My wife thought I needed a little inspiration for the day, so she sent me the video below. I enjoyed it so much, I thought I'd share. The inspiration is coming off a less than stellar Turkey Trot 10k on Saturday followed by a stressful couple days at work. My wife has also lobbied for us to write down one thing we're thankful for each day between now and Thanksgiving. It's not hard to look around and see how abundantly we're blessed, although sometimes it's difficult to see. Today, I'm thankful for other people inspiring me....whether it's my wife with her love, my 7 week old daughter with her smile, or a handful of strangers on a video!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Forever Changed
On September 27th at 3:12 AM, my life was forever changed! My daughter, Madelyn Grace entered the world. I still struggle to find the words to express what I felt and continue to feel.
Christine's due date was Thursday, the 22nd. The day came and went without very much excitement. It seemed that most people thought she'd be later, although mentally, each day after the 22nd grew increasingly difficult. Physically, Christine felt better than I thought a pregnant woman ever could. The Saturday following the due date, we decided to try all the possible things to induce labor. We began the process by getting a good hike in. We knocked out 5 miles and 1650 vertical feet and I must say, Christine seemed to do it with ease. We finished off the day with some spicy pizza from Proto's. The next day, we headed back to Button Rock for another 5 mile hike and that night I made some especially hot enchiladas. I thought for sure these would do the trick!
The next morning, as I kissed Chistine goodbye on my way to work, she mentioned that her Braxton-Hicks contractions, which she'd had throughout the pregnancy, had been especially strong through the night. I didn't think much of it and headed off to work. Christine had acupuncture early Monday afternoon and called shortly after to tell me she was having "real" contractions. She continued texting me so that I could keep track while I was at an evening meeting.
When I arrived at home, things progressed quickly. I actually thought I pushed things a bit too far, as we didn't leave for the hospital until her contractions were approximately 3 minutes apart and lasting 60-70 seconds. We got to the hospital without a problem and landed in the room at 8:20 PM. To make a long story short, Christine did amazing over the next 7 hours. She went through the labor and delivery with grace, having a completely un-medicated, natural birth.
The next 48 hours passed by with virtually no sleep. We kept a watchful eye on Maddie and rushed to her side with the slightest cough, sneeze or even coo. We decided to leave the hospital a little early, must to the surprise of one of the nurses. We were just too excited to take Maddie to her new home and begin what is now our normal routine.
Since coming home, we've had a couple doctors appointments showing that Maddie is gaining weight and showing no signs of issues. We've taken her on her first walk, which has quickly become a daily routine for her and Christine. I actually got her out for our first run together, but we were rained out within the first mile. We're looking forward to all the firsts that come along with having a child. Just one of the cool things is that you get to expose your children to all the things you love and, in turn, they often force you to get out of your own comfort zone, see the world in a new light, do things you never thought you'd do and be surprised and overjoyed by the entire process.
I'm only 12 days into this crazy journey, but I couldn't imagine being anywhere else in my life. Thus far, I'm absolutely loving being a Dad.....who would have thought?!!
Christine's due date was Thursday, the 22nd. The day came and went without very much excitement. It seemed that most people thought she'd be later, although mentally, each day after the 22nd grew increasingly difficult. Physically, Christine felt better than I thought a pregnant woman ever could. The Saturday following the due date, we decided to try all the possible things to induce labor. We began the process by getting a good hike in. We knocked out 5 miles and 1650 vertical feet and I must say, Christine seemed to do it with ease. We finished off the day with some spicy pizza from Proto's. The next day, we headed back to Button Rock for another 5 mile hike and that night I made some especially hot enchiladas. I thought for sure these would do the trick!
The next morning, as I kissed Chistine goodbye on my way to work, she mentioned that her Braxton-Hicks contractions, which she'd had throughout the pregnancy, had been especially strong through the night. I didn't think much of it and headed off to work. Christine had acupuncture early Monday afternoon and called shortly after to tell me she was having "real" contractions. She continued texting me so that I could keep track while I was at an evening meeting.
When I arrived at home, things progressed quickly. I actually thought I pushed things a bit too far, as we didn't leave for the hospital until her contractions were approximately 3 minutes apart and lasting 60-70 seconds. We got to the hospital without a problem and landed in the room at 8:20 PM. To make a long story short, Christine did amazing over the next 7 hours. She went through the labor and delivery with grace, having a completely un-medicated, natural birth.
The next 48 hours passed by with virtually no sleep. We kept a watchful eye on Maddie and rushed to her side with the slightest cough, sneeze or even coo. We decided to leave the hospital a little early, must to the surprise of one of the nurses. We were just too excited to take Maddie to her new home and begin what is now our normal routine.
Since coming home, we've had a couple doctors appointments showing that Maddie is gaining weight and showing no signs of issues. We've taken her on her first walk, which has quickly become a daily routine for her and Christine. I actually got her out for our first run together, but we were rained out within the first mile. We're looking forward to all the firsts that come along with having a child. Just one of the cool things is that you get to expose your children to all the things you love and, in turn, they often force you to get out of your own comfort zone, see the world in a new light, do things you never thought you'd do and be surprised and overjoyed by the entire process.
I'm only 12 days into this crazy journey, but I couldn't imagine being anywhere else in my life. Thus far, I'm absolutely loving being a Dad.....who would have thought?!!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Fall Is In The Air
Over the past week, my early morning runs have started with temperatures between 40 and 50F. With that, my mind moves from the summer season to fall, complete with a warm cup'a joe in hand.
So this morning, I couldn't help but scan through some pictures of this summer to remind me of the places my two legs have taken me. I thought I'd share a few:
So this morning, I couldn't help but scan through some pictures of this summer to remind me of the places my two legs have taken me. I thought I'd share a few:
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Longs Peak - Another Box Checked
Soon after moving to Colorado I found myself at a party in Boulder. As I made conversation with the typical Boulderite (you know, Ph'D's, environmentalists, and of course, outdoors folk), the topic of climbing 14ers came up. That night, as I left the party, I decided to point my SUV towards the Longs Peak trailhead. I typically kept an assortment of gear in my car, including the necessities for camping and hiking. I parked my car off the road close to the trailhead and hopped in the back for a little shut-eye.
Finally, after being continually woken up by the numerous folks headed to climb Longs and planning to get an early start, I got up and readied myself for a day on the mountain. As I walked under the light of my headlamp, I couldn't help but wonder what I would encounter in the Trough, the Narrows, or the Homestretch.....sections of the trail I had read about. Regardless, my mind was made up; I was bound and determined to check Longs Peak off my list.
I felt like I was making good time, as I was continually passing people on the trail. As I neared the Keyhole, I saw a number of people turning around and heading down the mountain due to the extremely high winds. I decided to take a pit-stop in the hut to grab some food and get a break from the wind myself. While huddled inside, someone walked in, windblown and tired. He said he had just came from the summit and he was the only one up there and encouraged me to keep going. With that, I layered up (long pants, fleece jacket, wind shell, winter hat, and gloves to be exact) and made my way through the key hole.
As I was grunting, breathing hard, and stopping every few feet, I caught a glimpse of a guy in running tights and a thin shell, practically running up the Trough. He called out a few words of encouragement, shot up the remainder of the couloir and quickly disappeared. What seemed like only minutes later, he came bopping by again, making his way down the mountain. He again spit out words of encouragement like, "doing great man" and "you're almost there." I was completely blown away that a guy, in such little gear, this high on a mountain, could be moving as fast and effortlessly as he was. I was sure he had ran from the trailhead to the boulder field. From that moment, the thought of running a majority of Longs Peak was burned into my brain.
