Not sure how to approach this one right now. I don't think I have anywhere near enough time on the mountain to go sub 5hr and I'm really getting comfortable with the current base building phase. I have no idea how much "damage" one hard day well into anaerobic zones would do to the current progress.
On one hand, I could treat it as a "training run" and just focus on keeping my HR low for the entire course and probably squeak in comfortably under the cutoffs.
OR
Treat it like a race and work my ass off to go sub 5.
I probably won't have my mind made up until race day but I'm going to keep plugging along with more distance/time and keep the HR low.
july 30
With the crappy weather once again yesterday, I decided I would join my wife in the gym instead of going out in the rain. Cranked up the incline on the treadmill and banged out 50 minutes at 15% and 12% inclines. Worked to keep the effort aerobic and walked the whole time.
week recap
July 23 - Added some to the Indigo Joe's loop and got 4.85 mi in 1:08. Avg HR 148, Max 157.
July 25 - Did a short out and back after waking up from camping in Texas Creek. Avg HR 140, max 156
July 27 - Finally got around to doing a MAF test on the tready at the gym. Ended up warming up for almost two miles before settling in for a 3 mile test.
Lap 1: 12:25, avg hr 149
Lap 2: 13:04, avg hr 149
Lap 3: 13:31, avg hr 148
July 28 - got out of bed early and headed to Palmer Park planning on getting 6 mi. I was pleasantly surprised with how low my HR stayed compared to perceived effort. I really feel like things are starting to progress a little bit with respect to pace at lower HRs. Still really early yet.
5.75 mi covered in the 1:21 I spent moving around the park with an avg HR of 144, max 156. Really had to focus on shutting it down on the steeper climbs in the park after bumping off the HR alert. I was a little concerned that the HR strap battery was dying but it proved to be consistent throughout the run. I might just replace it for peace of mind.
July 25 - Did a short out and back after waking up from camping in Texas Creek. Avg HR 140, max 156
July 27 - Finally got around to doing a MAF test on the tready at the gym. Ended up warming up for almost two miles before settling in for a 3 mile test.
Lap 1: 12:25, avg hr 149
Lap 2: 13:04, avg hr 149
Lap 3: 13:31, avg hr 148
July 28 - got out of bed early and headed to Palmer Park planning on getting 6 mi. I was pleasantly surprised with how low my HR stayed compared to perceived effort. I really feel like things are starting to progress a little bit with respect to pace at lower HRs. Still really early yet.
5.75 mi covered in the 1:21 I spent moving around the park with an avg HR of 144, max 156. Really had to focus on shutting it down on the steeper climbs in the park after bumping off the HR alert. I was a little concerned that the HR strap battery was dying but it proved to be consistent throughout the run. I might just replace it for peace of mind.
july 21
Another 3.5 mi easy last night. Avg HR 143, max 156.
Did some more reading on MAF last night and found what I think is a good target zone. Gonna try to actually test tonight on a known course.
Did some more reading on MAF last night and found what I think is a good target zone. Gonna try to actually test tonight on a known course.
july 16
3.5 mi easy at Indigo Joe's Running Club. Guess the heat wreaked havoc on keeping the HR low again even though I was averaging over 13:00 pace. Gotta stay patient and let the changes happen.
july 15
A little over 7 miles on my bike around the neighborhood. Kept HR low for the most part but it did sneak up to 160 when I got out of the saddle a couple of times. Rode for 53 minutes including taking a bath in the creek when I hit a rock and fell in.
july 14
After walking a mile Monday night to work out the kinks, I was ready to run last night. Got in 3 miles easy with avg HR of 146. Not sure if it was the afternoon heat or just added stress from recovering from the brutality that was Sunday's race but I caught my HR peaking over 155 going up some very smallish hills toward the end of the run. I slowed to a brisk walk and let the HR come down.
Left my watch in the car on Sunday. Luckily my old Polar HRM was in the desk and it still worked just fine.
Left my watch in the car on Sunday. Luckily my old Polar HRM was in the desk and it still worked just fine.
BTMR race report
I took it easy Saturday night after doing it up right for my birthday on Friday night. Drank plenty of water all day, not even one beer, and ate generous portions of rice and refried beans with a chicken breast on the side.
