Category Archives: Running

Runner’s Blog

CollaBEERation

05 Saturday Nov 2016

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ellie-n-ed

This morning’s 5K race was a collaBEERation between two Longmont Brew Pubs, Left Hand and Shoes & Brews.  I planned to run with Ellie, but she paired up with Susan instead.  I have some closer up photos of them finishing together, but this one captures Susan with both her feet airborne, and the two peaks of the Twin Sisters in the upper right.

 

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I don’t have any pics of Keith running, because he finished 15 seconds ahead of me.  We had a good race, with Keith leading the first mile, I took over for the second, and then Keith stormed back into the lead for the third mile.  I was just behind him until the final half where he put on a strong kick.  This photo of Jill and Rychie shows them finishing strong too.

jill-n-rychie

Quite a few of my friends came out to run this morning.  I didn’t get pics of them all.  Awesome fall day with 50° temps and full sunshine, no wind.  And of course, a dozen of Longmont’s brew pubs set up booths afterward to dish out free beer.  I quaffed a Rabbit Mountain Red Ale from 300 Suns.  Jen, Steve and Jill enjoyed some tasty brews as well.

jen-n-steve-n-jill

Carriage House

30 Sunday Oct 2016

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stairs

All I ever want to do, either after dinner or on the weekends, is work on my manuscript.  I’ve received the final input from my editor and I’m half way through completing corrections and rewrites.  I’m still targeting the completion of my third, and hopefully final, draft by the end of November, but I’m less confident now that I’ll make that date.  I’ve been handed an urgent, end of year, project at work – IBM never sleeps.  And my tenants moved out of the carriage house, giving me yet another project for the weekends.

The good news is that we already have new tenants lined up.  All we ever do is post a rental sign out front and the place sells itself.  People are drawn to this neighborhood, and the option of living in a single, detached unit rather than some monolithic apartment structure.  More good news is we were able to increase the rental 20%, for an additional $2400 annually.  Nothing better than giving yourself a raise.

But I now have a new weekend priority.  I’m repainting the entire unit, which is something I actually have the skills to do.  I also have some plumbing repairs, which I’m not so good at.  Then there’s cleaning the tile grout in the bathroom.  Tedious.  Fixing the gas fireplace.  Replacing the carpet.  The list goes on.  If you own rental property, then you know how I feel.  Cashing the monthly checks is nice, but it can be work at times.  No running for me this weekend.  No watching college football.  No working on my novel.  Fortunately the girls decorated the front porch for Halloween.  One less thing on my list.

Nacogdoches

21 Friday Oct 2016

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stephen-f-austinMy old high school buddy Toby Thurman posted this photo recently of us racing the 1500 meters in college.  Spoiler alert, he sprinted past me at the end.  I hope Toby is fat and bald now.  This particular race was at his college, Stephen F Austin, in Nacogdoches Texas, circa 1984.  I ran for Texas State.  I ran the 10K earlier in the morning, where after leading the entire race, yet another high school buddy running for SFA sprinted past me at the end.  That was Scott Holman.  He became a standup comic, so if he’s not fat and bald now, at least I know he’s starving to death.

Toby lamented on his post the loss of speed that comes with age.  The effects of aging are heightened by melancholy thoughts of youthful athleticism.  Still, I wouldn’t give up the memories of racing balls out around the track.  And even though I’m so much slower nowadays, I still enjoy racing.  When I returned to serious running a few years back, I couldn’t maintain a strong race pace for a complete event.  If the event was a 10K, I might find myself holding a strong pace alongside another runner for two of the six miles.  That was good enough for me.  I’ve improved to where I can race the complete distance now.  Not at a pace comparable to my youth, but that doesn’t matter.  Racing is a feeling as much as anything else, and it can be experienced at any pace as long as you’re running alongside someone of equal abilities.

This wasn’t a strong racing year for me and I miss it.  I’m still in pretty good shape, I just haven’t been running many events.  That’s about to change.  I’m signed up for two events in November.  The Shoes&Brews 5K and the Longmont Turkey Trot 10K.  Then the Colder Bolder 5K in early December.  Always a fun event across the CU campus with nice, free photos.  I’m going to finish the year strong.

Fall Runs

15 Saturday Oct 2016

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ed

Running in the midst of the changing season is like heaven to me.  Fall is absolutely the best time.  The cool air and dropping leaves portend winter is coming.  I’ve been working crazy hours lately and not getting out enough, but after a 15 hour, soul-crushing Tuesday, I took off at 3 in the afternoon Wednesday for a dream run in wet, 50° temps.  It was still a 9 hour work day, so I didn’t feel bad about the mid afternoon run.  This photo is from last week’s Ridgeline Trail Half Marathon, about a half mile before the finish.  That morning started off a cool 50°.

wiggins

I drove Ellie to Wiggins this morning for her last cross country race of the season.  She wasn’t running due to a sore leg, but she wanted to cheer on her team.  Wiggins is a farm town out east.  For some reason, they ran on the roads.  Which of course meant super fast times.  The girl who won the varsity race ran the 5K in 15 minutes flat.  Unbelievable.  She won by about four minutes.  I  didn’t run the 5K much faster than that in college.  This girl is going to be world class.  Even without Ellie racing, I enjoyed my morning watching the other races.  This photo above is of the varsity girls team.

