Four weeks Ending February 24

Week Ending February 2

Monday - 7 miles (1,800') easy. Jogged up in the cold and snow for a tag of Horsetooth. Perfect training run for the upcoming stage race in the tropics.

Tuesday - 7 miles (1,800') easy. I was going to do Jane's workout in the morning, but it was cold and crappy again, so I deferred to Horsetooth.

Wednesday - 5 miles (1,500') easy. Not a whole lot of time with work pressures and the need to start getting the family ready for the trip to Costa Rica and the Coastal Challenge, so made this a quick Horsetooth tag (25), starting at the trailhead.

Thursday - 4 miles (1,000) easy. Running out of time on the day, I ran the 'neighborhood round-up' in the dark, covering all the road mileage in the neighborhood on a beautiful evening with big flakes floating serenely to the ground. A predicted 10 inches of overnight snow meant one hour less of sleep for what was already promising to be a long day of travel on Friday.

Friday - Off. Travel day to Costa Rica, with a 2:00 am wake up. The extra hour allotted for crappy roads turned out to be unnecessary as not nearly as much snow came down as predicted. And so the weeklong exercise in sleep-deprivation begins.

Saturday - 4.5 miles easy. Ran a couple of loops with Mike Wardian from the hotel we were staying at in San Jose. Pleasantly surprised at the comfortable temps up in the relative altitude of the Costa Rican capital. The story at sea level would be markedly different.

Sunday - 22.5 miles (2,700') steady. It was a ridiculously early wake-up call for the four-hour trip out to the race start, made even more painful by the fact that I basically didn't sleep because Stella was tossing, turning and coughing all night. Slept a bit on the bus but not much. The route for this, the first stage of the Coastal Challenge stage race, was tough in that it was hot, involved 10 miles of rock infested road running right off the bat, and did I mention that it was hot.

Wardian was off to the races almost immediately, and by the time we hit trail after 10 miles he had something close to a three-minute lead. I was running with Martin Gaffuri for most of this and we made back some time heading up the first major hill of the race through some good jungle terrain. By the time we popped back onto the road, Wardian was not much more than 100 meters ahead (aided by a wrong turn), and then over the next climb I pulled back up to him. He put me away on the long descent to the finish, and I ran the last four or five miles with Vincente Juan Garcia Beneito from Alicante, Spain. With my lack of Spanish and his lack of English, we didn't have much to chat about, but we'd get to know each other well over the next few days as we essentially ran shoulder to shoulder until the end of stage 4. Vincente is a prolific and thoroughly successful stage racer and an absolute machine. Despite our inability to communicate verbally, I learned a hell of a lot from the guy over the week.

Vincente and I ended up crossing the line together for joint second, two and a half minutes behind Mike. Carlos Sa would have been fourth a few minutes back, but he ended up taking an inexplicable three-hour wrong turn when he was just 100 meters from the finish line. Seriously, the course was marked immaculately. Hobbling around afterwards, I couldn't believe how beat up I felt from a measly 20 miler, but there was no rest for the wicked and it was straight on to fathering duty - enabled by some gloriously cold Imperials.

Total: 50 miles (8,800')

Week Ending February 9

Mon - 24 miles (4,800') steady. Day two of the Coastal Challenge. This was a fun stage and I felt good the whole way around, finishing strong over the last three or four miles of beach running. Joint third overall on the stage and 3.5 minutes back overall on Wardian. The staging area on Dominical Beach, like all our staging areas for the week, was sublime.

Tues - 29.5 miles (5,200') steady. Day three of the Coastal Challenge was the first of two 'long days,' and ended up being a real bruiser by the time it was all said and done. The first 10kms through the river was a ton of fun and one of the more unique trail-racing experiences I've had. The middle miles climbing through the jungle was dense and intense and the final miles on the beach under the blazing sun were pure brutality. Finished the day in fourth, losing 10 minutes over the last 12kms to the finish. Again, our finish location on Ventanas Beach was other-worldly and about as far removed from February in Colorado as imaginable.

Weds - 23 miles (6,500') steady. Day four was a big climbing day and the end of my race. I pulled up lame with five kms to go, sat in the shade for 10 minutes and then hobbled home.

Thurs - 29.5 miles (3,000') easy. After my medical issues from day four, I committed to taking things easy for the final long day of the race, and did just that. The miles clicked by quickly on this relatively flat leg. The section through the mangroves was just fantastic. The finish in the gob-smackingly beautiful Drakes Bay was incredible.

Friday - 14.5 miles (1,200') easy. With positions essentially set, we agreed to run as a group for the final stage of the race. The tour was fantastic and included a bit of everything we'd run through the previous five days. A great way to finish a great week.

Saturday - Off

Sunday - Off

Total: 120.5 miles (20,700')

Week Ending February 16

Mon - Off

Tues - 7 miles (1,800') easy. Horsetooth jog. Decided against intervals in the morning in favor of sleep and additional recovery. Got a jog up Horsetooth done and felt pretty good all things considered.

Weds - 7 miles (1,800') easy. Another easy jog up Horsetooth.

Thurs - AM: 7 miles (1,800') easy. Horsetooth. Declined on the regular Thursday tempo in favor of some easier recovery miles. Conditions were okay, but continued to be totally snowpacked.
PM: 7 miles (1,700') moderate. A moderate climb of Towers (~37 mins) in less-than-ideal conditions, with heavy mud at the bottom and bullet-proof ice at the top.

Fri - AM: 7 miles (1,800') easy. Horsetooth with Danny. Kinda icy and choppy, but decent enough.
PM: 5 miles (1,500') easy. Jogged another lap on Horsetooth late in the day.

Sat - 13 miles (3,500') easy. Set out with Danny to bag a Horsetooth Hattrick, but bailed after two summits, completely frustrated with the terrible, icy underfoot conditions.

Sun - 17 miles (4,800') easy. Conditions were marginally better today, so I resolved to get the triple done, bagging a south, middle and north summit via the south, middle and north routes up the mountain.

Total: 70 miles (18,700')

Week Ending February 23

Mon - 7 miles (1,800') easy. Horsetooth north summit. With warm winds blowing all weekend, the trails are really starting to clear. Nice easy jog up the hill.

Tues - AM: 9 miles intervals. Eased in and generally didn't push too hard. Ran with McCullough and Garica, both of whom seemed fine with the casual effort. I wasn't going to push the issue. Workout was mile (cemetary), 2 mile fartlek (City Park), mile (cemetary), 2 mile fartlek (CP): 6:05, 12:01, 5:30, 11:30.
PM: 5 miles (1,500') easy. End of day Horsetooth summit.

Weds - 7 miles (1,800') easy. Lunchtime easy up the hill. Wanted a second summit, but never found the time. Winds were brutal.

Thurs - 10 miles (1,400') hill tempo. Centennial Rd out and back. Big tailwind coming home, but didn't get too aggressive: 31:30. Really wanted to get out for a second run, but the wind was just brutal, so I opted for rest.