I rolled out of the rack at 5am on Sunday morning and threw on my clothes, downed a peanut butter and honey sandwich, and headed to Manitou. I parked down at Memorial Park, ran the backroads over to Soda Springs and then started the walk up Ruxton. Right as I left the park I ran into GZ and chatted with him for a minute. Had a nice chat with another guy on the way up and got to the depot at about 6:40. I stretched for a few minutes, chatted with Bucky, and then seeded myself at the back of the pack.
When the gun went off I started up the hill. I was conscious of the first climb and didn't even bother to get into a run before having to back off to a crawl up that first hill. About halfway up, I ran into McD and pulled him up through the W's. It didn't take long even at my slow pace for my HR to get into the red zone. I tried to recover on the few flats in the W's but it would quickly jump back over 170 at the slightest incline. Made it to the top of the W's in 38:45. McD indicated that we were about a minute slow of finisher's pace.
As we started towards No Name, McD came around and led for a bit. It wasn't long before he opened a gap on me and I didn't see him again until Barr Camp. I felt OK on the traverse over to No Name and the ice water at the aid station there was refreshing. I popped a gel on my way out and started up towards the flats. It wasn't long before MC came flying down around a switchback. Once I got to the flats, I was able to run some decent stretches but never could get my HR to go down. At that point, any slowing to recover would put me behind the 8-ball with respect to getting back down in 3:30. Luckily, the section from Bob's to Lightning Point is one of the widest on the trail so there was no issue dealing with the return traffic. As I crossed the bridge to make the climb to Barr Camp, I was all alone in the uphill direction and the stream of downhill runners was getting sparse too. I started wondering if I was going to get back down the hill in time.
I finally hit Barr at 2:03 and grabbed a Gatorade as I walked through the aid station. There was a rock step on the way to the actual turnaround loop and as I planted my right leg on it, my calf knotted itself up. I stretched it for a few seconds and came back through the aid grabbing more Gatorade. Once headed downhill I felt pretty good for the first mile or so. However, the uphills on the return immediately bothered my cramped calf. I continued down to Bob's Road in hopes they would have some sort of salt to fight off the cramps. No such luck, however. I'm not sure what time it was when I got to Bob's but I shuffled through drinking two cups of Gatorade and filling my water bottle.
The descent to No Name was pretty uneventful. I could still hear them cheering runners coming through when I was a couple of switchbacks away so I thought I was still within reach. Again I went through and grabbed Gatorade and moved out quickly. My memory is a little sketchy at this point about how much time I had left but I think it was around 45 minutes. I was trying to do the math in my head but quickly abandoned that effort to just keep moving. The heat really picked up once I hit the top of the W's and I was doing all I could to keep my feet up from tripping over the rocks in the trail.
At the Incline AS, I grabbed more Gatorade, topped off my bottle, and kept moving. At this point, it was something like 25ish minutes to go and just under two miles. Shit!... it's gonna be close. I almost took a digger on the second to last switchback but was able to catch myself. At the spur, the course volunteer told me I had 8ish minutes to get down the last 3/4 of a mile. I wanted so badly to stop at Ruxton Creek and take a dip or at least dump my hat in there to cool off but time wouldn't allow it. I finally hit the pavement on Ruxton and as I came around the slight curve saw Bucky waiting for me. He said I really had to move to make the cutoff. I told him something to the effect of "I can get down this hill, but my calves are locked up and I don't know if I can get up Hydro." "You have to do it. Let's go!"
I opened up my stride for the last 20 yards or so downhill and let the momentum carry me up the first few steps of Hydro. About 5 steps in my calves and feet had completely locked up and it was all I had to climb the last 30 yards up to the turnout. The crowd watching let me know that I had "plenty of time" but I threw my water bottle to the ground and dug deep to get to the line. I crossed at 3:29:23. My tag was ripped off my bib and as soon as I cleared the lane, I fell to the ground. My AWESOME wife quickly came over and threw a wet towel on my head and started handing me glasses of water. I rolled around on the ground for a few minutes before finally getting up to take off my shoes, throw on my flip flops, and try to waddle down to the Cog station. We took up residence on a curb by the power plant and it didn't take long before the worst case of cramps I have ever had attacked my calves, the fronts of my shins, and my feet. I attempted to knead them out and stretch but they were locked up tight. I've never felt a cramp like that before. They started loosening up and the guy sitting with us waiting for his wife produced a couple of Endurolytes and I took those down.
