Adventures in Endurance

A Christmas Card from Primus

2011-12-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

My Early Days

My name is Primus and I’m a dog. I had a rough start in life but thanks to some great soldiers and a bunch of people who love and care, I’m a very “lucky dog”. My life started in Afghanistan where some very mean people abused me, cut off my ears and tail then left me to die. I made my way to an Army outpost where Slovenian and American soldiers took me in and nursed me back to health. Most of the soldiers were very friendly and I made a living going through the trash and taking any handouts I could get.

Me & My Best Friend Jesse

As I grew, one American soldier named Jesse took special care of me and became my best friend. He decided I needed a home and a family and arranged for Nowzad, an incredible animal rescue in Afghanistan to take care of me while he raised money to send me to his parents in Colorado, USA. After almost two months in Nowzad a bunch of extremely nice people donated all the money needed to fly me to Colorado.

Waiting for an unknown future at Nowzad

In August, upon my arrival in Colorado I was scared, confused and quite a mess. Strange people, new sights, smells and everything was so different. I met my new family, Larry & Roswitha, but in my fear and confusion I started a fight with their dog Max and terrorized their three cats, Mickey, Murphy, and Emma. My new family was very patient and loving. They took me on walks with Max and introduced me to many of the neighborhood dogs. At first, in my insecurity I wanted to fight every one of them. Slowly Max and I got to know each other and now we are best friends. We play and wrestle throughout the day and Max has been really good at teaching me the ropes. (Every now and then he teaches me some things I shouldn’t do too… :-) I’ve also got to know the neighborhood dogs and found they are all friendly and just want to be my friends. I haven’t quite figured out the coyotes yet though. To top it off, I’ve even learned to get along with Mickey, Murphy, and Emma, although Emma doesn’t seem to care for me much.

My First Day at Home

Through the end of the Summer and into Fall Larry woke me up in the mornings and he, Max and I went for early runs. I had problems with these at first, not really able to run more than a mile or two, but now I’m up to 5 miles! Max and Larry sometimes continued after dropping me off for breakfast. And I love breakfast! Max tells me about some amazing adventure runs he and Larry do with a group called CRUD. I’m aspiring to one day run with CRUD. During the day Roswitha took me on hikes in wonderful places like Garden of the Gods and Ute Park. On weekends, Larry, Roswitha, Max, and I went on long hikes in the mountains. The sights, sounds, and smells were incredible and I just had to explore everything!

Max trying to get me in the Water

Ready to go Hiking with my Bud - Max

This is so Cool!

I Just can't get enough of the Views!

I'm too Sexy for my Shirt - too Sexy for my Shirt

Finally in November Jesse came home. I think that was the happiest day of my life. My stub wagged so hard it shook my entire butt. Jesse and I do everything together. We go on long hikes in the mountains, he takes me on rides in his truck and we’re the best of friends again.

Me and Jesse Back Together!

With Jesse, Max, Larry, Roswitha, and even the cats, I’ve got it made. I’m not quite a year old yet but so far life has been a doosy. I just want to say Merry Christmas and thank-you to all the dogs and great folks at Nowzad, all the soldiers who were so nice to me, the generous people who contributed to get me to Colorado, and my family who loves me so much. Whoever coined the term “lucky dog” certainly had me in mind.

Merry Christmas

Primus

Operation Primus!

2011-07-12T18:02:00.001-06:00

Leadville Weekend

2011-06-26T20:36:00.002-06:00

View from Camp at Winfield

This weekend Rebekka Hannula, Steve Bremner, and I headed to the Leadville area to do a little Leadville Trail 100 running and scouting. Rebekka is going to run the Leadville Trail 100 this year. Steve is going to be the crew chief, and I will help with crewing as well as pace/mule for her 25 or so of the last 50 miles.

Our original plan was to do a double crossing of Hope Pass; Twin Lakes – Winfield – Twin Lakes, about 20 miles, then a night run on the Colorado Trail. However, the north side of Hope Pass is still snowed in and not passable, at least not in running shoes. So we had to change our plans slightly.

We camped Friday night near the ghost town of Winfield, which is at the 50 mile turnaround point in the LT 100. At 6 AM we left camp and ran to the top of Hope pass and back for total 10 miles. Absolutely stunning scenery and stunning weather. The run went really well, we all felt good and got to the top relatively quickly, even though we had some icy snow fields to deal with.

Top of Hope Pass

Once finished we packed up camp headed to Leadville for some food and relaxation, then set up camp near the pipeline. At about 7:30 PM we left Twin Lakes for the 11+ mile run to our camp at pipeline. The course has changed somewhat over the last couple years and is a little bit more complicated to navigate, especially at night. Luckily, the LT100 organization was conducting an LT100 training camp this weekend and had put course markers up. We never made a single wrong turn! We arrived at camp feeling great and Rebekka has a little better idea what she is getting in to. Great day!

Steve and Rebekka end of Night Run
Sunday we said our goodbyes as Steve and Rebekka headed back to Colorado Springs. I decided to stay and ride my road bike to the top of Independence Pass and back; a 40 mile round trip from Twin Lakes. 20 miles up and 20 miles down! When I arrived at the top, there was a group of Vietnam Veteran Bikers. They were impressed that I could ride a bicycle up there. I was impressed with them for being who they are. All in all a great weekend!

Two Veterans, Two Bikers

Link to Leadville Weekend Slideshow Run

Link to Independence Pass Ride

Ring the Peak & Sailin Shoes

2011-06-18T19:01:00.000-06:00

4 AM - 9 of the 11 Starters (2 were stopped by the Manitou Police) Photo Steve Bremner

Last Saturday, a group of CRUDers embarked on the “2nd Annual CRUD Ring the Peak Fun Run”. This is an informal approximately 65 mile run around Pikes Peak with over 14,000 feet of climbing. The 1st annual CRUD Ring the Peak Run last year, as far as I know, was the first time anyone ran around Pikes Peak in one day. This year 11 CRUDers embarked on the journey leaving Manitou Springs at 4:00 am for a 14 plus hour adventure. Manitou Springs, at just under 7,000 ft, is probably the lowest point on the entire route, so the run starts right off with a climb. Most of the run is between 9,000 & 11,000 feet. Of the 11 starters, 3 actually ran the entire loop; Nick Starkey, Rick Hessek, and Steve Bremner!

The 3 Ringateers at ~ 55 miles

Some had planned to only run a portion of the course. We had two informal aid stations set up in remote areas along the route so anyone not wanting to do the whole run caught a ride back to Manitou Springs. I had the joy and honor, along with Rebekka Hannula to join the “Three Ringateers” for the last 20 miles – Crags Campground to Manitou Springs. I figured they would arrive at the Crags with 45 miles & 12 hours in their legs, so I would be able to keep up. It was incredibly fun. Rebecca pushed the pace, I was able to keep up, and the “Ringateers” were strong to the finish. The "2nd Annual CRUD Ring the Peak Fun Run" (that’s a mouth full!) is in the books.

Nick, Rick & Steve - The Last "Ring the Peak" Trail Marker

65 Miles, 14,000 ft vertical, 16 hrs 48 minutes

Slide shows of the Ring the Peak Run: Steve's Start to Finish & Larry's Last 20 Miles

Today I ran the Colorado Springs Sailin Shoes 10k race with Roswitha and surprised myself by being much faster than expected: 43 + minutes, avg 7 min a mile. I was very surprised considering this is only the third weekend after completing treatment. A 20 mile run last week, and a faster than expected 10k this week. I'm back and getting stronger every day!

Have a great week!

Back in the Saddle Again

2011-06-04T19:53:00.001-06:00

Memorial Day Weekend; Back on the trails, back in my beloved mountains. My first weekend back, ran with CRUD knowing it was going to be painful - and it was. Started out with the group and as soon as we turned up Buckhorn I was off the back, walking more than running. Steve hung back until we got to Bear Creek then I headed down alone (Trail 666 of all trails) to High Drive, then walked and jogged up high drive to Helen Hunt Falls. Ten miles, lots of climbing and back in the mountains!

Ute Park

Sunday, first Mountain Bike ride since early December. Ute Park with Kevin. I was a little apprehensive about the technical aspect after being off the bike for so long. While walking with Max over the last six months, I wondered how we ever rode this stuff before, and if I would ever be able to ride these trails again. Well as Kevin said “it’s just like riding a bike”. No problems, seems like (technically) I picked up right where I left off. Definitely got to work on fitness though.

John, Wes, Steve, Max, & Chewey at Lake Morain

Ran & rode all week. Back to getting up early, getting a run or ride in before work and getting stronger every day. Did hill workouts both running and biking during the week. There is only one way to get good at climbing – and that is to climb, climb, and then climb some more. Today (Saturday, June 04) was a huge test. Up Barr Trail and over to Lake Morain (About 10, 300 ft) and back, just a little over 17 miles with 4 – 5,000 feet of climbing. It went better than I could possibly hope. I didn’t get totally dropped, felt good the whole way, and was able to breathe while going uphill… and the scenery was spectacular.

Max is glad to be back too!

I’m feeling pretty sore after such an incredible week. And it feels great!

And here is a little "Back in the Saddle Again" for your intertainment, courtesy of Aerosmith!

The Finish Line

2011-05-21T21:12:00.001-06:00

Just as the last 6 miles of a marathon or the last 20 miles of a 100 mile run can get very tough psychologically, the final weeks of this adventure tested me to the limit. If it wasn’t for incredible friends like Steve Bremner and Kevin Cahn, my amazing doctor; Dr. Pinto, my boss, and of course the angel of my life, Roswitha, I may not have made it. I definitely entered the gates of Hell, and they came and rescued me.

A few minutes ago, I gave myself the 24th and last interferon injection. I’ve crossed the finish line. Of course I’ll be sicker than a dog over the next couple days, but the last injection has been administered. I’ve made it, or I should say we’ve made it, as this was a long hard journey for Roswitha too. I can’t begin to thank everyone enough who helped get us through this and/or offered words of support. Roswitha is an absolute unbelievable angel. She was steady as a rock and somehow never faltered. She was and is my rock. I love her so much.

My Angel

It’s been a tough but educational 6 months. This blog was origianlly intended to explore and share what it is like to participate in and accomplish ultra endurance events, to demonstrate how we can go beyond our perceived limits and have fun doing it! Although this was not what I had in mind when documenting these adventures, it was certainly an ultra endurance event! I can only hope that this blog will somehow help or inspire others going through similar situations. I do need to warn anyone on serious drug treatment though that the perceived limitations, both mentally and physically, are real in most cases. I pushed the limits a couple times and paid a price. Luckily nothing permanent. My advice is to just focus on getting better. Don't worry about anything else. Just get better.

Looking forward to hooking up with CRUD next weekend as well doing my first mountain bike ride since December!

The Rules of Endurance

2011-04-24T17:58:00.005-06:00

When I start an ultra event be it running or biking, I imprint three rules into my brain:

1) Stay positive
2) Be nice to my crew
3) Quitting is not an option

In this “special” ultra in which I’m currently participating, I stamped these rules into my brain right from the start. It has been tough, but all ultras have their ups and downs and I expected that. I have stuck to my rules (not exactly 100% on the first two though) and will continue to stick to them through the finish.

With five months down and one to go, I started thinking about life after treatment. With my current energy level and lack of red blood cells it’s hard to imagine running or riding in the mountains again. So I asked a doctor friend of mine what kind of recovery time I can expect. He sent me a study that wasn't very encouraging, but that study turned out to be special cases. He conferred with two specialist who both agreed it varies, but normally 2 - 4 weeks. My doctor confirmed that prognoses also.

The good news is that I’ve been pretty atypical throughout this entire adventure, so I’ll keep pushing the envelope as much as I can. It looks like I won’t be racing this summer, but I’ll play it by ear. I have my eye on the American Discovery Trail Marathon on Sept 5 (my birthday) and if I can get some decent training in and feel like I can push it, I’ll go for it. In the mean time I am committed (and signed up) to run with “Team Colorado” in a 6 day ultra marathon run called The Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica starting on January 21, 2012.

During this down time, I’ve had the opportunity to read a lot of books. I just finished “Running on Empty” by Marshall Ulrich. Marshall is one of the most accomplished ultra-endurance and adventurers of all time. This book is about how at 57 years old he ran from San Francisco to New York City in 52 days. That’s an average of over 60 miles a day for 52 straight days! Marshall, over time has put together the “Ten Commandments of Endurance” or “Marshall Law” as some call them, based on his experience and incredible accomplishments. They are:

1) Expect a journey and a battle
2) Focus on the present and set intermediate goals
3) Don’t dwell on the negative
4) Transcend the physical
5) Accept your fate
6) Have confidence that you will succeed
7) Know that there will be an end
8) Suffering is okay
9) Be kind to yourself
10) Quitting is not an option

Great advice for any endeavor. Perfect for this one.

Here is a video clip of Marshall’s incredible run across the USA. Enjoy!

A Week of Firsts

2011-04-03T18:01:00.001-06:00

Dogs are the best. Yesterday, (Saturday April 2) I was having a typical Saturday since I started treatment in that it was almost noon and I was still in bed. Roswitha and Max had just returned from their run and Max blasted up the stairs, tore open the curtains to let a beautiful day shine in on me, jumped up on the bed and started giving me puppy kisses. I think he said something like “It’s a glorious day outside; I think it would do you a lot of good if you take me for a walk.” OK I have to admit I might have exaggerated on the curtains, Roswitha probably opened them. There’s also a good possibility that it was her that mentioned taking Max for a walk. But he DID give me puppy kisses. Dogs are the best!

This week was a week of firsts and has been very encouraging. Before I started treatment there were few things that gave me the absolute joy that running and cycling did. When I was out running or riding my bike, I felt like a little kid out exploring the world, or a dog let loose to run his heart out in a field of rabbits; pure bliss. I haven’t had that feeling in months. Practically every run, every ride has been a real test of my will. I don’t enjoy them and I can feel wiped out for days if I push too hard. But, I continue to get out there and keep the faith, that when this is over I’ll love running & riding again.

One of the firsts this week was (after Max’s puppy kisses) we went out on a 2+ hour hike in Ute Park. Contrast that to last Saturday and many Saturday’s before that, where it takes all of my will power to drag myself out of bed at 2:30 – 3:00 PM, force myself to do what I call “my 90 year old man shuffle” around the neighborhood, then spend the rest of the day sitting in the kitchen, with my head buried in my hands, or laying on the couch, or going back to bed until about noon Sunday. It is during these “old man shuffles” that sometimes I think about those incredibly epic runs with CRUD and those great mountain bike adventures with Sharon, Dan, Kara, Nick, James, Ralph & others in the past. It sometimes seems like that was a different life, and I was a different person. It’s during these times that my morale can get low and I wonder if I’ll ever be able (or even want) to do that stuff again.

