Tuesday 070709

• AM – 4 miles easy. Sluggish. AvHR=140.
• PM - 15+ miles on variations on the Mesa trail.  2:45 of running.  Hot.  AHR=156.  3500 feet of climbing. First hour solo kept is real low key- average HR was 138.  Then joined JV and ran “easy” with him, but AHR = 161 over that (little less) hour.  Then joined BTR Tuesday night crew and I was cooked, put a fork in me, done … I just thrashed about and ran behind everyone… HR averaged 168.  More data later … I am tired now.  This run was definitely harder because of the load I have been carrying.
• Race preview for Barr Trail by Justin … (women)
• I am clearly looking to continue to pile on some degree of volume here in July. I have often said that the key to races like Pikes are five fold: run alot, run up, run fast, run down, and altitude.
  
  I have debated the order of these with folks (particularly fast and down ordering), but nearly all agree with the "run alot" and "run up." Altitude - well, I put last just because some folks can't do anything about that, and some folks, even though they do get to train at altitude still (disproportionately) struggle there. It is good if you can get it, but it perhaps the least important of the "keys."
  
  That said, I have beleive I have curtailed the "run long" stuff. Simply, getting out for three, four hour runs is ... hard. Not just getting out and doing the run for that amount of time, but finding the time to do that AND then finishing the run in a mental condition that does not leave you as a wastetoid for the rest of the day - and hence impacting how you interact with those you love. But, arguably, with the marathon being at least four hours (with the exception of a handful of folks), if one wants to properly prepare, such sessions are necessary (or at least a build up to them).
  
  I guess I know that I have eschewed this real long running stuff. When I asked folks like Galen and Bernie what made them successful, I heard stuff like "training 15 hours a week" or "a lot more hundred mile weeks." Arguably at this point, I am "cramming for the exam" by looking to address this weakness with some higher (for me) mileage weeks.
  
  I bring this all up though because I think this understanding that I can "comfortably" fit in 10 hours a week has also led me to sneak in more speed work. In other words, understanding that 15 hours a week might be best but that I can't regularly get that due to other choices I have happily made in my life - has led to a thinking like this: "can't get three hours, let's bang out a hard ten." Of course, there has also been other factors that have led me to doing that sort of running, which includes seeing my overall speed drop (200 meter repeats have slowed by four seconds over the last three years), how I have trained historically for 20+ years, and having "fun."
• Yeah, sometimes aerobic training is not fun. If you are going to do it with specific HR caps. be prepared to run alone. I have run with folks who are more than 10% slower then me on 10ks, but I need to let them go on short easy runs because I see my HR floating too high. Discipline to a HR cap is going to be challenged when you get together with the guys for an easy run - and definitely more so if it is the typical throw down session that a lot of runs become.
  
  But, even more then that - I know a lot of folks who just don't care about that sort of development of running. I know that comes across as a judgment but it is not. They rather bang out a hard five miler with their buddies, or run hard up a mountain, or bomb a downhill all out. It is fun. And it is why they run. I can see a spectrum in my head where running at one end is without regard for any training principle, or plan, or results. At the other end is training with very specific goals, plans, outcomes. It is up to the individual to determine which is fun - and what is fun for you might not be for someone else.
  
  JV and I have had this conversation dozens of times. I have told him that I think he could run sub 2:30 in the PPA if he did some track work. I legitimately believe that. But that sort of work just would not be fun for JV. And so, he does not do it. He has fun killing himself up Green (and every other 14er in the state) - and is happy with doing that and the outcomes. That is the balance - find the balance between fun and outcomes.
  
  Another example of this is my periods where I give up beer.  Drinking beer is fun.  I love it.  I love making it, I love the smell of it, I love its presentation in a glass with a nice good head.  But I give it up for periods of time in my life because that represents a discipline towards a goal for me.  And demonstrating that discipline is fun in its own way.  I don’t think it has a huge outcome particularly on what I am able to physically perform on race day, but it leaves my mind in a set that believe it drove appropriately towards some objective. 

