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.

Garmin data

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.

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).

Garmin Data

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.

Garmin Data

This week was really up and down, some days really fun and somewhat confidence building and others had me questioning everything running related.

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.

Me with "Flat Stanley" (although I would name him "Dakota" if it were up to me.....)

Garmin Stats



Saturday 04/30/11 Bear/SoBo/Green  10.73 miles/4,471 vertical/2:30:01

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.



04/24/11 Weekly Wrap-Up

Overall a pretty good week, nothing crazy, just a lot of fun being outside getting back out on the peaks.  My achilles is improving, but the issue is definitely still there and I am being very aware and cautious by keeping my distance and effort somewhat conservative.  The good news is, thus far, nothing I have done this week has made it any worse and it feels a bit stronger each day.  Hopefully I can start pushing myself a bit more soon, as I have a lot of work to do to get back into decent running condition.

Monday 4/18/11: Green Mountain 5.5 miles/2,400 vertical

Tuesday 4/19/11: Local run 4.1 miles/370 vertical

Wednesday 4/20/11: Wanted to get out, but had to work and then family duties got in the way.

Thursday 4/21/11: Baby jogger run ~4 miles/500 vertical.

Parked in Boulder and ran up the Boulder Creek Path. It was a great day to be out, except the headwind was a bit chafing (the Chariot was tough to push uphill/upwind, but it was more the annoyance to the babies that made me turn and the decision was boosted by a flat tire (that I was able to fix on the spot)). Went super easy, tending to the girls needs, taking pictures, showing them cool stuff, changing a flat tire and stopping by the bike shop.

Friday 4/22/11: S. Boulder Peak and Bear Peak.  RT in a bit under 2 hours (59:?? for SoBo ascent)

Put out a last minute call to Brandon and he bit. Sierra and I met him at S. Mesa (was not planning to bring Sierra, but she guilted me into it at the last minute) and we headed up the non leash law Homestead Trail(instead of Towhee which is a few minutes faster), then up the normal Shadow route to SoBo Peak. We went at a somewhat relaxed pace, chatting and catching up. Sierra did a great job on the ascent, pretty much going as fast as we wanted to go with only a few delays when she stopped to drink water and socialize with other dogs, but I quickly got her back on track whenever she lagged. Over to Bear after SoBo, I took the direct rock climb to the top for something different, while Brandon and Sierra just went to the post. The descent was casual, as Brandon is nursing an achey knee and we were waiting some for Sierra (she is always particularly slow from the mouth of Shadow back to the car, not really age related, as she has always "dogged" this section since she was 2 years old or so).

Saturday 4/23/11: Green Mountain.  Up "middle", down Long Canyon. 7.31 miles 43:16 up/1:17 total.

I was not expecting to get out, but Allison called into work sick, so I was able to get in a bonus run. Originally I thought about running 3 peaks, but it was 30 degrees and snowing, so I ultimately just figured it would be best for me to keep the run short, run a few errands and score points by coming home early to help all the sick ladies in the house (yes, the twins were sick too).  Went up Gregory/Greenman (middle route) and went a little bit harder than I have gone in a while, cautiously pushing the pace at times, but generally kept the effort moderate. Near the ranger cabin, the snow started to accumulate more and more and footing was less than ideal with the 2-3 inches of fresh snow, so this gave me additional motivation to keep off the throttle.

At the Greenman/Saddle Rock junction, I spotted a faint set tracks that I eventually recognized as a PI Peak XC shoe, perhaps it is somebody I know?  By the summit, the tracks seemed to be getting relatively fresher, so I suspected that I was making up time on this person.  I had previously decided to take W. Ridge/Long Canyon back and coincidentally, so did the person wearing the Peak XCs so the chase was on.  I picked up the pace a little bit on the down, knowing the tracks ahead were getting fresher and fresher and around each corner, expected to see the owner. Some ladies walking up making tracks helped me to judge freshness and I was doing track freshness math for quite some time.

Based on the stride, tangent cutting and accuracy, I knew whomever I was chasing was moving very well and had a long stride, so it seemed whomever I was chasing knew what they were doing.  After Long Canyon and below the cabin, the tracks unfortunately went left toward Flag and I headed down Gregory, oh well....

