on top of colorado

stoked to be at the summit... higher than Rainier!

Growing up with views of Mt. Rainier (when it wasn't cloudy...) I was always in awe of the fact that people climbed to the 14,411 ft. peak (it looks especially huge from sea-level). Today I hiked my first 14er, Mt. Elbert, and had the chance to stand on top of Colorado (it's the highest peak in the state and 2nd highest in the lower 48 states) at 14,433 ft... even higher than Rainier!

We woke up at 4:30am and drove to the trailhead just southwest of Leadville. We set-off amidst some morning cloud cover just before 7am. We climbed switch-backs and long steeper-grade stuff in the trees for about 2 hours before hitting the tree line. The climb was tough (still a little sore from the 10k) but definitely doable with breaks and water. As we hiked we passed two separate men (guestimating they were in their 50s) who were trail running... that's not a typo... the mountain. Nothing like seeing 2 dudes 20+ years older than you running the trail you're working hard to climb!

The section above the tree line had a bunch of scree and was pretty exposed to the wind (luckily the clouds had disappeared though) which made the climb sluggish. I'd count my steps (50-60) before giving my legs a short stop and taking off again. Aside from the legs and gluts getting tired quicker than normal I didn't feel much more of an altitude effect (no shortness of breath, air didn't seem super thin, but living and playing at 8,000 ft. definitely helps with that!). With the super warm temps we'd been having the past 5 days (mid80s+) there wasn't too much snow up there and a green lake had formed in the bowl. Nearing the top my stops became a little more frequent but it was actually pretty nice because the views were ridiculous- you could see for hundreds of miles across the top of the Rockies! (note: this hike was not technical- no crampons, harnesses, rope, etc)

Around 11am we arrived at the windy summit (it sounds more hardcore than top or peak :) ). We hung out there for a while eating, taking pictures and dancing/playing harmonica (guess which one I was doing? :) ) before heading back down in the afternoon sun. We all ended up getting a lot of sun (note, always wear a lot of sunscreen at 10,000+ feet) and arrived back at the car exhausted and starving. We stopped in Leadville at the Silver Dollar Saloon for food and beer and as a bonus got to see a few classic small-town bar shenanigans.

My photos

You can get more info (including topo maps and pictures) on Mt. Elbert by clicking here

teva mountain games 10k

course map... note the elevation chart!

Isn't it awesome how endorphins make even the most brutal of physical challenges seem like the best thing ever?! I love endorphins... I think it's safe to say I'm addicted.

Seriously, the only way you could have been ready for this race was if you ran straight up and down mountains at 8,500+ feet every day. So it was nice to see that the incremental benefit of practical additional training would've meant only an extra few minutes.

Since I had no real clue what to expect I wasn't sure how to ration my energy and just kind of ran the way I normally would. We hit a short steep climb about 5mins into the race and there was literally a single-file line walking up it. I thought that was a bit ridiculous and ran up the face next to the line... rookie mistake! After that steep face was a long slow incline and I was pretty much dead from running up the face and most people I passed on the face passed me on that next stretch. The middle of my race was pretty strong... and by strong I ran steadily on the flat/down hill areas and survived the steep hikes (grown, fit men were stopping on them!). I felt really, really good the last mile and a half (not good as in fresh, my legs were wasted, but good as in tired but still pushing and going at a good clip) and was able to finish looking pretty strong.

Overall winner's time: 45m48s

Me: 1h23m33s (raw time, so probably subtract another 45s for the time it took me to get to the start line)

Lessons:

- I learned how to run quickly down hill!!! I realized I was previously standing up too straight which wasn't letting me use my momentum (making me slower and more tired). I got my butt lower, almost like I was skiing, and that made a world of difference. All of a sudden I was flying down hill while expending much less effort, not having as much impact on the knees and not slipping on the dirt/rocks as much. Yay for skiing!

- I need to get better at pacing myself section by section. I got better as the race went on but I need to learn to be more efficient in each section of the race. Unlike the flatter races you can't expect to pace evenly, you need to adjust to each section and run/hike optimally so you're not over-expending energy on some of the uphills and not under-expending on the downhills.

Taking a day-off to recover today but can't wait to get back on the trails tomorrow!

what on earth did i sign up for?!

I saw the trail map for the race tomorrow..... ummmm... yeah. The elevation chart looks like a silhouette of the Alps!