My parents finally made their way up to the Cog and shuttled my wife and I back down the hill. I took one bite of a slice of pizza at Soda Springs Park and handed it over to my wife. I was surprised their wasn't water or gatorade available down there. All I knew was I needed to get out of the sun. We made our way across the street to The Loop for lunch where I nibbled on a fajita and drank about 50 oz of water. I finally started feeling a little better after that.
Things done right:
Finished!
Things done wrong:
Not enough time on the mountain
Cramped real bad due to lack of electrolytes (two bottles of S!Caps ordered today)
Hot spots on my heels due to new shoes (stupid)
At least I know what I've got to work on in the next few weeks before the Ascent.
I rolled out of the rack at 5am on Sunday morning and threw on my clothes, downed a peanut butter and honey sandwich, and headed to Manitou. I parked down at Memorial Park, ran the backroads over to Soda Springs and then started the walk up Ruxton. Right as I left the park I ran into GZ and chatted with him for a minute. Had a nice chat with another guy on the way up and got to the depot at about 6:40. I stretched for a few minutes, chatted with Bucky, and then seeded myself at the back of the pack.
When the gun went off I started up the hill. I was conscious of the first climb and didn't even bother to get into a run before having to back off to a crawl up that first hill. About halfway up, I ran into McD and pulled him up through the W's. It didn't take long even at my slow pace for my HR to get into the red zone. I tried to recover on the few flats in the W's but it would quickly jump back over 170 at the slightest incline. Made it to the top of the W's in 38:45. McD indicated that we were about a minute slow of finisher's pace.
As we started towards No Name, McD came around and led for a bit. It wasn't long before he opened a gap on me and I didn't see him again until Barr Camp. I felt OK on the traverse over to No Name and the ice water at the aid station there was refreshing. I popped a gel on my way out and started up towards the flats. It wasn't long before MC came flying down around a switchback. Once I got to the flats, I was able to run some decent stretches but never could get my HR to go down. At that point, any slowing to recover would put me behind the 8-ball with respect to getting back down in 3:30. Luckily, the section from Bob's to Lightning Point is one of the widest on the trail so there was no issue dealing with the return traffic. As I crossed the bridge to make the climb to Barr Camp, I was all alone in the uphill direction and the stream of downhill runners was getting sparse too. I started wondering if I was going to get back down the hill in time.
I finally hit Barr at 2:03 and grabbed a Gatorade as I walked through the aid station. There was a rock step on the way to the actual turnaround loop and as I planted my right leg on it, my calf knotted itself up. I stretched it for a few seconds and came back through the aid grabbing more Gatorade. Once headed downhill I felt pretty good for the first mile or so. However, the uphills on the return immediately bothered my cramped calf. I continued down to Bob's Road in hopes they would have some sort of salt to fight off the cramps. No such luck, however. I'm not sure what time it was when I got to Bob's but I shuffled through drinking two cups of Gatorade and filling my water bottle.
The descent to No Name was pretty uneventful. I could still hear them cheering runners coming through when I was a couple of switchbacks away so I thought I was still within reach. Again I went through and grabbed Gatorade and moved out quickly. My memory is a little sketchy at this point about how much time I had left but I think it was around 45 minutes. I was trying to do the math in my head but quickly abandoned that effort to just keep moving. The heat really picked up once I hit the top of the W's and I was doing all I could to keep my feet up from tripping over the rocks in the trail.
At the Incline AS, I grabbed more Gatorade, topped off my bottle, and kept moving. At this point, it was something like 25ish minutes to go and just under two miles. Shit!... it's gonna be close. I almost took a digger on the second to last switchback but was able to catch myself. At the spur, the course volunteer told me I had 8ish minutes to get down the last 3/4 of a mile. I wanted so badly to stop at Ruxton Creek and take a dip or at least dump my hat in there to cool off but time wouldn't allow it. I finally hit the pavement on Ruxton and as I came around the slight curve saw Bucky waiting for me. He said I really had to move to make the cutoff. I told him something to the effect of "I can get down this hill, but my calves are locked up and I don't know if I can get up Hydro." "You have to do it. Let's go!"
