What can I say? It's been a helluva year.

I started 2010 with one major goal: Finish the LT100. Through Rach's unwavering support and encouragement, I was able to prepare adequately for the big event and adjust my goals accordingly. Suffice it to say, I logged a shit-ton of miles, had many learning experiences and grew exponentially as both a runner, and more importantly, a person.

Here are the digits:

• Mileage: 2516
• Days completely off: 77
• PRs: 4 (100 miles, Marathon, 10K, 5K)
• Goals achieved: 4/4
• Best finish: 1st in Age Group - Golden Gate 1/2 Marathon
• Most satisfying finish: 89th overall, 22nd in Age Group - Leadville Trail 100

I can say, in all honesty, that 2010 was an amazing year of running. I progressed throughout the season, learned a ton, logged 4 PRs at four different disciplines (100-miles: 24:42:40, marathon: 3:10:04, 10K: 39:16 and 5K: 18:54) and really grew as a runner as well as a person. Setting tough goals and beating those marks can really make a person feel good and well... I feel good. I couldn't have done any of this without the consistent and ongoing love and support from my sweetie, Rach and definitely encourage anyone seeking to invest the amount of time it takes to focus on a full year of training and racing to try to find someone as amazing and patient (good luck with that). She cooked for me non-stop (quite literally), dealt with my gross gear, put up with my bullshit and kept me on the path to success at every turn. Thanks also to Patagonia for clothing support and nuun for helping with hydration this season. Two great companies you should definitely check out.

Leadville was definitely the highlight of the year. That long, difficult day teed me up for the success that followed in the Fall and early Winter races I completed on a whim and gave me the confidence to set difficult goals and hit those marks. I ran races of a wide variety of distances competitively in 2010 (5K to 100 miles – another, unwritten goal of mine) and intend to continue to run a variety of distances in 2011.

I learned a ton during my big year. One of the biggest lessons learned was to be patient and to roll with the punches. I suppose that is technically two lessons but they do go hand in hand. Allowing both training and racing to unfold and not getting too caught up in the little set-backs and hurdles along the way is imperative. During the last 12 months, I certainly had my fair share of marginal runs and races. Choosing to look at each as a learning experience and a stepping stone on the path to larger goals allowed me to move forward, build on my successes (and failures) and ultimately achieve my goals. Patience during every run and knowing when to relax during racing made for a successful, (mostly) injury-free season.

Another big lesson I learned is to never give up. This manifested itself both at the LT100 in a positive way and during the final miles of the Denver Marathon in a less positive manner. During Leadville, I was suffering badly on the climb back up Powerline at about mile 80. In fact, I convinced myself at one point that I could just drop out at the top of Sugarloaf. Fortunately, that opportunity did not arise and, though I spent a considerable amount of time walking both the up and downhill portions of this leg of the race, I soon gained new strength and was running solidly throughout the final 15 miles of the race. At the Denver Marathon, I allowed the clock to dictate my effort and, when in the final miles of the race with time statistically running out on the opportunity to run a sub 3:10 for the day, eased my effort because I couldn't reach that mark. It turned out the course had been set up incorrectly and was long. The race organizers subtracted time from every finisher's results leaving me 5 seconds shy of a sub-3:10 effort. Had I not relaxed in those final miles, I would have certainly finished under that mark. In short, keep going and don't let up.

I was fortunate enough this year to have a plethora of amazing non-race experiences: Summiting Hope Pass in early June; stumbling across bears foraging for food; running with elk on multiple occasions; watching marmots frolic among high-alpine wildflowers; braving thunderstorms both above treeline and during a particularly violent storm on Boulder's eastern plains; catching what would be Crested Butte's biggest storm of the season for some amazing skiing in late February; seeing both my dad and friend, John get married; watching the Met Opera series in HD; the list goes on and on.

In short, 2010 will be fondly remembered. And here's to an even better 2011.

~stubert.

Tues Aug 3: 00:27, 2.86 miles, Casa Trails
Wed Aug 4: 1:38, 11.71 miles, Boulder Road Circuit
Thurs Aug 5: 00:41, 3.24 miles, Janet's House
Sat Aug 6: 3:15, 16.00 miles, High Lonesome via Devil's Thumb
Sun Aug 7: 2:26, 13.11 miles, Mesa Trail
Total: 8:30, 46.91, 7931' vert

Light first week of taper with a few strong efforts. Took Monday off then just relaxed on Tuesday. I felt the need to run fast on Wednesday so tossed out a pretty solid tempo run in the rain. Saturday featured a great run up high on High Lonesome and I finished off the week with a solo night run on Mesa Trail.

