Mon - Noon: 7 miles (1,900') easy. Horsetooth north summit. Audra/Southridge/north gap up and down. PM: 5 miles (1,100') easy. Falls loop. Bumped into Elijah in the parking lot and circled with him.
Tues - Noon: 11 miles (2,900') easy. Horsetooth north summit. South/Audra/north gap, then Westridge - Spring Creek - Herrington - Stout - Spring Creek - Falls. Slept through my alarm clock this morning, thus missed my regular Tuesday morning workout. Figured I'd head down to Redstone and knock out a tempo run as a replacement effort, but as it was such a gorgeous day I chose to spend some time rolling around in the park instead. PM: 5 miles (1,100') easy. Falls loop.
Weds - Noon: 7 miles (1,900') easy. Horsetooth north summit. Up/down South/Audra. Tired legs: slogging.
Thurs - AM: 10 miles (1,400') hill tempo. The usual 5 mile out and back on Centennial. As always, we went out at a casual and social effort (this morning w/ Celeste, Ziggy, Slush, Mike, Sarah, Mary and Jen) followed by a hammer drop on the way back. I've been trying to keep these workouts at a true tempo effort over the past few weeks, but got a bit carried away this morning after a more aggressive start up North Dam hill put me at - or close to - PR pace. The North Dam hill mile went in 7:10 (I take the split at a downed reflective T-post right before the turn onto Soldier Canyon Dam, which is actually 1.1 miles), then 6:04 (cattle grate, right on a mile), 6:22 (sign past outhouse, 1.03 miles), 5:18 (right before turn off Spring Canyon Dam, .96 of a mile), 4:49 (Maxwell, .93 of a mile). 29:45 back, 45:00 out. Run is right on 10 miles, but the split distances are a bit random and pace is obviously impacted by grade (although I typically try to keep the effort even). One of the best workouts in town. PM: 7 miles (1,700') easy. Towers in 36:30. Jogged up with Little Nick on a calm and beautiful evening. Huffing and puffin a bit for the effort; definitely tired from the morning session.
Fri - PM: 7 miles (1,900') easy. Horsetooth north summit. Up/down South/Audra. Felt pretty good given Thursday's exertions.
Sat - AM: 18.5 miles miles (5,500') hills. Horsetooth Trifecta: south summit (up/down) via Southridge/Audra/Slush's Slit, middle summit (up/down) via Rock Trail/Middle Chimney (caked in bird crap), north summit (up/down) via Falls/Spring Creek/Wathan/North Gap, home via the Grim Reaper. Kept the effort easy but consistent on this one and felt great the whole way around. From the upper lot, total run is a bit under 17 miles with 5,200' climbing. My in-the-park time was 3:09; with a good effort this one could probably be done in the 2:45 range. Might be fun to get a group together one of these days and push the effort a bit to register a time worth shooting for. Made it home just as the snow was starting to fly: perfect timing.
Sun - AM: 11.5 miles (1,900') easy. From home to Indian Summer junction on Bluesky and back. Legs were tired from yesterday's Horsetooth trifecta, but loosened up a bit as the run progressed. Cold headwind coming home made things a touch unpleasant, but the final 650 foot climb on 38e/Grim Reaper felt good and smooth, which was a nice way to finish out the week.
Total: 89 miles (21,300')
Got in the hills a little bit more this week, with seven Horsetooth summits and various other bits and pieces. I'll reverse that next week with next to no vertical and just a limited amount of running as I get ready for the Fuego Y Agua 100k, which includes at least two decent climbs up and down the two volcanoes that essentially form the island of Ometepe.
I found some time yesterday to look at a couple of race reports from previous years, and by all accounts the climb/descent of the first volcano, Maderas, will be pretty wild, while the second volcano - the active one - should be a bit more tame. According to race director Josue, 11 hours is the standard to beat, and while this trip is really not about setting things on fire (bada-bing), the goal - on paper - seems doable, but you never know until you get into the thick of the terrain. Really though, I'm just super geeked to be heading to a country I've never been to before in a part of the world I really don't know that well. Fly out Wednesday.
Mon - 6.5 miles (1,600') easy. Horsetooth north summit via north gap.
Tues - 7 miles intervals. City Park workout with Jane's group: mile steady (1.02), mile fartlek, (1.02), mile steady (.98), mile fartlek (.98). So two clockwise and two anticlockwise loops in the park, with three hills on the clock and just one on the slightly shorter anti-clock. Splits were: 5:38 (5:32), 5:31 (5:24), 5:17 (5:23), 5:25 (5:31). Had Chris, Mike, Ben and Tri dude to work with - mainly trailing off the back this morning.
Weds - 6.5 miles (1,700') easy. Wesir and I took a look around the base of the west side of the rock in search of a supposed 5.11a/b bolted route on the sheerer west face, in addition to a chimney route (Choss Chimney - 5.5). Located the chimney, but not the bolted route. We came up the Northwest Passage on a mixed and airy high class 4 route that topped out right at the terminus of the Rock Trail before the scramble to the top. Still lots of exploring to do on the west side of the rock, but will have to start bringing rope and protection for most of it.
Thurs - 10 miles (1,400') hill tempo. HTH5MO&B with Lee. A couple of no-shows meant it was just me, Lee, Mary and a few flakes of snow. Out easy with Lee in 42:07, then back in a reasonably controlled 30:52 (7:40, 6:19, 6:28, 5:22, 5:02). Always good to dip under 31 - notched the effort level as the run progressed.
Fri - 6.5 miles (1,600') easy. Late afternoon Horsetooth summit via north gap. Up Rock, down Southridge. Negotiated the last section of the Rock trail essentially in the dark. Got to get out of the house by 4:00 these days if I want light the full way.
Sat - 11 miles (4,000') baggery. Met Nikolai early for a stealth mission on a couple of peaks that escaped me last time I tried. Although there is a conservation easement on the 4,100 acre Blue Mountain Bison Ranch (land cannot be developed but remains private), access is via guided tours only. It would be mighty awesome if there was a way for the county to negotiate trail access to the top of Blue Mountain (7,888'), because it's a very prominent local peak and affords killer and unique views of the Longs Peak area, in addition to the swell of mountains and ridges between Blue (essentially the first major mountain in the Berthoud foothills) and the Continental Divide. Alas, it remains private and those wanting its summit are forced into stealth mode from county land around Pinewood Reservoir.
