Jersey Marathon

Rest day today.  Been wondering when to take a day off, worried that Ryan might actually be right for once when telling me Friday is National Run To Work Day.  Jacked up my ankle on my Friday long run and was still feeling it a bit this morning, so I made the safe choice.

Been wanting to go back to Pennsylvania for a visit to the folks, and noticed that one of the few long weekends I have left coincides with the New Jersey Marathon.  So I'll probably knock that one off the 50 states list in May.  The course goes through Ashbury Park, so I'm guessing I just might hear "Born To Run" while I'm there.  Nothing like a hard road marathon to leave me feeling fresh for the Quad Rock 50.  Hope to also bag the highpoints of Delaware and New Jersey while I'm back east.  Go ahead and make fun of Delaware, but the Jersey HP can include a long run on the Appalachian Trail.

Don't worry, I'll visit a lot of shitty eastern PA dive bars while I'm there.  And even the brewery.

I believe!

Great find by Brandon on conclusive, unquestionable evidence of Bigfoot hanging around Hardrock country.  Lots of folks headed down to the San Juan Solstice this year, and Bigfoot attacks will not be an acceptable excuse for a poor performance.

Hopefully this spurs a new exhibit at the Silverton Bigfoot Museum (yes, I've been there!).

Monday Dog Jog

Easy 4.5 miles with the dog in Red Rock Canyon, 45 minutes.  Still hungover from Saturday.

week in review

71.8 miles.  Little weird since Manitou Mardi Gras pretty much rendered my weekend worthless, running wise.  Good long run on Friday, nice hill workout on Barr Trail on Thursday.  Ran to work on Tuesday and took a rest day Saturday, so I'm still on the weekly schedule there.

Only one day at the regular gym, zero trips to the rock gym.

Also got in 2.5 hours of hot yoga.  Think I got a few people drunk off the gin fumes tonight.

Waldo Canyon

Hungover as hell but the dog wanted a good run.  7.5 miles in Waldo.  Didn't wear a watch, so I'll give myself a 1:20.

Dead!

Popo

7AM! Manitou Mardi Gras!

Lunchbox @ Murphy's!

Friday

22 rough miles today.  Battling a cold and had issues breating (good Hardrock training!), so the pace was pretty slow, even by my standards.  Garden trails, up Rampart Range Road, down Williams Canyon, then Intemann all the way home.  Lots of climbing.  Good times.

Booked the campsite for Havasupai Falls today.

Got my first pair of tix for Red Rocks as well.  Blues Traveler with Fitz & The Tantrums.  This will be the sixth consecutive July 4th I'm at the Traveler show.

W's

The dog and I had a nice run from the start line of the BTMR to the top of the W's (ran the entire way up Barr Trail from the TH, not the usual Pikes Peak/BTMR route all the way up Ruxton).  31:20 up.  Good jog, though certainly not a PR type effort.  4.1 miles on the run, one hour.

I last ran BTMR in 2007, and hit the top of the W's in 23:17, on my way to Barr Camp in just under 1:17.  My time that year was 2:01:11, so I'd like to drop 1:12 off that time this year.

Pueblo

Bingo Burger!

Noakes has changed his views on carbs.  This is my third massive bacon cheeseburger in less than 24 hours, does this make me a paleo guy?

dog jog

AM - Beautiful morning in Red Rock Canyon.  Easy six with the dog, 62 minutes.

PM - Night run on the Garden roads.  9.1 miles, 1:25.

commute #7

7.4 miles, 64 minutes.  Hated to skip the track, but today was the only day I could run to work.  Pueblo (Bingo Burger!) tomorrow and I'm off on Friday.

creekfront property

Just found out the big concrete bayou thing that divides 31st Street has a name.  Camp Creek.  A reporter from KRCC is poking around about the dry waterway.  His e-mail said he is "interested in its history, its lore (car crashes, wildlife, sightings, etc.), and it's future."  In the summer, we use the ditch to get to and from the Red Rock Lounge, including the three block long tunnel that dumps you out into Fountain Creek.  And we did run laps around the north part of the ditch for the CRUD Krispy Kreme Challenge.  But other than that I can't imagine anything exciting has ever happened regarding the creek.