 

Ridgeline Trail

09 Sunday Oct 2016

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start

On second thought, racing a trail half marathon without proper training might not have been such a good idea.  I wasn’t ready for the Ridgeline Trail in Castle Rock this morning.  At least I wasn’t stupid enough to sign up for the 50K (31 mile) ultra.  Chris did though.  He’s still picking up his feet in this picture above, just starting out at 8am.

final-stretch

Actually, Chris did quite well for his first ultra.  He finished second in his forty year old age division and tenth overall.  He’s still smiling in this photo above, even though it is after the 26 mile (marathon) point.  Although, he was crying “ouchie” as he ran by.  I have to say that the trail rarely looked this nice.  It was mostly rocky with tree roots, a lot like the Picture Rock Trail in Lyons if you’re familiar with that.

last-aid-station

Worse part though wasn’t the technical footing, it was the non-stop undulating elevation. Every ten yards alternated between uphill, then down hill, then uphill.  Think rollercoaster, for thirteen miles.  The foothills themselves were runnable, I didn’t have to walk any, but somehow it contained 3500 feet of elevation gain.  I started out slow but my legs were still mush after six miles.  The course was a loop, but out and back in the sense it climbed over the same hills on the return.  This is Chris at the final ultra aid station, with three more miles to run, taking time out for brunch.

grass

This final photo of Chris is with only two hundred more yards to the finish.  He looks happy.  I only ran a fraction of the distance, and can tell you I’m beat.  I ran 2:06, which might be okay for the course.  Still, I normally run 1:45 for the first half in a full marathon, so sort of slow.  And painful.  Cool training course if you make it down to Castle Rock, but very, very tough.

 

Trail Snake

25 Sunday Sep 2016

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This is a first.  I stepped on a bull snake on the trail today.  I was running through the trail along the creek near the softball field at 83rd and Niwot Road.  The grass falls over the trail so that the dirt is only about 20% visible.  I stepped on him with my right foot, he snapped up his head, which I whacked with my left ankle.  Subsequently, I screeched like a little girl.  As much as I know rattle snakes don’t lay across the trail like that, bull snakes look a lot like rattlers.  Some ladies were standing a few yards away.  They were possibly more frightened than me.  They convinced me to roll down my anklet sock to ensure I wasn’t bitten.  I wasn’t.  Got in twelve miles today though.  Awesome run.

Rock n Roll

18 Sunday Sep 2016

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arroyo-verde-trail

I rolled through the hills of Arroyo Verde Park, for a decent five mile run Saturday morning.  The park, about a half mile from my house, was full of dogs and their owners at the grassy bottom, but contained an awesome soft, dirt trail that undulated around the rim.  Great park and trail system.

cafe-nouveau

Brit and I found a wonderful french-themed restaurant after my run, Cafe Nouveau, where we had Beignets with bacon and maple syrup for breakfast.

phantom-carriage

We arrived early for Brit’s pre-performance rehearsal, so we checked out this horror-themed taproom named Phantom Carriage.  A real find in Carson, near the StubHub Arena.

we-are-la

At 8pm, Brit rocked LA at a concert benefitting children’s education.  I was given a VIP pass, and to be fair, I played roadie hauling the band’s equipment.  Got to see Rachel Platten perform, and later, Kevin Costner with his country band, Modern West.

band

The band is Pete Pidgeon, who is pictured here playing lead guitar.  Brit knows him from Denver.  The funniest thing is that the other backup singer is another Mahoney, Jesse Mahoney.  Eddie Money’s daughter.  Nice girl.  Brit had another friend, Alexa, hang out with us, a super sweetheart.  Brit made some good friends in LA and gained valuable acting experience.  We drive home today, shooting for Zion by nightfall.

Cross Country at Sunset

14 Wednesday Sep 2016

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Ellie won’t be happy with me publishing this photo of her all sweaty and gross after her 5K cross country race.  Too bad,  I’m a proud dad after finally watching her race.  This afternoon was the St. Vrain Valley District Cross Country Meet at Sunset Golf Course.  Really pretty course on a perfect 72° day.

3-girls

This photo above is my favorite pic, out of the hundred or so pics I took.  Three girls in unison, same stride, all airborne.  Ellie ran the entire course with her friend Alison, bib # 3476.

ellie-1

Ellie ran a solid eleven minute pace for the three miles.  First time for her to run in spikes. Her calves will be sore tomorrow.  I had a total blast watching her run.

Anchor Leg

22 Monday Aug 2016

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team final

Running last on a twenty-plus hour relay is less than ideal for a number of reasons.  My other two runs were in the dark.  I couldn’t eat lunch.  The sun was directly overhead at noon, nullifying much of the shade the forest trees would have otherwise provided.  But what a kick to run the anchor leg.  Whereas half the team is typically asleep in the tent or quaffing beers back at camp while one runner launches and another finishes, the whole team showed up to send me off.  And, as pictured above, they all joined me for the glorious finish.  I got rockstar treatment.

The totally unexpected benefit though is the pressure to perform.  I consider it a benefit because it works.  I ran my first two loops comfortably.  No big crowds to perform for at 10pm and 6am.  And while I’m in good shape overall, I don’t have quite the speed I had the  previous two years.  Too busy with work this year, and running less miles training with Ellie over the summer.  So I didn’t expect to have a particularly strong run my final loop.

But my 3rd loop was the big one.  Over six miles, 1300 feet of altitude gain up a ski hill, reaching 9800 feet in elevation before crashing back down to the resort.  The other loops didn’t require motivation.  This leg demanded it.  Everyone, Barb especially, pressured me at the start to run a specific time.  “You have to beat 1:13.”  An hour and thirteen minutes.  “You can do 1:12.”  “Sub 1:10!”  I was honestly shooting for 1:20, and would have been happy with anything under 90 minutes.  Their faith in me motivated me to try for a strong run.

My goal running up was to maintain a steady pace and avoid walking as much as possible.  The course was a single track hiking trail on the ascent.  I maintained the perfect pace, never succumbing to oxygen debt and only walking through a handful of stupidly steep switchbacks.  I passed about eight other runners and was never challenged from behind.  My plan was to make it to the top, and then consider racing down if my legs had anything left.

