January - I am where I am

January... weather has had and impact on both me and my training. I'll just leave it at that.

I "think" I got in some good work in spite of the conditions though... some riding... some StairMaster... some 'mill work... and a handful of runs outside.

I can't really quantify the numbers of miles and vert accurately, at least with the bike, and the running is suspicious as well, but from a time point of view, it looks like this.

Bike - 22:26:21
Run - 18:33:18

So basically, 41 hours of training for the month of January and you can more or less take out the first week of the month as I was still up on the mountain... So more like 24 days of training with a couple of rest days thrown in.

The left hamstring seems to have mostly "let go" but still some issues with the knee. This feels very familiar to where I was at the end of June last year so I am confident (and praying) that the heavy bike focus with minimal running thrown in for now finally resolves it all in a matter of days.

Someday I will might write out what really happened and just how scary it all was when it all  happened on December 5th... hell, it is still scary and I do have lingering fears that I will never be the same. Time will tell.

I have a ton of ball caps and T-shirts inbound with the RunAspen.com logo on them. That's pretty exciting... oh... and rather pricey to boot. But the products are going to be amazing. All of my runners get shirts, some get hats, and other hats are just for "others."

Cannot wait to go to AZ at the end of the month! I just want to see ground that isn't covered in feet of snow... that will be nice.

That about covers it... I hope to be running more outside in Feb but that is weather and trail/path/road dependent. As things look right now, I will not be able to train this year like in the past going into Salida... kinda glad I am doing the JV race now... that's for sure.

On Second Thought

I have been keenly aware of my lack of interest in training and going to Silverton this summer for the Hardrock 100. Keenly aware.

But sometimes I can be full of shit and even fool myself...

Yesterday when I was riding the spinning bike at the ARC, I started counting up all of my riding hours these past few weeks. And I am now at a point where I can follow up a two hour plus ride with some easy miles on the treadmill as I am still rehabbing this injury...

So when I got home yesterday, I looked at the past month or so on Training Peaks and for someone who is not really wanting to a race or train - I certainly am acting like someone who does...

I do not have any interest in running outside right now so much although I do plan to begin that next week. Snow and lots of ice, mostly ice being the reason. We have about another two weeks historically here in Aspen before winter tends to loosen it's grip so until then, yeah, mostly indoor workouts mostly for safety's sake... But as long as I keep pushing the volume that I have been I will be more than okay...

Theoretically, I can go into this February, even post-injury, stronger than last February as I lost the last week of last January to a combination of a cold and the X-Games.

But anyway, a neat insight into where my head may or may not be when it comes to Hardrock.

Judging by my words and general disposition about it, yeah... no investment. But I always say, "when in doubt, watch what person DOES instead of what they SAY, because the truth is always in the action, not the words."

So yeah, I am in it now... and to honest, I feel a little flicker of actual excitement for once! And not just for Hardrock - Super Excited to go to Salida in March.

I think that I just needed to get off of the mountain and get back into my life full time and because I am now... things are truly looking up. 

Post Script Edit - And I've been dieting rather consciously these past few weeks as well and really getting things dialed in this week, so that also shows my level of investment, even if I had not truly realized it. 

Almost There

Last year we were completely done with snow making and had all of the guns broken down and put away by December 8. This year (season) we finish up tonight. The extra weeks of snow making that I was not anticipating has taken a toll, physically, mentally, emotionally, and in terms of my two other business (three now but that's for later). I have only been able to do what I can do to keep things afloat and operating, meaning no growth.

Injury... I pulled my left hamstring the first Monday of December and that ended up involving some other tendons and stuff. So for the past few weeks, I have been seeing the PT the days that I was not on the mountain working just to keep me together. It took awhile and I do not know if they were the root cause that weakened things and then when I ran that Monday a few weeks ago it is what caused things to go POP, but my Scarpa hard shell mountaineering boots have not been helping the problem.

So this week I switched a lighter boot and voila, no more leg pain.

Training... Riding the crap out of the spinning bike at the Aspen Rec Center. Rode for three days this week for 6.5 hours total. Between that and working this week, I am staying fit and getting stronger, and of course the leg IS getting better. But work is training too... digging, hiking, climbing, lugging around hoses, hell, even driving a sled is a workout that involves the entire body. The bottom line is this... I can tell from my bike rides that I am still VERY fit and ready to start training in earnest once I am off of the mountain completely.

Salida... I am going to run the half-marathon instead of the full. That week of Salida is the first week of training block 1 for Hardrock. If I were to race the marathon I would be losing nearly a week just recovering after the race. Doing the half, I can still race it and be able to follow up with a another good long run the day after and not compromise the following training week. Plus Shad is going to run the half (I think) and I will have a chance to keep up with him, doubtful, but it's a goal. LOL!

Hardrock... on a scale of one to ten, my enthusiasm is about a one and I don't see that changing any time soon. I sure hope it does because this little adventure is going to cost a lot money and time and I'd rather be spending both on something that I am excited and invested in doing rather than not.

Other work... one of my runners is doing Bandera today. Waiting like an expectant father for that result. He has come a long way these past few months and this has been our goal race since October. (update: he ran 5:35, 11th overall, 3rd AG) Dude is a solid ultra finisher... now he is stepping his game up. RunAspen.Com is getting great traffic and I expect more runners on the roster once the Leadville Lottery is done.

And the biggie from the week... this startup that I have been working with/for the past three years or so, I became 1/3rd owner of this week, call it payoff for all of my sweat equity the past few years. Could mean nothing in the end... could mean a lot more... time will tell. 

Hardrock Training - The Hard Way

Friday Night - 22:00

Sustained winds of 40+ MPH blowing the dumping of snow that we are getting horizontally only gives me about 10 feet of visibility in the dark.

But there I am at the bottom of the Spring Pitch run with about quarter of a mile climb to get back up to my sled.

I am wearing about 20 pounds of clothing and gear. My boots weigh 3lbs each... This I know from both the tech specs and weighing them myself just to be sure.

I am already exhausted from digging out all of the snow guns and having moved a conservative estimate of a ton of snow in a little over an hour... with a shovel... by hand... at 10,000 feet in elevation, in the dark.

