The Year in Review

Today ends another year of running

Started in 2007 to help quit smoking. Me and a few guys at work signed up for a half marathon in Port Angeles, WA and kept each other motivated. I did a second half and a 10K

2008 was not a good year for running

When we started travelling in 2009 the running was better and I began training for the Mount Desert Island half in Maine as we would be there in October. Problem was there was no half - only a full marathon. Hahaha!

2010 was great though erratic with 8 races of varying success. The good included an 8K & 10K in BC and a 5K in Seattle at a sub 8-minute pace plus a decent half marathon in Estes Park. The bad included a terrible race in Rollinsville - dressed all in black (long sleeves & long pants) under a blazing sun

After the fire - and being only 30 minutes away from having to run in from Rowena over the Sunshine Saddle to rescue Hudson before he was rescued by Gus - the training became more serious. I decided if we were going to possibly live in the mountains then we both needed to be excellent runners - both distance and elevation. And navigating unknown wooded & mountainous terrain. And that training started October 1st 2010

Year 1 was a good year. Hudson did 323 miles and I did 1,180 miles with 81K feet of gain. We both started doing mountians and added some speed - even ran four races at a sub 7-minute pace.

Navigation was / remains "an area for development" - on October 2 (day 2) I got lost in the woods NE of Quandary (Hudson found the way out when I let him off leash). Also got lost on my first attempt of Green and during a 10K

Anyways, after some success decided to take Year 2 more seriously and set some aggressive goals. Let's see how it went:


General Goals
Win lottery FAIL
Buy a house - No, but one is being considered
Be in B.C. in June to celebrate the Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup FAIL




Miles
Chris 2,000 - Woo-hoo! 2,000.8
Hudson 500 - Hud crushed it with 615

Elevation Gain
Chris 50 miles - Woo-hoo! 59 miles

Hud did 23 summits: 12 Sanitas, 9 Green and 2 Sugarloaf. Here are some of his best pics










"Race PRs"
5K = 19:59 FAIL
10K = 39:59 FAIL
Half Marathon = 1:39:59 - Woo-hoo! 1:38:44 at the Slacker Half Marathon in June

Run "PRs"
1-mile = 5:59 FAIL
Green 5.3M 2,344' (Saddle/Gregory) = 69:59 - Woo-hoo!  69:34 on May 13. Felt like an asshole running like a crazed madman on a social trail


Races
16 Races - Woo-hoo! 17 races
2 > Half Marathon - Woo-hoo! Although on a technicality. Jemez was 13.7 miles and Breckenridge was 13.3 miles. I think the intent was something more like an Imogene Pass


Mountains
5 > 13,000' (with 2 > 14,000') FAIL
1+ Mountain Pass FAIL


Other
100 Sit-ups Hahaha!
100 Push-ups Hahaha!


2012-13 Goals
Keep it mellow and have fun. Some of my fave runs are lazy jogs on the Bobolink or Buchanan Pass trail or Green Mountain. Over the last few weeks did random summits and it was great to run some and to enjoy views while hiking some

Anyways...the goal is to stay healthy enough to off-set drinking and occasional smokes and to see some cool places - and to have fun with Hudson and Maureen (who is committed to another Jemez in 2013)

Week of September 24 to September 30

SUNDAY

Teller Farms with Hud early am. After just a few minutes I heard a noise in the tall grass and looked at Hud. He heard it too and was heading back to the car - fast. No idea what it was

We swung by Dry Creek and did the loop. He has done a lot of activity lately and is tired. I can tell because he constantly has a disobedient look on his face

I needed 1.3 more miles to hit 2,000 so with a sore ankle and a sore groin headed up to the track for 8 slow boring laps

Week ending Sunday September 30
Hudson 15 miles with 2 trips to the pool
Chris 37.2 miles with 2,839' with 1 summit (Flora). A mediocre week

September
Hudson 55.2 miles with 1 summit
Chris 183.7 miles with 27,321' with 5 summits (Sanitas, Green, Bear, Caribou & Flora)

That does it for the year and this blog. One more post - "The Year in Review" - and we'll start a new blog with a new clever title for the new year starting October 1. It will once again include daily runs for Hudson and me so if that bores you I will not be offended if you don't come back. I enjoy it way too much


SATURDAY

2.1 brisk miles at Dry Creek with Hud before we headed into the mountains. It had been awhile since we did a 9-something pace. I'm not sure he was happy running versus lolly-gagging

Ran / hiked Mount Flora, a 13'er just past the town of Empire. 7 miles with maybe 2,000' - starting above 11,000'. Also came across snow - not much but a warning that time to run up at elevation is running out..




FRIDAY

2.1 miles at Dry Creek with Hud after sunrise. Some sprints for Hud with Tumbles

Headed to South Mesa TH and was planning on running out to Chautauqua and back - which is over 12 miles with maybe 2,000'

Got off to a good start but then got a work call - took it in the bushes so as not to irritate others. Then after 3 miles my phone bounced out of my waistpack and I realized my hat wasn't in there anymore. Tough decision - abandon the run and turn around to look for it or keep going and write it off. It was a cool hat and cost $25 so abandoned the run - which turned out to be the wrong decision since I never found it. Oh well - I've found a pair of sunglasses and lost a hat this year. 6.3 miles with 850'


THURSDAY

Once again we were up early and at Dry Creek in the dark. 2.1 miles - we saw no one else

I had very low motivation to do a longer run and then storms rolled in. Not a good week


WEDNESDAY

It was dark and raining so thought about skipping Dry Creek. Hud went in the back yard and some unseen animal was growling. Skunks do growl

We went to Dry Creek in the dark with headlamp and handheld light. It was so dark I kept Hud on leash which thwarted his attempts to chase a rabbit and a llama. Then we heard louder growling on the other side of a fence. Likely a coyote as it's now just a fact they live in this area. Eventually let him off leash as it grew light and there was another dog to run with

Bobolink late morning. 6.8 miles. 23.5 miles to go...

