Burro Days Weekend

It was a quick turn around from our trip to Canada, but we headed up to Fairplay on Thursday.  Given I had spent two weeks at near sea level in a canoe, getting up to altitude at least 2 days ahead of the race was necessary for me to be able to manage reasonably.

I got out some easy jogging on Friday, checking out the start and the finish of the course, as that is always a bit tricky in the weeds (this has not been the start for the last three years but it is still part of the finish).   JZ paced me for part of it.

I did a quick check in at the Prunes monument and counted how many times Tom Sobal won the race.

Bob swung in Friday night and we got Jack and Boog paddocked up over at the Fairgrounds. 

On Saturday I spent time with Bob eyeballing the course end again, getting in some light jogging, watching the llama races (nuts) and then coordinating for several hours with the LVR crew as the rest of the donks (~ 2 dozen) at the Fairgrounds, setting up saddles, etc.  We did a dinner with the Wanns, Bill and a few others back at TZ parent’s place.  We settled in around nine.  I felt a bit worked and I could tell that I was not fully on my typical “altitude” self, but I dismissed it and went with positive thinking rather than excuses.

I have tried to approach the burro races for the last few years with no expectations other than looking to enjoy myself in the mountains.  This year I figured this was especially important.  I was another year older, as was Jack, I was not altitude acclimated, I had not done any 20 mile runs, and I had spent the prior two weeks paddling a canoe.  I fully expected Justin and Yukon to set the entire tone of the race and given they had come in second in all the Triple Crown races last year, they were probably the favorite for the win.

It is hard to not consider the win though.  Jack and I were defending champs and I figured despite our challenges, if we could stick in the mix through the Pass then we had a pretty good shot.  I put my mind to looking to enjoy the day, but to also keep in the mix for as long as we could so that we had a chance.

And basically that was what happened.  We were in it until the end and came up just a tad short in the last 5 yards – we got nipped by Kurt Cordkamp and his jenny Mary Margaret at the line as Jack and I swerved to the left a hair at the finish. 

Early on, Kurt, Justin and I and our burros were the definitive leaders.  In the first seven miles along 9 and to the turn around for the short course racers a few of those teams hung with us, but then it was just the six of us setting the pace.  The pace was not super hot but comparable to prior years as we got to the Mosquito Pass split in 83 minutes.  I was not surprised to see Justin and Yukon there but I made not that Kurt and MM looked pretty damn good.  I also recognized that Kurt had family history in this race as his cousin had won it several times in the past. 

As has been typical, our pace slowed dramatically after 10 miles.  The burros seem to have little interest in running after the split as the course pitches up, gets more rocky or the trail even disappears.  We spread out over this stretch several times, with each team leading to some degree but it seemed that none of us was going to break away.

As we got up into the rocks above American Flats, I was trying to drive Jack to get up ahead so we could lead through that single track but Kurt and MM slipped by.  I thought this was a for certain omen that they’d get the prime of “First Ass to the Pass” but I managed to get Jack into a slightly quicker trot up the little last segment of 4 x 4 road and get him around the Father Dyer sign first.  Justin and Yukon had slipped back 200 yards or so, but they seemed well geared to move the downhill well.

It was raining and I threw on a light coat while Kurt and MM got a jump on the hill.  With each mile I became aware of a few things:

1.)  I was really not doing well with the altitude.
2.)  I was probably already over my head at 14 miles and we still had 15 to go.
3.)  While I was probably a shoe in for the top 3, it was becoming increasingly difficult to ‘just enjoy the day’ and not think about the possibility of a 4th World Championship.
4.)  Kurt and MM were not going to go away easily.
5.)  The Jack of 2016 was not quite the same Jack of 2012.  If I was fatigued, he might have been reflecting some of that as well.
6.)  I was going to look to continue to believe that we could make any of it happen, and that thinking about anything other than the best outcome was probably not in our benefit.

And so Kurt, MM, Jack, and I bopped on down the Mosquito Pass Road.  I was not in the best shape.  I considered that our best hope was to look to shake Kurt and MM on this long road stretch.  In the past we’d roll out a couple of sevens and maybe even a six and change to break the legs off Hal but neither Jack nor I really were up for that.  I tried to keep him moving well, but we often floated to 9 minute pace.  We exchanged the lead with Kurt and MM a few times with neither team really giving any quarter.

