Sunday, 07/01/12 Longs Peak (Again)

Longs Peak, 14,255
11.15 miles
~5,000 vert.
4:54 RT (2:41 up)
Keyhole Route-ish with variations

I have been trying to drag GZ out for a lap on something for months and the planets finally lined up yesterday for an early morning trip to Longs.  We sent out a few invites and Nick and Homie both signed on.  It was another warm day which made for perfect conditions on the mountain and we were very comfortable in t shirts and shorts.  Started a bit after 6am and settled into a casual hike with some running here and there and it was great to spend the morning socializing with these guys, taking it easy and enjoying one anothers company.  Bumped into Peter B and Bill B on the summit as they were on their way to doing the grand slam and chatted with them for a bit.  Stuck more to the trail on the descent and had a good time chatting with Nick and getting to know him more.  Great guy, watch out for him at Hardrock.  As always, great catching up with GZ and Homie too.

I'll let the pictures and video tell the rest of the story:

George carefully easing down from the Homestretch onto the narrows

MVI 2006 from Jeff Valliere on Vimeo.

Marching through the Boulderfield

N. Face/Old Cables route

Keyhole

Homie, Nick, George

GZ along the ledges

Looking down the trough

GZ negotiating the crux section (it was about here where Tim took a tumble on our Winter ascent)

Nick and GZ on the narrows

Nick is all smiles

Ditto for GZ

And Homie, the Longs Peak master (well, one of them)

Almost there

GZ is the highest dude in RMNP

Tony's preferred route

Meeker

Monday, 06/25/12 Longs Peak Birthday Bash

Longs Peak, 14,255
Keyhole Route
~14 miles
~5,000 vert.
3:46 (2:05 up)

Though I usually consider June to be my favorite month, this has been a tough one for me, having been sick (a light, but lingering case of what I guess to be bronchitis), the girls being sick for weeks, Allison having bronchitis, lack of sleep, a disappointing race at Mt. Evans, buying a house, busy at work and all the general craziness of wrangling two very busy toddlers. Add to that the ridiculous heat and often times unhealthy levels of smoke from the fires burning statewide, I have not been particularly enthused about or motivated to run. Lately, in order to avoid the heat, I have been trying to run before work (though 5:30am is way too early for me to put in a quality workout, even on my best days) and after work has just been too brutally hot to even want to get out, much less push hard or perform well, so I am struggling to come up with a compromise and get beyond what has become a bit of a slump.

However, my run up Longs Peak yesterday to celebrate my birthday was a huge mental boost and was quite rejuvenating, just what I needed to turn things around.

I went into the day with no real plan or motivation to push too hard, but knew I wanted to stick to the Keyhole route (long version with no Jim’s Grove variation), not worry about time, enjoy my surroundings and keep my effort low enough as to not feel the effects of the smoke.

I started at 6:26am and it was already quite warm and the smoke from the fires all over the state was present, but not really as thick as I had feared. I felt pretty lousy for the first five minutes or so, as it is always a bit of a shock running early in the morning at 9,000+ feet, but I soon fell into a comfortable rhythm and once I was warmed up, felt like I had boundless energy and felt well acclimated.  I momentarily contemplated heading back to the car to ditch a few items and restart my watch for a hard effort, but I diligently opted to stick to my plan.

Each section of trail passed by seemingly quick and effortless (effortless because I was not putting much into it really) and I could not have been more content or have been enjoying myself more, totally absorbed in my surroundings and free of worry, doubt, obligations or expectations. Near the Keyhole, I switched my brain from runner to hiker mode and took things pretty casual and cautious to the summit. Nothing about this final section is hard, but there are a few sections where you would not want to fall and I sheepishly admit that those sections caught my attention more than normal this time. I was conscious of the fact that I now have much more at stake than my previous trips, before becoming a dad and negotiated the exposed sections with great care.

The summit arrived seemingly fast (though not really that fast with a 2:05 ascent time). Even though this was 14 or so minutes slower than PR (using all the shortcuts for my previous PR efforts), I was happy with it given the added distance, relative minimal effort, casual approach and pauses to chat with other hikers on the ascent. I spent around 15 minutes on the summit just enjoying the (limited) views and conversing with fellow hikers.

