9 miles
2,700 vertical
Ran this yesterday at a casual pace and hoped to go a bit harder today. Was not really sure what I meant by "Harder"..... PR effort? A minute or two quicker?
I awoke this morning feeling really tired and considered rolling over, but my inner voice kept telling me to get up and go. Driving into Boulder I am unusually unenthused and all sorts of options are going through my head, but indecision brings me to my intended path (road).
I start off easy and will just feel it out. After a few minutes, I am bumping it up to a moderate pace. My legs feel good, but I am soon gurgling spit and it feels as though I am breathing through a straw. Funny, just yesterday Kraig and I were talking about this very phenomena and I was noting to myself how it has been a long time since I have felt this.
Oh well, pflegm or not, I reach the turn a few seconds over 24 and ramp up my efforts for the "Super" part of Superflag. I go at the lower end of hard as I just don't have it today, yet I crank up the effort a touch on the last switchback, trying to go under 40, but I quickly realize it is not to be. I make it in 40:33 and head left toward Green w/out breaking stride. I jog the rollers and then bump up the pace a bit for the final climb. I make the 4 way at 52:38 and then peg it a bit, perhaps a touch annoyed at my slower than hoped pace. As the trail steepens, I power hike instead of trying to run every step and top out in 55:33.
I take it super easy going down listening to the birds and checking out the abundance of wildflowers and make it to the car at 1:24.
As my fitness increases, I start to think that every run should be fast, or better yet just want to keep running faster and faster all the time. I just have to keep reminding myself that in order to go faster on the fast days, I may need to go a little slower on the other days and not get stuck in a rut of running every day moderate.
Sierra
Sierra
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Green via Superflag
2,700 vertical
9.5 miles
43:50ish up Superflag/59:48 to summit of Green
Got out with Kraig today for an easy run up Superflag and Green. It was great to finally get out for a run with him as I have met him briefly several times in the past and he seemed like a pretty easy going guy. I have known of Kraig for quite a while, hearing numerous stories of his speed and fitness from his brother in law Bill, and more than once I have aimed for one of his FKTs listed on Bill’s site and fallen short. I have also gotten accustomed to watching helplessly as he blows past me on Pikes above Barr Camp, as he just grinds out a fast speed longer than most can maintain.
We went a pretty casual/conversational pace up the road and topped out at 43:50ish. I am feeling more and more accustomed to the pavement each time I run on it and am actually…. (GASP!!) somewhat enjoying it. We then headed over to the summit of Green at a moderate clip, then bumped into Allison and Sierra on our way down. Great morning out.
9.5 miles
43:50ish up Superflag/59:48 to summit of Green
Got out with Kraig today for an easy run up Superflag and Green. It was great to finally get out for a run with him as I have met him briefly several times in the past and he seemed like a pretty easy going guy. I have known of Kraig for quite a while, hearing numerous stories of his speed and fitness from his brother in law Bill, and more than once I have aimed for one of his FKTs listed on Bill’s site and fallen short. I have also gotten accustomed to watching helplessly as he blows past me on Pikes above Barr Camp, as he just grinds out a fast speed longer than most can maintain.
We went a pretty casual/conversational pace up the road and topped out at 43:50ish. I am feeling more and more accustomed to the pavement each time I run on it and am actually…. (GASP!!) somewhat enjoying it. We then headed over to the summit of Green at a moderate clip, then bumped into Allison and Sierra on our way down. Great morning out.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
S. Boulder and Bear
11.5 miles
4,000 vertical feet
My legs felt pretty zippy this morning and it was cool out, so I immidiately thought of running S. Boulder and trying to PR.
Got to the TH around 10:15am and the lot was full, so we parked on the other side of the road and I got in a bit of a casual warmup going up the Homestead Trail with Allison and Sierra. My legs felt AWESOME and I knew that I could potentially have a great day. The only problem was that my "cool" day was quickly turning hot and I was feeling a bit dehydrated already.
I grabbed the key from Allison and ran back down Homestead to the car and guzzled almost a liter of water. Ran back down to the TH and my gut was now feeling bloated and sloshy and I was beginning to question my reasoning a bit.
I started my watch on the cement bridge and began running with quick strides, but keeping it fairly conservative. My plan was to keep the tempo fast, but quite sustainable on the section to the mouth of Shadow and save a bit for the steeper sections. I was moving fairly well, but felt very much within myself and made the first junction at 12:20, then the mouth of Shadow at 18:50 (about 30 seconds off PR pace as I usually look at my watch at the creek vs. the next junction as I have been using as of late). Not bad, this is what I was planning, now I'll rip it up the canyon and make up that time and then some..... Not quite.
Not that it was that hot, but the sun was strong and the heat was starting to wear on me a bit. The crowds of people and dogs were also a touch bothersome. I did a good job making my presence known, most people cleared the way, but some were slow to react and caused some interruption in pace.
