Tackling Two 14ers

On the Summit of Torreys

Saturday I tackled not one but two 14ers.  A 14er is a 14,000 foot peak.  There are 54 of them in Colorado.  I did my second and third by hiking Grays and Torreys with four friends.  I'm still an extreme newbie to doing this and for two in our group it was first time to a 14er.  You start at an elevation of 11,280 feet in Stevens Gulch.  Round trip is just over 8 miles.  We took off in 44 degree weather.  The path was green and lush bursting with wildflowers.  As we climb of course it turns more rocky.  We decided to hike up Torreys (14,267) first then Grays (14,270).  Grays Peak is the highest peak on the Continental Divide.

According to 14er.com the trail is 8.25 miles when from Stevens Gulch to do both peaks.  

 

It's a pretty tough workout with the altitude.  We definitely savored the gorgeous day.  The views were spectacular, even with the clouds really rolling in when we were on top of Grays and heading down. 

My friend Chris, who does 14ers all the time, told me the only way to get faster and better at them is to do the climbs.  Everyone reacts differently to the altitude.  You definitely get a chance to push yourself farther than you think you can go.  For beginners plan on it taking 8-9 hours to do both.  There will be lots of breaks.  More intermediate hikers will do it on average in about 5-6 hours.  More advanced hikers and trail runners can do this route in 3-5 hours.  I was having stomach issues from the get go and was fully cramped out for descent.  I made it (barely after close to 9 hours on trail).  If you've seen the movies Bridemaids, there's a scene outside of the bridal shop that could have easily been me several times on the mountain.  I know TMI.

With the pushing yourself and then the views at the top, I can definitely see why so many are hooked on 14ers!

On the Summit of Grays with Torreys in the background.

   

Taking a Rest Day

Today is a rest day for me.  Hiking Grays and Torreys tomorrow.  That's two 14ers (14,000 foot peaks) in one day!

No Muffin Tops Allowed! Feel The Side Bend Squeeze.

Today was Pilates session with Erin at Pura Vida Club.  When I can I like to get in two sessions a week.  Today we focused a lot on core and abs.  But I gotta love when Erin says to me, "I know you did sprints yesterday but you're still doing jump board."  If you're wondering what the jump board is, it's a series of pushing out and back with different leg positions (parallel, feet together in a V, jumping jacks, single leg) while laying on your back on the reformer.  It definitely gets the heart rate up quickly.

We ended the session with a series of abs moves done on a mat.  One of those moves is the side bend...or I'll just call it the side killer.  You start on your side, top leg slightly in front, up on your forearm, and top arm up reaching for the sky.  As you exhale, lift hip, and reach top arm over head and toward the ground.  You really squeeze the obliques closest to the ground.  I love it because it's something I can easily do at home.

Here's Erin explaining how to do the move.

Ready...Set...Sprint!

When my friend Kim was visiting me this past weekend, she told me about a cardio workout the trainers at her gym in Dallas had turned her on to.  They say it will re-shape your legs.  Kim has been doing it a couple of weeks.  She has great legs to begin with, but she works for them.  So I decided to try one of her workouts today.  Like most females, I'll try anything to shrink to the thighs!

I'm super tired but I trudge over to Pura Vida Club.  If I head home from the station I won't get a workout done today!  So I downed some Honey Stinger Organic Energy Chews and off I go to hit the sprints on the treadmill.

I did modify the workout slightly so I could also get some mileage in.  Sprints AND distance - guess who's going to be sore tomorrow!

Here's my one mile warm up:
Walk 3.5 mph for .25 miles
Walk 4.0 mph for .25 miles
Jog 6.0 mph for .25 miles
Jog 6.5 mph for .25 miles

Sprint Time!
30 second sprint at 8.0 mph then 30 second rest
Repeated at 8.5 mph, 9.0 mph, 9.5 mph

30 second spring at 10.0 mph then 1 minute rest
Repeated at 10.5 mph and 11.0 mph
Then repeat backwards to 8.0 mph

That's 13 thirty second sprints for right at 2 miles for me.

Yes I did feel like I was going to puke at 10.5 mph and 11.0 mph!  I'm sure I looked like an idiot to anyone else working out as I flying on the treadmill as fast as I can, focused, sweating, and breathing heavy then just trying to catch my breath and jamming to my tunes in the rests.  Just hope I didn't sing out loud!

Then another mile at 6.5 mph (9:13 mile pace) to finish four miles in 33 minutes.  I rounded out the cardio workout with an easy quarter of a mile walk at 3.5 mph.

As hard as it was I'm going to add this sprint workout in once or twice a week for awhile, build up to sprints up to 12 mph, and see the difference these make over the next few weeks.

Some days are long, slow, easy runs.  Others days, like today, the chase is on in full out sprints!

Just A Walkin'

I get it from my mom.  I love to go on walks.  Today was a walk day.  I put on my iPod and hit the Cherry Creek Bike Path to log a couple of miles.  After a tough workout yesterday I was due a rest day but it turned into a fast power walk down the path.  Blame it on the changing weather with storms moving in and me just plain old jammin' out to tunes.  With a little dancing bounce to my steps as I rocked out to the beat I'm sure I look like a workout dork at times.  But it's my time and that's the way I rolled today.

Doing the Pretzel

No I'm not the disco dance move, but the pretzel is a series of moves my Pilates and Kinesis trainer Erin at Pura Vida Club taught me today.   I'm already expecting to be sore tomorrow but when you're on a mission, you're on a mission!  I love that Erin tells me my blog and goal inspire her.  She so wants me to succeed and trust me she's certainly doing her part to kick my butt in workouts to get me there.

So last week I posted my first move from my weekly hour and a half workout with Erin.  This week we're adding video so you can try the move too.

So well into our session of her putting me through the ringer, she throws the series of pretzel moves at me.  For the record she did do the moves with me.  We did them with a ball but I also tried it with a 3 pound weight.  You can do either at home.

Running Along Gore Creek...and Checking Out The View

My Sunday morning run was along Gore Valley Trail.  I started out about 9:30am in 64 degrees weather. I decided I just wanted to do a nice leisurely jog, Facebooking and tweeting along the way while taking in the amazing scenery on a beautiful Sunday morning.  


It's a mile along the Gore Creek from Vail Cascade Resort to Lionshead Village.  At Lionshead I ran right through the Mini Golf course and by the chair lift then back by creek.  I popped up street side in Vail Village to check out the Farmers Market.
Jump back on trail on east side of Village on the Gore Creek Stream Walk, which is gravel, to Betty Ford Way and run to and around the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, the highest botanic gardens in the United States, and Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. 

On the way back I took the Golden Peak/Ford Park route back to Vail Village and connect back on Gore Creek Stream Walk.

I then had to go through part of Vail Village Farmers Market again to catch the Gore Valley Trail again to head back to Vail Cascade.

Straight shot from Cascade to Alpine Gardens is about 2 miles each way. I added some extra to hit over 5 miles.

After a post-workout lunch I was walking around with my friend Kim, who was visiting me for the weekend, and Chris, who lives in the Vail Valley.  Chris Anthony is an extreme skier and in ridiculous cardio shape.  As we walk over from Vail Village to the Alpine Gardens he made the comment jokingly, "You ran this far?"  Yes Chris I did.  Running is the only sport I could beat him at since his knees from years of competitive skiing won't let him do much more than a mile.  Now hiking up a mountain, bike riding, and of course skiing....I'm eating his dust!