Still No Snow on the Peak

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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