I ran most of Shadow, but powerhiked the steepest stretchs, often times going on all 4's. I was hoping to get to the saddle in 40 flat, but the watch does funny things in times like these. I realized I would be nowhere close, but still kept up the effort and made it there in 41:26. I felt like I moved fast on the upper stretch to the summit, but my time indicated otherwise and I was disappointed to stop my watch at 46:55. Guess I was not feeling as great as I had hoped...???
I did an immidiate u-turn and headed down to meet Allison and Sierra about a minute below the saddle and I then had trouble staying on Allison's heels back up to the summit as she was hauling and I had not fully pulled it together yet. We then boogied over to Bear, then back down to the car.
Overall I felt pretty good. Had I gone a few hours earlier when it was cooler and there were no people, I may have come a bit closer to my goal, but I really have no excuses. I went hard tempo, but never really redlined it along the way, except for MAYBE the final 2 minutes, but even that effort was stifled a bit by terrain. Better luck next time. Gotta go when it is a little cooler and be willing to dig a little deeper.
4,000 vertical feet
My legs felt pretty zippy this morning and it was cool out, so I immidiately thought of running S. Boulder and trying to PR.
Got to the TH around 10:15am and the lot was full, so we parked on the other side of the road and I got in a bit of a casual warmup going up the Homestead Trail with Allison and Sierra. My legs felt AWESOME and I knew that I could potentially have a great day. The only problem was that my "cool" day was quickly turning hot and I was feeling a bit dehydrated already.
I grabbed the key from Allison and ran back down Homestead to the car and guzzled almost a liter of water. Ran back down to the TH and my gut was now feeling bloated and sloshy and I was beginning to question my reasoning a bit.
I started my watch on the cement bridge and began running with quick strides, but keeping it fairly conservative. My plan was to keep the tempo fast, but quite sustainable on the section to the mouth of Shadow and save a bit for the steeper sections. I was moving fairly well, but felt very much within myself and made the first junction at 12:20, then the mouth of Shadow at 18:50 (about 30 seconds off PR pace as I usually look at my watch at the creek vs. the next junction as I have been using as of late). Not bad, this is what I was planning, now I'll rip it up the canyon and make up that time and then some..... Not quite.
Not that it was that hot, but the sun was strong and the heat was starting to wear on me a bit. The crowds of people and dogs were also a touch bothersome. I did a good job making my presence known, most people cleared the way, but some were slow to react and caused some interruption in pace.
I ran most of Shadow, but powerhiked the steepest stretchs, often times going on all 4's. I was hoping to get to the saddle in 40 flat, but the watch does funny things in times like these. I realized I would be nowhere close, but still kept up the effort and made it there in 41:26. I felt like I moved fast on the upper stretch to the summit, but my time indicated otherwise and I was disappointed to stop my watch at 46:55. Guess I was not feeling as great as I had hoped...???
I did an immidiate u-turn and headed down to meet Allison and Sierra about a minute below the saddle and I then had trouble staying on Allison's heels back up to the summit as she was hauling and I had not fully pulled it together yet. We then boogied over to Bear, then back down to the car.
Overall I felt pretty good. Had I gone a few hours earlier when it was cooler and there were no people, I may have come a bit closer to my goal, but I really have no excuses. I went hard tempo, but never really redlined it along the way, except for MAYBE the final 2 minutes, but even that effort was stifled a bit by terrain. Better luck next time. Gotta go when it is a little cooler and be willing to dig a little deeper.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Bill Loop (S. Boulder and Bear)
~11 miles
~3,800 vertical
2:25 total
Homie invited me to get out for an early morning run with he, Bill and Mark Oveson, meeting at the S. Mesa TH at 5:30am. I was a bit reluctant to get up so early, but this is a great time of year to get up early and I was anxious to hang out with these 3 as they are so much fun to talk to.
We went a real mellow pace up to Shadow, 29 minutes or so, I stopped to take a quick pee and let them get ahead, as I figured I would just run through the canyon to the saddle and time my split. I gave them 2 minutes and caught them in about 3 minutes. I knew after the first few steps that my legs did not have much in them at all. I pushed a bit, but I knew there was no sense in trying too hard if my legs were not fully recovered. Made the saddle in 22:24, turned around and headed back down for about a half mile until I met up with them.
Bill and I got ahead again and waited for them on S. Boulder. Homie showed up first moving pretty quick and told us Mark headed for Bear, so we all boogeyed over and scrambled up the sporty route to the summit. We took it easy heading down and had some fun conversations along the way. Great day out, really fun getting out with this group.
~3,800 vertical
2:25 total
Homie invited me to get out for an early morning run with he, Bill and Mark Oveson, meeting at the S. Mesa TH at 5:30am. I was a bit reluctant to get up so early, but this is a great time of year to get up early and I was anxious to hang out with these 3 as they are so much fun to talk to.
