This project began with a team from the Rocky Mountains of Utah and Colorado at the International Elbrus Race on Elbrus, one of the Seven Summits, an 18,500' volcano in the Caucasus of Russia. We took 3rd and 5th place in Fall 2013. Follow training, test races, goals, technique, theory and fun as we work to achieve our dreams. Right now I'm alone here [Charles] so this reflects my own races, runs, training, and challenges. Please subscribe and comment when/if you can. Please share.
I've been wanting to do the Pikes Peak Ascent now for quite some time. I'm in the process of qualifying with a half marathon time of 2:25 or better. I'm shooting for the St. George City Half Marathon January 16, 2016.
As soon as that's done I need to start training for the Pikes Peak Ascent. I managed to get hold of the results from the past five years and compiled them into a spreadsheet of goal times.
Key
Age
Top 10 Finish
Top 10 Pace
Top 3 Finish
Top 3 Pace
Top 10 VAM
Averages
56.58
3:28:44
0:15:40
3:12:57
0:14:29
688.02
The above row is from my spreadsheet, and represents averages from the previous five years, 2010 - 2015 as found on the Pikes Peak Marathon WEBSITE. Now I realize fully that I am not in a position to train as much as necessary for a top three finish, let alone a top ten finish, but it makes for some admirable goal setting for training.
As you can see below, hitting a half marathon distance on an incline treadmill set at 12% requires about a 13:38 pace, slightly better than the average top three finish pace. It's been a long time since I've run at 12% so I can't say right off how doable it is.
On the other hand, if you look at the Stepmill calculator results, hanging out at 65 steps per minute for three hours is quite doable. I've done it several times while training for Elbrus Race. The problem of course is adding in the extra effort of moving forward, since the Stepmill comes in about 12 miles short of a half marathon.
Stepmill Training Goals: Calculator HERE
Time: 180:00
Steps/Minute: 65
Vertical Feet: 7800.00
Miles: 1.66
Average MPH: 0.554
Average Pace: 108:18
Vertical/Hour: 2600.00'
Vertical/Minute: 43.33'
VAM: 792.5
Incline Treadmill: Calculator HERE
Time: 180:00
Distance: 13.2
Incline: 12%
Elevation Gain: 8363.52'
Average MPH: 4.4
Average Pace: 13:38
Vertical/Hour: 2788'
Vertical/Minute: 46.46'
VAM: 849.7
As I've mentioned previously, I need to qualify for the Pikes Peak Ascent next August by completing a half marathon under a time goal of 2:25:00. That might seem easy to lots of "real runner" but as I've stated several times already, I'm not one.
I've been training during the week on a treadmill to hit my Pace and Tempo goals, and on Saturdays I've been doing my long runs outside, mostly in the early morning hours.
Race Weather & Climate Located in Utah’s southeastern corner, just over 120 miles northeast of Las Vegas, St. George typically experiences very hot summers, but moderately cool to cold weather conditions in January, when the city’s average monthly temperatures range between 29°F and 55°F. On race day (Jan. 16), the average low is 29°F and its average high is 55°F, while rainfall totals average just under 1.3 inches and snowfall totals average about 1.5 inches for the month, making January the city’s wettest month of the year on average. From Half Marathons .net
I've been cycle commuting between my home and the Lehi Frontrunner train station, 9+ miles a few days a week. The amount of snow recently has slowed me down some. When I was much younger I was a year round cycle commuter, riding nearly 30 miles a day 4 days a week through the winter, rain, snow, ice, hail, whatever. I was much younger then. I'm much more fragile now.
I've had to dig around on the net some to get a course map and elevation profile, since the link on the official Half Marathon Website is broken.
Still no info on aid stations, etc, but I am planning on going self-sufficient, just like in training. That being said, the Pikes Ascent is best done self-sufficient due to the spacing between some of the aid stations. Unless you're doing a 3 hour ascent there will be some big gaps there.
For 2016, runners will be assigned to a starting wave based on their qualification time.
There are three ways to qualify for the Pikes Peak Ascent:
Peak Rookies
Anybody who has not run either the Pikes Peak Ascent or Pikes Peak Marathon in the past 3 years (2013+) is considered a Peak Rookie for registration purposes.
