8.24 miles/315 vert./1:03/7:41 min/mi/150 avg. HR Garmin Data
I had to pick up some bike parts at Joe's Bike Shop in Lafayette, so figured I would make a run out of it. My legs were a bit tired from yesterday, so I originally planned to just run the 2.2 miles there, then back. Once I got running though, I felt surprisingly good, so after running my errand, I headed down to the Coal Creek path and made a nice loop. Like last night, I contemplated going a bit longer, but I had to get the girls home and ready for bed.
Sierra
Sierra
Friday, September 16, 2011
Thursday, 09/15/11 Davidson Mesa
7.4 miles/217 vert./52:51/7:08 pace/avg. HR 161 Garmin Data
Started from the house around 5:45pm and it was quite cool and even sprinkling a bit, perfect for a run. Felt like pushing a bit more than normal and even though the numbers hardly reflect it, this was a somewhat hard run from my home out to Davidson Mesa and back. I wanted to tack on a few extra miles, but it was quickly approaching the girls bed time and I had to get them home and ready for bed.
Started from the house around 5:45pm and it was quite cool and even sprinkling a bit, perfect for a run. Felt like pushing a bit more than normal and even though the numbers hardly reflect it, this was a somewhat hard run from my home out to Davidson Mesa and back. I wanted to tack on a few extra miles, but it was quickly approaching the girls bed time and I had to get them home and ready for bed.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Tuesday, 09/13/11 Green Mountain/Bear Sighting
Up/Down Front 4 miles/2,281 vert./1:01 (37 up/23 down) 142 avg. HR Garmin Data
I felt somewhat sluggish and my legs were a little heavy, so I paced myself accordingly and ran a mellow-ish/moderate effort on the up, then easy on the down, stopping occasionally to do a little impromptu trail work on upper Greenman.
I was running on lower Amphitheater, ~30 seconds or less from finishing my run at the Gregory lot, when for some reason, I averted my normally focused gaze from the rocky/technical trail, looked up the hillside to my left and saw a reasonably large bear (certainly larger than most people at least and a lot bigger than I). Yes, that is right, my first bear in Boulder OSMP and 3rd that I have seen in Colorado.
I stopped a 'safe' distance below and watched it chewing on some low hanging fruit and it seemed to not be at all bothered by my presence. After about a minute, it sauntered down the talus to the trail (diagonally away from me) and began walking up Amphitheater, so I of course followed (again, at a 'safe' distance).
After it had walked about 50 or so feet up the trail, it ambled off into the bushes on the left and found some more berries to eat. Now only about ~30 or so feet away, I carefully peeked at it, very much on alert, but at the same time, feeling a surprising sense of peace. After a few minutes (seemed like longer), I felt as though I had intruded enough and headed back down the trail, giddy and excited about having seen this amazing animal up close. Almost back at the TH, an older woman was walking up the trail asking if I had seen the Bear that some people in the lot had informed her of. I told her of its location (still VERY close to the trail) and advised her of an alternate route. At that point, she did not care about her planned hike and just wanted to see the bear.
I offered to join her for the minute or so walk back up the trail, where it was still there, now on its’ hind legs, trying to reach something that smelled good up in a large pine tree. We watched for a few more minutes and I was comforted by the fact that I could run much faster than this lady. She snapped a few pictures with her phone (none of which came out, despite our proximate distance and largely unobstructed view) when her phone made a beep that caught the bear’s attention. The bear then made some sort of loud huffy hiss noise and pounced a bit. I hardly saw any of it, as I was focused on getting out of there.
Fortunately, the bear was just telling us to go away in a nice way and that is exactly what we did. I bid adieu to the woman and ran back down to the Gregory lot, where I stopped to tell some climbers about the bear, but soon heard a woman yelling and screaming just up the trail, so I ran back up a short way to find the woman running down. She stated that she had gone back up to try and fetch her poles that she ditched in the trail (and presumably catch another peek at the bear), when it started walking down the trail straight toward her and it freaked her out a bit.
I learned a few obvious lessons today. First, after seeing the aggressive rattlesnake on the trail on Saturday and reading Joe’s report of the mountain lion stalking him recently, I was reluctant to wear my headphones before the run. I really only wear them, maybe 10-20 percent of my runs and that is only listening to NPR or other various podcasts on a low volume, but for the most part, I want to be fully in touch with my surroundings. As if the first two things (the snake and Joe’s run in with the lion were not enough), this was the final straw. I am not sure I would have heard the bear either way, as I just happened to look up and see it munching, but had it been a few minutes later, I could have surprised it in the bushes next to the trail, where every millisecond would count. You need to be able to hear what is going on around you.
