Mountain R.A.T.S.

Helen's off on this insane four-day ultrarunning stage race. Carrying about an 18lb pack with all of her food and most gear for 3 nights in the woods. Hopefully the weight of the pack will force her to eat a lot and often to lighten the load on her pack, not to mention the fuel and recovery needed for running 8 miles this afternoon, 25mi tomorrow, 25mi Saturday, and another 18mi on Sunday. Ouch. Good luck Helen! Alina and I are spending some quality time together (eating ice cream).

sleeping babies

thanks Steve!


Maddie & Izzy from Steve Cospolich on Vimeo.

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I'll never get tired of this...

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36 today

ummm, not too bad. still am plenty active. it will be great when I have to struggle to catch Alina on the slopes & trails. that may be a while, but it will still be great.

more baby pics

Not sure how to yet tell them apart, but they're my nieces! Guess mother nature is quickly making up for the fact that my mom had 3 boys. Well she has plenty of little girls around now to call her Granny. Alina already loves looking at their pics. Can't wait to visit Dallas and see them.

I saw a lynx today, but unfortunately...

it was in its last moments of life. I drove to Frisco around 7:45a to get my oil changed and tires rotated. Just as I passed the rec path before the Agape Church, I saw what I swore was a lynx off on the shoulder. It looked like it had been hit by a car. I called Helen and told her about it, saying I wasn't sure it was a lynx but pretty damn sure. It had big white tufts of hair on its pointy ears, and big feet.

Well, sure enough. I just read tomorrow's version of the SDN, and they have an article on it here. I borrowed the below pic too, courtesy of one of Susan Fairweather, one of the many good samaritans on site. Poor guy or girl was struck by a vehicle as it tried to cross Hwy 9. And the article goes on to say some pricks were yelling at the people who were trying to direct traffic and help it out.

peace, and babies

babies Cospolich

Madeline & Isabelle. I can't tell them apart, and I don't know their full names...but these are first pics from Steve. how adorable, like peas in a pod!

welcome Madeline and Isabelle

Steve called a while back to say everything went well, and that everyone (4, that's right, 4 people now) is doing well. I think he said Madeline was 6lb2oz, and Isabelle 5lb5oz. I will confirm spellings with weights when he posts some pictures soon. Will they be impossible to tell apart, at least for me (Uncle Jeff now)?

Congrats Steve & Rose! You are beginning a new chapter in your lives, times two!

156

race weight is what I like to call it. I was about 166 the first week in April. So two months of riding my bikes about 10hrs a week has shed off 9 pounds. And I still eat lots of dessert and ice cream, just like Alina!

new Cospolich-es

Steve is in the hospital now with Rose. C-section should be underway as I write this! cool to know they're bringing 2 baby girls into the world today. and cousins for Alina, and call me Uncle Jeff! super exciting.

Aspen Tunnel singletrack

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Gotta get my real helmet cam mounted soon. Tired of shaky video at poor resolution, making me ride one-handed. Soon my friends, soon. From a high temperature and growth perspective, it is full-on mid-summer and lush, even with no rain. sent via Treo by AT&T

Dropping in

From the top of the mine on the lower section of Aspen Tunnel trail. Another day of threatening skies...but no precipitation whatsoever.

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le Tour

woke up around 5:30a to watch some of the great stage 16 action in the alps. They were mid stage, on the ascent up the Col de Lombarde. What an incredibly beautiful climb. About as wide as a bike path, lush green forest, towering jagged rocky mountains above. 222km climb. That's a huff. Then they have another giant climb...the climb to the Cime de la Bonette averages 6.2 percent for a daunting 26.7km — and the most difficult part is at the top. The final 9km average 9 percent, with the maximum grade of 10.2 percent continuing for a whole kilometer. From the 9,193-foot summit (the highest in France), the survivors can look forward to a rapid 22km downhill on a recently resurfaced road to Jausiers (population 1,100) and 1.5km of valley roads before the finish line. Can't wait to see the action unfold tonight, thanks to DVR. I don't care for the prime time broadcast format nearly as much.

a few more from the kids' museum in Rochester

DIA

while waiting with our luggage while Helen was talking to United about our lost childseat, I snapped a couple of quick pics of this gargoyle coming out of a suitcase.

