Monday, June 22, 2015, 6:37 pm

3.15 mi, 28 ft gain, 26:30. Around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2 white.

More recovery from Rattlesnake 50k.

Average HR 139 bpm.

 

Tuesday, June 23, 2015, 8:17 pm

4.13 mi, 37 ft gain, 30:14. Along US2, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

More recovery from Rattlesnake 50k. I stayed along the highway today.

Average HR 153 bpm.

 

Wednesday, June 24, 2015, 7:36 pm

6.34 mi, 263 ft gain, 1:04:40. To WFSP & back, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

Feeling better, went a little longer.

Average HR 129 bpm.

 

Thursday, June 25, 2015, 8:30 pm

4.26 mi, 1138 ft gain, 57:20. Reiter gate #2, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #3.

There have been a lot more people at the first Reiter gate than normal, so I’ve been driving out to other gates to run. Feeling a little better. Because of the different starting point, I ended up with more gain than I had really planned. It went fine, though.

Average HR 146 bpm.

 

Friday, June 26, 2015, 6:19 pm

7.37 mi, 2416 ft gain, 2:41:33. Lake Isabel, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #3.

Feeling pretty much fully recovered from the 50k. I decided I’d try to make it up to Lake Isabel. I took a short cut immediately to the right after the gate on a bermed off road. Then I cut up a boot path under one of the high voltage towers. Both ways, the shortcuts probably shaved off well over a mile.

The rest of the way up the gravel roads was fine. I startled a deer about a half mile from the junction with the trail.

The trail is pretty steep for most of the way. It’s in fairly decent condition for the first half, with a few minor blowdowns and some scattered branches here and there, nothing that significant.

After that, however, the trail is in pretty rough shape. Washouts, very large blowdowns, overgrowth, and just generally difficult to follow trail in places. It’s still just as steep, though.

Then the final 0.2 mi or so gets really steep, 50% grade or better in places. It’s not much of a trail. It’s more of a hint of where other people have climbed up before. Nothing requiring rope or protective equipment, though.

The lake is beautiful. I imagine it would have been even more spectacular a little earlier before the sun passed over the mountain flanking the west side. The basin the lake sits in isn’t really much wider than the lake itself. As far as I could tell, I had the whole lake to myself.

I watched some fish feeding and jumping. I saw a canoe beached on the opposite shore. I went around to the log jam at the outlet, took in the view and took some photos. Then I went down to the small spillway controlling the water-flow out of the lake. There were some old logs across the spillway, but they didn’t look that sturdy. I crossed above the spillway on some rocks and the downstream end of the logjam. I went over toward where the canoe was and saw some oars and flotation vest. There were a few camping odds and ends left at the campsite as well.

When I started back down, I came across a carved stone memorial cemented into place for a young man who died recently. It mentioned something about his love of the outdoors. This must have been a favorite spot.

I was a little more apprehensive and conservative going down the really steep upper section than going up. These shoes don’t have the best traction. They did alright though. I ended up losing the trail briefly in roughly the same area I lost it last time I tried going up there. I found my way back with the help of my GPS, though I would have run into the trail eventually on my own.

The rest of the way down was pretty uneventful. I ended up doing a lot more hiking than I had wanted to, but the terrain and trail conditions dictated my pace. Keeping the effort easier by hiking was probably also a good idea for race recovery.

I’m glad I finally made it up to Lake Isabel. It was beautiful. But I don’t think I’ll be going back anytime soon. It’s a great hike once you get past the DNR roads and to the trail, but not a very good run.

Average HR 134 bpm.

 

Saturday, June 27, 2015, 4:56 pm

9.69 mi, 2022 ft gain, 1:51:37. Woody, Upper Falls (30), Wallace Lake, Greg Ball, RR Grade, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 Red #3.

Maybe I didn’t run hard enough at the Rattlesnake Ridge 50k. I recovered much more quickly than I expected. I’m not complaining, though. I was very happy with my race, and I’d much rather a fast recovery to get back to running than a slow one.

Since I’m writing this a couple weeks after the fact, I don’t really remember any particulars about this run. My time was pretty good. And it was my 30th time to the Upper falls for the year. Twenty more to go for my goal.

Average HR 147 bpm.

Sunday, June 28, 2015, 2:57 pm

3.15 mi, 28 ft gain, 24:47. Around town, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

I felt just fine, but I didn’t have time for much longer of a run. Also, even though my recovery has gone spectacularly, I wanted to play it a bit safe. It was hot and I felt great.

Average HR 145 bpm.

 

Weekly totals: 38 mi, 5876 ft elevation gain