Monday 30NOV2015

Pedatella  is a bad ass among bad asses.   Not one for blogs (heck he is only on FB because he lost some bet some time ago), or big sponsorships, he quietly gets ridiculous events done.  Like that ridiculous BA RMR run.  And TDG.  Gets it done.  Well, except when he fractures bones.  While he does not remember the world before the iPOD, his generally witty takes give him an honorary #GOM distinction.  You won’t see him post a race report but you can get a story or two out of him over a beer.  And even though I whined at him for 25 miles at Pb, he still pretends like it was a good experience for him.  Good dude.

Interesting all time list for Leadville.

47 slots for over 1300 applicants?  Maybe you should do that race that Nick does mentioned above.

November ends with 216 miles – or about the same as September and October (with about 30 something hours and 15k feet of climb … which is also nearly the same, maybe a bit more vert than those months).  On the year it is 3177.9 miles, 223110 feet and 436.1 hours. 

Just for comparison purposes, in 2014, I finished the year with 3436.9 miles, and 1254.6 of those miles came in the last third of the year.  December was 343 miles, meaning that through November on the year I had run just under 3100 miles.  This year, I will have less than a 1000 miles in the last third of the year, but through November I have just under 3200 miles.  In other words, I may finish with the same number of miles as last year but I am getting a lot less of those in the fall and winter months.  And for what it is worth, I am about 50k at this point more vertical feet this year than all of last year. 

I am not one to tie into the series of television shows, like Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones (although I have read that series of books thus far).  The concept of The Man in the High Castle was fascinating enough to me that I tuned in (I also have an Amazon Prime subscription so that didn’t hurt). 

Basic concept – the Allies have lost WWII to the Axis powers and now the US is a divided territory between the Nazi Reich and the Empire of Japan.  These ruling countries now sit in a Cold War.   There are elements of the series that were mildly interesting from the suspense drama perspective, but I found the consideration of what the world to be like in such a scenario, particularly what things would be similar and what things would be different, to be thought provoking. 

The sort of stuff I think about at work.

I am probably set to the indoors, if at all for the remainder of the week.  Given as such I played the weenie game and juggled a call and a jaunt on Green mid day.  6.2 miles.  Quite the winter wonderland out there today. 

Sunday 29NOV15

A true old timer weighs in on what’s what in running.

Everything you wanted to know about MAF tests via one person’s experience. 

In years past, there was some thought that the start of the next training season for Pikes came the first Sunday after Thanksgiving.  The Incline Club typically starts their season at this time, as it represents about 3 months from the finish of Pikes and about 9 months to the next start.   While I have been in a bit of a recovery hole for the last 3 months, with everything from feeling the effects of Leadville, dealing with various travel, loss of fitness, and niggling injuries, I felt a semblance of coming back around in the last couple of weeks. 

I am not sure what I will look to accomplish next year.  I imagine it will include Pack Burro Racing – at least Fairplay - but beyond that, I go between considering training for a 10k to getting back to Leadville to going to Pikes again to doing some altogether different races.  It will come together, but for now I need to get back into some sort of basic shape.

Afternoon – 10 miles, sort of draggin’ arse.  57ish miles on the week. I felt good that I was getting back on it with a track session, Bear, and a race.  I was a bit cooked on the weekend but I made it through with only one day off on the week.

JZ turns 15

This guy turned 15 years old today.
We did a bit of work at the local indoor range.

Some other recent shots … some birds in the back yard.

Thanksgiving games and food.
Opening night of Peppermint Stout at BC.

10 miles very slowly around Broomfield in the later afternoon.

Fun read on the Team Colorado.

Everything you wanted to really know on NCAA XC from HOR.

Good read on one guy’s take up to HR.

Friday 112715

Nada.  I laced them up but at the last sec I made a call not to run.  I had been gimping all day and could not walk straight – the right Achilles was just that upset. 

Thanksgiving 2015

I woke up very sore after a fitful night of sleep.  My quads were really unhappy and letting me know that the effort on Bear with JV the other day was something I was no longer regularly accustomed to.  And my right Achilles was arguing with me some. 

I had decided to head over to the Commons ahead of the family so that I could work through the race bib pick up and give them a bit of extra time to get out of the house.  The sore limbs and the fact that the streets were getting covered with an ice snow mix made the jog was over very very slow (10-11 minute pace).
I got the bibs quickly and then found that I had about an hour to spare in 20 degree temps on a humid morning with snow coming down.  I took up some refuge in the restroom facility where there was some tiny bit of heat.  The race crews started piling in so I headed back out.  The family showed up in the car, and while they were toasty warm, my teeth were chattering.  I cranked up the car heat to defrost and they had to get out a few times to cool off.

It was generally agreed that these had to be some of the most ridiculously colored shirts we had ever seen at a race


Red and brown.  Good for yard work. 

I went with actual shorts for the race … this was not a great idea but I did not want to deal with tights or sweats getting wet from the roads that were sort of melted.  We made our way over to the race start and got off.

