Monthly Archives: April 2013

Mountains and More Mountains

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View of the Indian Peaks Wilderness from Flagstaff Mt.

View of the Indian Peaks Wilderness from Flagstaff Mt.

It’s almost May and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t antsy to get up into the big mountains. We had a beautiful weekend in Boulder (70s and sunny) and I finally had the good training run I’ve been waiting for, a solid 26mi/6300ft mountain run through the Boulder hills, on a lot of clear trails. From Bear Peak to Green Mt to Flagstaff Mt to Sanitas, I covered all of the main Boulder mountains that are open, while it was a very enjoyable but challenging run, something was definitely missing from the day as a whole. After some celebratory food and beers at Southern Sun I decided what I was lacking was the thin clean air and expansive views that one gets at 12000ft. The invite went out to head up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a jaunt up to one of my favorite high country locales, Chasm Lake.

Meeker and Longs from Chasm Junction, always a beautiful scene.

Meeker and Longs from Chasm Junction, always a beautiful scene.

One person took up the invite, so at 730am on Sunday Adelaide and I headed for the Longs Peak Trailhead to try our luck up at getting to Chasm, knowing full well that a lot of snow was still present. It was a balmy 50F at 830am at 9500ft at the Longs Peak Trailhead, much warmer than expected. The trail was nicely packed so we left the traction behind and headed on up. We slowly made our way up the hill, and as we climbed out of the trees the wind picked up and temperature dropped. The view from Chasm Junction was spectacular as always; snow glazed rock pillars jutting from Meeker, The Loft choked with snow and the immense face of The Diamond looming overhead. The final traverse to Chasm Lake was steep hardpack snow, so we decided to forgo the Lake for today, and enjoy a nice easy jog back down.

Running near Chasm Junction with Longs Peak in the background.

Running near Chasm Junction with Longs Peak in the background.

To cap off the weekend Adelaide and I stopped by Hall Ranch on the way home for a pleasant hilly 10mile run on the Bitterbrush/Nighthawk trails. From wind and snow packed trails to warm sunshine and dry dirt. A total of 43.2miles and 10700ft of elevation gain put me in a good spot going into my taper for Quadrock. More importantly though this brings me into the meat of my Hardrock training (now 4th on the waitlist), so I’ve got a lot of work ahead. For now time for a little relaxation, some more cross training and to catch up on house chores (like the planting the garden!).

Numbers Don’t Lie…

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Amanda, Adelaide, Jason and Kevin heading up a snow covered Bear Canyon on 4/20/13.

Amanda, Adelaide, Jason and Kevin heading up a snow covered Bear Canyon on 4/20/13.

Amanda and Jason on the summit of Green Mt, 4/20/13.

Amanda and Jason on the summit of Green Mt, 4/20/13.

…but they don’t always tell the whole story. After receiving another 18-24 inches of snow in Boulder this past Monday through Wednesday, it was no surprise that the trails were a sloppy mess all week long. With the Quadrock 50mi looming only three weeks away I was hoping to put in about 45miles and 12000ft of gain spread over Saturday and Sunday. As I started up Bear Canyon Saturday morning it quickly became apparent that I was either going to have to readjust expectations or spend almost twelve hours out on my feet in order to obtain that kind of mileage and elevation. Most of the trail was slushy and crusty ankle deep snow, though I even found myself breaking fresh trail for about 1/2 mile up toward Green Mt.

A muddy mess on the Mesa Trail. What happens when 2ft of snow melts very quickly, 4/20/13.

A muddy mess on the Mesa Trail. What happens when 2ft of snow melts very quickly, 4/20/13.

After 5h43min on the trails I’d amassed a measly 21miles and 6200ft of elevation gain, for a whopping 16:20/mile average pace. The effort definitely felt like more than 21miles, but my running log won’t accurately reflect that. By week’s end (Mon-Sun) I’d only accumulated 55miles and 14000ft of elevation gain, not quite the 70miles and 16000ft I’d planned on. But add to those numbers several hours of weight lifting, three hours of competitive volleyball on Friday, four hours of downhill skiing on Sunday and a whole lot of sloppy trails and you get a fairly full week. It remains to be seen how well this “perceived” effort translates to actual training, but I’ll know in three weeks time. Just remember, that while “numbers never lie”, they don’t always tell the whole story and sometimes pace and mileage goals might not be reached and that’s ok. Run fast, run healthy, but mostly run happy.

