Monthly Archives: April 2012

CPTR

29 Sunday Apr 2012

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Airplanes typically maintain cabin pressure at an equivalent altitude of 6,900 feet, by pumping pressurized air into the aircraft.  This is to avoid hypoxia, altitude sickness, decompression sickness and barotrauma.  The starting line to the Collegiate Peaks Trail Run hovers at about 8000 feet – and routes runners upward from there.  Actually there was a small dip the first half mile down to the river crossing, the rest seemed forever uphill with over 3000 feet of elevation gain.

I met Rob in Buena Vista Friday evening.  We listened to some of the pre-race prep at the information session at 7pm, then we went to eat some pizza at the Eddyline Pub.  The place has pretty good food.  Pizza was outstanding.  Our waitress Sara sat with Rob for a picture.  This was walking distance from the Community Center where the race will start and where we heard the pre-race information session.  We stealth camped within walking distance yet again.  There were a few RVs and other runners camping in their cars.  We chose to setup our tents.  Being so close to the race start would be convenient considering the gun fires at 6:30am.

We woke at 4:30 and I discovered what gear I forgot at home. First was my coffee cup.  It fell out of my camping bucket after my Moab trip and ended up in a kitchen cabinet – where it still sits.   I used an empty Gatorade bottle for my coffee.  Worked out ok.  As we were gearing up, I learned that I also forgot my gators.  I figured they probably weren’t critical and turns out they weren’t.  Would have been nice though.  It’s difficult determining what to wear that early in the morning when it’s still cold out but I planned to wear the long-sleeved tech t-shirt I got with my race packet.  I added my short-sleeve tech t-shirt I got from the Moab race as a bottom layer to cut the wind.  I was able to take off the bottom shirt later as I warmed up.

My big decision was on shoes.  I seriously wanted to wear my new Merrell’s but my recent foot injury precluded that option.  I needed some cushion.  I went with my road training shoes over my trail shoes.  I had the impression these trails wouldn’t be too technical and my road shoes are softer.  I’m pretty lucky to be able to run at all.  I had to take off two days from running after straining my foot.  Then I ran 3 miles Tuesday followed by 7 miles Wednesday wherein my foot hurt too much again to run Thursday or Friday.  I drove out here on faith that I’d be able to put some pressure on my foot.

My new Camelbak running vest helped keep me warm as we queued up for the run.  There could not have been much more than 300 runners.  These ultras are smaller affairs.  Everything’s different about an ultra.  The runner’s all look amazing.  I love to see a crowd like this of such fit people.  The age skew is definitely older.  And I would guess over half were women.  Mostly really pretty women.  I call this an ultra because while some of us are running 25 miles, others are running 50 today.

I’m blogging this before I receive pictures which is too bad because this is one of the most scenic courses I’ve ever run.  I wish I would have carried my iPhone to take my own shots.  Bad call leaving that behind.  But at least I didn’t lose it like I did my car key.  I stored my key in the vest pocket and it dropped out on the trail.  Thankfully a runner picked it up from the trail and turned it into lost and found.

The trail and course were incredible.  We launched from the community center on a little bit of road but hit the trail quickly.  A funnel squeezed the line of runners after a half mile as we crossed the river but generally there was ample room to pass – even on the single track although there were lots of jeep trails.  The ground was rarely rocky and oftentimes sandy.  It was soft from rain earlier in the week.  The first half of the course provided the most awesome views of the Collegiate Peaks – simply spectacular.  Quite a few runners would stop to snap pictures.  The second half of the course wound through canyons on sandy river beds snaking through rocky walls on both sides.  The course was very well marked and easy to follow.

Many runners were willing to chat, especially after the line thinned out half way into the course.  An ultra has a different feel to it.  The participants enjoy what they’re doing.  It’s not a workout to them.  As hard as running 25 can be, these runners are in their essence and enjoying every minute of it.  I don’t know the science behind it, but women do very well at ultra distances.  And I think of the younger runners at this event, most were girls.

