Oh Where Does The Time Go?

Oh Where Does The Time Go?

Lots has happened since my last post. Tara and I moved out of our VW Rabbit after living in it for 3 months and we are now living the American Dream as owners of a condo in Golden. I orchestrated a coup at work and got the owners to back off, which in turn made me an official manager. As a result, my work level increased, but not my pay. My right foot has developed some sort of wonky twinge that has been bothering me for a couple weeks now - it only hurts when I run, not when I power hike. So, if you notice my strava data, it is all power hikes up Mt. Morrison, Bergen Peak, Grays and Torreys and the like. I'm just now able to run again and get back into it. We will see how that goes as the US Skyrunning Championships in Flagstaff are Oct. 2-3 and I'm all ready to go. I am working on another trail running guidebook with Adam Chase and Nancy Hobbs, so that has taken up a bunch of time writing up trails, taking photos, etc. It will be a complementary guidebook to my other one - The Best Front Range Trail Runs - as it will have different trails in it. Together, the two should cover just about every trail along the Front Range from Boulder to Colorado Springs. I continue to try and work on my journalism, writing up some articles here and there for Colorado Runner Magazine, but lately I have been too swamped to get much done. However, the real big deal is that I am in the midst of a project celebrating Boulder runners and Boulder running. It will be a full color magazine/book that will come out this January. If anyone wants to contribute photos, writing, art, poetry, or other items, please reach out to me. I've been reaching out to folks and getting content, etc., but I have not announced it to the world at large yet. It will probably consume most of Oct. and Nov. I was appointed Deputy Director of the Transpersonal Psychology Department at Akamai University, and as a result am now working a ton on revamping the program and sitting on two different Ph.D. committees. Oh, and I'm furiously trying to get into the mountains before the snow comes and the mountain running season ends.

So there it is, a major catch up in only one paragraph! As usual, I'm more frequent on Twitter, Facebook, and Strava, but I do like trying to keep this blog up. Hopefully I'll get some more time and keep it going.

 The haze from the western fires on my Nolan's soft attempt. Sadly, I'd develop a weird altitude/asthma thing after four peaks, at which point I had to bail because I could not breath. The haze from the fires has been pretty bad off and on - I'm praying for rain for the folks out west.

 Antero from Tabeguache - pretty straight forward drop from the saddle down to Browns Creek, around the western side of the lake and then straight up.

 Looking back at Shavano and Tabeguache from near the top of Antero.

 Princeton from Antero.

 The trail up Grouse.

 The sunset with all of the haze in the air - and my lungs!

 The old familiar - the Stevens Gulch road. I've been getting back into hitting up the Full Kelso route and doing Grays and Torreys. It is such a perfect line - 5,300' of elevation gain all on a nice, dramatic ridge with plenty of class 3. I'm trying to get a good FKT for the line - right now it is 4:01 roundtrip from Bakerville for the Full Kelso and G & T. Certainly can go faster, especially on the descent where I have to go a bit slow due to my wonky ankle.

 The start of the Full Kelso - just power hike straight up for a vertical K.

 Colors are going off right now up high.

 Another go at the Full Kelso FKT - still not happy with my time, but there was snow and ice up high this time, so it will have to wait until next year for a real fast attempt at this point.

Sunrise laps on Mt. Morrison - always worth it.

Updates, Grays Peak, Bouldering, Snow Running, And More

Updates, Grays Peak, Bouldering, Snow Running, And More

It's been a busy and fun month. Although I have not been able to put in the time or miles I would necessarily like, I feel like I've had a solid month and things are shaping up well for spring. I don't go into my training much here (although sometimes I think I should, simply to put it out there, maybe get some feedback, and to hold me accountable), but I am slowly and consistently working my way towards my goals for 2015: Nolans, Skyrunning series, climb V12, work on my writing, and possibly do some other stuff. Below are some highlights over the past couple weeks:

 Found this book in a used bookstore. It's great that we have freedom of speech.

 One of the many sunrises I see, as most of my runs take place early these days.

 Got out and worked on some problems up on Dinosaur Mountain during one of the "summer" spells we had this month. Lots of good stuff up there - undone lines, hard projects, and relatively few people.

 Sunrise from one of the weekly runs up Apex and Lookout Mountain.

 I was challenged to do a President's Day Bouldering Challenge by Moja Gear. The goal was to climb 43 problems V5 and under in one try, all different, all under 2 hours. I succeeded, doing it in 1:43. 43 problems is a lot, and it was a lot harder then I thought originally, but super fun to step up and try and complete. 

