Back(ish) At(ish) It(ish)

(Knocking on wood...) The ITBS seems to have faded into the background enabling me to return to some semblance of (easy) training. Patience is the word of the month.


It was back in late January when I finally had to admit that a dose of illiotibial band syndrome affecting my right knee could no longer be ignored. That conclusion came at the end of a 17-mile run when I had to walk the final few miles back to my car.

Since then I've been throwing all sorts of things at the problem, hoping something would work. So, enter NSAIDs, foam rollers, a lacrosse ball, a bit of ART, massage and ice and hiking.  After all that stuff, I began running, but only uphill.  Three weeks ago, I started adding in downhill jogging.

The weekend before last I joined Phil K. and Jason P. for a loop up to the summit of Bergen Peak. Our pace was easy (still a lot of snow on the last mile and a half to and from the summit), but I ran every step of that 12 miles.

Progress.

Last week I got in a few easy runs and a few mountain excursions, including a run up and down Bear Peak and Green Mountain in Boulder (two days/two runs), Apex in Golden and the Troublesome Gulch Loop here in Evergreen.  All runs were done without any problems with the right knee.

Looking west to Longs Peak from just below the four-way descending from the summit of Green Mountain

Looking north from the summit of Green Mountain

Yesterday I got out for a jog from the office to the top of Mt. Sanitas (21:43 - mostly hiking - for the ascent) and back. All good.

I'm also continuing to squeeze in a couple yoga classes per week. Last week and this week I tried out a Vinyasa class. I really like the flow of these classes, and the emphasis on strength (which I am regularly reminded I don't have nearly enough of).

Every night before bed I have a date with the foam roller and the lacrosse ball (which I roll around on to loosen up the glute muscles and to work the IT band).

I don't pretend to yet be out of the ITBS woods, just hopeful that I'm doing enough of the right stuff to help me get past this stupid injury.  I definitely am still mentally affected by the injury. I get phantom twinges all the time while running. I chock some of it up to paranoia/fear. The rest of it I take as a reminder to be patient and to take it easy. The goal is to get healthy...

...and, soon.

A Walk in the Park

There's an old saying that goes, "Injury is the mother of invention," or something like that. In that spirit, a dose of ITBS has forced me to come up with some new ways to get the heart rate up and the body moving.

This week I partook in a couple sessions of bikram yoga, including a great Valentine's Day evening session with JP at the Evergreen Center for Yoga, weightlifting, the elliptical machine and hiking.

It's been a while since I intentionally set out to hike, rather than run. This week, though, I managed to get out and up Boulder's Green Mountain (42 minutes via Ampi-Saddle-Green) and Bear Peak (53 minutes via Cragmoor to Fern), and about halfway of Evergreen's Bergen Peak (the house to the second overlook on Bergen Peak Trail).

Trail conditions on all three mountains were great this week, for the most part. Bergen, Green and Bear up to the saddle were all well-packed snow with just a bit of ice. The climb up Bear from the saddle was a bit tough with lots of unconsolidated snow and drifting in a number of places. Even with Microspikes, the climb up from the saddle was a challenge, but enjoyable. Didn't see a single person beyond the Mesa Trail that day.

Green Mountain summit

The Bergen Peak Trail 

An icy stretch in Fern Canyon on the way up Bear Peak

Bear Peak summit.  Looking north. 

Bear Peak. Looking southeast(ish)

Can you see the inner light? 

Great late afternoon lighting. Had to add another shot.

Didn't feel the IT band problem at all on any of the hikes, even moving at a pretty quick hiking pace up and down. I'm still continuing the nightly foam roller rolling, stretching and hip mobility and glute strengthening exercises. I'll probably give running a go later today with a run up Bergen Peak and a hike down. Fingers crossed.

Killian confirms plans to race the Pikes Peak Marathon.


Good luck to everyone running today's Moab Red Hot 33K and 55K!

Bear Peak & A Mental Lapse

Late afternoon run up to the summit of Bear Peak via the backside. A navigational error added a bit of urgency (...and time...and distance) to the run.


Time:  2 hours
Distance: 8.25 miles
Effort: Moderate
Body: Average
Weather: Sunny and warm

Started from the Cragmoor trailhead, unsure about what I was going to run today.  Thought about heading up Bear Peak via Fern Canyon, but wanted a bit more distance and running than that route offered.  The catch was I had a time cut-off to meet in order to be where I needed to be to pick up jP and CP.

