My bike shoes smell like cat pee...

Yesterday: Ride - Ned trails, 3.5 hours
Today: Singlespeed Ride - Caribou, 2.75 hours
Tomorrow: Chiropractor, rest

Normally, I wouldn't go around sniffing shoes, mine or anyone elses, but last year Dylan took a whiz in my bike shoes and well... it lingers. Whatchgonnado?

This weekend, I logged some hours on the mountain bikes to give the shin a rest. Seems to have worked nicely. No problems either day which, as you can imagine, makes me pretty happy. The riding went pretty well too. I got soaked on Saturday but it was warm and there wasn't any lightning so I stayed out. Hit up some old trails in the Ned/Eldora area and then explored some new ones on the way home. My bike was destroyed afterwards from all the mud but it cleaned up nicely.

Today, Luke and I headed up to Eldora to suffer up the Caribou Flats climb on the singlespeeds. I wouldn't really recommend this one unless you have the right gears. Both Luke and I are rocking pretty tall ratios so we ended up pushing a fair amount. Full-rigid is a little rough as well but sometimes you have to keep it really, really real. Old school. After a couple of missteps, we managed to find a kickass section of singletrack I had not ridden for many years and let me tell you, it was well worth it. Great ride. Here's the full album.

Tomorrow I plan to do a whole lot of nuthin'. I have an appointment with Dr. Dave but will be taking the rest of the day off. I'm into my taper at this point and rest is going to be my primary focus over the next few weeks. I'll roll out for a few runs here and there to test the leg, will do a few medium rides and take it easy until the race. I need to finalize my race plan for Megan, Nichole and Luke to review and get everything in order prior to the event. That is on this week's agenda for sure.

Keep the peace.

~stubert.

Electric...

Ka-CHOW! ~ Lightning McQueen

Yesterday: Nuttin'
Today: Ride - Peak to Peak, ~30 minutes
Tomorow: Ride - Big Ned, ~4 hours?

Time was short today so I made due. And felt like crap. Got up fairly early and headed out on the 'Cross bike. Just had time for a short lap. It was glorious out, so that made the way I felt less gruesome. I have come to understand that not only are some days better than others, but that it takes me forever to warm up these days. So no biggie.

The leg was a little tight but not too shabby. No stabbing shards of glass embedded in my shin. I'll count this as progress.

I rode down to a meeting today on the motorbike. On the way back up I headed directly into a pretty solid thunderstorm. Typical this time of year. Lightning was striking all around as I wound up the canyon and shortly thereafter it started pouring. I was wearing my trusty Aerostich so no soaked Stus. These suits are awesome.

Tomorrow I am planning a nice, long ride. Probably will head out to the dots and down to Ned. Then I'll explore around to see what fun can be had out there. I was planning to log some road miles but just can't seem to muster up the desire to toss on the slicks and hit the pavement. Probably has something to do with the debacle that calls itself professional cycling. Bunch of cheaters, those guys are. Makes me ill.

Movie stuff: Last night we watched Tideland, a Terry Gilliam vehicle. Gilliam is the master of the beautiful/horrible but this one was more horrible than beautiful. Kind of an Alice in Wonderland inspired tale but for me, it just didn't work. Not on my recommended list.

~stubert.

R&R...

Is this a... what day is this? ~ The Dude

Yesterday: Nuttin'
Today: Nuttin'
Tomorrow: Ride - Not sure where just yet, ~2 hours

How time flies when you are sitting on your ass waiting for your friggin' leg to heal. I haven't done a damned thing since Sunday and it is making me a little cranky. On top of that, I have been at least a day off all week.

The shin got some extra love today with a visit to Shirley, a taping instructional from Mark and my first venture to a chiropractor. Good times. Needless to say, after 38+ years of abuse, I am a little tweaked but Dr. Boynton at North Boulder Chiropractic seems to be throwing the good mojo at me. He assessed my tweaked spine, did some stress tests, cracked my back a little then used this mini jackhammer gizmo on me for a bit. So far, so good. I immediately regained some strength in my legs and somehow felt taller after the whole ordeal (which, frankly, wasn't really much of an ordeal at all). I go back on Monday to get re-tested and to get some more alignment done if need be.

