Follow the Blue Hole

This weekend we went to Fruita to visit our friends Kirk & Keith (aka Horace and Towanda), and I was signed up to run the Spring Desert 25 mile race. Towanda was also running the 25, and Horace was running the 50.

Driving from Fort Collins Friday morning, we left early knowing I-70 could get bad. The visibility was horrible from just outside of Golden to the top of Eisenhower tunnel. It took 2 hours to get from Idaho Springs to Vail, which is only 60 miles. Once we went down the other side from Eisenhower the roads were fine, even on Vail Pass. They must have closed I-70 soon after we got over Eisenhower because we heard there were a ton of people who were supposed to show up including some of the race staff and volunteers who were stuck in Denver.

It was a long drive but the Buffaloes needed a weekend out of town and they wanted to see their friends Boy and Bella, who own Kirk and Keith. By the time we got out of Glenwood Canyon and could see the cliffs above Grand Junction, there was one blue hole in the sky. Promising.


We saw Nick at the pre-race packet pickup in Fruita, and we introduced him to Kirk & Keith. They invited Nick to stay at the house. Nick had planned on camping out near the start. The weather wasn't great for camping, it looked like anything could happen over night with the thick dark clouds everywhere.


Maybe I should re-title this post, "I am an idiot". Before the race that morning I was thinking I'd be able to run the 25 in less than 5 hours and the sky looked dark and cloudy, even with the small amount of light there were not too many breaks in the clouds. I didn't want to carry the camera if it was raining and I thought, I won't want the weight in my pack.

Going up Moore Fun, the first part of the trail, the sunrise was outrageous, shades of blue and orange peeking through the edges of the dark clouds above the cliffs south of the river. I got to the first aid station only 3 minutes faster than last year when I ran the 50, and at that moment I was furious with myself for not bringing the damn camera!

And then on the second section of the course the juniper-dotted cliffs and mesas were lit up and the usual incredible views over the river were as incredible as ever. The day turned out to be perfect, the sky cleared out for the whole morning, and we stayed dry. Next year I will bring the camera, no matter what, no excuses.

I actually ran pretty fast on the trail in the whole middle section of the course, from about 6 to 19 miles. I powered up the steep long climb above Mack and when I got to the top, that was where I saw Nick in third place headed back on his second loop, and it was soon after that, my legs said, "We're done!". I was careful not to bite the trail in the rocky sections on the way down. I guess I was delusional, thinking I could finish faster this year when I haven't done anything remotely like speed training yet this year.

Nick finished the 50 in 7:44, in 2nd place, Kirk finished the 50 in 9:40 something, Towanda finished the 25 about an hour ahead of me, and I finished the 25 in 5:23 something. Slower than dog snot, again. I am so pissed about the camera! And Dennis says he's going to run the 25 next year. I need to get that in writing.
We waited around in the cold wind for Kirk to finish, it was blowing and getting dark again, like there was more rain waiting to dump out of the sky.

Kirk wore his pink gaiters, which did brighten things considerably.


Iris & Isabelle had fun playing with Boy and Bella.









After the race all of us went out for pizza and beer with two of Kirk & Keith's friends from Crested Butte. The pizza was amazingly good for being in Fruita, which as far as I can tell, is an evolving, formerly extreme redneck town that has given up resistance to a huge influx of yuppie visitors with SUVs, mountain bikes, and disposable income.

On the way home the road was clear the whole way. Looked like about a foot or more of snow in the foothills and some in Denver, but Fort Collins looked like it didn't get much. Maybe it rained here.

I am not at all looking forward to the Colorado Marathon in two weeks. I am hoping I am just tired from my tough 2 weeks of rock repeats and being in my usual state of exhaustion from work. I'll take it easy this week and see how I feel. But I doubt I will want to get up at 3 am and catch a bus up Poudre Canyon, plus get nauseated from fumes, just to run downhill on pavement for what is looking like at least 4 hours. I'd rather sleep in and do a long trail run.

Maybe I'll hit the sauna this week and get myself in Death Valley mode.

Is It Spring Yet?

It was a good running weekend! Saturday morning I met Katy and her dog Kira at the Horsetooth Mountain trailhead and we did four Rock Repeats. After four hours we were done, got our 20 miles of vertical running and still had energy to spare. It was cool and windy but no mud and no snow except for a few snowbanks off the side of the service road that Kira used to cool off.

