The darkness...

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. ~ Albus Dumbledore

Yesterday: Night run - West Mag, 1.25 hours
Today: Hike - Neighborhood, 30 minutes
Tomorrow: Singlespeed ride - 1 hour

Feeling fit and coming down to the final days of preparation for the big event. Last night's run was a blast. Bob and Brad were kind enough to come up the hill to join me for the nighttime woods adventure. We didn't die once.

We started on the far west end of Magnolia and basically ran the Habitrail backwards. There were a few people out violating the fire ban but what else is new? Once, during a particularly evil drought, a friend and I were riding in the west Mag area only to come across some dumbass with TWO fires burning in the middle of the day. Sometimes I am surprised we have lasted this long. In any event, just because you are "camping" does not mean you must burn every item made of wood within a stone's throw of your tent. But I digress...

I am now just getting final preparations set. I think I have everything I need aside from food and whatnot. Just need to organize, pack it up in a nice way so that Megan and Nichole won't hate me and jam up the hill to the event. It sounds like most of the Crüe is going to head to Leadville next Friday so we should be able to take the afternoon to get everything together. Good stuff.

~stubert.

Blogger doesn't like the iPhone...

Would you like to touch my monkey? ~ Dieter

Yesterday: Singlespeed ride - Casa del Critters, 1.5 hours
Today: Night run - West Mag trails, 1.5 hours
Tomorrow: Ride - Ned trails, 1.5 hours

So the iPhone and Blogger don't play well. Interesting. I am guessing a fix for this has to be in the works but for now, no mobile blogging from my phone. Which is actually probably a blessing.

So 10 days out (or so) and I am feeling great. Getting a little antsy to start but really just feeling excited. I go to sleep most nights visualizing the course (rarely make it past Fish Hatchery before I drift off and have to start over). The Crüe is all jazzed. We are full steam ahead.

Last night I went for a glorious post-rain singlespeed ride. Just dinked around the forest and explored some trails in the area on which I had not ridden for quite some time. I didn't feel as well as the previous day's adventure but I had just whacked down another amazing meal and was a bit stuffed. I really am enjoying the one-speeder... looking forward to exploring some more this fall post-race.

Tonight (in about a half an hour), I am meeting Bob and Brad for a night run in Ned. I am really itching to run at this point which I can't imagine being a bad thing. Better to go into a hundred-miler excited to run than sick of it. At least that is the theory on which I am working.

We got the new Simpsons DVD set today and are rocking that as we speak. Season 10 was the last for which we actually had tapes so we'll be entering new territory once season 11 comes out. Good stuff.

Movie review: At some point I saw the trailer for Alpha Dog and I guess it looked not bad enough to warrant a peek. Though it wasn't awful, it definitely wasn't great. It was watchable for the most part but I wouldn't recommend rushing out to rent it or anything. So there you have a mediocre review to match.

Gotta get my stuff together.

See you out there.

~stubert.

Twofer...

Oh, why does everything I whip leave me? ~ Homer Simpson

Friday: Night Run - Neighborhood, 30 minutes
Yesterday: Singlespeed Ride - Casa del Critters, 1 hour 30 mintues
Today: Ride - Ned area?, 2 hours
Tomorrow: Off

Ladies and gentlemen... we have broken the 2-week barrier. Despite my recent setbacks, I am feeling strong. Tested the shin on Friday night and it felt great (though, a 30-minute run is really not a hardcore test). I'll take anything I can get at this point.

I am feeling strong. Tonight's singlespeed ride was a blast and I hammered up hills that previously I had to push. I went to the chiropractor on Friday and he gave me the thumbs up to start testing out the leg so away I go.

It is pouring down rain here right now (Saturday night post... delayed push due to internet outage) and in two weeks I'll be approaching Half Moon, roughly 70 miles into the race. Hoping the weather is different then but I plan to move forward whatever gets thrown at me. That is how this past year has been. Roll with the punches and come back swingin'.

