Saturday night

Back at higher ‘tudes for the first time in 3 months. 

Friday 070309

 

 

 

 

 

Headed out on Park County Road 12 this AM.  This is about a 2 mile run down to a fork of the Platte River and then you start running up towards Mosquito Pass.  Most of the road is never really steep (except above the river crossing past the lower London Mine – which is about the last 2 miles heading up to Mosquito Pass), with the grade averaging 4-5% (a few sections are a bit steeper, but not much and not for long).  Plan was to get out for 2 hours, capping the effort on the way out and then building the effort on the way back, with the last two miles back up being hard.  They would be hard anyway but I figured I’d put that out there to start.  Ran wit the Camelbak.  I had contemplated running all the way out the pass but the early morning clouds as well as other planned obligations put the ka-bosh on that. London Mountain is in the center of this shot (at the start) and Mosquito Pass essentially sits behind and to the left (south of it).

 

 

On the way out changed plans up a bit and thought if I could average under 10 minute miles, I’d do 8 out and then get back in about an hour.  That would give me about 2:20.  Averaged 1:45 out, and got out there in 80 for the 8, but just barely.  The last two miles were north of 11.  Comparisons of ending altitude, GPS versus barometric.

This “finish” was just below the lower London Mine.  It would be, if memory serves me correctly, about three more miles to the Pass (that then can drop into Leadville).  I took quick bio break and started the run down.    

I was able to keep near sevens under the 150 cap.  After about ten miles I let things begin to float above 150, and then 160 near 12.  Just as I was about a half mile into the last two miles, KZ called me (you can see where in the HR data below).  Oh  well – it is my daughter, I am going to take that call in a run.  I took the pause, but then circled back a bit to get the HR back up before starting the watch again, but it still took me a bit to get back to 170 again.  The last mile hurt in the legs but it was a good hurt (whatever that means).   HR average on the way back was 159, with the last four at 166, last two 168 (albeit with the interruption).  Total side note – I notice near the start of both segments a jump in HR for no apparent reason (plus 160).  It quickly drops though.  Might be the HR monitor but the Garmin has not done that historically.  16 miles on the day, 1300 feet plus of climbing, 2:17.  Feeling good.  Definitely feeling some of the load, but it is not killing me.  :)

This is funny … particularly since one of the competitors won’t even be on the same continent as the race.

Good post on how to train with a HR monitor.

 

Loon Mountain race this weekend back east:  It consists of a 1/2 mile climb up a 40% grade ski slope to the top of North Peak before you bomb down the Sunset trail on the other side to the finish. OUCH.

 

Podcast via Mzungo with Ritz.

Friday 061908

Traveled to Pinkham Notch, NH today ...

• … the Alterra watch told me that the airplane cabin was pressurized to 6650 feet during the flight from Denver to Minneapolis …
• … the EVDO card would not work during the flight … (dang) (but not surprised)
• … I play along with this entire travel security thing but this crap about 3 ounces of toothpaste, and take your shoes off (and all the other related stuff) is just plain idiocy …
• It took me about 2 hours to get from Portland to Pinkham Notch. Some of that was because I got turned around a bit in Portland. Ought to make for interesting goings getting out Sunday AM - as my flight is 5:45AM.
• There are Dunkin Donuts approximately every 1.1 miles out here.  It must be some New England regulation.  It obviously has not extended west of the Mississippi yet.
• When I got here (Mount Washington Valley) I headed to the Eagle House in Jackson to pick up the race packet.  I quickly spotted some folks from the blog-o-sphere, including DD, JJ, Kevin Tilton and DQ.  … first, all these guys are tinier in real life then what they look like in their blogs.   Seriously, internet – blog pictures put easily put 10 pounds on all these guys.
• I bought Dave’s book … “Only One Hill” 
• It was a little weird driving up here.  There is a familiarity of course, as I grew up in New England, and I trolled this area frequently.  Nonetheless,I am always amused at how surprised I am at how green it is.  Or differences in roads (how a road that is heading SE can be called a route West for example).   Or the telephone poles going to the old houses that are long overdue for a coat of whitewash.  And swamps.  There are no swamps in Colorado.  We have wetlands … but nothing like this.  And that ACCENT.  I crack up when I hear it.  On the radio (with one of the seven stations broadcasting about the Sawks or Celtics), and with the people.  But it is a warm blanket to my ears as well. 
• It is always weird for me to see people I have met on the web.  Suddenly they are truly alive and moving – and it is like, “whoa.”  Weird, I know.  It is kind of like seeing a movie star in real life.  And this CMS gang .. you can feel the fellowship between these guys  – it is very palatable.   I wanted to get a bunch of pix but figured whipping out the camera to ask them to pose for shots would be a little rich in the first five minutes of meeting them.
• I caught dinner at the Joe Dodge Lodge – which is the AMC run “hotel” at Pinkham Notch.  Very cool place.  After dinner, I jogged about a half mile up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, enjoying the smell of the pine and the cool of the river.  1 mile.  10 minutes.   I got video, but it will have to wait until I have a more reliable connection.
• The Alterra seemed to hold the elevation very very well.
•  