Fri - 7 miles (1,800') easy. Big push up the hill with the wind, which made for a fun and quick outing. Climbed the north-gap route and almost got blown off the rock by the gusts funneling through. Exhilirating.

Sat - 24 miles (4,800') easy/steady. Ran from Devil's Backbone with Jason & Mike to top of Horsetooth via Towers, Herrington, Wathan, then tacked on another summit on the Rock trail for good measure before heading home. Felt strong all morning. Fitness is coming around.

Sun - 15 miles (4,500') easy. Triple Horsetooth (44) via the three-way. Up Southridge/Audra, down Wathan, up/down Rock trail, up Wathan, down Southridge/Audra, home on the Grim Reaper. Gorgeous morning out with a nice layer of low-laying clouds to the south/west and in the valleys. Felt strong all morning again. Super solid weekend.

Total: 84 miles (17,600')

Phew, it's been a very busy last month, and keeping up with the blogging has been a challenge. Happy to be up-to-date with things here now that I'm reasonably up to date with other facets of life.

This past weekend was really encouraging from a running standpoint. My week in Costa Rica, while a fantastic experience, was less than stellar with regards to fitness. I went into the race with next to no long runs under my belt and suffered as a consequence, fading badly on a couple of the stages and ultimately breaking down physically in the heat by day four. Nonetheless, I was proud to see the week out and cover the full course. It was the kick start I needed, and this past week things have really been clicking. My endurance felt great, I'm moving much better uphill and I'm excited for the 2014 season ahead.

Speaking of which, I am really excited to be adding the Ultra Trail Mount Fuji 100 to my racing schedule this year. It comes a little early in the year for me, but it was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up. What effect it has on my form for Western States is to be determined, but hey, as all the kids are saying these days, you only live once!

What else, well I'm excited to be representing Ultraspire again this year. There is a lot of innovation happening out in the St. George, UT HQ and I'm excited to test run their new offerings for 2014 - starting with the simplified bottle tops.

In other sponsor news, unfortunately I've had to part ways with Pearl Izumi for 2014. It was a great experience working with the guys in Lousiville, CO for the four years that I represented the brand, and helping to move the shoe line from - let's be honest - mediocre to outstanding was a ton of fun. Pearl has hit a home run with the E:Motion line and I wish them nothing but the best for 2014 and beyond. And the future appears bright, with shoes in the pipeline looking even better than the first E:motion run, and the apparel remaining up there as an industry leader. Quite honestly I'm sad to move on, but also excited for future opportunities.

I am happy, however, to be maintaining a relationship with Pearl through the Quad Rock races coming up in May. For the third year running, Pearl will be the presenting sponsor, so there will be opportunities for runners to demo the new shoe line on race day and at the spring training run. The 25 mile race sold out quite some time ago, but we do still have spots left for the 50 miler. The field is already looking strong in both the men's and women's division, so we're excited that through our relationship with the Hunter Team at Cornerstone Home Lending we've been able to bump the prize purse to $1,600 for 2014.

We'll also be opening registration for our summer and fall races - the Black Squirrel Half Marathon and Blue Sky Marathon - on April 1 and have some really fun things planned for both races. But what we're even more excited about is getting up to Cameron Pass this summer to scout out a high-altitude, mountain 100km route that we have planned for 2015. We have an initial nod of approval from the powers that be up there, but there is still plenty of work to be done. If we can pull this one off I really think this will be one of the premier destination ultra races in Colorado. The terrain up in the Never Summer and Medicine Bow Mountains is quite honestly some of the best that Colorado has to offer. But we have to be patient and wait for the spring thaw before we can get things totally figured out.

Spring is on the way. Fire up the stoke!

The Coastal Challenge

My family and mother-in-law joined me for the weeklong trip out Costa Rica for the 10th running of the Coastal Challenge stage race, a six-day, 145-mile run through the jungles, beaches and coastal mountains of this gorgeous Central American country. To celebrate the decade-long anniversary of the event, the organizers had invited a number of runners from around the world to make a race of it at the front of the field. In the men's race, there were six of us who seemed likely to be in the running. I was the only one coming in as a stage-racing rookie, with a couple of the European guys bona fide specialists.

The start. 

After settling into a day of hotel living at the Best Western in San Jose, the capital city, for pre-race briefings and the like, we were whisked off in the wee hours of Sunday morning on a long bus ride to a beach from where we would begin the six days of racing.

San Jose sits at relative altitude and as such enjoys relatively cool temperatures. The situation on the coast would be markedly different, and by the time we got running on day one it was already a scorcher.

On the docket for the morning was a stage right out of the Mike Wardian playbook: 10 miles of flat jeep track, followed by a couple of 1,000 - 2,000 foot bumps and then more flat running into the finish. Mike's superior leg speed was evident from the get go, and by the time we finally made the turn onto a stretch of rough singletrack through the jungle, he was a couple of minutes off the front. Frenchman Martin Gaffuri and I worked together up the hill and by the time we popped back onto the jungle road Mike was no more than 50 meters ahead, a gap that was soon closed on the climb to the high point of the day's stage.

All fun and games at this stage.
Photo: J.A. Vargas Lead Adventure Media

Thinking smart thoughts (or so I thought), I let him go on the ensuing descent with the goal of preserving my quads for the five days of racing to come. With a few miles left to the finish, Spaniard and stage racing legend Vincente Juan Garcia Beneito, caught up to me and we pushed together into the finish, crossing as one at a stunning eco-lodge tucked away in the depths of a luscious jungle valley. Martin rolled in 10 minutes later, followed by Philip Reiter from Germany a few minutes after that. Badwater champion Carlos Sa ended up taking a mysterious wrong turn 100 meters from the finish line that cost him something in order of three hours, essentially putting him out of the running for the rest of the race. Much to his credit, however, he persevered.

Quite frankly, I was stunned at how much I was hurting after a fairly simple 22 mile run and shuddered at the thought of the early mornings and heavy mileage ahead. I licked my wounds and attempted to play with the kids through the afternoon. Eventually, after some quality time in the cold pool accompanied by cold beers, I was able to walk with a little more fluidity. As would be the case all week, my appetite was insatiable and I was able to put food away in vast quantities.

Not a bad spot to end day 1.

In order to beat the heat, each day started early. Fortunately I didn't have to pack everything in the morning as Dana and the kids would leave a little later with the staff bus, but trying to find things at 4:30 in the morning amid a mess of soggy gear intermixed with a mound of kids' stuff all the while grimacing at inexplicably sore legs was an interesting way to prepare for the morning's racing. With five minutes until the start, I finally found my race bib, slotted into a damp pair of running shoes and got ready to go.

Right from the off on day two, we were into the jungle, gaining elevation quickly and sweating profusely. Five of us in the lead group ascended the climb as one, with Philip off the front and out of sight. We spaced a bit as skill sets dictated across a mix of technical descents, jeep road and cow pasture. It was on the super rutted cow pasture descent, in particular, that we built a gap on the Yellow Jersey of Wardian.

