Really stupid...

If an idea is good, it's on the verge of being stupid. ~ Michel Gondry

I have always had this theory… get a group of people in a room, throw out a bunch of ideas and at the end of the night, look at your list to find the most idiotic and that's the one you should do.

This blog was spawned from one very stupid idea - run the Leadville 100. I gave that a shot in the summer of '07 - completed 73 miles - and survived. The blog lives on...

RunStuRun has moved to http://www.runsturun.com

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday...

Let's go play machete fight. Ain't no terrible tradgedy's gonna happen today! ~ Nate Cox

Went to see Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story today with Pete. Pretty amusing. Not sure if I would highly recommend it but if you just want to shut off your brain for a bit and be entertained, it definitely satisfies.

It is snowin' and blowin' up here. The forecasters are calling for more of the same for the next couple of days. I am planning to brave the conditions to get in some turns at the Rock tomorrow then will be heading to the Basin on Tuesday for some New Year's fun and/or games. Just a really great way to kick off the new year.

Um... that's it for now. More later. That's a threat AND a promise. Psyched, aren't you?

~stubert.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Day 17...

It's the bloody Beatles White Album! ~ George Harrison

Speaking of white... Damn today was cold at The Basin. Maybe 5 degrees with a sporadic wind, sometimes quite brisk. I was skiing very sloppily for some reason. Fairly inspired at times but mostly like a spaz. But hey. It was still an awesome time. We all experienced some frost-nip and had to take breaks when the white spots appeared on cheeks and noses but it was worth it to get some turns in. Plus no one was out on the slopes. The warming house was seriously as full as I have ever seen it. Pretty funny.

The crüe consisted of Luke, Obie, and two of Obie's friends from Highschool -- one of whom I knew from way back in our earliest Boulder days. Small world.

We jammed up the hill early to avoid the weekend traffic mania and were quickly spinning laps on Pali. The Spine was simply dreamy -- wind buffed and creamy. Can't complain about that at all. I finally dropped the upper rocks with only a hint of hesitation and launched off of a good drop on the bottom portion of the hill with ease. Generally hesitant but feeling pretty good for what is still early season. Most of the really hard stuff is still closed but we're keeping our fingers crossed for some cycles to line up and really hammer things home. All in all, however, they have decent coverage and times are good.

We have been watching a ton of movies of late. Good way to pass the short days and cold temps when not out on the slopes. Here is a run-down:

  • Ratatouille: Great Pixar movie. The animation is amazing and the story is fun and engaging. If you haven't seen it, get busy.
  • The Shawshank Redemption: Another classic. Just a well put-together film.
  • Lone Star: Terrific Sayles. A must see.
  • Breach: Not super but entertaining at least. Again, Chris Cooper puts in a pretty solid effort and though the movie wasn't awesome, it was still watchable.
  • Silver City: Another Sayles/Cooper partnership. This one is just a mess. Really, really boring movie that just didn't seem to go anywhere. It was shot in Colorado, so that made it a little bit interesting being that I was able to pick out locations but other than that, just bad.
  • Notes on a Scandal: Actually, I wasn't sure what to expect with this one and was pleasantly surprised. Well worth the time.
So we were discussing fuel efficiency during today's festivities. Seems that two of us are proud (or not so) owners of gigantic SUV things. I currently drive a 2000 Yukon XL. I have thought about selling it to get something more environmentally friendly but since starting up the new biz, haven't really been putting many miles on it. When I do, I usually cram as many people as possible (and all our gear) into the beast so that we only have to take one car up the hill. This makes me feel a little less guilty about driving the behemoth. Actually, I did get 19.5 mpg when I fueled up this afternoon, so that is pretty sweet. If you count the fact that 5 of us were able to get transport to the area using Holmsey, that is actually really good. We would have had to take at least two normal cars so all in all, we came out on top. So I guess my point is: Carpooling good, giant SUV not always bad. Say it with your Frankenstein voice and it is even more fun.

Play hard.

~stubert.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Still in the 'Sack...

The waiting is the hardest part. ~ Tom Petty (coincidentally heard while on hold with Apple)

I am still over in Gunnison. Might be heading back to the Front Range today but we're playing that by ear at this point.

I am a little banged up from yesterday's adventures. Nothing bad, I just took one squirrelly fall during which I somehow managed to bang my left elbow on something and I kicked my right shin right in-between the top of my boot and the bottom of my kneepad. Perfect placement. Seems like that happens a lot, actually. Which probably means my pads are working fine, they just don't cover enough! Part of the game. I do have a nice contusion on my shin however that goes nicely with the scar I got while hopping a fence on my October snow run. Good stuff.

No skiing today and I really need to get some work completed as well. Just too many things going on right now.

I am super excited to get back home to see Rach. She has been awesome -- staying at home and taking care of all the monsters while I am away. As always, I'll keep you posted.

~stubert.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Good day at the Butte...

No quote. Too lazy. ~stubert.

Hit the Butte today for some steeps (finally). Almost the whole
mountain is open already which is amazing. Headed straight to Teocali
Bowl then jammed out to Third Bowl. I spent the whole day spinning
laps in Spellbound, Phoenix, The Glades, etc. Awesome to finally get on
something that challenged my limits. I actually had to back out of a
skinny chute on Staircase as the sluff I kicked in took out the rest
of the snow severely limiting my options. All in a good day's fun at
my hometown resort.

Skied all day with Zach from San Diego. It was his first time at CB so
I gave him the ultimate locals' tour-o'rama. Even met up with a guy I
haven't seen in several years at the top of Third Bowl. Bret is a
photographer who has moved to Boulder recently and was doing a bad job
of trying to not kill his girlfriend, Ann (?? Crap, I forgot her
name). Small world.

Planning to head back over to the Front Range tomorrow but we'll see
what happens. I hate to leave the Butte while it is skiing so
incredibly well but I miss my sweetie who is home taking care of the
menagerie.

I'll keep you posted.

~stubert.

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Sunday, December 23, 2007

Recent happenings...

Moonrise over Monarch

He's gone. He just... got away from us. ~ Dr. Wordsmith

Man, stressful just doesn't do justice to these last few days. Can't really go into it right now but damn. Here is a brief list events (some of these were not my doing):
  • The Winter Solstice: I really like the solstice as it marks the time when days start to get longer. Plus, as celestial events go, shortest/longest days of the year are unique, at least.
  • Sweeny Todd: One of several movies on my list. This was a great adaptation, even if you don't like musicals.
  • Blustery day at The Rock: Pete, Luke and I went up for some Eldora turns. Corona was spinning, the wind was howling, the thermometer was dropping... We only lasted a couple of hours as it was bitterly cold and I had to get over to Gunnison but two hours of frigid skiing is better than two hours of not skiing.
  • Drive to Gunnison: Headed over to Gunnison to visit my parents. I will be over here probably until Tuesday or Wednesday. Playing that by ear a little bit.
~stubert.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Ridin' the goat...

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. ~ Robert Burns

Today, Luke, Pete and I were planning to spend some time helping out our buddy, Larry at his shop. Larry is one of the best boot-fitters in the area, if not the country and his talents are in high demand. So high, in fact, that during ski season, he often works 18 hour days, 7 days a week.

Pete, Luke and I think this is bunk so we volunteered to help him get some things straightened out around the shop on the one day a week when it is actually closed. Either we got our wires crossed or something came up but we missed each other today. So I went to the Goat to get some work done. And here I am updating my blog.

So there you go. Back to work, then haircut, then home.

~stubert.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Four in a row...

My dog ate my homework. ~ Anon

Today we hit Eldora again. Not even nearly as cold as yesterday but twice as windy. Plus senor douchebag was put in charge of the lower lift maze and was channeling his inner hall monitor. First run I got yelled at for skating in the maze (I shit you not) and then the second run both Luke and I got yelled at for not having leashes. Holy crap on a pita. The skiing was fun, though, until the waves had waves then it was time to head out. This was day 13 for me. Four in a row.

I spent the latter half of the day shooting a Bunny Tune Up class at the House Rabbit Society. Good times. We are hoping to put this together into an instructional video in the not-too-distant future.

Once I got home I was treated to the wrath of Ember. When left to his own devices he can get a little chewy and took our his vengeance upon some of my computer stuff. Not a big deal and how can I stay mad at this face:

Ember is on the left.

That just about covers it for today.

~stubert.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Tic Tac Toe...

