Quandary

Got in my 17th consecutive calendar month with a 14er on Friday with PT and Mookie.  Already quite a bit of snow up high.

Mook and I drove out Thursday evening for some quality van time.  We were greeted by a bunch of weird signs, which weren't there when I last hiked Q in February.

 Solid hike, though a bit slow due to all the snow.  Mook loved it.

On Saturday I headed up to Palmer Lake for the annual Creepy Crawl 5k.  This can be a fast course if the weather cooperates.  It wasn't terrible, but after a downhill first mile with a tailwind, which I hit in six flat, turning around to run uphill into the wind kind of broke my spirit.  Finished the race in 19:32, but my garmin had it at a bit less than 5k, so I walked the extra distance and still snuck in under 20, though just barely in 19:58.

Saturday afternoon was the annual brewery marathon which turned into the usual shitshow.  I showed up to run the Fall Series on Sunday, but needless to say I'm not a threat to win my age group anymore.

the week that wasn't

A shift in work location, a weeknight show up in Denver, then caught some kind of flu like crud, then had to unexpectedly watch some dogs over the weekend.  Not a whole lot of miles.  The near-puke effort on Saturday hopefully saved some of my fitness.

run - 13 miles, 2.5 hours

ride - 38.5 miles, four hours

hike - 29 miles, 13 hours

XC

Good times up in Boulder for the masters 5k cross country race.  I had not run an XC race since high school and I forgot how much suffering was involved.  Less than a mile into the race you hit the big climb, a short but steep stretch you run twice, and I was completely gassed.  From there it was all about hanging on and not imploding too much.  6:26, 6:55, and 7:07 for the mile splits, finishing in 21:15.  Not a great race for me, but not a disaster.  My earlier statement of a possible sub 19 was not a realistic goal for this course.  Results aren't posted yet and I'm interested in seeing how I did versus all these old people.

So much fun and I'm looking forward to more of this kind of stuff in the near future.

Thanks to Shad and Amy for the pics.

Marcus King

Got up to the Mission Ballroom to catch the Marcus King Band on Tuesday.  I've seen a lot of good guitar players over the years but this kid is right up there.  Such a good live show!

catching up

Good times down in Trinidad.  I had a solid ride, covering the 100 mile course in just under eight hours.  I handicapped myself real good - I had a very heavy bike and I refused to utilize pace lines.  But I got the job done in time to enjoy some of the finer joints of T-dad.  Grandma's, Sexy Pizza, Moose's, and the Dad Lounge among them.

Not much during the week but I did have a solid fall series race on Sunday.  I'm in a battle for an age group award, and the other guy and I ran together for the first two miles.  I put in a good surge and got away from him, hitting 5k in 19:34, but I barely hung on.  Good tune up for the masters cross country race this Saturday, thinking I might go sub 19 there.

For the week:

run - 31 miles, 5.5 hours

ride - 26 miles, 2.5  hours

hike - 24 miles, 9.5 hours

sink navy!

Good week of recovery after Pikes, then it was back to the grind.

Solid week except for maybe Saturday which included a 10AM kickoff for AF/Navy and Andy's birthday party at Fossil afterwards.  The Falcons did squeak by Navy which is always fantastic.

Pitt shit the bed on Saturday evening and we won't mention that anymore.  And the Steelers aren't doing well but it looks like the Kenny Pickett era has begun!

I'm running the PPRR Fall Series this year and race number one was on Sunday at Bear Creek Park.  I ran well despite trying to drink all the beer on Saturday.  3.3 miles with some steep hills in 22:15, fared pretty well against the usual suspects who show up to these things.

For the week:

run - 44 miles, 8.5 hours

ride - 50 miles, five hours

hike - 27 miles, eleven hours

The last of our "COVID tickets," that is tickets we bought way back in 2020 before the 'VID cancelled everything will be used Wednesday evening to see Kenny Wayne Shepherd.  

I have decided to ride the 100 miler this weekend in Trinidad, dropping down from the planned 160.  I believe I could have grunted out the full distance, but the post race party would have ended and all the pubs would have been closed by the time I finished.  

Wednesday was my 100th trip to CityRock this year.

pearl jam and pizza and pups

Saw my favorite band, Pearl Jam, for only the third time and they were fantastic.  Met up with JP before the show, it was his 80th PJ concert.

$100 and I were way up in the cheap seats and could barely see the band, but we could hear them and that's all that counted.

