Picked up my Frozen Vertical Beer Mile trophy this evening at the bi-weekly Trail Runners' social, and it has since been awarded pride of place on the mantel.
Get training for next year 'cos Big Daddy ain't giving this puppy up easy!
Official results:
Nick - 18:25! (Big Daddy) Alex - 19:50 Celeste - 27:28! (Mountain Cat) Brian - 29:40 Scott - 29:41 Relay - 34:00 Pete - 29:10 (with a penalty quarter for blowing chunks, and while Pete's time looks suspiciously faster than Brian and Scott's, the ruling on the field (of last place) still stands.)
Yesterday was the 20th Towers session of the year, so to cap of a great season on the hill, we set out to conquer the infamous beer mile. Traditionally done on a track, we figured it would be much more exciting and generally more hardcore if we did it on the Fort Collins Trail Runners' track: The Big Hill.
Pete's nutrition plan hangs from his neck.
The route went from the Nomad intersection to the Loggers intersection, which according to various GPS devices is exactly, or just a touch over a mile with 700 feet of vertical climb. To add to the general epicness of the event, we received our first real snow dump of the year in the 24 hours prior, and it was still coming down as the silliness got underway, oh and the thermometers were reading a chilly 10 degrees.
The Beer Mile Start
There were three race divisions among the 10 assembled runners: men, women, relay. Competing in the boys' race were myself, Pete (who had been playing up his drinking prowess for weeks), Alex, Slusher, and Bryan; in the girls' race Celeste, being the only entrant appeared to be the odds on favorite; while in the relay, the remaining girls (Marie Helene, Mary, Ean and Jennifer) would run the course together taking turns on the beer-consumption aspect of the race.
Beers were placed at quarter mile intervals up the hill, and a finish line was marked off in the snow at the Loggers signpost. At the top, Pete described the quarter mile penalty lap (a further quarter mile of running up the hill) that would be mandatory for anyone who blew chunks.
From the gun, Pete managed to live up to his pre-race talk by getting his first beer down a good ten seconds before Alex and I. By the quarter mile mark, I had pulled within five seconds of Pete, who appeared to be in a spot of early trouble. Despite some thunderous belches, I was finding that the beers were going down well, and that the running-with-a-gut-full-of-beer part was actually not too bad. I out-drank Pete by a landslide on beer number two, and headed out for the halfway point with a clear lead.
Official photographer, Mindy, was manning the third aid station (with perhaps the brightest headlight known to man), and she had an appetizing line-up of beers on offer. I was probably halfway done with my penultimate beer by the time the second bead of light appeared on the scene. To mine and Mindy's surprise, it was Alex, not Pete, followed soon after by Slusher. There was chatter of rainbow arcs and snow tigers at the second aid: Pete was clearly in trouble.
With the third beer down and a big lead, it was just a question of keeping the frothy mess down during the big half-mile climb to the finish. Ean was at the final beer station, camera in hand, and let me tell you that last beer was a true pleasure. As I was finishing up my 48th ounze of frothy Coors nastiness, Alex pulled in with what looked like a commanding lock on second.
Look at that form!
Alex nears the finish line
Belching all the way, I crossed the Loggers finish line with my lunch intact in a standard-setting 18:25. Alex crossed in 19:50, breaking the 20 minute mark comfortably. Third overall, in perhaps the most impressive performance of the night, was Celeste who had posted a strong back half to overtake her husband Slusher between beer three and four.
Performance of the night. Celeste outruns, outdrinks and outplays her husband. Bryan in fourth Slush in fifth
Indeed Slusher ended up being edged out by Bryan for fourth in an exciting slow-motion sprint for the finish. The relay team posted an impressive sixth-place finish and then we all hung around at the top waiting for Pete to finish off his penalty quarter and claim his wooden spoon.
Just the one beer for Jennifer!
If you're going to make one Towers appearance the whole year, I guess you should make it this one. Marie runs a strong leg for the relay team. Alex and Ean
The descent on the cushy carpet of snow, in a semi-inebriated state was quite the ride, and more than a few spills were taken by most.
7:00am wave 8:00am wave 9:00amwave Dan B heading into 'Arthur's Aid' Marie & Celeste taking a break at Arthur's Aid Looking down the valley from Arthur's Aid Your short-course Top American
Followed closely by Dakota J. Darcy & Dan post race Slush takes the costume award Results!