Got up. Got out of bed. ~ The Beatles

I didn't intend to ski today. Really, I didn't. But Luke and Nichole rang me up about 8 this morning to see if I could at least meet them so that Nichole would have something to strap to her feet. On Thursday, we stashed the quiver in Holmsey as Luke didn't really want to have to climb back up on top of Kevin's rig to tie his skis to the top. In any event, I figured if I was going to Ned anyway, I might as well get in a few runs. So that's what I did.

Today was cold. And windy. Pretty typical for Eldora. I had a business meeting at 11 so we didn't stay too long but did manage to get some turns made. Always a good time. This was day 12 for me, so that is a pretty solid start to the season. We are finally getting some snow but between the brutal grooming and Eldora's reluctance to open much up, it is still pretty slim pickins up there. Pete went to the Basin yesterday and said it was most excellent. At least they are turning Pali now and have opened up some tougher terrain. Which is nice.

Other than that, I am just keeping busy. As you noticed, I picked a new template for the blog. Figured it was time. We have watched several movies in the past couple of days. Here's the run-down:

Movies:

  • Children of Men: Not great. Not terrible, but nothing to rush out to see. Essentially a chase story about the demise of the human race once something undetermined makes us all sterile.
  • Charlotte's Web: Cute pigs, not much else going for it. Dakota Fanning is really annoying.
  • Superbad: Crude, but funny.
  • Porco Rosso: Not Miyazaki's best effort but still pretty amazing.
Okay. Your homework for today is to do something you have never done before. Go!

~stubert.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

And today makes ten...

071213 Basin Crüe: Me, Luke, Kevin, Tark

We will not abide another toe.
~ Jeffrey Lebowski

Hit the Basin today for some raucous fun. More snow means more open terrain and the good times definitely were rolling. We had a good crüe too... Luke, Nichole, Kevin and Tark. Luke even broke out the big dogs and boy did we let them eat.

It was pretty vacant today at the Basin so we were able to really cut loose a few times. I brought my Garmin with us and we logged some serious top speeds tucking the front side. (Shhhhh 59.7) Literally only turning when forced to by the change in run direction. Good stuff. There was even some pow to be had and we mined it for all it was worth.

This was day 10 for me, which is about 10 more than you, sucka!

Cool shot of the valley below Eldora looking Tahoe-ish.

On a different note, the Leadville recovery continues... I lost another toenail yesterday. That should do it for parts of me falling off due to that race. Tark suggested that I save them and make earrings but they are long gone. Alas, part of the game, I suppose. I ended up losing the one on my left big toe, and on the first toes of both feet. Weird how your body deals with things. I thought I had overcome the spikes of pain in my feet too as I haven't experienced those in several weeks but I got one today. Just little reminders of the race that keeps on giving.

Other than that, I have just been super stressed with work and family stuff. Skiing at warp speeds seems to help a bit. I think I'll try that again tomorrow.

Shadow: Super ugly

We also just got the cutest friggin' bunny ever. His name is Shadow and what he lacks in cuteness, he makes up for in nut size. Rach is going to fix that little problem toute suite. He'll be available for adoption from the Colorado HRS in the next couple weeks so line up!

~stubert.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Pllllltttt...

Too much, too soon. ~ Referee - Slapshot

These past few weeks have been crazy. In the past week alone, I have been over to Gunnison twice, logged day 9 on the slopes, super busy with work. Generally frantic.

So I'll just jump right in...

Skiing:
We are finally getting some snow. Much needed and appreciated. Rach reminded me of an old Eldora maxim - STBG (Stop the Brutal Grooming) - which was in full effect today. We pulled out Luke's stash of Big Dogs for a full-frontal assault on some tasty pow but were disappointed to find that Eldora slope-control had groomed the hell out of everything. Good times were still had but damn. Hook a brotha up. We have received another 6-8 inches at my house since getting home around noon today so perhaps a quick run up the hill will be in order tomorrow to see if the heinous grooming continues...

Running:
To be honest, Leadville has been haunting me a bit since the race. I am pretty confident that I gave it everything I had last summer but think I am going to give it another try in '09. Too much going on right now to take another stab this year but I think that I'll be able to tackle it again in a couple years. I may do a 50-miler this summer (Collegiate Peaks Ultra) and would still like to pace if I can find a good match. I haven't been running much at all and now, with the snow, am probably going to have to find different ways of logging miles. I really miss it, though, so think that is a good sign.

Work:
We have been hard at work these past weeks and have continued steady progress on the Quintess site. We launched McLean Forge a couple of weeks ago and have a steady stream of project requests. Good stuff.

Movies:
I have been taking time to watch a lot of film of late. Here is a run-down of some of the titles:

  • Before the Devil Knows You're Dead: Pretty amazing performances in a severely mediocre film.
  • Blades of Glory: Quite amusing. Watch this one.
  • Three Kings: Fairly straightforward narrative but great execution.
  • Flirting with Disaster: Another David O. Russell vehicle. Funny stuff.
  • End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones: Decent rocumentary about a great band.
  • The Bad Seed: Hilarious. Unintentionally so.
  • Curse of the Golden Flower: Not so good.
  • Waiting for Guffman: Not Guest's best effort but really amusing nonetheless.
  • Secretary: Pretty awesome.
  • Fargo: It has been awhile since I have seen this one. Still really great.
So that about covers it for now. Peace.

~stubert.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Six of one...

If a frog had wings, it wouldn't bump its ass a-hoppin' - Nathan Arizona

Ok. I have been super lame about updates and for that, I apologize. I have been working a ton, skiing a bit, getting some runs in here and there. Generally doing well. I'll try to catch you up...

So there are quite a few reasons why I am not the world's biggest fan of this time of year. Two items jump immediately to mind and, coincidentally, they both involve recently deceased creatures being tied to the roof of some jackass' car.

Hunting season is the worst. I had the misfortune of driving over to Gunnison during the heart of the season and it seemed like every redneck in the tri-state area was out slaying Bambi. I saw trucks literally filled with freshly slaughtered deer, elk and ATV's, the redneck triple trifecta. It makes me a little ill.

Quick on the heels of our annual shoot-em-up comes my second least favorite reason to get out the bailing twine and head to the hills - the yearly tree-gathering that prompts idiot city-dwellers to dust off their trusty chainsaws and head to my neck of the woods to chop down the cutest tree they can find, strap it to the roof of their Porche Cayenne and head home to set the damned thing back up again in their living room only to toss it out with several gigantic trashbags full of wrapping paper a mere six weeks later. Wait one year, repeat. Let's all rush out and kill some trees for Jesus. Hallelujah! Don't even get me started on the turkeys.

</rant>

On the lighter side of my brain, I have now logged a half dozen ski days with my latest hop/skip/jump to the newly opened Eldora Mountain Resort. Only one real run open but it was fun to be able to be out the door and skiing within 20 minutes. I am planning to make regular visits to our local area and am hoping the new snow we have received over the past couple of days continues.

I have also been running a bit and am feeling pretty spry, which is nice. I have a loop I do on a fairly regular basis that is probably about 7 miles (not sure). I managed to crank it out in an hour six the other day, which was pretty cool. That pretty much matches my record for the loop. It was fun to just go out, get in a rhythm and be able to keep it up for an hour plus.

We also are set to launch another site within the next couple of days. As soon as it is live, I'll post the link for you.

Movies:
I have been watching and listening to a ton of movies of late and have started going back through our collection and playing them in the background while I work. We also went to see two fantastic films in the theater: The Darjeeling Limited and No Country for Old Men. I highly recommend both but would caution that Country is not for the squeamish.

Darjeeling is Wes Anderson's latest effort and was just splendid. I am sure that the average movie-goer wouldn't like it as Anderson is never afraid to leave storylines unresolved or to leave much of the backstory to be supplied by the viewer's own imagination but I find this refreshing in the era of film spelling everything out. Darjeeling is a visual masterpiece and features apt work from all three principals: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and co-writer, Jason Schwartzman. This is a must-see in my book.

Country is the long awaited return of the Coen Brothers being the Coen Brothers. Their last two efforts (Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers) were both extremely sub-standard fare from the duo who brought Miller's Crossing, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and other classics to the screen. Country is a return to their heyday with amazing dialog; slow, brooding pacing; and quirky characters. Javier Bardem is outstanding and Josh Brolin turns out a solid performance as well in this highly violent film set in rural Texas. Really one of the best films I have seen in some time.

Here is a brief run-down of other flicks that have been in circulation these past weeks:

  • What ever happened to Baby Jane? - Selected to see just how bad it really was. Bad. Really bad. This thing won awards.
  • Boogie Nights
  • Miller's Crossing
  • The Big Lebowski
  • Raising Arizona
  • Blood Simple
  • The Hudsucker Proxy
  • The Man Who Wasn't There (we went on a Coen Brothers bender after seeing Country)
  • Bullet in a Bible
  • Westway to the World
  • The Essential Clash
  • Trainspotting
  • Being There
  • American Beauty
  • Best in Show
  • Stop Making Sense
  • etc. etc. etc.

