Cross Country

17 Sunday Nov 2013

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2014 US Cross Country, Caolan MacMahon, Cross Country, Melody Fairchild, Revolution Running

Not running all week due to a cold takes some of the excitement out of this event for me. But then I thought the same way about last weekend’s Turkey Trot 10K and I ended up running fairly well. It’s not like I need to run fast to enjoy this cross country 6K race. This is my first cross country event in 30 years. Coming in last place won’t take away the fantasy of reliving my youth. Simply smelling the earthy grass takes me back. Those high school meets racing against Killeen’s Carlos Quiñones. Those intense mile interval workouts along the San Marcos River in college. Six mile repeats averaging a 4:30 pace. Despite the downer of thinking I’m not 100%, I feel like a kid again! I did run 7 miles yesterday at an 8.5 minute per mile pace. Felt so good to run again. I’m not worried that I fell out of shape. You can’t in a week. The callouses on my feet aren’t any thinner. It is possible I lost some racing edge but simply being here running a cross country race at any pace is priceless. This is going to be a good day.

Unlike a road race where everyone launches together, the women start first at 9am. I see Caolan MacMahon, aka the Chronic Runner. She’s about my age and a badass. I passed her in a half marathon a year or so ago right at the finish line. From the subsequent email exchange where I let her download the race pics of us finishing together, I got the impression she thinks I’m a douche bag for passing her like that. She’s leading her team of 50 year olds named Women Who Run the World. I see Melody Fairchild, local star runner and coach. Wasn’t too long ago she was setting national records at Boulder HS. This park is quite literally her backyard, under the shadow of the flatirons. She finishes top ten and wins the individual award in the masters division.

They call us guys to the line for a 10am start. I queue up near the middle of the pack where I notice a clear division between 20 year olds and 50 year olds. This will be a fast start and I don’t want to be in front of the stampede. Despite the 39° starting temperature and 16 mph wind, few in front of me are wearing tights. The guys behind are dressed more for comfort with gloves and tights. I pocketed my gloves but am wearing black Under Armour tights and a white Under Armour, long sleeve, compression-fit turtleneck top. The wind is gusting well over 30 mph which can make the air feel well below freezing. There’s a pack of kids lined up in front of me who look like they might be in grade school. I’ve already accepted that I’m going to be seriously smoked by some of these older kids. The millennials who wear their sister’s pink fleece pajama bottoms for warmups. My new goal for this race is to not get passed by any of them during the 3 laps. I wonder if I should be concerned over these little ankle biters. Surveying the field of runners lined up in front of me, I think back to my registration form. Did it ask me my age, or what grade I’m in?

We start and I settle into a pace that is pushing myself yet feels sustainable. My first mile is at a 7:20 pace. Slower than my typical 10K pace but I don’t expect to run as fast on the grass. Those little ankle biters swarm around me during this first loop. Their team is the Boulder Warriors, managed by Melody Fairchild. Ellie read the Warrior series in grade school so that confirms their age. They come with a huge cheering squad along the course which I’m quick to co-opt. Still, these pint-sized harriers annoy me because they can’t run a straight line. I endeavor to surge ahead of them. About half their team end up beating me. They cut a sharper turn around trees because they can duck under the low-hanging branches. They sprint down hills immediately after cresting them while my legs are still considering recovery from the fatigue of the climb.

I maintain close to the same pace on the second loop but a few runners catch me. I fail in my goal to not get passed by the leaders as two of them pass me within 10 seconds of the finish line. This is not the time to let negativity creep in though, I have another loop to complete. I don’t put on a kick necessarily but I run this final loop faster than the second. I finish in 29:07 for a 7:38 pace. I’m happy with my effort and want to do this again. It would be fun to field a team. This pic is of the 50 year old men’s team, Revolution Running, that won. I think a couple of them beat me but I know my neighbors would be competitive. The next race is in January. This series leads up to the U.S. National Cross Country Championships in Boulder in February.

Cyclocross

10 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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age division, Longmont Turkey Trot, racing, Sebesta

Watched my first cyclocross today. Missed Gadget Girl in her inaugural ride in the sport this morning but went later in the afternoon to see the Pro division. This picture is of 12 year old Katie Clouse who took 2nd place among these elite women riders. We cheered for Gadget Girl’s friend Kristin Weber who took 4th place in the elite race.

Kristin is fighting for 3rd place wearing black in this picture. Both the race for 2nd and race for 3rd were awesome spectacles. It had me reminiscing about my race Saturday. I had two separate races in the Longmont Turkey Trot. I passed a lady in the 2nd mile who came back to try retaking me throughout the third, fourth and fifth miles. I let her surge ahead on the sixth mile to cool down, but it felt good fending her off for three miles. Then I put on a kick, which I rarely do, to pass a guy in the final 100 meters who appeared to be in my age division. With 50 meters to go, he passed me back. Sonofagun! With 25 meters remaining I found a new gear and surged passed him before crossing the line. I discovered later in the results that we actually tied with the same chip time. And he is ten years younger than me. Sweet.

Longmont Turkey Trot 2013

09 Saturday Nov 2013

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Beth Risden, Katie Hegg, race results, Sebesta, Thanksgiving

I know what you’re thinking. The Thanksgiving Turkey Trot seems to come earlier and earlier every year. That’s okay because Longmont had some nice weather for today’s turkey trot – 45° with a 4 mph wind. I saw half my neighbors on the course this morning. Jabe and Eve, Fran, Barb, Kathleen, Jen and the Sebesta family. Lindsey was stylish in her matching set of black Under Armour running tights and turtle neck top. This pic captures her dad Dave crossing the finish line.

I didn’t know what to expect running with a cold. Initially I had hopes of running under a 7 minute pace but gave up on that idea. I decided a couple of times this morning to skip the run but finally decided if I’m going to be miserable, I might as well be running. Running with a cold might not be advisable medically speaking, but I felt like some deep breathing might help my lungs and sinuses. That’s how a runner thinks.

I didn’t bother warming up since I didn’t plan to push my pace. I was surprised to see my Garmin display a 7:04 for my first mile. I felt pretty good. I ran the second mile in 7:11 and third mile in 7:13. By then I knew I would likely hold this pace because I was feeling comfortable. The cold wasn’t much of a factor. A lady, who at first I thought was Beth Risden because I met her and her husband Ken before the run, caught up to me and started racing me. Click on the link to read about Beth’s recent IronMan triathlon. This lady, who I learn later is Katie Hegg, looked like Beth so I thought I would mess with her by not letting her pass me. I ran the fourth mile in 6:53 and the fifth mile in 7:07. This really is a decent pace for me so I’m pleased. Katie surged on me in the final mile and I let her go. The cold might have taken the edge off my racing mentality. I felt like cooling down and finished with a 7:23 mile. I did put on a bit of a kick which felt good. My final time was 44:39. Not bad for running under the weather. Katie won her age division in 44:27. The results are posted here.

I’m happy with my form in this pic – taken in Washington Park at 17 miles into the Denver Marathon. Good to see my toes are pointed down. I recall fatigue setting in around this point and beginning to focus on form. That’s what I did today. I focused on form, on keeping my toes pointed down and arms at a good angle moving forward. I didn’t start breathing hard until I started racing Katie with a sub 7 minute mile. I’m glad I got outside today. I’ll be ensconced on the couch for the remainder of the day watching college football. I love November.

Left Hand Trail

02 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Austin Marathon, Boulder Valley Trails

I thought twice about running this morning. The plan was to run with my neighbors at 8am. It was 33° at 8am and I was still sipping coffee and reading the Journal. Steve changed his plans to 1pm. It would be 61° by that time. Then Jen and Keith pushed their target out to 9am. I can do 9. Plus, this week is going to feel like winter so best to start getting acclimated.

Turns out my reluctance was silly. Even this early, the weather was perfect for running. Temps in the 30s with full sun and no wind in Colorado can be gorgeous. Today it was. I kept my tights on but didn’t really need them. I left my jacket in the car though. Good call. I didn’t need my gloves either. We launched from the Eagle Trailhead and turned on to the Left Hand Trail a mile and a half later where the Sage Trail reaches the Boulder Valley Trailhead. That’s where we took this first picture. Left Hand Trail leads mostly north to Neva Road. We turned back around at the Left Hand Trailhead for a 9 mile run. Really beautiful day.

Not sure what you’ve been doing since my 2013 racing schedule completed a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve been planning my winter running plans. The Longmont Turkey Trot 10K is just a week away. I haven’t registered yet but this is in my backyard. I’m obligated to show up to compete for my age group. The following weekend is a 5K in Denver that Ellie and Karen said they are interested in. I’m going to wait a bit to make sure they are committed before registering for that one. The same weekend is a Cross Country 6K in Boulder. I’m waiting to see if I can form a team before registering for that event but am fairly certain I’ll do it regardless. The final race of the year might be the ColderBolder 5K across the CU Campus. I did sign up for this already. I ran it last year and got a cool ski hat. Last year my neighborhood ran another 5K on the same day – I ran both. Have yet to hear if it’s on this year.