Monday 070609

• Slept in this AM. This week will end with a run at the Barr Trail Race. I love this race. It serves as a great tune up for Pikes, it is well directed from a racers perspective, and it is competitive. By tune up, I specifically mean it kicks me right in the teeth to wake me up as to the pure hell I will race five weeks after that. I recall the first time I ran this in ‘06, I looked up at Pikes when you pull out of the “W’s” and was blown away as to how far away it was, how high was still after all that climbing… Sometimes I think it is better when you have foggy conditions.
• Midday, easy 6 with KP, SM, PM at work. AHR = 141. Last week, nearly identical route had an average HR of 144, in nearly the same exact time.
• PM – 10 miles. AHR = 146. Max =152 (got caught on a few of the early hills). Started out feeling great but by mid run was feeling blah and the pace just kept slowing … Music listening included William Topley, Black River and Mike Errico, Skimming
• Lots of racing this weekend. Seems like everyone I know raced!
  • Lucho – wins the Scar Top Mtn 12k.
  • Justin wins a 10k in New Mexico over some ET types.
  • Congrats to DoubleJ for a Loon victory!
  • Congrats to Andy at the Vail Hill Climb. I am also amazed that Anna O doubled back to this event after doing the WS100 last week!
  • More results (via JM)

Sunday 070509

I felt compelled to get up particularly high and was actually thinking about the Decalibron loop some.  After a morning of clearing trees (yes, fun with a chain saw) up in Fairplay (have to cut out some beetle kill and mistletoe growth), I decided on Mosquito Pass. 

In  order to assure that I got up high quickly, I cheated and drove to the lower London Mine “lot” (just past the lower mine, past the river crossing).  This is a little further than I ran the other day.  In any case, I was hit with some steep climbing right out of the car.  I had contemplated going higher, but the weather was pretty crappy at the pass, so I elected to scoot back down (of course, the weather got better – which I should count as a blessing!).  I explored a side mining road going back up from the upper mine, before coming back down. 

Got some shots, but my camera battery was struggling.  I was a little beat on this run after working the yard all day, so I kept it easy.  Even so, I had the same struggles in keeping my HR sub 150 (saw a 156).  I’d look at my watch and see 144.  Look around at some mountains, marmots, then look at my watch … 152.  It changes that fast.  Averaged 139 on the run.  Sucked back nearly 70oz on the run (Camelbak), left hip a bit tight but I think that is from how I slept last night  - not running.

That is some water rushing down the side of the road!

Sunny one minute, cloudy and gray and imposing the next
 

Lots of these “chirping” at me today” (marmots)

The Pass is up there about another 3/4 of a mile, but lost quickly in clouds
At the summit of the pass …

Looking east once I descended a bit

Battery died on this video – sorry!

  

Stuck jeep …and a rainbow.

Week in review …

• M – 8 miles (66 minutes)
• T –10 miles, (83 min) , 6 miles (51 minutes) (end of June)
• W – 15 miles 117 minutes with last four up tempo
• Th -  altitude, 8 miles (73 minutes), 4 miles (39 minutes)
• F – altitude, 16 minutes (127 minutes)
• Sa – 8 miles, (84 minutes), 3 miles (26 minutes)
• Su –   8 miles, (142 minutes), Mosquito Pass and other climbs

• 783 minutes on week.  85 miles on week over 10 runs.   61 miles on July, 503 minutes.  1751 miles on year, 14818 minutes,  7400 feet  of climbing on the week.  I was nearly the same on time this week as last but nearly 10 miles less – because I ran about 5000 more feet of gain and had half the week sleeping about 10000 feet.  I think it is a good trade off this time of year.

Saturday 070409

Happy Independence Day.

Altitude recovery drink … yes, I combine them.

Run this AM was a real easy (avHR =137, max = 151) run, exploring some paths and trails in the National Forest that I have not been on before. Got up to about 12000 feet at the “Powerline” meadow (pix later). Getting there required a 16 min + mile to keep HR in check, as there was a good section north of 20% grade.. Today was recovery, and so I kept it that way.