By the river crossing at the halfway point of the day's stage he was out of shoulder-check sight, while Philip was maintaining his lead off the front. Nonetheless, there would be a long stretch of groomed dirt road that would allow Wardian to catch back up and grow a lead over myself and Vincente Juan, the two of us again firmly in lockstep in third and fourth. The stage ended with approximately four miles on the beach to the finish in the small surf town of Domincal. Vincente and I closed  the gap on Mike to less than a minute by the finish, working well together under mercifully overcast skies, with Philip a couple minutes ahead of Mike. Martin and Carlos ended the day another 10 to 20 minutes back, so it was looking like it would be a four-horse race, with less than four minutes separating the first three, Vincente and I finishing the 24-mile leg together for the second straight day.

Beach fun in Dominical.

The camp location right on the beach was absolutely stunning, and I spent the remainder of the day playing in the surf with the kids, building sand castles and consuming calories. There was a large population of beach dogs down here in Dominical, no doubt thriving off tourist generosity, and one mutt in particular attached himself to Alistair and the camp in general.

At close to 50k, day three was the first of two long days, and perhaps the one to start stringing the field out a bit. It began with a short tour through town and then launched into 5kms of swimming, wading and rock hopping along the course of a gorgeous river, which after a short stretch of connecting double track would lead us to a stunning double waterfall.

Ultradog

Running through town, Alistair's mutt friend from the night before was right there barking and nipping at our heels. At first an annoyance, the dog stuck with us through the first 5km, then proceeded to make his way up the river with us, whining and crying at particularly tricky spots but always finding a way to navigate. By the first aid station, five of us plus Ultra Dog emerged from the river and crossed the bridge on the way to the waterfall. Looking back down the river, Wardian was nowhere to be seen, which meant he was floundering in the river at least 10 minutes back, more than enough to erase his lead from the first two days. This was getting fun and the race was on.

After some howling and hollering at the sight of the waterfall, it was time to get our heads down for some grunting up steep jungle trail to the rolling roads that led us out to some of the thickest jungle terrain we would see all week. By the time we hit the trail and started moving through the thicket, it was myself, Vincente and Philip - accompanied by Ultra Dog - leading the way. There were stretches in here that had clearly just been machete'ed days before, the fern-like foliage collecting and piling up around our ankles as we waded through. The heat of the day was once again piling on, and at each and every creek crossing I silently implored the dog to stop and get some fluids, but he seemed unflappable and singularly focused on hanging with the group.

Climbing out from the waterfall. Photo: J.A. Vargas Lead Adventure Media

After a long climb to the second aid station, we were off to the races with a long stretch of downhill dirt roads, punctuated by short sections of technical jungle trail. Wardian had been running the smooth descents a lot quicker than all of us on the first two stages, so I was expecting him to pick us up at some point before we got down to the beach, but I don't think any of us expected him to close on us quite as quickly as he did, not far from the high point of the course. Once he got on the train, we ran pretty much as a group - dog included - for the long descent to the Pacific Ocean.

After four hours of hard running through the jungle, the exposure to the sun and soul sapping views of endless beach kms did a major number on me. I'd been told 12 kms of beach, so prepped myself for an hour of torture and dropped off the back of the pack, alone with just the dog for company. As it turns out, it was only 30 minutes of beach running, but by the time I made it to the canopy and the short climb out from the beach I was wobbling like a drunk man, more than a little disoriented. The final three or four kms on the road to our unbelievably scenic finish location at Ventanas Beach National Park were some of the more pathetic miles I've put in during my time as a runner.

I gave up more than 10 minutes on those last few miles on the beach and road, but cared about nothing more than getting rehydrated and cooled once finally at the finish, the toll of the last three days, 75 miles and scorching sun really starting to take large chunks out of me. I was quickly realizing that I was coming into this race woefully underprepared.

The kids on Ventanas Beach.

Once I was back in the land of the living, it was time to figure out the camping situation and then spend some quality time with the kids in the ocean at one of the most scenic and secluded beaches I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying. The heavens opened up rainforest style that night, and the first two hours of 'sleep' were spent trying to keep water out of the tent. It was not a good night's sleep to say the very least, and the race was quickly becoming as much about managing exhaustion through sleep deprivation as it was managing a physically dinged up body.

The clock stops for nobody, and by 4:30 it was time to start sorting through the damp and wet to get ready for the next day's racing, which on paper looked like something of a respite at just 22 miles. But we'd been warned of some pretty gnarly terrain, so nothing was being taken for granted. And then, once again, we were off to the races.

Day four opened up with a few kilometers of gradually ascending jungle road, before a big 3,000 foot climb on steep, tight and barely-there jungle trail. Once again I found myself working with Vincente up the hill, Philip off the front and Mike a minute or two up the trail. We hiked 90 percent of the climb, and despite feeling like I needed to be pushing harder, I was content just to follow Vincente's heels to the top. It came relatively quickly, and once at elevation we would follow rolling, wide and well-groomed dirt roads with huge views for miles. I made the occasional attempt at dropping Vincente, something I'd yet been able to do over the first three days, but soon gave up figuring that the steep, technical descent at the end of the stage would be where I'd chop some time on the competition.

Au contraire, Blackadder. With a measly five kilometers to the finish, my race essentially came to a grinding halt.

I was pleased that I needed to pee, as it would allow me to stop running for a few seconds to take care of business, but I wasn't prepared for the thick ruby red flow that ensued. Immediately my brain shut things down and I was no longer able to run. The day had turned into yet another scorcher, so I found a spot in the shade, laid on my back and considered my fate.

"Kidney failure, hyponatremia ('wait, what are the symptoms again?'), dehydration, bladder chaffing?"

"Which one is it damn-it?"

After 10 minutes of sitting, I finally decided I needed to get to the finish and be done with running. I was pulling the plug, DNF'ing, spending tomorrow playing with the kids in the ocean.

I finally rolled into the finish after a long, hot 5km shuffle, some 30 minutes behind the lead, and set about rehydrating. Exhaustion aside, I actually felt fine. I told the camp doc the same, and he prescribed a couple of hours of fluid intake before deciding what needed to be done. A couple of hours and many liters of water later, and hey presto my pee looked like pee again. There went the excuse to dodge day five and a further 48kms of fun.

Heaven. Photo: RestArts Studio

And Hell! Photo: Ian Corless

I ate well for the remainder of the day, looked for crocodiles with the kids and slowly got my mind back into the game. I would finish out the mileage, complete the Coastal Challenge, but the racing was over with. I felt good about the compromise and got a sound night's sleep.

Day five was a long one for sure, but mercifully it was relatively flat, which allowed the miles to float by in a metronomic rhythm. For the first time all race, I had some space from other runners, so I sat back and enjoyed the scene. The mangroves in particular were stunning, but just as bucolic were the horses out to pasture in a beautiful valley as open as the mangroves were dense.

End Day 5 at Drakes Bay

With every passing step I was getting closer to Drake Bay, our final and perhaps most stunning location of the entire trip. I passed an ailing Carlos Sa at mile 20 or so. Carlos, like many in the race, was dealing with pretty major feet issues. Mercifully my feet had held up through the humidity, dousing and countless creek and river crossings. It could have been so much worse.