Took Hud to the pool early afternoon. We've decided it's just not his thing


TUESDAY

Dry Creek with Hud. 4 miles - we did the first loop at a jogging pace then did a loop with Tumbles (pictured here)




MONDAY

15 minutes at the pool was good for Hud

My day:

Week of September 17 to September 23

SUNDAY

Hud and I went to Teller Farms for a change. 4.2 miles - mostly hiking, some jogging

Buchanan Pass late morning. 9.6 easy miles with 1,000' of gain on a great fall day

Week ending Sunday September 23
Hudson 18.4 miles with 4 trips to the pool. A spectacular week
Chris 45.9 miles with 3,687' with 1 summit (Caribou) plus a good race. An excellent weekend salvaged a poor week

So Hudson & I start our year on October 1 - one week left. The 2012 goal for Hudson was 500 miles - he hit 600 today. My goal was 2,000 miles with 50 miles of gain (264,000'). I'm at over 58 miles but with 1,963.6 miles need an injury-free week. Sounds easy but I keep rolling my left ankle (3 times Saturday alone)


SATURDAY

1.8 miles at Dry Creek with Shelly a black lab and her people who threw tennis balls for Hud - he ended up doing a mile with a ball in his mouth

Drove up to Estes Park for the Running of the Bulls 3.75 mile race. Had low expectations as had a relatively unhealthy week but ended up coming in 6th out of 225 at a 7:03 pace. Woo-hoo!

Went to Indian Peaks after and summitted Caribou Peak - bought a book on random mountains last week so gave this a try. It was a 9.4-mile RT with 2,640' gain - topping out at 12,310'. Great run / hike with amazing views. Maureen took a wrong turn and ended going up Rainbow Lakes trail


FRIDAY

2.1 miles at Dry Creek with Tumbles

Took Hud to the pool in the afternoon - a good day with good dogs


THURSDAY

1.4 miles at Dry Creek with Hud

Took Hud to the pool at 4:30pm but Scott Carpenter himself was there for a re-dedication ceremony. No parking available so we took the day off swimming

Went back over to Gunbarrel / Twin Lakes. I ran maybe 2.5 miles while Maureen and Hudson went for a walk


WEDNESDAY

3 miles at Dry Creek. A little jogging for me - Hud hung out with a lot of friends today, including Preston (pictured below)



Took Hud to the Scott Carpenter pool again. He's soooo tired with 8 miles so far this week and and maybe 2.5 hours at the pool. He was definitely the crabbiest dog at the pool

Ran 5K in Gunbarrel / Twin Lakes - checking out the neighbourhood of a house we're thinking about. Ankle was all good. Ran 2 miles with some guy Kenny who lived in the area. There is also a brewery and a gourmet grilled cheese truck in the area - that's definitely a bonus




TUESDAY

Dry Creek with Hud. A brisk 2.1 mile loop - Hud had enough energy to do some sprints with Tumbles and a young black lab

Back to the pool for 40 minutes and a little more time in the water (like 5 minutes)



After 50 consecutive weeks of PR e-mails promising endless schwag I guess I'll sign up for Rudi's Organic Half Marathon in October. Foot is good enough to start running again tomorrow but likely not good enough to head up to Estes Park this weekend for the Running of the Bulls 3.75 mile race




MONDAY

Dry Creek with Hud. Did close to 3 miles walking - maybe foot isn't sprained just sore. Finally saw Dick & Trouble - was worried. He had some sort of "-itis" and was hobbling badly. While walking with Barb and Preston, Barb said if I died on the trail she would steal my Canada sweartshirt. Just an FYI - in case I "die" on the trails

Today is the beginning of 2 weeks of Dog Days at Scott Carpenter Park! We bought the $35 pass



After 3 miles and an hour at the pool Hud was out - snoring all day and all night

Week of September 10 to September 16

SUNDAY

Sprained ankle of sorts, not enough icing yesterday so it is swollen and sore. Hobbled a little with Hud at Dry Creek

Week ending Sunday September 16
Hudson 7.4 miles - he was ok with a mellow week
Chris 42.5 miles with 8,036' and 3 summits (Green, Bear, Evans) plus a fun race


SATURDAY

Short jaunt with Hud at Dry Creek early am before my race. Saw an owl carrying off a dead bunny - at least parts of it. Yikes

Ran the Rattlesnake Ramble, a 4.25 mile race with 825' at Eldorado Canyon State Park. Maybe 115 people including several local legends - plus other legends working the race. Went out running behind the women's Masters course record holder at first and settled back with others who I ran with the rest of the race. Narrow single-track on the first climb that was shared on both the up and down. On the way down nearly had a brutal wipe-out but surprisingly avoided and earned a "nice-save" comment. Saw one tumble on the second climb. Near the finish was sprinting trying to hold off someone behind but was unable. Finished 38:09 in 41/105. Left after enjoying free breakfast - which was too bad as it turned out there were raffle prizes for everyone. I missed out on prizes such as a "Women of Climbing Calendar"

Video of the finish. I'm at 1:09. The guy pointing to the finisher's chute is "Homie" the guy who tried to summit all 58 14'ers in less than 11 days (he did maybe 41 14'ers in 7 days before injury)

RSR 2012a from WgH Productions on Vimeo.

