Happy Anniversary to My Mom and Dad

38 years ago today, my parents were married.  I am so thankful that they have supported me throughout my life, and continue even today as I head out on some of these adventures.  Without them, I would never have the strength or courage to go out and try these things.

Thanks for being the most amazing and loving parents a son could ever ask for.

Here's to 38 more!!

First "Real" Day in Leadville

Even though its been almost 2 weeks since I hit the road, yesterday was my first real day back in Leadville.

I decided it would be a good idea to hike a 14er (14,000 ft peak).  I figured this would help me acclimate, and also be a good workout.

I got a little bit of a late start, and that was the beginning of some issues, but overall not a terrible day.

I got to the trailhead a little before 9:00 AM, and needed to be at the shop around 1:30 PM.  Based on last year's time of hiking Elbert in 3 hours and 21 minutes, I figured this would be no problem (it turns out that last year was in mid-July after becoming acclimated, and a better climber as well)

Early on, the trail looks like this:

This is the easy part, and is in the shadows.  It is quite nice.  On some of the switchbacks, you can get an early view of the surrounding area.

I was a little short of breathe, but the normal kind for being at 11-12,000 feet.  Nothing to worry about, so I pressed on. I drank plenty of water, and took small breaks to evaluate how I was feeling.  Everything was good enough.

A little higher up, the trees start to thin out just a little, and you get a glimpse of the peak.

I was still feeling good, as I reached the tree line in about an hour and a half (this is about 11,900 or 12,000 feet).

As you can hear, I am a getting winded some, but still feeling pretty good, and making decent time.

Further up the trail, I shot another short video so you could see what it looks like from above tree line, looking back down.  I realize this may be redundant or unnecessary for some readers, but for those that haven't made it to a place like this, I would like them to have a feel for it.

Above tree line, the trail becomes significantly more steep.  I took my time, steadily making decent time, and reaching the peak in about 3.5 hrs.  This is already more than the total time it took me to summit the peak, and then run down last year.

I snapped a few photos, and then headed down, hoping I could still make it to work on time.

On the jog down, I started noticing that I had a bit of a headache (the pounding variety).  I kept drinking water, eating, and taking breaks where I felt I needed to. 

By the time I reached tree line, I was out of water.  Not being quite used to the altitude, I needed more water than I would in a few weeks from now, so I did not plan that very well.  By the time I got to the bottom, I wasn't feeling well, and I was already late for work.  The trip took just under 5 hours, which meant it was 1:45 PM, and I was supposed to be there at 1:30 PM.

I rushed to work, got in a truck, and drove to Denver...pounding water from a gallon jug the entire way.  I actually started feeling a little better, but still had a headache.

A good night's sleep, and lots of water, and I feel much better today.

Some will view this as a shameless plug, but it can be two things (a shameless plug, and a declaration of my love for these bars).  I love these bars.  They are delicious, and there is nothing fake in them.  They have been powering my runs and hikes for a while now.

Check them out here when you get a chance:  http://thunderbirdenergetica.com

Run camp starts this week, and some pretty big names in the ultra world will be there, so I will hopefully have some good stories, and pictures for you in a few days.

Go outside and do something active today!

Recap of The Road

I have been on the road since last Monday, so that makes 10 days total.  We drove from Leadville to Wilmington, NY, and back again in that time.  In them middle we put on a mountain bike race.

This is a map to give you a little perspective on how far we traveled.

That is pretty much the path we took as well.

I'll recap our stops, and runs, then move on to the race.

We did not really get on the road until Monday afternoon, and we made it to North Platte, NE.  I had run that morning (see the pictures in the last post), so I did not need to run in Nebraska.  The next night we made it to Morris, IL.

That night I ran 12 miles on paved roads around corn fields.  It reminded me of running at home a little because of running around fields, and it was really flat.  Also, the nice sunset reminded me of home.

Sunset in Morris, IL

I was glad to be getting miles in wherever I could find them.

