January 31, 2012 – How Time Flies

It’s pretty amazing how quickly January came to a close.  It seems like we were just celebrating Christmas yesterday. Now all of a sudden we are getting ready to start February.  Where did January go???.. I blame this “velocity of life” on how busy I have been in pretty much every phase of my life.  All good stuff.. but crazy nonetheless.  

Despite how hectic things have been, I have managed to run enough to keep fairly fit.  I came into January with 4 running goals - - Stay Healthy, Be Consistent, Get in some Long Runs, & Maintain High Mileage.  I have stayed Healthy.  I have been Consistent.. I have got in at least 1 good Long Run a week.. but my mileage has been lacking a bit.  My hope was to keep things between 90 and 100.. Unfortunately my mileage has fluctuated from 50 to 85. 

So here I am… it’s February .. I am in decent shape.. and I have Moab 55k in 3 weeks.  Of course, I want to do well at Moab, but I have races later in the spring that I really want to focus on.  As such, the plan for this month is to pretty much train through Moab and get ready for some strong running leading up to Leona Divide 50mile in April…. And then San Juan 50mile in June.

January 10, 2012 - 2012 Run / Race Schedule

Well 2012 has begun and I am looking forward to another solid year of running. Since TNF 50, I have taken some down-time and slowly began to focus on Mileage and Long Runs. This has allowed quite a bit of time to think about racing in 2012. Below is my first stab at a racing schedule for the upcoming year. The hope is to compete in a few more organized races and mix up the training / racing enough to keep it fun.

February - Moab 55k

March - Mesquite Canyon 50km or Grand Canyon R2R2R

April - Leona Divide 50mile or Grand Canyon R2R2R

May - Grand Canyon Single Crossing

June - Lake City - San Juan 50mile

September - Imogene Pass Run

October - Long Beach Marathon

November - Grand Canyon R2R2R

December - TNF 50mile Champs

December 05, 2011 - North Face 50mile Championships

Thoughts Coming into the Race:

As race day approached, I found the anticipation of getting things going almost unbearable at times. Tapering is always such a tough mental exercise in patience.

The depth of this event was incredible and I couldn't wait to get out there and test myself in a 50miler against these guys. My last organized 50miler was Jemez in 2009. Based on my training & mindset leading into that event, I wouldn't say I was "racing"... so I was approaching this as my first 50mile race.

Getting to the Race:

Before I got to the start line, I had a bit of "drama" to deal with... First, they held the pre-race packet pick-up in Downtown San Francisco. For me that was an adventure.. but I made it out alive.. barely. Second, I show-up Saturday morning at 3:30am for the Shuttle Service to the race and to my surprise.. There was no shuttle!!!.. Talk about stress.. Eventually, I found my way to the starting line with a few minutes to get ready.. I am still not sure why the race decided not to pick us up??.. Despite all the drama, I ended up making it to the starting line.. and I felt ready to race.

The Race:

At 5am the gun went off. As we march off into the darkness, a large pack forms and quickly settles into a conservative pace. Excluding 2 guys from Salomon, we all stuck together and settled into a 6:15-ish /mile pace... each of us not wanting to lead due to a wicked head wind. Unfortunately for me, I some how was in the front with another runner, Jordan McDougal.. and we were providing a bit of a wind break for the field. During these miles, the Salomon guys took off and were quickly out of sight.

After 5miles of staying together and breaking the wind, I decided I wanted to close some of the gap on what was now 3 Salomon runners. Within a few miles, I had worked some separation from the rest of the field and was closing the gap on at least 2 of the front runners. Looking at my Garmin, I noticed that I dropped a couple 5:30-ish min miles.. but to be honest, I felt very comfortable, so I wasn't too concerned.

Around mile 10, I whipped by one of the Salomon Runners from South America. At the same time, I had managed to put about 2min on the "chase pack". Around that point, I came to a Y in the trail. I didn't see any markers telling me to turn, so I kept going straight up hill. As I looked over my shoulder, I saw the string of headlamps make the left turn that I passed.... Ouch!!.. I had already gone off course!!.. Even though it was very early in the race, it sucked in that I had put some effort into developing some separation.. and now I had just lost it all.. and then some due to a wrong turn..

