Friday, December 23, 2011

Winter Green



After a few hours of skiing at Eldora, I stopped in Boulder for a jaunt up Green Mountain.
Although Boulder received a fair amount of snow, I knew that Boulder superfreaks would have packed down the trail by the afternoon, and I wasn't disappointed! This was my first time to try out the trail with some soft snow, as a few days after any snow and it seems to be solid ice -- I was up there a few weeks ago and had to slide on my butt a few times.

This time I had my Microspikes. I've used them mostly for hiking in the winter last year, but honestly, I'm not as much of a mountain trail snow runner. I love running the roads in the snow, but if there's enough on the trails, I generally prefer taking the x-country skis out for a spin.

Alas, WS100 doesn't allow skis. And while I'll spare you the inner details of training plans for now (maybe a future post, but I'm bored even thinking about it) -- but my cardio isn't currently my weakest link. My running -- especially downhill -- is. So let's work on that for now.

So, on to Green. I'm sure I need better running technique, but it was pretty much a solid 50+ minute hike for me, digging down into the snow. It was pleasantly soft, in a knee-deep trench. Not too much running. I found some sunglasses, and later the owner, who was quite grateful for them (they fell off her head and she didn't know they were missing) and said "that woulda been $100."
The summit was gorgeous, sunny, and windless -- this was only my 4th time up there. I think there was a temperature inversion today, as Ned was warmer than the lower parts of the canyon. Only saw a few other people, though I hoped to randomly run into some of the regulars.

I decided to descend the front side since I knew it was packed. Usually, on snow this good, I'd rather be on skis. But, the descent was an absolute blast, with occasional slipping on heels, knees, and grabbing trees on switchbacks. None of those skills are incredibly useful, either, but it was fun! I whooped out loud at one point, and a few minutes later came upon a couple that got out of my way, smiling and saying they heard me up there.

So while I won't be giving up the skis anytime soon, I guess I won't automatically grab them every time there's a decent amount of snow on the ground, when the running shoes can still be fun, too.

J on the XC



J finally got some XC skis! (Usually, she snowshoes while I ski).

Perfect timing to get enough snow to cruise around the neighborhood and along the south Powerline Trail.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Rim Trail in Snowmass -- Night Running


Rim Trail -- Snowmass Village, CO

Besides skiing, I also wanted to check out some of the running/hiking trails in Snowmass. The Rim Trail caught my attention on the map, as it climbed quickly up a nearby hill, some 800-1000 feet in a couple miles or so, and then rolled along for several more miles. So one night, full of great dinner and wine, I headed somewhat blindly toward where I hoped the Rim Trail might be. I found some tracks going off into the woods near Deerfield Drive, which headed up exactly on the trail I was looking for.

After a 25 minute grind up numerous switchbacks, covered in mostly in light snow, I finally reached a summit plateau with fantastic views all around. I saw something on the ground, then nearly wiped out as I stood on it: a marble Yin-Yang. At a different time and day, it would look something like this:


Well, that was unexpected. I continued the rolling trail, with a few short steeper sections, before the trail curved onto a narrower north-south ridge with new views toward Aspen and the airport. I turned around once the trail began switchbacking downward. This was an exquisite run right next to Snowmass -- with a bit more snow, it would have been a great x-country ski or snowshoe trail, as well as a nicely buff mountain bike trail in the summer.

Lunar Eclipse
I had so much fun on this trail, I returned a few days later to view the lunar eclipse.


The Yin-Yang was the perfect vantage point, as the setting moon wasn't visible from town down below. Somehow, the Yin-Yang also made sense, as a balance between the rising sun and setting moon, the cycles of waxing and waning, the lunar influence on the rhythms of the tides....Or something like that. Yin, yang, yada-yada-yada.

I waited and watched in the cold, while inch-by-inch, the oak moon disappeared, and the sun took its place. The coyotes and dogs in the valley below howled and yapped in protest.

Sunlight Moonlight


Moonlight Ski Tour on Sunlight Mountain (Glenwood Springs, CO)




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With a full moon (and eclipse) earlier the same day, I had planned on a nighttime ski tour of Sunlight Mountain near Glenwood. Sunlight is a smaller, friendlier local's mountain, and it would give me an excuse to visit it for the first time. It permits uphill hiking on all trails, has a nice network of free cross-country trails adjacent to the mountain (which also would lead most of the way to the summit), and puts on a 24-hour ski race.

I began my ski tour just after 6pm, in full darkness with the moon cresting nearby hills. A few cars were scattered in the lot, but it seemed as if it would be lonely out there. I started on the Old 4-Mile Road leading into the Babbish Gulch x-country trails, but ended up following a side trail right onto the Ute Trail. The Ute Trail is a green groomer leading all the way to the top, but takes 2.5 miles to do so. Every other trail (including the 24-hour race course) is much steeper and much shorter, but I was happy with my conservative choice, which allowed for me to take a mellow ski up on a wide, moonlit trail.

As I got nearer to the top, I thought I saw a headlamp in the distance. Sure enough, right as the final pitch under the lift came into view, I saw a party of 3 heading up. I caught up and greeted them, and then consciously thought about the fact that the light on the summit house was on.

It turns out these 3 were up for full moon shenanigans -- and more were on the way. Another couple was in the summit shack (which also had the fireplace on). They were just out for a moonlit ski like me, but the rest of the crowd was up for a party. As was explained to me, sometimes the lifties party up on the hill, sometimes the ski patrol; and on full-moon nights like this, they all come up. How cool is that?
"Hey, what do you guys want to do tonight after we're done with work -- which is skiing?"
"Uh, how about some skiing?"

Some of the goods, including hot apple cider, were courtesy of Meier Skis, a good ol' U.S. of A. local shop which custom-builds skis using Colorado wood. Despite my status as an interloper, these guys also freely offered burgers and brats which they were grilling outside.
More friendly folks showed up, and 80's music started blaring on a stereo. The inside of the shack had an unsurprising damp, sweaty smell, while the outside smelled decidedly more herbal.

I hung out with the guys a bit while waiting for some of my clothes to dry, and checked out awesome views from the proper summit of Compass Peak. I had a long drive ahead, so I thanked them for the fun and began skiing down. I stayed on the Ute Trail again, as I knew what to expect from the ascent. I barely needed a headlamp at all, heading instinctually for the lighter pitches of moonlit snow, absentmindedly expecting the surface to be noticeably softer as it would be in sun exposure. At the bottom, another group had just begun hiking up, with loose dogs chasing glowing frisbees. Having the run to myself under the stars was both surreal and sublime.

My preference is wandering through the woods, but I'm just as happy knowing that folks are occupying the local mountain for a fun time. No jostling in lift lines, no credit card or electricity needed.
Who said resort skiing can't be fun?

Aspen Skiing: Earn your Turns?

Snowmass Mountain
With about 4 hours of break, and no lift ticket, yet located right next door to a snow-covered mountain on a brilliant bluebird day, there was only one natural choice:
Go Higher.

