Wednesday, July 08, 2015

co. pics 2015

difficult pre-race training in conifer, co.

 



pics from race






heizer trial four hour recovery hike

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

north fork 50k trip report

rolled out thurs. w/tapp, whisk, and dierk.  set up camp and picked up packets on friday at pine valley park, co.  race morning was warm but nice.


 this is a killer course for a flatlander, 4700 ft of climb in 32 miles.  starts with a 2 mile climb up buck trail, you get some nice buttery flow in the burn areas, but interspersed with some steady ups.  i felt super strong, running conservatively.  the day heated up and tried to balance the fluid/electrolyte thing, tough to do in heat w/ no humidity.  chatted with some folks and rolled, enjoyed the scenery.

 felt really great going into the aid station at 24 miles, probably on sub 8:00 pace or even better.   ran into dierk, his son and girlfriend at that aid station, BUT, right after that is a climb.  i got smacked hard about a 1/2 mile into that, maybe let the highs get too high from 20-24 on the sweet downhill.  sucked down what water i had and slugged out the four miles into the last aid station--wasn't pretty for me, at least the trail was beautiful.  heat was brutal by this time and the last section is downhill but exposed.  i chose not to push hard to speed recovery, coasted and ran when i could, mostly hiked, sub 9:00 was the goal at this point.  finally hit the bottom and rolled across in 8:57, maybe not a seemingly fast time, but was super pumped for first official mountain ultra finish, and considering the altitude, heat, and climbing, this was actually a good number for me.

tapp killed it at 7:07, dierk was just a beast on the day before his 61st bday at 8:46, alex and dani knocking out their first official ultra finish in the same time, and whisk giving a brave performance in the heat (he'll be back).  postrace was feet in the river, tapp kind enough to bring my fat butt a beer and a burger, chilling out, then dinner of a massive trout filet with friends that evening.  killer.  only thing better would have been family there to share.

rest of trip was awesome: relaxed in manitou with some ipas, four hour "recovery" hike up heizer trail in cascade, hung out and soaked up the mountain vibes.  already looking at next year--bring on quad rock, this race again (fitty??), silver rush--something in the mountains.  ah, yeah.


Tuesday, May 26, 2015

6-Hour Beer Run

headed to middletown, il on saturday for tonya and mike siltman's 6 hour beer run.  this is a timed effort on a (roughly, although i think it's a tad short, whatever) 2 mile loop through their 40 acre farm.  i was able to put up a good measured, well-executed effort despite increasing heat and lots of sun exposure.  never really wavered pace-wise and stayed on top of hydration.  this is still a small race, only 18 entered, but i have a feeling it will grow.  the intimate setting means you're out there chatting with the other racers, enjoying the day.  got to meet some new folks and chat a bit with rich breaux, an ultra veteran who was out getting some miles in.  ended with 13 1/4 loops for a recorded 26.25 miles. 

post-race at this even cannot be beat.  you get a pint glass with the race logo, runners and RDs hanging around drinking mike's homebrew.  and i mean really, really top notch homebrew.  i only had time for the ipa, but there were five other beers kegged out.  i would take this sort of grassroots race over the big glossy stuff any day, and i will be back next year.  you should be there, too.


5/18-5/24

56.25 miles, one rest day:  had a solid weekday build-up, then a 6 hour effort at siltman beer run.

5/11-5/17

solid 52 mile week with zero rest days, sprinkled in some slightly longer stuff.  felt good.

Friday, May 15, 2015

4/27-5/10

4/27/-5/3 37 miles, 0 rest days

5/4-5/9 38 miles, 1 rest day (work imposed, finals!)


Sunday, April 26, 2015

4/13-4/26

4/13/-4/19 40 miles--one off day, birthday and work imposed

4/20-4/26  42 miles--solid week, one off day, sore and tired on monday.  great weekend, rainy on sat., but radiantly sunny, forest bursting with life on sunday, 20 miles on weekend. 

Sunday, April 12, 2015

4/6-4/12

39 miles, 0 rest days.

some good harder early morning workouts midweek.  clear, mostly dry trail conditions, can finally get out at 6:00 a.m. without a headlamp.  this is what we wait all winter for.  forest floor started greening out on wed. into thurs., especially after rain.  still waiting on the first bluebells.