On Sunday some friends and I did a pizza run.  Started at Hell's Kitchen in Manitou, hit Slice 420 in OCC, then downtown to Fat Sully's, ending at Leon Gessi on the east side.  Four slices, a bunch of beers, and a ten mile run.  Good times.

We had a DNA test run on our pups to see what they were made of.  Mookie wasn't much of a surprise coming back as 100% weimaraner.  Holly's results were much more varied.

Pikes

Good weekend over at Pikes.  Ran a little faster than I thought I would on Saturday, hitting the top in 3:35:46.  Got to treeline at 2:31:30 and thought a sub 3:30 might have been possible.  I went hard, but you can only do so much that high up.  Still really happy with the day.  169th overall out of 1481 finishers.

I was pretty sore on Sunday but still had an OK marathon.  I was five minutes slower to Barr Camp, ten minutes slower to A-Frame, and the splits grew worse from there.  Hit the summit in 3:54:36.  Had trouble getting the sore legs to turnover on the downhill, and my split from the top back to A-Frame was atrocious.  I did get things going a bit as the air got thicker, completing the downhill in 2:25:08, about ten minutes slower than I would have liked.  My up placed me 142nd on the day, while my down was 147th, so at least I was consistent.  6:19:44.  Ended up 145th overall out of 684 finishers.  While not my best day I was able to do just enough to keep my double time under my goal of ten hours, totaling 9:55:30 on the weekend.

The mountain gets harder every year for me, but I can't imagine not running.  This was my ninth double.  Overall I have twelve ascent finishes and eleven marathon finishes.  This was also my first "Garden to Peak Challenge" finish.  And my 16th straight month with a 14er summit.

Physically I'm a hot mess.  Every year this weekend beats up my body a little more.  This will be a good week for less miles though, Pearl Jam and the Manitou Beer Fest are on tap.

I'll definitely be back here in '23.  Should be interesting as my training will consist of riding my bike from Mexico to Canada.

waffles

Mon - 6.6 miles on the Garden roads in the AM as the track was a mess from the rain.  13.7 mile COVID loop ride in the evening.  Went to Manitou Brewing Company for dinner and the tourist rush seems to be over, so I may start hitting the incline again on Monday evenings.

Tues - bike commute 63.  Five miles to work, 16 back home via Cheyenne Canon.  Over lunch I picked up a pair of waffle racers for some upcoming short races.  First time I've worn a pair of these since 1993.  

Wed - run commute 58.  Four there.  Ended up meeting $100 for a drink after work and mooched a ride home from her.  Guitar practice in the evening.  I am still grinding away on the guitar even though I don't mention it much.

Thurs - Off work so I got in a good hike with Mookie before a 40 mile ride on the Santa Fe trail.  Saw Buddy Guy that evening, he is fairly better than me at the guitar.

Fri - nada.  Complete rest day before Pikes.  Looking forward to the weekend!  No, I am not wearing the waffle racers for either race.

football

Mon - 15 mile run in 2.5 hours on my COVID loop.  Rode the same loop later that evening.

Tues - bike commute 62.  Ten there, four back.  CityRock 90 at lunch.  Weird Al in the evening and he put on a terrific show.

Wed - run commute 56.  Four there, four back.  Guitar lesson in the evening.

Thurs - run commute 57.  5.4 there, four back.  

Fri - nothing.  Mookie has a new dog class on Friday right after work so I'll be driving the next few weeks.

Saturday was a big day for Air Force football as the CU Buffs made the trip to town.  Not a good game as Colorado has a pretty terrible football team this year.  Poured rain the entire game.  I had more cold weather gear on for the game than I did when I climbed Rainier.

The injury bug hit both my Pittsburgh football teams.  Pitt couldn't quite overcome them, but somehow the Steelers pulled out an ugly win.

On Sunday our new cadet paid a visit to the Sabol memorial guest room.  Seems to be similar to our last cadet as 99% of her time here was spent sleeping and doing laundry.  

For the week:

run - 38 miles, 6.5 hours

ride - 50 miles, 4.5 hours

hike - 33 miles, 12.5 hours

Pikes coming up this weekend.  I'm not in danger of not finishing, but I definitely haven't put in the work required to have a good race.  Hoping I can combine to go sub ten hours for the Double.  

19:28/STP

Saturday was the home opener for Air Force, which they won handily, including four big plays of 60+ yards.  AF is favored to win all of their remaining games.  We got to hang with our cadet and her family.