I tried to stay calm.. but I couldn't.. I put in a surge and within a mile I had regained my lead on this group and was back in third. The problem was I burned up a bit of energy doing it. I should have accepted the fact that I went off trail and been more patient with regaining contact, but my temper just didn't allow it.

Honestly, the next 10 to 15miles are almost a blur. There was a group of about 10 of us that stuck together. We eventually caught and passed the Salomon rabbits, but I lost contact with the lead group around mile 24 when I stopped to take a leak. I was never able to regain the time I lost. The next 6 miles up to mile 30 I just tried to stay relaxed and I hope for a strong finish. I knew that I was only a few minutes behind the leaders and there was still plenty of race to run.

Somewhere around mile 30, I started getting passed.. first by Adam Campbell and Tim Olsen. Next by Jezz Bragg... then a few other folks... Then Jason Schlarb came wizzing by me.. It was pretty clear... I was bonking. Looking at my Garmin, between miles 31 and 38, I dropped a couple 12 to 13min miles... and believe me, it was NOT all uphill.. there was a good amount of gentle down.. and flat that I was now having trouble with. My quads were crying.. my stomach was growling.. I was in the pain cave and not liking it. In retrospect, I wonder if some of this was mental. I know that there was a definite physical aspect, but mentally, I became resigned to the fact that I wasn't going to catch up with the leaders and I think this simply crushed my motivation.

Around mile 38, I started to pull out of this hole and actually felt pretty good. I had been passed by a good number of runners, so now my focus was to go after as many as possible and hope for a Top 10 finish. I was steadily increasing the intensity of the next 10 miles. The miles started to fly by and I was passing people left and right.. Most of the people were 50k participants, but it was still a good feeling to catch and pass people on the trail.

At mile 47-ish, I noticed that one guy (ended up being Mike Foote) was on my tail and despite how hard I pushed, I wasn't able to gap him. He would continually close any gap I could muster up. With only 2 to 3miles to go, I kept telling myself, "If I keep my foot on the gas, he won't be able to get me".. so that's what I did. With about 1mile to go, I come to another section of trail where I see ribbons going in both directions. Based on the advice of one of the 50k runners and a couple spectators, I went straight... I quickly noticed that in the crazy bunches of ribbons flagging the course, there was no "orange" color.. which is my color... Dang it!!.. I took another wrong turn. I can see that 2 other 50 mile guys were smarter than me and went the right direction (Mike Foote & Jason Schlarb). Not wanting to lose all the hardwork that I had put in over the past 10miles to hold-off these guys, I started letting the legs go!!..

My last mile was a 5:20. I ended up passing Mike Foote with about 20m to go, so the wrong turn didn't cost me any placing.. but it definitely made me work harder than I wanted over the 50th mile.

I ended up finishing my first 50mile Race in 8th place in a time of 6hrs 52min. This result was not exactly what I expected, but all things considered, I am happy with both the effort and the outcome.

Post Race Reflections:

After any race where things didn't go exactly as planned, I have a tendency to reflect and try to figure out what I need to do differently to reach my goals. As such, below are a few things I need to do to be a more competitive Ultra Guy.... if that's what I want to do.

(1) Long Runs - Need to do more efforts over 4hrs. In the past 12months, I only had 3 runs longer than 4hrs.

(2) Nutrition - Still need to work on dialing this in over the longer efforts to prevent the severe "downs" in energy.

(3) Course Navigation - Some how I need to get better at this. May be a case of taking more time at "unclear" junctions.

(4) Experience - Learned that Ultras are like any other race.. If you want to win, you can't count on coming from behind. Fighting the urge to "let guys go" in the middle of the race is just as critical in the Ultra distances as it is in any other distance.

All in all... I had fun.. and I look forward to the next adventure in 2012!!..

Solid Few Weeks... Plus a Link to TNF 50 Preview

First things first, my training over the past few weeks hasn't been "stellar" but it has been solid. I have been able to mix in a good amount of climbing (short & long) with some faster paced runs. Other than having to fight a very weak cold over the past 5 days, I feel really good.. and I am ready to do battle with an amazing field at TNF50 this weekend.

