Another Epic CRUD Run

Barr Camp in Pouring Rain

Another Epic CRUD Run. These runs are too fun to be considered training! This was a typical CRUD long run with lots of climbing, getting lost, and enjoying the mountains. It rained off and on throughout to make things more adventurous. Our little adventure started in Manitou and headed up William’s Canyon. Paul DeWitt’s dad joined us from VA, so he had a serious altitude adjustment to make but did just fine. Williams Canyon is a rocky uphill run that eventually takes us to the top of Waldo Canyon. We did a short spin through Waldo Canyon to Long’s Ranch Road. I not sure what this road was used for in earlier times, but it is pretty much closed to the public now. It is STEEP & LONG. After slogging up Long’s Ranch Road, we regrouped at the top & continued through the Experimental Forest (sounds like a scene from Wizard of Oz) to Barr Trail, which goes to the top of Pike’s Peak. We were only on Barr Trail for a little bit and turned off & up the pipeline trail, which was a new trail for me. I found out why it’s called the pipeline trail when we crossed a bridge across a canyon with a pipeline running across it. Well it was actually just lying there. From there we ran up and up and up following the cog railroad tracks until we came to a rest stop for cog railroad passengers. From there we took a trail that we thought would take us back to Barr Trail but it petered out so we bushwhacked it. Eventually found Barr Trail and ran it up to Barr Camp, which is about ½ way to the top of Pikes Peak. A quick break and we headed down in a steady rain to Manitou, about a seven mile descent. Fun Times!

Run_Pics

Run: 4.9 hrs, 25 - 27 miles? 5,100+ ft of climbing

Setting a Basline

Recovery Run in Ute Park

This was a week for establishing baselines. CRUD does a 4 ½ mile time trial every Thursday up Barr Trail. It’s a brutal uphill run with an average grade of 11 ½ percent. ProCycling started a semi-weekly time trial on road bikes up Cheyenne Canyon. This is a climb of 3.1 miles with an average grade of 7 percent. So I’m integrating these time trials into my LeadMan training. Cheyenne Canyon went pretty well, it was far off my best time but wasn’t my slowest. I think my time up Barr Trail the next day was pretty close to my slowest. No biggy, I’ve been a flatlander most of this year, so I don’t expect to run a 4 ½ miles straight up to an altitude of about 9,500 ft very fast. It was raining most of the run on Barr Trail, so it wasn’t too hot. Now I've got a baseline to improve upon this summer. Hopefully by the end of July or beginning August I’ll be surpassing my best time from my younger days. That would be a good sign.

Max after a Run in the Rain

It’s been a good week so far. Lot’s of quality running and riding with good recovery. I won’t be able to do the two races I had planned this weekend. Due to the uncertainty of work/travel status, I didn’t register until the races were full. No worries, I’ll try to simulate them this weekend. So far this week:

Mon: Strength training, primarily core
Tues: Run – 1.9 hrs, 14 miles w/5 miles relaxed tempo in 35:36. Bike - 1.3 hrs, 22 miles w/2 * 8 min hill repeats & 5 * 3 min steep hill repeats
Wed: Run - .9 hrs, 6 miles w/1 ½ miles barefoot in grass. Bike – 2.3 hrs, 23 miles w/Cheyenne Canyon TT in 21:14
Thurs: Run - 1.9 hrs, 9 miles w/Barr Trail TT in 1:07:58
Fri: Run - .8 hrs, 6 miles w/2 miles barefoot in grass. Strength training primarily core

What a Week!

The Incline Just to Right of Pike's Peak

This has been an awesome week getting back into the swing of things. After going six months with hardly seeing a hill, I’m surprised at how well I was able to get back into the hill workouts. Got in plenty of hills on the bike and running. Tuesday morning started with a 12 mile run w/ 100 meter sprints scattered throughout then in the evening the good ol high intensity "climb so hard you puke" team ride. I was shocked when I was able to keep up with the main group.

