Weekly Summary, September 6-12th, 2010

September 6-12th, 2010

Allison came home from the hospital on Monday, but was still on bed rest which meant no running for me on the days that I had to work. With the Fourmile Fire in Boulder emitting massive amounts of smoke throughout the area Mon-Weds, I would not have run anyways, so it helped ease the temptation quite a bit. Once the smoke cleared and I had a bit more time to play with, I took full advantage (as much as I could squeeze in anyways) and ended up having a great few days of running with great friends and Sierra.  Each day, as impending fatherhood and the Fall/Winter season approach, I realize how fortunate I am to be able to get out on such great trails, get in an awesome workout and share it with great friends.  I am truly thankful.

Thursday, 09/09/10

Green Mountain: Up Gregory/Ranger, down front/NE ridge with Sierra and my friend Joe who I have known since the 6th grade. Joe played a huge part in my decision to move to Colorado back in 1996 and we have shared quite a few good times and adventures together over the past ~27 years.  We both were silently aware that this was probably our last hike for quite some time, as he is moving to Quebec to live with his new wife Heather.  I was content taking it super easy, just enjoying the cool morning, fresh air and great conversation. We bumped into Tony near the summit and chatted with him for a bit, then spent a while on the summit checking out what little was left of the fire.

Friday, 09/10/10

2 laps on Green Mountain.

Lap 1: Dave Mackey was visiting town for a bit and we planned to meet up at Chautauqua for a 7am run up Green. Unfortunately, his phone alarm malfunctioned and he overslept and was unable to make it, but fortunately GZ and Tony showed. We headed up Gregory/Long Canyon/W. Ridge at a conversational pace, chatting it up quite a bit, mostly about running of course, but occasionally other topics would come up like the fire and having twins. I think I had 57 minutes for the ascent from Chautauqua. We spent a long time on the summit, just enjoying. Tony decided to head over to Bear, while George and I headed down the front. We bumped into Dave on Amphi, where he joined us back to Chautauqua.

Lap 2: After a gel and some water, Dave and I headed back up via the 1st Flatiron access trail, then up NE ridge to the summit. 48 or 49 minutes I think, but I did not really pay any attention to the watch all day. After another long and enjoyable break on the summit, we headed down Ranger/Gregory. It was great catching up with Dave and I miss having him around to run with.

Saturday, 09/11/10

S. Boulder Peak/Bear Peak

After spending the morning having breakfast with Allison and helping her out some (she is back at the hospital and will be there until the twins arrive), I headed home, rounded up Sierra and headed over to the S. Mesa TH. There was a sign immediately warning of rattlesnakes on the trail, but what trail(s)? There are often times signs posted warning of bears, lions, snakes etc…. but I never see them. Well, almost never. ~1/4 of the way up Shadow Canyon, I heard an odd, but unsettling noise that instantaneously threw up the red flag. At first is sounded like some sort of hiss, but a quick glance down to my left revealed a ~4 foot rattlesnake, 1 foot away on the side of the trail in strike position. My primal instincts kicked in and I jumped back with a massive surge of adrenaline and yelled at Sierra to stop. I was surprised by the sound of my shaky voice. I put her on leash and wrapped it around my hand tightly, only giving her about 1’ of slack. This was my first up close encounter on the trails with a rattlesnake and though I was initially scared shitless, my fear quickly morphed into fascination.  The snake took it’s sweet time on the trail and I eventually became impatient and wanted to extract Sierra and I from the situation. From a safe distance, I tossed a few very small pebbles at it, just to get it moving, which worked, but not before some rattling and posturing. We made SoBo in a very pokey 1:12 after lots of water stops, backtracking to wait on Sierra and the rattlesnake delay with subsequent storytelling and warning fellow hikers. It was an amazing day, so we spent ~10 minutes on each summit before heading back. 2:30 for the RT.

Sunday, 09/12/10

Green Mountain with Brandon, up Gregory/Ranger at a mellow pace, then down the front going easy.  I paused at the NE ridge cutoff and presented the option of heading down to the 1st Flatiron route, but Brandon let out a big sigh which I took as a no.  Halfway down I got a call to fetch a prescription from the soon to close Walgreens and had to pick up the pace a bit.  41:03 up, ??:?? down.  It was pretty warm still and I am almost ready for cooler days (slightly cooler).

