Hills

Friday, June 30th

Last day of June - and I need to improve on the hills. Warmed up, then did:

5 mins/6%/5mph mile (132 ft.)
1 minute flat
5 mins/7%/5mph (154 ft.)
1 minute flat
5 mins/8%/5mph (176 ft.)
1 minute flat
5 mins/9%/4.5mph (178 ft)
1 minute flat
5 mins/10%/4.5mph (198 ft.)
2 minutes flat
2mins/11%/4.5mph (87 ft.)
1 minute flat
2mins/12%/4mph (84 ft.)

I finished off with 1/4 mile at 6mph.

The total ended up about 45 mins, 3.5 miles, 1000ft.

Twin Peaks.

Wednesday, June 28th


I did South Boulder Peak and Bear Peak on Wednesday from the South Mesa Trailhead. The picture above was taken from the turnoff of the trailhead. These two peaks are really twin summits of South Boulder Mountain. South Boulder Peak is on the left, Bear Peak is on the right. (The big bump in the middle is on the ridge - but it's not either one of the summits). Shadow Canyon divides the ridge in the foreground (on the right) and the right in the background (on the left). I went up Shadow Canyon, climbed South Boulder Peak first, then did Bear Peak, and followed Fern Canyon back down, which is roughly the far right hand skyline.

I could have thought of other titles for this post, including "Pain & Suffering" or "If misery loves company, why am I all alone?". This was a hard effort. My goal was 2:15. I had done Green Mountain in 2:10 a month ago, and I figured this loop, even though it's about 1/3 mile shorter, would take longer. (Note - I recalculated the distance - and it came out exactly equal - 8.2 miles to other loop. I had an error on my map) The terrain is tougher, and there is about 750ft more elevation gain. This loop is probably about 15 - 20 minutes longer (for someone who travels at my speed) but I was hoping that I had gotten faster since I did Green Mountain. The loop naturally breaks up into ~ 5 different sections: Trailhead to mouth of Shadow Canyon via Towhee trail (2.1 miles, 960 ft, 9.1%), Up Shadow Canyon to the saddle (1.1 miles, 1620ft, 27.9%!!!), summits of South Boulder Peak and Bear Peak (1 mile total, 650 ft in .7 miles, 17.6%), down Fern Canyon (1.4 miles, ~2000ft, 27%!!!), out the mesa trail to the trailhead (2.7 miles, ~860ft, avg. 6%).

I started up the Towhee trail. I jogged for about 5 minutes, and I could tell I was working way too hard for a sustained effort. I began to power hike the uphills, and continued to jog the flat sections. Molly and I did this same trail as our very first run of the year, and it felt a lot easier then. Hmmm, I must have had fresh legs early in the season. I continued to move as fast as I thought I could given that this was really on the first 20% of the loop. I hooked up with the mesa trail, continued hiking up underneath the maiden, and when the trail flattened out I started to jog again into Shadow Canyon. I made the cutoff in 28:30. Certainly not fast, but it gave me hope I could make my goal.

Shadow Canyon is an ominous place. The grade picks up immediately, it gets darker, and in general just doesn't feel great. I knew I was in a for a long climb up to the saddle. I had done this hike only once before. After about 10 minutes, things start to lighten up and it seems as though the top is near, but really its just more light coming through over the south ridge of bear peak. The terrain finally started to level out, and I made the saddle exactly 36 minutes after I started - 1:04:30 overall. I just can't seem to break through the 2500ft/hour barrier. I was getting pretty wiped by this point, but I knew the summit of south boulder peak was less than 10 minutes away. I headed left up the (now not too steep) trail, and after ~6 minutes came to the final boulder file. A twisted ankle here would not be fun (I hadn't seen anyone since I entered Shadow canyon), so I took my time and reached the summit register at 1:13:40. The view west from the summit is spectacular. I think South Boulder Peak is probably the highest point going from east to west until the divide. I could see the entire Indian Peaks and north to Longs Peak. I only stayed about a minute, tightened up the laces on both shows, and was back at the saddle at ~1:21. I could begin to feel my goal of 2;15 slipping away, but I headed over to Bear Peak, and even managed to jog a little bit of the uphill. I was on top of Bear Peak by 1:32 (less than 18 minutes after leaving SBP) and again I only stayed a minute. I knew the next 1 1/2 miles would be tough, but I wasn't prepared for what was to come.

