Karl is off to a rough start on the AT. Very, very wet conditions. Take a look at day 4 – wow!! That is some unbelievably tough terrain. So cool to be able to follow along, I just watched video clips of the running from this morning – only a few hours after it happened. His top-notch crew (or is it Krew??) is taking great care of him and doing a stellar job of keeping the rest of us in the loop. Go, Karl!

174 down, 2000 to go

Averaging 40+ miles a day of that stuff is nuts!

I did 13 miles today, outfitted with everything I will be using a week from now at Leadville. I ran comfortably with my heart rate at 145 to mimic the pace I would like to settle in to for the first couple of hours. Time to rest up and pack some drop bags!

I’m hard pressed to think of a better run than today’s. It may go in the books as my all-time best. I did the Gray’s and Torrey’s combo again. Such a great training route (although it can get crowded on a weekend). From the first half mile, I knew I was on a good day. 2 weeks ago I ran it in 4:22, today I was really hoping to crack 4 hours. I thought I just might squeak under. Not! I rolled to a 3:42 – nice! My running was good, my hiking was a thousand percent better than normal. I actually hiked more this time. Plus I had plenty left in the tank for the descent, and I never dug deep at all. When I was finished, I reloaded and hiked the 3 miles back up to the trailhead then ran down easy. 21 miles, 6,600′. Good day in the mountains.

Speaking of best ever – how ’bout Kyle’s run at Hardrock! Wow!! 23:23:30. I have a feeling that one will stand for a LONG time, unless he comes back and knocks some more time off. Finishing before dawn!

Congrats to my Speedgoat teammates down in Silverton. They’re all looking great (I’ve been following the webcast here). Scott is already home and dry – excellent run, Scott! Mark, Larry, and Steve will be rolling in very soon. The goat’s are running strong!! Olga is there as well volunteering and pacing, and looks to be having a great time at it.

Check out one of Steve’s famous photos from a previous year. What an awesome place!

Climbing Grant-Swamp Pass

2 down, 52 to go.

I summited my first 14,000+ peaks today, making a training run out of the Grays/Torreys combination. They are two of the easiest to hike. Running them was tough. I had to switch to hiking once I got above 13k and started to get a little light-headed.

I started at the Bakerville exit (9,780′), which is 3 miles and 1,500′ below the actual trailhead. I topped out on Grays (14,270′) in 2:11, then made my way over to Torreys (14,267′). To truly ‘bag’ a 14’er in style, it is thought that you should gain at least 3,000′ for each summit, rather than traversing from one to another like I did today. No worries, I’ll be doing this route again and will hit Torreys first next time.

It was an awesome run, if a bit crowded. Glad to see people out enjoying the mountains, though.

My run/hike totaled 14.9 miles and 5,100′ of climbing in 4:22. A little slower than I would have liked, but considering all the traffic on the trail, lots of snow on the Grays traverse, and the 18 miles I put in yesterday, not bad.

Grays Peak straight ahead

Torreys Peak on the right

Up the big pile o’ rock

Nice view of Torreys from the Grays trail

The trailhead is near the stand of pines just above center

Grays Peak summit

Crazy to be looking ‘down’ on some very big mountains

Part-way up Torreys, looking back at Grays

Looking down from the top of Torreys at the freeway exit where I started

Nice way to ruin a great view

Big-time rush hour traffic on the descent