The course on the descent was a mountain bike trail.  Wide banks, non-stop, with an occasional straight section where it was safe to let my legs fly.  I definitely took advantage of the straight trails.  I was more guarded on the curves but committed to them when they looked like more dirt than rocks.  The rocks were deadly.  And some of the banks were difficult to run unless they were run at full speed.  Think of a race car on a banked track.  If you don’t run into them with enough momentum, you fall into the rocky rut.

It wasn’t clear to me if I was running fast enough for the times projected by my mates, I didn’t wear a watch.  I ran out of steam about a half mile before the finish, but the top three miles were so much fun.  I crossed the finish line, with the entire team following me the last few yards, in 1:05.  Sixty-five minutes.  I’ve had a bit of a disappointing racing year, with times slower than previous years.  This made up for that.  The pressure presented to me at the start was worth it.

finished

Angel Fire

21 Sunday Aug 2016

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Jen 3Jen started us out Friday in the Angel Fire Ragnar Trail Relay with a 3.5 mile run on the green loop.  As soon as she begins her run, the wind picks up and the skies open up with rain.

Rychie

The rain stops as she hands off to Rychie for the 4.5 mile yellow loop.  We have perfect weather until we leave Saturday afternoon, twenty-four hours later.

Jill

Jill is our third runner, pictured here starting out on the 6.2 mile red loop.  Jill came up early with her husband Stu and three kids, Julian 6, Stella 8, and Tessa 10, to setup camp for us.

Keith

Keith begins the series of men following the women with the green loop again, as we rinse and repeat green, yellow and red eight times.

Steve

Steve follows Keith on the yellow loop.  He organized our Running Dead relay team for this trail race.  Steve grew up in New Mexico and doesn’t need much of an excuse to visit.

Stu

Stu follows Steve.  His goal for his three runs is to beat his wife, Jill’s time.  I think he’s successful, but not by much.

bite it

I can’t get a running photo of Brian, because I always have to take the baton from him.  Here he is though, apparently biting his finisher medal.

team finish

I’m the eighth and final runner.  My first two runs are in the dark, 10pm and 5:45am.  I finish with the long red loop at 1pm, the entire team crossing the line with me.

finisher photo

Running through the night might not appeal to everyone, but we had a seriously fun time.  Because it was Jill’s birthday, and we were in New Mexico, there were lots of tequila shots.   The team is waking up now Sunday morning, eating oatmeal and peaches.  The plan is to eat lunch at one of Steve’s favorite Mexican food restaurants in Taos on our way home.

Pre-Season is Over

13 Saturday Aug 2016

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Ellie is finishing up pre-season running the East Boulder Trail.  These hills aren’t for the faint-of-heart.  And the shadeless heat isn’t for the uninitiated.  We ran three miles out here last weekend, both Saturday and Sunday.  This weekend, we kicked it up a notch to five miles.  Monday afternoon, I hand over what’s left of her legs to the NHS Cross Country Team to train for reals.

east boulder trail

Ellie really impressed me today by running the entire way back without walking.  This course is tougher on the return.  The final hill, up to the water tower behind the Heatherwood neighborhood, is a quarter mile climb.  It’s truly brutal.  I bet her an Intajuice she couldn’t do it.  She proved me wrong.  She’s ready for next week.

Rio

06 Saturday Aug 2016

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Tell me you’re not excited.  The Olympics defy explanation.  So much of the news around Rio has been negative, about how they won’t be ready.  What city is ever ready?  I like how the US Olympic Committee deals with it.  They simply take their own construction team to fix plumbing and drywall issues in the athlete village.  They don’t complain, they just deal, because the Olympics is about overcoming adversity to achieve greatness.  The Olympics are awesome.

I watched part of the opening ceremony last night.  The parade of teams and lighting of the Olympic flame.  I would have loved to watch more but the event went on past my bed time.  The parade of athletes entering the stadium is always one of my favorite events because it conveys the peace of the games and pure joy on the competitor’s faces.  I know the athlete’s won’t be thinking about the issues Brazil currently faces as a nation.  I hope the best for Brazil as they host these games, which must serve as a metaphor for many of their own struggle of  democratic institutions vying to triumph over the corruption of demagogues.

 

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I’m ready to watch two weeks of unadulterated sports.  I don’t care which sport, it’s the competition that matters.  I love the background stories on the individual athletes.  I find myself motivated to run and no doubt will pick up the pace of my own workouts.  I’ve been slacking off lately.  Yesterday was my first run after five days.  Work has been getting in my way, but not now that the Olympics are there to drive me.  Ellie and I have plans to run the hills of the East Boulder Trail this morning.  Ellie watched the opening ceremony with me last night.  She’s motivated too.

Feels Good

24 Sunday Jul 2016

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brewpub.jpg

You’d think I was raised in Texas the way I handled the heat Saturday.  Ran eleven miles (everyone else runs ten) in 99°.  No water.  Only sweated out five pounds.  My body has officially acclimated to summer running.  My pace was likely pretty slow but my form felt good.  Running slow in the sun shows the wisdom of someone who did in fact run thirteen years in Central Texas.  I know a thing or two about running.

I wasn’t good for much else the next couple of hours.  Went to see Star Trek later in the evening.  I was able to recover enough to go see a show at an air conditioned, reserved seat, beer-serving theater.  In between, I cocooned myself with a smoothie in an overstuffed chair, while my physical parts regenerated.  Not a bunch of obligations this weekend with Ellie in Austin visiting Grandparents.  Karen and I are empty nesters and are enjoying ourselves.  The photo is me at a brewpub before the movie.  Life is good.

About my run Saturday, being able to effectively handle the heat, actually feeling good running in it, is awesome feedback.  Not just that I’m in shape for the summer.  More that I’m at the point with both my conditioning and form that I can adapt to my environment and run well.  Coaches talk about sport being so much mental vs physical.  I feel there’s a similar comparison in running on form vs physical shape.  I’ll take form over conditioning.  The joy in running comes from good form.  It makes me feel athletic.  It just feels so good.  It’s what enables a runner to detach the mental from the physical.  Running takes real effort, until you reach the point where your legs are operating without thought.  For me, this generally takes about two miles.  Then motion becomes smooth.  Effortless.  Feels good.