Kicking steps the entire way up the frozen slope, I am using two short handled shovels as impromptu trekking poles for both safety and stabilization as I climb. Shovels are a lot heavier than trekking poles and my arms are burning.

I determine that I have zero desire to ever climb any of the highest peaks on the planet... ever. 

Kick, step, kick, step... look up and verify my route the best I can... Kick, step, kick, step...

Finally I make it to the top of the bowl, and rather spent I might add...

This is what my training looks like now... unorthodox as hell, but I am getting scary strong.

The joys of being a snow maker... cross fit as a job...

So, yeah... about that...

So... pretty much the entire world knew that my name was selected in the Hardrock 100 lottery before I did... Working up on the mountain, digging out an HKD Impulse Air-Water Gun that had buried itself at 11,000 feet in elevation, I could hear and feel my phone blow up in my vest... that was my first clue. When the phone rang and Melissa was on the line screeching, "You got in! You got in!" Well.... that was kinda how I found out.

My response...

"That's great honey... I REALLY have to get back to work. Love you, bye!"

And that is how it was.

My overall reaction and response to being selected is completely muted if you want to know the truth.

The roughed out plan, and this is rough, looks like this...

I am still snow making until ? (we should already be done) so that's four days a week kicking the shit out of me up on the mountain and that counts as training in and of itself, believe you me. But between now and the New Years, my ass is on the BIKE at the Rec Center, riding every day that I can. Come the first of January, I will start to actually run again.

The bike WILL be a huge component in training for HR and I am committed to one WO on it per week at least. Right now it is to help move along an injury and running in Aspen is shit right now with all of the ice...

The bike does what I need it to do right now and it is nice and safe...

Going to Page AZ for the Antelope Canyon runs Feb 25 to get my volunteer hours in. Have to get that knocked out and I would rather do it sooner than later. Plus I have a athlete from Cali who is in the 55K and it would be AWESOME to be there and see her race as I have never seen her run before.

The first pin to fall is Salida, March, 18th. No reason right now to look past that... Train for Salida and be as fit and as strong as I can for that... That is the first order of business.

Then build up and get ready for the San Juan Solstice, June 24, that is if I can get in. I am still sort of on the fence about doing both races as there are only 20 days between the two but I think it will be fine. Scratch that... SJS is the same weekend as the LT100 training camp and I will be there instead.

Of course, then HR100 on July 14.

Our lodging is secured, my pacers are set up, Melissa and Annie will crew for me as usual. All of the pieces and parts in place... so nothing to stress or worry about.

So there you have it...  I am super relaxed and I am happy that I do not have a ton of stress or worry about it all. That is going to make things SO much more enjoyable these next several months of training.

RunAspen.Com Updates

I am beginning to generate content on RunAspen.Com and now I have a grand total of THREE articles over there... The number three sort of makes me cringe because on Tripeaksconsulting.com - I have written 593 articles in just over two years... I have a very long way to go! :)

But anyway... I plan to divide the articles on RunAspen.Com into a handful of categories to start with. For instance, I intend to write a ton of articles on Leadville 100 training and coaching specifically and I began that today by writing this article...

Leadville 100 Trail Run Coaching Basics – Mileage
http://runaspen.com/2016/11/30/leadville-100-trail-run-coaching-basics-mileage/

The other two articles are about recovering after taking time off and another specific to winter running which is geared more to winter running in and around Aspen but can be applied anywhere that winter is an issue for runners.

One of my specific end-goals for my blog on RunAspen.Com is to have it be the central clearing house on the web for ALL of the information that anyone wanting to run the LT100 (or any 100 for that matter) that is second to none... That's a tall order right there... but over time I think I can do just that.

You can help! (Please) If you like the articles and want to share them, please do. Please comment as well. All of that goes a great deal towards making this new site more valuable in the eyes of the interweb god known as Google. ;)

The Cat Is Out Of The Bag

So...

What the heck HAS Andy been up to since Leadville... after all, he has been kind of quiet...

Sit back and I will share with you the full story...

Much of what happens in my life is a nifty combination of both accident and design and I do not think that my newest direction in life is any different.

For most of my life I have worked with other runners as much as I can to help. After all, that is what this blog was initially about, sharing what I mostly learn the hard way, etc.

And just about every year or so I "adopt" a project runner and help him or her reach his or her goals in the sport of running. It's been fun and it's been a neat side-gig of sorts... heck, I've been flown first class to run marathons with people I have worked with and even put up in some fancy lodging for the weekend on top of that.

Anyway, this summer I found myself in a situation where I was balancing four such athletes, coaching them nearly daily. One runner - I had been working with her since the beginning of the year to run her first trail marathon this past August.

Maybe what sort of pushed me over the edge was being a guide at the Leadville 100 Training Camp this summer. Even though I have to admit it really didn't register with me at the time, it was truly a demarcation point that marked the beginning of me moving in a different and unexpected direction.

You see... that weekend I had the best weekend of my entire summer. I got to help people... I got to run... and I got to help people running!

At any rate, move fast forward to just after this year's Leadville 100 and in my post race ennui - and contemplating the big "What's next?" question... it all sort of came to me...

Now... now it is time for me to step up and to begin coaching runners professionally. I have trained under the best, Weber and Lucho, and along the way even have developed my own best practices the past two years being self-coached 100%. My skills and knowledge are there otherwise how could the runners that I have been working with be doing so well, right?

So the big question then became do I really want to do it? Do I want to take this on as a new job, a new business? My number one fear if I had one was this, I did not want to end up like the guy who loves fishing so much that he buys a bait and tackle shop, only to discover that he never gets to go fishing anymore... I love running so my challenge was to figure out and convince myself that I can run both businesses (well) and still run for myself. I can. I know I can, and that is what I am going to do.

But I bounced the idea off of many of those I consider "close" to me who I knew could and would be objective about the idea. Or be realistic at least... and to a one, everyone was over the moon supportive. However, what pushed me over the edge was a completely out of the blue email that I received in early October from one of the training camp attendees who had finished the Leadville 100 and wrote to thank me for all the help I had given him before the race.

I took that as a sign, fully committed and have been moving forward on the project ever since.

RunAspen.Com is formally an LLC in the state of Colorado and that was my first step, actually creating a living and breathing legal business entity.

