My day with Dean

Here is a link to my article on running with Dean Karnazes for 24 miles during stage 3 of the TransRockies.
http://running.competitor.com/2010/08/features/do-you-know-the-ultramarathon-man_12544

Running with the UltraMarathon Man, Dean Karnazes

Yesterday I ran with the UltraMarathon Man Dean Karnazes. The GoreTex Trans Rockies is a 6 day, 113 mile run through Colorado and runners run in teams of 2. This year Karnazes is running each leg with a different person. Dean has run 100's of marathons and ultramarathons. He has written two books, UltraMarathon Man and 50/50, an account of his trip running 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 different states.
I was chosen to run with Dean by GoreTex, the sponsor of the Trans Rockies, and it was a great time. The course was gorgeous and the weather was perfect. Many runners wanted to talk with Dean, get their picture with him and just be around him. I am writing about it on Competitor.com and will have the link up on my site when it's up. For now, here is the maps and info on our run.

A long hilly day.

My long, hilly ride included hitting 11,990 ft. twice as I went up and over Loveland Pass.

This topograph shows my mid-week power ride. 48 miles with 5400 ft. of climbing, and all of that at 45-55 RPM's to work on leg power. These are important rides as I work to get faster for the 4 day Steamboat Stage race on Labor Day weekend. Plus, the weekend following that is a 92 mile road race, with some dirt sections and a summer biathlon (run/shoot and bike/shoot). Lots of racing still to come!

State Road Race Champs..OUCH

Sunday I pummelled myself racing around the Air Force base chasing a victory in the state road race championships. The course was three laps of a 9 mile circuit that featured a long steady climb, one short steep pitch and lots of fast, flat roads.
We started off at 8 AM, early and COLD! It was about 60 degrees with dark grey clouds and the continuous threat of rain. Thankfully there was little wind though as I heard later in the day the wind became a factor.
No one had really ridden the course so we didn't quite know what to expect. Most of us figured the first lap would be easy, but when we turned left and headed up what turned out to be a deceptively nasty long climb that hope was shattered.
I was cross eyed just trying to stay in the top ten. There was a little break between the riders, which was  a good thing. When we finally crested the top we had a fast downhill to some flats to recover. That was short lived as we hit a short, 200 meter, climb that just hit you when you were down. The rest of the circuit was fast. To my surprise quite a few riders caught back on the group and when we turned around for the 2nd lap we were a big group again.
Just like the 1st lap, the group split again up the hill and I was all out staying in touch. This time on the flatter sections some of us worked together to keep the pace up so the group wouldn't catch back on. I took some pulls at the front to do my share of the pace making.
When we turned for the third lap we were down to 12 or so. I knew it would be decided on the hill so I prepped for that. Unfortunately it didn't work out for me.
With only 200 meters to go to the top I cracked, Hard. All the gas just went out of me and I knew I was done. I looked back and saw a rider coming by me. I used him as a pacer and put in an effort to bridge up to him. I actually passed him at the top and at this point I was only 15 seconds back of the group.

At the front of the group

I hoped to catch back on and when the rider I had just passed went by me I should have jumped on his wheel and followed him, but for some reason I didn't. He went for it and ended up catching the group.  I was left in no man's land with no hope of catching back on. 12 guys working hard are no match for a lone rider.

So I checked behind me and saw a small group of three coming. I tried to hold them off to the end, about 3 miles, but they caught me with about a mile to go. I jumped in and drafted a bit to recover. We played some cat and mouse games and in the end I was beaten by only 1 rider in that group, and finished in 14thHad I stayed with the group I wouldn't have necessarily won, but I probably could have been 8-10th. As it was I took 14th. Not bad and I wasn't upset with my effort. I raced aggressively, didn't get caught in the back and was just 20 seconds short of sticking with the top guys.

Riding hard

 

 

Sprinting for 13/14th place.

I was pretty tired afterwards and after a quick spin to warm down I was still freezing. It was barely 65 now and the grey clouds were getting worse. I piled the gear in the car and we headed to Morrison where I had a great breakfast at the Red Rock Grill. Strawberry French Toast with eggs hit the spot!
Next week will be interesting for sure. I may do a crit race on Sunday, but that will be a last minute decision.

More intervals and too much rain.

In preparation for Sunday's race I've been working on my top end speed, which means intervals, which means pain. Going all out at 9,000 ft. is uniquely painful as you just can't breathe, even when you back off. Oh well, it should make me faster.
What doesn't make me faster is getting rained on. Yesterday I walked out with my riding kit on and saw some dark clouds so I grabbed my vest. I told my wife that the weather was a bit sketchy so I may be giving her a call to pick me up. 10 minutes later I was getting rained/hailed on! Being still so close to home I just chiefed it out and got home as quickly as I could. Through the rain and beads of water on my shades I saw Courtney driving up the road looking for me, but I was literally 1/2 mile from home. How nice was that?! Thankfully the weather cleared later in the day and I was able to get my hard day in. Later in the day I went for a short run, and despite perfectly blue skies I got sprinkled on! This time it was warm and nice, so I didn't mind it at all.
There was a cool meteor shower at night to boot. From our driveway we saw 6 or 7 meteors in about 20 minutes. With no street or town lights they really showed up against the dark sky. My neck hurt after awhile and I had to go in, otherwise I would have slept out there and watched them streak across the darkness all night. 
Today I just took it easy and went for a nice spin around Lake Dillon. The weather cooperated fully with a nice bluebird day. The legs felt good and I am definitely ready for Sunday!

