March 19 to March 25

Well...Spring has sprung all over!!! Colorado is way too warm already; Georgia is in full spring bloom and Jackson Hole is in mud season!

This is the  last week of hard training before the 100k race in April. Goals: 80+ miles, stay healthy and stay injury free!

Monday; March 19:  A day off was in order....

Tuesday; March 20:  An early start with Traysen in Red Rocks Open Space yielded a nice 11 miler. Often times, the goofy boy doesn't do very well on narrow single track trails but today we both had our act together and had a great run with some steep climbs.
After the run, we brought home two of these guys for a visit....(no, just a visit...they are not staying!!!!)

Eight weeks old and their ears are still on the paper cups....it's onto tampon ears next week!!

Wednesday; March 21:  Out the door with only one doberman this morning! Traysen and I had a great 11 miler around the house. With the puppies at home, we pushed the paced so we could get back to the puppy antics!

Thursday; March 22: With the two little kids returned to the breeder, it was time for a really long run!! As in 33 miles today! Starting in Garden of the Gods at day break, I wandered through the trails leading to Rampart Range Rd. And then up I went for about 2 hours! Yes, this road climbs for many, many miles. The highlight was venturing into some unexplored territory and it was well worth the effort. Amazing rock formations, as well as spectacular views of the Peak and Colorado Springs. The return downhill trip took just as long as the up since I ran the outside of the tangents and kept the pace in check. Once back in GOG, it was more of the rocky, dusty trails until the 33 miles was complete in just under 7 hours of running. Oddly enough, I was still running strong at 6.5 hours and had to keep pulling my pace back....guess I am ready for the race!!!

A very beautiful section of rocks along RRR.



The drop off from the Scar will certainly catch your attention!

Friday; March 23: An early morning departure for work and a mid day landing in Jackson Hole! With a heavy, sloppy snowpack still on the trails, I opted to venture to the elk refuge for a nice 10 miler...well, it was nice on the outbound while the return was directly into a strong ugly, warm wind! Some tired legs from Thursday and that nasty wind, it was a struggle to get this one done!

Saturday; March 24: A decent weight lifting session of triceps, shoulders and abs and then out the door for a nice 12 miler. As is usual this time of year, I leave the house way too overdressed and then leave a trail of clothes for the first couple of miles...

Sunday; March 25: Traysen and I headed out the door for a walk..no more, no less...it was a 7 mile walk...A bit of a cold has set in, complete with coughing, sneezing, and a stuffy head....it had better make a quick exit since I don't have time for this!

Summary:  Ready or not the race is in two weeks!!! Honestly, I have not been in this type of condition in a long time....very well trained and not too tired...nothing hurts....and I feel more than ready for a 100k race!!! Let' s hope the taper goes as well as the last four months of training!
Total miles for the week: 83.0
Total miles for 2012:  799.0

March 12 to March 18

With a full week of work, the running this week had to be reined in just a bit. Without much planning, it became a 6 x 10 week! Ten miles for 6 days! With a couple of weight lifting sessions, a solid week of training is in the books.
With the 100k looming in the not too far future, there is about one more week of heavy training and then it will be time for the taper.

A bit of news on the career front: Somewhere between May and July, I will be based in my hometown of Atlanta, GA. This has been in the works for quite some time and it has finally come to fruition. With that career move will a personal move...which means I will no longer be commuting!!!! No more 2.5 hour drives to Denver, no more hassels over jumpseats on other carriers, no more sitting around the airport waiting to go to work or waiting to go home! Just a 30 minute drive to the parking lot and onto the employee bus, which drops me off inside security!! No more TSA patting down my behind! What am I going to do with all that free time? Well, my dad already has a long list to do!

Total miles for the week: 60.0
Total miles for 2012: 716.0

March 5 to March 11

Another hard week of training is ahead. With most of the week off from work, getting the miles should be no problem.

Monday; March 5: With the early morning departure out of Jackson Hole and then the commute home, it was the day off.

Tuesday; March 6: Waking up late, 530am, Traysen and I finally made it out the door for a 11 miler. A nice effort on the hills around the house.  No mountain lions to report!

