Back on track...

You're fit but you know it. ~ The Streets

Nine days out of the race and I am feeling pretty great. Not completely back to normal but getting there. My back was feeling better today so I got up off the friggin' couch and did a fast, fun 8-miler.

Since I am going to run in the Las Vegas marathon in December, I decided no time like the present to try to start picking up the pace a little bit. Hopefully at some point in the not-too-distant future, I'll be able to combine the quicker pace with low heartrates but today was not the day. So I just went ahead and made it a "hard day" and hammered out the 8 miles in an average sub 10-minute pace. Felt okay about it, actually. I need to get in to have Shirley whale on me to get rid of this hamstring thing that has been bugging me for almost a year now. Yeah. Prompt is my middle name.

Rach has been rockin' the bunny farm and is on her way home now with Jamba Juice in tow. She rules. I have to jam down to Denver tomorrow for a meeting and then follow up with clients on a couple of designs I banged out over the last couple of days. Tomorrow night is the second Boulder Adventure Film Festival jury meeting so I have a full day. May need to sneak in a run or a ride somewhere but I'm not sure when that will happen. Thursday, I guess.

So in ultra news, Anton is out for this year's Leadville 100. Bummer. Aparently he has some nerve problems in his feet that have kept him from running for the last month. Drag. I was pretty psyched to go up and watch him kick ass on the course. He is uninterested in just finishing and wants to go into races prepared and able to challenge course records. Not a problem I foresee in my future. I may try to pace someone or sneak in another 50 this fall... haven't decided yet but I am very excited to keep running.

Okay, all you kiddos be good. Or not. Up to you.

~stubert.

Ouch ouch ouch...

One way to get rid of them is to tell 'em stories that don't go anywhere. Like the time we went over to Shelbyville during the war, I wore an onion on my belt....which was the style at the time...you couldn't get those white ones, you could only get those big yellow ones.................now where was I........oh yeah, the important thing was I was wearing an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time, you couldn't get those... ~ Grandpa Simpson

I must have slept funny because my lower back is killing me today. Like old man, can't touch your toes, think I might go shake my fist at those durned tow-headed children of the corn who live next door and are dangerously close to getting on my durned lawn, kind of killing me. Plus uphill... both ways.

Consarn it, I'll just go take another nap.

~stubert.

Another one for the "Wish I'd Written It" File...

As Ford posts yet another crazy-ass quarterly loss ($8.7 billion), it makes one wonder how much better the US auto industry (and its unions) would be doing if they had let the government raise CAFE standards, huh? The government could've bailed them out of this mess.

And it makes one wonder how much better that industry would be doing if they hadn't so viciously opposed Bill and Hillary Clinton's 1993 health care initiative. In 2004, GM spent over $5 billion in health care costs -- a number that is likely significantly larger today. That's billions that would be off its balance sheet had they not opposed universal healthcare.

Lots of industries may shoot themselves in the foot, but none more so than the auto industry. It truly deserves the comeuppance it is getting (and it has gotten a healthy assist from its unions). The people who don't deserve it -- of course -- are its workers, who are getting screwed.

~ Markos Moulitsas Zúniga

Yep, classic myopic behavior on the part of U.S. industry. Seems that the auto industry isn't the only group that can't see past its wingtips. I watched a film last night (can't remember the name) that outlined the destruction of Western U.S. wildlands by the oil and gas industry. The gist of the film was that for the first time, environmentalists, ranchers and hunters were coming together to try to save public lands from rampant destruction.

The current administration has deregulated drilling to such an extent that oil companies have been granted leases in most of the Rocky Mountains' public lands set aside for preservation. Many of these untapped sources of natural gas hold only a few days' worth of inventory. So the plan is: go in and drill the crap out of these areas, run roads and pipelines throughout and leave these great lands scarred and torn. All for a little gas. Not very cool. Ranch lands are also affected with many unable to raise cattle due to the segmentation of the grasslands and poisoning of the aquafers due to spillage and open evaporation pits. One rancher had his stock tested and 90% of the cattle showed measurable traces of petroleum contamination. Not really something I would recommend getting into the food supply. (Yet another reason to shy away from meat.)

