Weekly Summary: March 29-April 4

03-29-2010
Mon-AM: 14 miles (2:06) Green Mt., up Front down Greenman, 2800'
         Up in an easy effort 35:45.  Pretty soft, punchy trail conditions.
         Finished up with 2.5 miles barefoot at Kitt Fields.
        PM: 13 miles (2:02) Green Mt. up Front down Gregory, 2800'
        Terrible conditions (slushy, soft, super-punchy) made it almost
        impossible to run up high in the deep snow.  Rounded out the
        run with 2 miles barefoot at Kitt.  Awesome warm night.
.
03-30-2010
Tue-AM: 15 miles (2:17) Green Mt., Ranger-Greenman, 2800'
       Slowness and tiredness exacerbated by still soft/punchy
       snow on Ranger.  Need more sleep. 1mi barefoot at Kitt.
       PM: 7 miles (1:00) Mesa-Skunk Creek, 1000'
       Finished up with a mile of barefoot at Kitt. Hot out.

03-31-2010
Wed-AM: 15 miles (2:10) Green Mt., Ranger-Greenman, 2800'
         PM: 8 miles (1:02) Creek Path+2mi barefoot

04-01-2010
Thu-AM: 15 miles (2:10) Green Mt., Ranger-Greenman, 2800'
       1.5 miles barefoot at Kitt at the end. 38:35 climb.
       PM: 10 miles (1:08) Creek Path+Kitt
       15x1min hard/easy barefoot at Kitt.  72-75sec 400m pace on
       all of them and felt relaxed.  Felt good to go fast for once.

04-02-2010
Fri-AM: 13 miles (2:00) Green Mt., Ranger-Greenman, 2800'
      100th summit of Green Mt for the year.  Very relaxed 39:45.

04-03-2010
Sat-AM: 32 miles (5:05) 4 x Green Mt., 10,000' vertical
       37:20, 37:05, 36:50, 36:45 up the back and down the front.
       Finished up with 2.5 miles barefoot at Kitt.

04-04-2010
Sun-AM: 15 miles (2:10) Green Mt., 3000'
       Ran up the frontside and then down Bear Canyon and back
       on Mesa.  33:16 for the climb, which surprised me because
       I was never pressing.  Massive stomach issues on the downhill.
      PM: 13 miles (2:00) Green Mt., 2800'
      Up Skunk and Bear Canyon, down Ranger-Gregory.  Ran up to
      Bear Canyon with Jocelyn. Had really bad stomach problems
      once I got back down to town that precluded tacking on any
      barefoot running; also bonked badly on the downhill after being
      stuck in the library all day and not eating anything.

Total
-Miles: 170
-Hours: 25h 10min
-Vertical: 33,600'
2010 Summits (Day 94)
-Green: 106
-Bear: 2
---------------------------------------------------------
Another good week.  It was nice to get in that little speed session Thursday; I'll probably continue to hit something like that once a week heading into Miwok, if the legs are feeling it.  I was extremely pleased with the long run on Saturday.  It went much better than I ever could've imagined, and even more importantly I was able to follow it up with another pretty big day--trying to transition into back-to-back long runs without damaging the knee.

Here are a few photos from this evening's run with Jocelyn--it's really fun to get out on the trails with her instead of always going solo.  Once she gets the time to really focus the training for a month or so this summer, she could make an impact on a couple of mountain races.  Experience running technical trails joined with 17:22 5K speed could be a potent combo.

(Headed up Skunk Canyon.)

(Kaibab-like water-bars on the ~1000' climb up to the Mesa Trail.)

(Traversing over toward Bear Canyon--and Bear Peak--on the Mesa.)

(Mouth of Bear Canyon.)

(Looking back east: sun setting on the backside of a flatiron.)

(The south-facing Green-Bear connector trail gets steep at times.)

(#106)

Inducing Symmetry

(My mistress, from the Boulder Public Library yesterday morning.)

Last week's session on Green with Jeff just didn't feel quite right.  It was an excellent run, and Jeff was outstanding company, but ending the run at "only" three laps of the mountain somehow felt incomplete.  Like the run lacked a certain aesthetic.  Four laps seemed much more appropriate, more symmetrical.  Even vs. odd, 22 miles vs. 16.5 (on the mountain itself), 10,000' climbing vs. 7500'.  Heading back this weekend--especially with the enticing vastly superior trail conditions--seemed like really the only long-run option in my mind.

Jeff opted to go do laps on an admittedly nice loop behind Eldorado Canyon State Park (Walker Ranch), which is relentlessly rolling with ~2000' of climbing per 7.5 mile loop, but that held little interest to me when I can do 5.5 mile loops on Green with 2500' of climbing in one push and a summit view each lap.  After running the long way up to the Gregory Canyon trailhead with Jocelyn, I bid her adieu, stashed my four GUs alongside a gallon jug of water that I'd cached in the bushes a few days earlier, and headed up the canyon to start the day's work.

(The MapMyRun version of the morning.)

Lap one was supposed to be a warm-up, a chance to see how the legs felt and what the day would hold in terms of trail conditions and weather.  My legs hadn't been particularly peppy on the run up through the streets with Jocelyn (in fact, she was half-stepping me the entire way; Jocelyn's getting into shape), so when I climbed past the cabin at the head of the Ranger trail I was surprised to see 16:40 for the split.  On my usual week-day excursions up Green I very rarely get to the cabin in less than 17 minutes.  I guess yesterday's single two hour run had left my legs well-rested.  The trail turned to packed snow/ice on Ranger and my Microspikes bit well, depositing me at the extremely windy summit in a climb of 37:20.

(Green's summit rock.)

At the outset, my goal for the day had been to simply keep each climb under 40 minutes, so now I was worried that I'd run too hard too early and would pay later.  So much for negative-splitting the repeats. Oh well, nothing I could do about it now.  The descent down the front side of Green was dispatched in a casual 22 minutes, and after some water and a gel I quickly got back to it.  I was trying to keep the run as continuous as possible with no lingering on the summit or in the parking lot because I had a date for brunch with Jocelyn at the Teahouse after the run (probably my favorite eatery in Boulder).