Photo by John Brisenhan

The whole thing was shaping up to look like 2013, where Hal, Full Tilt Boogie, Jack and I came to a Front Street finish.  Nonetheless, we kept taking chances at each other along the power station, Billy Carter Road, the Platte River, Route 9 and the quarry.  No really changes to the overall race but about a half dozen lead changes.

Kurt and I had exchanged a little conversation throughout but nothing like the chatter I have had with Hal or Justin in the past.  I was sort of surprised when he asked if we wanted to tie.  I responded to him, “you don’t want that.”   We crested out at the top of that last little stupid climb above South Park City and I managed to get Jack rolling a bit for a lead.

He hesitated as we hit the actual Front Street and Kurt /MM were there but I managed to get him going again and get a couple lengths.  And again he hesitated and they were back on us.  And then I got him going.  We had a lead but not by much.  And with 5 yards left, Jack veered into the crowd – just like 2013 and Kurt and MM snuck by.  Clearly a lesson I have not learned to manage with him.

Photo by Tania PacevPhoto by John Brisenhan

It was an odd mix of emotions at the finish.  I knew I got pretty much everything I could out of our team for that day and with the lead up that we had and I was satisfied with that and knew we did pretty damn well.  We had probably over performed for what we were supposed to do.  Still it was frustrating to come up just that short, and I felt a bit sorry for not giving Jack and all those who supported us so much what I thought they were due.  I recognize the folly of this sport, and that I am pretty blessed to have Jack as a partner, the ability to do this nutty game, and so many who love me. 

It has been a helluva five years at this burro racing game, landing 3 wins and 2 very close seconds in the last five years.  That donkey is a truly a legacy in that race. 

And that while I want it to be just a day that I will enjoy in the mountains, there will always be a part of me that wants a bit more than that.  That probably will set up for some dissatisfaction at times, but I think it has its merits in driving me to grow as well.

More to come on this as I catch up (other photos, results, other racers, etc)

Thursday 28JUL2016

Some light soreness from getting back it yesterday.  Just over an hour today, picking up the speed slightly over the effort and then ending with some strides in the last couple of miles. 

Wednesday 27JUL16

Back at it.

I headed over to the Eagles XC practice.  I was up around 7 even though we did not get in from DIA until 1 and I was probably not racked out until 1:30.  It was good to get out as it had me beat the heat of the day, catch up with Greg, etc.  It was nice to be back home with these great kids. 

With no running this past two weeks, and Burro Days this weekend I decided I needed to get a few miles today but nothing crazy.  I just wanted to get in a good 80 minutes to bump me back into form a touch and drive through any “oh you have not done this in a while” sort of soreness you can get.  It was good, easy 8s with no issues.

In the late afternoon, I went to check in on this guy.

Northern Tier Canoe Trip

So I have been off in Canada for the last two weeks in the Boundary Waters, camping and canoeing with my son, his Scout buddies and a few other parents.  The trip was out of the Atikokan Ontario Boy Scouts of America base camp.  We started our trip to the camp on Thursday the 14th, flying into Minneapolis, then staying at a Minnesota National Guard Armory that night outside of Duluth, then driving up to Ontario on the 15th.  We were dropped off about an hour and a half from the base on Saturday the 16th and we paddled, portaged, camped around 115 miles until Monday the 26th.  Yesterday we took the full day to travel back home to the Front Range.

I have about 300 pictures I collected and I posted most of those under my Facebook account.  I will put a few up here over the next few weeks.

It was an incredible trip.  One of those ones that blog post can’t really capture.  I mean, I could tell you how hard it is to portage a canoe and gear in crotch deep mud that is sucking you down.  Or what it is like to hear mosquitos banging on the side of your tent with their wings sounding like a squadron of Japanese Zeros so loud you are not sure if you’d sleep.  Or that we traveled over a hundred miles and only saw a sliver of the Boundary Waters wilderness and it was this huge untouched land of water, trees and wilderness.    Or what it is like to hear the mournful cry of a call of Loon as you look across the huge expanses of water.  Or how I was belly laughing to tears with my son in a boat as we fished.  Or how I stood in a grove of trees one day as the rain came down on us in buckets with thunder roaring over our heads and noticed that all our crew had simply fallen asleep in its glory.  But as they say, “you had to be there.”