Tuesday 060909

• DD and DJ posted a predicted top 50 for Mount Washington. I personally love the one sec diff they predicted b/w themselves. ;) The field looks much stronger than I would have guessed it. I have been thinking a sub 80 for me would be a good showing at this time.
• I forget if I posted this before … I have heard folks say things like, “if you had the head of such and such (insert sucessful runner here) on your body, they would run such and such faster at such and such distance.”  This is implying that those folks are mentally tougher, or have mentally broken barriers that the accused has not.  While I appreciate that mental toughness is very significant in this sport, I think you could also make the opposite statement just as well:  put Haile’s head on my body and he quits 5 minutes into a 5k because he can’t figure out how he could be working so hard to move so slow.  Anyway, a post on the head …
• Got out to Flagstaff again.  Warmed up via Baseline from Broadway (14:23, super easy) and then got to work. 
  • Mile marker (missed this last week in the fog), 3:56 (.46 miles up)
  • 2 mile marker:  12:26 (split 8:30) (last week 12:17)
  • 3 mile marker 21:02 (split 8:36) (last week 20:37, split 8:20)
  • 4 mile marker 29:54 (split 8:52) (last week 29:15, split 8:38)
  • 5 mile marker 40:45 (split 10:51) (last week 39:49, split 10:34)
  • top sign:  41:24 (split 0:39), (last week 40:29, split 50)
• I was not surprised that the time this week was slower.  I felt pretty amped last week, stoked to get after it – as my legs had bounced back post three easy days.   This week, I just did not feel bad, but I did not feel great either.  As long as I have the excuse shovel out, I was also carrying a full Camelbak this time too (5lbs of stuff) … and there were tornadoes.  AvHR was 172, (higher than last time) and max was 177 (also higher).  In addition to not feeling “A” I wonder if this is because of the “evening” component of this?  And if being at a lower elevation for a few day has any effect.  I have read that it does not (for as little time as I spent) but I have heard a lot of others subjectively say otherwise. (and as JP mentioned, no Lucho this time). In any case – no sweat (or, well there was).  It was a good workout.  Generally, I think I am a little ahead of where I was on this workout last year.  Of course, JV did it in 38 (actually 37:59)  the next day.  :)
• After a bio break at the top, I took the west ridge up to the top of Green (side note … the grade on this back side of Green is not nearly as ridiculous as the front/east side approaches … it only averages 5% from the road, but with the last section above the 4 way junction at 20% – but that is only for a little less than a quarter mile.  This last section, I have titled the “Elliott Stairs” as Scott does them as a Pikes Prep workout – to prepare for the last section at Pikes called the “Golden Stairs”) and came back down Green Bear, into Bear Canyon.  Bear Canyon was really slow going as the creek was high and moving – making for several slow crossings (I was in flats).  Picked things up a bit when I got back onto the Mesa.  And then edged it up more as I got to the Enchanted Mesa (6:30 pace) – just to continue familiarize the legs with hard downhill running.   HR was generally in the 150 to 160 range throughout the descent but would drop on the slower sections.  In retrospect, I probably would have gotten a better workout descending the road, and then climbing back up it again (either the full distance or part way).  But my head appreciated being out in the canyon as the sunset, and a light rain came in.   All told this came out to be 14.5 miles of running over 2:22, with just over 3000 feet of vertical.   The Garmin elevation correction had the gain as 3036.  The Alterra had it as 3116.
• Most likely I will NOT run the SoBo TT on Thursday night.  JZ has a game and that is where I will gladly be!