I took the descent very easy and in fact was slower going down the upper section (37 from summit to Keyhole vs. 34 for the ascent), though I did spend time casually talking to other hikers along the way. One college age girl was quite impressed with my speed in relation to herself and the other hikers and was quizzing me about my training. "Do you do this a lot?" (I responded with "not nearly as much as I would like"). "How long have you been training for this?"... this I was unsure how to answer, do I train for THIS? Can I break it down to a yearly training cycle? Since I started running? Since I started climbing 14ers? Since I started climbing mountains when I was 4? I just simply and truthfully replied "a lifetime".

Below the Keyhole, the day really warmed up and I was thankful to have brought two bottles of water, as I drank it all and wanted more. I wanted to push a bit on the downhill, but I took a chance in (wrongly) selecting my La Sportiva Electrons, which provided AWESOME grip on the rock, but have an awkward fit/sizing and I could feel my toes getting smashed with each step on the technical descent. I was wishing that I had somehow been able to snag a size 10.5 test pair as the 10 is just too small (though I am normally 9.5 or 10 with a little extra room depending on the shoe) and really had to adjust my stride to minimize toenail damage.

Finished up in 3:46 for the roundtrip, quite slow by some standards, even slow by my standards, but was one of the more rewarding and enjoyable outings I have had in a long time, regardless of what the watch said. A perfect way to turn 41.

Sunday, 06/16/12 Mt. Evans Ascent

14.5 miles/3,500 vert.
2:19:50
26th/369

Quick and dirty recap....

My race did not go at all as hoped and I ran a PW (personal worst) and fell way short of my goals.  I was a little down on myself throughout and for a few hours after, but have let it go and am just calling it a good (though expensive) training run.

Nothing was particularly wrong during the race, but I did not feel that I had much to give, or really gave it my all and did not feel like I was at my best.  I could probably dredge up a few lame excuses that led to a less than ideal build up to the race, but they are hardly worthy of mention, just things that most of us encounter from time to time (sickness, family demands, work demands etc.....).

Once it became clear that things were not going my way, I just became somewhat apathetic and my goals incrementally slipped from lofty to simply finishing and getting off the mountain.

Upon crossing the line, I crossed paths with Lucho (who was long done after getting 2nd in 1:50) and offered me a ride down, but not before I ran up to tag the true summit block.  Running back down to the lot, I seriously considered continuing all the way back down to my car cross country, but my road shoes would have made it difficult, I had already made Lucho and his wife wait and the clouds were building in such a way that I knew the weather was going to get nasty quite soon (which it did big time).

Though I signed up for Evans as a training race, I of course set lofty (and now obviously unrealistic) goals after running what I felt to be a good race at the Bolder Boulder.  I think I had an overly inflated sense of confidence going into it, especially given that my training really lacked quality over the past 3 weeks.

During the entire race, I questioned what it is that I really like about racing.  At the time, I honestly could come up with very little and thought to myself how I would have rather been off doing my own thing elsewhere on my own terms.  Of course, had I achieved my goals, I would have been itching to sign up for another race or two.

Oh well, water under the bridge and I'll just use this as a wake up call that if I want to do well in August, I'll need to get my nose to the grindstone a little more.

Thanks to Jim P. for the below pictures and a huge thanks to Lucho and his wife for giving me a ride down and for the great company.

Being a sore loser as Jim graciously took my photo and offered up friendly encouragement (he looked like he was having WAAAY more fun than I was).

Monday, 06/04/12 Random

Funny stuff relating to the troubles going on at the Shack with Johan and the Schlecks:





A few pictures from the Bolder Boulder that I lifted from the Brightroom site:

The guy in front (who was given a little head start as to not get tripped up) had prosthetic legs below the knee.  Ran near him for much of the race, pretty amazing.

The shoes make me look fast(er than I am), but the floppy shirt makes me look like a mountain biker in a road race.

