Blodgett Peak & Crashed Airplanes

Blodgett Peak 9,423'

We ran a very long 17 miles today. Leadville Trail 100 kind of miles. Rough steep terrain where the going is slow and exhausting. 4 hrs 40 minutes to run/hike 17 miles. A true CRUD run. Max & I ran from my house to the Woodman Rd. Trail Head and met the rest of http://www.teamcrud.com/ (so we actually get credit for 18 ½ miles). From there we followed trails through the south end of the Air Force Academy to begin our climb up Blodgett Peak. These were very rough and somewhat dangerous trails. I wondered many times how we would get down.

Max Looking Down at me and saying "Yes this is the trail"

It turns out we didn’t come down the same trail we went up, we went down the other side which was even more radical in places. Mountaineer kind of trails. Going up I fell way behind. If it weren’t for Max I probably would have never made it. Many times it was impossible to tell which way everyone went, so I just followed Max. The altitude, footing, and steepness of the climb were destroying me. Those 3 ½ minute climbs I’ve been doing in San Diego just aren’t cutting it! We got to the top and the view was worth it.

At the Top with Pikes Peak in the Background

Paul & Tara at the Top Looking Down on Colorado Springs

Steve taking a break on Airplane Wreckage

Coming down was slow and treacherous. Climbing, crawling, sliding, grabbing tree branches, whatever it took. We also came upon the remains of plane crash from World War II time frame.

On the Home Stretch!

We finally made it to a real trail. We had only covered eight miles in over three hours. We were on trails that we could actually run and covered the last nine miles in about 1 ½ hours. Ironically, I was feeling strongest the last 4 – 5 miles of the run. My legs are trashed now though! This was a fun adventure run that only Team CRUD would do. I love running with these guys & gals.

Running: 4.6 hrs, 18.5 miles, 3660'

Steve Bremner put together a great slide show of our little adventure at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/swbremner/20090228TourDeBlodgettPeak?feat=email#slideshow

It's Still February

Ahh Yes Winter! Forgot about that. Today was a mild reminder. Rode to work today with temps in the mid 20s. Had I been living here this Winter, this would be nothing. But it was a cold slap in the face. By the time I got to work, my hands and feet were frozen... Very painful in the shower! Riding home, I faced a pretty fierce headwind and a snow shower most of the way. The pace was slow and the conditions were tough. Tough conditions are what's needed when training for the LeadMan. In the LeadMan races we face hail, wind, rain, darkness, cold, and sometimes snow, not to mention altitude and rough trails.

Bike: To Work: 1.6 hours, 19.5 miles, From Work 1.9 hrs, 19.5 miles

Team CRUD

Team CRUD at the Top

Every Thursday morning throughout the Winter, Team CRUD does a time trial up Cheyenne Canyon. It is a 4 mile uphill run, very steep in places. It starts at around 6,400 ft and ends at approximately 8,100 ft. Everyone starts at different times with the goal of everyone finishing at the top at the same time, then we run down together. For instance if it takes 40 minutes start at 6:00 am, if 35 minutes - 6:05, if 45 min - 5:55. The altitude was rough on me today and I really struggled up the mountain. It was fun, and a hard reminder that I will have to do a lot of this type of running to get ready for LeadMan. We took Columbine trail down to the start so we added a couple of extra miles for a total of 10.

Coming Down Columbine

After work I rode home and inadvertently took the long way, which ended up being about 32 miles.

Bike: 2.2 Hrs, 32 miles

Run: 1.6 Hrs, 10 miles

Back In Colorado!

Colorado Springs, Airport Parking Lot

Back in Colorado for 1 1/2 weeks. Went on a short run as soon as I got back and holy smoley did the altitude kick my butt! After two months at sea level, I know what flat landers feel like when they come here. Ran a short 4 miles and my pace was a minute a mile slower than in San Diego, but felt harder. Wow! It was great running with my favorite running buddy though!

MyFavorite Running Buddy, Max

Tuesday morning (in San Diego) was the 4 AM 8 mile run with 10 * 15 second speed burst. I felt absolutely great! In the afternoon hooked up with the Urban Assault Crew and we had a fun, fast, intense one hour ride. One of those rides where a group of friends just go out and have fun. We attacked each other, chased the attackers down, pushed the hills, and flew down the descents. Its like being kids again. Another reason we ride. After the urban assault ride I went on to ride another 2 hours on the bike path along side the freeway to the coast and back.

Wed: Run 37:21, 4 miles

Tues: Run 1.1 hrs, 8.3 miles, Bike 3.1 hrs, 45 miles

Tour of California

Today was like the perfect day. Got up in the morning and ran trails! 16 miles worth. Got back, ate breakfast, hopped on my bike and met Ralph, Jim, & Rob to go chase the ToC. We rode a fairly easy pace up to Highland Valley road and then up the first climb of the day. It is a short (about 1 mile?) but at 9%. Once the race went by we rode further up, cut across Bandy Canyon, then rode the rolling hills to Escondido at a pretty hard pace to watch the finish (I think we were motivated at watching the race fly up the climb). After the finish, we rode back to the hotel, again at a good pace for a total of 38 miles riding on the day.

