Saturday, 07/09/11 Boulder Creek Path

5.56 miles/169 vert./45:41/135 avg HR/8:12 pace Garmin Data

Easy run with the girls, just getting out of the house for some fresh air after a few errands.

Friday, 07/08/11 Green/Bear

9.38 miles/3,825 vert./2:11:29/150 avg. HR Garmin Data

Afternoon run, fairly warm, but not blazing hot at least.  Moderate to casual effort, as my legs were still feeling my Mt. Princeton run (mostly on the downhill though).  I took the descent off of Bear very easy, as my Saucony Kinvara 2's were a little light on rock and toe protection.

Wednesday, 07/06/11 Mt. Princeton

Mt. Princeton, 14,197 ft.
07/06/11
13.29 miles
5,182 vertical
2:58:49 RT (1:53:24 ascent)
165 avg. HR (169 avg. HR for the ascent split)
13:27 min/mile pace
Partners:  Brandon Fuller, Sean O'Day
3rd ascent of Princeton
242nd 14er ascent
Garmin Data



Having worked several holidays, including the 4th of July, I have some PTO to burn and decided to take Wednesday off to go run a 14er for some long overdue Pikes “training”. It had been nearly 11 months since I have been to 14k (or above 8,500 ft.) and have only had 2 casual trips above 13k in June, so I was eager to get up there and see how I felt pushing myself a bit. I knew Brandon was in Leadville for the week, so I asked him to join and he was game. I also sent Sean an invite and he quickly signed on as well.

I left Louisville at 6:51pm and it took me exactly 2 hours to get to Brandon’s house in Leadville. It was raining and storming most of the way, but I did not care as I was so excited to be heading to the mountains and was enjoying listening and laughing to Adam Carolla podcasts. I always get a kick out of leaving the house when it is 80 degrees or more and in less than an hour drive, it is 46 degrees and raining. As much as I enjoy camping, it was comforting to know that I did not have to find a campsite and set up my tent in the dark. Brandon provided excellent accommodations and I slept like a rock on the brand new bed they got the day before.

I was up a little after 5am and we were out the door a bit before 6 for the ~45 minute drive to the TH. We started at 7:01 from the lower trailhead at 8,900 ft., running up the relatively gradual dirt road. Although a conservative start was my intent, my HR felt high and I was slow to find a good groove. After about a half mile, I met Sean as he was descending from his bivy at ~11,000 feet near the radio towers and he jogged with me for a bit, as we exchanged pleasantries, but I was sucking wind a bit and not much into conversation at the time, so he soon opted to wait up for Brandon and warm up for a bit.

After about a mile and a half, I felt as though I was settling into a good rhythm and was completely enjoying the perfect morning and the solitude. I passed Sean’s Jeep a little ways above the radio towers and tossed one of my hand bottles to grab on the return trip. I was amazed at how quickly the valley dropped away below me and what seemed like a significant challenge on the drive in, was becoming absolute nirvana.

Treeline and the immediate turn onto the trail came quickly and I passed two groups of 4 (maybe 6 in the first group?) in quick succession, heading for the summit and got the usual reactions one normally gets from others when running a 14er (awe, disgust, bewilderment, envy, pity). From the junction to the summit, it was just me and I settled in for the long ascending traverse below Tigger Peak and up to the Tigger/Princeton saddle. I made good progress across the talus, always scanning ahead for the most efficient line (but perhaps not always finding it).

The final 800 feet or so was a bit of a slog. I felt decent, but the cumulative effort and altitude were definitely taking it out of me, so I just took it somewhat mellow, saving some in the tank for the long descent. Once on the summit, I was surprised to see a group of 6 or so women huddled in the rock shelter and two other guys who had been on the summit since before sunrise to take pictures. I swallowed a gel as I took a few pictures and was soon on my way.

I descended at a quick, but cautious pace on the uppermost section of mountain, as it is steep and the trail is ill defined with a good bit of loose rock and scree. I passed Sean a few minutes into my descent, then Brandon closer to the saddle. Once below the saddle, the trail improved a bit and I upped the pace accordingly.

Feeling rock solid and as if my feet could do no wrong, I kept the tempo high along the rocky and very technical descending traverse, completely in the zone and could not have felt happier or more alive. Once beyond the technical challenges, I continued to up the pace until I was seeing pretty consistent mid 6 minute mile pace on the watch. My goal was to run the round trip in under 3 hours, but frequent checks of the watch were telling me it was going to be quite close, but my pace or mindset never wavered. Below the towers, my watch said I had 20 minutes to cover 3 miles to achieve my goal and was sure I could do it. I never felt like I was pushing, but was just comfortably flowing, almost as though I were on wheels and sprinted into the lot at 2:58:49. I felt really pumped, but then soon reminded myself that Pikes is twice the distance and I still have a good bit of training to put in if I hope to do well.