PM - no HR monitor. Dog asked me to go for a jog. So I did. 3 miles. Great sunset. Post dinner and a glass of wine, which I would not typically recommend.

Friday 070309

 

 

 

 

 

Headed out on Park County Road 12 this AM.  This is about a 2 mile run down to a fork of the Platte River and then you start running up towards Mosquito Pass.  Most of the road is never really steep (except above the river crossing past the lower London Mine – which is about the last 2 miles heading up to Mosquito Pass), with the grade averaging 4-5% (a few sections are a bit steeper, but not much and not for long).  Plan was to get out for 2 hours, capping the effort on the way out and then building the effort on the way back, with the last two miles back up being hard.  They would be hard anyway but I figured I’d put that out there to start.  Ran wit the Camelbak.  I had contemplated running all the way out the pass but the early morning clouds as well as other planned obligations put the ka-bosh on that. London Mountain is in the center of this shot (at the start) and Mosquito Pass essentially sits behind and to the left (south of it).

 

 

On the way out changed plans up a bit and thought if I could average under 10 minute miles, I’d do 8 out and then get back in about an hour.  That would give me about 2:20.  Averaged 1:45 out, and got out there in 80 for the 8, but just barely.  The last two miles were north of 11.  Comparisons of ending altitude, GPS versus barometric.

This “finish” was just below the lower London Mine.  It would be, if memory serves me correctly, about three more miles to the Pass (that then can drop into Leadville).  I took quick bio break and started the run down.    

I was able to keep near sevens under the 150 cap.  After about ten miles I let things begin to float above 150, and then 160 near 12.  Just as I was about a half mile into the last two miles, KZ called me (you can see where in the HR data below).  Oh  well – it is my daughter, I am going to take that call in a run.  I took the pause, but then circled back a bit to get the HR back up before starting the watch again, but it still took me a bit to get back to 170 again.  The last mile hurt in the legs but it was a good hurt (whatever that means).   HR average on the way back was 159, with the last four at 166, last two 168 (albeit with the interruption).  Total side note – I notice near the start of both segments a jump in HR for no apparent reason (plus 160).  It quickly drops though.  Might be the HR monitor but the Garmin has not done that historically.  16 miles on the day, 1300 feet plus of climbing, 2:17.  Feeling good.  Definitely feeling some of the load, but it is not killing me.  :)

This is funny … particularly since one of the competitors won’t even be on the same continent as the race.

Good post on how to train with a HR monitor.

 

Loon Mountain race this weekend back east:  It consists of a 1/2 mile climb up a 40% grade ski slope to the top of North Peak before you bomb down the Sunset trail on the other side to the finish. OUCH.

 

Podcast via Mzungo with Ritz.

Thursday 070209

Up in Fairplay as of last night.  Seem to be recovering well from yesterday’s effort.  In the AM with the dogs … 4 miles up, starting at 10000+ feet, going up to 112xx.  Slow.  Almost 43 minutes.  I averaged under 150 (146), but there were sections where I'd look down BE WALKING and the HR was 150+.  This was simply a combination of elevation, grade, pace … (and fitness) …

It was like my HR was super sensitive - which I'd expect it to be at that elevation on a run at an up grade.  My experience has been that the last couple weeks, I have become attuned to when it gets to 147-8 and I can slow up a bit to bring it back quickly with a change of pace.  That was not as viable this time - by the time it got to 148, it was - even at a slow down at that point, on a roll to 150+.

The run down was about 7:40 pace at 140.  Not zippy for a down, but again, the altitude must be a factor. 

 

 

 

  

... I measured my heart in bed when waking up and I had it 46, which is a little higher than down at home.  I expected that.  But when I was sitting waiting for the satellites to synch with the GPS/Garmin ... the HR monitor read me as low as 39.  I have NEVER seen it that low.  I think my lowest before was 42 down in the flats.

 

 

 

in the PM, 4 easy … AvHR 135.

Wednesday 070109

• AM – up early. Felt creaky – sort of how I typically do in the mornings, but atypically have not been feeling the last couple of weeks. So I was really slow to start, and had a bit of issue getting to a pace where HR was above 140. It was weird – I was working to get the legs moving and the HR was floating in the low 130s. Kept thinking I’d curtail this run because of how I felt (cruddy legs) but it just kept unfolding another mile, another mile. After 10 at an AvHR = 140 (max 148), I picked up the pace for the next four (AvHR=167, max = 175). Jogged a mile warm down. 15 on the day. RHR at wake = 44. Listening today – several podcasts, including Adam Corrolla podcast, BS report.
• Scott Elliott apparently has been up Bear 175 times this year and is nearing 500k vertical feet on the year.
• Dave Mackey posts a bit post his WS100 run … “given time to train next spring 2010, I will be back to run Western States”

Tuesday 063009

• AM – 10 miles. RHR = 44. AvHR = 144. Got a silly one second 151 max on one of the hills by the “parade of homes.” About 8:10 average, but picked up a lot of slow miles in the tail end over the hills coming back. I need to be better about staying on top of hydration in this heat. I drank nearly 2 liters of water around dinner last night and I still felt dehydrated this AM. Worked the “2 day” kinks out of my legs from the Sunday run. Music = Rose Hill Drive, Live at the Fox Theater.
• Matt Carpenter Interview at Runner's World
• Bacon on the Peak (plus a little bit of Carpenter, some course overview, and you can actually hear him breathing for once). (this is pretty damn funny … )
• PM – pretty dang hot. Easy 6 miles, AHR = 146. Definitely was feeling a bit sluggish out there today, but at the same time I wanted to roll … almost wanted to get the miles done and roll. Stuck to easy miles though, with the plan being more miles now and running hard that the tail of longer runs. I was antsy enough to get this run started that I did not even let the GPS set … it took 3/4 of a mile to get it going. But I am still a bit beat in the legs. Music = Rush, Moving Pictures.
• Post by Joe G re: New Hampshire, Cranmore, Tilton and the like.
• June rollup … ran all 30 days with a high of 20.5 on June 28, and a low of 1 on June 19. 333 miles on the month. Halfway through the year, with 1680 miles. 14235 minutes on the year, 2734 minutes on the month. Approximately 22000 feet of elevation on the month … (and for what it is worth, my measured AHR on the month is calculated to be 149).
• Interesting thread in yesterday’s post about USMT selection

Monday 062909

• Slept in (man that felt good) to help ensure recovery from yesterday. Felt pretty good through the day yesterday but I was ready for the rack big time when nine bells hit. Will go easy and maybe a bit lower on miles today. Looks like I might get the opportunity later this week to be up high. Resting HR this AM was 44.
• Congrats to all the folks who ran Cranmore yesterday. Joe Gray won it by a lot, Zac F was second, Matt Byrne was third. Rickey G was fourth (insightful post) but I’d think he has to be a lock for the at large berth given his performance at Mount Washington. Fellow Fleet Feet teammate and kick me in the ass at the “wall” at Mount Washington guy Simon G was seventh.
• Post race interview with Hal from WS100.  Anita O’s post race interview.  Thrashing on ultras in the comments today … Brett’s post covers it best.
• mid day – very slow and easy 8 miles (warm, 90 degrees). I notice a total deflection in pace (slowing) while maintaining the same HR on warm days around 20-30 minutes of running. I can only assume it is because my core temperature rises to a point at time where the heart has to work harder (at the same pace) to keep the body cool.  And so when I run at a near constant HR, that means I need to run slower to do that. AHR =144, max 149. Definitely a bit sluggish in the legs today – but not bad. I am hoping I get out for a few more tonight (not a guarantee)

