Second Winter Series Run

January 23, 2010
El Pomar Sports complex
8.12 miles
1:10:58 hours

Second in the Pikes Peak Road Runners' Winter Series and all flat. This was run a tad south of downtown Colorado Springs on a section of the trail that runs all the way from Palmer Lake down to Pueblo. I run the upper and middle portions quite a bit (The Pikes Peak Greenway Trail).

The trail surface was packed dirt, concrete, and asphalt and ran along the Monument Creek I believe, as well as the homeless camps, yikes. However, the CSPD was out and very visible today, thank you!

I told myself to run a smart race. I also knew I had a long run the next day. And, two of my friends were there running with me who I know are faster than me and I didn't want to try and keep up with them! In addition, another friend, Scooter, or Scooticus, was there for the short series. The short series was actually 4 miles - not real short if you ask me.

At the start, I held back and got into a pack. Forgot to mention, it was bloody windy!! I didn't necessarily want to draft off someone, just wanted people to be windbreakers for me for the headwind we faced. This strategy worked very well until about a half mile and we started stretching out a bit as runners. By then, I was warmed up and good to go.

I never looked at my Garmin other than to make sure it was on, so I didn't know my pace. I like this, racing on how I feel versus the watch. I felt great. So great that I probably could have pushed it more but the thought of the turn at mile four kept me in check.

The short distance runners took off 15 minutes ahead of us, so I couldn't wait until I saw them coming back to see where Scooter was in the pack. After a little over a mile, the leaders started streaming past me, way too fast for me! I spotted Scooter and, as he passed, I gave him the tally of runners ahead of him. If I were fast and could race like that, I would really appreciate knowing how many were ahead of me. He looked to be running very easy and not hurting at all. Way to go Scooter!

It was time to get my head back into my own race. Lovely day, sunny, the trail ran along the river or creek, I didn't even notice the homeless shelters too much and back to running! At the 4 mile point, and let me pause here to say how wonderfully this course was marked and manned, we turned around.

This was the point I stopped enjoying the run as just a fun run and picked up the pace. I got the legs turning over more quickly and began setting my sights on the runners ahead of me. This is one tactic that really helps me in a short run. My friend Trudi, who got me into running again, taught me this. I stare down the back of the nearest runner in front of me and will myself to pass them. Some take longer than others but it usually works if I had the strength.

At the 6 mile point, I was still feeling good but getting more tired. I had to keep my head in the race and that's when I began to tell myself, "It's only two miles, you can run two miles!" or "It's less than 20 minutes, you can do anything for 20 minutes." Both work for me.

Less than a mile left, I think, and I spotted a runner in front of me who I thought looked like Tracey. This runner was my next target and it took me awhile to catch her. As I drew up behind her slowly, I realized that it was Tracey. What in the world?! Why am I passing her here? She told me as I passed that she was just beat. (She had a very, very heavy mileage week). After her, I passed John and then one final runner before the finish, I believe.

That finish was hard! I heard Tracey's friends shouting to her so I knew she had drawn up close to me again and I really wanted to keep her from re-passing me! She told me afterwards, she was on my shoulder as we crossed the finish line!

Total passed on the way back: 15; total who passed me: 2. I ran very smart. However, after I looked at my Garmin, I realized that I ran the last four miles over a minute per mile faster than I ran on the way out. So, now I wonder if I should have, could have, run those first four miles faster and maybe came out even better?

At the end, I saw Holly who just looked strong on the way out and back and had a great race. Scooter was already gone; but I looked at his finish and he came in 14th overall! First race in C-Springs for him and what a statement!

My final result was 9th in my age group -- 5th in the series for my age group. Wow. That was a surprise since the first run I was 6th and this run I was 9th. Stay away 40-44 year old ladies! Give this one a chance!!

Santa Fe Trail

January 20, 2010
Santa Fe Trail Monument - Palmer Lake
6.52 miles
1 hour

I think I finally recovered from the weekend~ It took me awhile and I ran Wednesday instead of Tuesday since I did the Falcon Trail on Monday. I sound like Whimpy, "I'd glady pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

The trail was pretty clear and I did not use any traction devises on it. I told myself over four miles. Then at the 2 mile turnaround point, I thought, just a half mile more for 5 total miles after turning around. At that point I stopped. Then I realized, I wasn't breathing hard, running was feeling easier - might as well just go that extra half mile for 6 total.