Second, even though I thought the bear was un-bothered by my presence and I did keep a respectful distance, I should have just paused to look once and kept going. I felt bad that I had gone back up with the woman and ultimately caused it a bit of distress, or at least annoyance with us. I know they see a lot of people on these trails, but keeping it to a minimum for them is much to their benefit and is really not safe for us (though at the time, the temptation to watch was great and it seemed quite benign, like a large dog or something).
I felt somewhat sluggish and my legs were a little heavy, so I paced myself accordingly and ran a mellow-ish/moderate effort on the up, then easy on the down, stopping occasionally to do a little impromptu trail work on upper Greenman.
I was running on lower Amphitheater, ~30 seconds or less from finishing my run at the Gregory lot, when for some reason, I averted my normally focused gaze from the rocky/technical trail, looked up the hillside to my left and saw a reasonably large bear (certainly larger than most people at least and a lot bigger than I). Yes, that is right, my first bear in Boulder OSMP and 3rd that I have seen in Colorado.
I stopped a 'safe' distance below and watched it chewing on some low hanging fruit and it seemed to not be at all bothered by my presence. After about a minute, it sauntered down the talus to the trail (diagonally away from me) and began walking up Amphitheater, so I of course followed (again, at a 'safe' distance).
After it had walked about 50 or so feet up the trail, it ambled off into the bushes on the left and found some more berries to eat. Now only about ~30 or so feet away, I carefully peeked at it, very much on alert, but at the same time, feeling a surprising sense of peace. After a few minutes (seemed like longer), I felt as though I had intruded enough and headed back down the trail, giddy and excited about having seen this amazing animal up close. Almost back at the TH, an older woman was walking up the trail asking if I had seen the Bear that some people in the lot had informed her of. I told her of its location (still VERY close to the trail) and advised her of an alternate route. At that point, she did not care about her planned hike and just wanted to see the bear.
I offered to join her for the minute or so walk back up the trail, where it was still there, now on its’ hind legs, trying to reach something that smelled good up in a large pine tree. We watched for a few more minutes and I was comforted by the fact that I could run much faster than this lady. She snapped a few pictures with her phone (none of which came out, despite our proximate distance and largely unobstructed view) when her phone made a beep that caught the bear’s attention. The bear then made some sort of loud huffy hiss noise and pounced a bit. I hardly saw any of it, as I was focused on getting out of there.
Fortunately, the bear was just telling us to go away in a nice way and that is exactly what we did. I bid adieu to the woman and ran back down to the Gregory lot, where I stopped to tell some climbers about the bear, but soon heard a woman yelling and screaming just up the trail, so I ran back up a short way to find the woman running down. She stated that she had gone back up to try and fetch her poles that she ditched in the trail (and presumably catch another peek at the bear), when it started walking down the trail straight toward her and it freaked her out a bit.
I learned a few obvious lessons today. First, after seeing the aggressive rattlesnake on the trail on Saturday and reading Joe’s report of the mountain lion stalking him recently, I was reluctant to wear my headphones before the run. I really only wear them, maybe 10-20 percent of my runs and that is only listening to NPR or other various podcasts on a low volume, but for the most part, I want to be fully in touch with my surroundings. As if the first two things (the snake and Joe’s run in with the lion were not enough), this was the final straw. I am not sure I would have heard the bear either way, as I just happened to look up and see it munching, but had it been a few minutes later, I could have surprised it in the bushes next to the trail, where every millisecond would count. You need to be able to hear what is going on around you.
Second, even though I thought the bear was un-bothered by my presence and I did keep a respectful distance, I should have just paused to look once and kept going. I felt bad that I had gone back up with the woman and ultimately caused it a bit of distress, or at least annoyance with us. I know they see a lot of people on these trails, but keeping it to a minimum for them is much to their benefit and is really not safe for us (though at the time, the temptation to watch was great and it seemed quite benign, like a large dog or something).
