getting fat

Been fairly lazy and uninspired since Rio Grande.  In my defense, this was a big SAR week so a lot of my time was spent in that world.

And we also caught the Weird Al show up at Ford Amphitheater.  Incredible concert.

For the week:

run - 20 miles, 3.7 hours

hike - 32 miles, 16 hours

ride - 27 miles, two hours

Both my Panthers and Steelers are still undefeated!

21:03

Recovering well from Rio Grande.  Jumped into a local 5k on Sunday and gave it a shot.  Physically and mentally I just didn't have it.  And my middle mile (I split 6:32, 7:06, 6:52) was hot garbage.  Also not the fastest course, the first mile is mostly on grass, the rest of the race is on the sidewalks of the balloon festival and you have to weave in and out of thousands of people.  Work to do but I think I still have a sub 20 in these old legs.

For the week:

run - 26 miles, five hours

hike - 19 miles, nine hours

For August:

run - 260 miles, 70.5 miles

hike - 106 miles, 46 hours

Rio Grande

Another hundo in the books.  Made the short drive down to South Fork this weekend for the Rio Grande 100.  Typical Tempest Adventure gig, extremely hard course but marked well.   A part of the San Juans I hadn't spent any time in, so that was cool.  I was slow but steady and crossed the line in just over 34 hours.  Second straight hundred without pacers.  Ten hours before I got there a chick won the overall race.

Biggest disappointment for me was getting trounced in the mile 21 Pool Table aid station push up contest.  Whoever did the most push ups there won $50.  I was a very distant third place.

dog rescue

Another decent week in the books.  Mountain fitness is coming around.

run - 51 miles, eleven hours

hike - 32 miles, 13 hours

More importantly, I had my first dog rescue.  Whiskey was hit by a rock and really messed up his front paw.  SAR hiked back in and carried him out.  We've been updated and the pup is going to be fine.  You can read the details over here on the pup's GoFundMe.

catching up

Been a hot minute.

Another successful van trip in the books.  Headed north through Spearfish, SD, to Medora, ND.  Got to take in the geographical center of the USA in Belle Forche, SD.

I ran the Maah Daah Hey trail 58 miler, a chunk of the 150+ mile trail through the badlands of North Dakota.  Nice run but Jesus Christ it was hot.  At 4PM I was at mile 40 and it was still 105F.  Was not ready for those conditions but I survived.  State number 32.

After that we headed south to Sheridan and visited some old favorites, including the Crazy Woman Saloon near the Bighorn finish and The Mint Bar.  

Sheridan is a great town, but after a long morning dog hike we were on the road again.  Ended up in Winter Park, doing some brewery visits before heading out Vasquez Road for the night.  Next day was down to Salida to see some friends, then Creede for the next night.

From Creede it was over to Del Norte for the Rhythms on the Rio festival.  This was a fantastic time, and we'll hit this up for the next few years before it becomes too big.  Highlights included Frasco, Magoo, Jeremy Garret, and the Kitchen Dwellers.  Dog friendly, awesome camping venue, easy access to the river, and nice hiking on Lookout Mountain.  Loving the valley more and more each time we visit.

Came home and officially became a grumpy old man, turning 50.  For my birthday I ran up Pikes from the house, ending at WestFax Brewing.  50k on the day.  Believe me, I noticed the much slower time up the Peak.

Then caught King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at Ford Amphitheater.  Great time!

BTMR

Low running week, mostly due to a Big Richard concert, the WestFax one year anniversary shenanigans, and lots of time spent helping with the Barr Trail Mountain Race for SAR.  Did get in 13 miles of hiking up to Barr Camp and back on race day with a 50+ pound pack.  Good times.

run - 28 miles, 5.5 hours

hike - 43 miles, 17.5 hours

ride - four miles, 25 minutes

Seeing Cake on Wednesday evening, then it's off on the annual van trip.  Headed up to North Dakota to run a chunk of the Maah Daah Hey trail, then slowly making our way down south to Del Norte for the Rhythms on the Rio festival.

Barr Camp

SAR kept me busy but I still got some miles in, including a good long run on Sunday where I ran up to Barr Camp, returned, and then did the incline.  Hot as balls that day and I was pretty wiped afterwards.

run - 60 miles, 15.5 hours

hike - 23.5 miles, ten hours

bike - 26 miles, two hours

July 4

Pretty decent July 4th week.

run - 40 miles, eight hours

hike - 31 miles, 13.5 hours

ride - 44 miles, four hours

Trying to have Monday, which is my work from home day, have a track workout in the morning and an incline in the evening.  Given the summer weather I've been biking over to the incline, going straight up and down, then biking home.