Katy and I get all of our weekly frustrations out in the first 5 miles of our run, and after that it progresses to a giggle-fest. After a couple of hours everything is amusing, and by the end it's hilarious. I didn't bring my camera this time and I missed the picture of Kira lying in the snowbank with snow piled on her head. Katy gave me so much grief about my big heavy butt pack last time that I thought I'd go lightweight.

Sunday morning was cool and there was a light rain when I started my 15 road miles. I ran the Spring Creek trail out to Cottonwood Glen park and then took the road north to the trail behind the stadium, turned around at 7 1/2 miles for a 15 mile out & back. It was raining fairly hard once I got to the stadium but tapered off as I ran east. I felt strong but slow. My legs were a little sore from running rock repeats twice last week, but I needed it.

I got two weeks in a row with mileage over 50 a week. I'm where I should be if I'm going to run Lean Horse. Not bad, 35 miles this weekend, some good climbing and descent, some road miles, no snow or mud, and when we did get weather, it rained! Must be getting closer to spring. The leaves aren't out yet on the trees, but getting close.

I don't have very high expectations for the upcoming Colorado Marathon. I was slow as a snail last year, and this year isn't looking promising, but that's okay. I'm still wondering why I signed up for it this year. It's more of a social local run than anything, I guess. It's a scenic course, but the thought of 26 miles downhill on pavement along with getting up at 3 am to catch the bus up Poudre Canyon is not my ideal race. I like a late start, time to sleep in and eat breakfast, and something that lasts longer. Like a few days longer.

Next weekend is Fruita, the 25 miler. I am hoping I can stay up with Keith for part of the run. She's blazing fast and I need a good workout. We'll see how long I can hang on. I need to bring my camera for the section above the river, though, so I'll be carrying some weight on my butt. I'm well-trained for that!

April Mudfest

We didn't get enough miles in, but we did get out and do this for four hours today!

The whole way we felt like we were sliding off the trail.











The other day I woke up to this. Welcome to April in Colorado. It doesn't snow all winter and then at the end of March it dumps.











Trying to get geared up for racing season in this stuff is a challenge. Katy went up to Dillon and skied all day Saturday. The roads were bad, and last night we talked about changing our plans to something really boring, like pavement. But this morning the sky looked clear and it was supposed to stay cold. Good trail conditions, at least the mud wouldn't be an issue. Right?

Four hours of shoe-sucking mud, slush and snowdrifts later, we had our workout in and the hills were socked in and snow was coming down in time for Katy's drive home. It didn't look so bad to the north, but it was blowing in from the west and the wind picked up.











The views from the Blue Sky Trail and the Indian Summer loop were worth the slopfest.















More mud=More fun.

After the BIG BLIZZARD...Mud Season

I got an email from Katy after my run on Saturday asking if I wanted to join her and Wayne, her friend from New Jersey, who was flying in for the weekend, on a trail run Sunday, and she asked if I had any suggestions for places to run.

I mentioned Coyote Ridge, but suggested we start early when the ground was still frozen, because how could you forget, the other day we had the BIG BLIZZARD of 2009...all 6 inches.

Man, you'd think people in Colorado never saw snow before. They all panicked, called off school, sent people home from work, crashed their cars. It was 6 inches. Are you all transplants from Florida? Reminds me of when it rains in Arizona, nobody knows how to drive in it.

The REAL problem with a late snowfall is that it turns all the trails to mud once it melts. And with the temperatures hitting the 50s yesterday and today, it is doing just that.

I met Katy, Wayne, and his friend Marissa, also from New Jersey, at the Coyote Ridge trailhead at 8:00. We started at an easy pace and topped out on the ridge in about 30minutes. I thought it would be icy on the steps going down the other side but it looked like a torrent of dried, frozen mud after yesterday's thaw.

There was a lot of snow past the west side of Coyote Ridge. On the way out we were postholing through drifts of snow, alternating with patches of frozen mud. On the way back, it was a challenge to stay on snow and avoid the shoe-sucking mud. We started to head north on the Blue Sky trail but after about 10 minutes Wayne suggested we go south since it looked clearer.
We got to the road and decided to climb the Indian Summer trail loop. Marissa is new to ultras and this was her longest run so far. She was winded but did awesome at nearly 6000 feet, having flown in from New Jersey last night! She's training for her first 50 miler in Laramie in June.