On the second lap, I settled into a rhythm that I would follow the remainder of the run: stash my shirt and Microspikes in my waistband for the sunny run on dry trail up Gregory Canyon, stop very briefly to sit on a stump and don my 'spikes just before the Gregory Creek crossing, continue steadily up through the trees until the trail crested Green's north ridge and the raging wind required putting my shirt back on (without pause), and finally, pull my gloves on during the switchbacks immediately before the 4-way junction.  This process was followed in reverse when I descended the front side trails of Greenman, Saddle Rock, and Amphitheater.  Despite what I had perceived to be a brashly quick first climb, my legs enjoyed the usual warmed-up boost on the second lap and I was able to top out a bit quicker, in 37:05.

(Dirt! Typical trail in Gregory Canyon.)

Things were generally much the same on lap three, except that the snow/ice on Ranger was becoming noticeably softer/punchier; but, with some encouragement from Kraig (descending from a second summit of his own) on Ranger's upper switchbacks I was successful in dropping my time yet again to a 36:50.  Granted, I've mostly run Green in the winter, but the number of times I've broken 37 minutes for this route is probably less than the number of toe-nails I'm missing.  I was psyched.  On the way down from this climb the super-computer kicked in (despite the now decidedly soft and slippery snow on upper Greenman) and a 20 minute descent felt unpressed.

Heading into the final circuit, I wasn't sure what to expect.  I knew my legs were getting tired and figured that with my indiscretion on the previous climb I should just be happy with stumbling my way to the top for a sub-40 ascent.  Heading up the big steps and rocks in Gregory Canyon I could tell that I was finally edging into that territory of effort and fatigue that had been my goal this morning: it's been a long time since I've run for five hours--and certainly never with this much vertical--and I wanted to reacquaint myself with and rehearse the focus, will, and stubbornness required to maintain efficient uphill progress late in an extended, hard effort.

As I stepped onto the snow surface of the Ranger trail that was now slushy even in the shade, I found what I'd been looking for.  Ugh.  Hamstrings and calves threatened to cramp, my Microspikes annoyingly caught invisible undulations in the trail surface, and despite all attempts to remain conservative my breathing achieved a high level of raggedness and then stayed there.  So it goes.  When I finally hit the 4-way junction for the last time I knew that if I re-doubled my focus there was even a chance I could slip under the previous lap's time.

(These hurt after four laps--above the 4-way junction.)

Grunt, groan, unending rock steps just a little too big to efficiently ascend and I was there in 36:45, instantly going to the hands-on-knees position of the blown out runner.  I actually felt bad for the single other person on the summit, like I was inconsiderately disturbing her wind-whipped reverie with my obnoxious huffing and puffing.  No matter, I needed oxygen.

(The final few yards of the climb.)

Lap #1 - (37:20) 16:40, 17:25, 3:15  Descent: 22:00
Lap #2 - (37:05) 16:15, 17:35, 3:15  Descent: 21:10
Lap #3 - (36:50) 16:15, 17:15, 3:20  Descent: 20:25
Lap #4 - (36:45) 16:20, 17:25, 3:00  Descent: 27:15 (Greenman to Gregory--about a mile longer.)

Back down at the parking lot the weather was all bluster and brilliant sunshine despite the very occasional spits of snow and sleet I'd been enjoying on the upper reaches of the mountain all morning.  An extra three and a half miles of barefoot running down on the Kittredge grass pushed the run over the five hour mark and afforded me that luxurious fatigue that only comes with a truly long, hard run.  I'm hoping that a couple more long runs like this one, and in a month I'll be inducing a different kind of symmetry with my running: the climactic, satisfying race performance that is the only appropriate coda to several months of diligent preparation.

100 Summits of Green

I tagged my 100th Green Mountain summit of 2010 this morning, the 92nd morning of the year.  I guess that was the goal, three months ago, to see if I could enforce a measure of consistency in my running that had been missing since last summer.  Much of that previous inconsistency had nothing to do with a lack of discipline or desire on my part.  Indeed, it was much the opposite; I would often take any sign of health in my legs as free license to rashly pile on the miles with seemingly no regard for its effect on my ability to run pain-free the next day, week, month, or year.  My undertaking of a daily summit of Green was my way of ensuring a long-term mindset.

(A bit windy this morning.)

(Shot south towards Bear Peak.)

There are at least two things that my daily run up Green has provided me with over the course of the last three months.

First,  I've gained an appreciation for the traditional, slow-but-sure, conservative-but-steady-wins-the-race, method of running training.  It's such a simple concept: run a reasonable amount every day--an amount that the body will ably absorb--and eventually it will respond to that steady stress by becoming stronger, healthier, and more resilient instead of breaking down.  The key--and this is by no means ground-breaking--is fighting off the urge to constantly be training at a volume and intensity that pushes the body's current limits.

Running up Green every day has taught me to temper my desire to be constantly thrusting my hand into the fire, seeing how long I can keep it in there this time.  In the past I've always pushed past the initial pain and waited for my fingers to smolder, if not burst completely into flames.  So far, this year I've successfully remained content with training at a level that challenges me but doesn't break me.  I have to continue to do that--if only for my personal sanity.  Not being able to run--especially as the weather edges towards summertime perfection on a daily basis--is simply unbearable on an emotional level.  And I have to remember that whenever I'm tempted to go a little further than what a safe and sane progression would dictate.

Weekly Mileage Progression of 2010 (# of Green Summits):
75 (2) (only the last three days of the week were in January)
94 (7)
107 (7)
120 (8)
123 (7)
125 (9)
88 (6) (little scare with the knee caused me to forgo two-a-days)
143 (10)
145 (11)
102 (7)
53 (3) (fell on my back at the end of the previous week)
152 (8)
168 (9)
170 (12)

In the past, that third week I would've traditionally tested the waters with something in the 140-150 mile range before usually skyrocketing to nearly 200 miles or so on the fourth week.  Because of some newfound wisdom (let's hope I don't lose it!) and the strict demands of needing to be able to run two hours with nearly 3000' of vertical the next day (and the day after that, and the day after that, etc.) that the Green Mountain Project required, the above progression is the route I took this time.

