This is just too awesome:
This one is pretty good too:
Sierra
Sierra
Friday, May 13, 2011
Thursday, 05/12/11 Bear/S. Boulder Peak
(Edit: I wanted to post this yesterday before dinner, but Blogger has been crapped out until just now)
Allison's mom and dad offered to come watch the twins so we could get out for most of the day on our own, so we jumped at the opportunity. Headed up Bear and S. Boulder via the Homestead Trail since we had Sierra and took it super easy. It was raining, but we were excited to get up higher and see the fresh snow that had been falling on the peaks and it was a great day for picture taking. As soon as we started to see snow at around 6,500 feet, Sierra became a puppy again and went absolutely nuts once we got into the deeper stuff. I am guessing there was 8-10 inches of very wet and slushy snow (if it had been cold fluffy snow there probably would have been around 2 feet). I was quite pleased to have made first tracks on both peaks, even at the late hour of ~3pm.
Tested a new pair of (not yet available) Saucony Progrid Razor 2 shoes that I picked up the previous day (perfect timing). Hands down the best shoes I have ever used for these conditions, amazing traction, comfortable, nimble, stable, great rock protection and the E-vent outer layer/gaiter kept my feet perfectly dry after submerging them is slush and creeks all day.
I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story....
I love this stuff...
Never has a dog been happier
These shoes rock
Plenty of trailbreaking to be had, my favorite
Pounce
Leap
Sprint
Bear Peak
Sierra taking in the views on Bear
Shortcut on the West side of Bear
Looking toward start of Bear W. Ridge
SoBo
If anyone at Saucony wants some great promo shots, I have a few
Allison taking care to not break a shin
We were very lucky to get a few minutes of cloud parting. Simply epic.
Starr Peak and Lucho's house
Bear Peak making a brief appearance.
Allison's mom and dad offered to come watch the twins so we could get out for most of the day on our own, so we jumped at the opportunity. Headed up Bear and S. Boulder via the Homestead Trail since we had Sierra and took it super easy. It was raining, but we were excited to get up higher and see the fresh snow that had been falling on the peaks and it was a great day for picture taking. As soon as we started to see snow at around 6,500 feet, Sierra became a puppy again and went absolutely nuts once we got into the deeper stuff. I am guessing there was 8-10 inches of very wet and slushy snow (if it had been cold fluffy snow there probably would have been around 2 feet). I was quite pleased to have made first tracks on both peaks, even at the late hour of ~3pm.
Tested a new pair of (not yet available) Saucony Progrid Razor 2 shoes that I picked up the previous day (perfect timing). Hands down the best shoes I have ever used for these conditions, amazing traction, comfortable, nimble, stable, great rock protection and the E-vent outer layer/gaiter kept my feet perfectly dry after submerging them is slush and creeks all day.
I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story....
I love this stuff...
Never has a dog been happier
These shoes rock
Plenty of trailbreaking to be had, my favorite
Pounce
Leap
Sprint
Bear Peak
Sierra taking in the views on Bear
Shortcut on the West side of Bear
Looking toward start of Bear W. Ridge
SoBo
If anyone at Saucony wants some great promo shots, I have a few
Allison taking care to not break a shin
We were very lucky to get a few minutes of cloud parting. Simply epic.
Starr Peak and Lucho's house
Bear Peak making a brief appearance.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
05/08/11 Weekly Wrap Up
Monday 05/02/11: Work, fixing bikes and juggling babies all got in the way.
Tuesday 05/03/11: 6.2 miles/44:04/112 vertical.
Snuck in a 6.2 miler on the way home on the Coal Creek path, as it was that or nothing. Mentally I had hopes of clicking off some low 6 minute miles with the new Garmin 305, but I quickly learned that a new watch does not make you run this stuff like Justin, George or Lucho. With no warm up, I started pushing a little right off the bat and my knees kind of hurt (from recent downhilling I think?), connective tissue in my lower right leg was feeling sore, I had some phantom pain in my left hip and of course my right achilles was acting up, more so than it had in a while. ~6:45-ish pace felt really easy from a conditioning standpoint, but my aches and pains were really messing with my head and I was having a terrible time. With each passing mile, my outlook and pace degraded and I was just forcing it, especially after I ran out of trail and found myself knick knacking along a road, an incomplete concrete path and then through a school bus parking area/pavement incineration factory.
Garmin data.