Next came the website and digital footprint design of it all and the website is up and I posted my FIRST article there today geared towards people running in Aspen during the wintertime. But there will also be a ton of Leadville specific articles as I add more content through the following months.

So there you have it... at least the broad strokes... Happy to say though that today, looking at the website traffic... things are very promising.

As for me... personally... things are good. Not much running lately due to a cold and a slight hamstring pull.... we started snow making last week (nearly three weeks late) and that will be a solid push until year-end I believe. And then, well, all of the work on RunAspen.com. - I think that catches you up to now.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Time To Chill

Running up the backside of Aspen Mountain last week.

I have yet to regain what feels like balance post Leadville 100 but I feel as if I am getting closer.

The third week after Leadville I really began to feel good again. And actually the Saturday, three weeks after, I felt AWESOME. My regular Wednesday morning running buddy and I went out and did a run that Saturday like our typical 12-14 mile Wednesday morning runs that we did all summer and I felt fantastic throughout the entire run.

But...

But the week after that I paced at Run Rabbit Run and ran with my runner a solid on the nose 40 miles which put me back to square one it felt like in terms of recovery.

Started running again last Wednesday as it felt like it was time and I was trying to take my temperature to see if I really wanted to jump into a local 10K which was this past Saturday. Knocked the rust off... got the legs moving again and ended up probably running one of my best 10K's ever and even managed to take 3rd overall.

Looking to run a cross country 5K this coming weekend and am excited about that.

Wyatt wrote a little about what's next for him in terms of running in 2017... I am nowhere near ready to even try to define that yet for myself. Two races I am certain about (mostly) but Hardrock is the wild-card and will ultimately drive the bus for next season.

If I do not get into HR100 I will have to do a HR100 qualifier next year. As much as I love RRR100, after running it twice and pacing it twice, right now I do not think that I want to consider it for next year. The Mogollon Monster has always interested me since its inception a few years ago and that might provide me with some motivation as it is all new. Plus, I like running a 100 in September... it makes summer seem to last longer.

As for my big what's next question... I have found myself backed into a corner (in a good way) about another line of business. Everyone that I have talked to has loved the idea and even those whom I thought would be more "realistic" about it. Anyway, lots of work to get done and done quickly before I launch that hopefully by the end of October. I read something recently that said "Do It Pro From The Get Go" and this is my train of thought with the new venture...

I did 3000 pushups in September.  And I have to tell you, it was kind of hard... My goal for October is now 4000 and on top of that just keep/get my running to a point where I am just fit... Why all the pushups? Snowmaking begins on November 1st and my first shift will be on November 3rd... I want to be in shape for that.

Time to chill.... temps have officially dropped here in Aspen. Should have worn gloves during my mid-day run today... summer is officially over, at least here.

An Old Job

Summer 1993, Colorado. I am camped high in the Rocky Mountains with a coworker, P.M. P's a salty older guy, ex-Navy, and it only takes one look at him to see "spook" written all over his face. We work together on an aerospace defense contract but that weekend is all about fun. P's already dragged my sorry ass which is 30 years younger than his all over various drainages that evening showing me "his elk." P's basically giving me his old hunting area which unknown to me will become my stomping ground for nearly the next 20 years of my life.

Camp is meager. We have eaten and I build a small fire in a one foot diameter hole that I just dug up. I laid my pad and sleeping bag out and and proceed to get comfortable as I feed small pieces of fuel into the flames.

P who doesn't really talk a lot out of nowhere just says, "sort of reminds you of sitting over pile of burning yak shit in Afghanistan, eh?"

I am sure he can see that all of the color has washed out my face as I stare back at him blankly and begin to recall an earlier day...
......

In my entire life I had never seen so many stars in the sky. There was no moon which made the stars even more brilliant above the stark and barren landscape. "Mars" I thought to  myself. "This is what Mars must look like."

Well except for the goats which would randomly bleat in the night. Unless of course Mars has goats.

It was late in the year, early winter 1988 and "the team" was well within the borders of Afghanistan. The Soviets had already began their exit from the country but there was still a strong presence there.

Regardless, it was a lot easier to move around the countryside watching and observing.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan provided a cornucopia of intelligence and information for our country to assess their forces. For nearly a decade "we" got to watch them play war (and lose) and subsequently catch hell from the Mujaheddin. It allowed for honest assessments of troop strengths, weapons technology, tactics, and wartime doctrine. A lot of information "walked" out of Afghanistan on its own accord but sometimes, well sometimes, we had to go in and get it.

We had been in-country for three days marching towards our objective. Our herd of more or less 20 tame goats were our cover. Five seemingly unarmed men with a herd of goats in those remote regions would barely raise any concern if viewed from afar. The goats provided cover, served as sentries at night and well, to be honest... a meal or two.

It was about an hour before sunup as the team was concealed within a pocket of boulders backed by a cliff. I was on post allowing everyone else to sleep and I was freezing my ass off. I could feel the wooden stock of the Dragunov just sucking any and all of the heat out of my hands though my wool gloves. A goat was moving and apparently kicked a rock causing me to jump. Damn I was going to be glad when that night was over and I could get some sleep before we started moving again. I was so tired that I was staring to feel nauseous and buzzy in the head but it was worth it to allow the rest of the team rest.

Steve, our team leader finally roused a bit earlier than usual and moved over to where I was sitting and told me to catch some Z's. He and I had only been working together for a year and though he was only four years older than me chronologically, he had been in the game long enough to appear to everyone as the seasoned and wise old pro that he was. We switched positions and I climbed back into the rocks and crawled under my blanket and easily slipped into a deep and dreamless slumber.

The job was really an easy one as jobs go. Our team was to meet a Soviet Air Force officer who was "retiring early" as it were, defecting actually, and we were to escort him out. Easy right? A small invading force of five, in a country invaded by a much larger force, helping one of them leave, get across to a safe border, and to do all of this undetected, caught or killed. 

The getting killed part really never bothered me. For starters, being so young my mortality was not something that I had yet to experience. For me it was about the dying in a place where I technically wasn't. But it is a really strange sensation being somewhere you aren't suppose to be, should be or could be on so many levels. No ID's, no papers, nothing that would or could betray the origins of our little band of merry makers. In a sense, we were nobodies and non-existent.

