bad altitude

pawtoberfest 5k

2011-10-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

I was pretty excited when we originally registered to run the Pawtoberfest 5k to benefit the Pikes Peak Humane Society. When I woke up this morning and saw the weather, that excitement quickly diminished. The wife decided to stay home and keep the kiddo warm but I didn't want to let the rego money go to waste. I threw on some decently warm clothes and grabbed my rain jacket on the way out the door. When I got to the start, it was still snowing pretty good so I tried to find shelter while waiting for the start. We got directed to the check-in tent on the other side of the park and they funneled us right across the grass which was oversaturated so my feet were soaked before the race even started. I briefly th0ught about grabbing my bag and getting in the car and heading home but I decided to stick around.

Once the race got started, I settled into a decent jog and finally started warming up. I didn't have a watch with me and didn't see a clock at the line so I have no clue what my time was. Probably over 30 min if I had to guess, which was fine given the conditions. Ready for the 70 degree weather to come back next week.

incline friday

2011-09-23T11:24:00.001-07:00

Rough morning up there and my legs and head never felt into it. I bailed at the cut-off and jogged back down Barr. Had planned to hit Grays and Torreys this weekend but sounds like there is more snow up there than I want to deal with. Backup plan is Mt. Rosa from Gold Camp Rd. Looking forward to a local hike that isn't Barr Trail. Supposedly some good scenery at the St Mary's Falls and nice views from the top.

incline 9/14

2011-09-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

After getting up the incline in a relatively quick (for me) 47 minutes and change last Friday, I followed that performance up with a 63 minute effort this morning. I started out pretty quick but I could tell soon that my HR was way high and it wasn't long before my legs felt like weights. Took a break at one point and just sat on a rock trying to fight back a puker. Thought long and hard about heading back down to the bail out point but got off my ass and headed onward and upward.

Didn't feel great on the run down the Barr Trail either. Just glad to get it over with.

what's been goin on

2011-08-15T09:13:00.000-07:00

Since April some pretty cool stuff has been going on....

I was slated to run the Colfax Marathon in May but was tapped for a three week trip to VA for work which started a week before the marathon. The heavy end of the training block wasn't going great so I was prepared to jump into the half but ended up not running it at all, obviously.

When I returned, I took a little break from running to get my house in order. I was still making twice weekly trips to kill myself on the incline and then a nice leisurely jog down Barr, but wasn't doing anything remotely close to real running.

Fast forward to middle of July and my wife and I welcomed our first baby. Being a Dad is the coolest thing in the world and this baby girl teaches me something new every day. Since Jaelyn's birth, I've managed to get a few runs in and feel pretty good. Obviously, this was a big part of the reason I did not sign up for the Ascent this year. My wife has been gracious enough to let me make the trip over to Manitou to spectate. I'm actually kind of excited since I've never seen the start or finish from that perspective. Looking forward to watching that unfold on Saturday.

Nothing real firm planned for running. Just trying to find time to get out and run when I can. My wife has been awesome so far and is always open to letting me get out of the house for a run.

catching up

2011-04-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

After my last post, the hip started acting up a little more. With a trip to Puerto Rico for my sister's wedding on the horizon, I took the opportunity to heal a bit and take it easy while on vacation. Several days I toyed with the idea of running but I never got out early enough and didn't want to mess with 85+ degrees and humidity. Once back in CO, for the final weekend of March, I got a short run in on Saturday and managed to hobble 13+ miles on Sunday in the fog and cold. Welcome back, indeed.

Hip was still bothering a bit after that weekend so I made an appt to see the doc. Naturally, he was booked out til mid April so I opted to chat with the PA but that wouldn't go down until the 4th. I took the week off to let the hip rest in hopes that I could salvage a long run on the weekend.

Saturday, April 2nd, I headed out to tackle a long run. Things went fairly well until about 13 miles in when I ran out of water. Been a while since I've run in anything close to 70 degrees and it really got cooking around noon. Felt pretty good about the outing overall. Hip still a little bothersome but no worse than it had been before. By Monday when I was scheduled to see the doctor, naturally, my hip felt great. I had trouble explaining and locating the painful areas to the doc and he basically said it probably was not hip bursitis but just some general overuse of the fascia on the medial and upper iliac crest. So the layer of muscle that attaches to the top of the outer hip bone. Prescribed one PT session where they could show me some stretches/exercises for the affected area and wished me luck at Colfax.

Monday night I ran the 4 mi golf course loop and things felt pretty good again before and after. Will plan on running a little longer tomorrow and prepare for 17 this weekend.

sunday 3/14

2011-03-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

Got out for a long run Sunday morning. Weather looked great from the bedroom window but the wind was quickly beating me down heading north. Once I reached Dublin, I finally turned and got some relief from the wind. Heading southbound, the wind was a big help in keeping me moving forward.

Ended up running north of 12 minute miles for most of it, but it was all really comfortable. Ended up with 12.1 miles on the day.

Got a couple issues that I'm trying to work through. My left foot, just below the middle toe there is some discomfort there. It's a really dull pain, but it's noticeable. Definitely hurts worse after a run and not much of an issue during. My left hip flared up a couple weeks ago one morning before the PPRR Winter Series 10K. I was able to work it out before the race started and it didn't bother me much after that. It has gotten a bit worse since. It comes and goes and certain movements upset it much more than others. Up high on the outside of the bone, it's a bit tender to the touch. Some web diagnosis leads me to believe it's trochanteric bursitis or greater trochanteric pain syndrome. During runs, I can just feel a little tightness that comes and goes. Even just standing and walking it's not noticeable. However, lateral hip movement or a steep bend at the hip makes it scream a little bit. I'm sure it's due to scoliosis wreaking havoc on my form/mechanics.

Heading to Puerto Rico later in the week. Looking forward to some long runs at sea level.

st pats 5k

2011-03-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

Went downtown for the traditional running of the St Pats 5k followed by some car bombs and beers on the patio at Old Cs. After some spirited runs the last couple weeks, I was feeling I could crank out a PR and maybe dip under 27 minutes. I got to the park about 15 minutes before race start and by the time I got to the start area, there wasn't much time for a warm-up so I started the race cold. Nothing new. I spent most of the first mile weaving in and out of traffic and trying to negotiate some course changes that I wasn't expecting. The garmin clicked off the first mile in 8:3x something and I didn't pass the actual marker for a few hundred more yards. That was the last marker I saw so I wasn't terribly concerned about it. Mile 2 is mostly uphill and it proved to be a struggle as it has in years past as that one went by in 9:03. The final mile has two 180 degree turns as the course makes a "T" on Cache La Poudre St before heading back down to Acacia park. That mile went down in 9:11 and I stopped my watch at 27:24. The course finished about 300 yards earlier than previous years because they added a short spur in the first mile to make up the distance. I was surprised when the line snuck up on me but I don't think I had much of kick in me anyway.

Hurried down to Old C's to stake out a table and enjoyed a few beverage while watching the parade. I checked my official time this morning and I got 5 secs back with the chip timing, finishing in 27:19. Pretty pleased as that represents a 1:50 best over my previous PR.

week recap 2/21 - 2/27

2011-02-28T06:43:00.001-08:00

Solid week with bump in the miles and a PR at the 10K distance.

Monday - broke out the new headlamp for 3.5 around the house.

Wednesday - wore shorts before sun up for 5.2 around the golf course

Knew it was going to be a big mileage weekend so I took off Thursday and Friday

Saturday - 4th installment of the PPRR Winter Series. Temps weren't horrible but the wind was pretty stiff on the exposed portion of the course including the penultimate mile, which split the second fastest of the race. Ended up with a 1:05:43. I think that's a PR by close to 7 minutes.

Sunday - dropped a car off in town and drove up to the Northgate trailhead of the Santa Fe Trail. About a half mile in, Josh realized he left the keys to the car we were running to in my car. He turned back and said he would catch up and I ended up running the first 5 miles solo. Really enjoyed the scenery and trails through the AFA. Once south of Woodmen it becomes less fun, but we made it to Garden of the Gods knocked out 11 mi. Was able to hold a decent pace for most of the run thanks, no doubt, to the 500 ft elevation drop over the entire route.

Woke up with a weird hip issue on Saturday and almost bailed on the Black Forest race. Quads were really sore after Sunday's run. Not sure if it was the lack of compression shorts or the gentle downhill. More fatigue than anything. Things are starting to come together.

tuesday 2/15

2011-02-15T10:57:00.000-08:00

Only managed 2.7 in Palmer Park with the dog. The real fun began when I got back to the parking lot and found my driver's side front window smashed out. Phenomenal! I had left the keys in the cupholder and stashed the keyless entry fob in my shorts and locked the door. The would-be thieves were obviously ruh-tards. After trying to pry at the trim at the back window and destroying it, they just decided to smash the front window. Once inside, they grabbed the car keys ( I assume the alarm was going off at this point and I don't believe the car will start unless the door was unlocked with the key or the keyless entry fob), my headlamp, work badges, and a baseball cap. Thankfully, they didn't bother to open the glove box as my wallet and cell phone were still in there when I got back.

