Sunday, November 27, 2011

Week Summary: Nov 21 - 27

11-21-2011
Mon-AM: 1:15, 2500' ~ Green Mt.
Up and down 1st Saddle.  Met Rickey and Scottie at the Gregory TH (I biked, they were starting a longer run) and hiked to the impressively wind-less summit.  It was absolutely still up there today. Hiked down by myself as they headed off to places farther afield.
PM: 2:11, 2800' ~ Green Mt.
Up 3rd access and down 1st Saddle. Ran the 14min to the Ranger Cottage and then hiked the rest of the evening. Almost the entire descent was in the dark, so things took about 20min longer than they should've.

11-22-2011
Tue-AM: 1:25, 2600' ~ Green Mt.
Up 3rd access and down 1st/2nd access. The wind was back this morning, but I felt decent after getting warmed up, really nailed the section between the 3rd and the NE ridge, scrambling the slab way quicker than usual, too.
PM: 1:41, 2800' ~ Green Mt.
Up and down 1st Saddle.  I ran the 15min to the base of Amphitheater and then jogged the flat spots on the climb (hiking probably 95%), getting to the summit in 32:35. The ice on upper Greenman is still costing me close to a minute I think. Hiked all the way home.  Shin seems to be handling the transition to running, but I need to stay patient and not get greedy.

11-23-2011
Wed-AM: 1:24, 2600' ~ Green Mt.
Up 3rd access and down 1st/2nd access. Very warm morning, exceptionally nice weather for November.
PM: 1:32, 2800' ~ Green Mt.
Up 3rd access and down 1st Saddle. Ran from my doorstep all the way to the base of the 2nd Flatiron (24min) and then on the the last couple switchbacks of Greenman I ran into Jeff, who I then ran all the way down with.  All of which was no issue at all for the shin, which is huge. Solid effort on the up despite lethargic legs netted me a PR 36:10 from Chat on this route.

11-24-2011
Thu-AM: 1:22, 2500' ~ Green Mt. #500
Got up at 4:30am to get in my 500th ever ascent of the mountain before driving to Dubois, WY for Thanksgiving with my parents and sister.  Dead legs at this hour, all hiking.
PM: :24 ~ Dubois, WY
Jogged around on the dirt roads from my sister Katrina's cabin and my shin was 100% painfree.  Very encouraging.  She has an enviably stunning view of Ramshorn Peak from her front porch.

11-25-2011
Fri-AM: 1:28, 2700' ~ Windy Mt.
Awesome trip up and down the mountain this morning.  Parked at 8k' at the Nat'l Forest boundary and started hiking uphill in the snow.  Ran a couple minutes here and there on the flatter/more snow-free sections. The higher I got on the mountain the more intense the blizzard became with some pretty crazy winds, blowing snow and postholing.  Made the 10,200' summit and then ran the downhill back to the saddle before hiking straight up to the radio towers on a subsidiary 9900' summit.  The sustained winds there were simply astounding; they had to be 60+mph, it was all I could do to stay on my feet.  Ran the entire downhill from there back to the car (total of ~30min of running on the morning) and the shin was rock-solid the entire way. Great morning.
PM: :35 ~ Dubois, WY
More flat evening gravel road jogging from Katrina's cabin to settle the afternoon's Thanksgiving feast (yes, we were a day late).

11-26-2011
Sat-AM: :31 ~ Dubois, WY
A final +15F, 6am jog from Katrina's cabin before hitting the road back home. Perfectly clear sky made for some nice stargazing. I should've headed back up Windy again this morning as I would've been able to actually enjoy the expansive views of the Tetons and Absarokas that its summit allegedly offers.
PM: 1:31, 2800' ~ Green Mt.
Evening summit after the 7hr+ drive back to Boulder.  This was very nearly a legit run. Ran to the base of Amphitheater and then ran/hiked my way up the front in 32:40.  Definitely way more hiking than running, and I can tell that I've lost some efficiency on the steep uphill run, but slowly working it back in. Ran the entire descent all the way back to Baseline where I decided to play it on the safe side and walk the final 1mi+/20min of downhill pavement home despite my shin feeling fine.

11-27-2011
Sun-AM: 1:42, 2800' ~ Green Mt.
Up 3rd access and down 1st Saddle. Jogged up to Gregory w/ Jocelyn and then took the Bluebell-Baird connector over to the 3rd access as she headed to Flagstaff.  I ran all the way to the base of the 2nd Flattie, but above there I was just completely worked.  Totally bonking after not eating enough dinner last night I guess.  It seemed like it was basically all I could do to just stumble my way to the summit.  All hiking.  Ran the entire way down, though, and really enjoyed the magic grip of a fresh pair of MT110s.  Fresh lugs on those provide a perfect mix of bite on loose surfaces and stickiness on rock.
PM: 1:55, 2800' ~ Green Mt.
Up and down 1st Saddle. Ran from doorstep to the top of Amphitheater (22min) and hiked the rest of the outing.  Really pathetically tired again tonight, probably need an easy day.

Hours: 17h26
Vert: 29,700'

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

I don't want to jinx it, but I may have finally turned the corner this week with my shin's health.  Maybe.  At least a pinprick of light at the end of what has been a very, very long tunnel.  The key now is to not get carried away and to listen very closely to how my shin feels.  Now that I can run a little, it will be important to remember that taking a day or two to limit myself to just hiking to ensure recovery is totally fine and probably advisable.

