Ring Around the Reservoir and Flexibility

Not the stretching sort of flexibility, that's useless, in my opinion.  When I stopped stretching, I stopped getting injured.

Anywho, I went through huge running mental swings this weekend.  If you reference the plan laid out in Friday's post, "TGIFF", it seemed like a done deal and it actually started that way too.  NMP came over Friday for a casual run of 12 miles, so I checked that one off the list.

Saturday morning came and I planned to go to Walker Ranch for 3.5-4 hours of grinding around my nemesis.  I ate a good breakfast (bagel, 2 egg, and honey ham sandwich), dressed warmly (overly warmly) and drove the 30 mins over Flagstaff Mtn to Walker.  During our run the previous afternoon, Nick P said that it would likely be very icy at Walker.  "Naw, I'm sure it's in fine shape..." was my reply (note to self: never disagree with a mid-20s PhD rocket scientist who spends his days stomping through atmospheric research).

I got out of the car, no other tire tracks in the dirt, snow layered, lot and realized it was about 15 degrees warmer than Boulder and deep blue skied contrasted by sparse, pure-white cotton clouds.  I just sort of stood in the lot and took in the views and sun for a few minutes.  It was going to be a great run!  Yeah, well, about a mile into it I realized I was wrong and rocket boy was right.  The first major steep descent was a solid block of ice with about 2" of powder snow hiding imminent death.  After five near misses, I turned around and headed back to the car.

Now I'm deflated.  All that time wasted and just two miles to show for it.  Already dressed and with a full 70 ounce hydration pack, I decided to stop by the reservoir to continue (start) my run.  That lasted all of 8 minutes.  The wind was whipping into my face from the first step and I was already in a "I want to put my fist through the windshield" mood, so I just gave up and drove home.  Three miles in 2.5 hours.

I was in a pretty grouchy mood the rest of the day but still didn't plan any sort of specific run for Sunday morning; pressure was the last thing I needed.  To rub salt in my wound, I get an email from Darren, who's been following a training schedule I customized for him since December 1.

"I hope this will do: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/70271789

87.4 miles for my "7 day" running total.  The week itself (ends tomorrow) will probably be just shy of 80.  I'll take considering the junk weather we've been having.

Time to relax for the rest of the night!."

Just shy of 31 miles in 4:20, his fastest 50k ever and in training, no less!  UGH!!

I decide right then that I'm revamping his schedule (he follows it precisely every day) and have him just walk 1 mile a day for the next 5.5 months leading to Leadville.

Sunday morning rolls around.  I eat a Clif bar, grab my still full hydration vest and decide to make it heavier, so I add 6 lbs of weights I use for scuba diving.  Yeah, I'm in a pissed off mood still from the previous wasted day.  I decide I'm not driving anywhere to run but just leaving straight from the house.  

I run to the Reservoir and start doing laps.  It's windy on the back section but I'm in masochist mode now, so I embrace it.  The res is flat for the most part.  I still incorporate Lucho's progression run planned for me.  That's done in 2 hours, so I keep running.  At about 15 miles I decide I'm matching Darren's (little bastard) sweet run from the previous day.  At mile 28 I'm at 3:31 and realize I can make the 50k mark in under 4 hours, so I pick up the pace, which had begun dropping.  I had to meander around near my place and do a lap around the lake behind my place to stretch the run.

31 miles in 3:58.

I'm still disappointed I didn't have the mental capacity to force my run on Saturday but Sunday's probably works out better in prep for Antelope 100 in four weeks.

Opinionated as usual, I think the Ultra Run "Of Champions" race scheduled for September is borderline weak, at best.  I'll leave it at that.

TGIFF

Blah, stressful day yesterday capped by sissy-ing out of an easy scheduled jog left me going to bed looking forward to three solid days of training starting today.  I find it more difficult to back out or cut short a workout if I write it for the world (read: 6 people) to read.  With that in mind, the plan is:

Today - 12 relaxed miles with NMP ("M" is for modest, I'm guessing)
Saturday - 24 miles or 3.5-4 hours, race simulation (probably laps around walker ranch)
Sunday - 2.5 hour progression run, should end up being 20 miles

Next weekend (March 5 and/or 6) I'm thinking up some sort of nutty long run of apx 6 hours if anyone is interested in joining in some or all of it.

On the sweet potato front...
I half baked (insert dumb comment) the ST and added a bit of sea salt.  Raw was too much but half steamed or baked and they're actually pretty good.  Co-workers are certain I'm crazy and I have resigned myself into acknowledgment and general agreement that they may be onto something.

