Recent Wildlife Encounters

One of the lures of the trail, of course, always has been the potential to encounter wildlife.  We all enjoy the regular sight of deer and elk quietly grazing trailside.  Who hasn't had, and in retrospect enjoyed, the tingling sensation up the back that comes when you see mountain lion tracks, or just think about how many catamounts have seen you on all those dawn/dusk runs, even though you've never seen them?  ...or, maybe the startling and loud chittering of an unseen squirrel as you race by her tree.  ...or the distant "screeee" of a red-tailed hawk wheeling somewhere overhead.

These are the sights and sounds that warm the heart, and sometimes make the heart race, all contributing to the sensory treat that is trail running.

The last couple of days have brought two of my most memorable wildlife encounters, one with an elk and another with three bears.

Elk

First, on Sunday, I was just wrapping up an 8-mile loop in Elk Meadow Open Space, a route I call the Upper Loop.  The run starts at the park's lower lot and heads up and down Bergen Peak, leaving out the one-mile out-and-back jaunt to the summit.

At the trailhead, I noticed a couple of newly-posted, bright red signs warning of aggressive elk.  There had been a lot of elk in the meadow lately, enjoying the ample crop of tasty and tall grass, but no elk were in sight today, though, so I didn't give the signs another thought, until I was wrapping up my run, that is.

I was about a half-mile from finishing up the run and decided to end with some hard running. On the relatively flat/downhill section of Painter's Pause, I started getting after it, running at a 5:20-5:30 pace. I was feeling fluid and in the flow, just looking ahead and cruising. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I picked up some movement. A young, but big elk was running straight at me, effortlessly, but menacingly.

My first thought was, "Where did this guy come from?"  This part of Elk Meadow is a wide-open grassland. How did I not see an elk? My next thought was, "Is he going to stop?" It didn't appear that he was. He was looking right at me and running directly at me.  So, my instincts kicked in. I stopped abruptly and made an aggressive feint in the elk's direction. He stopped about 10 yards from me.  Whew.

I looked at him and noted that he had a misaligned jaw, maybe the result of getting hit by a car, or an injury from a tussle with another frisky elk. Who knows? Anyway, I started jogging again, repeatedly looking over my shoulder.  As soon as I moved, he ran at me again. I stopped and swung my arm as if I was throwing something. He stopped. I removed my sunglasses and glared at  him (the ol' stink eye trick). Didn't work.  He came at me again. I lunged in his direction. He stopped. I started side-galloping (so I could keep an eye on the elk) to a spot where I knew there were some loose rocks I could pick up and hurl in the elk's direction. He must have read my mind, because as soon as I got to the rocks, he stopped and began grazing. He was done.

Elk Meadow Open Space is amazingly green right now. Witness while you still can.

I jogged the last quarter mile back to the car, noting again the helpful red signs warning about aggressive elk.

Bears

On Monday, I pulled into the upper parking lot at Elk Meadow, initially with plans to just get in the usual six or so miles. My motivation this day was low and I wasn't looking forward much to the spin on the trails. As I jogged past the trail kiosk, I decided I needed a change. I needed to get back to just enjoying the outing and not worrying about mileage or speed.

So, instead of following the usual dirt path, I just marched straight up the hill, with plans to eventually pick up a social trail that runs along the southeast side of the park and climbs to the second southernly lookout on the Bergen Peak Trail.

As I made my way up the hill, I was skirting some private property. The peak of a garage roof was just in view, so I was being quiet until I was out of sight of the structures and any people that might be nearby.

Since I was off trail on a relatively steep side slope, I mostly had my head down watching my foot placement. At one point, I lifted my head to look around and caught movement just ahead. I froze next to tree thinking it was a dog from the nearby house. As I stood silently, I quickly realized it wasn't a dog heading toward me, it was a black bear.

I was downwind from the bear, so it didn't smell me and was walking right toward me, maybe five feet higher on the hillside.  I silently watched as the bear continued meandering in my direction. When he got about 15 yards from me, I made a gentle "haaaarummmmpf" sound to warn him that I was near. He froze.

After 2-3 minutes of both of us standing absolutely still, he headed a bit uphill and continued moving east until he was behind some low-slung evergreen trees. I figured the show was over, so I looked up again to plan my route on up the hill. Yikes, more bears!

Just up the hill were two more bears, a big momma bear and a small, cinnamon-colored cub. They hadn't yet seen or smelled me, so I stood there watching them, occasionally glancing back to make sure Bear #1 wasn't heading back toward me. I figured Bear #1 must have been a cub from last year, still hanging around momma.

I watched for a bit the momma bear and cub wander around and dig into a log before I headed quietly downhill a ways and continued on my hike up the hill.

I finished the hike/run by climbing up to the high point on the ridge below the summit of Bergen Peak and then plunging/bushwhacking straight down the middle of the mountain to complete the day's off-trail adventure.

Good times, and a welcome change-up from the usual routes.

Herd Mentality

Sunday's run up Bergen Peak in Elk Meadow Open Space (10 miles) had a few challenges:

• Cold
• Snowing
• 5-6 inches of fresh snow up high.
• Big ol' herd of elk blocking the trail.

Turned out, none of the above were a big deal. In fact, the new snow made the run very enjoyable. A new dump of snow totally changes the feel of a place. All the familiar rocks are covered. The sharp edges are softened by the blanket of white.  It's quieter. Plus, the peak was socked in.  It was like looking down into a bowl of soup, the cloud cover was so low.