 Looking back at the Lookout Mountain road. I've grown to really love this run. The grade is perfect for continuous running at a hard effort. There is a nice 13 mile loop, and hammering up and then down seems to be a really solid workout. Perfect for Skyrunning type races.

 I ran up Grays Peak (14,278') the other day before this last set of storms rolled in. I was testing a pair of snowshoes for Backpacker Magazine, so it had dual purposes. At the time, the snow levels were lower then last year at the same time, but that might have changed now. My roundtrip time from Bakerville was 4:14, including some fumbling/testing of the snowshoes.

 This picture is taken about 100 yards west of where the fellow was killed in an avalanche earlier this year. It is a common slide zone, and a key part where the winter trail differs from the summer trail.

I had the honor to talk with three-time Olympian Lee Troop a couple weeks ago and write up an article on him and the Boulder Track Club. Really nice guy, and what he is doing with the BTC is pretty exciting.

A nice set of photos from the original running of Nolans 14 here.

I really love the below movie. I used to surf way back when I was a pro snowboarder, but what I like is the vibe, old-school edits, and the music. I would really dig a movie set like this, but on running.

Palmera Express from Vissla on Vimeo.

Fa La La Half, Where the Monkey Sleeps, Hells Canyon, Nitrate Supplementation, Grays and Torreys

Fa La La Half, Where the Monkey Sleeps, Hells Canyon, Nitrate Supplementation, Grays and Torreys

On Saturday Tara and I ran the Fa La La Half Marathon in Westminster. This was my second road race and second speed race in the past two weeks. Coming from mountain and trail running, I didn't really have any good idea of how fast I might be able to run this, nor was I sure of my fitness. I was thinking 1:30 would be a nice time to try and aim for, but depending on the course, wind, etc., I was unsure of whether that was a reasonable goal or not. I ended up running a 1:32:16 which was good for 13th place overall, and 1st in my age group. I'm pretty pleased with the result, and I know with a bit more prep and some more speed work I could break 1:30. I do have to say that I'm coming to really enjoy the pain associated with these faster road races versus the slower trail/mountain ones I'm used to. Pushing hard and flying along for a good distance is pretty rewarding in its own way.

Getting a bit tired of waiting during the pre-race instructions - there seemed to be a lot of them.

Got out on JD's "Where the Monkey Sleeps" V10 the other day. This is a super thin problem with terrible holds and non-existent feet. Despite getting shut down, I came pretty close. The campus and fingerboard training is paying off.

Another article on nitrate supplementation, beet juice, and it's benefits. I used Red Rush prior to the Half on Saturday, taking one shot each morning three days prior to the race and then one more shot on race morning. Although I don't feel a "rush" I do believe the stuff works and have noted several benefits when taking the stuff, namely less lactic acid and seemingly faster recovery from efforts. The science is pretty conclusive that taking around 500mg of beet juice a day will help with oxygen delivery, vasodilation, muscle contraction, and more. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Although the R2R2R run in the Grand Canyon is an ultra classic, I've always thought of and wanted to do a run down into Hells Canyon on the Snake River in Idaho. Having worked up in the area, I know the terrain and depth of the canyon, and always thought it would be super cool to try and put together a run. The problem is that it is very remote country, and there are no clear-cut trails descending down into the canyon. However, it looks like two guys have finally put together a line that is fairly straight forward for pulling off a R2R2R of Hells Canyon. I need to put this on the list for sure.

Ran up Grays and Torreys again yesterday. This is becoming my "Green Mountain" these days, as it is the biggest bang for your buck in terms of altitude, elevation gain, and mileage. Other then driving down to the Springs for Pikes, no other peak or run gets you all three so easily. Unlike two weeks ago when I ran Grays only, this time it was perfect out. On days like this, winter fourteener running is the way to go - a packed trail, minimal wind, descent temps., and no one around. Beats summer mountain running hands down, but then again, days like that rarely happen. I'm sure next time I go up, it will suck and I'll hate it.

 Looking west towards Breckenridge and beyond...

 Looking south - you can just make out the Sangres...

 Longs way off in the distance...