With the sore legs and angry Achilles and general lack of fitness I could tell I was getting out very conservatively.  While I recognize I need to focus on where I am in my fitness and not where I was, this was a clear as a bell reminder of a difference.  I recall getting off the line and feeling that power of drilling the speed, being ready, not yet being tired and the wind on your ears.  None of that today!

As we got down Sheridan, I was looking to see if JZ had got out ahead of me, or if he was near me.  I could not see him and so settled into what seemed like a psuedo sustainable pace.  The road was wet and my shorts were getting soaked on the rear (more on this in a bit). 

That was pretty much it.  I passed some folks, got passed by some young lady and just moved along.  There was not a ton of fire to crush myself, but there was not a lot to do there if I wanted to.  20:42, 12th and first master.   6:27 to start (slightly downhill on Sheridan), and then 6:36 on the dirt through the park and a sad 6:50 to wrap it out (no kick, Strava has the effort at 6:44 for the finishing section).   Again not pretty but an improvement over last week and I will keep carving away.

JZ was not stoked about the snow and elected to jog it so he was content for me to beat him … at least this time.  He mentioned to me this would probably be my last T-trot to do so.

The wet of the back of my shorts had leaked up to the front some … but in a nice pattern that looked like I had pissed myself.  I saw one of KZ’s school chums cross the line and I congratulated her.   She thanked me but then got a glance at my shorts and gave me a look of disgust.  Getting old is great.

I circled back and picked him up, then KZ and then TZ and then jogged home.  9.1 miles on the day.   It was a great day of family, friends, food and fun. 

The Achilles was angry enough the rest of the day that I was gimping around the house …  good thing it was mostly sitting for the day. 

There were many highlights of the day (the Wii Dance Party game is thankfully not on video) but one was getting a call where I was first asked “what was your time?!”   More seriously, having brothers like that are some of the things I am most thankful for. 

Wednesday 25NOV2015

Afternoon – 10.1 miles.  Did a bit with the dogs and then got out on my own for a bit as the weather shifted.  The “For Addie” arrows on the sidewalks were out again this year, so I followed those.   I was a bit sore from yesterday’s effort on Bear.  Race tomorrow and will look to hold off the boy for at least this T-day. 

Tuesday 24NOV2015

Bear with JV (out of Cragmoor).  Always awesome with this guy, not always fast.  Today was not fast.  Because of me.

These shots by JV.

6 miles.

Monday 23NOV2015

Shad’s coverage of the weekend.

Good wrap on the NCAA XC.

Afternoon – beautiful fall day, maybe even a little warm.  5 and change warming up over the trails and then over to the BHS track all by me self.  I chose to do a “beginner workout” …  because I am a beginner at this point.  I can think about what I used to run and probably set myself up for disappointment when I look at where I am.  Or I can just recognize that this is where I am and I see if I can improvement. 

The beginner workout is 200-200-400 … I guess it could be altered to be very hard, but I find this to be a bit easier because it is not as mentally or physically taxing as 5 x1000 or 6 x 800.  I am not ready for that sort of thing so this was a good ice breaker.  I did 4 sets (again, not super rough) but it was enough to pitch me some work.  Nothing to brag about but I won’t duck where I am:  39-40+ on the 200s and 80-84 on the 400s.  Equal rest to whatever I did on the rep before.  None of these were all out but definitely above well 5k pace – the point being to get some turn over.

10.7  miles.  It felt good to do this sort of work, but admittedly I was a bit nervous going into it.  The track does not lie.  It is just an oval.  It and a watch just provide truth.

Music today … Foo dropped a surprise EP.  Digging the first song quite a bit. 

And Tool’s new release.

Or you can watch the whole concert.

Oh, I did a bunch of myrtle squat stuff too.  I suck at that.  I need to make it a regular doing.

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.

Friday 20NOV2015

Another fail on the part of a governing organization of athletics. 

Casey is brilliant.

Nope.  Actually today I was of the mind to let the mountain racing go for a season and to chase road and track stuff for a year .

Solstice Slog part 3 word went out today.  Not a brilliant idea but certainly fun.  Drop me a note if you want the details.

Afternoon as the snow was blowing in … 5.1 miles easy.  I felt good enough (hooray) to go a bit more but I figured I better do what I could to better my odds for tomorrow.  Tomorrow will be ugly but I have mentally reconciled it that is okay  … it is sort of a mark the bottom of the barrel … maybe then I can only go up.

I recalled on my jog today this dream that I have been having for I don’t even know how long.  I am running, on a track or in some race and I am struggling to go as fast as I want to go.  It is not because of my fitness, but it is because I can’t make traction with the ground as well as I like.  I start clawing at the ground with my hands and it gets a little better but I continue to fall behind.

I think this has a deep psychological meaning that reflects my feelings on my first car which was a 1974 Ford LTD.  Or something like that.  This is not the one I had but it looked a lot like it except it did not have the two tone top, and I spun the white walls in so the tires were black out.  And I never had fuzzy dice.