I hung out at the car for a bit, eating, drinking and lounging in the shade as I waited for Brandon and Sean to finish. Once they arrived, we chatted for a while and then went out to lunch in Buena Vista.

This was an all time great day in the mountains, a solid run on a perfect day with good friends and no crowds.

Splits:

Radio Towers at 11k:  38:11
Turn off of road to single track at treeline:  59:40
Summit:  1:53:24
Back to road:  2:27
Back to towers:  2:37(38?)
Finish:  2:58:49

About to get into the talus traverse.

Antero from the saddle.

Looks like just minutes to go from the saddle, but was more like 15 or so (I think)

Antero from the summit

Looking West at point 13,971 (debated going to get it)

Looking N. toward Yale, Harvard, Columbia etc...

We were way up there...

Tigger on the left, Princeton way back there to right of center

Zoom shot of summit.

Brandon finishing up

Monday, 07/04/11 Green Mountain

Up middle route, down front 5.2 miles/2,351 vert./1:14:08 (47:42up)/135 avg. HR Garmin Data

Same route as yesterday, but in reverse and I started 30 minutes earlier.  Was debating how hard to push, but decided it would be best to go easy and save it for Wednesday.  The morning was perfect and I was the only one out there, I even went shirtless with split shorts.

Sunday, 07/03/11 The Rest of the Week

On Monday I ran Green with soon to be 8th place at the Leadville Heavy Half Marathon Brandon and felt pretty crappy, I tried to pass it off on the heat or smoke or something, but I was getting sick and was in denial.

Tues:  Nothing, felt lousy, but was still somewhat in denial.

Weds:  Even less, felt a lot worse.  Went home from work early, slept a few hours, ate dinner, then slept 12 hours.

Thurs:  Better in the morning, but felt worse as the day went on.

Fri:  Local 7.51 miles/266 vert./57:13/155 avg. HR/7:37 pace

Low on energy throughout the day, but by 5:00pm or so, cabin fever got the best of me.  Loaded the girls into the Chariot and we headed out despite it being quite warm (fortunately it clouded up soon after we left though which made it tolerable).  We headed out to Harper Lake/Davidson Mesa and even though the first 2 miles were painful, I gradually eased into it and felt OK aside from the froggy throat.

Sat:  Local 10.29 miles/418 vert./1:18:06/159 avg. HR/7:35 pace

Felt motivated to get going early before the heat of the day despite the fact that it meant the girls would have to skip their morning nap, or nap in the jogger.  Took a variety of paths to visit Allison at work and zig zagged all over town.  Went moderate most of the time and hard on occasion, sub 7 whenever it was flattish or downhill, slower if there was even a bit of uphill.  Pushing 70lbs of baby jogger around really adds to the workout and the fun.  The thought of doing similar runs without the jogger is unappealing to me, but having Amelie and Isabelle along make it way more fun.

Sun:  Green Mountain (up front, down middle)

5.15 miles/2,351 vert./1:11:44 (38:55up)/146 avg. HR Garmin Data

It was great to get out early while it was cool and quiet, felt like I had the mountain to myself.  I felt pretty sluggish though from a poor night of sleep and I think my legs were feeling the 2 previous days of pushing the jogger and some residual sickness fatigue.  Walked at least half of the ascent taking it relatively casual (if you can call running up the front side of Green casual).

Met up with GZ on the descent (he was supposed to meet me, but overslept).  Just as well, as I would have been sucking wind and unable to talk on the ascent anyways.  Headed down the mid route at an easy pace and yapped the whole way.  Good to catch up.

Monday, 06/27/11 Green Mountain

Up/Down Front 4.01 miles/2,272 vert./1:01:19 RT (34:21 up) Garmin Data

Met Brandon for a lap on Green today.  The plan was for me to give him a head start, maybe 5 minutes or so, as to be close by the top, but we got our wires crossed (my fault) and he ended up with a bit of a larger jump on me than anticipated.  Going up seemed like a bit lot more work than last week and the stats confirm that I worked 2 bpm harder to go 47 seconds slower.  I am sure the fact that it was in the mid 80's (vs. low 60's and rainy last week) played a huge role.  My throat got pretty clogged today too and I am beginning to re-think that I might have exercised induced asthma, as I get this maybe 2/3 of the time on harder runs.  Or maybe I am just more susceptible to poor air quality (there seemed to be smoke in the air from that Lefthand fire and I did wake up this morning with a very sore throat).

So, met Brandon on the summit and took it super casual on the down.  Hung out at the lot for a few, met up with the family, where I took over possesion of the girls so Allison and Sierra could take their turn.

