miles

Mon - sore as hell and it was cold in the AM, so I slept in.  20 mile bike ride in the evening.

Tues - bike commute two.  Eleven in the AM and 14 in the PM.  Was still warm when I got home, so I walked the dog and then ran up to Carson Pass over in Red Rock Canyon, 4.7 miles.

Wed - run commute two.  5.8 there, 5.4 back home.  Short (5.5 miles) ride in RRC in the dark.  I'm enjoying these shorter, later workouts and I think I'll keep them up whenever the temp is above 30F in the evening.

Thurs - bike commute three.  Eleven to work, eleven back home.  Four mile run on the Garden trails in the evening.

Fri - early morning hike with the dog over in Red Rock Canyon.  Super warm at 5AM, but probably the warmest it will be all day.  Quick run commute to get to the office.

We have the van packed and will be headed south this weekend.  Canon City tonight, Sugarite Canyon State Park in New Mexico on Saturday and Sunday.  It's the trip we had planned for x-mas weekend, but the winds will be a bit friendlier.

My year is in limbo due to having to wait until March to apply for a Rainier permit, which will be for sometime in June/July.  But I'm still thinking of signing up for the San Juan Solstice...

winter Pikes

Mon - morning 7.2 mile run on the Garden roads in 68 minutes.  Good ride in the evening, 15 miles in 90 minutes on the COVID loop.

Tues - bike commute one (twenty miles total) and CityRock one.  

Wed - run commute one.  5.5 there in 53 minutes, four miles easy back home.  CityRock two at lunch.

Thurs - it was 5F at the house at 4:20AM, so I went back to bed.  Took the bus to and from work.  Did make it to the climbing gym at lunch where I got a 5.10 (probably should be 5.9 but I'll take it).

Fri - my first winter 14er.  Started at the Barr Trail TH and took that route to the summit.  Really good conditions for early January, not too much snow or ice.  Bitter cold above treeline, but the wind was tolerable.  Seven hours to the top, twelve hours roundtrip, including two long breaks at Barr Camp to chat with Neil.  My eighth straight month of a 14er summit.

Sat - finally got good weather back but I had HAMS training most of the day.  Did get out for a 15 mile ride on the COVID loop in the evening.

Sun - Again, shitty/cold/ice/snow weather in the morning.  I procrastinated for a while, then put my head down and headed out for a run.  Planned for a five miler, but five miles in the sky finally cleared and the temps rose.  So I kept going.  18 miles on the day.

Pretty good week considering the shitty weather, and Friday and Saturday being taken up by mountain stuff.

run - 35 miles in 5:42

ride - 65 miles in 6:42

hike - 45 miles in 20.5 hours

21/22

The final tally on 2021:

run - 265 runs, 1622 miles, 331 hours

ride - 301 rides, 2628 miles, 256 hours

hike - 378 hikes, 1107 miles, 459 hours

Highlights on the outdoors front were the two new state marathons, the Rut and Chicago, and getting in a few more of the 14ers.

My numbers have been trending down for several years now, and I'll look to slow that in '22.  The mileage goals:

run - 1800 miles

ride - 3000 miles

hike - 1200 miles

Already behind on those goals as the temps barely climbed out of single digits on January 1st.  Did have a decent Rescue Run 10k though, if you can count 50:05 as a decent 10k.

Already trying new things in '22, had my first ever Grump from Kings Chef after the race.

The Rainier attempt, June/July depending on when we can get a permit, will be the big goal for the year.  That will also serve as our big van trip with $100 and the dog driving out to pick me up, then taking ten days to meander back.  No other huge races on the list, so I hope to take another chunk out of the Colorado 14ers.  That goal was originally supposed to take me three years, but this will be my 15th year of working on it.  After Pikes in September I'll start ramping up the bike to begin getting ready to ride the Continental Divide in '23.  Big gravel ride down in Trinidad in early October will help motivate me.

CityRock 100

Mon - run commute 65.  Four there, 3.5 back.  CityRock 99 at lunch.

Tues - bike commute 91.  Eleven there, then for the ride home I just went straight to Fossil.  CityRock 100 at lunch.

