March 28th-April 10th

April 4th-10th

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 1st Flatiron + Green Mtn 5.6 miles 2,740 

1st (17:20/1:55) still half asleep by the time I got to the rock. quickly woke up but had to stop and think about a few of the moves going under the ear that Cordis showed me on Sunday. I love the mixture of scrambling, power hiking, and running that this route provides.

Wednesday: 1st Flatiron + Green Mtn 7.9 miles - 2,854 ft

1st (15:39/1:27) Winds made me want to get off the rock quick. Almost a PR on the east face, still dialing it in. Took the long way home to get some extra miles. Had to take an unexpected bathroom stop....highly unpleasant. Easy effort down.

Thursday: 1st Flatiron time trial 2.5 miles - 1,535 ft (40ish mins)

1st (15:02/1:24) Pr'd on the east face + downclimb. 11th time starting from the direct start. Calm morning, nice running into Anton on the way up to the base.

Friday: 1st Flatiron + Green Mtn 5.3 miles - 2,638 ft 1hr 10mins

1st (14:05/1:28) ahh so close, really was shooting for a sub 14min scramble. Almost a minute PR from yesterday. Decided to gun it a bit on the downhill. Great morning.

Saturday: 1st Flatiron + Green Mtn 7.9 miles - 2,848 miles

1st (15:03/2:10) Feeling super sluggish on the rock and was dripping in sweat by the time I was at the top. Took it easy up to green and back down via the old bear green trail. I like mixing this route in for the extra mileage. Still being conservative with weekly mileage and building back at a steady rate. Hill had turned into an ant farm by the time I got back.

Sunday: 1st Flatiron + MA +Challenger + Green + 1st 5.9 miles - 4,354 ft

1st - 2nd (down) -MA (fail) - Challenger - Green Mtn - 1st 

Plan was to do some new to me classics and keep it easy for a little Sunday Recovery session.

1st (14:16/1:37) (15:02/1:20)

2nd (down 8:00)

Morning After: Got to the base of the roof crack and the whole thing was covered in ants all the way down to the tree. Scoped out the move and felt very confident to pull it, got a secure hand jam and immediately was swarmed by an insane amount of ants all over my arms and legs. Came back down and had to wipe all kinds of ants off my body. Crazy and disappointing because I knew I could of done the move with out all the damn ants.

Bushwhacked to scope out GMP, I think I would want rock shoes. Hit challenger, super fun finger crack. Tagged green and decided to lap the 1st again to make up for what happened earlier. 

Total: 35.4 miles -  8 hours 27 mins - 16,969 ft

Feeling good about this week effort, especially the vert. Big goal of this week coming up is to add a longer run somewhere in the mix and actually linkup Morning After haha.


March 28th- April 3rd

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Green via Amphitheater + T-zero/West Bench 5.4 miles - 2,559 ft

Fantastic morning! Snow was in better condition then I though it was going to be. Harder packed up top, but softer and slushier coming down. Had to stop a few times on the ascent to stretch my left calf, super tight. Ran into Bill Wright on the way up to green! We stopped and chatted for a bit, such an awesome guy and inspiration. After the summit, ran down to the amphitheater to do some easy scrambling on dry rock. Hit t-zero, up the east face of the west bench (not sure what route, just up some crack) then climbed up the west face to 1st pinnacle. Just in time to get back for class.

Wednesday: Creek Path 4.1 miles - 6:43 pace

really digging the vibe while running through the wet snow this afternoon. I neglect the paths too much, they provide such an easy way to get out and get some flat miles in.

Thursday: Green Mtn via Amp 5.3 miles - 2,487 ft

Saw some fresh mountain lion tracks (or what appeared to be...) on the last few switchbacks up to green. I assumed it wasn't a dog because I think I was the first one up there this morning. Made me think of Joe Grant's encounter on the Wonderland Trail. Fresh snow over night made the downhill super fun, but the uphill was a slog.