By the time I had climbed up to the Mesa Trail, I had a plan. I'd run up Bear Canyon to the West Ridge Trail junction, assess time and either return down the canyon or head over to Bear and down Fern Canyon.

The climb up Bear Canyon was a beautiful as ever. Still my favorite route up into the Boulder hills. I passed a ranger hiking near the mouth of the canyon - the first ranger I've seen out and about in a while. I hit the West Ridge junction and time was looking good. By my calculations, I had enough time to get up to Bear, down Fern, back to the car and back to the 'hood to pick up the kids.

So, up West Ridge I went. I realized here that this was the first time I'd been on this trail since running last June an abbreviated and moonlight version of the Boulder Skyline Traverse with GZ, Tim L., JP and a host of others. I made steady work of the ups and downs over to the backside base of Bear, then scrambled up the loose stuff to the north ridge, climbed the jagged rocks to the summit and tagged the summit marker.

As I made my way back down from the summit, I was back doing the time calculations. My head was filled with numbers, which obscured the mental map I was following. Before I knew it, I was jogging over to the saddle between Bear and South Boulder Peaks.

The minute I hit the saddle I realized I messed up. Fern Canyon is on the north side of Bear, and roughly a straight line down to the car. I was now standing at the mouth of Shadow Canyon, which angles decidedly to the south, away from where I was parked.

Well, I was committed (and now a bit stressed out) so I started down Shadow Canyon, pushing the pace and hopping from rock to rock, down the big drops, around the trees and past three to four groups of hikers. Time was ticking by faster than I was running.

Made it out of the canyon and traversed over to the Mesa Trail, winding my way, eventually, back to the gravel path that leads down to the Cragmoor cut-off.  Made it back to the truck at exactly two hours.

And, as luck would have it, it was JP's turn to pick up the kids. Good thing, because I would have been late. Rest assured, I now have the location of Fern Canyon permanently tattooed on my brain.

Bear Peak - Blowin' in the Wind

A really good run to the summit of Boulder's Bear Peak, although I could have done without the fierce wind gusts blowing from the west.


Time: 1:18
Distance: 5.08
Effort: Moderate
Body: Good
Weather: Sunny, WINDY and cool


Late afternoon run from the Cragmore Cragmoor Trailhead to the summit of Bear Peak. I remember stepping out of the truck and immediately doing a quick body status check. Was this going to be a good run, or a not-so-good one? The answer was not immediate. 


I started out up the long series of step-ups from the trailhead sign feeling...OK. After 50 meters or so, the verdict was in.  I was feeling really good. I picked up the pace a bit and just went with it.  Steady.


Made a wrong turn at the first sign, corrected and climbed up to the singletrack that loops up past a huge rock slab to the mouth of Fern Canyon. I ran up Fern to the first major set of rocky stairs and started the power hiking.  Just felt great through the steep stuff. I could feel the leg muscles working and working hard, but the fatigue just never came. Hit the switchbacks below the saddle and started running. Gained the saddle with a smile.


Looked up at Bear to the left as the fierce winds from the west chilled my hands. Set out to finish the climb up the west ridge. 


Got to the summit sign and debated tagging the summit. The wind gusts were scary-strong. Got to within about 10 meters of the summit slab, paused to let a few seconds on the watch tick by, and called it a day. I already was keeping a low body profile, moving on all fours. Still felt like the wind could blow me off.


Returned down the west ridge, hit the saddle and started just cruising down Fern. Of all the rocky canyon descents around Boulder, this is my favorite. I felt in control the whole way. Step. Plant. Pivot. Go. Hit the mouth of Fern and turned it up a notch. On the gravel road sections I was running 5:40s and just feeling great. Hit the Cragmore Cragmoor turn-off and cruised down the steps, hit the pavement and immediately jumped in the truck to head home to pick up jP and CP.


Feeling it.


2,675 feet of elevation gain.


Saddle - 30 minutes
Summit - 45:19 (PR - second time on this route)

Boulder Skyline Traverse - by Moonlight

Time: 4:15ish
Distance: 14.25 miles
Effort: Moderate
Body: Good
Weather: Warm & Humid (for Colorado)


The call went out from JP over a week ago for a full-moon run of the Boulder Skyline Traverse, a route that typically starts at the South Mesa trailhead then heads up and over Boulder's five major peaks, South Boulder, Bear, Green, Flagstaff and Sanitas.   


