bolder boulder

Pics from the Bolder Boulder can be seen here.

The BB had over 50,800 finishers. That's probably almost twice the size of the Cap 10K! Some runners took the race seriously, but the vast majority of them did the goofball thing, as evidenced by the pictures.

I actually had my picture taken with the last place finisher, hopefully Dani will post her pics soon so everyone can see it.

run #109 - CRC happy hour

Felt pretty good after the WY marathon, so was able to pick up the pace a bit at the Wednesday Colorado Running Company shindig. Went from the CRC out around Sinton Lake and back. Could easily have broken an hour for this loop, but wanted to save something for the tempo run up Barr trail tomorrow. Good group after the run, small but lively, especially after we killed two growlers of Bristol and a couple 'o bottles of wine!

Start time: 6PM
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 62:29
Pace: 7:48 minutes per mile
Weather: mid 40s

run #108 - Wyoming marathon

Kinda expected a DNF to happen sooner or later in my ultra career, as they happen to everyone. Actually kinda glad to get it out of the way before Lake City and Leadville.

Went up to Wyoming for the Rocky Mountain Double Marathon. Did not practice great pre-race behavior by getting shitty drunk in Fort Collins on Friday night, spending a good chunk of Saturday running around above 10,000 feet before getting drunk again, and then skipping my pre-race coffee to get to the start of the race on time Sunday morning.

Still, the race actually didn't go that bad. Physically, I felt fine. Mentally, I was just drained. At the halfway point, the RD came up to me and said, "if you drop now, you'll get an official finish in the Wyoming Marathon." Honestly, I felt fine, I just didn't feel like running another 26.2 miles. So after taking a few minutes to ponder his offer, I decided to bag it.

Special thanks to Meredith, who gave me some diet tips to help with my cramping during races. Not a single cramp despite the heat!

Results aren't posted yet, but I was just under 4:30, not counting the time I sat down before I decided to drop. Wish I woulda decided to run the marathon earlier, I think I coulda ran a lot faster. Still, it was a pretty good effort at a bit higher altitude, should prepare me for my two big races of the year.

For those keeping track at home, it was my 9th race of the marathon distance. And if I ever decide to run one in all 50 states, I only have 46 to go!

Not too disappointed, as you'll see from the pics to be posted later it was one hell of a road trip!

Congrats to Dani for her finish in the half marathon, and also to all the Bolder Boulder folks!

Start time: 6AM
Distance: 26.2 miles
Time: 4:29:59
Pace: 10:18 minutes per mile
Weather: highs reached the 80s, even at the higher elevation

Leadville week #25

Not a good week, though I was busy getting ready for the Wyoming road trip. Gotta look at the bright side - the chances of me getting an overuse injury are pretty slim right now.

Week #25 distance: 24.0 miles
Week #25 time: 6:22:15
Average week #25 pace: 15:55 per mile

Total quest distance: 774.7 miles
Total quest time: 127:53:08
Average quest pace: 9:54 per mile
Average weekly mileage: 31.0 miles
Average daily run: 7.2 miles

quote of the day

If you've been following the saga of Ward Churchill (I have only because it's in the paper all the time here in Colorado) you know this guy ain't the most reputable source, but his rant against the University of Colorado was pretty funny. Please note that this applies to all UCCS students also!

"A random group of homeless people under a bridge would be far more intellectually sound and principled than anything I've encountered at the university so far."
-Ward Churchill

DNF

A longer race report will follow when I have more time, but I was unsuccessful in my bid at the Rocky Mountain Double Marathon. Just wasn't mentally willing to run another 26 miles, so I decided to drop out at the halfway point. Dropping at that point did give me an official finish at the Wyoming Marathon though.

rocky mountain double marathon

In a few hours I'll be off to Wyoming (stopping by New Belgium brewing on the way!) for the Rocky Mountain Double Marathon. If I finish it'll be the second farthest distance I've ever run (52.4 miles), as well as only my second belt buckle. Wish me luck!