Wednesday an easy recovery run to include a mile of running barefoot, Thursday morning some technical mountain biking in Ute Park followed by an 18 mile slightly uphill time trial from Ice Lake to Palmer Lake on Santa Fe Trail. Again another surprise; my time was among my best. Came upon some Burro racers training on Santa Fe Trail. Only in Colorado! Thursday evening Max & I climbed the Incline then ran to Barr camp at 10,200 ft, which is about halfway to the top of Pikes Peak, then 7 miles back down to Manitou Springs.

Burro Racers

Going to the Incline

On Friday, I almost lost my little buddy Max. We did an easy hike vs. running as my quads were pretty beat up from the downhill running on Thursday. We were passing through a field, Max chased a rabbit over a ridge and I heard him yelp on the other side. I started running toward the ridge when he came running back through the field with two coyotes twice his size in pursuit. One was behind and the other was circling around to head him off. I ran toward them screaming at the top of my lungs and got there at the exact moment he was caught from behind. The coyote heading him off was within two seconds of striking. I ran in kicking and screaming and both coyotes gave up the chase and ran off with me chasing them screaming at the top of my lungs. That was scary, two seconds slower and Max wouldn’t be here today.

Team CRUD in the Clouds

Saturday, a magic four hour run into the clouds with CRUD up Cap’n Jack’s to Frosty’s (10,000 ft) and the base of Mt Rosa (10,500 ft). We had to traverse several snow fields in the high country and since it was an overcast day we were literally running in the clouds. It was a great Leadman training run with over 4,500 feet of climbing.

Snow in the High Country

Finally on Sunday, went on an awesome six hour mountain ride with one of my best riding buds, Sharon Larson. This ride covered it all; big climbs, big scenery, big descents, technical, rocky, six hours of single track bliss, with just over 6,100 feet of climbing. It is so good to be back!

Headin Down Trail 666

CRUD_RUN_PICS

SUN_MTB_PICS

Sun: Mountain Bike - 6 hrs, 45 miles, 6,100 ft climbing
Sat: Run - 4.1 hrs, 18 miles, 4,500 ft climbing
Fri: Hike with sprint training
Thurs: Mountain Bike – 3.5 hrs (0.9 hrs TT), 46 miles, Run – 3.3 hrs, 14 miles
Wed: Run – 0.8 hrs, 5.5 miles
Tues: Run 1.6 hrs, 12 miles, Road Bike – 2.5 hrs, 39 miles, 3219 ft climbing
Mon: CORE Strength workout

Back on the Bike!

Finally! Had a great mountain bike ride Sunday. First time on the bike in a month. It felt great. Went to Ute Park and did some technical riding. I was very surprised at how well I was riding and how good it felt on the climbs. Since I was feeling so strong, rode over to Red Rocks to do some longer steeper climbs and felt great. Added Intemann Trail, and a couple more climbs and had just a stellar day. Saw something interesting on the way home. A sheriff had a car pulled over and the contents of the trunk were on the ground. I thought "drug bust". A closer look revealed that the sheriff was changing the front tire. Wow, he took the logo "To Serve and Protect" to heart. I've never seen that before. Just made a great day even greater.

Sunday, May 10: Mountain Bike, 3.4 hours, 29 miles WoooHooo!

Back In Colorado Again!

Pike's Peak (Click to enlarge)

WHOOOHOOO! Finally back Home! Man it’s been a very long hard 4 weeks on the road (and 3 ½ months before that). I can’t even begin to describe how happy I am to be home. With all the travel, getting up at 4 am to run, working all day & night, it seems like I haven’t seen the sun in weeks. Even though it rained all week, and I worked all day and late into the evening I still managed to get up and run in the dark every morning. Coming home is paradise. This week I got a total of 55 miles of running and zero biking. I haven’t even seen a bike for a month. I celebrated coming home by running one of my favorite loops at Rampart Reservoir. It’s a fairly flat run, but beautiful with an average altitude of just over 9000 ft. I haven’t run a hill in over a month so I decided not to do an extreme hilly route. This run was magic! It did wonders for my soul. I am so happy to be back in the mountains! My goal was to run at least 3 hours. I did a loop around Rampart Reservoir in a little over 2 hours, then ran another hour just enjoying the mountains and trails, being back home, and my favorite running buddy in the whole world, Max.