Another 1st Shorts & T-shirt Weather!

This week, again another first, I was feeling unusually good by Wednesday. Now I always feel somewhat better by Wednesday but never GOOD. Thursday, I rode my bike to work and felt traces of my old self again. I actually enjoyed the ride, felt a hint of strength on the small climbs, and even sprinted through a traffic light. (It was green). I didn’t feel wiped out until later that evening, and Friday morning I had an enjoyable “run” in Ute Park. I even “ran” (probably a better description would be “didn’t walk”) the hills, and again, felt traces of my old self and my past love and joy for running! And I felt GOOD at work!

Now this is all very encouraging and inspirational for me. So much so, I started making a list of races for my come back. I know I probably won’t be competitive this summer but my goal is to do some epic races, enjoy them, and finish. It’s been a bit of journey and it ain’t over yet . 17 weeks down, 7 to go. I don’t know what the next 7 weeks will bring but if I have a couple more like this, I’ll gladly take em. Oh and by the way… dogs are the best!

And here is a heartwarming dog story

Family dog kept watch over missing 2-year-old overnight

A Little of Somthing is Better than a Lot of Nothing

2011-03-20T15:02:00.000-06:00

So this week I continued with “maintenance”, running and riding when I can. I know that right now I am very limited as to what I can do, but as long as I can do something I will. I look at this as preservation of muscle memory, making sure that the body doesn’t forget. Eventually, I will get through the treatment and slowly get stronger and stronger. As long as I can keep doing even a little bit, my return will be easier.

A very good friend of mine, Steve Bremner, who is two years my elder, made an attempt Saturday to break his own winter ascent record of Pikes Peak. Steve is a mountain man’s mountain man. He currently has the record for climbing the most 14,000 foot mountains in a 24 hour period. He’s climbed pretty much every 14er in Colorado, has ran a marathon in every state and dozens of countries. Two years ago he ran every marathon in Colorado, which required running back to back marathons on some weekends. He just came back from a week long ultra marathon race in Costa Rica, then did a marathon last weekend. Last year he set the winter ascent record for Pikes Peak in 3 hrs 21 min. Think about that. That’s 13 miles straight up a mountain of 14,000 feet, in snow, ice, wind, and altitude, at 55 years old! So Saturday, one week after running a marathon, he attempted to break his Pikes Peak record. He came up short by 32 minutes but gave it a heck of a try. He sent out a great trip report that (without asking) I’ve appended to this week’s blog entry. There’s a bench in Ute Park from which one can sit and take in the beauty of Pikes Peak. I sat there Saturday morning taking in the sights and sounds of being in nature, and cheered Steve on as he ran up the mountain.

My Stadium Seat of Steve's Ascent

Last Day of Winter, March 19th, 2011 (Steve Bremner)

Snow plumes were swirling off the summit when I first got a glimpse of Pikes Peak about two miles up the Barr Trail. The forecast was for winds of 45-50 MPH and temperatures of 25 degrees by 1100 AM when I expected to be up there. I started my journey at 7:40 A.M. at the trailhead proper. My intent was to make a go at breaking the winter speed climbing record of 3 hours 21 minutes that I had set in January of last year, however when I reached the top of the W’s in 27 minutes I knew it was not going to happen. I wasn’t moving fast enough for any number of reasons: carrying too much stuff, ran a trail marathon a week before, getting older….pick your excuse, any excuse will do. Other time hacks at the 7.8 mile-to-go sign (1:10), Barr Camp (1:36) continued to reinforce the realization that it was not going to be a record setting day.

The trail up to Barr Camp was melting out well. Indeed the trail to Noname Creek was dry and from there to Barr Camp no spikes were necessary. I finally put on spikes just above Barr Camp. I followed one set of fresh footprints in the snow, but caught him just before the end of the long switchback before A-Frame. This was also where the trail became mostly un-runable. I cut straight over to A-Frame from the “willows switchback,” reaching A-Frame in 2:34. The creek by the A-Frame was completely frozen over. From here I climbed straight up the slopes, post-holing up to my knees on the soft snow, seeking firm ground on heather slopes as much as I could. Though it was a direct ascent the going was slow. I crossed the trail at the long traverse to the 1-mile-to-go sign about three hours into it. It would take another 53 minutes to reach the summit. As I approached the summit at first I thought the train was up there, then I realized it was the wind. Wow. The wind was screaming like a freight train. After the 16 Golden Stairs sign I angled left and gained the south ridge, popping out on the tracks. I walked the tracks towards the summit house in the face of bitter wind. Finding some shelter out of the wind I put on all my clothes: coat, an extra set of gloves and wool cap.

My next goal was to get off the mountain as fast as I could. I really didn’t want to go back down the rock pile, so I set off jogging down the tracks. Problem was, this was directly into the face of the biting wind. My fingers were going numb despite two sets of gloves and to keep my nose from getting frostbit I had to hold a hand over it. Finally, I rounded the first turn where the wind was mostly at my back. From the summit it is about two miles down the tracks to Windy Point, which is still above tree-line. What did I find there? Three trains, and one of them was coming up the tracks towards me. I called Chewy and we climbed up into the rocks while the maintenance train drove past. I’m sure they must have seen me but they pretended not to. It didn’t take very long before they gave three toots and turned back. Windy Point was the highest point the passenger trains would go that day. I waited until they all had started back down the mountain before I resumed my run down the tracks. Just below treeline the maintenance train had parked and workers were working on the tracks. Chewy and I diverted into the woods until we had passed safely beyond the train, then resumed our run down to the Mountain View station at 10,000’ elevation. At Mountain View it was so hot that I stripped down to short-sleeve shirt before running the connector trail back over to the Barr Trail near the half-mile-to-go sign to Barr Camp. I was running on “six hour legs” by this time and that is not too fast. Even at that pace Chewy was lagging. I realized he was not behind me when I reached Noname Creek. Backtracking I had to go all the way back to above “Town Overlook” before I found him. It was a long day on the mountain by the time I finally got home.

A Different Kind of Ultra

2011-03-13T17:29:00.003-06:00

Pikes Peak from Ute Park 3/13/11

The last update to my blog was way back in November. I mentioned that I had some type of a virus and would be taking a break for a while. Well the last 4 months have been anything but a break. The virus I contracted is Hepatitis C. This was a huge shock, and at first I was in denial. I got tested three times before I accepted the truth. The first few weeks after the diagnosis were feelings of shame and trying to figure out how I got it in the first place. I kind of went into seclusion and didn’t want anyone to know. In December I started a 6 month treatment that is anything but easy. It consists of one injection of interferon per week and 2 doses of Ribaviron per day. I have hit a major milestone in that after 12 weeks of treatment I tested negative. I still need to go through another 3 months of treatment to ensure there is no relapse.

My first order of business was to find out how I got it. Hepatitis C is a blood born virus that can only be contracted through mixing blood with infected blood. Hypodermic needles and needles used for tattoos and are a good source since the virus can stay alive outside the host for up to 4 days. Another fact about this virus is you can have it for 20 – 30 years and never know it. There are no symptoms until the damage is done (to the liver) then things get real complicated. With that knowledge, almost all evidence pointed to my teenage years. I lived a very high risk life back in those days including drugs, fighting, reform schools, incarceration, and homelessness (It was called runaway back then). However I donated blood on several occasions after 1992 which would have been screened. So after more research the evidence points to an incident about 6 years ago. I was riding home from a mountain bike ride in Cheyenne Canyon and came upon a man beating up a woman. I tackled the man and held him down until bystanders were able to pull her to safety. I had open road rash, he was covered with her blood, and I believe that our blood mixed and I contracted HepC. They were both homeless, a very high risk group.

A liver biopsy shows no damage to my liver which supports the evidence that I contracted it 6 years ago vs. 40. With that news, I could have decided not to get treated and just monitor the progress with liver biopsies every five years. I decided that I don’t want to be a risk to anyone and I just want to get this behind me, so I started treatment in December.

What’s the treatment like? It’s nasty! The interferon injections have fairly immediate effects with the worst of it being the first 2 – 3 days. The Ribaviron effects are more accumulative and build over time. I give myself the injections on Friday so I can experience the worst over the weekend and be able to work on Monday. The first few weeks were incredible. I spent the weekend with every joint and muscle aching, chills that were out of control, jaws aching, my eyes felt like they were bulging out of my head and my brain was in a total fog. So completely wiped out, I had to crawl up the stairs. I couldn’t help but laugh when I realized this treatment lasts 6 months. By Monday I am somewhat recovered and am able to go to work, although it is rough as I’m definitely not firing on all cylinders. Each day through the week gets a little better although the brain seems to be foggy off and on. (Not that my brain was all that clear before the treatment). I force myself to do some running and bicycle commuting to work 2 – 3 days a week, but it’s a chore. On Friday I give myself an injection and start the cycle all over again. With time, the weekends aren’t so severe, as I think my body has adjusted somewhat. Some weekends are better than others. Friday was my 14th injection. Although I spent most of Saturday in the fetal position with chills, I still got out and walked (very slowly) in Ute Park with Max for an hour. Today I hiked with Max for over two hours. I’ve found that no matter how bad I feel, if I can just go outside and walk, it helps tremendously.

Max doesn't mind that I've "slowed down" a bit

One of the accumulative effects of all this magic is anemia. As I mentioned above, during the week I still try to run and bike commute. It feels like I’m doing everything at 14,000 ft instead of 6,000. I now understand the term “feels like breathing through a straw”. Although I haven’t been consistent, my goal is to run 5 miles Tues AM, Ride my bike home (17 miles) Tues PM, Ride to work Wed, run 5 – 6 miles at lunch, Run 5 miles Thurs AM, Ride home Thurs PM, and ride to work Fri AM. I’ve had different variants such as one Friday I decided to try and run the 17 miles to work. I made it, but what an incredibly rough weekend resulted from that! I quickly came to the conclusion that that was not a good idea! With the anemia, I found that not only do I have to run much slower, I cannot run as far, and I don’t recover very well. Hills, even small ones completely take the wind out of my sails. Sometimes I have to push my bike up my driveway!

During this time, I’ve been overwhelmed by the support and encouragement of my friends and co-workers. My doctor and his staff are definitely among the best. They go beyond the job and provide support and encouragement beyond the call of duty. My wife, Roswitha has been an absolute angel. I think this whole adventure has been more stressful for her than me. She has been there every step of the way, and I think we’ve become closer due to this experience. I know this sounds absolutely ridiculous, but in some sick way, I’m actually glad this happened. I’ve learned so much on this journey. I’ve learned to appreciate Roswitha a lot more and I’ve learned what it is like to be sick. I’ve had employees and co-workers in the past with certain ailments such as cancer, among others. Although I did everything I could to support them, I never really knew what they were going through. Now I have a clue, and this will help me understand and associate with friends and co-workers who experience anything similar in the future. I’ve learned that suffering is a frame of mind and the whole experience can change with your thoughts. I kind of already learned this from ultra runs and rides, but now I’ve definitely been given the opportunity to put this theory to the test. If you focus on the suffering things get worse and one runs the risk of depression. I’ve learned the easiest way to avoid depression (a side effect of the drugs) is don’t feel sorry for yourself. It’s that simple! When things are the worst, I just tell myself over and over again, “something good will come out of this”. I write that down every morning and I believe it makes a huge difference. I encourage others who are suffering from some sort of sickness or treatment to not focus on the suffering, don’t feel sorry for yourself, and focus on what you can learn from the experience. It does make a difference. Some of our best lessons are the hardest. Yesterday while I was in the fetal position most of the day, I visualized running in the mountains, effortlessly enjoying nature, and the feeling I could run forever. I suddenly realized I was grinning from ear to ear! It will come again.

Time for Rest

2010-12-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

Roswitha took Max to the doggy doctor early this week and he was diagnosed with tendonitis. This is a result of running sidewalks and asphalt. It looks like the concrete jungle is just as bad for animals as humans when it comes to running. I also came down with some kind of virus that knocked me out a good part of the week. This is only the 2nd or 3rd time I’ve been sick in 17 years. It’s probably the result of running myself into the ground with the 4:30 am runs combined with working all day packed like sardines in a room with no windows. Max has been moping around the whole week looking totally depressed as we are following the doctor’s orders and not letting him run. Just short walks on the leash. By the end of the week he quit limping and the swelling in his leg has gone down. I think we both need a rest for a while. I’m forcing myself to take it easy but I would so much love to go on a nice long run or ride today.

Pikes Peak Peeking through the Clouds

Week's Log

Monday Nov29
AM: Recovery Run, Delominco/Rockrimmon Loop, 0.7 hrs, 4.4 miles, Strength Training
Easy recovery run in new fallen snow. First snow of the season. Nice to be the first foot prints. Standard Rockrimmon/Delmonico Loop. Saw a coyote on the Rockrimmon Trail.

Tuesday Nov30
AM: Trainer Ride, 0.5 hrs, 8 miles
Alarm didn’t go off this morning so I threw my bike on the trainer to get a short workout. I figure “a little of something is better than a lot of nothing”. Did about ½ hour easy spin on trainer with 5 * 30 second 1-leg pedalling at 90+ RPMs.
PM: Middle Distance Run, 1.8 hrs, 12.4 miles
Ran after work on Peterson. Very boring and got pretty cold once the sun went down. Not too many places to run so just ran a sidewalk by the east gate back and forth then over to the track for a mile or so.

Wednesday Dec01
AM: Track Workout, Eagle View Middle School, 1.5 hrs, 10 miles
Easy run to Eagleview track then 4 * 100 meter strideouts running the straights, jogging the turns. Then 4 * 400 with 200 recovery at 1:38, 1:40, 1:35, 140, then 2 * 1 mile with 400 recovery in 6:42, 6:42, then 4 * 400 with 200 recovery in 1:40, 1:44, 1:37, 1:34. Easy run home.
PM: Attempt to ride home from work
Started to ride home from work, but head was throbbing, had a sore throat and zero energy.

Thursday Dec02
Sick – did not run or ride

Friday Dec03
Still not feeling up to par. Took an additional day off

Saturday Dec04
AM: CRUD Run, Ponderous Posterior Preview Run, 2.5 hrs, 12 miles
Lots of steep rocky hard to run trails today. Very social run. Which was good, cause I'm still not feeling up to par. Was wiped out when I came home. I found this run amazing because we ran Lots of new trails (for me)that are practically in my back yard. I’ve been here 17 years and still finding incredible trails near home. Garden of the Gods, Queens Canyon, a trail off Rampart that that took us to the turnoff at Williams Canyon. Down Williams Canyon then up to the Southern Ridge to Cave of the Winds then back down into Williams Canyon to Manitou. Over 4,000 ft of climbing.