I had to call my wife to bring a spare set of keys so I could drive home. The front door has already been re-keyed since they do have my house key as well. Now just have to get the car vacuumed out and the window and moulding fixed.

This all went down between 6:35 and 7:15 am in Lot 13 in Palmer Park. I'll start parking in one of the larger lots and running to the trail head from there I guess.

week in review 2/7 - 2/13

2011-02-15T10:36:00.000-08:00

Took Monday and Tuesday off again due to the weather. It would be nice to have a treadmill on days like those but I can't see spending the kind of money needed to get a decent one.

Wednesday - heavily bundled up once again for 4.2 around the golf course

Friday - Weather was awesome. Met a work bud late in the afternoon and we tooled around Palmer Park for a bit. Glad I brought a head lamp. 2.7 miles.

Saturday - Pikes Peak Road Runners Winter Series III. While the weather was ok, the course conditions were not. The race goes from Baptist Rd up to Hwy 105 in Monument and back on the Santa Fe trail. The couple days of decent weather before was not enough to put a dent in the snow pack on the trail. By far the worst part was the first half mile where some snow had drifted and then was packed really unevenly making for some real tough footing. Further up the trail there were some spots of bare dirt and most of the snow pack was pretty soft and only about an inch deep. I ended up way too close to the front of the pack at the start because of the logistics of the start area but was quickly put back in my correct place once the gun went off. Felt decent for most of the run and was putting in a good effort. Despite the bad conditions I was able to clock a 50:43. Pretty happy churning out 5 miles in those conditions at that pace. Much better effort than the 4 miler 3 weeks prior.

Sunday - I had planned to get out first thing in the morning for a 10ish mile run, but some folks were coming down from Breck to check out my Jeep. Once they split, we had plans for lunch at Jose Muldoon's so my run got pushed way back into the late afternoon. I destroyed a big burrito at lunch and it proved a bad idea immediately when I started my run. The plan was to run from my house to my parent's house where steak and lobster tails would await my arrival. I ran on a mix of sidewalks, dirt and asphalt (mostly sidewalks) to get there. Once the burrito started settling I found a nice groove and neg split for the last 4.5 miles. The steak and lobster tail was worth it.

Decent week - 21 miles, 4:24 total time.

wednesday 2/2

2011-02-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

Still been trucking along. Lined out a structured plan to ramp up for Colfax. Got a run in on Monday before the shit hit the fan and took Tuesday off. After work on Wednesday, I pulled out UA leggings, some crappy wind pants, a long sleeve base layer and a Columbia shell and set out for 4 miles. No idea what the actual temp was but I was able to pull the gaiter down off my face for most of the run and stay comfortable.

jan 24

2011-01-25T08:07:00.000-08:00

Headed out after work for a few miles. Nice that I don't need the headlamp until I've made the turn to head back home. REALLY looking forward to longer days. 3.4 mi.

Rego'd for Colfax last night since it was still cheap until today. Time to get serious.

jan 23

2011-01-23T18:33:00.000-08:00

Confirmed that my watch is indeed still fully functional. I could have taken it back to Costco but I would have had to pay at least $50 more to upgrade to a 405 since they don't sell the 305 anymore. Glad I'm out nothing now.

Got out around 11:30 this morning. Weather was pretty nice. Shorts and a long sleeve T were enough. Head started getting a little chilled around 4 miles. Ended up with 6.6 on the run. Really slow but it's miles. Another pretty solid week. Weather for the upcoming week looks nice. Cool.

jan 22

2011-01-22T21:19:00.000-08:00

Rolled out of bed around 8 and headed down to El Pomar Park for the second installment of the PPRR Winter Series. Ended up getting there about 50 minutes before start. After rego'ing and getting a number I sat back in the car for a few minutes. I went to fire up my watch only to find it wouldn't power up. I remembered seeing the display indicating that it was fully charged before I had left the house. Damn... guess I'll have to take it back to Costco. I tinkered with the idea of carrying my phone but the GPS numbers are way unreliable on known courses around here that I figured I'd be fine without.

Ate a gel a few minutes before start. Felt good heading out for the first mile, but the second going north really left us hanging in the wind. Once I made the turn, I felt pretty good with the aid of the wind at my back. I didn't have much left in the tank during the final mile and coasted home. Apparently shortly before I finished, the clock had been blown off it's stand so I had no clue what my time was. The website was updated later to show 40:22 for the 4 mile race. Decent considering I've only been putting in miles for a couple weeks.

When I came back home I futzed around with my Garmin 305 for a few minutes and found the reset process on the Garmin FAQ page. Holding mode + reset for 10 seconds and then powering the unit on worked like a charm and all is well with my watch again.

Link to Garmin support: https://buy.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId={c61aad70-03c5-11dc-786a-000000000000}

jan 21

2011-01-21T08:34:00.000-08:00

The streak is over. Took yesterday off after failing to get out of bed early enough and then met up with some buds after work for a couple of O'Dell's finest IPAs.

Got up early this morning and headed out. Cold temps are bearable and almost comfortable so long as the wind isn't blowing like it was on Wednesday night. I jogged 3ish miles. Watch battery was dead which pissed me off considering it had been plugged in for two days but I suspect my laptop was asleep during that time and was not charging via USB. I took my phone and launched the HandyRunner app and let it track time and miles. The GPS accuracy is pretty sketch on the phone as this route is usually 3.1 on my Garmin, but measured 3.76 on my phone. The coolest part about the app is that is automatically uploads the run to my log on RunningAhead as soon as I hit stop. I went back in to the website and modified the distance however.

Pretty solid week despite missing a day. Racing the Pikes Peak Road Runners Winter Series #2 4 miler tomorrow.

jan 19

2011-01-19T21:34:00.001-08:00

Nevermind about looking forward to tonight's run. What a miserable slog that was. No real snow to speak of and it was absolutely brutal running into the wind. I immediately realized I was under-dressed for the conditions when I hit the main thoroughfare between neighborhoods but pushed on through. Made for a really pleasant return trip. 3 mi on the day. Pretty much ignored HR and just wanted the run to end.

jan 18

2011-01-19T08:37:00.000-08:00

Got out after work. Wore the HR strap again. Definitely was moving too fast last week and I've slowed to a crawl this week. 4.1 miles but kept the HR in check by walking a couple of the climbs when I bounced off the rev limiter and then picked up a jog again when things mellowed out.

Looking forward to a run in the snowflakes Wednesday night.

jan 17

2011-01-17T22:11:00.000-08:00

Caught a quick nap when I came home from work hoping the wind would die down a bit. It was fully dark by the time I got out the door but mostly comfortable with pants and an REI Chilly Trail half zip. Wore the HR monitor and walked a few hills where it started yelling at me. Kept it under 149. A little slower going than I had been running thus far this month, but probably better to reel things in now with the increased volume. The run tonight definitely felt much easier than anything over the weekend.

Officially ssssstreaking, I guess, with 10 straight days. Cool. 3 miles tonight.

weekend recap

2011-01-17T11:28:00.000-08:00

Got out Friday afternoon for a few miles in the nice weather. Again on Saturday, I ran 5 miles in Palmer Park with the dog. Ended up changing into the screw shoes when I got there as there was quite a bit of snow in the shade and was glad I had them. Sunday was 3 miles around the neighborhood.

Really starting to feel some fatigue setting in but I think most of that is due to running too fast. I'll break out the HR strap tonight and make sure I dial things back including walking if necessary.

and so it goes...

2011-01-13T09:27:00.000-08:00

After racking up ungodly amounts of miles from Oct - Dec (9.6 mi in total), I've found a little motivation to fix that. I don't really have any firm plans for anything but the lack of movement got old. There comes a time when the excuses just really have to stop and foot has to meet pavement. I'm REAL good at excuses. In this week where we've probably had the coldest temps of the winter, I got REAL good at not making them.

I ran with the IC for the second time this season on the day after New Years. It was cold, but I was there. Last Saturday was the kickoff of the PPRR Winter Series. My fitness, or lack thereof, kicked me in the junk. So after attending a christening and grabbing some breakfast on Sunday morning, I headed out into the first flurries for a 4 miler. Monday brought cold temps and more snow, so I worked at home. Around 11am, I cobbled together enough warm clothes and set out for 3+ miles. Tuesday, I was back at the office and then had another meeting after work. As soon as I got home, I threw on layers and headed out into the darkness. Three more miles. Rinse and repeat the scenario for Wednesday night. This morning I was up and out the door before sunrise.

