Winter cannot hold us back!

Well it wasn't warm, or sunny, but on one of the last days of February we decided to clamber onto our two wheelers and head out for a nice long ride. We climbed south from home, around Horsetooth Reservoir to the little town of Masonville, up to Stove Prairie, over the top and down Rist Canyon, and ended it with a climb over Bingham Hill. It was a great ride, we pushed hard, froze our fingers and toes off, hit some sketchy snow patches on our decent, and even saw an attempted murder by some methed out hill billy who tried to run us off the road twice. That was really the most exciting part of the day for me, getting into a fight with some crack addict who stopped twice to try and get out of his car for some fist on face action with the 3 of us... By the way, if you see an old blue Rodeo or Passport with Colorado Plates 857-VXJ up in Rist beware of what him and his dreddy girlfriend might do... Well I hope you all had a great weekend too!

Big Mountain, Glaicer, and Crazy Dogs

What a weekend! I left sunny Colorado and made my way up to wintry Whitefish, Montana for a long weekend of skiing and adventure. I have been to Whitefish a few times, but never in the winter, and it was amazing. The X-country skiing is unreal and the down hill skiing at the local hill, Big Mountain, was even better!! What a great little town, you can walk everywhere, people are really nice, the lifts are less then 10 minutes away, and there is zero traffic.


So here are some pictures from the weekend, enjoy!








I even sneaked in a run while I was up there!!!





Had no lines and fresh powder at Big Mountain, it's one of my favorite hills after just one day of skiing. The terrain, crowds, snow, everything was amazing there! And I hitched a ride to the hill and back with nice locals, what a place!!

Still warm!

Not much to report today, just pictures!

First Ride!

What a weekend!! I had a 4 day weekend and the weather couldn't have been better to take advantage of the time off. Since Thursday I have swam 2 miles, ran over 22, hammered a few laps of stairs and even got in a quick 15 mile ride on my new Surly!! What a great few days!! Most importantly though I got out on my new bike. For those of you that have been following this blog for a while, you know I did a life changing bike trip with Molly from Seattle to San Diego a few years ago and had a blue Surly touring bike that trucked the 1800 mile trip without a single problem or issue. I loved that bike! But it had 26 inch wheels, which although great for touring, were pretty sluggish around town as a makeshift road bike. So I stripped her down, kept all the parts I wanted and sold the bike to a young guy from Boulder that was planning on doing the same trip down the west coast with his girlfriend this summer.


I decided I wanted to build the same Surly bike, a Long Haul Trucker, but go up a frame size to a 56 which would allow me to run 700c wheels, which are slightly bigger and roll a bit faster. I wanted a bike that was still a stout touring bike, but when here in Fort Collins would double as a decent road bike too. So I built it up from scratch, hand picking every part. It was a blast, and I now have a semi-custom bike that can tour and race around. It's the exact way I want it, down to every single part. Well I just finished it last week and then it snowed... But with weather here in the 60's and sunny for the past few days, all the snow is gone and I got the chance to take it for a spin.


It is still a heavy bike by roadie standards, but I am not a roadie so screw em! I do have it loaded with my fenders, strong 29er wheels, front and rear steel racks, my two stem system, a heavy brooks saddle, and big platform pedals. But it's a bike, and the idea is to ride it not carry it. If I was worried about a few extra pounds I would just skip breakfast, or take 2 less beers with me. Anyway, other then the high pressure 23c tires that are on the bike now, it's all set up for touring and I can escape any weekend I want with camping gear in tow, with a simple swap for bigger 38c tires that I have laying around.


The 700c wheels really make a huge difference, and the bike seems fast and efficient. I didn't want to ride too hard or too long because I am still a little sore from yesterdays long run, but I knew getting out would help stretch my legs a bit. So I took off and headed out and around Horsetooth Reservoir. It was just a simple 15 mile ride, but its super hilly. The bike handled like a dream, it was fast, smooth, and gave the roadies I passed something to think about since I was in baggy shorts, running shoes, and my red fleece was flapping like a cape around my neck. I even got up to 53 MPH, which was rad! All in all, I am super excited (see how I didn't say stoked... I hate that word) with the bike and ideas are churning of where I can pedal to in the coming months!!


