Hungry for more...

I've got ants in my pants! I'm discombobulated! Give me a calmative! ~ Grandpa Simpson

Wed: 1:32, 10.5 miles, East Boulder tempo
Thurs: 00:40, 4.6 miles, Boulder Creek Path recovery
Sat: 00:40, 4.14 miles, Neighborhood surges
Sun: 4:12, 26.24 miles, North Boulder backroads

A crazy week got in the way of updates so I am playing catch up a bit. Things have been going relatively well... I am still nursing a tight hamstring and mildly sore knee but that doesn't seem to be holding me back too much. Wednesday's run was a bit of a cluster. My splits were okay but by the end, I was really just done and my knee hurt and so I cut that one a little short. Thursday was a bit faster than I should have been running but I felt okay so just cruised. Saturday was a squeeze run early. Went to the opera mid-morning so it was good to get out for a quick run while it was still quiet and calm. Sunday was the mad man of the week...

Headed to Boulder early hoping to get in a few miles before meeting up with the crew but that didn't happen so we started together shortly before 9:00. We wound our way around part of the Backroads course and I ended up way north on CO66 before heading back to Boulder. Not too much to talk about other than really working on managing lingering ailments and getting in the miles. For the most part, I was successful. After 3 hours things started to get a little ouchy for sure but nothing that sparked tremendous concern – mostly just the standard fatigue and soreness that comes with the territory when logging that much time on one's feet. These small increases every week are paying off, however. I am feeling super fit and recovery happens quickly.

People ask about nutrition during ultra running a lot and aside from some of the standard items (gels; "real" food like pb&js, wraps, fruit; etc.) I have started working in some fluid-based nutrition as well. I have been using nuun exclusively for the past year or so and find it to work really well. I recently started working Charles Corfield's famous "Rocket Fuel" into the mix. I'm trying to get more info about that so check back for a full report. Thus far, however, it seems to be working really well for me both during and post running. I have been using a 1:1 mix of Waxy Maize and Maltodextrin coupled with a tab of nuun per bottle. I have the feelers out to Mr. Corfield (3rd place in the '07 LT100) and will let you know what more I find out.

Most of the top talent whack down gels throughout the races. I am not quite sure how they handle this but it seems to work well for them. I will supplement with gels and do use gels exclusively during shorter, faster events like marathons (maybe that is the key – make 100 miles short and fast and you are golden!) but for longer runs, I tend to stick with more solid fare and try to work in as much real food as possible. When I did the LT100 in '07 and the Silver Rush in '08, I relied pretty much exclusively on real food. For the LT100, I relied on food my crew made for me: PB&J wraps, avocado wraps, bean burritos, fruit, trail mix, tomato/avocado soup and the like. I had decent success with this and found, for me, the avocado wraps worked really well (1/2 of an avocado and some pink sea salt wrapped in a tortilla). Being a vegan, I didn't want to rely on aid stations and didn't want to get into a situation where I needed nutrition but was unable to find anything that suited me.

I took a slightly different approach to the Silver Rush in '08 (mostly because I wanted to approach this event more casually to take some of the pressure off) and actually did use the aid stations which provided chips, pretzels, fruit (melons and bananas) and soda. I made the mistake of filling up with some energy drink at one of the stations that did NOT go down well, so definitely beware. I supplemented with my own food for the start (pb&j and avocado wraps) and put more in my drop bag for resupplying at the turn. The best practice is to well... practice! Grab a burrito and go for a run. See what works well for you. Be prepared for wacky cravings during events but try to stick with foods and supplements with which you are familiar and have tried in training. Nothing worse than stomach problems during an event.

~stubert.

Variety...

It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness. ~ Seneca


Wed: 1:34, 11.25 miles, Snowpacked and icy Boulder road tempo
Thurs: 00:20, 2 miles, Treadmill session with Janet
Sat: 00:32, 3.4 miles, Treadmill surges
Sun: 3:47, 23.5 miles, North Boulder Hygiene loop
Tues: 00:50, 5.86 miles, Boulder Creek Path surges

Playing a bit of catch up after a hectic week and jam-packed weekend. Still have some residual tightness in my right glute/hamstring I am trying to sort out but have gotten in several great runs despite the wackiness.

Last Wednesday, I missed hooking up with the crew due to work obligations and had to wait until later in the afternoon to get in my scheduled tempo run. It was pretty chilly (15°F or so) and snowing when I started from central Boulder and made my way west on the Creek Path. I tried to keep my heartrate below 150 (and actually, at the time, thought I was doing an okay job of this) but the splits don't lie and I guess I pushed it a bit on the warm up. Not a big deal given the weather. Had to keep the blood flowing for sure.

Once I reached Eben G. Fine Park, I headed onto surface roads and started my tempo after about 35 minutes of warm up. It was definitely game on after that as I rolled up 4th and dropped down Kalmia. One thing I do love about Boulder is that they tend to pay more attention to bike paths than the streets and Kalmia was a bit of a mess. Lots of snow-covered ice and slippery sections made for interesting and exciting running – particularly at tempo pace. I fared quite nicely, however and ended up with a solid effort for the day. Blew up just a smidge toward the end after getting stuck at a light or two, losing my mojo a bit and getting a bit chilled but all in all, a great run.