Also gonna attempt to bag Medicine Bow Peak (12,013 feet) and possibly a few other 11ens and 12ers up there in Medicine Bow National Forest.

Sunday night it's back through Boulder so I can be up early Monday morning to start drinking and watch the Bolder Boulder 10K, the nations second largest 10K race.

my ears hurt...

but holy smokes, what a great show!!! Long live the Black Sheep!!!

climbing

Great day at the climbing gym today, finally roped up and went over the eight foot barrier. Was successful on my first two attempts, one on a 5.5 and one on a 5.8! Woohoo! Even managed to get a few moves in on the boulder!

kittie!

Still tix left if anyone wants to join me for the Kittie show tonight!

run #107 - Dorothy falls

Garden run #9 this morning, but we got to go on a special field trip today. Went back through the Glen Eire castle to Dorothy Falls. More of a hike/rest trip than an actual run, but it was great to see some good, technical trail with a beautiful waterfall at the end. It was every bit as scenic as Zapata falls, with a better hike to get to the falls.

Hoover and I carried booze back there, me with my PBR and her with some apple martini stuff, and we started drinking at 6:45AM!

Start time: 6AM
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 1:21:05
Pace: 20:16 minutes per mile
Weather: high 30s; new snowfall on the mountains last night

PPRR newsletter

I wrote two articles last month for the Pikes Peak Road Runners newsletter, one on the hash and one on the Barkley marathon, and they can be seen here. I think I also have a quick blurb in the upcoming issue about the San Juan Solstice. Had to keep it to 100 words, which is fairly difficult to do when describing a mountainous fifty mile race. Anyways, that article:

The San Juan Solstice 50 miler is one of the more difficult Colorado ultramarathons. Beginning and ending in the quaint mountain town of Lake City, the course runs a counterclockwise loop, mostly on singletrack trails, through the rugged San Juan mountains. Elevations range from a start point of 8,600 feet and climbs to over 13,300 feet, much of it along the Continental Divide. If that's not enough of a challenge, there are several stream crossings and there is often significant snow at the higher elevations. Well stocked aid stations and terrific volunteer support, much of it provided by the Lake City EMS, make the journey just a little bit easier. This year's race falls on June 16. For more information, check out www.lakecity50.com.

cadidiots

Accidents happen, but people really need to stop being so stupid. And these are the folks who will be leading our armed forces someday, sheesh.

this just in...

..."Cannibal, The Musical" is one of the funniest movies ever!

run #106 - Garden shirt

Finally got run #8 at the Garden, and was rewarded with a long sleeve "GOTG 10 miler" shirt from 2002.

Thursday's Garden run should be pretty good, the trail group is gonna go out to the waterfall. Didn't even know there was a waterfall in the Garden, so I'm hoping it's pretty neat. I plan on carrying a can of PBR with me and downing it at the falls if anyone is interested in joining me. Austin readers can join me by downing a beer at 6:30AM Mountain Standard Time on Thurs.

Start time: 6AM
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 48:06
Pace: 8:01 minutes per mile
Weather: mid 40s

support the troops!

One of the big phrases I hear all the time today is how people say they don't support the war but support the troops. Which is fine, I feel the same way, but the problem is that most people say that because it's politically correct, and in reality they don't really do anything at all for the military folks.

Well, here's your chance! Fellow Kimchi hasher Grannylingus left for NTC this past weekend. He'll be spending a month there while getting ready to head to Iraq sometime in the future. He'll only be there for a month, but if you've ever been to an NTC rotation you know how much it sucks.

So take a few minutes of your day to drop the guy a line. Most of yunz don't know him, but he's a hasher, and I'm sure he'd be glad to hear from other hashers. I've already sent him a post card, pretending to be his gay lover and saying how I can't wait 'till he returns for his homecoming party at the Underground. I'm sure his Infantry buddies will love that.