I've never skied up a ski resort, so I decided to give it a go on my beat-up waxless backcountry skis, with no idea how long it would take, and how well received the act of skiing upward in Our National Forest would be amongst hundreds of people, mid-day, which is perfectly legal, generally, and allowed on all trails on Aspen-Snowmass Mountain (but isn't helpful if people aren't looking out for you or aren't aware).

Things were going relatively well as I stayed skiers-left of the slope, closer to the aspen groves on the lower part of the mountain, before needing to cross over to the other side. I traversed across the hill -- very uncrowded, being an early-season weekday -- with a nearly flat trajectory, when a helpful older gentleman told me to "stay to the side when going uphill!" I thanked him for this, but mentioned crossing over to the other side. I also made a mental note never to crash or drop anything again while skiing, as the slight uphill motion to retrieve lost objects might also be offensive.

The runs had changed from Green to Blue here, which slowed things down, but eventually I was at the Village Express midpoint. I stopped to check my map, near a ski photographer, who asked if I had any questions. "No, just seeing where I am."
As I considered my options, though, he did point out the way most of the uphill skiers went: Lunchline to Sunnyside. This was both easier and would lead me to aspects that were still in the afternoon sun, so it was a nice tip.

I picked my way over to Sunnyside, and now reached spots where hiking was easier than shuffling and slipping. I probably could have done this much earlier, as it was easier to keep a consistent hiking speed. I am starting to see how hiking up with good boots and lighter skis might just be the way to go instead of messing with skins. I hadn't brought anything to attach my skis to my pack, so I used them as extra poles to dig into the snow. On the final pitch, I went partly through the glades at the top, which had almost no traffic and had the usual zig-zagging paths that cut across the mountain between different tree sections.

Finally, about 2:10 after I started, I made it to the top of the "Big Burn" -- the actual summit was closed off, so I had reached the highest terrain that was currently open, more than 3000 feet higher than where I started.

I scarfed down a sandwich, and a bird landed on my skis, waiting for crumbs.



Now in the shade, it was time to head down. I had shed several layers on the way up, but was still soaked with sweat. I didn't have the energy or desire to mess with trying out tele turns, so I just made conservative swooping alpine turns -- these skis, and my ability on them, are sketchy at best. I made it down in half an hour, probably 4 times slower than I would have been on my alpine skis, but was happy to make it down safely after having earned my turns.


Aspen Highlands

The next day, again with about 4 hours to spare in the afternoon, I found myself in possession of a lift ticket. I hurried over to the bus stop, nearly tripping over my loose clothes and gear, just in time to catch a bus. I decided to head over to the Highlands, which supposedly had great views, and some friends that were skiing over there for opening day.
I was not able to meet up with those friends, as they had enjoyed the steep runs up in the bowl, and I hadn't really planned on being there until the last minute. That wouldn't have been smart on my skinny skis anyway. Again, I was very careful and slow on these skis, especially as some areas were icing up, but enjoyed trying out a new area.
In fact, even without views from the bowl, I will say that this was the prettiest resort views I've seen in my limited experience.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Upcoming Races

* WS100 lottery tomorrow. Cautiously optimistic for Alex and I
* Should be a fun one, but can't make Chubby Cheeks tomorrow -- up in Snowmass for school/work. I imagine it'll be a fun day of tromping through the snow and checking lottery results
* Instead, I'm up in Snowmass for school/work -- can't complain about that. Making extra red blood cells for next week's VBM
* No HR lottery, no problem -- extra ticket for next year. Hope to hang out in Silverton in July anyway
* How about QR (Quad Rock) instead? Looking forward to that one
* Not planning on Leadville -- would like to go back someday, and definitely can speed up my time, but too many other races to do, and I like the idea of PPA in the morning, pacing at night
* Looking at Bighorn as a WS backup, and have thought a little bit about Black Hills, but..
* The Steamboat 100 sounds very intriguing. Not a fan nor interested in the arbitrary split of runners, and the possible giant purse is neither here nor there for me, but I have no problems with the attempt or desire to do so. I like everything else about the race: course, time of year, cost; and I've always heard good things about the RD. Hoping for a good race there in Year 1!

We'll see how things shake out starting tomorrow. Good luck in the WS lottery!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Jingle Bell 5k 2011


Jingle Bell 5k
17:46, 2nd OA

Despite ice, snow, and single-digit temperatures in the morning, J and I lined up for the Jingle Bell 5k at the CSU Oval on Saturday. We ended up having a great time, and will look to do it again in the future.

J had received two complimentary entries, which put it on our schedule. Still, shivering in our car before the start, I wasn't sure about my own motivation. Luckily, J's a tough girl, having been running early pre-dawn runs with a friend for several weeks now. Plus, she had snowpants on! So we donned our free jingle bells, a characteristic of the Arthritis Foundations national Jingle Bell runs. (In fact, a Jingle Bell run in San Diego 8 years ago might have been the first 5k we ever ran!)

Onto the race. Previous results suggested that I might place well, but it all depends on who shows up, and I didn't know how much the ice and snow would affect things. As a compromise on traction, I gave up on pure road flats and wore my new-ish Brooks Pure Grit lightweight trail shoes instead, and ultimately think this choice was a good one, since I didn't fulfill my worst fears of slipping and getting a concussion. Again.

The race starts with a lap around "The Oval" at CSU, which is a beautiful quad area on campus with majestic older oak trees and some of the older campus buildings that serve the classic sciences and liberal arts. By going counterclockwise, it's a fun track-like start to the race. Despite a few hundred runners and walkers that braved the elements, the start line wasn't too crowded, and the announcers kindly asked walkers to wait until runners made the first lap. Then, we were off. Quickly, I found myself running shoulder-to-shoulder with one other runner, who had the inside track, and a tattoo on his calf, which was visible because he was wearing shorts. Clearly, he meant business. We stayed next to each other running a bit hot for my goals, and I realized I wasn't doing myself any favours by running the extra distance in "Lane 2", so I tucked in behind him.

By the end of the oval, he had a gap on me, and as we headed West through campus, I kept him in view but let him go (aka "I couldn't keep up"), which was fine as I continued to run my own race, having opened a gap on anyone else behind me. The course was mostly plowed, so I enjoyed the views of the foothills and fond memories of having taken classes for a few years at CSU, and have run every part of the course outside the oval numerous times.

We worked our way West, with few turns, before a brief section going south and then heading back East. We occasionally ran through patches of snow, and some of the corners required more care to negotiate, but the course was otherwise very well-marked and controlled. I didn't have any mile splits, but by the 2nd mile the leader was in view but about 25 seconds ahead of me. So I just relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the run. Soon enough, we were back on the oval, with 3/4 of a lap to finish up the race. Again, this is a fun finish, to be able to see the finish line and anyone ahead or behind for a few minutes. I ended up 2nd in 17:46, 35 seconds behind the winner, Mark Saunders, whose name I recognized as being generally faster than me. 3rd place was more than a minute behind me, so there's clearly room for more local runners to show up. Happy with my time, despite the pace being slower than last week's longer Turkey Trot -- given a warm-weather race in the future, I'm hopeful that I still have even more speeding up to do in these shorter races before I start slowing down.