Ellie’s Run

03 Sunday Jul 2016

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Karen and I were empty nesters for a week.  We know now how it feels. What to expect.  Now that Ellie is back, I know what to expect on our joint training plan too.  Three miles was too much for the first day.  Ellie was able to run two miles, running the first mile non-stop.  This will be a game of inches.

team shirts

Ellie’s camp counselor Emily, pinged photos to me every day that she was away at Coeur d’Alene.  That’s where this pic above comes from.  This pic below is what Ellie posted to her Instagram.  It says everything to me on what she found beautiful in the forests of Idaho.

lake at dawn

Unfortunately I have to travel on the 4th and 5th for work, so we won’t run again until Wednesday.  Ellie has dance practice though during that time so she’ll get in a bit of a workout.  Summer training has officially started.

She Could Be a Dancer

25 Saturday Jun 2016

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dancer shoesEllie told me she intends to run Cross Country her freshman year at NHS.  Okay then.  I recall Brit telling me something similar ten years ago.  Long story short, Brit started out the season.  She ran some races.  Then she dropped out to perform in the school play.  The rest is history.  But I recall getting a shot at training Brit in preparation for joining a competitive team.  These high schools around Boulder County invented cross country.  I feel obligated to prepare Ellie this summer to avoid having her embarrass the family name in Colorado running circles.  Because really, this is all about me.

Ironically, I wasn’t in shape myself when I started to take Brit out on runs.  But even in my fattest of days, I could beat Brittany.  She would try out-kicking me at the end of long runs to say she beat me, after I just pushed her to complete 8 miles.  I got her up to 13 miles out on East Boulder Trail.  That water tower hill used to kick her ass.

I plan to start Ellie out with three milers.  We’ll stick to that and work our way up to five or six miles on daily runs.  Hopefully longer on weekends.  I’ll introduce her to the trails NHS will likely run on around Niwot.  I’ll prepare her as best I can.  I might lose a little conditioning myself if I shorten my runs, but I can afford to reduce the miles.  Or I can continue running after she’s done.  We won’t start until next weekend though since Ellie is off all week at Church Camp in Idaho.

I know the chances for Ellie to become a distance runner are as slim as Brit’s two stints in high school cross country.  Ellie started dance this year and has really taken to it.  Her first actual sport that she shows interest in.  Karen is of course happy because Karen was a dancer in both high school and college.  Technically, Karen is a still a dancer, teaching regular aerobics classes.  I’m going to take what this summer gives me though and try to make Ellie a runner.  She doesn’t have a distance runner’s body, but then neither do I.  My bone structure is too big and my legs aren’t very long.  I have decent sized calves, but that doesn’t necessarily contribute to distance running.  Few of us have perfect runner’s bodies, it comes down to what you like to do.  Where your interests lie.  Ellie is going to either be a dancer, or become a runner.  Maybe she’ll do it all.

I finally went for a massage to treat my lower back pain.  It’s been a problem since February.  I expected it to heal but it’s getting worse.  My massage therapist is Shannon Dunlap.  She’s as knowledgeable as any PT.  She confirmed my back is messed up, all wound up like a twisted pine.  As a result, my left leg is shorter than my right.  It’s always been the other way around.  Not that either leg is a different length, but these anomolies are caused by misaligned hips.  Pretty odd that they could reverse in terms of which is longer.  She helped alleviate the pain immensely, but it’s temporary.  Ultimately, I need to see a chiropractor.  That’s next on my list.  Felt really good today on a 12 mile run over the LoBo Trail.  Friday’s massage no doubt contributed.  Not sure what I’ll do Sunday.

I Just Want to Run

16 Thursday Jun 2016

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race photo mile 2c

All I want to do for Father’s Day is go for a nice long run.  Doubt though my new InSinkErator garbage disposal will install itself in the kitchen sink.  And Ellie wants me to take her camping.  Why is Father’s Day rarely about Dad?  This photo is two miles into the 2016 Bolder Boulder – Memorial Day where I had an hour in the morning to myself to run a storied 10K.  I recall having to return quickly from the race to grill burgers for Brit’s band, who was performing in the neighborhood.  How much you want to bet, I’ll grill dinner for Father’s Day too?

Bierstadt

I think my plan will be this.  Install the garbage disposal Saturday morning.  Celebrate that victory with a run in the afternoon.  Then travel up to a B&B in Silver Plume for the evening to position us for an early morning climb up Mt. Bierstadt.  I tried to reserve camping spots but they are either taken or not yet open.  I could risk camping at first-come, first served camping spots, but if I’ve learned anything as a father, you don’t take such risks with kids.  So the B&B is booked for a sure thing.

This entire hike is above tree line from the trail head.  It’s 3 miles up to the peak, with the first mile through a wet marsh.  Should be frozen in the morning.  The next two miles are steep.  This will be Ellie’s first 14er.  Brit is going too.  Wish us luck.

Dry Sweat

09 Thursday Jun 2016

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race photo kick 3

I only run because it gives me a prop to play toward acting lazy around the house.  I can easily back up my laziness, due to some pain, or because I’m too tired after running that marathon this morning.  Like an old friend, I always have that story to tell when I don’t get to something on my list.

I thought I acclimated well to the heat last week, but that was 70° weather.  The 90°s are like an order of magnitude hotter.  I know my Texas friends will laugh, but holy smokes, running in this heat is tough.  This Tuesday, I discovered sweat on my brow.  We sweat in Colorado of course, but normally it’s a dry sweat.