Pete has a description of the 50k course (with pictures) up at his blog. Feel free to study it carefully and print out for the run. A text-only version of the route goes like this (copy and paste into a text doc, print and bring to race):
1. From Nick's house (look for banner over driveway half a mile up Overhill Drive on right) take Overhill Drive to 38e, left and then quick right into Horsetooth Mountain Park (.7) 2. Take Horsetooth Rock hiking trail (by the facilities) from car park (.4) (1.1) 3. Right on Service Drive to Southridge service drive (.2) (1.3) 4. Left on Southridge to Audra Culver (1.1) (2.4) 5. Left onto Audra Culver trail to Horsetooth Hiking Trail (.7) (3.1) 6. Left onto the rocks at end of Audra. The trail is somewhat undefined up the rocks but re-emerges. Follow to north summit of Horsetooth (scrambling required to get on summit) (.4) (3.5) 7. There may or may not be a trivia question on summit that needs answering for proof of summit tag. 8. Reverse steps past Audra turn-off, following Horsetooth hiking trail (look for 'foot traffic only' signs) down to Soderberg service drive (1.5) (5.0) 9. Left on service drive to Spring Creek trail intersection (3-way) (.5) (5.5) 10. Right on Spring Creek, making a left after .4 to stay on Spring Creek on the left side of the valley to Stout (1.0 total) (6.5) 11. Hard left on Stout up the ridge (1.1) (7.6) 12. Left on Herrington (.2) (7.8) 13. Right on Spring Creek (1.1) (8.9) 14. Cross Towers Road and continue straight on Mill Creek trail, being sure to take a left after 1.8 miles to stay on Mill Creek @ intersection with Loggers (3.0 total) (11.9) 15. Marathon and 50k take a left at the Milk Creek Link intersection (shortly after you enter Lory State Park) to Howard trail (.3) (12.2); JV course takes a right down to south valley (.4). At south valley, JV course heads right, reconnecting with other courses, but water will be available .1 up the trail to the left at Arthur's TH, if needed. Pick up directions from no. 23 16. Left on Howard (2.1) (14.3) 17. Right at Timber for scramble up to Arthurs Rock summit (.2) (14.5). 17.5 Marathon route follows Arthurs Rock Trail down to the Arthurs TH (1.3) from the summit. Pick up directions from no. 23 18. 50k route backtracks from summit and continues on Timber, making a hard right after .8 onto single track. Follow Timber all the way down to picnic area at intersection with West Valley Trail. Water is available from a pump at the Visitors Center 200 meters up the service road (north) from picnic area if needed (4.5 total) (19) 19. Right on West Valley to Well Gulch (.9) (19.9) 20. Right on Well Gulch to Overlook (.4) (20.3) 21. Left on Overlook to Arthurs Rock trail (1.6) (21.9) 22. Left on Arthur's Rock to TH (.3) (22.2). Basic aid (water and potentially a few other bits and pieces) will be available at the TH. 23. Right on South Valley to Sawmill. Just before you enter Horsetooth Mtn Park, there is an unmarked trail intersection. Continue to the right/straight to enter Horsetooth (1.5) (23.7) 24. Right on Sawmill to Loggers (1.1) (24.8) 25. Right on Loggers to Carey Springs (.2) (25) 26. Left on Carey Springs to Towers Road (.5) (25.5) 27. Right on Towers Road to Westridge trail (.9) (26.4) 28. Left on Westridge to Wathen (1.5) (27.9) 29. Left on Wathen to Spring Creek (1.2) (29.1) 30. Right on Spring Creek, being sure to head left at 3-way by the creek to stay on Spring Creek after .4 and then staying straight at .8 towards Horsetooth Falls (.9 total). (30) 31. Left on Falls trail all the way back to the parking lot (1.0) (31) 32. Out of the parking lot, left on 38e, quick right on Overhill back to my driveway and the finish (.7). (31.7)
Phew!
The 50k route will be approx 32 miles with somewhere in the neighborhood of 7,500' of climbing (yowzer); the 'marathon' looks to be about 25.5 miles with approximately 6,500' of climb; and the junior varsity (or el Chubbo Pequeño) route clocks in at 21.5 miles and 5,500' of vertical gain. Pete has marathon data here.
By popular local demand, we will be doing three separate starts (from my driveway) @ 7:00, 8:00 & 9:00 (12/18). With the three starts and three route choices, hopefully ya'll can figure out the right combination to get you back to the finish (my house) between 2:00 & 3:00 for tall tales, Pearl Izumi giveaways and whatever food, beer and wine you bring to the table.
On the 50k route, I think faster runners will be clocking a time close to 5 hours at a steady effort, which means mid-pack runners will probably be closer to 7 hours (is my guess). Pete (a 19-hour WS finisher) ran a 28-mile version of the course (6,500') at what he described as a slow-to-steady pace in just over 6 hours. I ran the JV version at a similar effort level in just under 4 hours . I know those time examples are somewhat subjective, but it should give you an idea of what to expect in terms of getting it done.
Map splicing, dicing and arrowing by the multi-talented Mary Boyts.
22.5 mile (JV) topo & elevation profile
Marathon elevation profile minus 1.3 to and from my house (150' down at start, 150' up at end). Google map tracks here.
For 50k profile, insert longer and not quite as steep descent from third climb, followed by one mile of flat, 600' foot climb and descent over 2.5 miles, then pick up from bottom of third descent. Almost complete data is available from Rob's webite.
Expect to get lost, so pleaseprint out a map and bring the above directions. There will be light flagging at key intersections indicating a turn. If you reach an intersection without flagging, assume to head straight, but check map to be sure.
Water will be available at 19 miles & 22 miles in the 50k, at 16 miles in the marathon, and at 12.5 for the JV.
Rules:
No whining, no bitching and no blaming the race director for getting lost.
This is a self-timed race ('group run' if asked by someone in a uniform), please bring a watch.
No performance enhancing drugs (Brownie).
Be extra nice to your heavily pregnant hostess, but feel free to launch volleys of smack talk at your host.
Roes leading at Tennessee Valley Heras +30 seconds Mackey + 2.5 mins Dakota ('hurting' but he gave it a shot. Good on ya bud.) +4 mins
Koerner a drop.
6.5 miles to go. Dakota seems to have hit his wall, but went balls out. Gotta love that. Lot of people were talking about Heras pre-race. Obviously an unknown Stateside, but looks to be the real deal, and said to be motoring. That said, Geoff is the best closer in the sport. I do believe we're in for a thrilling finish. Mackey putting up a strong run.
Dakota Jones and Geoff Roes 'running easy' and together in front through 30 miles. Mackey 'working' in third + 30secs.
Roes Jones Mackey + 30 secs Heras +1 min Schlarb + 3 mins Lorblanchet +4 mins Owen +6/7 mins Skaggs + 7 mins Lundstrom Euro (Sal) Zach Miller Bragg +12 mins Flaherty ('Mackey took off on the hills,' says Flaherty, who adds that his 'legs are cooked from the downs') + 16 mins Schmidt + 18 mins Steidl + 20 mins Woods
Brad Seng runs into tree at mile 20 - bloody nose, but still going.
Women
Anna Frost Hawker + 3 mins Semick + 12 mins Vaught + 16 mins
Western States lottery today - not sure when exactly. Here's what appears to be transpiring out in San Fran through 9 miles, with a 'huge pack' at 13.1 according to the Twitterverse (throw a blanket over them, 22 within a minute of each other!):
Just as I finally feel like I've caught up with work, family, and life in general post-Western States, the train is getting ready to pull back out of the station.
I'm heading out to Gunnison after work on Thursday to stay with my good buddy Ryan Burch, and then Friday morning we'll be heading down to Telluride to access the first crew point (28 miles) on the grueling Hardrock 100 course, which kicks off at 6:00am Friday.
The plan is to catch the early action in Telluride and help out our runner Nick Pedatella with anything he might need, and then head over to Ouray (mile 42) where Ryan will assume pacing duties for the next 28 miles. I'll then head over to Grouse Gulch aid station (50 something miles) to check in on the action there, before driving out to the Sherman aid station (70 miles) from where I'll be pacing Nick into the finish through the night. Gonna be a long day/night.
I'm not really into the Twitter thing, i.e. I don't have an account, but I'll be taking some pics and video from the early aid stations, so be sure to check the blog Saturday (early and late afternoon) for some (almost) live footage, which I should be uploading from Telluride and Ouray once we've helped Nick through those aid stations.