My Bestest Running Buddy in the Whole Wide World

Saturday, May 9: Run 3.2 hrs, 22 miles
Friday, May 8: Run .7 hrs, 5 miles
Thur. May, 7: Run 1.5 hrs, 11 miles
Wed. May, 6: Run .7 hrs, 5 miles
Tues. May, 5: Run 1.2 hrs, 8.5 miles
Mon. May, 4: Run .6 hrs, 4 miles
Total for Week: Run 7.9 hrs, 55.5 miles

Set Backs

This last week has been pretty exhausting and frustrating. Got to San Diego and woke up the next morning with a sore throat and feeling pretty groggy. We worked very long days Mon & Tues and I just wasn't feeling 100%. My joints were sore and I just couldn't get going even on an easy run. On Wed, got up at 3:30 am for a 6 am flight to Columbus, OH. Pretty much zero time to run or workout. In Columbus we worked very long hours again and on my flight home to Colorado Springs, whatever was bothering me all week came down like a hammer. I got home went to bed and didn't get back up for over 24 hours. When I did, I had a fever of 100.7 and my throat was so sore I had a hard time swallowing liquids. Still had work to complete before I leave for Washington DC tomorrow. I guess working long hours and travelling to 4 time zones in a week kind of wore me down. Especially since I was trying to force training too. Well it's been 3 weeks off the bike, no running the last three days, I'm sick as a dog and heading out of town for another week. Times like these will make crossing that finish line that much sweeter.

Leaving DC Headin to San Diego

Well I am glad to be leaving DC. Headin to my stomping grounds in CA. Won't have my bike, but at least I'll have the opportunity to get some decent trail runs in. Nothing extremely hilly, but it will be nice to run on some rough trails. San Diego is becoming my home away from home. Run down for the second week in DC:

Fri, April 24: Started the day with an early morning recovery run. Took a new route through different neighborhoods and enjoyed the morning songbirds for an easy, relaxing 4 miles. Only worked 10 hours today so got a good workout in the gym. Heading for San Diego tomorrow! I’m really glad to be leaving DC but sure wish I had my bike.

Thurs, April 23: Today we had to be to work early, so I decided to cut my run down to 9 miles from the planned 12. Got up at four and with no dilly-dallying, was on the street by 4:10. Ran a pretty easy pace out about 4 1/2 miles then turned around. On the way back I got so deep in thought that I didn’t pay attention and the next thing I knew I had no clue where I was. Continued running until I found Virginia Ave, a street I ran earlier. Finally came to a spot that I recognized and was back on track. Turned out I ran a two mile circle and was back where I was 20 minutes before. So I got an impromptu speed workout running the last 2 ½ miles back to the hotel, for a total of 11 miles.

Wed, April 22: Very easy 4 ½ mile recovery run early in the morning. Felt a little stiff from yesterday’s run, so started out nice and easy until the legs started loosening up. It was just nice to be outside and listen to the morning songbirds. The rest of the day will be indoors, sitting on my butt and wearing a tie. It was a short easy run, but today’s only sanity check.

Tues, April 21: Didn’t get to do anything Monday due to a very long day at work. Today got up at 4:15 and ran 12 miles in the neighborhoods near the hotel. Felt really good today and kept a pretty brisk pace. Again, even though it was overcast and raining a little bit, the singing of birds as the night drifted into day was incredible. I was feeling particularly good this morning so the last 4 miles I lifted the pace to where it felt like I was racing. I imagined I was in the last 4 miles of the Akron Marathon feeling great and hammering to the finish. It was a good feeling. In the evening I did a quick workout in the hotel gym. The hotel gym equipment was not very good at all, but we worked late and I didn’t have time to go to the real gym. A little of something is better than lot of nothing.

