Easy lap on Sanitas with Sierra. Lot's of ice going up the S. Ridge, even more ice going down the East side. Carried Microspikes up and wore them for a bit on the way down, but there were some long sections of rock, so I soon took them off. Of course, not long after doing that, there was tons of ice, but I was too lazy to put them back on.
19:50 up
19 down
Sierra
Sierra
Monday, January 4, 2010
Saturday, 01/02/10 Green Mountain
Eager to get back into hilly terrain after a week in Virginia visiting family and 2 weeks of generally being sedentary, I coaxed Brandon and Homie into joining me for a trip up Green. I had low expectations, as I had been sick and spent so much time sitting around eating bad food, but figured I would push a little, just to see how all these factors affected me.
Brandon took it out hard on the approach. I was hoping for a casual warm up, but found myself huffing a bit when trying to make conversation. We started up Amphitheater trail with Brandon setting a strong pace, then me, then Homie trailing behind. A few minutes in, Brandon pulled off, saying something like he blew a lung or something. I went ahead, walking the steep sections, running when I could and debated for a while whether or not I should keep pushing ahead, or drop back and chat.
I felt decent and was mostly just happy to be back on home turf, so I continued to up the intensity as I went. Despite the snow, the Microspikes were providing great grip. On the upper 1/3 of the mountain, the footing became less solid in the drifted snow, enough to spin out some and lose efficiency, but still not that much of a problem.
Toward the top, I was sure I would sneak in under 40 and kind of rested on my laurels a bit, but then the watch started getting out of control, so I cranked the last 3 minutes or so, but my complacency bit me in the ass by 24 seconds as I topped out in 40:24. Dang.
My time was not what I had expected given the effort, but I was overall pleased given the conditions and my lack of discipline as of late. Homie rolled in soon after, then Brandon and we all cruised down Ranger/Gregory at a conversational pace.
Brandon took it out hard on the approach. I was hoping for a casual warm up, but found myself huffing a bit when trying to make conversation. We started up Amphitheater trail with Brandon setting a strong pace, then me, then Homie trailing behind. A few minutes in, Brandon pulled off, saying something like he blew a lung or something. I went ahead, walking the steep sections, running when I could and debated for a while whether or not I should keep pushing ahead, or drop back and chat.
I felt decent and was mostly just happy to be back on home turf, so I continued to up the intensity as I went. Despite the snow, the Microspikes were providing great grip. On the upper 1/3 of the mountain, the footing became less solid in the drifted snow, enough to spin out some and lose efficiency, but still not that much of a problem.
Toward the top, I was sure I would sneak in under 40 and kind of rested on my laurels a bit, but then the watch started getting out of control, so I cranked the last 3 minutes or so, but my complacency bit me in the ass by 24 seconds as I topped out in 40:24. Dang.
My time was not what I had expected given the effort, but I was overall pleased given the conditions and my lack of discipline as of late. Homie rolled in soon after, then Brandon and we all cruised down Ranger/Gregory at a conversational pace.
2009 Summary and Stats
Although I broke my foot and ended up being mostly out of action during a good part of the prime summer months (including Pikes Peak), I had a great year regardless.
The highlight of the year for me was certainly running the Grand Canyon RRR in April. I ran an 8:43, taking ~1:40 off my previous best from 2006 and was very happy with this. I did not train for it as well as I could have because of an IT band injury prior, but I was well prepared in every other way and had perfect conditions and mindset on the day. I am itching to go back and give it a go again this year, hopefully I can still improve upon my time with better training and more experience.
Other highlights this year include (in no particular order):
Winter 14er ascents with the Winter Warriors.
Winter Longs Peak climb with Tim.
Emperor Couloir on Torreys with Dave and Bob D’s CMC group.
Canyoneering trip to Utah with Allison, Dave, Emily and the dogs.
Informal TT series up the Boulder Peaks in May/June and setting a new PR up Green on the “standard” route.
Watching Lance win the Leadville 100 MTB race with my sister Darcie.
Trip to Alaska (despite a freshly broken foot, I had an awesome time).
Biking Mt. Evans in January.
Lot’s of road riding while I was off my feet.
Plus too many other great outings with Allison, Sierra and friends to bore everyone with here.
In 2010, my goals are to have as few injuries as possible, climb as many new peaks as I can fit in, spend lots of time doing this with Allison, Sierra and my great friends, do some more canyoneering, improve my time for the RRR, help Allison finish her final 5 14ers, improve at Pikes Peak, compete in a few more races (though I am not sure which ones yet) and most importantly, always enjoy myself to the fullest.