The elk herd that has been hanging around the meadow of late was grazing right on the trail as I was headed home.  I couldn't go around them on the left due to the fence that keeps elk off busy Evergreen Parkway, and I didn't feel like slogging through the snow/grass to go all the way around the herd to the west.  So, I cautiously and in as non-threatening a manner as possible made my way through the middle of the herd. Thankfully, none of the cows and young bulls were too agitated.

Good times.

The Simple Things

I don't run in the morning very often. Family/work obligations typically get in the way.  I'd have to get up so damn early to get in a run before it's time to herd kids...  But, today, I had to use running as my AT (alternate transportation) after I dropped a car off at the repair shop.

So, I ran home from the repair shop by way of Elk Meadow Open Space. Just an easy cruise, but it was great to be out on a warm(ish) morning. Feels good to have the run done before 9 a.m.  Got to remember that.

The simple things...

Looking up Noble Meadow in Elk Meadow Open Space.

Hoping to sneak out Saturday morning for a few early miles with the crew over at Woody's place.  Two mornings in a row?  It could happen.

One of Those Runs

Have you ever had one of those runs...one where the minute you step onto the trail, you know you're going to have a great run?  A run where the climbs are effortless and one seems to have boundless energy.  A run where the descents are fluid, the foot placement is confident and solid and the quads absorb without complaint all the punishment one can dish out.  A run where you finish your run at top speed and do a subtle fist pump and think to yourself, "That was GREAT!"

I've had those kinds of runs before...but not yesterday.  My 9.5 mile ascent/descent of Bergen Peak in Elk Meadow Open Space was a slog.

Funny thing was that it started out good. It was a perfect fall day. I climbed well up the Bergen Peak Trail, but as soon as I hit the hidden little social trail that climbs the south side of the final stretch to the top, things got tougher.

Looking south(ish) from near the summit of Bergen Peak

By the time I got home, I was feeling like I ran 30 miles, rather than less than 10. Not sure what it was, but the last hour on the trail felt like three.  Still, on such a beautiful day, there's few other places I would have rather been.

All-in-all, though, a fine, fine weekend doing things that matter:

Hiking in the Bergen Peak State Wildlife Management Area with CP and dogs Maya and Cisco.

CP and Cisco with Mt. Evans in the distance.

Watching the amazing colors of a Saturday night sunset from the deck at the house.

Flying high with jP on Sunday afternoon.

Life is good.

The Fortnight That Was - 5/13 - 5/26/2012 and the Hardest Run Ever

(Started this post days ago...finally getting around to posting it.) Two weeks of running, both literally and figuratively...some mountains, some beaches and some not at all.


All-in-all, it's been a good couple of weeks. I missed a few days here and there, but have managed to get in some good runs between the chaos that is our lives.

Week 5/13-5/19 - the highlights:

Sunday - Bergen Peak - 15 miles; 2:45; 2,783 feet o' elevation gain: Ran from home to the summit of Bergen Peak, then dropped off the backside into the Bergen Peak State Wildlife Management Area tract and found a great trail that descends down into the Echo Hills subdivision. Did some exploring trying to find a new way into the adjacent Denver Mountain Park tracts that lay between the subdivision and Squaw Pass Road. Ended up traipsing through some private property and then bushwhacking down a ridiculously steep and thickly-wooded hillside before finding a fire road on a DMP tract. Added some miles via the roads in Soda Creek.

Tuesday - Marshall Mesa - 16 miles; 2:15; 969 feet o' elevation gain:  Early morning spin around the    Dirty Bismark loop. Beautiful morning on these wide-open trails. Saw and heard WAY more meadowlarks than I saw people.

Thursday - Colorado Trail - 8 miles; 1:25; 1,271 feet o' elevation gain:  CP was doing a class camping trip on some private land just below Kenosha Pass. We were jumping on a red-eye later this evening bound for Florida, so I headed over in the early evening to the campsite to pick her up.  Along the way, I stopped at the parking area on the south side of Kenosha Pass for a quick out-and-back on the Colorado Trail. Legs were flat and not happy with the run, but the scenery more than made up for it. Turns out, the property where the kids were camping was about half a mile below the spot where this picture was taken. You had to cross the CO Trail on a two-track to get to the spot. Such a cool location!

The Colorado Trail below Kenosha Pass.

Week 5/20-5/16 - the highlights:

Sunday:  Palm Beach - 16.68 miles; 2:23 - We flew all morning on Friday (1 a.m. - 6:30 a.m.) to Ft. Lauderdale on Spirit Airlines so we could join family in marking JP's grandmother's 95th birthday party. Spirit Airlines managed to lose my luggage, which didn't arrive in Florida until Saturday at 3 p.m.  So, Friday and Saturday were forced days off.  With running gear now in hand, I got up early Sunday for a jaunt around the tony enclave of Palm Beach. I started at our Fairfield Inn hotel located on Palm Beach just over the Intercoastal Waterway from Lake Worth and headed north. Most of the main road along the beach from our hotel to the Breakers Hotel was closed due to sewer replacement, which meant I had long stretches of beach-side pavement all to myself...well, just me and several hundred very, very expensive houses. Ran to downtown Palm Beach, over the Intercoastal to West Palm Beach, turned around and ran back. Got pretty darn hot and humid over the last 4-5 miles.

Palm Beach sunrise.

An aptly named road in West Palm Beach

Thursday:  Mt. Falcon Open Space - 13 miles; 2:06; 2,656 feet o' elevation gain:  Way early morning run with Joe Z. and Woody A. around this open space park in Morrison. Solid effort throughout the run, including 3+ miles of quality downhill to finish things off. We were done by 7:15 a.m. By 3 p.m., I was ready for a nap. That 4:15 a.m. wake-up hurt.