So I'm off the feet, working like a crazy person, jonesing to run and see The Simpsons Movie, and plan to get on the bike tomorrow to get back in the swing of training. Should be good. I'll run a little next week if the good doctor says that is cool. Roughly three weeks to go.

~stubert.

Funday ride...

The greatest delicacies taste of nothing when eaten alone. ~ Hanshiro Tsugumo

Yesterday: Ride - Ned area, 2.25 hours
Today: Rest
Tomorrow: Road Ride - Ward, 2.5 hours

Yesterday's ride was a blast. Megan met me in Ned and we hit the West Mag trails with a vengeance. Just a fun jaunt in the woods. There are some cool trails up there, many of which I have ridden in the past but things change so frequently that they seem new every time I am on them.

It is really funny how that works. It is the same for skiing, running, hiking... many very familiar places seems so different as their conditions are changed by weather conditions, traffic, the time of day or year. One day a trail can be buttery smooth and the next rutted and bumpy. One thing I have noticed as I now have logged a full year of consistent training is that the same trail can become a totally new experience just based on the day and time one happens to be on it. I have seen familiar trails from the heat of summer to snow and ice-covered in winter; in rain, sun and darkness; painted with the blossoms of Spring and the equally glorious canvas of Fall. This has been quite a year and I hope to continue this adventure for many more to come.

The leg gave me some problems yesterday but I am coping. That is pretty much all I can do at this point. Not worth getting all tweaked about it. I just need to figure out the best ways to approach the problem and do what I can to make it better. Not worth getting all stressed about for sure. That just wouldn't be productive use of time and energy.

Movie time: Pete recommended the film Harakiri a couple of weeks ago and I finally had the time to watch it. This fine film was penned by Shinobu Hoshimoto (Rashomon) and is one of those fantastic movies that you want to watch again once you get to the end. Superbly crafted and acted, Harakiri unfolds slowly and builds to a conclusion that exemplifies filmmaking at its best. Highly recommended.

~stubert.

Back in the saddle, again...

Oh no. The problem. The problem, Pansy! It's started again! I must have fruit! ~ Vincent

Yesterday: Singlespeed Ride - Neighborhood trails, 1.5 hours
Today: Run - Hope Pass (North side), 3.5 hours
Tomorrow: Bike ride - Nederland trails, 3 hours

Well... the last two days have seen markedly different experiences. Yesterday's ride was a blast. I felt strong the whole time and even discovered some singletrack to which I had previously not been privy. Good stuff. I headed up to the standard route but didn't really want to swing down the flume on the rigid bike so I jammed down a trail I hooked up earlier this year and then started exploring. I tried a piece of singletrack I hadn't gone up in years and happily discovered it to hook up with some roads northeast of my house. Blasted back down the the Beav' and rode home in good spirits. Absolutely no pain in my lower extremities and power to spare.

Today's adventure was less happy-inducing. I got up early to take care of stuff around the house then headed up to Leadville to run the last remaining segment of the course I have not yet seen, Hope Pass. This starts in Twin Lakes and heads up 3400 feet over the Pass and down a similar elevation to the ghost town of Winfield. My plan was to run about 7 miles up and over then back. I guess you know what they say about the best laid plans...

I arrived in Twin Lakes around 8:45 and headed out by 9:00. Route-finding was tricky, to say the least but I finally managed to get moving in the right direction and on-course, even. I had some problems crossing the river as it was running strongly and was murky from a recent storm but I managed to get across without dousing myself or my camera. I am guessing the crossing is only about a mile and a half or so along the route but it took me nearly an hour to finally reach the south bank. Ugh. This is why I have been reviewing all the parts of the course... so come go-time, I'll be familiar with each section and the challenges therein.