Thursday, I had a session with Janet Runyan and, given that it was all of 7°, we opted to hop on the treadmill instead of driving around with her windows rolled down. Janet has me pretty dialed in at this point and I showed her a couple of new tricks I have been employing to try to help drive my hips forward and she pointed out a some other techniques I could use to relax a bit more and get a bit more grounded. I can't really say enough good things about where she has gotten me over the past 9 months. My form has improved, my fitness is way up and, though I am still nursing a few goofy aches and pains, I am feeling like I am definitely on the right track for a great year in 2010.

Saturday, Rach and I went to see the Met's broadcast of Der Rosenkavalier. Fantastic opera and amazing performances. We even managed to get home in time for me to jam over to the gym for a quick run on the treadmill. Only did 32 minutes and 3 surges but it shook out some of the kinks from sitting most of the day. Glad to have that resource available for sure.

I met with the group on Sunday this week for my long, slow run. We hooked up in north Boulder and spun a quick loop on clear surface roads and snowpacked side roads then headed west and back north to Hygiene. These roads are quite familiar from my days racing bikes and I never even conceived that one day I would be running the same routes on which I spent so much time perfecting my sprint and chasing down breaks. Pretty cool, actually.

I actually felt amazing for the first two hours of the run and spent most of that time spinning sub-10s and chatting comfortably with Janet and Art Ives, a top-five Leadville finisher and all around nice guy. He also coaches runners and is never at a loss for amazing stories and solid advice about how to improve my game. We burned a lap southwest of Hygiene then Art headed back to Boulder while Rebecca and I spun one more circuit then followed. By this point, my heartrate was staying up for some reason but I felt okay so am guessing there was some interference or something. Maybe I was working harder than I realized but I was breathing comfortably so I am not sure what was going on. I was pretty ready to be done once we got back to the cars, to be honest, but it was a great run for sure.

I was a little sore afterward and had a good soak in an ice bath once I got home. Stretching, compression socks, lots of fluids and some killer grub from Rach did the trick to get me feeling much better very quickly.

Mild soreness on Monday dissipated by Tuesday and it was a gorgeous day for a run. I was down in Boulder anyway and took advantage of the spring-like weather (mid 50s, sunny, no wind) for a jaunt up the Creek path and some surges. Felt maybe a little clunky to start but kept a mellow 9:15 pace for my warm up then did 8 1x1 surges. Dropped back down for a sub 9 finish that felt really amazing. Almost mechanical in how I was turning over the legs with power and efficiency. Hoping that I get that feeling more and more as the season progresses. Really a fun run.

So that brings us up to date. Sorry for the lapse... hectic has been the word that best describes my world right now. But getting out for a run always seems to bring everything back into focus.

~stubert.

Ups. Downs...

Nothing more foolish than a man chasin' his hat. ~ Tom Reagan

Sat: 00:40, 4.3 miles, Treadmill surges
Sun: 2:23, 14 miles, Boulder slow run
Mon: 00:45 weights
Tues: 00:48, 4.9 miles, Neighborhood surges

If I have learned anything over the past several years of running, it is never a good idea to obsess too deeply over any given day's effort. Certainly there will be times when your performance does not match up with your expectations – I am not saying you shouldn't invest some time trying to sort out the why – but I have found that beating yourself up about an off day is rarely productive.

After Friday's day off (intended to ski with my dad and his fiancée but the weather didn't cooperate), I got back to business on Saturday with a good ski with good friends and a quick run to shake out the cobwebs a little bit. Pete, Edy and I hit the Basin in the morning and conditions, though still wanting, were a lot better than the last time I was up. More terrain open which meant I was actually a bit sore the next day from using muscle groups that haven't gotten a lot of action over the past 8 months. I hit the treadmill on the way home and felt like I was ready for Sunday's effort.

Janet asked that I try to tone it down a bit for Sunday's run since the last three efforts were a bit higher than prescribed so the goal for Sunday was to keep the heartrate down and just have fun. I headed west along a route that took me to the far western edge of Boulder then worked my way south along city streets, eventually meeting up with the familiar system of Boulder's vast network of trails. These were snowpacked and icy for the most part so I donned my YakTrax and made my way up Enchanted Mesa to Mesa then down Bear. Other than residual soreness from Saturday's double-up, I felt pretty great. I was able to move at a relatively steady pace without spiking the heartrate. Just steady, relaxed and easy.

I made my way back northeast, via Boulder's equally awesome network of bike paths and wound my way back to my car with the plan being to use this as a staging area to refuel. As you have read, I have had some ongoing issues with knee pain in the medial posterior region of my right knee. This cropped up again on Sunday's run and it was really bugging me by the time I made it back to my car. I also was experiencing some unbelievable chafing for some reason and these, combined with a storm quickly moving in from the west and my having ditched my jacket at Pete and Edy's place early in the run (temps were much milder than I expected), pushed me to the decision to call it a day with only 14 miles and 2:23 covered out of a projected 24/3:50. Not a shining moment but one on which I refused to dwell (especially given that the skies opened up with a serious snowstorm no more than 10 minutes after I called it a day).

I was still a bit sore on Monday and went to the gym to work in some upper-body weights just to knock the rust off a little bit and try to get more consistent about full-body strengthening. Yesterday, I was back in action with a nice little run around the 'hood on snowpacked and icy roads. I then found a relatively flat section that was also dry on which to do some surges. These felt a bit harder than normal (mostly because the odd numbered surges were slightly uphill and into a headwind) but I really focused on staying relaxed and using good form over blazing speed (which, you are probably aware, is not really in my skillset anyway). It felt great to get out and I was able to work on some stride adjustments throughout the run that appear to relieve some of the wackiness I have been experiencing with my hamstring.