A Look Back...

I ran for the first time in April 2002.  Here's one of my first races, the Powderhouse Pub 4 Miler.  Check out the crowd of folks for a Sunday morning race.  Love Boston.

Think I look happy enough even after running all over the hills of Somerville MA?  I still have that $12 Casio watch for runs.  Thankfully, the Oakley sunglasses met their demise at the hands of an ex-girlfriend.

Back then 6 miles was a long run for me.  I'd race 2-3 5ks-10ks each weekend.  Running has been one of the most positive impacts on my life and I'm thankful I found it.

Abbott and Costello

Here's my morning snack at work today...

Raw sweet potato with crushed pepper and TINY bit of salt.

I feel like Lucho is playing a joke on me, "Yeah, you're going to want to eat raw sweet potatoes and drink the sweat you wring out of your running socks."

Reminds me of Lou Costello eating raw onions after being told they were "Arabian apples".

I have backup...

Baseball is for rolling feet on and putting under sore hamstrings while I sit.  Co-workers come up grab, play with and handle the baseball.  I just smile.

Party of One

For some inexplicable reason I thought it would be a good idea to indulge in a higher alcohol content beer last night after my walk workout... yes, I practice walking fast.  Try walking fast for 30-40 mins (13:30-14 pace).  You'll be dizzy and wobblier than Micky Rourke on a moped at 3am.

So, I grabbed a six of Raging Bitch (and she is).

I gave her a friend to balance out her bitchiness.

Yes, that's a shark bottle opener.  Classy.
Then the shirt and shoes came off and neighbors cringed.

I woke up at 11:30pm (I go to bed at 8:30) with a raging bitch headache that kept me up until 1:30am.

Yesterday, to fully marry my new training schedule from Lucho, I asked him a hundred questions about nutrition and one of the questions was about the nutritional benefits of eating things like pretzels, bagels, and stuff like that (you think I like beer?  you should see me with a bag of sourdough pretzels).  I sadly sort of already knew the answer.  He told me to eat a raw yam at work for my morning snack instead of pretzels.

I brought pretzels today again.  Don't tell him.  It'll be the last time, so tomorrow - raw yam...  I can hardly wait.

Cousin Fred prepares the sweet tater delivery to my house.

The Definition of Insanity...

is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. -AE


That about sums up the end of my recovery week from last week's race.  I took the two days off after it (my standard two days, which I've found to be perfect for me after racing 50k to 100k distances).  Then got out for 7 miles on rolling trails and it felt great.  Same for Wednesday, only it was 8 miles.  Took Thursday off.  Headed out for 15 miles on rolling trails Friday, finishing as it was getting dark.  That didn't feel so great; no pains but just lack of energy and couldn't catch my breath.  Did the same 15 mile run Saturday with Steve, who drove all the way up from CO Springs.  Really felt lethargic and couldn't breathe (figured it was from the big bowl of cereal I ate too close to run-start and the fact that we were chatting the whole way).  So, I opted to do the same run for a third day in a row, 15 miles on rolling farm trails.  I don't know whether I got different results from doing the same thing over and over but yesterday's run was better, even though there were sustained 20+mph winds with gusts well up over 35mph.  The wind was the only real drag about the run, so I'll take it.  60 miles on the recovery week in 5 runs.


Now four weeks of focused training in prep for Antelope 100, which is shaping up to be competitive with Eric Storheim (tough as nails and fast), Mark Tanaka (consistently fast 100 veteran), Dan Vega who's fast at every distance, Jay Aldous who has a couple of recent wins in long mountain races, and the Goat, Karl, though he'll be just 6 days removed from Coyote Two Moon 100 mi.  There'll also be very big talent in the 50k and 50 mile races, which will be fun to watch and take my mind off slogging all over the island for 100 miles.


Just three months until Sunki Mountain Run Camp takes place in Leadville, CO.  Coach Lucho, Leadville 100mi champions, Duncan Callahan and Liza Howard, 70+ miles over 5 days on the Leadville 100 course, all inclusive, food, bed, sag wagon, sherpa (Lucho)!  It WILL be epic.

Grand Canyon Run Planning

With less than two months until our little jog in the Grand Canyon, I'd like to start planning (wow, the words "I" and "planning" in the same sentence) the travel arrangements.

If only Matt and I go, I'm guessing we'll meet there?  He could probably just drive from southern CA.  If anyone else would like to join us for the run, speak now.  If no one else is coming, then I'll likely just fly into Flagstaff because even though I love to drive, I ain't interested in driving 13 hours alone.