Aaaaaaand today marks our first (of probably many) vicinity guest forays into the creek. Seems that several times every year some dipshit decides it would be a good idea to test the depth of the creek that runs past our house. Usually this involves hooking a left when a right is recommended, or, as tonight's hero demonstrated, simply continuing straight. For the past hour and a half our driveway has been occupied by any number of emergency vehicles, gapers etc. and we have endured a steady pulse of red/blue, red/blue, red/blue. Hopefully no one was injured but damn, people.... if you are unfamiliar with a road and/or it is covered with a solid layer of snow and ice, how about trying to keep it at or below the speed limit, okay? Just another helpful reminder from your friendly neighborhood...

~stubert.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Day three...

My head, it landed to the sounds of cricket bows... ~ Jane's Addiction

I actually made it to the Basin today. Go figure. This mid-week skiing is the shiz. I think I made it up there in about an hour. Good stuff.

Not much new snow (if any) since last time but they opened up to the top. I was on a limited timeframe so I busted out a half dozen no-stop runs, fell on my ass skiing switch and called it a day. So much for my zero-fall season. Hugo's record is intact.

I actually felt awesome today. The legs burned a bit the first couple of runs but that always seems to happen. Then I settled in and was good to go. Luke and I are planning to do the Enduro this year so I have to get used to non-stop runs. Though on harder terrain. Hopefully that will all open up soon. We just need some snow and cooler temps. Soon.

I realized why I couldn't come up with other movies viewed in the past few days. I dipped into my collection and hadn't really kept track. Here is the list:

Amelie
Baseketball
Snatch
The Godfather
Memento
Jackie Brown
Fight Club

These are all among my favorites. Hence, the ownership. I highly recommend each and every one.

Ok. Back to work.

~stubert.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Nada mucho...

Well, I certainly wouldn't want to fool around with him if I were alone. ~ Townsman

Things are moving right along in Stuville without much change. I did get out for another run last week and have been trying to focus on improving my pace, stride and efficiency. Not sure that I am making tons of gains but it was a fun, exploratory run in the woods near my house during which I found the remnants of an old trail that may hook up with a newer section of unfinished singletrack to make a nice, alternate loop. Good stuff.

It has been unseasonably warm here and Eldora is supposed to open in 10 days. I am thinking that isn't going to happen since it was nearly 60 up here over the weekend. Not good. It cooled off a bit yesterday and I froze my butt off riding down to Boulder to see Dr. Dave and to meet with a contractor about doing some work. I definitely didn't dress right for the nighttime ride back up the canyon but kept telling myself on the way home, "Only 12 more minutes." "You have been colder than this before." etc. to keep from being a total pansy. Funny thing about pushing your limits, it gives you a totally different perspective when you approach them during subsequent trials and/or tribulations.

This past weekend was pretty relaxed. I built a storage shed for our snowblower and chopped down some more trees. Getting pretty close to having that project completed for the year, which is nice. My chainsaw is acting up now so I need to take it to the shop to see what's up. That may cramp my ability to finish up. We'll see.

And a special shout out goes to my buddy, Caleb. He ran the NYC marathon over the weekend and finished in 3:02:46 (or something). That put him in the top 2000 finishers out of over 34000! Super cool.

Movies:
I have been watching a lot of movies of late. Here is the Cliffsnotes recap:

Naked States: This is a documentary about a photographer, Spencer Tunick, who shoots nudes in public settings. He is most famous for his shots of large groups of nudes (18000 in Mexico City). I actually like his work and it can be seen here (NSFW). This film focused on a project during which he captured at least one shot in each of the 50 states. The documentary itself was interesting. Not great, but worth a watch if you are interested in this sort of stuff.

The Outlaw: This is a terrible western directed by Howard Hughes that ran up against Hayes Codes in the 40s. What was interesting about this movie is a) how tame it is by today's standards and b) how thoroughly gay it was and how this didn't set off the censors more than
Jane Russell's ample bosom. So funny. We watched the whole thing even though it was really, really bad. In any event, you really don't need to go out of your way for this one.

Hmmm. I guess I haven't watched as many movies as I thought. Gotta get on that. I am psyched for the new Coen Brothers vehicle, No Country for Old Men, possibly American Gangster (I can't decide on this one... Denzel Washington almost always just seems to be playing Denzel Washington these days) and the Darjeeling Limited. I have also heard good things about Lars and the Real Girl so I'll probably throw that on the list too. Rach and I are going to try to hook up a double feature next week.

Okay blog readerinos, that's all for today.

~stubert.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Getting back out there...


Look at me, I'm Peter Pantsless! ~ Homer Simpson

Let's see... where to start? I suppose I'll lead off with Sunday's run -- the infamous Double Mesa. '

Bob decided it was time to get out there and grind out a half marathon on some of Boulder's finest terrain. The Mesa Trail (for those unfamiliar with the more popular area runs) rolls along the foot of the Flatirons and spans about 7 miles from central Boulder to Eldorado Springs (almost). This is a great run and often times one can take on a large chunk of the course without seeing any other runners or hikers. The middle section is particularly devoid of the crowds that can plague other Boulder-area trails. Good stuff.

Bob put together a great group of guys for this outing and a total of six of us headed out from the Ranger Station at shortly after 10 in the morning. The group was fairly well balanced with everyone from seasoned marathon runners to "longest evers". We maintained a solid pace throughout and it was good to be back on Mesa. Still one of my favorites. This was my longest run since the event and we finished in about 2:40. Not blazing, by any stretch of the imagination, but not too shabby (actually on par with the last time I ran the Double Mesa). (Check out the full album.)

I was pretty sore the following day. Given my activity levels of late (or lack thereof), I wasn't surprised but recovered quickly. All in all, this was a good run for me and it reminded me why I do this stuff. I need to set aside time to get out in the wilderness more often. Put that on my list.

So I took it easy the next couple of days. Back to the grind. Today I waffled about whether or not to go up to A-Basin for some more early season turns and finally decided to give it a shot about 9:00. I needed to get to the bank anyway and this was a good excuse to get out. We got about 3 inches of snow last night which also helped to motivate me for the drive. I was hoping to drag Luke or Pete into the fray but neither was able to make it up so I headed out solo.

Everything was splendid until about 5 miles from Eisenhower Tunnel when traffic came to a standstill. Unfortunately there is a dead zone right there so I was unable to get a signal to check to see what the hell was going on up the road. After about 30 minutes of sitting at a virtual standstill punctuated with periodic 1-2 mile and hour surges up the hill, I got a signal and discovered that the tunnel was closed due to wrecks on the West side. Super. I stuck with things until the next exit then bailed back to Golden, a quick jaunt to the bank and grocery store then back home. Took the skis for a drive. Always a joy. Oh well.... Can't win every day.

Oh yeah. I also lost a toenail. Two more are looking suspicious. My feet are still just hammered from Leadville.

Movie time:
We have been spending a lot of time with Robot Chicken of late. Great show if you have never seen it. Seth Green cracks me up. Essentially, this is stop-action animation with action figures and dolls and whatnot. Very funny.

We also watched Spiderman 3 and Harsh Times. Neither is worth the effort, really. S3 had some great special effects but for some reason Sam Raimi decided it would be a good idea to show the softer side of Spidey in the third installment. Um... no one wants to watch a super-hero bawl all the time. Trust me. Plus, it just wasn't that great. There was this space goo that was never really explained and just seemed like an afterthought. "Well, we have to get Spiderman to get infected by this gunk to show his alter-ego. Ah hell, I'm lazy, let's just send it in on a meteor and call it good." In any event, I wasn't particularly impressed.

Harsh Times was a Christian Bale/Freddy Rodriguez vehicle that just didn't draw me in at all. Both characters were just not sympathetic. Being what I like to call a "Steve" (Straight To Video), I am not sure what I expected. Don't rush out to put this one on you list.

Okay... that's all I have for now.

~stubert.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Laggin'...


So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it. ~ Willy Wonka

Yesterday: Ski - A Basin, 2 hours (day 2)
Today: Hike
Tomorrow: ???

So I guess I just haven't been in the blogging mood of late. Lots to talk about, not a lot of time or energy available to put it out there. My apologies.

In the past few weeks I have been staying busy working (which is good). We settled down a bit from September and have launched several sites including Weekends and Lion Equity. Good stuff. Still cranking with Quintess as well. This month has flown by.