More Mt. Morrison, New Trail Guidebook, 10K Race, Grays Peak, Cerebral Oxygenation Among Kenyans

More Mt. Morrison, New Trail Guidebook, 10K Race, Grays Peak, Cerebral Oxygenation Among Kenyans


One week ago, on Saturday, William and I had planned on doing a big day of laps on Mt. Morrison, going for twelve hours if possible. Sadly, mother nature had a different idea for us that day. We started at 6am and made it to the top of the first lap for a beautiful sunrise. However, starting on our second lap the storm that was supposed to roll in that evening arrived early. We were in good spirits and challenged mother nature to bring on the snow and cold. On the third lap, it started to really blizzard and the trail in sections started to get really slick (the rock section at the top and the initial .5 miles that is pretty steep and loose). We continued on our way, but as conditions continued to deteriorate and the trail became less and less manageable, we thought it best to save ourselves from a possible ankle-twisting slip and call it a day after four laps. Still a great time, and given the conditions, not bad: ~16 miles and ~8,000' of gain.

 Looking west from the summit at sunrise

 Above the storm clouds at sunrise looking east

The summit on lap three, storm raging below

Over the past year+ I've been hard at work on a new guidebook to trail running along Colorado's Front Range. Well, on Monday I finally received two advanced copies of the book. Published by CMC Press, I'm really happy with how it turned out. It was a ton of work, running all of the trails (many multiple times), taking hundreds of photos (over 150 in all), checking and re-checking stats, information, etc. I was pretty burned out on it and kinda not into it by the end, but now that it is done and in print, I'm really excited. I also had a lot of great help from fellow runners, who contributed nice bits throughout the book to help break it up. I'm really thankful for their generosity and for CMC Press for publishing it. Copies should be hitting stores in a couple weeks.

On Saturday, I ran a fast road 10K. Having never run a road race of this kind, and coming off a summer of mountain slogging, I wasn't really too sure what to expect. I had a vague idea of trying to beat :40 minutes, but I really had no idea if that was possible for me. The course consisted of 800' of climbing, with the first 3/4 mile following a gently uphill dirt service road before hopping onto a bike path and rolling along around the Arvada Reservoir. About 2.5 miles in a solid 500' climb went up onto the mesa behind the reservoir before turning east. I went out right behind the lead pack, figuring I'd just try and redline it from the gun, holding a bit back for the end. I felt pretty good once I got off the dirt road and started to get into a groove, and then caught a few guys on the climb as that is my strength. Up on the mesa, I was able to pull in two other guys before having to battle a fairly decent headwind for about two miles. The lead pack was up ahead, and it was just me and some dude in Newtons fighting it out - no idea on position, but just pushing each other. I took over the lead and responsibility of breaking the wind at mile 4, and then tried to make a little break at mile 4.5 at the start of the final climb of 200' or so. I was maybe twenty yards ahead, but the wind and effort started to get to me, and Newtons started to pull me back in. He caught back up and then drafted for a bit, at which point there was a final climb up and then a rolling section to the finish line. He made a move on the final couple meters of the climb, and then very subtly pushed a bit harder. I had nothing to respond with, and just tried to hold on as best I could. I crossed the line in :41:51, which was good enough for 9th place overall, 3rd in my age group. I was pretty pleased, since I had no idea what to expect given the distance and racing against some fast roadies.

Making my move with Newtons on my tail

 

New article on how some Kenyans are able to maintain cerebral oxygenation during maximal self-paced efforts. Interesting stuff, although as Dr. Samuele Marcora noted, we don't have any data from others to compare this to.

Nice video of Jennilyn Eaton and Craig Lloyd's new Zion Double Crossing FKT.


After sleeping in and not wanting to do anything as it seemed windy outside, Tara and I finally rallied and we went up to Bakerville to give a go at Grays and Torreys today. I have not been back since completing my challenge, and with the howling wind and blizzard like conditions, I instantly got PTSD. "Running" up the snow covered road, I kept thinking how I had run this damn thing every week all last winter. This sucked - it was cold (around 6 degrees), windy, snowing, and I could be down on the Front Range running on some nice dry trails. However, pretty soon I had reached the summer trailhead, my PTSD had mostly vanished, and I was ready to put on my final layers to try and push through the brunt of the storm above the willows and into the open tundra. Climbing 14ers in the winter is great if you can deal with the cold and snow, as there was no one else in the entire basin. Once again I got into my power hike and just put my head down and broke trail. Conditions never got better and after passing the Big Sign and the Kelso ridge turnoff, it got really cold and windy. My jacket started to freeze into a single frozen icicle and I started to get a blistering headache from the pure, cold wind. Needless to say, after tagging Gray's summit, I elected to get the hell out of there before I completely froze, not tagging Torrey's summit.

 Lovely conditions up there

 It's only 4,700' down and about 7 miles to get to the car...