2010 Summary and Stats

2010 was an amazing and fulfilling year in many ways. Welcoming twin daughters into the world on Sept. 29th was by far the highlight, but I also had a great year of running and hiking adventures that would really be impossible to sum up in a reasonable amount of time.

By far, my running adventure highlight of the year was my April trip to run the Grand Canyon RRR with George and Homie. Not only was I elated to eclipse my previous PR, a PR that I was already very proud of, I was able to do it under tougher conditions to boot. Aside from the enjoyment of running such an amazing route and executing well, this was one of those all time memorable trips with great friends that just could not have been more fun. I consider George and Homie to be two of my closest friends and two of the easiest going, nicest, laid back, intelligent and fun loving guys on the planet. The mood, humor, support, enthusiasm, camaraderie, sense of adventure and conversation could not be surpassed. Also, meeting up with a diverse group of friends (Gerry and Jennifer Roach, Wayne Herrick, Hoot Gibson, Pete K, Emily Hale, Bob Dawson and Sharon, Bill, Sue and several other 14erworld members) at the canyon for this annual RRR hike/run really added to the enjoyment, whether it was hanging with them at the campground, hiking/climbing the day before, having dinner/breakfast together and especially exchanging encouragement on the trail. It really added to my enjoyment and motivation during the RRR, knowing that even though I was running solo, I was not alone in my endeavor.

Other running/hiking highlights and memorable moments include (in no particular order)

• Setting a PR on Grays/Torreys from I-70
• Several PRs on Green
• A fast run on La Plata with Sierra, followed by an awesome run with her on Columbia and Harvard the following day.
• Training on Mt. Evans with Tony and Brandon.
• Training trips to Pikes with Nate and Tony.
• Zion trip, hiking with Allison, running with Homie, especially Angels Landing.
• James Peak in Winter with Allison and Sierra
• Antero in Winter with Homie, Sierra and the Hales
• PR up SuperFlag (on the road)
• RT PR on Bear/SoBo
• Taking my sister Darcie up Grays/Torreys for her first 14er(s).
• Missouri/Belford/Oxford with Homie
• Quandary RT PR
• Shrine Pass wildflower hike with Allison, Sierra and Jack
• Longs Peak PR with Dan M
• Lackawanna hike with the Hales
• Basic Boulder
• Bolder Boulder

Aside from my own personal achievements and adventures, 2010 was very satisfying to see friends aim high, work hard and achieve their goals. GZ’s performance at Pikes immediately comes to mind, Brandon’s sub 3 at Boston, Homie’s awesome run at HR100, Justin’s sub 2:30 at London, Tony’s amazing run at Western States (even though he did not win, it was an awesome run and was fun to cheer him on).

Spending quality trail time with friends and family, new and old, frequently or not added greatly to my enjoyment and satisfaction while running and hiking in 2010. Without the following people (and canines) along for the ride, 2010 would not have been complete: Allison, Sierra, Homie, George Z, Brandon F, Tony K, Dave M, Dave/Emily/Shep/Kiefer H, Aron R, Nate B, Tim L, Gerry R, Rick C, Jack O, Dan M, Darcie V, my Mum to name a few (sorry if I missed anyone, it is hard to list everyone in a reasonable amount of time).

Though the year was incredibly positive overall, I would be fibbing to say there were not any lowlights. The following are listed pretty much in order.

