Ready to Roll

The girls in Jamestown, CO











The girls got their longest ride in ever -- 75 Miles -- as final preparation for their century ride in two weeks.
They are ready!

This route started from North Loveland, and puts the hardest climbing of their ride (Lyons to Jamestown) right in the middle, before looping back on different country roads to the start. I am in an awkward position where not doing anything all day, and even all week, would have more benefit for me than Leadville, but they wanted me to ride along as well. Though I suspect it's mostly for mechanicals and flats (none!) and routefinding, I also try to focus on nutrition, water, keeping the pace appropriate, and making sure there's no stopping on the climbs (possibly by slowing down the initial pace)...oh, and getting up early in the morning to beat the heat, rain, and traffic -- without being too overbearing (I hope)! With all the warning and mental preparation, they all handled the climb up to Jamestown easily! They'll be passing girls on the climb. And it was fun to hear them enjoy rolling past farms, ranches, and small towns, that most people never see on the highways, and enjoying the early morning start when the weather is cool and you can smell the plants in the air, yet still have the rest of your day when done. These are the things that I love about cycling!

We took a break at the top at the Jamestown Merc -- I've never been there, and it's certainly an iconic and cycling-friendly place.




They got a sense for the climb they had just done with a solid 7-mile no-pedals-needed descent back down the canyon.

So, they're ready. It's been fun watching them stay focused and help each other out, on the long rides as well as the weekday rides. They took the training seriously enough that they'll undoubtedly finish the century and be able to enjoy every bit of it.

*

Por moi, that wasn't ideal Leadville tapering on paper, but it's hard to justify not joining your wife for a bike ride when I'm used to riding solo and she's getting into it. I took it really easy and hung off the back, including the Jamestown climb, and I've found that cycling feels like a long, good stretch. The niggling pains that I had the day before and generally have during running weeks all summer went away after yesterday's ride. I have no soreness or strange pains from riding, which suggests I don't push too much, just a difference in "pep" in the legs that I would have if I hadn't run at all. But, I trust that will come back in the next couple days. I am stoked to get up high and out on the trail!

Mt. Audobon Morning Run

Mt. Audobon
13,323 feet














Pic taken by and stolen from GZ.
Justin and I approaching the summit. Behind us, mountains beyond mountains, and an inversion with a low layer of clouds blanketing the front range cities below.


George put up a post mentioning Mt. Audobon for the morning, which was something I was considering for a morning mountain run, and I had coincidentally borrowed the parking pass from my brother-in-law earlier that day. I had never been up there, and it has a good bang-for-the-buck of solid elevation and gain on a Class 1 trail, without having to drive too far or past Denver. And by starting early, we were able to beat the typical crowds and parking madness (actually, even the descent wasn't too bad, with respectful and attentive hikers). I was very glad to meet him and Justin in the parking lot (and, later, TZ and JZ), and enjoy the run with those guys.

My small camera is still broken, so I'm glad to see some of the pics from GZ and Justin. The drive out included a gorgeous full moon revealing the jagged outline of the mountains to the west, followed moments later by watching the sun rise while going up Brainard Lake road. I thought I might have missed the guys, but saw the rockin' minivan pull up moments later.

Justin got us going in a hurry, and despite everybody talking about taking it easy, I wasn't finding it incredibly easy to chat leisurely without running out of breath. Those guys seemed pretty comfortable with it though. But it was a great pace and we were quickly above treeline in the full sunshine and practically no wind.

Justin and I peered over the saddle towards the Divide, then power-hiked up to the Audobon summit. Awesome views all around, and some snacks, and then the descent. Justin admonished us to take it easy so as not to ruin our races, and then they took off. I quickly took a step next to a sharp rock that poked my inside heel, and then definitely focused on not doing anything else stupid. This route wasn't overly technical by any means, but Leadville is significantly less so.

This was a great run for the morning, really enjoyed getting to know JM and GZ better, and meeting some of GZ's family, and look forward to more runs with the guys in the future. I was a little more winded going up than I would like, but it wasn't insurmountable and hopefully a couple days at altitude will help. Everything else feels fine, a few tweaks in the right leg that haunt me but are manageable and should feel better over the week. Hopefully this workout helped, rather than hurt anything, but mainly it was fun!