With that being said, I am amazed to see just how deep this field is. Below, I have copied a link to a race preview that outlines just how stacked the race is this year. To add to this author's list, there are a good number of solid runners that he doesn't even mention (some noted in the comments to the article). It's going to be a wild race...

http://www.irunfar.com/2011/11/the-north-face-50-mile-championships-2011-mens-preview.html

Fun Turns into Pain & Misery.. then Relief

Part 1 - Fun: After a smooth (but early) drive to the Canyon, I showed up just after sunrise. I was pretty excited as I had a long day planned. My plan was to head down S.Kaibab to Phantom.. then follow the Kaibab trail over to Cottonwood Campground at the base of the N.Rim. Then turnaround and do it in reverse.  I have done this one several times and always find it challenging.

On my "jog" over to the SRim, I am feeling pretty tight. My right hip & left knee weren't too excited about the tough running ahead, but my hope was that they would loosen up over the course of the run.

When I got to the Rim, the first 1/2 mile or so was covered in about 2 inches of ice. Not wearing traction, I decided to take it VERY easy. I noticed some of the hikers were actually sliding down on their "bums". It reminded me of watching Polar Bears slide across ice and snow.. it was pretty amusing until slipped.. then I thought maybe their technique wasn't such a bad idea.. I was too proud to join them.. and my short shorts weren't conducive to a comfortable "slide".. so I just took even easier... I covered the first Half Mile in almost 10min.. yahoo!!..

The rest of the descent was a lot less exciting and I eventually hit the river in about 56min. Not too bad.

After a quick stop at Phantom, I started to make my way over to Cottonwood. Similar to all my long runs over the past month, I tried to keep the effort fairly tempered. I was flying along until about Ribbon Falls (couple miles shy of Cottonwood). At that point, my right hip flexor started to give me a bit of trouble.. Then about a half mile further, I noticed that my left IT Band wasn't too happy. Every time I lengthened my stride on a climb, it sent shooting pains up and down my leg.. uh-oh.. not a good sign. I decided to keep going since I was so close to Cottonwood.

When I got to the water stop, I filled up.. munched a bit.. did a quick stretch.. and headed back to Phantom. I made it from the River to Cottonwood in 1hr 5min.

About halfway back is when I slipped into.... Pain & Misery...

Part 2 - Pain & Misery:  So I am about 22 miles into a 33 mile day... and the last 7miles cover the most difficult portion of the course. Things don't look so good for me. The buzzards hadn't started to circle, but with each step, I kept wondering "how much longer will I get to run before my knee & / or hip tighten up to the point where I can't run".. Mile by mile went by and though my pace was fading, my leg / hip held up enough that I could continue moving forward.

As I approached the S.Kaibab ascent, I noticed my split from Cottonwood to the River was 1hr 6min. Now that I am to the final 7miles, I was really worried that I would have to hike almost the whole thing. Each time I took a climbing step where I had to push off with my left leg.. extreme pain would shoot through my legs. As always, there is only one way out of the Canyon... Climbing up.. so I kept moving forward, prepared for a long walk if necessary.

As I pumped my way up the Canyon trail, I decided to keep my steps as short as possible and just try to keep from over extending too much. This plan worked.. and every time I forgot the strategy, I was quickly reminded with shooting pain. Before I knew it, I was to Cedar Ridge (about 25min from my Car) and I had yet to walk a single step.. That's about the time I felt... Relief.

Part 3 - Relief: I hustled my way up the rest of the run and got to the top of the Rim fromm the River in a sluggish 1hr 30min. At the finish, I was overcome with a feeling of.... Relief. That run could have gotten ugly really quick, but I somehow got through it.. and actually other than the "tightness" felt pretty good. I am not sure what to take from that run other than I need to stretch a TON... I guess I gained a little humility and perspective as well. I realize that doing these longer runs is no joke... and that I have to be focused on all the small things during the week to make sure my body is up to running these longer distances... or.. maybe there is another explanation.. I am just a wuss and I need to suck it up.

