October

Easy 10.2 miles after work to get away from all the kids, 1:39. Brings my October total to 314 miles. Second highest monthly total of 2011. Some pretty epic miles in there, including the Zion Traverse, the sub three at Wisconsin Dells, and the Boulder Basic.

Sitting at 2600 miles on the year. Would like to get damn close to 3000 before Vegas, so I can take the rest of December off.

Tore it up on the Green Monster front as well, now sitting at 90 on the year.

quote of the day

From the Gazette today:

"The Broncos lack quality quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, offensive linemen, defensive linemen and defensive backs. Other than those holes, this is a marvelous football team."

The Tebow lovers aren't quite as loud today as they were on Saturday...

monday

AM - Easy three mile dog jog, 30 minutes.

Weighed in at 168.4 pounds this morning. I'll post my morning weigh in from now until Vegas. Gonna try to get down to 159 for that race. Think the 168 today was a little high due to some not-so-healthy activities this weekend.

week

Solid recovery week, 56 miles, including my first Boulder Basic. Legs feel pretty good so I'll jump back into some harder workouts this week.

Easy run in Ute Valley today with the Pikes Peak Road Runners. Here's a pic, courtesy of Pikes Peak Sports.

Harney Peak

fri

Felt pretty good on the Incline last night. Was worried how the quads would hold up on the way down, but they're fine. Looks like I'll need to come up with a new excuse for a shitty run in Boulder on Saturday.

Signed up for the Backcountry half marathon again. Fast Eddy's home course, we'll see if he has the cojones to show up. Gave it about the hardest effort I've ever given for that distance last year, and still ran something like 1:45. Hard course, but lots of fun. Should be a good tune up for Vegas.

I'm running the Fall Series Ute Valley race on Sunday dressed as a beer bottle...

track

Quads are still sore but I wanted to get the legs spinning today. 1.5 mile warm up, 6 x 800m with 400m RBI, 1.5 mile cool down. CC track. Started at 3:15 and worked down to 3:09. Very easy effort, and the legs were starting to feel good by the end.

On the way to the track I saw a homeless dude sleeping on the sidewalk. I wondered if he was dead, as it was 21F at 5:30AM and who knows how cold it got overnight. But on the way back I saw the dude standing up and taking a leak on that new Mansion bar downtown, right on Tejon in plain view of everyone. Classic!

Blue Earth, MN

We pulled over just because we saw a sign advertising a 60 foot Jolly Green Giant statue. The big guy didn't disappoint...

time to get serious...

Somebody brought donuts to work today. I usually eat at least a half dozen. Today I had none. That's how serious I am about breaking 2:50 in Vegas...

Might have to delete this post later on since there are still a bunch of donuts left. But for right now, I'm damn serious about getting in shape!

Wisconsin Dells Marathon

While I'm now the definite frontrunner for the Rick H "cherrypicker of the year" award at the next CRUD party, that's not how the event was supposed to go down. Last year had a winning time of 2:43, and I knew I wouldn't be close to that. I had a feeling I might be able to sneak under three hours, but also knew that going for that time could result in walking the last few miles and barely hitting sub four.

The Dells is a pretty hard marathon course with lots and lots of rolling hills. Definitely not a PR type course. So I'm pretty psyched that I went in there and grabbed my third best time ever. The icing on the cake was claiming another victory over a hated rival, Josh J., who would PR and go sub three for his first time ever, and will hear about finishing second place for the rest of his life.

Easy start, hit the first mile in eight flat after stopping to take a leak. Josh was about 30 seconds ahead at this early point, and I spent the next few miles slowly catching back up. Josh and I would stay close for the first half, never running more than a few seconds ahead or behind one another. Really gambling for me to stay with him, as he just threw down a PR of 1:23 at the Denver half, a good four minutes faster than I thought I could run given my current fitness. Had some tightness in my right hamstring early on, something I hoped wouldn't ruin my day later.

About nine miles into the race Josh and I moved into second and third place. Talked with the guy we passed, he was pretty gassed and said he was already five minutes ahead of his planned pace. So I knew he was done. It was now a battle for second, and bragging rights for a LONG time, between Josh and I.

Saw the lead runner pass us at mile 12.7ish. Timed him to the turnaround, he had about a five minute lead. And he looked strong, I thought he might beat us by a full ten minutes at the end of the day.

But I still had a race with Josh, as he was only four seconds back at the turnaround, which I hit in 1:28. Not blazing for me, but I was definitely working hard. I immediately picked up the pace, hoping Josh would fall back. Nope. He stayed on my ass for the next five or so miles.

By mile 19 I had finally opened a gap of 30 seconds or so on Josh, but I really worked to get it. Was already pretty spent and wondering if I could hold this pace. But then about two miles later I got a nice jolt of energy when I spotted the leader about 300 meters ahead, just before he disappeared around a turn. Thought that maybe if I pushed I could catch him by mile 25 and we could have a helluva race. But when I got up to that turn, I had already cut his lead in half, and it was obvious he was cooked.