Maureen and I headed up to Mt Evans for our annual run to the summit as the road from Summit Lake closes to cars after Labor Day. It was an awesome day - sunny and warm with some chilly winds. 12 miles RT with just under 1,500' of gain


FRIDAY

Dry Creek with Hud. Ran into a lady who chucked tennis balls for her dog and Hudson awhile

THURSDAY

Met up with Leadville Chuck early to run both Green and Bear. Wandered off-trail on Green which is always fun. Saw local legend Anton - who needs to work on a more jolly "good morning" - on the summit

Headed down a new'ish trail to Bear - but it was closed half-way due to the fire. So...we had to take the long way and go out to the Mesa trail and up Fern Canyon. Fun scramble to the summit where we hung out for awhile. Heading back down LC wandered down a steeper section and almost had a nasty fall but all OK

Headed out to Mesa and back to Chautauqua to Gregory Canyon. 14.1 miles and maybe 5,000'

One of my fave races last year has yet again outstanding race shirts this year:




WEDNESDAY

Day off due to rain and drinks last night


TUESDAY

Dry Creek with Hud. Hung with Preston - who was approached by a coyote on Monday apparently

South Boulder TH and goofed around for 4.7 miles - mixed in with having to take a work call with lousy coverage


MONDAY

Dry Creek with Hud

Week of September 03 to September 09

SUNDAY

Took Hud quickly to Dry Creek for a very short jaunt and got ready for the Neder Nederland 10K. Headed out just after 7am and felt good - but then "disaster" - Boulder Canyon was closed for a f%#king bike race. There is no other simple way to Nederland - so no race for me. Boooooo!

Came home and ran 6.7 miles on the Bobolink at a race pace and then took Hud to the school for some tennis

Week ending Sunday September 9
Hudson 12.6 miles with a summit of Sanitas
Chris 42.1 miles with 9,749' and 3 summits (Sanitas, Green, Bear) plus fun on Longs


SATURDAY

Went to Chautauqua with Hud at sunrise. We made our way up and were jogging past the climbing areas when he got spooked by a bear and that was that - he was on a mission to get back to the car. He even missed 3 deer just 25 yards off the trail - although he snapped out of his trance when he ran into a white lab. 1.9 miles with 600'



Went with Maureen to Longs Peak later and ran to Chasm Lake and back. Well, I did - "someone" missed the turn and kept heading up towards the summit itself. 10 miles with 2,400'




FRIDAY

Dry Creek early am on a drizzly morning. A nice jog with Hud and only Taz was around

We were going to do Mount Evans but the forecast up there was stormy - not a good idea to be at > 14,000'

Instead did Bear Peak after work - 5.3 miles supposedly (questionable Strava data) with 2,700' from the Cragmoor trailhead




THURSDAY

Dry Creek with more energy today. A mellow jog until we ran into Tumbles - then he and Hud were off for some sprints. Poor Tumbles wiped out leaping bushes. Then we ran into Preston. 2.4 miles

Late morning hit Peak 2 in the Boulder Trail Runners 3 Peak Challenge - Green Mountain. Glad I read the instructions just as I was leaving home as it wasn't round-trip and went up Amphitheatre - not my normal start. 47:06 - was happy



Headed down and passed Maureen near the end as she ran a lower loop on Green Mountain for the 3rd time this week

So for this 3 Peaks Challenge I have to use an app called Strava. It's cool in that it knows if I did the correct route for the challenge and then synchs up with the website automatically. What sucks is it seems to be short on distance and maybe a tad high on elevation. The MapMyRun app was the opposite. So for the exact same run Strava said 4.5 miles with 2,385' where MapMyRun had the same route anywhere from 5.1-5.9 miles and never more than 2,100'. I guess on par with most technology - truly amazing yet frustrating...both were free so hard to gripe


WEDNESDAY

Dry Creek with Hud but after the bridge he looked at me and began heading back to the car. 1 mile

My (stupid) ankle was sore so took the day off - which makes for a less fun day


TUESDAY

Mount Sanitas with Hud. 2.6 miles with 1,357'. He was really tired as it was warm at 6:30am - and it's been awhile since he did a mountain

Sunday is the Neder Nederland 10K - an awesome local town race where everyone wins a prize (I won chocolate and Maureen won a shirt). Plus great race shirts with local art - below is this year's




MONDAY

Dry Creek with Hud - he ran with Tumbles then we walked with Preston before running into Pi and some unknown chubby pit bull. 2.4 miles

Went into Denver and eventually found our way to Lair o' the Bear park in Morrison. Just a light jog as my foot was sore - 1.5 miles in a hot sun. Saw a large snake but it wasn't a rattlesnake - it did climb a tree. Great...

Week of August 27 to September 02

SUNDAY

Will do a short post on the other blog but a successful day. Actually beat last year's time by 4m 14s and snuck in under 2:30

Week ending Sunday September 2
Hudson 11.9 miles - solid
Chris 37.7 miles with 5,514' - tapered a little to prepare for the Breck race (which is my tough race)


SATURDAY

Slept in late so Dry Creek was crowded when we showed up. Hud is very tired after running around with several dogs - which is good since no Dry Creek tomorrow

Went to the track after for a slow lap / fast lap (1:37 - ok)

Tomorrow should be a go for the Breckenridge half-marathon. This year I've run 4 races that I've run before and have had a better time in all (although I could have hiked the Eldora 10K faster than last year's "getting-lost" run). That will not happen tomorrow - which is ok. Just not in as good racing shape as last Labor Day - and this is a very tough race:



Likely will be about 10-12 minutes slower than last year's 2:33:56

On the plus side, I'm "carbing" up strongly- so far an 80g-of-carbs vegan cookie, a fantastic breakfast burrito from Moe's, a Jamba Juice protein-berry smoothie and a donut from Dizzy's, a new donut shop up the street...

