05-31-2010
Mon-AM: 15 miles (2:14) Green Mt. up Back down Flagstaff, 2800'
Took it very easy. Felt a lot better by the end.
PM: 8 miles (1:00) Creek Path+3mi barefoot at Kitt
06-01-2010
Tue-AM: 15 miles (2:11) Green Mt. up Back down Bear Cyn, 3000'
Saw a huge black bear walking up the trail towards me in Bear Cyn (right above the lower-most section of new trail). I stopped and he kept ambling until he saw me, then he stopped only about 25 yards away. That sucker did not have a rough winter--he was gigantic. We both stood there just looking at each other for a long time--at least a full minute--until I took a single step towards him and he got the idea and jumped off the trail into the bushes. Pretty sweet seeing charismatic megafauna like that.
PM: 8 miles (1:01) Enchanted & Kohler Mesas, 700'
Amazing wildflowers up on Kohler Mesa right now.
06-02-2010
Wed-AM: 27 miles (4:05) Boulder Skyline Traverse, 6600'
PM: 8 miles (1:02) Boomerang Hill-Enchanted Mesa, 700'
Legs felt really good for some reason.
06-03-2010
Thu-AM: 15 miles (2:15) Green Mt., up Back down Bear Cyn, 3000'
Ran very easy, so was feeling really good by the end.
PM: 8 miles (1:04) Downtown+3mi barefoot at Kitt
Ran to the bank and post office.
06-04-2010
Fri-AM: 16 miles (2:24) Green Mt. up Back down Flagstaff, 3000'
Ran easy but I had a bunch of energy. Descended Greenman, bopped over Flagstaff, and then down to Eben G. Fine and home on the Creek Path plus a trip to the grocery store.
06-05-2010
Sat-AM: 58 miles (8:22) Almagre Mt. & Mt. Rosa, etc., 11,000'
Incredible day of running. Felt very strong all day. Had about another 45min of leisure (picture taking, bottle filling, mountain gazing, etc.) along the way, so it was over a 9hr outing.
06-06-2010
Sun-AM: 15 miles (2:18) Green Mt. up G-man down Long Cyn, 3000'
Legs felt surprisingly good but left achilles was a bit tight.
PM: 15 miles (2:08) Green Mt. up Front down Bear Cyn, 3000'
Ran up the front in 33:23. 90F temps provided good heat training before clouds rolled in on the descent. Saw what I think was a King snake (not the venomous coral snake...I think) on the Mesa Trail.
Total
-Miles: 208
-Hours: 30h 04min
-Vertical: 36,800'
2010 Summits (Day 157)
Green: 160
Bear: 9
SoBo: 4
I was jealous of the trails in your last post until I saw the snake in your recent post :-P
ReplyDeleteWhat were your plans if the bear decided not to run away? LOL!
ReplyDeleteyoure right about the snake, i think the rhyme goes - red on black, friendly jack. red on yellow, deadly fellow
ReplyDeleteYou and Mark are right about the snake. If you see 2 warning colors (i.e. red and yellow) touching stay away. I loved your comment about "charismatic megafauna". When I was doing my thesis on the Okaloosa darter one of my fisheries professors asked me "why are you writing a paper on some piddly ass fish nobody gives a shit about?". He had a real way with words.
ReplyDeleteYour mileage is incredible and I'm glad you're feeling good in this race build up. Good luck, Amy
Reason #13 On Why I Like Winter Running: No bears.
ReplyDeleteReason #14 On Why I Like Winter Running: No snakes.
I think your bear knows how to eat well.. he was way over weight.. Good for you though!!
ReplyDeleteAs you know been running Ultras for a while.. and this past Saturday managed to win a race.. Total miracle.. Freaking miracle..
frankbott.blogspot.com/
thanks for all you give!
Good thing you won the ursine staring contest, because that's a pretty beefy animal. Any runners missing lately?
ReplyDeleteWow I wish i had trails like that close to home... how do you manage that sort of mileage... its amazing.
ReplyDeleteI spent the weekend training with Jamie and did Mt. Evans and Pike's Peak. Man was it tough coming from NY to that altitude, but you all have some amazing places to train. Best of luck at Western.
ReplyDeleteThey say you can run from a bear as long as your running partner is slower than you.
ReplyDeleteInspiring Tony... I live near Boulder and "run" the same trails (at about half the speed).
ReplyDeleteDefinitely rooting for you this summer!
Anton: Any chance you can get NB to bring back my beloved 790s? My last pair is wearing out. I love the 100s also, and will surely pick up a pair of the 101s in October, but, I'm just saying...can you use your pull, man?
ReplyDeleteLove your blog, btw! Super inspiring in many ways beyond just all your incredible running.
Awesome wildlife photos. Only the occasional garter snake where I live and even that sends me into 100M hurdle mode. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletejust curious, but how do you fuel yourself on a regular basis for the mileage you do? do you eat a lot of protein (vegetarian or carnivore)? just wondering...
ReplyDeleteLove this blog!
ReplyDeleteI've been planning a trip to Colorado in a few weeks to run/hike some of the beautiful trails I've seen on the blog and the movie. I'm not that worried about snakes, we have copperheads and rattlers where I come from back east. We have an occasional bear; I've never seen one during the day, but I've heard them snuffling around the campsite at night.
How dangerous is the megafauna in Colorado? Bears and Mountain Lions? I'm guessing that my chances of getting shot in Baltimore City are way higher than getting mauled by a bear or big cat in Colorado. Does anyone agree? It appears I'm going to have to do some research to know what to do in those situations.
My best guess is to avoid dawn, dusk, and night, when predators tend to be out to hunt. I've also heard to avoid running trails above the treeline during afternoons, since thunderstorms can be very swift.
Good luck at Western States!
-Steve
The snake let us feel surprised, the color is rare. Other photos of the road is very natural, vivid and beautiful.Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was doing my thesis on the Okaloosa darter one of my fisheries professors asked me "why are you writing a paper on some piddly ass fish nobody gives a shit about?". They say you can run from a bear as long as your running partner is slower than you.
ReplyDelete