Solstice Slog IV

So this idea of a run that hits several of the local establishments that first started in 2013 has continued on for its fourth year.  Each year gets a little bigger in regards to participation.  We had as many as 18 folks in the mix this year.

Thankfully, nobody lost their phone or got stuck in trying to climb a link fence or was hit by a car (it was close) or passed out in a bathroom.  There was a dog found and returned to its an owner, a pull up contest where a Nolans finisher could not do a single pull up, and a showing of donkeys.  The round trip of 20 miles and 7 stops was finished by four.  Along the way there was the usual good dishing of trash talk, laughs, surges, discussion on how I have an old man stride, consideration of next summer race plans and memory of races long ago. 

I feel pretty fortunate to know so many wonderful people that I can share some miles and beverages with.  Chatter is that there could be a summer edition of this event, but it seems the desire there is with less miles but more stops per mile.  Hoo boy.

Weekend

Lot of XC action this weekend … there was the Buffs taking second to Syracuse in NCAA nats and the BHS kids off at NXR SW with a good number posting PRs.  I had my own affair, but given how things had been from a training perspective over the last quarter … I expected it to be a poor performance, but I would look to enjoy the day with good guys.

Woke up Saturday AM and saw we had a good dusting of snow and there was no way it was going to melt by race time.  Pix here by Timko unless otherwise indicated.
I knew I was going to need some traction but I was not up for full on spikes.  I went with the Ice Bugs, as they had the mini spikes, and a bit of water proofing for the snow. 
A four year old kid was the sole racer lining up for the 2k youth race.  Flatirons owner Henry G asked me to run with him so he could find the course (It is essentially the 3 loop clover leaf course that is always run out there but it seems to be a slightly bit different each time).  Each loop was about 1.35 miles.  I got in some other jogging as well, and caught up with the fellow team mates, including Shad, Bob, Wes, Harsha, and Johannes.

We got off and knowing I was not in shape, I took it out pretty conservatively.  And then I started to slow down more.   This next shot is by Peter Jones.  This is after the climb up the first hill.  All those dudes passed me.


This is a cool shot that Straka took.  In it are Wes and Bob taking on the hill (they are in the red).

More Timko shots. 

I ended up in no man’s land pretty quickly going into the second lap.  I just lost contact and had no fight to get my nose back in it.  I ran like the hobby jogger I have been over the last few months.  The results showed it.   I am okay with it actually … because it is simply where I am.  No excuses really … I am just out of shape.  I don’t need to go on and on about that … it is just the current state.

The Flatirons Team won the 40 year old age group team trophy for the USATF Colorado Club XC championships.  Wes was our top scorer, followed by Bob and then Johannes.   

It was a thin field.  A total of 39 guys showed up at the race … not much for a  Boulder affair.  I get the weather chasing some folks off but it was not really that bad.  And there 85 year old dudes out there doing it so what are the excuses?

Post race there was plenty of smack talk and words of wisdom shared over at the Southern Sun.  It was a seventh inning stretch that started after the race and spilled all the way into the evening with attending Shad’s B-day party.  It is not hard to figure why I am out of shape.

Sunday – I got out mid day for seven.  I was not sore at all.  Basically you could say that I was unable to actually do much damage to myself because of my lack of fitness.  I’d say there is nowhere to go but up, but it could be a lot worse of course. 

51 on the week.  While the race reflected how poor my race fitness is, I feel that this week was a good on in that I got moving without feeling poorly (other than being out of shape).  One step at a time.

Saturday 041115 Palmer Lake

Palmer Lake:  41 miles, 5:45.  Really, I could use Brett’s report from Lake Hinson from a couple of years ago as the template.

Pretty much an easy run for the first 30 or so.  With easy running and breaks every .82 miles for water I hit 10 in 82 and 20 in 2:45.  Somewhere in the 30s, the legs were starting to protest just a touch and so I called the effort at 50 laps around the lake (41 miles).  I could certainly stretched the taffy to 50 miles, and I strongly considered it, but I didn’t want the taffy to snap, or put myself too deep in a hole.  I just knew that another 9 miles would have been digging a bit to get under 7 and it would leave me more on the downside than I wanted.  So you can say I pussed out. 

Basically, I feel mission accomplished … a longer than usual run for me, not completely thrashed out but stretched some, and I learned a few things as noted in the video:  need to figure out nutrition for longer runs since I seem less than compelled to take it, don;t make the rookie mistake of forgetting Vaseline, my Garmin has a battery life of 5 hours, and I better not go this quick to start Leadville.

Mentally I held up well.  I sort of like these courses and the mental games you can play with it.  “Okay, five more laps for me to get my phone for some music” (I didn’t use it for the first 35 laps and then when the watch died I stopped using the phone for music as I fired up the Strava app).  I know some would find this sort of run in stupid circles thing nuts, but my brain seems to find it easy to embrace.

