tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38549623140851583492024-03-14T12:57:34.766-06:00Pb RunnerAndrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-48114509218699079602015-11-28T13:08:00.000-07:002015-11-28T20:54:17.137-07:00Hardrock Training AnalysisWow. It's been a really long time since I've written anything here. I apologize for that. Blogging about running has definitely taken a backseat to actually running, and to life in general.<br />
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A quick summary of my life: everyone on my team was basically laid off in June. 18 years, 1 company: done. The severance package was actually pretty generous. I took the summer off to run in the mountains, tackle some long-overdue home repairs, and enjoy plenty of quality time with my family. I started looking for a new job in September, found one, and since then I've been madly scrambling to check everything off of my ever-growing todo list! Yes, we're moving.<br />
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<b>Goodbye, Leadville! Hello, Seattle!</b><br />
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We'll keep our beloved, little Victorian house in Leadville. We hope to return once or twice a year, but now our life has shifted to the Pacific Northwest. I moved out here a few weeks ago. The rest of the family will follow in January. It's exciting, but also very sad-making. We'll dearly miss our Leadville friends and the small town life. It's hard to feel like we're not selling out. Exchanging the extraordinary for the typical. No more remote work for me. No more ridiculously flexible hours and zero commute time. No more altitude!<br />
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Training is about to get interesting! (I'm not sure it'll even be possible next year!)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey, at least I still live within sight of a 14er!</td></tr>
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I still haven't found the time to write up a Hardrock or a Leadville race report, but I thought I'd write down a jumble of random thoughts about my training this year. I put a lot of effort into thinking about and adjusting my training for Hardrock. Did it pay off? Eh... probably not, if you solely look at my race performance. But, I'm pretty sure I was in the best shape of my life this year. For a variety of reasons, I just didn't quite execute to my highest potential on race day. I still had a lot of fun along the way, though! Hardrock is an awesome race. Leadville is an awesome race. I love both of them.<br />
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If you're one of the few people that get selected for Hardrock and have never run it before, don't be intimidated. It's totally doable. In fact, I'd argue that it's much easier to finish Hardrock in 48 hours than it is to finish Leadville in 30 hours. Hardrock is not 18 hours tougher than Leadville. (I'd say it's closer to 10 hours tougher for a typical mid-packer.)<br />
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Is it possible to over-hype Hardrock? Yup. It's a beautiful, beautiful course, and I've signed up for it again next year. I loved it. And I think everyone should probably run it at least once. Go ahead, throw your name in the hat, and you might be able to run it sometime in the next 8 years! But, is Hardrock the be-all, end-all race? Naw... It's an extremely well-organized, thoughtful, and unique event, that's for sure. It is epic. That's probably the best adjective for it. Truly epic. But there are many different races out there, many of which could be just as rewarding as Hardrock. Life is short.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grant-Swamp Pass.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why blog about my training? Well, honestly, this post simply started out as a series of personal notes for my future self. I'm certainly no expert, but hopefully writing about my experience training for Hardrock can help other aspiring Hardrockers in some small way. As the Hardrock lottery approaches, I found myself feeling very nostalgic about my training (which I've basically ignored for the past 3 months). I really invested a ton of time into my training this year-- not just my actual running, but also planning for it, analyzing it, and adjusting it on-the-fly. After my nagging injuries in '14, my confidence had taken a bit of a hit. I was beginning to doubt myself. Was running 100's every year even sustainable?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, my training for Hardrock was very, very solid. It’d probably grade it an A-. I pretty much hit all of my training goals. I broke monthly mileage/time PR's for every month from December through June. I set some solid PR’s on many benchmark runs that I’ve run many times over the years. Even though my Hardrock performance was a little bit of a disappointment to me, and I failed to set another PR at Leadville this year (though I did big buckle), I can almost certainly say that I was in the best shape of my life. It was a truly awesome summer that I may never be able to replicate again in the future.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That said, there’s still plenty of room for improvement.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most of the changes I’d make would be with how I actually ran Hardrock/Leadville-- not with how I trained for them. (My race day execution adjustments will have to wait for a future post!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was coming off an injury-plagued ‘14 season. My training was very inconsistent from June '14 through November '14. I started training for Hardrock before I was even selected-- almost exactly a year ago on December 1st.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Simply stated, my goal for ‘15 was to just run more. Yes, cross-training has its place, but I needed to get off my bike trainer and run. (FWIW, I count biking and skiing as cross-training, and snowshoeing and hiking as running.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Consistent, easy running.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The 80/20 rule. Don't obsess about streaking. Track total training time, not mileage. Focus on vertical-- especially later in the season. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t just track numbers, also keep a journal of how each workout feels.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Your spreadsheet is your quantitative and your journal is your qualitative. A journal is especially useful for retroactively figuring out when an injury actually started. It’s also great for tracking illness and accumulated fatigue. Basically, it’s great for tracking all the touchie-feelie stuff that’s hard to capture in a spreadsheet. Despite being hard to quantify, that kind of stuff is absolutely key to understanding how your training is going.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Above all: Don’t get injured!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cunningham. Probably my favorite picture of the race. Pure joy.</td></tr>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For reference, I consider the 8 weeks prior to your 3-week taper to be the most important weeks of training. All the rest of your training is simply setting yourself up to be able to absorb these final weeks. As a baseline, I consider approximately 50 miles, 10 hours, and 10,000 feet of vertical to be a solid, sustainable training load during this final block. I've had my best races when I've been able to reach those numbers consistently during the final weeks of my training. Ideally, you want to push beyond that a few weeks to encourage even more adaptation. While training for Hardrock, I hit the 80 miles, 20 hours, and 20,000 feet of vertical marks about 3 times (not consecutively). Remember, this is all at 10,000 feet! You probably want to adjust those numbers for lower elevations...</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's a <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2015/07/hardrock-training-summary.html" target="_blank">link</a> to a post which contains all the actual data for my Hardrock training this year.</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In no particular order:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, living in Leadville while training for Hardrock is pretty damn ideal. And not just living there for a few weeks, but living there day-in and day-out for 9 years. No one was training at a higher altitude than I was. No one. Think about it. That’s pretty awesome to be able to say. However, training at 10,000 feet is not without its downsides, it doesn't make you superhuman, and it’s certainly not required-- even for a race like Hardrock. It’s much harder to develop power/strength when you’re so aerobically limited. Recovery takes longer. And you’re running in frickin’ snow for more than half the year. What’s truly awesome about Leadville is the easy access to so many wonderful trails and inspiring peaks. Training in Leadville is not dull. It’s inspiring. And it’s supremely motivating in the summer when the trails finally melt out and the wildflowers start exploding. That’s its biggest advantage. I felt totally at home during Hardrock. The high altitude, the crazy weather, the alpine terrain: it’s what I had been training in for months (and living in for years!). Though the San Juans are different than the Sawatch in many subtle ways, they’re about as close as you can hope to get.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kroger's Canteen. Hardrock summed up in a single aid station.</td></tr>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">For the first time ever, </span>I joined the local gym <span style="font-weight: normal;">(from December to March).</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> I think that worked out well for me. I called it "weather insurance". Yes, it's badass to run outside everyday regardless of the weather, but let's be realistic. As a father with two young kids and a full-time job, I would often have to train very early in the morning or late at night. In Leadville, it is damn cold at those hours. Like, single-digit cold. At some point, training outside is just silly. I actually respond very well to treadmill training. There are no distractions. It's just me and my numbers: HR, pace, vertical. I never ran longer than 60 minutes at a time. (I would never want to use a treadmill longer than that.) But, 60 minutes 2 or 3 times a week in the dead of winter? Yeah, that's fine with me! It got me off the bike trainer, which was my only bad weather option in previous years. I've also heard the Stairmaster referred to as "the secret Hardrock training weapon" on more than one occasion. I only tried it a few times myself, but I think I'll experiment with it more in the future.</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We had a very late spring melt in ‘15. May’s weather was terrible. It took a ton of dedication to get out the door in May. Only having a race as burly as Hardrock on my calendar got me out the door on some weekends. Running down in New Mexico at Jemez also certainly helped.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If I were to train for Hardrock again, I’d probably cut back a bit on the 50-mile runs. I think one mountainous 50-miler is good for testing out nutrition, but the other 50-milers could be replaced by back-to-back 20 milers-- or even just a single 50K race-- run at a slightly higher intensity. 50 milers aren’t necessarily bad, but they lower your overall training intensity.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A hilly 50K run at high intensity is truly the best/hardest workout possible. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Target 7 hours of focused, hilly running as your hardest workout.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> It could be 26 miles with 10,000 feet of vertical or 30 miles with 7,000 feet of vertical or whatever. Yes, everyone loves mountainous 50 milers (myself included), but 12 hours and 50 miles is not strictly-speaking a better workout. At best, when you take everything into account, it’s about the same except with 5 extra hours of time investment.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That said, <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2015/04/r2r2r-report.html" target="_blank">running the R2R2R in April</a> was awesome! Probably not worth it on a regular basis due to all the driving, but you absolutely must run this at least once in your life. Why not when you’re training for your first Hardrock? The timing is perfect.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All my highest time/mileage weeks were 50-miler weeks. I would’ve liked to have some high mileage weeks where the workouts were more consistently spread throughout the week. Like, a week where I ran/hiked 2+ hours/day for 6 days. That's a bit of an exaggeration perhaps, but hopefully you get my point. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My highest mileage weeks were probably a bit too “spikey”, with more than half of the miles coming from a single run on the weekend.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>V</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ariety is key</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The more different workouts you can do, the better. Mix things up. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ideally, I should’ve kept doing mile interval workouts throughout my entire training</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-- even when the weather became pleasant and I moved off the treadmill. I'm more instinctively drawn to hill workouts, but speed workouts have their place.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I could probably make my training much more periodized than it was. I did take easy weeks in ‘15 (when I was sick or busy or injured or whatever), but my hard weeks could’ve been even harder and my easy weeks even easier. More than once it's struck me how the ideal training plan seems to involve periodization at almost every level: you want your training load to fluctuate on the monthly level, the weekly level, the daily level, and even within a single workout. It's almost like a fractal...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unfortunately, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I seem to require consistent stretching to survive training at 7+ hours/week.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A quick dynamic stretching routine prior to the run, then some static stretching after the run. (And sometimes even some stretching during the run!) This is critically important during the first couple of days following a hard workout! I hate stretching.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I survived my training, but </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I felt like I was on the edge a lot of the time</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. A fair amount of illness. A back injury (unrelated to running). A sprained ankle. Nearly constant early-season AT soreness (leftover from '14) and knee aches (i.e., runner's knee) that never really went away for long. My injuries seemed to correlate more with my midweek training volume rather than any particular long run. Or, rather, I think I was most injury-prone 1-2 workouts after a long run (when I was still very tight)-- not during the long run itself.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oscar's Pass. Racing yet another thunderstorm.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t really need to train as much as I did pre-March.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Yes, I need to get myself into a place where I can absorb my first hard training block in March, but I could easily do that with 5 workouts/week. More is generally better, but I could “ramp up” my training faster than I did, I think. Block-driven training requires more disciplined, quality workouts, however.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Assuming you’re still running quality workouts (i.e., speedwork, long runs, etc.), </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t think you necessarily need to mix in tons of vertical until June</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I love focusing on vertical-- I think it strongly encourages quality, and makes you think more about time rather than distance-- but it’s probably not strictly necessary so early in training. Certainly your final “block” of training (i.e., the final month before your taper for Hardrock) needs to be all about vertical, vertical, vertical. But, prior to that, your training can look like it normally does for any other 100 miler (e.g., Leadville).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was definitely a benefit to bumping my typical 3-hour early season </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 22.08px; white-space: pre-wrap;">(February-April) </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">long runs up to 4-5 hours.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The extra time was solely due to increased vertical-- not miles. In fact, I ran fewer miles per long run even with the 2 extra hours! These harder long runs probably don’t need to happen every week, however.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Respect the 14er!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> There’s something very unique about climbing up and bombing down a mountain. It really works the glutes/quads in a way that’s hard to replicate. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You need to get to a place where hiking a 14er doesn’t make you sore for the following day’s workout.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> For those of you that don’t live near a 14er, a 3-4 hour run/hike with the maximum amount of vertical you can find is a good substitute.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ideally, I’d do much </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">more hiking at a higher intensity</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Beyond conversational pace. Early season snow, plus my ankle injury, impacted how much hard power-hiking I could do. Easy hiking: yes. Power-hiking? Not so much.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Consider using a weight vest for hikes-- especially for shorter, midweek hiking routes. I never did this, but I think it might be worth experimenting with.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Though I didn't try it that often, I think 2 runs per day has its place during peak training. Usually 1 hard and 1 easy. Or even 1 run and 1 hike. It’s a safer way to boost volume. Mile-for-mile, it might even be better than running 7 days/week.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I liked periodically tracking RHR and MAF pace during training. I don't usually do that. I should’ve kept it up during the summer, though... It was more of a winter activity when I was stuck on the treadmill.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The more I look at my HR data, the more I’m convinced that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">altitude compresses your HR ranges</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your lows are higher and your highs are lower.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> My RHR would be about 5 bpm lower at sea level (high 40’s), and my perceived “MAF” HR would be about 10 bpm lower at altitude (low-to-mid 130’s). It’s a little tough to correlate precisely because my training at sea level is typically on much flatter and easier terrain than my training in Leadville, but 140 bpm at Leadville feels way harder than 140 bpm at sea level (e.g., Florida or Boston). I think that’s the easiest way I can state it. 140 bpm does not feel the same at altitude as it does at sea level! It feels significantly harder. My HR barely ever spikes into the 150’s in Leadville. At sea level it spikes into the 150’s all the time-- even into the 160’s. In both cases, my perceived effort feels almost exactly the same. Alternatively, if I hold my HR constant, I seem to run about 30-45 seconds/mile faster at sea level on similar terrain (on, say, a 5 to 10-mile run). What does this mean for MAF training? Well, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t see how you can blindly stick to your textbook MAF HR at 10,000 feet!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> It’s going to be too high to be a truly easy effort. You’ve got to adjust it towards the lower end of the MAF spectrum. Alternatively, just run by feel. A MAF run should feel like a MAF run no matter the altitude. However, your HR is going to be significantly lower at that level of effort at 10,000 feet. YMMV. We’re all an experiment of one, etc., etc., etc.. But that’s what 6 years of training in Leadville has taught me.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grant-Swamp Pass</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hesitate to say it, but I think </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bodyweight matters</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The lighter you are, the faster you are-- especially going uphill. During peak training, I weighed less than I did than when I thru-hiked the AT 13 years ago! Crazy. I didn’t actively diet or reduce my caloric intake, but my increased training load (with more consistent early-season running) definitely had an impact. My power-to-weight ratio was probably the best it’s ever been.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can’t necessarily point to one single reason, but </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I definitely recovered faster/better from both Hardrock and Leadville than I have from any of my 100’s in previous years</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. My legs were totally solid both during and after my goal races. I wasn’t afraid of attacking the downhills during Leadville, for example. I knew leg strength was not going to be my limiting factor. I think this is one of the main benefits of massive amounts of vertical during training and lots of 5+ hour runs.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not that I’ve really run a lot of 5ks-- in fact, I’ve never even officially raced one-- but, I broke my 5k PR in August while running at 12,000 feet! That’s 3 back-to-back-to-back sub-7-minute miles. At 12,000 feet! Given my general lack of speedwork, I feel that this is pretty solid evidence that you can, in fact, get faster at shorter distances just by increasing your training volume and focusing on lots of vertical. As I’ve read somewhere before, hill workouts are like speed workouts in disguise. I’m sure actual, legitimate speed workouts become more critical as your goal pace drifts closer to 5-minute miles (i.e., you need to work on leg turnover and developing more fast-twitch muscle fibers, etc.), but if you’re happy in the 6’s (like me) then you can get there by simply hammering the vertical and increasing your overall training time-- even if most of your runs are fairly slow.</span></span></div>
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Spending 4 days scouting out the Hardrock course 2 weeks before the race was very helpful. It definitely helped me visualize the course, the climbs, the conditions, and the aid station locations better. It also gave me the opportunity to do a ton of hiking fairly close to the race. It was a little nerve-wracking to log 20+ hours of training 2 weeks before Hardrock, but I think that it's relatively safe as long as the training consists of hiking at a relatively relaxed pace.</div>
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During my taper, I tried to focus on simulating the conditions I would experience during the race itself. I actively planned my runs to coincide with afternoon thunderstorms. Many of my final shakedown runs were at night. I sought out snow fields and scoped out river crossings. These final runs helped me test out a variety of possible gear options, and definitely led to me making helpful, last-minute tweaks to my gear strategy for race day itself.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cataract-Porcupine. The final thunderstorm approaching.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My stomach continues to be my limiting factor in 100-mile races. I can fairly reliably make it to the 10-12 hour mark without any trouble, but then I always start to battle nausea. I switched to Tailwind this year, and it’s good. It’s fine. But, it didn’t change my life. It basically seems to work as well as maltodextrin for me. I tried to lower my hourly caloric intake this year (from 300+ calories/hour to 250 calories/hour), but I didn’t really notice much of a difference. I tried ginger chews. I tried increasing my salt intake. I tried Zantac. All these adjustments seemed to help a little bit, but there was no huge nutrition breakthrough. Probably my best stretch of nausea-free running was when I paced my friend, Alex, for 61 miles at Wasatch! I felt great almost the entire time and I was just grabbing random “real” food at aid stations: hot dogs, burritos, hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, etc. I drank a fair amount of water and even ate gels in between aid stations. Why didn’t I get nauseated? Who knows! Probably because of my lower effort level, the lower altitude, and because I never got dehydrated because I started pacing so late in the afternoon. I’m still searching for that elusive 100-mile race where nausea isn’t a major factor!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final climb. I crushed it. Fear is a powerful motivator!</td></tr>
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Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-11179354007359374192015-07-06T11:02:00.000-06:002015-07-06T11:02:34.803-06:00Hardrock Training Summary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I apologize for my silence during the last two months, but as you can probably guess things have been a little crazy. Training has taken priority over blogging about training! However, I did want to write up a quick post before I head off to Silverton tomorrow.<br />
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In short, I'm ready.<br />
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I've trained more for Hardrock than I ever have for any previous race. Will it pay off? We'll have to wait and see. As I like to remind myself, solid training is necessary, but not sufficient for running a strong race. There's still that pesky execution part that happens on race day. My training has given me the possibility of attaining my goals, but has certainly not guaranteed that I'll achieve them. It will take discipline, focus, and drawing on my years of hard-won 100-mile experience.<br />
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My May was full of racing: Collegiate Peaks, Jemez, and the Dirty 30. I finally broke the 4-hour barrier at Collegiate Peaks and managed to finish in 19th place. It was probably my strongest race ever. I paced myself perfectly, running the first 3 miles at 8:05 min/mile and the last 3 miles at 7:55 min/mile. The Jemez 50 was certainly a solid workout. I was battling a head cold, so it was a bit slower than I'd hoped, but it was fun and instructive nonetheless. For my service requirement, I volunteered at the Sage Burner 50K down in Gunnison. Troy Howard and I manned an aid station together. It was a ton of fun to chat with him about Hardrock. I learned a lot, but what I was most impressed by was his genuine enthusiasm and excitement for the race. The Dirty 30 was by far my most fun race of the year. It was the first sunny day in a long, long time. I probably wasn't fully recovered from Jemez the week before, but I felt really, really good considering. I had no previous PR to beat, so it was a much more organic race. I was surprised by how technical the course was, but I loved it. I probably ran some of my best downhill miles ever, dancing around all the rocks! May was another all-time PR for me for training time and miles in a month.<br />
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June brought with it a shift in focus from running to hiking. My final training race was the re-scheduled Quad Rock 50. Oh. My. God. It was brutally hot. Especially for this poor Leadville resident. I was exactly an hour slower than I was last year, but with an almost 60% DNF rate, I was happy that I managed to finish at all. It was a good reminder to respect the heat and drink, drink, drink! Quad Rock was my third ~50 mile, ~11k vertical run of the year. That definitely gives me some confidence heading into Hardrock.<br />
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The highlight of June was my 4-day scouting trip of the Hardrock course. Alex and I were hoping to backpack the whole thing, but too much snow still clung to the high passes. (And I was also nursing a sprained ankle.) It would've been too much of a slog to make it worthwhile. So, we drove around to each aid station and did short out-and-back day hikes. We focused on the later sections of the course-- especially the sections I'll be running at night. Wow! The course is absolutely amazing! Truly stunning. Words cannot do it justice. (Believe me, I hate that phrase, but it is appropriate in this particular case!)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnkryvivI_4IcJj0GfdQdHwkZ3sbLmWSJlEXVhJxGac_KdA3jA1wIJT5jzBVYiRSsM-fBgqisEYI2rnVX0szK4EQYThdc6Kpy48BngyLMivWw7cQOx2JqErJg6VEdPcNrIzMrnSFqmAxk/s1600/IMG_2971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnkryvivI_4IcJj0GfdQdHwkZ3sbLmWSJlEXVhJxGac_KdA3jA1wIJT5jzBVYiRSsM-fBgqisEYI2rnVX0szK4EQYThdc6Kpy48BngyLMivWw7cQOx2JqErJg6VEdPcNrIzMrnSFqmAxk/s400/IMG_2971.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grant-Swamp Pass.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I'd estimate that we only saw maybe 30-40% of the course, but I feel like that's enough. I saw most of the potentially confusing sections, and was able to get a feel for all the major climbs. I definitely readjusted my expectations for the race a notch or two towards the hiking end of the spectrum (rather than the running end). Yes, I need shoes with a burly tread. Yes, I'm going to use poles for the entire race. Yes, I need to up-size my running vest to a larger capacity. Yes, I am going to start off incredibly conservatively!<br />
<br />
Tapering is driving me crazy. I feel sluggish and out of shape. The last few weeks have been a lot of long, slow, low-intensity hiking. I'm second-guessing everything. But, those worries are just pre-race nerves. My insecurity talking. Deep down, I'm confident. Well, as confident as I can be before taking on such a huge new monumental challenge!<br />
<br />
I'll close with some charts which detail what my training has looked like for the last 7 long months. Frankly, I'm amazed that I was able to pull it off. I set some pretty lofty goals for myself way back in December, but I think I did a pretty good job of meeting them. There's always more you could do. One more workout. One more mountain you could climb. But, I'm done.<br />
<br />
I've done the work. I've got the beard.<br />
<br />
I ready to stop thinking about Hardrock and actually run Hardrock!<br />
<br />
A big thanks in advance to the small army of crew and pacers who will be taking care of me on race day! You guys rock!<br />
<br />
Hardrock starts Friday morning. It's been a long, long time coming.<br />
<br />
Wish me luck!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dZzFLcVHkNocrd0sqWQMjZDpZushN56sp1851EIZ6oXX2Tz0t1gpbeROAt2mCOKK3lw7i6l2N5iUinfe3rxTEHB-G2lr_t2FaczXJ2rm8XVdTf7HI4LlleBI4Jlyr9Sj8n54rngUMWI/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+6302015+71215+PM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dZzFLcVHkNocrd0sqWQMjZDpZushN56sp1851EIZ6oXX2Tz0t1gpbeROAt2mCOKK3lw7i6l2N5iUinfe3rxTEHB-G2lr_t2FaczXJ2rm8XVdTf7HI4LlleBI4Jlyr9Sj8n54rngUMWI/s400/Fullscreen+capture+6302015+71215+PM.bmp.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All my training from December through the end of June.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqmjOHZtzv6Sup-bTJ55dkQDetcgEMLnEhDYSS-FizRkE4u0NlUAXo0HipzSuJxK9aXi-voPoVTYah4mJ2Sa0hTU_Dr_1KtIVHZj7ZkCAK8BOayspWbJpdInOA5eJ1t0s-E4YWmzKDN4/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+6302015+71259+PM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqmjOHZtzv6Sup-bTJ55dkQDetcgEMLnEhDYSS-FizRkE4u0NlUAXo0HipzSuJxK9aXi-voPoVTYah4mJ2Sa0hTU_Dr_1KtIVHZj7ZkCAK8BOayspWbJpdInOA5eJ1t0s-E4YWmzKDN4/s400/Fullscreen+capture+6302015+71259+PM.bmp.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A month-by-month summary. Every month was a PR for that month.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpt0AtWw1xRLwGkGueI36aEvSAYsStdLTqEqSpoHF6u25dxuqD720xdsL8iG1dutRiTKQiC6jRfj4KW1c1PODGWg-2B1nbaOZ_Clr3QHOyaZ1H89Oil2I-TwjfYJC9Ib0ONwESxdJJb64/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+6302015+71351+PM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpt0AtWw1xRLwGkGueI36aEvSAYsStdLTqEqSpoHF6u25dxuqD720xdsL8iG1dutRiTKQiC6jRfj4KW1c1PODGWg-2B1nbaOZ_Clr3QHOyaZ1H89Oil2I-TwjfYJC9Ib0ONwESxdJJb64/s400/Fullscreen+capture+6302015+71351+PM.bmp.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 vs. the 3 previous years.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKpCgTxcT9j3a8fR0kHdgpEq018OV0vGDvl2bgeZl7RbRv_g_IDEySqz7TMizI0ecNJxVQX_CY1spV1bIcQXXUCMpyIzb2-bcGprc5oUPEH7Je6cpuFEVDLtPDS4ZYrP0hcrk0HFGDNWc/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+6302015+71550+PM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKpCgTxcT9j3a8fR0kHdgpEq018OV0vGDvl2bgeZl7RbRv_g_IDEySqz7TMizI0ecNJxVQX_CY1spV1bIcQXXUCMpyIzb2-bcGprc5oUPEH7Je6cpuFEVDLtPDS4ZYrP0hcrk0HFGDNWc/s400/Fullscreen+capture+6302015+71550+PM.bmp.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was my go-to spreadsheet: comparing this year's training to previous years on a week-by-week basis.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-32876430790351974772015-05-11T10:02:00.000-06:002015-05-11T10:13:11.195-06:00Month in Review (April)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_xlDRKko0AsaWQyOXKiVgvUj6NY8gI-G7y6R_0BroP19Nx6aQ4v3WTYD27V-o2HtZKGdeDnmnCdydItG0uG_YVq2NX5FTOsxPunE4I2vrhCaHqJXWhCUwxkjiCfisfJ7nQpEO2sAOiU/s1600/TurbineLauncher+5112015+85650+AM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_xlDRKko0AsaWQyOXKiVgvUj6NY8gI-G7y6R_0BroP19Nx6aQ4v3WTYD27V-o2HtZKGdeDnmnCdydItG0uG_YVq2NX5FTOsxPunE4I2vrhCaHqJXWhCUwxkjiCfisfJ7nQpEO2sAOiU/s400/TurbineLauncher+5112015+85650+AM.bmp.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April training history.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I wanted to post some quick thoughts on my April training before we slipped too far into May. My increased training load, and just general life craziness, has made carving out the time to blog a bit harder to justify lately. Still, I enjoy reading about how other folks' training is going, so I wanted to make an effort to contribute rather than just lurk.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1SC9oEFWrMpNkJu5LupJU-6jRa5IUk9reDhTJeRAImwGLguKWpZFOwYkTAzBWxaHE7CKpmr_-md3IHFHXf3FtpLW2X4anSsYswKL3R0saR9WVPgi2eZJWvkklbCmQRWg0Wy84VQNFp0k/s1600/IMG_4438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1SC9oEFWrMpNkJu5LupJU-6jRa5IUk9reDhTJeRAImwGLguKWpZFOwYkTAzBWxaHE7CKpmr_-md3IHFHXf3FtpLW2X4anSsYswKL3R0saR9WVPgi2eZJWvkklbCmQRWg0Wy84VQNFp0k/s400/IMG_4438.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sierra on spring break in Fruita. She lost her first tooth.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This April was by far my best April ever, but only marginally tougher than March. Roughly +45 minutes running, +4.75 hours training (which includes some biking), +14,000 feet vertical, but -32 miles running. (But, when comparing April and March, I have to consider the fact that April had 1 less weekend than March. That can have a significant impact on my numbers as weekends are when I usually go for my long runs.)<br />
<br />
At a high-level, April broke down like this: easy week, hard week, hard week, easy week.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFUKMroDThRf87bX95_4uj069zVQzGRDrYGKsWeW9lgZXRQDwWr0kOUJuo07GdN2lJ65M7Yole0HyaU0OuC63Rmw2wIG2NQwsj5cCoHh1QArSi20v2A9KEkaeonQkKfvR2hODMi3uAHA/s1600/TurbineLauncher+5112015+85614+AM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="46" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFUKMroDThRf87bX95_4uj069zVQzGRDrYGKsWeW9lgZXRQDwWr0kOUJuo07GdN2lJ65M7Yole0HyaU0OuC63Rmw2wIG2NQwsj5cCoHh1QArSi20v2A9KEkaeonQkKfvR2hODMi3uAHA/s400/TurbineLauncher+5112015+85614+AM.bmp.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 weeks of training.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The first easy week was due to illness and spring break travel/family time (camping in Fruita). The second easy week was due to my right knee acting up (so extra biking). I think I've got that lingering injury under control now... Consistent daily stretching seems to be the solution. The two hard weeks sandwiched in between were my two hardest weeks of the year. So, that’s something.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh532BD0j7sCt9H6EqOgwjnKGhT_xgeKAmYMk2BPLATGsgZO0f99a3rfAE0Yb4pvbeEowztW95joint4QsX4dqW6dzG_cQsgd2sI16d_l7ccWkzUrjt_1rT_i5DaSxVP8d3cGGE_ocBG2c/s1600/IMG_4420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh532BD0j7sCt9H6EqOgwjnKGhT_xgeKAmYMk2BPLATGsgZO0f99a3rfAE0Yb4pvbeEowztW95joint4QsX4dqW6dzG_cQsgd2sI16d_l7ccWkzUrjt_1rT_i5DaSxVP8d3cGGE_ocBG2c/s400/IMG_4420.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ethan dying Easter eggs in the desert.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2015/04/r2r2r-report.html" target="_blank">My R2R2R adventure</a> was the cornerstone of my training in April. No question about that. I can't imagine April without it, and I don't know what I could have possibly substituted for it. It was a huge dose of quality, both mentally and physically.<br />
<br />
Though I didn’t make it up Mt. Elbert in April as I had hoped, I did hike up Mosquito Pass once. It's always windy up there, but this time the wind was so strong it felt like it was going to tear my jacket off! 60 mph, maybe?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs51fp2Napz9H1d0Kd-n7JL7fZsDYUT96VhU0mU0twO5M6Ze3oDiv4r2G0Q_hB7XGoo4X7aojOe2dDQh7PXqb-rca-JwvXavOKXwVTjud1Zz171NQStKp5qZpk4tjsTJGITetfR7-7d0E/s1600/IMG_2577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs51fp2Napz9H1d0Kd-n7JL7fZsDYUT96VhU0mU0twO5M6Ze3oDiv4r2G0Q_hB7XGoo4X7aojOe2dDQh7PXqb-rca-JwvXavOKXwVTjud1Zz171NQStKp5qZpk4tjsTJGITetfR7-7d0E/s400/IMG_2577.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing up Mosquito Pass. (Before the mid-April blizzard.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5aT50IeBu4pDDYctPSrm6ZeiTZLGLYKdxHn5K4AuA-dcIEItqt6jo2oADKt7tQqjAaGiMXrcABTCA5_jETRqmkfXwE5lZ_vOecJqXDB6HdqGQsOO4nvd68BVqbbqtdxlE8CL0vXHMkg/s1600/IMG_2584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5aT50IeBu4pDDYctPSrm6ZeiTZLGLYKdxHn5K4AuA-dcIEItqt6jo2oADKt7tQqjAaGiMXrcABTCA5_jETRqmkfXwE5lZ_vOecJqXDB6HdqGQsOO4nvd68BVqbbqtdxlE8CL0vXHMkg/s400/IMG_2584.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Damn windy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When you look at the data a little deeper, I do like the fact that March and April were fairly different even though my total running time wasn’t that different. I basically traded lots of flat, sea-level miles in March for more vertical in April. And I did far more running at altitude in April. I ran some fast stuff. I ran some slow stuff. April had a pretty good mix of runs.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFnKTglghYtT3vJQkSYL-LLtt3X3jnstJRlaMxQHAdlbDcYLqwqHFb7kv4FfOIK_KvPpChey0bgQyhbXMjNVOmsTwFJFoivXqr2b82j62EJ_oDc7x2eI_9ZYgPNZRoNUmtUrENL_OJR4/s1600/TurbineLauncher+5112015+85800+AM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="40" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFnKTglghYtT3vJQkSYL-LLtt3X3jnstJRlaMxQHAdlbDcYLqwqHFb7kv4FfOIK_KvPpChey0bgQyhbXMjNVOmsTwFJFoivXqr2b82j62EJ_oDc7x2eI_9ZYgPNZRoNUmtUrENL_OJR4/s400/TurbineLauncher+5112015+85800+AM.bmp.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A week-by-week comparison of April training for the last few years</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