On Sunday I rode east over to the Labor Day Liftoff 5k.  Not a super fast course as it had a lot of grass, but I still managed a 19:28 which was a little better than I expected.  I was hurting pretty bad the final mile and I could tell I haven't been racing much.

Sunday evening was a trip down to the state fair in Pueblo to catch Stone Temple Pilots.  Once upon a time that band was a big part of the soundtrack of my life and it was great to see them live.  (yes, I realize the original lead singer died a while back).  Fantastic show.

For the week:

run - 35 miles, six hours

ride - 65 miles, six hours

hike - 30 miles, twelve hours

HAIL TO PITT!!!!

Life is keeping me busy but I still had decent numbers for August.

run - 27 runs, 158 miles, 32.5 hours

ride - 27 rides, 346 miles, 32 hours

hike - 45 hikes, 132.5 miles, 53 hours

Mookie crushed his American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen test.  Only two of the six dogs passed without failing anything, and it's no coincidence both those dogs are regulars at Fossil. Mook starts a "walk with me" leash class today, and after that he is going to visit Switzerland to help with some research at the CERN large hadron collider.

The Backyard Brawl is back baby!  And holy shit, what a game it was!  Hail to Pitt!

More college football this weekend as we're going to the Air Force game.  Running a 5k on Sunday over at the balloon festival, then heading down to Pueblo to see Stone Temple Pilots.

the week

Mon - down in Salida in the AM with the dog, we had a good hike there, and another good hike in Canon City on the way home.  Late breakfast of cheeseburgers at The Owl.   90 minute evening ride.

Tues - bike commute 59.  Ten there, eleven back.

Wed - run commute 52.  5.2 there, 3.5 back.  The run home was in the pouring rain.

Thurs - off work today, got in a 15 mile ride on the local bike paths.

Fri - run commute 53.  4.2 there, 3.6 back.

Sat - we were on dogsitting duty this weekend so not much time.  Got in a 40 mile ride in 3.5 hours, heading way out east on the Cottonwood Creek path.  My bike currently weighs 800 pounds.  After the ride it was endless amounts of dog walking.

Sun - I planned to run with Beuke on Sunday so I made a good decision to tab out after my second beer at Fossil on Saturday night.  Then I got a text from Brooks saying he was at Benny's, and I overrode my good decision making.  So it was not much of a run on Sunday, but I did meet him at Manitou Brewing after his summit of Pikes.

For the week:

run - 20 miles, 3.5 hours

ride - 93 miles, 8.5 hours

hike - 35 miles, 14.5 hours

Busy week coming up.  Mookie finishes one dog class and starts another.  Pitt gets to kick the crap out of West Vagina on Thursday.  Parents weekend at the Academy with the AF/Northern Iowa game on Saturday.  I'll squeeze the miles in whenever I can.

Pikes

Got my 33rd full summit of Pikes on Saturday.  Elk Park down to Barr Camp, up Barr Trail to the top.  It was snowing above 13K.  Six hours on the 21 mile run.

Sunday was a 40 mile ride on the Santa Fe trail before heading down to Salida to visit friends and attempt to drink all the beer at Tres Litros.  Might have been some Malort and Jager in there as well.  Oof.

For the week:

run - 53 miles, 11.5 hours

ride - 95 miles, nine hours

hike - 23.5 miles, nine hours

Jim Breuer

I suddenly realized I have the Pikes double, Trinidad 160, Seattle 'thon, and Tour Divide coming up.  I should probably get my shit together and start getting ready.

Mon - tried to go to the track but it was a slophouse due to all the rain.  Ended up getting 8.6 miles around the 'hood.  15 mile ride on the COVID loop at lunch.  More rain in the evening and the wife was working late so I stayed in with the dogs.

Tues - bike commute 57.  Ten there, eleven back.  Nice 4.6 mile run with Mookie in the evening.

Wed - run commute 50.  6.2 there in 50 flat, including a two mile stretch where I hit 6:58 and 6:26.  Easy four miles home before taking Mookie to dog school.

Thurs - run commute 51.  5.2 there, 3.6 back home.  Saw Jim Breuer at our local comedy club, good stuff.

Fri - bike commute 58.  Ten there.  Four back through a thunderstorm. 

Not much going on this weekend so I hope to have a big run and a big ride.  It's been a while.

