dunes

$100 and I utilized the long x-mas weekend to get the van out one last time in '18.  Made the trek down to Sand Dunes.  Ended the year with a PR of 36 nights spent outside.

Of course we dropped by Salida on the way there.

Pop tarts get a pretty bad rap from the nutrition community, and probably rightfully so, but they are a staple of our van life.  And now in an incredible flavor!  I actually heard a guy say that you would be better off just eating the box than you would the actual pop tart due to the sugar content.  He might be right, but it wouldn't taste so damn good.

There will be no post cards sent from our trip as the visitor center at the Dunes was closed.  Thanks Obama/Trump/Chuck & Nancy!

Awesome nine mile hike on Saturday.  Lots of trails that aren't part of the actual dunes in this park.

Relive 'Sand Dunes Hike'

       
After our big hike we made a side trip to Crestone Brewing.  Surprisingly good beer and food there.

Then back to the Dunes.  We stayed at the Zapata Falls campground.  There was one other person there.  On Sunday when I woke up I checked the weather, and it was 5F in Hooper, CO.  And we were about 1000 feet above Hooper.

Hiked back to Zapata Falls, which is currently frozen solid, and spent some time on the dunes.  The dog absolutely loves this place.

Here is my entire surfing career in two pictures:

We left on Monday for Canon City.  Along the way we got to catch up with Shad for a few brews.

We also stopped by Florence Brewing on the way to Canon.  Camped at Shelf Road.  Terrific place.  I imagine I'll climb there once it warms up.  Phone was dead so no pics.

bike commute 60

Rode the fat bike for commute number 60 today.  It was 25F, and it's supposed to be 60F for the ride home.

We are pub crawling through OCC tonight, then tomorrow morning taking the van for a long weekend trip.  Chaffee County, Sand Dunes, and Canon City.  This will be our first time sleeping outside since the hike.

X-mas beers four and five.  I've been lucky up 'till now but two straight beers that weren't a good fit for me.  I even knew I shouldn't have taken the Hulk hand.  But I was drunk at the time and shit man, it was a damn Hulk hand!

bike commute 59

Sun - 3.5 mile hike in Frick Park through the rain.  Then a trip to D's dogs.  Then a nightmare trying to get home as we went PIT - IAH - DFW - COS and landed at 11:30PM.

Mon - CityRock at lunch and a 1.3 mile hike with the dog after work.  Exhausted from the long travel weekend.

Tues - 6.5 mile run on the Garden roads, 4.5 miles of dog hike split in two, CityRock 136, and an hour of hot yoga at CorePower.

Wed - 1.4 mile dog hike, bike commute 59, and CityRock 137.  Even did a half hour of yoga at the house.

Thurs - 2.5 mile dog hike, run commute 65, CityRock 138.  Trying to figure out a 5.9 climb at the Rock, but the last move at the top always gets me.  Then I fall all the way down on the autobelay and have to climb all the way back up to try, and fail, again.  Good stuff.

Beer number tres.  Been very lucky with my picks so far.

12 beers of x-mas

Wasn't late to the party, but I'm a bit behind due to the PGH trip.  Anywho, once again Marc & Amanda held their annual party, where everyone gets twelve random and unknown beers.  It's always a blast, and the beers are always interesting - most folks either look for the shittiest brews or the best brews.  I've finally quit facebook, so I'll have to post my beers here.

Number one:

Winter Warlock from Bristol Brewing just down the street.  I'm a homer for Bristol, but I always say they're the Dave Matthews Band of local breweries - everyone seems to think they're super cool if they throw some hate.  But, like DMB, I am an unapologetic lover of that place.  I even think the unofficial beer of Colorado Springs, if you had to pick just one, would be Laughing Lab.  A good start.

Beer numbero two:

Class V IPA from Good River Beer.  Never heard of Good River, never knew Colorado IPAs were a thing, but this was good and if I saw it at Coaltrain I'd buy a sixer for sure.

bike commute 58

I've accepted that the rest of this year will be a wash in terms of working out.  Way lower than normal temps, too much junk food and booze, and not enough willpower and dedication.  Realizing I won't really have any goal races in '19 isn't encouraging me to stop this slide.

I have been working hard at the rock gym, which is saving me from becoming a total slob.

Mon - 1.7 mile hike with the dog and CityRock 133.

Tues - 5k AM hike with the dog, then run commute 64.  3.5 miles to work and four miles back home.  CityRock 134.

Wed - 5k hike with the dog followed by bike commute 58.

Will do nothing on Thursday as it's a travel day to western PA.  I'll be in Titusville until Saturday and hope to get some running in at Oil Creek State Park.  Then it's Pittsburgh for Sat and Sun where I'll attempt to drink all the Iron City and eat all the O fries.

Estes Park

$100's family came to visit over the weekend and we headed up to Estes Park.  Had a nice place just outside of town and I'd spend my early mornings drinking coffee and watching Elk.