Wanting to get across the grazing pasture on the northwest flanks of the mountain in the dark, we set off 30 minutes before sun-up, and by daybreak we had gained the north ridge and were safely under cover of trees. The summit was very straightforward once on the ridge. There were a couple of rough-hewn log benches on top in addition to three large cairn piles, suggestive of frequent visits. We took a minute to admire the view of Longs and Meeker sitting, as they were, magisterially in a wisp of still clouds, before setting off down the main west gulley from the north summit. The terrain was steep, brush- and cactus-filled, but nicely dotted with game trails. We were able to get down to a small and secluded pond at 6,800' with little difficulty. From there, we picked up a ranch road south for a while before descending southwest into a drainage to avoid grazing livestock and horses. Our next objective was UN peak 6,930' a quintessentially obscure and random List of John peak - but a Larimer ranked peak nonetheless. A house sits no more than 200 feet below the summit of this one, so we were sure to follow our drainage around to the west side of the summit in order to ascend our lump in a gulley protected from view by an easterly ridgeline. Again, there were good game trails through the brush and we were able to gain the summit without incident.
Our final summit of the morning was UN peak 7,383', which is no more than the high point on the north-south ridgeline west of Blue Mountain. We descended essentially the way we had come off 6,930' and followed a ranch road west, then north in a valley to the west of our intended ridge/summit. This is clearly a very lightly used road and we didn't see or hear a vehicle for the two or three miles that we followed it. We then followed an even lighter two-track trail up the hillside before eventually cutting straight up the steep west face of the hogbacked 7,383. The summit was about as unexciting as a summit can get: gently rounded, in the trees and with multiple candidates for the high point. Finding no cairns to mark the high point, we constructed one and then trundled off down the gentle eastern slope of the mountain back towards the car at Pinewood Reservoir, essentially due east of the 7,383 summit. This was a successful morning with few navigational errors and, more importantly, no human interaction. The terrain west of Blue and south of Pole Hill is beautifully rolling with deep valleys and stunning views. Obviously the access issues make it somewhat problematic, but it's big country back there with plenty of space to roam.
Sun - 3 miles (1,900') baggery. Christ Mountain (7,919') is the high point on the southern part of the ridgeline that extends south from Buckhorn Mountain and Rist Canyon all the way down to Masonville. The Christ ridgeline forms the western slopes of Redstone Canyon, which sits directly below and to the west of Horsetooth and Lory's west ridge. From the top of Horsetooth, Christ and its sub-peak to the south are clearly visible; consequently from the Christ ridge there are awesome views of the big west face of Horsetooth Rock. Earlier this year, I summitted the lower sub-peak by running up Otter Road from Masonville and then postholing through deep snow. Given the conditions, I decided not to bother with Christ Mtn that day, so I was back on Sunday for a spot of unfinished business. Rather than come up the long southern ridge approach, I found a pull-out on Buckhorn Road directly underneath the mountain to the west and hoofed up a steep gulley that would spit me out right on the summit. The pull-out is directly south of the sharp Buckhorn Narrows, a couple of miles before CO Rd 44H (Pennock Pass Rd). A quick duck under a barbed-wire fence and you are immediately in this very secluded gulley. I followed an old ranching trail for a short way, before picking up a really well defined cow path alongside the (dry) creek. I followed the cow paths to a clearing at about 6,600 feet, where cattle were lazing in the sun, before charting a much steeper southeasterly course up the heart of the drainage. About 500 feet below the summit, there was another clearing accessible by two-track road and then it was a very pleasant stroll through sparse woods for the summit ridge. The actual high point sits on a rock outcropping overlooking the northern end of Redstone Canyon. The ridge looked like it acted as a firebreak during the High Park fire, and marks the southwest border of the burn area. The eastern slopes of the Resdstone valley were completely burned out, while the eastern slopes of Buckhron Canyon (the other side of the ridgeline to the west) were untouched. Backtracked the way I came for a pleasant Sunday morning outing. Couple of burn area vids from top Christ Mtn below.
Mon - 6.5 miles (1,600') easy. Horsetooth north summit via north gap. Up Southridge/Audra, down Rock. Super labored for whatever reason. Tues - 6.5 miles intervals. First cemetery workout of the season. Workout was: mile, 2x800, mile, 2x800. I guess I had misread the workout email and was mentally ready for 2x800, mile, 2x800, Upon hearing about the extra mile, I raised my concerns (whined) and the compromise was reached to run the first mile easy as a demo of the cemetery loop for people who hadn't done it before. This was a nice way to ease back into things. Felt a bit off in the stomach (too much coffee) for most of this and ended up having to watch the sausage-fest sprint on the last 100 meters of the last rep from off the back of the pack. Good group to work with this morning - six of us at approximately the same pace, including Hinterberg, Chris Mc and some CSU triathlon guys. Splits: 6:53, 2:35, 2:37, 5:21, 2:39, 2:40.
Weds - 6.5 miles (1,600') easy. Horsetooth north summit via north gap. Kinda tired again.
Thurs - AM: 10 miles (1,400') hill tempo. Good group for this morning's HTH5MO@B workout: Mike, Slush, Pete, Celeste and Sarah. Out in 42:30, then back in 30:03: my second fastest return ever, I think. Up the North Dam mile in 7:04, then 6:07, 6:27, 5:27, 4:57. Looking back on my records, miles 1,2,4&5 were run right on PR pace, with the middle, gut-check third mile 50 seconds slower. That's a mental fortitude thing more than anything else. It's easy to take your foot off on that grinding uphill mile when you know it's pretty much all downhill after that. That said, it should be noted that the PR came with a hefty tailwind and that third mile is probably where a northerly wind benefits most ... but still. PM: 7 miles (1,700') moderate. Put in a moderate effort on Towers in the dark. Tired and slow. Up in 35:13.
Fri - 6 miles (1,600') easy. Horsetooth north summit via north gap. Straight up and down the rock trail with summit variation. Caught the last few rays of a gorgeous fall day.
Sat - 12 miles (6,300') baggery. McGregor Mountain (10,486'),
Dark Mountain (10,859'), The Needles (10,068') with Burch and Wesir. These are certainly not
A-list Rocky Mountain National Park peaks; in fact, they're only reason
for getting any traffic whatsoever, I'm sure, is that they're named and
people like to go about climbing all named peaks in the park.
Nonetheless, they certainly have their virtues (warts and all). Primary among those virtues are steep
slopes which will leave you feeling nicely cream-crackered at the end of your outing.