One thing to keep an eye on, though, is that I think I’m pretty well adapted to my standard long run of 4.5 hours and 1 mile of vertical. That's about 3 laps up and down Midland Hill in Buena Vista-- what has become my go-to long run this year. I don’t really feel that sore the day after, nor do I have low energy, etc. So… I gotta raise the bar on that in May, somehow.<br />
<br />
My current training for Hardrock is very much influenced by my past training history. Since we're all an experiment of one, I feel like historical training numbers are an invaluable tool in shaping my training plan-- such as it is-- and gauging how things are going. Hardrock presents a unique challenge for me not just because of the course, but because of its timing-- more than a month earlier than the Leadville 100. So, I'm always looking slightly ahead on the calendar to see what I was doing back in '14, '13, '12, etc.<br />
<br />
The good: I trained more in April ‘15 than I did in any past May (except May ‘10, which was an all-time monthly PR that stood for a long while).<br />
<br />
The less good: I trained less in April ‘15 than I did in every past June! I’m pretty close for some Junes, but my April numbers are way behind my June ‘13 numbers.<br />
<br />
So, yes, I’m 4 to 6 weeks ahead of my normal training schedule/fitness. (Hooray!) But, I’m really going to have to kick things up a notch in May if I want to beat my June ‘13 training numbers. I can't become complacent. May cannot look like April.<br />
<br />
And, of course, I want this June to be my all-time toughest month of training ever. I think I'm on track... But, we'll see what May brings!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviPVUWf-7-WMHk5cpbGEv5bVaRwxet_852tQ8QVostgOQq7YsYaGbBy9LB1InP4mSRpOwgnXfEiO2Bl2y-PQIDOs8uFNvouV3we7SX0uvYC08aSRABe40oZyZ8JeyBKzGmC0f_74iYVg/s1600/TurbineLauncher+5112015+85844+AM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviPVUWf-7-WMHk5cpbGEv5bVaRwxet_852tQ8QVostgOQq7YsYaGbBy9LB1InP4mSRpOwgnXfEiO2Bl2y-PQIDOs8uFNvouV3we7SX0uvYC08aSRABe40oZyZ8JeyBKzGmC0f_74iYVg/s400/TurbineLauncher+5112015+85844+AM.bmp.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See that red hump from '13 that I'm approaching? That's what I want to beat!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLQiaDMF2MuZX5a3_Rs0lPjoU93HBliObMeS9bu1iXxarZnZ4f7YBnRrXOnkomczHPdwER9BrhxD7STbKCmg4j5pv8PYTwAPLL23WwEytS9v2zkWUorjVv-H1ulY4gQi5WgYQbSXaUhU/s1600/TurbineLauncher+5112015+85848+AM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLQiaDMF2MuZX5a3_Rs0lPjoU93HBliObMeS9bu1iXxarZnZ4f7YBnRrXOnkomczHPdwER9BrhxD7STbKCmg4j5pv8PYTwAPLL23WwEytS9v2zkWUorjVv-H1ulY4gQi5WgYQbSXaUhU/s400/TurbineLauncher+5112015+85848+AM.bmp.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm less worried about past distance PRs since I'm focusing more on vertical for Hardrock.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-90050346342706887992015-04-21T11:21:00.004-06:002015-04-21T15:39:53.403-06:00R2R2R ReportI was a bit anxious during the week leading up to my R2R2R attempt. On Monday, after my toughest week of training this year (12+ hours, 60 miles, 10k vert), I had begun to feel a dull ache in my right knee. Runner's knee. It was the same knee that gave me trouble after Bighorn last summer. I spent most of the week stretching my legs and hips and icing my knee in a desperate attempt to recover in time for Saturday's adventure. I hit the bike trainer for the first time in almost two months to try to give it a break from the impact of my typical everyday running schedule. Finally, after warming up on the bike, I went on a tentative 2-mile run on Wednesday to see how it felt. Okay. No pain. Some pops and clicks, but much better than it felt on Monday. So-- what the hell-- I decided to give the R2R2R a shot. A questionable decision, for sure, but I had been planning this trip for too long to abandon it so easily. And I certainly didn't want to bail on my running partner, Alex.<br />
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Thursday morning, in a rush to beat the incoming storm, I threw all my gear in the Subaru and managed to escape Leadville. The roads were pretty dicey all the way to Minturn, but once I hit I-70 conditions weren't too bad-- just one localized blizzard outside of Rifle. It figures, just a week after I had swapped the snow tires off both our cars, the biggest storm of the season strikes. While I was away at the Grand Canyon, my wife got to deal with the 20+ inches of snow that fell on Leadville! So much for my dreams of the local trails melting out soon! Having camped in Fruita on spring break just two weeks ago, it felt very strange to drive through it again and see the mesas blanketed with snow. I stopped at The Hot Tomato, grabbed some pizza, and continued on to Moab, following beautiful 128 along the Colorado River.<br />
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Just outside of Moab, I hopped out of the car, stretched some more, and went on another test run to visit Morning Glory Arch. It was cloudy and chilly and the skies spat rain and hail on my return. I arrived back at the car soaked and numb, but no worse for wear. My knee was a little grumpy, but fine. I ate dinner, snagged a campsite in Sand Flats, enjoyed a beautiful sunset, and slept in the back of the Subaru. It drizzled all night. The pitter-patter on the roof of the car seemed out of place in the desert. I awoke to more clouds and drizzle. I was just below the snow line.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sun sets over Moab.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The La Sals in the distance.</td></tr>
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I met Alex, Erin, and the kids for a quick breakfast in Moab before hitting the road again. I drove through another snow storm in Blanding before driving through Monument Valley in the haunting clouds. It was still surprisingly chilly. Snow laced the sagebrush and accented the red slick rock. As I got closer to the Grand Canyon, a few spots of sunshine began to break through the clouds. I arrived shortly after noon and went on another short, easy test jog along the paved Rim Trail, weaving through all the tourists. The canyon was as majestic as ever. My knee seemed to be cooperating. I met Alex at our campsite in Mather Campground. We spent a leisurely afternoon catching up and making final preparations for our run. After a quick dinner at the lodge, and a beer or two, I set my alarm and curled up in my sleeping bag, breakfast at my side.<br />
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I woke up at 4 am, ate my breakast (two pieces of banana bread, a smoothie, and an espresso), and crawled out of my bag around 4:30 am or so. After fumbling around with our gear, and some final stretching on my part, we drove the short distance to Yaki Point, parked at the nearby picnic area, and headed out. It was about 5:30 am and just getting light. The idea was to leave as early as we could without needing headlamps. I wanted to enjoy the views as we descended the South Kaibab Trail into the canyon.<br />
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What followed was an amazing, amazing day of running. I'll spare you the blow-by-blow details, and try to summarize my experience as best I can.<br />
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First, the plan. It was quite simple, really. South Kaibab to North Kaibab and back. Roughly 42 miles and almost 11,000 feet of vertical. (We parked about a half a mile away from the trail head, so it ended up being about 43 miles total.) Many runners we met along the way planned to ascend back up Bright Angel Trail, which is a mile or two longer, but has water at Indian Garden. Instead, we simply retraced our steps taking the shorter, steeper, drier South Kaibab Trail. (Which is considered the standard route, I'd say.) We each had enough water capacity to survive the 2-3 hour climb.<br />
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We heard reports that the water was actually turned on at the North Rim, which would make our lives much easier. It meant we wouldn't have to carry as much from Cottonwood Campground up to the North Rim.<br />
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Alex has run the R2R2R route 5 or 6 times. (So many that he's lost count!) I attempted it with him in '13, but I had to turn back due to a bad case of the stomach flu. Now, two years later, I was back for some redemption. Alex is training for Wasatch-- a September race-- so his training is just getting started. (In contrast to, say, last year when he was training for Bighorn-- a June race.) And, while I'm almost certainly in better shape than I've ever been in April, I was nursing a gimpy knee and I really wanted to take the time to soak in the scenery and enjoy the day. In other words, this was not a FKT attempt (far from it!) nor were we chasing PR's. The plan was to take things easy, don't rush, take lots of pictures, and have fun.<br />
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And that we did!<br />
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It was a truly spectacular day. Perfect weather. The recent precipitation seemed to have washed the dust out of the air, making for very clear skies. It was hot at the bottom of the canyon in the afternoon, but not too hot. I'm sure it can be far, far worse. Within, I'd say, 30 minutes we had peeled off our hats, gloves, and long-sleeved shirts. Though frigid at the rim at the start, it warmed up quickly on the way down. If you're willing to suffer for a bit, you can skimp on extra layers if you'd like.<br />
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We took it super easy on the steep downhills, chatting away. Alex has a degree in geology and is a fantastic companion to have in the Grand Canyon, as you might imagine.<br />
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We refilled at Bright Angel Campground, snacked, used the facilities, and headed off through the narrows gently up to Cottonwood Campground. The whole R2R2R route can be roughly broken up into: 7 miles down, 7 miles flat, 7 miles up, turn around, repeat. The flattish section from BAC to CCG is very runnable (in both directions). Once we emerged from the narrows, it was all new terrain to me. I was forced to turn around and stagger back to the South Rim shortly after the first set of bridges in '13.<br />
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To my utter amazement, my knee was holding up just fine. It somehow survived the initial 5,000 ft descent to the river-- not exactly how you want to start a run when you're suffering from a knee injury! My confidence was building as the miles clicked by. It looked like the day wouldn't turn into the limping disaster that I had feared. We were in shadow almost all the way to Cottonwood Campground, where we stopped and took our second break. A short while later we stopped at the Pump House, where the water was also turned on. Then began our ascent to the North Rim. Up until this point, we'd seen backpacker activity around Phantom Ranch, and Cottonwood Campground, but only met a few folks out on the trail. The trail population would increase as we neared the turnaround.<br />
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The canyon was surprisingly lush. The light green of new leaves popped out on the trees and cacti. Flowers were everywhere. Some kinds I recognized, others were new to me. All beautiful. The North Rim of the canyon is much wetter than the South Rim, and in places water gushed from steep cliff faces. The trail was dramatically cut from the canyon walls. An engineering feat which was at times vertigo-inducing. As we climbed, we started crossing paths with other backpackers (who had started from the canyon bottom) and more and more runners. I'd say there were about 3-5 folks attempting the R2R2R in front of us, and maybe another dozen behind us. I was actually expecting more given the timing of our run-- the peak season for this kind of crazy adventure.<br />
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The North Rim is about 1,000 ft higher than the South Rim and felt very different. Chillier, certainly. Snow still lingered from the recent storm. Aspens made their appearance. By the time we had finished our snack I was almost shivering in my shorts and t-shirt. It was time to get moving again and warm up.<br />
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I stopped and took 100's of photos on the return trip. The scenery seemed to demand it! I was high on endorphins and loving life! I kept thinking to myself, "This, dammit, is why I run! This is why I slog down the Boulevard everyday during winter!" Believe it or not, I was a little skeptical that the run would be really worth the 9+ hour drive to and from the Grand Canyon. (That's a lot of time in the car. More time than I spent running.) But, yes. Yes, it was! The R2R2R should be on every runner's bucket list. It's totally worth it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roaring Springs</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A burst pipe. All water on the South Rim is pumped from the North Rim.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching Phantom Ranch</td></tr>
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I had been running with my iPhone in airplane mode to conserve its batteries. The best spot to get cell reception in the canyon is on a little hill across from Ribbon Falls. (You can thank Alex for that beta.) From there, I happily texted my wife to let her know that I was 31 miles into the run and feeling fantastic. Euphoric. It was growing hotter as we continued to descend down to Phantom Ranch, but it was manageable. The key is to really take advantage of the water at all the spigots. Don't just fill up your bottles (I was carrying two 20 oz handhelds), but also drink some water on the spot, wet your hat, and carry a bandanna and keep that wet as well. Typical ultrarunning heat management stuff.<br />
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At Phantom Ranch, I bought a few Snickers bars to fill my stomach for the final climb ahead. (It's a good idea to carry some cash with you for just this reason. The R2R2R is actually quite civilized.) I also slurped down another Clif sweet potato pouch. I'd been drinking Tailwind all day and it was getting the job done, but it was also nice to eat some savory food every once in a while. So, each leg I'd get about 500 calories from Tailwind, 100-200 calories from Clif pouches, and maybe 100 calories from a GU. I'd try to polish off 20 oz of Tailwind every 45 minutes and drink maybe an extra 10 oz of water at the various water stops. For the final climb up to the South Rim, I brought two 500 ml soft flasks to carry extra water, which I filled at Bright Angel Campground.</div>
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I managed to grunt up the final climb without digging myself into too deep of a hole. I must confess that I did start slacking off on nutrition a bit as I neared the finish, and I probably suffered more than I had to. There were a few sections that I hiked that I probably should've jogged, but at least I never completely imploded. By the time we were climbing, the sun was low enough that there were actually some nice stretches of shade on the way up. A breeze also kicked in the higher up we got. So, the heat actually wasn't too brutal. I continued to shake my head in amazement at the scenery and stopped to take plenty of pictures. We met Alex's wife and kids just past Ooh Aah! Point, maybe a mile from the South Kaibab Trail Head. Despite tired legs, all the dust and dirt, and (in my case, at least) being encrusted with salt, we still had smiles on our faces!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QaB65z4Ow3iGmUWfOJhr_XFsyUJbUO2hIucqx7TVbvRvyGy7ds2WFQsKyftu0DeThAMgyrcbqNpM_Y0lfAucTtfNpCoPuA4syYbjLHVLQPmiX__f3-Pcu3w7nMHQv-QWm-vfBX-_nLk/s1600/IMG_2722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QaB65z4Ow3iGmUWfOJhr_XFsyUJbUO2hIucqx7TVbvRvyGy7ds2WFQsKyftu0DeThAMgyrcbqNpM_Y0lfAucTtfNpCoPuA4syYbjLHVLQPmiX__f3-Pcu3w7nMHQv-QWm-vfBX-_nLk/s1600/IMG_2722.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hardrock beard is coming along nicely! A little more gray this time, though...</td></tr>
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What a fantastic, fantastic run! I'm so glad that I carved out the time and went back this year to finally complete it. Without a doubt, it was a great training run for Hardrock and the highlight of my spring.<br />
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Some numbers.<br />
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As you might imagine, GPS doesn't work so well in the canyon. Mine was flaking out in the narrows and for most of the climb up the north side. So, all you can really do is go by time when you're checking your watch. Your mileage and your pace are almost always wrong.<br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To SKTH</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">0:06:46</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To BAC</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:16:07</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To CWC</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:32:30</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To NKTH</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:06:03</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To CWC</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:17:18</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To BAC</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1:13:02</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To SKTH</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2:32:37</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To CAR</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">0:11:43</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-5b140194-dcec-00ee-0abc-cff049fc13a6" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TOTAL</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10:16:08</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">R2R2R</span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">09:58:21</span></span><br />
<br />
Now, that's all moving time. As I do on all my long runs, I stopped my watch whenever I stopped to refill water, snack, visit the bathroom, shop, take pictures, text my wife, stretch, etc. My total elapsed time was 12:27:17 (including to and from the car). So, obviously, that's a lot of stopped time. But, I have no regrets! I can't imagine racing through all that scenery, always on the clock-- at least on my first trip. My pace was very easy throughout. I doubt my HR ever went above MAF.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqP07qv4iAFBYrGbPw7P6YNmDrlWXbNl3nUj1GjDmnoUJ8rs0bQwfONqK9gGDqbiajd9G_DzwmQgpcmiMDd_ryf-Ufb-BHzjx1xacw5VDwXzURs5maTpz4U_-pIDWTNxiX6qfV1fvWTi8/s1600/IMG_4483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqP07qv4iAFBYrGbPw7P6YNmDrlWXbNl3nUj1GjDmnoUJ8rs0bQwfONqK9gGDqbiajd9G_DzwmQgpcmiMDd_ryf-Ufb-BHzjx1xacw5VDwXzURs5maTpz4U_-pIDWTNxiX6qfV1fvWTi8/s1600/IMG_4483.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wore Hoka Cliftons. They worked really well, I think. Tailwind has a frickin' ton of salt!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-9020458232675846192015-04-07T21:38:00.000-06:002015-04-07T21:38:57.340-06:00Month in Review (March)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdg_NLm4Rp_yByjQ_Co0NIbRu3miizAtB7W4A8gSLnvSMOsbHFthjZIDhLp0k0WLVV2U7OHMMo_T84qgxy7h8w4egLR2yGbAbCRIjrKV5Hn50ryi4-eTrF6Zy8C4Gwj4HaHog_FT3rQk/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+3312015+14436+PM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdg_NLm4Rp_yByjQ_Co0NIbRu3miizAtB7W4A8gSLnvSMOsbHFthjZIDhLp0k0WLVV2U7OHMMo_T84qgxy7h8w4egLR2yGbAbCRIjrKV5Hn50ryi4-eTrF6Zy8C4Gwj4HaHog_FT3rQk/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+3312015+14436+PM.bmp.jpg" height="90" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">March training history.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Well, somehow-- and I'm not quite sure how-- I survived March intact. I met all my training goals for the month, building on top of the solid work I did in February.<br />
<br />
I spent about half my time at sea level in March: a week in Florida on vacation with my family, and a week in Boston for work. All that oxygen and flat terrain meant that I managed to set an all-time monthly mileage PR (241.7 miles). Still relatively modest in the grand scheme of things, but a nice PR to set so early in the year. All my other high mileage months have been May, June, July, or August. Of course, mileage isn't everything (far from it) and while March was #1 for mileage, it was only #15 for total training time, and #18 for total vertical. So, there is still plenty of room for improvement.<br />
<br />
I crossed the 40-hour mark for March, which was a 5-hour improvement over February. That was relatively easy to do since I'm now trying to run a long run every week. That certainly helps boost my total training time without any change to my midweek running schedule.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3m0RrExl1hMUbN0bHutdl8wPsSr12tlHFl4ij6qU8VoLuckBXU38c84DefCzhpgf_rhw1R32XhOrTXdGoWqzU9iRcPGwgIkqvB1tALqjavNgMFcmz3u-6StiY4rfH1KffQMSJ8f_rrQ/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+3312015+15252+PM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3m0RrExl1hMUbN0bHutdl8wPsSr12tlHFl4ij6qU8VoLuckBXU38c84DefCzhpgf_rhw1R32XhOrTXdGoWqzU9iRcPGwgIkqvB1tALqjavNgMFcmz3u-6StiY4rfH1KffQMSJ8f_rrQ/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+3312015+15252+PM.bmp.jpg" height="46" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11.8800001144409px; line-height: 16.6319999694824px;">4 weeks of training.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I pretty much ran 6 days a week during the month. Travel or illness were generally the reasons I took a day off. And, man, have I been ill lately. Not fun. It started with a head cold upon my return from Florida, that along with a nasty back injury (not running-related) put the Salida Marathon in jeopardy for me. My cough lingered for a few weeks. I'd hack up a lung after any run where I pushed the pace. Ugh. And just when I thought I was turning a corner, I came down with a fever, aches, and chills on the second-to-last day of the month. I was bed-ridden for the entire day, but luckily it passed relatively quickly and I was back running the next day, albeit very slowly. I blame travel. And kids. And Obama.<br />
<br />
I've tried to mix things up with my training a bit, given the variety of conditions I was running in. I focused on speedwork while I was at sea level, running perhaps my fastest mile ever near the end of the month in Boston. And, since vertical wasn't an option, I'd try to run a bit longer, which meant a full marathon on the beaches of Florida. But, during the weeks I was back in Colorado, I'd switch to more vertical-focused training. Probably my best workout of the month was a 5-hour, 20 mile, 6,800 vertical run up and down Midland Hill in Buena Vista, tagging the summit four times. The trails around Leadville are still snowed in, so any chance I get to run on trails is a joy. I was worried that doing hill repeats would be boring, but the terrain is so different than my typical midweek run at this time of year, I actually look forward to them.<br />
<br />
My big race for the month was the <a href="http://www.salidarec.com/ccrc/Run-Through-Time-Marathon.htm" target="_blank">Salida Marathon</a>, of course. Despite my head cold, a sore back, and incredibly sloppy trail conditions, I managed to set a 5-minute PR for the course: 4:41. It was truly a miracle. I mean, just three days before the race I wasn't even sure if I would be healthy enough to start! And, judging from past results, I'd say the course was about 10 minutes slower than normal due to all the snow and mud. This was my fourth consecutive PR for the course, which I attribute to slowly increasing my early season training volume every year. I tend to run fairly conservative races, I'd say, but this year for Salida I planned to run a bit harder during the first half of the race. Why? Well, despite it being almost all uphill, it's where the most runnable terrain happens to be. The second half of the course is mostly downhill, but it's also where all the snow and mud are located, and most of the technical terrain. I can never seem to run it as fast as I'd like. So, this year, I pushed the uphills a bit more knowing that I probably wouldn't be able to make up much time on the downhill. My plan worked perfectly. I was 16 minutes ahead of PR pace at the halfway point. After that, I kept losing time as I fumbled through all the snow and mud. But, I managed to build enough of a cushion that I still crossed the finish line with another PR. I was psyched that I pulled it off. I knew I was in better shape on paper, but it's still nice to have some concrete evidence.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLhByZl91dDxxBi5ZC8EZSEfmKWeievQsEiN2svjeykCNojHUMJ9LLzxPB_ydioo2zcev-cZp6qplNceAiqh07mgpXt05U4WvhGLsS6lLdi9saoQ4D2BVskts-b_94l5pwoe3cvdBGxc/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+3312015+15142+PM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLhByZl91dDxxBi5ZC8EZSEfmKWeievQsEiN2svjeykCNojHUMJ9LLzxPB_ydioo2zcev-cZp6qplNceAiqh07mgpXt05U4WvhGLsS6lLdi9saoQ4D2BVskts-b_94l5pwoe3cvdBGxc/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+3312015+15142+PM.bmp.jpg" height="40" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11.8800001144409px; line-height: 16.6319999694824px;">A week-by-week comparison of March training for the last few years.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So, yeah, despite a few obstacles, I managed to log my best March ever. My training is heading in the right direction, I think. It'd better be, since I'm now more than halfway done with my training for Hardrock-- at least as far as the calendar goes!<br />
<br />
April will be tricky. It always seems to be a tough month for me. I'm fairly confident that I can log roughly the same amount of training as I did in March-- approximately five 1-hour workouts plus one 5-hour workout per week. But, the real question is how best to take it to the next level? I've got to keep ramping things up if I want to be in a position to properly absorb the training I've got planned for May and June. Counter-intuitively, I'm actually not too worried about those two months-- my peak training months-- because I'll have so many options to run in the mountains around Leadville. Plus, with Hardrock looming on the horizon in July, I'll be supremely motivated.<br />
<br />
Certainly, the highlight of April will be my R2R2R run on 4/18. I gave that a shot two years ago, but failed. <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/04/r2r2r-report.html" target="_blank">(It's a pretty funny story.)</a> A big, audacious run like that is exactly the kind of training stimulus I think I need. I don't want all my weeks to start looking the same. Beyond the Grand Canyon, I think the key to April might be Mt. Elbert. It's probably time I started trying to bag a peak at least once a week. Probably early one morning-- maybe midweek or on Sunday. Hopefully it should only take 3-hours or so, depending on the conditions. I think some high-altitude hiking will help-- especially in the vertical department.<br />
<br />
Well, there you have it. Another month of training! More numbers! More dry statistics! I'm sorry these blog posts aren't more entertaining... Maybe when I start tapering I'll actually have the time to be a little more creative...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHtcH-XHTMeJXP8W2FCPtm2TOYWzuzpp9O9XpaLH-1PltlJv2zwUjihalpcGyHPxnMoa6hc9Dm15CJxE9i1flr4kRtcmmN9BJ9MRrR2hGgEDHIX6giPg7HBBBForAVImsmsJCpE3Yxfs/s1600/IMG_4363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHtcH-XHTMeJXP8W2FCPtm2TOYWzuzpp9O9XpaLH-1PltlJv2zwUjihalpcGyHPxnMoa6hc9Dm15CJxE9i1flr4kRtcmmN9BJ9MRrR2hGgEDHIX6giPg7HBBBForAVImsmsJCpE3Yxfs/s1600/IMG_4363.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two members of my elite Hardrock crew.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-3921833343748007352015-03-11T10:06:00.000-06:002015-03-11T10:06:13.917-06:00Month in Review (February)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgALp7Tv6iyz-73R8G9KbKkHWo8AO42X25iWe4lzorqNU-hrIlsEs2tVIiw5HCT3BhXsAS6ahSwsg_EbpdKsjBE3YSdeDw1-vO0f60XxHpnymrf1wBFAHB2KX1ZQQtydqmGayQDvgEBME4/s1600/TurbineLauncher+3112015+85021+AM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgALp7Tv6iyz-73R8G9KbKkHWo8AO42X25iWe4lzorqNU-hrIlsEs2tVIiw5HCT3BhXsAS6ahSwsg_EbpdKsjBE3YSdeDw1-vO0f60XxHpnymrf1wBFAHB2KX1ZQQtydqmGayQDvgEBME4/s1600/TurbineLauncher+3112015+85021+AM.bmp.jpg" height="88" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">February training history</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Solid. If I had to pick one word, I guess that's how I'd describe my training last month. Certainly not jaw-dropping, but respectable. The last week of February was my 13th week of training, so I'm just emerging from my base building phase and entering... what, exactly? The no-man's land between base building and peak training!<br />
<br />
Though my total training time was only 2 hours greater than my total training time last February, it was much more run-specific. I spent almost 10 more hours running this February than I did last February. 44 more running miles. 12,000 more vertical feet. I only resorted to the bike trainer twice, and the skis once. Not too shabby.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8N_sluGZbnft97Lzno5Xp_Df1Hmolrvgv1k4dq_b_pITSlhBS_dJFu2gkrlc38AC0Ef2-LoowBja8HiQc36pBcZL8JQMIf7bC9EpXMXhqXgRgVJWQz5CixksVaD5Z9LUJInimBrkhFhs/s1600/TurbineLauncher+3112015+84832+AM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8N_sluGZbnft97Lzno5Xp_Df1Hmolrvgv1k4dq_b_pITSlhBS_dJFu2gkrlc38AC0Ef2-LoowBja8HiQc36pBcZL8JQMIf7bC9EpXMXhqXgRgVJWQz5CixksVaD5Z9LUJInimBrkhFhs/s1600/TurbineLauncher+3112015+84832+AM.bmp.jpg" height="46" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 weeks of training.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The first week, I kicked things off with the <a href="http://www.leadvillesnowshoemarathon.com/" target="_blank">Leadville Snowshoe Marathon</a>. We had beautiful, sunny weather. It was a great day to be outside. The warm temperatures made the snow a bit sticky, but it wasn't as bad as I had feared. I took things very easy during the race, knowing that simply jogging at a conversational pace for 5+ hours was going to be challenge enough for me. I felt pretty good throughout, but definitely faded a bit in the final miles. Still, it was a very positive experience. Great camaraderie. Great swag. (I scored a $50 <a href="http://www.melanzana.com/" target="_blank">Melanzana</a> gift certificate just for finishing.) A big thanks to Smokey for organizing this event. It's definitely made my February training much more fun these last two years.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqWTYz_OlSICyWi0seNvd_EOZlJ-TemYgZW5m1bpaZ07oas8-IivYnefYtbubWL4RLevjYpLROhtSJhxZkSilwZrf9WkL80zmgyQj_LZfXpL-HjM4mVzSnFtYhlj75PDK_uzydJbFsbI/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqWTYz_OlSICyWi0seNvd_EOZlJ-TemYgZW5m1bpaZ07oas8-IivYnefYtbubWL4RLevjYpLROhtSJhxZkSilwZrf9WkL80zmgyQj_LZfXpL-HjM4mVzSnFtYhlj75PDK_uzydJbFsbI/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to Cindy DeMarco for the picture!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The second week of February was by far my favorite week of training this year. More beautiful, unseasonably warm weather. I had the opportunity to run down in Buena Vista twice, where the temperatures soared up into the low 60's. The trails were almost completely melted out. It was simply amazing! Shorts! T-shirt! I had a grin plastered on my face all of Saturday as I ran up and down Midland Hill three times, logging almost the equivalent amount of vertical as a double-crossing of Hope Pass. I'm sure this will be a workout that I repeat several times during March and April.<br />
<br />
The reality of winter returned for the third and fourth week of February, which were more typical training weeks for me at this time of year. I just ground out the miles around Leadville, jogging up and down all my typical winter routes. Nothing sexy. Just getting it done.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu5W8RFwheeydgRN_2tT3fCDTdO-1vBqG2k_4s5wYFIa8QqncX8AX2bDEH0U2E2h5LU0nGy_XGr2ujPa9zjDk0ibXAX880Tkn-OxhLg8nRvvfIHYH76QeKddeXs0ghh-pfiSiP0wq-fsQ/s1600/TurbineLauncher+3112015+84016+AM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu5W8RFwheeydgRN_2tT3fCDTdO-1vBqG2k_4s5wYFIa8QqncX8AX2bDEH0U2E2h5LU0nGy_XGr2ujPa9zjDk0ibXAX880Tkn-OxhLg8nRvvfIHYH76QeKddeXs0ghh-pfiSiP0wq-fsQ/s1600/TurbineLauncher+3112015+84016+AM.bmp.jpg" height="73" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A week-by-week comparison of February training for the last few years.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I don't think I've ever hit double-digit weekly training time this early in the year before. So, I'm pretty stoked to have managed to have logged two 10+ hour weeks this February. I usually only hit that level of training in the May/June time frame.<br />
<br />
So, yeah... while I may not be training as much as some folks, I'm very happy with where I am right now. I feel good. My fitness is definitely improving. And I'm slowly, but surely getting myself to a position where I can hopefully absorb some truly epic mountain runs in May/June. 20+ hour weeks. 20,000+ feet of vertical. That's the goal that's looming on the horizon.<br />
<br />
It's hard to believe that in only two more weeks, my training for Hardrock will be at the halfway mark. Frightening!<br />
<br />
I was super excited to put my early season fitness to the test this week at the Salida Marathon. On paper at least, I should be in much, much better shape than I ever have been for the race. But, sadly, things have not exactly gone according to plan. Last week, while on vacation in Florida, I hurt my back while playfully rough-housing with my wife in the ocean. Then I came down with a nasty head cold on Sunday. Let me tell you that coughing while suffering from a significant lower back strain is pure torture! Ugh! I was hoping that I would be healed up enough for the marathon by this Saturday, but my recovery has been painfully slow. I can barely get in and out of a car or even dress myself. Bending over to put on a pair of shoes is a nightmare. So ridiculous... I've got three more days to try to recover. Maybe-- just maybe-- I can heal enough that I could slowly jog/hike the course, but a PR is pretty much out of the question. It's frustrating, but I'm trying not to get too depressed. An injury/sickness-enforced rest week, I guess.<br />
<br />
That's life!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VX9JUc3Kx4kTPhijp65TPfrdGWNBDrh91OXvpzoJ9BbtAQVE5ZkwKRuKHPTAEcE3B0C6mE4jk9QNuItcGt-chrtFlZ9b7C45PMTVpSHX5e1-XaHZCJY7ho79JGqsH7ZImNkuGhQ1Q_0/s1600/IMG_2564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VX9JUc3Kx4kTPhijp65TPfrdGWNBDrh91OXvpzoJ9BbtAQVE5ZkwKRuKHPTAEcE3B0C6mE4jk9QNuItcGt-chrtFlZ9b7C45PMTVpSHX5e1-XaHZCJY7ho79JGqsH7ZImNkuGhQ1Q_0/s1600/IMG_2564.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How to survive Leadville's winters.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-91064603114460864242015-02-02T11:49:00.001-07:002015-02-02T14:01:56.246-07:00Month in Review (January)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsm_MWY9228WpogV7GGurFe_8iD4f64_wasl14BxnyvkpIK_r89A_tn29TYAZ2s9nzBwGUe3deAluhw0GMeEicDGIlMDskewV_qhxykEtlyD3yFjlh2LMVM7FYi1SNhlZ-ZhZTGLP48U/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+222015+102824+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsm_MWY9228WpogV7GGurFe_8iD4f64_wasl14BxnyvkpIK_r89A_tn29TYAZ2s9nzBwGUe3deAluhw0GMeEicDGIlMDskewV_qhxykEtlyD3yFjlh2LMVM7FYi1SNhlZ-ZhZTGLP48U/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+222015+102824+AM.jpg" height="90" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">January training history</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With a disappointing, injury-plagued year behind me, and Hardrock only six months away, I've put an embarrassingly large amount of thought into how I want to improve my training this year. I say "embarassing" mostly because after all the time I've spent pouring over my historical training data, listening to podcasts, and reading articles and books on the subject, the conclusion I've reached is ridiculously simple: I just need to run more.<br />
<br />
Specifically, I need to run more consistently during the week during the winter months. Not bike. Not ski. Run. And I'm not talking about running faster or harder or longer, just running more regularly. That, in a nutshell, is my main early season goal.<br />
<br />
I feel like historically, I do a good job of getting in an adequate number of long runs on the weekends (starting with a few easy efforts in January and February, but then logging one long run/week from March onwards). My long runs really add up over the course of a season, but I haven't been as disciplined as I could be about my midweek runs-- especially before Leadville's trails melt out.<br />
<br />
During the summer: no problem. Motivation is not an issue. My bike trainer is quickly forgotten, and I'm out running on the trails around town almost every day. Training volume quickly shoots up (both time, mileage, and vertical). I just need to start that process earlier in year, suck it up, and slog through the snow.<br />
<br />
So, I can happily say that everything pretty much went according to plan this January. You can see my renewed focus on running in the chart above. 9 more hours spent running than last year. 50+ more running miles. 6k more vertical. I only resorted to the bike 4 times, usually the day before or after a long run. While my total training time was only 3 hours more than last January, it was much more run-specific. That makes me happy.<br />
<br />
I'm definitely seeing improvements in my fitness since I began training in December. At this stage, all it takes are ~35 slow miles/week to provide enough stress to encourage my body to adapt. My times on all my regular routes are steadily dropping. They're not quite at PR pace, but I'm getting closer. My philosophy is to not force anything. Anything resembling a quality workout comes as a surprise to me after I'm out the door. I try to run without any pre-conceived notion as to how hard to push it. That said, I did take advantage of a business trip to Boston last week to attempt something resembling some speed work. After a 20-minute warmup at MAF (which seems to be about 8:00 min/mile for me at sea level right now), I tried some mile repeats with a quarter mile of rest in between. 7:38, 6:46, 6:35, and 6:25. Probably 3 of the fastest miles I've ever run! (Don't laugh.)<br />
<br />
