AK's writings on running, biking, and other stuff I like to do
16.08.2010
Simms hill repeats
categories: FiveFinger Runs, Running Logs
tags:

As inspired by George, I did some simms hill repeats today since its close to home.  And it felt really good.

I started out REALLY slow.  My left hip had some minor soreness, probably from the weekends efforts report.  But it warmed up after about 2 miles and felt fine.  Here are my splits for the hill repeats (the hill section I ran is .48 miles):

5:26 up (11:22 pace) – 3:45 down (7:52 pace)

4:36 up (9:37 pace) – 3:33 down (7:25 pace)

3:30 up (7:18 pace) – 2:37 down (5:24 pace)  - Kind of funny to see my uphill pace drop 2 minutes per mile each lap.  I’m sure that last lap though was approaching the limit of how fast I can run up that hill because my heart rate was in the mid 170′s at the top.  I’m sure I could run it faster, but probably not much at this point.

I took the first lap really easy both ways, just to continue my warm up really.  After each lap I just rested for about 15 seconds grabbing a drink of water then headed back up.

The 2nd lap I decided to put forth moderate effort both ways.  But I didn’t pushed a bit harder on the uphill than the down.

Then the 3rd lap I wanted to push it really hard.  It felt cool to run up the hill faster than I had just run down it.  To look down at my pace and see it in the low 7′s surprised me, but I just kept at it and was able to hold it pretty steady to the top.  Then I went all out on the down hill too.  My mile pace for that total mile up/down the hill was 6:21/mile.  Which I was pretty pleased with considering its a 190 foot ascent over 1/2 mile.  Not sure if I could have repeated that last repeat time again though.  I think sometime I’ll do that again and see if I can 2 or more laps at the pace of my last lap.

Then I just ran easy 9 min pace the couple miles back home.  I really enjoyed the progressive pushing workout.

29.07.2010
5K tempo run
categories: FiveFinger Runs, Running Logs
tags:

After seeing all the happy runners yesterday I must have gotten the bug.  Tonight when I went out for a 7 mile jaunt I couldn’t resist the urge to throw in a 5K tempo run in the middle to see what my 5K fitness level is currently.

For dinner I happened to load up on steak and potatoes.  Then at about 7:30 I enjoyed a nice helping of pumpkin pie and ice cream to get myself all fueled up and ready to run.  Then I finished off my kids pie and ice cream.  Then I was ready to roll!

Nan said she would puke if she tried to run on that…I just felt well fueled.

I threw 10 oz. in my water bottle and headed out.

Decided to warm up for 2 miles and then do a  5K attempting to hold 6 min. pace as long as I could.

I was surprised to feel that for two miles it was pretty comfortable and felt great to hold 6 min. pace.  Then with about 3/4 mile to go it started a slight incline and my pace weakened.

I finished 5K in 18:55 at a 6:07/mile pace.  Felt pretty good about that actually.   I would have been last place by far against all the skinny elite dudes last night, but for this 187 pounder, 18:55 is moving the right direction for a 5K pace.  I’ve never done one under 18 min.  I know I could if I trained consistently for that, but I prefer mountain running at easy slash fun pace over killing myself on speed workouts at this point.

But it is fun to go out and push the limits of my speed/pain threshold every now and then.  I got it out of my system tonight.  Now I’m ready to go run Grays and Torreys peaks early this sat. AM.  Anybody want to come do run some 14ers?

(oh yeah…and happily all the pumpkin pie stayed inside my body very nicely!  Maybe I had a lot more pace pushing in me?….no…no I don’t have the desire to push the pace to puke levels…that’s never fun.)

31.05.2010
Bolder Boulder 2010 Race Report
categories: FiveFinger Runs, Race Reports
tags:

Races are fun!  I really enjoyed the anticipation leading up to the race yesterday and then the subsequent morning of, and feeling like I’m on vacation, etc.  Good times.

I didn’t train at all for a road 10K, I think I did 1 half of a interval about a month ago with Nan when I was in between trails and that’s about it.  So I had no idea what to expect out of this race…but I felt like I was in good shape even though I’ve only been running 15-20 miles a week the last month.

