More Monday 033108

I was REALLY tempted to get out and run today. I had my eyes set on Green Mountain, despite the fresh snow, thinking that an uphill effort would be "easier." Lucho weighed in as a voice of reason - telling me to rest and I knew he was right. These adductors are on the way to healing and I need to let them do that! Aggravating them with a run would not be good long term. That said, I was going bonkers having sat on my duff for the last couple of days ...so I got on my bike in the afternoon and headed west. I got up into Eldorado and then biked back to the office. Not much for the big bikers out there, but about 75 minutes for me. It was a little chilly out and I am sure I looked like a dork in my running gear and big poofy mittens. Pic today is from the ride up Eldora Road, looking at Bear Peak, Devil's Thumb, Shadow Canyon and South Boulder Peak.

I know I said I was going to hold off on MAF talk but ... I found I was working a lot harder on the bike at 150 rate (aka MAF rate) then I do when I run at that HR. I realize some of this is my efficiency, muscle familiarity on a bike but it is nonetheless interesting that I am sucking a lot more air at 150 when biking, but alternatively jogging very slowly while at that rate and running. Feedback on this concept is most welcome!

BTW, the coffee at my work sucks. We are provided with these pre-fabbed bags for a pot. I have found that if I use two bags of the grounds rather than the 1 they provide, it is rather acceptable. But people seem a bit more edgy when I do that.

I got an email today trying to sell me some shots from Pikes last year. I guess I lucked out in that they did not catch me walking in any shots.

Monday 033108

My hamstrings, glutes etc,that have been giving me fits due to this groin adductor issue are feeling a lot better now.  No surprise given the rest I have provided them.  The adductors and groin are still a bit sore.  I did a half mile test jog to see if it had cleared at all.  It has progressed (healed) but is still there. 

Last weekend in March, 032708-033008

Thursday - We had planned to head to the mountains this AM, but that did not work out. I ended up in the office for most of the day and then we headed up in the evening. Let's see ... yesterday, 70s, warm and windy. Today, cold and snowy. Springtime in the Rockies.

I slept poorly last night. There were a couple of reasons for this, but it was mostly about my groin / abdominal area yelling at me - probably because of the work I did yesterday. I can rationalize this in a variety of ways, but ... I am going to need to rest that a bit to see if it can heal. This abdominal thing  is jacking up my running in enough other ways that I am beginning to tighten up in my hamstrings, my glutes, etc - all because of compensation. Hell, it hurts to bend over and pick stuff up. I am thrashing in my training to where it is becoming unproductive. I shared the following  (below) with JW today ... and it reflects what I am thinking, going around on. I share this because I think it reflects how I have approached injuries, aches, pains in the past ... and that it is not so easy for me to take time off.

... I think I am going to need to take a few days off to see if I can get this groin thing to completely heal ... I go back and forth b/w saying I just need to suck it up, and I can't afford time off and thinking I have plenty of time to get really fit ... and that I am doing more harm by screwing with it right now....

Headed to the hills (or what I have called ABC (Altitude Base Camp), (for lack of a better name)) (yes, South Park is real and it is at 10000 feet)  in the late afternoon made it a bit easier to take the afternoon and day off. Getting up there is good for me ... not just because it puts me at 10000 feet, but it gets me away from noise for a bit and lets me clear my head.   No running.

Friday - no running.  Again, I slept poorly, mostly because I was bouncing around because of my gut. I think it actually hurts more at night as I can only move my legs laterally, versus forward and backwards. This puts more stress on my abductors. I was really tired for most of the day, and even took a nap in the afternoon. 

We sloshed around in the snow at 10000 feet in the afternoon as well, which was less than ideal for my groin, but ... ah, what the hell.  Went to bed early (8).

Saturday woke up really early (duh!). My glutes and hamstrings actually felt a bit better today – which makes sense as I have not run in two days! Adductors still pretty tender.  I am feeling a bit better, enough to entertain the thought of running.  But at the same time, I know I need to shore this up a bit more.  No running.

The family skied today.  I picked at stuff around the grounds, breaking up ice, getting the dogs out, etc - thinking that skiing would further aggravate this issue.  Of course shoveling ice was probably not the brightest idea either.  What I found out while I was doing this is that any side to side or significant twisting motion is painful, but forward / backward stuff is fine.  While I was doing this work or walking, I'd be fine because I was not calling on those muscles.  But then when I'd catch the ice the wrong way and slip, I get a shot of "oh crap."

I am at a point where debating the MAF issue needs a break.  I feel like I am pissing folks off and that I am coming across as the negative sh*thead on the whole thing.  Besides, I ain't doing anything above 100 bpm right now anyway!

Sunday I slept better but I clearly feel this groin issue more when I sleep then other times.  I think I it is slowly getting better but it is really hard to tell.  I will go doing whatever I want to do without any issue or pain, and then something different clicks and I feel it (clearly) again.  I can't tell if I am just over analyzing it, being more atuned to how it is feeling or not.

I was really thinking that I'd jog on it today to see how it felt and because I am going a bit crazy NOT running.  But I headed over to Breck with the family to get them off skiing. This sort of "forced" me to take an other day off.  I did some light stretching, walking around, etc to do something.

Weekend pix ...

A shot of the hills outside of South Park.  Mosquito Pass is one of my summer training runs.  It goes to 13,180, but since you are starting at 10K feet, the climbing is not too bad ...

Lucifer, ready to roll in the Pumpkin ... 

Grandpa and his new machine.  I think this will be the new GZ sag wagon when I blow up on high altitude runs.    

Me (now shaven) and TZ, off for a ride in the snow ...

Caught coming out of the ABC Helzer vaulted privy ...

 

KZ, enjoying the fire, and doing whatever it is that humans that age do ...

 

Reading ...

I found this old Schwin Sidewinder up at ABC Helzer.  It is fully functional.  I cannot wait to play with this bugger once we get past snow and mud season up high

This is the generator at ABC Helzer ... I can get it to crank but not turn over yet (probably has bad gas, oil like sludge).  If you know anything about four cylinder motors turned generators, let me know.

Peak 8, Lift 5, where I let the daredevils go for the day. 

Yapping on the internets

The MAF conversation has continued. I am concerned that this conversation is appearring to border on an argument. I don't want it to be as such and I don't think it is, but I think there is the potential for it to be interpretted that way. Part of the reason why I like Lucho is because he does get in your face a bit and challenges your assumptions. I like that, and I am good with that, but I think our society gets a bit nervous when people talk like this. Particularly on the internet. Context gets lost.