My biggest pain in this race was from my shorts chaffing my legs.  There wasn’t any vaseline at the aid stations so I had to tough it out.  Otherwise the aid stations were perfectly positioned about every four miles and offered good food and drink.  My legs were completely spent by 18 miles and it reminded me of the IPR where the last 7 miles were downhill.  Thankfully the down slope was rarely steep, unlike Telluride.  I was surprised I did some downhill walking but my legs were that exhausted.  I even walked a bit of the final mile.  If you look at the garmin results I linked above, you can figure I was mostly walking anywhere the mile split is over 15 minutes.  My time was 5:33 (a 13 minute per mile pace) which is what I expected to run and I’m pretty happy with it.  With two big climbs, this course isn’t easy, but it’s possibly one of the most beautiful in Colorado.  As bonus, BV has some good eateries.  From the town to the runners and race direction, this event is an outstanding experience.  Highly recommended.

Foot Injury

25 Wednesday Apr 2012

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Ouch!  Last weekend’s 14 mile trail run strained something in my foot.  I’m not sure exactly but it feels to be around the navicular, perhaps in one of the joints.  It’s sensitive if I push down on the top of my foot and hurts to run.  Actually, I couldn’t run for two days afterward.  I could barely walk Sunday but was able to finally run 3 miles on Tuesday in a pair of cushioned shoes.

This is a real bummer in light of my plans to run 25 miles Saturday.  I was in panic mode at first thinking I wouldn’t be able to run it at all.  Now I’m thinking the biggest casualty will be that I won’t be able to run it in my minimalist Merrell Trail Gloves.  I worked so hard to accustom myself to running in them in a two week window before the CPTR.  Hard to ignore the possibility this aggressive training contributed to the strain.  Ironically, my calves didn’t even hurt after the 14 miler, but it felt like I broke my foot.

I recall the probable cause.  I twisted my foot, actually entire leg, somehow around 4 miles.  It didn’t hurt and I didn’t notice any pain throughout the run.  It was just some weird tweak that ran up my leg as my foot hit the ground at an odd angle.  Pretty sure that’s the event that strained my foot.  If the pain persists, I’ll visit a doctor.  I don’t want to before Saturday though because that can only turn out badly.  According to the Internet, I might have a stress fracture.  I can just picture myself having to walk around in a splint of some sort for the next six weeks.  No thanks.

Chia Fresca

21 Saturday Apr 2012

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Met up with Enrique, an old friend, yesterday for drinks at the West End Tavern.  We caught up while enjoying a view of the Flat Irons from the rooftop seating.  Enrique said his parents, whom I care for as deeply as my own, are virtual fountains of youth and doing well.  That was nice to hear.  We had a pleasant happy hour, then he drove to DIA and I went home to the family.  Drove Ellie to a sleep-over and then it was just Karen and me – and the dog.  Around ten in the evening, Karen decided to practice her Zumba routines on the living room hardwood.  She was working mostly on “Proud Mary”.  I sat on the couch and watched.  I rose the next morning at 6:15 and felt great.

Winter is over, and so are three half marathons.  Four months into twenty-twelve, I’ve discovered some weight gain from an ever slowing metabolism is affecting my performance.  I’ve discovered a few other things as well.  How to lose weight.  Minimalist running shoes.  Chia seeds.  And a leaky Camelbak.  Today was a test run on some of these topic areas to prep for next Saturday’s CPTR.

I can remember Karen telling me before we were ever married that I would suffer the sins of my fast metabolism.  That my eating habits would make me fat once my metabolism slowed down because I wasn’t learning healthy diet discipline while I was young.  I scoffed at her bruja predictions and married her anyway.  Twenty-five years later Karen weighs the same and, well, I’ve gained more than one pound per year of marital bliss.  I used to always be able to start running and get it back under control.  Now, I’ve had to moderate my calories derived from alcohol and increase my running mileage.  Three and four miles do nothing, it takes a good six or more to stoke my fire nowadays.  That’s fine, I like running.  And I’ve had some success recently at driving back the beast within my belly.  Today’s 14 miles burned nearly 1800 calories and afterward I weighed 180.  Nice progress.