We were “out there.”  I did use a GPS watch that I charged off a solar cell so that I could have the track of our route for memory sake.  I also had a my phone as a camera, but there was not a drop of cell signal.  This trip represents the longest I have been “off the grid” in terms of time in well over two decades.  No contact with home, work, or anyone other than the people I was on the water with and the few others we’d cross paths with out there.  We saw three other Scout crews, maybe three boating fisherman, and passed less than a handful of secluded cabins over our ten days. 

There was no running.  It was just not going to happen.  We stayed on small islands where the cover beyond our camp was so dense that it was not even possible.  I didn’t miss it really.

The route …

Wednesday 13JUL2016

AM – I slept hard and late (TZ had to wake me) and felt sluggish all morning.  45 minutes with the BrHS team very very slow.  Tried to make up for the lack of spunk in the ABC drills, lunges, squats, dips, planks, push ups, myrtle, pull ups but was floundering all throughout.

“Last week I trained 56 hours”

I was asked recently what are the paces I am training at.  Generally I on the flat stuff that is easy I am somewhere between 7 and 8 a mile.  But with the heat and hills, that can flub up a minute a mile on average.  Anything that is a significant climb or with Jack is usually averaging a bit slower, but can be pretty variable (especially with Jack).

Afternoon – I ran down to Wal-mart as I met the family down there for some last minute shopping for the Scout trip.  50 minutes.  Hot, but I actually made like four phone calls on the run.

To clarify, JZ’s Eagle project proposal was approved.  He has not attained that rank yet.

I am about to slip into a bit of a running break as JZ and I head off to Canada for a bit to do some canoeing.  The break is probably a good thing as I feel I have sort of trained up to a bit of a hole / edge where I’d need to shift somethings up.  See you all in a few weeks.

Tuesday 12JUL2016

AM – 50 minutes with the XC team.  Started slow but then rolled up and then the kids I got with started to roll and we ended up moving fairly well.  Followed it up with core, light weighted squats, some bench work, pull ups, push ups, etc. 

In other news JZ got his Eagle project approved last night. 

Watching the coaches work the football players continues to be a source of amusement for me.  They pushed this truck a lot.


This was a picture from Saturday from the backyard of the house that was next door to where we used to live in Nederland.

Amazingly his house is still standing.  As is the cabin we once lived in.  A couple of others close on Ridge Road did not make it though. 

Link stuff: 

• Mario’s shakeout takes on Lagat’s 5k win at the OT.  Seriously, we should be at least asking the question when a 41 year old outkicks the field of guys in a 52. 
• Running faster is more efficient than running slow.
• Stappy is out doing the CO Trail self supported
  

Afternoon – hot, and I was holding some general soreness fatigue in the legs, but managed okay once I got going.  30ish minutes.

Monday 11JUL2016

AM – 20 minutes easy with Lucy dog.  She is good for about 25-30 minutes before she starts to gimp a bit.  Not bad for an 11 year old dog that has had three leg tendons redone as she ripped them up in various ways chasing squirrels.  I felt a bit sore and was happy to keep it “Kenyan easy.” 

Six weeks ago, going into the Georgetown burro race, I was seriously doubting that I’d get to the line of the Fairplay race.  I had battled the Achilles thing for about two months at that point and it seemed to be going nowhere quickly.  The last month and a half I have done at least some work that makes me think I should be able to get around on the 29 mile course.  I definitely did not have that back in April and May. 

PM – an hour-ish.  It was warm but not as bad as yesterday.  I was slow and sore to start but eventually I found a bit of a better grove. 

Over the last couple of days I have seen folks out playing this Pokeman Go thing.   I have mixed feelings on it.  Just seems like another game with the phone for everyone to play.  But then again, it does seem to be getting the kids outside, and in some cases with their parents.  So maybe there is some good in that.   But to the guy who asked me if I was playing it as I eyeballed the smoke pillar coming out of Nederland yesterday … really?