We went a real mellow pace up to Shadow, 29 minutes or so, I stopped to take a quick pee and let them get ahead, as I figured I would just run through the canyon to the saddle and time my split. I gave them 2 minutes and caught them in about 3 minutes. I knew after the first few steps that my legs did not have much in them at all. I pushed a bit, but I knew there was no sense in trying too hard if my legs were not fully recovered. Made the saddle in 22:24, turned around and headed back down for about a half mile until I met up with them.
Bill and I got ahead again and waited for them on S. Boulder. Homie showed up first moving pretty quick and told us Mark headed for Bear, so we all boogeyed over and scrambled up the sporty route to the summit. We took it easy heading down and had some fun conversations along the way. Great day out, really fun getting out with this group.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Wednesday, 06/04/08 Green Mountain via SuperFlag (road)
Green Mountain via SuperFlag (road)
~10 miles/2,800 vertical
37:59 SuperFlag
53:22 Green
After running SuperFlag yesterday at a moderate rate, I was kind of itching to get out and give it a faster effort today. I started at Chautauqua and had a few minute warm-up to the start of the climb. I started my watch at the bridge and hit it pretty hard right off the bat. I was not at all feeling my best, but was proud to maintain my effort at a high level the entire way. I seemed to be able to maintain a steady turnover and kept an efficient stride. Toward the top, I knew I would have to really work to beat 38 and I kept the effort near max. On the final stretch, my watch seemed to be flying toward 38 and I was sprinting for all I was worth to slip in under 38 and made it in 37:59. Without breaking stride, I banged a hard left onto the West ridge trail, made it to the 4 way in 50, then the summit in 53:22, left the summit at 54, went down fairly quick, but still conservative and arrived back at the car at 1:23 (1:27 total with warmup). I felt decent today and gave it all I had, but I am not sure my legs were the best they could be, maybe I’ll give it another go next week.
~10 miles/2,800 vertical
37:59 SuperFlag
53:22 Green
After running SuperFlag yesterday at a moderate rate, I was kind of itching to get out and give it a faster effort today. I started at Chautauqua and had a few minute warm-up to the start of the climb. I started my watch at the bridge and hit it pretty hard right off the bat. I was not at all feeling my best, but was proud to maintain my effort at a high level the entire way. I seemed to be able to maintain a steady turnover and kept an efficient stride. Toward the top, I knew I would have to really work to beat 38 and I kept the effort near max. On the final stretch, my watch seemed to be flying toward 38 and I was sprinting for all I was worth to slip in under 38 and made it in 37:59. Without breaking stride, I banged a hard left onto the West ridge trail, made it to the 4 way in 50, then the summit in 53:22, left the summit at 54, went down fairly quick, but still conservative and arrived back at the car at 1:23 (1:27 total with warmup). I felt decent today and gave it all I had, but I am not sure my legs were the best they could be, maybe I’ll give it another go next week.
Tuesday, 6/03/08 Green via SuperFlag (road)
Green Mountain via SuperFlag (road)
~9 mile/2,700 vertical
40:50 up road
Had a great run w/George up the road for a little Mt. Evans training. The pace felt a bit fast in the beginning, but that was mainly because I was not warmed up and we were talking. George decided to back off since he went really hard the day before and was feeling it. I plugged along at a moderate pace, just trying to focus on form, consistency and stride. Got to the top in 40:50, jogged down a bit to meet George as he was a few minutes back (I think he finished in 43:??). We then took a short breather and continued on to the summit of Green along the West side route, I think we made the summit in 1:02 or 1:03?? Took it easy going down, and then bumped into Kraig K at Chautauqua and talked with him for a while. Can’t wait to do this one again a little faster.
~9 mile/2,700 vertical
40:50 up road
Had a great run w/George up the road for a little Mt. Evans training. The pace felt a bit fast in the beginning, but that was mainly because I was not warmed up and we were talking. George decided to back off since he went really hard the day before and was feeling it. I plugged along at a moderate pace, just trying to focus on form, consistency and stride. Got to the top in 40:50, jogged down a bit to meet George as he was a few minutes back (I think he finished in 43:??). We then took a short breather and continued on to the summit of Green along the West side route, I think we made the summit in 1:02 or 1:03?? Took it easy going down, and then bumped into Kraig K at Chautauqua and talked with him for a while. Can’t wait to do this one again a little faster.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Goliath Peak (12,216), Rogers Peak (13,391), Mt. Warren (13,307), Mt Evans (14,264)6/01/08
~9 miles/~4,700 vertical
Start: Mt. Evans Toll Booth
2hrs 50 minutes
Thinking about the race up Mt. Evans I am signed up for on June 21st, I figured I had better get in some road miles and some altitude. I invited several running pals, but none could make it unfortunately. The lack of partners had me questioning whether or not I wanted to go and I just figured I would “sleep in” and decide when I got up Sunday morning. I woke up around 5:30am and felt well rested and antsy. What the heck, I’ll give it a go anyways. As I was getting ready, I kept pondering whether or not I really wanted to plug away on 14.5 miles of pavement and threw in some gear in case I decided to get off the pavement.