Wed - nothing.  It was 3F when I woke up at 4:20AM, and still that temp at 5AM.  Plus I was hungover.  Mooched a ride to work from the wife.

Thurs - no more work for the rest of the year.  Red Rock Canyon over to Section 16, around that loop and back.  Twelve miles in 2:13.  Watched Pitt but up a valient but ultimately losing effort, then headed out on a quick overnighter with my buddy James.  From Fossil we rode four miles up High Drive and somehow found a place that was out of the wind.

a week of nothing

Took a week off to get fat and lazy.  Included a night outside up on Red Mountain and lots of drinking, including Fossil, Murphy's, and Robin Hood on x-mas night.  The planned van trip to New Mexico never happened as there were crazy high wind warnings all over the state.

run - 2.5 miles in 27 minutes

ride - 36.5 miles in 3.5 hours

hike - 24 miles in nine hours

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.

1600

Mon - not moving very well on Monday, but eventually I got my ass out for a 30 minute run around the neighborhood.  Uneventful except for passing over 1600 miles on the year, which was the arbitrary number I picked for a yearly goal almost 365 days ago.

Tues - bike commute 88 and Cityrock 97.  Hope to make it to the climbing gym 100 times, but it's gonna be close as I have a lot of days off between now and January 1.  As for the bike, I should hit my '21 goal of 2600 miles on Wednesday or Thursday. 

Limping to the very end with these mileage goals, but a finish is a finish.

Lettuce

Fri - bike commute 87.  Straight there and then did the Mash Mechanix/Smiling Toad/Fossil route on the way home.

Sat - obviously hungover, got in a quick four miler on the Garden trails before heading up to Denver for the Lettuce show at Mission Ballroom.  Incredible show.

Argonaut Liquor sells Malort, FYI.  And twelve packs of Old Style.

Got home and found out the wife had just finished her ride and was at Fossil.  So I went over to join her.  We drank beers and talked about music and ended up drunk buying tix for this:

I'm currently in the middle of my usual holiday laziness, so some low totals on the week.

run - 20 miles, 3.5 hours

ride - 48 miles, five hours

hike - 22 miles, 8.5 hours

wind

Tues - bike commute 86.  Ten there, eleven back.

Wed - run commute 64.  4.2 there through wind and rain and snow.  The wind really picked up soon after I got to the office.  Trees breaking, trucks overturning kind of stuff.  Just walking across the street to CityRock was difficult.  Early afternoon the power kicked out at the office, so I jumped on a bus and headed home.  Quite a few of the red lights were out.  Lots of trees down.  Our power went down around 2PM and didn't come back on until 7PM.  Our house was pretty unscathed as we've already paid our falling tree dues, unfortunately the same can't be said for some of our neighbors.  We are missing a ten foot section of our gutter, I've walked all around the neighborhood and can't find it.  On a sad note, I've seen a bunch of dogs running around, obviously escaped.  I hope they all make it back home safely.  Hollydog pretty much napped through the whole thing.  Around 4PM the wind just abruptly stopped and the weather got nice.  Finished up my last HAMS classroom session, the outdoor stuff starts early January.

Thurs - easy hour run in Red Rock Canyon, 5.7 miles.  Lots of guitar today.

week in review

Incredible weather for mid December so I got out for a good ride on Sunday.  34 miles on the Santa Fe trail in just under three hours.  That trail south of Tejon is currently fairly sketchy - lots of meth'd out homeless peeps and off leash mean dogs.

For the week:

run - 31 miles in ten hours

ride - 74 miles in seven hours

hike - 21 miles in eight hours

Good track workout on Monday morning.  8 x 400m with 200m RBI.  

jingle jog three miler

Thurs - run commute 63.  The quick 3.5 mile route both ways.  CityRock 95 at lunch.  Good guitar session in the evening before watching the Steelers get crushed.

Fri - bike commute 85.  Straight there and back.  CityRock 96 at lunch.

Sat - headed down south to Fountain for the annual Jingle Jog 5k.  Ran 19:13, which would be fantastic for me but the course was 0.1 miles short.  Solid effort in the very chilly conditions, so I'll take it.  Would have been nice to get another sub 20 though.

