Spring - Training Starts

Spring - Training Starts


Today is the first day of spring, and that means training needs to get serious for any summer projects or goals to be completed. Last year I was already well into my G & T Challenge, which consumed one of my two free days every week, preventing me from focusing 100% on any other goals. This year my two main goals, as stated before, are to do Nolan's and to race in the US Skyrunning Ultra series. The two goals do not go hand in hand, as Nolan's is a long walk in the mountains, while the US Skyrunning races are fast 50Ks (Tushar is 50 miles) on fairly runnable courses. As such, I need to build massive endurance and vertical stamina, while also somehow maintaining any leg speed and tempo endurance I have gained over the winter. Not an easy task, and one that I continue to struggle with in my mind. My work and volunteer schedule keeps my life pretty tight, but my plans right now are to focus on recovery, tempo, and fast speed work during the week when I have only about 1 hour each day before catching the bus to work. On my two free days, I am hoping to spend them slogging up and down mountains to get in the massive vertical training necessary for Nolans. How these two opposing training plans mesh is up in the air, but that is the idea going in from here on out. I will also be taking a random day off when I can to try and get one more long, vertical oriented day starting in April. Not sure how it will all work out, but that is the "plan".

So, to start it off, I did the M5 challenge today. I've done this before, and it is always a killer. Run (hike) up and down Mt. Morrison's southeast ridge 5 times for a total of around 10,000' and 20 miles. It went well, but I could certainly tell that I didn't have my climbing legs as I have done more road stuff over the winter.

 Long's Peak from the summit of Mt. Morrison.

Pike's Peak from the summit. So crystal clear this morning, you could see forever...

Speaking of which, last Saturday I ran the Erin Go Braugh 7.77K race in Westminster. This was the shortest race I have ever run, and I had little idea what I was getting into. Most of the winter has been spent building a solid base, with some surge runs thrown in here and there, and an occasional tempo run as well, along with vertical slogs. I figured I would just go as fast as possible from the gun and see if I could not hold on. After a mellow warm-up, I lined up and took off with the lead pack. I instantly hit a wall but kept pushing and trying to keep pace. The pack thinned out and I soon found myself running alone. Umm, I thought that only happened in ultras, not fast road races? At the turn around, I noticed that I was not alone, and the entire 400+ field was right behind me. I kept pushing, chanting positive mantras over and over in my head and just praying that I could hold on. I could feel a good burn in the legs, and my stomach started to get acidic, but I just steeled my eyes on the finish and kept pushing. I crossed the finish line and instantly threw up, right there off to the side. Nothing bad, mostly just a tad bit of water/stomach acid. This is the first (and only) time I've every tossed my stomach after only running for 4.8 miles! I guess I was pretty much at my limit. At the results, I found out I was 8th overall, and 2nd in my age group, which was a shocker. Pretty good for a MUT oriented runner I think. I might have to see if I can't loose my breakfast in an even shorter race!

Notice my hat above, pretty cool. Here is a better shot.

I got it from the magazine Like the Wind, out of the UK. I also wrote a piece for them, which finally showed up in their latest issue. Pretty psyched to have my name in print alongside Bill Rodgers (yes, him), Dakota Jones, Guy Oliver, and a slew of other running writers.

I had a good friend make me some custom snow tools for this coming season. Made by Paul Sibley, one of the original climbers of the area from back in the '60s and '70s, he did a great job. They are made of aluminum and titanium and are perfect for moving fast over snowfields on the local mountains. I got a set of two, one for each hand.

Ran up Grays and Torreys a week or so again, testing snowshoes once more. Not much snow compared to last year, but I still really enjoy the mountain and area. Soon the better lines will open up and some serious adventures can be had.

The Apex trails are running so nice right now...

Got a first-hand look at the Rowdy Mermaid kombucha brewery yesterday. Jamba is turning out some incredible flavors and brews. If I could, I'd drink a bottle a day simply for the health reasons.

Finally, I picked up about 200 pairs of old, used running shoes from BRC Littleton. I was thinking, most people are excited about spring because of the flowers, longer days, warm weather, etc. I picked up these shoes, filling my little VW Rabbit to the max, and was thankful that it was warm enough to keep the windows down. Nothing like a car full of used running shoes with the windows up and the heat on...