Saturday: Mt. Evans Wilderness Area - 28 (ish) miles; 9:15; 7K(ish) feet o' elevation gain:  This was a brutal run, done with Joe Z., Todd G. and Troy H. The first 14 miles from Echo Lake on the Captain Mountain Trail and the Lost Creek Trail were great. However, once we got onto the Cub Creek Trail, things turned ugly fast.

Joe Z. cruising down the Captain Mountain Trail in the early morning light.

Just a little ways up the Cub Creek Trail we hit a bunch of downed trees. No problem. Downed trees in the spring are part of trail running.  The winter always brings down a few big ones.

Just a few trees on the climb up the Cub Creek Trail...no problem.

The day's plan, for me, was to be out for 4-5 hours.  We ended up being out for 9:15. We spent a good four hours climbing over, under and through a massive evergreen blowdown. Turns out there must have been one hell of a windstorm/microburst on the east side of Mt. Evans this winter. The scale of the destruction was pretty incredible. And, the result is virtually impenetrable. Down trees were 4-10 feet high, covering the trail and making movement painfully slow. The only time we got 4-5 consistent steps was when we were walking on a down tree trunk five feet from the ground. It's amazing we got out of that mess without any injuries worse than our shredded legs.

Todd G. surveying the damage.  

The power of the wind had to have been tremendous.

Note:  Despite using terms like "massive" and "scale of destruction," let me be more direct. Do NOT venture into the Cub Creek Trail area.  It's simply not worth it.  This is not a log-hopping problem. This is crawling and climbing through branches, over big, full, downed trees and dealing with extreme route-finding. You can't follow the trails. We ended up just bushwhacking from one drainage to another trying to make our way over to an old burned area to the north, which we knew was where the trail back to Echo Lake ran. This was a TOUGH day.

After bushwhacking and emerging into a nice, trail-less meadow, Todd, Troy and Joe try and figure out where we are.

"I think we're in this drainage. Now, if we just climb over this ridge..."

Of course we eventually made our way out of the blowdown and back to the cars. Everyone was quick to check in with families to let them know we were safe.

Post-run. Ouch. Let the healing begin.

Toward the end of the "run," I definitely was having those "why the hell am I doing this?" thoughts.  When I got home, I told JP I needed to give some serious thought to whether the time/training was worth it.  A day later, of course, those thoughts are long gone and the desire to run is right back where it should be, for now.

The banishment of the negative thoughts was hastened by a really fun five-mile hike the next day up Chief Mountain with CP and our two dogs, Cisco and Maya.

CP on the summit of Chief Mountain. 

Bristlecone snag on  Chief Mountain.

Nothing like sharing the trails with an 11-year-old to bring some perspective.  Onwards!!

The Week That Was - May 6-12, 2012

Decent week of running, although the mileage isn't where I'd like it to be. Starting to feel like my fitness is returning after having to shut things down for February and March due to ITBS.


The stats:

57.86 miles
10,811 feet o' elevation gain
9 hours, 27 minutes

Sunday: Beaver Brook Trail Traverse - (17 miles; 4,489 feet o' elevation gain; 3:29). Did an out-and-back run the length of the Beaver Brook Trail, starting at the Chief Hosa trailhead and running to Windy Saddle on Lookout Mountain Road. This trail has it all...tough, rugged climbs, gentle rollers and a wee bit of flat, steady running. Was pretty hammered by the time it was all said and done. Came across Troy H. twice. He was out doing the same run, only more and starting from the Chimney Gulch Trailhead. Big day for him!

Views down into Clear Creek Canyon from Beaver Brook Trail

Beaver Brook Trail blaze

Monday: Home - Firestone via Elk Meadow - (3.88 miles; 466 feet o' elevation gain; :38).  Legs were heavy from the previous day's run. Decided to keep it waaaaay easy. Just ran from home to car repair shop to pick up the car.

Tuesday: North Table Mountain - (10.02 miles; 1,190 feet o' elevation gain; 1:20). Tempo pace/effort run. Ran a bunch of stuff to pretty much circumnavigate the mountain, with a bit of climbing thrown in via the Mesa Top Trail.  The North Table Mountain Trail is a great and relatively new trail and is flat enough to get some solid and challenging turn-over going. Felt good to push the pace a bit, which I haven't been doing much of since January when the ITBS flared up.

Wednesday: Green Mountain - Lakewood - (10.07 miles; 1,151 feet o' elevation gain; 1:21). Ran from Rooney Road lot around the south side of the mountain, climbed up to the towers, over to the high point and back down via the Box o' Rocks Trail.

Thursday: Bergen Peak Upper Loop - (8 miles; 1,758; 1:14). Ran a slightly abbreviated version of the upper loop from the lower lot at Elk Meadow Open Space.

Friday: Off - Crazy day between work and family obligations.

Saturday: Bergen Peak Upper Loop - (8.89 miles; 1,758 feet o' elevation gain; 1:23). This was one of those runs that restores one's excitement about running/training. Felt like I was flying up Elk Meadow's Too Long Trail. I recall wishing I had run my time trial route this day. I'm sure I could have set a PR. Ran hard down the Bergen Peak Trail feeling great. IT barked a wee bit when as I was finishing up on the Meadow View Trail. Slowed down and jogged it in. No further problems. Played it safe as soon as I got a few minor twinges.

