Olympic withdrawal and such

I totally get what lovers of professional football feel like when the season ends.  Now that the Olympics are over, I found myself a bit starved for some good track action.  While the DL meets seem like an after thought analogous to the Pro Bowl, the Paris meet did not disappoint.  Heck, I even watched the super fast 3k in French (I think).  And yeah, while I recognize the performances might be PED tainted, I am stull a sucker for it.  First Muir’s closing long push is pretty fun to watch.

And then this 3k is sick with sixty second lap after sixty second lap …

It has been bitched about elsewhere but really Nike … can’t you do something to mix up the uniforms a bit more?

Ward ran the last 2.2 k of the marathon faster than everyone except Kipchoge?

Quite the weekend in the ultra world, with the chatter being about the number of DNFs at UTMB.

Apparently HR dropped the number of participants from 152 back down to 145 (after a previous increase to 152 from 140).   And no changes to the qualifier list.

Good interview with Huddle covering her Olympic experience.  And her NYCM prep.

Last week’s “training” was really more about getting into good habits again.  I got in some hill work on Monday (actually two sessions) and Wednesday.  On Sunday I did a “long” run of 10 and change.  Not really long but as most of my runs have been 5 miles as of late (if not a burro race), I will look to build off that.  I am also really trying to keep the runs appropriately focused.  It is easy for me to slip into the 8-8:30 pace for all the stuff so I am trying to either not care about the pace (super easy) or get on the work a bit (get out of the comfort zone a bit more). 

Today was more hill work with the kids.  I get my butt kicked but the group thing keeps me honest.

Workouts and stuff

So I have been trying to get back on the horse (burro?) of doing some training other than just basic runs. 

I happened to be in the People’s Republic on Monday and had some time between meet ups.  I headed over to Buff Ranch to do some work over there.  Buff Ranch is the CU XC course but I don’t think they use it much anymore.  After a short warm up I did four of the hills, which for me start at the first turn in the course (on the flat).  You head almost due west for about 125 yards, then head up Jawbone Hill.  Once you crest the hill and it flattens again, you continue on to the M4mi sign.  It is a good gear changer between flat, hill and then getting rolling on the flat again. These were taking me between 2:40 to 2:50. It is about four tenths long, and if you jog the back side of the hill you get a touch over another six tenths in the loop.  I wanted to do more but the clock was pressing me.

That afternoon, I jumped in with the XC kids at the school.  They had 5 x a minute at a 7/10 effort, and then 6 x 30’’ at a 8,9/10 effort with a jog back down and 20’’ recovery.  It is amazing to see how easily these kids float on these and my only chance to stick with them is to dig pretty deep.  I was pretty fatigued in the legs form the earlier session in the day.  It got fairly hot and the dust on the Lake Link hill made the workout a bit tougher than it normally would be.

I have been getting out with TZ in the AM to walk the dogs and I saw a guy doing repeats on the so-called “Col d’Kohl” hill recently.  Motivated by this I swung by the hill later in the AM and got in 8 repeats on it.  Each effort is about 50-55 seconds long.  Some work needs to be done to get them back down to the 45s they were at one time.

All these workouts are not amounting to much in overall volume but my fitness ain’t that great right now so it does not take much to work me over.  No magic here other than the basic elements of getting out of your comfort zone, working weaknesses, and looking to do it a bit regularly.  If I can get on some hills every few days, maybe twice a week, and toss in a tempo in the once a week, I can take this getting ready to get ready to get ready and dial it down to just two of those.  Or sumthin’ like that.

Some recent pix …

While watching the Valmont XC meet, I was running across the tall grasses and must of hit a yellow jacket nest.  I got dinged about 10 times.  Ouch.

It is interesting watching JZ progress.  There is the component where I am emotionally tied to him and ride his happiness or disappointment with any given race, workout or run.  Mostly I am a step away from that, trying to be a parent that supports, is an open ear, regardless of outcome, and then there is a step away from that where I am just an objective bystander, coach that might be able to provide some help … if he wants it.  He is figuring this thing out, and even though I am involved with the team, it is his thing to work through.  It is a bit of a ride for me.  I mean, it is good because I know he is growing from it, regardless of the outcome, but at the same time I know he is pretty tied to that outcome. 

This bit of insight into Zach Miller’s living is making the rounds.

I met this guy when on a training run out in Leadville last year.

Monday morning quarterbacking

Excellent podcast from House of Run with Malcolm Gladwell wrapping up on the Olympics.  They take on loads of topics, including intersex athletes running in women’s events.  Gladwell dissects the recent NY Times article (and similar) on the topic.  I think this SOS on it is excellent.

Sean O’Day apparently ran the PPA in a g-dam gorrilla suit.  Good God.

Wesley Sandoval took fourth at Leadville in 18:40 and now has the Leadman record in 35:54:55 breaking Travis Macy’s three year old record.  Going into the run race, it seemed that Aish would most certainly get the record as he “only” needed a 19:32 to nab it.  Given his abilities and history, that seemed like a walk in the park.  My fanboy thought going in was that he is too geared to go for the win, crush the race and that it was a coin flip as to whether he’d run 17 hours or 22 hours.  It ended up the latter.  I mean no criticism of Mike, as his stripes are his stripes and the desire to go for it is admirable.  But it can leave a mark.

Looks like summer is over.

King’s implosion from Outward Bound in …a morbid curiosity overtook  me and  I had to check:  I took 7 hours (almost exactly) to cover those last 25 miles.  Max took 7:50. .  Aish took just under seven hours.   Jaime was a little more than that.  I can relate.  A grind to get it done.  Ugh.

Saturday night at Periodic Brewing Bob and I caught up with another Front Range area runner.  We got into a conversation that we had before – the entire conundrum about what we seek in these events: fulfillment or accomplishment.  For me, I am not sure they can be entirely separate, but I get the difference.  You can feel fulfilled even if you have not met the expected goal of the accomplishment.  Ultras embody this more than any other race because the accomplishment is often just to finish.