I can feel that I've run for six days straight but it's not that bad. All the miles have been super slow due to conditions and that's just fine at this point. Looking forward to some warmer miles over the weekend.

gimpy foot

2010-09-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

Through no fault of my running, my left foot is rather messed up. While screwing around on our way up to the festival floor at the Great American Beer Festival on the 17th, I was showing off my "parkour" skills. The rather large dude behind me decided he wanted to show me up and I turned around to see him coming down on the top of my left foot with all 300 lbs he had to offer. I walked it off and nursed it with plenty of delicious 1 oz servings of beer for the rest of the evening. The pain has come and gone and seems worse the past couple days than it had all last week.

I haven't been able to run on it since and don't know when it will be ready again. No discoloration just a dull ache to let me know that it's still not right.

catching up

2010-09-13T07:18:00.001-07:00

8/31 - 4 mi around the golf course

9/2 - del mar/solana beach; ran through the fog and down to the beach. Amazing the feeling of running right at sea level. Floated up what few hills I encountered and ran hard up a set of stairs that went from street level down to the beach over 4 or 5 flights.

9/11 - had some trouble readjusting after vacation but finally decided to get out later in the morning for a run. 4 mi around the golf course with the dog.

9/12 - Set out a little before 8am with the idea of just going long. Hit a couple of trails that I had previously not been on before and made my way over to Palmer Park. Ran the Greencrest over to Austin Bluffs and started back towards home. Mixed in a few walking breaks on the way home and ran out of water as it started getting hot. 12 mi, 2:30.

sunday 8/29

2010-08-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

Ran 4 mi earlier in the week and otherwise took it easy post-Ascent.

Got up and took the dog for a mile jog around the park. Dropped him off and was back out the door on a 10.5 mi run with some decent rollers and climbs. Been a long time since I ran that long. Achilles started barking about 10 mi in and I walked a couple hundred yards to quiet it down. Generally lazy day around the house until I cooked up a flat iron steak and sliced it up for fajitas and washed it down with a couple Gubnas from Oskar Blues.

Heading to San Diego for a much needed vacation on Wednesday. Looking forward to completely unplugging from work for a solid week. Obviously looking forward to getting a couple good runs in at sea level to offset some of the In n Out burger.

Poking around with a new (to me) site to upload Garmin data to and it seems light years ahead of the Garmin Connect site. RunningAHEAD is what garmin connect should have been.

PPA recap

2010-08-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

Ran a 5:01:39 today. 1:40 short of my goal. I've already identified about 3 or 4 places where I could have made that time up but hindsight is 20/20. Pretty pleased with the run even though I came up a little short.

Ran the W's a minute faster than last week and made it to No-Name in 1:21. Was at Barr Camp in 2:23. Things kinda fell apart from there on up. I had about 30 min to click off each of the last 3 miles and was unable to make it happen.

In the end, it's a nearly a 29 min PR so I'm ok with that. I'm sure the mountain will still be there next year.

I'll get a few pics up tomorrow from the start and finish and see how the result is settling then.

tuesday 8/18

2010-08-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

Ran 2.5 mi around the house when I got up. Felt OK.

As of Wednesday afternoon, legs feel heavy and stiff. Might run something Thursday morning to loosen up.

sunday 8/15

2010-08-16T06:16:00.000-07:00

Got a few runs in during the week last week and then put the last of the proverbial hay into the barn on Sunday. I wanted to try a little experiment and see just how much of the W's and balance of the trail up to No Name I could run. I set off from Memorial Park at 7:30 and jogged down the empty streets of Manitou toward the mountain. I had no disillusions about running the first switchback starting at Hydro St up to the turn away from Ruxton Creek. For me, running that stretch during the race or training would be pretty disastrous. I settled into a nice hike when I hit the climb starting at Hydro. Once on the singletrack connector to Barr, I found a slow but steady jogging pace and managed to hold that all the way to the top of the W's. The only walking steps I took were to navigate a couple of the rock fields and a couple step ups.

I hit the top of the W's in 56. That's only a minute or two better than I've done when just hiking it so I don't think the gain there is worth the additional effort. The first couple of switchbacks ater the top are in realy bad shape. The runoff has left a trough in the middle of the trail that is now full of about 2" of loose scree. On the sides of the trough it slopes up so dramatically that it's really tough to pass. I almost fell into a couple folks as I jumped up on the slope to let them pass on their way down.

After the break there, I found a comfortable running pace again and made my way towards No Name Creek. I never really noticed how much of the course there is runnable and it made the same old trail a little bit exciting. I hiked the final pitch up to the Rock Arch and also the last couple hundred feet of real steep stuff up to No Name and stopped the watch in 1:22. That's at least a 4 min PR up to that spot so I felt pretty good about the run. I'm sure the nice, cool weather played a hand in aiding those times but that was an effort that I'd never really gone for after always getting HR up way too high while running in the W's and just settling for a hiking pace the rest of the way.

So I learned that there is still no need to run the W's on race day but I will start picking up the pace immediately after the top of the Ws and really take advantage of some runnable terrain and bank a little time where I would usually just follow the pack.

This is one of those runs where you do something you've never done before and it goes well. The timing couldn't be better due to the shot of much needed confidence with respect to what kind of shape I'm in. Two more easy runs this week and then the big show on Saturday.

tuesday 8/10

2010-08-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

Traveled back home on Monday so no run.

Got up this morning and seriously considered not running until I jumped on the scale. Weekend at the in-laws always means lots of good food and this past weekend was no exception.

Geared up for 4 mi around the golf course loop. Took over 2 min off my time from last Wednesday. This will probably be a staple of the runs going forward since it's easy to get to and provides a nice baseline. 4mi; 46:30.

sunday 8/8

2010-08-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

Was in Roswell, NM for the weekend with the in-laws. It's well over an hour to the mountains from there and the family had plans to go to the lake Sunday so I had to find a route to run closer to town.

I thought about going out to Bottomless Lakes State Park and running a few laps on the mountain bike trail and then later decided to hit the urban trail from one side of town to the other and back.

Slept right on through the 6am alarm and finally got out of bed at 9am. It was already well into the 90s at that point but that's my punishment for sleeping in I guess. I threw on as little clothes as possible and headed to the zoo where the trail starts. It was nasty hot to start but once moving there was enough breeze to cool things off. I made my way across town moving from street level and then down into the Spring River drainage every few blocks and then back up. When I finally reached the golf course, it was mostly exposed around the perimeter of the property. About a mile later I reached the end of the trail on the west side of town. The heat had really started to take its toll at this point and I mixed in a few walking breaks on the way back but managed to run most of it. Probably some of the hottest weather I've run in but I was glad to get in 8 miles in those conditions.

Enjoyed the rest of the afternoon at the lake in the cool water.

wednesday 8/4

2010-08-04T07:57:00.001-07:00

Legs felt pretty beat after the weekend so I took Monday and Tuesday off. Wednesday is typically an incline day but I didn't have the time to get over to Manitou and back so I ran the golf course loop CCW. 4.1 mi real easy. Thought about extending it but the dog was getting tired and I was too. Didn't pay much attention to HR but when I did, it seemed lower than previous runs on that loop so that's good I guess.

sunday 8/1

2010-08-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Hit Memorial Park at around 6:30 and was on the PPA course by 6:45. Never felt like I was moving very quick at all but was hitting splits for a sub 5 hr ascent. Took it fairly easy between No Name and the 7.8 sign, but by the time I hit the foot bridge to make the last climb to Barr Camp, I was in a bad way. Calves and hamstrings just felt real tight. I finally hit camp in 2:35 after crawling the last half mile. Drank some Gatorade and started back down. Legs just felt stiff and sore for the most part. I jogged a few stretches but never could get comfortable. Just past the top of the Incline, Bucky came down behind me and we jogged down for a while and chatted. About halfway down the W's, we both decided we'd had enough and walked the entire way back to memorial park. Will be in NM next weekend but I may try to get to BC the last weekend before the Ascent.

saturday 7/31

2010-08-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

Got up on Saturday looking for redemption on Blodgett Peak. Slept in a little but still got to the Open Space parking lot early enough to get a spot and headed up. It was real muggy due to all the rain the night before but I settled in heading up the trail before the real climbing starts.