Thoughts:  As noted above, I'm starting to feel like some of the fitness I had in late winter is beginning to return. Tuesday was my first tempo pace/effort hard run in several months. Felt so good cruising along the North Table Mountain Trail on a beautiful day. Looking forward to more of those.  No yoga this week, but got in a solid session this past Sunday morning.  Foam rolling and hip mobility/strengthening exercises continue.

Random Goodness

Does a later-in-life start to serious running allow one to perform better as one ages?  Maybe.

Want to finish Leadville (or any other 100-miler) more than 30 minutes sooner without running any harder or faster?  Learn to pee while running.

Got a favorite "green" restaurant in Boulder or Denver?  The Nature Conservancy has a contest going. Vote here.  My fave in Denver:  Watercourse.

Here and There

Colorado weather. Never dull. Saturday in Denver...90 degrees. Today in Evergreen:

Elk Meadow Open Space. Bergen Peak completely obscured by clouds

Crappy.

The last two weeks o' running have been modest in mileage (both around 50 miles), but have included some solid runs.

The highlights:

Greenland Open Space - (14 miles; 1:56) last Sunday, after dropping off my visiting nephew at Colorado College in the Springs, I stopped off at Greenland and ran the park's trails, plus several miles on the New Santa Fe Regional Trail, a 16-mile Rails-to-Trails crushed gravel path that connects Palmer Lake to the Springs. I enjoyed the run in the fading daylight, but found the course of the Greenland 50K to be rather dull.

The Greenland Trail heading out from the parking area.

Arlington, VA loop - (10.2 miles; 1:20). Spent this past week in Arlington, VA on a biz trip. Got out for a couple of 10-mile runs, plus a pair of six mile jogs (both done in the dark...one around 10:30 p.m. after landing in D.C.). On Wednesday, I got out with a friend from work for a nice loop that included a bit of everything...technical trail, smooth trail, bike paths and roads. Worked in a good bit of tempo. A nice change from the base-building pace stuff I've been doing lately.

Nothing says "Welcome" more than a defaced road sign.

The start of the Potomac Heritage Trail by Roosevelt Island 

Key Bridge, connecting Virginia with Georgetown in D.C., from the PHT.

 Other than those highlights, it's been the usual mix of Boulder peaks and Bergen Peak in Evergreen. With the biz travel, managed just two yoga classes over the last two weeks. Hoping to get in a few more this week.

Solid 17-mile run with 4,500 feet o' elevation gain yesterday on the Beaver Brook Trail, running from the Chief Hosa trailhead to Windy Saddle and back. Felt pretty wasted, though, after the run. Definitely need to ramp up the long runs this week, and work in another tempo effort.

Fortunately, the IT injury seems to have healed. Still playing it smart, but beginning to feel  comfortable adding in more intensity and mileage. The trick is to do both gradually, and listen to the body.  Yeah, I'm talking to myself.

The Week That Was - 4/15 - 4/21. Decent.

A decent week.

• Six runs; one day off
• 72.58 miles
• 9,982 feet o' elevation gain
• 11:27 spent running
• One yoga session
• Daily foam rolling & hip mobility/strengthening exercise routines

Sunday:  A.M. - 1.5-hour yoga session.  P.M. - Bergen Peak Summit (2:04; 12 miles; 2,199 feet o' elevation gain) - Backyard route with Maya to the 9,800-foot summit of our local peak.  Even after not being on a long run in a while, Maya ran strong, leading up and down. Nice and quiet out with a light snow falling.

Maya. Dog tired. Post-run.

Monday:  Off.  Crazy schedule between work and family obligations.

Tuesday:  Bergen Peak Upper Loop (1:17; 7.96 miles; 1,681 feet o' elevation gain) - Neighborhood access route to Meadow View Trail, then climbed the southeastern flank of the mountain via a social trail. Great views of Mt. Evans.

Looking west toward Mt. Evans from southern side of Bergen Peak.

Wednesday:  Bergen Peak Upper Loop (1:31; 9 miles; 1,844 feet o' elevation gain) - From the lower lot at Elk Meadow Open Space.

Thursday:  Marshall Mesa Loop (2:19; 16.42 miles; 977 feet o' elevation gain) - Big loop starting early morning from Marshall Mesa parking lot across from convenience store on road to Eldorado Canyon. Ran most of this loop during the Southside 50K fun run back in January. I guessed it would be about 12 miles. I was about four miles wrong in that guess. Took the pace way easy, just jogging most of the time. Felt good on the run, but a bit bored now and then with the wide-open terrain.  Failed to bring any water or nutrition. Mistake.

The Flatirons from somewhere on Marshall Mesa

Friday:  Alderfer-Three Sisters (1:03; 6.16 miles; 857 feet o' elevation gain) - Easy run from the lower lot around the Sisters rock formation via the Secret Trail, down into Blair Ranch, then back up through the meadow at the base of Evergreen Mountain and back to the lower lot. Nice jog.

Old homestead barn on the Mountain Muhly Trail in Alderfer-Three Sisters

Saturday:  Troublesome Gulch - Soda Creek - Elk Meadow (3:11; 20.03 miles; 2,406 feet o' elevation gain). Easy paced long run around North Evergreen. Nice mix of trail, paved roads, dirt roads and bike paths. Ran with DW, who is training for his first ultra, the Greenland 50K. Pace was very easy.

I'm still taking it easy due to a twitchy right IT band. That means no speedwork and minimal intensity on my runs.  I toss in a few fartleks now and then on undulating trail, and have run a few sets of trail miles in the low 6s, but that's about it intensity-wise.