The machete drama is over.  Or is it?

More talk on the high fee of NYC over here.  I feel it's a fair cost, considering they close off the biggest city in the world for you.  But hey, if you want to give it up, like that New York chick who really sticks it to the RD by  doing CIM ($85) instead, be my guest.  FYI, the Marine Corps Marthon, which I hope to do someday, is definitely not the only marathon in the country with an entry fee below 100 bones.

No Name Creek

Took the dog up to No Name Creek.  Pushed hard on the way up, but it still took me an hour.  I need to get into climbing shape, that run killed me.  Didn't help that I dressed like it was 15F, but it was probably mid-40s in Manitou today.  Easy run back down, with some bonus mileage on the Ute Pass trail to get to two hours.

week in review

Sunday - 14.5 miles, three hours.  I heard I passed out on the kitchen floor Saturday night, so the hangover slowed me down a bit.

70.9 miles on the week.  Little lower than I wanted, thanks to mother nature reminding us that the Front Range can still get some winter weather.

This week will be a bit low as well.  $100 is being selfish and forcing me into some non-running activities on Tuesday, and of course Manitou Mardi Gras never helps me on the long runs.

Worked a shift at Trinity last night.  Got to try some stuff from Crooked Stave, and I even got to drink a pint of Buddha Nuvo, which is normally a bit out of my price range at $38 a bottle (less than two pints in a bottle, FYI).  Meh.  I know a lot of brewer types get boners over stuff like that, but I like beers that taste like beer, not wine.  As usual, Urban Dictionary puts it best:

Those individuals who regard any beer that they do not drink as piss. Completely ignorant of climate, context, and social class, beer snobs are contemptuously dismissive of any beer that a mortal cannot walk across like Jesus Christ did across the water. Beer snobs are tedious bores, assuming that any beer which doesn't meet their definition of "adequately pretentious" is drunk out of ignorance. "Here, have this Pacifico." "I don't drink goat piss. Give me a Schteupereiner - warm! With a fork and knife!" "It's 104 degrees out." "So?" "We don't have any Schteupereiner. All we have is this, which our daughter brought home from college. It's some kind of microbrew from Oregon, something called "Neu Dungcastle Pine Chocolate Honey Garlic Walnut Porter." "Does it cost at least $12.00 for a six pack?" "I don't know. It looks like she just bought the bottle for...it looks like $8.00." "Yeah, gimme that. You are philistines, the lot of you! And make sure you give me a room temperature glass! I don't want any condensation on those chilled glasses you keep around watering down my beer!" "Here you go!" "THAT....is a PILSENER GLASS. Are you trying to start shit?" "You sir, are a motherfucking beer snob - a relentless elitist of poor character and abject dicketry. And now, you die. ENGARDE!"

Saturday

Friggin' cold yesterday.  16F.  With some wind.  Two hour run, 12.4 miles on the Santa Fe trail.

They caught the machete guy.

Friday the 13th part XXV, Jason Takes Pleasant Valley

Believe it or not, there are reports of a machete toting psycho loose in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood.

First this.  And then this, with pics that look suspiciously like Muzz.  And then this morning there were reports of a the guy, with a machete, near Amanda's Fonda.  Police searched the area but didn't find him.

Sorry $100, no sex for a while.  Because that's when you get killed!

And, for more shits and giggles at our expense, this crap is also going on.

elite CRUD training

Here we are, tearing it up at the Air Force Academy last week.  I'm actually moving faster than Andy W was during his last lap at Rocky...

Cheyenne Canon

Late start, so I could only go up to the green gate at High Drive.  Hit the gate at 35 minutes, so no record was gonna be set even had I gone up to the top of High Drive.  Six miles, just over one hour.

Switching to Barr Trail for the Thursday morning workout.  The Canon workouts just don't quite fit.  To make it work, I need to get up at 4:30AM, and that just isn't going to happen.  Besides, the dog has been asking for more miles, and she'll be able to tag along on Barr Trail.