At the 3 mile point, I looked at my watch and thought, "Shoot! not even 30 minutes yet," so I continued until I had 30 (less than a minute). At that point, I truly did turn around!

On the way back, it is slightly downhill and I knew I was going to have to go past the trailhead for a complete hour, which I did.

Funny how my goals kept shifting and changing today!

It was a really good flat stretch today to stretch my legs and give my arches a break after all the hills I've been running.

Falcon Trail

January 18, 2010
The Falcon Trail
13 miles
2:27 hours

One of the few clear spots on the trail. In the distance is Eagle Peak.

Man, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get out yesterday. I was sore and tired from all the hills I've run in the last two weeks. I told Tracey I was going to run the Santa Fe Trail instead of running with the Incline Club and I just couldn't get motivated. What a bum! The Incline the day before put the icing on the cake for me and my tired body.

So, instead of that, finally, this afternoon, I got out and ran the Falcon Trail. I love this trail for a lot of reasons. It's a loop, not and out and back. It's mostly single track through woods and up and down. It's never up, up, up, and down, down, down; it gives you a variety with it's rolling hills, valleys, doglegs and canyons. Also, it's not used too heavily; however, you usually will meet at least one other person while traversing it.

I was by myself and since I didn't feel like doing a flat 16miles on the Santa Fe alone, I decided to do the Falcon Trail instead. Rick was talking to his mother earlier and I overheard him say, "I told her I would run with her for 3.5 until I realized she meant hours not miles." Yeah, I really wanted to get in over 3 hours today; but the lethargy that crept up on me throughout last week and hit in earnest yesterday, was just too much to overcome.

I parked across from the stadium so I would start up gradually and end relatively flat. I got out and put my micro spikes on. I wasn't sure I would need them and attached a D-ring to the back of my camelback pack just in case. Wow, I sure glad I wore them. I'd say only about 40% of the trail was dry; the rest was slush or slush and ice mix.

I easily jogged the first five miles without stopping and then hit a steeper pitch and power hiked a bit while I got a gel blast out. I eat the gel blasts instead of gus and take one about every 30 minutes. My garmin died on me a mile into the run since I forgot to charge it; however, I've run this trail so much I know what's ahead and where the markers are. Actually this trail is very well marked with new maps at strategic locations throughout the trail. So, instead of every 30 minutes, I took food every 3 miles.

The weather was perfect. I didn't get out until 1:30pm and the afternoon's warmth felt good, as did the slight breeze. despite the trail conditions, I still met 3-5 bikers, around three runners and 2 people on horseback.

At the 10 mile point, I began to run out of steam a bit; however, then it is easy to tell yourself, only three miles left; less than three miles left; and so on. I hit the last mile marker before my car and that was a welcomed sight. Less than a mile left! Less than half a mile!

At the end of my loop, I spotted three bikers. They asked as I came out of the woods if I ran the entire trail. Yes, I did. They had started right before me and they said I finished not too far behind them. As a matter of fact, they were still on their bikes when I pulled in. We exchanged amazement at each other for doing what we each consider impossible or at best, crazy. I cannot imagine taking a mountain bike over parts of what I just ran and they could not believe anyone would be so crazy as to run the entire trail; and in less than 2.5 hours. To be honest, that's not my best time; but for today, given the conditions and how tired I was; it was just fine.

The Bloody Incline

January 16, 2010

The Incline and Barr Trail

5.89 miles

1:24 hours

I'm going to kill F. Truly. "Wanna run the Incline?" was the email sent out Friday night. Sure. Why not? It's not like I'm still so darn tired. Jeff, Mike and I took F up on his offer. To be fair, he gave us the option of Incline or Barr Trail. Well, I'm supposed to run the Barr Trail tomorrow with the Incline Club so Incline it is.

Instead of meeting them at the start of the Incline, I decided to park in Manitou and run up Ruxton to get my legs warmed up and ready. I cut the distance in half from where the Incline Club parks (Memorial Park) on Sundays just to be nice to myself.