Not that sweating is bad.  Here typically, the sweat forms up on our brow as a dry, white powder.  We can brush it off after we run, into a shaker.

If you’re driving through Colorado on I-25 and you stop at that gas station slash diner slash convenience store thing on the SW corner of exit 235, that’s where you can buy a shaker of Boulder Salt.  Look for it there.  Another interesting thing about driving through Colorado is that you’re not a real town in this state if you don’t have a good story to tell on cannibalism.

I took some days off after Snowmass, then ran 11 miles Tuesday.  I was able to recover by running 8 miles Wednesday in a warm rain.  I could only pound out 7 miles today in 90°.  I lost 4 pounds of sweat in that one hour.  Might take Friday off to regain some weight.

This Bolder Boulder photo is from inside Folsom Field with less than 50 meters remaining.  I forgot to wear my customary racing cap, but escaped without sunburn given the early start.  Summer has arrived.

The Red Loop

05 Sunday Jun 2016

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race photo Pearl Street

The Snowmass Ragnar Relay is an endless stream of runners, racing around trail loops through the hills above Snowmass Village.  Starting Friday evening, I run four loops, green at 6:30 pm, yellow at 10:00 pm, green again at 5:30 am and the red loop for my finale at 12:46 pm.  There are 200 other runners out somewhere along the 15 miles that make up these three loops.  Math suggests there are over 10 runners per mile.  Given the sparse distribution this late in the event, it’s rare that I find myself racing neck and neck against another runner.  There are four runners running in the space of 100 yards in front of me as I start out the red loop.  I pass three of them within the first mile, running on the bike path alongside Brush Creek Road, and just catch the fourth runner before turning onto Sinclair Road.  I fail to pass him though.

We run side by side for the entire second mile, still on the street.  We introduce ourselves, both happy for someone to push us up this steep street.  Dave looks about my age, which I mostly judge based on his conservative dress.  Us older guys show less skin than the couple of kids we passed in the first mile.  Dave is relentless on this climb.  I would not run this fast pace the first two miles of this seven mile loop, were I running by myself.  My plan was to go up slow and try to race down fast.  Half the runners we pass are walking, which is fairly typical of all runners on their third loops.  We’re both breathing loudly, but I make the bigger grunts by far.  I sense Dave is better at altitude than me.

The street ends just after two miles and we turn right onto the Rim Trail North.  Dave sprints ahead of me to take the lead on the single track.  I described the course elevation profile to him, having run this last year, while running up Sinclair.  It helps to know the top of the climb is marked by a park bench at 3.5 miles.  Dave is willing to let me pass him at one point during our ascent, because I’m breathing down his neck.  I tell him that not only can I not pass him, but that I’ve been power walking for the last quarter mile.  When you can walk as fast as someone else can run, you should walk.  It’s an interesting phenomenon actually on steep mountain trails.  It lowers the heart rate but maintains the same speed.  No doubt, this just pissed Dave off.

Dave screams downhill as soon as we begin our descent.  I try to follow his pace but he forms a sizable gap.  Another much younger runner that Dave has passed runs between us for about a mile.  Once I pass that kid, I close the gap with Dave.  This is past where the red loop joins the yellow, after 5 miles.  I finally pass Dave crossing the first wooden foot bridge.  I suspect the 3.5 mile descent was too long for his wicked pace and shredded his legs.  Running downhill provides you with unlimited oxygen, but your legs turn to jello.  It gets a little scary when you lose confidence in your ability to brake around curves.  My slower start to our descent left me with some strength at the end.

These 24 hour relays are all about self preservation.  It takes discipline to maintain the strength to finish three or more runs on seriously steep mountain trails.  I would have loved being able to race each loop with equal intensity, but I couldn’t recover well enough from my first run, and I wouldn’t have had anything left to run so hard on my final loop.  Really happy I chose to run the middle loops slow and easy.  My thighs are still sore the next day, which tells me that running the downhills took more out of my legs than the uphills.  Running uphill makes an impression on your heart and lungs, but it’s the downhills that thrash your muscles.

This photo is from last week’s Bolder Boulder, just before the 6th mile, turning off Folsom.  I like how it shows another mature runner directly behind me.  Several of my teammates commented on how this year’s Snowmass Relay seems younger and more competitive than last year.  I think us old runners hung in there though.

Here Kitty, Kitty

05 Sunday Jun 2016

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Version 2

Our relay team name references an exchange among team members a few years ago about what to say when you see a mountain lion on the trail.  I wasn’t there, but it captures the zaniness of these runners well.  This photo is of Ken running the first leg of the Ragnar Snowmass Mountain Trail Relay this weekend.  Ken runs the green loop which is the easiest of the three trail loops for the relay.  It’s four miles in length and has an elevation gain of over 600 feet.  Most of the climb is in the first two miles while the return is back down hill.  This is my first loop as well and I ran my fastest pace of the event.  I raced it hard knowing my legs wouldn’t recover well enough to run the other loops as hard.  And maybe because I was a little excited for my first run.

Carolyn

Carolyn is next out of the gate and runs the yellow loop, considered tougher than the green because of the more intense elevation gain, although it’s nearly the same distance, going up the first half and returning back down.  Carolyn was a ballet dancer before getting into running.  You can almost tell by her running shorts that look more like a girlie, party dress.  Carolyn is a trail dancer.

Eve

Eve, pictured here, runs our third and final loop – the red loop – the toughest both in terms of distance, 7 miles, and elevation gain, 1,250 feet.  The rest of us repeat the same three loops.  I run my loops in this order, but run an additional green loop for another teammate who couldn’t make the trip.  I ran the yellow loop at night, under the stars.  My red loop pace is a minute per mile slower than my green loop, but involved a great race against another runner named Dave.  This course rises for 3.5 miles before dropping back down for the second half.  Dave remained a step ahead of me the entire climb, then widened his lead over me for the descent.  He ran out of steam though the final mile.

