Around Mt. Falcon, Stretching, Everest, And Videos

Around Mt. Falcon, Stretching, Everest, and Videos


Ran around Mt. Falcon early this morning. I really enjoy doing the outer loop of the peak from the bottom lot - up Turkey Trot, then up to Meadow, Old Ute, Devil's Elbow, Parmalee, Tower, and then back down. The route tags the high points and takes you out to Devil's Elbow for a nice view south on a trail not many travel. Ran into tons of wild turkey tracks today, with only a fleeting glimpse of one turkey in the woods. I think the loop is around 13 miles and 3,000' of gain, which is basically the same as the loop I ran Monday. Need to find one with a few extra miles on it to get into the neighborhood of 16-18 miles.

The New York Times had a post on "reasons not to stretch" which was being passed around FB by some runner friends. I commented that the two articles discussed in the post really argue for not doing greater then 45 second static stretches prior to workouts, and not necessarily to not stretch. Here are the two articles (here and here). I do some 10-20 second "stretches"/poses prior to my runs, along with some leg swings, back cracks, etc. (but really I just warm up as I go), and every night I try and do a 20 minute routine of more static (greater then 30 second) stretching which I believe helps with injury prevention and relaxation. My problem with the NYT article is that it just uses the word "stretching" without any qualifications. The studies themselves make these qualifications, but most people don't read the actual studies. I guess everyone, even the NYT, is looking for clickbait headlines.

I put up a post one of the bouldering areas Tara and I developed over the past 4 years called The Titans just outside of the Indian Peaks on the west side of the Divide. I back dated it and kept it fairly vague so that the area retains it's adventuring feel.

I won't get into the whole Everest thing, as it has been out of control for years now and I have no desire to climb the peak, at least not using expedition style means. However, I like to honor the early pioneers, and on this day in 1983 Swiss alpinist and mountaineer Edouard Wyss-Dunant passed away. I mention him because he led the 1952 Swiss expedition to Everest that was responsible for opening up the Khumbu Icefall (the location of this years tragic avalanche). This is now the standard route on Everest, but back then it was an unprecedented success to just get through the Khumbu and make it to the South Col. He also was a doctor and coined the term "the death zone" which is anything above 8,000m. Here is a video on the expedition with cool historical footage:


Finally, Salomon has released their final episode of Season 3 on Emelie Forsberg. Another great piece of eye candy for sure!

Local Mountain Loop, One World Running, And Emerald Needles Tea

Local Mountain Loop, One World Running, and Emerald Needles Tea


Been really digging my local mountain loop - up Apex, over to Lookout and around, then down Chimney Gulch and back. 13 miles and 3,000' of gain. With some good trail sections, some road sections to work on turnover and tempo, and some solid downhill singletrack sections, this loop has it all. Seems pretty quite in the mornings as well, except for the elk which I run into regularly.

I've been helping out Sandrock and One World Running for a number of years now - helping with international customs, fundraisers, collecting shoes, etc. It's really an amazing organization, run all by volunteers, no staff, on a shoestring budget. They personally hand wash every pair of shoes donated, match them up, then ship them to different countries, and hand deliver the shoes to kids in need. They also put on fun races in Cameroon, Belize, Honduras, Cuba, and other places to get the local community involved in running and exercise. Here is a poster for one of their upcoming trips to Honduras is anyone wants to go. If you run, you can donate your shoes by dropping them off at Runner's High in Golden, Boulder Running Company in Boulder or Cherry Creek, Fleet Feet stores, and Runner's Roost stores, as well as a bunch of other locations.

Yesterday's tea was a wonderful large-leaf green tea from the Hengduan Mountains (Simao district, Yunnan province) of China. Picked about 5 weeks ago, this early spring harvest tea (Emerald Needles) was only lightly roasted and minimally processed to preserve it's green, vegetal flavors. During my hectic day yesterday, it was my only moment of peace.

G & T 36 And Jing Gu Yang Ta And Long Distance Logs

G & T 36 and Jing Gu Yang Ta and Long Distance Logs


Ran up G & T for the 36th time yesterday. Sweet spring conditions up high finally. The freeze thaw cycle has begun, so it was not necessary to use snowshoes for most of the route. Up high, around 13,500 I put them on since I didn't have any other gear with me to help navigate the 2,000' slide zone you have to cross coming back from Torrey's. The Atlas Run snowshoes are fairly light, so I didn't really notice carrying them in my hands the rest of the time. Might be the last time I will use them this season unless it dumps again. Also, my times are starting to drop again as I can move faster over the consolidated snow, as opposed to this winter. Still not nearly as fast as summer, but 4:17 for the RT will work.

