Zane Grey and other updates

Photo: Nick Coury

I've really been looking forward to more "mountainous ultras" since last year. UROC had almost 40 miles of roads, and after the race's painful, slow, and depressing finish, I realized that I really like mountains and that I should just do what I love. Going into Zane Grey, the course seemed mountainous: a little elevation, 10k of climbing, technical terrain, etc. etc. etc. What I found on race day was hundreds of small climbs (and small descents), trillions of loose rocks (like marble on concrete), and a consistent course that would dive down to the left and up and to the right hundreds of times. To put it simply, it's a really hard and weird niche race. If you've ran the course before (i.e. winner James Bonnett since he was 16) then you get what it's all about. There's a rhythm, there's places to push and places to conserve, the footing is a puzzle, and there's some really challenging places that will hurt if you fudge the footing too much.

I went out hard with the lead pack for the first 12 miles or so until my knees couldn't take any more poor form. I'm the type of runner that loves to fly on the downhill, but the blend of switchbacks, ruts, rocks, and less than 100% knees meant I was in the meat grinder on every downhill after 10 miles. I considered dropping at 23, but continued on hoping for some breakthrough. The 11 mile stretch went on forever and finally at 34, I'd sufficiently convinced myself that I would have no knees left for the summer if I kept going. Heck, I might end up walking into the finish (which Katie did for 17 miles).

Photo: Lisa Ann Kravetz

So, I surrendered to Zane Grey. Ian Torrence had a good time heckling me while I was licking my wounds at 34, but he ultimately would sit in the same pain chair at 44 where I would heckle his withered body and slide ice cubes in his compression tights (Mother Theresa-like). It's a funny thing how rookies and veterans alike find the race so humbling towards the finish but have great enthusiasm at the start. I expect the rookies like myself to be clueless about the course, but Ian has done the race many times (maybe a dozen?) and he keeps sliding on his visor and coming back for more. His courage is admirable, and a micro analogy within ultra running about how we have so much relative comfort available as ultra runners, but we continually seek out pain and come back for more.

Could we run races with more cushy, fun, less painful terrain? Yes, but then we'd be no better than marathoners that avoid races with any climbs greater than 6 inches (and are equipped with less than 6 inches of.. heart). As Scott Jaime eloquently put it during a car ride back to the start at 11pm, we essentially run to recreate excellence or improve upon it. If we fail, the contrast against success is huge and depressing. If we succeed, we are hungry for more though we know success never lasts forever. I don't know if I'll sign up for Zane next year, but I'm guessing I'll be somewhere very challenging in April which could easily be anywhere.

April 22-28: 53 miles, 11,000ft

April 29-May 5:

Monday: 5mi, 1250ft, Westride- knees still sore, but mobile

Tues: 10mi, 1750ft, Mandeville, Sullivan, Luna, Westridge- knees less sore

Wed: off - precautionary to let the knees heal

Thurs: 14mi, 3,000ft, Capri,J Drop,Backbone,Temescal Cyn Rd - Knees felt 90%, wearing the Leadville for 3 days really helped the knees get stronger without dealing with pounding terrain

Fri: 10mi, 4,500ft, Video shoot on Baldy with Billy - Hiking all over the mountain and spontaneously running on and off, knee was fine

Sat: 9mi, 4,200ft, Whitney (North Fork of Lone Pine Creek) - Katie and I got a late start and hiked up to Iceberg Lake to find a lot of soft snow in the chute. Perhaps do-able with an earlier start, more acclimation, and knowledge of the route, but we elected to finish before dark and save the summit for Sunday

 

Sun: 21mi, 6,300ft, Whitney (Mt. Whitney Trail) - Easy hiking up to the summit, where Katie got a debilitating headache that made for a slow descent. I got to spend a lot of time at altitude and take some pictures. Not a bad trail to savor at all.




April 29-May 5: 69mi, 21,000

I'm grateful to have made a successful recovery and be on the way to some good mileage for AC training. I'll be posting some bigger numbers here as well as on strava.com so that mileage can be counted in a visually convincing way. I've also found my trusty New Balance 890 re-incarnated in a 0.5 oz heavier trail shoe with a rock plate and sick 80's skateboard styling, the mt910. I might post an gear review here soon.


Bonobo - Sapphire

4/15 - 4/21

Mon 4/15: Easy 4 miles on road with KD

Tues: 6mi, 1,750ft, Rivas Ridge run, good little steep technical run before work

Wed: 9mi, 2,250, Temescal-Rivas Ridge-Backbone-Rivas Cyn-Temescal at night

Thurs: 9mi, 1,500ft, Westridge

Fri: 13mi, 5,000ft, 3:01 Chris, Schulte, Cross, Ardine and I headed up the firebreak from Lake to Inspiration, up a scree chute to Lowe, some more scrambling up the backside of Markham, and then back down to lake on gradual trails (Lowe and Sam Merrill). If we retraced the uphills on the route back down, it would've been a 9-10 mi/5,000ft+ day. It's amazing how the front range offers up so much vert. It's truly a mountain running gem if you know your way around.