Sunday Dec05
I was totally wiped out after yesterday’s run. Went to bed at 8 last night and slept until 10 this morning. Still feeling weak. Just went out on a short walk with Max to get some fresh air. I sure would like to go out and do a nice long run or ride though.

Week Summary: Run 6.5 hrs, 36.8 miles. Bike 0.5 hrs 8 miles

Thanksgiving Week

2010-11-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving! On Thanksgiving morning I went out for a medium distance run of about 13 miles and for almost the entire run I thought about what I have to be thankful for. It’s a lot. I think if we spent more time listing all the things we have to be thankful for instead of thinking about all the things we don’t have, we’d all be a lot better off. One of the things I am especially thankful for this Thanksgiving is my son was able to come home for the weekend in a break from training as he’s prepares for deployment. Another observation: When I was unemployed in October, I had the privilege of sitting in some classes at a middle school that comprised a poorer area of Colorado Springs. I’ve always had respect for teachers, but that respect jumped 10 levels after spending a day in school. Any time I hear someone bad mouth teachers I will tell them to spend a day at school and see the real story. My hat is off to teachers. I am truly thankful for what you do from the bottom of my heart.

My intention was to start bike commuting to & from work this week, but complications at work made the logistics difficult so I’ll have to work it out, hopefully this week. I missed a day or two of running also, mainly because I got to bed late and didn’t think it would be beneficial to get up at 4 am to get a run in before work. Plus a couple mornings were single digit temperatures. I pulled a Max and stayed in bed hugging my pillow. Speaking of Max, he still has some sort of foot injury. It's heartbreaking to tell him each morning he can't go with me then see him sulk and look at me with those big sad eyes. It doesn’t seem to be getting better so he going to the doggy doctor Monday.

CRUD Run Photos

Starting off with the Sunrise

Photo by Harsha Nagaraj

Runner's Bliss

Photo Harsha Nagaraj

17 Miles and all Smiles

Photo Harsha Nagaraj

Monday Nov22
AM: Recovery Run, Delominco/Rockrimmon Loop, 0.7 hrs, 4.4 miles, Strength Training
Beautiful clear starry skies with a bright full moon. Priceless

Tuesday Nov23
AM: Middle Distance Run, Rolling Hills, 1.9 hrs, 12.9 miles
Rolling hills, felt good. Single digit temperatures with starry skies and bright moon. Absolutely stunning.

Wednesday Nov24
Slept in. Felt really tired, so took day off to recharge.

Thursday Nov 25 (Thanksgiving)
AM: Middle Distance Run with Speed, rolling hills & track, 2.2 hrs 13.6 miles
Felt excellent today. Slept in and got to run in the daylight. Beautiful day. Ran a loop around Ute Park then went to the track and did 10 * 100 Meter stride outs, running the straights and jogging the curves. After the track did another loop around Ute Park.

Friday Nov26
AM: MTB Cheyenne Mtn. State Park, 2.2 hrs, 22 miles
Finally rode my bike this week. Kind of a leisurely trail ride on rolling hills with Dan, Kara, and Bruce. Very enjoyable social able ride. Just 4 friends sharing our passion for being outdoors and riding!

Saturday Nov27
AM: CRUD Run, Air Force Academy Falcon Trail, 3 hrs, 17.4 miles
Another great run with CRUD. This was like yesterday’s run. Nice leisurely and fun. Again just enjoying the great outdoors of Colorado.

Sunday Nov28

AM: MTB Ride, Palmer/Ute Parks, 2.9 hrs, 28 miles
Very fast technical ride in Palmer Park with a big group. No one was waiting for anyone. Rode for about an hour with the group then started to head home. Met up with Gouge, Kervin, & Tom and rode with them a bit. Headed home and did a loop in Ute Park on the way back.
PM: Middle Distance Run, Santa Fe Trail, 1.5 hrs, 10.4 miles
Felt surprisingly good. Originally I was only going to run maybe 4 miles or so. But I felt really good so I kept extending the turnaround point. Ran from home then up through the AFA via Santa Fe Trail.

Week Summary: Run 9.3 hrs, 58.7 miles. Bike 5.4 hrs 50 miles

Still No Snow on the Peak

2010-11-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

Pikes Peak from Palmer Park

I don’t remember ever going this late in the year with no snow. This lack of snow makes for some great running and riding. The Saturday CRUD run went up a Longs Ranch which is a very steep dirt road that rises over 2,000 ft in just 2 ½ miles. Normally at this time of year we’d be post holing. There were traces of snow here and there and that’s about it. Even Barr Camp, at over 10,000 feet, there is no snow. We did get about 15 minutes of blizzard conditions and gale force winds on Tuesday evening. It was the exact time that I started my ride home from work. After just a couple of miles of fighting to stay on my bike and being blinded by almost white out conditions I decided this was too dangerous. I turned around went back to work, threw my bike in the truck, and started driving home. The wind & the snow subsided.

Monday Nov15
AM: Recovery Run, Delominco/Rockrimmon Loop, 0.7 hrs, 4.4 miles, Strength Training
Very easy pace, felt really fresh today. Good strength workout too!

Tuesday Nov16
AM: Middle distance run, Neighborhood, 2.9 hrs, 12 miles
Very early run on bike paths & sidewalks. Ran a little slower on the bike paths since it was hard to see. Also added a couple hills just for fun.
PM: Attempt at ride home, 0.3 hrs, 3 miles
Started to ride home from work. A blizzard started just as I got started and I could barely stay on the bike by the time I got to the top of Peterson Hill. The wind was incredible and the snow was white out. With all the traffic it was a very dangerous situation. Turned around and went back and got my truck. It seemed as I drove home the storm subsided.

Wednesday Nov17
AM: Track Workout, 1.4 hrs, 9.8 miles
Warmed up by running to Eagleview Middle School track then did 4 * 100 w/100 recover, 4 * 400 w/200 recover, 2 * 1 mile w/400 recover, and 4 * 400 w/200 recovery. Felt really good this morning despite yesterday’s run. The wind was pretty brutal on the West straight but I had a strong tail wind going east. Times were kind of slow, but then again I’m and old guy that hasn’t done track work in a while. 400s ranged from 1:33 to 1:40 with the last one being the fastest. The miles were 6:54 & 6:51. If I had more time I would have done some barefoot running, but work calls!

Thursday Nov18
AM: Middle distance run, Santa Fe Trail, 2.8 hrs, 12.1 miles
Still feeling good even after the last two days of pretty decent runs. Just ran a nice even pace and enjoyed the early morning stars and cool air. Was pretty stiff at work today though.

Friday Nov19
AM: Slept in, somehow I turned off my alarm clock.

Woke up this morning too late to run. I think I needed a rest, because I didn’t feel like running at lunch or in the evening.

Saturday Nov20
AM: Long Trail Run, Williams Canyon, Waldo Canyon, Longs Ranch, Barr Trail, 4.6 hrs, 22 miles, 8,188 ft climbing.

Creeks

Hills

Rocks

Trees

Views

Camaraderie

Equals: Another fantastic CRUD run! We had a few new people today, but they were not new to ultra running. Today I felt fantastic and even though most of my running has been flat, I felt good on the climbs. Maybe because I took yesterday off? Longs Ranch seemed less difficult then I can ever remember. At different points small groups would turn off and head back to town until only Paul & I were left to complete the climb up Barr Trail from Bob’s Trail. Paul & I continued to Barr Camp which sit at a little over 10,000 feet. Amazing, still no snow this late in the year. We ran a very relaxed, civilized pace back down Barr as neither of us are great downhill runners. The whole run was just fun, relaxing, and peaceful.

The Gang Rippin the Trails in Palmer Park

Sunday Nov21
AM: Mountain Bike, Palmer Park, 3.4 hrs, 31 miles, 4,164 ft climbing.
Rode over to Palmer Park to meet the gang and do some technical riding. There were a lot of very good technical riders there today, so I had my work cut out for me. The pace was hard and fast compared to last week. Although my legs were feeling yesterday’s run I was keeping up for the most part. We rode all the most technical trails in the park. I feel really good with the way I rode today. I was able to ride many sections I normally can’t and sections that seemed really hard in the past felt relatively easy and smooth. It seems my technical skills have really come up a couple notches since I started riding with Kevin. Great ride! Rode some of the trails behind UCCS on the way home.

Week Total: Run: 10.4 hrs, 60 miles. Bike: 3.7 hrs 34 miles.

Single Speeds and Early Morning Runs

2010-11-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Pikes Peak from Ute Park
This week took some adjusting. After a month of not working, I became real comfortable with sleeping in until 6 – 6:30 and hitting the trail at 7:00 or so. So it was rough going back to getting up at 4 every morning. I’m sure glad Veterans Day came around as it was a good place for a break. As much as I tried to keep the workouts consistent with pre-employment, I just didn’t get a lot of cycling in. At the new job, I’m still getting adjusted and figuring out the logistics for commuting. I finished building my single speed, mostly from spare parts, which will be my commuting bike. I tested it Thursday and found its geared way too big. I was barely turning the cranks on even the smallest climbs. I put a bigger cog in the rear, we’ll see how it goes when I start commuting next week. Have a great week!
Training Log
Monday Nov8
AM: Recovery run, Delmonico/Rockrimmon Loop, 0.7 hrs, 4.4 miles
Very easy pace, very early in the morning. Ran roads and sidewalks since it was dark. Felt pretty good once I got warmed up. Strength workout after run.

Tuesday Nov9
AM: Middle distance run, Santa Fe Trail/Delmonico Rockrimmon Loop, 2 hrs, 13 miles
On the road by 4:30 this morning. Stayed mostly on the roads, but ran the paved section of the Santa Fe Trail due to it being dark and the batteries in my headlamp were dead. Very quiet this time of morning, even in town.

Wednesday Nov10
AM: Tempo Run, Santa Fe Trail, 1.2 hrs, 8.7 miles, Strength workout
The trail was nice and bright this morning from the new snow that fell over night. I also had fresh re-charged batteries in my headlamp. Warmed up with a little over 2 miles then ran 4 miles at tempo (2 miles out and back) then home. My watch lap counter didn’t work right on the tempo run so I have no idea what my time was. The purpose of this run was to get a baseline. Guess I’ll have to wait until next week.

Thursday Nov11
AM: Medium distance, Santa Fe Trail, 1.5 hrs, run 10 miles
Happy Veterans Day! Got to sleep in this morning. I have to admit, these 4 AM mornings are starting to get to me. Pretty cold this morning and the legs felt pretty beat up and tired. Still had a good run, as I spent almost the entire run deep in thought, contemplating the new job, life and the future.
PM: Single Speed Ride, 2 hrs, 26 miles
Well I found out today that I have my single speed geared way to high; 44 on the front 17 on the back. I rode most of the way to work and back on my “newly built mostly out of spare parts single speed” to test it out. It rides fantastic but the gear is too hard. It goes great on the flats and down hills, but on some of the climbs, I could barely turn the pedals. Coming home was against a really strong wind, so I was having problems pushing that gear even on the flats. I think it will be too much with the load I carry back and forth to work (food, clothes, shower stuff). I need to either put a 42 on the front or a 19 on the back. So I guess I won’t be riding to work tomorrow.

Friday Nov12
AM: Recovery Run, Delmonico/Rockrimmon Loop, 0.7 hrs, 4.4 miles, Strength workout

Saturday Nov13
AM: Long Run, Ute Park/Air Force Academy, 2.8 hrs, 18.4 miles
Today was a “No dog day” on the CRUD run. The reason being is that the run was in an area known for bighorn sheep. The Forest Service would not appreciate (nor would the bighorns for that matter) dogs chasing them around. So I ran from home with Max in Ute Park. I dropped him off at home after 8 miles and headed to the Air Force Academy. Max was limping later in the day (my guess is from all the sidewalk running this week) so we iced his leg for a while. He's going to have to take a few days off and let his foot rest awhile.
PM: Easy Road Ride, Around Town, 1.3 hrs, 17.4 miles
Very easy ride around town just doing errands. Picked up a 19 tooth cog for the single speed. A 42 chain ring probably would have been the better way to go, cause I had to add a couple links to the chain to get the 19 cog to fit.

Sunday Nov14
AM: MTB Ride, Ute Park/Palmer Park, 4 hrs, 32 miles
Today was one of those days that everything just seemed to come together and flow. I rode with some great technical riders today; James, Lynn, Ian, Dana, Sharon, & Kevin. There must have been some osmosis because I was clearing stuff with seeming ease that I normally have problems with or can’t clear at all. Templeton Trail, which is always very challenging for me, seemed easy today. I also rode a section of trail I’ve never been able to ride before. The whole ride though technical, was smooth, relaxed and fun. Its days like this that all the hours of frustration and practice on technical stuff pay off. Great ride! Also, Max isn't limping any more, but I'm still gonna let him heal for a few days.

Back to Work

2010-11-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

This was my last week of being unemployed and the weather was great so I took full advantage of it. Without the time and stress of having to look for a job I was able to do some good riding, running, and household chores this week. Tomorrow (Monday) is back to work and I'm pretty excited about it. But this also means going back to getting up at 4:30 to workout, riding home in the dark and forgetting what day light looks like except on weekends. I was really getting used to getting a full nights sleep! It was amazing to sleep in till 6:30/7:00, run during sunrise, and witness the changing of colors throughout October. Although I haven't committed to doing the Leadman again, this week certainly looked like a Leadville training week. Especially the weekend; a superb long run in the mountains on Saturday followed by hard long mountain bike ride on Sunday.

Nov 1
AM: Recovery run, Hank’s Loop. 0.5 hrs, 3.2 miles, strength workout

The peak looked nice with fresh snow this morning.

Nov 2
AM: Middle Distance run, Santa Fe Trail, 1.7 hrs, 12.4 miles
Felt really good this morning. Temps a little brisk starting out. This was one of those runs that reminds me how much I love running. Everything flowed and just felt fluid. The weather was great too.
PM: Bike Ride, Santa Fe Trail, 2.3 hrs, 29 miles
Took a nice spin to the South part of town to visit an old working buddy at his new job at the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Very impressive place. Had a nice tail wind going down, tough head wind coming back.

6 Mile Turn-around Point

Headin Home Santa Fe Trail

Drink Break!

Nov3
AM: Aerobic run with Intervals 7 * 400, 5 * 100, Eagle View Track, 1.3 hrs, 8.7 miles, Strength Workout

My plan this morning was an easy run around the neighborhood, hit the Eagle View Middle School Track for 10 * 100 meter stride outs then run home. I was really feeling good and the hamstrings weren't anywhere near as sore as last week. After the 5th stride out Ingrid Hibbits a mother of two and competitive tri-athlete, asked if I would join her in 400 meter intervals. So we did 7 * 400 meters in about 1:40 – 1:43 each (about 6:40 mile pace) with 200 meter recovery. She kicked my butt, but it felt good! Ran home and added a nice intense strength workout.
PM: Road Ride, 2.5 hrs, 35 miles
Accepted an job off today, so I looked for a safe bike commuting route to my new place of employment. Took it pretty easy and I think I found a good route. Looks like about a 34 mile round trip. I think I’m gonna get my old Schwinn frame and build it into a single speed, which would make a good winter commuting bike.