My two biggest fears-- my lingering injuries from last year-- have been manageable. Everything seems to be under control. My Achilles is occasionally tight, and my knee sometimes feels mildly sore, but these little niggles have all been fleeting and haven't interfered with my training at all. In fact, they've kept me extra vigilant. And, I think they're slowly getting better as they adapt to my 6-9 hour/week training load.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIL9RWr_QIJWwdU4P33IA_w5MFpVQ5WI2aSPeGtuvd2zyc1icbJUZCiuGV8OQ6oYVSTnFBYGDzG8TJgOaRMKIbhXwYd4CHkHTVYI7ttMA6pkYbeW6o8G0A1C1dLGd-bea7Ry58m0I0Ew/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+222015+102933+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIL9RWr_QIJWwdU4P33IA_w5MFpVQ5WI2aSPeGtuvd2zyc1icbJUZCiuGV8OQ6oYVSTnFBYGDzG8TJgOaRMKIbhXwYd4CHkHTVYI7ttMA6pkYbeW6o8G0A1C1dLGd-bea7Ry58m0I0Ew/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+222015+102933+AM.jpg" height="92" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9 weeks of base training.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The spreadsheet below has become probably my favorite way to visualize my training progress this year vs. the last three years. I've found that weekly historical data is the best resolution to judge how my training is going. Monthly is too coarse-grained (and months aren't all the same size), and daily is too fine-grained. What I'm generally working towards is improving upon my training in '13, by far my best year-- especially that sweet, 9-week stretch starting at week 26. That was the best block of training I've ever managed to pull off. If everything goes according to plan, my dream is to exceed even that level of training in the weeks leading up to Hardrock this year. I'll be in unknown territory at that point...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpSOVzqP9EL5J1b4nk9gaGpm9W8rGP8fQfsTfP1PmzKdM7JxR-r2axoTY2Pv5Tc9y0MeVz360RBTj9nFrnAppVPvG_s2JHZKYfVtC_rqAsrYCpsjHCVDdk7065Peq0oo5szSuAT_vHrY/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+222015+102642+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpSOVzqP9EL5J1b4nk9gaGpm9W8rGP8fQfsTfP1PmzKdM7JxR-r2axoTY2Pv5Tc9y0MeVz360RBTj9nFrnAppVPvG_s2JHZKYfVtC_rqAsrYCpsjHCVDdk7065Peq0oo5szSuAT_vHrY/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+222015+102642+AM.jpg" height="245" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dark green means a higher training load. I track total training time and running distance/week along with my historical max.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This week-- the first week of February-- will be a high volume week for me. I've got the <a href="http://www.leadvillesnowshoemarathon.com/p/the-race.html" target="_blank">Leadville Snowshoe Marathon</a> this Saturday. I'm excited! The weather looks good. The conditions should be much faster than last year. I'm not planning to taper for it, nor am I really going to "race" it, but it will provide an excellent excuse to get outdoors and get in 5+ hours of jogging.<br />
<br />
Hopefully, February will look a lot like January for me: just unremarkable, steady, consistent training, with a little bit of extra volume. Nothing too drastic yet. I'm looking forward to the Salida Marathon in March, which will serve as my first real race of the season. Plans for another R2R2R attempt with my buddy Alex are materializing for mid-April. That'll be so fun. I've got so much to look forward to!<br />
<br />
I just gotta keep pluggin' away...<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFYnVVYFM-EHvt7Tb7Hlt_yK1iYxgAmD7BSMaysuuqltK_OIGygyacM0rK59MwjjFEfvpEqwhvguss72RTl0TNHuAobNBVET-pqyr4PMeNnquc_FchSdimP6xgb0dZkO3WsekSNyK9d8/s1600/IMG_4254-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFYnVVYFM-EHvt7Tb7Hlt_yK1iYxgAmD7BSMaysuuqltK_OIGygyacM0rK59MwjjFEfvpEqwhvguss72RTl0TNHuAobNBVET-pqyr4PMeNnquc_FchSdimP6xgb0dZkO3WsekSNyK9d8/s1600/IMG_4254-001.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new tele skis. I'm not worthy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYf2v_9S8uRCYIgf4XVZusNcWR6b6uRmeRjHqcdPvCessroKpBhGPsnXjQ35hKaDr9z47hrcfdRg9RMZwy2mOTPWCEX7w7IGSO0Fl1MVV8jPpjVUJouM50Phlh-9wP2bPvUhc5ipViPY/s1600/IMG_2532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYf2v_9S8uRCYIgf4XVZusNcWR6b6uRmeRjHqcdPvCessroKpBhGPsnXjQ35hKaDr9z47hrcfdRg9RMZwy2mOTPWCEX7w7IGSO0Fl1MVV8jPpjVUJouM50Phlh-9wP2bPvUhc5ipViPY/s1600/IMG_2532.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our household has a new family member: meet Luna the puppy!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNtmBUeKRoJ0M1k4GepUpoi83KjjXmdBk98o8Fxr9arJOt6tEAr7-n9HFdFn7xuy9vHYvlRa1YYqgQgBZIzTJW3gbTpxxpPCFWMVZPixyJQUf20587i1yfo-Rx4YgP1tfK4-chfFqBp0/s1600/IMG_4268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNtmBUeKRoJ0M1k4GepUpoi83KjjXmdBk98o8Fxr9arJOt6tEAr7-n9HFdFn7xuy9vHYvlRa1YYqgQgBZIzTJW3gbTpxxpPCFWMVZPixyJQUf20587i1yfo-Rx4YgP1tfK4-chfFqBp0/s1600/IMG_4268.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shack.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-1dhHepflJS-bqNS83_7UuckrFF3iVnTMBRNqM6ZCV6eIKIvmyu84sMjtCvvX3Qm8I7Sh6QuiLTzGtClWzy2dsWuS56hV_sYCIhwoe0W0WWYAZt_uwyR85t2JQr4UZ4yxs2CckhFGVk/s1600/IMG_4272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-1dhHepflJS-bqNS83_7UuckrFF3iVnTMBRNqM6ZCV6eIKIvmyu84sMjtCvvX3Qm8I7Sh6QuiLTzGtClWzy2dsWuS56hV_sYCIhwoe0W0WWYAZt_uwyR85t2JQr4UZ4yxs2CckhFGVk/s1600/IMG_4272.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leadville style.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAjCsIyRnyGUJjG4bL9TRjDegkrBne_GBY687x36NJeuC5oq5Otuy4nrrisskZtFeF77M3kVeUWmOabFXJzfFAVK9SJN-T4JaNajYQef1VHbBgcmHX4VtaTV1gjCIXlrxO591_suy39o/s1600/IMG_4278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAjCsIyRnyGUJjG4bL9TRjDegkrBne_GBY687x36NJeuC5oq5Otuy4nrrisskZtFeF77M3kVeUWmOabFXJzfFAVK9SJN-T4JaNajYQef1VHbBgcmHX4VtaTV1gjCIXlrxO591_suy39o/s1600/IMG_4278.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extra motivation.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQu66UmMZXS8MOpX4l03f2NYih696Wlc5ZcloWYwkfiVLVPJ6k-jHe7knTeHCRoBsytJXP4wazB-Wuripc6woXgO-2KbwyQ7kVrMwk9-0npHGsVag9_nhmhedGW4cQFAQRiRnfD5hYnzE/s1600/IMG_4286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQu66UmMZXS8MOpX4l03f2NYih696Wlc5ZcloWYwkfiVLVPJ6k-jHe7knTeHCRoBsytJXP4wazB-Wuripc6woXgO-2KbwyQ7kVrMwk9-0npHGsVag9_nhmhedGW4cQFAQRiRnfD5hYnzE/s1600/IMG_4286.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah, pre-dawn, early morning winter runs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuyCw0r5atvFHCPY24iCwUwmuSHBOp7zmWL0rouAj0WVNG5wRG6vq97Ac9xcq1GyCHaPLrqs4UMEALLZxaffU93DpHI6hOtoJEwZKMv4k6u70L_F_8Iwf15NkTVu8aPJI3r0brCHHI4eY/s1600/IMG_4289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuyCw0r5atvFHCPY24iCwUwmuSHBOp7zmWL0rouAj0WVNG5wRG6vq97Ac9xcq1GyCHaPLrqs4UMEALLZxaffU93DpHI6hOtoJEwZKMv4k6u70L_F_8Iwf15NkTVu8aPJI3r0brCHHI4eY/s1600/IMG_4289.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hardware.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMRaZMFX4jt9I6TKWR9umau7sX-MAR94vRt9hY19Sfkg4STcdsdrug_MoW1G-0RfdYC4bgloZ1UiBDEL2jNnPbUZYpWHzdUMaAr5wD0cw94-JymU5-3jfeS6HiaFki_LStFXTEmhotkU/s1600/IMG_4293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMRaZMFX4jt9I6TKWR9umau7sX-MAR94vRt9hY19Sfkg4STcdsdrug_MoW1G-0RfdYC4bgloZ1UiBDEL2jNnPbUZYpWHzdUMaAr5wD0cw94-JymU5-3jfeS6HiaFki_LStFXTEmhotkU/s1600/IMG_4293.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A plethora of traction options for winter in Leadville.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHH_hVSUt3HiSupJxFXmzgOJbK9B1OAiNtJRhyphenhyphen-Z5sq-Stu2nrUdHX_1GXaG_Cc5lvL6CxXnCAr6yz9ML5_J7hf4LfDBygfkTfOhwg2fjG6IU-KCXMIZKkuWg9ReNhyphenhyphenIiwEiwU9o1M00/s1600/IMG_4294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHH_hVSUt3HiSupJxFXmzgOJbK9B1OAiNtJRhyphenhyphen-Z5sq-Stu2nrUdHX_1GXaG_Cc5lvL6CxXnCAr6yz9ML5_J7hf4LfDBygfkTfOhwg2fjG6IU-KCXMIZKkuWg9ReNhyphenhyphenIiwEiwU9o1M00/s1600/IMG_4294.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm avoiding this-- no, not the beer, the bike!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-83933466152194499802015-01-03T15:04:00.000-07:002015-01-03T15:04:32.717-07:00Month in Review (December)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3umfn3PDPSXWc9y10_wngj2qWLWk7tv7sIrpfFCXPujqlCJ86DyZM0cQ_DYT3QxPOJWjus9ogwmFNpnoYpaxTDfdseyBpzGTb1Mpex8fGAHJ3cmMUqqwVjYvy1j0BeSdO1TkWHdx85s/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-01-03+at+2.16.34+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3umfn3PDPSXWc9y10_wngj2qWLWk7tv7sIrpfFCXPujqlCJ86DyZM0cQ_DYT3QxPOJWjus9ogwmFNpnoYpaxTDfdseyBpzGTb1Mpex8fGAHJ3cmMUqqwVjYvy1j0BeSdO1TkWHdx85s/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-01-03+at+2.16.34+PM.jpg" height="88" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">December training history.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Well, I managed to survive the holidays-- and my first month of training for Hardrock-- intact.<br />
<br />
So far, so good.<br />
<br />
The highlight of the month was our annual hut trip-- this year to Uncle Bud's, up above Turquoise Lake. Each year, about a dozen of us (<a href="http://www.hminet.org/" target="_blank">HMI</a> faculty and friends) rent out an entire hut for three nights and enjoy backcountry skiing, eating, and drinking in equal measure. It's always a challenge to haul the kids in, along with the ridiculous quantities of food and alcohol, but it's always worth it. This year Santa gave me some sweet new <a href="http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/skis/amperage-ski-BD11506800001851.html" target="_blank">Black Diamond skis</a> to replace my aging Tuas, so it was especially fun. And the skiing was as good as it gets. Hero snow.<br />
<br />
After <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/09/leadville-100-race-report-part-i.html" target="_blank">my less-than-stellar experience at Leadville</a> this year, I spent the fall simply trying to recover from my summer injuries. No fall races for me. I was done for the season. I'd test my Achilles and my knee a few times a week with short runs on the trails around town. And, I joined my wife on a few longer runs as she trained for the <a href="http://www.goldenleafrace.com/" target="_blank">Golden Leaf half marathon</a>. (It was a ton of fun. We rarely get a chance to run together like we did when we were first dating. Ah, kids...)<br />
<br />
Initially my soreness/stiffness faded relatively quickly, but it took quite a while for it to fully disappear. The last 10% or so of my recovery dragged on and on. (In fact, I probably still have 1% to go.) I diligently followed every Achilles and runner's knee treatment protocol I could find (mostly calf dips, foam rolling, and single leg squats, plus higher-drop shoes), but it took wearing an embarrassingly awkward night splint for about a month before my Achilles finally recovered. It wasn't bothering me much on my runs-- just a few brief periods of stiffness during the first mile-- but my first few steps in the morning were always a little sore. The splint fixed that. Old-fashioned static stretching for the win! In retrospect, I wish I had experimented with the night splint way back late May when I first came down with Achilles pain. That might have saved me from the tedium of 1,000,000 calf dips.<br />
<br />
During September and October I just ran whenever I felt like it, with no particular goal other than to overcome my injuries. In November, I started trying to string together some very modest workouts, all run at MAF. I just wanted to see if I could actually train multiple days in a row without regressing. After a bit of trail-and-error, I finally convinced myself that I was progressing in the right direction. So, when December rolled around, I was ready to give it a go, and jump back in to everyday early season training. The Hardrock lottery was still a week away, but I wanted to get started a bit early, just in case.<br />
<br />
Of course, seeing my name drawn for Hardrock was a dream come true. Five years of waiting. Think about it. Five years. That's the amount of time I spent as an undergraduate and graduate student combined. Damn. That's a long time to wait. However, it's undeniable that having such an inspiring race in front of me is fantastic motivation. And, I'm almost certainly better off having waited. More experienced, and in a much better position to appreciate it.<br />
<br />
I'm still nervous that my body hasn't fully recovered from the summer, so I'm trying to be very disciplined about my training load and my recovery. I don't want to screw this up! Looking back, I noticed a pattern of getting injured every other year. ITBS in '10, injury-free in '11, ITBS in '12, injury-free in '13, and Achilles tendonitis and runner's knee in '14. So, I should be fine in '15, right? No problem!<br />
<br />
During the fall, I obsessively poured over all my training data from December through May, looking for an explanation as to why I became so injured this year. At the month-to-month level, nothing immediately jumped out at me. It's not like I trained twice as much as I had in the past or something crazy like that. My training hours each month were approximately the same as they had been previously. Yes, I was training a bit more trying to prepare for a big June race (as opposed to my normal August-focused schedule), but nothing too dramatic. I won't bore you with all the details, but I eventually came up with a theory which involved too much cross-training, too much "quality", and not enough easy, midweek jogs to support the long runs I was running every week. Basically, I was pushing too hard on a regular basis without enough of a base of easy, midweek runs. Though I was probably fitter than I'd ever been at that time of year, it was a "fragile" fitness. My body just wasn't prepared to absorb the crazy race schedule I set for myself in May. Simply put, I had spent too much time on the bike trainer and not enough time jogging.<br />
<br />
The other funny quirk I noticed was that I never got sick in early '14. So, I had no enforced rest from January through May. In contrast, I came down with an illness in late February and in early April in '13, which forced me to take a few days off from training and recover. Probably a blessing in disguise. In '15, I'd like to be a little more willing to take a few days off each month if I'm feeling beat up. I don't want to blindly chase a training streak just for the sake of streaking.<br />
<br />
So, in light of all this, I've tweaked how I track my training this year. It's all about time now-- not miles. And, I split apart my running, biking, and skiing into separate categories to help make sure that I maintain a properly run-focused ratio of workouts. Instead of retreating indoors to my bike trainer when the weather is grim, I suck it up and plod down the Boulevard. I'm always bundled up and running on snow, so my times are pretty pathetic. But, I don't care. In fact, more time is better! I start by saying to myself something like, "This month I want to train approximately 7 hours/week, with no more than 1 hour of cross-training per week. And, I want to get in two 3 hour runs." Then I start to slot in workouts to match the required time. At this point, almost everything I'm doing is at MAF. If I'm feeling motivated I might push things a bit-- but only once a week. No more. And these quality runs aren't planned in advance. It's all by feel. I want to build up a solid base of easy jogging so that when I really start to ramp things up in the spring I can properly absorb it.<br />
<br />
Primarily tracking training time makes sense to me for a variety of reasons. It's something I've always thought about doing, but never truly embraced.<br />
<br />
First, it's the best metric I can think of to track and compare training across multiple sports-- my primary activities being running, biking, and skiing. And, believe me, I need some variety to survive Leadville's winters. It can't all be running all the time. Of course, time is not perfect. An hour on the bike is not the same as an hour jog (that's part of what got me into trouble last year), but it's a better metric than distance. (I mean, how much is a mile of skiing "worth" compared to a mile of running? How about a mile of biking?)<br />
<br />
Second, it's the best metric for my training environment. I'm training at 10,000 ft. I just can't get in as many miles as I could at sea level. Comparing my weekly distance to runners at lower elevations is just depressing. And, during winter, I'm very much at the mercy of the current snow conditions. Sometimes I'm wearing screw-shoes, sometimes microspikes, sometimes snowshoes. My pace (and thus distance) is all over the map. I can't really control it. But I can control the time I spend training. For example, if I set for myself the goal of 40 miles/week, that would be relatively easy to accomplish on a business trip to Boston or a family vacation to Florida. It might only take me, say, 6 hours. But in Leadville? During a snowy week? Probably 8 hours or more. Those are two very different training loads. Better to start with a goal time and work backwards from there.<br />
<br />
Thirdly, coming off an injury-plagued season, I feel like I need to do everything I can to "reward" easy running. Tracking training time doesn't incentivize speed. Of course I want to be fast, but hopefully that will come naturally once I've put in the required time. I've got to be patient. The quality will come. And when it does, it has to be balanced with the appropriate amount of jogging at a conversational pace. (The 80/20 rule.)<br />
<br />
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I'm going to be very focused on high-altitude vertical in my training for Hardrock. (Duh.) That will eventually mean a ridiculous amount of hiking up the local mountains. Comparing the miles I log this year to the miles I logged in previous years would be misleading. Even though I plan to train harder than I ever have before, I may not actually log more miles! Again, using training time for comparison purposes seems like the best option to me. I can better gauge where I'm at compared to previous years.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Zq8rLt8QKinpRlC9eyDAJylYwWJytwKS5OcaIWz6SM6VcgVfFjOUb5HshxJ132u_PLR0ONYm54REAzHiMepk0L1ajtw33NzOjPB9X28LzpGyIm7mLBvUsk0yT6zUuQNqHIEnUm7ZT94/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-01-03+at+12.46.08+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Zq8rLt8QKinpRlC9eyDAJylYwWJytwKS5OcaIWz6SM6VcgVfFjOUb5HshxJ132u_PLR0ONYm54REAzHiMepk0L1ajtw33NzOjPB9X28LzpGyIm7mLBvUsk0yT6zUuQNqHIEnUm7ZT94/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-01-03+at+12.46.08+PM.jpg" height="185" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What I've been up to since Leadville. Yellow = bike. Blue = ski. Green = 90+ min workout. Distance is run-only.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnyf3bAS_triH0HbQhwhVKdWGhgoVzhupQJXmtiyzIpv7IWZHC-fc4bdBFm9EbbVluxZbDcPRI8b6R2r_1tbhAa1BAs-o0sbRhSBh27UebhCv6kux0qUZPv3XchUyrRKiMQQotrXtDucQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-01-03+at+12.52.59+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnyf3bAS_triH0HbQhwhVKdWGhgoVzhupQJXmtiyzIpv7IWZHC-fc4bdBFm9EbbVluxZbDcPRI8b6R2r_1tbhAa1BAs-o0sbRhSBh27UebhCv6kux0qUZPv3XchUyrRKiMQQotrXtDucQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-01-03+at+12.52.59+PM.jpg" height="247" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">December-August training hours per week. Blue '13, Red '14, Orange '15. The huge spikes that go off the graph are Bighorn and Leadville. Ideally, I'd like a 4-week chunk above 15-hour mark just before Hardrock.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKK8g2oELrFzK5xRnuP4yXlTMyXLpFR00iRPjb37yVLOmtfxMBg_mtkBP5OmnIhu86m0x3xtV7HPdsvQHVD6l8EpqlQH-m5vdJT7gA7dk4rBT3KQJPsY8OhWHcxjbFobXbWiPmwjw_TE/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-01-03+at+12.52.19+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKK8g2oELrFzK5xRnuP4yXlTMyXLpFR00iRPjb37yVLOmtfxMBg_mtkBP5OmnIhu86m0x3xtV7HPdsvQHVD6l8EpqlQH-m5vdJT7gA7dk4rBT3KQJPsY8OhWHcxjbFobXbWiPmwjw_TE/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-01-03+at+12.52.19+PM.jpg" height="247" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What I've been up to the last 5 years! Training time by month, generally peaking in June/July each year (but May last year). </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-62124396282126101002014-12-06T22:03:00.001-07:002014-12-06T22:03:44.456-07:00Hardrock!!!I first registered for <a href="http://hardrock100.com/" target="_blank">Hardrock</a> back in '10 after I had staggered across the finish line of my first Leadville 100. I'm not exactly sure why. It just seemed like a cool, burly, and scenic race. I guess it must've appealed to the hiker in me.<br />
<br />
Of course, I wasn't selected, but I didn't really have any expectations that year since my odds were so slim.<br />
<br />
I've registered every year since-- it's become a fall ritual, but the lottery has only ever brought me disappointment. The race seemed to be growing in popularity in proportion to the number of tickets I accumulated, so my odds always hovered around 8-10%. This year, with 16 tickets to my name, my odds finally improved a bit, but I still had only <a href="http://hardrock100.com/2015odds-never.txt" target="_blank">a barely 1 in 5 chance of being selected</a>.<br />
<br />
I was trying very hard not to get my hopes up.<br />
<br />
So, instead of staring at my Twitter feed, and neurotically hitting refresh all morning long, I went skiing with my family at the local mountain. When my name was pulled from the proverbial hat I was probably snowplowing down the bunny slope holding my two year old son, Ethan, between my legs-- my quads on fire. It was his second time skiing in as many weeks and, while he enjoys it, he's probably most accurately described as a sack of potatoes at this point.<br />
<br />
There's no cell service at Ski Cooper, but later when we retreated to the Nordic Center for lunch, I couldn't resist, and logged into their wireless network.<br />
<br />
And there it was: my name.<br />
<br />
I was simultaneously elated, shocked, and humbled. I'm still not sure I believe it.<br />
<br />
Thanks for all the emails and messages of congratulations and support.<br />
<br />
And congratulations to everyone else who was lucky enough to be chosen this year. It's going to be a great race, with a great group of people. I look forward to toeing the line with all of you in Silverton this July. For all those who didn't get picked: hang in there. Your time will come.<br />
<br />
Me? Well, as my wife jokingly said tonight, <b>"Shit just got real."</b><br />
<br />
I'll be 42 come July. And the plan is to be in the best shape of my life.<br />
<br />
Training starts: now!Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-29237825409750427502014-09-15T12:56:00.000-06:002014-09-15T20:10:23.019-06:00Leadville 100 Race Report (Part II)<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This is Part II of my Leadville 100 Race Report. Here's <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/09/leadville-100-race-report-part-i.html" target="_blank">Part I</a>.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Hope Pass to Winfield</i></b><br />
<br />
I didn't have any ambitious goals for this split. My hand-wavy plan was to run it a few minutes slower than last year. Of course, once my knee started hurting going down Powerlines it threw all of my plans for downhill splits into doubt. I didn't know what to expect, but I wasn't optimistic.<br />
<br />
The long descent to Winfield would be the third major test for my knee. As I crested Hope Pass, and gingerly started negotiating the trail down the backside, the first thing I felt was a sudden wave of nausea. Whoa. It came out of nowhere and, luckily, it was gone almost as quickly as it came. What was that all about? I had just slurped down a cup of potatoes and soup at Hopeless, so maybe that played a factor? I don't know. I popped two antacids, and thankfully it disappeared after a minute or so. And my knee? I couldn't feel anything! The ibuprofen that I had taken before the descent into Twin Lakes must have been working its magic. With each passing switchback, I kept waiting for some soreness to surface, but no... nothing! Ah, the wonders of modern medicine.<br />
<br />
It was definitely sunny and a bit toasty on the south side of Hope Pass. I was thankful that I had spent so much time in the sauna in the preceding two weeks. Just like I had on the north side, I stopped at every stream crossing and drank extra water, splashing more water on my head to try to stay cool. I continued to try to balance my water intake with my energy drink intake, trying to make sure that the contents of my stomach didn't get too concentrated. I was moving pretty well, conservatively on the steep stuff, but still jogging the flatter sections. I was still drinking my energy drink, getting plenty of calories. And, I was in relatively good spirits, cracking jokes occasionally, and cheering on all the runners that I knew who were headed in the opposite direction.<br />
<br />
Then, just as I started descending down to Clear Creek Road off of the Colorado Trail, I felt another sudden wave of nausea. This time it was too much, and I doubled over and threw up. A mixture of water and energy drink came up-- probably everything I had consumed in the last 20 minutes or so.<br />
<br />
Damn it.<br />
<br />
I only made it to mile 49.5 before vomiting. I was hoping for at least mile 60. Last year I made it to mile 51. (Yup, I keep track of these things.) In retrospect, even though I puked 1.5 miles before I puked last year, I probably puked at almost exactly the same time. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not...<br />
<br />
I tried to shake it off as I slowly jogged into Winfield. Physically, I felt okay. The nausea quickly subsided. But, mentally... I was demoralized. Confused.<br />
<br />
I didn't get it. What had gone wrong? I had executed my nutrition plan just as I had hoped to, but it hadn't worked...<br />
<br />
My theory was that I hadn't been drinking enough water last year, and I was confident that I was doing a much better job with that this year. I'm certain that's why I felt so great while I was climbing up Hope Pass. But, my stomach ultimately succumbed.<br />
<br />
My plan had failed.<br />
<br />
Yet, I was just about to complete my fastest Hope Pass split ever: 3:21. I rolled into Winfield at the 10:51 mark, exactly 15 minutes behind my time from last year. I nailed the split from the top of Hope Pass, coming in 1 minute faster than planned. Amazing.<br />
<br />
Only 15 minutes behind? I couldn't believe it. I was happy, but also shaken up...<br />
<br />
What the hell was going on with my stomach?<br />
<br />
And how long would my knee last?<br />
<br />
<b><i>Winfield to Twin Lakes</i></b><br />
<br />
I met Jeremy just outside of Winfield. He had biked in from where he had parked the car alongside the road. The aid station was much less chaotic than last year. Not having to dodge cars on the short stretch of dusty road was a welcome change-- at least for runners. I weighed in at almost exactly my starting weight. Maybe even a little over-- I can't remember. Definitely within the margin of error. So, my hydration seemed good. I grabbed some broth, some Coke, some watermelon, some nut butters, two bottles of energy drink, and a PB&J sandwich.<br />
<br />
Even though Jeremy had brought extra supplies for my knee (as requested in Twin Lakes), I didn't want to mess with it since it hadn't bothered me on the downhill. I was still wearing my knee warmer and an IT band strap-- probably overkill at this point. I took some time to finish half the sandwich, some broth, a few swigs of Coke, and a bit of the melon before setting off again. It wasn't a super quick aid station stop, but it was reasonably efficient. Maybe 5 minutes?<br />
<br />
Leaving Winfield, I was doing a few things differently this year: no pacer and no poles. In hindsight, I don't think either of those decisions was necessarily a bad one-- at least for this split.<br />
<br />
But, now I started making decisions that I question in hindsight.<br />
<br />
Of course, it's easy to question things in hindsight, but as I look back, I'm not sure what I was thinking. Certainly, vomiting up all that energy drink made it hard for me to continue to consume it. Having an alternative flavor to switch to probably would've helped. I was rattled that I hadn't been able to stave off nausea much longer than last year. Up until this point, the nausea had been coming in waves-- it wasn't continuous, but it was throwing me off of my game. I knew I had no chance at a PR unless I was able to control my stomach. I certainly wasn't in better shape than I was last year, so I couldn't count on making up any time that way. I was also nursing a knee injury. I guess I thought I had to try something different.<br />
<br />
So, consciously or unconsciously, I decided to try real food for a while. Mistake? Yeah... probably.<br />
<br />
I've resorted to real food in many races in the past and it's never really been successful, so I'm not sure what I expected to happen. The thought of more maltodextrin just wasn't appetizing.<br />
<br />
As I hiked back up to the CDT, I contemplated my fate. I wasn't depressed. Confused might be the best adjective I can think of. I ran into more of my friends along way, cheering them on. I was happy to see Craig, a local friend and personal running hero. We ran <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/02/leadville-snowshoe-marathon-race-report.html" target="_blank">Smokey's snowshoe marathon</a> together way back in February. (God, that seems like forever ago.) He was suffering from back pain. He almost hadn't started the race. Since I was basically a walking medicine cabinet, I offered him a variety of painkillers. He declined, he was already set. (Sadly, I found out later that he dropped out at Half Pipe.)<br />
<br />
Right before I hit the junction with the Sheep Gulch trail, I sat down and finished the second half of my PB&J sandwich. That's the problem with real food. It's really hard for me to chew late in a race. I got it down, but it must have taken me 5 minutes. Ok, another 150 calories...<br />
<br />
Time for some more uphill!<br />
<br />
I actually felt pretty good going up the south side of Hope Pass. I certainly wasn't woozy and in a weakened state like I was last year. The problem was that I stopped one or two more times to eat some more real food. This time it was a nut butter. Another 200 calories. The south side of Hope Pass is never easy, but this might have been the most comfortable I've ever felt going up it in a race. But... I was taking too many breaks to eat food. I was drinking water from my handheld, but the bottle containing my energy drink was still full. Dead weight, when in reality it was the solution to needing to stop and eat.<br />
<br />
Forward progress? Yes. Relentless? Not really.<br />
<br />
So, all-in-all, it was a wash. I crested the top of the pass in almost exactly the same amount of time as last year. I was amazed that my time was so close given the ridiculous number of stops I made on the way up. I must have really been hurting last year. Indeed, it was my worst split. I had planned on climbing up 20 minutes faster this year, but alas... it was not meant to be. Or, rather, I didn't make it happen.<br />
<br />
As I started the short, steep descent down to Hopeless, my knee immediately reminded me that it was injured. Shit. I had forgotten to take more ibuprofen on the way up in preparation for the downhill. Over six hours had passed since I had last taken it. Down went two more little brown pills. I limped along as best I could.<br />
<br />
I grabbed some more soup and potatoes at Hopeless. Man, they were incredibly salty! Too salty for my taste. (I guess I was doing okay on electrolytes!) Juggling two handhelds of water, plus a cup of soup, I carefully jogged down the narrow trail back below treeline. (I had finally dumped out my last bottle of energy drink at the top of Hope Pass. Untouched.) I promised myself I'd stop and fill up one of the bottles with energy drink on the way down.<br />
<br />
Yeah... Sure you will, Andy.<br />
<br />
My inefficiency continued. I stopped near the stream and took a moment to finish my potatoes and soup. My knee was not feeling great. Okay, but not as good as it had felt on the previous descent.<br />
<br />
I continued on.<br />
<br />
I stopped again.<br />
<br />
This time to empty out rocks from one of my shoes. They had probably gotten in there during the river crossing miles and miles ago, but now my socks were dry enough that the grit was rattling around and becoming annoying.<br />
<br />
As I finally emerged from the woods, it was still light out. This would be only the second time I've made it to Twin Lakes before dark. It's still a magical feeling.<br />
<br />
The river crossing went as smoothly as could be expected. Soon I was slogging along through all the muddy puddles and tributaries on the far side. I knew I was falling behind on calories. I needed to eat something. How about a gel? I had grabbed one at Hopeless. Steeling myself, I ripped off the top and tried to suck it down. Ugh. I could only finish half. I couldn't do it. I almost gagged. I stuffed the half-empty wrapper into the breast pocket of my shirt.<br />
<br />
Despite my growing stomach woes, I was still jogging. I was able to maintain a fairly respectable 13:00 min/mile pace through the rolling, sodden meadows just before Twin Lakes. The terrain reminded me of Bighorn.<br />
<br />
As I acknowledged the cheers from the crowds of spectators lining the course, I glanced at my watch: 1:35. Okay. Not great, but not terrible. Certainly not disastrous. I expected it to be worse. Instead, my time was only 5 minutes slower than my modest goal for the split. Only 7 minutes slower than last year. Yes, I was slowly slipping off of my overall goal pace, but all was not lost.<br />
<br />
A PR was probably out of the question at this point, but another big buckle?<br />
<br />
Maybe, just maybe...<br />
<br />
<b><i>Twin Lakes to Half Pipe</i></b><br />
<br />
As I write this section, I find myself pounding my desk and shouting at my monitor,<br />
<br />
"Andy! Why did you stop?! Don't stop, you idiot! Stopping never works! Never! It's just a waste of time!"<br />
<br />
As I approached my crew prior to the aid station proper, it was 6:55pm. Last year, it was 6:23pm. (I just looked it up.) How is that possible? After a July spent on the couch, running with an injured knee, without a pacer, and stopping every other mile from Winfield? You got me. I don't know.<br />
<br />
But, as they say, the race doesn't start until Twin Lakes.<br />
<br />
Mile 61.<br />
<br />
And how did I start the race? By plopping down in a chair for 15 minutes.<br />
<br />
I switched out of my wet, muddy shoes, prepared for the night to come, and tried to reboot my stomach. Two out of three of those were good ideas and could be accomplished in approximately three minutes. Rebooting my stomach by sitting down and nursing a Coke? Not advisable.<br />
<br />
You can do that shit on the move, Andy.<br />
<br />
I briefly contemplated eating some of my crew's leftover pizza, but I couldn't quite bring myself to do it. I knew things were continuing to go downhill with my stomach, and that this was an important inflection point in the race. I sipped some broth. It wasn't exactly inspiring. It had no significant calories and wasn't the solution I was so desperately searching for.<br />
<br />
Then, who should jog past at that very moment, but Andy W.! The man, the myth, the legend! I had been ahead of him since he dropped to walk to eat a gel just before Pipeline. It was only a matter of time until he caught up. I was not surprised in the least. We exchanged cheerful hellos as he trotted past. Did he stop for 15 minutes, feeling sorry for himself? Nope! Did he big buckle? Hell, yes!<br />
<br />
As I write this, I realize that I'm being hard on myself. It's easy to pass judgement from afar, from the comfort of my own chair. And, knowing what I know now, I had probably already sown the seeds of own my destruction long ago. A big buckle was very unlikely no matter what I did at that point. I was a ticking timebomb. It was only a matter of time until my knee became too jacked to run. The ibuprofen that was coursing through my system was surely making it harder on my stomach. Some amount of nausea seems inevitable in a 100-- but it's almost guaranteed when you take ibuprofen.<br />
<br />
At a certain point, you can't control your stomach. You can only control your reaction to it.<br />
<br />
And that brings me back to the mantra I opened this race report with in <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/09/leadville-100-race-report-part-i.html" target="_blank">Part I</a>:<br />
<br />
<b>Embrace the suck.</b><br />
<br />
That was probably the best advice I could've given myself at that point.<br />
<br />
Instead, I kept trying to wish it away.<br />
<br />
Finally, I dragged myself out of the evil, seductive chair and headed out. I don't think I actually managed to eat much of anything while I was sitting there. Mostly Coke, I think. Some broth. Maybe a little bit of watermelon? I had also popped a caffeine pill. And I was still clutching a bottle of energy drink. Part of me knew that was my only hope. A nice portable source of steady, liquid calories which I could consume on the move. It was what had finally resurrected me at Bighorn. But, I continued to nurse the small bottle of Coke which I had stuffed in my vest pocket.<br />
<br />
The climb out of Twin Lakes did not go particularly well. Once I got off the jeep road and onto the trail another wave of nausea washed over me. I puked again. Mostly Coke this time. And lots of stomach acid. Ugh.<br />
<br />
My goal was to run this split faster than I ran it last year, when I also felt queasy and nothing felt appetizing. Once you reach Mt. Elbert, it becomes very runnable. It's a great section to make up some time on if you're feeling good. Unfortunately, that's a big if.<br />
<br />
Could I rally?<br />
<br />
I felt a bit better after my second puking episode and started moving again. I caught up to and passed by a few groups of runners who had passed me earlier. (Everyone had a pacer at this point. Why did I think going solo was a good idea again?) I jogged some of the flatter sections on the way up. At Mt. Elbert, I restocked on water and actually started hitting the energy drink. I'd take a small sip, and then wash it down with a sip of water. Wait 5 minutes. Repeat.<br />
<br />
The jogging started to increase. It wasn't exactly effortless, but I was moving. In the growing darkness, I finally stopped and took off my vest to get out my headlamp. Fumbling around, it was one of those moments when I realized how nice having a pacer is! I was able swap gear on the move last year.<br />
<br />
The jogging continued. I was feeling pretty good. Teetering on the edge, but good. I was now passing everyone-- especially on the gentle uphills, which I stubbornly refused to hike. I kept looking at my watch, checking my time for the split. It was going to be close. Very close. I really wanted to beat my time from last year and set a PR.<br />
<br />
Folks around me were still commenting hopefully about the possibility of a big buckle.<br />
<br />
12:00 min/miles... 11:00 min/miles... 10:00 min/miles...<br />
<br />
Where the hell was Half Pipe?!<br />
<br />
I kept hearing phantom generators in the distance, thinking I must be almost there. Finally the aid station emerged from the darkness, shrouded in light.<br />
<br />
My PR time was 2:22:12.<br />
<br />
I made it to the aid station in 2:22:46.<br />
<br />
My goal was 2:15:00.<br />
<br />
So close.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Half Pipe to Outward Bound</i></b><br />
<br />
Yet so far.<br />
<br />
That was it. That was my race. It ended at Half Pipe. Mile 70.<br />
<br />
I completely shutdown.<br />
<br />
I sat in the overwhelming warmth of the aid station tent and slowly drank a cup of Sprite. I tried some more watermelon. I pulled out my rain jacket and put it on for warmth.<br />
<br />
I was back out on the course after not too long-- maybe 10 minutes-- but something had changed.<br />
<br />
It was cold, so cold.<br />
<br />
I found myself desperately trying to keep my eyes open while I wove back and forth across the dirt road.<br />
<br />
Why was I so tired? Why was it so cold? I had run the next 25 miles in shorts and a t-shirt last year. I knew it wasn't really that cold. It couldn't be. This was all about my metabolism-- or lack thereof.<br />
<br />
I walked every step of the way to Pipeline, staggering along, trying to stay awake. It was only 9pm! What the hell was happening? I had already taken 200mg of caffeine at Twin Lakes-- way more than last year-- and that was just for insurance. I shouldn't be falling asleep yet?! Hell, I don't usually struggle to keep my eyes open until 2 or 3 in the morning.<br />
<br />
I didn't touch my energy drink, which the friendly aid station volunteers had refilled. I don't think I ate anything.<br />
<br />
Whatever shred of willpower I had left evaporated in the cold, dark night air.<br />
<br />
I lost it.<br />
<br />