Unrelated to running, but I got a kick out of the BonerTron EX-100 on the wall in the hospital rooms.

Weekly Summary August 30-September 5th

The last week has been a bit of a whirlwind and I have involuntarily missed out on running in the hills on several perfect final days of summer. At 30 weeks gestation, Allison is having an increasingly difficult time carrying twins and we have made several planned and un-planned trips to the hospital over the past few days, where she is now admitted on strict bed rest and being monitored closely.  The girls are doing great and Allison is stable, so we'll keep our fingers crossed and take it day to day. 

Free time and available time to work on my long and ever increasing list of things to do has been cut significantly short, as I try to balance day to day life duties, taking care of Allison and preparing for the girls arrival. Each day, I naively think that I will be able to carve out a 90 minute slot to go run a peak in Boulder, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to fit in and justify while there are so many other more important things to do and while Allison needs me the most. High mountain trips are most surely a thing of the past, at least until next year (this is very (EXTREMELY!!!) painful on these perfect bluebird final days of summer).


As outdoor adventures decrease over the coming weeks/months, so will my updates on this blog, but, this past spring I started a new blog about our journey of raising twins, so feel free to follow our progress there:


http://www.twinvalliere.blogspot.com/

I have not updated the new blog very often, but hope to when there is more to post (if I can squeeze it in).

Anyways, a brief weekly summary:

Monday: Off due to social/dinner obligations

Tuesday: Green. Up/down front.  39:58 up (legs felt tired and it was hot, so I walked mostly and jogged a few of the flatter sections, maybe 5-7 minutes of total running). Easy down, 29 minutes.

Wednesday: S. Boulder and Bear in the morning with Sierra. Started around 9am and Sierra was already hot on the approach and was busy sniffing/marking, so the pace was pretty relaxed, mostly a hike for her sake, but it was fun being out.  2.5 hours total.

Thursday: Off (spent an unplanned 9 hours at the hospital)

Friday: Off, a no can do, between errands, assembling a crib, hospital trips and stuff around the house, running was not even an option, but being that busy actually provided more of a workout than had I only run Green, then caught up on blogs all day.

Saturday: Spent the morning at the hospital, then spent the afternoon shopping for/picking up a new dresser (then spent an un-planned 2+ hours assembling said dresser (the only work I was spared was actually cutting the trees and extracting/machining the metals)). In the evening, I ended up forcing myself to get out the door and take Sierra up Bear. It was hot to start, but was nice and cool up high as the sun set.  I was itching to get over to SoBo also, but knew that would leave me finishing in the dark and I needed to get back to the hospital.  Though my legs felt great and I was raring to just rip it up and down, we took it easy and drank plenty of water. 43 up/38 down.  I need to get one of those swell Fenix lights as the days get shorter.

Sunday:  Green Mountain from Chautauqua via 1st/2nd Flatiron.  Pushed a bit on the up, 39:59, then moderate on the down in 26.  It was a bit too hot to be pushing and I was drowning in my pflegm.

Saturday, 08/28/10 "Lakawanna Peak" (13,823)

“Lackawanna Peak” (13,823)
08/28/10
6.6 miles/3,323 vertical
Partners: Dave and Emily Hale, Sierra, Shep, Kiefer
Ascent: NW Ridge
Descent: Lakawanna Gulch

“Lakawanna”, my last Sawatch Centennial has somewhat eluded me for a while. I have had numerous trips to the vicinity over the past few years, where I had hoped to zip up it and back via the S. Slopes route while passing through and even attempted it back in July, late one afternoon after a run on La Plata (bailed early on because of storms). Fortunately, plans solidified with Dave and Emily late in the week and the stage was set.

Sierra and I left the house at 4:35am and after a 10 minute stop in Twin Lakes, we made it to the TH around 7:15am, made our final preparations and were on the trail by 7:28am. I did a little bit of research on this route which entailed skimming the guidebook and glancing at a map, but it seemed very straight forward and intuitive. We missed the first ‘turn’ after .2 miles and went just a bit further and eventually realized our minor error. The creek crossing was easy here and we soon found what we thought might have been the correct old and faded mining road. We followed it for a few minutes and realized that it was leading us somewhat astray, so we just headed East up Lakawanna Gulch on the N. side of the creek for a short while on a well worn game trail, until it seemed appropriate to cross to the S. side in search of the proper dirt road.