Pikes

Mon - a bit sore from the half and it was cold AF out, so just an easy four miler on the Garden trails.  Later in the evening I headed over to Manitou for a hike up Red Mountain.

Tues - bike commute 84 and CityRock 94.

Wed - bailed on work and got in my seventh consecutive monthly 14er with a hike up Pikes via Crags.  That route is usually closed down by this time as they shut down the dirt road to the parking lot once the snow starts falling, but it's still open.  It was bitter cold - 18F when I started, and the high for the summit was 20F with sustained 20mph winds.  But with no snow or ice to worry about, I feel like I got away with an easy December summit.  I bet next month is more difficult.  Just over 14 miles on the day.

ACC Champs!

Might have had one too many brews on Saturday - met up with the Kimchi hash at Murphy's in the afternoon, then watched Pitt win their first ever ACC championship that evening.  So I wasn't expecing much at the Rock Canyon half down in Pueblo, and that's exactly what I got.

Stayed under eight minutes per mile for the first eleven miles, and then a bad experiment with some new shoes caught up with me.  The pace didn't get to me but my feet were hurting like hell.  Not sure why that caused me to slow down, I knew that taking longer out there would only make the problem worse, but that's what the day gave me.  Finished in 1:42:16.  I think I could definitely still go considerably under 1:40, but I fear my days of sub 90 are long gone.

For the week:

run - 36 miles in 5.5 hours

ride - 57 miles in six hours

hike - 22.6 miles in 8.5 hours

12:51

Mon - bike commute 81, both directions of the COVID loop.  CityRock 89 at lunch.

Tues - run commute 61.  Five miles there in 45 minutes, four back in 40 flat.  CityRock 90 at lunch.

Wed - bike commute 82.  Through Sondermann on the way there, straight back home late at night after the latest HAMS class.  CityRock 91.

Thurs - run commute 62.  5.2 miles in 51 flat through Sondermann, then four miles back home via the Midland Trail.  Worked on "Folsom Prison Blues" at my guitar lesson then picked $100 up from Red Leg Brewing.

Fri - bike commute 83.  Six miles there and eleven back home.  A good bouldering session at lunch.

Sat - Nielsen Challenge.  Two miles in 12:51.

November recap

November is always one of my laziest months.  The holidays, college hoops kicking up, college football winding down, the lack of daylight.  But not a total disaster, I got a sub 20 at the Turkey Trot, another Pikes summit, and a ton of dog hikes.  And I escaped a potentially disastrous back injury.

run - 19 runs, 103 miles, 22.5 hours

ride - 37 rides, 247 miles, 24.5 hours

hike - 32 hikes, 92 miles, 37 hours

Incline Club started on Sunday, and that's generally when I start ramping things up again.  

drinksgiving

Fri - up early for a bike ride with my brother in Red Rock Canyon.  So early we finished at Fossil at 9AM to enjoy $3 Mammoth IPA.  Then hit OCC Brewing and Smiling Toad before returning to the house to prepare for our annual wine & cheese party.  Good day.

Sat - obviously hungover but I did get out for a 13 mile ride on the COVID loop.  Watched a lot of college football today, including Pitt getting their first ten win regular season in 40 years.

Sun - won the Mr. Colorado award today.  Took my rescue dog to the dog park, joined the Incline Club for a ten miler on Barr Trail, drove our Subaru Outback to hot yoga, and rode my rigid singlespeed on the Red Rock Canyon trails, ending at a local craft brewery.

For the week:

run - 21 miles in four hours

ride - 63 miles in seven hours

hike - 18.5 miles in eight hours

Not too terrible a week given the drinksgiving holiday and the time lost recovering from the booster shot.

19:18

Mon - my track partner cancelled on me, and I kept it easy.  8 x 200m.  Incline in the evening, still enjoying warm weather.

Tues - we are now into the holiday season as my brother and his dog arrived for a visit from Pittsburgh.  So as it is every year, the running and riding will be sporadic the next week.  Fossil Brewing for a bunch of evening beers.

Wed - got my booster shot on Tuesday morning, and while I was fine on Tuesday I woke up on Wednesday feeling like garbage.  Called in sick to work and slept in until noon.  Took a few naps, and was back in bed by 9PM.  Oof.

