Mt. Wilson 20 to top out a rest week

I hit the trail at 6:30am this morning for a power walk up Mt. Wilson/ run down, total time 4:06 for 19.5 miles to cap off a 55 mile week of relative rest.

I've been overdue for a power walk workout having focussed on moderate grade uphill running for the last three weeks, culminating in a fast-ish 26 miler in 4:28 last Sunday in the Verdugos.  That workout left me tight and sore, particularly  in the calves, for 2-3 days. My left calf in particular was a bit twitchy and I recognized from years past that it was time to slow down, use the foam roller and get the calf muscles sorted out.  By the end of the week the calves were feeling OK after a lot of foam rolling and deep tissue massage (self-administered) and a 10 mile uphill power walk was indicated to complete the muscle maintenance.

I started the run this morning under the  colorful bands of the dawn sky -- beautiful --  oddly enough the sky reminded me of images of Jupiter.  It was a humid, buggy walk up from Eaton Canyon Nature Center to the summit, which I completed in 2:47, a bit slow as I haven't done one of these power walks in a few weeks.   The run down was fast and everything felt solid, completing the round trip in 4:06.  

All told, 26 miles of the 55 miles total this week were walking.  It was a  needed rest to focus on muscle health.