well the last few weeks have been up and down. running a lot then not. working a lot then not. making progress on race directing stuff then feeling disorganized and unproductive.
i feel like i'm making strides towards consistency now and that makes me feel better.
but in my good weeks i ran a lot including running the entire sun mountain 50k course while pushing my homemade measuring wheel. the course came up a little short so now i've tweaked the course to make up that missing mileage and re-routed the start to make it a little more runner friendly. that week i ran 90 miles which is great but then the following 2 weeks i barely ran at all and felt lethargic. the two weeks prior to the the 90 mile week were similar: a big week followed by a big rest week. the same kinda goes with work i seem to be more productive minute for minute when i working a lot but when i have a long stretch w/o work i seem to nose dive in productivity instead of just channeling my energy into the many other things that need my attention. it seems like when under the gun i can do it all but when there's some down time i'm just as good at being useless.
i'd ratrher find a balance. inetead of getting caught up in momentum, either positive or negative, i'd rather "stay medium" as coach jim zorn espouses. it's something that i could use in all aspects of my life, from racing to relationships.
anybody out there got any input on this? can anybody identify with this?
i just remembered brocks interview from the paper a few weeks ago where he said(i'm totally paraphrasing, probably horribly) he feels like after all the running he does he feels like he's earned a beer and an afternoon on the couch wathcing the game.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
you heard it here first...
for my loyal readers i thought i'd let ya'll know first...
there's a new 50k race(and 21k) coming to washington this april! created with those sun deprived westsiders in mind this "rainshadow" course will be very sunny(and fast! only ~4500ft of gain for the 50k).
stay tuned for more details about the SUN MOUNTAIN 50K and 21K on april 11th 2009
there's a new 50k race(and 21k) coming to washington this april! created with those sun deprived westsiders in mind this "rainshadow" course will be very sunny(and fast! only ~4500ft of gain for the 50k).
stay tuned for more details about the SUN MOUNTAIN 50K and 21K on april 11th 2009
Monday, November 10, 2008
look out running shoes...
wow! i did my first "real" mtn bike ride yesterday and i loved it!
i say real b/c it wasn't really my first ride but the other two were way too techincal that i walked the bike a lot more than i rode it. yesterday was way different--although i did have to put my foot down a few times-- i wasn't terrified the whole time and actually pedaled into some downhills instead of riding the heck out of the brake.
alison and i joined her work(methow cycle and sport. not winthrop phyical therapy or winthrop fitness or sun mountain lodge or housewatch or alison hanks l.m.p. yes alison has 6 jobs) buddies for a ride on buck mtn which just happens to be in our backyard. the 20 mile ride took us around 3 hours but that was with a lot of stopping. joe, alison's boss and a former pro rider usally does the loop in half that time. it was a long climb from the low point in the loop where we parked(just 2 miles from our house) to the ridge. after a few steep sections at the highest point of the ridge the trail mellowed out and alison and i were finally able to relax and have fun. it was great, weaving through sagebrush and dipping and rising and fun turns and great views. the snow was mostly gone and the trail wasn't too muddy. there were few rocks or roots or even fallen down trees to avoid. we just cruised. ofcourse everyone else was way faster and often had to stop to let us catch up but maybe it won't take us long to get better so they won't have to wait so much.
i say real b/c it wasn't really my first ride but the other two were way too techincal that i walked the bike a lot more than i rode it. yesterday was way different--although i did have to put my foot down a few times-- i wasn't terrified the whole time and actually pedaled into some downhills instead of riding the heck out of the brake.
alison and i joined her work(methow cycle and sport. not winthrop phyical therapy or winthrop fitness or sun mountain lodge or housewatch or alison hanks l.m.p. yes alison has 6 jobs) buddies for a ride on buck mtn which just happens to be in our backyard. the 20 mile ride took us around 3 hours but that was with a lot of stopping. joe, alison's boss and a former pro rider usally does the loop in half that time. it was a long climb from the low point in the loop where we parked(just 2 miles from our house) to the ridge. after a few steep sections at the highest point of the ridge the trail mellowed out and alison and i were finally able to relax and have fun. it was great, weaving through sagebrush and dipping and rising and fun turns and great views. the snow was mostly gone and the trail wasn't too muddy. there were few rocks or roots or even fallen down trees to avoid. we just cruised. ofcourse everyone else was way faster and often had to stop to let us catch up but maybe it won't take us long to get better so they won't have to wait so much.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
snow!!!