Harry

Beth, Keith and Brian complete our team.  I don’t have pictures of everyone running, but have to show this photo of Henry, Kristin’s 13 year old son.  He ran two of her loops with her.  This second run, where he is pictured here about two minutes from the finish, is the 7 mile, 1250 foot, ball-buster, red loop.  Henry’s mom, Kristin, establishes a lead on him after a mile, and never looks back.  Understand, some of the runners I passed on this course were walking, but several others were standing to the side, bent over in some cases, negotiating terms with God for oxygen.  Kids don’t run up mountains like this for fun, because there’s nothing fun about it.  But Henry couldn’t turn around because his mom was running up the hill in front of him.  How can a boy turn from such a challenge?  He finished a full mile behind his mother, but he finished strong.  And that’s my idea of parenting.

Team Photo

I raced two of the loops hard.  My first run over the green loop, and my fourth run on the red loop.  I preserved my leg strength on the middle two runs with a slower pace, when it became clear during the second loop that surviving to my final run was paramount.  Racing three miles downhill on a mountain trail is about as fun as it gets.  It’s also exhausting, as was this entire weekend.  These relays are as much about sleep deprivation as running.  Beth ran it with the expectation the incessant running would be good prep for her TransRockies Run later this summer, where she’ll have to maintain over 20 miles per day, for six days, running from Buena Vista to Beaver Creek.  We completed this relay after 23 hours of non-stop running.  I might take today off.

Bolder Boulder 2016

30 Monday May 2016

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starting wave AB

6 a.m. and I hand a volunteer my $20 parking permit to scan for entry into a CU parking lot on Regent Ave.  This positions me 1.5 miles from the 6:57 a.m. wave AB start of the 2016 Bolder Boulder, and very close to the Folsom Field finish line to facilitate a quick exit.  Always have an exit strategy.  I generally stick around to join my neighbors in the stands and watch the complete race and Memorial Day events, but I want to return home to catch Brittany perform with her band, False Summit, at a concert in the park at noon.  I jog to the start for an initial warmup and join the dawn of what will soon be a moving street party.

race start

My wave feels a bit intimidating, chock full of high school cross country teams.  This photo is from my starting wave.  We launch at 6:57 am and I feel like my pace is good.  Faster than what I’m used to but doable.  I surge per plan as I round the corner from Valmont to 28th Street.  Visually, the street looks flat, but it drops 5 feet or so over a quarter mile.  That counts at altitude.  I don’t hold my surge as long as I hoped to, not quite to the corner of Pine.  It helps me though to record a 6:54 first mile.  Climbing Folsom on the second mile is brutal.  I use the small dip part way up to recover my breathing, about where the Elvis impersonator is singing.  I run mile two in 7:13, 19 seconds slower.  A handful of the speedier runners from the wave after mine pass by me here, apparently running a half minute faster per mile.

Because of how the waves consolidate along the course, their starts separated by one minute, the crowd never thins out running through the neighborhoods west of Folsom.  I do my best to hold my pace, waiting for my next planned surge after cresting Vista Hill.  The down slope is noticeable after turning onto 19th Street and I’m able to gain some momentum.  I start passing other runners, good feedback that I’m running faster myself.  Hard to tell sometimes when I’m so out of breath.  Like my first surge though in mile one, I can’t hold it as long as I’d like.  Man this is a tough course.  I’m not used to running beyond my lactate threshold.  I run the third mile in 7:22.  Not surprising for the third mile to be my slowest, but a bit disappointing that I’ve added another 9 seconds onto my pace.

The next mile is a rollercoaster with two 25 foot hills, the first up Cedar Avenue, the second up 13th Street.  I do my best to surge on the short downhills to improve my pace, and I tap it back down to a 7:15 for mile four.  I know I need to push myself for this fifth mile, it’s either time to race or time to coast.  I actually start to feel stronger running through the s-curve around Pearl Street through downtown Boulder.  The positive effects of some downhill running, no doubt.  The clock supports my senses wth a 7:05 for mile five.  I endeavor to hold my stride to Folsom, then to Canyon, then Arapaho.  I’m trying to run mile six strong, but I can only take it one block at a time.  I run out of gas on the hill  leading into Folsom Field.  Did they make it longer somehow with the recent construction?

post race

I complete mile six in 7:17, I think I was running much better than that but the last quarter mile uphill stopped me in my tracks.  I’m able to unwind my legs a bit inside the stadium but don’t kick very hard.  I’ve had enough racing for one day.  I finish in 44:44 for a 7:12 pace and 4th in my age division.  This is funny considering I finished 6th last year after running 90 seconds faster.  I look at last year’s results and consider correlating them with the obituaries to see how many of the men who beat me last year have since passed.  I didn’t do that but do note that only one guy (Thomas Lund) who beat me last year, did again with a very similar time.  And the two men who took 7th (Jim Moy) and 8th (Chris Muzny) last year, behind my 6th place, took 3rd and 2nd respectively this year.  I’ll have to watch for them next year.  Today’s race was hard but I’m happy with that finish time.  I sip my post race beer sitting next to Ralphie.

False Summit

I rush home afterward because today isn’t really about me and my little morning runs.  Brit performs at noon with her band False Summit in the park at our neighborhood Memorial Day party.  I’m committed to grill burgers for the band before they play.  They end up sounding great.  Brit’s voice student, Anya Chavez sings a couple of songs too.  You would never guess Anya is only 12 years old after watching this music video of her singing Riptide.  Our neighbor Bella sings later in the day, around 4 pm.  She sings mostly original songs and performs great as well.  Many of our friends come out to watch the local girls sing, which is super nice.  Long day of racing, music and IPAs.  Next weekend I’ll be running a trail relay with friends in Snowmass.