Started reading The Long Walk last night.  Pretty solid book so far, and I'm surprised it hasn't gotten more notice among the ultrarunning crowd.  There is actually some debate over whether or not the story is true.  The Lance lovers are saying, "Rawicz has done more for Siberian gulag victim awareness than anyone else, so he should get a free pass to lie" while everyone else is just enjoying a good book.

Commute #6

AM - Easy 6.4 miles to work, one hour.  Very productive, I returned a library book, dropped a netflix movie at the post office, and paid the interweb bill while on the run.

PM - 7.0 miles home, 68 minutes.  Stays light enough now that I can get a lap around Prospect Lake before heading home.  At least if I'm attacked I'll be able to get a description of the perp.

Beer saves a big run.  Mmmmm, beer.

Think I got all of the four people who read this blog on the new reader thing.  Let me know if I'm missing anyone.  I do most of my blog reading on google now (it gets through the filter at work), so that's the reason my smart ass comments have been lacking the past few months.

HAIL TO PITT!

Two more Pitt grads admitted to the NFL Hall of Fame, Curtis Martin and Chris Doleman.  Check out this stat:

Hall of Famers by School:

Southern Cal   11
Notre Dame    10
Pitt                   8
Michigan          8
Ohio  State       8
Alabama           7

Rock Encore!

Didn't even race today and I still racked up the awards!

Super Half pics

Couple 'o pics from yesterday.  Ended up outkicking the dude in the bright coat over the final quarter mile.

Super Half

1:28:17.  Blech.  I'm never too upset with a sub 90, but disappointed in how I raced today.  Was on pace for a PR at mile five, 32:30, and in 5th place there.  But mentally I pussed out between mile five and mile eleven.  Was running a lot closer to seven minute miles than six thirty miles.  Was passed at mile eleven to fall back to 10th place, but finally the sand all fell out of my vag and I rallied back to 9th.

I think I'm pretty close to a big half marathon PR though.  A few more races and I'll be there.  Hoping to PR twice in April, at Platte River and then the next week at the Free State 100K.

80 miles on the week, with one rest day.  Was going to get more at the Barr Trail run on Sunday night, but since it was already a big mileage week I got drunk instead.  To show how much I care about football when the Steelers aren't in it, I watched Shameless instead of the Super Bowl.

This morning was an easy three miles with $100 and the dog in Red Rock Canyon.

Big kudos to the Rocky folks, CO did pretty well out there.  Think Andy W is still on his last lap though...

Alberto Contador, guilty.  He should start hashing, "Tainted Beef" would make a great hash name.  Loser.

Falcon Trail

Awesome 17 miler with CRUD this morning.  Love the Air Force Academy Falcon Trail, even when it's covered with snow.  3.5 hours.

top 20...

...thousand!

My PR 2:53:10 was the 19,083rd fastest men's marathon of 2011.  No wonder I get free shoes now.  Ultrarunning superstar Nick's 2:36:11 at the same race didn't even get him in the top five grand, he was good for 5287th place.

Seriously, there's a list.  See it here.  Every marathon below 3:30:00.  Ryan Hall is #7.

Thanks to Wiley (unranked) for the tip.

new kicks

Best shoes ever (i.e., they were free). We'll see how that weird tread fares against a snowy/icy incline tonight...

Canon

Little slow this week.  Andy wasn't there to pull me along (he was in bed) and it was pitch black outside (forgot a flashlignt).  And my vagina hurt.  45:50 to the top, 1:26 for the 8.2 mile out-and-back.

Supposed to snow somethin' fierce while I'm on the Incline tonight.  Good times!

Stole this off facebook.

local shit

Easy 5.3 miles home from work.  Finally recovered from the Monday long run.

Couple 'o e-mails concerning the recent crime wave near Red Rock Lounge.  Some of the quotes:

"Just left Safeway and noticed that they have officers on HORSES over there today.  Another thing that I thought of when I was in the bathroom at Safeway was the attempted rape in THAT bathroom a few weeks ago."