After crossing the creek, we soon came across the proper road, followed it for a few short minutes and after a bit of debating which may be the best way, attacked the fall line through the woods to gain the Northwest Ridge. The bushwhack up the ridge was steep, yet fun and easy at the same time. Treeline appeared before long and the views opened up before us on this perfect morning. We took our time working our way up the ridge, going an easy pace and enjoying ourselves as we caught up on summer trips and happenings.

Before long, the angle of the ridge receded and made for enjoyable tundra walking, with a bit of boulder hopping mixed in along the way. We stopped for a long break on Pt. 13,660, taking in the views and I was surprised at how distant the true summit of Lakawanna appeared, but knew that it would be a quicker and easier trip than it initially appeared.

A few false summits later, we were standing on the true summit at 10:09am. We spent about a half hour on top, enjoying the amazing views, chatting it up, taking pictures and eating. I really missed having Allison along more than any time this summer and this summit seemed bittersweet, as it was so enjoyable, but was a bit incomplete at the same time. The potential for this to be my last, or one of my last high mountain outings before the twins are born also weighed heavily on my conscience, along with the obvious signs of fall made the trip even that much more poignant.

We decided to make a nice loop out of the hike and descend Lakawanna Gulch. Dropping off from the saddle into the gulch was steep and loose, but pretty short and once below the headwall, it was a very scenic and enjoyable stroll. We stopped a few times to let the dogs frolic in the few remaining snow patches and play in the water along the way. The willows in the valley looked daunting, but we stayed somewhat high on the South side of the valley, often just above the willows, following some convenient game trails that always led us in the proper direction.

Once at treeline, we found a very nice path, passed a few cabins and we were soon back on the dirt road, thus closing our loop. We followed the lower section of the road that we had skipped in the morning, came to the creek and were thankful we crossed a short ways above, as it was wider here with very few rocks to cross on. Dave made it across mostly dry, but it being minutes from the car, I just splashed through, not even trying to stay dry. It felt great. Another great day out with Dave, Emily and the dogs.

Steep, my favorite.

Sierra was the climbing champ this day, there was no way to match her pace.

Sierra leading to a false summit.

Another false summit.  Fall is apparent.

Some of the best summit views around.

Queen of the mountains.

My best Halladay impression.

Heading down.

SNOW!!!!!

ZOOOOOOOM!!!!

Scrubble gulley.

Unusual area of sand at 13,000 feet.

Marooned.

Cooling off.

Friday, 08/27/10 Longs Peak

Longs Peak
08/27/10
Jeff Valliere and Dan Mottinger

On a whim yesterday, I decided to plan a run up Longs Peak. I sent out a few e-mails to a few potential, but unlikely candidates and coincidentally, I got an e-mail from Dan inviting me on a run next week, so I threw out the invite to him and he was game.

After a bathroom stop at the TH, Dan got a bit of a head start while I drove down the road to park the car and finish getting ready. I got on the trail a bit after 7am and was feeling a bit sluggish from a poor night sleep and my legs were not at all zippy.

I plugged along, having doubts about even getting to the summit, as I was feeling a little less than optimum and the tree tops were rustling in the wind. Though it was warm, the breezy and clear conditions seemed to me to be a harbinger of the quickly approaching Fall season.

My plan was to surpass my 1:52 ascent PR from 2005, then push hard on the descent and take some time off of our previous 1:26 descent (Homie and I) which was quick, but somewhat casual as we had chatted the whole way down.  I was very doubtful on the ascent portion, but was confident that I could rally and make up a bunch of minutes on that descent time.

Above treeline and approaching Granite Pass, the headwind was picking up to an annoying level, adding a bit to the physical/mental effort, so I soon stopped to add my windbreaker, gloves and get my hat handy.

The “trail” through the Boulder Field was a little tedious and not conducive to fast running, but I was moving pretty well and made quick work to the Keyhole. At the Keyhole, I was surprised to see that I was a minute or so ahead of PR pace, but was discouraged to see how many people there were picking their way along the route (vs. just a few people in 2005). I politely picked my way past nervous newbies, clinging to the rock and made descent time, but at a few choke points, there was no good way around and I was forced to wait. Also, in the trough, I made OK time, but I was constantly on alert for falling rocks, as there were so many people slipping/sliding their way up down, but fortunately, not a one was dislodged. I pushed hard along the Narrows and then wormed my way through the queues of people on the Homestretch and topped out in 1:51:59, about even with my previous PR. I think I would have taken a little more off without the crowds, but considering I did not feel very strong on the ascent, I took it as a positive.

On the summit, somebody relayed a message to me that Dan (who had ascended the N. Face route/Old Cables route) had topped out and already started down. I was confused, as I had not seen him on the Keyhole route and figured he must have changed his mind and descended the way he came. It was sunny, calm and not yet crowded on top, so I took the time to explore around the summit a bit and relaxed for while enjoying the views and the company of a few fellow hikers. It was such a nice day, I was in no hurry to run down.

The Homestretch is easy on the ascent, but I only fully trust about half of my foot placements coming down, as the rocks have been mostly worn smooth.  Even though the rock was perfectly dry, I was very careful and deliberate through here and took my time all the way back to the Keyhole, going quick when I could, but cautious when I had to. Negotiating the rocks through the Boulderfield, I never really got into a good rhythm, but still did OK with it, no accidents or mishaps at least. Once on the trail, I picked up the pace a little, but often times caught myself being overly cautious due to the technical nature of the trail and my ankles were a little sore for some reason. For the majority of the descent, I was just cruising along, never really pushing, just enjoying the run really.

I made it back to the TH, to find Dan who was already finished and learned that we had unwittingly passed each other on the Keyhole route, probably on the Homestretch where it was particularly crowded and we were focused on the rock. Funny.

So, I managed to scrape a few seconds off of my PR from 2005, but it was essentially and identical run, which I was quite happy with considering the crowds and my lack of commitment once I started and felt myself struggling a bit. My thoughts of getting this run closer to 3 hours I realize might be a real pipe dream, unless I experiment with the old Cables route, which I can’t ever see myself doing. So, for now, 3:18 on two occasions is about all I can muster up.

Ascent Splits:

Start: 0:00
Goblin CG: 13:38
BoulderField: 1:08?
Keyhole: 1:20
Trough: 1:30
Narrows: 1:42?
Summit: 1:51:59

Descent Splits:


Summit: 0:00
Keyhole: 31:??
BoulderField: 41ish
Finish: 1:26:28

RT: 3:18:27

Thursday, 08/26/10 Bear Peak, S. Boulder Peak

Took Sierra out for some exercise, went super easy, hiking mostly, up Fern from Cragmoor (Sierra was dogging it and I was happy to do the same).  The raspberries are ripe for the picking on SoBo, so I spent a good amount of time getting my fill.  Nice morning, felt good to just hike with the dog.

Tuesday, 08/24/10 Bear Peak

After an involved trip to the dentist to have two fillings replaced and a crown put on, I was close to home and it was still somewhat early.  With the cooler weather today, I decided to include Sierra, as she has been cooped up lately and called Tim at the last minute.

We met at the Cragmoor TH at 4:30pm and started off at a casual, but somewhat labored pace as I was still tight from my previous nights grudge run up/down Green Mountain and was preoccupied with my still novacained mouth and tongue.

A short ways up the Fern Canyon trail, we jumped off (left) onto the Slab access trail and took that to the upper/back side of the Slab.  From there, we scampered up a steep spine of broken rock ledge and talus on the East face, nearly to the summit, where we found a lightly used access trail to the main trail just ~200 feet from the top.  I have done this "route" a handful of times, but it was new for Tim.  I could tell he was wondering where the heck I was leading him and was thinking we might spend the night out, kind of like our Winter Longs Peak trip last year.

1:06 up
???? down

Tuesday, 08/23/10 Green Mountain, 3 new PRs

All day at work, I was itching to get outside for a run and blow off some steam, more mental than physical, but I could tell that my body was revved up too.