Sunday night …

Making beer, sipping wine, chicken bryan …

Sunday 062809

• Clearly Dave had a rough day yesterday.    I have not talked with Dave so I don’t know what happened.    All I can do is salute him … It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.  
• I got to give credit to Hal.  I totally overlooked him  … focusing on Dave and Scott.  Stupidity on my part to overlook the defending champ!
• I look at ultras with a bit of odd  respect … I say odd because I recognize they are a bit of a freak show.  Of course, running up 14000 foot mountains is a freak show (and running down them is just plain stupid).    In fact, I guess, running 2 laps around a track as fast as you can is its own freak show (and it probably the fastest way to incur symptoms in your body that best emulate what only the very sick might feel).  So, yeah, running is a freak show (and folly).  Ultras however are their own sort of freak show.  Kind of remind me of contests of who can smile the hardest.  In any case, I am not sure if I will do one some day … I feel my journey as a runner may not be complete unless I do, but at the same time, it scares the crap out of me (and I am not talking about the 50k ultra gig here).  In any case, when I get there, I will want to reference this checklist post.
• Brandy E has a blog.
• Up at 0430 for a long progression run.  I felt like crap.  After a cup of coffee, I got out the door around 5:10.  Jogged down to the school where I’d do my circuit (relatively flat, has a port-a-pottie, near the house), set up a couple of Gatorade bottles (did this route twice so I had plenty of water if I needed it).  This set me up through a warm up … then just tried to lock in at 144-148 for the next 6 miles.   I never felt great, but the miles were just clicking off at about the same pace, or a little faster or at a lower HR then when I did this course a couple of weeks ago.  At 10 miles, I took a quick bio break, got some fluids and a gel, and switched direction.  This direction is a little faster (as I get the riser in one shot versus taking it all the way around most of this half mile loop.  With these runs, it seems that I gain a bit more confidence with each mile.  My legs never felt zippy, but I could start to smell the barn with each mile I put away.  I started to nudge things a bit at 12 miles, allowing the HR to float to 150 plus.  When I got to 16, I turned the display for the HR monitor off and just ran.  To add in a little variety at this point, I broke away from the school loop and started running my gear (empty bottles) back to the house.   I saw that I had a shot a getting under 2:30 for 20 (a cum pace of  7:30) and went after that.  Got it (2:29:x).  Warmed down back to the house 20.5 miles
  .

  

• Week in review …
  • M – AM, 5 miles (41 min), PM – 7 miles (57 min)
  • T –11 miles, (94 min)
  • W – AM , 10 miles (82 min), PM 5 miles (42 min)
  • Th -  16 miles (131 minutes)
  • F – AM, 4 miles (34 min), PM, 10 miles (86 min)
  • Sa – 7 miles (59 min)
  • Su –   20.5 miles (154 minutes)

  • 782 minutes on week.  95.5 miles on week over 10 runs.  309 miles on June, 2534 minutes.  1666 miles on year, 14035 minutes,  2600 feet  of climbing on the week.

  • Next week … need to see how I absorb this week.  I had set out to get 80, but shot well over that.  I was feeling it a bit come Friday, Saturday and was concerned about how it would feel today but it seemed to go well nonetheless.  The structure will be expected to be the same with a run mid week that is mid long (15-17) and a long run on the weekend (20-23)  with a building effort on the end.  On whole, I am pretty stoked with how this past week went.  I think I recovered fairly well from Mount Washington, was able to stick to my focus for the week, got in some miles and I am starting to see some of those results.  The last four today were about equivalent in pace (averaged 6:30) to a typical tempo run I do  - but after 16. 

• Looking forward to see what comes out of Cranmore today.
  

Saturday 062709

Up early – JZ has an 8AM ball game so had to get it in before that.  7 miles.  AHR = 139, max 149.  Pace was all over the place … from tens plus (on the ups) to sub sevens (on the downs).

Not sure if I will run again today … tempted to because it would push me towards a hundred for the week – which would be a nice number – but that number is less important to me then having a good run tomorrow.  