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Sunday, 09/11/11 Week in Review
Tuesday, 09/06/11
Off
Wednesday, 09/07/11 Bike
Evening mountain bike ride towing the girls. 7 miles/150 vert../45 min
Thursday, 09/08/11 Bike
Ran some errands with the girls towing them behind the mountain bike. Extended the ride a bit as it was so much fun and was a perfect day. 15.55 miles/662 vert./1:49
Friday, 09/09/11 Bike
Had so much fun pulling the girlies in the Chariot the past few days, that I decided to tow them on the road bike and go a bit further. Messed around shooting some video too. 24 miles/800 vert./1:43
Saturday, 09/10/11 South Boulder Peak/Bear Peak and Bike Ride
Sobo/Bear 7.23 miles/3,259 vert./2:55
Allison and I had a rare day off together and an even more rare day without the babies, as the grandparents offered to watch them for a good part of the day. Along with Sierra, we headed up Homestead to Shadow on a perfect day. We went a casual pace and spent a good amount of time at water stops for Sierra and had some nice long summit breaks. As we neared the end of Shadow Canyon on the descent, the girl that was walking about a minute ahead of us, turned back to warn us of a rattlesnake in the trail. I had everyone stay put while I went ahead to check it out, and sure enough, there was a small, but VERY pissed off and aggressive rattler in the middle of the trail in strike position. From a safe distance, I tossed a few pea size rocks in it's direction to scare it off, but that did nothing. After a few minutes of observing and taking photos/video, it was evident that we either go back up over Bear Peak and down Fern Canyon/Mesa (something I almost voted for), or get a long tree branch and coax it off the trail. I was able to move the snake off to the side and hold it at bay while the ladies and dogs passed. This would have been quite the scare had I been running, as the snake was in a very shaded area/blind curve where I would have been going quite fast.
Very pissed off snake!
Off
Wednesday, 09/07/11 Bike
Evening mountain bike ride towing the girls. 7 miles/150 vert../45 min
Thursday, 09/08/11 Bike
Ran some errands with the girls towing them behind the mountain bike. Extended the ride a bit as it was so much fun and was a perfect day. 15.55 miles/662 vert./1:49
Friday, 09/09/11 Bike
Had so much fun pulling the girlies in the Chariot the past few days, that I decided to tow them on the road bike and go a bit further. Messed around shooting some video too. 24 miles/800 vert./1:43
Saturday, 09/10/11 South Boulder Peak/Bear Peak and Bike Ride
Sobo/Bear 7.23 miles/3,259 vert./2:55
Allison and I had a rare day off together and an even more rare day without the babies, as the grandparents offered to watch them for a good part of the day. Along with Sierra, we headed up Homestead to Shadow on a perfect day. We went a casual pace and spent a good amount of time at water stops for Sierra and had some nice long summit breaks. As we neared the end of Shadow Canyon on the descent, the girl that was walking about a minute ahead of us, turned back to warn us of a rattlesnake in the trail. I had everyone stay put while I went ahead to check it out, and sure enough, there was a small, but VERY pissed off and aggressive rattler in the middle of the trail in strike position. From a safe distance, I tossed a few pea size rocks in it's direction to scare it off, but that did nothing. After a few minutes of observing and taking photos/video, it was evident that we either go back up over Bear Peak and down Fern Canyon/Mesa (something I almost voted for), or get a long tree branch and coax it off the trail. I was able to move the snake off to the side and hold it at bay while the ladies and dogs passed. This would have been quite the scare had I been running, as the snake was in a very shaded area/blind curve where I would have been going quite fast.
Very pissed off snake!
Another trail hazard (which is why I try to avoid running on these peaks on very windy days)
The wind blew this down a few years ago on a Winter day, one where I bailed very nearby on the same day.
Perfect day
After our hike, we loaded the girls into the Chariot and went out for another 90 minutes or so of biking around Louisville/Lafayette. After 4.5 hours of outdoor activity, I was bogging down a bit towing the trailer. It is a lot of work towing ~70+ lbs on a bike, harder than running I think, as you pedal your ass off and feel like you are getting nowhere sometimes. 14.3 miles/364 vert./1:23
Sunday, 09/11/11 Bear/SoBo
5.84 miles/3,296 vert./1:24:47 (40:59 to true Bear Summit
In addition to having a headache and generally feeling out
of it, my legs felt heavy and tired all day at work, a direct result of a week
and a half of carrying two babies at a time, pushing babies in the jogger,
pulling babies behind a bike etc., it was finally catching up with me. I debated just skipping my run, but it was
too nice of a day and I can never pass up a free opportunity to get outside. Not to mention, I needed it more for my head
than anything.