Wednesday 05/04/11: Green Mountain up/down Amphi/Saddle/Greenman. 4.04 miles/2,281 vert./59:40 RT (35:19 up/24:21 down.
After my lame run the day before, I was questioning taking more time off to bike, but the call of Green was too strong. Short on time, I opted for the front side. Oddly, my achilles felt great and I pushed a bit harder than I have been doing as of late, nothing gut busting, but a solid workout. Took the descent pretty easy as my downhill conditioning/confidence is taking a while to come back. This run just felt awesome in every way.
Also tested the Hoka Bondi B for the first time on a technical trail after trading e-mails with GZ and Justin the day before and am contemplating using them for the PPM as Dave has suggested. They felt really light, accurate and solid on the up, much more so than the Mafate, but I question how stable they will be ripping downhill and if traction will be sufficient for the lower Barr Trail. The verdict is still out, but they are in the running with the La Sportiva Crosslite 2.0 and the Montrail Rogue Racer.
Garmin data.
Thursday 05/05/11: Green Mountain up/down Gregory/Ranger. 5.28 miles/2,355 vertical/2:36 RT (1:25 up/1:10 down).
Family day on Green. I carried Isabelle, Allison carried Amelie and Sierra led the way. Very easy up and down with lot's of stops and a long break on the summit. The girls really seemed to enjoy it and the warmer weather felt great, made it feel very relaxed. This was Amelie's first trip up Green and Isabelle's second (her first trip was back in January when it was snowy/icy).
Garmin data.
In the afternoon, I mowed the lawn and wore the Garmin, .81 miles in 38 or so minutes. My PR for this route is in the low 20's though (this was the first mow of the year and was slow with raking and picking up dog poop).
Garmin mowing data.
Tuesday 05/03/11: 6.2 miles/44:04/112 vertical.
Snuck in a 6.2 miler on the way home on the Coal Creek path, as it was that or nothing. Mentally I had hopes of clicking off some low 6 minute miles with the new Garmin 305, but I quickly learned that a new watch does not make you run this stuff like Justin, George or Lucho. With no warm up, I started pushing a little right off the bat and my knees kind of hurt (from recent downhilling I think?), connective tissue in my lower right leg was feeling sore, I had some phantom pain in my left hip and of course my right achilles was acting up, more so than it had in a while. ~6:45-ish pace felt really easy from a conditioning standpoint, but my aches and pains were really messing with my head and I was having a terrible time. With each passing mile, my outlook and pace degraded and I was just forcing it, especially after I ran out of trail and found myself knick knacking along a road, an incomplete concrete path and then through a school bus parking area/pavement incineration factory.
Garmin data.
Wednesday 05/04/11: Green Mountain up/down Amphi/Saddle/Greenman. 4.04 miles/2,281 vert./59:40 RT (35:19 up/24:21 down.
After my lame run the day before, I was questioning taking more time off to bike, but the call of Green was too strong. Short on time, I opted for the front side. Oddly, my achilles felt great and I pushed a bit harder than I have been doing as of late, nothing gut busting, but a solid workout. Took the descent pretty easy as my downhill conditioning/confidence is taking a while to come back. This run just felt awesome in every way.
Also tested the Hoka Bondi B for the first time on a technical trail after trading e-mails with GZ and Justin the day before and am contemplating using them for the PPM as Dave has suggested. They felt really light, accurate and solid on the up, much more so than the Mafate, but I question how stable they will be ripping downhill and if traction will be sufficient for the lower Barr Trail. The verdict is still out, but they are in the running with the La Sportiva Crosslite 2.0 and the Montrail Rogue Racer.
Garmin data.
Thursday 05/05/11: Green Mountain up/down Gregory/Ranger. 5.28 miles/2,355 vertical/2:36 RT (1:25 up/1:10 down).
Family day on Green. I carried Isabelle, Allison carried Amelie and Sierra led the way. Very easy up and down with lot's of stops and a long break on the summit. The girls really seemed to enjoy it and the warmer weather felt great, made it feel very relaxed. This was Amelie's first trip up Green and Isabelle's second (her first trip was back in January when it was snowy/icy).
Garmin data.
In the afternoon, I mowed the lawn and wore the Garmin, .81 miles in 38 or so minutes. My PR for this route is in the low 20's though (this was the first mow of the year and was slow with raking and picking up dog poop).
Garmin mowing data.