I took the lead just before 22 miles. I wanted to run with the guy for a mile or two before taking the lead, but he was probably running 8:30 miles and I knew if I stayed that Josh would catch up. Really pushed hard from mile 22 to 24, 6:30 miles there, and that ended the race. Which was good, because at mile 24 the quad cramps started coming and I was done. Must have finished up with two miles well over 7:30. Wanted to run faster but I had the win and a sub three in the bag and I was afraid if I pushed any harder I would end up having to walk.

The finish was pretty funny. Had visions of the crowd going wild while I broke the tape, given my huge trophy by some supermodels. Nope. Crossed the finish line and nobody said anything. Finally, someone got up off a chair and handed me a half-marathon finisher medal. It was a good 45 seconds before anybody realized a marathon runner had finished.

Great seeing Josh cross the tape in 2:59:40. Big monkey off his back with finally getting that sub three.

Another awesome trip to Wisconsin. Lots and lots of beer drinking all week, highlighted with a solid marathon time. Gives me hope that if I can work my ass off for the next six weeks I'll at least have a chance at a 2:49 in Vegas...

my first movie

Trying to finally get the youtube thing down. Here's my first attempt, an in depth documentary on the recent Hawkeye Point hike.

Harney Peak

Hawkeye Point

The dog's first state highpoint!

2:58:02!

Me & Snoop

quote of the day

"I knew a few guys who couldn't break 3:00 in the marathon and I just couldn't even imagine how anyone could possibly be that slow."

-Amby Burfoot

Tough competition today, as there is a great Kenyan letsrun thread which includes gems like this:

"I am 5-7, weigh 97 pounds and only run 2:09 for a marathon. Am I fat? Should I drop five more pounds, or throw in the towel, bulk up and try for the completion of five unassisted push-ups?"

Mon

AM - easy dog jog. 4.5 miles, 45 minutes.

PM - nine miles on the Garden roads, 1:20. Pitch dark by 7PM nowadays.

bling

That's me with my fancy 3rd place overall medal. Nick and PG had made the third place finish quite popular, but with GZ's second place performance I may have to step up my game.

Think that's the 1000th pic I ripped from Pikes Peak Sports this year.

recycling

Put out the recycling bins this morning. One was overflowing with beer bottles and cans (not ususual). The other was packed solid with Krispy Kreme donut boxes. Not sure what the garbage guys think of us.

Twisted Pine - Boulder

17:20!

Just dropped a 17:20 at the Peace Officer Memorial 5K!

Think the course was about 150 meters short. Still, I think it's a legit 17:45.

More pleased with the actual race I ran. The guys who finished 4th and 5th regularly kick my ass at the local short stuff. But at the 1.5 mile turnaround I was close to them, and I threw in a surge that broke them both. Almost cost me my race by going so early, as I really struggled to hold it together between mile 2 and 2.75ish. But somehow I held on.

Capitol Reef

Bryce

Flying Monkey

Wiley and I, the night before the Zion Traverse. I highly suggest that any Zion trip have the base camp at Springdale, so you can go to the Flying Monkey. Much better than going to Cedar City and having to decide between Chili's and Applebee's as your social outlet.

Here's a shot of the Monkey parking lot. Not sure why all this is underlined.

Das Boot!

Before:

After:

Canya Canon

Rego for the Canya Canon 6K is over here. For $25 you get a great run, t-shirt, and all the Bristol beer you can drink.

2012

Here's what I'm looking at in 2012:

March 17 - Salida Marathon

April 21 - Free State 100K

May 5 - Collegiate Peaks

May 19 - Jemez Mountain

June 23 - San Juan Solstice

July 14 - Hardrock (fingers crossed!)

Aug 18 - Pikes Peak Ascent

Sept - Run Rabbit Run

Oct - Moab 100

Subject to change, as I still need to wedge another trip to the Grand Canyon in there. Thinking of hitting Havasupai Falls and the Under The Rim Trail at Bryce in the same trip...

Little less travel, and only one state (Kansas) off the list. Will use the time to (hopefully, and yes I know I said the same thing for this year) finally finish off all the Colorado 14ers.

Not even close to being finished with 2011 though. Wisconsin Dells coming up in two weeks, and then Vegas, baby!

Thurs

5:15AM start for the Cheyenne Canyon run. Legs are still heavy from Zion, so I was a bit surprised that I went sub 48 for the climb, despite the easy effort. I really think I'll be able to take down Mr. Elite at the upcoming hill climb*.

Think we have eight brave souls in for the Krispy Kreme Challenge this Saturday.

Congrats to King's Chef for kicking ass in the "Best Of" edition of the CS Indy. Four gold medals! Best Bang-for-Your-Buck Restaurant, Best Diner, Best Green Chili, and Best Late-Nite Dining. I think they should have been Best Burger as well, though not too many folks go there for the burger.

Hope to get a Zion report posted on Friday...

*PG has said he will be pushing a baby stroller during the race.

Colorado College/Wisconsin

Since it's been a big Wisconsin year for me, we're thinking of getting a group together for the Colorado College/Wisconsin hockey game down here. Games are November 18th and 19th. I don't know much about hockey, but this sounds like a great excuse to drink some brews. I know there are a few Wisco fans who read this, if you're interested in joining us at the game let me know.