Today's planned group run was kiboshed by work priorities so I'll run solo this afternoon and get in some good tempo work. Planning to continue to test this new form to see if it is something I should work into my regular stride. I am sure Janet will have some recommendations and feedback when I meet with her tomorrow.

All in all, though last week was not my finest effort (only ran about 30 miles), I learned a lot, had fun and continue to be consistent which, at this stage of the game, is probably more important than actual numbers. I feel that I continue to make progress and that is the key.

See you out there.

~stubert.

Iskiate...

Let food be your medicine. ~ Hippocrates

Iskiate, or chia fresca, is a popular topic these days after appearing prominently in Born to Run, Christopher McDougall's book about ultrarunning, the Tarahumara, and the physiology of running - particularly running stupid distances in a single push. McDougall speaks about its use as a natural energy drink in his book and I have been experimenting with it the past several months to see how to incorporate it into my regular race and training diet.

There are lots of ways to use chia seeds (yes, of the Chia Pet ilk) as a dietary supplement and I have been using Iskiate as a pre- and post-run addition to my nutrition with decent results. I have not been particularly scientific about my use of the chia seed but definitely have done a little experimenting with how best to incorporate its use into my regular regimen and have found it to have a refreshing effect.

Chia seeds can be purchased online or at many natural food stores. I have definitely found the best deals online, but if you want to pick up just a little to try it out first, many stores have chia seeds in their bulk or raw foods sections.

Chia seeds have a remarkable ability to soak up liquids and when introduced to water or another liquid, open up to absorb up to 9 times their original volume of water to form a gel. This gel can be consumed in a variety of ways and not only is a great source of energy but helps to keep a person hydrated. The seeds are rich in calcium, Omega 3 and 6 and when in gel form, provide a slow-release mechanism for carbohydrate absorption so you don't get as much of a spike as you would from a glucose-based energy drink but more of a slow burn energy release.

Chia gel can be made in a variety of different ways and can be stored for use in the fridge for a week (I have heard up to 3 weeks but I like to err on the side of caution). I mostly have been using it as an addition to juices (grape, apple, orange) and will pour a glass, add a couple tablespoons of chia seeds, stir vigorously, let sit for 10 minutes or so to let the seeds soak up the juice, stir again and drink.

A more traditional Iskiate recipe calls for lime juice, sweetener, water and chia seeds and I have found this to be incredibly tasty and refreshing before, during and after exercise. Take the juice of 1 lime, combine it with 1 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of sugar, agave or sweetener of your choice. Add a couple teaspoons of chia seeds, mix it up, let it sit for a bit for the seeds to soak up some of the liquid and get good and plump, then drink up!

Iskiate is a bit too thick to flow through a standard water bottle valve so you may have to slow your pace a bit and drink from an open top if you plan to use it during exercise but other than that, I have found it to be a great addition to my regular nutrition/hydration. nuun is still my go-to solution for hydration but I have definitely used Iskiate (even in combination) to provide a natural energy boost to compliment the regular use of nuun tabs during training and racing.

~stubert.

1153...

I ran. I ran until my muscles burned and my veins pumped battery acid. Then I ran some more. ~ Narrator

Thurs: 00:34, 3.51 miles, Neighborhood recovery run

For my last run of the year, I just spun around the neighborhood in windy, cold conditions. Not much to say about that aside from, "It was great to get off the couch." All in all, I am very pleased with how the last few months of the year have gone and that I was able to log 1153 miles for the year. Considering I was injured for most of the year, that is not too shabby. Here's how it stacked up:

• January - 0 miles: I was busy skiing, trying to recover from the wackiness that ended up plaguing me all year and well... just not running, I guess.
• February - A few. Not many, however: I know I got out for one run on the Mesa trail and definitely hit the treadmill a couple of times but didn't write anything down so whatever I actually ran, did not make it into the final tally. Less than 20, for sure.
• March - 28 miles: Sporadic, at best. I injured my knee in late February and that pretty much put the kibosh on any real running for the month. Plus, my abs were still kicking me in the ass (don't ask).
• April - 102 miles: Actually started ramping it up a bit and started visiting Janet Runyan for coaching. Two good things that go great together.
• May - 156 miles: Actually did a race in May too. Go figure.
• June - 79 miles: Abdominals came back with a vengeance and I throttled back the miles, got an MRI, and got on the schedule for a procedure to help with the problems.
• July - 51 miles: Going the wrong direction mileage-wise but the right direction health-wise. Sometimes one takes what one can get.
• August - 105 miles: Ramping it back up and another race under my belt. The Wild West Relay was mellow and fun.
• September - 137 miles: Able to keep things moving in the right direction. Relentless forward progress.
• October - 139 miles: Got in some good runs in October and paced Chase Squires to a 3rd place finish in the 24-hours of Boulder race. (Mostly, he did it on his own.)
• November - 172 miles: Really finishing up the year strongly with solid runs throughout the month despite crazy weather.
• December - 182 miles: The trend continued in December with solid running over the course of the week and fairly consistent weekly mileage. Logged several 20+ days and ended up with a solid month of training despite some crazy-cold weather.

All in all, this wasn't quite what I had hoped to achieve this year but sometimes you have to just roll with it. My goals for 2010 include: Staying healthy and injury-free (gotta get cracking on that one), doubling my mileage for the year (see #1), getting in some fun racing throughout (one race already teed up for February), doing several adventure runs (Kokopelli Trail and R2R2R are both on the list), training monthly at higher altitudes ("Define 'higher'," you say?), spending a lot of time on the LT100 course in July (running each section, doing back-to-backs and putting in "real-time" training on course), and finishing in the top 50 at the LT100 in August (this actually may change in the scary direction if things go well throughout the year).

