Exploration, discovery...

Whoot, there it is. ~ 95 South

There are many things to appreciate about levering oneself off the couch to go out for a run and I was reminded of one this evening when I braved the elements for a fun trot around the neighborhood trails. Snow started coming down as I pulled on my trainers, grabbed a hat and headed out the door. By the time I reached the woods, it was pounding. And windy. And awesome.

I kept a nice, mellow pace and made my way down familiar singletrack, already dusted with fresh, heavy flakes. Getting out, no matter what the conditions, has become a favorite pastime and I have grown to really enjoy traveling familiar byways in anything nature throws my way. (Check with me again in a few months when it is like, 3° out.)

As I approached my final descent back to dirt roads and the asphalt ribbon of the Peak to Peak, I glanced to my right to discover a new trail - one which I have passed without noticing at least 50 times. The conditions were just right so the snow coverage made this new trail stand out from the pine-needle-covered ground. Otherwise, I would have missed it.

This deviation was not part of my agenda but I had to see where this new trail would take me. I knew it couldn't lead me too far astray and had to intersect with familiar territory fairly quickly given the area in which I was running. After running along for a few minutes, enjoying the undulations and twists of the route, I ran into a mountain biker heading the other direction.

The other funny thing about getting out in all sorts of weather is that when you do meet up with other adventurers, they are always just as happy about being out in the conditions as you. "Great weather for it, huh?" said Señor Mountain Bike. "Indeed," I concurred. We chatted briefly and I introduced myself. Now, I'll call this trail "Dan the Man" in his honor. I'm sure it has many other names but that's how I'll refer to it... in my own mind, at least.

So not only did I get in a run but I experienced some rather inclement weather and, in fact DUE to that weather, I found a new trail among those which I have been running for years. That, to me, is bliss.

~stubert.

The wind, it blows...

This speech is my recital. I think it's very vital. To rock a rhyme that's right on time, It's tricky is the title. Here we go. ~ Run. D.M.C.

If you close your eyes, take a deeeeep breath and relax, you can practically see all the awesome shots I have taken over the past few days of skiing and running. Just picture the most amazing photo and video ever produced, then up that by 23% and you'll be in the ballpark. Unfortunately, this is the best I can do for you at this point, since I donated my camera to the Brainard Lake wilderness on Sunday afternoon.

Yes, I have been busy training. Even did a 15-miler on Friday in the Boulder drizzle. Luke and I went out Sunday afternoon in gale-force winds to hit up the north-facing chutes on Niwot Ridge. Did I mention the gale-force winds? Yeah. We dropped down D2 (funky snow but fun) then jammed back to the RockShot pitch in the Rabbit Cages. Really funky snow in there. Wet slab conditions prevailed. At some point between the bottom of D2 and the parking lot I lost my faithful camera. The shots on it are award-winning.*

*Proclaimations of awesomeness are contingent upon the discovery of said camera at which point the author can not be held responsible for any lack of photographic awesomeness. But until the camera is found, the author is sticking to his story that the author composed and captured the best images ever created in the history of digital (or non-digital) photography.

Tuesday, I ran 8 miles north of Boulder. Seems the theme for the week is huge headwinds that suddenly die once they become tail winds. I put in the time on Foothills Trail then transitioned over to the trail system west of the Res. Didn't feel great but after Sunday's 6-hour trudge and a short, recovery run on Monday, that was to be expected. Stus and heat still don't mix.

Luke and I headed back out this morning to an abandoned attempt to ski one of the couloirs off of Audubon. Today's wind made Sunday look like a crappy Nichole Kidman/Billy Zane movie. The weather station at D1 said 80mph gusts and I believe it. It took us an hour to get up to Brainard where we decided that we just weren't into getting blasted off the Audubon ridge and headed back over to the Cages. Dropped RockShot modified (hit the really steep drop in) but conditions were like Cold Medina with a slippery top layer of relatively fresh on top of a weird crust layer with slush underneath. Tricky.

As I said, it is good to be out there regardless of the munkiness of the skiing and bead-blaster conditions. Figuring out the rest of the week but I suspect it will be more of the same. Good times.

~stubert.

Still life with Canada Crüe and thumb: Me, Luke, Pete, Seth, thumb

We need to form a full assault, it's Canada's fault! ~ The Residents of South Park

Tomorrow I head up to the Great White North for a fun-filled week of skiing and trying to avoid back bacon. Luke, Pete, Seth and I are staying in Canmore (outside of Calgary) and have plans to ski around the Banff area. We are hoping to get in some days at Lake Louise as well as Kicking Horse and other highlights of the Canadian Rockies. Should be pretty kickass.

I managed to get in a few more days this week but stayed away from running despite the unbearably warm temps. This week featured several 70° days in the Denver/Boulder area which is, frankly, stupid. It did snow today (finally) so that should help things a bit. I am not a big fan of this kind of crazy heat in January. I skied at Eldora on Saturday with the Canada Crüe and then at Eldora with Pete and Edy on Sunday. Both days I was virtually pain-free, which was a treat. My abs/psoas muscles were bugging me a bit again on Monday and I visited Dr. Dave on Tuesday to see if he could work some more magic but alas, it was not to be and I am once again feeling it. Oh well.

