Weekly Training Wrap - 2/17 - 2/23

Huge week for me and lots I could say. I think the table of workouts basically says it all, I mini-tapered for the big event on Saturday and then recovered from it on Sunday. Overall I am really pleased with how the day went. I would say I gave it an 80-85% effort based on the distance and vertical. My heart rate was pretty moderate the entire day (only a few blips of Zone 3 time), which allowed me to remain comfortable and test my nutrition plan. I went with Ucan, plain water, and some Hammer Bars for most of the day. After about 5 hours, I started putting in some gels mostly because they were more convenient and because I wanted some pep to finish strong. I can definitely begin using this technique for some races.

The event (a fat ass put on by Sherpa John and his Human Potential Running Series) was sort of in three parts. The first part was a 10 mile section of trail that took us from the Devil's Backbone Open Space in Loveland to the southern tip of Horsetooth Reservoir. In this section Tony, Chuck, and I just chatted and tried to keep an eye out for the trail so we could find our way back. I dictated the pace for the most part and kept it at what I perceived was easy. We got passed by quite a few runners, but I am guessing many of them did a shorter distances as we didn't finish behind that many people. After a few miles Chuck realized we were on the trails from the Blue Sky Marathon, which was reassuring to me because we didn't print a map. Then I got to run on the famous slanted rock trails everyone talks about from that race. I didn't particularly enjoy that section in either direction. In that same section, Nick Clark passed us wearing some brand new looking Altra Lone Peak. It kind of made me jealous that I wasn't wearing mine. After a bit of climbing, my tummy got briefly upset, but that was the only few miles of discomfort the whole day. The last few miles into the ten-mile aid station were gently downhill and muddy.

The second part of the event was the climb up Towers Road and summit of Horsetooth Mountain. Along Towers Road -- wicked steep, by the way -- we caught up to Trevor and Robbie and chatted for a long while. We eventually made a wrong turn and missed the trail, continuing to ascend Towers Road instead. Then we made another wrong turn and kept going up Towers Road, toward the towers, duh! Robbie got us back on track and we ended up doing kind of a lollipop loop at the top. The trails in the section were very muddy and icy and not particularly fun. Tony, in fact, twisted his ankle and that kind of previewed the rest of his day. Once we made our way down from the top, we hit several junction points in the trail and were not sure what to do. We ended up waiting at one such junction for about 5 minutes for some other runners to catch up and show us the way (we had not come in this way and were confused!). Just before we arrived back at the aid station (this is an out and back event), Tony started giving indications that he was not feeling well and would call it a day. We took a long pit stop and he confirmed he was done when we arrived back at the aid station. At the aid station, I met two gentlemen (Jason and Brandon?) that recognized me and said they had read my blog when training for Leadville. That made me feel good since that is why I put the information out there. I know that I am just a mid-pack runner, but one of my gifts is analyzing the heck of things. If people benefit from that, then I am happy to share it!

Tony stayed behind to catch a ride to the start as Chuck and I resumed our quest to finish the event in the final leg back to the start. In my mind, I figured that "gentle downhill" into the aid station from earlier would feel like a monster climb back out. That's usually how the cruiser downhills feel. While it was tough in spots, we kept a much better pace than I expected and probably ran 95% of this. It was at this point when I decided to hit a few gels just to keep the energy up. We pretty much kept a steady effort the rest of the way mixing in a little hiking and mostly running, matching the grade. This was the heat of the day and the wind picked up a bit and my drink rate probably doubled. I had gone through about 70 oz in the first 22 miles and maybe 50 oz in the last 10 miles. As the miles ticked by, I was fatiguing and my the effort level to keep the pace felt like it was increasing. I knew it was mostly downhill to the finish and was happy to "cruise" in, but it is these waning miles that usually leave me wondering how I can ever run 50 miles or 100 miles. The reality is that your mind is way more powerful than your body. I set out to run 32 miles and the whole day had been framed with that in mind -- pace, nutrition, mental exertion, etc... -- so that was all I had in me that day. Tony, Chuck and I headed to Oskar Blues for some BBQ and beers afterward. It was great run and a great day hanging with very good friends.

The best news is that while I am certainly tired and a bit sore, this felt like the easy effort I was hoping for. I should be good to resume training this week and can knock one more confidence building event off the stack.

Day	Miles	Notes
Monday	10	Easy Miles Yoga
Tuesday	Off	Rest
Wednesday	6	Easy Strength Training
Thursday	7	Light Hill Work
Friday	Off	Rest
Saturday	32	Headless Horsetooth 50K
Sunday	Off	Rest Yoga
Total	55	6600 feet vertical

Weekly Training Wrap - 2/10 - 2/16

Lots to say this week... First of all, I said last week that I was likely to sign up for North Fork 50 this week and I did. My hope is to get fit enough to race that, with a goal somewhere around 9:15 or 9:30. We'll see how my body responds as time goes by.