So who's gonna' win? Tough to call really. Meltzer seems to like his chances despite the various injuries he's currently carrying, but I don't see it myself. I'm picking teammate Scott Jaime for the win with a time in the 26-hour range. I'm also pulling for Nick P of course, and hoping that Ryan and I can help pull him through to a podium finish. Last year's runner up Troy Howard is also running, but he had a rough time at Western States two weeks ago, and I just don't see how you come back from that within two weeks to be competitive at Hardrock. I prefer John Anderson for the podium this year. He's a tough Boulder-based mountain runner and I'm sure he'll be ready. I'm also pulling for buddies Brooks Williams and PittBrownie to have great races too.
Top five men: Scott Jaime, Karl Meltzer, Nick Pedatella, John Anderson, Jared Campbell.
In the women's race, I like the head-to-head between Darcy Africa and last year's winner (and course record holder) Diana Finkel. Both are great endurance mountain runners, but I'm definitely pulling for teammate Darcy. Former winner, Betsy Nye should round out the top three.
Stay tuned Saturday afternoon for some footage and commentary from the early stages of the race.
We made it much further than originally planned today, finally holing up 60 miles west of the Utah/Nevada border in a town called Wells in the Humboldt Mountains.
Both my pregnant wife and 3.75-year-old son have been remarkable road trip companions, with Alistair insisting that we push on past Salt Lake to reduce drive time for tomorrow. I didn't even know kids his age had the cognitive ability to reason beyond their immediate level of boredom and discomfort.
I'm always amazed at what a great road-tripper Alistair is. I think it stems from his first taste of the road at the age of six weeks when we upped ship and left the Gotham metropolis for Fort Collins on what turned out to be one of the worst journeys I've ever undertaken - and that's saying something. Since then, he's been across the Atlantic three times (maybe four), with numerous other domestic flights; has done six hours up to the Bighorns to crew his dad all day (and all night) in the 100 miler there last year; did 1,000 miles to Las Vegas via Salt Lake City earlier this year, and then another 1,000 miles straight back; and now another 1,000 miles out to California, and I'm sure there's more that I'm not thinking of. The dude's a trooper - and so is his mom.
Anyway, we hit the road at 8:30 this morning, just thirty minutes after originally scheduled. The plan was to take it easy, with strict orders from multiple concerned parties to stop at least every two hours to let the pregnant lady get out and stretch her legs. The original first-planned stopping point was Elk Mountain on the High Plains of southeastern Wyoming, but we sped past the snow-capped peak after taking time to gas up and stretch in Laramie just an hour into the trip.
Elk Mountain.
We stopped somewhere a couple of hours after Laramie, and then again in Rock Springs near the Utah border. I had listened to the US get robbed against Slovenia on ESPN radio through Wyoming, so had planned a stop in Rock Springs to catch the second half of the England vs. Algeria game, thinking England would be able to secure their berth in the second round with a convincing win. Had to hammer out some seriously ticket-worthy MPHs to get to Rock Springs by 1:30, and was left 45 minutes later wondering why the hell I still haven't learned my lesson when it comes to English football. Yet another dismal performance. Got the hell out of dodge as soon as the final whistle sounded and hit the road for Utah.
Dropping into Salt Lake
We were soon in Salt Lake, where we made a couple of wrong turns on their mess of a highway system. Coffee and treats from Whole Foods in Park City. And then the slog west across the Salt Plains. I told Alistair to be on the lookout for cars traveling the speed of sound, but we had to settle for police cars writing unfortunate drivers speeding tickets.
The Great Salt Lake.
Bonneville Salt Flats.
We finally pulled into town here in Wells a little after 8:00 and will take down the final five hours tomorrow. Looking forward to stretching the old legs in Cali - maybe a jog up to Emigrant Pass.
Some shots from the same general area on Memorial Day 2009 (one week later than the 2010 shots below). I'm gonna blame the little boy from Spain.
Photos: Travis Rose c/o Ken Crouse.
WS Trivia: in the group photo is one of the few (possibly only) mother/son teams to complete the race in the same year, Barbara Ashe and Jady Palko (in black) - they both finished in 2009.
Not sure if these conditions are typical for this time of year in the High Sierras, but I was just forwarded these pictures from the Western States course, and I have to say, that looks like a lot of snow. I knew there was a reason I chose to participate in the Twin Mountain Trudge again this year!
A buried outhouse, so we're talking a good eight feet of snow in this shot at the Robinson Flat trailhead, which sits at approx 7,000' & 30 miles into the course. High point on the course is ~8,500', so it would appear that significant snow is almost guaranteed through much of the early going this year. Current snow depth in Squaw Valley is a reported 6.5 feet. This is good news for Colorado boys and girls who've been trudging through crap like this all winter.
A shot from the trail to Dusty Corners.
Robinson Flat again.
Good luck using the facilities!
Of course, there will be significant melt through the next four and a half weeks, but it certainly looks like we'll be in for a good amount of trudge action.
Just a few thoughts as I get ready for a huge day in the mountains on Saturday. And I do mean huge.
I knew when I signed up for Jemez that it was the kind of course I might enjoy: a ton of climbing (12,000'+ to be (almost) exact), wilderness, views, cross-country fun, and a highly competent race committee. I hear the food is good too.
After taking the time this week to explore the details a little further, I have actually come away a little intimidated by it all. Not only is a lot of the running taking place above 9,000', but there are also three trips above 10,000', which is an altitude I haven't run at since last year. While running at (relative) altitude is not really an issue for me, it is my first run of the year at sustained altitude, so you never know. More of a factor, however, will be the descents.
The Jemez course is known for its big climbs and crazy-steep descents. I welcome both, but am a little fearful, I guess, of getting carried away on the descents. That said, the course offers the perfect opportunity to assess how my downhill legs are progressing with regards to sustaining a solid effort late in the game at Western States. At Jemez, the last nine-mile section of the course is essentially a 3,000' drop, and this comes in addition to what have been described to me as insane descents earlier in the race where one essentially jumps off mountains on to scree slopes and hopes for the best.
Sustained and prolonged downhill running (and heat) still remain something of an x-factor for me in my preparations for States, so hopefully this weekend will offer up some clues as to what, if anything, I need to tweak in the five weeks before June 26. We're currently looking at a high of 78 for Los Alamos on Saturday, which means I get hills and heat ... perfect.
So, yes, Jemez is most certainly a training run. I've said all along that the singular goal for the first half of the running year is Western States, which has meant compromising other races that I might otherwise have tapered for. With that said, however, I have been feeling fairly rested this week and think that I might be able to put forth a competitive effort on Saturday. There is some good - and evenly matched - competition which will keep the effort honest, and while Senor Karl has suggested that Kyle Skaggs' course record (8:08) is not in jeopardy, I think it is fair to assume that Karl's ranking as the second fastest dude over the course (8:58) is in danger. Kyle's course record is so much faster than times posted by others that I have to assume that it would take a highly motivated run from a very talented mountain runner to beat it. However, I am betting that the winning time will be somewhere in the mid-eights (versus 9:14 last year).
What else? I took my running streak into triple digits on Monday. That's right, 100 days and 150 runs without missing a day. I plan to end the streak with my run in California next month, as I have learned that while good for motivation and getting out the door, running streaks are - on balance - poor training tools. They coerce you into running when you know you should be resting and that's a dangerous game, especially when nursing aches, pains and injuries.
Umm, if you fancy a crack at a Towers PR, or just a run up Towers, and read this in time, then we'll be at the Soderbergtrailhead at 6:00 tonight. Hope to see you there. Oh, and happy birthday to me - I just got even older.
Green up the front side is not so much running as it is climbing with a few steps of running thrown in every now and then. Typically I consider anything over 1,100' per mile to be borderline pointless for running, especially on trail. Green mountain up the front side fits that bill with 2,400' feet of climbing in just over two miles. However, the craziest thing about the Amphitheater route up Green is that the bulk of the 2,400' ascent is in the first mile, meaning the grades are beyond borderline stupid for running, and a powerhike is as good, if not better than a running cadence.
On this particular evening, we were greeted with slick rocks through the opening scramble due to the continuing rain, and then super slippery slush above, say, 7,000' where the trail became a little more reasonable and consistently runnable yet frustratingly slippery. To sum up, the conditions were terrible.
So anyway, we had a time trial going on ... in Boulder ... and the total number of Boulder residents that showed up? Zero. Apparently the Boulder folk don't play outside when it's wet.
In attendance, and awarded full man and woman points were: George Zack, Tim Waggoner (Lucho), Bob Sweeney, Brandon Fuller, Kerrie (?), myself, Eric Bergman, Pete Stevenson, Victoria Funk, Cat Speight, Alex Alvarez and a (very) late PittBrownie.