F-ing cold so I didn't get out much.  The dog and I hiked around Lake Estes on a four mile paved bike path.  Also got an hour run in on some dirt roads on Saturday.  Took a drive through RMNP on Trail Ridge Road, which is only open seven or so miles into the park.  We also got to hit up the climbing gym in EP, followed by trips to two breweries, so it was a pretty good weekend despite the lack of trails.

fat and lazy and cold

Lots of things accumulated to let this week get away from me.  Super cold weather, a lack of motivation, a shitty cold I'm trying to shake, a visit from the in-laws.

Mon - 2.5 miles of dog walking and CityRock 131.

Tues - 1.2 mile dog hike, CityRock 132. 

Wed - 2.3 mile AM dog hike, then took the dog over to Iron Mountain for an evening run.  2.7 miles.

Thurs - home sick today, but I got the dog over to Red Rock Canyon for a very easy four miler.

I assume I'm sick because I spent Wednesday helping to clear out a big homeless camp.  I'm guessing our city is going to start coming down on the homeless a lot harder.  I was there trying to get these guys to visit a shelter and/or access other local services.

And instead of resting after that day I stayed up too late and drank too much beer at the Black Sheep for the Pink Talking Fish show.  Great gig and I hope to check those guys out again.  

The Sheep has some good shows coming up, but for some reason I'm super excited to check out Okilly Dokilly.  A death metal band where the guys all dress as Ned Flanders.  

My friend Lauren ran really well at JFK recently, so I got her a mug as a gift for a job well done.

1:40:19 and the NF fleece

1:40:19 at the Rock Canyon half down in Pueblo on Sunday.  Almost bailed since it was 16F when I got up, and was 20F at the race start in Pueblo.  Adjusted my goals from go hard to run sub 1:45 due to the cold.  I could have easily gone sub 1:40 but I just didn't feel like pushing things today.  At all.  I hate the cold.  From the race photographer:

Katie Schwing took this pic at the start line.

The fleece I was wearing.  I have mentioned on this blog in the past how I found this over in the Garden and it is one of my go-to pieces of gear.  And yes, my dog has an Air Force water bowl.

Katie's husband, Lance, is a buddy of mine and we have recently been trying to figure out some good times for early morning, pre-work mountain bike rides in Red Rock Canyon.  He has a kid and a wife who runs in the morning, and I don't ride if it's below 30F, so that makes things somewhat difficult.  He saw that selfie and texted me this:

Apparently Lance had texted Katie about the fleece before he texted me, and she called me homeless.

I offered the fleece back to him, but he politely declined.

November

Highlighted by the JFK finish.  Not much else going on in November for me.

Run - 161 miles
Bike - 27 miles
Hike - 84 miles

DC

A few non JFK pics from the recent trip.  Got to meet up with Bob for a few breweries.  Smoketown Brewing, Harpers Ferry Brewing, and Abolitionist Ale Works.  Good times!

And no, you haven't accidentally stumbled onto GZ's blog, but $100 and I got to visit the DC mall on our way back to the airport.  Super cool place.  My first time there.

CityRock 127

Starting to get back into climbing and some upper body stuff, which I neglected for a few weeks leading up to JFK.  $100 and I have also started the bodyweight foundation program.  Ended Tuesday with an hour of yoga and a beer at Red Leg.

Nearing the halfway point of the Turkey Trot.  As much as I hate the eastside, they do have a fairly decent view of the mountains there.

Annual pic from the first Incline Club run.  Yes, that guy who always wears vibram five fingers and never wears a shirt is still at it.

incline 16

First run of the new Incline Club season this morning.  I headed up the incline.  Easy effort, as I'm still shaking off all the alcohol of turkey weekend. 

Went to my first AF hoops game of the year last night.  The CU Buffs destroyed them by over 30 points.  Going to be a long season for AF, probably not a whole lot of wins this season.  I got to sit in the cadet section last night though, and I scored a free foam finger and a mascot selfie, so the night wasn't a total waste.

19:35

Definitely wasn't ready mentally or physically to be racing hard this morning.  Still some issues lingering from JFK, as well as a cold that $100 and I have both been fighting.  But I had already paid, and I still went as hard as I could today.  Obviously the result wasn't very impressive for me.

After the race we headed up for the final Air Force game of the season and watched them beat CSU.  No bowl for AF this year as they only got to five wins.

Shot of me on the Appalachian Trail during JFK:

Maryland Heights

Legs are still quite sore but $100 and I got out for a three hour hike on Monday.  Started at the Appalachian Trail visitor center and went up to Maryland Heights, including a trip to an overlook with a cool view of Harpers Ferry and the rivers.

