Week Summary: Sept 12 - 18

09-12-2011
Mon-AM: 1:27, 1500'
Creede, CO.

09-13-2011
Tue - 0
Creede, CO.

09-14-2011
Wed - 0

09-15-2011
Thu-AM: 1:15, 2500'
Green Mt. up and down Amphi-Greenman (hiking).  Felt really good.  Awesome low clouds. Appt with Dr. Jeremy Rodgers in the afternoon.

09-16-2011
Fri - 0
Driving home to Nebraska.

09-17-2011
Sat-AM: 1:30
Hiking around the farm with Dad.
PM: 1:00
Hiking in Niobrara State Park with family. Railroad Bridge, etc.

09-18-2011
Sun-PM: 1:17, 2500'
Green Mt. up and down Amphi-Greenman (hiking PR: 34:35).  Felt awesome.  Perfect evening.

Hours: 6:29
Vert: 6500'

So it turns out that having your leg limp and non-weight bearing for two months isn't the best thing for it.  My lower leg wasn't quite ready for running yet and at the end of last week it let me know that by having my soleus/post tib flare up a good bit again.  I've lost a ton of flexibility in my lower legs (10 degrees dorsiflexion) and need to work to get that back again--along with specific strengthening--before my lower leg will oblige pain-free running again.  So it goes, I guess I knew it was going to be a long process.  

I had loads of travel this week but it was really fantastic visiting my home in Nebraska when it was neither sweltering hot and humid nor brutally windy and cold (when I usually head home for the holidays).  It was a fantastic place to gain an appreciation for the natural world growing up.

Back to the hiking it is for probably a couple of weeks as I baby along my legs' ability to withstand the more dynamic running motion, but as far as uphills go, I must say pow-hiking up Green this evening in only 34min was a pretty darn close facsimile of the real deal.  Especially the changing leaves on the trail and the sun setting over the Indian Peaks.  Just great for the legs and soul.  After this past busy week I look forward to being much more consistent in reaching Green's summit again.

Trail from Main Street, Creede, CO.

Commodore Mine: where West Willow Creek turns orange.

Creede, CO.

Upper Greenman Trail.

Lower Amphitheater Trail.

Infinite miles of this at home--relentlessly rolling dirt roads. Not a bad running surface to grow up on.

Dad with the rugged landscape on our property where I cut my off-road teeth. Missouri River in the background.

Love the red sumac in the fall.

Classic prairie veg in the foreground (Big Bluestem, Side-oats Gramma, Yucca, Prickly Pear Cactus, etc.).  Home in the background, barn peeking through the cottonwoods, ashes, elms, boxelders, etc.

Massively flooded Missouri River. The far shore is South Dakota. The arcing Highway 12 on the left re-emerged from the waters only 10 days ago. The Fort Randall Dam above Niobrara and the Gavins Point Dam below it both had record releases of water in June and July of 160,000 cfs.  Which was more than twice the previous record (Niagara Falls is ~100,000 cfs).

Closest thing I had to a mountain. Top of Niobrara State Park, 400' vert from the river bottom.

And the beginning of the trail climbing it.

Quite steep for "flat" Nebraska.

Week Summary: Sept 5 - 11

9-5-2011
Mon-AM: 5:20, 4100' - James Peak (13,294')
Hiked up from the East Portal TH with Jocelyn.  Perfect weather day.  Longest day I've spent on my leg since I broke it and everything seemed to hold up just fine.

9-6-2011
Tue-AM: 1:13, 3200' - Slab+Bear Peak
Biked to the Cragmoor TH to meet Buzz where we ran up to the base of the Slab for a scramble lap on that before he headed back down and I marched up Fern to tag the summit.  Overcast, gloomy day made for perfect conditions.  Ran the ~1.5mi back down to the trailhead, too, from the mouth of Fern Canyon.

9-7-2011
Wed-AM: 1:26, 2800' - Green Mt.
Up and down the front.  Raining, crisp morning made for awesome weather and meant I had the mountain all to myself for my first real run since I broke my leg back in June.  Ran every step door-summit-door with no ill effects.  So good to be back.  The cool weather down here made it feel like it had to be snowing up in the high country.

9-8-2011
Thu-AM: 1:35, 2800' - Green Mt.
Up Flattie2, down Ranger-Flag. Another morning with awesome conditions and an incredible sunrise. All of yesterday's rain made the trail super-tacky and fast. Nice descending Flag to EGF Park as it leaves me with only a couple blocks of pavement.

9-9-2011
Fri-AM: 1:46, 3200' - Green Mt.
Up Flattie2, down Greenman-Gregory and then an extra ~500' bop up Flagstaff trail and down to Viewpoint and EGF to avoid pavement on the way home.
PM: 1:40, 1700' - Slab (hiking/climbing)
Jocelyn and I started from Cragmoor (she was running).  I hiked hard up to the Slab, changed shoes, and soloed it before hiking back down.  Climb took a bit longer than I'd planned because I got a good bit off route and into some slightly steeper terrain than I'd anticipated.

