Fa La La Half, Where the Monkey Sleeps, Hells Canyon, Nitrate Supplementation, Grays and Torreys

Fa La La Half, Where the Monkey Sleeps, Hells Canyon, Nitrate Supplementation, Grays and Torreys

On Saturday Tara and I ran the Fa La La Half Marathon in Westminster. This was my second road race and second speed race in the past two weeks. Coming from mountain and trail running, I didn't really have any good idea of how fast I might be able to run this, nor was I sure of my fitness. I was thinking 1:30 would be a nice time to try and aim for, but depending on the course, wind, etc., I was unsure of whether that was a reasonable goal or not. I ended up running a 1:32:16 which was good for 13th place overall, and 1st in my age group. I'm pretty pleased with the result, and I know with a bit more prep and some more speed work I could break 1:30. I do have to say that I'm coming to really enjoy the pain associated with these faster road races versus the slower trail/mountain ones I'm used to. Pushing hard and flying along for a good distance is pretty rewarding in its own way.

Getting a bit tired of waiting during the pre-race instructions - there seemed to be a lot of them.

Got out on JD's "Where the Monkey Sleeps" V10 the other day. This is a super thin problem with terrible holds and non-existent feet. Despite getting shut down, I came pretty close. The campus and fingerboard training is paying off.

Another article on nitrate supplementation, beet juice, and it's benefits. I used Red Rush prior to the Half on Saturday, taking one shot each morning three days prior to the race and then one more shot on race morning. Although I don't feel a "rush" I do believe the stuff works and have noted several benefits when taking the stuff, namely less lactic acid and seemingly faster recovery from efforts. The science is pretty conclusive that taking around 500mg of beet juice a day will help with oxygen delivery, vasodilation, muscle contraction, and more. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Although the R2R2R run in the Grand Canyon is an ultra classic, I've always thought of and wanted to do a run down into Hells Canyon on the Snake River in Idaho. Having worked up in the area, I know the terrain and depth of the canyon, and always thought it would be super cool to try and put together a run. The problem is that it is very remote country, and there are no clear-cut trails descending down into the canyon. However, it looks like two guys have finally put together a line that is fairly straight forward for pulling off a R2R2R of Hells Canyon. I need to put this on the list for sure.

Ran up Grays and Torreys again yesterday. This is becoming my "Green Mountain" these days, as it is the biggest bang for your buck in terms of altitude, elevation gain, and mileage. Other then driving down to the Springs for Pikes, no other peak or run gets you all three so easily. Unlike two weeks ago when I ran Grays only, this time it was perfect out. On days like this, winter fourteener running is the way to go - a packed trail, minimal wind, descent temps., and no one around. Beats summer mountain running hands down, but then again, days like that rarely happen. I'm sure next time I go up, it will suck and I'll hate it.

 Looking west towards Breckenridge and beyond...

 Looking south - you can just make out the Sangres...

 Longs way off in the distance...

New Roundup Of Scientific Research, Money In Mountain Running, US Skyrunning Series, 24 Hours Of Sanitas

New Roundup of Scientific Research, Money in Mountain Running, US Skyrunning Series, 24 Hours of Sanitas


I've been swamped lately working, so most of my training has been confined to the local hills. Likewise, I've been focusing a bit on speed workouts, trying to get some leg turnover going for a few shorter races this early winter (a 10K in Arvada and a Half in Westminster). Although I'm not a speedster by any means, I've been doing a session of 4x60secs on flats and 4x15secs on a steep hill, as well as some Meb style kicks (3 sets post workout) twice a week. I've also incorporated a once a week tempo run on a rolling course (1,000' of gain only) which seems to be helping. I'm going to keep working this, as well as my usual vert. days, for a bit and see what kind of speed I can pull off in these two upcoming races.

 It's called Golden for a reason - sunrise speed session photo

A car full of shoes for One World Running

Here is the latest roundup on new scientific articles concerning running:

• Exercise training augments neuronal nitric oxide synthase‐mediated inhibition of sympathetic vasoconstriction in contracting skeletal muscle of rats 
• Dietary nitrate increases arginine availability and protects mitochondrial complex I and energetics in the hypoxic rat heart 
• Dietary nitrate accelerates post-exercise muscle metabolic recovery and O₂ delivery in hypoxia 

The first three continue to build on the scientific literature concerning nitric oxide and dietary nitrate supplementation. I'm really excited to be using Red Rush as it is an all natural concentration of beet juice that tastes good and is easy to take. Although there is no real studies looking at nitric oxide and climbing, there is plenty of cross over from running, strength training, and so forth that also would benefit climbers too.

