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Trail Tumbles

24 Saturday Jun 2017

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Picture Rock

Biologist BobTrails will kill you if you’re not careful.  In this photo, biologist Bob examines the skeletal remains of a deer that we ran by just short of two miles on the Picture Rock Trail this morning.  Keith, Joey and I didn’t wait around for the lecture to finish before we screamed up the mountain at a strong pace, that is until Joey stumbled over a rock near four miles and landed hard.  We took the final mile up a bit more conservative.  I should mention that Joey is only in Middle School.  Don’t think I ran more than three miles until my sophomore year of high school.

Bob caught us on the way down with about two miles remaining on our ten miler.  But he took his eyes off the trail and took a spill.  Falling on the way down is generally more painful.  We met up with the two Jens at the trail head to discover Bob’s wife, one of the two Jens, also took a tumble.  I’m guessing the night moves will be delicate in their bed tonight.

Banged Up

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Snowmass

07 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Aspen Over Easy, Maroon Bells, Monarch Gardens, Olympia EX550, Picture Rock, Ragnar, RagnarTrailSnowmass, Relay, svvsd, trail running

The Running DeadSometimes, when I don’t like the forecast from my Weather Channel mobile app, I check their site on my laptop.  They rarely agree.  Still, there’s little difference between an 80% chance of rain, and 70%.  In a semi-desert state like Colorado, anything over 20% means rain.  Lots of it.  So my Running Dead trail relay team drove up to Snowmass for our trail relay on Friday with soggy expectations.  We were surprised at how so much rain could go unnoticed.  We had a total blast.  From left to right in the back row is Chris, Allison, the Dead Runner, Jill, Jen, and me.  Up front is Keith, Rychie and Steve.

SteveWe arrived with just enough time to pitch our tents and watch the team safety video before Steve kicked off our relay by running the 3.9 mile green loop.  Our race instructions listed the green loop as 3.3 miles, but a conversation with the Here Kitty Kitty team captain Brian suggested it is more like 3.8 miles.  My Garmin recorded 3.9 miles.  Running the extra distance wasn’t an issue for any of us.  We came here to run.  But no one likes surprises when their legs are drowning in lactic acid.  The pre-race intel was critical at setting our expectations.  This was Steve’s first race after heel surgery.  Some suspect his first real run.  He performed like a champ.

RychieSteve handed off to Rychie who ran the 4.1 mile yellow loop in our first rain shower.  She reported the wet trail conditions as apparently difficult for bigger, heavier guys as they struggled to negotiate the muddy slopes, but that she was able to nimbly maintain sure footing.  Rychie’s training with Jill on the rocky Picture Rock Trail in Lyons proved itself invaluable for these conditions.  Jill followed Rychie on the 6.9 mile red loop, which was advertised as 6.2 miles.  This began on paved trail and road for two miles, mitigating the danger of slipping in mud.  Jill and Rychie’s strong runs kept us on our pre-race schedule, despite being over one mile longer than plan.

the girlsRychie and Jill are new friends for me.  I discovered on the ride up that like me, they both are mid-westerners.  Rychie is a farm girl from Fremont, Nebraska and Jill is a farm girl from outside Chicago.  I’m from Davenport, Iowa, which one could argue is a distant Chicago suburb.    I was a Bears fan back in the day.  Rychie manages the professional development of school teachers now while Jill owns a landscape enterprise in Longmont.  Both sounded disappointed, and just plain pissed with themselves that they had to walk a few steep slopes of the trail on their first runs.  I explained to them that it’s not really walking on mountain trails; when you’re primarily running, it’s a shuffle.  They didn’t really accept my shuffle concept.  These girls might look like innocent working professionals, wives and moms, but they’re the reason Lance Armstrong doesn’t own a second home in Boulder County to train.  The women on Mesa Trail aren’t intimidated by the Aspen elites.

fire pitKeith was our 4th runner and started out on the green loop to repeat our 14 mile cycle of green-yellow-red.  He returned elated over the beauty of these trails.  And no doubt happy that he ran quite well, passing many other runners.  Jen, always strong, ran 5th on the yellow trail, followed by Chris for a repeat of the red trail.  This completed two rounds of the three loop sequence and brought night fall over Snowmass.  I waited by the bonfire for Chris to finish as the temperature dropped with the sun.

