Thursday, May 29, 2014

Grand Teton NP and an Easy Week

I did not recover well last week from the mileage I had done the previous weeks.  I'm not really sure why.  I put in 31 miles by last Thursday and then decided some hiking over the weekend was as ambitious as I felt like being.  My run Thursday night along the Canyons trail at Curt Gowdy was particularly blah.  I had nothing in my legs.  And I picked up a couple ticks to boot.  Ticks are the worst.

I took off Friday for a rendezvous with Elizabeth in Grand Teton National Park.  While those mountains, as usual, were stunning, seeing her overshadowed the brilliant peaks.  Every moment with her is amazing.  I am forever gone over her.  Gone over the moon.  Gone head-over-heels.  Gone, man, gone.

Taggart Lake and Grand Teton.


Altar inside the Chapel of the Transfiguration.  I don't hold any specific religious beliefs, but I can understand having a spiritual experience in a place like this.
Sunset at Jenny Lake.

Teewinot and Jenny Lake.
Hidden Falls.
Los osos grises near Jackson Lake.
Teton Range, Wyoming.
I'm putting in a few miles this week and next, including a planned 24-mile run this Sunday.  Pilot Hill is next Saturday, and a warm-up and cool down around the race will give me 20+ for the day.  Then it's taper time for Bighorn.  The hay is in the barn.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Weeks Ending May 11 & May 18

Mon. May 5 - 5 miles in 39 min.  Easy recovery run on the Greenway in Cheyenne.  My foot was a little banged up, but it seems to have worked itself out.

Tues. May 6 - 11 miles in 1:19.  2 mile warm-up, then 6x5 min at tempo pace with 3 min jog rests.  The first one was a little sluggish, but then I got moving.  Covered seven miles during the workout.  2 mile cool down.  The Greenway is a really great place to do tempo workouts.

Wed. May 7 - 9 miles in 1:05.  Recovery run through Western Hills, the Greenway, and around both Lions and Frontier parks.

Thurs. May 8 - AM - 5 miles in 42 min.  Very easy morning run in the prairie east of Laramie.

PM - 9 miles in 1:20.  Went down to FoCo for a Towers session.  2 mile warm-up before hitting the climb.  The lower portion was sloppy with mud, and the rain they had down there all day made for one humid evening.  Made the climb in 36:30 and descent in 27.  Still not climbing it great, but I can tell it's making me stronger on other runs and on less severe climbs.

Fri. May 9 - 5 miles in 40 min.  Easy recovery run.

Sat. May 10 - 20 miles in 3:12.  It was obvious that I had run Towers about 36 hours before.  Chris and I started from Tie City and went out Upper UW, Headquarters, and Browns Landing.  Those trails are still very snowy and what isn't snow is running water and mud.  We took off down Blair Wallis, hit FR 700 toward Twin Mountain, then came around onto the Trudge loop.  We then went back in toward Reynolds Hill on Cowtrail before turning around, climbing up Blair Wallis to the Summit trail head, and back into Tie City.  I was feeling beat this whole run, and the last three miles were a struggle.  But, we got it done.

Sun. May 11 - Woke up to that wonderful blizzard.  Foot of snow.  Chose to stay inside and have a second cup of coffee.

Week's Total: 64 miles (8:57)

Mon. May 12 - 6.5 miles in 52 min.  I got stuck in Cheyenne thanks to the weather and didn't get out until late in the afternoon.  Cold, but the streets had cleared of snow.

Tues. May 13 - 11.5 miles in 1:21.  2 miles warm-up, then 4x10 min tempo segments with 2 min jog rest.  I ended up running around Lions Park since the tunnels of the Greenway were flooded from all the melting snow.  Cold morning, and I had to jump over ice patches on the path.  I felt sluggish, but came to find that I was hitting the tempo segments in ~5:40-5:45 pace.  I'll take that.  

Wed. May 14 - 9 miles in 1:07.  Recovery run around the old 'hood (Monterrey Heights), the golf course, and the new 'hood (Western Hills).  

Thurs. May 15 - 9 miles in 1:02.  2.5 mile warm-up to the Central track.  Then 12x400m with 100m jog (40sec) between.  Ran these between 78-80 seconds, which wasn't as fast as I wanted, but the 20mph wind hampered me a little.  On the cool down, my lower left leg/calf/achilles area was very tender and had me a little concerned.  I've had issues with that spot in the past.  I spent the following couple of days heating, icing, massaging, and stretching the hell out it.

Fri. May 16 - 8 miles in 1:00.  Easy out and back on the Greenway.  Left leg was still sore, but felt better.

