Monday, July 28, 2008

What a week

This last week was not quite what I was thinking it would be when I started it. After another good week the week before I was quickly set back. I was hounded all week with this crazy kink in my neck. It littery was " a pain in the neck " if I do not say so myself in so many ways. Not only did it make running hard, it just made all week suck at times since I felt like I had a board tied to my neck. I got in some running but not as much as I was looking for. Oh well I guess it was not a bad week to take some down time since I leave for Colorado in 2 weeks !!!

I did end the week on a good note wit a super run on the ski hill doing some repeats. I ran after work since I choose to sleep in some with my little buddy. Plus we got to play with some of his new toys !! Back to the running. I was saying how I ran after work. Well at the start of the run I was a bit down since it was pretty hot and muggy and well I just wanted to go home. I decided to try some hill repeats and see how it goes. It had been some time since I was on the ski hill just doing repeats. After I got a few in I started to feel great and very strong. I just kept going. I stoped at 20 half mile repeats. I felt like I could do many more !! But I am glad to have stopped. What the saying, " Hay is in the barn " ? I like it. All in all it was what it was. I am hoping for a good few weeks of easy running and seeing how it goes. It should be fun.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Happy Birthday Buddy


Today is my son Evan's 2nd birthday. I am super lucky to have this little guy in my life. Not a day goes by that I do not look at him with such awe. I LOVE you Evan !!!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Not bad, I will take it

So I came a bit short of my total miles for the weekend goal, but all in all I am very happy with how things went and where I feel I am as a runner. Going into the weekend I believe I said I was looking for like 50 miles or so over the two days. I ended up with like 48 miles over the two days. But I will say they all felt like solid quality miles.

On Saturday I went down to the MN river bottoms. I had some extra time on my hands with Sonya and the kids being at a soccer tournament for Kyra. So I slept a bit later than my normal 6 or 7am get up time then headed down to the bottoms. It seemed like a very nice morning given how it has been feeling with the heat and humidity we have been dealing with. At first I thought I would run down to where the pull bridge is and then head back. But when I got there and saw that the bridge was back in it gave me a second wind. I went down a few more miles till I looped back. Being I slept a bit longer than normal there was more bikes than what I normally see, oh well. I did find myself starting to keep the pace pretty good after the first 15 min's or so of the run. It felt good and solid. I ended up with 15 miles give or take in 1 hour 48 mins. I ran the return trip like 9 min's faster than the our section !! My new Montrail Streaks where great.

Sunday brought great company for the run, but much much warmer weather. I met Paul at Hyland at 7am. We ran like 30 min's then Sonya joined us. Today was very wet and sticky. I even changed shirts half way and both got very wet. I felt like we went swimming. Even with all this being said I did feel pretty good after the opening 20 min's or so. I believe I ended up with just over 4 hours and 32+ miles !! That is one more great weekend of running for me. Looking at the weeks I think I can have a big one next weekend then it is time to start resting alot. I am feeling good about many things as of now. I am happy with my shoe choice the Montrail Streaks for the race, I am pretty set on using my camel back style pack for a bunch of the race. I think I have some good drinks and gels to use as well. This is a good feeling people !!!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Looking foward to a big weekend, 5 more weeks to go


As I sit here looking at a calender I have two more weekends to get big runs in then it will be time for a nice 3 week taper to get all rested. I am hoping to get in big days both Saturday and Sunday. I know Sunday am am going to be lucky enough to get to run with Sonya and Paul out at Hyland. As for what Saturday brings I am not sure. I would like to run at either Afton or Lebanon hills.

The week so far has been good for the most part. I got in great runs both Monday and Tuesday nights out at Hyland. I was feeling the effects of being back on the AltoLab this week. I was dragging on Tuesday and Wednesday big time. But was much better today even with pushing Evan in the baby jogger. With any luck I will feel pretty good this weekend. I am going to be running in my new second pair of Montrail Streaks !! I wanted to have a 2nd pair all ready for Leadville as back up.

My motto this week has been "what would Kyle do " ? For those un-geeky type guys like myself who pay way to much attention to the sport of running, hell all sport with me. Kyle is the one and only Kyle Skaggs. He is one of the guys I like to point to when talking about how ultrarunning getting faster and better !!! There is a slew of young bucks who in my mind are pushing our sport forward. Kyle just set the Hardrock 100 mile record last weekend. He ran like 23 hours 23 mins to take like 3 hours off Scott Jureks record !!! He also set the course record at Wasatch Front 100 last year. It was his 1st hundred mile race ever !!! With any luck thinking about what would Kyle do will help we along the next few weeks.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

The weeks keep getting better

I guess if I had to pick a time to feel like I was rounding into shape now is the time. We are like a little less than 5 weeks from Leadville. So I figure I have like 3 more weeks of top training then I will begin a 3 week taper. I have done to weeks in the past but feel like this is best.