9-10-2011
Sat-AM: 1:38, 2800' - Green Mt.
Up Amp-SR-Gman, down Gman to Flagstaff and EGF. Another awesome fall morning. Had nice footwork on the way down.

9-11-2011
Sun-AM: 1:10, 1100' - Betasso Preserve
Ran super easy with Jocelyn and Jen checking out these trails.  Cool area but mt. bike trails are too smooth and flat.

Hours: 15h49
Vert: 21,700'

Really great week getting back on the trails and getting into regular running again.  Other than James Peak, there were only a couple other hours of hiking this week, making for ~8hrs of running.  This next week will be quite a bit more subdued because of a bunch of traveling I'll be doing, but that will probably be a good thing just to ensure that I don't ramp up too quickly.

Right now my fibula feels absolutely perfect, but as I was afraid way back in June (the day I broke my leg, one of the first things I said to Jocelyn was, "I just hope I don't take three months off and then still have this posterior tibial tendonitis") the tendonitis in my shin is definitely still there a little bit.  Part of me is borderline defeatingly frustrated with it while another part is confident that with appropriate therapy and rehab I'll get it completely healed this time...I mean, I just took three months off!  So, we'll see, but this next week will be easier either way.

Rogers Pass with James Peak.

Continental Divide, looking north.

Flatties sunrise.

Green summit.

Mountain Celebrations

Today in Boulder it is definitely fall.  I awoke to low, heavy clouds, falling rain and crisp temps that all say summer is over.  One of the best things about this time of year is the occasion for gathering to celebrate with other like-minded folks the past season in the high country.  The next few months offer many opportunities for that here in Boulder.

The REEL ROCK Film Tour World Premiere is next Thursday (September 15th) at 6:00 and 8:30pm at the Boulder Theater.  Sender Films and Big Up Productions present six brand-new diverse climbing films from speed climbing the Nose on El Capitan to summiting Pakistan's 8000m+ Gasherbrum II in winter to a nine-year-old bouldering prodigy in NYC.  As someone who draws motivation from all forms of inspired movement in the mountains, I'm very excited about this.  Additionally, the founders of Sender Films are fellow alums of Colorado College.  Check out the trailer.



Tickets are $15 from The Spot, Boulder Rock Club, Movement and Neptune Mountaineering in advance, and $20.75 at the Boulder Theater.  This is sure to sell out, though.

The outdoor industry must be at least one context where a liberal arts education finds some utility, as a week later Sweetgrass Productions has a showing of their beautiful new film Solitaire at the Boulder Theater on September 22nd. Nick Waggoner--a former XC teammate of mine at CC--is the founder and director/producer at Sweetgrass, and as anyone who has seen their previous efforts in Handcut or Signatures knows, these guys aren't just cranking out more of your high-adrenaline, Warren Miller-esque, standard fare sicky gnar.  Instead, Sweetgrass brings a much appreciated artistry and a focus on mountain culture to the genre of backcountry ski film. Here's the trailer.


SOLITAIRE: A Backcountry Skiing, Snowboarding, and Telemark Film from Sweetgrass Productions on Vimeo.

Finally, in more of a mountain running vein, there will be a reprisal of the Front Range Fat Ass Series again this off-season, kicking off with getting back to the Basics here in Boulder at the end of October, and then moving on to The Chubster up in Fort Collins on December 10th and finishing up with The Ponderous down in Manitou Springs on January 14, 2012.  We'll be running the Ponderous loop in the opposite, clock-wise direction this year, which means we might as well get the tradition off on the right foot and make a mandatory ascent of the Incline the official course if one is planning on completing the full 30ish+ mile/8000'-ish loop.

Week Summary: Aug 29 - Sept 4

08-29-2011
Mon-AM: 1:29, 2500′
Green, up and down Front.

08-30-2011
Tue-AM: 1:25,  2500′
Green, up and down Front.

08-31-2011
Wed-AM: 1:33, 2500′
Green Mt. up and down Front.

09-01-2011
Thu-AM: 2:00, 3000′
Green Mt., up Front and down Ranger-Gregory.

09-02-2011
Fri-AM: 1:30, 2800′
Bear Peak, up Fern from Cragmoor.

09-03-2011
Sat-AM: 1:30, 2800′
Bear Peak, up Fern from Crag.

09-04-2011
Sun-AM: 2:00, 2700′
Green Mt., up Front and down Flattie2.

Hours: 11h27 (only about an hour of which was actual running)
Vert: 18,800′

-------------------------------------------------

Great week back on the trails.  Each day consisted of a bike ride to and from the trailhead (either Baseline or Cragmoor) and some quality time cranking up and easing down a mountain (hiking).  The last three days I've finally started integrating some running back into the routine by jogging the first 15-20min of the day (on Bear, that means running to the mouth of Fern Canyon, and this morning that meant running from my doorstep to Gregory TH).  The fibula feels good; moments of tightness but generally totally pain-free.

The thing I'm most excited about is the changing of the seasons.  This morning I never felt the need to take my shirt off.  I've had three bear sightings in the last 10 days.  Select patches of vegetation are already turning yellow, and I can sleep at night without a fan blowing on me.  It's my favorite time of year and I'm so excited to be able to get outside and enjoy it.