McGregor Mountain was probably the most challenging ascent of the morning, but at the same time the one with the most hidden surprises. Leaving the Lumpy Ridge trail at approximately 8,600 feet for the eastern slopes of McGregor, it was immediately evident that we would be dealing with significant deadfall, which is always a major pain in the arse. However, for much of our route there were big slabby clearings where on a dry day much of the deadfall could have been circumvented. Unfortunately for us, the heavily mossed rock had already been hit by wet snow and was exceptionally slick, so we were forced to play on the sides of the rock or tip toe exceptionally carefully on less steep sections, where there were good cracks or where there was some vegetation. All of us remarked on how much fun this route would have been in the summer with dry rock, but today it wasn't to be. Ultimately we muscled our way through the mess and found the flat McGregor summit. We had a semi-socked in day, so views weren't great, but we caught glimpses of the Mummies and Lumpy rocks formations. The descent to Black Canyon Creek was equally as torturous as the ascent, but once we crossed the creek and started up the slopes of Dark Mountain, we were gratified to find a much sparser and younger canopy with significantly less deadfall. The 1,800 feet up the mountain was gruntworthy, but straightforward. Good views again from the nice rock outcropping on the summit and then it was east off the mountain towards The Needles, the high point on Lumpy Ridge.
Coming off the eastern slopes of Dark Mtn was a pleasure. The terrain was largely clear enough to be runnable, which ensured that we were able to make quick work of the route down to Cow Creek at 9,200 feet. From the valley we were able to make out the western ridgeline of The Needles (home to the massive Sundance Buttress) and picked a line straight up the hillside. We topped out on the blustery westernmost needle and quickly realized that we needed to be on the easternmost and highest one. This involved a scramble down to the saddle and a quick reascent. The wind was blowing pretty hard by this point, and we'd already been out for longer than expected, so we made the executive decision to forego a full Lumpy ridge traverse to tag Gem Peak and instead snuck down the gulley between the highest needle and Sundance Buttress, which is home to a crude climbers trail. We made quick work of the descent, and before we knew it we were back out in the McGregor pasture stripping layers in the now-beating sun for the jog back to the car.
Sundance to the left with Needle high point to the right. The day cleared up nicely once we were essentially done with the outing.
Looking east from the top of The Needles, with Gem peak barely visible in the distance.
Burch topping out on The Needles.
McGregor Mountain with false Needle summit in foreground.
Dark Mountain from the western slopes of The Needles
Wesir pondering life with the middle and westernmost needle beckoning.
A semi-socked in view of the northern slopes of McGregor Mtn from the slopes of Dark Mtn. All those white patches are massive slabs. There is some classic slab climbing on the southern side of the mountain too.
Wesir and Burch make their way up the cleaner Dark Mountain. McGregor Mtn (behind Wesir in the photo above) was a deadfall nightmare.
Sun - 6 miles (1,600') easy. Horsetooth north summit on the standard route. Summit no. 87 on the year. Total: 60.5 miles (14,100')
A couple of workouts, four Horsetooth summits and three LoJ summits. That's pretty much the routine right now.
Week Ending September 23 Mon - 4 miles easy on the bike paths pushing Stella while Alistair was at X-C practice.
Tues - 7 miles track. Workout: 800 open, then 2 x broken mile (3x300 hard w/100 float, 400 hard), broken 1,200 (800, 100 float, 300), 400 jog between miles/1,200. A 2:36 warm-up 800, then miles were both 5:26, followed by 2:39, 56 for broken 1,200. One mile up, 2 mile down. Lazy again.
Weds - 4 miles easy on the bike paths pushing Stella while Alistair was at X-C practice.
Thurs - AM: 10 miles w/5 @ tempo (1,400'). Back to Centennial for the HTH5MO@B, this time with Eric, Mike and Slush. Five out easy in 44 mins, then 30:43 back (7:22, 6:11, 6:33, 5:40, 4:57). Three minutes or so faster than last week, after setting the effort early by pushing the north dam hill a little harder. Could have pushed middle miles a little better, but decided to keep this at a true tempo effort. Overall, the effort to pace ratio felt much better than last week, which was slow and slogworthy at what felt like too hard of an effort for the actual pace. PM: 7.5 miles super easy with the FCTR crew at Pineridge. Fri - Noon: 6.5 miles (1,700') easy. Horsetooth south summit via Slush's Slit.
Sat - AM: 11 miles (1,300') easy to Devil's Backbone from home via Bluesky Trail w/Slush. Stopped along the way to check out the high point of the Bone, which is ranked a 5.1 climb. The line I looked at on the south side of the rock, which seemed the most logical, was IMO significantly tougher than 5.1 - especially as a down climb. I will need to come back when I have more time to scope other options as I bailed at the committing crux, not liking at all like the looks of down climbing there. PM: 4.5 miles peakbagging(1,100'). Picked up a couple of Larimer ranked peaks down by Carter Lake with a quick two-hour window. 6,227' on the southeast corner of Carter Lake was easy enough. Just followed the trail from the campground north, then cut west up the first gulley and headed in a northwesterly direction for the summit through sparse trees and scrub. A few houses/properties to work around, but easily done. The summit is basically a cliff band with four or five candidates for the high point. Tagged them all to make sure. 6,300' was more of a pain in the arse. The logical way to summit this prominent hogback would be via the steeper west slope, but there is zero cover and a bunch of properties, so I decided to come up the northeast ridge, which looked to have some good cover thanks to a rock band which I figured I'd follow. The scrub was pretty thick, but negotiable thanks to heavy game traffic. Encountered a property that I couldn't see from below when scoping the original line, which was avoidable by dropping a little lower on the ridge below the rock band, and then it was a straightforward hoof to the summit. Nice views of the lake from there. Coming back down, I ended up heading due east to avoid the one property, but ended up having to skirt an even bigger property and then bushwahck pretty heavily after getting barked at by a very large dog in order to get to a spot where I could cross the aqueduct and connect with roads to get back to my car. Every time I do one of these dodgy peaks, I find myself questioning my sanity, but hey, just 199 ranked Larimer County peaks left to get. Sunday: 4.5 miles hiking (1,500'). Horsetooth summit with Alistair and Stella. I goaded Alistair into setting a time standard for Horsetooth (up and down). The goal was to go under an hour for the climb and under an hour again for the descent. Alistair stayed focused the whole way, just missing out on his ascent goal by two minutes. We took a 25 minute picnic break on the summit before descending in 54 minutes. Pretty sure Alistair could run the whole descent, but because I had Stella on my back he had to wait for me and my fast hike pace, plus we stopped to check out a rattlesnake for a few minutes and also play in other random spots along the way. Next time we'll do it solo to set a real standard. Alistair's seventh Horsetooth summit of the year. My 70th, I think.
Check out the rattler halfway through the vid.
Total: 59 miles (7,000')
Week Ending September 30 Mon - 4 miles jogging stroller on bike paths while Alistair was at X-C practice.
Tues - 6 miles track workout: 3x800, lap jog, 400, 1,600, 2x400 in: 2:37, 2:32, 2:35, :71, 5:14, :74, :70. Relay style, 2:30 static rest between 800s, then lap jog, 400, then 3:00 static rest, mile, lap jog, 70 rest between 400s. This was a promising workout given that I really want to start focusing on speed over quantity through the off season. The mile was about 5-10 seconds faster than I have been doing them this summer at the track, with just a bit more focus and effort - 4s and 8s were also a bit faster. This is the kind of effort I need to start putting in if I am going to improve road times this winter/spring. Can't wait.
