Saturday, October 10, 2009

Saturday in pictures

Temps were easily below zero with wind chill. The mountains are never more beautiful than when they're covered in snow and you're running on quiet back roads. I did a huge loop that went from 8200ft to over 9200ft then wound back down to 7400ft then back to 8200ft. No watch and I've never run this route but I was out well over 1:30. Runs like this are why I run. Gorgeous!

In to the not really that wild. Abandoned bus with hot tub.

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Game trail... maybe 50% grade.



~9000 ft. with my house below.

Climb or descend?

Wilderness socked in with clouds.

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My house is in that neighborhood.

19 comments:

Brandon Fuller said...

Sweet -- the Magic Bus!

GZ said...

Beardsicles!

Lucho said...

The bus is awesome. The hot tub is hilarious.
First beardsicles of the winter!

J.P. Patrick said...

I didn't see many runners out this morning because of the cold. I'm glad I had the east side of the Flatirons to myself! Your pics of the west side look awesome! Great morning!

Lucho said...

Nice JP. Yes- awesome morning.

J.P. Patrick said...

I've done a lot of thinking about Ironman today. I have another one on the calendar in May.

I watched the first 50 or so competitors cross the line tonight on the live stream from Kona(and still watching in the background.) Pretty moving.

As the guy who won the overall age group world championship at Kona with a 16th overall and then backed it up by moving up the ranks the next two years (just talking Kona here but I didn't forget the US Pro Championship title at Lake Placid or the other "lesser" Ironmans, accomplishments and results).... I have to ask... did you watch today? Miss it at all?

Lucho said...

I watched almost every minute. The thing that bothers me is that I crushed Lieto when we were age groupers and then for the first couple years as a pro. He steadily got better and I didn't. Same with Lovato (who had a bad day today). That kind of stings. I miss it a lot, Kona that is. I also miss being as fit as those guys, just unbelievable strength. Did you hear the Ryan Hall phone call?

J.P. Patrick said...

Lieto was on today! I was rooting for the guy to keep the wheels on in the last part of the run. It looked brutally painful for him in the end.

I missed the phone call but heard a number of times that he'd been doing some track workouts with Ryan Hall in Mammoth. What does that look like?! Only getting lapped every third lap!

Joe said...

What camera do you use to carry on your runs? Pics are fantastic! -Joe

Lucho said...

JP- I was in 10th place coming in to the last 1.5 miles in 2002. I came off the bike in 44th and ran the first 13.1 miles in 1:19 and blew up. At mile 5 I snapped a shoe lace and had to stop and Mcgyver it. Dumb running that cost me a ton. If I had run smart I would have run easily in to ~7th place. At mile 25.5 I stopped in the road and almost fell over before gutting it in for 13th. The last 10k of that race, when you're in a racing position for top 10, is unbelievably painful. I could see Cam Widoff in front and had a whole slew of studs behind me and there was never a second of relief. That's one of the very few races where I can distinctly recall the pain I felt. It was like my entire abdomen and pelvis was full of acid, hamstrings and quads were almost completely locked up. I never bonked though :) My resting HR the day after that race was 110.... good times.

Joe- An old Canon A530 that is on it's last legs.

J.P. Patrick said...

You can see and feel the pressure and pain on the faces of the top guys every year.

Your performance is amazing and something I have a hard time even fathoming! Coming off the bike and picking off 31 of the best athletes in the world (these aren't weekend warriors!) on the biggest stage in the world... wow.

Lucho said...

My training logs from 1999-2004 are more impressive to me. There are 4-5 month stretches in there that blow me away looking back at them. I seriously couldn't even do just the running portion now. I was so completely driven that it killed any chance of success. As I look towards Leadville I see close similarities between that race and Ironman. Similar mentalities and similar training required. If I can fall back in to that Ironman mentality, and combine that with a little seasoned experience and clarity...? I think Leadville will suit me.

GZ said...

What running could you not do now that you could do then?

I was thinking of you over the night as well ... Kona and Chicago.

There are times when I think of how good you were, and feel blown away. Then I shake my head and remember that you run in white camo tights - and I feel better. ;)

Did you do the laps at Walker today?

Lucho said...

Gz- I woke up at 9:00am this morning, 12 hours of sleep which has to be a record for me. Watching Kona wore me out. I missed my window to run laps on Walker.
I used to run 26-28 miles in under 3:00 every week for my long runs. The night before a 30k I rode my bike 110 miles to the race, then placed 2nd in 1:45.
Crap loads of solid track sessions.
A 2:15 800 and a 58" 400 in one workout.
One workout- 2 Wu) then 4 X 6 miles in 36:00 with my HR below 150.

I only wear the white camo because runners are bothered so much by what others wear. It's true.

GZ said...

Hello kettle, this is the pot calling. I still crack up at that line you made about my leg hairs and the euro split shorts.

We'll get Walker soon.

Lucho said...

Uh uh... I call BS. I only started to make fun of short shorts in response to "runners" making fun of my long compression shorts. I had no problem with what anyone was wearing, I'm an ex-triathlete for God's sake! I raced in a freakin Speedo once!
Seriously. Once I learned how much runners tend to hate people who break the 1980's fashion guide lines for being a "real" runner, I started making fun of them. I only responded.

You also said you would "never be beaten by a guy wearing a cotton shirt and long shorts".

Ya- Walker will be there.

GZ said...

Not sure I ever said that ... I have been humbled by guys in speedos and in fact, I was beaten at the Pearl Street Mile by a guy wearing balloons on his head (and while a 4:41 is not crazy fast, I thought it would be balloon guy free).

But if I said it - it was just plain stupid. Which, on second thought ... makes it seem like something I would have said. If I said it, it simply is not true (given) and I apologize.

In any case, this started with a compliment with to you. My back handed humor just came up short.

But I still want to pick you first in the CTF draft ... regardless of what you wear.

Lucho said...

Don't apologize, that was funny and I got it. Thanks for the compliment... whatever. :)

GetBackJoJo said...

I just checked out these photos right after reading a post from an athlete who just completed Kona in the 100 degree heat. Weird!