June 7, 2010 |

Bringing the heat

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Less plot. More fu. ~ Rach


Mon 31 May: 00:31, 2.75 miles, Red Plow barefoot
Tues 1 June: 1:12, 7.45 miles, Pirate Trail to Thorne surges
Wed 2 June: 2:21, 16.28 miles, Westview tempo
Thurs 3 June: 2:25, 9.03 miles, Janet’s house then Flagstaff/Green run/hike
Sat 5 June: 1:45, 10.37 miles, Casa trails
Sun 6 June: 3:51, 22.08 miles, Dirty Bismark to Flatirons Vista
Total: 12 hours, 67.96 miles, 7387 vertical


This past week saw a lot of great progress but one major set-back… the arrival of serious heat to the region. Monday-Saturday were all pretty mellow, temperature-wise but Sunday saw the first really hot day with which I have had to contend this year.


Right now, I am transitioning to time-based training vs. really trying to hit specific distances or paces but it is a little hard to break out of that pattern and I find myself tracking my progress even when I just need to be getting time in on my feet. It feels great to burn 10-minute miles on hilly trails but realistically, I need to get more adept at running a bit more slowly, conserving my energy and staying super relaxed. This, if you can believe it, is easier said than done.


Every run this week featured opportunities for learning and improvement and I took full advantage. While Monday and Tuesday runs were fairly routine, Wednesday featured an overall run that felt super relaxed with a higher pace than what is normal for me. I spun about 9 miles of warm-up then moved into tempo mode for another 5 or so. Overall, a solid effort with great results.


Thursday was a bit of a double with a short session with Janet Runyan where she helped me work on some techniques to improve my lean and relaxation and they seem to be paying off. Essentially working on lengthening the back of my neck and floating the top of my head up and forward to initiate my lean from there rather from my waist. Good stuff. Post run, I went to Chautauqua and ran/hiked Flagstaff and Green. Felt great.


Saturday I went for what is becoming a mainstay – the Casa Trails. These are some of my favorite/most familiar trails near my house. I can spend hours on these trails and not see another person. Just moving along quietly through the woods. Good times. Saturday featured more of the same – just fluid motion on mixed terrain.


For Sunday, I had a mellow, relatively short run planned and met with Bobby-T to spin a lap on the Dirty Bismark course south of Boulder. This is actually a pretty fantastic network of trails that loosely follows the Morgul-Bismark road bike course from the Red Zinger and Coors Classic days. My buddy, Ben Blaugrund, just won a Pro bike race on this course last week so it seemed appropriate. The only drawback to the course is one section that forces you to run along McCaslin Boulevard. Not the worst thing ever but if you are looking to stay off the slab, this section would blow that goal.


Bob and I finished up the loop in about 2.5 hours – a pretty good pace considering we weren’t really trying to push it. We stopped often along the route to read historical markers and walked most of the major hills. Once back at the car, I grabbed some more food and filled up with fresh water in hope of adding another 2 hours to the run. The Dirty Bismark route features absolutely no respite from the sun and, given the forecast heat on this day, was probably not the wisest choice. The tack-on of Flatiron Vista was not much better in the coverage department and the hours in 92+ degrees and no shade took its toll. Warm (and rapidly turning hot) water didn’t help either. By the time I had been out for 3:15, I knew that 4.5 wasn’t going to happen and I headed back to the car – dehydrated and very, very hot.


Lots of lessons were learned: Be prepared for the elements – bring ice and cold water (in a cooler, preferably). Select your route with thought to the conditions expected on that day. Drink more than normal. Roll with the punches.


Thoughtful strategy. Practical execution.

Clear thinking, honest perspectives, and experience shaped by years of doing the work. No shortcuts, no borrowed opinions, just lessons learned by showing up, solving problems, and following ideas all the way through.

Four hikers with backpacks walking along a rocky mountain ridge under a blue sky
May 8, 2026
We are each our own greatest inhibitor. People don’t want to do new things if they think they’re going to be bad at them or people are going to laugh at them. You have to be willing to subject yourself to failure, to be bad, to fall on your head and do it again, and try stuff that you’ve never done in order to be the best you can be. ~ Laird Hamilton Yesterday: Hit Range Balls/Hike – Casa del Critters, 1:15 Today: Run – GGCSP, ~2 hours Tomorrow: Ride – Somewhere singlespeedy, ~2 hours Yesterday, Rach and I took a nice stroll in the woods around our house. The songbirds were going crazy-nuts and surprisingly, we only saw one other person walking his dog. I love where we live – close proximity to fun trails and the ability to get away from it all in just a short walk from our house. During lunch yesterday, I went to the driving range to get a few cuts in before playing a round of golf with my dad next week. I don’t get to play very often so need to brush up on my skills (or lack thereof) whenever I can. I am looking forward to playing with my pops and hope to break 100. I shot a 102 the last time I played so I am within striking distance of the sub-triple-digit score. We’ll see how things go. I usually do okay for most of the round and then fall apart on a couple of holes pushing my score way up. Dad shoots in the low 80s usually (I think). I am not sure I will ever play enough to be that good but it is fun to get out on the course now and again. I also went to see Dr. Paul yesterday for my ankle problem (which seems to have been resolved) and my knee (which is still a bit swollen but has decreased in size markedly over the past several days). The knee stems from my unscheduled nose-dive back in May (see this post for details). The shot some pictures and believe that everything is a-ok so that was good news. I just need to select better places for splashdowns in the future. And today is Luke’s birthday. Age is one place where I will always beat him but visit his blog to congratulate him on trying to catch up. Until next time…
Runner silhouetted at sunset on a rocky trail, mid-stride between hills.
May 8, 2026
Progress comes from the intelligent use of experience. ~ Elbert Hubbard Yesterday: Run – Casa del Critters/Flume, 1 hour 15 minutes Today: Ride/Hike/Relax Tomorrow: Run/Hike – Pawnee/Buchanan Passes, 6 hours? Yesterday I ran around the house. Not literally, mind you, but in the neighborhood. It was a gorgeous evening – calm, cool. Perfect. The wildflowers are really starting to take off up here and I was treated with a bold display of color throughout my run. Tons of Columbine lined the trailside as I ran on old mining roads and singletrack trails. It is really fun to see how much differently I am able to handle familiar terrain. I used to have difficulties running this loop and would have to walk major sections. Last night, I ran the entire loop without trouble and was able to moderate my speed to maintain a steady cadence through the run. Good times. Contracting is staying steady. A bit of a drop-off this week given the holiday but I am still managing to put in a decent number of hours. I picked up another new project today and will need to get started immediately to ensure that it gets completed on time.  Tomorrow, we are going to head up Pawnee Pass and loop back around to Buchanan Pass in the northern Indian Peaks Wilderness. This should be a fun challenge as we’ll get up pretty high, have to navigate some snow (most likely) and will be out for quite awhile. I am looking forward to it for sure . Movie time: I forgot to mention Shopgirl, a Steve Martin vehicle, we watched the other night. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but found this to be a charming film about loneliness. It was well acted and would recommend it for sure. The pacing is steady throughout and some might find it a little on the slow side but it was an engaging film that had a lot to say without being overly sappy.
Hands holding a tablet displaying a video player interface. The video is paused.
February 20, 2026
In case you hadn’t seen these (and also for my friends at Adventure Film ), here are a couple of must-see running movies from Joel Wolpert:  Geoff Roes: Slogging to the Top