Weds - 5 miles (1,500') easy with Al_Wesir to Horsetooth middle summit. Super easy jog to the base of the rock, waited around forever for Brian to make it up, and then we hit the middle rock chimney. Rocks were wet from the night before so we had to be a little cautious, but otherwise it was pretty straightforward getting up. Brian ended up giving me a leg down on the crux chockstone coming down as I was faffing around too much. Beautiful fall morning.
Thurs - Off
Fri - Off
Sat - 62 miles (11,000') race. UROC 100k.
Sun - Off
Total: 77 miles (12,500')
Well that'll just about do it for the season. I kind of felt like I was going through the motions a bit out in Virginia on Saturday, and definitely feel like I'm ready to take a break from destroying myself over uber-long distances. I'm now really looking forward to cutting my mileage, running some shorter distance trail and road races, bagging a whole bunch of obscure Larimer County peaks and engaging in the local off-season running festivities.
Local Running Festivities
First up is Slush's Runners Without Borders, which this year will feature MAGIC TOKENS. Yes, you read that right people, MAGIC TOKENS. All details will be posted over at his joint, with preliminary instructions here. Last year, the event was a ton of fun and raised over $4,000 for Doctors Without Borders. This year Scott says we're going to top both the fun factor and donation totals, so come on out SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28th (8:00 am - 4:00 pm) and join the fun, or go to Scott's website and register your support for the work of Doctors Without Borders with a donation, or - better yet - do both!
Second up is the third annual Chubby Cheeks fatass race ... er ... run. The date has been set for December 8 with starts at 7:00, 8:00 and 9:00. Route options are the same (32 miles with gobs of climbing, 25 miles with bags of climbing, 20 miles with a hill or two, whatever miles and climbing) as are all details really. Back to my place between 2:00 & 3:00 for beers, food and good times.
Third up is the Tortoise and Hare handicapped race series, which begins with a 4k at Rolland Moore park next Sunday at 8:00 a.m. I'll be RD'ing the series again this year, so hope to see some of you out there. The T&H series is a super low key set of seven races with runners setting off at staggered starts according to handicaps based on previous races. Everyone has an equal chance of winning, regardless of ability, and we have cash prizes at the end of the series. Better yet, Fort Collins Running Club members run free and even get post-race bagel spreads at Rocky Mountain Bagel Works. You read that right, a $20 membership gets you seven free races, seven free breakfasts, and a chance to win up to $100. Better yet, if you plan on running the Horsetooth Half next spring, then your membership gets you a $20 discount. Best running deal in town right there.
Fourth up is the Race That Will Not Be Mentioned, which takes place Thursday, Dec 6th at 6:00 p.m.
Fifth up is the second annual Quad Rock 25 & 50 mile races. We have set the date for May 11, 2013. The course was not impacted by the High Park fire so it will be the same great route for the same great price. We are in preliminary discussions with sponsors and vendors, but the event focus will be much the same as last year: great course, impeccable marking, great awards, great food, great music, and tons of fun for everyone. Registration will open in December.
Mon - Noon: 7 miles (1,800') easy. Horsetooth south summit. Slow. PM: 2 miles easy on the bike paths pushing the stroller while Alistair was at x-country practice.
Tues - Noon: 5 miles (1,000') easy. Falls loop. PM: 11.5 miles track. Workout was 800, 400, 400, mile, 800, 400, 400 w/lap jog after 800s, 200 jog after 4s and mile. Started with a mile open to warm up (5:41), then: 2:37, 76, 74, 5:25, 2:42, 76, 74. Died a death on the back half of the mile with the short rest, and the 800 wasn't much better but rallied a bit for the final 400s with the extra rest after the 800. Really looking forward to cutting mileage and working on some speed this fall/winter. I feel pretty slow right now. 4 mile up, 2.5 mile down. Weds - Noon: 7 miles (1,600') easy. Horsetooth north summit in a heavy fog. Finally a break in the weather. Excited for the cooler weather ahead. PM: 6.5 miles pushing the stroller on the bike paths while Alistair was at x-country practice. Easy, easy.
Thurs - AM: 10 miles (1,500') tempo. Finally managed to get out and run some asphalt this morning with a return to Centennial Road and the HTH5MO@B (Horsetooth Half 5 Mile Out & Back), a winter staple. Basically the route goes from the Maxwell parking area up onto the rolling dam roads on the east side of the reservoir. We go out five miles at a social pace, then drill the return five at varying intensities depending on desire and motivation. Anything sub 31 minutes is a good workout for me coming back. First mile includes a 300 foot climb up the north dam in the first half mile with a slight downgrade over the last quarter, then the next two miles are a rolling, net uphill, grind that require frequent reminders to double down on the effort, and then the last two miles have a couple of ripping descents, a quarter mile of flat and two short speed bumps. Definitely one of the best test pieces in town, and I only wish I'd gotten out for a few more sessions in the last month before UROC. Oh well. Scott, Celeste and Ziggy ran out three with me on a perfectly foggy morning, and on the remaining two miles to the turnaround, I decided that given the lack of company and a somewhat sore lower right calf, I would take things easy for the first session back. The out was a slower than usual 44:50, and the return a pretty mediocre 33:36 (7:52, 13:31 (mile 2 & 3), 6:17, 5:56), more than four minutes off my PR at what felt like a harder effort than it should have been. PM: 9.5 miles (1,900') steady on Towers. 31:45. Tired legs and a still gimpy right calf, but after a 2.5 mile warm up and an easy first mile, I picked things up a touch and felt good at a tempo-type effort. Perfect evening for running. Fri - Noon: 6.5 miles (1,600') easy. Horsetooth north summit from north gap. Felt good, but kept the effort easy to give my calf/achilles a break.
Sat - AM: 10 miles (1,100') steady. Bluesky trail to Devils Backbone. Dana and the kids picked me up on the south end and then we took off to Brighton for Alistair's first cross country meet (fun times). Climbed up the Keyhole rock, but pretty sure a rib to the north is the highest point. Some private property issues there, but will get it another time, as I can always use an excuse to run Bluesky, which I tend to neglect. Getting on the Keyhole was straightforward from the back (north to northwest side). The actual Devils Backbone high point is ranked a 5.1 climb, and this wasn't that. Ran hard this morning to make up for being lazy and not getting up early enough to jam in 20 miles. PM: 6.5 miles (2,100') hike/run. Estes Cone (11,006'). After heading west to Lyons for lunch (Oskar Blues) from Alistair's cross country meet, we headed north up to Estes, detouring off for a stop at the East Longs trailhead and a go at Estes Cone with the kids. I guess Alistair wasn't really into it, so we stopped halfway at the old mine site on the way to Storm Pass and played for a bit. Dana was happy to hang out with the kids, who all of a sudden were having a great time, so I finished things up by running up to Storm Pass and Estes Cone. Tagged the top after a good steep climb, took in the killer (like, uber killer) views of the Divide (from the Mummies all the way to Longs), and then hoot-footed it back. The kids were still cool and the gang, so it was quick work on the return leg back to the trailhead. Dana and Alistair played tag pretty much the whole way, while I brought up the rear with Stella on my back. Ice cream in Estes, then home. Fun day.
