Rut Training Run - the week before

The Rut is doing a training run July 13 for their 28k and 50k. Interestingly they are supposed to climb the VK route, which is on neither of the routes. Then it forks for each of the routes for 10.5 or 15 miles. Since it's a great opportunity to do the VK as a pre-run I opted for the 10.5 mile, which is totally doable as a run/walk.

Here are some details from the event:

Training Runs Schedule:
7:00-7:55 am: Runner Check-in Big Sky Resort Base Area Huntley Dining Room at Base of Explorer Lift. See MAP.
8:00 am: Start Training Runs
8:00-1:00 pm: Runs in progress (1 pm cut off for all runners & routes)
11:30 am -1:30 pm: Lunch catered by Big Sky Resort

Check in is at Huntley Dining Room near Base of Explorer Lift: (See Map)
While you may not need a bib or timing chip for the Training Runs we still want to know who is starting and finishing the runs with us! So we will have a check in from 7:00AM to 7:55 AM at the start finish area in the Huntely Dining Room near the base of the explorer Lift. **Note that this is a different location than the normal Rut Races check in!** 

I'm really looking forward to pre-run the VK route, since I'll be racing it at the main event on August 30. I did so well, and felt so strong at the Broken Arrow VK that I'm really excited to see what I can do at The Rut.

"Long" run at 5 miles on pavement this morning

Training with the Middle School MTB Team

It's been a bit of a rough transition from the Broken Arrow, with a lot of pain getting back up to speed. While the Rut Training Run is at best a "C" race, meaning just a regular training run effectively, I still want to be strong enough to make the cutoffs and measure my own efficiency on the VK portion of the run.

I've dropped down to on average 45 minute or so training periods, outside the MTB team rides, which are two hours of on and off riding at a mellow pace for the most part.

I need to increase my singletrack training a bit, and increase my mileage enough to cover the 10.5 miles I'll be doing at The Rut Training Run.

I need to get some steep and rough technical terrain practice in, since The Rut VK has quite a bit of that. Especially near the top. The pics and vids make it look a lot like an intense crawl. Far out.

I'll post some more here in the next few days as I prepare. We'll be camping near the Big Sky Resort where The Rut takes place. We were going to take the trailer, but our tow vehicle is having some issues and might not make it in time. In that case I guess it's tents.

We'll see. Wish me the best. Thanks

Morning Road Running - Beginning Groove

After my amazing fun adventure running up and down both Tiger and Cougar Mountains near Seattle Washington, I had to make some decisions.

The weather was awesome. Forties and raining. The trails were wet and smooth. I loved it. I managed to get in about seven or so miles each of the three days I had there. That's about the most sequential running I've done in quite a while. I had some really good paces on the flats, uphill, and downhill. It was inspiring.

But then I had to suffer from the backlash of that. Recovery sucked. 

With my goal of doing a VK this coming year, and possibly Elbrus, it became obvious that my running training needed to change somehow. That how evolved into going back to ground zero so to speak. I needed to start at one mile a day a few or so days a week and work my way back up from there.

It was simply that my mind and body were primed and ready to crank out seven miles for a few days, but no more than that. In the bigger scheme of things this wasn't a really bad thing. Quandary is a 6.5 mile out and back. Cake. But the bigger implication was for training. How many miles a day do I need to run how many days a week to effectively achieve my maximum speed?

Right. Enough that my body isn't really ready to do on a daily persistent basis. Back in 2010 I began with baby steps doing various stepmill, elliptical, and treadmill workouts. I started with very low targets and worked my way up on the way to Elbrus Race. Now Elbrus Race Classic is a 9-ish mile out and back with a lot more elevation gain than Quandary.

So back to square one, which is an outside run over a mile a handful of times a week. Outside because I need to get my shivers out of my system prior to either a fast winter Quandary or any Elbrus.

And that's what I've been doing. Our 'hood at large contains a large semi-circular area adjacent to a golf course and outlining the edge of some hills near the mouth of American Fork Canyon. The knots of streets are cut by a local connecting highway or two, and some of the rec paths. If you zigzag around a bit you can hit just about any mile goal pretty easily without too much elevation gain or loss. If you do want some elevation, there are a few nice steeper roads along the hills.