Friday: 1st Flatiron 3 miles - 1,598ft

super rusty on the bottom of the 1st. Wet shoes make for a fun start. ( need to try the flake right above instead of stepping in the snow for my normal start).Seems like its been forever since my last lap of the 1st. Couple of moves seemed desperate, that are normally solid. Tomorrow should be better. Total slopfest heading up to the base. Forgot to start my watch on the bottom of the 1st. Who care though, would of been slow anyways. Chilled on the summit for a while. Gotta get back in the groove.

Saturday: 1st Flatiron + Green Mtn + Seal Rock 9.7 miles - 3,967ft

Sloppin' through the mud! 1st (18:07/2:13) Spent a good few minutes making sure my shoes were dry so I could get good purchase on the rock. Opening section went by way better than yesterday's go, but still dialing in the route.(although did it in like 15:30 2 weeks ago haha) No worries, only like my 6th time on the direct route. Followed the postholes up the social trail to Green, keeping it relaxed. Enjoyed the weather and the views at the top, + a gel. Bear canyon was awful! Conditions were all over the place. I couldn't establish any sort of flow. Missed the climbers trail up to Seal (first time up there) and marched up a steep grassy hill. More shoe drying...Super fun scrambling, finger crack was the highlight. Classic! The normal downclimb was caked in snow and ice. Walked further down the ridge and had to use a tree to chimney down. Sketch! Slopped it back to the car. Amazing weather and my longest run back since my injury. Great morning!

Sunday: 1st Flatiron + Free for "some" + Green Mtn 5.4 miles - 3,028ft

1st (19:53/2:19) Cordis showed me the variation under the Ear, and then led the way up free for all (although we didn't start from the bottom) and then took it easy up to green. Downhill conditions were prime. Left the watch running on summits. Super slow anyways so who cares.

Total: 33.1 miles - 8 hrs 10mins - 13,852ft











  

Week 3/21-3/27

Monday: Monday Shakeout 2 miles -> 7:47pace

Easy shakeout to get the legs moving, calves are still super tight from running flat for the first time since my injury on Sunday. Picked up a pair of the new sportiva Akashas. Excited to test them out and do some more running up towards Gold Hill and also be able to hit the flatties. Rubber looks sticky!

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: Town Lake 4.3 miles -> 7:27pace

Legs were super tight again at the end of this short run. Woke up not feeling very sore (ever since Sunday legs/ soleus have been very tight). I think the legs aren't used to running flat and fast and its going to take some time. Not a problem. Might get a sports massage. Wasn't feeling very deserving of my tacos after this mornings performance compared to my normal 10 miler at this pace. Haven't done much these past few days but sit around and slackline to build balance.

Thursday: Afternoon Shakeout (Local Trails) 3 miles -> 7:19

Feeling good, still some residual calf soreness but slowly going away. Wanted to get the legs going. My plan is to do a long run tomorrow downtown before I head back to Boulder at 1pm. Akasha does amazing on the insanely technical and rocky trails around Town.

Friday: Townlake (Negative Splits) 6 miles ->7:09 pace

Good to get some miles with the bro! Legs were feeling good and wanted to go a bit further than normal since the injury. Feeling pretty good about my spits with a nice little warm-up mile. Back to Boulder..... (not looking forward to the snow) Weather in Austin has been in the 70s and blue sky 0 clouds. Perfect.

Saturday: Green Mtn (21) 8 miles -> 3k vert 

Terrible conditions. Crusty hard packed snow all the way down ranger that made it practically impossible to run. Going up the Amphitheater wasn't that bad but I was forced to hike for many reasons. (Coming back from running flat at sea level is hard). Bailed on Gregory canyon and fooled around on flagstaff, lost a bunch of time there but oh well. Headed down crown rock and back up a bit of the Amp to hit 3k. Good to be back in Boulder. Waiting on dry trails though...

Sunday: Magnolia out n' back (short) 6.5 miles -> 1.7k vert -> 8:47 pace

Avoiding the trails due to the terrible snow conditions and the warmer weather. Decided to hit the roads for a short out n back on Magnolia Road. Forgot how steep the first miles were, legs were really feeling it. Want to get faster and better at running sustained ascents, feel like this is a good segment to run. Not pushing it too hard on the descent. Happy Easter.