After the river, I headed up, up, up. I felt okay, actually, mostly power-hiking up the well-traveled trail. There were other runners that I passed or who passed me heading the other direction. I definitely could have run some of this section but wanted to simulate race-pace so kept the uphills to a brisk hike. Around tree-line things took a turn for the worse when I experienced an excruciating jolt of pain in my left shin. The problem had come back with a vengeance. Worse than ever, actually. Nausea-inducing type pain. Not good times.

I stopped and stretched for a bit and then decided to see if this was an isolated incident (it wasn't) then experimented with different techniques to try to deal with it. I was able to come up with a couple of tricks to keep going but this is not something I believe will work for 100+ miles. Eventually, I used my handkerchief to compress the area and that seemed to offer a bit of relief. I decided the full trip was a bad idea but wanted to "summit" at least so trudged on the additional 1000+ vertical feet to the top of the pass.

Upon turning around after a brief stop to get some food and change shirts, I couldn't believe how painful the leg became. If I were the panicking type, I can assure you that things would have gotten silly. I limped down the top section then tried running a bit once the pitch became less steep. This seemed to work and I was able to keep a fairly steady pace back down Hope to the valley below. Once the trail leveled out, I alternated walking and running back to the river then back to Twin Lakes.

I have put in calls to Mark to see if he can squeeze me in next week and Ben, a friend of mine who is an experienced athlete and who has finished Leadville at least once to see what to try next. I am thinking this will involve switching all remaining training to the bike until the last week or so, when I may try a couple short runs. Not really sure right now the best course of action. I definitely also want to see if there are any tricks I can employ to help get me through the race (ice, compression, booze) and, at this point, am pretty much game for anything that might enable me to get through it. 27 days until the start. That should give me plenty of time to get this figured out.

I'll post some photos in a bit. I only took a couple as the day was a bit gray and will get them posted ASAP.

Think shin-ey thoughts.

~stubert.

Edit: I spoke with Ben last night and he provided a different insight into my situation. With less than four weeks until the race, I really don't have much more intense training to accomplish. His take on the situation is that I can jump on the bike, finish out the month with less abusive training that will maintain my current fitness levels and give my body a rest prior to the race. Going in refreshed and healthy is much more important than any incremental fitness gains I might achieve at this point. Great advice.

Leadville tip: Two tips, actually...

Tip 1: Many people take off their shoes while crossing the river. My experience is that with good socks, they dry quickly and there is no need to waste time swapping them out at this juncture. I plan to swap shoes at Winfield and then again after crossing back over in Twin Lakes.

Tip 2: Bug spray is most welcome during the first couple miles out of Twin Lakes. This marshy section is rife with mosquitoes and keeping them at bay is a good idea.

Less than a month...

Some people run a race to see who is the fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts. ~ Steve Prefontaine (thanks, Nichole!)

Yesterday: PT
Today: Ride or Run - Around my house, ~ 1.5 hours
Tomorrow: Run/Hike - Hope Pass, 5-6 hours

Sorry for the lack of updates, this has been a hectic week and I didn't have a lot to report.

I have been nursing the shin problem for the last week and finally broke down and went to see Mark Plaatjes yesterday for some much-needed PT. He whipped out his evil thumbs and went to work attempting to rip my heart out through my lower leg. Good stuff. I have noticed over the past few days that merciless massage made it feel a bit better (if only temporarily) and Mark is definitely the go-to guy for this. He then used some laser/light therapy thing on me and then hooked me up to the car battery again with the super-heating pad action. It feels a bit better today though really sore to the touch which is expected. Hopefully this will take and I'll be able to finish off my training strong and taper to race day.

So let's see... I did do a short run on Tuesday but other than that have been trying to stay off the leg and have been really busy. I almost went for a run about 11 last night but then decided sleep would be better for me. All in all, I feel like I have things under control, am very fit, and feel pretty decent about the race mentally. The Fish Hatchery to Twin Lakes (and return) section has me a little nervous since I have not run that portion of the course and this features the longest stretch of pavement on the course. I have seen everything but Hope Pass now so that makes me aware of everything at least. I am planning to go up to look at Hope either this weekend or early next week.

Ok. I'll keep you posted with plans and progress.