Another study looks at training volume (in terms of hours) and intensity, and found that training volume is essential, but intensity can cause some problems if not properly monitored. This makes sense, as we all know that if you want to be a better runner, you need to run more. Likewise, intensity is great, but you cant do HIIT workouts every day as some argue. To back this up, another new study has verified what we already know: to be a good runner you have to do volume, some intensity, and some threshold workouts. I've been negligent in this aspect, especially in the summer when all I want to do is long mountain runs. Hence, my focus on quality workouts with a purpose. It is all about discipline, purpose, and consistency.

Another sunrise run - early morning sessions are often the most productive

So, there is money in mountain running, just not the kind we find here in the US. Why is that? I don't quite understand the disjunction between mountain running, skyrunning, short mountain ultra running, and trail running. It seems we have too many governing bodies that spread out the field, cause confusion, and fail to allow us to really put together a solid series of races - especially as a US team on the world stage.

Speaking of which, the US Skyrunning series for 2015 came out today. I'm planning on doing the series again, and hoping for a higher place then 10th overall. Looks like I have to figure out how to budget for some travel...

Big congrats to Adam St. Pierre and Henry Schliff for their completion of the 24 Hours of Mt. Sanitas. An amazing achievement! Speaking of which, William and I, and anyone else who wants to join, are doing 12 hours of Mt. Morrison on Nov. 15 from 6am to 6pm. We are going for the M10 Challenge, but I really don't know if it is possible in 12 hours.

Flatiron Scrunbling, Nitric Oxide, Mount Evans Wilderness, Full Moon

Flatiron Scrunbling, Nitric Oxide, Mount Evans Wilderness, Full Moon

Last Friday I got out for a bit of scRUNbling in the Flatirons before work. I cruzed up to Dinosaur Mountain and did five laps on Sunnyside Two before continuing up and hitting up another slab on an unknown formation. I then dropped north and ended up doing most of the East Face of Dum before topping out on the summit of Dinosaur Mountain. Other then sending the sport routes on Der Zerkle and Square Rock a long time ago, as well as sending the FA of the Avs Wall Traverse and some other hard boulder problems in the area, I've never really scrunbled on the flatirons on Dinosaur Mountain. They are pretty cool, and I think I've figured out a set of routes that I can put together into a fun line for a bit over 2,000' of scrunbling: TipToe to East Face of Dinosaur to Sunnyside Two to Mallory Flatironette to South Ramp on the Box to Primal Rib on the Rainbow to the East Face on Dum to the summit. I'm hoping to link this together this fall.

 Top of Sunnyside Two with the downclimb off of Dinosaur in the background

 Cave like feature near the Box.

 Looking down into Bear Canyon from the summit.

 Captured the full moon rising last night, but a thin cloud layer prevented a good photo of the eclipse.

 I picked up an old guidebook (I like collecting guidebooks, you can learn a lot of history and obscure routes from them). Found this photo interesting - I don't think there has been a June with this much snow up high in a long time, maybe since 1982!

I got the opportunity to try some beetroot juice concentrate from Red Rush. I've been reading about nitric oxide and its benefits in terms of athletic performance (see here for some new research, and here, here, and here for previous research), but have not been able to afford/find a way to naturally get it. The beetroot juice concentrate from Red Rush seems pretty good so far, and the flavor is not bad. It may seem expensive for some, but if you think of it as being the same, if not cheaper then a coffee drink, it is well worth it.

Fairly psyched to have finished in 10th place overall in the US Skyrunning Sky series. I really wanted to get to Flagstaff for the final, but couldn't afford it. Not bad for not doing any speed all summer and mostly just trudging in the mountains. Looking forward to next year to place higher, and hopefully they will have more races in the series as well.

Put in a nice long effort in the Mount Evans Wilderness the other day. Ran about 20 miles in 3:45 at a fun pace. I missed the aspens by about a week it looked like, but still found some good views and shots. I was on the southwest side mostly, on Abyss Lake and Rosalie trails. Great trails for running - mellow grades, not too rocky, excellent views - and I didn't see a single person the entire time. Not bad for being only 1 hour from home.