Monday, November 1, 2010

Ultra Town USA

As much as I have been missing running in Juneau, this past weekend here in Colorado sure went a long way in getting me dialed into my running here.

On Saturday I took the bus down to Boulder to meet up with a few folks for a fun little 4 hour group run. What I expected to be a dozen people or so was actually more like 50. I started behind everyone because I showed up late and eventually I made my way toward the guys running out in front. I've known since moving here that the talent of runners in this area is off the charts but it wasn't until Saturday that this really hit home. Had this been a race it would have been one of the most competitive ultras ever run. Scott Jurek, Tony K., Dave Mackey, Nick Clark, Dakota Jones, Joe Grant... just to name a few of the locals that I would run with most of the day on Saturday. I didn't feel very good that day but it was nice to run with such a large, diverse, and insanely strong group of runners.

On Sunday Tony, Joe, and Dakota drove up to Nederland to join Patrick Garcia (who had driven up from Denver) and I for a fun 5 hour slog up over 11,000 ft. into some pretty serious early season snow. It was mostly clear trail up to about 10k, but once we were to 10,500 there was well over a foot of snow. Stubbornly we pushed on to get a nice view of the Continental Divide before turning back for home and then down to Boulder for some trick-or-treating with the little one and a fun Birthday/Halloween/Housewarming party at Scott Jurek's house.

In all it made for a great weekend in which I felt, for the first time since moving to Colorado, that I found a bit of a rhythm to my running here. I actually felt physically really weak on both of these long runs but it felt really nourishing to get out with several other runners and to be out for over 4 hours for two days in a row. Now I just need to find a way to get my body to come around and catch up with my mind and spirit.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Toughen up princess!

footfeathers said...

Great to see you on Saturday. Having just run "raced" 50 miles along with the traveling, you seemed fairly strong to me!

Dave Mackey said...

Welcome to the bubble, Geoff! If you felt like crap this weekend then you truly are scary.

trudginalong said...

Thanks for the run, I should've worn pants though...

Scott McMurtrey said...

I wonder if trail runners are helping raise or lower the property values in northern Colorado...

Cody Hanson said...

I'm originally from Auburn and have been following you and that whole crowd for awhile now. I just came to fully understand how many ridiculous runners there are now in the Boulder/surrounding area. I really have nothing important to say, but that town is nuts!