I ran back to grab the camera, and followed J in as she finished up a solid pace, fully decked in snowpants scarf, hat, and a few hundred other layers.

So, I have to strongly recommend this race as being well-run and fun, a good time right after the Thanksgiving Day Run. As for materialistic perks, along with the entry fee, racers receive a timed run and a nicely-designed long-sleeve T-shirt (which I'm wearing as I type this), in addition to bagels and hot coffee and hot chocolate after the race. Top 3 runners, as well as best costume and top fundraisers, are additionally recognized with medals and (in my case) a highly-appreciated Whole Foods Gift card. Of course, with all these benefits on a free entry, it was obvious that we would be increasing our donations to the Arthritis
Foundation.

The Arthritis Foundation
Finally, and most importantly, a word about the Arthritis Foundation. Besides a well-organized race, with some inspirational fundraisers as well as some motivated child running groups, we enjoyed hearing various facts about the Arthritis Foundation's work while cheering on other runners. Like many diseases, arthritis (which itself has over 100 forms) has a drastically different presentation, cause, and treatment results for patients of all different ages. This means it's difficult to make broad generalizations. However, one area of results-driven protocol supported by the Arthritis Foundation is that of regular exercise to prevent and reduce the symptoms of arthritis. Coincidentally, I discussed this recently in a disease and pathology course in the context of osteoarthritis, so I have a bit of a soapbox on the subject. (Remember, there are numerous forms of arthritis, which run the gamut from less-understood genetically influenced autoimmune forms, to those which are very much affected by diet and lifestyle, of which I am focused on here).

A recent meta-analysis ("Exercise and knee osteoarthritis: benefit or hazard?", Bosomworth) highlights research showing that a history of physical activity is not associated with development or progression of osteoarthritis, and may be protective:
http://171.66.125.180/content/55/9/871.full.pdf

This makes sense mechanistically based on what we discussed this week in class: both bone strength and cartilage development are stimulated by repeated stress. Stress such as running is sensed biomechanically, ultimately resulting in stronger bones, tendons, and ligaments. The stress of the activity is temporary and is compensated by long-term physiological adaptations.

Obesity, on the other hand, stresses cartilage in the knee (e.g.) chronically, and studies have shown for several decades that obesity can increase the risk of development of osteoarthritis:
"Obesity and knee osteoarthritis. The Framingham Study" (Felson, et al.)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3377350

Unfortunately, osteoarthritis can make it difficult for people to exercise without pain, leading to a vicious cycle of more weight gain. However, among people who already have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, continued exercise and diet/weight-loss have been shown to reduce pain and improve functional mobility:
"Exercise and Dietary Weight Loss in Overweight and Obese Older Adults With Knee Osteoarthritis: The Arthritis, Diet, and Activity Promotion Trial (Messier, et al.)"
https://www.cebp.nl/media/m1074.pdf

In summary, I believe it is imperative that doctors recommend exercise and weight loss as a primary treatment for osteoarthritis, especially among younger patients, and physical activity that includes running or walking should be encouraged as prevention.


I have gotten into this topic a bit because of a couple of oddities -- bear with me -- related to running and arthritis.
First, I've heard more than a few (dozen?) times, "Isn't running bad for your knees?" Not only is it very much generally not bad for your knees, shown repeatedly in scientific studies, but it is generally beneficial. The unfortunate irony of this is a fundamental misconception that leads some people to avoid the very thing that could most improve their health.
Exercise, such as running, trains the body to adapt and deal with occasional stress; combined with proper nutrition, the body beautifully builds itself even stronger. In contrast, the latest research shows that excess weight and lack of exercise leads to a chronic situation of inflammation and stress, which exacerbates all kinds of diseases, including osteoarthritis.

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So, as the Arthritis Foundation says, "Arthritis is Not Inevitable!" Let's continue to support their good work in supporting research and awareness. Even more simply, as a runner, every time you lace up your shoes, and encourage a friend or family member to go for a walk and make healthy food choices, you're already doing your part in prevention!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Kitchen Countertop/Sink Remodel







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This isn't going to become a home improvement blog anytime soon, but this project took a bit of time so I might as well put some pictures up.

The backstories are more detailed and interesting, but this took all of my freetime before Thanksgiving. I barely ran at all, as something had to give so I could keep up with this and school (so running, sleep, and eating went first). Ironically, this meant I
"tapered" unwittingly for the Thanksgiving race!

Brilliantly, we invited 11 people over to our condo for Thanksgiving, including inviting my parents from Oklahoma...and then proceeded to rip the kitchen apart, with no hope of salvation. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Neil -- the pacer once again, who masterminded the countertop woodwork and tiling, as well as sharing lots of quality tools -- and my parents for a ton of help, as well as DJ and Deb for support. Luckily (more gratitude), C&C let us borrow their house for the occasion, and my parents spent most of their "vacation" helping us finish up. I think/hope they kind of enjoy this stuff, and we did enjoy spending the time with them working together. Good memories!

I'm still happy we did it ourselves -- we wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise, and it was a learning experience -- but it was stressful at times. Did I mention we're not really experts on stuff like this? It was gratifying to work with my (cracked and bleeding) hands more than normal (which is also why I like doing all of my own bike mechanic work). I now know some things that would have made it go more quickly: the biggest pain was cutting tile around the sink, which eventually became much easier when I changed to a different sink, used a different blade on the tile saw than the stock one, and decided to tile-in the sink instead of fitting curves underneath it. So anyway, I have a tile saw now if anybody ever needs to borrow that -- let's get some mileage out of it!

We're very happy with the results! But, again, it wouldn't have been possible with the help from everyone else.
THANKS to everyone that helped!

Back to our regularly-scheduled programming...

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Fort Collins T-Day Run 2011

Perfect day for today's Thanksgiving Day run, finished well ahead of my < 23 goal in 22:22, but still finished well out of the pie range, since at least 6 M30-34 were faster.

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Mostly, this race is a celebration of fun, running, and community in Fort Collins. The centerpiece is a great course right in the middle of Old Town Fort Collins, which heads uphill in a loop toward City Park and back down the classic, gradual downhill down Mountain Avenue. Proceeds go to the Food Bank, a worthy and well-run local charity (J has some friends that work there).

We had only done this race once before, a couple years ago, but vowed that any time we spent Thanksgiving in town we would certainly want to do this run. J lined up to run with her friend Nora, and her mom signed up to walk. I learned my lesson from the first time I did this run, and lined up near the front so as to avoid the maelstrom of ipods, strollers, and 5-wide groups of gapers that prevent smooth passage in the narrow starting area. A few rows from the front, I was happy to see a good group of friends and fellow runners all ready to go.

