January numbers

Miserable weather month, and the only break from Colorado was going to Wisconsin where the weather was even worse.  Still, some positive movement in the fitness realm from November and December.

Did pull off 75+ daily push-ups and at least 45 minutes (most days were over 90 minutes) of rucking per day, which Mookie loved.  Started with a 40 pound ruck, then towards mid-month I realized I was whining to myself about the weight so I upped it to 45 pounds as punishment.

For the month:

run - 31 runs, 154 miles, 39.5 hours, 27795 feet climbed, seven run commutes

ride - 18 rides, 127 miles, 15 hours, 6839 feet climbed, eight bike commutes

hike - 45 hikes, 137 miles, 58.5 hours, 17021 feet climbed

51,654 total feet of vert.  Last January I had 39,186 so some improvement there.

Seven inclines.  Eleven trips up Iron Mountain.

17 trips to CityRock.  Yearly renewal is coming up so I gotta pad those numbers so the wife lets me pay for another year.

I got into the San Juan Solstice and will be going for my ninth finish there.  Guess I should probably start increasing the long runs.  Want to get ten finishes there before I get too old for this shit.

Andy Frasco & The UN

Mon - easy four mile run on the Garden trails with the Mook

Tues - bike commute six.  Ten there, eleven back.  Took Mook over to Iron Mountain in the evening for two summits.

Wed - incline four.

Thurs - bike commute seven.  Then incline five in the evening.

Fri - we got a ton of snow overnight, five or six inches at the house.  And it was a wet snow, so no quick sweep of the sidewalks.  But by 3PM or so everything had cleared up enough to head up to Denver for the Frasco show.  Met Kircher over at Cerebral Brewing and then tried out Don's Mixed Drinks before the concert.  Another incredible Frasco show at the Ogden.  Forgot to take many pics but here's one of him crowd surfing.

Sat - hungover, but still got in an hour ruck along Colfax Ave.  Then a 15 mile bike ride back in the Springs that evening.

Sun - Barr Camp.  It was warm out but sheesh there's a lot of snow above No Name Creek.  Incline number six on the way up.  

For the week:

run - 33 miles, 11.5 hours

ride - 53 miles, six hours

hike - 28 miles, 12.5 hours

5:43.01

Survived the polar vortex.

Caught the Hairball show on Friday night.  80s hair metal is always a good time.  Seven's Gate, then the show, then Benny's to finish the night.

So I might have been a bit hungover for the annual Raptor Resolution Run.  Still got in a decent effort though, running 38:22 for the flat, dirt five miler along the Arkansas River.  I really enjoy this race, I've done six of the twelve editions, and I hope this isn't the last one.  Of course I saw my boy Lurch, who turned 40 this year (they can live to 55 in captivity).

You know who wasn't hungover on Saturday?  My beloved Pitt hoops team, taking it to Duke down in Cameron!

Another track meet up at USAFA in the books.  I was hoping for a sub 5:40 but it just wasn't in the cards.  I was with a guy the first half mile, hit in 2:46, but then he dropped out and I found myself running alone in no man's land and I struggled the rest of the way.  

I only have one more meet left here in COS.  The USATF mid-America region masters indoor championships over at UCCS.  Sounds impressive but anyone can sign up.  After that I'm planning on two meets up in Niwot - a track 5k on April 28 and the mile at the Frank Shorter Classic on May 12.

Decent week given the terrible weather and a travel day back from Milwaukee.

run - 31 miles, 6.5 hours, 3490 feet of climbing

ride - 8.5 miles, one hour, 297 feet of climbing

hike - 28.5 miles, 11.5 hours, 2889 feet of climbing

Put up my Wolski's sticker at Fossil.  Mission accomplished.

I CLOSED WOLSKI'S

Sometimes dreams do come true.

Despite a shitshow of a travel day due to weather issues at various airports, $100 and I arrived in Milwaukee in time to close Wolski's on Saturday.  Such a great place!  And yes I made it until the bouncer asked us to leave at 2:30AM.  Earned that damn sticker!

On Sunday we did some quality day drinking, including a tour of Lakefront Brewing, before heading over to catch the G Love & Special Sauce show.  More good times.  30th anniversary of their self-titled debut album.  Sure made me feel old but I still tried my best to party like a 21 year old.

After the show?  Back to Wolski's, where I closed things down for a second straight day.