The next night we made it to Pembroke, NY.  A quick look at Google Maps showed there was a high school about a mile from the hotel.  I used the mile run to the school's track as a warm up, and then did a Tabata workout (4 minutes of alternating between 20 seconds pretty much as hard as you can go, followed by 10 seconds of slow jogging; this makes 8 rounds of punishment).  These workouts don't feel good, but they are over quickly, and the research is showing that they can be as affective, if not more, than long runs.

The next afternoon we rolled into Wilmington, NY.  I had never ventured into that part of the country before, it is quite beautiful.  The traveling crew decided to look for a mountain hike, and we found this little gem:

Even though the peaks in upstate New York are not high in comparison to Colorado, I am not yet in top climbing shape, and this trail was rather steep.  It turned out to be a good workout, and I even jogged on part of it.  It ended up being about 7 miles roundtrip from the hotel.

That evening we met the rest of the team that had flown in at MacDougal's.  It is local restaurant that has an incredible view from the deck:

That is the Au Sable River, and yes it look awesome in real life too.

The next day we killed it.  We were able to get nearly all of the start/finish/expo area set up within a few hours.  The volunteers were great.  The layout was basically such that the race finished at the bottom of the sky run, under the gondola.  To get all of our equipment to that location easily, I got to do something I have never done before.  Although driving in 4 wheel drive is not new to me, driving a 4 door, Chevy 3500 dually with a 32 foot enclosed goose neck trailer down a sky slope certainly was new to me.  These trucks are awesome however, and they handled the task with ease.  See:

That night was the pre-race event that they hold in the ski lodge.

The Mayor of Wilmington wore a button that said "The Mayor," and a top hat all night.  He also, wore a hawaiian shirt.  Pretty awesome dude.  He was a hard working, fun loving mayor, and was extremely helpful throughout the weekend.  The entire town was great come to think of it.

I spent most of the next day marking course with our logistics guy, and one of the guys (Johnny) who works for the olympic group out of Lake Placid.  He was a huge help, and a great guy.

They also needed the usefulness of my long arms to climb the start/finish structure, and then to hang the clock.

Side note:  The name of the mountain is Whiteface, the town is Wilmington, and it was the mountain that was home to the Lake Placid Olympic games in '62 and '80.

At the very end of the day we marked some course down by the river, and found another good photo op.

Finally, Sunday rolled around.  The race got off to a great start.  Then the rain started.  It was cool, but not cold, and it rained for hours.  Just as the race concluded, the rains let up, and we began the arduous task of breaking the event down.  It went much more smoothly than I had been dreading, and we were off the mountain before dark.

The next morning, we reversed course, and headed back for Leadville.

The first night, we stopped in Wauseon, OH.  It was sort of your stereotypical looking small midwest town.  I did find a walking path to run, so that made things go a bit more smoothly.  The sunset here was pretty nice too.

I was able to bust out 8.5 miles that night.

The next night found us in Grand Island, NE.  Directly across the interstate from our hotel was Mormon Island State Park.  I again used the distance as a warm up, and then knocked out a Tabata workout around the lake.

The next night is this one, and it finds me writing this blog right now.

Goodnight

Leadville 2013 Begins

Well I have been here since Saturday now.  We are leaving in an hour for the first qualifier of the summer for the mountain bike.  This one is in Wilmington, NY.  Google it, and see what kind of drive we are about to embark on.

On the drive in, I had to pull over to take a picture of this mountain showered in sunlight.  I am not sure which one it is, but it is in the Spanish Peaks.

The first thing I noticed, is that the altitude does not seem to be affecting me as much as last year.

Over the course of Sunday, I got packed, and settled in.

This morning, I got up, and went for my first "run" it was really more of a hike/run.  It took me 1hr and 56 mins to run 9 miles.  I was happy that I was able to do some actual running for part of the time, and to get some miles in at altitude before hitting the road for this mountain bike race.

Pics from this morning:

Shameless plug to get sponsored by Thunderbird; their bars are awesome...go buy some

I am leaving the house now.  The descriptions, and pictures will get better when I am more settled.