books

Since my days of winning awards for running are long gone, I turned my attention to another pursuit:
reading. Last night I picked up a sweet coffee mug for completing the Pikes Peak Library District Winter
Reading Challenge. That’s right, illiterate bitches, I’ve already plowed through EIGHT books in 2013!

Those books were all OK. I just don’t get the boner for reading that others do. I’d much rather drink a
beer, or run on a trail, or not be one of those losers who reads all the time, than read a book.

Here’s the goods. I’m going to mail this (she only gets the mug, I'm keeping the fries) to a friend of mine who is the Head Librarian (I love saying that!) at a library in Pittsburgh. As I was picking up my mug last night, I actually told that to the librarian in Old Colorado City, adding “Did you know they had libraries in Pittsburgh too?” He gave me quite the odd look and I’m pretty sure I ended up as the FB status on the library page.

Williams

Good long run on Saturday.  I haven't been up Williams Canyon since before the Waldo fire a bunch of years ago.  Got back there on Saturday and was reminded of how spectacular that place is.  From my house over to Manitou, up Williams, down Rampart Range Road, and some Garden trails back to my house is a great 15 mile loop.  Took me just under three hours, including a long break to chat with Hessek and Sullivan over in the canyon.

Another week in the books.

run - 41 miles, seven hours
ride - 98 miles, 9.5 hours
hike - 28 miles, 10.25 hours

Christ, another month in the books as well.  The numbers for April:

run - 131.5 miles, 21.5 hours
ride - 346 miles, 34 hours
hike - 120 miles, 44 hours

Been lacking in motivation lately so I signed up for the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee.  The only time I'll attempt a Laz race.  1000k between now and September, which is an average of five miles a day.  Counts hikes, so my dog will be a big part of it.

Speaking of virtual races, I got this in the mail the other day:

Also on Saturday I did my first ever virtual hash.  It is about one millionth of a percent as cool as regular hashing.

books

Finally finished reading this book. Bet it took me most of 2009. Awesome read, but I would always finish a few chapters and then get busy with life and forget about it.

Wanna read ten books in 2010. Here's what's on my list so far:

-Stones Into Schools (the sequel to Three Cups of Tea)
-Where Men Win Glory (yeah, I'm a big Krakauer fan)
-The Last Season (my sister sent me this book a while ago, looks pretty good)
-The Greatest: the Haile Gebrselassie Story
-Running With The Buffaloes (if I read it quick enough I can gank it from the CRC bookshelf and return it before anyone knows it's missing)
-Endurance (got this for $2 when I still lived in Austin, but haven't gotten around to reading it yet)
-Again to Carthage (sequel to Once a Runner)
-Atlas Shrugged (just kidding, no way I'll ever read more than the first two pages of that)

Any other suggestions?

book #4

Just finished up book #4 for the year. Averaging over 1.33 books per month so far this year, I think that's about what I usually average for an entire year. I'll be sure to thank all the small people when I win the national reader of the year award.

Pretty good read about the Boston marathon course. It's written (wrote? wroted? wrat?) by a native New Englander who bandited the 100th running of the race. Each chapter describes a mile of the course. Good intel to have with less than four weeks 'till race day.

Went on a rant at Trinity on Monday about the erosion of the standards for the race because of the fundraising way in. Think I even pissed some people off when I ripped the current Iraq marathon that allows any finisher to run Boston. Oh well. For those that don't know, I did do six years in the Infantry, including a year in Iraq, and at no time whatsoever did I think that entitled me to run Boston without a real qualifier. I think it's great that all these people are getting off their asses and getting into shape, but go run Chicago or Marine Corps or some other big time marathon, and leave Boston for the people who are willing to work their tails off to run fast!

Next up on the book list: Dick Beardsley's "Staying the Course: A Runner's Toughest Race." Yes, another Boston book. That'll put me halfway towards my goal of ten books for the year. Hope I'm not overworking my brain.

Eugene

Eugene weekend in the books.

Started off terrible enough as our flight there got jacked up due to weather.  Was supposed to arrive at 3PM with plenty of time to grab a few beers before seeing the Warren Haynes Band.  Ended up arriving at 10PM and unfortunately no show.  At least the brewery next to our VRBO was open until midnight.

On Saturday we ran the Duck Dash 5k then headed up to Silver Falls State Park for a hike with some old Austin friends who now live in Portland.  Saw some cool waterfalls and grabbed a late lunch at the Silver Falls Brewery in Silverton, OR.

The marathon on Sunday went exactly how I thought it would go.  Sub eight minutes miles for the first 19 miles, (3:29 pace), then the legs blew up and I limped to a 3:48 finish.  You get the race you trained for.  Even with the struggles over the final miles, I managed to at least appreciate the awesomeness of finishing on historic Hayward Field, a highlight of a long running career.  State marathon number 30 in the books.

Went from the finish over to the Wild Duck for beers, then Track Town Pizza for pizza and more beers, then toured a bunch of dive bars and breweries.  Sunday was a good day.

Visited Pre's Rock on Sunday, then jumped a plane to come home.  Flight back to Colorado was much easier than the way out.

Legs are still sore AF as I write this on Tuesday.

For the week:

run - 58 miles, 9.5 hours

hike - 23 miles, nine hours

ride - 18 miles, two hours

For the month of April-

run - 166 miles, 32 hours

hike - 127 miles, 53 hours

ride - 124 miles, 12 hours

And hell, year to date since we're a third of the way through:

run - 743 miles, 141 hours

hike - 501 miles, 210 hours

ride - 372 miles, 35.5 hours

Currently up to 39 run commutes, 19 bike commutes, 37 CityRock trips, and 19 Iron Mountain summits.

books #5, 6, & 7!

Been trying to clean up my diet, hence the recent selections. I’ll definitely get the most out of Racing Weight and Food Rules (which was more of a pamphlet than a book, but I’m counting it anyways). Once the prospect of eating nothing but burgers and bacon proved impossible, the Primal Blueprint wasn’t really worth reading for either the diet or workout portions. I’m sure it works for some people, but it couldn’t support the endurance based lifestyle I live.

I have been eating more fruits and veggies recently, and much less processed foods. So at least the books accomplished something.

FYI, it's been over four months since I ate fast food.

Phantom Canyon

Another quick van trip down to Fremont County.  

Left Friday after work and went straight to Oil Well Flats.  Already dark when we parked, so it was a quick hike with the dog followed by some beers in the van before turning in early.  Windy AF, which would be a theme for the weekend.

Up early Saturday for a good 90 minute dog hike, then I went for an hour run.  It was already pretty warm and sunny for 8AM when $100 and I tagged off on dog duty and she took off on her bike.  I made some coffee and got out the guitar.  Not sure how long I had been playing, but I looked out the window and it was snowing.

$100 had planned on getting in some fishing on the Arkansas, but the wind made that difficult so we just went to The Owl for lunch.  So damn good.

Hung out in Canon City for a bit before heading over to Florence Brewing to waste some time.  Canon seemed dead, I guess everyone had gone to the million MAGA march.

Fremont County really nailed my current opinion on the whole mask thing:

We decided to head straight up the road to Phantom Canyon to spend the night.  We've both biked that road but never slept there.  Great place with lots of campsites.  Some more dog hiking, some more beers, and retreated to the van pretty early as the wind was still nuts.  

Up early on Sunday, drove up Phantom Canyon to Victor and returned through Woodland Park, stopping for a healthy breakfast at The Donut Mill.  Hard to see in this pic, but on the way up the Canyon we saw a bobcat.  He seemed just as curious about us as we were towards him.

Another quick weekender trip in the books.  Lots more of these shorter trips coming up.

Incline #21

Awesome weekend on the books.  On Saturday I headed over to Monument Valley Park for the Nielsen Challenge.  Ran 12:27, with splits of 6:27 and 6:00.  Felt so much better on Saturday than I did on Tuesday crapping out mile repeats.

After the Nielsen I took out the fat bike for a killer ride - Red Rock Canyon, the Chutes, Chamberlain, Cheyenne Canon, Buckhorn, Columbine, Spring Creek, and back to Fossil Brewing.  A hard 23 miles with 3500 feet of climbing, three hours.

Nice Saturday night as I headed over to Manitou for two of my favorite local bands.  Blue Frog at Kinfolk's, then Colorado Floyd at the Mariner.

Finally got some time on my feet on Sunday.  Knew this would be rough due to the hangover, but at least I got to suffer.  Over to the Incline, Barr Trail, Red Mountain, then back to the house via Intemann and Red Rock Canyon.  Only 17 miles, but 4.5 hours at least trying to move forward.  Gives me a little hope that I'll at least be able to finish Salida.

Garmin watch is on the fritz and is refusing to upload.  I recently started a sabbatical on bookface, now it looks like I'm not going to bother with strava either (my watch is supposed to automatically upload to garmin connect, my go-to log, and then it automatically sends that info to strava; I'll take the time to manually type the info into garmin, but not strava).