In the end, I think Lucho wants to see people succeed and he is passionate about that. When he encounters someone that is taking a path that is not in what he thinks is the best way there, he ain't afraid to tell them. I find that damn refreshing and not a problem at all. We may agree to disagree on what exactly is the best approach (and we actually agree a heck of alot more than the conversation would indicate) for me, but I think we agree that we are looking to get to best results.

Wedneday 032608, 11 miles, (3, 8)

AM - got out early for the morning 3 mile wake up. Felt good. No abdominal pain, which was nice. Hamstrings did not feel tight, but ankles were cranky. Chalked it up to morning creakiness.

Later AM - biked into the office easy, 41 minutes

Mid day - Pinged DB and KP (at 38 yo, did a 2:29 in the '04 Marathon Trials) the last minute and found out they were heading to the track and decided to join them. KP was doing 800s in prep for Boston and DB was doing 1000s as part of a longer build up. I jogged over to the track and I decided I'd take a crack at the MAF test. After 1 mile at 8:10, I bagged it and did 10 x 200 (w/200 jog). I tried to stride out the 200s but I felt like I could not get any lift. My hamstrings were tight, and just felt heavy. I feel like I was running with a bag of sand on my back. I could not get any lift. I was moving stuff, but I was not moving anywhere. Like I had a backpack on my back or something. There was a bit of a breeze out of the south, but nothing to really effect me that much. I decided that while the 200s were a couple of seconds (or more) slower than what I was doing a month ago, I just could not get uptight about that. I will get back at it.

I have to give up on the MAF training as an exclusive exercise at this point. Arguably, folks will point out that I did not give it a long window to work with, and that even in that window, I cheated some. But I am not seeing an increase in my pace at MAF paces, and if anything, I am getting slower. I will do this experiment again at some point in the future, but it will be a time when I feel I can be more focused on it, more exclusive and less concerned about shorter term results.

This is not saying MAF does not work. It is not saying that it does. It is saying that I don't feel it will maximize training for me right now. That is subjective belief on my part. Objectively ... well, the jury is still out on that. There are definitely those who buy into this theory and those that do not. I have a concern that this will can be interpretted as me saying I don't subscribe to a particular person's training or their coaching philosophy. On the contrary, if what you and your coach (if you have one) are doing is working for you, then keep doing it. I'd prefer these training methodology conversations to be that - conversations. I am not sure anyone has the right answers for all runners yet, and so religious prescription for all runners is probably a recipie for success for some, but disaster for others.

I was going to bike home but TZ met me at the office and we went and got dinner together as a treat. I was a bit tempted to get more running in today to get my weekly mileage back for what I lost on the days off on Sunday and Monday, but that is just silly talk. More running might be good, but not so much for that purpose.

Tuesday 032508 11 miles (3, 8 )

Early AM - 3 miles, ~7 min pace, groin sore (4), hammies tight (2), otherwise feel fine. Would have brought Lucy but she inhaled a rawhide right before I left so I decided to spare her. Or maybe me.
AM Rode into work, easy spin, mtn bike - 42 minutes. No groin pain whatsoever!

Mid AM ... had a great yap with that guy who is killing it at BS&B. If you ain't reading his stuff, you ought to. This guy is training hard, racing well, and living the life. I noted this in our "conversation ... I said:" I was thinking yesterday that I might be thinking too much about my training ... and hence I need to take a bit of the so called caveman approach for a bit ... run more, not give a crap about HR gear, run fast when I want, run slow when I want, run mountains, etc ... I have had a bit of a wash in March: good mileage for a bit, bad mileage for a bit ... nothing really pushing the pace. Not a big deal in the grand scheme as I am 21 weeks out (more of an issue in my head rather than in race preparedness), but I need to get on the horse again ...
Totally unrelated, someone at work sent me this ... JW, let's form a team!

Mid day - up on the Davidson Mesa. 'nother beaut day. Groin felt a bit better (2), hammies tight (4), and my Ach. was pissed on the left side (screw it, it is always something). 8 miles. My left hammie got increasingly tight as the afternoon wore on (cripes, is this a training blog
More warped music to free (or bend) your mind by ...

PM - end of day rode home. 25 minutes. Zero pain in the groin. When I bike these days, it just feels good. No pain. I can control how much I want I hurt with pace. I used to feel that way when I run, but not lately. Hmm. Might be a message there. Might need to cross train more. Thought about getting out for an other run in the evening, but life prevailed.

Pikes race stuff ... the other day I posted that I think Pikes needs to change registration (long term) to one based on qualifications (graded by age) rather than continuing the practice of allowing anyone who can meet the current standards. Looks like there are some similar musings on Kona by a local tri guy.

Monday, 032408, miles, more MAF musings

The family is on Spring Break this week so I did not need to drive the kids in. So I biked in. I kept it easy, wandering around on various roads and paths to the office ... looking for various ways I could get off the road and short cut the trip. "Short cuts make for long delays," as I learned once again (damn barb wire fences) It was about a 50 minute spin. HR was b/w 130-151. Ride home was about 40 minutes (a bit more direct and more downhill)

My legs are still significantly tired. As they have been for the last few weeks. Maybe I ought to just race burros ... (seriously, if I could get a Burro, I'd do this in a heartbeat). I had contemplated running anyway, and maybe even MAF testing it today. I found plenty of reasons not too and took advantage of them. I realize that today was not totally rest though. I am debating now if I am being just a plain old wimp with my mileage and my concerns about being tired of if this something I just need to work through, get through a wall. Am I breaking down or breaking through?

I think I may have set myself up as someone who is "anti-MAF." I am not. I am not fully blessing this approach either however. The general thought of MAF is that signficant time is spent doing aerobic work to develop that system exclusively. Over time, you will become more aerobically strong, and be able to work at faster paces while remaining aerobic. I agree with this idea. The part that I have questioned is the need to remain aerobic during the entirety of a base phase. I have been "MAF-izing" for the most part for the last month. I have gone above 150 (a MAF rate) a few times (and one time, way over, when I climbed Sanitas with JV ... 170, but even then we were talking), but rarely over 154 (I think Sanitas was the one time. There have been probably 3 or 4 occasions where I have gone north of 150). Lucho has been kind enough to explain to me that the development of the anaerobic system can compromise the development of the anaerobic system. I think this is the part that I am struggling to get my head around as to why that is true. And if this is true, why is this training approach (MAF) so poorly known amongst distance runners, particularly that of the marathon? I mean, it worked for Mark Allen, how come we don't hear Hudson's gang talking (or name any of your favorite running athletes) about it?

Competition at Pikes

The Gazette has a post today regarding preparation for Pikes. Good stuff.