The run turned out better than I expected. I went a moderate to almost hard pace at times, never really pushing, but just letting the run come to me and I felt like I was making decent progress despite my initial reservations. I also thought quite a bit about the events 10 years ago....
The run turned out better than I expected. I went a moderate to almost hard pace at times, never really pushing, but just letting the run come to me and I felt like I was making decent progress despite my initial reservations. I also thought quite a bit about the events 10 years ago....
10 years ago today, I, along with the rest of the nation,
watched in horror as the tragic events in New York, DC and Pennsylvania played
out on live TV. The entire day, though
crystal clear, calm and perfect, contrasted heavily with the events on the East
coast and seemed like a nightmare. After
spending almost the entire day glued to the TV set, I could not take it anymore,
so I called my lifelong friend Joe, who was living in Boulder
The hike up Fern
Canyon
There were a surprising number of people on the trails for a
late Tuesday afternoon/evening (seems like many were out for the same reasons),
most of whom we saw in Fern Canyon and we stopped and exchanged friendly words
with everyone. A rare time where we were
all feeling a bit more compassion for those around us and shared a need to
restore faith in humanity.
We continued over Bear and on to South Boulder
Peak
As the sun began to set, we collected ourselves and began
the long walk back home. Though we could
never entirely forget what had happened that day, just getting outside and
connecting with our natural surroundings really helped to begin the healing
process.
And so it was today, I ran the same route and it was a real
boost mentally and physically.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Monday, 09/05/11 Green Mountain
Up Back/Down Front 4.83 miles/2,343 vert./1:12:06 136 avg. HR Garmin Data
It felt like summer was back and my legs were pretty heavy from a long weekend of vertical baby hauling and a few runs thrown in. Not being one to pass up an increasingly rare opportunity to get outside, I plodded up Gregory on tired legs. Took a minor diversion over to the Realization Point TH to get a Garmin split to the summit. Bonked a bit after the cabin (damn, I meant to put that gel in my pocket) and eventually made it to the top in 46. Took it easy on the down.
It felt like summer was back and my legs were pretty heavy from a long weekend of vertical baby hauling and a few runs thrown in. Not being one to pass up an increasingly rare opportunity to get outside, I plodded up Gregory on tired legs. Took a minor diversion over to the Realization Point TH to get a Garmin split to the summit. Bonked a bit after the cabin (damn, I meant to put that gel in my pocket) and eventually made it to the top in 46. Took it easy on the down.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Sunday, 09/04/11 Green Mountain and Royal Arch
Green Mountain: Up/Down 1st/2nd Access/Greenman from Chautauqua 4.33 miles/2,588 vert./1:06:55 (40:24 up) Garmin Data
Royal Arch 3.23 miles/1,494 vert./1:41 Garmin Data
What a perfect afternoon/evening, warm but not hot, cool but not cold, sunny, calm and starting to feel/see a hint of fall. The trails were crazy crowded with people of all types as they usually are in September when the students are back, so there was quite a bit of crowd dodging lower down, but for some reason this all adds to the enjoyment on certain days. This is becoming one of my favorite routes. A nice smooth warmup, then steep and technical rocky trail with many switchbacks, to the back of the First Flatiron, them some very steep and technical off trail running, routefinding and then a quick finish on the Greenman Trail. Though I have done this route many times, more and more I am getting every step dialed through the "off trail" section and hardly even have to think about where I am going anymore. I like that this route is a bit more of a challenge than the usual routes. I started the run fairly conservative, trying to determine if I was feeling the weekend of double baby carrying/pushing. I felt it a little, but mostly, I felt light and springy not having two babies strapped to me and upped the pace as I went and it turned into a reasonably solid effort. The descent was somewhat mellow, never really pushing, just cruising and enjoying.
