A Tale of Two Eights.

Saturday late we went to Cuevas.  Last week I was hoping for 60 and found myself on track, hitting the mile 42 point at the end of my second run Saturday.  All I needed was 18 more Sunday...

When I woke up, I found myself less than inspired to run.  I mustered a couple of times, but something (which I will relate soon) made me feel a bit weird about taking off for a three hour run in Cuevas.

Lunch rolled around and we all ate, and finally I told Nataly, "I'm going to feel bad whether I go for a run or I don't." To which she replied, "Go run."

Deneb was asleep, I had a bit more than an hour...

I went out 4 miles and back the same for 8.  I saw some folks on the road, 3 French guys who were walking to the "Bella Vista" and one of the dudes who helped harvest potatoes in Cuevas last December.  I spoke briefly with all of them, and informed the French guys that their "Bella Vista" was 5 kilometers out (it was actually more like 6, but...).  This was at 3 something in the afternoon and to get to the "Bella Vista" and back to the campground at Cuevas was 10+ miles.  They did have packs and presumably tents so the rain that came in force soon after I left them probably wasn't too big a deal.

Anyway.  I only had time for 6 miles on Sunday, but ran 8.  I ran them pretty hard, and have paid for it.  Brutal delayed onset muscle soreness took me out of action yesterday, which had me considering a second day off today.  Seems it was a good thing I didn't actually try for the 18 I'd planned.  Fortunately, as today wore on I felt more and more like going for a run even though I am still quite sore.

Deneb has started daycare.  His first day was yesterday.  Loved it.  Loved it again today.  He's not sure how to interact with the other kids, but just having them around, playing, seems to get him jazzed.  It's messed with his schedule.  He's been sleeping almost until 8:30 in the morning and now we're asking him to get up at 6:45.  It's a brutal transition for me.

Whatever, I prefer earlier wake ups...

So back to today's run.  It was weird.  Laps of the back yard.  Done them before, but today I kept feeling like I should just keep going.  Ended up running for an hour and 10 minutes, just over 8 miles by my GPS.

There's a neighbor kid.  If he sees me, he asks if he can come over.  It's gotten quite annoying.  Not quite Glenn Close, Michael Douglas annoying, but well downright annoying.

Today I realized I could use that to my advantage, and before I started my run I unlocked the gate, set out some stuff for playing in the sand  pit and then set out trotting in circles.

On my second lap, The Question Was Presented.  I said, "La Reja esta abierta."

A couple more laps and I opened the gate for Franco.  Who quickly went off to play with the dogs and Deneb.  What seemed like some kind of sad, "Where's my Dad?" constant prodding has evolved itself  an ideal situation.  My son is playing happily with an older friend, and I can keep an eye on them.  I look forward to having him over some more.  Maybe he'll run a few laps with me (he did today)...

Where's Waldo?

At one point in time this blog was about me and my travels with Homey.  Much running to keep my rather rambunctious and (at times) quite destructive Golden Retriever too tired to do anything foolish.  Running with him was something of a stop and start affair until around mile 3 or so and then he'd settle into a rhythm and could go for hours.  

I have stopped running with him in Bolivia, in part because I don't trust the dog-life around here, and in part because he's starting to lose a gear.  He'll join me when I run laps of the back yard, but tags in and out almost like he and Ella are running a relay.  

Anyway, in my previous life, I worked in the Geology Department at the University of Colorado.  My task was to create a series of videos which showed the geologic history of the state. Occasionally, this allowed me to take off with my camera and collect “media” for incorporation into my work. One day, I took advantage of that opportunity to head out and drive around the Eastern Plains, visit Garden of the Gods, look at some exposures of quite old (for Colorado) sedimentary rocks on Hwy 24 West of Manitou Springs, and finally end up at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.  

An example of the videos I was working on is below.  I wrote, directed, animated (all but 2 scenes - the good stuff is Nataly's younger brother's work), provided many photographs and the voice talent, edited and uploaded this video.   One of the photographs I took on this day's drive ended up in this video - the photo labeled "near Manitou Springs, Colorado" which was, in actuality, the now infamous Waldo Canyon.

After the the Fossil Beds, I headed back toward CO Springs when...on the lefthand side...a trailhead whizzed by - Waldo Canyon Trailhead.  I still had a fair bit of time left in the day, and I was wearing my running shoes so, I found a turn around and made my way back to there.

As usual, Jackson was absolutely stoked at the prospect of getting out of the car.  Especially on twisty roads, he gets carsick.  Weird malady for a dog, but his previous owners warned us about it.  "He doesn't do well in cars," I believe was their exact phrase.  I assumed that the thrill of exploring a new area outweighed the pain of twisty roads.  

