Uphill Both Ways, Preferably: July 17

Weekly Totals: Distance: 34.22 mi. Time: 9:43:45 Vertical: 6,319 ft.
(Totals include all Rest week activities)

This week was a designated "rest & recovery" week. I take my recovery weeks as weeks to institute an emphasis on activities other than running. I do believe that the closer you get to training the more appropriate it is to keep as much running in during the week as possible, but I'm a good ways away from racing, and there are a ton of other legitimate cardio adventures to take part in. This week I rode my bicycle, ran a few miles (15.77 mi. to be exact), rock climbed, did some mountaineering (well, incredibly steep hiking on a glacier at midnight), got little chest cold, and amazingly stayed awake for 37 hours only to follow things up by a 13 hour nap. Although, I'm still getting over the chest cold, the exhilaration of all the different activities has left me yearning for more adventures. Running in the upcoming week will be somewhat dependent on the cold, I'd rather take an easier than planned week than run through a cold for five weeks. Did it last year, but I don't think it was completely helpful. The weather has been fantastic, although, the cloud cover is a bit of a change from the usual cloudless hot, muggy, humid days I'm used to.

Sunday, July 17 ~ Cedar River Trail ~ Cycling
Distance: 10.48 mi.
Time: 1:00:28
Vertical: 120 ft.

Bike ride with Dad and Charlie on the Cedar River Trail. A light mist kept things cool, felt good to pedal around.

Monday, July 18 ~ Loop O' Joe-Gee'Z' ~ Running
Distance: 6.25 mi.
Time: 0:55:34
Vertical: 549 ft.

Max F. and I ventured to the trail and found some road. We made a fun little loop and both decided we didn't feel all that great and the pace showed it.

Tuesday, July 19 ~ May Creek Trail Search (didn't find) ~ Running
Distance: 6.00 mi.
Time: 0:51:21
Vertical: 591 ft.

I searched and searched for a trail that's labeled on one of my maps, but I just haven't found it, yet. So, ran an out and back on the road in trail shoes. Not my favorite, but doable.

Wednesday, July 20 ~ Rest Day
Thursday, July 21 ~ Rest Day

Friday, July 22 ~ Coal Creek Parkway Trail ~ Running
Distance: 3.52 mi.
Time: 0:32:46
Vertical: 388 ft.

Definitely developed a chest cold, today's run didn't not feel well. But it was good to get a lot of heavy breathing to clear some of the congestion out. Hopefully it won't effect my ability to hike tonight. Got a great planned hiked from Paradise to Camp Muir at midnight. Tested out some Montrail Rogue Racer's today. I'll post a review after I've run about 50 miles in them.

Saturday, July 23 ~ Paradise to Camp Muir ~ Hiking/Mountaineering
Distance: 7.97 mi.
Time: 6:23:35
Vertical: 4,667 ft.

Erin S. took me on my first adventure up a sizable chunk of Mount Rainier. Couldn't have been better. We left my apartment at 10:00 PM, started hiking around 1:00 AM, and I went to work at 10:30 AM for a 9.5 hour work day. The adventure was amazing and the company was just as good as the hike. I did make the rookie mistake of not wearing enough clothing. Lesson learned.
Here are the maps, elevation profiles and some great pictures. Click the photos for a larger size.