Passed Dakota Jones heading up Gregory, said a quick hi, but did not stop (not sure he even knows who I am, but we have a handful of mutual friends). On the way home in the car, Dave called me and we chatted for a bit and we slowly figured out that it was him I was chasing up/down Green Mountain. No wonder I never caught the mystery person!  He must have been taking it easy IF I was gaining on him.  We were both bummed we were running minutes apart on the same trail and had not coordinated even though I called him before the run and he was assuming I was on baby duty due to our conversation the prior day.

Garmin Stats

Sunday 4/24/11 Green Mountain 5.36 miles/2,306 vertical 1:05 total 41:02up/24 down

Up/down back.  Had a really bad headache all day, but the free time was available to get out after work, so I was hoping some fresh air would improve my well being a bit.  The elevated HR only made my headache pound worse and I did not feel all that great physically, so I kept the effort no more than moderate, but mostly easy.  The fresh air, light snow and overall Spring like conditions however did wonders for my mental state.  I bumped into Allison and Sierra as they were coming down the NW ridge above the Greenman/Ranger junction (was hoping to time it better to descend with them, but just a few minute stop was all we got unfortunately).  Sierra was surprised to see me and went absolutely nutso as she was so fired up.  I almost turned around with them, but was intent on getting to the summit. 

Garmin Stats


Also tested out a new pair of shoes today as well, a pair of Mizuno Wave Ascend 6.  A bit heavy (11.? oz. which is seeming more and more heavy to me nowadays) but they are a really nice pair of shoes, great traction, stability, cushion and overall great feel.

Also briefly tested a pair of these yesterday, Mizuno Wave Universe 4.  3.6ish oz., so no wonder any other shoes feel heavy (these are being passed along to Brandon, as I can't ever see running in them).

Thursday, 04/21/11 Shoes Continued

Awesome Rogue Racer, perhaps the best shoe in my line-up, at least tied for the best (thanks Geoff!).

Brooks Adreneline ASR 8.  Love Brooks, eager to test out this "all weather water resistant shoe".  A bit on the heavy side, but if this is anything like other Brooks shoes, it will be great.

Zoot OVWA.  Just another Zoot shoe (not sure what the OVWA stands for).  Just wearing them around the house, I have noticed that they are a little squeaky, not sure what is up with that.  Light and comfy though.



Monday, 04/18/11 Green Mountain

Up Greg/Ranger: 43
Down Front: 25

I was mentally into getting out after work for some fresh air, but once I got on the trail, I physically was not at all into it.  I was low on energy overall, my achilles was feeling iffy and the test shoes I was wearing were feeling heavy and more like a hiker than a trail runner (more on the shoe later).

From the first step, I knew it was not to be my day, so I just took it easy from the get go and then bonked hard a few minutes above the cabin.  Fortunately, I had thrown a gel in my pocket at the last minute and I scarlfed it down, but it took a while for the sugar to reach my system.  With the bonk and my seemingly degrading achilles, I contemplated just turning around and heading home for dinner, but ultimately just ended up walking most of the upper 1/3 of the mountain. 

Once on the summit, I felt a little better, but was eager to get down and eat some dinner, so I headed down the front side, taking some interesting new routes that I had never done before, but it was very steep and dense which ended up costing me some time I am sure (but fun to see new scenery).

Test shoes, Scarpa Blitz Boa....  I will not go into detail, but let's just say that the shoe is a klompy/klunky hiking boot, intended to be a trail runner that looks like a low top hiker.  Easy on/off, but the Boa lace system is not for me, as it is impossible to get a custom fit like you would with a normal lace.  When I cinched it down to a point where I thought I had good tension and foothold, I had uncomfortable pressure points in some areas, where in other areas, the shoe was too loose and my foot would slide around descending steep terrain.  Perhaps some of it has to do with the shoe, but I think I will stick with a normal tried and true lacing system (although I have always liked the Salomon laces). 

Saturday, 04/16/11 Green

I was hoping to get out for a lap on Green with GZ and Footfeathers as they were running four three laps in lieu of a RRR run, but I ended up getting out later than I had hoped (but was still really stoked to get an opportunity to get out and enjoy a fine Spring day).  I put in a last minute call to Homie (that's how I roll nowadays that I have kids), figuring that he was probably long gone on Pikes or Green already, but fortunately, he too was slow to get out the door and was hanging out at home looking to get outside.

We met at the Gregory lot around 11:30am and headed up Gregory at a casual pace and soon bumped into Tim and then George who was not far behind as they were finishing up their final lap.  We chatted for a while, almost talking them into a fourth lap, but they needed to get home unfortunately.  Homie and I continued on and opted for Long Canyon since we had a bit of time and I was without Sierra.  Long lived up to it's namesake as usual, but I was really enjoying it with the warm sun, fresh snow and the great company of Homie.