I was listening to a recent Runnerville podcast as I biked in this AM. They had a segment where they spoke about the number of participants in marathons in '07, the number that broke 3 hours (~1%), and how that compared to the times from years past (the early 80's being the prime comparasion). Interestingly, the average times in a road marathon for men (~4:20) and women (~4:55) are comparable to the average Ascent times. While the average Ascent time did take a dip last year, it is clear that the trend in finishing times has been on the rise.

With most races, I really don't care if the average finish times increase when average participation numbers increase. But that is not the case at Pikes. The race participation is capped because the race gets a USFS permit to run on the mountain (1800 participants in the Ascent and I think 900 in the Marathon). While it does not appear to be an issue today (as there are still spots open in Wave 1 of the Ascent), I wonder if we will be seeing a day where a 2:45 Ascender is kept out of the race by one who completes the uphill trip in 4:10. I think when that happens, the standards need to be raised for the races in a manner that assures the best competition across the age groups. Yes, this does mean that I think folks who "race" up the mountain in 6:20, might be kept from the race.

Flame away.

Sunday 032308

I knew pretty early I was going to take today off. The day was busy with holiday events, including the kids looking for eggs, prepping food for a meal with family and friends, collecting with them in the afternoon. I'd be lying however if I said I did not think about doing the MAF test today. I would have like to have, particularly to avoid the label that Kerrie has appropriately dropped on me ;-). But the need for the rest, the family events made it pretty easy to take a break today from running. And yeah, the snow that showed up last night (that had completely vanished by this evening) made it easier to not get up for that 0730 run. But, I would have like to have seen how I had progressed with MAF training over the last couple of weeks ... I will look to do that soon.

I have been thinking about this whole blogging thing and reminding myself why I do it. It is pretty easy for me to blog when training is going well, or I am racking up some miles. It is harder when I am struggling. I started it as an on line training log, to capture this journey, because I suspect I may want to look on it some day. I also felt that while no one might read it, by putting it in a public forum, it held me accountable to an open standard of what I was doing. Yes, this is just a mental trick ... but it works for me.

This past week was 56 miles on the week. 259 on the month and 916 on the year. I spent 45 minutes in the evening doing light core, and stretching.

Pikes begins to pull entrants

As outlined in registration rules for Pikes, entrants are to register for either the Ascent or Marathon with certain qualifications. This week, it appears that the registration office has begun to pull entrants for various reasons not effectively demonstrating those qualifications, including (from what I gather)

• using road race times instead of Peak times (when they had peak times),
• using non-standard race distances (qualifications call for a marathon or half marathon qualifier if you have not raced on the Peak; folks appear to have been pulled for attempting to use La Luz, IPR, and a 20k)
• being too slow or not having a qualifier
• registering for the wrong wave (and there are two flavors of this, folks who were too fast but registered for the slower wave were pulled AND folks who registered for the faster wave but did not have qualifications within the last five years to pull if off the faster wave, but might of had them some time ago).

I am all for the qualifications being tougher (I'd also, however, put in age based qualifications but that might be because I want to have the opportunity when I am really old). I am surprised however at how dilligent and thorough PPA/M is being on enforcing the qual standards. I am not opposed to, but surprised. While the rules clearly state that you need a marathon / half marathon or Peak race for qualification, it would seem to me that the qualifications will open up in future years to possibly include standards from IPR or Mount Evans (longer than half marathon races and with significant climbing an altitude. In any case, kudos to the registration office for doing their job as they advertised they would do it. That level of attention to detail in race management is a welcome sight IMO.

Saturday 032208, 5 miles (3, 2)

I got out for a jaunt with Lucy in the AM, doing the typical 3 mile out and back. The plan at that point was to get out in the afternoon and get another hour in to round the day out. I started the second run with KZ on the bike next to me. All day I had felt tired, blah ... heck, I even took a nap mid day. I hardly ever take naps. My tiredness showed again on this PM run. I gave it the two mile rule to see if it would shake out and it didn't, so and I called it. Headed back to the house, hit the showers, had a beer and made dinner.

A lot of my runs over the last couple of weeks have been like this. I have chalked it up to bouncing back from some of the mileage I have been doing. I might just need to get my head around a small break for a bit. The in my head issue is that I feel I need to be doing something everyday to improve - and I need to realize that rest days, particularly when I am 20+ weeks out from my peak event, are part of that improvement. Once I get to rationalizing that, I don't feel bad for taking time off, but more for taking so damn long to figure it out. I had intended to make the trek for the MAF test with TL tomorrow, but in light of how I am feeling, and the expected craziness of tomorrow AM - I am now not expecting to go.

For dinner, I made "Pan Dos" in the bread machine (I am a bit crazy about making bread machine breads). This is a recipie that I got from a college buddy's Mom. She was first generation Portugese and made this bread all the time. It is a sweet bread, but it is a bread - not a cake. I modified the recipie so that it could fit into my bread machine (her recipie would make about 3 bread machine double batches!). TZ liked it enough that she had me make another batch that we stopped after the kneading - so that we could make braids out if it instead. Also made a broch-ricot pasta (one of KZ's favorites). Topped it off with a Hazed and Infused (for me, not the kiddos).

Friday 032108, 10 miles (3, 7) First Day of Spring

If memory serves me correct, today is the first day of Spring. Even if it is not, there was significant evidence that Spring had arrived given that my office represented a morgue today (hardly one there due to basketball games, the holiday, and that spring break starts for a lot of folks next week), there were 20+ mph winds on the Davidson, and the temps were in the 60s. I got out with Lucy in the AM. Again, cold, dark, starry sky. As the sun rose, we got to see a horned owl sitting on a telephone pole. I have seen this owl dozens of times over the years. Well, maybe not this owl, but it does appear to be a place where I see an owl a lot. This picture is not mine, but it is essentially what we saw. The owl was much more interested in Lucy than me and Lucy had absolutely no clue that it was being sized up (I'd take Lucy in a match if went there though).

In the PM, I wanted to duck the wind so I headed to Chautauqua. As you border up against the Flatirons, you can often hide in the lee of the hills and the trees and avoid the winds. I went over Flagstaff easy (actually keeping HR below 153). The trail up was clear of snow nearly the entire way, except near the end. There was some mud, but hardly anything to be concerned about. I took the backside down (Rangeview) down to Gregory and then started the climb up Green. This trail, on the northside of Green, was much more packed in with snow and ice. It was okay footing on the way up. I was not using studs, and I really did not need them ... on the way up! I cut over onto the Greenman trail as that looked to be a little more clear. Through here was scattered packed snow, ice and mud but not really a big deal. I swung back west towards Green at the connector. After a few minutes of climbing the gentle grade, it was all snow. Normally, I would have trudged on up to the top, but I decided I did not want to fight the psuedo-packed, psuedo melted snow, pseudo ice conditions and turned back. And then, it started snowing on me! It only lasted a few minutes but the white stuff was definitely falling for a few minutes there. I came back down the Saddle. This was all packed ice. I even took the full on digger on a sheet of ice (just below where the old social trail heads up the NW ridge) where my feet went straight out in front of me and I landed right on my back / butt. I laid there for a minute taking stock to determine if anything was in disarray but as it turned out, I was fine. I finished the trudge back to Chautauqua, carefully, and it actually got pretty clear again at the lower elevations.