I started running in the morning, normally after a circuit training routine that I'll share later. I'm up to about 2-ish miles a day a handful of days per week. My pace is decent enough. One day in spikes due to recent freezing rain and snow mixed I averaged around 13:00 + but mostly I've been moving closer to 11:00 + pace. Not too shabby for someone who hasn't run outside in the cold in a very long time.

Those are some of the screenshots from the Wahoo Fitness App I'm using on Android. It's got some klunky bits, but otherwise works good in combination with my Wahoo Tickr Run heart rate strap.

I'll share more on that later, but for now, I'm working my way toward a hike or even run up Quandary here pretty soon.

TTYL!

Frary Peak Pics

Photos Courtesy of Lindsay Lauck:  http://botfriend.ly/photo/frarypeak

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.

Frary Peak Raceday

From our results email:

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.

Frary Info - Night Before The Race

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.

Stretching the morning of the Flagstaff VK

Some Frary Peak Stats

Frary Peak - Lot to Antenna on Strava

Frary Peak, Lot to Antenna on STRAVA

As of tonight, I'm the oldest registered runner.

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.

Frary Peak Hill Climb

See More: [LINK]

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.

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.

Top 10 Reasons to Run Frary Peak

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:

Read the rest HERE

Stretching after camping and before the Flagstaff VK October 2

Frary Peak Teaser

Description

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.

MORE INFO

Training Run - BST near Provo, UT

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

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.

Winter Trailrunning Training

One of my favorite training activities is trailrunning on snow. In freezing weather it's probably one of the most directly sport-specific ways to train for an event like Elbrus Race. Footing on the snow can be difficult with reduced traction on ice or deep loose snow. Running up and down hills in these conditions is great training.

From my own experience Winter trailrunning will be done at a somewhat slower pace than on smoother gravel or dirt trails. That depends on the surface of course. Some of my fastest Quandary (Colorado Fourteener) ascents were done on mostly firmly packed snow. Something that you can do on snow that you can't do on more solid surfaces is churning uphill with your feet cranking away in circles while you barely move up a steep slope. It feels a lot like riding a mountain bike uphill with your feet spinning at a 100 rpm cadence while barely making forward progress.

I usually wear spiked running shoes. I've added 3/8" #6 hex head sheet metal screws to the bottom of some Hoka One One Mafate WP (waterproof) and a pair of Hoka One One Stinson Evo. The former have about 50 miles on them, and the latter had about 240 miles on them when I spiked them. I have a pair of Salomon Spikecross CS that are a more traditional style running shoe with solid lugs and embedded carbon steel spikes. These shoes have been pretty good in the dry snow of Quandary and up the Gulch Road, but the last time I did Mount Royal in melting slush they leaked horribly and I don't know if that was coming in through the top or through leaking seams that need to be sealed. I also use a pair of Pearl Izumi Trail N2 that are not spiked. If the traction and ice is an issue I can wear microspikes with them.

I have a few different layering systems I use, including Windpro front tights and looser pants style tights, normally without baselayers unless it's below zero. On top I normally wear a baselayer top, possibly two thin ones, and a hybrid fleece/softshell jacket. I wear a thin running beanie with a baseball cap on my head and on my hands I wear shell gloves, fleece running gloves, or insulated bike gloves depending on the temperature and wind.

I have been running in the winter for about five years now, almost all at altitude in Summit County Colorado, near the ski resorts of Keystone and Breckenridge as well as the Fourteeners in the area, Grays, Torreys, and Quandary. It's an excellent way to get in shape for high peaks and I'm sure it was instrumental in my one-day climb of Orizaba with Todd, and my successful completion of the Elbrus Race 2013 Qualifier and Race, in spite of the stormy conditions.

Starting From Zero- Jen Hamilton

As a naturally active personality, starting from zero is one of my least favorite things, the other is feeling weak in front of others, so I'm going to pretend no one is reading these posts and we'll get along just fine!

