Saturday 28MAY2016 Georgetown Burro Race

Did the first burro race of the season.  A quick video recap:

A few things I did not mention in the video and a few other items to reiterate:

• Bob had a good first race with Boog.  He and Boog along with Justin and Yukon were WAY off the front to start and I thought the race was over.  They slowed up and a good number of folks caught up (including Jack and me).  If those guys could keep 1/2 that momentum though they’d be the class of all the field.
• Good on Justin and Yukon for making a great race of it.  We were in all through out the day until the town / roundabout / highway underpass slowed us but those two cranked on it until the very end to get a victory.  Really Justin and Yukon have to be considered the faves going into the rest of the races given how they ran and rallied today and the experience they have.
• Huge thanks to TZ and JZ for running the start, running the times, getting the awards assembly going.
• Thanks to Bob for porting Jack along with Boog up to the race and back today.
• Thanks to Dave C for continuing to make this farm set up we have possible.
• Thanks to Brian M for brining in close a dozen new racers.  We had some fast folks – including Shad (2:44 Boston recently), Brandon S (Nolans 14 finisher) and Anita O (winner at Pikes in the past) running today.  It was fun to see them have fun even if they were not crushing the race.
• Thanks to Tim and Steve for all the saddling they did.
• All the best to Brad (who is now home) as he recovers from his crazy near three weeks in the hospital with who knows what. 
• And thanks to Bill Lee for making this race happen.
• I was pleasantly surprised at how my grizzle held up.  I thought it was a very distinct possibility that I would not be able to finish this race outright because of a complete failure of the Achilles.  I wedged the back of the foot WAY up by cutting up several other insoles (3 of em) to make a heel lift.  It still hurt but it was manageable and I kept it together.
• My fitness is certainly a bit behind where I am used to it being and I was feeling it a bit on some of the climbs were were running.  Admittedly, I was even lagging on them a bit rather than pressing as I am just in that sort of shape.  If I can get the grizzle to hold though, I think I ought to be able to round into fitness well enough for Fairplay.  But that is a really really really big if right now.  This was my longest run in probably three weeks … and as expected, I felt it!  And that was sort of fun and good.  A little sore from a lack of training, a little rattle in the lungs from a lack of running hard at altitude.
• Doing all the saddles, getting burros up there … yeesh.  It is a lot more race day stress.  Some of that is good because it keeps you busy.  But when it is 20 plus burros … that is a bit more than I am used to.  I missed Brad.

Thursday 090414

Today’s listening:  found the Soundcloud Rose Hill Drive site.  May I recommend “Cool Cody?” “"Or “Reptilian Blues?”

The TV in my work place cafe has had tennis matches going on for like the last three weeks.  Constantly.  Today there was a match showing from 1979.  No really.  Chris Everett against Tracy Austin at the US Open.  The Tennis Channel is on there all the time.  I guess I was a tad surprised there is that much appetite for tennis.  I mean, I know it is a sport that is higher in status than running in the US (in terms of dollars awarded, people interested in spectating), but I would not give its own channel.  I mean it is no NFL, MLB, NHL or NBA.  Or Nascar.  But it’s not even the PGA.   It is somewhere above horse racing and jai lai, but well below those others.  Obviously I am wrong because it exists with commercials, etc.  Running, triathlon … way down there with the once every four year sports in the Olympics.  And we all know figure skating and gymnastics are king there.  Bolt may be the one exception.

Forgot to mention that Bob found this on the run yesterday.
Yup, snake skin.

Afternoon.  Jogged some with TZ (she has gotten pretty consistent with her local loops) and then jogged over to Mayerhoff Farm.  Dave C was there so we got in a few miles with Ellroy and Verne.  And then I jogged home.  15.6 miles.

People have asked me, “do the burros even like to run?” There are probably occasions when they don’t.  But today, these two guys wanted to get out.  They saw us, they were up at the gate, ready to roll.  And once we got them out, they went.  It was fun and a nice run with them.  We are animals, and we like to move in nature.  2 legs, four legs, short ears, long ears.  It is.

Saturday 062114

KZ was conversing with me about some of her recent events and she mentioned how she was checking out this “awesome band.” 
“… and there was this great mosh pit!”
Me, eyebrow going up just slightly.  “Most pit?  How was that?  They can get a bit rough.” 
“Don’t worry Dad.  It was a Christian Mosh Pit.”

Easy day with David C and the burros for six miles.  Got to run with Spike, the World Champ from 2003 (I think) with Hal Walter.  He reminds me quite a bit of Jack in his coloring and his consistent temperament.   We ran around trails in Louisville.  Folks don’t see burros often I guess, and we got a lot of looks, people snapping camera-phone shots and folks that wanted to find out what it was all about.  “You race them?  But you don’t ride them?”

Planning on doing the segment 6 of the Colorado Trail tomorrow (Kenosha to Breck).  Will take it pretty slow and easy to recon the route for the boy’s upcoming backpacking trip.  Will probably stick to the trail except I expect to divert to the West Jefferson Trail for the portion east of Georgia Pass, west of the Aspen Campgrounds.

Some pics over the last couple of days.
Spike, former World Champ with Hal.
Dave and Elroy (future world champ)

JZ at camp

Saturday 041914

Lucho sez …

Got out with David C and Brian and did some donk running.  Elroy and Farnsworth got a lot of exoosure to things today that they were not accustomed too:  a trailer, bikes, bridges and a lot of people as we took them out on the Dowdy Draw.  Loads of folks interested in the burro running thing and wanted to chat on that.

Got home and decided to round the day out with 5.  10.3 on the day.  Easy running with the burros, as expected, so ramped the 5 up into a low grade tempo after the first mile.