Just shoot me an email or comment on this post if you're interested in likely the most epic run of your life.  All paces welcome (is it welcome or welcomed...?).  Nice post on the GC run by Ian Torrence

The caption says this is Rae Clark but I'm pretty sure it's GZ (or maybe Richard Simmons)

Other Goals and Thoughts

Like a bug stuck to the surface of a puddle, when I take a day off from running I just sort of mentally hum around in slow circles and my interactions, including blog posts, reflect that state of mind.  Today I run, so I'll be normal (HA!) again.

Anywho, a couple goals popped into my head over the last 24 hours.  I'm going to start wearing a watch on runs (typically only wear one while racing).  Seems like a pretty easy goal (I'm an underachiever, so I need those goals to be within reach).  Next, I'm going to give a real effort on setting my PBs (personal bests) on the various peaks and routes around Boulder.  I've never really cared much (likely because I'm so damn slow) but am now interested to begin the process of establishing my own benchmarks and improving on them.  Next, gulp, I'm developing (with some outside guidance) structure to my training, including nutrition.  Lastly, for now, I'm going to become proficient in some other language (Spanish makes sense but I fancy French and Italian.  Italian is similar to Spanish, so it may be a good choice - plus it'll be a nice skill to possess when I evacuate the US and move to Italy).  I was pretty good at yapping in French in College, Oui!, but can only remember how to ask for aspirin and tell someone I drive a car to school now.  Oh, and I'm going to replace the dead headlight on my car eventually (again, attainable goals).

One other thing is all this chatter about ultra race championship and the growth of the sport.  I see it moving to something like a more organized, larger money event on the ROAD but never on trail.  There are too many limitations in terms of land use and lack of viable coverage for spectators and that translates into low exposure and that translates into paltry value for large sponsors.  I mean, what were there, like 1,000 people (at the very high end) following WS100 coverage online last year?  I personally would love to see (and participate in) something akin to C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race (a running race across the US from CA to NY), a terrific book.

Jeopardy

The tv program.

Jeopardy has had "Watson", the IBM computer as a participant on the show this week.  I was looking forward to watching it but find it boring and a little annoying with the graph of possible answers flashing up on the screen after every question is asked.  I don't have any time to try to pretend I know the answer.

Good hour plus run yesterday in summer-like weather.  Pretty much all recovered from Saturday's 38 miles.  Starting to think about recovery options once the races really begin this year.  I'm frankly scared of ice baths.  I'm also considering Epsom salt baths.  Considering using the Stick more.  All kinds of recovery stuff to stay healthy.  Any suggestions are welcome (is it "welcome" or "welcomed"?).

Hoarding

Ok, so I don't even own a bed and all my belongings fit snugly in my car.  I am hoarding races this year.  They just keep piling up...and...I love it!  The latest addition is Collegiate Peaks 50 Mile.  It will be purely used as a training run, since it's only one week before Ice Age 50.  May is the final month of training before the blur of 100 milers begins in June.

Though my schedule pales (a little) in comparison to this guy with Eight 100 milers scheduled (that's just crazy ;-), my year is filled with fun on its own.  Adjusting my initial sights, the three big goals in order are:

1. Top 5 at Bear 100 and/or 20:xx finish time (last year was 23:05)
2. Top 5 at Leadville 100 and/or sub 19 hour finish time
3. San Diego sub 20 hour finish time

Am I shooting too high?  Who knows, the placings are difficult to guess, since you never know who will be there and who may have a smashing run.  The finish times are a bit more in control and though stout, they are doable. 

I'm happy to have verbal commitments for crews at San Diego 100 and Leadville 100.  I may have to run crew-less at Bear but would love to find someone to help there.  Aric crewing for me was a major part in my run at Bear in September.

By December I should have raced over 900 miles this year.  Double yikes!

Wednesday ramblings.  Now off to run!

Cool Trail Run 50k Race Report

Darren and I post race sporting the McDavid gear

I wanted to do an early year shorter race but didn't feel like doing Red Hot.  When I saw the Cool Trail Run covered some of the final miles of Western States 100, I thought it would be a fun race.  Also, it worked well for me to get to hang out with my buddy, Darren in Reno, who was already registered for the race and had done it before.

I flew into Reno Thursday and we got in a nice 5 mile run Friday morning.  Things were feeling well and we were both eager to race.