Splits:
5:25
10:50
16:45
22:22

This was a solid 2 minutes off of my previous time, so I was quite happy with it. Still not close enough in the very competitive age group -- I would have had to run better than 5:02/mile to have won a pie -- but I look forward to future runs and improvement in this race.
Being a shorter run, I laced up my Brooks Green Silence shoes for this one. I've pretty much worn these shoes out, but have gotten a solid year of some speed work and a few races (half marathon and marathon) in them.

Meanwhile, J and Nora ran together, and I had told her that 10 min/mile was within her reach. Unfortunately, they got stuck farther back in the swarm of humanity, and said their first mile took an extra 3 minutes or so. After that, each mile was well into the 9's, and when I saw them in the last quarter mile, they dug deeper and sped up to the finish line. J's been getting up before sunrise several times a week for the last month and running with a friend, and it shows! Hope she keeps it up and keeps having fun. Finally, almost exactly at the hour mark, Debbie finished up with a fast walk, having met and talked with an out-of-towner visiting for Thanksgiving.

Overall, a fun morning at one of the funnest races of the year. Check it out!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

More running, and on track


Been really happy with the last few workouts (some of them on the Aurora Central High Trojan Track) focused on speedwork in preparation for the Thanksgiving Day run, and generally staying healthier and running better/more focused with less miles and some stretching and strength. I've been playing with stride and breathing a bit as well: after running for a few years now, I feel like I'm still learning.

I don't like to post workout numbers -- this isn't a training blog! -- but I'm starting to forget what I did last year (or last month), and then I curse myself for not writing things down. And, I like learning and getting ideas from other people's workouts.

I've never broken 24 minutes in a 4M race, which is a nice, round number which I feel I should be capable of reaching. That's still a goal, but my A-goal for next week is to aim for 23 (5:45/mile). That won't be pie-worthy, but I can't fully control that. Hopefully I can set a new baseline for myself now and improve next year as well.

Whether or not the recent runs are sufficient training (this close to the event) vs. prediction is debatable, but here are some key workouts:

Week -2:
Mon: 5k@sea level (Corona del Mar Track): 17:10 (PR)
Wed: 8x800, ~2:20 RBI (complete rest to add up to 5:00 so I can keep my watch running): 2:33-2:36-2:38 (min-avg-max)
Week -1:
Tues: 5k@Aurora Central Track: 17:42 (Colorado PR)
Thurs: 4x1600, 400m slow jog between intervals. Goal: 5:30 avg. pace.
5:27, 5:26, 5:26, 5:23
* Hit the track again when I knew I wouldn't be able to make Towers tonight. Otherwise, really enjoyed this, wanted to bag it on the 3rd repeat when the wind picked up, and thought I'd be above 5:30 with a slower start, but pushed it and negative-split each of the next two 400m. After experimenting with stride, pushed it even harder in the last repeat.

Pretty stoked about these, I forgot how running hard and short can actually be fun, rather than chugging around slow and beat up all summer!
If weather or crowds aren't highly unusual, my prediction is that a 3M/5k training pace should predict 4M race pace, and that a 4x1600 cumulative time is roughly 5% faster than race time. We'll see!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Squaw or Bust!

Western States 100 lottery registration today, drawing on Dec 10th.

Good luck especially to the other Colorado folks on the list!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Quick sea-level running weekend

Orange County, CA


We were fortunate to have a quick weekend visit out to Orange County to visit our good friends, Todd and Andrea. We always have a great time with them, and the weekend went by too quickly. Unfortunately, the weather was as about as bad as it gets in sunny So Cal, with rain and cool temperatures 2 of the 3 days we were there.

But there's nothing to complain about, as we still had a great time with them, and did have a nice day to get some surfing in, which was one of my main goals.

Rain, rain, go away!
We used to live in So Cal, and I remember how the infrastructure just...isn't...built...for...rain. That is, the roads get slippery (noticeably so on a bike); bacterial levels get high in the ocean so you can get sick if you surf afterward (although I'll pay for that check when it comes in a few days, if it does); and the trails are caked in thick mud. Al fresco dining is ruined, and the coffee shops don't have the requisite character, generally. Everyone gets crabby, and doesn't know what to do with themselves.

Strangely, though, it was a perfectly welcome relief.

I went for a run a couple mornings in the rain and grey, something I rarely did while living there (I ran less, so I'd just do some sort of indoor workout or something else). Instead, I found it quite enjoyable to go for a run in the morning when it was calm and traffic was light. The people that were out in the rain were, as a percentage, more friendly.
So I did a couple of 1.5-2 hour jogs from downtown Newport to areas around the beach, Corona Del Mar, and Irvine.
This one's for Alex!


Sea Level Run Tests
8x800s
But first: one of my goals was to do some sort of quick sea-level test to see how noticeable the extra oxygen density might be. So, the first morning I headed out to the track at Irvine, home of the UCI Anteaters.

This, however, happened to be the absolute heaviest part of the storm.
I decided to run 8x800 anyway, but used Lane 5 so as to avoid the worst of the puddles:


This meant I had to think about the staggered start lines and such.
First lap was OK, in the mid 2:30's. The same or a little faster than I've been lately, though not the fastest.
The rain picked up a bit.
I thought I'd be OK as long as I didn't slip or anything, but in the following laps, my shorts, socks, and shoes were absolutely soaked. I was easily 5, 10, then 15 seconds slower than my first lap, with times all over the place. I stopped in the middle and wrang the water out of my socks.

So the workout was absolutely worthless in terms of testing-the-fitness at sea level. This bothered me as both a runner, and a student of exercise physiology. Shoot.

5000meter
In the afternoon of our last day, a few hours before we left, I hadn't run during the day yet. Todd said he'd be OK with a quick jog to the local high school track in Corona Del Mar. Then I could do a quick workout and he didn't mind waiting or stretching, etc. It was near sunset now, due to Daylight Savings Time ending, but the weather was absolutely perfect.

I ended up having about 20 minutes, so I just decided to do a 5k.

Everything felt awesome and I hit 5000m at 17:10. Holy crap (in my world, anyway). I wasn't dying at the end, and finished another 400m up at the same pace to make it an even 13 laps. Todd was timing as well and said he was impressed (very kind of him to say so) about clicking off tight 5:30 splits with regularity.

I was pretty stoked by this -- I've never even run sub-18 in a race.
Is this a PR? Does it "count" since I didn't pay money for it? Who knows. AK is running his own self-timed marathon, and I think it's an awesome idea.
In any case, it's the fastest I've ever run that distance, and it felt awesome.

I don't know where that came from exactly, but I felt like a few things were key:
1. I've been doing less mileage (planned and unplanned) and am pretty well rested
2. I've been stretching with some regularity, and some niggling pains are getting better (fingers crossed)
3. Sea level doesn't give you any speed that you don't have already, but it makes the speed you do have easier to maintain for longer periods of time

Regarding the last point, I realize I could also benefit from some occasional very short stuff (100m, 200m, 400m), because my leg speed in this case was the limiter, whereas my heart and lungs felt like they had a bit more to give.

