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Chautauqua

04 Saturday May 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Boulder, Chautauqua, Jabe's Running Group, Mesa Trail, trail runner

keithKeith and I ran the Mesa Trail again this Saturday, but in the reverse direction.  We started and ended at Chautauqua Park in Boulder.  This enabled us to breakfast at the Chautauqua Dining Hall.  This place doesn’t get much press, one of Boulder’s hidden gems.  We didn’t feel under-dressed in our sweaty running gear and muddy shoes.  Although I’m not sure it’s possible to under-dress anywhere in Boulder, except maybe the Flagstaff House restaurant.  We were here because of Susan’s (Keith’s wife) birthday.  She was running with Jabe’s Running Group – an incredibly social network of runners in my neighborhood.  They launched from the South Mesa Trailhead and joined us for breakfast at Chautauqua.  With seven runners and several other hikers and friends, we pwned the place.

bridgeThis running-centered, real-world social event leads me to think of the virtual social discussion from the Trail Runner Magazine’s current blogging topic:  Social Media – Bane or Boon to Trail Running.  It seems unlikely any blogger would respond “bane”, and I’m no exception.  I’ll tell you how I leverage social media.  When I plan to run a trail, as part of an event or otherwise, I query hiking and running blogs for trail descriptions.  It’s the rare trail race web site that describes an event to the detail I desire.  I’m happy if they provide an elevation chart, but those can be misleading.  Many event web sites are so poor in content I wonder why they bother.  I’m waiting for the year the Boulder Marathon figures out how to add links to their sponsor logos.  Even the good ones though, like the IPR from Ouray to Telluride, are no substitute for a verbose, segment-by-segment writeup by a good blogger.  I want more than a description, I want to read the experience.

eveThe information I look for in a running blog includes advice on how to prep for the event.  How to optimally run the course.  Especially tips on the best eateries in the vicinity.  It’s difficult to say exactly what detail will turn out good-to-know.  Copious comments might contain content that I would not have thought to consider.  This is where the social aspect comes into play.  Social media is a boon to communication.  And communication expands the potential of whatever it’s focused on.

I can imagine worse case scenarios wherein word-of-mouth leads to more popularity than a trail or event can support.  You see this with some big road races; they start out small and become huge as a consequence of their successful operations.  Trails generally control this by setting limits on participation.  I don’t know how trail events establish these limits – probably experience.  I think the Imogene Pass Run has a weather related cutoff time to get runners over the pass.  Regardless, I don’t think trail running suffers any adverse affects from social media.  It’s all good.

jabeFrom the WordPress stats my blog receives, I find many readers come from searches on upcoming events.  No doubt, they query blogs for the same reasons I do.  Search terms contain the race name along with the word “training” or “review”.  Immediately after the event, searches contain the race name along with “results” and “photos”.  Of course I don’t see as many searches for this as I do “sexy trail runner” and “runner porn”, but that’s the Internet for you.

My runner’s story is a prime example of running related social media.  It extends my enjoyment of trail running with another enjoyable hobby of writing.  Perhaps posting these pics of my friends on the trail today enhances our collective experience.  That’s Keith in the first two pics, he’s navigating a treacherous snow-covered bridge in the second.  The trail was more mud today than dirt from Wednesday’s half foot of snow.  We could only average a 12 minute pace for ten miles.  Eve, in the third photo, dared to wear brightly-colored gear despite the mud.  She later said the conditions made her feel like a kid.  Jabe is clearly enjoying herself as she wades upstream on the trail in the fourth photo.  And the final pic captures our birthday runner Susan leading Jen in both conversation and running on the snow covered trail.

Susan and JenI missed snapping a shot of Suzy, and unfortunately she didn’t have time to join us for breakfast.  It was a two hour run.  I will say the real world social aspect of running beats this virtual social media stuff hands down.  The girls told hilarious stories and the food at that place was awesome.  So were my two Bloody Marys.  The virtual world is no substitute for drinking after a satisfying ten mile trail run through snow, ice and mud.  Sharing pictures is a nice benefit of social media.  It helps to remember the experience.  Not as good as being there though.

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Caballo Blanco

14 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Tags

CPTR, flat irons, Heil Valley Ranch, Micah True, REI, trail runner

I laced up my training shoes as Karen pulled up in the car – returning from teaching a Zumba class.  A little after 1pm.  I was seriously itching to hit the Heil Valley Ranch trail today for a big run.  Partly because the front was expected to hit any minute.  I would be fine in the rain and snow but my weather channel app showed the wind increasing steadily with each passing hour of the day.  The other reason for my impatience was I just couldn’t wait to get out on the trail.  I might be picking up a little addiction to the endorphins.  Most of my runs  go for an hour or more now.  That’s enough time to fire up a nice runner’s high.  My runs are becoming a nice little habit.  Today’s 10.5 mile run was exceptional.

I got to the trail head a little before 2pm.  I’m prepping for a mountain trail run in two weeks and decided I would use my weekend runs to replicate the race as much as possible.  I wore my small pack with a 2 liter camelback.  I added cytomax to the water.  And I brought along a selection of running clothes to make the last minute decision on what to wear.  The weather was cool and breezy, but no rain or snow yet.  It will definitely be storming before I finish this in 2 hours.

I layered shirts with a summer-thin Under Armour long-sleeve high-tec fabric underneath covered with a light fleece pullover.  The thought was the undershirt would whisk away sweat into the outer garment.  This ensemble performed perfectly.  I simply wore shorts for my legs.  This was comfortable starting out although I pulled up my sleeves after two miles.

This course is great prep for Buena Vista.  It rises non-stop until I decide to turn around.  I turn after 5.5 miles where there’s a sign noting the trail joins a loop near the crest of the hill.  My garmin actually shows this to be 5.25 miles.  This garmin result link shows all the stats.  You can see how the course rises from 5400 feet to 6400 feet where I turn.  1000 feet in elevation change over 5.5 miles.  The CPTR rises 1000 feet in 9 miles – including a 200 foot drop on the 7th mile.  So the steepness of the grade will provide decent conditioning to my legs.  Then the rocks on this trail require constant vigilance.  I decided against listening to a playlist so I would focus on the trail.  The attention required for each footfall, thousands of repeating footfalls, is almost hypnotic.  I could have run forever in this ultimate escape.

You have to plan each foot placement on the rocks in micro seconds.  When a decision to yield to bikers coming the other direction must be made, I make it at the last possible second.  So do many of the bikers.  I generally feel like we can both pass without anyone stopping.  The bikers were aggressive today and few ever yielded.  I rarely yielded as well, especially as I was flying down on the return.  Hills, footwork, gear testing, but the best part was the total escape of the run itself.  I felt great.

Testing my gear was brilliant.  Turns out I have a leak in my camelbak.  I’ll pick up a new one tomorrow at REI.  The drink leaked out over the back of my shorts.  As the wind and cold increased near the end of the run, I got a bit chilled.  So the dry clothes in my car came in handy.  Good test run.

In honor of the Caballo Blanco, pictured above, this will be the summer of mountain trail runs.  I’ll be training on trails every weekend that I’m not actually running a trail race.  My first will be the Collegiate Peaks Trail Run on April 28th.  I could feel Caballo Blanco’s spirit on the trail today.  Hope to see him again tomorrow when I climb the Amphitheater Trail up the Flat Irons in Boulder.  It should be snowing.

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