See you out there.

~stubert.

Course ride...

Funny thing about weekends when you're un self employed... they don't mean quite so much - except you get to hang out with your workin' friends. ~ Primus

Yesterday: Ride - Fish Hatchery to Twin Lakes and back, ~ 4.5 hours
Today: Hike - GGCSP, ~ 1 hour
Tomorrow: Hike - GGCSP, ~ 1 hour

I need to get my Zen on.

Things have been pretty stressful of late and I need to get control of everything. I am super busy with work and that, coupled with this leg injury, has detracted from my ability to train as effectively as I had planned for these past couple of weeks. I did manage to get back up on the course yesterday for a long ride that took a bit longer than I anticipated.

I started out at the Fish Hatchery around 12:30 and felt solid heading out the main road toward Halfmoon. I had a healthy tail/cross wind that pushed me along at a nice clip. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the temperatures were in the low-to-mid 80s, I believe. This portion of the course is probably the least interesting - several miles of relatively flat paved or improved dirt roads. Pretty boring, actually. There are some nice views of the nearby mountain ranges that I plan to use to distract me from the less-than-exciting running conditions of this section during the race.

As one gets closer to Halfmoon, the road begins to climb and features a long-ish false flat up to the checkpoint. About a mile later, we will turn onto the Colorado Trail which is pitched steeply for about the first mile then settles into some very tasty, smooth singletrack running through green aspen groves. This is definitely the prettiest part of the course I have seen thus far (and the nicest portion of the course per racer accounts). This singletrack rolls along for a few miles then reaches a trailhead. This is where I proceeded to get off-course yesterday. The trail crosses a large bridge then dumps onto a jeep road for about 200 meters where it reaches an intersection. Here, I banged a left, following the main road down and should have gone right briefly to follow the partially obscured singletrack to the south. My mistake dropped me several miles east of Twin Lakes where I followed the main highway back into town. This is why I am visiting the course regularly - to work out these kinks prior to race day.

Twin Lakes was bustling. Tourists were everywhere, checking out the history of the area and generally being tourists. I stopped briefly at the Windspirit Lodge to confirm my reservation for the race weekend (confirmed) and then headed back out on the course (for real this time) for my return to the Fish Hatchery. Thus far, I felt strong and fresh and didn't have much concern about being able to get back smoothly. I was a bit slower to Twin Lakes than I hoped but chalked this up to poor route finding and getting off course.

On the climb (push) out of Twin Lakes, I whacked down and sandwich and started to hear a hiss coming from my rear tire. Yup, apparently I pinched a tube on the descent and I quickly found myself on the side of the trail changing the flat. Not the fastest exchange I have ever accomplished either. Once that was repaired I was off again, pushing a lot more than I liked. For whatever reason, I was really uncomfortable riding marginally steep sections that I should have been able to ride and found myself walking much of the course at this point. Not sure why I was unable to ride but I just tried to keep moving upward along the trail. Soon I was back to the spot where I had missed my connection on the way out and back on familiar terrain. I began feeling a bit better and moved at a steady pace back to the top of the steep, technical section and jammed back down to Halfmoon and along the dirt road in a big gear - even passing a couple of cars along the way. The pavement section was a bit less forgiving as I contended with a stiff headwind back to the Fish Hatchery in about 4 and a half hours. Given the extra miles, route finding problems, stops in Twin Lakes and to fix the flat, not really such a bad effort in the long-run. I am guessing I did about 42 miles or so total.

Heading back home, I thought I would have smooth sailing as the traffic was light all the way past the Loveland Pass exit on the East side of Eisenhower. Then, the dreaded I-70 parking lot set in with a vengeance. For whatever reason, I was unable to hook up the frontage road and kept missing key exits. I think it took me 3 hours or so to get home. Ugh. I have said it before (and unfortunately will probably say it again) but I would not be sad to never have to drive I-70 on a weekend again.

Once I got home, Rach and I hung out for a bit and I got up early this morning to get some work done. This is going to be a crazy week and I need to get a jump on it. So... here I am updating my blog. Yeah. Gotta get to work.