Wednesday; March 7:  An early morning weight lifting session of shoulders, triceps, and abs started the day. Then out for a slog fest of 13 miles. This was a mentally hard run. Traysen was with me for the first 7 miles as I tried a new pair of running shoes. These are a departure from my normal New Balance, being the Adidas Response. The verdict is that the shoe may be a bit small in the toe box for wide foot here, but a few more runs should loosen things up. Not sure if this shoe will  make a long distance run but it will work for shorter 10 milers.
So, dealing with new shoes, a pulling dog and just a blah, not sure I wanna run this far feeling, it was a challenging run. But it is these runs that are very important as they make the head stronger while dragging the tired body along.  A total of 13 miles today.

Thursday; March 8:  A much better effort today with a 13 miler easily completed. I am amazed at how warm it is already! This entire winter has been way too toasty and not much snow....on the other hand, it has been nice trotting around in shorts and a sweatshirt!

Friday; March 9:  A basic 7 miler today with some sloppy hill walking. When running these high mileage weeks, even a psycho runner like me has to know when to back off the throttle a bit and the easy runs allow for mental and physical recovery.

Saturday; March 10:  Meeting good running buds, Lynne and Lori, it was a 6am start from Garden of the Gods. The first few miles took us through the park, then we began the 5 mile, 5% grade climb up Rampart Range Rd. Once reaching the Williams Canyon trail turnoff, we hung a left to start the long steep descent to the bottom, only to start the steep slog back up to Waldo Canyon trail. Taking the shorter version of the Waldo intersection, we dashed across Hwy 24 and continued onto Ute Pass Trail to Manitou, back through Garden of the Gods to the cars. Lori and Lynne had a nice 21 miler and Psycho Bunny went on to complete the 30 miler for the day....An awesome, no effort sort of run and the energy level, body would have easily allowed more miles. We can only hope the race itself goes just as well.

Sunday; March 11:  Even with some stiff, sore legs, Traysen and I made it out for a 9 miler in the early morning snow. It would seem "normal" to take a day off after a long run of 30 miles, but then again, we know that a Badass Psycho Bunny is anything but "normal."

Summary: Another great week of miles. At this point, it is amazing how well this is going! Hopefully I will not jinx myself here!!!

Another question came up the other day: "How do you do hill repeats on a treadmill?" Very easily was the first response but more specifically: After about a 2 mile warmup, I set the speed at 6.0 mph, raise the incline, and up I go for whatever distance and time needed. Here are a couple of sample hill repeat workouts:


Workout #1:
*Warm up for about 2 miles at 6.0 mph, no incline (after each incline repeat, recover for the length of the repeat at 6.0 mph)
*6.2 mph, 2% incline, 3 minutes
*6.4 mph, 3% incline, 3 minutes
*6.6 mph, 4% incline, 2 minutes
*6.4 mph, 3% incline, 3 minutes
*6.2 mph, 2% incline, 3 minutes
*run remaining miles at whatever speed I feel like and sometimes add in a 1-2% incline for fun

Workout #2:
*warm up for about 2miles at 6.0 mph, no incline (after each incline repeat, recover for the twice the length of the repeat)
*6.5 mph, 2% incline, 1 minute
*6.0 mph, 5% incline, 1 minute
*6.5 mph, 2% incline, 1 minute
*6.0 mph, 5% incline, 1 minute
*6.5mph, 2% incline, 1 minute
*run remaining miles

These are examples only; that is the ease of a treadmill for interval or hill repeats; you can determine whatever workout you need and can change it as you go.

total miles: 83.0
total miles for 2012: 662.0

Feb. 27 to March 4

As I mentioned in last week's post, the race entry is in for the GA Jewel 100k on April 7th. Nothing like sending a $70 to solidify the commitment!

Over the previous weekend I receive a phone call from the dog nanny. She described a separate  phone conversation she had with a neighbor regarding a local mountain lion. Well, we have been through this before. Someone in the area loses a dog (yes, a very sad event and nothing to be discounted) and Dept. of Wildlife is called. A mountain lion is suspect and all you  know what breaks loose! The DOW guys comes out and puts a Porterhouse Steak on a rock to lure the kitty out of hiding, the sighting is claimed and we are all gonna die if we step outside our doors. Every neighbor within 10 miles thinks little Miss Sarah is gonna become kitty food because she runs a few thousand miles a year in the area. Oh Honestly....!!!!! I have been running the area I live in for about 11+ years. In that time I have seen every varmit out there from a small tweety bird (a Junco/Chickadee) to a Bear.....but never have I seen the mountain lions! Additionally, I have had more troubles with idiots driving too fast on these mountain roads and almost taking my little butt out; AND I have had more troubles with loose dogs owned by irresponsible owners who let them roam free....which are the exact dogs that disappear ! But never have I had an ounce of issue with any wild varmit! So, even though I do respect the mountain lion as a worthy threat, I refuse to sit in my house, shaking in my running shoes. No, it is running as usual and I am just aware that the kitties do live in the area in which I live.