There is a lot I have been reading in Noakes book that I don't like. Last night I stumbled on several passages about the potential length of a competitive runner's career. I will try to explain it briefly here, but realize I am trying sum up in a quick paragraph what he covers in several pages over different chapters. We all understand that we all slow with time, but he went further than - providing both some degree of scientific and anecdotal evidence that the body can only handle competitive stresses for so many years (15-20). Furthermore, he provided examples where folks who trained competitively at a younger age (and hence through such a length window) were less competitive than those who took up endurance sport at an older age. So a person who takes up marathoning at the age of 40 is more likely to be competitive than the guy who started at 20 when they both reach 50. In fact, there was evidence that even though the longer lived competitive athlete could increase his training volume significantly, he would begin to realize lesser results at a more accelerated rate than than the athlete who was new to the sport and training less ... there are various scientific theories as to why this occurs. Okay, so why does that irk me? This is harder to explain ... and comes across in a series of non objective, organized thoughts ... In short, I want to play, run, jump, swim, do freaking handstands the rest of my life. Unsolicited, I have wondered if training to be competitive will actually hinder this in my later years. Part of me does not want to think about this - how my actions today effect my actions not just tomorrow but in the years and decades to come. And hence, my thoughts on it now are scattered, and hardly articulate. Will all this training make it so that I cannot walk straight in 40 years? (yeah, stupid paranoid thought but it has come to mind). It appears that while heavy training now may not hinder my ability to do those things outright, it might hinder my ability to do those things competitively. And so I have to ask myself if I really give a crap about what Noakes proposes in this regard. He also addresses this issue on several non scientific fronts ... including if it makes sense for older folks to chase the dreams of children when they are no longer children. I don't know the answers for me yet, and for my training for right now it really does not matter.

why you slow down is in your brain

I have been dabbling in the "Lore of Running" book I picked up at the local library. There is a ton of stuff in there, and it naturally lends to spotted, mixed reading - rather than end to end. One of the things I picked up, but I felt I needed to do more reading on was this concept that the nervous system begins to shut down the contraction of muscles in periods of stress to protect itself. Noakes refers to this as the central governor. The primary idea behind Noakes (and Hill's theory) is that the brain monitors oxygenation to the most vital of organs, including the heart and itself. When oxygen levels reach unsafe limits (altitude, exercising anaerobically) the motor cortex begins a shut down of muscle fiber recruitment to protect itself and the heart. Hence you slow down, and you get more O2. Noakes' description is much more detailed and I intended to get into but then I came across this similar article in the "Science of the Sport." This is good reading.

Still, despite the brain's attempt to shut us down, tell us to stop, it is clear that even when the brain has told "blown a fuse" to recruit certain fibers, in an attempt to protect ourselves ... there are those that will go farther. This video is a clear example of that behavior ... the other ones on linked article are similarly amazing, painful and inspiring to watch ... this honestly scares me every time I watch it, even though I know the outcome.

Thursday 032008, 9 miles

I did not get out until the later afternoon, and by then the winds had picked up (they were 22mph on the Davidson Mesa). Oh well. I finally felt like I was getting some of my bounce back today. I almost had that float feeling again while running rather than that trudge feeling. Almost. Not quite but almost. I ran for about 3.5 before I got to a park, jumped rope for about five minutes and then took off my shoes and did some grass strides (so barefoot running for about a mile). These were really short, just quick little bursts at maybe five minute pace but only for 10-20 seconds. If fresh, I know I can dig a heck of a lot more than that but I am still just getting my legs back from last week. Another five of jumping rope and then ran back for another 4.5.

Various other tidbits ... I picked up a pair of Brooks Adrenaline yesterday (and so now they have 17 miles)... as of today I have 900 miles on the year. Just a number I realize, and not a large one for some folks who probably had that amount before the end of February. For me, there is a bit of significance. In HS, we had a summer club called the 750 club. If you could run 750 miles between June 1 and August 31 you got your name on some plaque on the gym wall (that is supposedly still there). There were something like 15-20 guys on it. I never got on it. Putting together 60+ mile weeks for an entire summer seemed like something I could do but would take a lot of effort and concentration. And at that time, it probably would. Now, in about a similar period, I am looking to join the 1000 mile club (by the end of March). It only took me 20 years past high school to do it (and my HS reunion is next week, 20 years, although it is closer to 21 years ... I won't be there).

Wednesday 031908 13 miles (3, 10)

AM - got out early for some easy miles with Lucy.

PM - met up with JV for some running. Gorgeous day for running. We ran the so called "Father, Son, Holy Ghost" route over Red Rocks, the lower Sanitas trail and then the connector over to Lee Hill. We ran it easy but my HR jumped up a few times. I had to not care. It was great to be outside, on a great day, running some hills with a great guy, shooting the breeze on training, our dreams on Pikes, our fears on Pikes, what people are doing for training, MAF, crazy runs we want to do, seeing that guy who runs around in Boulder in a fur bikini (seriously, that was one of the most jacked things Jeff and I ever saw on a run) and the like. It was great. My legs turned heavy towards the end of this run when we circled back on the Wonderlake Trail but not too bad. I had a little time in before I met Jeff and so I was out there for about 90 minutes. With the climbs, I am guesstimating it at 10 miles but I will double check on a map site later. Jeff - thanks man - you are right we do need to do that more often than once a month!

I continued my experiment today of doing more standing than sitting. My co-workers are starting to question me about it. I have put one of my monitors on a bookshelf (so that it is more eye level) and my laptop on a milk crate (so essentially raising my desk by a foot). I was not as aggressive about it as yesterday, but still erring more on the side of standing that sitting. I know this: sitting for long periods of time makes me pretty uncomfortable these days - mostly in my glute - hammie on my right side (piriformis perhaps). I have a bar stool at my desk that I have used as a second chair for guests that I have been leaning back on when I want to get off my feet a bit. Again, this is a ridiculous experiment, but ... then again running up and down mountains is ridiculous.

