If you have been following this blog since last summer, then you have read about Squaw Peak Road. It is one of my favorite places to climb. It has been repaved in the last year or so, and consists of many tight, steep windy switchbacks. The road climbs just over 2000 feet in 4.3 miles. Over the years it has become a great fitness indicator for me. I can get a great idea of where I am at while hammering up that road. Today I climbed theroad for the first time this year, and honestly I wasn't expecting to push my PR. AFter Tuesday's 6 hour effort I was pretty sure that my legs just wouldn't have the oomph. But I still wanted to get a LT effort in, so up I went.
Surprisingly, despite feeling at times that I was pulling a trailor full of bricks, I finished thehill just 27 seconds off my PR. I think that bodes well for where my current fitness level and power output are at. Last year I would have struggled heavily on that climb 2 days after a 50 mile off roader. So, in other words...I am pretty stoked about the climb today. It was also a bonus that I ran into Chris while on my way to the base of the climb. He happend to be heading to the hill as well. I couldn't hold his wheel today. But that is nothing new.
Posing at the top...