Monday; Feb. 27:  Waking up in one of my favorite places on earth! Jackson Hole, WY! Out the door in the 5 degree weather, it was an awesome 9 mile run on the elk refuge. This time of year is especially interesting since a few hundred elk are in the refuge.

Tuesday; Feb. 28:  An early start for a 15 miler at home...complete with Traysen for the first 10 miles and the mountain lion in the area! A nice run in the cold temps.

Wednesday; Feb. 29:  Traysen opted to join for the first 7 miles of today's 26 miler. After dropping him off at the house, it was back out for another 19 miles. As suspected and given the amount of mileage logged over the previous 4 days, this was a bit sluggish, especially on the up hills.
One item to note is the passage of time while running long distances. Sometimes, as with a long flight, it seems a two hour run will never end, but then a five  hour run goes by in a flash! It may seem as though the long runs are a mind set....you are out there for several hours and the mind finds a common level of comfort in knowing this fact. A two hour could just be a daily run and it is harder to get the mindset of being out there for that long? I dunno! Whatever the case, I really (usually) enjoy the long outings where I just get in the groove of putting one foot in front of the other for hours and having to think about it.

Thursday; March 1:  Waking up in Salt Lake to a winter wonderland and then an odd day of work, it was time for a day off. (It's March....aren't we ready for spring and flowers?)

Friday; March 2:  After the LAX to Tampa redeye, an afternoon workout was the game plan for the day. After weight lifting with abs, wall squats, chest, and biceps, it was to the elliptical and treadmill. A nice 10 miler in the somewhat warm and humid conditions...great training for the April race in Atlanta.

Saturday; March 3:  A quick 7 miler on the treadmill started the day.

Sunday; March 4:  Waking up in Salt Lake, an early morning weight lifting session with upper body and abs on the agenda; then onto the treadmill for a quick 6 miler. After arriving in Jackson Hole at noon, the elk refuge was calling. With the warm temps, this was by far one of the sloppiest (is that a word?) runs in a long time! When I ran here Monday, the roads and the refuge was all hard packed snow; today it was a mud fest but just a hoot to slosh along for a nice 9 miler.



I never tire of running amongst these guys. The elk and the mountains!

Summary: A great week of running! Even with a hard work week, there was plenty of time and energy to crank out the miles and two weight lifting sessions. Nothing is hurting and the energy level is keeping up.
Total miles for the week: 82.0
Total miles for 2012:  579.0

Feb 20 to Feb. 27

A week of recovery is in order so nothing to spectatuclar to report.

Five days of running with a total of 45 miles for the week; brings the yearly total to 497.0 Most of the running was doen at home with one quick 6 miler in San Diego.

It is, however, official.....I have entered the GA Jewel 100K race on April 7th. The entry is in and confirmed. So I am committed now or else blow $70 on an entry fee.



The race start! Or maybe this is the outhouse?

http://georgiajewel.com/Site/The_Jewel_100K_50K.html

Feb. 13 to Feb. 19

Off on a new week of running and with vacation, it should prove be a great time for many miles.