For pretty much my entire running life, Fall has been a time of year when I'm burnt out physically from a long summer of high mileage and racing (understandably, this was a pretty big bummer for my academic years when I was trying to compete as an XC athlete), but after barely running for the past seven months I am immensely enjoying my current insatiable mental psych and a fully rested body.

Enjoying some high country autumn with Kyle on Independence Pass, three years ago this weekend. Photo: David Clifford.

Progress

This past week has witnessed me make yet another return to the trail.  A couple weeks ago I (of course) got a touch hasty and enthusiastic and my fibula told me I needed a few more days of lazing around with my feet up.  When I ventured up Green on Monday, though, things were fully back in order.

After a week's worth of Green outings, today I pedaled my bike the 24min over to the Cragmoor trailhead for a jaunt up what Joe likes to joke with me is the "Superior Summit". (With Green being the "Weaker Peak", of course, in Frogger parlance; all of this has to do with faux-snobbery and summit aesthetics.  There is no doubt, Bear's summit cone decisively trumps Green in height, unobstructed views and exposure.  Green is simply closer to my doorstep and more consistently runnable).

After switching bike shoes for MT110s and stashing my helmet and shoes in the bushes I tested the running waters with an 18min very light jog up the broad graveled path that leads to North Shanahan, the Fern Slab and the posts at the mouth of Fern Canyon.  Everything felt great (it seems hiking has eased me back into a modicum of cardiovascular fitness), but I exerted some discipline and immediately fell into a hike as I entered the canyon.  Within minutes, however, Fern's absurd grade and techy footing made my hunched over, hands-on-knees gait seem like the obvious (only) choice and I grunted and sweated my way to the summit, often even going so far as to reach out and use my hands for stability and power, four-wheeling my way up the peak.

Comparing my hiking times to my typical running times was interesting.  Typically, when fit and healthy I'll run from the mouth of Fern to the Nebelhorn Saddle in a mid-9 to low-10min split, gaining the actual summit in another 13-14min.  Today, hiking every step, my Horn split was 10:50 and it took me another 13:25 to get to the top for a 42min total climb from Cragmoor.  So, there seemed to be almost no benefit to running above the Horn and maybe a minute's worth of benefit below there.  I'll be curious as to how these splits develop in the future as I continue to work the running back in.

In other news, I am on the cover of South Africa's Go Trail online magazine this month, with a feature-length interview (pg 18) and some NB Trail Minimus commentary (pg 44) inside.

Return

I think I'm back.  Not really in any substantial sense, yet, but enough that my daily routine has very much begun to take on its old, familiar, comfortable rhythm of wake up, tag a summit, sit at a desk trapped behind a computer for a few hours (thesis...), read a book, fall asleep, do it again.  It is rewarding.  And I've missed it. Mostly the tagging-a-summit part.

It has been nearly 10 weeks now since I tripped and inexplicably broke my fibula, so I went for my final post-injury check-up x-rays on Monday and all was good.  The cap of bone that my hamstring yanked off the fibular head has fully re-docked and fused itself back into the correct spot, and there is little to no soreness associated with the injury anymore, aside from some faint murmurings upon aggressive manipulation with the fingers.  I already tossed the crutches over three weeks ago and during the subsequent time have pursued a fairly consistent and progressively rigorous schedule of hiking to stimulate the final bit of bone growth and to begin reconditioning my legs to the demands of bipedal mountain travel.

(The only hitch in my progress came in the final weekend of July when I went for a hike up Arapahoe Pass in the Indian Peaks with Jocelyn and then the next day attended a trail work session on the Walker Ranch Loop.  This little outing consisted of repeatedly humping uphill the largest rocks one could carry in order to stabilize a steep section of trail, and my leg told me pretty quickly that it wasn't quite ready yet for the extra weight.  A few days of just easy walking around town, though, and I was back on track.)

Over the past couple weeks my outings have deliberately sought the steepest lines that Green Mountain has to offer.  Hiking on flat terrain is, for me, not very interesting, so I've been hitting the routes that--even if I were 100% fit--would require some hiking.  It's been a good reminder that A) it is very possible to completely destroy oneself on steep terrain without taking a single running step, and B) hiking hard uphill is a specialized skill that, once acquired, is an excellent thing to have in one's quiver as a mountain runner, especially over the 100mi distance.

A young Kilian marches to the 13,500' summit of Mt. Kinabalu during the 2007 Climbathon in Malaysia. This 21k event ascends 7600' in only 5.4 miles!

All of this has been even more brought into focus by the recent reports coming out of Europe regarding my compatriots' experiences at this past weekend's Sierre-Zinal mountain race in Switzerland.  Before moving to Boulder two years ago, I ran everything, period.  In 2006, after I had run my first 100 miler at Leadville, a friend asked me if I ever wanted to do Hardrock.  I remember replying derisively, "You mean 'HardWALK'? No, I like to run." Obviously, my thinking has changed.