I collapsed into a chair at Pipeline. Quickly, I put on every warm layer I could. I was now wearing more clothing-- at least on my upper body-- than I wore during <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/02/leadville-snowshoe-marathon-race-report.html" target="_blank">the snowshoe race last February</a> (when the high for the day was in the teens). I was still cold. Christina and Jeremy draped two sleeping bags around me as I sat there, staring vacantly into space. I was able to drink an espresso without too much trouble, and I started working on a bottle of chocolate milk. I needed calories. Badly.<br />
<br />
A PR was gone. A big buckle was gone. I was way, way down on my list of goals now. All I wanted to do was to make the nausea end. Somehow. I didn't care about my time any more. 25 hours immediately became 30 hours. I did not care. I hated 100s. I was so tired of battling my stomach.<br />
<br />
After maybe a half an hour or so, I walked off towards Outward Bound. I was in the middle of the most runnable section of the course and I ran absolutely nothing.<br />
<br />
Zombie-like, I made my way across the pasture, still desperately trying to keep my eyes open. Only the fear of stepping into one of the ankle-breaking holes that littered the course kept me awake. A nap sounded like a great idea. I dreamt about my nice, comfy bed only a few miles away.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Outward Bound to May Queen</i></b><br />
<br />
Worst. Split. Ever.<br />
<br />
More chair. More low-level, energy-sucking nausea. Some ginger ale. More caffeine. More ibuprofen. A valiant, 45-minute attempt to eat a hamburger. Nothing was really working.<br />
<br />
In some ways, I had been through all this before.<br />
<br />
Late-race nausea was the name of the game in '10 and '11. It was nothing new. But, the big difference was how far ahead of the cut-offs I was this year. Even after sitting at Twin Lakes for 15 minutes, walking from Half Pipe to Pipeline, sitting at Pipeline for 30 minutes, and walking to Outward Bound, I was still 3 frickin' hours ahead of the cut-off! I had absolutely no motivation to move. In previous years, I'd be flirting with being cut-off, racing against the clock. Stopping was simply not an option. This year I discovered that fear can actually be an advantage.<br />
<br />
Instead pushing through it, I tried to make the nausea go away by sitting and nibbling on real food.<br />
<br />
My wife was starting to get worried. She scrambled to line up a pacer for me for the next section, over Powerlines. I briefly contemplated it, but... no. No pacers. That was the one of the few goals that I still clung to. Before the race, I had asked Christina if she wanted to pace me the last 7 miles to the finish, if she felt up to it. She had always crewed for me, but never paced me. I thought it might be fun. Or end our marriage. Plus, she was training for the Golden Leaf Half Marathon in Aspen. She needed the miles! So, I was looking forward to that, but up until then... I was on my own.<br />
<br />
In total, I spent an hour at Outward Bound. 1 hour. 60 minutes. Sitting there. Trying to eat. Waiting.<br />
<br />
I never seriously contemplated dropping. Sure, I desperately wanted to go to sleep. I was apathetic. I was freezing. I was frustrated. I swore off 100s. I hated my stomach. But no DNF. I was going to finish this damn thing.<br />
<br />
Finally, I dragged myself out of the chair and trudged back out into the night. I wasn't getting any closer to the finish line just sitting there. (Genius!)<br />
<br />
All-in-all, the climb up Powerlines wasn't absolutely horrible. It wasn't good, but at least you're not supposed to be jogging up it. So, the fact that you're hiking up it doesn't feel like total defeat.<br />
<br />
My knee had been bothering me more and more as the night wore on. I'm sure sitting down so much wasn't helping. (There are so many reasons not to sit down!) I wasn't limping yet, but even if I had the energy, jogging would've been difficult at this point.<br />
<br />
Near the top of the first big climb I suddenly felt an intense, sharp pain in my right knee. I cried out. I swore loudly. Fuck! That was it. For a split second, I thought my race was over. My knee was shot. But, no... no... it was okay. I limped for about ten steps, but then it settled down to its normal, grumpy self. I guess it just wanted some attention!<br />
<br />
Shortly after, I took a small sip of some energy drink. I hadn't drunk any since Half Pipe. Not to be outdone by my attention-seeking knee, my stomach immediately rejected it, and I found myself doubled over and throwing up for a third time. That was my last energy drink for the remainder of the race.<br />
<br />
As I neared the top, my pace actually picked up a bit. I was hiking pretty well. Soon I saw the lights of Space Camp-- an unofficial aid station that some of my local friends had set up on the top of Powerlines this year. I had been looking forward to it all race. There was Smokey, Luke, and Jeff. All cheerful and full of energy. It was great to see them, but I was embarrassed to be moving so slowly, and to be in such bad shape. I filled up my water bottles and sipped some ginger ale. Smiling, Smokey joked how great it was to be watching the 100 this year instead of running it. We had both big buckled together last year. I rolled my eyes and laughed. After recounting how badly my race had fallen apart this year, I finally said thanks, waved to everyone, and wandered off into the dark.<br />
<br />
The downhill sucked. My knee was having none of this downhill running shit. So, I walked. I sat on a rock. I ate another nut butter. My eyelids grew heavy again. I could barely stay awake. I zig-zagged across the trail, stumbling, trying to fight off sleep. Eventually, I discovered that as long as I was talking to someone I could stake awake. Soon, I started introducing myself to everyone nearby.<br />
<br />
"Hi! I'm Andy! I don't have a pacer! I'm about to pass out! I need to talk to someone so that I can stay awake! What's your name? Where are you from? Is this your first Leadville?"<br />
<br />
I kept up this routine until dawn. It worked wonders, and I met a lot of great people. Of course, in my delirium, I can't recall their names, but they were all awesome. Some first-timers. Some veterans. A multiple-time Leadwoman. Time passed by more quickly. I still wasn't moving fast, but at least the race didn't feel so much like a chore.<br />
<br />
Every so often I glanced at my GPS, noting the time. Ironically, I did this not necessarily to track my progress this year, but to calculate where I had been the previous year at the same time. It was sobering.<br />
<br />
I watched 24:28 pass by on my watch. Still 13.5 miles to go. That's what separates disappointment from victorious euphoria in this race.<br />
<br />
<b><i>May Queen to Finish</i></b><br />
<br />
I met my crew just before May Queen and plopped down into the chair again. (Damn that chair! I should burn it!) I drank more chocolate milk. I don't know what else I did. Sat there, I guess? Who knows?<br />
<br />
I actually didn't stay seated too ridiculously long. 10 minutes? 15 minutes, maybe? I knew I had to keep moving. It was still dark, but dawn wasn't too far away.<br />
<br />
So, I kept walking, nursing my chocolate milk. My stomach still wasn't happy, but it was vaguely, kind of, sort of... manageable. I didn't dare run, though. It was all walking at this point, with the occasional exhausted groan mixed in for good measure.<br />
<br />
Along the way, I ran into Sheila Huss-- the same runner who generously gave me her extra set of batteries at Bighorn! I had been chatting with her for a mile or so, trying to stay awake, before I realized it. Crazy! She was pacing her friend to her first Leadville finish. I thanked her again for saving my race.<br />
<br />
Dawn finally rose about halfway to Tabor.<br />
<br />
As I approached the boat ramp, I saw my wife jump up in the distance as she caught sight of me. She was wearing her running clothes, ready to pace. I was so thankful!<br />
<br />
I had some business to take care of first, so I visited the nearby toilet. There was actually a short line so I stood there waiting, twiddling my thumbs, chatting with Christina. Ah, the incredible intensity of the final miles of a 100!<br />
<br />
After not too much time, we set off. We were walking briskly. Better than I had been earlier. I was nursing a bottle of ginger ale, trying to get some calories in me. Every so often, Christina would cajole me, trying to get me to jog. I wasn't ready yet. More ginger ale was required.<br />
<br />
I warned her that I'd probably trip and fall on my face going down the impossibly technical powerlines to the dam road. Somehow, we survived. With no poles, even.<br />
<br />
At the bottom, I could see a long line of runners stretching into the distance on the pancake-flat dirt road. Oh, God. I have to jog this. This is ridiculous. I was supposed to jog this entire split, dammit!<br />
<br />
And so I jogged. Finally.<br />
<br />
It was a respectable pace for this late in the race. I was passing folks with ease.<br />
<br />
I peeled off my warm layers and handed them to my wife, who was quickly becoming loaded down with all of my extra gear.<br />
<br />
We passed by Jay and Leah, two friends from Leadville. Leah was running her first 100 and Jay, her fiance, was pacing her. She had been battling Achilles tendon pain all summer just like me. Leah was on the verge of tears, but she was still slowly moving forward. Everything hurt. (A few days later my wife would run into her again at the local coffee shop. She was already planning what she'd do differently next year. Welcome to the Leadville addiction, Leah!)<br />
<br />
Shortly afterwards, Brian Costilow jogged past. A former Leadville-local, he was shooting for his 10th straight finish! He looked happy and full of energy. We cheered him on. His monster-sized, 1,000-mile buckle was in the bag! Simply amazing.<br />
<br />
I was now out of ginger ale. So, I resorted to nibbling on a few chocolate chip cookies that I had stuffed in my pockets at one of the aid stations miles ago. I power-hiked strongly up the initial hill of the Boulevard, and continued jogging. This was familiar territory.<br />
<br />
A seemingly endless stream of runners stretched before us. I caught a few of them, before dropping to a brisk walk again. I didn't quite have enough energy to sustain an uphill jog to the finish. My knee ached with a dull pain. It wasn't happy. Running 100 miles should definitely not be part of your recovery routine for runner's knee. I can confirm that.<br />
<br />
The last benchmark that I briefly considered trying to beat was my time from '12. That would make this my second fastest Leadville time. But, after doing the math, I figured it would've required me to run 7-minute miles uphill to the finish. Um, yeah... that wasn't happening.<br />
<br />
So, I just tried to enjoy these last few miles. Happy to be almost done. Knowing that soon I'd get to see the rest of my family. Just as we reached the pavement, we passed by <a href="http://thescenebegins.com/" target="_blank">Chris Boyack</a>, whom I recognized from the blogosphere. I thanked him for his video report about his Bighorn experience. It definitely helped me with planning my own race this year. He was about to complete his sixth Leadville 100!<br />
<br />
At the bottom of the 6th St hill, I started slowly jogging again. I saw my family cheering in the distance. Christina grabbed Ethan, carrying him in her arms, and Sierra and Aunt Jenn ran along beside us. Everyone was cheering now. I had a big smile on my face. I had been looking forward to finishing with my two kids for a long, long time. It was what helped me finally get out of that chair at Outward Bound.<br />
<br />
Leadville '14 was ugly.<br />
<br />
I made too many mistakes to count. Some obvious, some not so obvious.<br />
<br />
But the finish was beautiful.<br />
<br />
28:38:03. I got it done. Finish #5.<br />
<br />
I'm already starting to plan what I'll do differently next year...</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFtGH1QvlhgWBr2kFtbnl6QeOlBZEaoeJL1Mm9zfEI93JJ9KCQ1Gkwo_AAOp71GTyLIiEWC8KuPi_ao9O0kEqp8Z4UzZH4ERxHXNgEA6AtQHgaJCDNb8fZ7rStcarv9Y858ZJEk-wg3M/s1600/IMG_4070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFtGH1QvlhgWBr2kFtbnl6QeOlBZEaoeJL1Mm9zfEI93JJ9KCQ1Gkwo_AAOp71GTyLIiEWC8KuPi_ao9O0kEqp8Z4UzZH4ERxHXNgEA6AtQHgaJCDNb8fZ7rStcarv9Y858ZJEk-wg3M/s1600/IMG_4070.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On a 6-mile, family hike two weeks later! (My knee was still hurting.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQwpG0ENsJBNB1e700DJyuIkSFVxichEl_kvJGtvpmYJwNp_1jFDwQPAS88sdapi_Qz1feXBO9f514pAZQ3uPfPY5mA3T_VUEx08g5n6VF2JJ2B6cS-Nfuk7hc8GctmwCT9SThhh7YMc8/s1600/IMG_4078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQwpG0ENsJBNB1e700DJyuIkSFVxichEl_kvJGtvpmYJwNp_1jFDwQPAS88sdapi_Qz1feXBO9f514pAZQ3uPfPY5mA3T_VUEx08g5n6VF2JJ2B6cS-Nfuk7hc8GctmwCT9SThhh7YMc8/s1600/IMG_4078.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A water obstacle.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcBB3gP821iMRz3z213APkVKVLN8li4v6P9qK9rn4_ynfJAJC2u_9xYCXGyvRpNxpIFjMXOdRmNl_6R5A_YFItWk1RLC7PyioACM405vywc4Dub8dxa_oVYfGUcPYbSEh-3NP-dw8byAA/s1600/IMG_4079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcBB3gP821iMRz3z213APkVKVLN8li4v6P9qK9rn4_ynfJAJC2u_9xYCXGyvRpNxpIFjMXOdRmNl_6R5A_YFItWk1RLC7PyioACM405vywc4Dub8dxa_oVYfGUcPYbSEh-3NP-dw8byAA/s1600/IMG_4079.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See over there? That's where Papa threw up!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VATouQl_PuW6pEP_1eFrUrUA_Q7SVz7Nm_6Z-VPaG6CAoMPDmsVaLMx893s8Dm6k4FyoQWrYuX8qhqQaLa5M-Cufr7PWEIXGco9wryQTB7jSMR-nkZs7qSalnfzGdc7oKWj5EyKrGuE/s1600/IMG_4080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_VATouQl_PuW6pEP_1eFrUrUA_Q7SVz7Nm_6Z-VPaG6CAoMPDmsVaLMx893s8Dm6k4FyoQWrYuX8qhqQaLa5M-Cufr7PWEIXGco9wryQTB7jSMR-nkZs7qSalnfzGdc7oKWj5EyKrGuE/s1600/IMG_4080.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Future thru-hiker? Ultrarunner?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_aN-_2hblTH7GT7DiKdT3OtqDOLqGCcLZNW8MNMlvMwi1Jhu808HM-jaO-vOy0iEOQ5t6kD2Ev9Hbmr5G2eFwWsrMOApPhw0xTKgYUPF5a0aWKOf5K-86IdTABr3uSNNm8E0ZEWy3-I/s1600/IMG_4100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_aN-_2hblTH7GT7DiKdT3OtqDOLqGCcLZNW8MNMlvMwi1Jhu808HM-jaO-vOy0iEOQ5t6kD2Ev9Hbmr5G2eFwWsrMOApPhw0xTKgYUPF5a0aWKOf5K-86IdTABr3uSNNm8E0ZEWy3-I/s1600/IMG_4100.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Throwing rocks into Hagerman Lake.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUoRvxLyTWWQ3gzD80K3THLdTgE7FAj6evGRqyfaqpp_SGoE6oXbJh7J3hllYlrmVl9spMeA5wIGrYRBTfQCs9v6l9mSlc6CaoHfLUgB6aYhN9MuAnMRhQiU3PrrWswaZCHftPGLJ4CE/s1600/IMG_4115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUoRvxLyTWWQ3gzD80K3THLdTgE7FAj6evGRqyfaqpp_SGoE6oXbJh7J3hllYlrmVl9spMeA5wIGrYRBTfQCs9v6l9mSlc6CaoHfLUgB6aYhN9MuAnMRhQiU3PrrWswaZCHftPGLJ4CE/s1600/IMG_4115.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A huge thanks to my wife/crew/pacer. I couldn't have done it without you!</td></tr>
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Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-75267478894223086502014-09-10T10:10:00.000-06:002015-08-04T08:02:59.877-06:00Leadville 100 Race Report (Part I)<i>['13 race report <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/08/lt100-race-report.html" target="_blank">here</a>. '12 race report <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2012/08/lt100-race-report.html" target="_blank">here</a>.]</i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Embrace the suck.</b><br />
<br />
That should've been my mantra for this year's Leadville 100.<br />
<br />
Instead my mantra was more like:<br />
<br />
<b>Try to avoid the suck. See what happens. If suckage occurs, slow down and maybe it will go away.</b><br />
<br />
You'd think I would've known better since this would be my fifth consecutive running of Leadville. But, alas, my optimism won out and I thought that I could control my stomach if I just took it easy and drank plenty of water. Crazy, I know. Such hubris.<br />
<br />
But let's rewind a bit.<br />
<br />
Here was the situation as I toed the starting line at 4am on race day.<br />
<br />
My training was solid from January to May. After a May full of racing (126 miles spread over 4 races-- <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/05/collegiate-peak-race-report.html" target="_blank">Collegiate Peaks</a>, <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/05/quad-rock-50-race-report.html" target="_blank">Quad Rock</a>, <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/05/sage-burner-50k-race-report.html" target="_blank">Sage Burner</a>, and the <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/06/month-in-review-may.html" target="_blank">Turquoise Lake Half</a>), I came down with a sore/tight left Achilles. I stopped any significant running in early June and tapered aggressively for Bighorn. I went to PT and exercised/stretched/massaged/iced twice a day to help my Achilles heal. It didn't get much better, but it magically disappeared at <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/07/bighorn-100-race-report.html" target="_blank">Bighorn</a> after about four hours of running. My right knee hurt after Bighorn (runner's knee). There were 8 weeks until Leadville. Too much time to just sit on the couch. My enthusiasm got the best of me, and I returned to normal July-level training too quickly and aggravated my knee. Dumb. Soon I couldn't run more than a mile without limping. I stopped all running with about 6 weeks to go. I went to PT and exercised/stretched/massaged/iced twice a day to help my Achilles and now my knee heal. I slowly worked my way back to hiking up and down 14ers. Eventually, with about 2-3 weeks left until Leadville, I managed to go on a couple of 10-15 mile training runs without any pain. I ran a few shorter routes at very close to my PR pace. (Probably because I was thoroughly tapered and well-rested.)<br />
<br />
July was my lowest mileage month of the year. My lowest mileage July ever. <b>I'd run more miles during the week of Leadville (106) than I ran during the entire month of July (105).</b><br />
<br />
Not exactly a textbook training block.<br />
<br />
So, it was hard to know what to expect. How worried should I be about my Achilles? My knee? What should my race strategy be? How should I pace myself? Certainly, if either of my injuries acted up then a second sub-25 hour finish was out of the question. But even on the longer course in '12 (which was 103 miles) I still managed to finish in 28:19 with excruciating IT band pain. So, it was still possible to finish with an injury, and finish with a pretty respectable time, too. (Possible? Yes. Smart? Perhaps not...)<br />
<br />
Well, I basically decided to assume the best case scenario and just go for it. (Pro tip: never assume the best case scenario.) I wanted at least a shot at setting another PR. I envisioned basically two possible scenarios:<br />
<ol>
<li>My injuries aren't a factor. I control my stomach. I run faster during all the splits where I was nauseated last year. I set a nice, fat PR.</li>
<li>My injuries are a factor. I slow way down. I control my stomach. I enjoy some real food, and leisurely finish somewhere around the 27 hour range.</li>
</ol>
<div>
Note the common phrase: I control my stomach. Therein lies the flaw.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What actually happened:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>My injuries were a factor, but not quite as bad as previous years. It wasn't entirely clear what my goal should be. I was in some kind of performance grey area. I eventually lost control of my stomach. I slowed way down. I tried to enjoy some real food, and a leisurely finish. That didn't work.</li>
</ol>
<div>
Ah, stomach... how I hate you.<br />
<br />
Oh, I finished. Two minutes faster than Bighorn, but more than four hours slower than my Leadville time from last year. There were some triumphant high points, but there many, many low points. In a lot of ways, the low points were nothing really new. Perhaps that's what was most frustrating: I thought I could manage my stomach, I had a plan, but I just descended into the same enervating world of nausea that's happened in pretty much every 100 I've ever run. I would've been totally content to finish in 30 hours if I could've managed a nausea-free race. At least that would've been progress!<br />
<br />
For the curious, here's how it all unfolded. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i><b>Start to May Queen</b></i></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I was excited to race.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Despite all the ups and downs of my training this year, insufficient desire-- at least on race day-- was not an issue. Sure, I had my doubts. I was in a different head space than I had been in since probably my first run in '10. That was the only other year that I started the race knowing that I was probably going to be battling an injury for much of it. (My ITBS in '12 was a race day surprise.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I wasn't really worried about not finishing. I figured I could walk about 60 miles and still finish. But there were many unknowns. How ugly would it get?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I spent a good portion of the morning stretching and warming up my legs-- quite literally, as I strapped multiple heat packs to them. I wore knee warmers (primarily designed for biking) for some extra protection from the cold. I also strapped on two IT band straps-- one above each knee-- and wore compression socks in an effort to baby my calves. I didn't exactly feel nimble. More like a tank. If some minimalist, sandal-wearing nut had gushed about Born to Run at that very moment, I probably would've punched them in the face.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The start line was electric, as usual. There was so much energy. You could hear the commotion from my house a few blocks away. In the middle of the crowd, I bumped into <a href="http://brandon.fuller.name/archives/2014/08/17/22.34.48/" target="_blank">Brandon</a>, who I hoped I'd see a lot of during the race. We both had vaguely similar goals. I handed off my puffy and heat packs to my wife.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The shotgun fired, and we were off.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As impressive as the starting canyon at Bighorn is, there's nothing quite like the start of Leadville. More spectacle than scenery. A police escort leading a sea of runners down 6th St to the Boulevard. Cameras flashing. Spectators cheering, screaming, jumping up and down. Music blaring. A giant wave of headlamps stretching out into the night. During the first mile I always make sure to take a moment to turn around, to witness the ghostly mass of humanity illuminated behind me, headlamps bobbing up and down. We're all crazy enough to try to run 100 miles. At two miles above sea level. Even to a jaded veteran like me, that's still pretty inspiring.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Boulevard and the dam road passed by quickly. I was neurotically checking my pace and my perceived effort and trying to compare them to last year. How out of shape was I? I couldn't really tell. Everything seemed normal. Routine. My Achilles was detectable, but actually felt pretty good. I hiked up the mini-powerlines climb and started comfortably jogging around the lake. My trip around Turquoise went smoothly. I somehow managed to fall into a gap for a while, and was able to jog almost all of the split without being right on top of the runner in front of me. That was a first. The reduced number of starters this year (back to '10-'11 levels) seemed to be having an effect. Dawn came, and I was able to turn off my headlamp as I passed by the second mine entrance-- a confirmation that my pace was about right. Fueling was going well. When I hit the pavement at May Queen I saw that I was basically right on schedule. I walked for a bit and ate a nut butter. That put me at ~850 calories and ~50 oz of fluid. I crossed the timing mat 3 minutes behind schedule-- a completely negligible amount this early in the race.</div>
<div>
<br />
While physically everything went well during this leg, mentally I felt a bit detached at times. I hadn't raced since Bighorn. I had barely run during July. Jogging around Turquoise Lake felt almost dream-like.<br />
<br />
Is this really happening? Am I really racing Leadville? Funny... How did that happen? I don't remember training for it...<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><i>May Queen to Outward Bound</i></b></div>
<div>
<br />
My aid station transition went like clockwork. I met my veteran crew (my wife, Christina, and my brother-in-law, Jeremy) and barely slowed down. I just dropped some warm layers and my headlamp, and picked up two new bottles of energy drink. I kept my arm warmers and knee warmers on-- which I definitely appreciated, as the sheltered, north-facing Colorado Trail in the upcoming section can be quite chilly in the morning.<br />
<br />
As planned, I hiked a few of the steeper sections on the single track to Hagerman Road. Once I hit the road, I began jogging and jogged to the top of Sugarloaf, chatting with a handful of runners along the way. Things still felt pretty casual. I was a tad slower than last year, but that was the plan.<br />
<br />
Then came the downhill. My first real test.<br />
<br />
I immediately began to feel my right knee on the descent. Nothing too painful, but definitely tweaky and a bit sore. Damn it. I was disappointed. I was hoping to at least make it to the descent into Twin Lakes (at mile 37) before that happened. Ah, shit.<br />
<br />
I had planned to take the descent easy no matter what, but my knee gave me even more reason to. I don't think I broke a 9:00 min/mile on the way down.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Outward Bound to Half Pipe</i></b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I glanced at my watch as I passed by the old aid station location. I was a few minutes behind schedule, but nothing significant. The new aid station was another half a mile up the road, making this leg 11 miles now. It's getting to be a bit far to go without an aid station, in my opinion. At least when compared to the rest of the course.<br />
<br />
That said, Outward Bound's new location is vastly superior from a logistical standpoint. The chaos from last year was totally absent. I didn't have to dodge any cars. There was no awkward out-and-back across the timing mat. I met my crew, ducked under the rope, and quickly resupplied. I dropped my arm warmers and one knee warmer. I switched shirts. My crew wasn't sure they could get to Pipeline in time to meet me, so I took everything I'd need until Twin Lakes. No big deal. (That fear turned out to be unwarranted.)<br />
<br />
I was curious to see where the new course took us. There was no real trail through the pasture, just a swath of recently-mowed grass. Ankle-breaking holes were scattered throughout. Not a problem during the day, but I took note of them for my return trip during the night. Less pavement is always welcome, so on the whole I think the re-route is an improvement-- especially as it allows for very logical aid station flow. It's unlikely that it's as fast as the old route. But we're only talking one or two minutes at most.<br />
<br />
As I hit the pavement, I saw <a href="http://bdtu.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Andy W.</a> and <a href="http://pittbrownie.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">JT</a> up ahead. Two burly Leadmen. I caught up to them and we chatted for a while. Andy seemed to be experiencing some kind of low-point and was very self-deprecating, commenting about how high his heart rate was this early in the race. Blah, blah, blah. I just smiled. I knew that whatever he was experiencing was totally minor and temporary, and that he'd crush this race just like he always does! I pulled away a bit as his watch beeped and he dropped to a walk to eat a gel. (The man is a machine.) We had been taking it fairly easy while we were chatting, so I arrived at Pipeline a little slower than planned-- faster for the split from Outward Bound, since it was closer this year, but slightly slower when everything was taken into consideration. Again, just a few minutes behind schedule.<br />
<br />
At Pipeline, I met my crew again, along with my family. I gave my kids big hugs, drank some ice water, dumped the rest of the water bottle on my head, and jogged off. While passing through the crowd, I ran into Woody A., who I hadn't seen in forever. (I miss his <a href="http://www.co-runner.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>.) Positive as always, he cheered for me and we exchanged a high-five.<br />
<br />
I jogged all the way to Half Pipe, still trying to keep things relatively easy. This is where I began to make nutrition mistakes last year, so I was extra attentive to my hydration and nutrition. I made sure to drink more water (~24 oz/hour), and to not consume too many calories too quickly.</div>
<br />
My knee had been nagging me since the Powerlines descent. It wasn't causing me to limp, but it also wasn't going away.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Half Pipe to Twin Lakes</i></b><br />
<br />
Unlike last year, I actually took a few minutes to stop at Half Pipe. I drank some broth, topped off my bottles, and headed back out.<br />
<br />
Again, I jogged pretty much everything-- maybe walking one or two short stretches of the steeper stuff. I kept listening to my stomach, and I waited until I felt hungry to consume more energy drink. I didn't force it. I was still maintaining a 300+ calorie/hour rate, while also drinking extra water. Perfect.<br />
<br />
My knee, however, was getting worse. If it wasn't affecting my pace physically yet, it was probably beginning to affect it mentally. It's hard to feel fast when you're injured. I took two Tylenol a few miles past Half Pipe. I was doubtful they'd do anything, but I figured I'd at least experiment with the safer option before I started popping ibuprofen.<br />
<br />
Nope. No change.<br />
<br />
At Mt. Elbert I topped off my bottles again and, sighing, swallowed two Advil.<br />
<br />
It was going to be one of those years.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Twin Lakes to Hope Pass</i></b><br />
<br />
Despite taking the downhill super easy, I rolled into Twin Lakes only 10 minutes behind schedule (for the entire 40 miles). I was 30 minutes behind last year's pace. I pretty much nailed the split, running it in 1:51 with a goal of 1:50. Nice. Last year I ran it in 1:45, but when I hit Twin I was beginning to look pale and felt a little woozy. This year, I felt great energy-wise. My knee was my main concern.<br />
<br />
I informed my crew about my knee and made a few gear adjustments and backup plans for Winfield, where I'd see Jeremy next. I drank some more broth and headed out again, probably stopping for a total of 3-4 minutes. Longer than last year, but fine.<br />
<br />
The stretch of trail to the river was a swampy mess this year. It was the worst I'd ever seen it. I knew this was coming, as I had scoped out this section of trail a week prior. There's nothing you can really do about it. So, I just slogged through the mud as best I could. Lake Creek was running quickly enough that I actually had to face upstream in the deeper sections. I couldn't just stroll across. Given the conditions, I'd say everyone lost a few minutes on this section (each way) when compared to previous years.<br />
<br />
Now came the first climb up Hope Pass. This was the first split I planned on running faster than last year. Could I do it?<br />
<br />
Hell, yes!<br />
<br />
In hindsight, these were the best miles of the race for me. Probably some of the best miles of my humble ultrarunning career. It was so satisfying to run strongly up Hope-- my nemesis all these years. It felt just like a relaxed training run. I jogged (!) all the flatter sections and hiked the steeper sections. I stopped at streams at every opportunity and drank water and poured more water over my head to stay cool. I kept up with my energy drink, still maintaining a ~300 calories/hour rate. And I chatted everyone's ear off-- as JT can attest to. I was feeling fantastic. Not a single runner passed me, and I must have passed easily 30+ runners on the way up. Last year I staggered my way up Hope, dizzy, and unable to drink. What a contrast.<br />
<br />
I ran into the leaders, Aish and Krar, right after Hopeless. Aish was his usual talkative self. Krar, who I greatly respect, was silent. He's an ultrarunning machine. Humble and soft-spoken outside of a race, but while racing... he's all business. Fierce.<br />
<br />
I jogged/hiked up to the top of the pass and checked my time for the split: 2:02. A full 15 minutes faster than last year. I had cut my total deficit in half in the span of a few miles. That was so, so satisfying. I had figured out what I had done wrong last year, made some simple adjustments, and executed.<br />
<br />
It doesn't get any better than that.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88T2HpKvW33NU9Kfb2WMHUMZMEyz7uLzxCB9OthG5LLpKsbwrn5W5wHv9kaNy1QluBjaArI0YUBBOz8uTEBNwo36t9pwiWWBEbLStbJ6l9wF7a7F42YXZbu6HvvRLcbbcXZFvpB4qkyI/s1600/1408224701580-X3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88T2HpKvW33NU9Kfb2WMHUMZMEyz7uLzxCB9OthG5LLpKsbwrn5W5wHv9kaNy1QluBjaArI0YUBBOz8uTEBNwo36t9pwiWWBEbLStbJ6l9wF7a7F42YXZbu6HvvRLcbbcXZFvpB4qkyI/s1600/1408224701580-X3.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hope Pass. The high point of my race, both figuratively and literally.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<i><b>To be continued...</b></i>Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-82245283499077314042014-08-05T13:25:00.000-06:002015-01-18T10:21:45.933-07:00Leadville 100 Pre-Race Thoughts (aka The Plan)<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Goal: 23:40 vs. 24:29 (24:45)</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ah, hell. I'm just
going to go for it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Who knows exactly
what my fitness is, but I'm almost certainly in worse shape than I
was last year. Not terrible shape, but almost certainly not in '13
shape. Maybe more like '12 shape.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I have
approximately the same number of miles and training time under my
belt as '13, but my training this year basically peaked in mid-June,
whereas last year I peaked at the end of July (<a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/07/month-in-review-july.html" target="_blank">which was my best month of training ever</a>).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I actually have
been able to match or exceed my PRs on a few uphill routes around
Leadville (including both sides of Hope Pass), so I'm not totally out
of shape. But, I'm basically fully tapered now as opposed to when I
set those PRs in the middle of training last year. (In other words,
the old PRs were set on tired legs.)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I returned to
training too enthusiastically after <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/07/bighorn-100-race-report.html" target="_blank">Bighorn</a>, and aggravated an injury
leftover from the race. <b>Runner's knee.</b> It was a dumb, rookie
mistake. I should have shut things down for two weeks after Bighorn
and taken things super easy-- especially on the downhills, given the
pain I was feeling in my right knee the day after Bighorn. Instead, I
jumped right back into more-or-less normal training, with only a few
days of rest. In my own misguided way I was trying to keep things
easy, but it was nowhere near easy enough. When my knee finally
really flared up, I was forced to stop running for almost two weeks.
Then I slowly settled into only a 3-run per week routine. I've
basically been power hiking up 14ers and walking down them for my
long runs. Only recently have I actually jogged downhill at anything
resembling my normal downhill pace. During Leadville, I'm definitely
going to be taking all the downhills very conservatively. Being
paranoid, I'm not fully convinced that my case of runner's knee won't
flare up again during the 100. That would instantly prevent any
chance of a PR. We'll see...</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
That said, I still
want to try for my 5<sup>th</sup> consecutive PR at Leadville. It's
worth a shot, at least.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What makes me think I can?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I honestly think
that I lost ~80 minutes last year due to nausea. ~20 minutes on each
climb up Hope Pass. ~10 minutes from Twin to Half Pipe. And then ~30
minutes from May Queen to the finish (which was also due to lack of
motivation on my part, once I knew a big buckle was in the bag). If I
say that I was ~30 minutes faster due to better raw fitness last
year, that gives me room for a ~50 minute improvement. (Of course,
that assumes that I never get nauseated or injured!)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
At a high level,
<b>my strategy is pretty simple: improve my worst splits</b> (when
compared to the median time of all the finishers). Run the first 40
miles easier, push up Hope, but take the downhills easy, then really
start pushing during the final 40 miles, culminating with the last
split, which I want to make the biggest improvement on. Another way
of summarizing this is to say that I want to make my 50 mile splits
more even than they were last year-- slower going out, faster coming
in.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
If I had to pick 3
splits to improve, they would be: Twin to Hope, Winfield to Hope, and
May Queen to the finish. If I'm a little slower on all the other
splits: whatever.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
No matter what my
time is, if I'm not injured, I really want to jog the final 12.5
miles of the course. I don't care if a big buckle is out of the
picture at that point. Must. Not. Walk.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Of course, if I do
get injured, they'll be a change of plans. I don't want to get angry
or depressed. Leadville was not my focus race this year. That was
Bighorn. I signed up for Leadville again simply because it's the
hometown race. If I'm injured, I'll just switch racing strategies:
slow down, make myself as comfortable as possible, try to have fun,
chat with my fellow racers, eat a lot, and drink beer. I plan on
giving my crew an emergency 6-pack for just this contingency!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
As long as I can
stagger forward, I will not quit. The other streak I want to keep
alive is my no DNF streak.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>I will not be
using pacers this year.</b> I'm going solo. I'm not sure why,
exactly, but I thought it would be fun to try something different. To
mix it up a bit. I guess I want to see if I suffer better alone!
Plus, having a pacer there to carry your stuff is cheating! (But,
damn, is it nice!)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I will, however,
be relying on my awesome, veteran crew to speed me through aid
stations as fast as possible. They did such an amazing job last year
that there's zero room for improvement in this area of the race! And
I mean zero. Zip. Nada. <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/08/lt100-race-report.html" target="_blank">My crew was the main reason I big buckled last year</a>. I probably stopped for only 15 minutes during the entire
race, blowing through most aid stations without stopping at all.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After four
consecutive races with perfect weather, <b>I'm mentally preparing for
apocalyptic weather</b> on race day. I think we're due... With all
the monsoon weather we've been getting this July, it's not hard to
imagine. I want to be ready to rock it '08 style! (Yeah, lightning at
the top of Powerlines at 8am in the morning! Yeah, continuous drizzle
throughout the night!)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
As always, this
race will be all about staying on top of my nutrition and hydration.