Well I hope you all had a great weekend and if you were here in CO, hopefully you took advantage of the sunshine! I do feel a little remorse that I didn't go skiing, but I am going on a little ski trip next weekend, so not that much remorse.

Wind, wind, and more wind!

Not much to say, tired.... It was so windy, I'll write up more later, but for now, I just want to eat something.

Stairs and a run.....

The sun came back out and temps were in the 50's today here in Colorado, so we figured it was time to hit the pavement. Josh is one week out from his first ultra and excited about heading to Moab to run around the desert. We took off for campus today to run stairs, which we normally drive too, but being in the running mood we figured we'd run it. We polished off 3 laps in Moby which is a feat in itself, and a 6.5 mile run to top it off! What a day, cannot wait for tomorrow, supposed to be in the 60's!!! Have a great weekend everyone, get out there!!

Solid Sunday Push

I'll keep this short today, but Jude, Paul and I went out for a 20 minute run yesterday to burn off the beer from Saturday night and it turned into an 8 and a half mile trail run... I was back in the 5 fingers, hoping to run a few short quick miles on pavement in them and ended up pushing through the longest run yet in them. I felt great throughout the run, even on downhills on the trails, but wow today my feet hurt a bit. I am wearing sandals in the house because walking around barefoot is painful... Anyway, it was a great run, we all felt fast, but I know I need to take it easy in the vibrams, those long ones are rough. I think I just need more time in them at smaller distances. Well, have a great Monday!

Trail running in Feb!!

Got in a good run today, thought about doing a longer one, but instead went up into the hills and climbed through the woods!!! There was a trace a snow on the ground up in Horsetooth Mountain park but it wasn't much, and the run was great! Sorry we forgot cameras today, but it was Josh and I, and our two dogs!! We had a great time running the trails we normally rip on bikes, and it was nice to get a different perspective up there.

Anyway, that's really it, the body feels great, I am still taking time off from the vibrams, but I think this weekend I will go back to them. The reason being, after a hard month of pushing the new shoes and my body to adjust, I was starting to see some pain in my feet. So I am just taking it slow with them, I think the 7.5 mile trail run the other day in them was a bit of a stretch this early on. But I am excited to get them back on my feet and out the door!! So for those of you reading this that are trying the 5 fingers, I know they feel great off the bat and you think you can push it hard, be careful, my feet took about a month of abuse before they barked back. I am not giving up on them, I just went a little too hard a little early I think. I still have high hopes for them and still plan on running the Colorado Marathon in them. Anyway, have a great weekend!!!


This obviously is not from today, since I didn't have my camera, but we enjoyed the same view!!!

Rocky Mountain National Park in January!!

So we decided to take advantage of the amazing winter weather and head up to RMNP to do a bit of trail running up in the mountains. We decided over a few beers that Lumpy's Ridge was our destination. Lumpy's is best known as a classic climbing destination on the east boarder of the park, but we picked the 11.05 mile Twin Owls Loop, as our distraction rather than the soaring cliff faces.


With the sunny weather in the 50's we took off from the trailhead at 7800 ft and headed northeast towards gem lake and balanced rock. The run took off straight up hill and all four of us, myself and my buddies Josh, Jude, and Paul, were feeling the mixed effects of the altitude, steep terrain, and a few too many beers the night before. But as we quickly climbed we were rewarded with amazing views of Long's and the rest of the majestic mountains that make up the horizon of the park.