I reached the mouth of the valley and then headed straight up the trail determined not to leave it early and end up in the boulder fields like last week. I passed a group coming down on the other side of the creek and continued up. Not long after I reached a rock wall at least 12 feet high and I was closed in for the most part. I pulled out my phone to try to figure out where I was. I had reached the "extra credit" waterfall feature and could not go anywhere past this point.

I backtracked down the drainage and finally spotted what looked like some trail across the creek. I managed to get over there and I still think I was a little high, but finally stumbled across a rock cairn. Must be trail! I scrambled up the scree slope and was passed by another dude so I figured I was still on the route. I reached the top of the ridge, jogged through the flat before beginning another steep climb to the top of the saddle. Trail was pretty worn here and nicely marked with cairns. I threw stones on a few to make them a little more conspicuous where I had trouble finding them. Eventually I reached the saddle and it was just another 1/4mi or so to the summit. Once on the summit, it was well worth it. Got some awesome views of the clouds dancing around above the city below my feet. Snapped a couple pics and then settled in for the treacherous descent back down the mountain.

sunday 7/25

2010-07-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

Left the house at 3:30 Sunday morning headed for Twin Lakes. Got there about a half hour before I was supposed to meet up with the rest of the group who was camping up there. Met them all at the SE ridge trailhead at about 6:30 and we started up a few minutes before 7. Steep switchbacks dominated until we crossed the creek for the first time and got into the meadow. We hiked the meadow until treeline and things got really steep after that. Finally gained the ridge after essentially hiking straight up the drainage. I think everybody in our group mentioned it would have been nice to have a few switchbacks mixed in that section.

Once on the ridge, it was a pretty quick hike over to South Elbert at ~14,100. We didn't stop here long since the view from there to the ridge around to the real summit is pretty daunting. We took off down the saddle and started the climb up the final pitch. The first section was pretty steep but nothing like the drainage from earlier. The final climb was broken into 3 sections with a quick steep ascent, then a more mellow flat area, almost like stairs up to the summit. We finally reached the summit in around 4:25 and ate and waited for the last of our crew who from the outset said he wasn't going to keep our pace.

After hanging out for close to an hour we got a little worried that our last man hadn't made it up yet and were getting ready to head down the trail looking for him when we spotted him climbing the last couple switchbacks for the East trail. Somehow he had managed to get over there trying to avoid the climb out of the saddle between South and Elbert. He finally summitted and grabbed a few bites to eat before we headed back down.

The route down to the saddle and back up to South Elbert was more elevation gain than I remembered coming down earlier (isn't it always that way at 14k feet?), but we made quick work of it and reach the ridgeline where it was time to drop down the drainage toward treeline. It wasn't fun coming up and it might have been worse coming down with all the scree and dust in the steep trail. Once back down to the meadow it was pretty smooth sailing back to the trailhead. The temps got more and more oppressive as we lost altitude and I dipped my hat in the creek both times we crossed it for some air conditioning. Made it back down to the trailhead and the full trip was completed in 7:54. Most of that time was over 13k feet with all of the ridgeline traversing on that route. Good times!

saturday 7/24

2010-07-24T13:35:00.001-07:00

Cliff notes: Blodgett Peak fail.

Headed over to the west side this morning to tackle a peak on the north end of town that I've never been up. Trail started out on a service road in the open space and dead ended into a single track trail near some old water works.

After heading up a drainage for about 10 minutes, I crossed the drainage and moved onto the east facing slope of Blodgett Peak. The trail petered out here and I was left to scramble up the boulderfield. Felt ok until I got to the top when it was just a scramble up a scree slope with no real trail to go by. I gained the northeast ridge but could see that I still had another few hundred feet of vertical to go with no trail.

At this point, I decided to start the slide down the scree slopes instead of continuing on. I made it back down to the water tank and the double track service road and back to the parking lot.

I looked up the routes when I got back home and saw the error in my ways. There is certainly a "route" to the top via the boulderfields, but you make it up as you go. The standard route continues up the drainage instead of traversing over to the east slope of the peak. I'll make sure I stay straight next time.

Took me almost 3 hours to cover 3.5 mi with a lot of backtracking in attempt to find some semblance of a trail around the boulderfield.

friday 7/23

2010-07-23T08:38:00.001-07:00

Counter clockwise loop around the golf course again this morning. 4 mi in a casual 46 minutes.

Gonna go check out Blodgett Peak in the morning. 5.5 mi round trip with 2400' gain! Climbing the southeast ridge of Mt. Elbert on Sunday with 5300' and plenty of time above 13k feet.

Breaking news: Leashes only work when you actually hook them up to your dog.

As I rounded a corner this morning some lady had a leash in her hand and a dog walking next to her. Unhooked. Her dog was quite interested in Boomer and as I tried to cross the street, her dog continued to follow. I stopped and she just kinda stared like I should do something about it. I turned and ran back to the curb with her dog in tow and tried several times to continue on my way but her dog kept following... into freaking traffic. She chased the dog in circles around me 3 or 4 times before her mutt finally realized that it was in trouble and stopped. Awesome!

7/21 incline

2010-07-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

Got to lower Ruxton a few minutes after 6 and jogged up to the top of the Cog parking lot. Felt really good on the lower half and then blew up above the bail trail. Stopped my watch at 51:38 on the top. Easy run down Barr and then back down Ruxton to the car.

A touch over 4 mi on the outing in 1:33.

monday 7/19

2010-07-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

4 mi around the golf course. Took the counter clockwise loop today and it proves to be much more difficult with a pretty significant climb over the 3/4mi or so up the hill on Constitution. Managed to run all of it and felt pretty good.

sunday 7/18

2010-07-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

Got a late start up Barr to get up as high as I wanted to take pics of the BTMR action so I settled in at the turn for the 2nd switchback. Ended up being a pretty good spot. After the race went by, I wasn't keen on hanging out there for at least the next hour so I headed down to the finish. Found a pretty good spot to grab pics there and took quite a few of the finishers coming into the line.

Headed home, made some breakfast, watched Le Tour, and took a nap. As the afternoon turned to evening, I was itching to do something since I didn't get near enough work in the morning. I put the shorts on, grabbed the dog, and headed over to Palmer for a run around the loop that we usually bike on. Ended up with 4.5 mi in an hour at a very casual pace. Not sure if it was the clouds or what, but it seemed like it got dark awfully fast after the sun tucked behind the front range. Made it back home at 9 and caught a few minutes of BTMR coverage on the news.

wednesday 7/14 - incline

2010-07-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

Up early and headed over to Manitou. The thermometer in my Jeep read 75F when I left the house at 5:30! However, it stayed mostly cloudy for the hike up the Incline and was quite comfortable. Up in 51:29, easy jog back down to Ruxton. Times are far from impressive but I've taken over 10 minutes off since I started going over there on Wednesday mornings last month.

Was up late watching Le Tour and got up early this morning. Time for coffee. Even now that Lance is out, I'm so completely invested in the race and I can't stop watching it. Epic stuff.

getting close

2010-07-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

... and I'm way behind the curve. I've been making twice weekly trips to Manitou to do the incline and then some. Last Saturday, I decided to get some time in on the real course. I hit sub 5 hr splits up to No Name and took it really easy to the 7.8 sign where I was down about 4 minutes. Turned around there and fried my quads all the way back into Manitou.

A few other runs sprinkled in around those trips to the west side of town but nothing terribly exciting to speak of.

In other news, I quit chewing Copenhagen almost two months ago. Bad news is I didn't quit eating. Gained a few lbs in the process but it beats lip cancer!

Will hit the incline tomorrow morning and then go up to Barr Camp on Saturday. Might also head up early on Sunday to scope out the BTMR and snap pics for a couple hours.

saturday 6/12

2010-06-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

Headed over to Memorial Park Saturday morning. Saw a few IC folks milling around before "The Lung" rode in on his scooter with bike helmet on. I managed to score my first * since late Feb because there was a special IC run due to the GOG10M on Sunday. After signing in, I headed up Manitou Ave towards the Cog Depot. Weather was rather nice, 50 degrees and cloudy. Didn't have my watch as it was dying when I turned it on so no idea on splits to the top of the Incline.

At the top, I opted to head straight and get a bonus mile by hitting the Barr Trail junction just shy of No Name instead of the steeper bail trail just off the top. The rain started at this point so I pulled my jacket out of my pack. Wish I had brought the water resistant gloves too but it wasn't bad. Things broke up about half way down the Ws and it was nice back down in town. Ended up with 6.55 mi in a casual 2:30 based on the clock radio in the Jeep.

Felt pretty good about the outing overall. Still lots to do.