I was all set to tell you about my first day on the slopes but then we had some bad news. Our beloved bunny, Rockshot, passed away. He was a very special little guy and will be greatly missed. Here is his story...

Rockshot (expertly demonstrating "top-bunny" posture in the above photo) came to us through the shelter where he was delivered with his partner, Houdini, in a terrible state. They had been rescued from some horrible conditions and were both malnourished and filthy but happy to be in a loving home. After some initial tests, it was determined that Rockshot had some serious health problems that would probably take him from us in just a few short months. Apparently he didn't get the memo and was quickly racing around the house being a goofy, splendid bunny. Both Rocker and Houdini (actually discovered to be Mrs. Houdini) put on weight and quickly became part of the crew. Rockshot was with us for over a year and was awesome to the very end. He will be sorely missed.

On a lighter note, I have gotten up to the slopes twice now. The first day was cold and snowy. The second, um... not. Yesterday, it was 55 degrees at the base and the Basin was in full springtime mode. T-shirts and bikinis were in full effect (I opted for my hoodie, which was a bit of a mistake). Not a cloud to be seen. Normally, that would be a good thing but damn... we need some cold weather and snow.

Lots more to tell you but I'll have to catch up later.

~stubert.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Let it snow (repeat x3)...


Don't mess with the fantasy, okay? ~ Gary Wallace

Yesterday: Beer Festival
Today: Run - Towards Ned, 1.5 hours
Tomorrow: Off

Ever have a hot chick drive by and ask you if you want a ride? Normally I don't just hop into cars with strangers, no matter how smokin' they may be but today it just felt right. Plus she wasn't a stranger. Rach had come to rescue me. But I thought I'd string you along for a little while there.

So I left my car in Ned yesterday so I could take the bus down to Denver. Today's mission... run to Ned to pick the bad boy up. One minor complication -- it snowed about 6 inches overnight. This makes for good times.

I headed out about noon towards Ned. Mostly sticking to main roads, I slogged through the slush fairly quickly though I still can't seem to keep my heartrate down to normal levels. I am guessing this is a double-whammy combo special of still being fatigued from the race and sitting on my butt for the past 6 weeks. In any event, I actually felt okay today. Not great but okay.

Shortly after passing through Rollinsville, I headed west along a fairly well-established trail. This eventually hooks up with the WestMag trail system from which I can just head down to Nederland. Not today, however.

After following the trail for about a half a mile, it cuts into the woods. This is the point at which Senor Trail and I parted ways as it was impossible to find it with the fresh snow and tight trees. So I stumbled around for about 45 minutes -- crossing several fences, dodging cattle and generally not knowing where the hell I was. Eventually I jogged into a clearing just west of Kelly Dahl park and jumped back on the Peak to Peak roughly 1/2 mile from where I left the pavement. Awesome. At least I knew where I was finally.

I jogged along the highway for another mile or so until I was propositioned by the aforementioned hottie and jumped in Rach's warm Subaru for a ride on in to Nederland. All in all a good day in the woods. Or close to the woods as the case may be.

Once home, I got some work done and should be able to launch the Lion Equity site on Tuesday.

All in all we got at least 6 inches of snow and it continued to fall all day. The temperature is dropping now so we should see some additional accumulation overnight if this keeps up. I am sensing an A-Basin outing in my near future. Wednesday, anyone?

Rach spent the day in a significantly more productive (and charitable) manner wrangling critters at Bleating Heart Animal Sanctuary. This is a yearly event (that always seems to coincide with the first major snowstorm of the year) during which volunteers catch sanctuary bunnies, goats, turkeys and other assorted critters; make certain they are in good health; and release them back to the sanctuary grounds. Good stuff. This is the second or third year Rach has participated in the round-up. She has mad critter catching skills.

Movies:

Last night, we took a trip down memory lane and watched Do the Right Thing. Still a decent flick. I had forgotten that Martin Lawrence was in it. There are some classic lines in this one. Good stuff.

Your homework for the next few days: Go play in the snow.

~stubert.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Busy bee...

No, that's a bear in a, in a bee costume. ~ Meg Swan

Yesterday: Run - Neighborhood jaunt, 1 hour 15 minutes
Today: Beer Festival
Tomorrow: Run - Nederland, 2 hours

Wow. It has been a long time since I last posted. Sorry for the lack of updates. I have simply been swamped.

As you might have guessed the new biz is going well. We have a steady stream of work and it appears that we will continue to be busy for the coming months. Can't really ask for more than that. We launched the Weekends Boulder site this week, the Quintess site last week and are teed up to launch Lion Equity and Colorado Garden & Home Show next week. Good stuff. I'll post more links when they are available.

Needless to say, I have been logging a ton of time in front of the computer which is not doing much for my fitness, to say the least. I went for a run yesterday, and like most of my recent outings, I couldn't settle into a nice pace without my heartrate being through the roof. I am not sure if this is a normal sort of response to pounding out 73 miles in a day two months ago (yup, it has been that long) or if it is just a result of too much ass-sitting. Either way, it doesn't really make me feel super awesome. I plan to try to train my way out of this if at all possible. I just have to get better at taking breaks for much-needed exercise.

Today, I went to Denver to attend the Great American Beer Festival with Rach's brother, Todd and his friend Jason. I got to sample a boat load of different beers which was entertaining. Both Todd and Jason home-brew so it was cool to listen to them talk about the different types of brews and how to make them. The most interesting beer I tried was a Vanilla Java Porter. Pretty yummy but not something you would probably want to consume on a regular basis. After awhile, pretty much everything started to taste the same to me but again, I am not really a connoisseur so who am I to judge? Rach came down afterwards and we went to the Watercourse. We haven't been there in awhile but it was as good as ever. Great veggie food if you are in Denver.

I took the bus down to the Festival so I drove to Ned and left my car there. My plan is to run to Ned tomorrow morning to pick it up but we'll see if the weather cooperates. It is snowing up here now so I plan to evaluate things in the morning. I'll definitely keep you posted.

Movie stuff:

I have managed to take in a few flicks over the past couple of weeks. Here are my super mini reviews:

  • The Machinist: Christian Bale pulls a reverse DeNiro. Extremely watchable.
  • Why We Fight: Reinforcement of the fact that we are basically just a bunch of jerks. If you are wanting that push over the cliff to move to Canada, watch this.
  • Idiocracy: Unwatchable. I believe I made it all of 15 minutes into this mess. Luke Wilson is the new Christopher Walken. Any role, any time.
  • I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco: Not really a Wilco fan but this was a decent documentary.
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Significantly more watchable than all its predecessors combined.
  • Knocked Up: My belief was not even remotely suspended. So glad I didn't pay to see this in theaters. Turned it off about 30 minutes in.
So there you have it.

~stubert.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

We'll count it...

No fair! You changed the results by measuring it! ~ Professor Farnsworth

Yesterday: Lumberjackin' - Mi casa, 1 hour
Today: Run/Hike - GGCSP, 2 hours
Tomorrow: Golf - Winter Park, 5 hours

I didn't notice right away with the gale-force winds we are experiencing today, but last night we received our first dusting of snow this season. Actually, as I look out the window, it appears to be snowing lightly now though this may be just residual flakes that have somehow managed to cling to the trees. Not sure how they are doing that but good for them.

I am not a big fan of the wind. Last year we experienced some amazing storm cycles which characterized themselves by depositing large amounts of snow in the area (feet) then quickly following these most welcome dumps with triple-digit windstorms which cooked the fresh pow into something that resembled set concrete. (By the way, it is snowing now. Good stuff!) Hopefully this season, we'll see more of the dumpage and less of the windage. But I am not complaining.

I didn't do much yesterday aside from working. I did get out briefly to shuttle some logs to my neighbors as the trailer was hooked up and Joe had some time to help me unload. They have twin boys who are about 18 months old now which makes life interesting for them, for sure. Joe had just put the critters down for a nap when I called to see if he had a spot where he would like for me to put the logs so I got some help unloading, which was awesome.

Today I have a couple of meetings and have a bunch of work to push through. Getting it all figured out, though. September was nuts and I have a couple of outside projects which I am hoping to start in October so it will probably be nuts too. As long as I can get things to settle into a steady rhythm by ski season, I'll be happy.

Gotta run to prepare for this call. Don't you go changin'.

~stubert.