One last partying note, I’d like to welcome the newest addition to my house hold. My little lady Missy, a 4yo tabby from the Longmont Humane Society. She’s a complete love-bug and is just happy to have anyone around.

Missy helping me check messages and edit photos.

Missy helping me check messages and edit photos.

There’s No Place Like Home

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Over the past two months I’ve been to Moab twice and Mississippi once so it’s been nice the past several weekends to be able to hang out closer to home and enjoy all the great things the backyard has to offer. From running and climbing in the local hills, to BBQ with friends, to relaxing at home with a good movie and most of all enjoying all of this with minimal vehicle travel time. It’s also allowed me to get back to a much more consistent and focused training routine.

Bogie and Amanda heading in a very green Horsetooth Mountain Park. 4/13/13.

Bogie and Amanda heading in a very green Horsetooth Mountain Park. 4/13/13.

With the Boulder hills being a bit muddy and snowy, this weekend I was able to convince my friends Bogie and Amanda to head North to Loveland for a run of the Blue Sky trail. For those unfamiliar, the Blue Sky trail is a wonderful 10.5-11.5mile long trail that stretches from Hwy 34 in Loveland to Horsetooth Reservoir in Fort Collins. A mix of rolling single track, wide double track, and a few technical sections, it offers a nice day of runnable terrain (also bike friendly). Saturday’s weather was looking promising ahead of the snow storm that was supposed to hit Monday-Wednesday so we made the trek out of the bubble to the Devil’s Backbone trailhead, where our adventure would begin.

The trail was smooth and dry, and it felt great just to get out and run again after having slogged through the snow and mud all week long in the Boulder hills. We saw a few friendly Fort Collins faces, but the trail was surprisingly quiet for a 60F Saturday in April, no complaints here. In addition to our run on the Blue Sky trail we added the Indian Summer loop both ways and another loop up Towers Rd and down Stout in Horsetooth Mt Park bringing our daily total to 30miles/4600ft in just under six hours. Sometimes it’s nice to venture a little ways from home, but not too far, as a reminder of how many great places the Colorado Front range has to offer.

Ascending Fern canyon to Bear Peak, frosty trail and trees ahead. 4/14/13.

Ascending Fern canyon to Bear Peak, frosty trail and trees ahead. 4/14/13.

View from the summit of Green Mt looking toward downtown Boulder. 4/14/13.

View from the summit of Green Mt looking toward downtown Boulder. 4/14/13.

On Sunday 4/14/13 I went back to my old hometown favorite, a combination of BearPeak and GreenMountain. My systems were a little off Sunday morning, something that would unfortunately stick with me through the whole run. As I climbed up FernCanyon toward BearPeak I found a fresh coat of snow and ice frosting the very top of the peak. The lightly frosted trees made for a nice contrast against the green valley below. I kept plugging along, occasionally fighting the bitter cold wind that was gusting out of the west. My body finally eased into the run on the downhill, allowing me to move a little faster across the West ridge and back up Green-Bear to the summit of Green Mt. The sun was finally starting to warm the air and melt some of the fresh snow as I made my way down BearCanyon back home. I’d only covered 13miles/4000ft on Sunday’s run, but it was a decent effort after the long day on Saturday and put me right at my weekly goal of 70miles/14000ft.

With four weeks until Quarock, I’ve got two more weeks of hard training before a nice little slow down. Then its ramp back up in hopeful preparation for Hardrock (now 4th on the waitlist!). While I wouldn’t consider myself a home body, its been really nice the past few weeks to adventure closer to home. I am due for a mountainous adventure though, so I expect a little skiing or mountaineering in my near future. Even though I (like most) love to travel and adventure, its nice to know that when I come home there is no shortage of great places right in my own backyard. I’d implore all of you out there in interweb land to look around for the same. No matter where you live there is something unique and different nearby, embrace it for what it is, and get out and enjoy the experiences your hometown has to offer. Run fast, run healthy, but mostly run happy.

Snow pounding Colorado, over a foot and still coming down, 4/15/13 7pm.

Evening run up Bear Canyon. Snow pounding Colorado, over a foot and still coming down, 4/15/13 7pm.

Finding Balance

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View from near the Summit of Bear Peak on 4/7/13. A beautiful spring day.

View from near the Summit of Bear Peak on 4/7/13. The end of a 40mile/11000ft “rest” week, enjoying the beautiful weather.