Yesterday, I was able to place another check-mark by one of my longtime goals. I headed up to Longs Peak to attempt to run as much of the mountain as I could. Despite the snow that made for slow going at times, I was pleased with the effort and the day. I was able to run a majority of the mountain between the TH and the boulder field. Here are my splits:
TH - Battle Mtn Junction - 40:24
Chasm Junction - 54:54
Keyhole - 1:52:38
Summit - 2:56:30
It took me almost an hour to get back to the keyhole, which meant I spent almost 2 hours total between the keyhole and the summit. I'm confident I could knock a considerable amount of time off the total if the conditions were better (i.e. drier and warmer). Although, it's rare for someone to say they had a lone summit of Longs Peak on a summer Saturday and that's exactly what I had. I finished with a total time of 5 hrs 13 minutes.
Looking up at the Diamond from the Chasm Junction
One of the only views I had from the summit, as it was pretty socked in with clouds
Longs partially blocked by clouds. As seen from Mt. Audubon today.
Finally, after being continually woken up by the numerous folks headed to climb Longs and planning to get an early start, I got up and readied myself for a day on the mountain. As I walked under the light of my headlamp, I couldn't help but wonder what I would encounter in the Trough, the Narrows, or the Homestretch.....sections of the trail I had read about. Regardless, my mind was made up; I was bound and determined to check Longs Peak off my list.
I felt like I was making good time, as I was continually passing people on the trail. As I neared the Keyhole, I saw a number of people turning around and heading down the mountain due to the extremely high winds. I decided to take a pit-stop in the hut to grab some food and get a break from the wind myself. While huddled inside, someone walked in, windblown and tired. He said he had just came from the summit and he was the only one up there and encouraged me to keep going. With that, I layered up (long pants, fleece jacket, wind shell, winter hat, and gloves to be exact) and made my way through the key hole.
As I was grunting, breathing hard, and stopping every few feet, I caught a glimpse of a guy in running tights and a thin shell, practically running up the Trough. He called out a few words of encouragement, shot up the remainder of the couloir and quickly disappeared. What seemed like only minutes later, he came bopping by again, making his way down the mountain. He again spit out words of encouragement like, "doing great man" and "you're almost there." I was completely blown away that a guy, in such little gear, this high on a mountain, could be moving as fast and effortlessly as he was. I was sure he had ran from the trailhead to the boulder field. From that moment, the thought of running a majority of Longs Peak was burned into my brain.
Yesterday, I was able to place another check-mark by one of my longtime goals. I headed up to Longs Peak to attempt to run as much of the mountain as I could. Despite the snow that made for slow going at times, I was pleased with the effort and the day. I was able to run a majority of the mountain between the TH and the boulder field. Here are my splits:
TH - Battle Mtn Junction - 40:24
Chasm Junction - 54:54
Keyhole - 1:52:38
Summit - 2:56:30
It took me almost an hour to get back to the keyhole, which meant I spent almost 2 hours total between the keyhole and the summit. I'm confident I could knock a considerable amount of time off the total if the conditions were better (i.e. drier and warmer). Although, it's rare for someone to say they had a lone summit of Longs Peak on a summer Saturday and that's exactly what I had. I finished with a total time of 5 hrs 13 minutes.
Looking up at the Diamond from the Chasm Junction
One of the only views I had from the summit, as it was pretty socked in with clouds
Longs partially blocked by clouds. As seen from Mt. Audubon today.Saturday, June 11, 2011
I'm Still Alive and Running
Needless to say, I haven't posted in quite some time. This is mostly due to how busy I've been over the past few months and deciding that blogging fell very low on the priority list. That said, I have missed the outlet of documenting my runs here and felt compelled to post this morning.
Quite a lot has happened in my life, as well as the life of my family. The most important of which is the upcoming addition to my family. My wife is pregnant with our first child and we could not be more excited. This is a great time in our lives and we're doing our best to prepare both mentally and physically over these whirlwind months. We also purchased and moved into a new house. This brought its own set of challenges as we decided to make some changes to the house before and during the move, most of which should finally wrap up this weekend. During this time, I also managed to get a few week long work trips in, visiting Tennessee, Virginia, and Texas. If that wasn't enough to keep us busy, Christine decided she needed to go to her sisters wedding in Oregon (just kidding Kim) so we thought it would be fun to tack on a trip to Seattle and Vancouver afterward. It was actually a very relaxing trip. One which we were able to unwind and enjoy not setting an alarm, having an extra coffee (or 3) and take in the city for a change.
In the midst of all of this, I've continued to run, albeit not as much as I'd like. This running was mostly geared toward one of my 2011 goals, which was to run the Steamboat Springs Marathon. I was able to accomplish this goal last weekend, knocking down a 3:22:50 in my first marathon. I goes without saying that I would I liked to do much better, especially since my original goal was to qualify for Boston at 3:10:00, but as life grew busier in the months leading up to the race, I somewhat lowered my expectations. The last thing I wanted was for running to become another chore rather than something I craved and enjoyed amid my hectic, time crunched schedule. I must say that running was a refuge during this time, something I could look forward to each day and be thankful for.
I was extremely nervous leading up to the race, feeling that I hadn't trained enough, that I should have gotten one more long run in, or that my taper wasn't adequate as I was super stiff leading up to the race. I did put together a solid plan for the race, that include where I wanted my pace to be at certain miles and when/how I would fuel. As for pace, I had hoped to average a 7:30 min/mil pace for a majority of the race, although it was more detailed by mile. Also, my plan for fueling was pretty simple. There were aid stations every 3 to 4 miles. I decided to mix cliff shot bloks and gatorade throughout the run. I stopped and walked through each and every aid station, driving one dixie cup of g-rade and took one cliff shot blok in between each aid station. I felt this technique gave me adequate fueling for the durati
on of the race. So, here are my splits:
Mile 1: 7:45
Mile 2: 7:19
Mile 3: 7:25
Mile 4: 7:51
Mile 5: 7:02
Mile 6: 6:58
Mile 7: 7.24
Mile 8: 7:34
Mile 9: 7:27
Mile 10: 7:30
Mile 11: 7:32
Mile 12: 7:31
Mile 13: 7:23
Mile 14: 7:36
Mile 15: 7:35
Mile 16: 7:37
Mile 17: 7:41
Mile 18: 7:52
Mile 19: 7:33
Mile 20: 7:34
Mile 21: 8:21 - This is where things started to fall apart - yeah, I know, "the wall!"
Mile 22: 8:11
Mile 23: 9:11
Mile 24: 7:42 - Short surge, thinking I was going to finish strong - didn't happen
Mile 25: 8:32
Mile 26.2: 10:37 - Ouch - starting cramping in my left leg - definitely not my dream mile!
My watch showed 26.28 miles with an average pace of 7.43 min/mil, ascending 1408 vertical feet, while descending 2663 vertical feet with a total time of 3 hr 23 min 1 sec (the official time was a hair under 3:23).
All in all, I'm pleased with my first marathon and feel confident I could easily drop this time by 13 minutes to get in under the sought after 3:10 Boston qualifying time. That said, I'm not sure what's next for me. As the spring weather arrived in Colorado, I found that I missed being on my mountain bike. I loved running on the trails, but there was a little envy seeing those guys on their sweet singlespeed 29er's. There's still a couple of local runs that have been goals for me since the beginning of the year that I plan to check off the list in the coming months, one of which is Longs Peak.
I've spent a considerable amount of time on my feet this year. Currently I've logged over 800 miles and 80,000 vertical feet. This puts me on track to log 2000 miles in 2011 which I believe would be an accomplishment in and of itself. Leading up to the marathon, I spent more time pounding the pavement than I'd prefer and I hope to be on the trail more this summer. Regardless of the next goal or objective I set for myself, I plan to be outside as much as possible and look forward to including my wife and child in our outdoor adventures soon enough!