Chasing numbers …  I think any guy I have ever talked to that has taken a road trip shares that similar story:  they are doing the calculations in their head while driving of exactly when they are going to get some place 317 miles away.  They are eyeballing their speedometer, figuring out the gas, thinking about the construction zone they will hit  … it becomes the a game.  Stop for a piss?  No way!  I got a bottle right here!

All the best to those racing WS today.  And, WTF? – they had the steeple height wrong for the water jump at USATFs for the women last night?

Friday 062609

• AM – dog jog, 4 miles, AvHR = 134. Max = 149. RHR at wake up was 43 (maybe a 42). First mile was with the dog, last 3 were at 8 minute pace with an average HR of 139.
• PM – 10 miles. AHR = 144. Hot at the front end. Beat the crazy rains in the afternoon by only a few minutes. Was poorly hydrated for this run – just a lack of focus on that by me in the AM (stupidity). I not only felt it in the run, but I could see it with the HR monitor and the pace.
• Discovered the Standley Lake HS track … it is an old dirt cinder track. And like most tracks around here, it seems to have a pitch to it (at least according to the Garmin … it consistently saw a rise and a fall for many laps … so does Broomfield HS track).
• I have been hesitant to put up what times or paces I have been running for these sessions … for one, they have been slow. Certainly much slower than my easy runs have been in the past. I have been fine with that because I have wanted to be a bit more focused on time on my feet, getting more miles (than typical for me), recovering from Mount Washington this week and … focusing on this process of truly trying something different. Generally the pace has been anywhere as slow as mid nine minute pace to as quick as low sevens for this “capped” work. Again, I am not exclusively going to train fully at a low HR level, but will look to elevate it in the later parts of my long runs.
• As a side note, I have been wondering if getting the Garmin was a bit of a setup for me training “too quickly.” Prior to getting it, I’d run and guesstimate my pace. Typically for any unmeasured training run, I would guess a 7:30 pace. There might have been some days faster than that, there may have been slower than that. With the Garmin, I probably felt compelled to run that fast all the time, if not faster. Which was probably not a good thing in the grand scheme of things …
• Will be watching the track meet this weekend … and no, I don’t mean USATF Nationals (also webcast).
• Started playing with Garmin Connect.  I could never get it to synch my activities so I  dumped them all (deleted) and it read this afternoon’s run without issue.  Garmin still however jacks up elevation.  It reads that I ran an elevation change of 1200 feet for this run … Sporttracks reads the much more correct 250 …

Thursday 062509

• Incline Club Newsletter, including Teva Game Race Report from Carpenter … the age factor is slowly starting to play its hand. There is just no more denying the fact that kids in their 20s like these two are going to start getting the confidence to run with or even away from me. Unfortunately for them, I am not ready to accept that fact yet and I shall train with even more focus. Unfortunately for me, and as much as it pains me to admit it, father time catches us all. But for now I will try to win that race as well.
• Agreed to meet Timmy G and Peter at Teller Farm. I got out there early with the goal of getting so called extra credit, running that part easy and then not caring about pace or HR when I caught up with them. I got in a little over 9 (avHR =142), before catching up with them. The pace was only slightly faster (about 15 sec a mile), but HR averaged for that section 151 with a couple ticks above 160. It all felt easy, but I am feeling a little of the load over the last six days (82 miles). 16 miles on this run.

Wednesday 062409

• 10 miles, AHR 142. I was pretty stoked that I had not hit 150 for the entire run but … there was this one last hill I was coming down in the last half mile. HR dropped to 139 and the pace was near 7. I rolled up the other side of the hill and suddenly realized the mistake. I glanced at the watch – 148 and quickly slowed to a shuffle trot … but it was too late. 150 for like 3 seconds. Yeah, a game, I realize. Easy, comfortable.
• Anyone remember Gatorade gum?
• PM – easy 5 miles.  Ran into KP and DB for a bit and the HR climbed a bit north of 150 for half a mile but everything else was easy.  AHR = 144.
• Western States Coverage, with pointers to interviews with Mackey and Jurek

Tuesday 062309

11 miles.  AvHR 145.  Started with some folks at work and HR was pretty low.  It was hot (90s) and I had the camelbak.  I checked the HR at about 4 miles in on a slight climb and it was at 154 (even though the effort was easy).  I let the others go and slipped it back down.  Kept HR steady through the remainder but because of the heat, the pace deflected over the run (slower).  Most stiffness from weekend is gone but I am moving pretty slowly on the runs.

