The only way to prepare for a high altitude race is to train at high altitude.
With Silverton's Alpine Marathon coming up next weekend, Pal Leon wanted the next round of our Summer Racing Series to be a repeat up to Camp Bird Mine followed by a push on up to Yankee Boy Basin, you know, before going into "taper" mode, which is another way of saying giving sore muscles a rest.
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| A lovely 4th of July day in Lovely Ouray |
Leon's not exactly an early riser. I invited him to come up from Montrose on the 4th and stay the night so we could get a jump on all the Jeeps and ATVs racing up Camp Bird Road. After some obligatory "trash-talking," we were set to go by 7:10 AM!
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| Eat my dust, Leon! |
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| From our driveway... |
Bobbie yells "GO!" then drives up to near Yankee Boy in order to get a walk-with-weights at "altitude." And, since we are pushing all the way up to Yankee Boy, Bobbie could save Leon the ten punishing miles of downhill on a, by then, very dusty trip back home.
Race results to Camp Bird:
Leon, 1 hour 13 minutes and 15 seconds.
Mark, 1 hour 15 minutes and 30 seconds.
While we both knocked a couple minutes off our last race time, Leon claims bragging rights once again.
Now, on up to Yankee Boy Basin...
Shots by Leon, above and below...
A few shots by Bobbie below...
The last couple miles of Yankee Boy Road is too wet, rocky, and steep to ride, for me, anyway. So, it becomes "hike-a-bike" at well over 12,500 feet...while Leon drops back into "power-hike" gear.
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| Ahhh, I can see the "outhouse." The end is in sight!!! |
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| Of course there's a line... |
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| Sneffles neighbor, Gilpen Peak...a 13er. |
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| Sneffles and Gilpen |
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| A quick selfie with Sneffles in the background...then time to head down. |
Afterward, Leon treats us to beer and pizza at the Colorado Boy Brewery! Looks like I got a little too much sun on my nose :)
Peace out!
From Dumb and Dumber in Lovely Ouray...and the lovely sane gal on the left :).
mark, bobbie, leon.
You Crazy Colorado Guys.....way too cool.......but that sure looks like the Good Life
ReplyDeleteStay thirsty
A&D
and by "crazy," you mean dumb, right? :)
Delete"like hell", crazy like wise beyond belief, as in blazing your own trail, not following the "crowd", Im just concerned about all the pizza & beer though :)
ReplyDeleteYour sequence of photos with a few well-chosen words always tells a great story about "you crazy Colorado guys"!
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking in, Terri. Per Steve Martin, "We're just a couple Wild and Crazy Colorado guys!" :)
DeleteAnd the folks in line saw Leon coming and in unison started yelling, "NO CUTS! No Cuts!"
ReplyDeleteLeon knows better than to cut a line of Mennonite women Jeeper tourists. :)
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DeleteMFH I did not remove your comment...not sure what happened???
Deletemark