Altitude Acclimation

Suddenly, this girl who lives at 250 feet is working out at 5,000+ feet. Luckily, I haven’t had any problems adjusting to the altitude… so far. We spent most of the week going on short hikes as we drove from park to park which seemed to work in our favor as we gradually started adjusting to the altitude. We didn’t go on any bike rides until Monday, by far our most strenuous workout of the week and which took us to over 8,400 feet. Luckily neither of us had any problems with the altitude.

 

Overview of the Week

Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…

 

Sunday

Road trip: Day 4: Glenwood Springs, Colorado to Blanding, Utah

Hiking: 1.05 miles
• Average pace: 17:09 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 77 feet
• Start time: 1:35 PM
• Location: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
• Weather: 81° and sunny
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

We crossed another national park off of our list when we visited Black Canyon of the Gunnison. We lucked out by getting there midday when the sun was overhead and visibility into the deep canyon was at its best. I concocted a hike/walk by joining Cedar Point and Painted Wall Overlook hikes together with the walk in between on South Rim Road.

 

Monday

Road trip: Day 5: Blanding, Utah

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

Cycling: 23.9 miles (s/b 24.8 miles)
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Average speed: 7.4 MPH
• Surface: gravel, rocks, boulders, slick rock, and sand
• Elevation gain: 1,916 feet (s/b 2,126 feet)
• Start time: 9:11 AM
• Location: Bears Ears National Monument
• Weather: 65° and sunny, climbing to 82° and partly cloudy
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves

I always bring my little bag of tubes and bands with me on trips when I know we’ll be staying in an Airbnb where there most likely won’t be workout equipment. After doing most of my exercises indoors, it was 55° with 28% humidity when I stepped out on the deck to attach a band to the railing for a few of my exercises. With a much anticipated ride on the schedule for later in the morning I could tell we were in for some great weather!

About that ride… What was expected to be a challenging ride around Bears Ears National Monument was far more difficult than we’d anticipated. After an easy climb on the paved road away from the visitors center to the Burch Canyon Road turnoff, we were pleased with the road conditions – packed red dirt and gravel. As we rode along the packed road became scrappier, but ever the optimist, I was sure the conditions would improve just around the next turn. Once we turned onto FR (fire road) 5468 and then 5469, it was clear that we were in for a long haul up to the top of the mountain as we dismounted and bike hiked almost exclusively for about 2-½ hours from miles 6.5 to 11.5. Our biggest hope was that when we turned onto Wooden Shoe Road and then Elk Mountain Road that the conditions would be greatly improved, and they were. Careening down 10% grades toward hairpin turns on gravel with 1,000 foot drop-offs had me hugging the canyon wall even if that meant facing traffic after every other switchback, and hopeful that there wouldn’t be an oncoming car (we only saw one vehicle the entire ride).

 

Tuesday

Road trip: Day 6: Blanding, Utah

Hiking: 1.1 miles
• Average pace: 23:43 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 61 feet
• Start time: 12:59 PM
• Location: Pothole Point Trail in The Needles District in Canyonlands National Park
• Weather: 85° and partly cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

We spent the day in The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, exploring the many different areas. Even though it was a short hike, we took a little more time on Pothole Point Trail. Much of Pothole Point Trail is across slick rock with many potholes filled with delicate ecosystems. We were mindful not to  step in the potholes even when they’re dry because stepping in them can harm the little organisms living there.

 

Wednesday

Road trip: Day 7: Drive from Blanding, Utah to Torrey, Utah

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

Hiking: .43 mile (turned early, chickened out at the ladder)
• Average pace: 35:20 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 146 feet
• Start time: 10:36 AM
• Location: Sipapu Bridge in Natural Bridges National Monument
• Weather: 74° and sunny
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Hiking: .75 mile
• Average pace: 24:16 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 171 feet
• Start time: 11:00 AM
• Location: Horse Collar Ruin Overlook in Natural Bridges National Monument
• Weather: 76° and sunny
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Hiking: .75 mile (turned early, chickened out at the steep drop-off)
• Average pace: 23:18 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 214 feet
• Start time: 11:34 AM
• Location: Kachina Bridge in Natural Bridges National Monument
• Weather: 76° and sunny
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Hiking: .78 mile
• Average pace: 28:38 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 201 feet
• Start time: 12:18 PM
• Location: Owachomo Bridge in Natural Bridges National Monument
• Weather: 78° and sunny
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

I got up early to fit in a strength training sessions before checking out of our Airbnb. We drove to Natural Bridges National Monument again, this time to hike down to the bridges along the loop route. We finished the day 2 for 4 with me chickening out halfway into 2 of the hikes before we got to the bridge – once was because of a ladder I was afraid to climb down (mind you, I used to climb a 20-foot ladder to hang wallpaper trim on the top of the wall, and then 10 years later to remove it). The other time was when there was a hairpin turn and steep drop-off right next to the trail with no room for error.