I have been churning on this thought for a bit.  I could go out and do a 5k on a local track with no one else around, no results posted, no bib or medal to take home.  Or I could run from Harrison to Winfield and back and save a few hundred bucks.  Putting a start line and finish line in the sand does something though, and not just for races.   My son earning the rank of Eagle Scout (if he does) has some importance to him.  Would he learn those skills and values anyway if he was seeking the fulfilment of it versus the accomplishment?  I find for myself I recognize that I am doing these things for some sort of personal fulfillment but the structure of an accomplishment helps drive it. 

Olympics:  yeah, I have been a sucker.  I am as equally as stoked to see some of the performances as I am doubtful about their legitimacy.  But I get sucked in every time.  Even if it was a 4:05 mile for Gold.

PPM:  Dobson has created quite a legacy on the mountain and her double win this past weekend further cements that.  Her record on the Ascent might be even more stout than Carpenters.  She now has six wins on the hill, which pushes her into legendary territory among the women.

Pretty fast double over the weekend (but not for the win) – from yesterday’s comments.  So was Weldemariam's double time the fastest ever? He ran 2:15, 2:19/3:42 for a combined 3:58. It looks like Carpenter ran 2:16, 2:24/3:53 for a combined 6:09 in 2001, and 2:12, 2:23/3:48 for a combined 6:00 in 2007. Of course Matt won all four of those races, so who is to say he couldn't have gone faster if pushed (although in 2007 Mackey was less than 2 minutes back in the marathon, and he only won the ascent by 3 minutes). He also might be the first person to run sub 2:20 on back-to-back days.  My reply:  In 1989 Carpenter went 2:08, 3:39 for a combo of 5:48. I think that is the fastest combo.

By the way Carpenter has 18 wins on the hill.  That is insane.  As I have said before, it gets to a point where the numbers are mind boggling enough that it becomes ho-hum.  If he had 10 wins that would be a big deal.  You sort of lose perspective as to what it means between numbers when it gets that high.

Some audio from Justin in the moments post the Buena Vista race. 

KZ’s latest pic to us this AM.

I was pinged recently by someone who asked why I don’t post my training up here any more.  Basically, I don’t feel like it is training right now … it is exercise.  5 miles a day does not really count for much, particularly when there is not a goal or objective other than maintaining some sort of basic fitness.  It could change though.  The head is geared a bit to getting some performance out of a 5k/10k distance … I’d just have to put a plan in place (other than basic consistency) to make that happen. 

That said, today I grunted on hill repeats over on Jawbone at Buff Ranch.

I owe JT a beer growler for his 3:12 after calling out the other day he wouldn’t break 3:18.  There has been a protest appeal lodged however for DNFing the next day.   Jury is still out.

Few quick Pikes, Leadville and Olympic thoughts

Centro gold in the 1500.  Wow.  First time an American male has got Olympic gold in that event in over a century.  And the slowest time to win the event since 1932.  Got to credit Centro though:  the man knows how to control a race and be well positioned.  Andrews should take notes.  Pretty amazing how both 1500 races turned into 800 meter events (I think they both went out in 2:11).

Joe's time is the sixth fastest on the climb of Pikes ever (on the current course).  Only Carpenter, Meija, Rodriguez and Smead have gone faster (and Smead may have taken a different route).  2:05 is rare air.   For those who have not played along in the past … the ascent record is 2:01 by Carpenter and that came in the marathon.  That is sick. 

No doubt this has to be one of the best Olympics in track for distance running.  The only bummer for me was the number of 163.3( b) infractions that caused so many DQs.   The women’s 800 leaves me a bit irked too but that is a tough issue.  Trivia question for these games in a year will be what American won the silver in the 5k? 

Sharman gets a third Leadville win.  This has become another day at the office for him.   While there was some early competition for Ian up front (from Max), it seems that Leadville is not a competitive rich  or deep environment.  Because of their entry policies, it naturally draws a lot of first timers.  As it is not a sacred HR qualifier, many vets turn to other races.  It probably still has a black eye with some from the 2013 over reg issues.  It doesn’t even seem to get IRF coverage these days.  And with more 100s in the country than ever, it is not surprising it is not “a go to” race as it may have been in the past.

Leadville 100 weekend

After JZ’s XC time trial on Saturday AM, I headed up to Leadville, specifically the Outward Bound aid station to catch some of the LT action.  I got up there around 2 in the afternoon.  It was almost eerily quiet as the place was essentially abandoned as the morning wave of outbound runners had long past and it was  few hours before the returnees would show up. 

It became a full on aid and crew station for a mountain 100 of course.  After spending a half dozen hours there I made my way back into town with Bob.  We did some hanging out at the finish, and then headed back to his place for a few hours of sleep.  We swung back around in the AM and caught the scene at the finish again.    I got to observe it a bit more than I had, as I had never been up here before to watch the race (only participated last year).  All of it reminded me of a few things …

- 100s are not easy.   Out of all the folks I saw come in, all of them looked at the very least worked in some regard.  I know that sounds obvious but I’d say all but two (Sharman, Stanciu)  that I saw looked pretty messed up.  Even those that were in psuedo good shape were talking about a dark patch or tough stretch they had.  Most were not in good shape and were dealing with the reality that hits you after you have done nearly 80 miles in 12-16 hours.  Wretched stomachs, dehydration, lack of calories, sore legs, blown out connective tissue, chaffing, vomit, blisters, etc.  There were a few that had dropped out here (or sooner), but most were gearing up for their battle up the Powerline and the cooler temps of the night despite having endured this self inflicted misery.  You are essentially signing up to break yourself multiple times over and it    These are tough and well trained people and in some cases elite athletes.  Folks like Aish and King… Broken.  At the finish regular joes are unable to get into a car seat without assistance of people.  The med tent there is not just a precaution, but almost an expected pit stop.  Few have the race they hope for.  Most are riding on a dream and they watch that dream start to turn into a minor nightmare as the sun sets.