Allison and Amelie
Longs Peak
Allison's new Hokas
Still plenty of snow in the high country.
Venison anyone?
"Keep searching, we will eventually stumble upon something rare and endangered. We can tweak our findings to prove that dogs and trail runners that pass within a mile, are threatening their very existence"
Soon I will be out there on the peaks looking like this.....
Friday, 05/06/11 Boulder Creek Path 7.43 miles/413 vert./1:00:22
I had to run an errand on Pearl St., so I brought the Chariot and we got in a nice run. We went up the path until it ended, crossed Boulder Canyon and started up a steep dirt road, but turned around because of all the threatening private property signs. Bummer, I was looking for more. We then spent a little time on Pearl Street checking out the tulips which was fun. The attention they get while out in busy public places can be a little overwhelming and a bit awkward. I am flattered by the adoration, but by nature, I tend to prefer flying under the radar for the most part and just try to give a smile and a friendly nod, as we just can't stop and chat with everyone who takes interest. "Are they Identical?" Yes. "Do they run in the family?" (code for "did you do IVF?") They do now (and no IVF).
Saturday, 05/07/11 8.82 miles/3,552 vertical/2:05:28
Full of excuses.....
I was eager to get out and enjoy the warmth, but by the time I finally got out at almost 2pm, it seemed almost too hot. I thought I felt decent and was motivated to run my Bear/SoBo/Green route from the previous week and lob a big chunk of time off, as I did not go particularly fast last time. From Cragmoor, I headed up Bear which became a bit of a slog. Although I thought I was moving well, my splits were indicating otherwise and I lost a bit of motivation and topped out on Bear in a lackluster 44 minutes. I did not linger, as the summit was swarmed in little black flies (fortunately they do no bite, but were pesky regardless). I was tentative downclimbing the West side cliffs, as I had sweat in my eyes and was pre-occupied with the bugs. Once on the trail, I felt as though I had two left feet, compounded by the fact I was wearing an untested pair of shoes that I was reviewing that I don't think are that stable.
SoBo was even buggier than Bear, so I got out of there quickly, and again, I felt sloppy on the downhill. I went ahead and tagged the true summit of Bear again just to make sure I did not miss Brandon, but as I started down the W. side I could see him working his way up the talus field. We chatted and discussed options and ultimately headed down W. Ridge/Bear Canyon. Again, I felt a bit uncoordinated and was not jiving with the shoes and I was hot, but not into my warm water. Then my heel pads started to burn as they were becoming blistered. Nice. I'll give these shoes an F- (another pair from the same brand tore up the back of my heel two days prior). At the Mesa Trail, Brandon went North and I headed South back to Cragmoor and alternated walking with light jogging as my feet/blisters were killing me. By the time I finished, I was glad to be done and glad I had skipped Green.
This week was really up and down, some days really fun and somewhat confidence building and others had me questioning everything running related.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
5/01/11 Weekly Wrap Up
Monday 04/25/11: Local Run 4.1 miles/371 vertical/32:17/7:52min/mile avg.
A bit harder run than the numbers indicate, mostly on narrow trails, a few fences to hop, wind etc....
Tuesday 04/26/11: Work, dinner guests, grocery shopping, baby juggling, no run needless to say.
Wednesday 04/27/11: Green Mountain with Footfeathers. Up back/down front(NE). 4.44 miles/2,309 vert/1:06 moving time (43up). Easy run mostly with a few moments of moderate. Good to catch up with Tim. I accidentally hit start on my 305 while loading the data, hence the long stupid straight line on the map.
Garmin Stats
Thursday 04/28/11: Baby jogger run. 7.42 miles/264 vert./55:16/7:26 min/mile pace. Ran from home with the girls in the jogger to have a picnic with Allison at work and then back. They were a bit fussy which had me pushing the pace at times and the return trip was uncomfortable as my stomach was tanked with lunch. My stats would be a bit better, but about 3/4 of a mile of this route was on narrow bumpy singletrack and a bumpy field shortcut where I had to wheelie the jogger and go slow and careful to not jostle them too much. Pace on the road was usually in the mid 6:00 range (when I was not going up a hill) which felt surprisingly reasonable pushing ~65+ lbs. Saw a really cool coyote while cutting through the fancy neighborhood that bisects the Coal Creek Trail. At first I thought is was a dog, then a fox, then it stood up and it was obvious. I stopped to watch it for a while and snapped a few photos and was only ~10 feet from it at first, but then Isabelle's crying made it a bit nervous.