High Lonesome is still one of my favorite places to be and it was great to get up there again. There were a ton of people up there, enjoying the scenery and beautiful weather. The double Mesa run was a lot of fun as well. I felt really strong on the way out and then managed to spin negative splits for the return trip. No kitty or bear sightings but I did see a rattlesnake who was a little displeased with my presence.

In taper mode at this point. One more medium weekend, then full rest, lots of eating of Rach's awesome food and final prep for the race. Good stuff.

~stubert.

Dawn on Hope Pass

Figure on your time at the summit of Hope in-bound to be about your half-way time. ~ John

Mon 26 July: 00:47, 4.88 miles, Casa Trails
Tues 27 July: 00:54, 6.50 miles, Boulder Creek Path
Wed 28 July: 2:58, 12.53 miles, Gregory>Green>Bear>Mesa
Thurs 29 July: 00:39, 4.13 miles, Casa Trails
Sat 30 July: 4:45, 30 miles (est), LT100 Start to Treeline +
Sun 1 Aug: 8:11, 38 miles (est), LT100 Winfield to Mayqueen +
Total: 18:15, 96.04 miles (est), 14,000' vert (est)
Total - July: 63:22, 318 miles (est), 46,700' vert (est)

Capped off the LT100 training with an interesting week. Highs and lows, as one might expect but overall I feel that I have put in a solid effort to give Leadville a go in three weeks. I spent a ton of time on the course, took good care of myself (thanks in HUGE part to Rach's efforts and support) and a lot of quality miles leading up to this race. Not sure where this will all take me but I have definitely enjoyed the journey.

Things have just gotten crazy busy. This is a combination of running out of time to prepare for the race, logging longer and longer runs and some business developments that have kept me in negotiations and planning much of the time over the past several weeks. I had a couple of fairly blah runs this week that, while certainly not encouraging, really did allow me to focus on shrugging things off when they aren't going exactly to plan and working through adversity. By the weekend and Camp 2: Hello Faddah, however; I was ready to rock.

The highlight of the week prior to heading up to Pbville was definitely either Tuesday's effort (simple surges but just a great overall run) or Wednesday's jaunt up Gregory, Green and Bear. The latter was significantly more unpleasant as I experienced stomach problems throughout the run but still managed to get the circuit completed on time. I considered abandoning the effort at several points along the route but stuck with it through the prescribed time and, though my distance was a bit off, left the day behind me with something to chalk up in the "win" column. A decent way to enter the weekend and my final Leadville Camp: Hello Faddah.

Jammed up to Leadville Saturday morning to run the first few sections of the course. The weather was perfect for a run and I started in town and quickly made my way down the Boulevard and on to Turquoise Lake where the course switches from dirt and paved roads to fat singletrack that meanders around the lake. Lots of people were out this weekend, checking out the course in preparation for both the run and the mountain bike race which share some common ground. I was a bit quick down to the bottom of the Boulevard (00:30 – probably 2 minutes fast) for my prescribed time to Mayqueen, but was feeling strong so just kept things mellow as I spun easy miles along the edge of the reservoir. No press, just super relaxed running.

I made it into Mayqueen a full 10 minutes earlier than I had planned (2:05) but still just felt great. Filled up the hydration pack and headed back along the course. I have run the first 23 miles of the LT100 course 3 or 4 times this year in prep for the race so I know it pretty well at this point. Just ran really comfortably up the paved road out of the Mayqueen campground and made quick time to the Colorado Trail section. This portion of the course is a little more technical and rolls at first then settles in for a short climb up to Hagerman road. I made quick work of this section and spun an easy 9-minute pace up Hagerman to the first major climb of the course – Sugarloaf.

The north side of Sugarloaf is honestly not too bad. It is all easily runnable but I settled into a familiar run/walk cycle for the trip up and quickly summited without any real effort whatsoever. Probably averaged 11-minute miles on this section to the summit (3:10) and felt great. I dropped down the south side, which is significantly steeper and made my way to the Fish Hatchery in a blazing time (3:55). I still felt super strong and so I just motored the next segment to Treeline in 37 minutes or so to finish the day's run in 4:32.

