In The Thick Of It

Mark and I are in the middle of the toughest part of our training at this point. All the miles we've put in over the last several months are really paying off now, so we can focus on the key workouts. I ran nearly 70 miles last week and this week looks to be a bit more. A typical week consists of one interval workout, usually with hills, and two or three days of long runs. In between those are easy miles, just to keep the legs going. Today Mike tortured us on the dreadmill with hill repeats at 13 and 15 percent grade. I hate the treadmill, but I think it allows for consistency in elevation gain and in pace, which offers a quick measure of where we're at physically.

Overall, things are going very well. I ran the Kona Marathon a couple of weeks ago as a training run and was able to keep extremely even splits over the 26 miles. It's a very hot and humid race and my goal was mainly to feel good at the end. I really hadn't trained to race it. I finished in 3:45 and was happy with my performance. Even better, I was able to start running two days later and even finished a 23 mile long run with significant elevation gain just a week after the race. It really has amazed me what I can get my body to do. I never thought I was capable of running this much over such challenging terrain, but I think the fact that I started months ago and just kept slowly increasing the effort has allowed me to get where I'm at.

Not surprisingly, my body has been more tired recently and I'm becoming more aware of the importance of rest and nutrition. I've been able to squeeze in a few naps occasionally, but I'm probably not getting enough sleep overall. I'm not a big eater either, but I'm burning a shitload of calories. So I have to also get better at refueling properly. Randi, my wife, has been so supportive through all of this, but this month the burden on her has really increased now that I'm on the trail many more hours or having to spend time resting. I couldn't do this without her.

jea

And that's a stage

Joel and I embarked on a long run yesterday that will resemble one of the 3 longer stages of TR.  It began with a few sprinkles in the morning, we were hoping to avoid any severe storms while exposed as they were forecast.  We started a loop that would in the end be 23 miles and close to 5 hours of running.  Starting at the Schultz Tank trailhead at 8000 feet, then up the Weatherford trail to Doyle Saddle at 10800.  We continued up to the top near Humphreys Peak, topping out at 12012 feet and just under 10 miles before descending the next 13 miles back to start.

We encountered a lot of traffic on the Humphreys trail with the holiday weekend in full force.  We ended up making a pit stop at Snowbowl's Agassiz lodge to refill our water.  Once we were hydrated we motored down the Kachina trail which was a long homestretch back to start.  Refueling at the car with a recovery drink and thinking about the day, we realized we are ready for this 6 day adventure and just need to fine tune a few things.

Things stay on the crazy side this week with long back to back runs this weekend and a hill workout on Wednesday.  Only 6 more weeks and the race is on.

mw

Getting Serious?

A lot of training, racing, and fun has occurred since my last post.  I entered 2 races, the first one was a 10K which I ran easy the first half and then put the gas on in the second half, and still knocked 2 minutes off of last years time.  I also entered a 15K and knocked 10 minutes off of last years time and was still recovering from a Grand Canyon run I did a few days before.  The fitness is paying off in many ways.

Weekly mileage is now creeping up into the mid 60s, with a variety of running including fartlek, threshold, and long runs.

I did a long back to back last week with no problems which means I am almost there.  This week Joel and I are finally on the same schedule so are planning a bunch of runs together.  We started with an awesome run this morning up Schultz Creek trail with Aaron, Eric, and Scott.  Tomorrow we are doing a trail fartlek, followed by a real easy 6 mile run with NATRA on Saturday, and then the biggy of the week is a 20 mile long loop over the San Francisco peaks, starting at 8000 feet, climbing to close to 12000 and then back to start.  This should be in the neighborhood of a 4 to 5 hour run and test our endurance.  Joel and I are coming together in our training both physically and mentally, which will make for an awesome week at TR.

I also took a trip to southwest Colorado to get some sustained running in above 10000 feet.  Based just out of Silverton, I ran an 8 mile easy run with 1500 feet of climbing, and then a 10 miler the next day with close to 3000 feet of climbing, its a whole different game when you are climbing above 11000 feet.

The vistas in that area are incredible and rejuvenated my running for the homestretch of training.

My oldest son went with me and allowed us some fun times, hiking, rock climbing, sitting in the hot springs, and the daily waffle cone.

I usually update Mike about my weekly progress, this last week I was at 61 miles and 9 hours of running, to which he replied "Great, now we can get started for real".  Yikes!  Except for the occasional solo long run, the training has been fun and I feel that I will be more than prepared for a great race.

mw

Long, Long, Long Weekend

In more support of the notion that I finally have a handle on my knee problems, I finished my first back to back to back long run weekend. I started off with a very early 12 mile warm up on Friday so that I could get to work on time. Then Mark and I ran 15 pretty hard trail miles on Saturday. We ran into some friends at the top of Elden and shared some awesome miles before heading back to the trailhead. I followed that up with another 15 miles on Sunday, though those were much easier miles than our Saturday run.