Here are a few pictures from my travels and runs over the past few months:
Looking toward the Skyline Traverse from Heil Valley
Viewing Longs Peak from a window in our new home
My Wife's favorite store in the city where it began
North Vancouver singletrack
Portland at night
The two things you think of when you think about Seattle - Coffee and Pike Market
Looking across to North Vancouver
Seattle near the locks
My beautiful wife and I wrapping up her sister's wedding celebration
Quite a lot has happened in my life, as well as the life of my family. The most important of which is the upcoming addition to my family. My wife is pregnant with our first child and we could not be more excited. This is a great time in our lives and we're doing our best to prepare both mentally and physically over these whirlwind months. We also purchased and moved into a new house. This brought its own set of challenges as we decided to make some changes to the house before and during the move, most of which should finally wrap up this weekend. During this time, I also managed to get a few week long work trips in, visiting Tennessee, Virginia, and Texas. If that wasn't enough to keep us busy, Christine decided she needed to go to her sisters wedding in Oregon (just kidding Kim) so we thought it would be fun to tack on a trip to Seattle and Vancouver afterward. It was actually a very relaxing trip. One which we were able to unwind and enjoy not setting an alarm, having an extra coffee (or 3) and take in the city for a change.
In the midst of all of this, I've continued to run, albeit not as much as I'd like. This running was mostly geared toward one of my 2011 goals, which was to run the Steamboat Springs Marathon. I was able to accomplish this goal last weekend, knocking down a 3:22:50 in my first marathon. I goes without saying that I would I liked to do much better, especially since my original goal was to qualify for Boston at 3:10:00, but as life grew busier in the months leading up to the race, I somewhat lowered my expectations. The last thing I wanted was for running to become another chore rather than something I craved and enjoyed amid my hectic, time crunched schedule. I must say that running was a refuge during this time, something I could look forward to each day and be thankful for.
I was extremely nervous leading up to the race, feeling that I hadn't trained enough, that I should have gotten one more long run in, or that my taper wasn't adequate as I was super stiff leading up to the race. I did put together a solid plan for the race, that include where I wanted my pace to be at certain miles and when/how I would fuel. As for pace, I had hoped to average a 7:30 min/mil pace for a majority of the race, although it was more detailed by mile. Also, my plan for fueling was pretty simple. There were aid stations every 3 to 4 miles. I decided to mix cliff shot bloks and gatorade throughout the run. I stopped and walked through each and every aid station, driving one dixie cup of g-rade and took one cliff shot blok in between each aid station. I felt this technique gave me adequate fueling for the durati
on of the race. So, here are my splits:
Mile 1: 7:45
Mile 2: 7:19
Mile 3: 7:25
Mile 4: 7:51
Mile 5: 7:02
Mile 6: 6:58
Mile 7: 7.24
Mile 8: 7:34
Mile 9: 7:27
Mile 10: 7:30
Mile 11: 7:32
Mile 12: 7:31
Mile 13: 7:23
Mile 14: 7:36
Mile 15: 7:35
Mile 16: 7:37
Mile 17: 7:41
Mile 18: 7:52
Mile 19: 7:33
Mile 20: 7:34
Mile 21: 8:21 - This is where things started to fall apart - yeah, I know, "the wall!"
Mile 22: 8:11
Mile 23: 9:11
Mile 24: 7:42 - Short surge, thinking I was going to finish strong - didn't happen
Mile 25: 8:32
Mile 26.2: 10:37 - Ouch - starting cramping in my left leg - definitely not my dream mile!
My watch showed 26.28 miles with an average pace of 7.43 min/mil, ascending 1408 vertical feet, while descending 2663 vertical feet with a total time of 3 hr 23 min 1 sec (the official time was a hair under 3:23).
All in all, I'm pleased with my first marathon and feel confident I could easily drop this time by 13 minutes to get in under the sought after 3:10 Boston qualifying time. That said, I'm not sure what's next for me. As the spring weather arrived in Colorado, I found that I missed being on my mountain bike. I loved running on the trails, but there was a little envy seeing those guys on their sweet singlespeed 29er's. There's still a couple of local runs that have been goals for me since the beginning of the year that I plan to check off the list in the coming months, one of which is Longs Peak.
I've spent a considerable amount of time on my feet this year. Currently I've logged over 800 miles and 80,000 vertical feet. This puts me on track to log 2000 miles in 2011 which I believe would be an accomplishment in and of itself. Leading up to the marathon, I spent more time pounding the pavement than I'd prefer and I hope to be on the trail more this summer. Regardless of the next goal or objective I set for myself, I plan to be outside as much as possible and look forward to including my wife and child in our outdoor adventures soon enough!
Here are a few pictures from my travels and runs over the past few months:
Looking toward the Skyline Traverse from Heil Valley
Viewing Longs Peak from a window in our new home
My Wife's favorite store in the city where it began
North Vancouver singletrack
Portland at night
The two things you think of when you think about Seattle - Coffee and Pike Market
Looking across to North Vancouver
Seattle near the locks
My beautiful wife and I wrapping up her sister's wedding celebrationSunday, February 6, 2011
Weekly Summary - 2/6
Monday, January 31st - 5.5 Miles in 48:27 - Treadmill (PM)
Still feeling a little sore from the weekend ski trip. Just a nice and easy shake-out on the mill as temperatures continue to drop.
Sit-ups & push-ups (1 set)
AM Food - Granola Cereal + Banana + Coffee
Lunch - Sandwich (turkey & cheese) + Sun Chips + Apple + 2 Clementines
PM Food - 2 Burritos (1 wheat + 1 corn tortilla) with lean beef, rice, & salsa
Tuesday, February 1st - 4.5 Miles in 44:57 - Treadmill (AM)
Another easy shake-out on the mill. It's been a while since I've gotten up early and got a short run in. I woke up surprisingly easy at 4:50 AM and felt ready to go after my run.
Sit-ups & push-ups (1 set)
AM Food - Wheat bagel with homemade strawberry jam + Banana + Granola Bar + Coffee
Lunch - Blackened Redfish with Rice & Ice Tea
Mid-afternoon - Trailmix
PM Food - Spicy Chicken Pasta from the Pumphouse + Beer
Wednesday, February 2nd - 6.5 Miles 55:10 - Treadmill (Late PM)
Another nice and easy run on the mill, just not wanting to battle the negative double digit temperatures. This should be the last night of the extreme cold and tomorrow will become more manageable. I'm taking it pretty easy this week as I contemplating the Skyline Traverse for Saturday. Just as I say that, a friend invited me backcountry skiing on Saturday morning. Oh, decisions, decisions.
Today was a bit of a heavy day as far as food is concerned:
AM Food - Wheat bagel with jam + Coffee x 2
Late AM - Coffee
Lunch - BBQ Chicken Wrap + Fries + Cantaloupe
Midafternoon - Banana
PM Food - Wheat pasta with peppers & tomatoes + 2 slices of wheat bread
Thursday, February 3rd - Off
Decided to take the day off, since Christine is heading out of town early tomorrow morning.
Sit-ups/Push-ups (PM)
Friday, February 4th - Total 8.44 Miles
3.0 Miles in 25:54 - Treadmill (AM)
After waking up at 3 AM so that I could get Christine to the airport, I only had enough time to get a few miles in before heading off to work.
5.44 Miles in 44:57 @ 271 vert ft - McIntosh Loop (PM)
I was able to get out of work and watch a nice sunset as I ran around the lake before meeting a friend at Oskar Blues. It was a beautiful evening to be out, especially since I've spent so much time on the mill this week.
Still feeling a little sore from the weekend ski trip. Just a nice and easy shake-out on the mill as temperatures continue to drop.
Sit-ups & push-ups (1 set)
AM Food - Granola Cereal + Banana + Coffee
Lunch - Sandwich (turkey & cheese) + Sun Chips + Apple + 2 Clementines
PM Food - 2 Burritos (1 wheat + 1 corn tortilla) with lean beef, rice, & salsa
Tuesday, February 1st - 4.5 Miles in 44:57 - Treadmill (AM)
Another easy shake-out on the mill. It's been a while since I've gotten up early and got a short run in. I woke up surprisingly easy at 4:50 AM and felt ready to go after my run.