I opened up my stride for the last 20 yards or so downhill and let the momentum carry me up the first few steps of Hydro. About 5 steps in my calves and feet had completely locked up and it was all I had to climb the last 30 yards up to the turnout. The crowd watching let me know that I had "plenty of time" but I threw my water bottle to the ground and dug deep to get to the line. I crossed at 3:29:23. My tag was ripped off my bib and as soon as I cleared the lane, I fell to the ground. My AWESOME wife quickly came over and threw a wet towel on my head and started handing me glasses of water. I rolled around on the ground for a few minutes before finally getting up to take off my shoes, throw on my flip flops, and try to waddle down to the Cog station. We took up residence on a curb by the power plant and it didn't take long before the worst case of cramps I have ever had attacked my calves, the fronts of my shins, and my feet. I attempted to knead them out and stretch but they were locked up tight. I've never felt a cramp like that before. They started loosening up and the guy sitting with us waiting for his wife produced a couple of Endurolytes and I took those down.
My parents finally made their way up to the Cog and shuttled my wife and I back down the hill. I took one bite of a slice of pizza at Soda Springs Park and handed it over to my wife. I was surprised their wasn't water or gatorade available down there. All I knew was I needed to get out of the sun. We made our way across the street to The Loop for lunch where I nibbled on a fajita and drank about 50 oz of water. I finally started feeling a little better after that.
Things done right:
Finished!
Things done wrong:
Not enough time on the mountain
Cramped real bad due to lack of electrolytes (two bottles of S!Caps ordered today)
Hot spots on my heels due to new shoes (stupid)
At least I know what I've got to work on in the next few weeks before the Ascent.
tapering, i guess
Haven't run since Friday. A bit of an involuntary taper before the BTMR on Sunday. Gonna try to get out and stretch them tomorrow afternoon if only for a few miles somewhere between golf, picking up my race packet, and going to Cripple Creek for some gambling.
I've definitely been a little anxious about this race since I haven't put enough time in on the mountain but I'm looking forward to it. At least I'll have a front row seat to watch the battle as the contenders come flying back down the mountain at me.
I've definitely been a little anxious about this race since I haven't put enough time in on the mountain but I'm looking forward to it. At least I'll have a front row seat to watch the battle as the contenders come flying back down the mountain at me.
waterton canyon run
I was up in Denver on Friday morning visiting family for the three day weekend and decided to run in Waterton Canyon. I hit the trailhead around 8am and headed into the canyon. I was fully expecting some singletrack and nice altitude gains since this is the trailhead for the Colorado Trail but it remained a well maintained gravel road that I ran on all the way up to the Strontia Springs Dam a little over 6 miles in. I took a quick break to take in the sight of the water pouring over the spillway and then headed back. The morning clouds had burned off and it quickly got muggy in the canyon. I had not planned on going 6 miles into the canyon but couriosity got the best of me and I really wanted to see that dam. Preparations before departing left me without any nip protection so I was reduced to walking and holding my shirt away from my chest after two miles into the return trip. The damage was already done and any length of time running felt kinda like somebody was taking a cheese grater to my nipple.
I walked long enough to let my shirt dry out and was able to run/walk the remaining miles and finally got back to the parking lot almost 3 hours after I had left. I again focused on keeping HR in check. Not sure what the numbers are since my Garmin is still in the car.
I'm gonna try to get in a few miles tomorrow and then a really short run on Thursday to keep things loose before the Barr Trail Mountain Run on Sunday morning.
Got a round of golf planned for Friday morning before heading up to Cripple Creek to celebrate my birthday with a little gambling on Friday night. Going to take it easy on Saturday night and check out the UFC fight at the homestead and kick everyone out as soon as they are over.
I walked long enough to let my shirt dry out and was able to run/walk the remaining miles and finally got back to the parking lot almost 3 hours after I had left. I again focused on keeping HR in check. Not sure what the numbers are since my Garmin is still in the car.
I'm gonna try to get in a few miles tomorrow and then a really short run on Thursday to keep things loose before the Barr Trail Mountain Run on Sunday morning.
Got a round of golf planned for Friday morning before heading up to Cripple Creek to celebrate my birthday with a little gambling on Friday night. Going to take it easy on Saturday night and check out the UFC fight at the homestead and kick everyone out as soon as they are over.