The Fern Canyon trail is steep, rocky, loose shale, and exposed tree roots. To borrow a phrase from the 80s - "totally gnarly". Running really wasn't an option for me here - I was just hoping to get down without falling. After about 800 vertical ft the trail improves and it's basically switchbacks with huge steps, but at least they weren't loose. I was also able to make use of trees close to the trail for balance. I felt like I was moving pretty well, but the 1.4 miles to the mesa trail took 30 minutes!! ouch - not even 20 minutes/mile!! By this time I was extremely tired, and knew I wasn't going to make my goal of 2:15. It was a little disheartening, and I knew the next few miles would be a struggle. My whole body was feeling weak with exhaustion. I traded off jogging/walking on the mesa trail and I hit the Bluestem cutoff at 2:16. Less than 2 miles to go, but I was a wreck. My goal was to just keep moving at a reasonable pace, and not fall. I had to walk the little uphill section where Bluestem meets up with the mesa trail, and I made the cutoff at 2:25. Just around the corner from here I could see the finish. I jogged the main path, walked the shortcut, and jogged to the end, finishing in a dismal 2:38:00.

In retrospect, I'm not exactly sure where I lost it. Did I go out too fast? not drink enough? not eat enough? I was pushing pretty hard on the Fern Canyon trail (although you wouldn't know it by my time), and I think this really took it's toll. I probably could have eaten more too - maybe next time I'll try some gels. I don't think I'll do this loop again - the top of the Fern Canyon trail was really no fun. I'd go up Fern Canyon, but not down it. Maybe start at NCAR, go up Fern Canyon, then down the west ridge? down shadow canyon? who knows, but I'll be back soon.

Approximate splits:
Mouth of Shadow Canyon: 28:30
Saddle: 1:04:30
Summit of South Boulder Peak: 1:13:41
Saddle: 1:21
Summit of Bear Peak: 1:32
Mesa Trail: 2:02
Bluestem cutoff: 2:16
Mesa Trail: 2:25
Finish: 2:38:00.

Tuesday Afternoon

Tuesday, June 27th

Did an easy run today, and my legs felt a bit like cinder blocks. Although I feel pretty good considering we did a long run just two days ago. After our Rollinsville run, I didn't feel like running for four days.

10 mins @ 10min/mile, 5 mins @ 11min/mile, 5 mins @ 12 mins/mile.

South Boulder Peak + Bear Peak tomorrow!!

Bear Peak + South Boulder Peak

One of my favorites runs so far has been Green Mountain - I've written about it twice - here and here. This week, I'll hopefully get to do a similar run for the first time - the South Boulder Peak + Bear Peak double from the south mesa trailhead. The plan is to jog up the Towhee trail, continue up Shadow Canyon to South Boulder Peak, over to Bear Peak, down Fern Canyon to the Mesa trail, then take the Bluestem trail back to the south mesa trailhead. Here are details of the two runs:

GM: 8.2 miles, 2487 ft. elevation gain. 16.8% up (2.8 miles), 8.7% down (5.4 miles)
SBP+BP: 7.9 miles, 3230ft. elevation gain. 17.5% up (3.5 miles), 13.9% down (4.4 miles)

I'm guessing South Boulder Peak + Bear Peak will be the harder of the two. A little shorter, but 750ft more elevation, and more technical downhill. Hopefully, I'm faster than I was 6 weeks ago. My goal is 2:15.

The downill portion of Imogene pass averages 11.5% (7.05 miles, 4300 ft.)

Glacier Lake Road

Sunday, June 25th

One of the cool things about different outdoor activities is that they take you to different places. I've been rock climbing in places like Eldorado Canyon, Moab, Yosemite, the South Platte; climbing 14ers has taken me through towns such as Como, Buena Vista, Leadville, Lake City, and Westcliffe. It's the same thing with running - we've been to some pretty cool places.

On Sunday we did a run along "Glacier Lake Road", which is a glorified name for Forest Service road #120 outside of Boulder. To get there we drove up Boulder Canyon, turned north on Sugarloaf road, and drove for about 5 more miles. From there, it's 5.4 miles along Glacier Lake Road to Highway 72 (aka Peak-to-Peak Highway). Total elevation gain is about 650 ft - so it's a very gentle grade. I've probably been up Boulder Canyon 50+ times, but never have driven up Sugarloaf. Views from there are spectacular. We could see parts of the Indian Peaks, as well as the back sides of Green Mountain, Bear Peak, and South Boulder Peak in the flatirons. There was some mountain bike traffic on the road, and I saw two motorbikes (it is still a road), but overall it was a great place to run. I felt pretty good - no pain in my right shin which I had been having for the last week or so.

We met Jennifer and Conrad - the 3 of us ran while Molly hiked. I should say that Jennifer and Conrad ran while I struggled to keep up. I kept pace for about 20 minutes but they run just faster than me that it's not a comfortable pace for me on a long run. They made it to peak-to-peak in exactly an hour, and I think I was probably 3 or 4 minutes behind. They continued on for about 5 more minutes, and I turned around. And they both passed on the way back to the car....arrrrrrggggggg...