Sun - AM: 21 miles (2,200') long run. 2:45. Ran a loop of the reservoir counterclockwise via 38e, South Dam, Centennial, Lodgepole to Lory, Valley trails to Bluesky, 38e. I wasn't too excited for this run, so procrastinated for an hour two before getting going. This meant I had to suffer through the heat of the morning on a totally exposed route, which is never much fun. I was feeling tired, so just plugged into a comfortable 8:00 average and got around. Chased one road biker up Monster Hill on Centennial after giving away about 100 meters on Spring Canyon dam and almost caught her by the top, but other than that this was a total one-gear run.
Total: 102.5 miles (14,800')
Good week on balance. Wanted to run 20 on Saturday, but just couldn't get going and so gave up an hour of running time, but other than that, I got done what I think I wanted to get done this week, including a good number of road/flatter miles. I really don't think I can or should cram any more volume before UROC, as I've been feeling a bit tired and flat this week. The wise thing from here will be to cut the volume aggressively, and just do the workouts to see if I can inject a bit of zip into my stride.
The field at UROC looks to be road-background heavy, so I'm expecting a different kind of race than I'm used to. I'm 100% prepared to let a lead pack develop ahead of me if I feel the pace is unreasonable for me and the distance. My strengths versus the faster road guys should manifest themselves in the second half of the race, and if Steamboat is any example then hopefully there should be some significant gains to be made as people start to get tired. Despite the impending and guaranteed suffering, I'm looking forward to participating on a good mix of terrain against some talented runners that I've either never run against or who I haven't raced over a longer distance.
In other news, Pete and I are finalizing permitting details for the Quad Rock 25/50 mile trail races for May 11 next year, so get that one on the calendar. As race directors, we were extremely fortunate that the High Park blaze (which torched approximately 200,000 acres north and west of town earlier this summer) did not impact the race course at all. In fact, the Timber trail in Lory State park acted as a fire line on the southeast perimeter of the fire. So, same great course, same great volunteers and same great giveaways and prizes. We're both super excited to build on the successes and lessons from 2012 with an eye towards three things: impeccable course marking, great value, and a post-race experience to match the running and racing itself. I've already ordered up a sunny forecast for 2013. Registration will be going live in December.
Also, if you're looking for a little autumn racing, then think about signing up for the Bluesky Marathon here in town. The race takes place October 7, and I believe there are still spots available. This is a great race with trail mileage in Horsetooth and on the fast Bluesky Trail. Proceeds benefit the Larimer County trail network, Larimer County Search and Rescue, and local youth running programs.
Oh, and one other thing. I just saw Karl's post-bunny-race interview over at iRunFar, and it sounds like he's going to take a shot at the Grand Slam record next year. I've been mulling that one for a couple of years now, and was kinda thinking that 2013 might be a good year to give it a go. Now that Karl's taking a run at it, I almost feel obliged to do it; nothing like a bit of competition to add some extra motivation, but that ain't set in stone just yet. I also think Pedatella should get on board for the GS now that he has a WS spot. He knows how to stack 'em up back to back. And while we're at, Neal, you should come on out and defend! Anyone else?
Regardless of who takes a stab at it next year, I think there's still a good three to five hours of play in Neal's (stout) record, but it would take a stellar and injury-free summer of racing to get it done.
Monday - Noon: 7.5 miles (1,800') easy. Beautiful day out, which was hugely refreshing after the wind lashing we received last week. Jogged up to top of Horsetooth and spent some time lingering on the summit checking out the lay of the land, putting names to a few more peaks that until Sunday's peakbagging outing were nameless to me (Buckhorn, Leila and Ethel). Conditions up top are starting to get pretty sketchy on the ice front, but definitely seen it worse. Up Rock trail, down Audra/Southridge, home long. PM: 5 miles (1,000') easy. Quick Falls loop before Dana took off for work.
Tues - AM: 10.5 miles intervals. Cemetery workout with Jane's group: mile, 3x800 (on 20 sec rest), mile, 3x800 (on 20 sec rest), mile.Good conditions this morning, high 20s and no wind, so really tried to keep the effort honest the whole way around. First mile felt super smooth, last mile and second set of 800s I had to stay pretty focused. 5:17, (2:40, 2:38, 2:41), 5:14, (2:40, 2:41, 2:41), 5:15. PM: 10.5 miles (1,500') easy. Milner loop, plus Redstone one mile O@B and neighborhood add-ons.
Weds - Noon: 9 miles (2,100') easy. Horsetooth summit (up Rock, down Audra/Southridge) then some meandering in the neighborhood. Wind was back and angry. Warm out though. PM: 6 miles (1,100') easy. Milner loop.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
January: 330 miles (45,200') February: 445 miles (58,500')
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2012 Ranked Summits:
Horsetooth (9)
Palisade
Milner
Alexander
Blue Mountain (Sth)
Green Mountain (7,335)
7,725'
7,098' (Poll Mtn range)
Goat Hill
Reservoir Ridge
7,260 (Ziggy Point)
8,415 (Leila Peak)
Mount Ethel
Buckhorn Mountain
5,740' (1)
5,740' (2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thurs - AM: 15 miles (1,700') hill tempo. 5:30 start for this one, but it was light enough to see by 6:00. The longer days are starting to get me excited for spring, even if it looks like we're going to get an extended wind season this year. So anyway, the usual HTH5MO@B run for this morning, with Steph, Sarah, Celeste, Zig, Pete and Mike in attendance. Pretty big headwind coming out of the north, northwest for the way out, meaning a slower than usual warm-up, but potential for a zippy return. After a low-7 split following Mike's heels over the big north dam hill on the way back, I felt like a sub-30 might be on, so put it into 10k mode for the net uphill second and third miles to see if I could get there without having to beat myself up too badly on the descent over the last mile and a half. Needing just 5:40s for the last two miles, I took them just moderately hard and still came home in a big one-minute, but wind-aided, PR (7:05, 6:00, 5:36, 5:26, 5:03 = 29:11). After Tuesday's workout, which was noticeably better than a similar, but shorter, workout from the end of January, I'm starting to feel like I'm building some really good fitness here. Snagged a few on the front and back ends for a 15-mile morning. Good stuff. PM: 6.5 miles easy with FCTR folk at Pineridge.
