The Frisco Kid, Ken, Nancy and I met at 9PM at Power Line to climb 4 miles to the top of Sugar Loaf Mt...It was a very clear evening and chilly. Upon reaching the top of the Mt. we turned off our head lamps and saw a gazillion stars in the sky. Lot's of shooting stars, planets, the milky way, etc. filled the evening sky. We got in a total of 10 miles and made it back to the hotel at 1:15AM....
Overall a great training camp. Legs and feet are pretty beat up. Hit Massage Envy this evening and will get at least 2 more massages before the 26.2 in Leadville on Saturday am. The plan is to race it hard...assuming I'm feeling good. Lot's more to write and talk about....Cheers!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Day #2 of Training Camp
We got up and met Tim, Ken and Jasmine at the Golden Burro for breakfast at 6:30AM. After having Eggs Benedict over two english muffins and hash browns, we drove out to the Winfield Station side of Hope Pass. I found a nice walking stick and off we went up to summit Ms Hope....a 2.5 mile hike up the mountain. I began having flashbacks of going back over Hope after the 50 mile turnaround at Winfield Station. My mistake last year was making to Winfield in 11 hours...burned way too much glycogen...which left me spent as I went back up and over Hope. Today it took us about 1:12 to summit Hope and 45 minutes to get back down. There was a lot of snow still on the mountain. See the pics below...
As we made our first climb it was a challenge on "fresh" legs to get up the mountain side. Even though I am feeling pretty well acclimated it was hard. Using two poles this year will be a must, to save the legs. As we approached the summit the wind was gusting at 30-40MPH's and the temperature dropped. So we went from burning up to be very chilled. I snapped a few photos as noted below and then hustled back down the mountain side.
My right foot arch was sore but felt better as the day went on. My quads really felt the burn from the descent and I made a mental note not to bomb the hill like I did last year, using precious glycogen reserves and generating lactic acid that is very tough to recover from.
After making it to the bottom of Hope we decided not to run 3 miles up to Winfield Station and 3 miles back on the hot and dusty roads, but instead we took a 5 minute break, fueled up at the aid station at the base and began a second attempt at reaching the top of Hope. The legs were sore, breathing was more if a challenge but we kept a pretty good pace, about 10 minutes slower than first trip up. As we got about 3/4 of the way up I had to chow down an orange shot block to get my sodium and electrolytes. I skipped taking the endurolytes today as they made me very nauseous yesterday, which I'm told is due to the fact that they contain magnesium and its difficult to digest. So today I gave it the test, no endurolytes and I felt good.
As we approached Hope Pass for the second time Ken Clober was at the top and we snapped a photo of Tim, Ken and I overlooking the snow fields going down Hope and into Twin Lakes. The wind was merciless at the top so we didn't monkey around and began our descent back down the mountain. Tim decided to set the pace which was an all out assault on the mountain. I kept with him for 2/3 of the way and then decided that I should take it easy and avoid an injury. This strategy decided to be a good one. I let Tim go and he took a nasty little fall, but that honey badger don't give a shit, he got up and kept running.
There were several parts of the trail today that were still covered in snow and so we had to traverse two of the snow fields which was pretty sketchy and scary and the other we circumvented by making our own trails straight up the mountain side, which was like doing leg presses...really got the heart beating. By this time my watch crapped out so I couldn't see my HR, which was probably a good thing.
We made it back down the mountain. A total of 5 miles of ascent and 5 mile of descent....that was hard and my legs were talking to me... All of us went down to Vicksburg, about 1 mile down the wash board gravel/dirt road for grilled chicken, chips and a couple of beers. Then headed back to the hotel to shower, ice down and rest up before the night run at 9PM this evening :)
More to follow...so far so good...a little beat up, but that's the point of this weekend...challenge yourself and get your head in the game cuz in less than 60 days it's the REAL DEAL.
Cheers!
As we made our first climb it was a challenge on "fresh" legs to get up the mountain side. Even though I am feeling pretty well acclimated it was hard. Using two poles this year will be a must, to save the legs. As we approached the summit the wind was gusting at 30-40MPH's and the temperature dropped. So we went from burning up to be very chilled. I snapped a few photos as noted below and then hustled back down the mountain side.
My right foot arch was sore but felt better as the day went on. My quads really felt the burn from the descent and I made a mental note not to bomb the hill like I did last year, using precious glycogen reserves and generating lactic acid that is very tough to recover from.
After making it to the bottom of Hope we decided not to run 3 miles up to Winfield Station and 3 miles back on the hot and dusty roads, but instead we took a 5 minute break, fueled up at the aid station at the base and began a second attempt at reaching the top of Hope. The legs were sore, breathing was more if a challenge but we kept a pretty good pace, about 10 minutes slower than first trip up. As we got about 3/4 of the way up I had to chow down an orange shot block to get my sodium and electrolytes. I skipped taking the endurolytes today as they made me very nauseous yesterday, which I'm told is due to the fact that they contain magnesium and its difficult to digest. So today I gave it the test, no endurolytes and I felt good.
As we approached Hope Pass for the second time Ken Clober was at the top and we snapped a photo of Tim, Ken and I overlooking the snow fields going down Hope and into Twin Lakes. The wind was merciless at the top so we didn't monkey around and began our descent back down the mountain. Tim decided to set the pace which was an all out assault on the mountain. I kept with him for 2/3 of the way and then decided that I should take it easy and avoid an injury. This strategy decided to be a good one. I let Tim go and he took a nasty little fall, but that honey badger don't give a shit, he got up and kept running.
There were several parts of the trail today that were still covered in snow and so we had to traverse two of the snow fields which was pretty sketchy and scary and the other we circumvented by making our own trails straight up the mountain side, which was like doing leg presses...really got the heart beating. By this time my watch crapped out so I couldn't see my HR, which was probably a good thing.
We made it back down the mountain. A total of 5 miles of ascent and 5 mile of descent....that was hard and my legs were talking to me... All of us went down to Vicksburg, about 1 mile down the wash board gravel/dirt road for grilled chicken, chips and a couple of beers. Then headed back to the hotel to shower, ice down and rest up before the night run at 9PM this evening :)
More to follow...so far so good...a little beat up, but that's the point of this weekend...challenge yourself and get your head in the game cuz in less than 60 days it's the REAL DEAL.
Cheers!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Training Camp Day #1 Results
The day started early with breakfast and a bus ride to Mayqueen Campground.....My run began at a pretty slow pace today, with Tim taking some video footage. The trails were a bit muddy due to the run off. Feet really didn't get too wet today despite the water. The pic below is early in the day as we were climbing Sugarloaf with great views of Mayqueen and Turquoise Lake.
The day was warm and windy. My HR for the first 10 miles didn't go much above 115BPM. I felt really good, but must say going slow is painful...but too fast creates an unrecoverable glycogen deficit.
Inventory of the day....Feet and ankles....right arch either bruised or strained. Calfs and Achilles......calfs good right achilles lower is a little sore. Hamstrings...no issues. Quads and knees....a little beat up but no apparent injuries. Core...very good. Shoulders and back....sore but not a real bad sore. Face is wind burned, but not sun burned as I wore my visor, sunglasses lip block and sun block.
We grabbed a bag of ice and I iced down both legs up to my knees in a garbage can...ouch...that stings...but worth it!
Decided to skip the organized dinner and went to the local italian joint for some pasta, bread and a couple of glasses of wine. We then went to the saloon to watch USA mens team gets their asses whipped by Mexico 4-2 in the Gold Cup. In bed by 10PM and prepared to meet for breakfast at the Golden Burro for a solid breakfast before my date with Ms Hope.
An overall solid day of training. It was good to run from May Queen to Twin Lakes, through Tree Line and Half Moon. As I passed through Half Moon I gave it the finger. My first time back through that area since I was carted off last year. The climb out to Twin Lakes and the descent reminded just how tough it is on 60 mile legs to take on this sort of climb. My mental game was not prepared for this last year....this year I am getting prepared.
Looking forward to training on Sunday......
Cheers!
The day was warm and windy. My HR for the first 10 miles didn't go much above 115BPM. I felt really good, but must say going slow is painful...but too fast creates an unrecoverable glycogen deficit.