Total: 29.8 miles -> 4h 47m -> 5,551 ft

A very diverse week of running. Started off the week in Austin and finished the Weekend off in Boulder. Making good progress coming back from my injury. Glad to test my speed on some of my favorite running trails in Austin. The atmosphere is amazing and you can't beat the views and the weather, and of course Taco Deli. Still keeping the mileage fairly low as to not re injure myself. Came back to Boulder with some horrific snow conditions. Had to hit green, but then decided to trying some more running out on Magnolia. Being patient.

Week 3/14-3/20

Monday: 1st Flatiron + Green Mtn (18)

4.8 Miles -> 2,687 ft

18:19/2:56) Legs were super tired, which meant slow going on the rock. I wanted to get out before the wind and weather hit. One of first real back to back days on the hill since my injury. Other than the legs, felt great all morning. Very calm on top of Green.


Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: Flatiron + Green Mtn (19)

6.1 Miles -> 2,822 ft

PR'd on the face (15:29/2:29). Legs were feeling rested and I was ready to push it. Feeling super fast on the downhills but can easily go faster as the ice up top was causing me to be cautious and slow. Starting snowing on the summit! Great afternoon up on the hill.

Thursday: Rest

Friday:  Good Ol' Green Slog (20)

8.2 Miles -> 2,841 ft

Trailblazing all the way to the top of Green via the amphitheater. Quite the slog though, really deep in some spots and basically was forced to hike. Crazy how much harder it makes the climbs. Wanted to get some miles in so I ran down Flagstaff. I love snow days. Headed to Austin for 6 days tomorrow. Going to not get injured this time but work on some speed stuff and find the biggest hills I can climb.

Saturday: Rest. Traveled to Austin, Texas


Sunday: Town Lake 

4.6 miles -> 6:40 pace

Ending a good week of miles. Testing my speed on some short miles. Never pushed, mountains have been doing me well. Excited to see where I will be in a couple of months. So much dirt so close to downtown. Perfect weather in Austin like always. Finished the morning off with an obligatory taco deli stop.



Total: 23.9 miles - 5h 8mins - 8,507 ft

I think I am making good progress back from my injury. (yes I wish I was busting out 20+ mile outings and conquering up Longs peaks and other 14ers but that will come with time). Excited to be in Austin for a couple days before heading back to boulder to seek out the slush. Going to give me some time to test my legs on some faster terrain. Picked up a pair of La Sportiva Akashas to really give me that go to shoe for trail/road outings. Pretty influenced from Anton's comments on them, looks like the rubber would work well on the fatties (don't think they will be as good as the mutants for scrambling, but still will work). Looking forward to spring and summer, about to buy some KTS crampons to add to the quiver. I just don't think microspikes will cut it on early spring ascents. 

Week 7/7-7/13

Monday: 2nd & 1st

 3.3 miles -> 1,729 ft

up the 2nd and 1st. Legs were super slow on the rock. Decided to take it short and easy. I really like how freeway transitions almost right into bakers way with little dirt in-between.

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: Reg->RA->5th->Fist- Green Mtn (16)

6.8 mile -> 2,766 ft

Thought I might have to bail on my planned outing due to some flurries overnight and a slight chance of wet rock but this was not the case. Decided to linkup the regency, royal arch, 5th, fist, and finish with a summit. Wanted to hit this linkup in a fast style unlike the previous Saturday. (where I was learning the routes). Everything went extremely smooth and I already feel pretty dialed in on these routes. Highlight was easily the hand crack on the fist. Super solid jams all the way up. Mutants jam perfectly in the crack and really make it quite easy. Down climb off the fist really isn't that bad. I think the crux is a move or two above the move where you stem over to the boulder and hop down. (just a couple small crimps). Then I power hiked to the summit of Green. Ran all the downhill and Pr'd. I can easily improve upon this time, top few sections were icy and slowed me down. Legs are coming back. All in time to be back for my 10am class

Thursday: Rest

Friday:

AM: Direct Launch! (1st Flattie)

