Tag Archives: Moab

Farm Roads

12 Saturday Mar 2016

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6 miles 2

In honor of the political campaign season, this photo above is a lie.  I didn’t run Moab today.  This photo is from 2011.  But I wanted to be there with my friends, oh so bad.  Running that half marathon alongside the Colorado River through the canyon is one of this country’s best experiences ever.  Hope my friends enjoyed themselves this weekend.  Wish I were there.

family

Instead, I ran my own half marathon on the Boulder backroads.  My week was too busy for travel as I just returned, close to midnight Monday, from my Niece Christi’s wedding in New Braunfels, Texas.  This is Christi, pictured above, with her father Mike, sister Mindi and mother, my sister Nancy.  Christi is a school teacher in San Antonio.  Mindi is an officer with the Hays County Sheriff’s Department.

bride and grandma

It was a happy day for my mother too.  While she’s appreciative of her ten grandchildren, only three great grandchildren aren’t enough and she’d like to have more of those.

tres hermanas

I was pleased to see my sisters as well.  They all live a thousand miles from me and we don’t get together often enough.  I hope they were surprised to discover that my bangs are longer than all of theirs’.  I also saw some nieces whom I haven’t seen in decades.  Such a great trip.

mom and daughter

Clearly though, my little sister was the happiest of us all.  Mother and daughter were beautiful walking down the aisle.  The wedding was held outside and the Central Texas skies held back the flood waters just long enough to pull off this wedding Sunday evening.

dance

Okay, maybe the bride and groom were the happiest.  Kevin is also a teacher at the same elementary school as Christi.  They coordinated their wedding date with spring break.  But enough about all these shiny, happy people.  This is a running blog.

Today’s run may have equalled Moab in awesomeness.  I run so often on the little LoBo Trail outside my door and I don’t get out to the Boulder backroads enough.  The hard-packed clay, with streaks of rich brown and slate, is ideal for long runs.  I eschewed my Hokas for my old running shoes and felt like myself again.  My hamstring injuries are fading.  My old Salomon trail shoes have over 2000 miles on them, but give me a responsiveness on the dirt that I’ve missed.  My overly-cushioned Hokas are deaf by comparison.

North of the Boulder Res, I ran past fields of hops ready to grow for the local brewpubs, equine facilities, polo ranches, and over quaint bridges arched across Left Hand Creek.  It was 50° around noon with late winter sunlight filtering down through leafless Cottonwood.  An absolute runners dream for thirteen miles.  I came up behind another runner, over-dressed in tights and jacket, as we both left the road for a section of trail.  A garbage truck was nearly blocking the opening in the fence to the trail.  He took a less confrontational route around the far side.  I was enjoying my downhill stride too much to be bothered and darted between the busy sanitation worker and his monster truck, threading the needle to reach the trail.  I didn’t slow down or go wide.  Every run is a race.  I couldn’t be in Moab this weekend, but I had a good run.

 

Alone

24 Sunday Mar 2013

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moab 2You need to click on this pic to enlarge it to see just how cool these sandstone rocks appear.  And of course on the other side of the road is the Colorado River.  This is why I run Moab.  I also visited the Arches National Park on this year’s trip – that was incredible.  Believe it or not, there are nearly 3000 other runners right behind me in this pic, as well as a couple hundred more directly ahead of me.  I don’t recall ever being this alone during the Moab Half Marathon.

But I was alone in Moab.  Karen and Ellie didn’t make the trip.  They’ve traveled to Moab before, and to Manitou Springs and Ouray and Telluride, just to watch me run.  But mostly I go alone.

Just like on most of my workouts.  I prefer it really.  I’m not totally asocial.  I like to get in a team run every now and then with my neighbors.  But part of what I like about running is being able to step out the door on my watch.  Running my pace.  And the solitude required for introspection.  My personality is dead in the middle of extrovert and introvert.  I benefit from time with people but need time alone to think thoughts that wouldn’t come to me otherwise.  So running works for me.

My legs were heavy today and I didn’t think I’d go for more than seven or eight miles.  But the sun was out strong and the air was still.  The snow wasn’t as deep as yesterday, much of it hammered down on the trail from runners, dogs and cross country skis.  While my legs hadn’t fully recovered from yesterday’s ten miles, I felt good being outside and kept it slow for a twelve mile run.  Not sure when the tracks were made because I didn’t encounter a single runner during my two hour escape.  Just me today, alone on the trail.

Kenzie’s Cottage

16 Saturday Mar 2013

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Kenzie's CottageHere’s a view of the tool shed I stay in while in Moab.  It’s in the back yard of the 3 Dogs & a Moose cottages, near the hot tub.  I’ve yet to stay in a standard motel in Moab; I always go to one of these unique home rentals that pervade this town.  You can easily get a group to rent out an entire yard of cottages, or choose to socialize in a communal living fashion.  My bed is so comfy I nearly oversleep this morning.  I do still have time though for a coffee and banana from the Red Rock Bakery and Net Cafe.  I go here every trip for coffee.  No matter how late you are, there is always time for a coffee.