Once at the bottom of the Incline, I met F going back to his car for his Yakx. Thank goodness I carried my micro spikes with me. Jeff and Mike had their screw shoes on so finally, all of us were ready for the Incline when F returned.

My best time thus far (only twice before) has been 46 minutes. That was my goal today given the snow and ice on the incline. I hit the start button on my garmin and started my slow slog up. Some military guys started about the same time as I and they bounded up past me. That's okay. About half way up the Incline, I passed the leader of them. After passing a couple of them, I overhead one say to the other, "This is worse than Afghanistan." You betcha.

I tried to keep my pace steady and paused only once to chat with two other hikers who wanted to know how far up to the top.

After reaching the top; I checked my garmin: 44:20. Yess! A new PR on that sucker; and this time, I didn't feel like puking. Probably means I didn't push it hard enough; but I got what I wanted, a better time.

After catching our breath, we headed up the trail to catch the Barr Trail proper. Once on it, the guys were flabbergasted - I was running fast, downhill, on ice! Yup, those micro spikes are a godsend. I actually enjoyed it and never slipped or felt out of control. Of course, with injury constantly in the back of my mind, I didn't open it to full throttle either. I just don't want to do something stupid that slide lines me for six weeks and cramps my training.

Once we hit the bottom, I continued down to my car while the guys peeled off below the Cog Railway for their vehicles. We met for breakfast at La Casita and was treated to a great Mexican breakfast, courtesy of Jeff. I guess it will be my turn next time!

Bear Creek Park

January 14, 2010

Bear Creek Park

9.16 miles

1:45 hours

Whew. Tired Tuesday and still worn out today. Tracey needed 9 miles and I wanted to run with her somewhere I haven't run yet; therefore she took me on my inaugural run of Bear Creek Park. Leave it to Tracey to challenge me over and over. Wow.

You start in the park; however in order to get more distance you leave it and then run up the blinkin' road by Section 16 ... over two miles up that road today.

Today was also the first day I wore the micro spikes Rick gave me for Christmas. I thought they were too heavy duty for what I was running. Oh my goodness! These are manna from heaven! I am normally one of the most fraidy-cat runners when it comes to ice; not today baby! They grip like nobody's business and I was actually running on ice, something I've never done before. They have chains on the bottom with huge gripping spikes for good measure. Man, I'm sold, sold, sold.

At the four mile point of this run, after going up and down (mostly up) in Bear Creek, and then hitting the fire road for continued up, I power hiked the last half mile up. I wanted to get my heart rate pumping. Before, I was in a slow jog that, yes, I could have continued; however, for Leadville, I'm going to need running and power hiking abilities. Therefore, I changed it up a bit.

The downhill is such a welcomed run and today was no exception until we hit Bear Creek again. The agony began again at each hill. I was still tired from the weekend it seemed and just couldn't get all gears functioning like I wanted.

A good, challenging, new run and one that I am sure Tracey will take me on again. Sorry, I didn't stop for pictures today! However, I did pull the top photo off the Internet. This sculpture is at the top of one of the trails we ran. We continued up past it.

Garden of the Gods

January 12, 2010

Garden of the Gods

6.06 miles

1:10 hours

I ran in the Garden of the Gods today (Tuesday) and had a very good out look - It was January in Colorado and I was in a T-shirt and shorts running! However, once I hit the trails around the park, my legs felt like lead. They told me I ran a race Saturday and then 15 plus miles on Sunday. Wow. I haven't been that tired since my November marathon.

Today's run was not pretty despite the beautiful weather and awesome views. I parked at the Visitor's Center outside the park so I was able to chalk up 6 miles; however, the time was not the greatest and included some stops for telephone calls. This is what happens when you are trying to start you own business!

The trails were in pretty good condition overall, I didn't wear my micro spikes and only slipped once on the closed trail section.

Ute Pass/Waldo/Ute Pass

January 10, 2009 / 8:00 am


Sunday's Incline Club Run

15.25 miles

3:17 hours




Today was the first day I've done a long run after a race and I was anxious to see how I would do. After the run yesterday, my left arch, which was tender after Wednesday's run, was tender again. No pain this morning but my legs were definitely a little tired.