After a good bit of back and forth and some hand-wringing over the late afternoon storm front that moved through, the plan was finally set. All comers were to meet at Tim L.'s place up on Shanahan Ridge and we'd run from there.


After a final check online of the progress of the Western States 100 Endurance Run,  a group of seven of us headed out around 7:45 p.m. with Tim leading the way south on a series of neighborhood trails to the connection with the Big Bluestem Trail.  Here the climbing began as we made our way to the Mesa Cut-off and eventually to Shadow Canyon.


As the trail turned steep, the group broke up into smaller groups and the climbing began. Paul took off and made quick work of the innumerable step-ups leading up to the saddle between Bear and SoBo Peaks. Jeff, GZ and I quickly formed up and fell into a steady power-hike until just below the saddle where we began jogging again.


The group reformed at the summit of SoBo and out came the smart phones to check in on the progress of Western States. A couple of Twitter users were providing regular updates on the progress of the front runners. Local runners Tony K. and Nick C. were running up front and all of were eager for info on their progress.


As we prepared to descend back to the saddle, the headlamps came out and down we went.  We made quick work of the climb up to Bear, again checked on WS100 progress and headed down the backside of Bear and headed over to Green.


The views down on the night lights of Boulder from the top of Green was serene. We got the news atop Green that Tony had come in second at the WS100 and Nick C., after an epic duel with Kilian Journet had come in fourth. We cruised down to the four-way and descended Ranger and regrouped at the ranger cottage. 


Next up was Flagstaff Mountain. We skirted the true summit on the Ute Trail before hanging a right and descending down to Eben G. Fine park via the Flagstaff and Valley View Trails. It was on the Flagstaff Trail where we finally got our first unobstructed view of the near-full moon. It wasn't quite high enough in the sky, nor bright enough, to run by, but it was beautiful. 


Bythe time we hit Eben G. Fine, it was about 11:30 p.m. The plan had been to run up Sanitas as the evening's capstone, but there was a unanimous consensus to bag the last of peak and head home. There was still, though, one last hill to climb...the Red Rocks hump.


GZ, Jeff, Paul and I set off at a good pace. I'd been feeling good the last four miles or so and wanted to finish on a strong hill surge. Fortunately, everyone else seemed to feel similarly. GZ set a strong pace up the final climb and we topped the hill together with Jeff and Paul right with us.


We jogged down the last hill, picked up the rest of the crew and hopped in the cars and returned to the run's start to head our separate ways.


That was a great night of running. I haven't ever run that long at night. I really enjoyed experiencing familiar trails in a whole new light...or lack of light. And, it was great meeting up with such a great group of runners. 

Boulder Skyline Traverse - Long & Hot

Time: 5:26 
Distance: 24.18 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Average
Weather: Clear and Hot


With the San Juan Solstice 50 looming in less than three weeks and a week-and-a-half-long trip down to sea level scheduled right smack in the middle of those three weeks, I was eager for a long, hard run this weekend. The run was, indeed, hard, but was made much easier by virtue of having some excellent company to share the miles with.


Met up with Brandon bright and early at Boulder's South Mesa Trailhead near Eldorado Springs. On the menu: the Boulder Skyline Traverse, a route that begins at the edge of South Boulder Creek, then climbs to the four mountain highpoints of the rocky backdrop to the metropolis of Boulder, Colorado.


First up was the climb from the trailhead to the saddle between South Boulder and Bear Peaks.With Brandon leading and setting a steady, early-morning pace, we cruised up the Towhee Trail to Shadow Canyon and made good time up the canyon's many twists, turns and step-ups. 

Brandon sets the pace up the Towhee Trail bound for Shadow Canyon

From the saddle, we hung a left and made the short climb up to the summit of South Boulder Peak. I tagged the summit 60:15. We had the place to ourselves. We paused long enough to snap a couple of pictures, suck down a gel and flail about like children trying to stay out of the flight path of what had to have been the World's Largest Bumble Bee.

Looking west from the summit of South Boulder Peak

After descending back to the saddle, we made quick work of the traverse over to the scree field just below the summit of Bear Peak and began the short climb up the shards of rock to the rocky summit of Bear Peak. A few hikers were basking in the cool morning sun as we paused to look down the spine of the Flatirons to Green Mountain and rest of the day's route.