Morning came early at 3:30am and we made the two hour drive over to Cool, CA for the 7am start.  A perfectly clear morning and sunrise with temps in the 40s made for a chilly start.  I opted for short sleeve shirt, shorts, McDavid arm sleeves and calf sleeves, gloves, and Pearl Izumi Fuel XC shoes (I didn't have enough time to run in my new Hokas, so I didnt want to crack them out of the box for 34 miles - will be wearing them for my 100 miler next month).

The race...
We got started right at 7am on a side road and after about 50 meters we veered onto single track.  I was in third onto the trail (actually fourth but the one guy off the front already was running the 21 mile race).  The guys in front of me, Brian and Aaron started upping the pace just a half mile into it.  We were clipping along at just over 7 min pace and it felt great but I began worrying about pushing too hard.  I backed off at about the two mile mark and let them pull away, so I was sort of running solo, since we had opened up a gap on the field.

I hit the first aid station at mile 4 right at No Hands Bridge just under 30 minutes.  Then we ran an out and back to Auburn Overlook.  I really enjoyed this section running alone along the American River on some sweet single track.  I reached the turn around at 1:01 and was one minute behind Brian and passed Aaron at the aid station.  Aaron caught back up to me but I was in a good groove, running around 7:20 miles, so I didn't adjust or change anything when he came up behind me and sat on my heels.  I just focused on taking in 100 calories every 20 mins and sipping water from my hand held bottle.

We reached the station at No Hands (12.4 miles) again at about 1:31 or so and started the climb back up out of there.  Soon came the K2 climb, which is purported to be 1,000 feet in a little over a mile.  I think it might be more...  Anyway, this climb is stupid steep.  Aaron was anywhere from 10 ft to 100 meters behind me up it.  Once crested, it's basically a rolling trail to the 16 mile aid station at Knickerbocker.  Over this section I got away from Aaron, who later dropped at 21 miles (he ran 20 miles the day before the race).  So, now I was running alone for good.  Getting splits at each aid station, Brian was 3 mins, give or take 10 seconds, ahead of me for the next 13 miles.  With 5 miles to go (the 29 mile mark) he still had 3:10 on me but I was feeling good, so I upped the pace a bit to the point where I was running a comfortable, sustainable pace but also pushing.

At about 2 miles to go, I saw Brian far up the trail on a climb.  He was looking back and saw me, so started running with new purpose.  I got to watch him finish while I was still on the trail.  He finished in 4:54 and I in 4:55.  Last year's winning time was 5:11, so it was a good effort on both our parts.
1st  Brian Miller 4:54
2nd  Me 4:55
3rd  Ray Sanchez 5:11

I felt great, so I headed back out onto the trail for 40 more minutes, catching Darren for his last two miles.  He ran last year in 6:14; this year.... 5:38.  Huge improvement and would've been faster had he monitored the salt intake to ease the cramping he had.

L to R: Darren, Grae, et Moi

Darren parting shot

Afterward, I ate three plates of salad (yes, I like salad after a long race, must be the salty dressing and coolness of the greens, who knows?).  I also got to finally meet Grae Van Hooser and we hung out for a bit, then drove back to Reno for a nice dinner with Darren's wife and daughter.  Great day from start to finish.

Cool Trail Run Quickie

So, just got back to Reno after spending a long day in Cool, CA.  Race was fun!  With 5 miles to go (29 mile mark - course is actually 34.2 miles) I was 3+ mins behind the leader and poured it on until I saw him with about 2 miles to go.  Ran out of real estate...  He won in 4:54 and I was second in 4:55.

Darren ran this race last year in 6:14.  This year...he came in 5:38 in 8th place!  Not bad when you can lop over 1 min per mile off your pace!

Beautiful day, warming into the sunny upper 60s.  Challenging course with 6,000 ft of climb. 

"Fun, Do it Again!" Contest

That arm sleeve contest was so much fun and exciting (congratulations to Rick from NC), that I'm putting up another contest to win a McDavid fear no evil shirt:

Comment your guess of the combined finish time of Darren Young and myself at Cool Trail Run 50k (34.2 miles) taking place this Saturday in Cool, CA.

For reference, the winning time last year was 5:11 and Darren's finish time was 6:14 (he's in sharper shape this go around).

Recap:  add Darren's and my finish times together and comment that guess (e.g. 15 hours).

5 Hours: Contest

My only goal for the Cool race this weekend is sub 5 hours and have fun.  No need to complicate it.

So, the contest is this:
The state in which I ran my first 50k AND what big change that race is experiencing this year.

Get it right and I'll send you a pair of McDavid arm sleeves (value $36)... may even let you choose the color.