Thanks to Patagonia and nuun for providing great clothing and awesome hydration. I highly encourage all of you to look first at these guys when gearing up and seeking solutions for your outdoor activities.

And I definitely couldn't do any of this without the support and encouragement I receive at home. Rach not only keeps me moving in the right direction but provides me with unbelievably yummy sustenance to enable me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Yea Rach!!!

Here's to a new year and new adventures.

~stubert.

Run, ski, ski, run...

Frickin' marvelous. ~ Steve Willett

Sun: 1:00, 6 miles, treadmill
Mon: 4:00, ski @ Crested Butte
Tues: 4:00, ski @ Crested Butte
Wed: 1:19:14, 9.5 miles, treadmill/track tempo run

Instead of trying to cram a bunch of running in at the end of the year to reach some arbitrary yearly mileage (don't hold me to not doing that in the future, however), I decided some skiing was in order. After getting in a nice recovery run on Sunday (and feeling pretty great, actually, after Saturday's effort), I jammed over to Gunny early Monday morning and met up with Dad, Donna and my cousins David, Dianne and their daughter Reagan. (Wow, that was a lot of Ds.) The skiing wasn't particularly awesome but it was good to see everyone. I then gorged myself at Donita's, hung out with Dad a little bit (Donna was wiped out after chasing Dad and me around all day), then did it again on Tuesday. Slightly better conditions on Tuesday and a storm rolled in late in the day so hopefully conditions improve.

I jammed back home Tuesday evening and was greeted to an awesome dinner/snack made by Rach. Too awesome.

I had a bunch of work on which to catch up today so just hit the gym late to do a quick tempo run. Felt great to get back with the program (albeit somewhat abbreviated). Looking forward to starting the year off with some skiing and then have a long run planned for Sunday. As always, frickin' marvelous.

~stubert.

Mixing it up...

Snow run shot courtesy of Sean.

Security is mostly a superstition; it does not exist in nature. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. ~ Helen Keller

Sat: 3:17, 21.5 miles, Boulder Backroads course avec snow

Yesterday's skiing turned into a movie due to single-digit temps coupled with 40+ mph winds and a desire to keep Dad and Donna from freezing their tuchuses off so we went to a movie instead. Invictus, though somewhat charming (thanks mostly to Morgan Freeman's portrayal of Nelson Mandela), was entertaining at best. The secret service/bodyguard sub-plot felt really tacked on and Eastwood has handled shooting more adeptly in other efforts (which is saying a lot, considering I am not really a fan of his work). However, Dad and Donna enjoyed themselves so mission accomplished. Sometimes you have to take one for the team.

So I mixed things up even more by moving my Long, Slow Day to Saturday this week so that I could run with a buddy of mine with whom I am hoping to do a lot of adventure running this spring and summer. We have a few grandiose plans (including the John Muir Trail, the Kokopelli Trail and a full assault of the Colorado Trail in '11) and he is actually starting to get excited about another attempt at the LT100 this summer. So that means I may have some company along the first half of the event but am down one pacer if he decides to go for it. One takes the good with the bad (and I kid... I'd love for him to give it another shot). So I headed down to Boulder amid flurries, gray skies and cold temps to get a long run on.

We met at Sean's place then drove out to the Boulder Res to run on the Boulder Backroads course. This is a notoriously difficult marathon course spiced up this morning by snow-covered and icy roads. Relatively fresh snow, to boot, so while it did provide some relief from the pounding one can be handed by frozen pavement and hardpacked conditions, it married this to sloppy footing and loss of traction to which I am becoming accustomed. This was not going to be a record-setting pace day, however.

We had the benefit of a crew today in the form of Sean's father-in-law, Dave, who graciously not only drove us to the start/finish but placed drop bags along the route so we could resupply water and other goodies, loaned me his YakTrax (which I didn't end up needing but were good to have along) and hung around after his shorter run to drive us back to Sean's. Dave rules!

Overall, I felt pretty great and we managed to keep an average pace in the low 9s despite the conditions. The weather even broke for us within a few miles of our start and it ended up being a gorgeous day. No wind, sun shining... good stuff. We were shooting for 20 miles but mis-estimated the turn around spot on the out-and-back section of the course and ended the day with 21.5. Some minor aches and pains in the last couple of miles but those were to be expected given the poor footing we experienced throughout the run.

I am testing a couple of recovery techniques and will let you know how they work. Added full-leg compression stockings to the immediate post-run regimen and took an ice bath when I got home. I know this isn't ideal (should tee that up immediately post-run) but thought I'd see if it appeared to have any positive effect when delayed. I tossed the stockings back on after the bath as well so now am I not only super sexy but well... I don't really know how to finish that sentence.

Rach filled me full of amazing curry she just made up from whatever we had in the house and now I am feeling quite sated. Great Boxing Day for sure.

~stubert.

Continued progress...

Cold Stu.

What do you mean you don't have a quote? I've said a lot of funny stuff today. ~ Rach

Tues: 00:41, 4.88 miles, Boulder Creek Path Surges
Wed: 1:22, 10ish miles, Treadmill/Track Tempo (The GPS mapping of this one is amusing.)
Thurs: 00:37, 3.75 miles, Eldora Skate Ski

Continued recovery. Still experiencing some glute trouble but overall, still running strongly. Despite a hectic week, I have managed to get out and about consistently and I have to say, it feels great.