Steve came over and kicked my boot letting me know it was time to get up and go. Someone had put together and managed to cook a huge pot of oatmeal so I was lucky enough to get the leftovers and down about half a canteen of water before we started moving. Fortunately we were only a few hours from the meeting point and an easy walk with the only real challenge being keeping all of those damned goats in order and at least give the appearance this wasn't our first time as goat herders. 

Again the thing about the terrain was just how bleak it was. Yes there were mountains but almost in a way everything seemed prehistoric. Even worse for me was the fact that it all just looked the same.  Boulder, boulder, boulder, sand, dirt, dry stream bed, boulder, boulder, sand, dirt, dry stream bed...

When we finally found our stopping point, I really had to look around because I could have sworn it was the same damned place we started from just three hours earlier!

We set up trying to look like just what we were trying to look like except for Josh who tucked himself up higher with the Bren SAW with that ridiculous damned magazine sticking out the top end of the receiver. When it got closer to show time I would be up in the rocks with him behind my Dragunov to increase our odds if anything hinky happened and to put us at some tactical advantage if we needed it.

Fortunately, that never became necessary.

Soviets... Russians... I swear I have never met a more dramatic, passionate, romantic, and in a weird way almost flamboyant bunch of people. Because bigger than shit from across the valley and headed straight towards us, wearing what we would call his Class A's or full dress uniform, and on a damned white as the virgin snow horse that anyone can see for 1000 miles in this god forsaken landscape is our man coming right towards us.

So much for subtlety...

All of us were speechless until he arrived. Each of us looking at each other in total disbelief. Can this really be happening? I mean the guy on a horse I understand but fucking white? And what is with the uniform? Damn. I am looking at the sky expecting to see helicopters, Hinds, at any minute circling above our pos.

The rider finally arrives among us and Lou who is our best linguist starts interrogating him. Mostly because I am damned sure Lou wants to know just as much as the rest of us just what the hell this joker was thinking. Secondly, because none of the rest of us can speak Russian worth a damned and then only enough to really insult someone's mother. Not very useful in the current situation.

Lou and the rider (a Colonel) talk back and forth then both burst out laughing. Now we are really confused. Lou senses this and turns to the team and explains that the base where the Colonel rode from had a military parade that morning, hence the horse and the dress uniform. After the parade the Colonel had told his aide that he was going for a ride outside the fence and would be back later. 

After thinking about it for a second, it actually seemed rather smart really.

We unmounted our new ward and sent the horse off running in another direction. We had a change of clothes for him and after collecting his uniform to burned later we began on our way.

It took three and a half days for us to get in but we were going to be taking a much faster approach to getting back across the border and to safety. Two days at a double time march pretty much while all the time hoping the damned goats can keep up. Eventually we would kick them loose but they still had their part to do. 

The Colonel proved to be rather fit and didn't have any problems keeping up. He and Lou stayed together side by side in the middle of the group in case there had to be any hasty communications.

Once we crossed the border there was a group waiting for us as well as two trucks. Some nondescript man in a burgundy wind breaker greeted the Colonel and they went into one truck while the five of us climbed into the other for the long drive followed by even a longer flight back to Germany followed by a few well earned days off.
 ...
I turned away from P and tossed another stick into the fire while feeling my pulse drop a few beats and just said to him, "I don't know what you mean..."

"Good night..."

Note: The camping scene in 1993 happened... as for the rest...

Bouncing Back / Recovering

Gotta tell you... as far as post 100 recoveries go... this one is a bear.  More or less did nothing the entire week after Leadville except for a short mountain bike ride this past Saturday to loosen things up.

Started running again on Monday, an easy six miles on the trails around town... no real effort. Surprisingly enough, the legs felt better than I expected... everything else... meh...

Tuesday I went to the track and ran 8 miles which I just went ahead and turned into a MAF test just to make it interesting and to give me some motivation to keep from stopping. More or less about 20 seconds per mile slower at a HR of 145 than a few weeks ago. Makes sense to me right now...

Rode today... ugh... it took all that I had to put to the kit on and get going but I have to admit, after about an hour of riding I was feeling a lot better and was almost enjoying being on the bike for a change... okay, maybe I had more fun than that.... ended up riding a little over two hours with a 1200 calorie burn... Most of the riding was up in Hunter Valley and it is pretty up there now... it is amazing just how much the foliage is changing already...

I don't feel so tired overall, like throughout the body.... it's not a physical exhaustion so much as it seems to be more of a spiritual one. If I had to sum it up, it just feels like my soul is tired... I can't explain it any other way right now. It feels a little and maybe even presents itself as depression but i know that's not it...

It is amazing how 20 - 30 hours of hard effort can wreck the body and mind in a way that takes weeks to recover from. I mean a 50 miler, eh... I am off-kilter for a week maybe ten days... but a 100 miler takes many more weeks to recover from it seems. I guess it just goes to show what the cost of those miles after 50 or 60 miles really is.

But I must be doing something right during this recovery phase as my body weight has not gone up at all! I figured after taking all of last week off I'd had gained ten pounds at least... so that's a win! :)

The Leadville 100 Run - Post Race

So... the race happened... final result... 22:43 and change, depending on what you look at... 29th overall.

In a nutshell...

I trained my butt off this year.

I ran my heart out in the race.

It hurt.

A lot.

It is still hurting.

Being here - post 100 mile run - before I know it's going to take patience and time to bounce back. I just need to ride it out.

I am reticent to write a full blown race report on this one... Mostly because I don't know what to say but also because I don't feel like documenting a mile-by-mile regurgitation of the thing.

Also, for me, the race this year was personal. The work that went into it and the race itself was for a lot of personal reasons which I feel that I want to solely hold and know for myself. But if you are interested of what sort of motivated me, you can read about it here.

I will share the one thing that I learned in this race and the lesson is this... They always say that you never know who is going to show up for a race... I think most of the time we think of that in terms of other competitors who may or may not toe the starting line... but what I learned this weekend was that you also never know who is going to show up and that includes which version of yourself.

