8/6 - Rest. Wanted to run but got shot down by the wife! Ha!
8/7 - 6.0 miles. 1:00:xx. 1300'v. Stagecoach Mountain - Stagecoach. Hard effort climbing up to The Beach with trekking poles and back to the house. Then, dropped them off at the house and ran another 3 miles down to the fire station and back on dirt trail. Pushed the effort the whole way.
8/8 - 7.3 miles. 1:12:xx. 500'v. Stagecoach. Easy paced evening run from dusk til dark on the road down to the lake and a couple miles of trail.
8/9 - 6.76 miles. :52:45. 500'v. Stagecoach. Quick run down to Elk Run Trail and a few 7 minute miles on dirt before climbing back to the house.
8/10 - Rest.
8/11 - 13.55 miles. 3:34:08. 2910'v. Black Mountain Trail to East Fork Trail just nouth of Round Lake. Woke up at 4 a.m. and got to the trail head at Sheriff Reservoir just before 6 a.m. Looked like it might rain so I waited a few minutes in my truck before deciding to just go for it. The run started out great and I felt great climbing up into the mountains at dawn. It was a little bit cloudy but I really didn't think the rain would come. I ran a couple hours up trail and found a nice spot next to a creek to eat some food (a clementine, some bread with Pocket Fuel peanut butter on it and a Salt Stick tablet). I sat on a rock, admiring my surroundings and suddenly realized that I should just turn around and spend a little time at home with Katy. I missed her very much. I packed up and started back when I felt a drop or two of rain. I looked northwest and saw rain and suddenly felt a little panicked to get back since I was now climbing back up to some exposed areas. It eventually began raining steadily on me as I hiked up the rocky trail but it wasn't a complete deluge. I got pretty wet but after a half hour or so it let up and I started back down towards Sheriff under clearing skies. I had fun and made it back home by 11 a.m. I walked around the neighborhood with Katy for about 45 minutes then spent a little while clearing some branches from a couple of trees we had cut down earlier in the week. That afternoon, I drove up to Clark to meet up with Jonny B, Christian, Paul and Brady and a couple of other people, at a favorite camping spot out on Greenville Mine Road to watch a meteor shower that evening. I ended up deciding to treat it all as a training day and stayed on my feet (and even did some late night hiking with the dogs) most of the night. The sky was clear and we saw some really amazing meteors! I fell asleep in my sleeping bag staring at the stars after a great 20-hour day.
8/12 - Rest.?
Uh-oh. DNF'ed another training run! I haven't quite mastered the long, wilderness training run but I'm still happy with the time I've been getting on my feet and the quality of my shorter runs. It's just logistically difficult to run in the mountains for several hours and I just don't like spending that much time away from my wife during her pregnancy. Anyway, it's almost taper time so my plan from here until September 14th is to run hard this week, finishing with the Continental Divide Trail Run next Sunday, August 19th (my sister Sommai's birthday!), where I'd like to got under 2 hours and 20 minutes. After that, I will just put in 3 weeks of easy running and get plenty of rest leading up to race day. Simple.
Showing posts with label Stagecoach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stagecoach. Show all posts
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Weekly Summary: July 30 - August 5
7/30 - Rest.
7/31 - 6.17 miles. 1:05:33. 400'v. Stagecoach. An easy and much need run to decompress after a full day of moving equipment to the new shop. Over the past 2 weeks Bob and I have been relocating the business, which is no small feat. Today, in particular, was a hot day and we began moving the larger shop equipment. This run felt like one of my longest this year as I was on my feet the entire work day. Route was from the house, down to the lakeshore and about half a mile of trail before turning around and running back uphill to the house.
8/1 - Rest. Completely whooped after another day of moving.
8/2 - 6.27 miles. :56:39. 400'v. Stagecoach. Almost the same route as Tuesday but with a little more pep in the legs.
8/3 - 4.41 miles. :45:02. 400'v. Stagecoach. Waited until the sun went down so that I could run in the dark and practice running with the headlamp on. I ran about 1.5 miles on the road and then cut through the sagebrush to get down to Elk Run Trail next to the lake. My depth perception was playing tricks on me on the trails. It's a strange feeling running on trails in the dark. Even with a headlamp, your vision is so limited that you have to slow down and be careful of your footing, even on a wide trail like the one by the lake. From past experience, it's even stranger in the woods, when the trail is rockier and every sound coming from the darkness is like something stalking you. Funny thing this evening was that I didn't make a wrong turn until I got back on the roads. I should do a few more night runs before RRR.
8/4 - 17.45 miles. 3:48:14. 2750'v. Sarvis Creek Trail. Attempted to run Sarvis Creek from end to end and back and failed miserably. About 45 minutes before my run, I took a 2.7 fl.oz. dose of Vespa CV-25, an amino acid supplement that is supposed to help athletes metabolize body fat. For fueling, I carried 1.8oz. packet of Pocket Fuel Almond Butter, a couple Clif Shot gels, three SaltStick capsules and a clementine. I also carried a 20 oz. water bottle and a SteriPen Adventurer to purify water that I would be refilling from creeks and streams. There were several groups of hikers on the early portion of the trail, which was nice to see, and I hiked and ran the first 800' climb in the first couple miles. I reached the wooden bridge crossing the creek (around 3 miles) in about a half-hour and felt really good as I continued another mile up trail on the portion I had run a couple months ago. I noticed alot of cow piles on the trail (this area is Wilderness Area but apparently Open Range for ranchers, also) and it made me nervous about getting water from the creek but I figured that's why I have a water purifier. Around the 6 mile mark, I had run through a couple of open meadows and it was getting close to noon and warming up pretty good. I finally stopped at the creek for a few minutes to refill my bottle and then continued back on the trail. About a mile later, I ran into 3 people who had come in on horseback from the Buffalo Park end of the trail and were having a little lunch. I surprised them by coming down the trail solo and I stopped to talk for a couple minutes. They were visitors from Arizona and said it had taken them 2 hours to ride to that point. By now, I was sure that I wouldn't make it to Buffalo Park but I continued on, waded through Sarvis Creek and started a climb for another mile until I reached 9000' elevation before deciding to turn around. Originally, I had thought the trail was about 8 miles end to end but I pulled out my map, determined my location and figured that it was actually 12-13 miles. I definitely didn't have enough food to make the trip so I turned and ran the downhill through some pine trees until I hit a creek crossing where I stopped to refill my water bottle again. Here, I saw the threesome again, this time on horses, and yeilded the trail to let them pass. At the creek crossing, I filled my bottle up, yet again, and stopped to take a couple photos. I ran the next 3 miles at an easy pace on some technical single track, mostly because I was feeling the heat and lacked energy, despite eating all my Pocket Fuel, the clementine, one gel and all my SaltSticks. I passed a family I saw earlier with about 4 miles to go and looked forward to the bridge where I would dip into the creek again, refill and cool off. In the last few miles, I was thankful to be in the trees and hiked the short climb from the bridge and ran the last 2 mile downhill portion feeling pretty drained. Once I made it back to my truck, I pounded a warm Gatorade and ate a banana, and while tired, didn't feel exceptionally bad. I drove about 15 minutes to get back home and shortly thereafter my stomach turned and I promptly vomitted before I could get in the shower. Demoralized, I climbed into bed and napped for an hour or so before I finally felt a little better and was able to eat dinner.
8/5 - 2 miles. Walked with Katy. Man, it's hot. Legs felt a little stiff.
Weekly mileage: 36 miles.
Moving the shop was a real pain early in the week, rough on my back and made it tough to even want to run in the evening. I decided to do the night run on Friday to 1) reaquaint myself with running in the dark and 2) run on somewhat tired legs before my Saturday long run. I'm not sure what caused my problems on Saturday. It could have been the heat, the Vespa (first time I've tried this product), accumulated fatigue, contaminated water or any combination these things. From my Wilderness First Responder training, I'm inclined to rule out water contamination since I did purify my water and it usually takes at least a few days for waterborne illness to show up. It's also possible that I didn't stay hydrated enough for the weather as I held back on drinking early in the run. I'll try the Vespa again on next week's long run to see what happens.
7/31 - 6.17 miles. 1:05:33. 400'v. Stagecoach. An easy and much need run to decompress after a full day of moving equipment to the new shop. Over the past 2 weeks Bob and I have been relocating the business, which is no small feat. Today, in particular, was a hot day and we began moving the larger shop equipment. This run felt like one of my longest this year as I was on my feet the entire work day. Route was from the house, down to the lakeshore and about half a mile of trail before turning around and running back uphill to the house.
8/1 - Rest. Completely whooped after another day of moving.
8/2 - 6.27 miles. :56:39. 400'v. Stagecoach. Almost the same route as Tuesday but with a little more pep in the legs.
8/3 - 4.41 miles. :45:02. 400'v. Stagecoach. Waited until the sun went down so that I could run in the dark and practice running with the headlamp on. I ran about 1.5 miles on the road and then cut through the sagebrush to get down to Elk Run Trail next to the lake. My depth perception was playing tricks on me on the trails. It's a strange feeling running on trails in the dark. Even with a headlamp, your vision is so limited that you have to slow down and be careful of your footing, even on a wide trail like the one by the lake. From past experience, it's even stranger in the woods, when the trail is rockier and every sound coming from the darkness is like something stalking you. Funny thing this evening was that I didn't make a wrong turn until I got back on the roads. I should do a few more night runs before RRR.
8/4 - 17.45 miles. 3:48:14. 2750'v. Sarvis Creek Trail. Attempted to run Sarvis Creek from end to end and back and failed miserably. About 45 minutes before my run, I took a 2.7 fl.oz. dose of Vespa CV-25, an amino acid supplement that is supposed to help athletes metabolize body fat. For fueling, I carried 1.8oz. packet of Pocket Fuel Almond Butter, a couple Clif Shot gels, three SaltStick capsules and a clementine. I also carried a 20 oz. water bottle and a SteriPen Adventurer to purify water that I would be refilling from creeks and streams. There were several groups of hikers on the early portion of the trail, which was nice to see, and I hiked and ran the first 800' climb in the first couple miles. I reached the wooden bridge crossing the creek (around 3 miles) in about a half-hour and felt really good as I continued another mile up trail on the portion I had run a couple months ago. I noticed alot of cow piles on the trail (this area is Wilderness Area but apparently Open Range for ranchers, also) and it made me nervous about getting water from the creek but I figured that's why I have a water purifier. Around the 6 mile mark, I had run through a couple of open meadows and it was getting close to noon and warming up pretty good. I finally stopped at the creek for a few minutes to refill my bottle and then continued back on the trail. About a mile later, I ran into 3 people who had come in on horseback from the Buffalo Park end of the trail and were having a little lunch. I surprised them by coming down the trail solo and I stopped to talk for a couple minutes. They were visitors from Arizona and said it had taken them 2 hours to ride to that point. By now, I was sure that I wouldn't make it to Buffalo Park but I continued on, waded through Sarvis Creek and started a climb for another mile until I reached 9000' elevation before deciding to turn around. Originally, I had thought the trail was about 8 miles end to end but I pulled out my map, determined my location and figured that it was actually 12-13 miles. I definitely didn't have enough food to make the trip so I turned and ran the downhill through some pine trees until I hit a creek crossing where I stopped to refill my water bottle again. Here, I saw the threesome again, this time on horses, and yeilded the trail to let them pass. At the creek crossing, I filled my bottle up, yet again, and stopped to take a couple photos. I ran the next 3 miles at an easy pace on some technical single track, mostly because I was feeling the heat and lacked energy, despite eating all my Pocket Fuel, the clementine, one gel and all my SaltSticks. I passed a family I saw earlier with about 4 miles to go and looked forward to the bridge where I would dip into the creek again, refill and cool off. In the last few miles, I was thankful to be in the trees and hiked the short climb from the bridge and ran the last 2 mile downhill portion feeling pretty drained. Once I made it back to my truck, I pounded a warm Gatorade and ate a banana, and while tired, didn't feel exceptionally bad. I drove about 15 minutes to get back home and shortly thereafter my stomach turned and I promptly vomitted before I could get in the shower. Demoralized, I climbed into bed and napped for an hour or so before I finally felt a little better and was able to eat dinner.
8/5 - 2 miles. Walked with Katy. Man, it's hot. Legs felt a little stiff.
Weekly mileage: 36 miles.
Moving the shop was a real pain early in the week, rough on my back and made it tough to even want to run in the evening. I decided to do the night run on Friday to 1) reaquaint myself with running in the dark and 2) run on somewhat tired legs before my Saturday long run. I'm not sure what caused my problems on Saturday. It could have been the heat, the Vespa (first time I've tried this product), accumulated fatigue, contaminated water or any combination these things. From my Wilderness First Responder training, I'm inclined to rule out water contamination since I did purify my water and it usually takes at least a few days for waterborne illness to show up. It's also possible that I didn't stay hydrated enough for the weather as I held back on drinking early in the run. I'll try the Vespa again on next week's long run to see what happens.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Weekly Summary: July 4 - July 8
7/4 - 9.06 miles. 2:04:15. 1800'v. Black Mountain Trail. Headed up to Sheriff Reservoir just outside of Phippsburg to check out a new trail and was blown away by the scenery. Once I located the trail (after a few minutes of bushwacking around the res) I found a nice, runnable track on a gradual ascent that traversed a hillside packed with skunk cabbage and wildflowers that went on for nearly a MILE. It was incredible. Once I hit the ridgeline, the trail continued to snake uphill along a massive cliff line with an expansive view of the Flat Tops to my right. The trail continued into the trees for a little while before cresting the mountain and offering panoramic views of more mountains, including Pyramid Peak, and a few big alpine meadows. I found an old trail marker for Baldy Trail (FS 1200, which doesn't appear on any of the maps I own) and ran from cairn to cairn for about a half mile through a meadow until I picked up the trail again and found a tiny pond. If I weren't tapering for my next race, I would've loved to continue exploring. The return trip offered up the same spectacular views and I had to pause for a while to take it all in. Although I only ventured a couple of miles on the trail, I can't wait to go back and explore it further.
7/5 - 3.51 miles. :34:22. Stagecoach. Easy effort from the house down the trail to the fire station and back.
7/6 - 7.51 miles. 1:24:49. Emerald Mountain. From JDs house downtown, I cruised over to Howelsen Hill and jumped on the Emerald Mountain Loop. From there, I climbed up to Lupine, then Larry's, MGM and Blair Witch before descending on Blackmere Drive to Lupine to Blackmere and down to Howelsen Lodge to refill my water bottle. Wicked single track!
7/7 - Rest.
7/8 - 10.61 miles. 3:07:25. 2650'v. Lower Bear Creek Trail. Hooked up with running buddy Richard for an easy effort 10 miler on this trail by the Strawberry Park Hot Springs. I had never been on this trail and rarely run with other people so I was stoked to get on the trail with Rich. We maintained a fairly even pace on the ascent, hiking most of the uphills. The trail started out nice and smooth and easy to run for the first 3 miles before it got rockier on the last 2 up to Summit Park. There were some nice views from the top so we scrambled around on the rocky high point for a few minutes before the return trip. The return trip went by quickly and I felt great when we wrapped it up.
Weekly mileage: 30.69 miles.
In tapering mode for the Silver Rush 50 (which is only 46 miles) so I'm easing up on how hard I run while still getting in some quality runs. Got to go out for over 2 hours on the Fourth and go in 3 hours today. I'll rest tomorrow and run very lightly the middle of the week before taking a couple days off before the race. Overall, I'm feeling really good and with a week of rest on my legs, I think I can finish the race in under 10 hours.
7/5 - 3.51 miles. :34:22. Stagecoach. Easy effort from the house down the trail to the fire station and back.
7/6 - 7.51 miles. 1:24:49. Emerald Mountain. From JDs house downtown, I cruised over to Howelsen Hill and jumped on the Emerald Mountain Loop. From there, I climbed up to Lupine, then Larry's, MGM and Blair Witch before descending on Blackmere Drive to Lupine to Blackmere and down to Howelsen Lodge to refill my water bottle. Wicked single track!
7/7 - Rest.
7/8 - 10.61 miles. 3:07:25. 2650'v. Lower Bear Creek Trail. Hooked up with running buddy Richard for an easy effort 10 miler on this trail by the Strawberry Park Hot Springs. I had never been on this trail and rarely run with other people so I was stoked to get on the trail with Rich. We maintained a fairly even pace on the ascent, hiking most of the uphills. The trail started out nice and smooth and easy to run for the first 3 miles before it got rockier on the last 2 up to Summit Park. There were some nice views from the top so we scrambled around on the rocky high point for a few minutes before the return trip. The return trip went by quickly and I felt great when we wrapped it up.
Weekly mileage: 30.69 miles.
In tapering mode for the Silver Rush 50 (which is only 46 miles) so I'm easing up on how hard I run while still getting in some quality runs. Got to go out for over 2 hours on the Fourth and go in 3 hours today. I'll rest tomorrow and run very lightly the middle of the week before taking a couple days off before the race. Overall, I'm feeling really good and with a week of rest on my legs, I think I can finish the race in under 10 hours.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
11 day Summary: June 23 - July 3
6/23 - ~12 miles. Alameda, Ca. Ran from Alameda over to Bay Farm Island and back to Sommai's house. Just a nice, slow, long run along the bay shorline. Felt incredible to run long at sea level and I would have been up to keep going and going if not for aggravating the sore spot on my right forefoot, again. I was wearing the La Sportiva Vertical Ks and decided to not wear them any more after that run. The lack of a rock plate in the sole just doesn't work for me. Sick run, anyway. The highlight was running by the rasta who asked, "How far is it?" I just replied, "I don't even know."
6/24 - Off. Flew back to Colorado
6/25 - Off.
6/26 - Off.
6/27 - Off.
6/28 - 3.59 miles. :41:25.
6/29 - 6 miles.
6/30 - Rest.
7/1 - 12 miles. 2,540'v. 2:47:12. Mandall Pass Trail. An awesome high-altitude ascent/descent on somewhat techy single track up to Mandall Pass in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area. 1:27:04 on the run up to the pass and :59:45 for the descent (2:26:49 round trip). The trail was dry but there were numerous water crossings and lingering snow near the pass summit at just over 11,000'. At the top of the pass, I hiked higher up onto the Flat Tops and checked out the vistas for a few minutes before beginning the return trip. I carried two 21 oz. water bottles and several gels, a couple clementines, a banana and a cashews/dried blueberries, anticipating a longer run (it was my first time on this trail and I didn't know the exact mileage.) but did the run on 3 gels and both water bottles. I also carried a SteriPen to treat my water if I was going to drink from streams. Overall, a fantastic run and, as far as I know, a Fastest Known Time for ascending and descending the trail.
7/2 - 4 miles. Stagecoach. Relaxed run down to the fire house and up to the dirt road to South Shore before turning around and running some trail back to the house. Broke in the new Montrail Rogue Racers and they are crazy comfortable.
7/3 - 6 or 7 miles. Spring Creek Trail. Nice after work run from JDs house to the trail and out a couple miles on a lollipop loop. Added the "Elevator Shaft" ascent into the run for a steep hike. Legs felt great on this run and so did the Rogue Racers. I'm looking forward to seeing how the shoes perform in Leadville in a couple weeks.
Last 11 days mileage: ~44 miles.
It took a few days after returning from California to get back into the swing of things. I gained quite a few extra pounds while I was in vacation/wedding mode but I've already forgiven myself for all the delicious food I ate while we there. Now that I've gotten a few miles in my legs, I'm starting to feel my form returning and I'm getting a little hungrier to race again. Which is good considering I haven't really been thinking about this race much in the last month and fell off my running schedule for several weeks. The idea for the next week is to just keep the running light and taper a bit leading up to the Leadville Silver Rush 50 on July 15th.
6/24 - Off. Flew back to Colorado
6/25 - Off.
6/26 - Off.
6/27 - Off.
6/28 - 3.59 miles. :41:25.
6/29 - 6 miles.
6/30 - Rest.
7/1 - 12 miles. 2,540'v. 2:47:12. Mandall Pass Trail. An awesome high-altitude ascent/descent on somewhat techy single track up to Mandall Pass in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area. 1:27:04 on the run up to the pass and :59:45 for the descent (2:26:49 round trip). The trail was dry but there were numerous water crossings and lingering snow near the pass summit at just over 11,000'. At the top of the pass, I hiked higher up onto the Flat Tops and checked out the vistas for a few minutes before beginning the return trip. I carried two 21 oz. water bottles and several gels, a couple clementines, a banana and a cashews/dried blueberries, anticipating a longer run (it was my first time on this trail and I didn't know the exact mileage.) but did the run on 3 gels and both water bottles. I also carried a SteriPen to treat my water if I was going to drink from streams. Overall, a fantastic run and, as far as I know, a Fastest Known Time for ascending and descending the trail.
7/2 - 4 miles. Stagecoach. Relaxed run down to the fire house and up to the dirt road to South Shore before turning around and running some trail back to the house. Broke in the new Montrail Rogue Racers and they are crazy comfortable.
7/3 - 6 or 7 miles. Spring Creek Trail. Nice after work run from JDs house to the trail and out a couple miles on a lollipop loop. Added the "Elevator Shaft" ascent into the run for a steep hike. Legs felt great on this run and so did the Rogue Racers. I'm looking forward to seeing how the shoes perform in Leadville in a couple weeks.
Last 11 days mileage: ~44 miles.
It took a few days after returning from California to get back into the swing of things. I gained quite a few extra pounds while I was in vacation/wedding mode but I've already forgiven myself for all the delicious food I ate while we there. Now that I've gotten a few miles in my legs, I'm starting to feel my form returning and I'm getting a little hungrier to race again. Which is good considering I haven't really been thinking about this race much in the last month and fell off my running schedule for several weeks. The idea for the next week is to just keep the running light and taper a bit leading up to the Leadville Silver Rush 50 on July 15th.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Weekly Summary: Jun 9 - Jun 17
6/9 - 3.76 miles. 1:13:34. Stagecoach Mountain. Up to The Beach and back.
6/10 - Off.
6/11 - 5.46 miles. :49:33. Stagecoach.
6/12 - 5.29 miles. :46:38. Stagecoach.
6/13 - Off.
6/14- 7.37 miles. 1:01:28. Stagecoach. My best run in the last couple of weeks since stepping on that damn rock in my La Sportiva Vertical Ks, which have no rock plate. I wore my heavy ass Salomon XAs since they are like light hikers with a ton of underfoot protection. I ran from the house down to Elk Run Trail by the lake and ran the south shore for a few miles. The highlight was watching a bald eagle launch from the sage brush just 50 feet from me and glide out over the lake. Just beautiful.
6/15 - 3.61 miles. :38:39. Mad Creek Trail. Easy running out to the barn and back.
6/16 - 20.54 miles. 4:30:59. 3500'++. Thunderhead Hiking Trail - Chisolm Trail - Storm Peak Challenge - Mountain View Trail - Fish Creek Falls Trail - Fish Creek Falls Blvd. I ran the hellaciously tough first 20 miles of the Run Rabbit Run 100 course this morning. Five gnarly miles to the top of Storm Peak had me regretting not bringing my trekking poles and deciding that I will absolutely be starting the race with them. My split to Storm Summit was a humbling 1:33:14 for 5.28 miles! After a five minute break to eat, I started down Mountain View Trail where I found a few downed trees, another trail runner and a sweet, painful blister on the top of my left foot. That slowed me down a bit so my split time to the Fish Creek Falls Trail junction was 1:16 for 6.38 miles. Another quick break to eat again and adjust my shoes and I was off for the 3000', 5.5 mile descent on Fish Creek. I started seeing people hiking the trail when I hit the second falls and by the time I got to the first falls I determined that I had seen about 30 people. That leg took 1:06. By the time I hit the trail head, I drank all the water in my hydration bladder and my water bottle so I filled up the water bottle for the last 3 miles on the road back to downtown. It was really warming up by then and it only took those 3 miles to drain the whole bottle.
6/17 - Off.
Last week, I took more time off to let my foot heal since the point tenderness in my forefoot was still lingering. Fortunately, it's been feeling better and my motivation returned so I was able to ramp the mileage back up this week and get in what will probably be my last long run before next month's Leadville Silver Rush 50. And a challenging long run it was: 4 and half hours to do 20 miles! So much more technical trail than I remembered from those trails in the past. Run Rabbit Run is going to be no joke. However, focusing on the immediate future, we're leaving for the Bay Area on Monday and I'm looking forward to spending the next week at sea level for some mellow runs and a great time with family as Katy and I have our wedding at the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.
6/10 - Off.
6/11 - 5.46 miles. :49:33. Stagecoach.
6/12 - 5.29 miles. :46:38. Stagecoach.
6/13 - Off.
6/14- 7.37 miles. 1:01:28. Stagecoach. My best run in the last couple of weeks since stepping on that damn rock in my La Sportiva Vertical Ks, which have no rock plate. I wore my heavy ass Salomon XAs since they are like light hikers with a ton of underfoot protection. I ran from the house down to Elk Run Trail by the lake and ran the south shore for a few miles. The highlight was watching a bald eagle launch from the sage brush just 50 feet from me and glide out over the lake. Just beautiful.
6/15 - 3.61 miles. :38:39. Mad Creek Trail. Easy running out to the barn and back.
6/16 - 20.54 miles. 4:30:59. 3500'++. Thunderhead Hiking Trail - Chisolm Trail - Storm Peak Challenge - Mountain View Trail - Fish Creek Falls Trail - Fish Creek Falls Blvd. I ran the hellaciously tough first 20 miles of the Run Rabbit Run 100 course this morning. Five gnarly miles to the top of Storm Peak had me regretting not bringing my trekking poles and deciding that I will absolutely be starting the race with them. My split to Storm Summit was a humbling 1:33:14 for 5.28 miles! After a five minute break to eat, I started down Mountain View Trail where I found a few downed trees, another trail runner and a sweet, painful blister on the top of my left foot. That slowed me down a bit so my split time to the Fish Creek Falls Trail junction was 1:16 for 6.38 miles. Another quick break to eat again and adjust my shoes and I was off for the 3000', 5.5 mile descent on Fish Creek. I started seeing people hiking the trail when I hit the second falls and by the time I got to the first falls I determined that I had seen about 30 people. That leg took 1:06. By the time I hit the trail head, I drank all the water in my hydration bladder and my water bottle so I filled up the water bottle for the last 3 miles on the road back to downtown. It was really warming up by then and it only took those 3 miles to drain the whole bottle.
6/17 - Off.
Last week, I took more time off to let my foot heal since the point tenderness in my forefoot was still lingering. Fortunately, it's been feeling better and my motivation returned so I was able to ramp the mileage back up this week and get in what will probably be my last long run before next month's Leadville Silver Rush 50. And a challenging long run it was: 4 and half hours to do 20 miles! So much more technical trail than I remembered from those trails in the past. Run Rabbit Run is going to be no joke. However, focusing on the immediate future, we're leaving for the Bay Area on Monday and I'm looking forward to spending the next week at sea level for some mellow runs and a great time with family as Katy and I have our wedding at the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Weekly Summary: May 21 - May 28
5/21 - Rest.
5/22 - 6 miles. 1000'. Steamboat Ski Area. Ran 10 minutes to warm up from The Lodge thru the base area and up Right of Way to Thunderhead. From there, I did 5-minute hill intervals on Why Not Road up to Vagabond saddle (where the tepee is in the winter) before turning around and continuing intervals all the back to The Lodge. Pretty hard effort both uphill and down for my first "speed work" session of the year. My aerobic base is in good order after a solid winter/early spring of gradual build ups so I figure it is time to start adding some anerobic workouts.
5/23 - 7 miles. 700'. Spring Creek Trail. Nice and easy steady state recovery run in some cool, wet weather on Spring Creek. Kept the effort on the flats and downhills at 8 min/mile and did all the climbs without any hard breathing.
5/24 - 7 miles. 400'. Stagecoach. A couple downhill miles warming up at 8:30 min/mile, then 3 miles steady at 7:00 min/mile on Elk Run Trail next to the lake. Uphill back to the house at 8-9:30 min/mile. Solid effort.
5/25 - Rest.
5/26 - 2.5 hours. 3000'. Howelsen Hill, Emerald Mountain - Larry's - Quarry Mountain Trail - Ridge Trail (out) - Ridge Trail - Lane of Pain -Little Moab-Blackmere Drive-Howlesen Base area -roads (in). Tough, hilly run from downtown over Emerald Mountain on several trails and out towards Cow Creek on the Ridge Trail. Many, many healthy climbs this day, starting with Howelsen Hill face. Ridiculous climbing at some points. Ran some good wooded single track on the ascent up Emerald with a couple of open meadows on the way. Once on top of Emerald there are several brutally steep climbs afterward before finally hitting a couple miles of meandering downhill on the way out to Cow Creek. It was warm and I went through a lot of water. Long, long downhill from the top of Emerald via Lane of Pain, Little Moab and Blackmere Drive.
5/27 - 6 miles. Stagecoach. Route County Road 18. - Easy effort across the dam and down the road for a few miles. Super windy day and a little chilly.
5/28 - 12 miles. 1980'v. "Mad Creek" (Swamp Park) Trail. Six miles of gradual uphill on Mad Creek until I reached it's junction with Red Dirt. Along the way, I crossed the creek a couple of times, spotted a deer and power hiked most of the ascent with trekking poles. About 1:15 to the turnaround 6.2 miles up trail. I ran just about every step downhill except for the most technical footing parts. The trail is almost entirely in the woods with only a few small meadows and follows the creek the whole way and, aside from about a dozen really technical sections, is really smooth track. Very easy to run on.
8 day total: 50 miles. 6080'v.
A decent amount of miles and vertical this week made for some good running. Almost all of it on trails, which makes me even happier. Just more or less trying to mix it up and make sure my runs are fun and challenging with a little rest and easy recovery runs thrown in.
5/22 - 6 miles. 1000'. Steamboat Ski Area. Ran 10 minutes to warm up from The Lodge thru the base area and up Right of Way to Thunderhead. From there, I did 5-minute hill intervals on Why Not Road up to Vagabond saddle (where the tepee is in the winter) before turning around and continuing intervals all the back to The Lodge. Pretty hard effort both uphill and down for my first "speed work" session of the year. My aerobic base is in good order after a solid winter/early spring of gradual build ups so I figure it is time to start adding some anerobic workouts.
5/23 - 7 miles. 700'. Spring Creek Trail. Nice and easy steady state recovery run in some cool, wet weather on Spring Creek. Kept the effort on the flats and downhills at 8 min/mile and did all the climbs without any hard breathing.
5/24 - 7 miles. 400'. Stagecoach. A couple downhill miles warming up at 8:30 min/mile, then 3 miles steady at 7:00 min/mile on Elk Run Trail next to the lake. Uphill back to the house at 8-9:30 min/mile. Solid effort.
5/25 - Rest.
5/26 - 2.5 hours. 3000'. Howelsen Hill, Emerald Mountain - Larry's - Quarry Mountain Trail - Ridge Trail (out) - Ridge Trail - Lane of Pain -Little Moab-Blackmere Drive-Howlesen Base area -roads (in). Tough, hilly run from downtown over Emerald Mountain on several trails and out towards Cow Creek on the Ridge Trail. Many, many healthy climbs this day, starting with Howelsen Hill face. Ridiculous climbing at some points. Ran some good wooded single track on the ascent up Emerald with a couple of open meadows on the way. Once on top of Emerald there are several brutally steep climbs afterward before finally hitting a couple miles of meandering downhill on the way out to Cow Creek. It was warm and I went through a lot of water. Long, long downhill from the top of Emerald via Lane of Pain, Little Moab and Blackmere Drive.
5/27 - 6 miles. Stagecoach. Route County Road 18. - Easy effort across the dam and down the road for a few miles. Super windy day and a little chilly.
5/28 - 12 miles. 1980'v. "Mad Creek" (Swamp Park) Trail. Six miles of gradual uphill on Mad Creek until I reached it's junction with Red Dirt. Along the way, I crossed the creek a couple of times, spotted a deer and power hiked most of the ascent with trekking poles. About 1:15 to the turnaround 6.2 miles up trail. I ran just about every step downhill except for the most technical footing parts. The trail is almost entirely in the woods with only a few small meadows and follows the creek the whole way and, aside from about a dozen really technical sections, is really smooth track. Very easy to run on.
8 day total: 50 miles. 6080'v.
A decent amount of miles and vertical this week made for some good running. Almost all of it on trails, which makes me even happier. Just more or less trying to mix it up and make sure my runs are fun and challenging with a little rest and easy recovery runs thrown in.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Fortnight Summary: Apr 22 - May 6
4/22 - Rest.
4/23 - Rest.
4/24 - Rest.
4/25 - Run/hike with Benihana up Stagecoach Mountain.
4/26 - Rest.
4/27 - Rest.
4/28 - 5.31 miles. 1:37:54. Mega easy effort.
4/29 - 12.80 miles. 1:57:10. Spring Creek Trail. Ridiculously fun session on Spring Creek with about 15 minutes of barefoot running on the soccer fields by the high school afterwards. Ran the 5.2 miles of single track up to Dry Lake and back into town at a super solid effort. Just over an hour to get up to Dry Lake and then rocked the downhill return in 37 minutes. The trail was in perfect condition.
4/30 - Rest.
5/1 - 6.35 miles. 1:03:38. Stagecoach.
5/2 - Rest.
5/3 - 5.39 miles. :42:25. Stagecoach.
5/4 - Rest.
5/5 - 14.13 miles (1500+'). 2:43:37. Sarvis Creek Trail. Easy effort long run from South Shore out to Sarvis Creek Trail and, then, 4 miles out on the trail. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and I felt really good. I hiked much of the uphill sections and ran moderate 8 - 10 minute/mile back out, stopping frequently to take pictures. I've wanted to run Sarvis since last summer and it was a real treat to find the trail pretty dry. After the first mile, I could hear the creek raging but couldn't see it through the trees. I was stoked when I finally crossed the creek on a bridge and found that the trail stayed right next to the water for the next 3 miles or so. I can't wait to run it again, hopefully in it's entirety. I had the trail all to myself, except for spooking a pretty decent sized elk cow. I should've brought a second water bottle, as it got warm and I ran out of water on the outbound and had to refill from a stream without means to filter the water (next time I'll bring a Steri-Pen). Hopefully, I don't come down with giardia or some nasty bug, but I think the chances are pretty remote considering the source I got the water from. It was just fantastic to run a trail in Wilderness Area again.
5/6 - 8.16 miles (~2000'). 1:37:12. Stagecoach Mountain. Up to the top of the mountain with Benny before taking him back home at the 5 mile mark and continuing on for some light hill running.
After Desert RATS, I took a few days off to recover, despite feeling really good and ready to run again within a few days of the race. I also skipped a couple of maintenance runs due to some long days at work. It shouldn't have any effect on my fitness at this point with regards to doing the Quad Rock 50 next weekend. Bronwyn is going to go down to Ft. Collins and crew for me and I'm grateful to have the support on what I expect to be a really tough course. Fortunately, the long range forecast calls for coolish weather. The funny thing is that now that trails are opening up around here, I'm less motivated to race (and rest afterwards) because I just want to do long, slow wilderness runs. Oh well, there will time for plenty of those this summer and the races are always fun.
4/23 - Rest.
4/24 - Rest.
4/25 - Run/hike with Benihana up Stagecoach Mountain.
4/26 - Rest.
4/27 - Rest.
4/28 - 5.31 miles. 1:37:54. Mega easy effort.
4/29 - 12.80 miles. 1:57:10. Spring Creek Trail. Ridiculously fun session on Spring Creek with about 15 minutes of barefoot running on the soccer fields by the high school afterwards. Ran the 5.2 miles of single track up to Dry Lake and back into town at a super solid effort. Just over an hour to get up to Dry Lake and then rocked the downhill return in 37 minutes. The trail was in perfect condition.
4/30 - Rest.
5/1 - 6.35 miles. 1:03:38. Stagecoach.
5/2 - Rest.
5/3 - 5.39 miles. :42:25. Stagecoach.
5/4 - Rest.
5/5 - 14.13 miles (1500+'). 2:43:37. Sarvis Creek Trail. Easy effort long run from South Shore out to Sarvis Creek Trail and, then, 4 miles out on the trail. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and I felt really good. I hiked much of the uphill sections and ran moderate 8 - 10 minute/mile back out, stopping frequently to take pictures. I've wanted to run Sarvis since last summer and it was a real treat to find the trail pretty dry. After the first mile, I could hear the creek raging but couldn't see it through the trees. I was stoked when I finally crossed the creek on a bridge and found that the trail stayed right next to the water for the next 3 miles or so. I can't wait to run it again, hopefully in it's entirety. I had the trail all to myself, except for spooking a pretty decent sized elk cow. I should've brought a second water bottle, as it got warm and I ran out of water on the outbound and had to refill from a stream without means to filter the water (next time I'll bring a Steri-Pen). Hopefully, I don't come down with giardia or some nasty bug, but I think the chances are pretty remote considering the source I got the water from. It was just fantastic to run a trail in Wilderness Area again.
5/6 - 8.16 miles (~2000'). 1:37:12. Stagecoach Mountain. Up to the top of the mountain with Benny before taking him back home at the 5 mile mark and continuing on for some light hill running.
After Desert RATS, I took a few days off to recover, despite feeling really good and ready to run again within a few days of the race. I also skipped a couple of maintenance runs due to some long days at work. It shouldn't have any effect on my fitness at this point with regards to doing the Quad Rock 50 next weekend. Bronwyn is going to go down to Ft. Collins and crew for me and I'm grateful to have the support on what I expect to be a really tough course. Fortunately, the long range forecast calls for coolish weather. The funny thing is that now that trails are opening up around here, I'm less motivated to race (and rest afterwards) because I just want to do long, slow wilderness runs. Oh well, there will time for plenty of those this summer and the races are always fun.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Week.ly Summary: Apr 2 - Apr 8
4/2 - Off.
4/3 - 7.00 miles. :57:47. Stagecoach. PM. Down to Elk Run Trail on the south shore of the lake. Up tempo running on the rolling, gravel trail.
4/4 - 5.01 miles. :47:14. Howelsen Hill. PM. Short but hard effort run on the quickly-drying trails on Howelsen. I got reminded how steep trails can get especially compared to the flat roads I've been running this winter.
4/5 - 5.67 miles. :57:11. Stagecoach. PM. Easy out and back on trails and dirt roads around Stagecoach. Then did another mile of slow running in Vibram Five Fingers.
4/6 - Rest.
4/7 - 18.33 miles. 3:00:05. Stagecoach. AM. Long lollipop loop run around the lake from the house. Fueled my run with ClifBloks and gels, taking one gel every hour and Bloks every half an hour, roughly. One 22 oz. bottle of water, one 18 oz. bottle of Gatorade. Cold morning had me starting out with a vest over my long sleeve shirt but I warmed up enough to take off the vest, my beanie and gloves by the time I hit the lake (4 miles). The run around the lake was primarily on nice, wide dirt trail, with a couple miles of dirt road and I took an even, comfortable, cruising pace. Felt strong right up to the end. I'm looking forward to getting 31 miles in the desert next weekend.
4/8 - 5.74 miles. 1:13:19. Spring Creek Trail. PM. Early afternoon trail run with Benihana.Great run for me and the dog, I had great tacky footing and he got to wade in the creek several times, which is pretty important if you're a Husky. Easy running on the warm up and cool down miles with only about 1.5 miles of uptempo running in the middle. Beautiful spring day. A little barefoot running in the grass afterwards.
Weekly Total: 41.75 miles
Another solid week. I'm stoked to be: healthy, getting quality miles, plenty of rest, eating well, in love and generally, very happy. I'm really looking forward to heading to Fruita next Friday, not just to go running in the desert but also to just be around other runners and attend my first Desert RATS Trail Running Festival. I guess the race is also known as the Spring Desert Ultra or Fruita 50, if you're doing the big boys' run. Even though I'm only doing the 25 mile race but technically running an ultra that day (with my 6 bonus training miles), I guess I can call the race by that name, too. And even though it is just a training run for me, it's exciting to have the trail running season underway. Next weekend, local trails will also be opening up and, thanks in no small part to our dry winter, be very runnable, at least up to 8,500'. That gives me a full 4 months of running on trails in preparation for RRR. I can't help but think that in that time I might be able to get into good enough shape to run in the front of the Tortoise pack and finish around 24 hours. For my first 100-miler, I really shouldn't be thinking about that, I should just focus on finishing.
4/3 - 7.00 miles. :57:47. Stagecoach. PM. Down to Elk Run Trail on the south shore of the lake. Up tempo running on the rolling, gravel trail.
4/4 - 5.01 miles. :47:14. Howelsen Hill. PM. Short but hard effort run on the quickly-drying trails on Howelsen. I got reminded how steep trails can get especially compared to the flat roads I've been running this winter.
4/5 - 5.67 miles. :57:11. Stagecoach. PM. Easy out and back on trails and dirt roads around Stagecoach. Then did another mile of slow running in Vibram Five Fingers.
4/6 - Rest.
4/7 - 18.33 miles. 3:00:05. Stagecoach. AM. Long lollipop loop run around the lake from the house. Fueled my run with ClifBloks and gels, taking one gel every hour and Bloks every half an hour, roughly. One 22 oz. bottle of water, one 18 oz. bottle of Gatorade. Cold morning had me starting out with a vest over my long sleeve shirt but I warmed up enough to take off the vest, my beanie and gloves by the time I hit the lake (4 miles). The run around the lake was primarily on nice, wide dirt trail, with a couple miles of dirt road and I took an even, comfortable, cruising pace. Felt strong right up to the end. I'm looking forward to getting 31 miles in the desert next weekend.
4/8 - 5.74 miles. 1:13:19. Spring Creek Trail. PM. Early afternoon trail run with Benihana.Great run for me and the dog, I had great tacky footing and he got to wade in the creek several times, which is pretty important if you're a Husky. Easy running on the warm up and cool down miles with only about 1.5 miles of uptempo running in the middle. Beautiful spring day. A little barefoot running in the grass afterwards.
Weekly Total: 41.75 miles
Another solid week. I'm stoked to be: healthy, getting quality miles, plenty of rest, eating well, in love and generally, very happy. I'm really looking forward to heading to Fruita next Friday, not just to go running in the desert but also to just be around other runners and attend my first Desert RATS Trail Running Festival. I guess the race is also known as the Spring Desert Ultra or Fruita 50, if you're doing the big boys' run. Even though I'm only doing the 25 mile race but technically running an ultra that day (with my 6 bonus training miles), I guess I can call the race by that name, too. And even though it is just a training run for me, it's exciting to have the trail running season underway. Next weekend, local trails will also be opening up and, thanks in no small part to our dry winter, be very runnable, at least up to 8,500'. That gives me a full 4 months of running on trails in preparation for RRR. I can't help but think that in that time I might be able to get into good enough shape to run in the front of the Tortoise pack and finish around 24 hours. For my first 100-miler, I really shouldn't be thinking about that, I should just focus on finishing.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Weekly Summary: Mar 26 - Apr 1
3/26 - Rest.
3/27 - 7.18 miles. 1:07.12. Stagecoach. PM.
3/28 - 2.80 miles. 1000'v. 1:00:38. Stagecoach. PM. Snow run up Stagecoach Mountain with Benihana as a farewell to winter. Super punchy and actually pretty brutal conditions. Thrashed my shins up pretty good punching through the spring snow. Which, although deep in spots, won't be around much longer. It's amazing how fast it's all melted. I think it only took a little over a week. If it weren't for snowmaking, I don't think there would be any snow below the gondola. In my few years here, I've certainly never seen anything like it and from what I've gathered, you'd have to go back quite a few years (like a hundred) to find a winter so dry. I'm all good with it as a trail runner but I don't want to see the forests burn this summer because we have no water.
3/29 - Rest.
3/30 - Rest.
3/31 - 12.83 miles. Stagecoach. PM. My GPS battery died about a mile into my run so I had the opportunity to run for a couple of hours by feel instead of checking my pace/distance/time constantly. I found it rather liberating. I ate two Clif Shot gels and a clementine and drank almost a full 21 oz. bottle of water and a little more than half a bottle of Gatorade. It was a fairly warm day, probably in the 60s, and mostly sunny and breezy as I ran on dirt trails and roads around a quickly thawing Stagecoach Reservoir.
4/1 - 14.05 miles. 2:08:31. Stagecoach. AM. Ran the same route as yesterday to measure the loop. Then did a little over a mile on the road and some trail wearing the Vibram Five Fingers. Ate two gels and a clementine (again) and drank about 3/4 of my water bottle and half a bottle of Gatorade.
Weekly Mileage: 36.86
Took an extra day off, did a snow run this week and did back to back long runs on the weekend. Felt good to mix it up and spend a little more time at home. I like that. Looking forward to the Desert RATS race in Fruita in a couple of weeks. It'll be a nice quick getaway and cool running in the desert. I need to make sure I figure out what food I'm going to carry. I'll need to carry 6-8 gels also and two water bottles, one with water and one Gatorade. I'll refill at every aid station. I probably won't carry water on my back unless it's really warm. I'm not going to set a time oriented goal, but rather just run an even, conservative, comfortable pace.
After that, I should be able to start logging a ton of trail mileage through the rest of April and early May in preparation for Quad Rock. I have a feeling it's going to be pretty warm in Fort Collins in mid-May.
Also, I officially registered to run the Silver Rush 50 miler in Leadville in July. It'll be a tune up race for Run Rabbit Run and I think it's far enough out from RRR that I can actually race it. The course is at high altitude (10,000 - 12,000') but is on alot of runnable roads so a smart race could result in a PR. I would be really happy if that PR were under 10-hours. After that, I think I will pass on a couple of races (probably still run Continental Divide) in August in favor of a couple long runs in the Flat Tops and the Zirkels and then start my taper the last week of the month.
3/27 - 7.18 miles. 1:07.12. Stagecoach. PM.
3/28 - 2.80 miles. 1000'v. 1:00:38. Stagecoach. PM. Snow run up Stagecoach Mountain with Benihana as a farewell to winter. Super punchy and actually pretty brutal conditions. Thrashed my shins up pretty good punching through the spring snow. Which, although deep in spots, won't be around much longer. It's amazing how fast it's all melted. I think it only took a little over a week. If it weren't for snowmaking, I don't think there would be any snow below the gondola. In my few years here, I've certainly never seen anything like it and from what I've gathered, you'd have to go back quite a few years (like a hundred) to find a winter so dry. I'm all good with it as a trail runner but I don't want to see the forests burn this summer because we have no water.
3/29 - Rest.
3/30 - Rest.
3/31 - 12.83 miles. Stagecoach. PM. My GPS battery died about a mile into my run so I had the opportunity to run for a couple of hours by feel instead of checking my pace/distance/time constantly. I found it rather liberating. I ate two Clif Shot gels and a clementine and drank almost a full 21 oz. bottle of water and a little more than half a bottle of Gatorade. It was a fairly warm day, probably in the 60s, and mostly sunny and breezy as I ran on dirt trails and roads around a quickly thawing Stagecoach Reservoir.
4/1 - 14.05 miles. 2:08:31. Stagecoach. AM. Ran the same route as yesterday to measure the loop. Then did a little over a mile on the road and some trail wearing the Vibram Five Fingers. Ate two gels and a clementine (again) and drank about 3/4 of my water bottle and half a bottle of Gatorade.
Weekly Mileage: 36.86
Took an extra day off, did a snow run this week and did back to back long runs on the weekend. Felt good to mix it up and spend a little more time at home. I like that. Looking forward to the Desert RATS race in Fruita in a couple of weeks. It'll be a nice quick getaway and cool running in the desert. I need to make sure I figure out what food I'm going to carry. I'll need to carry 6-8 gels also and two water bottles, one with water and one Gatorade. I'll refill at every aid station. I probably won't carry water on my back unless it's really warm. I'm not going to set a time oriented goal, but rather just run an even, conservative, comfortable pace.
After that, I should be able to start logging a ton of trail mileage through the rest of April and early May in preparation for Quad Rock. I have a feeling it's going to be pretty warm in Fort Collins in mid-May.
Also, I officially registered to run the Silver Rush 50 miler in Leadville in July. It'll be a tune up race for Run Rabbit Run and I think it's far enough out from RRR that I can actually race it. The course is at high altitude (10,000 - 12,000') but is on alot of runnable roads so a smart race could result in a PR. I would be really happy if that PR were under 10-hours. After that, I think I will pass on a couple of races (probably still run Continental Divide) in August in favor of a couple long runs in the Flat Tops and the Zirkels and then start my taper the last week of the month.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Weekly Summary: Mar 19 - Mar 25
3/19 - Rest.
3/20 - 6.12 miles. :54:41. ~500'v. Stagecoach. PM. After work run on the first day of Spring. Yee haw! I'm stoked spring is here and can't wait for the trails to open up. That's still a month away but I'm already jonsing to run up some mountains. Today's run, on the other hand, was a relatively stale hilly 6 miler on dirt road out towards Lynx Pass. Somewhat muddy but mostly soft moist dirt. I felt so full the entire time I thought I might vomit. Before I left the shop, Bob said we'd better finish his birthday cake (from Friday) that was in the fridge and I ate a pretty big piece(s). Uh. I've got a mean sweet tooth. Anyway, couldn't shake the cake for the whole run despite trying to run fast. I drank a measly two sips of Gatorade during this one. Still, it was a beautiful sunny day in the 40s following a little bit of snow last night.
3/21 - ~5 miles. Stagecoach. PM. Super-slow cruiser run. Going to try and make my Wednesday runs at 10-15 min/mile pace as I think this will be (roughly) my "all day" pace.
3/22 - 7.31 miles. 1:11:51. Stagecoach. PM. Ran down to South Shore from the house on dirt road and trails. Can't believe how quickly everything is thawing out. I'm pretty sure I will be able to run almost any trail under 9000' by mid-April without seeing much snow (if any). Today was still mostly muddy with a little bit of snow here and there. So stoked to know that trail season is so close! Trying to figure out what shoe I want to use for ultras this year. I'm leaning toward La Sportiva's Vertical Ks, Hoka One One's Stinson B Evo and Salomon's Sense. Each shoe has a 4mm heel-toe drop, so they are all pretty minimal. The Sportivas and Hokas are light but also cushioned while the Sense is just incredibly light.
3/23 - Rest.
3/24 - 14.30 miles. 2:23:56. 1100'v. Stagecoach. PM. Just realized I was supposed to run 16 miles today. Oops. Anyway, it was a nice run around the lake on mostly wet trail or dirt road this afternoon. I saw Adam Sando, who had been fishing (of course), about 4 miles into my run and stopped to catch up with him for a few minutes. Good talk. Continued from there on the closed dirt road along the northern shore, crossed the dam, then ran some soggy trail for a couple of miles before getting back on dirt road for the last 4 miles. It was a satisfying effort and I stayed well hydrated and fueled for the entire run. Some minor soreness in the feet at the end but nothing unusual.
3/25 - 6.66 miles. 1:21:49. Stagecoach. AM. I parked at the south shore local's spot and ran across the dam and down the dirt road to Sarvis Creek with Benihana. Nice and casual run by the river at the dog's pace. A little walking here and there.
Weekly mileage: 39.33
A good reduced mileage week with a lot of easy running and I kind of felt like I needed it to recover from my last 3-week build up. After a day and a half off from running I'm hoping to start my next cycle feeling fresh. My next 3-week cycle ends with 31 miles of running in the desert down in Fruita, Colorado at the Desert Rats Trail Running Festival so I'm pretty excited about getting the season started. This first race is a training run so I won't be running my fastest, just trying to get some quality miles in under race circumstances as well as dialing in my nutrition schedule and gear.
3/20 - 6.12 miles. :54:41. ~500'v. Stagecoach. PM. After work run on the first day of Spring. Yee haw! I'm stoked spring is here and can't wait for the trails to open up. That's still a month away but I'm already jonsing to run up some mountains. Today's run, on the other hand, was a relatively stale hilly 6 miler on dirt road out towards Lynx Pass. Somewhat muddy but mostly soft moist dirt. I felt so full the entire time I thought I might vomit. Before I left the shop, Bob said we'd better finish his birthday cake (from Friday) that was in the fridge and I ate a pretty big piece(s). Uh. I've got a mean sweet tooth. Anyway, couldn't shake the cake for the whole run despite trying to run fast. I drank a measly two sips of Gatorade during this one. Still, it was a beautiful sunny day in the 40s following a little bit of snow last night.
3/21 - ~5 miles. Stagecoach. PM. Super-slow cruiser run. Going to try and make my Wednesday runs at 10-15 min/mile pace as I think this will be (roughly) my "all day" pace.
3/22 - 7.31 miles. 1:11:51. Stagecoach. PM. Ran down to South Shore from the house on dirt road and trails. Can't believe how quickly everything is thawing out. I'm pretty sure I will be able to run almost any trail under 9000' by mid-April without seeing much snow (if any). Today was still mostly muddy with a little bit of snow here and there. So stoked to know that trail season is so close! Trying to figure out what shoe I want to use for ultras this year. I'm leaning toward La Sportiva's Vertical Ks, Hoka One One's Stinson B Evo and Salomon's Sense. Each shoe has a 4mm heel-toe drop, so they are all pretty minimal. The Sportivas and Hokas are light but also cushioned while the Sense is just incredibly light.
3/23 - Rest.
3/24 - 14.30 miles. 2:23:56. 1100'v. Stagecoach. PM. Just realized I was supposed to run 16 miles today. Oops. Anyway, it was a nice run around the lake on mostly wet trail or dirt road this afternoon. I saw Adam Sando, who had been fishing (of course), about 4 miles into my run and stopped to catch up with him for a few minutes. Good talk. Continued from there on the closed dirt road along the northern shore, crossed the dam, then ran some soggy trail for a couple of miles before getting back on dirt road for the last 4 miles. It was a satisfying effort and I stayed well hydrated and fueled for the entire run. Some minor soreness in the feet at the end but nothing unusual.
3/25 - 6.66 miles. 1:21:49. Stagecoach. AM. I parked at the south shore local's spot and ran across the dam and down the dirt road to Sarvis Creek with Benihana. Nice and casual run by the river at the dog's pace. A little walking here and there.
Weekly mileage: 39.33
A good reduced mileage week with a lot of easy running and I kind of felt like I needed it to recover from my last 3-week build up. After a day and a half off from running I'm hoping to start my next cycle feeling fresh. My next 3-week cycle ends with 31 miles of running in the desert down in Fruita, Colorado at the Desert Rats Trail Running Festival so I'm pretty excited about getting the season started. This first race is a training run so I won't be running my fastest, just trying to get some quality miles in under race circumstances as well as dialing in my nutrition schedule and gear.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Weekly Summary: Mar 12 - Mar 18
3/12 - Rest.
3/13 - 7.0 miles. 1:00:04. ~450'v. Stagecoach. PM. First after work run this year that started and ended before the sun went down. After a little more than a mile of warming up, I pushed it a little hard for the next 6 miles and felt great. Especially solid effort on the last hill at the end of the run. My route went from the house down to the far end of the South Shore neighborhood and back to the house, primarily on dirt roads with a little asphalt in the beginning and end of the run.
3/14 - 4.71 miles. :58:09. Burns. PM. Katy and I drove down just north of Burns to run some dry trails. It was fun and great to be running on dirt again. We took it easy but ran some pretty hilly terrain so the effort and time on feet was more like a full 5+ miler. I wish I had brought my altimeter so that I could've calculated the altitude change, as there was certainly a few hundred feet of ups and downs. Just a little scouting mission to see if I want to come back down there this weekend to do my long run on trails and dirt roads.
3/15 - 7.59 miles. 1:03:29. Stagecoach. PM. Half-mile warm up before running 6.5 miles up-tempo on a really hilly route (CR 16 to CR 14 going towards Oak Creek and back). Finished 7 miles in :56:37 before cooling down and worked pretty hard on the uphills to keep the overall pace around 8:00/mile. I was glad to have some cows keep me company as I ran by them while they grazed. I'm thinking my full on race pace for 10K is probably around 7:15-7:30/mile these days.
3/16 - Rest.
3/17 - 24.01 miles. 3:52:37. 1,810'v. Stagecoach. AM. Decided against driving to Burns to do my long run and, instead, ran from the house out towards Lynx Pass (same as last weekend) on a county dirt road. The morning was a little on the cool side (high 30s/low 40s) and a bit cloudy but the sun eventually came out a couple hours later when I was turning around. I had the dirt road almost entirely to myself the entire time (saw one biker, one skunk, a couple of vehicles and some folks saddling up some horses) and it was sufficiently dry or muddy or frozen or rocky enough to keep it interesting. I ended up turning around after the Morrison Divide (Muddy Slide) trailhead where the road is no longer maintained in the winter. This run felt incredible and I have to credit my friend and nutritionist, Bronwyn Rittner (and my fiance, Katy, whose daily diet is impeccable and keeps me on track) for making me realize the importance of eating on a regular schedule while going on a long run and how beneficial it is to an endurance athlete. Since I started running ultras, I always knew that it was necessary to eat and drink to fuel the body for the work of going further but today's run was the first time I actually told myself, "OK, eat a gel every 45-55 minutes, sip some water every 20 minutes or so, eat more food (I made my own mix of cashews, pistachios, chocolate chips and raisins, and carried it in a small 4 oz. container) at least once an hour and drink some electrolyte replenishment (I just went with Gatorade and carried about 15 oz. in a bottle) whenever necessary." The difference it made could not have been more obvious. At no time during my run did I feel tired or a lack energy. In fact, I took a split time every 6 miles (1:02:56, :57:37, :57:41, :54:22) and ran a negative split for the second half (granted, the return was mostly downhill) and the last 6 miles nearly 9 minutes faster than the first 6 (also granted, I ran the first couple miles slow in order to warm up). I still contended with a little soreness in my core muscles toward the end, which I think is understandable over 24 miles, but really had no other physical problems and, mentally, I think I could have gone several more miles. (Of course, I don't want to imply that running this distance was effortless. As I sit here and write, my legs are getting tighter, my hamstrings and glutes are getting sore and it's getting hard to walk the first few steps every time I get up!) I cooled down over a half mile to keep my legs moving for 4:00:07 and then immediately started replenishing electrolytes and ate a small meal within an hour of finishing because it helps the body to recover faster (it's actually recommended to eat within 45 minutes to allow best/quickest absorbtion of nutrients) . Bronwyn has let me borrow her copy of "Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook" by Nancy Clark, MS, RD, which I've found very useful and informative.
3/18 - 5.40 miles. :48:55. ~400'v. Stagecoach. PM. Easy five miler around the neighborhood and back to the house with the usual hills that entails. Windy and high clouds as some weather is supposed to move in tonight and hit us with some rain and/or snow.
Weekly Total: 49.20 miles.
Finally got the mileage I was shooting for thanks to some nice weather, the time change and the discipline to go out and make it happen. Numbers aside though, the biggest breakthrough of the week (and possibly of all the endurance training I've ever done) had to do with nutrition. For the first time, since I ran my first marathon in 1992, I had a long run where I never once felt tired, physically drained or mentally fatigued and it was, quite simply and honestly, because I took the time to eat and drink on a regular schedule while I kept moving. In a six, eight or even ten mile race this isn't much of a consideration, you just need to stay hydrated, mostly. As the distance and time increase beyond that, however, it matters very much. In my past ultras and long runs, I have refueled, but never with the consistency that those activities actually require. In the past, I would go until I felt tired or hungry, then push through it for a while and eventually, eat or drink something and, sometimes, bounce back to keep going. Or, more often, just keep pushing through and finish tired, hungry, exhausted, sore and generally lucky to be alive. Finally, after years of struggling through events, I've realized that there is no reason to bonk and that "hitting the wall" is actually avoidable. To me, this is nothing short of a breakthrough and makes me look forward to really pushing my endurance to a new level.
3/13 - 7.0 miles. 1:00:04. ~450'v. Stagecoach. PM. First after work run this year that started and ended before the sun went down. After a little more than a mile of warming up, I pushed it a little hard for the next 6 miles and felt great. Especially solid effort on the last hill at the end of the run. My route went from the house down to the far end of the South Shore neighborhood and back to the house, primarily on dirt roads with a little asphalt in the beginning and end of the run.
3/14 - 4.71 miles. :58:09. Burns. PM. Katy and I drove down just north of Burns to run some dry trails. It was fun and great to be running on dirt again. We took it easy but ran some pretty hilly terrain so the effort and time on feet was more like a full 5+ miler. I wish I had brought my altimeter so that I could've calculated the altitude change, as there was certainly a few hundred feet of ups and downs. Just a little scouting mission to see if I want to come back down there this weekend to do my long run on trails and dirt roads.
3/15 - 7.59 miles. 1:03:29. Stagecoach. PM. Half-mile warm up before running 6.5 miles up-tempo on a really hilly route (CR 16 to CR 14 going towards Oak Creek and back). Finished 7 miles in :56:37 before cooling down and worked pretty hard on the uphills to keep the overall pace around 8:00/mile. I was glad to have some cows keep me company as I ran by them while they grazed. I'm thinking my full on race pace for 10K is probably around 7:15-7:30/mile these days.
3/16 - Rest.
3/17 - 24.01 miles. 3:52:37. 1,810'v. Stagecoach. AM. Decided against driving to Burns to do my long run and, instead, ran from the house out towards Lynx Pass (same as last weekend) on a county dirt road. The morning was a little on the cool side (high 30s/low 40s) and a bit cloudy but the sun eventually came out a couple hours later when I was turning around. I had the dirt road almost entirely to myself the entire time (saw one biker, one skunk, a couple of vehicles and some folks saddling up some horses) and it was sufficiently dry or muddy or frozen or rocky enough to keep it interesting. I ended up turning around after the Morrison Divide (Muddy Slide) trailhead where the road is no longer maintained in the winter. This run felt incredible and I have to credit my friend and nutritionist, Bronwyn Rittner (and my fiance, Katy, whose daily diet is impeccable and keeps me on track) for making me realize the importance of eating on a regular schedule while going on a long run and how beneficial it is to an endurance athlete. Since I started running ultras, I always knew that it was necessary to eat and drink to fuel the body for the work of going further but today's run was the first time I actually told myself, "OK, eat a gel every 45-55 minutes, sip some water every 20 minutes or so, eat more food (I made my own mix of cashews, pistachios, chocolate chips and raisins, and carried it in a small 4 oz. container) at least once an hour and drink some electrolyte replenishment (I just went with Gatorade and carried about 15 oz. in a bottle) whenever necessary." The difference it made could not have been more obvious. At no time during my run did I feel tired or a lack energy. In fact, I took a split time every 6 miles (1:02:56, :57:37, :57:41, :54:22) and ran a negative split for the second half (granted, the return was mostly downhill) and the last 6 miles nearly 9 minutes faster than the first 6 (also granted, I ran the first couple miles slow in order to warm up). I still contended with a little soreness in my core muscles toward the end, which I think is understandable over 24 miles, but really had no other physical problems and, mentally, I think I could have gone several more miles. (Of course, I don't want to imply that running this distance was effortless. As I sit here and write, my legs are getting tighter, my hamstrings and glutes are getting sore and it's getting hard to walk the first few steps every time I get up!) I cooled down over a half mile to keep my legs moving for 4:00:07 and then immediately started replenishing electrolytes and ate a small meal within an hour of finishing because it helps the body to recover faster (it's actually recommended to eat within 45 minutes to allow best/quickest absorbtion of nutrients) . Bronwyn has let me borrow her copy of "Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook" by Nancy Clark, MS, RD, which I've found very useful and informative.
3/18 - 5.40 miles. :48:55. ~400'v. Stagecoach. PM. Easy five miler around the neighborhood and back to the house with the usual hills that entails. Windy and high clouds as some weather is supposed to move in tonight and hit us with some rain and/or snow.
Weekly Total: 49.20 miles.
Finally got the mileage I was shooting for thanks to some nice weather, the time change and the discipline to go out and make it happen. Numbers aside though, the biggest breakthrough of the week (and possibly of all the endurance training I've ever done) had to do with nutrition. For the first time, since I ran my first marathon in 1992, I had a long run where I never once felt tired, physically drained or mentally fatigued and it was, quite simply and honestly, because I took the time to eat and drink on a regular schedule while I kept moving. In a six, eight or even ten mile race this isn't much of a consideration, you just need to stay hydrated, mostly. As the distance and time increase beyond that, however, it matters very much. In my past ultras and long runs, I have refueled, but never with the consistency that those activities actually require. In the past, I would go until I felt tired or hungry, then push through it for a while and eventually, eat or drink something and, sometimes, bounce back to keep going. Or, more often, just keep pushing through and finish tired, hungry, exhausted, sore and generally lucky to be alive. Finally, after years of struggling through events, I've realized that there is no reason to bonk and that "hitting the wall" is actually avoidable. To me, this is nothing short of a breakthrough and makes me look forward to really pushing my endurance to a new level.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Weekly Summary: Feb. 20 - 27
2/20 - Splitboarding. 3.45 miles. 2:04:43. 1340'v. Stagecoach. PM. Off work early today + 1 foot of fresh powder at home = splitboard session. Supposed to be a rest day but when it snows, it snows. And, for me, that means do whatever I can to surf the white wave. I enlisted the company of faithful companion Benihana and up Stagecoach Mt. we went to ride the newly fallen snow. Skinned up to The Beach down 3rd, 2nd and 1st Pitch, then hiked back up to the top of 1st Pitch for one more ride all the way back to the house. I would have been up for a couple more laps but us "old" guys need to learn to take it easy sometimes. Meanwhile, Steamboat got crushed...27" of snow in 24 hours, 34" in 36 hours.
2/21 - Snowboarding. ~3:00:00. Steamboat Ski Area. No running. Winter is finally back. It took its sweet time, but I knew it had to happen eventually. It snowed all night and continued through the day. A gnarly drive to work but there wasn't any, so I called up JD and he was able to score me a medallion so I could go ride with him, Chris and, later, Derek, on the Mountain ("mountain, mountain"). Knee deep to waist deep snow depending on where we were but mostly, just sick conditions. I just wished I had waxed my snowboard because I was a little slow on the flatter sections. Run of the day definitely went to No Name Chutes but, really, it was all good. Steep, deep and fresh. It's supposed to continue snowing through the week so I might not be getting much mileage in the way of running but hopefully I will get in some of the best riding of the year. Ah, life in a ski town does not suck.
2/22 - Snowshoe. ~:45:00. >1 mile. Stagecoach. PM. Just a fun walk in the deep snow with my girl. Katy made a cool figure-8 route and I had a great time following her around. Actually, this was the first time I've really snowshoed and I thought it was a blast. Later that evening the wind picked up and erased all of our tracks. Bummer.
2/23 - 6.0 miles. :57:12. Steamboat. PM. Brrr. Cold day. Katy says it was "cold like back East." I'm thinking the humidity was higher than usual and there was a biting wind that lasted most of the day. It warmed up a little as I ran from downtown, past the high school and then up and down the hill by the middle school before going out to Buff Pass Road and back. Overall, a nice mellow run. Glad to get some mileage this week, I wasn't sure that was going to happen with the weather.
2/24 - 14.05 miles. 2:21:48. 1320'v. Stagecoach. PM. Sunny and somewhat mild this afternoon as I ran on snow, dirt roads and a little asphalt. Decided to do my long run today since I'm going to splitboard Stagecoach Mtn. tomorrow. I wore a Nathan vest I'm trying out for racing this summer and it felt pretty comfortable. In it, I carried a small bag of cashews, a tangerine, an electrolyte tablet, a water bottle (for a few miles, I hand carried it the rest of the way) and my gaiters, once I took them off about 4 miles into the run. I ate a few cashews just after the 5 mile mark and drank water most of the run. In the last 3 miles or so, I dropped the tablet into my water bottle so I could finish my run and cool down while replenishing electrolytes. The run went well, for the most part, although I did feel like I had a couple of rough patches but nothing too bad. The best part of the run was seeing Katy pass me in her car as she was getting home from work! It definitely made the last few miles easier.
2/25 - Splitboarding. 2:33:00. 1820'v. Stagecoach. AM. Skinned up to within a couple hundred feet of the summit of Stagecoach Mtn. with my neighbor, Robert, for a nice morning session. Very relaxed pace, stopping along the way to take a few photos and to talk. For me, there are few things better than to walk right out my front door, start climbing a mountain and ride down. The snow was quite good. A little settled but still soft and deep, making for good speed and turns. The terrain was rolling and smooth all the way to the bottom of the mountain. A beautiful, sunny and breezy morning. I think the wind is supposed to pick up tonight and it's supposed to snow again.
2/26 - 7.87 miles. 1:06:19. 880'v. Stagecoach. AM. One mile warm-up for 10 minutes followed by 6 miles of tempo (8:28,7:41,8:01,7:34,7:35,7:35) and .8 mile cool down on some pretty icy roads (with a little bit of dirt). A good run with some pretty modest splits but fun for me. Spent quite a few steps telling myself, "Don't slip. Don't fall. Don't bust your ass." Stopped to talk to my friend Dave Demos for a couple of minutes as he was driving home and then again at the port-o-potty at the trail head by the reservoir. Sunny but a damn cold wind kept it really chilly.
Weekly Totals: 28.92 miles running/snowshoe. 2200++'v. (4:25:xx running, 7:34:00 splitboarding/snowboarding)
I got a chance to mix it up a little this week thanks to the return of winter. Mother Nature timed it perfectly and I got to take advantage of a low mileage week and get out and ride some powder, even if it meant skipping a couple runs. It also helped that we were slow at work so I could move my training schedule around a little bit (it didn't help financially). Next week, I'll be back to bumping up the mileage with a 21 mile long run on Saturday, so hopefully (for me) the weather will cooperate. However, if we are back to a normal cycle in terms of snowfall, we could still see alot of it through March and April. I think that as long as I keep hitting my long runs, I can keep sacrificing a few shorter runs here and there.
2/21 - Snowboarding. ~3:00:00. Steamboat Ski Area. No running. Winter is finally back. It took its sweet time, but I knew it had to happen eventually. It snowed all night and continued through the day. A gnarly drive to work but there wasn't any, so I called up JD and he was able to score me a medallion so I could go ride with him, Chris and, later, Derek, on the Mountain ("mountain, mountain"). Knee deep to waist deep snow depending on where we were but mostly, just sick conditions. I just wished I had waxed my snowboard because I was a little slow on the flatter sections. Run of the day definitely went to No Name Chutes but, really, it was all good. Steep, deep and fresh. It's supposed to continue snowing through the week so I might not be getting much mileage in the way of running but hopefully I will get in some of the best riding of the year. Ah, life in a ski town does not suck.
2/22 - Snowshoe. ~:45:00. >1 mile. Stagecoach. PM. Just a fun walk in the deep snow with my girl. Katy made a cool figure-8 route and I had a great time following her around. Actually, this was the first time I've really snowshoed and I thought it was a blast. Later that evening the wind picked up and erased all of our tracks. Bummer.
2/23 - 6.0 miles. :57:12. Steamboat. PM. Brrr. Cold day. Katy says it was "cold like back East." I'm thinking the humidity was higher than usual and there was a biting wind that lasted most of the day. It warmed up a little as I ran from downtown, past the high school and then up and down the hill by the middle school before going out to Buff Pass Road and back. Overall, a nice mellow run. Glad to get some mileage this week, I wasn't sure that was going to happen with the weather.
2/24 - 14.05 miles. 2:21:48. 1320'v. Stagecoach. PM. Sunny and somewhat mild this afternoon as I ran on snow, dirt roads and a little asphalt. Decided to do my long run today since I'm going to splitboard Stagecoach Mtn. tomorrow. I wore a Nathan vest I'm trying out for racing this summer and it felt pretty comfortable. In it, I carried a small bag of cashews, a tangerine, an electrolyte tablet, a water bottle (for a few miles, I hand carried it the rest of the way) and my gaiters, once I took them off about 4 miles into the run. I ate a few cashews just after the 5 mile mark and drank water most of the run. In the last 3 miles or so, I dropped the tablet into my water bottle so I could finish my run and cool down while replenishing electrolytes. The run went well, for the most part, although I did feel like I had a couple of rough patches but nothing too bad. The best part of the run was seeing Katy pass me in her car as she was getting home from work! It definitely made the last few miles easier.
2/25 - Splitboarding. 2:33:00. 1820'v. Stagecoach. AM. Skinned up to within a couple hundred feet of the summit of Stagecoach Mtn. with my neighbor, Robert, for a nice morning session. Very relaxed pace, stopping along the way to take a few photos and to talk. For me, there are few things better than to walk right out my front door, start climbing a mountain and ride down. The snow was quite good. A little settled but still soft and deep, making for good speed and turns. The terrain was rolling and smooth all the way to the bottom of the mountain. A beautiful, sunny and breezy morning. I think the wind is supposed to pick up tonight and it's supposed to snow again.
2/26 - 7.87 miles. 1:06:19. 880'v. Stagecoach. AM. One mile warm-up for 10 minutes followed by 6 miles of tempo (8:28,7:41,8:01,7:34,7:35,7:35) and .8 mile cool down on some pretty icy roads (with a little bit of dirt). A good run with some pretty modest splits but fun for me. Spent quite a few steps telling myself, "Don't slip. Don't fall. Don't bust your ass." Stopped to talk to my friend Dave Demos for a couple of minutes as he was driving home and then again at the port-o-potty at the trail head by the reservoir. Sunny but a damn cold wind kept it really chilly.
Weekly Totals: 28.92 miles running/snowshoe. 2200++'v. (4:25:xx running, 7:34:00 splitboarding/snowboarding)
I got a chance to mix it up a little this week thanks to the return of winter. Mother Nature timed it perfectly and I got to take advantage of a low mileage week and get out and ride some powder, even if it meant skipping a couple runs. It also helped that we were slow at work so I could move my training schedule around a little bit (it didn't help financially). Next week, I'll be back to bumping up the mileage with a 21 mile long run on Saturday, so hopefully (for me) the weather will cooperate. However, if we are back to a normal cycle in terms of snowfall, we could still see alot of it through March and April. I think that as long as I keep hitting my long runs, I can keep sacrificing a few shorter runs here and there.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Weekly Summary: Feb. 6 - Feb. 12
2/6 - Rest.
2/7 - 6.09 miles. 1:15:58. - 4.12 miles. :36:37. Steamboat. Noon. Lunch road and trail run from 4th street around the middle school and back. PM. 1.97 miles. :39:20. Stagecoach. After work, did a couple miles with the dogs at an easy pace.
2/8 - 3.7 miles. :35:14. Steamboat. Noon. Lunch road and trail run from 4th street but ran the reverse of yesterday's route and used the trail a bit more. Didn't run in the evening so I could spend some time with my beautiful future wife and my dogs.
2/9 - 6.08 miles. 1:29:02. ~750'v. Stagecoach. PM. - ~.5 mile, ~:20:00, 400'v. hike with the dogs. Let them pull me up the hill then I ran behind them on the way down the hill. They're so fun! Followed by a 5.58 mile, ~350'v. 1:09:02 snow run/trudge in 2-5" of new powder. Those hills were tough. Didn't get seven miles for the day but the time on my feet more than made up for it.
2/10 - Rest.
2/11 - 11.48 miles. 3:46:33. ~1200'v. Stagecoach. AM. After a couple of days of snow, I wanted to have some fun instead of the usual Saturday long run so I broke out the splitboard and made a one-mile touring loop in the open space by the house. It took a little longer than a half hour to put in the initial trail. I did two more laps in the same track then, on the 4th one, I started a new track about half way through the loop so I could break into some virgin snow again. After 4.32 miles in 2:03:42, my legs were feeling pretty heavy, so I figured it was time to go run a few miles. It was a beautiful, sunny day and a warm one, as well. I changed into a pair of shorts and a long sleeved shirt and looked, I'm sure, completely out of place as I ran on snow covered roads around Stagecoach (6.46 miles, 1:15:52). After that, I took the dogs for a walk as I cooled down (.57 miles, :18:59). Quite a bit short on overall mileage but I got a great "time on feet" workout.
2/12 - 8.01 miles. 1:26:xx. ~500'v. Stagecoach. AM. Ran the first couple road miles with Katy before I jumped on the snowpacked and groomed trail. That didn't do much for traction though, the snow was loose enough to slow me down to 11-minute miles as I ran along the south shoreline to where the boat ramp would be.
Week: 35.56 miles. ~3000'v. 8 hours, 21 minutes!
Came up quite a few miles short of 42 for the week but with 8 hours on my feet, I'd say that was pretty worthy for almost 40 kilometers! Alot of slow running, trudging and splitboard touring should be good for my leg strength and endurance, if not for a fast leg turnover. No matter, speed work (which I do plan on doing this spring/early summer) is not essential for ultramarathon success (re: finishing!) and it's always worth skipping a few miles if I'm spending that time with the ones I love.
2/7 - 6.09 miles. 1:15:58. - 4.12 miles. :36:37. Steamboat. Noon. Lunch road and trail run from 4th street around the middle school and back. PM. 1.97 miles. :39:20. Stagecoach. After work, did a couple miles with the dogs at an easy pace.
2/8 - 3.7 miles. :35:14. Steamboat. Noon. Lunch road and trail run from 4th street but ran the reverse of yesterday's route and used the trail a bit more. Didn't run in the evening so I could spend some time with my beautiful future wife and my dogs.
2/9 - 6.08 miles. 1:29:02. ~750'v. Stagecoach. PM. - ~.5 mile, ~:20:00, 400'v. hike with the dogs. Let them pull me up the hill then I ran behind them on the way down the hill. They're so fun! Followed by a 5.58 mile, ~350'v. 1:09:02 snow run/trudge in 2-5" of new powder. Those hills were tough. Didn't get seven miles for the day but the time on my feet more than made up for it.
2/10 - Rest.
2/11 - 11.48 miles. 3:46:33. ~1200'v. Stagecoach. AM. After a couple of days of snow, I wanted to have some fun instead of the usual Saturday long run so I broke out the splitboard and made a one-mile touring loop in the open space by the house. It took a little longer than a half hour to put in the initial trail. I did two more laps in the same track then, on the 4th one, I started a new track about half way through the loop so I could break into some virgin snow again. After 4.32 miles in 2:03:42, my legs were feeling pretty heavy, so I figured it was time to go run a few miles. It was a beautiful, sunny day and a warm one, as well. I changed into a pair of shorts and a long sleeved shirt and looked, I'm sure, completely out of place as I ran on snow covered roads around Stagecoach (6.46 miles, 1:15:52). After that, I took the dogs for a walk as I cooled down (.57 miles, :18:59). Quite a bit short on overall mileage but I got a great "time on feet" workout.
2/12 - 8.01 miles. 1:26:xx. ~500'v. Stagecoach. AM. Ran the first couple road miles with Katy before I jumped on the snowpacked and groomed trail. That didn't do much for traction though, the snow was loose enough to slow me down to 11-minute miles as I ran along the south shoreline to where the boat ramp would be.
Week: 35.56 miles. ~3000'v. 8 hours, 21 minutes!
Came up quite a few miles short of 42 for the week but with 8 hours on my feet, I'd say that was pretty worthy for almost 40 kilometers! Alot of slow running, trudging and splitboard touring should be good for my leg strength and endurance, if not for a fast leg turnover. No matter, speed work (which I do plan on doing this spring/early summer) is not essential for ultramarathon success (re: finishing!) and it's always worth skipping a few miles if I'm spending that time with the ones I love.
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