If I don't get nauseated (and I don't get injured), I can almost
guarantee a PR. Seriously. It's that important.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mistakes I made
last year: <b>I didn't drink enough water in proportion to the
calories I was consuming.</b> I actually made the mistake of telling
my crew to overfill my bottles (~400 calories/bottle) from Pipeline
to Hopeless. (And I overfilled them myself from Hopeless to
Winfield.) Dumb, but I was hungry at the time. Being a little hungry
is not necessarily bad. It means things are moving through your
stomach. Don't panic. Just keep drinking and maintain a 320
calorie/hour rate of energy drink. Don't eat more calories without
drinking more water!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm going to top
off my bottles at streams/aid stations throughout the day. At least
during the hottest part of the day, I need to be drinking more than a
bottle's worth of water per hour. Thus the top off to dilute whatever
remaining energy drink is in the bottle.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm going to try
to drink from an extra ice-filled water bottle every time I meet my
crew. Then run off with my two bottles of energy drink for the next
leg. This should effectively dilute the contents of my stomach,
lowering its osmolarity, and aiding digestion.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm going to stop
at the Half Pipe aid station this year. Both ways. It's worth it to
take the time to hydrate more and grab a little bit of real food.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm going to try
to eat some nut butters earlier on in the race (as opposed to the 3
gels I ate from the start to Fish). I think they'll be more filling.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm going to use
caffeine pills instead of trying to choke down Redbull. My caffeine
intake was probably a little low last year. (Though I don't remember
being too tired.) I was just relying on Coke, which really doesn't
have enough caffeine to be your sole source during the night.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This year I
haven't been using any protein in my energy drink. (Just amino
acids.) Who knows what effect that will have (if any)?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Of course, I'll
ultimately end up resorting to Coke. Probably around mile 60. But,
honestly, I need to stick to energy drink as long as I can. Just
choke it down. Remember Bighorn. Maybe try to just drink Coke at the
aid stations themselves, but don't carry it and drink it on the run?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
For comparison
purposes, I've been looking at some of my friends' splits from last
year:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Andy W. ran a
23:18.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Marvin ran a
23:28.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Smokey ran a
24:11.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mike ran a 24:18.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
They all beat me!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Andy W. and Marvin
will be running again this year, Mike will be pacing a friend, and
Smokey has some secret plans for the top of Powerlines. So, hopefully
I'll see them all out on the course!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
You can think of
my goal splits for this year's race as what I consider to be the
smartest way to run a 23:40 race at Leadville. Even if I can't make
these times this year-- due to nausea, lack of fitness, injury,
etc.-- they'll probably be my goal splits for next year... and the
year after that... until I actually achieve them!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I won't lie. I'm
less confident about making my goal this year than I was last year.
My training has been too inconsistent/unorthodox. I'm nursing
multiple injuries. Every year, my PR gets harder for me to beat.
That's the nature of PRs.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Who knows what
will happen on race day? The important thing, really, is the relative
level of effort for each split. Push hard up Hope. Push harder the
later in the race it is. Take everything else easy.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Remember that <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/08/lt100-race-report.html" target="_blank">in my report from last year</a>, I emphasized that my improved
fitness would account for very little of the 3 hour and 50 minute PR
I ultimately set. It was all about efficient aid station management,
better hydration/nutrition, staying injury-free, and running smarter.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Format: Split '14 Goal vs. '13 Time
('13 Goal)</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>May Queen 2:10 vs. 2:09 (2:10)</b><br />
<br />
2:05 is certainly doable, but would
probably be the fastest I'd ever want to run this split. Use knee
warmers during this section. If I have to jump into a restroom during
this split, it could easily take 10 minutes longer than planned.
Don't panic.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Smokey took a leisurely 2:24!</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Fish 2:00 vs. 1:55 (2:00)</b><br />
<br />
I certainly don't want to bomb down
Powerlines like I did last year. Drop knee warmers at Fish.
Unfortunately, this means I'll have to sit down and take off my
shoes.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Smokey took a leisurely 2:07!</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Half Pipe 1:20 vs. 1:11 (1:20)</b><br />
<br />
No room for improvement. I might
naturally run this around 1:15, but no rush. The road does not play
to my strengths this year. Only carry one bottle to Pipeline (like
last year). Actually stop at Half Pipe to top off fluids.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Andy W. took 1:10. Everyone else was
around 1:15.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Twin 1:50 vs. 1:46 (1:45)</b><br />
<br />
No room for improvement. Need to focus
on hydration! This will probably be the hottest split. I'll probably
hit Twin around 7:20-- 20 minutes slower than last year.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>I ran this split faster than Andy W.,
Marvin, Smokey, and Mike. Need to slow down.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Hope 2:00 vs. 2:18 (2:15)</b><br />
<br />
My first planned improvement over a
split from last year. I can run this split in ~1:40 in training
(never dropping below a 19 min/mile). I may need poles if my knee is
acting up.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Everyone was around 2:00 or less. Mike
took 1:46?! Holy shit!</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Winfield 1:20 vs. 1:17 (1:25)</b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I can run this split in ~1:00 in
training. I don't think I was really pushing it last year, so maybe I
can run this split faster? Don't plan on it, though. Top off bottles
at streams! Push on the flat sections-- not the steep sections. Even
if I hit Winfield at ~11 hours, a PR is not out of the question.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Everyone ran faster than 1:20 last
year.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Hope 2:00 vs. 2:22 (2:15)</b><br />
<br />
I can run this split in ~1:35 in
training. Top off bottles at streams! This was the only split I ran
slower than the median time last year. Thus, I have the most room for
improvement. I may need poles if my knee is acting up.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Almost everyone took less than 2:00.
1:45 is remotely possible (but insanely strong)!</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Twin 1:30 vs. 1:28 (1:25)</b><br />
<br />
I can run this split in ~1:00 in
training. Push on the
flat sections-- not the steep sections.<br />
<br />
<i> My time was right in the middle of everyone.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Half Pipe 2:15 vs. 2:21 (2:15)</b><br />
<br />
If I
really push, and I'm feeling good, I think I could maybe run 2:05.
Maybe. This section is very, very runnable from Elbert to Half Pipe.
It would be awesome to get to Half Pipe before the sunset. I just
barely missed it last year.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Everyone ran faster than 2:15. Andy W. took 2:03!</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Fish 1:20 vs. 1:26 (1:40)</b><br />
<br />
I was pretty much in
the middle of everyone. I want to push hard this split. Exhausting,
but pretty damn flat and totally non-technical! As uninspiring as
this section might be, it is every bit as important as Hope Pass.
Run!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<i>Smokey took 1:18. </i><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>May Queen 2:45 vs. 2:45 (3:00)</b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
No room for improvement. This was my
best split from last year. I ran the 41<sup>st</sup> fastest split in the entire
field! Matching my time will take some effort and motivation. Funny,
I didn't feel like I was pushing especially hard last year (or even
really totally on top of my nutrition), but... I don't know...
<i>something</i> happened. I think my time from last year is a
testament to how important focus is late in the race. I was focused
on nailing this split, no doubt.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>I beat everyone (Andy W., Marvin, Smokey, and Mike). Andy W. ran this split in 2:45 in '12.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Finish 3:10 vs. 3:32 (3:15)</b><br />
<br />
Smokey ran this split in 3:09 and he
was neck and neck with me just before the dam! (So he put over 20
minutes on me during the final ~6 miles! Incredible!) If I can pull
off a Bighorn-style finish, I could theoretically run close to 3:00.
This is the split where I want to push my hardest. No walking!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There you have it. Simple, right?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
PS I'll close with some pictures from my last long run. I decided to try something different and actually climb the ridge from Hope Pass to the top of Mt. Hope. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Stunning views. I'm so glad that I made the trip to the summit! Definitely worth it. Amazing views in all directions. This may have to become a yearly tradition.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2AdWFA0QxEDmY1lwRCmCrrjUSHO75SBFdV4jYvwYw7bbopxt6SGAmE5oURqC2H8GD1Xq5NTLr5tTgY57dy0h0xm2c3947BSZtWWPTDr0OIq8vk4Y9JpIsBxwjvruygEdsaHTtHtbQoM/s1600/IMG_2380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2AdWFA0QxEDmY1lwRCmCrrjUSHO75SBFdV4jYvwYw7bbopxt6SGAmE5oURqC2H8GD1Xq5NTLr5tTgY57dy0h0xm2c3947BSZtWWPTDr0OIq8vk4Y9JpIsBxwjvruygEdsaHTtHtbQoM/s1600/IMG_2380.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Probably the best spot to spectate: above Hope Pass!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0U5T0cTj9GejgaqjJK7ZXPFBDkjtwZMdPLBfCUXCY_wqlFKpnSRAXGwtJ_VIIVI0zBjZ3r-QCSJLoLiUzdEREZTQyX6yNm8vV51FjAA7bs4qfEao1PNLOgCTE9YqPsabmqSlFsB0oTkM/s1600/IMG_2393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0U5T0cTj9GejgaqjJK7ZXPFBDkjtwZMdPLBfCUXCY_wqlFKpnSRAXGwtJ_VIIVI0zBjZ3r-QCSJLoLiUzdEREZTQyX6yNm8vV51FjAA7bs4qfEao1PNLOgCTE9YqPsabmqSlFsB0oTkM/s1600/IMG_2393.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hope Pass from the edge of Mt. Hope itself.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYIUE4DXqJgrC1C0dYHAP_KUdT1wCLc0K9yDxeRuqUGva-RZx3utOnCJ5bE5flDhAT3sRaHMlSoH9YbQmrGt5OD68abrFdnzrxWr-ZLoHMcKVe5QT4Blr2Z-ALkvNjCjb2tyI5gtXFxg/s1600/IMG_2399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYIUE4DXqJgrC1C0dYHAP_KUdT1wCLc0K9yDxeRuqUGva-RZx3utOnCJ5bE5flDhAT3sRaHMlSoH9YbQmrGt5OD68abrFdnzrxWr-ZLoHMcKVe5QT4Blr2Z-ALkvNjCjb2tyI5gtXFxg/s1600/IMG_2399.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Twin Lakes from the top of Mt. Hope</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-57834395446865317452014-07-31T13:41:00.001-06:002015-06-07T15:24:17.223-06:00Bighorn 100 Race Report<i>[Sorry that this race report took so long to write up! I think it took longer to write than it took to run the damn race! Post-race life in Leadville has been crazy, of course. Typical summer insanity. I could only manage to get a paragraph done every few mornings, while sipping my coffee before the kids woke up. I hope you enjoy it! I certainly enjoyed Bighorn.]</i><br />
<br />
<i><b>Pre Race</b></i><br />
<br />
The Wednesday before the race, my final, easy, 2-mile jog was a disaster-- at least from a psychological perspective. My left Achilles tendon, which I had been dutifully rehabilitating for the last 3 weeks, felt no better. It was still tight and mildly sore. I had only run a total of 14 miles during my taper, trying to rest as much as possible. I know tendon injuries can be difficult to overcome, but really? No change? Nothing? Some days it felt better, some days not. I couldn't figure out a pattern. Occasionally, I'd feel optimistic that it was manageable, but now I was slipping into pessimism again. As I trotted up Hagerman Road, gazing at the beautiful snow-clad peaks across the valley, I wondered what the hell I was doing. Was Bighorn just going to degenerate into 70 miles of limping?<br />
<br />
Despite the fact that I was probably in better shape than I'd ever been in this early in the year, it was impossible to feel confident as race day approached. As I packed for the race, my eyes briefly lingered on the little packets of painkillers I placed in each of my drop bags. Advil, Tylenol, Aleve... How many of these would I have to take? I've survived multiple 100s while fighting stabbing IT band pain, but Achilles tendonitis was a first for me. How bad would it get? So far it had never gotten so painful that it caused me to limp, but 100s have a way of finding any weaknesses you might have and amplifying them as the miles accumulate.<br />
<br />
So, I approached Bighorn with a very conservative frame of mind. I really didn't know how the race would unfold, and I tried not to worry about it. Perceived effort was going to be my guide. I'd just listen to my body. Run within myself. All the standard ultrarunning cliches. I took some comfort in Bighorn's generous cut-off times. I had 34 hours to complete this sucker, if things went badly. Though I didn't relish the thought, I could walk every step if I needed to. I had picked 27 hours as a rough goal. Maybe estimate is a better word, as I didn't really plan to push to finish at any particular time. I probably wasn't quite as fit as I was for Leadville last year, I was nursing a potential injury, I didn't have any crew or pacers to help speed me through the aid stations, I had never step foot on the course before, and based on historical results, Bighorn just seemed... slower. More elevation gain. More mud.<br />
<br />
I loaded all my running and camping gear into the Prius, kissed my wife and kids goodbye, and headed off for Wyoming on Thursday morning. First stop: the local coffee shop, to grab some breakfast. The drive up was uneventful. Towering, snowy mountains gave way to the heat and traffic of the Front Range, which in turn gave way to the big sky and rolling, grassy plains of Wyoming. When I finally hit I90, I looked east and thought of Boston 2,000 miles away. (Through the magic of the interwebs, I telecommute there every weekday.)<br />
<br />
After registering, and dropping off my drop bags, I met my friend Alex and his family at the free pasta dinner in downtown Sheridan. I scarfed it up quickly, heading back for seconds and thirds. We then drove on to Dayton and up into the Bighorns to our campsite at Sibley Lake. Alex had camped there for the race last year and recommended it. I had waffled back and forth as to whether or not to camp or hotel it the night before the race. Ultimately, I decided to accept Alex's generous offer and camp with him and his family up at the lake. In hindsight, it was the right decision. Sibley Lake is about 30 minutes from downtown Dayton, but it's a scenic drive and a very peaceful site. The place was almost deserted. No other runners that I could see. It was good to get to experience a bit of the mountains before the race, and I'm sure it was much cooler than Dayton itself. I could better gauge what the temperatures might be like the following night on the course. It was also closer to my home elevation of 10,000 ft.<br />
<br />
As a former thru-hiker, nothing is quite as relaxing as camping out under the stars. And that is just what I needed the night before the race. The simple rituals of camping are familiar and calming. I got a good night's sleep-- turning in just as it got dark (hiker midnight) and woke up the next morning at dawn. I went for a short stroll down to the lake itself, munching on breakfast (banana bread, scones, and smoothies), and soaked up the peaceful atmosphere, stretching my calves. I was relaxed, but also excited to spend some quality time in the mountains. I was ready.<br />
<br />
Time to run 100 miles.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
I glanced at my phone and noted the time. At Leadville, I'd already be past Mayqueen by now, climbing up Sugarloaf. I had mixed feelings about Bighorn's late start (11am). Not having to wake up at 2am for a 4am start certainly was nice, but an 11am start seemed a little... extreme to me... Well, whatever. I was here to experience something new; something different.<br />
<br />
I quickly packed up camp and drove down to the park for the pre-race meeting. The excitement was palpable. Crowds of runners went about all their pre-race routines, myself included. I met Mike, my friend and neighbor from Leadville, in the parking lot. The pre-race meeting wasn't terribly helpful, but the one important fact I did take way from it was that there was 100 lbs of bacon out on the course. Now, that kind of information is absolutely vital! It drew a hearty round of applause.<br />
<br />
After the meeting there's this awkward dead period until the 11am start. First, you have to drive/carpool four miles up a dirt road, following the Tongue River, to the actual starting line near the mouth of the canyon. (These would be the final four miles of the course, which finishes in downtown Dayton, at Scott Park where the meeting was held. That's where I left my car.) There's not really enough time to do anything, except maybe visit the restroom one final time, and wait. I sought out a spot in the shade and sat down, chatting with neighboring racers. Finally, 11am rolled around and we set off with a cheer. I assume there was a countdown, but I didn't hear it from my position way in the back of the pack. They obviously need to get themselves a shotgun!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbSblxyTutfuX1qY9EqZjPKVZt-lFcgJFc3vx6UmTTbXdW23P4LRPUTI8ko6zh67p5noVDZYLnT5D43zZnyFVdRNNQhMwnxTQy_fIZHktFBsiqm58oLeSIr8szCxC-9cL2EkCXlFjvxQ/s1600/Bighorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbSblxyTutfuX1qY9EqZjPKVZt-lFcgJFc3vx6UmTTbXdW23P4LRPUTI8ko6zh67p5noVDZYLnT5D43zZnyFVdRNNQhMwnxTQy_fIZHktFBsiqm58oLeSIr8szCxC-9cL2EkCXlFjvxQ/s400/Bighorn.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex and me at the start.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<i><b>Start (0.0) To Dry Fork (13.5)</b></i><br />
<br />
Following a reoccurring pattern (of comparing Bighorn to Leadville), I couldn't help thinking to myself that I would already be 40 miles into Leadville by this time, passing through Twin Lakes. And here I was at mile 0 at Bighorn! The scenery in the canyon was breathtaking and I spent most of the first mile craning my neck to look straight up the steep canyon walls at the strange rock formations that towered above us. It sure as hell beat the Boulevard! The river was raging below us, as we climbed away from the dirt road on narrow, rolling single track.<br />
<br />
I heard a few veterans comment that there seemed to be about twice the normal number of runners in the starting crowd. Determined to take things slowly, my first order of business was to get a sense of how my Achilles was feeling. It felt better during those initial 2 miles than it did during my final 2-mile shakedown jog. Still, I could feel it. Some tightness, but about as good as it's ever felt this June. I tried to keep my feet beneath me, to avoid over-striding and minimize toe-off. Theoretically that should lessen the load on my tendon.<br />
<br />
Whenever I had talked to folks about Bighorn-- or read race reports about it-- two things were always mentioned: wild flowers and mud, with freezing nighttime temperatures coming in third, perhaps. As the course veered away from the river and steeply up a large, open, grassy hill, I could already confirm the first! Fields and fields of wild flowers. Truly spectacular. A long conga line of runners wound its way up the narrow single track up the hill. Since I had stopped at the Lower Sheep aid station to refill a bottle, I had dropped back a bit. I would guess that maybe 70% of the field was in front of me. It was pretty much impossible/pointless to pass anyone, so I tried to stay patient, chat with my neighbors, and eat/drink as many calories as I could. During the climb, I made a brief cameo in <a href="http://vimeo.com/98892143" target="_blank">Brandon Fuller's video</a>, as we were close together at this point. I kept telling myself that no one regrets going out too slow in a 100, but I won't lie-- I was a little exasperated at times at how relaxed the pace was. I could tell I wasn't going to hit my estimated time for the first split to Dry Fork. Relax, Andy. It's 100 miles. You're injured. Enjoy the scenery and calm down!<br />
<br />
Near the top of the climb, the final switchback turned to double track and I could finally pick my own pace. I jogged the last bit and made my way to the Upper Sheep aid station, where I refilled my bottles, grabbed some melon, and took off for Dry Fork. The tightness in my Achilles was growing. It now felt like it did on my last run on Wednesday. I could feel myself slightly favoring my left leg. We were barely 3 hours into the race. Extrapolating from how I felt at the starting line, I guessed I'd probably be limping in another 3 hours. I was pissed. I swore to myself. A lot.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Dry Fork (13.5) to Footbridge (30.0)</b></i><br />
<br />
Finally Dry Fork came into view, below us on a dirt road. I jogged down to it at a fair clip, dryly commenting that this might be my only 9 min/mile of the entire race. I arrived at the 3:30 mark. Already 30 minutes behind schedule-- for whatever that's worth. I was in and out of the aid station fairly quickly, just grabbing some more maltodextrin out of my drop bag. I had consumed 1,500+ calories at this point, which was great. I elected to not grab my ipod as I still wanted to keep things easy. I didn't want music to inadvertently cause me charge off too fast.<br />
<br />
This next section to Footbridge was one of the more enjoyable of the race. It was generally rolling downhill, with a few short climbs, through a mixture of forest and fields. More incredible displays of wild flowers. I slowly worked my way up, passing many runners, but still trying to keep things easy. I continued to focus on eating and drinking and staying cool. It was hot, but not unbearably so. I felt good. Perhaps all that time in the sauna in Leadville had helped a bit?<br />
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Even though I was carrying two handhelds (40 oz), I still found myself running out of water just slightly before aid stations. Luckily there was a nice piped spring in this section, which I took advantage of. Just as I was about to run out of water, I turned the corner and there it was. Perfect. I settled into a routine that I would maintain more or less throughout the race: carrying one bottle of maltodextrin and one bottle of water, alternating between the two.<br />
<br />
During this section I bumped into "Hawaiian Shirt" Ray (a familiar sight at pretty much any race in Colorado) and Neeraj Engineer, who I'd seen at a few races previously, but never introduced myself to. We chatted for a bit on what became a common topic of discussion during Bighorn (once folks found out where I lived)-- what I, as a Leadville local, thought of Lifetime's management of the 100 last year. I, uh... have some opinions on the subject.<br />
<br />
And my Achilles? To my amazement it seemed to be getting better! WTF? As the miles clicked by, I caught myself thinking about it less and less. I joked to myself that I had just needed 20 miles to warm up. As silly as that sounds, it's the only explanation I can think of. Whatever. I'll take it! My biggest fear of the race actually seemed to be manageable!<br />
<br />
As we descended "The Wall" down to the next major aid station: Footbridge, the scenery escalated to jaw-dropping. More than one runner ahead of me pulled off the trail to stop and take pictures. It really was that impressive. The next river canyon spread out below us. Gazing into the distance I could see the long, 18-mile climb up it that awaited us. I was feelin' good. Bring it!<br />
<br />
<i><b>Footbridge (30.0) to Jaws (48.0)</b></i><br />
<br />
I made it to Footbridge from Dry Fork in about 3.5 hours, which was what I had predicted. That meant I was still 30 minutes behind schedule, however. I wasn't stressed about it. I was so elated that I wasn't limping-- nothing else mattered! This aid station stop was more chaotic, and I took a little time as I rummaged through my drop bags for more maltodextrin, my headlamp, the first of my cold weather gear, and swapped out my GPS. (I had trouble acquiring a signal this deep in the canyon, but it eventually locked on a mile or so out of the aid station.)<br />
<br />
So far, so good.<br />
<br />
I felt really comfortable at this point. And I was interested to see how the climb to the turnaround point would go. I set off at a relaxed pace-- a slow jog-- and headed up the canyon. The sun was getting lower in the sky and the shadows were growing longer. Heat was no longer a concern. The aid stations were smaller and more remote in this section, it seemed. But I was carrying pretty much everything I needed. I took a few sips of soup here and there, and grabbed a salted potato or two. I filled up my water bottles at the strongly-flowing stream near Leaky Mountain-- an interesting landmark, with multiple cascades springing out of its rocky cliff face. As described in the pre-race briefing, it looked like God had taken a shotgun to the mountain and blown it full of holes. You have to keep your eyes open for it, as it's only visible from one small meadow. There's an old sign there, pointing it out.<br />
<br />
I passed a few more runners along this section (generally on the uphills, which I was still jogging), but it seemed like I had finally reached my natural position in the field after falling back on the slow initial climb up to Dry Fork. I reached the Spring Marsh aid station around dusk and put my headlamp on, preparing for the night to come. I fell in with a small group of runners around this point (Scott Wesemann and Katie Noelck, who I ran pretty much all of the second half of Quad Rock with this year). We passed the time sharing stories about some of our past races, laughing. This kind of friendly banter is one of the things I love most about ultras. Shortly after Spring Marsh, we encountered the first of many long, muddy sections. Wildflowers: check. Mud: check.<br />
<br />
The leader passed us just before Elk Camp. I calculated I was about 9 miles behind. That's about how far behind the leader I typically am at Leadville while climbing Hope Pass. Not bad, not bad...<br />
<br />
Now the fun began.<br />
<br />
As I approached Elk Camp I noticed that my headlamp was growing dim after only being on for a mile or so. What the hell? I had just replaced the batteries! I had another headlamp waiting for me at Jaws, a few miles away, so I wasn't panicking yet. But still, it was frustrating. (My plan was to wear two headlamps-- one on my head and one on my waist-- to better illuminate the descent). At Elk Camp, sitting in the flickering light of the campfire, I refilled my bottles once again and popped my first caffeine pill. I drank a cup of soup and then set off again into the night.<br />
<br />
Soon my headlamp grew so dim that it was useless. I was smack dab in the middle of the muddiest section of the course and I couldn't see anything! Was that a patch of mud? A rock? Grass? Where was the trail? Thankfully, I had the foresight to carry a backup microlight with me-- a habit I formed while hiking the Appalachian Trail. About the size of a nickel, and virtually weightless, it was tucked away in one of the pockets of my vest. It had saved my ass more than once. While not exactly blazing with the light of a 1,000 suns, I was able to use it to slowly negotiate my way through all the mud.<br />
<br />
Then the thunder and lightning started.<br />
<br />
Bright flashes of lightning illuminated the trail and thunder rumbled in the distance. In the darkness, I hadn't noticed the clouds roll in. The storm didn't seem to be directly overhead, but soon sprinkles of rain began to fall. I stopped yet again, muttering to myself, microlight clenched in my teeth, and took off my vest and got out my rain jacket. Grinning, I spread my arms wide, "Is this the best you've got, Bighorn?" 45 miles. Mud. Darkness. Thunder. Lightning. Rain. A dead headlamp. Hell, yeah!<br />
<br />
After only 10 minutes or so, the rain abated. Certainly not a major storm, but enough to make things interesting. I plodded along, gingerly trying to follow the cow path, er... trail up the valley. When I crossed the dirt road, I knew I was close. Things leveled out a bit and I slowly jogged my way into Jaws, the not-quite-halfway point of the race. Soon I crossed paths with Mike in the darkness. He was maybe 30 minutes ahead of me, I'd guess. We chatted briefly and I filled him in on the good news (no Achilles pain!) and the not-so-good news (dead headlamp!). He looked to be in good spirits, and I wished him well.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Jaws (48.0) to Footbridge (66.0)</b></i><br />
<br />
I wasn't really paying much attention to time at this point, but I did glance at my watch and noted that I had slipped a few more minutes off of my goal pace. Oh, whatever. Considering my headlamp shenanigans, I was happy to have made it as quickly as I did. I sat down, sipped some more soup, and rummaged through my drop bag. The aid station volunteers were very friendly and asked a few obligatory questions about my general well-being. Just fine, I assured them. Especially since I now had a huge, new bright headlamp strapped to my head! (Cue ominous foreshadowing music.)<br />
<br />
Even though I hadn't felt the need to wear the extra layers I had already picked up at Footbridge, I picked up my second set of extra layers at Jaws. Better to have 'em and not need 'em, than to need 'em and not have 'em, I rationalized. I don't like extra weight, but I also didn't want to be caught unprepared.<br />
<br />
I was in-and-out of Jaws fairly quickly, all things considered. My vest was bulging with extra clothing and maltodextrin. Just outside of the tent, who should I bump into but my buddy Alex! Woo hoo! He was just behind me and looking great. He was crushing it, and was way ahead of his estimated time to Jaws. Psyched for him, I headed out into the night again for the long descent back down to Footbridge.<br />
<br />
Now the fun continued.<br />
<br />
Just as I crossed the road-- about a mile from Jaws-- and began to drop back in to the valley, my headlamp flashed three times.<br />
<br />
Fuuuck!!! You have got to be kidding me!<br />
<br />
That was the signal that its batteries were running low.<br />
<br />
I spent a good 5 or 10 minutes swearing to myself. I had just changed its batteries before the race. I had tested the frickin' batteries with a frickin' multimeter! What the hell?! Fuckedity, fuck, fuck!<br />
<br />
Never. Ever. Ever. Use. Old. Batteries.<br />
<br />
Ever.<br />
<br />
Of course, I had yet another (my third!) headlamp stashed in my drop bag at Footbridge, but that was 17 miles and an eternity away. Crap. As I wallowed through the mud again, my light grew dimmer and dimmer. Soon I had to stop and switch to my microlight again. Another half a mile or so and I realized that this simply wasn't going to work. I was moving way too slowly. I had no choice, but to start begging incoming runners for extra batteries.<br />
<br />
"Excuse me, I'm sorry, but I don't suppose you have any extra batteries, do you? AA? I've had two headlamps die on me..."<br />
<br />
"Oh, yeah. Sure. I've got some in my pack. Let me get 'em for you..."<br />
<br />
Sheila Huss saved my race. The very first runner I asked! As we sat together next to the muddy trail on a fallen log, I promised to name my next child after her, and thanked her profusely. Did she need anything? Food? Water? Tylenol? Antacid? Anything? Are you sure it's okay that I'm stealing your spare batteries? She looked a little exhausted from the climb-- perhaps she was going through a rough patch-- but I looked her up after the race and she finished strong. I was glad. Later, I tracked her down on Facebook and thanked her again. Sheila, you rock. I owe you one!<br />
<br />
With my newly-powered headlamp, I was now able to make reasonable progress through the muddy fields and back down to Elk Camp. As I sat in the firelight, fiddling with my gear, I noticed that the aid station captain had a pistol strapped to his waist. In his thick, cowboy drawl, he was chatting with another aid station volunteer, discussing the pros and cons of various calibers of side arms. Horses whinnied in the shadows just outside of the flickering firelight. Overhead, stars were sprinkled across the inky night sky. I chuckled to myself, and turned to them, and laughing, thanked them for sharing this quintessential Wyoming experience with me: a campfire, horses, and firearms! This is why I signed up for Bighorn!<br />
<br />
As I jogged off, I smiled and wondered if I should've packed a pistol in my drop bag at Jaws. I mean, I didn't even have trekking poles to fend off... what, exactly? A bear? A moose? A mountain lion? More likely: an angry cow. It's all good. But I had bigger (and more realistic) things to worry about, like staying awake, staying warm, and continuing to eat and drink enough.<br />
<br />
The rest of my descent into Footbridge is kind of a blur. I never got too tired; the caffeine pills appeared to be doing their job. I seemed to be in a gap of sorts and ran the entire way solo, all through the night. I'd maybe see one or two runners at the aid stations, but that's about it. Maybe a flicker or two of a headlamp up ahead in the distance. I refilled my bottles again at the raging stream beneath Leaky Mountain.<br />
<br />
Strangely, I never felt particularly cold. I only wore the two lightest of my five (!!) possible layers. I put on a pair of light gloves, but I didn't even feel the need to wear a warm, fleece hat. Where were the 20 degree temperatures people were predicting? I don't know... but I never felt 'em. I was extremely skeptical that it would ever get <i>that</i> cold (below freezing? in June? really?), but I certainly expected to be wearing more layers than I was. I guess maybe I had enough calories in me-- and I was moving well enough (though by no means fast)-- that I was generating enough heat to stay warm? Or maybe it's because I live in Leadville, where there are only two frost-free months per year!<br />
<br />
The dawn chorus began sometime in the faint morning light around 5am. I was running east, so I could see the sky slowly growing lighter ahead of me. I was getting increasingly hungry, but maltodextrin was losing its appeal. Stupidly, I stopped consuming any calories and continued to push for the aid station, where I was hoping I could get some real food. My stomach started growling, but I stubbornly refused to drink.<br />
<br />
At last, to my great relief, Footbridge came in to view around the corner. But, I had dug myself into a bit of a hole at this point. I was ravenous. I rolled in around 5:30am-- about hour behind my predicted time. I had lost yet more time on the surprisingly-slow descent from Jaws.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Footbridge (66.0) to Dry Fork (82.5)</b></i><br />
<br />
I staggered over to a chair next to a foot-washing station and flopped down. (Yes, an officially designated foot washing station, complete with a bucket with fresh water and a sparklingly clean white washcloth!) I grabbed my drop bags, took off my mud-encrusted shoes, peeled off my wet, knee-high compression socks (not the easiest thing to do), and proceeded to clean my feet and replace my socks and shoes with dry, clean copies. All the while, I was slowly nursing cups of ginger ale, trying to get something into my stomach. I was right on the edge and needed to be very careful. Rebooting a stomach is a delicate process.<br />
<br />
The aid station volunteers at Footbridge were fantastic. Incredibly attentive. Always asking if I needed anything, and checking in to see how I felt. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mike seated in a nearby chair. I gave a shout. I don't think I'd ever seen him this late in a race before-- he's usually over an hour ahead of me by this time at Leadville. It was good to see a familiar face. He smiled, and heartily recommended the <a href="http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/product_nutrition.breakfast.275.egg-mcmuffin.html" target="_blank">Egg McMuffins</a> they were serving. He'd scarfed down two. A particularly friendly volunteer, who had taken me under her wing, brought one over to me. I slowly started munching on it. Delicious! I cracked open a chilled <a href="http://www.starbucks.com/menu/drinks/bottled-drinks/espresso-and-cream-doubleshot" target="_blank">Starbucks Doubleshot Espresso</a> that I had stashed in my drop bag and took a sip. Ahhh... Now, where did I put my copy of the morning paper?<br />
<br />
Somehow-- and I'm not quite sure how-- I managed to spend 37 minutes at Footbridge. I wasn't even keeping track, and I only realized it after the race was over and the splits were published. I guess between washing my feet, changing my shoes and socks, eating a leisurely breakfast, swapping out nighttime gear for daytime gear, and swapping my GPS again (which had been recharging in my drop bag), it took, uh... a while. 37 minutes is almost certainly more time than I spent at all the aid stations during the entire Leadville 100 last year! (Yes, the entire race!) Impressive.<br />
<br />
Feeling better-- not exactly full, but certainly better-- I began the hike up the dreaded "Wall". It actually wasn't that bad. Steep, but relatively short. Maybe two miles of serious uphill. I stopped once to take off a layer as I climbed out of the cool river canyon and up into the bright morning sunlight. Near the top, I carefully tried to make my way around the last patch of mud on the course. Splosh! Slurp! Gaah! My foot slipped off a rock and I staggered into a large puddle, covering my pristine shoes in mud. Oh, come on! It was the last mud puddle on the course! Damn it.<br />
<br />
By the next aid station, Bear Camp, my breakfast had worn off. Sadly, the greasy, salty magic of the Egg McMuffin was gone. Maltodextrin still wasn't very palatable, so I tried to cobble something together out the limited supplies available to me. I really, really wanted some Coke. But, sadly no Coke. Bear Camp is very remote and everything must be horse-packed in. Chocolate? Maybe chocolate would help. I spent the next mile or so nibbling mini Snickers bars and drinking water. My lack of appetite had turned into nausea, but I was battling it as best I could. More water. I must drink more water. Lay down a foundation for the calories. Keep them flowing through the gut. I slowly got down a Justin's Nut Butter. I refilled water at the gushing piped spring next to the trail. It was much colder and more refreshing than the water at the aid station. Runners began to pass me. I wasn't stopping, but I was moving very slowly. Minimal jogging. Mostly hiking.<br />
<br />
The seven miles between Bear Camp and Cow Camp is the longest stretch between aid stations in the race. I was on my own. As I slowly staggered along, the forest (with its pleasant shade) diminished and the meadows increased. The temperature began to rise. I needed to do something to break out of this bad patch! Anything is preferable to nausea. Dammit, Andy! You're carrying all the nutrition you need! Drink the damn energy drink! I don't care if you're tired of it! There are no other options! I had been sipping it off and on, but now I began to make a concerted effort to choke down entire bottles. I became methodical about it, checking my watch and maintaining a steady intake. Water, maltodextrin, more water, more maltodextrin. 320 calories down. 640 calories down. Drink!<br />
<br />
I began to jog.<br />
<br />
The runners who had passed me earlier slipped back into sight. I was closing in on them. The reboot was working. And finally, there was Cow Camp in the distance. I was still on the edge, but I seemed to be recovering. I plopped down in a lawn chair, with the smell of sizzling bacon wafting through the air. I remixed another bottle of energy drink and asked if there was any Coke available. No Coke, just Pepsi. Well, that would have to do. I took a few sips, said thanks, and got up. I wasn't getting any closer to Dry Fork sitting there. Burp! Wait? What was this feeling? Uh oh... About a hundred feet out of the aid station I finally puked. Ugh. I was bent over, hands-on-knees for a good two minutes or so. Judging from my stomach contents strewn on the trail, I didn't lose too many calories, but damn... I was hoping to make it the entire race without puking. Instead I had to settle for a massive PR. 77 puke-free miles. A 26-mile improvement! I gave a weak "Woo hoo!" I smiled and muttered to myself, "That's ultra!" (My favorite post-puke mantra.)<br />
