June 18, 2007 |

Patience makes perfect

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Blue lake with grassy shore, green forest, and snow-capped mountains under a clear sky

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. ~ John Quincy Adams


Yesterday: Run – Zoo Loop (GGCSP), 3 hours 15 minutes
Today: Massage/Hike/Walk – Somewhere, 1 hour
Tomorrow: Golf/Yankees Game – Denver



FINALLY a good run.

Narrow dirt trail through a green meadow with trees and hills under a blue sky

Yesterday’s run felt great and I have no residual aches or pains this morning. Everything just clicked… from tempo to food to hydration. Hoping this is an indicator of things to come.


I headed out into the forest behind my house and wound my way up to Gap Road where I linked up with Elk Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. GGCSP is one of the gems of the Front Range and, for whatever reason, not too many people seem to know about it. (Which, frankly, is okay by me.) Elk Trail is mostly downhill and starts in the conifers and slowly moves down through meadows and aspen groves, past an old homestead then eventually links up with Mule Deer Trail.


This whole area was once rife with Bootleggers and the remnants of their presence can still be found if you know where to look. There are abandoned cabins, rusted out delivery vans and the like dotting the canyons and hillsides in and around the Park. If you know where to look, you can see evidence of some interesting history.

Wooden cabin in a sunny green meadow with trees and a forested hill in the background

Mule Deer rises up from the valley floor through the forest to a gorgeous high-meadow where another homestead once existed. This is one of my favorite spots in the Park where Coyote Trail meets Mule Deer. There is a small spring nearby and wildlife abounds (though I didn’t see much during yesterday’s venture). Rach loves it up here and we hike Coyote often.

Purple wild iris blooming in green grass

Mule Deer continues through more arid terrain and eventually dumps back to some tricky, steep singletrack before it connects with Raccoon Trail. This is another favorite – a fairly mellow 2.5 mile loop that wraps through diverse terrain. The wildflowers were starting to peek out through the grass all along the route – boding well for this summer’s season. From Raccoon, I hooked up with the campground loop, refilled my water and headed back home the way I came. More of a popsicle than a loop per se. I was home in just under 3:15 and then sat in the creek for awhile to soak my legs. The remainder of the day was spent freelancing and hanging out with Rach.



Lessons learned:


  • Start out slowly: This is key to being able to set a decent pace long-term and to ensure that you don’t blow up early on in the run.
  • Clif Shots are gross – but are your friend: You have to just gulp these things down but they seem to help a bit. I still like the Margarita Shot Blocks better.
  • Pizza doesn’t work for a Stu: Dean Karnazes swears by it but it didn’t really work so great for me. Perhaps it was the Soy cheese or the fact that Rach makes really yummy spicy pizza but my stomach couldn’t take it.


View the full run album here.


My pops is coming to town tomorrow for a belated Father’s Day celebration. We are going to play a round of golf then go to the Rockies/Yankees game. Dad’s a big Yankees fan so I try to get tickets whenever they come to town. I am really looking forward to spending some time with him enjoying the summer weather. It is not supposed to be too hot tomorrow nor is it supposed to rain so we should be in good shape.


Okay, off to get some work done before meetings in Boulder.


See you out there.

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Four hikers with backpacks walking along a rocky mountain ridge under a blue sky

Mellow Monday

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.

Fun run

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.

Two videos…

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