Sit-ups & push-ups (1 set)
AM Food - Wheat bagel with homemade strawberry jam + Banana + Granola Bar + Coffee
Lunch - Blackened Redfish with Rice & Ice Tea
Mid-afternoon - Trailmix
PM Food - Spicy Chicken Pasta from the Pumphouse + Beer
Wednesday, February 2nd - 6.5 Miles 55:10 - Treadmill (Late PM)
Another nice and easy run on the mill, just not wanting to battle the negative double digit temperatures. This should be the last night of the extreme cold and tomorrow will become more manageable. I'm taking it pretty easy this week as I contemplating the Skyline Traverse for Saturday. Just as I say that, a friend invited me backcountry skiing on Saturday morning. Oh, decisions, decisions.
Today was a bit of a heavy day as far as food is concerned:
AM Food - Wheat bagel with jam + Coffee x 2
Late AM - Coffee
Lunch - BBQ Chicken Wrap + Fries + Cantaloupe
Midafternoon - Banana
PM Food - Wheat pasta with peppers & tomatoes + 2 slices of wheat bread
Thursday, February 3rd - Off
Decided to take the day off, since Christine is heading out of town early tomorrow morning.
Sit-ups/Push-ups (PM)
Friday, February 4th - Total 8.44 Miles
3.0 Miles in 25:54 - Treadmill (AM)
After waking up at 3 AM so that I could get Christine to the airport, I only had enough time to get a few miles in before heading off to work.
5.44 Miles in 44:57 @ 271 vert ft - McIntosh Loop (PM)
I was able to get out of work and watch a nice sunset as I ran around the lake before meeting a friend at Oskar Blues. It was a beautiful evening to be out, especially since I've spent so much time on the mill this week.
AM - Bagel with Jam + Banana x 2 + Coffee x 2
Lunch - Spinach Lasagna + Apple
PM - Burger + Sweet Potato Fries + Beer (Oskar Blues)!
Saturday: 3523 vert ft on the day (skiing + running)
3.0 Miles @ 2030 vertical feet - Telemark Skiing (AM)
I decided to head up to Rocky Mountain National Park for some skiing with friends rather than try my luck at the Skyline Traverse. The weather forecast wasn't stellar, and I don't think my legs are ready for a proper go at it. I want to be able to actually run this and feel good doing so.
My friend Micah and I met up with 4 other folks in Lyons at the Barking Dog. After a blueberry muffin and a coffee to go, we headed up Hwy 36. It's interesting how different the skiing experience was today compared to last weekend, yet it was just as enjoyable. Last weekend was a more focused effort, while today was considerably more laid back. It's nice to head up to the mountains without an agenda or timetable. Sometimes it's good just to go with the flow, stop, look around at the scenery, take a deep breath, and just be.
We decided to stay below treeline, as the wind seemed to be blowing fairly hard and we wanted to enjoy our day as much as possible. We made 2 loops on the same run, getting fresh tracks through the small fur trees that have grown in the old ski runs at Hidden Valley. There was plenty of new snow and you couldn't help but smile after each turn. There was good conversation, no end to the sarcasm, and plenty of high-fives to go around. It was good day!
11.07 Miles in 1:44:41 @ 1493 vertical feet - Picture Rock (PM)
After stopping at the house for a quick drink of water and a change of clothes, I headed out the door again for a different snow sport. Donning my recently purchased MT101's, and Microspikes, I headed up the trail to log a few more miles on the day. Immediately I could feel the morning of skiing in my legs and soon a glance at my watch confirmed what I had suspected! It wasn't going to be a PR day. Despite my snails pace up and down the hill, I was captured by the beauty of the falling snow and the solitude of the trail. I finished up the run just before sunset. As I drove back home, I felt that I had truly made the most of this day, spending it all in the midst of mountains!
AM - Blueberry muffin + Coffee x 2
Late AM - Banana
Lunch - Tortilla with Nutella + Chips & salsa + Coffee
PM - Burrito with beef, rice & salsa + Christine's homemade chocolate chip cookies
Sunday: 6.11 Miles in 1:32:00 @ 2626 vertical feet - Green Mountain
If I were heading to Green Mountain to gain confidence in my fitness, I picked the wrong day. If I were heading there to strengthen my mental fortitude, then I picked the right day. Let's not live in the past!
With a coat of fresh snow (Boulder has about 6 inches and I'm guessing the upper stretches of Green had even more), I headed up Gregory. Besides feeling some stiffness from the previous days effort, I initially didn't feel too bad. I could tell my time was drastically reduced due to the snow conditions, but I didn't realize how much at first. When I arrived at the Ranger Station, I checked my watch at 22 minutes from the Gregory Trailhead. That's basically when my mind began drifting between one of the following thoughts: "this deep snow is making me work for every step and I'm still struggling!" to "could my fitness be that much worse than the last time I ran this mountain?"
After I passed the junction of Greenman, things got dramatically worse. The trail was even less traveled and the snow seemed to be getting deeper. It was basically as if I took one step forward and a half step back. The additional effort and difficult footing forced me to hike a few sections which I was upset about. I would assume run slower than hike, but my body just couldn't hold on. Despite the intersperced hikes, I continued up and finally reached the summit in 52 minutes.
It wasn't the day for a personal best, but it was a great day to challenge the mind. I truly enjoyed the views from the top and the achievement of just getting there. Then it was on the fun part....the descent! I'm not sure I've run that amount of vertical in the amount of fresh snow before, but for a while, I turned off my running brain and turned on my skiing brain. What fun it was to run down the mountain! It was very much like being 7 years old again!
Weekly Totals: 42.15 Miles in 6:56:06 @ 4390 vertical feet
Monday, January 31, 2011
Silverton Mountain
Friday was a day to remember. I had planned to leave work at 3 PM as I had a very important appointment in Boulder at 3:30. My cell phone rang at 2:45! It was my Vice President, asking me to get on a conference call immediately. So, with a mix of fear and anxiety, I jumped on the call with a number of "higher-ups" and began answering questions as quickly as I possibly could. Finally, at 3:15 I spoke up, saying I had go and asking if there was any way we could continue this later. One gentlemen replied, "You know what we're looking for. Can you just continue this process and get the data back to us soon?" How soon I asked. The same gentlemen answered, "As long as you send it tonight, it will be fine." I replied with an "ok," closed my computer, and I was out the door and headed for Boulder.
After my exciting appointment, I headed to meet my ski partner for the weekend in Golden. I rarely travel Hwy 93, especially on a Friday evening. Traffic was absolutely horrendous, leaving me to sit still, pondering how I was going to complete my assignment. After throwing a ridiculous amount of gear in Joe's truck, we sped down I-70 heading West.
So, I quickly broke the news to Joe that I had to work during the first part of our adventure. Thankfully, or should I say unfortunately, I have a broadband card which allowed me to access my company's network via Joe's truck in the middle of the Rocky Mountains.....no digital detox for me this weekend. Joe and I talked about cycling and the latest doping scandal, then I thought about heat transfer and how to justify a project. Then Joe and I talked about the sport of ultrarunning, followed by justification for alternative fuels. And on and on it went, all the way to Montrose Colorado where we pulled into a Quality Inn for the night. I sent the completed file just after midnight, barely missing my deadline.
My cell beeped much too early, having slept less that 5 hours, but excited about what the day would bring. We drove South into Ouray as the sun rose, casting light to the tips of the San Juans.
After a quick stop at 'THE' gas station and a brief chat with the local owner, we made our way through the historic mining town of Silverton Colorado.
The Silverton Mountain Ski 'Resort' is another 6 or so miles outside of the town and is a backcountry style mountain. There's a maximum number of skiers allowed each day, a guide to every 8 folks, and it's mandatory to have an avalanche beacon, probe and shovel. Trust me, these folks aren't kidding around. When my powder skis, which are 101 mm under foot, are the skinniest in the line up, you better believe people are prepared to immerse themselves in the white-room.
