Preparation and Schedule Trivia for the Arizona Sky Race Vertical K

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.

Race Website LINK

View of Utah Lake from Bonneville Shoreline Trail

Getting ready?
Friday, Sept 25, trim fingernails
Sunday, Sept 27, trim head and beard
Monday, Sept 28, trim toenails

Stats on the Incline Treadmill Monday

Training?
Monday, Sept 28 - Treadmill 1500' at 30% and Glute-Ham Raises
Tuesday, Sept 29 - Stairmaster 20:00 @ 75 spm
Wednesday, Sept 30 - planned: Elliptical actual: Rest Day!
Thursday, October 1, Rest Day!

Goals?

1. Finish under cutoff: 2:30
2. Beat Quandary Vertical K Winter Route PR 1:43
3. Beat Quandary Vertical K Summer Route PR 1:35
4. Beat Olympus Saddle Vertical K PR 1:23

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.

Link to last Saturday CX Race in Ogden, UT HERE

Hill Repeats on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail near Provo Utah

Running on Mount Olympus at Dawn

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

be sure to register and stay in the loop

Hill Repeats On the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in Utah County

Short Video on Facebook:

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.

Vertical K Race Event Training

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.

Hill Training Day
Posted by Seven Summits Body on Saturday, September 19, 2015

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.