I don't think temps got above 5F the entire time we were there, and things were significantly colder at night.  Plus we were nestled in between a huge lake and a river.  Plus it was windy.  Oof.

polar vortex

Mon - we started a cold spell today and things will be rough.  Mook and I got out for a three mile hike in Ute Valley in the AM, and I headed up the Incline in the evening.

Tues - bike commute three.  Straight there and straight back.  

Wed - run commute three.  Sondermann both ways for 12 miles on the day.

Thurs - run commute four.  Another 12 miles.  Had a get together happy hour with the new group of SAR recruits over at Voodoo Brewing in the evening.  Good group of people.

Fri - bike commute four.  We are entering into the Polar Vortex and biking today sucked.

My boy Mook, behaving as usual.

I can't complain too much about the weather here in COS, as we're off to Milwaukee this weekend where it is going to be significantly colder.  Wolski's or bust!

5:48

Thurs - Run commute 2.  Still exploring Sonderman, seeing where I can do any climbing.  5.76 there, 6.2 back home.  

Fri - good snow overnight, got up early to shovel walks.  Bike commute two, straight there and straight back.  Cold all day.  After work Mook and I got over for two summits of Iron Mountain.

Sat - hung out with the SAR dogs all morning, then hit the Incline.  When I started vs when I got to the top:

Sun - had dogsitting duty so I took two of the mutts up Iron Mountain twice.  Fourth and fifth summits of that mountain for me and Mook this year.

After that I headed up to the Air Force Academy to run an indoor mile.  I wasn't ready for this due to all the rucking and climbing I've been doing this year, but I gave it the 'ol college try.  Ran 5:48 off a 2:51 half, so not horrible.  That track is six laps to the mile, I was in last place for the first five plus laps but ended up getting a guy over that last lap.

For the week:

run - nine runs, 41 miles, 9.5 hours, 5829 feet of climbing

ride - four rides, 23 miles, three hours, 1476 feet of climbing

hike - 14 hikes, 45 miles, 19.5 hours, 6046 feet of climbing

Totaled 11518 feet of climbing on the week.

Lots of winter weather lately, leaving cold temps and ice covered trails.  Yuk. 

'23 final numbers

Another year down the tubes.  Solid year for me, aside from the abysmal failure of the Divide attempt.  Got in another state 'thon and a few more high points though.

run - 1699 miles, 338 hours.  Yes, had I checked this on the 31st I would have gone out and ran another mile.

ride - 3660 miles, 376 hours.

hike - 1315 miles, 536 hours.

50 run commutes.  103 bike commutes.  98 trips to CityRock.

Finally got around to figuring out how to track elevation gain on garmin.  Never been into that but it's something I'll follow going forward.  I gained 522,660 feet last year between running (189,052 feet), biking (184,673 feet) and hiking (148,936 feet).

I've been tossing around a few ideas besides Mt. Hood for '24 but I haven't nailed anything down yet.  Kind of in a holding pattern until I figure out what kind of change the schedule for search and rescue will bring.

Started the year off right at the Rescue Run 10k.  Despite quite a few beers on Sunday evening I ran pretty well, pushing hard to the end and finishing in just under 45 minutes.  Good day for me on that course.  Followed that up with lunch at King's Chef.  Later on Mookie and I hiked up High Drive, a five mile dirt road round trip with 1200 feet gain.  I've committed to a GoRuck challenge of having a 40+ pound pack on for my dog hikes this month.

Tuesday - bike commute 1.  They are doing construction on a small section of my normal ten mile route to work, and it is going to severely affect my bike commuting for the time being.  

Wednesday - run commute 1.  Through Sondermann both ways.

run commute 50

On my last workday of the year I got in run commute 50.  

A few pics of the recent high points, and one of Mook enjoying a rainy hike on the beach.

Dunes

Had a long holiday weekend so we packed up the van and headed down to the San Luis Valley.  Canon City on Thursday after work, arrived at night but we got in a good hike on Friday morning.

After the hike we headed west, dropping by Elevation Brewing (they're opening a tasting room in downtown Salida, FYI) before heading over Poncha Pass to the valley.  Had some time on our hands so we dropped by Spare Keg Brewing (used to be Square Peg Brewing but that name apparently upset some lawyers) and the Colorado Farm Brewery.  Then it was off to Del Norte.  Hadn't been to Three Barrel in a while, forgot how good the pizza and beer are.