I could potentially go all Footfeathers with the right zoom/crop techniques.... ;)

My silly arm moves.

Making faces at 189 bpm.  I just noticed a B wave runner here, 35:4? or so.  Nice work.

Quit it with the watch already.

More stupid arm moves and grimacing.  Aside from the B wave runner who passed, I was mostly with A wave runners whom I had caught up to.

A final zig and a zag to the line.

Friday, 06/01/12 Missouri, Belford, Oxford

16.81 miles/7,155 vert./5:53/avg. HR 148  Garmin Data

Partners:  Homie, Joe and Tony

I had Friday off to do as I pleased in the mountains and was able to coordinate with Homie, Joe and Tony for a nice helping of 14ers.  Our plan was to do a point to point/car shuttle from the Rockdale TH (near Winfield) and over Missouri, Belford, Oxford, Harvard, Columbia and then down to my car at the Winter closure for the Frenchman Creek TH.

After a fun evening of laughter/catching up and a way too short night of sleep for me, we got started a bit before 7am and had a nice cold double creek crossing (knee deep) to wake us up before starting the 2.5 mile 4x4 road climb up to Clohesy Lake.  We were somewhat spread out at times at the start (due to various creek crossing tactics) but were all together for the final mile or so before the lake.

Above Clohesy Lake, the trail got super steep as it headed for the summit ridge of Missouri and we all spread out a bit as we settled into our own paces.  It was obvious that Tony was feeling great, as he took off up the hillside, where we could see him climbing away for some time and then was pretty much gone for the day after topping out on Missouri.

Normally, I would really enjoy such a steep trail that tackles the fall line, but I was not feeling all that great and seemed to be putting out too much effort for as slow as I was moving.  It seemed like a struggle to just get up the hillside, never mind try to push hard and I had a rare moment of wishing for switchbacks.  Nothing in particular really felt bad, but I just had no pep in my legs whatsoever and was quickly lagging behind.

Still thinking that I would continue all the way over all 5 peaks, I just dialed back the effort considerably and pretty much took it easy to the summit of Missouri, where Joe and Homie were patiently waiting.  After a quick gel, we were on the move again, dropping the ~1,300 or so feet down to the basin below the S. side of Elkhead Pass, before regaining the elevation up Belford.

Again, I was struggling to keep up, where my HR was not all in line with my perceived effort and I was quite thankful to top out on the summit of Belford and take a little break.  At that point, I was 99% sure that I would not be adding Harvard and Columbia and felt bad for slowing up Joe and Homie, as they had a long ways to go.

The trip to Oxford was generally relaxed, as we again all settled into our owns paces.  On the summit, we spent a few minutes consulting the maps, where Homie was trying to encourage me to continue on, but I knew that just returning over Belford and back to camp was going to be plenty enough for me.

My return trip went better than I anticipated and though not pushing hard, I was able to get back to the Missouri Gulch TH in decent time.  The ~2.5 miles of dirt road back up to camp however was not so fun, where I alternated jogging with short periods of walking.

Back at camp, I spent some time soaking in the creek and then just relaxing for the 3.5 hours until the gang returned.  It was actually really nice to spend a few hours doing absolutely nothing.

Though I did not feel as strong as I had hoped, it was awesome to spend a day in the mountains with great friends on the first day of June (my favorite month).  I felt surprisingly good in regards to the altitude (despite not getting up high much over the Fall/Winter/Spring), but I think that my legs were just not quite recovered from my hard 10k on Monday and subsequent run up Green (probably not the best combo), as my legs were sore enough to have me limping on Tuesday and Wednesday.

No complaints though on a near 6 hour run, three 14k summits and 7,155 vertical.  A good way to ease back into the high mountains and certainly a great workout. 

Joe and Homie nearing Clohesy Lake

Homie pointing out the route from Huron down to Clohesy Lake

Huron/Clohesy Lake

Homie about to pass/drop me to the summit of Missouri.  He is in super shape right now.