I was recently asked "How often do you change running shoes?" The basic answer is "Not often." Several sources, including Sportsmedicine.com , indicate we should change running shoes every 350-550 miles. OH, very funny....for those of us who about 2500 miles a year, that comes out to just over 7 pairs of shoes a year! (based on changing every 350 miles). Let's see....since a new pair typically cost about $100, that's $700 a year for shoes. Not too bad for a hobby that some of us take very seriously. The real gotcha is in the breaking in of a new pair of shoes. Personally, new shoes are a menace. Even with my own knowledge of what works for my feet and what doesn't work, it is a best guess as to whether a new pair is going to be able to go the distance and not cause issues. I written in the past that a New Balance 1123 has been a great shoe for these feet; however one flaw is that I constantly clip the opposing ankle due to the very wide, straight lasted  mid sole. On the last shoe buying venture (always at my favorite store, Smith and Davis in Fayetteville, GA), I bypassed those NB 1123s and went to a Saucony Pro Grid Lite and a Adidas Kanadia trail shoe. So far, the Sauconys are proving to be a great shoe, very light weight, and have provided enough stability for trail running. The Adidas shoes are still in the closet. As for when I change shoes: it depends on the shoe. Once I see it is breaking down around the toe box and not providing enough stability in the forefoot, it is time to retire that shoe. As for mileage, I have no idea how many miles I put on a pair of shoes before retiring that shoe, but it is certainly far more than 550 miles!
Changing shoes is as personal as running itself. Some folks prefer a new pair every couple of months while others of us tend to run the things to death. It is a matter of finding what keeps you from getting injured and what allows you to run your best.

Monday; Feb. 13th: So much for the miles today. Needed the day off.

Tuesday; Feb. 14th:  It's Valentine's Day....nope, no chocolate here....Just an early session in the gym for abs, wall squats, triceps and biceps. Then out the door solo for a brisk 9.0 miler. Traysen seems to have kinked his left front leg and is now being called, "Gimp Hound." A great run that was almost effortless!

Wednesday; Feb. 15th: A chilly start to the 10 miler that was again, effortless. Not sure what has brought on these easy runs, but they are just a hoot!

Thursday; Feb. 16th:  Meeting up with Sandra at 630am in Garden of the Gods yielded a nice 6 mile effort on the outer loop trails; with work looming, Sandra was done and I took off for another 6 miles, covering some the same trails with a few twists. A very nice 12 mile effort on a beautiful morning.

Friday; Feb. 17th:  One lazy family here! None of us stirred until 6am! Finally out the door for a slow 6 miler. Time for a very easy day as I head into the weekend with about 42 miles of running scheduled!

Saturday; Feb 18th:  An early start with a half inch of fresh powder on the ground and about 15 degrees,  a great start to a long run. This run went amazing well with plenty of energy, plenty of endurance, no aches or pains, and a nonstop, steady trot effort of 25 miles. It is runs like this that make long distance running worth the passion.

Sunday; Feb 19th: This will now be known as the "Girls Run with Horses" run. Sandra, Lori, Lynne and I met at Marshal Sprague Park in Colorado Springs for a bright n early outing on the Falcon Trail at the Air Force Academy. Much to the delightful laughter of Lori and Lynne (aka...long legs 1 and 2) Sandra and I provided much entertainment as we blundered over the fence to get to the access trail. Through a few gates and we found ourselves trotting down a dusty trail and to our surprise, we came up a herd of about 15 horses. Being comfortable with these varmits, I suggested we continue to follow them down the hill as they trotted in front of us. As they slowed we soon ourselves running amongst them for awhile and of course we were now going in the wrong direction. Luckily, Sandra said we needed to be "way back up there" so it was a reverse back to the proper trail and onto the Falcon Trail. An amazingly beautiful single track, complete with lots of rocks, tree roots, some snow, some ice and some wonderful cruiser sections with nothing but sand and dirt, this trail has something for everyone and I find it a refreshing outing from nonstop steep hills. With our detour to play "round up" we covered 18 miles. Way to go Lori, Lynne, and Sandra (who just completed her first back to back long runs this weekend!!!).



Total for the week: 80.0
Total for 2012:  447.0

Summary: A great week of running with plenty of quality training with some great friends. At this point, it is interesting to note that the only ailment is a bit of a blister on the left foot. Nothing serious, but just an annoyance on these last two long runs. The training is going perfectly well and hopefully that will continue.

Feb. 6 to Feb 12

Back to running in the high altitude and hills this week with a brief excursion to Dallas, TX for work. The goals are lots of miles and to finally get my sorry butt back in the gym!

I have been reading The Lure of Long Distances by Robin Harvie. Not quite what was expected in this novel, but interesting nevertheless. The author describes how he developed the goal of running the Spartathlon in Greece;  below is an except from the website, describing the origin of the event.