Since I was about 1/2 hour early, I had some time to kill before Sean came to pick me up. So I put my feet up, took a little nap and then jumped in with a nice guy named John who was running an out-and-back on the course to cover about 67 miles. He was moving slowly, heading in-bound on the course so we just jogged along and swapped stories about past races, amazing performances by elite athletes and the usual banter. I put in about another mile or so before Sean arrived. I bid John farewell and was off to grab a shower and some food then to hit the sack.

Sean was kind enough to agree to drive me to Winfield in the morning where I started my run. He had a shorter day in store and timed his start so that we would hopefully arrive back in Leadville in close proximity to one another. The first mile out of Winfield was pretty clunky then I found my running legs and, once again, was off on another adventure. I settled into an easy pace down the road then just hoofed it up the back side of Hope Pass. This section is steep. And relentless. It demands that you just pick a gear and grind. So that is what I did. I made it to about treeline before having to stop for some first aid treatment on badly chafed thighs then continued my assault of Hope Pass. I summited in about 1:23 and just let it flow down the north side. I got a little lost after crossing the creek but quickly found the right path and made quick time to Twin Lakes (2:28).

After getting fresh water and treating my legs, I jammed out of Twin Lakes and up to the Colorado Trail. I am least familiar with this section of the course but have run it now both ways a couple of times. Once you crest the initial climb out of Twin Lakes, it rolls along for a bit then drops onto a new section of the course that is flat and fast. I made one wrong turn in here which cost me a little time but figured out my mistake fairly quickly and continued on to the new Treeline crewing station in good time (4:39).

After mucking about getting gravel out of my wet-again shoes (there used to be a bridge or culvert crossing of some sort over the creek at Treeline that has recently been removed), refueling, and doing some more first aid on my thighs, I headed out to Fish. This used to be one of my most dreaded sections of the course but, having participated in a few road races and training on roads all winter, I no longer fear the slab. I made good time to Fish (5:32 with that long transition at Treeline) and, though completing a couple of run/walk cycles in this section, was still feeling strong for the climb up Powerline.

The thighs were getting progressively worse but I settled into a strong hike on this section, only stopping a few times for short breaks. The first section is a bear so mentally, once you get over that, all the rest of the climbing is way less arduous. Don't get me wrong, this whole section is a bitch but for those of you seeking a mental pick-me-up, thinking of each of the false-summit sections individually will really help and knowing the first one is the worst of them will make this climb much more tolerable. I hit the summit in 6:49 and made my way down toward Mayqueen.

I was definitely slowing down a bit at this point due to the chafing and started to really pay for it. I ran out of water on the descent and was reduced to a painful walk down the Colorado Trail. I did manage to run a lot of the downhill to Hagerman as well as the mile or so on Hagerman itself but really lost a lot of time on this section. Draining the water reserves didn't do me any favors and I finally reached a creek on the CT and refilled, took a break and assessed my condition. I then continued down the trail to Mayqueen (8:11) and assessed.

At this point, I was actually still feeling pretty strong and knew I could make it in the rest of the way. I just wondered about the value/quality of that effort and decided to call it a day at this point. Just didn't seem prudent or beneficial to walk in the remaining miles and increase the damage to my poor thighs. So I conferred with Sean who agreed to come pick me up and called it a day.

All in all, it wasn't exactly what I had planned but I feel good about the weekend. I decided to pull the plug on the final day's run due to the dreaded chafe and really feel comfortable where I am at this point. I am working on some preventative measures to keep the problems at bay during the race and am really looking forward to the 21st where it will all be put on the line. Now I will start my taper and enjoy the next few weeks in the run-up to the race.

~stubert.

High Lonesome living up to its name.

Hey, careful, man, there's a beverage here! ~ The Dude

Mon 12 July: 3:58, 21.54 miles, Hello Muddah: Day 3 Betasso laps
Wed 14 July: 00:32, 3 miles, Casa Trails barefoot
Thurs 15 July: 00:36, 4.11 miles, Janet's house surges
Sat 17 July: 2:00, 11.20 miles, Casa Trails exploration
Sun 18 July: 3:30, 16 miles, High Lonesome
Total: 10:38, 55.85 miles, 8,924' vert

Finished up Camp One: Hello Muddah with an easily supported effort in Betasso that fed into some night running. It was hot, even at the 6:00 start but my legs responded quickly to the effort and I fell into a nice rhythm spinning laps just over 30-minutes long. Ate shit on lap 3 and cut both elbows, my left hand and my back and landed heavily on my right hip. Such is life... hopped back up and continued, albeit bloody and dirty. Maintained a fairly steady pace throughout only walking during the final laps as my legs got tired and it got dark. All in all a successful end to a successful Camp. Feeling more and more prepared for the race, which is great.