More than one infomercial trainer has touted that the hardest part of getting physically fit is the first day- it's a lie. Anyone can do the first day, or even the first week, it's weeks two and three that will kill your momentum before you can establish the habit. With my glutes still screaming and my legs fatigued from the second week of 2 hour treadmill days at 15% (interspersed with 25 min. stair climber sessions and strength training), I 'treated' myself to a muddy trail run. More for a mental break, I thought I would feel stronger and tougher than I have. I'm embarrassed to admit that even with barely doing the minimal, my body is worn out. While getting outside was a great reminder of why I'm training and I thoroughly enjoyed the vacant trails, it was a bit discouraging to be reminded of my lack of fitness. I felt painfully slow and heavy, so getting rid of 35 extra lbs. from steroid treatments is first on the list of improvements. Challenging trails that used to bring a goofy grin to my face were now taunting me as I drudged slowly with my head down.

A coach years ago told me that my body is capable of so much more than I can fathom and it's important to trust in it's ability to adapt and get stronger. She told me that if I would have faith, I would be amazed at the outcome. But with my body still recovering from an extended illness, my faith in it's abilities has been shaken. I spent the entire run muttering to myself, and it wasn't even an internal monologue, is was audible, crazy person muttering. It can be remarkably frustrating when your body isn't performing how you think it should! After purging all my negativity and concerns into the mountain air, I could only come to one conclusion; Elbrus by choice, or my current condition by default. I'd have to test my new limits to find out where they are.

So, this week's goals are:
1- Put on the blinders. Focus only on the next workout.
2- When getting discouraged, remember to be kind and patient to my healing body.
3- Recovery focus through nutrition (lean proteins, more veggies) and more sleep.

Focusing on these three things goals should take me through the next week of training. Nothing feels better than looking back at how far you've come. Looking forward to that day!

Trail Running in the Snow

This week on Wednesday I did 2 miles, on Thursday I did 4 miles, and the plan was to do at least 6 today, Friday, 11 October. Tonight is our G+ Hangouts-on-Air for #ELBRUSRACECHAT, that we posted pretty heavily on our FACEBOOK PAGE. We have a slew of good questions to answer, and hope to have the YouTube recording and transcripts up pretty quickly after it's done.

Yesterday for Summit County Colorado there was a "Winter Storm Warning" with as much as 20" of snow predicted. At least at the lower elevations, below 11,000' there wasn't all that much snow. Maybe 4". I decided to go out for my run this morning after Angie left for her skating lesson with Todd. I felt like Mr. Pearl Izumi, with a PI windpro hoodie, windpro tights, and Trail N2 shoes.

The lower section of Keystone Gulch Road was pretty bare, with snow only in the shadows. Some of this was quite sloppy muddy wet, and I did some sliding around. About 2 miles up it was covered entirely with snow. There were puddles of muddy slush hidden under the snow surface. The maintenance trucks for Keystone Resort left icy tracks of packed snow. Overall it was a ton of fun. At 3 miles I decided I was good for one more uphill mile, so I went up to 4 miles.

Here's a little Instagram Video I made in Vine showing the surface I was running in, and the surrounding snow-covered trees.

One of my goals today was to work hard on keeping a consistent smooth even pace, up and down. These Strava Stats show that especially on the way uphill I was pretty smooth at 15:00 pacing.

On the way down the snow felt great underfoot and I just cut loose, relatively. I did a couple of pretty fast mile splits, then for the 7th mile I took a little walking break to hydrate and catch my breath. Then I picked the pace back up for the final mile.

Running in the snow is great training for Elbrus Race. It's what you'll be running on in Russia. Eight miles is a good training distance, since the Classic Race is a little over 9 miles round trip. Four miles up and down with about 1000' of elevation gain and loss is good. Training at 9,300' and up is great.

I'm pretty stoked about how fast I did this in slippery wet and cold conditions. Of course, now I have to dry out my shoes ...

Trail Running Training at 3,000 Meters in Colorado

One of my favorite things to do is trail running. I especially love to run at high altitude. Summit County Colorado is perfect with several long trails and gravel or jeep roads over 3,000 meters in elevation.

Snow and Ice on the Gravel Road

Hard work at high elevation can help to make the acclimatization process go much faster, without the days of hanging out at 10,000' camp required by those who live and train at sea level. I attribute our success on Orizaba last March to our training on the Colorado Fourteeners the whole winter previous.

I'm enjoying this transitional season as Fall progresses into Winter with falling leaves, colder temps, and the slow buildup of ice and snow on the roads and trails. I'll have to start wearing spikes before too long. I'm looking forward to it.

-- Charles