Took a few pics on the run.  Here's the Incline taken from the Intemann trail:

 

A shot of Red Mountain from the Intemann trail:

 

The Incline taken from Iron Mountain:

 

The Incline, Rocky Mountain, and a bit of Pikes, the view from Iron Mountain:

 

The sprawling metropolis of Manitou Springs:

 

The Manitou track, with the Garden in the background.  My house is somewhere in this pic. 

religious persecution!

Being a blonde, blue eyed, white male, I've never really been exposed to the feeling of discrimination. Last night was the very first time - and it was over religion!

I went into Barnes & Noble (I checked to see if Black Cat Books in Manitou had the book and they didn't and CSCO has no local bookstore) to pick up a copy of "The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster." I checked the bible section, and it wasn't there. I then scanned the religion and christianity sections, and it wasn't there either. Finally I asked a clerk if they had it, and she told me it was in the humor section! Can you believe that! Imagine if they put the holy bible or the Qur'an in that section! Sheesh!

Anyhow, I didn't blow up the store, I'm not putting out a death threat against peeps who work at B&N, not gonna picket or boycott the place. Pastafarians know that it is what it is, and it's all good, so I bought the book and went home and read it while downing a few cans of PBR.

Also picked up a copy of Bart Yasso's new book, "My Life On The Run." It's pretty good so far, though I think a lot of the running blogs I read daily are just as good.

Born to Run

Finally finished this book on the bus ride to work this morning. Real good read with lots of stuff on two of my favorite things: running insanely long distances and drinking insanely huge amounts of booze. Plus, super hottie Jen Shelton is in the book, though they sure could have used some pictures. Lots of info about Leadville as well.

Can anyone out there confirm that Ms. Shelton drinks as much as portrayed? I find it hard to believe that someone who finishes at the front of the pack can get away with that. I know it definitely affects my training, and hence my racing, but I'm not trying to win or set any records.

I've been on a reading tear since the Fruita 50, where I picked up a copy of Ed Abbey's "Desert Solitaire," which was on sale at the Colorado National Monument bookstore. Great read, sure wish I woulda picked it up before my Grand Canyon trip. Up next on the list is "Halfway to Heaven," something about some old dude climbing all the Colorado 14ers. If I can make it through that one, the three books in a year is probably the most I've read since my colledge days.

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.

solstice overnight

On Tuesday after work my buddy Bruce and I jumped on a bus and headed over to Manitou.  Dropped by the Royal and Manitou Brewing, and then it was off on a hike up Red Mountain.  Beautiful evening, you wouldn't have known it was the first night of winter.

Early Wednesday morning we woke up and headed back down to town, jumping on some PikeRide bikes to head home, then to the office.  Another solstice campout in the books.

On Thursday I hit 90 bike commutes on the year, and passed over the 2600 miles goal I set for the year.  Almost all of these were either commutes to work or short rides over in Red Rock Canyon.  I think I only did one ride of 50 miles the entire year, and not even that many rides over 25 miles.

We are taking the van down south to New Mexico over the x-mas break.  Hope everyone has a good long weekend.

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!

May

Pretty good month in the books.  191 miles running, 309 miles on the bike, and 67 miles hiking.  And one rafting trip.

Halfway through my Incline goal at 25.  My trips to the rock gym have been trending downward as the weather has improved, but I'm still on pace at 32 climbs.  End the month at 23 run commutes and 37 bike commutes.

Well on my way to making my yearly run goal (887 miles out of 2000), bike goal (1261 of 3000) and hiking goal (322 out of 600).

And I've been pretty consistent at the Peak Bagger program.  I'm almost to the point now where I can do an entire workout without crippling myself.

Hoping for a big month in June, which will include the San Juan Solstice and (hopefully) some 14ers.  Shooting for 200 miles running and 300 miles on the bike.  Trying to place myself in position for a good Double this August.

2024 numbers

Another year in the books.

run - 2071 miles, 436 hours

ride - 1744 miles, 173.5 hours

hike - 1636 miles, 769.5 hours

72 run commutes.  92 bike commutes.  50 Iron Mountain summits, most if not all with Mookie.

Pretty decent year for me, dominated by my foray into the Search and Rescue world.  Takes up a ton of time but I love it.  

A trip to Milwaukee to close down Wolski's.  Two more highpoints (Oregon and Idaho).  Two more state marathons (Detroit and Rocket City).  Another San Juan Solstice finish and a solid run at the Creede 100.  Three more Pearl Jam shows, including my first trip to Wrigley Field.  Countless local hikes with Mookie and $100.  Can't complain.

commute #51/Keystone question

Quick run to work, five miles in 48 minutes.  Not nearly as cold as it was supposed to be.

Only one more week and the big 2012 commuter goal will be in the books.  Lopped over 20% of my driving miles off.  Looking to double that number in '13.

