Time to Turn the Page...

Winter is over. Sort of...

It's been another busy year of work, travel, life.  Every year I tell myself that things will cool off a bit, that work will become less hectic, that my travel will slow down... It hasn't, and that's OK.

Truth is, I love what I do.  The work, the busy schedules, all the travel...It's all part of an amazing adventure in itself and I wouldn't change a thing - at least not anytime soon.  Sure there are times where I wouldn't mind being home a bit more - but we adapt. You learn to spend more quality time with close friends/family, and plants learn to live without little to no water for 10-day stints.

Greek coastline - Athens awaits.

So with the nordic season behind me, I turn the page and look forward to hitting the trails!  That means it's time to hit the road again... or in this case, the air.

For the past 5 seasons, I've had the opportunity to take part in Salomon's Advanced Week, where Brand Ambassadors, athletes and product development staff come together to test the latest footwear, apparel and gear.  It's a no-holds-barred week where we literally 'run' the product into the ground, and provide valuable feedback to the development team.  Of course, not everything makes the cut, but if it does, it becomes worthy of the 'S-LAB' tag - Salomon Laboratory.  So if you've bought on of these products in the past, you know it's been approved by some of the world's best trail runners!

Kardamili - Advanced Week testing grounds

This year's testing grounds - Kardamili, Greece...  Two words: 'WOW'.  As far as testing grounds go, I don't think you could ask for a better location.  The quality of the trails here is simply impressive - you want it, you got it - except for flat sections... haven't found too many of those yet!  Oh, and the scenery...not bad at all!

I know what you're thinking...but believe when I tell you that this is the furthest thing for a 'vacation'.  With countless products to review, the R&D crew wastes no time!  Days are jammed-packed with 2 per day testing sessions, covering 20-30km of technical trail, which translates to a minimum of 3hrs of difficult running - and that's only if you don't get lost!  Fresh off the trail, your trail running gear is immediately replaced with pens and paper, filling out feedback forms, and documenting every feelings, tweeks, comments - the good, the bad, the ugly... they want to hear it!

Felix and Michel on the final push to the top of the trail

Testing aside, one of the highlights for me is the interaction and networking that takes place between both athletes and Brand Ambassadors.  Being able to share or bounce ideas and marketing strategies from a global perspective, and adapt them to our Canadian market is key.  Whether in an organized focus group, or dinner time chatter, exchanges take place throughout the day - So by the time your head finally touches the pillow around midnight, sleep is instant.

On the trail...Coming and Going

Like it or not, another Advanced Week has come and gone...My brain is full of new ideas, confidence and I'm ready to attack the trail running season!  Our new Greek friends have been fantastic hosts, and the camaraderie of my Salomon 'family' continues to grow...I'll miss this place - but I'm happy to come home. 

Sardine head collection - Greek specialty!

Looking back at this busy year, one of the things I've learned about my work is that it's not about skiing, or running or whatever it is I do...(trust me, sometimes I don't even know how to describe what I do!).  The root of my work, is about building relationships.  Not so sure why it's taken me this long to figure this out, but I realize now that whether for business or friendship - relationships are the key. 

[Taking a moment to reflect on this...]

Yup, I can turn the page now.

So much to talk about...Better leave some for next time.  Besides, it's time to go for a run!  

A rare moment - Taking a bit of PV time...

Kaslo SufferFest - Are You Ready to Suffer?



Well, all I can say is that the Kaslo SufferFest lived up to its name...It's Monday, and I'm still wading through the fuzz - ugh.

Ever been to Kaslo? If you don't know where it is, look it up.  I've never actually taken the time to drive through the Kootenays before, and after such a great weekend spent running on the local trails, I honestly wish I had more time to play (but with fresh legs!).

After a long day of driving, I pulled into the quiet little town at around 11pm...seemed like most of the 1,000 residents were fast asleep.  The only place that looked remotely open was the Kaslo Hotel & Brew Pub - I guess it's time for a pint!  Despite the local band's 'talent', it was time for bed - lucky for me, it was only 2 sets of stairs above!

Happy to be catching up on some Z's after a busy week, I was looking forward to a bit of a sleep in...but it was not to be.  Instead of my alarm, the hotel phone rattled beside me. 