I talk to a guy on the bus ride up the canyon from Cortez – the Four Corners area.  West of Durango.  He has ten years on me so we talk as much about planning for retirement as we do running.  I am wearing warm fleece but barely need it.  It is quick to take off and stores easily in my gear bag.  I throw that into the gear truck on the quarter mile walk up to the starting line.  I keep a ten dollar bill and my drivers license in my blue North Face shorts back pocket.  It isn’t a twenty because I anticipate two free beers post-race.  I also sport the baby blue, short sleeve, cotton race jersey that came with my registration.  Along with the official race running hat.  Might be my first Moab without tights.

Abbie and I run into each other lining up.  We’re both targeting 1:45.  We try to line up in that pace group but runners are packed into the street tighter than any race I’ve ever been in and we can’t even reach the 2:20 pace sign.  I find out over drinks later that the Paris/Hotshot Team is running in front of us and much of the rest of Jabe’s team is running directly behind us.  Still, this is the closest to the starting line I have ever been in Moab.  I don’t normally try to get up front but I’m looking to push myself today for a faster start.  I’m hoping to average an 8 minute pace and do so evenly each mile.  My first mile is exactly 8 minutes.

In case you glossed over this, Jen, Kelly, Steve and Keith all started ahead of me.  Susan and the rest were barely behind me.  And this is as near as I’ve ever been to the front.  That means only one thing.  Everyone I know in this race is out to get me.  This is going to be a race.

While together, Abbie talks to me about being a child’s advocate lawyer during immigration hearings.  I ask her if she could tell me any heart-wrenching stories.  We don’t have much time.  No sooner than did she say yes and start to open up, I lose sight of Abbie and come upon Jen around mile 2.  My two running sirens.  The sirens are tempting to run with but I accelerate.  Mile two is in 7:24.  Nice.  With that under pace, I determine I will keep score based on over or under my 8 minute per mile goal.  And to keep from being overwhelmed by the pure math of it, I record by 30 second blocks.  So at this point I am under by 30.

I know of course this event starts largely downhill and I could possibly be in pursuit of oxygen debt.  But I don’t think so enough to slow down.  This pace feels right.  I’m certain I can hold this for the first 6 miles.  I do that and then I just need to maintain 8:30 per mile for the second half.  This is what I call strategerizing on the fly, an essential skill that only comes with experience.  Mile 3 comes in at 7:22, mile 4 at 7:20, mile 5 at 7:23 ( some hills around here if you think I slowed down but I can tell you I was thinking about having just run 4 consecutive miles between 7:20 and 7:24) and mile 6 comes in at 7:07.  I’m in good shape for making my time now.

It’s also about now that my focus begins to drift from the race.  I go back to thinking about putting so many separate buildings into a single yard.  Why am I intrigued by this area’s architecture?.  It works out for me and I’m currently in a shed in the backyard with another running party who took the rest of this space.  No way my HOA would let me construct little apartments throughout my backyard.  But before I can finish my thought on why this should be wrong, I realize I support this residential zoning freedom.  There is something about the Southwest and having multiple buildings for specific tasks.  I’m certain I saw this last spring in the Yucatan.  The kitchen is a separate building.  Bedrooms are separate buildings.  But everything is enclosed within a courtyard.  This is classic Spanish architecture that embraces outdoor living.  I don’t see this in the buildings themselves but rather in the manner that Moab allows home owners to commercialize their properties in a style reminiscent of the old Southwest.  I owe Abbie $280 for my shed.

I’m not surprised when my 7th mile comes in at 7:16 and 8th at 7:19.  I was two and a half minutes under my target pace after 6, and my start to the second half is faster than the start to my first half.  By a lot.  I stop tracking my under.  The 9th mile has a noticeable hill and my legs feel it.  I’d imagined mile 9 as a critical point to make a move and here it is.  But I don’t need to make a move.  I need to hang on.  Per the plan I put together by mile two, I simply need to maintain pace – which is officially 8:00.  The hill in mile 9 is followed by a downhill.  Mile 9 comes in at 7:22.

Around this time I get passed by the first runner in my entire race.  I heard the noise behind me of someone slapping their feet way too loudly, hence hard, against the pavement.  This sounds so bad I consider advising the person about to pass me on their running form.  He pulls up beside me and to my surprise is wearing flip flops.  Seriously.  So we start a conversation.  I forget the brand but these sandals are in fact designed for running.  This is the farthest he’s ever run in them but besides a potential toe blister, he feels good.  He then leaves me in pursuit of the 1:40 pace sign.

I think I might have caught him back; I see him later in the finishers shoot.  I pass the drums.  Then I pass the 1:40 pace sign.  I continue to run strong with mile 10 in 7:25 and mile 11 in 7:24.  It’s not just the unusual speed that has my confidence soaring.  It’s the consistency of the times. Running like this is magical.  At this point I don’t care what happens, I could walk in from here and feel great about the day.  Mile 12 comes in at 7:30.

Then tragedy strikes.  Nearing the final corner with less than a half mile remaining, my stomach begins to heave.  To the point I stop and bend over.  There’s nothing in my stomach so it’s dry heaves, but painful and a real clock stopper.  I lose 30 seconds, the 1:40 pace sign passes me, and I can’t reach them before the finish line with a final mile time of 8:08 and total race time of 1:38:38.  Hells yeah!

This is just behind my time for the Austin Half last January where I had a 15 mph wind at my back on a downhill sea level course.  Moab has always been tough for me.  It’s as technical as pavement can possibly be.  This bests my previous time here by 11 minutes.  Despite the unfortunate dry heaves a few minutes prior, I feel like I just ran the perfect race.  I get water, my finishing medal and a picture.  Then I wait for my neighbors to quickly pile up.  Abbie, followed closely (chip time) by Kelly, and soon after Keith.  We take medal pictures together.