Scrambling (photo by Schulte)

Sat: 12mi, 4,000ft Easy recovery run up Waterman and over to Twin Peaks with Jorge, Katie, and Robert. Legs felt stiff after Friday, but enjoyed the steep trails again. Whatever the Zane Gray course throws at me next week, it should feel in line with the terrain I've been running lately

 Panorama from Twin Peaks (from a couple weeks ago)

Sun: 10, 1,600ft Easy taper day running Cooper Cyn with Jorge and Jorge and walking around a bit after.

63mi, 16,100ft

I am starting to find more and more vertically dense miles in my running. That will ease back down getting ready for AC, but I feel a lot stronger running terrain I "grew up on" (AKA, cut my teeth on, AKA, humbled me) a few years ago in Cooper Canyon. I remember hating the last few pitches up to Cloudburst, swearing they were "too steep" but now find them to be completely runnable. Should be a good sign for Saturday at Zane Gray and the rest of my AC training to follow afterwards.

Also my phone broke, so sorry for the lack of pics. Still deciding on a replacement..


Beach House - Real Love (spent a lot of time tapering and admiring the Kratka Ridge area, this song made it feel extra romantic)

About Time

At the start of this year, I was excited to train for Angeles Crest 100 and felt like I had to hold myself back from being too indulgent in raw mileage for fear of injury or losing too much speed. I feel like I built some speed and reintroduced some fast twitch muscles back to my legs, but I unfortunately developed a tight Sartorius that pulled and weakened my tendons on the inside of my shin. Luckily, my good friend (and PT) Michael Chamoun was able to identify this last Monday and painfully pull the tension out of my Sartorius and lay a strip of k-tape and let me get on with training.

The two weeks of 50ish miles had left me well rested and eager to get back on the trails. I was sore after the initial PT on Monday night, but 90 miles later on Sunday morning I polishing off a fast 22 mile run on the AC course.

 I'm really grateful to be back not only because I love running, but because I love training for AC. It's almost like going back to being a kid as an adult. I really grew up on that course as an ultra runner learning about the objective things like nutrition, climbing, downhill form, minimalism, altitude acclimation, etc. etc. but also the subjective things like the difference between discomfort and pain, real courage, endless persistence, the value of a positive attitude, optimism, and the shortcomings of an overly objective mind.

Last week I was reading the section of the AC race book about Jim O'Brien, and I started re-living those subjective lessons in my mind. Jim is a hero on so many levels:

-His course record time was set with 80's running technology and limited ultra-wisdom, yet his record still stumps us in 2013 with all our modern gear/footwear/nutrition options

-He dared to train at high mileages that very few other people in the world had ever done. His commitment to his training plan was a risk that ultimately paid off for him and his students there after

-He raced every section of the course down to the very end, there are no weak splits

So, with that, I'm going to gradually up my mileage for the next few months (through Zane Gray) and let my sole focus and attention go into preparing for August 3rd. His record deserves a lot more respect and attention in our modern packed summer of racing, and I intend to give it the effort it deserves.


March 25-31: 51 miles, 15,800 feet

April 1-7: 56 miles, 14,500 feet (3 days of running, including Grand Canyon R2R2R)

So, if we graph that, things were sorta looking down:

 

Then I got Physical Therapist Michael Chamoun involved and it caused this:

Monday: off, PT session

Tuesday: 8mi/2000ft tempo at Temescal up to Mt. Lee

PM: 3mi/0ft easy roads

Wednesday: 9mi/1750ft up Westridge Terrace road, onto trail a few miles and back

Thursday: 9mi/1500ft: 3.5 mi warm up to intervals, 200m repeats 2 sets of: 3x20% uphill, 3x5% downhill, 3.5mi cool down

Friday: 16mi/8,500ft: Baldy ski hut, north backbone to blue ridge and back. A bit of snow and post holing

 Glissading with Chris, photo by Erik

Glissading with rocks, photo by Erik

Sat: 28mi/7,500ft: easy recovery run with katie chantry-idlehour-mt. lowe road-wilson-winter creek

Sun: 22mi/2,750ft: Chilao-Chantry easy first section marking the trail: 68, then less marking and more running :71 to Newcomb, :55 to Chantry (about  :7 and :12 ahead of CR pace)

95mi, 24,000ft

Solid week, the last miles into Chantry felt like real fitness and endurance was coming back

Kishi Bashi


Dedicate your run to Boston this week with your local Team RWB

Old Goat Recap

6:35AM start - Lynne Cao

For the 3rd time in three years I headed off down the curvy and flowing 21 mile candy store loop to start the Old Goats 50 mile. In my three years of running the race, I've struggled to close well but enjoyed some good early miles on the rolling and technical singletrack. This year was no different and my legs felt effortless and I enjoyed setting the pace and occasionally singing Prince to Chris and Jesse.

Candy Store Aid Station, mile 11, photo: Ivan Buzik

On the return I felt good enough to want to build a buffer for the 2nd half of the race. I climbed solidly out of the lower canyon and saw Jesse and then Chris 20 seconds back. The trail felt inviting and I started to push for a couple minutes before I realized I needed another Powergel. I took one down and it came back up reminding me to chill out for now and bank calories for the later stages in the race. I took down two more powergels a few minutes later and started to feel good again as I rolled back through Bluejay catching Katie off guard so much so that she forgot my waistpack and had to sprint back to catch up with me.

On the climb up to Trabucco I started to feel a bit of fatigue that wasn't entirely logical. I'd eaten my gels every :25, I was hydrated, I hadn't been out of breath in the first 21 miles, everything should feel fine. I had a lot more miles raced and trained on my legs than last year, but this was part of my plan for the year. Race myself into shape, and hopefully reach a break through with fitness. I went back and forth in my head with the pain in my knees and the exhaustion flooding my body. Chris floated by and I entered the Trabuco aid station as he was taking off down the rocky singletrack.

I'd ran the singletrack down Trabucco a few weeks ago at Baz's Winter Trail 21k and felt awkward on it. I like to pride myself on aggressive downhill tactics, but the trail is part of a strange category I call technical douche grade. The footing is rough and rocky, but the grade and lines of the trail beg to be sprinted. The combination feels awkward, like you're never giving the trail the speed it deserves. So I approached the trail with the best attitude I could, but felt my knees tighten and ache and my body overexert to maintain a mediocre pace. By the time I'd reached the bottom, I had lost 5-6 minutes to Chris.

Holy Jim is perhaps one of the best trails in the Saddlebacks for running fast downhill. It's buffed out, has a gentle grade, and is in a beautiful sunny canyon. Unfortunately, the course goes up it, and my attempts to inject more energy into my body at the Holy Jim aid station was in vain, as I took off with a mouth of salty potatoes and one water bottle for the slow 5 mile climb to Bear Springs. I might have ran a bit better with two bottles, but my body felt heavy and tired. I persistently ran the lower part of the climb knowing Jesse was near, and held him off for 4 miles. Eventually my legs begged for a walk break and I let Jesse go.

I got into Bear Springs aid station and had to sit to down soda while I watched Jesse take off out of the aid station. Though I didn't know it until afterwards, we were both at a low point, he just appeared way stronger. I thought about all the racing I'd already done, all the muscle fibers and joints I'd burned out to fight for one more spot in a race. Those experiences had built character and toughness, but they'd also exhausted that cushion to supersede fitness with grit. I put my head down and tried to run as long as I could up Santiago Peak, but the fire road just kept going and going. Miraculously, I was only a minute behind Jesse, and 12 minutes behind Chris.

The 13 mile stretch back to Blue Jay is mentally exhausting. If the race had been 40 miles, I would've been overjoyed. Instead I had 10 more miles of steep, dusty, exposed, rutted out, rocky, SUV/motorcycle infested Main Divide. The race was thirty-five miles of lovely singletrack, and fifteen miles of despicable fireroad and now I had to pay up. Chris knew what to do, Jesse knew what to do, I knew what to do, but I found no motivation or energy. Though I was running some of the most painful miles I've had in the Saddlebacks, my legs were clicking off 10 minute miles and I'm keeping within striking distance of Jesse and equaling performances from much better days of yesteryear.

Horsetheif Aid Station, photo: Geoff Cordner

I'm unknowingly a few minutes behind Jesse at Horsetheif, but I am more concerned about my broken toenail that I got from stubbing my toe while dodging out of control dirt bikers. I limp in the last 5.5 miles and I expect a 8:10-8:15 and but am suprised to see 7:50 on the clock. I cross the line 3rd for the 3rd time this year.
 

 Thanks for crewing me Panda!

 Photo: Garry Wang

"That was bad" Photo: Gary Wang

Recapping the carnage

Over the past few months, I've felt my body develop and burn out. This graph is purely subjective and unscientific, but it does explain how I've raced hard, beat myself up, trained, tapered (not enough to undo the damage), raced hard again, repeat, repeat, repeat. I've got one last race at Zane Gray and I'm planning on doing some more rest and recovery for two weeks before getting in one good week and tapering again.

Talking with Zeke last night about running logs, he mentioned he doesn't record any info because he doesn't want to know when he's "not doing enough". That's definitely been a hard thing for me because I get embarrassed when just getting 50 miles in a week isn't easy when I'm beat up. I think that's normal for competitive runners because we like to always be either "attacking" or "holding myself back" when it should be distinct rest for several days. The laws of equilibrium are pretty clear about rest: if you go hard for a long time, you've got to take more than just 1-2 days off.