"I was just at the Safeway in Red Rocks.  As I left, two horse mounted Sheriff's deputies were visiting with people who appeared to be loitering there.  We can be grateful for their presence."

So I guess I'll have to watch out for horse shit when stumbling to/from the Lounge.  We even got an official reply from COS Police:

"We are currently working on issues around Red Rocks Shopping Center.  The Homeless Outreach Team has been in the area a good deal, and the Motorcycle Unit will be sending Officers to work in the area.  In reference to panhandling, if the person is on the sidewalk, they are not violating any laws and we cannot do anything about them being there.  Case law has dictated that panhandling is protected as Freedom of Speech."

Again, this is a pretty safe neighborhood.  My guess, knowing the folks around here, is that they are more worried about having, gasp, homeless people in the vicinity, then they are worried about crime.  The baseball bat thing was the first violent crime in the area since I've been here.

And this is the first I've heard about the Safeway rape, and I couldn't dig up anything about it on the Gazette.  Was probably just O'Day hitting on some fat chick...

January

Easy Incline last night, ended the month with 305.5 miles.  Just over 59 hours of running.  Four rest days, one per week.  Nice, solid month to ease back into things.

Hoping for a similar effort for February.  Will shoot for another 300 miles, then start the big Hardrock buildup.

Started the month off with commute #5.  Five miles in 44:06, not too shabby coming off a blazing 10:02 first mile.

the 'hood

Just got this bit in an e-mail from the Pleasant Valley Neighborhood Association:

"I assume that most of you know and have heard about this over the news, but in case you haven't, I'd like to make you aware of some recent crimes nearby.  There have been several crimes committed in the past couple of weeks in the shopping center at 31st and West Colorado, near Kentucky Fried Chicken and Papa Murphy's.  Both were in the evening.  A man was hit with a baseball bat and robbed at 9 p.m. one night behind Kentucky Fried Chicken.  The news stated that they expected the victim "to survive."  Papa Murphy's was robbed several nights ago as well.  Please, please be very cautious and aware in this shopping center as there appear to be a number of homeless folks always around that shopping center.  Hopefully, the police and local businesses are doing something to help increase security around there."

That's Red Rock Lounge country!  Totally coincidence that NMP visited there one night and woke up the next morning with broken bones and no cash.

7

Seven steps on the CityRock slackline over lunch, a new PR.  The seventh step was as I was falling off the rope, but I'm going to count it anyways.  Crushed my old PR of five steps.

Been hitting the climbing gym pretty hard, getting a lot stronger/better.  Hope to finally get outside once the summer gets here.

Signed up for the Quad Rock 50.

track

Legs were trashed from the Monday long run, so today's track workout wasn't much.  1.25 mile warm up, 4 x 400m with 200m RBI, then 2 x 800m with 400m RBI, 1.25 mile cool down.  Didn't time the intervals since I knew they'd be horrible.  Probably running close to 6:30 pace for the fast parts, it was all I could muster today.

Pretty sure the Incline tonight isn't going to be pretty.  Might have to conveniently forget the watch.

This article suggests Ryan Hall might take a stab at the R2R2R someday.  I bet he skips the Tecate at Phantom Ranch.  Pussy.

more runs

Decent back-to-back long runs.

Sunday - Incline Club.  Ute Pass trail, then the long slog up Longs Ranch Road.  Walked most of it, have lots of work to do before July.  12 miles, three hours.  Ran the last mile with Justin R (who was walking so he could ask me about my latest meal at Bingo Burger) and Peter M (who was doing burpees so he could keep his Inov-8 sponsorship).

Monday - solid 20 miles.  Nice road/trail loop from my house through Bear Creek Park, Santa Fe trail, Sinton trail, and the Garden.  Three hours.  Lots of climbing.  Best workout I've had in a while.

Skipped the gym tonight to drink and watch Pitt win at WVU.  Definitely worth it.