After the great week last week ending with Afton I kept the ball rolling. On Monday I got a great run at Hyland in the pouring rain !! I would have kept running but cut it short with the lightning I saw. It was best in the long run I figure. I also had a great 9 mile run the next day out there at Hyland. This place has for sure become a local stomping ground for me being that it is between home and work.

Wednesday and Friday believe it or not I ran on the roads. Now I like the roads but I think before this it had been like 3-4 weeks of no roads, all trail for me. ZI like the trails !!!

On Saturday I ran with Sonya at the MN Voyageur trail marathon. I was fun to spend the day with her on this pretty trail. The type of trail is not good for her but she hung in there and did her best. I am very proud of her !!

Sunday brought much fun with the boys out at Hyland. They all went 40 miles for the day, but I got in like 15-16 miles. I figured this was a good day after 27 miles the day before. I felt GREAT. I wanted to go 1 more loop and get in over 20 miles for the day but cut it back so I could spend time with Sonya and Evan before I went to work. A good call. I look forward to next week !!! Keep em coming trail gods.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Ending on a up note

Last week was not the best week for me running wise. After having a crappy run last Sunday I did rebound with a great Monday night run out at Hyland park. After that the rest of the week was a loss. I ran everyday on some trails at either Hyland or French Park. I never felt good any of those days the rest of the week. Coming into Afton today that was a bit of a concern for me to say the least. As we got closer to the end of the week and the race came closer I just kept telling myself to run smart easy and get a good workout out of it as Leadville 100 in August is the big prize to think about.

As race morning came I woke up felling pretty happy as excited to be going to the race. Not bad I figured since it was 3:45am when I got up !! Paul picked me up then we got Erik and we where off to the race. We made great time getting there, I guess there is not much traffic at this time of day ? It was great to see the park as it had been like 2 years since I had gone for a run from there. All the normal pre-race stuff of talking to people was in full effect. I was ready to race.

John the race director gave the pre run talk and then we where off and running. Let me say I could not believe how many guys took off like it was a 10k race. I just settled in to a very comfy pace with Paul and Erik. We all race together for like 8 miles or so then Paul fell back a bit and Erik and I kept going. As we got a few more miles into the run we passed like 5 or 6 guys. I was feeling great. I felt like I was very within myself. As we got to the start of the 2nd loop I click my lap on my watch. Just looking at my watch now it looks like we got back out after 2:16. Not a bad split I thought. As we started the second loop you could feel the heat cranking up. Erik and I continued to run together till the second aid station. At this point he pulled ahead and I was on my own. I could tell also at this point I needed to get some more food into me asap. I spent the next 15 min's pounding the food as I made my way down the trail. As I got into the next aid station I was SUPER happy to see Sonya and Evan there !!! I got two kisses and I was off. That was a BIG pick me up let me tell you. For the rest of the race I felt pretty good. I felt strong on the hills and smooth on the rest. I think I passed like 1 or 2 more 50k runners on the way into the finish. I split 2:18 the second loop for a solid time of 4:34. I will say this was a good thing for me as I get into the last weeks of training for Leadville.

I know I still have much more work to do but I felt like I am making progress even when I maybe have thought to myself I was not. I just need more weeks of hills and long long runs.

I have to thanks John and all the crew that put on this great race !! It is funny to think after all these years I had never done that race before. I will say I plan to never miss it from now on if possible.

** On a side note one thing I have never tried, that I did before Afton 50k was using the Hammer Liquid Endurance drink. It is supposed to help with heat tolerance. You drink 3 bottles per day the 3 days before you run. I do believe it seemed to work !! Not that it did not feel hot to me out there. But I felt like I did pretty good never feeling totally crappy in the heat of the day. Now I am sure taking my E-caps, Nuun drink, and Hammer gel alot during the run had alot to do with this as well. Also can't leave out my Montrail Streak shoes !!!

Alto2 Lab

I have had a few people ask me what this Alto2 Lab altitude simulator I have been using is all about. This is the link to the company with all the info.