"Sir, is that your big (ass) brown Dodge pickup parked out in front of the hotel?"

Half asleep..."Uh...y-yes..."

"Oh, good. I guess nobody told you...but that's our finish line today, and your truck is parked in the way of our kid's race course!"

Oops. 

The view of Main Street from my hotel room...right above the finish line!



The rig parked in the kid's finish lane... I guess I better move it now.


In case you didn't know, the Kaslo SufferFest is actually a 2-day multi-disciplined stage race that includes various combos of XC mountain bike race (40km or 100km), a trail race (10k, 25k or 50k) and a DH mountain bike event. Like most of the 300+ participants, I decided to take part in only one of the many events...the 50k trail race. 

So, while I was snoring away in my comfy bed, the mountain bikers were covering some hard kms on the trails.  By the time I was back from a tasty breakfast at the local coffee shop, the town was alive and anticipating the big guns - who in this case ended up being a couple of friends of mine from Canmore - way to represent boys!

The Cafe boys in the spotlight - Leighton (right) took the win, with John (left) in 2nd

Onto the trail race...
With a quick fly-by on the important bits of the course, I was as good as I was going to get.  I typically like doing a course recon when I can - always good to be familiar with key intersections, check points, etc...Also allowed me to get the kinks out after the long drive and see how the body would feel after my 4 Peaks epic less than 7 days prior...

As I prepped my gear, I realized I forgot my Suunto watch...Funny how we get used to key pieces of gear when we race...Felt odd to not have a watch - I normally set it to gauge my pace or to see how much altitude I've covered (or how much I've got remaining!). But I survived.

Suunto data a la PV:  Elev Gain: ~ 1,500m Not a ton of gain, but the course still took it's toll with lots of singletrack, up/down terrain and few hard technical bits.

At 6am, huddled under the street lights of Main Street, a small crew of runners (50k participants) set off into the night...After a quick run through town and it was up the grunt climb of the day - a straight up, 500m gain stair-step climb known as 'No Brakes' hill... I settled into a steady rhythm, shining my light up the track and pushing on my quads to get the best efficiency out of my stride.  In behind, strongman Peter Findlay pursued.  Despite having placed top 5 in the 100km mtn bike the previous day, there he was lingering...Damn that old-man strength.

Up and up we climbed...I pushed on in the night.

As daylight broke, the climbing eased off onto the Buchanan Access Trail, one of the best singletrack traverse I've done in a while.  I didn't know how far back Peter was hiding, so I switched off my AY-UP light, put the pedal to the metal and disappeared around the bend...

For the next 10km, I was giddy...the track was simply amazing - Aside from a few up or down switchbacks to detour around natural obstacles, it was a beautiful flowing descent into the aid station. At the Wagon Rd turnaround (15km) I had gained 5min on Peter...but it's a long race so I kept my head down and kept the pace up.

Besides a bit of confusion due to missing signs at key intersections (found out later that they had been taken down by locals - I was lucky and guessed right, others weren't so lucky!), the rest of the run back down to town was fairly quick - Next thing I knew, I was cruising through town.  A quick resupply, and I was off for loop #2!

 



Kaslo River Bridge:  The link between the North & South trails...



Dodge this!  The race course zipped right through the Kaslo local airport...Had to look right, left, and up!

The second loop looked a bit confusion on the map (hence my recon the day before), but it actually turned out to be relatively easy to follow... There was lots of aid stations out there, so lots of opportunities to fuel up if needed.  Although there wasn't much elev gain (on paper), I definitely found this section challenging.  My body was still feeling good, but I could start to feel that I wasn't fully recovered from the 4 Peaks.  The slow consistent singletrack climbing ate away at my energy... My pace slowed in the twisty mossy singletrack.  The short/steep up and downs were taking their toll...The mind started to wander... Where was Peter?  Damn that old man strength...


At the 40km mark, I started passing runners that were on their first mini-loop of the second half of the course...good timing.  Chasing bodies perked me up and my pace quickened.  I was on the home stretch.  Once last pass by the airport (a quick look up!) and it was all the way down back to town. 

One more lap around the town's shoreline and I crossed the line...Happy camper! 

