Judy's Health

Cancer - the word was certainly a shock to us but Judy is handling it remarkebly well and the current prognosis is very positive. Many of you now know, but Judy was diagnosed with Cervical cancer a few weeks ago and had surgery to remove her uterus last week. We have now been referred to a gynocological oncologist in Denver who we see on Thur. From what we have learned from the first surgeon and from our reading, the oncologist will likely do a surgery to remove some of Judy's lymph nodes and then possibly follow up with radiation. The cancer was caught very early and so we are feeling very positive about the outcome. I have now doubt you'll see Judy out on the trails again sometime this summer. Thanks so much to everyone who has called or emailed us to check on her. Our friends in Team CRUD have been particularly helpful and kind, stopping by to give her support and just talk, taking her mind off the cancer for awhile.

2/18 - 2/24 Log

Mon 02/18 – 45:00 on Treadmill, 7:53 pace
Tue 02/19 – 0
Wed 02/20 – 45:00 on TM, 7:47 pace
Thu 02/21 – 0
Fri 02/22 – 47:00 on dirt and paved roads around town
Sat 02/23 – 2:30:00 Balanced Rock trail to Limbaugh Canyon then down and over to Greenland Open Space. Very snowy trails.
Sun 02/24 – 45:00 on TM, 7:43 pace

Week – 5:32:00 / 40 miles

02/11 - 02/17 Log

Mon 02/11 – 45:00 Treadmill, 8:27 pace

Tue 02/12 – 30:00 TM, 8:20 pace

Wed 02/13 – 45:00 TM, 8:13 pace + .5 miles @6:45 pace
The pickup near the end was just to see how I felt running at normal pace. The effort was easy, but the longer stride is still bothering my hamstring. So, I will keep up with the very gradual quickening of each day's run.

Thu 02/14 – 30:00 TM, 8:06 pace

Fri 02/15 – 30:00 TM, 8:00 pace

Sat 02/16 – 2:00:00 Manitou – GoG – Rampart Range Rd – Williams Canyon
This was a nice run being off the treadmill for the first time in a week. The lower part of Rampart Range rd is all clear of snow. Rather than running back down the road, I decided to take the beautiful Williams Canyon trail. This is one of the prettiest canyons around, but unfortunately is "closed" right now due to the insane placement of a shooting range that shoots right down into it. There was a family shooting skeet (or trap?) but luckily it was just shotgun pellets that were hitting the tree limbs above Eric and I as we scooted down the top part of the canyon.

Sun 02/17 – off
Week – 5:00:00 / 35 miles

This was a really good week of training for me. Though only 35 miles, this really isn't that much off of a typical week (55 miles) so it should be just another week or so till I'm back to some semblance of fitness. I've also been good about stretching and lifting and am feeling like I haven't lost too much fitness during the time off in January.

As I write this, I'm in the hospital with my wife Judy who is recoverying from surgery. She unfortunately has a fairly serious illness so please think kind thoughts for her; we both hope she will be back running herself sometime soon.

Health Status, Potpourri

As you can see from this photo of Darwin in front of my shop, it was a beautiful sunny day here in Palmer Lake today. In fact, it has been pretty nice all week except for one day of snow and wind. Tomorrow should be a nice day for a long run up Rampart Range Rd. The group will then come down through Waldo canyon but I'll skip that part due to the snow. I'm really psyched with the improvement in my hamstring this week. I have run every day on the treadmill and might have finally stumbled on the right combination of treatments to get me back on track. I have been stretching like crazy and can actually comfortably touch my toes for the first time since college (when we had to stretch as part of practice). I am also rolling my hamstring on a firm foam roller before and after each run. Finally, I bought a Chopat thigh/hamstring sleeve online and have been wearing that when running. It is quite tight all the way up to my butt and just keeps everything warm and in place. I've now run 7 days in a row for the first time in more than a year and it feels better than a week ago.

I'm actually feeling good enough that I signed up for a race online yesterday. I'm not ready to committ to it, but as with so many races it was going to fill up and I wanted to be in just in case I'm ready. More on that in a week or two if things keep going well. I'm also signed up for American River and will be out in Sacramento that week anyway (to deliver a bed and table to a customer) so I still may end up doing it. If it was a trail race I'd do it for sure just as a long run, but it isn't exactly the most scenic setting in the world and I'd really rather save it for a year when I am ready to run a fast time. If I don't do AR, I'll probably at least do a long run on the WS course while out there.

