June 25, 2011 - Big News - Congrats Jared!!

I will post a link when the website gets updated... Jared Scott of Flagstaff / Grand Canyon finished 6th Overall at the Mountain Running Championships in New Hampshire today.  By finishing 6th place, he qualified for the US World Team.. which will compete at the World Mtn Running Championships in Albania this September.. Congrats Jared!!!

June 21, 2011 – Lord of the Flies

This week of training is going very well thus far.  I have been able to stick pretty close to schedule and my body has been able to bounce back from last week’s sessions.

During a 90min run today, for the first time ever I was attacked by bugs.  It was both crazy.. and hilarious. 

About 35min into my run, I noticed I was being followed by several buzzing insects.  With all of the blooming flowers, I assumed that they were bees.. maybe hornets??. Within a few minutes, the number of insects swarming around me were growing rapidly.  Before I knew it, I had about 50 to 60 insects not only following me.. but buzzing my eyes, ears, head, neck, legs.. they were EVERYWHERE!!..

I tried batting them away with my arms to no avail… so I used my t-shirt.  This seemed to provide some relief, but it was very temporary.  I even tried to outrun the little buggers, but apparently these guys are in good shape.. 3miles of sub 6min pace didn’t even phase them. 

Now I am getting close to the Arboretum.  There are several buildings that I start to run towards while swinging my shirt & arms like a madman… and the bees are still with me.  I find an unlocked door and quickly jump inside.  In a fevered-pitch, I tell one of the ladies, “I am being chased by Bees!!”… She looks at me with a half smile and responds with, “Those are Horse Flies”.  Good to know. 

Feeling kinda stupid, I walk back outside and let one of the swarming insects land on my arm.  Sure enough, it was a horsefly.  Well ain’t that somethin’. 

I am sure the folks at the Arboretum had a good laugh.. and rightfully so.  The rest of my run was a lot less exciting… which was a good thing. 

June 18th, 2011 – First Week of Pre-Chicago-TRR Training

Over the past 10days, I have enjoyed some really great running.  My focus has been on getting ready for some really hard training starting in July in preparation for Chicago & TransRockies.  As such, I actually hit the track & pavement for the first time in over 6months.  It’s kinda fun to get out there every now and again.. but truthfully, I GREATLY prefer running on the trails. 

I started the week with a solid 22 Miler running from my house to the rolling Pipeline trail over to Forces of Nature trail.. then climbing Elden Lookout  trail (2,500ft over 3miles).  Once at the top, I hopped down Sunset Trail to Schultz’s Creek, which brought me around to Elden Road and back to my house.  I covered this in 2hrs 42min.

On Monday & Wednesday, were my “road” days.  I did a Track workout Monday morning before work.. and a short Tempo Run Wednesday on Pavement.  Both of the workouts went really well.. other than my legs felt a little off.  They just weren’t used to running on those surfaces.

Saturday I came back with a steady 21miler on the “famous” A1 route.  This route is on Forest Service roads.  It takes you 7miles out to the Wing Mtn Loop.  This first portion has some rolling hills, but is mainly a slight elevation gain.  Then you run the 7mile Wing Mtn Loop going clockwise.   This route starts out with fairly sharp down hills and then on to gentle uphills.  The last mile or so is pretty rough.  The road jacks-up pretty good and you have to do a bit of climbing.  Once you get around the loop, you just have to run the mainly downhill 7miles back to the finish.. a really nice run.

I ran this loop at a pretty steady pace.. avg 6:30/mile.  Nothing too fast, but considering that I ran it in the middle of the day when it was 85degrees, it was windy, and my legs felt like tubes of toothpaste before I even started… I was VERY happy with the effort.

All in all… a great first week of training.. Now I just need to get in a couple more.. and get ready to really get after it starting in July. 

June 6, 2011 - Quick Look Back... and What's Next

After the GC Single Crossing, I have been doing a bit of reflecting.  Initially, I have to admit I was kind of disappointed with the outcome of the run.  I really expected to be at or under 3hrs.  I knew coming in that I was "under-trained", but I still had high-hopes.  As I started looking back at my training, it is pretty obvious why I fell short of my goal.. and to be honest, I should be happy that I ran as well as I did.

Looking 12 weeks back from the run... The first 6 weeks I was running 80 - 90 miles/ week with some solid runs.  The next 6weeks I was running about 25-30miles/week and did not have too many "solid" runs.. I had only one trip to the Canyon in the entire 12 weeks.

What to take from that??.... Well, I should be VERY happy with the effort and the time.. especially considering how far my training was off.

Enough of the past.. it was a solid run.. and most of all, it was fun.

Since the GC Single, I fought my way through an upper respiratory virus and stomach virus.  Neither of which were fun.. but now I am actually back to running consistently.  It's probably going to take me a few more days of running to feel solid again, but I'm happy to be healthy.