PS ~ I have the WORST friggin' song in my head right now and I fear it will drive me insane. I am not even sure how it got there unless it was some evil little seed planted by the IMDb. I think it was Julie Andrews' birthday yesterday (or the day before) and now I have that damned yodeling song from The Sound of Music spinning loops in my brain. Hopefully now I have given it to you so it will leave me alone (or at least torment someone else so I can share my pain). Enjoy.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Sunday postage...

Remember, just because you have a stripper name doesn't mean you have to grow up to be a stripper. ~ Earl Hickey

Yesterday:
Run - New WestMag Trails, 1 hour 45 minutes
Today: Lumberjackin' - House, 2 hours
Tomorrow: Hike

Still a bit buried with work but got out for a run with Brad and Jess yesterday to check out the Fall colors and some new trails on WestMag. Then we hit up the buffet at Kathmandu and chowed down.

It was perfect Fall weather... sunny with a storm pending. We started on a fairly standard loop but soon discovered a new trail which none of us had ever been on before. It lead up to a network of other un-charted trails (by me, anyway). Definitely putting this on my list of places to explore. (Check out the gallery.)

Once we topped out, we headed West and back down to a junction of the trail on which we started so we ran back toward the Habitrail where we ran into a client, Derek, who was missing his dog, Greta. Apparently, she had taken off after something and was MIA. We spun back around on the Habitrail and bailed at the second road crossing only to run into Derek again, with Greta in tow! It started raining just as we finished up then we headed to Kathmandu for their lunch buffet. Normally, I am not much of a buffet guy but Kathmandu pretty much rules so I overlook the gnarly aspects of the whole buffet system. Anything that requires sneeze guards makes me nervous.

Today I did some more work on our trees and took two more trailer-loads to the slash pit. There are probably 10 more to go, slowly but surely getting there.

If you haven't checked out My Name is Earl, give it a whirl. Decent TV.

I am planning to head over to Winter Park on Wednesday to play a round of golf with my pops. Apparently, they got about 3 inches of snow last night (yes!) but it will surely be gone by Wednesday. Rach and I will probably head over in the morning, hang out with the 'rents then jam back that evening to take care of the critters. Will keep you posted on that.

Take it sleazy.

~stubert.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

I have cubicle butt...

An historic event, Stus outdoors.

It buurrrnnses!
~ Gollum

Yesterday:
Run - Neighborhood, 1 hour 15
Today: Sat on my ass
Tomorrow: Work and then something outdoors

I think that the outside still exists though I didn't see it today. Man, I'll be happy when this crunch is over. Quintess is keeping me busy like crazy plus I am working three other deadlines. It pays the bills. The last time I actually got out and about for a substantial period of time (other than lumberjacking days), was with Luke 2 weeks ago. He wasn't feeling super red hot but I did take a couple of cool shots of him while running along the Switzerland Trail. Good times.

Yesterday, I did tear myself away from the computer for about an hour for a nice run in the woods around the casa. I have been trying to figure out how to run faster with less effort but the combination of not getting out regularly and not eating lunch made for only about an hour or so of this working well, then I kindof ran out of steam. Fun run though. The trees up here are amazing right now.

Have I mentioned lately how much ass Rach kicks? She not only makes me amazing meals that are as beautiful as they are tasty, but ran a couple of important errands for me yesterday which saved me hours of frustration and drive time. How much does THAT rule? She is on her way home from delivering some bunnies in Aurora or somewhere so I am looking forward to getting to kick it with her for a little while.

I haven't had time to watch any movies lately though we have been watching the second season of My Name is Earl. Funny stuff. Pretty lowbrow but sometimes that hits the spot.

Ok, I have to go take a shower as I smell like a goat for some reason. Actually, that is offensive to goats. Sorry guys.

~stubert.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Too much, too soon...

"Leafers!" ~ Peter Griffin

Yesterday: Hike - Raccoon Trail, 1 hour
Today: Work
Tomorrow: Hike

Still swamped with work. What else is new? At least Rach is making me get out of the house for hikes. Gotta love that.

I also took some time yesterday to continue chopping down trees. I am almost done with this project and man, lumberjacking is hard work. Glad I don't have to do that every day. I probably have another 5-7 large trees to drop and a bunch more smaller ones. Slowly but surely getting it done.

We were hoping to do a Fall Colors run this weekend up on the Leadville course but time simply didn't permit. I am guessing next weekend will be the last chance to get peak colors so we'll try to make it happen then. I have 4 projects due by the 1st though so I am not sure I'll be able to get away.

Gotta jam back to work.

~stubert.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Risky business...

Your head will collapse but there's nothing in it and you'll ask yourself, "Where is my mind?" ~ The Pixies

Yesterday: Hike - Coyote Trail, 1 hour
Today: Run - Neighborhood, 1 hour
Tomorrow: ???

At what point does sitting in front of a computer for days on end become riskier than some of the crap I do outdoors on any given weekend? When every day is Sunday, are weekends even relevant anymore? Probably not when you work through them. Oh well. Make hay while the sun's out.

Busy busy busy. We are in serious crunch mode right now with three (Three? Maybe four, I've lost track.) deadlines looming at the end of the month. October is lining up to be more of the same and that is good for sure. I would rather be way too busy than sitting around staring at the cats. All in all, things are good. Hectic, but good. I am managing to pry myself away from the computer from time to time and so I really can't complain.

Movie stuff: I actually took a couple hours off last night because my brain was leaking out of my ears and watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It seems that they are starting to figure these out as this was significantly less painful than the first two. I think the kids are actually figuring out how to act. Which is nice. I might actually recommend this one to you. A little slap-sticky at times but otherwise not too bad.

Speaking of prying myself away, I am going to go run.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Maybe it's just me...

You ever get that panicky feeling that your toenail is about to fall off as you walk across the supermarket parking lot carrying a chainsaw because it is rubbing all weird on your flipflop? The toenail rubbing, not the chainsaw.

Me neither.

~stubert.

All work and no play...

The trick to juggling is determining which balls are made of rubber and which ones are made of glass. ~ Anonymous

Yesterday: Worked
Today: Hike/Cut down trees
Tomorrow: Hike/Cut down trees

I wish I had more to report but I have been way too busy working. Frankly, it is making me a bit grumpy so I need to figure out how to make more time for other stuff in each and every day. I haven't figured that out yet but will get back with you on that one.

Today, I am going to start thinning our property. In case you hadn't heard (or somehow never leave the front range), we have a bit of a pine beetle problem in the high country that is killing vast amounts of forest. This is much more evident in Grand and Summit counties but is making its way eastward. One way you can help strengthen your trees (and hopefully stave off the worst of the damage) is to thin your trees to help those that remain to grow more resistant to the attack. Essentially maximizing the nutrients, water and sunlight available to each individual tree by minimizing the competition. So that's what we're going to do. Plus, we have some trees that have what is called Gall Rust which makes them more susceptible to wind damage so we'll drop those as well. Pete and Luke are coming up tomorrow to lend a hand which will be awesome.

The only other news is that I am a month out from Leadville and am feeling fine. One interesting phenomenon that occurred this week was that about 3 and a half weeks out, the skin on my feet started to shed. Mostly this was that which was affected by blisters but some between my toes decided to head for the proverbial hills as well. Not really a problem, just an interesting side effect of the craziness that is running 70+ miles. My toenails are still attached, which is nice. (I think that all sounded much more gross than it really is.)

Ok kiddies. That's all for today. Hope to have something more interesting for you tomorrow and in the days to come.

~stubert.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

First frost...

Death lies on her like an untimely frost. Upon the sweetest flower of all the field. ~ Lord Capulet

Yesterday: Rest
Today: Hike
Tomorrow: Ride

Several quick announcements:

  1. Per the title, today can be marked down as the first frost of the season. For those of you who are not fond of Winter - bummer for you. Everyone else, start doing the snow dance.
  2. I am a bit stressed out right now but will keep thinking about #1 to try to deal with it.
  3. In an effort to help out #2, I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum yesterday. Not really a recommended movie if you are trying to chill out. Just sayin'.
Movie time: As stated above, I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum yesterday. I felt this was a big-screener and was not disappointed. Pretty much non-stop action. Good times. I am not sure you should go see it if you tend to have seizures when confronted by flashing lights as I think the longest single camera shot in the whole film was about 1.5 seconds but from my perspective, the Bourne series is decent action filmery.

It has been awhile since I have watched the other two installments but I recall being pleasantly surprised by the first and more than satisfied with the second. The third built on both of these but didn't muck it up with the standard action-hero BS lines, some sort of cheesy love story or trying to make Bourne anything much more than the machine into which the government turned him. Sure, there is some social/political commentary tossed into the mix and a large amount of silly action stuff (Every action hero is an expert at everything, which always cracks me up. They can jump on a motorcycle and pull off stunts that would take years of dedicated practice to master, for example, and can sustain obscene amounts of abuse and keep on rolling but hey, it's an action movie, not Merchant Ivory.) but overall, this is a pretty good series if you are interested in just shutting off your brain for a bit.