We kept climbing all the way up to an elevation of just over 9100 feet before we left the mixed dry and iced trails of the south facing slope for the ankle to knee deep snow on the north facing aspect. The next 5 or so miles were a mix of uncontrolled downhill running on slippy snow, to a grueling slow paced trudge breaking trail through knee deep powder. It got a little tiring and was a surprise somehow, even though we were running in the highcountry in late January.... Anyway we managed and after loosing probably 1500 vert and then of course regaining that lost footage we were back on the south facing slope and the snow had melted away.



We finished our run on the dry plains above Estes Park under the massive cliff faces of Lumpy's. We spied a few brightly colored dots of climbers hundreds of feet off the valley floor as we dashed under them. By the time we had gotten back to the car, over 11 miles later, everyone was pretty beat, but as smiles were still abundant we chalked it up to one hell of a time. It was a hard run for sure, but one hell of a little adventure too! Thanks Colorado for being so rad!!!

Dead Yeti...

Nothing big today, just a little run to stretch the legs. 7.5 did end up hurting my legs a bit the day after, so I figured I would run short today just to get out and enjoy the warm sunny weather. Taking tomorrow off and running a long one on Saturday.

The weather here has been amazing actually, it's fully short and t-shirt weather outside and it's the 27th of January in Colorado!!



Oh a little other news, went mountain biking yesterday instead of running and I exploded my $3500 bike. The rear triangle is/was made out of carbon fiber and it shattered in 3 spots after a drop of about a foot at best. It was unreal. And I shaved my head, for the first time in about half a decade I have short hair, really short. Well if you live here, enjoy the weather, sorry if you don't!!

A little more....

Well today I pushed a little harder. I am finally feeling good enough to get back to some respectable distances. It was hard for a month being limited to 2 and 3 mile runs with the long ones being only 4 or 5 miles. But with still no snow on the ground, and trails bone dry I felt the urge to get out there on the dirt.

I pushed just past 7.5 miles, about half was on single track half on pavement, and although it's always more fun for me to run on the dirt, it is a little tricky in the five fingers. You just need to be really aware of where you are stepping. I also noticed for the first time today, how much more difficult it is to run down hill in the vibram's. It could have been a combination of steep grades and rocky dirt trail, but noticed how much I had to slow down at one point on one of the longer descents.

With that all being said though, I did run my longest distance yet in the five fingers and I felt really strong and much faster than 4 months ago when I really picked running up again. I cannot contribute that all to the shoes, they have helped me smooth out my technique, but I also think I am finally really getting stronger and more fit, so speed and ease would come with that I suppose. Well nothing else to report, I love the shoes, and so far no blow outs, a concern I had when I bought them since they are so thin. My bro's already are seeing some tearing and he got them about the same time as me, so I will try to report any unusual wear if it occurs. Later!

5-5-12

This morning I "laced" up my 5 fingers for an nice but chilly 5 mile run and don't have to be into work until 12! The temps here were in the 50's early in the week but yesterday that all changed and I got stuck riding home from work in a sideways blizzard. Although I was deterred to run last night thanks to the weather, I motivated this morning and got out of bed and took off. The roads were icy, but the sun was shining and it was a perfect January morning for a little exercise.

I ran again in my 5 fingers and my legs are feeling great. For anyone who has been following this pointless series of rants, my legs have been getting stronger, but at first, man the barefoot running lifestyle was killing my lower legs, a spot I liked to call my calfilles. But today was the longest I have pushed them so far, just over 5 miles, not much more than my run last week up in Estes, but still a little further. And I have to say, my legs are feeling great, there was actually almost no tightness as I ran, a first, and now that I am home writing this my legs actually feel normal! I have only ran in these things a half dozen times of so, but I feel I am really falling into stride with them. I don't know if my old runners will get any more love.... This run may have been the turning point where I really concentrate on only running in the vibrams from here on out.