2009 by the numbers:
525,314 Vertical Feet
1,501 Miles
28 14ers
23 13ers
7 12ers
1 10er
53 Trips up Green Mountain
47 x Sanitas
43 x Bear
30 x S. Boulder
214 Days on my feet
50 Days on the bike
247 Total Summits
For kicks, I added up the numbers for the past 5 years (the only years I have kept detailed records):
2,823,889 Vertical Feet (equivalent to 535 vertical miles, or 361 Pikes Peak Ascents from Manitou, or 2,259 trips up the Empire State Building, or 97 trips up Everest from sea level).
7,551 Miles
114 14ers
At least 1,159 total Summits (including repeats)
The highlight of the year for me was certainly running the Grand Canyon RRR in April. I ran an 8:43, taking ~1:40 off my previous best from 2006 and was very happy with this. I did not train for it as well as I could have because of an IT band injury prior, but I was well prepared in every other way and had perfect conditions and mindset on the day. I am itching to go back and give it a go again this year, hopefully I can still improve upon my time with better training and more experience.
Other highlights this year include (in no particular order):
Winter 14er ascents with the Winter Warriors.
Winter Longs Peak climb with Tim.
Emperor Couloir on Torreys with Dave and Bob D’s CMC group.
Canyoneering trip to Utah with Allison, Dave, Emily and the dogs.
Informal TT series up the Boulder Peaks in May/June and setting a new PR up Green on the “standard” route.
Watching Lance win the Leadville 100 MTB race with my sister Darcie.
Trip to Alaska (despite a freshly broken foot, I had an awesome time).
Biking Mt. Evans in January.
Lot’s of road riding while I was off my feet.
Plus too many other great outings with Allison, Sierra and friends to bore everyone with here.
In 2010, my goals are to have as few injuries as possible, climb as many new peaks as I can fit in, spend lots of time doing this with Allison, Sierra and my great friends, do some more canyoneering, improve my time for the RRR, help Allison finish her final 5 14ers, improve at Pikes Peak, compete in a few more races (though I am not sure which ones yet) and most importantly, always enjoy myself to the fullest.
2009 by the numbers:
525,314 Vertical Feet
1,501 Miles
28 14ers
23 13ers
7 12ers
1 10er
53 Trips up Green Mountain
47 x Sanitas
43 x Bear
30 x S. Boulder
214 Days on my feet
50 Days on the bike
247 Total Summits
For kicks, I added up the numbers for the past 5 years (the only years I have kept detailed records):
2,823,889 Vertical Feet (equivalent to 535 vertical miles, or 361 Pikes Peak Ascents from Manitou, or 2,259 trips up the Empire State Building, or 97 trips up Everest from sea level).
7,551 Miles
114 14ers
At least 1,159 total Summits (including repeats)
Sunday, 12/27/09 Virginia
Sunday, 12/27/09
~8 miles
1:15ish (includes a stop at the grocery store)
Got out for a short easy run in Centreville, Va.. while visiting family for the holidays. I attempted to run trails, but the 2 feet of snow they had the week prior, coupled with fluctuating temperatures and rain created a real mess and I found it unpleasant at best to deal with. About 1/3 of the run was on trails, avoiding mud, puddles, patches of ice and loads of dog poop. The remainder of the run was on sidewalks.
This was the only run I managed to fit in during the entire weeklong trip. I would have run every day just to burn calories, but I also got sick, so I was lacking energy, combined with un-inspiring running terrain, it just was not going to happen. Just as well, the break was a good thing. On these trips, I wish I liked running for the sake of running.
~8 miles
1:15ish (includes a stop at the grocery store)
Got out for a short easy run in Centreville, Va.. while visiting family for the holidays. I attempted to run trails, but the 2 feet of snow they had the week prior, coupled with fluctuating temperatures and rain created a real mess and I found it unpleasant at best to deal with. About 1/3 of the run was on trails, avoiding mud, puddles, patches of ice and loads of dog poop. The remainder of the run was on sidewalks.
This was the only run I managed to fit in during the entire weeklong trip. I would have run every day just to burn calories, but I also got sick, so I was lacking energy, combined with un-inspiring running terrain, it just was not going to happen. Just as well, the break was a good thing. On these trips, I wish I liked running for the sake of running.
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