Today was also the first day the Incline Club did a Ute Pass, Waldo, Longs Ranch Road combo and Matt Carpenter gave a pep talk to all of us along the lines of Aragon in front of the Black Gates of Mordor. To paraphrase, "Some lowland people are training to take our mountain away; but it is not this day!" Then he galloped away on his stick horse and garbage can shield.



Since I'm on my training plan now, I'm sticking to a pretty tight schedule of what I need for long runs. I based my training last year for my 50-miler on time on feet versus actual mileage since a lot of my training includes hills. It worked for me then therefore, I'm using it again this year.



I ran for 2:45 hours last week and only wanted to bump up my time by about 15-20 minutes so I knew I would not be able to do the whole scheduled run but wanted to do as much as I could today and still make my target times. With that said, up I went up Ruxton with the pack.



At the Cog Railway, the group split into three: those who went up the Barr Trail, those who went up the Incline, and the rest of us who went up Ute Pass. The conditions on this trail have improved significantly in the last four weeks; however, given this is still only January, that will change! I forgot my grippies and Tracey lent me hers before she and Louisa took off toward Garden of the Gods earlier. About a third of the way up the trail, I stopped and put on her Yakx (still not sure of correct spelling!). With those on, Ute Pass was very manageable.



At the "Y," a few runners were milling around; however, since I did not recognize any and I knew what I needed to do, I continued on to the right and headed down Longs Ranch Road toward Waldo Canyon.



The parking lot of Waldo was filled with Search and Rescue vehicles but no sirens were blowing and the trail was not blocked so I went up the stairs to the trailhead. My goal during this run was to make it onto Waldo trail before I started seeing runners coming back from the loop and I did it! Once on the trail, a total of four runners passed me on the way back before I hit the loop.


Waldo Canyon is a great run in the summer; in the winter, it is a little different. There are parts that the sun hits for a short time, warming the snow for a few hours before turning it into a sheet of ice. The loop of Waldo was almost completely covered in ice with a very few exceptions. I hate ice. Truly. I will walk downhill rather than run on it. Waldo Canyon took me a lot longer than I anticipated because of this. However, in one of the few sunny spots about 1/2 way around the loop, I stopped to snap this photo - That's Pike's Peak in the distance. This does not show the trail conditions; but it is a beautiful view.


Finally, after an inordinately long time and playing leap frog with another runner who passed me on the last part of the loop and zoomed down the icy parts whereas I picked my way slowly, I was at the top of the stairs at the trailhead. I looked down to the parking lot and the runner who passed me earlier was crossing the road back to Longs Ranch Road. Great. I'll never catch him now I thought.


At the bottom of the stairs, a couple of search and rescue guys were still there so I quickly asked if they were running training op and they said yes. Have a good day, I threw over my shoulder as I ran down the parking lot toward the crossing of Highway 24.



Once on Longs Ranch, I ate another fig newton - great easy food to carry on a long run - put my gloves back on and began power hiking up the road. I couldn't believe it. I saw the runner not too far ahead of me. I got a second wind with that view and by the time I hit the Ute Pass turn-off, I caught him. Once together, I asked him how far up the road to the first turn off. About an hour he replied as he continued up. I looked at my watch and saw I had already been out for 2:35 hours. It took me 50 minutes to get to this point on the way out so I elected to head back down Ute Pass instead of going up Longs Ranch. I would be where I wanted to be time-wise and in addition, Tracey rode with me and she was only doing 10 miles today so I knew she was already waiting on me.



Ute Pass was no more enjoyable this way than the way out. I have to agree with the others that Ute Pass is not one of my favorite trails; but, oh well, one must run it to get back to Memorial Park. What a long trail with hills both ways no matter how you run it.



After hitting the trailhead and heading down Ruxton, I really felt yesterday's run. I was tired. Once again, one last runner to pass before hitting the park and seeing Tracey waiting with some friends. Even better, there was still food left over when I got there!



After the race, my right ankle was tight and a tad sore so I rubbed some Icy Hot on it and hope that it is nothing serious. It feels tight as I write this so I will take it easy tomorrow and see how it goes!

The picture at the top is the view of Longs Ranch on the lower portion where I was today.