Took Hud up to the school for some tennis. It was warm and three new friends were there so he was tired




FRIDAY

Woke up early so Hud and I went to Dry Creek in the dark, aside from my headlamp. The nearly full moon was behind clouds. Hud got to chase an owl

Was going to do some late afternoon biking but had to deal with my Yahoo! account being hacked. Irritating

August
Hudson 56.1 miles for the Skunk-boy
Chris 190.2 miles with 29,094

Heading into our last month of our year, Hud will easily hit 600 for the year but I'll need a strong month to hit 2,000


THURSDAY

Dry Creek with Hud. 2.1 miles at a mellow pace

Went to Green Mountain mid-morning. It was 88F when I finished. Worked hard and finally got RT in under 80 minutes - by 1 second. First time since May


WEDNESDAY

Foot was still sore so it was going to be a rest day anyways - but after Hud got skunked at 5:15am much of the next 5-6 hours was spent getting him less foul smelling. He did sneak in about 1.2 miles airing out at Dry Creek - surprisingly the other dogs didn't seem to care he smelled nasty


TUESDAY

Dry Creek with Hud at a fast pace. After taking 1:26 for the first 0.05 miles we did the rest at a 7:54 pace. Hud also got some fast sprints with Kingston and after we were done we hung out with Preston, Kingston and Parker

Went to Green Mountain in the morning - unfortunately I forgot my shoes. Tight on time I decided - after getting some shoes - to do the much flatter Bobolink. 6.7 miles at an 8:18 pace

Unfortunately...



It feels like overuse. May need to take tomorrow off


MONDAY

Dry Creek with Hud at a brisk pace. Hung out with Preston for a bit

Took rest of the day off after a good week

Week of August 20 to August 26

SUNDAY

Fun day for Hud at Dry Creek - a later start so many dogs to play with

Went to Eldorado SP after to run the Rattlesnake course. Was over 2 minutes behind last run after the first climb so picked it up and ended up less than a minute off. Good course and friendly people

We headed to SW Denver today so we decided to swing by Roxborough State Park and do a short run. Hot but a nice change




Week ending Sunday August 26
Hudson 10.6 miles
Chris 52.1 miles with 10,585' with 7.6 miles on the bike. A good week!


SATURDAY

Jog with Hud at Dry Creek. Bike ride on a perfect fall morning after


FRIDAY

Gave Hud the day off as he was a little sick yesterday. Took a half day off work and headed to Breckenridge to run the half-marathon course (more or less). 14.3 miles with 3,011'


THURSDAY

Dry Creek with Hud. A nice run with several stops - Tumbles, some sprints with Kingston, Preston and Kingston again (with Parker)

Last night I signed up for the Rattlesnake Ramble, a small race (limited to 100) that seems to attract fast Boulder runners - including some local legends



So...went to Eldorado to run the course. 4.25 miles with 825' over two separate climbs


WEDNESDAY

Dry Creek early am with Hud. We did the 2.1 mile loop with Tumbles

Green Mountain after breakfast and another mellow bear encounter at the TH. Legs were heavy going up but happy coming down. 80:59

MapMyRun today said the run was 5.06 miles. Monday it was 5.30 miles. The very first time it was 5.81 miles. Puzzling


TUESDAY

Gave a very tired Hud the day off

Went to South Boulder Creek in mid-morning. Headed out Towhee / Homestead to Mesa and back up towards Shadow Canyon. As I was running on a section of single-track I noticed a lot of bear scat - and then noticed some folks on large rocks by the miner's shack 50 yards across a ravine talking. As I got closer they told me I ran directly underneath a bear who was up in an apple tree and that they were yelling to warn me

Here is the tree with the bear circled. You can just see the trail in front and to the left



The close-up is not great - iPhones are convenient and solid enough but not for zooming. The bear doesn't have a white nose - just sunlight on foliage



After waiting and watching I assumed the bear may have fallen asleep up in the tree so continued on my way back - only to see my first rattlesnake about 3 inches away. I did not stop to take pics and was not pleased...

5.9 miles with 950'


MONDAY

Dry Creek with Hud. Walked with Preston. Some "lard-ass" (quote from Barb) complained about Hudson coming up to her dog and growling. You know...like how dogs interact...never seen her before, hopefully never will again

Green Mountain after all my morning meetings were cancelled - wahoo! Fastest time (82:07) since before Jemez Half

Week of August 13 to August 19

SUNDAY

Another good sleep. Dry Creek with Hud. Jogged until we ran into Preston and walked with him and Barb

Went to Eldorado Canyon State Park and ran to the Walker Ranch trail. 6.3 miles with 1,350' at good pace

Before we headed to Eldorado Canyon saw that Leadville Chuck completed his second consecutive Leadville 100 - an hour quicker even though the race is a 5K longer. Truly amazing

10.3 mile bike ride in the afternoon on Boulder's excellent bike trail system




Week ending Sunday August 19
Hudson 12.7 miles
Chris 41.6 miles with 5,223' with 1 summit, a good race and 15.5 miles on the bike


SATURDAY

Slept awesome. Went with Hud to Betasso Preserve for a 3.5 mile loop with 425'

Took rest of day off to ensure no re-injuries - been running "fast" lately which tends to be more stressful on the nerves & muscles

FRIDAY

Dry Creek with Hud but turned back to the TH when we ran into Tumbles - decided after to go to the school and hit some tennis balls instead for a change. Feels like fall - it was 48F

Leadville Chuck is heading up to Leadville today for the Leadville Trail 103 (they added 3 more miles this week). Not pacing this year - his neighbour offered free housing in Breckenridge to pace whereas I was only able to offer 20 minutes worth of witty stories

Went to Doudy Draw and went off exploring fun new trails - Spring Brook Loop and Fowler. 7.2 miles with 900'