I realize that I have been running easy now for a couple of weeks. In fact, I am pretty certain the last "hard" running I did was back on February 28 (treadmill, 2 miles in 10 followed by sets of minute on and minute off). In this stretch of mileage building, and MAF training, I have often felt like poop. Tired. Slow. Heavy legged. There have been, I confess, multiple times where my motivation has come into question, and I wonder if I am going to do that race in August after all. But I have, more or less have worked through. While my legs are still a bit heavy I think I am begining to come out of that a bit. There have been a couple of times where I can feel, underneath this shell of dead legs that I can begin to rip it. And then I get tired again. Ah well, soon enough.

JV mentioned that the high trails are still pretty messy with snow, mud and ice. I am looking to generally avoid that stuff this year and jump the trails when they are more clear. That stuff can be fun, but I have become convinced that training through that stuff is less productive than helpful. Sure, it is uphill and trail. But it is snow covered trail, and that is not what I am racing on. With folks begining to shave their beards, it won't be long until we have clear trails. Soon enough.

Why did they not have this program when I was in school?

I swear, my family is a source of comedy better than anything on TV. Our first grader had to write this thing on George Washington for school. Yeah you know, that guy, first president, on the dollar bill ... Our first grader wrote how this pillar of our history, who has his face etched in Mount Rushmore, joined the Virginia Army. But when translated into first grader lexicon the print came out to read that Mr. Washington joined "Virgin inja army." VIRGIN NINJAS? I know Boulder Valley School programs are progressive, but damn!

Tuesday 031808 13 miles (5, 8)

AM - easy five. Dark. Cold. Starry sky. Felt pretty decent. Legs are still a bit heavy, but not too bad.
PM - easy eight. Warmer and windy. Legs were pretty heavy but I was not feeling any soreness or structural concerns.

Dave M has started a blog. For folks who have never heard of Dave, he is a regular super hero between what he does on roads, trails, ice, rock ... in addition to Dave giving Matt a run for his money in the downhill race last year (literally), I personally have seen Dave run from Chautauqua Ranger Cottage to the base of the Second Flatiron, free scramble up the Flatiron, run to near the base of the third, free scramble up that and then run back down to the cottage. Under 40 minutes! Those Minions are nuts!


I did a little experiment at work today - I tried to avoid sitting down at all. In other words, I tried to stay on my feet as much as possible. I did this to see if it would make me feel any better with my general stiffness I have had in my hammie / glute and abdominal issue. I know it made me more aware of how I was ... being ... and so it made me drink more water, do some light stretching periodically, calf raises, etc. My co-workers, who were not aware of this experiment, were wondering why I stood in all their meetings, but I am a bit used to odd looks ("nice shorts!", "You ran how far?", "why do you shave your head?" "why are you standing up?"). I think I sat for about a half an hour all day, whereas I normally sit for close to seven hours all day. So day one results? My butt did not hurt. My feet did. Seriously, it seems to have stretched my hamstrings out a but more, made me more aware of how I am moving. I will look to repeat this experiment some more.

Additionally, I am trying to drop my refined sugar take. Generally speaking, I think it is not bad, but I hardly think it is great. Being a coffee drinker, I have often loaded up my java with the white stuff. This past week I have gone to artificial sweetners - yeah, I know, hardly much better but a small step forward. I am also going to try to back off the PB and J ... that stuff seems a bit loaded with refined sugars.

Monday 031708, 6 miles

I forgot to mention yesterday that while I ran on the treadmill in the AM, and I found it hard to keep my HR down at even slow paces, I had a different experience in the evening. I found that I could get to 7:30 pretty easily and still be well beneath 150. In fact, at the 8 and change paces, my HR was below 140. And I also found that I could push the pace up quite a bit (6:30s) and the HR would hover in the mid 150 range (although as it was a post dinner run, my gut was pretty angry, but that did not seem to effect HR). So this raises a couple of questions. 1.) Could it be that I can MAF at a higher HR (say 155) and still get good results? 2.) Why did I have issues in the AM in keeping my HR low? I am less concerned about the second question however, as a case study of one does not make for a good case. I realize that could be concerned about it: such conditions could reflect a body that is tired, and bordering on being overtrained. I think if I continued to see it, I'd have been really concerned - but the evening session seemed to put that to rest. It could have been that I was dehydrated, was still asleep, or heck, just a bit off. I am going to have to check with some of the MAF-mavens on the topic of the first.

It snowed here last night. We keep getting "whiffs" of Spring but then Winter let's know that it is not done yet. Ah well, better to get the water and avoid an early summer drought. I really appreciate the title of Kerrie's blog - How To Do It All. I am not sure I am ready to write that chapter, but I am trying to figure it out: family, work, training, sleep, diet, live for today, plan for tomorrow ... Our daughter was barfing again today, so that added another challenge that ... well, you just need to roll with (poor kid, she had the flu, got over it and seems to have gotten nailed with it again). In any case, I decided to go easy and short in light of my recent miles. I did an easy six with some short strides. Aerobically, I feel fine. I am definitely dealing with a higher degree of mechanical stress as of late that makes my ability to tap into some of that aerobic power difficult. In other words, my economy sucks right now. I think a combination of the higher miles, my abdominal issue and my lawn mower foot have added up to create a small storm of structural woe for me. In other words, I can feel it. Don't get me wrong - I wanted to dance on the edge a bit. I just wish that went I got to this edge, I did not feel like my wheels were coming off. I want to get back to a point now where I feel like I can jump over buildings, run up walls, and explode off that start line. And to that end, I am going to go find my jump rope now.

Week in review - 100 miles

After posting this AM, I got the itch to put this week away, and so I did the extra nine on the mill tonight. At first I was sluggish, but once I got rolling, it was okay (plus I could hear Timmy G in my head calling me a *** ******* *****, and yes, sometimes friends do call you that). 100 miles on the week, and over 13 hours of running. And because I know I will question it someday, I did and extra half mile to be sure. Maybe I mentally cracked to get that number, but I it felt nice to get it.

I picked up Noakes "Lore of Running" today at the library. This bugger is over 900 pages, dedicated to running physiology, training, etc. I don't think I am going to have it done before April 6.

Sunday 031608, 19 miles (10, 9)

10 miles this AM on the treadmill. First five "MAF"ing it (see test results - it went poorly but I am not sure that reflects anything really). Last five, abandoning HR electronica and running, upping the pace for strides. Legs are wood, lungs are fine. 91 on the week.

PM - came back and did nine more (+) on the mill in the evening to round out the week.