well the last two weekends i've been able to run above 7000ft with out hitting snow that's probably now over for the year. the last two days we awoke to rain falling on our roof but just 500 feet up the hillsides above it was snow. and thursday/wed nite it's supposed to snow as low as 1000ft(we live at 2000ft) so we'll surely get our first snowfall on our yard since we moved here!
mostlikely the lower elevation snow will melt the next time the sun comes out but going up to 7000ft without snowshoes might be a little tough on the the little piggies. i bet i'll still be running at 2000-5000ft for atleast a few more weeks. and then it'll be mostly treadmill and road running. maybe the backyard trails will stay snow free a little longer they only go up to 3600ft.
we'll see....
mostlikely the lower elevation snow will melt the next time the sun comes out but going up to 7000ft without snowshoes might be a little tough on the the little piggies. i bet i'll still be running at 2000-5000ft for atleast a few more weeks. and then it'll be mostly treadmill and road running. maybe the backyard trails will stay snow free a little longer they only go up to 3600ft.
we'll see....
Saturday, October 25, 2008
mtnlovin
i think i'm changing my name to mtnlovin
i've been running up at 6 and 7 thousand feet for the last couple weeks and there bearly any snow like less than 2 inches at 7400 feet yesterday. and the forecast calls for nothing but sun!!!!! look out mountains here i come.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?site=otx&smap=1&textField1=48.47806&textField2=-120.185
come visit!
i've been running up at 6 and 7 thousand feet for the last couple weeks and there bearly any snow like less than 2 inches at 7400 feet yesterday. and the forecast calls for nothing but sun!!!!! look out mountains here i come.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?site=otx&smap=1&textField1=48.47806&textField2=-120.185
come visit!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
time for a new post
well folks it's been a long time since i last wrote and not because i haven't had anything to say, it's just hard to find the time and i've had very little internet access especially for the last month or two when my laptop was outta commision.
but the events of the last two weeks has made me make time. i've ran my two best 50k performances ever and possibly two of my best races of any distance ever. first was last week at the 13th running of cle elum where i ran in the lead nearly the whole way and after getting passed with 7 miles to go i held on to finsih second and in the 4th fastest time ever. and then yesterday on tired legs i won the 7th annual baker lake 50k breaking the record by ten minutes!
i took opposite approaches at the two races. at cle elum i went out aggressive hoping to be stubborn enough to not give up the lead in the 2nd half wich was mostly down hill after the first 18 miles were mostly uphill. after the long uphill though my legs were too tired to make the most of the downhills and gary robbins of n.vancouver, bc flew by me like i was standing still. in hindsight maybe i should have saved a little for the downs but oh well... i'm pretty darn happy with a time of 4:37 on a course that few folks have gone sub 4:50.
at baker i wasn't even sure if i would race or just run for fun. so i decided to let other folks set the pace and if i felt good at the half way point i'd start to pick it up and try to pull away. about 12 miles into the run i moved in front of the 3 man lead pack as the former leader slowed to a walk on the biggest climb on the trail section of the race. i kept running and so did the other guy, shwan bussert, but about a mile or so after the first turn around i noticed he was falling back just a tad. also at about this time i was able to see how far back the chasers were and there about 3 guys withing striking distance, including chris twardzik (4th at cle elum) and terry sentinella(3rd twice at past baker lakes). so i took the oppourtunity to put some distance on everyone and opened it up for the 7 mile section back to the trailhead where we would turn back around and run 5 miles back on the trail to the 2nd turnaround. i wanted to have significant lead when i saw my chasers again-- i wanted them to feel like i was too far ahead to catch. but i only had left the turn around by a minute or so when i saw shawn and chris and the others were close behind him but i must have felt that that was a good enough lead because on the 3rd trail leg i let up a bit. and when i saw them again at the final turn around it seemed like they were less than a minute behind me. but that was enough kick in the butt for me and i went all out for the final 6.7 miles to the finish-- winning by almost 18 minutes.