6/10 bike in palmer park

2010-06-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Met a few friends for a ride around Palmer Park Thursday night. Was all going well until I took a digger over the handle bars coming off a drop. No major damage except for the holes in my hand, a little rock rash on my left leg, and some funkiness in my right elbow/forearm. I got up, dusted myself off and finished the ride. Was expecting to be in major pain today but I'm no worse for wear. Maybe that's a sign I should stick to running or just riding tame single track instead of hitting the technical stuff.

Ended up riding for only 40ish minutes and 3 mi. Full incline tomorrow and then some miles up Barr Trail.

half incline

2010-06-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

Out the door at 6am to head over to Manitou and get on the Incline. Was thinking about a full trip up but bailed half way because I'm REALLY out of shape and I had to get to work. Ran back down Barr to the car and headed to the office. Probably 2.5 mi.

Catching up:

Monday was 4 mi around the neighborhood real slow.

Tuesday was 2.5 mi of the same.

Just really trying to get as much time on my feet as possible. Definitely need more weekday mornings on Barr and the Incline.

monday 5/24

2010-05-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

Messed around at the house after work and almost lost daylight. 2.5mi around the neighborhood with the dog at 8pm. Nice to be running that late with no lamp needed.

saturday 5/22

2010-05-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

Celebrated my wife's last day of school on Friday night and felt it on Saturday morning. Managed to get shoes laced up and got 3 mi easy around the neighborhood to sweat out a couple of the beers.

one

2010-05-21T12:50:00.001-07:00

Finally! School is out, we are moved into a new house and I can breathe again.

Pretty much lost whatever fitness I had built up in January and February trying to finish school, sell and buy a house, and get moved. That leaves precious little time to get ready for the Ascent. I think I'm going to skip BTMR this year and avoid any races until the Ascent.

Started back last night with one mile real easy with the dog around the new hood.

i'm in

2010-03-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

Signed up for the Ascent this morning. 4:59:59 is my predict.

Also, I hit a milestone on the scale this morning. Under 190 lbs for the first time since I stopped driving a beer truck and started sitting in a chair to earn a living. Almost 10 years. I'm down almost 15 lbs since Jan 1.

st pats 5k

2010-03-15T13:35:00.001-07:00

Ran the annual St Pats 5K in downtown COS on Saturday morning. I hadn't run two weeks prior to the race and my head wasn't really into it. Woke up to beautiful weather on Saturday morning and headed downtown. Hung out for about a half hour before the race start and then took a spot in the pack a little closer. I was still amazed by how many people I had to weave past in the first quarter mile that were at the front of the pack and walked right off the line. I left the watch at home and probably ran the first mile way too fast. As we made the turn to head back uphill I felt pretty good but once we past the park again, the wind came out of my sails. I talked myself out of slowing to a walk several times to get my HR down but managed to jog past the second mile marker. After I made the last turn and headed back to the finish line, it was a very slight downhill and I felt a little better. I managed to pick the pace back up and coasted to a 29:13. 6 seconds shy of a PR.

I really felt like I was making all the preparations to hit a big PR but all that slipped away over the past couple weeks with life getting in the way. Only two more months of school left!

oh hey

2010-03-06T00:18:00.001-08:00

Almost forgot about this thing. Been REAL busy with work and school which has put a severe dent in my mileage but I'm still getting out sparingly ie one long run on Sunday :|

Sunday 2/21
Incline Club run. Thought about maybe trying to get the Waldo Loop from Memorial Park but it wasn't meant to be. I made it up to the top of the first climb in the canyon before deciding that I had had enough. It was cold and snowy for most of the run but not as bad as the week before. First time I went out with screw shoes and really like the traction they afforded and they don't curl the toe up like Yaktrax do. Got 10.5 miles in.

Sunday 2/28
Was looking forward to getting back on Barr Trail but we had to house sit for my folks and we only ended up with one car over there. I opted for a long run around their hood. Mix of streets, sidewalks, and some trail. The only thing that made it exciting was that it was somewhere I'd never run before. The wind was brutal. At one point, I considered just running to my house and having my wife meet me there, but decided against it since her cell had died the night before. Got 9 miles in.

Work and school (and hopefully a side gig provided my bid gets accepted) will probably be dominating my time for the remainder of the semester but hopefully I can still get a few miles in each week and maintain some fitness.

I'll be back in Manitou on Sunday and then the St. Pat's 5K is the 13th. I'm waffling on Pikes for some reason and I'm not sure if I'm going to make BTMR since my brother-in-law's bachelor party is that same weekend in PHX.

Life goes on...

sunday 2/14

2010-02-14T21:18:00.000-08:00

Rough week at work and school. Hopefully things will calm down later this month and into March.

Finally got out this morning to run with the Incline Club. I didn't wear warm enough clothes and almost crawled back in bed when I had to come back inside to get car keys from my wife, but the dog wanted to go so I got back in the car and headed over. It was bitter cold and windy when I got to Manitou and I never got warmed up. I wasn't uncomfortable but it's one of those chills that never goes away until you take a hot shower and sit in front of the fire for a while.

Made my way up to No Name and turned back. Certainly never pushed the pace but I hit the creek in ~1:30. Took my sweet time coming back down the mountain and got back to memorial park an hour later. Went to TX Roadhouse with the wife for a steak afterwards.

Looking up past No-Name

Boomer's got an ice beard

That's what I'm talking about

sunday 2/7

2010-02-07T11:23:00.000-08:00

Incline Club run. Did 9.2 miles in the Garden with Bucky. Nice to relax and chat with somebody and the miles just click off.

thursday 2/4

2010-02-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

Crazy week at work and school. Finally managed to get to the gym after class Thursday night. Ran 3.1 miles.

Went snowboarding at Monarch on Friday and felt it when I woke up on Saturday morning. Spent the day with the wife house shopping in a neighborhood much closer to the mountains and some good trail running nearby.

Incline Club run tomorrow.

january summary

2010-02-01T07:48:00.000-08:00

I've never really done a monthly summary post but all the cool kids are doing it so what the hell.

13 runs, 66 miles, over 14 hours and 49 minutes. Not too concerned with how slow it was, just nice to get the miles in. Compared with January of last year, where I ran a whopping 8 miles, this is a good start to the year for me.

sunday 1/31

2010-01-31T15:44:00.000-08:00

Long run in the Garden of the Gods again this morning. Ran with Josh and did 11.5 real slow. The first 6 or 7 miles clicked off real quick and then it got tough after that. Nowhere near as warm as yesterday, but wasn't too bad when the sun finally came out.

Garmin data for this run

saturday 1/30

2010-01-30T10:33:00.000-08:00

Ran as soon as I got out of bed this morning. Grabbed the dog and went out on the roads and came back on Sand Creek Trail. Good weather, easy run, 4.6 miles. Incline Club tomorrow.

wednesday 1/27

2010-01-28T09:19:00.000-08:00

After work, school, and dinner with the fam, I finally managed to get to the gym. I'm already feeling the weight of all the projects and group work at school this semester and it's only week 2. I've got 3 classes and a group project that spans just about the entire semester for each class. Balancing all those due dates and group meetings is going to be "fun".

Anyway, felt good to run out some steam. Kept it nice and easy, 4.3 miles on the treadmill while listening to the end of O's speech and the rebuttal. Got bored after that was over and just took off the headphones and zoned out staring across the gym.

Been really trying to focus on diet this week too. Easy during the week, not so much on the weekends.

this is a beard

2010-01-26T06:42:00.000-08:00

A few pictures of a gnarly beard and the progression of getting rid of it.

winter series II pics

2010-01-25T11:08:00.001-08:00

Couple pics from the winter series race on Saturday.

sunday 1/24 - IC run

2010-01-24T10:08:00.000-08:00

Planned on running 10+ in the Garden of the Gods from Memorial Park this morning. Temps were right around freezing when I got there but the wind was whipping pretty good. It got worse as I hit the high and exposed spots in the garden. A combination of the wind and yesterday's run lead to me wussing out and I settled for 7.5 mi.

Garmin data

Snapped a few pics while I was out this morning

saturday 1/23 - winter series II

2010-01-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

Waffled on running the 2nd installment of the Pikes Peak Road Runners Winter Series all week. I'm just not that into running a race that short right now. I'd rather just run slow and get miles in. I had a change of heart last night and I headed down there this morning with the wife in tow. I grabbed a bib and headed out to do 1 mile of warm-up jogging.

As I ran back into the parking lot, my watch showed close to 10am but there were plenty of people milling around in the lot with race bibs on. I headed down towards the staging area and as I was about 200 yds out, I see a crowd of people running out onto the course. I make my way to the start line and ask somebody if that was the 4 mi race that just left. She said it was, so I took off in chase. I started my watch as I crossed the line to get my true time knowing I was already well over a minute, maybe even two, behind the gun.

