Run Rabbit Run training week sixteen

Number sixteen was my peak volume week. My biggest training week in three years (not counting the Bear races of 2023 and 2025). 17 hours, 27 minutes all training 52.2 miles hiking and running 14,938 ft D+ hiking and running I went out on steep mountain trails five times to prepare for the big initial climb, high altitude, and big finishing descent of Run Rabbit Run (RRR). I did more power hiking than running on the climbs, and worked on descending with fast feet and momentum. I'm not planning to use poles at RRR, so I left them behind all week. Tuesday I hiked and ran up the Round Mountain trail in the Big Thompson Canyon. 3,000 feet of climbing in less than five miles is a good simulation of the climb up Steamboat Mountain. There is some very pretty scenery on the trail, too. Wednesday I did some D+ grinding around Arthur's Rock in Lory State Park. 1,400 feet of climbing (and equal descending) in 5.3 miles. I went to Rocky Mountain National Park on Thursday and Friday for an alpine…