Second,the Green Mountain Project has instilled in me a much greater appreciation for the Boulder Mountain Parks,and therefore,the community of Boulder itself. For better or worse, a significant portion of my view of a town is largely tied to my perception and opinion of its trail/mountain running offerings. For instance, the Del Mar/Solana Beach/Encinitas communities (Jocelyn's home stomping grounds) of northern San Diego County all offer a charming oceanside ambience with vibrant downtown districts.  These are actually things I value in a town.  Alas, (much to the protest of many of the local runners) there's not a lot of real trail running immediately available there (I mean, shit, there are a lot of freeways and houses in the way), which means that it's kind of tough for me to get excited about any extended visits to the area.

Of course, this is not the case in Boulder.  I'm still not convinced that Boulder has the variety or abundance of dirt of, say, Manitou/Colorado Springs, but I harbor an admitted bias there.  When I first moved to Boulder at the end of last summer, I spent a month mostly sitting on my butt waiting for my knee to calm down and heal itself with simple rest.  After that, when I was able to actually get out and struggle over them firsthand, I was roundly appalled at Boulder's uniformly rocky, technical, and steep so-called trails.  It was frustrating.  Vertical gains of 1000' per mile are de rigueur around here, whereas most other places I've lived that's considered to be on the absolute border of runnable.

(Uh, where's the trail?)

(Come on...)

(Okay, so there are some nicely buffed--but still steep--sections, too.)

However, diligence pays off, and I've become increasingly comfortable on the log, rock, and step-filled routes up Boulder's peaks.  In turn, this acceptance and increased proficiency has translated into greater enjoyment, a more positive attitude, and even a boosting of confidence in my fitness.  All good things heading into the summer racing season.

Which leads me to, what next?  This morning, after I returned from my 100th summit, Jocelyn asked, "Well, what are you going to run tomorrow?"  My reply, of course, was "Green".  Planning on four heaping servings, actually.  The fact is, living where I do in town, Green is often the best running option for one who is interested in standing on a significant summit (which I usually am).  So, I will likely continue to run up Green virtually every day.  It's become both a test-piece and a comfort blanket.  It's the very easy but still quality answer to "what am I going to run today?"

Eventually, though, the real snow (as in, real high) will melt and I expect I'll seek out the big peaks more and more.  Races will require that I scout their specific courses and taper rigorously.  More novel adventures will be devised and executed.  But, there is no doubt that Green will remain an essential staple in my running diet, and that--hopefully--I'll continue to retain and act on the principles of running training that its slopes mandated this winter: consistency, summit views, and rational moderation.

March: a sum of the parts

A purely by-the-numbers update here.  A tad too busy to put any effort into anything else.

March Totals
-Miles: 547
-Hours: 81h 08min
-Vertical: 94,700'
-Green: 31
-Bear: 2
-Days Off: 0

2010 Totals (Day 90)
-Miles: 1536
-Hours: 228h 31min (when is it appropriate to switch to "days"?)
-Vertical: 286,500'
-Green: 98
-Bear: 2
-Days Off: 0

As one can see, I am a mere two ascents away from topping Green 100 times for the year.  I'll most likely hit that this Friday, the 92nd day of the year.  I suppose that is a nice little milestone, mostly since it is one I set out to accomplish three months ago, and--despite a couple of relatively minor setbacks--I will now achieve.

In total, March was good.  The second week was mostly worthless while I worked through a stupid, accident-induced back issue that knocked my running that week down to only 53 miles, ~8 hours, and just under 10,000' of vertical.  Six days in a row of no Green Mountain summit views.  Thankfully, my back made a full recovery and I've come roaring back these last two weeks with the best stretch of training I've accomplished since last summer.  So that is exciting.

I might sit down this weekend to type a few thoughts about the experience of the whole Green Mountain Project, or I might not.  It all depends on how much I'm willing to procrastinate and compromise the quality of the actual possibly negative-consequence-inducing academic responsibilities I am currently beholden to.

Weekly Summary: March 22-28

(Sunrise from Green this morning: summit #94.)

03-22-2010
Mon-AM: 35 miles (4:42) Gold Hill+Green Mt., 6000'
Ran 1:23:50 for the 10 miles from 4th St to Gold Hill (3000' climb), came back down in 66 minutes. Bonked pretty badly on Green, but wouldn't have been so bad if the trails weren't so messy. 

03-23-2010
Tue-AM: 15 miles (2:13) Green Mt., Ranger-Greenman, 2800'
Tired, so took it nice and easy. Nice running in the clouds.
PM: 8+ miles (1:07) Skunk Creek-Kitt Field
Raining the entire way. Did the last 3 miles barefoot at Kitt, but should've done more of the run there because my feet never got cold like I thought they would.

03-24-2010
Wed-AM: 16 miles (2:53) Green Mt., up Crown Rock to Flag Rd to West Ridge; down Ranger and Gregory, 3000'
That's right, almost 11 minutes/mile.  Breaking trail when Iwasn't on the road.  Constant knee-deep snow and then the switchbacks on upper Ranger were covered in chest-high drifts that I was forced to wallow/wade/swim through.  Fortunately, I was wearing tights.  Took me 44min to go down the three miles of Ranger-Gregory.
PM: 8 miles (1:05) Goose Creek Loop
Nice jog around town in the evening after an afternoon in the library.

03-25-2010
Thu-AM: 15 miles (2:20) Green Mt., up Gregory to Flag Rd to West Ridge; down Greenman-Saddle-Amp, 3000'
Bloody shins postholing through ice-crust on the West Ridge this morning. Trails are a huge mess; nobody gets out to pack it down during the week! 