See you out there.

~stubert.

More: My parents made the trip over this weekend as well and I got to play golf with my dad on Saturday at Fossil Trace. I like this course, actually. It is pretty sweet for a municipal course. I think I shot about 170. I still rule. Definitely no threat to anyone out there who is a golfer.

A quick one...

All work and no beer make Homer something something. ~ Homer Simpson

Yesterday: Nothing (ugh)
Today: Short Ride - Around the neighborhood/Flume, 1 hour
Tomorrow: Ride

So I have not seemed to have any time lately. Feeling a bit stressed about that but what are you going to do? I have had a bunch of meetings this week which have cut into production time and have had to drop down into the valley almost every day thus far. Have I mentioned that I don't miss my commute?

Today I got up relatively early to do a quick ride before this morning's meeting in Broomfield. Fairly uneventful ride, really. I felt strong. The leg hurt a little. It is still gorgeous up here. Etc.

I need to work out the remainder of my training and am trying to get a better feel for pacing as well. I ran my first draft by some friends with Leadville experience and they both thought I was being a little aggressive on the return. I was trying to be conservative on the way out but was probably pushing it a little bit on the way home. I have made adjustments so that my out/back splits are about 44/56. We'll continue to tinker with this a bit and see if I can make them work.

We are having our first crew meeting tonight as well. I am letting Luke, Nichole and Megan run these so that I can focus on the run. It will be fun to get everyone together for a quick run-down of the event.

Alright... back to work.

~stubert.

Back on the bike...

Pain and suffering are often the catalysts for life's most profound lessons. - Dean Karnazes

Yesterday: Night Run - Mesa Trail, 1 hour
Today: Ride - Neighborhood trails, 1 hour
Tomorrow: Ride - Leadville course (maybe), 3 hours

I guess I am going to get back on the bike for a bit to let my shin heal. I ran last night with Pete and it really gave me some troubles. Hurt from the very beginning and afterwards it was really painful. So I'll be giving it some rest to see if I can get it back in shape.

Yesterday I worked in the morning on a project for Quintess. Luke is in Mt. Hood skiing so I am covering for him for the next few days. I then jammed down to Boulder to run a few quick errands and see Shirley for a massage and some ultrasound on my leg.

I then went over to Pete's to hang out and wait for the sun to go down. Jess and Brad were going to join us but weren't feeling up to it so just Pete and I set out at sunset to run a small portion of the Mesa Trail.

It was warm last night - calm and clear. Good running weather. Running at night is a different experience than daytime jaunts and I am growing quite fond of it. We didn't see any other people during our hour out on the trail and it was a peaceful run through the Boulder Foothills. I am planning to do one of these a week until the race so jump on the train if you feel like getting out during cooler temperatures to experience running in a whole new way.

Pete mentioned that upon moving to Boulder, he was out late one night and encountered two night runners. At the time, he thought these people were quintessential Boulder weirdos. Running at night? Jackasses. Welcome to the fold, Pete.

Today I have a bunch of work to do and a couple of conference calls. I may try to scoot out for a ride in the early afternoon but that may need to wait until this evening. I am considering jamming up to Leadville tomorrow to ride the course from Fish Hatchery to Twin Lakes and back but work may get in the way of that little adventure and it may need to wait until the weekend.

And on a final note, check out Kiva.org. This is a cool site that let's individuals participate in microloan programs around the world. Pretty cool to be able to make a difference in people's lives from afar.

See you out there.

~stubert.

Laying low...

It isn't a mountain bike ride until somebody bleeds gets hit on the head by a falling lodgepole pine. ~ Ancient Mountain Biking Proverb

Yesterday: Nada
Today: Ride - West Mag trails, 3 hours
Tomorrow: Ride - Casa del Critters, 2 hours

Yesterday, I jammed into Boulder early to zap my leg with some ultrasound. Good times. Hopefully this, plus rest, massage and more ultrasound will get things working properly again. Still having some isses today for sure. I am glad I decided that trying to do Hope was a bad idea.

