Week Summary: Jan 2 - 8

1-2-2012

Mon-AM: 1:27, 2800' ~ Green Mt.

Up 3rd access and down Greenman-SR-Amphi. All running except for the obvious hiking on the super steep postholing sections.  Cruised the descent at a moderate but not committed effort and skittered down the ice in 16:42.  A big part of me would love a new 2ft dump of fluff some time soon.

PM: 1:02, 2700' ~ Green Mt.

Up and down 1st Saddle. Met up with JV, Brandon and Bill for an afternoon lap. Pushed solid on the up with Jeff and got a couple hundred extra feet of vert when we went back to tag the summit again with Brandon. All hiking on the up, but all running on the down, nice chatting a bit with Bill there.

1-3-2012

Tue-AM: 1:37, 3000' ~ Green Mt.

Up 3rd access and down 1st Saddle. Really tired this morning, so just jogged easy and then hiked steady. Really warm morning in the 50s at 7am. Added a couple hundred extra feet of vert on the descent as I thought better of postholing through a new route in only 3/4 length tights.

PM: 1:14, 2500' ~ Green Mt.

Up and down 1st Saddle. Frustrating punchy, slushy conditions but a lot of exposed rock, too. Super warm evening had me climbing in a t-shirt even though the sun was already set.  All hiking.

1-4-2012

Wed-AM: 3:02, 5200' ~ Grays & Torreys

Parked at Bakerville and round-tripped these classic Front Range 14ers in 2:55 in perfect winter conditions.

PM: 1:12, 2500' ~ Green Mt.

Up and down 1st Saddle. Didn't get out until later but it almost didn't matter because the slightly-more-than-half-full moon was offering some brilliant lumination. Didn't put on spikes until above the First but then kept them on all the way down, mostly because I was in the dark. Gorgeous warm evening. Hiking.

1-5-2012

Thu-AM: 1:52, 2800' ~ Green Mt.

Up and down 1st Saddle. Scott biked over to my place and we ran up 6th St to the Gregory trailhead where I promptly snapped a Microspike just putting it on. Never had that happen before. Easy effort hike up and down the mountain then because of my lack of traction but the shin was definitely a bit touchy and needed to be babied after yesterday's overzealous outing anyways. Jogged ~10min on the streets on the way back home.

1-6-2012

Fri-AM: 1:17, 2600' ~ Green Mt.
Up 3rd access down 1st Saddle. Was cautious this morning by biking to Chat and limiting the running. Snuck some in on the way down. Calves are still quite sore from Wednesday morning.
PM: 1:09, 2600' ~ Green Mt.
Exact same loop as this morning except I went up in 39:50 from Chat this time, which is the fastest I've done that route in quite some time.  Mostly because there's really no postholing anymore.

1-7-2012

Sat-AM: 2:09, 4500' ~ Mt. Elbert
Drove up to Leadville with jLu and Scott. Snow was already coming down at the Eisenhower Tunnel and Fremont Pass, but things were good in town and great at the North Elbert trailhead.  Temps in the upper teens and perfectly still with only lightly-falling flakes.  A mix of running and a steady hike on the nicely-packed trail deposited Scott and I on the 14,433' summit 1h30 later.  After stowing the sticks and spending a few minutes hanging out on the summit, I ran back down to the car in :39 for a surprisingly quick trip up and down the hill.  The drive home on I-70 was a different story--ice- and snow-packed roads, grid-locked traffic...6hrs later we were finally back in Boulder.

1-8-2012

Sun-AM: 1:42, 2800' ~ Green Mt.
Up and down 1st Saddle. Maybe 2-3" of fresh snow on the upper trails. Fresh cat tracks on the NE ridge. Ran the 15min to the trailhead mostly because I didn't want to bike on icy roads. Jogged most of the descent but walked the streets home to be nice to the shin.

Hours: 17h42min

Vert: 34,000'

Overall, obviously quite a good-looking week--a few big peaks, a bunch of vert and ~7.5hr of actual running--but the shin is still very much a limiting factor on what I am able to do pain-free in the mountains, blah blah blah boring; I'm very tired of thinking and complaining about it.  I know that right now Colorado (along with most of the American West) is experiencing a very mild winter, but I can't believe that I've waited until this year to really make a concerted effort to keep getting into the high country during the winter months.  A huge part of this is my shift these last few months toward realizing the value in hiking uphills (something snow and ice necessitates this time of year); I know that in the past I simply wasn't prepared to accept that for whatever misguided reason (ego).  A fun fact about these winter summits is that nearly as much time that is lost on the climb is able to be re-gained on the descent thanks to the relatively smooth(er) and softer surface that the snow provides.

Moving along, later this week I'm looking forward to a trip to North Carolina for New Balance and will probably use it as an opportunity to enforce a few consecutive easy days for the shin.  Wednesday evening I'll be speaking at the Dilworth Run For Your Life store in Charlotte and Thursday evening I'll be at the Fleet Feet Carborro store near Chapel Hill.

Here is a link to an interview I recently did with a runner I met on a trip I took to Michigan for NB last year.

Finally, next Saturday is Colorado Springs' 2nd Annual Ponderous Posterior 50K.  Because Team CRUD knows how to do things right, this year's Fat Ass-style run on the Pikes Peak region trails will follow the same route as last year (still starting and finishing at JT's house), BUT this time in the clockwise direction (last year we ran it counter-clockwise).  Due to the change in direction, the official course this year will include an ascent of the Manitou Incline to the top of Longs Ranch Road instead of running up Barr Trail.  Any out-of-towners or Incline virgins are in for a treat.  It is highly unlikely that my shin will allow me to make it around the full 50K loop, but I definitely still plan on heading down to the Springs for a more abbreviated version of the trail festivities.

Fri evening: #10

Elbert.

Jurker.

Up. Photo: Scott Jurek.

Summit ridge. Photo: Scott Jurek.

14,433'

Jurker descending.

jLu.