Since taking up residence in Boulder--where the trails are far more technical and steep than anything in Colorado Springs (barring the Incline)--I still run every step on the established routes, but like my mindset had to first shift to accept the merit of even training on such paths as Amphitheater and Fern Canyon (each offer stretches in the 40% range), in the past year or so my mindset has again shifted to not only accept but embrace the merits of grunting up truly steep and unrunnable terrain in training.  Not only is there a compelling aesthetic about taking the most direct line to a summit, but the cardiovascular and muscular effort can be vicious whilst imparting virtually zero pounding on the legs.  Hence my current training plan.

Yep, that's called a trail here in Boulder. Green Mountain summit push from the west.

I must credit Geoff (who truly has a penchant for seeking out the steep, unrunnable stuff), Kilian (whose actions convinced me it was acceptable to hike some of the rollers on Cal Street at last year's WS100--we still recorded the fastest split for that section in the history of the race) and Joe (who couldn't care less if he was hiking or running, trail or not, as long as the line is pure and the summit is the goal) for contributing to this mental shift.  It will probably be another week or two before I'm consistently running to the summit again, but in the meantime I'll enjoy nearly as much getting there in an ever-so-slightly less dynamic fashion.

Geoff reaching a summit in Juneau, AK.

Kilian exhibiting the strain that hiking can incur at the Zegama Marathon in Spain.

Frogger channeling the aesthetic of his fell roots, in the Wasatch. Photo: Joe Grant.

Injury Update

I went to Dr. Voss in Lafayette today to have my second post-injury follow-up x-ray.  Things are coming along great compared to six weeks ago.

June 11th (day of injury) x-ray on left, today's (July 22nd) x-ray on the right. 

The initial displacement of the chunk of fibular head (as seen on the left) has fully re-placed itself and has (according to Dr. Voss) now about 80% bridged back to the fibula itself.  The x-ray image on the right is of much poorer quality, but things are coming along well.  There's a bit of a gap still left on the lateral edge of the break that has yet to fully calcify, but despite this Dr. Voss already recommended extensive weight-bearing activity--biking, hiking, etc.  He even said a little bit of very light jogging might be appropriate to help stimulate bone growth, but I think I'm going to hold off on that test for another week or so--see how it holds up to some hour-ish or so hikes first, and also give my quadricep some time to fully regain some girth.

While this is all very exciting for me, the past six weeks haven't been totally void of activity. The first couple of weeks following the leg injury did involve a lot of sitting.  And icing.  After the swelling had gone down, I eventually became much more mobile with the crutches and began to get out to do things.  One of the most exciting things was crewing for Joe at the Hardrock 100 a couple of weeks ago, even if my busted leg meant that I couldn't do much more than hobble around and take pictures and maybe give him the occasional slap on the ass.  Luckily, he had D-Bow and his wife Deanne to help with the more crucial aspects of in-race management.

Joe leaving Grouse Gulch (mi 42) at HR with D-Bow, Deanne, and myself in the background. Photo: Bob MacGillivray.

Of course, just being at Hardrock was immensely inspirational and motivating to try once again to get into that race for 2012.  All of the downtime this summer has given me plenty of space to think about what kind of and which running events I want to pursue next year, but I suppose those topics are really more appropriate for a separate, future post.  In the meantime, I'm just looking forward to getting back out on the trails (if only hiking) and maybe even pursuing a little cross-training (biking).

Geoff Roes Video

Joel Wolpert has produced another video clip on a top ultrarunner--this time Geoff Roes--that does a fantastic job of portraying the subject and the surroundings in a vivid, authentic manner.  Joel worked with me for a couple days last November--so I can vouch for his laid-back and unassuming demeanor--but with really no more than a steadi-cam and a tripod he's showing that it's possible to create compelling and insightful trail running media without helicopters and tens of thousands of dollars.  I don't know about you, but I find this video inspiring:



Knee Update
My visits with the doctor last week went relatively well--or as well as could be expected, given the circumstances--and I won't be needing any kind of surgery on my crippled right knee.  The CT scan came back negative for any kind of tibial plateau fracture--huge relief there--and the MRI showed no significant damage to any of the crucial stablizing ligaments in the knee (ACL, PCL, medial/lateral collateral ligaments).  I did however, bruise my meniscus and bone bruise the head of the femur in addition to tearing my soleus, the knee capsule, and a more minor ligament in the back of my knee.  But, with the broken fibula requiring ~8 weeks of inactivity anyways, these things should end up healing just fine on their own at the same time.  I'd like to thank everyone for all the concerned/sympathetic phone calls, emails, and blog comments I've gotten since I hurt myself. And also for the countless baked goods, visits and car rides. You know who you are. I'm fortunate to have such a support group and I don't underestimate the effect that has in helping the healing process.

In the meantime, I'm trying not to get too frustrated with my crutches, and I'm looking forward to being able to ease back into running about the same time as Geoff moves back to the Boulder area at the end of the summer.  Although I'm obviously super bummed we won't be running the Western States Trail together again next weekend, I definitely look forward to sharing some more miles with him this fall.

Bit Of A Break

First: here is an interview I gave late last week.