Ran on the Creek Path again on Tuesday and not only got so excited to start my surges that I goofed up my schedule and came to the realization that I have a difficult time running slowly on the BCP. After a slightly clunky warm up, felt better and better through 3 surges then tweaked my foot a little somehow. I walked briefly which make it go back to normal for a bit until I started to run again. Pain, walk, repeat. The third time was the charm and I finished the run strongly.

Hit the gym late on Wednesday for a tempo run. Pressed for time, I started on the treadmill for 20 minutes of warm up at a 10:00 pace. Felt great and my heartrate was super low so I headed to the track for what ended up being 52 minutes of tempo. Started with 8s then gradually picked up the pace. I lost track of my laps but ended up in the 7-mile range for the tempo. Then I took off the shoes and did a cool-down mile barefoot for a total of 10 miles (estimated). Was really pleased with the results, frankly.

Today I mixed things up and went to Eldora for a short skate ski. It was really cold (6°F) and SUPER windy and with the combination of fresh snow, blow-in and the temps, I wasn't quite as on it as last time I went up. Fun nonetheless and good to get out.

~stubert.

Catch up...

Vanity is the enemy of funny. ~ Rach

Thurs: 00:38:28, 4.54 miles, Boulder Creek Path recovery
Fri: 00:32:54, 3.73 miles, Eldora Skate Ski
Sat: 00:40, 4.25 miles, Treadmill surges
Sun: 3:36, 22.5 miles, Niwot/North Boulder LSD

After Wednesday's effort, things started to settle down a bit in the injury department but I didn't feel 100% the rest of the week, that's for sure. Still had some good runs and got in a bonus skate on Friday so I ended up with just shy of 50 miles for the week. Not too shabby all things considered.

Thursday, I just did a quick, recovery run and felt decent. Ran in Boulder on the Creek Path and actually logged some quick splits given the continued crankiness I was experiencing in my right leg. Far less uncomfortable than the previous day but still there a bit for sure. Felt like I was constantly adjusting my gait to try to smooth things out. Overall, however, I was super relaxed and spun easy mid-8s without feeling like I was pushing things at all.

On Friday, I normally take the day off to rest but had to get outside to clear my head so went up to Eldora for a quick skate ski. My second day out on the twigs was MUCH better than my first. I am sure I still resemble a spastic turtle or something but I was actually able to glide uphill and felt like I improved a ton from my first effort. Hopefully it just keeps getting better.

Saturday, Rach and I went to see Les Contes d'Hoffman, presented by The Met. Amazing performance by an outstanding cast. Really enjoyed it. I even had time to jam up to the Rec Center and get in a quick run. Still felt some residual effects of the injury but much better. Just did 30 minutes of warm up at a 10:00 pace then 5, super easy 1x1 surges. Relaxed and fluid.

I got up early on Sunday and headed back down to Boulder for the weekly big run. Met with the group after spinning around on my own for about a mile then we headed out on a Niwot loop. Super leisurely pace for the first few miles then the group split and we started rolling 9s. I felt okay, never completely great and felt that my heartrate was up a bit from the week before (though at the end of the day, it wasn't up by much, really). I was starting to feel it by mile 15 or so but had stretches of decent recovery/feeling okay in the last 7. With 2 to go, we were really moving (mid 8s) as this seemed to be the only way I felt okay. We got stopped by a light with about 1 to go and that pretty much ended it for me. I pretty much just noodled it in and actually walked the last 1/2  mile or so. Was just a bit done by that point, which, given the week, was not too demoralizing. Ended up with about .25 miles less distance than last week with a longer warm up and about 10 less minutes so all in all, I am pretty happy with it.

Today, I planned to go ski with my buddy, Caleb but had problems sleeping due to an achy knee so I decided that it would be best to just rest it today. I have done something 6 out of the last 7 days while recovering from an injury so I decided to be smart for a change and take the day off to try to recover a bit. I ended up with over 50 miles for the second week in a row, which, at this time of the year, is not too shabby.

~stubert.

Jinx...

I told him that a player on a streak has to respect the streak. ~ Crash Davis

Wed: 1:27, 10.55 miles, Gunbarrel tempo

Never mess with a streak. Don't call it out. Don't switch things up. If it ain't broke, fix it and it soon will be.

I opted for a double dose of stupid and actually paid attention to my form while running on the treadmill. Bad idea #1. I have a bit of a loop in the pick up phase of my left-foot stride. Gotta fix that nonsense, right? Also, I have a bit of a chicken wing effect going on with my left arm so I dedicated a solid 15 minutes to trying to get that straightened out. These adjustments (which were quickly abandoned, I'm sure), coupled with idiot maneuver #2, did me in.

For my second dose of dipshittery, I decided to test drive some Pear Izumi Peak XC shoes I wore a few times last spring to see if the changes I have made in my stride over the past months made them worthy of a second look. Though I am sure these are awesome shoes for the right person, I just need more stability and volume than they seem to provide and this, along with my self-diagnosed changes to my wacky stride made my right glute extremely unhappy – with a vengeance. Seriously though, if you are in the market for a super light trail flat, these are quite nice. (I'll sell you a pair of lightly used size 10s super cheap. Hell, if you want them, drop a note in the comments and I'll give them to you.) And from now on, I am calling any inefficiencies in my stride "style" unless someone who knows better tells me they need to be fixed.