Mountain Avenue Mile

Mountain Avenue Mile is our traditional 1 Mile summer Thursday night race. There is only a single left turn to the finish, so it's nearly impossible to get lost. A steady 40 foot drop over the course undoubtedly helps with fast and competitive times, but is barely perceptible when looking down the straight road.

8.5 days before Leadville, with zero relevance to that event, would doing a quick intense workout be a Lydiard-esque stroke of mad genius, or a foolish hamstring-tearing, lung-bleeding nightmare?

4:47, still in one piece. PR by 6.5 seconds from 2008.

And Slush earns a margarita glass for 2nd Masters!

LT100 Pacer

I am incredibly stoked and grateful to have the services of Scott "Slush" Slusher as a pacer from Fish Hatchery in (Mile 76.5), the critical part of the race where I'll need it the most.

I'm not worthy! Scott has paced Nick to a CR at Jemez, so expectations are high. Too high! He's faster than me on Towers, and just blew away his 10k PR with a 37:23, 2nd-place finish in the FC Human Race 10k. And he has a GPS watch! Just as important, though, he's got a great sense of humor. I missed out while we were in Denver, but since this summer I've found that Scott and his wife Celeste constantly make me laugh. And on a serious note, he's done work in Ghana in the Peace Corps, and I haven't gotten a chance to hear stories about it. He's got friends in every town and village from here to the Sudan, he speaks a dozen languages, knows every local custom, he'll blend in, disappear, you'll never see him again.

With any luck, he's got the grail (big buckle) already.

Earlier in the day, Scott will be running the PPA, and based on his training and racing this year, he's going to have a great day.

This is going to be awesome!

*

However, I do not currently have a pacer at Winfield (50-60-76.5)
Not sure about this situation: I've had a few well-meaning possibilities that didn't work out for one reason or another, and I feel strange drawing attention to myself and bringing somebody else in to an already boring, slow endeavor (OK, I'm not an advertising agent!).
But, Scott may have a friend from the ascent that might be interested -- we'll have to work on timing from the PPA, but it would likely be Twin Lakes at earliest.

I've thought about either...
1. No pacer at Winfield: Some vets have suggested this, that sometimes logistics make it more difficult and that it's not necessary. I see their point, and the muling aspect is still strange to me, but this would only be possible precisely because I do have Scott for the hardest, make-or-break part of the course, at night. Having this to look forward to will help get through those earlier miles -- I think it's going to be a mental benefit even before Fish Hatch. But over Hope Pass again, with several hundred friends hiking nearby, I won't slip on pace or motivation like what happens when we're all strung out in races with "only" 100 people or so.

But, it would be nice to have the company AND some muling help, since it's allowed...

2. Random pacer found ahead of time: Anybody interested, or know anyone? I might ask around on Friday in case somebody's interested. I regret not heading out to Silverton last month as I saw that people picked up some pacers that week.

3. Pre-paid Lifetime Fitness Pacer (with optional IV kit): Wait, that doesn't exist. Yet.

4. Random pacer at Winfield. It's been suggested. At Lean Horse, somebody asked past the turnaround if I had/needed a pacer. And, unfortunately, some pacers will be ready to rock but their runner DNF'ed. Hopefully, a knowledgeable person would see what condition my condition is in and figure out from my time what sort of pace would be appropriate. If I looked like incoherent garbage, nobody would feel obliged; if I'm still smiling, we could hitch a ride over the pass together. (At least, that's how I would decide if I wanted to pace someone randomly). This kind of has an intriguing since of adventure and randomness to it -- like hiring a mercenary -- but is it a realistic possibility?

Oh, I just decided that I'm going to refer to any of my pacers as "mercenaries" for the badass factor alone.

Anyway, if anybody has some interest, leads, or ideas, let me know!

Herman Lake Wildflowers and Continental Divide

Herman Lake and Continental Divide
~7.5 miles, 2800 foot gain (10,200 to 13,000)



J and I were looking for enjoyable wildflower and tundra hiking, with less than a 2 hour drive from Fort Collins, and something different than the reliable but crowded IPW. Herman Gulch met these requirements, and then some.

Herman Gulch is located East of the Divide tunnels, just off of I-70 on Exit 218. Correspondingly, the large dirt parking lot just off the freeway can be crowded. But getting there around 8AM, there were still plenty of spots.