100s are effin’ hard.  I really question if it is a smart thing to do.

- If you want to finish with a flourish of a great party at Leadville, run around 28 to 30 hours.  At that time there are hundreds of people out cheering, vendors selling, crews enjoying coffee, etc.  It is a big party out there with Merilee and Ken and your name getting announced over a microphone.   If you finish at 20 hours (or 21 or 22 or in the middle of the night), there ain’t much there.  No lady giving hugs.  A few folks clapping but the music is quiet.  Bob and I congratulated a masters runner that finished under 20 hours – it was really the race of his life.  He was sitting by himself under a heater and contemplating how he’d sleep in his car.  No real fanfare.  Just an odd contrast.

- My head started doing the insidious math that draws people back to these events, especially when I saw folks spending huge chunks of time in the aid station.  I get that 2 minutes extra spent might mean you are better off for the next three hours, but when you see folks messing with stuff for a half an hour… not good math to do.

- Watching the lights from head lamps move across the course from Bob’s house in the middle of the night is definitely a “whoa” moment.

- If anyone ever breaks Carpenter’s record up there, there will be a storm of talk about how the course has changed, what was harder, faster, slower, easier.  From what I gather once you get to Fish Hatchery, there have been a variety of modifications over the years. 

Between Leadville and Pikes, there are a million little stories to tell and to hear and catch up on.  For me, it was great to be up watching this one from the sidelines and spending some time with great people, and even  getting to catch a little inspiration.

Pikes Predictions 2015

JV and Donnie … this is for you.

I ran with JV today for a short bit.  He is heading down to Pikes this weekend so it was a short easy jog.

I have been pretty non-attuned to Pikes this year which is unusual as it was THE race for me for so many years.  I am not sure why that is the case.  Shifting jobs to my own business, getting a kid graduated and off to Europe, going canoeing in Canada, recovering from injury, helping with the team at the HS … it just has all filled up the space.  I don’t think I am burned out on running or Pikes or any of it as much as a variety of events dealt me up a break this year. 

But talking to Jeff, it did get me a bit fired up on it.  For the first time this year I went and eyeballed start lists.  Every time I look at those lists I think it is the deepest field ever.  I just see piles of good athletes.  At the same time, I know that at least half won’t show up, or will blow their races by Barr Camp, or otherwise get ripped up by the hill.  It is a tough race. 

At first glance, it seems that Nichols is the favorite for the PPM win on the men’s side.  Macias could be a strong challenger however.  I just like that Nichols has the experience on both directions of the hill and a greater depth of experience in the long stuff over Mario.   Vargo and Ricks will certainly be strong in there as well.  Parr as a former PPA winner pops out but he seems to be a few years past his best years and he is doubling.  Maksimow also is doubling but I’d probably put those two guys in the top 10.  Burrell (another former winner) will be in there as well.

How in the name of Matt Carpenter Miyahci got a competitive entry is beyond me.

On the PPM women’s side, I like Shay slightly over Dobson in part because Dobson is doubling.  Shay does not have Pikes experience but she is no rookie to the longer or mountain stuff.  Dobson normally ought to have enough room at the top given her climbing prowess to hold off Alicia, but I will take the fresh runner there.  Fleury (former winner), Ortiz, Lunkel will all be in the mix there as well.

Mens masters:  Dickey looks to be the favorite again with Solberg and JV right there, but the challenge with masters is there is always a younger guy popping in at the bottom of the bracket.  Those guys are 45-47.  But I think their motivation to get a free entry for next year (versus paying 180 bucks) will drive them to the podium there.  None of these guys broke 4:30 last year, so if someone shows up and does that they ought to get the win.  It is supposed to be a bit cooler so maybe times will be faster. 

PPA Women – even though she is doubling, this is her event and it is day 1:  Dobson FTW.

I will go with Miyahara over Wacker for the win on the mens side, Blake gets in the mix.  Manning ought to show well if he can stay on the course.   Others in the top ten will be Parr and Maskimow (I will go with Peter as the doubler winner).  Gerald B the GOAT ought to secure the mens master win here (and he is a doubler as well).

Not much on the picking there compared to last year but that is a quick analysis.  Time guesses:  PPM M – 3:47, PPM W- 4:28, PPM Ma: 4:33, PPA M 2:11, PPA F:  2:32, PPA Ma 2:41.

Fire away and tell me what I got wrong.  I am sure I am overlooking like 2 dozen really good names.

I am not expecting to make it down to Pikes because I’d probably have a stroke to watch the race and not run it.  2017?  Hmm.  Maybe. 

Was this my last Pikes finish (from 2014)?

Oh yeah, JT will get crushed by Amanda.  Most important race of the weekend.  If JT breaks 3:18, regardless of place against anyone, I am good for putting up a growler for him.

Is your game an Olympic sport?

Note to self, you need yellow shoes to run faster in the 5k:

This might be the most amazing story of all the Olympics.  H/T to Brownie.

Jager – damn good run.  Looked hot as blazes.  I saw 33C on the vid and that is at least 91.  The guy who ate the steeple with his face … ouch.  I think this meet has been periled with more falls, dives and painful to watch injuries than any I can remember.  On that note, Abby D is confirmed out as everyone probably saw. 

While there is a cloud of suspicion over all the Olympic T&F events, it is clearly shaping up to be one of the best showings for the US distance squad ever.  In most of the distance events, the US is coming home with some hardware.   One exception is the women’s marathon, but putting 3 in the top ten is a pretty stout accomplishment.  Women’s 10k is another exception but Huddle got an AR there.   Rupp was 5th in the 10k on the men’s side, which in past Olympics would have been considered over the moon.  There are alot of events to go, but so far if you have been putting money on the US being on the podium, you are doing ok.