1st Winter Series Run

January 9, 2009 / 10:15 am

Cheyenne Mountain State Park

6.69 miles

1:08:45

Today was the first in the winter series run for the Pikes Peak Road Runners. Tracey talked me into doing the series for distance and getting some more experience racing. Last year I ran the fewest races since I started running again in 2004 so I agreed and registered this morning for the entire long series. I emailed the guys the night before and told them I was doing this race and Jeff emailed me this morning with a report on the conditions. He and Mike run in this park a lot and were in it yesterday as they were marking the trails. Thanks Jeff for the report!

Tracey was hurting since her long run on Sunday and I had rested since Wednesday ... what that meant was that I had a good chance of staying with her in this run! This was all trail except for the start and that was less than half a mile on roads. Tracey told me before we started that it was all uphill for the first half and then all down. Thank goodness she told me that because it seemed we went uphill forever.

The start got backed up pretty quickly when the runners moved off the road and onto the trail. A bottle-necked formed when all of us on the road tried to file through the small opening on the trail. However, after that, it was pretty easy going up the trail.

Tracey motored up the trail, passing people and I was tucked in her back pocket. The one thing I did not want to do was start out too fast and I knew Tracey had experience in these races so I followed her lead until the aid station at mile 2.

I've been running with a bottle since last January's training for Collegiate Peaks and now I keep it no matter the length of the run, unless shorter than 5 miles that is. I get ribbed for carrying it sometimes; but I always have something to drink. So, of course, I had my bottle today and I was able to bypass the aid station; however, Tracey did not. At that point I moved past her. I think that was even worse for me -- knowing she was behind me and could make a move at any moment.

I continued up the trail and passed a few people on the way. The trail goes up as a lollipop and before I hit the loop, the first runners were coming down pretty fast. I told myself soon, I would be doing that. Soon, wasn't so soon though. The loop was longer than I thought and I walked a bit more at the top of the lollipop than I really wanted.

Finally, about 3/4 of the way into the loop, it started going downhill. Yes! and Oh no! Tracey is a speed demon downhill and I ran with the fear of Tracey in my head all the way down. Everytime I heard someone breathing down my neck, I thought it was Tracey!

My grippies were working great and I had good traction whereas some runners without screws or yakx did not and I finally caught up with about five guys with 2 miles left and passed them; however, a couple of them re-passed me before it was all said and done.

Coming into the finish, the trail flattened a bit and I could stretch my stride a bit more and take advantage of the terrain. As soon as I crossed, tore my tag and moved to the side, there was Tracey, less than a minute behind me. Tracey's butt seized up on her at the aid station and that's why I was able to stay in front of her. She told me later that she saw me on the downhill section in front of her and that was her motivation. So we were able to keep each other going despite the fact we were not running together.

The trail conditions were great for January, snow packed trails and a little ice. The weather was better than perfect - 40 degrees and sunny! What a great day for a race.

A quick check of the results and found out Tracey was less that 45 seconds behind me and finished 3rd in her age group while I finished 6th in mine.

Section 16 Again

January 6, 2009 / 8:30am

7.6 miles

1:26 hours (didn't turn the garmin on the last 3/10)

Section 16 looking down the trail I just came up and will run down again.

After doing Section 16 on Saturday with the guys, Tracey and I decided to do it again on Wednesday. This year, I want to run more mountains and get more time running uphill in preparation for Leadville in August. So with that in mind, I suggested Section 16 backwards. Nice long uphill for almost four miles.

We met at the trailhead and not a mile up the road Tracey's son called and needed to be picked up from school. Tracey ran another mile with me up the trail before turning around and heading to the school.

That left me going up Section 16 by myself. Well, not really. There was an element of Army soldiers hiking on the trail and I met them coming down as I was going up. I met one carrying a pack and as I passed him I made a comment about carrying a double load. He explained one of the group sprained her ankle. Ouch.

Sure enough, not much further up the trail, there she was, in between two soldiers hobbling down the trail - very, very, slowly.

After passing them, I started running into a group of Japanese hikers. I believe this was the same group on the trail Saturday. We passed amicably and I continued onto the saddle.

3.8 miles and I hit the stop button on the garmin and stopped at the top to take a couple of pictures. I don't have a small camera, Whitney took mine to college and hasn't brought hers home yet; therefore, I'm forced to use the one on my phone which is slow and not so hot. After getting one good picture, I headed back down the way I came.

