Desert Sunrise

Leg strength training came in the form of a 63 mile mountain bike around the Needles on Thursday with Ranger Brad. There is nothing like powering up several thousand feet of elevation and then grinding through miles and miles of deep sand. Slow going and 90 plus degree temperatures made it an epic for sure. Well worth it though, great tour of the park and most amazing views EVER! But I will say that if it was epic for me, I'm not sure there are words to describe Brad's trip, fully rigid bike and NO rear break!!

I'm sure you all will get tired of hearing this but this morning was a spectacular run. The sunrise this moring over the La Sals was out of this world! This next comment is for Andrew, I felt as though I was Forrest "in the morning when the sun rises over the desert I can't tell when Heaven ends and the Earth begins." Anyways feeling better every day about my running and endurance.

Mountain Breezes and Weekend Races

First off: Congrats to Duncan, 5th place finish at the Bighorn 100 miler in WY (21:22) and Brandy Erholtz, 3rd place finish at Mt. Washington!! Looks like stiff competition this year at Mt. Washington (US Mountain Running Champs and 50th Anniversary), female course record was broken by a 23 year old! Top four women made the US Mountain Running Team and will be headed to Slovenia for Worlds. This makes three years in a row for Brandy, she defintely deserves it. Way to represent Colorado! Great racing, you all rock, wish I was there!



I can't complain though cause I had an awesome run in the La Sals above Moab yesterday with good friend Greg (Red Hot 50K Greg). Awesome views all around and lots of climbing. Little tired in the legs, I can tell that it has been a few weeks off for me, ahh! Hopefully it will come back before August.

Bear Encounters and Desert Rain

I've been relying on my bikes lately for some cardio/endurance workouts and opted for a long ride on my road bike up the Hartsdraw Road into the town of Monticello and back. The Hatsdraws Road is quite a climb, more than I was anticipating. But I love to climb, so no problem there. Beautiful ride!! The mountains are green and I must say I miss them. This is my favorite time of the year in the high country. As I was huffing my way up I noticed a brown animal lunbering down the side of the road. Thinking it was a cow I didn't look twice. As I approached it, I realized this was no cow but a bear! It was completely unaware I was behind him. It crossed my mind that it is probably not a good thing to suprise a bear, to late...he saw me and took off at a dead sprint through the trees. Am I really that scary? Anyways amazing ride with awesome views, highly recommended!



I've been in the best of moods today because I had a great run this morning. No pain in my heel!! I woke to a steady drizzle, true to me form at 5 am, and seized the oppritunity to experience the desert in the rain. Closest thing to a religous experience, if I were religous, that I have ever had. I ran in and out of a couple canyons with great views of the Needles out to the top of Elephant Hill. I've planned hill repeats in the future on Elephant Hill, great technical climbing and a good anaerobic 3 minute hill climb. Word of caution: Slickrock really is SLICKROCK when wet.

Needles Strength and Endurance Summer Challenge Off to a Back Burning Start!

The Needles Summer Challenge held its first event three weeks ago with the first annual Ranger Station bike relay: men vs. women. I won't go into details, just enough to say: Girls Rule, Boys Drool.

Last night was the second event of the summer. Scheduled on short notice do to the departure of our SCAs, the first of 4 plank offs was held. A strong showing of 6 contestants made for record braking performances. Top three were: 3.) Andrew Bliss ~4:45 (although there was some question as to knee touching and Mo interfernece) 2.) Brad Donaldson 5:18 (PR) 1.) Keri Nelson 7:08 (PR). Just so everyone knows, I have direct quotes and a signed commitment from Brad to reach 10 minutes prior to his departure in the fall.

Future events and results will be posted here.

Back in Business

I've been a bit hesitant to post anything since this is a running blog and I am sad to say I have not been running. Over the spring I developed a nagging pain in the heel of my foot, which developed into an even worse pain and then an intolerable pain. In early May, after a long run on some off canter slick rock I could barely walk the next day, yet I convinced myself that I could run the Black Canyon Ascent. The BCA was a failed attempt after mile 1.5 when I slowed to a walk and caught a ride to the finish. Anyways, long story short is LESSON LEARNED: listen to your body. Everyone says it but it can sometimes be the hardest thing to do. Seems I've been down this road before, maybe not with injuries per say, but sickness and burn out. Rest is the key to longevity in the athletic world.
The Good News: Four weeks off and I put in a short run the last couple days. Feels good with little pain. Hopefully I am back in business, although slow rebuilding is key.