So all of this is pretty awesome. Or not.

On a completely separate note, I feel great, physically. Only a trace of soreness left yesterday after Sunday's effort and I am fired up to start running again. Looking for the next great adventure. Fortunately for me, Rach is super supportive of these things and is always encouraging me to go out and have some fun. I may see if anyone needs pacing assistance at Leadville. I'll keep you posted on that.

~stubert.

Silver Rush 50 Race Report...

Silver Rush 50 course profile. Click to enlarge.

It's a grind grind. It's a grind. It's a grind grind. ~ Soul Coughing

2008 Silver Rush 50-mile Race Report
Time: 10:31:15
Place overall: 46
Place in class: 15
Motionbased data (kinda messed up)

Since I already started at the end (see above), I suppose I'll just say that I am particularly excited about this finish. And REALLY proud of Bob, who finished his first ultra in 10:54:18. Way to go Bob!

In May, my chances of starting (much less finishing) this event seemed dim. I felt like hammered crap and just couldn't get anything going that made me confident that I'd be able to pull this thing off. After a few weeks rest, and then a month and a half or so of fairly dedicated training, I managed to make it happen. Words really don't do justice to what I was feeling during the event and particularly upon finishing.

Bob and I headed up to Leadville on Saturday to pick up our race packs then settled into a fairly annoying camp site out by Turquoise Lake. The first couple of sites we tried were full so we ended up at the Boat Ramp (in retrospect, I don't think this was the Tabor Boat Ramp from the 100 but I am not sure). I have definitely spent worse nights in camp but this was up there. Generators running all day (with no one in the vicinity of the trailer to which power was being fed), dogs barking, some dude with what sounded to be a wicked case of TB hacking all night, etc. etc. etc. We did get in a short run on the 100 route lakeside, which was pretty and the sunset was gorgeous over the lake but I would probably not recommend camping here if you need to get up at 4:30 to go run a race.

Course map. Click to enlarge.

Race Day:
The alarm went off at 4:30 and we high-tailed it out of there to get to the event and get ready. It was brisk at the start, probably around 40 degrees and we changed clothes, ate some food, packed our drop bags and got ready to get our run on in the parking lot at the start. There were about 150 starters (wow, 148 other people as stupid as us, go figure) and we all congregated at the start/finish below the college to await the shotgun blast signaling the start of the race. If you are familiar with Leadville, on the South side, there is a parctice ski hill and our first challenge was to run up this loose, rocky beast. The "winner" of this short race was presented with a silver coin and man, some people really wanted that friggin' coin. Bob and I were content to remain coinless, however, and walked this first pitch. I was not saddened not have "won" this portion of the race.

We settled into a steady pace early on, shed our jackets a few miles in, and worked our way toward the first check point at about 7 miles. At some point in the first 8 miles or so I developed a whopping headache but neglected to bring any Vitamin I so just dealt with it. I knew I had some at the turn and so I just tried to ignore it (though at times, it blurred my vision a little) and kept on running. Bob and I stayed together, chatting with other competitors as the route climbed gently up to around 12, 200 feet (~9.5 miles in). At this point, the course reverses itself on a steady, well-maintained dirt road and descends for about 3.5 miles. I pulled away on this section, turning over at an 8 to 9-minute pace and feeling very fresh. I could feel my quads getting a little toasty toward the bottom of this drop but then we reached a paved section that was a gradual climb up to the second aid station about 13.5 miles in.

I went light this year, and with the stations spaced at 7, 7, 5 and 7(ish) miles apart, only carried two bottles, some special Stu-food (avocado wraps), an a couple of gels/Clif Blocks. I relied on the aid stations for water, Coke, bananas, watermelon, chips, etc. and this seemed to be a decent plan all-around. After the second aid station, the course dropped for another mile or so then rolled for a bit until we reached the second major climb of the day on loose, rocky terrain back up to 11,800 or so through a bunch of mines (some active). It was a gorgeous day and being up above tree-line treated us to amazing views of the surrounding peaks and valleys. I power-hiked most of the climbs and ran when the terrain dipped or flattened out. This seemed to be a good strategy and I felt fresh at the third aid station (about 18 miles in).

I was definitely starting to feel the day's efforts at this point but knew that I still had a lot of running left to do so I tried to keep my heartrate as low as possible (failing, mostly) and to keep a reasonable, sustainable pace. The course then featured some steep climbs and descents over the next few miles (during which the race leader came FLYING by me). Apparently, he reached the turn around in 3:15 and was there before they had even set up! He passed me at about 2:48 and was seriously moving. Amazing. The second place guy was about 25 minutes back at this point and he passed me on the gnarly descent (for me) down to the turn. This hill was a bitch: rocky, VERY steep, off camber. Just really difficult terrain going either direction.

The course mellowed out a bit after the rocky bit and (thankfully) there was an extra, unmanned aid station about half way down. I had grabbed some blue PowerAde at the last station that did not appeal to me (they were changing up the water and it was taking too long). So I dumped that junk, filled back up with water and was on my way. The rest of the route to the turn was fairly mellow downhill with some flats so I just cruised. I had turned off my GPS accidentally at some point so wasn't quite sure how much farther I had to go before the turn around but was soon there. Swapped shoes, threw on a new shirt and some sunscreen and was just getting ready to head back when Bob showed up. Rockin'! He was about 10 minutes back. That rules.

So back to the start I headed and I still felt reasonably well. I had made it to the turn at just under 5 hours and given how I felt at the time, was very confident that I could finish and might be able to turn a sub-10, which would just be spectacular. I power-hiked the climb back out of the turn (it was starting to get pretty warm at this point) and eventually hooked up with a guy named Chris Fisher from Golden who runs trail marathons. We were pretty well matched up and just startetd powering through the climbs and setting a decent pace on the descents as we worked our way back to the start/finish. We stayed together through the next two aid stations and about half of the big, evil climb back out (miles 31-36) until I really hit the wall with about a mile and a half or two miles left in that final, major climb. So Chris headed up the road (eventually finishing in 10:02!) and I just pretty much suffered. My back was killing me, I had a giant hot-spot/blister on my right heel, I was really feeling pretty whooped).

Once we made it to the downhill section, I was just in survival mode and ran/walked down to the final aid station. I got caught by quite a few people on this section (bummer) but felt that I could still manage a sub-11 finish, which would be pretty proud. I grabbed some food, refilled the bottles and headed on down the road for the last 7 miles of the event. I tried to really push myself but was thoroughly hammered at this point and eventually caught a few people, got caught by two or three. Run for a bit, walk for a bit. That was the plan and it seemed to work pretty well for me. I got to the final, very short but steep climb and then ran the remaining half mile or so into the finish and was thoroughly psyched!

I had no idea where Bob was at this point and went to the car to change out of my grubby clothes and then, about a half an hour later, heard his name called. Awesome. He finished up strong and then we kicked it for awhile - eating, talking with other racers, etc. We had to get the truck jumped because the little fridge I left on killed the battery but were able to find someone who could help out quickly, then were on our way back home.

Lindsay met us in Frisco where we were lectured on the benefits of stretching for several minutes by some goofball at the gas station then made it back to my place relatively quickly where Bob grabbed his car and jetted home.

Aftermath:
Overall, I think I did things fairly well before and during the race. I do wish I had carried some Ibuprofen during the event and somehow managed to get some serious chaffing in my upper thigh area. I think I forgot to use Glide at the turn-around which, Ladies and Gentlemen, is a bad thing to forget. The only other biggie is the blister on my right, outer heel which really isn't that big of a deal. I am definitely sore today but am getting around A LOT better than after the 100 last year. My feet aren't nearly as beaten up, for sure.

