101 Days of 2010: April 5-11 Week In Review

Saturday marked the 100th day of 2010, so it is appropriate that this weekend has contained some running that has allowed me to take stock of my fitness and preparedness for racing.

On Saturday I continued my progression of the weekly long run with a rather ambitious circuit on some of Boulder's most sublime stretches of trail.  The morning started with the usual jog up through the streets to meet Jeff at the Gregory Canyon trailhead for a run up Green Mountain.  To my surprise, Brandon and Tim were along for the ride as well, with Brandon taking a liberal head start.  However, after making efficient work of Gregory Canyon, the ice on the Ranger Trail proved to be too gnarly for Tim's soles and Jeff and I continued to the top alone, slowed somewhat by the slick early-morning conditions.

At the top, Brandon, Jeff, and I took some time to chat it up, eyeball the incoming clouds, and get good and chilled.  After the 4-way junction, I was on my own; next destination: Walker Ranch.

(Saturday's route: 6h16min, 43 miles, 9000+' vertical = one big loop)

There were several good reasons to include Walker Ranch in this run.  A) It has to be one of the higher-quality trails in Boulder County (depending on one's criteria of course), B) After weeks and months of almost pure vertical in my training, it was time to get some sustained, faster-than-12min-pace running in my life, and C) On a run this long, Walker has to be visited in order to reduce the amount of repetition in the course of the route.

(The dissected terrain of Walker Ranch, as seen from the summit of South Boulder Peak.)

I joined the 7.8 mile loop at the Ethel Harrold Trailhead off of Bison Drive and turned west, headed around the curcuit in a counter-clockwise direction.  The Walker loop is defined by its "rolling" nature, but growing up in Nebraska, to call the terrain in the area merely "rolling" is euphemistic at best and probably more accurately described as cruel.  The buffed singletrack path takes one in and out of three separate drainages associated with the upper reaches of South Boulder Creek.  Each ascent/descent offers ~700' of vertical change, usually in less than a mile but all with excellently maintained tread.  This sort of profile compares favorably with the Miwok 100K course.

(Some of the pleasing sights in Walker Ranch: South Boulder Creek/Eldorado Canyon. Photo: Richard Ryer)

One hour and 27 minutes after entering Walker I stopped at the Eldorado Canyon State Park Visitor's Center for a refill on water.  I'd been running for just over three hours and 21 miles and the day's cloudy, humid conditions required rehydration.  After a quick tour through the hamlet of Eldorado Springs, another 700' climb-in-one-mile, and a traverse back across the base of the mountains on the Mesa Trail, it was time for the crux of the day's run: another ascent of Green Mountain.

Somewhere over the course of the previous four and a half hours and 6000+' of vertical, my legs had lost a little of their early morning pep.  I struggled through the dry trail in Gregory Canyon, but still managed to get to the cabin in a respectable 16:40 from the trailhead.  The sun's warming rays, however, had transformed the Ranger trail from ice into slush and my legs were not happy.  I tried--in vain--to channel the strength and power that I'd felt during last weekend's four-lap endeavor, but ultimately it was all I could do to eek out a 38:55 ascent, 25 seconds slower than the initial climb with Jeff earlier in the morning.  Down the hill, a couple miles of barefoot around Kitt, and another successful long run was in the legs.

(Those four successive 700' climbs in the middle ain't trivial, especially when bookended by my 112th and 113th 2010 ascents of Green Mt.)

This morning was one of those pleasurable days where you get more than you'd orginally bargained for.  I woke up feeling starved (not unusual the morning after a long run), but neglected to even tuck a gel into my shorts, thinking that my legs would be satisfied with nothing more than a typical ascent of Green Mountain.  Happily, the combination of the absolutely fantastic weather and the usual post-long run boost (tomorrow will be when the fatigue truly hits) was enough to convince me it was a Three Peak Day.  I certainly paid for my lack of food or water on this run (however, there was plenty of snow to eat up on South Boulder Peak), but all was made right with some Teahouse French Toast with Jocelyn and my visiting college buddy, Martin (fresh off a respectable 2:37 outing at the L.A. Marathon a few weeks ago), after the run was over.

(Three Peak Sunday: Green, Bear, and South Boulder.)

Due to the casual nature of this morning's outing, I did bring a camera, though:

(Self-portrait on Bear Peak's West Ridge Trail.)

(Glacier travel on the West Ridge.)

(Looking confused on a bluebird day on 8549' SoBo Peak.)

(Running down Shadow Canyon is often more of a controlled fall.)

 

(Excellent trail leaving Shadow and heading back over to the Mesa trail.)