Saw Jeremy Bradford and Peter Jones (and a few other of the typical characters in the ultra community) out there.  They look to be running all night.  Have fun with that.  I was home in time for dinner. 

Chatted with Wes T at the end (he came out to check it out and ran my last lap with me).  Good to chat with him as always.  Other things I need to dial up are light and poles.  More to come.

Post script Saturday morning:  cool pic from Peter.

Sunday 111713 Colorado Club XC Flatiron 6k

Race report in bullet form:

- Pretty much a melt down.  Told myself I would go out conservative and then see what I could do to roll folks up.  I thought I did go out conservative (first mile was 5:58) but then got rolled up.  I don’t think I passed a single person during the entire race after 500 meters in.

Where is my hat? (pic credit:  Bob Sweeney – no he did not take it while he was racing as he was ducking me).

This looks bad.  It felt worse. (pic credit:  Bob Sweeney).
About to heel strike.  Some one should talk to this guy. (pic credit:  Bob Sweeney). 
- I went with the flats over the spikes.  There was too much concrete for me to go with the spikes, and I don’t think it would have created a difference anyway.
- After the mile, I could feel the fight slipping away from me and the whole thing got progressively slower.  I managed to keep about the same placing on the 2nd of the 3 laps but I got eaten up by at least five guys in that last kilometer.
- It was windy for sure out there.
Start of the women’s race.  They took it out in a pace that both Lucho and I looked at and said, “damn, they are moving.”

- Tons of great folks to see out there.  Wes made the trip up from the Springs, and while I had some prerace thoughts of hanging with him he beat me by like 10 minutes or something.  I also go to meet Peter J and chat with him and his wife briefly.  Lucho and Bob were out there of course, and so I mostly old man grumped around with those guys pre and post race.  Lots of guys from the FF days:  Peter, Rich, James, Jim R, Marc.  Got smoked by every single one of them.  And all the BRR guys:  Terry, Rich, Carl and a ton of other guys that I did not connect with but I saw from a distance.  Racing in Boulder is like going to a reunion party and that itself is a pretty fun and warming experience. 
- There comes a point in the race when someone comes by you and your ego says, “ah shit.  Really?  I am getting worked by him?”  It happened a lot to me and it was reminder of where I am.  Totally an ego thing, as some of these guys I would beat in races handily and easily in years past.  That has obviously changed.
- Bob asked me if my hip was bugging because he said my form looked all jacked.  Actually he wondered if it was my hip or the running in the grass.  It was probably a bit of both to be honest and while that sort of energy expenditure does not help, I can’t say it was the cause of my performance out there.
- I have raced less than half dozen times this year if you take the burro thing out of the equation.  Other than the sea level races in Ireland, nearly all of them have been something that I felt did not represent the standard I could perform at.  I guess what I think does not matter, because this is where I am at! 

Is it the hip, the cold, that I was at sea level for the week, the wind, age, loss of muscle density, lack of speed work, too many miles, burned out, crap form in the grass, a ten mile walk yesterday, my diet, that I am too heavy or something else?  It sort of doesn’t matter.
- Lucho report.  We were chatting how we look at old logs for training and it is like reading something from a different person.  I have logs (I will get a reference to one) where I am bitching about not getting as much out a workout that I wanted when I did 10 x a quarter and I am pissed because they were not all under 70.  And now that is so far away.
- It seemed to me like I was folding it up as the race went on, but I guess looking at the HR chart, it seems it was a just a steady effort with a decline in space.
- We had a fair amount of chatter post as to what we all need to do to get ready for USATF XC coming in Feb.  Back and forth on miles, workouts, rest days, weights, etc.  I clearly don’t have the speed or endurance right now to think I’d crack 30 in February.  And that means I probably would not be in the mix on any competitive team.    To change that, I’d need to better focus on my key workouts and giving up on some of the miles on the days leading into them.  That said, I fear giving up some of my miles because I think it would mean I’d start to slip up in weight. 
Grinning before the hurt begins (pic credit Peter Jones, he took some good shots – check em out over here)
- I can run 10 miles a day every day at 7-7:30 pace but I struggle right now in that sub 7, and sub six stuff – or at least sustaining it.  That would mean I’d need to do workouts that tax that at 3-10 minutes.  Or get out and race more often to taste the blood in my throat and get my arse handed to me regularly.
Early.  Sort of like April for the Colorado Rockies, I was still in the hunt.  It went downhill from there though (pic credit Peter Jones). 
 
Nobody left to out kick as they all kicked by me (Pic credit Peter Jones)

Results.