Second:

On my run Saturday morning I'd just descended Green Mountain and was about to leave the Chautauqua meadows dirt for the mile-long paved jog back to my apartment when--on an embarrassingly benign stretch of smooth trail--I caught my left toe on something and instead of just faceplanting (and merely scraping/bruising my forearms) like I usually do, my right leg came through to catch my fall, which would've been fine except that my right knee then hyperextended violently with an audible crack and I fell to the ground. As this happened I had a few involuntary screams owing to the fact that I'd just ripped my hamstring and IT band off the fibular head, along with a sizeable chunk of bone. Of course, I wouldn't really know that until later after I got x-rays and whatnot, which apparently also show some potential damage to the tibial plateau.

(Misplaced hunk of bone floating around there above the fibular head.)

With many thanks to a lot of friends--most notably Jeremy Rodgers for calmly and efficiently dealing with my desperate phone calls and emails on a weekend--I'll be seeing an orthopedist here in Boulder later this week to determine the full extent of the damage (via a CT scan) and to see what it's going to take to get this puppy healed and back to strength.  Preliminary prognosis (given no ACL damage, which is possible) is 6-8 weeks on crutches and then another 4+ weeks on top of that before I can start thinking about taking a running step.

It's still kinda hard for me to grasp the fact that I'm going to miss the entire summer of spectacular weather, but it's not really worth worrying about facts that are now out of my control and I definitely realize that, unfortunately, there are plenty of people out there with even more debilitating and serious concerns than a blown-up knee.  Doesn't mean it doesn't still suck, though.

Western States 100 Film Trailer

Geoff (on the ground) and me on the Western States 100 finish line, 2010. Photo: Jenny Uehisa.

Last year's Western States 100 ended up being a bit of a paradigm shift for the top levels of mountain ultra racing.  Western States was the first official 100 mile foot race and continues to be the ultramarathon race with the richest history, deepest competitive fields, and highest media profile of any in North America, so when many of the top runners held on to finish strong (100 miles is such a long ways with so much time for so many different things to go wrong that it is rare for so many contenders to make it to the finish relatively hitch-free) and compete very closely all the way to the finish--with two of us substantially under the previous course record--it was arguably a milestone race in the history of the sport.  While others will surely one day run Western States much faster than Geoff and I did in 2010 (that will probably even happen this year!), last year's event was one where it seems the 100 mile distance transitioned into truly becoming a race and not just an en masse jogging/hiking/survival contest.

I'm aware that all of that might sound nauseatingly self-serving, considering I was one of the prominent actors at the front of last year's race, but as a semi-obsessed fan of mountain racing--both contemporary and historically--I am highly aware that:

A) people raced really hard back in the earlier days of the sport as well, and
B) there have been plenty of other defining moments in the recent history of ultra distance mountain racing (Matt's 2005 Leadville, Kyle's 2008 Hardrock, Kilian's 2008 UTMB and Geoff's 2009 Wasatch, just to name a few, all stand out in my mind).

However, what made WS 2010 a little different was that, while all of those performances were notable for their singularity and sheer domination over history and the competition, at WS last year there was true head-to-head racing right up until the very end, in addition to a shattering of previous-fastest times.

Luckily for fans of the sport everywhere, ultrarunner and filmmaker JB Benna had the ambition, vision, enthusiasm and know-how to scrape together the resources and actually document the race last year through incisive pre- and post-race interviews with the top contenders and exclusive inside-the-lead-pack race footage.  Fun stuff if you're a geek like me.  The film's website is here.

And if you haven't yet seen this elsewhere, here is the excellent trailer:

As great as last year's race was, this year's event--in a little more then three weeks--is shaping up to be every bit as exciting, and probably even more so.

The high country snow is even deeper and more lingering than last year.

Two-time winner Hal Koerner is back healthy (he was injured last year, and had to depart the race at 80 miles) and racing better than ever.

Geoff and Kilian are returning for a reprisal of last year's battle.

There is maybe even more top-level depth with the likes of last year's 4th place break-out performer Nick Clark clearly in the best shape of his life, veteran Dave Mackey lacing together an undefeated season at top races on the circuit, WS rookie Mike Wolfe running well, foreigners Jez Bragg and Tsuyoshi Kaburaki back after podium finishes in 2009, and a whole slew of other notables that will pounce if any of these guys falter.

Sadly, I am probably the only podium-threat who won't be back at the race this year, my running continuing to be drastically hampered by tibial tendonitis ever since the Rocky Raccoon 100 way back in February.  But I'll definitely be scouring the internet all day on June 25th hanging on every update just as every other fan who can't make it out to California should be.

May In The Mountains

After an early and mild spring--and a significant taste of summer in the past week (I have the sunburned shoulders to prove it)--the last couple days have served Boulder with almost winter-like temperatures and some much needed moisture.

With only rain and a little graupel in town yesterday morning I only added a 3 oz. wind shirt/jacket to my usual t-shirt and shorts on my run up Green Mountain. This proved to be a bit of a mistake as by the time I crested the Saddle Rock ridge I was trudging through ~5" of snow and enduring a stiff western breeze. This morning's additional attire of shameless man-pri tights and gloves proved worth it as by the time Scott and I had gained Green's northwestern Ranger trail ridge it was snowing big, wet floppy flakes and there was a solid 8" of the slush on the summit.

