A Hike in the Hills Near Bozeman

This morning I drove to a trail head near the Primal Quest bike drop and hiked in 30 minutes, hoping to photograph any teams coming in off the trek. I didn't see any humans, but the flowers were great (what are those, bluebells?), and evidence of wildlife was on every inch of the trail. Elk, deer, and something with paws...hopefully a dog? But maybe a cat. A big, big cat. Kinda scary!

Active at Altitude runs in and near Estes Park, Colo.

We did a run last night around Lake Estes. I didn't make the full loop, instead doing 20 minutes out and 20 minutes back to the cars. I kept my shuffle pace up for the first five minutes, but then it just got too hard to breathe, so I walked. There's a considerable amount of discomfort to manage. The soles of my feet ached when I ran, and still ached when I walked instead. After everyone met back at the cars, I started to feel a second wind, really perked up. As the other runners came in I cheered for them. I find that I enjoy doing that more than I enjoy the running. I do the same thing during adventure races, cheer everyone on, and I feel flooded with inspiration, because I'm so proud of the effort people are putting in, the suffering they are trying to manage to get on to the next thing.

Today we ran in Rocky Mountain National Park. Cow Creek? I'll look it up. Again, I was way back from the pack, and actually didn't run much at all. Soreness in my legs, my chest from the panting yesterday I think, and I even, somehow, developed the first blister I've ever had while wearing my Montrail Hardrock trail running shoes.

I've got a long, long way to go with my fitness. Sometimes I look at that fact and think, well, you can only get better! What an exciting journey! And other times, like when I'm actually profoundly uncomfortable -- trying to run, specifically -- I think I may not be able to get there, or that running may not be the vehicle for getting me there. Time will tell.

Resurrection of the Bitton Training Blog

I was away from this training blog for a bit, but now I'm back. Rookie Rampage, the adventure racing team I helped lead through the 2007 season, has faded into memory, and now I must find a new way to try to get and stay healthy. Genetics are against me. Time to act! Trail running is what I intend to use as the base of my health and fitness going forward.

I'm treating myself to a Trail Running and Writing Weekend at a unique training facility in Estes Park, Colo. It's called Active at Altitude, and run by a wonderful British couple . Here I will learn about nutrition, hydration, running technique, and more, from some real pros in the world of trail running. Elinor Fish is the editor of Trail Runner Magazine, and Adam Chase is the trail running editor of Running Times Magazine. They'll kick things off here in a few hours. More to come!

Bitton Training Blog Obsolete! Introducing team Rookie Rampage!

For the readers who have followed my training blog in the past, I give thanks and humbly redirect you to the team blog of Rookie Rampage. Just click on the headline above to see what we've been up to! I am the captain of this all-newbie adventure racing team based in Portland, Ore.

Downhill Mountainbiking at Mt. Hood Ski Bowl

Sure, it felt like cheating, but I loved riding the chairlift to the top of Mt. Hood Ski Bowl several times today and bombing down the trails with my friends Scott Markham and Cristina Fillis. Hard-core mountain bikers would say I needed to earn those thousands of feet of elevation gain, but I think the $24 price of the permit and the lift ticket was money well spent.

The weather was cool and damp, which was perfect in my opinion. I even had a new piece of kit to try out today -- the Ether wind shirt by GoLite. At first I didn't think the ultralightweight anorak-style jacket could do a thing to keep me warm during the 40-degree day we were about to enjoy. Looking across the tiny valley of Government Camp, Ore., I saw snow at timberline on Mt. Hood! As a real shell backup, I stuffed my GoLite Xirtam softshell into the backpack so I wouldn't freeze if the new Ether failed me. To my pleasant surprise, the Ether wind shirt kept me as warm as I wanted to be, whether I was motionless on the breezy chairlift, or bouncing down rocky trails at high speed. Big props to Demetri "Coup" Coupounas, head of GoLite, for figuring out just how light you can go and still have a useful garment.

Riverboarding on My 15th Wedding Anniversary

Photo by Iceman Riverboarder
Jana and Mike Bitton enjoy what little calm water they encountered while riverboarding on the Upper Clackamas River.

Was it a date? Was it adventure race training? Was it both? Jana and I went riverboarding today, which also happens to be our 15th wedding anniversary. With Josh "Ice Man" Lamka of Face Level Riverboarding (www.facelevel.com) as our tutor, we took a short run on the Upper Clackamas River near Portland, Ore. If you know the river, we put in at Fish Creek, and took out below Carter Falls. Ice ran me through this stretch of river my first time on a riverboard, and I agree with him when he says it's a beginner's run with a thrilling ending. Jana disagreed, and just before the second set of rapids, stood up in the river and decided she was done. She hiked back to the car in her borrowed wetsuit, PFD, helmet and booties, carrying her fins in hands covered with funky webbed gloves. "I got a lot of weird stares from people driving by," Jana said when we met back up at the Jeep. While Jana was hiking, I was riverboarding for the second time in my life. I was far more confident this time around. Along for the adventure were my brother David and his wife Tomie, visiting from Colorado Springs, Colo. They had a blast!

Two Days of Paddling at Trillium Lake, Ore.

Photo by Jana Bitton
Mike Bitton recently spent a couple of days practicing his kayak mooves on Trillium Lake.

Over the weekend my family camped at Trillium Lake, which sits at the south end of Mt. Hood near Portland, Ore. I put my strip-built wooden kayak on the roof of the Jeep, then stopped by Next Adventure (Portland's Alternative Sporting Goods Store) to borrow a second kayak from Bryan Knudsen, co-owner of the shop. We got to the campsite, set up, and went straight to the lake.

My brother, David Bitton, and his wife, Tomie, are visiting from Colorado Springs. Dave was eager to get in the boats. We paddled around a bit, then I taught him how to climb back into the boat if you fall out in deep water. He got the hang of it real quick.

The next day, we shared the boats with members of my wife Jana's family. They all had a great time. By late afternoon, most of the family went back to camp, so Dave, Tomie and I hung out at the lake. Trillium Lake is so gorgeous, you should do a Google image search to see what I'm talking about. I'll definately be back!