I wish I only had to write about the Ascent.  Had a great day there.  Going into the race I thought my fitness would allow for a 3:29 and I would have been really happy with that.  So I was ecstatic when I got a second wind above Barr Camp and shuffled my way to a 3:12.

The good vibes continued on Sunday, where another 3:29 up goal was met with a 3:17.  I felt great, and I was prepared for the bomb back down the hill.  The first mile of that downhill went…

Rebecca Rusch, a well known figure in the endurance biking world, was giving a short talk the night before the Dirty Kanza.  She was speaking about the self doubt some of us would face the next day.  She told us of a "friend rule" she follows for whenever the voices in her head start telling her she sucks.  Whenever these voices pop up, telling her she should quit or she's a loser or she is a lousy athlete, she asks herself, "Would I…

Turning 40 has not been good for my running. 

I made a last ditch effort to go sub three at Pikes last year, and once again came up short.  I lost motivation, got injured, had a disaster of a race at NYC in November (3:30, off a 1:30 first half), then quit physical activity for two full months.  By far the biggest break I've ever taken from running since I picked up the sport almost three decades ago.  I used all that extra time to drink beer and eat lots of junk food, packing…

When I signed up for Leadman back in January, I knew the wild card for me would be the hundred mile mountain bike race.  I wasn’t a bike rider and I had never done a bike race before, and suddenly I was registered for one of the most famous mountain bike races in the world.  I projected nothing but confidence, telling anyone who would listen that if I could run 100 miles then biking 100 miles would be cake.  But inside I was really worried I had blown $850 and had given all my friends a…

So far the hardest part of Leadman training has been finding the time to squeeze it all in.  For some reason, work still expects me to put in at least 40 hours a week despite my quest, and the wife still expects me to do stuff around the house.  Hell, my dog won't even give me a pass on taking her out for a walk at least twice a day.  Despite that horrible oppression, for April I got in 34 hours running and 28 hours of riding.  May saw 43 hours of running and 25 hours on the bike.

My…

My luck finally ran out at the Hardrock lottery this year.  Despite being in the old timer’s category and thus being a near shoe-in, I now sit far enough back on the wait list that I won’t get into the race.  Instead of moping around feeling sorry for myself I decided to try a new challenge: Leadman.

If you don’t know, the Leadman is a series of races that all start and finish in Leadville.  The…

For a few tense minutes we weren't sure we would even get to Silverton for the start of Hardrock.  Shortly after leaving Old Colorado City and heading up the pass towards Woodland Park, we were greeted by a three foot wall of mud and water and sticks and rocks and other cars.  Scary stuff.  You can see my award winning documentary on the flood over here.

We were hit by another car but escaped with only minor damage.  Three…

While most locals are currently worrying about the upcoming Summer Roundup, I've had longer things on my mind.  On July 12th I'll have the pleasure of shooting for my 5th finish at Hardrock.  The pressure is on, as Brandon Stapanowich just crushed it at Western States and I need something to bring up when he starts droning on and on about his stupid cougar belt buckle.

It's a long journey but I won't be making it alone.  A good friend from Boulder, Shad, will be pacing me.  Shad paced…

A gaggle of us Springs folk took advantage of the holiday weekend to head down to Los Alamos, New Mexico for the eighth annual Jemez Mountain trail run.  Jemez is a tough race run mostly through the Santa Fe National Forest and the Valles Caldera National Preserve.  Runners are treated to all kinds of fun – technical singletrack, rough jeep roads, lots of steep climbs, some true cross-country, and beautiful views of the Jemez Mountains.

Jemez has become somewhat of a tradition for me,…

After a disaster of a 2013 Pikes Peak Ascent, Tim has brought me back on board for the 2014 PikesPeakSports.us Triple Crown Team.  You can go here to see my intro from last year.  Since I can’t figure out how to run the Ascent without getting embarrassed, I’m just going to settle for a full weekend of throttling from the mountain as I signed up for the Double.

Of course, there’s a…

Katie and I were recently given a late wedding gift that was about the most awesome thing ever:

A buddy of mine swiped this off the wall of an Old Colorado City pub some 20+ years ago.  The sign hung out collecting dust in his basement until he decided I could give it the proper respect.  I sent a picture to Matt Carpenter, implying that if…

Two of the bucket lists I’m working on as I stumble through life are the 50 states marathon thing and the 49 state highpoints.  I realize there are actually 50 state highpoints, but I read too much about folks losing fingers or feet or their life up in Alaska so I’ve decided to skip The Last Frontier.  Anywho, a few years ago I read about a race called the Mt.…

Results from the Ponderous Posterior Fat Ass trail marathon.  I'm guessing about half the field didn't bother to write their time down.

Photos: Start of the Ponderous Posterior 50K ** Video,…

My 2013 running schedule was laid out recently when I was (un)lucky enough to have my name pulled in the Hardrock lottery.  I’ve been picked five out of six times now and have become the subject of various conspiracy theories on how I continue to beat the ever increasing odds of running that race.  I’ll never share those secrets.

But I will share what goes into getting ready for a race like that.  It’s a pretty huge undertaking for a mediocre athlete such as myself.  Hardrock is a 100…

By now everyone has heard that the New York City marathon was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy.  Yes, it sucks to train your ass off only to have your goal race kiboshed at the last minute.  But I suppose it would suck a lot more to have your house destroyed or a friend killed, so I can’t complain.

I’ve been waiting to post this until I could say what I would do for 2013.  I loved New York and definitely want to go back.  I’d like to know if I get an entry into the ’13 race since this…

Sure has been a while since I’ve updated things here.  The upcoming New York City Marathon has taken a back seat to some other recent developments in my life.  I’m still super excited to be headed to the Big Apple, but anything near a PR is out the window.

Took five days off for a Phish show last month.  One of my favorite bands, and it was my first time seeing them live.  The show was only three days long, but it took another two days to recover from the experience.  Taking nearly a…

It is with a heavy heart that I report the loss of an old friend.

On September 4, between 7:30AM and 4PM, someone entered my house, through the garage, and was able to make off with a laptop computer, a half full (or half empty) bottle of cheap gin, and my beloved fixed gear bike.  Luckily the dog was able to scare the intruder off before they could…

I held out as long as I could, but it was bound to happen sooner or later...

I’ve lived with Katie for the past three years in a great house on the west side, near an endless amount of trails and fine drinking establishments.  She has always signed off on my goofy adventures, often crewing and pacing during races or driving and hiking a…

Back to the drawing board.  Once again, Pikes handed me my ass on race day.  I’ve run up the mountain faster when I lived at sea level in Austin than I have the last two years.

I was on pace through No Name Creek, but I knew from the moment the course turned onto Ruxton that I wouldn’t be able to execute.  Really struggled between No Name and Barr Camp, and I hiked it in from Barr Camp.  3:28 and change, once again failing miserably in my effort to join the sub three…

Finally getting over my post-Hardrock funk.  Took a full week off, and since then I’ve had some trouble getting back into things.  Damn inertia.  Last two weeks have had a few quality workouts though, so maybe I can still salvage a good performance at the Ascent.

I went to lovely Reedsburg, Wisconsin (near Madison) over the weekend to visit my girlfriend’s parents.  Besides drinking a ton of New Glarus and eating my weight in cheese, I managed to prove that every dog has his day.  We…