Monday, 06/02/14 Unnamed Pt's 13,832 and 13,811

Unnamed Pt's 13,832 and 13,811
06/02/2014
14 miles
5,510 vert.
4:19
From William's Creek TH

I knew that being on a family vacation for a few days in Lake City would be a mixed blessing.  On one hand, it is a beautiful area with lots to see and do, but is simultaneously tortuous not being able to just go nuts and tackle every peak in sight.  I packed a bit of extra gear for this trip (Microspikes, a good flashlight  and my Ultimate Direction AK vest), just in case I was able to fit in a short outing and as luck would have it, I found a narrow window of opportunity on Monday morning.  I debated what to do, as I really wanted Sunshine/Redcloud for my very slim 14er x 2 list and scoped out the Winter route from the Mill Creek campground.  This looked great, steep and free of snow, but I suspected it might be a bit tedious and perhaps time consuming navigating the initial steep section through the minor cliff bands in the dark, as efficiency would be key.

I have also been looking forward to climbing Centennial Un-named Pts. 13,832 and 13,811 for some time and after doing a little research, found that there is a good trail to treeline from the Williams Creek TH and figured these would fit well with my limited time.  If I got started early enough and went fast enough, I may be able to tack on Redcloud also.

Awoke at 3:40am, was out the door at 4am and drove slowly to the Williams Creek Trailhead, eating my breakfast and dodging deer standing in the road.  Got started at 4:37am and felt good, but I am a bit of a slowpoke in the dark and I struggled a bit to maintain what seemed like a reasonable pace, casually jogging the flatter sections and power hiking the shorter steeper pitches. 

The first smaller creek crossing was flowing good, but there were a few logs to skip across which made it easy.  I knew there would soon be a second creek crossing and had noticed a note in the trail register stating “DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS THE SECOND CREEK”, which I passed off as an exaggeration, but knew it might be an indicator that I would be getting wet and or cost me precious minutes.

I reached the 2^nd creek 11 minutes in and it was flowing quite high with no bridge or logs to hop across, so I bushwhacked upstream and downstream, but found no way across without getting wet.  I tried dragging a few logs, but moving and positioning one large enough to span the creek seemed like more work than it was worth.  After 5+ minutes of this, I finally just decided that to get across, I would have to dip a foot.  Fortunately, I made a last minute decision to wear my La Sportiva Crossover GTX (Gore Tex with built in gaiters), which turned out to be a great decision for the day.  Despite the deep plunge (I nearly made it), my foot was perfectly dry on the other side.

Creek crossing on my return trip.

The trail beyond was excellent and made for easy cruising.  I finally packed away my light a little after 5:10am, as the trail steepened, my pace slowed a bit and the faint morning light became just enough to see.  It seemed to take forever to reach treeline, but I was happy to not really encounter any snow, aside from some avoidable patches, or solid snow that I could walk across.

This trail is awesome, buffed out single/double track with amazing scenery (pictures taken on the descent)

 

Once I hit the open, solid, snow covered slopes above treeline, I put on the Microspikes and following Roach's description, aimed for point 13,632, which lies in between the two summits.  Having not been above treeline since my December climb of Evans with Homie, I just plugged along, never really pushing, but never letting up either aside from the occasional photo op.  I was surprised to not be sucking too much wind, feeling reasonably good considering (though my time/pace indicates that I have a good bit of acclimating to go).  I think I was just enjoying myself so much, that I didn’t even think of much else, other than the views and how happy I was to be above treeline, in the San Juans, in June.  It does not get better than this.

13,832 and 13,632 at center of photo.  My ascent line starts at very center right of photo to 13,632

Perfect snow for efficient ascending

Redcloud and 13,832

13,832

Uncompahgre

Wetterhorn distant center

Still some good snow up high, but it is game on in the San Juans

I arrived on 13,832 after 2:29 and spent just a few minutes taking some photos and sucking down a gel, before heading East toward 13,811, which is 1.4 miles away.  I felt great and momentarily considered pushing on to Redcloud, but I knew that going there, with the return vertical would have me a bit late returning to the family. 

Though helpful, but not entirely necessary, I kept the Microspikes on much of the time for the snow above treeline, yet on occasion felt compelled to remove them, which cost a bit of time.  I am not entirely sure whether or not the snow helped or hindered my progress, as I was generally pretty careful on it, not wanting to take a slip, or plunge in too deep (it is pretty quiet out there on these non 14er peaks, early season on a Monday morning).  I think overall it may have cost me some time, but it did make for enjoyable walking for the most part.