To qualify, you must have completed a half-marathon in under 2:25:00 or a marathon in under 5:45:00.
Any full or half marathon run in the past 2 years (Jan 1st, 2014+) may be used. Longer races, splits from longer races, triathlons, ultras, etc, will not be considered. You can use either your "Gun" or "Chip" time.
11.4 miles long/slow run Saturday Dec. 5th at the crack of dawn
Registration opens March 12th at Noon MST
There you have it. Finally the details for the registration for the 2016 Pikes Peak Ascent. I've been wanting to do this for quite a while now, but training for it and Elbrus Race in the same year has been difficult up to now. I was qualified for it up to 2014, having a good enough result in the Steamboat Springs Half Marathon in 2012. I'm planning on qualifying in January 2016 at the St. George Half Marathon. If that fails I have a backup plan in the Dogtown Half Marathon in southern Utah in February. Remember, results in the half have to be publicly available at the organizer's website. That cuts out a lot of the mom and pop fun runs, even some reasonable small local charity runs.
I had so much fun doing Frary. I'd love to go back to Antelope Island for other events over the next year if I can. I'm in training mode to qualify for the Pikes Ascent this coming Fall 2016. That means I'm focused pretty strongly on half marathon distances and extreme vertical. I'm considering a few Vertical-K style runs in the next year and a few trail half marathons. Stay tuned. In the meantime, check out these great pics from Lindsay.
I'm preparing for a road half as a qualifier for the Pike Ascent so I have a time deadline to beat. Right now that's 2:25:00 which isn't all that fast, and I have done it previously, just not within the last two years.
Treadmill Pace Run
It's really odd to be training for a road half in the winter in Utah. I've been doing quite a bit of treadmill and road work. I'll need to maintain a 10:40 pace average while moving, to allow a few minutes here and there at aid stations and to allow a cushion for the Pike Marathon organization, which has a tendency to slide that qualifying time around to suit the most recent wave of DNF's.
I've done a 10 mile run at pace, 10:34 in this shot from Strava. It's mostly downhill, but is a proof of concept about 3 months out. One consideration is that at my height and weight and age, it's quite a bit of pounding on the old joints to run this far on pavement. Another is that I've had to endure a few injuries over the past few years since my year of big running in 2011. Since then I've had to slow down and take it quite a bit easier.
Running on the rec path. Training for my Half.
Now I need to reverse that trend and move for more speed more smoothly more consistently. At least to qualify for this one. Then I need to get back on the trails and work on my vertical. You have to adjust your training for your most immediate goals. For now, it's a faster half marathon.
Hey peoples,
First, thanks to everyone who came out today. Other than the rather large mosquitoes, it was a pretty good day for a hill climb. Hopefully everyone had a reasonably good time, well, except for that little climb. Anyway, results are now posted on https://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=33962
Anatoliy set a new course record of 54:51, besting last year's mark by a bit over 30 seconds. Don't forget the half marathon and 50k next month if you're so inclined to run something a bit longer. Buffalo chili, beer, soda, and coffee mugs at the finish line. Hope to see you there.
We arrived at the parking just before the gate and checked in. We drove past the turnoff for Frary Peak, but that allowed us to see buffalo at sunrise, so it was a good thing we did. At the Frary Peak Trail Parking I checked in for a 9:06 start.
The trail was a blast, and the few runners I talked to were also having fun. I got an official time of 1:24:47, which coincides with Strava pretty well.
I'm totally digging that suffer score. I came in 22nd of 31. It's a great start as I train for my goals next year.
Pikes Ascent (half marathon)
Big Sky VK
Elbrus Race 2016
I'll have to do a half at a 11:00 pace or better to qualify for the ascent. For me that pretty much equates to a very flat trail, or a slightly downhill road half. I was going to attempt a Halloween Half, but I won't be able to peak that quickly after this one.
I also want to do a few more VK's over the year, so I'll have to stay on top of that. You too, stay in the loop.
Well, tomorrow [as of last night] is the big day. Here's the particulars for tomorrow.
Race check in is at the large parking lot near the main entrance to the island. Check in starts at 7am and will go thru 8:30. After that, oh well, better hurry out to the start.