Also, sorry if you are a big time geek, and are expecting me to post times of my runs. I feel lame enough keeping such a line on how far I am running. I do like to know my own times, but normally forget to find my watch before I head out the door since I don't like wearing watches. It's a 50/50 if I grab it.... I am really just running to run, it's fun again, and although I have my goals to get ready for the races I have coming up, time is an afterthought. And I felt fast today, so that's really all that matters. To think of it I really only have one time that matters for any of this, 3:10:59, and other than that one run, it's really all just about finishing for me. Well enjoy your Thursday, the weekend is almost here!!!

In the shadow of Longs!

Well I’m up in Estes Park this weekend coordinating Campus Step Up which is a social justice retreat for students here at CSU. For those of you that don't know what I currently do, I work in student affairs at CSU as a graduate leadership coordinator. I plan events that are based around co-curricular leadership training; from 3 day retreats like Step Up that focus on social justice, to workshops on a variety of topics, to a 6 day retreat up in the mountains based around building and understanding leadership. We also bring in distinguished speakers and host or sponsor a variety of other events on or around campus. Co-curricular leadership is just a small part of the office, there are some amazing things going on here at SLiCE to help students get involved in their community and become more socially conscious individuals.

Anyway so I’m up here in Estes for the weekend and staying at Lake Shore Lodge, watching students grow through thought and learning about themselves and their peers. I of course brought my 5 fingers, and there just happened to be a nice 5 mile trail around the lake behind the resort!! The picture above is the view from the lounge; Long's and Meeker were beautiful this morning as the soft yellow and orange light from the rising sun bounced off the face of these incredible peaks. I got up nice and early and without stretching I took off. I wanted to run cold and see how my body and legs would react. My legs were feeling great after a few days off from running and I figured it was time to push again. The run this morning was not particularly hard, or even long for that matter, a quick 5 miles, but it was all on pavement and I was wearing my vibrams. My stride and technique are getting better I think and my toes didn’t hurt at all this morning. I didn't feel like my calfilies were getting beat on either, but after the run they were tight for sure! Really tight actually, and I was thinking I was in for a long day of painful legs.... But after about an hour they relaxed and now their is little to no lingering pain. The first few runs in these bad boys made my calfilies sore for days on end, but not this run. Maybe they were sore because I didn't stretch at all before I ran, or maybe my legs recovered faster because they are just getting a little more used to my new running style. Either way, I am glad the pain is gone, I really want to run this loop again tomorrow morning!!

So 2 weeks in and I’m feeling great. My legs are getting stronger, I think my technique is getting smoother, and I love how the shoes fit and feel. I am not going to push past 5 miles for a while in these things though, I do think I need time, to allow the muscles I haven’t used in years to really catch up with the rest of my body, but every day my feet and legs get stronger and every day I feel a little better about running! I am having fun running again, for the first time in years!! I'll keep the updates coming as I push longer and harder, and I'll keep notice of any little thing that these shoes lead to. Thanks for reading!!!

Ps I don't know why the fonts are all screwed up on this post, I have tried to change the font like 10 times, Blogger is messing with me......

Nice Saturday Run

So I laced up my regular runners today and went to stretch the legs a bit. After a few days of running short distances in my 5 fingers I wanted to see how my feet felt in my normal shoes. Me and two buds decided to head to the Michaud trail and get dirty in the mixed melting snow and mud. We started out with about 7 miles of trail, that climbed and descended through some fun terrain. Everyone was feeling great, the feet were solid, and my sore right calfilles got a needed respite from the five fingers. I did notice the balls of my feet were a little sore, but after 7 or so miles in the five fingers this week I got to say I was feeling pretty good! I think I'll keep jumping back and forth between my runners and the five fingers for a few weeks at least, continually pushing the distance in the vibrams, and slowly cutting back on my old shoes. I had a tough time with the last 4 miles that were on the road, me feet did get tired, but I think as I get stronger that will go away! It was a nice easy 11 miles, not too long but still a decent push with sore feet and legs, really a perfect way to spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon....

Nothing else that exciting happened on the run, I forgot my camera so no pictures today, it was a gray dreary day here in the fort anyway....

Click on the title to this post, it should link to a map of our route! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!!