Anyway, it was a memorable workout and a fun scientific test.
Now back home, where our motto might was well be "A mile higher and a minute slower!"
Next up is the FC Thanksgiving Day Run, so it's fun to do the short stuff for a change.

Monday, October 31, 2011

A little time off...

I've taken a little time off from running the last few days.

It's not a bad idea -- my right leg hasn't been 100% for, oh, all year or so -- trying to balance that out with some stretching and strengthening, as well as some cycling in recent weeks. It's been sore in the groin area on and off since last year, and occasionally the hamstring, and while the pain hasn't been bad, it's a definite stiffness and weakness that holds me back a bit on longer runs, especially when my left leg feels fantastic. It actually wasn't too much of a deal in Leadville, it hurt more after Denver Marathon a year ago. I think the stretching and alternating with cycling have been good things, and I need to pay attention to it. Let me know if you have other ideas, but I think the actual source is the piriformis, so I've been working more on that.

I've also given it 100% rest the last few days, which was unplanned. That's because I slipped on some ice at the gas station on Saturday morning. Stepping on a solid sheet of ice (from water dripping above, the rest of the parking lot was clear), I slipped completely backward, cartoon-style. Didn't hurt anything on my body at all...

But I smacked the back of my head on solid concrete. Worse than anything else was the slapping sound of my head hitting the ground, which I heard with detachment, like somebody dropping a bowling ball or something down from 6 feet. That was the sound of my head hitting the ground???

I didn't black out or bleed, but I conservatively modified any plans of heading to the mountains, exerting myself, or drinking alcohol, until any headaches stopped. No other brain symptoms (I had one concussion a few years ago and felt noticeably foggy), thankfully, just soreness, mostly in my neck. Unfortunately, my neck was more sore the next day, and I could even feel it while swallowing, so when eating lunch, i got something stuck in my throat (also from eating too fast, probably) and then threw up.

Blech.

Feeling OK now, a bit of a headache this afternoon but I think it was from my neck. Should be running soon, and like any injury or minor scare, it quickly made me remember -- again -- how important being healthy is. Especially in the brain!

And watch out for that ice!

Running in Sandwich, Illinois

I've run pretty much everywhere, in all kinds of weather, when travelling: that's what I love about it.
It's a great way to see a new area, reflect on things, and take a break. I've been lucky to have strange but enjoyable runs in strange but enjoyable towns on 4 continents. The most challenging runs, though, would seem to be in the middle-of-nowhere places in the U.S. But these are also the most surprising. Despite skepticism, I've had great and memorable runs in Oklahoma and Kansas, for example.

Still, my faith was to be tested in Sandwich. Looking at the map, and mapmyrun, and the satellite view, things looked bleak. It's not just me -- my friend Todd, also at the wedding, had done the same thing and reached the same depressing conclusion...and he grew up in Iowa!

He was interested in a 4-to-5 mile jaunt, and was worried about slowing me down, etc. No worries, running with a willing friend, especially one you don't get to see too often, is about as good as it gets. Even if the scenery was disappointing, we'd still have a chance to chat.

But you know what? Like always, the run was still quite enjoyable. Cars gave us sufficiently wide berth, eventually, but it was clear that running wasn't usual in these parts. And that's a shame, for once we made a turn along some country roads, we were surrounded by rustling, dry corn stalks, with the last bits of life in their leaves upturned towards a glorious morning sun.

Once we got back to the hotel, I took a quick romp through a section of woods next to the hotel, finding some game trails littered with yellow and brown leaves, a few deer hunting stands (thankfully I was wearing bright neon yellow), long wooded vines that hung from tall trees, and a creek; and I kicked up a couple deer on the other side. The scent of leaves at the end of Fall immediately brought back memories of trampling through the woods as a kid: should I lose my sight someday, bring me out to those woods in October and November and I should enjoy them still.

The next morning, after the wedding, I dragged myself out of bed with just over an hour and a half to spare for a run. I headed East towards Yorkville, again, but then South. I had a rough destination in mind: the lower Fox River.

When looking on the map, I had seen a bit of arboreal coverage along the river, including Maramech Woods nature preserve and Silver Spring State Park, so I guessed it would be more scenic. I also wondered, and later confirmed, about the river itself: the lower Fox river does indeed wind south from Wisconsin, down past Chicago, before hooking West near Yorkville.

As I approached the river valley, I enjoyed classic pastoral scenes of cows grazing lazily in the sun. A large buck crashed through some brush across the street, as the tree cover grew denser. The landscape transitioned from the clearing and plowing man had done -- the active and necessary destruction, the ambitious and honorable -- from the domesticated to the wild, mysterious woods which had been directed by other forces. Here, I found where I preferred to be: in the shadows of the woods, among the fallen leaves.




I only had a short amount of time before I need to head back, but I blasted down the leafy, rolling paths as quickly as I could, before taking a break to view the Fox River.

The Fox River runs around my birth town of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, which means I've seen it thousands of times. It also flows directly through Waukesha, Wisconsin, and near the Carroll campus -- the place where J and I ultimately had met the groom. And here it was again, flowing through these tiny towns in Illinois. This spurred on thoughts about life, impermanence, context, the transient nature of things, defining things by their actions (verbs) instead of mere existence (noun), etc. on a glorious Sunday morning.




But this experiential religion --a run on a gorgeous morning -- is the inferior and odd one. Would it be more comfortable to hear the old stories inside a building instead?
Who am I to say?

Illinois and Wisconsin weekend




Two weekends ago, had a quick but fabulous trip to the midwest to see our friends get married. We've been friends with the groom, Jason, for over a decade, after meeting him as a brother of one of J's random roommates in her one year at Carroll College in Wisconsin. It's amazing to think of how several lifelong friendships have developed from that one year,we had a great time at the wedding, with the groom, bride, and families being great hosts that threw a great party that went by altogether too quickly!

Some other blog-related (whatever that means) tidbits and observations:




    Chicago

  • Stopped at Revolution Brewing for lunch in downtown Chicago -- a little mid-upper high end in prices but also food and service. For lunch, a pizza and polenta fries, along with a brew, were just perfect.






  • Also stopped at the first Dunkin Donuts I saw. We have them down in the Springs, but otherwise don't have much access to it, especially fresh vanilla long johns (maple seems to be more popular West of the Mississippi, in my donut observation at least)

  • Since we passed another dozen or so DD's along the way, I probably didn't need to get as excited as I did about seeing the first one

  • Drove into the maelstrom of downtown Chicago traffic in the rental car, heading for Michigan Avenue. This requires alertness, agressive maneuvers, swerving around delivery trucks, and running through numerous yellowish-red lights (possibly with a courtesy honk). I find this kind of chaotic driving oddly soothing, because everyone actually seems to be focused on the task. I'm much more frustrated with hitting every stoplight on Colfax (for example) around here precisely because people are doing everything but driving

  • At H&M, downtown, I found pants that fit!