I've been feeling pretty good, generally, and had no trouble psyching myself up for the weekend. I was looking forward to it. This weekend was about just experiencing what it's like to run on tired legs. I've got harder weekends ahead of me, but this was my first touch. In addition to the massage, stretching, and strengthening, I've really been focusing on how lucky I am to have this opportunity.... the power of positive thinking I guess. I'm just out there enjoying myself, soaking it all in.

Next up, I leave for Hawaii at the end of this week. In addition to simply enjoying my time in paradise, I've got my trail runs planned out. I'm also signed up for the Kona Marathon which happens to be taking place the last weekend of my vacation. How can I not run it? We'll see how I feel, though. I may drop to the half if it's not feeling right. I'll be in Hawaii for vacation and my first priority is relaxation. But then again, running is relaxing..... Aloha!

jea

It's About Time...

This post has been a long time coming. Every time I thought about sitting to write about my training, I just wanted to avoid the topic. My last post, back on April 9th, indicated that everything was going great, but that I was starting to experience some kind of knee problem. Well, I've basically spent the last month and half working it out. I've sought advice from peers and professionals, researched the interwebs, rested the knee for days, stretched, strengthened, and massaged. In the weeks that I've been trying to figure this out, I've come to the conclusion, with the help of my massage therapist, that I've got a joint problem, specifically at the Proximal Tibia-Fibular Joint.

But let's get back to early April....  I backed off my training right before the Sycamore Canyon 30K and wasn't really sure how that race was going to go. In fact, in the week leading up to the race Mark was suggesting that perhaps we don't even bother doing it. I had been looking forward to it all along and ultimately we decided to make a weekend out of it and race the 30K. It was a great weekend. I wasn't my strongest, but I felt like it really couldn't have gone much better for me. The knee wasn't a factor at all, and I started to get some of my confidence back. Mark and I had a great road trip. We stayed at my sister's place by the beach, enjoyed the race along the coastal hills of Malibu, and relaxed for a few days.

I had a little boost in my confidence after the 30K, but it quickly became apparent that I hadn't really fixed anything with my knee. I just rested it. The pressure I felt in the joint and the occasional pain continued. In light of the problem, I also started to question what to do next with my training. If I just upped my mileage again I feared that I would be right back where I was at the beginning of April. I knew I needed to make some kind of change.

I thought about seeing a doctor, maybe a physical therapist. I also continued to seek out articles on the web. After reading some stuff by John Ball, a chiropractor that marathon sensation Ryan Hall uses, I had a realization that I need to try to improve how I stretch and roll out my muscles. Ball talked about how some athletes are afraid to cause themselves pain at home, then they come into the office and expect him to do it. I took that as a prompt to get in there and do some deep tissue massage. One evening, I rolled the shit out of my leg. I felt a painful knot in my thigh, just to the outside and above my knee. So, I massaged that out with my thumbs. The next morning my whole thigh felt kind of bruised. But as the day wore on, I also felt a noticeable difference in my knee... less pressure and no pain. I went for a run that afternoon and felt really good. I got pretty excited at the prospect that I may have found something that could improve my condition.

At that point I decided I needed to find a local sports massage therapist and, after talking to some running friends, found Geoffrey Bishop. Geoffrey specializes in athletes and has worked with lots of elite runners. As we've worked together over the weeks, we pinpointed my problem to the tibia-fibular joint. I now feel like I've got a plan to help manage my problem. I regularly do some core strengthening, targeted stretching, and massage. I finally feel like I've got some direction in dealing with my knee. And this has freed me up to refocus on my TR training, too. I'm back to a regular training program and have steadily increased the frequency of my runs, and my mileage.

It probably doesn't come across in this post, but I've really felt like I've been on a roller coaster these past 6 weeks. I've done a lot of thinking about what I want out of this and how I'm going to get there. I've never lost sight of the fact that I will run TRR. That's never been in doubt. But I'm listening to my body more and relying less on rigidly sticking to some training plan. I'm trying to have more fun with this process because it's not just about running TransRockies, it's about getting there. I want to enjoy this part of it and not constantly stress over my weekly mileage. I love to run and I love to run on trails. If I'm just focused on the race, I'll miss all that I'm running by right now.

-jea

Training Phase Two

Seems like phase 1 of training is long gone and the 30K seems like ages ago.  I am now in week 3 of my training with coach Mike Smith.  I am continuing with a lot of base training with workouts thrown in a couple of days a week.  Mike says we will get to specific TRR type of training in June.

So far everything feels great and even better than during the base training.  I am running about the same time and mileage that I was running at the end of the base training.  I am also adding some workouts to help with turnover.  Not being a runner until recently I am learning everything about it from cadence, pacing, and economy.

Mike wants me to have more than just two gears.  Right now its slow and fast.  He wants me to be able to understand where I am at with my body and how long I can hold a gear before I need to change.  This will be beneficial if we get to a stage where we have the opportunity to be successful and I can hold a higher level for a sustained period of time.

I am really having fun with this part of the training as it is something new and I enjoy the learning process.   I can already feel my body adapting to multiple gears and its becoming automatic now when running a tempo run, or intervals.