We pulled into the parking lot as approximately 80 other folks were assembling the necessary gear for a day in the big mountains. Joe and I quickly changed clothes and made our way to the base area, which is nothing more than a 20 ft by 60 ft tent. We filled out our waivers, basically signing our lives away, and received our lift tickets. Silverton must be moving up in the world, as the first time I skied there 5 years ago, the 'lift ticket' was nothing more than a colored zip-tie on your ski boot. This time they actually had real tickets, not that they were scanning them or anything, but it looked professional enough.
We were grouped with 6 other folks. A restaurant owner and his lawyer friend from Santa Fe, a young couple that I think were questioning their relationship by the end of the day from Durango, and two best friends from Fort Collins made up our group, led by our fearless ski guide Mariah (seriously, she ripped turns like it was nobodies business)! We skied powder in open bowls, we skied powder in trees and we skied powder in chutes. Basically we skied powder, even though Silverton hasn't had snow in 5 days. There's a reason they do what they do and people keep coming back.....they do it well!
Our guide estimated that we skied 10,000 vertical feet on Saturday and I could feel it. It's amazing how you can run almost everyday, then feel so much lactic acid in your legs skiing two thousand plus vertical feet at thirty five degrees in knee deep snow. Actually, it's not that amazing. It's reality. It's difficult (more like impossible) to be in shape for every different physical activity one (especially me) my partake in. I walked to the truck after our last run Saturday afternoon feeling mostly exhilaration, but maybe a little relief as well!
It was day of skiing to remember. After sharing stories and beers in the tent with other survivors, we headed over Red Mountain Pass and filled our stomach's with Ouray's finest.
After leaving the Ouray Brewery fat and happy, we headed to our next destination: Gunnison Colorado. A friend of mine let us enjoy a free place to stay before hitting Crested Butte the following morning. After skiing in almost too warm of temperatures in Silverton the prior day, we awoke to less than warm temperatures of -2F. We quickly packed our gear and headed for one thing I long for almost every morning other than my wife.....coffee!
With the soreness of a day at Silverton beginning to set in, we left the steeps of the Butte behind and headed for the Front Range and the quickly approaching work week.
In retrospect, there's a lot I'm taking away from my weekend. Mainly, it's the sense that these folks are doing exactly what they desire and are passionate about. Here in Colorado, I hear people speak of passion as if it were something you can buy at any King Soopers, but I truly believe this was different, it was genuine.
On Saturday, I asked one of the Silverton guides the same question I've been asking people for years......"what is your dream?". The answer? "I'm living my dream!" How many people do you come in contact with, or even read about, that say they're living their dream? I was pretty blown away.
Let's throw a few facts (and maybe a few assumptions) on the table about a Silverton skiing guide:
1). Guided skiing is Thurs-Sun - that means they can only work a maximum of 4 days per week, but I'm pretty sure they don't get to work all 4.
2). They live in a town with a population of 500 year around residents - I'm sure many of those are residents which feel the town should remain as is, not changed by these fun-hounds looking for the next extreme adventure. Reduce the 500 to a number of residents that actually enjoy them being there, and see how many actual connections one might make and the odds of building a community start to look rough.
3). These are smart folks - from my vantage point, these guides are pretty top notch. They demonstrate superb leadership skills, all the while assessing the ever changing situations around them. I sure placed a lot of trust in them!
4). Based on #1, they're not making a lot of money - they probably have another job or two to make ends meet.
5). Based on #3, they could probably be making a lot more money, if that's what they were pursuing. They're good at what they do, but they could use those same skills to be good at many other things.
The fact is, these people really are living their dream, or maybe even dreams. I'm actually amazed by that. By no means is it money or success induced. It's purely the pursuit of happiness. I hope to take these facts, things that I saw in and through these guides and apply them to my own life, both now and for years to come.
I love stories. I'm from the South, so I love telling stories. Some of them actually true! But I also love to hear stories. My favorite thing about traveling, whether it be around the state of Colorado or to another country on the other side of the world, is hearing people's stories. We have so much to learn from others, yet we continually build walls around ourselves, not wanting to let others in. I do it myself, for many reasons, some of which I don't even realize until a wall is built. My continued hope is to spend my time, not only listening and learning about other people's stories, but also breaking down the walls I've created to let even more people in, intertwining my story with the ultimate story.
After my exciting appointment, I headed to meet my ski partner for the weekend in Golden. I rarely travel Hwy 93, especially on a Friday evening. Traffic was absolutely horrendous, leaving me to sit still, pondering how I was going to complete my assignment. After throwing a ridiculous amount of gear in Joe's truck, we sped down I-70 heading West.
"It should not be denied . . . that being footloose
has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our
minds with escape from history and oppression and
law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom,
and the road has always led west."
- Walter Stegner
So, I quickly broke the news to Joe that I had to work during the first part of our adventure. Thankfully, or should I say unfortunately, I have a broadband card which allowed me to access my company's network via Joe's truck in the middle of the Rocky Mountains.....no digital detox for me this weekend. Joe and I talked about cycling and the latest doping scandal, then I thought about heat transfer and how to justify a project. Then Joe and I talked about the sport of ultrarunning, followed by justification for alternative fuels. And on and on it went, all the way to Montrose Colorado where we pulled into a Quality Inn for the night. I sent the completed file just after midnight, barely missing my deadline.
My cell beeped much too early, having slept less that 5 hours, but excited about what the day would bring. We drove South into Ouray as the sun rose, casting light to the tips of the San Juans.
After a quick stop at 'THE' gas station and a brief chat with the local owner, we made our way through the historic mining town of Silverton Colorado.
The Silverton Mountain Ski 'Resort' is another 6 or so miles outside of the town and is a backcountry style mountain. There's a maximum number of skiers allowed each day, a guide to every 8 folks, and it's mandatory to have an avalanche beacon, probe and shovel. Trust me, these folks aren't kidding around. When my powder skis, which are 101 mm under foot, are the skinniest in the line up, you better believe people are prepared to immerse themselves in the white-room.
We pulled into the parking lot as approximately 80 other folks were assembling the necessary gear for a day in the big mountains. Joe and I quickly changed clothes and made our way to the base area, which is nothing more than a 20 ft by 60 ft tent. We filled out our waivers, basically signing our lives away, and received our lift tickets. Silverton must be moving up in the world, as the first time I skied there 5 years ago, the 'lift ticket' was nothing more than a colored zip-tie on your ski boot. This time they actually had real tickets, not that they were scanning them or anything, but it looked professional enough.
We were grouped with 6 other folks. A restaurant owner and his lawyer friend from Santa Fe, a young couple that I think were questioning their relationship by the end of the day from Durango, and two best friends from Fort Collins made up our group, led by our fearless ski guide Mariah (seriously, she ripped turns like it was nobodies business)! We skied powder in open bowls, we skied powder in trees and we skied powder in chutes. Basically we skied powder, even though Silverton hasn't had snow in 5 days. There's a reason they do what they do and people keep coming back.....they do it well!
Our guide estimated that we skied 10,000 vertical feet on Saturday and I could feel it. It's amazing how you can run almost everyday, then feel so much lactic acid in your legs skiing two thousand plus vertical feet at thirty five degrees in knee deep snow. Actually, it's not that amazing. It's reality. It's difficult (more like impossible) to be in shape for every different physical activity one (especially me) my partake in. I walked to the truck after our last run Saturday afternoon feeling mostly exhilaration, but maybe a little relief as well!
It was day of skiing to remember. After sharing stories and beers in the tent with other survivors, we headed over Red Mountain Pass and filled our stomach's with Ouray's finest.
After leaving the Ouray Brewery fat and happy, we headed to our next destination: Gunnison Colorado. A friend of mine let us enjoy a free place to stay before hitting Crested Butte the following morning. After skiing in almost too warm of temperatures in Silverton the prior day, we awoke to less than warm temperatures of -2F. We quickly packed our gear and headed for one thing I long for almost every morning other than my wife.....coffee!
With the soreness of a day at Silverton beginning to set in, we left the steeps of the Butte behind and headed for the Front Range and the quickly approaching work week.
