramatic reduction in power output and some stops to massage the twitchy quads.  Can’t be mad though since this was functionally a C-race and I did no specificity for it other than the short Spartan OCR mountain races.  

Play by play:
Started at 11am sharp. Had a relaxed morning getting in coffee, water, some oats with dark cacao and maple syrup, and some supps.
Kept the effort comfortable because I’ve noticed my cardio has been exceeding my muscular endurance lately and I’m not as attuned to the terrain as last time. Funny enough, me breathing like a 🌭 is comfortable.
I was 2 minutes ahead of Steve at Indian head and 3 on Twin. The 3 minute gap remained until crossing 214.  I think he was quicker at the plateau spring water spot (my bottle broke and I searched for the mouth piece in the leafs for a minute before aborting and just running with my finger over the cap hole) and he overall hit the descents harder I think.  I made up time on runnable climbs.
I felt my adductors cramp on plateau and gently reduced the effort. The cramps almost vanished by the time I hit the hunter climb and I was able to run basically all of hunter until I hit diamond notch where I again got water (katahdin filter).  I was cramp nation from here on up.  Didn’t seem like a nutrition issue, but rather, a lack of exposure to the specific terrain, distance, and effort that left my adductors and medial quad twitching in submission to the wrath of the DP.  I knew I had it in the bag at Diamond notch though so I didn’t stress too much about backing off the effort and just getting it done. Steve had lost time in the back half, but I’m sure he won’t next time 😈.
I ended feeling way better than last time (I didn’t cramp last time so I was able to push harder) so that’s encouraging enough.  Stoked on the fitness I built all year and any altitude gains I brought back and still have from some months at the Durango Ultrahouse. Until the next time…
Watch Time : 4:24:14
P.s.  I hope this goes sub 4hrs before I’m old and worn out.

Take aways:
-Ankle tape is best friend (as usual)
-take in as much nutrition as the gut can take
-maybe it’s a better move to push steady on the climbs and bank time there instead of tempt death on descents in hopes of shaving off a minute.
-VJ shoes are the only choice for wet rocks
-Best conditions on the DP are in May-June and September-October. 
-Weekdays are superior to weekends 
-Next time around I’ll get in some specificity weeks prior and go supported. I can see how I might slide under Jack’s time.
-DP slaps
-Chocolate milk slaps

P.S. I noticed that many segments did not show up on this effort.  After a thorough and very serious investigation, it appears that my gps consistently thought I was an acorns throw to the right or left at any given time (14-28% deviation from the segment, to be precise)

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Ja Shua Ried

Unsupported Devil's Path FKT...Again.

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6x15sec Hill Strides

Afternoon Hike

Afternoon Hike

Afternoon Hike

Trails again!

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