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.
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.
I've commented before that Quandary, with 3400' of gain in 3.2 miles is essentially a Vertical K and I've been working hard to make some progress on blasting past my PR's. I posted some articles about how I was working that during the winter and now I have made a summer attempt.
Quandary Skyrunning Vertical K Video
Video report on my Quandary PR's last Saturday. Fun times making it. Don't forget to click the "Sign Up" button at the end to qualify for a super freebie coming your way soon. I can hardly wait for this one.
Posted by Seven Summits Body on Saturday, July 11, 2015
Be sure to click the "Sign Up" link at the end of the video to qualify for a super sweet freebie deal coming up quick that I know you'll love.
I was able to knock 9 minutes off my previous summer best ascent, and nearly 30 minutes off my summer round trip best time. It was really difficult and I feel great. Can I knock off another 6 minutes and come in under 1:30:00? Time will tell. I do know a few spots that added up would be about 2 minutes. Another 4 beyond that would be dang tough.
Summit of Mount Rainier, Columbia Crest, with Liberty Cap behind
I did a road 10k PR on June 6, and a Quandary Vertical K PR on July 4. It's been a week of recovery and some intense alternated with light training to get the recovery process in motion. Next week I get to get back into a more intense longer stretch of training.
BTW: a few weeks ago I also did the Emmons Glacier Route as a group co-leader on Mount Rainier. With all the pro and gear I think my pack was over 50 lb. on the way up, and since one of our group had to be evacuated with HAPE we ended up splitting their gear up on the way down. That was pretty heavy. I could feel that all the way down on Quandary.
Just below the 14,265' summit of Quandary in Colorado
So I'll keep you in the loop for all the training news if you stay tuned right here. Thanks.