Evans

Mon - 5.7 mile run laying down trail for the Jerry hash.

Tues - bike commute 55, ten there and eleven back.  Took Mook for a short run over at High Drive in the evening.

Wed - run commute 49.  Five miles there, 3.5 back.  CityRock 85 at lunch.

Thurs - bike commute 56.  4.2 there, 4.2 back.  A few too many Mammoths on Wed evening.

Fri - Mt. Rosa.  14 miles in four hours, 4000 feet of climbing.  I need to spend more time in the Cheyenne Canon part of town (yes, I say this every time I run/ride there).  Mook's longest run and he did great.

Friday afternoon $100 and I headed north to Denver.  Hit up Sancho's.  Rumors have this place closing down soon due to various liquor license infractions.  However, the bartender there said all those rumors are false!  Long live Sancho's!

Then it was over to Levitt Pavilion to catch one of our favorites, Hot Buttered Rum.  Incredible show!  Levitt is a gem and I hope to catch more shows up there.  Great to finally catch up with GZ.

Sat - nice hike up Mt. Evans from Summit Lake with Carson and Cynthia, friends from San Fran who recently moved to Golden.  I had been developing some crud that jacked up my throat (not COVID, I tested negative on Thursday and Friday) and I struggled to breathe normally on Evans.  But I got it done, month number 15 in the books.  Three more months to go.

I was feeling pretty rough on the way home but our new cadet wanted a pizza, so we delivered.

Caught the Steelers pre-season game on Saturday.  Kenny Pickett is clearly a first ballot hall of famer!

Sun - slowly coming out of this sickness funk, got in a 30 mile ride on the Santa Fe trail just before the rain hit.

For the week:

run - 31 miles, 7.5 hours

ride - 62 miles, 5.5 hours

hike - 30 miles, twelve hours

Sun Volt

We are finally a two dog household again.

Mon - track in the AM, 6 x 400m.  Need to get back to making these a habit.  Solid incline in the PM.

Tues - bike commute 53.  Ten miles to work.  CityRock 81 at lunch.  16 mile ride back home through Cheyenne Canon.

Wed - run commute 47.  6.2 there in 55 minutes.  Four miles straight home.

Thurs - run commute 48.  5.5 there, four back home.

Fri - bike commute 54.  Straight there and straight home.

Sat - spent the day drinking beer before hitting up the Pikes Peak hash.  Good times.

Sun - hungover so not much, though I did load up the Jones for a 14 mile very easy ride.  Caught the Sun Volt show in the evening.

For the week:

run - 30 miles, 5.5 hours

ride - 58 miles, six hours

hike - 18 miles, seven hours

easy week

Down week as every free moment I could find was dedicated to walking one of the four dogs we had in the house.  

I signed up for the Seattle Marathon in November.  If all goes well it will be my 25th state. 

Our first cadet was back in town for some officer crap at the Academy, so we got to catch up.  She’ll be going to Texas on a recruiting assignment for a year before beginning flight school.

We should be meeting our new cadet soon.  A hurdler on the track team.  Very excited to not have to pretend I like soccer anymore.

For July:

run - 25 runs, 150 miles, 35.5 hours

ride - 37 rides, 318 miles, 32 hours

hike - 49 hikes, 112 miles, 46.5 hours (including Elbert to keep the 14er monthly streak going)

Elbert

In attempt to give $100 a break from all the dogs I took the youngest two out to Leadville on Saturday.  Early Sunday we headed up Mt. Elbert.  14 straight months of a 14er, first 14er summit for Mookie and Millie.

The week:

run - 38 miles, 11 hours

ride - 55 miles, six hours

hike - 35 miles, 15.5 hours

rumdoodle

I've had the Pikes via Rumdoodle route on my to-do list for years now, and I finally took a crack at it on Monday.  Did not go well.  I was with Amber, and we went in from Elk Park, to Barr, to Bottomless Pit.  The Pit trail wasn't in great shape, and we ended up getting off route and scrambling around for a while.  We ended up having to bail as black clouds were looming.  But it was great to explore back there and I will be returning for another shot soon.  A good eight hours of running/hiking/scrambling for 18 miles.

In other news, Mookie passed NeoDog 2 with flying colors.  He is going to take some time off before beginning med school.

A lot of our friends are riding RAGBRAI this week, and as we are only friends with dog people we currently have five dogs roaming our house.  Here are three of them: