February 2013 Summary

Runs - 11
Workouts - 7
Running Days - 11
Average Running Miles per Day - 9.5 Miles
Vertical Feet Climbed - 14,000 Feet

It's easy to look at the Running numbers and call it a bad month.  However I call it an outstanding month.  I had a game plan, stuck with it and it paid off nicely.

A few hard workouts to start out the month which included some great speed work and logging in miles clocking in the mid 5's.  A nice 8 day taper.  Successful race day.  12 days of recovery that saw me get out once for an 8 mile hike around Falcon.

I was a bit wrecked after the race but it had nothing to do with running.  You see I had gone out to Moab solo and wanted to get back to Denver Sunday morning as it was my daughter's birthday.  Alarm was set at 1:30am with the goal of making it in time for her 7am waking up.  Funny thing was I couldn't sleep after the race.  Just wired.  Even after a full meal and a few beers.  So at 11pm Saturday night, I loaded my car and bombed it back home.  350 miles in 5 hours and 2 minutes flat which included one brief stop along the way.

I couldn't sleep once I got home and I didn't get any shut eye till my little one's nap time.  Some 32 hours after I had initially woken up on race morning.  Took me a few days to get back into the swing of things.

From a running perspective, I felt pretty good after the race.  It crossed my mind to run but it's February and I saw absolutely no need to rush back to it.  I've never given a rat's butthole about my weekly, monthly or yearly stats.  Therefore a healthy recovery was the path taken to close out the month.

I'm not one to give a "Review" on running shoes but did want to show off the new La Sportiva Helio's I received a month back.  I was hoping to consider them a running option for Red Hot but the first pair I received were a size to small.  Add in the fact that they ran out of inventory and I didn't get my pair till a week before race day.

One 9+ run in snowing conditions around Matthews/Winters Park.  They fit pretty tight similar to the Cross Lites.  However much looser around the heal which I hope corrects itself over time.  They ran a size bigger then the C-Lites which is why I had to return my initial pair.  Very comfortable as well.  The cushion is there, almost to a default.  I felt like I need to exert a lot of effort to run at a faster pace.  Lack of responsiveness?  Again, it's been one run but I look forward to putting in a long slow days in these shoes.  However I'll likely be leaving them at home on faster shorter tempo runs.

Outside of a week off from the gym immediately after the race, this month was a huge step forward with Strength Training.  The right should is still a tad achy but more so from tossing my daughter up and down into the air.

I've also decided to take on a challenge I use to take on back in the days.  The 100 Push Ups per Day for a Year Challenge.  I did 0 push ups in January so I'm a bit behind schedule.  Feb saw nice steady improvements.  I'm in a hell of a hole already but think I got a legit shot at hitting 36,500 by Dec 31st.  

Year-To-Date Target: 5,900
Year-To-Date Actual: 1,520
Variance: 4,380


Looking Forward

I'll start out March on the road with the family in the San Juan's celebrating some belated birthdays so training will have to wait.  After that though, I'm really eager to get back into the swing of things.  Running will start out slow but I'm sure I'll be getting after it (weather permitting of course) by months end.  Same with the strength training.  I am really enjoying how the body is responding to weight lifting and plan to push just as hard this month as I have in prior months.

I've decided not to run the Salida Marathon the second week of the March.  Tough decision to make but I've simply been out of town to much lately and the funds I'd be using for the race will be better spent come spring time for races.  Especially for the trip to the State of Washington in May.

Moab's Red Hot 55K - Anger Took Over

The past few months of training have been solid.  Or as solid as one can expect them to be during the coldest and darkest months of the year.  I had an idea of what I could expect of myself.  One little problem, I had never run this race before.

With all that I set myself a small game plan.  

1) Splits at each of the 5 aid stations (honestly had no idea how aggressive or passive they were).  

2) Fuel and hydrate on a consistent basis.

3) Hope the winter training was enough to carry me in under 5 hours.  

(The Start - Sunrise over the La Sal's) 

I can't tell you how great it was to start a run in sunlight and in mild temps which I believed hovered in the upper 20s.  With an increase to the numbers of those running the race, I put myself near the front in hopes of not getting bounced around in the early miles.  

(The Start - Despite all the down jackets, it wasn't nearly that cold)

Wasn't sure what to think of WA saying mile 3 came in at 6:51 but thankfully the surrounding views distracted me quickly as we continued on.  

Aid Station #1 (Mile 5) came and went without me stopping.  The views were amazing, the running terrain blah.  Basic non-technical dirt roads with one short steep section in the mix.  More of the same and things finally got fun around mile 8ish.  Slick rock, sandy washes, steep ups and some couple of feet drop offs.    

Around Mile 10 I stopped to enjoy the views for a tad to long.  Standing some 1,000 feet above Arches National Park below and on the other side of the highway.  I caught myself tracking the paved road thru the Park.  Found Balanced Rock, the Windows Section and then started to look for Delicate Arch.  "Crap, I'm in a race!" is what I thought before motoring off to Aid Station #2 (Mile 11.5).  Again I didn't stop as I had enough to carry me thru Aid Station #3 (Mile 17).

It was AS#3 were I refilled on water.  A stop lasting less then a minute.  3 aid stations down and roughly 5 minutes ahead of my self imposed split.  "Was I running to hard and leading to an epic blow up?" is all that crossed my mind.     

Up to this point I was moving at a pretty good clip.  I never once felt great during the race, but in all honesty, I felt pretty damn good and just stuck with it.    

While stunning and highly enjoyable, the footing and terrain starting at roughly mile 19/20 gets pretty gnarly.  At the time, I wasn't sure if I was blowing up or if I were just off my game.  I tried to lie to myself.  Telling myself to walk a steep section in hopes of saving something for the end.  At times I honestly was taking it conservatively.  Other times my slow walk was all I could muster.  I would get passed but also pass others. At almost 3 hours of running hard, this is to be fully expected.  The only reason I was able to keep a positive mind set was my flat and downhill running was usually done faster then those around me.  

Starting around mile 22 I would occasionally lead a group for a minute or two.  Bad idea.  I got lost so many times.  Time actually lost wasn't anything but the effort to correct my error was taxing.  At one point I apologized to the runner next to me for missing the flagging yet again.  The runners response who happened to be Ian Torrance was "I've run this 5 times now and I still have no idea where to go".  

Shortly after I was hitting my low point.  My pace was at it's slowest it had been all day regardless of terrain. I was starting to cramp badly.  Mentally, the wheels had already started to fall off.  Only thing that crossed my mind was I went out way to fast.  Runner after runner was passing me by.  Then Woody came passing me by.  It was great seeing him run so strong this late in the game and I tried to use that as motivation.  But every time I looked up he just appeared farther and farther away.  Man did he put a gap on me in such a short distance.    

I literally stumbled into Aid Station #5 (Mile 28).  I re-tied my shoes.  Threw down a cup of water, 2 cups of soda and S-Cap and looked at my watch.  For the first time all day I was behind my splits.  By a damn 15 minutes!  4 hours and 15 minutes on the clock.  5 1/2 to 6 miles left.  45 minutes to go under 5 hours.  I put my head down and started to run out of the aid station doing some math and self doubting.  

I didn't have a shot in hell is what I thought in breaking 5.  I crested the first little hill out of the aid station and my hairs stood up on my arms.  Behind The Rocks, Amasa Back, Canyonlands NP, Dead Horse SP.  All right there in what felt like touching distance.  I had no choice but to give this last portion of the course hell and for the first time in almost an hour I was moving fast again.  

Sad thing is it didn't hurt to move fast again.  I hadn't blow up.  I simply stopped trying to run strong cause it was hard.  How f'ing lame! I got pretty angry about all this.  Angry about all those runners I let pass me by over the last few miles.  Angry at letting all my hard work over the last few months possibly go to waste.

I ran every step from AS#5 to the finish.  The only thing I can clearly recall is cursing a lot to myself.  Every time I encountered a steep embankment, a technical downhill, a patch of ice or that damn sandy trail.  Any time I could have taken it easy I pushed myself even more.  I can't tell you how many 55K folks I passed.  What I did know was I didn't get passed once.  I also recall somehow catching up to Woody.  Seriously how did that happen.  Was hoping he would tag along for the last mile.  Instead I got to witness him cross the finish line shortly after me.

4 Hours, 54 Minutes and something 30 Seconds.  27th Place overall.  Crossing that finish line felt so fucking satisfying.

(The Finish Line - Fantastic end to the race)

Drinking a few more ounces of water here and there, popping in a few more S-Caps and minimizing that low point are the only things I would have changed about the race.  Otherwise I was very happy with how I executed my race.    

Hanging out after the race and drinking a beer with Woody was fantastic.  Oh and Woody, the Butternut Squash Apple Bisque was amazing! 

Funny thing about the race.  I was hanging out with my friend Hillary (who ran 6:03 in her first ultra!) and she was talking with a few others about the big accomplishment.  They all talked about going out and celebrating.  Asked if I wanted to celebrate the big finish.  I politely declined.  I didn't say this to them, but completing this race isn't a big deal to me.  Yeah I worked hard and am VERY proud of my effort.  Even more so for them and their finishes.  But this race is simply one step in preparing for this falls RRR100.  It's the only mind set I can have with running and it's now time to move on to the next series of steps which is preparing for the SJS50 in June.  

(The stunning Jackson Trail on the other side is a must do run)

January 2013 Summary

Runs - 23
Workouts - 4
Running Days - 23
Average Running Miles per Day - 10.7 Miles
Vertical Feet Climbed - roughly 25,000 Feet

There are certain time periods in the year when work for me becomes absolutely chaotic.  Roughly 10 days in December and the first 17ish days of January was one of them time periods.  You know it's going to be a long work week when it's 8am Monday morning and you've already logged in 10 hours of work on the week.  70 hour work weeks make juggling other aspects of life very interesting.

I am by no means complaining.  I actually don't mind it one bit as it allows me to enjoy the down time that much more.  It also forces me to manage my time personal time that much more effectively.

I hit my Running goal of 23 days for the month.  However I fell short of the miles per day simply because I didn't have enough hours (much less minutes) left in the day to do more.  Getting home at 11pm wired and maybe falling asleep by 2am leaves me sleeping in till 7am the next day.  Off to work and having an hour plus lunch window to sneak in 6 or so miles.  No ideal but better then nothing.

I took advantage of the weekends logging in some solid miles.  Highlight was the PPFA in the Springs area.  Graciously hosted by JT!  Well done my friend and thank you again!  It was my second year in a row to run the event.  I knew I was going to miss last years route due to the horrible fires of 2012, but little did I know that this year route was equally stunning.  I never felt great during the run but felt solid the whole time out.  Added on a tad more miles and vert from the planned course with my friend Hillary in preparation for Red Hot. Would have like a few more miles but couldn't pass up the temptations of cold beer.

Weightlifting has taken a back seat this month due to 1) a busy schedule and 2) the recovering right shoulder.  I ended up passing on a cortisone shot and opting for a time off.  At the end of the day it's a damn bursa sack that inflamed but thankfully recovering nicely.  While it's nothing I document on paper, I easily spent 3 to 4 days a week working on various body parts.  Core, Hips, Balance using only my body weight.

It's the focus on my hips that I am most proud of as I seem to pay little to no attention to that body part and it always results in the rest of my lower body breaking down.

Looking Forward

February 16th is the Moab Red Hot.  I'm still not excited about the huge increase to runners allowed in the race, but very excited about spending time around the Colorado Plateau!  Hopefully the weather is nice enough to drag the family out to the race and spend a nice long weekend around the area afterwards.

After one more weekend of solid running, I'll start my taper a good 12 days out.  This should leave me plenty of time to enter the race well rested.  After that, I'm taking the remaining 12 days of the month completely off.  February will be a light running month but hopefully I'll have a solid race effort to show for it.

I've also decided to add the Salida Marathon to the race list in early March.  I'll be treating this event as nothing more then an easy long run and more looking forward to hanging out with friends afterwards with some cold beer.    

December 2012 Summary

Runs - 20
Workouts - 7
Injured - 0
Running Days - 20
Average Miles per Running Day - 11.25 miles
Vertical Climbed - 25,000 feet

The Bad -

The Shoulder:  Continues to give me some serious fits even after extensive physical therapy.  Apparently the next step is a Cortisone Shot in a few weeks.  While I'm not thrilled with this, anything to assist with the healing would be greatly appreciated.

The Good -

Running:  There were numerous opportunities to go out for a run or to tack on a few extra miles to an already existing run.  Never once did I jump at the opportunity and for that I'm a better runner.  With only 20 runs this month, I still felt that I had a strong training month with a huge emphasis on quality.  I also feel that I'm in a great position (physically and mentally) as I enter the 6 week period leading to the Red Hot Moab 55K.

Weightlifting:  Similar to last month, I made the most out of what my body could handle.  Arms, core and legs all benefited.  Back...a little.  Chest and shoulders not at all.  Frustrating but I tried not to let that deter to much.  

Looking Back - 

I've done "a look back" type review in the past but didn't want to have a post focused on it this year.  In short, this past year was simply fantastic.

The results weren't there from a racing stand point, but the progress I made as a runner is extremely evident to me.  More importantly, the miles I was so fortunate to share with so many other runners this past year has made for the most fun I've ever had on the trails.

Looking Forward -

With the focus on the immediate future and running, I'm hoping mother nature and work play nice and allow me to build upon the strong month of December.  If so, Moab's race in February will be a lot of fun!  I also can't wait to tackle the new Fatty course in Colorado Springs in a few weeks.  

Up Next...2013

One item not listed below is my desire to give back in a small way to the running community.  Volunteering at races.  Something that I use to do on a rather frequent basis.  I hope to volunteer at least twice at ultra events this year.  For now, my plans:

February - Moab Red Hot 55K.  I recently found out that this race has expanded it's field from roughly 350 to 1,000 folks.  Huge disappointment!  It actually crossed my mind to pull out of the race.  However this trip is a good excuse to visit Moab and then swing over to Telluride and then Durango right after the race.

March - Salida to Turret Marathon.  I'm still on the fence with this one but would love to give it a go.

May - This was the month that gave me the most trouble figuring out what to race.  First I was hoping to jump into the Miwok 100K lottery, but we have a wedding to attend that weekend here in town.  Then I thought about heading back to Los Alamos, NM for Jemez.  However, after some discussion, a family vacation would be best and traveling to a part of the country we've never been to won out.

Sun Mountain 50K.  Situated along the eastern flanks of the North Cascades National Park in Washington.  I'll take a week off from work and we'll rent a tiny car and just drive back and forth over the Cascades of Washington with no real game plan other then running the race.   I still might consider the 50M but I don't want to waste a whole day running while on vacation.

June - San Juan Solstice 50M.  No way I'm missing out on my favorite race!

August - Telluride Mountain Run.  My hunch is if the RDs get the permits/permission they need, this race will be scary tough.  I am very eager to see what beautiful course is finally decided on.  However the reality of me attempting this race is up in the air.  Simply because it's 5 weeks before my next race....which actually might make sense.  Hmmmmm....

September - Run Rabbit Run 100M.

Here's to 2013 being just as awesome and exciting as 2012 was!

Thoughts On My Failed 100 Miler

There I was, some 28 plus miles and 7,500 feet of climbing into a run.  At the top of Tower's Road which marked the final big climb of the day of Fort Collin's 2012 Chubby Cheeks run.  I stopped for a brief moment and was a bit pissed off.

Not because of my current run.  On the contrary.  My run that day went great.  What I was pissed at was comparing my current run with what happened 3 1/2 months ago as I entered Mayqueen at roughly mile 13.

I have refrained from looking back at my failed 100 mile experience in fear of commenting on items shortly after they happened.  I felt it's been best to let the dust settle and then comment.  While there were numerous things that could have gone better (like not having to squat in the woods so much), two things have become clear as day to me:

1)  I had over trained.
2)  I really had no interest at being on the start line of Leadville.

Over trained - I'll be completely honest.  I never thought I had the possibility to over train   Especially for a race this distance.  However the signs were right there and I overlooked them.  The first sign was on my last real mountain run.  The Pawnee/Buchanan Loop.  I was tired from the get go.  I just assumed it was a lack of sleep over a long work week.  In hindsight, I should have started my taper there.  Some 26 days before race day.

Instead I hammered out a few more tempo runs up to 13 miles long in the following days and another 20 miler around Mt Falcon a week later.  The 20 miler was slow but required way to much effort from previous attempts at the same exact distance.  I was exhausted the rest of the day.  Instead of starting my taper, I continued on.

With yet another 20+ miler, in Leadville at night, two weeks before Leadville.  The quads were exhausted but I pretended that wasn't the case.  There I was some 3 miles away from BF's house and I'm running with folks I had no business running with.  NC, NMP, a former Olympian with his film crew and a few others who are much better runners then myself.   I justified my running being easy as I was drinking a beer by this point.

I started my taper the next day.  13 days before the race.  But it was apparently too late.  Every run after that was tough.  I was hoping it was nerves leading up to race day.  It wasn't.  It was simply exhaustion.

While my journey to Leadville exhausted me, my journey at Leadville simply put me over the top.  My body wanted no more, it was D.O.N.E.  I'm not sure anything could have been done differently on race day to get me to the finish line.

Funny to look back at how exhausted I truly was.  But at the time I simply didn't see it.  Or I didn't want to see it.  Following the race nothing hurt, nothing was injured, but running was just tough.  The smartest thing I did was simply allow the body to recover on it's own by letting it dictating what to do and what not to do.  It took roughly two whole months to fully recover.  

Not Leadville - I've been up to Leadville 100 4 of the last 6 years now.  I observed from afar, paced and tried running the amazing event.  I have nothing but absolute respect for the race and it's history.  But at the end of the day, it's not a race for me.

I choose Leadville mainly because I knew the course, I had friends who were running it, and because it made sense for a person with a wife, a daughter and a career that can consistently consume 60 hours of work a week.

In all honesty, I never saw the Leadville course as a good fit.  Not because it was 100 miles but because I saw a course that required way to much running and one that wasn't of the mountain element (yeah it's high in elevation but it's not a true mountain up and down run and far from scenic with the exception of Hope Pass).

What I disliked most about Leadville was what many love about the race.  It's popularity   It's crowds.  It's insanity.  None of this was my cup of tea.  

2013 - This past September, I caught myself really missing not being at Steamboat for the races even though I had no interest in running more then a few miles. Like the towns sprinkled in and around the San Juans, the Steamboat area is a place that I feel at home.  I can't say that about any other mountain town here in Colorado.  You can have Aspen, Breck, or Vail but give me Telluride, Durango and Steamboat any day.    

I posted a blog last year asking which 100 miler I should sign up for.  At the time Steamboat wasn't on the list as it wasn't officially announced.  Though I had a hunch it would be soon.  A day after the 2011 Steamboat 50, I was chatting with Fred.  He asked if I were coming back in 2012.  I said only if he was hosting a 100.  He said with a grin, I might, I might not.  Thanks Fred for the specific answer!

Had I known about Steamboat last year prior to signing up for Leadville, I would have choose Steamboat regardless of it being a first time event.  Now we are weeks away from various race registrations opening.  Decision time for many.

For 2013, I'm all in for the Steamboat 100.  Regardless of what issues might have occurred this year, I'm confident that Fred will host a fantastic race next year.  A race that fits my running style with lots of ups and downs.  A no frills race (for the slow folks at least).  A race that my family can be a part of without being mauled over by overzealous crew members.

Nothing is guaranteed with the 100 mile distance.  There are also so many variables one has to deal with.  What I can control is learning from my mistakes from training in the past and being at a start line of a race that I truly want to be a part of.

As for other start lines I want to be a part of next year, I'll follow up with that shortly.

A Fort Collins Chubby Cheecks

Now that was fun!

Awesome job by Mr Clark and his family for hosting such a great gathering.  I started with the 7am grouping not knowing how far I'd run or with who I'd run with.  Thankfully there were a handful of familiar faces at the start and I figured I'd go as far as they did.  Which was the whole distance.  Just a great day out  with some great folks and luckily got the run in before the horrible weather literally blew in later that afternoon.

Stats read 6 hours 5 mins of running (which sounds about right) and just over 8,000 feet of climbing (which might be overstated a tad).

While on the top of Horsetooth Rock, a conversation was had of how difficult it was to make it into work at 8am, yet here we were drinking a PBR on top of a mountain at 7:55am.

Down the hill and back up then down again and up once again and we're on top of Arthur's Rock splitting another PBR.

Another pit stop for pretzel's and beer at the Arthur's trail head and we were left with one last climb.  Overall I felt great on the day with the week coming in at 70 miles on 5 runs.  The most weekly miles since early August and easily the best I've felt since late July.