Once you check in, drive out to the island, bear left, then turn down the road that goes to the ranch. Drive south for about 5 miles and you'll see the Frary Peak turnoff. Go up to the upper parking lot and that's where we'll be. I'll have a couple of signs out.
The race starts at 9am with the first two runners. After that, two runners will start every minute until everyone is on the course. Your starting order is largely based on who shows up first, so basically random.
There will be a couple of people up at the radio repeater to make sure you know where you're going. You touch the side of the housing and head back down. Lindsay will be up there taking your picture as well, so suck those guts in and make it look easy.
Trader Joe's is supplying all sorts of goodies for post race, bars, fruit, bagels etc. I'll bring some sodas along as well as some sort of sports drink and water.
Weather looks pretty good right now but there is a storm rolling in during the afternoon, so hopefully we'll beat it.
There will be race day sign up for your friends that want to pay an unreal amount of money to run a 10K, so bring them along.
FWIW: MY RANKING based on my previous registrations at Aspen Backcountry Marathon and Flagstaff VK. I'm hoping to do a bit better than that 2:00:51 they have me pegged at.
Salt Lake City at dawn. Training on Mount Olympus.
Finish Line for Flagstaff Vertical Kilometer October 2, 2015
Frary Peak Hill Climb
October 17th, 2015
Want to run a ~10K on Antelope Island? Want some serious vert during that ~10K? Want a shirt with a cool logo on it?
Here’s The Scoop
Basically you run up the Frary Peak Trail, touch the radio repeater near the summit, then run back down. But there’s a little twist, it’ll be a time trial type start. We’ll start 2 people every minute. The reason for this is that first, it’s something a little different, and second, the trail is so narrow, that in order to accommodate 50-75 people, we have to do it this way. Plus, there’ll be tourists and hikers on the trail and a huge herd of runners bearing down on them may scare them a bit. Start times are randomly assigned, so you might be paired with the eventual winner. You won’t be sure of your finish place until well towards the end of the race. Adds a bit of interest.
I mean, have you ever seen the sunrise on that side of Antelope Island before? No?! What the heck is wrong with you?! It’s stunning. The light is golden. Seriously. The trail is epic. Narrow, winding ridgeline trail that serpentines its way to the peak and gives you a glimpse of the back of the island you’ve probably never seen before. It’s pretty cool. Plus, it’s short. I mean, don’t get me wrong—it’s freaking steep. But, the payoff is worth it, if you like the downhill.
Anyways. I know you’re doing that thing you do, where you’re like, “yeah, but I don’t know. What if I’m kinda lame, and I want to chicken out and not do it, and sit at home instead?” I gotcha. Don’t worry. I’m waaaaaay ahead of you. Here’s a quick list of the top 10 reasons the Frary Peak Hill Climb is your must do Fall race:
So, the Frary Peak Hill climb is a new race on the island. Basically you run up the Frary Peak Trail, touch the radio repeater near the summit, then run back down. But there’s a little twist, it’ll be a time trial type start. We’ll start 1-2 people every minute. The reason for this is that first, it’s something a little different, and second, the trail is so narrow, that in order to accommodate 50-75 people, we have to do it this way. Plus, there’ll be tourists and hikers on the trail and a huge herd of runners bearing down on them may scare them a bit. Here’s a link to the route. http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=514500
It’s just under a 10K and I guarantee that you won’t PR unless it’s your first 10K.
I arrived in Flagstaff right at rush hour, just a bit before the sunset, which left me blinded facing into the sun while negotiating traffic in an unfamiliar town. I dropped into Safeway and stocked up on supplies for the night, the next day, and some post-race goodies for recovery. The primitive camping area up the road near the Arizona Snow Bowl ski area was up a very rough, very rugged dirt road but my trusty AWD wagon got me to the end of the road and back well enough. The spots were all full. Some were obviously homeless people living out in the national forest to spite the time limits, which was frustrating.
Agassiz Peak (just right of center) from the hwy north of Flagstaff
The gates were closed at the ski area, but there was a spot suitable for guerrilla undercover camping, so in the dark, in the forest, it was possible to set up camp and make it work.