THURSDAY

Dry Creek with Hud, 2.1 miles. Walked it as I woke up too early - although a nap later in the morning would help. The Llamas were watching the dogs



Eldorado Springs 4-miler at 6:30pm. Last year I came in 15th and won $15 with a 30:09. This year I ran a 29:58 but came in 20th and no prize money! Free beer & pasta and 2 free jackets (for everyone) in an awesome setting meant a good time



It was a fast field this year. I assumed I was running poorly as there were more people ahead of me than expected - but at 1 mile I looked and was at a 6:30 pace! Totally unsustainable. At 2 miles I was at 13:45. The first 2 miles were 90% downhill - so the last 2 miles were 90% uphill. Good mix of suffering and satisfaction


WEDNESDAY

Dry Creek with Hud, 2.1 miles. Taz and Kingston again

Green Mountain after. I didn't feel fast or slow - kind of spaced out going up and made it sub-49. Paid attention going down - going down is easy to fall. 85 minute RT

Exciting times near the trailhead - Bear season!






TUESDAY

Dry Creek with Hud - 1.8 miles as he skipped a section chasing a bunny. Saw Kingston and Taz, who was walking with a 10 foot branch in his mouth

Ran 4 miles at Bobolink at race speed. Miles were done in 7:37 / 7:42 / 7:08 / 7:00

I think MapMyRun called the last mile too early


MONDAY

Dry Creek with Hud - after the bridge he turned around

5.2 mile bike ride with 150' in the morning, 2 x 1 miles running in the afternoon. Giving the ankle a break - can't tell if it's sore from overuse or from kicking rocks yesterday (likely). Faster mile was 7:46

Week of August 06 to August 12

SUNDAY

Dry Creek with Hud before sunrise - got to run with my headlamp

Mount Audubon after - a strong smooth run/hike up, a little klutzy on the way down

Week ending Sunday August 12
Hudson 12.5 miles
Chris 44.3 miles with 6,062' with 2 summits and a good race plus 30 miles on the bike

Next week is the Eldorado Springs 4M night race on Thursday - with free beer


SATURDAY

A good time in Westminster. A good race - 47:43 for a pleasantly surprising 7:41 pace. Good for 20th place. Plenty of food and drink after. Sadly did not place top 3 in my age group as the medals were cowbells

Did a short run on this random trail while we were looking at a house - the Goat Trail. Short as in under a mile but over 600' of gain. This includes me going the wrong way up a very sketchy side trail




FRIDAY

Dry Creek with Hud. We ran a loop but then walked back to the bridge with Kingston the Collie. As we got to the parking lot Dick and Trouble were coming in so we went to the bridge and back with them. 3.1 miles

Went to the track before work for 5 laps - 2 "fast" but sadly the "fastest" was a 7:36 pace. Goal for tomorrow is 55:51 (just under a 9-minute pace). I assume one day this summer I'll be able to run fast again...


THURSDAY

Dry Creek at a nice 9-minute pace with Hud

5.75 mile bike ride with 250' in the evening to check out a possible house


WEDNESDAY

Dry Creek early am - a slow jog on a surprisingly cool morning. 2.1 miles

An intentionally slow jog on Bobolink before the heat. 3.2 miles

Signed up for Saturday's 20th Annual Holy Cow Stampede 10K today. I can only hope the shirt has a logo as cool as 2007's:



7.7 mile bike ride in the evening with 175'

TUESDAY

Dry Creek with Hud early am but he was tired and ended up playing with a good stick. Tumbles stole it for awhile but Hud set him straight

Green Mountain after - finally broke 90 minutes for first time since June 14th. Positive - but 20 minutes back of May 13th's sub-70 minute run. Oh well...

Here's my buddy the Chipmunk on the summit again



9 mile bike ride in the evening with the missus

MONDAY

Dry Creek with Hud early am. Warm and he was lolly-gagging. 2.1 miles

Bobolink just after 9am and my car was 96F at the end. 6.85 miles with 140' at a decent (of late) 9-minute pace

Official pic from the Eldora 10K - suffice to say I will not be purchasing



8 mile bike ride with the missus in the evening

Week of July 30 to August 05

SUNDAY

Great sleep. Dry Creek with Hud - walked a loop with Preston and Barb. After Hud jumped out of the car to walk a mile with a white lab and then went back in a third time to wander. 3.5 miles

21 mile bike ride around town with 600' afterwards in perfect weather

Week ending Sunday August 5
Hudson 16.8 miles
Chris 51.3 miles with 7,437' plus 39 miles on the bike with 1,100'

A good week and back to "racing" - next week will likely be the Holy Cow Trail Stampede 10K in Westminster. Worth it to get a race shirt with a cow


SATURDAY

Eldora Trail 10K this morning. Raccoon family was out on the back porch at 4am - making lots of noise and sleep impossible. Even came down the chimney flue. Hud started barking - 3 of them were running around

Got up to Nederland just after 7am. It was 43F. The race went well - I was able to run almost all the hills (900' of gain) and finished at 58:47. Good for 66/185. I was dying over the last mile, not having run hard in over a month. At 9,000' I was worried they were going to call an ambulance I was sucking so much wind



Good food at the end. We then watched the swimmers at a triathalon that just started - although it was delayed as they had to shoo away a moose that was trying to swim in the lake. We then went for celebratory donuts and milkshakes in Nederland


FRIDAY

Hud was a jackass this morning, waking me by 5am. In return I made him do Dry Creek 2x - the first at a 10-minute pace and the second walking with Preston. Hahaha!