    Naperville
  • Took surface streets out West so as to see something different and avoid tolls. The system was annoying and weird decades ago when we drove through, and is even more antiquated and strange now. The last thing I want to do is go 60-to-0-to-60 to pay $0.80. And I don't want to think about bringing quarters or even singles as soon as I get to the airport, let alone think about how this will work with a rental car if I blew through and relied on the license plate instead.

  • Made a planned stop in Naperville: looked somewhat interesting on the map, which was seconded by a local trailrunner, Lance. Naperville Running Store is supposedly one of the country's best running stores. I visited, and it sure is a nice store, but then I realized how visiting cool running stores isn't entirely useful unless you need something, which I didn't. Which is why I like running: because I don't need to buy a lot of stuff. Still a cool store.

  • Trader Joe's! Splurged on a $4 malbec, and got some 'sushi' rolls for dinner, to bring back to the hotel.


  • Sandwich and Yorkville, Illinois
  • Kept driving into increasing nowhere-ness, until getting near the town of Sandwich, Illinois, where the reception was to be held (at a nice hotel/convention center, which is fun and convenient once you get into town).

  • Sandwich does not have any interesting sandwich shops or delicatessans, or large statues of sandwiches.

  • Jason's parents (Jerome and Marian) had a great pre-party Friday night, welcoming out of town guests, and I really enjoy when people do that. Even better, they had it down the road in Yorkville at Kendall Pub, which had a surprisingly cool ambiance and availability of microbrews, which Jerome was supporting and was served by a great staff).




    Good news: I enjoyed a large Dead Guy Ale, one of my all-time favourites, as well as a local brew from Metropolitan brewing, and a Warsteiner Oktoberfest. All were excellent.
    Bad news: For some reason, the combination of these, a bit of wine, and little-to-no sleep the night before, really hit me hard.


*

After this, I found out that this guy was a few hours North in the Wisconsin Dells -- and won the marathon! Holy cow!
Or should I say -- Spotted Cow -- since he had previously visited New Glarus brewery? That explains the victory!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Buying Pants

Seriously, where the hell do you guys buy pants that fit?
Specifically, in the USA in 2011, in a brick-and-mortar store where I can see/try them on first...but most importantly, where the length exceeds the waist? (This used to be common)

Sorry, I go through this tirade once a year or so.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Red Feather Lakes "Triple Bald" Loop


North Bald Mountain (10982')
Middle Bald Mountain (11002')
South Bald Mountain (11007')










Looking for something mellower, and with wind moving into the high country, it seemed like a good day to head to Red Feather Lakes.



No I-25, no I-70: just a mellow drive up north. (Or bike ride: it's just over 50 miles from my side of town, and made a nice out-and-back century a few summers ago).

Staring at maps west of town, on Deadman Road (note: this is CR86, not 162 as denoted on the Trails Illustrated map), I decided to check out an interesting loop combining North Lone Pine trail and Killpecker trail.. The trail loop itself can't be more than 12 miles or so, including a couple miles on the dirt road to join the two. But just off of these trails are some prominent peaks of the Laramie range, worth some off-trail exploring. The highest named peaks -- North Bald Mountain, Middle Bald Mountain, and South Bald Mountain -- poke just above treeline, giving great 360-degree views.




South (Left) and Middle (Right) Bald Mountain, seen from North Bald Mountain

North Lone Pine trail is a steady but pleasant climb in the trees. After running for about half an hour, the trail took a left and started descending slightly/flattening out. At this point, I suspected North Bald Mountain was above, to the right/West, but didn't have a direct view of it. Nonetheless, I began the bushwhack upward.

The lower part of the slope was more open and had less deadfall than other dreadful bushwhacks in Northern Colorado, but just as I was getting content with this fate, a bit more rocks, trees, and snow appeared, slowing things down a bit, but still quite manageable. Soon enough, daylight poked through the trees: except for a bit of rolling terrain, I was on the top of North Bald Mountain.

This afforded nice views of Middle and South Bald Mountain. Unfortunately, it's another descending, and then ascending, bushwhack over to Middle Bald Mountain. At least it's easier to find via dead reckoning, and although not easily runnable, it didn't take too long to get up there.


Middle Bald had more interesting rock formations and scrambling opportunities on top. I took in the views, and then slowly downclimbed on large, solid boulders, toward South Bald. In retrospect, it would have been easier and quicker to drop down the mellow backside to the Killpecker trail.

I headed toward South Bald, knowing that a few trails were down below in the thick of trees, but that the trail can be subtle in some of the thicker spots. I hit one of the trails (North Lone Pine, again), but inexplicably headed the wrong direction: I happened to hit it when it made a short bend, heading downhill, which at the time was the direction of my goal, before it headed very much North again.

I recognized my mistake after 10-15 minutes, turned around, and then re-questioned my initial decision about which way would really be the best. I wasted a good 30-40 minutes running back and forth a few times and double checking the map, but once I was on track, I found that my original intersection of the trail was within 3 minutes of my goal: an intersection with Elkhorn Baldy Rd.

Back on track, I headed up toward South Bald, taking what I think was the Swamp Creek cutoff. (Things get a bit questionable back there when offroad vehicles make their own trails). Nonetheless, it was easy and obvious to climb up to open areas and get clear views of South Bald.

South Bald is the highest of the named peaks, and is an enjoyable, quick climb. But I didn't spend too much time in the wind before retracing my steps back to the Elkhorn Baldy intersection.

Now it was time to check out the Killpecker trail. Although at similar elevations as North Lone Pine, these aspects held a few inches of consistent snow, which was enjoyable to run in.



I could even make out faint cross-country ski tracks! Somebody already got some skiing in. I've read about these trails in Snowshoe guides, and Killpecker is especially nice because the rocks aren't too large on the trail, and both trails are mostly protected from the wind. For some possible turns, the backside of Middle Bald, and possibly South Bald, are mellow-angle and north-facing. I'll definitely be back to check it out in winter!

I would recommend the loop as a run, as both trails are quite runnable and enjoyable. Bring a good map! Further exploration may include some of the lower "bald," rocky points sticking up in the area. Otherwise, Middle Bald is right off of Killpecker trail and easily accessible, and South Bald isn't too much more of an effort -- I'd recommend those for great views. North Bald might not be worth the effort.



Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Grand Canyon R2R2R

The Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim (R2R2R, or R^3) is a spectacular, classic trek on foot across one of the natural wonders of the world. It is a remarkable and challenging endeavor that can be done as a multi-day hike, but among runners, it is done as a one-day test of endurance. Depending on the route, it is between 42 and nearly 50 miles, and the fastest known time (FKT) is currently Dave Mackey's astounding 6:59. Hundreds of runners and hikers attempt the double-crossing each year, with late Spring (April) and early Fall (October) being especially popular to avoid both heat and snow.