It was a cold, clear night, with beautiful stars and I awoke to the sounds of trucks, maybe hunters, heading up the switchbacks toward the Arizona Snow Bowl. It was 5:50 AM and the gates at the resort claimed to open at 8 AM, so I broke camp, got out the MSR REACTOR stove and cranked up some herbal tea and oatmeal. I let the oatmeal sit for a bit and then added in some protein powder RECIPE.
I took my time stretching, adjusting my trail running pack from Ultimate Direction and staying hydrated. At a few minutes after 8 I went up to the resort and parked near the Check In Station. There were a few other early-birds, primarily some of the presumed front-runners. It was, after all, the final VK in the US Skyrunners series. I finally changed into my Asics short tights, Zensa compression sleeves, TNF arm warmers, TNF Breck Independence Day 10k Tech-Tee, Point6 Summit Socks, Altra Olympus 1.5, Goal Zero tech cap, and Hestra cycling gloves. I popped in my contacts and added my wife's Julbo sunglasses. I was ready to go. I dropped off a bag for the summit, with my Nike sweatpants and puffy jacket. It was windy and cool in spite of some sun between the clouds.
My number for the Flagstaff VK
It was time to get my Suunto Ambit 2S on, and start "running" the race. The first stretch of uphill wasn't too bad, in spite of several erosion control ditches, some over 4' deep and 4' wide. I was able to jump some, and step in and out of others, but uphill it wasn't that bad. Downhill though was killer. It was like deep scree, dirt, silt, gravel and loose grass to glue lava rocks the size of toasters. I "screed" down quite a bit, fell some and generally was unhappy. Very unhappy. The next uphill felt a bit harder, and the downhill after was even worse. I slowed down to around a 50:00 pace just to stay upright, though I did fall and tweak both wrists. I had wisely decided not to use my poles. I would have broken them by now.
Walking the course before the race, this is an erosion control ditch. 1 of about 20?
Finally the last stretch before the summit and I was up at the top. 1:32:47 on their clocks. I had beat my Quandary PR by 3 minutes. It was dang cold so I snapped a few pics, a video, and then headed down to the lift to get my warm gear on and have some snacks and water before the cold miserable chairlift ride down.
At the bottom they said the tee shirts were delayed by yet another few hours and maybe by 6 PM at the store in Flagstaff. I had to get home because my son has a CX race on Saturday, so I booked it through the night to Utah.
Summit, the finish line for the Flagstaff VK, October 2, 2015
Today, Sunday, I had a chance to mess with my stats on Movescount, separating out the uphills from the downhills. I was really frustrated that the downhills were so slow, much slower than my uphill pace, so I stitched the uphill segments together to create a simulated uphill-only VK, That gave me a finish time of 1:17:27. That's way better than my previous best on Olympus-to-the-saddle of 1:23. That gives me lots of hope for the future.
How about an online Meet and Greet and you can ask me about how I trained and prepared?
Event Schedule Friday, October 2
10:30 AM – Vertical Kilometer Start at Sunset Lift
1:00 PM – Vertical Kilometer Course Closed
2:00 PM – Awards
VK Race Day Packet Pickup
Will be available at the start line at Sunset Chairlift starting at 9:30 AM. Please have your summit drop bag ready to go at 10:00 AM.
VK Drop Bags
Vertical K runners may have a finish line drop bag for the top of the mountain. These must be given to us at the start line by 10:00 AM to be transported to the top of the mountain.
Note in screenshot from Strava that I beat my old minute increment bests by a good 10 minutes and maintained a 644 VAM. My recent training runs on the foothills of Timpanogos indicate that I should be able to sustain about 660 VAM now. I would love to achieve that.
Olympus Saddle PR
My Olympus Saddle Vertical K PR of 780 VAM. A worthy goal, but not in line with recent efforts. Looking to see if my training and resting protocol pulls me through this race in Arizona.
Logistics?
Driving down Thursday, Camping in Coconino National Forest Primitive Camping. Heading over to Ski Area Friday morning. Racing. Leaving after awards to return to Provo, UT.