Leadville 100 Training Block #4 - July 20 - August 19

Well... I am done. I did my last training run, if you want to call it that, yesterday morning. Just three easy miles with my Wednesday morning running partner.... Today and tomorrow, no running. It's funny, two days off in a row... I don't remember the last time I went two days straight without running. Weird.

So training block #4... All running. NO bike.

259 Miles - 49:12:34 Running time.

The past few weeks have looked like this...

Week of 7/18 - 100 Miles - 18:48 Running Time - 23,009 Vert.
Week of 7/25 - 81 Miles - 17:38 Running Time - 16,759 Vert.
Week of 8/2 - 60.3 Miles - 11:14 Running Time - 12,910 Vert.
Week of 8/9 - 31.1 Miles - 5:03 Running Time - 6,040 Vert.

This week will be a 100 mile plus week... it's just going to look different... LOL. Easy four miles on the track Tuesday morning with some strides thrown in and then yesterday's easy three around town.

So... physically... yeah... I believe I am ready. From a mental POV... not quite there yet. I started struggling with the idea of actually running 100 miles this past Saturday morning when I woke up. No matter how you slice it... 100 miles is a longed damned way and though I have done it several times before... it still seems huge.

Goals... Sub-25. Beat 23:18. Beat 23:18 by a huge margin... Hint - consider the time delta between my 2014 and 2015 Run Rabbit Run results. Then of course... there is always the "just finish the damn thing," goal.

I read a neat quote yesterday that I have kicking around in my head...

"Big occasions and races which have been eagerly anticipated almost to the point of dread, are where great deeds can be accomplished." - Jack Lovelock

I can't say that I am dreading this weekend but I am ready to get it done. Or at least get started...  I have questions that need answering and the only way to find those answers is to get the first 13-30 miles behind me on Saturday.

I have plans for the race but we all know about plans and god laughing... and especially plans as they apply to 100 mile races... As one of my friends is fond of saying... "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."

I know that it will be in the first two hours when I find out if I even have a chance at reaching my goal. It's either going to be there or it's not - a rather binary situation really. The speed I need will be there or it won't in accordance to the level of effort (heart rate) that I know I can sustain for 100 miles. If it is... great. If not... I know I will still do well but I WILL have to peacefully accept and adjust my expectations accordingly.

Yesterday, I wrote an article, Why We Fear Success, which delved a little deeper into my thoughts about this year's LT100 and everything that has gone into it.

On the surface it seems easy... each split that I want to hit during the race I know that I can do on any day... easy. The question is can I make those splits segment after segment for 100 miles. And if I fall off on pace how hard do I push it to make up time or to get back to where I want to be, etc?

One of the biggest things that I can not control but actually looks to be strongly in my favor for this one is the weather. It is going to be cool in Leadville this weekend with the highs only in the 50's on Saturday. I am excited about that!

In regards to the "being there mentally" thing... one thing I do have to consider is that maybe it isn't that I am "flat" or not psyched up or just not excited about it all... maybe it is just that I am relaxed about the whole thing, and if that is the case, relaxed is good.

A funny observation... yesterday I packed all of my stuff for the race. When I did the race in 2010 for the first time, we had the back of the Cherokee crammed full of stuff just for me for the race... Tons and tons of crap. When I finished packing yesterday, basically everything that I need - clothing, fuel, bottles, all of it, fits neatly into two reusable shopping bags. Definitely a case where less is better and I am sure Melissa and Annie are grateful for that.

Anyway.... not much else to say on the subject... I do intend for this to be my last LT100 run... Yes, I know I have said that before... but this time I mean it. REALLY!!! I love Leadville and the races and I always want be involved in some fashion, but from here on out I think I want it to be in more of a support role be it crewing, pacing, volunteering etc..

This is to be the last one (I think) and I want to go out on top... whatever that may end up looking like. When it is all said and done the only thing I can do is to do my best and no matter the outcome, as long as I know THAT - it's all good.

See ya on the other side!

July And A New PR

The largest mileage that I had ever run in a single month was back in July of 2012, and I ran 393 miles.

This July... 421 miles. So there's a new PR at least.

Okay week this week, had to jink some things around a little because I ended up doing the Four Pass Loop on Thursday. But I still got a good 81 miles in this week with a good 20 miler up in Leadville yesterday followed by a 20 mile run up Indy Pass this morning. (Sort of set a huge PR on that one today too.)

Past that, not much else to report from the week.

Done With The Heavy Lifting

My last BIG week of training is done. Rest day today. YAY!

Last week - 100 Miles Running - 23,009 Vertical Gain - 18:58 Running time.

Friday was an awesome day. I parked at the old Monarch Lodge and ran up Highway 50 to the top of the pass and then headed south on the Monarch Crest Trail. 5 Miles up to the pass, ten miles out on the trail, then turned around and headed back. 30 Miles total, a crap ton of gain with an average elevation of 11,337 feet. Pulled it off in 5:59:01 which was awesome because I was really shooting for six hours.

But I have to say, running that trail and looking back at when I rode it on my mountain bike in 2013... if I had to guess, I probably did not enjoy it all that much. Of course I said it was "fun" when I wrote about it in 2013... but I wonder how much of that was me hyping it up because I felt that was what I was supposed to do. I just remember thinking a lot this past Friday that I was for sure a lot happier running it that day than if I were riding it again.

As I have alluded to earlier... the whole bike thing just escapes me now... no love for it at all.

But yeah... I am done with all of the heavy lifting in regards to my training for Leadville this year. In some regards the planning and strategizing began a year ago right after the Silver Rush 50. After the LT100 run last year I began to focus a little more on it as time passed. In April, at the beginning of training block #1 was when I really put my foot on the gas and with the exception of a couple of bumps here and there, I really haven't let up.  If you are wondering, this is what life - week by week - since April has looked like.... 