Ingrid Cranking Out 400s

Nov4
AM: Middle Distance run, Santa Fe Trail, 1.4 hrs, 10.3 miles
Ouch! I definitely felt those 400s from yesterday. Was pretty tired and stiff right from the beginning. Kept it easy and focused on being smooth the whole run. After about 8 miles my left hamstring started getting pretty tight. Just focused on running relaxed, enjoying the great scenery of Colorado, and at one point I started imagining that I was an ancient Greek messenger running forever to deliver an important message. Weird I know, but it helps.
PM: Road Ride, 2 hrs, 31 miles
Nice cruise with Grant east side of town.

Nov5
AM: Recovery run, Rockrimmon/Delmonico Loop, 0.7 hrs, 4.4 miles, Strength Workout
Very easy pace. Got up early and ran in the dark, so stuck to the streets today. Finished just as the sun was rising. Gonna be another beautiful day in paradise! I got start getting used to getting up early again. I start my new job Monday!

Nov6
AM: CRUD run, Cheyenne Canyon <-> Cheyenne Mtn Lodge ruins, then 6 mile loop home <-> Santa Fe Trail, 3.3 hrs, 16 miles
A nice little adventure with CRUD up to the ruins of the Cheyenne Mtn Lodge. First time I was ever there, very cool! 5 miles straight up and 5 miles straight down. Trail was rough, going was slow (1.5 hours to do the first 5 miles) Great run/hike! Once finished, dropped Max off at home and went for another 6 miles. I posted a more detailed description of the run is on my previous post.

View of Mountain we ran Yesterday

Nov7

AM: MTB Ride Home, Ute Park, Stratton Open Space, Chutes, Columbine, Cap’n Jacks, Zipline, Redrocks, Garden of the Gods, Flying W, Home, 5.4 hrs, 44 miles, 4,780 ft climbing

Great ride today. Played around in Ute Park then headed for Cheyenne Canyon to meet up with Grant & Dave for about 2 ½ hours then headed home via Red Rocks & Garden of the Gods. Another beautiful day. Kind of felt like Leadman training with the long run and long ride back to back this weekend.

Dave climbing a switchback

Grant is all smiles

Week Summary: Bike: 12.2 hrs, 139 miles Run 8.9 hrs 55 miles

Cheyenne Mountain Honeymoon Lodge

2010-11-07T07:27:00.001-07:00

Today we embarked on a little adventure. In 1925/26, way up at the top of Cheyenne Mountain, Spencer Penrose built the luxurious “Cheyenne Mountain Honeymoon Lodge” complete with a million dollar winding road to get there. In the late 50’s early 60’s NORAD moved into Cheyenne Mountain and use of the mountain was restricted. The lodge fell into disrepair and the entire lodge was bulldozed in the early 70s. The road has since grown over and very few people know of the lodge’s existence or how to get there. Today’s CRUD run/hike was to find this fabled place. And we did.

Click here to see what it used to look like.

We started at the bottom of Cheyenne canyon and proceeded up various trails that had us climbing steep terrain for about 5 miles. About ½ way up we found the remains of the old lodge road and followed it to the remains of the Cheyenne Mountain Honeymoon Lodge. We also found on another peak and old cabin, still in good shape. I can’t imagine how anyone could build such a cabin in such a hard to get to place or as Steve put it “Why?”.

Click on Slide Show for Full Screen View

As with all CRUD runs, it was fun, adventurous, & challenging. We were young kids again exploring our backyard!

Leadman Again?

2010-10-31T18:15:00.001-06:00

I think the mileage caught up with me this week. Each week this month I’ve been increasing the running mileage, and I think I’m to a point where it needs to plateau for a few weeks. Most of the week, I was stiff and sore during the runs (felt pretty good on the bike though). The highlight of the week was running with CRUD again. However running with CRUD means running steep, rocky, mountain trails instead of bike paths. Even though the pace is slower, it really wiped me out. But it was great to be back running in the mountains again. I’m up to 50 miles a week and I’ll try and maintain this through November and then try bumping it up to 60 in December. My plan was to find a spring marathon and go for sub 3. However, today I ran into Dan Knight and Mark Gouge while riding in Red Rocks. They’ve got me pretty fired up about Leadman 2011. Roswitha wasn’t too thrilled about the idea…

Monday 10/25/10
AM Recovery Run .5 hrs, 3.2 miles, Strength Training
Tuesday 10/26/10
AM: Medium Distance Run, Santa Fe Trail 1.4 hrs 10.3 miles
PM: Mountain Bike Ride, Ute Park, 1.1hrs 9 miles
Wednesday 10/27/10
AM: Recovery Run w/Speed 0.9 hrs 6.2 miles, Strength Training
PM: Road Ride Garden of the Gods/Gold Camp 2 hrs 25 miles
Thursday 10/28/10
AM: Middle Distance Run, Santa Fe Trail 1.4 hrs 10.3 miles
Friday 10/29/10
AM: Easy recovery run, Rockrimmon/Delmonico Loop, 0.7 hrs 4.4 miles
Got up at 4:30 this morning, which is the normal time I run when I’m employed. Max got used to us getting up at 7 over the last month, so when the alarm went off he wouldn’t budge. So I ran alone while Max stayed home hugging his pillow.

Max Sound Asleep at 4:30

It's too early. I'm not going!

PM: Mountain Bike Ride, Palmer Park, 2.3 hrs, 23 miles

Saturday 10/30/10
AM: CRUD Run, Red Rocks/Section 16/Crystal Park/Intemann Trail, 2.8 hrs, 13.1 miles
Steve Bremner shot some nice pictures:
Sunday 10/31/10
AM: Easy Recovery Run, Hank’s Loop 0.5 hrs, 3.2 miles
MTB Ride, Ute Park, Garden of the Gods, Redrocks and back 3.2 hrs, 26 miles

Week Summary: Bike: 8.6 hrs, 82 miles. Run: 8.2 hrs, 50.8 miles

Dan & Mark Red Rocks

Jones Park & Week Summary

2010-10-24T20:48:00.001-06:00

The weather this fall is been extraordinary. Normally we’ve had a couple snowstorms by now, but it has been dry, in the 70s & even 80s throughout September and October. With winter bound to hit, we decided to get one last ride in the high country today. So Dan (the single speed stud of studs), Nick (Ultra rider extreme), Bruce (ProCycling owner), Kevin (up and coming ultra rider), and I rode one of my local favorites, Jones Park. It’s a 20+ mile single track descent from 10,000 feet elevation back into town. Getting there is a long gradual climb up Gold Camp Road, a dirt road closed to car & truck traffic. The climb is worth it though, cause the descent is epic. Today, I was running late so violated one of my principles and I DROVE to the trailhead. I’ve come up with a million excuses to justify it, like “I was running late” & “it’s off season”. But I still feel guilty, even after riding an extra hour or so with Kevin when everyone left. So today was another great epic ride, which capped off another great week.

Kevin

Nick

Dan the STUD

Nick Lettin it all hang out

Bruce Rippin it!

View from the Cockpit

Dan Nice and Smooth

Bruce Focused and Flying!

So this week as planned I stepped up the running a bit and did a bit less riding. The morning runs have been stunning and I’m actually starting to feel like a runner again. All my runs up until Saturday felt fairly smooth. Unlike the first few weeks, in which I felt like a lethargic plodder. Running is starting to feel good again, and my IT band problem seems to be history.

Week Summary

Mon: AM: Easy 30 min run (3.2 miles) followed by strength training
Tues: AM: 1.2 hr run (9 miles) with some tempo and 8 * 15 sec strideouts. PM: Technical MTB Ride 1.5 hours (11 miles)
Wed: AM: Easy 30 min run (3.2 miles)followed by strength training. PM: Hilly 2 hour road ride (31 miles)
Thurs: AM: 1.4 hr run (10.4 miles)
Fri: AM: Easy 0.8 hr run (5.2 miles) followed by strength training
Sat: AM: Hilly 2.3 hr run (15 miles)
Sun: AM: Jones Park MTB ride (4.4 hrs, 4500 ft climbing, 31 miles)
Week Total: Run 6.7 hrs(46 miles) Bike 7.9 hrs (73 miles)

Trying to capture the Change of Seasons

2010-10-23T21:59:00.003-06:00

One of the most wonderful things about running, riding, or just being outdoors is experiencing the sights and smells of the changing seasons. Just makes you glad to be alive. Throughout the week, on my morning runs, I’ve been amazed at the fall colors. All week I forgot to bring my camera to capture these amazing sights. This morning I made a point to bring it but unfortunately Mother Nature didn’t cooperate. It was overcast off and on with a little rain for the first time in like two months. So I kind of wimped out and instead of running trails in the mountains stayed close to the neighborhood. It still turned out to be a great run and the pictures weren't bad either.

These guys were in the front yard just as we started our run

Max the Poser

The Neighborhood

Headin for the Hills

Caught this guy eating breakfast

He didn't like getting his picture taken

Max Posing Again

Garden of the Gods

The West side of Town

Heading back home was a bit less cloudy

First Snow on the Peak

The colors of Fall

The Bears are Still Out & About

2010-10-17T19:54:00.000-06:00

It’s been a very abnormal warm fall this year and we may have reached record temperatures this week. The fall foliage is hanging around much longer than I can remember and I’ve seen evidence that the bears haven’t went into hibernation yet. Most of bear evidence that Max and I saw were ram sacked trash cans in the morning and fresh scat on the trail. Yesterday morning we went by a couple destroyed trash cans and Max started barking and having a fit, which made believe that Mr. or Ms. Bear was still in the area. He did the same thing when we were running Tuesday morning. There were fresh wet bear tracks coming out of the creek and across the trail. Max came to an immediate stop, nose to the ground and starting barking at the bushes alongside the trail. My guess is that Mr. or Ms. Bear was very close. I thought the bears were normally hibernating by now and maybe the warm weather is keeping them up longer. My friend Grant told me they usually don’t go into hibernation until after Halloween. I guess that makes sense, a couple trick or treaters and their candy bags and a bear is set for the winter.

Max the Bear Hunter

My conversion back over to running for the winter is going well, although it is tough to stay off the bike. The weather has been great and as of last week I’m unemployed so I have weather and time to do both. I’ve been mulling over focusing on running through the winter with the intent of a sub 3 hour marathon in the spring. Getting back into running after a long time off is always hard. Right now I just don’t feel smooth or efficient and a sub 3 seems quite a stretch. But I know with time, patience, and persistence it will come. The hardest part is patience. So my plan is to build a base through the end of January. Right now I’m at about 30 miles a week, and will build to 60 by end of January with some tempo runs. Feb – mid April speed work then run a marathon in May. Haven’t picked one yet, but I owe a friend in La Cross, WS a visit and their just happens to be a marathon there on May 1st… I see a plan starting to formulate.

Today's Ride

Kevin & Grant Downtown Colorado Springs

Leaving My House after dropping of Clothes

Larry & Grant

Kevin Blowing Snot

Nice Fall Colors

Grant

So I will call this the first week of training for a potential May Marathon:

Mon: AM - Easy 30 min run (3.2 miles) followed by strength training
Tues: AM - 1 hr run (7 miles) PM – 1.8 hr Road Ride (23 miles)
Wed: AM – Easy 30 min run (3.2 miles) followed by strength training. PM – Technical MTB Ride 2.8 hrs (26 miles)
Thurs: AM – 1 Hr run w/6 * 15 sec stride outs (7 miles)
Fri: AM – Strength Training. PM – Technical MTB Ride 1.5 hrs (12 miles)
Sat: AM – 2 Hr trail run (13 miles)
Sun: AM – 5.6 Hr road bike (84 miles) 5,680 ft of climbing.

Week Total: Run 4.9 hrs, 33 miles. Bike 11.7 hrs 145 miles

Summer Summary

2010-10-13T21:50:00.000-06:00

It’s been a long time, last May since my last entry. So I’ve decided to kick this thing back up and see where it goes. Wow what a summer! It took pretty much all summer for my IT band to heal so I concentrated on biking. Other than a ton of epic long rides I guess a summary of the summer would be race results:

Breckenridge 100

DawnTilDusk 12 Hour Mountain Bike Race: 1st Masters 50+
12 Hours of Mesa Verde Mountain Bike Race: 3rd Masters 50+
Raced 3 of the 4 Sand Creek Series races, finishing 1st in 2 of them and not finishing the third due to a mechanical.
Bicycle Tour of Colorado: A great week riding the roads of Colorado. Averaged about 80 miles a day, got together with and old friend and made new friends along the way. Perfect weather (except the for the wind) and just a wonderful week.
Breckenridge 100: 1st Master 50+. Man what an epic race. This is one of the coolest and toughest 100 mile mountain bike races in the country. After racing the Leadville Trail 100 13 times, I can honestly say the Breckenridge 100 makes Leadville seem like a beginner’s race. An incredible race with incredible trails.
The Falcon 100: 4th Masters 40+
24 Hours of Colorado Springs: 2nd Overall Solo. A great way to finish out the season. This was an incredibly fun race and very well organized for a first year event. I pushed a little bit too hard and didn’t hydrate enough though. I was taken away in an ambulance after the race was over and got to re-hydrate with 4 liters of IVs!

So the season is over, fall is upon us and the days are getting cooler and shorter. My IT band is healed now so I’m starting to concentrate on running. No concrete plans right now but I’m thinking of doing a spring marathon with the intent of breaking 3 hours. It will be nice to start running with CRUD again. I’m looking forward to the winter and the early morning runs in fresh snow, but right now I’m really enjoying the fall colors. Hope you had an incredible summer.

The 3 Amigos Monarch Crest

Long Live Long Rides!

2010-05-30T21:38:00.001-06:00

Just another day in Paradise

Today was one of those rides I love so much, long and epic. Summer seems to finally be here and we are able to ride higher and higher in mountains. I think we topped out at a little over 9,300 feet and I’m pretty sure we would have been snow free at 10,000 feet. What is really encouraging about today, is I rode for over 8 hours with a ton of climbing and it didn’t turn into a death march. Even with the last 10 miles back home against a stiff head wind, I still felt good with enough energy to mow the lawn when I got home.

The day started bright & early, hitting the trail out of the house at 6:30. I rode north along Santa Fe Trail though the Air Force Academy and met Kevin Cahn at the Baptist Road Trailhead. I had a stiff head wind and pretty much time trialed all the way there. In the back of my mind I was thinking I was going a little hard with a full day of riding ahead, but on the other hand… great training!