Looking back at 13,632 and 13,832 from 13,811

The summit of 13,811 arrived 35 minutes later (3:04 elapsed), I took a few minutes here for photos, soaking in the views and another gel, then got boogying down the upper snow slopes.  It was not too steep, but it was frozen and I would have been a bit more confident with an axe, so I took it pretty slow and easy until I reached the grassy ridge and less steep snow.  From there, it was off with the spikes and was all fun cruising on the way back down, where I finished up just before 9am (4:19 total).  Though a moderate effort, I figured this would take me closer to 3 hours, 3:30 tops, but the tough creek crossing, snow, stopping for photos and lack of acclimatization made things a little slower than I thought.  Plus, how could I hurry too much and not enjoy it a bit?

 Cruising down this gave me the biggest grin and I may have let out a few loud joyous cheers.

It seems like so long since I have been down to the San Juans, perhaps 5 or 6 years when Homie, Sierra and I went on a couple day peak bender.  It was refreshing to see so many peaks I have not climbed or even know the names of.  Being in Lake City also got me fired up to run the SJS next year, something that has always been on my list, having even registered once but had to bail on due to injury.

Post hike/run, we had a great day taking the girls on a hike and ghost town tour, which they absolutely loved.  They are eager to get up the big peaks too, so there will be much more of this to come.

Monday, 05/26/14 Bolder Boulder

2014 Bolder Boulder 10k

39:39

8/434 age group (42 y/o)

454/50,000 + depending on the source

This was my 6th consecutive Bolder Boulder and each year after the race, I promise myself that next year, I will commit to some specific training for the event, yet each year in the preceding months, I simply can't deviate from my routine of running mountains.  The thought of leaving the house or the office for a run on streets or flat paths, no matter how beneficial it may be to increase my speed, has absolutely no appeal for me.  It feels incredibly forced and it takes all of my willpower to urge myself to move forward and I almost always pick doing nothing over flats/roads if I can't make it to a hill.  Some years, I'll do a few runs on the flats, even regularly in 2011 and 2012 when I somewhat embraced running with the baby jogger, but I enjoyed that added challenge and frankly, it was that or nothing on some days.  I am just not a runner at heart, for the sake of running I guess.

So, I basically approach the race each year with the acceptance and understanding that I am way out of my wheelhouse and just give it my all on the day with whatever fitness I have from my much slower trail running.

This year I was a bit unsure as to my ability to meet my baseline goals for this event, run faster than my age, break 40, place in my age group.  Anything beyond that would be a bonus, anything worse would be deserved and I certainly would deserve it, having only run 6 miles of flat path this year, struggling to maintain 7:50 pace 3 weeks ago.

I got to the race start with about 45 minutes to warm up, which for me really just means searching for uncrowded places to use the bathroom over and over, then jogging around socializing with friends and acquaintances that I happen upon.

Once in the start coral, I was a little bummed to be in the AA wave after having the honor of being in the A wave last year, but knew deep down I was in the appropriate spot.  Waiting for this race to start each year, I hear what must be the highest concentration of sandbagging on the planet and it is always amusing to me.  "Yeah, I have not been running much", "my knee hurts", "I was up till 1:30 last night", "I have been sick", "I have been at sea level", "I just run Green Mountain every day".  One friend complaining of not running AND having a knee injury ran the course in 32 minutes.  Only in Boulder.

I debated easing my way up to be on the front of the start line for the AA wave, but just settled for a six or seven person deep start position.  Once the race started though, I found this to be a bit of a mistake, as I felt a bit limited by being stuck in a crowd and was running slower than I would have liked.  On the plus side though, I figured it was not all bad, as it prevented me from starting off too fast, which I can be tempted to do on occasion.

I eventually eased into what seemed like a sustainable pace and held my own in the crowd, rarely getting passed and slowly picking people off, passing crowds of runners by just simply running the tangents.  I just can't understand why so many people,  maybe half that I see, swing so wide on the turns and run clear across to the far side of the street.

Around 2 miles in, I spot a short figure ahead.  As I get closer, I see that it is a young girl, hard to tell her age, but she was really small and it took a while to get around her, as she was really moving strong.  I looked her up later and found out that she is 12 years old and was only 11 seconds behind me.  Impressive.