So, that's my plan, to be unashamed of two easy, embarrassingly low mileage weeks that let my tendonitis settle down and to be ready to come off Zane Gray ready for my high mileage build for AC through May and June. I'm tired, but I'm excited at the thought of just running 100-150 mile weeks with no races to immediately worry about..

Weekly Mileage:
70 mi, 16,500 ft


Interpol - NYC
Fitting melody

Pre-Old Goats

March 11-17

Mon: Off-letting some tendonitis in my knee/shin chill out

Tues: 9mi, 1:25, 2000ft temescal, past green peak

Wed: 7mi, 1:10, 1250ft, sullivan ridge with katie, knee/shin sore again

Thurs: 3mi, :30, 500ft, baldwin hills overlook, knee less stiff

Fri: 5mi, :50, 0ft, soft sand, knee iffy
PM: 6mi, :50, 1000ft, Sullivan and Luna with the 1010v2. Solid shoe

 

Luna Loop

Sat: 7mi, :75, 2750ft, half way up bear cyn at near FKT pace (49v47). I've felt this distinct attraction to the route ever since my first ascent. I've never felt in control and confident though as the grade can easily rip my quads to pieces in a matter of a couple miles. However Saturday, I decided to go out and just run hard to the halfway point at Split rock as a taper workout. I crossed the stream in just under 23 and knew that was "slow" but actually pretty decent for me and I felt great. The switchbacks on the east face are never easy, but I got into a good run-hike rhythm where I actually felt in control for the first time on that trail. I hiked hard when I needed to and ran when the trail gave me a chance. :49 is a PR to Split Rock by 5 minutes, and there's not way to accurately guess my time to the top, but if I'd have to make an honest guess, I'd say I could've done the next section in :55 or so and hit a 1:42 (former PR 1:49). The FKT is 1:36 but I think there's opportunity for my legs to continue getting faster and ready for that level of a low 1:30 providing my training goes to plan this spring.

East Face

   Finishing off the East Face, Ice House Canyon Below

PR

Sun: 10mi, :70, 0ft running around pacing people at LA marathon, lots of fun and a little bit of speed work keeping up with marathoners speeding down San V

Total: 47mi, 6:10, 7,500ft

Lots of taper to get the shin/knee back to race shape. Honestly I don't know if all the tapering has helped or not, it certainly has it hurt it and I feel energetic this week. Yet, I'm not sure if there's going to be 20 or 30 or 50 good miles in it tomorrow.

I've ran a good bit with Jorge and Chris the last few weeks, and I can say that we've all got a blend of good fitness and injuries going into it. Any combination could happen tomorrow, and I would feel like anyone pulling out the win would be obvious in hindsight. Jorge with 140 mile weeks and hammering Chris and I out on the Mt. D course, Chris with a strong run at Bandit and 100 mile weeks, and me with a strong 100 mile week and a PR at Baldy last week (plus I actually feel energetic for the first time in a few weeks). After the race, I know people will say they saw it coming for the winner, their training, their determination, etc. etc. but right now it's pretty ambiguous amongst the three of us.

Let me preface the song selection this week with this analogy: I feel like my running's been the same song for the past few years (which both these videos are Toro y Moi - You Hid) and they are like the songs, earnest, meaningful, beautiful.. But I think I'm coming into a more complete state of all my muscles starting to line up through yoga and running with more people to the point of sounding more complete. (I like the second version a lot more).

Recap March 4-10

Monday: 3mi, :30, 0ft - Easy road run around the golf course

Tuesday: 8mi, 1:10, 1,750ft - Temescal with Josh, Pedro, Elan
+2mi, :20, 1,000ft - Visited the YMCA at lunch, remembered how hard treadmills are to run on

Wednesday: 7mi, 1:10, 1,250ft - Sullivan Ridge with Katie

Thursday: 10mi, 1:20, 2,000ft - Capri-Backbone with Anthony, Josh, Elan

Friday: 24mi, 3:50, 6,600ft - Mount Wilson trail, Mt. Disappointment with Erik and Alex. Erik helped keep it an honest effort charging the climbs. Decent overall speed considering the snow from 4,000ft on up.

Erik and Peter in the firebreak up Winter Creek

Saturday: 26mi, 4:50, 7,600ft - Eaton, Wilson, Studevant, Winter Creek with Anthony, Jorge, Peter, Josh, Jesse, Keira, Sean, Chris, etc. etc. Ran the toll road alright, but the left quad got sore on Sturdevant in the slick wet snow. Hiked/ran winter creek and finished famished and sore.