3.6 Miles-> 2,051

Finally conquered the full east face of the 1st from the bottom of the direct start! (29:13.--will be easy to shave this down after I dial it in) Hit a quick lap on the 2nd and then ran down to the base of the 1st. Had to stop my watch and suss it out. Stepped in what appeared to be dry spot that turned out to be a puddle of mud. The next few minuets were spent drying the rubber out by wiping them on my socks. Scoped out the little flake that Anton uses in the winter. For some reason this was trivial for me and i went back down and hopped over underneath the first bolt to the big protruding pebble and went up the gully. Solid all the way to the tree. I would say the 2nd and 3rd pitches were more trivial for me. I don't think I took the line of least resistance. After the headwall it was smooth sailing. Finished off by running down the amphitheater. Was going to hit t-zero but I didn't feel like stopping. Great day! Weather was perfect. Shoes and shorts. All you need.

PM: Evening lap of the 1st

2.9 miles -> 1,509 ft

quick evening lap on the 1st. (16:05 ascent- 2:25 down climb). Shaved off almost 15mins from my time this morning. Pretty stoked that my second lap ever went this well. Time for pizza.

Saturday: rest

Sunday: 1st Flatiron + Green Mtn (17) -> T-zero/ East Bench

5 miles -> 2,667 ft

17-18mins/2:24 (forgot to hit the split at the base of east face). This is going to be the new route I focus on. 1st + Green and down either Saddle rock or the ranger trail depending on how fast I want to go or how techy I want the downhill to be. (minus the scrambling in the amphitheater on most occasions when I'm trying to go fast.) This is the steepest route to green especially when you throw in the 1st. The first pitch is really not that bad for me anymore, still dialing it in and remembering all the holds. Once I get to the junction knob its all a fast scramble and even a few trots on the false summits and in-between. Felt like I was going super slow on the social trail but glad to see I pr'd. After I hit green I ran down to the amphitheater. Quick lap up T-zero, highball boulder problem and then linked up to the east bench. Sorta sussed out the south east face of the first pinnacle, but looks a little sandbagged (only 5.3 or 4). More vertical than your average east face flatiron route. Great outing.

Total: 21.7 miles -> 10,722 ft -> 5h 43 mins

Week: 2/29-3/6

Monday:  Spyronette -> Green Mtn (14) -> West Ridge -> Long Canyon -> Ranger/Gregory 

6.7 miles -> 2,946 ft

Legs felt well rested and weren't sore at all. Linked up the South ridge of the 1st flatironette, spy, and the North Arete of the 1st. Then power hiked up to Green Mtn via the social trail. Once on greenmen it turned into an ice skating rink, god awful. (didn't have spikes so thus influenced my next decision) Decided to try and do some running so I walked down the West ridge to Flagstaff road and ran a bit to Long canyon and wanted to see how the leg would react. Feeling great all the way till I hit the ranger trail and decided to stop running at the top of Gregory Canyon and walk down. I don't think the legs are quite ready to run steep downhill. Ran from the bottom to my car. Legs felt good the entire time, few minor tweaks here and there. Ran the most since my injury :)

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday:  2nd time trial PR: 9:15 min (Freeway) 2.4 miles -> 1,237ft

WOW. it feels great to be doing some easy running. Ran to the base, scrambled and trotted down. Started spitting rain when I got to the base. Mutants didn't even slide once. Stopped at the top to catch my breath, endurance still building up but I will get back to more continuous movement :)

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 2nd/1st/ -> Green Mtn (15) 6.4 miles ->2,822 ft

Legs feeling pretty good. Took it easy to the base of the 2nd, up freeway (want to check out the summit block soon). Hit bakers way, opening moves weren't obvious but found a juggy sequence that made it super smooth. The gully to the north arete was all 4th class. Arete went by smooth, super easy. Then downclimbed and went up the social trail to the summit. wish there was a way I could see my splits, curious how Im doing. Then went down greenmen/ranger. Slipped and cut my knee open on the last bit of ice on the ranger trail. annoying. oh well. Other than that, legs seem to have no tweaks or pains. Feeling great! Stopped the watch on the summits and when i ate it on the ranger trail :(. I can feel my endurance coming back though...