And now for your listening pleasure.  TOOL.  "Forty Six & 2".  How aware are you of your shadow?
 8-)

Cheese Balls and Old Chub

Local Carbs for energy

Quality dairy protein from Target for strong bones

5 degrees and snowing this morning.  Glad I'm tapering easy this week, 'cause I ain't got no motivation to go run in this crap.  Might head out for 30 mins up and down the road or might not.

Started thinking about Bighorn 100 and other options for a June 100 miler and Dylan Bowman mentioned he's opting for San Diego 100 after not getting into Hardrock.  Got me thinking, so I checked out the entrants list and it's fairly stacked with good runners (Dylan being among the top).  I registered for it this morning.  Tired of shuffling the schedule around and need to just focus on a confirmed set of races.  Aside from jumping into a shorter ultra here and there, it's pretty much locked down now, at least up through October.

Another camper registered for our Mountain Running Camp in Leadville this May, so now there are only 3 spots left open!  And McDavid is providing a couple nice gifts for each participant of the camp too, nice folks that they are.

Two Leadville 100 Champions at Mountain Running Camp

Tim Waggoner and I are honored to have the 2010 Leadville 100 Mile Run champions speak and run with us at our mountain running camp this May.

Duncan Callahan and Liza Howard will be presenting, followed by Q and A.  Duncan will join us for one of our runs on the Leadville course and Liza will be in attendance ALL WEEK with us!

The Sunki Camp is ALL INCLUSIVE, meals, accommodations, everything for 5 days and 4 nights.  Tim Waggoner, "Lucho", is one of the best and most knowledgeable coaches in the country.  He ran the Leadville 100 last August (only his 1st 100 after just trying out a couple 50 milers!) and he finished 6th overall in 19:19 (with me pacing him the last 50 miles).

You'll come away with knowledge, strength, confidence, and life long memories.  Don't miss out!

Hardrock 100 - Chance of getting in from wait list?

So, looks like I'm 29th on the wait list.  Anyone have an idea on my possible chances on getting in?

28 got in off the wait list last year.  Guess I'll be standing around the start line until the last minute to know whether I'm in.

Will This Be The Year?

Will this be the year that ultrarunning truly moves into a respected and deeply competitive arena, scooting away from the kids' table and bellying up with the other disciplines of the sport at the adult table?

Ian Sharman

Yesterday's Rocky Raccoon 100 and 50 miler gives a tantalizing glimpse that we may be in for a storm of eye-popping results this year.

Todd Braje: 1st in the 50 mile race...  5:41 (6:41 per mile pace)
Ian Sharman: 1st in the 100 mile race...  12:44 (7:38 per mile pace)

Both of these performances convincingly blasted the old course records to dust.

Runs like these warp our accepted perception of what's doable.  They open minds to accept that the body, at all levels, can be pushed further.  Thanks for the motivation and inspiration Ian and Todd.  You did more than win your respective races yesterday.  You did your part to change the sport and extend the line of what we think we can do.

Spectating

Funny, I was just emailing with Nick P to schedule an easy run this Sunday together and I mentioned it would be a pre-superbowl run. He didn't know it was Superbowl Sunday.

Finish line at Rocky Raccoon 100 Miler

Granted, I don't really care about football or pro team sports in general BUT I knew the superbowl was this week...sheez.

I'm more excited to get updates tomorrow on the Rocky Raccoon 100 race. The mens race should be a sprint with lots of carnage after 75 miles. I'm really looking for Liza Howard to run well and would like to see her nab the women's course record set by the scantily clad Jenn Shelton (14:57). That was set on the older, easier, faster course, so if Liza breaks it, well, wow.

Me, I'm in that weird no-mans-land of transition into a taper the last 7 days before a race (Cool Trail Run 34 miler). Run, not run, how hard, hills, flat, I don't know. I'm in good shape and want to hit the start line fresh and hot to race. I'll fly into Reno Thursday and stay with my friend Darren, hang out with him Friday, then drive over to Cool, CA race morning.  Darren is racing too and is in sharp shape after a solid block of consistent training. I'm looking for him to run over an hour faster than his finish last year.

Good luck to the runners at Rocky Raccoon tomorrow and good luck to whichever teams are playing in the superbowl.

Hoka Shoes and Dave Mackey

I'll be proudly sporting Hoka One One shoes this year.  Yesterday, I shot this frozen video of Dave Mackey (after I gave him some pointers on how to run up Green Mtn).

If you want to watch it without overlapping content on the side, view it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypr5ksJxd90