The next several days were all about rest and recovery so I took Tuesday completely off, did a very mellow run on Wednesday barefoot then just rolled some easy miles with a few surges with Janet on Thursday. I was back at it Saturday with 2 hours in the woods. Didn't feel great but did find a new trail to keep me entertained. All in all, I felt better as the day progressed, so that was encouraging.

Sunday, I headed up to one of my favorite routes, High Lonesome. This trail peaks at about 12,000 feet on the Continental Divide in the Indian Peaks Wilderness northwest of my house. I started at the Hessie Trailhead after a deep creek crossing on my motorcycle, which was exciting (and wet). The King Lake trail is fairly mellow and I made quick work of the ascent, feeling strong and fresh. Hit the High Lonesome trail in about 1:20 then headed north along the divide to amazing scenery bursting with color. The wildflowers are amazing this time of year and seeing them up high makes it even more special.

Spun a couple miles on High Lonesome then dropped down on the Devil's Thumb Lake trail. There was one large patch of snow with which to contend but it wasn't a huge deal. Then I made my way down, past Devil's Thumb Lake and decided to burn a little more time by heading back up to Lost Lake. I usually spend quite a bit of time in the Lost Lake area in the winter so it was cool to see it un-frozen and devoid of snow. Found our standard hike-out area and poked around up there a little bit before heading back down to the moto where I packed up and headed into Ned to meet with Pete to discuss crew logistics for the race.

All in all, a good week off the heavy lifting with some fun miles thrown in for good measure. We are now about 5 weeks out and I am feeling strong, fit and healthy. All good ways to be.

~stubert.

Mon 5 July: 00:41, 2.96 miles, Red Plow barefoot
Tues 6 July: 1:00, 6.2 miles, Thorne Lake surges
Wed 7 July: 2:32, 12.65 miles, Casa Trails
Thurs 8 July: 2:06, 7.76 miles, GGCSP hike/run
Sat 10 July: 4:08, 22.69 miles, LT100 Start to Fish Hatchery
Sun 11 July: 7:59, 30.6 miles, LT100 Colorado Trail to Double Hope
Total: 20:44, 82.87 miles, 15,712 vert

Great week of training. Rolled right into the LT100 Camp One: Hello Muddah.

The week started with fairly typical, mellow running. Just logging hours and getting comfortable at a sustainable pace. Nothing really too interesting aside from dodging some weather, getting a little wet at times, and enjoying spending time in the woods. On Thursday, I decided to mix things up a bit and did my run sporting a heavy pack (well, the hiking portion of my run). Then ditched the pack and ran up some terrain that previously had not been runnable by me. Good stuff. I was a bit sore after but it was worth it for sure.

LT100 Camp One: Hello Muddah

Friday I spent the day getting organized for the weekend's adventure then jammed up to Leadville with Brad and Jess on Saturday to start the first of two planned running weekends on the course. We had a leisurely start and after shuttling a car to Mayqueen, Brad dropped us off at the start.

We headed out in the rain and made quick time back to the campground where we rendezvoused with Brad, saw the weather break, and continued on to Mayqueen with beautiful conditions. I bid my companions fairwell at MQ and continued on to the Fish Hatchery. I really felt great all day and made quick work of Sugarloaf. All told, a successful day on course.

Jess and Brad met me at Fish and shuttled me back to the cabin where I grabbed a shower and some food then jammed into town to get some food for Brad and Jess. There we met up with Sean, who is also running the LT100, had a beer and got psyched for the following day's adventure... the infamous double crossing of Hope Pass from Twin Lakes to Winfield and back.

Day two started early with a quick pick up of Sean at his hotel and drive over to Twin Lakes. Sean and I headed up the Colorado Trail toward Treeline and I spun around after about an hour ten to meet Jess and Brad in Twin Lakes after 2 hours of running. From there, the three of us made our way across the river to the base of Hope Pass then jammed up the hill. It was another gorgeous day and we jammed up the pass to the Hopeless aid station where Brad and Jess turned around, leaving me to carry on solo to Winfield.

I summited in just under 2 hours (cumulative 4 hours), a mere 5 minutes after a bear apparently did the same (according to a hiker I met on the trail). Then rolled down to the Winfield road. From here, it is the longest 2.5 miles you have ever experienced up to the ghost town of Winfield at just under the 5 hour mark where I dumped rocks out of my shoe, read the historical plaque detailing the mining town's past and then jammed back down the road to the base of the pass.

The south side of Hope is unbelievably steep and I power hiked the whole section. I summited at about the 6:39 mark then rolled down the north side of the pass and back to Twin Lakes in just under 8 total. That made for a sub-6-hour double crossing which is not too shabby, not too shabby at all.

I headed back to the cabin where I showered, ate dinner then jammed back home to see my lovely Rach. She hooked me up big time with massive amounts of tasty and nutritious food for the weekend. I can't say enough about how helpful she has been throughout all of this. I honestly could not do this without her.

All in all, this was a confidence-building week and it was great to get out on the course with good friends. I finished up Hello Muddah on Monday (more about that later) and feel like it was very much a success.

Good times, good times.

~stubert.

Mon 28 June: 00:29, 2.81 miles, Casa Trails barefoot
Tues 29 June: 00:59, 5.74 miles, Thorne Lake surges
Wed 30 June: 2:24, 8.48 miles, South Arapaho Peak
Thurs 1 July: 2:08, 9.5 miles, Arapaho Glacier Trail
Sat 3 July: 2:56, 17.95 miles, Cirque de Ned
Sun 4 July: 4.25, 22.64 miles, GGCSP Mega Zoo loop
Total: 13:33, 67.48 miles, 6495' vert

Seems like I get progressively tardier on these updates. Staying busy for sure.

This was a bit of an "off" week but I still managed over 65 miles and lots of good training. Summited South Arapaho on Wednesday in record time. Beat my previous record to the summit by 35 minutes – for the round trip. So a pretty decent effort. Headed back up there Thursday night with Bob and Brad for a good hike/run. We got stormed off at about 12,000 feet and pretty soaked in the dark on the way down but it was so worth the trip and great to spend some time with those guys.

Saturday, I ventured out on a great loop from my house to Nederland. Typically, this ends up being about 24 miles and 4 hours or so, so I asked Rach to pick me up in Rollinsville at about the 3-hour mark. Rolled in there a little early, feeling strong.

Sunday was spent retracing a route I first did in '08 with pretty poor results. This time, I added a couple of miles and decreased my time by about 30 minutes and felt solid throughout.

Definitely feeling the strain of all the training I have been doing these past 6 months. Rach reminded me the other night that I should enjoy the journey as well as the destination, and she is absolutely right. I'm looking forward to Camp 1: Hello Mudda in Leadville this weekend. Scheduled to run the first 23 miles of the course on Saturday, do a Colorado Trail out/back then double crossing of Hope on Sunday, then head home and do a night run on Monday. May spin Betasso laps for that. Spaces are still available and company would be most welcomed if anyone would like to join in the fun and/or games.

~stubert.

Year to date

Don't try to follow me. Tick... tick... tick... EEERadicator! ~ The Eradicator

June turned out to be a pretty stellar month on the training end of things. Here is a run-down of the numbers:

• Miles: 311.51
• Hours: 60.03
• Vert: 44,996

Not too shabby. For the year, here is about where I am sitting:

• Miles: 1308
• Hours: 250
• Vert: 118427

Vert is definitely off quite a bit since I haven't logged all my miles with my Garmin.

Good times.

~stubert.

Mon June 21: 00:29, 2.87 miles, Casa Trails barefoot
Tues June 22: 1:06, 6.68 miles, Janet's house
Wed June 23: 2:55, 16 miles, Zoo Loop GGCSP
Thurs June 24: 2:17, 7.92 miles, Arapaho Glacier Trail
Sat June 26: 2:34, 13.88 miles, Casa Trails + barefoot
Sun June 27: 7:46, 37.66 miles, LT100 Start > Twin Lakes
Total: 17:08, 85.01 miles, 11,815 vert

Interesting week of running with highs and lows throughout. Overall, I am feeling fit but still have some work to do before the LT100 if I am going to perform well there. It'll come.

The first runs of the week were really business as usual and I have been feeling really great on all my shorter efforts. I have been tossing in big ascents up to altitude every week and those just feel better and better the more I do them and the higher I get on the mountain so I'll keep throwing those in the mix as they seem to be working well for me. It is gorgeous up high as well with tons of marmots running about and the wildflowers really starting to pop.

The big event for the week was Sunday's self-supported effort on the first 38ish miles of the LT100 course: Start to Twin Lakes. The day started early with my alarm waking me at 3:45 for the drive up to the course. I dragged my trailer up with my motorbike to make the self-support system complete and, after stashing provisions in a couple of locations along the course (and a couple of misguided attempts to find a shortcut back to the highway), made it to Twin Lakes, got the bike off the trailer and headed back to the start in Leadville. Gear stashed, shoes on and I was ready to roll around 8:15.

I actually felt great and had a little bit of a tough time going slowly enough to meet my prescribed splits. I was a little fast into Mayqueen and Fish, then didn't have any real set times for the rest of the day. Nice, easy running throughout. I felt strong on the section between Fish and Treeline, stopped to refuel, then made my way onto the new section between Treeline and the Colorado Trail.

This was the only section of the course with which I was not familiar and it is relatively flat and fast. Not a lot of coverage, which actually probably won't be a big problem on race day given when I will be hitting this portion of the course, so I am not too worried about it. I continued to run well but as this section progressed and I approached the Colorado Trail, started having some stomach problems when contributed to my eventual downfall on the day's run.

By the time I reached the CT, I was feeling pretty crappy with a stomach that wouldn't empty and (subsequently), legs that just didn't want to go anymore. So I walked. And walked. Really demoralizing, to say the least. The CT continues to climb quite a bit more than I remembered as well with a couple of short, steep downhills but what seems like a fairly upward trend for quite some time as one makes one's way toward Twin Lakes. I tried alternating run/walking but really walked a solid majority of the last 5 miles or so into TL. I did pick it up for the last mile, which is decidedly downhill but that didn't leave me feeling particularly strongly about the day overall despite a decent finish time.

I think there are a few elements that contributed to these problems:

• Solo effort: It's tough being out there all alone for that period of time. My self-support system worked well (decently spaced drop off points) but running solo for that long takes a toll. So there was a big mental component to it for me. This should be much less of a problem during the race and the training I am putting in now, solo, will pay off during the event.
• Fuel selection: The self-support contributed here for sure as I only had a few choices in my drop-kits. Need to provide myself with more variety during these solo runs in order to be sure that I have some options. Rice milk/protein drink was not working well for me on Sunday. I think that as the protein sits, it becomes a bit bitter so on race day, if I decide this is something I need/want, I'll have my crew mix it up when it is requested vs. having it sit around.
• General mental attitude: This was a challenging week for me mentally. Redford, one of our bunnies died on Friday, which was really tough. I am sure that contributed to some of the lows I experienced in the later stages of the run.

Overall my time into TL was decent and considering how much of the final hour and a half was walking, was really quite strong. Though I felt pretty down about the run in the hours after finishing, upon reflection, I am okay with it. Wanted to finish with significantly higher quality but there is still time to work on my pacing, patience, consumption and mental/physical fitness.

~stubert.

Mon June 14: 00:23, 2.48 miles, South Beaver Creek night run
Tues June 15: 1:01, 5.84 miles, Secret to Thorne surges
Wed June 16: 2:00, 13.45 miles, Dearborne tempo
Thurs June 17: 2:32, 9.43 miles, Arapaho Pass/Glacier Trail run/hike
Sat June 19: 1:57, 10.75 miles, Casa trails easy
Sun June 20: 4:09, 21.93 miles, Boulder Foothills/Mesa
Total: 12:03, 63.88 miles, 8,258 vertical

Good, mellow week of running. Felt strong and rested and worked on getting the slower pacing down. No major, or even minor troubles to report at this point. Just gearing up for the race and getting supremely focused.

I even came to the realization this week that I am psyched to get through the event... wait for it... so I can run. Yes, there is nothing really okay with that. This thought came to me while actually ON a run as well. So essentially, I am excited to complete the training (running) for Leadville so I can run some more. Not right at all but amusing. I think I am missing a bit of the spontaneity that comes with not having a fixed goal to which I am focused. It will be fun to have some flexibility for sure so I can go on a big run on, say, Friday if someone has something wacky planned.

The highlight of the week was probably my trip up Arapaho Glacier Trail. This was a scheduled run/hike and so I jammed up 4th of July to the trailhead for Arapaho Pass. The trail up high was still snow covered and a little punchy until I turned off to go up the Arapaho Glacier Trail where conditions were mixed but the snow was a bit more firm when it needed to be crossed at great length. Lots of water flowing up there as well which made for soggy feet but I didn't really mind. The wind was howling up there, however, which made going a little tough but fun. I am learning to appreciate everything nature has to throw at me and take it all in stride.

One item of note for the week: Early morning runs are pretty sweet. I got out on the trails by about 6:15 on Saturday and all was right with the world in that moment. The birds were singing, there was a peacefulness and tranquility that one just doesn't seem to find at other times of the day. Even when I am alone in the woods, there is a certain "buzz" one can sense when other people are active in the area. I may go hours without seeing anyone else but during the day, you can just feel the activity. Early in the morning, this same energy is missing. In a good way. Coyote are yipping, the sun is making its first impact on distant hillsides and the cool air makes each exhale visible.

Good times.

~stubert.

Hope springs eternal.

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. ~ Leo Tolstoy

Mon June 7: 00:30 2.87 miles, Casa Trails barefoot
Tues June 8: 1:00, 5.96 miles, Casa Trails
Wed June 9: 2:40, 14.95 miles, Big Zoo loop GGCSP
Thurs June 10: 3:00, 11.47 miles, Hope Pass hike/run
Sat June 12: 1:30, 8.51 miles, Casa Trails
Sun June 13: 7:03, 35.60 miles, Pbville Course
Total: 15:43, 79.36 miles, 13,770 vertical

I have been terrible about updating this past week due to... well... running a lot and work. Seems that is what it comes down to at this point. With just over 2 months to go until show time, I am getting pretty focused and made it up to Pbville twice this past week for training runs.

The week started a little slowly as I recovered from the heat debacle but then I fell into full swing by mid-week. After a couple of nice trail runs on Tuesday and Wednesday, I hit the road Thursday to go to Gunnison and since Leadville is right on the way, stopped to take a gander at the north side of Hope Pass.

The river is raging right now so I headed upstream to cross via the Willis Gulch bridge. Turns out that was badly damaged by high waters so plan B was put into effect. I headed farther upstream to Pete's Campground (if memory serves) and the camp host alerted me to that bridge being closed due to the rushing water. Plan C. I happened to see another small (yet substantial) bridge between Willis Gulch Trailhead and Pete's and that became my entry to the Hope Pass trail.

I ran about 1.5 miles east until the junction of the Hope Pass trail then decided to get in a little more warm-up by heading down to the race-course crossing to check things out. Yeah, that water was flowing and I would not have wanted to cross it in those conditions. I spun around and headed up Hope for the first time since '07. The trail was in really good shape and I made quick work of the lower, steeper sections and made it to Hopeless in under an hour. Since I was so far up, I decided to just go ahead and see how far up I could go before turned around by either snow or time. I did have to cross several very punchy snowfields but made it to within about 50 feet of vert from the summit before being turned by one last snowfield that just didn't seem worth the effort. Ran back down and finished fairly strongly in 3 hours.

Sunday, I headed back up to Leadville to log some time on the section between the start and the base of Powerline. It rained and snowed the night before so conditions were a bit soggy. I thoroughly lucked out with the weather, however and only got rained/snowed on briefly while running around Turquoise Lake. The Colorado Trail section was super sloppy with a couple inches of fresh, wet snow but Sugarloaf itself was in pretty good shape. A few inches of snow up high and lots of water running throughout but overall it was great to get up there. I summited then dropped down to the pavement on the south side then spun around and headed back up the steep side. This was the first time I had climbed back up Sugarloaf and I have to commend those who can run this thing. It's a bitch.

I felt a little tired heading back up and was reduced to a diminishing run/walk cycle for the remainder of the run. Not super confidence-inspiring but whatchagonnado? Ended up cutting off the Colorado Trail and Turquoise Lake sections on the way back to try to speed my return to Leadville. I had planned to head back up the Boulevard but given my tight timeline, I decided to stay on the tarmac in order to improve my chances of hitching a ride if I was unable to make it all the way back to my car in the prescribed 7-hour time limit. After run/walk cycles up the hill, I reached the cut off and started walking/hitching. Was picked up fairly quickly by a nice guy from Jamestown who dropped me off at my car after about a 1.5 mile ride.

Overall, I am feeling fairly well. I need to get better control of my starting pace and my focus. The word for the week is "patience" and I am going to work on putting it into play on each and every run from this point forward.

~stubert.