Punchy snow leading to Elkhead Pass

Harvard

Harvard again from Belford

Missouri

Looking North from Belford

Monday, 05/28/12 Bolder Boulder/Green Mountain

Bolder Boulder 10k
37:55
avg. HR 176/189 max
174 vert.
276/46,527 Overall
4/443 Age 40 Males
Bolder Boulder Splits
Garmin Data


Ran the Bolder Boulder this morning and set a 10k PR (4th BB10k, 5th 10k ever) in 37:55.

Parked at Rob's house again this year, just blocks from the start and immediately went on a desperate quest for a bathroom.  I high stepped it into King Soopers, but was mortified to see the janitor cleaning it with several people in front of me waiting.  After a few minutes, I had to keep moving and found an empty bathroom at nearby Moe's bagels and took full advantage (very sorry Moe's, I owe you some patronage soon).  Feeling much lighter and quite peppy, I headed back to the car where I met Rob for a warmup.

Started in the AA wave and was positioned near the front and was able to hold my position well.  I soon started picking people off in my wave and then was passing people left and right from the A wave that started a minute or so earlier.  I felt about as great as I could have expected and even though I was pushing hard, felt as though I was running sensible splits.  I was happy to have only got passed by maybe 2 or 3 people the entire time which was quite a difference from the previous years (well, except for the time I started back in the K wave under somebody else's bib, but that was ridiculous).  Not once did I feel like backing off the effort, but I consistently felt driven forward and inspired to keep pushing as hard as I could.

I made it a point the entire way to run the tangents as efficiently as possible and was quite shocked that I was one of the very few who did this.  I could not understand why anybody would take one 90 degree right corner tight, then drift far left, only to take another 90 degree right just up the road a ways.  Oh well, I guess that is the bike racer in me and not so much the focus in road running.

As I neared the stadium, I knew that I would beat my 38:59 BB PR (on the older/faster course in 2010), but was unsure if I would sneak in under 38.  Motivated by qualifying for the A wave next year, I was gassing it for all I was worth to the stadium and around the metal track where my heart rate topped out at 189 (which is pretty high for me now).  Cruised across the line and started to dry heave from the effort.  Fortunately, nothing came up and was able to walk it off quickly.

Made my way out of the stadium and chatted with many familiar faces as I waited for Rob to finish.  We then collected as much schwag as we could and then headed back to the creek path for the walk back.

Though my time certainly did not stand out, I was quite happy with my performance all things considered.  I had a few quality runs with the baby jogger leading up to the race, though not very often or specific.  I never did anything intentionally to prepare, nor did I really think about it all that much.

I also wore my Newton Distance shoes today and feel like they really performed well.  I just simply had a great day, but I also thinking that they helped a bit.

Green Mountain via Bear Canyon (from Bear Mountain Dr.)

8.54 miles/2,532 vert./1:38 (57 up)/161 avg. HR Garmin Data

After the race, I headed over to Dave's house to pick him up for a run up Green.  I was admittedly a little worked over, nothing too sore, but just feeling it a bit and was hoping to not slow Dave up too much.  Fortunately, he was just getting over a stomach bug and claimed to be low on energy (I think he was just being nice to me), but we maintained a decent conversational pace all the way up.  On the descent, Dave opted to go hit Bear/SoBo, but I had to call it a day as I had to get home and I was just not feeling like doing anymore.  Was probably around a 18 mile day with the warming up and trip back to the car.  I'm a bit spent now and have to go chase 20 month old twins who are just waking from their nap.  Hopefully they take it easy on their old dad.

Friday, 05/25/12

Not sure where to start since I last posted, but have been getting in some very satisfying runs locally.  Fitness is pretty good, I think, at least good for my usual laps on the local peaks.  I even managed to eek out a 49:19 round trip PR on Green Mountain from the Gregory lot, which was a surprise given how slick the conditions were that day.  I still think I can drop that some with better conditions.  I am at the point where I get tempted to be somewhat greedy with my fitness and push things too much, but I do not want to peak too soon or risk digging myself into some sort of hole like I have done in past years.