The other day I re-visited a nice dark red tea from China. Called Jing Gu Yang Tu (Drunk on Red), the tea is from the fall 2011 harvest. It was then roasted, bruised, and finally sun dried before being pressed into small cakes like a Pu-erh. It has been aging in the basement for the past 2+ years. A large leaf tea from Yunnan, China, I really enjoyed it over the course of the afternoon.

UROC released the maps of their 2014 100K course. I can't tell if there is 11,000' of climbing per loop, for those the entire 100K course. Seems like this new version diverts from the original idea of having a course that does not favor one type of runner. I wonder how well it will go over.

Running legend and inspiration Browning Ross was born today (in 1924). He helped found the Road Runners Club of America. He also started one of the first running magazines, the Long Distance Log, which you can download and read here. From the first issue:

"Emil [Zatopek], tell us something about your style?" "How often have I been reproved for not having a beautiful style. My answer has always been that I shall learn to have a better style once they start judging races according to their beauty. So long as it's a question of speed then my attention will be directed to seeing how fast I can cover the ground."

Still so true today.

Track, Apex-Lookout-Chimney, Fat Dog, Tie Kuanyin

Track, Apex-Lookout-Chimney, Fat Dog, Tie Kuanyin


I keep going back and forth in my mind about what to share here, how much, and if I should keep it strictly related to running/climbing or should I add other stuff. Still not sure on all of that, but I like to share cool things on FB and Twitter, so we will see.

I'm slow. That is for sure. I really want to do speed work on a regular basis, especially since I enjoy sunrise track sessions. However, after doing G & T every week, some recovery runs, usually a tempo run, and then another vertical run I just don't seem to consistently be able to get speed work in. I'm going to try and change that this spring, as I know I could greatly benefit from some consistent speed work. I'm aiming for Sunday sunrise sessions at the Bell track in Golden (if anyone ever wants to join in). Last Sunday we made it for a great workout, with 4 x 400 and 4 x 800 with 400 recovery jogs between each. My times were pathetic, as I was still tired from G & T and a North Table tempo the days before. 93, 88, 87, 88 for the 400s and 3:31, 3:29, 3:21, 3:25 for the 800s. Obviously not my area of expertise, but I'm hoping to keep at it and reap the benefits.

Old-school gravel track with no lanes or markings. I'm not sure how accurate my 400s and 800s are. I just draw a line and do a full circle, no stagger start so it might be a bit long?

Although I've only been racing for 2 years and done only a few races, there are not too many that really appeal to me. I'm not a good flat runner, so non-mountain courses don't hold a ton of interest unless they have something else going on. Hardrock is of course interesting, but I don't know about it, seems to high profile or something. On the other hand, Fat Dog 120 seems really cool, super hard, and the course goes through some wild country, which would be really cool. Just have to find a means to get there.

Fat Dog 120 from Project Talaria on Vimeo.

What are some other killer races? Devil's Backbone in Montana seems really cool as well. The Kite Lake Triple-Triple sounds awesome (signed up, hoping to get in). What are some others? In Colorado or within driving distance?

Spring is here finally, and it is nice to be able to stretch the legs out on the trails and bomb the downhills to build the quads with no worries about ice. Ran Apex to Lookout to Chimney Gulch and back to my house this morning. 13 miles and 3,000' of gain, with lots of good running sections. I'm going to try and do this a couple more times along with some other stuff in prep for Sageburner 50K in May. Two years ago that was my first race ever (of any distance, any kind), so it will be interesting to see how much I have improved since then. At least I have an idea of what I am doing now!

I really enjoy tea, and where I work I get to taste, order, purchase and be involved with some of the best and most outstanding teas in the world. I'll be posting a bit on the teas I drink for the fun of it. Yesterday I had the honor to drink a Tie kuanyin from the Muzha district in Taiwan. This was the 2013 Winter Distinction Prize winner, and it was a remarkable Oolong. I did five steepings at temps ranging from 160 to 175 using filtered water. The tea had so much complexity, and despite five steepings I was still not able to fully unlock it. This one could use several more as the leaves really didn't start to open until the 3rd steeping. Here is a video from the 2012 competition to give you an idea of the quality of these remarkable teas.