Ah spring; longer days, warmer weather (though not today in CO), melting snow and the start of race season. Like most people as spring moves into summer my desire, almost a need, to get outside and soak up some sunshine grows exponentially. As an ultrarunner trying to temper this enthusiasm is always a battle, because for most of us there is a limit to what our body can physically handle, so finding that happy balance between running/training and rest is always difficult. The line is different for everybody, but for me it’s somewhere around 70-80 miles of mountainous trails a week.

Some of you might say, “wow, that’s a lot”, others, “is that all?”, but that’s my number and I’m sticking to it. No matter how good I feel, how hard others around me are training or how much or how little free time I have, keeping myself in check is important. How did I come up with that number you might ask? There’s no fancy formula based on how long your race is, there’s no magic training plan, I simply tinkered with my training regimen over the course of many years and listened to my body. The last part of that is the key, listen to your body. If you take time periodically to check-in, both physically and mentally, you’ll start to gain an understanding for how your body reacts and tolerates different training loads and stresses. Working hard and pushing yourself are good, over training, over stressing your body and burning out, not so much.

Another key for me to maintaining this balance is finding an outlet, this is mostly for the endurance athletes in the group. The outlet is an activity other than your primary sport where one can burn off some of that pent up energy without subjecting oneself to the same level of stress; my outlets are blues dancing and volleyball. Both allow me to get out, enjoy some activity, burn off some energy, but don’t stress my body the way running does. I consider this true cross training, finding some sort of physical activity that works your body in a completely different manner such that your muscles get a break from your primary sport, but also become better balanced and more well-rounded. I’m no expert on the topic and of course these are just my thoughts. My real message here is, listen to your body and try to strike a balance in whatever you do. Balance between activity and rest, balance between one’s primary sport and cross training, balance between work and life. Run fast, run healthy, but mostly run happy.

Work to Live, Don’t Live to Work

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I recently read an article on irunfar.com by my part-time roommate Dakota Jones, in the comment lines Karl Meltzer invoked the phrase “work to live, don’t live to work”. This got me thinking about how many subtle differences there are in the interpretation of this phrase. Sure on the surface it’s simply implying that you value your personal life and free time more than your daily job, but how one actually put’s this into motion takes many forms. There are those who are fortunate enough to be able to do what they love for a living; whether it be running, climbing, skiing, and have fashioned a way to make a living off their extreme talents. Others for whom work is merely a means to an end, doing only the work that is necessary to sustain the rest of their hobbies, adventures and travels. Then there are the rest of us (I’m guessing), for whom work holds some sort of satisfaction, but none-the-less we sit in our prospective work chairs dreaming of bigger things outside the cubicle.

I’m definitely firmly in the latter, as I enjoy what I do for work on a daily basis, but do find myself day dreaming of warm sunny trails and the next adventure that lies ahead. Even as I write this staring out my lab window at the snow capped mountains in the distance I received a timely text message from a friend asking, “Any interest in skiing something steep and narrow soon?” These day dreams and distractions always seem to increase as the weather warms and summer nears.

Staring out the lab window at downtown Denver and the Rocky Mountains in the distance. 4/4/13.

Staring out the lab window at downtown Denver and the Rocky Mountains in the distance. 4/4/13.

While some part of me is definitely jealous of those ‘professional runners’ out there gallivanting around the world, getting paid to run; another part of me knows that without the intellectual stimulation my job provides, something would be missing inside me. By no means am I implying that the professional athlete doesn’t have these needs or interests, more that each person chooses to satisfy their inner intellect in a different manner. I love puzzles and am fascinated by the human body, and through my research I get to satisfy both of those curiosities, and get paid to do it. If you’re interested in my research I’d be happy to discuss it over a beer sometime, but that’s a lengthy, overly elaborate conversation for another time and another place.

For now I’ll have to be satisfied with my sunny afternoon runs in the Boulder hills, my long weekend blitzes to the desert or the mountains and the occasional several week trip to far away mountains or strange cities. Living up to the label Dakota once gave me, “a weekend warrior”. On a daily basis I’ll continue to try and squeeze in as much as possible balancing; work, running, cycling, yoga, volleyball, blues dancing, and of course friends and family. Though priorities and goals may change in the future, for now I wouldn’t have it any other way. Run fast, run healthy, but mostly run happy.