After my run, I met Allison, Amelie, Isabelle and Sierra at Chautauqua where we sat in the soft grass watching a wedding while snacking on pretzels and formula before taking a hike up to Royal Arch. We heard from numerous people descending of a bear(s) along the way, so we took our time, trying to catch a glimpse. At one point, we could hear something heavy moving around in the bushes in the drainage below the trail, which we were sure was a bear, but were unable to get a good look. It had been a while since I had been to Royal Arch and it involved a bit more climbing than I remember, but I was very happy with it, as it was a perfect day, I felt great (as it is so much easier carry "just" one baby) and was in no hurry to get home, since home was with me on the trail. The girls got a lot of compliments as always and I continue to be impressed with how well they handle these outdoor adventures, as they rarely if ever fuss. It gives me such great joy to watch them, as their big blue eyes dart around taking in their surroundings, completely absorbing the environment, making cute noises, reaching out to touch things, grabbing on to me.... I am convinced that they will soon come to love nature as much as we do, if they are not there already.
Royal Arch 3.23 miles/1,494 vert./1:41 Garmin Data
What a perfect afternoon/evening, warm but not hot, cool but not cold, sunny, calm and starting to feel/see a hint of fall. The trails were crazy crowded with people of all types as they usually are in September when the students are back, so there was quite a bit of crowd dodging lower down, but for some reason this all adds to the enjoyment on certain days. This is becoming one of my favorite routes. A nice smooth warmup, then steep and technical rocky trail with many switchbacks, to the back of the First Flatiron, them some very steep and technical off trail running, routefinding and then a quick finish on the Greenman Trail. Though I have done this route many times, more and more I am getting every step dialed through the "off trail" section and hardly even have to think about where I am going anymore. I like that this route is a bit more of a challenge than the usual routes. I started the run fairly conservative, trying to determine if I was feeling the weekend of double baby carrying/pushing. I felt it a little, but mostly, I felt light and springy not having two babies strapped to me and upped the pace as I went and it turned into a reasonably solid effort. The descent was somewhat mellow, never really pushing, just cruising and enjoying.
After my run, I met Allison, Amelie, Isabelle and Sierra at Chautauqua where we sat in the soft grass watching a wedding while snacking on pretzels and formula before taking a hike up to Royal Arch. We heard from numerous people descending of a bear(s) along the way, so we took our time, trying to catch a glimpse. At one point, we could hear something heavy moving around in the bushes in the drainage below the trail, which we were sure was a bear, but were unable to get a good look. It had been a while since I had been to Royal Arch and it involved a bit more climbing than I remember, but I was very happy with it, as it was a perfect day, I felt great (as it is so much easier carry "just" one baby) and was in no hurry to get home, since home was with me on the trail. The girls got a lot of compliments as always and I continue to be impressed with how well they handle these outdoor adventures, as they rarely if ever fuss. It gives me such great joy to watch them, as their big blue eyes dart around taking in their surroundings, completely absorbing the environment, making cute noises, reaching out to touch things, grabbing on to me.... I am convinced that they will soon come to love nature as much as we do, if they are not there already.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Saturday, 09/03/11 Green Mountain Full Double Baby Carry PR
Up/Down front 4 miles/2,282 vert./1:45 RT (57:56 up) 135 avg. HR Garmin Data
OK, a PR was a given, since I have never done this before.... ;)
Day 3 in a row of baby duty, combined with cooler temperatures, had me itching to get in a bit of a longer hike carrying the girls. After juggling conflicting naps and eating schedules, we finally got out the door a little after 2:30 and got on the trail at 3:02pm. Heading up Amphitheater was a bit of a grunt and even though the temperature was relatively cool, it still felt hot having a baby on either side of me. I did not go super hard on this, as to not make the girls uncomfortable, or risk injury to any of us, but it was a deliberately swift walk with the loose intention of getting to the summit in under an hour. My HR stayed in the ~150s for the climb, but it felt like more than that, probably because my body is just not used to such an effort and was regulating itself a bit.
Both Amelie and Isabelle really seemed to enjoy themselves and did not fuss once, they just looked around, smiled, chatted and slept occasionally.
The descent was a bit of a challenge carrying that much weight down the often steep trail, as the impact is much more static (vs. the more dynamic stesses of the ascent). I was super careful to not take a fall and not put too much force on my joints, yet was surprised to have made it down 10 minutes quicker than I went up.
Of course we got a lot of attention and comments from the large number of hikers on the trail as I passed. I sort of felt like a circus act or something, based on the attention we got and felt like one of those "only in Boulder" anomalies.
As fun as this was though, I think I will seek out less steep routes when carrying 2 babies, as it is just plain hard on the steep stuff. I enjoy the challenge, but I think over time, this could be detrimental for my joints and ligaments.