Ever been to Kaslo? You should...with 7 different events (in 2 days) to choose from you don't have an excuse!  A big thanks to Janis for putting on a great show - and the entire community for supporting this exciting weekend of events.  Can't wait for next year! 

The hardware:  Carved by a Kaslo local artist...Not sure what inspired this guy...could it be the real thing?

Canmore 4 Peaks Challenge

It may not look like much, but it's no easy feat...

The Canmore 4 Peaks Challenge is simple - Summit all four local peaks in a day.  Using cars, bikes, etc...to move to/from each trailhead is not allowed.  So you choose...you can run, walk or crawl, either way, it makes for a long, long day on the trails.

The peaks include Grotto Mountain (2,706m) which is the steepest of the bunch + Lady MacDonald (2,605m), with its sketchy knife edge summit + East End of Rundle or EEOR (2,530m), a slow scree ridden climb and Ha Ling (2,407m), the 'easiest' of the four...

Easy.

As far as I know, only 3 people have done this prior to my attempt... Jack Firth at the age of 50-something, completed the four summits in a day (20hrs give or take) and was joined by his son (Ben) for the final ascent up Ha Ling...

Sticking with local mountain men...Ernst Salzgeber completed all 4 Peaks at the age of 60!  I couldn't find many details on this attempt, but word is it took him in the 17+ hr range...

The latest to complete the 'quad' is climber and local Canmore Crossfit owner, Greg Thazuk, who's built a reputation for tackling any worthy challenge that is thrown on his plate.  Greg completed the mountain mission in around 14.5hrs (not sure on exact time)...A solid effort for a self proclaimed 'non-runner'!

As for me, I'm just happy to tick this 'beast' off my list... Huge respect to Jack, Ernst and Greg - It's an honour to be part of the select that have completed this challenge!

**Note: If I've missed someone and/or you know of anyone else that has completed the 4 Peaks Challenge please acknowledge them in the comments section - I'd love to know!
A few bits in case you were wondering:

- Which summit was the hardest?  All 4 peaks were unique in difficulty, but the most physically and mentally demanding was EEOR. By that point, I was close to 8hrs and I was tired.  Having never climbed Rundle, I ended up losing the trail twice and had to bushwack my way through steep terrain to find the trail again. As I got higher up the peak, the loose scree made you lose 1/2 a step for every one you took...Add in some tough route navigating and I was just about to lose my shit.     

- Easiest summit?  Ha Ling... I've run up this one many times. I knew it wouldn't take me more than an hour and it's as close to a mountain hwy as you can get.  However, Fitzy and I had run out of water halfway up (poor planning on my part) but thankfully a very generous couple hiking down shared some of their water with us!

- Scariest moment? The 10-15m knife edge on Lady Mac was super sketchy...I definitely felt out of my comfort zone as I clung onto the edge with both hands, feet half dangling over a massive cliff trying to find an edge to step on...I had a few moments where the wind was howling so hard I had to stop and hang on...not good.

-  Freak occurrence... At the top of Grotto, the wind was howling like crazy.  Despite tightening the draw strings on our visors, a tornado like wind simultaneously blew Andy and my hats off our heads.  I was lucky, my hat was blown 10m in the air, and fell back to my feet... Andy wasn't so lucky, his visor was catapulted about 50m out in space...lost forever on the back side of Grotto.

- Best moment of the day... Fitzy 'found' a nectarine at the bottom of his pack at the top of Ha Ling.  By this time, we were parched from not having brought enough water...The sweet juiciness of the fruit brought me back to life for the last stretch home...

- Running on Flat: 1h45 min (most of this was spent running through town)
- Time spent climbing: 5h33min of speedy pole walking  
- Time spent descending: 3h18min (yes my quads are sore today)

- Breaks along the way?  At the 5h30min halfway mark (at my house), I took 30min to refuel, eat, drink, change socks and shoes. Otherwise, random water/food break along the way, and twitter posts... of course.

- Fuel? 4 ham/cheese tortilla wraps w a bit of honey mustard, 2 HoneyStinger gels, 1 Pro Bar, salt vinegar crispers (salty goodness!), Salt Stick electrolyte tabs, Tumbs (4), noodles w/ oil/salt (at home), 1L of ginger ale (at home), 2x 1.5L bladders + lots of water from creeks (I'll probably pay for this one later in the week - yikes!), 1 coke (that Fitzy brought to me on EEOR) and the most amazing nectarine on the planet!