 

Thursday

Road trip day 8: Torrey, Utah

Hiking: 1.21 miles
• Average pace: 25:47 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 229 feet
• Start time: 11:10 AM
• Location: Goosenecks Overlook and Sunset Point in Capitol Reef National Park
• Weather: 72° and sunny, climbing to 80°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Because the first two hikes’ trailheads – Goosenecks Point and Sunset Point – were across the parking lot from each other, I didn’t stop my Garmin and counted them as one hike. Both were easy hikes without a lot of elevation change, and both had great views at the end.

 

Hiking: 2.23 miles
• Average pace: 27:34 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 1,105 feet
• Start time: 2:00 PM
• Location: Hickman Bridge in Capitol Reef National Park
• Weather: 84° and sunny, climbing to 86°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

The hike to Hickman Bridge was a little more strenuous with a decent amount of climbing and several areas of walking through deep sand. This was a far more crowded hike than any others we’d done so far.

 

I usually don’t talk about much other than my workouts on the Weekly RunDown, but the dinner we had at Hell’s Backbone Kitchen and Grill was simply amazing and worth mentioning. It was in Boulder, Utah an hour drive away from where we were staying in Torrey, but well worth the drive from the desert across the aspen lined mountain. We both ordered their house salad, I ordered lemony chicken, and my husband ordered bison ribeye.

 

Friday

Road trip day 9: Drive from Torrey, Utah to Logan, Utah

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

My husband left our room at 5 AM to take sunrise pictures in the park before we headed north to our old stomping ground, Logan (almost immediately after we were married we moved to Logan for my husband to start grad school at Utah State University). While he was out I made excellent use of my time with a strength training workout, shower, and even had extra time to work on my blog.

 

Saturday

Road trip day 10: Logan, Utah

Cycling: 40.23 miles
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Average speed: 14.0 MPH
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 889 feet
• Start time: 9:09 AM
• Location: Cache Valley
• Weather: 70° and sunny, climbing to 83°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves

My husband picked a great route off of Ride with GPS, stealing from the Cache Valley Grand Fondo. After sleeping in until 7:30’ish, we enjoyed a relaxing breakfast with our friends who are hosting us for the week and were on the road just after 9 AM. Our route took us all through Cache Valley with spectacular views of the Wasatch and Wellsville Mountains, past many farms, and even past the local airport air show.

 

Cycling: 5.87 miles
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Average speed: 9.6 MPH
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 217 feet
• Start time: 12:57 PM
• Location: Utah State University campus
• Weather: 83° and sunny, climbing to 86°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves

After finishing our ride, we decided to ride to campus for a short tour. While there we rode past the spot where in 1981 an irrigation head popped up, shot me hard in the face with water, and caused me to crash my bike. Helmetless (no one wore helmets when biking back then), I woke up with two policemen looking down at me lying on the concrete next to my bike. They loaded me and my bike into their police car and took me to the emergency room where I discovered my shoulder had separated and popped back in place – it hadn’t dislocated. I was sent home with my arm in a sling for a few weeks, but otherwise okay.

 

We capped the day off with church (the little church we used to attend when living in Logan is now the Newman Center and a new church has been built) followed by a barbecue with grad school friends.

 

Last Week’s Blog Posts

In case you skipped checking in on my blog these past weeks, here’s what you missed…

 

Questions:
  • • What is your main focus when on vacation? ~ We focus on exploring new places by car, foot, and/or bike.
  • • Do you enjoy hiking? ~ I always enjoyed trail running more than I enjoy hiking.
  • • Which workout did you enjoy most this week? ~ Saturday’s ride through Cache Valley was very fun!

 

And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!

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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!

 

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