I felt OK for the first mile and then settled in for the second mile. I spent most of the first half of the race picking people off until I finally reached people who were matching my pace. At the turn-around, I grabbed a cup of water, took a couple sips, and headed back. I felt like I really fell of the pace in the third mile but it was actually faster than mile 2. It didn't take long to see the final mile marker and I found another gear for the last mile. I picked off a few more people coming into the home stretch and put in a nice kick for the final 150 yds. I saw the clock moving to 41:00 as I crossed and hit my watch. Stopped it in 39:38. I guess I'll be on time for the next one.

Garmin data for the race

thursday 1/21

2010-01-22T06:44:00.000-08:00

Legs were toasted after the Sunday run up Barr Trail so I didn't run until Thursday. Classes started this week and it's going to be nasty this semester, but I'll have a masters in May.

Went to the gym after class and ran 3 easy on the treadmill.

sunday 1/17

2010-01-17T13:34:00.000-08:00

10 mi with the Incline Club this morning. From memorial park up, 5 mi up the PPA/M course. We turned back right around where the Bob's Rd aid station would be set up.

Trail was pretty icy in the shade going up. Had to put the YakTrax on at the 2nd switchback on the Ws. Places that see sun are mostly clear and dry. At No Name there was a bunch of snow and ice from runoff that had melted higher up and froze where the trail crosses the creek. Higher up was mostly just packed snow and footing wasn't too bad.

Garmin data

saturday 1/16 - a goal

2010-01-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

Caught Sherlock Holmes at the movies last night. He was kinda portrayed as this real badass intellectual who thought out his moves in slow-mo before kicking some dude's ass. Good show. Ate a bunch of sushi beforehand so I had to get up and run it off.

3.25 mi this morning. Easy loop around the neighborhood. I wish the weather would stay like this until about late April and then warm up for summer. Garmin data for the run

I didn't want to really commit to any new years resolutions because they are so cliche but I've floated something out there to a few people in conversation so I might as well write it down here. I'm going to run 1000 miles this year.

Going to check out the Ice Festival today (before the sculptures melt) and then IC run tomorrow. Not sure how far I'll make it towards Barr Camp but at least No Name Creek, hopefully higher.

Also, GO COWBOYS!!

wednesday 1/13

2010-01-13T15:32:00.000-08:00

Wanted to get out and enjoy the nice weather so I brought stuff in so that I could get out during the work day. 3 mi loop around the office neighborhood.

monday 1/11

2010-01-12T06:56:00.000-08:00

3 miles on the treadmill at the gym. First 2 mi @ 5%, final @ 1%, all really slow.

sunday 1/10

2010-01-10T10:49:00.001-08:00

IC run. Headed out from memorial park and realized I forgot my Yaktrax. Headed back to the Jeep and by the time I got there I decided to run through Garden of the Gods instead. Awesome weather and good views. Mixed it up on trails and the roads. 8 miles.
Garmin battery was dead again when I got there so I mapped it when I got home.

01/10/2010 Route
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thursday 1/7

2010-01-08T09:31:00.000-08:00

45 minutes on the elliptical at the gym while watching the BCS National Championship. This will probably be one of the greatest "what if" games ever with McCoy going down in the first quarter.

Legs feel decently abused this week and I can't wait to hammer on them more when I run with the IC on Sunday.

Heading to Boulder Friday night for the Todd Snider concert.

Wednesday 1/6

2010-01-07T07:30:00.000-08:00

Ran 3 miles on the treadmill at the gym. It hurt.

Glad all the traveling and holiday stuff is behind us so I can find some semblance of a groove to get into.

tuesday 12/15

2009-12-15T20:38:00.001-08:00

Made it over to the gym for a spin class after work. Wore the HR monitor for shits and giggles. Got a good sweat in for about an hour.

Garmin Connect Data for 12/15 spin session

sunday 12/13

2009-12-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

Finals sucks. One. More. Semester.

Due to the aforementioned finals and the really awesome (and by awesome, I mean not awesome) weather we had last week, I didn't run again until the Sunday run with the Incline Club.

Didn't want to get out of bed but I managed to drag myself out from under the covers and made my way to Manitou, stopping to pick up some goodies for the Feed Bag.

Saw Bucky there before everyone took off and he decided to hang back and wait. I had the dog and it's highly recommended to keep the canine friends at the back of the pack anyway. It was warm enough for shorts but I still had the beanie and fleece gloves on for some added warmth. Bucky and I ran together until the first hill up toward the Manitou water plant. As I reached the summit of that climb I realize I should have grabbed the YakTrax out of the Jeep before heading out. On the next climb, Bucky motored right up and I took my sweet ass time trudging through the snow. It wasn't long after that my shoes started getting pretty wet, but my feet never got uncomfortably cold. Boomer and I made our way almost to Long's Ranch Road (maybe 1/4 mile short of it) before I decided I was sick of running through 5" of snow with wet shoes and short socks.

We made the turn in a little over an hour and jogged back to Manitou. Bucky caught me about halfway down Ruxton and was already gone before I got back to Memorial Park (punk!). I hung out for a few minutes, munched on some food, and chatted with a few of the other early finishers.

Good run. Around 6.5 mi (my garmin didn't acquire satellites until almost Ruxton) and it felt easier than last week.

No immediate goals in sight currently. I'll have to see how the school schedule shakes out after the first of the year before committing to anything big. Just glad to be getting out when I would otherwise be lounging around the house on a Sunday morning.

Garmin Connect Data for Sunday 12/6

sunday 12/6

2009-12-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Got up early and headed to Manitou to hook up with the Incline Club. It was about 14 degrees when I got to Memorial Park and there was about 4" of fresh on the ground. Good day for a run. I waffled on footwear choice. The Wildcats I have do nothing to keep water out and I didn't think my road shoes would be good in the snow. I ended up wearing my Vasque high tops that I usually reserve for 14ers. These are sold as cross trainers so I figured they would be ok for some running. They worked out ok, a little stiff but my feet stayed warm and dry. The run was actually quite enjoyable after warming up and the weather never really bothered me.

Forgot my watch again.
IC: memorial park to upt 2nd summit
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tuesday 12/1

2009-12-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

Another 2 miles in the dark and cold last night. There was a bit of a breeze but I managed to beat the bad weather. Quads feel like they've been pounded on 10 miles of downhill and the hammy is still tight after but not during.

Looking forward to IC run on Sunday.

monday 11/30 - 2 miles easy

2009-12-01T08:28:00.001-08:00

Back at it. Got two miles in real easy last night. No watch, no HRM. Just grabbed the dog and did a quick lap around the neighborhood.

Hope I can get back out before the real nasty stuff gets here tonight.

Hamstring is still a little sore. Not so much running on it but when I go to stretch afterward I can feel it. I will get back into Champion Health for some ART after the first of the year if it doesn't improve.

hiatus

2009-11-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

Decided to just take a full two weeks off. Things are still pretty hectic and I can still feel something going on in my hamstring/hip area. I will run on Sunday but it won't be the PPRR Fall Series race. Might ride my bike over there and hang out/cheer people on.

Not sure how this will affect the Rock Canyon Half but I think I've still got time to get some miles in and go after a PR.

catching up

2009-11-08T18:20:00.001-08:00

Running has been real light lately. I got in 3.5 miles the night before the snow started flying a couple weeks ago and then ran the PPRR Fall Series III race at Ute Valley Park on Nov 1. Put in a real solid effort on a course that measured just shy of a 10K. I was under my 10K PR that was run over 2 years ago on a pretty flat and fast road course. The fall series course was up and down on pretty technical trails. I had a nagging little hamstring niggle that would come and go but never caused much problems but got pretty sore after the fall series race. I haven't run since then to hopefully let it heal up a little. It's not so much in the meaty part of the muscle but higher up near my hip. Hopefully get out a couple times this week and hit the 7M race next Sunday at Palmer Park. Then spend the rest of the month building up for the Rock Canyon half the first weekend in December.

thursday 10/22

2009-10-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

Uninspired 4 mi on the treadmill at the gym last night. It was hot in there and I just wasn't really in to it. I mixed up the pace and incline just to stay engaged.

Weekend weather looks nice so I will be back out for a long run at some point between homework and football.

tuesday 10/20

2009-10-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

4.1 miles - easyish recovery run. Just wanted to shake things out a little bit. I guess it's what the cool kids call a "doggy jog". Here is doggy aka Boomer.

Funniest quote heard at the Ski Run Road Challenge on Saturday - "The aid station at mile 6 is just aid... no relief, if you know what I mean. There was a porta potty there last night but it's not there this morning."

They still don't have results posted online.