Monday 062209

• Some of my photos re: Mount Washington got posted on irunfar.
• DoubleJ Mt Washington report (with good video)
• Dave D Mt Washington report
• Justin Fyffe report
• David Q report
• Post on Simon at Mount Washington
• Rickey Gates at Mt Washington (his race report)

• AM – 5 miles, super easy. AHR 145. Resting HR was 48 this AM … so, a bit higher than last week’s 43.
• PM – 7 miles, easy. AHR 146

Sunday 062109

 

Working on getting home …reading this …

Let me try and squeeze some more mileage from my toothpaste analogy: If you open a brand new tube, you can squeeze anywhere and expect to get some toothpaste.Without wanting to be too simplistic, see the tube as a new runner: pretty much any training you give him or her will result in improvement (toothpaste). It could even be possible that you are not a new runner, and have been running for some years but are now failing to improve substantially and believe that you have tapped all of your “trainability”. Here it is very possible (especially if you have no pace relationship) that all you have merely achieved is to squeeze all you can from halfway up the tube. You might have done a very good job of doing so, and seen sizeable improvement (toothpaste) for some time. However you might now (mistakenly) believe that is all there is in the tube.I think most people would agree that to get everything possible from a tube of toothpaste (to getevery last drop), we need to go to the very end and squeeze/roll carefully all the way up. That, if
you can excuse the analogy, is what this whole thread has been about. Maximizing your
trainability. So we can all walk away from the sport as “old farts” secure in the knowledge that
we got out of ourselves every last bit of genetically limited potential.

Photo via Scott Mason’s blog ..

Dave Q (a CMS guy who I got spanked by and jogged down with) has a blog. 

Week in review

• M – 10 miles, 77 minutes.  Lots of circles on a half mile loop.
• T –10 miles, 73 minutes, 4 mile “tempo”
• W – 3 miles easy AM, 26 min; PM 4.5 miles on Brook Loop, – 46 min
• R – AM –3.5 miles, 30 min, PM 5.5, 44 min
• F – travel day, 1 mile, 10 minutes
• Sa – Mount Washington Road Race, 172 minutes  
• Su –    travel day … very easy 10 to work out the kinks of yesterday and the flight tightness of today.  Pretty warm through the run (it got to 85 here today).  10 miles.  90 minutes.  And yes … I did slow to a walk today on the climb where the HR would begin to knock on 150.  Alternatively, I did not open up the pace much on the downs (where HR would drop) but was just real easy.

• 568 minutes on week.  65.5 miles on week over … .  213.5 miles on June, 1752 minutes.  1570.5 miles on year, 13253 minutes (~220 hours, or ~9 days)  7000 feet plus of climbing on the week.

• Next week … up the mileage (shooting for 80), run capped, but pick up on the end of longer runs.  Would like 40 percent of the mileage to come across two runs. No outright tempos or intervals (perhaps some really short strides).

Some videos from Mount Washington

Race report from the race site is up … .
Joe Dodge Lodge

View from the top

Top five and interview with the winners

Mount Washington, Saturday 062009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short of it – tough day and go for me:  81 minutes and change and 61st place.  Definitely a very tough road, very tough grind.  A few shots.

A sea of clouds at the top … Dave D on the right preparing for a run down.

