The calendar states that March 20th is the first day of spring but every runner knows spring starts with daylight savings. As if on cue Mother Nature had the same idea. Colorado got hit with a blizzard on Saturday. The clocks sprang forward at midnight and Sunday brought sunshine and temps in the 40's. We are looking at several days in the 60's this week. It's time put away the headlamp and start stripping down the layers.
My training is jumping to the next level with the change of season. I got in an incident free 48 miles last week and should push over 50 miles this week. I'm running a flat FA 50k on Saturday. I'm looking forward to getting reacclimated to the higher mileage. The 50 mile weeks feel so much better than the 30 mile weeks. I love the tired and strong feeling that goes along with it.
The past couple of months I've been struggling with an internal tug of war. I'd go through some short spurts of good training and then lose interest. My goals were still too far out to really focus. The weather, darkness and the desire to be with family all played their roles. With only 8 weeks until Zane Grey it kind of clicked. I'm looking forward to my races coming up but I'm also looking forward to taking some time off after they are over. Until then it's time to focus.
I've committed to the Ken Caryl Trail Club this year. Our first meeting is on Wednesday. The Club has done some great work on the trails in recent years and I feel it's time I give back. I will also get legal access to the Willow Creek trails. That adds about 30-40% more foothill terrain. It will be a good experience that I'm looking forward to.
I've been planning a foothill traverse over the last couple of months. Details are firming up. It's looking like 20-30 miles with over 8k of climb bagging every peak along the way on the point to point run. About 40% of it is off trail. I'm trying to nail down some final details regarding private property. I'm ok with doing some poaching but I don't want to get shot.
Enjoy the extra daylight!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Commitment
With only 4 months left before my first 50 miler it is time to commit. In many ways January came with a sense of relief. I've struggled since Leadville to feel good, stay consistent with mileage and commit to a plan. A couple of things got me going.
I read a few race reports for Zane Grey and I realized this wasn't a race I could just show up for and finish. It has a reputation for being a tough track and not one report I read disputed that idea. I also signed up for the San Juan Solstice. The race sold out in less than half an hour. As planned, I committed to 3 50 mile runs in the next 6 months. This isn't happening without the training.
Prior to January I was having a hard time getting motivated. The idea of driving to a trail head and pushing the vertical in the dark burned me out mentally. I looked back on my training for 2012 and realized I did a lot of it on the roads. A 5-8 mile run out my front door seemed easy. I ran a minimum of 4 days a week in January with the majority of the runs on pavement. The stress was lifted. I wasn't getting the vertical but I was running.
Finally, I had a couple Sherpa John's Fat Ass events on the calendar. One that I looked forward to the most was last weekend. The run took place in Boulder and was going to climb 4 peaks for a total of 9,000+ vertical feet. I had only 6k of vertical for January going into Saturday so I knew it was going to be interesting. All was going fine until about mile 14 when I bit it. Hard. Bashed my knee, forearm, shoulder and racked my head a bit. It was easily the worst fall I've had running and it was on some of the easiest stretch of trail. As a result, I pulled the plug early and did not climb the final 3,000 feet and 10 miles to summit Eldorado Mt. To be honest, I wasn't ready for it at this point anyways. I ended with 18.5 miles, 6.5k in vertical and a wake up call to keep pushing. The climbing has my body aching like it hasn't it months. I'm ahead of last years pace so far and I'm ready to push to the early summer. Here are some pics of the Boulder Fat Ass. Mt Salinas, Flagstaff Mt, Green Mt. The weather was unseasonably warm for the run. We ran through some of last summer's burn on Green Mountain.
I read a few race reports for Zane Grey and I realized this wasn't a race I could just show up for and finish. It has a reputation for being a tough track and not one report I read disputed that idea. I also signed up for the San Juan Solstice. The race sold out in less than half an hour. As planned, I committed to 3 50 mile runs in the next 6 months. This isn't happening without the training.
Prior to January I was having a hard time getting motivated. The idea of driving to a trail head and pushing the vertical in the dark burned me out mentally. I looked back on my training for 2012 and realized I did a lot of it on the roads. A 5-8 mile run out my front door seemed easy. I ran a minimum of 4 days a week in January with the majority of the runs on pavement. The stress was lifted. I wasn't getting the vertical but I was running.
Finally, I had a couple Sherpa John's Fat Ass events on the calendar. One that I looked forward to the most was last weekend. The run took place in Boulder and was going to climb 4 peaks for a total of 9,000+ vertical feet. I had only 6k of vertical for January going into Saturday so I knew it was going to be interesting. All was going fine until about mile 14 when I bit it. Hard. Bashed my knee, forearm, shoulder and racked my head a bit. It was easily the worst fall I've had running and it was on some of the easiest stretch of trail. As a result, I pulled the plug early and did not climb the final 3,000 feet and 10 miles to summit Eldorado Mt. To be honest, I wasn't ready for it at this point anyways. I ended with 18.5 miles, 6.5k in vertical and a wake up call to keep pushing. The climbing has my body aching like it hasn't it months. I'm ahead of last years pace so far and I'm ready to push to the early summer. Here are some pics of the Boulder Fat Ass. Mt Salinas, Flagstaff Mt, Green Mt. The weather was unseasonably warm for the run. We ran through some of last summer's burn on Green Mountain.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Year in Review
2012 was a great year for me. I trained hard and stayed healthy through my races. I ran a personal best for a road marathon and completed my main goal of finishing the Leadville 100. Leadville was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. The experiences leading up to the race and finishing the race itself was a journey of a lifetime.
I came short of my mileage goal in large part to recovery and injuries after Leadville. My goal was 2,000 miles. I finished with 1,713.54 miles. This is a 600 mile improvement from 2011. I had a vertical goal of 200,000 feet and exceeded that with a total of 227,724!
After Leadville I was wrecked. My feet were shredded and my left shin was sore for a couple of months. My ankles were in bad shape. Every run felt like I just finished 20 miles. I fought through some of the pain and increased my mileage in November. In December I got a bad groin injury playing basketball. That sidelined me for 2 weeks. I'm just picking up again. I ran 5 times last week at 5 miles a clip and I'm starting to feel better.
I bought a new pair of trail and road shoes. I'm ready to commit to 2013. I'm hopeful that the injuries are behind me. I only have 2 races on tap so far. In April I will run the Zane Grey 50 miler in Arizona. I'm excited about the course. In late June I will be running the San Juan Solstice 50 miler. This is definitely high on my list of races I want to run. I'm sure I'll run a couple 50k or trail marathons as well. As of today I do not have a 100 mile race on my schedule. I'm not committing to one right now but there are some options later in the year if I feel the urge.
I'm looking forward to some "adventure" runs this year. I will be running the Rim to Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon. This is a 54 mile group run. It is only 2 weeks after Zane Grey so recovery will be short. I would like to run the 4 pass loop around the Maroon Bells again and improve on last year's time. We are planning on a week long family trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. I'm going to try to find a day to run out there as well.
I'm starting off 2013 with a 15 mile run. Cheers!
I came short of my mileage goal in large part to recovery and injuries after Leadville. My goal was 2,000 miles. I finished with 1,713.54 miles. This is a 600 mile improvement from 2011. I had a vertical goal of 200,000 feet and exceeded that with a total of 227,724!
After Leadville I was wrecked. My feet were shredded and my left shin was sore for a couple of months. My ankles were in bad shape. Every run felt like I just finished 20 miles. I fought through some of the pain and increased my mileage in November. In December I got a bad groin injury playing basketball. That sidelined me for 2 weeks. I'm just picking up again. I ran 5 times last week at 5 miles a clip and I'm starting to feel better.
I bought a new pair of trail and road shoes. I'm ready to commit to 2013. I'm hopeful that the injuries are behind me. I only have 2 races on tap so far. In April I will run the Zane Grey 50 miler in Arizona. I'm excited about the course. In late June I will be running the San Juan Solstice 50 miler. This is definitely high on my list of races I want to run. I'm sure I'll run a couple 50k or trail marathons as well. As of today I do not have a 100 mile race on my schedule. I'm not committing to one right now but there are some options later in the year if I feel the urge.
I'm looking forward to some "adventure" runs this year. I will be running the Rim to Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon. This is a 54 mile group run. It is only 2 weeks after Zane Grey so recovery will be short. I would like to run the 4 pass loop around the Maroon Bells again and improve on last year's time. We are planning on a week long family trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. I'm going to try to find a day to run out there as well.
I'm starting off 2013 with a 15 mile run. Cheers!
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