Yikes! Better ride fast through here!

After meeting Kevin we rode to the NW corner of the Air Force Academy, skirted the shooting range and headed up Dead Man’s Gulch. This is a tough climb. I’ve heard it described as stupid steep and ridiculously long. I kind of like it. After all, the Breckenridge 100 will have a horde of climbs longer and steeper. We proceeded up 40 – 45 minutes or so, riding when we could and pushing when it got too steep and loose.

Kevin taking his bike for a walk

And grunting it too

Once at the top we dropped down to what I call the secret trail, a spectacular single track through Aspen groves that look like scenes from a postcard. At this altitude the Aspens are just starting to bloom. We continued to climb for another hour or so with steep sections requiring the granny. Eventually we hit the trail that drops down to Rampart Reservoir. Absolutely stunning! Rampart has a 14 mile single track surrounding it, outlining the various fingers and coves around the reservoir. Great views of Pikes Peak too.

Rampart Reservoir

Eventually we came to another “secret” trail. You have to know where this one is because it doesn’t look much like a trail. We climbed up from the reservoir to another trail that climbed then eventually dropped steeply down to Stanley Reservoir. Absolute single track bliss!

Single Track Bliss

We continued to drop past Stanley Reservoir on the very technical Stanley Canyon Trail. There were lots of fallen trees due to the high winds of late, which added to the challenge. Then we headed back toward Dead Man’s Gulch along another incredible and long single track. Eventually we crossed the stream that delivered us to what I call the “secret secret” trail. This is a hidden trail with a great view of the Air Force Academy and a wicked steep rocky drop back on to the Dead Man Gulch trail we climbed earlier. From there it was turn on that full suspension and let it rip! I think it took us maybe 10 – 15 minutes to go down something that took us 45 minutes to climb.

Dropping down on the "Secret Secret" Trail

Once we returned to the trail head, I continued home through the Air Force Academy. The wind had shifted and I was riding in a head wind again. No biggie, it’s an absolute beautiful day and we had an incredible ride!

Miles upon miles of Single Track

I love these rides, just like I love the long epic runs with CRUD. I am just so thankful that my IT Band injury doesn’t prevent me from riding too. I miss the runs, but rides like this more than make up for it. Hope everyone has a great Memorial weekend and take a moment to remember the sacrifices of our young heroes.

My Trusty Steed

Still Not Running

2010-05-30T16:48:00.000-06:00

Downtown Colorado Springs from Palmer Park

Well it’s been five weeks since I could run, and the IT Band is still not there. The good thing is I’m getting a lot stronger on the bike, and riding a lot - 22.5 hours this week! Had some great rides this week and was able to “mix it up” on the group rides vice hanging on for dear life. It looks like a lot of my running goals may be out the window this year, but I should be stronger at the bike races. So the plan now is to do various mountain bike races in June, then the Bicycle Tour of Colorado for a good hard training week. My next big race will be the Breckenridge 100. So lots of big climbs at altitude over the next 1 ½ months!

This week’s training log looks something like this:

Mon: Took it easy, the race Saturday & long ride Sunday took a lot out of me. Did some stretching and used that foam roller thing…OUCH!

Tues: AM – Strength Training. PM - ProCycling Road Ride – 1.8 hrs. What a difference not running 10 -15 miles in the morning makes! I felt really strong the entire ride. Normally, I’m hanging on for dear life. Was up front mixing it up and right up there on the climbs. I was supercharged this evening!

Wed: AM – Technical MTB ride in Ute Park, then rode to work – 1.5 hrs. PM – Easy ride home. Got caught in a hard rain/hail storm, cleared up by the time I got home so continued riding on the Air Force Academy – 2.2 hrs

Ride to Work

Thurs: AM – Hill repeats! 6 * Rossmere hill. Rossmere is a very steep climb that takes me between 5 & 6 minutes. Each climb was faster than the previous. Felt strong! Rode to work afterward – 2.2 hrs. PM: Rode from work to Manitou Springs and met Roswitha for Yoga class – Ride 1 hr, Yoga 1.5 hrs.

Fri: AM – Easy Mountain Bike ride in Ute Park with Max. Was going to do an easy ride to & from work, but Max has been so disappointed that I haven’t been running with him, I took him with me on an MTB ride. He was a very happy dog. Rode easy, focused on technical stuff – 0.8 hrs

4 Hours of this makes for great overall body workout!

Sat: AM – Technical Mountain Bike ride. Rode with Kevin Cahn, a very good technical rider. Technical riding is where I need a lot of work and if your gonna improve you gotta ride with people that are better. Did most of our riding in Palmer Park. So four hours of rocky technical riding. That kind of riding really gives you a full body workout! – 4.5 hours

Kevin

Sunday: AM - Epic Mountain Bike ride. First real epic ride this year. Great back country ride up to a little over 9,000 ft (anything higher still has snow). Long Steep climbs, fun descents, amazing single track! 5,600 ft of climbing. - 8.4 hrs

Ups & Downs

2010-05-20T08:13:00.010-06:00

After such a great ride Sunday, I'm really stoked about how fast I healed. No IT pain during the ride! I decided to wait one more day before running just to make sure. So I'll wait until Monday morning. I'd rather wait a couple days then end up having to wait weeks to run.

Mon: Strength workout

Tues: The IT Band was feeling pretty good Monday & Tuesday morning. After two weeks of no running, I finally went out this morning. Max, who got up every morning these past two weeks only to be disappointed when I didn’t take him running, went completely bonkers when I said “Let’s go run”. I think he was the happiest dog in the world.

Had a great but short (30 min) run and Max must have chased a dozen rabbits. We came home with Max’s tongue hanging out and what looked like the biggest smile a dog can have.

Went mountain biking with Kevin Cahn after work. Had a great ride with some decent climbing in Cheyenne Canyon. IT band felt good.

Kevin on Cap'n Jacks

Wed: Went for a short morning run with Max in Ute Park. About ½ hour into it, IT band started to hurt bad. I have no idea why. No sign of it coming on. Pretty much limped the rest of the way home. The rest of the day it was painful just to walk. This is much worse then it was the last two weeks. I don’t know if I can ride a bike. I decided to give it a rest and not ride home tonight. Looks like I won’t be running for a while. Hopefully I can still ride.

Thurs: Still hurting pretty bad. I was able to get an appointment at Synergy Physical Therapy. Wow was I impressed! Lots of adjustments, dry needle therapy, stretches etc. We'll see how it goes, but I'm optimistic. Didn't ride the bike today, so I still don't know if I can ride. Resting the IT band and letting it heal is probably more beneficial then getting in a ride. Maybe tomorrow.

Fri: Took it easy again today. Just rode to and from work. It appears the work at Synergy did some good. The knee felt pretty good today. Still think I’m a ways off before I can start running again.

Sat: Decided at the last minute to enter the Ascent Cycling series MTB race in Palmer Park today. I wasn’t sure if I was up for racing, but it is a local race so I wanted to support it. Got there early and rode the course. This is definitely one of the more technical race courses around. For the Pro & CAT 1 racers they even through in Templeton Trail. This is a very technical trail that has some pretty tricky sections. Spent 1 ½ hours warming up. On the start line there were only 3 CAT 1 50+ racers, so all I had to do was finish to get 3rd. We started with a moderate climb and I took the lead about a ¼ up and opened a gap by the top. Held the lead until we got to the Templeton Trail. Dropped to 2nd and 1st opened a pretty sizable gap through the technical section. After Templeton, there are a series of climbs both technical and non-technical and I regained the lead going up the final climb. Hammered the climb hard to try to open a gap before Templeton. Once we dropped back down to Templeton, I crashed pretty hard. Their web site has a picture of me carrying my bike with a bloody wrist Was able to keep the lead all the way through Templeton but then crashed over the handlebars. Got caught, he actually stopped to make sure I was all right and even held my bike while I got up. I then caught and passed him early in the first climb then hammered every climb to get as big as gap as possible. Had my best pass through Templeton on the last lap and hammered the climbs to win the old guy race. I was a great course and what a difference racing for 1 ½ hours vs. 12 hours. I haven’t had a sustained heart rate that high since last summer!

Photo by Rob Lucas (Ultra Rob)

During the race a lot of the spectators were warning us of a bear on the course. Matt Simmons who was running third in the pro race came around a bend upon a mother bear and two cubs. She reared up, made some threatening gestures and of course he stopped. As racers from behind caught up they were all stopped waiting for the bear to leave. One guy started to go forward but nobody went with him. He stopped and said something like “I’m from Missouri, you guys seem to know what you’re doing so I’ll wait too” Great race, IT band feels decent, had lots of fun, although I’m pretty bruised up from the crashes. Glad I went!

Sunday: Riding with the Girls!

Had the pleasure or riding with Kara Durland (the single speed queen) & Sharon Larsen (the stud of studs) on a recovery road ride, since we all three raced yesterday. We rode for about 2 ½ hours enjoying the perfect weather and this incredible place we call home. Did a couple climbs (Gold Camp & Crystal Park) as well as a loop around Garden of the Gods. I was feeling really good so after Kara and Sharon headed home I climbed Cheyenne Canyon, Orion, and Flying W at a steady (not fast) pace for a total of 5 hours riding and 5,560 ft of climbing. Felt fantastic. My Knee feels fine riding. Iced & stretched once I got home.

Sharon & Kara

It’s definitely been an up & down week. Everything from wondering if I can even ride to winning a race yesterday and enjoying an incredible ride with two incredible people today. If anything, not being able to run gives me a lot more energy for some quality riding!

Races, Injuries, Recovery, Back in the Saddle

2010-05-16T20:17:00.002-06:00

It’s been a while! With the spring weather coming around and training, work, travel to races, and now yard work, the BLOG kind of fell by the wayside. An injury finally made me slow down and gave me some time to reflect and write about the last couple weeks. I’d been pushing it pretty hard; a marathon, DawntilDusk, White Rim Trail, then picking up the intensity in my training, averaging 50 - 60 miles a week running, plus lots of riding to include hill repeats and high intensity group rides. After DawntilDusk I re-evaluated my race schedule and decided doing the Collegiate Peaks 50 mile run then the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde MTB race on back to back weekends was probably not a good idea and dropped Collegiate Peaks. My legs were getting very tired during and after runs, so I didn’t think I could competitively run 50 miles. So after White Rim I thought (even though I was tired from not having taken a break for several weeks) I could get one more hard week then an easy week before 12 hours of Mesa Verde. During that week I strained my IT Band and couldn’t run at all. It hurt while riding but was bearable. That definitely forced and easy week before Mesa Verde.

Mesa Verde was a blast. A great weekend with great company topped off with a fantastic race course. It was also the first mountain bike race for 2 time Leadville Trail 100 Run winner, Paul_DeWitt/. He didn’t mess around either, signing up for the solo category. The course was a rough 16.4 mile loop that beat you up pretty good. No significant climbs, but lots of rollers and short power climbs. I prefer the long climbs myself. Lots of tight twisty single track. An incredibly fun course for 1 or 2 laps. An incredibly rough beat the crap out of you course at 12 hours. Anyway the race went well, I stayed steady throughout, and never felt like I needed to quit. Never had any “Oh man this sucks” moments. My IT band hurt fairly bad for the first four laps then the pain magically went away. I flatted on the 4th lap, just after I gave my Co2 cartridge to someone else that flatted. Luckily Kervin Quiones came by and threw me his. In the end I finished 3rd in the Geezer category with 7 laps in a little over 12 hours. Alan Keefe used a helmet cam on one of his laps of the course and got some cool video of the course. Check it out:
http://roundisit.blogspot.com/2010/05/helmet-cam-from-lap-at-phils-world-in.html

The rest of the week I forced to recover. I was exhausted and couldn’t run with the IT issue. Riding a bike seem to aggravate it also. So my only workouts this week were very easy rides to and from work on my road bike. Spent some time at one the best chiropractors in town, Randy Knoche at Springs Chiropratic and saw dramatic improvement after every visit. This injury actually had a lot of good positive aspects to it. I could sleep in every morning until 5:30 instead of the usual 4:00 since I didn’t workout. The extra sleep was great, I could get used to that. It also forced me to take the rest that I knew I needed and probably would not have taken. So I took it very easy this week and didn’t do anything on Saturday. I thought about how pathetic I am in that if I’m not running or riding, I don’t know what to do with myself. Roswitha found things for me to do though.

Today, my IT band is feeling totally healed. Went out on a good 70+ mile group road ride and had a blast. I felt great, the best & strongest I’ve felt in a while. The ride was incredible, we were like kids out playing, attacking each other on the climbs, randomly sprinting to road signs, and absolutely loving life. I’m back, batteries recharged, excited about training again, and looking forward to the next eight weeks of preparing for my hardest race of the year, the Breckenridge 100. It's good to back!

White Rim Trail 100 Miles in the Desert

2010-04-19T16:18:00.000-06:00

Finally checked off something that’s been on my list for a long time… Ride the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park in one day. What a great experience. We drove out Saturday, arrived at the top of the last climb and made camp. Up the next morning up at 4 am, on the bikes by 4:45 for a looooong day in the saddle, finished around 3 pm. The scenery amazing, the weather perfect, the climbs tough, and the company the best. Thanks Dave for putting this ride together. Dave has been doing this almost every year since the 80s. Can't say enough about the ride soI’ll just let the pictures do the talking.

Click on slide show to get full screen

Mountain Flyer Article

2010-04-15T21:02:00.000-06:00

Mountain Flyer Magazine has a nice DawntilDusk article with Pictures:

Check it out: http://www.mountainflyer.com/news.cfm?itemid=355

Thanks Dan!

12 Hours of Fun in the Sun

2010-04-14T20:46:00.000-06:00

"How can something so fun hurt so much?" Dan Durland

A perfect description of the DawntilDusk_Mountain_Bike_Race. The course is a mountain bikers dream but after almost 12 hours of racing, it hurts.

One of the exposed sections of the course (borrowed from race web site)

I was really looking forward to DawnTillDusk. The first mountain bike race of the year, and with all the running I’ve been doing, I had no idea where I was technically or physically on the bike. I knew I was getting dropped on group rides, but those rides usually followed a hard run. I really wanted to see how I’d do rested and in a racing frame of mind.

So a small contingent of ProCycling: Dan & Kara Durland (Single Speed Super Studs), Charlie Dunn, Roswitha, Max, and myself drove the eight hours to Gallup, NM and rode a lap of the race course on Friday, the day before the race. Thirteen + miles of great single track that offers a little of everything; rough rocky sections, smooth fast sections, steep climbs, technical descents, fast descents, and exposed sections with tight switchbacks. An absolute dream course! I highly recommend it.