We'd already been out and about at Garden of the Gods and outside of Manitou, but this was too good to pass up.  We parked, I grabbed my little Nikon Coolpix, 40 oz. Clean Canteen and headed up the trail.  Jackson dressed as a dog, and me in jeans.  Whatever - one of the joys of running is just how little you need to be able to enjoy an outing such as this one.

The "Waldo Canyon Loop" was really a lariat in the neighborhood of 7 miles long.  It started with a decent singletrack climb over decomposed Pikes Peak Granite.  One of my favorite running formats and surfaces.  We stopped for many pictures and I didn't have my GPS, but I do remember turning left at the beginning of the Loop portion of the trail.  

I remember running through a very pleasant copse of Douglas Fir or Ponderosa Pine where the earth was recognizable dirt and the trail just begged one to open up the throttle and run.  

And I also remember the shock I felt when I ran past a signpost planted next to the rocks.  It turned out to be one of many, each with something else interesting about the geology in the canyon.  

One pointed out the Great Non-conformity.  The sign showed where sandstone rested on top of granite, and pointed out that the surface which separated the 2 rock types represented a gap in time of something like 500 million years.  Another identified the Peerless Dolomite.  I think I remember that one because the name of the formation is simply unmatched. There were others, but I don't remember them well...

At different junctures along the trail, Pikes Peak was visible to the South and Colorado Springs to the East.  A really cool area I hoped to visit again with my DSLR.

Unfortunately, my memories are fuzzy - Homey and I ran together here in late January, 2008 - and "Waldo Canyon" is now synonymous with the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history. I expect that even though the rocks are now going to have even better exposure, it will be a rather inhospitable place for quite some time.  I wonder how long it will be before the organization that stewards the land back in there re-opens it.   

Thanks for reading, and give a nod to your local emergency services personnel, would love to see some of them around here...

J

Game Planning

OK so the heavy stuff is out of the way.  On to why we're here (at least me and my 4 readers)...

Training for the Vermont 50!  Somehow that seems less cool than "Leadville 100" even when I make it big.

Anyway, The VT50 is packing almost 18000 feet of total elevation change  (down counts, really), but something about their elevation profile has me thinking: GPS track...

Source: http://www.vermont50.com/html/course.html   

I've been pretty much all over Vermont on my bicycle and have hiked many miles there too, so I simply don't believe some of the spikes.  That said, some of the steepest terrain I've hiked is in VT so, maybe?...

Whatever, the winning times are fast.  It looks like at least 7 times have folks gone under 7 hours in VT and the course record is just over 6 hours 15 minutes.  Goeff Roes record at Steamboat while he was "mediocre" is 7:11.  Not saying Steamboat is harder or anything, but it sure is higher...

I've got that to base my expectations on.  Lots of the route is on gravel roads, those won't be too bad, cars have to go up them, so they're probably runnable.  There're also aid stations every 5 miles or so.  I think I'll be able to significantly beat my Steamboat 50 time. I'm thinking 1, maybe 2 hours.  Absolutely going to give it a rip.

Of course, I'll have to see how the training goes, and how many miles I can log in Cuevas (probably perfect training ground for this race), but I'm glad to have something a bit more "bite sized" to chew on for the next 3 months.

Thanks for reading, and stay cool...
J

One Last Bit of Introspection.

In my last post, I noted that in Bolivia I have the time and opportunity to train like I would like for a race like the Leadville 100.  Currently I'm too much of a softy to leave Deneb home with the maid to get out for a long mid-week run, but were he in day care, that wouldn't be an issue.  The real irony of having time to train in Bolivia is that, even while the time is there, it's the only thing I find attractive about being here.

This has put a huge strain on my relationship with my wife.  I often find myself regressing and becoming a person I very much dislike.

There's a further irony.  My wife is doing fabulously well career-wise here.  In fact, I find great pride in the fact that she is such an influential person.  In her current role, she has the capacity to actually make a difference for the environment.  I have uttered on many occasions the phrase, "The only thing I give a shit about when I cast my vote is who will be a better steward of our lands."  She would always have my vote, yet somehow finds herself essentially a dictator.

She is Executive Director of a small institute here which is looking for sustainable methods to harvest Bolivia's timber.  There's more, but if I told you, then I'd have to kill you...

Anyway, all of this complexity ties into why it's too much for me to even attempt Leadville right now.

[editor's note - somehow I forgot to sign off]
Thanks for reading, and sometimes there are just some things which are more important.
Jay

Gotta say something.

From crappie.com (really)...

Too much.

That's pretty much it.

Once Deneb is in school, I can easily find time here in Bolivia to train for Leadville (and perform the way I'd like), but right now, the pleas of, "Papa, peas don't go run." Are too much.  Can't do it.  Must sneak out during the nap.  And the naps are getting shorter.