There was one final river to cross before we made our way to the finish on the beach. I sat for a while to cool my jets, then engaged the final kms of road to the beach. Popping out onto the beach at Drakes Bay, the finish line was a mere 800 meters away - no endless beach running to finish the day - thank the sweet baby Jesus.

Despite having a final day of running left to complete, there was a definite sense of accomplishment around camp that afternoon. The final day at 13 miles would be nothing more than a victory lap, a quite stunning victory lap as it turned out, with rivers, waterfalls, dogs, dirt roads, beaches, coastal singletrack and a final few hundred meters of beach running all packed in there as a punctuation point on a fantastic week.

I felt a true sense of accomplishment at the finish. The Coastal Challenge had lived up to its name and challenged me in ways I hadn't predicted it would. Each and every day was a grind, the heat and humidity were intense, and the level of competition meant that there was simply no letting off the gas. Every day was a race - until, of course, it wasn't.

I have to thank the race organizers for putting together such a stunning course and figuring out the crazy logistics that go into an event like this. Camp was ripped down every night and miraculously re-established at the next day's location, kitchen, med tents and all. The staging locations were gob-smackingly beautiful and the camaraderie around camp was flat-out fun. I was a little nervous about bringing the whole family out for this one, but the kids had an absolute blast and were truly sad to leave camp life and the warm ocean.

This one comes highly recommended, solo or en famille.

Stella was quite taken with Dr Luciano!

Photos: Ian Corless 

Photo: RestArts Studio

Week Ending January 27

Mon - 10 miles (2,500') easy. South Horsetooth summit via Slush's Slit and then around on Westridge - Spring Creek. Another beautiful day in The Fort.

Tues - AM: 7 miles intervals. Not much in the tank for this morning's work. Ran with Chris, but the effort/split relationship was not a good one for me. Worked way too hard for these. Maybe some lingering cold stuff going on, if I really want to reach for an excuse. Or just getting old. Workout was 3 (1,200, 1,000) around City Park Lake, with the kilos as fartleks: 4:08, 3:25, 4:04, 3:23, 4:00, 3:20.
PM: 5 miles (1,500') easy. An easy jog up Horsetooth to shake out the morning workout.

Weds - 7.5 miles (1,800') easy. Casual Horsetooth summit on icy trails.

Thurs - AM: 10 miles (1,400') hill tempo. It was cold this morning and the roads on Centennial were an icy/snowy mess, which made for challenging running trying to maintain an effort coming back. Out easy to the turn, then back with Jason in approximately 33 mins.
PM: 4.5 miles (1,500') kinda hard. Retained my title on the VBM. Undefeated in all four renditions, as it happens.

Fri - 7.5 miles (1,800') easy. Grabbed a morning ascent of Horsetooth with Danny in the new snow. A little slippery, but I knew where all the icy spots were hidden. Back down the hill with neighbor Mike and his big plott hound.

Sat - 12.5 miles (3,400') easy. Double Horsetooth summit (21 & 22): Southridge - Audra - Rock - Wathan - Spring Creek - Soderberg - Rock - Audra - Southridge. Super casual double up and down via the cheat three-way route.

Sun - 15.5 (1,500') 5k/10k Frost Giant double. We stayed up in Estes Saturday night with Danny and his family at a cabin that one of Danny's colleagues had graciously opened up to us. Elk burgers were on the menu, which is fitting while in Estes, a town that is overrun by Elk. We were in town for the 35th running of the Frost Giant races, the fourth year in a row for me. The morning starts out with a 5k at 11:00 and a 10k at noon. Both races are a mix of hilly road and tough cross country, all at 7,500 - 8,000 feet.

There was a good group up from The Fort and surrounding areas, so we got out for a jog of the 5k course to assess conditions, which aside from the wind - always a factor in Estes - were pretty good. Getting ready, I bumped into Joe G who'd indicated the day before that he might be coming up, doubling down on the double with a 30k snowshoe race the day before.

The race got out with me, Mike - who'd beaten me the last time we raced on Thanksgiving - and Joe off the front in a small pack. The pace felt a lot more reasonable than it has in past years. Half a mile in on a slight downhill, Mike put in a little surge and it was just me and him at mile 1 heading up into McGregor Ranch. I kept on the gas all the way up the hill to the high point in McGregor Ranch and then let it go on the downhill across the pasture. This was enough to establish a comfortable gap on Mike, such that I could cruise the final mile back to the finish reasonably comfortably for 18:44. This was a few seconds off of last year, but 50 seconds off my best from 2011.

We jogged a bit between races to stay limber, then got things underway for the 10k, which starts with a steep climb up into some neighborhood roads. It looked like it was just me and Joe off the front for this one. We ran together for the first mile, and then I got a gap heading up to McGregor Ranch. The gap on Joe stayed essentially the same for the remainder of the race and I was content just to get around. The underfoot conditions were especially challenging on the 10k part of the course, with the usual off-camber grassy hillsides in addition to some really awkward sections of ice on the low point of the field to pick through. It felt like hard work. I popped back out on the road in 34:35, which meant I needed to run under 5:30 through the last mile to register something under 40 mins. I gave it a go, but came up a few seconds short (40:08), running another personal worst unfortunately. This one two minutes slower than last year and four minutes off my best. Maybe the course was longer? The cross country section seems to change a bit every year. Or maybe I'm just getting old.

Longs money shot from the Estes Trail Gazette

Post the 10k. Podium in various orders for both races.

Total: 79.5 miles (15,500')

So, another base-building week of fairly easy, but hilly mileage in the books.

I've been up in the 100s for weekly mileage at this time in years past. Not this year. I think I can time a better peak for Western States if I stay conservative on the mileage through the end of February; save the heavy lifting for March, April, May. I think I've been fitter in May than June the last couple of go arounds.

Off to Costa Rica early tomorrow for a 10-day run vacation with the family. I'll be competing in the Coastal Challenge stage race, but should be done each day by 10:00 or so, which will mean lots of quality time on the beach with the kids. Six days of camping for three-year-old Stella should be interesting, but hopefully fun.

This is the 10th running of the 6-day, 230km race, so the race organizers have been busy putting together a field of international runners that I'm looking forward to running with and competing against. Ian Corless has the details on that. Having never run a stage race, I'm not really sure what to expect in terms of recovery and getting after it for six straight days, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. Fun times.

Week Ending January 19

Monday - 5 miles (1,500') jog/hike. Horsetooth north. Drove down to the trailhead and attempted a summit of Horsetooth, but was reduced to a hike/jog, due to continued sickness and super icy conditions underfoot.

Tuesday - 4 miles jogging. Went down to City Park for Jane's workout, but ended up jogging the intervals as I was still feeling crappy. Gave up once the snow started coming down.

Wednesday - 7.5 miles (1,800'). Horsetooth north. The trails were still an icy mess, but I finally felt some strength returning to my body, although still hacking up a lung.