I move aggressively through the food farm to the gear bag pick-up.  I eat an orange section and grab a banana.  I down the two free beers, meeting up with Kelly, Keith and Steve in the beer garden.  I miss a turn and end up back on Main Street while walking back to my shed.  Only a block out of my way really but this takes me past the Moab Spa. Nice.  I walk in and wait for the receptionist to finish her call.  Based on her conversation, her next opening for that person is at 7pm.  I think he hung up on her.  She proceeds to tell me that 7 is the soonest, unless I am ready in 40 minutes for a 2:00 appointment.  That’s exactly what I was going to ask for.  Sold.  I spring back to the shed to shower and promptly return.  Breann at the Moab Spa is a runner too.  She knows what I need and gives me one of the best massages in the history of the world.  Perspective.

green running sirensFrom there I go to the post-race party for drinks and dinner – catered by Pasta Jays.  I think I arrived late.  Anyone there ahead of me is surely ahead of me in the consumption of libations too.  Ever a quick study, I ask Steve to make me some Gin and Tonics to help me reach par.  This works well and Steve now has another satisfied customer.  Funniest commentary of the night?  Seemingly sober, Jabe tells Eve, “I’m thinking of getting hair extensions.”  Quick and matter-of-factly, Eve responds, “They don’t come in gray.”  This is followed by all sorts of humor inappropriate for the adult kids stunned by their parent’s ribald display.  I retire to my shed after a soak in the hot tub.  Fast times, good day.

Last Run

31 Monday Dec 2012

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stevie rayFor my last run of the year – Lady Bird Lake in Austin.  The old Town Lake setting is always enjoyable and a great venue to end another year of running.  As I think back, these are my coolest runs of 2012.

Moab.  If you haven’t run Moab, or hiked the area, or mountain biked on the slick rock, you’re missing out on one of this country’s premiere outdoor locales.

CPTR.  The 25 mile Collegiate Peaks Trail Run is such a nice experience.  The views don’t get any better.  But I think it was the friendly participants and general atmosphere of Buena Vista that make this event worthwhile.

IPR.  I’ve run the Imogene Pass Run twice now.  At 17 miles, it appears more doable than a marathon.  More like a half marathon.  But trust me, your time will be slower than what you can run for a marathon.  This run only has one hill, but it’s ten miles up and seven steep miles down.  Easily the most challenging trail I’ve ever run.

Barton Creek Greenbelt.  I just ran this trail the other day for the first time in over 20 years but used to run it regularly.  I’ve yet to discover a comparable inner city trail run.

Boulder County.  I’m lucky that I live here.  I’m partial to the East Boulder/White Rock trails and Heil Valley Ranch but there are countless trails in the foothills of the Front Range.  And I’m fortunate to have the LoBo Trail out my front door that I run to Niwot and back on most days.

Canyonlands

26 Monday Mar 2012

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My first night of camping in 2012 went fairly well.  It didn’t rain and the wind didn’t start up until late morning.  I woke up refreshed, despite the previous day’s countless beers.  Rob and I drove into Moab well before the 8am cutoff time when they would close Hwy 128 for the run.  It was barely after 6am when we walked into the Red Rock Bakery and Net Cafe.  And net cafe is an apt name – their wifi is screamin’ fast.  We had coffee of course, a cinnamon roll and banana.  We hung out longer than necessary to eat since we were fairly early.  The buses wouldn’t load up until 7:30.  And the bakery bathroom was going to be as good as it gets for some time.  I took the opportunity to catch up on IBM email since I’d taken Friday off.

Around 7:30 we left the bakery and car parked out front to walk over to Swanny City Park for the bus shuttle.  We weren’t in a hurry since this was a hurry up and wait scenario.  The sooner we got to the bus drop-off area, the longer we would have to wait sitting on rocks.  We took a 7:50 shuttle.  20 or 30 minutes before 10am, the race director instructs everyone to walk the quarter mile or so further up the hill to the race start.  A couple of gear drop-off trucks are on the way.  I committed to a short sleeve shirt and threw my gear bag in with the lot.  This was a little risky given the strong wind but it wasn’t as cold as last year and short sleeves would have been fine then once I got running.

The race starts on a hill top where the wind howls non-stop.  Enough to make me want some warm fleece, or someone to spoon with.  We ran into some of the ladies and told them we’d be starting at the 2 hour pace sign.  I expected to run under two hours but hoped to start off at a 9 minute mile pace for the first mile if not two in order to loosen up without tiring from oxygen debt.  There would be plenty of miles to speed up later.

The guys never showed up, although they could have been standing almost next to us and the crowd would have made it difficult to know.  I found out later Keith was in fact in the 2 hour group, ahead of us and on the right bank.  We were center and toward the back of the group.  Amazingly, we would run almost the exact same time and never see each other.  But I don’t know Keith’s splits.  Mine are in this graphic, and you can read them well enough if you click on the picture to enlarge it.  I started off too fast with an 8:25 pace the first mile and 8:40 the second.  This was fine for Rob as he left me after two miles and apparently sped up as he finished with an 8:22 overall pace.  Once I slowed down, I felt great.  I was more interested in running comfortably than speedy, and that’s what I did.  I’m somewhat impressed really at how consistent my splits are.  Eight of my 13 miles are in the 8:50s, and of course my overall average was 8:51.  I even ran the 9th mile, which as you can see from the elevation stats (or elevation profile map) has the big hill, in 8:55.