Inventory of the day....Feet and ankles....right arch either bruised or strained. Calfs and Achilles......calfs good right achilles lower is a little sore. Hamstrings...no issues. Quads and knees....a little beat up but no apparent injuries. Core...very good. Shoulders and back....sore but not a real bad sore. Face is wind burned, but not sun burned as I wore my visor, sunglasses lip block and sun block.
We grabbed a bag of ice and I iced down both legs up to my knees in a garbage can...ouch...that stings...but worth it!
Decided to skip the organized dinner and went to the local italian joint for some pasta, bread and a couple of glasses of wine. We then went to the saloon to watch USA mens team gets their asses whipped by Mexico 4-2 in the Gold Cup. In bed by 10PM and prepared to meet for breakfast at the Golden Burro for a solid breakfast before my date with Ms Hope.
An overall solid day of training. It was good to run from May Queen to Twin Lakes, through Tree Line and Half Moon. As I passed through Half Moon I gave it the finger. My first time back through that area since I was carted off last year. The climb out to Twin Lakes and the descent reminded just how tough it is on 60 mile legs to take on this sort of climb. My mental game was not prepared for this last year....this year I am getting prepared.
Looking forward to training on Sunday......
Cheers!
Leadville Training Camp
It's 5:30AM in Leadville....it's daybreak but the sun hasn't hit Mt Massive or Albert yet. Going to hop in the shower and get prepared for the 25 miles in front of us all today. They are expecting north of 150 runners today at the Leadville Training Camp. Got everything organized last night. On the ride up Francisco and I stopped in Frisco and grabbed a nice pasta lunch and last night we sucked down a pizza and took one to go. We'll be devouring that pizza on the run today.
It's a postcard day....when we get to the top of Sugarloaf I'll be taking pics and texting them out. Looking forward to a great day of training. I've got my pulsometer to test my oxygen levels in my blood....my Garmin...so getting a little more scientific this year. More to follow.....
Cheers!
It's a postcard day....when we get to the top of Sugarloaf I'll be taking pics and texting them out. Looking forward to a great day of training. I've got my pulsometer to test my oxygen levels in my blood....my Garmin...so getting a little more scientific this year. More to follow.....
Cheers!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Headed to Pbville for the Weekend
Picking up Francisco at the airport in the am and then headed up to Leadville for weekend of great training. Getting in 25 miles on both saturday and sunday am and hopefully a night run on sunday as well for at least another 10 miles.
Got a fabulous massage this evening....feeling good, well rested. Shoulder still beat up but will take it easy.....thinking about bringing the mountain bike...hmmmmm....what to do???
Anyways, will take lots of pics..
Cheers!
Got a fabulous massage this evening....feeling good, well rested. Shoulder still beat up but will take it easy.....thinking about bringing the mountain bike...hmmmmm....what to do???
Anyways, will take lots of pics..
Cheers!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Great Altitude Training
Yesterday got up early to watch the sunrise in Estes Park.....while getting in an 8 mile run. My last run for the week was very scenic, up the fore roads that led to the top of Prospect Mountain. See pics below for 360 views of Estes Park. The first pic was taken from the front deck. We have no neighbors visible where we are at. To get to the house we had to come up several switch backs....my favorite......reminded me of...oh never mind.....no RV this time.
The main pic for the blog was taken this morning on my 18 mile run..before descending into the "Devils Gulch"...It was a 4 hour run with stoppage time of about 10 minutes....felt pretty sluggish...poor nutrition. No injuries at this point....planning on only very short runs this week leading up to the Leadville Training camp. Last week got in a little over 30 miles, all but 5 on trails and all at at least 5,200 ft of altitude. THe plan is to focus on stretching for flexibility and glut/hip/calf/quad strengthening this week. Will head up to Leadville on Friday.
Starting the week with an 18 mile run and will most likely get in another 15 in total before Leadville will result in the longest training week with about 58 miles in total, with another 25 miles on Sunday morning....so overall a big week...so lots of rest this week and good nutrition.....we're 60 days out from the LT100.
Cheers!