Went to Bobolink to see if I could run fast and not hurt. 2 miles - 1 at 8:52 and 1 at 7:49. All pretty good so went to Fleet Feet and signed up for tomorrow's Eldora 10K in Nederland - first race in 43 days. Yikes. I'm not 100% sure how to feel about the pink in the shirt




THURSDAY

Went to Dry Creek but as expected Hud wanted the day off. We turned around after a short walk

Thought about going to Mount Falcon in Morrison but decided after 3 heavy days to run Bobolink (the 3.2 mile version). Was paying attention to how the back and leg felt, running only as fast as was pain free - which turned out to be a 9:59 pace

7.2 mile bike ride with 220' at noon


WEDNESDAY

Dry Creek with Hud early am. He has run at least 2 miles for 14 straight days and is ready for a day off

Met up with Leadville Chuck at 7am and we did Mt Sanitas. ProTrails.com says it is a 3.1 mile loop with 1,357' - MapMyRun app said it was 3.4 miles with 1,102'

It doesn't matter but on the mountain runs MapMyRun seems to be a little long and a little light on elevation

We then headed over to Green Mountain. I told him to head to the summit as I didn't want to hold him back as he's 17 days away from Leadville 100. He pulled away but after 20 minutes we joined up - it was hot and he had only a donut. We slogged to the summit and coasted down. 5.3 miles and 2,344' gain

I was beat and even caught a quick 20 minutes of sleep. Not working is the good life


TUESDAY

Dry Creek with Hud early am. He ran around crazy with Kingston the Collie and then with whatever remaining energy he had with Connor the Lab

Headed up to Bergen Peak in Evergreen to see how the back would hold up. It went well - actually, it turned completely pain-free after 7 miles for some unknown reason. 9.4 miles with 1,800' per GPS

Driving back through Evergreen came across a lot of female elk and youngsters



July
Hudson 58.4 miles for the superstar
Chris 123.9 miles with 14,799' - no comment


MONDAY

No evil work this week - vacation!

Hud and I went to the Quandary Peak trailhead and ran McCullough Gulch Road. 4.2 miles with 575' - and Hud hit 500 miles for the year! (our year starts October 1st). You can tell he's pretty excited at this epic milestone



After we got back to Boulder hustled to Marshall Mesa for a 5.25 mile jog before the heavy storms rolled in

After the storms - which caused flooding - got out for a 9-mile evening bike ride

Week of July 23 to July 29

SUNDAY

Hoosier Pass / trail to Mt Silverheels again at sunrise with Hud. Again 42F and 2.1 miles with 350'

Felt better with stretching so went to the Quandary Peak trailhead and ran out-and-back on McCullough Gulch Road. 4.2 miles with 575' at a pain-free jog

Week ending Sunday July 29
Hudson 14.6 miles - a strong week
Chris 28.4 miles with 4,109' - not a strong week


SATURDAY

Went to Hoosier Pass with Hud at sunrise. It was 42F. We ran 2 miles with 300' of gain above 11,000' - more goofing around on the trail that goes to Mt Silverheels. Hud ate grass every chance he got




FRIDAY

Mellow run/jog with Hud at Dry Creek. 2.1 miles

Run in the drizzle in Alma. 2.7 miles with 150' on a rough County Road - past the rental we stayed in back in September of 2009


THURSDAY

Dry Creek with Hud at a brisk pace (sort of) - an 8:30 pace. I notice that each time I run fast I end up in pain. Boooooo!

After the run - which Hud finds boring if he isn't playing with buddies or exploring - he jumped out of the car to say hello (the pic looks foggy due to the humidity)




WEDNESDAY

Dry Creek very early with Hud. 2.1 miles

Green Mountain later in the morning. Much better. Have gone from 2h13m Friday (with a 10 minute chat) to 1h45m Saturday to 1h31m today. Was sore after




TUESDAY

Dry Creek with Hud early. 2.1 miles. Hud ran around all crazy with several dogs, especially his pal Trouble. Dick said his daughter and son-in-law were at the Aurora theatre next to the one where the shootings were and a lady 3 seats away got shot through the jaw. Yikes


MONDAY

Dry Creek with Hud early. 2.1 miles

Bobolink at 10am - 3.2 miles and finally cracked a 9-minute mile pace

My Dad wondered if my Bosses ever read. If so, today was another "challenging day" with people who are "challenged"

Week of July 16 to July 22

SUNDAY

Awesome sleep - can't wait until vacation. Dry Creek with Hud. We started at 6:15am but not crowded

Red Deer Lake from Dick's Campground. I'll guess 14 miles RT with 1,800' although GPS said 15.6 miles with 1,500' - I don't think GPS is perfect in the woods. It took 4 hours - a mix of jogging and hiking and a short stop under a tree as rain moved through. It was another "stupid day" - we forgot everything (wallets, packs, food for the run). I was fantasizing about food (eggs and crescent rolls) at the Lake and started going off trail to take a short cut back. Thankfully decided to suck it up and go back on the trail - otherwise they'd be sending in the rescue teams about now

Week ending Sunday July 22
Hudson 11.9 miles
Chris 40.2 miles with 7,571' plus 23 miles of biking with 730'


SATURDAY

A solid sleep and a run with Hud at Dry Creek. Unfortunately we were early so no one else was there

Went to Green Mountain and a better run than yesterday. Summit in 59 and descent in 46 and no pain. Here's my buddy the chipmunk on the summit



After breakfast Maureen and I were going for a bike ride before the heat (forecast of "low 100s") but - oops! Someone locked us out. Hahaha! Maureen started making calls and waited for the locksmith while I kept going for short rides - 4.6 miles, 5.4 miles, 4.4 miles and 3.8 miles with a total of maybe 600'


FRIDAY
Woke at 4am and ran at sunrise with Hud at Dry Creek. We caught up with Tumbles and family for the last half mile

Green Mountain to the Summit for the 54th time. Not fast but not bad. 5.3 miles with 2,300'

45 days to the Breckenridge Half Marathon. Yikes - will not be winning that


THURSDAY

Had a 6am work call so Hud and I got to Dry Creek early and ran briskly - finally a sub 10-minute pace. Plus Hud & Tumbles did a very long sprint together

Green Mountain again, same route. Today GPS said it was 1.07 miles with 525' - regardless ran it so should be a good weekend.