"This course will truly test your fitness with its constant elevation changes and mountainous terrain. No matter how hard you train, this remains one of the most challenging 10k races in the nation."

It sounds like I'm signed up for the MIT of 10k trail running... and I feel pretty much the same way I felt as I did showing up at MIT :) I have no clue what to expect except for relentless toughness. I know everyone else is probably more qualified to be there than I am. I'm determined to do well enough that people actually think I'm supposed to be there... while having good time. And, I'm curious and excited to see how I end up doing!

Goal: to finish and feel like I put up a good fight

Wishful thinking: finish with a respectable time (I don't even know what that is for this type of thing!)

this is why i live in vail

I was able to bike the entire way up the initial steeps of the Stone Creek loop (see a few posts before for topo map)! (maybe it was the fact I hydrated with a Coors original an hour before...)

This morning I was up with the sun (and I was excited about it) to volunteer at the Teva Mountain Games. I spent the morning helping out at the VIP tent before chilling in the sun watching the Bouldering World Cup. The boulder-ers are insane! These dudes/chicks were upside-down, legs-over-arms and, at times, full-on leaping and grabbing onto holds. I was in awe of their spidy skills and was addicted to watching them tackle each 'problem' in different ways by mixing strength, flexibility and strategery.

At various points throughout the day I ran into friends I hadn't seen since ski season ended. It's funny, we're not used to seeing each other out of ski clothes so we almost don't recognize each other. You wouldn't think it's that different, but it really is especially since you're no longer wearing your winter work uniform (i.e. ski school and ski patrol unis) and you generally only have one or two ski outfits. So really, you're used to seeing the same people in the same thing every day and now... SKIN. You're seeing (nice) legs... (nice) arms... (funky, ski boot) feet... it's pretty funny realizing how little you really knew what a person looked like :)

After the Teva Games... and my hydrating beverage w/ peeps... I hopped on my mountain bike and did the Stone Creek loop plus about 4 more miles on the flat road just before the sun set. I was pumped. It was a really good ride. I'm getting used to my bike; getting overall better control and being able to go a lot faster than when I started. I'm loving mountain biking and can't wait to get on more trails.

P.S. I got a Black Diamond koozie today all because I asked the dude reping it at the Black Diamond tent nicely :) They weren't actually giving them away so that made me more pumped about it since no one else will have one! I've been on the hunt for a sweet and unique koozie for some time now (You need a koozie in the summer otherwise your beverage of choice gets warm. Not something I'm used to but I definitely embrace it!) so I'm pumped and wanted to share :) Good story, huh?! :)

arches

Moab, UT- It only takes about 4 hours to get to Moab from Vail (how sweet is that?!) so Will, Dave and I took a quick trip to visit Arches National Park. We got really lucky and were able to find a campsite pretty quickly. Will, NOLS backpacker extraordinaire, managed to forget his tent so we all slept snugly in my 2-man (thanks Kentucky Deluxe!). It was a pretty warm and clear night so we got to stare up at the Big Dipper while we fell asleep.

We got up at 5am and miraculously were on the road to Arches by 5:15 (the beauty of car camping- just throw it in the car!). We got to Arches just as the sun was rising and managed to check out a few of the Panorama arches before the army of vest-clad photographers arrived at 8. We whipped out the camp stove and preped our breakfast burritos right there in the parking lot while watching a strange variety of people make their way to the arches (a family who spent 10mins putting on make-up before getting out of the car, a suped-up Jeep w/ infants in the back, German dude with leather jacket... ummm... it's the desert!).

After breakfast we did the Devils Garden loop (7.8mi hike) and saw another 5ish big arches, a few tiny ones and every type of desert scenery you can think of including: [insert pause for dramatic effect] the Dark Angel. The Dark Angel is by far the most inappropriately innuendo-named geological feature, trail, ski run, etc. I've ever heard of. We were thinking it'd be an arch that's a dark rust color and maybe the bases would resemble angel's wings... NOPE! Check out 'Dark Angel' below... ummm... yeah... Is it because the local community is so innocent they had no idea the giggles people would have?

We managed to scramble up to the top of an arch or two but overall the slick rock (and 90+degree temps) prevented us from getting overly adventurous. We finished up thirstier, hungrier (bag of chicken!) and much darker than we started. After sitting in the shade with a beer at Eddie McStiff's (their business card is basically a picture of the Dark Angel...) we headed back to Vail.

Click here for more picts!

The Dark Angel...