Ski Run Road Challenge Report

2009-10-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

The wife and I headed down to Roswell on Friday morning. Hung out with the in-laws for a little bit and then hit up an Italian restaurant to load up on some pasta for the race on Saturday. I had some green chile alfredo which I will be attempting to duplicate in the kitchen at some point. Nice spicy kick on a traditional Italian dish. I was pretty beat from the drive down and I think I finally got to bed around 9:30.

Alarm went off at 5:00am and I got up quickly to throw on some clothes, grab a bite, and do the pre-race duties. We were out of the house about 10 til 6 with an hour plus drive to get to the start line in Ruidoso. Pretty drive to the town once you get into Lincoln county. Since this was a point to point race, they were closing the road to traffic from 8am to noon. This presented some difficulties for the fam since they wanted to see the finish but didn't want to get out of bed that early. I pulled into the parking lot, said goodbye to my wife, and she drove over to the cabins nearby to meet up with some college friends who came up to hang out for the weekend. They all made it onto the course before the road was closed. One of my wife's sisters and her family tried to get up but they were there a few minutes late and got turned around. The wife's parents and brother stayed in bed with plans to meet us for lunch later.

I went to pick up my packet and threw a couple things in the drop bag. It was cold there at 7300ft a few minutes before 8 but I was confident it was going to warm up. I put my gloves and race shirt in the drop bag and kept my quarter zip base layer on over my sleeveless T.

Right on time, the director called the field of 96 or so to the start line, made a few announcements, and sent us on our way. The first couple miles of the race were pretty tame with gentle rolling hills and no real challenges. I was trying to keep it slow but was moving faster than I had anticipated. No worries, the minutes here are easier to get than those up top.

As I got to the first aid station at mile 3, a few people who went out too fast had come back to me and were hanging around. I grabbed a cup of water, a cup of heed, and walked through the aid station getting them down. As I left, things got steep pretty quickly. I had remembered mile 3 and 8 being the nastiest ones on the elevation profile so I wasn't terribly surprised. I tried running but quickly went to red on the HR and settled into a nice brisk walk. I was still reeling in a couple of the people who were in front of me. After about 1.5mi of steep walking, things didn't get flat, but they did get runnable for stretches. I mixed in some stretches of running with the walking the real steep spots and made it to the half way mark in 1:21. I opened a gel just before entering the AS and washed it down with some water and threw a couple S-caps on top since it was starting to warm up. I decided to shed the base layer here too. Probably about 5 minutes too soon since just as soon as it was tied around my waste I hit a half mile stretch that was completely shaded and I got chilled quickly. Once back in the sun, I settled into walking again to keep the HR in check and still move efficiently. The next couple miles went by with increasing fatigue but I was still moving at a decent pace. Mile 8 got really steep again and I started to slow down on the switchbacks. The final traverse over to the AS at mile 9 was a bit flatter but I felt nauseous after the steep sections and took my time up to the station. After the AS, things got pretty tame with just a few more slight grades and then the bottom dropped out at about mile 11. I caught one person in front of me right at the start of the descent but couldn't quite reel in the next person on my way to the line.

I rounded the last turn and into the parking lot of the ski area. The downhill felt really nice for a change and I was able to push the last mile pretty good. I crossed the line in 2:43:18. We hung out for about an hour chatting about the race and eating some of the post-race grub until the last runner came in and the road re-opened. I was pretty tired on Saturday but never got sore. Felt really good on Sunday and things started creeping up today. Left hamstring is a little tight/sore in spots but nothing that some rest and stretching won't fix.

Looking forward to building on this and taking it into the Rock Canyon Half in December.

2009-10-18T07:49:00.001-07:00

Finished in 2:43:18. Tough course but I did about what I thought I could. Full report coming soon.

reverse taper ftw?

2009-10-14T06:33:00.000-07:00

9.2 mi on Tuesday afternoon. Weather was awesome and it ended a little crisp but still very comfortable.

I felt wrecked and didn't know how I was going to get almost 3 more miles on Saturday but that quickly went away after I stretched and cooled down a little.

Legs feel tired this morning but not sore.

Just checked the elevation profile for the course again. For some reason I was thinking it was like 4500 to just over 7k feet but it starts at 7300 and goes up over 10k. Can't do much about that now except go run it.

catching up

2009-10-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

Got in 7.5mi last Tuesday and 4 mi on Friday afternoon. I really wanted to get a long run in on Sunday but caught a case of the bottle flu and did a whole lot of nothing yesterday. Beating myself up over this but I'll make it right tomorrow. Gonna try to get somewhere between 8-10 tomorrow afternoon and then a short run on Thursday afternoon.

Heading down to Roswell on Friday and then quick drive to Ruidoso on Saturday morning for the race. Weather looks really nice for the weekend down there.

friday 10/2

2009-10-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

Split out of work early this afternoon, grabbed the dog, and headed to Palmer Park. Did the Palmer Point loop around the north side of the park and then went to overlook and back via Grandview. 5.67 mi, 1:19.

thursday 10/1

2009-10-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

3.25 mi around the hood this morning in 37:52. Being that I was sick last week, I missed out on the early cold weather running. The cold was back this morning, however, after a couple of really warm mornings earlier this week. Took a few extra minutes to get warmed up but once I did, things felt pretty good.

PM: Indigo Joes' Running Club. Walked a mile plus with the wife and then she turned back so I finished the course for another 3.3 mi of running on the day.

2009-09-29T14:53:00.001-07:00

Look ma, I'm blogging from my phone!

tuesday 9/29

2009-09-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

7.5 mi, 1:33. Another "just run". I'm losing patience and getting frustrated with watching HR all the time and it made running not fun so I'm just gonna run for a while and try to get miles in. With any luck, I can drop some weight and that will have a far more significant effect on aerobic fitness than grinding out miles watching the HR monitor like a hawk.

Gonna try to get down to Cheyenne Mtn State Park on Saturday to check out the Xterra Trail Races and cheer on a couple friends.

monday 9/28

2009-09-28T07:23:00.001-07:00

Still not 100% but feeling much better compared to last week. Whatever the hell it was that I had ran a strange course. Monday I left work early with some aches. Tuesday I felt better and was back at work but got worse as the day went on. Wednesday I didn't get out of bed and was achey all over and had a minor cough. Thursday I felt pretty good, still a little tired (Nyquil hangover), but I was able to work. Friday morning I woke up with itchy eyes and runny nose that progressively got worse and felt like the worst allergy attack I've ever had to deal with. Saturday was more of the same. Sunday I woke up and was able to breathe but it felt like any congestion had moved to my ears. Seems like a sinus infection at this point but who knows. If things get green, I'll hit the doc for some antibiotics and hopefully get it cleared up.

Now on to the good stuff. Sorta. I felt good enough to run early Monday. I grabbed the dog and set out for 6-ish miles. It wasn't long before my stomach decided 6 was not in the cards. I cut it short and got 3.75 in with a few walk breaks. Turned off the HR alert and just ran.

Got three weeks left until the 20K in NM. Hope I can stay healthy and the weather cooperates so I can get some miles in. Taper, schmaper.

sick!

2009-09-24T19:27:00.000-07:00

Think I caught the swine flu or some such shit. Wife was home Monday - Wednesday and I sat on the couch all day yesterday. Felt good enough to go back to the office today but the aches and general feeling of being run over by a Mack track takes its toll early in the afternoon. Michelle went back to work today and like half the school (ok, maybe a few kids) have been diagnosed with the H1N1. It hasn't been horrible but has kept me inside and fairly dependent on Nyquil.

On the bright side, I got it early so all you suckas who get it later in the year will really feel like shit. I'm available to come cough on people at swine flu parties for a small appearance fee.

sunday 9/20

2009-09-21T09:28:00.001-07:00

Gorgeous morning. I slept in until about 9 and was out of the house around 10. I didn't know where I was going but I wanted to run for over 90 minutes. I made my way across Powers and ended up running northbound on the Homestead trail for a little while before heading back across Powers. Felt pretty good albeit a little warm and again the heart rate kept spiking under what seemed like the easiest of efforts. Stopped for a few minutes about a mile from home to let the dog swim and drink.

Just over 7 mi real slow and on my feet for 98 minutes. HR hovered around 140 for the first 3 miles and then closer to 150 on the last 4.

friday 9/18

2009-09-21T09:26:00.001-07:00

Headed over to Palmer Park with the dog in tow. Ran the Palmer Point loop CCW and then headed up to Grandview before breaking off on the Cheyenne trail loop and then back down to the parking lot. 5.5 mi. Heart rate was all over the place and I was having a hell of a time getting it under control even walking up hills.

thursday 9/17

2009-09-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

Trying to get back in the rhythm of school and work and life and the running suffers. It was nice to get a few days off as I was just feeling tired. Headed up to Vail last weekend for Oktoberfest. Got in some mountain biking on the slopes. First time I've ever done any serious downhill riding and I had a blast. Definitely would like to do that again.