Thursday - AM: 10 miles (1,400') hill tempo. Out a little quicker than normal, but still relatively easy, then back with Jason at tempo effort. Still a bit under the weather, the hills were tough, but I was able to at least get some kind of turnover going. Back in 31:25 - 7:36, 6:35, 6:42, 5:24, 5:06.
PM: 7.5 miles (1,800') easy. Gorgeously sunny out, so cruised up and got a nice easy Horsetooth summit.

Friday - AM: 7.5 miles (1,800') easy. Another beautiful morning. Up the hill easy with Danny.
PM: 7.5 miles (1,800') easy. Jogged out another summit with the last rays of the day.

Sat - 12.5 miles (4,400') peaks. Met up with Jason, Burch, Lewis, Dane and Sam for a loop on Greyrock. The trails were better than I thought they would be, but I kept it at one loop before heading down the canyon to Gateway Natural Area with Jason to bag ranked 6,823' to the east of Seaman Reservoir. For this one, we ran the mile to the private property line on the southeast corner of Seaman Reservoir. Once the property there came into sight, we hoofed steeply uphill following a ridge with good goat trails all the way to the summit. This one was fairly open, so it went quickly. Up and back in just a little over an hour. Nice views of Seaman Reservoir, Greyrock and other peaks up the canyon from the top.

Sun - 21.5 miles (4,000') steady. Horsetooth/Redstone/Horsetooth yo-yo. 3:30. Started out with an easy jog up Horsetooth, then ran the road down to Redstone Canyon where I did a steady out and back to the three-mile marker, holding 7:10s up the hill and 6:45s down. After that I was back up the hill for another easy summit of Horsetooth (16) before heading for home. It took a while to force myself out the door for this one, as the motivation to run long just hasn't been there of late. This may have been my longest run since Wasatch, so I was pleased to feel decently strong the whole way around.

Total: 83 miles (18,500')

The start of this week was pretty much a bust due to lingering flu-like symptoms. That started abating by the middle of the week, so I was able to finish things out on a strong note - finally getting a legitimate long run under my belt on Sunday. It's been a while.

Looking forward to some Frost Giant action up in Estes Park on Sunday - always a fun time. This will be my first trip up the Big Thompson Canyon since the floods, so I'm interested to see how things look there. Hoping to also find some time to bag West Crosier on the way back, the last ranked peak in the Big Thompson area that I need. Speaking of which, I picked up Larimer County ranked peak number 150 on Saturday, which leaves just 105 more to get until I have the full collection! Probably be another couple of years.

Week Ending Jan 12

Mon - 7 miles (1,800') easy. Nice easy jog up Horsetooth in well-packed snow on the main trail.

Tues - AM: 7.5 miles intervals. Underfoot conditions on the cemetery loop were not good, so pretty much ran to effort and disregarded the watch this morning. Workout was mile, 800, 800, broken mile (800, 800), 1.5 mile lamppost fartlek.
PM: 7.5 miles (1,800') easy Horsetooth summit. Gorgeous day out with still great packed snow on the main trail.

Weds - Noon: 7.5 miles (1,800') easy. Snuck a quick summit of Horsetooth before running the kids around for the afternoon.

Thurs - AM: 10 miles (1,400') hill tempo. Out on Centennial with the Thursday morning group: Mary, Celeste, Ziggy, Scott, Becca, Lee, Marie and Katie. Nice easy run out as usual, then back at a controlled half marathon - 10 mile effort. Net uphill for the first three miles, then down for the last two: 7:32, 6:40, 6:35, 5:20, 5:15 = 31:22.
Noon: 7 miles (1,800') uber easy with Stefanovic who was back on break (and grossly out of shape) from his studies in Boston. Snuck a north gap ascent in as the rock was largely ice free. Beautiful view of blue fog sitting over the valley east of Boulder. Out towards the plains smoggy/dusty air was trapped low and looking nasty.

Fri - 7 miles (1,800') easy. After watching the wind howl from my office all morning, I finally summoned the courage to get outside and tag the peak. Went up the main trail to stay out of the wind and then struggled mightily to stay on my feet once on top of the rock (9). Everything has iced over thanks to the sun and wind, so it was very careful going on the descent.

Sat - 8 miles (2,000') peakbaggery. Woke with a burning throat and pretty much feeling like death, but decided to go ahead and meet Andy as planned for a morning tagging peaks up in the Red Feather Lakes area. We started from the Mount Margaret Trailhead with the winds whipping around pretty fiercely. There wasn't a huge amount of snow on the ground, but enough windblown accumulation to make things annoying. On the north side of the Red Feather Lakes Road, there are three ranked peaks semi-circling Windy Gap Lake, with two more on the south side of the road. Those were the goal peaks for the morning. First up was 8,522', a nice rocky lump composed of the solid, weathered and uber-featured Sherman Granite familiar to the area north of Fort Collins and the high plains of Laramie. To get on the peak, we followed a National Forest fence north to its northeast corner, before heading east and up to get the fun, rocky summit. The land out here is nice and open, so the views from each of our morning's summits were stellar.

8,522' on a different day. Photo: Joe Grim (from LoJ site)

From the top of 8,522' we checked out the lay of the land for the next two peaks, noting a steep snowy descent to the saddle with 8,356', which from our vantage point had a particularly aesthetic appeal to it, and then a good bit of cross country around Windy Gap Lake to get to 8,388'. The descent off 8,522' offered a little spice to our morning due to the steep, slabby and snow-covered nature of the terrain, but we picked and slipped our way through comfortably enough. By contrast, the southwest facing rock of 8,356' was dry, featured and fun to climb. It went quickly. The route off was again largely dry and we were soon making our way around the frozen Windy Gap Lake and heading up some pretty torturous terrain to get on 8,388'. Deadfall, heavy brush and the deepest snow of the day all made for a tedious - even if short - ascent. The summit rock had a nice hand crack to the top, which Andy geeked on for a while and then we headed southwest off the rock through heavy brush for Lone Pine Creek and the road. By the time we hit the asphalt, I was really beat down from the crud invading my body, so we called it there and ran the mile and half back up to the car into a nice steady headwind. Got home and was essentially dead to the world for the rest of the weekend.

8,356' from slopes of 8,522'.

Sick and wanting off the windy 8,522' summit. Windy Gap Lake to the right. 

Sun - 1.5 miles (400') hiking. Woke up feeling absolutely terrible. Aches, temperature, cough, burning respiratory system. There was no hope of a run today, so I nixed plans for a longer one and tried to convince Alistair to hike with me. The winds were howling again, so it was a tough sell, but I did at least get him to the trailhead. We didn't get far though, both of us not really enjoying being out, so we headed back down and into town to watch grown men collide into each other at full speed while chasing after an oddly shaped ball. I used to do that for fun too. How odd.

Total: 63 miles (12,800')

Picked up the nasty flu-like cold that's been doing the rounds this winter towards the end of this week and it put me on my back for much of the weekend and the first part of this week, but I'm finally feeling like I've kicked it to the curb some five days later. Good riddance, I haven't been sick like that in a while.