The main pic for the blog was taken this morning on my 18 mile run..before descending into the "Devils Gulch"...It was a 4 hour run with stoppage time of about 10 minutes....felt pretty sluggish...poor nutrition. No injuries at this point....planning on only very short runs this week leading up to the Leadville Training camp. Last week got in a little over 30 miles, all but 5 on trails and all at at least 5,200 ft of altitude. THe plan is to focus on stretching for flexibility and glut/hip/calf/quad strengthening this week. Will head up to Leadville on Friday.
Starting the week with an 18 mile run and will most likely get in another 15 in total before Leadville will result in the longest training week with about 58 miles in total, with another 25 miles on Sunday morning....so overall a big week...so lots of rest this week and good nutrition.....we're 60 days out from the LT100.
Cheers!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Green Mountain Trail Run....
Made it out of the office at around 6:30PM and headed out through the Denver traffic to Green Mountain for an 8 mile trail run. It was 90F in Denver and about 80F up in the foothills. I wasn't the only one with this idea today....lot's of runners and mtn bikers out yesterday. I took Monday off from any training to rest, getting 8 hrs of sleep both Monday and Tuesday night...much needed rest. My left IT band and knee have been acting up a little bit...nothing significant and my left outside foot is a little sore as well. I need to be very careful not to "over train" as I prepare for Leadville. Last week was my biggest training week with over 50 miles of running so I'm thinking that I will back off the miles this week to 30-35.
On Tuesday I ran an easy 4 miles, 2 on the treadmill and 2 outside and then did calf raises and glutes at 24HRF. Tried to keep it simple and not too much of a beating on the body. Also, had my first massage since my spectacular mtn bike crash. It was outstanding, as usual. The muscles all around my scapula were pretty twisted and knotted. Hoping that by next week I'll be feeling stronger on my right side. There is still quite a bit of pain.
The pics below are of the Green Mountain landscape as I was chasing down the sun over the Rockies. Since my crash I've had to be extremely careful not to take a spill on the trails while running. This requires an intense amount of concentration as you run down the trails with your eyes never leaving the trails. Usually this is a bad thing as you can't really enjoy the beauty of your surroundings as you run. Well today this was a good thing.....at 5 miles into my run across the trail was a big old rattle snake stretched across the trail...not cool at all....was pretty shocked so I didn't even think to take a picture....hopefully I won't experience that again. Anyways it was a good run, no injuries...got back to the hotel and had my usual salad with salmon and 2 glasses of wine.
The family will be arriving this afternoon.....yea!! Doing some fishing, hiking and horseback riding up in Estes Park....very excited!!!!
On Tuesday I ran an easy 4 miles, 2 on the treadmill and 2 outside and then did calf raises and glutes at 24HRF. Tried to keep it simple and not too much of a beating on the body. Also, had my first massage since my spectacular mtn bike crash. It was outstanding, as usual. The muscles all around my scapula were pretty twisted and knotted. Hoping that by next week I'll be feeling stronger on my right side. There is still quite a bit of pain.
The pics below are of the Green Mountain landscape as I was chasing down the sun over the Rockies. Since my crash I've had to be extremely careful not to take a spill on the trails while running. This requires an intense amount of concentration as you run down the trails with your eyes never leaving the trails. Usually this is a bad thing as you can't really enjoy the beauty of your surroundings as you run. Well today this was a good thing.....at 5 miles into my run across the trail was a big old rattle snake stretched across the trail...not cool at all....was pretty shocked so I didn't even think to take a picture....hopefully I won't experience that again. Anyways it was a good run, no injuries...got back to the hotel and had my usual salad with salmon and 2 glasses of wine.
The family will be arriving this afternoon.....yea!! Doing some fishing, hiking and horseback riding up in Estes Park....very excited!!!!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Visit to Leadville
After leaving Leadville in the middle of the night after my brief stay at St Vincent's last year, I made it back this Saturday night to check out the snow situation, begin the acclimatization process and hike 9 miles up to 11,500 ft of altitude. It was great to be back in Leadville to see the good folks at the coffee shop, italian restaurant and the Delaware Hotel.
The weather was a balmy 60F which felt like 75F in the afternoon sun. The scenery was nothing short of spectacular. Check out some of the pic s below.....