I’m disappointed that I slowed down to 9:13 on the 12th mile.  I had planned to run hard from the top of the 9 mile hill to the finish.  I did do well in mile 11 but the wind on mile 12 was a real bear.  And it was up hill again.  Many people think this course is essentially a downhill run.  The elevation map makes it appear that way, but actually for every 4 feet of elevation loss there are 3 feet of gain.  It’s a hilly run.  At altitude.  Something about the canyon though just sucks you in and makes you want to run this course fast.  Running into mile 10 is one of the coolest parts of this course.  As I see the canyon walls narrow up ahead I can’t help but think, “Indian ambush”.  Before I know it I start to hear drums.  I suspect maybe I’m hallucinating and tell myself to drink water at the next aid station.  The drums beat louder as I close in on the end of the canyon – nearing the junction where Hwy 128 will turn left onto Hwy 191.  That will start the uphill headwind toward the finish and I do expect that to be a battle.  Suddenly I turn a bend and come face-to-face with the green drummers.  Sort of sounds like they could be playing an Irish tune in honor of St. Patties Day.

Rob and Kelly sped through the Canyonlands with really good times.  This is Rob likely shouting “mahalo” to the cameraman and Kelly is in the red and white shirt in the first pic at the top of this post.  They didn’t seem to notice the hills and wind.  I’ll point out that neither of them beat my time from last year of 1:47, but I’ll admit the wind was considerably stronger and more persistent this year.  I’d like to know their splits on mile 12 when running into the head wind from hell.  There was a guy earlier in the race, maybe as early as mile 6, but somewhere in the second half that an aid was trying to pull off the course because he looked ready to topple over.  Safe to say he didn’t make it past mile 12.  Perhaps if I’d started out 20 seconds or so slower per mile I might have been able to keep up with Rob longer.  Or Kelly if I would have found him before the run began.  I didn’t exactly push myself to run hard in this event, but might have run a bit faster if I had someone to pace with closer to my speed.  I suspect if Keith and I had run together we would have run about a minute faster and felt none-the-worse afterward.  I didn’t even put on a kick.  I rarely do nowadays.  My final mile was in 8:50, again in line with my 8 splits in the 8:50 range.  That’s Keith in the pic below in a dark t-shirt with Steve – who also ran the same pace as us.

Despite the wind and hills, and the earthy-tasting, rock filtered air that clogged my mouth and throat, this year’s run was quite successful for my neighborhood.  Susan ran an unbelievable pace and the four of us that make up the twelve oclock running club all finished in under 2 hours.  Coach Jabe had a nice turnout from her training team – several running their first ever half marathon.  In fact, I don’t think Barb had even run a 10K before and yet she completed this challenging run like a seasoned pro.  Jabe is pictured below with the white hair and denim jacket.

As Rob and I were camping, we took advantage of Jabe and Eve’s hospitality to shower at their condo.  Actually Rob showered, I bathed in the hot tub for an hour drinking beer like camper trash.  The rest of Team Prospect came over later for dinner.  Camping out Saturday night was much less enjoyable than Friday as the howling wind made sleep difficult.  I returned to the camp site to discover my tent upside down and twisted from the wind.  Only laying in it kept it from blowing away.  At times the wind would completely flatten it over my body, which leaves me quite impressed with the flexible strength of my poles.

It was too windy to make coffee Sunday morning so Rob and I drove into town for breakfast at the Jailhouse Cafe.  Power was out all over town when we arrived so we had them heat us water from the gas stove which we used for our Starbucks Via Ready camping coffee.  The power was out from the wind but came on soon enough that we were able to order a hearty breakfast.  I dropped Rob off in Grand Junction and made it home by the afternoon.  I weighed my self to discover I somehow gained 5 pounds in Moab.  WTF?  I’m suddenly 195.  Apparently a mix of lactic acid and beer.  So I’m going two weeks – up until the Boulder Half Marathon – without drinking alcohol.  It’s been a week now and I’m back down to 190.  Actually 185  after a massive weekend of running, but that’s likely temporary from sweat loss.  I figure I drink 300 calories in beer and wine per day.  Minimum.  That adds up to a full day’s calories per week.  If it helps my weight, I might continue the booze free diet longer.  Depends how thirsty I get.

Fisher Towers

18 Sunday Mar 2012

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The 2012 season’s first hike and camping began not in Colorado but near Moab, Utah off highway 128 at Fisher Towers.  I drove to Grand Junction Thursday night on my journey to run the Moab Half Marathon on Saturday.  Rob was still returning from Durango where he was getting some new ink to mark the Mayan Apocalypse.  Sue hosted me and we watched 11th seed CU win in the first round of the NCAA tourney over UNLV.  Rob returned in time to see the victory.  Afterward we watched some Comedy Central shows Rob had recently DVR’d.

Friday morning the three of us ate breakfast at The Egg & I, Sue warned me to look out for Rob, and then we drove out of Colorado west on I-70.  Moab is less than two hours away and we took the exit for Hwy128 rather than Hwy 191.  Most mapping apps might suggest highway 191, but Hwy 128 is infinitely more scenic.  Plus this is the route to the trail head where Rob planned for us to get in a short hike.