Dan & Kara Pre-riding course

The race started in mass on a dirt road that took us about 6 miles to the back side of the course. There were approximately 125 solo riders plus teams of various makeup (duo, 3, 4 person etc). The purpose of the road was to get everyone separated before we hit the single track. Once on the single track we stayed there for the rest of the day. The start was fast and on a rutted dirt road with a couple hundred mountain bikers riding in a pack, naturally there were crashes. One guy went down hard right next to me about three miles into it.

I was in good position once we hit the single track and my strategy was to keep steady, ride efficient, and only make pit stops every second lap. I figured if I could get eight or nine laps in at 5 minutes a pit stop, that’s 40 – 45 minutes of lost time. My goal was to cut that by at least half. So the first four laps went pretty smooth and I built somewhat of a lead in the Masters 50+ category. The course is extremely busy requiring full focus at all times. There is no place to recover or let your guard down. By the 5th lap fatigue started setting in and sometimes I lost focus which usually ended in overshooting a turn or crash.

As time went on the fatigue and pain increased and so did the mistakes. My laps were getting slower and 2nd & 3rd place were closing in on me. I crashed in the 6th lap hurting the same wrist I broke last fall and by the 7th lap my pedals felt like they were burning a hole through my shoes. Hills that I was previously climbing in my big and middle chain ring I was now climbing in the middle, granny, or pushing. As we finished the 8th lap, Roswitha, who provided perfect support throughout informed me there was only three minutes between 1st 2nd & 3rd place, and I was in second. This news, along with a couple Advils brought me out of the feel sorry for myself mode and I decided this was a one lap race. As far as I was concerned the eight previous laps never happened and the race just started. I gave it everything. I came up on the leader barely pedaling up a hill and passed as hard as I could to discourage him from challenging. I opened a gap quickly as he wasn’t responding. This fueled the fire and for the next hour I rode all out and for some reason all the pain I was feeling in the previous laps didn’t seem so intense. In the end I won the 50+ Masters category by 4 minutes with 9 laps in 11 hrs and 24 Min. Dan absolutely smoked, winning the single speed category with 10 laps. Kara also kicked butt winning the female SS with the second fastest time of all females with or without gears. Charlie had a great race bringing in 4th in the SS category. A great showing for Team ProCycling!

All in all a great weekend. This race certainly wasted me and recovery has been kind of slow. I’m now rethinking the Collegiate Peaks 50 mile run(in less than 3 weeks from now) followed one week later with the Mesa Verde 12 hour mountain bike race. I think I may have to drop one of them from the schedule. This ultra distance stuff takes a lot out ya! Next week a group of us are headed to Moab to ride the White Rim Trail in a day. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a lot of good pictures.

Spring Time in Colorado!

2010-03-28T19:28:00.000-06:00

CRUD Run - Red Rocks

(Photo by Steve Bremner)

It’s been a typical March week in Colorado. One day in the 60s the next a snow storm, followed by 60s, followed by a snow storm, followed by…

This week was a semi recovery week following Bataan. I was REALLY sore on Monday, but with only two weeks until DawnTillDusk, there is no rest for the wicked, especially after seeing how hard Andy_Henshaw works out. Andy is definitely an up and coming star in the Ultra world. He makes me feel like a wimp, although he did say he considers me an OG Bad Ass (Old Generation), which made me feel a little better… I think.

Monday was a rest day. I pretty much hobbled around the office while everyone made fun of my condition. I did start stretching, something I am going to do consistently from now on. Tuesday was an easy ride home from work which really helped loosen things up. On the way, I came up on Andy and Harsha doing interval workouts and rode along with them. OK get this. Andy was nearing 40 miles as I rode along with him on one of his 4 eight mile tempo runs. Each of his tempo runs were sub 6:30 pace. I rode with him on his 4th eight mile tempo and he averaged 6:15! Makes me feel like a slacker. It was just starting to rain as I left him and by the time I got home it was snowing pretty hard.

Tuesday was an easy ride home from work which really helped loosen things up. On the way, I came up on Andy and Harsha doing interval workouts and rode along with them. OK get this. Andy was nearing 40 miles as I rode along with him on one of his 4 eight mile tempo runs. Each of his tempo runs were sub 6:30 pace. I rode with him on his 4th eight mile tempo and he averaged 6:15! Makes me feel like a slacker. It was just starting to rain as I left him and by the time I got home it was snowing pretty hard.

Wednesday, woke up to 6 inches of snow. Since I rode my bike home and my truck was at work, I had to run to work. It was pretty slow going running in deep snow, and some sections were icy. It’s just under 15 miles to work, but I took a couple short cuts and got it down to 14. Note to self: When running to work, don’t pack a bowl of salad in my backpack. It looks like it went through a blender.

Thursday, I was starting to feel recovered from Bataan, so I decided to ride some hills on the way home. Didn’t break any records but I did get three pretty significant climbs: Perigrin/Blodgett Peak, Flying W/Rossmere, and Flying W again. Legs felt a bit tired, but I was able to get my heart rate up to lactate threshold, so I must be recovering. I also stretched when I got home. (Hard to do when dinner is sitting on the table).

Friday started out with going down to the basement for strength training and stepping in cat puke. Hey at least its Friday! After hitting the weights did a very refreshing and energetic ride to work. Absolutely beautiful morning!

Saturday CRUD run. Eighteen miles starting from downtown through Bear Creek Park to Cheyenne Canyon, Section 16 to Red Rocks, Garden of the Gods, Sonderman Park back to downtown Colorado Springs. As with all CRUD runs, just too much fun. We had typical Colorado Spring weather: started in a blizzard and by the time we finished, the sun was shining and the snow melting.

Happy CRUD Runners
(Photo by Harsha Nagaraj)

Sunday - long road ride. Beautiful day today, with almost no trace of the early snow storm yesterday. Warmed up for an hour then met Kevin and we headed north for some hills on the Air Force Academy and Roller Coaster road. I felt pretty good and climbed decent, but still have a lot of work to do. After riding three hours with Kevin, continued on with some more hills and a loop around Garden of the Gods. Actually felt strongest the last 1 ½ hours.

Less than two weeks until DawntilDusk . My plan is to really hammer next week, then rest up for the first big mountain bike race of the year. Looking forward to it!!!

Training Log
Mon: Rest
Tues: PM: Bike, 1.5 hrs (Ride home)
Wed: AM: Run, 2.2 hrs (Run to work)
Thurs: PM: Bike, 2.2 hrs (Ride home w/Hills)
Fri: AM: Strength/Bike, 0.9 hrs (Ride work)
Sat: AM: Run, 3 hrs (CRUD Run)

Sun: AM: Bike, 5.4 hrs (Road - 5,560 ft climbing)

The Bataan Death March Memorial Marathon

2010-03-22T16:01:00.000-06:00

Almost simultaneously with the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attacked several other Pacific islands to include the Philippines. After three months of intense battle, defending the Bataan Peninsula Philippines, American & allied soldiers, starving, low on ammunition, suffering from Malaria and other diseases, surrounded with no chance of re-enforcements, were surrendered to the Japanese. This resulted in what’s known as the Bataan Death March. A 60 miles forced march of 70,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war through atrocious conditions. Beheadings, cutting of throats, casual shootings, bayonet stabbings, rape, disembowelment, crushed skulls resulting from rifle butt beatings, and denial of food or water were all part of a week long march in the tropical heat. Falling down or inability to continue moving was a death sentence, as was any sign of protest. Those who fell were bayoneted and/or run over by tanks or trucks. Those who stopped to help a fallen comrade were also bayoneted. In some instances trucks with Japanese soldiers drove by with bayonets out, slicing the marching prisoners’ throats. When passing a stream, prisoners who broke ranks and went for water were executed. Thousands died on the way. Only 54,000 reached the camp. Once the survivors reached camp, conditions did not improve. They continued to be tortured, starved, and executed in various prison camps scattered throughout Japan & the Pacific. For over three years these men endured unimaginable torture, disease, and starvation. As Japan started losing ground in the war and got word of possible War Crime Trials, an order to execute all witnesses (prisoners) was given. Over 150 American POWs were herded into raid shelters, doused with gasoline, and burned alive. Almost three years after the surrender of Bataan, US Army Rangers along with Filipino Guerillas, pulled off the most daring and successful raid in US history, resulting in the liberation of 512 POWs from Camp Cabanatuan.

97 Years and Still Going!

The Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon is much more than a marathon. It is a weekend of history, emotional ceremonies, meeting and hearing the stories of the dozen or so remaining survivors from this unimaginable ordeal, celebrating our freedom, mingling with people and soldiers from all over the world (Japanese soldiers don’t participate) and running an incredibly scenic marathon on trails through the open desert.

The event starts Saturday with seminars on the history of the Battling Bastards of Bataan, the death march, and the death camps they were subject to for over three years. Then you get to meet the survivors, hear their stories, and ask them questions. A very well organized Pasta party in the late afternoon followed by a free showing of The-Great-Raid: a movie depicting the heroic rescue of the POWs from Camp Cabanatuan.

The start of the marathon was definitely unique. It began with very moving ceremony. Then we were herded in different staging areas (5,700 participants in a plethora of categories) and as we approached the starting line, the survivors shook our hands as we passed.

Once we started I was very surprised to find myself up front in a group of four. After ¾ of a mile, although the pace felt comfortable, I looked at my Garmin and saw we were running about 6:30. Way too fast. I backed off and was caught by three guys and stayed with them for the next two miles. We were still running about 6:40 – 6:45 which again I thought was too fast. (I learned a lesson about going out too fast in the Akron Marathon). So I backed off again. One of the guys backed off with me. I mentioned to him I was too old for that pace. Turned out he was in the same age group as me. For the next 4 or 5 miles we took turns taking the lead, kind of yo-yoing each other until we hit the first major climb. At that point I started to pull away. The climb was a long 5 – 6 mile (I think from miles 8 – 14) that is very similar to Rampart Range Road, a regular part of CRUD runs. I steadily pulled away and slowly started catching the two (5th & 4th places) as we climbed further. I didn’t know how hard to push because I didn’t know how long the hill was. It got the steepest the last mile or so and I almost closed on them. We then ran fairly steep downhill for a couple of miles in which they got away. I tried my best to open it up and let it fly, but my hamstrings were just too tight and I couldn’t open a good stride. Note to self, I REALLY need to do more stretching or yoga or something! By the time we got to the bottom of the hill I was caught from behind from another runner. At this point the course turned into steep rollers along a ridge line. For the next 2 – 3 miles I would open a gap on the ups and he would close it on the downs. We completed a loop by joining back on the same road we ran up about two miles into the climb. We were now running in the opposite direction of the hundreds of runners & marchers going up the hill. Most were soldiers in uniform, some carrying 35 lbs rucksacks. I began falling behind on the descent, again, my hamstrings just wouldn’t stretch far enough to open my stride. It was very cool high fiving the soldiers going up the hill as I was coming down. At the bottom of the hill we turned on to the trail that everyone talked about. The sand traps. This was a long section of very deep sand. The rest of the course was in open desert and sandy, but this was deep and slow going. I tried to run as light as possible and not power through. We were also passing the half marathoners who were mostly walking this section. The guy I ran the ridge with was now out of sight, and with about 6 miles ago, I was starting to get into the survival mode. “Just keep running, stay relaxed, don’t cramp, think positive, take in the mountains and the views” type thinking. The sand pit seemed to last forever, and finally after passing the 22 mark the trail seemed pretty solid. It wound and twisted and never seemed to end. I was passing through hoards of ½ marathoners listening to their IPODS therefore having to zig-zag quite a bit to avoid them. Shortly after passing the 24 mile marker, we passed an aid station with one of the volunteers yelling 2.8 miles to go. I don’t know where he got that, but it was a bit demoralizing. I had some doubts as to how far the finish was after that, but told myself it didn’t matter just keep running. Once past the 25 mile marker, I tried to run the last mile as fast as possible (which wasn’t very fast) and not get caught from behind. I was able to hold on and finished 7th overall and 1st in the old geezer category, in 3:19:41.

The rest of the day was filled with a party only the army can pull off. They put on a fantastic barbecue, great music, with military and civilians just chilling out and enjoying a great weekend. I couldn’t help but look around, take in the scene, and think about what our veterans and soldiers sacrifice, to protect us from the brutality so prevalent in the world so we can have weekends like this. It was truly an honor to meet and shake the hands of the Battered Bastards of Bataan.

Thank-you

Training Log
Mon: Rest
Tues: AM: Run - 0.8 Hrs easy, PM: Bike - 1.1 hrs (ProCycling Ride, very hard, got dropped on 2nd climb. Yikes!)
Wed: AM: Run – 1 hr w/ 3 mile time trial, PM: Bike – 1 hr ride home
Thurs: AM: Bike – 1 hr ride to work
Fri: AM: Run – 0.5 hrs easy
Sat: AM: Run – 0.5 hrs easy
Sun: AM: Run – 3.3 hrs Bataan Death March Memorial Marathon

2010-03-14T19:18:00.000-06:00

Looks like racing season is upon us. This weekend kicked off the Salida Marathon in which several Team CRUD members took part. The course had several ingredients to make it a classic; long steep hills, mud, snow & ice. Andy Henshaw, a young up and coming ultra running stud, who recently joined Team CRUD, has a great race description at Andy's_Blog. Roswitha ran Colorado Springs St. Patricks Day 5k yesterday also, so racing season at the DeWitt household has officially begun. Next week Jesse, Shannon, and I will take on the BATAAN Death March to kick off the season for the whole family.

Training this week went well. The weather was typical for Colorado Springs this time of year. One day in the 50s, the next snowing. This weekend a classic example. Saturday, beautiful sunny and in the 60s. Today, snowing all afternoon. Suppose to be back in the 60s by Wednesday. Next week will be an easy week, basically to recover from the previous four hard weeks and to be semi-fresh for BATAAN. Looking forward to hearing the stories and meeting the heroes who lived those stories.

This week’s Training:

Mon: Rest
Tues: AM: Run 1.8 hrs (5 * 1 mile tempo w/ ½ mile recovery) PM: Bike 1.5 hrs (Easy ride home)
Wed: AM: Bike 1.1 hrs (Easy ride to work)
Thurs: AM: Run 1.3 hrs (CRUD Hill Climb) PM: Bike 2 hrs (Ride Home w/ 48 min Tempo)
Fri: AM: Bike (Easy Ride to work)
SAT: AM: Run 2 hrs (CRUD) followed by Bike 3.1 hrs (MTB Ute & Palmer Parks)
SUN: AM: Run 1.2 hrs (Trail run & 1 mile barefoot on Eagle View Field) followed by Bike 1.9 hrs (MTB Ute Park)

A Good Hard Week

2010-03-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

Pikes Peak from Rampart Range

I said this in my Leadman blog and I’ll say it again. Colorado Springs is an awesome place to run and ride.