Banff

Spring is almost here!

commute #4

Still current with my resolution to go truck-less at least once a week.  Easy five to work, 48 minutes flat.  Also keeping up with my goal of taking one rest day a week in '12.  Took off Wednesday so I could get fat at Bingo Burger.

congrats!

The yellow beer blog was named one of the top 100 running blogs!  You can go see the graphic thing that proves our awesomeness!

Everyone drink a yellow beer tonight to celebrate!

it's on like Donkey Kong...

Watched a very motivational documentary last night.  Made me realize I don't take this running thing seriously and I need to step it up.  Neither $100 nor the dog has said a word to me since I made them sit through the entire thing.



The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.  Available on Netflix.  Watch it next time you're feeling like a loser, you'll feel a lot better about yourself.

Canon

Nice morning jog up Cheyenne Canon.  Got to the top in 43:30, another season PR.  Had a nasty fall on the way down.  My knee is pretty jacked, lots of blood, but unfortunately one of my favorite pairs of running pants did not make it down off the hill.  Guess it's shorts weather from here on out.

8.2 miles, 1:20:12.

Stole this off a facebook page.  Kissing Camels, over in the Garden about two miles from my front porch.

Bingo Burger

back at it

Inside Trail has it's own tech support team.  Boom.  They better not have deleted the post where I crushed Footfeathers at Collegiate Peaks though.

Amanda and I are working on another bet for Salida.  Details TBA shortly, but when she loses she will have to wear one of these shirts:

6 x 800m, 400m RBI with the Sunrise Striders this morning.  Easy effort, averaged 2:55 per half.

Good sticker talk over at GZ's blog today.

oops...

Hit the wrong button and fucked something up on the blog.  Hopefully I can fix it this weekend.

Frosty's pics

Here's me, pushing hard in the five miler. PG is about a mile behind me at this point. I'd have really good form if I were a speedwalker.

And here's me in the ten miler, taking things easy and enjoying the scenery.

$50 for a digital download of all eight pics of me. Two of the pics of me are actually pics of #732. Both races ran me $50. The running photography thing is getting out of hand.

Frosty's

One good race, one sub-par race at Frosty's Frozen 5 & 10.

Five miler went well. Wanted to run 32:30. First mile just off PG's shoulder in 6:42. I think it was PG's one mile PR. Went through two miles in 13 flat and he was gone. Nice tempo effort to the finish, crossing in 32:07.

Then this:

We showed up to the start of the ten miler about 60 seconds after the race started, so the three of us were actually DFL for about 200 meters or so. PG was able to jump off the road and get past the main pack but I held back, and that pretty much ended any chance I had of running well. Took me 9:20 to hit mile one, 17 minutes to get to mile two. Real hard to pass once we got on the hike-and-bike trail. Halfway in just under 40 minutes, then took it easy on the way back. Officially 1:18:53. I think PG ended up beating me by two hours or some crazy ass thumping like that.

Overall a pretty good day, the five miler was a great tempo run and the ten miler was still a lot faster than I would have ran on my own back in the Springs.

P.S. Lounge!

Satire Lounge

Sancho's!

Brewer's Republic

NYC

There goes $266. Officially in for the NYC marathon. Hopefully I can steal the Inside Trail credit card for that weekend.

Cheyenne Canon

Cheyenne Canon hill climb. Just don't have anything to give uphill right now. Felt weak, but still hit the top of high drive in 45:30, not horrible for me and much better than two weeks ago when I ran a guesstimate 52 flat, and the guess was because I bailed on the run with a mile to go.

New race in Cheyenne Canon park, beta is over here. Unfortunately I won't be around to defend my backyard, as I'll be in Kansas at the Free State 100K. Last time I raced in the Canon, I crushed an elite, sponsored runner.

Trader Joe's

Entry fee for the 2013 PPFA will be a bottle of Two Buck Chuck for all Boulder residents. Looks like Trader Joe's is coming to town.

commute #3

Easy run to work, third consecutive week of at least one non-truck day. 8.5 miles, 1:15.