Wednesday, I headed up to Eldora to spin some Lost Lake laps with Larry. How alliterative. It was 40° at 7:45 when I got up there which didn't bode well for the snow conditions but the gut of Right Chute was actually quite tasty for not having had any fresh for a week. Larry and I did a couple laps then both headed back to the real world and work. It was great to get out and it really made me look forward to next week even more. Gotta love exploring.

So I hope to keep everyone posted during the trip and will let you know how things are going. Rach is currently baking a bunch of cookies for us to mack on and I am pretty much packed up and ready to go. Next stop, Pete's house in Boulder to pick him up at 5:00 then we get our flyin' on and will be in Canada by 11:00 or so.

Stay tuned...

~stubert.

Bring it...

Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow. ~ Sammy Chan and Jule Styne

Current temp: 25.7 degrees
Visibility: 100 meters and falling

This could be the day snow finally falls at the Casa.

~stubert.

[Edit] I spoke too soon. Typical Colorado style, it is now bluebird out. Less than an hour later. Gotta love it.

The wind, it blows...

Bear Peak (in winter)

And this time, no tears. ~ Tobias Fünke

New format for you format luvvers:

Yesterday: Run - Cirque de Bear Peak, ~15 miles, 3 hours 15 minutes
Today: Ride - Casa del Critters (maybe), ~1 hour
Tomorrow: Run - Golden Gate Canyon State Park, 2 hours

Yesterday's run went fairly well. The wind in the foothills was nothing short of incredible. Gusts up to 90 mph and not a warm breeze to say the least. Luke, Bob and I headed out of Eldorado Springs about 6:00 and ran through the park for awhile to Eldorado Springs Trail (or something like that). Then up we went to a beautiful rolling trail that overlooked the canyon. This dropped down to Walker Ranch where we proceeded to take an unmapped road, bushwhack back to the planned road and drop down into Bear Canyon on the front side of the Flatirons.

I felt okay for the most part though Luke was really pushing the pace. We were chasing the sunlight a bit so it was good that he kept us moving at a steady clip though my heartrate was not where I wanted it to be. I think the combo of taking a couple of weeks off and allergy season have my system a little taxed. I seemed to feel better the longer we ran with the exception of very tight hamstrings and calves - probably holdovers from my hard effort on Tuesday.

We jammed down Bear and I managed to keep up with Luke pretty well which, if you haven't guessed already, is a tough chore. He just flies downhill and try as I might, I still haven't been able to keep up the whole way down Bear ever. I turned my ankle pretty well at one point but it seems to be okay, just a little sore today. My tendonitis issue seems to be behind me as I had no problems and no residual effects this morning. That is great news.

We ran South along Mesa Trail in the fading light, wary of bears and big kitties but saw none. The last mile and a half or so was on a severely overgrown trail that would have been tough to run in daylight, much less in the conditions we were experiencing post sundown. We made it back to the Eldorado Springs Pool at about 9:15. We dropped Bob back at his house and Luke and Nichole treated me to a hot shower, warm tea and yummy PB & strawberries on Bible bread. Good stuff.

The trees in Boulder took the brunt of this wind storm with several large branches and trees toppled in the road as I drove home. The weather this year has been nutty. We typically experience high winds on occasion but nothing like what we have experienced over the course of the last 6 months. Not sure what is going on but I worry about the effect of these climate changes on the flora and fauna. It is one thing to have marked change occur over the course of one's lifetime but for these changes to be coming so quickly it a bit unnerving.

And I leave you with a poem written by Marge Piercy sent to me by Pete:

What can they do
to you? Whatever they want.
They can set you up, they can
bust you, they can break
your fingers, they can
burn your brain with electricity,
blur you with drugs till you
can t walk, can’t remember, they can
take your child, wall up
your lover. They can do anything
you can’t blame them
from doing. How can you stop
them? Alone, you can fight,
you can refuse, you can
take what revenge you can
but they roll over you.

But two people fighting
back to back can cut through
a mob, a snake-dancing file
can break a cordon, an army
can meet an army.

Two people can keep each other
sane, can give support, conviction,
love, massage, hope, sex.
Three people are a delegation,
a committee, a wedge. With four
you can play bridge and start
an organization. With six
you can rent a whole house,
eat pie for dinner with no
seconds, and hold a fundraising party.
A dozen make a demonstration.
A hundred fill a hall.
A thousand have solidarity and your own newsletter;
ten thousand, power and your own paper;
a hundred thousand, your own media;
ten million, your own country.

It goes on one at a time,
it starts when you care
to act, it starts when you do
it again after they said no,
it starts when you say We
and know who you mean, and each
day you mean one more.

See you out there.

~stubert