We had more than three people running together and we were ostensibly "trying to better each others' times," which according to the Boulder Open Space regulations constitutes a race. Somehow the rangers had caught wind of our gathering (from an anonymous email no less), and as I was unloading at Chautauqua from the drive down and chatting with George, a friendly ranger showed up and asked us if we had anything to do with a race that was going on.
"Race? No, just out for a run with a couple of friends."
The ranger of course new that we were lying through our teeth, but I don't think he had the heart to shut us down. He mumbled something about permits and then sheepishly headed back to his cabin. Soon thereafter, the group headed off in different directions to reconvene at the Gregory trailhead.
There had been some chatter about the route before we all got there. George was firmly in favor of taking the most direct route, while a few others - myself included - thought it might be nice to take the longer and mellower Ranger route so we could actually run. George was having none of it and, frustrated with the chatter, took off up the mountain with no notice. The run was on.
Lucho slipped in behind George - soon overtaking - and then I think it was Eric, myself and Bob. I tried to keep pace with Lucho through the opening few switchbacks, but soon gave up on that as I was clearly not firing particularly well. My breathing was super heavy and my thighs were on fire from all the big, immediate and unpredictable step-ups through the rocks. I just settled in and ran a comfortable pace. I say 'ran' but really it was no more than a token running cadence. At one point I did a shoulder check only to see Bob right behind me walking faster than I was running. I just gave up on running, trotting were possible, but basically hiked the lower section.
By the time we got to the snow and the more runnable stuff, Lucho was out of sight, Eric was being passed by Bob 10-20 seconds in front of me, and I was back to holding my own, although I still couldn't muster much of an effort. Eventually I started feeling a little more comfortable with the whole outing and my various system started operating at a comfortable level. I passed Eric with a few hundred feet of climbing to go, and then near the top started reeling in Bob, but it was too little too late.
Lucho was up in 32:xx, which given the conditions seems pretty fast to me. I got up a bit after Bob in a disappointing 36:02, followed by Eric - maybe a minute back - and Zack two back. I forget who was next, but I think it was Pete, Kerrie and Brandon. Easy going down via Ranger, then some Zack Rabbit IPAs in the parking lot, a little trash talking and we were on our way back home a little after 9:00.
So it turned out to be a fun evening, and we'll do it all over again in a few weeks in Fort Collins, well Loveland, on Round Mountain which is entirely runnable and a much more reasonable 3,000' over 4.7 miles.
The Burchmeister and I have decided to throw down for 2010. In a recent phone conversation, which inevitably centered around running, we realized that we'd be seeing quite a bit of each other at various race venues across the Mountain West this year. As we run at a similar pace and a similar level of intensity, we figured we'd make a little side bet of things over a five-race series beginning at Salida ten days hence.
The last time we raced, Pilot Hill 25k, I destroyed Ryan (right, with another foe, Michael Huntington, left).
While Salida will just be the beginning of the series between Ryan and I, I also have a bet riding on the Salida race with the Brown Man from Colorado Springs. I have graciously given Brownie (aka Jon Teisher) a 26-minute handicap (the differential from last year's race), with the loser buying the winner a 12 pack of their choosing.
Back to the Burch showdown. The calendar looks like this:
The stakes are mainly about bragging rights, but the loser will be taking the winner's family out for a slap-up dinner at an as-yet-undecided venue. Although Burch is currently 3-2 over me in our head-to-heads to date, recent race comps suggest that I'm in with more than a fighting chance and, quite frankly, I'm yet to be beaten this year. So Burch, you better be bringing your A-game!
Another blogosphere racing brawl that I've been trying to instigate is with Denver resident and fellow RunColo contributor (and Western States pacer), Justin Mock. Justin and I will both be running Pikes in August and have thrown around the idea of making that the tie-breaker (or victory lap) of a three-race series. Justin is more roadie than trail runner, so I suggested we choose one venue each for the other two races, thereby increasing the likelihood that Pikes will indeed be the tie-breaker. My choice is the Horsetooth Trail Half in early June (if I don't beat him there then I won't beat him anywhere), but I'm waiting on confirmation - so Justin, consider this a publicly stated call to arms.
