Friday, June 05, 2009

Green Mountain redux

Here are the reasons why the "Green Mountain Loop" in Boulder (start @ Chautauqua, up the amphitheater trail to Greenman trail, west off of the summit to Bear Canyon, out to the Mesa Trail and back to the start) is one of my favorite runs in the area:

  1. You reach a summit with great views, and it's actually got a cool little summit block
  2. It's a loop run. None of this out-and-back or lollipop stuff.
  3. The run takes about 2 hours, which is just right for me
  4. The terrain is incredibly varied
  5. If I'm having a good day I can get to the summit in just under an hour
  6. Green Mountain is visible from nearly everywhere on the front range
  7. Superb views of Bear Peak and South Boulder Peak from Bear Canyon
  8. Isolation: it's rare that you encounter anyone between the summit of Green Mountain and the Mesa trail
  9. It's tough. The last mile before the mesa trail is very technical with lots of rocks and stream crossings. In the spring it's hard to tell the trail from the creek.
I did this run again on Friday morning, June 5th. It never fails to disappoint. The first time I ever did this loop was in 2002, before I was much of a runner. I carried barely any water, it was hot, and I totally bonked somewhere in Bear Canyon, the whole round trip taking about 3.5 hours. I did it twice in 2006, getting lost on the way to summit both times, and getting as low as 2:10. This time I was hoping for sub-2 hours. I set a new PR this time, but failed by a long shot to break 2 hours, finishing in 2:04:39. I also set a new PR to the summit, in 58:03. Here is a comparison between this run, last year's (to the summit only), and my fastest time in 2006:

June 2009
7:47 Amphitheatre trail
17:18 Top of Amphitheatre (9:31)
26:27 First Flatiron cutoff (9:09)
36:19 Greenman cutoff (9:51)
58:03 Summit (21:43)
1:12:41 Bear Peak W. Ridge (14:38)
1:36:25 Mesa Trail (23:46)
2:04:39 Finish (28:14)

July 2008
7:38 Amphitheatre
17:32 Top of Amphitheatre (9:53)
26:56 First Flatiron cutoff (9:24)
37:09 Greenman cutoff (10:12)
58:12 Summit (21:03)

2006
Amphitheater Trail: 7:10
Greenman Trail: 38:15
Green Mtn. Summit 1:03:35
Bear Peak W. Ridge 1:18:00 (14:25)
Mesa Trail 1:42:00 (24:00)
Finish: 2:10:51 (28:51)

This time I was hampered a little bit on the way up by a side cramp after eating a gel. I should probably just wait until the summit to eat - it's not that long of a run. I also had to stop and walk several times in Bear Canyon - crossing the river is just too technical. I should probably try this run in the fall if I want to get under 2 hours....

until next time...