Friday - Noon: 5 miles (1,000') easy. Falls long. Tired PM: 5.5 miles (800') easy with Pete on the 'A' trail. Picked up 5,773' or 'Aggie Peak' along the way.
Saturday - AM: 18.5 miles (2,800') peakbaggery. Decided against heading up to Laramie for the rescheduled Trudge (which sounded epic), choosing to check out the Red Mountain Open Space with Mike instead. Goal was three peaks and some quality trail miles, with a pop into Wyoming on the way; reality as usual with these peakbagging missions was a little different. The wind was absolutely howling and given the general lack of cover out in the Red Mountain area, that made for a fairly unpleasant start to the morning.
Northern slope of Table Mountain
By the time we'd bushwhacked our way to the top of Table Mountain (7,074') -- by way of the cactus-infested northern shoulder -- we were both a little wind-shocked. After almost being blown off our feet (quite literally) on the western cap of the summit bluff I pulled the plug on our intended descent route, deciding that the semi-technical nature of the down climb was too sketchy in the freezing cold and powerful swirling winds. Tail between legs, we headed off the gentler west side of Table and back to the trailhead (into a fierce headwind). The plan now was to salvage the day by knocking out a long run on the awesome network of trails in Redstone and Soapstone; wind be damned. However, we were seduced back on peakbagging track after rounding the north side of Table Mtn on the Bent Rock trail and seeing 7,178 to the southwest. Picking up a mix of ranch and game tracks for what we were pretty sure was our intended target, we made our way southwest. An hour later and we were on top enjoying the slightly less violent winds and awesome westerly and easterly views.
Retracing our steps from the summit, we cut back north, picking up a more westerly ranch track from the one we had been on heading south, which we hoped would get us close to 7,380' up on the Wyoming border. The approach to 7,380' came a little quicker than we had expected and essentially stopped us in our tracks. The southerly wall was imposing and there was no obvious way up. All of a sudden time was a factor and after scouting around a bit, we decided that we were going to have to come back and get this bad boy another day so we followed the drainage east out of the canyon and back towards Table Mountain and the Red Mountain trail network. The Boxelder drainage offered up some fine scrambling, awesome red rock cuts, the remnants of a lion's feast and all-around atypical northern Colorado scenery - all of which made up for the disappointment of failing on summit three.
Northern side of the impressive Boxelder Creek.
Roaming around in lower Boxelder Creek; Table Mtn to the east.
There was a lot of game activity in Boxelder Canyon; this guy was dinner and pretty much picked clean.
Once out of Boxelder, we navigated back to the Red Mountain trails. While finishing up the Bent Rock loop we realized that the peak we had been looking at was in fact the wrong one as we had been one drainage too far to the south, so it would have been a wasted effort anyway had we taken a crack at. All in all, a fun morning in a unique corner of Colorado. There is plenty of unfinished peak-grabbing business up there, so I'll be back soon.
Sunday - AM: 8.5 miles easy. Setting up 12k T&H course. Beautiful morning out. Noon: 2 miles easy with Alistair to Horsetooth Falls and back. Mud-fest hike/run plus some fun exploring down the creek from the falls. PM: 7 miles (1,900') Horsetooth summit easy. Dropped Alistair back home and then took off for the peak. Killer weather, warm and sunny, with nary a breath of wind; so refreshing after the beating we've been taking from the wind all week. Peak was about as crowded as I've seen it (outside of an FCTR time trial).
Total: 116.5 miles (11,800')
Felt an odd mix of tired and strong this week. Failed to get the bigger weekend runs in that I was hoping for, but that's alright because I think it will leave me feeling a little fresher for the Salida Marathon next weekend, which I'm really looking forward to. Good people, good competition, fun town.
Mon - AM: 3. 5 miles (1,400') peakbaggery. Went back and did the ranked peak 5,740' by Eden Reservoir that I messed up the day before, after also knocking off one down the road north of Hwy 34 that also tops out at 5,740'. Drove between the two as I was short on time.
5,740' between Masonville Road and Eden Valley.
For the first one, I parked on the north side of Hwy 34 just west of the bikers' tourist store a mile or two before the Big Thompson Narrows in a small pull-off. Cut a line due north straight up the hillside, before cutting northwest around a cliff band and then due east to the summit on a nice ledgy section of the capstone. A quick tag, a look at the views and then hot-footed it down. Up and down in about 20 minutes. Jumped in the car and drove around
to County Road 29, parked up near the bridge by the water filtration
plant then ran the half mile to the south side of the reservoir. Decided
to cut straight up the steep first hillside as I thought I saw a
weakness in the cliff band that looked like it would be reasonably easy
to negotiate, which it was.
View from first 5,740' of Eden Reservoir, Horsetooth, Milner and first line of hogbacks in front of second 5,740'.
Class three weakness in first cliff band.
Went up the hogback to the north of my target by mistake (went up the one to the south the day before), but quickly turned around when I breached the summit ridge and saw the quarry was in full swing. Ooops. I quickly rectified my error, headed for the small saddle, then stomped up through the snow to finally get 5,740' off my back (third time's a charm).
Hogback to north of 5,740'. Cairn is obscuring the flagstone quarry works.
Came down the west side, back down through the weakness in the cliff band above Eden Valley and back to the car. Just four ranked Larimer County 5'ers left to pick off and three of those are around Horsetooth Reservoir with the other one in Laporte, so I should have them in short order. PM: 3 mile hike (600') with the family. Falls loop.
Tuesday - AM: 10 miles intervals. With Jane's group at City Park. Had Chris and Mike to work with again for this one. Felt like we might have taken our foot off the gas a bit in places, but still a good workout on what was a good morning for running. Workout went: mile, 4 x 300 hard (cross country) w/200 medium, fartlek mile (3 x hard, 2 x medium), 1,200 hard, fartlek 1,000 (2 x hard, 1 x medium). Splits: 5:29 (1.04 mile), didn't time the cross country 300's, 5:19 (.98), 3:49 (5:07 pace), 3:15 (5:13) PM: 7.5 miles (1,300') easy. Milner loop plus neighborhood add-ons.
Weds - Noon: 6.5 miles (1,100') easy. Milner long with neighborhood add-on. Warm and super breezy out. Nice and casual. PM: 5 miles (1,000') easy. Falls long. Temps in the high 50s and strong winds left a lot of slush and slop on the trails. Major melt today. Running was pretty crap as a result.