How that will translate on Monday for the Bolder Boulder I am not really sure.  I don't really care all that much either, as road 10k's (or road anything) are not really my thing, but I hope to at least feel that I pushed my hardest and come up with something quicker than I normally run while pushing 80+ lbs of baby jogger.  That however will be a tall order though, as I feel like I truly run better when pushing babies around.  Either way, work once again graciously paid my entry fee (along with 75 other co-workers), so I feel like it would be hard to pass up such a fun race.  I'll also have 4 free hours after the race, so I am hoping to hit the trails and cleanse myself of my paved sins.  Ideas include continuing my run without breaking stride to the top of Green and back, or perhaps boogying up to Brainard for a lap on Audubon.

Tony wrote a great article here about Skyrunning.  I could not agree with what he said more and really makes me wish we had more similar things here, as we certainly have the terrain for it.  Not sure what is holding us back in the U.S. though, lack of passion/interest for this type of niche sport?  Legal concerns?

I love this approach though and it makes me think a bit about my own motivations and how I see myself as a "runner".  I use the term very loosely though, as I don't really see myself as such, but more of a cyclist (though I don't bike much anymore)/mountain climber who loves to get up (and sometimes down) a mountain as fast as I can.  The steeper the better too, as I am most at home when I have to use my hands on my knees or even move forward on all 4s for balance at least.  I feel like if there were more races on steeper terrain, I would probably place a bit better.  However, that still does not get me around the fact that a). I don't really even like to race that much.  b).  I hardly have time for it now with my life circumstances.  c).  I am also too cheap to race and usually just prefer a day in the mountains to enjoy as I please.

Allison and I were able to temporarily escape the confines of twin parenthood for 26 or so hours on Tues/Weds for a trip to the Springs as a guest to the USAFA Graduation.  We joined our great friends Dave and Emily (Dave is a professor there) and got to see President Obama give the commencement address and watch the Thunderbirds fly.  Also rendezvoused with Brownie for a few minutes, but regretfully only had a few minutes to chat.

Following the graduation, we headed over to Dave's staple training hill, Mt. Herman.  It is short, only ~3+ miles RT with 1,600 feet of gain, but most of it is super steep and the trails are not particularly well established or manicured.  I was especially envious that it was not tightly regulated with leash laws, no dog signs, no closures or any other restrictions or regulations.  No worries about fou frou jumping prebble snails or rare and endangered orchids.  Good stuff.

Today we got out for a full lap on Green with the girls and Sierra.  It was the perfect day for it, nice and cool, mostly overcast, but with some sun to warm things up from time to time.  Everyone had a great time and we let the girls out of their carriers a few times to let them explore and pick dandelions.

I'm really hoping to get up high next Thursday or Friday, hopefully with Homie.  No solid plans yet, as I'll have to feel things out on the home front and consult the forecast, but would love some company if anybody happens to be free.

1,100 USAFA grads marching in

Obama walking to the stand.  I was quite surprised that they let him walk out on his own, I expected him to be flanked by the Secret Service.

Snipers at the ready.  I found it interesting to check out all the sniper positions on the buildings and nearby hillsides.

Drone on display

Brownie in the very center of the picture (the shorter of the two guys in blue shirts)

Obama enthusiastically saluted, shook hands with each and every grad for ~2 hours.

The Thunderbirds buzzing the stadium as the grads toss their hats.

Allison, Emily and Dave on the summit of Herman (~9,100 ft.)

Kiefer and Shep too.

Steep and gravelly on the descent (of course I selected a pair of road shoes with no traction).  It was harder to walk this trail at a hiking pace and be braking, so I would either let them get a bit ahead and run to catch up, or just run ahead and stop frequently.

Amelie at the ranger cabin

 Isabelle picking dandelions (yes, probably illegal in OSMP)

Spending time on the summit.

A few new shoes to test as well:

Icebugs Pythos2.  Tough time of year to test these, but I can't wait to put them to good use next Winter.

Merrell Mix Master.  Though initially skeptical, these are awesome shoes.  A good compromise "minimalist" shoe that is not too light with too little protection, but not bulky and overbuilt either.