Thinking of going on tour with Larry & His Flask when they roll through Colorado. Not quite like quitting my job to follow Phish around for a summer or anything, but it could be a pretty epic bender.

March 29 - Aggie Theater, Fort Collins

March 30 - Bluebird, Colfax Ave

March 31 - Bluebird, Colfax Ave

April 1 - Black Sheep, Colo Springs

debt free

This pic was taken on the bar at the Red Rock Lounge about 1:45AM Sunday morning. It was from losing a bet to Amanda about beating her PR by 15 minutes at Vegas. She got to kick me in the balls if I failed. Don't even remember what I got if I won, probably a PBR. I make stupid bets when I'm drunk.

Paid Nick off earlier in the weekend, finally, from the ass whooping he gave me at Salida.

Think I'm all caught up on the bets now.

track

19F at 5AM. Thankfully the Fat Ass was Saturday and not today.

Easy track workout with Andy W. 1.5 mile warm up, 4 x 1000m (3:57, :47, :44, :46) with 400m RBI. Then 4 x 200m for good measure. Not killing myself on the track right now, but it's nice to get out and spin the legs a bit.

Good e-mail thread earlier, so I'll throw out this question of the day:

Would you rather perform well in a major marathon and crap your pants, or finish DFL in that marathon?

2012 finisher print

Mon

Awesome run on the local hike and bike trails this morning. Two hours, 14.2 miles. Loving this warm weather!

fat ass

Great times at the Ponderous Posterior. Thanks to everyone who came out. Bunch of photos from Steve P can be seen here.

Drop bags will be on my back porch, stop by and pick 'em up when you can. If you're from out of town, let me know and I'll arrange a pick up. I'll be in Denver on Saturday if I need to cart any bags up north.

Day went pretty smooth. We will definitely have much more water at the aid station next time. And lots of people seemed to miss the turn off from Rampart Range Road down to the Garden. It was heavily marked with flour and tape, but maybe something bigger will be in order for next year.

I had a good run. 8:40, with lots of time spent goofing off on Red Mountain, the Incline, and the Waldo aid station. First run over 3.5 hours in months. Nice to get such a good slog in during January.

The run was small potatoes compared with the pub crawl that followed. Red Rock Lounge, Benny's, Southside Johnny's, Oscar's, Red Rock Lounge. Very impressed with all the local runners who were able to close down the Lounge with me.

My ice cream man is faster than your ice cream man!

Benny's Mystery Shot

Pikes Peak Brewing Co.

The Brits Are Back! British mild from PPBC.

It's Nick's beer from our NOLA/Salida bet, hopefully it survives all the runners crashing at the house tonight...

Incline

Incline with the dog last night. The Incline and the connector trail that leads over to the yellow sign on Barr Trail are pretty clear, no traction needed. So it's looking like you won't need any yaktrax for the first 13 or so miles, and I'm pretty sure the final six or so miles will be clear. I'll get word on the rest of the course today.

Intemann/Red Mountain

Had to drop $100 at the airport this morning (she'll be swigging PBR at the Paradise Lounge while we're out suffering at the Fat Ass) so I didn't have much time to run before work. Took the dog for a quick run up Red Mountain. Trails are in much better shape than I expected, should be really good by Saturday morning. 3.3 miles in 40 minutes.

Will report on the conditions of the Incline later tonight.

Rough time to be a Pittsburgh fan. Of course the Steelers loss. The Penguins have dropped six straight. The usually solid Pitt hoops squad is really awful, scoring 39 points against Rutgers yesterday to go to 0-4 in the Big East, alone in last place. Pitt football was crushed in the BBVA Compass bowl, a nice kick in the balls after the Todd Graham fiasco. You know times are tough when the only hope you have as a sports fan is that Pirates spring training opens soon.

fat ass awards have arrived!

The most coveted trophies in all of ultrarunning!

hottie trials runners

Nice post by the RunColo guys, though they really snubbed Shelton.

Brandon and I are working on our own version of Unbreakable. It's 85 minutes of watching Jenn run, then Tony wins the race.