On Saturday we made the sketchy drive over to the Sand Dunes.  Highway 160 was pretty icy but the van did well.  The Dunes were foggy as hell, reducing visibility so bad we didn't even see any dunes while we were there.  Mookie loved his hike though.

We stayed at the Sand Dunes Hot Springs on Saturday evening, enjoying more Three Barrel from the Steel Box Bar, then headed back up and over Poncha to spend Christmas Eve in Salida.  Mookie got to spend some quality off leash time with his boy Fritz, and Moonlight, Benson's, and Tres Litros were all open.  

Despite highway 50 being an ice skating rink on Monday we survived the drive and got home in time to enjoy our Christmas day at Fossil.

Mookie was a tired pup from all the hiking and breweries and van life, but we did get up Iron Mountain this morning.

bike commute 100

Mon - easy seven miler on the Garden roads in the AM.  Incline in the PM.  Bah humbug.

Tues - bike commute 99.  Ten there, eleven home.

Wed - run commute 48.  5.3 there, 3.6 back.

Thurs - good amount of snow overnight.  Got up early to shovel, then took two dogs (we're dogsitting) over to the dog park before run commute 49.

Fri - bike commute 100.  Straight there and back as there was still some ice on the roads and bike paths.  

Helping out with the SAR dogs on Saturday, not much else planned this weekend.  Kind of laying low these next few days until the days start getting longer again.

Florida

We had a clear weather day as we rolled out of COS on Wednesday.  Easy though long drive down to Oklahoma City on day one.  The morning of day two it started raining, and it wouldn't stop until we were almost back home.

Still a fun trip.  Got three more state high points - Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida.  And my 25th state marathon.  And a few decent breweries and lots of Yuengling.  The 'thon did not go well as the entire day was very windy and pouring rain and I fell apart after mile 18.  Finished in 3:51.  I used to be able to run a decent marathon but I guess those days are long gone.

We did not have laundry in our Panama City Beach condo so everything was wet and sandy the entire time.  Even had some very minor trench foot coming on by the time we left.  Did get some good hikes along the beach in with the dog, other than a few hardcore surfers the beaches were completely empty.

On Wednesday morning, back on my home turf in the Garden with the pup, I took a fall and jacked up my right hip pretty good.  Nothing long term but it's real sore and stiff.  The 5k on Saturday is up in the air as of now.  Getting old sucks.

the week

Very hungover from the annual wine & cheese shindig but I got in a five miler on the Garden trails on Saturday and an easy two hour jog over near Pulpit Rock on Sunday.

For the week:

run - 50 miles, ten hours

ride - nine miles, 55 minutes

hike - 25 miles, 10.5 hours

We are leaving for Florida on Wednesday.  Taking three days for the drive, have a few breweries to camp at and hope to hit four state high points on the trip - Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, and Missouri.  Shooting for a sub 3:30 'thon but it's been a long time since I had a decent race at that distance so we'll see.

20:18

Ran as hard as I could at the local Turkey Trot today but fell well short of my sub 20 goal.  Decent weather, solid effort, I have no excuses other than I'm getting old.  6:49, 6:44, 5:57 (course is out and back, uphill first 1.5 miles).  My long term goal of breaking 20 at the age of 50 is definitely in doubt.

Shout out to the GOAT, who passed away one year ago today.

the week

Race pic of me at the recent Bridge Burner run:

Another decent week as we head into the holidays.

run - 51 miles, 10.5 hours

ride - 30 miles, three hours

hike - 31 miles, 14 hours

Might be able to squeeze in one more decent long run before we leave for Panama City Beach.  Hoping to go sub 3:30 there.

SAR

Little busy this week but I still got some miles in.

run - 34 miles, 6.5 hours

ride - 15 miles, 90 minutes

hike - 23 miles, 9.5 hours

Saturday was a trip up to Boulder to run the Colleen De Reuck XC classic.  Typical old man XC race for me, I was absolutely gassed about a quarter mile in but ended up running pretty well.  When I started running back in 1989 there was a running prodigy out of Colorado named Melody Fairchild.  This was pre-interweb days, so I'd have to wait for the monthly issue of Runners World to see what she was up to.  Anywho, we had a good duel from roughly one mile until 2.5 miles.  Actually went ahead of her for a bit, but she crushed me over the final half mile.  I ended up running 20:44, pretty good for me on this course.  The Square State Striders won the masters team title.