I was thinking about Van Nierkerk’s 400.  Technically it was in Lane 9 as no one ran in lane 1.  So is that easier to run faster in because the curve is more gentle or is it harder because he has no one to see the entirety of the race?  That guy … man … only human to go sub 10, sub 20 and sub 44.  Wow.

The pole vault final … watched it.  It got a bit intense.

This sort of conversation reminded me of how my head spins each time I head to Cork.  It is English but it takes me a day to figure it out. 

I have been baiting some of the HS kids (and occasionally some adults) into the following conversation:  “should this be an Olympic sport?”  Typical stuff – should golf be an Olympic sport?  How about trampoline?  Table tennis?  Dressage?

Mostly for the sake of getting people worked up, I have created the following “rules” to determine if your sport ought to be an Olympic sport.
1.)  you have to create significant amounts of lactic acid.
2.)  all “judged” sports are out. 
3.)  if your sport has a championship that is bigger than the Olympics, that sport is out.
4.)  the exception to rule 3 is that if the Olympics create a venue by which there is international competition that would otherwise not exist, then you can be in the Olympics.

So a few examples … rule 1 drops sports like archery.  Probably table tennis as well. 
Rule 2 drops trampoline, gymnastics, diving, all synchronized swimming.  Boxing can only exist if the bouts go to a knock out.  No judged competitions (there is good reason for this beyond whether the sport should be in the Olympics or not … look up the Irish fighter that just got screwed by the Russian judges).  Rule 3 … tennis should not be in the Olympics because Wimbledon is bigger.  Soccer – out, World Cup is bigger.  Golf, out, you have the masters.  But by way of rule 4, basketball and baseball could be in because that is the only place that you can see Cuba crush the US in a 9 inning game.  Hockey stays in because of this too. 

Games like curling are out.  Still a cool game, and I might watch it elsewhere but it is not an Olympic sport.  With the drop of all these games, you can add items like the underwater swim (how far can you swim underwater without coming up for a breath), the highest dive contest (flip as many times as you want but that doesn’t mean crap, the gold goes to the guy who dives from the space shuttle and lives), and chicken fights.

Also, if swimming can have at least four events at the 100 meter distance (free, butterfly, back and breaststroke), then track gets to have the 100 meter backward run, the 100 meter crab walk, the 100 meter wheel barrow race, and the 100 meter spoon race.

Apparently Kemboi was DQ’d because of this infraction: 

That is pretty weak. 

Blahgy blather

The finish at BV was pretty tight.

Checked out the real world for a few hours last night with JZ and TZ and caught a Rox game.

It is interesting to me that baseball is such a stat driven sport – more than any other sport it seems, even track where we know splits to a gnat’s rear end of detail.  When a guy gets up to bat I immediately see his batting average, how many at bats he has had, hits, doubles, triples, homers, stolen bases and on base percentage.  The pitcher he faces?  I immediate see in the stadium how many pitches he has pitched, what type of pitch his last pitch was an how fast, how many strikes and ball he has thrown, his ERA, his WHIP, his innings pitched … baseball is king of crazy numbers.

I am also interested and perhaps even bothered by how there is this constant noise to do stuff at a game.  No half inning could pass without there being some sort of contest race on the field or on the board.  People could not start to sing a song without the speakers blasting it to start.  How the heck did we ever get the “wave” going back in the day without someone over a PA driving us to do it?

No predictions for Pikes from me this year.  I just have not been on top of it.

Leadville would seem to favor Sharman but I spoke with Dooper in BV.  He thinks King is the man to beat.  It will be interesting to see what Aish does coming off the bike.  Can he hold back enough to secure the Leadman will or will he be too eager to chase the leaders?

Simpson … her last 800 was sub 2.  That is impressive.  Of course they went out in like 75.  Keep in mind … Ayana threw in a 2:13 800 and 4:14 1500 in the middle of her 10k.

Abby D’s knee roll looked stupid painful … and I confess I went back and watched it about a half dozen times.  Apparently she went through to the finial on a protest.  I am hearing her ACL/MCL is a mess … so it could be a very long road back  … I am not expecting her to run in the final.

Good morning shakeout by Mario.

I was watching the 217 heats of the 110 hurdles and my in laws were wondering why no one was winning a medal for these races.

Stuff

Latest pic from KZ in Germany.  Enjoying a vineyard.


Try the 2% change.

Coburn for the bronze, and nearly got the silver.  Yeah, given she comes out and does stuff to connect with the local kids, I will admit I am a bit of a fan.  She was down 40-50 meters at 2k, so it was a helluva battle for her to come back that well. 

Apparently a burro racer was not having the race they wanted to have in BV yesterday and they rode their donkey back into town.  Obviously they were DQ’d but that is pretty … ahem … bad ass.

Women’s 10k splits by the 200.

It is a nutty track meet.  Three world records already and nearly another in the women’s steeple. 

Greg W mentioned to me that we are probably watching the best track met of all time.  I can’t help but agree.   Lot of empty seats for that though.

I still crack up that the games are in Brazil.  A Spanish speaking nation.  All the announcing … uh, English and French. 

No race captures me (to watch) more than the 800.  There are so many stories in this year’s Olympic 8.

• Doubling as the gold medalist in the 8 is a big deal.
• The facial expressions and gamemanship that the runners take on in the start is way too fascinating to me.  Bosse covers the e in his name so it reads Boss.  Clayton and Rudisha are super stoic.
• Everyone is winded at the finish except Makhloufo  Not being winded at the end of a race – ESPECIALLY THE 800 – makes no sense to me (ultras aside).
• When you have 3 Kenyans in the final, I guess you are allowed to have one serve as a rabbit that goes out in 23.
• Murphy’s arc is astounding. 
• Bosse going from 2nd to 4th from 150 to go to the finish is not unusual in an 8, but still has to be a bit heartbreaking.
• What Rudisha does at 300 to go is nuts.
• Rudisha staring at the screen with 125 to go drove me nuts.
• Three guys under 1:43 for the medals.  Still, that puts in perspective how flipping awesome London and 2012 Rudisha was in 1:40.9
• Berian, 8th.  Last in the final.  Did not see that coming.  Or Clayton medaling.  Wow.
• Yes, I recognize it can all be suspect.  The cynic in me screams that.  But the kid runner geek in me still gets cranked up on these sort of races.
• Rudisha is Masai for BAMF.