Of course, there will be no mention of hot chick runners on this blog without some Kara shots. She is going to run 2:14 this weekend, you heard it here first.

miles and ice cream

Tues PM - Incline with $100 and the dog. Untimed. Great conditions, though it seems to be snowing over there right now.

Wed AM - Run to work. 5.5 miles, 54 minutes.

Carpenter made the front page of the Gazette today. Read the article here. During the summer I often end my long runs at Kinfolk's, then hit Colorado Custard for an Avalanche (their version of DQ's Blizzard). This should end all talk of custard being some kind of performance enhancer, since I ate a ton of the stuff and still sucked ass.

track

The Sunrise Striders were doing a work-unfriendly run in Cheyenne Mountain State Park this morning, so Andy W and I hit the CC track.

One mile warm up, 4 x 1000m with 400m RBI, 4 x 200m with 200m RBI, one mile cool down. 4:49, 42, 41, 44 for the thousands. First time back to the track in a while, so I took it pretty easy. Like this workout A LOT better than the 4 x 1600m I used to do.

Fat Ass has 8,804 feet of climbing.

Headed out on Saturday night to celebrate Amanda's 40th birthday. If any out of towners want to join us, you are welcome to crash at my place, though it will be on the floor as all the beds are spoken for. If you come, be sure to ask Amanda who won our battle on Pikes this year.

Fat Ass

Might be a bit hard to read here, but we'll have maps on Saturday.

Yellow route is the 50K route, and includes an out and back up Red Mountain. The Red Mountain route will not be marked, but it's quite obvious.

The white route is the shortcut. Skip the Incline and take the Ute Indian trail over to Waldo Canyon. 26.75 miles.

1/9/12

AM - Easy three mile dog jog, 30 minutes. Woof.

PPRR Full Moon Run tonight. Beckers baseball field in Manitou. 7PM.

1st place male and female in the 50k will receive a $10 gift card to PF Chang's. I think this makes us the most lucrative of the Front Range Fat Ass series. Word on the street has Galen Rupp showing up, since he's bailed on the olympic marathon trials. If he wears his ninja mask he has to be considered the favorite.

long runs

Good weekend on the trails. Still out of shape after the time off, but things are at least moving in the right direction.

Saturday - two hours (11 miles) on the Garden and Red Rock Canyon trails.

Sunday - three hours (14 miles) with Andy W marking the Intemann route for the upcoming PP Fat Ass.

Info for the fat ass will go out today. 7, 8, and 9AM start.

Incline happy hour

Thursday night, easy Incline with the dog. 45 minutes up, then FOREVER to get back down as we got stuck behind a search & rescue operation.

Rest day today. Weights this morning, hot yoga after work.

Signed up for the Frosty's Frozen Five & Ten. PG will be there. While ultrasignup says he's a 10% better runner than I am (he should beat me by a full mile in the ten miler, right?), we'll see how he handles himself on the roads.

Go Steelers!

Corner of Pikes Peak and Institute

Salida Marathon

Rego for the 2012 Run Through Time is now online. Over here.

NYC Marathon, $266. Salida Marathon, $40.

Sir Nick continues to blow me off as to what, or if, the bet will be this year. Sounds like he's scared.

Cheyenne Canon

Back over to the Canon for the weekly CRUD hill climb. 38 minutes to the gate at High Drive, where I had to turn around so I could get to work on time (not because I was slow and felt like I was going to lose a lung). That roughly equals 51 minutes to the top of High Drive. Would like to get under 40 this year, so I have some work to do.

Been updating my other blogs a little more recently, thanks to my iPhone. Most of you will prefer the Pikes blog to the shitter blog. The new 100 beers/100 places blog is turning out pretty nice as well.

Knob Hill Lounge

Keepin' it classy at the Knob!

run to work

One of my 2012 resolutions is to leave the truck at home at least once a week. Reduce the commute bill by 20%. Week #1 down, easy run to work, 5.5 miles in 53 minutes. Even dropped off the interweb bill on the way.