WEDNESDAY

Finally made it to Green Mountain. So far ascent & descents were most painful. Today went well - granted it was hiking. 1.25 miles with 554'

Biked to the store after. 4.5 miles with 134'

Oh yeah - work blows. Was up at 3am. Why don't big companies fire bad employees? Actually looked at jobs for the first time in years


TUESDAY

1.2 random miles with Hud at Dry Creek. Neither of us were up for running so he wandered around greeting other dogs


MONDAY

Dry Creek with Hud early am. Jogged maybe 70%. 2.1 miles

An actual (slow) run at noon at Walden Ponds. 1.4 miles

Week of July 9 to July 15

SUNDAY

Dry Creek with Hud - no day off today. He was tired and had no desire to play with the exuberant Tumbles. A brisk walking pace

20-mile bike ride with 617' after and then an actual run (well, jog would be more accurate). 3.3-miles at an 11:17 pace. Some discomfort but nothing intolerable

Week ending Sunday July 15
Hudson 15.2 miles. A very strong week for Hud
Chris 20.9 miles with 321' - ran less than 5 of those miles. 48 miles of biking with 1,452'

Here's a race in 2 weeks: Llama Race


SATURDAY

Slept in so Dry Creek at 7:15am. Apparently I was there with Grumpus - he's been getting some good miles with his buddies and it was warm as we started later. Maybe a day off for him tomorrow as he has done over 15 miles the past week

Good bike ride later in the morning - according to my MapMyRun app it was 17.69 miles with 580' from home to the other side of the city up Boulder Canyon and back

Did some "dry-land" training and then went to Wonderland for a 2.3-mile run/shuffle/walk with 321' - alternated walking and running every minute but by end was too sore to run. Still, positive




FRIDAY

Dry Creek early am. Walked half when Hud took off after a deer - he came back after the chase was lost. Ran into Dick and Trouble then Tumbles. Had a new toy - "MapMyRun" which uses GPS. Specifically we did 2.61 miles with 61' in a horrid 58:08

A short 1.1 mile bike ruide to look at a house then a 9.1 mile bike ride this evening


THURSDAY

Dry Creek at 6:30am. 2.1 miles with Trouble & Preston. Hud also met a new pal, a Great Dane. Long debate over how long the loop really is - will use an app on my iPhone tomorrow to confirm

Last night and early am close to no pain but became sore during the walk. No race this weekend


WEDNESDAY

Dry Creek at 5:30am. 2.1 miles at a brisk walk. Saw much of the usual gang. At least Hud is getting his miles


TUESDAY

Work is busy and intense and is to be blamed for me waking up at 4:30am. Dry Creek with Hud at 5:30am - walked with Taz the white lab and his people - Hud did some sprints with Tumbles. Saw Preston as we were finishing

Sciatic slooooooowly getting better as I keep it mellow


MONDAY

Was going to skip Dry Creek and rest but Hud was determined. 2.1 miles with Barb & Preston and were later joined by Dick & Trouble. Hud did some good sprints with Trouble


In my non-running/non-hiking/non-mountain climbing boredom sitting on a heating pad, I created a "goal" race plan through Halloween:

07/14 - Allenspark 5K/10K. A small-town race on the way to Estes Park / Long's Peak. Likely a real bad idea for the injury so likely will not happen

07/19 - Not a race but hope all is good to play hooky and do a 14'er with Leadville Chuck in the Breckenridge / Leadville area

07/28 - Mount Falcon 15K - Mount Falcon in Morrison is awesome with 2,000' of gain

The weekend of 08/04-05 has 3 great looking races to choose from:
- Eldora 10K in Nederalnd at the ski area. I ran a strong race last year - aside from getting lost
- Hunky Dory Half Marathon in Breckenridge. Great looking course
- Evergreen 5K/10K

08/09 - Pearl Street Mile is a Thursday night sprint

08/11 - Woodland Park 10K
or
08/12 - Leadville 10K. Love Leadville, hate the company that runs these races

08/16 to 08/19 will be a 3-event weekend
08/16 - Eldorado Spring 4M was awesome last year - cold beer and $25 in winnings
and
08/17 - Loveland 5K, another night race
or
08/18 - Fairplay to Alma 10K - 2 of my favorite towns
and
08/18 - Pacing Leadville Chuck again at Leadville 100
or
08/19 - Heart and Sole Half Marathon/10K which we did in 2010

08/25 - Bergen Peak 20K is an awesome trail

09/02 - Breck Crest Half Marathon - my focus for the year (now with Jemez)

09/08 - Frisco 2M / 1,500'
and
09/09 - Neder Nederland 10K - I won chocolate last year

09/15 - Eldorado Springs 4.25M

09/22 - Estes Park 3.75M. Also known as Running of the Bulls as in Elk, which wander around town

10/07 - Golden Gallup 5.3M is a great race
or
10/07 - Pikes Peak Road Ascent 10K

10/19 - Loveland 2M
and
10/21 - Rudi's Half Marathon

And a double to celebrate Halloween:
10/27 - Louisville Phantom 4M
then
10/27 - Lousiville 5K Monster Dash