I decided to run the front side of Green, the standard Amphi/Saddle/Greenman route and I was thankful that it was reasonably cool from the afternoon clouds/rain. I put on my headphones and cranked up the music (something I never do) and I was off. Though a little heavy and tired, my legs were reluctantly doing what I asked of them and I was surprised to be flowing up the hill in a state determination unlike anything I have felt in a long time. A few minutes in, I knew it could be a good run and I was now committed to a hard effort. My time splits were decent, but I knew I would have to keep the effort very high to compensate for the increasingly fading legs and it became a war between my brain and my body. I was spitting, snotting and making all kinds of noises, not caring at all since I was the only one out there and I was in my own cocoon of loud music and suffering. I had nothing to lose. On and on I went, knowing that any minute I could blow, just one ill-timed breath or foot placement might have done me in.

Finally, I tagged the summit and collapsed in a heap, a new PR by 11 seconds. It is not much, but it meant a lot to me and the sheer physical effort, coupled with the PR boosted my spirits immensely. Still jacked up from the high, I turned around and headed back the way I came, putting similar effort into the descent as the ascent. Despite wearing treadless road shoes, I was so dialed and on it, I found that I was minutes ahead of normal pace at my usual checks. I was going for broke down the hill pouring everything I had into it, hitting every step, every turn, leaping off every rock with once in a blue moon precision and accuracy. About 2/3’s of the way down, it began to rain, which felt great, but slowed me considerably on the now slippery trail, compounded by the slick shoes. I still pushed though and made it back to the TH in what I suspect to be a new PR for me as well.  A PR on the RT too on that route.

Splits:

Gregory TH: 0:00
Top of Amphi: 6:10
Overlook: 14:03
Greenman: 18:19
Summit: 32:24
Descent: 19:26
RT: 51:50

Saturday, 08/21/10 Pikes Peak Ascent

13.32 miles
7,815 vertical

Well, what can I say, another Pikes Peak Ascent has come and gone and yet again I failed to meet, what I felt to be, my realistic and attainable goals. I did not necessarily have a bad day, nor did I have a very good day. Everything indicated to me that I was ready to match or beat my PR of 2:46:10 from 2006, as my fitness was as good or better overall this year as it has ever been, I had no injuries and I deliberately avoided the majority of the pre-race hype as to not get too psyched up mentally and went into the race with a relatively laid back attitude. I ran 25 14ers in the preceding months, 106 trips up Green Mountain in Boulder, a handful of 13ers, 175 peaks in all with a total of 465,000 vertical feet, tapered well, slept well prior to the race, ate well etc….

One moment I am accepting of this, the next moment it stings a little bit, as I have developed a true love/hate relationship with the race. I often times question what it is I love so much about Pikes Peak and why I keep coming back despite the radically mixed emotions I feel. Maybe the camaraderie? The training and anticipation? Having a goal for the year? The excitement of the race itself? All of the above?

Though I know better, I have trouble avoiding the pitfalls of judging my entire year on one morning in August and associate a disproportionate amount of athletic self worth on this one race. I know there is much more to it than that. I run mountains almost every day simply because that is what I love to do most and I never run a step because I feel I have to, it is always because I love to. Pikes or no Pikes, I would be out doing the exact same things year round. I do truly consider myself to be fortunate to be able to run up and enjoy high peaks. In the overall big picture of my life, it is a minor irritant, but since these outdoor pursuits are such a major part of my life, I can’t help but to let it affect me, good or bad.

Despite not living up to my race day expectations, I did have a great time. The weather was perfect and I got to enjoy the company of many good friends and even make some new friends. I could try to dissect the race more, my training leading up the race, my motivation, expectations and perceptions vs. reality, but I have done that enough times. It is what it is.

It might sound like a cop out, but increasingly, I feel that Pikes just might not be the ideal race course for me or suit my strengths (whatever they are?). I also only race a few times per year and though I often times fancy myself racing more often and getting better at it, the truth of the matter is that I really don’t race more because I am just not that into racing. There I said it. The days I spend running in the mountains by myself or with a few friends leading up to a race or any other time of the year are FAR more enjoyable to me than the race itself.

I am not sure if I will be back for the Pikes Peak Ascent next year, as Allison and I are expecting twins this fall. I am very much looking forward to this new chapter in my life and don’t yet know how much that will impact my running, but I expect that it will a lot!


A brief overview of the race:

After a great Spaghetti dinner and a good night’s sleep (dinner and accommodations provided by Hoot and his wife Cindy, thanks Hoot!), Nate and I arrived at Memorial Park before 5:30am and scored an excellent parking spot with a view of the park, which made for convenient trips to the bathroom and a good feeling of not missing out on anything.

I took several productive trips to the porta johns and took my time eating and getting ready. I was antsy and a little nervous, but felt as though I had a good mindset and perspective and had a strong sense of confidence that I was as ready as ever for this day. We finally left the car a bit after 6:30am to head over to the start line, where we bumped into many good friends and acquaintances. I milled about for a bit, having brief exchanges, but my mind was elsewhere. I feigned a warm up, running back and forth up and down the road with the other runners, but it was really just some jogging around, debating one last pee.

My plan was to not go out too hard, so I placed myself accordingly, two or three rows back, but in the last minutes, it got really crowded up front and I found myself virtually in the 7th or 8th row, feeling a bit swamped. As the race started, the front runners took it out very hard, but I just did my best to stay upright in the crowd and work my way through those who had placed themselves incorrectly at the start line and held what I felt to be a good pace. As we turned onto Ruxton Ave. and the road tilted up, it was tempting to up the tempo and pick people off, but I knew that would of course be a bad move, expending so much energy so early in the race, so I just kept my HR and breathing under control, took short steps on the steeper stuff and slowly and non-deliberately began to pick my way past people along the way through the W’s.

I was working hard, but I felt good and the pace at no point felt un-sustainable and was confident that I could maintain that or more all the way to the top. On the “flattish” rolling section to Barr Camp, I passed a few people and a few people passed me, but I felt as though I were holding my own pretty well. Though I always want to do more passing than I want to get passed, I was not overly concerned specifically about placement, as there were so many fast people ahead. I knew if I stuck to what felt to be the right pace for me at the time, I would be better off in the long run, vs. trying to directly compete with whomever I was running near at the time. This worked great, until Barr Camp.

Beyond Barr Camp, there was no one point where I felt like the wheels came off and had I been alone, I might have felt better about how I was running, but I soon began to notice people creeping up on me. One here, two there, another one, then three. I lost count. Each time I thought to myself ‘this is it, this one can go by, but no more, that is all’, but of course I had no choice. No matter how I sliced it, it was taking a bit of mental toll. I walked some of the steeper steps on the switchbacks before the A-Frame and spent a bit of time sucking down my now 3rd gel, kidding myself that I was only walking to eat and drink, but deep down, I knew I was in a bit of trouble.

My time split at the A-Frame indicated that I was still on track to come close to PR if I could really pull it together and I actually felt a little better above tree line, mentally and for a short while, physically. I had been playing a bit of leap frog with a racer from Slovenia since before the rock arch early in the race and he was slowly creeping up on me again. I did not really care all that much, until he cut a switchback, and in an instant closed in significantly. I pointed out his mistake to him, but my comments went seemingly un-noticed. Soon after, he did it again, and I made mention that this was not an open course. No response. Before I knew it, he had done it 2 more times and was now moving ahead and I was a bit pissed at the nerve of this guy. Whenever we were moving along equal ground, I would gain on him and even passed him back at one point, but sticking to the trail proved to be no match for cutting switchbacks, as he continued to do all the way to the summit.

Over the final mile or so, my determination was fading and was really just ready to be done with it, as I knew that I was falling far short of my goal and what little fight I had left was fading quickly. Though I did not feel terrible, I was just not producing the power I knew that I should be and was walking more than I care to admit. I forced myself to run as much as I could, as I knew I was going to get some much welcomed flack from George, Homie, Justin and Scott (an 8 time winner no less). Their cheers boosted me a bit over the final section and I just squeaked in before 2 guys who were charging hard up the final section (one who I later found out was Jim P setting a 10 minute PR for himself, congrats Jim!!, well done!). Had the race continued on another few hundred yards, they would have passed me for sure.

I spent about 40 minutes on the summit, reporting the wayward Slovenian to the race timing crew (not sure if it did any good though, as I still see his name in the standings), chatting with friends and fellow competitors and just enjoying the nice day and the fact that I was finished, regardless of the outcome. The shuttle down the mountain was efficient and I was pleased to ride on the bus with Jim Mallory, whose conversation made the always long trip down go by much quicker.