The sickness put to bed any plans of a longer run this past weekend, something I need to start getting on top of these next couple of weeks if I want to have any chance of competing in Costa Rica at the Coastal Challenge early next month. I've been tooling around with runs in the 7-10 mile range forever, it seems, and basically avoiding longer efforts. Time to start getting a little more serious.

Successful racing or not, we're really looking forward to the trip out to CR. Dana's mom is going to come out and join us, which should hopefully give Dana some good time to herself on the beach or in the jungle while I'm out running in the mornings. The 90+ degree temps are going to be a pretty rude slap in the face, but it'll be the same for most everyone I'm sure.

Week Ending Jan 5

Mon - 10 miles (800') easy. Ran out to Clowes Wood between Canterbury and Whitstable in more rain and heavy winds. Last run of the UK trip. Pretty fitting.

Tues - Off. Travel day back home for New Year's Eve. In bed by 9:00.

---------------------------------------------------------
January: 345.5 miles (51,900)
February: 309 (47,900')
March: 438.5 (68,800')
April: 362.5 (68,700')
May: 423.5 (84,400')
June: 412.5 (72,500')
July: 238 (42,300')
August: 238 (40,700')
September: 181 (47,600')
October: 163.5 (38,600')
November: 215 (60,900')
December: 283.5 (48,200)

Total: 3,610.5 (672,500') 
Ave: 301 (56,041')


2012 Total: 4,118.5 (714,600')
2011 Total: 4,264 (729,400')
2010 Total: 4,100 (655,850')
2009 Total: 3,451 (486,600')

---------------------------------------------------------

Weds - AM: 10 miles (2,500') easy. Made it up to the top of Horsetooth in the dark to catch the first sunrise of the year. Totally clouded over so didn't see much in the way of sun, but it felt great to be running uphill again. From Horsetooth, ran around Westridge for a Spring Creek descent. Tacked on the Grim Reaper hill in my neighborhood, which officially puts me in the 100-mile training season.

A bit of color poked through to the south on a cold and windy start to the 2014 Horsetooth bagging season.

PM: 7 miles (1,800') easy. Got out and nabbed another Horsetooth just before sunset.

Thurs - AM: 10 miles (1,400') hill tempo: Becca, Celeste, Ziggy and Lee for the Centennial out and back. Enjoyed a nice cruise out, then came back in a very comfortable 31:22. Keeping true to the goal of my Thursday morning tempo sessions this year, I kept this one where it was supposed to be and avoided the temptation to run as hard as possible. Ran the back five right on the digits from the last time I did this workout three weeks ago and it felt significantly more comfortable. Progress. 7:25, 6:30, 6:32, 5:36, 5:18.
PM: 7 miles (1,700') steady. First Towers session of the year. My quads felt sore from the morning workout and are clearly in need of serious seasoning before things start getting serious again. Ran with Sam Malmberg at an effort that was a little harder than I had planned. Legs were definitely tired, which made the 34 flat feel more like a 31.

Fri: 10 miles (2,500') easy w/Tony S. Horsetooth summit, then Westridge, Secret, Towers, Spring Creek, Soderberg. Beautiful day: shorts and a T. Sore quads still from yesterday's road workout.

Sat: 13 miles (3,500') peakbaggery. Headed north with Jason and Andy to the Eagle's Nest Open Space, a little used Larimer County natural area off Red Feather Lakes Road. There are a couple of ranked peaks out there, 6,975' and Livermore Mountain, that are accessible from Eagle's Nest, so the morning's mission was to bag those two and perhaps a couple of others further west if time allowed. Despite the six inches or so of snow that had fallen overnight in my neighborhood, west of Fort Collins, the conditions to the north were considerably better with the snow essentially tapering off by the time we reached the Red Feather turn-off. The four-mile run out to the base of 6,975' was of the rolling variety and involved a mix of Larimer, NFS and undetermined property on good double track. The steep, burned-out, north facing slope of 6,975' offered a fun, but slick 800' scramble to the socked-in top. We imagined the views south to the Poudre Canyon, before heading in a direction we thought appropriate to get on Livermore Mtn (7,504'). I had some cliff notes for directions and was glad to have them considering there was very limited visibility. The run/hike up Livermore was very straightforward as it turned out. From the top, we followed the gentle northeast ridge back down to the double track at the base of 6,975' and then enjoyed a nice run back to the trailhead. Total mileage on this one was approximately 12.5 with 3,000 feet of vertical gain. It would have been nice to check this area out with better visibility, so I might have to return one of these days to climb the aesthetic but unranked Eagle's Nest Rock - which we passed up in favor of heading west to take in ranked Manhead Mountain (7,980') before time was up on the morning.

For Manhead, we entered the Glacier View neighborhood via 'Gate 10' and took that all the way south to the base of the rock, which actually lies on a small parcel of National Forest land, despite being surrounded by private property. Out here, there had been a good bit of snow which made the short climb up Manhead a little more interesting. This one was only 400 feet or so of ascent, but required a climbing move or two on the route Andy charted up a couple of chimneys. Again we had to imagine the views from the top before descending on slick slabby rock back to the car. Fun morning.

Manhead from the north on a different day. Photo: Joe Grim

Sun - AM: 1 mile easy setting up the Edora Park 8k course. Frigid again.

Some of the 28 who showed up for a second single digit T&H in a row.  

Trying to stay warm waiting for runners to finish. Not quite an NFL sideline heater, but that thing pumps out some warmth. 

PM: 7.5 miles (1,800') easy. Grabbed a nice snowy Horsetooth summit (4) with Danny B on a cold but sunny early afternoon. There had been lots of traffic before us in the day and a half since the most recent snowfall, so there was a decently packed track to follow all the way to the summit. Crisp and clear from the top and good to see a couple of familiar faces on the way back down.

Total: 75.5 miles (16,000')

Good week on balance. Flicked the switch proper January 1 and now consider myself to be back in full-on training mode. I feel decently rested from the summer and I'm looking forward to another fun year out and about in the hills.

Ended up with 152 Horsetooth summits on the year, in addition to a now 146 other Larimer County ranked peaks, which leaves me with just 109 left to get. Of course, I've bagged most of the low-hanging fruit within easy striking distance of home, so the remainder may take a little longer to snag.

The Horsetooth haul was good, but not as good The Erskine who tagged the top 164 times in 2013. He wins a six pack from yours truly. That will not be repeated in 2014.

Quad Rock registrations are off to a strong start and it's looking like we'll fill sometime in February. We have an increased cap this year and will register 400 runners, but such is the demand these days for long outings on the trails that we'll still likely fill at record pace.

What else? Hmm, not a great deal really. Mileage this year was down on years past, due in most part to running the Grand Slam. Yes, you race lots of miles, but you also end up spending tons of time on your tush trying to recover. July to November this year were all under 250 miles, which I consider to be low mileage months. And so it goes. Won't do that again anytime soon.