Training in Virginia

Great Falls

Sun, April 19: Today was an awesome trail run in River Bend & Great Falls state parks just north of McLean, VA. Who’d a thought that something so awesome as these parks exist in this extreme urban area. Miles and miles of single track through beautiful woods with singing birds, abundant wild life, and sections of steep hills; it was spiritual! At the end of 23 miles I was feeling so much energy and joy from this run I didn’t want to stop. However, the reality of risking overtraining and the fact I was out of water made me decide to end the adventure. It was truly an awesome run!

SeePictures

Sat, April 18: Started the day with indoor cycling at the McLean Racket & Health Club. 1 ½ hours of sub threshold intervals on one of those stationary bikes with the big fat saddle. Man those saddles are uncomfortable. After the bike workout, ran in River Bend & Great Falls on the recommendation from a colleague at work. Had planned on doing an easy 5 mile recovery run, but the trails were so awesome I couldn’t stop exploring. I finally called it at 7 miles. I am definitely coming back tomorrow for more exploring!

Fri, April 17: Got up early before work and ran through the neighborhoods near the hotel. Nice rolling hills with some pretty impressive houses. The streets are lighted enough to be like daylight and there’s no traffic this early in the morning. This whole area is old wood forest and the houses are built without taking down all the trees. As the sun comes up the birds are incredible. Its like a concert put on by nature. What a way to start the day! 1.4 hrs and 9.5 miles.

Thurs, April 16: Easy five mile recovery run before work through the neighborhood near the hotel. Legs were feeling pretty beat up from running so much pavement yesterday. Just took it easy and even though it was raining, still enjoyed the magic of night turning to day. After work went to the gym for a full body strength workout as well as a 1 hour spin session. Our spinning class included some eight very tough 2 minute Vo2 max intervals. I had a couple minor problems in that I’m still not used to those big fat saddles and when we were going really hard, I pulled my foot out of the pedal a couple times. Good workout though considering I’m here without a bike.

Wed, April 15: Got up at four AM to run a paved trail (W & OD) not too far from the hotel. It’s a pretty nice trail and I just ran a steady pace in the dark for a little over six miles before turning around. What was really cool about this run is the sounds of nature all around. The trail travels through marsh areas, old forests, golf courses, residential areas. Throughout the run there seemed to be massive amounts of birds singing, crickets chirping and other sounds of nature. It was like running in a concert. I felt great the entire run, but a little beat up from the pavement at the end.

Tues, April 14: Went to the gym and participated in a spinning class or as the instructor called it, indoor cycling training. The instructor is a cyclist and doesn’t teach spinning. The bikes are the spinning type bikes with the strap on pedals (that keep coming un-tightened) and BIG FAT SADDLES. Those saddles are intimidating! We had a good workout though, with a thorough warm-up then a series of sub threshold intervals. Actually the perfect type of training for me right now, under the circumstances.

Mon: April 13: Flew to Washington/Dulles then drove to the hotel. Found a gym (The McLean Racket & Health) club less then two minutes walking distance from the hotel. The hotel has a membership so guests can use it for free. Excellent! Went over and did a full body strength workout, focusing on core. Also picked up a copy of their spinning schedule. Gonna make this work!

