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Episodes
- Remembering Pikes Peak Marathon 2008
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:21:38 -0700A DVD movie just came out that has footage of my marathon from August. Check it out!
- Mount Sanitas
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:10:03 -0700Distance 3.10 miles Time 2 hr 23 min Summit Elevation 6,787 feet Elevation Gain 1,481 feet GPS Analysis MotionBased Kim and I are always on the lookout for babysitters and our steady went off to college this fall. Bummer! Since then, it has been more of a struggle to get out together. However, I had an epiphany the other day while doing the bills and seeing how much it costs to put my kids through school -- and we are still early in this! I am already paying for the babysitter -- and they teach the kids too! So instead of crying about going out on Friday night, let's use a school morning to get something done. I will make up the work later in the day.
So after seeing JV assault the Boulder foothills on a daily basis over the past few months, I decided to implement the Boulder Tuesday AM Hiking Club. Current members: Kim and I. Let's get out and do some moderate hikes and hit these local trails. My experience on these routes is very limited so it would be fun to explore while spending quality time together. I talked with JV yesterday and he gave me a few hints on places and I settled on Mount Sanitas for today. It should be quick and painless. It isn't flat so I wasn't sure how Kim's knee would do but only one way to find out. When given a choice, I have a tendency to try and choose the harder of activities and it puts her off the first time. So I thought this would be a good match over some of the harder stuff I was considering.
We went up the west side and was all steps. Somebody needs to explain to that trail that switchbacks were invented. Lots of big steps and logs that were not kind to Kim's knee after about 30 minutes. But she kept at it and never looked back. At about an hour, we topped out and took a few shots via the iPhone.
Looking NE towards our house.
Looking down on Boulder.
The happy hikers. I was struggling to self photograph with the iPhone. Not easy to find the button when you can't feel or see it!
And that was it. Thanks for reading. Bye. Huh? How did we get down? Yeah, so it is a loop so we headed down the East Ridge trail. Lots of steps and we were talking. Got to this section with some big boulders and somehow veered right instead of left. Where did the trail go? Oh, right there I said. I took the lead. This trail seemed not right. It was a trail but not heavily used, which is odd because this mountain has tons of people on it. Very popular daily hiking. Where did the people go? Oh well. I could see the bigger trail way down below so let's descend. That is the point at which Kim's light colored pants started getting darker because she had to scoot down some portions on her butt. I was thinking to myself...what did I do? Everything was good and then I screwed up a fork in the trail and now I am going to kill her. Interestingly, she just kept laughing at me and not yelling at me. We kept descending and when we looked back up, it was clear that wasn't the way we should have gone.
After that, we got to the flats and made good time back to the car. Ate a quick lunch and swung into school just in time to pick up the kids and then get back to work. Minus the route issue, which ended up giving us a good laugh, it was a great morning to get out. The weather is so perfect right now. Cool breeze and hot sun. I think I love fall. Shit, did I say that? Don't tell summer I said that. She knows she is my number 1 season but this wasn't so bad. Hopefully, the club goes again next week. I enjoyed the activity and more importantly the company. I love you, Kim.
- Weekly Training Summary
Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:55:10 -0700Total: 41.95 miles (6:06)
This week I focused on the key workouts and took the 3 easy days off basically. I wasn't sleeping so good so that didn't help. Hit my intervals hard. Hit my tempo day hard. And hit my long run today hard. Guess that Hudson book is telling me something. Kind of a downer that the total for the week was low but that's OK. The taper is upon us anyway. Probably will kick it back up a bit this week if the legs are good. All summer my lungs couldn't keep up with my legs and suddenly 2 weeks ago, they flipped. My legs are tired just getting warmed up and my lungs are ready to roll. Its odd. I suppose it means something shifted inside for the better.
- How Do You Make a Cup From a Plant
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:15:22 -0700
@ Snarf's (645 Ken Pratt Blvd, Longmont, CO 80501, USA) - Cheap Thrills on Date Night
Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:00:20 -0700
@ Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (2331 Clover Basin Dr, Longmont, CO 80503, USA) - Weekly Training Summary
Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:41:38 -0700Total: 51.20 miles (7:44)
Been feeling like my training plan is all over the place. Went to California for that week of work and did that 5k and then returned and did the Boulder Half. Seems like the Denver Marathon training schedule got jacked up with that. However, the good news was that those 2 shorter races lit some fire in my legs and that strength from those summer base miles is translating to speed.
I took Monday off after the race -- why not? Then Tuesday was out for intervals. I was dreading it but I spanked all of them. I was supposed to do 7:30s or so and was sub 7:00 for each with room to spare. I was wondering who's body I had stolen. On Wednesday, it was an easy day but I just ran what my body wanted and it turned into a big tempo day with low 7s for most of it. What was going on? On Thursday, the wheels fell off. It was tempo day and I couldn't hold much. I was dead. My calves mainly and hammies had protested over night and were not happy with the new pace. So Friday I went to Henry for a massage and didn't run. Got back out on Saturday for easy miles and felt a bit better. Then today put in my last longest long run before Denver. I had some plan of seeing if I could do 8:10s for the whole thing. Started out good but a few bathroom breaks due to some not so hot feeling digestive track kept me stopping and starting. Wasn't good. Then about mile 11 I could feel I had gone to fast. I held it for 6 more miles and put in an extended loop around McIntosh Lake just to beat myself up a bit more. Then coming back towards home on 17th street, I shut down physically and mentally. Bonk. I was done. Felt like I accomplished a good workout. Just had too much more distance to go and spent to much early. So I hobbled and walked and jogged the rest of the way home. I was dejected just because I wanted to get done and feel like "yeah, I am going to crush this race". However, now I am somewhere in between. Just need to be more conservative at the start of the race and then see how it plays out in the later miles. I know another PR is in store but I feel like I want to push it and get a big jump. But now I think I will back it off a bit and see how the day goes. Going to be interesting. It has also been cooling down and I used to hate that but this fall so far has been terrific. The cooler temps are great for running. Get out there!
- Shrimp For Brunch
Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:45:20 -0700
@ Elway's Restaurant (2500 E 1st Ave, Denver, CO 80206, USA) - Maroon 5 and Counting Crows
Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:04:39 -0700My concert sidekick for many many years was my wife, Kim. Hell, she literally introduced me to the rock concert itself back in 1991 when she took me to see a favorite little group of her's called Metallica (heard of them?) for the first time. I left that show a changed person and I have been a concert machine ever since. However, after a great concert on New Years 2004 in Las Vegas with Metallica and the introduction of motherhood, Kim decided that it was her time to hang up the earplugs and stay at home. She wasn't having as much fun anymore so it was fitting. However, being the nagging pesty husband that I am, I usually ask her a few days before I buy tickets to a concert if she wants to go. I always expect and receive the "No, thanks" answer. It is sometimes followed by the "Why do you keep asking me when you know the answer already?" line. I never answer the question out loud -- but it is because I love her, I have fond memories of previous shows, and she is my best friend.
I like Maroon 5 -- more 2nd album than 1st album. This does not make me ghey. Dudes, get with it. The lyrics are mostly about sex in the 2nd album if you listen along. Good stuff. And Counting Crows...let me explain that there is "radio" Counting Crows and then there is "concert" Counting Crows. Um, it is kinda like Dave Matthews Band...the concert isn't like the radio play. I saw Counting Crows once before this. They played the final night of Microsoft's PDC 2001. This is not a shabby event. Its a big conference and Microsoft always spends a good deal of money on the entertainment. When I found out Counting Crows was playing our conference, I was excited. I had their albums. Should be fun. What I didn't realize was how enveloping their performance is. You leave the show thinking you were part of some kind of moment that is being expressed by Adam (the lead singer) through the songs. Nobody ever really got what I meant with that. Could it be recreated at another Counting Crows show some other day?
So months ago, I walked into the kitchen and proposed this concert to Kim. She is a Maroon 5 fan. She listens to Counting Crows when they come on the iPod but isn't making playlists or anything. So I asked and she paused and gave me a different answer -- OK, I will go. Hot damn. Now, I neglected to tell her that it was on a school night which seems to add pressure to the babysitting situation. But we had months to figure that one out. I got my pre-sale tickets and got us in the 10th row -- all the way on the end. It is a trend for 2008. On the babysitter front, we were struggling...well, Kim was. I didn't do jack but keep reminding her that it was coming up and she had to find someone. Well, lucky for us, our friend Sheri said she would take our 2 kids overnight and take them to school in the morning. When Kim told me I was like, "let me get this straight -- we drop the kids off at 3PM and we have no parental duties until after school the next day". OMFG. The date was on! We owe Sheri.
We headed down to Fiddler's Green early and stopped for a nice dinner on the way. At the venue, I grabbed a beer and Kim wanted a Sprite with Vodka. She isn't a drinker so I was glad to see her loosening up with a beverage. Got to our seats while M5 was getting setup to play. Lights came down and the show got started.
Now, this isn't my typical crowd for a show. The concerts I go to usually have people with way more piercings, tats, and interesting haircuts. We tend to head bang. You might get wet from a projectile beer. But that is what we do. This crowd was much more white and middle aged -- suburbanites out for an evening. However, one cool/funny thing. I did my Brightkite update of course that I was at the show. Mid-set some other Brightkite user sends me a direct message wondering if I wanted to upgrade my seats. That was kind of cool. Our seats were good so I passed but it was cool/geeky to have that virtual location network there and be able to interact with someone else because we were in the same location. Need to think more about possibilities there.
Kim was there for M5 so I was glad they did a good show. Played everything I wanted to here except for Kiwi (bastards!). Adam, the lead singer, seems to be trying to be more "bad ass" then in prior years. He has a whole sleeve of tats now and was dressed all in black. Kim always thought he was cute -- maybe even hot in the right video. So I was curious how the live performance would capture that. Unfortunately, it didn't. Apparently, Adam doing a bit of skipping and hopping around stage came off as ghey and didn't do it for her. During the show I wasn't sure if it was "Scott Weiland sexy dancing" or it was just awkward. Kim ruled it awkward.
In the middle of the set, I had to pee. I turned to Kim and told her and asked if I could get her anything. Figured a water would be a good suggestion given that big spiked Sprite she just had. She kinda paused for a moment and then came back with, "Get me another Sprite but tell them to make it a double shot. I couldn't taste anything in that one.". Uh, yes please! Finally, it was time for Counting Crows. Kim wasn't as excited but was interested to see what my fuss on them was all about. They came out with a full ensemble as always. It is almost to the point of how can they make any money if they have to split the tour dollars with all those dudes. But it works.
We weren't 3 songs into the show when Adam pulled out the piano and did "Long December". During the song in a deep quiet portion, he started changing lyrics...nothing new...he is always adding stuff...but it ended up being Cameo's Word Up. He commented about how that song was in his head. It was a funny moment. He finished up the song perfectly. Right around then, Kim commented to me how they put so much into the music and it feels like they are really giving. Maroon 5 just caused her to sing along. And although she didn't know the words, Counting Crows had her swaying and watching with a new interest. That Counting Crows magic was there. It was repeatable.
I was doing my usual deal of taking photos. Had my iPhone and camera. Can't ever figure out how to get the camera to deal with the lighting and the smoke machines. Kim grabbed the camera from me and used it for the rest of the show. Capturing most of the images here for me. My date comes to the rescue! Note to self: sports mode seems to be the proper setting.
There were a lot of songs from their new album in the set but they did play my favorite 2 live songs: Hangin Around and Rain King. They ended with Rain King -- and it was a different version as always. I suppose some find it annoying to go to a concert and hear a different rendition of your favorite song. However, that is the magic of Counting Crows. Blending in other songs, other tempos, and then bringing it back in the end to the song itself. As the show ended, Kim confirmed that there was something special about a Counting Crows show. I think she captured it when she said that Adam just "gives in his music".
We got out of the show quickly, home safely and got to bed. This morning Kim had to get up and volunteer at the kid's school and then has several appointments. A busy day after being out late on a school night. But I hope that the show, the music, the date/company, and the (1st?) night away from both kids gives her a little more bounce in her step today. I know it does for me. Live music recharges me and I had a great time sharing that experience with Kim -- once again.
View all photos from this event.
- Boulder Half Marathon 2008
Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:01:33 -0700Distance 13.1 miles Time 1:38:47 (PR) Pace 7:32 Rank 110 of 1579 GPS Analysis MotionBased As previously mentioned, I was ready to ditch my trail shoes for some good old fashioned fall road races. The Boulder Half Marathon was my first ever running race of my career 4 years ago. I have run the race annually since then. I am always tempted to step up to the marathon but it is nice to just have a day where you can enjoy a shorter distance and benchmark yourself. I have done more in the past year than any previous year in between this race so I knew a PR would happen. Just by how much?
I used to leave way too early for this race. This year I slept in and took it easy the day before. Just 2 miles worth of full speed 200m intervals to wake up those fast twitch muscles. I ate light for dinner -- soup! I also got a great amount of sleep on Friday night. I have learned that it isn't the night of the event that matters, its the day before that.
On the way down there, I pumped the tunes because I decided to run without the iPod. This is a big deal. But I wanted to be tuned into myself the whole time and not drift. The downside is that I would miss out on those tempo tunes that get you fired up. But I knew the watch would be my motivation. My pre-race consisted of 10 oz of Gatorade and a few ounces of Cheerios. I measured the stuff out. I then started with the drugs -- salt caps and VESPA followed by my GU. Although I hadn't eaten a lot, my stomach seemed overly full.
They moved the start of the race from out on the road to back into the reservoir parking lot. Jury is still out on that one given the tight start. The race is chipped as of last year so I suppose the impact is minimal. We got started a minute late by my watch and the race was underway. I brought a few different layers of clothes but ended up going in RaceReady short shorts and tech shirt. I bailed on everything else including gloves. It was the warmest I have been at this race ever. Usually its trash bag weather at the start.
So what was the goal? I decided on something sub 1:40. That would make a 1:30s halfer. I want to be in that club. So I set the watch at 1:38:30 and was going to nail that. Figured with any missed tangents I should come in under the flip to 40. The first mile was all over the place. Starts uphill then downhill plus you had to fight for position. I finally settled in to 7:31, the target pace. As the first few miles ticked away, I was off by seconds. A 7:36, a 7:34, a 7:38. Kept bouncing around. It was worrying me but I had the whole minute of play so I kept adding the differential up that I was losing. Probably the biggest factor was my lungs. They thought they were still in San Jose! Lots of belly breathing and I could feel the cramp I get going "Don't make me do this to you!". So I kept at it and played with breathing. The first few miles have more loose rock and dirt on the road. BTW, the course is mostly dirt road...85% maybe. But then when we got to Oxford Road, the dirt was nice and beat down and felt like a smooth race track. I felt my legs and lungs starting to get along.
I hit the 1/2 way point and felt like I was ready to roll. I shot out of the turnaround and I was doing 7:00 flat. Too hot but it was slightly downhill so I rolled with it. That next mile split was 7:14. I then realized I had just burnt off all the missed splits from before with one mile. Can I hold it? I started focusing on pace more than ever and held low 7:20s. Why not? As long as it felt good, I stayed there. I blew through most of the aid stations only grabbing a quick gulp twice the whole race. And NO, I never stopped at a potty the whole time! Yeah, for me. That's a record.
The miles were melting off very fast and I knew I had it in the bag. Felt like I could push harder but for a 1/2 marathon, this was a comfortable pace now. My legs were having a fun time so I just enjoyed it. With about 2 miles left, the marathon leader passed me. He was moving. He went on to a 2:34(?) finish. Holy crap...on this course! I lost some time on the final few hills for my splits but those earlier quick splits kept me even. So I think I did a decent job on the negative splits because the course isn't even throughout. As I rounded the last turn, I hit the pavement and the entrance to the reservoir. The finish was in sight and I kicked it up a bit and gave it some more speed for a strong finish. The results show that I finished in the top 7% and this isn't a shabby running crowd! My first Boulder I ran 1:55, then 1:48, then 1:45, and now 1:38. Its melting off. Hope it continues.
After the race, I found Simon and his family and we sat and talked and refueled. He was tentative on racing because they are awaiting a new addition to the family any minute. The post-race food was perfect -- Chipotle burritos with Izze drinks. That's like my lunch everyday! We traded some stories and I was in awe of his 1:23/9th place finish.
Next and final (big) race of the season is the Denver Marathon. A few more weeks of training. Another PR is in store I hope. Not as guaranteed as this one but my confidence is only gaining at this point. The bad news...the bar is raised on the Boulder Half Marathon for 2009. But I have a year to deal with that.
- Best Beach in Boulder
Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:30:19 -0700
@ Boulder Reservoir (5565 51st St, Boulder, CO 80301, USA) - Breakfast Crew
Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:00:20 -0700
@ Le Peep Restaurant (1225 Ken Pratt Blvd, Longmont, CO 80501, USA) - Double 4x4s
Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:30:21 -0700
@ In-N-Out Burger (50 Ranch Dr, Milpitas, CA 95035, USA) - Last Meeting
Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:00:22 -0700
@ 3550 Cisco Way (3550 Cisco Way, San Jose, CA 95134, USA) - Dakota Update
Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:35:22 -0700I am out of town but Kim passed along what the vet found from the biopsy. Apparently, the ulcers in her throat are due to some allergic reaction. They don't know from what. Dogs tend to get into all kinds of things. So they are starting her on an allergy medication to try and calm them down and see if that helps with her airway constricting. So its not some cancer, that's good.
- JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge 2008
Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:52:29 -0700Distance 3.50 miles Time 22:51 (PR) Pace 6:27 GPS Analysis MotionBased Last year, I had the opportunity to race in this charity challenge representing my employer, Cisco. It was a good time although it is sort of a wacky distance race at 3.50 miles. This year, we had an offisite planned for this week and it happened to coincide with the race once again. Sign me up!
Cisco didn't do as good as last year for participation. We only had like 106 people this time. However, the event was up to 5,700 I believe they said so that was cool. 250 some companies were represented. Glenn and I were able to talk co-workers Nick and Manju into running with us. Ted was a maybe until we left and he canceled. Luke is just a whiner and he said he was too tired from his jet lag. So we headed up in my rental Corolla. The rental companies are punishing me after the H3 damage.
Glenn and I did a few good sets of 20s to get things warmed up. We lined up and were off. The plan was 7:00, 6:30, then die on the last mile. However, with the crowd and excitement, we shot out of the gates at a 6 flat for the first half mile. Glenn kept yelling "brisk" at me. I wanted to slow down but my body said NO. So I kept the quick pace. There are a bunch of turns at the start so I kept having to slow down to round those 90s. Crap course in that respect. But once we got along the waterfront, I did my best to hold a 6:15-ish pace into the wind. It was a long mile and a half but it felt good, not great. Started cramping due to the deep breathing but I ran through it. Once we made the last turn, the wind settled and it was slightly downhill and I got a bit more speed. The splits show positive splits but I just went out too fast to do negatives. As I got on the final stretch, I saw the clock ticking up through the 22s. I put out what I could and crosssed before the 23:00. Felt great! Minus the cramps that I doubled over for. I wanted to puke. I hate those short runs. Its all you got the whole time. Glenn finished up about a minute after me due to his calf issues. But it felt great to be up a bit further in the pack and be able to compete in there with Glenn. Guess those 1,000+ miles since last year's challenge paid off by 2 whole minutes! The informal poll at the Cisco tent had me finishing 2nd for our company.
Brought my video camera for a little shooting of the Cisco ETG running crew!
The map...right under the Golden Gate.
- Lunch From Australia
Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:45:21 -0700
@ 3550 Cisco Way (3550 Cisco Way, San Jose, CA 95134, USA) - Almost Done
Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:04:51 -0700
@ Xanh Restaurant (185 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041, USA) - Luke And His $500 Millennium Falcon Lego Creation
Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:04:53 -0700
@ 3550 Cisco Way (3550 Cisco Way, San Jose, CA 95134, USA) - Weekly Training Summary
Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:22:18 -0700Total: 48.01 miles (7:35)
On one hand, I was depressed with the total miles after last week's 76. On the other hand, I had some strong workouts. I basically either took the easy days really light or off this week. I nailed the interval day and had a so-so tempo day for mostly mental reasons. The highlight of week was the long run on Sunday. I hooked with up Simon at Boulder Reservoir. We have been chatting and commenting via blogs over the summer. We met and put down a good strong long run at 21 miles. We basically ran the Boulder 1/2 Marathon course that I am doing this Sunday plus extra miles around Table Mountain. I was nervous leading up to the buddy run. I never run with anyone! Simon is shooting for sub 3 hours at the Denver Marathon so I have a bit of work to do to be on par with him. But we started with an 8:30 pace and held it pretty close through the hills and more importantly the conversation. Lots of chatting, which takes air and usually complicates things. But the miles melted away. I also was not feeling so hot in the gut that morning. So all things considered, we finished the 21 miles and were averaged at about 8:23. Could have run another 5 easily. So why am I shooting for 8:30 goal pace at Denver? I just did that on a training run without race conditions/support. Hmmm. Maybe I am faster than I think. I don't want to blow my Denver Marathon by overshooting it but I don't want to get done and feel like I left it out there. It will be a long winter. Anyway, Simon is cool and I hope to run with him again.
I am in California this week for meetings. Trying to get my runs in but the schedule wears me out. I can run 50 miles but a whole day of meetings -- ugh. Used to be the reverse when I lived here! We have the 3.5 mile charity race in San Francisco on Wednesday night while I am here. Curious how much time I can cut from last year. Then its back home for Boulder this weekend. Still shooting to finish in 1:3X. X might be a 9 but that is fine. I just want to move into that next 10 minute block.
Anyway, I am feeling strong and rested but just a bit like I should be getting more miles in. But I think I have put the time in already so now its just about sharpening.
- All Day With These People
Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:04:52 -0700
@ 3550 Cisco Way (3550 Cisco Way, San Jose, CA 95134, USA)