While wanting to run at the best of our ability, it's also a celebration to be able to step back and become inspired by the Canyon itself. It is a privilege to be able to visit the Canyon itself, which is why it is rightly popular with both American and international tourists. Unfortunately, for most visitors, the Canyon is a simple drive along the Rim, barely worth leaving the car other than to visit the gift shops.

“Industrial tourism is a threat to the national parks. But the chief victims of the system are the motorized tourists. They are being robbed and robbing themselves. So long as they are unwilling to crawl out of their cars they will not discover the treasures of the national parks and will never escape the stress and turmoil of the urban-suburban complexes which they had hoped, presumably, to leave behind for a while.”
-- Edward Abbey, "Desert Solitaire"


And so, more important than the ability to run in a given footrace, a sturdy pair of legs, following the beat of a healthy heart, serves as a vehicle to free the mind and deliver the soul to the beautiful places of the Earth -- the places that have been crafted over millenia, the primitive and untamed places, places worthy of worship precisely because they are older than what man has ever known.

This is why we were inspired to descend from the surface, to discover a new world over a mile below.

*
Driving
But first, of course, was "The Love Muffin."
Alex had suggested a stop at The Love Muffin Cafe in Moab, nearly halfway through our drive, which serves up delicious breakfasts and quirky T-shirts in equal measure, as well as muffins: some, with bacon, but non-baconated muffin choices as well.

After this, it was onward toward Arizona. We were making decent time, but the clouds started to gather to the west. Past Kayenta, Arizona, we began climbing toward Marsh Pass, which wasn't much of a mountain pass by Colorado standards. However, this spot in Arizona was the first seasonal snowfall most of us had seen this year:



We were still a few hours from the Park, so we hoped that the weather would clear and we wouldn't have to deal with snow on the route. As predicted, the weather was drier as we headed West. Finally, we reached the Park near sunset, just in time to view what we would be exploring in the morning.
South Rim at Sunset:


Preparation
After the sun dropped, so did the temperature, with nighttime lows of mid-20s predicted. We headed back to our campsite at Mather campground, and I put on most of the clothes I had brought with me, which meant I had 4 layers of shirts and 2 layers of pants on, in addition to a hat and a pair of gloves. This was sufficient, provided that I was close enough to our campfire. We enjoyed a delicious carbo-loading pot luck pasta, salad, and beer, before heading into our tents.

We had made a few group decisions on the route and logistics. Namely, we'd head down South Kaibab, and up Bright Angel, and we'd all head out together in the morning. This would add three miles to the total, and likely affect our chances of breaking the FKT for the canyon(!), but we'd see more of a variety of scenery, the Bright Angel canyon is more shaded from the sun, and the trail has more water taps (2) than South Kaibab (0). We decided to park cars near Bright Angel, then, and took a shuttle to South Kaibab, which does not allow parking.

And so we awoke, groggy and very cold, and headed out for the first bus at 5AM. Driving around a bit disoriented, we missed it. As it turned out, this was perfectly OK, as 5AM has a bit more hiker traffic and it meant less running in the dark for us.

GEAR
But it was still very cold! I began with tights and 5 upper layers of clothes while waiting for the bus. Just before the bus came, I remembered to ditch a heavy fleece, but I still carried an unnecessary 2 warm layers of clothes and the tights, as ~15 minutes of running and the warmer temperatures in the canyon were easily sufficient. The extra layers of clothes took up half the space and a good amount of weight (especially being wet from sweat/water).

Also being overly cautious, I had capacity for over 100 ounces of water (though I didn't always carry this much), and I did bring a small multi-tool and lighter amongst more reasonable items, meaning that I was a rare runner that carried all ten essentials, although I clearly didn't need them. I otherwise had a fistful of gels, shot blocks, and a PB&J sandwich. Although I had some Gatorade, I should have brought electrolyte capsules.

THE RUN
We started together and wished each other well as we split off into small groups. Pete and I stayed together, at a very relaxed pace with stops for pictures and gear adjustments. We encountered numerous hikers on the trail, but most were sufficiently courteous and aware to let us through.

Pete surveying the South Rim at Sunrise:


In no time, it seemed, we were down at the river.

Bridge across the Colorado River:




We stopped at Phantom Ranch for a water fill, restroom break, and more gear adjustments. Again, I wished I hadn't brought so many clothes, as I had to dig them out of the way to get more food out, and I had unnecessarily brought an extra unused liter of water down the canyon, yet still refilled out of caution.

The temperature at the bottom of the still-shaded canyon was perfectly cool running weather.

A panoramic view of the Colorado River:


This suspension bridge also carries a pipe beneath it:



Now it was time for a rolling 7 mile section, with a rushing creek nearby echoing off the canyon walls. As we left Phantom Ranch, we saw few other hikers and runners and mostly had the place to ourselves.

Down in the Canyon:




At Cottonwood Campground, we filled water again, and prepared for the 7 mile trek up to the North Rim. By now, we had encountered a few other running groups, from the Bay area and from St. Louis, and chatted with them a bit. But I was also looking forward to the power-hike up the steeper stuff, and I headed up on the hike with Pete behind, knowing he'd catch up at my next break and on any of the flatter stuff.


Ribbon Falls:


Roaring Springs:



Views down below the North Rim, where the walls are steeper:


Once Pete and I were less than a couple miles from the top, we encountered the infamous scourge of the Canyon, worse than heat or snow or rains and flash floods...

The dreaded Mule Trains.

A mule train is a line of an unusual sort of fauna found nowhere else on earth. Each individual unit is 1/3rd horse, and 2/3rds ass. It is formed when a jack (male ass) mounts a mare (horse), before the resultant offspring is finally mounted by a lazy tourist. This process is repeated 6-8 times to form a train, and then another half dozen times to form a Really Big Inconvenience, resulting in raunchy piles of waste and deep puddles of fetid urine.

But: it's a tradition!

Pete and I gamely waited for each of 6 or so mule trains to pass, giving wide berth to unpredictable but thankfully well-trained and behaved animals. All mule guides were thankful and courteous, though some were encouraging of our activity and explained it to the tourons, while others warned us to "Be Careful." Most tourists were courteous as well, though only a very few were actually curious enough to ask us how and what we were doing; less, in fact, than the number that proudly exclaimed how much fun they were having, and a couple that were conquering their fear of heights and animals.

Good! We're in the middle of a 45 mile run, thankyouverymuch!

After the last train had passed, we got back into a rhythm of climbing, and soon worked our way from Summer back into Fall, as Pete put it, with red and yellow foliage, along with pine trees, replacing the desert flora below.

Finally, after about 4:45, we reached the top:

Pete and I on the North Rim, in front of the water taps:


This was cold enough to don more layers again, which we quickly shed within 10-15 minutes. And soon enough, we saw Alex! And then Cat! They were having a great day as well, and were looking good.