03-26-2010
Fri-AM: 25 miles (4:18) 3 x Green Mt., up Gregory down front, 8000'
42:45, 42:25, 42:15 in really lame snow conditions on the Ranger trail.  Ran with Jeff before the weather turned to crap again.  Legs felt surprisingly solid all day despite the snow. Need to do four laps soon.

03-27-2010
Sat-AM: 16 miles (2:29) Green Mt., Ranger-Greenman, 2800'
There were 2-3" of fresh snow on the top half of the mountain, but trail was still in better shape than yesterday. Got a couple bonus miles at the end running some errands around town.
PM: 8 miles (1:02) Skunk Creek+Kitt Field
After loosening up I felt good and cruised 5mi barefoot.

03-28-2010
Sun-AM: 15 miles (2:17) Green Mt., Ranger-Greenman, 2800'
5am wake-up gave me a nice sunrise from the summit. Trail was very well-packed but really narrow--rarely wider than 12".  Finished up with 2 miles of barefoot at Kitt Field.
AM2: 7 miles (1:05) Red Rocks Canyon in COS, 1000'
Quick trip to the Springs gave me the opportunity to cruise around one of my old stomping grounds at 11am. Absolutely incredible trails there--especially awesome in the spring sun.

Total
-Miles: 168
-Hours: 25h 31min
-Vertical: 29,400'
2010 Summits (Day 87)
-Green: 94
-Bear: 2
----------------------------------------------------------------

Obviously, this was a solid week.  I'm starting to feel pretty good, health-wise and fitness-wise.  Both long runs had no deleterious effects on my knee, which was further supported by the good news that my MRI showed no structural issues in my knee.  I had hoped to get some kind of speedy-ish workout in on Wednesday morning, but Tuesday night's foot of snow foiled those plans.  No worries, the weather looks incredible this coming week and I should be able to fit something in.

Most importantly, on all of my runs--even my afternoon/evening easy runs--I've started to get that very efficient, natural default feeling that typically occurs when I'm reaching a decent level of fitness.  In addition, I've been getting in a significant amount of barefoot running, which is always helpful in maintaining efficient form.  I expect the overall mileage to drop slightly in the next couple of weeks because of all the academic responsibilities I'll have here in the last month of the semester.  That's definitely not a bad thing, though.

A couple pictures of the trail conditions at ~6am this morning on Green Mountain:

(Not a bad morning on top.)

(Upper Greenman: usually a series of log steps here. In reality, this section is stupid steep.)

(Very narrow trail a bit lower down on Greenman.)

And then, later in the morning:

(The unmistakable visage of Pikes: Oh, how I miss her.)

(Jocelyn loves running in Red Rocks.)

(With college teammate Meg Z.)

Finally, I would normally be disparaging of the fact that The Kills use a drum machine instead of an actual human percussionist, but Alison Mosshart more than makes up for it by being such a smoking babe:

Lapping Up Green

Wednesday's snowstorm has proven to be a bit of a pain in the ass.  My buddy Jeff is gearing up for a classic Grand Canyon Double Crossing next month, and as such, was interested in logging a solid longer effort this week.  One that would help prepare him for the rigors of the Grand Canyon; you know, tighten the hamstrings, season the quads.  Of course, I would join him; this is the sort of thing that always interests me.

(Today's goal, as seen from my urban approach.  Flatirons Elementary in the foreground.)

Unfortunately (depending on one's perspective, of course), mid-week Boulder was treated to maybe it's largest snowstorm of the season, accompanied with some significant winds at the higher elevations.  Up high, the two feet of snow was whipped into fantastical ice-cream scoop drifts that rendered Green Mountain's Ranger trail virtually unrecognizable. 

My Wednesday morning summit of Green involved excessive amounts of postholing, wading, wallowing, swimming, and cursing as I struggled to descend the socked-in switchbacks of the Ranger trail without benefit of snowshoes.  A downhill three miles in 44 minutes.  Thursday was maybe even worse in spots as the warm day-time temps had glazed the top inch or so of the snow-pack into a shin-bloodying crust.  Fun stuff, for sure.

Jeff and I knew that any plans we had harbored for large, interesting tours of the Boulder Mountain Parks trails were stymied, so yesterday he dutifully took a pair of snowshoes up and down the Gregory-Ranger route on Green to prepare the path for today's task: laps on Green Mountain.

I prefaced the real work with my usual ~30 minute/3.5 mile jog to the Gregory Canyon trailhead where Jeff would park his vehicle as a de facto aid station stocked with a milk jug of water, GU, and bananas.  On the first lap, Jeff and I were full of energy and hope.  Gregory canyon had melted out nicely in yesterday's afternoon sun and our minds and legs were eager and fresh.  Chatting easily, we were soon at the Ranger Cabin--the veritable half-way point of the climb--and dug into the trail with enthusiasm, interested to see what conditions would present themselves today.
.

(The second of the two short, flat stretches in Gregory Canyon.)

Despite Jeff's best efforts yesterday, the trail was still a mess.  Granted, without his handiwork or Microspikes, it would've been largely impassable with any semblance of a usual running motion.  When the grade steepened, Jeff allowed me to step by as I continued up, maintaining a running cadence amidst the uneven footing and unconsolidated powder.  It was scarcely quicker than his powerful hiking.

(More typical trail at the start of  Ranger--the summit is barely visible through the trees.)

At the top, I scrambled to the summit, caught a few puffs of sweet oxygen, and waited briefly for Jeff.  I'd grown increasingly cynical as the top approached, highly doubtful of my desire to attempt any more laps.  The trail conditions were far from ideal, and I wanted the chance to open up my legs a little instead of having a snow-induced governor clip my stride.  However, 22 minutes of a controlled-but-quick, quad-pounding, 2500' descent of the front side of the mountain erased any question in my mind.  The banter with Jeff--and the sharing of the suffering--rejuvenated me, and after a quick gel and chugging of water we were headed back up the canyon for another 5.5 mile loop and 2500' of ascent/descent.