Buena Vista Gold Rush Days

And like that – Pack Burro Racing season is effectively done.  Yeah, there is maybe one more race and I will be jogging with Jack but the primary race season, that being the Triple Crown is done.

Short version:  Jack and I struck our consistent gear that is great for long hauls in the mountains but is not enough to pull in a win in the short flat stuff.  We came in fifth.  I am really happy with the how the season played out.  Over the course of the season, no burro ran the three long races better than Jack. 

A bit longer:  I approached the race free of anxiety and expectation, knowing our capabilities and without pressure to “win” a Triple Crown.  Our strategy would be as it has been:  roll with what we are given and stick in it as long as we can.  This is important in all the races, but it probably gets exaggerated at BV as the race gets out quick, and given its short nature gaps (like what we had in Leadville last week) don’t have as many miles to cover.

We got out at a pretty good clip, and while Jack and I were about 40 meters down as we turned towards the the river, we slowly were able to bridge up as the pace became a bit more sane.  Photo by J Doke.



We worked our way up the Midline trail.  I have come to see how folks get particularly anxious here, one way or the other.  You can want to drive hard in here to get away or to cover a move but my experience is that if you keep basic contact with the lead group here, you are okay.  Jack and I were doing that from second to eighth.  

A good group emerged onto the road.  There were eight teams in the mix, including 3 mini teams.  The mini teams are a bit of a threat that are unknown to the longer racers as this is a bit more their bread and butter.  They don’t race with the same weight requirements as the full size donks, and are a bit fresher from not having done 29 and 20 miles in the weeks prior.  And Joel and Jon V do a damn good job of keeping those little buggers moving (Crazyhorse and Buckwheat).

In past years we were able to pick which direction we did the Gentleman’s Loop lollipop.  I had always gone CCW on it because that is the direction the group of us elected to go when we got there (keep the donks moving together).  This year, at the start line they told us we’d have to all go left there for safety reasons.  We did this and I found myself annoyed it.  Rather than jumping on the more challenging single track early and getting the big smooth road drops late, it was reversed and it seemed like it was slower and keeping more teams in the mix.  I could see no safety issue really and I was a bit irked.  And then I was irked at the fact that I was irked because in reality we were all doing the same damn race anyway. 

As we went through the rolling roads, the mini teams got a 40 yard or so advantage and then the next near half dozen teams grouped.  But as the road dropped into single track, Justin / Yukon and Bob / Alice made a big jump of a move.  Jack was bit cautious as he has been on the down and we could not cover it.  The guys were not getting away super fast, but over a minute it was 10 yards, and then 20 and then 50.  It was a great little squeezing of the trigger on a gear that no one else was going to be able to cover.

Kirt K/Mary Margaret and Louise K/Pandora and I formed our own little pack through the single track.  We passed by the minis well, but we could not cover the distance the others were making.  As we came onto the main road again, Kirt drove out a bit faster than us.  After we crossed the bridge, Louise / Pandora made a strong drive up the finish street.  Jack and I quietly slipped up into fifth.  Photo by JT.

At the front there was apparently a helluva race between Bob and Justin and their burros.  Photo by Justin (somehow).


In the end, Justin nosed out the win.  I was genuinely stoked for both of these guys because Justin has had a tough season after being second in all the TC races last year.  And Bob has poured a lot of time, energy, effort and money into jumping into this sport his rookie year.  A lot of rookies show up and swing the rope and hope for some fun and success.  Bob has been down at the farm working with burros more days a week than not.  And even getting them up to altitude.  Photo by Bob.

Seeing them take 1-2 … well, while I would have loved to have been up there, I am glad those two guys got it … Laughing Valley Ranch stacking the podium so to speak.

In addition to regular prizes, we were laughing at the fact that we all got a bag of screwdrivers.  Only in burro racing.

Oh, as we wound through the serpentine trails on the way back I found myself wondering if there had been some changes to the course.  It seemed like we were switching around a lot more than memory had served … but I was not sure if that was a trick of seeing the course the other direction.  At the finish, I found others wondering the same.  A little GPS comparison from this year to past years cleared it up. 

The first pic is my GPS track from this year. The second is the one from last year.  I think this makes the run about a half mile longer (about 13 v. 12.5). No worries really as well had to run the same course ... but it might help explain the slower times on whole (about 10 minutes ish).  I do – on a more subjective front – think the CW direction is slower and that there is no real safety issue there (and I grumped about that to a few folks that probably did not want to really hear it so I clammed up after a minute of it) … but again, it sort of does not matter as we all had the same race.

Again, a great season – a ton of people and things to be thankful and grateful for.  My family, the Wann clan, Bill Lee, Bob Sweeney and the Sweeney clan, and so many others in the “community.”  I am incredibly lucky. 

And this guy. 

More Olympics mutterings …

We are obliged as fans to question the women’s 10k.  Its winner was splitting 400s that were faster laps than what the women were doing for the 1500 heats.  She did not collapse at the finish.  The old record is considered to be one of the most doped records ever.  To not question it is simply irresponsible.  Enjoy the moment but recognize that it needs to be scrutinized.  It is just where track is at as a sport.

And yes, that is true of the good ole USA as well. 

I do raise question at the men’s 10k as well, but maybe not as much.  I mean they only ran the second 5k in 13:12, the last mile in 4:03.

Not going to ever happen because it is great for the fans, but I think the big screen in the stadiums messes with races too much to my liking.  It bugs me to see the athletes who are leading watching the screen so they can mark their competitors.  Okay, everyone has that advantage, but it seems to take a little too much away from the challenge of leading. 

Van Nierkerk’s record was nutty.  He actually looked more tired than the aforementioned 10k winner.  I had just walked in the door from Buena Vista (a 3 hour ride) and clicked up the streaming.  Boom.  WR.  I think that might be the first event where I have seen the last two records set “live” in the Olympics.

A 2:10 800 meter sophomore and a 4:46 senior (girls, both last year) just moved to my street.  My Strava FKTs to the third tree on the left are soon all gonna drop.

I have been querying some of the HS kids with this one:  What leg of a 4 x 800 would you want?  Interesting to hear the answers and the rationale as to why someone would want lead, anchor or a middle leg.  For what it is worth no one has said they want the third leg yet. 

Streaming coverage of the Olympics has been incredible.  I watched a few hours last night and it was amazing.  No interruptions with other sports, no woe is me human interest stories, no commentary on the looks of the competitors (other than what is normal like if they colored their hair green and gold for Jamaica), not a lot of homerism … just straight up competition talk.  I was enthralled with the women’s shot, hammer, etc … Good work on that.  I think it is the BBC under the covers of NBC Olympics. 

We have watched some events on replay and it is interesting as there is NO commentary on those (at least yet).  Somehow we had a great time watching that men’s 10k without anyone telling us anything about it.

Workout and world record watching

Morning started with a workout with at BrHS at Buff Ranch.  Post run we ended up at Flatirons and watched the ridiculous women’s 10k (WR!).

I can’t help but be a bit skeptical of the record.  At the same time watching the leaders rip sub 70 lap after lap was pretty exciting. 

Various

Okay, a few items of interest and grumping and joy …

I really dig the Morning Shakeout.
Good interview with a really nice guy – David Roche.
Latest ATC on EP
Latest ET if you enjoy self deprecating sarcasm.

I find I am struggling to enjoy much about watching the Olympics.  I recognize it is mostly me being a jaded old guy but I can only take so much of the Olympic medalist who has faced the toughest odds sap stories – have you heard about cupping? – performance enhancing drugs are okay with our federation but not theirs – made up drama competition between athlete - stories.  And then my general head shaking of sports that are probably fun, competitive and certainly challenging and probably even amazing to watch but I have serious doubts as to if they should be in the Olympics.  I watch it because I recognize my kid digs it.  That part is fun to me.

I recognize that I say this while my summer of competition has come in one of the most ridiculous and inane games there is:  Pack Burro Racing.  I get it.  This ain’t running a sub 13:30 on the track.  I know where it actually is as a game.  At the same time when I am in those races, I play the game as if it does matter on that scale.  How is that for a paradox?

It was the first year that the Leadville Boom Days allowed men to run the short course.  In the past, there was a long course, and a women’s course.  Women could run the long course, but men could not run the short.  Last year there was a slight bending of the rules to allow men under the age of 18 to run the women’s course but this year the gender distinctions were dropped altogether.  It cleared up the Triple Crown a bit on the women’s side because it was always a little bit of a question if the women’s TC was determined off the long course at Leadville or the short course.  Now it is just the long course.

So I am guessing that John Vincent’s win in the short course was a record.  Maybe.  2:17:56.  Then again, I would not be surprised if Barb Dolan ran that thing faster in the past.

The course lengths advertised for these races is hardly correct.  Fairplay is actually pretty close.  It advertises as 29 miles but comes on my GPS over the last 5 years as a 28.5 to 28.9.  That ain’t great but it is better than Leadville, which advertises as 21 (and sometimes 22) but comes in under 19.5 everytime I run it.  The short course appears to be 12.4 from what I have seen from other folks Strava tracks but it lists as 15 miles. 

I was kicking around with Bob this past weekend that we (I) needed to get back to some real training.  It has been a year of spurts and starts and some exercise and some fun, but nothing really focused.  It shows in my general fitness.  I am generally fit, but by my own description and understandably I am out of shape.  I get that part of that is okay and maybe even necessary (and in many regards, I would not have had it any other way), but I am getting the itch to see if I can slew a few sub 6s together for a 5k.  A run with the BrHS kids this week scratched that itch a bit.  8 x 40” hills.  Nice little burn that I have not felt in a while.

As Kirt and Mary Margaret won the Fairplay race, and Jack and I won the Leadville race, that puts a Triple Crown bid to rest for this year (same sort of thing happened on the women’s side).  It means I get to keep the TC trophy another year at least.  I showed a picture of the trophy to Curtis and he immediately said, “that ain’t the original trophy.”  So the actual trophy that started that game is lost like the Ark or something.

I guess I also like to think that it shows that winning the TC is not that easy a task.  The team that won the week before managed only sixth in Leadville.  The teams that were 2nd and 3rd in Leadville were short course DNFs (from what I have heard) in Fairplay.  It is tough to put three solid weeks together.  Admittedly, Jack and I picked it up in a year where Fairplay and Leadville were not back to back.  I think that served a bit to our advantage as it meant long course, shorter course, long course in the sequence – versus what it would take this year with long, long, short.  The back to back of climbing to Mosquito Pass on the rough shod roads and trails takes a toll on the burros.

I am still on the hunt as to what years Ardel and Tom won the TC.  According to Curtis, Ardel won the TC in 79 and 81 with a burro named Billy Carter.  I need to confirm that, and figure out Tom’s wins with an afternoon in the Leadville library.  The others are Bobby Lewis (2011) with Wellstone, Hal Walter with Full Tilt Boogie (2013), and Jack with me in 2015.  The women’s list would be a pretty challenging project.  But with the men I’d like to decorate the trophy with some plaques on the sides to reflect the history.