- Best piece of gear?  Ski poles... essential for all the up/down. 

- Body damage?  Quads are beat, small blister on right foot from all the side walking on steep scree slopes...that's it.

Suunto Movescount Beta: Forgot to recalibrate the altitude on my watch at the start so the base altitude is about 100m off (should be 1325m, not 1428m)...Start - halfway - finish point was my house in downtown Canmore, I took a 30min refuelling break at the halfway mark, otherwise was more/less trying to keep moving most of the day.

View from the top of Grotto - #1:  Was psyched to have Andy Reed with me for most of the day...Thanks Andy! Canmore in the backdrop.  You can notice Spray Rd that cuts into the side of EEOR (Rundle) - Had to run up that road to get to the last 2 trailheads of the day.



View from Lady MacDonald - #2: Great view of Canmore on a perfect day! In the center of the photo is Ha Ling Peak (left of center valley) and EEOR (right of center valley). Spray Rd cuts up the slope...



Top of Lady MacDonald: Super windy conditions made for some tough climbing on narrow summit ledge...



Lady MacDonald's knife edge summit - Difficult to see but most of this section is only 1 to 2ft wide ... Hangin' on for dear life - white knuckling it all the way across - Didn't feel very comfortable up here!

Taking a water break in Cougar Creek after 2 peaks...Andy takes a bit of gravel out of his shoes.

View of Ha Ling Peak midway up Rundle - #3:  If only I had a squirrel suit... Hit a low point going up EEOR, and was looking for any excuse to take a break! 

One more to go:  Taking a quick break in the reservoir in between EEOR and Ha Ling.  Having lost Andy, I was happy to be joined by Fitzy for the last climb of the day. 

Don't do it!  A twitchy chipmunk hangs out on the top of Ha Ling...He wasn't too pleased when we left without leaving him any crumbs-

Rockwall Traverse - Fast VS Light...

Suunto Movescount Beta...

PV: "I don't know...what do you feel like running?"

Martin: "Well, if you had to pick one trail to run, which one would you choose...?

PV: "Rockwall... no question."

Martin: "What's 'Rockwall'? How long will it take?"

PV: "Not sure...It's 52km w/ 2,500m gain. My fastest time is 8hrs, but we could easily cut an hour off that. Maybe two... Hikers typically do it 3 to 4 days."

Martin: "OK then... it's settled. Let's go for it!"

And that was it.

Despite having run this trail twice before, I was eager to show Martin aka the 'Goat', one of the most scenic and classic trails of the Canadian Rockies - And with my injuries finally behind me, there was no excuse not to test the body and take advantage of all the high altitude training we had done over the past 3 weeks :)

With near perfect conditions, we set off in an attempt to see what we could do as far as putting a new benchmark on the table for this challenging trail...and after the smoke had settled, we were left exhausted, but content with the effort.

No matter how well you think you're prepared, playing in the mountains can be a humbling experience - You have to be prepared for anything, and anticipate the unexpected. Blue skies can turn grey in an instant...dry trails can become muddy...your trusty pair of trail shoes can give you the worst blisters ever...water bladders can burst...food can run out...I think you get the picture. Bottom line, if you're not careful, the mountains will slap you around like a cat playing with it's pray...

So going for a 'fast' time sometimes means you have to make sacrifices - but where? In order to move quickly, you have to be light...But what gear to you leave behind? How much extra food do you bring? Despite all the planning, you still end up riding a fine line and can only hope that nothing goes wrong. With those thoughts in mind, I think we prepared adequately for anything weather wise - all the 'survival' essentials were present in our packs. I think where we were a bit ambitious was in regards to our expected time, and unfortunately ended up a bit lite in the food department as both Martin and I ran out of 'fuel' with 8k to go. And that's where the real fun began...

I'll stop there and let the video speak for itself... In the meantime, the high alpine window is closing quickly and there's only a few weeks of running up high left... is there another attempt in the forecast...? 

Enjoy! 

Rockwall Traverse Video

Road Trip!

photo: Klaus Fengler/www.klausfengler.de

Where to begin...