On Friday (July 4th) I ran the Palmer Lake fun run, a slightly downhill four miler from Palmer Lake to Monument.  I finished in 26:02, pretty happy with the effort.  63rd place out of 687 finishers.  Top three all went sub 20.

Been slammed with SAR stuff as well, from dog training to holiday parades to regular training to actual rescues.  Getting in all the hours I can right now as we're off on a two week van trip starting later this month.

June

Pretty big month as I ran a marathon and two fifties.

run - 229 miles, 56 hours

hike - 105 miles, 57 hours

ride  - 54 miles, 5.5 hours

Riding is just commuting nowadays, big runs coming up so I'm spending my time on that mode of travel.

Halfway through the year, here are the numbers.

run - 1124 miles, 226.5 hours; 52 run commutes

hike - 724 miles, 316 hours; 26 summits of Iron Mountain with the dog

ride - 500 miles, 48 hours; 26 bike commutes

Plus 52 trips to CityRock.

And I just went over 300 hours on the year for search & rescue.  

catching up

Been a while.

Got my tenth finish down in Lake City at the San Juan Solstice.  Decent race, I was steady if not fast.  13:48.  Probably a little too close to my last big run two weeks ago which crushed me.

Not sure if it's my last SJS, but I won't be there next year as I'm committed to the Rachel Carson Challenge in Piittsburgh.

Took me a bit to recover from that.  Then on Friday I went over to Ute Valley Park for the second race of the Blue Moon series.  Ran well for the 8k, taking second overall in a VERY limited field.  It was a completely different crowd than in the first race, and it sucks that I'll miss the final race as I'm winning the overall series right now.   Again, the W is not due to any speedy performances but to nobody showing up.

On top of the running, SAR has been keeping me busy as everyone is hanging outside during the summer.  Good times.  

Kudos to Shad for getting it done at Western States!

SAR

Wasn't planning on a down week but I was crushed for a few days after Mace's and then SAR took up all my weekend time.

Good news: I was running up to Barr Camp on Saturday and a call came in for a hiker who was lost just off Barr Trail near Barr Camp.  He wasn't injured, so I got the go-ahead to go look for him.  I found him about 60 feet off Barr Trail, a little bit below the trail that heads over to the Cog Railway.  That incident is mentioned here.

Bad news:  A guy from New Hampshire came out here to hike Pikes Peak and it didn't end well.  I spent a good chunk of Saturday evening, most of Sunday, and a few hours on Monday looking for him.  All of that time was with a heavy pack above 13,000 feet.  That story is here.  

There was a little bit of running in there.  For the week:

run - 34 miles, eight hours

hike - 27 miles, 14 hours

Mace's Hideout

Tempest Adventures is now two for two in thoroughly kicking my ass.  I did their Mace's Hideout 50 miler down in Beulah and holy hell was it rough.  First four miles are on a dirt road but after that it's nothing but technical trails and lots of climbing and descending.  I ran pretty well, or at least I kept moving forward all day, but I found myself pushing the overall cutoff of 16 hours.  Rallied over the last three miles, which included climbing up a waterfall, and finished in 15:58:30.  Pic below is at the finish, those other two runners and I worked together to barely beat the cutoff.

I had planned on getting back home on Saturday after the race, maybe even early enough to hit WestFax for last call.  But I finished at midnight and was wrecked.  Ended up spending the night in the parking lot.  Good times.  I have some work to do before Rio Grande.

On Sunday after SAR training we headed up to Red Rocks for Big Head Todd's 40th anniversary show.  Saw Bill Murray and Warren Haynes open up.  Great time.

For the week:

run - 81 miles, 21.5 hours

hike - 19 miles, nine hours

South Dakota

4:27:30.  Gave up quickly and just jogged to get another state.  Over 90F during the race and I just wasn't ready to deal with that.  Live to fight another day.

Great van trip though.  Visited some Rapid City breweries, slept at Crow Peak Brewing in Spearfish, visited the Moonshine Gulch Saloon, and spent a quiet night in Sturgis.

Rough week as I got bogged down with a lot.

run - 35 miles, six hours

hike - 27 miles, ten hours