Racing Again!

First off, Stacey created a blog to serve as a scrap book for hikes, trips, and other things we do that I don't post. See that here: staceyandevanmacfarlane.blogspot.com

Now on with the theme for this post: I signed up for the Silver Rush 50 mountain bike race and -- the very next day and on the same course -- the Silver Rush 50 run. Together, these races are known as the Silver King. I selected this race for two main reasons. I want to continue riding and running, so I wanted a race that required both. Also, the more time I can spend in the mountains, the better. The Silver King fits both these requirements. (The downside is that I need to learn how to handle a mountain bike.)

I signed up just about 10 days ago, so I've only got about 7 weeks to train. My plan is to fit one long run (starting at a bit over 3 hours and building to 4 or 4.5 hours) in each week, to mountain bike as much as possible, and to run as much as my recovery allows. So far I'm happy with how things are going. Probably the component I'm missing the most right now is a weekly long ride.

Today I actually made it up to Leadville to test ride part of the course. It went well, mainly because the first half of the course is not the least bit technical. See my ride here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/184172143

A very steep climb starts the race:

Not much to look at:

The first half of the course is mostly easy riding...

...although the route climbs fairly high. It took me up in between those two peaks, then up a short climb to the road at the upper left of the next picture.

Mining remnants are plentiful in this area:

Yawn:

A very smooth descent. I yelloed "WEEEEE!" all the way down:

But then I had to climb back up that descent:

I'll have to make it back to Leadville to ride the rest of the course in early July, if not earlier.

Guanella Pass

Yesterday Stacey and I drove over to Idaho Springs, and then rode over to Georgetown. From Georgetown, we climbed a few miles up Guanella Pass and then turned back. The climb has a great start composed of several tight switch backs that climb up a steep wall at the edge of town. In the first photo, you  can see the pass as the dip in the mountains near the center of the photo. The switch back are barely visible to the right of the pass. In the second photo, I've climbed 4 or 5 switch backs and am looking back at town.



Stacey hasn't been riding much (nor have I, really), so we didn't go too long. After logging some more miles, though, we'll be back to climb up to the pass's summit. The climb starts at 8,500 feet, and tops out just below 12,000, at least per Wikipedia.

Otherwise, I've started running fast again after a winter of slow running. I'm squeezing some 6:15-6:30 miles into long runs, and doing a few 6 minute miles on shorter runs. Going fast feels good and not uncomfortable. Maybe I'll race in a few weeks.

Also, although I'm not yet 30, Stacey got me an early birthday present: a mountain bike frame and a few components. I'll build it up over the coming weeks, and then try not to kill myself riding it. I'm excited, though.

Apex Trail Run

I hoped to get in a long ride today, but after taking care of errands all morning I decided a run would be a better use of my time. I went over to Apex in Golden for the first time. I'll be heading back often, as it's only a 20 minute drive and has some tough trails. May be a good weekday mountain bike destination...at least once I get a mountain bike. My run was 1:37 and I only managed ten and a quarter miles, despite lots of time in the 150-160 bpm zone. Yeah, switchbacks!

Rocky Mountain National Park

My parents visited Colorado this week, so we made a quick trip up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a pair of hikes. Friday we managed about 9 miles, taking in Cub Lake and a frozen Fern Falls. Today we took an 11 mile stroll to the top of the 10,000 foot Deer Ridge. Stacey and I will definitely be returning once the weather improves to summit Longs Peak. Photo dump:

Elk filled meadows.

Cub Lake

The view of RMNP from the top of Deer Ridge.

Estes Park from Deer Ridge.

Spring! Finally!

Today I drove over to Idaho Springs with the intent of riding to Georgetown then hopefully up Guanella Pass. About a quarter mile after I started my ride in Idaho Springs, however, I saw a sign that read, "Scenic Route to Central City - 9 Miles," in front of a steep single lane road heading north from the edge of Idaho Springs. The sign sold me, and I turned to head uphill. Within a half mile, the road turned to dirt. For the next 9 miles, I saw just one car. Later I learned (from the video below) that locals call the road "Oh My God" road, presumably for its treacherousness in the winter. While I stayed on the route to Central City, there were a few off shoot roads that I'll have to go back to explore. Photos:

Don't worry, I told myself, that guard rail will protect me if my bike slips.

A few switchbacks.

A convenient bathroom break.

Central City.

I found this video surprisingly engaging, but I'm likely alone:

Some poorly-bearded guy's video footage of the climb:

13.8 miles today, feeling like garbage. HR was high, speed was low, legs were tired, but my knee held out fine.

Another long run tomorrow, but at a HR of just 145 bpm or so.

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How much for a 3,200 square foot Victorian home dating from 1910 in Detroit, you ask?


Try $7,900.  That's about how much my last tri-bike cost.
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Today's song, by M83:

Good News and Hopefully Minor Bad News

Starting with the good news, I am feeling stronger than ever on long runs. I used to begin feeling a bit of fatigue about an hour into a run, but now that's more like 1:30 into a run. 14-15 miles isn't too tough. That bodes well for future marathon success, as I've always had pretty extreme positive splits (yeah, yeah, I know other factors are involved...ahem*pacing*ahem). Hopefully by the time I run another marathon I can feel strong through 20 mile training runs. I'm also feeling strong running several days in a row, and the "dead legs" feeling is only there the day after a fast run or really long run. So muscular endurance or whatever it may be called seems improved.

The other good news is I have all but forgotten about my Achilles tendinitis. It's been completely unnoticeable, except this weekend when I banged my heel while an Ikea bed for the guest bedroom. It'll always be in my mind, but the injury seems behind me.

The bad news is that I had to cut short a long run this weekend because my knee really hurt. I was about 14 miles into a 16-18 mile run when the pain became too much to keep running, and I had to walk it on home. Now, I'm pretty sure this pain is just muscular. The pain doesn't come from the joint itself, but from my quad just above the knee. Perhaps its from too much volume/intensity/hills over the past few days. Maybe 4 long runs in 8 days, none of which were particularly easy, was too much. Maybe I didn't allow enough recovery after Friday's 1:30 jot along hilly Magnolia. Even on a snowshoe Sunday I was really happy to be done because my knee was aching on the descent home.

The good news, however, is that today's easy test jog went fine. I made it 40 minutes with only a little odd feeling in the knee. Tomorrow I will try an hour easy in the AM and another hour easy in the PM without ever getting too far from home in case the pain returns.

A takeaway is to keep an eye on my intensity. I did too many runs at a steady pace and not enough easy running.

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Snowshoe photos:

Tebowing on St. Mary's Glacier

Ozzy loved the glacier. He ran back and forth and back and forth the whole way up.

The lake at the base of the glacier. 

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2011 in music:
Great albums: (in no particular order)
Yuck by Yuck
Bon Iver by Bon Iver
Wild Flag by Wild Flag
Father, Song, Holy Ghost by Girls

Honorable mention:
James Blake by James Blake

More time needed because I bought it yesterday:
Days by Real Estate

There were also several albums that received loads of critical acclaim that I'm not thrilled with (see, Tune Yards, Fleet Foxes), albums by bands that previously released amazing records but this year only released okay albums (here's looking at you Radiohead, Panda Bear), albums that I want to buy and expect to be really solid but haven't heard in full yet (burning ears for King Creosote & Jon Hopkins, The Black Keys), and finally albums by new bands that have gotten great reviews but have previously slipped under my radar (por ejemplo, Wye Oak, Civil Wars).