Oh, a few shots I took on my drive into work this morning:

Saturday, 06/25/11 Gross Res. Baby Jogger Run

9.4 miles/1,464 vert./1:25:38/Avg. HR 141 Garmin Data

I had been floating the idea around for a while to get up to Gross Reservoir with the baby jogger and today I talked Allison and the girls into it.

We headed up SuperFlag and parked on the E. side of the Res. and headed S. on Gross Dam Rd..  Aside from the initial uphill, it was a steep downhill for 2 miles (with plenty of loose dirt and washboard) until we crossed the creek.  Then it was a longer than expected uphill to get to the reservoir, where Allison soon became a bit impatient, thinking it was a bit too hot for the girls and too long for them to be out.  It was pretty warm and it took us ~50 minutes to go about 5 miles, so in the interest of time and efficiency, I left Allison and the girls to wait while I hurried back for the van.  I was moving well on the downhill (low 6 pace), but then the final 2 mile climb back to the car was a scorching grind with no shade and ended up taking me 35 minutes total.

Once we all reunited, we had a nice picnic near the canoe/kayak ramp, while we watched the ranger harass all the riff raff who came through (PFDs?, ID?, fishing licenses?, etc....).

About to start

Plenty of riff raff to harass (I actually applied for the job in the Spring 2009, glad it did not workout, I guess I am not quite "tough guy" enough).  You can see the very tough and athletic looking water cop just to the right of the pickup truck.  I'm being a bit harsh for whatever reason, but he was actually a pretty nice guy.

I was pretty darn tempted to take a quick swim while the water cop was out of sight, but the fine is pretty stiff from what I understand.

Friday, 06/24/11 Bear Peak

Up Fern/Down W. Ridge/Bear Canyon 8.07 miles/2,856 vert./1:42:26 (49:03 up)/142 avg HR Garmin Data

Was not able to get out on the trail until after 10am and by then things were warming up nicely (or not so nicely).  My legs felt a little heavy still and I was not digging the heat at all.  I was also trying out a new pair of shoes, new fuel belt and new camera, so I was a bit pre-occupied by all of this and kept the pace pretty mellow.

Love the new PI Peak 2 shoes thus far, very light, comfortable and sturdy.

Here are a few shots:

S. Boulder from Bear

Green

Audubon

I stopped numerous times on the descent for wildflower shots.  I was initially was impressed with these, until I turned around and found, what is for me, the Holy Grail of wildflowers finds.....

My favorite wildflower of all time, the Columbine

A bee is hiding in there, I tried for a better shot but it would not cooperate.

Bear from upper Bear Canyon

Dinosaur Mt.

Finally got my revenge after having my picture taken numerous times...

Thursday, 06/23/11 Local Run

6.7 miles/159 vert./7:53 pace/144 avg HR

A reasonably mellow run with the jogger from the house, but felt a bit labored at times with the warm temps and was feeling my long bike ride a bit from the day before.

Wednesday, 06/22/11 Bike to Work Day

Once again, work offered up 3 $50 gift cards for longest commute and such, so I got motivated to put in a long ride to work and win $50.  I did all the prep Tuesday so I would not have to carry anything for work and hit the road at 5:23am, just as it was getting light enough to ride (safely). 

Headed N. from my house to Baseline, Baseline to SuperFlag and out to Gross Res. and followed the pavement until it turned to dirt.  Headed back into town, took 6th/4th St. to N. Broadway, Lee Hill to the top, down to Lefthand, 36 to Nelson and then in to work in Longmont, arriving a few minutes before 9am.  It was a perfect morning, clear, cool, no traffic, lot's of wildlife (luckily not in the road).  I felt great for not having ridden in ~2.5 months, but kept the pace fairly casual for the most part, though I cranked the final 10 flat miles feeling stronger as the ride progressed.  Had I not had to go into work, I would have kept going for a few more hours in the mountains, it was just one of those rides that I did not want to end.

I ended up with 67 miles on the day, 6,282 vertical feet, in 4:13 with an average HR of 139.  I still do not know if I won the $50 yet, but at this point, it would not matter either way, it was such a great day to be on the bike, the money would just be icing on the cake.

Also, I got a new camera for my upcoming 40th birthday, a Canon Elph 300 HS.  It is barely larger than my cell phone and has way more firepower than my old camera, so I hope to have it with me more often.  One of the many cool features is a 24mm wide angle lens.  At first I could not really tell the difference, but a few test shots revealed a big difference in the amount of "scene" it can take in vs. the old camera.  I'm pretty stoked on it, as I am a picture taking fiend (especially taking pictures of the twins).

Picture from the back deck using the new camera (24mm)

Same framing using the old camera (35mm)



Monday, 06/20/11 Green Mountain

Up/Down front 4 miles/2,276 vert./53:58 RT (33:34 up) Garmin Data

What a great run this evening!  Perfectly cool temperature, a bit of rain, overcast sky and I felt great, absolutely 0 achilles anything and no excuses.  I had no plan, just figured I would get on the trail and just run according to how I felt and it just so happened that I felt better than I have in a long long time.  I did not really pay attention to splits, just ran what felt smooth, flowing, comfortable and never really pushed too hard, just rolled with it.  My breathing was relaxed and my legs were rock solid. 