Now fully warmed up I cruised through the canyon feeling surprisingly good, getting to the cabin 15 seconds faster than the first lap.  Ranger was a little stickier now with the rising morning temperature, but more importantly I had resigned to just flailing a little, and I reached the summit 20 seconds quicker than the first climb: 42:25.  To give an idea of the conditions, on a more packed trail I will typically cruise this route in a routine 37 or 38 minutes with a (snow) PR of low-35.  I waited again for Jeff before tip-toeing and slaloming down the technical Greenman, Saddle Rock, and Amphitheater trails.

On the third lap, Jeff and I decided to split up:  he knew his final ascent was going to involve a fair bit of hiking and he preferred to do that on the shorter, steeper frontside route we'd just run down.  I like to run as much as possible, so I stuck to the 1/2 mile longer Gregory-Ranger route and after another gel charged up the canyon for the final time.

Things were decidedly tough this lap.  Gregory had become wet, muddy, and just generally sloppy, while Ranger had turned into that unpleasantly punchy (and still uneven) snow surface that absorbs any sort of helpful energy return.  Surprisingly, I was hitting similar splits, however, and I pondered the physiology of fatigue that caused markedly higher respiration and leg leaden-ness despite no real increase in speed.  Damn you, legs and lungs.  Despite this, I pushed the last three minutes to the summit in order to sneak in ten seconds under my second-lap time and successfully negative split the workout.

(The MapMyRun summation of the morning.)

On the final descent with Jeff I still felt great.  A fourth lap seemed like the natural thing to do.  Thankfully, ominous clouds and rational thinking won the day and after thanking Jeff for a great run I instead jogged over to Chautauqua to log a couple flatter bonus miles before running home to complete the 25 mile/8000' day in 4h18min.  I'll certainly be back for four laps sometime soon (with better trail conditions), but didn't think that increasing my long run by an hour after a mere four days was the most prudent thing to do to my knee.  Of course, within an hour or so of stepping back into my apartment, the clouds that had enshrouded the Indian Peaks all morning decided it was time to start distributing their contents over Boulder, leaving me grateful for having snuck in yet another magnificent day in the mountains.



(Summit #92 of 2010: Pointlessly testing some of Jocelyn's camera's video capabilities.)

Gold Hill

(Gold Hill to the right, Green Mt to the left.)

Toward the end of last September, Jocelyn and I were still relatively new to Boulder and wanted to explore.  The aspen leaves were in season and we were in search for some golden foliage.  With this in mind we ventured up Boulder Canyon to Nederland and the Peak to Peak Highway and then headed north.  We were also vaguely looking for some dirt on which to run, so we pulled onto the Gold Hill Road and meandered down it until it intersected with the Switzerland Trail where we got out and enjoyed a leisurely hour autumnal jaunt through the trees and cool air at 8500'.  Frustratingly, that was the absolute maximum my knee could handle at the time.

For the trip home, however, we continued east on the road, stumbled onto the tiny, idyllic near-ghost town of Gold Hill and then continued home via Sunshine Canyon.  Even after it turned to asphalt half-way down the descent I vowed to come back and run this road once my knee was healthy.  Well, today I finally decided that my knee was capable of taking on the 10 mile, 3000' descent that a return trip from Gold Hill requires.

Today was another magnificent +60F spring day in Boulder, but the forecast was for more snow tomorrow, so I was eager to get out and spend as much of the day as possible running the hills.  Additionally, most of the Boulder Mountain Parks peak trails are still either annoyingly slushy with unstable footing or under a foot or more of snow.  So, today seemed like one of the last few logical days of the snow season to go pound a road for several hours.  Of course, I wasn't going to let Green Mt. go unnoticed, either, so on my way up to Mapleton Avenue and the mouth of Sunshine Canyon I stashed a pair of Microspikes in a hedge in order to assist me in my end-of-run climb.

The climb up Sunshine Canyon Drive is one of those mostly reasonable mountain ascents.  From the corner of 4th St. and Mapleton it is 10 miles and 3000' of climbing to Gold Hill.  I had come across a recorded time of 1h38min by Galen Burrell on Bill Wright's old Boulder Trail Running Records site.  According to his site, this time was for the 10 miles from 4th St to the 10 mile marker in Gold Hill.  I had no idea how stout this time was but do know that Galen was/is a very strong runner, so used it as a benchmark for how long the run should take.
.

(35 miles, 6000+' climb, and 4h42min)

(Out to Gold Hill and back, then Green Mt.)

Even with the first ~6 miles being asphalt, this is a pleasant run.  Traffic this morning was moderate to light, and the gradient is occassionally broken by short sections of flat and even slightly downhill running.  Running up a sustained, constant hill like this is something that is significantly different from the steep, technical, switchbacked, stair-stepped climbs I've become accustomed to on Green Mt. this winter.  On the road you can maintain a legitimate running stride the entire time, but the featureless surface gives one a sense of ascending very slowly.  As a result, the mind tends to wander and dissociate a bit from the attendant effort.

(Sugarloaf Mt. on the left, Continental Divide on the right.)

Being a weekday, it was hard for me to not think about how fortunate I am to be living a life where I can duck out the door and go running in the mountains for nearly five hours on a Monday morning.  Granted, I'm in the middle of CU's Spring Break, but it was only natural to have the collective topics of work, careers, values, and priorities marinating in my mind.

(Typical road up high.)

I was once sitting outside of a coffeehouse at a sidewalk table when a man walked by with a tattoo on the back of his head--like where there is usually hair.  One of the folks I was sitting with made a comment (to me, not the man) about how that sort of thing pretty much precludes one from becoming a "contributing member of society".  Okay.  In this particular case, that may have been true, and tattoos on one's scalp may be a little...something (full disclosure: I have no tattoos)...but, whether or not my companion was right wasn't what interested me about the statement.

(13,200' Mt. Audubon, front and center.)