Intervals hurt!

With the Co. state road race championships coming up this Sunday I figured I should do some top end work to prep. That meant going out on the road bike and hammering myself for short but very painful intervals. Three minutes doesn't seem too long, but it's an eternity when your legs are shouting at you to stop being an idiot and your eyes are crossed. At one point I thought I saw the Devil on the road laughing as I pedaled ugly squares.
After doing the intervals I still had the long uphill grind back home and it wasn't pretty. It reminded me of something Mike Pigg (one of the best triathletes ever) said to me once, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but I was always worried one of those workouts would kill me." Mr. Pigg knew what he was talking about for sure.
Of course I also decided to go for a run before dinner. With such an incredible network of trails literally in my backyard their pull is constant and strong. It was only 45', but after the morning bike session they felt sluggish. That didn't stop me from enjoying running through the trees on a perfect evening.

Courtney at the benches

We finished off the day with a short hike to a cool bench to take in the sunset. We just sat there taking in the sites and sounds. We saw every crow in Summit County, a fox and a few dogs along with their owners. It was a great way to end the day for sure.

A stump with tags of lost and loved pets

A day off, but some adventure

Today I woke ready for a day off from any kind of activity. The weather cooperated with my plans by pouring rain and staying cloudy most of the day. This made staying inside and getting a bunch of administrative work done.
I did take advantage of a short break in the weather to get a little fly fishing in. I can't really call it fishing, it would be more accurate to call it casting. Not only did I not catch a fish I didn't even see one. Oh well, it was still fun to get out.

Two Pass Sunday

The weather was sketchy at the start, but it stayed clear all day!

Rolling out the door I knew I would be riding long, but I wasn't exactly sure how far I'd be able to pedal. The clouds were low over the Ten Mile Range, so I headed along south along HWY 9 to Breck to keep them in view. I ended up going over Hoosier Pass and dropped into the little town of Alma. From there I turned it around and rode back up and back home. Along the way I thought about going up Loveland Pass to make it a 2 pass day. This is a little challenge I had been thinking about for some time. I figured I'd make that decision on the way back home. It took me about 3 1/2 hours to get back home and I was feeling decent so I just refueled, re-applied some sunscreen (you can never have enough is my motto) and rolled back out.

I couldn't pass up on the challenge and I headed east up Loveland Pass. I love the view of Mt. Cupid, Grizzly Peak and Lenawee, especially when the sun is out. So I suffered up the pass, at times wondering if I would make it. Fortunately I did top out, and for some reason I decided to drop down to Lovealnd Ski Resort and ride back up. That decision was easy, I didn't have to think about going all the way down and getting back up, I just had to roll over the top. That split second decision puts me in a spot where if I want to get home, I have only one option. It's like riding on an out and bike course, you don't have to decide about coming back, you only have to think about how far out you go.
I actually felt decent on the way back up. This is probably because I knew that once I topped out it was all downhill home.
The ride was just under 6 hours, much longer than the 4 I had thought I'd be up for. Sure I felt like death walking through the door, but a quick shower, some PowerBar recovery drink and stretching made me feel a lot better!
Here is the route and all the relevant info!

Today's Random Adventure

Today I mixed up a trail run with a road ride just for a change of pace. Looking at the mountains I want to get on the trails, but I love the long stretches of roads out here in Summit County. So I did the only thing I could think of and did both. I started with a trail run from the Willow Creek TH, somewhere I'd never run before. I knew I would be headed into the Gore Range, which is the only east/west range in the country I've been told. The trail was narrow with some rocky sections and a few log bridges. Soon I connected to the Gore Range Trail and Mesa Cortina Trail, both of which I've run and know. I chose to run a short out and back along the Gore Trail before turning around. Somehow I got lost coming back and descended down a dirt road. As I came back into the neighborhood I looked back to see a sign in big letters saying PRIVATE PROPERTY, NO HIKERS, RUNNERS, HORSES! Ooops!I ran the last mile along the road and back up to my car. After wolfing down a PowerBar I changed into my riding kit and was off.
I didn't have the legs for climbing so I rode along HWY 9, which is the flattest road in the area. I did some hard intervals along the way and by the end my legs were toasted. Back at the car I downed a lot of water and PowerBar's recovery drink.
I had a Garmin Edge 705 that I am testing along with me and the box below shows where I went and my heart rate, power, etc.