This hike is well-documented elsewhere on the internet and guidebooks. A class-1 trail leads
3.5 miles up, through the forest and into wildflower meadows, before leading to Herman Lake itself, which sits in the shadow of 13er Petingell Peak.

So essentially there were 3 goals for this hike.

First goal: to see the wildflowers in full bloom.






































































Second goal: Get up on the Divide.
After visiting the lake, with maybe a dozen or so other folks, we headed back down less than half a mile to the Jones Pass/CDT trail split. We descended slightly on the Jones Pass trail, which follows below a ridge to the north before cresting it. Shortly after that, we headed up the steep tundra to the ridge itself, giving views of a whole new basin and range of mountains. Next, we followed along the ridge to the flat, loafy 13,000' shoulder of Petingell. This is an unnamed expanse of tundra, but gives fantastic views above Herman Lake, as well as new views which opened up to the North. And for a couple of hours of hiking and lounging around, we had the place to ourselves.



J took a nap:


I poked around restlessly:


...before waking her up to achieve the 3rd goal of the hike:
Hit J with a snowball in August!



Another beautiful day up high. This hike is rightly popular for being within an hour of Denver, but it's undoubtedly less crowded than Torrey's/Grey's across the street. The trail here, as well as the CDT trail towards Jones Pass, is also fantastically runnable: need to stare at the map for some loop options.

Here is a map. The extra effort of getting to the Divide more than triples your views:

Hope Pass Double, plus Quail Mt.-ish

Alex and I on Hope Pass. Pic courtesy of his camera courtesy of JP Martin











*

Favorite (and first) Erik Solof Quote:
"So I guess the bridge is out. I have a Visa with me -- would you guys mind carrying us over Hope Pass?"

Alex and I had arrived in Twin Lakes on a gorgeous morning to run the hardest (but prettiest) part of the Leadville Trail 100: The infamous double crossing of 12,500' Hope Pass. We knew that the course bridge was "out", and I recalled reading something about Parry Peak campground as an alternate bridge route further up Hwy 82. But when we reached the course location, we saw a couple of other obvious runner-folks parked and looking around.

And that's how we met Erik and Kate.

I was completely out of it when Erik made his first comment, thinking he wanted to drive around to the Winfield side or something. But when he cracked a smile and some more jokes, we caught on to the humor.

So we were all out ready to run the trail: Alex and I for specific training, and Erik and Kate, essentially, for fun. Erik had said he ran it in 2005 and it was a fantastic course -- "Gospel, man" -- but we were still unsure about the bridge, when a sheriff rolled through and gave us directions. The directions had more turns and references to the "new bridge" and the "old bridge" and such that I mostly nodded and hoped somebody else was paying attention. And so did everyone else! The course will go through the water, which will be fine in race day crowds, but for today it was nice to keep our feet dry and stick together as a group in the beginning and not have to think about it, as the river is running pretty solidly.

We followed Erik and Kate to a small gravel lot a few miles further up Hwy 82, got ready, and then headed up along the shoulder of the road. In less than half a mile, there's a "one-man bridge" which we fit 4 people on and then hit the trail. This training route heads back left (East) towards the race route. Within a mile or so, we hit the Little Willis/Big Willis junction, and re-grouped to discuss. Alex suggested a left onto Little Willis (correctly) as the most conservative route that headed in the general direction, although it heads down immediately and wastes some of the elevation we just gained.

After 20 minutes or so, we hit a 4-way with a "No Vehicles Allowed" sign that matched the course description. This, indeed, was now a right turn onto the course (and the course will have come in from the left and head straight through). Let the climbing begin.

Alex and I were set on our own paces, deciding to do the run to Winfield and back and regroup when it made sense and see each other on the course. As it turned out, enough other folks were out training (maybe 5-6 other small groups) that it was a nice combination of solitude and companionship, as well as an ability to figure out where people were through the "pipeline," as I asked later if people saw Alex/the guy with the red shirt, etc.

The first goal I had was to run as much of the Twin Lakes as I could and get some sort of split. I didn't have any numeric goals, as I didn't research or remember any specific numbers -- I wanted to remember the numbers I got and then see how that fit into any sort of pacing plan. The trail grinds steadily up through the trees, but is nicely shaded and pleasantly runnable. Eventually, the trail opens up into a splendid wildflower meadow:



This is and the top of Hope are the last pictures I got before my camera died -- hopefully Alex got some good ones!