Headed to the summit via W. Ridge and made the summit in about 1:03 I think (not including the social stop), spent a few minutes on top, then, against the advice of GZ and FF, took a chance and headed down the front.  It was snowy, but it was melting a bit and though caution was necessary, it was not too bad (especially with the gnarly traction the La Sportiva Crosslite 2.0s provide).  Not surprisingly, it was a great day out and great to catch up with Homie as it had been a while.  The achilles felt pretty good and though I was eager to push harder, I think it was helpful to continue to go easy on it.

Up:  Gregory/Long/W. Ridge 1:03
Down:  Greenman/Saddle/Amphi  24

Saturday, 04/16/11 More Shoes

In the 11th hour as I was on verge of having to run barefoot, the call came to come pick up some new test shoes....  Here are the latest ones on the shelf:

NB 915.  Though it looks sleek, this is certainly not a "Tony" NB shoe.  It is very sturdy and has the most beefy rock plate I have ever seen and it feels a bit stiff underfoot (and in hand).  It does have great traction though and is comfortable (though it is a bit voluminous and somewhat long for my usual 9.5).

Tecnica Diablo Sprint.  Reasonably light, great feel and traction (although they skate a lot bit on wet rock).  Stability and protection are good without feeling klunky.  Has a good "rocker" action, somewhat like the Hokas and I feel almost as tall in them as I would with a Hoka.

Brooks Glycerin 9.  Just got these yesterday and have not done more than walk around in them a bit.  I really like Brooks shoes and this model is no exception.  This might be the most plush and cush non-Hoka shoe I have ever worn, but in a good way.  It is a road shoe, but I think will do well on the trail.  This shoe will be released on June 1st rumor has it, so put your order in now!

Scarpa Blitz Boa.  I have snubbed my nose at these (even for free) a few times, but after just casually wearing them around, I am impressed with the fit and comfort.  Might end up being more of a casual day to day shoe, or a hiking/walking shoe though.

Zoot OTEC.  Another tri geek shoe (sorry JP/Lucho, but I say that with love and respect ;)).  Light, comfortable, good ventilation.  Not sure why Zoot makes different models, they are all the same to me, just different color/styling/laces....

Had not run in these as of my last shoe post, but this shoe is EPIC!  The fit is unbelievable and the traction on dry or wet rock is unmatched.  The perfect shoe for something scrambly like Longs where you are running for a long time and then scrambling on polished rock.  This runs like a real running shoe and scrambles like an approach shoe or maybe even a climbing shoe.  I HIGHLY recommend them if you do "adventure runs".



Thursday, 04/14/11 Green Mountain

Unexpectedly, my afternoon opened up (coinciding with the clouds parting to reveal a beautiful sunny day) and I was granted a baby break to get out for some fresh air.  I had a few new pairs of shoes to test and it was too wet to ride my bike, so I decided pay a visit to Green.  I made a few last minute phone calls to see if anybody could join and Scott J bit and ironically at the same time, I got an e-mail from Jim P about dogs on Green Mountain and informed him of the loosely timed "plan".  While waiting for Scott at the Gregory TH, Jim and his dog Maya came trotting up, followed by Scott seconds later.  Perfect timing.

We headed up Gregory/Ranger through the several inch deep slush and slop.  I set the pace, but felt bad for going so slow, as I know I was holding those guys up, as I was struggling a bit to maintain conversation in my less fit than normal state, not to mention the slipping in the snow was a bit taxing.

The summit appeared in a sluggish 44 minutes or so, but it hardly seemed like that long, as it felt so good to be out on a snowy, sunny day with great company.  We spent a few minutes on the summit, chatting about Vagisil and whether or not it is on the USADA banned substance list for ultrarunners.  Kayenta.

The descent was slow and cautious and we enjoyed plenty of great conversation (27:12 down Gregory/Ranger).  Back at the car, we spent a while discussing shoes (Scott was wearing some bad ass prototype Brooks light weight trail racer) and I had a trunk full of different test shoes.  After parting ways, I headed back up Gregory with a new set of shoes on my feet and another on my hands to do some more testing in the ideal for testing conditions.

It was great to finally run with Scott and great to see Jim again as it has been a while.  I really enjoyed having Maya along to, she is a great dog and I wished that I had Sierra along, they would have had a blast.