Fisher Towers is a series of sandstone pillars that emerge in a southwesterly direction from a mesa on its northeastern flank.  Wikipedia describes them as “fins”  – three primary clusters of multiple sandstone spires.  These rock formations are instantly familiar as everyone has seen them in the movies or most recently in the Citibank commercial where Katie Brown summits the Ancient Art tower and stands on top.

I had suggested we get in a 3 to 5 mile run today since I hadn’t run much during the week and Rob thought this hike would be as good as any run.  Boy was it.  We started off running in fact, and I rediscovered my trail legs.  The hike is a bit technical in places, such as when we had to climb down an iron ladder.  After scaling the ladder, we turned left and continued back uphill.  We didn’t take any water on this hike thinking it would be short enough, but the dry air was aggressive in its attack to our mouths and throats.  My lips felt as if they had three  years of dead skin caked on to them.  Not bringing water was a gear fail, otherwise our shorts and t-shirts were perfect for the weather.

We watched some climbers working the cork screw summit of the middle cluster termed Ancient Art.  This was mouth-open, awe-inspiring, scary stuff.  Sometimes you forget what it’s like to watch death-defying stunts in real-life.  We watched a guy stand on the top like Katie in the commercial. For reals.  If Charlie Sheen has tiger blood, these climbers must have Mayan DNA.  Incredible!

After roughly an hour for 2.5 miles, we made the trail end.  If I described the view as high altitude desert, you probably wouldn’t be very impressed.  You have to experience it.  Hiking over the slick rock and breathing the rock-filtered air.  This is an amazing part of the world and well worth driving across the state border to hike or mountain bike.

The trail wasn’t crowded exactly, but we had company.  The trail head was full of cars, but mostly for climbers.  As we turned to depart from the trail end we encountered 3 sirens.  They nearly talked us into staying before our thirst brought us to our senses and we continued back to the trail head.  We discovered this rock window on the return – not sure how we missed it on the way in.  I could picture Wilma serving up a rack of dinosaur ribs to Fred at this spot.

I can’t faithfully recount every sight on this most visual hike.  There was also a flock of teenage hikers strolling barefoot across the trail.  Natives.  Back at the car we drowned our thirst with bottled water.  We then headed toward Moab on Hwy 128 and stopped near Negro Bill Canyon to stake out a camping site.  After pitching our tents, we resumed the trek into Moab for lunch, our race bibs, and beer at the one state owned liquor store.  We spent the remainder of the day ensconced at our camp site drinking beer until it was time to meet up with friends for dinner at The Red Cliffs Lodge, where we continued drinking and generally prepping our bodies for the next day’s half marathon.

I am Healed

19 Saturday Nov 2011

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Pounded out my first run since getting the cortisone treatment Wednesday, and I am healed.  Absolutely no more pain.  I felt fat and still ran slow, but my abdomen was strong.  I am so happy.  I can’t believe I’ve lived with this for a full year when I didn’t need to.  I still remember wondering why I hurt so much after the 2010 Denver Marathon.  I should have followed up with my doctor much sooner.  Lesson learned.

This has me pretty excited.  The arthritis in my symphysis pubis had been seriously slowing me down.  It was never the kind of pain to keep me from running.  But it took a half mile to recede and would return if I ran too fast.  This was most annoying in the 2011 Bolder Boulder when I felt great at 5 miles and tried to pick up my pace but the pain in my abdomen acted like a governor.

I’m psyched up now to train again for the 2012 trail running season.  I don’t care how ridiculous it might sound for a 49 year old to want to race, but I do.  I want to be competitive in my age division.  I like running fast but was beginning to think I couldn’t anymore.  My new training regimen begins this Thanksgiving break.  I’m climbing back in the saddle.    I’m going to sign up right now for the Moab Half Marathon in March.

2011 Roadmap

28 Monday Mar 2011

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Got the race results from the Boulder Half and I ran about as I thought.  I ran my second 6.55 miles 5 minutes faster than my first 6.55 miles.  I felt like I was racing again on the return.  Overall, my time was about a minute slower than the week before in Moab, or 5 seconds per mile slower.  If I consider the minute I took to relieve myself at the 4 mile port-a-potty, the two runs were equal; which is pretty amazing considering the 1000 feet difference in altitude and general variance in elevation.  The pic here is at the finish of the Moab run.

A Lo Hawk – coach that he is – left me a comment suggesting I add some speed work, even track workouts – to my schedule.  That is in fact my goal.  Gaining speed shouldn’t be so important to me, certainly not as much as improving my health.  I’ll even say that enjoying myself with a healthy outdoor hobby is near the top of my objectives.  But running faster is one of my goals.  I’d say it’s less of my competitive nature than the fact that I simply like running fast.  There’s a feeling almost animal in nature about letting your body go.  I like it.

Now that muscle tone has fully returned to my legs, I can tell that it’s my belly holding me back from running faster.  I should probably refer to the term – core.  I need to strengthen my core.  But such a convex core as mine is more aptly described by the term belly.  I’ll call it my core after it’s trimmed up a tad more.