The "big hill" on the course at mile 4 seemed a bit slow, I noticed that my pace dipped to over 7:00 pace and my HR went up to 178, but I was careful not to blow up and with the nice downhill following, I was able to regain my momentum.  Though I was pushing, I never really felt like I was going too hard and the pace seemed quite sustainable.  I have no top end, just one gear really and felt like I could have sustained the pace I was running for at least twice the distance.  As I neared the stadium, I could hear the announcer and I did a quick glance of my watch as I crossed Boulder Creek and was just over 37 minutes.  I went back and forth between thinking I had sub 40 in the bag and thinking I would just miss it.  I hammered it home the best I could on the awkward surface of the stadium with 21 seconds to spare.

Much of my motivation to run this race each year stems from the fact that my company pays our entry fees, but I have come to really enjoy the vibe of this race and the festive atmosphere.  It is amazingly well run and organized, I hope to return for many years to come.

Warming up.

Of the entire AA and A waves (many of whom I caught up to), it was only myself and the guy in white who were NOT wearing tank tops (he is a trail runner too).

Rocking the new Hoka Huakas.  They were awesome!

Clank, clank, clomp.

Friday, 05/23/14 Hoka Huaka

Just picked up a pair of the soon to be released Hoka Huaka.  Having run in many pairs of Hokas since I became a loyal fan back in 2010 (Mafate, Bondi, Bondi 2, several pairs of Stinson EVO Trail, Rapa Nui 2), I have found the Huaka to be a huge breakthrough for the company.

For starters, the Huaka is notably lighter than all of the previous Hokas, weighing in at sub 9 oz., yet still has plenty of cushion (27mm in the heel and 25mm in the forefoot, probably the most cushion you can get at this low of a weight, at least the best combination I have seen thus far.  The Huaka has a lighter and more pliable upper, yet still holds the foot in place extremely well and is the most comfortable Hoka I have worn by far, feels like a pillowy soft pair of slippers, but with excellent protection and response.

From the best I can tell, this shoe is made to be a road shoe, but it performs quite well for high speed running on the trails with plenty of traction, protection, control and stability for even steeper more technical trails. This shoe feels way more speedy, agile and responsive than previous models and just begs to be pushed hard.

I'll use these for the Bolder Boulder 10k on Monday and they are also my top pick for the Pikes Peak Marathon in August (my only reservation is that my test pair is a half size too small, so I question how they will work for me on a 13 mile descent).  Speaking of fit, these run a little large.  I normally wear size 10 in all of the other Hoka models, but my Huakas are a 9 and fit quite well for day to day use (though given the choice, I would go 9.5 for just a little extra room in the toe).

I'll also be interested to see how they wear over time, as the outsole is already showing a little wear and tear after just 16 hard trail miles (not entirely unexpected though, given that it is a road shoe with a lot of foam).

I think I have heard that these will be released in July, but I don't remember where I heard that, so I am not entirely sure.  Keep an eye out, I highly recommend them!

Those are insoles I robbed from another pair of shoes, as the supplied insoles felt somewhat awkward to me (low in the arch creating a very annoying sharp-ish edge, but putting in a "normal" insole alleviated this issue entirely).

Comparing them with other Hokas, (Huaka, Rapa Nui 2, Bondi 2, Stinson EVO Trail

With the Stinson EVO Trail

Comparing with the Bondi 2

Chasing the Rapa Nui 2

With the Mafate Speed (Allison's shoe)

Women's Huaka

Sage Canaday/Vo2 Max Productions has an excellent video review here:

Saturday, 04/12/14 Moab

Allison and I got a few days away to ourselves in Moab, always a great Spring ritual.  We got in a little hiking, a little running, some fun, easy, non committal scrambling/canyoneering and a lot of eating.

A short shakeout hike before dinner on our first evening in town.

Somebody had a rough descent off of Lion's Back (now closed to vehicles).

Everything was in full bloom.

Descending the Lathrop Trail in Canyonlands

Crazy color setting on the camera, adds a little zip to the desert landscape (yeah, I went a little crazy with it)

Mesa Arch in Canyonlands (way better at sunrise)

Arches National Park, Fiery Furnace scrambling.  We lucked out and got the required permit (issued in limited numbers), but if I had to do it over again, I would sign up for the ranger guided tour.  We scoffed at this idea initially, knowing we would hate being chaperoned with 25 tourists,  but I think it would be helpful to at least become familiar with the area, mainly for the sake of efficiency.  The terrain here can be a little confusing and technical, but adding to the navigational challenges are the strict rules of staying on rock or in drainages to preserve the sensitive soils, plants, etc...  We did not get many miles in, but instead did a lot of short out/backs, loops and up/down (basically aimless wandering).

Tight squeeze.

His/her Bushidos were perfect for this terrain.  They stick to sandstone like glue.