the Way of the Turtle

Steep Endurance VERTual Challenge Part 3:
4.4 Mile Run on Platte Clove Mountain Rd
Wednesday, May 13, 2020

 

I was a bit distressed to see signs indicating that Platte Clove Mountain Rd is closed to traffic as I approached the site of the annual race - I had been planning to drive to the pulloff at the finish, park there, run down the mountain, and then turn around and run back up. Instead I spent a while trying to find a place to park where I hoped I wouldn't get ticketed or towed, and ended up on the side of the road where we park for the race. That left me with a little bit under a quarter of a mile to the base of the steep parts.

After that it was trudge, trudge, trudge up the hill. It was nice to not have to be concerned about traffic once I passed the locked gate (the road up the mountain is closed from 11/15 to 4/15 because it's too unsafe to maintain and for people to drive on in the winter, but there's almost always some traffic during the race in early May.) Further along there were definite signs of road work, including the heavy equipment they're using, but no one working.

I'm curious to know of the original plan was to have the work done by now - if not, then the race wouldn't have happened this year even without the pandemic.

I typically think the trip back down sucks more than the trip up, at least for someone like me who can't run steep downhills. It took me almost as long descending as ascending, but I did get there in the end and found my car waiting for me undisturbed.

I'm not sure I want to know what my legs are going to feel like tomorrow, between all the uphill today and a 2nd 10+ mile day only two days after the last one...

JMH