If you look closely in this shot, you can see the road down below and folks coming up …
 
Back into the clouds on the way down

With 7 time winner, Hodgie San (2:11:52 marathoner) (and NE running legend, and popular poster on the evil message board) post race
 
The Colorado contingent hydrates (Lisa G and Simon G)

Rickey G ran 59:58 to win.  Apparently he got word of the tightness of the hour barrier and sprinted the last hundred yards to get the time and the 500 dollar bonus.  2nd place and former champ Eric Blake is to his right
 

Fellow blogger and 70 minutes today (damn good time!)– Double J (great guy, excellent ambassador for the state of CO)
 

I did not run as well as I would have like but I ran.  There were two segments where I went to the walk – the hairpin for about 5 yards, and the “wall” (22% – really) with for about 3 seconds before I heard Simon G tell me “NO!”  That got me back in the groove.  I’d be lying if I said I was not disappointed with the result, but I think I raced where I am at fitness wise.  That is about all one can expect.  There is no faking it.

I was asked by a lot of folks today what I thought of this race as it was my first time out there.  It is, as many told me, truly unrelenting.  Well, there might be a spot for about 50 yards at four miles and change that gives a little bit (seriously).  But other than that, you grind and grind and grind and grind.

   I like to come back and give this another go.  Honestly, I think if I could get my shit together, I could be running this thing under 75 (but why it is not together is a different post).   I’d like to come back here next year with TZ for the better part of a week, enjoying time with her, the scenery, the race, the hills.  That would be a blast.  Just need to see if I get in next year.  Hell, I might do that anyway, even if I don’t get in.

Mile 1 (this is actually .9 as the miles are measured on the road from US16 – the course starts about a tenth in from that)  – 7:15, Mile 2 – 17:12, Mile 3 –28:11, Mid-point  - 38:16, 4 miles  - 39:21, Mile 5 – 51:23, Mile 6 – 62:47, Mile 7 – 74:06, finish 81:19.

Yes, that means that last 6/10ths of a mile took me over 7 minutes.  Ouch.

 

(Contrast to Rickey G’s splits … M1 6:20, halfway at 28:55, 4M 31:57) (holy crow)

I never felt good.  Didn’t feel “bad” (nothing acute that is) either.  Just couldn’t really go faster.    AvHR was 177 with a max of 185.   It looks like I may have got out too fast (the HR data / pace seem to show that) …    After the initial rise in HR, I held 183 for about 15-17 minutes, then 176 average for the rest of the race.  Yeah, that might be going out too fast.   The spike in the blue line (pace) is where I walked the “hairpin.”  The drop in pace past five miles is the one place where the course “lets up.”  As you can see … it is brief.

 

Using DD’s Mt Washington Race predictor … based on my BB10k, I fell right in the range of the predictor, but this also confirms I was a bit too fast to start.

Ran back down with Dave D, Eric M, Dave Q … great group of guys (JJ and Kevin T did not run down – too bad because I wanted to shoot the crap more with them).  It was awesome to meet these guys. 

The run down … this did not hurt at all (I think the downhill stuff I have been doing has been absorbed to some degree) … 65 down (very casual),  18 miles on the day, 172 minutes.

 

 

I wish I have hung out a bit more but I needed to hit the rack for preparing to get back home.  JJ  - thanks for sherpa-ing my stuff.  Much appreciated.  I think I left my flats in your car.  They are essentially toast (and really stink I am sure) so you can pitch ‘em, donate them, wear ‘em – whatever.  DQ – great chatting with you.  Thank you for the “fam” perspective (and yes, I am expecting you to come on out!). 

Post race got to chat it up with Scott M, Justin F (mostly about brewing beer instead of racing), (links forthcoming) and a bunch of the Colorado contingent.  Good stuff.

I was chatting with John T (who ran 68 – very nice!) about the NE racing scene compared to the CO scene.  It is definitely much more “type B” in Colorado.  The club scene here is certainly richer, and I envy that a bit.

Articles on the race … Union Leader (with pic of Kevin Tilton), and the Concord Register.  Lots of great photos from Scott Mason.  Overall results …