Ken, Nancy and I went out at 8:45AM on Sunday and went to the base of the power line to hike it. Round trip it was about a 9 mile trek. The views of the snow cap peaks, the sunshine and oh yeah.....the lack of oxygen made fun a fun day. My HR shot up immediately for the first 30 minutes and then settled into about 130BPM hiking up the power line. 1/2 way up we encountered snow which average between 3 to 4ft deep. We were able to successfully hike through most of it with an occasional 3 foot drop into soft snow. When we peaked the summit we hit 11,500 ft and had an unbelievable view of Leadville. We ran across a large grouse at the peak as well. It was really very cool. The day was focused on acclimating as well as getting in a hike, not run as my quads were still beat up from the 50k the day before...not to mention the IT bands...ouch!
After the hike I drove out to Twin Lakes to see my girl Hope....she was covered in snow...the lake was dry as it prepared for an epic snow melt over the next 2 weeks (see pic below). Then got back to Pbville and took a 2 hour nap and then worked in the lobby of the Delaware getting ready for the week ahead of me. I didn't sleep very well due to my shoulder/ribs as well as an elevated HR from the altitude...which is pretty normal. I got up this morning at 5AM got organized, went to Provin Grounds for a cup of coffee and finish up some items for work. At 8AM I made my way out towards Weston Pass to see Marge Hickman (a 15X finisher of the LT100) to drop off a check and see the house that I rented for the month of August. The house is in God's country and the views are breath taking....or maybe that was the altitude. I'm very excited about the coming months of being in Leadville to train. It's hard to understand unless you are there to really appreciate this part of the country.
This week the familia is coming into Denver and we're headed up to Estes Park...looking forward to it...should be a ton of fun. Tonight doing laundry and hitting the hot tub to loosen up and then up early to hit the trails near white ranch to do a 8 mile loop before going to work....lot's to do...so little time.
Cheers!
The weather was a balmy 60F which felt like 75F in the afternoon sun. The scenery was nothing short of spectacular. Check out some of the pic s below.....
Ken, Nancy and I went out at 8:45AM on Sunday and went to the base of the power line to hike it. Round trip it was about a 9 mile trek. The views of the snow cap peaks, the sunshine and oh yeah.....the lack of oxygen made fun a fun day. My HR shot up immediately for the first 30 minutes and then settled into about 130BPM hiking up the power line. 1/2 way up we encountered snow which average between 3 to 4ft deep. We were able to successfully hike through most of it with an occasional 3 foot drop into soft snow. When we peaked the summit we hit 11,500 ft and had an unbelievable view of Leadville. We ran across a large grouse at the peak as well. It was really very cool. The day was focused on acclimating as well as getting in a hike, not run as my quads were still beat up from the 50k the day before...not to mention the IT bands...ouch!
After the hike I drove out to Twin Lakes to see my girl Hope....she was covered in snow...the lake was dry as it prepared for an epic snow melt over the next 2 weeks (see pic below). Then got back to Pbville and took a 2 hour nap and then worked in the lobby of the Delaware getting ready for the week ahead of me. I didn't sleep very well due to my shoulder/ribs as well as an elevated HR from the altitude...which is pretty normal. I got up this morning at 5AM got organized, went to Provin Grounds for a cup of coffee and finish up some items for work. At 8AM I made my way out towards Weston Pass to see Marge Hickman (a 15X finisher of the LT100) to drop off a check and see the house that I rented for the month of August. The house is in God's country and the views are breath taking....or maybe that was the altitude. I'm very excited about the coming months of being in Leadville to train. It's hard to understand unless you are there to really appreciate this part of the country.
This week the familia is coming into Denver and we're headed up to Estes Park...looking forward to it...should be a ton of fun. Tonight doing laundry and hitting the hot tub to loosen up and then up early to hit the trails near white ranch to do a 8 mile loop before going to work....lot's to do...so little time.
Cheers!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Flat Irons 50k......Wow!
Got up yesterday at 4AM, showered and hit the road to pick up Tim at 5AM so we could make it the trail head of the Flat Irons before 6AM. The Flat Irons, named for their obvious shape, are located between Golden and Boulder CO. We arrived shortly after sunrise with the sun lighting them up. Off in the distance we counted 15 hot air balloons, pretty cool.