I am headed to Alaska for a week and am looking forward to some epic runs while there.  I am grateful to have a coach like Mike guiding me towards TRR.

maw

Sycamore Canyon 30K, End Of Base Training, and a Team Weekend

Joel and I finished our base training this weekend with a 30K trail race in Sycamore Canyon, Malibu, California.  Joel's sister let us stay at her place in Manhattan Beach.  It was 2 blocks from the beach with an ocean view.  We left early Friday morning so that we could get a short run in before dinner.   The forecast for the race was Cloudy with some drizzle early, giving way to partly sunny in the afternoon and highs in the 60s.  We both polished off a huge plate of pasta, salad, and bread and called it an early night.

I woke up the next morning to clear skies, and mid 50s, little did I know this was going to be the start of a great day of running.  Had my morning coffee, oatmeal, and prepared electrolyte drinks for the race.  At this point I grabbed my Garmin which had been on the charger all night.  I noticed it hadn't charged at all and there was only 37% battery remaining.  I knew this would not get me through the race but remembered I had a charger in the car so it would be fine by the end of the drive.  Well the charger wasn't in the car, and at this point nothing I could do about it but try not to worry and just go race based on how I felt and not by looking at pace.  It was about an hour drive to Malibu so we headed out on the road around 6:45.

When we arrived, not a cloud in the sky and a cool breeze coming off the ocean.  The race was low key as all the runners kind of hung out until the race start.  The race consisted of 3 climbs, with 3 equivalent descents.  Each about 3 miles in length.  Not knowing what to expect our strategy was to treat this as a Transrockies training run.  We decided that the first climb should be real conservative to see what we had and then ramp up if needed, and if all was well for the last climb we could push it.  We started about a third of the way back in the starting pack.

The beginning of the race was about a mile of flat forest service road, which led to a single track and the first climb.  We started the climb and immediately knew that we should have been closer to the front.  We ended up in a run/walk situation for the next mile and passed only when it seemed like there was room.  One of the runners in front of me mentioned the course opened up to a fire road shortly and we would be able to stretch it out some.  Just before the fire road, there was an opening on the single track so I called out "on your left" and started the pass.  Little did I know there were cacti hiding off trail and I stuck a thistle in my foot that was about 3/4 inch long.  I had to run on the ball of my foot to the fire road, because of the pain.  Thinking I could just push through it I started the run up the road, but could not do it.  I ended up taking off my shoe and pulling it out.  I was wasting precious time and I could see Joel was ready to make up some time.

We headed up the road at a brisk pace and were making ground and passing quite a few people.  By the time we got to the next single track section we were only in a group with 3 other people, although the leaders were quite a bit in front of us.  We were not aiming to catch them.  We headed down the first 3 mile descent gradually picking up speed topping out at about 7:25 pace.  Before we knew it we were at the aid station.  We had already decided that we had enough fluid, food to not stop, so started the next climb which was more technical the first mile due to large rocks that we were either hopping or climbing.  At this point in the race we were about half way through and I was still feeling strong.  I heard my watch beep and it died, now I could really focus on how I felt, not knowing how fast we were going.  We ran in a line with a couple of the 50K racers on a flat stretch that went from ocean views, to mountain views and running through meadows.  We even saw a deer that wanted to run with us.  We kept a consistent pace through this stretch and on the descent back to the aid station.  I knew at this point I needed more fluid and food, so I ate a GU and filled my bottle.  I also soaked my head under the faucet to cool down. We only had one more climb and it was one we had already run down so knew what to expect the rest of the race.

Two of the 50K racers we had been running with left the aid station before Joel and I.  Once we started the last climb I was still feeling strong and felt I could push the uphill, not knowing who was in front of me but knowing we had a little bit of distance between us and the next 30K racers.  I passed one of the 50K runners in the first 5 minutes of the climb and eventually passed the 2nd a few minutes later.  I was just keeping a steady pace, knowing I didn't have much longer until the top, and then 2.7 miles to the finish, all downhill.  I had made 4 or 5 minutes on the 50K racers by the time I got to the top.  I then started the descent but this was much harder than I thought it was going to be, but I had to keep going.  I found a comfortable pace and just headed downhill.

At this point I had hot spots on my feet, my legs were fatigued, but nothing unexpected.  I pushed down the road and came across the water crossing, running swiftly through it and feeling the cool water on my hot feet, it felt great.  I knew I had about .5 miles to go to the finish so I kept the pace and crossed the finish line in 3:15:01, good enough for 2nd place in my age group.  It was a great feeling to be strong at the end of the race and know that the previous 4 months of training had paid off.  Joel came in a few minutes behind me looking strong.  It was a great day for the team.

We headed over to the ocean for a leg soak, and to relax before the drive back.  That night was a great mexican food dinner and some relaxation.

A short barefoot run on the strand the next day and all systems felt great.  We watched a bunch of hockey, had a few beers, ate well, and just enjoyed what we knew was the end of a lot of hard work and the beginning of more intense training.

If we progress like we did the first 4 months, we will have a great Transrockies race.

maw