-Anthony and Jorge on the Toll Road

-Keira and Jesse about to bag Mt. Wilson

Sunday: 16mi, 2:40, 3,700ft - Monrovia Canyon up to the ridge and back with Sean, Keira, Jesse, Josh, Katie, Michael, etc. Felt sore, but climbed decently on some gradual terrain. Felt a bit stiff returning on the singletrack, quad should feel better tomorrow.
 +4mi, :40, 0ft - Easy run around the golf course in minimus, felt alright



100mi, 23,900ft, 16:20

I built some confidence to go into tapering for Old Goats. All the people I ran with this week pushed me to keep running a little harder and put a little more quality in which shows in the raw numbers for this week. I think the structure of my year thus far has been a bit more ideal for setting me up for a better performance at Old Goats than last year. I feel like I have a bit more endurance, a bit more speed, and a little bit better nutrition. I'll hit one more workout this week if my quad comes back around, and then start easing into a guarded taper (extra sleep, shorter runs, but nothing too slow).


Family of the Year - Chugjug
(I remember seeing these guys with Little Dragon at the Avalaon and Sim dancing really hard.. good tune)

2 week recap

Feb 18-24
58 miles, 10,500 feet
Race week, took it easy. Had a bit of jetlag from a redeye on Thursday night over to North Carolina. Felt tired but had decent results for as lethargic as I felt, 3rd in 5:02 recapped in full on the Injinji blog.


Feb 25-Mar 3
69mi, 13,000 feet.
The technical trails of Mt. Mitchell hammered my ankles and quads. As a minimalist runner, I have to admit running hard when you're tired is particularly tough on the body. I had fun last Saturday running the Mt. Disappointment 50k course with a bunch of people including Chris, Jorge, and Erik pushing the pace on the climbs. I purposely wore the 1210's to keep myself from getting carried away chasing them, but I still put out a good effort on the climbs for as sore as I felt. Jorge and Chris should be sharp for Old Goats in a couple weeks.. My goal for the next two weeks to carefully increase the mileage and work in a couple fast workouts to build back confidence for Old Goats. I've felt like I've had a 2 week lull in performance since the last Big Baz 21k which felt particularly rough.. 

I've been digging this everytime Garth Trinidad's been playing it:

Ian Pooley - 1983 feat Hogni Eglitsson

Weekly Update

Headed off tonight to race at the Mt. Mitchell Challenge (40ish mi, there might be some weather forcing the course to be a few miles shorter).

I ran a bit hard last night and was spent by the Saturday Showdown at Bluejay, so I started the taper on a pretty tired note, but know that I've worked hard for the past 6 weeks to run well this weekend. Mackey also found a way into the race and will be throwing down with me, so it'll be a proper suffer-fest to place well. Should be fun as long as we get to summit in the 6" of snow up top.

Feb 11-17
52mi, 11,200ft (3 workouts)


Ben Gibbard - Something's Rattling

Weekly Recap Feb 4-10

Monday: 7mi, 300ft, :60, easy roads

Tues: 5mi, 0ft, :40 - 1mi WU, 4x800m 2:45-2:55, easy tempo-like speedwork to shake the soreness off from Ray Miller 50k

Wed: 6mi, 1000ft, :60 - Will Rodgers easy PM

Thurs: 10mi, 1700ft, :80 - Westridge/Sullivan loop plus extra with Josh

Fri: 24mi, 3,500ft, 5:15 - Heavy and Light loop: El Prieto to Brown Mtn to abandoned Ken Burton Trail, downclimbed the dam, and back to el prieto for a loop up brown mountain.

The tricky wet downclimb

Sat: 24mi, 8,000ft, 4:30 - Mt. Wilson Trail, Rim Trail, Sturdevant, Mt. Zion, Winter Creek with Jesse Barragan, Katie, and Sada. Beautiful day post snow, not too slow, only 2-3"

Jesse and Panda on Mt. Wilson with Baldy and Badden Powell in the background

Sun: 15mi, 2,000, 2:20 - Easy recovery day at Chilao up the Silver Moccasin trail to Three Points and back on the AC route.

Mt. Hilyer, Winter-mode. It's at least 60 degrees warmer in early August

Week Total:
91 miles, 16,500ft, 16:05

Got some mileage in before having to cool off a bit for Mt. Mitchell. Definitely excited to race in snow next weekend.


Matt Costa - Early November (live)

Really enjoying the new album. Solid musician.

Ray Miller 50k Recap

Thursday evening, I returned home to find a box from New Balance waiting at my door. The contents were a dangerously tempting prototype that I had patiently waited over a year for. I am a 10.5, but samples only come in 9.5's. I swapped out insoles, put on my thinnest socks and tried a 5 mile run at Ray Miller on Friday with Renn. The taste was addicting and I was convinced they were going to be a blast to race in on Saturday..

