Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Check Out This Blog.....

I want to recommend and ask for anyone reading this to check out a friend of mines blog.  Her and her friend are both recovering from an injury that has kept them away from running for quite a while now and have decided to create a blog together to learn, reflect, and become whole runners again.  They have different styles of training and mileage but results are very similar.  My friend, AyeDubbs (her alias on the blog), is better at longer distances and consistently pounded out 100+ mile weeks before her injury and CClark trains shorter distances and faster workouts and is better at the mile and shorter events.  They remind me of Keegan and myself, as we are train very differently (he trains fast at 60 miles a week and I train slow at 120 miles a week) but still have 8k PR's only 5 seconds apart.

Their path to recovery is different too and are trying different methods to recover.  They hope to learn from each other and ultimately get to the same point, again - that is to be able to run healthy and free.

Check out their blog, they just started it today but plan on updating very soon!  Leave comments, offer advice, and help them in any way.  I am still convinced AyeDubbs is bound to be an ultra runner someday but she is too fast for that right now - maybe she just doesn't want to show up all the men at local 50k's and 50 milers - she won't let me convince her to do them but someday she'll fold ;).

Here is the website.  I also will have it linked up on the right side of my blog for future clicks - give em support!

A Clean Slate - Two Runners, One Goal...

http://ayedubbscclark.wordpress.com/

Monday, July 11, 2011

Colorado and Wyoming

I just recently returned to Ohio after a 15 day trip to Colorado and Wyoming.  I had a great, low cost opportunity to fly into Denver, meet my former roommate, Reece, who had been on Geology class trips in the West since May and spend a couple weeks camping, running, and relaxing in the mountains.  Reece was slated for two three night shows at Red Rocks and then up in Alta, WY so I was in for the ride.

The tip started out in Boulder where I met Reece and the next morning we drove down through Colorado Springs and headed Northwest and camped at Hoosier Pass.  The next day we drove through Breckenridge and camped short of the town Winter Park.  The next town we went to was Evergreen and then into Golden while Reece drove to Morrison three nights of concerts.  That Monday we headed North toward Wyoming and found Lake Fremont.  This was a prime campsite that we ended up staying for two night.  We traveled just a little ways away to Halfmoon Lake and enjoyed another nice lakeside site.  We headed further north to Granite Creek campsite areas within the Targhee National Forest boundaries and camped under some massive mountains that made the sun set a little earlier than normal.  After one night at Granite Creek we drove to the Tetons and into Alta, Wyoming which is to the West of the Tetons.  This is where we stayed in a cabin for three nights that was reserved for Reece's mom, who ended up not being able to make the trip.  Three nights here and then we drove the 29 hours East and finally made it to Ohio.

The trip gave great chances for me to be in the mountains and get a lot more experience running in the mountains.  I saw a lot of wildlife that I had never seen in the wild before and felt the real solitude of being alone on a mountain top for the first time.  Although I didn't record such surreal moments accurately enough, here are some of the pictures I took while on the trip:

This is Reece's CRV somewhere close to Freely, CO.
Looking at the map searching for a place to camp and run for the next few days in Grant County.

Here is our campsite at Hoosier Pass which the Continental Divide runs through - sits nicely at ~12,000 ft.


Another view from Hoosier Pass - these peaks around us are nearly 14,000 ft.
Campsite number two near Robbers Roost in some National Forest I forget the name of.
Eating on the hood of the car - Frijole Roll-Ups with re-fried beans and rice. 
Saw this guy hiding in the shade one morning after unzipping the tent door.
Up above the quaint ski town of Winter Park.
Aptly named - Red Rocks
If I played music I would love to play in such a natural amphitheater.
This is Lake Fremont, the first night after leaving Colorado and going to the Wyoming wilderness.  Just an amazing location.
Reece getting dinner ready.
These little guys were not shy.
Lake Fremot from up above.
Soaking my legs in Lake Fremont and being so comfortable.  The lake was too cold to swim in but perfect ice bath temperature.

Halfmoon lake campsite.
We didn't eat lightly on this trip that's for sure - Burgers with fresh peppers and then chicken brats the next night. 
A grove of Aspens.
Reece and I decided to wade across this because we thought the trail picked up at the other end - we were wrong.
This is what it turned into.

The hardest, fastest flowing mountain stream I have ever saw - beautiful.
Spectacular singletrack.
This is what I woke up to in Granite Creek, WY.