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04-05-2010

Mon-AM: 14 miles (2:13) Green Mt., up Back/down Greenman, 2800'
Drunken sloth pace today. Getting passed by women pushing babies in strollers on the Creek Path. 42min to shuffle up the hill, and then nearly fell asleep on the summit rock. But, what else should I expect after a 60mi/16,000' vert weekend?
PM: 6 miles (:53) Creek Path+barefoot at Kitt w/ Jocelyn

04-06-2010
Tue-AM: 15 miles (2:16) Green Mt., up Back/down Greenman, 2800'
A bit peppier this morning, but still tired and sleepy. Lots of graupel on the mountain after the early-morning storm. Finished up with 2mi of barefoot on the Kitt Fields. Knee was a bit twingy/achey towards end. That, combined with lots of class/school-work, meant it was time to be careful and take the evening off. The old me would've probably soldiered on and made things worse.

04-07-2010
Wed-AM: 15 miles (2:08) Green Mt., up Back/down Greenman, 2800'
Felt good this morning. Rest finally kicked in. 39:30 up the hill but that was slowed a minute+ by the 2-3" of new snow up there.
PM: 8 miles (1:02) Goose Creek+2mi barefoot at Kitt
Legs felt great, but I should've been doing homework instead.

 04-08-2010
Thu-AM: 20 miles (3:03) Green Mt. and Bear Peak+barefoot, 4500'
Awesome run; this is what happens when I decide speedwork is dumb. 35:15 up the Front of Green, but I was on PR pace without trying before I hit the postholes and snow on the Greenman trail. West Ridge of Bear had seen only one other runner since it snowed yesterday, but it was never too bad until the last 10min through the rocks. Descended Shadow instead of Fern because I was worried about traction. 2mi barefoot at end. Watch said 4700+' climbing, but I only count 4000' with the big climbs...not sure if I want to start counting the 100-300' rollers on the Mesa trail as legit vertical...they certainly sting enough.
PM: 8 miles (1:00) South Boulder Creek+1mi barefoot
Nice jaunt with Jocelyn, Alex, and the Mold-sauce.

 04-09-2010
Fri-AM: 15 miles (2:14) Green Mt., 2800'
Up Back down W. Ridge-Flag Rd-Gregory. Ran easy with Moldy, but of course his shoes were slipping everywhere on Ranger so we bailed onto the road. Great to catch up and chat with him.

04-10-2010
Sat-AM: 43 miles (6:16) Green-Walker-Eldo-Mesa-Green, 9000'
Had to run to the grocery store afterwards for some Nutella so I could refuel.

04-11-2010
Sun-AM: 20 miles (3:04) Green-Bear-SoBo Loop, 5000'
Up Back of Green in 38:15; 24:10 for West Ridge of Bear.
PM: 6 miles (:51) Creek Path with Jocelyn and Martin

Totals
-Miles: 170
-Hours: 25h 00min
-Vertical: 29,700'
2010 Summits (Day 101)
-Green: 114
-Bear: 4
-SoBo: 1

Snow

I awoke this morning to a layer of fresh snow reflecting the rising sun in through the bedroom window.  I wasn't really expecting that.  Jocelyn, with her SoCal roots, sees this sort of thing and rolls over in bed.  (Not that this makes Jocelyn a wimp.  She's actually one of the more consistently tough runners I've known. In shape or not, Jocelyn knows how to suffer.  This can't be said of a lot of (very fast) runners; I think she's probably just secure in the level of toughness in her constitution and doesn't feel the need to validate it to herself all the time with silly macho gambits like running in all kinds of terrible weather.  Like I apparently tend to need to...) 

I, on the other hand, grunt and groan, kick around the apartment for a couple minutes and prepare to run.  As I put my shirt on, Jocelyn comments that I'm getting too skinny.  Where did those hip bones come from?  Why are there ribs in your back? she asks.  Jocelyn always lets me know when I'm finally getting fit.

(Late season frosty Flatirons.)

The snow actually lended a playful aspect to the run this morning as I danced up and down Green Mountain with a little extra cushion on the path.  I imagined this to be one of the last few crystalline window-dressings of this type, so I was sure to bring the camera along and snap a couple of pictures.
.

(Looking back down Gregory Canyon towards Chautauqua and Boulder.)

For the past couple of weeks, I've definitely had a paradoxical relationship with my feelings toward continued snowfall.  The alpine hydrologist in me and my interests in water resources all know that Spring-time snows in the Rockies are essential to securing a healthy snowpack, which the Front Range and most of the western United States relies on for its water, via the Colorado River, specifically.

(Stairway to heaven: above the 4-way junction on Green Mt.)

However, the mountain runner in me selfishly wishes that the blasted snowpack was gone yesterday.  I want trail X and secret path Y to be melted out now because I've been slipping and sliding through the white stuff since October and I'm tired of carrying Microspikes in my waistband and dulling them on the rocks that are now poking through and I'm tired of having to plan my long-run routes with postholing and bullet-proof ice in mind and I'm tired of gloves and I'm tired of shirts.  Bring on summer and tan lines and double-fisting water bottles and S-caps!

(Green Mt as seen while descending the Greenman trail.)

Nevertheless, obviously, there is a nexus in my interests and personality where the environmentalist/hydrologist  and the mountain runner are actually one and the same.  I wouldn't be the environmentalist I am if I weren't a mountain runner and vice versa.  So, let it snow.

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
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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
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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.