Today, after a week of mostly sunny afternoons and warming days, a nasty snow squall has moved in. The prevailing winds of late have been from the south-southwest. That puts the mid Roaring Fork valley at the mercy of Mt. Sopris. Sopris is the butt end of the Elk Range, a muddle of fractured granite and steeply forested slopes rising from the valley floors of 6-8000’ up to crest routinely over 14,000 feet. The giants grab the wind, force it upward, sucking any moisture out an into local clouds and sometimes swirling snow and rain showers. In the summer, bulky thunderheads crop up every afternoon, but this time of year we’re more likely to see just a lowland drizzle and mid mountain snow shower.
At the moment, my house seems right on the edge of the snow line, with a few rain drops mixing in with feeble snowflakes, thin and watery. The outside temp is 41F, and the sky is leaden but not lowering – I can easily see the tops of Baldy and Garret Peak, over 13,000.
But back to Sopris. It’s a behemoth in appearance, as it seems to squat all alone, there on the northwest fringe of its taller, but smaller neighbors. Topping out at 12,953 feet, it looms much larger, given its seeming isolation and depth over the surrounding Crystal River valley, running over 6,500 feet lower. Right now, it is ideally situated to wreck havoc with my plans to go down valley to run near Basalt, as the radar clearly shows an endless gaggle of high intensity showers spitting to the west off its flanks and over the mid-RF valley, where I want to do my mile intervals on the Rio Grande trail.
But wait! The winds have shifted, and it seems to be clearing up down there. So I’m going to drive off and give it a try – more later.
… I love the 21st century. Instant radar pictures free to all on my computer via the Internets. 15 miles down the road, at 6600’ in Basalt, the rain drops stopped falling, and I could start to see my shadow. It was still a bit windy, and the temp was 49F, but I was able to get a good run with some speed intervals in, just as I wanted. So I’m still operating as per plan, although I am struggling to stay hydrated and keep my weight up. I just can’t eat enough, and sometimes I forget to drink.
Here’s a seven day schedule from last Wednesday thru next Wednesday – day after tomorrow – for a flavor of my life here at training camp.
WED – The plan was a climb to the top of Independence Pass, 12,092 feet, due to open the next day. I made it to 11,600, and then turned around when I encountered GIANT snowplows and bulldozers, moving the last of the snow from the road (plus the 3-4″ which fell the night before), and throwing it up and over sidewalls which in some places were 30 FEET high. The DOT claims the snow depth (not water content) on the east side of the pass is at 400+ % of average, and on the west side (my side), over 300%. There’s so much snow here they opened Aspen Mtn ski area for this weekend, something they have NEVER done since it opened in the late 40’s. Anyway, the temp was about 36F at the top, I climbed a total of 6000′ in 57 miles (the categorized climb would be 17 miles/3600′). In the evening, I ran 4.5 miles from Town Park to the Highway and back (down, then up), while Cody lifted weights.
THURS – Swim 45 minutes, weight work on my arms and shoulders for 45 minutes in the AM, then another 45 minute run in the PM, doing 8 uphill strides.
FRI – I rode 70 miles from the house @ 8300′ down to 6900’, then up the Fryingpan river, then back into town and out to my house. TSS=180, elevation gain 4650′. Swim 30 minutes in the PM
SAT – I needed a rest, so I just swim for 45 minutes and tried to eat all day. I gained 0.5# by the next morning, enough to manage the next day’s effort, which was …
SUN – Ride downvalley to Glenwood Springs and Back. While my TSS was 202, and my total climbing was 4800′, the real epic nature of the ride was revealed about 1.5 hours in. Winds had been predicted to be 20-25 mph, with gusts to 45 mph. I suddenly found myself not in a gust, but in a sustained wind of at least 35 mph, coming at me off my right shoulder. Some geographic anomaly was funneling it all right at me, pushing me from the fog line to the double yellow in one pedal stroke. I angled back to the side, and touched my right foot down. I stopped there for 5 minutes, waiting for it to die down, but if anything, it got stronger. I couldn’t even get off my bike without risking getting blown over. Finally, I managed to wrap my head around the idea of turning around, and aiming for the bike path which parallels the road, and was some what protected. But the rest of the ride was cursed by the variable winds; one other section had me sailing along at 30 + mph and feeling NO wind in my face – a > 30 mph tail wind! I was doing OK on fluids until about 3.5 hours into the ride, when I found my usual water source at a local high school had been labelled “Non-potable water, not suitable for drinking.” I didn’t risk it, even though I was 15 miles from home, all uphill, with less than half a bottle left. I came home a little dehydrated, 2% down in weight from the start of the ride. That convinced me to bag the run I had planned. Besides, the purpose of this training time is to mainly get some saddle time in more than anything else. My swim is what it is, and my running seems quite up to snuff, so …
My Plan for the next 3 days:
MON – Swim, weights in the AM, then run intervals “down” @ 6400′ in the PM
TUE – Ride up to the Maroon Bells @ 9600′, this is a 38 mile ride with 3000′ of climbing, plus world class scenery. Maybe swim?
WED – Ride up the Fryingpan again, see if I can get 6 hours or 100 miles in. Maybe swim again?
My goal is 18 hours of cycling for NEXT week, after 16 this week, culminating in Sunday’s race rehearsal, and including a 2.5 hour run on Thursday. I’m keying in very heavily on rest, calories, and visiting with Cody here in Colorado.