And for the first 15 miles, they were fast and fun. Though I wasn't quite moving at Chad Ricklefs pace, I was within 2-5 minutes, and well ahead of the 50 milers. But, like Cinderella's midnight curfew, my glass slipper escapade ended on Coyote Ridge as the technical terrain became too much for my swelling feet to handle. My toenails were hammered with every step downhill and my quads worked overtime to keep my body in control. My mind wandered to Mt. Mitchell 40mi, Old Goats 50mi, and Zane Gray 50mi and I wondered why I had signed up for so many races this spring. I'd only get more pain, suffering, and adversity in those longer races; why do I do this sport??

Alas, one great thing about 50k's is that the suffering is relatively short, so you can escape despair by quickly crossing the finish line. Today the low parts lasted for a good 10 miles until I exited Serrano Valley and saddled up for the climb up Overlook. I saw Van about a minute back on the climb and resolved to run as much as possible on the climb to avoid a showdown (and eminent demise of my toes) on Ray Miller. I ran every step, yet Van still kept holding on. Luckily the buffed out nature of Ray Miller let me fake a downhill stride well enough to hold on to 3rd in 4:21.

The day was a good reminder of how dumb I can still be. The race wasn't the most important event of the year, but if I had waited a few extra days to wear the proto, I could've ran a bit faster in shoes that fit me. I'll have another 2 showdowns with Chris this year at Old Goats and Zane Gray, so I'll live, learn, train with Chris some more, and then hopefully beat him.

Last 100 yards, photo by Kevin Chan

Mileage: 54mi, 10,500ft
Tapered for the race and let the body get an extra step back week for good measure. I'm focused on my next three races and a big May and June mileage-wise.


Falsetto and bass, love it: Mystery Skulls - Amazing

Step Back Week

 Jan 21-27

Monday: 6mi, 250ft, :50 - Easy roads over to see Bird (the horse) with some strides on the way back

Thursday: 9mi, 1750ft, 1:20 - Slight tempo-ish run on Westridge-Sullivan-Luna Loop

Wednesday: 4mi, 1000ft, :45 - Super sluggish jog up Westridge Terrace, legs tired from work

Thursday: 5mi, 1000ft, :45 - Out and back in the rain on Westridge fireroad/singletrack

Friday: 5mi, 0ft, :40 - Easy two miles, then 8x200m (:32-35's), mile cool down
6mi, 500ft, :60 - Easy road/trail over to Baldwin Hills while waiting on my car

Sat: 16mi, 5,000ft, 3:00 - Up Mount Wilson trail to the top, back down Bailey canyon with Sean and Josh, easy pace, but great terrain

Sun: 13mi, 5,800ft, 4:30 - Easy day up and down Bear Canyon with Billy, Colin, Josh, and David.

64 miles, 15,300ft, 12:50

If there's anything I regret in my training, it's not taking more step back weeks to recover and let my muscles build back up. When I hammer too many weeks in a row, I get slower and injured. So, I took it down a few notches last week, even though it felt one week too early for Ray Miller 50k.


Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - We the Common

Refined Training Plans

Veterans of ultra running have a trend of doing less mileage in the winter, and more in the late spring and summer. Whether it's the high peaks opening up, extra hours of sun, or the upcoming big 100 mile races in the summer, veterans know when to turn it on for peak performance. As an eager 26 year-old, I have an urge to start 2013 off with big 100+ mile weeks, but the reality of the situation is that I've got a unique personal reaction to high mileage: thought I do get more efficient and tougher and stronger, I also run slower and am more vulnerable to injury.

Though I am passionate about Angeles Crest (100mi) and doing everything I can right now to put myself in a position for success on August 3rd, I can't help but think back to previous years when I went hard early on, and either injured myself or burnt out. When I really needed high mileage in May and June, I struggled and dragged myself through some slow, burnt out, under fueled long runs. Right now though, I'm in a monthly race cycle that keeps mileage reasonable in order to build speed on dirt. I can't ignore turnover and will be working in some road work, but the past three weeks have shown encouraging signs of gaining some efficiency in the most basic skill of moving quickly over steep and technical terrain.

For example, I ran up Mt. Wilson toll road two Fridays ago and felt flat and lethargic (expected when you climb 13,000 ft. in 3 of the last 4 days), but as I checked my watch at the 8 mile mark at Winter Creek, I was 10 minutes faster than my normal easy days up the toll road. The fact is that my body is finding a balance of construction and destruction. Right now it's ideal for 60-90 mile weeks that allow me to keep some speed and endurance for 50k's and 50 milers. I look to those events to build confidence for AC and help me realize my weaknesses are and what I'm looking to improve on in my high mileage weeks in May/June.