Local Runs, Muscle Fatigue And Exhaustion, Twitter, Transvulcania

Local Runs, Muscle Fatigue and Exhaustion, Twitter, Transvulcania


Been trapped to the local hills lately, and with a couple big plans this summer I've been trying to get in some solid vert. and miles. My local mountain is Lookout Mountain, which if you approach from Chimney Gulch can give you 2,000' of vert in one go, and if you approach from Apex is about the same. The other day I did a Double Lookout, which involved going up Apex and then on to the top of Lookout before dropping down Chimney Gulch to the highway. I then turned around and reversed the route, getting in 18 miles and 5,000' of climbing in 2:46. It was a mellow day, and I only ran into a few other people out on the trails, which was really nice as I imagined I had the whole mountain to myself. Today, with the new snow I did 4 laps on Apex for 16 miles and 4,200' of climbing in 2:31. I was wearing the new La Sportiva Bushido's today, which I got a demo pair to try out. They felt pretty good. They were really light and nimble, but also felt like they had a lot of stability and the extra rubber on the toe just bumps off any rocks you may hit. I'll be putting them through some solid miles before giving a final verdict and review.

In between I tried to do a track session to see if my times had increased at all. Sunday morning was the day the blizzard rolled in, so I was out trying to push through 400s and 800s with sleet, snow, and freezing wind/rain. Needless to say, my times were about the same, which given the conditions I will take as a sign of improvement. If it had been nice with no wind, I think my times would have reflected a bit of an improvement. Hopefully next Sunday will be good.

I joined Twitter a week or so ago, and have really enjoyed it so far. I've already had a cool conversation or two with several Olympic medalists and some other runners, as well as a couple climbers and people in the biz. However, one of the more recent interesting conversations that I have just watched has been between a couple sports scientists over interpretation of data and results concerning muscle fatigue and exhaustion. The article that started it off, and has now been edited, is here. On Twitter Samuele Marcora really took Ross Tucker to task, and the back and forth between the two was great to watch and learn from. A couple interesting articles were posted (here and here). Needless to say, the research concerning whether muscle fatigue actually causes muscle exhaustion is very interesting, and from what I can gather, Samuele Marcora and colleagues work demonstrates that muscle fatigue does NOT cause muscle exhaustion. This is big in terms of endurance sports, and points to other things going on then just muscle fatigue and lack of energy. For example, is there a Central Governor, and can you defeat it? Apparently yes, there is one and yes it is possible to bypass it. How and whether you can at will is still up for debate. My degree is in psychology, and I certainly have had experience and know others who have been able to harness their mind to push beyond fatigue situations. There have also been times, however, when that has not been possible - the level of exhaustion was too great to overcome. The question is, how do we distinguish between these two situations and use that knowledge to our advantage.

Transvulcania was an amazing race, as always. A good video on some behind the scenes stuff with KJ and others here. There is also a nice interview with Sage Canaday from a Spanish website here (interview in English). My biggest question is how does KJ handle the downhills? Skimo is almost equivalent to speed hiking/running up hills, so I can understand how he does so well on the climbs, but skimo does nothing for the downhills and your quads. Does he just have a really soft touch? Can he just suffer better then anyone else? I would imagine his quads would blow up, especially on the 8,000' downhill near the end, but they didn't. Simply amazing.

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.

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.

Apex

Apex

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

Snow Day

Snow Day


Well, I couldn't make it up to the Leadville Marathon with all of this new snow (side note - second time I've seen a Subie in a ditch on US 6), so I just did a fun urban run tagging the three high points from my place: Apex, South Table, Lookout. This run turned out to be a better training run than I thought because the trail sections up to each summit were power hiking slogs through powder, while the connectors were plowed bike paths that allowed for a good running pace. The alternation between running 7min pace and power slogging through snow works one of my many weaknesses.

Apex Loop

Apex Loop

Nice morning on the Apex Loop. Spring is really starting to show her colors. 9.5 miles, 1:18, 2,200'