Ok.. Now the fun stuff.. What's next??.. I am signed up for the Chicago Marathon in October.  That race is going to be my true "focus race".. but after some deep thought.. and discussion, I have decided to make my way back to Colorado for the 2011 TransRockies.  My partner is going to be the local speedster.. Mike Smith.  He won the race in 2009 with Rob Krar (another Flagstaff fast dude)... so there is a bit of pressure to repeat that success... which should just make us train that much harder..

For the first time this year, I am SUPER STOKED about running.  TRR is an awesome event.. Chicago is going to be fun.. but I am most excited about Mike & I training together.. if everything goes as planned, we should be wicked fit by late August.  CAN'T WAIT!!!...

May 27th, 2011 – Grand Canyon Single Crossing – New Record

As planned this weekend, Jared Scott and I were attempting to break the Grand Canyon Single Crossing record.  The current record is 3hr 6min 47sec held by Allyn Cureton of Williams, AZ.  He set the record in 1981, so if you do the math, this record is 30years old!!..

After camping on the NRim Thursday night, we woke at 5am on Friday morning to prepare for the day.  After a quick bite to eat, we drove the 20min over to the trail head.  There we did a quick warmup and stretch, then we were off.  We got started right at 6:45am.

Our plan was to run how we feel.  If Jared felt good he would lead.. If I felt good I would lead.  We didn’t want to wait on each much as we knew this could slow both of us down and be counter productive. 

So as planned, Jared & I exchanged the lead numerous times as we steadily pushed our way down the NRim decent.  As we whipped by hikers and skipped through the almost dry waterfalls, we kept the mood light and talked about anything and everything knowing that the next stretch from Cottonwood Campground to the SKaibab Bridge would be a bit more “intense”. 

After quickly filling up our 18oz water bottles at Roaring Springs, we pushed our way to Cottonwood Campground.  Our split from the ~7miles from the NRim to Cottonwood was 51:47.  This was a few minutes faster than I expected, but it felt fairly comfortable, so things are good.

After about 10min of pushing past Cottonwood, Jared had to stop and stretch his Hamstring as it was starting to grab.  Jared told me not to wait, so instead, I slowed the pace and took a bathroom break until I saw that he was running again.  Dropping 5,000 feet is tough on your body and when you are transitioning to flat running it reminds me a little bit like transitioning from the bike to run in a triathlon. 

At this point, I am about 30sec up on Jared and running hard, but comfortable.  My plan was to run consistent and stay within myself.  My measure of “consistency” is effort not pace.  So I didn’t want to feel like I was digging deep until after Midway up SKaibab. Everything was going perfect.

As we rolled into Phantom, I eased the pace in preparation for the climb up SKaibab as planned.  During that stretch Jared passed me and put about 20seconds on me and he looked really comfortable while he was doing it.  At that point, I was thinking, “This guy is going to break 3hrs for sure”. 

We quickly filled our bottles and I decided to stop for a quick stretch and a gel.  My hip flexor had gradually been tightening up so I figured doing a couple quick stretches would be worth the time.  Huge mistake.  As I bent over to grab my leg every muscle from the middle of my back to my calves started flipping-out!!. CRAMPS!!.. Ok, so no more stretching.

Within a few minutes, I actually felt back to normal and pretty good again.  Jared was about 45seconds up on me as we got to the bridge.  My split on the ~8.5miles from Cottonwood to the SKaibab Tunnel was 53:07 (Cumulative = 1:44:54).  A little slower than I expected but cumulative time was dead on.  My goal was 1hr 45min. 

On a positive note, there is just ~6miles to go.  On the flip-side, it is up SKaibab.  I am guessing it is already somewhere in the 80-85 degree range… There is no water until you get to the top.. The trail is super exposed and crowded with people… oh yeah and it’s wicked steep (5,000ft of climbing in ~6miles).

So off we went up SKaibab.  My plan to keep pretty mellow until I hit “Midway”.  Jared always takes a different strategy and pushes the lower part of the climb pretty hard, so I knew he would jump out on a bit.

As we pushed our way up to Skeleton Point, about 1/3 of the way up, I am on pace to be right around 3hrs and Jared is about 2min ahead of me…. But it is HOT!!!

Jared is literally “floating” up the steeps at this point and I am starting to think that I won’t be able to close the gap.  I keep chanting my mantra of “consistency” as I the temptation creeps to make a move to close the gap.  I am sure if I started to hammer at this point I would be “gassed” by the time I hit Cedar Ridge.. so I begin to become content with the fact that I am well on pace to run right at 3hrs.

Within minutes of Skeleton, I can see a long mule train ascending the trail.  Oh no.  I am hoping and praying that I get lucky and am able to get around them with limited impact on my time.

When I get to the switch backs heading into Midway, I hit the train.  I begged the mule driver on the back to let me by, but I unfortunately I got the response “.. Have to wait til it’s safe”.  I kept asking and pleading.. then it turned into a little bit of cursing under my breath.  They finally pulled over after what seemed an eternity… 6min had passed.  OUCH!!!.. I looked up the trail and I couldn’t even see Jared anymore.  He got past the train at the perfect time and didn’t lose any time.  Just the luck of the draw.