Longmont Turkey Trot 10K – Sat Nov 9th
City Park 5K – Nov 16
Cross Country Run – Nov 17th
ColderBolder – Dec 7th
Yeti Chase 5K/10K – Jan 26
Ralston Creek Half – Feb 9th
Austin Marathon – Feb 17th

My friends are thinking of two winter runs to start the new year. A 10K in January and a half marathon in February. I have to think about these. I’ll likely run the Yeti Chase in January – weather permitting. I’ve already registered for the Austin Marathon in February and expect to be down there all month so will likely miss the Ralston Creek Half Marathon. I don’t intend to focus my training on any of these winter events other than to keep up my distance to be prepared for the Austin Marathon. That can be tough once DST ends tomorrow with shorter days, but that’s why I set myself a target marathon. Motivation.

Fall Plan

26 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Denver Marathon, Eagle Trail, speed training

I think this photo is in City Park. It meets my primary criteria of showing both feet airborne. Not sure why I find these pictures so cool when both feet are completely off the ground during about 50% of any running stride, but I do. I’m less happy with the poor form this photo illustrates. Note how my forward foot is heel-down. That’s not unusual for distance running, but it’s poor form nonetheless. I’ve been working hard to run toe-down and I do much of the time. At only 5 miles into the Denver Marathon, I am clearly over-striding here. Something for me to continue to work on this fall. Might need to work on my double chin too, another thing this pic illustrates. Why do race photographers think kneeling down is a good angle for pictures? You’ll see what I’m talking about if you click on the pic to enlarge it.

The best method I know to practice running with downward pointing toes is to run fast. Wearing minimalist shoes also helps. I decided on a 9 mile run today on Eagle Trail with Keith. Nine miles is too far for me to wear minimalist shoes so I wore my training flats. I’ll work those more into my routine though on shorter runs. After DST ends and I start running more 3 and 4 milers.

Keith and I worked speed into our trail run today by leveraging a downhill mile on the Eagle Trail loop. The loop is around 2.7 miles. We circled it 3 times. On miles 3, 6 and 9, we picked up our pace. Our regular pace was about 8.5 minutes per mile. For our fast miles, we dropped our pace under 7 minutes per mile. Actually about 6.5 minutes per mile. At some points I ran under a 6 minute pace. The weather was 54° and sunny. There are no additional health benefits to running fast, but it feels good.

My late fall to early winter running plan looks to include some shorter events – like 5Ks. History suggests I don’t necessarily run a 5K any faster than a 10K. In fact, my recent PRs have me with a 7:09 pace for a 10K but only 7:12 for a 5K. I know I can break a 7 minute pace for a 5K. Some speed training will teach my legs to run that fast. This final pic is before the Denver Marathon. Before the dawn.

Post Marathon Syndrome

24 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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ColderBolder, Denver Marathon, DST, Kirsten Miller, PMS

I am posing here after crossing the finish line with Kirsten Miller. She took 2nd out of 72 women in her 45-49 yr old age division with a time of 3:45:01. For whatever reason the photographer wanted us both in this shot. I finished 28 out of 92 men in my 50-54 yr old age division with a time 2.5 minutes slower, so you could say Kirsten is slumming it with me here. I appreciate her adding some color to my otherwise mostly monochrome finisher’s photo.

I’ve had some time to digest my marathon and think of what to do with myself for the rest of the year. For those of you who run marathons, or have completed comparable feats of outlandish athletic prowess, you understand the post event phases of somber reflection. I would not be exaggerating to say an entire year of training went into my run last weekend. Now I find my mind bloated from thoughts of how I did and what could I have done differently. My decision-making is cramped by indecision on what to plan for future weekends.

The more I think about my first half pace, the more comfortable I am with it. I might do better overall if I were to run slower at first, but that is my pace. Maybe not a 3:20 pace. I could stand to slow down a tad for a 3:30 overall pace. I’ve decided on what I need to do to improve in marathons. I am going to start carrying my own drinks. I don’t drink enough electrolytes at the aid stations. I know though that unless I stop for a full minute, I can’t. I like the idea of having aid stations to obviate the need to carry a camelbak, but I’ll do better sipping my own brew. Eating is even more difficult for me while running and I do better if I take my fuel in liquid form. Next marathon I plan to carry my own liquid fuel. I’ll likely appreciate the extra pockets from the pack too. Old men can’t have too many pockets.

I’m still disappointed my hamstring cramped at 20 miles. I had no warning whatsoever – I was running along fine and boom! If you’ve never had your hamstring cramp, let me tell you. It friggin hurts! Ever see a sprinter pull up short of the finish or a football player screaming on the field? It’s a big muscle to have cramp. I’m so glad it didn’t keep cramping, but then I had to keep my speed down the final 6 miles because of it. I actually think cooling down the final 10K was a good scenario because I felt great the next day. I’ve never even been able to walk the day after a marathon but this Monday I ran six miles. I ran ten miles yesterday and six today. Totally recovered. More importantly, no injuries.

Still, knowing my season is over is a bit of a let down. That doesn’t mean I can’t keep running, but I don’t have anything big scheduled. I’ll find some runs – ideally inexpensive events since I spent a few hundred already this year on running. I got an invite today for the ColderBolder 5K on Dec 7th. That’s a bit out there. I’ll find some things to do in November. Daylight Savings ends though in another week or two. That’ll impact my training. Traditionally, after DST ends, I start to run during the day, while the sun is warm. The issue with that is I have to squeeze my runs in between conference calls so I’m limited to 3 or 4 miles. I can still get some distance training in on the weekends. We’ll see how the year winds down.

Denver Marathon 2013

20 Sunday Oct 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Marathons, Running

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Tags

Denver Marathon, Platinum Lounge, Results

I wake up at 4:30 this morning for the Denver Marathon. First, I shower and shave. Not something I would generally do before a run, but I didn’t do either of these things Saturday and I’m a bit ripe. I never made a decision on what socks to wear the night before. I go for the knee-high compression socks. I don’t wear them much because I don’t like dressing like a girl. I’ve had issues lately with my calves cramping though and they are supposed to help mitigate that risk. Plus, I suspect I might appreciate the warmth today. Pulling on compression socks is a chore. I check my toes first because they can be a bit sensitive. One of my toe nails falls off after touching it. Think of leprosy, I did. There’s a new toe nail growing about half way to where it needs to be. I wonder how long it will take to become a real toe nail. Good thing we’re headed into winter.

I have a doughnut on the drive to Denver, along with my coffee. Not sure why I bought those last night. Probably because they are decorated for Halloween. The road closures are already in place but it’s straightforward for me to park at the Denver Art Museum garage at 12th and Broadway. This close-up parking is included with my Platinum Lounge – where I head next. They have gas heaters setup. Nice. I hang here and put together my gear – pin my race bib on, load my fuel and I decide to wear my iPod.

I don’t catch her name but chat with the lady standing next to me in the corral. She’s from Indianapolis so we mostly discuss the Broncos game tonight which is fairly hyped up over Peyton’s return to play the Colts. This race will publish my splits to facebook, as well as text some friends who provided their mobile numbers. I start my Garmin as I cross the starting line but for some reason don’t look at it much. I read the race clocks and am a bit concerned I might be running too fast. I feel fine though. In terms of breathing. I’m a bit nauseous from the doughnut during the first 10K. Not the smartest food choice, but what better time to eat a doughnut than before a 3000 calorie marathon?

I know a 7:30 pace is too fast for the first 5k. I try to slow down a bit but otherwise feel comfortable with this speed. I’m not breathing hard. The 10K comes in at a 7:40 pace. A slight moderation. I begin to feel fatigue in the second half but don’t slow down much. I eat my first fuel – other than sipping Gatorade at the aid stations. I eat a chia seed bar. This takes me a full mile. I see Chris with his daughter and mine while eating my chia bar. Chris takes photos of me throughout the second half of the marathon. These pics of me in this blog are what he captured. Thanks buddy. Afterward he took the kids to Elitch Gardens.

After 16 miles my pace begins to slow down. I turn off my iPod at 18 miles. The 3:30 pace sign passes me at 19 miles. I try to hang with it but can’t. I’m still averaging 8:05 per mile at 20 miles but am now running closer to 9 minute miles. Then my right hamstring cramps at 20.4 miles. A couple of sweethearts come to my aid with a banana and water. I lose some time here but recover. Unfortunately I am forced to purposely run slower than I’m capable of from here on out to keep my hamstring from cramping again. I suspect I lose a minute per mile on my pace, so this likely added 5 to 6 minutes to my overall time. I’m OK with this actually. I had a good run. I cross the finish line in 3:47:16.

I don’t think the starting temperature ever warmed up. They hand out foil wraps at the finish and I take one. The wind was not an issue during this run but it did pick up a bit in the final miles and added a chill to my sweat-soaked shirt. It doesn’t take long before I begin to shiver. I head for the Platinum Lounge for a post-race recovery. I meet some guys near a gas heater – Jake and Charlie. They ran the half marathon so have been here awhile. Jake has already had 3 massages. The lounge is nearly empty and there’s little competition for resources. I wonder how many Michelob Ultras they drank.