Even with the chilly, wet conditions and with the summit engulfed in clouds I always enjoy these little breaks from Boulder's default of brilliant sunshine. Scott and I had first tracks to the top, and didn't see another soul out there--just the way I like it.

The summit of Green is barely visible through the mist in the upper right.

Scott on the winter-like summit of Green: 8" of snow!

And myself.

Descending the Greenman trail.

Looking down to town from the Saddle Rock overlook.

Not Really Running

The past three months have been pretty terrible with regard to my running.  Terrible in the sense that I haven't really been doing much of it.  I first felt some (extremely mild) pain in my right shin back on January 11th after a track workout the previous day had clearly tightened up my posterior tibialis a bit.  Over the next couple of weeks it gradually worsened little by little, but I figured my taper before the Rocky Raccoon 100 would loosen it up.  Strangely, the reduction in running almost seemed to make it worse and on my short 30min jog the day before the race it was probably the most sore it had been yet.  The shin was barely a worth-mentioning issue during the race itself (100 milers have a way of eventually making everything hurt), but--despite all kinds of treatment--it has almost completely sidelined me in the ensuing months--obviously looooong after any other race-related soreness/twinges were hindering me.

This has been rough--as being injured for extended periods of time always is, mentally and emotionally--but in my final semester of course-work for my masters degree I have been plenty busy with serving as a teaching assistant, and, in the last couple weeks, tending to my own end-of-the-semester exams and projects, which has required me to focus my energies elsewhere.

My desire to blog has always been a tenuous one.  This blog is designed to be almost exclusively about my running, and there are always whole aspects to my life that shouldn't and won't ever make it onto these pages.    Anyone who is interested about my initial purposes for blogging can easily go back and read my first post. Back then it was for very personal, even selfish, reasons that caused a certain amount of cognitive dissonance even in my own head as a blog is a very public space.  But so it goes.

Over the past couple of years I've realized that maintaining a blog isn't such a personal thing as one might first think and that it is actually a very rewarding means by which to connect with others, share, and hopefully inspire and impact the community in a positive manner.  I say it a lot, but running often feels like a very selfish activity to me, however, sharing my experiences with other interested folks via this blog and others has become an effective way to hopefully contribute and expand the impact of my running experiences beyond just my own little world.

That said, this is a running blog, and if there is a lack of posting it is most likely because either

A) I'm injured and not running much, or
B) I'm running plenty but other responsibilities in my life have temporarily consumed the time that I would otherwise spend composing a post.  That is, actually living and doing will always take precedent--for me--over documenting and sharing on the internet.

The past month--or three months--has been a combination of both A and B.

On the bright side, running-wise, things have been looking slightly up over the last couple of weeks.  I'm up to a daily whopping 5mi run with a ~1000' climb and am even feeling confident that tomorrow I might be able to bump that up to the 1500'/1hr outing that Flagstaff Mountain here in Boulder offers.  While certainly better than not running at all, I hardly find these skimpy daily doses of dirt blog-worthy, so the content here will probably continue to be thin until my shin allows something more interesting.

With regards to racing, all bets are off until I am once again healthy and confident in my fitness.  I don't line up for an ultramarathon unless I feel I can do the event and the competition justice by delivering a meaningful best effort.  So, you won't see me at a starting line unless I'm confident in my ability to do that; if you do see me on a starting line, you can be sure that I feel ready to rip.  I think the biggest reason that I'm injured this time is because back in January I let my ego take over and prod me to cram in too much training in too short of a period of time leading up to Rocky Raccoon.  I am currently determined not to make that mistake again--instead, I hope to stick to the principles of gradual progression of mileage and reasonable overall training volume that facilitated my consistency for most of 2010--so there won't be a rush back to racing.

In the meantime, happy running, and I hope you enjoy this little slice of audio pleasure as much as I have been:



Until at least next week, back to the books.

Various Links

I don't have a lot to report here, but there have been a couple recent prose contributions of mine published over at Running Times.

The first is an article I wrote a couple months ago for Rodale for which I was given the extremely broad prompt of "write about why you run trails" (a topic that I feel I have particularly oversaturated with my opinion).  Although not published in its originally-intended location or medium, I am pleased that it is now in the public sphere at all.

The second is a post over on my RT blog about a trip I took this past weekend for a series of talks/presentations in Michigan.

Finally, my auditory experiences of the past couple of weeks have been dominated by the following song by Phantogram. (Well, the entire album, actually.)

Egregious, I know, but I've gotta recommend this acoustic version as well:

Waiting

Friday morning this week I awoke to a slight smattering of wet snow here in town with the peaks above town exhibiting a frostiness that suggested there might be a little more snow up there.  Against my better judgement I headed towards Fern Canyon sans Microspikes anyways and within minutes of entering the canyon and engaging its merciless grade I was viciously reminded: building running fitness is all about patience--this route was way more difficult for me than I'd hoped.  It took all of my will power to maintain a running stride to the Nebelhorn saddle at the half-way point of the climb, and above there the fresh inch or so of snow hid and lubricated the sheets of ice underneath so that, without spikes, I was forced into a hands-on-knees hike the rest of the way to the summit of Bear Peak.