Oh, and I don't know if this one will ever get off the ground, but the FoCo (area) vs. Boulder (area) hill climb challenge series is still hanging out there, but is in need of some serious organizational and scheduling commitments.
Although I'm not running the Red Hot 50k this weekend, I did do a little prediction write-up for RunColo based on the current entrant list. You can view it here. I've also done a couple of local trail reviews over there, which are available here, if you feel like checking those out.
I've been back and forth on whether or not to run Red Hot the last couple of weeks, even thinking about dropping down to the 33k event. As it turned out, the decision was an easy one after two failed attempts to run last week.
Got out for a mile to the mailbox and back yesterday. Felt some residual soreness, and am hoping it was just that rather than continued nastiness. I'm planning a 2.5-mile run with a bit of climb for today, which is a distance that should offer some good feedback. If all goes well with that, then hopefully I can slowly build back up to some kind of training volume.
My good friend Ryan Burch, who recently abandoned Fort Collins to relocate to Gunnison and the big mountains has joined the ultra-blogosphere. You can check out his site out at http://www.ryanwburch.blogspot.com.
I took another look at the Wasatchstart list this morning and noticed that Karl Meltzer had snuck onto the roster. Karl schooled me pretty good at my first 100-mile adventure in the Bighorns last year, so I'm hoping I can keep him a little closer come Wasatch. It's a tough ask considering he could probably run the race blindfolded - he's won it numerous times and it's essentially in his backyard - but it offers up a good challenge. Other guys that look like they'll be in the running include 23-year-old geophysics-doctoral candidate, come endurance-stud Nick Pedatella (not an overachiever at all ;-)), Matt Hart, Kevin Shilling, Jared Campbell, Luke Nelson, Erik Storheim, Brian Becksted, and others I'm sure, so it actually looks like it could be a pretty good race if a majority get to the start line. But that's a long way off.
Um, the Weather Gods appear determined to keep the trails iced and snowy for the duration this winter. While the inch count wasn't that high, it did snow for close to two days Sunday through late Monday afternoon. Some people dig snow-packed, icy trails - not me. Maybe it'll all have melted off by the time I'm ready to post some trail mileage. Weather forecast says sun and 40s for the next 10 days, so good chance we'll be back to 80% dirt by the weekend. Just in time for a solid dirt outing, I hope.
If you're in need of some great sunnies for the upcoming season, then the fine folks at Smith Optics are in a giving mood. All you need do is head on over to the Team Pearl Izumi-Smith site and wax lyrical for a few lines.
I'm a big fan of the Pivlock V90s
Continuing with the PI-S theme, I had the pleasure of taking teammate and Phoenix Marathon masters champ, Scott Jaime out for a quick trip up Horsetooth last night. Scott was in town flogging pharmaceuticals to the local medical community, and like the dedicated trail runner he is he found time in his busy workday to pound some dirt and hills for an hour or so.
On a not so positive note, somewhere in this run something gave in my lower right leg. There's been a dull pain there for a couple of days, which I assumed was achilles related, and that flared to something a little more concerning on the way down the mountain yesterday. I've definitely been compensating for my foot the last week or so, and finally when the foot issue seemed to be resolved, the compensatory effects appear to have taken hold. Anyway, pretty sure it's some kind of tear in the lower calf, and not tendon related, which according to my internet sleuthing should be at least a week to FULLY heal. The key here is to have patience - which for me (and most runners) is easier said than done. So I guess the plan now is to properly rest the lower right leg so I'm not out running a modified stride and transplanting the stress elsewhere up or down the body.
The problem for me, however, is my seeming addiction to racing and the upcoming Moab race weekend in a week and a half, which looks like it will be fun on a number of different levels. Not only does the event take place in an insanely beautiful part of the country, but it is also shaping up to be a competitive one: Ryan B, Karl. M, John Anderson, Tim Wagonner, Jared Campbell, Ty Draney and more I'm sure.
In addition, there are a bunch of people attending who I was looking forward to either meeting or just plain catching up with. The trail running community is a funny one and races are as much event as they are an opportunity to catch up with friends that you may only see once or twice a year. So it's a tough call, but I know for sure the sensible way to approach this, and it's just a case of drumming that into my thick skull until it sticks. Writing this little rant is part of that process.
Sorry about the whine, and enough about me and my woes. Get yourself over to the PI-S website and have a go at winning some cool gear!
)
)