I change into dry gear but it’s still cold and I continue to shiver. I know this is because my body is too depleted to defend itself against the cold. I’m also on the verge of cramping. Not just my legs but my stomach, torso sides and hips. I keep things in check but vomit all the food and drinks I ate since finishing. Sucks because I need those electrolytes. I feel better afterward though and it’s my turn for a massage. The massage lady freaks out a bit because of my shivering. Or maybe because I’m overly vocal about my pain. That’s my style. Some of us are screamers. She cuts the massage short because she thinks she might hurt me. Wimp. Then she calls over the medical staff because I refuse to go to their tent. This is silly. I’m delicate but am drinking my electrolytes and avoiding cramps. Did I mention the masseuse spilled my beer?

I commend the race on this level of care but I’m experienced and know I don’t need any help. I was in their medical tent last year and forced to drink a bottle of Gatorade spiked with salt. It was like drinking from the Gulf of Mexico. The doctor asks me some questions to ensure I am fine. She wants me to go to the tent but I provide the right answers to remain in the lounge. “Have this ever happened to you before?” “Yes, this is nothing really.” “Have you vomited?” “No.” Not only am I fine and just need a little time to refuel, but I can guarantee you the med tent doesn’t have gas heaters or beer. The doctor lets me stay.

I drive home when I can’t stand the cold anymore. The temperature continues to drop and the wind is picking up. I pick up my first ever Five Guys Burger. They are awesome. Karen has a roast slow cooking and serves it later with twice-baked potatoes. Watching Denver in a close game now with the Colts. Another epic run and a great day.

Gear & Swag

19 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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camelbak, Denver Marathon, Pearl Izumi

I don’t have sponsors. Apparently there is some FCC disclosure regulation that requires bloggers, or writers in any medium, to be clear about sponsorships when reviewing products. I rarely focus on reviews but figure I mix in my product endorsements as part of the details of my stories. I feel compelled to relate my first race experience with my fairly new Camelbak during the Durango Ultra. While I’m at it, I’ll share my feedback on the swag I picked up today at the Expo for tomorrow’s Denver Marathon. I have my head down in this pic at the start to the Durango Ultra starting my Garmin. That’s me in the blue jacket and red hat. Rob is to my left – to the right of me in the pic.

I’m as quick to dis a product as I am to praise it. Making my contribution. Mentioning products accounts for many of the search results that lead to my blog, so I figure there’s value. I don’t want my review of the Camelbak Rogue Hydration Pack to come across as negative. It failed several times, but it failed so gracefully. I only filled the 70 ounce reservoir less than half full with water. Rob and I debated a great deal on how much we should leverage the aid stations. I packed some Chia Seed bars in my pockets and stored extras in this pack. I had to remove the pack to reach the pockets, which I did to eat several more bars, but that wasn’t at all inconvenient considering my pace.

I bought this pack because my blue running vest chafes my tailbone on long runs. This wears high on my back. I love the fit. I wore it for my recent Georgia Pass run and it met all expectations. Fairly quickly in the ultra though the little black plastic connector that attaches the clip for my strap fell off. It remained attached to the chest strap, but seemed too complicated at the time to reattach to the shoulder strap. And I didn’t need to reattach it because the drinking hose attaches in a similar fashion and position. The hose held my pack together in lieu of the chest strap. I simply tucked the chest strap under the other shoulder strap to keep it from flapping. This is what I refer to as failing gracefully. The water hose served as a redundant strap. Until the little black plastic connector that attaches the hose clip to the shoulder strap also fell off. Completely. I stored it in my pocket. Then I discovered an extra flap of material on the strap that I could tuck the end of my hose into and continue to have it hold my pack together. This worked so well, I’m not sure it isn’t designed for this purpose. So yet another redundant system.

I can’t tell you if any of this is by design. I find it brilliant nonetheless. Or maybe I’m just a running MacGyver. That ultra was a total success from a gear and nutrition perspective. Combined with the snow covered Las Platas, it was a great experience. Hope tomorrow’s Denver Marathon is just as enjoyable. I picked up my race bib and related swag today. I’m disappointed the race shirt is short-sleeved. And that it’s essentially the same as last year’s shirt. And that it’s ugly. It is a more manly blue than last year’s baby blue, but that’s the only good thing I can think to say. I like to wear the race shirt when the weather supports doing so. I just learned the forecast calls for 45° when the run begins. Previous forecasts were for 31°. The 5 mph wind hasn’t changed, and is fine.

The day will warm up to 49° and is really perfect running weather. But it’ll be cloudy all day. The sun makes a noticeable difference in Colorado. Everyone’s different but for me, an October marathon in Colorado calls for a long-sleeved shirt. This run starts at 7:15am. Sunrise isn’t until 7:16 tomorrow. I want to be warm and comfy while I wait for the run to start. And, I don’t know if this is scientific, but the downtown in a city is always colder than elsewhere in a city.

So I won’t be sporting the official event shirt tomorrow. I’ll layer with one of my short sleeve, cotton Moab race shirts underneath one of my favorite long-sleeved, running jerseys. I picked up an awesome Pearl Izumi running jacket I could wear too. The sleeves come off making it a vest. Had the weather not warmed up to 45°, I’d consider wearing it. Even better, I purchased a pair of Pearl Izumi ultra running shorts at the expo. I spent some money at the expo. The liner in these shorts wrap all the way around the legs – almost like having some short tights underneath. These will keep me feeling toasty.

I won’t bother with gloves but will be wearing the 2013 Boulder Marathon hat. That event was cancelled but they gave out the hats. I’ll be looking for any others. Because I’m a gentleman runner, I registered for the Platinum Lounge. This gives me close-up parking and a private area to warm up and cool down before and after the race with coffee, bagels, private restrooms and other amenities. I may not run fast tomorrow, but I’ll be comfortable. Actually, I expect to run well – possibly in 3:45. I’ve been dreaming about a 3:30 marathon to qualify for Boston, but can’t point to any recent runs to suggest I can run that fast. I’ll be happy with anything under 4 hours. What I want more than anything is to run a consistent pace without cramping or bonking. Wish me luck.

Ultra

13 Sunday Oct 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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chia, Durango Double Ultra, Switzerland of America

I should be stitching up my Halloween costume. Instead, I’m watching the ten o’clock news, because tomorrow I drive to Durango. Almost embarrassingly, I have to consider the possibility of a fourth primary route. I’ll have to drive down I-35 for a 100 miles or so to Walsenburg. Then drive another 300 west on Hwy 160 over Wolf Creek Pass. The opposite corner of going west 300 to GJ and south 100. The Pagosa Springs approach would be nice. It would not include Red Mountain Pass, Molas Pass, and Coal Bank Pass. This picture is on the road between Ouray and Silverton. It’s referred to as the Switzerland of America. There are 76 miles between Ouray and Durango. Each mile is just like this.

I go to bed Thursday night a little bummed. The snow storm that was supposed to steer north into Wyoming is dumping over Colorado. Mostly wind, but my local news is hyping up the snow. The weather channel isn’t nearly as dramatic, surprisingly. I come to the conclusion their focus is still on leaking oil wells related to the Great September Flood. I wake up having decided I will drive Hwy 285 through BV, Monarch Pass, the Black Canyon, and lastly the Switzerland of America. I fail to view any media suggesting this route, that hovers around 7000 feet, will be closed today. It doesn’t help that the Weather Channel and my local news have such varied spins on this event.

An accident is blocking my interchange at I-70 and E-470. I know this as I approach the interstate off Hwy 52, because my radio tells me so. It’s cleared by the time I pass through but can’t possibly account for some of the weird slow downs along the way. I sit on Kenosha Pass for 10 minutes due to construction. Snow flurries start on Monarch Pass. The snow falls off and on all the way to Durango but the roads are clear and it’s a gorgeous drive. The Black Canyon looks on fire with flaming Aspen and low hanging clouds for smoke.

I can’t see the Switzerland of America as I turn south on Hwy 550 because of the low cloud cover. As I pass through Ridgway the sun suddenly illuminates the mountains that box in Ouray. Always stunning. I stop by Kristopher’s Culinaire in Ouray to say hi. 90 minutes later, I meet Rob at Ska Brewery in Durango. I camp out at Rob and Sue’s house for the weekend. They live up Lightner Creek on a mountainside. I would describe it as romantic but everyone lives like this in Durango. On the sides of mountains.

Saturday morning, we toe up to the starting line, This run is that small. We begin on the street but hit the trail after a mile and immediately begin climbing. I warm up on this first hill. I remove both my hat and gloves before one and a half miles. I keep my jacket on because the wind is cool on top the ridges. I tie it around my waist after 3 miles and leave it there. I replace my fleece hat with my orange marathon hat to keep the sun off my face and the light out of my eyes.

There are 53 runners. With a twisty trail in the trees, I lose sight of all of them and feel like I’m running alone. I run back into a crowd of them around 5 or 6 miles where the course splits. It should lead right, and the left branch is where the loop rejoins this leg on the return. The volunteer doesn’t know the route and one runner goes the wrong way, oblivious to our shouts while listening to her ear buds. A guy from her group chases after her to bring her back. I get lost myself a short while after this and waste a good 5 minutes searching for the trail. I don’t find it until the next runner behind me catches up and spots the way.