Sitting on the windless top of Bear, looking out over the serene inversion layer of clouds at my feet, I was simultaneously inspired and downtrodden.  After a week of running up and down Green Mt., I thought that maybe I was ready to step up my game a bit, but Fern showed me just how close to the edge of my current fitness I've been playing all week and that that level of fitness is still (duh, it's only been a week!) pretty low.

That's okay, though, because, for the most part, it's working.  I'm feeling healthy and am more thankful than ever for my ability to reach a peak-top every morning--I know that with patience and consistency my fitness will gradually build and the moments of flow and effortlessness will happen more frequently.  It's exciting to watch one's strength accumulate from what feels like the ground up, and I look forward to finding out just how high I can take my abilities over the next three months.

3/14-20
Mon- 12 miles (1:51) Green Mt., 3000'
Up back and down Bear Cyn.

Tue- 12 miles (1:50) Green Mt., 3000'
Up back and down Bear Cyn. Ran with Scott.

Wed- 12 miles (1:50) Green Mt., 3000'
Up back and down Bear Cyn.

Thu- 12 miles (1:50) Green Mt., 3000'
Up back and down Bear Cyn.  With the time-change, I've been catching some incredible sunrises this week.

Fri- 14 miles (2:17) Bear & Green, 4200'
~2" of fresh snow in the mountains made for poor footing on upper Fern. Felt really strong the last 30min, though.

Sat-AM: 12 miles (1:48) Green Mt., 3000'
Up back and down Bear Cyn. Ran into Brendan on top and then Aaron on the Mesa Trail.
PM: 8 miles (1:10) Flagstaff Mt., 1500'
70F afternoon had the trails crawling with folks.

Sun-AM: 12 miles (1:50) Green Mt., 3000'
Up back and down Bear Cyn. Pretty tired after Broken Social Scene's amazing non-stop two and a half hour set at the Boulder Theater last night.
PM: 8 miles (1:10) Flagstaff Mt., 1500'
1mi barefoot on grass at the end.


The BSS show was a $32 ticket--which is almost double the most that I've ever paid for a concert before--but they played basically twice as long as other bands usually do and the two songs below (videos not from last night, but from an NYC show a couple months ago) were--when witnessed live--worth price of admission alone.

Back At It

(Getting above the clouds this morning.)

There's nothing like a long absence from running to really re-whet one's appetite for it.  A couple weeks ago my sore foot was accompanied by a five-day flu-like illness that made getting out of bed a real challenge, let alone actually going for a run.  I took the obvious hint and submitted to ten days or so of zero running and almost no physical activity of any sort except for biking to and from class.

By the middle of this past week then, I was very curious to see where the inactivity had left the status of my foot.  A couple short test jogs were promising so on Friday morning I ventured up Flagstaff with Jocelyn.  This had no ill effects (despite viciously exposing my severe lack of fitness), so, after nearly a month and a half, I was finally able to return to Green Mountain the last couple of days.  With my body fully-rested and my mind eager, I'm really looking forward to the long, slow build in training over the next three months.

Mon- 0

Tue- 0

Wed- 3 miles (:25) Kitt

Thu- 5 miles (:42) Kitt

Fri- 7 miles (1:05) Flagstaff, 1500'

Easy with Jocelyn. Incredibly windy and the uphill made me nauseous for most of the climb, but the foot was very encouraging.

Sat- 10 miles (1:37) Green Mt., 2700'

Sun-10 miles (1:35) Green Mt., 2700'

A couple inches of fresh, sticky snow above 6500' did a nice job of covering up all the bullet-proof ice. Beautiful morning in the mist.

Infirm

February has been my worst month of running in over a year.  The Rocky Raccoon 100 at the beginning of the month seems to have exploited several weaknesses in my body and thus rendered the past three weeks essentially run-less.  I have done one run of more than 40min since the race, and it was a total disaster.  There have been many (basically daily) "runs" in the 10-30min range.

The main problem is that I'm not sure which painful part of my body I should be most concerned with or lend the most rehabilitative attention to: my left foot (some kind of strange extensor tendon/posterior tibial tendon unhappiness), my right shin (definitely an upset post. tib.), or my right lower back/sciatic nerve (bending over to pick up anything right now is still decidedly uncomfortable).

Most of this might be easier to take if I could attribute it to some obvious, boneheaded training mistake.  Instead, it is all pretty much due to a single 100 mile run as things were mostly peachy and smooth heading into the Rocky Raccoon weekend.  The week after the race I ran 12 miles; the week after that, 27 miles.  Rushing back into training is definitely not the culprit here.

The lack of running has freed up an extra 3-4hr/day that I have now banked towards refocusing on my studies and getting my masters degree ASAP.  But, this kind of mental academic focus obviously does nothing to assuage the pull for the local mountain summits that has only been made stronger by the many perfect weather days Boulder has had this month.