My plan was to go out in just under 6:30 pace and hold that the whole race and my goal was just to do the race in sub 40 minutes.  But I also didn’t want to kill myself on this race or go all out because I’ve got my first 30 mile trail race this weekend and I’m a lot more interested in feeling ready for that.  I decided to wear my nathan water bottle waist strap for this race with just one 10 oz. bottle in it.  I’m so accustomed to wearing it, that I would almost feel weird without it…but also, I really like having water when I want it, and it is about 1 bazillion times easier to drink from a bottle than a little paper cup they hand you as you’re flying by.  It was a great decision, I loved having it during the race.

Nan and I warmed up for 2 miles before the race which was perfect for me.  Then we waited about 7 minutes and we were off with the huge crowd.  Everyone was going out at 5:45 pace or faster as I was in the very front in the first wave.  That was not in my game plan so I just took it easy and let everyone go, as I held back to a 6 min/mile the first 1/2 mile.  After that it starts up hill and I settled in right under 6:30 pace.

Mile 1: 6:15

The 2nd mile is uphill and I felt good, just held to my goal of sub 6:30 and it felt smooth and easy

Mile 2:  6:28

The 3rd mile was similar, mostly uphill.  I felt great, in fact I wished the hills were steeper because I felt like I would pass more people if they were

Mile 3: 6:29

The fourth mile had a couple steeper sections and I knew this was the last of the main uphill of the course so I pushed harder and passed some people I had been tailing for a couple miles and my pace was stronger on this mile

Mile 4: 6:23

Then it was downhill for a mile, and I probably could have pushed a lot harder here, but I suppose I was content to recover on the downhill and save up for the final 3/4 mile uphill finish that I knew was coming…so I cruised pretty comfortably in mile 5 and a girl who I had been following who looked exactly like my wife from behind caught back up to me

Mile 5: 6:23

Then the race started to feel a little challenging on the final uphill mile.  But I felt strong and I wasn’t maxing out so I was pretty sure I could hit my goal.  But it wasn’t super easy at that point.  I pushed hard and then the final hill into the stadium I knew I had to keep cranking in order to hit my goal of sub 40 because I was cutting it close.

Mile 6: 6:31

I sprinted onto the track and around half way to the finish and was very pleased to see a 39 on the clock.

Final time: 39:51

That was fun, and felt great.  It felt good to hit my goal.   And I was very pleased to see I could hold a 6:25 pace for 10K pretty comfortably on zero road training.  Makes me wonder what kind of pace I could run if I actually ran 40-50 miles a week on the roads.  But it doesn’t make me wonder hard enough to actually care to do that, because the mountains call my name way too loudly.

Nan was waiting in the finish area for me with Scott Ensign, and they both had really solid races!  Nan killed it in 35:50 taking 2nd for women.  I’ll never keep up with her in a road race!  And Scott clobbered me also, the website says 38:02 for him.  I think he was trying to go under 38 so he JUST missed it!  But hey…I would say its close enough, its a great time for a 48 year old dude.

Afterward we hung out for a little while and got some free massages, ate some pretty tasty burritos at the expo and then jogged back to the car.   It was  a beautiful spring morning for a race, absolutely perfect morning actually.  We had a great time.  Now its time for me to not run anymore this week and save up all my energy for a 30 mile mountainous beat down of fun this Saturday.  I hope the weather next weekend matches this weekend, that would be ideal.  It was an amazing weekend for running Boulder this weekend.

08.05.2010
A very great day of trail running in Crested Butte
categories: FiveFinger Runs, Running Logs, Trail Runs
tags:

On vacation, just Nan and I and a weekend in Crested Butte.  Very nice break from the routine.  Here’s what we did today:

Slept in until 8:45, Did an hour long core synergistics workout with Nan in our Hotel Suite which is a great workout because it works every core area on the body plus shoulders and upper legs and leaves you feeling great all over and ready to pounce on the day.

Then went into town and had a delicious omelet and french toast breakfast at a little cafe.

Then went trail running for and hour and a half with Nan on the ‘lower loop’ right outside the town of Crested Butte.  Fun run.  Muddy and snowy in a couple spots, but gorgeous single track rolling up a canyon and back.

Then back to the Hotel so Nan could take a Nap.

Then another 2 hours of trail running on the ‘upper loop’ from our hotel.  An absolutely amazing single track through the forests with awesome views and lots of good climbing.  I went out for 5 1/4 miles and came back.  This was the highlight of the day, so much FUN!

I took an s-cap every hour and a Vespa before running and felt great on my runs the whole day.  About 3.5 hours total.  I ran out of water the last 25 minutes and so the last mile up a super steep hill to our hotel was kind of tough, but was a nice way to finish off an epic day of running. The first part of my run was about 7 miles pretty slow and easy in about 1:20.  The 2nd part was 10.5 miles in 1:51:30 – 10:37/mile pace – 3200 Feet of climbing.

Then we both got an hour massage, ate at a delicious burrito joint which hit the spot, then saw a movie at the local theater and then hit the hot tub and headed to bed about 10 or so.

It’s nice to have no set schedule and no rush to be anywhere as a change of pace here and there.  Here are some pictures I took on my phone of the trail running today:

27.03.2010
Past two weeks – a peak run to cap it off
categories: FiveFinger Runs, Running Logs, Trail Runs
tags:

I wasn’t able to make my way to the mountains for 2 weeks because I was super busy with my business.  I did get out and run a bunch around home though, which was fun.

But today I finally made it back to the mountains, it was so nice to be back after a couple weeks off…here’s some footage I took of the journey today:

And here are my stats for the last two weeks:

Mar 15 – 5.5 miles around neighborhood easy in FF Sprints

Mar 18 – 4.5 miles barefoot in the sun

Mar 19 – 15.21 miles in FF’s around the neighborhood in a WET snow storm – 2 hours 19 minutes

Mar 20 – 5 miles barefoot around the neighborhood

Total: 30 miles of road running

Mar 22 – 7.35 miles in FF treks, felt great.

Mar 23 – 7.16 miles barefoot – a nice hour cruise around the neighborhood, I love barefoot running, it feels fantastic.

Mar 25 – 5.61 miles in FF treks around neighborhood

Mar 27 – 8.6 miles in FF treks – First ascent up Bear Peak in Boulder.  So glad to be back in the mountains…it was an epic run

Total: 28.72 Miles – 20 on the road 8 in the mtn.

Here are the numbers from todays run:

8.6 Miles – 2:33:13 – 17.48/mile avg – HR: 138 avg – 4300 Ft ascent and 4300 Ft of descent

13.03.2010
Flagstaff Mountain in the sun!
categories: FiveFinger Runs, Running Logs, Trail Runs
tags:

What a beautiful morning to be running through the mountains!!  Sunny and 40+ Degrees.



Here are my stats from the run:

9.27 Miles – 1:57:54 – 12:43/mile – HR: 144 avg – Ascent/Descent: 3600 Ft.

We didn’t make it up Green Mountain because it was a bit icy so we ran around on flagstaff mountain instead.

What a fun morning.  I really wanted to keep going for another couple hours…but that will have to wait for another day.

08.03.2010
My first run (slash hike) up Green Mountain in Boulder
categories: FiveFinger Runs, Running Logs, Trail Runs
tags:

WOW!  What have I been thinking not running up mountains all this time??  That has to be the best way to start the day off.  I started running at the trail head at 6:30, the sun was just coming up but I never saw the sun because I was in the canyon.  It was quiet and peaceful, and I had the entire mountain to myself the whole run.  Never saw another soul.  I felt like singing along a lot on the way up the mountain, but I couldn’t because my heart and chest were pounding too hard…but on the way down I was just belting it out as I bounded down the pine needle covered soft dirt and snow pack.

When I took off up the trail I was Immediately humbled as my calves were on fire after the first steep mile.

Then I hiked for a couple minutes to recover, then it leveled off just a tad and I ran again.

I was able to run the majority of the 3.4 miles to the summit from the trailhead, but there were sections where the steepness was too great for my current fitness level.