Chris didn’t report any issues navigating the trails via his headlamp.  I was apprehensive as trail running at night was a first for me.  While I believed I could pass runners immediately, I held back to gain comfort with reading the trail.  My caution paid dividends as the grade of the green loop rose dramatically the first half mile and the runners in front of me fell back from oxygen debt.  I had to walk a few steep steps the first mile and again the second mile, but mostly maintained a steady cadence up to the top of the mountain, just under two miles into the loop.  I held my pace under 10 minutes the first mile, and under 12 minutes for mile two.

top of the red loop

Returning downhill in darkness was surreal.  Running under an 8.5 minute pace via headlamp felt like playing a first person shooter video game as I weaved my path around the curvy, tree-lined course.  I passed more runners on the downhill than up, no doubt they were being cautious.  The only reason I couldn’t soar down this trail faster wasn’t the turns.  I could see those fine with my 550 lumens Olympia EX550 headlamp.  Rather, my difficulty was in reading the shadowy dips in the undulating trail.  I alternated from hyper extending my stride on deeper troughs than I expected and jarring my hips on the steps that came up short.  I slammed into a wooden foot bridge hard when I didn’t see that the initial on ramp was twice as steep as the middle of the bridge.  I nearly buckled.  I took the foot bridges slower after that.

EdOur team ran through the night rain free.  Rychie shared my initial nervousness but everyone agreed afterward that nighttime running was a total trip.  Anything leading you to run slower was a good thing in terms of pacing you for the total half marathon over three loops.  A good two hundred runners on the trails kept you in close company at all times.  I woke up at 3am for my second run amazed to see streams of light from runners’ headlamps snaking along the sides of three mountainsides.  Very cool.  My second run was on the 6.9 mile red loop and coincided with sunrise near the top of the course.  This trail photo above is of the path leading to the top at around 3.5 miles.  I was able to turn off my headlamp for the downhill, which was a total scream.  I didn’t kick too hard though because I was expecting to have to run another loop.  The plan was to either run with Allison on the next leg, or for Steve on the leg after.  Both had injuries.

red loop in the rainAllison blazed her leg on her own but 50 minutes later I ran Steve’s yellow loop for him.  This was much tougher than I expected.  My heart rate was still elevated from the red loop and my legs took a good half mile to loosen up.  Fortunately the yellow loop begins with a graceful slope and I was able to unwind.  Once I got going, I felt great and ran my fastest pace of my three runs, an 8:49 pace.  Steve nominated me for team MVP for my unselfish act.  I lost to Jen who later ran the 6.9 mile red loop on her third run in a torrential downpour.  Understand that nearly every runner mostly walked their third loops.  As Jen reached the summit of the red loop, all the runners were turning around, too afraid to descend the river of mud.  Undaunted, and frankly disgusted by all the sissy runners retreating, Jen screamed down that mudslide full throttle.  Here’s a photo of her shoes afterwards.

AllisonHad Allison not been out barhopping with some  runner boys during the MVP selection committee’s discussions, she might have won MVP for her final performance.  My final run was spectacular – my fastest yet.  An 8:20 pace.  But I ran it on the very unspectacular yellow loop.  Like Jen before her, Allison ran the red loop.  The trail of heroes.  We were chasing Here Kitty Kitty for the last 20 hours.  Our Longmont competition, four hours from home on a mountainside in Snowmass.  On the longest loop, with the greatest elevation gain, Allison outran their team captain to bring the glory of victory to our team.  But as I said, she was out drinking during the awards ceremony so Jen won MVP.

championNaturally, the sun came out once the relay was over.  We spent the night in a couple of Snowmass Village condos where we washed off twenty-two hours of mud, sweat and grime.  I never once expected this relay to be so grueling.  So totally exhausting.  And what’s wrong with my friends and neighbors to make them not only want to do this sort of thing, but to so thoroughly enjoy it?  Is this what it means to live in Colorado?  I think it does.  The mountains exist for running.  I came with zero plans for speed or achievement of any kind.  Just the social aspect of running on mountain trails with good friends.  And yet, every loop was an amazing race.  I ran strong every mile and was never passed.  This was the most extraordinary running boot camp I’ve ever participated in.

it cuts like a knifeWe were presented with participant medals that carried the seal of non TSA approval.  Seriously, they came with a warning to not try sneaking them past airport security.  Not sure how to describe them really.  Some sort of survival utility toolkit.  Think of a one pound razor blade that could take out your enemies with a flick of the wrist.  Half our team cut themselves within an hour of the relay’s completion.

The sun rose the morning after in a cloudless sky.  We brunched at Aspen Over Easy and stopped by the Maroon Bells before heading home.  We took the slow drive over Independence Pass.  Hard to imagine things getting better after the most thrilling trail run ever, but I swear to you, it just kept getting better.