This is an extremely technical trail. The path is challenging and staying on course takes constant vigilance. Intersections with other trails are well marked but it still takes quite a few educated guesses. Keeping a straight line is what I know to do from experience and it almost always leads back to the trail. I suspect I am running oftentimes off-trail, but false paths generally lead back to the main trail. At times, I have to slow down, not because of fatigue, but in order to sight the trail markers – little blue and white ribbons strung up on tree branches.

Rob catches up to me shortly before we are half way into the run. He’s highly skilled at following the trail. This relieves me of the pressure to sight the trail and probably helps me to run faster. Trails are slow though compared to running through neighborhood streets. There is snow in places and significant mud. I never fully fall but stumble a couple of times – stubbing my toe hard on rocks. I can see by traces on the ground where runners before me have fallen. This is a hint to tread carefully.

The mud dries up somewhat later in the run and makes for some nice cushion for sore knees. Another challenge of the trail is when it runs along the ridge of a hill. Footing is tricky over the rocks and I wonder whether I’ll fall left or right over the ledge should I trip. This is what hikers refer to as a bit of exposure.

Even if this run were only a 10K rather than a 32 mile ultra, it would be hard. This is a real trail. Snow, mud, hills, twists and turns, exposure. After 40 kilometers, the trail has stopped surprising me. Did I mention the tarantula? I took pictures but they didn’t turn out well. The only obstacle now to finishing the final 10K is me. My feet are tender. My hamstrings feel close to cramping. There are knots of pain in my thighs. I must be refueling well though because I’m not bonking. It’s hard to tell sometimes when I’m climbing a hill and have to walk. I tell myself I’m fine, it’s just the hill.

For fuel, I eat four or five Chia seed bars. Each fruit bar contains 155 calories with sugar, protein and a healthy dose of potassium. These will be in my pocket for next weekend’s Denver Marathon. They leave me feeling like the spirit of the Tarahumara Indians are guiding my feet over the trail. I stumble right at 26.2 miles – a marathon – but don’t fall. Maybe I had the protective benefit of trail spirits, maybe I didn’t, but I finish this race still running strong and uninjured.

This is the most amazing trail I’ve ever completed. The 25 mile Collegiate Peaks Trail Run was special. And the IPR is unmatched with its 10 mile climb above Ouray and 7 mile drop into Telluride. But this trail ultra is a runner’s dream. Durango is truly a trail runner’s paradise. Boulder County has some good trails but it doesn’t come close to Durango. The entire town is surrounded by mountain trails. I find myself somewhat smitten with this town. I could live here. Rob and I finish 4th and 5th respectively in our 50-59 year old age division. It takes us 8 hours and 25 minutes. I plan to visit Rob a few times before next October to become more familiar with this trail. I’ll be back for next year’s Ultra.

Drive to Durango

09 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running, Ultra

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Durango Double Ultra, mountain weather, trip planning

There are three primary routes from the Denver area to Durango. I-70 west to Hwy 550 and then south at 430 miles. Hwy 285 to Hwy 50, over Monarch Pass to Hwy 550 and then south at 400 miles. And Hwy 285 south to Hwy 160 and then west at 370 miles – or even I-25 south to Hwy 160. I’ve driven the first two routes. Not all the way to Durango necessarily because I’ve yet to actually drive into that town. I hiked in as part of my epic 2011 Colorado Trail adventure. I’ve driven as far as Molas Pass via Highways 50 and 550. In the fall, I believe it offers the most vivid view of the turning Aspen. I’ve driven the Hwy 160 route all the way to Pagosa Springs. It’s the shortest route, but there is a brutally flat section near the Great Sand Dunes that puts me to sleep. And there is no more beautiful drive in the world than along the Million Dollar Hwy in the fall. This refers to the 25 mile section of Hwy 550 between Ouray and Silverton.

So that settles my trip planning then, I’m driving to Durango this Friday via Hwy 285 over Monarch Pass and through Ouray and Silverton. I do still need directions to Rob’s house. Next is laundry and packing. Which leads me to think about another key planning topic – what to wear. Weather forecast looks good. A snow storm will be north of Colorado this weekend. Durango will be sunny with a low of 32°, warming up to 58° with 7 mph winds on race day. Tell me that’s not perfect for running. Running tights might add to my comfort at the start but I suspect shorts are the way to go. I’ll wear a long sleeve, high-tech fabric shirt. I can start out with my light North Face jacket and store it later in my running vest. Gloves and hat. I’ll likely have more than one hat – beginning with a fleece skull cap and switch to my Boulder Marathon hat once the sun warms up. I’ll pack more gear than this to be prepared. You can’t trust weather reports in the mountains.

Solo

06 Sunday Oct 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Boulder Flood, Boulder Marathon, Chris Price

Chris starts off on his run Sunday morning at 8:00am. The air at the Boulder Res is 47° with 7mph winds from the northeast so he wears a sweatshirt. The 2013 Boulder Marathon was scheduled to run from here two weeks ago, but became another victim of the Great September Flood. Chris refuses to be a victim. Today he’s running the inaugural 2013 Chris Price Didn’t Do All This Freakin’ Training For Nothing Marathon. There are no waves or corrals at the starting line. Chris is running this one solo. I have other commitments at 8 but catch up to Chris here on Hwy 36 and Left Hand Road. Well into the second half of his run, Chris still looks fresh. He shouts out that he’s four minutes under his target time.

If there’s any doubt about how strong Chris is running, he jumps up like a rock star for this photo on Neva Road – twenty miles into the marathon. Typical antics at big events. Chris doesn’t need a crowd though. He makes his own party. The sun has warmed up significantly by this time, but the air still has some coolness in it. Chris dropped his sweatshirt somewhere in the first half. The Boulder back roads are so full of bikers and other runners, it almost feels like Chris is part of an official race. I take note of a couple trailheads off Neva Road I might check out for future trail runs.

From a photography perspective, I dare say Chris is fortunate the Boulder Marathon was cancelled. The trees are showing their colors much more this weekend than two weeks prior. I can’t recall the weather two weekends ago but today is just incredibly perfect to run. Chris lets me know here at 22 miles that he’s starting to feel fatigue. I think to myself that I hope so. If you’re not feeling tired after running 22 miles, something is wrong with you. I say this about someone running a solo marathon.

With two miles remaining, on 55th Street, Chris is still flying with both feet airborne. I’ve run 7 marathons myself. Two as a kid so maybe I shouldn’t count those, but five in the last 3 years. I had a little gas left in my tank in one of the Denver Marathons. And I wasn’t tired at all when I finished the Dallas White Rock Marathon at 18 years of age. Otherwise I’ve always been literally crawling at this point. That’s with crowds cheering me to finish strong. Talk about self motivation. Chris really is a one man race.

The finish at the Boulder Res presents a quarter mile long hill, but Chris doesn’t seem to notice. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ran a negative split. His family is waiting for him. His daughter runs the final 100 meters with him, but falls behind as he turns on his kick. I wish I’d have been clever enough to string up a finish line tape for Chris to break, but I didn’t know exactly where he planned to stop running.

This last photo is of his final strides. His finishing speed and strength are apparent. His time was a few minutes over 3:20. Good enough for 3rd place in his age division in the 2012 Boulder Marathon. Can you imagine running a marathon all by yourself? Steve Jobs said we all die alone. I’d like to know what thoughts went through Chris’ head to power him through this endeavor. I don’t think he played music. I’m simply amazed. Nicely done Chris.

The Pending Ultra

01 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Durango, Durango Double Ultra, trail running

I run my first ultra on October 12th. A 50K trail run in the San Juan Mountains around Durango, CO. If you’ve ever run a 10K, this is five of those. A marathon would be about four 10Ks. The trail starts out around 6500 feet (Durango’s elevation) but is run almost entirely above 7000 feet, nearly reaching 8000 feet on the 4th of its 5 major humps. The trail description is “runable”, but on the same web page is also called “never flat, rolling twisty single track.” So the runable perspective is of someone who lives and runs in Durango. Click on the elevation profile chart to see better detail.

My buddy Rob, who happens to live in Durango, talked me into this with the prospect of free registration. He knows someone. Hell, I’ve been known to sign up for a run because of their cool hat. This was a no-brainer. Except of course I’ve never run this far before. Still, I’m oddly confident I can do it. Maybe my stomach will feel differently in the starting corral, but I don’t plan to push my pace hard. In fact, I expect to stop at several of the aid stations to down my sports drink and smell the Yucca. Probably for no more than 90 seconds. Any longer and stiffness sets into the muscles. Plus, I believe my conditioning is such that my heart rate will mostly recover by then.

I won’t be disappointed if I walk most of this event. My original plans for this weekend were for a 40 mile hike over two days – same thing almost. There’s a 9 hour cut-off though so I’ll be mostly running. Rob predicts we’ll need 8 hours. I forecast 7.5 hours. Ever the optimist.