Thurs - AM: 11.5 miles (1,400') sketch. Met Celeste, Slush, Tim and Colin for 10 on the Centennial hills. Less than a mile in and it was apparent that this one would be about survival; all thoughts of the usual tempo effort back from the turnaround were dumped. A wet overnight powdering had left a nasty sheet of ice on the road. Skid tracks and busted up fender parts suggested that more than a couple of cars had plowed into the crash barriers on some of the tighter turns and hills. Tim gave up less than a mile in, which was probably a pretty sound decision, but the rest of us persevered. The road doesn't see a whole lot of traffic in the early morning, but for every car that went by I was stopped and either on the other side of the crash barriers or way off the road. Traction was terrible in places, but I was thankful to be running versus trying to maintain control of 5,000 pounds of steel. Back in just under 40 mins for a personal worst, but thankful to be done and in one piece. PM: 9 miles (1,900') Towers. A mix of drifts, ice and generally crappy footing made this trip up Towers one of my less enjoyable ones, but by no means the worst. Up in 39 and change. Two mile warm up on Shoreline.
Fri - Noon: 9.5 miles (1,500') easy. Milner loop, plus Redstone one mile O@B and neighborhood add-ons. PM: 5 miles (1,000') easy. Falls long.
Sat - AM: 22 miles easy (1,400'). Twin Mountain Trudge was postponed as the start area was inaccessible due to heavily drifted snow. This left me with two options: run solo around home or go join friends at sunrise for a Double Bacon Strip (Slush, Sarah, Al_Wesir, Kyle and Alex). Neither sounded that appealing to be honest, as I was ready to go trudge, but I opted for company even if the location left a little to be desired. The Bacon Strip is a ten-mile route east of I-25 (the plains for those not from the Front Range) on rolling dirt county roads. The Double Bacon is a Fort Collins staple among marathon runners, but not something I have ever partaken of before. I've done the Single Bacon a couple of times under race conditions; however, the double as a training run has always sounded miserable. Fortunately good company kept the clock ticking in real time and it turned out to be a fun morning under bluebird conditions. Aside from great mountain views, we were also treated to sightings of a bald eagle and a red tail hawk. Jogged the first lap and a half and then picked it up and ran mid sixes to high fives for the last five miles with Scott. Jogged a couple more at the end for good measure.
Sun - AM: ~ 9 miles sloggin' and peakbaggin' (3,000'). This one was intended as a 22 mile, 5-bag outing but the reality on the ground turned it into a 9-mile, 4-bag frozen slog-fest.
Mike and I started at the crack of dawn heading east up Rist Canyon Road from Stove Prairie Landing to the saddle between Buckhorn Mountain and unnamed peak 8,415'. For the summit, we took CO 41, followed by a short bushwhack to the top. As would be the case for the rest of the morning, the PBWF (Postholing Bushwhack Factor) was high, meaning very, very slow going. After hitting a wrong outcropping to the north of the true summit, it was a quick bop down to the small saddle and back up to the true Buckhorn Mountain summit, which was satisfyingly craggy with nice views to the west out towards the Old Flowers Road area of Roosevelt NF.
Mike on Buckhorn summit.
Unnamed Peak 9,166' (we guessed) to the west from top Buckhorn. That one was on the original agenda for the morning, but quickly dispatched after the slogging started in earnest.
We were quickly back down to Rist and then popped over the road to follow the fire road north for a half mile or so past a few cabins, before cutting northeast over a gully and then up towards the best peak of the morning (8,415'), which Mike is naming Leila (sister of Ethel, his grandmother (?)). The south-facing aspect of the slope left decent sections of rock for us to move over, and we were up in reasonably short order. Big views north and east out to the Poudre Canyon area (nice shot of Greyrock) and also to the west from the rocky summit, which sported a big stick of a marker.
Gaining 8,415'.
Mike, Nick & a big stick.
Mount Ethel (8,471') left, sub summit (8,430') right from top 8,415' (Leila).
8,415' descent.
Fom here things became slogworthy in the extreme. We chose the direct northerly route down a class-4 rockfall to get off the summit, while being whipped by the wind and generally freezing all extremities. I could see the sun on the Ethel side of the valley and desperately wanted to be over there, but first there was a long and super-cold session of postholing over rocks, deadfall and other unseen nastiness once we were off the boulders and moving through the trees. I don't think we went much deeper than crotch level all morning, but we were consistently up to our knees in snow.
Almost out of the woods and into the valley between 8,415' (in background) and Ethel. Mike sloggin'.
We finally got into the sun on the southern slope of Mount Ethel and then proceeded to head up the Ethel sub-summit to the right by mistake. From the top in the howling wind, Ethel's true summit looked frustratingly far away across the saddle and I was almost ready to throw in the towel, but we forged on - swimming through snow in places - before finally gaining the wind-blown summit.
Mike finally gaining the true Mount Ethel summit.
Ready to get off the mountain.
Lower Poudre Canyon from top Ethel.
We chose a poor descent route down the big drainage on the western slope of Ethel, which was covered in deadfall under the snow. The 1,400 foot descent was not a quick one, but to our surprise eventually popped us out on Stove Prairie Road, leaving a short mile and a bit back to the car, a good four and half hours after we started; a crankin' 30 minute per mile average.
Total: 101.5 miles (15,600')
Didn't get a second long run in on Sunday, but I was sufficiently worked after the 4.5 hour slog-fest that it certainly felt like I got a good B2B weekend done. Thinking I'll try and push out another strong mileage week before taking the foot off the gas a bit in the week before the Salida Marathon, which I'll be running for the fourth time this year. Salida is always a great pre-season read on fitness, in addition to a fun all-around weekend. I think Brownie is getting a 45 minute handicap this year.
In the weekly Quad Rock update, we are now sold out, but if you get your name on the wait list there is still a strong chance you'll get in. In other news, Pete and I are super stoked to be bringing on board local craft brewers Pateros Creek as sponsors. Our hosts, Lory State Park, allow only 3.2 beer, so Pateros is complying by brewing us up something a little lighter than their normal fare. It was either that or Nattie Lite, so I think we're coming out ahead on this one.
Mon - 7 miles (1,900') easy. Horsetooth summit, home long. Got up at the end of the day and the trench wasn't the best, being a bit soft and punchy near the bottom after a warmer day. Upper half was still solid. Took things easy.
Tues - AM: 10.5 miles intervals. Met Jane's group on the first decent Tuesday morning we've had in a while. Temps were in the high 20s and the City Park roads were largely clear of ice. 3.5 mile w-u. 1.5 mile c-d. On tap: mile, 1.5 lamp post fartlek, broken 2 mile (800 medium, 800 hard, repeat), mile. Mike H turned up this morning and pulled me and Chris around the first mile harder than we probably would have otherwise. Splits: 5:16, 8:16, 12:20 (with hard 800s at 2:40 & 2:32, and medium 800s at cop-out pace), 5:15. PM: 11.5 miles (1,400') easy. Milner loop, plus out & back to 2 mile on Redstone, bench loop at Horsetooth and home long. Took this one nice and easy.