Amelie (front), Isabelle (back)
OK, a PR was a given, since I have never done this before.... ;)
Day 3 in a row of baby duty, combined with cooler temperatures, had me itching to get in a bit of a longer hike carrying the girls. After juggling conflicting naps and eating schedules, we finally got out the door a little after 2:30 and got on the trail at 3:02pm. Heading up Amphitheater was a bit of a grunt and even though the temperature was relatively cool, it still felt hot having a baby on either side of me. I did not go super hard on this, as to not make the girls uncomfortable, or risk injury to any of us, but it was a deliberately swift walk with the loose intention of getting to the summit in under an hour. My HR stayed in the ~150s for the climb, but it felt like more than that, probably because my body is just not used to such an effort and was regulating itself a bit.
Both Amelie and Isabelle really seemed to enjoy themselves and did not fuss once, they just looked around, smiled, chatted and slept occasionally.
The descent was a bit of a challenge carrying that much weight down the often steep trail, as the impact is much more static (vs. the more dynamic stesses of the ascent). I was super careful to not take a fall and not put too much force on my joints, yet was surprised to have made it down 10 minutes quicker than I went up.
Of course we got a lot of attention and comments from the large number of hikers on the trail as I passed. I sort of felt like a circus act or something, based on the attention we got and felt like one of those "only in Boulder" anomalies.
As fun as this was though, I think I will seek out less steep routes when carrying 2 babies, as it is just plain hard on the steep stuff. I enjoy the challenge, but I think over time, this could be detrimental for my joints and ligaments.
Amelie (front), Isabelle (back)
Friday, 09/02/11 Boulder Creek Path
6.2 miles/243 vert./53:08 Garmin Data up/Garmin Data down
Rob T was itching to settle a bet he had with a friend who said there was no way he could run a 5k at sub 7:30 pace, but did not necessarily specify whether or not it could be downhill, so Rob figured he would give it a shot on the gentle slope of the Boulder Creek Path. We had been talking for a while about getting out for a run, so I offered to help pace/encourage him as I tagged along pushing the girls in the Chariot. We started from Scott Carpenter Park a bit after 5:30pm and headed 3.1 miles up at a casual warm up pace, with a convenient turn around spot exactly at the top of the rise before the underpass/dirt section of the path.
We made good time heading down and Rob seemed to be handling the pace just fine, running somewhere in the 6+ minute range for the first mile and banking a bit of time for later. Our watches seemed to not be in perfect sync, but I had 7:13 pace and 22:23 for the 5k, though his stats differed just slightly. Either way, he did it with ease. Nice work Rob!
Rob T was itching to settle a bet he had with a friend who said there was no way he could run a 5k at sub 7:30 pace, but did not necessarily specify whether or not it could be downhill, so Rob figured he would give it a shot on the gentle slope of the Boulder Creek Path. We had been talking for a while about getting out for a run, so I offered to help pace/encourage him as I tagged along pushing the girls in the Chariot. We started from Scott Carpenter Park a bit after 5:30pm and headed 3.1 miles up at a casual warm up pace, with a convenient turn around spot exactly at the top of the rise before the underpass/dirt section of the path.
We made good time heading down and Rob seemed to be handling the pace just fine, running somewhere in the 6+ minute range for the first mile and banking a bit of time for later. Our watches seemed to not be in perfect sync, but I had 7:13 pace and 22:23 for the 5k, though his stats differed just slightly. Either way, he did it with ease. Nice work Rob!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Thursday, 09/01/11 Green Mountain
Finally attempted the double baby carry up Green today with Isabelle in the baby backpack and Amelie in the Ergo Baby worn on the front. For this trial run, we drove up Flagstaff to the Realization Point trailhead for just the upper half of the mountain via the Ranger Trail. Both of the girls did great and did not fuss once, so maybe next time we will start from the bottom (which I considered today, but was not practical with the dog and dog leash requirements).
Untitled from Jeff Valliere on Vimeo.
Untitled from Jeff Valliere on Vimeo.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Wednesday, 08/31/11 Green Mountain
5 miles/2,500 vert./1:07:08 (40:50up)
Started from Chautauqua, up 1st/2nd access, up to NE ridge, Greenman and back the same way. Was blazing hot today, high 90's but I felt decent despite. Pushed a bit on the up, but took it conservative on the down.
