When it's still 80 degrees and sunny in late September, it's as if the world is presenting you with an invitation to explore.  By "explore," I really mean run up mountains.  After the sense of accomplishment mixed with humbling quad pain and 10 days of slow running that I experienced after my last adventure above 14,000', I was eager to do it again.  When a friend decided to go run Mt. Yale yesterday, I obviously jumped at the idea, like any normal person would when presented with the notion…

Last Thursday I was first introduced to the notion of the Kite Lake Triple, which calls itself "a race amongst friends" and takes runners up four 14ers in the span of 8 miles. On Saturday morning at 4:55am I was on my way to the race start in Alma with friends. Today, the following Friday, I can walk downhill and only wince a little as quads remember what last weekend put them through.

The moment you get out of the car on the rocky road that leads to the trail head you can feel the…

In the many moons since I last dramatized my running adventures, I've been doing the hard work that makes for entertaining blogs.  So, here's a rundown of the most recent adventure.  

December through May really weren't anything to write home - or a blog- about; mostly just a lot of low mileage weeks and cross training and crossing my finger that I'd still be healthy once the weather warmed up. With some help from the great-mountain-running-guru/PT, Simon, I made it to the Mt. Evans…

Dear reader, this post is a fable about cross-training.  Like all good fables, it involves animals and morals, so let's get started.

When a gazelle walks up to the edge of a pool it stops and stares at the water. The thought process is something like this: Wow, that's deep, and dark, and...ahhhhh I just touched it and it's super cold!  The pool is already full of splashy fish who don't even notice that 82 degrees is sort of bone-chilling.  The gazelle is so obviously out of…

Just a few more hours of 2014 and I couldn't be a happier runner. After the femur-calamity, closely followed by the tibia-tragedy I a more than ready to turn the page and start a new year.  I'm starting 2015 with some nicely regrown bones, courtesy of Simon Guiterrez at Select PT, more commonly know as Simon the Great.  I plan on being a good leg owner this year - you know, giving them days off, having nice conversations with them, taking them for a pool run at least once a week, etc. Not…

For all of you who have not been sentenced to endless weeks of pool running, let me tell you a secret: an 83 degree pool is not warm. An 82 degree pool is toe-numbing, And an 81 degree pool pretty much falls into the category of "cruel and unusual."  The moment I finally convinced myself to get into the pool today - after staring at the water for an inordinate amount of time as my cold-induced anxiety continued to build - I was once again reminded of why most mammals without large stores of…

That month of training sure was nice!  But for now it’s back to that place that every runner dreads: Injuryland.  It was a femur over the summer and now it’s a tibia.  While I’m convinced that tibias are tiny and insignificant in comparison to femurs so this should take no time to heal, I’ve been told otherwise. All I can say is: at least winter is on its way and there’s no Ascent to prepare for at the moment.  I should add that you may think a femur would hurt more than a tibia – yeah,…

Not that anyone really cares about a totally mediocre runner's Thursday night training run, but I'm going to tell you about it anyway. Last night, my little dog and I ventured to Bear Creek Park - yes, that same Bear Creek Park that I generally despise.  Well, yesterday's run was the fastest I've ever run out at Bear Creek, so I came away with a new found appreciation for the rocky, hilly monster.  My loop was almost a mile longer than the Fall Series II race, but, alas, I still manged to…

This morning the mighty Lady Marmots ran the second race in the infamously soggy and bizarre Fall Series.  This 5-mile race was held at Bear Creek Park and took us over the hills and through the woods (and creek) a few times before finishing with a slippery rope climb and mad dash to the finish line (and dry socks). 

It was a fun race and a beautiful morning.  But, the moment I pulled into the parking lot at Bear Creek Park I began to think back to the last race I ran there - the…

Questions?…

Thanks to my fellow wearers of Purple and Gold for blazing the trails with me this summer.  We may not be the very fastest Marmots on the Mountain, but we may well be having the most fun. 

Thanks to Brianne “Tough as Nails” Pierson for the saying: “If the bone ain’t showin’ just keep goin’” This girl is determination incarnate, who else even thinks of doing the Incline after racing a 10-Miler? Or running the Crags after the Ascent?

Thanks to Beagle for a one of…

Tired, grateful, and feeling accomplished at the end of Ascent Day 2014!

Restraint was the name of the game for me as I ran my first Pikes Peak Ascent yesterday.  In an effort not to add injury to injury I had to seriously adjust the goals I had for the Ascent when the season began.  Anything under 5 hours meant…

The Magnificent 7, to use teammate Bill Beagle's name, take to The Mountain, America's Mountain, Zebulon's Peak, whatever you want to call it, in three short days.  Since there's no stopping Saturday from coming, here's what I'm doing to prepare:

• Having my usual existential pre-race shoe crisis...Hokas? Peregrine 2? Peregrine 3? Nike Kiger?  I had planned on training in the Hokas and racing in something a bit flatter.  I'm such a klutz, I'm not sure I want to deal with the…

Yesterday morning brought us under the two weeks till Ascent day marker.  At 13 days away (less than 312 hours for anyone who's interested), I decided to spend some time pushing hard at altitude.  With running still out of the equation this left me with only one option - biking to the summit.  Sounds like misery, right?  Not really.  There were some seriously steep…

I've dealt with the past week and a half of this whole "not-running-on-an-injury" thing pretty well.  Now, my resolve is wearing thin.  I know, I know, runners are not like sharks - we don't die if we stop moving.  That may be true in the most literal sense, but the similarities ends there.  There is a emotional and social death that occurs when a runner is not running for more than a few consecutive days.  Dramatic? Yes, but hear me out.  When you run, you have lots of friends who run.…

You know that smell that accompanies overheating engines on the Pikes Peaks Highway?  If that's how an engine reacts to the grade and the altitude, just imagine how human quads feel.  I no long need to use my imagination in this situation, because I experienced the real thing this morning.

I parked just before the gate onto the Pikes Peak Highway around 7:45am and got started with my ride around 8.  I had no idea what to expect of this challenge; no idea how long I should expect to…

Saturday's Classic 10K, part of the Grand Prix Series, was more like a shuffle that landed me at least 10 minutes from my PR.  This is a downhill course on pavement, it should have been an opportunity to set a new PR.  Instead it was an opportunity to dwell on the merits of listening to your body.  When a handful of Advil doesn't make a dent in the nearly nauseating jolt that shoots through your right leg with every step, your body is no longer politely requesting that you reconsider your…

It's so easy to sign up for races.  All that's required is a runner's high that erases all hesitation and a willingness to pay $40 for a few hours of torture.  This familiarity with the phrase: "Yes, of course I'll run that!" made me think twice this morning.  It was still dark outside when my alarm woke me up at 4:30am.  That would have allowed me 2:30 to prepare for the Barr Trail Mountain Race.  I rolled out of bed, pulled out my Purple and Gold singlet and was about to down a handful of…

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…

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…