Category: run

Stuck on the dime…

Wandering around and making mistakes, I climb the plateau; having climbed the plateau, I go up the mountain. But now I have lost my way, and I am wandering around in the forest; without the Guru, I do not understand. ~ Sri Guru Granth Sahib

I feel a bit stuck. Seems like I am pounding it in the 10-12 mile range but then really lag on anything greater. I am still trying to figure out Leadville (which may be moot at this point) but I need to be able to feel relatively confident at 25-30 miles in order to think I have a shot at finishing the full 50. I would really like to give it a go as many of my other goals and aspirations for the year have not come to fruition but I am still just not sure at this point.

I headed back out yesterday and logged another solid 10 in about 1:50. Just about right on an 11-minute pace. Not too bad though I felt kinda crappy for about a third of the run. My stomach was giving me troubles. I think I need to eliminate the energy chunks from Whole Foods I have been testing. They just aren’t doing it for me. I just ran the standard 10-mile neighborhood loop with a couple of mods thrown in for interest. After trucking up Tin Can Alley and Funky Boss, I headed all the way up to the top and then burned a lap on Double-Down (a trail I put in a few years back) and then finished up on Tupperware. That trail has gotten pretty cool with someone constructing a tee-pee towards the finish you roll through. Fun to see other people out there getting creative.

Post-run I bailed on the soak and went for a dirt bike ride. Found a hook up from Magnolia to Flagstaff, which was pretty sweet and mapped a 30-miler from my house to Luke’s. May get brave and do that sometime later in the summer. Not soaking made me feel the run a little more than normal so I have just been kicking it thus far today though I am jonezing for a quick spin in the woods. Might go tick off 5 miles here before dinner.

I have been reading a bunch of Anton Krupicka’s old posts and man, that guy is really something. Apparently, he eats gels during his runs and fills his bottles (untreated) in streams along the way. I was wondering how the hell he covered so much ground with only a bottle or two and there’s the answer. I am sure he has built up a tolerance to all the creepy crawlies but damn… not sure I can commit to that strategy. Plus, I think I would get super sick of gels only. But who am I to judge… he’s the badass with all the wins and course records under his belt. He’s competing in the Western States this coming weekend. Hope he kills it.

So that is my story. Hope you had a great weekend.

~stubert.

[update] Couldn’t stand it any longer and went out for a short, fast 5-miler. 4.7 or so, just over 42 minutes.

Good week (and it’s only Thursday)…

Well I’ll be damned. ~ Beavis

Rach got back home Tuesday afternoon after spending a full week running the shelter in Broomfield. Needless to say, I am really happy she is home. I made some trips down to see her while she was away but it isn’t the same as having your sweetie close by. She is super tired from a long and hectic week caring for the bunnies and their owners but did an amazing job. She rules.

So I decided to step it up a bit in the last week or so… I did a fun Singlespeed ride around the neighborhood last Friday. Worked on a new section of trail that is pretty promising and just tooled around in the woods. I broke my chain about 2/3 of the way through and had to coast/walk/kick home but it was still fun to get out and explore.

Saturday, Luke, Pete and I met up in Ned for a fun SS ride. We hit the Highschool Trails then the Habitrail then did some exploring up high above West Mag. Fun stuff. Pete recently picked up a sweet 29’er Singlespeed ride and it is a blast. Once I got home I decided to do some work around the house then, since I was still grubby, threw on the running shoes and went back out for a quick 5-miler. Felt great. I kept a sub 10 pace (average) and just kindof cruised. It was good to get a double in.

I took Sunday off then went back out on Monday for my longest run this year to date. I ran from my house, up some old trails with new singletrack to the Park, then headed out for the long Zoo loop (Raccoon to Mule Deer, to Elk and back down Raccoon, through the campground and back home). This was about 18 miles and I did it in right around 3 hours. Felt decent for about the first 12 then a bit pukey for the last 6 but that is how it goes sometimes. I ran out of water and spun a lap back through the campground to refill then somehow managed to turn off my watch so I don’t have exact numbers but the above are pretty close guesses.

Wednesday, I headed back up to the Park for a little exploration and the goal of hitting 10 miles. I was really focusing on staying relaxed, keeping my heartrate down and flowing. Mission accomplished. I was trying to keep a 10 minute pace for most of the run (didn’t manage that, really) but didn’t really walk much at all and ran everything on Raccoon, which was cool. It was nice to be able to conceptualize and then accomplish a nice, smooth, easy 10 miles. Several years ago I wouldn’t have considered this possible so am pretty happy with my progress. I felt really great for about 7.5 miles then started getting a little tired but rolling almost 30 miles in a couple of days felt good. I am hoping to get out again tomorrow (Friday) and then maybe again on Saturday depending upon what is going on.

So all in all, a good week. I am starting to feel strong again, have really started to feel more efficient and am able to pick a pace and stick with it longer than ever before. This week will be decision time regarding Leadville. Right now I am on the fence. We’ll see if this weekend will kick me to one side or the other.

~stubert.

It’s getting Juney…


Nineteen years ago today… this guy stood in front of a tank, and the end result is we Americans get to buy cheap crap from Wal-Mart. Somehow I don’t think that is what he intended. ~ Todd Bellamy

The Aspens are starting to leaf out. It is definitely springtime in the Rockies. The temps are rising, snow is slowly starting to melt in the high country (though it is still hanging pretty tough up really high), the humming birds are in full effect. As much as I will miss the winter it is fun to see the seasons change. One of the many things I would miss if I ever had to live elsewhere.