Calgary, Salt Lake City, Park City, Moab, Leadville and finally Buena Vista to Beaver Creek...A monster of a road trip, yet a perfect lead-up to run across the Colorado Rockies...or at least that was the plan!

Speaking of which, I've never been big on planning things, so when the 'Goat' (Martin Gaffuri) and I left Canmore, I have to admit that there wasn't much of a travel 'plan' in place...we were headed to Salt Lake City, then Leadville to pace for Ryan Sandes...and finally TransRockies, but for the 2 weeks in between... who knew!

What we did know is that we wanted get in lots of running volume at high altitudes, and run in very hot temperatures...These key ingredients would help prepare us for the 2011 Gore-Tex TransRockies Run. 

I won't repeat myself too much here since I wrote about my running in the previous posts, but the combination of SLC/Park City for high altitude volume and Moab for heat was almost perfect.  Temperatures never dipped below 30C+, reaching highs of 38C!  And the running...well...two words: simply. fantastic.

Welcome to Leadville, CO - Home of the Leadville 100

Leadville 100 Recap:

What an experience!  After 2 weeks on the road, the final prep for TransRockies couldn't have been more perfect than to pace for Ryan.  I was so dialed up for this event that I actually put more focus on being 'fit' to pace Ryan than for TransRockies - funny.  Of course, by the time I picked up Ryan, he had about 100km more running in his legs than me...so needless to say that the pace would be manageable.



Heading out to the Fish Hatchery @ 7am to join Vanessa (Ryan's girlfriend aka crew chief)

Since most of us (Martin, Anna and I) were running in the TransRockies Run the following day, we slept in a bit, and skipped out on the 4am start, and joined the support crew at 7am as Ryan reached the Fish Hatchery...

It wasn't long before the front runners were rounding the corner, Ryan was sitting 5th, and in the mix!  In he came, out he went... We packed up and headed to Twin Lakes for the next CP... 

Coming down the trail into Twin Lakes CP... still sitting 5th overall

In he came... out he went... although he did mention something about his quads being a bit sore - no shit buddy - you've been running almost 65km! Hope Pass (take 1) was on tap...

In the ghost town of Winfield we waited...

"Runner!"

"Holy Shit!!"  A surge of adrenaline burst through my body as I spotted Ryan's white Exo kit bounding down the road..."Wow!"  At 80km, he was in the lead, had taken control of the race and was moving well...

Anna (Frost) was ready to go for her 'mule' duties.  At Leadville, pacers are allowed to carry "everything except the runner"... so all the water, food, gear would be handled by the pacers from now on...Being one of the best hill climbers in the business, Anna was eager to mentally 'drag' Ryan back up the 3,600m high Hope Pass for his second time that day.  And did she ever...

On the flip side I eagerly waited for my turn... I loaded up with gels, bars, random snacks, water (for him) and more water (for me!).  Off we went...

For much of the 25km, I did my best to keep Ryan as alert and focused as possible...He was tired and running all over the place, so my job was to maximize his efficiency on the trail.  Everything from breathing, keeping the chest up, relaxing the shoulders/arms, to eating/drinking regularly... cue words were thrown out every few minutes...if you had been standing on the sidelines, you would have said: "man, that guy is annoying... Shut the hell up already!".  I even asked him at one point what he was listening to music wise (he had his earphones on) "I'm listening to you...".  "Oh...OK...You can listen to music if I'm too annoying or talking too much you know".  "No, no... keep going...it's good".

So I kept talking.

My 25km section flew by... we covered it in 2h25min or so...give or take.  He was on pace for 16h...

The Salomon Rigs waiting for Ryan at the 150km mark...

I had done my job, now it was Adam and Josh's turn...

The waiting was painful...Standing at the finish line staring in the distance, waiting to spot Ryan and Josh's headlamps...yet nobody was coming.  "Where are they?" 

Time was ticking...

At the finish line...30min before Ryan arrived! 

And then 2 little flickers of light appeared in the distance...Next thing we knew, Ryan was bounding down the street, steps away from posting the 3rd fastest time in Leadville Trail 100 history: 16h47min... Wow.  What a day!  What an experience to be part of...It was truly an honour and privilege to have been part of such a special event, with a great crew of runners - thanks team! 

TransRockies Run

Well, after a long day and night of quiet celebration, it was back to business... this time for myself - gulp!  As much as I had told myself I was going to take it 'mellow' this year, my competitive drive was on overdrive after a great 2 weeks of running.  I was tired, yes. But the desire to do well is a tad hard to ignore...

Aside from a few post-beer-pizza-celebration-stomach-issue-pitstops along way, stage 1 ended up ok...All the heat training we had done came in handy as the 35km BV to Railroad Bridge leg is always a hot one!  But I should have practiced running with lots of beer and pizza in my belly - might have come in handy!

No, these aren't prison buses - Heading out to my favorite, stage 2 up Hope Pass!

Stage 2 has always been a favourite of mine, and so I was putting all the chips down on this one... The grind up to the top was as painful as ever, but a steady rhythm set with my poles had me top the summit with the lead solo runner (Justin Ricks) and after a fast run down the steep slopes, I bottomed out in first, with 5km of rolling singletrack flats to go...

But there was nothing to hold back a hard charging JR... with a 2:20 marathon under his name, even if I had gained another km on him at the bottom of the descent, I would have been hard pressed to keep the lead... so I (happily) settled for a 2nd place on the stage, a good 2min faster than my time last year, and moving up into 2nd overall in the solo standings by a very slim 10sec margin!

Despite 3 good days of running in my legs, I managed to extend the lead over the course of the 39km stage 3 by using Rickey/Anna (Open Mix Team) to pace me in the first half (and help ward off the previous night's excessive 'consumption' in my system!!) and then put it in overdrive in the second half to solidify my overall standing...

All in all... a fantastic week of running, shared with like minded friends... How can you not have fun at an 'all-inclusive trail running camp'? 

See you next year TransRockies!

Smokey the Bear... ripping it up in Red Cliff for stage 4!

No visit to Denver is complete without a stop at Outdoor World's weapon section!

"Your wife called... She said you can buy whichever gun you want!" 

The long drive home... Wind farm heading up to Judith's Gap, Montana.

Running Highs

It’s been a while since I’ve felt good on the trails...It’s a nice feeling-

The urge to jump in the truck and hit the road to find and explore new trails came just at the right time, as my body was finally ready to crank up the volume a bit, and (allowed me to) squeeze in a much needed 4-day training block before tackling my 5^thGore-Tex TransRockies Run. 

Moab Heat: Running the Porcupine Rim Trail

For years I used to sit down with my coach every spring to plan out the coming year. Every day, week, month and even coming years were planned – And I enjoyed every bit of it. These days, taking the time to write a plan is more/less chalked up as a ‘chore’ and usually involves a late night glass of scotch and some good tunes! More often than not, I end up wingin’ it – regardless of whether it works or not - it seems a bit more fun this way.

TransRockies will be interesting this year... An injury plagued summer isn’t the best for building fitness, so I decided a long time ago that if I did compete, the TR Run 3 (3-day solo event) would be my pick. As far as performance objectives go, I think I’ll adopt a Tour de France strategy (no, not doping!) and focus on doing well on one stage instead of going for the overall. In the big picture, I’m just psyched to run the event again...the atmosphere, the social interaction and overall quality of the event always makes for a memorable week –besides, isn’t that why we run?

Back to Leadville...

One look at my truck and they let me use the front door...

Yep, that's right... we live next to the blue building

But between now and Sunday’s stage 1 there’s another task on the menu, and that includes pacing duties for Ryan ‘the Sandman’ Sandes, who will be taking on the Leadville Trail 100! I’ll be joining Anna, Josh and Adam as part of the crew that will help Ryan cover the return second half (50miles/80km) back to Leadville. I’ve been psyched to pace for Ryan ever since he asked me back in early July... at the time, my season was a wash and I was just happy to have a goal for the upcoming months. And now the time has come –I’m psyched!

The Leadville course as a whole isn’t all that interesting or difficult for that matter (at least to a wanna-be ultra runner like me), but what makes Leadville ‘interesting’ is that its course’s average altitude is well over the 3,000m (10,000ft) mark! Let me put it this way...Leadville itself sits at a whopping 3,100m and the course only goes up from here – Not a popular event for asthmatics!

Aside from moving here (like Ryan did for the past 6wks), the best one can do to prepare for this altitude is to give your body a few shots of the thin stuff every few days. So for the past 2 weeks, my roadie crew and I have not only been logging in big runs, but we’ve been creeping higher and higher whenever we could. One of these runs included a 35km run on the Wasatch Crew Trail, which averaged 2,750m over 3.5hrs – topping the 2,940m mark at its highest.

Having arrived onsite a few days ago, I thought I’d do a few short pickups to see how the body would react to the altitude...A short ladder-type workout consisting of: 10sec, 30sec, 1min, 1.5min, 1min, 30sec, 10sec is all I needed to find out that yep, the air is in fact thinner up here.
If all goes well, Ryan will be back in Leadville in/around the 17hr mark (give or take) – Can’t wait to follow the action and see how his day unfolds!

Regardless of the outcome here in Leadville, there will be no celebrating for us as we’re requested on the start line in nearby Buena Vista for the start of TransRockies Run stage 1...a normally hot 35km run in BV’s desert-like micro-climate... Let’s hope those 38C training runs in Moab pay off!

Let the good times roll!

Yep, it reads 38C!

Delicate Art...uh, I mean Arch!

Can you say tourist trap?

Balancing Rock in my rearview

Why bother with a sauna, when you get get the real thing!

The Little Things...



It's funny how the simplest of things can make you happy.

I lost my big toe nail the other day...it made me feel like a runner again.

You know you're a runner when...

It's been a bit of an odd summer...'odd' in a sense that I've probably done the least amount of running (due to injury) in a long time. Actually... scratch that - it's been just plain frustrating.

Summer has always been a bit more relaxed work wise, a time to recharge before tackling the busy fall/winter/spring seasons. In a sense, running is one of those 'things' that re-energizes me. It's like pressing the 'reset' button - letting me start fresh again. Of course, running just for the sake of running doesn't really do it all the time, I'm talking about those moments you have where you can simply let everything go, take a breath, look around...and smile.

-sigh-

Red Devil aka 'the spine'... bringing you up to 2,900m!

Wasatch Crest Trail - Cruisin' the red dirt...bliss.

Wasatch Crew Trail - Been There...

Earth to Phil...

Since I haven't been able to run much, I've actually spent a bit more time on my road bike - it doesn't quite give me that same sense of satisfaction that a run does, but in the right environment, it comes pretty damn close.

Lovin' the road bike - Always gets me to the end of some random road

So after 11wks of so-so therapy, trying my best to stay put (NOT and easy task!) so I can get my team to work on me on a regular basis, I've finally reached a stage where I can run 1, 2...maybe 3 days in a row of varying distance. Slide in a road bike ride here and there to switch things up, add in tons and tons of stretching...et voila - PV is back on the trails! At least for now...

I've been doing lots of this...

And just when I think that things are going well... I inevitably do a bit of this!

BTW, a big UPs to my 'team' for putting the broken bits back together... (Scott @ ActiveMotion, Torben @ Active Edge Chiro, Vanessa @ Back at It Massage and Missy/Heather @ Re:Focus Pilates - Thx!

So what next...? Well, with the tiniest window of opportunity open (it doesn't take me much ;), I decided to enter myself for my 5th TransRockies Run! And since I had done more or less NOTHING to get ready for TRR, I found just the right solution to whip me into shape...I'm talking about a (training) road trip of course!

ROOOAAADDDD TRRRRRIPPPPP!

One of the beauties of having a mobile 'office' is that I can do a lot of my work on the road... so I packed up all my pens, added a few sheets of white paper, grabbed my (red) stapler, my rolodex and along the way picked up a crazy Frenchman who was looking for a ride down to Salt Lake City to unload a few thousand GoodPeopleRun stickers-

SLC? Sure, why not...Not that I needed an excuse to leave town again, but with TransRockies Run looming only 2 weeks away, I figured I could use an extra week or so of touring the extensive trail systems in Utah/Colorado to log some km's and get used to the thin air before the big show.

Salt Lake City... Park City....check.

Park City - Mid Mountain Trail - It's hard to turn around when you have this around every bend...

Park City - Mid Mountain Trail - View of PC Mtn Resort...

SLC was hot... I would have needed 6 of these things blowing 24hrs a day!

Next stop? I'll tell you in a few days!