Wed PM

Seven miles from work to Manitou, then an extra 3.5 miles in the Garden with $100 and the dog at the PPRR Full Moon Run. Beautiful night.

happy birthday!

We got the dog one year ago today!

2010 Rocky Mountain Slam

Finally posted a finisher pic on the website.

Only one guy finished the Rocky Mountain Slam in 2011.

run to work

Easy 5.1 miles to work, 47:44. Included a few minutes talking with the folks at the Occupy Colorado Springs protest down at Acacia Park. They were supposed to be arrested last night for violating the city camping ordinance, but the fuzz never showed. I don't know what the hell is up with the whole Occupy Wall Street thing, and most of the Springs protesters don't either, but they're friendly enough. Tough situation for the Springs cops, so I fully expect them to fuck it up in as bad a way as possible.

Can someone explain Occupy Wall Street in 100 words or less? I haven't been watching much news lately.

Zion Traverse

Knocked off the Zion Traverse in 13:17. I'll work on posting some more stuff over the next few days, until then you can check out Wiley's blog.

Awesome road trip:

1800+ miles

3 National Parks (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches)

2 breweries (Palisade Brewing, Glenwood Canyon Brewing)

1 distillery (Peach Street)

Zion!

Cheyenne Canon

Rick H and I were at the parking lot at 5:15AM. No snow yet, so we continue to do the Canya Canon 6K hill climb. Soon enough we'll be sticking to the paved road up to the top of High Drive.

I forgot my watch and Rick was still being lazy after his 50 miler, so I'm sure no records were set. Parts of this are so steep that I was running and Rick was catching me while walking.

Last run before Zion!

run to work

AM - Left the house late, so had to go straight to the office. 4.7 miles, 39:51.

PM - Long way home. Damn, it sure is getting dark early. 12.2 miles, 2:09. Listened to Living Colour Live at CBGB's. Almost forgot how awesome that band was.

Goucher coming to Colorado!

Kara Goucher is moving to Colorado Springs! Woot woot! Kara, if you're reading this, there's an extra room in the house. Only sleeps one though, Adam and Colt will have to live with someone else.

Gonna be a great weekend!

track

AM - The morning mile workout has been more trouble than it's worth since I moved to a 7:30AM start at work. Decided to try running some quarters before heading to the office. 10 x 400m, 200m RBI. Pretty solid day:

84, 82, 81, 82, 81, 80, 79, 79, 79, 76.

The first couple were spent weaving in and out of all the crossfit folks on the track, so these times could have been even faster.

PM - was hoping to find a nice, fast track at Coronado High. But it's just as crappy as the middle school across the street. Two mile warm up, 2 x 1600m (5:47, 5:45), 1.6 mile cool down. Decent workout after a long day at work.

Devil Mountain 50

Everyone continues to whine about top Europeans, but I don't think they could hang with South CRUD. Exhibit A.

This guy says they're currently accepting applications for the South CRUD AAA squad, also known as the Pearl Izumi ultrarunning team.

Tim lied, he didn't delete the pic...

PPRR Fall Series I

Ran great for the first 1.5 miles. Solid start over the first half mile, then I ever-so-slowly started creeping up on Gerald. Hit the water probably in 10th place, only a few seconds behind Gerald. Was another upset on the way?

Nope. Walked most of the creek, which was about 3/4 of a mile. Thought my old Saucony Kilkenny would do the trick, but they got no traction at all. I bet 20 people passed me in the creek. To make things worse, I had to stop at the end of the creek to empty the rocks from my shoes. Ugh. Thanks to Pikes Peak Sports (who took the pic below) for deleting the pic they had of me falling completely underwater. Stupid creeks.

Passed a few guys over the final mile to finish in 28:39 (3.6ish miles?), 24th overall. I also crushed this ten year old chick:

Still in decent shape after the low month. Running a local 5K on October 15th, and I'll be looking to get that Boulder Bolder A wave qual out of the way early.

Justin R, the Pride of Pueblo, ran away with the win despite being almost as clueless in the river as I was. Good luck to him as he tries to go sub 2:19 in Chicago.

75

Ended September with 75 Green Monsters. Looks like I'm back on track to get my goal of 100 in 2011.

mmmm...

Barr Camp

Took advantage of the awesome weather to head up to Barr Camp. Pike National Forest is starting to change color, so if you live in this area you might wanna head up Barr to check it out. 14.3 miles in three hours. Barr Camp in 1:45, not much slower than when I ran the Ascent.

Neil doesn't know where his 1000 mile Leadville buckle is. He thinks it's either hidden away in all the crap up at Barr Camp or somewhere down in his storage shed. He didn't seem to care too much. Pretty funny considering all the buckle mania this summer down here in civilization.

September

Pretty much an off month. 185.4 miles, most of those in the first two weeks of the month. Only ran six days between the 15th and the 30th. The down time is nice, but I think it's time to get back at it.