This week has been a little hectic but good. After our ski last week, I was geared up to go back out on Saturday but that fell through so I went for a run instead. Kind of explored around a bit in the woods near my house and found some cool new stuff. I started out down the Beav then went up to Whispering Hope (a new trail a couple of miles from my casa). From there I climbed back up to familiar territory: Tin Can Alley to Funky Boss. I then did some exploring around an incomplete trail I call Tupperware and hooked up most of it but there is still some work to do to get it completely hooked up. About 9 miles total. Good stuff.

Rach and I cleaned cages at the Bunny Ranch on Sunday then she headed down to stay at the shelter for a week on Tuesday. She usually co-Manages but for this week she is running it on her own. It is a ton of work with help… this is going to be a big week for her running the show solo. Plus, I’ll miss having her at home to myself. I’m selfish… whatchagonnado?

The weather yesterday was kinda crappy but it broke mid-afternoon so I headed out for a trail run. I wasn’t quite sure how long to go and just played it by ear. Cool and cloudy, it threatened to rain pretty much the whole time and thundered a bit. I was really lucky, however and never got dumped on.

Map of the Big Zoo Popsicle

I ran out my door and into the woods behind my house with the goal of getting up to Golden Gate Canyon State Park and then would decide from there how far to take it. I took it easy on the way out with the goal of running the second half faster than the first (not sure I accomplished that, really) and felt great by the time I hit the Park. I pretty much decided to just go for it and dropped down to what I call the Zoo Loop: Elk to Mule Deer and back up and around to Raccoon. It is about an 8-mile loop and I managed to run most of it – only walking the steepest or most gravely sections. Felt decent most of the way and only started to fade a bit towards the end. Roughly 14 miles total. Good run. Check out the stats.

I am still not sure about Leadville… giving it until the middle of the month to decide on that one. Overall, however, I am feeling pretty decent. I’ll keep you posted with progress.

~stubert.

Good week…

Vanity is the enemy of funny. ~ Rach

Where were we? Oh yeah… back in business.

This week has been pretty solid on the activity side of things. After Sunday’s ski with Luke and Pete, I went for a run on Monday. Just a short one, 5 miles in the woods near my house. I didn’t feel awesome but did feel a lot better than I have in months. Great news. I followed up with a 6-miler yesterday (Thursday) and logged the best time ever on that particular route. My average pace was just over 10-minute miles and I was able to really put the hammer down for the last couple of miles. Just what I needed. I am not breaking any speed records but I am not really a speed record kind of runner. In case you hadn’t noticed.

Luke and I went out this morning for a ski up Niwot Ridge. We left the trail head about 6:15 and were back at the cars by 10:15. Both the up and out were a bit of a slog (just the nature of the Isabelle drainage) but the ski was really a lot of fun. We were a bit concerned up top as the snow was quite firm but as soon as we dropped in, it softened up and was a blast. Big walls on either side; undulating terrain; nice, steep sections; and a sketchy mandatory over some rocks in a tight pinch at the bottom (you had to kindof scootch into the bottom of it and then leap over the rocks and straight-line through a 3-foot chute with a big wall on the right and a huge boulder on the left). Exciting and fun for sure.

Other than that, I have just been working a lot, watching some movies (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is hilarious, incidentally, and inspired Rach’s quote above) and reading a ton (finished a second reading of the Potter series, Long Way Round, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, etc. etc.).

More later.

~stubert.

Exhausted…

Ben in the backcountry above Brainard. Badass.

And I’m spent. ~ Austin Powers

Post L.A. things didn’t really improve for me fitness-wise. I did those two 9-mile runs and felt pretty crappy then followed up a week later with a fun (but somewhat frustrating) run on the 3rd. Bob and I started from his place in Boulder, ran up Flagstaff and back down to Boulder Canyon (down the back side of Flag). I really enjoy this run most of the time. The section from the top of Flag down to the canyon is frequently filled with interesting fauna and this time was no exception. Bob and I saw 9 turkey (turkeys?) in a group on the side of the trail. We stopped to watch them for a bit and then continued down the hill. We did spot what appeared to be big kitty tracks and then were pleased to be able to confirm that yes, bears do in fact shit in the woods.

While heading back down Boulder Canyon, I started to fade a bit and really started to suffer going back up and over the shoulder of Flagstaff. Just feeling really weak, somewhat nauseated, etc. We made it back to Bob’s in under 3 hours (~14 miles) and I started feeling worse and worse. Just pretty much limped home (drive) and called it a day.

On the following Monday, Ben and I went out to ski Mt. Toll. More of the same, really. It was quite warm but I was really, really slow. I didn’t even make it up to the top. By the time we actually were skiing, I felt like hammered crap and was again nauseated and just spent. Oh well. It was a gorgeous day, in any event, so that was nice. Ben and I were a bit late and the snow had turned to mush by the time we were skiing but it was a lot of fun. Feeling like ass aside.

So post that adventure, I made the decision to take a couple of weeks completely off. I will allow myself to hike a little, maybe play some golf. That’s it. One week down now and another to go (at least). I think I am just mega fatigued from this Spring’s events. Whatchagonnnado?

New ride.

In other news, I bought a new motorcycle. So far, I really like it a lot. It is a DR650 and is geared for dual-sport riding. I am going to set it up for dirt adventures and have found thus far for the bike to be quiet, smooth and light. Certainly compared to the Beemer I sold in April.

I also have watched a few good flicks of late. Iron Man was quite good as was American Gangster. We watched Long Way Round again which is really entertaining. I recommend all three. Go see Iron Man in the theater. It has incredible special effects and Robert Downey Jr. is great (as usual).

Other than that, just laying low, getting some work done, and resting. Good times.

~stubert.