IMG_6318

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Open Trail

24 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Boulder Flood, Lyons, Picture Rock

KeithNo big event this weekend but at least I’m running again.  Just went a second week without running, except for the weekend.  I’m over my cold but was too busy this week.  Working from dark to dark doesn’t leave much time for running.  I’ve yet to begin my plan to run shorter distances over lunch.  I’m off next week for Thanksgiving though.  I plan to get in some miles.

I got in 8 miles Friday since I had the day off and 10 Saturday.  I ran another 10 miles this morning with Keith and Jen on the Picture Rock Trail – finally open again after the September floods.  We ran fairly slow due to some dangerous mud in spots.  Running slow on the Picture Rock Trail though doesn’t necessarily make it a low intensity workout.  Five non-stop miles up have a way of challenging your heart.  I’ve had some pretty fun runs on this trail where I race down but not today.  The footing was way too dangerous.

JenThis was my first drive through Lyons, since the flood, on the way to the trail head.  Jen, owning an insurance firm, told us stories of some  of the destruction during the drive.  She pointed out houses that became house boats.  Lyons had such a nice parkway along the river that is totally gone now.  A real shame.  Massive construction looks under way though.  Hope the best for them.

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Planning Party

28 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Flaming Foliage Relay, Georgia Pass, Picture Rock

Ed at SignOur team Captain Steve Wolf, invited us over this afternoon to plan for our upcoming Flaming Foliage Relay.  This is a ten person relay over three mountain passes and 170 miles in September.  Steve said to bring a dish and/or beer.  That makes it a planning party.  I plan to bring ceviche.

We finally have the leg maps to review.  I’m in van #1 with Matt, Allison, Kristina and Kelly.  We’ll cover 21.8 miles for the first set of five exchanges.  I’ll start us out at Citizens Park in Idaho Springs and run 4.4 miles up a slight 1% incline to the County Fairgrounds.  At over 7500 feet, I might count that easy grade as a hill; otherwise this will be a nice 7am wake-up run.

Keith at 5 milesVan #2 will handle exchanges 6 through 10 and my next turn at bat will be leg 11.  This will be somewhat emotional for me as my return to the plate will bring me back to Georgia Pass, where I nearly cried snowshoeing the Colorado Trail two years ago.  I won’t have to worry about post-holing through six feet of snow this time but the trail will still be a challenge with the first 6 miles ascending up a 6% grade.  The downhill might not be any easier – depends on how fatigued my legs are after cresting the pass.  Total distance for this leg is 12.6 miles.  My experience should be key as I’ve been over this hill before.

Allison at 5 milesWe break formation on the final set of exchanges and instead of running leg 21 for my last effort, I run leg 23.  This is in my favor allowing me to get some extra rest, and will likely have me running at sunrise around 5am rather than in the darkness of 3am.  This run could be a well deserved reward for scaling Georgia Pass earlier.  The leg wraps around Turquoise Lake near Leadville, down a 3% grade for 3.6 miles.  The lake is stunning, I’ve seen it before hiking the nearby Colorado Trail.  Nice camp site if you’re planning a trip to the mountains.

Kristina at 5 milesThis week, once I returned from Austin, had some cool temperatures.  Got some good mileage in along with a hill workout Saturday.  I ran 5 reps on the east side of the water tower hill on the White Rocks Trail.  The hill is a little over a quarter mile long at a 9% grade.  Decent workout.  This morning, I ran with my relay teammates on the Picture Rock Trail in Lyons.  Essentially another hill workout – 5 miles up and 5 back down.  This will help me prepare for Georgia Pass.  Another cool run with 63° and mist.  Met Kristina for the first time – she’ll be in van #1 with me.  She’s a Decathlete from Western State and a strong trail runner.  I followed her down Picture Rock this morning.  Whenever we hit a cluster of rocks, where the typical runner might express caution by slowing down, Kristina would surge.  The girl has trail legs.  She’ll compliment our team nicely.

Steve at 5 milesSteve, pictured here by the way, updated us on our team participation during this morning’s run.  Turns out three runners have dropped out.  He thinks he has some others queued up but if you’re interested, let me know.  The relay is September 13-14.  You’ll have to survive over 30 hours of driving in a van full of sweaty, stinky, likely gassy, sometimes obnoxious (me), overly fatigued 20 year old and 50 year old runners.  We’ll spend Saturday night partying in a riverside house we rented in BV near the finish.  If that sounds fun to you, let me know.  The picture above Steve is Kristina from this morning.  Above her is Allison.  Then Keith and that’s me up top.

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