• Seeing Sierra’s hiking/running ability decline significantly, almost overnight in early October. Her companionship on the trails and on the summits can’t be matched or replaced and means more to me than I can put into words. She can still get out some, but just not as much and it just seems a bit too soon, certainly sooner than I would have anticipated. This has saddened me greatly.
• Not having Allison to hike with as much as normal and missing out on many high altitude adventures together and with good friends, such as the Hales, Praters and others (but this one was balanced by the fact that it was all for a good cause).
• Yet another crappy race at Pikes Peak certainly figures prominently in the lowlights column. This seems to now be a given, a monkey on my back/self fulfilling prophecy of sorts. I struggle with this, as I know that I am capable of doing better, but I never seem to be able to prove it to myself there. I know a good result at Pikes Peak does not necessarily define me as a mountain runner, nor does it diminish the experiences along the way or the journey to the finish line, but it would just be nice to achieve a nice result there, just for myself. Potential means nothing unless it is fulfilled. The upside, though is that each year this happens, I get more used to it and thus a bit more accepting of it. Maybe next year I will try the Marathon, or skip Pikes altogether and focus on something else, or focus on nothing else.
• A disappointing race at Mt. Evans, but whatever. I was suffering from my bruised sternum more than I cared to admit at the time and was the start of a mid-summer slump in performance.
• Falling and bruising my sternum in June. Such an unlikely and stupid accident, how the hell does one fall onto their knee and bruise a sternum? I am still stumped over it.

The Numbers

Considering a slow start to the year (precautionary time off) and expecting/having twins, I felt my stats for 2010 were decent (though minuscule compared to Tony and a few other friends).

(note: my stats are not measured accurately with a GPS or Altimeter and are my best estimates tallied day by day/month by month in an Excel spreadsheet).

Vertical: ~700,377 (certainly much more than that if you consider all the trips up/down the stairs I take with the baby monitor ;)).

1,919 vertical per day average
13,469 vertical per week average
58,365 vertical per month average
132.6 vertical miles
24.12 Mt. Everests from Sea Level
89.6 Pikes from Manitou

Miles: 1807

250 days (+7 days of biking)
Total summits: 275
Green Mountain summits: 169
Bear Peak: 30
S. Boulder Peak: 21
Sanitas: 13
14er ascents: 27
13ers: 3
12ers: 1
11ers: 1

Month              Distance           Vertical

January                53                 22,800
February            143.2              52,120
March                212                 80,350
April                  190.8               54,600 
May                   207.2              74,817
June                   155.4              68,815
July                    182                 78,430
August               146.2              62,245
September         127                 52,100
October             123                 45,000
November          137                55,400
December          130.5             53,700

Friday, 12/31/10 Green Mountain

Final run of the year, you guessed it, another lap on Green.  Went up/down the front side on a well worn track, but the snow was still pretty unconsolidated due to the freshness and temperature.  Hopefully it will set up nice in the next few days.  Wore Microspikes the whole time, but footing was still a bit slippy on the up and unpredictable on the down, so we took it super casual and chatted the whole time.  It was great to close out the year with Homie on this cold and snowy day and what a great year it has been.  Happy New Year!!

Splits:

Up:  52
Down:  25

Thursday 12/30/10 Green Mountain

Had a great day out in the snow with Allison and Sierra (up/down Gregory/Ranger).  Met up with Homie on the summit and he joined us for the descent.  It is not close to Joel Wolpert/Tony quality, but here is a short video from the day.

Splits: 

Up in 1:23
Down in ???


Green Mountain 12/30/10 from Jeff Valliere on Vimeo.

Wednesday, 12/29/10 Green Mountain

Whether or not I would be able to get out today remained tenuous at best, though I was always at the ready and pounced on the opportunity at the last minute, as I found it nearly impossible not to get out for a run in shorts one last time for the year.

Started up Amphi/Saddle/Greenman a bit after 3pm.  It was a good bit warmer than yesterday, but a bit windier.  My perceived effort was a little bit higher than both laps the previous day, but most of this was because I was in a hurry and tight on time.  Even though I pushed a little harder (moderate to upper moderate), my legs were feeling a bit sluggish and I ended up putting in the slowest time of 3 ascents in 2 days.  Descended back down the front on cruise control.

Splits:

Up:  36:27
Down:  21:36

RT: 58:03

Tuesday, 12/28/10 Green Mountain x 2

Snuck in 2 laps on Green today, up/down Amphi/Saddle/Greenman.  Went pretty easy on the first lap, moderately casual, but took it very easy on the down, as the 6oz race flats I was wearing/testing (Inov 8 F-lite 195s) were a bit too minimal and soft for rocky and technical trails.