Thurs - annual Turkey Trot way over on the east side.  I felt good, booster sickness a thing of the past and it may have helped me by keeping me out of the pub until late.  Good race for me, the effort was definitely there, and I finished in 19:18.  Splits were 6:40, 6:28, and 5:54 (course was out and back, uphill the first half then a screaming downhill back).  41st out of 2329 finishers, which sounds good but over 2100 of those were dressed as turkeys while walking their dogs.

red not chili peppers/Yonder/Pitt

Monday - AM track, 2 x 1 mile with 600 RBI.  6:35, 6:29.  Not my best day ever.  Monday evening was a bike/hike up the incline from the house.

Tues - bike commute 79.  Ten there and eleven back.  CityRock 87 at lunch.  Pitt hoops got their first win of  the season.  Probably won't be too many of those this year.

Wed - quick five miler to work in the cold.  Middle miles in 7:31, 7:10, and 7:39.  Good bouldering session at lunch.  Third (out of five) HAMS lecture in the evening.

Thurs - 14F when I got up.  The house was cold too, because the heater died sometime over the night.  Good times.  Luckily that was an easy fix.  Thursday evening I headed over to the Black Sheep to see the Red Not Chili Peppers.  Lots of fun there.

Fri - easy 5.5 miler over in Red Rock Canyon.  Then over to Murphy's, finally open again after an extended closure.  Tonight's band was Yonder Mountain String Band.  So psyched they came to the Springs!  They didn't disappoint as the show was killer.

Sat - a bit hungover from back to back late nights, but still made it over to the annual Turkey Trot Predict.  No watches allowed, you guess your time and try to go run it.  I guessed 21 flat and ran 20:20 (note: faster than GZ ran a 5k today).  The rest of the day I sat on the couch and watched Pitt win the ACC Coastal Division.

Sun - they recently opened some new trails over in Cheyenne Canon, and I went over to check them out.  We actually got some snow last night, but it was nice over there.  Twelve mile loop with 2500 feet of climbing.

For the week:

hike - 23.6 miles, 9:13

bike - 29 miles, 2.5 hours

run - 33 miles, 6.5 hours

update

Started doing the incline on Monday evenings.  Ride four miles over to the trailhead, hike straight up and back down, then ride back with a stop by Manitou Brewing for a High Ground IPA or two.  I leave the house at 4PM and it's completely dark by the time I get to the top of the climb, but at least the weather hasn't turned cold yet.

Also started going to the track on Monday mornings.  No great workouts yet and my speed is definitely lacking, but I have put together several weeks of at least going to run around an oval.

Other than that it's been more bike and run commutes.  59 run commutes and 79 bike commutes so far this year.

Got up Pikes via Crags on Saturday for the calendar challenge.  Six straight months so I'm a third of the way through the challenge.  Windy and cold but pretty mellow for mid-November.  Looks like I might even luck out with an early December summit without winter conditions.  Alex just hit five years of monthly Pikes summits, FYI.

For the week:

run: 36 miles in ten hours

ride: 72 miles in 6:45

hike: 23 miles in 9:45

After the Pikes climb we jumped in the van and headed down to Oil Well Flats for the evening.  First van trip since the Montana drive.  Perfect conditions down there.

Looks like we might have settled on our '22 van trip.  I'll be attempting to climb Rainier in the June/July time frame, and $100 suggested she drive straight out to Seattle, pick me up, and we take our time returning home.  Lots of potential routes on that one.

music

Took the week off to let the back heal up.  It's close to 100% now.

HAMS has started and it's been fun.  Looking at a June/July summit attempt of Rainier.

$100 and I signed up for one of the classics - Bay to Breakers.  I will be doing the pub crawl version.

Went up to Fort Collins and saw Lotus.  Great show.  Gig was at Washington's, and I still need to make a trip to the Aggie.

Then caught Ana Popovic at Stargazers on Saturday night.  Phenomenal guitar player.

Finally quit social media.  Had to mail out invites for the 10th annual wine & cheese party.  Think I got everyone.  It's on Black Friday if anyone wants to show.