This is not to say I wouldn’t benefit from track workouts.  While my belly is certainly an issue to be dealt with, my legs and cardiovascular system need to relearn how to run fast.  And this means interval workouts.  So my 2011 roadmap will include hitting the Niwot H.S. track this spring.  My racing objective is to run a 7 minute pace in this year’s Bolder Boulder.  That’s the only race I’m interested in running fast, so I’ll probably stop the track workouts by June.  For the summer, I want to run some half marathon trail runs.  Those won’t require speed as much as stamina and hill training.  So after I’ve improved upon my speed, I intend to increase my mountain trail running.  If the year of training goes well enough, I’ll run another marathon or two by year end.

Post Race Awards Ceremony

23 Wednesday Mar 2011

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This is not what you think.  I mean it’s not really an awards ceremony.  Nobody in my inner runner’s circle won any awards.  But we awarded ourselves tonight with a foot stompin’ good time.  To reward ourselves for our 13.1 mile efforts, we pampered ourselves with pedicures.

Four beers deep into the evening, I discovered my inner chick runner and enjoyed the massage, wax, hot wraps, buffing, chips, dip, olives and more beer.  I neglected to mention in my earlier blog posts on the Moab Half that the vast majority of Team Prospect were women.  Keith and Steve were the only two other men, but they weren’t man enough for this celebration.  With that said, can you tell which feet are man and which are woman in this pic?

Seriously, I not only enjoyed this – I plan to make a habit out of it.  Why not?  I beat the hell out of my feet running.  There are times Karen wants to put a bag over my feet.  My feet are a vessel and I should take care of them.  Before this, I didn’t understand what taking care of them meant.  Now that I know, I’d be reckless not to get pedicures.  You say what you want.  Or think what you want, you feckless voyeurs.  You got something to say, leave a comment.  I could have used this back in the day when I was a young athlete.  Of course, I didn’t exactly have the coin back then, but I imagine San Marcos had some cheap back alley spas that I could have afforded.  I’ll be joining Karen as a regular going forward.  That’s my foot on the right without any polish in the pic.

Running Alone

22 Tuesday Mar 2011

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The best thing about the half in Moab wasn’t the spectacular scenery, it was spending the weekend with friends.  What are the odds I could have so many friends fit enough to enjoy such a demanding sport with me?  If this weren’t Boulder County, I’d say pretty low.  In this pic is Eve, Suzy, Coach Jabe, Katherine, Keith and me.

But I’ll be running by myself this weekend in the Boulder Half Marathon.  Sort of hard to get excited about that.  I am thinking about it as simply a workout, and that’s fine; but man – what a difference!

I checked out the course online today at the Boulder Res.  I’ve run those backroads before.  Good God, I must be spoiled but talk about boring.  In fact it’s double boring because it’s an out-an-back route.  6.5 miles north on gravel roads, turn around, and return back to the Res on the exact same 6.5 miles.  Now that I think about it, the Garden of the Gods 10 Miler was that way too.  But that was different.  It included a half mile loop at the turn-around, and the hills were so intense that they seemed new the second time.

So what will it be like running alone this weekend?  Not much different really.  I wouldn’t even be thinking about it if last weekend weren’t such an extroversion.  Before Moab, I ran the Austin and Denver Marathons completely by myself.  So this isn’t exactly unusual for me.  But then I ran the IPR with my buddy A Low Hawk before that.  Running with friends turns a workout into an event.

Can’t do an event every weekend though.  I think running an organized run as my workout is smart.  I typically run by myself and I suspect running with the crowd will push me to run a little harder.  Not as hard as Moab where I was under some pressure to beat Keith.  Poor Keith started out too fast, sort of like me in Austin, and hit a bit of a wall at 11 miles – when the course flipped its slope to an incline.  I plan to run as slow as I would in a workout.  I’ll certainly start out nice and slow, although I expect the event factor to keep my pace strong.  I ran an 8:12 pace in Moab.  I predict an 8:30 pace this Sunday.  Forecasting is hard though because the elevation is dramatically different from Moab.  Boulder rises 300 feet the first half, and then gives back that altitude on the return.  Just another reason to start out slow and hope I loosen up.  That’s the game plan.

The Moab Half

19 Saturday Mar 2011

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Look at those rocks.  These are nothing.  You haven’t seen rocks until you’ve been to Moab and run 13.1 miles down Hwy 128.  Moab is where rocks come from.  As scenic as this course was though, the entire drive to Moab ain’t too shabby.  The tunnels through Glenwood Canyon are pretty awesome.  Dave and his two daughters drove with Karen, Ellie and me.  We had lunch a little after noon in Vail and arrived in town around 5pm.  We stopped less than we anticipated along the way, ironically, more for the adults needing rest stops than the kids.

We hit the one liquor store in town before going to the condo.  It was interesting; being a state run liquor store, they didn’t have coolers or sell ice.  Needless to say, they didn’t have little brown paper bags for your single either.  We arrived to a happening party at the condo with most of our friends already enjoying happy hour in the front yard.  Not a bad start to the Moab Canyonlands Half Marathon.  We ended the night at the Red Cliffs Lodge for dinner where both the service and food were as good as the view.

I walked to the race start around 7 in the morning with Keith, Susan and Katherine.  We stopped for coffee first at the Red Rock Bakery and Net Cafe.  The owner was unbelievably personable – and the coffee was very good.  Then we completed our walk to Swanny Park and boarded a bus for the race start up Hwy 128.  The start of the run wasn’t until 10am, so we queued up for the port-a-potties and then found a nice spot up the canyon wall to sit on some rocks.  The picture above is of my running mates at this time – Katherine, Suzy and Keith.  One of the professional race photographers came by later and took our picture after more of our group had joined us.