In any event, my hamstring and glute started getting cranky towards the end of my surges yesterday and by the evening, I was paying dearly for my misguided experiments. Nothing lots of stretching and a good night's sleep couldn't cure, right? Guess again. Woke up with some serious cranky butt and stiffness down to my mid hamstring.

What goes well with impeded range of motion? Tempo work, of course. I jammed down to Boulder to meet up with the crew for the standard Wednesday Tempo run. I gave myself 25 minutes to make it to 63rd/Jay where we were to meet up for the start and was spinning easy, albeit hobbled 9:30s then I took a wrong turn. Bonus. So I started my tempo solo and managed to get back on the right track. Made it to the start with seconds to spare and actually was feeling better (this isn't saying much) when we started the "real" tempo. Spun mid to high 7s to start then worked down to low 7s. Actually, ended up feeling pretty good about the effort given the complications. I figured out a couple of techniques to lessen the ouchiness and learned a valuable lesson about change. Resist it at all costs.

~stubert.

On a bit of a roll...

You never will get where you’re going if you never get up on your feet. ~ Jules Bass

Sun: 3:45, 22.75 miles, North Boulder LSD
Tues: 00:55, 6.15 miles, Treadmill surges

You have to love the satisfaction that comes with having an amazing run. Sunday was all about satisfaction as I logged the most distance and the best relative effort since I ran the Las Vegas Marathon back in December 08. Seriously, an awesome run on the roads between Boulder and Longmont.

The day started poorly with my sleeping through my alarm. So my pre-run prep was less awesome than I had hoped it would be. I got all the critters fed, grabbed a PB&J and bolted for Boulder to meet up with the group at the Cottonwood Trailhead. Temps had risen markedly since last week's freeze-a-thon and I started in shorts, a Cap3 Patagonia Longsleeve and a wind vest (which was quickly shed as Chinooks blew in from the southwest). We warmed up at a very leisurely pace on snowpacked and icy trails then moved to surface streets and on to the hardpacked dirt roads around the Res.

The group thinned as we made our way north then back east to hook up with pavement again on 63rd street. This is where we parted ways for good with just Rebecca and I heading north for the remainder of the day's adventure.

I felt super relaxed and just settled in for what turned out to be a very consistently paced run. Rebecca and I logged sub-10s pretty much all day and worked our way north, eventually turning back east on St. Vrain then hooking back up with 65th. By this point, the wind had picked up significantly and worked to push us back up to Wyoming but I was feeling great and kept up the pace to finish strongly at a solid 9:56 pace and average heartrate of 144 (that's pretty low for a Stu). That translates to about a 4:24 marathon pace. Not too shabby for a very low effort kind of a day.

And I eclipsed 50-miles for the week (6 was skate skiing), which is kind of a happy milestone to reach this early (or late, as the case may be) in the season. So I am hoping to finish the year strongly and am really looking forward to what lies ahead in 2010.

One thing I recognized as I ran into the increasing winds is that running in the wind is a lot less frustrating than riding in the wind. It is probably due to the relatively low speeds one travels while running and what the loss of 20% (for example) feels like vs. losing that same 20% of one's calm-day speed on a bike. Big difference.

And today I hit the gym because the warmer temps have turned our roads to slush and I wanted to add some upper body weights to the mix. Did a 30-minute warm up (10:00 pace) then did 10, 1x1 surges and a 5-minute cool-down. Ended up with 6.15 miles in 55 minutes. Generally felt pretty relaxed. Maybe a bit fatigued from Sunday but not too shabby. Then I hit the weights and jammed back home to get some work done. A good start to what I hope will be another great week.

~stubert.

Inspirato...

It never always gets worse. ~ David Horton

In my never-ending quest for inspirato, I stumbled across this amazing race report from Garett Graubins, sub-20-hour finisher at the '09 LT100. Great race. Killer report.

~stubert.

Fabulous run...

Fan-fucking-tastic. ~ Aurora Greenway

Sat: 00:45, 5.05 miles, Neighborhood loop with some surges

Couldn't be happier with today's run. I was planning to go skiing this morning but those plans fell through so I slept in a little, did some work around the house (hopefully our pipes will no longer freeze when the temps drop below zero), then got out for a great run around the neighborhood.

It was a little chilly (~25°) but I opted for the tough-guy approach and tossed on some shorts, a long-sleeved Patagonia Cap 3 shirt, a wind vest, knit hat and gloves; laced up my screw shoes and got after it. I felt awesome from the first step and just noodled my way around the 'hood then did some surges. Felt so great I decided to toss in a little extra time and ended up with an average pace of just under 9-minute miles with a pretty low average heartrate. This... is good.

Loved being back outside after so much time logged indoors over the past week. Perhaps that was part of my boost. Maybe it was all the amazing food Rach has been making me lately. I'll take it any way I can get it.

~stubert.

Round and round...

Deep e deep dow do dee do do ~ Hamster Dance

Tues: 00:55, 6.00 miles, Treadmill surges
Wed: 1:37, 12 miles, Treadmill/Track tempo
Thurs: 1:00ish, Not terribly far, Skate skiing

Words can not really describe how nice it was to get out of the hamster maze yesterday. The temps here have been incredibly low of late and yesterday, they finally started to break from their single-digit (or lower) rut and climbed into the mid teens. It wouldn't have mattered as I was bound and determined to get outside for some fun in the sun but seeing 12° when I pulled on the skate boots at the base of Eldora lifted my spirits for sure. More on that in a moment.

