Favorite Run

Given that i haven't posted in forever, i figure i should give some insight as to what i've been doing over the past month. Well, in short, running. As the track season comes to a close, i eagerly await the chance to run in the mountains every day. However, for the time being, i settle for a few days a week doing my new favorite run up sunshine canyon to camp paul hummel. The run begins at 4th and mapelton, continues climbing up the canyon to the town of sunshine, up to the sunshine saddle and then up some more to camp. In all, the run totals 300o vertical gain over 8 miles. It's a perfect training run for mt. washington as it does not deplete my legs or stamina, and i've only got to add 1000 feet and i'm up mt. washington. It's pretty gradual as a whole with some significant extended steep sections. As seen in the above picture, the finish of the run is directly in the center of the photo by those radio towers. About 5.5 miles of pavement, the rest dirt, which is also similar to mt. washington. My average over the runs has been 1 hour 10 minutes, never gone above, and this past weekend i found myself at a bit brisker pace finishing in 1:06. My goal is to summit camp in under an hour before mt. washington on june 19, a run i'll treat as a workout. I'm training diligently for the race, and i'm sure it will pay off in the end. My goals have certainly shifted as i have realized my passion for trail running, and specifically making the 2010 US mountain running team. I wasn't enthusiastic about track entering the season, and the results are evident. I've been focusing on training longer distances and far more vertical gain than i have ever done before, and have been significantly less focused on track speed. My mile has dropped since last year, and it's a bit peculiar because my 2 mile hasn't yet, but we'll see about that after this weekend. However, in order to train for the races i truly care about, my mileage has been higher than usual for this time in the track season, and the lowest i'll get is the week of leauges at 30 miles, my average hovering around 50-60 miles. After running the 5k in sub 16 in las vegas, it's apparent that i'm definitely in better long distance shape, and i'm confident about breaking 34 minutes in the bolder boulder this year for the 10k. If i don't make state for track in the 2 mile, i won't be crushed, as i know that this isn't my specialty. I am focusing on my uphill training, which will greatly supplement my intent to walk on for CU in the fall. These next two weeks will greatly impact my training for may, then, it's all uphill to mount washington. Untill then, i have a stats test tommorow, a lit test thursday, and a race saturday. Oh yeah, i'm graduating in a few weeks. Fun stuff.