We’re currently planning what to carry on the run. We’ve decided to forgo water. I’d be carrying 70 ounces of liquid electrolytes if I were hiking but to me the point of signing up for these spectacles is to leverage the aid stations and travel light. We’ll wear running vests to carry gear – mostly to be prepared for weather – and some food. I’ll likely carry my iPhone for pictures to feed the blog. I won’t listen to tunes though. It’s way more fun to chat with some of the other crazies out on the trail.

Kiss the Clouds

28 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Boulder Flood, Boulder Res, Denver Marathon, trail running, Ultra

This week included a couple of runs in the never-ending rain. Normally I enjoy the runs where I can literally kiss the low-hanging Colorado clouds. Ever see the 1983 video of U2 perform at Red Rocks? It’s like running in some mystical place with unicorns. This has been all too common place lately. Today though was clear blue sky and I kissed the clouds goodbye. Taking a cue from Jabe’s recent facebook update that the Eagle Trail is open, I headed out to the Boulder Valley Ranch set of trails. I can’t believe I have never run here before. It’s not exactly exciting. Very few trees. But Gadget Girl often runs here with her dog Otis; so does Jabe’s running team. Given conditions, I’m happy to run out here in the prairie grass.

I need to keep up my trail running. I signed up this week to run the Durango Double Ultra, a 50K (30 mile) trail run through the San Juans. My first ever ultra. This wasn’t on my radar but with my two marquee September runs cancelled, I need to up my game for October. I’ll follow this ultra the next weekend with the Denver Marathon. New plans. Hard to explain but maybe this has happened to you before. You train hard for a marathon. Sometimes when an event is cancelled, you feel like you escaped a bullet because you weren’t quite prepared. I was ready though. This might have been overly optimistic but I thought I had a chance at an 8 minute pace which would qualify me for Boston. When you reach that level of fitness, you sort of want a replacement marathon. Only thing is now I have to maintain this fitness level another month. I can do that. If I survive the ultra, I’ll be primed for the marathon.

My Team Naked partners plan to run Eagle Trail tomorrow. I have to bail on them to drive my in-laws to DIA. It’s a large trail system. I parked at the Eagle Trailhead near the Boulder Res. The first trail here is a 3.7 mile lollipop. Eagle Trail begins as a half mile stick, then forks left while Sage forks right. The two forks join up again 1.35 miles later to form the loop. I forked right onto Sage and then right again onto Cobalt.

This led me to North Broadway Road where I returned on yet another fork right called Deggee Trail. Not sure how you pronounce that. I could have returned more directly but I wanted to get in a long run so took a number of exploratory trail spurs. I forked right on Hidden Valley Trail which I could have taken earlier for another loop option. I also humped up onto Mesa Reservoir on the return. I think on future runs I’ll make a large loop out of Hidden Valley Trail and the Sage/Eagle combo. That’s probably good for a 6 mile loop. Twice makes 12 miles.

Much of this trail is fairly pedestrian. In fact, the first loop is double track. Still, gaiters are a good call to keep the little pebbles out of your shoes. I think the muddy trail warning sign could be dialed back a bit from poor to fair. The mud’s not extreme, although sticky in spots. The trail is nice and soft, feels good on the knees. Look at that blue sky in this last photo. About time. Plus the temperature was a fresh 54°. Perfect seasonal running conditions have returned to Boulder County.

Georgia Pass

22 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Colorado Trail, Running

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Boulder Flood, Boulder Marathon, continental divide, Mount Guyot

The email came in at 11:16 Friday night, just as I was going to bed, officially notifying me that the Boulder Marathon is cancelled until 2014. Disappointing of course but not surprising. This flood is a disaster. But you know what? Anyone can run a marathon. Try running 16 miles over Georgia Pass. I got in a 7 mile run Saturday with Steve and went out this morning at 5:30am, but not to run my planned marathon. Instead of running 26.2 miles on the Boulder backroads this morning, I ran along the Continental Divide with Keith and Chris in the mountains above Breckenridge. I’m not disappointed now. This pic is of us on the pass at 10am with Mount Guyot (pronounced gui-oat) in the background.

As of last night, the weather called for rain, turning into snow. Instead, the temperature was 41° and the rain didn’t begin to fall until around 12 or 13 miles. Ideal running weather. The three of us were comfortable wearing runner shorts and 2 or 3 layers of shirts. As you can imagine, there were very few others out on the trail. We encountered one hiker who started ahead of us, with his dog, and a couple more on the descent. Plus four mountain bikers crossing the trail on a jeep road.

We reached the trailhead via Tiger Road, which runs east from Hwy 9. After 5 or 6 miles, we took the left fork to the North Fork Swan River. The right fork leads to the trailhead on the Middle Fork Swan River, but it would have been a shorter run than we wanted. We were looking to run about 13 miles. The Middle Fork would have been 10 miles. The North Fork turned out to be 16 miles – out and back. The trail is segment 6 of the Colorado Trail. This entire CT segment is 31 miles from Kenosha Pass on Hwy 285 to Gold Hill on Hwy 9.

This section of trail isn’t as smooth as the other sections between here and Denver, but the 6% grade was manageable, considering we were running up to the Continental Divide. We started just under 10,000 feet and the Pass sits close to 12,000 feet. Trail shoes are advisable given some of the rocks, and the rain making it slick, but both Chris and Keith navigated fine in street running shoes.

I was pleased we were able to run up with very little walking. The first 3 miles between the North and Middle Fork trailheads served as a pleasant warmup. The grade steepened after that. Chris seemed unaffected, although he slowed down at times for Keith and me. The pass appeared as soon as we rose above treeline. I was more exhausted than I expected; I assume from not walking more on the ascent. We decided to all return at our own paces. Keith wanted to be cautious. I wanted to run fast but knew I was too exhausted to keep up with Chris – who wanted to sprint the 8 mile descent. He nearly did. This picture – which you might need to click on in order to see Chris – shows him 100 yards ahead of us after only 30 seconds. Chris reached the trailhead about 20 minutes ahead of me, giving him a 3 hour, 16 mile run. He out-ran me on the return by about 2.5 minutes per mile. I was hoping to keep up with him on the cancelled marathon. That might have been wishful thinking.

With Chris as our driver, Keith and I enjoyed a few ales at the Dam Brewery in Dillon. Their pub fare is really good. My cheese burger was outstanding – served to order. Could be I was just really hungry – my Garmin suggests I lost 1900 calories. I’m still working on overcoming that deficit, having eaten dinner and thinking of lemon meringue pie.

The rain followed us back to Boulder County. Hopefully nothing dramatic. My running is now largely on streets which I hate. The trails are slowly opening but not enough yet. I’m debating whether I should run the Denver Marathon in October. That’s on streets. Might be a good match for my current training.

Runner’s Purgatory

17 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Boulder Marathon, Ellie Mahoney, Georgia Pass, ironkids

I wrote a wistful blog a few weeks back lamenting the end of the running season. My pensive mood was brought on more I think by the end of an agenda, the dearth of training goals, than by the lack of events. Of course, in Colorado, I could easily schedule events throughout the year. If I want to run a marathon in January, I could afford to book a trip to Houston. But there are other activities to excite me. My buddy Rob has scheduled a couple of camping trips to hike the new 80 mile Collegiates Loop on the Colorado Trail. And he’s hell-bent on teaching me survival skills with some winter camping. Not sure about blogging from a snow cave, but I am so ready for October and some fall hiking. And let’s not forget snow shoeing.

These pictures capture my favorite event of this summer with Ellie’s participation in an IronKid’s Triathlon. It’s such a kick to see your kid competing in sport. Triathlons are over-the-top with their three distinct events. There’s no lack of drama. I don’t know what had me more nervous; Ellie finishing or her bike tire exploding because I failed to properly inflate the tube. Ellie is totally into triathlons and wants to train more seriously for next season. I can make that happen. I plan to get her on a swim team in the winter and spring. That’s the sport where a base level of form is required to compete comfortably and effectively. Next I would say she needs to learn how to bike faster. At her age, running comes down the most to natural ability. It’s fair to say though for any of the events, your muscles need to be trained to go fast. It’s more about enjoyment at her age, but training counts.

photo removed
It was hard for me to pick the best run pic. There’s a good one of Ellie out-running some boys, but this photo captures both her feet off the ground. I always go for airborne. With school started, Ellie is now on her first ever volleyball team. Really her first ever team sport. Middle school and team sports sort of go hand in hand. The social aspect is there with a mix of behavioral discipline. She’s into volleyball and should have the height to succeed – at least through 8th grade.

It’ll be interesting to see which sport, if any, Ellie takes to during her adolescence. Team sports are more difficult to keep active in as you age. And one can only go so far in baton twirling. Running has to be the most portable sport ever. I feel like I got lucky making the commitment to distance running in high school. It was a tough decision to quit football, because I really love that sport. Having a distance runner’s body type though made that the right decision. I can’t determine yet any affinities between Ellie’s body type and specific sports. Brit was clearly aligned with softball or swimming because she had broad shoulders and large hands. I still remember the softball game when Brit, playing 3rd base, threw out a girl running to 1st base. The coach made her a pitcher after that game. Brit didn’t stick with softball, but she liked it and had the physical abilities for that sport. Brit running Cross Country in High School is a big factor that got me running again.
Wistfulness isn’t the proper description for my current state at the end of my planned running season. The Boulder Flood resulted in my mountain relay being cancelled last weekend along with the delay of next weekend’s marathon. September has been a runner’s purgatory. Ever defiant, I am rounding up my relay team to run Georgia Pass this weekend. That would have been the highlight leg of my relay last weekend – a 12.5 mile trail run over a 12,000 foot pass. I fully expect the Boulder Marathon to be run in October. The fall colors will be that much more vivid. I just need to keep up my distance training a few more weeks.