The second run - not, or "send me to Indiana"

Despite feeling like a bag of crap yesterday after my first run, I had aspirations to get in a second run. I wanted to get in a second run because, well, I wanted a nice little 100 number for my week (and yes, thoughts about a recent set of posts by those guys and the draw of such numbers came to mind). The afternoon did get away from me a bit as I was doing various chores around the house (uh, I suck at that general installation of things that get secured to studs behind drywall stuff ... I could do a whole series of posts on that), but I thought I'd get out in the evening for a short jog ... "just to get in a few more miles, just to make a dent to that three digit mountain ...".

Kerri recently noted that it is not necessary for her to plan rest, because rest happens. Last night, I got a dose of this. My son, JZ, got pretty ticked off at his sister. Why he was ticked, well, that is not important. I mean it sure as hell was important to him, but in the grand scheme of things, it is not important. But he was pissed. Pissed off enough that he decided to take the box that I had just unloaded that over the range microwave from, load it with almonds, pillows, water, peanut butter and saltines, blankets, his favorite stuff animal, and a basketball magazine. He wrote, after asking for help with the spelling, "To Indiana" on all the sides, put a single letter stamp on the upper right corner, climbed in and asked if we could drop him off at the mailbox. I asked if he could stay, as I had enjoyed his company as of late. He informed me that either he was getting in the box or his sister was.

Of course, I am doing all I can during this event to hold it together and not outright crack up in his face. So when we informed him that mail did not come until Monday, he said, "fine! I will stay until Monday but then I am going." When informed he had school on Monday: "okay then, I will go after school." He then marched out of the room, found his sister and they happily discussed their recent reviews of Shrek 3.

Deeply emotionally drained after all this, I decided not to run and instead hit the rack (as it was then 9PM). Rest happens. I am going to let the 100 number go this week. Obviously my body does not care if I got a 100 in between Monday to Sunday or Wednesday to Tuesday (as I did earlier this week). I care, but I need to keep the balance of those cares (that drive me to improve) against what is smart.

Saturday, 031508, 12 miles, ka-boom

When discussing training with Lucho, he has used the term "bomb proof." It is an interesting choice of words. They describe being so fit, so strong, that come race day, whatever the course, your body, the day throws at you - you are ready. Part of the reason why I find it interesting is because Scott Elliott, who I am pretty sure has never met Lucho uses the term "bullet proof" in the same context. Two guys, both driven, methodical, focused, never met and nearly the same terms.

And so the way you become bomb - bullet proof is to bomb yourself with long runs, tempo runs, aerobic work, anaerobic work, core work, intervals, hill sessions ... all so that come your race day, you can drop bombs on the competition, your goals, and yourself and get to that next level - whatever that is for you.

For the last 11 days, I have been dropping a bit of a bomb on myself with two concepts: training at a lower HR (and hence a slower pace) and increasing distance. The first, alone, is not much of a bomb. The second has seemed to have left me reeling. While my mileage is hardly anything of significance when compared to most, it is an increase for me. Up until about Wednesday of this past week, I seemed to be handling it fairly well. Since then, however, my runs have become long, slow(er) drawn out affairs where my body is yelling at me about dull aches and pains from connective tissue, muscle and bone. Some of this is the mileage. Some of this is that I have been "burning it" at the other end a bit with work (yeah, if I got an afternoon nap, I might be doing better), and family.

The goal has been to bomb myself to become stronger, to become more used to the greater mileage, to become more efficient aerobically, and to become more bomb proof. I knew that burying myself in mileage for a few weeks would be a challenge. But today, I am wrecked. My 12 today was a death march of heavy legs, slow running, held together only by will of personally requiring that I get it done. Sometimes you just take a pill of SIU and move on.

But, as training is supposed to do, this reveals a weakness, one of many for me. While in the short term, I may back off the number a bit, I do need up the ante here to become bomb proof. My plans are to run a marathon - not a 5K. And so, I need to make the investment in my bomb shelter with miles, minutes, hours. It is not the only thing I need to invest in, but it is clearly one I have learned needs some work. And all this is good stuff. In fact it is great stuff. I love getting out there and getting to the realization of this stuff.

Friday 031408, 12 miles

Easy 12 out at Teller Farm. Real easy. My legs are pretty heavy. Wore the electronica to assure the HR did not go about 150. I averaged 143 throughout. Pace was around 8, slower on the ups. Last ten days have been 144 miles.

Thursday 031308 15 miles (6, 9)

Mid day - 6, real easy.
PM - got out with TWK, headed west into the breeze on the way out, tail wind on the way back. Yapped about work, training, patience, and ... stuff. Easy miles, they flew by. I tacked on a few more on the end. All easy.

Pikes Ascent and Marathon Entry Lists Posted

Initial entry lists are up.

Pikes Registration Follow up

It appears that the Pikes registration went well yesterday. There are some complaints of Active's site management, but it seems that anyone who tried to get in, meaning they were ready with a good internet connection when registration started - got in. Sure, there are some folks on the wait lists, but given the windows of time it took to fill the races, and fact that wait lists are not full are evidence that the registration was generally fair. From the PP Message Board

General Registration:
Ascent Wave 1 - 284 of 950 spots left
Ascent Wave 2 - The 865 spots filled in ~1 hour 7 minutes
Marathon Field 1 - The 350 filled in ~26 minutes
Marathon Field 2 - The 375 spots filled in ~50 minutes
TCR Series General Registration:
Ascent Wave 1 - The 50 spots filled in ~50 minutes
Ascent Wave 2 - 56 of 200 spots left
Marathon Field 1 - 3 of 40 spots leftMarathon Field 2 - 19 of 60 spots left
Wait lists:
Ascent Wave 1 - 50 spots not started yet (W1 still open above)
Ascent Wave 2 - 76 of 125 spots left
Marathon Field 1 - 21 of 50 spots left
Marathon Field 2 - 32 of 50 spots left

All that said, I know that JV, Kerrie, Pliska, DB, and TP got in. I know that JV and DB know what they are getting into because they have done this race before. For the others, I feel like I have made this implicit recommendation for a restaurant they should go eat at.

I once suggested that TG eat at this Italian place in Louisville (it has since closed). I loved that place. I liked the food, the wine, the bar, the location. Needless to say, and as you probably guessed, he had a horrible experience there. I try not to recommend places to eat ever now. In fact when people ask directly, I say something like, "I like Denny's," just so they don't count on my recommendation. And I know everyone is an adult and it is for them to figure this stuff out.

But I have recommended Pikes with statements like "it will change your life." I really don't know that. I know it changed my life in some regard, but I don't know if it will change theirs. Well, maybe I know it will, but I don't know if that is a change they will consider as a positive one. I hope they do. It sure beats eating at Denny's. But Pikes is much more painful than the Grand Slam.

156 days to go!