Not too far down the trail I began to pass my Japanese hikers again. They are all older than me and I applaud their fitness level hiking in the Rockies in the winter!

The run down is so nice and since Mike and Jeff were not in front of me, I did not run down as fast today as I did Saturday. Almost at the end of the trail, before it hits the road, I passed the wounded warrior and let them know I would relay their position to their comrades on the road or at the trailhead. So that was my self-appointed task for the rest of the run, one I did very gladly having been an Air Force spouse for 21+ years.

Once again, a very nice run although Tracey could not finish with me.

Incline Club Run

January 3, 2010 / 8:00 am

Ute Pass, Longs Ranch, Barr Trail

11.6 miles

2:46 hours

Today I ran with the Incline Club. I wanted some distance; however Tracey needed 18 miles and I did not feel up to that distance after the previous two days. So I declined to run the Santa Fe with Tracey and Louisa and braved the Incline Club by myself. Overall, I have been pleasantly surprised at how nice everyone is and how much flexibility you have in the runs. It's quite nice to pick which distance you want to run and know that whatever you pick, you will not be the only one to run it or on that trail.

Today, however, I was virtually by myself for most of the run with the exception of the run up and out of Manitou when there are quite a few runners heading up hill. By Ute Pass, we stretched out with some tackling the Barr Trail and others slugging up Ute Pass. Today, the snow was much nicer and easier to run on than 3 weeks ago on Ute Pass. I hated Ute Pass then, today, I merely disliked it.

At the Y, or decision point, I decided to continue up Longs Ranch Road, the first time I've done this particular run, instead of turning right and doing the Waldo loop. Tracey gave me the low down the night before regarding LRR on what to look out for and when to turn. Despite her excellent directions complete with, "The second J pipe is not the third even though it has a 3 on it," I still messed up and turned too soon at the top!

Once I turned on LRR, I chatted briefly with John (I believe) who turned with me. He ran the Leadville 100 this past year and finished, evidenced by a very cool tattoo on his calf. He told me once you think LRR isn't so bad, it gets worse. I thanked him for the heads up and began my slog up this road.

Thank goodness others had gone before me and mushed the snow down some; however, the snow on the road was very similar to Ute Pass 3 wks ago. Yuck. I ran when I could; but, I must admit, most of this road was power hiking for me. I just kept thinking what Hope Pass would be like in August and that kept me motivated.

After the third J pipe, I stopped and waited for another runner behind me to catch up. He had two doggies with him and they had boundless energy. Once he drew abreast, I asked where the trail led that was off to the left and how far up LRR was Bob's cutoff. He told me I had less than a mile to climb to the next trail down to the Barr Trail. I thought that must be Bob's so I thanked him and continued up the road.

The picture at the top is Longs Ranch Road. This was one of two I took; however, the other one came out pretty bad since the camera on my phone kind of froze up at this point on the road. Yup, it was pretty cold up there. Thank goodness the sun was out.

Since Ute Pass, I was behind three runners who had continued up; however, because I waited at the third J pipe, they pulled away and I never made contact again with them. Rats, It was kind of nice coming around a dog leg every now and then and seeing them ahead of me. In addition, I was fielding phone calls trying to coordinate the cadets waiting at the airport with my husband who went in my stead to pick them up and had to pull my phone out each time. Poor Rick, he made 3 trips to the airport in toto.

After cresting LRR, I had a wonderful view of snow covered Pikes Peak and a nice flat piece to run. I saw a pretty well-defined trail branch off to the left after about a mile or less and thought I'd better take it since this was a new run for me and now I was pretty much on my own. I was also running low on my gel blasts (1 left) and thought, all things considered, it was the wiser move to make.

The run down was snowy and slightly steep and pretty soon I popped out at No Name on the Barr Trail and chatted with a hiker named Clyde waiting for his party to catch up with him. He plans to summit the Peak next weekend. This weekend, he and his friends were going to Barr Camp and then turning around. Next week, Barr Camp on the first day and hiking to the top on the second day.