<br />
I knew what I had to do. Build back up. Water. A little bit of melon. More water. Some energy drink. More water. More energy drink. I was an eating machine. What I felt like eating did not matter. If I didn't have an appetite, it did not matter. Must. Keep. Consuming. Liquid. Calories.<br />
<br />
The 100-mile race had now intersected the 50K and 30K races. Runners were slowly jogging past, congratulating me, and giving encouragement. I didn't exactly feel heroic at that very moment, but it was good to have some company. I fell into a conversation with a cheerful, very friendly woman from Wyoming, named Alisha. She was running the 50K today, and recounted the epic story of her first 100-mile race at Wasatch, where she finished a mere 37 seconds before the 36 hour cut-off! Wow. It was so nice to have someone to talk to, to take my mind off of endless, rolling double track up to Dry Fork. You can see the aid station, perched up on a hill, from miles and miles away. She was doing most of the talking, while I continued to drain my water bottles of energy drink and grunted acknowledgment in between sips. I truly appreciated her company. Eventually, she said good luck, waved goodbye, and bounded ahead up the trail.<br />
<br />
And that's when the miracle happened.<br />
<br />
Though already a ways ahead, I found myself trying to keep up with her. I must've begun to tap into some deeper reservoir of energy, because I simply refused to drop to a hike, even as the grade grew steadily steeper and steeper. After about a mile or so, I was hanging maybe 100 yards behind Alisha. I don't even think she knew I was following her. We started slowly passing other runners-- 30K, 50K, 100 milers. (You could tell by the color of the race bibs.) It was mile 81 and I was stubbornly jogging uphill! Amazing. I'm not good at judging grades, but it became very steep as we neared the aid station. Powerlines steep. Everyone around me was hiking. What the hell was going on? I would barely be able to jog a grade like this while fresh! Perhaps it was the extra oxygen? But we were still at over 7,000 ft. An enthusiastic spectator was clapping with approval and yelling, "You're an animal!" I don't know what happened, but I was in the zone. It was very emotional. 100 miler races have a way of stripping you to your core. Your emotions become raw and unfiltered. I couldn't tell you exactly what I was feeling, but it was some combination of anger, sadness, and joy. That moment made the entire race worth running.<br />
<br />
I was back from the dead.<br />
<br />
Just outside of the aid station Alisha turned around (probably to see what the commotion was about) and saw me there right behind her. Surprised, she also cheered heartily. And who I did I see laying on the grass in the sunshine with his family, but Alex! Wait? What? How was Alex at Dry Fork? As it turned out, he had slipped through Footbridge ahead of me, while I was taking my time cleaning my feet and eating a leisurely breakfast. Neither of us saw each other! He had been running just a bit in front of me for the entire section! I was psyched that he was doing so well, but bummed that my stomach had prevented us from running all those miles together. It would've been great to have bumped into him earlier on the trail. That would've been fun.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Dry Fork (82.5) to Finish (100.0)</b></i><br />
<br />
I was in and out of Dry Fork as quickly as possible. I wanted to see how far I could continue to push with this mysterious surge of energy I was experiencing. I grabbed my drop bag, switched my shoes again (but not my socks), and also grabbed my ipod.<br />
<br />
It was finally time for some music.<br />
<br />
As I left Dry Fork, I waved to Alex and hollered that I was heading out. He waved backed. He looked good, he was just changing his shoes and taking care of his feet, I think. I had refilled my bottles and had a fistful of melon that I was chomping away at. The uphill continued for a bit, up a dirt road, and then a bit of single track, to the top of a ridge. As my music kicked in, and I enjoyed the melon, I smiled. A few clusters of runners were ahead of me, hiking uphill-- including the lead 50-mile runner, who had passed through the aid station just as I was leaving. I felt so good, so confident. It was incredible. I just knew that I was going to run up that entire hill.<br />
<br />
And I did.<br />
<br />
There I was, hanging just behind the lead 50 mile runner, as we passed everyone going up the climb. He was at mile 35, I was at mile 83. I couldn't believe what was happening. I gave up trying to understand it, and just went with it. It was perhaps a little reckless, but it felt so good. I mean, I still had 17 miles to go! What the hell was I doing? But, I threw caution to the wind and started dropping 8-minute miles down the back side of the ridge. I was flying past runners. Soaring. I glanced at my GPS at one point and it read 7:50 min/mile. Insanity!<br />
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When the course switched to single track again, I calmed down a bit and slowed to a more sustainable pace. I was still moving well. The terrain was gently rolling until the Upper Sheep aid station. There I grabbed some more melon, which seemed to be working for me, and some more Pepsi. As I crossed the stream just outside of the aid station, I dipped my hat in the water to cool off. It was starting to get a bit toasty with the afternoon sun blazing down on us. After a short downhill section through a meadow, and another stream crossing, the last significant uphill remained.<br />
<br />
A short, but steep ascent up to the final ridge above the Tongue River, I power hiked up it with authority. I passed a few more runners in front of me on the way up, exchanging pleasantries along the way. I couldn't believe my uphill legs were this strong almost 90 miles into the race! I was amazed.<br />
<br />
My amazement soon became tempered as I began the steep, tortuous 4-mile descent to Lower Sheep. It wasn't called "Lower" for nothing! My quads were completely shot and I winced with every step. My pace was painfully slow. Apparently designed by wandering cattle, the trail barely switch backed. It was narrow and lumpy and generally went straight down. The lower I got, the hotter it got. I was beginning to bake as I approached the canyon floor. A few 50-mile runners shot past me like I was standing still. What I wouldn't give for their downhill legs! The beautiful fields of wildflowers took my mind off the pain and the heat a bit, but I would still say that these were some of the more humbling miles I've ever run during a 100-miler.<br />
<br />
As I finally reached Lower Sheep, a small pack of 100-milers had caught up to me. We all looked fairly beat up, but they were moving better than I, that's for sure. There were 2 miles of rolling single track left-- on the rocky slopes above the river-- and then the endless, flat dirt road back to town and the finish line. The total mileage left was now in the single digits. I could do this, but it still remained to be seen how ugly it would get.<br />
<br />
My nausea was beginning to creep back. My energy was fading. Could I somehow rally again? I really, really didn't want to have to walk the road back to town. That was one of my main goals for the race. Finish strong. In fact, I had saved my most ambitious split (i.e., faster than the historical average) for the final 17 miles from Dry Fork to the finish. In the abstract, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but now, staring reality in the face, I was beginning to question the wisdom of it!<br />
<br />
The canyon was like an oven. I slowly jogged along the undulating, rocky trail, glancing at the raging river below. Now would not be a good time to stumble and fall! I continued to nurse my bottle of energy drink, grimacing. But, anything was preferable to nausea. Not eating was not an option. At the Tongue River trail head, I grabbed some gummy bears in desperation. More sugar! Need more sugar! Spectators clapped and a couple of laughing kids hosed me down with their squirt guns.<br />
<br />
Now the dirt road. My legs felt heavy. I trotted along. Another 50-miler passed me, jogging along at a fair clip. He turned the corner. I had to run this. I had to. 5 miles left. I'm not walking this road!<br />
<br />
I started running... slowly.<br />
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<br />
I turned the corner and saw the 50-miler walking. A target. I cranked my music louder. Just 5 more miles! Come on! More gummy bears. More energy drink. Soon thunder rumbled through the canyon. I looked back over my shoulder and saw dark clouds forming above. I passed the 50-miler and we exchanged nods. I was beginning to move now. My energy was returning. My legs were loosening up. 12:00 min/miles became 11:00 min/miles, became 10:00 min/miles. Rain began to pour down, soaking me. No need to get my rain jacket out, it was welcome. Cooling. I kept replaying the same <a href="http://youtu.be/6JYIGclVQdw" target="_blank">song</a> over and over on my ipod.<br />
<br />
"To get a thousand miles from the earth, a rocket would need this much power... This much power... This much power... This much power... This much power..."<br />
<br />
10:00 min/miles became 9:00 min/miles. I was pushing. Hard. I could barely hold back the tears. It was another ones of those moments I've only experienced running ultramarathons. Transcendent.<br />
<br />
"Guess who's back, mutha---?"<br />
<br />
I passed by groups of runners, lost in my own world. Focused. I just needed to finish this thing. I blew through the final aid station without stopping, passing up a popsicle offered to me by a young girl riding a bike. You know you're focused when you turn down a popsicle!<br />
<br />
Two miles to go.<br />
<br />
I was nearing town. I saw one final 100-miler in front of me in the distance. I recognized him from the last climb up to the final ridge. Sean Mullet. He was being paced by his wife, I think, and moving very well. The rain had let up a bit. It took me forever to finally pull up alongside of him. I said hi and we chatted about the final miles, smiling, so happy to be almost done. The ups, the brutal downs, the heat, the mud... everything that makes Bighorn, Bighorn. As we reached the intersection just before the park I began to pull away and he waved me on.<br />
<br />
Two helpful volunteers stopped whatever little traffic there was in the small mountain town of Dayton, and I charged across the street and headed for the park and the finish line. Oh God, finally. The finish line. I gave it my best and sprinted through the crowds of cheering spectators, across the grass, and through the arch.<br />
<br />
Done.<br />
<br />
28 hours and 40 minutes. 62nd place out of 149 finishers (out of maybe ~240 starters?).<br />
<br />
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<br />
<i><b>Post Race</b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
Some random thoughts.<br />
<br />
Bighorn was fun. It was tough. It was dramatic. It was new. It was authentic. It did not lack for challenges.<br />
<br />
It was everything I'd hoped it would be.<br />
<br />
If you're thinking about doing it, do it.<br />
<br />
Mike finished 20 minutes ahead of me, and Alex finished 30 minutes behind me. We all had solid races-- especially Alex, who simply crushed it. It was a 100-mile PR for him. I'm so happy for him. I think he said that it was the first 100 where after he finished he didn't immediately swear off ever running another 100 miler again!<br />
<br />
All in all, I felt I ran a pretty solid race. I wasn't in a rush. I approached the race very conservatively. I really wanted to soak it all in. Enjoy the aid stations. Enjoy the camaraderie. Enjoy the scenery. I wanted to feel good. And I did-- mostly. I've struggled with nausea in all my 100 milers, so Bighorn was nothing new. In fact, it was probably one of my best races as far as my stomach was concerned. It took a little effort, but I was able to eat an entire plate of food (hamburger, potato salad, pasta salad, etc.) within 30 minutes of finishing the race. That's a very good sign.<br />
<br />
It is a huge confidence boost to know that I can turn things around late in a race. Being able to come back from the dead like I did at Bighorn was so uplifting. It makes me super excited to see what I can do at Leadville. I have never been able to run from Mayqueen to the finish. To be able to drop 11:00-9:00 min/miles at miles 95-100 at Bighorn was incredible. It felt so good. (I'm sure the oxygen at 4,000 ft helped a bit!)<br />
<br />
Endurance. That's what this sport is about. Whoever slows down the least, wins.<br />
<br />
When all was said and done, I think it was the footing that made Bighorn slower when compared to the Leadville. Yeah, Bighorn has a bit more elevation gain than Leadville, but not that much more, really. Leadville's altitude more than cancels it out. It's really Bighorn's narrow, lumpy, muddy single track that slows you down when compared to Leadville. It's not that Bighorn is really that technical, but Leadville is just so damn runnable: smooth, buttery trail, plenty of dirt road, and even pavement. And Bighorn's major descents happen at less-than-ideal times: at night, when you can't see very well, and at mile 90, when your legs are probably completely shot. (I still don't quite know why the 18-mile descent from Jaws to Footbridge takes so long, but apparently it does! That's got to be the key to running a fast race.)<br />
<br />
The Bighorn-Leadville relationship isn't linear. I think Bighorn is harder to run faster. Just look at the course records for the two races. However, I think if you can finish Leadville in 28-29 hours feeling good, then you can probably finish Bighorn in about the same time-- maybe an hour slower. However, finishing Leadville in 24-25 hours is much, much easier than finishing Bighorn in 24-25 hours. I mean, you're going to be just outside of the top 10 if you finish Bighorn in less than 24 hours. My <a href="http://ultrasignup.com/results_participant.aspx?fname=Andrew&lname=Reiff" target="_blank">Ultrasignup</a> ranking for last year's Leadville compared this year's Bighorn is less than 1% better! That has everything to do with the winners' times. It took me over 4 hours longer to run Bighorn.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casualties of Bighorn. From L to R: 0-66, 66-82.5, 82.5-100.</td></tr>
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Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-64011204306778588142014-06-16T11:04:00.001-06:002014-06-16T11:35:51.997-06:00Bighorn 100 Pre-Race Thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Taper</b></div>
<br />
Well, my Achilles seems to be on the mend. (Knock on wood.) This is good. I was a little nervous there for a while... I guess I still am, but no more so than I typically am prior to a big race. Some mysterious little niggle or ache always seems to surface every year during my final weeks of training. It gives me something to obsess over during my taper.<br />
<br />
And, man, am I tapering. Holy crap. This is definitely the most I've ever tapered for a race. The first week I didn't run at all. Just two 50-minute bike rides around the Mineral Belt Trail during the week, and then a beautiful, 2-hour bike ride up Independence Pass on the weekend. I went for a 4-mile test run to start the second week. I could still feel my Achilles, which was a bit depressing. (I've never felt it on the bike.) I kept up with the twice daily calf stretches and strengthening routines, wore compression socks all the time, iced the tendon after workouts and before bed, and went to one more PT session. Finally, on Thursday I went for a 5-mile run during which I felt a big improvement. Barely any perceptible tightness. That was a huge relief. On Sunday I went for a short hike up an insanely windy Mt. Sherman and felt fine. I can still feel it occasionally when it stiffens up, but it's definitely trending in the right direction. This week all I have planned is one final, easy 2-mile flat run on Wednesday. Then it's go time.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxiDEuCM2LQjbR1tDW2tNUrw4dcZZkOC80FgLtn3MpaFSG3AMeEPBrY00bQoQo8bUCffTAevwTcI5YDsnMTugbdfgBN8X82CAd5RXaB0nX0yuvspPJ4ekmCZ2t-d6I3OjO_oBYga2zYSA/s1600/IMG_2222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxiDEuCM2LQjbR1tDW2tNUrw4dcZZkOC80FgLtn3MpaFSG3AMeEPBrY00bQoQo8bUCffTAevwTcI5YDsnMTugbdfgBN8X82CAd5RXaB0nX0yuvspPJ4ekmCZ2t-d6I3OjO_oBYga2zYSA/s1600/IMG_2222.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view while climbing up Independence Pass. Leadville livin' at its finest.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I will say this: tapering so thoroughly (and focusing so intently on one part of your body) really helps you diagnose how much you beat yourself up during training. As they say, exercise makes you weaker. And, it's rest that makes you stronger. During peak training, tired legs can be mistaken for normal. But when you stop, and really focus on something simple and easily quantifiable like the number of calf raises you can perform, you can see massive improvements after just a few days of recovery. You realize your legs were more trashed than you initially thought.<br />
<br />
Better to show up at the starting line slightly under-trained than over-tired, right?<br />
<br />
In my early years of running I don't think I would've had the discipline to shut things down so quickly and thoroughly for my taper. But now I realize that any minuscule improvements that I might have been able to make during the last three weeks are irrelevant when compared to the importance of addressing my injury. That's all that matters. Let's hope it works.<br />
<br />
Besides taking it super easy, and trying to coax my Achilles back to health, the only other thing that I'm doing differently during my taper for Bighorn is some semi-serious heat training. Don't laugh, but the 80+ degree weather that's currently forecast for the race is waaay hotter than anything I've run in this year. (Hopefully it won't be quite that hot on the course itself-- except probably for the final stretch into town on the second day.) In previous years, I'd just try to run during the hottest part of the day. But this year, with my running being so limited, I've been biking over to the rec center everyday and jumping in the sauna. At first I could only tolerate 30 minutes at maximum heat (about 170 degrees, I think), but now I'm able to survive a full hour. I drink 60 oz of water while I'm in there and come out weighing exactly what I weighed when I entered! Damn. Supposedly you can see some results within a week-- specifically, increased blood plasma to help with cooling. I figure that, as far as sedentary activities go, there's not much more you can do than bake in a sauna at 10,000 ft to encourage your body to make more blood! We'll see if I notice any effect... If nothing else, I find it strangely relaxing. It provides a good opportunity for me to stretch, too.<br />
<br />
<b>Leadville Marathon</b><br />
<br />
The highlight of my taper has definitely been volunteering at the Venir Aid Station during the Leadville Marathon on Saturday. The wind was unrelenting, it was freezing just standing around at 11,500 ft, I got sunburned, chapped lips, hoarse from cheering, and a blister on my thumb from pouring water all day.<br />
<br />
In short: It. Was. Awesome.<br />
<br />
Really inspiring, and so fun to see so many friends running. Hanging out with the rest of the aid station crew was great. And I got to peek behind the curtain a bit. It really makes me appreciate the amount of effort it takes to organize a race of this size. It was also fascinating to witness firsthand the state of all the runners who passed through (twice). It didn't really matter if they were near the front, somewhere in the middle, or in the back. Some were pushing hard, looking serious, but hanging in there, some where laughing, talkative, and full of energy, and others were definitely in a dark place and staggered by with barely a glance or a grunt of acknowledgement. No matter their position, I tried my best to get folks to smile as they slogged up the hill. I saw 5-hour finishers who looked worse than than any 7-hour finisher, and 4-hour finishers who looked unbelievably fresh and happy. (Barefoot Alex, you are my hero, man!) Amazing. Oh, and then there's Michael Aish, the second place finisher, who's in a class by himself. He must've stood around the aid station for a full 5 minutes, cracking jokes, chatting, and casually snacking before the third place guy showed up and he finally took off. As he bounded gracefully down the trail, I noticed how crazy-strong his stride was-- with his heels practically hitting his butt. It was like he was on the track. Ridiculous. At least pretend like you're working, Mike! (Damn Olympians...)<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lwPwfpwRe4ldqvWzfbaYTzqgq2wYjkkoL6re7jeGXPkFOPqYA2mUIh6kgnncbQoj6deCBjibiBHtoRqGQMAGzFX_mMwMj566O1veYACo3JQDBHfLoy18jeppmS6YiFjQwKfDpXtfawk/s1600/IMG_2228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lwPwfpwRe4ldqvWzfbaYTzqgq2wYjkkoL6re7jeGXPkFOPqYA2mUIh6kgnncbQoj6deCBjibiBHtoRqGQMAGzFX_mMwMj566O1veYACo3JQDBHfLoy18jeppmS6YiFjQwKfDpXtfawk/s1600/IMG_2228.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from Venir Aid Station. Not too shabby.</td></tr>
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The marathon race is no joke. It's tough.<br />
<br />
My sincere congratulations to everyone who ran it!<br />
<br />
After the race, I was looking at <a href="http://results.chronotrack.com/event/results/event/event-6401?lc=en" target="_blank">the results</a> for a good 10 minutes before I noticed myself at the edge of the screen in the picture in the background! That must've been taken coming back around Ball Mountain during last year's race. Good times.<br />
<br />
<b><i> </i>Bighorn Preparations</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>“A plan is worthless, but planning is everything.”</i><br />
<br />
While I've talked to many previous racers, read numerous race reports, watched videos from the race, and crunched all the data I could from past results, I really don't know what to expect.<br />
<br />
It's refreshing to be so ignorant.<br />
<br />
Honestly, I'm happy that I have no idea how long it's going to take me to get to, say, the Upper Sheep aid station. There are too many variables and too many aid stations for me to keep track of. I've just got some rough estimates for the major aid stations: Dry Fork, Footbridge, and Jaws. That's where my drop bags will be. No crew. No pacers. This will be a major (and hopefully fun) departure from my hyper-planned big-buckle attempt last year at Leadville. Do I want to run as fast and as efficiently as possible? Yes, of course. But Bighorn will be all about making the proper adjustments on-the-fly.<br />
<br />
I've got data on what the average splits were for all 24-28 hour finishers from '13 and '12. (Which is actually a pretty small sample size given the relatively small number of participants.) And, as I'm a big believer in trying to run even splits, I'll generally try to run the first half of the race about an hour slower, and the second half of the race an hour faster, than the typical finisher. I'd really, really, really like to be able to jog those final downhill/flat 10 miles to the finish. They will take an eternity if I can't.<br />
<br />
(If you're curious about the historical split data, just let me know and I can share it. I've got it up on Google Docs in spreadsheet form, in all its color-coded glory.)<br />
<br />
One of the bits of data that jumped out at me was that Footbridge to Jaws takes runners only a tiny bit longer on average than coming back down from Jaws to Footbridge. This confused me, as the first split has 4,500 ft of elevation gain and the reverse has 4,500 ft of elevation loss. That's significant. Shouldn't runners be much faster on the return? But, I guess that's when night sets in. You're running the entire second split in the dark. And, apparently the trail is just technical enough to slow you down so that your downhill trip is only a few minutes faster than your uphill trip. We'll see... I've given myself 5:30 to get up and 5:30 to get down. I would hope that I could run faster on the downhill, but I don't want to take anything for granted.<br />
<br />
Gear-wise, I'm not doing too much different. I'll be rockin' the placebo, er... compression socks during the race, trying to baby my calves a bit. Wearing a small, lightweight vest to carry any extra supplies/warm layers, while carrying two handheld water bottles. Also carrying a bandanna to soak in streams to keep cool. No poles. I'll be wearing my trusty Montrail FluidFlexes, just like last year, with a spare pair in one of my drop bags. I might switch to my Bondi-B's for the final 18 miles. There will be extra socks in all my drop bags to help combat wet feet. I'm going to try wearing a waist-mounted headlamp-- in addition to a head-mounted one-- during the night to better light the trail. I apologize in advance to all the runners I blind as I pass by! I'll be using caffeine pills to try to stay awake, instead of Redbull or 5-Hour Energy-- that stuff is crap. I can't drink it anymore. Standing on a mountainside all day, volunteering at Venir, was certainly a good reminder of how damn cold it can get in the mountains. I swore to myself that I will not skimp on warm layers (to save weight) and end up freezing during the long, cold night in the canyon.<br />
<br />
And, of course, I'll be drinking my patented, homemade concoction during race. Almost exclusively. Sure, I'll have some Coke and some soup, and maybe some melon-- I enjoy those aid station staples-- but 95% of all my calories will come from my energy drink: pure maltodextrin, Vitargo, Gatorade, BCAAs, and some salt. Nothing special. Basically, all the ingredients you'd find in a GU, but in liquid form (and a hell of a lot cheaper). 320 calories (combined with ~24 oz of water) an hour, for the entire race. Or as long as I can stand it. At Quad Rock, I had basically no stomach issues for 11 hours-- a PR for me. It'll certainly be harder to get everything right at Bighorn, since it'll be so much hotter and last so much longer. But, I'm confident that this is by far the best nutrition strategy for me. Nothing else has come close.<br />
<br />
<b>Final Thoughts</b><br />
<br />
I'm excited.<br />
<br />
And grateful.<br />
<br />
Grateful to be able to spend a weekend in the beautiful Bighorn mountains of Wyoming.<br />
<br />
Grateful for my wife and family, who let me pursue crazy hobbies like ultra running!<br />
<br />
It'll be great to hang out with my friends and fellow racers, Alex and Mike. And hopefully I'll make some new friends while I'm out on the course. I want to be the most positive, friendly runner out there.<br />
<br />
Am I as fit as I was last August before the Leadville 100? Nope. I'm about 350 miles and 90,000 feet of vertical short. But... Am I more experienced? More grizzled? A little smarter? I'd like to think so!<br />
<br />
I'm as ready as I'll ever be...<br />
<br />
Let's do this!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGN7MzlUULPUC5AsZ-wo9_zB3vsd8yFQtYyGLa5_5T0Dl7dG4zDr6XCRFZHZ09ntbBnpGs2-uxdxAdPqYtV9-vpF3PzbwdeMQwMH4bevx6wgrm77_RuVeG_avqICeOcwt2DCNLLfOJA0/s1600/IMG_2231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGN7MzlUULPUC5AsZ-wo9_zB3vsd8yFQtYyGLa5_5T0Dl7dG4zDr6XCRFZHZ09ntbBnpGs2-uxdxAdPqYtV9-vpF3PzbwdeMQwMH4bevx6wgrm77_RuVeG_avqICeOcwt2DCNLLfOJA0/s1600/IMG_2231.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the trailhead at the top of Iowa Gulch (on the 50 course).</td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNjNrlzd5xk7RSWhFLYCN6uVu8XN-bMH5KpJ6wJkFKRjBgvnf0mJ42O6ET1yJVPjgCPZ51rg5QNnLVRFlJrY6ElT630yI00Q15NOViyneNtT73NlAGcgej2GBPE-Q_TPX9Sfg1VQlA1A/s1600/IMG_2237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNjNrlzd5xk7RSWhFLYCN6uVu8XN-bMH5KpJ6wJkFKRjBgvnf0mJ42O6ET1yJVPjgCPZ51rg5QNnLVRFlJrY6ElT630yI00Q15NOViyneNtT73NlAGcgej2GBPE-Q_TPX9Sfg1VQlA1A/s1600/IMG_2237.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing up Mt. Sherman.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPTeA3vv75LTkTOYsB6cAMtOBqWkIFMTn70DMm0xXb2JUyDg6V7iaVS062qbeQ-fyv5lK1Php7XaEGV-gra7huGOzeaqLBtFSXZSrfaMxc5AdwgjfM-oRnGO1RG84WirhRS8AwkOzNFs/s1600/IMG_2243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPTeA3vv75LTkTOYsB6cAMtOBqWkIFMTn70DMm0xXb2JUyDg6V7iaVS062qbeQ-fyv5lK1Php7XaEGV-gra7huGOzeaqLBtFSXZSrfaMxc5AdwgjfM-oRnGO1RG84WirhRS8AwkOzNFs/s1600/IMG_2243.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The summit, with the moon and the Sawatch in the distance. You can see Hope Pass, if you know what you're looking for...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYW49dBYnkZtH5HBNl6ykkY1oqqTP4k199nuDyA08gm5Q0nf7peG8eaoyOF7DfKaIP2KIuTQK1yqDA3CL2eO_L_8UDhojMhfgkJ207xOgsJCpKQKwRE1nk9jjdf-ASIPfSsQf9TzI9iZk/s1600/IMG_2251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYW49dBYnkZtH5HBNl6ykkY1oqqTP4k199nuDyA08gm5Q0nf7peG8eaoyOF7DfKaIP2KIuTQK1yqDA3CL2eO_L_8UDhojMhfgkJ207xOgsJCpKQKwRE1nk9jjdf-ASIPfSsQf9TzI9iZk/s1600/IMG_2251.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking north, seeking shelter from the hurricane force winds. I love mountains!</td></tr>
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Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-74341598781278520472014-06-06T17:04:00.000-06:002014-06-06T19:25:43.783-06:00Month in Review (May)<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">5/2010: 238.4 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">5/2011: 192.2 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">5/2012: 216.5 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">5/2013: 223.6 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">5/2014: 237.7 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">Well, the hay's in the barn, as they say.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">My training for the <a href="http://www.bighorntrailrun.com/home.html" target="_blank">Bighorn 100</a> wrapped up last weekend with the <a href="http://leadvillesportshall.com/marathon.html" target="_blank">Turquoise Lake Half Marathon</a> on Saturday and a pre-dawn ascent of Mt. Elbert on Sunday.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">This year, the half marathon was a "heavy" half marathon due to the south road being closed due to spring flooding and the risk of mud/rock slides. The race was rerouted along the north road where it rejoined the original course at Mayqueen. The north road is hillier (+500 ft) and longer (+2.5 mi) than the south road, so it was quite a different race than previous incarnations. While my calves felt a little tight/weak on the initial uphill, I maintained a reasonable pace during the climb and then I really hammered the downhill into Mayqueen. I believe it was the first time I logged a sub-7:00 min/mile during a race in my life! And I definitely set my 5K PR (all downhill, of course). After running steady on the uphill, I began passing racers on the downhill and for the rest of the race on the trail around the lake. The single track was a full-blown obstacle course this year, with raging streams-- one so swollen that a rope was hung up to help ford it, plenty of mud, deep puddles, and a handful of downed trees which forced off-trail detours through the woods. When all was said and done, I crossed the finish line, gasping for breath, in 13th place. 1st in my age group. (I guess all the other 40 year old Leadville runners were at <a href="http://www.melanzana.com/" target="_blank">Melanzana's</a> 20th anniversary celebration in town!) I was pretty happy with the result. I gave it an honest effort. It's hard to compare my time to my PR on the normal course last year, but my average pace was only 20 seconds/mile slower than last year. I'd say that's pretty good given the extra vertical, distance, and especially the challenging trail conditions. (Last year I came in 19th place and 3rd in my age group, for what it's worth.) I think I ran the uphills a little stronger last year, but I definitely ran the downhills much, much stronger this year.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">I woke up at 2:45am the following morning and made my way down to the South Elbert TH with my friend and neighbor, Mike. I haven't really climbed any serious mountains yet this year, and I wanted to summit at least one 14er before I began my taper. It was great to have company, and Mike and I chatted away as we hiked up the mountain in the darkness. (Mike's running Bighorn this year, as well.) There was very little snow until we reached tree line-- and only one or two short sections where post-holing was a concern. Above tree line it was all snow, but it was practically concrete. It had snowed a tiny bit the night before and the wind began to pick up and blow swirling clouds of snow into us. Clouds still shrouded the peaks, and coalesced and broke apart in dramatic fashion. As we neared 14,000 ft, the sun finally emerged over the mountains to the east, creating a beautiful orange glow in all the chaotically blowing powder. The wind was fierce, and it was uncomfortably chilly at the summit, but well worth the struggle to get there. We quickly turned around and gingerly made our way back down to the shelter of tree line. There were a few exposed snow fields that I wished I had my microspikes for, but slowly kicking steps worked just fine. Another trip up Mt. Elbert complete. I'm lucky to live so close to such amazing mountains. I really should take advantage of it more often.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">Ever since Sage Burner I've felt a mild tightness/soreness in my left Achilles tendon. I never felt it during the race itself, but it surfaced shortly afterwards. It's never gotten so bad that it affected my gait while I was running, but it can definitely be quite stiff in the morning after a hard workout. I kept an eye on it, applied ice, and hoped it would quietly disappear. But, of course, running the half marathon and then summiting a 14er didn't help. Finally on Monday, I called it quits, stopped running, and scheduled an appointment with the local physical therapist. After grilling me on my training history, analyzing my gait, flexibility, balance, and strength, she agreed with my amateur assessment that basically I overworked my calves with all my racing and my sudden jump in vertical in May. After jabbing some acupuncture needles into my calf (and electrifying them!) to activate trigger points, she assigned me some exercises to perform during the next couple of weeks leading up to the race. Mostly calf flexibility and strengthening routines twice a day. After the initial soreness, my calf has responded well and is loosening up and healing. My Achilles tendon is happier and I rarely feel it any more. I've gone on a couple bike rides since, but that's about it. And biking is pretty much all that's on my plate until the 100. I'll go for maybe three or four 5-mile shake out runs during the next week or two, but that's about it.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">So, it's a pretty hard taper as far as my tapers usually go. Normally, I'd go for a final 18-mile long run two weeks out from a 100. Instead, I'm going to bike up Independence Pass tomorrow. I'm just trying to take it easy and stay loose. It's frustrating to come down with an injury so close to a big race, but I'm fairly confident I should be able to fully recover by the 20th. I'm just being extra paranoid.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">I'm excited for Bighorn. It's absolutely crazy to be tapering in June! It feels so strange. I'm so used to my taper-in-August routine. I'll be volunteering all day at the Venir Aid Station next week for the Leadville Marathon. I've run it every year for the last four years. It'll be strange to be on the sidelines, but fun to still be involved in the race.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">I'll close with some pictures I took two weeks ago on my last long run down Clear Creek Road to Winfield. It was a beautiful morning, and it was good to return to Winfield. My first time back since the Leadville 100 last year. Spring has finally sprung in the mountains.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDfEgM6jpqrHQtyGQkRI4F9rp39sFSNT6-MaWpoNdwBniF76P8zgN19mPvpGTY8gJGhs84vojeCrusnGceiOMlBHOt8JLmpWAy6_KbRG2ZvZne5VI3zVddzDRV0lVr4AZfa8EmN-myMHI/s1600/IMG_2194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDfEgM6jpqrHQtyGQkRI4F9rp39sFSNT6-MaWpoNdwBniF76P8zgN19mPvpGTY8gJGhs84vojeCrusnGceiOMlBHOt8JLmpWAy6_KbRG2ZvZne5VI3zVddzDRV0lVr4AZfa8EmN-myMHI/s1600/IMG_2194.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hope Pass!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTFwEPvC-zbMhe34eUiih8HAy8vlAQ5_TmE9j8QbYPLLQJ1U7wCIkFeFmY0-hv-W732xkf99EEqdR_dLZ9RCuL3HQ7KXFKzkgGZ4Rciz7EBS5KKG1M-owFpe7tW__3JYLjBi0Sf4rVjE/s1600/IMG_2195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTFwEPvC-zbMhe34eUiih8HAy8vlAQ5_TmE9j8QbYPLLQJ1U7wCIkFeFmY0-hv-W732xkf99EEqdR_dLZ9RCuL3HQ7KXFKzkgGZ4Rciz7EBS5KKG1M-owFpe7tW__3JYLjBi0Sf4rVjE/s1600/IMG_2195.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmm... 1,200 vertical feet/mile!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On course!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The split to the old jeep road down to Winfield.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Far more talented climbers than I.</td></tr>
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<br />Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-53597675557777796562014-05-26T15:16:00.002-06:002014-05-28T16:47:49.374-06:00Sage Burner 50K Race ReportWow. Quad Rock certainly took its toll on my legs. Three days later I was still hobbling around the house in the morning, wincing with each step. Picking up my kids took considerable effort and was usually accompanied by a melodramatic groan or two. I biked for an easy 30 minutes on Sunday and Monday, and then went for a short 3 mile jog around the block on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I took Friday off. Each jog felt a little better than the last. I could feel the various aches and pains from Quad Rock diminishing. Thankfully, I had no major injuries. Just the typical soreness and tweakiness that follows an all-day effort.<br />
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Of all my three back-to-back-to-back races this May I gave Sage Burner the least amount of attention. Perhaps because it was the last race. Perhaps because I felt my PR there was soft. I glanced at the GPS tracks from my previous races on Thursday night. It still amazes me how badly I blew up last year. Truly epic. All I really had to do this year was stay properly hydrated. How hard could that be? Simple, right? Yet somehow I've managed to dig myself into a hole almost every time I've run Sage Burner. The weather at Quad Rock never really got that hot, so yet again Sage Burner would prove to be my first ~70 degree race of the year.<br />
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I drove down to Gunnison on Friday evening. It's a nice drive, which I joke can be briefly summarized as: mining, cows, mining, cows. I picked up my bib in town, ate a huge dinner at Garlic Mike's, and then drove to Hartman Rocks to camp. I slept in the Subaru just a few feet off the course. Even in the car, it was a bit chilly at night and I was glad to have a down jacket and sleeping bag to keep me warm. My alarm woke me at 4am, I ate a small breakfast, and then rolled over and went back to sleep until 6am or so.<br />
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My secret race strategy this year? Carry two water bottles. Yup, genius. The aid stations are generally not that far apart (4-6 miles), but I didn't want to ever be caught without water or energy drink. Throughout the race, I usually kept one bottle full of energy drink and the other bottle about half full of water. Any extra water I would dump on my head as I approached an aid station.<br />
<br />
After a short speech from the RD, and a brief countdown, the race immediately began with a short climb straight up onto the mesa. Sage Burner doesn't really have that many long, sustained climbs, but it certainly undulates up and down almost continuously. You run up to the edge of the mesa, then off to a scenic high point with a juniper tree and a pile of rocks to negotiate, then back down off the mesa, then climb back up a gulch, then pick a different high point to visit, then down off the mesa again, repeat for 31 miles.<br />
<br />
I took the first half of the race very easy. I just enjoyed the scenery, chatted briefly as I passed various racers, and kept a careful eye on my fueling. My legs felt fine. Not exactly springy, but nothing to complain about. I was very happy to be feeling as good as I was a mere week after Quad Rock.<br />
<br />
The 25K and the 50K run more or less together for a while, making for a more social experience. But after the split, it's just the hardy 50K racers. There are generally only 50 or so of us every year, and you can get quite spread out across the starkly beautiful, sage-filled landscape.<br />
<br />
I had been leap frogging with a few racers during the first half, but ended up passing them as the uphills kept coming. After the aid station at Skull Pass, around mile 16, I mentally flipped a switch. I had reached the 3 hour mark, I felt great, and I was ready to make my move. So I put on my ipod, cranked up the music, and went to work.<br />
<br />
The second half of my race was one of the most satisfying experiences of my brief running career. I felt strong, totally in control, and unfazed by the distance. In some ways, having run a grueling 50 miler the week before was an advantage. Sixteen miles? It's nothing. A warmup. As I cruised across the desolate mesa top towards a distant high point, I could barely catch a glimpse of a red shirt more than a mile ahead of me. My first target. I passed him maybe three miles later, walking, depleted in the growing afternoon heat. That was me last year.<br />
<br />
Where was everyone else? I bombed down a technical drainage and out onto a road, where I saw the next runner. I was running sub 8's at this point-- about my top speed. After a short flat stretch on the road, the course climbs up an incredibly steep jeep road back up onto the mesa again. Ah ha! I could see a pack of four runners ahead of me on the switch backs. I grinned at the contrast. A moment ago I was hauling ass on the flats, and now I was passing folks just as convincingly while dropping agonizingly slow 20 minute miles! Ultrarunning is certainly not about locking into a particular pace, but rather a particular level of effort. I was running everything, but my pace was all over the map.<br />
<br />
And so the race went. I have rarely felt as confident as I did that afternoon. I was on fire. Everything felt effortless. It wasn't like I was running faster than I normally do on a typical training run, but the distance was having absolutely no effect on me. It was like I somehow managed to string together six 5-mile runs all run at my typical 5-mile training pace. It was glorious.<br />
<br />
I finally charged across the finish line in 5:36 in 10th (?!) place. A whopping 45 minute PR. I negative split the race by about 25 minutes and passed about a quarter of the field in the final 10 miles. I had zero stomach issues and felt perfect the whole day. If anything, I probably took the first half of the race a little too easy. But, damn, I wouldn't trade anything for feeling like I did during the second half. Perhaps this was the race that my training this year has best suited me for-- not too fast, not too vertical, yet long enough that endurance matters.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaHyyGi8Js6ZOIYsQjDCFjSjA1BqdtyG3ii1u1pWfGF7K0ZGDFg90pUm94m29C6QPf2ZyquEUz7S22Q7-XLE3prnz8BDK4vJYo0zX6ngMwXQDkM2P1hGZOGrJvNaXX2wrbOGWTSqncJs/s1600/IGP5842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiaHyyGi8Js6ZOIYsQjDCFjSjA1BqdtyG3ii1u1pWfGF7K0ZGDFg90pUm94m29C6QPf2ZyquEUz7S22Q7-XLE3prnz8BDK4vJYo0zX6ngMwXQDkM2P1hGZOGrJvNaXX2wrbOGWTSqncJs/s1600/IGP5842.jpg" height="263" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A blurry picture of me near the start. (C) Gregg Morin.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Everyone was very friendly at the finish line, and I was touched by how many racers took the time to shake my hand and tell me how strong I looked as I passed them. I made sure to emphasize that it had taken me five years to finally get it right!<br />
<br />
Sage Burner was my very first ultra (and my first marathon!) back in '10, so it holds a special significance for me. I've run it every year since and have accumulated quite a few memories on the course. ("Oh, look! I think that's where I threw up in '12!") I'm so happy to have finally beat the heat and had a successful race there. I've always felt that I hadn't yet reached my potential on the course, but feeling and doing are two very different things. I'm proud to have finally executed. That's all you can ever really ask for in any given race.<br />
<br />
I'm so happy to have been able to end my streak of racing this May on a high note. I've got three more weeks of training left before tapering for Bighorn. I'm actually looking forward to taking things a bit easier next week-- especially on my long run. I think I've got enough quality long runs under my belt, and now it's time to focus on some shorter, mid-week quality sessions. Most of the regular trails I run around Leadville should melt out next week. I can't wait.<br />
<br />
Next up: the Turquoise Lake Half Marathon. A very different beast. It's going to hurt; it's going to be fun. It's always a good workout. (Probably a better workout for me than yet another 20 miler at this point...)Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-48597990365234402702014-05-23T09:02:00.000-06:002014-05-23T09:02:18.145-06:00Quad Rock 50 Race ReportAfter my debacle at Collegiate Peaks, I paid special attention to recovering as well as I could before Quad Rock-- not just recovering from the race, but from my April training in general. I definitely didn't want to start another race-- especially a 50 miler-- with dead legs. I biked around Turquoise Lake on Sunday, took Monday off, ran an easy 6 miles on Tuesday on the Mineral Belt, took Wednesday off, ran an easy 3 miles on Thursday around the block, and then took Friday off. In one week I more than doubled the number of days I've taken off since the beginning of the year.<br />
<br />
As far as goals for Quad Rock went, they were much looser and hand-wavy than my goals for Collegiate Peaks. The only historical data point I had for comparison was <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2012/05/quad-rock-25-race-report.html" target="_blank">my 25 mile run in '12</a>, Quad Rock's inaugural year. I finished that race in 5:17, which seemed about right for the halfway mark of the full 50. Given my modest ranking, <a href="http://ultrasignup.com/" target="_blank">Ultrasignup</a> was predicting an 11:48 finish for me. But comparing the course to other 50 milers I've run recently (keyword: recently) I thought that was a bit too conservative.<br />
<br />
The biggest unknown for me was really the timing of the race. The earliest 50 miler I've ever run is the San Juan Solstice 50 in mid-June. And <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2012/06/colorado-was-on-fire-i-was-not.html" target="_blank">I've really struggled each time I've run it</a>. My normal 50 miler every year is <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/07/silver-rush-50-race-report.html" target="_blank">the Silver Rush 50</a> in July. That's the timing I'm most familiar with. So, how would my body respond to running a 50 miler six weeks earlier than I ever have in my training cycle (and nine weeks earlier than I normally do)? I guess I was about to find out! I laughed to myself when I realized that Quad Rock-- in a single day-- would represent a quarter of my total mileage in April and about half of my total vertical!<br />
<br />
The other consideration I factored in was that out of the seven 50 milers I've run in the past, I'd say all but one were severely limited by serious nutrition mistakes on my part. Historically, I've really struggled to consume enough calories during the 10+ hours it generally takes me to run 50 miles. However, <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/12/8618248-calories-of-awesome.html" target="_blank">I finally found a system that worked for me</a> last year, and that has made a huge difference in longer races (i.e., 50's and 100's). So, assuming I could stick to my nutrition plan, I anticipated that I could run Quad Rock faster than my past results might suggest.<br />
<br />
So, anyway... taking that all into consideration, and waffling back and forth a bit, I finally guessed that I might finish somewhere between 10.5 and 11 hours. Just my best guess. I would finish when I would finish. My primary goal was to take care of myself-- stay on top of my hydration and nutrition, and try not to kill myself on the downhills. It was going to be a long day of running. Enjoy it.<br />
<br />
The Friday before the race, I drove down to my friend Alex's house in Louisville. We're both running <a href="http://www.bighorntrailrun.com/" target="_blank">Bighorn</a> together in June, and we both signed up for Quad Rock as a training race. The last time we saw each was when I paced him at <a href="http://runrabbitrunsteamboat.com/" target="_blank">Run Rabbit Run</a> last September. We enjoyed a quick dinner together, went to his son's t-ball practice, made some last minute preparations, and went to bed early-- our alarms set for the ungodly hour of 2:45am. That would give us just enough time to get dressed, make some coffee, eat a quick breakfast, and drive up to Ft. Collins for the race. I remembered feeling rushed at the starting line in '12, so I didn't want that to happen again.<br />
<br />
When we arrived, we were just about to park in a long line of cars about a third of a mile from the start, when someone noticed we had carpooled and directed us to a closer parking lot-- much closer! We ended up parking about 30 ft from the starting line. Sweet! Donning our headlamps in the pre-dawn darkness, we went about our final preparations.<br />
<br />
We wished each other good luck, and as the sun finally rose we all took off.<br />
<br />
They've re-routed the start of the race so that you stay on the dirt road much longer before hitting the single track. This is definitely a good thing. It made it much easier to spread out and find a good pace. As I ran the initial rolling miles, I was very relieved to feel my legs respond. There was no obvious fatigue like the soreness/tightness that was immediately obvious at <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/05/collegiate-peak-race-report.html" target="_blank">the start of Collegiate Peaks</a>. However, temperature-wise, I was much too comfortable at the starting line and, as soon as the sun peeked over the eastern hills, I started becoming too warm. Before the initial climb began, I pulled off the trail and took a minute to take off all my extra layers and throw them in my pack. (I'd eventually dump them in my drop bag.)<br />
<br />
The first ascent up to the Towers aid station went well. I slowly jogged the whole thing, moving up many places, passing folks who were hiking. On a few of the steeper sections, my legs actually burned from the effort, which is a rarity for me as Leadville's lack of oxygen is usually my limiting factor! Still, I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard. I had memorized some of my splits from '12 and I knew I was already ahead of my former self by the first aid station.<br />
<br />
By the time I had dropped down to the Horsetooth aid station, I had gained yet more time. Everything was going great. However, I had to make one more visit to the bathroom. I ended up waiting in line for what seemed like an eternity. Ah, well... Enforced rest, I guess. I picked up more fuel, refilled my bottles, and headed up the next climb.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXHLnApGh6ko11_FcqxLW1ne1yOttO89Cz4iohtj8Ff08ou_L130Tyo7qB7TwAeq877FaKvTONJB9YPq1UXH74VaQY0TiC2KQzjpUrunOo_cA5Mg6EP9qWFvHDW5iB3lSN_g1vXlJY2s/s1600/53224863-QuadRock2014-347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXHLnApGh6ko11_FcqxLW1ne1yOttO89Cz4iohtj8Ff08ou_L130Tyo7qB7TwAeq877FaKvTONJB9YPq1UXH74VaQY0TiC2KQzjpUrunOo_cA5Mg6EP9qWFvHDW5iB3lSN_g1vXlJY2s/s1600/53224863-QuadRock2014-347.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My oh-so-fashionable shirt got a lot of comments!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Up, down, refuel, up, down, up, down, refuel, up, down, up, down, refuel, up, down, finish.<br />
<br />
And that's pretty much how the day went!<br />
<br />
After 11 hours and 6 minutes, I sprinted across the finish line to cheers of "It's the J Crew guy! Yeah!" I certainly felt fatigued, but I was happy. It was a solid race-- and a solid workout, for sure. My legs were toast, but I kept my stomach under control the entire day. It was definitely the longest I've ever been able to run without any stomach issues at all. A victory for me.<br />
<br />
The weather was perfect. It started out sunny and cool in the morning and never really got hot as the clouds moved in in the afternoon. It spat rain a few times, and the wind picked up briefly, but I never had to battle the heat. Just to be safe, I dumped water on myself a few times, and dunked my hat in a few streams as a precaution.<br />
<br />
I hit the turnaround at 5:02, a 15 minute PR over my previous time for the 25 mile race. I jogged every step of the course until mile 32 or so and then I started mixing in hiking on some of the steeper sections. While the uphills were definitely tough and unrelenting, I felt stronger on them than I did on the downhills later in the race. On the final two descents my quads were screaming. This was definitely way more downhill running than I had ever done in training so far this year. I'm guessing that mashing big gears on my bike trainer has helped build my uphill strength some, but has done nothing for my downhill strength. It's become probably my primary training goal for the next few weeks-- hit the downhills hard to prepare for Bighorn.<br />
<br />
My stomach felt solid throughout the day. I constantly tried to strike a good balance between water and calories. I'd often carry one bottle of pure water and another bottle of energy drink and alternate between the two, using the water to flush my stomach out if I ever felt full. I'm convinced that most of my past bouts of nausea have been caused by dehydration. A few times during the race, usually while on a downhill, I did get a side stitch. I took that as a sign that I was falling behind on hydration, and I'd try to drink more water, while jabbing my other bottle into my diaphragm to relieve the pain. All told, I consumed approximately 3,360 calories during the race (10.5 320 calorie bags of energy drink mix). That's about perfect for my body weight and finishing time.<br />
<br />
The slower 50 mile pace allowed for lots of friendly conversations during the race. It was great to meet folks and pass the time chatting as we fought the hills together. Despite the grey weather, the post race festivities were great. I scarfed down multiple hamburgers and enjoyed the complementary beer. One of the best signs that you've fueled properly during a race is how quickly you can eat a normal meal afterwords.<br />
<br />
While ideally I would've liked to have not have slowed down quite so much during the second half of the race, I feel like I can't complain too much. I felt good out there. Certainly not overwhelmed by the distance. I keep coming back to the word "solid". You know things have gone pretty well if that's the adjective that keeps popping into your head.<br />
<br />
Next up: <a href="http://sageburnertrailrun.com/" target="_blank">the Sage Burner 50K</a>. It'll be the fifth time I've run it, and <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/06/sage-burner-50k-race-report.html" target="_blank">I have a score to settle</a> with the course. It's time to recover as best I can, and hopefully time for a little redemption!Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-66044600454807079152014-05-19T12:16:00.000-06:002014-05-19T12:51:05.335-06:00Collegiate Peaks Race ReportA quick report on my CPTR 25 experience this year. It's short on narrative flourish, but hopefully captures some of the details of the event.
<br />
<br />
The weather on race day was beautiful. Probably the warmest day of the year so far. While I imagine the 50 milers might have suffered a bit in the afternoon heat, for the 25 milers it was perfect. I was excited to race and soaked up the energy at the starting line. Before I knew it, we were off.
<br />
<br />
Within the first mile of the race I found myself uttering, "Uh, oh... Oh, crap!"
<br />
<br />
My legs felt strangely tight/sore during the first 3 paved, flat miles. Mostly my calves, but also my legs in general. Still, I made it to the turn at mile 3 on PR pace. Next came a rolling, single track section. I didn't obsessively check my GPS between aid stations, but instead ran by feel. I was only 1 minute back at the first aid station at mile 6. Certainly not time to panic yet, but I knew I wasn’t really feelin’ it. For some reason, I hadn’t recovered fully during the week leading up to the race. Why were my legs so unresponsive?
<br />
<br />
The next 4 mile uphill section would be a test. I tried to stay positive and not succumb to any negative self-fulfilling thoughts. Unfortunately, I slipped to 4 minutes down at the second aid station. Not good. I wasn’t really passing anyone on the uphills. My last hope for a PR was to try to make up some time on the downhills, but all I could do was maintain my pace-- barely. The 7:30 min/miles I was hoping for were not happening. I was still about 4 minutes down at the base of the final uphill. Could I push harder up Lenhardy Hill than I did last year? Doubtful. I honestly thought the best I could do was to maybe stay on pace. Nope, not even that. I was down 9 minutes at mile 18 at the top. A PR just wasn't happening today. There was no way I could make up 9 minutes in the final 7 miles-- certainly not with the way my legs were feeling. Dammit. Ah, well...
<br />
<br />
At that point, I gave up trying to PR. I switched modes to "just get ‘er done" and stopped chasing splits. I passed a couple of blown up people in the final miles, but nobody that was really running. I chatted with Adrian S. (who I recognized from the Silver Rush 50 and Sage Burner 50K last year) for the last 3 miles. He was running the 50 today. I settled into a relaxed 50-mile pace with him and took it easy to the finish. It was nice to be able to pass the time chatting with someone. Finally, I jogged across the finish line, down 14 minutes from last year. 4:16. I didn’t even bother trying to squeak in ahead of the racer in front of me. I had no desire to pass. I had stopped racing miles ago.
<br />
<br />
If I had kept pushing for the full 25 miles, maybe I could’ve finished only 10 minutes back from my PR... I just couldn't motivate with my legs feeling like they did. I'd like to think that I'd be more willing to push through leg soreness that arose during the race itself, but pre-existing leg pain due to inadequate recovery? Not so much. I don’t think I really made any mistakes during the race, I just hadn’t recovered fully. Not enough rest during the final week. I think my high-cadence bike workout on Monday really worked my calves in a way that they're not used to. Then I simply slogged up and down the Boulevard a bit too much-- trying to get 200 miles for April. Trying to keep the daily training streak going. I should’ve skipped some days if I really wanted to race fresh. Basically, my race this year felt like a ho-hum training run. Fine, but not great. If I hadn't been racing I probably would’ve stopped a dozen times and rested and soaked up the views. My energy levels were fine, but my legs had no pop.
<br />
<br />
Of course, I never fully taper for any non-focus race like CPTR, so I don't expect to be at 100%, but-- superficially, at least-- my mileage for the week leading up to the race was the same as last year. That's all I was hoping for: to make it to the starting line as rested as I had been previously in '13.
<br />
<br />
In hindsight, I really think I pulled off something special last year when I set my PR of 4:02. I really raced the course, and as I kept beating my past splits I got more and more excited and motivated and really kept up the intensity. Having people to chase was great, too. There was a small group of runners that I hung with throughout the race in '13. This year, I tried to keep my spirits up and enjoy the race, but eventually I knew a PR wasn’t going to happen. There was no desire to hurt more than necessary. Thoughts of conserving myself for the Quad Rock 50 the following week crossed my mind. I was actually fairly comfortable on the uphills, but the lack of “pop” slowed me down ~1 min/mile. I just slowly jogged uphill, losing some distance on folks-- not that much, but enough that I noticed it. I’d actually close gaps on the super steep sections when people dropped to a hike. I did manage to run the entire course again, never resorting to a power hike.
<br />
<br />
Ironically, I finished in 46th place-- the exact same place I finished last year, despite being 14 minutes faster.
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vybAS5VuLW0fuStMkTMKTIbth-43FbpXYTfbkmULoftXNqc1yS8Oa8CWe46w4w_Q3f65biHsyvjcIu8BhGvb7xZ21LGItRbQ-Hw3OEdIHAgdnPgUXHAEz-D-j8JHOZe9fhcxGiCj_TY/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+5192014+114912+AM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vybAS5VuLW0fuStMkTMKTIbth-43FbpXYTfbkmULoftXNqc1yS8Oa8CWe46w4w_Q3f65biHsyvjcIu8BhGvb7xZ21LGItRbQ-Hw3OEdIHAgdnPgUXHAEz-D-j8JHOZe9fhcxGiCj_TY/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+5192014+114912+AM.bmp.jpg" height="400" width="281" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Not so much green. I had no uphill legs (miles 4, 9, 10, 16, 17, 18). Stopped chasing my former self at mile 18.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After looking over my training data from last year again, it’s interesting to note that I had a lot of “blah” training runs after CPTR last year. CPTR was really the only long run I nailed in May '13. My average pace on all my other May training runs (which all had roughly equivalent vertical) was about 1-2 minutes slower per mile. So, maybe I just hit that “blah” period a little earlier this year because of the extra miles/long runs I’ve been running? However, even if I had started the race totally fresh this year, I bet I could have done no better than, say, 3:55.
<br />
<br />
My extra training this year has put me in a good place, but not one that’s radically different.
<br />
<br />
I knew it would be difficult, but not setting a new PR this year was a little tough to swallow. I thought I was fit enough-- and that I had recovered enough-- to have a chance, but apparently I was wrong.
<br />
<br />
Well, I know of no better remedy for a disappointing race than to get back out there and race again! I'm looking forward to the Quad Rock 50 next weekend. While certainly more epic, I think it will also be more low stress. I've never run the full 50 mile distance before, so I won't be obsessing over splits. Plus, the longer distance will make the race more about taking care of yourself throughout the day.
<br />
<br />
Despite no PR, I still had a lot of fun at Collegiate Peaks this year. It's always a great race. And, hey-- it was my second fastest time ever! My wife and kids joined me at the finish line. I got to say hi to a lot of running friends and catch up with various folks. The weather was truly beautiful. Afterwards, the kids and I played in the ice cold stream while mama went off for a run by herself. It was good to relax and enjoy a lovely spring day in Buena Vista with my family. I topped it off with a giant blackberry shake at K's. A classic.Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-34117703513566344002014-04-30T09:53:00.000-06:002014-04-30T11:59:07.620-06:00Month in Review (April)<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">4/2010: 163.3 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">4/2011: 135.0 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">4/2012: 164.9 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">4/2013: 175.0 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">4/2014: 200.1 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><b><i>TL;DNR: Training is going well! I have lots of races coming up! I overthink things!</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Well, somehow, I actually managed to survive April intact. All things considered, I'm pretty happy with where I'm at training-wise and I'm certainly excited for the next three weeks of racing.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">I've been looking forward to May for a long time.</span></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">5/3 <a href="http://www.collegiatepeakstrailrun.org/" target="_blank">Collegiate Peaks 25</a>, Buena Vista, CO</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">5/10 <a href="http://gnarrunners.com/quad-rock-50/" target="_blank">Quad Rock 50</a>, Ft. Collins, CO</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">5/17 <a href="http://sageburnertrailrun.com/" target="_blank">Sage Burner 50K</a>, Gunnison, CO</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Three races, three weeks, 106 miles. One final month of training before the <a href="http://www.bighorntrailrun.com/" target="_blank">Big Horn 100</a> in June.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Heading into this year's training I knew April would be logistically tough. Perhaps my toughest month. Two months out from a hundred miler, variable spring conditions (to put it mildly), a family vacation, ten days of single parenting while my wife was off backpacking in Utah, and my precocious daughter's 5th birthday. There were a lot of responsibilities to balance. I'd have to get creative with my schedule and sneak in workouts whenever I could.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjoXMH-Y20D_qbvTtfiJa02Rfa2o_h1eDxXB3s4mhcj0r8ogRTWRs0fziXTx16pYSwyWNcgqTBOh9lcaX81Iw1KaSvilnLan52GnLjotWoJzBgUaDMjxf30EIZ2NkGT0rlK52Dijw3iG4/s1600/IMG_2119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjoXMH-Y20D_qbvTtfiJa02Rfa2o_h1eDxXB3s4mhcj0r8ogRTWRs0fziXTx16pYSwyWNcgqTBOh9lcaX81Iw1KaSvilnLan52GnLjotWoJzBgUaDMjxf30EIZ2NkGT0rlK52Dijw3iG4/s1600/IMG_2119.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colorado National Monument, Fruita, CO. A nice escape from winter.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">This month was an incremental improvement over <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/05/month-in-review-april.html" target="_blank">previous Aprils</a>. Nothing fancy. No radical departures from my typical spring routine. I ran more or less the same routes I usually do this time of the year. I just tried to focus a little more on quality, pushing it a bit more than usual once or twice a week. Usually on the downhills. Earlier in the year, I was worried about trying to get a lot of vertical in April and I imagined myself climbing Mt. Elbert and/or doing laps up and down Ski Cooper. Instead, I eventually decided to let that dream go and focus more on speed. (Or, what passes for speed for me at 10,000 ft.) It was logistically easier, if nothing else (i.e., less driving to trailheads, more road running from my door). Plus, looking at my monthly totals over the years, it struck me how much my average pace slows down in June, July, and August when all I'm doing is running up and down the local peaks. April has always been one of my fastest months, simply due to the fact that my long runs tend to be flatter and at lower elevations. Perhaps I've under-appreciated the benefits of a 3 hour 20-mile run. Of course, aesthetically, I'll always prefer the 5 hour 20-mile trip over Hope Pass and back in June. There's no question about that. It's just more fun. But that doesn't necessarily mean that a flatter option run at a faster pace doesn't have its place. Variety is the key to adaptation and improvement-- or so I tell myself.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqH0YRdyOcGEc1zDFNrhIUFTmkWbWsjmYdHOOeMTo-vfPs61t-3JNxs4oF5JG9XwcB_YEmckN3iea5xrlzHlGcqVQLrzA1kNqUBzoUGFvuFmFFNc3fsgs4OsAJauMOaESS4sD8oia-ybg/s1600/IMG_2146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqH0YRdyOcGEc1zDFNrhIUFTmkWbWsjmYdHOOeMTo-vfPs61t-3JNxs4oF5JG9XwcB_YEmckN3iea5xrlzHlGcqVQLrzA1kNqUBzoUGFvuFmFFNc3fsgs4OsAJauMOaESS4sD8oia-ybg/s1600/IMG_2146.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On top of Red Hill, Carbondale, CO. 800 ft of vertical in 1 mile. Mt. Sopris in the distance.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">So, with the generous help of my wife, babysitters, Aunt Jennifer, and some PTO, I managed to string together four weeks of relatively consistent training. Sure, I spent a fair amount of time on the bike trainer, but no more than last April. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">I ran a long run every week, plus a couple of 10-milers midweek when time and weather permitted.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Though we still have plenty of snow leftover from winter, April's weather was actually pretty nice. Much better than the blustery, grey April we had last year, that's for sure. I set a few PRs on some local routes around town, so that was a nice confirmation that my training was headed in the right direction. Still, I had some nagging doubts about my fitness as I never quite nailed a long run. I was putting in some solid efforts, but generally a bit slower than similar runs I ran last April. On paper, I was supposed to be in better shape this April as I had more miles, more time, and more long runs under my belt than ever before.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Expectations are dangerous things.</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Last Friday, on my long run down in Buena Vista, I finally nailed it. As has become my tradition, I run a 20-mile loop on the course the week before the race. I took the first 13 miles pretty casually, up until the top of Lenhardy Hill. It was a gorgeous spring day. Checking my watch, I was about 2-3 minutes slower than my effort up until that point on last year's training run. Then I gritted my teeth and pushed for the final 7 miles, making up ~1 min/mile, and set a 5-minute PR for the route. It felt great.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFnmzTaK_3sLchRBTwVStquxzrdGQ52NKoIrO9NfiETzvykiMjtAnye2PYFO6dANCEgyfeVAPNorh-n4cnd8M7gO2QwdsyleaLsXgALgo7wXmxmWlSWKHpRvuKZOsoGezI5Kdm3s9mdA/s1600/IMG_2142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFnmzTaK_3sLchRBTwVStquxzrdGQ52NKoIrO9NfiETzvykiMjtAnye2PYFO6dANCEgyfeVAPNorh-n4cnd8M7gO2QwdsyleaLsXgALgo7wXmxmWlSWKHpRvuKZOsoGezI5Kdm3s9mdA/s1600/IMG_2142.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Around mile 14 on the Collegiate Peaks course. Mt. Princeton in the distance.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Setting a PR on a long run was the final missing piece of evidence that I was hoping for. All my training these past four months seems to have paid off. And, maybe-- just maybe-- another PR at Collegiate Peaks is possible this year.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">I consider <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/05/collegiate-peaks-race-report.html" target="_blank">last year's race</a> one of the best races I've ever run-- second maybe only to <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/07/silver-rush-50-race-report.html" target="_blank">last year's Silver Rush</a>. It was a good day. A very good day. I surprised myself. I honestly think it would be easier (though by no means easy) for me to set another PR at the Leadville 100. So, another PR at Collegiate Peaks will be very tough-- far from guaranteed. If I could improve my time by 5 minutes and go sub-4 hours, I'd be thrilled.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Of all my races this May, I find Collegiate Peaks (the shortest race) to be the most intimidating-- precisely because my PR is so stout; the margin for error so slim.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Even though it isn't a focus race for me, I am still very motivated run </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Collegiate Peaks </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">as well as I can. I often tell myself that I should just relax and quit obsessing over splits... If I PR, great. If not, who cares? But, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">I do enjoy the challenge of setting a PR. It's a very personal challenge-- I'm racing against my previous self, chasing my own ghost. It's an affirmation of all the extra work I put in during training this year. All those slow, snowy slogs up California Gulch. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">I know at some point the PRs are going to stop. And I certainly can't expect the ridiculous PRs I managed to set last year to continue indefinitely. I love trail running for its own sake. And I can think of no better way to spend my days during Leadville's wonderful summers. But, I can't deny that working hard and seeing an improvement is very rewarding too. So, I guess I'll enjoy it while I can! Like everything, there's a balance. You want to see constant improvement, but there are limitations and factors beyond your control. Tight calves. A side stitch. Heat. A strong headwind. A cold. Any of those things could easily slow me down the few minutes it would take to put a PR out of reach.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">So, we'll see... I'm excited. I'll be grateful to show up at the starting line healthy, ready to race. Who knows what will happen? That's why we run these things...</span>Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-35278336076097950112014-03-29T15:58:00.000-06:002014-03-31T16:03:54.669-06:00Month in Review (March)<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">3/2010: 109.0 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">3/2011: 129.6 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">3/2012: 153.3 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">3/2013: 174.7 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">3/2014: 192.4 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><b>Looking Behind</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">March was a month of extremes. There were many days when all I could muster was a 30-minute ride on the bike trainer or a 3-mile run down the Boulevard. It was exceptionally difficult to motivate myself to get outside the week after I returned from the warmth of Florida. But, in contrast to these short bouts of exercise, I did manage to get in 5 long runs-- one each week. Definitely an improvement over last year. I'd estimate that those long runs accounted for half of my mileage every week-- meaning they accounted for half of my mileage for the entire month! So, I hit my modest mileage goals for March, but the distribution of those miles was perhaps a bit... unorthodox.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">My daily exercise streak is now at the 3-month mark. I like the discipline of carving at least 30 minutes of time out of my day to exercise-- even if it means riding the bike trainer at 9pm after the kids are asleep and the dishes are done. There is no waffling, pondering "Should I exercise today?", there is only "When should I exercise today? What should I do? Bike? Run? Ski?" I keep waiting to come down with a cold and be forced to skip a day or two, but luckily that hasn't happened yet. Everyone in my family is hacking up a lung except for myself. Knock on wood.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">So, I'm feeling pretty fit. Not amazingly fit by any means, but better than I've ever felt for this time of year. If I had to guess, I'm maybe as fit as I was last year in May. Maybe. It's hard to tell. Hopefully I can buckle down, continue to improve in the coming two months, and whip myself into shape for Bighorn.</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><b>Salida Marathon</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">Of course, one of my long run runs-- in fact, the longest of my long runs-- was the Salida marathon. As always, it was a great race and a ton of fun. It's sooo nice to be able to run on (relatively) snow-free trails at this time of year! My race went well-- not off the charts by any means-- but I'm pleased with the result: 4:46. That represents an 11-minute PR for the course. Secretly, I was kind of hoping for something closer to 4:30, given all my extra training this year, but that would've required much more effort on my part. In retrospect, I think I ran the race a little bit too comfortably. I felt absolutely great before, during, and after. I kept things conversational almost the entire time. I enjoyed myself. I ran the last mile of the course at basically the same pace as I ran the first mile. And I was able to grunt up the hill at mile 21 more than a minute faster than I did last year. Everything felt very sustainable. I didn't listen to any music during the race, which is rare for me, and probably made me a little less aggressive and more inclined to chat up neighboring runners and simply enjoy the sights.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYOw0_AtYaU94FMv68Qj6mTVNNUFraT31og1OUtOvMJxiARoZBLgbfFHd9iFuQG5HGwneZQ6N6RPeztYyYsmZX7EJ6kR_a5BJCZ1Ctg8smi7IVwTEGYWB23y1D0iTl-BCCiYQCHdxRzaI/s1600/IMG_9540.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYOw0_AtYaU94FMv68Qj6mTVNNUFraT31og1OUtOvMJxiARoZBLgbfFHd9iFuQG5HGwneZQ6N6RPeztYyYsmZX7EJ6kR_a5BJCZ1Ctg8smi7IVwTEGYWB23y1D0iTl-BCCiYQCHdxRzaI/s1600/IMG_9540.JPG" height="640" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mile 3</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">One thing I did differently-- which led to humorous results-- was try to drink more water. I'm convinced that <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/06/sage-burner-50k-race-report.html" target="_blank">when things go badly for me during a race</a> it's almost always due to dehydration. So, I wanted to practice drinking more fluids. Since I pack 310 calories into every bottle I drink, I only get about 18 oz of liquid per bottle. Which means I generally only get 18 oz of liquid per hour. Not quite enough, I've learned. I think I want to be closer to 24 oz of water/hour, depending on the conditions. This will hopefully keep the osmolarity of my energy drink lower and make it easier to digest. So, I carried two water bottles during the race even though the aid stations were generally less than an hour apart. The exact numbers were difficult to keep track of, but I'd generally try to hit my targets for calories and liquid by keeping one bottle at full concentration and another bottle at a more diluted concentration and alternating between the two. Of course, the cool, cloudy weather on race day did not warrant 24 oz of water/hour, so I must've spent 5 minutes peeing on the side of the trail throughout the day! The sacrifices we make for science...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><b>Looking ahead</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">So, I survived March. April's next. I think it's going to be my most difficult month of training, at least from a motivational perspective. It'll also be logistically tricky. My wife will be in the field for 10 days-- overlapping two weekends-- leaving me as the sole parent. The rough goal is another 5 miles per week, bringing me up to ~45 miles/week. The question is how to best divide up those miles into quality workouts given the conditions in Leadville.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">According to the calendar, it's spring. Looking out my window, it's winter. The roads around town are beginning to melt out, but the trails will have to wait at least another month. Looking at my training log, I can see that in '12 I was running the local trails during the first week of April. That was a very dry winter. Last year, they didn't melt out until May. This year, it's looking like I'll have to wait until May again. My dreams of another early melt don't look like they're going to happen.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">So, what does that mean? Running roads, roads, and more roads. Some dirt, but I'm going to have to embrace the asphalt for most of my running next month. And, given my limited options, that means that April probably won't be very big in the vertical department-- at least, certainly not where I would normally like to be at two months before a 100. I'm going to have to mix things up a bit and try to substitute some speed for elevation gain. Given the choice, I prefer the later. But, I've come to accept the fact that I'll have to wait until May to start running up mountains... In a lot of ways, what I've been doing so far is just base building. Sure, I've had a smattering of quality workouts where I pushed myself-- most notably in Florida-- but mostly I've just been slowly ramping up the miles without ramping up the intensity. That's going to have to change in April, I think.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">May will be fun. The leaves will come out; more and more of my favorite running routes will open up. In many ways, May will be the reward for all this early season training-- huffing-and-puffing up and down the same roads every week. I've got 3 back-to-back-to-back races lined up: the Collegiate Peaks 25, the Quad Rock 50, and finally the Sage Burner 50K. It will be a cycle of race, recover, race, recover, race, recover. Then a final two weeks of peak training, then the taper for Bighorn. It's crazy to think how close it is!</span></span>Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-52274704810571338192014-02-28T15:45:00.000-07:002014-02-28T16:12:30.729-07:00Month in Review (February)<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">2/2010: 100.9 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">2/2011: 111.3 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">2/2012: 151.9 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">2/2013: 137.8 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">2/2014: 186.5 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">Well, another month of training is in the books. I'm pleased with how it went, all things considered. My goal for February was roughly 35 miles/week, and I ended up running closer to 40 miles/week, with a 60-mile week thrown in while I was on vacation down in Florida. I very rarely run more than 50 miles/week-- even during peak training-- so that was notable. Naples, FL is flat, fast, and oxygen-rich compared to Leadville, that's for sure. Oh, and humid. Incredibly humid. I would return from early morning runs completely drenched in sweat. Running in the dry mountain air of Colorado is downright civilized in comparison!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEH35PHC4A3t7Fk3ioBzEnI5st5JkBaYJA3xzE41EB1fDAPtFemOlSRR4Mpw9P_ibWKxzuDi6iCUKzGM3g7gD0S6pTDc52CWsBnTGGltGwvg4BjMwL_UkUhEMBM_HfzGP8YgBzUlSDcnY/s1600/IMG_3128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEH35PHC4A3t7Fk3ioBzEnI5st5JkBaYJA3xzE41EB1fDAPtFemOlSRR4Mpw9P_ibWKxzuDi6iCUKzGM3g7gD0S6pTDc52CWsBnTGGltGwvg4BjMwL_UkUhEMBM_HfzGP8YgBzUlSDcnY/s1600/IMG_3128.JPG" height="400" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not Leadville.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">February began with the snowshoe marathon as my first long run, and then I managed to get in another 20-mile run in Florida. (One took >5 hours, the other <3 hours. I'll let you guess which one was which.) I integrated some skate skiing into the mix early in the month, to keep things interesting. I resorted to the bike trainer 8 times-- usually when the weather was nasty or when I was recovering from a hard workout. The other statistic that jumps out at me is that I managed to run 7 runs longer than 10 miles in February. The way my training schedule tends to work is that the only run I'll run longer than 7 miles will be a 20-mile long run. I don't often run any distance between 7 and 20 miles. Just a quirk of habit, I guess. I'm sure more tempo runs around the half-marathon distance would be beneficial. I think I just naturally gravitate to hill workouts during the summer-- like the Powerlines, which is 3.5 miles up and 3.5 miles down (with 1,700 ft of vertical).</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">Speaking of which, the one area I wish that I was doing better in is vertical gain. Sure, I've logged plenty of miles. Last year, I didn't run more than 180 miles in a month until May. But, if we compare February of '14 to, say, April of '13, yes, I ran 10 more miles this February, but with only half the vertical gain. I find that the snow makes it tough to get in a lot of vertical around town. For plowed roads, you've got 7th St, 5th St, and Cal Gulch. All uphill, but nowhere near as steep as the trail options that are available in the summer. If you want something steeper you pretty much have to wear snowshoes and wade through thigh-deep powder. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not exactly, well... running. I'll be honest and confess that I've had "inappropriate" thoughts about giving in and joining the local gym just so I can use the treadmill. That would not only give me another pre-breakfast (too cold outside) or post-dinner (too dark outside) workout option, but could also help in the vertical department. (I know, I know... I should just suck it up and go snowshoe up a mountain.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">They say that the foundation of proper periodization is making your training look more and more like your goal race the closer to the race you get. So, I guess, I can rationalize all this by saying that now is the best time for me to be running fast(er) and flat(ter). As I get closer to Bighorn, my runs will get slower, hillier, and longer. A better match for the conditions I'll encounter during the race itself. With this in mind, I've started to experiment with incorporating a tiny bit of speedwork into some of my midweek runs. Mostly just a few short fartleks. Trying to hold a 6:30-7:00 min/mile pace for half a mile or so when the terrain is flat. (Don't laugh.) This is all very new to me. I've never tried speedwork before. Damn, it's hard. And humbling. But it's one more dynamic to keep things interesting during these winter months. Plus, if I'm not happy with my performance I can always blame it on the snow! Or the headwind ripping off of Mt. Massive. Or the altitude. Or...</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ZOWU9P7DUWxH7I-EBw0OKU-U1oJsa2gqhaFuponjWc1ROqFPnAYjvxPOEHFvxVLkvHFxQKX3Bowrv6fEZOpxxcgo5Mi8SWUlEBy4wK5ClH1LqrUjhVix3tRovESOpxMYD08_tOWiCew/s1600/FluidFlexes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ZOWU9P7DUWxH7I-EBw0OKU-U1oJsa2gqhaFuponjWc1ROqFPnAYjvxPOEHFvxVLkvHFxQKX3Bowrv6fEZOpxxcgo5Mi8SWUlEBy4wK5ClH1LqrUjhVix3tRovESOpxMYD08_tOWiCew/s1600/FluidFlexes.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new version of the FluidFlex came out in February! I'll be ordering a few more pairs...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">So, ultimately, I find myself feeling pretty confident in my early-season fitness going into March. The <a href="http://www.salidarec.com/ccrc/Run-Through-Time-Marathon-2014.htm" target="_blank">Salida marathon</a> is only two weeks away, which is exciting to think about. On paper, I should be in better shape than I've ever been in at this time of year. How much better? Who knows? I'd really like to believe that another PR at Salida is possible. I've already glanced at my splits from last year's race and identified a few sections that I feel I could improve on-- mostly on the downhills. So, we'll see... 4:57:36 is the time to beat. I'd be happy with 4:45:00.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">My goals for March? Pretty simple. 40 miles/week. And a long run every week. Let's hope the trails down in Buena Vista melt out soon! It's go time.</span></span>Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-46140487593391659362014-02-10T11:44:00.000-07:002014-02-10T12:27:04.871-07:002014 Training PlanSo, I took some time to scribble down (metaphorically speaking) some training notes and goals for this year. I've been tossing a lot of these ideas around in my head (and in previous blog posts), but I wanted to write them all down in a single place for reference and (hopefully) motivation.<br />