Trail Closed

14 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Boulder Flood, East Boulder Trail, Flaming Foliage Relay, National Guard

When half the streets in town are blocked by the National Guard in Humvees, it should come as no surprise all the trails in the county are also closed. Still, I expected the East Boulder Trail to be open given its high ground. But then it does lead down to the raging Boulder Creek after three miles. So I decided to run Prospect Road leading east from my house to County Line Road. This made for a 6 mile run. And the hard-packed dirt surface emulates the Boulder Back Roads I’ll be running on in next Sunday’s marathon. I ran into Keith who was returning from the same course. Later, Steve pinged us to text that he also ran this course, taking it a bit further on Pipit to the flood waters.

After well-deserved naps, our relay team met up last night on Keith’s front porch to eat and drink our relay supplies. Somehow this led to tequila shots which I’m fairly certain were not part of our relay provisions. I’ve come to terms with my disappointment in the relay cancellation. In light of the suffering of some of our neighbors from the unprecedented flooding, everyone seems to have come to terms with the letdown. For the less empathetic of us, there was tequila.

We are less sympathetic to the plight of Paul, the Roads Less Traveled race director. He refuses to refund even partial registration fees. We paid $1100 as a team for registration, plus another $300 for volunteers. I should say paid volunteers, but the race director doesn’t use that oxymoron as a descriptive in his emails. I understand Paul would have some expenses to line up porta-potties, etc. But I know these vounteers didn’t work Friday. Their inability to get past the rock slide is why the race was cancelled. Never mind they could have driven a back route along Hwy 285 and Guanella Pass. These mercenaries weren’t as committed as us runners. I won’t dwell on this. It’s not constructive. I do think Paul could at least promote a discount for next year’s event. What are your thoughts on race directors who don’t provide even partial refunds? Or on “paid” volunteers?

The Great September Flood

13 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Boulder Flood, Flaming Foliage Relay

My call Thursday afternoon to confirm our two rental vans at Enterprise in Longmont was routed to the Boulder location. I was assured two vans were available at 55th and Arapahoe. Five minutes later Kelly called and was told we could not have our vans. When Kelly stressed how critical these vans were for an adventure run in the mountains, he was chastised over how people had lost their cars and homes to the flood. Still, I consider us victims too. Albeit further down the scale of desperation. Plan B had me driving the Honda Odyssey and Steve driving his Toyota Land Cruiser. Less certain was whether we’d be able discover an egress route out of Longmont in the morning. We moved up our schedule to meet at Steve’s house at 3am.

Steve’s CDOT Mobile app suggested an escape route down Hwy 287 and east on Hwy 7 to I-25. En route, we read the email from the FFR Race Director delaying the run until later in the afternoon due to a rock slide on I-70. Plan C was to breakfast at Denny’s on I-70 and Kipling at 4:30am to consider our options and hope for further communication from the race director. We were not the only diners there. Everyone appeared sober.

Eventually we returned home to await further word. That word was emailed hours later at 8:28am, stating the relay was cancelled. Not surprising but in my sleep deprived state, devastating nonetheless. I’m too tired to work effectively. Maybe I’ll check email after a nap and complete a task or two. Maybe I’ll just watch CNBC all day. More than likely I’ll go for a run but I’m not sure where. It’s difficult to go for more than a few blocks in this town without hitting a roadblock. Naturally the trails along creeks are submerged. The start to my regular LoBo Trail contains a 10 foot deep chasm – washed away by the raging Left Hand Creek. I need to run though, I have a marathon next weekend. Plan D might come to me after a nap.

Naked Pibil Run

07 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Tags

Antonios, Flaming Foliage Relay, Mesa Trail, puerco pibil

Ran into Chris last night at Antonios. We strategerized a bit for the Boulder Marathon that’s only two weeks away. We plan to run together. Well, start out together anyway. I’m confident I can hang with him the first half. My goal though is to hang with Chris through what I call the 3rd quarter. I break up marathons into 4 quarters – 4 x 10Ks. A 40K comes up a bit short but this metric works for me. If I can maintain his pace, under 8 minutes per mile, for 20 miles, I’ll have a shot at qualifying for Boston.

I had the Chochinita Pibil for dinner. Oh man! Remember the scene in Once Upon a Time in Mexico where Johnny Depp excuses himself from the table to shoot the cook? Because it’s the best puerco pibil he’s ever tasted? This was like that. Upon closer inspection, I determined what I really liked was the habanero salsa that came on the side. I probably should have kept it on the side but instead smothered my meal despite being warned by the waitress. This stuff was hot. I’ve never had salsa with such intense flavor. I’m certain, given the right circumstances, Depp would have shot the cook at this dinner over the habanero salsa.

This pibil-fired dinner fueled today’s 9 mile run on Mesa Trail with my Naked relay team. We run the Flaming Foliage Relay next weekend and this was a planning session of sorts. I call them Naked for short – our relay team name is Naked and You’re Afraid. This is a play on words to the Discovery Channel survivalist show, Naked and Afraid. If you look for it, I think it’s already been cancelled. Great show though. Like Serenity for the space western TV show Firefly, I suspect a movie is in the making. Look for our Twitter hashtag Friday and Saturday, #nakedFFR. Or follow one of my Twitter handles @edmahoney1805 and @secintel. Or follow Steve Wolfe @sgwolfe. His tweets tend to be more clever than mine.

All of us except Brian and Kelly were able to run 9 miles on the Mesa Trail this morning. That’s Kristina in the top pic. She tore up the hills today. Good sign because she is slated for a 4.2 mile climb up Guanella Pass, and with less than two hours rest after her first leg. Kristina is pulling a double for Van1 in our first set of runs and will finish with 1600 feet net gain in elevation. That’s Allison in the second pic. She passed me this morning while running up one of the tougher hills. Another good sign because she has the hardest leg running up Guanella Pass at 6.1 miles. Her net elevation gain for the entire relay will be 2000 feet.

Jen is in the third pic with the pink running skirt. Clicking on the photos will enlarge them to their full resolution. Jen starts with a 10K trail run and will complete 19 miles by the end of the relay. That’s Keith after Jen in the blue shirt. Keith has to climb the final two miles over Guanella Pass and then descend a brutal 7 miles down the other side. Assuming his legs recover, he’ll run a total 22 miles. Steve is in this pic in a white shirt. He’s our influential team captain with persuasive recruiting powers. Steve will run a very hard 10K and hand the baton off to me on the Colorado Trail before I run over Georgia Pass. Steve will also be our final runner in Buena Vista, having run 23 miles in all.

As anyone would do after running Mesa Trail, we brunched at the Chautauqua Dining Hall. We used this time to plan the number of coolers, capture beer requests and discuss all the other important details. Jen is renting the two vans – she’ll pick those up Thursday so we can load them that night. We’ll leave for Idaho Springs at 4:30am Friday. I run the first leg at 6:20am. Thirty hours later we’ll be partying at some cabins Steve arranged in BV.

Manitou Incline

31 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Barr Trail, Cheyenne Mountain, Cloudera, Hadoop, IBM DB2, MapReduce

The normally 90 minute drive to Colorado Springs Friday evening was unbelievable. Four hours of stop and go slow. I had to pull over south of Castle Rock to let Karen drive so I could draft my fantasy football team via my iPhone. Lost the connection several times at the end but those were just bench players. I struggled finding the Cheyenne Mountain Resort at night. Might be its proximity to the U.S. Space Command but there is very little in the way of street lights in the Cheyenne Mountain vicinity. This Labor Day weekend is ostensibly so Karen can complete an all-day, advanced Zumba training class. And to celebrate her birthday. Between you and me, this is really so I could check off a bucket list trail run – the Manitou Incline.

After dropping Karen off at her class Saturday morning, I met up with my buddy Ken Farmer in Manitou Springs. Ken oftentimes runs this mile long incline for lunch as he lives down the street from the trail head. He figures he’s run it over 400 times in the twenty years he has lived here. He’s run Barr Trail a few thousand times – which is how we came back down. Since they legalized the ascent, they made a rule against descending the Incline. People still do but it looks pretty dangerous to me. You fall on a spike of rebar and you’re dead.

This pic is of Ken at the false summit, maybe two thirds of the way up. You get a sense of how the bottom is more flat and then it turns steep. What you can’t see is that many of the steps are knee high. The grade is nearly 40%. Actually, you can see it in this video. I felt like I was keeping a strong pace – I made the summit in 42 minutes. Ken was a graceful host and let me take the last few steps ahead of him.