Week of July 2 to July 8

SUNDAY

Went to Dry Creek with Hud at 6:30am after sleeping in and heavy rain. Ran into Tumbles who tried to get Hud to play by jumping on him. Was in a lot of pain today - obviously did too much yesterday. Ran into Dick and Trouble and walked slowly and heard about Dick's similar back problems as Hud and Trouble chased each other and nearly took me out. 2.2 miles

Short 4.6-mile RT bike ride to the store and back at a brisk pace

Week ending Sunday July 08
Hudson 10.5 miles. A good week for Hud
Chris 13.5 miles with 10' - yes, 10' - and ran less than 3 of those miles. Also 20.6 miles biking and some stretching and core work as that has to help back problems


SATURDAY

Went to Dry Creek with Hud at 6:30am after sleeping in. Much cooler after rains overnight so he was frisky. Ran / walked until running into Dick & Trouble as well as Barb & Preston. Hud and Trouble chased each other awhile as Preston - who is 16 - watched. 2.1 miles

Feels like fall today but humid. Did a 5-mile RT bike ride in 24:45 - a 12:07 mph pace. Not even twice as fast as running but fun

Short run on a Bobolink spur. 1.4 miles in just over 20 minutes. Rehab is frustrating

Rode our bikes up to Snarf's for sandwhiches. 5.3-miles RT. A new donut shop is opening up across the street from Snarf's - perfect


FRIDAY

Went to Dry Creek with Hud at 6:30am. My sciatic was less good today so I had to turn around at the bridge (just under half-mile out)

Called it an early weekend and rode the bike which helped. 5.7-mile RT


THURSDAY

Went to Dry Creek with Hud at 6:00am. Dick and Trouble were just ahead so we caught up to walk the 2.1 mile loop

Long day again at work. After late afternoon thunderstorms with minor flooding we all went up to the track. Hud alternated between running alongside me and chasing tennis balls (and getting yelled at for eating unknown things and drinking out of puddles). Laps were at a slow paces of 11:12 / 9:28 / a decent 7:40 / walked final with some soreness

Progress but still frustrating


WEDNESDAY

Went to Dry Creek with Hud at 6:30am. Dick and Trouble were pulling in at same time so we walked the 2.1 mile loop. Limping some but Hud got some miles. Plenty of dogs beating the heat

Felt good after some heat and advil so went with Maureen to Walden Ponds for a 30-minute jog/walk


TUESDAY

Went to Dry Creek with Hud but after 0.1 miles I was limping. I let him run around and say hi to his buddies before we headed out

Boooooooooooooooo!

Used the heating pad which seemed to help - enough that I was able to get out for some pizza and beers (complex carbohydrates)


MONDAY

Arrgh. Boring day. Frustrating given they've opened up many of the trails - including Green Mountain

Week of June 25 to Canada Day

SUNDAY

Boring day with sciatic nerve issue. Will be on the 3-day disabled list (I hope)


Week ending Sunday July 01
Hudson 6.9 miles - brutal hot week again
Chris 38.0 miles with 6,557' with a Green Mountain summit


SATURDAY

3.3 miles and 600' at Betasso with Hud and Maureen at a brisk hiking pace

They then went to Nederland to get milkshakes and donuts while I satyed and did both trails. 7.2 miles with 1,000'. My "sciatic nerve" started hurting the last mile or two which turned into a slow jog. After lunch and the heating pad went to Eldorado Canyon State Park and sat in the cold South Boulder Creek for 20 minutes. May need to take Sunday off which would be sad being Candada Day

June
Hudson 41.5 miles
Chris 183.4 miles with 29,291'

9 Month Total
Hudson 445.4 miles - 62% to his goal of 500 miles
Chris 1,503.0 miles with 240,140'


FRIDAY

Dry Creek. As his "ankle" heals Hud is running more again. Today we did just under a mile but he did a few sprints with Tumbles

Finished a long few weeks of work by calling it a day early. It was 95F. I wanted somewhere shaded - many of those local trails are closed due to the fire. Surprisingly Eldorado Canyon State Park was open so I renewed our annual pass and ran to Walker Ranch and back. 7 miles with 1,000'



I was thinking of a 10-miler in Rollinsville tomorrow but having "sciatic nerve" issues (per the wife, who is not a doctor)


THURSDAY

Went to the track with Hud - he seems happy frolicking on the grass especially in the hot weather. 3 laps - including one that he ran alongside me - plus whatever time chasing him around

Mount Sanitas after - 3.4 miles and 1,357'

Stolen race pics. I would buy but it's like $25 each to download

The start line



Before the suffering began




WEDNESDAY

Dry Creek with Hud - it was 77 at 6am so we kept it to 1.1 miles

A busy day at work so headed up late afternoon to Betasso for a mellow 7-mile run but as I arrived this was going on:





I skipped the run after 15 minutes of the electric storm and saw one nasty lightning bolt that was purple, hit the ground and start a fire (that was under control within 2 hours). Rain was heavy on the drive home - bad for driving but good news for the fires


TUESDAY

Gave Hud the day off - not sure how his "ankle" is from his running injury Sunday

Met Leadville Chuck at 6:20am for a Green / Flagstff run. We went off trail today and it was like a secret world. A little steeper with a little scrambling. Fun stuff



Bear (?) print



After Green we headed down and cut over to Flagstaff with a woman who joined us. She was amazing - she talked the entire time

We guessed 6.8 miles with 2,700'

And now beloved Bear Peak is on fire

MONDAY

Dry Creek with Hud but he turned around after 0.2 miles. We went to the track instead and he was happy to saunter / occasionally sprint as I did 2 quick laps (slow / fast - although fast wasn't that fast)

Bobolink at 9:30am and it was already blazing. 6.7 flat miles in the heat. Even the prairie dogs looked lazy