In retrospect, there's a lot I'm taking away from my weekend. Mainly, it's the sense that these folks are doing exactly what they desire and are passionate about. Here in Colorado, I hear people speak of passion as if it were something you can buy at any King Soopers, but I truly believe this was different, it was genuine.
On Saturday, I asked one of the Silverton guides the same question I've been asking people for years......"what is your dream?". The answer? "I'm living my dream!" How many people do you come in contact with, or even read about, that say they're living their dream? I was pretty blown away.
Let's throw a few facts (and maybe a few assumptions) on the table about a Silverton skiing guide:
1). Guided skiing is Thurs-Sun - that means they can only work a maximum of 4 days per week, but I'm pretty sure they don't get to work all 4.
2). They live in a town with a population of 500 year around residents - I'm sure many of those are residents which feel the town should remain as is, not changed by these fun-hounds looking for the next extreme adventure. Reduce the 500 to a number of residents that actually enjoy them being there, and see how many actual connections one might make and the odds of building a community start to look rough.
3). These are smart folks - from my vantage point, these guides are pretty top notch. They demonstrate superb leadership skills, all the while assessing the ever changing situations around them. I sure placed a lot of trust in them!
4). Based on #1, they're not making a lot of money - they probably have another job or two to make ends meet.
5). Based on #3, they could probably be making a lot more money, if that's what they were pursuing. They're good at what they do, but they could use those same skills to be good at many other things.
The fact is, these people really are living their dream, or maybe even dreams. I'm actually amazed by that. By no means is it money or success induced. It's purely the pursuit of happiness. I hope to take these facts, things that I saw in and through these guides and apply them to my own life, both now and for years to come.
I love stories. I'm from the South, so I love telling stories. Some of them actually true! But I also love to hear stories. My favorite thing about traveling, whether it be around the state of Colorado or to another country on the other side of the world, is hearing people's stories. We have so much to learn from others, yet we continually build walls around ourselves, not wanting to let others in. I do it myself, for many reasons, some of which I don't even realize until a wall is built. My continued hope is to spend my time, not only listening and learning about other people's stories, but also breaking down the walls I've created to let even more people in, intertwining my story with the ultimate story.
Weekly Summary - 1/30
Monday January 24th: 4.5 Miles in 36:01 - Treadmill (PM)
I wasn't feeling extremely spry this evening so opted for the treadmill workout after spending some time with Christine. I was actually thinking of taking the day off, but since I won't be running Saturday or Sunday, due to skiing at Silverton Mountain and Crested Butte, I decided against it.
I actually enjoy the consistency of running most every day. I remember having a conversation with my Father-in-law a couple years ago about some of his training techniques. He mentioned that he would typically run 14 out of 15 days, taking 2 days off each month. At the time, I was blown away. I felt that 5 days per week would be more than enough, but my mindset has slowly shifted. The more I run, the more I truly enjoy running. I also feel that the consistency helps me in many ways, other than just my fitness. I'm still not running every day, but I've been hitting 6 of 7 days a week pretty regularly, with the "day off" usually involving some other type of activity such as skiing. I'm finding that my body and mind can handle a lot more than I typically throw at it and I'm enjoying the journey of pushing myself further and harder.
Tuesday January 25th: 7.0 Miles in 58:40 - Treadmill (PM)
A little interval session tonight. I've been wanting to hit the track, but I haven't found a track nearby that has lights so I opted for a session on the mill. I warmed up slowly for 2 miles, then did 0.25 mil @ 6 min/mil with 1% grade followed by 0.25 mil @ 10 min/mil rest. I completed 8 rotations and then ended with a mile @ 8 min/mile cool down. I felt pretty strong during each interval, easily getting them in. I wish that the treadmill would go just a little faster, but I may just begin increasing the grade percentage. My plan is to complete another interval session next week with more of a pyramid, using each rotation to increase distance. I feel confident I can run steadily at a 6 min/mil pace, I just have to put in the work to get there. Right now, time is on my side.
Wednesday January 26th: 8.66 Total Miles
4.61 Miles in 48:37 @ 445 vert ft - Picture Rock with Christine (Lunch)
Christine met me for a lunchtime run at Picture Rock in Lyons. Today was a gorgeous day to be out and I was thankful Christine suggested it. I recently took another position with my company, which has brought on additional responsibility. Until we hire someone to take my previous position, I'm somewhat pulling double duty, so sneaking out for a quick 4 at lunch isn't as easy as it once was. Thankfully we're interviewing a candidate next week that seems promising. Hopefully my new position will have a positive overall affect on my life and help me to find a better balance.
4.05 Miles in 33:45 @ 233 vert ft - Neighborhood Loop (PM)
After I getting home, I decided to head out for a nice and easy shake out, considering today a bit of a recovery day from my interval session last night. I felt great the entire run. It's amazing how your body plays tricks on you. Granted I was maintaining a fairly slow pace, but my running seemed to be almost perfect. There was no pain, tension or discomfort in my ankles, my foot strike was as neutral as it gets, and I felt that each stride was effortless. I look forward to more runs like this in the future.
Thursday January 27th: 8.32 Total Miles
4.10 Miles in 33:44 @ 730 vert ft - Hall Ranch (Lunch)
Today was one of those days when I tell myself I'll never leave Colorado. The old explorer read 53F as I pulled into the Hall Ranch Trailhead for a quick lunchtime run. As I sped down the trail with the sun shining down on me, I felt great. The only disappointment today was wearing a long sleeve shirt when I should have left it in the car! I couldn't believe it was the end of January. To make things even better, I had another PR on the climb to the first bench. I also enjoyed passing and fending off 3 mountain bikers on the technical descent. Even though I'm a mountain biker as well, that always feels good!
4.22 Miles in 36:41 @ 215 vert ft - Lake McIntosh (PM)
I was actually able to get out of work before sunset today, so I made a quick change of the clothes and headed off for a quick lap at the lake. The sunset over the mountains was absolutely breathtaking, lighting a fire in the sky behind Long's Peak. It was a peaceful and easy run, one that I took full advantage of to delve into my innermost thoughts. I find that these runs allow me to almost be in a meditative state, one that's very beneficial to me.
Friday January 28th: Off
I was up late last night getting all my gear together for ski trip and work was busy busy.
Saturday: Off
Skiing Silverton Mountain
Sunday: Off
Skiing Crested Butte
This wasn't a big week for me as far as running is concerned, but there were a lot of other things that took its place.
First of all, I accepted a new position at work and Monday was my first day. This makes my 6th position with my company in a total of 8.5 years. I wouldn't say that I'm an expert in any of the areas in which I've worked, but I spent enough time to get a good grasp of what I was doing and what was going on around me. My hope is that each of those experiences have prepared me to take on the position I currently have.
Secondly, I took my third trip to ski Silverton Mountain. This was probably one of the most anxious of the three, as I haven't skied that much over the past couple of years. Couple that with the fact that the time I've spent on two planks has been of the telemark variety and it breeds anxiety. Regardless, I quickly remembered how to turn those fat alpine boards and enjoyed my time thoroughly. More on this to come.
So, as I look back on January in regard to running, here are the numbers:
186.27 Miles
35 Total Runs
25 hrs 48 min 17 sec
9272 vertical feet of climbing
968 Push-ups
917 Sit-ups
I wasn't feeling extremely spry this evening so opted for the treadmill workout after spending some time with Christine. I was actually thinking of taking the day off, but since I won't be running Saturday or Sunday, due to skiing at Silverton Mountain and Crested Butte, I decided against it.
I actually enjoy the consistency of running most every day. I remember having a conversation with my Father-in-law a couple years ago about some of his training techniques. He mentioned that he would typically run 14 out of 15 days, taking 2 days off each month. At the time, I was blown away. I felt that 5 days per week would be more than enough, but my mindset has slowly shifted. The more I run, the more I truly enjoy running. I also feel that the consistency helps me in many ways, other than just my fitness. I'm still not running every day, but I've been hitting 6 of 7 days a week pretty regularly, with the "day off" usually involving some other type of activity such as skiing. I'm finding that my body and mind can handle a lot more than I typically throw at it and I'm enjoying the journey of pushing myself further and harder.
Tuesday January 25th: 7.0 Miles in 58:40 - Treadmill (PM)
A little interval session tonight. I've been wanting to hit the track, but I haven't found a track nearby that has lights so I opted for a session on the mill. I warmed up slowly for 2 miles, then did 0.25 mil @ 6 min/mil with 1% grade followed by 0.25 mil @ 10 min/mil rest. I completed 8 rotations and then ended with a mile @ 8 min/mile cool down. I felt pretty strong during each interval, easily getting them in. I wish that the treadmill would go just a little faster, but I may just begin increasing the grade percentage. My plan is to complete another interval session next week with more of a pyramid, using each rotation to increase distance. I feel confident I can run steadily at a 6 min/mil pace, I just have to put in the work to get there. Right now, time is on my side.
Wednesday January 26th: 8.66 Total Miles
4.61 Miles in 48:37 @ 445 vert ft - Picture Rock with Christine (Lunch)
Christine met me for a lunchtime run at Picture Rock in Lyons. Today was a gorgeous day to be out and I was thankful Christine suggested it. I recently took another position with my company, which has brought on additional responsibility. Until we hire someone to take my previous position, I'm somewhat pulling double duty, so sneaking out for a quick 4 at lunch isn't as easy as it once was. Thankfully we're interviewing a candidate next week that seems promising. Hopefully my new position will have a positive overall affect on my life and help me to find a better balance.
4.05 Miles in 33:45 @ 233 vert ft - Neighborhood Loop (PM)
After I getting home, I decided to head out for a nice and easy shake out, considering today a bit of a recovery day from my interval session last night. I felt great the entire run. It's amazing how your body plays tricks on you. Granted I was maintaining a fairly slow pace, but my running seemed to be almost perfect. There was no pain, tension or discomfort in my ankles, my foot strike was as neutral as it gets, and I felt that each stride was effortless. I look forward to more runs like this in the future.
Thursday January 27th: 8.32 Total Miles
4.10 Miles in 33:44 @ 730 vert ft - Hall Ranch (Lunch)
Today was one of those days when I tell myself I'll never leave Colorado. The old explorer read 53F as I pulled into the Hall Ranch Trailhead for a quick lunchtime run. As I sped down the trail with the sun shining down on me, I felt great. The only disappointment today was wearing a long sleeve shirt when I should have left it in the car! I couldn't believe it was the end of January. To make things even better, I had another PR on the climb to the first bench. I also enjoyed passing and fending off 3 mountain bikers on the technical descent. Even though I'm a mountain biker as well, that always feels good!
4.22 Miles in 36:41 @ 215 vert ft - Lake McIntosh (PM)
I was actually able to get out of work before sunset today, so I made a quick change of the clothes and headed off for a quick lap at the lake. The sunset over the mountains was absolutely breathtaking, lighting a fire in the sky behind Long's Peak. It was a peaceful and easy run, one that I took full advantage of to delve into my innermost thoughts. I find that these runs allow me to almost be in a meditative state, one that's very beneficial to me.
Friday January 28th: Off
I was up late last night getting all my gear together for ski trip and work was busy busy.
Saturday: Off
Skiing Silverton Mountain
Sunday: Off
Skiing Crested Butte
This wasn't a big week for me as far as running is concerned, but there were a lot of other things that took its place.
First of all, I accepted a new position at work and Monday was my first day. This makes my 6th position with my company in a total of 8.5 years. I wouldn't say that I'm an expert in any of the areas in which I've worked, but I spent enough time to get a good grasp of what I was doing and what was going on around me. My hope is that each of those experiences have prepared me to take on the position I currently have.
Secondly, I took my third trip to ski Silverton Mountain. This was probably one of the most anxious of the three, as I haven't skied that much over the past couple of years. Couple that with the fact that the time I've spent on two planks has been of the telemark variety and it breeds anxiety. Regardless, I quickly remembered how to turn those fat alpine boards and enjoyed my time thoroughly. More on this to come.
So, as I look back on January in regard to running, here are the numbers:
186.27 Miles
35 Total Runs
25 hrs 48 min 17 sec
9272 vertical feet of climbing
968 Push-ups
917 Sit-ups
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Weekly Summary - 1/23
Monday 1/17: 4.05 Miles in 33:01 @ 200 vert ft - Neighborhood Loop (PM)
I was hoping to get out for lunch and enjoy this incredible day, but work wasn't having it. So I had to settle for a little shake out when I got home, around 6 PM. I'll consider this a recovery and loosening run, as my legs were pretty sore from the strength training session last night.
Tuesday 1/18: 4.11 Miles in 34:20 @ 748 vert ft - Hall Ranch (Lunch)
My legs were still sore today, but I actually had a 2 second PR to the bench. I'll take the credit and contribute it to a fitness gain! It was another beautiful day on the Front Range. Even though I have a ski trip to Silverton planned in 2 weeks, I'm somewhat yearning for spring and the longer days that come with it. Although, the warm weather also brings snakes, which I'm less excited about!
Wednesday 1/19: 6.15 Miles in 48:15 - Treadmill (PM)
Today was a rough day at work, to say the least. It was one of those days when you question what you're doing and, more importantly, why. I think we all have those days occasionally, they make us stronger, but they're not pleasant. I got home and decided to chill for a while and talk to Christine. So around 8:30, I threw the ear phones in, hit the treadmill, and tried my best to zone out. It worked for the most part.
Thursday 1/20: 7.19 Miles in 55:00 - Neighborhood Loop + 1/2 McIntosh Lake (PM)
I took it nice and easy tonight. I could feel a little tension in my left ankle, which concerned me. It has historically been my right ankle that has plagued me. I'm not sure if I've changed my foot strike or if it was just a coincidence, but I took it easy and I'll reassess tomorrow.
Toward the end of the run, as I was cruising around the lake in darkness, a policeman walked out from behind a fence! It scared the crap out of me. Of course, all I initially saw was a big guy in all black coming at me. It wasn't until I saw the shinny badge that my heart rate dropped. To make things worse, I had noticed a helicopter circling near the area for the entirety of the run. I'm still not sure as to why this officer would need to be where he was, when he was there, but for now I'll just be glad he was protecting me!
Friday 1/21: 11.57 Miles in 1:32:20 @ 769 vert ft - Neighborhood Loop
After a long work day I arrived home to an empty house. Christine had a workshop in Denver and wouldn't be home until after 9 PM, so I was on my own for dinner. I decided to head out for a decent run on an empty stomach and hoped to get home about the same time as Christine. The run wasn't anything to write home about, but I feel it helped in training my mental fortitude. I wandered through some neighborhoods, took random turns to shake things up and make it interesting, but it's still a little boring to be running alone on a Friday night. Regardless, I knew that I wouldn't be able to fit a run in tomorrow so I better just lower my head and get the miles. I got home just in time to stretch, shower, and warm up some left-overs - chicken enchilada's with green chili.
Saturday 1/22: 5.39 Miles in 1:53:01 @ 993 vert ft - Keystone Gulch - Cross-Country Skiing
Christine had made reservations for us to ski and have lunch at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse. We have really fond memories of this place. The day we were engaged, I had planned to cap off our wonderful day here. It is by far the most unique dining experience I've had. To sum it up, it's a yurt about a mile in from the Ski Cooper base area. It's only accessible by hiking or skiing in. There's zero electricity so the owners cook everything by propane and bring the food in fresh each day by either snowmobile or 4-wheeler.
Our plans were thwarted by winter weather and traffic. It took us almost 4.5 hours to reach Silverthorne. Without enough time remaining to make our reservation we opted for some skiing around Keystone and a stop by the Dillon Dam Brewery. Unfortunately, this wasn't the end to our traffic woes, as we endured another 4 hrs to drive home. Drives like these make me question opting to drive to Summit County rather than stick around the Front Range or even venture into RMNP. For Christine, I'm fairly certain the question is answered!