Second lap seemed to be a bit more conservative to start, but I ended up 10 seconds ahead of the first lap at the Saddle/Greenman jct., so I upped the effort a bit to the harder side of moderate and ended up a minute faster by the summit.  Went a little quicker on the second descent, but still somewhat slow due to the next pair of shoes I was testing (K-Swiss road shoes), as they had better cushion, but less than optimal support on the upper for this type of terrain and I was worried about twisting an ankle.

Splits:

1st lap:

Saddle/Greenman: 20:30
Summit:  36:20
Descent: 25

2nd lap:

Saddle/Greenman: 20:20
Summit:  35:20
Descent: 23

Sunday, 12/26/10 Green Mountain

Started at 7:30am, up back/down front.  Easy jog up, took my time coming down for a little trail work and stuck to Saddle to the bottom instead of Amphi.

Did not see another person outside of the parking lot.

41:54up
25 down

Saturday, 12/25/10 Green Mountain

Started around 1pm.  Up/down front, felt a little better than yesterday (at least I had no phlegm/throat issues).  Super crowded at the TH and on the trail/summit, more than the average weekend day for this time of year.  Was great to be running in shorts and a T (it seemed warmer at 8,000 feet than it was at the TH, but the Gregory TH is always an ice box).

Splits:

Gregory TH to summit:  33:19
Descent:  19:20

Run RT: 52:39

Drive from home in Louisville to Gregory TH: 12:45

Drive from Gregory TH back home: 13:35

Total RT with driving:  1:18:59

Friday, 12/24/10 Green Mountain

I was in a bit of a hurry today, as I promised to get in my run quickly and get home to get ready for Christmas Eve festivities.  I sent Homie an invite and our timing was perfect, as he was on his way there in the morning as well.  I told him to get a head start and I would either catch him along the way, or meet him on the summit depending on which came first. 

My need to get this run in quickly, coupled with my motivation to chase Homie had me going light, with shorts, long sleeve shirt and fast feeling shoes.  I almost started off too fast, but geared back a bit to warm up some.  Hit the 1st jct. in 6:24, decent, but not super fast and still no sign of Homie.  I kept a steady tempo and eventually spotted him above as I neared the first spring, figuring I would pass him near the 1st Flatiron jct..  About this time, my throat started gurgling up phlegm and I was hacking up a lung, which gave away my stealth approach.  Homie heard/saw me coming and put up a good fight, not allowing me to pass until Saddle Rock. 

I made the Greenman jct. in 18:40, still solid, but not near PR.  I debated going for broke, but my motivation was not really there and I just wanted to cruise it in and finish 33-34 minutes as I had intended.  I tagged the summit at 33:30 which I was pleased with considering the time of year, hung out for a minute or so and then backtracked about 2 switchbacks down to finish back up with Homie (who was pushing pretty good and had a killer sprint on the final stretch).

After a short break on the summit, we headed back down, just chatting at a coasting pace.  Great to get out on an awesome Christmas Eve day. 

Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday!!

Splits:

Top of Amphi:  6:24
Saddle/Greenman jct.:  18:40
Summit:  33:30
Descent: 23 high or low 24??

Thursday, 12/23/10 Green Mountain

A.M.  3 road miles running back/forth to Big O for an oil change.

P.M.  Met up with Aron shortly after 3 for a trip up Green.  Went up Amphi/Saddle/Greenman at a casual pace for me, but pushing Aron to go a bit faster than on our previous few trips.  A short ways up Saddle Rock Trail, we crept up on the BTR Thursday HHR run and I think that inspired Aron to push a bit harder than normal, combined with the fact that I was not making him talk as much as I typically do.  The BTR group turned out to be a few people we vaguely know, or know of.  Fred Ecks, Peter B and Steph E, Maria P and Chris ?.  We became somewhat mingled in their group and chatted with them off and on for the remainder of the hike and for a while at the summit.  It was surprisingly warm and calm and with a bit of daylight remaining, Aron and I opted to descend Bear Canyon, a new route for him.  Of course, we had our picture taken twice along the way.  Aron probably thought it was the papparazzi stalking him for some 127 hours dirt ;).

Finished up around 5:15 just as it was getting dark.  Awesome evening run.

