Mines - Flora - Mines

Mines - Flora - Mines

After two days of rest from Monday's race, we took off this morning and did Mines Peak, Flora, and then back over Mines. A fairly mellow run, still recovering as well as trying to conserve for Saturday's race. However, we really wanted to get up high, so it was today or wait until next week. We cruzed up the road to the top of Mines, then down the ridge and hooked up with the Flora trail. Tagged Flora with wind gusts at least up to 30mph and headed back. Still plenty of energy, so went back up over Mines and down. 7.65 miles and 5,126 feet elevation gain and loss. It took me 1:43 today, with plenty of time on top for photos and to enjoy the views. This really makes me think how much better I could have done if I had eaten and had food on Monday's race. Lesson doubly learned.

 Look from Mines to Flora

 Top of Flora

Looking at Grays and Torreys from Flora

Sage Burner 50K - Rookie Race

Sage Burner 50K - Rookie Race


Yesterday we ran the Sage Burner 50K at Hartman's Rocks in Gunnison. This was our first ever race - trail, road, or otherwise. I've never been much of a racer, but this year I've decided to really pursue this end of the "sport". As a rookie, I made all of the classic mistakes. However, I also learned a ton and am confident that for the North Fork 50K I can improve my time substantially.

So how did it go? The first 18 miles were not really a problem, and I was about 5 spots out of first. However, it was here that I bonked. B-O-N-K-E-D. Since I had never done any kind of race before, I foolishly assumed that the aid stations would have food that I could grab to keep my energy up. Wrong. There was plenty of food: watermelon, pretzels, chips, snikers, M&Ms, as well as water and an electrolyte drink (Acli-mate - pretty good). The problem is, when you are running and trying to keep moving, these items don't really work well. I needed gels, goos, bars, etc. Lesson learned: bring your own fuel. I ran the entire 50K on no food, only water and Acli-mate.

As a result, I came in 26th overall - 6 hours, 57 minutes. A time I am confident that I can improve if only I had fuel during the race. I had plenty of water (I only used one water bottle, but my hydration was never a problem). My feet were fine (I lubed up which worked well). However, trying to run the entire 50K on no fuel turns out to be really hard. Lesson learned.

Looking back, examining the course map now that I have run the race, here is what I would do differently:

1) I started pretty good, but I did go a little fast on the downhills because of some other runners - ignore them and keep your own pace. Easy lesson.
2) Lube the feet well. This worked great, and I did not develop any blisters or sore spots over the entire race.
3) Bring your own fuel. This is the key. Next race I will be sure to have some goo or other types of energy items. I notice a lot of people slamming goos, energy jelly beans, and some other stuff. The food at the aid stations is EXTRA. Easy lesson.
4) Try and learn the course better prior to the actual race. Knowing the course is key. The Sage Burner has a TON of small ups and downs, plus some loops, that if I had known the course or trails, I would have been better able to judge how far I had, etc. This is not always possible, but something to think about.
5) Try and train more. I have only been running for the past two months, with my first run in 6 months in April. I don't think this was too big a factor in my performance (I attribute 80% of my sluggishness to having no fuel), but having only 2 months of running on the legs prior to a race may not be the smartest way to go. Easy lesson.

The course is very nice, with excellent views all along the way. It is very sandy, which is something I'm not used to running in the higher mountains. There are also an insane amount of small ups and downs. All the trails are mountain bike trails, so even when it is semi-flat, there are little woops all along the way that prevent you from getting into a longer groove.

Would I do this race again? You bet. The course switches direction each year. This year we ran down the Notch for the final. Next year it will go up the Notch first. It is hard to say, but I think going up the Notch, and having Josho's and Bambi's at the beginning as opposed to the end would be slightly easier. All and all, I am glad to have this done. I am also kinda glad that I did the entire race on no food/fuel. Sure, it screwed my time, but I now have a very powerful mental tool - I can run/shuffle/crawl 50K on nothing. Next time I'm out on a long run, or the next race, and I'm starting to feel tired, I can just tell myself that I can go another 50K before I seriously am in trouble.

I'm really looking forward to the North Fork 50K now with all of these lessons learned. I am also excited to see how much I can improve my time with some fuel in me. I would like to also thank all the people that put on the Sage Burner - everyone was super friendly, the aid stations were well placed and the volunteers were extremely nice and helpful. The race is top quality; my performance was not. Lesson learned.

Rest

Rest

One of the hardest things to do for me, and I imagine most athletes, is to rest. With the Sage Burner on Monday, these last few days have been rest days as we try and see what kind of shape we are in on such a short, accelerated schedule. Although we did a 2 hour hike yesterday, we have been trying to just "hang around", which is very difficult. Luckily, the smoke has blown in this morning from the fires in New Mexico, making me not want to really be outside and using my lungs. I sure hope it clears up a bit before Monday - and perhaps we will meet a few other folks at the race. Best of luck everyone!