Weds - 11.5 miles (2,600') easy. Milner loop with summit of Horsetooth on the way back. Conditions in the trench are still pretty good for spiked traction, but look like they're about ready to break up with a couple of warmer days in the forecast.
Thurs - AM: 12 miles (1,400') hill tempo. Met up with Celeste, Ziggy, Tim H, and Mike at Maxwell at the appointed HTH5MO&B hour (0 dark & cold 30) and then got sucked into a conversation (and pace) with Tim heading up Spring Creek dam, which meant a slightly faster outbound leg than the usual jog fest (38:24). At the turnaround, I figured I'd notch the effort a bit but generally keep things sane; however, there's no accounting for male ego and Mike sitting on my shoulder the whole way back. Maintained a controlled effort up the north dam hill despite firey, tired quads, before settling into a tempo effort that inevitably started getting out of hand as the run progressed, and ended with a 4:45 last mile shootout with Mike (downhill). Not a return-leg PR (30:31 vs 30:20), but I think an overall PR (68:55) given the faster-than-usual outbound leg. Coming back: 7:24, 6:23, 6:13, 5:43, 4:45 (30:31). Mile w-u/c-d. PM: 7 miles easy on the Spring Creek trail with a small group from FCTR.
Fri - Noon: 6.5 miles (1,000') easy. Milner long. PM: 5 miles (1,000') easy. Falls long.
Sat - AM: 21 miles (4,000) peakbaggery. Scott and I picked off Larimer County's two lowest ranked peaks as a warm up for lower Rist Canyon's peak 7,260' (aka 'Ziggy Point'), Larimer County's 217th highest ranked peak.
Reservoir Ridge is a very familiar rocky outcropping for anyone in Fort Collins who spends any kind of time out by the northern end of the reservoir. Scott and I run to the base of it most Thursday mornings as the turnaround point of our hill tempo efforts, but oddly enough neither of us had ever taken down the summit. That was remedied 11 minutes after we set off on our merry way from the Reservoir Ridge trailhead at the crack of dawn. So yeah, not a tough peak.
After backtracking, we headed north to Bellevue to take down Goat Hill, which despite being the lowest ranked peak in Larimer County is in fact a most impressive mound. It's a classic Northern Colorado hogback with a very impressive red rock cliff band along its upper west side. We approached from the east, off County Road 23E, and were able to summit without having to hop any fences or gates, or indeed pretend not to see signage. I'm not sure who owns the land, but was glad to be able to summit hassle free. The way up was scrubby and rocky, but mostly runnable.
'Reservoir Ridge' (5,735') post-run.
Goat Hill (5,603') in October 2009. Larimer County's lowest ranked peak. Image: Dean McCollum (Lists of John)
A quick descent and then it was five miles up Rist Canyon to Pine something Road, which we ascended at a very sharp grade for the first three-quarters of a mile before it mellowed out a bit. Despite being a private road, we had an arrow of an excuse in our quiver if stopped. And about a mile in, Scott pulled out the arrow and fired after we were confronted by a burly-looking mountain man asking us what we were up to and who we were on our way to see.
"Why, Dave Thurlow at the end of the road," Scott said in a matter-of-fact manner.
Scott had apparently been up this road a decade ago to visit his friend's cabin, which at the time was just being framed. He hadn't seen him in years, but used him as our alibi anyway. It was good enough for the now less-zealous mountain man and we were soon on our way, but not before being warned to watch out for a pack of dogs a mile up the road.
The dogs chased us for about a quarter mile, but soon tired of the hunt after we started trudging through deep and crusty pow. We got a view from an outcropping at 7,000 feet and it was clear that our peak was a good ways up the ridge and around a deep gully. We quickly took stock and decided to push on and get it done, despite the apparent mile and a half of trudging and bushwhacking that would be required. On the way, we discussed possible names for our unnamed peak and quickly settled on 'Ziggy Point' after Ziggy the Wunderdog who was at home suffering from what Scott and Celeste believe is autoimmune disease. Hopefully that won't keep him from ascending his namesake mountain some time here in the near future, though.
Ziggy Peak (7,260') is the second forested peak from the right in bottom photo & second one from left in top pic.
The summit slog was ... well ... a slog: steep and slippery but thankfully short-lived at about 600 feet. The top was a fine one with views of upper Rist Canyon, Signal Peak, Stormy Peaks Pass and a Mummy or two to the west, and the other side of Rist Canyon to the south. We descended the 900 feet to the canyon floor in super short order thanks to the stellar snow conditions and then it was eight miles back down the canyon to the cars at Reservoir Ridge. A fine morning and a 100% success rate on the morning's peakbaggery goals. Awesome!
Sun - AM: 19.5 miles (1,900') easy. Ran down to tag ranked summit 5,740', just east of the south end of Eden Reservoir, but got on the hogback to the south (5,620) by mistake. Doh. Kind of figured I was on the wrong one when I looked north to the correct hogback, but wasn't in the mood and didn't have the time to remedy the error by hoofing it over. What was pleasant however was the run down Eden Valley on County Road 29, which was a first. Ended up heading cross country in a southeasterly direction from the south end of the dam, climbed over a short cliff band on the rim of the first line of hogbacks (due east of the water filtration plant) and then continued southeast (should have been northeast) to the next hogback. Nice views west to Alexander Mountain and east to Devil's Backbone, but looking north it was quite apparent that I was on an inferior peak. Ah well, easily remedied another time. Continued down to the east, skirted someone's driveway and then picked up Masonville Road before cutting east to Glade Road and then north back up to 38e and home.
Looking east from Alexander Mtn (7,105') to Eden Valley Reservoir with hogbacks directly behind to the east.
Total: 111.5 miles (15,300')
Week three safely in the books. All systems seem to be firing quite well at the moment and my body appears to be adjusting well to the increased load. Pounded a fair bit of pavement this week, but that's okay. Obviously my preference is trail, but I think I'd rather run road in scenic surroundings than be slogging through slop, ice and drifts on the trails right now. My current weekend M.O. of running roads to fun and new peaks seems to be working well for the time being.
A quick shout out to training partner Sarah Hansen who picked up an impressive third place finish in the Red Hot 55k out in Moab this weekend in what was her first ultra. Looking forward to hearing the play by play on that one, along with all the other stories from the annual Fort Collins pilgrimage to Moab.
Three spots left in the Quad Rock 50 and then we're all sold out. Twin Mountain Trudge next weekend in the wilds of the Laramie High Plains. Brrr.
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