On the other hand, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets continued the tradition of great book, mediocre movie started in the first installment of that series. I know it is for kids but there have been plenty of kids movies made that aren't borderline excruciating. I will probably continue watching this series as well but am not entirely sure why. I guess you get what you deserve when casting for looks instead of talent. And whoever wrote the score (John Williams) should be beaten to death with his own heavy-handed music. That would show him. And I seem to remember the book actually ending, not just trailing away into nothingness. Anyway... just my take on it.

Ok. Time to get some work done before I have to get more work done.

~stubert.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Gettin' my run on...

Three tomatoes are walking down the street -- a poppa tomato, a momma tomato, and a little baby tomato. Baby tomato starts lagging behind. Poppa tomato gets angry, goes over to the baby tomato, and squishes him... and says, 'Ketchup.' ~ Mrs. Mia Wallace

Yesterday: Hike - Raccoon Trail, 1 hour
Today: Run - Switzerland Trail, 2 hours
Tomorrow: Hike

Ok. I have to catch you up on recent events.

I jammed over to Gunnison on Friday to hang with the 'rents. Played 9 holes of golf with my pops, did some stuff around the humble abode, ate some good Mexican food, hung out with my mom. That kind of stuff. It was a nice weekend for sure.

Gunnison is an interesting town. Crested Butte is nearby so there is a definite hippie/liberal element (plus, there is a college there which adds to this vibe) but the rest of the area features a lot of farmer/rancher types which makes for an interesting mix. It is always good to get back over there for sure as the area is beautiful and filled with Stu-style goings on. Lots of mountain biking/trail running/skiing/outdoorsy goodness. I am psyched we moved there and that my parents have stayed. The X-Card went on sale again. Just put that on the list of things to get. Which reminds me. I need to get my Eldora pass as well.

The aspens are threatening to turn throughout the high country. I think two-three weeks will be the peak. I am hoping to get the Crüe together for a Leadville run from Half Moon to Twin Lakes and back. This section of the course is aspen-central and would be gorgeous if timed right. We'll see who is interested in an adventure of that sort.

Today's run was a real surprise. I actually felt pretty well throughout and ran a steady pace for a full 2 hours. Luke wasn't feeling so hot towards the end. I think he is coming down with something. I, on the other hand, had enough in me to turn some serious times in the last 2 miles or so and finished up strong. I definitely couldn't have sustained that pace for long but it was nice to get the legs turning over.

Luke and I talked about Leadville and whether or not I am going to give it another shot next year. The jury is still out on that one and I think I will try to hold off on any decisions until after February. In the meantime, I'll keep training to stay in shape for ski season and the Enduro and see how I feel about things later in the year. If I could figure out a way to do it without having to invest so much time training, I think I would give it another whirl. I just don't know if I can spend that much time away from my sweetie again this year. We'll see. In any event, it is really great to be able to run again. Today was just awesome along the Peak to Peak.

What else? Just procrastinating horribly. I have meetings all day tomorrow so need to get some work done tonight in preparation. We have been watching Season 3 of The Office which I highly recommend. Funny stuff. It's not Arrested Development but it is actually decent TV for a change.

l8s

~stubert.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

See Stu run...

I did it like this. I did it like that. ~ Beastie Boys

Yesterday: Drive, Work, Repeat
Today: Run - Zoo Loop, 1 hour 45 minutes
Tomorrow: Drive, Golf

So three weeks out and I couldn't take it anymore. Had to go for a serious run to test the machine. It is still weary but doing pretty well.

I drove up to the Park and ran down Raccoon Trail then up to Elk. Really a gorgeous day: Sunny, a little wind, cool. Great weather for a run. Once I got up to Elk, I headed down valley through the conifers up top and then gradually turning into stands of aspen and open meadows. The last time I was up here, the wildflowers were going nuts. Today saw hints of autumn creeping into the flora. One thing I have really enjoyed over the course of the past year is being able to visit the same territory during the various seasons. Really neat to be able to run through fall colors, winter snow, spring green, summer flowers and eventual baked terrain and back again to fall.

Once I reached the valley floor and passed the old homestead, I stopped to stretch and take a few shots. I then headed over the ridge to Mule Deer Trail where I began to climb up the back side of the ridge separating Gap Road and Golden Gate Canyon. I was able to run most of this and only walked the steepest sections. I was really feeling okay. Not super, a bit tired, but decent. I focused on my form and on keeping steady upward progress. Not too shabby for the first run post-race.

I quickly made it to the top of the ridge where I stretched again, removed some boulders from my shoe and ran on through the aspens up to the second homestead on this loop. There used to be a lot of bootlegging in this area during Prohibition and several sites still exist where enterprising outlaws made hooch for delivery to Golden, Denver and the mining towns of Central City and Blackhawk. On Coyote Trail, there is even an old car that was left to rust from that era. Pretty cool.

After about an hour, things started to hurt a little bit but I carried on, ignoring the aches and pains that still remind me of the Leadville effort. Nothing serious, just some creaky joints and still-tender toes. My right knee gave me a little grief as I made my way along Mule Deer back toward Gap Road but I was able to push more than in a long time on the downhills which was fun. Now that the race is over, I need to focus my attention on getting into skiing shape and there is nothing better than downhill trail running to get the spring back in your legs.

Running along the last mile, I came across a large group of schoolkids being chaperoned by several adults. I am guessing they were all in kindergarten or first grade but I am a lousy judge of ages so who knows. There were about a zillion of them and they were everywhere. It was horrible. Actually, it was pretty cute. Several were carrying packs in which it appeared they themselves could have fit and several were talking non-stop in an effort to show how much they knew about the area. Basically, they kept saying the same thing over and over, torturing their poor guide.

I finished up fairly strong and overall felt like I wasn't damaging myself further by getting out there. Hoping to do something with Luke later this weekend.

Tomorrow, I am heading to Gunnison to visit the parental units. It has been quite awhile since I have made it over that way and it will be good to see them. Hoping to get in a round of golf with my pops and help out around the house with winterizing stuff and whatnot.

Ok, back to work. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

~stubert.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Crash, boom, bam...

More often than not, circumstances do not permit the full use of your lane from yellow line to white line and back again. ~ Nick Ienatsch (from The Pace)

Yesterday: Hike - Raccoon Trail, 1 hour
Today: Hike - Coyote Trail, 1.5 hours
Tomorrow: Swim - Gilpin County Rec Center, 30 minutes

So this morning's meeting was postponed until tomorrow and I took a different route in to another client meeting in Denver. As I cruised down Golden Gate Canyon, I was joined by another rider on a Ducati. Shortly thereafter, a third rider joined the group on a big Yamaha sport bike as we got jammed up in traffic a bit. Once the road opened up, we were able to pass the slower moving cars and Senor Yamaha took the lead. I followed him for a bit but wasn't too thrilled with his pace and apparent experience. As I rounded a tight, left-hand corner, I saw him up ahead, leaning against the concrete guardrail - his bike in the dirt up against the barrier, wheels still spinning. Yup. He ran out of road.

I pulled over to the shoulder along with the Ducati rider and we walked back to the Yamaha guy who had now removed his helmet and turned off his bike. He was pretty shaken up but didn't appear to have suffered more than a little road rash. He was VERY smart to have been wearing a helmet, however as his sunglasses were crushed and his helmet badly scraped up from the impact. We picked up his bike, inspected the damage (broken plastic and mirror, dented tank, scratches everywhere) and the Ducati guy offered to follow him down to the mouth of the canyon to be sure that it was still ridable. I needed to get down to a meeting so I headed out.

Boys and girls, not only should you be safe out there but be sure to wear protective gear. I ride in a helmet ALWAYS as well as my Aerostich super suit and big-ass boots. Yes, it is hot. Sometimes uncomfortably so. But it is a helluva lot more comfortable than skin grafts.

Keep the rubber side down.

~stubert.

Monday, September 3, 2007

Vrooooom...