One other interesting development was that I drank about 2 bottles of water between every aid station and was peeing quite a lot until about 9 miles in. After that, nada. I didn't pee again until I got home at about 7:30 so that was a bit disconcerting. Everything is working again now and I am not sure what to do differently. I was drinking like normal, really... just was sweating most of it out, I guess. Rach confirmed this when I got home by noting that Austrians had set up operations and had formed a salt mining union in the vicinity of my lower, right eyelid. I was also being followed by a rather large herd of deer.

So that's it for the 2008 Silver Rush. I beat all my goals, finished in the top third overall, and am very, very happy that I decided to give it a shot.

~stubert.

Sleepy...

I am a wee bit tired so look for a full race report tomorrow (Monday
the 21st).

~stubert.

~:~:~:~:~:~
via mobile

Buh-oing!

10:31:15 46th place. Needless to say, I am frigging PSYCHED!

Bob broke 11 hours. What a champ.

7 something won the gig. Amazing.

Full report to come.

~:~:~:~:~:~
via mobile

Getting ready to run...

It's about that time. ~40 degrees. Slightly overcast. Should be a good
day for a long run.

More when I'm done.

~:~:~:~:~:~
via mobile

Turquoise Lake...

Pre- race run...

Just did a short, 30- minute run on the banks of Turquoise Lake. Warm
day but gorgeous nonetheless. Prepping for an early dinner then early
to bed since we need to be put of here around 5:15 tomorrow morning.

Will keep you posted when able.

~stubert.

~:~:~:~:~:~
via mobile

Heading up...

The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. ~ Hunter S. Thompson

Bob is swinging by around 10 and then we are heading up the hill to Leadville. We have to pick up our race packs by 2 (I find this to be annoying, at best) and then are going to find a place to camp for the night. We'll probably do a short run, take a dip in the lake or sit in one of the area's 38 degree creeks, grab some grub and then get our sleep on prior to tomorrow's big event.

The course is a 25-mile out and back along double-track historic mining roads to the east of Leadville. Overall altitude gain of about 7800'. All at 10,000+ elevation. Good times. Last year, I did the first 50 of the Leadville 100 course in about 12:30 (similar elevation gain over that distance) so I am thinking I should be able to get this done in 12 and may push for 10 if I am feeling well. My main goal is to finish, however.

I won't be posting during the event but will keep you updated here or on my Twitter account when I am able. Check in and keep track of the progress.

~stubert.

Wish I'd written it...

But my fellow Americans, whatever your political beliefs, I ask you: If we can’t come together over a cute fucking robot, what chance do we have? ~ Sean O'Neal

You may have caught my WALL-E rant the other day. This guy did a much better job of detailing the idiocy of some of the arguments being made about the film. Read it.

~stubert.

Pulled the trigger...

I'm not like them
But I can pretend
The sun is gone,
But I have a light
The day is done,
I'm having fun
I think I'm dumb
Or maybe just happy ~ Kurt Cobain

Signed up for the Leadville Silver Rush 50-mile run. So I guess it is time to get in one more long run and then taper.

You'll know where to find me on the 20th.

~stubert.

On a lighter note...

Progress, of the best kind, is comparatively slow. Great results cannot be achieved at once; and we must be satisfied to advance in life as we walk, step by step. ~ Samuel Smiles

Bob and I ran the Ned Mega Loop on Wednesday and I felt pretty spectacular. Definitely feeling the miles toward the end of the day but overall ran well. ~4 1/2 hours, 23.5 miles or so (the GPS turned off at one point so that is an estimate).

Geek out on the data, if you feel like it.

~stubert.

Did you watch the movie?