Splits: 

44:30 up
1:07 back to Chautauqua
5 or 6 back to the cars near the bridge

Sunday, 12/19/10 Green Mountain

Met Homie at the Gregory lot at 4pm, up Gregory/Ranger at a casual pace.  Wore my studded shoes today and scratched on rock for the most part, but was thankful to have them in a few spots coming down the front side.

Up: 47
Down: 30

Saturday, 12/18/10 Green Mountain

Met up with Dave a few minutes past 11am at Chautauqua.  Headed up Flagstaff/Ranger at a generally casual to moderate pace, chatting and laughing about posing for the wildlife cameras placed around OSMP to verify our claims of running Green Mountain ### amount of times.  We went a little harder over the final 10 or 15 minutes to the top of Green, but it did not seem as though we were going fast, just slipping around in the loose snow conditions and I was sucking wind.

We spent a few minutes on the summit and then parted ways, as Dave was tacking on Bear and SoBo, while I went down Greenman/Saddle/Amphi.  I threw on the spikes for the upper switchbacks which helped, but soon became overkill, as there was just enough snow to make things slick, but not enough to make the spikes the right choice.  Spotted some fresh Homie prints in the snow and was hoping to cross paths, but no sign of him.  I went home and drilled up a pair of screw shoes.

Splits:

58 up (from Chautauqua via Flag with a few minutes of stopping included)
25 back to Gregory/5 more to Chautauqua

Friday, 12/17/10 Green Mountain

Up/Down Gregory/Long Canyon/W. Ridge.  Finally it feels as though Winter has arrived.  A dusting at home turned into snow covered roads by Chautauqua and then several inches on the trail.  Followed 3 sets of tracks up Gregory and was playing the tracking game.  What kind of shoes, gait, age of tracks, is it somebody I know?, how fast are they moving, when or if I will catch them?. 

I finally passed them at the top of Gregory, a group of 3 hikers with serious day packs and gear.  I was still following some down tracks to the cabin and was itching to get some freshies, so I headed up Long Canyon.  Damn, more down tracks, a new set laid by a duck footed hiker, male, size 11 or 12.  It was snowing reasonably heavy, very peaceful though and when I topped out, I noticed a OSMP ranger truck and did the track math, figuring out who belonged to the tracks. 

Coast clear, up through the woods to Super Flag, then got the freshies I was looking for on W. Ridge to Green and was surprised to be the first one to summit that morning (or at least since the snow accumulated).  On the way back down, I passed the 3 well equipped hikers from earlier and the duck footed ranger laboring behind.  It was fun to follow my own tracks back and critique my own prints.  I definitely do not pronate or supinate and was impressed with my artwork, perfectly straight, in line and well spaced, cutting the apex just right.

Footing was REALLY crappy all day with the several inches of light snow and no base.  Traction would not have worked, as you would be scraping on everything underneath, but it was slick and prime conditions to roll an ankle, so I took it super casual, especially on the descent (and even then, still managed to minorly roll my weak right ankle).  An amazing morning in the snow, let's hope for more.

Splits:

56:27 up
41:59 down

Thursday, 12/16/10 Green Mountain

Got out a little later than I had hoped, maybe started at 1:30pm or so from the Gregorty TH.  Up Gregory/ Ranger at a moderate pace.  My legs felt strong, but my right ankle made a loud snap 3 steps in (is surprisingly gimpy from twisting it last week and also my achilles was very tight (ongoing issues since April)), so I just rolled along at a conservative tempo.  Back down the same way, going a decent pace, but still being careful and favoring my right ankle a bit.

Splits:

Up:

16:12
20:00
24:34
33:53
37:29

Down:  22:40

RT:  1:00:09

Monday, 12/13/10 Green Mountain

Allison and I met Aron at the Gregory TH at 4:15pm for a leisurely trip up Green, as it was in the 60's here today and none of us could resist an evening hike.  Up Gregory/Ranger, down Greenman/Saddle/Amphi at an easy conversational walk the entire way.  What a beautiful night to be out, hard to believe it is December.

Up:  60
Down: 50