My Surge Strategy

27 Friday May 2016

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I talk a good deal about racing.  Honestly though, my idea of racing is nowhere close to what a real, or at least younger, athlete does.  I’m not referencing speed because that is obvious, but the willingness to push oneself beyond reasonable limits.  As we age, most of us become comfortable.  We add weight.  I’m 10 pounds over the medical range for my height.  Older athletes like myself still enjoy races, but we rarely push ourselves beyond our lactate threshold.  We stay within our limits.  We might even chat while racing, I do.  Maybe we put on a good kick, knowing the end is near.  I rarely even do that, afraid of pulling one of my delicate muscles.  More often than not, I tend to cool down the last half mile, I slow down, to ensure I live to run another day.  I maintain that’s what wise old runners should do.  Although this isn’t my plan Monday morning for the 2016 Bolder Boulder.

course map

While I’m not in race shape necessarily, I believe I’m in good enough condition to race sections of this course hard.  Because I’m in decent overall aerobic shape, I should be able to surge for short sections and then recover, sort of like running a fartlek workout.  I’ll take the first mile easy, because starting out in oxygen debt will ruin this entire plan.  Although, I plan to start my first surge just before the one mile marker, and carry the surge around the corner down Pine Street to Folsom.  It’s a short section, likely under a quarter mile.  I’ll run steady up Folsom, there’s a small dip mid way into the second mile where I’ll try to  surge again if I’ve fully recovered.  Otherwise my next surge won’t be until Vista Hill, a little over half way into mile three.  This is where the racing truly starts for the elites, Vista Hill is strategic.  It’s followed by two more rolling hills, ending at Casey Hill just past the fourth mile, all three hills marking the top of the course elevation profile.  I’ll attempt short quarter mile surges on the downhill sections here, and recover on the uphills.  From here is a mile and a half downhill run through downtown Boulder, around Pearl Street.  This is the fastest section of the course.  Anyone racing runs their fastest pace in the fifth mile.  The real trick is to hold this fast pace past the fifth mile onto Folsom.  I couldn’t do that last year.  I’ll try harder this time.

elevation profile

No point in saving anything for the final half mile after the bridge over Boulder Creek.  It’s the steepest climb of the course and very few of the runners that I might have passed on Folsom will be able to pass me back here.  Everyone slows down for the hill that enters the stadium.  I’ll race for 5.75 miles with my surge tactics and cool down the final half mile.  If I can recover at all atop the final hill, I won’t so much as kick to the finish line, but I’ll try to surge again with a strong enough stride that looks good for the cameras.  Chances are though, I’ll just pretend that final hill isn’t there.  I’ll block it from memory, even while running it.  There is no spoon.  It’s nice to finish in Folsom Stadium, but not at the cost of climbing that hill.

The risk in this plan is that I won’t be able to recover sufficiently after a surge and my overall time will be much slower than if I were to run an even pace.  In fact, if I were in racing shape, I would of course run an even pace, because that’s what you do.  So in a sense, this is a wildly stupid plan, but it will be brilliant if it helps me to break 45 minutes. Odds are, I won’t break 50 minutes and will be running in oxygen debt the entire second half of the course.  But it might provide me some ephemeral moments of racing glory.

Signaling today that I’m going to run hard Monday certainly sets myself up for failure, but I like forecasting because it gives me that extra push.  Running is like golf in the sense you are really just competing with yourself.  Sort of like how betting on sports makes the game more interesting, there’s nothing like putting a little pressure on yourself with a pre-race prediction.  See you at the finish line.

Fast Eddie

21 Saturday May 2016

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CO Marathon 10Kb

I prefer photos with my eyes open, but at least I’m smiling.  At the end of a six mile race no less.  This race was three weeks ago, and I really did enjoy running through the snowfall.  I’ve noticed over the last several weeks, as the days warm up, my best runs are on the cooler days with temps in the 40°s and 50°s, and I slow down considerably on the warmer days.  I’ve yet to acclimate to the heat.  There are two types of Bolder Boulder 10Ks.  Cold, wet ones, and hot ones where I end up sunburned.  Hoping for a colder morning Memorial Day weekend.  I’m not expecting my best performance this year, but I get excited for this race anyway.

Despite my hamstring injuries, I’m still in decent running shape this year.  I just haven’t been running fast.  I hoped to be better positioned for a fast race next weekend but things are what they are.  The reason I strive for fast runs in the Bolder Boulder is that it’s the same race, the same distance, and the same month, on the same course, every year.  So it’s a great yard stick to measure progress.  Weather is the biggest variable.  I expect to run about 20 or 30 seconds slower per mile than last year, but that’s still within a range that I’ll enjoy it as a race.

IMG_8710

I even made the same starting wave as last year.  This will have me starting before 7am, so I can expect a cooler temperature being early morning.  Hoping to avoid running slower than three weeks ago in Fort Collins which I ran in 45:01.  The BB10K is a much tougher course, but then it also has more runners and fans, which will motivate me to run hard.  It’s funny that even though my expectations are diminished, I’m still so excited about this race.  It’s such a celebration of running, a 6 mile long street party.  Below are all my BB10K times:

1990  41:11                    2011  48:17
1991  48:00                   2012  51:32
1995  1:04:43                2013  44:22
2001  1:59:36                2014  1:50:17
2010  49:52                   2015  43:09

 

You can see where I essentially stopped running for 20 years.  The two runs close to 2 hours were actually walks.  My goal is to get back down to that 41 minute run from when I was 28 years old.  It’s within reach.  This is my 7th BB10K in a row.  I see a pattern in these times, starting with my return to running in 2010, of two steps forward and one step back.  But that’s really just a speed statement.  Health-wise, I’ve been steadily improving.  I’ve lost 30 pounds over this time period.  I don’t mind saying that I look like a runner again.  I think I’ll always be happy running any 10K under 45 minutes.  That’s racing speed for me.  I like seeing progress each year too, but I’m patient.  Faster times will come.