Red Hot 50K in Moab - good luck to everyone going out for this one. Last year an avalanche on I70 caused a lot of front rangers to miss the race but no such problems this year. Several CRUDers will be going out to run in the red rocks.

Cheyenne Mountain Half Marathon Trail Race - There will be a new trail race taking place on Sept 20 this year at the new (year old) Cheyenne Mountain State Park. I'm sort of the RD for this, as the state park people contacted me about putting on an ultra. Basically, the state just acquired a new piece of open space that allows for unbroken public land from CMSP to Mueller state park up in Teller County. There are no trails connecting the two yet, but there will eventually be an ultra going from one to the other and back (about 50 miles). In the meantime, we will be putting on a trail race on the existing trail system in CMSP. Stay tuned for more info. It will be a fairly challenging trail half; I'm predicting about 1:30 for a winning time. Me and the CRUD gang have been scoping out potential routes and are getting close to the exact distance.

CO Democratic Caucus - This was a first for us (first year here having a caucus). It was pretty cool actually. First, nobody really knew how to run it so we all just read the instructions and stumbled through. I felt like a kid hiding in the back of the classroom when we had to volunteer/nominate delegates for the county convention. Second, it was neat seeing so many of our neighbors there. We sort of figured a lot of our neighbors were democrats due to the hippy dippy nature of our neighborhood, but El Paso county is like 75% republican so you never know. The biggest rap against the caucus format is it supposedly favors the party activists but it certainly didn't seem that way to us. Everybody just sort of talked about the various candidates and then we did the 2 types of votes (straw and preference). Obama was the big winner, by the way, in our precinct.



I just finished up a new design last week and got some profesional photos taken; it is a Shaker inspired desk, secretary, and chair made of Cherry and Birdseye Maple. The seat is woven from reeds. It was my first attempt weaving a herringbone pattern and it shows.

In other woodworking news, I did my part to stimulate the economy this week by purchasing a large, very expensive, dual drum sander. If anybody has a stubborn callous that needs treatment, stop on by and we can sand it right off. I had a scary experience last time I tackled a wiring project at the shop, so I have a real electrician coming over this weekend to get the new machine hooked up.

Jan 1 - Feb 10 Log

Ok it has been a rough 6 weeks as far as my running goes, but I'm getting ready to be back on track. Most of my new plan is mental; I've decided I miss running more than I miss a pain-free hamstring, so I'm just going to start running and figure/hope it will gradually get better with continued stretching and massage. The practical side of this new plan is no more snow running; the snow is just killing my hamstring so as much as I like to be out on the snowy trails, I am just saying no for the time being.

As far as a goal race; I am signed up for American River but will not be running there. It is too much of a rush and my "resolution" for this year was to only race when I was ready, regardless of any lost entry fees or other committments. I am pretty sure I will be running the Vermont 100 on July 19th, however, as that is my 40th birthday. Just happened that the big day falls on a Saturday so I was able to find a race. I ran Vermont once a few years ago and had a pretty rough day, so I'm looking forward to going back.

01/01 - 01/16 - rest/recovery from ATY
Thu 01/17 – 35:00 Snowy, hilly Cheyenne Canyon
Sat 01/19 – 2:35:00 Snowy, hilly Cheyenne Canyon
Sat 01/26 – 10:00 flat on Treadmill (TM)
Sun 01/27 – 1:04:00 Crystal Park Rd.
Tue 01/29 – 25:00 flat on TM
Sat 02/02 – 2:10:00 in Cheyenne Mountain State Park. Snowy.
Sun 02/03 – 30:00 flat on TM
Thu 02/07 – 1:00:00 Cheyenne canon, snow
Sat 02/09 – 2:00:00 Falcon Trail, snowy.
Sun 02/10 – 30:00 on TM.

Early Pemberton 50K Results

The Pemberton Trail 50K was this morning in Fountain Hills, AZ (outside Phx), with Josh Brimhall winning in 3:21, which is a course PR for him. My good friend Kelly Mortenson was 2nd in his debut Ultra with a time of 3:26. That is all I know so far. Congratulations to both Kelly and Josh.

Kelly has a marathon PR of 2:19 and has also broken 30:00 for 10K, so look for him to make some noise in ultras after he gets more experience. He has been one of my pacers for both of my Leadville wins, as well as a training partner for years.

Results Added 2/10:

1 Josh Brimhall M32 3:21:39
2 Kelly Mortenson M36 3:26:09
3 Nick Coury M20 3:40:20

14 Jamie Donaldson F33 4:18:11
21 Juliet Morgan F41 4:33:51
23 Honey Albrecht F48 4:36:53