I have been wanting to hike over Goliath, Rogers and Warren for a while and a failed trip this past winter (it was too cold and windy to even get out of the car), had me anxious to finally get up there. Ultimately, I decided that I would run a bit of road and still get the peaks I wanted.
I started at 7:45am and headed up the quiet road. About 1/4mile up, I decided to head straight up the hillside and cut off some mileage. This generally worked quite well as I could avoid snow for the most part, but I eventually got bogged down with some serious post holing. As soon as I was about to get real fed up, the road miraculously appears. Coincidentally, I come out on the road 20 feet ahead of the runner who started from the lot about 10 minutes ahead of me. I wait and we jog/walk along at a mellow pace, talking about the upcoming race and people we know in common.I eventually say goodbye to John and continue up the road for maybe ¾ mile total until
I come to a dry S. facing hillside, heading up to the dry ridge. I plod up this, trying to run a bit, but it is a bit steep and my legs are feeling a somewhat tired. I plod along and make Goliath in a seemingly pokey 40 minutes.Rogers is looking discouragingly distant and I am now able to jog the slight downhill for a bit, dodging boulders and snow patches. I cross the road again at 54 minutes and debate jumping on it, but with a Camelback full of water and warm clothes and clunky trail shoes, I opt to continue my “hike”.
The route to Rogers is pretty mellow, but the terrain is not as “runnable” as I had hoped, so I just resign myself to fast walking and jog a step here and there.The snow patches start to increase and it is a game of avoidance and efficient route finding. Occasionally I opt to beeline across, but have mixed results. I finally top out on Rogers after 1:29, tag anything that seems to be a summit and continue on without breaking stride. Now the rocks become a bit of a jumble and I zig and zag finding ways that don’t require using my hands or stepping on snow (which would probably result in a broken leg).
I make it to Warren after 1:52 and again prod around for the highest point and waste no time lingering. As I am dropping down to Summit Lake, I see John (the runner I met earlier) running along the road and catch up to him, reaching the lake at 2:07. We walk and talk for another few minutes while I suck down a double shot espresso Clif gel to get me up the final stretch.I again say goodbye and I am torn as to whether or not I want to run the road. It has taken me a good bit longer than I anticipated to get here and I promised to be home by noon (planning on getting a ride down), so I opt for the direct route up to the parking lot. This is where I run into the most snow I have seen all day above tree line, and it is East facing and soft.
For the most part, with strategic zig zagging, I can stay on dry ground, but occasionally I have no choice but to cross the snow. Again, sometimes I stay on top, other times I am up to my waist. Uggg, it is really ugly when I drop deep and this really revs my already high heart rate.I am really starting to feel trashed and stop every once in a while to catch my breath as I clamber over rocks and through snow. As I stop, I curiously watch skiers schuss past, scraping on rocks as they go. They all seemed to be using good skis, which had me a bit confused. They either make skis much more durable than the ones I have purchased in the past few years, or they have a much bigger ski budget than I do. Gotta keep the core and edge repair business going I guess…..
Eventually I pass the parking lot and the final 100 feet seems to take forever as it is really icy and slick. I grind it out and am relieved to flop myself down on the summit rock after 2 hours and 50 minutes. Phew. I pant, drink, pant some more, add a layer and admire the views for a bit. I carefully pick my way back down to the lot and after a few minutes of scoping, I score a ride down from an older guy from Central City, named…… you guessed it, John (on the way down, we pass John 1 standing with his thumb out, but unfortunately John 2 has no room in his truck).
All in all a great day out, I got in 3 new peaks on the way to an old favorite (20th ascent of Evans) and got some great exercise in the process. Even though I did not run the road the entire way, I got a good review/reminder of the course which will be helpful in 3 weeks.
~9 miles/~4,700 vertical
Start: Mt. Evans Toll Booth
2hrs 50 minutes
Thinking about the race up Mt. Evans I am signed up for on June 21st, I figured I had better get in some road miles and some altitude. I invited several running pals, but none could make it unfortunately. The lack of partners had me questioning whether or not I wanted to go and I just figured I would “sleep in” and decide when I got up Sunday morning. I woke up around 5:30am and felt well rested and antsy. What the heck, I’ll give it a go anyways. As I was getting ready, I kept pondering whether or not I really wanted to plug away on 14.5 miles of pavement and threw in some gear in case I decided to get off the pavement.
I have been wanting to hike over Goliath, Rogers and Warren for a while and a failed trip this past winter (it was too cold and windy to even get out of the car), had me anxious to finally get up there. Ultimately, I decided that I would run a bit of road and still get the peaks I wanted.