Friday: Reg->RA->5th Flatiron->Fist. Recovery Scramble! 4.6 miles -> 2,566ft

Leg felt tired and heavy this morning after yesterday's "real" run and I figured I would go scramble some rock. Started at NCAR, wanted to minimize the distance to the rock. (not too much closer than Chautauqua). Started up the Regency and tapped on the Royal Arch. These two went by really quick, got these dialed in. Downclimb of the Royal arch was a lot easier. Very key foothold that I use seemed less desperate than last time. Decided to then onsight the 5th flatiron via the south line on the east face. Seemed kinda broken up until the last 2 pitches. Super smooth with no problems, seemed more like 5.3 (also was following chalk marks from this super rad dude I met on top). Last pitch to the summit was amazing. The hand traverse is top notch. Finding the right position for the little hole to exit was a bit perplexing but I made it work. Reverse mantle was a bit challenging but nothing that I couldn't work out. Was feeling super stoked at this point and I just decided to tap on the fist. Hand crack was amazing, and very secure. Downclimb was thin but the right holds are there and I found a good sequence by checking it out before I tried the east face. Starting to feel really confident on the slabs. Gonna take tomorrow off. First good week back.

Week Total: 20.2 miles ->9,507ft ->5hr 36mins

I’m Really happy with this weeks performance. Starting coming back on all fields. My endurance is coming back and so is my speed on the uphills. I'm starting to feel really confident on the rock as well. I onsighted quit a few routes this week. (5th flatiron-East south, the Fist, Bakers Way) I really like the idea of using scrambling to ascend the mountain. Cuts out some bushwhacking by ascending the mountain via something other than the man made trail. Excited for this week! 

 (Standing tall on the summit of Green)

(Looking down the North Arete on the 1st)

(Riding the Wave--Hand traverse pitch on the 5th)

(Down climb off the fist, looks thin but it goes)

Week: 2/22-2/28

Monday: Rest -> I think I day too many consecutive days over the previous weekend so I decided to rest my legs for a couple of days. Going forward Im going to try and not do any consecutive days for a while and add a rest day between each outing

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Up and down Amphitheater->Saddle->Greenmen to summit (13) 4.2 miles 1:30:41 2,388' 

 Les felt good the whole time with just a few minor tweaks here and there. Hiked the ascent and walked the downhill

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 2nd -> The Spy -> North Arete (gonna refer to this linkup as the Spyronette; sorta what everyone is calling it these days) -> 2nd downclimb 

3.6 miles 2,064' ft (not sure what my overall time was, pretty slow either way) 

Decided to onsight some new solos and add to the loop. Mutants gave excellent purchase on the rock. Felt comfortable the entire time. Crux on both the new routes were super easy. All the climbing I did over the summer and fall really put thing into perspective especially with sending v6's and even a v8. Decided to down climb the 2nd to avoid the ice. Super easy, but I don't know how I can crab walk any faster. Tony's time is super fast. I basically went down the exact freeway route. Great outing 

Sunday: Rest

Total: 7.9 miles 2h 37mins 4,452' ft

First Entry

I have been reading lots of blogs, specifically from people that are from boulder that get out and explore the mountains. I find it very interesting to read what people are doing. I use it as inspiration and it helps gives me ideas and sometimes even gives me 'beta' for things I'm trying to do out in the mountains. I honestly don't think anyone will ever read this regularly but I thought it would be fun to track my passion and progress through blog entries. I hope to use this blog to reflect on weeks of training and post pictures of my outings. I also hope that by writing down each thing that happens throughout each week I can improve as mountain runner. Reflect what went well and what needs to be fixed. Im excited because I'm just recovering from a stress fracture and its the perfect time to really be smart and train to obtain large mountain objectives. I realize Im not going to be as good as Anton Krupicka overnight, but throughout the next years I want to build up to be very light, fast, and efficient in the mountains. This means doing technical routes, long traverses, scrambling, and incorporating running as much as I can. Being able to do everything FAST is my goal.