Rochester trip

Thanks to Bill & Mary, a quick weekend trip to Rochester to see Helen's cousin Sara's wedding. Mike and she were married in a beautiful church at a divinity school in the Ithaca College. No pics at the wedding, knowing I'd have my hands full with Alina. But here are some pics from our visit to the children's museum.

O'Hare

Waiting to hop on a 767 to fly back to Denver. Pretty nice waiting area at the gate. Flat screen tvs show standby and upgrade passengers, flight info, etc.

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atari

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Waiting...

At O'Hare...on a small plane trying to get to Rochester. Flight from Denver to Chicago delayed by almost an hour. O'Hare seems to be a mess now. Not sure why, but most all traffic in and out is delayed. Weather doesn't seem bad. Alina and Helen are 2 rows behind me. This little jet only has 2 seats on each side of the aisle.

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Carter Park swings

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Peaks Trail TT, downhill direction to Frisco from Breck

I'm already salivating over this one. Definitely going to bring my big bike for this course, with it's overall downhill course profile, littered with roots and rocks. Next time I ride the Scott hardtail...might not be til mid August.

race #11, Swan River Rampage

was one of my better races of the season, coming in 2nd. Tough road climb to start, but the singletrack on the CO Trail is unbelievable, that made forgetting the pain that much easier. I don’t think I spent too much energy early. I wasn’t warmed up, felt like shit. For some reason, the initial road killed me. But I didn’t panic, and rode into the race well once on the CT. No mistakes at all on the first section, passed a few bumblin'-stumblin' fools, didn’t spend much energy, it was still kinda tight with racers. Then on Westridge I felt awesome. On Sudayn I rode up the Westridge climb on my 5.5 in middle ring the whole way, after having already ridden 21+mi earlier int he morning via Great Flume, GA Pass and the south fork section of the CT. So in the race I told myself having a 5lb lighter hardtail should enable me to ride a couple gears bigger. I rode 3rd cog & middle ring and passed so many guys. I'd guess at least 15 people in my class. It was a rare good moment this year. The end, I don’t know, empty tank? Zeke is strong, I was riding his wheel, then he left me with about 1/4mi left, but only by about 50yds. never could close the gap. But I held off the 3rd place guy too. Fun stuff. Results are by no means super important, but they're nice when they come around.

Westridge

The joy of racing on the legendary Colorado Trail, especially the high-speed roller coaster sections descending from Westridge, will be mine tonight! Almost 5mi of continuous, delicious descent through a dense forest, mixed in with some cool switchbacks and peppered with a few small rises. Super high-speed. Summit Mountain Challenge race #4 tonight!

Dealoco

my younger brother Steve was interviewed by a Dallas news station about the deal aggregator website he and his college friends created. Pretty cool to be interviewed by a big news station. Way to go Steve!
Here's the article
Here's the video (requires Flash player)

single vs. multiple exposure

can you tell which one was single exposure, and which was image blending (HDR/multiple exposure)?

great wknd

hung out, did some yard work, went to our neighbor's boy's 2yr b-day party, did a couple of bike rides, hung with the family, enjoyed the warmth. very nice weather lately!

Valmont Bike Park

this would be super cool...

i'm an old man

on my short lunchtime spin on the mountain bike, I found myself admiring the weed whack job up at Beaver Run. I just took care of our lawn yesterday. Guess when you live somewhere with a 3-month season for all things green and summery, you appreciate it that much more.

night ride

Dan, DC, Mike, Scott, Pete and I all rallied down to the shop, and then up Morning Thunder to Pence Miller to the Black Loop to Toad Alley to Peaks Connection to the Peaks Trail. A beautiful, yet hazy (CA fires?) night, with a half moon for some dramatic lighting coming through the hazy forest. Nice temps in the 50s. Came across the big new bridge they're installing. Cool stuff. i love night rides! we did not see any wildlife though.

real estate shot

Shooting a house for a friend, who also happens to be a realtor. Below's shot of the living room.



This shot is reverse engineering the lighting. You can see, if you look carefully, the 4 off-camera flashes I used, in addition to the 580EX on cam at 1/64th power to trigger the optical slaves built-in to my SB80s. It worked out pretty good.