This week was the first week that I really felt like I was "training" since I returned from surgery. While I have generally been following good principals for increasing mileage, structure, etc..., each week up until now has just been a course of methodically testing my limits and hoping for no setbacks. This week I was on a "plan" with some structure and goals. I managed to run nearly 50 miles in only 5 runs, which is a very good starting point. And I feel very fortunate to be in this position after a near year long struggle in 2013. That said, I feel that my fitness has somewhat stalled out. I haven't seen much progress in the past 4-6 weeks. When I looked back at where I was a year ago, it is mind boggling. I was running sub-8 paces on my hilly neighborhood routes in mostly MAF type efforts. Those same efforts today are more like 8:30 - 8:45 pace.

In an effort to get back on track, I went back and checked my training log to see what I was doing last Winter to prepare for Old Pueblo 50. Honestly, there are only a few things that stand out. The first is that I was returning from my LT100 injury, but I still had an incredible base of miles I was working from. I trained the summer of 2012 like no other time in my life. I averaged 270 miles per month and 37K of vertical in the three months prior to LT100. Wow, those numbers seem unrealistic to me right now. The second thing that stands out is the frequency and consistency of my longs. I was hitting long runs with significant vertical or pace (and some B2Bs) nearly every weekend last Winter. While I cannot change the 6 month layoff due to injury, I can start to increase my frequency and intensity of my long runs. Now that I am officially training, those things should start to just take care of themselves. It started this weekend with a mini-B2B that included a pretty strong effort in the mud and ice at Mt Falcon. My body is not specifically trained for that much vertical right now and I felt it. (Nor am I trained for that crappy footing that comes with mud and ice.)

Day	Miles	Notes
Monday	Off	Yoga
Tuesday	9	Hilly Run w/ 9 Fartleks Strength Training
Wednesday	6	Easy
Thursday	9	Easy/MAF Run Body Weight Strength Training
Friday	Off	Rest
Saturday	14	Mount Falcon
Sunday	10	Recovery/Easy Effort Yoga
Total	48	5900 feet vertical

Weekly Training Wrap - 2/3 - 2/9

Tough week to train in Colorado: low temps, consistent snow falling, and lots of frustration. Due to the weather, I ended up doing quite a bit of road running and two "speed" workouts from McMillan running. Saturday's long run was a "tempo" effort with several miles at marathon pace and all on level terrain. One of the measures of training that I use is based around the time I spend in each HR zone. As a result of the three hard runs this week, I ended with 850 points, which is my highest total since June of 2013. (That phrase "since June" has been appearing in this blog a lot lately...) While I have only been tracking "Trimp Points" for a little over a year, it is my 6th highest total in that span. Long story short, I had a strong week of training. My biggest disappointment is the lack of vertical that went into my week. I will look to improve that this week with either some trail runs or hilly runs in my neighborhood.

This week my six month milestone since surgery passed. There is nothing magical except the reassurance that I should be full speed by this point. It is a milestone worth celebrating, but I have constant reminders that I am a work in progress. Nonetheless, this week I will likely round out my race schedule by signing up for one final event -- the North Fork 50 mile race in June. I will wait for things to unfold, but my preliminary thought is to make that my "A" race for the year and just enjoy the Bear 100.

Day	Miles	Notes
Monday	Off	Yoga
Tuesday	7	TM - Pyramid Strength Training
Wednesday	5	Easy
Thursday	7	TM - Lab Rat Strength Training
Friday	4	Easy
Saturday	18	Tempo Long Run
Sunday	6	Easy
Total	47	3000 feet vertical

Weekly Training Wrap - 1/27 - 2/2

The week started a little slow as I continued to recover from my virus from the week prior. Finally, on Wednesday, my body started sending signals that things were normal. I ended up running six days and put together a decent week. My left leg (knee) is starting to find a new normal, but I am always cautious as I try to include some weights and other sources of training stress. Winter is also really starting to weigh on me. Motivation is more of a concern right now than health. While March is an up and down month weather-wise, February is the toughest Winter month to preserver through. I'll just keep grinding a day at a time.

I finished the month of January with about 170 miles and a little over 15K of vertical. Both are about 20% behind my monthly average to get to my goal of 2500 miles and 215K for the year. I am neither surprise nor concerned that I am a bit behind right now. My hope is to approach the entire year like one long race, start slowly and just keep gaining momentum. Things like nutrition and fat efficiency are coming back slowly. Overall, I feel like my paces are pretty far behind, but I have done relatively little speed work the past few months. Of course the constant variation in weather makes that somewhat hard to measure.