Brandon was talking some smack earlier, so I decided last night I would return to Leadville to kick his ass once again. But the race is sold out, so the Ascent is back on the schedule. You can tell ultrarunning has gone mainstream, Pb has a whopping 850 runners signed up. FYI, I rego'd for NYC about an hour after sign up opened, and over 88000 people had already threw down $11 for the lottery.

Incline

Incline happy hour now happens twice a week. Tuesday and Thursday. Going to take the next month or two of crappy weather to get back into climbing shape, then I think I'll look to take down my Incline PR (28:26). That PR is from the shed at the very bottom of the Incline. Not the first railroad tie, or the parking lot cheater trail, or the no trespassing sign, or wherever the folks with Incline PR's of 24 minutes and 5K PR's of 25 minutes start.

I had been on a hiatus from the Incline, Tuesday night was my first trip up the steps in over a month. And I could tell. 44 minutes to the top. Ouch. Very easy on the way down.

When $100, the dog, and I left Kinfolk's at 8:30PM, it was still 45F in Manitou. Spring is here! FYI, all pints at Kinfolk's are $3 on Tuesday (quite a few micros on tap). Good deal, but PBR bottles are only $2.50.

back at it

November was a lot of fun. I was still hammering, getting ready for Vegas. Most of the ultra guys were taking a break. So I got to crush some of the guys I normally finish far behind on race day.

But since I took December off, and everyone else was training hard, the shoe is now on the other foot. And it sucks.

Mon - 8.7 miles, two hours. Red Rock Canyon to the top of Section 16. Had to walk the entire climb up Section 16. It's something I normally run with the dog without thinking.

Tues - 6 miles, 52 minutes. Sunrise Striders. With a short tempo run in Bear Creek Park. Some of the homeless guys on the Santa Fe trail were making fun of how slow I was going.

It sucks, but I should be back to normal by February.

Marking the Intemann section of the Fat Ass on Sunday. Meet me at the Incline Club if you wanna join me.

racing

Ended 2011 and started 2012 with some racing.

Headed down to Pueblo on Saturday for the Raptor Resolution Run 5 miler. Pretty cool place. I ran the race while $100 took the dog for a hike. Two person race right off the bat, unfortunately the other guy was much faster. I took the lead just after one mile and held it to mile three, but Paul K is just a faster runner so he dropped me over the final two miles. Had gone in wanting a 32:30 and ended up with a 32:35. Not too shabby with the heinous wind. Also won a year membership to the Nature and Raptor Center. Stopped at Bingo Burger and Shamrock Brewing before heading home.

Sunday was the annual Rescue Run. I was hungover as all get out, so I figured it was better to suffer through a hard 5K than run a 60+ minute 10K. Volunteered at pre-registration so I got no warm up in, then struggled to a 20:47. Can't believe I didn't barf out there.

Looking to become the Bernie B of the middle of the pack in 2012. Next race is Saturday at the monthly Nielsen Challenge. 2.5 hour run on the Santa Fe trail, then 2 miles all out.

3010

Ended 2011 with 3010 miles. Very easy December, with only 123 miles on the month, including two weeks of no running at all.

Ready to get back at it. Hardrock or bust!

Humphreys Peak/Grand Canyon/Zion/Bryce/Moab

$100 and I sat down and hashed out the beta for the 2012 Grand Canyon trip. Should be pretty epic. Headed down there the last week of September.

Fri - leave after work for camping at Taos.

Sat - drive to Flagstaff.

Sun AM - hike Humphreys Peak

Sun PM - drive to/camp at Hualapai Hilltop trailhead

Mon, Tues, Wed - explore Havasu Canyon. Basically, do what this guy did, only at a slower pace.

Wed - Head to Springdale, UT. Through Vegas, hitting the Double Down Saloon and Dino's. Dinner at the Flying Monkey.

Thurs - Zion Subway

Fri - Bryce Canyon Under the Rim Trail

Sat, Sun - Moab

September can't get here fast enough!

how not to finish a race

You don't want to be anywhere near a South CRUD guy towards the end of a race. Check out Brandon S's finishing kick at Boston: