Saturday's training ride

Tyler and I stayed in the Gulch this weekend since Rebecca had her first Saturday off in 6 or so months. Her new schedule is M-F, 8-5. Hooray.

Since she had Saturdays off, I was allotted 2 hours for a ride! We rode up from home, up Telegraph, Cowboy, South Rim, Carbon, Crites, Anasazi, Meadow, home. It was approximately 18 miles and 2000ft climbing with no stopping! We were trying to simulate race conditions for this weekend's upcoming Xterra race in Boulder.

Profile of the route.

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Topo of the training route.Telegraph is approximately where the 7550,7600,7500 ft labels are.

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Local hike in the Gulch

We casually hiked up telegraph to keep the blood pumping getting ready for this week's training routine. Rebecca, Brianna, Tyler, and Cede all hiked. It was 40% chance of rain or we would have went on a higher country hike. The Gulch system is a few blocks from the house.

We hiked up Telegraph and back down... roughly 3 miles.

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It was fairly humid but it did not stop Cede from chasing after every lizard she sniffed out. I was more worried about her stumbling on a rattler.

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Notice the looming clouds on the horizon.

Rebecca ripping through the Gulch

Still having fun with the video camera, here is some footage of Rebecca finishing up the Meadow loop.

Beaver Creek Xterra Results

Congrats Tyler, your first race ever! And it was an Xterra.



Nothing but improvement is on the horizon.

Video of Tyler and I swimming.

I purchased a video camera for recording some of our adventures: Mountain biking, Skiing, underwater adventures, etc. The camera is called GoPro

http://www.goprocamera.com/

I used the camera initially to record footage of Tyler and I while swimming. Visually watching your form underwater has been very helpful to identify where to concentrate on form improvement.

I plan on recording some mountain biking soon!

Beaver Creek - Xterra

Today, Tyler and I entered an Xterra at Beaver Creek, near Vail. - It consisted of an open water swim, mountain bike, and trail run. Tyler completed the short course and due to his outstanding performance I see him doing the full Xterra's very soon. The full course was 1 mile swim a 15.5 mile mountain bike with 3600 ft of elevation gain (it was a ball buster) and then a 5 mile run with another 1200 ft elevation gain. I was exhausted starting the run: dehydrated, hurting from the mountain bike ride, and had horrible stomach cramps from either dehydration or from the Gu shots. I ended up fast walking at least 2 of the 5 miles. Otherwise, we finished the race and we both have a future of nothing but faster improvement. Tyler stated "It was a blast, I cannot wait for the next one"


Below, Tyler chilling out at the deck of our hotel.

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I did not get any action shots of Tyler, his event was before mine. Tyler taking a snap shot of me in Transition 2 from bike to run. I am "quickly" getting on my trail shoes.

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After the race, father-son shot.

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Self notes: Swim I completed fairly well, faster than the pack, the mountain bike, I could not catch my breath and need to work on my climbing (yes, it was 3600 ft, but I felt weak), and finally the run/jog/hike, can improve dramitcally.

Stand by for other pictures and actual data results.

Tyler's first open water swim

After work, I planned an open water swim in lake Haviland, a nice isolated lake at 8100ft to expose Tyler to the open water. It was a great experience for Tyler and we will be back at the lake in a few days for one more training session before the race this weekend near Vail, CO.

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Yes, I am wearing a swim cap while throwing up a gang sign. (Yes, I am totally k3wl) The water was relatively very clear, 20 foot visibility and the temperature felt approximately 62 degrees.

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After avoiding any fishing hooks and slimy rocks we made it to deeper water. Once there, I gave Tyler some basic open-water navigation instruction and some techniques for remaining calm. The wet suits make you positive buoyant allowing an improved swimming form and is less resistance. click for larger image

Rebecca, Brianna and the dogs accompanied us with a dinner picnic. Overall, a great lake, I will definately be putting miles in here and incorporating this into our training program.

Floating down the Animas

Today was a lazy day. We decided to brave the rapids and float down the Animas. Below, Tyler and Brianna are approaching near the shore. Some of these shots were from Rebecca on an overlooking bridge. You can see me taking pictures from the shore.

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Brianna missed the landing zone!

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I asked "Did you have a good time?" I got the typical respone "eh, it was ok". You can never please a teenager!

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Rebecca and Brianna coming in to their finish. Rebecca said she crashed into a bridge and was spilled into the river, she remained a trooper, got back on and smiled.

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Jones - Pinkerton - Dutch - Hermosa

Tyler and I mountain biked with Jim, Baird, and Walker today on a killer 20 mile trail(See subject title for the trail names). We peaked out at roughly 10300ft. I actually really enjoyed the climb up Jones; Pinkerton climb on the other hand was a gut check! Eventually, we were able to get some downhill and I apologize to the cows that we disturbed as we buzzed down the mountain.

The first 8 miles was approximately 3500 feet of climbing and it was not technical; instead, it was relentless and never ending! I loved every minute of it. The Garmin reported 3713 of total ascent for the entire 20 miles. I used an application known as SportTracks to gather the data.

Tyler and I we were a bit exhausted before even beginning today's ride due to the heavier week of training for next week's Xterra. But, it was character building. We eventually ended up with smiles upon completion!

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It's official - Rebecca is a Mountain Biker

Rebecca successfully climbed Horse Gulch Road and completed the inner meadow loop like a pro! This was her 2nd trip and a quote from her was "I want to do that again". Unfortunately, it was 8:30pm and the sun was setting.

Here are some pictures of her single track experience showing off her Kona 4 Dawg Deluxe. The 4 means 4 inches of front and rear travel regarding her suspension.



Look at the concentration on her face!


Before we began some of the fun downhill in the meadow loop, she hyper-hydrates and reflects on the new skills she learned.


She did absolutely great! With pony tails, smiles, and a great attitude. (What more can I ask for) She was a real trooper and I foresee her accomplishing more than she ever thought possible! What happened to the Ohio Rebecca I once knew who would never think of mountain biking! ;)

I told her in a recent email..."You're an official mountain biker, now prepare for white-knuckled hang-on-for-your-life rides where the laughter is fueled by lunacy"..

Training Snapshot - MTB Ride

A snapstop of our mountain biking. Tyler and I decided to ride this morning at 5:45 and hit a local trail that starts blocks from our house. It actually felt great to get out in the morning before work. Once again, missing the heat and noon rains.



The average pace seems relatively consistent regardless of the climbing.. hrmmm


Here is the topo.I ended up riding back on the road for a mile or two due to getting to the office at a reasonable time. The trail is in the Gulch system:

Training Snapshot - Trail Running

My training is nothing to gloat about; however, this is only my base training. Meaning, I am not focused upon speed-intervals or strength training as of yet. While this blog posting is focused upon only the trail jogging data, my overall training schedule is as follows: jogging and swimming M,W,F. Mountain Biking T,TH,S.

Below, I display the jogging data I collected today from my Garmin205 of a local trail system within the Gulch.


The Totals once again are nothing impressive. It is just volume training. Notice the slow first 2 miles and the last two miles. Which were uphill!? You can figure that out by looking at the total Ascent for each lap. A 9:43 Average Pace which I feel is relatively very slow. But, I have to keep reminding myself this year is only base/volume training!



Click on the images for the larger version. The total elevation gain was 700ft (error factor of +- 18ft) "We ain't in Kansas(Ohio) any more Toto"


Below is a topo of the map with the trail I jog. The streets on the west side of the map is Durango. It is a fairly nice trail for an early morning jog. Avoiding the heat and the typical noon monsoon rains of CO's July month encourages me to get up in the morning. Also, the rattle snakes are too cold to be out; however, the mountain lions who are used to humans maybe lurking about for an earlier morning snack.



I am subscribing to the training techniques defined by Joe Friel. He recommends a copious amount of volume training before engaging with more advanced training such as intervals and strength. I would love to have had a Garmin with the HR monitor to overlay the data. Also, observing the HR average decrease overtime is a sure sign of gauging aerobic/anaerobic improvement. Maybe next year I will upgrade to the 305.

Jeep camping, July 3rd, 09

We decided to head 14 miles up Junction Creek Road and find a cherry spot, enjoy the day, and test out some new jeep camping gear. New tent, stove, tables, air-mattresses, etc.

Here are the pics of the event. We took lunch and dinner and even had s'mores. The dogs ran around like idiots. I was secretly hoping something would eat them when I turned a blind-eye. Unfortunately, this did not occur. Click any image for full size.

Base Camp, The tent is a 6 man; plenty of room for all of our air mattresses!

We have two hammocks that I setup above base camp for an outstanding view!

A view from the campsite. Facing northerly relative to Durango.

Notice the clouds; the day was fraught with thunderstorms, but, we avoided them!

An artsy-fartsy shot here.

Overall, it was a very relaxing and enjoyable day. I needed to test drive the gear before we used it to spend the night anywhere.

Hermosa Trail 15June09

A few weeks ago Tyler and I did an out and back starting a lower Hermosa TH. I had fun with the editing and forgot to upload the video.

We are stars!!

Screw Colorado, Hollywood here we come!

We were asked to be apart of a commercial for a local mountain bike tour guide company, Hermosa Tours. Enjoy the video. You may have to watch it a number of times to see everyone!

Xterra Buffalo Creek 09

My buddy from work Dan O, motivated me to train for an Xterra. What is an Xterra? Basically, it is a triathlon but with a twist. Traditional triathlons consist of a swim(typically, open water), a road bike ride, and a road run. However, Xterras are a swim (typically, open water), a mountain bike ride, and a trail run. I completed a number of traditional triathlons while in the military, and Xterras actually sounded more enjoyable.

So for the last month I built up a basic base for swimming, trail jogging and mountain bike riding. My goal, was simple, I did not want to finish last!

Dan and I travelled to Bailey, Co (30 minutes south of Denver) to compete in the Buffalo Creek Xterra on 20June09. We drove up the night before and camped out before the event.

Here is a picture of the transition area from the lake swim to the bike. It was also the same transition are from the bike finish to begin the trail run. Dan and I setup in the back left corner.


Below a picture of Dan sleeping before the event. Oddly, he looks like a corpse in that tent. I slept in the back of the Element (bear safe!)



Below is a listing of the results. I am happy to say, Dan finished first in our age group (the most competive) and I did not finish last!!! I was happy. Notice who finished first in the 35-39 age group. If you look closely at my times, you will notice I barely beat a few 55-98 age group! Never say your too old to have fun entering events like this.

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The next event is July 18th in Buffalo Creek, near Vale. Dan, Tyler and I will enter. Tyler will make his first appearance on the Xterra circuit. He has been training hard, especially with his swimming to prepare. I will post more pictures from the Buffalo Creek event when I receive them from the event's photography group.