Medium Long Run

Medium Long Run

We did a medium long run today as our last one before our attempt at the Sage Burner on Monday. I'm not too sure how smart it was, as most people tend to tapper a little bit more, but we wanted to get in one more semi-long day to see how we were feeling. We did a nice ~16.5 mile loop with a really good climb in it. Start at Northwest, then up the road, up Tippery, along Spruce, then up the old Deadhorse to the top. From here, down Deadhorse and then back along Creekside. High point is 10,453 feet at the top of Deadhorse, with a low point of 8,771 at Nothwest/Creekside, making it a loop with 3,364 feet of elevation. Felt pretty good on the climbs, and only a little tired on the final Deadhorse climb. It was on the run down that I got tired - could have used some energy drink or something at the bottom of Deadhorse for a little extra fuel. On this day it took me 3:02. Not good, but not bad I guess???

Deadhorse Hill Climb

Deadhorse Hill Climb

We ran the Deadhorse Hill Climb yesterday afternoon, trying to start adding in the hills now that things are melting out. The Deadhorse loop is awesome: after climbing for 4+ miles and ~1,200 feet or so, you get some spectacular views of the valley, Byers, and the surrounding area. Coming off of the previous day's 13 miler my legs felt good, but a little heavy. This was the fourth day on in a row, trying to get ready as fast as possible for the season. The loop goes up old, closed FS roads to a high point right around 10,275 before descending back to 8,800 on a secret trail that connects with Spruce Creek for a total of around 7.5 miles. I did it in 1:18 on this attempt - I think if you are fresh and really haul, you might be able to get it under an hour. Pulled the plug on the Sage Burner 50K - will see what happens as this is my first official race.

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Sunday Run

Sunday Run

Yesterday evening we did another loop run in the valley. We started at Elk Creek and went up and over Chainsaw, then along Creekside to the Leland road. Up that, then up Fools Creek to Kings Creek. Along that and back to the Leland road and on that until Sunken Bridges and then down. A nice run on excellent trails and forest roads for a total of around 13+ miles (I give an extra because of mapping errors). I did it in 1:58 this time. A touch tired in the legs from the previous hill climb and then a biking day (which I don't do, so it hit my quads).

They are logging in the Elk Creek drainage (according to the FS map, only on Elk Creek/D2, but they have closed the entire drainage). You can hit the trails on the weekends or late in the day, but otherwise they are "closed". I have no idea for how long, nor why they need to close the entire drainage? Call the Granby Ranger district for info.

Thinking of doing Sage Burner this weekend...




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Devil's Thumb Hill Run

Devil's Thumb

We ran the Devil's Thumb route yesterday late in the afternoon. This is an excellent hill climb with ~2,100 feet in elevation gain in under 3 miles. We did a shorter 6 mile hike yesterday as a recovery from our long run the day before, and decided to do the Devil's Thumb hill run to get in a good hill climb today. There is still some snow on the last .5 mile before treeline, with some serious post holing. However, it was passable and we put in a solid effort. I did it in 1:32 this time - including tagging the actual thumb.




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Long Training Run

Long Training Run

Did a longer training run today to see how things would go. Felt good most of the way, no walking on the hills and kept up a good pace for most of the flats and downs. Had three drop bags for water and fuel: one at the end of Creekside, one at the turn onto Kings Creek, and one at the top of Leland near Zoom. Seemed to work out well. Add two miles to what the map says due to mapping errors. Overall, not a bad ~23 miles run at 9,000+. Did it in 4:02 today.

Grand Surf

Grand Surf

The Grand Surf project finally went down this morning. An amazing line on an amazing boulder! Still a couple projects to be had at the Titans...

Monday Run

Monday Run

Another great loop run in the Fraser Valley! This run has three climbs and three descents, with some good flats in between. Took a slightly slower pace then yesterday's run, but still managed to put in the same time with slightly more distance. (???) Park at Deadhorse, run up Old Byers, then jump on the Byers road to St. Louis, down that to King Creek, up King Creek (second climb and third climb) to Fools Creek, then down that and back around to the trailhead. You can stay on King Creek to the waterboard road and then down, which adds 1.5 miles. Legs are feeling good, kept a solid pace on all hills and flats. Took 1:22 on this run. 

Sunday Run

Elk Creek - D2 - Waterboard - Secret Trail - Zoom

Did a faster run last night. The map doesn't have the secret trail on it (for obvious reasons), but it only adds perhaps .5 miles more of fun single track.  Really tried to push on all of the climbs and keep the pace up on the flats. Felt good overall. Did it in 1:23. Really inspired with all of the amazing trail running possibilities here - there are so many options and hardly a soul out there.

Saturday Recovery Hike

Saturday Recovery Hike

Did a quick recovery hike late on Saturday. Felt fine, but I don't want to ramp up the miles too fast, so we just decided to hike this route and see how much snow there was. As soon as Byers melts out, this is the first part of that longer run.

Friday Training Run

Friday Training Run 

Working on different loops at different paces to get ready for this season. This is the first year that I have actually done any official races, let alone kept track of routes and mileage via a website. We will see what happens...

This is a nice loop with a solid climb from Creekside up to Kings Creek road. Started out mellow and then picked up the pace once I hit the waterboard road from Creekside. Felt good on the climb, keeping a fairly decent pace from there all the way to Zoom, at which point I turned it up a notch for the decent.