18 April 2016   Run        81.3 Miles        6368 Vert        14:14 Time

25 April 2016   Run        70.4 Miles        9602 Vert        11:48 Time

02 May 2016    Run        81.6 Miles        9874 Vert        13:54 Time

09 May 2016    Run        84 Miles           10,126 Vert     14:10 Time

16 May 2016    Run        83.3 Miles        13,750 Vert     13:49 Time

23 May 2016    Run       94.2 Miles        12,900 Vert     15:36 Time

30 May 2016    Run        81 Miles           14,187 Vert     14:47 Time

06 June 2016    Run        92 Miles           18,067 Vert     16:17 Time

13 June 2016   Run      81 Miles           11,369 Vert     15:02 Time

                        Bike     28 Miles              4,691 Vert       2:19 Time      17:21 Total

20 June 2016   Run      47 Miles           11,977 Vert     13:05 Time

                        Bike     106 Miles         14,696 Vert        9:42 Time      23:49 Total

27 June 2016   Run      79 Miles           20,639 Vert     17:47 Time

                        Bike     28 Miles             7,273 Vert         4:11 Time     21:58 Total

04 July 2016    Run     98 Miles           28,491 Vert     21:05 Time

11 July 2016    Run     101 Miles         18,174 Vert     19:46 Time

18 July 2016    Run     100 Miles         23,009 Vert     18:58 Time

But what do all these numbers mean? In a way nothing if I can not execute a good race come August 20. I have goals and I hope that the work gets me there, the rest is just the rest as you never know what can happen in a 100 mile race.

Something that I have not shared with anyone (well on my blog anyway) is that back in March I sort of had a nightmare. In my dream I crossed the finish line in Leadville in 23:18 - again. But the weird part was that 1. I did not remember running it and 2. I had this really bad and nagging feeling that I did not put out any effort or tried to do better that day. If I had to say, all of the hard work and mileage has been my way of preventing that "dream" from becoming a reality this year.

So yeah... lots of heavy lifting...  but that is over now...

Now to back down... 80M this week with two days off... two days off EVERY week between now and Leadville actually to start unloading fatigue. Part of me wonders if I realize just how tired I really am. I guess as I start to bounce back and feel better (or worse) I will get a full sense of it all. But that won't be for another two weeks or so I guess.

Leadville 100 Training Block #3 - June 20 - July 19

The first day of my Aspen Mountain Double-Double Crossing weekend.

Training block number three is done and the numbers look like this.

Training Block #3 Actual Miles Ran = 360 - 79 hours and 33 minutes of running time.

Training Block #3 Miles Riding the Mountain Bike = 134 - 13 hours and 53 minutes of riding time.

A note on the bike. I did not spend too many days on the bike just the days that I HAD TO in order to help mitigate the injury that I was dealing with. Once I could run again it was all back to that as I learned that I am really not fond of pushing a lot of time on the bike, at all.

Some game-changers and neat things that came into play during this training block...

1. Trekking poles - Bob Africa spoke highly of them in the Leadville 100 Run training camp and I listened. Personally I have always wanted to give them a go but feared they might prove awkward and maybe even a waste of money. For the past week and a half, I have been using them a lot on my big vertical days and all I can say is I sort of feel silly for never trying them earlier as I took to them like a duck to water. I got a pair of Black Diamond Carbon Distance Z Poles 110cm on Ebay for $117. WORTH EVERY PENNY. To be clear, as far as I am concerned this is the greatest discovery or change I have made since switching to Hokas back in 2012. In a weird sort of way I think they are fun to use. They WILL be part of my Leadville strategy for certain.

2. I did a huge 32 mile long overland altitude run (LOLAR - and yes I made this up) last weekend and there was no running or potable water anywhere along that route. Instead of packing a ton of water in my pack I packed my old First Need Water Filter  for the trip in my pack and it was great. A fraction of the weight of a liter or more of water and I was able to continually get cold water for the bottles and the bladder when I needed or wanted as there were many streams around. The bonus thing that I learned is that the attachment connects to both my Ultimate Direction water bottles as well as the opening to the Osprey water bladder in my pack so it was super easy to use.

3. I did a 20 mile run last Thursday afternoon and it was warm out and I had to carry water in my pack so that I could mix fresh bottles after two hours. Not wanting to have warm water or mixed fuel in my bottles the last part of the run I got the brilliant idea to put in a freezer pack, you know those gel packs you put into the freezer for small coolers or using on injuries, in my running pack with my water bladder. Of course I was not happy about the extra weight but damn it was nice to have cold water when I filled my bottles after two hours. So if you run with a running vest or pack with a bladder and don't mind some extra weight to keep your water cold it's well worth it.

All in all things are good. This week is my last big week (100+ miles) before I start chopping the volume down and I can say that I am honestly ready to just that. Looking forward to this weekend as Melissa and I are going over to Chaffee County and Friday I am running my last 30+ mile training run on the Monarch Crest Trail. The rest of the weekend is dedicated to just goofing off and having fun as really I am on vacation this week from working as I do need the break but I can also focus on this last big week without any distractions too. It's a win-win.

But yeah... we are in the last training block before Leadville... all of the big work is done except for finishing out this week. I just keep telling myself that all I have to do is make it to the 25th (next Monday which will be a rest day) intact and I will be good to go... Just have to make to Monday.... :)  

June And Everything After - Video Blog

So... not that I am being lazy but there is just too much to try to write out in one article and not wanting to write multiples... I thought I would do a video instead. :)

I hope that everyone is having an awesome summer!

Andy

Leadville 100 Training Block #2 - May 20 - June 19

Our camp in Leadville last week. Five days of wonderful peace and quiet!

Just completed my second training block for Leadville. Two more blocks to go. You can read how I have broken up my training from April to August and the structure of all of that here.

First the numbers for this training block which was from May 20 until June 19th (yesterday.)

Training Block #2 Miles Planned = 275 (Note: This number became obsolete during training block #1 and pushing a lot more volume that expected.)

Training Block #2 Actual Miles Ran = 391 - 69 hours and 34 minutes of running time.

Training Block #2 Miles Riding the Mountain Bike = 28 (And this just happened yesterday.)

So there is a third number in the mix now and that is the biking and I will explain that in a bit.

This past week was okay... I feel like I fell off a bit but I understand why at the same time. 81.3 miles of running, in 15:41. Throw in the bike for 28 miles of riding, in 2:19. About 13K in climbing running and 4K climbing riding.

So last week... I learned (relearned) a very important lesson in training and that is do not compromise a week's training with a single workout. My Tuesday morning track workout I was bound and determined to nail all of my 2 mile intervals in under 13:00 each. My motto or mantra going into the workout was to make every step count, make every lap count, make every mile count... and I did.