i'm pretty excited about my times they're way faster than i expected and compared to times at other 50ks i've done i've made some major improvements. i felt like baker lake was probably a little easier and cle elum a little harder than washington's biggest 50k: chuckanut. if i was able to run the way i ran at these two races at chuckanut instead i'd probably run somewhere around 4:10 to 4:17 which most years would have put me in the top 5 of the washington's most competitive 50k a pretty stinking good place to be!
up next: race wise--probably hal koerner's new 26.3 mile trail race in ashland on alison's favorite trail there in early nov. and i want to get out and keep running new places in the paysayten wilderness and north cascades national park before there's too much snow.
but the events of the last two weeks has made me make time. i've ran my two best 50k performances ever and possibly two of my best races of any distance ever. first was last week at the 13th running of cle elum where i ran in the lead nearly the whole way and after getting passed with 7 miles to go i held on to finsih second and in the 4th fastest time ever. and then yesterday on tired legs i won the 7th annual baker lake 50k breaking the record by ten minutes!
i took opposite approaches at the two races. at cle elum i went out aggressive hoping to be stubborn enough to not give up the lead in the 2nd half wich was mostly down hill after the first 18 miles were mostly uphill. after the long uphill though my legs were too tired to make the most of the downhills and gary robbins of n.vancouver, bc flew by me like i was standing still. in hindsight maybe i should have saved a little for the downs but oh well... i'm pretty darn happy with a time of 4:37 on a course that few folks have gone sub 4:50.
at baker i wasn't even sure if i would race or just run for fun. so i decided to let other folks set the pace and if i felt good at the half way point i'd start to pick it up and try to pull away. about 12 miles into the run i moved in front of the 3 man lead pack as the former leader slowed to a walk on the biggest climb on the trail section of the race. i kept running and so did the other guy, shwan bussert, but about a mile or so after the first turn around i noticed he was falling back just a tad. also at about this time i was able to see how far back the chasers were and there about 3 guys withing striking distance, including chris twardzik (4th at cle elum) and terry sentinella(3rd twice at past baker lakes). so i took the oppourtunity to put some distance on everyone and opened it up for the 7 mile section back to the trailhead where we would turn back around and run 5 miles back on the trail to the 2nd turnaround. i wanted to have significant lead when i saw my chasers again-- i wanted them to feel like i was too far ahead to catch. but i only had left the turn around by a minute or so when i saw shawn and chris and the others were close behind him but i must have felt that that was a good enough lead because on the 3rd trail leg i let up a bit. and when i saw them again at the final turn around it seemed like they were less than a minute behind me. but that was enough kick in the butt for me and i went all out for the final 6.7 miles to the finish-- winning by almost 18 minutes.
i'm pretty excited about my times they're way faster than i expected and compared to times at other 50ks i've done i've made some major improvements. i felt like baker lake was probably a little easier and cle elum a little harder than washington's biggest 50k: chuckanut. if i was able to run the way i ran at these two races at chuckanut instead i'd probably run somewhere around 4:10 to 4:17 which most years would have put me in the top 5 of the washington's most competitive 50k a pretty stinking good place to be!
up next: race wise--probably hal koerner's new 26.3 mile trail race in ashland on alison's favorite trail there in early nov. and i want to get out and keep running new places in the paysayten wilderness and north cascades national park before there's too much snow.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
hardrock, this year and last year
hi folks
sorry again for not posting but i'll do what i can to improve.
i thought i'd take a second and let ya'll know that i'm now officailly in hardrock, actually it happend with a phone call from dale garland(RD) on monday. that's a whole 17 days earlier than last year when i got in off the waitlist the day before the race. speaking of last year i accidentaly wrote my race report for last year's run last nite so i figured i'd post it below. i'm leaving for silverton via portland sunday nite and hope to make it there in time for the trail work party on tuesday. this year the race will be held friday the 11th, you can follow my progress on their website at www.hardrock100.com
anyhow here's the report:
last year i was running great and 72 miles into the race i was in 3rd place and had run basically the same speed as karl and jurek for the middle 3rd of the race after taking it really easy for the first third. my plan had been to take it easy for the first 2/3 to 1/2 of the race and then try to move up into the top 3 by the end of the race but i changed plans on fly.