Saturday 05309

11 miles.  82 minutes. Legs are still pretty heavy.  Jogged circuit over to BHS track (2 miles).  2 x 200 with 200 jog in b/w to open up.  38.4, 36.9.  Then a 200 jog and did 3 x 1600.  Settled into 85 pace, and so 5:40.9, 5:39.3, 5:31.9 (picking up on last quarter).  400 jog between.  Then did 5 x 200 with 200 jog.  37.9, 36.8, 36.6, 36.6, 34.4.  About a half an hour cool down, including last mile with Lucy – tossing her the disc.  Pretty good heat out – mid to high 80s I guess.  Used the Alterra rather than the Garmin to get good splits.  Last did a workout similar to this back in February (although it was a bit longer and a bit faster then). 

Wednesday 052709 Green Mountain - “classic” route

• Met up with the BTR’er at 0530 this AM.  I was up at four so it was no challenge for me to get to this run (as it would typically be at this hour).  I am going to look to get some of this early and done stuff banked this summer as the kidders get out of school.   Photos courtesy (again) of JP.
• I started at Chautauaqua, while the group was meeting up at the Gregory Canyon trailhead (a half mile to the west).  I prefer parking at Chautauaqua as it is a bit more travelled and (I think) less likely to have break ins.  I also think that Boulder County has started charging non county residents for use of the Gregory Canyon lot (and I now live in Broomfield County).   Met up with a croo of about a dozen or so, including Ryan Cooper, JP, Bronwyn M.   After a little discussion, we decided to head up Green Mountain via Saddle, Amphitheater, Greenman, and then come down Ranger, Gregory.   So here  are the stats on that route (starting at Chautauqua).
  • ~6 miles RT
  • summit is at 2.6 miles
  • 5685 elevation start, 8085 summit (2400 feet of climbing) for an average grade of 17% as per the GPS.  According to the Alterra, the climb was 2520 feet, with the summit at 8182.
  • Steepest part of the run is between the Gregory lot and Summit Rock, with grade averaging 22.8%.  This is about 1.1 miles.  You get a reprieve after that with the grade dropping to 16.1% on average to the summit. The easiest part of the run is Chautauaqua part, which is about a kilometer, and averages a little more than a 6 percent grade (and most of that coming in one steep climb)
  • The drop down Ranger is to the Gregory Canyon Ranger cottage is a about 1.4 miles, and a good drop at 17%.  Things level out a bit after that in Gregory but Gregory Canyon serves as a good test of rocky footwork.  As the length of the run is a little longer on the way back, the average descent is "only” about 13%.
  • 
• The pace was casual, and so I caught up with Ryan, JP.  I decided that no matter what the pace dropped to, I’d keep doing a running cadence (even though walking below 3.5 mph for me is probably more aerobically efficient).  RT was in 80 minutes, with a good number of breaks to let folks catch up, enjoy the sunrise.
• More Bolder Boulder news … today was my first day back in my office since the race on Monday.  I always struggle, sound like an ungrateful idiot because folks say things like this.  “I looked up your time in the Bolder Boulder and wow – you ran it so fast!  You must be really happy with your time.” Rather than belabor them with my mental baggage of how my time was not that fast (if the conversation really digresses, they hear about the 26:22 WR), I try to find out how the race went for them, and what they liked about it, did not like about it.   Here’s the truth: most folks who are not runners don’t care about your time, they care about how you feel about your performance.  They get confused if you run a time that is beyond their comprehension and then are disappointed with it.  I’d say that this is not true within the circles of runners, but that ain’t necessarily true either (the 3:20 marathoner does not necessarily empathize with Brian Sell being pissed that he ran a 2:16).  However, this is common:  people relate to what it takes to prepare, execute, sacrifice and become something greater than themselves.  Not everyone does that in running … but some do.   So I poke at that folks … to see what is there, what they are in it for, what they want.  There are lots of great reasons to run other than chasing times …
• A couple of little challenges  out there.  A few of us are thinking of meeting at Chautauqua tomorrow night for a TT up Green.   Drop me a note if you are interested in the details.   Also got into a bit of a back and forth on this AM’s run if the Fern Canyon (from the post past the Slab) to the saddle post could be done under 10.  I was told NO WAY.  I am 100 percent confident I have done it in about 10, and that Elliott has gone well under 10.  I know I did it – at least once – in not top shape and with some poorer conditions, in 12:30
• PM – 5 easy miles.  39 minutes