Week Ending December 29

Mon - 5.5 miles easy. Tyler Hill/Uni loop.

Tues - 3 miles easy. A quick and easy loop up and around the university.

Weds - 6 miles w/5k race. Headed out to Whitstable with Dana and the kids for an early race to start off our Christmas Day. Alistair and I raced, while Dana and Stella enjoyed some time by the sea. I wanted to keep this one firmly under control to save myself for the main event the next day at the Saltwood Boxing Day Run. Got out with two others off the front at a pace that felt a whole lot quicker than I wanted it to. Unfortunately, I have a competitive instinct that can be very hard to quell so I tucked in and ran with it. Went through the first kilo in 3:18 (5:18 mile pace) and shook my head, but stuck with the other two anyway as things seemed to be easing off. This was reflected pretty clearly over the next two kms that came in at 3:40, 41 (5:54, 55), after which I decided to pick things up a touch. Final two kms clocked at 3:24 and 3:35 (5:28, 44), so yeah the splits were all over the place.

Thurs - 4.5 miles w/3 mile xc race. Saltwood Boxing Day Run. Felt really strong for this one and was really pleased at how hard I was able to stay on the gas the whole way around. Third overall in a surprising 4 second course PR despite majorly muddy conditions.

Fri - 5.5 miles easy. Jogged an easy Tyler Hill/University loop.

Sat - 6 miles w/5k race. Back out to Whitstable for another Parkrun 5k. Despite this being my third race in four days, I wanted to push this one a bit to see if I could sneak under 17 minutes to finish out the year. For me, anything under 17 minutes means I'm starting to round into decent fitness. Not particularly fast by any stretch of the imagination, but a good marker for me. I would run this one solo in second with a guy close enough off the front to act as a decent pull. Through the first kilo I worked on holding a pace that would allow my race-weary legs to ease into things but keep me in the general 3:24/km ballpark. I was a little disappointed to come in a couple of seconds over at 3:26 for the first km, about 10 seconds back on the lead guy, so ratcheted things immediately after the km marker, focusing on not losing any more distance to the lead. The second km came in at 3:14, which put me back in the hunt. Unfortunately the middle km of the Whitstable 'lollipop' loop was a mix of slippery mud, significant headwind and flooded concrete path. I did what I could, and was okay with the 3:42 for this one. Immediately on getting back on the promenade for the return to the finish, I pushed hard, with the lead guy still just 10-15 seconds in front. The fourth km was an alleged 3:05 (4:5x mile pace), but I have to think it was a touch short. From there I just needed to run a final 3:32 kilo to sneak in under 17. I felt like I was still able to push through that last km, but must have been slowing a touch. The final .1 up the hill into the finish stiffened the task, and I ended up crossing in 17:03, 25 seconds or so off the lead. Nonetheless, I was happy with the run given that I'm still in the off-season, and it has me encouraged to chase the speed a bit over the next couple of months to see if I can't run something in the 16:30 range before really beginning to load the miles and vertical this spring in preparation for Western States.

Sun - 6 miles easy. Jogged out an easy Tyler Hill/Uni loop with a tack on at the end to run down the St Thomas Hill footpath.

Total: 36.5 miles

A light week on the mileage front but necessarily so, as I put in a couple of hard effort races in addition to a race as a workout on Christmas day. Both the Boxing Day Run and the Saturday 5k have me decently encouraged that my fitness is starting to come around, and I'm really looking forward to working hard on my higher end speed the next couple of months to see if I can't register an altitude PR at the 5k distance and breach the 16:30 threshold as a prelude to the meat and potatoes of 100 mile training: volume and vertical.

Speed is undoubtedly my biggest weakness when it comes to running ultra-distance events, my stomach being a close second, so it's really a no-brainer for me to want to get after it in a serious and focused manner if I truly want to get the best out of myself in the summer racing season. I need to figure out my stomach too, so I'll be experimenting with that as well as the next five months unfold. No point being in the best shape of your life if you let it all unravel at the hands of a sour stomach.

Saltwood Boxing Day Run 2013

The end-of-year return home wouldn't be complete without a trip to the village of Saltwood for a romp across the British countryside in the annual Saltwood Boxing Day Run, now in its 39th year. The weather for our trip home has been absolutely diabolical, but one would expect no less. After all, a British man never leaves home without his umbrella - or so my Chinese students used to tell me way back when. Wait, what? But, yeah, it's rained every day since we've been here and, much like last winter, rivers are bursting their banks and half the country is under water.

I lived through this misery for the first 20 years of my life, but now the annual return to the UK makes me thankful for every single one of those 300 days of sunshine we are reputed to get on the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. That said, nothing quite beats the British countryside on a glorious summer day, no mater how few and far between they are. But I digress. All you need to know is that the route for the 39th running of the Boxing Day Run was bloody muddy.

The race, nay run, is an approximately three mile loop through farmers' fields, past a gate or two, over a stile, through the woods, up and down a couple of hills and back to the finish line on the village green. A true cross country race in a quintessentially British setting. This would be my sixth running of the race in the last seven years.

There looked to be a good turnout milling around as we got ready for the off, runners no doubt encouraged by the brief window of sunshine we were enjoying following the previous two days of torrential rains and gale force winds. After a few pleasantries on the start line with a couple of the Saltwood regulars it was down to business. The start was hectic and I came close to taking an early digger with ankles being clipped left and right by overanxious youngsters getting out at a sprint. By the first turn I finally had room to run and found myself sitting somewhere around tenth with a couple of lads off the front that I knew wouldn't be coming back.

The lead up to the first kissing gate, coming up from the first river crossing.

Across the playing field, I passed a couple of the early pacesetters before easing past a few more on the slick descent to the first footbridge. Up the steps to the 'kissing gate' I was sixth in line, a position I held up the first hill and over the stile. Across the grazing field - no sheep this year - I moved into fourth, with third 10-15 meters ahead and first and second off to the races. A mile down and it was a race for third.

I had my brother's cross country spikes on this year and they made a huge difference versus regular trail runners, which are simply no match for the bogs of the Saltwood course. On the slick boggy paths under the wooded canopy, I went to work on bridging the gap to third making a bit of a dent by the time we popped back out into the fields.

I was close enough now that I could hear some pretty labored breathing and was feeling strong enough that I was able to keep firmly on the gas up through the rolling paths, a number of which were more brook than trail. With a half mile to go on the final footpath leading back down into the village I began closing quickly and ultimately went by without a fight, finishing back on the green in a surprising four second PR and third place overall. Five-time winner Michael Coleman was finally dethroned by a young lad, Maximilian Nicholls, who has been running the race for years, coming of age this year with an impressive slog through the mud.

Happy to get on the podium again.

After getting a few layers on, I headed back out to watch Alistair finish up what he fittingly refers to as the Mud Run. Just the two Clarks on the start line this year, but hopefully we'll have a full contingent next year for the 40th running of this great running tradition.

Results.

Geeked to get going.

Finishing it up and putting the hurt on Skeleton Man.