at the 28 mile aid station i ate too much too quickly and soon found myself throwing it all back up just a 1/2 mile past the aid station. lots of folks passed me while i was regrouping and as soon as i felt better i commited myself to passing the doazen or so runners who had left me behind. i felt really good and had passed all but one by the time i had made it to the next aid station. i soon passed him but now i was in race mode and set my sights on the next runner and the runner after that one and so on until i reached mile 56 in fourth place after passing about 20 runners.
here i decided to ease up and just hold 4th and wait to see if the battle between the top three would create any carnage. i soon found out it would, just after the next aid station i passed former winner mark hartell who was walking back to the aid station to drop out. but soon after that i started seeing the lights of runners below me not far behind and by the time i made it to the next aid station one runner was just 100 yards behind. not wanting to get passed so soon after moving into 3rd i flew down into telluride and hurried to get out of the aid station before that runner arrived. in my haste i neglected to eat anything at the aid station and mistakenly thought i had enough food in my pack to get to the next aid station-- i was wrong. i had 2 gels to get me to the next aid station 10 very hard miles away(those 10 miles took jurek 3 hours and others in the top 10 as much as 5 hours).
it's an understatement to say i bonked. i fell into a deep, dark, cold hole and never came out, perhaps you could say i black holed. i eventually arrived at the next aid staion and despite walking nearly every step of the way ther i was amazingly in a 3 way tie for 2nd place. karl was there and not looking good, he was in a sleeping bag and barely aknowledged my arrival and jared campbell had caught up to me just as i entered the aid station. the first runner out would be in 2nd place but i was no longer thinking in those terms, i wanted to eat and sit and get warm and nothing else mattered anymore... except finishing. eventhough it was only 18 miles to the finish it seemed nearly impossible to just get out of my chair where i was covered in blankets and surrounded with food, finishing became this dreamlike thing that one day i'd get around to doing.
thankfully the runner who had paced krissy to this aid station still wanted to run more and she dragged me back out on to the course. but despite the 75 minutes i spent at chapman eating and resting i still was in the blackhole energy wise aswell as emotionally-- after feeling so good and doing so well and being so close to running the race of my life i was now lethargic, unhappy and absoloutely unconcerned about my place or time. this combination of loss of motivation and vigor made for a painfully slow death march to the finish, i walked every step and often had to sit down every 10 minutes. the last 18 miles took me nearly 11 hours(the first 82 took me just over 23 hours). as i got to the last couple miles my spirits did brighten a bit but my energy levels never rebounded.
not having adequate food for the section between telluride and chapman definitely was to blame for a good portion of my problems but i feel like there must have been more to my plummet from 2nd to 25th than a lack of calories. and i think it boils down to two big issues: starting to race too soon(especially for my level of training that year) and my lack of control of my emotions. even though i was running fast and feeling good it was probably too much too soon and so i when i did bonk it hit me harder than if had been running much more moderately up to that point. and then combining that physical situation with my preponderance for big mood swings made for a "perfect bonk" of hollywood blockbuster proportions. earlier in the race i was euphoric as i picked off runner after runner later i was choking back tears as i approached chapman afarid i would quit and later still i non-challantly bid runner after runner good luck as the passed me during one of my many sit-down breaks as i made my way back to silverton totally demoralized. in hindsight i see that if only i could've stayed positive i could've regrouped in the aid station at chapman and still finsihed possibly in the top 5. instead my first running of the hardrock i'll remember as the run that i let slip away but hopefully learned a hard earned lesson or two.
sorry again for not posting but i'll do what i can to improve.