Wednesday 031208, 12 miles (7, 5)

Slept hard last night. Again, I had plans to wake up early and get some miles in but the gravity around my bed at 5AM was significantly greater than usual. It is easy for me to validate the need for more sleep, and how it is truly a good thing. It felt good to not get up until 6:30. Mid day - I got out to the Davidson for a real easy seven. About half way in, my left hammie began to sing a bit as it were going to lock up, up in where it connects to my glute. I avoided that, but it freaked me out a bit and so I kept the run even easier than typical. PM - I got out to the Davidson again for an easy five. The winds had picked up at a pretty good clip. Again, I kept it easy.

I am definitely playing a bit on edge city here with the volume ... which is good in some regards, but I need to be a bit careful too. My Achilles is singing, the hammie gave me a warning today, and the ab thing continues to bug me (side note - I am begining to wonder if my abdominal thing is not diastasis recti but maybe Gilmore's groin. There appears to be a lot of stuff on this on that evil board). I know that for some the 100 mile week is not a big deal, but it is new to me. More concerning than my body yelling at me is that I am getting signs in my head that I am on the edge - a bit less mentally focused, irratable (although talking about the FDA for the last three days at work might be contributing to that). I am going to try to strike the balance of being careful and managing myself to get used to this load. I need to do that to be successful.

Today's picture, in the spirit of thinking of those folks registering today (if you are reading this, you ought to get in! JV - glad to hear you made it!) ... this is a shot I took on the day of the Ascent last year. And yes, it is a picture of a hose. And yes, it is a picture looking down the mountain. This hose runs from the Summit House at the top of the mountain, to an aide station (I think at about 1.5 miles to go ... which means nothing in terms of mile splits really other than you have way more time still to go up than you like). A few things about this aide station: 1.) the water tastes like a hose. 2.) the Gatorade tastes like a hose 3.) some nice person has the task of hauling this hose out there before the race and after the race 4.) the difference in water pressure (in hydrology terms, called head) is so significant, this hose is not actually hooked up to a spigot at the Summit House - but rather is siphoned down from a tub.

Tuesday, 031108, 15 miles (3, 6, 6)

AM - 3 miles with Lucy. 29 degrees. Breakfast - 2 cups of coffee, 2 eggs over easy, pc of toast; Later AM - big cup of joe from Ink. My morning is spent sitting in a relatively uncomfortable chair in a hotel conference room, discussing risk management, and design control when considering FDA medical devices. To keep busy, I do some other operational data crunching during the session.

Mid day - 6 miles, out west on Coal Creek trail and to the roads west of Superior. 23 out, 22 back. Easy. 70 degrees. Yes, that is a 40 degree swing. And yes, that is spring in Colorado. Ran a good deal of it shirtless. Again, at times I was floating, feeling great. And then almost turning on a dime, I'd feel heavy legged and tired. I imagine this is just the joy of a load of good miles. My afternoon was much like my morning. Sucked on a few Jolly Ranchers to promote tooth decay. They brought in an afternoon snack of chocolate chip cookies. I had a few. They were ridiculously soft - almost like dough. Very nice in the mouth. Less so in the stomach. I paid for this on the PM run when I "un-enjoyed" them. If you need to ask, you don't want to know.

PM - 6 miles on the Coal Creek again before heading home. 65 degrees and a breeze picking up out of the west. I was definitely begining to feel the fatigue of some miles here at the end of this run, even though it was easy. Back to the house and TZ headed out to class. The kids and I did pasta. TWK is out here this week, and apparently he enjoyed the CC trail as well. After dinner, I had some almonds and a Pacifico.

Today puts me at well over 100 miles (107 I think) for the last seven days. I think this is a seven day high for me. That feels good. I don't feel like I am fully redlining it, as I am breaking up the mileage into manageable chunks. I can imagine the 120 mile week. But this ain't no walk in the park for me either. I look at days and week like this and can't help but reflect that at one point the 100 mile week seemed so unnecessary for what I wanted to do. And why not? I was doing what I wanted to do with 50 mile weeks. It is odd. I could not run this much when I was 18. But I could run closer to 2 minutes for the half then.

I enjoyed JK's post today - essentially about the apparent monotony of training. I love that life. One day of training does not make you. One bad day does not break you. Live your life unlike anyone today so that you can live your life unlike anyone tomorrow.

Pikes Registration Gets Press

The Gazette has an article on Pikes Registration.

Monday 031008, 15 miles (6, 9)

I am a bit tired today. I had some aspirations when I went to bed of getting up early and getting some miles in. But I slept like a dead man last night and by the time I rolled out of bed, it was time to get the clan moving to school, etc. So I didn't. It is going to be another tight week with my schedule so I am going to end up sneaking stuff in at lunch, late night, early AM ... so a lot of little runs again.



Mid day - easy six on the Coal Creek Trail. Just me, prairie dogs, a few other runners, some guy that was fourth in the Olympic Trials Marathon in 2000, seventh in 2004. Care to guess who that is?

PM - easy on the Coal Creek Trail (the other way). It is so obvious that Spring is trying to break through ... and the time change is really helping (although there were bugs out there too!). At times I felt like I was just floating in this run. Other times I was feeling like my legs were made of lead.

Sunday, 030908, 16 miles (6, 10) week in review

This AM I was back down on the mill (my weekend schedule has not allowed me to get out a lot!). I jumped on at a 12 min a mile pace to "wake up" and then upped the pace every 15 seconds. As goofy as this sounds, this was one of the more comfortable warms I have done. My HR stabilized at 145ish around 3/4 of a mile (a bit short of that actually) and then I was at near 7 minute pace. I held this HR for the next five miles, slowing the pace in the last two as the HR would drift to 150. I captured the splits, etc in the spreadsheet I am going to maintain during this period. I don't think I can say I am seeing progress with my pace yet: my runs earlier this week were done with an upper limit of 142 and now I am using 149. In the afternoon, I was able to sneak out for a bit and got in another 10 - easy (75:30). My legs felt good, although my calves got a little tight at the end. My gut (stomach) was quesy on this one though (ick).

This was a good week. While I did not do any significant speed or hard workouts, I was able to focus well mentally with lots of consideration on how to train - and get in a good amount of mileage (87) despite having a day that I missed. My legs feel good - my biggest struggle has been getting the time to get the miles in. The plan for the next week is to continue this experiment.