Instead, then--and this morning--I was more fixated on the entire concept of being a "contributing member of society" (CMOS).  I'm not sure what this means.  I'm pretty sure I know what my coffee companion meant: securing a job where tattoos are taboo (i.e. typically one with a substantial salary and plenty of "upward mobility"), and using the acquired money to generally follow what are by and large the rules of modern life.  I think we all know what those are.  Don't think that I'm denigrating the concept of making money.  I'm not.  Earning a living is completely necessary.  But, I'm still not sure what I think constitutes "contributing" and whether or not contributing in the sense my companion was insinuating is even a value worth harboring.

(Top of the climb, less than 1/2 mile drop to town.)

For instance, grinding my way up Sunshine Canyon Drive, engaging in this singularly selfish activity, I found it difficult to convince myself that I was contributing anything to anyone, yet I was profoundly satisfied, present, and, for lack of a better word, happy.  Was that bad?  Was I being irresponsible?  Am I being irresponsible?  Being irresponsible seems inherently undesirable.  Don't get me wrong, I think I completely understand the common values of family, community, love, being kind to one's fellow man while expecting nothing in return, etc.  The value of those concepts--given the proper motivations--seems virtually unassailable in my mind.  The issue I've been grappling with, rather, is whether there are other equally noble, valuable modes of being a CMOS that, metaphorically speaking, have no concern with whether or not one has a large, visible tattoo.

(Main St. Gold Hill: my kind of town.)

The way I usually come at questions like those is by considering the more alternative ways of contributing to society, which by definition usually involves something non-corporate and maybe even non-governmental, which also means that the way we've come to assign value to things--monetary compensation--is also typically lacking.  I'm talking here of the creative activities in life: music, art, writing, etc.  Depending on the day, I consider working the land (farming, in a particularly conscious manner) a very creative (maybe the creative) mode of contribution. 

Lately, I've also been thinking about the act of running as a creative process, perhaps a very particular type of performance art that, if occassionally shared with others through racing and other collaborative efforts qualifies it as a contributory activity of some value.  That is, of value to a society, the kind of value that isn't typically assigned a dollar amount.  But, I'm certainly not sure.  My hunch is that there is a precarious balance somewhere in between the two end-members of, A) resource-sucking leach on society, and B) capitalist greed-monger, that affords one both satisfaction and virtue.

The incredible views of the foothills and looming Indian Peaks eventually distracted my mind, though, and before I knew it I was at the top of the climb and cruising down the 1/2 mile descent into Gold Hill.  I'd reached the corner of Sunshine Canyon Drive and Gold Run Road (turns into Fourmile Canyon lower down) at the entrance to Gold Hill in 1:23:50 from 4th Street down in Boulder.  Curious about Galen's time, I continued up Main St. Gold Hill with my eyes peeled for the 10 mile marker, but ran all the way to Colorado Mountain Ranch on the far edge of town before giving up on spotting it.  The snow on the side of the road must've been too deep.  Based on the 9 mile marker, I would guess that it's ~0.4 mile/3min past the Gold Run Rd intersection.  My effort today was easy/casual and I could easily see myself going 30 seconds/mile faster with some focus and motivation, so I'm gonna go ahead and surmise that Galen wasn't exactly pressing that day.

The 10 miles back down to town passed in a quick 66 minutes, and with the pop of a Blueberry-Pomegranate Roctane I started the final climb of the day up 6th Street to the Gregory Canyon trailhead and my 86th summit of Green Mt.  Green was hard today.  By time I'd reached the trailhead my body was already begging for another GU, even though I'd had one only 20 minutes earlier.  The trail through Gregory Canyon was predictably clear (astonishing considering the amount of snow on it just 48 hours earlier), but the Ranger trail was in the unsavory state of not-quite-slush, not-quite-solid-snow that transformed the stride and cadence of my already pounded and bonking legs into a fairly pathetic baby-step shuffle.  Certainly good rehearsal for an arduous late-race climb.

Forty-five minutes after the summit I was back at my apartment and scrounging in the kitchen for food.  It was already early afternoon and all I'd accomplished today was to make myself very, very tired.  But, for the moment at least, that seemed to be enough.

Weekly Summary: March 15-21

(Green, looking natty with a fresh coat of sparkle this weekend.)

03-15-2010
Mon-AM: 14 miles (2:11) Green Mt. Ranger-Greenman, 2800'
        A surprising 4+" of new snow that I was breaking trail 
        through made for a slow climb.
        PM: 7 miles (1:03) Mesa-Skunk Canyon+1mi barefoot
        Ran slow and easy with Jocelyn on exceedingly sloppy 
        trails.  Added on at Kitt at the end. Ran down that dirt
        road behind NOAA and observed that it would make
        for some pretty sweet hill repeats: 266ft in .44 mile
        according to MapMyRun.com.  MapMyRun says Linden's
        are 266ft in .53 mile.

03-16-2010
Tue-AM: 15 miles (2:16) Green Mt. Ranger-Bear Canyon, 3000'
       Pretty tired this morning, but outstanding sunrise.

03-17-2010
Wed-AM: 28 miles (4:10) Green Mt.-Bear Pk-Green Mt., 6500'
        Did the three climbs (2800', 1200', and 2500', respectively) in
       38:50, 26:00 (lots of snow on the ridge), and 35:30.  Just an
       average day energy-wise, but it's been WAY TOO LONG since
       I've had the pleasure of spending a whole morning in the
       mountains, so a pretty exceptional day overall. +65F

03-18-210
Thu-AM: 8 miles (1:02) Skunk-Kitt Loop+4mi barefoot
        Early morning before mid-term with Jocelyn. Nice and easy.
       PM: 14 miles (2:04) Green Mt. Ranger-Greenman, 2800'
       A pretty sluggish run, as expected.  Shirtless the entire way,
       so I just enjoyed the sun knowing it would be snowing soon.

03-19-2010
Fri-AM: 14 miles (2:17) Green Mt. up/down Greg-Ranger, 2800'
      Wow. By far the slowest climb of the year (49:15) because I
      was wading through a foot of new powder, laying fresh tracks.
     Incredible morning to be in the mountains. Snowing so hard.
     PM: 6 miles (:46) Boulder Creek Path
     Easy jog in the still-falling snow. Stopped off at the grocery
     store on the way home to pick up some milk and tea.