The weather felt fairly pleasant at first and I was starting to feel like I might have over dressed and felt remiss for not bringing a short-sleeve shirt.  I could have taken multiple shirts with me inside my gear bag, but I’d committed to my white Under Armour, long-sleeve compression jersey.  I wore a red long-sleeve fleece top over that, along with gray fleece pants – both Under Armour as well.  But my plan was to store those in my gear bag before running.  Then the wind picked up noticeably and the clouds began to form overhead.  I actually pulled my wind jacket out of my gear bag at that point to stay warm.  We had another 60 minutes before the start of the race and we all began to re-assess our wardrobe selections.  I did however start to feel more confident that I was good with long-sleeves.

With 20 minutes left, we were allowed to walk the remaining half mile from our bus drop off area to the start up the hill.  We had to commit to our dress gear on that walk as the gear bag trucks were positioned before the starting line.  Upon reaching the starting corrals, the wind began to howl.  So many runners, in short shorts and tank tops were shivering.  The situation seemed almost dire and I considered whom I might spoon with for warmth.  No options presented themselves but I did start up a conversation with Allison, a charming lady from the Springs.  She noticed my Barr Camp running hat and asked if I’d run the Pike’s Peak Ascent.  I haven’t, but I did hike Pike’s Peak and stay at Barr Camp.  I ran the first half mile or so with her and she read out our pace from her Garmin.

I found this helpful as my goal was to try my best to run no faster than a 9 minute pace for the first mile or two.  I think I hit this although it might have been more due to starting at the 9 minute mile pace sign and the road being so narrow that it took several miles before there was sufficient room to run my own pace.  The shivering subsided immediately upon running.  It was never so cold that my ears were numb, but the wind was super strong.  After two miles though, I was feeling pretty warm.  I even rolled up my sleeves by mile six.  Compression shirts are tricky though.  I found it uncomfortable for my sleeves to be rolled up past my elbows and had to roll them down below my elbows where they didn’t feel tight.

I felt really comfortable at this point and even though I didn’t have any confirmation of my pace, I felt certain I was running around an 8.5 minute mile.  I didn’t wear ear buds for this race.  Not sure why I made that decision but once running I definitely appreciated the heightened visual of one of the world’s most spectacular roads without the distraction of audio.  Something I wouldn’t have noticed listening to audio was whenever the wind roared up around a bend, its effect rippled across a hundred race bibs leading me to imagine I was flying with a flock of birds.  That probably sounds weird but the sound must have triggered something in my subconscious.  The wind wasn’t at all constant.  It was dead still at times, like around two miles when I felt hot; but after some bends the canyon would inhale into my face and chest while it exhaled against my back around other bends – all seemingly random.

The course never dropped more than 100 feet over the entire length, but it felt downhill forever.  A pace changer of a hill presented itself at mile 9 but gave back all its altitude on the far side.  Mile 11 began the climb back out of this gorgeous canyon hole.  It was never steep, and hardly even noticeable, but it was enough to keep me from increasing my pace as I neared the finish.  I kept my pace steady to the end and was really happy to discover I’d finished the 13 miles with an 8.12 pace.  Even more pleasing was that after my lessons learned from the Austin Marathon, I effectively controlled my pace and remained comfortable the entire run.  I’m really excited to think I’m learning my pace.  I finished with my family cheering me on, took the official race photo, and proceeded to claim my gear bag and change into dry clothes.  I returned to watch my friends finish, although not fast enough to see Keith come in.  Everyone did well, although I’m still so impressed that so many of my neighbors can run a half marathon period, let alone well.  We attribute this to Coach Jabe, who has been leading Team Prospect in fitness for well over a year now with the result being our accomplishment today.  I got to see Amy’s strong finish; and took another round of photos with her, Steve and Jen.  Then it was lunch with Karen and Ellie, back to the condo for beer, hot tub, beer, prepping ceviche – and finally to a post race dinner of pulled pork with the gang.  I’m now calorie neutral for the day, if not a little heavier after all that eating and headed to bed.  Next weekend is the Boulder Half Marathon.

Road Trip

17 Thursday Mar 2011

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This run has been planned for awhile.  I had time to run a full marathon since registering for this half marathon.  I haven’t run a race with a group of so many friends since college when I used to run the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon in Corpus Christi every Labor Day weekend.  And now it’s time, we leave tomorrow morning.  I have to squeeze in a business call first at 7:30 am.  Not to be outdone, Karen is teaching an aerobics class in Boulder at 6am.  Then we drop Jack off at the doggie ranch and we hit the road.

I expect lunch in either Vail or Glenwood Springs.  And 2 or 3 hours later we’ll be in Utah.  I’ve never driven west of Grand Junction before.  I’m looking forward to turning south off I-70 onto U-128 for the slow scenic drive alongside the Colorado River.  We’re leaving early enough to take the slow road.  I wish I had a camera other than my iPhone.  I need to work on that.  But I expect some great team pics during this event.  And you should too – look for me to post some pics by Sunday for sure.