I believe high mileage is a personal thing that must be utilized in unique ways. When a runner hits 1000 miles in 5-7 weeks, they'll come out with some combination of endurance and injuries. Obviously I want to minimize injuries and maximize endurance, but more specifically I want to come out efficient and confident in the idea of running 100 miles very quickly. For that, I'm looking to hit 140-170 miles per week for 4-6 weeks in May and June and rely on speed from The previous 4 months. Come July I'm hoping to be healthy, strong, efficient, and back in the Sierras getting my lungs and legs ready to attack the San Gabes with confidence.

So, that's my plan for the year, I'm going to spend a lot of time on the AC course and at Baldy this winter/spring and do some speedwork with the Brentwood locals during the week. In the 3 weeks thus far, I feel like I have a greater cardiovascular/muscular/mental state than I did at North Face. In two weeks, I'm going to get in on a great early season race at Ray Miller with Tim Olsen, Chris Price, and another 6-8 quick guys. Regardless of the results, I'm excited to get back to really competing again.

Weekly Recap: Jan 14-20

Mon: 3mi, 2,250ft, :33 - Treadmill workout, 3mi in :33 at 15% PM: easy 4mi flat with katie

Tues: 13mi, 5,800ft, 4:30 - Got a new job and celebrated at Baldy with Prizzle taking on Bear Canyon for the 2nd time in 3 days. Very windy, 4-6" of snow, but not too icy.

Prizzle going off piste

Wed: Crossfit moving my apartment to LA by myself.

Thurs: 10mi, 1,500ft, 1:25 - Easy warm up to Sullivan, then a tempo run: 8:00 pace climb up 3.75/1,000ft climb up Sullivan Cyn, then a 5:45 run down.
5mi, 0ft, :50 - Run back from returning a U-Haul

Fri: 7mi, 1,250ft, :65 - Easy morning run up Westrdige with Russell

Sat: 10m, 1,500ft, :72 - Warm up then Baz's WTRS 9.5mi/1,500+ race out at Bluejay good for 3rd in 1:08. Very technical trails with minimal climbing, fun race even on tired legs. Spent the afternoon and evening finishing up my moving/crossfit

Sun: 22mi, 7,500ft, 4:15; - Up Mt. Wilson trail, down Sturdevant, over Zion, and up Winter Creek before heading down Mt. Wilson Trail. Hiked and ran all day, enjoyed the warm temps and the steep trails.

Clear and sunny on the toll road

Weekly total:
74mi, 19,800ft

Shorter mileage, but two workouts, moving, Baldy, and a race keep the quality dense and cut out junk mileage.

Lusine - Another Tomorrow

2 week Recap

Snowshoes on Kratka Ridge

Dec 31-Jan 6

Mon: 5mi -1,200ft easy hike/run up kratka ridge in the snowshoes
PM: 4mi - 800ft tempo run up mt. wilson road for new years eve

Tues: 4mi - 0ft easy down mt. wilson road
PM: 12mi - 3,000ft redbox-disappointment-lowe

Wed: 4mi - 2,500ft treadmill, 3mi at 15%, 1 mi at 5%

Thurs: 7mi - 1,300ft pacific ridge tempo, 55:18 legs a bit sluggish from past few days of good training

Fri: 4mi - 0ft - easy roads

Sat: 27mi - 7,600ft - Chantry-Winter Creek-Kenyon Devore-Redbox-Disappointmet-Wilson-Sturdevant with Jorge and Hone. Fun day, enjoyed the company, snow, and views.

Hone and Jorge on Sturdevant

Sun: 14mi - 3,000ft - Easy with Katie doing some trail work on the AC course from Newcomb's Saddle to Sturdevant

81mi, 19,400ft 
(72mi, 17,400ft in 2013)

Good first week back training in earnest for Ray Miller. Felt some significant soreness in the quads on Thursday but I felt normal again by Sunday afternoon. Definitely have to eat a lot more food to run 80 MPW vs. 40 MPW.


Jan 7-13

Mon: 4mi - 3,000ft Badden Powell Treadmill Workout 46:40, started cautious and eventually found the confidence to hold 5.8 MPH for the last 10 minutes. Definitely a bit of a mental workout to avoid peeking at the screen.
PM: 10mi, 4,000ft up steep and cheap from lake to inspiration point with Hone and Price. Really fun bit of scrambling and steep 1,000+ ft./mi goat trails up to inspiration point with a Muir Peak tag for good measure. I don't think there's more than a few other people in LA that appreciate this type of running/hiking/scrambling, but it definitely fills our souls.