03-20-2010
Sat-AM: 16 miles (2:28) Green Mt. up Gregory-Flagstaff Road-
      West Ridge; down Ranger-Flagstaff Road, 3000'
      Ridiculous amounts of snow on the mountain today, but brilliant
      sunshine. Bailed onto the road half-way up and then descended
      with Jeff and Brandon. Legs felt really good, but the snow was
      consistently knee-deep and waist deep at times.  Awesome day.
    PM: 7 miles (:55) South Boulder Creek Path

03-21-2010
Sun-AM: 15 miles (2:16) Green Mt. Ranger-Greenman, 2800'
       Good trail to the cabin but then lots of unconsolidated snow
       up on the Ranger trail.  Beautiful Spring day.
       PM: 8 miles (:58) Skunk Creek Loop x 2
       Very relaxed jog in the afternoon sunshine. It's great to get
       out and just cruise effortlessly sometimes. Shirtless, flat
       terrain, 7-8min/mile...on runs like this there is a definite
       kinesthetic joy. However, it is also on runs like these that
       I really miss living in Colorado Springs or Flagstaff where
       there are endless opportunities for flattish, dirt runs right
       from downtown.  This entire run was on paved bike paths;
       I've been defaulting to laps on Kitt Field for soft surface
       stuff, but there was a women's lacrosse game this afternoon.
      Not sure why every "trail" in Boulder proper has to be cement.
      Even so, I kicked off my slippers to do the last two miles
      barefoot--even though it was on pavement--because it just
      felt right in the context of the afternoon.

Total
-Miles: 152
-Hours: 21h 41min
-Vertical: 23,700'
2010 Summits (Day 80)
Green: 85
Bear: 2

A few images from running on Green this weekend in the aftermath of Friday's blizzard:
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(Bear Peak and South Boulder Peak, from Green's west ridge.)

(Breaking trail through knee-deep powder on Green's west ridge.)

(Peeking through to the Indian Peaks.)

(Triumphant on summit #84: look at that blue sky!)

(Green and the backside of the First Flatiron from Flagstaff Road.)

This was a very good week of running.  After a less-than-stellar previous week, I got a simple sacroilliac joint adjustment from Jeremy that dramatically improved my back and allowed me to rebound well.  Of course, I was pleased to complete the mid-week long run, but the challenge will now be to gradually lengthen that over the next month in preparation for Miwok on May 1st.

On Friday I finally got an MRI for my knee.  Jeremy had been recommending this for a while because we've essentially exhausted the conservative treatment measures on my knee, and if, as I build the long run, the knee pain comes back in a significant way, we'll be in a more informed position as to what sort of action we should take.  Basically, he wanted to be sure that there isn't some kind of structural defect (such as a meniscus tear) that would make administering something like a cortisone shot completely pointless.  I'll be getting a report on the MRI early this week, so I'm hoping for good news (i.e. I've only been dealing with stubborn patellar tendonitis, not any cartilage issues) there.

The other thing I'll be considering in my build-up to Miwok is the inclusion of some kind of speedwork.  I haven't decided completely on that yet, as, per usual, it's always much more motivating to head out for a climb up Green Mt. than for a tempo on the Creek Path or intervals on a track somewhere.  Of course, over the past few years Matt Carpenter has chided me repeatedly about not wanting to do the "not fun" stuff in race preparation, and he's mostly right.  The last time I did any significant speedwork was in my build-up for the American River 50 in 2008.  In that case, I completed four straight weeks of one workout per week (the progression of which can be seen here), generally focusing on mile repeats and longer tempo runs.  Granted, even that was a pretty minimal amount of structured fast running.

Logically, I know I should do speedwork to become a better runner.  Emotionally, I am still having a difficult time justifying it to myself.  I remember the confidence it gave me to be able to comfortably cruise low-6s pace for the first 25 miles at  American River two years ago and I know that the increased efficiency and confidence that comes along with that is likely to benefit me in nearly any type of race situation.  However, there is a definite part of me that simply doesn't feel disciplined enough to give up--even for one day a week--the comfort and joy of the mountains.  We'll see what I end up deciding.

Finally, last night I had the pleasure of seeing The Temper Trap at the Fox Theater here in Boulder--a simple five minute bike ride from my house.  These Australians rose to prominence with the inclusion of their song "Sweet Disposition" on the 500 Days of Summer soundtrack last year, and while I was somewhat coerced into going to the show (and a little apprehensive about their at times U2-esque guitar work), the live performance was absolutely top-notch.  Like, making the top three of any show I've ever seen.  I highly recommend seeing them live, but in the meantime, here are a couple videos that don't even really do them justice:

            

Long Run (Finally)

(Bear and Green in the early morning.)

It was time for a test.  The last time I did a four hour run was on December 11th, the day after turning in my final paper for the Fall semester.  It was a Backside Loop with some fairly significant post-holing through Walker Ranch (and some poaching of the excellent Kneale Road going through South Boulder Creek Canyon just behind Eldorado); the post-holing combined with the duration proved to be too much for the knee and two days later I submitted by taking a day off (but, I haven't missed a day since).

After that run I resolved to get this knee figured out by going back to see Jeremy Rodgers (I had wanted to run the Bandera 100K, then the Rocky Raccoon 100, then...well, due to my recalcitrant knee, I finally stopped planning for races) and committing to building back up in an ever-vigilant and gradual fashion.  Ultimately, the desire to temper the length of my runs is what planted the Green Mountain seed in my mind. 

Yesterday, though, after a few weeks with successful runs in the three hour range, I figured it was time for another shot at four hours--the length of run that I, A) start packing a couple gels for fueling purposes, and therefore, B) consider the shortest legitimate "long run".  Not so coincidentally, four hours is also a fairly standard time for a mountain 50K, the shortest of the "ultra" distances.

It didn't hurt that the weather has been spectacular this week, which, of course, being spring-time on the Front Range, means that we're due for a snowstorm now.  But not yesterday.  I started out the run with a singlet and no gloves and would spend the majority of the run shirtless.