I'll be staying fairly active over the next couple of weeks but with shorter durations and levels of intensity. I had planned to do one more super-long effort but this week was a bitch work-wise. Brad, my first pacer, would like to go up and do Hope Pass so I may go do that one day this week but that would be the toughest effort I would toss in the mix for the remainder of the time until the race. Have to consult my experts on that one.

Movies: We went to see The Simpsons on Friday and it was a lot of fun. Very funny. I wouldn't necessarily say it was the best movie I have seen but it was certainly a great adaptation from the TV show and it kept things fresh after 20-years of laughs. The team that puts that show together is incredibly talented and I was happy to hear earlier this year that they are planning to bring back Futurama. Great news.

I also watched Lucky Number Slevin. This film started out a bit slowly but then actually became fairly interesting. I had pretty low expectations and, though no masterpiece, was entertained. It had a bit of a Boondock Saints kind of vibe - some decent writing and an ok idea but just not quite as polished as it might have been. Probably worth the watch though.

Ok. My shoes are getting soaked so I guess I'll be back on the singlespeed tomorrow. Give a shout if you want to join in the fun and/or games.

~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.

Big shoes...

Rub some dirt on it and get back in there. ~ Coach Sanders

Yesterday's run was interesting. I definitely learned a few things:

• Running in headwinds and rain takes it out of you
• Sticky mud = very big shoes (I knew this already but it was reinforced nicely last night)
• I need a new jacket - preferably one with a hood
  
• I need to practice running at night - MUCH slower than in the daytime
• I have a great crew

So after a few stumbles, Luke and I finally started running at 5:00. The first few miles were on pavement/bike paths and went quickly. Easy 10-minute pace. We ran on trails here as much as possible but had to spend a bit of time on the hard stuff, which is not really what either of us enjoy. Once we hit dirt, the wind kicked up and it started to rain. This would be the standard off and on for the remainder of our run.

Pete tried to hook up with us out by Boulder Res but we somehow missed him and just kept rolling. We had to walk anything remotely steep as the trails out this way are mostly clay and were pretty slick. We were getting tired from having Gene Simmons shoes and I was trying to stave off the fatigue by pounding yummy humus burritos Rage made.

Several miles later, after running down the Sanitas Valley Trail, we looked up ahead to see our favorite black-haired crew member trotting down the trail towards us. Brad had braved the crummy weather to come join us for a brief section of the run. We shuffled into Eben G. Fine Park and met up with Nichole and Pete just before dusk, roughly 30 minutes off pace but still feeling okay.

Nichole, Pete and Brad practiced crewing (Brad holds a mean apple if you are ever in the need of those services). After a quick shoe change, some dry clothes and refilling our food and water stocks, we were off into the night to run up the first part of Flagstaff on our way to the Mesa trail. This is where things started to fall apart a bit.

I could tell that Luke was not feeling particularly well on the climb up Flag. Usually he is the one pushing the pace but last night, he was experiencing some knee pain that was holding him back. I wasn't feeling just red hot myself and we decided to take a short break once we got to the Ranger Station. At this point, Luke decided it would be best if he were to call in the cavalry to give his knees a much needed break. I wanted to push on a bit so that I could increase my longest distance and time active and headed out Mesa solo planning to catch the car at NCAR.

I was definitely a bit slower on this section than I had hoped. I also lost my ear buds somehow and, though I searched for several minutes, was unable to locate them in the dark. I must have stepped on them while putting on my jacket or something. So we can add that to the list of needs: New headphones. I finished up at NCAR about 4:45 after starting and estimate my total distance to be ~20 miles. Pete was gracious enough to come pick me up and Luke and Nichole donated a shower. I got home sometime around 11:30 after driving through a pretty good Spring snowstorm to roughly 6 inches on the ground. Spring in the Rockies... gotta love it.

So today, I plan to recuperate - watch some movies, maybe go for a short walk later and let Rage drive the car back and forth over my legs for awhile. Tomorrow I am cleaning cages at The House Rabbit Society in the morning and may do a short run in Boulder in the afternoon or perhaps skin up Eldora for a few turns. Comment if you would like to join me on either or if you have a preference.

~stubert