Other fun ego stuff …

Leadville Boom Days 2016

The Leadville race starts its grind up to Mosquito Pass on CR1 right away.  After spinning around the northeast of town for two blocks, you start the climb.  It is all runable but it is still 1000 feet in the first three miles, and you are at 10k feet.  The donks are fresh and eager so the pace is typically enough to remind you that you are doing some work.  Kirt /MM, Justin / Yukon, Hal / Teddy and Jack and I established ourselves as the leaders on the hill but not by much.

Pic by Carrie Schroeder


I would glance back occasionally and see Trevor / Comet and Graeme / Pritzi lurking no more than 50 yards back.  While it seemed we had established a bit of a lead over them, experience has taught me that was essentially no lead:  any small mistake on our part and they would be in the mix.

With the climb all the burros and teams would pause occasionally, including Jack and me.  Rather than get anxious about it in trying to make a break or cover distance loss, I just slowly managed through it, even sometimes relaxing Jack for a few strides as the other teams got back on track.  I felt there was no winning the race in these first few miles and we just had to maintain some degree of basic contact to keep in it.

Kirt and MM seemed to be commanding the race.  Kirt seemed to be running with a fire and confidence that was well earned from his win last week.  It seemed that he’d be able to set for a stronger drive up the hill and make a break on the higher slopes of the Pass if he maintained.  Hal kept on business, looking for any weaknesses but not getting overly eager at any slight mishaps.  He was clearly the vet of the group as he has close to four decades of racing this event.  As the hill grinded on Justin and Yukon struggled a bit and began to lag back.

The race changes around 3.5 miles.  We drop down into the gulch below Mosquito Pass.  At this point Graeme and Trevor and former winner Jeff Bennett (with Jack in 2011) and their donks moved right up on us and so there were six teams in the lead group .  We actually were not moving very quick here even though it was downhill.  As we passed through check point 3, all the teams were present but Trevor and Graeme started to build a fair lead up the hill again.  As the climb started, we all started splinter a bit but about mid hill it was Hal, Graeme, me behind Trevor with our burros.  Kirt and MM started to fall back.

I was really impressed with how Trevor and Comet were going.  Trevor is a big guy, – as in trim but built like a football player versus a little runner type like me.  Cranking that frame up the hill at 13k feet had to be tough.  The climb up Mosquito is a silly slog.  Mostly walking with little bouts of running.  It is runable but the burros had little interest in moving up the rocky scree slopes of the Pass. 

I was fairly sure that there was no prem for a “First Ass to the Pass” like there was at Fairplay, but while Trevor crested first I decided to leave nothing to chance (we crested in just over 2 hours whereas we had been about 6 or 7 minutes faster in the past), Hal tells me they used to always get there better than 90):  he turned off to the right to get a cup of water and I buzzed hard to the Mosquito Pass sign to be the first around it.  We got that but Jack and I paid the price.  Hal/Teddy, Graeme/Pritzi, Trevor/Comet bolted down the hill at a solid trot.  Jack stood fast and had little desire to move and we started walking down.

On the longer stretches on the down as we passed runners still coming up, I could see I was losing the sight of the leaders and then I could soon see they were several switch backs ahead.  I’d get Jack to jog a little but he was not moving quick at all.  The rocky down hill was clearly not to his liking.  I looked down at the leaders again and I guessed they had to be anywhere from 3-4 minutes ahead, or somewhere from a quarter to a half mile. 

My head had two thoughts – we were definitely out of it.  And that I should not give anything up.  There were still 9 miles to race and anything could happen.  I could see Hal had established even a greater leader over Trevor and Graeme (about a 100 yards).  As the old mining road started to level and smooth, Jack and I got a little stride and I could see we were making the slightest dent in their lead.

As we came into the low curves in the gulch, the other teams seemed to struggle and Jack and I made huge gains and as we came back into checkpoint 3, it was a four team race.

I had to grin.  Whatever would happen in the race after this, Jack and I had gone from completely out of it to back into it.  It was amazing.  Tracy had said she had been watching us via binoculars on the slope of Mosquito and was wondering what had happened to us.  “I could see the other teams but you were so far back I could not find you!”  She was surprised that we had got back in it. 

Pic by Carrie Schroeder

We started the climb back out of the gulch and on this Hal and Teddy started fall back a bit.  I was very aware this meant nothing.  If we had bridged the gap we just had a 80 yard gap could easily be gobbled up.  At the same time, I was cognizant that the field was wearing down … for seven teams to six to four and now what looked like three.  And as we started the climb over to California Gulch it looked to become 2 as Trevor / Comet started to struggle.  This is always a hard spot.  The donks know they came from Leadville from the right and they want to go that way, but you have to take them to the left.  It can delay you quite a bit.  Jack and I moved okay (not great) through it.

As we crested the top of the gulch, Graeme and Pritzi moved significantly faster than us through the loose rock and scree.  Again, Jack slowed.  As the gulch opened a touch, I could occasionally see that they had built a substantial lead over us – maybe 200 yards.  Again, I did not feel any anxiety here, but felt an odd confidence.  I knew that Jack would bridge that gap as we got down to the road and as the surfaces smoothed out.  It took us all the way to the the Resurrection Mine, but it happened.  As we passed short course racers (which make for great targets for Jack to bridge gaps), Jack tagged some sections under seven – which is as good as he has run all season.  We evened with Graeme and Pritzi and ever so slowly took a lead.  There was about a mile and a half left to race.

I figured at this point it would come down to a sprint on Harrison Street and given our history in such show downs, I knew that would probably not bode well for us.  We got a slight lead but it was not extending to more than 10 yards.  We started the little turn into town and Jack balked at the turn.  Graeme / Pritzi barreled down the last hill and got about ten yards on us.  We made the turn at the Diamond Shamrock onto Harrison. 