Sunday 10JUL2016

A hot Sunday in July. 

Ya’ know, there ain’t a lot of jobs that I think, “yeah, I’d do that” even though it might **** me up right away or that I don’t have the meddle for it.  But that wildfire firefighter thing sort of sets that spark (pun intended) for about 5 seconds before the reality of age, lack of mental and physical strength kicks in. 

I would so wimp out. 

Makes me think those folks are pretty bad ass. 

It was a lazy Sunday.  Hot.  Walked up the hill a few times with TZ to look to the west and contemplate the house we use to live in and wonder if it was still up.  I talked to one of our neighbors up there who told us that both his place and our old place was still up.  He had dug a fire break with the fire fighters to help out.  And who wouldn’t if it were your place?  It was good to hear his voice.

I jogged super easy, and had to break in the 98 heat a few times.  It was a slow run, but it was nice in any case. 

A good week of jogging with friends, donkeys, getting some turn over, some vertical, some time up high, some time with the boy and his BrHS team, enjoying the furnance blast of summer, looking to connect with folks rather than divide, and trying to be gracious in what I have versus pining for what I don’t.   I think things moved forward a bit, even in fitness some (but still seeing that there is work to do). That is about as good as it gets, eh?

Cold Springs Fire

We don’t live in Ned any more but we did when we moved here in the mid 90s.  The Cold Springs Fire that is going on right now seems to be pretty damn close to where TZ and l lived when we moved out here.  We got married in the meadow in front of our house. (the house in the shot that is in the meadow was not there then).  I was less than happy to see pix of the house in the camera this AM. 

We lived in the brow cabin that is up to the back of the first shot and all the way to the right in the second shot.

Saturday 09JUL2016

Bob, Boog, Jack and I headed up to Fairplay to get some eyes on the upper loop of the Fairplay Burro Days course.  It was a beautiful can’t ask for better sort of day.

Bunch of running, walking, climbing, descending, burro-ing and enjoying time up high.

KZ recent day trip to Cologne

KZ sent me a few shots from her recent day trip to Cologne. 

Friday 08JUL2016

AM – I was a bit tired from the bigger day yesterday but headed up to the Switzerland Trail with TZ, JZ and the BrHS team.

I got an hour in.

• Glad to see this guy regularly blogging again.
• Latest ATUC.  There is some extensive MAF conversation in there that I find entertaining.  Sort of remind of days gone by where I was debating those concepts with Lucho. 
• Nike owns the Olympics.
• HS Phenom Hunter goes pro.  Can’t say I blame him but he is a long long way from doing anything at that level.

I could have got a second run in, but I could feel a bit fried on the edges from the hot effort yesterday.  So I kept it to the one session.

Thursday 07JUL2016

AM – 40ish minutes with Greg and BrHS team.  Afterwards, slightly uphill strides and ABC drills.  Then hit the gym for slightly weighted squats, planks, pull ups, box jumps, other core work.    Half the fun of the weight room is watching the strength coach work the kids.  It is all comical stereotypical stuff they say, but it still is a crack up to me. 

While I remain a reluctant but always suckered in fan of T&F, I can’t help but conclude for all but the geeks of the sport (guys like me, Bob, Lucho, Greg), it is a dead game.  Most people who run these days are more likely to recognize Anton or Killian (nothing against those guys at all) than Galen or Ryan Hill.  Well, with the latest ESPN Bodies Issue they might know who Emma Coburn is, but Olympic elite track athletes don’t hold the sport cred the way they use.  Everyone knew who Jim Ryun was, Al Oerter, Jim Thorpe, Bannister … mix in that TF is a sport riddled with PED issues everywhere, corrupt agencies, Nike bullying everyone, and that major media can only show 20% of a 10k (instead spinning to the shot, swimming, and commercials) – there is really not broad audience for it.  Add on that Rio seems to be setting up to be a complete charlie foxtrot affair and people already have their fun in sport with football, baseball, basketball and even hockey … yeah, some guy who has not even enough meat on his bones to make chicken soup hurling around a track with tape on him with little blades on it that make him supposedly makes him aerodynamically faster …

Nope.

Afternoon – a couple of hours with Bob, Jack, and Boog.