Week Ending December 22

Mon - 7 miles (1,700') easy. Final Horsetooth summit of the year, and number 152 total. I can't remember how many I did last year, but I'm pretty sure it was less. Hopefully I'll have the fitness, desire and consistency to register a few more next year.

Tues - 8.5 miles intervals. 5 x mile, w/first steady, second through fourth fartlek, and last steady (CCW (.98 mile), CW (1.02), CCW, CW, CCW). Showed up for this one not really sure how much I wanted to put into it, so opened up running the first one at a reasonably casual effort with Leora, Ryan and Andy: 5:41. The next three were fartlek and I decided to push the hard segments a little harder than usual and float the medium ones a little easier: 5:34, 5:20, 5:34. Finished with a final steady mile, pushing the last quarter hard: 5:15. Felt some fitness there this morning. Promising.

Wed - 5.5 miles. Jogged some easy miles on the mean streets of Canterbury after the long flight from Denver. To the West Station to pick up a birthday present for my mom, then up the Crab and Winkle to Blean, and back via Rough Common.

Thurs - 10 miles (1,000) easy. Blean Woods outer loop. Trails were totally waterlogged, but it's always good to be back home enjoying the refreshingly moist air, at least for the first couple of days. Then the rain starts getting pretty old. Not sure how I put up with it for 20 years, but I guess I didn't know any better.

Fri - 5.5 miles easy. University/Tyler Hill loop.

Sat - 5.5 miles w/5k Parkrun race. I always enjoy running the Whitstable 5k Parkrun races when I'm back home. It's a similar concept to the Tortoise and Hare races I put for the Fort Collins Running Club in Colorado, in that the races are designed to offer a means of promoting fitness for newer runners or a fun workout for more seasoned runners in an inclusive, affordable environment. If you ever find yourself in the UK on a Saturday and fancy a workout, then check out the Parkrun website and see if there's one being put on in a town near you.

Originally I was going to run the six or so miles up to Whitstable, but I didn't much like the look of the weather and with lingering jet lag I decided an extra few minutes in bed was the wiser option, driving out instead with Alistair and my Dad. Alistair and I got in a nice mile jog on the seafront to warm-up, noting a strong tailwind outbound and stronger headwind coming back, then after meeting up with my brother and his two young running proteges, it was off to the start line and time to get going. The goal was to run a hard workout more than it was to race, so I eased into things and followed the lead guy off the front. He put a few meters on me through the first couple of kms, but once we hit the sloppy mud on the kilometer long lollipop section of the out and back I quickly regained the ground and then muscled past him as we made our way back along the seafront into the wind. I forgot to bring my watch so didn't get splits, but I'd guess my first and third miles were probably right on 5:30 and the middle mile through the mud and strongest headwind at about 5:45-50. Finished in 17:25, which felt about right for the effort, then ran back out to run the last km again with Alistair who registered a course PR at just under 28 minutes. Always a fun morning on the Whitstable seafront.

Headed out in the afternoon to Canterbury Rugby Club to watch the first team play a top of the table clash against Cambridge in cataclysmically terrible weather. Brought back fond (I think) memories of playing through similar conditions on more than a few occasions during my youth.

Sun 18 miles (1,000') easy. Ran at a very easy effort out to Whitstable and along the seafront for a bit, then turned and retraced my steps. My legs were a little creaky for this one and not much enjoying the hard surface underfoot so it was generally a bit of an effort. Wet again.

Total: 60 miles (3,700')    

It's always a tough grind crossing the Atlantic in the easterly direction, especially with kids in tow, so the running has been a little labored and my sleep not great since arriving in the UK. But I'm getting into the swing of things now, just in time for a run of three races in the span of four days between Christmas and Saturday. Fun times.

Week Ending December 15

Mon - 7 miles (1,700') easy. Horsetooth jog.

Tues - AM: 9 miles intervals. This one was kind of a bust with choppy snow on the cemetery loop and single digit temperatures, so just got around. Workout was mile, 2 x 800, mile, 2 x 800, 1.5 mile lamppost fartlek. Jogged the first mile with the group to check out the conditions, then ran the rest at between 5:30 and 5:50 pace.
PM: 7 miles (1,700') easy. Kind of a creaky jog up Horsetooth to catch the sun heading down behind Longs Peak. Finally warming up a bit and just a glorious afternoon to be on a peak. Pikes was visible in glorious technicolor 100 miles to the south.

Weds - 7 miles (1,700') easy. Horsetooth #148. Sun was out and felt awesome after a solid week of frigidity. Down to two layers. Not a whole lot of energy, but it was still great to be out.

Horsetooth from the south on Audra Culver.

Palisade and Round Mountains at the base of Thompson Canyon, with Twin Sisters and Longs above Estes.

South, Middle, North.

Thurs - AM: 10 miles (1,400') hill tempo. Jogged out super easy on Centennial with Slush, Katie and Marie, catching up on the local goings on, then came back solo at a reasonably controlled effort. Now that I don't have Mike to race on these return trips, I'm hoping I can keep things truly within the desired effort range, i.e., not too hard and somewhere between LT and HM. Legs felt a little wooden this morning. Splits coming back: 7:34, 6:26, 6:36, 5:30, 5:15 = 31:22
PM: 6.5 miles easy. Jogged a few easy miles with the FCTR crew around Pineridge. Been a while since I've been to the Thursday social, but felt good to shake out the morning workout.

Fri - 7 miles (1,700') easy. Nice easy cruise up Horsetooth under the warm Colorado sun. The thaw was in full effect and people were out.

Sat - 19 miles (5,000') steady. Out for the classic two summit tour of the parks, with Horsetooth #150 on the year registered along the way. A bit of slipping and sliding and 95% ice or snow, but way, way better than the conditions last weekend and probably 40 degrees milder. Two miles fewer than last weekend at Chubby, but 2 hours 20 minutes quicker. Yup. Out with Malmberg, Burch and recent FoCo (well, Masonville) transplant/Boulder escapee Dane Mitchell. Fun morning.

Couple of Quad Rock course record holders, a Towers FKT holder ... and Clark on top of FoCo.

Summit #150 for 2013. The view of Her Majesty and her Glacier Gorge minions never gets old. 

Sun: 9.5 miles (2,200') easy. Shorts and a T for this one. Bagged another Horsetooth, then eased around on Westridge for the always fun Spring Creek descent.

Total: 82 miles (15,000') 

Haven't seen 80+ miles on the odometer in quite some time. It feels good to be running a little more consistently, but I need to grab a few more Larimer peaks before things start getting serious for 2014. That won't happen until the new year though as we take off for the UK on Tuesday.

Pete and I were hoping to put on a Towers 10k race in April 2014. It would have been a stiff 5k to the top and an electrifying 5k back down to the finish, and surely a whole bunch of fun, but it got nixed by the authorities. Ah well, the biweekly time trials will always be there. Permits for our other three races - Quad Rock, Black Squirrel Half and Bluesky Marathon - have all been given the green light, so we're happy to have those boxes checked. QR reg opened Dec 1, and early pricing is available until Dec 31.