The week prior, I spent an hour on a "massage" table at In Motion Rehabilitation in Boulder enduring, literally, the most intense pain I have ever experienced as Shirley dug into my hips, glutes, hamstrings, quads and calves. The goal: to loosen up muscles that have been overly tight for years. I'm planning on similar sessions every two weeks in hopes that it will help break my streak of injuries. Additionally, I am making foam rolling and a variety of hip/glute/core strengthening/mobility exercises part of my daily routine.  Finally, I plan to continue twice-a-week yoga sessions, and add in at least one gym weight-lifting session.

The goal:  start August's Leadville 100 healthy.

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.

(Yet Another) Ponderous Posterior Re-cap, Plus the Week That Was...

Definitely the highlight of the week was the Saturday morning trek down to Colorado Springs for the second annual Ponderous Posterior 50K. I can't say enough good things about this little jaunt around Manitou Springs. Great weather. Great course. Great people. Great organization.

Beyond the PP50K, the week was so-so. Had a couple days off and a couple of good runs. A quick run-down:

Monday:  Soda Creek -  6 miles; 49:21; 838 feet o' elevation gain. Easy jog through this hilly 'hood.

Tuesday:  Chautauqua - Mesa - Bear Canyon - Green Mountain Loop - 8:23 miles; 1:46; 2,887 feet o' elevation gain. An auditory celebration.

Wednesday:  Off - work/family schedule ate up the day. About 7 p.m. I pulled into the rec center parking lot after driving up from Denver, got out of the car, took 10 steps in the freezing cold with my quads barking loudly at me and called it a day. Went home. Quads were aching from the hard run down Green Mountain on Tuesday - my first use of Micospikes this year.

Thursday:  Off - not enough time in a busy day to get out. Good thing, too. The cold and wind were ferocious.

Friday:  Elk Meadow Open Space - 6 miles; 1:10; 844 feet o' elevation gain. Thursday's wind had kicked up a lot of snow. This was a slog of a late afternoon run. Knee-deep snow drifts were everywhere. Ugh.

Saturday:  Ponderous Posterior 50K - 29.15 miles; 5:47; (5:24 running time); 6,788 feet o' elevation gain. Ran to the car to lose the tights as people were gathering in JT's yard for the 7 a.m. start as warm weather was expected. By the time I got back to the house, everyone was gone. Nothing like a bit of tempo to start a 50K!

Caught up the the back of the pack as we entered Red Rocks.  Slowly worked my way up to the lead group over the next mile or two. Had a great time running with PG, JY and TG, plus a host of new faces from across the Front Range. The pace was easy and the views/temps/company were perfect.

My right knee pretty early let me know that it wasn't happy. It was aching and occasionally bitching at me. I started thinking about dropping after the Incline. I'd never been up the Incline and really wanted to make the 2K climb up. The climb was tough, but manageable at our laid-back pace. Once up top, I decided to continue on to the aid station at the mouth of Waldo Canyon and see how things went.  I took the descent down snow-covered road through Longs Ranch way easy.  Knee was still grumpy, but holding up fine.

Starting up the Incline. Photo: PG.

A few folks were gathered at the truck taking on water and fuel (and PBR...not sure if that's water or fuel).  Never really contemplated dropping at the truck. Figured it would take longer to wait for a ride than it would to finish the run. I nudged TG and off we went for the climb up Waldo. We pretty much ran all the dirt and hiked the icy sections as we made our way down into and up Williams.

I really enjoyed Waldo/Williams. We just ran/hiked steady and before we knew it, we popped out on Rampart Range Road for the final descent down to the Garden of the Gods and back to JT's place.

I was pretty happy with the run. No rough spots, no wrong turns and we finished strong. Knee was no worse for the wear, although the discomfort was/is frustrating.  Hitting the foam roller, icing and stretching regularly to keep at bay what I suspect is some IT band stuff.

Great time catching up with folks back at JT's house and enjoying some fine post-race food and beers.  Many thanks to JT for hosting and for everyone that took the time to mark the course. The CRUD South gang puts on one hell of an event!

Learned this morning that a large group of the 7 a.m. starters, including me, missed the out-and-back up Red Mountain, which explains why we ended up a bit short of a true 50K. Bummer.

Early Sunday I morning, I joined JP for my third-ever yoga class. This time is was a 1.5-hour Bikram yoga class, which meant even more sweating than the previous two sessions I've done this winter. I am convinced yoga is a great long run recovery activity. I feel so much better after these classes.

The Week That Was...December 12-18, 2011

Way delayed in posting this incredibly important data. Not an impressive week. Took a biz trip to D.C. Didn't run for three days in order to clear the system before a blood test.


Monday - Upper Bear Creek Road - 9.4 miles; 1:15 - Tempo run. Ran from the lake house with Steve F. for a couple miles before letting him dash on ahead. My legs were floundering due to the 17-mile tempo(is) run the evening prior. Got about 4.5 miles up the road when I met up again with Steve. Turned around and ran three miles of tempo with (OK, a few feet behind) him. Legs protested a lot, but held pace (6:18; 6:14; 6:08). Interesting experiment to run hard on such tired legs. Felt good (mentally).


Tuesday - Off - Travel to D.C.


Wednesday - Off - D.C. Needed to take two days off in prep for a blood test related to last summer's brachial plexus neuropathy.

Thursday - Off - Traveled home.


Friday - Hiwan Roads - 5:13; 43:24; 524 feet o' elevation gain. Easy run through one of the local subdivisions.  Got the blood test in the a.m.  Results at January doc appointment.