Started from Chautauqua, up 1st/2nd access, up to NE ridge, Greenman and back the same way. Was blazing hot today, high 90's but I felt decent despite. Pushed a bit on the up, but took it conservative on the down.
Tuesday, 08/30/11 Local Run
5 easy miles (45 minutes) with Allison and the girls out to and around Harper Lake. Then another 2 with Sierra.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sunday, 08/28/11 Green Mountain
5 miles/2,500 vert.
Happened to pull up behind Homie at Baseline/Broadway, so I followed him into the Chautauqua lot. We had talked earlier but could not totally agree on a plan, so we left it as "maybe I'll see you out there", so the timing was good. It was his intent to free solo the 3rd, so we jogged the approach together, where he then changed into his climbing shoes for the class 5 climb and I hiked around up to the back of the 3rd and hung out for 20 minutes or so. From there, we bushwhacked up the hillside to the NE ridge, then on to the summit. There were a few flashes of lightning, but nothing too close and it fortunately subsided enough for us to tag the summit (though a bit hurried). As always, it was great getting out with Homie and if we had turned around at the 3rd Flatiron, it would have been a great day.
We descended via the NE ridge/1st/2nd Flatiron access and I took it pretty casual, as my right big toe was aching. It all started when I ran Mt. Princeton back in early July, when an untested pair of shoes aggravated my big toe nails really bad on the descent. They were a moderate distraction for over a month and were nearly healed up before Pikes Peak, but I think the 13 miles of downhill did them in. Before this hike/run with Homie, the big toe nail on my right foot looked normal, but was just a little tender, though afterwards, it is completely purple and is very painful. This might force a little time off, at least from running anything steep.
Ordered a new Garmin 305 today to replace my broken one. Can hardly live without it (OK, I get by just fine, but it really adds enjoyment to my flatter baby jogger running and eases my record keeping).
Happened to pull up behind Homie at Baseline/Broadway, so I followed him into the Chautauqua lot. We had talked earlier but could not totally agree on a plan, so we left it as "maybe I'll see you out there", so the timing was good. It was his intent to free solo the 3rd, so we jogged the approach together, where he then changed into his climbing shoes for the class 5 climb and I hiked around up to the back of the 3rd and hung out for 20 minutes or so. From there, we bushwhacked up the hillside to the NE ridge, then on to the summit. There were a few flashes of lightning, but nothing too close and it fortunately subsided enough for us to tag the summit (though a bit hurried). As always, it was great getting out with Homie and if we had turned around at the 3rd Flatiron, it would have been a great day.
We descended via the NE ridge/1st/2nd Flatiron access and I took it pretty casual, as my right big toe was aching. It all started when I ran Mt. Princeton back in early July, when an untested pair of shoes aggravated my big toe nails really bad on the descent. They were a moderate distraction for over a month and were nearly healed up before Pikes Peak, but I think the 13 miles of downhill did them in. Before this hike/run with Homie, the big toe nail on my right foot looked normal, but was just a little tender, though afterwards, it is completely purple and is very painful. This might force a little time off, at least from running anything steep.
Ordered a new Garmin 305 today to replace my broken one. Can hardly live without it (OK, I get by just fine, but it really adds enjoyment to my flatter baby jogger running and eases my record keeping).
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Saturday, 08/27/11 Green Mountain
Easy trip up Green today with the family, practicing/training for the double baby carry next week.
Having a summit snack
Isabelle
Sierra
We bring sippy cups, chilled on ice, but they want to drink from our bike bottles.... (Amelie)
Having a summit snack
Isabelle
Sierra
We bring sippy cups, chilled on ice, but they want to drink from our bike bottles.... (Amelie)
Friday, August 26, 2011
Friday, 08/26/11 Local Run
Local run, 5 miles/120 vert./45:00
Ran with the girls/baby jogger from home, out around Harper Lake, around neighborhoods and open space. Very easy effort. Wanted to go longer, but it was dinner time and I was bonking a bit toward the end, so it was just as well I did not add Davidson Mesa.
Ran with the girls/baby jogger from home, out around Harper Lake, around neighborhoods and open space. Very easy effort. Wanted to go longer, but it was dinner time and I was bonking a bit toward the end, so it was just as well I did not add Davidson Mesa.
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