SSG Mark Peck
B Company, 1-68 AR
Rotation #07-08
Fort Irwin, CA 92310-5000

run #105 - Ute Pass/Longs Ranch/Barr Camp

Sheesh, what a slog today! Started at Memorial Park in Manitou. Over to Ute Pass, then up the long ass hill that is Longs Ranch Road. Tried to be a stud and run all the way up Longs, not only did I fail miserably but it really ruined my legs for the climb on Barr Trail up to see Neil and Teresa. Took advantage of the day to stop very often and enjoy the view of Pikes Peak.

Did make it to Barr Camp. No snow at all! Had a good talk with Neil about Leadville, he's hoping to return this year to do his 10th Leadville. You get a special 1000 mile buckle once you finish your 10th.

Start time: noon
Distance: 14 miles
Time: 4:13:04
Pace: 18:04 minutes per mile
Weather: high 50s, cloudy, sporadic drizzle

Leadville through week 24

OK, I may have been slacking on my virtual training log, hopefully that lack of excitement hasn't caused anyone's life to lack meaning. These numbers catch me up to yesterday and may or may not be accurate (don't think I have the 50K mileage in there).

Week #24 distance: 93.1 miles
Week #24 time: 15:01:06
Average week #24 pace: 9:40 per mile

Total quest distance: 750.7 miles
Total quest time: 121:25:53 (that's well over five continuous days of running, FYI)
Average quest pace: 9:42 per mile
Average weekly mileage: 31.3 miles
Average daily run: 7.2 miles

run #104 - Spiral Drive

Took a quick trip down to Salida for their Spiral Drive 4 miler. Any excuse for lunch at Amica's...
The race went pretty well. Not the most elite of fields, I figured I had a chance to place pretty high. Starting gun went off and two guys flew away from the rest of us, but I figured they'd both come back.

Being an out of towner definitely had it's drawbacks for this race. I thought the road up Tenderfoot Hill was a lot steeper, so instead of chasing the two leaders I kinda held back. Kept chugging up the hill, slowly moving into second place and holding off another guy who was trying to move up. The top of the hill came very quickly, I was tied for second with the next guy just two or three seconds behind.

The guy in first was pretty much gone, but had I known the hill wasn't that tough I coulda kept a lot closer. As we began the descent, the two guys near me took off, and I figured I'd just hold on to fourth place. I've gotten much better at downhill running since I moved to Colorado, but I'm still not a great bomber. But don't worry, I'll change that before the Barr Mountain Trail Race comes around!

About a mile down the hill, I notice that while second place has jumped way ahead of me, the guy in third hasn't put a whole lot of distance on me and is running horrible tangents. So I tear off after him. Lots of curves, and I use an old high school cross country trick where I wait 'till he can't see me and then I surge. So each time he looks back I've gained significant ground on him.

I'm not known for my ferocious kick, but with about 100 meters to go I let loose and pass the guy to move into third place. He tries to counter, but somehow I'm able to hold him off. I haven't seen his time, but he's probably one second behind me in the standings. Had he just run a smarter race and hugged the corners a little more, I'd have had no chance to catch him.

The big effort at the end really paid off, as the top three finishers each received a really sweet coffee mug. One of the best things about coffee mugs is that they also hold beer!

Congrats to Tits on the Ritz who made the trip and ran really well. She ran 42:58, and quite honestly I thought she woulda been slower. Good job for her first hill climb.

After a few post race beers at the awards ceremony it was of course off to Amicas for some pizza and some yummy Big S brown ale!

Start time: 10AM
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 26:40
Pace: 6:40 minutes per mile
Weather: high 50s, sunny

spiral drive

Despite a horrific hangover this morning, I managed a pretty quick trip up and down Tenderfoot Hill in Salida. My time for the four miler was 26:40, good for third place overall. Even managed a killer finishing kick to grab a podium finish, super cool since it netted me a pretty sweet coffee mug. Congrats to Tits on the Ritz, who had a pretty good race herself.

Besides the run, the highlights of the trip were finding the book "Colorado: A Liquid History & Tavern Guide to the Highest State" for half price, lunch at Amica's, and stopping by a booze shop called "Busch Liquors" on the trip home.

Pics can be seen here.