Saturday -  Mt. Falcon Open Space - 16 miles; 2:56; 3,122 feet o' elevation gain.  Hooked up with Woody A. for a 6 a.m. start. Plan was to run the v1 route (Woody was planning to double it.)  We ran steady the whole time on snow-packed trails. Conditions were very good, with just a bit of ice here and there.  We doubled the Ute Trail figure eight in hopes of finding Jaime Y. who was planning on running the same route, but started an hour later. We never came across him. I was pretty pooped by the time we got back to the lower lot. Watched with great respect as Woody set off again for the long climb back up to the picnic shelter.  Went home and took a nap.


Sunday - Elk Meadow Open Space - 5.71 miles; 51:17; 844 feet o' elevation gain. Ran the Meadow View+ route from home. Easy.

Overall, a rather unimpressive week. That said, the Monday Upper Bear tempo w/ Steve was a lot of fun.  And, the Saturday Mt. Falcon expedition with Woody was challenging and satisfying.

You Never Write...You Never Call...You Never Post...

Slowly setting back into the running routine. Consistency is getting a wee bit better, but still struggling schedule-wise.

Quick recap of the fortnight that was:

Monday, November 21:  Off

Tuesday, November 22:  Drove to Woody Creek (just down-valley from Aspen) for Thanksgiving.

Wednesday, November 23:  Rio Grande and Sunnyside Trails - 20.81 miles; 3:31; 3,711 feet o' elevation gain.  From the rental house, I ran up the gentle grade of the Rio Grande Trail, which is an old railroad bed, to Aspen. As I was running along the Roaring Fork River in town, I saw a sign pointing to a singletrack trail that climbed to the east. Sunnyside. The trail, aptly named for it's on the sunny side of the valley (less snow/mud!), beckoned me with an alluring coo.

So, I started climbing. Glorious. Big views. Nice temps. I figured the trail would climb for a while, then drop down Smugglers Mountain and back to town. To make a long story short, the trail never dropped, but the sun did. After slogging through snow, abandoning an ill-fated attempt to bushwhack down in hopes of meeting the family at the pre-arranged time/location (I already was 30 minutes behind schedule), I finally admitted my trail sense was failing me and I turned around and ran back down the way I came. I was a good hour and a half late.  And, it was now dark. The plan was to meet at the Aspen Recreation Center. I had to ask directions from a guy driving a Ritz Carlton Hotel van. "Where's the rec center?," I asked. "Just a quarter-mile up Maroon Creek Road," he replied. Turns out its quite a bit further than that. The good news is, he picked me up as I was slogging up the road and gave me a ride the rest of the way.

By the time JP returned from the rental house to pick me up (they gave up and went home), I was a muddy, bloody (lots of fun traipsing through brambles during the aborted bushwhack attempt) and starving mess (no calories on this run). Definitely learned a few things about admitting defeat sooner and not digging oneself deeper into an already head-height hole. I had a lot of apologizing to do.

Thursday, November 24:  Rio Grande Trail - 6.01 miles; 51 minutes; 361 feet o' elevation gain. Headed south on the Rio Grande Trail from the rental house. Easy, recovery pace (definitely feeling the previous day's run). Three-mile out-and-back. Didn't get lost.

Friday, November 25th:  Rim Trail, Snowmass - 6.4 miles, 1:18, 1,100 feet o' elevation gain. Dropped CP and jP and my nephew off to ski at the upper village at Snowmass. Put on the running shoes and headed out from the skiing parking area. Found a trail that headed up and took it. Turns out it accessed the Rim Trail, a great ridge-top trail the runs along the spine of the mountains surrounding parts of Snowmass. Snow and mud were prevalent, but not too bad. Topped out at an interesting polished granite circle with a yin/yang symbol in the center. Wasn't expecting to find that on a trail run.

Steve HappyTrails makes good use of granite yin/yang thingy during warmer months.  Photo credit: HappyTrails

Saturday, November 26th:  Off. The whole family went to Ajax to watch the Women's World Cup ski race. Today was the giant slalom. (The slalom race was the next day - Sunday.) This was a LOT more fun than I was expecting. Very exciting to watch the skiers fly down the mountain, weaving in and out of the gates.

The finals were rip-roaring fun to watch. A large timer told you what the skiers' splits were at different points, so the excitement would build as racers vied for the best combined time of their two runs. American Julia Mancuso made the podium with third. Lindsey Vonn was 12th. 

The gang awaits the final giant slalom runs.

By the second runs, the bottom of the mountain was in the shadows.

Another highlight was I won a free parka by answering a trivia question shouted out by the race announcer:  "How many world cup victories does Lindsey Vonn have?" I threw up my arm...I was called on...and with great authority (I was guessing) I shouted, "Three!"  Right. Who knew?

Sunday, November 27th:  Troublesome Gulch/Elk Meadow - 9.62 miles; 1:25; 1,123 feet o' elevation gain. Easy jog.

Monday, November 28:  Treadmill - 8.25 miles. Squats/leg press, etc...

Tuesday, November 29:  Upper Bear Creek Road - Tempo - 10.01 miles; 1:16; 334 feet o' elevation gain.  Met up w/ Steve F. We jogged up five miles, ran down one mile then started the tempo portion of the day's program. Ran three miles at 6:02 pace. Felt very solid. Could have done (one) more.

Wednesday, November 30:  North Table Mountain - 6 miles; 59 minutes; 874 feet o' elevation gain. Easy run.

Thursday, December 1:  Off

Friday, December 2:  Flatirons' Doorstep Run - 7.37 miles; 1:15; 1,269 feet o' elevation gain. Post-work run from Chautauqua up to the Mesa Trail, over to Bear Canyon and down. Then ran a bunch of trails just above the 'hoods to get back to the mesa just south of Chautauqua. Lots of snow. Finished in the dark.