The shoes were today’s big gear test.  Most advice I’ve received regarding running with barefoot or minimalist shoes as I am now suggest running in them for 2 to 3 miles perhaps every other day.  I’ve worn them on every run since I bought them last Sunday.  I didn’t run every day this week – too busy – but I started out with 4 miles and worked my way up to 7.  My calves felt it but they would loosen up enough to run again the next day.  The question today is, could I run 14 miles on a rocky trail with my Merrell Trail Gloves?  If so, then it will add confidence to my plan to wear them for Saturday’s 25 mile trail run.

The other test project has to do with chia seeds.  True to plan, I’ve been eating them all week.  I don’t know if they’ve helped me necessarily.  It’s hard to feel.  But when I consider that I’ve run with these minimalist shoes all week – shoot – maybe the seeds are helping.  I simply followed the chia fresca recipe during the week.  That involves a couple of table spoons of seed in a ratio of 7:1 water sitting for a few minutes in the fridge.  It gels up a bit into the base for Iskiate.  First I drank it as is.  There’s no flavor but the consistency isn’t all that great.  So I quickly evolved the drink into a Chia Fresca by adding Gatorade.  Not bad.  Today I made my first smoothie with the seeds.  This is definitely the way to go but I’ll probably only do it on weekends, or maybe later in the summer as it gets hotter.  I added a banana, a tangerine, a dollop of blackberries.  Basically any fruit sitting around the kitchen.  I topped it off with ice, Snapple’s apple juice and the Iskiate.  When are smoothies not good?  I had this after today’s 14 miler.

Other gear that got tested today included a new Camelbak Ultra hydration running vest.  My old one burst on this trail last weekend.  The new one worked out nicely.  It contains a 2 liter (70 ounce) hydration reservoir.  I only drank half the water which isn’t enough.  Rule of thumb calculations suggest I should drink 15 ounces per hour.  That would be 45 ounces for today’s 3 hour run.  I tend not to hydrate enough but this wasn’t too far off.  It does tell me that I’ll be fine carrying 2 liters for Saturday’s 25 mile run.  I expect to run it somewhere around 5 and a half hours.  I’ll also plan on drinking at the aid stations.  Hopefully their drinks will be chilled.

Today’s run was on the same Picture Rock Trail in Heil Valley Ranch that I ran 11 miles on last week.  My pace was nearly a minute slower overall at 12:30 per mile but I actually ran the first 5 miles quicker than last week.  The Garmin site offers a nice compare feature for multiple activities.  I’ve found my trail legs and these Merrells seem to help.  I focused on lifting my legs and trusted my feet to land safely among the rocks.  It’s a good sign of my trail experience that my feet found the right surface with each stride.  These shoes help as they almost force you to land on your forefoot.  Feet need to work independently on trails and I feel that these minimalist shoes aid that process.  I did step on pointy rocks a couple of times with my heel.  This hurts but it was rare.  My feet became a bit fatigued though.  I think this is why I returned slower than last weekend.  More so than the 3 extra miles.  I was barely breathing on the return decline but my feet were becoming too tender to blaze downhill.  I’ll monitor my progress next week but the plan of record is to wear these shoes for the CPTR.

I finished up today feeling strong other than fatigued feet.  I stopped off at the Black Bear Hole in Lyons to soak my feet and calves in the St. Vrain River for an icy bath.  I credit that with my recovery today.  Gotta get up the strength for a neighborhood party tonight.

Barefoot

15 Sunday Apr 2012

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REI, like my USAA home and car insurance company, is a Co-op.  At the end of each year, they give their customers members rebates.  I used my rebate this morning to buy these minimalist trail shoes from Merrell.  I even got $5 back in change.  From REI, I took Canyon to Broadway and worked my way through The Hill over to Baseline.  At the Chautauqua Trailhead, I slapped on my new shoes for my first experiment with the “barefoot running” hype.