Thursday, April 09, 2015

tracking training

former training philosophy:

-mix of road and trail running
-long runs 3-6 hrs. on trails, generally every other week, to train for ultras
-self-created training plans
-maintenance mileage during week, run 3-5 days per week on average
-diet philosophy: sometimes low fat, cut weight, sometimes not
-weight class:  usually clydesdale, 200 lbs. +
-2-4 weight training sessions per week
caffeine intake: ZERO

current training philosophy:

-will walk on roads in off season, no running
-100% of running on trails
-no structured training plan, train by feel
-varied pace, lots of power hiking, will gentle run downs depending on feel and conditions
-goal is to strength build and work towards durability
-very few long training runs, aim for accumulated time on feet.  this means lots of double and triple workouts
-diet philosophy:  none, probably need one
-weight class:  always clydesdale, 200 lbs. ++
-zero weight training due to back
-caffeine intake: coffee fiend

2015 training:

doing what you can in the snow and ice, often power hiking w/trekking poles

1/1-1/4: 27 mi. 0 rest days
1/5-1/11: 46 mi. 0 rest days
1/12-1/18: 46 mi. 0 rest days
1/19-1/25: 29 mi. 0 rest days
1/26-2/1: 34 mi. 0 rest days
2/2-2/8: 34 mi. 0 rest days
2/9-2/15: 27 mi. 1 rest day
2/16-2/22: 35 mi. 1 rest day (cold and i'm soft)
2/23-2/28: 17 mi. 1 rest day
3/1-3/4 in fl.: 13 mi. 0 rest days
3/5-3/8 27 mi. 0 rest days
3/9-3/15: 39 mi. 0 rest days

dry trails, yeah!  time to run:

3/16-3/22: 47 mi. + 16 mile straight hike  0 rest days
3/23-3/29: 15 mi. 4 rest days (bronchitis)
3/30-4/5: 47 mi. 0 rest days


marathon/ultra history

decided to undertake this little project to track training through summer and towards a couple of events.  starting with some historical data, then a weekly log of loose mileage with reflections on philosophy and what i think i know.  any feedback or suggestions are appreciated!

started running seriously in june of 2001. first race was lung run 5k in oct. of 2001.

total miles since june 2001: 17,382

injuries: pf in both feet, patellar tendonitis (long ago), anterior tibial stress fracture (out 8 months in '04/'05), itbs in left knee (long ago), soft tissue issues on bottoms of both feet, back injury playing basketball (herniated disc? maybe, never mri'd)

marathon/ultra race history:

4/2003  st. louis marathon 4:32
11/03 quivering quads 50k, cuivre river state park, mo.
4/04 mcnaughton park 10 mile--anterior tibial stress fracture from late summer 2004 to early 2005
10/05 glacial trail 50k, wi. 7:50
4/06 mcnaughton park 30 mile
8/06 howl at the moon 8 hour, il. 29.61 miles
5/07 berryman trail marathon, mo. 6:11
4/08 mcnaughton park 50 mile, 13:15 (mud year)
9/08 rock cut hobo run 50k, il. 6:14
1/09 mcnabb fat ass 50k, 6:03
4/09 mcnaughton park 50 mile, 12:07
7/09 dances with dirt devil's lake marathon, wi. 5:52
8/10 howl at the moon 8 hour, il. 33.4 miles
10/13 farmdale (jubillee st. park, il) 30 mi. 7:08
6/14 kettle moraine, wi. 50k 8:38
8/14 howl at the moon 8 hr., il 30.11 miles
9/14 evergreen lake, il 50 mile 13:31
10/14 farmdale, il 30 mile 7:45




Thursday, January 01, 2015

2014 Year In Review

total miles: 1970  per week: 37.88  per day 5.41

ultras:

6/14 kettle moraine 50k

8/14 howl at the moon 8 hour, 33.11 miles

9/14 evergreen lake 50 mile

10/14 farmdale 30 mile

2015:  more miles!?!

ultra wish list:

4/15 6 hour siltman beer run
5/15 berryman marathon
6/15 north fork 50k
8/15 howl at the moon 8 hr
10/15  farmdale hundo??