Day	Miles	Notes
Monday	Off	Rest Strength Training
Tuesday	7	Easy w/ Strides
Wednesday	6	Easy
Thursday	9	Progression Strength Training
Friday	5	Snow Run
Saturday	14	Snowy Long Run
Sunday	7	Easy
Total	48	3300 feet vertical

Weekly Training Wrap - 1/20 - 1/26

Tough week. Early in the week I started feeling a cold/virus coming on and by midweek I felt steamrolled. By Thursday, I was sleeping in a fetal position under the covers and shaking. This has to be the worst I have felt since the week before I ran my first 50 mile race -- Leadville SR in 2011. I am very fatigued, congested, and have lost five pounds. After three days of rest, I tried to make a comeback on the weekend and felt sluggish and tired both days. Despite super easy paces, my HR was about 10 beats per minute too high for each run. Good thing these kinds of weeks don't happen often. The other good thing was that I had a chance to bank some good early week miles with Monday being MLK day.

The positive thing happening is that my knee is feeling pretty strong and there have been no setbacks despite pushing an average 35 miles per week for two months now. I am starting to want to push toward 50 miles per week and possibly six days of training. In fact, I had hoped to do that last week before I got sick. To make up for the additional running, I am going to try to do a little cross training each day instead of scheduling days for it. The goal would be to do fifteen to thirty minutes or four to six exercises five or so days a week.  I can easily fit this kind of work in while I watch TV or at lunch or whatever -- it is just a question of making it a priority. I guess that is always the case with cross training. Another goal is to make sure I am doing it in a way where I am not sore all the time.

Day	Miles	Notes
Monday	10	Ridgeline Trails
Tuesday	7	Easy/Base
Wednesday	Off	Strength Training
Thursday	Off	Rest
Friday	Off	Rest
Saturday	7	Easy/Sluggish
Sunday	11	Easy/Sluggish
Total	36

Altra Lone Peak 1.0 Review

I have been wearing Altra shoes for over a year with some ups and down. In general, I really like their shoes, primarily their flag ship shoes -- Instinct and Lone Peak. (My primary complaint is the somewhat regular quality problems with some of their newer makes and 1.5 models.)  But I have wide feet and love me a wide toe box. No one does wide toe boxes like Altra. No one. When I purchased my Lone Peak last Summer, I intended for them to be my ultra length trail shoe.  Due to injury, have not had much of a chance to test them out until the past few months. Out on a run today, I decided I should write up my thoughts on these great shoes.

A little background first, I have been trail running for three years now and have yet to find a shoe I love on the trails. I am a relatively large runner and generate quite a lot of force coming down onto sharp/pointy objects, but I still prefer a shoe with some ground feel and responsiveness. The shoe I first tried was the New Balance MT101. That shoe was a home run and I ran 50 miles pretty much out of the box with them. They completely redesigned it when they made the MT110 and it was never the same (primarily due to the lateral build up that gave my post-tib fits). My next shoe choice was Brooks Pure Grit. I love everything about that shoe -- some cushion, minimal upper, no real features -- but my feet took a pounding during the San Juan Solstice 50 without a rock plate.

Later that same Summer (2012), I began a serious hunt for trail shoe to get me through the Leadville 100. My requirements were that the shoe be minimal enough to give me a feel without unnecessary features and weight while having a beefy enough platform to protect my feet. One of the members of the Leadville 100 User Group board suggested the Lone Peaks. If only I had listened.... Instead, I went with some Saucony Peregrine and wound up with horrible underfoot blisters in two ultras in them.

At long last I got some Lone Peak....

The Positives:

• The best thing I can say is that they are a very comfortable shoe for hours on end
• Lugs are responsive for most conditions, including snow and ice
• A very good "stone guard" and plenty of cushion
• Weight is 10 oz, but they don't feel heavy or "clunky" me
• The price is not bad, though I have to love a shoe for $115
• Maintain some ground feel, primarily sockless and without the footbed
• With the footbed and the optional Altra Stability Wedge, the shoe suddenly has quite a bit of cushion (25-27 mm) and some stability. This could be beneficial in the late stages of a 100.
• A responsive and flexible sole for a shoe that is non-minimal and has a rockplate.

The Room for Improvement

• Not great at draining water (improved in the 1.5 model)
• I'd like to see the upper streamlined a bit (maybe a seamless upper) to cut a little weight and dry faster (also improved in the 1.5 model)
• Not sure of the purpose of the mud flap on the back. I am tempted to just cut it off.
• The laces are a bit long, but I used them to create a runner's loop on the last eye lit and really cinch down the midfoot

Overall, I would call this a Goldilocks shoes.

Lugs still look new after 150 miles

Selling the stability wedge separate for any shoe was a brilliant move by Altra

My only signs of wear is some stitching in coming undone inside. Near as I can tell, this won't impact the viability of the shoe.

