The Incline!!

I got the fever. (I'm talkin about Olympic fever for all you cave dwellers.) And I can't think of a better way to take advantage of my energy than a couple incline runs (not literally) this weekend.

Now for all you non-cspring'ers and people that have never visited me, the incline is a BEAST hike. It's probably one of the most unique hikes you'll ever encounter. Located in neighboring Manitou Springs just 15 min away from my house, the incline is a local fave...the remnants of the old railway that went up the first 3 miles of Barr Trail that eventually goes all the way to the top of Pikes Peak. It's only 1 mile from bottom to top...but it looks like it goes pretty much straight up. When you look at it, you just think "A train actually went up this thing??" or "What crazy people would even think to build a train going up this??" It's an incredible workout climbing those 3,000-some railroad ties (I tried counting once and I think that's what it was), and even after doing it countless times, it's still rewarding getting to the top. Two pieces of advice for inexperienced hikers: 1. Pace yourself and 2. There's no such thing as too slow at the bottom. There's no other hike like it.

I plan on using the incline as a staple in my training to get back into rockin shape. My lifetime best up is 31:30. So far this year, I've been 49 (two weeks ago), 38 (last week), 37:30 (yesterday), and 36:20 (today). hopefully I can keep bringing that down and then do it crouched down lower and lower.

It's a long way up there!!

Looking up from about 2/3 of the way up. That's actually not the top either. There's a false summit (as if this hike weren't cruel enough).