Surprisingly, the summit was less crowded than the trail itself. I suspect it wouldn’t be for long, a never-ending stream of hikers were worming their way up the Incline. We got lucky on the weather with the cloud cover. We had two choices for the decline. Three if you consider we could return down the way we came. The other two routes link up with the Barr Trail. That’s the trail that hikes up to Pikes Peak. One route continues straight to the back of the summit. Ken wasn’t sure of the distance but thought it might be about 4 miles down. The other hooks around to the left – stage right – and is likely under 2 miles. I didn’t wear my Garmin – wish I did.

Ken is standing here near the start to the short descent which we took. The trail, until it connects with Barr, is essentially gullies and is a bit slick. My brand new Solomon trail shoes gripped the ground with confidence. We talked shop on the way down. Ken recently left IBM for MapQuest; he’s a data architect in a world of big data. We discussed the technical merits of Hadoop with MapReduce versus IBM DB2. Both can provide massive parallelism but DB2 is also relational. An open source, Hadoop alternative to DB2 would be Cloudera Impala. If you find such conversation as engaging as we did, checkout Ken’s blog, Living with Data.

We were still talking tech when we reached the Barr Trailhead. It’s paved now and has pay parking. We connected with the Incline Trailhead via a 100 meter trail. From there we walked back to Ken’s house. I returned to the hotel for a shower and lunch. Ellie and I spent the rest of the afternoon at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

It Tastes Like a Sports Drink

26 Monday Aug 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Medical Files

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

colonoscopy

Some people feign horror upon receiving an invitation to join AARP. But really, they mail those out to you when you’re closer to 48 years old than 50. I’m here to tell you that you haven’t arrived to your golden years until the cancer screening begins. Two weeks ago I had my prostate probed. Today it was a colonoscopy. I suspect doctors have jars where they store your dignity. They collect another piece with each visit.

They tell you the toughest part is the prep and I support that claim. I had a choice between a half gallon jug and a gallon jug. The half gallon mix was flavored whereas I could choose to flavor the full gallon concoction. I went for the big boy because I was fairly certain flavor would make me gag. At a minimum, I’d lose that flavor for my remaining years – which could limit my future selection of sports drinks. My unflavored prep tasted like salt water. I started prepping at 5pm last night with the goal of drinking half, and then finished it today – drowning 8 ounces every 15 minutes during conference calls. My iPhone conversion app set my expectation for 8 rounds per half gallon. This was true last night but not so today as I discovered my gallon was super-sized. It took me three hours of drinking prep today vs two hours yesterday. And I very nearly did vomit. Drinking the prep was a worse experience than the solution’s effect on my bowels.

The procedure itself was not nearly as unpleasant as the prep. I was apprehensive because I’ve never experienced this level of body maintenance before. The idea of being put to sleep with some potion makes me uncomfortable. Not sure why. Fortunately they didn’t do that. They inserted an IV into my right arm for the procedure, and to relax me they first squeezed in some Valium, followed by Fentanyl to numb my senses. I never fell asleep and recall playing Pink Floyd’s The Wall in my head. The procedure was over in a little over 10 minutes. I suspect it was much longer and I probably did fall asleep, but I recall 10 minutes. My vitals during the event recorded my blood pressure at 102 over 64 and heart rate at 50 beats per minute. I’m no hummingbird. They found and removed a single polyp and I’m good for another ten years.

Immediately afterward, Karen drove me to the Outback Steakhouse to refuel. I’ve never fasted for 24 hours before and it nearly killed me. I’m a food eater. I like high flavor, high fat content, and large quantities of calories. I’m very visual with food too and position vivid vegetables on my plate to heighten my pleasure. I’m a friggin foodie and it took every ounce of discipline I had to not eat for this procedure. I was more dizzy walking into the medical facility than I was walking out. I ordered a ribeye, baked potato, bloomin onion app, and a wedge salad. Since I’ve been home I’ve eaten Little Debbie Swiss Rolls and two bowls of ice cream. I’ll return to running tomorrow.

The Finger

25 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Merrell, Micah True, minimalist

I get way more comments from some of my distribution channels, facebook or twitter, than directly to my blog itself. Some are strange enough that I don’t even understand them, but unless they are clearly from an ad-generating machine, I don’t moderate or censor. The comments I received today, which I’ve included below, came to me via email. They are clearly designed to goad me to respond. Like it takes some really clever rhetoric to tempt a blogger to write online. Thanks for the content Blaine.

Irony is so ironic at times. I just came in from a 4 mile run in my minimalist Merrell Trail Gloves to read Blaine’s observation. He hasn’t read all my blog entries. I’ve written well over 300 in the past 3 years. I should point out to my readers that the search bar in the upper left works quite well. It doesn’t just find tags, the entire blog is indexed. You want to know if I have ever mentioned your name? Use that search tool. I’ve written extensively on minimalist shoes and barefoot running. And I’m a fan. I’m not able to fully transition to the method myself. Too old and delicate. But I support the concepts behind the trend.

I will never consider the “five fingers” types of tread. They freak me out. Not looking at them on the store shelf but when running behind another athlete, in a race, who is sporting a pair of five fingers. I get the sense I’m in a Terminator movie or something. I say this without irony, they don’t look natural. So I go with a standard tread, yet with a zero heel-to-toe drop that meets minimalist specs. For the uninitiated, heel-to-toe drop is what largely defines minimalist running shoes. The heel of a shoe might have 20mm of thickness and the front might have only 5mm. The 15mm difference is referred to as the drop – 15mm is fairly traditional. I don’t really know the exact specs but I believe a drop between 4mm and 10mm is considered minimalist. Under 4mm is referred to as zero drop. I’m not certain what defines a shoe as barefoot. Apparently more than just the near-level slope. It likely refers to very little thickness anywhere in the sole.

I ignored the minimalist trend for several years. I changed my mind after reading, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Unfortunately for me, I ignored all advice. Rather than transitioning into them slowly, I ran in mine non-stop for two weeks, culminating in a foot injury during a 14 mile trail run. Something popped. I never fully understood what the injury was but had to take off 6 weeks to recover. I now only wear them on very short runs, generally 3 or 4 miles in length. But I think they’re great. They assisted me to modify my running form from less heel strike to more mid-foot strike. This is how I ran when I was younger. The change in stride helped me to heal my plantar fasciitis. Blaine, I hope you’re satisfied with my transparent response.

————————–unsolicited comments—————————-

I sometimes browse your blog, cleverly disguised to be about running, to see what you’re not writing about. So far, you seem to be checking all the right boxes:

…women popping a squat on the running trail. check.

…purposely running behind the “talent.” check.

…feigning modesty by wearing your running shorts to a massage knowing full well that you are under strict orders to do so. check.

Now, imagine my surprise when I went looking to see what Ed’s take was on these Vibram Five Fingers running shoes…and there was nothing!

“Set the fleet to condition one,” I thought. Something is wrong.

The truth is, I’ve often wondered if you’re actually some Cylonic skin job masquerading as Ed Mahoney for another attack on us poor humans.

If I’m suspicious, then think of your actual readers.

Do not answer me directly. Publicly explain on your blog why you haven’t written about these shoes. I don’t care anymore if they work or don’t work. Frack, I’m not even a runner!

I just want to know why you haven’t mentioned them. Prove you’re not a Cylon skin job!

Accidental? Purposeful? Distracted?

Don’t dawdle too long. People have been thrown out of airlocks for hesitation.

So say we all,
—
Blaine

Twin Lakes

24 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Boulder Marathon, LoBo Trail

I extended my distance on the LoBo Trail this morning. Twin Lakes lie 10 miles from my front door. I actually used to live very near these two ponds when I first moved to Boulder 24 years ago and never entered the park. I can’t believe that. It’s an incredible setting with two small lakes, I’d call them ponds, with trails entering from various streets. Trails circle each lake. You could easily get in several miles with a little figure eight route. I’d guess each one is a half to three quarters of a mile in circumference.

Tough run today. Not because it was 20 miles, but because my legs hadn’t recovered from the previous evening’s 8 mile run. I was hurting from my first step and wasn’t confident I’d go longer than 8 or 10 miles. The weather was cool this morning and that helped. I bonked on the return though and started walking some spots after 15 miles. I ran a minute per mile slower pace than last weekend’s 18 mile run. Mostly due to the walking, otherwise I was maybe 30 seconds slower overall.

I don’t think it matters given the goal. Part of the reason you get in really long runs before a marathon is to prepare mentally. I don’t need that because I have marathon experience. Shoot, I ran the Austin Marathon after mostly training with 3 and 4 mile runs. Not that I ran it well, but I don’t need the mental fortitude. Running for 3.5 hours though is excellent preparation. I don’t believe the training pace matters much. Hope not because I want to run faster in the actual event. It’s a great question, but I feel like running for a certain amount of time is more important than covering a specific distance. The distance would help mentally, but I don’t need that.

I’m a little disappointed I had to walk some after 15 miles, but my special powers of rationalization have even made that a positive. My legs were so fatigued this morning that the entire run felt like the final 6 miles of a marathon. Running this morning felt like it does after hitting the wall. So I definitely worked on my mental toughness. I was so tired afterward that stepping over the curb was a challenge. Climbing my front porch steps was like hiking up a 14er. I even collided with a biker. I don’t think she was looking but my synapses were firing too slow to get out of her way. We avoided injury – she was biking nearly as slow as I was running – but we both came to a dead stop with me nearly busting her bike basket. This was at 11 miles. I knew then I wasn’t going to make it home without a little walking.