Looking north to Green Mountain from the summit of Bear Peak

A brilliantly-executed self-timer picture on the summit of Bear Peak

The run from down from Bear and over and up to Green is my favorite section of trail on this run. It's got a little bit of everything: steep descents, easy climbs, rolling trail and a few steep grades. We rolled through this section, pausing at the small stream at the mouth of Bear Canyon to dowse ourselves and our hats in the cool water. Before we'd fully dried in the rapidly warming air, we met up with Tony K., who was out for one of his 6-7 hour fun runs. After a brief conversation, we set off and made the final climb to the four-way on the Green Mountain West Ridge Trail.

From the four-way, it's a quick climb up the rocky step-ups to the top of Green Mountain and its famed summit rock. We were warmly greeted at the summit by Kraig K. who was out picking up some elevation gain on the heels of his run last weekend at the Jemez 50, a race that by every account sounds like an unforgettable and remarkable sufferfest. Kraig mentioned he was thinking about signing up for the Leadville 100. In a valiant attempt to lure him into the race, Brandon let him know that all the cool kids were running that race, except for the ones running the Pikes Peak Ascent and/or Marathon that same weekend. Kraig reports on his blog that he signed up. Brandon's power of persuasion remains unmatched.

Self portrait on Green Mountain's summit rock

Brandon nonchalantly explains where all the cool kids will be the weekend of August 21-22

After descending back down Green's west ridge, we bid Kraig adieu and we headed down the West Ridge trail to Superflag and descended down to the Ute Trail trailhead at the turn-off to Flagstaff Mountain. We soon hit the flat top of Flagstaff Mountain and found the rock that is the mountain's highpoint. We paused here to refuel before heading off down the Flagstaff Trail bound for Halfway House.

I managed to free-climb the last four feet to the true "summit" of Flagstaff Mountain

From Halfway House just off Flagstaff Road, we cruised down the Valley View Trail. Along the way, we stopped to gaze at our northerly-most destination - Mt. Sanitas.  My legs were still feeling good at this point, but Sanitas looked dauntingly far away.

The high point in the middle of the pic is Mt. Sanitas

We finished our descent, pausing at Eben G. Fine park to fill our hydration packs with  amazingly cold water from the restroom sink. We soon were off, headed over Red Rocks to the base of Sanitas. We ascended the Mt. Sanitas Trail, winding our way past a couple dozen hikers. It was a busy day out there. And, by this time it was warming up quite a bit. Were it not for a decent breeze blowing from the southeast, it would have been brutal. I was feeling pretty OK on the ascent, powerhiking the steep step-ups and running the rest. Hit the summit marker in 25 minutes, after winding my way through the 20 people (and their 632 dogs) hanging out at the summit. Brandon soon joined me and after a couple of pics, we set off for the character-building return to our cars at South Mesa.

Looking east from the summit of Mt. Sanitas

From the summit, we descended down to the Sanitas Valley Trail and then followed roads up to Chautauqua where we stopped to refill our water packs before heading out on the Mesa Trail. The Mesa Trail offered some welcome shade and some moderate ups and downs. 

Brandon cruising down the Mesa Trail as seen through a malfunctioning camera lens.

We made good time over to Bear Canyon where we met up with Justin M., Nick C. and Nick P. who were out practicing togetherness in preparation for racing (Nick C.), pacing (Justin) and crewing (Nick P.) at the Western States 100 later this summer.  After another four miles, we wrapped up the Mesa Trail return with a quick descent down to the cars.

The run today came up about three miles shorter than the last time I did this run, the last five miles of which I did in the dark sans a light. I realized today that I missed two Mesa Trail turns last time, one of which I realized and corrected and another than took me an extra mile or two toward the east.

Once back at the cars, we both had food and drink on our mind. So, we caught our breath, reflected briefly on a great, hard run and took off. I went straight to the gas station at the turn-off to the road to Eldorado Springs and loaded up on a protein drink and a quart o' Gatorade before making the 40 minute drive back home.

All-in-all, it was a great day. We worked steady on the ups, ran the flats at a reasonable pace and picked up just a bit shy of 8,000 feet of elevation gain. Really enjoyed spending the hours with Brandon and swapping thoughts on prep and strategy for Lake City.