It only got like 8 miles to the gallon and it slipped a lot in the snow.  It was quite the land boat.  Kind of like me.  I slip a lot.  Low miles to the gallon.  And about the age of that car. 

Thursday 19NOV2015

This blog is often as much about my family as it is about my running these days.  And in that regard, here is today’s proud news.  KZ made all state choir with this song.  This is not the performance she actually had for the state competition, but it is the same piece.

Super proud of this woman.

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Idiocy of the day … I had two things that got me thinking about Leadville today. 

First a guy about my age and about my running ability is thinking of doing Leadville next year.  He asked me for some tips and if I was doing it next year.  I clearly stated “NO” I won’t be doing it because the recovery is too damn hard for me / I am too much of a wuss to handle the recovery.  I then told him that my tips would be to plan for where he’d struggle.  Based on my experience those tips would be learning to manage nutrition/hydration in the latter stages of the race, running at night, having more experience at longer runs (I only had two runs longer than 50 miles in my life prior to this Leadville), having runs where I was familiar pushing at 13 minute mile pace in the latter stages of the race, and time at altitude.

I think the lack of all these at Leadville meant I slipped from a 21 hour performance there this year (and perhaps even 20) to 23 and change.  I did the last section (Mayqueen to Finish) in 3:40.  When I saw Mackey last night he asked me about the race and when I told him that, he laughed and said, “yeah that is pretty bad.” 

But all that conversation … I still said to Greg W at the BHS track yesterday while doing 200 meter strides with the kids, “If I ever say I want to do Leadville again, hit me in the knee with a baseball bat.”  And we both agreed that they are pretty unhealthy activities.

But then I saw this on FB today.

With this commentary afterwards

I don’t know why but that little exchange and that picture … it just lit up that back part of my brain to think about doing the race again.  Insidious damn thing.   I better find Greg that baseball bat.

By the way, dig into that thread and you will also see some of the nuttiness of youth that I have been pondering.
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I can say that by maybe being away from Pikes for a year and with the “streak” being broken, I don’t feel some crazy pull to do it again next year.  At least no more than any other race.  I might do it, I might not.  It is a bit weird to think that but I am finding I am a bit more okay with considering something other that.  Like maybe 800 meter races on the track.

Interesting read by Lauren Fleshman on what distances should be raced for XC.

Speaking of XC, last week the kids at BHS had a time trial to prep for NXR.  It so happened that another school in the area also participated and there was some consideration to keeping score between the two schools even though it was not a “real meet.”  I was at the TDO so I missed this.  I shared with some of the kids on the team after the fact, “that is a dual meet.”  HS XC runners have no idea really what that is or what that means.  I shared how “in the day” our season was a dozen dual meets and few invitationals.  That has all changed (probably because of costs), and there are essentially no dual meets.  I see it as a bit of bummer … I know I enjoyed specifically considering how we performed against other rival schools head to head … and how that could score different in an invitational meet.  Anyway the kids were looking at me like I was from another planet of how you could win conference for the season based off a dual meet record. 
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late afternoon – 10 miles.  Actually a good run.  I felt fairly decent.  I bumped into Coach Dan V out there and jogged with him for a bit too.  Thankful to have a run like this on a cool autumn day with someone as nice as Dan. 

Wednesday 18NOV15

Afternoon – the temps just plummeted in the afternoon once the sun tucked behind the clouds over the mountains that were throwing those winds.  Just felt like it was biting.  I jogged over to BHS track and ran with the kids who are heading to NXR tomorrow (for the race over the weekend).  Nothing hard for them now … just some 200 floats at race pace and easy jogging in between to keep the legs moving.  They are fit.  It was good for me to jog behind them a bit and get a few turns in at sub six pace without having to think too much about it.

Good reminder on Lydiard principles.

So a beer mile guy got signed by a big sponsor.  This, and burro racing, continue to demonstrate to me that straight up fast running is often not going to make you a pay check.  Max King got more money at the Warrior Dash championship than any of his other paydays.  If you are a 14 flat 5k guy, you are probably gonna be making more money working at the shoe gear shop than you are off of your racing.  Somewhat tangential …it was recently shared with me that the top video gamers in the world make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and in some cases millions. 

I ended up having a bit of a conversation with someone as to what 100 events are harder. You know, the classic is Leadville harder than whatever.  I am more of the mentality that a fast 5k could be just as hard or harder than a Leadville – not counting the recovery component.  Is Hardrock harder than Leadville?  Or is a 100 mile on a track harder or easier than both?  Some of it is your personal game.  I consider Nick P who has done well at Hardrock but has struggled at the track ultra stuff.  Alternatively Bob S has historically done well on that flat repetitive ultra stuff but would probably die in the first 20 of Hardrock (only because he can’t lift his feet more than six inches off the ground).  Racing events is hard – regardless of the distance.  When you race it, you are committing to make the damn thing hurt.

Caught up with Mack Daddy Dave at the Flatirons event tonight.

Also got to jog for a few miles with Shad and Jeff.  Fun to catch up with them … even if they made fun of my old man sweater.