World Ocean impact map courtesy of Nature.com

Out there is our home. Home AUTO, and it's in trouble. I can't just sit here and do nothing. That's all I've ever done! That's all anyone has ever done on this blasted ship. ~ Captain

So there has been a lot of backlash from certain groups surrounding the magnificent film, WALL-E. Apparently, many of these people paid their $9.50 (or whatever movies in their area cost these days), bought their $6 tub of corn and $5 soda, selected their favorite place to sit and completely forgot to watch the moving pictures being projected on the massive screen in front of them.

Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD.

Now I can understand that some of these groups have misguided ideological mindsets that prevent them from rational thought regarding such notions as human impact on global resources, environment, etc. (c'mon, guys... if you have ever looked at a landfill, or say, Los Angeles, it is pretty obvious we are making our mark upon the planet) but the latest group to take offense at the message contained in WALL-E apparently, consists of the overweight. Gawker has a summary.

So this community of fitness-challenged individuals claims that Pixar has made a film that demonizes the community as a whole for being slovenly and contributing to the demise of the planet. So much so that humans are forced to leave earth and send down cleaner robots (WALL-E units) to help tidy things up so that stuff can actually grow and thrive on the surface once more.

Here is where I start to take offense with their criticism as the film make it abundantly clear using several very obvious and specific examples that the largeness humans have attained in space HAPPENED IN SPACE, not on the earth as these groups maintain in their complaints. Sure, Pixar is trying to demonstrate that our current love affair with throw-away products and super-sized, fat-laden "meals" has contributed directly to the state of the planet in which it has become uninhabitable but by no means have they stated that the morbidly obese are solely (or even at all) to blame.

Example number 1: The evolution of the Captain - In one scene, the ship's captain looks back at headshots of all his predecessors and realizes that they get progressively more obese as time progresses (started out slim, got fat while in space, get it?)

Example number 2: Fred Willard, not so chubby - Now I am not going to say that Fred Willard is the poster child for fitness but any person with functioning eyeballs can see that he is not obese and according to the movie, he was running the show when humans finally had to abandon (earth)ship. So therefore, one can surmise that there were still some skinny people in charge when the proverbial shit hit the fan.

Example number 3: The back-to-earth instruction manual - This document clearly states (and is backed up by known science) that the humans' bones may have atrophied during their extended sodjurn in space and this may contribute to their no longer being able to walk in a normal-gravity situation. This would lead us to the fairly obvious conclusion that they got this way while in space instead of pre-departure.

Yes, the characters are all slovenly, and obese, and more interested in television than what is going on around them, and seemingly addicted to Super Big Gulp servings of liquid meals but they redeem themselves and all seem more interested in living (a much more difficult) life on earth than being waited on hand and foot in outer-space. The message of the movie is to wake up, get off the couch and find your fucking dog. (Actually, it is to stop spending all your time in front of the boob tube, stop being wasteful and become a steward of the planet instead of a slave to consumerism. Stop buying plastic shit and oversized meals being foisted upon you by big-box, mega-mall shopping centers and fast food joints.) The larger of the human species are not to blame per se but we may all end up floating around on motorized couches and eating our meals through a straw if we don't get off our asses and do something about the exponentially escallating impact we are creating on our natural resources.

</rant>

~stubert.

Great way to spend the 4th...

Fourth of July Crüe: Ben, Megan, Evelyn, Luke, Caleb

Good times, good times. ~ Jerri Blank

What better way to spend a sunny 4th of July than skiing in the Indian Peaks? Beats what most of the U.S. does (whacking down parasite dogs, drinking shitty beer and blowing stuff up). At least that's my take on it.

Now I am never one to say that getting up at 3:00 is a good idea but that is what happened this morning. Ben, Caleb, Evelyn, Luke, Megan and I met at the Long Lake trail head at 4:30 to begin our most excellent assault on Apache Peak.

We jammed up the trail and quickly found ourselves reaching Lake Isabelle with the morning sun illuminating the Indian Peaks in the distance. Just a gorgeous morning altogether. Warm, sunny, quiet. Perfect.