Weather for camping near Arizona Snow Bowl
Camping Thursday
Location: Off Snowbowl Road on the southern flank of the San Francisco Peaks, north of Flagstaff, AZ. LINK
GPS (Map): 35°17'36.8"N 111°42'10.6"W
Access: From Flagstaff drive north on US 180 for about 7 miles to FR 516 (Snowbowl Road). Drive approximately 2.25 miles on this paved road to a dirt road, FR 522, and turn right. The Dispersed Camping area begins about a quarter mile from Snowbowl Road. Afterwards?
Saturday I will be cheering for my 14 year old at his CX (Cyclocross) Race in Draper, UT.
One of my other upcoming goals, in addition to the Vertical K in Arizona on October 2nd, is another mountain running event in Utah on October 19 that is quite close in character to the run on Mount Olympus up to the creek and back from the parking on Wasatch Blvd.
There was a great opportunity to head in to work early and run on Mount Olympus. The office I work at is near the trailhead, so it was fairly simple to pack a bag of work clothes (casual is the norm at work) and drive in the dark at 5:30 AM to the trailhead parking.
I got out on the trail about 6:20 AM in the dark. Slowly the sky lit up and the city lights dimmed. Going felt slower than normal up the trail. I've been doing splits the past few weeks. That's a protocol in which you do two workouts a day. I've also been cutting, or trying to burn off some fat to be lighter for the Vertical K. My legs felt really dead. At the creek crossing, about 1.7 miles up the trail I paused to shoot a short video and then returned to the car. I did feel really fast on the descent. It felt really good. I got to work at 8 AM and spent the rest of the day burning fat. Great fun run.
Later I was able to check my Strava feed and while I didn't come anywhere close to a top personal finish for the ascent, I did get a PR for the descent. The Vertical K has quite a bit of descent to it to make up for the relatively short vertical of the Arizona Snow Bowl ski resort at which it's being held. I've been training a lot of descent for this. That felt really encouraging.
Video From Mount Olympus at the Creek Crossing
Mount Olympus at Dawn
Running in the dark, just as the sun rises, along the steep trail to the creek crossing on Mount Olympus. Training for vertical. Skyrunning. Article with pics: http://elbrusraceteam.blogspot.com/2015/09/running-on-mount-olympus-at-dawn.html
Posted by Seven Summits Body on Friday, September 25, 2015
Hill Repeats
Getting some hill repeats in on the mountain outside American Fork UT. The Bonneville Shoreline trail on the benches above the Utah Lake valley. Training for Skyrunning event October 2 near Flagstaff, AZ. Stay in the loop and learn about training for such an adventure.
Posted by Seven Summits Body on Thursday, September 24, 2015
I did about a mile to warm up, then at the base of a short but steep hill on the dirt road I did some hill repeats.
Pick a hill to run up.
Go up as fast as you can.
Walk down.
Repeat.
Hill Repeats sound simple, right?
My hill today was pretty short, about 80' of elevation gain in a little over a hundred yards. I was able to get in just under 8:00 pace running up it. I did 10 laps of the hill, walking gently down. I also train running down, but that would be another article.
I've got another hill near me that is about 200' high over a little less than a half mile and I normally do only 5 or 6 repeats on that one. It just depends on your goals and your training programming. Mix it up a bit and see what works for your own circumstances.
I have a Vertical K race coming up October 2nd near Flagstaff AZ. I've been working hard on my vertical speed and endurance and have had to shift some of my goals around to accommodate it.
The Vertical K, as you might recall, involves an ascent of 1000 meters, 1 kilometer, roughly 3,300' of elevation gain with a maximum distance of around 5k or less. That's only 3.1 miles. Quandary is approximately a Vertical K trail.
I've been working training here in Utah, and a little in Colorado over the past few months. This requires a little less overall distance over the course of the week. Sadly there is a half marathon coming up that is a must-do with a time goal. So that training has to stay in the mix with a long run each week adequate for a half in 6 or so weeks.
More details are coming, so be sure to register at the end of the video for the newsletter so I can share my training with you. If you are a trail runner, skier, mountaineer, or a hiker or trekker, you'll want to come along for the ride and try some of my training tips.
This week I'm cutting down on weights quite a bit and working on trying to keep my legs refilling with essential nutrients and chemicals to be fresh and ready. It's only 2 weeks to go.