Nailed the workout... compromised the week.

At first after the workout I felt "okay" worked but not bad but as soon as I got home that was when the wheels fell off. It took about four hours to get my energy level back to where it should be and well... shit just hurt... all of it from the waist down. If I had to describe it, it felt more like I raced a hard marathon like Salida as opposed to doing morning workout on the track.

Wednesday I ran here in Aspen early in the morning and felt "okay" but not 100% either. Pressed for time, I shortened my 15 mile morning run to 12 in order to get home and get ready to leave to go camping in Leadville later that morning where we would be staying through father's day. Ran another five up in Leadville Wednesday night and still felt okay but still not great.

Thursday though was when I felt it all hit me. I went to run the section from the treeline towards Twin Lakes, an out and back totaling 15 miles. It was hot, and nothing felt right... I had the stride of a 90 year old man, and I know my form is nothing great but that day it was worse... More or less felt 100% and totally depleted throughout the run.

But I got to do my good deed for the day and that was this... About a mile out (outbound) from where the Halfmoon II aid station would be I ran into two guys who were walking and looked absolutely more miserable than I was... they were lost.

Two soldiers form Fort Carson had climbed Elbert early that morning with their company and on their way down they took a right down the Colorado Trail (instead of left and down to the parking lot/trail head) and subsequently bushwhacked until they found the road where I met them.

After talking to them and figuring out where they were parked, their route that morning, and everything else, I walked them to the Colorado Trail turn and explained to them exactly how to get back. I hope they made it.

I would really like to call/write the base commander at Fort Carson and have a talk with him about sending his troops into the big bad woods so damned unprepared. No maps... no compass... no radio... and relying only on cell phones (which didn't work) for comms? WTF? I won't even go into their gear or lack of. I was friendly of course and helpful as I didn't see this as these guy's fault (totally) but I did tell them that if they have a suggestion box in their unit that maybe suggest the next time they take off on an outing like this they at least have a radio for each team of two...  These guys had nothing and were headed in the wrong direction and with all of those fire roads out there they could have wandered a full day if I hadn't had found them... Anyway...

That run ended about as it started... rough. And Leadville was HOT that day.

Took Friday as a forced rest day. Legs still felt trashed and I was just tired. Spent the day eating everything in sight as I know carb depletion happens much more quickly at altitude plus I wanted to have a good 30 miler on Saturday, which I did.

Saturday I took off from Sugarloafin' to May Queen, up and over to the Power Lines and back for a 30 mile round trip that went pretty good. Did it in 5:54.

But after the run I was still feeling lots of aches and pains decided that now it is time to mix in the bike and since Leadville go so hot so quickly Sunday morning, I decided to wait until I got back to Aspen yesterday afternoon before setting off on the ride.

(Ache and pain inventory as of Sunday morning - left knee, left calf, left hamstring, right calf. Most of which I feel is the result of Tuesdays workout compounded throughout the week.)

Good ride yesterday which is causing everything to feel a lot better today and I mean night-and-day better... So I have plan! :)

This week was supposed to be a 100 mile week running but I am not going to run it all. I have a 35 mile run planned for Saturday but everything else this week I am going to ride. (That is unless I just can not keep myself from the track Tuesday morning as that is routine and habit now. But even then no speed work, maybe just a MAF test for fun.)

So here is the deal... the age old question and debate... how many miles of riding equals one mile of running? How do you compare the two? Some people like to throw numbers out there like it is a 2:1 ratio riding to running or 3:1 but nothing definite, just bro-science and speculation... Of course I could look historically at how many TSS (Training Stress Score) points are used up in a week of running looking back on Training Peaks, and I think that might be close... actually probably pretty damned accurate but I have simpler idea...

Instead of relying on some ratio that may or may not be accurate and instead of relying on TSS points which might be more accurate but still, who knows... I am going to gauge this week by calorie burn mostly.

I burn on average 100 calories per mile so in 100 mile week that is 10,000 (roughly, it's a target) calories burned. My hypothesis if you will is that will also come out to 1400 - 1500 TSS points which is again consistent with a 100 mile week at least by Training Peaks standards.

So between riding a shit-ton this week and Saturday's 35 miler, I still expect this to be my biggest week of the year which will be followed by an 80 mile recovery week next week.

And to be honest I am excited about this week as I see it a challenge to cram in so much time in the saddle for six of the seven days. But it will also allow me to range out further and see a lot more stuff around here that I have yet to see or have not seen in awhile. Plus there is the overall benefit of giving my body a week off from running impact for the most part which as much as I might deny it... I know that I need right now.

I had a pretty bad wreck on my skateboard last summer at the end of July and because of that I could not run (could barely walk) for about a week and half. Banged my right ankle pretty bad landing on impact going about 30MPH.  But I could ride just fine and be totally pain free and when that week and a half was over and I did start running again it was pretty awesome how I felt. I am expecting those same results after this week with such a heavy bike focus.

We shall see...

Breakthroughs And A New Metric For Fatigue

Thank god for dirt! As I have been waiting all spring for trails to clear out I have been pushed into running a lot more harder surfaces than I would have preferred. Of course all of that resulted in not what I would call injuries but more like shit that just bugs me from time to time, shins, calves, some knee stuff, etc. Nothing serious but "there" nevertheless.

As things have been melting and clearing out quite rapidly these past three weeks, I'd estimate that 90% of my weekly mileage has been on trails and I noticed last week that every little ache and pain has magically dissipated. Like I said... Thank god for dirt!

Last week was a pretty cool learning week for me though both in my running life and I guess in a way in my professional life as well. The cool thing first...

When Melissa and I first moved here or when I spent my first weekend/week here in August of 2013 I ran and I rode a lot. One of the first things I realized that here around Aspen, up is UP... the terrain while not impossible is definitely challenging and more challenging than I was used to. I told Melissa back then that if I were to live here and to be able to train "right" here that there was no way in hell I was not going to get stronger.

But for the past two years I realized that I have been fighting the terrain, or the terrain has been working against me... or I guess me working against it... Or in other words it has been a constant source of "stress" in my workouts that maybe limited me a little bit.