I started at 7:45am and headed up the quiet road. About 1/4mile up, I decided to head straight up the hillside and cut off some mileage. This generally worked quite well as I could avoid snow for the most part, but I eventually got bogged down with some serious post holing. As soon as I was about to get real fed up, the road miraculously appears. Coincidentally, I come out on the road 20 feet ahead of the runner who started from the lot about 10 minutes ahead of me. I wait and we jog/walk along at a mellow pace, talking about the upcoming race and people we know in common.I eventually say goodbye to John and continue up the road for maybe ¾ mile total until
I come to a dry S. facing hillside, heading up to the dry ridge. I plod up this, trying to run a bit, but it is a bit steep and my legs are feeling a somewhat tired. I plod along and make Goliath in a seemingly pokey 40 minutes.Rogers is looking discouragingly distant and I am now able to jog the slight downhill for a bit, dodging boulders and snow patches. I cross the road again at 54 minutes and debate jumping on it, but with a Camelback full of water and warm clothes and clunky trail shoes, I opt to continue my “hike”.
The route to Rogers is pretty mellow, but the terrain is not as “runnable” as I had hoped, so I just resign myself to fast walking and jog a step here and there.The snow patches start to increase and it is a game of avoidance and efficient route finding. Occasionally I opt to beeline across, but have mixed results. I finally top out on Rogers after 1:29, tag anything that seems to be a summit and continue on without breaking stride. Now the rocks become a bit of a jumble and I zig and zag finding ways that don’t require using my hands or stepping on snow (which would probably result in a broken leg).
I make it to Warren after 1:52 and again prod around for the highest point and waste no time lingering. As I am dropping down to Summit Lake, I see John (the runner I met earlier) running along the road and catch up to him, reaching the lake at 2:07. We walk and talk for another few minutes while I suck down a double shot espresso Clif gel to get me up the final stretch.I again say goodbye and I am torn as to whether or not I want to run the road. It has taken me a good bit longer than I anticipated to get here and I promised to be home by noon (planning on getting a ride down), so I opt for the direct route up to the parking lot. This is where I run into the most snow I have seen all day above tree line, and it is East facing and soft.
For the most part, with strategic zig zagging, I can stay on dry ground, but occasionally I have no choice but to cross the snow. Again, sometimes I stay on top, other times I am up to my waist. Uggg, it is really ugly when I drop deep and this really revs my already high heart rate.I am really starting to feel trashed and stop every once in a while to catch my breath as I clamber over rocks and through snow. As I stop, I curiously watch skiers schuss past, scraping on rocks as they go. They all seemed to be using good skis, which had me a bit confused. They either make skis much more durable than the ones I have purchased in the past few years, or they have a much bigger ski budget than I do. Gotta keep the core and edge repair business going I guess…..
Eventually I pass the parking lot and the final 100 feet seems to take forever as it is really icy and slick. I grind it out and am relieved to flop myself down on the summit rock after 2 hours and 50 minutes. Phew. I pant, drink, pant some more, add a layer and admire the views for a bit. I carefully pick my way back down to the lot and after a few minutes of scoping, I score a ride down from an older guy from Central City, named…… you guessed it, John (on the way down, we pass John 1 standing with his thumb out, but unfortunately John 2 has no room in his truck).
All in all a great day out, I got in 3 new peaks on the way to an old favorite (20th ascent of Evans) and got some great exercise in the process. Even though I did not run the road the entire way, I got a good review/reminder of the course which will be helpful in 3 weeks.
5/31/2008 Pt. 12,088, 12,567, 12783, Whale Peak (13,078), Glacier Peak (12,853)
Pt. 12,088, 12,567, 12783, Whale Peak (13,078), Glacier Peak (12,853)
5/31/08
~10 miles/4,300 vertical (including a bit of extra credit vert.)
From Jefferson Lake
7 hours RT
Jeff and Allison Valliere, John Prater, Pete Krzanowsky and Sierra
Failing to come up with a “local” plan to get up high for Saturday, I sent out an e-mail to a bunch of people on my e-mail list and Pete quickly indicated that he was planning Whale and some other nearby 12ers. Having wanted to climb Whale for quite some time, I was immediately in (pending approval from Allison of course…..). John was also on the same page and the group was set.
After a minor disagreement with the Jefferson Lake authorities over what passes work there and which don’t, we started from Wellington Lake around 7:50ish and headed due East up the hillside over some minor patches of still frozen snow up to the saddle between 11718 and 12,088. The going here was surprisingly easy and got us to the ridge quickly and efficiently. From the ridge, the views opened up and I was in absolute heaven. It was warm, no wind, no snow, clear….. just the day I have been patiently waiting all winter for.
We casually strolled North along the grassy undulations, picking up every ranked and unranked bump along the way, taking the occasional break to eat, photograph and chat. At the start of the final push up Whale, Sierra caught scent of what I figured to be some sort of ungulate and started to sniff all over, perk up and show too much interest. Fortunately I noticed this immediately and put her on leash. This turned out to be great as she towed me all the way up Whale, I was literally putting in half the effort as normal (maybe I can recruit her for Pikes…. Would that be cheating?).