Adidas something or other.  Comfortable and well cushioned, but are somewhat heavy.

Adidas Tempo 5.  Planned to give these to Brandon, but he snoozed and I have since been putting in some solid trail miles in them (despite the fact that it is a road shoe) and have since become attached.  Super light, comfy, good forefoot protection, great cushion for the weight and that Continental rubber outsole grabs like magic.  Hopefully more shoes companies work something out with Conti soon.

Tuesday, 05/08/12 Green Mountain via Bear/Long Canyons

10.19 miles/2,958 vert./1:40:53 (1:02:08 up)/avg. HR 143  Garmin Data

Wow, what an amazing run up Green on some great trails that I do not visit often enough. The evening was perfect, temperatures in the low 60's to upper 50's, sunny and somewhat damp trails from the recent rain (lower down) and snow (higher up).


Started from Chautauqua and headed S. on the Mesa Trail to the mouth of Bear Canyon, then up. I was not pushing at all, but my pace seemed to be much better than my low heart rate and very low perceived effort would otherwise suggest. It was just one of those runs where everything comes together and you feel like you could run indefinitely and just did not want it to end. At every junction, I debated taking the longer way.

From the summit of Green, I was originally planning to head down one of the shorter routes on the front side, but felt a strong urge to visit Long Canyon for some nice cruising. I even came across quite the mess of a deer carcass right in the middle of the trail, which made me pause momentarily and look over my shoulder.

I was also testing a new pair of shoes (new shoes always make you go faster right?), the Puma Faas 900. The Faas 900 is a road shoe, with very little traction, but it has amazing cushion, stability and control and I found it to perform very well on this run.

Also noted 3 OSMP maintenance trucks/and crew as far up as they could drive on the Green W. Ridge Trail, presumably working on the new Green/Bear trail (which looks like it might be ready fairly soon).

Sunday, 05/06/12 Green Mountain Middle Route PR

6.27 miles/2,443 vert./1:05:17 RT (39:14 up) avg. HR 158 (165 for the ascent)  Garmin Data

I set a new PR tonight on the middle route. Legs were somewhat heavy all day and I debated taking a rest day, but decided to run anyways since it was nice and cool (and I had a pass to get out after work).

Started off feeling a bit sluggish and bogged down as expected (especially since I had filled up on a free pizza buffet that miraculously showed up at work) and I did not warm up at all until about the mile mark at the top of Gregory. I then started to feel marginally better on the short downhill/flat to the cabin (15:50 ish), arrived at the Greenman/Ranger jct. in 19:30, then Greenman/Saddle in 24:50. I was going at a hard effort, though not quite TT effort/pace and knew I was not at my best this evening, though it was at this last junction where I really flubbed. I did some faulty math and erroneously determined, that even if I set a PR split to the top, I would not even break 40. This thought discouraged me some and feeling slightly deflated, I backed off the pace a bit, still moving OK, but my resolve had eroded.

On the steep rock steps, just below the spot where the NE Ridge route meets the trail, I saw that I was at 31 and change and realized that I was ~90 seconds off on my previous estimates and that I might actually have a chance to break 40/PR.  I then upped the pace again, giving it about all I had and saw 37 mid between the 3rd and 2nd to last switchbacks and was sure I would finish 38 high, but the stopwatch got away from me a bit on the final stretch and I stopped my watch at the post for a 39:14 PR. I had mixed feelings and was happy that I PR'ed, considering I did not feel all that snappy, but also felt a little regretful that I backed off like I did in the middle and squandered a good 30 seconds or so.

I decided to backtrack the descent for a 1:05 RT 10K.

Overall a pretty good run though all things considered. 

Lessons of the day: 

• Pizza before running Green Mountain is not the best idea. 
• I need to improve my simple math skills while running hard.
• 7 oz shoes are no faster than 10 or 11 oz shoes if you are having a good day.
• I descend faster and with more confidence in a well cushioned/better protected shoe.
• Salomon XR Mission shoes have a jacked up arch that causes arch blisters.