I have been stuck in the gym but have been making good use of my time and spinning some solid efforts. On Tuesday, I warmed up for 30 minutes then did 10, 1x1 surges at an increasing pace. Felt a bit woozy to start after less-than-ideal nutrition for the day and a massage but a gel picked me up and I was able to finish the full workout with gusto. Then I did a circuit of upper body weights and called it an evening.

Wednesday featured the addition of wind to the frigid temps as well as client meetings in Denver so it was back to the gym for a tempo workout. I tried to mix things up a bit to fight off the boredom associated with running on the 'mill and track and ended up having a great run. Started on the treadmill with 30 minutes at a 10-minute pace, then went into my tempo slowly with 2 miles at 8:00, and 1 mile at 7:30. Then I moved to the track for 35 minutes at 7:00 then cooled down for 10 minutes at 10:00 on the treadmill for a total of 1:37 and 12 miles. Felt great but I was definitely getting pretty sick of running in circles by the end.

So that brings us back to Thursday. This was the first time I have skated since college (about 18 years) and I was definitely rusty. The wind was howling at the Rock but the nordic center there is hidden in the trees so once one gets going it isn't that big of a deal. I fell pretty much immediately (whoa those skis are skinny!), got up, fell again and broke the grip on my pole. Hmmm. Not an auspicious start but I was committed so I went in and got some rental poles and got back after it.

"Graceful" is not the adjective one would use to describe my form but in the next hour or so, I managed to quickly improve to the point where I was able to glide some uphill and didn't eat it any more, which was nice. Just worked on staying upright, getting used to standing up on toothpicks and trying to not look like a total kook. Two out of three ain't bad, I suppose. Had a lot of fun and am excited to get my pole fixed so I can get back after it.

Looking back at the past few weeks, I definitely have had some days that were better than others. All were productive, however and, though occasionally suffering, really have enjoyed myself. Some days feel a bit more like suffering than others but really, post run or ski, I feel way better about well... everything. That's why I do it and why I encourage others to just go spend a little time getting the old heart pumping. It soothes what ails ya.

~stubert.

Links, snow and walls...

He may have driven us into a wall, but at least he didn't blink. ~ Jon Stewart

Fri: Golf @ Deer Creek
Sat: 00:40, 4.19 miles, Snow trails and surges
Sun: 3:30ish, 18ish, LSD bonk-a-thon

Where'd the time go? After last week's efforts, I tossed in some golf with my pops then got back on the running plan for a nice little jaunt on Saturday near the house then a long, slow run on Sunday that was pretty awesome for the first 2+ hours then turned south quickly. Headed out from the Cottonwood trailhead in Boulder and made our way north to Jay then up past the Res and on to the Eagle trailhead. It was a beautiful day for a run and there were tons of people out enjoying the cool, clear weather. I ran for a bit with Janet Runyan along the Eagle trail until she turned around to head back home. The group split apart as we headed west and by the time we reached the Foothills trail, I was running comfortably with Art Ives, a top-10 Leadville finisher.

Art and I made our way south along the Foothills trail, up and over the ridge to Sanitas and then back down to Eben G. Fine Park where we went our separate ways. I needed to get in 3:10 for the day so jammed up and over the flank of Flagstaff and back down to Chautauqua. This... was ill-conceived and given my lack of water and food, quickly made for the rapid approach of the proverbial wall. So I sucked it up and kept going since my car was on the other side of town and I wasn't about to let a little thing like 6 miles get me down.

I made my way over to the Boulder Creek bike path and started to work a run/walk cycle that eventually got me where I needed to go, albeit much more slowly than I had anticipated. But that is what happens sometimes, particularly in ultras... you have to just suck it up and keep moving. All told, it was a good run and I learned a lot. Plus, I wasn't too destroyed the following day as I was able to rehydrate and get some calories moving quickly. A good day of training, for sure.

I took Monday off then didn't manage to get out for a run on Tuesday so I am really interested to see how today goes. There is snow in Boulder so it could be a total cluster but I'll go give it a whirl and report back soon.

~stubert.

This is pretty awesome...

To know the road ahead, ask those coming back. ~ Chinese Proverb

Just sayin' is all.

~stubert.

Tempotastic...

We have the technology. ~ Narrator

1:28, 10.77, 55 minutes tempo

Tempo runs can get a little interesting. Today's was mellow at the start, then smooth and awesome, then pretty miserable. Typical, really - but the wheels really came off about 45-50 minutes in. Especially when I tried to keep up with Art who was spinning 6:40s. Not pretty.

I parked just over 2.5 miles from the start and warmed up on the paths and roads of east Boulder. Then we did a few strides and queued up for tempo - splitting into about 3 groups. This is the third week I have come out to run with this group and it is a lot of fun to get in some good miles with other runners. My group started second to last with Art chasing and moved along at a pretty steady 7:30ish pace. Fairly sustainable from my perspective. About mile 3 I was feeling solid and kicked it up a notch to about 7:15s.

Overall, I wasn't feeling super red hot today. I was still wearing the effects of Sunday's long run and yesterday's massage left me feeling a bit clunky. I ran alone for the next couple of miles then heard Art rapidly approaching so I slowed a bit to let him catch then tried to keep up as we ran past my starting point and across Valmont. He actually toned it down a bit from his standard 6:40 pace (I think) but I was unable to match that for long and soon turned back around to finish up my scheduled 55 minutes (poorly) then run some semblance of cool down.