Total for Week:

Bike: 3.6 hrs, 52 miles

Run: 8.8 hrs, 57 miles

Highs & Lows

This was the kind of week that will test one’s patience and resolve. A week with ups and downs, highs and disappointments. The week started off very well. Monday was a complete recovery day as I was wasted from last week. Tuesday, I didn’t run in the morning and had a great ride at the Tuesday ProCycling "ride until you puke". I felt great, was able to go at very high intensity and hold my own with the fast guys. Big difference when you don’t do a hard run before the ride. This had me pretty psyched for DawnTillDusk on Saturday. The rest of the week, I pretty much took it easy. An easy six mile run on Wednesday morning followed by an easy ride home from work in the afternoon.

Thursday, an easy ride to work with a half dozen hard sprints just to wake up what little fast twitch muscles I have and that was it for the week. I felt rested and ready for Saturday. Then just as I was getting ready to leave work, I learned that I will be travelling all over the country for a month starting Monday. Instead of going home, I spent the rest of the night coordinating and making travel arrangements. Because of the amount of travel involved I won’t be able to take my bike. 4 ½ weeks of no riding. I’ll also miss a couple of races. I was bummed.

Friday, drove 500+ miles to Gallup, NM for DawnTillDusk. I felt good and was excited about the first race of the season. I really wanted to give it my all since I won’t be riding for a while. Got up Saturday morning and there is a steady downpour of snow and rain. Been raining steady since midnight. The race site was a mud pit. Only four wheel drive vehicles could even get to the venue. At the pre-race meeting we were informed that the race will be delayed and a decision will be made at 10 if it will be cancelled. Shortly after, the sun came out and there was hope. At 10 we were informed that the course is un-ridable and even un-walkable in many sections. They will check conditions again and possibly have a Noon til 7 race. Then it started snowing hard. Big wet flakes. Race cancelled.

Waiting on Race Decision

The excitement for the day was queueing up to climb up the mud bog hill to leave the venue. Each vehicle waited for the one in front to clear the hill before he/she would try. Any non-four wheel drives that came down the night before were not leaving until Sunday at the earliest. So we mudded our way out and drove 500+ miles back home where it was dry and warm.

Waiting for Turn up the "Mud Bog"

Sunday, woke up and it’s snowing big heavy wet flakes. Looks like the New Mexico storm hit Colorado. Had to do something so I got on the trainer. I decided that since I couldn’t ride 12 hours outside, I would ride 6 hours inside. Warmed up for about 15 minutes, then put on the Spinervals "Hardcore 100" training DVD, and blasted the stereo. The "Hardcore 100" DVD is a workout with 5 ½ hours of progressively harder intervals. Starts out fairly easy, increases to moderate intensity, and the last hour is very intense. I felt great and finished very strong. Oh if only I could have raced yesterday!

6 Hours & 116 Miles on the Trainer

So now I’ve got to radically alter my training. I leave tomorrow for DC. Over the next month I will be in San Diego, Irving, TX and back to DC. I think I will be restricted to running, but if I can swing it, maybe I can find a gym and possibly get into a spinning class now and then. This certainly is a set back, but somehow, I’ll work it out.

Sun: Bike – 6 hrs, 116 miles
Thurs: Bike – 1.3 hrs, 19.5 miles
Wed: Run - .9 hrs, 6.2 miles, Bike – 1.7 hrs, 19.5 miles
Tues: Bike (MTB) – 1.8 hrs, 15.6 miles, Core Strength - .8 hrs

A Rough Week

This was a pretty rough week. The weather was cold and windy all week and on every group ride I got spanked. I’m sure the running has a lot to do with that. I sure am starting to feel old riding with all these young fast guys. Next week is the first big test. The DawnTillDusk Mountain Bike Race in Gallup, NM. Total for week:

Run: 8 hrs, 50 miles
Bike: 12 hrs, 142 miles

The Old Guy with ProCycling Studs (Click to enlarge)