We took a long break on Whale, then moseyed over to Glacier. The views were awesome and we were picking out nearby peaks to climb soon. John was quite bummed to not pick up Sheep along the way and we all teased him for wanting to drop down the wrong side to nab such a lowly peak. He strongly contemplated it, but figured he would save that one for another day.
The trip down was uneventful, until we came to the final pinnacle on the ridge at 12,000 feet. From here we got a great view of the lake and surrounding area. We noticed that there seemed to be too much snow to efficiently go around the West side of the lake, but there was a little ridge dropping to the East that looked like easier passage to the lake, which would then be easy street along the East side where there was no snow along the shoreline.
A few class 3 moves got us down through the worst section, then it was just steep going all the way down with the occasional patch of deep snow. We worked our way through the valley hopping over all the runoff as the day was warming significantly. The trip out along the East side of the lake went by quick and we were back at the cars about 2:50.
What an awesome day up high, super casual, great partners, great weather, great views.
Pictures: http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/jeffvalliere/Whale/
5/31/08
~10 miles/4,300 vertical (including a bit of extra credit vert.)
From Jefferson Lake
7 hours RT
Jeff and Allison Valliere, John Prater, Pete Krzanowsky and Sierra
Failing to come up with a “local” plan to get up high for Saturday, I sent out an e-mail to a bunch of people on my e-mail list and Pete quickly indicated that he was planning Whale and some other nearby 12ers. Having wanted to climb Whale for quite some time, I was immediately in (pending approval from Allison of course…..). John was also on the same page and the group was set.
After a minor disagreement with the Jefferson Lake authorities over what passes work there and which don’t, we started from Wellington Lake around 7:50ish and headed due East up the hillside over some minor patches of still frozen snow up to the saddle between 11718 and 12,088. The going here was surprisingly easy and got us to the ridge quickly and efficiently. From the ridge, the views opened up and I was in absolute heaven. It was warm, no wind, no snow, clear….. just the day I have been patiently waiting all winter for.
We casually strolled North along the grassy undulations, picking up every ranked and unranked bump along the way, taking the occasional break to eat, photograph and chat. At the start of the final push up Whale, Sierra caught scent of what I figured to be some sort of ungulate and started to sniff all over, perk up and show too much interest. Fortunately I noticed this immediately and put her on leash. This turned out to be great as she towed me all the way up Whale, I was literally putting in half the effort as normal (maybe I can recruit her for Pikes…. Would that be cheating?).
We took a long break on Whale, then moseyed over to Glacier. The views were awesome and we were picking out nearby peaks to climb soon. John was quite bummed to not pick up Sheep along the way and we all teased him for wanting to drop down the wrong side to nab such a lowly peak. He strongly contemplated it, but figured he would save that one for another day.
The trip down was uneventful, until we came to the final pinnacle on the ridge at 12,000 feet. From here we got a great view of the lake and surrounding area. We noticed that there seemed to be too much snow to efficiently go around the West side of the lake, but there was a little ridge dropping to the East that looked like easier passage to the lake, which would then be easy street along the East side where there was no snow along the shoreline.
A few class 3 moves got us down through the worst section, then it was just steep going all the way down with the occasional patch of deep snow. We worked our way through the valley hopping over all the runoff as the day was warming significantly. The trip out along the East side of the lake went by quick and we were back at the cars about 2:50.
What an awesome day up high, super casual, great partners, great weather, great views.
Pictures: http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/jeffvalliere/Whale/
Friday, May 30, 2008
Green Mountain
5 miles
2,400 vertical
33:50up/56:30 RT
Had an awesome run this morning up Green via Amphitheater/Saddle Rock/Greenman, sticking to the main trail and no shortcutting whatsoever. My goal was to go quick enough to beat my time of 37:56 from yesterday and to maintain quick turnover and avoid any big step ups (just focus on efficiency). I was not at all serious this morning.
As I went along, I noticed that my time checks were not too shabby, but was not paying too close attention. The upcoming trail was passing in review quickly and I knew I was moving really well despite not giving it 100%. About 2/3rds of the way up, I realized that my time was 4-5 minutes faster than the previous day! I could not believe my eyes and started to bump up the pace a bit knowing that I could PR. I THINK my previous best is 35:35 on that route sticking to the trail, but I would have to research that number. Also the trail has changed a bit since, but I don’t think it is a 1:45 difference, maybe 30 seconds max? I think it helped to start at a reasonable pace and maintain/increase as I went, vs. burning myself too soon which I have been guilty of in the past.
(As an aside, I was wearing clunky road shoes, hiking shorts and had not yet sat in the bathroom.)
2,400 vertical
33:50up/56:30 RT
Had an awesome run this morning up Green via Amphitheater/Saddle Rock/Greenman, sticking to the main trail and no shortcutting whatsoever. My goal was to go quick enough to beat my time of 37:56 from yesterday and to maintain quick turnover and avoid any big step ups (just focus on efficiency). I was not at all serious this morning.