The Spartathlon revives the footsteps of Pheidippides, an ancient Athenian long distance runner, who in 490 BC, before the battle of Marathon, was sent to Sparta to seek help in the war between the Greeks and the Persians. According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides arrived in Sparta the day after his departure from Athens. Inspired by the report of the Greek historian, in 1982 five officers of the British Royal Air Force (RAF), who were also long-distance runners, traveled to Greece, led by Colonel John Foden. Their purpose was to ascertain whether it was possible to cover the 250 kilometers separating the two towns in one and a half days. The enthusiastic British team showed that the report by Herodotus was entirely plausible.
A man is indeed able to cover 250 km in less than two days and in fact in less than 40 hours. After the success of the project, the architect of the feat, John Foden, began to envision the establishment of a race that would bring long distance runners to Greece from around the world to run on the trail of the ancient runner Pheidippides. The next year a multinational team of British, Greek and other enthusiastic supporters of the idea, led by Michael Callaghan, a philhellene, organized the First International Spartathlon (Open International Spartathlon Race), wherein the name for the race combines the Greek words for Sparta and Feat.


http://www.spartathlon.gr/en.html

While training for this epic event, Robin gives insight into his childhood and how those years developed  his need and desire to become a long distance runner. He relates several stories of how he and his brother spent hours exploring the country side of his Denmark home and all the while, he was becoming one who was unknowingly lured to long distances covered by the feet. Robin also relates the reasoning's or maybe some insight as to why some of us choose to run vast volumes of miles. One such relation describes runners as "solitary figures" and when asked why they run these miles, many describe various reasons, various crosses to bear, and various tragedies and various positive events that have inspired them to run; however, with all due respect to these mundane "reasons" long distance running comes down to a way of life. To run ultra races (any race over a marathon), takes a commitment; however, it is also a way of life with the efforts needed for training, for rest, for nutrition and those of us who run these races (or just run the long distances)willingly choose this way of life. For us it is not a sacrifice, not a burden but a wonderfully simple way of living our lives in a way that is meaningful to us.

Monday; Feb. 6th:  A very slow start to this day but finally Traysen and I made it out the door for a basic 7 miler.

Tuesday; Feb. 7th:  After getting my sorry butt down to the gym (three weeks off!!!) for a session of abs, back, and triceps, it was out the door....solo, without Traysen....It was about 10 degrees and he opted to hang out with dad in the gym....why do I think he is smarter than Mom? Well, smarter or not, he missed out on a very nice 12 mile run! Wonderfully cold and crisp with plenty of energy today!

Wednesday, Feb 8th;  Work called  for a day off!

Thursday; Feb. 9th:  Sleeping in a bit in Dallas, my slacker butt finally wandered down to the gym in the late morning. After working chest, shoulders, wall squats, and abs, it was to the treadmill and ellip. Even though the weather was perfect, there is no where to run in this part of Addison, TX. Honestly, it is all concrete and roads with way too much traffic. So, with 11 miles on the agenda, it was a combo treadmill and ellip. effort. A nice workout with some hill repeats on the treadmill and lots of AC/DC, Led Zepplin, Billy Squier music!

Friday; Feb. 10th:  A good early start for a 15.0 miler today. Traysen opted to stay home and be a lazy dog!

Saturday; Feb. 11th: A slow start today but Traysen and I made it out for a chilly 7.0 miler. Nothing special, just a nice jaunt around the house.

Sunday; Feb. 12:  An early start at Red Rocks with 11 degrees! Ran the first 6.5 miles solo then met up with Sandra for a beautiful 12.0 miles that took up the Inteman Trail, Section 16 and back into Red Rocks. There was just enough snow to make it amazingly pretty while also providing some traction on the icy sections. Sandra, being the smart one, opted to say that 12 was enough, I took off for another 6.5 miles which took me through the Hogback Trail in Red Rocks. This is a nice steady, long climb...a great way to end the 25.0 miles for the day!

Summary: An awesome week of running with a long effort of 25.0 miles and one medium effort of 15. miles. Everything seems to be working perfectly so the training continues. I was recently reading the course description for the upcoming 100K...it went something like this: up the hill and then down the hill, around the barn, up the hill, down the hill, then through the creek, up the hill, down the hill and then through the woods to grandma's house we....(Opps....that's another story)...this  is shaping up to be a wondefully challenging event.
total miles for the week: 75.0
total miles for 2012: 367.0