Bike: 2.6 hrs, 38 miles. Total for week-13.7 hrs, 171 miles

Run: 2.3 hrs, 16 miles. Total for week-5.7 hrs, 40.1 miles

Watching these guys climb up Highland Valley was nothing short of amazing. They simply flew up the climb like there was no hill at all, and they looked relaxed doing it! Here are some pictures from the climb. I took video of the finish, so I don't have any pictures of that.

I was cheering for Ralph!

The Peleton Approaches

Heading for the first Switchback

A small gap. I believe that's Tyler in the back.

Astana controlling and protecting Levi (5th back in Yellow)

Many interesting fans along the route

You could watch the race on big screens placed throughout the finish area.

Sycamore Canyon

The weather was awesome and the trails were sweet! And it's only about a 30 minute bike ride away!

This is just what the doctor ordered. It was great to get away from the urban madness if just for part of a day. Its why we do it!

Bike: 4:05, 35 miles

No Cars?

Friday, Feb 20: This morning at work a string of annoying events stuck with me into our lunch time ride. Since I was not in the best of moods when we started, for the first time, the traffic here annoyed me. Don't get me wrong it was a great ride (every ride is awesome) and the weather can't be beat, but today the traffic annoyed me. What if there were no cars? What if everyone traveled on foot, bicycle, or public transportation? What if no private cars & trucks were allowed and the only cars and trucks were either commercial for transport of goods, construction, or public transportation? I think the world would be a much better place. There certainly wouldn't be as many health issues and obese people all over the place. The smog problems would go away. My guess is that urban sprawl would be non-existent. Anyway it was just a thought. I'm looking forward to a good mountain bike ride today, after work (Saturday).

Bike: 1:36, 22 miles
Strength: 45 min, Focus on Core.

It's Summer Again!

It's February and the oranges are ripe for pickin!

Today was an absolutely beautiful day and a great training day. Felt pretty energetic on my 4 am hill repeats. Did the same hills I've been doing the last three weeks; 10 * 3.5 min. Next Thursday I'll be in Colorado doing the Thursday morning hill climb with Team-CRUD! Legs felt pretty good at work.

Part of the climb the race will come up

Lunch was the Urban Assault Ride. We rode up Highland Valley Road to scope out a spectator spot for the Tour of California, which comes through on Sunday. It is the first climb of the day for the race. Our plan is ride up Highland Valley, watch the race come by, then head across Bandy Canyon to Hwy 78 and ride into Escondido to watch the finish. Today was a good brisk ride, my legs felt surprisingly strong and as always with this group, it was a lot of fun. Oh and it was in the 70s.

Run: 1:42 11.5 miles (Hill Repeats)
Bike: 1:28 20.5 miles

Winter is Over

Well I guess we've had our Winter in San Diego, at least that's what the locals are saying. It rained on and off for about a week, and temperatures only got up in the mid 50s. Today the sun came out, temps climbed into the 60s and forecasts are calling for high 70s through the weekend. Ralph made a comment about the weather during our ride yesterday. Something like "What's with this weather here, we actually have to wear arm warmers!"

After a tough run on Sunday, I used Monday to recover only doing Core Strength training. That did the trick as I felt great Tuesday morning. Started the morning off with an 8 mile run, the first 4 miles at a casual pace then the last 4 miles at tempo. Took a cold bath/shower afterward and my legs felt great all day. Ralph & I rode the in afternoon doing a high RPM spin tempo ride and it felt great.

Today 4 miles in the morning then the lunch time Urban Assault Ride. The lunch ride started fast right out of the blocks. Jim just likes to ride fast, period. I don't think he knows what slow is. He eventually dropped us and we kind of got lost. Jim was probably waiting for us somewhere, but we must have took a wrong turn. We got our bearings straight with the help of Garmin and continued at a more civilized pace. The ride was nice and we actually got on some quieter roads with some nice scenery. All in all just another great ride! Note, I took some pictures, but I accidentally deleted them...duh!

Wed:
Run 37:58, 4.5 miles
Bike 2:01, 29 miles

Tues:
Run 1:04, 8.3 miles
Bike 1:54, 26 miles

Pounding the Pavement

Sunday was tough. Stayed up pretty late Saturday (after the 100 mile ride) working on a task for my boss in Colorado Springs, then had to be at work 8 am Sunday. Got up at 4:30 to get a 15 mile run before work. If I’m going to run in the dark, I’d rather run in the morning when there is not traffic vs evenings when there is.

Sunday’s run was painful. I started out pretty slow and just kind of tapered off from there. My legs were kind of trashed from Sunday's ride, and running on pavement probably wasn't doing them any favors. Ended up with 15.5 miles all on concrete and pavement. My calves were starting to cramp the last mile or so but I got through it. Didn’t really have time to stretch so I pretty much hobbled around at work like a cripple all day.

Today is a recovery day. Just strength work in the gym, primarily focusing on Core.

Sunday: Run 2:14, 15.5 miles
Total for Week: Bike - 13.8 hrs, 178.5 miles, Run - 5.3 hrs, 37.5 miles