As I went along, I noticed that my time checks were not too shabby, but was not paying too close attention. The upcoming trail was passing in review quickly and I knew I was moving really well despite not giving it 100%. About 2/3rds of the way up, I realized that my time was 4-5 minutes faster than the previous day! I could not believe my eyes and started to bump up the pace a bit knowing that I could PR. I THINK my previous best is 35:35 on that route sticking to the trail, but I would have to research that number. Also the trail has changed a bit since, but I don’t think it is a 1:45 difference, maybe 30 seconds max? I think it helped to start at a reasonable pace and maintain/increase as I went, vs. burning myself too soon which I have been guilty of in the past.
(As an aside, I was wearing clunky road shoes, hiking shorts and had not yet sat in the bathroom.)
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Green Mountain
5 miles
2,400 vertical
37:56up
1:01 RT
Had an awesome run up Green this morning, mainly because of the conditions.... fog over the plains, sun and warm a few hundred feet up the trail, clear to the West. It was the perfect temperature for running and the trail was a bit damp. It is always a nice treat when you climb up out of the clouds and gloom into a perfectly sunny morning.
Started off feeling like absolute crap and was completely winded for the first 5+ minutes even though I was going "easy". Started getting into a bit of a groove, but this meant feeling mildly crappy. At about 27 minutes, I bumped up the effort a bit to somewhere short of hard and made it to the top in 37:56. I was somewhat surprised by this given the lack of effort and overall lack of snap in my legs.
2,400 vertical
37:56up
1:01 RT
Had an awesome run up Green this morning, mainly because of the conditions.... fog over the plains, sun and warm a few hundred feet up the trail, clear to the West. It was the perfect temperature for running and the trail was a bit damp. It is always a nice treat when you climb up out of the clouds and gloom into a perfectly sunny morning.
Started off feeling like absolute crap and was completely winded for the first 5+ minutes even though I was going "easy". Started getting into a bit of a groove, but this meant feeling mildly crappy. At about 27 minutes, I bumped up the effort a bit to somewhere short of hard and made it to the top in 37:56. I was somewhat surprised by this given the lack of effort and overall lack of snap in my legs.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Sanitas
3.5 miles
1,300 vertical
19:45 up/17 down
Felt good walking around today, but the moment I started running I knew I was not recovered from Monday and felt pretty sluggish. Figured it would take me 23 or 24 at the rate I was going. Put in seemingly high effort even though I was not pushing if that makes any sense. Did not even bother to look at the watch until the summit and was surprised to see that I was under 20. Went down East side/valley super easy, felt like I had 2 left feet.
1,300 vertical
19:45 up/17 down
Felt good walking around today, but the moment I started running I knew I was not recovered from Monday and felt pretty sluggish. Figured it would take me 23 or 24 at the rate I was going. Put in seemingly high effort even though I was not pushing if that makes any sense. Did not even bother to look at the watch until the summit and was surprised to see that I was under 20. Went down East side/valley super easy, felt like I had 2 left feet.
Monday, May 26, 2008
S. Boulder, Bear and Green
~15.5 miles
~4,500 vertical
2:28:02
Had a great run this morning over the 3 peaks going up Towee, Shadow, over to Bear, down W. Ridge to Bear Canyon, up Green, down Bear Canyon to Mesa, Mesa to Bluestem and back to S. Mesa TH.
Despite the rainy weather, it turned out to be a great morning for a run. Today I was hoping to go fairly hard, but keep things reasonable and just run a fast, but sustainable pace. I felt like I did a great job pacing myself and felt awesome the whole run. The footing in spots was a bit slick, especially on the summits of S. Boulder and Bear, where it was raining steadily and visibility was nil. Running down W. Ridge of Bear was a highlight, perfect rolling singletrack, everything was green and moist, foggy, quiet. Just me, running fast and feeling completely focused.
Pushed the pace hard on the ups, but being very careful not to build lactic acid and then pushed beyond my comfort zone on the downhills and flats where footing was good. The trip back to S. Mesa TH always seems to drag on over the final mile +. I was hoping to beat 2:45 (an arbitrary estimate), but was discovering as the run progressed that I might beat 2:30. I layed it on for all I was worth at the end, sprinting as if I were neck and neck with somebody, trying to come in at 2:27:??, but missed it by two seconds. Oh well, I was quite happy with my time either way.
Headed into Boulder to watch the Bolder Boulder pro race. Rode my bike and followed the racers for the first 20 minutes. They were really flying, I was in disbelief. Really made me feel like a slowpoke.
Splits:
13:59 end of Towee (where it meets "dirt road")
21:30 mouth of Shadow
46:20 saddle
52:40 S. Boulder summit
1:03 Bear Peak
1:21 Bear Canyon Jct
1:34 4 way on W. side of Green
1:38 Green summit
1:40 back at 4 way on W. side of Green
2:03 Mesa trail
2:15 Bluestem jct.