As always, the race was run extremely well and I want to express my gratitude to all of the volunteers, SAR and the race organization. This race is a model in which all other races should follow. I also appreciate the timely and almost live results, awesome!

Oh, of course, can’t forget my splits/results:

Results:

8/154 in the 35-39 age group
53/1166 out of all males
65/1716 total participants

Splits:

Ruxton: 3:00
Hydro: 9:07
Top of Ws: 30:28
No Name: 45:08
Barr Camp: 1:20
BP turn: 1:34
A Frame Aid: 1:58 (2:01 at the sign?)
Summit: 2:56:11

Thursday, 08/19/10 Green Mountain

Same format as yesterday, except I opted for the Ranger Trail, as I had Sierra with me.  This outing was more for Sierra than for me, as she has not been out for a few days.  Started at 8:23am under cloudy skys that soon turned to intermittent soft fainfall.  I went easier than yesterday, topping out in 30 minutes on a shorter route (I probably hiked 40-50% of the up and the rest was the lightest jog I could muster).  Very easy on the down too, jogged and walked mostly.

30 up
?? down (forgot to look at the watch and stopped for a while to pick red raspberries).

Wednesday, 08/18/10 Green Mountain

I wanted to keep my run shorter today to conform with my very loose and unscientific taper plan.  I debated between Sanitas and my old taper standby, Flagstaff.  Sanitas is too hot and a bit steeper than I prefer for tapering and Flagstaff is not my favorite, as it crosses the road many times and is not particularly exciting and lacks a distinct summit.

It took me years to figure this out, but I came up with the last minute idea to drive up Flag to the turnoff and run Green from the halfway point to keep things mellow.

I ran down to the Ranger Cabin, then took Greenman all the way to the summit.  It was relatively cool and my legs, mind and body were feeling top notch.  Though I was raring to go, I went SUPER easy, just lightly jogging the gentle grade to the summit and took it really easy on the down.

29:50 up
23 down

Monday, 08/16/10 Green Mountain

Up Gregory Ranger/Down Greenman/Saddle/Amphi

The plan for the day was to take it mellow, just roll with how I felt and not push too hard.  I started off at a very mellow effort, but my time check at the cabin was a surprising 16:02 and I was putting nothing into it.  Then I was 19:32 at the next junction, 24:38 at the flat spot on the ridge, near PR pace I think and I was still going pretty mellow, moderate at most.  I literally had to force myself to back off a bit, as I don't need to be setting a PR so close to my racing highlight of the year.  Made the summit in 37 and change, just as a strong storm was bearing down.  I tagged the top and immidiately started cruising the descent, hoping I could get to the car before the worst of it.  There was some good flashing and banging, but luckily nothing too close.  About half way down, steady rain turned to torrential downpour and I had a blast sloshing in the creek that is usually trail.  Made it down in 21 despite the poor conditions (or because of).

Saturday, 08/14/10 Grays and Torreys

My sister Darcie came to visit for a few days and instead of going to Leadville to cheer on Lance as originally planned (Lance decided not to race), plan B was a 14er or two.  With perfect weather and the company of Nate, Brandon and Sierra, Darcie successfully summitted her first and second 14ers and did an awesome job, having only been in Colorado for a day since travelling here from sea level.  I am so proud of her.
Instead of writing more, I'll just post a few pictures from the day:

Nate, Rock Star, me

Nate (who is not pooping), Rock Star

Sierra

Sasquatch or Rock Star?

CROWDED!!

Nate and Darcie

Nate, Sierra, Darcie on Grays

Darcie, me, Nate on Grays

Darcie and I on Torreys

Nate and I at the saddle

Anthill

Oh, and for Lucho, we saw a Wolf hybrid on Pearl St. the following day.  It seemed more Malamute in the face/eyes/head, but the body was Wolf without a doubt.  Either way, a beautiful animal (very friendly too).

Friday, 08/13/10 RMNP

Took my sister Darcie up to RMNP along with Allison.  Walked around Bear Lake, then to Alberta Falls and a little beyond.  Was dreaming of climbing Longs, maybe next week.....

Thursday, 08/12/10 Green Mountain

With Brandon and GZ for most of the way up Gregory/Old Trail/Ranger, down Ranger/Greenman/Saddle/Amphi.  Bumped into GZ again, Tim, Lucho, then Tony.

46 up
?? down