Tues: Off, a bit of tendonitis on the interior below my ankle. Had to respect the 7,000ft day before

Wed: 2mi - 0ft - easy AM shakeout
PM: 10mi - 4,000ft - intervals on the last pitch up westridge terrace, then another 4mi easy with KD up westridge fireroad

Thurs: 7mi - 2,000ft - Capri, Nazi Camp stair climb (x2) good pace, but a little sore from Wed night

Fri: 16mi, 4,000ft - 2:17 - Eight miles/4000ft up Wilson Toll Road easy in :88, down in hard :49

Sat: 23mi, 5,500ft - 5:00 - Cold start at Mishe Mokwa with Spector but eventually warmed up. Got lost but eventually found the Serrano Valley trail and got psyched for Ray Miller 50k, easy climb up sandstone

Sunday: 13mi, 5,700ft - 5:15 - Cold, snowy, icy climb up Baldy, lots of character with the thick snow, enjoyed the downhill with Andy.

Baldy in the Background 

Gaining the ridge with Marshall and Andy

85 Miles, 28,200ft+

Was waffling on going for a full 90 miles, but ultimately decided that I'd gotten good climbing, good workouts, and good fitness out of the week.


Bepu N'Gali - I Travel to You

Also, the new Toro Y Moi album streaming preview is up on Pitchfork (I recommend Day One) 

New Year

“IF WE MISS THIS, I’M GOING TO BE SO MAD AT YOU!” Katie gasped as we ran up Mt. Wilson road with 7 minutes to go in 2012. We’d planned to run 5 miles up from Redbox to Mt. Wilson at midnight to ring in the New Year’s looking over the city. It was 28 degrees and we were in down jackets, insulated pants, and gore-tex so we could enjoy the views in comfort. I’d lost my headlamp (which I ended up not needing under the full moon) and delayed our start till 11:20PM. I pushed the pace and tried to encourage Katie as she gasped for breath, but we only made it within a ¼ mile of the summit by the time the clock struck midnight and Katie collapsed on the pavement cursing at me for my stupidity at causing such a terrible omen for 2013.

From my immediate perspective, it was perfect. We weren’t in a stuffy party, or a crowded Times Square; we were on a desolate frozen road in the mountains running towards 2013 with determination, urgency, and passion. We failed to reach the summit in time for 2013, but we walked another ¼ mile and took in an enormous view of fireworks over a glistening city to the south, and moon lit mountain peaks to the north. I felt excited about 2013 for the simple fact that I was passionate about another goal, one in a list of many unflinching difficult goals. 

2012 wasn’t as good as I wanted to be, and I spent the latter part of December in reverie of my running. My climbing speed definitely fell below my expectations, and I just didn’t keep my momentum up after July to have any great races in the fall. Hardrock was definitely a life-altering event for me, and it’s given me perspective and confidence for 2013. I am confident that I can make the shift in 2013 to becoming a great climber, and a smarter racer. My downhill legs are definitely primed, and my body feels ready for higher mileage.

My best theories right now for improving my climbing are going after consistent tests and FKTs. I am going to use the treadmill once a week for a “Badden Powell” four miles, 3000ft (okay BP is 3.8 miles, and 2750) suffer-fest for time. Also during the week, I’m going to have a fast trail to hammer weekly for time. My first option right now is the rolling Pacific Ridge “climb” from Crystal Cove to Ridge Park 3.5 miles with 1100ft of climb and 300ft of descent (Strava.com makes the digital competition with locals fun). This workout lets me hammer my legs hard in a variety of grades from 5-20% on 1-5 minute climbs. There is lots of opportunity to figure out form, posture, and responsiveness to terrain in this consistent arena. Finally, I’m going to go after FKTs on the weekend on Baldy, Wilson, C2C, Badden Powell, etc. I have two days to run long, and I think I can gain a lot from a long hard run Saturday and an easy recovery run Sunday. All this is just reinforcing structure in my training, however, it’s also keeping a long term vision in the forefront of my mind.

On Mt. Wilson on New Years Eve, Katie really couldn’t find much value in sprinting into the New Year, but she could find some merit in my claim that 2013 is not the finish line. We have so much more to accomplish than this year can hold in itself, and if it can grant us anything, it is improved confidence, training methods, and satisfaction. I may or may not be able to pull off a JMT run, an Angeles Crest 100 course record, or a Baldy FKT but I know that everything I do in training that is in support of those goals is going to pay off in the long run.

Dec 17-23

40mi, 5,500ft. Easy first week back from break. Mostly roads and a relaxed effort to avoid injury.

 

(Mt. Mitchell, NC)

Dec 24-31

57mi, 15,500ft. A few good hour runs back east with a really fun day in the snow on the Mt. Mitchell Trail. Then a couple easy runs out in the San Gabes snow with KD

Year Total: 3,449 miles, 811,050 feet climbed

(last year’s totals: 3,261 miles, 727,500)

The numbers suggest more climbing (470ft/mi) but don’t mention the higher altitude that I ran at, the injuries (calf and back), under-fueling issues, and a big post Hardrock lull. So, which a little more foresight, I can safely chase some higher numbers and perform better in races I’m better suited for in 2013. 

New Toro y Moi album is going to be very, very, very addictive.