Got in a run Thursday evening. Never felt great and shut it down after 2.5 miles. Better than not running at all. Gonna try to get over to Palmer Park on Friday afternoon for a few miles and then either hiking Mt Elbert or long run in Garden of the Gods on Sunday.

tuesday 9/7

2009-09-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

Got out for a run this evening after work. Weather was nice and cool and I managed to dodge the rain. Just wanted to get lost in the adjoining neighborhood streets for about an hour and succeeded.

4.6 mi, Avg Hr 142.

Garmin Connect data

sunday 9/6

2009-09-07T13:20:00.000-07:00

Headed north on the Santa Fe trail for a little over 3 miles in the afternoon. Weather was cloudy when I got there but quickly heated up as the clouds broke. Felt like I lost all the gas came out of the tank at about 3 miles in so I hung out under the bridge on the AFA for a few minutes and let the dog swim in the creek.

Headed back into a little breeze which helped but still felt drained. Took a few walk breaks and hit a couple spurs down to the creek to let the dog cool off some more.

Managed to get 6.6mi in. Avg HR: 139. Pace was off but so was the HR so it felt like a pretty good, albeit hot, run.

friday 9/4

2009-09-04T16:42:00.000-07:00

MAF Test

Went to the gym to hop on the treadmill and see if things are progressing at all. Pretty pleased with the results.

I left room in the sheet for miles 4 and 5 but the thought of running 5 miles on the treadmill is utterly revolting.

Obviously, I still need to get more miles in and I'm working on it. This does add a little bit of incentive to keep grinding out slow mileage though. Taking tomorrow off going to the AF game and I think I will get a long run in GoG on Sunday or Monday.

thursday 9/3

2009-09-03T09:26:00.000-07:00

Got an easy 6 miles in this morning. Hamstrings still tight but don't seem to be slowing me down.

People really need to start picking up their dogs' shit. I ran on a little gravel trail that runs down Sand Creek and there were steaming piles of shit all over it. I can dodge it no problem but for some reason my dog can't. He wants to stop and check out every turd we pass and see just what the dude that left it there had for breakfast. Move that shit off the trail, people!

wednesday 9/2

2009-09-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

Still a little tight this morning but I rolled out a little after 6 and got 3 miles in. I REALLY need to hit the treadmill or the track to MAF test and see what's going on. Pace seemed quicker today and HR was down. Maybe since it was freaking beautiful outside this morning.

ouch

2009-08-31T08:29:00.000-07:00

Spent most of the day Saturday in the yard bent over pulling weeds and then shoveling 6+ cubic yards of mulch into a wheelbarrow and dumping it in the newly weeded areas. Yard looks much nicer but my hamstrings and back are hating me for it.

Hope I can get a run in tomorrow at some point.

friday 8/28

2009-08-28T20:00:00.001-07:00

Thought about doubling up yesterday but the knees felt a little stiff so I hung out at home and made dinner for the wife.

Left work a little early and grabbed the dog and headed to Manitou to go up the Incline. Temps were nearing 90 per the thermometer in my Jeep when I got there but most of the trail was covered in shade. I wore the HR monitor and kept an eye on it trying to stay aerobic. I only had problems in the steep stretch between the bailout and the false summit but kept things under control outside of that section. Dragging the dog up is quite the chore. He gets hot pretty quick and drinks most of my water and still gets stubborn. Nearing the bailout, I gave him a lengthy break to lay down in the dirt and cool off for a few. We would do this 3 more times before the false summit and just as many after it.

I hit the top in 1:04 which is my second slowest time ever, but wasn't terribly upset because the effort was extremely easy. I didn't even feel the need to stop at the top and quickly made my way down the steep trail and back onto Barr. Hung out at Ruxton creek for a few minutes letting the dog cool off and get a drink and then headed back to the car.

Went 3.6 mi in a blistering 1:44:17.

thursday 8/27

2009-08-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

I was stoked to get out and get a run in Palmer Park this morning. Got about 15 minutes in before my stomach twisted up in knots. A lot of starting and stopping and squeezing to keep things intact. I would have gone Brownie style but the park was pretty crowded this morning and I didn't want to give anyone a free show. Ended up walking most of the last mile. Got a total of 3mi in and heart rate was well under what it the usual range.

weekend in grand lake

2009-08-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

Went up to Grand Lake with the fam this weekend. I did some recon on the internets before heading up to find some runs close by to get me out of the condo for a few hours in the mornings.

Sat - planned on heading up to Shadow Mountain Lookout via a 4.8 mile singletrack trail in the forest. About the time I got to the trailhead I realized I had forgotten to grab my water bottle when I headed out. I got about a half mile up the trail and then headed back into town with a long loop around the main drag and back to the condo. Made it a 4 mi run, avg HR 139.

Sun - take 2 on Shadow Mountain. Geared up and drove to the trailhead so as not to turn it into a death march getting back to the condo when I was done. Made it to the top in 1:30 and ran a lot more of the trail than I thought I would be able to. Backed off when the HR alert went off. Felt really good. Snapped a couple pics from the lookout and ran back down.

Monday - Woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep so I got in another 3.5 easy miles around the town of Grand Lake.

Looking forward to doing another MAF test this week and see how things are progressing.

ascent pics

2009-08-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

A few pics from Saturday

pikes peak ascent race report

2009-08-16T17:11:00.001-07:00

After a week of anticipation and rest, Saturday morning finally got here and it was time to get down to business. I felt really good about the week leading up to the race and pretty confident that I could go out and get a sub 5.

We got to Manitou a few minutes before the gun went off for wave 1 and started making preparations. I couldn't decide what to carry with me. I figured it would be nice to have a poly long sleeve in case it got cold at the top but with the possibility of rain in the forecast I decided on a light waterproof windbreaker. I stuffed a fleece beanie in the pocket and tied the jacket around my waist.

I made my way to the back of the pack at the start line and jogged up and down the block behind the line a couple times to warm up. Shortly thereafter the gun went off and the crowd snaked through the streets of Manitou. About a block into the race, I noticed my shorts were falling off. I had 4 GUs stuffed into one of the pockets and the extra weight was pulling them down. I quickly tied the drawstring and didn't have to worry about mooning the crowd behind me for the rest of the day. No sooner than I had my shorts tied up, the HR alert went off on my watch. Dammit, what the hell was I doing in the half hour standing around before the race? I shuffled through the menus and finally made the beeping stop. Before I even got to Ruxton, the jacket I had tied around my waist started unrolling and flapping around. I removed it, tied a knot in the middle of it, and then knotted it tightly around my waist again. Finally, about 6 minutes into the race, the junkshow was over and it was time to focus on getting to the top of a mountain.

I yelled at GZ on the curb as I was heading up Ruxton. The rest of the race up to Barr Camp was fairly uneventful. I felt really good with the pace I was able to maintain versus the effort I was putting in. Clearly, the aerobic training is paying off. I was definitely above an aerobic heart rate but it seemed much easier than the trip up to Barr Camp a month prior in the BTMR. I hit all my splits for a sub 5 up to Barr Camp right on target and came into camp at 2:30.

My lack of altitude training really started to shine past Barr Camp, however. I was about 10 minutes behind pace getting to A-Frame and it didn't get much better above that. I focused on keeping a decent pace and not doing anything to spike the HR into the red zone. I think I stopped once during the first mile above treeline for about a minute and then kept crawling towards the summit. The final mile would prove slow with a lot of traffic in front of me. Once we got past the Fred Barr memorial plaque, I found an opening and passed about seven runners in the final couple of switchbacks and darted across the line at 5:28:37. Certainly well short of my "A" goal of sub 5 but I was under 5:30 and set a new PR by 14 minutes and change. Considering the training I was doing in the month since BTMR, I'm pretty pleased with my race.

Of course, I am grateful that my wife and my mom came up to hang out in the wind on the summit to cheer me on even if they could only see me for 4 minutes of the 5+ hours that I was on the course. It truly is an amazing feeling when I hear them yelling at me from the top.

Going forward, I will probably just keep running at slow pace and continue to build an aerobic base. This is the first time since I started running a few years ago that I have some semblance of reason for why I'm doing what I'm doing when I go out running and its nice to see some progress as well. I read Hadd before when I first started running and thought I put those principles into practice in my running. Thanks to GZ and Lucho for ranting on their blogs about how slow and how easy "slow and easy" is really supposed to be. Reading these guys really drove it home and I just took what I read and ran with it (pun intended).