The advice, and I’ve received plenty, says to start off with short distances to allow your feet to adapt.  Immediately I felt like I probably won’t need to take it slow.  I expect to be able to run all week in these.  They feel fine.  But I only did about a 3 mile hike in them.  The Amphitheater Trail is extremely vertical, so I did very little actual running.  Today’s workout was more of a shuffle.  First uphill and then back down.  I ran in spurts but honestly my legs were too fatigued from yesterday’s trail romp in Lyons to do much running today.  I covered 3 miles in an hour which is essentially a walking pace, but it was also 1000 feet of elevation in 1.5 miles which is essentially a ladder.

Snow began to fall a mile into my run and the wind picked up as I neared Green Mountain.  I was dressed fine for it though with a long-sleeved all-weather gear shirt from Under Armour.  The trail was wet from yesterday’s rain.  The shoes did well navigating mud but I had to be careful on the descent over the slick rocks and logs.  Still, assuming I adapt to these shoes over the next two weeks, I think I might be able to wear them for the 25 mile CPTR.

The experiment with minimalist shoes has been on my radar for awhile.  My left foot still suffers from plantar fasciitis.  Not nearly as bad – I’d say about 20% of the initial pain remains.  I assume part of this is from getting better support in all my shoes but I actually suspect the improvement stems mostly from stretching.  The argument for minimalist shoes, or even barefoot running, is that modern shoes cause most injuries.  Or said another way, Nike created a boon for Podiatrists with their waffle trainer in the ’70s.  The extra protection against impact and pronation and supination isn’t needed and in fact causes us to run in ways that lead to injury.  Without modern footwear, runners take a shorter stride and fall more mid to fore foot.  And this leads to less injury.  The other reason I’m willing to experiment with barefoot style flats is these shoes were sort of free with my REI rebate.  We’ll see how the next couple of weeks pan out.

Caballo Blanco

14 Saturday Apr 2012

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I laced up my training shoes as Karen pulled up in the car – returning from teaching a Zumba class.  A little after 1pm.  I was seriously itching to hit the Heil Valley Ranch trail today for a big run.  Partly because the front was expected to hit any minute.  I would be fine in the rain and snow but my weather channel app showed the wind increasing steadily with each passing hour of the day.  The other reason for my impatience was I just couldn’t wait to get out on the trail.  I might be picking up a little addiction to the endorphins.  Most of my runs  go for an hour or more now.  That’s enough time to fire up a nice runner’s high.  My runs are becoming a nice little habit.  Today’s 10.5 mile run was exceptional.

I got to the trail head a little before 2pm.  I’m prepping for a mountain trail run in two weeks and decided I would use my weekend runs to replicate the race as much as possible.  I wore my small pack with a 2 liter camelback.  I added cytomax to the water.  And I brought along a selection of running clothes to make the last minute decision on what to wear.  The weather was cool and breezy, but no rain or snow yet.  It will definitely be storming before I finish this in 2 hours.

I layered shirts with a summer-thin Under Armour long-sleeve high-tec fabric underneath covered with a light fleece pullover.  The thought was the undershirt would whisk away sweat into the outer garment.  This ensemble performed perfectly.  I simply wore shorts for my legs.  This was comfortable starting out although I pulled up my sleeves after two miles.

This course is great prep for Buena Vista.  It rises non-stop until I decide to turn around.  I turn after 5.5 miles where there’s a sign noting the trail joins a loop near the crest of the hill.  My garmin actually shows this to be 5.25 miles.  This garmin result link shows all the stats.  You can see how the course rises from 5400 feet to 6400 feet where I turn.  1000 feet in elevation change over 5.5 miles.  The CPTR rises 1000 feet in 9 miles – including a 200 foot drop on the 7th mile.  So the steepness of the grade will provide decent conditioning to my legs.  Then the rocks on this trail require constant vigilance.  I decided against listening to a playlist so I would focus on the trail.  The attention required for each footfall, thousands of repeating footfalls, is almost hypnotic.  I could have run forever in this ultimate escape.