The adventure started soon thereafter with Ben, Luke and I bushwhacking around the south side of the lake to access an "ice berg" that appeared to be attached to the southwest side of the lake. Once we got there, we realized that the berg was not, in fact attached, but was about 3 feet away from the bank. Some campers informed us that the previous night, it had been attached to the northwest side of the lake and had drifted overnight to its current location.

Luke went first, then Ben. When I took off from the shore, a foot-wide portion of the remaining snow and ice on broke off and another foot broke off the berg when I landed. Fortunately, I didn't get too wet. Pretty funny, actually.

We traversed the full length of the berg (~1/8-1/4 mile long) and then Ben wiggled out to the end to get the full effect. We leaped back across (I broke off another chunk on the berg side, Luke broke off a big chunk on the shore leaving Ben with a massive jump back across) and headed back to the trail to continue our approach to Apache.

By this time, the snow fields were really softening up and we quickly caught up with Caleb, Evelyn and Megan then started our journey up the couloir. Luke and Ben led the way, bootpacking up to the top. Megan relaxed at the bottom as we made our way through the portage (100 steps at a time - thanks, Caleb!) and finally we were atop Apache. We hung out for a bit then took turns skiing great conditions back down. Tons of fun. This isn't a terribly steep pitch and the consequences are not great if one were to fall so that made it a fairly mellow ski out. Good times.

We hooked back up with Megan, then began our trudge back out to the cars. By the time we made it back to Isabelle, the ice berg had moved east quite a bit. No way one could get there from our previous position. Luke and Ben hatched a plan to access it once more from the northeast but the rest of us headed back down the trail (assuming they would either a) figure out it wouldn't go, b) figure out they were going to have to get really wet to make it go, c) get wet or stranded trying to get on the damned thing). Turns out they used another, smaller berg as a raft and pushed off from the edge of the lake to get on the main berg. Then their raft floated away and so they somehow got a second one broken loose and navigated back to shore. Ha!

The rest of us hung out at the cars until Luke and Ben finally showed. All in all, it was an awesome day, with a great group of friends.

Here are links to photo albums:

• Ben
• Caleb
• Evelyn
• Luke
• Stu
  

Then I came home and took a nap with my sweet, sweet Rach.

Who could ask for more?

~stubert.

We're number one...

Now, I know he looks like a fat fucker... well, he is a fat fucker... ~ Turkish

And in related news, Colorado is officially the leanest state with only an 18.4% obesity rate. Mississippi rounds out the bottom of the list with nearly a third of its residents classified as obese.

Click image for fatter view.

I am not sure that 18.4 is a number to be proud of but I suppose I'll take it.

Thursday already...

Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts. ~ Jim Morrison

Went for a long slog on Sunday that turned into a bit of a death march. My original plan was to spin about 15 miles around Golden Gate but then I started trying to figure out where I would be able to get water during the journey and decided to just go for the mega loop.

I headed out around 8, planning to be home by noon but when it was all said and done, I had ticked off nearly 22 miles and had been out for just under 5 hours. Miles 13-18 were brutal (about 1700 feet of climbing in the heat of the day with little tree coverage). Overall though, it was a good run. Just not too pretty.

The next day I was very excited that I was only really sore from what I would consider impact stress (hips, feet a little). My legs felt fine. Sweet! I went back out on Tuesday and did some interval training around the neighborhood. After warming up for a couple of miles, I started in on 1x1 intervals and did 10 of these. Man, interval training is grim. After I got done with those, I waited until I got my heart rate back down and then ran at 80%+ for 15 minutes for a total run of about 1:15. Good stuff.

Wednesday got away from me and Rach and I are planning to go see Wall-E today so we'll see what happens on the training front. I am going to postpone my Leadville decision until I can get to the point where I feel confident that I can finish without thoroughly destroying myself so that will have to wait until I log a solid, 20+ run without feeling like I might die.

Skiing tomorrow with the usual Crüe. Should be fun.

~stubert.