Two Week Summary: Jan 9 - 22

1-9-2012
Mon-AM: :22, 500' ~ Amphitheater
Hiked to the top of the Amphitheater trail at the base of Green before deciding that the shin was too tight and that tagging the summit would be a bad idea.

1-10-2012
Tue-AM: 1:14, 2500' ~ Green Mt.
Up and down 1st Saddle. Shin felt quite a bit better this morning, especially as the hike went on.
PM: 1:19, 2600' ~ Green Mt.
Up 3rd access and down 1st Saddle.  Incredibly warm afternoon.  All hiking.

1-11-2012
Wed-AM: 1:08, 2500' ~ Green Mt.
Up and down 1st Saddle. At the Gregory TH by 5:15am when it was already lightly flaking. Needed the headlamp all the way back down the mountain as the falling snow seemed to be suppressing any sort of sunrise. My bus to DIA was delayed by 1h30 due to an accident on 270 so I had to catch a later flight to Charlotte where there ended up being tornadoes that evening.  In January. Long day, but really glad I got the summit in to start it off.

1-12-2012
Thu - off.
Spent the day in Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Durham, giving a talk at the Carrboro Fleet Feet in the evening. No exercise today, but really fun to see a new corner of the country. Really liked the vibe in Carrboro and would like to do Uhwarrie or Mt. Mitchell one of these years.

1-13-2012
Fri-PM: 1:21, 2500' ~ Green Mt.
Got out in the late evening after a long day of travel back from North Carolina. Shin was more sore than I would've liked, even just hiking. WTF.

1-14-2012
Sat - off.
Just seemed stupid to do anything since the shin is hurting.

1-15-2012
Sun - off.

Hours: 5h02min
Vert: 10,600'

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1-16-2012
Mon-AM: 1:18, 2500' ~ Green Mt.
Up and down First Saddle. Felt crappy after the time off.

1-17-2012
Tue-AM: 1:16, 2500' ~ Green Mt.
Up and down First Saddle. Cold morning at +10F. Warmed up nicely later, though.
PM: 0:13 ~ Streets
Tested the shin with a little flat jogging. Meh.

1-18-2012
Wed-AM: 1:43, 2800' ~ Green Mt.
Up Third access and down First Saddle. Jogged to Chautauqua and then the first couple minutes up the meadow. Status quo blah.

1-19-2012
Thu-AM: 1:36, 2800' ~ Green Mt.
Up and down First Saddle. Ran the 13min to Gregory. Shin twingier than I would've liked, but I'm used to disappointment after a year of this shit.  +60F today, which is awesome but feels wrong.

1-20-2012
Fri-AM: 1:18, 2600' ~ Green Mt.
Up 3rd access, down 1st/2nd access. More warm weather. Short-sleeved shirt. All hiking.

1-21-2012
Sat-AM: 1:20, 2600' ~ Green Mt.
Up 3rd, access down 1st/2nd. Another unseasonably warm day.
PM: 1:13, 2600' ~ Green Mt.
Up and down 3rd access. Felt really dialed in and tagged a 38min ascent from Chat. Shin felt really solid on the down, and on such steep terrain it's tough not to sneak in a few running-type steps. Finished just as a headlamp would've become helpful. Perfect timing.

1-22-2012
Sun-AM: 1:33, 2800' ~ Green Mt.
Up and down 3rd access. Tested out a little running today, and it went pretty well. My guiding principle now will be to do nothing that I don't think I can repeat the next day.
PM: 1:15, 2600' ~ Green Mt.
Up and down Third access. All hiking but shin felt quite good. Really enjoying getting out again.

Hours: 12h45min
Vert: 23,800'

I'm bored of whining, so won't.  But there did seem to be a legitimate glimmer of hope at the end of a really tough two-week stretch with the shin.

• Wait, one thing I will whine about: posing as someone else on the Internet is pretty lame, bordering on douchie. Equal parts flattering and annoying, I suppose.  For the record, "Anton's Ghost" on Twitter is not me in case there was any confusion about that (and there actually seems to be).

• Tickets for the February 9th Boulder screening of Unbreakable were sold out as of a couple days ago.  Sounds like there may be a couple of extra guests, so expect it to be the sort of trail/mountain/ultra gathering typical of the Boulder scene, i.e. more top mountain runners and other assorted legends anywhere else other than maybe Placer High on a late June evening.

• Got a new post up over at Running Times.

I recommend checking out these two wildly divergent but equally emotive tracks: