Pre-100 Mile Thoughts

During the summer of 2009, I decided that some day I wanted to run a 100-mile foot race.  At the time, I was reading alot of books about running and one of them, Extreme Running, was about all these incredible running races all over the world in some of the most amazing places.  I was immediately intrigued by these types of events and decided to start training and doing races that would eventually prepare me to attempt a 100-miler (although, not necessarily at an exotic locale) and have a decent chance of actually finishing.  A little more than 3 years later, I'm finally getting my chance to toe the line and find out what it's all about.  It might be the only time I ever try a race like this or it might just be the first time.  I have no idea how I will feel about the event after it's over.  I just hope to have fun, finish and collect my buckle. 

It feels as if all the running I've ever done in my life, from my youth, to my college days and all the mountain miles I've logged in the last 6 years, have led up to this race.  I often think about a winter day in 1984 when my family lived in Morehead, Kentucky.  We had just moved to the little mountain town in the foothills of the Appalachians and I was exploring a hillside behind my house, climbing to the top of a tree covered ridge.  I ran down the hillside through the trees with the deep leaves absorbing my foot falls.  I imagined myself descending an immense mountain slope.  I always remember that day for it's joyful simplicity.  It makes me realize that I loved the mountains before I even spent any time in them.  It's the sense of exploration, awe and wonder I get when I'm climbing up even the smallest hill and discovering new things at each vista.  I think about that day alot when I'm out on the trail, just running like a little kid and tapping into my primal urge to move through a natural environment and it makes me happy to think what simple pleasure I get from running trails.  But the flipside to the pleasure of running is the challenge.  The difficulty of running longer and further than a person ever thought they could.  To run from morning until night and then through the night until the sun rises again.  To run even when you don't want to anymore. To do something very simple and accomplish something extraordinary.  Like run 100 miles over mountains. 

Am I ready?  Sure.  Yeah, mostly.  I'm actually really anxious to get to the starting line.  I've gone running enough to know that once we get underway, everything will fall into place.  With the race only a few days away, there's no amount of running that will boost my fitness or assure me that I'm actually ready for the challenge of running 100 miles.  Lately, I've been thinking more about the race logistics, such as gear, clothing and food, and I came up with pacing schedules for finishing in 27.5 hours.  I could possibly finish faster but that's not a motivating factor.  There are alot of variables to consider for a 100 and that's what separates this type of racing from any other race distance I've tackled.  Sure, 50s come close but night time portion of a 100-miler is significant.  It's of the utmost importance that I get on and stay on a regular feeding schedule and that what I'm eating isn't fucking with my stomach.  I'll be carrying a few hundred calories and water between aid stations and replenishing my supply via drop bags and aid station supplies.  I'll be eating mostly food supplied by my crew or in my drop bag.  Clif gels and bars, cashews, clementines, almond and peanut butter, Honey Stinger waffles, berry newtons, watermelon, pineapple, miso soup, hot chocolate, zucchini bread with chocolate chips, walnuts and raisins, pumpkin bread with raisins, .   I'm also using Vespa (probably) and SaltSticks.  In my drop bags, I'll also have extra clothing to change into if the weather gets too hot/cold or snowy/rainy.  The forecast looks good though:  sunny and 70s in the afternoon and clear and high 30s at night.  At 10,000' it'll probably be right around 32F.    Additionally, I'll have a 120-lumen headlamp and a backup 40-lumen headlamp packed, as well as extra batteries.   For the night, I'll also be bumping tunes on the I-Pod to keep me company.  I also have an hour long stand-up routine from Dave Chappelle downloaded to pass the time.   The first half of the race, I'll be using trekking poles and taking it steady and easy.  I'm thinking 11-12 hours for the first half of the race but slower if necessary to save my legs.  I may even stop to soak my feet at certain spots along the course (Fish Creek, the Yampa, Spring Creek).  I really want to feel good enough to run (slowly) during the night and not just be zombie, death-marching through the darkness.  I'm going to keep my effort conservative, stay on top of my nutrition and water, enjoy the course and keep going until I'm finished.  Then, give me my buckle!

Here's my pace schedule, if you're near the course, come down and tell me how bad I look:

1. Base of the ski area/Start  - 8 am
2. Top of Mt. Werner - 10 am
3. Long Lake (via Mountain View Trail) - 11:30 am
4. High School (via Fish Creek Falls Trail) - 1:30 pm
5. Olympian Hall - (via 3rd St./Core Trail) - 1:45 pm
6. Cow Creek (via Emerald/Ridge Trail) - 3:45 pm
7. Olympian Hall (via Beall Trail/Emerald) - 6:45 pm
8. High School - (via Core Trail/3rd St.) - 7:00 pm
9. Long Lake (via Fish Creek Falls Trail) - 9:15 pm (halfway)
10. Summit Lake (via Uranium Mine Road) - 10:45 pm
11. Dry Lake (via Buff Pass Road) - 12:15 am
12. High School (via Spring Creek) - 1:30 am
13. Dry Lake (via Spring Creek) - 3:30 am
14. Summit Lake (via Buff Pass Road) - 5:30 am
15. Long Lake (via Wyoming Trail to Fish Creek Falls Trail) - 7:30 am
16. Top of Mt. Werner (via Mountain View Trail) - 9:30 am
17. Base of the ski area/Finish - 11:30 am

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. 

Weekly Summary: Feb 27 - Mar 4

2/27 - Rest.

2/28 - 5.78 miles.  1:04:21.  ~600'v.  Steamboat.   PM.  It snowed very hard all day long but I was able to take advantage of a mid-afternoon window of moderate snow to run Spring Creek Trail from JDs house downtown.  It started out only snowing lightly for the first half hour.  I was even warm and took of my beanie for a little while at the beginning of the run.  I passed a group of older folks skiing down the trail as I ran up and one of the concerned older ladies says to me, "Where's your hat?"  How thoughtful.  I assured her it was in my pocket and I was going to be alright.   Later, the trail was snowshoe packed but I still ended up breaking some trail on the final climb up the ridge and I continued until I got stopped by a fairly deep snowdrift.  I turned around and started back down and it started snowing harder.  I cruised the 2.5 miles back to the trail head then ran the road up to Butcherknife Canyon trail before running through some alleys on the way back to JDs.  It was cool spending most of the run in the woods and then coming out and running by the cute, little mountain houses in Old Town.  Snowy run, for sure.

2/29 - 2.16 miles.  1:17:15.  ~400'v.  Stagecoach.  PM.  Snowshoe with Benny.  Made a .5 mile lap through the open space but it was a bit windy so we headed up the mountain.  Broke a trail up and, then, downhill in some pretty deep snow.  I didn't feel like running when I got home so this was my alternative.  Slow and steady. 

3/1 - 6.66 miles.  :57:43.  Steamboat.  Yampa River Core Trail.  PM.  After work run from downtown to Casey's Pond and back on the Core Trail.  A little cement and alot of ice and snow just before it got dark and started snowing again.  Another burly drive home afterwards.

3/2 - Rest.

3/3 - Snowboarding.  2:43:00.  -16,360'v.  Steamboat Ski Area.  AM. I was supposed to do a 21-mile long run today but, instead, Katy scored me a ski pass and with all the new snow this week, had to settle for the Best Day of riding this year.  Solo shred morning session.  Tons of powder and plenty deep as it continued to snow.   Ridiculously good runs through the trees on the skier's left of Concentration.  Later, I ran into Ian Wilson, in town from Ft. Collins, and took him and couple of his friends down Broadway Trees where I had found untracked lines earlier.  My last run, I dropped the rope next to the Gondola and rode some out of bounds terrain before finishing up.  I even got to "hollywood" under the Gondy as I rode out on Lower Valley View.    It was hard to leave when I did but I wanted to meet up with some friends and watch "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas." 

3/4 - 20.69 miles.  4:06:28.  1,800'v.  Stagecoach.  late AM start.  From the house, I ran some hilly, snow covered dirt road for 5 miles until I got to the end of the road in the South Shore neighborhood.  That's when the fun started.  From there, I pulled out my hiking poles (yep, I ran with poles in anticipation of dealing with over a foot of snow that fell during the week) and started post holing thigh deep snow.  At first, I decided to follow a track that led across the lake but I was not only punching through super deep snow but also stepping into 3 inches of water every time I took a step.  My gaiters and Gore-Tex shoes kept my feet from getting totally soaked but I was sure that my feet were already wet.  I decided to not trudge through the water and turned around making my way back up to the shoreline and punched out a new trail for the next .5 mile until I got to the dam.  I looked down at my GPS to check my pace, which had slowed to a laughable 30-45 min/mile.  Once I crossed the dam, I took off my gaiters and stowed them in my Nathan vest.  I kept the walking sticks out, sipped some water and felt pretty good, ready to run some snowmobile packed trail down towards Sarvis Creek.  This was the best part of the run.  The snow was decently packed so I could maintain a run and the sun came out as I ran in a small, narrow valley next to the Yampa River.  I passed a couple of snowshoers and couple people out fishing.  It was really beautiful.  I turned around when my GPS read 9 miles and cruised back up the road.  Right before I got back to the dam, I stepped through a cattle guard and put a nice knot on my left shin.  Ouch!   Took it easy for a minute and ate a Clif Bar.  From the dam, I stayed on the road that goes around the north shore of the reservoir.  Fortunately, the plow had made one pass on the road so it was easy to run.  After a couple more miles, I got onto CR 14 and ran on the shoulder of the road which was just wet asphalt, so I was finally able to get some traction and I ran a decent pace to the turn off that goes back up to the house.  The next 2 miles were pretty uneventful except seeing the sled dogs hanging out by the reservoir.  It made me think of local musher, Tom Thurston, who is running his dogs in the Iditarod right now.  As I made the last hill before the house, I was starting to struggle a bit so I pulled out the sticks to lean on a little bit and decided to run another mile and half up the road before turning around a calling it a day.  I took a few big gulps of water and worked one more long uphill then turned around pushed myself to finish strong.  I was definitely tired and a little sore by the end of the run but felt really good about breaking the 20 mile and 4 hour marks. 

Weekly Totals:  35.29 miles.   6:24:00 running/snowshoe.  2:43:00 snowboarding.  19,160'v. 

Again, I didn't get the mileage I was supposed to get according to my training schedule but I'm getting the long runs done, getting plenty of time on my feet, spending some time outside and I'm shredding some serious snow.   All good things and it's always good to mix it up to avoid overtraining.  It's exciting to be able to run 20 miles again especially so early in the year and feeling strong enough to improve.  

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.