I have accepted a volunteer position with El Paso County Search and Rescue and will begin that stuff in early 2024.  Training runs until early May and then I'll start heading out on rescues.  Definitely going to shake up my routine a bit but I'm pretty excited.

Bridge Burner

Busy week, plus we got our first real taste of winter with some snow and cold temps.

Tues - bike commute 90.  Five there, eleven back home.

Wed - run commute 42.  Four there and four back.

Thurs - run commute 43.  Six there, four back.

Fri - bike commute 91.  Eleven there, five back.  Took off to Oil Well Flats to spend Friday night.

Sat - Bridge Burner 50k down in Canon City.  Great course that I've always wanted to do.  From Canon you head out Tunnel Drive, up the big, steep climb to the Gorge, over the bridge, and back via Temple Canon.  Not an easy run but I loved it.  33 miles in 6.5 hours.  Sore as fuck after this was over.

Sun - easy 100 minute recovery hike with the Mook at the dog park.  He started agility classes in the evening.

Pretty decent week mileage wise with the long run.  It feels like I've been running a 50K every other day or so lately but the Burner was the last one for a while.  Panama City Beach will be my last long run of the year.  For the week:

run - 52 miles, 9.5 hours.

ride - 30 miles, three hours

hike - 20 miles, 8.5 hours 

Mon - still sore, easy five miler in Red Rock Canyon.

October

Decent month.  A Pikes summit, some decent long runs, and a 5k.

run - 195 miles, 35 hours

ride - 145 miles, 16 hours

hike - 126 miles, 55.5 hours

Went 27/31 on my sober October attempt.  

Also picked May 30 for the attempt on Hood.  Myself and three other locals going.

November will be a few shorter races and getting ready for the Panama City Beach 'thon on December 2nd.  Mook, $100 and I will be driving, hitting some state highpoints along the way.  Maybe a few breweries as well.

20:53

Creepy Crawl 5k on Saturday.  Was hoping for a sub 20 but winter had other plans.  We were hit by our first real cold front and when I got to Palmer Lake it was 23F and windy AF.  No thanks.  Had a decent first mile at 6:09, but that was with the wind at my back.  The next two miles were right into the wind (the course is a combo out and back with a loop around the "lake," giving you the fantastic opportunity for two miles of headwind) and I cratered, running 6:44 and 7:11.  Oof.  But I suffered the entire time, so it's good to get that kind of effort in as I head into some lesser distance races.

Got a good five inches of snow at the house Saturday night.  Cold all day but I got in a nine miler on the Garden roads in the afternoon.  Supposed to warm up on Wednesday.

run - 51 miles, nine houes

ride - 26 miles, 2.5 hours

hike - 25 miles, eleven hours

Not a good weekend for Pittsburgh football fans.  Pitt was drubbed by Notre Dame with lots of ongoing drama afterwards.  And Kenny Pickett was injured in a Steelers loss.  Thankfully college hoops starts soon.

winter is coming

Mon - sore from the weekend so just an easy five miler on the Garden trails.  Hiked Iron Mountain with Mookie in the evening.

Tues - bike commute 88.  Four mile dog jog when I got back home.

Wed - run commute 41.  Six there, four back.  

Thurs - had the day off so I got some miles in.  Rucked 4.2 miles up and down Mt. Muscoco with the dog, then got out for an 18 mile run on and around the COVID loop.

Fri - bike commute 89.

Hopefully the 5k on Saturday morning goes off before the shitty weather moves into the area.  Cold temps and snow expected this weekend.

Methodist Mountain Ultra

Had a good long run on Saturday on the Methodist Mountain trails.  Somehow I got lost at the very beginning and ran an extra two miles to the first aid station.  Could not figure out where I went astray so I just continued on.  At the finish I told the guy keeping stats to DQ me as I didn't run the correct course, but I'm still in the results.  Finished in 6:50:42 for my 34.3 miles.  Kind of "meh" all around for this first time race, unless the price drops significantly I probably won't be back.

For the week:

run - 59 miles, eleven hours

ride - 41 miles, 4.5 hours

hike - 29 miles, 13 hours

Pretty much done with events for 2023 save for a few local 5k's and a marathon in Florida to knock off another state.  I have a few irons in the fire for '24 and it's going to take some time to see how those shake out.  But I have committed to a late May or early June attempt at Mount Hood in Oregon.