Saturday, December 3:  Alderfer-Three Sisters - 6.10 miles; 1:08; 914 feet o' elevation gain. Figured it was time to give Maya a double dose of fun - trail run and fresh snow. A good eight inches of fresh powder greeted us. Maya loves this stuff. Me...not so much. She runs full speed and buries her snout in the powder as she cruises along. It's heart-warming to see that kind of joy from a dog. Slogged out six miles in the snow, breaking trail in a lot of places. Very cold out.

In other news, due to the fact that kisses from JP were getting fewer and fewer, I gave up the no-shave November facial hair on Saturday. No one, including me, missed it.

Grrrrrrr.

Thursday Jogging

Easy early afternoon jog around Elk Meadow Open Space.

Distance: 7.2 miles
Time: 1:04
Effort: Easy
Body:  Fair
Weather:  Sunny and warm(ish)

Completely uninteresting (compared to what, oh Exciting One!?) jog around the Meadow View loop at Elk Meadow Open Space.  Ran today with Steve F.  Definitely feeling the effects today of a series of lunges I did post-run yesterday. My ass glutes is are sore! Reminds me of how badly I need to get back to the gym now and then. That's what winter's for, I guess.

The easy pace had me looking around at a summer's worth of trail impacts.

The crushed gravel Painter's Pause trail, which already was a good four feet across and smooth, now has a hard dirt singletrack trail running alongside it, separated from the main trail by about three inches of grass.  Seeing that got me to wondering...why do people walk on the side of perfectly good, smooth, well-maintained trails?  Surely I'm not the only one that likes single track singletrack, am I?  Don't other people hate seeing braided trails?  Don't others' hearts sing when they see a single ribbon of dirt heading off through a meadow, over a hill or across a vast stretch of tundra?  Am I in the minority on this?

Which leads me to another question I've been wondered about for a while.  Why are there not regular volunteer trail days at individual JeffCo Open Space parks?  (I know they have occasional volunteer days  here and there, such as the recent one at North Table Mountain.) Elk Meadow has a resident ranger. That park is the centerpiece of North Evergreen.  Surely there are many people like me that would jump at the opportunity to donate some sweat equity several times a year to our beloved trails system.

820 feet o' elevation gain.

One of Those Runs...

Yesterday was one of those days out on the trails.  You know the kind...a day when the leg muscles feel way more impressive than they are...when one's endurance feels limitless...when you look forward to the hard parts...and time seems to fly by way too fast.  Yesterday was one of those days.

Distance:  6.46 miles
Time:  54 minutes
Effort:  Hard
Body:  Good
Weather:  Sunny and cool


I left the house planning on a hard effort.  I jogged about a mile to Elk Meadow Open Space and up the spur from the lower lot to the Painter's Pause Trail.  At the junction, I started five miles of alternating one minute hard, one minute easy.

The first couple hard minutes felt...hard, but soon I was in a rhythm and the hard minutes felt good and the easy minutes were simply time gaps between the fun stuff.  A few times I was tempted to keep rolling with the hard pace and skip the easy, but managed to stick with the plan for the 45 minutes (or so) of the 1/h x 1/e.

Ran an extended version of the Meadow View loop and finished up with a c/d jog through an adjacent neighborhood and down the hillside behind the house.  Had an enthusiastic greeting from Maya and Cisco, who were rambling around the newly-fenced backyard.

Felt just great after the run, as well.  One of those days...

Weekend Fun

This was a tough week for running.  Let's just say the work/life balance was non-existant this week.  Any breaks I took from work were for post-school day family stuff.  One and two a.m. bed times were the norm.  As a result, I didn't run Mon. - Thurs.  I can't remember a time when I missed four days due to work/family commitments.

The days off were made more difficult given the fabulous weather and the knowledge that it couldn't last.

And, it didn't.


We got the first snow of the year yesterday up here at 7,600 feet in the foothills.  jP burst into our room around 7 a.m. yesterday morning proclaiming loudly, "It snowed!"

While I was grinning from groggy ear to groggy ear at his enthusiasm, I can't say I was glad to see the snow.

Thankfully, I got out Friday around 4 p.m. in the sun for a dash around the upper loop on Bergen Peak (8.2 miles; 1,631 feet o' elevation gain).  Maya was along for the ride and showed no ill effects from her running lay-off.  She was bounding ahead and exploring at will, easily adding another mile or so to her day.

After a Saturday morning of snow, the sun finally came out around mid-day, which was enough encouragement to get me our for an extended version of the Meadow View Loop at Elk Meadow Open Space (6.3 miles, 820 feet o' elevation gain).

This morning, I was up a bit early to meet up with David W. for a run at Alderfer-Three Sisters Open Space.  We started easy from the lower parking lot and ran the eastern loop through the old Blair Ranch property and over to Elephant Butte, a Denver Mountain Park property.

We picked our way up the well-defined trail to the hump's summit.  We spent a good 10 minutes soaking up the SPECTACULAR views to the west of the Mt. Evans group.  Perfect morning.

We finished up with a couple more miles on the Alderfer trail system before piling back into the cars and getting on with the non-running parts of our days (6.2 miles, 1,597 feet o' elevation gain).

A few pics from the morning:

Early morning view of Evergreen Lake with mist rising.

Obligatory summit pic atop Elephant Butte with Mt. Evans in the distance.

The Mt. Evans Group. 

Bergen Peak.