I guess since that’s the first time I have actually ever attempted to run to the top of a mountain I’ll cut myself a little slack though.

But I was very humbled by the constant steep grade that Anton Krupicka runs up in 32-34 minutes every day…it took me almost 55 minutes.

Here are the stats:

6.5 Miles – 1:31:40 – 14:09/mile – HR 146 avg – Ascent: 3600 ft – I like it!! – Descent: 3600 ft.

As depicted below the summit of green mountain is close to 8200 ft.  The trailhead is about 5750 ft.  There are some ups and downs along the way netting a total ascent of about 3600 according to the garmin.

I will be heading back to that trail on a frequent basis in the coming weeks, I am positive of that.  What an incredible place to run!

19.02.2010
A couple easy ‘recovery’ runs.
categories: FiveFinger Runs, Running Logs
tags:

Thursday – 4.63 Miles – 40:35 – 8:46/mile – HR: 143 – Ascent: 430ft

Just taking it easy.  My legs feel fine.  My right glut still has some sore muscles, but it doesn’t hurt at all to run, and I haven’t felt any hip pain while running.

Friday - 6.15 Miles – 54:38 – 8:53/mile – HR: 134 – 650ft. elevation gain/loss.

That was a nice easy run again today.  My legs feel fine.  My right glut is feeling better, still some residual minor soreness, and I noticed my right hip/butt feeling slight tiredness at one point in the run, but no pain.  I secretly want to get up early and go run for 4 hours just because (ok I guess its not secret anymore, jun, you’re giving me the bug), but I’m restraining myself on account of…well…prudence I guess.

I was listening to “The Revolution” by Ron Paul for the 2nd time on my run this morning.  I highly recommend reading it for a fresh perspective that doesn’t get much attention unfortunately.

17.02.2010
Hip pain after the last run, feeling better now
categories: FiveFinger Runs, Running Logs
tags:

Had a really great run on Friday.  But after the run, and for the rest of the day my right hip became more and more stiff…BUMMER!

Saturday I was still sore and could feel the inflamed tendon going over my hip socket.  Not cool.

So what did I do wrong?

I think its pretty clear that I just ran too much too soon.  I went from running zero miles 2 weeks ago, to 46 miles in a one week period.  Which is way more than I have ever run in a one week period, and I ran a lot of those miles at a fast pace, then finished myself off with over 2000 feet of climbing on a 2 hour run.

I felt fine going into that last run, so I’m not sure what to do differently for the future.  Other than just watching my weekly mileage and bumping it up more consistently, I’m not sure…any ideas for me?

Here’s what I ran today.

3.63 Miles – 31:28 – 8:40/mile – HR: 142 – Ascent: 408ft

I went out for a really easy short run to see how my hip would feel.

The good news is that I didn’t feel any pain at all!  That was pleasing.

The pain in the tendon right across my hip was gone by Monday morning, but my glut muscles all around there were tight.  Went to my Nan’s ART therapist on Tuesday and I think that stuff was really beneficial.  He recommended I keep running on it and recommended core and hip exercises.  I’m going to run easy again Thursday morning and I will add the core and hip exercises into my routine daily.  I’m pretty happy that it doesn’t appear to be a major injury, just a minor setback and a good learning lesson.

12.02.2010
Goshawk Ridge Trail
categories: FiveFinger Runs, Running Logs, Trail Runs
tags:

This morning I started running right before sunrise and it was a beautiful, calm morning.

I did one of the closest really cool trail runs to my house, about a 10 minute drive.

11.5 Miles – 1:54:38 – 9:58/mile avg – HR: 140 – Ascent/Descent: ~2000 ft

I took a really easy pace today because that’s what felt good, and I had a blast and felt great.  I love trail running.  And the trail was in great condition.  About 1/2 of it was snow covered, but it was packed and really easy to run on.

Near the top of the climbs into the foothills at the top of Goshawk ridge I saw two different groups of deer.  One of them stared me down and acted like it was going to charge me which was weird, usually deer just run away from me…it was only 20-30 feet away, but I think it was just being protective of the younger deer with it.

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