It was great getting up to Wyoming for a couple days to visit with my family this week; the Wind Rivers and especially the Tetons are two mountain ranges I hope to explore a little more extensively this summer.  The last time I was in the Tetons was over four years ago, and it's been far too long.  They are definitely one of the more inspiring mountain ranges I've run in.

In other news, I'm going to be out in San Francisco next weekend for the Unbreakable premiere, which should be a good time but I'm probably even more psyched for the opportunity to witness the battle in the Headlands the next morning.  Fun stuff.

Ramshorn Peak (11,640'), from Katrina's front porch at 7200'.
Windy Mt two-track approach. Wind River valley below.
Gale-force winds not shown.
10,200' summit.

Temporary sunshine 3000' lower in the Wind River valley.
Katrina's cabin.
Dad in his element: woodlot with a maul and chainsaw.

31 comments:

R. Logan Brooks said...

The kicks did catch my eye Solarweasel, but what caught my ocular cavity even more was reading that Tony seemed to have a positive reaction to running from his shin. Great news man, super happy for ya.

Edward Sandor said...

What on earth are those blue things on your feet? Great to hear the shin's finally coming around!

David Hill said...

Awesome, great to hear shin is on the mend - even better to hear your intention to stay conservative for the time being. Can't wait for the 110's.

Pepére said...

Very encouraging news about the shin.

The photos are great as usual, although I'm a bit unsettled too by the blue shoes on the aptly titled "summit_smurf" picture...

Anton said...

Ha, the Smurf Boots are a prototype winterized 110 from NB with a waterproof zip-up bootie covering the entire shoe. They were awesome for the postholing I was doing during this run. Personally, I love the poppy robin's egg color.

Roys said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

stoked for you man, glad to hear the shin is coming around. as for your shoes, 110's with pullover booties to keep the feet dry/warm? see ya in the headlands.

Anonymous said...

ah, nevermind just saw your comment above.

Roys said...

It would be a great addition to the line, but they seem to have a minimus sole, if I was looking for a winter/waterproof shoe I’d like to have a little more grip.
Good new about your shin ! Im hoping mine will get better soon..

Anton said...

Roys - These are just a prototype, but it's built on the standard 110 platform (including outsole), which I think you'll find to be quite grippy.

trailrutger said...

Great pictures, makes me wonder why i still live in the Netherlands (europe).
Highest peak is 300 mtr (somewhere around a 1000 feet)
I have been to Colorado and Wyoming this summer en loved every minute of it. You are so blessed to live there.
Great news that your shin is getting better, and love the smurf shoes. keep it up.

Rick said...

Good news on the shin! Taking a day or 2 a week to just hike is a good idea. Perhaps find a route that's not quite runnable to keep your enthusiasm in check.

Coolrunnings said...

I find it easier to split firewood when its cold out, plus a good way to warm up and burn off those extra holiday calories!

Jamie said...

Love the pictures as usual. And it's great to hear that your shin is feeling better again. It's been a long road!

Unknown said...

Anton- stoked for your progress, can't wait to see you racing next summer....well being glued to twitter updates anyway! Good vibes from london

Lisa said...

Great photos Anton, just beautiful!

I had planned to run the 50K in the Headlands but I wasn't able to train as I liked. I was looking forward to meeting Liza Howard there and now rats! I could have met you...

Good to hear about your leg feeling near normal. Best of luck to you!

Dylan Bowman said...

Rickey said he had a hard time keeping up with your hiking pace on Green last night. Should bode well if your name gets drawn on Sunday. Congrats on your progress. Baby steps...

a said...

Great to see your're getting better ! Awesome that you hit 17h and 29,700 vert even when you're not in 100%
greetings from Chile !

Kurt said...

Glad to hear the shin is coming around!

Unknown said...

Wow, love your sister's cabin Anton. Any idea what a set up like that costs including the land? I imagine much more reasonable than many places. Glad to hear things are progressing well with the shin.

Andy said...

Great news, great pics -- both very inspiring. Now just waiting, like most of us plebs, for the 110s - with or without smurf booties!

Jamie said...

Could have used those smurf booties on my run this morning.

Unknown said...

Hey Tony!

I became a regular reader of your blog some time ago. Just wanted to ask what you recommend for the shin issues? Any exercise / therapy?

Thanks a lot and keep the numbers up!

PS: Any chance your name has a Czech origin?

Anonymous said...

Really nice photos. They disclose an artistic eye for photography.

Unknown said...

love that you take photos on your runs. love to see them.

but being a minimalist runner, where do you put your camera? this question applies more to the summer.

are you going to be in steamboat in sept for their new 100 miler?

good luck with the recovery. no jinx intended

pentalith said...

Been reading your blog for a while, and just moved to Boulder about 5 days ago, and of course the first thing I had to try was a Green Mountain summit! It was every bit as magical as you've described. I was thinking the whole way up "I can't believe I actually live here, and this is my back yard."

But WOW, what a humbling experience. Man, I don't know how you do that twice a day. It took me 3.5 hours and now I am good for nothing for the rest of the day. Still, I can't wait to try it again!

Hope your shin is cooperating this week, and I always look forward to your amazing photos.

RJinGA said...

Tarawera! See you there!

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