I was able to practice eating and drinking today. I ate a bag of Honey Stinger Energy Chews, 9 Hammer Endurolytes and I emptied my Camelbak of its HEED sports drink. This was made easier by walking. I practiced this last weekend too on my 18 mile run. I struggle eating and drinking while running. It likely just takes practice. Based on my fatigue today I think I also need to focus more on overall nutrition throughout the day and week. Time to start storing some carbs. I’ll start Tuesday. I have to fast Monday for my colonoscopy.

The Last Run

21 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Boulder Marathon, Flaming Foliage Relay, Manitou Incline, training

Time is speeding up. Days are over before I know it. Years fly by. This year’s running season will be over so soon. Looking back, seven events seem like a full year. Four half marathons, one full, one 10K and one mile. Oh, and the Boulder Distance Classic – I forget exactly what odd number of miles that was. So eight running events. That’s a full year I guess but I can’t believe I have only two runs remaining and that the season will be over after September. It does help define my training requirements though.

Training was a challenge when my focus was to improve my 10K speed but I had to run a marathon the weekend immediately following the Bolder Boulder. Now, I have the Flaming Foliage Relay in three weeks followed a week later by the Boulder Marathon. The relay requires intense distance training so it pairs nicely with the marathon. The relay also will present me with a 12.5 mile trail run over a mountain pass, but the Boulder Marathon has rolling hills so some hill training will apply to both events.

I’m a bit pensive training for my last run. I’m channeling my gloom though into better preparation. The furthest distance I ran training for previous marathons was maybe 12 miles. I ran 18 last Saturday. I’m targeting 20 miles this coming Saturday. I thought I would be running the Manitou Incline but I got my weekends mixed up. That will be the following weekend. So maximum distance and one of Colorado’s most notorious hill climbs. Then I’ll have one remaining training weekend. I expect I’ll run Mesa Trail with my relay team. Keith and Steve ran that before the Epic Relay and they were prepared.

This pic is from my most recent run, the GTIS Half Marathon. I just can’t believe my final run of the year is in only four weeks. Not sure what I’ll blog about after that. I do have a Diana Krall concert a few days later. And two weeks later I’m going to watch the CU Buffs tackle Oregon. That’s right, college football is starting up. Who has time to run?

Cottontail Trail

17 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Boulder Marathon, Flaming Foliage Relay, LoBo Trail, Manitou Incline

It’s time to start training for the Boulder Marathon in September. I officially kicked off my marathon training today with an 18 mile run on the LoBo Trail which included a couple of miles on the Cottontail Trail in Gunbarrel. This is the furthest I have ever run out my door on the LoBo Trail. Maybe one day I’ll take it all the way into Boulder. Cottontail, which winds along the north end of Gunbarrel, is quite charming with Cottonwood lining the creek and trail. I used to live in Gunbarrel, which I guess technically is Boulder, and I miss all the nice trails they have. The White Rock Trail is one of my favorites.

September wraps up my scheduled events for the year. Seems a bit early, maybe I’ll find something in October. Rob and I still need to hike the new 80 mile Collegiate Peaks loop of the Colorado Trail. If I don’t transition to hiking then I might look for a 10K to begin winding down my distance. It’s hard staying in shape for these longer distances. I completed four half marathons this year. I wouldn’t mind maintaining that level of fitness but marathons are a stretch. Interesting point on my four half marathons this year is my pace was extremely consistent. My finish time in all of them was within a 6 minute range. In fact, I ran the exact same pace – a 7:31 mile – for both Moab and GTIS.

I don’t think I need to train any differently for the Flaming Foliage Relay, which is a week ahead of the Boulder Marathon. My second leg over Georgia Pass will present me with 1221 feet of elevation gain at altitude, so I’ll include some hills in my routine. Looking forward to meeting up with my buddy Ken Farmer in Manitou Springs to run the Incline next weekend. The Manitou Incline has been on my bucket list for awhile, and from what I understand it’s no longer illegal to climb. It’s only a mile climb, but can easily take people an entire hour to complete. I wonder what sort of shape Ken is in. He runs the Incline regularly for lunch.

I understand my team is looking for a 10th runner still for the Flaming Foliage Relay. Preferably a woman to add to the estrogen level in the van. Contact me if you’re interested. And really, how can you not be interested in running through the Colorado mountains in the fall?

Stampede

10 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

GTIS Race Results, Peck House Hotel

Can anyone tell me why the westbound lanes of I-70 come to a crawl as you approach Idaho Springs, when it’s the tunnel on the eastbound lanes that’s under construction? Seriously. Still, we get into town fairly early Friday afternoon. I’m able to pick up my race packet at the Buffalo Bar. We decide to drive up to Empire for dinner at the Peck House Hotel. Highly recommended, perhaps as part of a trip to Winter Park. This is a destination restaurant. I categorize the food as French. We go to bed early as Karen needs to drive me to the bus pick-up at 6am.

Karen and I stop by the Morning Gold Bakery on Miner St. for donuts and coffee Saturday morning. I pick up a chocolate long john for my bus ride. In case long john is a regional thing, it’s a cream-filled, burrito-shaped donut. Pure sugar, but did I mention I am on my way to run 13.1 miles?

I sit next to a guy on the bus who has run this event before and he supplies me with race intel. He says the first half of the course is rolling hills and the elevation drop doesn’t really occur until the second half. My Garmin illustrates the elevation profile a bit differently, but I won’t know that until after the run. He further says the crowd takes awhile to thin out which is another reason to start out slow – since unless you start near the line you will be forced to run slow. I take his word as gospel and determine to start out easy and hope for a negative split.

I don’t have any goals for this run. Karen asked me the night before and I said I expect to run a 1:40, give or take a few minutes. Karen bet $3 on me running a 1:37 and Ellie put $3 on me running a 1:43. I didn’t tell them that the odds were just as good I might run a 1:50. It’s been a couple of months now that I’ve entered an event and I’ve lost some of my racing edge. Minutes before some lady sings our National Anthem, Allison spies me in line and I join her and her dad, Steve. They lost Keith when he detoured earlier to the porta-potties.

The start is indeed crowded. It’s nippy too with the temperature below 50°. Fortunately there’s no wind. At 8:23, my first mile is quite a bit slower than I would like for an average pace. It’s not unexpected though and I don’t try to fight the crowd. My patience is rewarded in the second mile as the runners begin to thin and I record a 7:21. I speed up from here with mile 3 in 7:13 and mile 4 in 7:14. I can feel the 8500 feet of altitude but I also feel like this is a manageable pace. The first 2.5 miles are actually mostly flat. There are hills but I wouldn’t notice them without the elevation. I welcome the beginning of the downhill course just as the initial stampede of the starting crowd dissipates after two miles. The remaining course is downhill with room to run.

A guy calls out the time at the halfway point. He says 47:47 for 6.2 miles and my watch has me about a minute under that based on when I crossed the starting line. A noticeable hill presents itself to start the second half of this run – something the guy on the bus neglected to mention. It’s a clock-stopper and I lose my even pace. Thankfully it goes down on the other side and I regain my stride. My times slow down a bit but all remain around 7:30. I catch and pass the 1:40 pace sign in the 7th mile but it passes me back in mile 8 as my stomach cramps and I lose a good 30 seconds off my pace until it settles. I suspect it cramped from some electrolyte pills I’m experimenting with. Perhaps I should test them more in workouts rather than races, but my real objective for them is a full marathon.

I regain on the pace sign and maintain a comfortable pace to the finish for a 1:38:39. This is closer to my 1:40 estimate than to Karen’s 1:37 so Ellie and her both owe me $3. Great event overall and even better weather. I expected rain but instead it was sunny and in the 50s for most of the run. I could hear the interstate the entire way but rarely saw it. Gorgeous course along Clear Creek. It even included a little dirt road and trail around mile 8. Allison ran her expected time – around 1:50. Keith might have run a PR. Not sure but I can ask him tonight at a little get-together. The four of us in this photo will also get back together for the Flaming Foliage Relay in September. I think we’re ready.

	Ed Mahoney on A Runner’s Plan
	Anonymous on A Runner’s Plan
	Terry Collier on Hallmark Hikes
	Terry Collier on Christmas 2025
	Anonymous on Christmas 2025

A Runner's Story

Author Archives: Ed Mahoney

Cross Country

Cyclocross

Longmont Turkey Trot 2013

Left Hand Trail

Fall Plan

Post Marathon Syndrome

Denver Marathon 2013

Gear & Swag

Ultra

Drive to Durango

Solo

The Pending Ultra

Kiss the Clouds

Georgia Pass

Runner’s Purgatory

Trail Closed

The Great September Flood

Naked Pibil Run

Manitou Incline

It Tastes Like a Sports Drink

The Finger

Twin Lakes

The Last Run

Cottontail Trail

Stampede

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