Not the best photo, but simply an amazing tea - gaiwan style.

G & T 35 And Heat

G & T 35 and Heat


Yesterday, as I was running up G & T for my 35th time in a row, I continued to think about my recent race performance at Cedro Peak. It was warm yesterday, and spring was in the air in the high mountains, with the snowpack finally starting to consolidate. If it keeps up like this, I will be able to run the entire thing without snowshoes in a week or two, as the snow was hard enough early in the morning to go just in my running shoes. I was thinking over my winter training, and how the heat really got to me at Cedro and helped push my stomach into the no-go zone. All winter I have conditioned myself to be comfortable at 14,000' in just three tech shirts and a nylon running jacket/wind breaker. My tolerance for cold has improved dramatically since the beginning of the season, and people seem a bit shocked when I encounter them up high in my running gear and they are in full winter clothing - pants, winter gloves, insulated coat, goretex this and that, etc. If they were in my setup, I'm sure they would be freezing, but since I've been doing it all winter, my body has become adapted to such extremes. However, what was clear at Cedro is that I am NOT adapted to heat at all. Running around North Table this morning this was hit home as I was hot and sweating much more then I should have been given my effort levels. But because it was above 60 degrees, it felt really hot to me. I may be adapted to cold, but I need to adapt fast now to heat if I am to have any success this summer. So, to the sauna it is. There is a fair bit of evidence that using a sauna for heat training can help the body adapt for running in hot weather (see here and here), and some of the studies that I have read indicate that adaptations can begin to occur after two weeks of regular heat training. We will see, but I've had problems with heat and overheating during races a couple times now, so I'm hoping that this helps with that.

Cedro Peak 45 Race 2014

Cedro Peak 45 Race 2014


On Saturday I ran my first 45+ mile race. Located just outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico in the rocky and dusty southern Sandia Mountains, the Cedro Peak 45 race looked like a good option for an early season attempt at the ~50 mile distance. Having never run a race of this distance, I didn't have a lot to go on, but I felt confident that I could manage and was excited to give it a try. Tara and I headed down Friday early, stopping in Las Vegas to do some bouldering to break up the drive. There is a little known bouldering spot just outside of town that hosts problems between V3 and V10+, and it was nice to check the zone out after about 4 years of not climbing there. Although I didn't manage to send Fugazi again (V10), I did send a few of the easier V3-V7 problems in the cave. A couple of holds have broken since the last time we were there, making for new variations to try and tackle. After a good 2 hour session we continued on down to Albuquerque for packet pickup and to get ready for the race the next day.

Cedro Peak 45 is basically a lollipop course, with a long out-and-back to the top of Cedro Peak, followed by a loop that takes you back to the top of Cedro Peak before returning on the out-and-back section. The course continues to change each year a bit (this was the 3rd year of the race) and so there was no overall course map to study. I didn't really feel nervous about the race, most likely because I didn't know what to expect.

At 6:00 am we took off from the start in the dark, just as the sun was coming up. You need your headlamp for about the first 30 minutes of the race before it becomes light enough to see all of the rocks and twists and turns in the course. The course drops, then rolls along over very rocky (mostly baseball sized cobbles and stones) and sandy trails through pinon and pine forests as it makes it way to the first aid station (Juan Thomas). During the night part of the course had been sabotaged, so the lead pack ran around for about 15 minutes back and forth looking for markers until finally someone came along who had run it last year who could direct us on the right trail. I didn't really mind, but it did bunch us up all again until we spread out a bit later. I decided to not use any drops, and went with one handheld and food in a Nathan HPL vest. I felt good, but didn't quite have the pep in the legs I was hoping for, probably because of my earlier double G & T. After the first aid station, I was pretty much alone for most of the first section, just cruising along up and down rocky and sandy washes, small hills, and through the twisting pinon and pine forest towards Cedro Peak. I worked on fueling consistently and drinking plenty of water, and I felt fairly good as the temperatures began to climb into the 70s.