There's much more, but I don't think I've got the guts to share "the more" in a public forum.  Suffice it to say, there's some heavy irony in the phrase "I can easily find time here in Bolivia to train for Leadville"...

As of today, I've revised my training goals to something I can get done during naptime and feel good about myself - a 50 miler. In Vermont.  Hopefully with Deneb pacing me for the last 50 meters.  We'll see about that...

Anyway, hopefully over the next year, the irony goes away and I can visit the Steamboat 100 in 2013 and qualify myself for UTMB.

Thanks for reading, and why bite anything if it's not too much?
Jay

Stuff that hurts.

I don't usually complain about things that hurt, well at least not publicly, but that's changing with this post.  I've got a number of nagging aches and pains that may end up derailing my Leadville 100 race day, and have to play into my LT100 race plan.

Rotator Cuff
I'm going to start with the oldest first and work forward chronologically from there - the oldest injury that seems to affect my running performance.

I crashed my bicycle during a crit in 1998 (I think).  I was fourth wheel in a 4 man break away and we were getting ready to lap the field.  I was in with a good shot to win the race but the idiot leading the break decided that he'd slam on his brakes because of a manhole cover.  That caused the 2 guys behind them to do the same with wheel 3 adding a swerve left into the mix.  His back wheel washed out my front one and I hit the deck going the better part of 30 miles per hour.  Strained rotator cuff.  I haven't even really thought about that injury for quite some time, but it's recently been bugging me on my longer runs - to the point where I just let my right arm hang limp at my side for a while.  I'm doing some strengthening exercises for it...

The Knee
In 2010 I ran the 25 mile race on Saturday and the 10 mile race on Sunday at the Desert RATS Trail Festival.  During the 10 mile race, I remember ticking through pretty good, even having one guy complement my pace.  Unfortunately, that came to an end during the second climb.  My knee started killing me and I had to drop to a walk.  I got some Vitamin I from an aid station worker and was able to grit out a finish, but ever since then I've had recurring flare ups in my knee.  Sometimes it's a very sharp pain, other times it's a dull long lasting ache.

I have no idea what the injury is, just that it comes and goes.  It's currently "on" in a dull long lasting ache form, but it also seems to be in a "waning" part of its life cycle.  It was much worse a few weeks ago.

The Ache-illes
I've also been dealing with Achilles pain for quite some time.  I don't remember specifically when it started, but I do believe I know what caused it.

Good running form is kind of like the dude in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy who figured out how to fly by falling and missing the ground.  You kind of want to lean forward to the point where you lose your balance and have to step forward to catch yourself.  With a bit of angular momentum in the upper body, all that's required to maintain forward motion is alternating knee lifts.  I have a habit where I push off with the balls of my feet and grip with my toes for a little extra speed and that messes me up.  I go through periods where I improve, but then fade back into my bad habits and have to start over.

It doesn't really bother me while I'm running, just before and after, but I'm nervous that'll change.  Right now I'm enjoying a "relearning" phase.  Ache-illes is aching.

The Lower Abdomen - Hip Flexor - Groin
This is my most recent injury.  I initially blamed Deneb because of a game which we (used to?) play called, "Deneb jump Papa." I now think it may have happened while defending myself from one of my bad dog friends.  The injury really flares when I try to kick a dog (I never in my life expected I'd write those words, but there it is).
This injury really makes it difficult for me to get started on a run.  Once started, it fades into the background, but it never quite goes away.  I think it's improving, but 2 weeks ago it was only the Lower Abdomen.  Then again, I had to kick a dog on Friday.  Ugh...

---

With the exception of the shoulder injury, all of these injuries are on my left side.  Fun.
Anyway.  This is the stuff that hurts, here's hoping it gets better.

Thanks for reading and lift up, don't push off...
Jay

Quick Checklist

This is just a brief list so that I can organize my upcoming posts.  I've got a whole bunch of ideas, but they're all over the place and therefore find it a bit overwhelming to sit down and write one thing at a time.  Anyway here's the list...

• Priority Posts, these might be grouped together.
• Stuff that hurts
• Leadville Plan
• People who died, and what that means to me
• Continued ruminations of being a stay at home dad and the guilt associated with leaving my son with the maid while I head out for 2-3 hour long runs.
• Shoe reviews:  
• Brooks Pure Connect
• New Balance MT110
• Secondary Posts
• Stuff about the local geology.  Lots of people think Bolivia is mountains - where I live it's flaaaat...
• Heat adaptation, cold tolerance
• RPE vs. HR for untrained athletes.

Now I'm committed to 6 or 7 notes in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your time outside.
J