On Thursday's run though I realized that was not really the case anymore. That I am actually able now to work with the terrain in my favor in any part of a run. That the third climb in a run isn't so much an obstacle but more like a feature... maybe that makes sense... maybe it doesn't. Sort of hard to explain.

The other thing I learned or really put together is how fatigue affects my work especially my professional blog. Writing typically comes rather easy to me. (Though editing does not) And most days when I write my daily article, once I settle on a theme, a subject, or a concept, the words just flow out rather effortlessly. But some days I struggle and last week on Tuesday after an especially hard morning run and a crappy night sleep, writing was damned near impossible.

It has been something that I have experienced a few times the past two to three months...  At times I feared it was lack of creativity or that "the well" was going dry but no... it's just some days I am tired and on those days writing is a challenge... Just something else for me to be aware of going forward.

The hardest day of training last week? Friday. Why? Because I had to force myself to take a complete and full total day of rest and do absolutely nothing! Last week I ended up getting ahead of my miles and in order to keep to the structure I needed to bleed off a day a running so Friday was that day. I took advantage of the day to get a massage, just on my legs, and that was nice. But sitting around and not doing anything or getting out was a challenge. But it was worth it as Saturday's 30 miler turned out rather awesome.

Elevation Profile For Saturday's Run

Headed up to Leadville on Wednesday to camp through the weekend. I am NOT doing the Leadville Marathon, nothing to be gained there for me but will be running on the 100 course some. I have a plan. It will be nice to get out of Aspen especially since the Aspen Food and Wine event is this coming weekend. (I'll keep my socio-political comments about that particular local event to myself.)

Anyway.... good week last week... 92 miles of running, 16:17 time, with 18,067 feet of vertical climbing. My biggest week of vert this year and that will continue to grow as I can range out even further and higher as things continue to melt out.

And the Beat Goes On

Up at Four Corners. This is the ridge that divides the Hunter Creek drainage from the Woody Creek drainage at about 10,000 feet. Still a bit of snow up high.

As predicted, summer finally arrived in Aspen last week on Wednesday... a day earlier than forecasted. YAY! Without going into my total lack of appreciation, understanding, or comprehension of winter sports (putting wood on your feet and sliding down a mountain as if it is fun) I will just say that from now until October is MY absolute favorite time to live in Aspen. THIS is when it is a paradise.

Anyway...

Good training week last week. Was supposed to back off a bit but I followed Saturday's 30 miler with a fifteen miler instead of just five. BOTH runs felt pretty good. I was amazed on Saturday when I hit mile 20 just how great I felt and how much I was NOT dreading the next ten miles. All of THAT waited until about mile 24 to set in. Still a win.

As for Sunday I gave myself the freedom to run whatever I felt like. If I felt like only five, fine. If I wanted to go further, then fine again. I did handicap myself by only taking one water bottle and one gel on purpose as so to limit my range Sunday morning but the truth is if I had another bottle... following Saturday's 30 with a 20 would not have been a huge stretch.

In all this training for Leadville I have had a plan but I have deviated from it somewhat and have been doing a lot of volume week after week with no clear idea of direction or an absolute end result in mind. Just enjoying the volume (running a lot) and being where I am in training I guess.

But yesterday it occurred to me that I needed to get things dialed in a little tighter. There must be structure! After a wonderful chat with GZ this morning and ruminating on all of that information, on my run at lunchtime I came up with somewhat of a heavy yet still periodized schedule and structure that I think is manageable and at this rate sustainable.

The beauty of it is that I KNOW what the last five weeks going into Leadville are supposed to look like and that doesn't vary... the awesome thing is that what I schemed up over my run today dovetails perfectly into that. The next 11 weeks are fully and perfectly planned out.

Was it by accident or by design? Was my inner genius guiding me along all this time? Who knows... LOL!

Haven't weighed myself in over a week. But I will say this... this morning I washed my cargo shorts and decided to wear my jeans instead, they are 31x30. At first I figured foregoing the belt... but as it stands, the belt was mandatory instead of optional. Another win.

Took the Trek to the shop today too for a tune-up and to get the old sealant out of the tires and to put new sealant in them. I figure in another two weeks I will begin to mix the bike in as things melt out further... Not quite ready yet.

Anyway... that's about it... here's a perfect quote I found today on training that is totally true.

"If you under-train, you might not finish, but if you over-train, you might not start. - Stan Jenson

May

It is finally starting to look like spring around here!

May is finally over... close enough at least. This has to be the coolest and wettest May that I can remember and definitely of the three springs that I have spent here in Aspen, especially so.

But things are going well.

Mileage for May - 357 miles with 59:11:49 running time. I'm too lazy to figure out the actual vertical but it is good. But the monthly mileage is not a great concern or metric of mine since I have broken down my training until Leadville into specific blocks or cycles with this, the second one ending on 19 June... I'll see where I am then.

Last week was my best week yet this year though... 94.2 miles, 12,900 in gain, in 15:36 running time. Pretty good weekend with a 25 miler where I ran to the top of Indy Pass and Melissa picked me up then we spent Saturday and Saturday night in Leadville. "Easy" 14 mile run on Sunday morning from town down to the lake and back detouring through all of the campsites. TQ Lake trail still has a bit of snow on it BTW.

Finished the mother of all track workouts this morning. I have been working on 2-Mile repeats the past few weeks. (Thanks Kiki and Wade!) I started doing a 2M WU, 3x2M with .25 RBI, then a 1.25 mile cool down or so. I was doing 4x2M and today jumped up to 5x2M. My splits are off (but not significantly so) from the past couple of weeks but I am attributing that to the fatigue carrying over from last week. Still an awesome workout and I am feeling a touch beat up at the moment which I guess is the desired result of such a thing.

Sort of backing off this week and throwing some rest days in there. I really don't know if I really need them or not but I would rather take them and not need them than find myself so cooked that a break becomes non-negotiable.

But things are looking up... starting tomorrow we are supposed to be seeing 70+ degree days on a consistent basis so hopefully it will finally and really warm up around here. There is still a crap ton of snow that needs to melt in the back country before it is runnable.

Planning a 42 Mile trail/dirt road training run on June 25. I guess the average elevation for the day will be around 11K. If you are interested let me know and I can fill you in on the particulars. A couple other guys from Aspen will be going along too. Figure about a 12 hour day.