Sat. May 17 - 10 miles in 1:14.  Another easy run.  Went down around the Capitol and both parks.  Humid morning, but no wind was unbelievably refreshing.

Sun. May 18 - 20 miles in 2:56.  Chris and I went south to FoCo for some trail fun since Happy Jack is still under snow.  We ran the entirety of Blue Sky down to Devil's Backbone, then came back and added Indian Summer.  I felt leaps and bounds better than I did on last week's long run.  It got warm by the end, and the trails get pretty busy in the late morning.  Chris had an off day and didn't feel as good as I did.  He fell hard around mile 19.  Really hard.  Poor kid had a bad day at the office.  That happens.

Week's Total: 74 miles (9:31)
Year to Date: 869 miles

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Lake Lowell Half-Marathon, End of April, Focus Moving Forward

It has been several weeks now since I raced the Lake Lowell Half, so maybe I should say a thing or two about it.  Lake Lowell is way the hell out in Nampa, and the weather wasn't great.  It was significantly cooler that morning than it had been the rest of the week I was up there, and the wind was howling out in Idaho wine/ag country (or whatever it is they are cultivating out there).  Reminded me of Wyoming wind, which is not a welcome thing ever, let alone on race day.

Now that I am writing this, I realize there is not much to say about this race.  I led from start to finish, fighting the wind on my own every step of the way on the first half of the out-and-back course.  The course was pretty flat and has the potential to be fairly fast on a less windy day.  I settled into a comfortable 6 minute per mile pace and just went with it.  At no point did I feel like I was struggling or working too hard.  Which is good.  That means my threshold fitness is coming around.  That will be beneficial for some ultras this summer and maybe a marathon this fall.

Somewhere around mile 8?
The second half of the race was much easier with a tailwind.  I finished in 1:20:11, which beat second place by just a hair under 10 minutes.  I thought, "Idaho has some faster folks somewhere, right?"  Looking at the results from The Race to Robie Creek, I think I found them.

Bringing home the bacon.

I also get the impression that, while I know there is a strong outdoor and running culture in Boise, it's not on the level of that which exists along the Front Range.  1:20 ain't winning shit in Colorado.  That said, I can't wait to get up there and become a part of it.

While it wasn't the most inspired course, and the weather wasn't great, which can't be helped, it was a well-organized race and they sure gave me a helluva lot of swag for not running all that fast.  My main prize was a free pair of Pearl Izumi shoes.  I went to Shu's Idaho Running to claim my prize in the form of some Trail N1s which I am thoroughly digging thus far. 

I hate to speak of times my feet can't run, but I think on a day with no wind and some fast dudes, I can run a 75, maybe 74-minute half right now.  And something about the half intrigues me.  I think it could potentially be a very good racing distance for me.  A nice combination of endurance and speed.

But, first things first.  Bighorn is looming on the horizon.  I have been stepping up the mileage and incorporating workouts lifted from Jack Daniels.  I am combining one or two of his marathon training workouts a week with Towers every other Thursday and a renewed focus on those pesky long runs on either Saturday or Sunday.  Those runs are, from now on, all on dirt and hopefully include some climbing.  Last week's 15-miler was up and down Pilot Hill.  I may do the same thing this weekend.  Or head south and get into the Quad Rock course.  

I did boycott the last two days because the weather was nothing short of bullshit.  Rain, snow, colder temps, and the wind.  My god, the wind.  I am not running in that anymore.  The result is that my planned 70 mile week just turned into a 50-55 mile week.  That's okay, because I had already gone up the previous two weeks (hitting 60 last week).  I was probably getting ready to make the mistake of trying to go up in mileage three weeks in a row.  I already know from years of experience that I don't handle that well.  So I will go up next week and the following week, in which I am gunning for 80.  I haven't touched 80 in nearly eight years.  After that, it's a matter of maintaining for a week or two before tapering for Bighorn.

Also, I think the gauntlet may be thrown down at Pilot Hill this year.  Chris is in great shape.  He destroyed Towers last week.  I climb like dog doo, but I think another month of miles will put me in a pretty good position.  And there's always the boys from down south.  They are tough as coffin nails on that course.

March 3-9: 42 miles
March 10-16: 45 miles
March 17-23: 42 miles
March 24-30: 52 miles
March 31-April 6: 52 miles
April 7-13: 44 miles
April 14-20: 54 miles
April 21-27: 60 miles

March Miles: 200
April Miles: 208
Year to Date: 684 (as of April 30)