Pre-Race Excitement

13 Sunday Mar 2011

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If you’re a mountain biker, then you know this sign is in Moab, Utah.  Land of magnificent sandstone archways and red rock canyons that funnel the Colorado River toward Lake Powell.  And for a biker, Slickrock Trail stands out as one of the world’s best.  With less than one week remaining before the Moab Canyonlands Half Marathon, the neighborhood emails have reached spam proportions as everyone details their plans and arranges what will be the true highlight of the event – eating and drinking.

We’ll meet up at Pasta Jays on Friday Night, Dave will slow cook pulled pork Saturday while we swim in his condo’s heated pool, and Sunday marks Jen‘s birthday.  There are nearly a dozen of us from the hood running, but Steve is planning on hikes with his kids while Dave and Kelly are gearing up for a ride on Slickrock.  Something for everybody.  But seriously, how many of you have a dozen neighbors who could and would run a half marathon for fun?  Living in Boulder County is insane.

Since I returned to road races last summer, I’ve scored some really nice venues.  It doesn’t hurt that I live in Colorado.  The Imogene Pass Run from Ouray to Telluride stands out as the most spectacular, but Garden of the Gods wasn’t too shabby.  We stayed at the Cliff House in Manitou Springs while we enjoyed two different places for the IPR, spending the first night in Ouray at the Beaumont Hotel and the second night in Telluride at Hotel Columbia.  I don’t run a big event every weekend, but when I do I make the most of it.  Two other events I’m looking into this summer are the LaSportiva Half Marathon Trail Run in Vail and the Vasque Golden Leaf Half Marathon Trail Run in Aspen.  Those can’t be bad.

I feel good that I’ve been able to blend my fitness kick in with events that I can share with friends and family.  The Garden of the Gods run was my family’s first visit to Manitou Springs – which marks the trail head to Pike’s Peak.  The IPR was our first drive down to Ouray and Telluride which are both unbelievably beautiful.  And next week will be our first venture over to Moab.  I’m as excited as all my neighbors.

Gadget Girl

06 Sunday Mar 2011

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I ran 7 miles this morning with my friend Amy. I rarely run with anyone because I don’t generally have the time to synch up with people, but it’s amazing how fast the time goes by when you’re chatting away about your kids, training, injuries and the next big event – which for us will be Moab. We ran on one of her favorite trails, McIntosh Lake in North Longmont. Nice route, it’s a 3.5 mile loop about half trail and half sidewalk.

Now, you know I like gadgets as much as the next guy. But apparently not as much as this girl. Amy has it all. She wore this killer wind jacket – it was so light – made by Pearl Izumi. I could have used that for the IPR last fall where jackets, gloves and hats were pre-requisites for lining up in the corral. The weather was just cold enough for a light jacket. I got by with a single layer compression jersey, but the wind picked up before we were done and dressing any lighter would have become uncomfortable.

Of course, Amy had a top-of-the-line Garmin GPS sportswatch. This thing knew our distance and would have told us what we had for breakfast if we were interested. Now the next piece of gear might surprise you. She wore patella knee straps. I’m not sure what brand but they could either be ProCare, Bioskin or Breg based on the pictures at this gear catalog website. Amy has had knee surgery and swears by these straps. The last gear of significant note would be her compression shin socks – not the full socks which I understand you can also buy. I like my compression tops and tights, so I have no doubt those things feel good. The theory is they help with circulation to avoid cramps. She also wore some good looking Mizuno shoes which I heard are among the lightest on the market; and she had this cool running long sleeve top – not sure the brand – that had holes to hook her thumbs through to act like partial gloves. Perfect for today when the temperature was such that many other runners on the trail were in fact wearing gloves – but it was too warm for me.

Running with Amy this morning was a wake-up call. Before we run the Canyonlands Half Marathon later this month, I need to gear up. High altitude running in the desert could be tricky. It’ll likely start out fairly cool but warm-up dramatically. I’ll want light and efficient gear. I want what Amy has, but in more masculine colors.

Next Up – Moab

03 Thursday Mar 2011

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I feel fully recovered from the Austin Marathon. Admittedly, I’ve only been running my little four mile route, but the runs have felt strong and all the lingering pain from the marathon has dissipated. It’s such a relief to escape any ultra distance conflict injury free. Just ask Alohawk pictured here descending Imogene Pass about that. Or better yet, read his blog on how such injuries can impact later events. He got lucky in that he mostly recovered before his next big event. I feel like I dodged a bullet considering I launched this season with a marathon. Could have ruined the entire season. Instead, I’m feeling pretty confident.

Moab Canyonlands is next up in 16 days. This is going to be a blast – half the neighborhood is going. We’ve already made reservations for Pasta Jay’s on Friday. And I expect Dave will cook up some awesome BBQ on Saturday. Some of my friends will be biking on Slickrock, which I’ve never done since I’ve yet to visit Moab; but I understand it’s one of the most fantastic mountain trails ever. Biking is on my list of things to find time for this year. First, I’ll need to buy a bike.

I’m not certain if I’ll amp up my training for Moab. These 4 mile runs are feeling nice and comfy. I’ll squeeze in more distance on the weekends of course, but I’m not looking to race Moab in spectacular fashion. In fact, I’m more interested in using it to gain experience on pacing myself. I’d like to control my first mile or two with about a 9 minute mile pace. And assuming I feel good after that, speed up to whatever. It’ll be interesting to see what “whatever” turns out to be. You’ll be the first to know, as soon as they post the results. Sooner if I decide to wear a watch.