It is about 5 or so blocks from there to the finish.  It is slightly uphill and for the donks it is a complete nut show.  They go from running mountain roads and trails and quiet to the loud noise of the Boom Days Fair, little kid choo choo trains, traffic cones, cars, people, bands, cotton candy, etc.  I got Jack to run about 3 blocks of it.  I think Graeme and Pritzi ran about a block.  That gave us enough separation to secure a win and walk it in comfortable over the last 200 yards.  I am pretty sure it is the closest win we have ever had and the latest in a race that we have had to go to secure one.

This was Jack’s fifth win at Leadville, and our fourth as a team – our third in a row.   With Kirt / Mary Margaret winning last week and our winning this week there will be no Triple Crown winner this year. 

The big take aways were of course not giving up.  Jack and I were not moving well on the downs with the really loose rock, but he did well enough over the entirety of the course that he nailed another win.  This is our 8th win together. 

And again, I am incredibly lucky to be supported by so many wonderful people:  TZ, JZ, my in-laws, Bob and Sue, the Wanns, Bill Lee, LVR and everyone else in the Pack Burro Racing community who says kind words, helps out and provides support. 

I know all burro racers say it is all about the burro, but this race really reiterated that to me.  Clearly it was Jack that determined how we were going to do in this event.  He may not have been the best in any one aspect of the race, but he was strong enough in enough of the challenges of the race that he drove us to a win. 

End of First Week in August

KZ visited Beethoven’s house.  Like in Germany.
 

Running – Thursday …a little over an hour on my feet.  Did 10 soccer diagonals in the middle to mix it up some.
Friday … a touch sore from the sprints yesterday, but not bad.  Around 50 minutes but then a half dozen harder strides.
Saturday – took the day off in prep for Boom Days race.

Good stuff.  Thanks Shad.

Ultimately, it is not about the race, how fast or slow we run, it is about the people and the shared experiences, and that togetherness is for me what makes running in the mountains so meaningful.  Just catching up on the typical Hardrock carnage articles.

Headed up to Fairplay before buzzing over to Leadville for the Boom Days Pack Burro Days Race.   Before heading out of town, we stopped in at the send off for Emma Coburn and Jenny Simpson before they headed to Rio.

Once in the mountains, JZ got a bit of work on the stick on Grandpa’s old Jeep.


We headed over to Leadville to stay at Chauteu Bob.  His million dollar views have been upgraded with burros in the backyard.

The ride home from the weekend.

Amazing summer weekend in the Rocky Mountains.  I will get a post up about the Boom Days race separately.

The Hammock Tent

I elected to go with the Hennessey Hammock for the Northern Tier canoe trip with the Scouts.  I borrowed the tent from another Scout dad who has turned me on to some other gear (like the MSR Reactor).

It was a bit of a gamble for me to take this tent as I had never done any camping in one.  I sleep facing down and the tent does not really allow that.  My back up plan was if it was not working out for me I’d move into one of the “ground” tents that the two other adults on the trip were using. 

It worked great for me.  I’d pitch the tent between two trees in about 3-7 minutes.  While my colleagues were looking for the flattest piece of ground they could find, I didn’t have to worry about that and instead looked for sites that gave me a great view or a bit more privacy.

The tent is “one piece” in that the tent, the bug net and fly all come together.  I’d sling it up, climb in through its bottom by sitting in it and then laying back.  The tent would seal on its own under me.  I learned to pitch the tent with the feet slightly higher, so it almost like I was sitting in a long layback recliner.  I’d slip in a sleeping pad and a bag and I was set.  I slept fine … only woke up occasionally when the mosquitoes got so loud that they woke me.  I was a bit surprised as to how easy it was for me to sleep on my back.  Occasionally I’d roll to the side but I never felt unable to sleep because I had to be face down.  It worked great. 

I got rained on a few nights, but I was completely dry in the tent.  The fly worked great.

If there is a disadvantage to this tent it is that your gear is not in there with you.  You end up tucking your gear under your tent set up.  As it is under the fly it typically stays dry.  The fact that my stuff was also in dry bags helped.  There is a little line and bag for small things in side the tent (head lamp, glasses, maybe a light book) but I kept most items out of the tent otherwise. 

I’d often pitch the fly a bit higher in the afternoons or on evenings where I thought the weather would be better.  It set me up for watching nice sunsets, or taking a nice nap in the afternoon.  Typical tents are usually pretty hot in the afternoons, but with the open net above this one I found this to be really airy and cool.

 

So yeah, I will probably buy one.

BrHS Summer XC Camp

I had a few open days and took advantage by spending some time helping out at the BrHS XC camp up at Golden Gate Park.  It is a great little part of their summer program where the kids get to run at 9100 feet (ish), get in some serious hills, contemplate what they really want to accomplish this season, further bond as a team, and focus on running.

The Vaughn family came up as guest speakers.  Brent was US XC champ, holds the 5k school record at CU (13:18), and the all classification record for the 3200 in CO as a high schooler.  He ran with Greg as his coach at Smokey Hill HS.  Sara was an All American at CU, and was recently 7th at the 1500 at the OT just 10 months after having their most recent child.

Very cool to have pro runners come up and chat with the kids about training, competition, team work and discipline.

The kids got in several runs and I joined them.  I was pretty sore from Burro Days and kept most of it easy.  But to some extent there was no easy given the vert and the elevation at this location.

The camp ended in a nice little relay competition for the kids, where the teams were picked by the coaches, mixing the top talent and upper classmen with some of the younger and less fast kids.  The coaches put their own squad together for a bit of the fun as well.  Each team had to pick how they were going to attack six 1 mile loops with the rules being that regardless of how it was divided up (miles, 800s, 400s, whatever), that each kid had to do 1.5 miles of work.  This gave me a little bit of quality, and actually it helped blow out some of the kruft and soreness I had.  Still – with the hills and the altitude – nothing was really that fast.

Here is a shot of JZ leading out a 27:40 10k guy.