Corporations don't deserve free speech, people deserve free speech. ~ Ron English

Yesterday: Bunny Cages - COHRS, 3 hours
Today: Hike - Raccoon Trail, 1 hour
Tomorrow: Swim/Hike - Gilpin County Community Center/Coyote Trail, ~2 hours

So today was spent getting a little work done, tinkering on the dirt bike and dodging rainstorms. I got up at a relatively decent hour and put in some time organizing items for the coming three months' worth of work (that needs to be completed in the next 24 days). Then I took my chainsaw in to the shop as I need to drop some trees. We have a pending shitstorm of beetle problems headed our way and I am going to thin out a bunch of our trees in an effort to minimize the overall impact on our property. We'll see how that works. I did speak at length with a forest service guy today who steered me in the right direction. Now the fun part begins.

After dropping off the chainsaw, I messed around on the dirtbike for a bit to see if I could get it running. No dice. So I ran it back over to the shop to let the pros take a stab at it. I am sure it is something dumb but is also has a leaky fork seal with which I simply don't want to deal. I am debating whether or not to sell it and maybe even all my other bikes to get a single ride that will cover my bases adequately. We'll see about that. I am kindof jonezing for a snowmobile for this winter but frankly all of this goes a bit against my nature. I tend to prefer non-motorized means of travel. Hmmmm.

On the way home from the shop, I stopped to pick up two motorcyclists who were hitching a ride. They had started the day near Blackhawk and ended up near Rollinsville. Since their bikes were not street legal, they didn't want to risk getting stopped on their way back and didn't know how to get there on trails. We tossed their bikes on the trailer and I drove them back to their truck. They were amazed how far away they had managed to get. The system of trails and mining roads is pretty expansive in Gilpin County and it is actually fairly easy to find yourself a great distance from your point of origin without realizing it. I have been lost on these trails many times. Fortunately, most dump back out to the Peak-to-Peak eventually so you can usually find your way home (even if you have to go a helluva long way to get there).

So with two of my maintenance-impaired items in the shop, I think that should cover the major repairs for awhile. I did do some more research on garages and now just need to either pull the trigger or keep looking for property to purchase. We really like where we live, our chief complaint being that we don't have as much southern exposure as we would like, that we would like a little extra room and a larger garage in which we can keep our cars out of the elements. We'll see which way that goes.

Rach made me super yummy vegan pizza for dinner. She is the best cook. I wolfed it down and then we went on a nice little hike in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. Now it is time for a little more work and then off to bed.

Movies:
Last night, we watched two films: POPaganda: The Art and Crimes of Ron English and Unknown.

POPaganda was actually not the greatest film ever but Ron English is an amazing artist so it was pretty cool to see his work and to be able to watch him work. If you haven't seen any of his stuff, you should definitely check it out. He is primarily a New York artist who specialized originally in doing "takeover" billboard art. He would find billboards and paste his art (often times satirical advertising) up over the regular advertising. He then moved to more traditional forms of art and is really an incredibly talented fine artist who does most of his work in oils on canvas. Even if you don't watch this film, check out his work here.

Unknown was pretty much crap. Don't bother with this one.

Ok kiddies, don't do anything I wouldn't do.

~stubert.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Ouch...

I don't believe in Harry Potter (or arnica or gmail). ~ Pete (paraphrased, last name withheld to protect the non-believers)

Yesterday: Run ~ neighborhood trails, 1 hour
Today: Bunny cages
Tomorrow: Ride

Hmmm. Well that wasn't the most painful run I have ever done but it definitely wasn't the least either. I thought it might be interesting to see how well I could deal with a run. From the beginning, I felt pretty rusty and had some pain in my left knee after running only about 1/4 mile. That subsided after a bit but I never really felt great. Downhills were just jarring. Getting back into a flow was really not an option somehow. What did I expect only two weeks out?

I think I need to just stay at it. Slowly work back into the longer runs. My foot is still a pain and standing on it for 3 hours today didn't really help matters but it will heal. I am just a little beaten still. I have been thinking a lot about what would help the most if I decide to run Leadville again. One item on the list is to get faster and smoother. I think that if I were able to minimize the time and the punishment, things would go better for me overall. I need to improve my gait for sure.

Maybe some mid-distance events are in my future (marathon-50 miles). I may seek out a few of those to use as training events in the coming months. I am really excited for ski season, however so staying in shape (and healthy) for that is priority #1 right now.

Friday night, the Crüe met up for dinner at a local Boulder restaurant, Ras Kassas. This place rules. I had a great time with everyone and was psyched that everyone could make it. Ras Kassas features amazing Ethiopian cuisine and a fun atmosphere. If you have never eaten there (or another Ethiopian restaurant), I highly recommend it. Good times were had by all.

I haven't been watching many movies of late as I have been reading the Harry Potter series of books. I finished the final installment last night and I must say that they are quite engaging. Again, highly recommended. As Rach says, "They aren't Proust," but they are good entertainment. I am still not so sure about the movies (though I have only seen the first). I'll keep you posted on those as I attempt to sit through them as well.

Ok. I have to get some work done. Have a great long weekend.

~stubert.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Stu = Gigantic Wuss...

How would you like that? Burnt to a crisp or bloody as hell? ~ Buddy Holly

Yesterday: Hike - GGCSP, ~1 hour
Today: Swim - GCRC, 30 minutes
Tomorrow: Ride - Neighborhood, 1 hour

I just received the best email ever. Just after the race, I sent an email to Anton Krupicka, two-time Leadville winner, to congratulate him on his win and ask him if he had any tips regarding how to better protect one's feet while running ultradistance events. Here is his reply:

Hi Stu,

Thanks for your note regarding Leadville. On the whole, it ended up being a pretty decent day for me. Regarding foot issues while running...I'm probably not really the guy to talk to about that! I never wear socks because i don't like the extra weight (they absorb a lot of sweat and stream water) and i like feeling closer to the trail, but this doesn't mean that i don't have some skin issues. in a race, i just make sure to wear a pair of shoes that i now haven't rubbed me the wrong way in training, but this means i often get little hotspots and sometimes draw a fair amount of blood in training. for me, it's not really an issue on the really long runs because once the blister starts bleeding a little it seems to get lubed up and doesn't bother as much. the next day can be pretty rough, though. i know that sounds pretty rough, but it's really not that bad.

good luck, and i hope you garner a finish in the future!

tony

So there you go. I didn't manage to come close to putting my feet through that kind of torture. Man, that was great. You HAVE to love that.

Here's to hamburger feet.

~stubert.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Hikin'...

I got a job makin' money for the man, throwin' chicken in the bucket with the soda pop can. ~ Beck

Yesterday: Swim - GCRC, 30 minutes
Today: Hike - Raccoon Trail, ~1 hour
Tomorrow: Swim - GCRC

I worked my ass off today then treated myself with a fun hike with Rach. My foot is still a bit jacked but not so much that a mellow hike didn't do me some good. It is awesome up here this time of year. Cool temps, afternoon thunderstorms. Good stuff. The mushrooms were out in full effect and the leaves have not yet begun to turn but are showing signs of the upcoming season. Winter is just around the corner.

Yesterday, I went to Shirley for a massage and then to Dr. Dave for a much needed adjustment. I was all jacked up. It is amazing to me what he can do. Shirley too. I left both appointments feeling like a new man. My legs were a bit sore and Shirley found a neat spot on my back that just killed. My lower back was all out of whack making my legs pretty much worthless. Dr. Dave fixed me right up, however. Rocketh on.

Other than that, not much is going on. Still just taking it easy, jonezing for a run, and working like crazy. I trotted a bit on the hike tonight and felt fine but know that I need to give it more time before I really go out and hammer anything. I want to get at least one more good Indian Peaks run in before the snow sets in. I should be able to get in a couple before mid October. I'd like to do Pawnee/Buchanan for sure.

Anyone know a good architect? I am thinking of razing our garage and building a new one but need to talk with someone who specialized in this stuff to see if this is a jackassed idea or not. I really like where we live but wish that we had a larger garage to keep all our crap out of the elements. The weather up here just beats the hell out of cars and whatnot. But I digress...

Movie stuff:
Last night, I watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I really despised this movie when I first saw it but have been reading the books and thought it might be amusing to re-watch it. Ya know, it is still a pretty godawful movie. It was certainly more entertaining having read the books but I am of the opinion that movies should stand on their own merit. This one, really doesn't. And most of the acting is atrocious. And some of the effects are really special, while others are just not. Oh well. I'll keep watching the series now though, if just for laughs. Sometimes bad is good.

l8s

~stubert.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Nothing to see here...


You changed your name to McLovin? ~ Evan

Yesterday: Swim - Gilpin County Rec Center, 30 minutes ~1/2 mile
Today: Nuthin'
Tomorrow: Massage/Chiropractor/Swim (maybe)

Recovering nicely, I think. I am still pretty exhausted, that much I know and my foot still hurts quite a bit, but I am getting better. I have even caught myself wishing I could go for a run. Weird.