You have to plan each foot placement on the rocks in micro seconds.  When a decision to yield to bikers coming the other direction must be made, I make it at the last possible second.  So do many of the bikers.  I generally feel like we can both pass without anyone stopping.  The bikers were aggressive today and few ever yielded.  I rarely yielded as well, especially as I was flying down on the return.  Hills, footwork, gear testing, but the best part was the total escape of the run itself.  I felt great.

Testing my gear was brilliant.  Turns out I have a leak in my camelbak.  I’ll pick up a new one tomorrow at REI.  The drink leaked out over the back of my shorts.  As the wind and cold increased near the end of the run, I got a bit chilled.  So the dry clothes in my car came in handy.  Good test run.

In honor of the Caballo Blanco, pictured above, this will be the summer of mountain trail runs.  I’ll be training on trails every weekend that I’m not actually running a trail race.  My first will be the Collegiate Peaks Trail Run on April 28th.  I could feel Caballo Blanco’s spirit on the trail today.  Hope to see him again tomorrow when I climb the Amphitheater Trail up the Flat Irons in Boulder.  It should be snowing.

Iskiate

14 Saturday Apr 2012

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Yes I did.  I ordered three pounds of chia seeds online.  I was completely sober and not responding to a TV sales pitch.  I’m currently reading Born to Run where the author describes how chia seeds fuel the Tarahumara Indians (the running people) to run ultra distances without tiring.  And I went for it by ordering some seeds and energy bars.

Chia seeds are said to contain the following nutrients:   linolenic acid, linoleic acid; antioxidants: chlorogenic and caffeic acids, myricetin, quercitin, and kaempferol flavonol. chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and flavonol glycosides; mucin, fibre; 8 essential amino acids (score 115).  Plus these vitamins: A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B15, B17, C, D, E, K, choline, folic acid, inositol, PABA.  And these minerals: boron, calcium, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorous, potassium, silicon, sodium, strontium, sulphur, zinc, amylose (a slow-burning starch helpful in treating hypoglycemia), and electrolytes.

I intend to experiment with various portable recipes over the next two weeks in order to carry the optimal solution on my 25 mile CPTR run on the 28th.  I’m thinking Iskiate might be the best choice – a mix of seeds and water with a little lime.  I expect my order to arrive Monday.  Stop by for a drink of Iskiate.

Running Five-0

06 Friday Apr 2012

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So this is it.  I become a 50 year old runner later this month.  I now carry an AARP card in my wallet.  Seriously looking forward to the discounts.  I’d like to say I’m also looking forward to being more competitive in my age division, but that’s doubtful in Colorado.  In my defense, I’m about as competitive with the 25 year old age division.  It seems to be that way with distance running – you can only slow down so much without tipping over.  Truthfully, it’s not unusual to maintain or even increase aerobic capacity with age.  Sort of like nose and ear hair.  And I can honestly say I ran the same Bolder Boulder 10K time in 2011 as I did in 1991 – 48 minutes.  Of course I ran a 41 minute 10K in 1990.  Not sure what happened in ’91 other than Brit being born.  Karen recalls my favorite phrase at the time was, “I’m putting on sympathetic pregnancy weight”.  I’ve always been a team player.

I would like to improve my speed a bit because I like racing fast, but it’s more important to me to simply be fit at this age.  And to demonstrate that, I am planning for a big year of runs.  I’ve already run 3 half marathons this year.  The picture above is of me finishing the 2012 Boulder Half.  My next big event is a 25 mile trail run at high altitude – the Collegiate Peaks Trail Run on April 28th – four days after I will have turned 50.  I expect to run that with my high school cross country buddy Rob Graham.  The dude’s 51 and I struggle to keep up with him.

The next run I’ve registered for is the 2012 Bolder Boulder.  My goal there will in fact be speed as I would like to beat last year’s time.  Or if not, if I can just beat some of my neighbors I’ll be content.  I expect to run more half marathons.  I like that distance – mostly on trails.  And then, assuming I’m in shape, I would like to run the Denver Marathon again in the fall.  Or perhaps the Boulder Marathon which I’ve never run.  And the biggie of the year will be a return to Ouray for the Imogene Pass Run.  That’s only 17 miles but in my estimation is much harder than a marathon.  I do that and it’ll be a good year.