All in all it was a great run. I was able to push myself and run very relaxed, just wasn't quite able to keep up with someone faster and vastly more experienced than I. Nothing to be worried about for sure. Just part of what one has to experience to get better, stronger, faster.

~stubert.

Location, location, location...

Perfect practice makes perfect. ~ Vince Lombardi

1:05, 6ish, surges

One of the things I love about living where we do is our proximity to interesting people and terrain. In the winter, running in the high country becomes somewhat challenging as trails disappear beneath drifts of snow, the wind kicks it up to eleven and the temps drop. The Boulder/Denver basin, however, sees many days of sunshine and warmer temps that allow runners to get out and enjoy a wide variety of trails and safe running circuits. You can ski in the morning then drop down to Boulder and get in 20 miles in the afternoon. No sweat. (Well, maybe a little sweat.)

Today I headed down early to drop our kitty off at the vet then got a little work done and ran a few errands before heading out to Janet's for our regularly scheduled training session (just a portion mapped there... forgot my Garmin). I warmed up in shorts and a Patagonia Capilene 1 T-Shirt (yeah, it was lightweight t-shirt weather) then worked with Janet on surges. Felt pretty great, actually. We worked on getting me to initiate the stride from my hips instead of my feet and I felt like I was really starting to get it. Sweet!

Then I went to Shirley for a great (if brutal) massage, picked up Beep and jammed back up to the hills. I did pick up some screws while down in Boulder to make some screw shoes. Probably not a bad addition to the gear list... just in case.

~stubert.

Weekends are good...

Chase atop Green. With mountains.

Slipped my mind. ~ Dean "The King of Empty Promises"

4:04, 16.19, LSD

This was an action-packed weekend. Got up early on Saturday to do a quick run in the 'hood. The trails around the house are still snow-jammed so it was slow going but fun to get out and give them a go. Ended up with just under 4 miles in 40 minutes.

Rach and I then met my Dad and Donna for a screening of Puccini's Turandot. The Met has been broadcasting their performances to theaters across the nation (world, maybe) and they are pretty awesome. The screening we attended was completely packed so that bodes well for the program to extend for years to come. Good stuff.

Sunday, I met up with Chase for a long, slow run in Boulder. Beautiful day for it, too. We started out at the South Mesa trailhead and rocked the Mesa Trail north to Chautauqua. Then we headed up Gregory Canyon, Green Mountain and back down to Mesa via Bear Canyon, then south to Bluestem and back to the trailhead in a mellow 4 hours. My longest run for quite some time. Felt awesome and was good to have some company. Just what the doctor ordered.

Also, here is a video of our new kitty, Nino, who has some interesting quarks: She likes peanut butter, chili, yowling, potato chips, hostile occupation of the bunny magic dream cottage, refusing to recognize our right to exist, being a meezer, catching mice, watching Rach shower (me too! go figure) and... drinking from the tap.



Looking forward to more fun and/or games this week.

~stubert.

edit. GPS info for this run.

Snow becomes water...

The slow one now will later be fast. ~ Bob Dylan

One reason I have very little tolerance for people who complain about the weather here in Colorado is that it so frequently changes. Yes, we might have gotten nearly 4 feet of snow last week but that certainly wasn't going to stick around very long. And rest assured, it hasn't.

After my foray to the gym on Saturday, I headed to the valley early Sunday to help Rach clean runs at the Bunny shelter then jammed up to Boulder for a long(ish) run. I read trail reports that indicated heading west, into the foothills might not result in the most fluid of forward motion so opted for an easterly route.

Temps were just about perfect and cloudless skies accompanied my as I started the day's adventure at the South Boulder Campus trailhead and ran south on very muddy roads, eventually intersecting with Broadway (or Highway 93 at this point). I felt great and though I had forgotten my Garmin, used the iMapMyRun app on my iPhone to track my progress. Pretty cool, actually, if a bit of a battery hog. Marshall road to Bobolink to the South Boulder trail... all ticked off quickly as I maintained a steady pace and felt strong.

Phase two of the run switched from dirt to slab as I made my way North and eventually hooked up with the Boulder Creek bike path and headed back West. I was running for time so had no real agenda regarding route and decided to run up the flank of Flagstaff then make my way back to the start. I definitely started feeling the pavement as I made the switch back to dirt and settled into an alternating power hike/run up to the saddle and back down to Chautauqua.

Rolling back down to Moorhead, I had problems keeping the pounding at bay but once the roads flattened out I settled into a steady pace and actually felt pretty solid. A brief stop to say "hi" to Houseboy Bob who was busy pushing his custom buggy around the front yard then on to the finish. Final tally: 17 miles and 2:40. Not blazing speeds but as always, good times.

I definitely felt the run after getting home and probably should have taken some extra measures to stave off soreness before getting back on the road. Some ab involvement and my hips were a bit sore. I was not as fatigued as I thought I might be the following day and it was great to see the bod kick into gear and recover. I even headed back to the gym today for some weight and plyometric training. It was good to get some activity in the legs today and I plan on adding these types of activities to my regular regimen. Setting my goals for 2010 pretty high so I'll need to keep things moving throughout the winter months to accomplish everything I am aiming for. This was more than a little tough last year so I'll have to stay focused and plan to come out of the winter months in stellar condition to hit the ultra circuit hard.

This week I have runs scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (though this may be replaced by some skiing) and again both days on the weekend. Drop me a line if you want to join in the fun and/or games.

~stubert.