Sunday: 9.4 Miles Total
5.25 Miles in 41:29 @ 241 vert ft (AM) - Lake McIntosh
I crawled out of bed this morning for a stiff shake out this morning. I couldn't have asked for a better mornng, as the sun was shining and quickly bringing warmth to my morning run. Despite the urge to keep running, I took the disciplined approach and headed home so that I could have ample time to stretch, read, and enjoy a good cup'a coffee before heading to church.
4.15 Miles in 38:47 @ 190 vert ft (PM)
After spending the early afternoon touring houses and, subsequently discussing said houses at Vic's, Christine and I grabbed the last bit of daylight for stroll around the Lake. Nice day, comfortably running in shorts. Afterwards, I threw on my Domestic Husband hat by attempting to prepare Elk Medallions with a reduced Grape Sauce, complimented by Roasted Carrots. I'll say it turned out in the o.k. category and I have much room for improvement!
Strength Training (PM)
Sit-ups - Push-ups - Squats - Lunges
Right now, I feel that my running can be defined as stable. I haven't been able to increase my weekly mileage as of late, which is a little concerning. Overall, I feel my my week day runs can be placed in the adequate category, but my weekend runs have to change...soon. I feel that I'm a long way from where I hope to be this Spring. In order to get there I, at a minimum, need to have a significant long run every other week. Ideally, I should get a substantial 'long' run in each week, in the realm of 15-20 miles....more throughout the Spring.
I'll be heading to the San Juans this weekend for some skiing at Silverton Mountain, so I won't have the chance to log the miles that I "should." Although, this is going to be an awesome weekend, one that I'll be getting in ample exercise.
The next weekend should be interesting. Christine is heading to California to hang with a friend, so I should have ample time for a long run. I know I'm far from ready, but this would be a perfect opportunity to attempt the Skyline Traverse. I'll let it percolate and make the decision as that weekend approaches.
2011 Totals:
152.29 Miles
20:51:22
7,649 Vertical Feet of Climbing
782 Push-ups
731 Sit-ups
Above are a couple pictures from our Keystone XC outing on Saturday.
I was hoping to get out for lunch and enjoy this incredible day, but work wasn't having it. So I had to settle for a little shake out when I got home, around 6 PM. I'll consider this a recovery and loosening run, as my legs were pretty sore from the strength training session last night.
Tuesday 1/18: 4.11 Miles in 34:20 @ 748 vert ft - Hall Ranch (Lunch)
My legs were still sore today, but I actually had a 2 second PR to the bench. I'll take the credit and contribute it to a fitness gain! It was another beautiful day on the Front Range. Even though I have a ski trip to Silverton planned in 2 weeks, I'm somewhat yearning for spring and the longer days that come with it. Although, the warm weather also brings snakes, which I'm less excited about!
Wednesday 1/19: 6.15 Miles in 48:15 - Treadmill (PM)
Today was a rough day at work, to say the least. It was one of those days when you question what you're doing and, more importantly, why. I think we all have those days occasionally, they make us stronger, but they're not pleasant. I got home and decided to chill for a while and talk to Christine. So around 8:30, I threw the ear phones in, hit the treadmill, and tried my best to zone out. It worked for the most part.
Thursday 1/20: 7.19 Miles in 55:00 - Neighborhood Loop + 1/2 McIntosh Lake (PM)
I took it nice and easy tonight. I could feel a little tension in my left ankle, which concerned me. It has historically been my right ankle that has plagued me. I'm not sure if I've changed my foot strike or if it was just a coincidence, but I took it easy and I'll reassess tomorrow.
Toward the end of the run, as I was cruising around the lake in darkness, a policeman walked out from behind a fence! It scared the crap out of me. Of course, all I initially saw was a big guy in all black coming at me. It wasn't until I saw the shinny badge that my heart rate dropped. To make things worse, I had noticed a helicopter circling near the area for the entirety of the run. I'm still not sure as to why this officer would need to be where he was, when he was there, but for now I'll just be glad he was protecting me!
Friday 1/21: 11.57 Miles in 1:32:20 @ 769 vert ft - Neighborhood Loop
After a long work day I arrived home to an empty house. Christine had a workshop in Denver and wouldn't be home until after 9 PM, so I was on my own for dinner. I decided to head out for a decent run on an empty stomach and hoped to get home about the same time as Christine. The run wasn't anything to write home about, but I feel it helped in training my mental fortitude. I wandered through some neighborhoods, took random turns to shake things up and make it interesting, but it's still a little boring to be running alone on a Friday night. Regardless, I knew that I wouldn't be able to fit a run in tomorrow so I better just lower my head and get the miles. I got home just in time to stretch, shower, and warm up some left-overs - chicken enchilada's with green chili.
Saturday 1/22: 5.39 Miles in 1:53:01 @ 993 vert ft - Keystone Gulch - Cross-Country Skiing
Christine had made reservations for us to ski and have lunch at the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse. We have really fond memories of this place. The day we were engaged, I had planned to cap off our wonderful day here. It is by far the most unique dining experience I've had. To sum it up, it's a yurt about a mile in from the Ski Cooper base area. It's only accessible by hiking or skiing in. There's zero electricity so the owners cook everything by propane and bring the food in fresh each day by either snowmobile or 4-wheeler.
Our plans were thwarted by winter weather and traffic. It took us almost 4.5 hours to reach Silverthorne. Without enough time remaining to make our reservation we opted for some skiing around Keystone and a stop by the Dillon Dam Brewery. Unfortunately, this wasn't the end to our traffic woes, as we endured another 4 hrs to drive home. Drives like these make me question opting to drive to Summit County rather than stick around the Front Range or even venture into RMNP. For Christine, I'm fairly certain the question is answered!
Sunday: 9.4 Miles Total
5.25 Miles in 41:29 @ 241 vert ft (AM) - Lake McIntosh
I crawled out of bed this morning for a stiff shake out this morning. I couldn't have asked for a better mornng, as the sun was shining and quickly bringing warmth to my morning run. Despite the urge to keep running, I took the disciplined approach and headed home so that I could have ample time to stretch, read, and enjoy a good cup'a coffee before heading to church.
4.15 Miles in 38:47 @ 190 vert ft (PM)
After spending the early afternoon touring houses and, subsequently discussing said houses at Vic's, Christine and I grabbed the last bit of daylight for stroll around the Lake. Nice day, comfortably running in shorts. Afterwards, I threw on my Domestic Husband hat by attempting to prepare Elk Medallions with a reduced Grape Sauce, complimented by Roasted Carrots. I'll say it turned out in the o.k. category and I have much room for improvement!
Strength Training (PM)
Sit-ups - Push-ups - Squats - Lunges
Right now, I feel that my running can be defined as stable. I haven't been able to increase my weekly mileage as of late, which is a little concerning. Overall, I feel my my week day runs can be placed in the adequate category, but my weekend runs have to change...soon. I feel that I'm a long way from where I hope to be this Spring. In order to get there I, at a minimum, need to have a significant long run every other week. Ideally, I should get a substantial 'long' run in each week, in the realm of 15-20 miles....more throughout the Spring.
I'll be heading to the San Juans this weekend for some skiing at Silverton Mountain, so I won't have the chance to log the miles that I "should." Although, this is going to be an awesome weekend, one that I'll be getting in ample exercise.
The next weekend should be interesting. Christine is heading to California to hang with a friend, so I should have ample time for a long run. I know I'm far from ready, but this would be a perfect opportunity to attempt the Skyline Traverse. I'll let it percolate and make the decision as that weekend approaches.
2011 Totals:
152.29 Miles
20:51:22
7,649 Vertical Feet of Climbing
782 Push-ups
731 Sit-ups
Above are a couple pictures from our Keystone XC outing on Saturday.
Here's some new music that I just can't stop listening to - The Heavy
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