This continued for most of the first 30 miles of the race, and although I started to slow a bit, mentally I was solid and happy to be out in some new mountains. Then things went south. There is a big climb up a trail called "Powerline", which is really just a scramble up the side of the peak following the powerline. I was still good, and halfway up the climb there were some guys handing out Popsicles, which at the time I though was awesome. I took one and continued up. As I climbed and finished my Popsicle, I started to get fairly hot as it was around 80 degrees in the sun, and about 2 minutes after everything in my stomach decided to come up. About 20 feet from the top of the climb, sweating like a beast I was hands on knees puking up a ton of liquid. That lasted for about a minute or so, and then I felt OK so continued on. However, I could now no longer put anything in my mouth, and when I did, I would instantly retch. I struggled for about 4 miles up the long climb to the top of the peak and down to the Cedro aid station, where I had to stop and take a seat, hoping that I could get my stomach back on track. I sat there drinking ginger-ale, taking some Tums, and just hoping things would get better. Nothing seemed to work, and I really didn't know what to do - I didn't want to DNF my first ~50miler and didn't really feel anything else was wrong, I just couldn't get or keep anything down. After about 20-30 minutes, I re-motivated, telling myself it was 7 miles to the next aid station, then 5 miles to the finish. I had some energy again, and ran the first 4 miles of the next section, until the next long climb, where once again I got really hot and retched. I would continue to retch up water about 3 more times as I SLOWLY moved along the trail, weaving, seeing spots, and feeling extremely lightheaded. I didn't hit a "wall", but since I had not been able to take in any calories for about 15 miles and 3 hours or so, I was in a weird state of total exhaustion. Finally, I made it to the final aid station, where I again had to sit and wait for about 15 minutes to come around. After downing about 1 liter of Coke and Ginger-ale, I felt good enough to take off. I was able to run once again, and started to make up some time on the people who had passed my while I was retching in the previous section. I ran in to the finish and crossed the line feeling actually fairly good in a time of 10:26:07, which was still good enough for 20th place.

Obviously, this was not the race or performance I was hoping for. But I learned three critical lessons. I was on pace for a much faster time, but when the heat got to me and the corn syrup bomb of the Popsicle hit my stomach, my race was over. I've been running in winter conditions, and this was the first time I've run in shorts and a t-shirt, let alone high 70s and low 80s. I can adjust to heat, but not that fast. I think heat training via a sauna over the winter is essential, and something that I will be looking to incorporate on a regular basis as this is now the second race where the heat has caused issues for me. The second lesson is to not take in fuel that you are not used to. Although the Popsicle seemed like a good idea, I think the combination of a bunch of straight corn syrup (as opposed to my alternation of maltodextrin and solids) and heat caused my stomach to turn. Once it turned, it was gone for the entire race. The third, and perhaps most important lesson I learned was the power of Coke. I've read about how people can run the final 20 miles of a race on Coke alone, but I never really believed it. Well, it is true. Despite not being able to even put anything else to my lips without hurling, I could down a TON of Coke and it would sit pretty, giving me almost instant fuel. I filled up my water bottle with Coke and drank it all the way to the finish. Instead of wasting 45 minutes trying to get my stomach back, I should have just slammed Coke, filled my bottle with Coke, and I could have kept moving.

Overall, the race was great. Despite the early confusion about course markings (there were other issues with the markings later in the race, and some people cut the course), the race was well run, the volunteers were really amazing, and the course itself both tough and beautiful. Now that I've got one under the belt, I'm really eager to try another because I know I can improve my time by a lot. These first races are always tough, especially when you don't perform up to your abilities, but if it had been smooth sailing, I would not have learned some valuable lessons. Now to figure out what the next race will be....

G & T 33 And 34

G & T 33 and 34


Been a busy couple days trying to work a bunch, cram two runs of Grays and Torreys into the schedule, and taper for Cedro Peak all at the same time. This is when the G & T challenge proves to not be the smartest idea. Cedro is on Saturday, and I work all day Tue-Thurs, so my only hope for keeping the challenge going was to do back to (almost) back climbs. On Friday's run the storm the night before dropped around 10" of new snow (according to Loveland, who is now at 400+ for the year - yeah, it is a big snow year), making for a slow, grueling slog fest of a run. To top it off, it was windy - of course! Today's outing was no better, with a nice blizzard arriving early in the morning and continuing throughout the climb. I'm guessing there was a fresh 6-8" by the time I made the round trip. Now I have four days to taper for my first 45 mile race. Sweet!

It's April 7th and I'm pretty sick of snow right now. Looking back at my logs, the snow didn't become a factor until Nov. 25th, at which point my time gained an hour. That was #15, and I have now completed #34, meaning that I have done G & T more in full winter-snow conditions then not. I am so ready for summer and for it to stop snowing!

Apex

Apex

Some photos from Apex yesterday morning. This is near my place, so it is a regular loop of mine.