I took a break Monday after all the riding, running, and moving over the weekend. Boy did I feel great on Tuesday. Before work a spectacularly bright moon lit the way for almost a perfect interval run on Santa Fe Trail. Ran 12 miles to include five 1 mile intervals with 1/2 mile recovery jog between each one. Energy level was high all day at work then rode home in the evening feeling great. While riding home I was feeling good so I did 40 minutes tempo to add some intensity. Great day!

Wednesday; another recovery day with an easy ride to work, then an easy run with Max in the evening. As the temps start warming, I’m only going to be able to take Max on the shorter runs. He was looking for snow to eat and lay in toward the end of this afternoon’s run.

Thursday a hard day starting with the CRUD Hill Climb. This is a 4.2 mile climb that gains 1,480 ft of elevation. I started hard thinking I could get this year’s best time. Big mistake. You’d think after all these years of running and riding, I’d learn. You don’t start a hill climb hard! By about ½ way, my goal went from getting a best time to not walking. Still had my second best time though. In the evening, while riding home from work, felt good so added a few hill climbs. A loop around Garden of the Gods, doing all hills in the biggest gear I could turn, then up Flying W doing the same. Good strength workout.

Friday was another recovery day with just an easy ride to work.

Saturday, another epic CRUD run. Can’t describe how fun this was. A 21 mile trail run with over 4,600 feet of climbing. We reached altitudes above 9,000 feet. There is still quite a bit of ice and snow above 8,000 ft, which made sections of the trails quite treacherous. Views were astounding. Here’s a slide show,(click to bring up full screen) but pictures will never come close to doing these runs justice.

Sunday ended up being a hard miserable (in a good way) day in the saddle. I wanted to ride with a group to start getting in some intensity. I don’t think today was a good day for that. The plan was to meet at Kervin’s house (north of the AFA) and ride a hard three hour loop to Larksburg and back. I rode to Kervin’s, hooked up with Mark G, Dan D, and Beth G. Right from the beginning I was having a hard time keeping up. My legs had no strength or speed, and my body didn’t seem to have much energy. Did I not eat enough after yesterday’s run? To make a long story short, in less than an hour I got dropped. Everyone re-grouped now and then and I caught back on, but when the pace picked up, I was spit out the back like nobody’s business. Going back was against a stiff wind. Even with everyone shielding me from the wind I still couldn’t keep up on the hills. Finally, I told them to go and rode the rest of the way home alone. It was a long miserable ride, about 30 miles against the wind on roller coaster like hills. A couple times I debated calling Roswitha to come get me. But part of training for ultra-endurance events is learning to suffer. I just told myself that it’s rides like these that build character and kept pedaling.

Not sure, but I think alcohol was involved here

Mon: Rest
Tues: AM: Run (5 * 1 mile intervals) 1.7 hrs. PM: Bike (Ride home w/42 min Tempo) 1.9 hrs
Wed: AM: Bike (Ride Work) 1.1 hrs. PM: Run (Trail Run Ute Park) 0.9 hrs
Thurs: AM: Run (CRUD Hill Climb + Columbine) 1.7 hrs PM: Bike (Ride Home w/Big Gear Climbing) 2.1 hrs
Fri: AM: Bike (Ride Work) 1.1 hrs
SAT: AM: Run (CRUD Long Run) 3.9 hrs
SUN: AM Bike (Road Ride) 5.6 hrs

Age Denial?

2010-02-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

Pikes Peak from Ute Park after a fresh Snow

An “acquaintance” asks me almost every time he sees me if I still do all that crazy biking and running. I ran into him the other day, he was drunk, with a bunch of his beer guzzling redneck friends, and started ragging me. In a nutshell he said I needed to grow up and act my age. Quit running around and riding a bicycle like some little kid. He went on to claim that the only reason I do all that crazy “shit” is cause I’m in denial of my age. Huh? Boy (“Man” I guess I should say) who knows what kind of ragging I would have taken if he knew I was vegetarian. The whole scene got pretty annoying and I left.

This “acquaintance” is about 5 – 7 years younger than me, at least 70 lbs overweight, on blood thinners, has high blood pressure, and pre-diabetic. I guess he is acting his age. It seems the “norm” these days is to be kept alive by a handful of drugs. It’s generally accepted as part of “getting old”. Am I missing something? Why is something as simple as exercising and eating healthy such a difficult concept to grasp? Why is taking care of what we have been given so abnormal that people have to critize it? Why is it the accepted norm that living life on drugs (or as we like to call it “medicine”) is inevitable after 50? Umm sorry I digress. I guess he annoyed me more than I thought.

Back to this age denial thing. I know how old I am. But what does “old” mean? Sure I’m not anywhere near as fast as I was 30 years ago. But 30 years ago I couldn’t run 100 miles or mountain bike for 24 hours. When I’m out riding with a bunch of young 20 – 30 year old studs and the pace picks up and I’m struggling to keep up, I find if I think about how old I am, i.e. “You’re 52 years old! What are you doing trying to keep up with these guys?” I get dropped. However, if I block that out of my mind and focus on strong smooth pedaling, staying relaxed, and breathing, I often stay with the young guys and sometimes even drop a few of em. A friend turned 50 this week. (He’s also very fast and enters into my age group this year, Yikes!) He is celebrating by spending the weekend mountain biking, running, & skiing. Maybe he’s in denial too. Maybe he should just be sitting back on a couch taking pills and complaining about how old he is. I know some “old” people who have turned their lives around from the “norm” and went on to finish marathons, mountain bike races or other feats that they previously thought impossible. I believe overall, they are much happier and feel much better about themselves. I don’t think we are ever too old to be kids. My response to this age denial accusation: I rode 87 miles Saturday morning, helped my son move Saturday afternoon, then went to a concert in the evening. Ran 21 miles Sunday morning and spent the rest of the day helping my son move.

Max and his Stick

Training: Training went very well this week. For the most part energy levels were high and I rested when I needed to. Tuesday morning, did a series of Time Trials on the bike 20 min, 15 min, 10, min, and 5 min all out. Five min recover between. Probably the highest intensity bike workout this year. Tuesday evening ran home from work. Wednesday rode to work then an easy run with Max in the snow after work. Thursday a very hard running interval workout that pretty much left me wiped out the rest of the day and into Friday, so I rested Thursday evening and Friday. Capped the week off with a long ride on Saturday (6.1 hrs, 87 miles, 6000+ ft of climbing) and a long run on Sunday (3 hrs 21 miles).

Mon: Strength
Tues: AM: Bike (TT Intervals) 1.7 hrs, PM: Run (run home) 2.1 hrs
Wed: AM: Bike (Ride Work) 1.1 hrs, PM: Run (easy) 1 hr
Thurs: AM: Run (Warm-up, 5 * 1 mile tempo w/ ½ mile recovery) 1.5 hrs
Fri: Rest
Sat: AM: Bike (6000+ ft climbing) 6.1 hrs
Sun: AM: Run (Santa Fe Trail) 3 hrs

Winter

2010-02-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

It seems this is the time of the year that a lot of people start getting tired of winter and longing for the warm temperatures of summer. Ironically, it seems the people that complain most are the ones that spend the least time outdoors. The weather here in Colorado Springs has been overcast with snow on and off since Thursday with the forecast calling for more of the same through Tuesday. I love winter. As well as spring, summer, and fall. I love watching my body & mind adapt to each season. I’ve been running or riding competitively for almost 40 years now. I have lived in Ohio, Kentucky, Germany and Colorado among other places and all have four seasons. Getting out in the brisk mornings of winter with fresh snow just lets you know you’re alive. And as the winter goes on, your body adapts and what was cold in early Fall, just doesn’t seem so cold any more. I rode to work this week in single digit temperatures. It seemed brisk at the most. When I rode to work in single digit temperatures in November it seemed down right cold. I find this interesting that we as humans have an amazing ability to adapt . We just need to go out and do it. Right now in February, a four hour run or six hour ride in 90 degrees would be undoable. In July, a piece of cake. I think if people spend more time outdoors, winter would not seem so bad. If you’re indoors all the time, you never adapt, and you freeze your butt just waiting for your car to warm-up. Another ironic observation I have, is it’s usually the same people that complain about winter that complain about how hot it is in the summer as they crank up their air conditioners. Each season is special, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Get outside, run, ride, ski, walk, hike, swim, play, and enjoy them all!

As far as this week’s training, what a difference a week makes. The recovery last week worked miracles. All week long I felt like a new man. On Monday I did a strength workout with Roswitha and felt very strong. Maybe I was just showing off for Roswitha, but I was putting up some weight. Tuesday morning’s run, I felt fast and strong and likewise on my tempo ride in the evening. I actually had to hold myself back on the tempo ride to keep my heart rate in the right range, as my body wanted to go harder. On CRUD’s Thursday morning hill climb, a four mile climb up Cheyenne Canyon to the top of High Drive, I bettered my best time this year by two full minutes. Saturday, I had a great 21 mile run in fresh snow, despite not getting to bed until 1:00 AM after going to an Alice in Chains concert in Denver the night before. Finally on Sunday, an incredible bike workout on the trainer, close to four hours rotating big gear, high wattage intervals with low gear high rpm pedaling (120+ rpms) intervals. A good solid week! Ahh, I just noticed it's snowing. I think I'll go for a walk!

About 5 miles into Sat Run Max Finds a ball

And for the next 15 miles we played catch

Come on throw the ball!

Well if your not going to throw it, I'll come get it!

Mon: PM: Strength Workout
Tues: AM : Run 1.6 hrs (10 * 15 sec stride outs & 40 min tempo) PM: Bike 2 hrs (Ride home w/ 40 min tempo)
Wed: AM: Bike 1.2 hrs (Ride work) PM: Run 1 hr (trail run)
Thurs: AM: Run 1.1 hrs (CRUD Hill Climb) PM: Bike 1.4 hrs (Ride home)
Fri: AM: Bike 1.2 hrs (Ride Work)
Sat: AM: Run 3.3 hrs
Sun: AM: Bike 3.8 hrs (Trainer, Big gear Low RPM/Low gear high RPM intervals)

An Experiment of One

2010-02-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

Could this Flock of Geese mean Spring may come early?

They say in the Ultra world that everyone is an experiment of one. What that means is that there is no figured out standard way of training for ultras. Marathon runners have a plethora of books, material and training guides with day by day schedules for all levels of runners. The same goes for cyclists. Ultra endurance, both running & cycling, is still a mystery. My particular experiment is further complicated in that I’m combining both ultra running and ultra mountain biking. Last week, I think my experiment went a little bit to the extreme, and I paid for it this week. My theory is that ultra endurance is extreme and therefore requires extreme training; 20+ hrs a week. I base my training schedule off the concept of three hard weeks, each building upon the other, and then recover by cutting my training in half every 4th week. It’s a principle used in biking and running at the shorter disciplines. This was supposed to be the third week in the cycle, therefore the hardest and longest. Trouble is I went so hard and long the previous two weeks I was exhausted. So on Tuesday I did something I rarely do. After ten minutes into my ride (on the trainer) I quit. Just couldn’t get it going. I decided to listen to my body and make this a recovery week. For the rest of the week, I took it pretty easy, cutting most of my workouts in half, and keeping the intensity leisure. Re-charge the batteries so to speak. We’ll see how it went. This morning I was feeling like my old self again and was tempted to run 4+ hours instead of 2 ½. Got to have discipline and control my desire to run forever! I am an experiment of one, and we’ll see if this week’s experiment recharged my batteries! Oh yea... Happy Valentines Day!

Training Log:
Mon: PM: Run 0.9 hrs
Tues: AM: Run 1.8 hrs (3-4” new snow) PM: Bike – Started on trainer but quit after 10 min
Wed: AM: Bike 1.8 hrs (Big gear intervals on trainer) + Strength
Thurs: AM: Run 1.4 hrs (CRUD Hill Climb) PM: Bike 1.8 hrs (Ride home, easy)
Fri: AM: Bike 1.2 hrs (Ride to work)
Sat: AM: Bike 3.4 hrs (leisurely)
Sun: AM: Run 2.4 hrs (Technical Trail Run)

Love, Dedication or Obsession?

2010-02-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

Today I had to wonder. Is it that I really love running and riding or am I just obsessed?

View of Pikes Peak from Top of Bob's Trail during Saturday's Run

Last week I stepped up the intensity a bit with big gear hill climbs & tempo runs & rides along with long endurance runs & rides. This week I stepped it up even more. Tuesday morning was a hard 12 mile tempo run with 10 * 15 sec stride outs, followed by a 2+ hour ride in the evening with 50 min tempo. Rode to work on Wednesday but was kind of dragging at work, so didn’t run in the evening. Thursday morning, CRUD hill climb, then rode home from work and added 4 big gear climbs up Flying W. There is nothing like sweating like crazy climbing a hill, then freezing while descending in the cold and dark. Saturday, another epic run with CRUD, running amazing trails with an amazing group on an amazing day. Approximately 22 miles with 5,640 feet of vertical in about 4 ½ hours. Finally on Sunday, I think I went over the edge. I started out with an hour trail run in the morning, then came back and got my mountain bike. Rode for 1 ½ hours until it started snowing and the mud started gumming everything up. Came home and got on the trainer. I really didn’t want to do a long trainer ride, but still wanted to get a long ride. Eventually, I pulled out the “Hardcore 100” Spinerval and started riding. This is basically 5 ½ hours of intervals, starting easy and building in intensity with the last hour being very hard. Many times during the workout I wanted to quit but convinced myself this would make me mentally tough for those 12 – 24 hour races. So I ended up with 1 hour of running and 7 hours on the bike, a long day at the office. It's days like today, slugging through a long hard boring workout that makes me wonder if its love, dedication or obsession. Maybe a combination of the three?

Mon: PM: Run 0.5 hrs barefoot (Vibram 5 Fingers) followed by Strength workout
Tues: AM: Run 1.6 hrs with 10 * 15 sec Strideouts & 30 minute tempo. PM: Bike 2.3 hrs with 50 minute Tempo
Wed: AM: Bike 1.2 hr with high RPM Pedaling.
Thu: AM: Run 1.3 hrs (CRUD Hill Climb) PM: Bike 2.1 hr with 4 * 10 min Big Gear Climbs
Fri: AM: Bike 1.1 hr PM: Run 0.8 hrs
Sat: AM: Run 4.7 hrs (CRUD trail run) (5,640 ft climbing)

Sun: AM: Run 1 hr Bike 7 hrs (Combination MTB & trainer)

Starting to Commit

2010-01-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

I signed up for several races and events through June of this year, so I committed to some big runs and rides. Man, there was a time when Ultra events were easy to get into. Now you have to sign up as soon as registration opens or risk not getting in. That’s exactly what happened with the Gunnison Growler. The Growler is one of the coolest mountain bike races out there. 64 miles of technical single track. Unfortunately it sold out in less than 12 hours and I didn’t get in, bummer. I have yet to finish that race. The first year I DNF’d with a broken derailleur, last year I was signed up but had to work… Next year!