Relive 'Maryland Heights hike'

       

JFK 50

Not quite the race I wanted but a fun trip nonetheless.  Due to recent rain and snow the Appalachian Trail was a mess, slowing anyone not named Jared Hazen down, and I hit halfway in 4:15.  Still thought I could go sub eight and I pushed hard, but the legs were hurting all of that second half.  8:44:08.  Was pushed hard along the mind numbing 26 mile section of the C&O canal path by my friend Lauren, as I knew losing to her would bring a lifetime of ridicule from her husband.  But I broke her just before mile 40.

Relive 'JFK 50'

       

Super excited to concentrate on the shorter stuff for the next few months.

run commute 61

Not much going on this week.  Dog hikes every morning, ran to work twice, the shortest route possible, and biked the other days.  Very easy efforts, and I'm feeling pretty good for Saturday. 

$100 and I also went to a fly fishing class at Angler's Covey on Wed night.  Not sure how much of that is in my future but the big race plans for the family in '19 include her taking on The Flyathlon. 

Off to DC on Friday morning.  Race on Saturday.  Appalachian Trail and breweries/bars until Monday.  On Tuesday I'll make my first trip to the DC Mall.  We have a Pittsburgh trip in mid December, but after that it will be a while before we fly again.  The dog ain't getting any younger and I want to take her along wherever we go.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

week in review

The week of the time change always depresses the hell out of me.  So it was a perfect time to start a taper.  It was a decent week though with the hard 5k effort and just riding that klunker anywhere is quite a workout. 

run - 33 miles
ride -  20 miles
hike -  17 miles

18:18

Made the trip up to Denver on Saturday for the Park Hill Pizza Pie 5k.  Went in looking for a hard effort and that's what I got.  A 5:58 first mile had me in sight of the lead pack, then at a small hill just before the two mile mark I made a little move and took the lead.  Mentally I really struggled over the final mile and I was sure I was going to get passed, but I actually held it together pretty well, running 5:54 to preserve the W.  It was a tiny field, and there was also a 10k so this was not the main event, but it's still fun to go to the big city and win a race.  There is a possibility I'll run some more of the City Park Race Series, and I will announce those plans here in case any of my Denver friends want to come throw down.

Good weekend on the football front as the Steelers crushed, Pitt showed up to their biggest game in a long time, and Air Force finally pulled away from a pesky New Mexico squad.

 
The good luck continued as I was one of five vets to win a mug at Red Leg.  The mug stays at the brewery and I get to fill her up for five bucks.

klunk

Man, I have been wanting one of these babies for a long time, and things finally fell together.  I see lots of sweet jumps and pub crawls in my future.

No name yet but I'll be listening to lots of Widespread MF Panic for inspiration.

The thing is solid steel.  Feels like she weighs as much as my Mariachi and Beargrease combined.

Canya Canon

Seems like the course changes every year but we always have fun at the Canya Canon.  This year was a five mile run that went up, and I mean up, the Columbine trail and then up Spring Creek.  Tops out where Spring Creek meets Gold Camp Road and then it's blazing downhill the rest of the way.  I settled in to a solid pace up the hill and was able to hold it the entire way.  That perfect effort where had I tried to go any faster I would have blown up.  Not much of a race as I couldn't see either a guy in front of me or behind me.  Really happy with the hard run though.

Relive 'Lunch Run'

       

Peter caught this pic of me.  Super artsy since it's black and white.

boogie

Super stoked that Leftover Salmon will be rocking out for three days not too far from my house.  Not super stoked that my village has such a low reputation for live music that we're not referred to as Colorado Springs but "just south of Denver."

week in review

Mon - 2.3 mile dog walk, bike commute 53, CityRock 121.  Zero effort given today as I spent it recovering from Colfax.

Tues - Three mile dog hike followed by a solid 14.5 mile run.  Also did some hot yoga, which I really need to start doing again.

Wed - balls cold in the AM, but I ran to/from work for run commute 57.

Thurs - good day.  2.6 mile dog hike followed by run commute 58.  CityRock 122 at lunch.  Then another two mile dog hike after work.

Fri - 2.5 mile dog hike in the AM.  Had to pick up the jeep from the shop so that threw a wrench into my workout plans.  After work I just sat on the couch drinking beers and watching Pitt take control of the ACC coastal division.

Sat - 3.2 mile dog hike followed by a good 19 mile run up to the Air Force Academy.  Was hoping to go all the way to Pikes Peak Brewing, 25 miles, but a freak storm blew in and I wasn't prepared.  Had to take cover under a tree during some hail, then the temps dropped and the snow started.  This was not in the forecast and I was in shorts and a LS t-shirt.  $100 was on the Academy picking up our cadet, so I was able to mooch a ride home with her.

That pretty much ends my JFK training as the next two weeks will be spent trying not to get hurt.  Not nearly as many long runs as I'd like, but most of my run commutes and runs in general have been at a much higher effort than usual for me.  So we'll see how it all plays out.  I did spend five weeks hiking twelve hours a day with a lot of weight on my back, so hopefully that endurance carries over.

For the week:

run - 52 miles
hike - 16 miles
bike - 17 miles