Wednesday 112713

JT is up for a growler of beer/six pack against me:  He has 45 inclines and I have 48 Greens.  Whoever has the most of their mountain by the tail of the year gets the reward from the loser.  I like my odds as I have a 3 count lead and JT does not run when it gets below 20 degrees.  Plus if he wins, and I have to serve up a six of PBR, Old Colorado City will have to prepare for a night of this.

I circled back and managed to listen to this podcast.  Holy crap.  Short, 20 minute one on Kenyan circumcision rituals and how it might have bearing on Kalejin’s dominance in distance running.  Worth the listen.  As fascinating or disturbing as the circumcision ritual is, the discussion of the possibility of the Kajelin having a genetic advantage is of greater interest to me.  David Epstein reveals that in his authoring of “The Sports Gene” (which I am slowly picking my way through when I am on flights and not reading the latest installment of “A Song of Fire and Ice”) he encountered scientists who were reluctant to share data that would support a hypothesis that there was such an advantage – because of the social implications and that it could impact their tenure.

Recently, I was discussing some of the things I was reading with a business colleague and I brought up Epstein’s book, how it brought some contrast to Gladwell’s now popular 10000 hour thoughts and the consideration of genetic dominance.  This colleague, an African American, was pretty dead set against such a consideration, and was quick to bring up the social environment considerations.  Of course, I don’t discount the social environment impact (e.g. look at the top VK performance list from the ISF and you can’t help but notice the European flare), but I prefer to also not ignore the genetic possibilities.

While on podcasts, checked out the recent ET.  Good show. 

Freil wraps up his aging athlete posts.  Speaking of aging, 80s “music” fans might find this post of how the icons of that decade look now.

Not all of the UK is stoked about the Salazar coaching arrangement.

Back is still tight when I breathe deeply.  Just to keep me in a panic a friend dropped on me that it is probably pleurisy.  Awesome. 

Afternoon was more of this:

Ellroy and Farnsworth ran great today.  Way better than last time.  They had a lot more confidence on the road, trotted quite a bit and even went to a gallop occasionally. 

10 on the day.  2.5 with the donks and then into the evening SUPER easy – like 8:30 pace.

Friday 102513

Eye exam today.  Let’s see … another old age thing to add to the mix.   Apparently I am on the edge of qualifying for bifocals.  The doc also said I had a big optic nerve (of course!) and that could mean a slightly greater likelihood for glaucoma down the road. 

Dialated …

Add in my prehypertensive state (they measured me at the eye doc as 130 over 90 this AM), some hearing loss, a right shoulder that seems tweaked so that I can’t rotate it correctly, graying hair and my psoas feeling like it is going to fall out – yeah, seems about right for 44. Or maybe a bit well worn on the tires.  I guess on the other side of it, I am running 70 miles a week, have no need for the little blue pill and don’t appear to be going bald yet

Got a call in the afternoon from David C checking to see if I wanted to get a burro run in.  IN LOUISVILLE.  Uh, heck yeah as it is 5 minutes away.  And I’d get to meet the NKOTB burros, Farnsworth (Pedretti’s burron) and Elroy (David’s).  Both of these guys are just over a year so it was essentially one of the first outing for them.
We did a little work with them on the farm, and got them out up on the Coal Creek trail as well.  Little bit of running, some trotting, and even a gallop occasionally.

Afterwards David and I hit the trail and headed west on the Coal Creek trail.  When we got to the golf course, we swung up onto it – enjoying the ridiculously beautiful day and the soft grass.  Sure enough the CU women, men were out there working the course and doing repeats in prep for the upcoming Pac-12 meet.  Wetmore was out there dishing out wisdom, and assistant coaches and Olympians Barringer and Nelson were also in tow.  A little star gazed for sure.  7.2 miles on the day.

Oh and later on the BP cuff at the pharmacy at King Soopers had me at 118/79.

I have heard that there is some back and forth on the state course for XC.  I stumbled on this and I guess that sort of lays it out.  Anyway, all the questions get answered at State tomorrow.

Ever gone to see a movie about a topic that you have pretty good knowledge about?  For example, any semi serious runner that has seen the movie “Pre” has to sit on their hands on some of the running scenes – if they are going to enjoy the movie at all.  Simply, they know more about running than the average person who is going to see the flick and they see stuff that does not really work.  But for that average person, it is fine.  I feel the same way as of late listening to this breakdown of the the software project healthcare.gov.  I know enough about software development that when I hear some of the coverage, and terms like “tech surge” (apparently now all government efforts need “surge” in the name) that I realize we are getting a highly diluted packaged and hence incorrect version of the story.  I guess you could say it is true of closures on OSMP as well.  To the average person, telling them the “trails are unsafe!” and “you will do MORE damage (to trails that were damaged by Mother Nature more in 48 hours than what we humans did in 30 years)!” – it is fine.  Okay, go about your business, nothing to look at here and keep doing your thing.  But to those that look a bit and might know a thing or two, it seems ridiculous.

Friday 082313 Blabbing burros

Got together with David C over at Aquarius trailhead this AM for some jogging.

And we talked burros.

David is strongly considering buying a burro.  There is a fair amount of detail to this, but it is easier than getting through TSA.  He has the framework … a local property to pasture the burro, where to get hay, what it would cost, what other burros would be in the mix, who helps with the caretaking, where he would run it.  It is a matter of determining now if he wants to pull the trigger.

The knock on my door to buy a burro has also come, but I am not quite there yet – a bit too much going on to manage that:  family, work, travel … taking care of another living creature is not another ball I need in my juggle set.  But, no doubt about it, I intend to be close to what David does to learn from him.

7.6 miles, easy and back at 7:30 pace.