wrist-top thoughts

• When I hooked up with Highgear to test the Alterra, I was clear to reveal my current love affair with the Garmin Forerunner 305.  I do love the 305.  I love that it tells me all sorts of things like pace, elevation, elapsed time, split times, HR, etc.  I love that I can download the data from it to my computer and geek out on things like percent grade, distance covered, what my pace was for specific parts of a course.  But like all love affairs, there are short comings to the Garmin.
• a.)  it is not a watch. 
• b.) it requires recharging all the time
• c.) you have to wait for it to get a satellite signal
• d.) it is large on the wrist and
• e.) it can be pricey. 
• f.) its chrono  sucks … I need to know my 200 meter stride splits to the 10th of the second, if not the 100th.  The Garmin tells me the second, assumedly rounded.
• Some follow up on this … I say it is not a watch because I cannot wear it indoors (in part because of the other reasons I provide) for long stretches.  I have seen different price points on the Garmin, ranging from 170 to 300 bucks.  
• So, by analogy … I love my Honda Element.  But I hate some features in it.  I hate the fact that it only has four seats.  I hate that the back door is not able to be opened without opening the front.  I wish the sun roof was to the top rather than the back.   It is a car that serves a lot of purposes, and it does not serve every purpose.   Like getting six Girl Scouts home.  Cars have no issue in differentiating audiences based on look, feel, price point, life style.
• And, back to the wrist-top watch conversation,  the Alterra is like that … it serves a different purpose.  It is a watch I can wear (no recharge, sizeable, not the size of a mini bus on my wrist).  It has a great chrono (to the 1/100th split).   It has an alarm clock.  It also collects altitude information based on barometric pressure, and it also collects temperature data.  It has logs of collecting altitude information (telling me the amount ascended, descended in a run, total time, and hence descent and ascent per minute).   It has a compass (but I fear that most people are losing  an idea on how to use those anymore).  I see this watch being much more geared towards the person who is interested in elevation gain, barometric pressure changes, temp … and the classic stopwatch.  Simply, it is not totally different from a Garmin, but it is differentiating enough to be potentially different for that user type. 
• Still playing with the Alterra and as I discover more features, I will post.
  

Altera – some first thoughts

• On Friday, I ran with the Alterra watch from Highgear for the first time.  On this run I was most interested in seeing how the Alterra compared to the Garmin Forerunner 305 in terms of elevation data collected.  The Alterra collects it via air pressure data (barometric) while the Garmin  collects it via GPS data. 
• Before I get to that, however, a few other observations.  While I have loved my Garmin since getting it for Christmas from my in-laws, there are some drawbacks to it.  1.)  wearing it is essentially like wearing a rodeo belt buckle on your wrist.  This does not bother me while running but it is large, and folks take notice.  “What the hell is that thing on your wrist?”  Seriously, if I had two of these, and the right outfit, and you had enough to drink, I could be mistaken for Linda Carter.   2.) The Garmin cannot serve as a watch.  By that I mean I cannot wear it around as a watch for a few days … like I normally would.  This is because the Garmin needs to be recharged periodically (I think it will last up to ten hours of collecting data).  I am not sure if any GPS device (yet) does not require some recharge on a consistent basis (via USB or wall socket).  As a result, I can’t wear the watch day in and day out.   The Altera, as it is not a wrist top computer, and is not talking to satellites in the sky is smaller, and functions off a regular watch battery – and so can serve as a watch.  It is a big faced watch (which is okay with me) and so it might be able to block bullets as well (but not the 50 cal shells that a Garmin could ward off). 
• My data download of my run on Friday (the Vista Trailhead out to the top ridge of Goshawk before dropping back down into Eldo) indicated this run was a climb of 1068 feet (and equivalent down).  Side note – there is obviously sometimes error in GPS data (obviously!) that is clearly demonstrated when I start and finish in the same location but the ascent / descent numbers are not equivalent.   The Altera indicated I had ascended and descended 1296 feet.   I am interested to see how other runs stack up between the two devices.
• The manual for the Alterra is about 15 inches from me right now, but I have yet to pick it up.  Its use is relatively intuitive, but really ought to dig into it to see what other features are in this bugger.  I have just normally been poor at reading any system manual.  There appear to be a lot of other features on the Aterra that are cool:  temp, chrono, etc.  More to come …