Friday 04/29/11 Green/Bear/SoBo 10.07 miles/4,802 vert./2:34
Got out with "Flat Stanley" (a school project that my niece is working on) and ran him around the Flatirons and over 3 peaks. Was warm in the sun, but then while on the summits, it would cloud up and spit snow and the whole day was windy. Went reasonably casual, stopped to take pictures and such. Did not bring enough water and was pretty parched by the end.
The day was a bit nicer than advertised and although a bit chilly and was spitting snow on the peaks, it was really great to be out. Just cruised this one, never pushing, not lagging too much either.
Garmin Stats
Sunday 05/01/11 Work, then baby party at Chuck E Cheese afterwards. Could use a rest day anyways. If anything changes, I'll pull a GZ and update so you will have to be on your toes and keep coming back several times per day ;).
Overall a decent week and I really enjoyed being able to get out for back to back "long"(er) runs on Friday and Saturday. My achilles was bugging me some on Friday and I was feeling a bit discouraged, then I did not feel it a bit on Saturday, before/during/after my run and felt really encouraged. Unfortunately though, it is a little iffy again on Sunday morning. I vascilate between thinking I am being a whimp and just need to suck it up and get down to "business" and thinking I need to go back to biking for a while. It just varies day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute even, a total head f#%k sometimes.
A bit harder run than the numbers indicate, mostly on narrow trails, a few fences to hop, wind etc....
Tuesday 04/26/11: Work, dinner guests, grocery shopping, baby juggling, no run needless to say.
Wednesday 04/27/11: Green Mountain with Footfeathers. Up back/down front(NE). 4.44 miles/2,309 vert/1:06 moving time (43up). Easy run mostly with a few moments of moderate. Good to catch up with Tim. I accidentally hit start on my 305 while loading the data, hence the long stupid straight line on the map.
Garmin Stats
Thursday 04/28/11: Baby jogger run. 7.42 miles/264 vert./55:16/7:26 min/mile pace. Ran from home with the girls in the jogger to have a picnic with Allison at work and then back. They were a bit fussy which had me pushing the pace at times and the return trip was uncomfortable as my stomach was tanked with lunch. My stats would be a bit better, but about 3/4 of a mile of this route was on narrow bumpy singletrack and a bumpy field shortcut where I had to wheelie the jogger and go slow and careful to not jostle them too much. Pace on the road was usually in the mid 6:00 range (when I was not going up a hill) which felt surprisingly reasonable pushing ~65+ lbs. Saw a really cool coyote while cutting through the fancy neighborhood that bisects the Coal Creek Trail. At first I thought is was a dog, then a fox, then it stood up and it was obvious. I stopped to watch it for a while and snapped a few photos and was only ~10 feet from it at first, but then Isabelle's crying made it a bit nervous.
Friday 04/29/11 Green/Bear/SoBo 10.07 miles/4,802 vert./2:34
Got out with "Flat Stanley" (a school project that my niece is working on) and ran him around the Flatirons and over 3 peaks. Was warm in the sun, but then while on the summits, it would cloud up and spit snow and the whole day was windy. Went reasonably casual, stopped to take pictures and such. Did not bring enough water and was pretty parched by the end.
Me with "Flat Stanley" (although I would name him "Dakota" if it were up to me.....)
Saturday 04/30/11 Bear/SoBo/Green 10.73 miles/4,471 vertical/2:30:01The day was a bit nicer than advertised and although a bit chilly and was spitting snow on the peaks, it was really great to be out. Just cruised this one, never pushing, not lagging too much either.
Garmin Stats
Sunday 05/01/11 Work, then baby party at Chuck E Cheese afterwards. Could use a rest day anyways. If anything changes, I'll pull a GZ and update so you will have to be on your toes and keep coming back several times per day ;).
Overall a decent week and I really enjoyed being able to get out for back to back "long"(er) runs on Friday and Saturday. My achilles was bugging me some on Friday and I was feeling a bit discouraged, then I did not feel it a bit on Saturday, before/during/after my run and felt really encouraged. Unfortunately though, it is a little iffy again on Sunday morning. I vascilate between thinking I am being a whimp and just need to suck it up and get down to "business" and thinking I need to go back to biking for a while. It just varies day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute even, a total head f#%k sometimes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)