Looking south to Evergreen Mountain with upper Alderfer meadow in the foreground.

Elephant Butte from upper Alderfer meadow.

View of the Three Sisters rock formations from the upper meadow at Alderfer-Three Sisters Open Space

Hoping to get back into more regular posting here.

Weekly Roundup - May 22 - 29, 2011

Sunday - Off:  JP was out of town, so the kids and I hung close to the house.

Monday - Green - Bear Canyon - Mesa Loop: 9 miles; 1:44; 2,701 feet o' elevation gain.  One of my favorite runs in Boulder. Ran it counter clockwise from Chautauqua. Put in a solid effort up Green from Gregory Canyon, but couldn't muster anything better than 40:46 to the summit. Didn't work hard enough on the stretch to the ranger cottage.

Tuesday - Man...I can't remember what I did on Tuesday. Is that bad?

Wednesday - Bergen Peak Upper Loop:  8.41 miles; 1:11; 1,724 feet o' elevation gain. Ran up Too Long and down Bergen Peak. Ran the downs hard again. Felt good.

Thursday - Matthew Winters - Red Rocks - Hogback Loop:  6.62 miles; 1:06; 1,242 feet o' elevation gain. Squeezed this one in between the end of the workday and picking up the kids. Had planned on an easy pace, but quickly got in too deep time-wise and had to run the Hogback portion harder than planned.  Was thinking about rattlesnakes on the run through M-W. I've read twice recently posts on what do to if you're bitten by a rattler. Both had the usual recommendations...keep your heart rate down, don't try to suck the venom out, don't elevate the bitten appendage, seek help. Great advice. Funny thing was, both posts were written by ultrarunners, but neither said what to do if you're bitten when you're out in the middle of nowhere alone (anyone ever run deep into the woods solo?) with little prospect of someone wandering by soon. Reckon I ought to do a little research. Which reminds me, I watched the movie 127 Hours this week. Fair.

Friday - Elk Meadow/Dog Park Loop:  8.11 miles; 1:17; 1,017 feet o' elevation gain. Met up with Steve F. for this easy jog around the lower trails of Elk Meadow, including a run down Quarterhorse Road and back through the dog park part of Elk Meadow. Brought Maya along on this one. I hate running with a leash in hand. Wish Jefferson County Open Space would allow some off-leash use in their parks (a la Boulder).

Saturday - Manitou Follow Your Nose Loop: 25.01 miles; 5:13; 5,981 feet o' elevation gain. Up early for the drive down to Manitou Springs to meet up with Woody, Joe Z., Scott and Troy for a to-be-determined run.

We started just a few blocks from the start of the Pikes Peak Marathon/Ascent and headed south to pick up the Inteman Trail. We ran Inteman over to Ruxton and then up to the Barr Trail. We ran a steady pace up the Barr Trail to a sign about a mile and a half below Barr Camp where Woody and I hung a right and the other three guys continued on up the Barr Trail. Woody and I had designs on running a big part of the Ponderous Postier Pikes Peak 50K route, only in reverse. However, anyone that ran it would tell you we already were off course, only we didn't realize it...yet.

The trail down from Barr started as a rutted, washed-out gully, but soon turned into a reasonable, but unmaintained primitive trail as it wound in and out of small drainages, over creeks and through woods and meadows. There was one spot, on a grass-covered hillside, where the views of Pikes Peak were absolutely sublime.

Unknown trail dropping down from the Barr Trail. Pikes Peak in the background. Photo: WA

We eventually ended up at a marked trail junction. One of the options was the Heizer Trail, so we took that as it appeared to head in the direction of Highway 24 where we planned to pick up the trail up Waldo Canyon. Heizer climbed steadily to the apex of a mountain then plunged steeply 2.5 miles down to the town of Cascade on Highway 24.  We quickly figured out we were well above where we needed to be, so after a water refill at a wine bar (they loved us) we started running down Highway 24. The run down wasn't too bad, except for the sections where there were just five feet between a canyon wall and cars/trucks whizzing by at 55+ mph.

After a mile and a half, we hit Waldo Canyon and started climbing. Our plan now was to find a way over to Rampart Range Road, which we would run down back to town. So, up Waldo we went. At the canyon's loop intersection, we went left and cruised up...up and up. I really like this trail. The scenery is great, the grades are reasonable and the trail is well-maintained. From the upper reaches of the loop, we could see the water tank on Rampart Range Road where we wanted to be. Now...how to get over there?

We were constantly on the lookout for trails headed north, hoping we'd be able to follow our noses and get to our next destination. Finally, we found a solid, unmarked trail heading northeast, so we took it.  Again, excellent trail. We were just cruising, soaking in the views and enjoying the spectacular weather.

As we descended, I started thinking we were heading into Williams Canyon. Soon enough, we hit a trail junction with a left-right option. Right was down canyon, left was up canyon, and likely the route up to RRR. We are 21 miles in at this point and opted to head down Williams. Good call as the canyon was gorgeous.  Finished things up with a mile or two through town back to the cars.

Looking down Williams Canyon.  Photo: WA

While we didn't take the route we had planned to follow, there's something to be said for simply following your nose and exploring.

Reflection:  Definitely not a high-mileage week, with just 57.14 miles. But, some good time on feet - 10:34; and decent elevation gain - 12,666 feet. Definitely need to get the mileage up a bit, while continuing with the mountain runs.  (And, I've got to figure out where my brain was on Tuesday!) I've been struggling a bit of late with the running mojo and not enjoying some of the runs as much as I typically do. Need to noodle on that a bit. Might be worth a more in-depth post soon.