The summit came way too soon, where I was wishing I could have doubled the vertical and feel I would have maintained that same pace no problem.  This was one of the rare days lately where I wanted more instead of seeing the summit as an end of the suffering.  The down went really well too, I just cruised and felt very on top of things.  This was my fastest ascent and RT of the year, which I feel good about, but most importantly, the fact that it felt so easy was a huge confidence boost.  I was starting to feel a bit down on myself about lackluster training runs, but now I am realizing those poor runs were much more influenced by heat and poor timing (not to mention the achilles and inconsistency, but feel I "only" have inconsistency and thus timing to deal with).

2011_06_18 S. Boulder Peak

~7.5 miles/3,000 vert./1:29:44 (50:33 up)  Garmin Data

I was getting ready for another baby jogger run and at the last minute, Homie called to invite me to run S. Boulder Peak, as Lori had offered to walk the girls with the jogger.  Score!  Thanks Lori!!!

I was having trouble getting my watch to get a satellite reading at the S. Mesa TH (not the first time at that TH for some reason) and told Homie to get started while I futzed around for a few minutes waiting for the watch, but finally gave up and started running.  1:45 in, I messed with the watch and flubbed it all up, so I stopped and waited another minute or two and it finally came to life and I was on my way.  I figured Homie was long gone, but I gave chase anyways, hoping that he would not have to wait too long for me at the summit. 

Despite the heat, I felt like I was moving reasonably well early on, but as the terrain steepened, my legs were starting to feel a little sluggish.  I also tripped and fell in front of a couple just as I started up Shadow.  It did not hurt, but I was embarrassed and knew they were thinking I was a dumb runner trying to go too fast (I have had an audience for ALL of my crashes on the trails over the years, go figure).  As a result, I was a bit pissed and sprinted up a very steep section and dug myself into a bit of oxygen debt. that I am not sure I really came back out of.  I finally caught sight of Homie about half way up Shadow (he had slowed to wait for me) and it took me a while to catch and pass him.

All the while I was doing watch split math, adding 1:45 to everything and knew I would sadly be very close to not breaking 50 minutes for the ascent.  I even dropped my bottle at the end to get after it, but really did not have much left to give and was suffering.  I ended up with a somewhat disappointing 50:33.  I jogged back down a ways to grab my bottle and meet Homie, then chased him back to the top.  We went a decent pace at times on the down, taking the Mesa Trail variation to look for the girls, but they were hanging out at the TH in the shade.

Anyone having trouble with blogger comments?

For the past few weeks (month?) I have been having a heck of a time commenting on blogger. I type up a nice and thoughtful response (or not), choose my google account under the "comment as" drop down. Then, one of 3 things happens.

1st scenario: I type a nice comment, select my google account, typically 3 or 4 times, THEN I get a jumble of letters/numbers for the security code (which I normally screw up at least once), then my comment will post.

2nd scenario: I type a nice comment, select my google account, then it dumps me over to the google sign in page, even though I am sure that I am signed in (can check gmail, post pictures to picasa, post or edit on any one of my blogs etc....). When this happens, I lose the comment that I had just typed and am then a combination of being frustrated and/or out of time to do it again, OR I type it up again (if it was a short comment) and still get kicked to the log in screen and lose it again.

3rd scenario: It works fine.

What gives? This happens on both my work and home computers, so I am guessing it is some sort of blogger setting or glitch, but I can’t really figure out a pattern or cause/effect as it is so random.

Does this happen to anyone else? Any thoughts or ideas?

Friday, 06/17/11 Boulder Creek Path

10.01 miles/538 vertical/1:13:28/7:20 pace Garmin Data

Headed to Boulder today with the girls for a run up the Boulder Creek path, starting from Scott Carpenter Park and ran up canyon to the point where the path came to an end.  Was feeling decent today, totally enjoying the run even though it was not on technical singletrack over mountains.  I actually have come to completely enjoy these runs with the girls in the jogger.  I enjoy their company and sharing the outdoor experiences with them, not to mention it is an awesome workout pushing a 65-70lb (and gaining) jogger, especially uphill with a headwind as was the case today.  Got going at a decent clip coming back down, clocking a 5:54 mile as I chased, passed and then distanced myself from a fast looking runner (the shocked look on his face when I passed him, pushing a double baby jogger and wearing a goofy sun hat bigger than Brownie's was priceless).  Effort today was on the high side of moderate overall (hard at times, mostly on the down and easy toward the end as I cooled down and tacked on another .6 for an even 10 miles).