It's been a busy month trying to finish up projects, get training in, climb, and arrange everything for my next social experiment. March turned out all right, despite one week of semi-taper for a race (8th overall), some crappy weather, and dealing with the nightmare commute which requires me getting up at 4am three days a week. In total I did 237.9 miles and 50,748' of gain - a little shy of where I would like to be, but given everything I'm happy. April is looking to be a better month so far, and my last with the commute which hopefully will either free up some time or at least allow me to sleep more to recover better.
For April so far, I'm at 219.3 miles and 25,637' gain. That includes a couple rest and taper days and dealing with the last week of crappy weather. I'm feeling good, and should be able to bump up the vert to around 50,000 over the next 9 days. So, things are going well. My foot acted up pretty bad during the 24 Hours of Lake Palmer event, forcing me to start walking way too early and then eventually to pull the plug after 12 hours and ~62 miles. It was certainly a bummer, as I was mentally and physically feeling good, but I was unwilling to push into an injury for a "fun" run. After a week of taking it easy, the foot seems to be OK. It really only acts up on roads when my gait is a certain way and I do much more mid-foot striking. On trails, I notice it but it doesn't seem to be bothered. Must be a sign of some kind!
As for climbing, things have been going well, although I have not had the time I would like to get outside much. Lots of campus board, finger board, and gym bouldering. I'm thinking with the move back to B-town and my social experiment, I'll get more time to get outside. I've already got two areas in the Flatirons that I need to check out, some are only partially developed and need more work. One is a M. Battaglia area that I looked at a long time ago but really want to go back to and develop this one house-sized boulder. Of course, summer is right around the corner, and that means all the fun will be up high, so they might have to wait until fall when temps will be better for pulling on small edges.
Couple articles that I wrote: Five Trails for Hill Running and Mountain Training around Boulder.
I had the honor to interview Alan Culpepper a week or so ago. Amazing guy, humble, insanely fast and talented. Here is the article.
Sunrise over Green Mountain. So happy to not be running in the dark anymore!
The standard shot of Boulder from on top of Bear Peak. Running the Skyline is always a fun time, and I'm psyched to be moving back there.
Longs Peak and clouds.
I went and watched the Boulder Track Club dominate a meet at Mines a week or two ago. Some really talented runners, and Troopy is really doing an excellent job coaching.
Old mine ruin I checked out on my failed Mt. Saxon Double. There was still too much snow to really make it worth it, but I love checking out old mine ruins. Found two medium sized boulders up there, but nothing deserving the 4 mile hike!
Don't mess with these dudes!
The board from 24 Hours of Lake Palmer. It worked pretty good, although I know I marked on a couple others at points when I was tired, and someone marked on mine at the beginning. But for a fun run, a great time and event!
Looking up Clear Creek Canyon from the top of Lookout Mountain. This was during our 5 days of snow and rain we just finished.
The view south from the summit of Mount Morrison. I really want to run the hogback from point to point, seems like a cool, logical line if not a hellish bushwack!
Dinosaur tracks! Lots of wild turkeys on the backside of Mount Morrison. It's a lush little valley and they must be thriving down there, as I saw four of them in one day.
Not the best shot, but you can see the turkey taking flight in the center of the photo. Big birds that you rarely see.
I'll be hosting a trail running clinic on May 7th as part of the promo around my new book. Come and check it out, should be a good time, and it's free!