I ran the hills of East Boulder Trail this morning.  I barely noticed them.  I remember a time when my legs burned running up some of those hills.  This is just more good feedback letting me know I’m in good aerobic shape.  The bridge is still out over Boulder Creek on this trail.  Anyone have an ETA of when they intend to rebuild it?

Sunshine in my Pocket

14 Saturday May 2016

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duet.png

My girls produced a music video this week and it left me with some sunshine in my pocket into the weekend.  Clicking on the photo will link you to their video on YouTube.  I can’t sing any more than I can dance, the talent comes from their mother.

I ran six miles with Keith this morning in the mountain mist above Lyons on the Bitterbrush Trail through Hall Ranch.  We parked at the Antelope Trailhead, taking one of the last spots.  There are only eight parking spots there, but it’s the best approach if you can snag one.  The clouds were thick and visibility near zero once we reached the Nelson Loop.  Classic Colorado mountain trail running weather.  Despite the gloom, I was so pleased to be back out on the trail, I felt like I was running with sunshine in my pocket.  I think I know what the phrase means now, it’s in the girls’ song.  I was running happy.  The photo below is from my finish at the Colorado Marathon 10K two weeks ago.

CO Marathon 10Ka

 

Of Basements and Back Pain

07 Saturday May 2016

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back-pain

I can’t really explain this, but having a sports injury leaves me with a sense of accomplishment.  Just ask yourself, when’s the last time you had a sports injury?  Unlike falling off a ladder while changing a lightbulb, this is something I can talk about, unabashedly, at The Well, or at Wibbys, quaffing brews with the guys.  And I have a pretty good story to tell.

I was racing the Boulder High School Boys Cross Country Team up a 2.5 mile, 1000 foot mountain climb in Jamestown.  Those boys were rated 16th in the nation.  And I beat one of them.  I’d have out run two but one of the short little shirtless shits sprinted past me after we crested the hill, with only 10 yards to the finish.  This is good brewpub talk.

The next day, I discovered that I’d strained my hamstrings in both legs.  Further analysis suggested my flat training runs on the LoBo Trail were poor preparation for a hill climb.  And that I’ve been running more on muscle memory than muscle mass.  I’m working on addressing my shortcomings.  That’s what injuries are good for, suggesting future workouts for improvement.

An injury I’ve yet to blog about is my lower back.  I’ve been suffering lower back pain for a month now.  I think I can trace it back to sprinting some strides after a long run.  So yet another sports injury, which makes it okay to talk about.  It’s not like I have a sore back because I’m old or anything like that.  I don’t think this is affecting my running too much. It slows me down at the start, which might be hard to imagine.  I start out so slow already on my runs that I risk toppling over.  But once I warm up, after a mile or two, I’m good.  Hurts again afterward, but that’s what beer and ibuprofen are for.

brittelizabeth_lg

I should perhaps be writing a few nice things about Mother’s Day.  Karen has been mothering these girls for nearly half her life.

I got in a good eleven miles today in the rain.  I won’t be running Sunday.  Instead, I’ll be cleaning out the basement, this is what Karen wants for Mother’s Day.  She’s not concerned about my lower back pain.  My friends and family in Texas don’t have this problem, you don’t have basements.  You do have scorpions however.  If you’re having trouble picturing a basement, think of a 1000 square foot closet.  A place to put things you don’t want to look at.  Which, if true, doesn’t explain ever needing to clean it out.  But I don’t make the decisions around here.  I just do what I’m told on Mother’s Day.

Fort Collins

01 Sunday May 2016

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Snooze

Imagine running through snow in May.  The forecast this morning seemed questionable for racing, but at 36°, no wind and softly falling snow, running the Colorado Marathon 10K in Fort Collins could not be more pleasant.  Chris is running the full marathon distance and started 30 minutes before me.  He might have been miserable waiting for the start, but I suspect this is perfect marathon weather too.  He later reports that running through Poudre Canyon in the snow was ideal.

This is my first race in five months.  I scheduled it to qualify for a fast Bolder Boulder starting wave.  I’ve given up on that plan since I didn’t get into racing shape but this event will still be really good to see where I’m at.  I’ve been running my workouts in an 8:30 minute per mile pace.  I figure I should be able to break 8 minutes per mile today, and am hoping to run 7:30.  I’ll be embarrassed if Chris runs a faster mile pace in his marathon.

The 10K is not the main event and so only has maybe 500 runners.  It starts in front of the Rio Grande, which opens their restaurant doors for the runners to stay warm.  The field thins out after a mile.  I’m running by myself after two miles.  I warmed up with a mile run and feel really good from the start.  I’m super surprised to be running near a 7 minute pace.  I don’t believe I’m anywhere near exceeding my lactate threshold but I feel like I’m running fast.  Feels great.  The course winds through gorgeous Fort Collins neighborhoods for 3 miles before returning along the Big Thompson River, flowing fast from three days of non-stop snow and rain.  This run is postcard perfect.

I’m able to pass another runner the final mile, 52 year old Bradley Wood from Ludlow, Nebraska.  I beat him by 4 seconds to finish second in my 50-59 year age division in 45:01.  I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this run, because I’d lost sense of my pace not having raced for half a year.  This helps set my expectations for the Bolder Boulder in four weeks.

Chris 26-4Chris ran a spectacular marathon.  He finished third in his age division with a 3:19 finish.  He ran an extraordinarily even pace of 1:40 for both the first and second halves.  His 7:37 pace qualifies him for Boston by over 5 minutes.  This of course leaves me wanting to qualify for Boston too.  I wasn’t planning to run a marathon this year, but now I’m considering one.  The top photo is of me eating breakfast at Snooze waiting for Chris to finish running after my 10K.  Next time, I plan to be a marathon participant rather than the spectator.