Pete had now pulled ahead, and as I told him several times earlier, he was welcome to do so, as I figured I'd descend more slowly. I did have sore legs and feet already and was tentative on the descent, reminding me once again that I need to train specifically on downhill running, as well as watching electrolyte balance to avoid quad cramps. I saw Pete a few more times on the switchbacks below, but otherwise we were now all running solo, spread out on the trail.

I enjoyed the renewed warmth and views, but was feeling tired, and not looking forward to the 7 mile stretch at the bottom of the canyon. I had a rough idea of "10 hours" as a goal time for the route, thinking we'd do South Kaibab in both directions. I wasn't sure how the BA route would affect it, but I figured I was slowing down more than I would have liked. But, I kept moving, and reached Phantom Ranch at 7.5 hours. As I filled up on water, I learned from another camper that the Milwaukee Brewers had won their game the night before: a bit of news from the surface.

As I was getting ready to leave Phantom Ranch, I saw a familiar face: my friend Tina, from San Diego! She recognized me as I saw her, and we caught up for a bit. She was leading a hiking group on a 2-day trek. It was amazing to see someone I knew, pretty much halfway between Colorado and California.

Did I mention the weather was near perfect? Cloud cover arrived late morning, preventing the canyon from baking in the heat. I was sweating lightly, but was otherwise very comfortable.

Now it was time for new scenery.
Returning up the Bright Angel Trail, which begins in soft sand:


There were some flat spots and even descents in the beginning, which I was tired of. When I'm too tired to run decently, my pace is way off of what I can run it fresh, whereas my tired power-hiking pace isn't that much (proportionally) slower than a fresh pace. Finally, the steady climbing started, and it was time to get into a zone of working uphill for a few hours.

I saw Shaun here, who had turned around earlier from cramping but was otherwise doing OK and looked better than any other hiker going up the trail.

The South Rim was interminably high above us, but it was fun to see how much climbing we were doing, and know that the trail led all the way up there. And no longer did we have the tranquility of the lower canyon: this was a parade of hikers. Some were enjoying the day, but other people didn't share that vision: A crossfit group was doing a North-to-South hike, and already looked exhausted, but couldn't believe we were going up to the top of that. I wasn't running, but it was fun to pass dozens upon dozens of hikers each mile. Some would stand and stop as soon as I passed (not expecting to get passed themselves), and one woman said I looked "too peppy!" I tried to encourage all of them that seemed receptive to it. This would not include the "Ipod" set, which were easily startled and apparently wanted to think about anything but the Grand Canyon.

As we got nearer to the top, switchback after switchback, I turned around occasionally to take in more of the view. Finally, I jettisoned the extra liter of water. I was very near 11 hours, and the last tunnel and top was near, so I started a jog to get to the top right at 11:00-something.

Finally, I was done! An obviously memorable day. I headed towards the bus to get to the car, and abandoned thoughts of an extra few miles of running to get to the car. I had a painful jog to the bus and then missed it by seconds -- my normally reliable power faded. I waited for the next bus with some international students from Harvard Business School, who excitedly asked me about the trip (they had hiked to Phantom Ranch and back). The bus arrived, and the bus driver was curt with tourists who wouldn't move back to make room, and with other gapers on the side of the road (blocking it) to take pictures of an elk, which probably describes most of her route most of the days. But she listened in on our conversation and asked about running, barefoot running, etc.

*

RETURN

I returned to the campground and saw Pete. Within an hour or so, everyone else arrived, having had a safe and fun adventure of their own. Ron and Lisa had left us a nice treat of Grand Canyon beer! We took luxurious 8-minute showers at the campground -- I rarely stand around in the shower that long at home -- before getting pizza and beer at the Pizza Pub in the village, and then returning for a campfire. I had a great time hanging out with the whole group.


We drove home via Durango, where Alex, Ean, and I stopped at Nini's Taqueria, which was awesome. Fresh ingredients, fast but good prices, beer and wine available, blue corn tortillas, half a dozen salsas...the only thing that was missing was a green chile (though they didn't claim to be New Mexican...)
Hint: Instead of 3 tacos, order 2 plus a side of rice and beans: you'll get a variety of more food that way!

We enjoyed seeing yellow aspen among the fresh snow on Wolf Creek Pass, which had enough snow to open for skiing for the weekend. I enjoyed the rest of the drive with them, as we discussed my second-favourite topic (running), as well as my first (everything else, e.g. books, math, personal histories, etc.).

In all, it was a fantastic trip, not only with incredible natural scenery, but also spending time with wonderful people. I am eternally grateful for both.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Leadville Video

Saw this on GZ's Blog.

Brings back great memories, I think it beautifully captures a small part of that day for everyone that was there:

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Meadow Mountain Cafe in Allenspark

Mountain Meadow Cafe
"Downtown" Allenspark, CO









After finishing a fabulous hike on Meadow Mountain, we knew we had even more to look forward to: a delicious breakfast at the Meadow Mountain Cafe, right in town. The reviews online offered high praise, and we certainly agreed.

The cafe is in a cozy cabin, and only serves breakfast and lunch from 7-2:00pm (closed Thursdays). There is some outdoor seating, which is nice on a perfect day, but we still chose to nestle inside at a small wooden bar, between a sunny window and pot-bellied stove, which would be even more exquisite on an imperfect day of cold and snow.

There is essentially a waitstaff of two, so be prepared to wait, but the timelessness of the place makes it easy. My coffee cup was immediately filled and never empty of fresh coffee, with a signature hint of cinnamon. Now, looking around, many of the folks were much older and appeared local: the gentleman next to us certainly was, who gave us tips about foliage vantage points as well as how to score extra slices of homemade bread (the "butt" ends) to take home. The standard options of omelettes, french toast (made from home-made bread), and pancakes are available, and you can't go wrong with any of these. It's nice to be able to pair up an omelette (4-egg, by default) with giant banana or blueberry pancakes, which are deliciously more complicated than standard diner faire. All of the dessert options (cobbler, pie, and cinnamon rolls) would have been delicious, had we saved room.

We waited quietly in the corner with a view into the kitchen. The younger waitress, perhaps a daughter (this is how I am imagining them as characters, anyway), washed dishes and lightly sang some of the songs, mostly older country and rock, playing on the speakers. It was easy to feel nostalgia for a time that may or may not have existed. Then, without warning, a song which I didn't recognize, but ended up being "Good Luck Charm" by Elvis Presley.

Don't want a silver dollar
Rabbit's foot on a string
The happiness in your warm caress
No rabbit's foot can bring


I hadn't thought about it consciously earlier in the week, but my grandmother had died this same week, 7 years ago. With her being a big Elvis fan, this immediately came to mind before I could not think about it. That thought, and the smell of coffee and the diner itself, couldn't help but remind me of my grandfather also, for at every visit to Wisconsin before he died, I would meet him for breakfast somewhere. I'm happy to imagine that we had breakfast with them, in a way.



*

Wait, was this like a restaurant review or something, or what? Anyway, this is a magical little place.