Folks are prepping for the big registration day for Pikes this week. I lucked out last year that I get to by-pass this (and yes, there was some element of luck to it as the time I ran last year would not have secured such a benefit in the previous three runnings of the marathon). I remember when I first met Galen Burrell and Scott Elliott. We were doing Lindens in the early summer of 2006. I was asking the routine questions about training, nutrition, and their preparations for this little race in Manitou Springs. I mentioned that I had noticed they were not on the registration list. I caught the quick, almost imperceptible glance and slight sheepish grin between these two incredibly humble but powerful hill warriors. I then learned, and I had to pull this out of them that, as they had both won the race before (and Scott multiple times) they did not need to register. In fact, they could show up race day at the starting line and just race. For free. For the rest of their lives. I suddenly had the vision of an 80 year Galen Burrell showing up on race day and getting a spot on the front of the line. Now that is a cool race tradition. While I am afforded this lucky luxury this year, I know that most will be anxiously tied to their computers Wednesday AM, finger precariously triggered over the mouse, racing to get into the race. Regardless if you beleive this is the best way or the worst way to manage race registration, we all want to avoid the registration crash of last year. Good luck to all possible race participants!

Saturday 030809 16 miles (11, 5)

AM - on the mill. First 3 miles I did at 5 percent to see what pace a sub 150 HR would net. It was about 10 min / mile. When I dropped the grade, did another 8, again sub 150, and this was anywhere between 8 min / mile to 7:24.

PM - back on the mill. If I run on the mill every day, is this sort of like a MAF test everytime I run? I did five miles. First mile was 8. The HR settled down after 3/4 of a mile at 135-139. Now that alone is interesting. Yesterday on the track it was 149 at 8 min pace. Perhaps this is just further quantification that treadmill running is easier? So, I bumped it up and did the next three in 21:45 (ave 7:15) (mill was a 0.5 incline the whole time). When I pushed the pace up to 7:03, the HR would tag 150 and so I'd bring it back down. For the last mile I decided to push the incline to 10 percent and see what the corresponding MAF pace was. It was just under 11 min / mile. Now that my head is wrapped up around playing this game for a bit, I am interested in see what the mix of results will be at different inclines, etc.

Friday 030709, 15 miles (6, 9), MAF test - "You can be better"

This morning I met Lucho, Kerrie and Elizabeth over a Spangenburg Field, aka the track at Centaurus HS in Lafayette for the much discussed MAF test. It is pretty cool to get to run with these folks: I communicate with them here in cyber space quite a bit - and so when the opportunity to actually see them in the flesh occurs - it is a real treat. I hope I get to do it a lot more.

Almost immediately, Tim and I continued our discussion on MAF, my concerns about it, his rationale for it. I call this a discussion - because it is that. It is not an argument or a debate. We are discussing training, improving, our assumptions, science, our personal experiences and what we beleive it best. It is a passionate conversation. Kerrie was weighing in with some great points (which is really hard because I was talking a lot). I think everyone has heard Lucho's point of view on this. I think we agree on nearly ninety percent of what he (and Chuck) have said. But, mentally, I get stuck on this - why can't any training occur above the MAF rate during base?

I have a few different ways I attach to this question. I feel the need to get some semblance of leg speed back (and hence run above MAF). I feel the need to go out and run hills. Really big ones (and hence run above MAF). I feel that you build some degree of economy to run better at slower speeds when you have the ability to run faster for shorter distances (and hence run over MAF). Why can't I run at 155 and do 7:20's? In fairness to Tim, he did attempt to answer all these questions. I am still attached to them though.

We had our conversation during the warmup and then got to the MAF test at hand. I had a feel for what my MAF pace (8:15) was going to be based on my treadmill workouts earlier this week. Lucho recommended a pace that corresponded to a rate no higher than 149 bpm. I did a couple of laps to settle into the HR and then started the actual run. I quickly settled into about a 2 minute / 400 (or about an 8:10 mile) pace. I counted strides a couple of times to kill time (86 single leg for a minute). I had a couple of quick spots where I went over 150, particularly on the west side of the track where there was the slightest thing you could call a breeze. I also did push it up once or twice when as people lapped me (go figure!). I stuck in there for 32 minutes before I had to stop (as I had to get back to the office). I easily could have kept on going, but I guess that goes without saying.

In the warm-up I mentioned to Tim and Lucho that it would be really interesting if Kerrie ran faster than me in this - as our MAF numbers were about the same. Arguably, it would put further credibility into Lucho's point: I am anaerobically fit, but aerobically weak. I was faster than Kerrie at a 5K a few weeks ago. Well, in case you have not already guessed, Kerrie did indeed run about 15-30 seconds faster per mile at the same MAF (if not lower!).

Lucho, of course, was buzzing around the track for a bit and was kind enough to speak with all of us. As he lapped me (the first time) he asked how I was doing. I was fine, as I had mentally prepared myself to run at this pace. As he buzzed away, he said, with that bearded smile, "You could be better." And so, after all the scientific thought, all the rolling around with objective data this and that ... my thinking shifted based on an emotional input. I'd love to say that I have done the research with MAF and that I really beleive in it. But, as I have said above, I have serious concerns and doubts about it. I'd love to say that as a person who was trained as a scientist, I make decisions more on the data, less on my gut. I'd love to say as a person who makes their work life function off of presentation of data, driving data driven decisions, and showing frustration when decisions are made regardless of how the data will trend in the long term, I am objective with my training. But I really am not. This is probably why some friends of mine have said, "George, you are un-coachable" in the past. I work on my gut a LOT more than I like to admit. And so this journey to Pikes revealed that in an other little lesson to me today at some black rubkor track near on a Friday morning. When Tim said, "you can do better" it tripped that switch in me. It was not just the words, but how he said it. Hoakey I realize, but I knew when he said it, I'd have to try this. I am not sure if Tim realized that he played that card, but damnit ... that card gets me quite a bit in this world. I have decided I am going to try this MAF for a period of time. Mentally, I have not turned the corner to say I am going to do this for six or eight weeks. I am somewhat shy of that level of commitment. Maybe two weeks and I will see if there is any significant improvement. Maybe three. I am reconciling this against my concerns and fears in this way:

1.) I am 23 weeks out of Pikes.

2.) I am going to load up the mileage during this period

3.) I am going to see if keeping this easy thing actually gets my ab issue to fully repair

4.) I will look to reconcile the MAF and hill issue by doing so called MAF runs on the mill at incline, albeit at a slower pace

5.) If I get the ab to heal correctly, I will looks to bring strides back into the mix quickly

Thanks to Phil for lending me his HR monitor today.

What else to say? Some pix from the event today. Lucho and Kerri before the test at Centaurus Lucho and me. His beard is much cooler than mine.


About to get lapped by Lucho and Kerri in the MAF test (yup, I grabbed my camera off the bench when I saw them coming and tooks some shots).

And there they go.

HR rate data

Later in the day I was working a bit with TWK and he sent me this cool screen shot.

I got in another 9 on the mill in the evening (8 min pace)