Friday 052209

• Good podcast with Nate Jenkins
• More Jay Johnson core exercise stuff.
• Lot of videos lately.  Sorry.  Nah.  Not really.  I got this one via Half Fast.  Will exercising on a treadmill help sober you up?
  

 

• I have been debating (with myself, which is not as boring as you m ight think) how to approach this little race on Monday.  Questions that are in the mix are “what pace to take it out at?  Should I stage a mini taper for this bugger or keep my eye on the bigger picture and run through this?  Should I just run balls out, with the risk that I may explode or take a more conservative approach?  Will I get an A qualifier for next year?”  My mental confidence for this race is not high  - and part of me is okay with that (early in the season, not super well prepared, not what I am trying to get into my wheel house, nobody but you GZ give a shit about the outcome … ) but part of me is not happy with it either (6 minute pace is a stretch?  Really?).  The questions were in my face this AM when I woke up and was trying to figure out what I would do today.  Part of me felt that the best thing I could do to prepare for Monday today would be to really rest (maybe even take the day off).  My heart was saying “not so much.”   When I was younger, I’d do races where I’d just take off, go off the front and freaking die.  But sometimes it would still pay off.  It rarely meant a PR or a best performance but it was guys from the front.  Best performances come off the wisdom of racing smart … but this does not have to be my best race.  Then again, it would be fun to start conservative and take some scalps rolling down Folsom.
• TG and I had this conversation regarding the A wave qualifier a few years ago.  Bolder Boulder starts in waves and the first and fastest wave in the citizen races is the A wave.  It requires a sub 38 10k  (or some other equivalent time at some other distance).  They require you to prove you hit this time in the past year.  Apparently, even Olympian Matt Reed had to prove he hit the time.  TG and I were talking how we took the A qualifier (sub 38) for granted ... but there would come a day where it would not be so easy.  I am not quite there yet, but I can see that train coming. 
• All this … has also had me thinking about the entire balance … approach … yeah, I know.  I get mired in that thought a lot.  I am always wondering if I’d get nearly the same results and satisfaction on less training (say six hours a week versus ten).  Or if it is really necessary for me to give up beer for the  summer.  Or if racing “too much” is just over hyped and if taking an approach of just living large and racing every time you can (ala every weekend like double d and double j) is the way to be.   All about enjoying the journey versus the destination … there are some that seem to have it really figured out – and either way.  I see guys who are all about the perfect result, never conceding anything in their approach to assure they get the best result – all through training and execution on race day.  I see others who are absolutely the opposite:  willing to roll the dice on any day in training, blow up on race day.   It is hard to say if one is right or wrong.  I remember people saying that Sell’s run in the OT marathon in 04 was heroic.  Others saying it was absolutely idiotic.  Only Brian knows if it was right for him.
• Skins on all day (thanks again Lucho)
• I started doing some testing of the Highgear Alterra Watch today.   I am pretty interested in seeing how it compares altitude data (barometrically calculated) against the Garmin 305 (GPS calculated).  I used it today on my run over at Flatirons Vista.  I “calibrated” the Alterra to read the same elevation as the Garmin at the start of the run.  I need to review the data a bit, but in my random checks of both devices during the run, they were usually within 20ft of each other (with the GPS typically reading a higher elevation).  There was as much as 50 ft variance at one check however.  The weather did change during this session though  … going from foggy to sunny.
• 10 miles, 90 minutes.  I felt pretty stale in the legs (not sore, just no pop) – not surprising given the last two days.  I took it very easy – backing off the pace explicitly on any of the climbs.  Took the trails out to the “top” ridge on the Goshawk.  About 1000 feet of climbing in this run.