Boulder Half 2012

01 Sunday Apr 2012

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It’s been two weeks since I had a drink.  So I woke up this morning and had myself a beer, immediately after having run the 2012 Boulder Half Marathon in 2:03.  Except it wasn’t really 13 miles at a 9:24 pace.  It was 2 x 6.55 mile runs, the first one at about a 9:40 pace and the second half around 9:05 per mile.  I broke this run into two routines, like I did last year.  Part of the reason for doing this is because this course goes out uphill and returns downhill.  I’m just taking what the course gives to me and making a workout from it.  I did repeat last year’s negative split by a similar margin, although I ran quite a bit slower overall today.

I arrived at the Boulder Res around 7am.  I parked and began to walk around.  I wore fleece sweat pants and a wind jacket, but might have been fine without them.  It was warm.  I walked around the setup in circles until the race started.  I used the facilities a couple of times and returned my warmup gear to the car before the start, fairly certain that shorts and a tech t-shirt would be fine for today.  It was.

One thing unique to this race is how runners just mill around like fitness Zombies until the last minute before the race gun fires.  And this is fully orchestrated by the race director from his mic.  There is no sense of where to stand with the line of runners until he gives the go ahead to line up.  In 60 seconds, everyone does.  It’s like everyone around here is an old pro at this stuff.  The only reason I notice this is because I’m looking for a pace sign to stand next to – as an aid not to start off too quickly.  There are none.  I decide to take my chances by simply standing where I’m at.  I’d start in the very back, but I don’t know where that is in this shapeless queue.

I didn’t wear my Garmin thinking I wouldn’t need it.  I’m going out slow and hoping to run back fast.  I know what slow and fast feel like.  Having run this last year, I also know the results will include splits for the two halves of the run.  That’s all I’m interested in knowing.  To reiterate what I said up top, it appears I ran my game plan, but I don’t know that I did entirely.  I almost wish I did wear my garmin to prove this but I am certain I started out way too fast.  I was tired the first half.  I did recover and settle into a nice pace by the turn around point, but I felt heavy until the course turned downhill.   Last year I ran fairly hard the entire run back, except for a cool down the last half mile.  This year I only ran hard on the noticeably steeper downhills.  Then I would slow back down again.  Sort of an organic fartlek set by the natural course terrain rather than timed rest intervals.  Even though this is perhaps my slowest overall half marathon time in recent memory, I’m happy with the workout.

I should add the heat played a factor today.  I drank at all the aid stations except for the final.  I don’t usually drink at more than two of them for a half marathon.  I made a good call on wearing the single short sleeved t-shirt.  The breeze felt cool at times, but of course that was welcome relief.

The story on the picture above is this.  First, I don’t have any race photos yet.  That might take a few days.  The other thing is I discovered this drink today after the run.  Vuka setup shop next to the compost and I grabbed one of their aluminum bottles from a barrel they stocked with ice water.  I used it for a few minutes like an ice pack, cooling down my head and neck.  I loved this thing before I ever drank it.  I don’t know what good stuff it’s made from, you can read up on them if you click on the link.  But it’s a tasty beverage.  I only took a few sips of the complimentary beer because I liked this more.  I grabbed a stack of Vuka coupons before leaving.  Actually only four, it felt like more at the time but they are a bit thick.  I’ll leave them on my porch for anyone who stops by and wants to try it out with a $1 discount.

I didn’t hang around very long for the post-run festivities because I didn’t know anyone and it was hot.  I tossed my beer after a few sips and headed home slurping my Vuka.  I’m not overly concerned that I ran slower than my typical pace because I treated this like a workout.  I was happy to see my weight afterwards was 184.  I haven’t seen that number on a scale since 2010.  I’ll take that as my win today.