2:28:02 Finish
~4,500 vertical
2:28:02
Had a great run this morning over the 3 peaks going up Towee, Shadow, over to Bear, down W. Ridge to Bear Canyon, up Green, down Bear Canyon to Mesa, Mesa to Bluestem and back to S. Mesa TH.
Despite the rainy weather, it turned out to be a great morning for a run. Today I was hoping to go fairly hard, but keep things reasonable and just run a fast, but sustainable pace. I felt like I did a great job pacing myself and felt awesome the whole run. The footing in spots was a bit slick, especially on the summits of S. Boulder and Bear, where it was raining steadily and visibility was nil. Running down W. Ridge of Bear was a highlight, perfect rolling singletrack, everything was green and moist, foggy, quiet. Just me, running fast and feeling completely focused.
Pushed the pace hard on the ups, but being very careful not to build lactic acid and then pushed beyond my comfort zone on the downhills and flats where footing was good. The trip back to S. Mesa TH always seems to drag on over the final mile +. I was hoping to beat 2:45 (an arbitrary estimate), but was discovering as the run progressed that I might beat 2:30. I layed it on for all I was worth at the end, sprinting as if I were neck and neck with somebody, trying to come in at 2:27:??, but missed it by two seconds. Oh well, I was quite happy with my time either way.
Headed into Boulder to watch the Bolder Boulder pro race. Rode my bike and followed the racers for the first 20 minutes. They were really flying, I was in disbelief. Really made me feel like a slowpoke.
Splits:
13:59 end of Towee (where it meets "dirt road")
21:30 mouth of Shadow
46:20 saddle
52:40 S. Boulder summit
1:03 Bear Peak
1:21 Bear Canyon Jct
1:34 4 way on W. side of Green
1:38 Green summit
1:40 back at 4 way on W. side of Green
2:03 Mesa trail
2:15 Bluestem jct.
2:28:02 Finish
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Buffalo Peak Attempt
3.5 miles
2,350 vertical
5.5 hours
Attempted Buffalo Peak in Lost Creek Wilderness. The going up the ridge from Stoney Pass was amazingly tedious, lots of nasty deadfall, steep. Then around 10,000 feet, we started to encounter lots of snow that would sometimes support our weight, but usually collapse like a trap door. Lots of balancing along rotten logs to avoid snow, clamboring up and over rocks, under over trees. We got to within a mile of the summit and the snow just got progressively worse. Had to turn, as there was no way we could summit and make it back in time for holiday festivities. Not to mention it really sucks wallowing in this type of snow, especially on Memorial Day weekend when all I wanted was dry trails.
2,350 vertical
5.5 hours
Attempted Buffalo Peak in Lost Creek Wilderness. The going up the ridge from Stoney Pass was amazingly tedious, lots of nasty deadfall, steep. Then around 10,000 feet, we started to encounter lots of snow that would sometimes support our weight, but usually collapse like a trap door. Lots of balancing along rotten logs to avoid snow, clamboring up and over rocks, under over trees. We got to within a mile of the summit and the snow just got progressively worse. Had to turn, as there was no way we could summit and make it back in time for holiday festivities. Not to mention it really sucks wallowing in this type of snow, especially on Memorial Day weekend when all I wanted was dry trails.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
S. Boulder, Bear, Green
~16 miles
~4,800 vertical
4hrs 37 minutes
Allison, Sierra and I got out for a great hike today, as the weather in Boulder was too tempting to resist. Started at S. Mesa, took our time heading to Shadow. At the mouth of Shadow, I ran ahead to the summit. Went on the mellow side of moderate, made the saddle in 24, summit in another 5, then ran back down to meet Allison and Sierra at the saddle. Went back up, then over to Bear. Spent some time lounging on each summit. Headed down W. Ridge, got in trouble by a ranger for not having the dog on leash, we honestly did not know it was a leash only trail as our choice of routes at the summit of Bear bypassed all signage.
Went up Green, then back down Bear Canyon to Mesa and then S. to Bluestem. My 20 oz. bottle ran out way too soon and I was quite parched. Got harrassed by another butch ranger near the TH, but we were totally legit. The heat is on for the holiday weekend.
~4,800 vertical
4hrs 37 minutes
Allison, Sierra and I got out for a great hike today, as the weather in Boulder was too tempting to resist. Started at S. Mesa, took our time heading to Shadow. At the mouth of Shadow, I ran ahead to the summit. Went on the mellow side of moderate, made the saddle in 24, summit in another 5, then ran back down to meet Allison and Sierra at the saddle. Went back up, then over to Bear. Spent some time lounging on each summit. Headed down W. Ridge, got in trouble by a ranger for not having the dog on leash, we honestly did not know it was a leash only trail as our choice of routes at the summit of Bear bypassed all signage.
Went up Green, then back down Bear Canyon to Mesa and then S. to Bluestem. My 20 oz. bottle ran out way too soon and I was quite parched. Got harrassed by another butch ranger near the TH, but we were totally legit. The heat is on for the holiday weekend.
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