So, to keep myself off the gimpy shin, I met Brad and Jess in Nederland for some mountain biking. We headed up the trails off of West Mag and ended up monkeying around looking for a stretch of singletrack I stumbled across on Wednesday. Then Brad got bonked in the head by a pine tree that apparently had a deathwish for the Bradster. I had passed by the offending flora only to hear Jess ask if Brad was okay. Apparently, Brad gave the tree some grief about its rainbow suspenders back in gradeschool and well... made the list. Other than a headache, sore neck and now being an inch shorter, we think Brad is going to be okay.

Tomorrow, I plan to stay off the leg again and ride around the neighborhood for a couple of hours. I have a ton of work to do as well so will just stay in the area to get everything done.

Movie time: Last night we watched 11:14. Not a bad movie but not great either. One of those multiple story-line movies where several seemingly unrelated incidents come together at a point in time. Frankly, Kieslowski did it much better but this isn't horrible.

See you out there.

~stubert.

Long and strong...

Nothing good ever happens after midnight. ~ John D. Roach
(Particularly if you are breaking more than one law at a time.) ~ Rachel Bellamy

Yesterday: Nada
Today: Run - King's Lake to High Lonesome to Diamond Lake to home, 8 hours
Tomorrow: Nada

Today's adventure was awesome. Luke picked me up at 6:30 and we headed to Hessee to start our big run. The weather was pretty much perfect and, with the wildflowers in full effect, we were treated to a wonderful run up King's Lake trail to High Lonesome and back around to Diamond Lake trail.

We started off slowly and maintained a steady pace most of the day. The moon was setting over Rollins Pass as we headed up from the valley floor. Everything was lush and green and we ascended up above treeline (topping out at 12,200 feet). The views from the summit were amazing. We were able to look down on Winter Park/Mary Jane ski areas from our vantage point atop the ridge and there is a remarkable amount of beetle kill on the back range. This seems to be slowly creeping over the divide too which is not good news. I think the best we can hope for is an extreme winter to help cull the beetle numbers as the last few winters have been relatively mild temperature-wise.

We headed north along the ridge line to Diamond Lake trail and dropped down into this great little basin. There are a bunch of fun-looking ski lines up here but, as Luke pointed out, getting to them with all your gear would be a bit of a slog. We continued down the trail, making it back to the truck in about 4 and a half hours. Luke had to jam back to Boulder so I refueled and started my trek back home from Eldora.

Running back down the main road toward Ned I felt great. I was taking it easy, run/walk cycles along the pavement back to the Shelf Road. From here, I took a cut off that deposited me at the far west end of Magnolia and then the fun began.

I jammed up some singletrack and quickly linked into the Habitrail - a fun singletrack mountain bike trail. This trail got its name because it loops around the forest like those cages one can but for their hamster. I took a peek at the map and noticed they have it listed as the Hobbit trail which is just lame but pretty funny. Gotta love it when the forest service is out of the loop.

I intended to follow my old standard back to Rollinsville but then got a wild hair and decided to hook up with 105 which should have dumped me at the top of a gnarly descent to Rollins Pass. Unfortunately, I got a little lost and ended up on some new singletrack that didn't go where I expected and probably burned about an hour dinking around trying to get back to familiar territory. I finally made it back to my standard route and made it to the Rollinsville store prior to running out of water (barely). I refilled and headed back up the Peak to Peak highway. A storm seemed to be moving in behind me and I made it my goal to reach home in less than 8 hours or at least before getting hammered by the rain. I was able to run when the road wasn't too steep and made it home in front of the storm but 5 minutes shy of my 8-hour goal. Pretty awesome.

I was able to run, eat and drink the whole run today, which was very good news. I did have some issues with my left shin in the final hour or so which I will need to address but overall, this was a great run. I am feeling more and more prepared every week.

View full album here.