After making sure which branch was the Barr Trail and saying goodbye, I began the wonderful run down the Barr Trail. I took it a slower than usual since there were some icy spots on it and I'm a virtual Chicken when it comes to ice. I've done 180's and Hamil Camels on ice in runs in the past. Finally past the icy parts, I stretched my legs and allowed gravity to do its work.

I don't consider this running. I liken it to floating, I float down the trail and enjoy it. Yes, I know, I could run it; but it's so much fun to just float down.

I took the Hydro branch and slowed again when I hit pavement. At Ruxton I saw another runner ahead of me and made him my goal. Whew! It took me all of Ruxton and almost to Memorial Park before I caught him. Poor guy, my spikes on my shoes just clicked away behind him the whole time. Yes, I did run down Ruxton. I used my arms, my legs, everything - I was beat by the end of the run.

At Memorial, I saw John again who was behind me on LRR. He explained he took the spur at the 3rd J pipe. After stretching, drinking my Ensure, grabbing fries and a diet coke at McDonald's, I drove home -- a hot bath awaited!

Section 16

January 2, 2010 / 9:00am

Section 16

7 miles

1:17 hours

Section 16 in the summer time with the guys means hiking 2+ miles up a very steep climb before having a fun run down the other side. However, lately, we've decided to run it backwards. Run the long downhill up and then turn around at the top and run the long downhill as usual. It adds a little bit to the total distance. This allows us to take advantage of the trail without slipping and sliding on the steep part. I like it. Today, I ran it better than I did the first time.

We were Jeff, Mike, Bob, Chris and myself and took off without much ado. The weather was great. The canyon leading up to the trail is always a little cooler and it is a steep run to begin with; however, with perseverance, it is survived and you pick up the trail on the right hand side.

The trail had packed snow and some ice toward the top; but overall, the conditions were not too bad for Colorado in January. The sky was clear, the valley beautiful and the temperature was not so bad, around 30's I'd say.

I got into my super slow-mo climbing gear and actually enjoyed it once I got off the cold, steep road and onto the trail. My heart rate was up but steady as I motored up to my turn point at 3.5 miles. Bob, Jeff and Mike went all the way to the saddle while I turned and waited down the hill a bit with Chris.

When the guys came back down and met up with Chris and I, it was a free for all downhill with Mike and Jeff leading Bob, myself and Chris. It took me about two miles to catch Bob and finally, with a mile left (the road), I caught Jeff and Mike as they stopped at the intersection of trail and road. Whew! What a ride down the hill! I did not go very fast at the top due to the ice; however, once past that, I could stretch my legs more and enjoyed the downhill.

A great run once again!

Today, The Leadville 100 Trail Run opened for entries --- at 10am I was officially registered! I tried for over an hour before I left to run and could not complete the process -- too many people trying to enter the various runs and bike events. Rick volunteered to continue trying for me. He did it while I was running! Am I a lucky or what?!

What a Holiday break! I've missed two weeks of posting my runs because of Christmas and New Year's. That's okay; three runs in there for a total of 23 miles. One with Tracey, one with F, and one by myself. My family was in town for the holidays and then our New Year's Eve party took some time away.

The break down, all runs on the Santa Fe; however, all three on different sections of it:

8 miles with Tracey on December 22
8 miles with F on December 26
7 miles by myself on December 29

Today, I started the New Year off right - I ran with my friends. My wonderful mother-in-law told me long ago that whatever I do on New Year's, I would do the rest of the year; therefore, no laundry, no cleaning, no bill paying and plenty of running.

Our run changed a bit before we started. We planned to run Section 16; however, Bob could not join us today so we quickly changed plans driving to the trail head. Instead, we ran 6 miles on the downtown portion of the Santa Fe, gearing up for tomorrow's run, Section 16 - backwards.

Chris, F, Jeff, and Mike were there this morning, at the very decent hour of 10 am after New Year's Eve. What a beautiful day to run. Not a cloud in the sky, temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s and down at Cache, up to Fillmore and back. We all behaved ourselves the night before so no one was hurting due to dehydration! Great pace throughout the run, great company during.

Bagels afterwards and the wonderful camaraderie associated with that. Bob joined us then before his run later (taking family to the airport).

Overall, I could not ask for a better morning to the new decade, good friends, great running in a beautiful place. I hope your New Year's Day was as enjoyable as mine. Good luck for the New Year!