Ultramarathon Nutrition and Hydration Revisited

Previously I discussed methods for determining how many calories you need to eat during an ultra and various strategies to get there. I believe the method outlined before is still the method used by the majority of the athletes in a race, elites and back-of-the-pack folks alike. But my personal experience has given me some reservations about this strategy.

My primary problem is that I believe I am drinking too much, as much as 24-40 oz per hour. Depending on consuming so many carbs via beverage forces me to drink a ton. Worse, on hot days, the sugar in my beverages leaves me with a feeling of cotton mouth and makes me want to drink more. During the Leadville 100, I was the same weight at the end as the start of my race. And I was urinating every 45 minutes or so, particularly in the middle of the night. If you have followed the work of Tim Noakes in his book Waterlogged, then my description above probably strikes you as excessive and maybe even a little dangerous. Noakes suggests that we should be a little dehydrated and that the dehydrated athletes often do the best by going into a state of temporary dehydration as their body adapts to the stress of racing. Transient dehydration is temporary and our bodies can remain in this state for some time (like 4-8 hours) without being in jeopardy.  And, if we listen to our bodies, we'll probably become thirsty and forced to slow down at about 2% dehydration. The mantra among those that follow Noakes has become "drink to thirst" and forget salt. (While Noakes suggests salt is not necessary, he acknowledges that moderate amounts don't hurt either.)

The other problem that I have with the previously laid out nutrition plan is that I am a relatively large athlete. My 190+ pound racing weight translates into a very difficult to accomplish goal of 350-400 calories per hour in a long race. Not much tastes that good and cramming in 400 calories is awful during race conditions. And, many of the high carbohydrate sources begin to give athletes GI problems in portions that high over long enough time periods. These GI problems are individual to everyone, but it is not uncommon to experience them during or after a race.

Enter the "Holy Grail" of nutrition plans, as described by Ben Greenfield. A similar strategy was used by Jason Schlarb to win the Run Rabbit 100 this past September, where he reportedly ate only 1500 Kcals in 17 hours! Sure, he probably weighs 135 pounds and runs 100+ miles a week, but still, that is ridiculously low. Also, see Timothy Olsen's nutrition plan.

So what is this Holy Grail plan? The summary is that you go into extreme fat burning mode and consume only the most slow burning carbs (such as Generation Ucan*), easy to digest fats, and water. The trouble with sugar or maltodextrin sources of carbs is that they spike your blood sugar, which causes your body to prefer to burn carbs, requiring you eat more carbs. It is a vicious circle. Ben Greenfield also recommends Master Amino Acid Pattern, which I have been taking for over a year. These pills basically provide your body with easy to absorb amino acids that help protein synthesis to stave off central nervous system fatigue and muscle wasting. I use these pills with ANY nutrition strategy. When you put all the pieces of this plan together, it is possible for a well-trained athlete to consume only 100-200 Kcals per hour and perform.

What's the catch and why doesn't everyone do it? Well, the first problem is that your body has to be extremely fat adapted. This typically starts with your everyday diet. Both Ben Greenfield and Jason Schlarb follow a low-carb-high-fat (LCHF) diet. They do not subscribe to the theory that you must eat disproportionate amount of carbs to train at a high level. It can take months to transition to this type of diet, not a small undertaking when you are trying to train for a race. The good news is that I have been following the Paleo diet for nearly two years now, and the Atkins diet before that. So, I am somewhat familiar with low-carb.  Ketosis is a totally different animal. Similarly, training to get to this level of fat adaption is going to feel sluggish for a while. Personally, I like to do 85% of my running across a given year in Zone 1 and Zone 2 to ensure that I am nearly totally aerobic and burning mostly fat. This type of training requires a lot of time (at least 8-12 hours a week when training for a race), a heart rate monitor (and an understanding of what that data means), and extreme patience and discipline.

The other difficulty with this plan is that Generation Ucan is not cheap and not particularly easy to work with. Because it is a super starch, it comes in a really fine powder that is hard to mix, particularly on the run. It also doesn't taste tremendous. Ben Greenfield's solution -- which I aim to try -- is to mix several servings of the plain flavor into a gel like consistency with a flavor adding agent into a small flask/handheld. A flask or handheld should provide many hours of sustained energy in a relatively small container. Take one mouthful every 30 minutes and you are done! Of course, if your plan is to run 100 miles, you'll have to have more of it ready to go in crew stations.

Another viable option, and one I think many people will likely end up doing, is to start with a Ucan based plan for the first half to two thirds of a race and then switch to an "anything that sounds good" plan for the remaining portion of the race.

* A quick little side note to acknowledge that Ucan has many uses and endurance racing is only one of them. Many athletes prefer it as their carbohydrate source for shorter distance racing, CrossFit, etc.. My purpose here is just to illustrate the difficulties facing an athlete that plans to race for longer than a marathon and up to twenty-four hours.