Wayne and Marissa descending the sloppy, slippery slope of mud coming down Coyote Ridge on the way back. What a nice change from the concrete wastelands of New Jersey!

It was a pleasant 3 hour run with good conversation and blowing off steam. We all felt refreshed at the end.

From deep dust last week on my run, to this week:


Deep mud.








More mud = More fun.

I did it!

I made it snow!

Thursday when I left for work in the morning, there was a dusting of snow that looked like it would turn to rain as soon as the sun came up. The sun never did come up, it got more socked in and by mid-morning they were sending non-essential staff home from work and closing the schools. It looked like a blizzard outside and continued to snow on and off all day.

This morning it looked like this outside.


In the back yard, where I was planting flowers on Sunday, now it looks like this.


So much for riding my bike this week, now that it's off the trainer with road tires on. It's time to dig out the Yak Trax again.


We waited all winter for some snow, and here it is.

I have a hard time getting motivated even with the beautiful clean snow and blue sky. It's my first day off after my work week and I feel trashed. I need a nap and to rehydrate myself more than anything now.

This morning I took the girls to the vet for their yearly checkup and their heartworm pills and vaccinations. They are a handful to get them to cooperate but they always entertain us. Their vet is a runner too, I've known him since the early 90s when I used to take Joanie, my first Australian Shepherd there.

Maybe I can still salvage a run out of this day once I get a few more hours of sleep. Last week I was talking to another nurse at work who tells me there is no way she could ever run. I told her, any nurse who works 12 hour shifts at the bedside can easily do an ultra. I need more recovery from work than any ultra!

I'll try to enjoy the snow while we have it. On the bright side, maybe the trail dust will settle? And it should keep the snakes indoors until it melts. This is Colorado, though, and next week it could be 80 degrees...

Spring Training 2009

The snot rocket disease finally subsided enough to allow me to breathe, so I couldn't go one more day without running. It's been almost 2 weeks!

After taking both the dogs for a run this morning, I decided to take Iris up to the park and do one rock repeat, just to make it official training. Iris is the distance runner, Isabelle likes to sprint but she isn't good at long distances. I left her home to keep Dennis company, he is now sick with the infectious, purulent, snot-producing virulent contagion. It was a warm day and on the way down I was worrying about snakes, but didn't see any.

At the top I was trying to get Iris to sit still so I could take a picture of her, and some hikers came along and witnessed Iris's protest. She has major separation anxiety when Isabelle isn't with her and was having a temper tantrum. Walking 5 feet away from her is a problem if her sister isn't there. One of the hikers offered to take a picture of us together.

It's been so dry that everything is dust. There is snow on Longs Peak but some of the slopes are looking bare, up high. If we don't get some rain or snow soon it will be a bad fire season.

When I got home I felt like planting flowers, so I went to the nursery and got a flat of annuals and started filling the pots on the patio as the girls supervised me.

I'm doing everything I possibly can to make it snow!

Facebook!!?? OMG!

Like, OMIGOD!

How did I ever do this to myself? I was home, innocently cooking a pot of chicken arugula soup and was thinking about adding matzo balls, my grandmother would have been so proud of me doing that...

While the leeks were sauteeing in the pan, I decided to check email and got yet another Facebook invitation from a friend. I keep hearing about this Facebook thing, and I always resist the latest thing...

I got curious, and decided since I'm home and have no running plans and don't have much energy for anything more than rolling matzo balls and chopping onions, I'll check it out.

Oh sure. Five hours later, I have over a dozen friends including people I haven't seen since high school, I find out you can chat on Facebook too, and there are groups, and ways to comment, e-mail, look at photos, and I realize that this new toy has the potential to widen my butt even further...

I think it's great though. I actually spent nearly an hour chatting with my best friend from high school, we haven't kept in touch very much lately but it was good to catch up.

Forgot one more thing. Interesting fact: I share a birthday with Osama bin Laden. Another reason for me to be on the no fly list. Maybe there's a list for that on Facebook, too.

I REALLY need to get over this cold and get back to running!