Movie time: Yesterday, Rage and I went to see the new Pixar joint, Ratatouille. I believe this is the best to date and given that it is from Pixar, says a lot. Just a fun movie. Amazing CGI. Go see it on the big screen immediately. Rage has indicated that she has a nice, crisp $5 bill for anyone who can go the whole movie without wanting to tweak the nose of the main character.
(Offer not valid in Wisconsin, Tennessee or Washington D.C.. Offer only good for first person who successfully completes the challenge and reports findings via a certified letter of non-tweakage and passes a lie-detector test (test must be paid for by contestant).)

We also watched Neil Young: Heart of Gold which was a cool concert film. Rage and I got to see Mr. Young play at Fiddler's green several years ago and this concert film is considered by many to be a great example of how to shoot and edit this type of movie. I can't say that I necessarily disagree. Good flick.

Tomorrow I plan to do a whole lot of nuthin' and may hit that up again on Friday. Planning to do Hope Pass Saturday if my leg feels better. I am icing it now so hopefully I'll recover quickly.

See you out there.

~stubert.

Fun run...

Progress comes from the intelligent use of experience. ~ Elbert Hubbard

Yesterday: Run - Casa del Critters/Flume, 1 hour 15 minutes
Today: Ride/Hike/Relax
Tomorrow: Run/Hike - Pawnee/Buchanan Passes, 6 hours?

Yesterday I ran around the house. Not literally, mind you, but in the neighborhood. It was a gorgeous evening - calm, cool. Perfect. The wildflowers are really starting to take off up here and I was treated with a bold display of color throughout my run. Tons of Columbine lined the trailside as I ran on old mining roads and singletrack trails.

It is really fun to see how much differently I am able to handle familiar terrain. I used to have difficulties running this loop and would have to walk major sections. Last night, I ran the entire loop without trouble and was able to moderate my speed to maintain a steady cadence through the run. Good times.

Contracting is staying steady. A bit of a drop-off this week given the holiday but I am still managing to put in a decent number of hours. I picked up another new project today and will need to get started immediately to ensure that it gets completed on time.

Tomorrow, we are going to head up Pawnee Pass and loop back around to Buchanan Pass in the northern Indian Peaks Wilderness. This should be a fun challenge as we'll get up pretty high, have to navigate some snow (most likely) and will be out for quite awhile. I am looking forward to it for sure.

Movie time: I forgot to mention Shopgirl, a Steve Martin vehicle, we watched the other night. I wasn't quite sure what to expect but found this to be a charming film about loneliness. It was well acted and would recommend it for sure. The pacing is steady throughout and some might find it a little on the slow side but it was an engaging film that had a lot to say without being overly sappy.

~stubert.

Rabbit cages...

Men will never rest until they've spoiled the earth. ~ Fiver

Yesterday: Run - Leadville course, 6 hours ~29 miles
Today: Bunny cages - COHRS, ~2.5 hours
Tomorrow: Run - Boulder?, 1.5 hours

Today was our day to clean the bunny runs at the Colorado House Rabbit Society. We (by "we" I mean "Rach") got up early so we could beat the heat a bit. I somehow managed to sleepwalk my alarm off, which is pretty awesome. Fortunately, Rach didn't leave me behind but roused me from my slumber in time to whack down a pb&j and head down to the shelter.

We made good time at the shelter and were done just before A Prairie Home Companion came on. Which is nice, because I can't stand that friggin' show. People seriously like that stuff? Anyway... I have included some shots taken after we completed our day's effort. Doesn't Terri look adorable with her little bow?


Clean bunny runs. A joyous occasion.


Still life with ball and Meredith.


Extreme close-up.


Turbo nap. Elijah demonstrates excellent sleeping form.


Molly likes to sleep on Rach's head. Rach is not quite as fond of this arrangement.


B.Z. is the newest member of our crew...


She may be vain and evil but we love her.

Movietime: Last night we watched Shortbus, a James Cameron Mitchell film (writer/director/lead actor in Hedwig and the Angry Inch). I rather enjoyed Shortbus but this is not a film for the feint of heart. It features quite a lot of nudity, adult themes and graphic sexuality so if you aren't prepared for that type of film, this is NOT the one to rent.