Hope Pass loomed in the distance, getting closer with each step, and I set a goal of running this entire side. I was happy to achieve it, at 1:32 flat, which included the pauses for directions.

But the entire time going up, the insidious plan of going up Quail Mtn. was also on my mind. I discussed this with Alex earlier: he thought I might have extra time and would be able to head up above 13k. I had initially thought about doing this on the return (if at all), but the temptation was too great. If anything, I could skip the Winfield Rd. in lieu of the extra elevation, but that would be less "course-specific."

But I'm more interested in heading up something high, so I scrambled up the scree and some climbing trails to the summit. Or, what I thought was the summit: the second hump of rock visible from Hope Pass, which I had seen before and focused on as the summit. There was a cairn there, and spectacular views, but no summit register or anything. I saw another point further up but was convinced it was something else, and was a bit hurried when I saw runners now coming up Hope Pass. (Later, at home, I know that the summit has some interesting mine structures on top, and I was merely on a non-descript 13,300' hump).



That excursion took about 20 minutes, and it took almost as much coming down as I was careful on the scree and talus (falling on my butt once) and not wanting to fall too far behind. I recombobulated at the Pass and headed down at a good effort.

I saw and gained on a group of 3 ahead, including a red shirt, but it turned out not to be Alex. But, it was someone who knew Alex: JP Martin from Ft. Collins. We introduced ourselves and chatted briefly for a few minutes, he was out with his 2 pacers. I took off then, hoping to catch up to the real Alex, who was even further ahead than I thought since I was mistaken in the group of 3 that I saw descending Hope.

I enjoyed this run down and seeing folks climbing from the Winfield side, and hit the lot in 31 minutes, before turning right and heading up the road. I kept watching the road for the other runners but didn't see them until right before Winfield -- at least it was a nice distraction from the otherwise boring, uphill road! This section was about 25 minutes (and the same time down) to the bridge, but not the campground.

So I saw Alex, Erik, and Kate looking great -- the latter two hadn't initially planned on the Winfield section. I was a couple minutes behind Alex, but needed to refill/filter water. I sat down by creek awkwardly and got a strange leg cramp, so I shifted around until that felt better and ate some chips. This break ended up being over 10 minutes so I needed to get moving.

Now this side of Hope is much steeper, and I remember it as such from hiking up it a few years ago with J. How far up could I run it, though? Not far at all, as I hiked nearly all of it with my heart banging in my head. Whatever. I think this is common but I'll see what people are doing during the race. I am OK with a sustained hiking pace though if that's what the situation calls for.

Above treeline, I saw Alex a good 5 minutes ahead, and JPM's group heading back up. I entertained myself with the thought that I now can stare up at 13,400+' Mt. Hope and Quail, and think, "At least we don't have to go over those -- we're taking the easy route over the pass!" I hope I can remember this in a couple weeks.
Alex waited a few minutes for me up top: our climbing was done!



Now we headed back down from whence we came at a social pace, running together and chatting. I tried taking some pictures but with a broken screen I didn't know until later that the pictures failed. We were still enjoying great weather, and it was nice to get back into the shade of the trees. That last mile descent to the 4-way was an absolute blast.

The last couple miles on the re-route dragged a bit, including the kidney-punch climb back up to the Little Willis fork. Oh well: that's non course-specific. I decided to grab another bottle of water rather than thinking about it for another 25 minutes. Back to the bridge and the car. Didn't catch up with Erik and Kate again, but glad to have met them, and really glad to have a fun day running and chatting with Alex. Ready to be back there in 2 weeks!

WIN for KC Tri: J and J's Excellent Tri-venture

The reason for visiting Kansas on this particular weekend was so that J and her friend JSko could participate in the WIN for KC Women's sprint triathlon. This triathlon is an excellent, safe, and fun introduction to the sport for women of all ages and abilities, but is also sufficiently competitive with all-event chip timing and a staggered swim start. The swim is 500 meters (~1/3M) in the warm July waters of Smithville Lake, followed by a 10-mile out and back mostly flat ride on a controlled course, before ending in a 5k run along the lake on a leafy bike path.