Total mileage: 10.8
Total time: 2:05

calories

Wednesday, June 21st

warmup + 30mins of 1 minute flat, 1 minute at 9%. This one actually felt a little easier than the 1up/1down I did at 8%. Of course, this was a total of 15 minutes (1.25 miles) at 9%. The road up Imogene pass is about 9-10% for 10 miles. ouch!

World Cup soccer was on - Argentina vs. Netherlands. Both teams were undefeated, and Argentina had a lead in goal differential so they were content with a tie. but what a boring game - there were a couple of good moments, but in general it was a yawner. I found out later both sides had players with yellow cards, and they didn't want to risk losing them for the next round.

After I finished I had done about 38 mins and just over 3 miles. The treadmill indicated I had burned ~575 calories. I always make a mental note of how many calories the treadmill calculates, but for some reason I was never curious as to how it actually calculates them. The treadmill never asks for my weight, or my age, and it doesn't have a heart rate monitor. How does it know how many calories I burn? I guess I don't really care so much about that as I do about how many calories I'll actually burn doing Imogene, and how those calories are actually calculated.

My first search turned up this table. With any luck, I'll weigh ~ 200lbs by the time Imogene starts. According to this table, I'll burn as many calories running 12 minutes/mile as someone like Doug, who weighs 120 150 lbs, would if he ran 9 minutes/mile. Hmm, that doesn't seem quite fair. Or, looking at it a different way, if we run the same speed, I'll burn 30-40 calories more every 10 minutes than he will. Over the course of a 4 hour race (our goal), that translates into roughly 750 calories. Again, it doesn't seem fair. Although I suppose one could argue that larger muscles are capable of storing more energy. Although a look at the starting line of the Pikes Peak Marathon would seem to indicate that most runners are built more like Doug than like myself.

Some more searching revealed numerous sites with calorie tables, calorie calculators, etc - but none of them describe how a calorie calculator really works. Wikipedia has an interesting looking page on exercise physiology, but I should get some work done, so I'll have to continue this post later.

Progress

Monday, June 19th

Nearly 1 month ago I did my first speed workout. It wasn't pretty - as I noted in that post, "my right shin started to hurt" - actually, I should have wrote "my right leg felt like it was going to fall off".

Today I did a similar, extended pyramid-style speed workout. 10 repeats of a quarter mile at the following speeds: (min/mile)

9:14, 8:34, 8:00, 7:30, 7:04, 7:04, 7:30, 8:00, 8:34, 9:14.

I felt solid - not much pain at all in my right leg. It was nice to make progress.

For anyone wondering, I think any normal treadmill goes up to speeds this high.

Flagstaff, etc..

Thursday - June 15th.

After a miserable effort on Wednesday, I ran again on Thursday. Warmed up, then did 20 mins @ 9:13min/mile. It felt a lot better than my previous effort a couple of weeks ago at the same speed/time. I also got a chance to see Tiger bogey his first 3 holes of the U.S. Open en route to his missing the cut.

Saturday - June 17th

Molly and I were in Flagstaff for Nate & Aubrey's wedding, so she took me to some of her old stomping grounds. We did a run on the Flagstaff Urban Trail System, out toward the fairgrounds. Ran for just over an hour - probably about 6 miles. We slept in a little bit, and by the time we were finishing it was hot....people were saying it never gets that hot in Flagstaff.

Restaurant Week

Wednesday, June 14th

Through some quirky events I've eaten out for just about every meal the past week. Friday lunch - Ted's Montana Grill, Friday dinner - Pasquini's, Monday dinner - The Mediterranean, Tuesday breakfast - Cafe Mondo, Tuesday lunch - Ted's Montana Grill (again), Tuesday dinner - My Brother's Bar, Wednesday lunch - Jewel of India buffet. I also hadn't run in 4 days. These two things (OK - probably mostly the Inidan buffet 2 hours before I ran) led to a pretty dismal performance.

My original plan was to do 20 min @ 8%, 12:00min/mile. I made it through 6 mins, and was working way too hard. I took a 2 minute rest, then resumed at 6%. Did another 6 mins, and I just wasn't feeling it, so I did another 6 mins of flat and called it quits.

I was a little dissappointed because I felt really good on my last hill workout. I think I feel better when I run more often. After Saturday's long run I knew I wasn't up to running on Monday, but I probably could have run yesterday. I had a little pain in my right foot during warmup, but that went away. I think I'll try again tomorrow - after dinner tonight at Mead Street Station (as I said, it's been a quirky week).