Not much new to report, really. I have two toenails with which I am pretty sure I will eventually part company and one other that doesn't look so great. We'll see what happens with those guys. Maybe I can auction them on eBay. If nothing else, they can join Rach's collection of Kingfisher puke and tarantula "skin".

I have a busy day planned for tomorrow with visits to Shirley for some post-race torture and then Doctor Dave for an adjustment to see if I can make my other shin behave. It actually seems to be doing a bit better today but keeps swapping leads with my foot for lingering-est injury. (Yes, I realize this is only a week out so really I should shut my yap.) Really, I expected to be much more crippled than this. Did I do something wrong? Should I not be pining away for the time when I can start running again? I think I broke my brain.

I'll keep you posted on progress.

Movie stuff:
The other day, I went to see the new movie, Superbad. This was a vile, profanity-laced, disgusting portrayal of life as a highschool goober. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Take your mom.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

This time last week...

The moments of the past do not remain still; they retain in our memory the motion which drew them towards the future, towards a future which has itself become the past, and draw us on in their train. ~ Marcel Proust

Yesterday: Swim - Gilpin County Community Center, 30 minutes
Today: Walk
Tomorrow: Ride or swim

This time last week, I was tromping through Aspen groves somewhere between Half Moon and Twin Lakes. If memory serves, I was trying to time my arrival in Twin Lakes to be somewhere around 12:15 (race report says 12:21, sweet!) and I was starting to experience some strange goings on in the physical realm. I remember that my skin had become sore to the touch, my nerves would fire if shaken or tapped (not unlike hitting your funny bone but requiring far less trauma to initiate) and blisters on my right foot had begun to create enough problems that I was unconsciously adjusting my gate to the point that I was over-pronating. This would be the first step to my overall downfall at Leadville.

Despite all of these problems, I was somehow calm and relatively collected as I alternated running with walking on the beautiful singletrack just north of Twin Lakes. I felt at peace. I had a task on which to focus and I kept moving - steadily making my way to mile 40 and beyond. As I approached uncharted territory (+8 hours and +35 miles), I felt a certain satisfaction in that which I had achieved and knew I had more in me. Many of you have heard me talk about the Horrible/Wonderful. I was certainly in it 7 days ago. And you know what? I loved it.

It is interesting how different parts of me hurt on different days. I must admit, I actually feel remarkably well considering what I put my body through last week. I wasn't nearly as sore as I thought and expected fairly extreme localized pain coupled with more general soreness. Frankly, I was more sore on a general level after several training runs. I am not sure if this is a good sign or a bad sign. Either it means I didn't push hard enough, or I conditioned and trained my body to accept the beating and therefore, I didn't suffer as much after the fact. I'll go with the latter.

My feet definitely took the brunt of it. I still expect to lose a couple of toenails (they are going through some interesting color-shifts currently) and the outside of my right foot is still giving me troubles. Yesterday, my right shin was the worst of it but today things seem to have settled back down in my foot and the toes of my right foot. Good times. It is just interesting to watch and feel how I am healing up.

Yesterday was spent getting paperwork organized and work completed for the new business. Luke and I have started Forty105, a consulting/design/development firm specializing in internet/electronic marketing solutions. At least that's what our letterhead says. Exciting times, to be sure. Currently, it seems that everyone wants their job completed by October 1. So September is going to be a bit hectic. I was able to make it over to the Rec Center to swim for a bit. As a kid, I used to swim all the time but haven't been in a pool in a non-recreational way since about '95. Needless to say, I am a bit out of practice. I really don't enjoy pool swimming. I have problems with the chemicals - but it is a great workout. I had forgotten how difficult it is. Especially when you tend to sink.

So today I am hoping to go see Superbad. Gotta rally here and see if we can go catch out George Michael in that goodness. Also have some errands to run and other general stuff to take care of. Today is as good as any for that type of stuff.

Hope everyone is having a fun, relaxing weekend.

~stubert.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Four days out...

That was not my cocaine, nor were those my pants. ~ Lindsay Lohan (paraphrased)

I will forgo the "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" action until I actually have something going on "Yesterday, Today or Tomorrow". Soon, I hope.

Things have been super busy with work and client management stuff over the past few days. This is a good thing though I occasionally want to just settle down and get some work done. Met with a couple of clients today and there are some exciting things on the horizon. Great stuff.

I walked a bit more today than perhaps advised (15 blocks, maybe?) and my right shin is really sore. Same problem I had before with the left one. Fortunately I know how to nurse this one and don't have a hundred mile race staring me in the face only 4 weeks or so away. So significantly less stress this time around. I'll probably give it a week or so and then go see Dr. Dave if it doesn't seem to be improving.

My buddy Nat Ross is a pro cyclist who specializes in 24-hour solo mountain bike racing. He is a super-stud and wins races on a regular basis. I think he has had podium finishes for the last three years at least in the World Championships and won last year's US National title. He recently sent me an email letting me know that it takes him about 5 weeks to recover from a bike event so I am not really planning any long runs in the foreseeable future. I'll keep trying to get to the pool and will probably break out the bike soon but am really planning to take it easy for some time to come. Rest is the key word and I will make it my bitch. Wait... that doesn't really work, does it?

So tomorrow I'll be up early, cranking out some work stuff and getting a couple of bids out the door to prospective clients. If you know any good developers who also can build Facebook apps, send them my direction.

Peace, geese and chicken grease.

~stubert.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Recovering...

Pain don't hurt. ~ James Dalton

Yesterday: Walk - various, about 2 blocks
Today: Walk - 16th Street Mall, about 6 blocks
Tomorrow: Swim (maybe) - Gilpin County Rec Center, ~ 30 minutes

So I actually think I am recovering fairly well. Mostly thanks to Rach rubbing my toes and whatnot every chance she gets. And feeding me amazing food. She is a savior.

So my bruises are starting to fade a bit and my feet only occasionally have that intense pins and needles feeling they were getting over the past few days. Now I seem to only get the occasional dull ache in my toes. My right foot is actually still quite painful and I walked a little far today on it. The outside, mostly. And, of course, the toes. I have not yet lost any nails but think that is probably coming soon.

My legs, though a little sore, are doing surprisingly well. My right knee is popping a little but it is less persistent today than the past two so I think this is returning to normal as well. Yesterday, I was just fatigued but fell sharper today. I was able to attend client meetings both yesterday and today without too much trouble. I am still eating like a horse but I expected this to be the case.

The interesting thing is I am already thinking about running again and hoping I can get back out there soon. I know I need to wait but there are some runs I didn't get to do in training that I would really like to do now that I have some more time. I promised myself to take a solid month off before doing anything with too much impact so I guess it will be mid-September before I can run again wisely. If there is such a thing as wise running.

Movie stuff:
I watched Hot Fuzz the other night and was pleasantly surprised. Actually a lot funnier than I expected and even more so upon subsequent viewings. The DVD also has a FUZZ FACTS feature that popped up information about the movie while you watch. Showed influences, other films they were spoofing, filming locations, and other interesting tidbits. Good stuff. I recommend this one for sure.

Okay... off to bed. My feet need their beauty rest.

~stubert.

Monday, August 20, 2007

I have sausage toes...

Rach's mental image of how my feet must feel.

Damaged by you. Damaged by me. ~ Black Flag

So thanks to Rach, I am recovering nicely. She has just been an absolute life saver - going to town with care, food and massage. Apparently, I am even polite in my sleep as she gave my poor toes some TLC last night while I was sleeping. I don't remember any of this as I was in a coma but I guess I thanked her, which is pretty funny. She rules.

I slept for a solid 14 hours and am actually feeling pretty well this morning. My feet seem to have taken the brunt of the trauma (go figure) and several of my toes look like those lame little sausages you get at even lamer dinner parties. I appear to have not lost any appreciable amount of weight (which is a good sign) but feel skinnier somehow. Not sure exactly how that works but there you have it.

The outside of my right foot was incredibly bruised yesterday but this seems to have subsided (or at least spread) to the point where it is less noticeable. The one area that is amazing is on my right shin. Yesterday there was a small bruise forming here which has now spread to be about the size of a pancake if one were to wrap that around my leg. The body is an interesting beast. I suffered no outward trauma to this area but the internal damage has manifested itself as exterior evidence. I sense an ice bath coming in the not-too-distant future.

Movie review:
So I can't say for certain but if you have just gotten home from running roughly 3 consecutive marathons, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters may be the very best movie ever made. But don't quote me on that.

More to come...

~stubert.

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