So I’m signed up for the Bataan Death March in March, which is a tribute to the real death march in WWII. It’s amazing that so many people are unaware of this atrocity. One of the cruelest and savage treatments of American & allied troops in the war, yet so few Americans are aware of it. It’s an honor to participate in an event that pays tribute to these brave soldiers who experienced un-imaginable horror, hardship and suffering.

I also registered for DawntillDusk in April, an incredibly fun 12 hour mountain bike race of 100% single track. In May the Collegiate Peaks 50 mile trail running race, one of my favorites. Then a 7 Day Bike Tour of Colorado in June. So I'm commited to a handful of very tough races this Spring.

I’ve been seeing a lot about barefoot running lately. It’s something I’ve been doing for years at least two times a week during the Summer. Its turning out that running barefoot or at least barefoot style is the right way to run. Go figure, we’ve only been doing it for tens of thousands of years. Somehow the invent of the running shoe changed all that. I’ve got to find a way to run barefoot a couple of times a week in the winter. Time to dig out the Vibram Five Fingers.

James, Me, & Max enjoying a 22.5 mile CRUD run

Training this week went very well. The days are gettng longer, and sunrise a bit earlier. It doesn't seem to matter how long I live here or how many mornings I see the sun rise upon Pikes Peak, it's always a truely amazing sight. Now I begin building on the previous blocks of base building. This week and in the coming weeks, I’m adding intensity with Tempo rides, big gear hill climbs, and tempo runs, in addition to keeping the volume high. I haven’t been able to do much strength training as my wrist is not healing as fast as I would like, but I am doing CORE, squats, and some upper body exercises that don't require pushing weights, such as rowing and Lat Pulls. I've never been much of a milage tracker but I did note that I had over 1,000 miles on the bike this month plus some where around 240 miles running. Nice way to start the year. This Week's Log:

Mon: Strength
Tues: AM: Run 1.6 hrs with 10 * 15 sec Strideouts. PM: Bike 2 hrs with 40 minute Tempo
Wed: AM: Bike 1 hr with high RPM Pedaling. PM: Run 1 hr
Thu: AM: Run 1.3 hrs (CRUD Hill Climb) PM: Bike 1.3 hr with Big Gear Climbing and Strength
Fri: AM: Bike 1 hr
Sat: Run 3.9 hrs (CRUD trail run)
Sun: Bike 6.3 hrs (Semi hilly road)

2010-01-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday CRUD long runs are almost always epic. This week was no exception. We did a 20 mile loop up Gold Camp Road (A dirt road closed to motor traffic), down Old Stage, then climbed the Columbine Trail back up to our starting point on Gold Camp. We started just above Helen Hunt Falls and proceeded to run a steady climb of 8 miles topping out just under 10,000 feet. We had a pretty big group starting out and the fast guys started pulling away after 2 miles. We also dealt with quite a bit of snow and the higher we climbed the deeper and slicker it got. This was the melted & frozen, melted & frozen type of snow. Ankle twisting crusty break through snow. But that's what made the run epic. Just another aspect of running in the mountains of Colorado. Slow going but still fun, a typical CRUD run. Big difference from last week; 23 miles just under 3 hours. This week, 20 miles just under 4 hours.

Sunday a very enjoyable mountain bike ride that covered four parks in Colorado Springs: Ute, Palmer, Red Rocks, & Garden of the Gods. Good times with a great group of guys and gal that made for a fun winter ride. The trails were very slick in places with us having our share of wipeouts. I was a little apprehensive, as my wrist is still sore and after coming off a couple big hit drops, my wrist said enough. We stuck to less technical trails after that. Luckily my two crashes were on the left side, so I didn't fall on my bad wrist. In the end over five hours of trail riding with well over 3,000 feet of climbing.

James, Dan, Sharon, & Kevin

Unlike the weekend, the week leading up to it was pretty much a recovery week. Let the body absorb all the running and riding from the previous three weeks. I cut the normal distance as well as the intensity of the week's runs and rides and felt totally recovered by the weekend. Sometimes recovery weeks are the hardest for me, because I want to keep going and have to force myself to cut runs/rides short. I probably should have went a little shorter over the weekend but just couldn't help myself. I love these epic rides and runs too much. And I can't really explain why, I am simply passionate about running and riding my bike. I have been for almost 40 years now. I often wonder how much riding & running I'd do if I was independently wealthy or retired. My guess is a lot!

Oh Yea... The weekly Log:
Mon: Rest
Tue: Run - 0.9 hrs, Bike - 1.5 hrs
Wed: Bike - 1.1 hrs, Run - 0.7 hrs
Thu: Run (CRUD Hill Climb) 1.2 hrs, Bike - 1.4 hrs
Fri: Bike - 1.1 hrs
Sat: Run - 4 hrs
Sun: Bike - 5 hrs

A Very Good Week

2010-01-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

Continued base building this week. The sturdier the foundation the harder I can train and race this Summer. It's important to build a really strong base to work from over the Winter and so far I think I'm building one of the strongest foundations in years! This week was another great week of riding and running despite the sprained wrist.

I took a day off Monday to let my wrist heal but Tuesday was back at it with an early 1 hr 45 min run with Max. We finished just as the sun was rising to display a majestic snow covered pikes peak. What an incredible way to start the day. I took my bike to work with the intention of riding home but my wrist was still pretty sore so it was the trainer again. While driving home I was dreading sitting 2 hours on the trainer when the weather was the warmest in months. But once I got started it turned out to be quite an intense workout; probably better than if I had rode home!

Wednesday, early in the morning for an hour on the trainer, then an hour plus lunch run of steep climbs and descents on the Columbine Trail in Cheyenne Canyon. The trail was still hard pack snow even though it was something like 58 degrees. A Winter scene that felt like Summer! I had to work late to make up for taking such a long lunch break but it was worth it!

Even at Almost 60 Degrees Helen Hunt Falls is still Frozen

Thursday, early morning 1 1/2 hour run with Max. Max got into a bit of a tangle with a raccoon, but luckily the Raccoon wasn't interested in fighting and climbed a tree. That raccoon was just about the same size as Max and could have tore him to pieces. In the evening, I was able to ride home. It usually takes a little over an hour but I added a loop around Garden of the Gods and a Climb up Flying W to make it a just over 2 hours. Riding Garden of the Gods this time of year is pretty serene. The tourist are gone, there are no street lights, and I pretty much have the place all to myself. A very peaceful ride if you don't think about mountain lions.

Friday an easy ride to work of just over an hour. OK, now I ride to work early in the morning. It's usually cold. This morning I believe the temperature was in the upper teens. It's also dark. I saw a guy running in shorts and no shirt. I'm not sure what his point was, it's not like he's getting a tan or anything. He was just running down the trail in the dark, in the cold, with no shirt or tights. He did have gloves on though.

Saturday CRUD

Saturday long run with CRUD. Today was not a typical CRUD run. We actually ran! Normally we are on steep mountain trails with questionable footing, and a CRUD outing is part running, part climbing, part hiking, and part surviving. Today was more like normal marathon runners, with a relatively flat course, good footing, and even talk of speed! We started downtown then North on the Santa Fe Trail for 1 1/2 hrs then turned around and ran back at what some of us like to call fast. A CRUD speed workout of sorts. The distance ended up being just under 23 miles and I suffered pretty good on the last 5 miles. Only CRUD would call 23 miles a "speed" workout. The weather was incredible. Mid 20s when we started and near 60 when we finished. Once home, I rode for about 45 minutes on my road bike to flush out the lactic acid in my legs. Beautiful day!

Max a little Tuckered after almost 23 Miles

Sunday long ride alone. Couldn't find anyone that wanted to go ride 100 miles today, so hit the road early, headed East and just rode with no particular plan other than ride. The weather was amazing for January. Mid 20s starting out, but mid 50s by the time I finished, and no wind. Colorado Springs has got to be one of the most perfect places for riding. For road riding, East is miles and miles of prairie, ranch land, rolling hills and no traffic. West the Mountains, North the Air Force Academy (the world championships were held there once), and South rolling hills and Cheyenne Canyon. Then there is unlimited miles of trails for mountain biking and trail running. Today's ride reminded me of how lucky I am to be living here. Finished up by riding to the West side of town for a loop around Garden of the Gods and a climb up Flying W. Rode like I felt, and just enjoyed a day on the bike. The only issue was my wrist hurt a bit, especially after four hours, but nothing major. All in all a very good week. After three good weeks, next week will be a bit of a recovery week

Heading back to CS after a long day in the Saddle

Mon: Rest

Tue: Run - 1.7 hrs, Bike - 2.1 hrs

Wed: Bike - 1.2 hrs, Run - 1.2 hrs

Thu: Run - 1.5 hrs, Bike - 2.2 hrs

Fri: Bike - 1.2 hrs

Sat: Run - 3 hrs, Bike 0.7 hrs

Sun: Bike - 6 hrs

No Strength training due to sprained wrist.

The Year is Off to Good Start!

2010-01-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

The year is off to good start. As far as training, the year started Dec 28, so just wrapped up the second week. Continuing the pattern established over Nov & Dec to ensure I have a great base to work from once Spring rolls around. My routine for base building is pretty simple: Run & ride as much as possible!

Ha! Actually there is a little more structure which looks something like:

Mon: Strength Training (focus on core)
Tue: Get up 4:30 for 1 ½ - 1 ¾ hr run before work. PM: Ride home from work, if not too cold or icy, loop through Garden of the Gods, then climb Flying W or ride the trainer/rollers if can’t ride outside, or combination of both. 2 Hours.
Wed: Ride to work, 1+ Hour. PM: Hilly run, 1 hour
Thu: 1 ½ - 1 ¾ hr run before work, with speed session. PM: Same as Tue.
Fri: Ride to work, 1+ hr. Strength training
Sat: Long run (3-5 hrs) followed by easy 1 hr spin on bike
Sun: Long ride, MTB or Road 3 -6 hrs.

I’ve had a rather unnerving companion fairly consistently on the way to work over the last few weeks; A coyote about the size of a large German shepherd, that appears to have no fear of humans. Several times now he has come out on the path within inches as I ride by. Sometimes he trots along behind until I stop and yell at him to go away. I usually see his eyes reflecting in my headlamp on the side of the trail just before he comes up. It’s a little eerie, haven’t seen him for a couple days though.

Started the year right with a fun technical MTB ride in Palmer Park on New Year’s Day as well as the following Sunday. That whole weekend was a great way to kick off the year.

New Years MTB Ride

This weekend was somewhat of a compromise. As with most Saturdays, I went on a terrific long run with CRUD, but during the run I slipped on ice and landed on my wrist. The same wrist I broke in October. I completed the run and even an hour bike ride after the run, but then it started swelling. I planned on a 100+ mile road ride today, but my wrist and hand were too sore and swollen to ride. OK, change in plan, easy run & trainer ride. The run went well but the bike/trainer ride was very painful. I tried ignoring the pain, but after 3 hours it was extending up my arm, and I was focusing more on the pain then the workout, so I threw in the towel at 3 hours (55 miles). I’m icing it along with Advil, so hopefully it heals fast. No biggie, these things happen. I can still run, and I’m sure I’ll be back on the bike in no time!

CRUD Run

Training Log

Mon, 12/28/09: CORE Strength & weights
Tue, 12/29/09: AM – 1.6 hr run. PM – Ride home plus trainer w/sprints, 2.2 hrs
Wed, 12/30/09: AM – slow ride to work (very icy) 1.2 hr. PM – Hill run up the Chutes & Gold Camp, 1 hr
Thu, 12/31/09: AM – 1.6 hr run with sprints. Bright moon off the snow seemed like running in daylight! PM – Lunch time road ride with my boss, 2 hrs
Fri, 1/1/10: MTB Ride Palmer Park. Big group, technical and fun! 3.2 hrs
Sat, 1/2/10: CRUD run, Urban trails, 2.7 hrs, followed by 1 hr easy bike ride
Sun, 1/3/10: Long MTB ride. Rode an hr in Ute then over to Palmer to join Sharon, Ethan, Dana, James, & Dan for more fun, 4.6 hrs
Week Total: 7hrs Run, 14 hrs Bike

Mon, 1/4/10: CORE Strength & weights
Tue, 1/5/10: AM – 1.6 hr run. PM – Long ride home to include GoG & Flying W, 2.1 hrs
Wed, 1/6/10: AM – Ride to work, 1.2 hr. PM – Hill run up the Chutes & Gold Camp, 1 hr
Thu, 1/7/10: AM – 1.8 hr run with sprints. Temp 2 below. PM – Trainer workout, hills, 2.1 hrs
Fri, 1/8/10: AM – 1 hr Trainer/Rollers
Sat, 1/9/10: 3 hr CRUD run, followed by 1.1 hr trainer ride (hurt my wrist)
Sun, 1/10/10: AM – 1.1 hr run followed by 3 hr trainer ride.
Week Total: 8.2 hrs Run, 10.5 hrs Bike

A New Year A New Blog

2010-01-02T21:06:00.000-07:00

After finishing the Leadman, I took a break from blogging but not from training. There was still one more thing on my list which was exactly 4 weeks after the Leadville Trail 100 Run. The Akron Marathon, in Akron, OH. It was a reunion of sorts with High School friends, especially two of my best friends Bill Stout and Karen (Jones) Gergon. Karen ran the marathon too, and it was her first. Karen is amazing, a mother of 9, grandmother, and just a year before could not run around the block. She finished with a huge smile and is ready to tackle it again next year! I on the other hand was tired from the very first step and slowly deteriorated throughout, pretty much walking and jogging the last four or so miles.

Karen Finishing the Akron Roadrunner Marathon

Took a break after the marathon and just rode my bike. In October, I went over the handlebars on the way to work and fractured my wrist. If your gonna break something, October is the best time to do it. I needed some time off anyway!

I've been ramping up the base miles since November, building on last year. I'm getting in some incredible rides and runs and 2010 is going to be great. I've got a ton of races planned both running and riding. Gonna try something other than Leadville. After 13 Leadville 100 MTB races, 3 Leadville 100 runs, and 2 Leadmans, I'm ready to move on to something else. The Breckenridge 100 Mountain Bike Race and the Grand Tetons 100 running race look like my main goals in 2010. Also on the calendar are several others such as the Gunnison Growler, the Baton Death March, the Collegiate Peaks 50, and the list goes on. Throw in the Bicycle Tour of Colorado, a Rim2Rim2Rim Grand Canyon run, and Ring the Peak (Pikes Peak) just for fun and it should be a quite an adventurous year. Welcome to 2010!