Sunday: After dealing with the wind and trying to keep up with the young guys yesterday I was completely exhausted. I crawled to bed around 8:30 and slept until 8:00. Woke up feeling pretty good. The sun was shining, but it was still windy and cold. I decided to run and not really plan where. Make it up as I go along. Headed for Ute Valley, ran a loop, then over to the middle school where Roswitha was running laps on the track. Ran a couple of miles with her then headed back to Ute Valley. I was feeling really good today and even though there was a stiff cold wind, it didn’t bother me. I was enjoying the run and so was Max. We ran several long loops and after 18 miles started heading toward home. Max is incredible. We had just covered 20 miles and once we got to within a mile of the house, he started sprinting through all his "known rabbit hideouts" like we had just started! When we got home he absolutely had to go clear the back yard of any rabbits or squirrels.
Run: 3.6 hrs, 21 miles 2,260’ climbing

Max, My best Running Buddy

Saturday: Saturday was a tough day. I could hear the wind howling from my bed. Got up to see light snow blowing sideways, not good. Went for a 5 mile run with Max and the wind was ridicules. Strong, frigid and miserable. I also felt tired. Got home, ate and headed for the team ride. It was about an hour ride to where we met and I had a tail wind so even though I was tired, it felt like I was flying. Because of the weather, we had a rather small turn out; six. With the exception of me they were all young fast guys and at least two of them, Doug & Kalan, pro.

Doug Ryden

We had a good ride in Cheyenne Canyon, although I was getting dropped a lot and when I did hang on I was struggling. Going home was rough. Against an even stronger & colder headwind. I got caught by a side wind and was actually blown off the bike path. Shortly after that I came upon the always-comical group of Hash House Harriers. They were spread out all over the woods looking for beer. I’m sure when they found it, it was cold! Ducked into Ute Valley to get some more single-track riding and escape the wind. Once I got home I was exhausted both mentally & physically. For the first time this year, I felt like I was my age.

Run: .8 hrs, 5 miles
Bike: 4.8 hrs, 42 miles, 4,140’ climbing

Friday: An easy relaxing ride to work. Left around 5:30. Weather was beautiful, clear and in the 30s. Again, the mountains looked pristine as the early morning sunrise reflected their snowcaps. Makes you feel great to be alive! In the evening got an unexpected ride. As I headed for my truck after work, I realized I forgot my keys. Not planning on riding home, I stuffed my morning riding clothes in my backpack. Pulled them out and they were soaked. Yuk! Rode home in wet smelly clothes in a pretty stiff head wind. Luckily it wasn’t super cold.
Bike: 3.1 hrs, 39 miles

Thursday: Got up at 4:30 and went on 12 mile run with Max in fresh snow from snowstorm last night. Absolutely beautiful! Nothing like running in fresh snow on mountain trails early in the morning. Treading the first footprints and being dark, sometimes I had a hard time following the trail. As in the past I just relied on Max and let him show me the way. Every now and then we came upon Coyote tracks so I made sure I Max was always in sight. At about 4 miles we came upon very fresh, what I believe to be, mountain lion tracks. Yikes! From that point I made Max run at my side. I certainly don’t want Max becoming mountain lion breakfast. As the sun rose, I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be out here running. The scene was simply amazing. What a way to start the day.

In the evening, rode home from work at a good tempo. Lengthened the route so I could get two 30 minute tempo sections without having to stop for traffic lights or stop signs. The route home from work is pretty good for tempo riding as home is a few hundred feet higher than the office. It was a great ride, and it is obvious that taking it easy yesterday was the right thing to do. I feel totally recharged!
Run: 1.7 hrs, 12 miles
Bike: 1.6 hrs, 22 miles

Wednesday: Felt really tired today. I had planned on riding to and from work but just couldn’t drag my tired but out of bed early enough to ride, so I drove. My plan for riding home was squelched when another snowstorm hit right about time to go. I was still feeling pretty run down and decided to listen to my body. I went home and rode 1 hour on the trainer focusing on relaxing and hi rpm spinning. This helped work some of the stiffness out of my legs and hopefully will give me a nice rest to get recharged.
Bike: 1 hour, ? miles