I know that I am not going to hit the 3hr mark or get close to Jared, but I keep thinking I have a chance to break the original record, which would still be a huge accomplishment.  I start to hammer up the rest of the switchbacks.  Before I know it, I am trying to make up some of the lost time and pushing harder than I should. 

As I push across my way past the Tonto trail head.. then up and around to the last climb up to Cedar Ridge, I can actually see Jared.  Honestly, I was shocked.  At the same time, my body was feeling pretty spent.  Over the last quarter mile climb leading to Cedar Ridge, I started cramping.. calves, hamstrings, and quads.  I ran out of water somewhere around Midway and my body is thirsty. 

Another unpleasant sight was around Cedar as well…. Another F’n Mule Train.  Jared looked like he was going to time it right and catch them right at Cedar Ridge where he wouldn’t have to stop.. I doubt I would get that lucky.. but we’ll see.

After Cedar Ridge, I had to move into a Run-Hike strategy to keep from “locking-up” with cramps. To break the old record, I would have to throw-down.. and my body was definitely not up for that.  At that point the realization kinda hit me.. no record for me today.  I could only hope that Jared had enough left in the tank to get the record.

As I round the turns, I smell the mules.. and Bam.. back to walking behind the mules.. This time the guides let me over a lot more quickly and I lose only 1 minute.  A few minutes later, I see Eric Bohn who is there to cheer me on over the last 7min. 

As we close-out the last section, he gets the text… JARED SCOTT BROKE THE RECORD.. THE NEW RECORD IS 3HRS 6MIN 10SEC.

Shortly after, I closed out my run, finishing in 3hrs 13min 45sec.(Split from SKaibab Tunnel to Kiosk = 1hr 28min 51sec)

As I finished my run, I was REALLY happy that Jared got the record.. but also disappointed that my day didn’t go quite the way I wanted.  As I said before, that’s just the luck of the draw.  I am not the only one who has been held up by mule trains.. Had Jared not gotten the record, I think I would have been a little more upset.. At this point, I am just happy to know that a really good guy, a great runner.. and a friend now holds the GC Single Crossing Record… Congrats Buddy!!!

Splits                                                                Split                 Cumulative

NRim to Cottonwood                                       51:47

Cottonwood to SKaibab Tunnel                     53:07              1:44:54

SKaibab Tunnel to SKaibab Kiosk              1:28:51            3:13:45

Things done right

Fueling was pretty well spot on

Water/Gel in 1^st Water Bottle

Gel at Roaring Springs + Refill Water Bottle

Gel at Phantom + Refill Water Bottle & Drank a Water Bottle while there

Gel just at Midway & Finished Water – Since it was hot, it would have been nice to have a refill around Skeleton Point.

Things to do differently

-Mule Trains – Any way to plan around them??.. Need to research.

-Training – My training was pretty minimal over the past 6weeks due to “life” events.  Further, I should have been running in the Canyon more.  I only ran 4 times in the Canyon over the past 5months.  To run really fast in the Canyon, I believe you have to train in the Canyon.

Thanks

Thanks to Aerie, Avin, & Nick (My Family) for giving me time to train..

BIG THANKS to Caleb Schiff for being our “shuttle driver”. 

Thanks for all the support from everyone before & afterwards.  I really appreciate it!!

May 21, 2010 - Run for the Mountain 10k

Well.. after a whirlwind of a last few weeks, I decided to make my way out to the Run for the Mtn 10k at Ft. Tuthill in Flagstaff.  My thought was that this would be a great "tune-up" for next week's GC Single Crossing.  The race is a 10k that navigates a lot of rocky single track and several solid climbs and fairly technical downhills.  I knew coming in that I was not only a bit "under-trained", but I hadn't done a lick of speed either.. so I wanted to go out and try for a solid day.

The gun went off around 8am.. and within 400m, I was pretty sure I was going to be racing for 2nd place.  Local fast guy, Chris Gomez was cruisin' along and seemed pretty comfortable.  At the same time, I knew that I didn't have a lot of gears to shift into and I was feeling like I was pretty well topped out.  So the plan was to hold on to a solid pace and have a good day.

That's pretty much what happened.  I ended up in 2nd place with a time of 34:39. Chris ran a 33:50.  This is not a normal 10k (elevation, rocky, hilly, etc), so I can't complain too much about the results.

Now the plan is to take a nice easy week coming into this Fridays.. GC Single Crossing Record Attempt.. The 30 yr old record is 3hrs 6min.. pretty darn fast.. hopefully by next week, that record will be a little faster..

May 11, 2011 - Busy Couple Weeks..

WOW!!.. What a crazy last few weeks. During the last 14days, I moved houses.. celebrated Easter.. visited family in Oklahoma.. then came back to work to find a VERY full Inbox.. All of this has really cut into my running.. Now that things have settled a bit I am hoping to get the mileage back up and going..

Below is a picture from my trip to Oklahoma.. a bit of the local culture.. Yes, those are Rattlesnakes.. and.. Yes, he is barefoot.. and Yes, he is chuggin' a beer..