Monday, June 6, 2011

Week Ending June 5

Mon - Noon: 13 miles (2,000') easy. From Bluesky TH - Bluesky - Valley - Arthurs TH - Arthurs Rock trail to summit - Howard - Mill Creek Link - Valley - Bluesky. My hamstrings were all weird and tight - I think from hours of weed pulling on Sunday. Anyway, other than the gimpiness, the run was very nice.
PM: 5 miles (1,000') easy. Falls long. Crazy windy out, but without the cold I just laughed at it.

Tues - Noon: 7 miles (1,600') easy. Falls - Spring Creek - Stout - Herrington - Spring Creek - Soderberg - home long. Sunny. Left hamstring still a bit weird but should be gone by tomorrow.
PM: 10 miles track. Hot out, but went with the long sleeve to get a good sweat going. Workout was 4 x 800/300, w/100 jog after 800 & 400 jog after 300. 800 'featured event' to get warmed up. Digits: 3:04, then 2:36/56, 2:38/54, 2:33/53, 2:37/56. Started these out with the intention of doing half marathon type pace, but ended up pushing harder.
---------------------------------------------------
January: 440.5 miles (45,850')
February: 304.5 miles (39,200')
March: 469.5 miles (67,100')
April: 427 (62,000')
May: 509.5 (92,500)

Total: 2151 miles (306,650')
Avg: 430 miles (61,330')
---------------------------------------------------
Weds - Noon: 8.5 miles (800') easy on the Valley trails. Right leg felt a bit jacked in the ankle and groin from the track yesterday, but should be good in a couple of days.
PM: 5 miles (1,000') easy. Falls long.

Thurs - AM: 2.5 miles easy at Heil Ranch outside Lyons for a PI photo shoot with Darcy (and Alistair).


Peak II



Photos: Don Karle

PM: 8 miles (2,200') Horsetooth TT. 3 mile warm up, then Horsetooth at 80%: 25:36. Hot and windy out, but a pretty controlled effort for a third-fastest ascent ever (on tired legs). Encouraging.

Fri - AM: 6 easy (600'). Valley.

Sat - AM: 33 miles (8,000'). Dirty Thirty.

Sun - 6 miles easy (1,400')
. Ran the Teva Mountain Games 10k course (after the race) with Alex as his warm down. Lots of slop, snow and crustiness.

Total: 104 miles (18,600')

May was a record month for me, and I doubt I'll ever record that kind of monthly mileage again. It's not that the running was that much of a grind - the mileage actually came pretty easily - it's just such a mental effort to constantly be trying to find time slots to run and then be ready to go at the drop of a hat when the opportunities arise. It's like being a runner 'on call.' The key for me is getting up early and being done with a lot of my runs before the family is up. It also means depriving myself of sleep and drinking record amounts of coffee. Surely not a sustainable proposition.

Anyway, with the mileage and vert now in my back pocket, it will be interesting to see what results the training yields. I know I'm fit, I know I'm durable, and I know I'm mentally prepared to work through some hurt. Will it be enough? I'll find out soon enough.

Had the opportunity to talk Hardrock this weekend, before, during and after the Dirty Thirty race. I'm definitely more excited about experiencing that event than I am Western States, but my competitive instincts are also very much in overdrive, which means both races are currently front and center in my running mind. I know that I recover quickly, so I'm still hopeful that I'll be able to put forth a respectable effort in the San Juans. But first some rest.

I'm thinking 80 miles, 50 miles, & 20 miles in the three remaining weeks to WS, with 2 or 3 more runs in the 20-25 mile range. Between WS and HR I am envisioning lots of sleep, very little running and a good amount of hiking.

7 comments:

  1. Fit, durable, and mentally prepared sound like 3 of the main ingredients to me!

    The mileage I understand, but its the total vertical you log that blows my mind. I would only want to touch those kinds of totals if I had skis on my feet for all the down! :-)

    Stay sane during the taper and here's to hoping it gets warm enough for some of the snow to start melting so WS is a running race and not a mountaineering contest!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You should come down for a few trips up the Incline before Hardrock.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the pic of the little guy puttin' his old man through the paces. Fun.

    On a side note, was bummed at how soft the Peak II is underfoot, is the Fuel stiffer?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Patrick - the Fuel is a very different shoe from the Peak - super comfortable, slipper-like feel. The current iteration is lacking a bit in the traction department (which is very rarely an issue on dry Colorado trails, but can be problematic in the snow/mud), but the new version coming out in the fall more than makes up for that. I'm a big fan of the Fuel for every day training and longer races. Wore them for Wasatch and States last year, and will wear the new version with the beefed up traction for States this year. The Peak is more of a performance mountain-type shoe.

    Neither are particularly stiff, but I tend to see that as a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the info, will check out the fuel. Looking to find a shoe for Pb that has a bit more underfoot than the F-lite 220, but I like a stiffer shoe. If the Peak II wasn't so soft I'd have no doubt used it for Pb, upper and the tread are sweet. PI is really getting their shit together it seems.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That 4x800/300 workout is tough, even with more rest in between the 8 and 3. I made it through 3 reps

    ReplyDelete