Although I know there's value in it, there is a part of me that feels kind of silly writing a race report for the Summer Roundup.  Why?  I purposely treated it like any other day - I didn't go to bed early the night before, did no special hydration, didn't dwell on my splits or feel the need to memorize the course in the preceding week.  I didn't taper for it, didn't wear racing flats, didn't do the standard pre-race warmup routine.  I just showed up, ran, and had a great time with my Purple…

     It seemed like a brilliant idea at times, but mostly, the thought of 24 hours on the Incline scared me. A lot. More than the Inclinathon, more than the Stank, and more than any race I've done. But once a notion like this tickles my brain, there's some deep rooted, personal obligation that requires me…

Wednesday night racing at it’s finest.  It was a great mid week race for us at the one and only Palmer Park. Conditions were ideal with cloud cover moving in right on target as we were gathering up the ranks and rolling to the start line. This week we had the pleasant surprise of the whole field taking off together at once. This is very cool and how we should always do it. As we took off in a stampeded up the start hill we all had the extra adrenalin rush of being around 40 charging riders…

The highlight of the second leg of the Triple Crown of Running was passing teammate Sean O’Day. This was made possible by virtue of the new course for 2014 which involved an outer and Inner loop. I passed Sean at the merge point of the two loops as he was finishing up the inner or second loop, probably a good 25 minutes ahead of me. It didn’t take him but a few seconds to pass ME but nevertheless I reveled in my fleeting glory. It’s not every day that a plodder such as I gets to enjoy…

After taunting the thunderstorms last week (and winning...) I think the storms are coming back to get me. Only this time, they were targeting the entire Pro/Cat 1 field at Ascent Cycling Race #3.... With the Cat 2 racers still finishing up, Andy started the roll call of the entire field - everyone. He started in the normal order - pro men, SS men and so on down the line. Odd. Normally there is a well defined gap between all the fields. And then, after the last cat 2 racer finished, he rolled…

With the Ascent less than 6 weeks away, I have to admit I'm starting to get a little nervous.

My biggest fear?

Not finishing in the cutoff time and therefore not officially finishing the Ascent.  

Although I am NOT fast, I am in pretty good shape right now.  Even with power hiking most of the course, I think I should have no problem finishing in the cutoff.

However, there are a few things that could happen.…

You have to walk before you can run and you have to ride before you can race.

I have been spending a lot of time lately thinking about what brings and keep people in cycling and also what are the hurdles that block the way of more people getting involved in this sport. It seems to me that all the benefits of cycling and a bike racing lifestyle are things valued and sought after with much more energy and money than what it costs to pick up a decent bike and helmet and get involved in…

You have to walk before you can run and you have to ride before you can race.

I have been spending a lot of time lately thinking about what brings and keep people in cycling and also what are the hurdles that block the way of more people getting involved in this sport. It seems to me that all the benefits of cycling and a bike racing lifestyle are things valued and…

Welcome to July. Yikes. It feels like I've been going, going, going since the start of the year without much of a break. And in a way, I have been - from the Super Half Marathon (yes, I play runner sometimes too...) to 24 Hours in the Enchanted Forest, there's been a lot of stuff going on. Not as much racing as in prior years, but the few races have all been very big events - in length, size and stress. The training has been hard and I've had fewer social and fun rides then I'd like. I was…

Bubba has officially renamed this race to Summer Pound Up.  I had an idea of the course because I tried to run some of it a few days earlier.  I knew it was going to take my very best to conquer this course.  I did all the things I normally do to insure I would give it my best but this course pounded me.

As I waited for the start I felt good.  The temperature was just right for me.  I thought I was going to get the best of this course.  The first mile was congested but I knew it would…

This year's new Summer Trail Roundup course offered some different challenges and eliminated the infamous High Drive shuffle. I kind of missed the uphill grind and fast descent of High Drive but the up and down course this year combined with some narrow single track, stairs, and temps starting in the high 60's and quickly climbing to high 70's made for a hot run. 

I had run the course with the Striders the prior week so I knew generally what to expect as far as the route. I…

This…

The hip was appreciative of yesterday's ice bath and that's about all that mattered during this morning's Summer Roundup 12K.  It didn't particularly like the stairs in the middle of the course, but if that was the only complaint, I'll take it.

Now, to get a better idea of the racing conditions this morning (beginning at 7am) feel free to turn your oven to broil and climb in.  Now, once you're in the oven start running. It's a bit cramped in there? Ah well, do your best.  You may…

Second leg of the Triple Crown Series, and also my second race in 48 hours. I won't lie, walking to the start line, I did NOT want to race this. I actually questioned if I wanted to just scrap it and go for an easy trail run. But then reality set in, I realized it was less than 8 miles of running and it was mandatory if I wanted to hold on to second place in the Series.

A few fast guys at the start - Andy Wacker, three Kenyans, Neil McDonaugh...so I knew they were going to throw down…

I know, when you think of "sponsored" runners you think of the Olympics, Meb, Shalane, Kara, and the Nike Oregon Project.  The first group that pops into your head is likely not the PikesPeakSports.us Triple Crown Runners.  We are however, much thanks to Orange Theory Fitness, Mountain Equipment Recyclers, and the Pikes Peak Marathon, sponsored athletes.  While I can't speak for all seven of us here, I am also a mere mortal.  In addition to my awesome summer running gig, I work full-time and…

We'll see how banged up my legs are tomorrow at the Summer Roundup after yesterday's half marathon!

Article from the Gazette -

Sunday is the 2014 Summer Roundup Trail Run and it's a new race for everyone running, as the course has completely changed due to last year's floods.  I hear the race was once known as the Mystery Course Run, so it appears the race has returned to its roots...and the old is once again new.  

I have looked at the new course, which I've attached for curious…

This past week, some of my best college buddies came out to visit.  I had scared up a vision for us to casually hike the Elk Range's Four Pass loop, knowing that in a normal year we may have to deal with a little bit of snow near the passes.  Our plan called for some fairly low-key hiking - we had budgeted three days to complete the loop.  Once we got into Aspen, we learned one of the passes…

As the Pikes Peak Ascent race is just over 6 weeks away, I decided to spend some time on my race strategy this week.

I first looked at the course on the Pikes Peak Marathon website.

This map shows the mileage, elevation, and aid stations along the race…

This year’s attempt to complete the Triple Crown and the Ascent seems snakebitten. Intermittently I’ve lost about two weeks of training due to physical ailments. Now I’m not looking for sympathy because I know there is none to be found, at least not with the crowd I hang with. One of the real joys (not) of aging is the innumerable, inexplicable aches and pains that pop up as in “What did I do to deserve THIS?!” It’s one thing to twist an ankle on a trail and immediately know what’s…