But I think this is my money shot for this house-
* correction - I shuold have moved the light in the left corner by the wall. It's creating a hot spot. I should have reduced its power and/or moved it closer towards the camera.

STRS #3 up on the ski area

This is Helen right out of the start. My other photo didn't work out, but Alina and I had a blast. Helen finished 2nd place behind a former CSU runner.

 

Alina

earlier today when Helen was getting Alina dressed for school, Helen told her that she needed to brush her teeth. Alina said yes, adding that her friends at school would laugh at her if she had stinky breath. how funny!

Cospolich genealogy

Some relatives on my father's side (who have some free time) finally found a key missing link about 4 generations back. Long story short, the Cospoliches of the greater New Orleans/Gulf Coast area are definitely linked back to a Cuspilich (Kuspilic) family from the beautiful Croatian island of Korcula. More specifically, Peter Cospolich, my great-great grandfather, was born in Korcula in 1807. He married a woman from the Kalogjera family in Korcula. The Kalogjera family is said to be originally from the Island of Crete, they have a Greek origin. I think Peter Cospolich emigrated from Korcula via Italy sometime in the 1850s or so? (corrections please!)

See pic below. Why couldn't I have grown up there? Look how beautiful and exotic looking. Mountains, rocks, water. What more does one want? hehe

some more pics from Sunday in Vail

Chowing on a bagel sandwich...


Helen getting interviewed by the Director of the US National Mtn Running Team


Alina enjoying the gondola ride down


happy kid early in the morning before the start


Helen's results. Apparently two of the girls who finished right after Helen (both in her age group), are elite marathoners. Helen Googled them and one was ranked top-5 in the country for marathon a couple of years ago, and the other competed in Olympic trials this year. Wow.

zoom

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View from B Line trail

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Vail Hill Climb

Helen raced this yesterday. She took a few minutes off of last year's winning time, and came in 2nd place. Way to go babe! Alina and I were lucky to be able to ride the gondola up and check out the finish.

Male champions
1. Simon Gutierrez 48:14
2. Alex Willis 50:51
3. Josiah Middaugh 51:10

Female champions
1. Sarah Shepard 56:52
2. Helen Cospolich 58:31
3. Aurora Leon 1:00:51

Weather delay

Descending from Vail Pass. Tons of thunder and lightning. Think i'm going to call Helen to meet me at the rv park. I don't mind being soaked, but lightning scares me.

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Vail gondola ride

Saw Helen run fast to 2nd place in the Vail HC. Now we ride the gondola.

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Ice cream

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F50 recap

Pretty cool it's the marathon distance national championship. It must feel great to pull off a win and get a stars-and-stripes jersey. Good VN article about it.

Back to reality. After sleeping on it, and, more importantly, seeing the results online, I feel slightly better about it. 11th out of 29 in Open Men 35-39. Not in the top 1/4 like I wanted, but at least in the top half. Stopping to take a leak, take off my tangle of headphone wire, and give Helen my iPod...probably about 2 minutes. I only would pee myself if I were pacing for a record time. How the heck did I run a 4hr17min race 4-5 years ago?

Sunny weather with little to no rain made for a super dusty course. It rained last night, but only for the usual 8-10 minutes. Not even a drop in the proverbial dust bucket. I long for that first ride just after a decent rain...what they call hero dirt. Traction at its finest.

Feel well today considering the effort put forth yesterday. Super mellow spin on the bike path (with prob 200+ tourists) later this afternoon.

Firecracker 50

Another one in the books. Not one to brag about, that's for sure. But I definitely took care of myself during the 4hr45min race. Ate 6 gels, 9 electrolytes, 2 bags of Clif Shot Blocks. 2 bottles of water and 2.5 bottles of Gatorade. First lap in a sluggish 2hr13min, and I thought I was going good. Rode in a small group with Zeke up Boreas the 2nd time up. But as usual, I came slightly unraveled up Little French gulch. Walked a bit. 2hr33min second lap. Gross.

Tonight I feel pretty good. Volume is good...for later in summer and cross season.

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I love this old photo

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Lunch by the river

Nice day. Crowds are coming. F50 tomorrow!

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baskets

we got lucky and found some good hanging baskets at Neils Lunceford this season. good to have some color around, since the summers are so short up here.