i thought i'd take a second and let ya'll know that i'm now officailly in hardrock, actually it happend with a phone call from dale garland(RD) on monday. that's a whole 17 days earlier than last year when i got in off the waitlist the day before the race. speaking of last year i accidentaly wrote my race report for last year's run last nite so i figured i'd post it below. i'm leaving for silverton via portland sunday nite and hope to make it there in time for the trail work party on tuesday. this year the race will be held friday the 11th, you can follow my progress on their website at www.hardrock100.com
anyhow here's the report:
last year i was running great and 72 miles into the race i was in 3rd place and had run basically the same speed as karl and jurek for the middle 3rd of the race after taking it really easy for the first third. my plan had been to take it easy for the first 2/3 to 1/2 of the race and then try to move up into the top 3 by the end of the race but i changed plans on fly.
at the 28 mile aid station i ate too much too quickly and soon found myself throwing it all back up just a 1/2 mile past the aid station. lots of folks passed me while i was regrouping and as soon as i felt better i commited myself to passing the doazen or so runners who had left me behind. i felt really good and had passed all but one by the time i had made it to the next aid station. i soon passed him but now i was in race mode and set my sights on the next runner and the runner after that one and so on until i reached mile 56 in fourth place after passing about 20 runners.
here i decided to ease up and just hold 4th and wait to see if the battle between the top three would create any carnage. i soon found out it would, just after the next aid station i passed former winner mark hartell who was walking back to the aid station to drop out. but soon after that i started seeing the lights of runners below me not far behind and by the time i made it to the next aid station one runner was just 100 yards behind. not wanting to get passed so soon after moving into 3rd i flew down into telluride and hurried to get out of the aid station before that runner arrived. in my haste i neglected to eat anything at the aid station and mistakenly thought i had enough food in my pack to get to the next aid station-- i was wrong. i had 2 gels to get me to the next aid station 10 very hard miles away(those 10 miles took jurek 3 hours and others in the top 10 as much as 5 hours).
it's an understatement to say i bonked. i fell into a deep, dark, cold hole and never came out, perhaps you could say i black holed. i eventually arrived at the next aid staion and despite walking nearly every step of the way ther i was amazingly in a 3 way tie for 2nd place. karl was there and not looking good, he was in a sleeping bag and barely aknowledged my arrival and jared campbell had caught up to me just as i entered the aid station. the first runner out would be in 2nd place but i was no longer thinking in those terms, i wanted to eat and sit and get warm and nothing else mattered anymore... except finishing. eventhough it was only 18 miles to the finish it seemed nearly impossible to just get out of my chair where i was covered in blankets and surrounded with food, finishing became this dreamlike thing that one day i'd get around to doing.
thankfully the runner who had paced krissy to this aid station still wanted to run more and she dragged me back out on to the course. but despite the 75 minutes i spent at chapman eating and resting i still was in the blackhole energy wise aswell as emotionally-- after feeling so good and doing so well and being so close to running the race of my life i was now lethargic, unhappy and absoloutely unconcerned about my place or time. this combination of loss of motivation and vigor made for a painfully slow death march to the finish, i walked every step and often had to sit down every 10 minutes. the last 18 miles took me nearly 11 hours(the first 82 took me just over 23 hours). as i got to the last couple miles my spirits did brighten a bit but my energy levels never rebounded.
not having adequate food for the section between telluride and chapman definitely was to blame for a good portion of my problems but i feel like there must have been more to my plummet from 2nd to 25th than a lack of calories. and i think it boils down to two big issues: starting to race too soon(especially for my level of training that year) and my lack of control of my emotions. even though i was running fast and feeling good it was probably too much too soon and so i when i did bonk it hit me harder than if had been running much more moderately up to that point. and then combining that physical situation with my preponderance for big mood swings made for a "perfect bonk" of hollywood blockbuster proportions. earlier in the race i was euphoric as i picked off runner after runner later i was choking back tears as i approached chapman afarid i would quit and later still i non-challantly bid runner after runner good luck as the passed me during one of my many sit-down breaks as i made my way back to silverton totally demoralized. in hindsight i see that if only i could've stayed positive i could've regrouped in the aid station at chapman and still finsihed possibly in the top 5. instead my first running of the hardrock i'll remember as the run that i let slip away but hopefully learned a hard earned lesson or two.
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