(The gist of the route: ~28 miles, 4h10min, three summits, 6500' climbing.)

My route was an arduous one, consisting of three major climbs (and corresponding descents) of 2800', 1200', and 2500' over the course of 17 miles.   This involved summiting Green Mountain, Bear Peak, and then finally returning for another run up the front side of Green before ultimately descending the circuitous old road-bed that would dump me out in Boulder Canyon by the Red Lion Inn and allow me to take the Creek Path back to my doorstep.  Being St. Patrick's Day, I figured Green Mt. deserved multiple ascents.

The first long run of the racing season is always a glorious affair.  For me, it's a time of reawakening old habits and senses, reminding myself what this whole game is all about, and refamiliarizing myself with the vagaries of running all (or, a large portion of the) day in the mountains. 

The mind's ability to anticipate and project expectations into the future plays a large role in undertaking a long run.  Headed up Green Mountain for the first time via Gregory Canyon and the Ranger Trail I was on a path that I've run literally nearly every day since Janurary 1.  However, with the specter of several more hours of running ahead of me, the climb presented itself to me in a different tenor than usual.  I relaxed through the technical and steep sections in Gregory Canyon, paused to don my Microspikes at the stone cabin that signifies the half-way point (but is really a bit short, timewise), and then continued crunching up the hill enjoying the solitude after wading through a crowd of CU students on the lower reaches of the mountain.

(Nasty bit of steep trail in Gregory Canyon.)
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My legs had only average pep in them on this morning, but due to my prudent pacing and the excitement of the day's endeavor they easily carried me through Ranger's upper switchbacks and then finally, the three-ish minutes that it takes to ascend the Elliott Stairs from the four-way junction.  This section of trail is a wench.  Steep, rocky, and crudely stair-stepped, it often fails to even look like a trail.  However, over the past two and a half months I have become intimately familiar with literally every significant rock and root.  Every footplant is placed exactly as it was the morning before; each tricky sequence is traversed smoothly with a well-rehearsed pattern of push-offs, high-steps, grunts, and puffs.

(Typical "tread" on the Elliott Stairs.)

(The last stretch to the summit of Green...that's the summit rock in the upper left.)

Once atop Green's summit I paused only to quickly climb its pinnacle boulder, for I was planning to be back in a couple of hours. 

(View from Green's summit pedestal: Long's Peak on the extreme right, Indian Peaks to the left of that.)

The descent down the Green-Bear trail to Bear Creek/Canyon was quick and effortless.  Normally, my quads are a little fatigued on this steep downhill (1000' in ~1mi) due to having just ascended Green with significant effort, but on this day things clicked and in less than ten minutes (sounds slow, I know, but one has to try actually running on Boulder's mountain trails before making accurate judgments about pace over this terrain) I was skipping across the creek to start the 1200' climb to the summit of Bear Peak.

Bear Peak's West Ridge trail is maybe my favorite path in all of Boulder's OSMP.  This ribbon of single track winds along the ridge amongst gnarled trees and granite outcroppings all the while gaining altitude without the runner really noticing.  Additionally, the views are superb.  Boulder itself lies down to the northeast at the mouth of Bear Canyon while Eldorado Canyon and Walker Ranch unfold to the south and west.  Although the altitude is only ~7500', the vegetation, exposure, and views give a sense of being much higher.  On today's run, though, this much-less-traveled path offered significant snow and ice to slow my progress and once the route pitched up considerably for the final nine minutes of climbing to Bear's airy apex I was reduced to tiny baby-steps in order to maintain a running cadence.  Bear will do that to you.

On the summit, I enjoyed maybe the best vantage point in Boulder County.  The Indian Peaks and Rocky Mountain National Park dominate the western horizon, Pikes Peak is visible to the south, and when gazing east to the plains the view is so expansive that the curve of the earth almost seems discernible.  I, however, had more running to do.  Fern Canyon is another of those trails that typically causes one to at least curse repeatedly, if not actually tumble head-over-heels downhill.  The few inches of snow last Sunday, though, had reseasoned the surface with a grippy epidermis that received the Microspikes well.  The 2000' descent (in ~1.5 miles!) passed quickly without endangerment to limb.

(Truly essential gear on Boulder's winter trails: Microspikes over NB 100s.)

Once on the iconic Mesa Trail I removed the 'spikes, ate a GU, and enjoyed the fast, open running of the rolling terrain.  I haven't eaten a gel in over three months.  Which might seem like a trivial thing, but yesterday, when I popped that Strawberry-Banana packet, it tasted more like Hope Pass, Leadville, and most of all summer than maltodextrin and synthetic flavoring.

Back at Chautauqua I stopped briefly to refill my water bottle and then set out across the meadow looking to take on Green a second time.  Typically, at this point in a run--2h17min from my doorstep--I'm either done running or on the verge of bonking.  However, today I could feel the power of 100 calories of sugar coursing through the system, so I put the Microspikes back on and tackled the steep Amp/Saddle/Greenman route up Green instead of the more mellow Gregory Canyon option. The less-than-ideal slush/ice conditions combined with the accumulated miles and vertical definitely took their toll and this more or less turned into a get-'er-done survival effort.  Nevertheless, 35min later I was once again atop the summit of Green and looking forward to nothing but heading down Ranger and home. 

(81st Green of the year.  Bear Peak--from whence I just came--is over my left shoulder.)

One hour, 15 minutes and approximately 10 miles later I was back at Scott Carpenter and enduring a well-earned soak in the frigid waters of Boulder Creek.

In the early season, everything is fresh and exciting again.  Even modest gains in fitness are easily noticed and occur with seemingly little effort.  I know (hope?) that eventually a run like this will become commonplace, but most importantly, these runs are essential stepping stones that make even more strenuous outings in the near future possible.  And, after today's (Thursday) 82nd ascent of Green Mountain, I think I can say with confidence that my knee even survived.  Which, given the past year (I first hurt it on Easter of last year), is not trivial at all.