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As I've said before, with the Bighorn 100 looming in June, April and May will be the most important and challenging months for me. I'm basing my training this year off of my previous year's training (<a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/01/year-in-review-2013.html" target="_blank">which I feel went extraordinarily well</a>), just pushing things up about a month; trying to take what worked and making small improvements when I can. Consistency is the key.<br />
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Even if my training goes perfectly, I don't think I'll be in quite as good shape this June as I was last August, but hopefully I'll be pretty close. Regardless, I'm very excited for something new.<br />
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<a href="http://app.strava.com/activities/112455703" target="_blank">In other news, last night I set a PR for the most pieces of pie eaten during a workout!</a><br />
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<b>December Plan</b></div>
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‘12: no real training.</div>
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‘13: Races: Ha!</div>
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25 miles/week. Survive the holidays. Diversify training: add in snowshoeing.</div>
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<i>(Mixed. I didn’t quite get in the mileage I wanted. No big deal.)</i></div>
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<b>January Plan</b></div>
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<a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/02/month-in-review-january.html" target="_blank">‘13: missed 3 days; 90 bike miles, no long runs. Pretty darn solid.</a></div>
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‘14: Races: None.</div>
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30 miles/week. Nothing too crazy. Just exercise every day. Two flat long runs. Snowshoe a lot. The two long runs will easily push me over my mileage goals for the month.</div>
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<i>(Success.)</i></div>
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<b>February Plan</b></div>
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<a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/03/month-in-review-february.html" target="_blank">‘13: missed 7 days; 2 weeks at sea level, 8 bike miles, 2 long runs. Good, but room for improvement.</a></div>
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‘14: Races: Leadville Snowshoe Marathon.</div>
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35 miles/week. Again, nothing too different. Exercise every day. (I missed a lot of days in ‘13 due to sickness and travel.) Two long runs (the same number as in ‘13). One of which will be the snowshoe marathon and the other one will be in Florida. Take advantage of Florida vacation to put in a hard training week. (Lots of flat tempo runs.) The timing for the Salida Marathon (3 weeks out) is perfect. Skate ski to stay motivated.</div>
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<i>(So far, so good.)</i></div>
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<b>March Plan</b></div>
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<a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/04/month-in-review-march.html" target="_blank">‘13: missed 4 days; 1 week at sea level, 50 bike miles, 3 long runs. Solid.</a></div>
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‘14: Races: Salida Marathon.</div>
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40 miles/week. Nothing too radical, but careful planning for long runs will be required. I want to get in a long run every week. (4 or maybe 5 long runs?) That should get me more than enough miles for the month. Looking at April ‘13 for comparison, my long runs were all easy. Only 2,500 ft of vertical each. The CPTR course (x2) and around town. The Grand Canyon was the only exception. (<a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/04/r2r2r-report.html" target="_blank">And who knows how good a workout that really was due to the stomach flu?</a>) Perhaps a snowshoe up Mt. Elbert near the end of the month? A PR for the Salida Marathon would be nice, of course. And a confidence boost for my early season training. Not sure I can really get a lot of vertical midweek in town. Up to Adelade, I guess? Maybe a Mosquito Pass snowshoe? Black Cloud gets me 1,200 ft vert in 10 miles. Fri: Blackcloud + Sat: long run would be a good combo. Hopefully BV will open up as a weekend long run possibility. If not, another flat/fast 20 to Halfmoon Rd might be required. Historically, my first training run in BV was: ‘13 3/7, ‘12 3/23, ‘11 3/1, ‘10 2/27. So, there’s hope, but-- damn-- we have a lot of snow right now.</div>
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<b>April Plan</b></div>
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<a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/05/month-in-review-april.html" target="_blank">‘13: missed 6 days; 80 bike miles (!), 4 long runs. Basically, all biking and long runs. Mixed.</a></div>
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‘14: Races: None.</div>
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45 miles/week. This will probably be the month that will be the most difficult for me to hit my training goals. There’s just a lot going on and conditions will still be snowy in town. I want April ‘14 to look like May ‘13. ~225 miles, 27,000 ft vert. Except, I want more vertical on my long runs. I was only getting 3,500 ft vert with each long run in May last year. So, maybe 30,000 ft vert total for the month as a goal? I won’t have to taper like I did in May ‘13 because I have no races in April ‘14. I’ll need to take advantage of high vert midweek runs (1,000+ ft vert). However, with Christina in the field for a week, it will be tough to get in adequate miles. There’s also our family vacation to Fruita/Moab… I will probably have to take a few midweek days off from work to get in my long runs. Maybe throw in some two-a-day workouts? Maybe I can get some vertical doing sections of the Colorado Trail + 14ers down near Salida? I also kind of wanted to do some speed work in April prior to CPTR. That would not help with the vertical, though. Maybe total vertical shouldn’t be the emphasis for April… Sure, maybe get in 1 high vert long run, but the rest are my normal spring long runs (CPTR course, Clear Creek Road, Twin Lakes, etc.). I could tack on Midland Hill for more vertical during my BV long runs… Fri: quality + Sat: long run will be important.</div>
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<b>May Plan</b></div>
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<a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/06/month-in-review-may.html" target="_blank">‘13: missed 0 days; 50 bike miles, 4 long runs (still not much vert). Very good.</a></div>
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‘14: Races: CPTR 25, Quad Rock 50, Sage Burner 50K.</div>
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50 miles/week. I want May ‘14 to look like June ‘13. ~250 miles, ~50,000 ft vert. Racing in warmer climates will help (BV, Ft. Collins, Gunnison). I have 3 back-to-back weekends of racing planned. I only need to go on non-racing long runs twice. Memorial Day weekend will be my final uber long run (Mt. Elbert + Mt. Massive: 26 miles, 10,000 ft vert). Due to all the racing, and the warmer weather, my May goals actually seem more doable than my April goals.</div>
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<b>June Plan</b></div>
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<a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/07/month-in-review-june.html" target="_blank">‘13: missed 0 days; 20 bike miles, 5 long runs. Summer routes, good vert. Awesome.</a></div>
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‘14: Races: Bighorn 100.</div>
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June will be: taper, race 100 miles, and then recover. I’ll run Native Lake (18 miles, 3,500 ft of vert) 3 weeks out. Then a 10 miler the following weekend. Then Bighorn 100. Fill early June with lots of power hiking leading up to Bighorn. No hard downhills. Try to run every day, just get slower and shorter as Bighorn approaches. Take care of knee. Stay loose. More power hiking and biking for recovery after Bighorn. Due to the race, and all the hiking for taper/recovery, I will probably match my ‘13 levels for total mileage and vertical for the month, I think.</div>
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<b>July Plan</b></div>
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<a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/07/month-in-review-july.html" target="_blank">‘13: missed 2 days; 50 bike miles, 4 long runs. Same as June, great vert. Best month ever.</a></div>
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‘14: Races: None.</div>
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An easy week at the beginning of the month, for sure. More power hiking. More biking. Continue to recover. Maybe run (not race) the Silver Rush 50 if I’m feeling good? That would be 3 weeks after Bighorn. Then two weeks of quality training (probably do Hope Pass at least once, if not twice) and then my taper for the Leadville 100 begins! Due to Bighorn recovery, I will not be able to match my monthly totals from ‘13.</div>
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<b>August Plan</b></div>
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Races: Leadville 100.</div>
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Same as last year. Taper, taper, taper. Then race Leadville. Goin' solo: no pacers this year. 5-10 minutes slower to Twin Lakes, hydrate better, make improvements over Hope Pass, both out and back (goal: 3:30 each way), and from Mayqueen to the finish (goal: 3:00-3:15). Finish strong. Another PR would be nice, of course, but I'm doubtful that I'll be in better shape than last year. Most importantly: just enjoy it.</div>
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Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-314374122383623392014-02-05T10:59:00.000-07:002014-02-05T14:02:44.347-07:00Leadville Snowshoe "Marathon" "Race" ReportDespite piles and piles of fresh snow, and cold temperatures on race day, Smokey put on a great, friendly, low-key snowshoe race. Just the kind of race you'd want this time of year. Very fun, low-stress, and challenging.<br />
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There was so much new snow on the golf course, where the race began, that it couldn't be groomed. Instead, the night before, some folks packed out a narrow, single track trail leading to the "mini-powerline" climb and up onto the road around Turquoise Lake. From there, they managed to groom a track following the road all the way to Mayqueen. The road conditions were still very, very soft and slow and so it was decided that the marathon distance would be cancelled. There'd be a 10K option and a half marathon option, with a single aid station at the 5-mile mark. (It was an out-and-back course, so you'd hit the aid station twice.) Those crazy enough to dare, could run further around the lake, and turn around whenever they wanted. My friend, Craig, and I were the only two runners to do so. Personally, my goal was to get 5-6 hours on my feet. I'd just keep running until the 3-hour mark and then turn around. Carter Summit (where the 100 MTB course pops out onto the road) seemed like a good, logical goal. It was the high point of the course.<br />
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Though all the new snow dissuaded most of the Front Range folks from making the trip up to Leadville, a good contingent of locals showed up. I'd say 20 or so. The start of the race was comical, with no one wanting to lead the way. I fell into second place as we followed the deep, narrow single track through the woods to the lake. It was very slow-going, with most racers-- including myself-- barely able to run. Despite the brisk 16F temperatures, I started overheating a bit, and my sunglasses fogged up around mile 1.5. I couldn't see anything, and was happy to step aside to fix the situation, dropping back behind a long train of racers. It took me an hour to reach the the top of the "mini-powerline" climb-- the 3-mile mark! I had to laugh.<br />
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Things sped up a bit on the better-groomed lake road, but not by much. It was still soft enough that I sinking into the snow with each step. During the week, before the storm, the lake road was like concrete and I was able to snowshoe along at a blazingly fast ~11:30 min/mile pace. Now? More like a ~14:00 min/mile pace. Patience was the key. Given the fact that I was just out to run for 5-6 hours, regardless of speed or distance, I didn't really feel like I was racing. It felt more like a relaxed, group run. When I reached the aid station, I chugged what remained of my energy drink and refilled both my bottles-- plus grabbed a third for good measure and threw it in my pack. Smokey informed me that Craig had continued on and was aiming for Carter Summit and told him to tell me to hurry up so that he wouldn't be out there all alone! I told Smokey of my plans and he promised he'd leave the cooler there with some water for me on my return trip. Off I went.<br />
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I waved and cheered for the other racers as we crossed paths near the turnaround. I continued on, solo, slowing climbing up the road to the summit.<br />
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The week prior to the race, I had obsessed over the weather forecast and what exactly I should wear. I experimented with different combinations of clothes on shorter snowshoe outings during the week, finally settling an outfit that provided a lot of waterproof protection below the waist, and lots of breathability above the waist. You kick up a lot of snow while snowshoeing and it coats the back of your legs all the way up to your butt-- especially in powdery conditions. If you're not careful, you also work up quite a sweat and can quickly become drenched if it can't evaporate. A recipe for hypothermia. Now, on a shorter, hour-long outing this isn't such a big deal. But I definitely wanted to be comfortable out there for 5-6 hours. I swore to myself that during the race if I ever felt too cold, too hot, too sweaty, etc. I would stop and immediately address the situation rather than stubbornly pressing on. As it turned out, I only had to make one or two minor adjustments during the entire race. I had guessed perfectly and was surprisingly comfortable. Three (!) layers of gloves/mittens and four (!) layers of wool shirts turned out to be perfect!<br />
<br />
Though slow, the course was beautiful in all the new-fallen snow. It was very peaceful being out there all alone. I never resorted to my ipod, and just soaked in the scenery and let my mind wander. As I approached the summit, around the second meadow, I could feel the snow getting softer and softer. I guess because of the increasing elevation or perhaps because of the terrain and the prevailing wind? I could easily see that continuing much further would require more and more effort. Craig and I hooted and high-fived as we crossed paths near the summit. He had about a 20-minute lead on me, I'd estimate. That felt about right as Craig has handily beaten me in every single race we've ever run together. The man is a beast, with a Leadville 100 PR of 22:38. He's training for the 100 again this year, going for his 6th finish. It'll be great to be out there racing with him again. If I run an absolutely perfect race, maybe-- just maybe-- I could conceivably catch him around mile 80. Doubtful!<br />
<br />
After more-or-less climbing for 9.5 straight miles, it was refreshing to finally be able to turn around and run downhill. I hit the summit at almost exactly 3 hours. I felt tired, but good. I was getting down enough calories-- icy maltodextrin slush!-- and wasn't feeling any knee issues. The descent went relatively quickly-- emphasis on relatively.<br />
<br />
Sure enough, there was the cooler waiting for me. I restocked my bottles, and headed down the last section of road. Right near the top of the powerlines, I ran into two friends, Becca and Chris, who were out cross country skiing around the lake-- a much more sensible mode of travel! We stopped and chatted for a bit, and then I pointed in the direction of the finish line and grunted, smiling, "Beer that way!" Sliding down the steep powerline section of the trail was fun. The course was basically an 18" wide, 24" deep chute. It was definitely packed down better in the return direction, as now ~20 racers had packed it down going each way. I was easily able to negative split the final, flattish three miles of the course given the better snow conditions. I crossed the finish line alone, the last racer to finish for the day. I was spent, but happy. Smokey was the only one left at the finish line, cleaning up. I was very grateful that he had hung around and waited for me. He served me some homemade soup in my finisher's mug and we chatted about training and reminisced about last year's 100. (Smokey and I were neck-and-neck up to mile 94 and then he pulled away and crushed the final 6 miles beating me by 17 minutes and 22 frickin' places! Simply amazing.)<br />
<br />
Today's race? 5:37:38. 18.99 miles. 2,406 ft of vertical. Basically, the equivalent of a double-crossing of Hope Pass with only a third of the elevation gain! Ah, snowshoeing...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UaGBUvq3FjALTEiRnXScwx2yzJbRe-kiJEGS2nAVubH5p1K_d6zSjhRGF2uGGjdE5oO-mztJagBL7BktigGKuDoclwjCQjtf_enbv3ozPpdfgrzgpk0NBLEpW7Tg6oiEiqZSnBPQtKM/s1600/TurbineLauncher+252014+103749+AM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9UaGBUvq3FjALTEiRnXScwx2yzJbRe-kiJEGS2nAVubH5p1K_d6zSjhRGF2uGGjdE5oO-mztJagBL7BktigGKuDoclwjCQjtf_enbv3ozPpdfgrzgpk0NBLEpW7Tg6oiEiqZSnBPQtKM/s1600/TurbineLauncher+252014+103749+AM.bmp.jpg" height="180" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not really as steep as it looks...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
All-in-all, it was a fantastic day. Quintessential Leadville. I probably won't be on my feet that long until I run the <a href="http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=26137" target="_blank">Quad Rock 50</a> in May!<br />
<br />
A big thanks to Smokey for organizing such an awesome, local event. It was fantastic training for February. And congrats to everyone who showed up and raced, no matter the distance!<br />
<br />
<b>Addendum</b><br />
<br />
Really, I try not to obsess about gear, but I wanted to record exactly what I was wearing for future reference. I felt it was perfect for the conditions. The only piece of gear that I have reservations about are the shoes. Despite having run multiple 100s in the older MT101s, I'm not a fan of the MT110s for long runs. I thought the cushion of the snow would mitigate their rigidity, but the ball of my right foot was definitely sore afterwards. There's just something odd about their fit. It almost feels like there's a lump in the sole of the shoe. I wanted a waterproof shoe, which I why I went with them (at half price), but I think next year I'll try to get some kind of waterproof overshoe/bootie for my normal Montrail Fluidflexes... I could also go hardcore and screw my running shoes directly to the snowshoe platform (so no straps are required).<br />
<br />
The Icebreaker shirts are definitely trendy and expensive, but I love 'em. I run almost all my races-- summer races included-- in one or more of them. I just wait until they're on sale, and only acquire one or two every year.<br />
<br />
Conditions: 16F, partly cloudy, 5-10 mph winds, very soft, new snow.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.northernlites.com/catalogc.cfm?catID=21912&item=27906&CFID=64855128&CFTOKEN=14240884&jsessionid=8430ea345e8eee242b8227e2c6f83f2d3418" target="_blank">Northern Lites Race Snowshoes</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.newbalance.com/New-Balance-110-Boot/MT110-B,default,pd.html?dwvar_MT110-B_color=Black_with_Red" target="_blank">New Balance MT110WR</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.drymaxsocks.com/lite_trail_running.php" target="_blank">Drymax Lite Trail Running Socks</a> (x2)</li>
<li>OR Gaiters (Knee-Length)</li>
<li>UA Compression Shorts</li>
<li>REI Power Stretch Tights</li>
<li>Marmot Winter Pants (Full-Zip)</li>
<li>Icebreaker Wool Shirts (x4)</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://us.icebreaker.com/Tech-T-Lite-Short-Sleeve/100898G80L,en,pd.html?start=2&cgid=mens-tshirts" target="_blank">Tech T Lite Short Sleeve</a> <a href="http://us.icebreaker.com/Tech-T-Lite-Short-Sleeve/100898G80L,en,pd.html?start=2&cgid=mens-tshirts" target="_blank">(150)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://us.icebreaker.com/Relay-Long-Sleeve-Crewe/100865G67L,en,pd.html?start=66&cgid=mens-tops" target="_blank">Relay Long Sleeve Crew (150)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://us.icebreaker.com/Sprint-Long-Sleeve-Crewe/100399K05XL,en,pd.html?start=65&cgid=mens-tops" target="_blank">Sprint Long Sleeve Crew (200)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://us.icebreaker.com/Tech-Top-Long-Sleeve-Crewe/100483J97M,en,pd.html?start=26&cgid=mens-tops&prefn1=fabricWeight&prefv1=260%20Midweight" target="_blank">Tech Top Long Sleeve Crew (260)</a></li>
</ul>
<li>Mountain Hardwear Momentum Running Gloves</li>
<li>OR Fleece Mittens</li>
<li>EMS Fleece Mittens</li>
<li><a href="http://melanzana.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/39/products_id/70" target="_blank">Melanzana Micro Grid Beanie</a></li>
<li>Oakley Sunglasses</li>
<li><a href="http://www.ultimatedirection.com/p-628-ak-race-vest-20.aspx?category=hydration-packs" target="_blank">UD AK Race Vest 2.0</a></li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/mens-houdini-jacket-windbreaker?p=24140-0" target="_blank">Patagonia Houdini Jacket</a></li>
<li><a href="http://melanzana.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/39/products_id/76" target="_blank">Melanzana Hard Face Beanie</a></li>
</ul>
</ul>
Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-39567805979677028222014-01-31T09:38:00.000-07:002014-01-31T09:38:57.532-07:00Month in Review (January)<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">1/2010: 58.7 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">1/2011: 97.6 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">1/2012: 123.2 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">1/2013: 128.4 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">1/2014: 166.0 miles</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">A pretty solid month of training for me for this time of year. After a less than consistent <a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2014/01/month-in-review-december.html" target="_blank">December</a>, I set a January PR for total mileage, vertical, and time. I managed to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. And, I logged two long runs during the month, which was my incredibly ambitious goal and puts me... um, let's see... exactly two longs runs ahead of where I was in my training at this time last year. Nice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">I branched out a bit this January and did far more snowshoeing than I have in the past. While much slower than running the roads around town, I feel it's still a very solid workout. Most importantly, it kept things interesting and helped me maintain my motivation. Preparing for the <a href="http://www.itsyourrace.com/Results.aspx?&id=384&yr=2014&e=5798&sort=&g=&age=&pg=11" target="_blank">Bighorn 100</a> in June means I'll be doing a lot more training in the winter months, so variety is key. I just managed to acquire a pair of skate ski boots-- the final piece of the puzzle-- which means I've got yet another hobby to explore on the trails around town. Between telemark skiing, nordic skiing, skate skiing, snowshoeing, the bike trainer, and (yes) running, I think I've got all my bases covered!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Speaking of snowshoeing, the first inaugural <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/232269416944723/" target="_blank">Leadville Snowhoe Marathon</a> is tomorrow! We just got the biggest dump of snow I've seen since moving to Colorado seven years ago. So much, that <a href="http://leadvilletoday.com/" target="_blank">the roof of the old, historic pharmacy in town collapsed</a> overnight! And it's not over. Apparently <a href="http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=39.2750853&lon=-106.29929119999997&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=Leadville%2C%20CO%2080461%2C%20USA#.UuvOufldV8E" target="_blank">we could get another 6-12"</a> before tomorrow morning!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">So, come on up and embrace the brutality of a 26.2 mile romp around Turquoise Lake in 30+" of fresh powder! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Yeehaw!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSUBps01SkfMpn-sZmLH6vMqs72G0KMP8nQLgjDXEVPUxmI-qlTjmEPYshouYkZFWtDyjhVTRQY-kbgZy8MrQRywhlTIVWvu7GxWrIOoHmMFI6JMUdK2jcyuN1nLz1ngjO6CWp4ZBnx20/s1600/IMG_1948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSUBps01SkfMpn-sZmLH6vMqs72G0KMP8nQLgjDXEVPUxmI-qlTjmEPYshouYkZFWtDyjhVTRQY-kbgZy8MrQRywhlTIVWvu7GxWrIOoHmMFI6JMUdK2jcyuN1nLz1ngjO6CWp4ZBnx20/s1600/IMG_1948.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to escape the snow in Buena Vista earlier in the month.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSvjK8Zo0FrC9ikwKXHZ1cbLk4rNbFCPQlk2sBn7wEEgUbDJ1Jpc48AjVOHgbjri-UvlbYvbuqOy9TfTjYKBEvRUKjiuoWTc4jVlLyUs1YFF2EBi4XqzhXwFYukMUKYdY2YFEc6cDZpw/s1600/IMG_1988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSvjK8Zo0FrC9ikwKXHZ1cbLk4rNbFCPQlk2sBn7wEEgUbDJ1Jpc48AjVOHgbjri-UvlbYvbuqOy9TfTjYKBEvRUKjiuoWTc4jVlLyUs1YFF2EBi4XqzhXwFYukMUKYdY2YFEc6cDZpw/s1600/IMG_1988.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ethan's new hydration solution. All 18 month olds need one.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHSOI6I1i1tj4FeNuNP0yraNWuefUobITylzReH09Us8fvK14l6yt3BveUgHoS9xJvH916xnFbGMFFaA-VpHepMlMDiigGRKXHKnkiI4sg3aeXfrVTZegPLzcmT_2MfALP9mYicrtReo/s1600/IMG_2003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHSOI6I1i1tj4FeNuNP0yraNWuefUobITylzReH09Us8fvK14l6yt3BveUgHoS9xJvH916xnFbGMFFaA-VpHepMlMDiigGRKXHKnkiI4sg3aeXfrVTZegPLzcmT_2MfALP9mYicrtReo/s1600/IMG_2003.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scraping 3ft of snow off our roof this morning. I'm up to my waist in snow.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZZB3DE_7KCkBCutT3TyUWR9RvFVStBB67khNHdLD6owvcpvM5uZ5h-0GM4kY9V9QT09y038jPwTB4nA8OS6wsq8eXT2RykuwwN1K13U8n8w2WFRaZ7dolA5Mh-RekPn6tvqqK4j16-w/s1600/IMG_2010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZZB3DE_7KCkBCutT3TyUWR9RvFVStBB67khNHdLD6owvcpvM5uZ5h-0GM4kY9V9QT09y038jPwTB4nA8OS6wsq8eXT2RykuwwN1K13U8n8w2WFRaZ7dolA5Mh-RekPn6tvqqK4j16-w/s1600/IMG_2010.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the house from the shack (my office).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3854962314085158349.post-29383543833006878852014-01-09T15:43:00.001-07:002014-01-09T15:58:18.852-07:00Year in Review (2013)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
2010: 1249.7 miles, 274:08 hours, ? vertical feet</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
2011: 1796.4 miles, 356:47 hours, 227,206 vertical feet</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
2012: 1804.7 miles, 352:10 hours, 254,368 vertical feet</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
2013: 1896.9 miles, 364:18 hours, 276,823 vertical feet</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Last year was by far my most consistent, high performing, and enjoyable year of running yet. I feel truly fortunate to have had such a successful year-- setting PRs at so many races.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
If I had to pick one adjective to describe my results in 2013, I would probably have to go with "surprising".</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://pb-runner.blogspot.com/2013/01/2013-training-plan.html" target="_blank">My training goals for the year</a> were very modest-- conservative, even. Just don't get injured. Ethan was just an infant, and I had no idea how I was going to be able to get out for any long runs while juggling two young kids. I planned to log more miles during the week on shorter runs because I feared that I wouldn't be able to consistently get out on the weekends. I cut back on my racing, sticking only to the closest races to minimize my travel time. There was no big, new race on the horizon to motivate me. Every race I ran, I had run before. I just planned to try to balance running and life in a sustainable way, keep a flexible schedule, and maybe train and race a bit smarter than I had before.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
And what happened? Somehow, <b><i>with just 12 extra hours of training over the course of the entire year</i></b>, I big buckled at Leadville, set six separate PRs, and improved my finishing times by over 10%.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Wow. Somehow the minor adjustments I made during my training had a huge, unexpected impact. I still can't quite believe it. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5fpZGciB1dKgrVVmJMQVac6t8GadpP-JLq4hpPI7qgqo3uSpC_0PfQuU5c-AMHIs2P_WJ2Sxct__0blAr0g5dD6vYqsPkSuWyCCKb-XOhYXC8aYeyIZqm6k7nkoo7zkqenPd-5d6pXA/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+1242013+92537+AM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5fpZGciB1dKgrVVmJMQVac6t8GadpP-JLq4hpPI7qgqo3uSpC_0PfQuU5c-AMHIs2P_WJ2Sxct__0blAr0g5dD6vYqsPkSuWyCCKb-XOhYXC8aYeyIZqm6k7nkoo7zkqenPd-5d6pXA/s640/Fullscreen+capture+1242013+92537+AM.bmp.jpg" height="73" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Historical performance data for the races I commonly run. Pay attention to the far right column.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
What did I do differently this year? Lots of little things, I think.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Consistency.</b> Even though my total miles didn't radically increase, I trained almost every single day. That meant more shorter runs during the week. The meant 3-mile runs around the block in the dark after I put the kids to bed. That meant hitting the bike trainer for 30 minutes if the weather was horrible. I managed to get some exercise almost every day.</li>
<li><b>Consistency.</b> Even though I ran zero back-to-back longs runs, I ran at least one ~20 mile run every week from March to August. In total, I ran seven more long runs than I did in 2012. I have no idea how I managed to do that. Luck, an understanding wife, and a lot of babysitters, I guess! Thank you!</li>
<li><b>Consistency.</b> I didn't taper significantly for any of my non-focus races. I tried to keep my weekly numbers from see-sawing like they did last year. Sometime around June, I set a 50 mile, 10,000 feet of vertical weekly minimum and stuck to it. (This is one of the reasons I logged more long runs.)</li>
<li><b>Consistency.</b> My training and racing were never derailed by a significant injury. No ITBS. Plenty of stretching, resistance band strengthening, and foam rolling.</li>
<li><b>Quality.</b> I didn't do any of the speed work that I tentatively planned to at the beginning of the year, but I hit the hills hard during the summer-- especially during the week. I would play games where I'd try to get more elevation which each midweek run starting with ~700 ft on Monday and ending with ~1,300 ft on Friday. I kept raising the elevation gain on my long runs throughout my training.</li>
<li><b>Lower body weight.</b> At 6'5", I've always been a pretty skinny guy and I've never really had to worry about my weight. But, somehow-- I think due to my more consistent training-- I found myself weighing around 8 lbs lighter than I had in previous years, dropping to 170ish from 178ish. The only major dietary change that I can think of is that I ate slightly fewer calories for lunch. More salads. Fewer chips.</li>
<li><b>Liquid nutrition.</b> I ran all my races solely consuming a homemade maltodextrin-based energy drink. The longer the race, the bigger the impact. While I still made plenty of in-race nutrition/hydration mistakes, I did much, much better than I have in previous years. It's so nice to have your fitness be your limiting factor-- not your stomach. I don't think there's anything particularly magical about what I drank, just that I was finally able to get ~300 calories/hour.</li>
<li><b>Less time spent at aid stations.</b> This mostly applies to the 100, but also to the 50. I was in and out of aid stations way faster than I have in the past-- sometimes skipping them entirely. This strategy easily saved me an hour during the 100 and is the only reason I big buckled.</li>
<li><b>Montrail FluidFlexes.</b> 9 oz per shoe. Plenty of cushion. They rock.</li>
<li><b>More experience.</b> In many ways all these changes are due to my growing experience as a long distance runner. So much of running is an exercise in self awareness and self diagnosis-- especially at the ultra distance. What's the right level of effort? How is running 50 miles supposed to feel? What is natural fatigue vs. low-energy due to lack of calories? Why am I dizzy? Why do I have a side stitch? Should I drink more? Should I drink less? Where the hell is the finish line?</li>
</ol>
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2013 went so well that beginning another year of training is a little daunting. There is no way I'm going to match last year's improvements! Yet I'm excited. There's still plenty of room for improvement. There are always new things to learn.</div>
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I post my training data not to satisfy my ego, but in hopes that it might help someone else with their training in some small way. Each of our situations is unique, but I think we can all learn from each other. I know I have benefited greatly from reading other runners' race reports and training blogs.</div>
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Here's to 2014!</div>
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Cheers!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-pGKl1laku1rssS0vR1TBXEKvCflZ4xv3eh09QeN2DHFuR_U-fQ70UIFTVK2ZwbofPcIYTW0kNwiiBL39bxsTcQyUMpEemezoL30LxDsbFO5R3XxQKxpU0SaHhxo27iiQtrCoB_gruao/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+192014+14947+PM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-pGKl1laku1rssS0vR1TBXEKvCflZ4xv3eh09QeN2DHFuR_U-fQ70UIFTVK2ZwbofPcIYTW0kNwiiBL39bxsTcQyUMpEemezoL30LxDsbFO5R3XxQKxpU0SaHhxo27iiQtrCoB_gruao/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+192014+14947+PM.bmp.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My weekly mileage for 2013 (up until Leadville).</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBBpzwcYi74TvnwWeDAZRaPG4QqT98RyVgj3rRdzvJHSIB8S8GeBjNbdhhCfMurQ0utNiRcLUH1hzN-y31wUa3oC3-V-njn2IRXweh9-USS8ANECR0UIkXkAJj8TxphVwnZlVMZpMbWGE/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+192014+15122+PM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBBpzwcYi74TvnwWeDAZRaPG4QqT98RyVgj3rRdzvJHSIB8S8GeBjNbdhhCfMurQ0utNiRcLUH1hzN-y31wUa3oC3-V-njn2IRXweh9-USS8ANECR0UIkXkAJj8TxphVwnZlVMZpMbWGE/s1600/Fullscreen+capture+192014+15122+PM.bmp.jpg" height="227" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My weekly vertical for 2013 (up until Leadville)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3_2wRmKyB5Ftg2upcirYSxUv4eEcZIsq8CEwfdDhJHs70zpeqEZeklz3k8H32sT6W01mxFlCcnvotujZAqezDBa6faR53yAmRhMWCQ7_BWgytZg7un_T8gwPl6JmW6CoM3o_9HoVtec/s1600/Training+2013.ods+-+OpenOffice.org+Calc+9122013+20335+PM.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF3_2wRmKyB5Ftg2upcirYSxUv4eEcZIsq8CEwfdDhJHs70zpeqEZeklz3k8H32sT6W01mxFlCcnvotujZAqezDBa6faR53yAmRhMWCQ7_BWgytZg7un_T8gwPl6JmW6CoM3o_9HoVtec/s1600/Training+2013.ods+-+OpenOffice.org+Calc+9122013+20335+PM.bmp.jpg" height="400" width="370" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Green = long run, Bold = race, Yellow = bike (1 mi/10 min), Blue = snowshoe/ski.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Andrew Reiffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17399094750385289663noreply@blogger.com2