Now, despite having been hot and soaking wet with sweat at 3:30AM, somehow we found ourselves wet and cold 3 hours later. Unfortunately, a powerful storm moved in and sat right on top of the course. After everyone was lined up for the swim, lightning flashed and hit the ground on both sides of the lake, and a cold, hard rain pelted the triathletes, who were standing around in swimsuits. The 7:30 start was delayed by 10 minute increments, but we were all worried about a cancellation. The storm clouds were swirling quickly, literally colliding from two opposite directions above the lake. We were in the eye, hoping the storm would move past.

Eventually, the race started handing out garbage bags for warmth, which helped. It was a mad and chaotic scramble to get one, so the girls shared one (and I, like the sorry guy in the Titanic lifeboat amongst women and children, shamelessly huddled in for a bit until I stopped shivering). I felt bad for their anxiety as they waited out the storm. I had nobody to blame for my foolishness: I was standing around in full cotton clothes, drenched in cold rain and shivering, barely able to move achy legs.



Finally, the rain and nearby lightning stopped for at least 20 minutes, and the start was on for 8:30, after an hour delay. The day was still somewhat dreary, but the water (I was told) was pleasantly warm. The race had swim pace groups from 6-20 minutes, and the girls lined up at 15, despite my call of sandbagging on their part. The system worked nicely for spreading the swimmers out, but the girls finally got into the lake at 9am.

I missed JSko coming out of the water, who is generally a faster swimmer, but saw J come out running somewhere in the 13's. As I suspected, they were faster than what they gave themselves credit for. I hobbled over to the transition zone as quickly as I could and saw J come out on her bike. With a small rise to start, I saw her get off the saddle and start passing immediately -- awesome! Within a couple minutes, I saw JSko come out, too, smiling on her bike. They both survived the dreaded swim!

Now I had time to get in position to watch the bikes come back in. The fear of course is a flat tire or mechanical issue, but now also some sort of problem with the wet roads. But, the sun was out now, and it was as nice of a day as they expected. I had time to watch the women come in, a mixture of road and mt. bikes, generally smiling and enjoying the race. I did some math and hoped for J in the 15mph-17mph range, and was happy to see her come in right on schedule, looking strong. I just barely saw her get out of the transition and start running, so I knew she was still feeling good, and I'd have time to watch for JSko.

JSko was on a mt. bike with slicks. I remember when she bought that bike, back in San Diego where we all lived and met probably 7 years ago or so. Among a few casual rides in San Diego, we also had a road trip where we all rode near Sedona and Flagstaff, AZ. We had also done a few runs together, most memorably Coronado Island, another 4-mile partly trail run in Del Mar, and a road-trip run to Monterey for the Big Sur Half. I would say that their enthusiasm for doing different runs really helped get me into it.
Anyway, JSko was most anxious about the bike portion, and unbeknownst to me at the time, she had slipped and endo'd due to slick conditions when she started, but had hopped right back on the bike! Soon enough, I saw her riding in strong and smiling. I caught her coming out of the transition, running! She didn't know how much she'd be able to run and didn't want to be at the end of the pack but was looking great and still ahead of plenty of others.

Now the day was getting hotter, and I hoped J was able to keep running, and sure enough she was right at a solid running pace and finished up strong.



JSko's husband and kids made it up to the finish line just in time to see their Mom finish as well, still running!

What started as a horrible day still ended up being the event the girls were hoping for, and I think they did as well or better than they possibly expected. The event and organization are fantastic, they are very much encouraging of women to incorporate sports into their life. Women like JSko, a full-time working mom of 2 young boys that still fits training and sports into her schedule, are the exact sort of people that events like this can bring together. In the swim line, and in many pictures afterwards, I saw lots of little tykes being handed over to mom's for pictures. Physical activity is important for everyone, but I can't help think about how powerful a message it sends for kids to see Mom, who is more often the maker of lunches and influential in lifestyle messages on a day-to-day basis, out there working hard yet having fun in a race. And maybe, along with her, you recognize and cheer on your Aunt, your teacher, your babysitter, your Doctor. I don't pretend that running 100 miles or whatever is the most for everyone, but I certainly enjoy the more realistic inspiration that comes just from watching one of these events.



I'm proud of the girls for how they did in the triathlon, and I'd encourage anyone to look for a local race -- they're everywhere! -- that's a few months in the future, and then make a focused goal to finish it. Everyone can do it, and ends up a happier and healthier person for doing so!