The break has also created a space for me to re-realize my most essential motivations in all this, and it's almost silly how quickly and clearly racing takes a backseat to the simple need to be outside, moving pain-free, under my own power.  The fact that I had been planning on racing an ultra per month for the next six months now seems almost absurd and definitely misguided, and once I get healthy I look forward to settling into a long, injury-free build-up that brings me to peak fitness in June.  Any meaningful competitive efforts before then will probably be more distracting than gratifying.  Right now all I can think of is the opportunity to once more become intimately reacquainted with the local trails.  

Still Recovering

I'm not sure what was so special about Rocky Raccoon, but my effort there has really taken it out of me for a while.  Today is the first day since the race nearly two weeks ago that I feel like I'm ready to maybe start training hard again.  I'd been fighting off a cold the final days before the race, so of course that hit me full force immediately afterwards.  On top of that, my left hamstring and then my left foot/plantar decided they weren't at all happy about running for 13 hours straight.  But, everything is starting to clear out now, and I think I'll be returning to the local hills very soon.

In the meantime, here are a few late bits and bobs from the race:

Jenny putting her rockstar designer skills to use a couple nights before the race.  Sewing powermesh gel hip-pockets on the NB race shorts.

On the 6am starting line.  Bill Fanselow in the green top, Mike Arnstein with head down and arms crossed,  Ian Sharman just behind him, Scott displaying disgust at his defective light, me checking my timing chip, Zach Gingerich in the whit e top, and Karl in the Red Bull stocking cap.  All photos: Jenny Uehisa.

With Hal at the finish.  Nothing like a little friendly competition to bring out the best in each other.

Exhausted at the finish with Yassine and Jenny.  Yassine finished 2nd in the 50 miler earlier in the day and Jenny was a jill-of-all-trades all day acting as crew for multiple runners, including myself.  Thanks!

Signing some vintage FiveFingers in the finish-line tent.

A rambling interview about the day conducted with Mike Wolfe in the back seat of our rental car on the way to the Houston airport.

CEES Fundraiser Dinner

This is just a quick post to remind readers that the previously mentioned CEES Fundraiser (at which Scott Jurek, myself, and Christopher McDougall will be speaking) is this Friday with the fundraising dinner (a more intimate setting with the same cast of characters) being on Thursday night at Oak at 14th at 7pm.  There are currently two spots still available at the dinner, so if anyone is on the fence they should get in touch with Jocelyn now (jenksest@gmail.com) to reserve a spot.

For the $250 donation, dinner-goers receive a three-course dinner at Oak and a schwag-bag of running gear (including shoes and watches) valued at $200.

Weekly Summary: Jan 31-Feb 6

01-31-2011
Mon-AM: 8 miles (1:05) Creek Path
Single digit temps again this morning.

02-01-2011
Tue-AM: 8 miles (1:01) Creek Path
-12F makes for some chilly running.

02-02-2011
Wed-AM: 8 miles (1:02) Creek Path
Surprising how even -15F is tolerable when properly dressed.

02-03-2011
Thu-AM: 4 miles (:30) Creek Path
Bored with this kind of running.

02-04-2011
Fri-AM: 4 miles (:30) Creek Path
Quick run before catching a plane to TX.

02-05-2011
Sat-AM: 100 miles (13:18) Rocky Raccoon 100
2nd place.  Certainly not slow.  Just not nearly fast enough.

02-06-2011
Sun- Ha. Yeah, right.

Total
-Miles: 132
-Hours: 17h 26min
-Vertical: negligible. I think there was maybe a total of ~5k' at Rocky?  But to even tally the pathetic little bumps on that course seems ludicrous.

Running Wild: CEES Fundraiser/Benefit

On February 18th at 7:00pm Chris McDougall, Scott Jurek and myself will be speaking at the Wolf Law building (CU-Boulder's Law School) on the CU campus as a fundraiser for CEES.  Admission is $8 and raffle tickets are $2.  In addition to speaking, the previous night we will be hosting a fund-raising dinner at Boulder's hip new restaurant Oak at 14th on Pearl Street.  Co-owner of Oak Bryan Dayton is an accomplished trail ultra runner in his own right (former Trail 50K National Champion) and one of the state's most respected mixologists. Ten spaces at a cost of $250/plate will be available at this dinner.  Email jenksest@gmail.com to reserve a spot at the dinner.

In addition to donating to a worthy cause, your $250 will net you a special three-course dinner (with vegan options), a schwag-bag worth at least $200 (including running shoes, watches and other gear) and the opportunity to pick our brains about whatever one may please.  After a couple of Bryan's drinks, I'm sure any answers will be much more candid than is typical!

Oak at 14th special Dinner Menu

My girlfriend, Jocelyn Jenks, has been heavily involved in CEES and energy justice issues in Peru specifically for the past year and a half as a policy analyst.  Jocelyn spent last summer in Ayaviri, Peru building relations with rural villagers and assessing the need/desire for simple, clean-burning cookstoves as an alternative to cooking over open fires.  (Indoor air quality is predictably very poor for most villagers as a result of using open fires as a source of cooking heat.)  All proceeds from this benefit will go towards energy justice projects such as this.

So, come on out for an evening of philanthropy and running!