November 11, 2011 - Busy Couple Weeks.. But Some Great Running..

Over the past couple weeks, I have been feeling really good.. It's the best I have felt since my summer training. My mileage has ranged between mid90s to low100miles / week, my pace in workouts has come easily, and I am recovering quickly. What more could I ask for.. Below I have highlighted some of my major runs during an intense 8day period....

Grand Canyon S.Kaibab Rim to Phantom & Back - This was a solid run. My focus was to keep it somewhat conservative all day. I didn't want to dig to deep on my first trip out. Despite, taking it easy I managed a 56min trip from the Rim to River. The run from the bridge to Phantom was very relaxed and took me about 15min round trip. On the run up, I once again focused on keeping the pace under control. Despite hiking behind a mule train for 7min, I made the climb out in 1hr 11min. That is really fast for me especially considering how much I tempered my effort. I hoped this was a sign of things to come...

A1 21miler -  This run is a fairly flat run for the first & last 7miles. The middle 7 is very rolling, but somewhat fast. I kept it somewhat subdued the first 7miles on the gradual uphill grade and averaged 6:40/mile pace. The next 7miles, I decided to pick it up a bit and kept each mile between 5:50 and 6:10/mile pace. My original plan was to "throw-down" over the final 7miles, but my legs were still feeling the Canyon run from a few days before. As such, I decided to keep the pace steady, but not too fast. I ended up closing out the final 7miles at a 6:20/mile clip. I was very happy with the effort.

Elden Up Over & Back from Buffalo Park - This run starts at Buffalo Park then hop on the Pipeline Trail, which is quite rolling, to Forces of Nature Trail.  This trail is a rocky, winding single track, which connects me to Fat Man’s Loop.  The footing is about the same as Forces of Nature Trail.  I then run to Elden Lookout Trail, which takes me to the Summit of Elden.  From the Summit, I head down Elden Road to the Gate, where I have water & gel waiting for me.  At that point, I turn around.. and do it again in reverse.  All in all, this run includes ~5,500 of climbing and  ~5,500 of descent… and covers about 28miles.  The trails range from super technical to smooth dirt road.  A great mix…. and a tough day of running.

As I started this run, my focus again was to keep the effort fairly subdued. The miles came very easily and throughout the run I continually beat splits from my previous runs on this course. The last 5miles I really pulled back the effort as I didn't want to "dig to deep". Eventually I finished the run in 3:48:05 (my fastest time about 1.5min). My splits were Buffalo to 1st Lookout Trail Sign 36:27, 1st Sign to Summit 34:37, Summit to Elden Road Gate 37:07, Gate to Summit 49:09, Summit to 1st Sign 28:05, 1st Sign to Buffalo 42:38.

All in all, I am feeling really good about where I am at right now. I just need to keep things on track through early December. It appears that the start list for the North Face 50miler is turning into a Who's Who of Ultra Running. I am really looking forward to competing with these guys.  

October 24, 2011 - What's Next..??

During my recovery time from Chicago, my plan was to take a good number of days off.. then ease my way back into some relaxed running.. I started to do this last week and then I came down with the "cold that won't quit"..it's very mild, but it just won't go away.. It's forced me to take a few more days off / easy.. which probably isn't a bad thing... Also, during this time, I wanted to decide on.. "what's next". Over the past few weeks, I have batted around a few ideas... Do I chase the Qualifier in the Marathon... Take some time off.... Race an Ultra... Run a fast Rim to Rim to Rim.. ???..

Since I haven't run an organized Ultra since Jemez 50miler in May of 2009, (which was an eye-opening experience to say the least)... I decided that running an Ultra would be the most enjoyable thing for me to do next. After a little bit of searching around, I decided on the North Face 50mile Championships in San Francisco. The main reason I chose this race is that it is typically very competitive. The way I see it, if I am going to race, I want it to be as competitive as possible.

So once I get back to "healthy", the plan is long runs.. and more long runs mixed in with some tempos and fartleks. I am pretty excited about the race and I am REALLY looking forward to getting in some good, long trail runs..