Moffat Tunnel

Saturday, June 10th

Molly and I met Jennifer and Conrad in Rollinsville and we did a run on the Moffat Tunnel road. We drove about 3 miles up Tolland Road, and there is a little picnic area. From there we ran for about 50 minutes, just past some type of dam/water control to where we were stopped by a train. We wanted to run for 55 minutes up, and then back down, so on the way down we actually ran past the cars (very hard to do mentally) to make the run a little farther.

It's an awesome area. The Moffat Tunnel was first used by trains in 1928, and here is some history. This page says that it's the 6th longest tunnel in the world, but that's not right. Here is some info on the world's longest tunnels, and it looks like the Moffat Tunnel isn't even listed among the world's longest railway tunnels, but it is the 3rd longest in the US.

I was a little apprehensive about running on a dirt road. I usually feel better on a trail where the motion isn't so repetitive. I actually felt pretty good, although I was the slowest of the 4. It didn't really feel like we were gaining that much elevation on the way up, but on the way down there were some steep sections. I felt pretty good the whole time, and I felt like I was able to maintain my form the entire way. At the end of the run I didn't feel as tired as previous long runs. Today (Monday morning - 48 hours post-run) I feel OK. Some soreness on the top of my feet, and my legs are a little tired, but that's to be expected. We also went camping on Saturday night, so I'm sure sleeping on the hard ground didn't help us recover.

Totals:
~ 10 miles
~ 1:45 minutes

Update: From Doug

I imagine the “6^th biggest tunnel in the world” line was originally supplemented by the qualifier “at the time it was built,” but that the qualifier was inadvertently lost. But it looks from that site like even that claim was wrong, as it was actually the 7^th biggest at the time it was built. Looking at the list for railway tunnels, it looks like the following tunnels are longer and were built prior to the Moffat.

1922, 19,824 m (Simplon II in It/Swit.)

1906, 19,803 m (Simplon I in It/Swit.)

1882, 15,003 m (St. Gotthard, Swit.)

1913, 14,612 m (Lotschberg, Swit.)

1871, 13,636 m (Frejus, Fra-It.)

1884, 10,589 m (Arlberg, Austria)

1928, 9,996 m (Moffat)

Maybe they consider the 2 Simplon tunnels to be one and the same.

1 up / 1 down

Wednesday - June 7th

warmup, 30 mins of 1 minute flat, 1 minute @ 8%. 12:00min/mile. This was a reasonably hard effort - it was hard to keep my form on the last few uphills. Heart rate was ~155-160 at the end of the hils. The previous 1up/1down workout I did was @ 6%, so this was a 25% increase. I think next time I'll just go up to 9%.

Charmed...

Monday, June 5th

Charmed seems to have replaced Law & Order on TNT during the day. I guess that's what I get for making fun of it. Oh well - it gave me a chance to follow Michelle Wie trying to qualify for the U.S. Open. Notice I say "U.S. Open" - not the "Men's U.S. Open". The U.S. Open is open to the best golfers in the world - whether they are men, women, children - whatever. That's the beauty of golf.

More flat speed work today. warmed up, then did decreasing lengths of 1.0, .75, .5, and .25 miles at a speed of 8:35 min/mile (7 mph), with 5 minute rests (actually walking at a slow pace) in between. Felt pretty good - not much pain in my right shin like 2 weeks ago.

Last Few Days

Thursday - June 1st

warmup + 20min @ 6% grade, 12:00min/mile. This effort felt easier than the one on Tuesday, although my left foot was hurting pretty bad later in the day. This was the same pain I had at the beginning of the season when I started training - I didn't really notice it had gone away until it came back.

We also signed up for Imogene today. So far it's myself, Molly, Jennifer & Conrad, Doug & Sandy, and Matt.

Friday - June 2nd

Was going to do something longer in the flatirons, but I did an easy hike up Mt. Sanitas instead. I tried to keep my heart rate < 135, and as a result my time was 37:00 to the top. It was a gorgeous day, and nice to be on Sanitas but avoid the weekend crowds.

Saturday - June 3rd

Went back to Boulder with Molly, Andy and Owen. We hiked the North Shanahan trail to Fern Canyon and went about ~ 1/2 the way up Fern Canyon. With all the hiking/running I've done in the flatirons, I had never been up these trails before. On the way down I ran down the Fern Canyon trail and out the Bear Canyon service road to where it meets up with Bear Mtn Drive (the normal parking area for Seal Rock). pictures to follow.

Law and Order

Tuesday, May 30th.

More TNT "primetime in the daytime". It was that one episode where someone gets killed, Fontana and Green arrest the wrong guy, then find the right guy, but McCoy can't use the evidence because the detectives obtained it illegally. Fred Dalton Thompson gives a couple of words of wisdom, and they got the conviction. good stuff.

5 mins warmup, 20 mins @ 9:00 min/mile.