In Keystone this weekend.  For a concert, not skiing.  Any good bars there?  Any good runnable-in-December trails there?

weekend

Another awesome weekend in the books.

Mellow Friday night down at Iron Bird Brewing following an eight miler in the Garden.  Met some friends on the Old Pueblo team and talked a bunch of shit we're going to ride while drinking beer all day, the typical shenanigans.  Found out this morning that our ringer hurt his ankle playing disc golf yesterday.  Has to be the first ever disc golf injury.

Nice five mile run at Red Rock Canyon on Saturday morning.  Think I saw every single Colorado Springs runner in the park.  Afterwards I had dog watch duty so $100 could head out for her run, then I jumped on the bike for a few miles.  Got in a decent 17 miler on the Santa Fe trail, cut way short by a rain/snow mix and cold weather.

Saturday night we headed out on the town.  A stop at the Wild Goose for some pre-show drinks and then off to see Whitewater Ramble.  A Fort Collins band, definitely check those guys out if you live here on the Front Range.

And with stickers like these, they have to be one of GZ's favorite bluegrass bands:

Sunday was the annual Super Half Marathon here in the Springs.  I was feeling pretty good and thought I had a decent shot at going sub 90, which was the goal.  Surprised myself with a 1:27:40.  Barely hung on the final 5K and that sub 1:28 could have very easily gone to a 2+ hour half pretty quickly as my legs just aren't used to that pace nowadays.  Lots of work to do before NYC, but this is a good start for me.

Tim, the RD and the brains behind Pikes Peak Sports, has really turned this half into an event for us Springs runners.  So awesome to hammer the race and then see everyone at a bar afterwards.

Of course, I could only take so much of Quinn's, so after a few beers we headed down to a real Irish dive, Murphy's.

I'm sore as shit after that half marathon.  Getting old sucks.

15/April

Went out to help with the Cheyenne Mountain 50K  25K on Saturday.  Lousy weather for the end of April.  Snow, ice, and cold temps made for a pretty shitty day.  But I got to sweep, so at least I was moving and thus somewhat able to stay warm, unlike all the aid station peeps.  Ended up going 15+ miles in just under five hours.

Pretty good April in the books.  185 miles running, 371 miles on the bike, and 52 miles hiking.  And lots of time in the gym.

next MOPP

I'm gonna lay the next MOPP trail on April 20. Yup, the 4:20 hash! Details TBA. With a MOPP tonight and another on the books, this is probably the most organized that hash has ever been.

So, besides technically being a hare for Saturday's impending debacle, if you just can't get enough brownie trails here's my upcoming schedule:

April 20 - MOPP
May 5 - P2H4 80909 hash with a cast of thousands
May 11/12 - Sand Dunes hash with Bloody Z
June 7 to 10 - CoTex
June 25 - DIM hash with Tits on a Ritz
June 30 - Fart Collins hash with Free Bus(c)h and Knees Up (it's actually in Golden, CO)
Aug 6 - Jerry Garcia b-day DIM hash
TBA - SRV memorial hash, Austin, TX

PowerStop/Chicago cancelled

Friday - a rare rest day.  Was hoping to bail from work early to meet $100 down on the CO trail.  I was unable to pull that off, so I just picked up Moose and we chilled at the house.

Sat - another zero.  Left at 5AM to drive to Eddysville.  Saw Connilee and Amanda finish up a solid chunk of the Colorado trail.  They should finish the thing next year.  Then $100 and I drove into Gunnison for lunch.  I highly recommend the PowerStop Gas Station in Gunny.  Great burgers.

We picked up a hitchhiker as we were leaving Gunnison.  Figured he was a hiker needing a lift back to the trail.  But it turns out he was a homeless kid out traveling and he was heading to Salida.  We parked at Soulcraft and pointed him towards Tenderfoot Hill.  $100 and I hit Soulcraft and Tres Litres and camped up near the Cottonwood TH. 

Sun - left Salida fairly early and I got in a good run on the Garden roads.  Nine miles.

Another week in the books.

run - 26.6 miles, four hours
ride - 86 miles, just over seven hours
hike - 23 miles, 8.5 hours

Should finish up the Tennessee run this week, as I type this I have less than ten miles to go.

I have two races coming up.  The Classic 10k on Sunday, and the National High School Trail Champs 5.5 miler on July 25.  I'm in the citizens race obviously.  But I'm not the oldest guy running!  My endurance is shit but I think I'm in decent shape for some of this shorter stuff.  That being said, Chicago just cancelled.  Instead, I'll spend that weekend in Salida buying Kieran some pizza.