I was concerned about attempting to run 30 miles on very technical (aka, dangerous) trails with plenty of opportunities to bust your ass. I didn't know how my, lungs, ribs, shoulder, et al would handle a challenging run. Even on my best day this course is a challenge. With almost 20,000 feet of ascending and descending the whole body was in for a beating.
We hit the trails at 6AM...on a rocky rather flat/rolling trail that brought us to thebase of the flat irons. From there we began climbing the switchbacks to traverse the back side of the mountain. At mile 8 we came upon the park station where we fueled up and reloaded our water packs.
My camel back holds 100oz of water, which I filled to about 70oz. It took us 2 hours to get to the park station where I had probably only drank about 40oz. I filled it back up to 70oz and we headed out on a 14 mile lollipop route. The route provided a lot of shade and we were only exposed for about 1 hour in the direct sun. We ran in and out of it up and down and down and up the trails. The course was nothing short of a challenge. I was very tense for fear of falling and really messing up my ribs/shoulder. As a result I found myself carefully choosing every step and not taking my eyes off of the trail.....which when you stop causes you to become very dizzy.
As far as nutrition, I religiously took 2 amino acids and 3 enduralytes every hour. For breakfast I had 2 cold slices of pizza and a water along with 2 hammer pre race supplements. I managed to consume about 250-300 calories an hour, mostly in the form of gels and shot blocks. At mile 22 when we stopped at the aid station I ate another piece of pizza and about 7-8 chips ahoy cookies. I only had a couple of times that I felt glycogen lows but overall managed my blood sugar well.
My heart rate throughout the day was pretty good. I started the day huffing and puffing and my HR shot up to 170 for the first 15 minutes or so and I could not get enough oxygen. After about 45 minute to an hour I settled into a good rhythm and my breathing and HR normalized. It remained under control for most of the day.
I was pretty pleased with how I felt overall. Upon finishing I sucked down my mix of proteins, L glutamine, glucosamine and recoverite. Before going to bed last night took additional amino acids, antioxidants and tissue rebuilders from hammer. Not too sore, other than both IT bands are really tight and my should/ribs were pretty beat up - but not too badly.
I made it into Leadville last night around 6PM after stopping and picking up some elk jerky which I ate today...all of it. I had dinner at the local italian restaurant where I had the same server as last year, Christy, who paced a runner last year and will do so again this year in the 100 trail run. After loading up on pasta I sucked down a few coors lights at the local watering hole and hit the rack. After tossing and turning from the altitude I noticed that Carla had returned from her girls night out, so I skyped her chatted a while, saw my little pups and then fell fast asleep...till I woke up to an accelerated HR at 6AM due to the altitude.....It was a spectacular day in Leadville today other than my injuries are wearing my ass out right now...I'll blog about it with some awesome pics tomorrow. Going to sleep while my body begins to manufacture the much needed additional red blood cells!
Cheers!
I was concerned about attempting to run 30 miles on very technical (aka, dangerous) trails with plenty of opportunities to bust your ass. I didn't know how my, lungs, ribs, shoulder, et al would handle a challenging run. Even on my best day this course is a challenge. With almost 20,000 feet of ascending and descending the whole body was in for a beating.
We hit the trails at 6AM...on a rocky rather flat/rolling trail that brought us to thebase of the flat irons. From there we began climbing the switchbacks to traverse the back side of the mountain. At mile 8 we came upon the park station where we fueled up and reloaded our water packs.
My camel back holds 100oz of water, which I filled to about 70oz. It took us 2 hours to get to the park station where I had probably only drank about 40oz. I filled it back up to 70oz and we headed out on a 14 mile lollipop route. The route provided a lot of shade and we were only exposed for about 1 hour in the direct sun. We ran in and out of it up and down and down and up the trails. The course was nothing short of a challenge. I was very tense for fear of falling and really messing up my ribs/shoulder. As a result I found myself carefully choosing every step and not taking my eyes off of the trail.....which when you stop causes you to become very dizzy.
As far as nutrition, I religiously took 2 amino acids and 3 enduralytes every hour. For breakfast I had 2 cold slices of pizza and a water along with 2 hammer pre race supplements. I managed to consume about 250-300 calories an hour, mostly in the form of gels and shot blocks. At mile 22 when we stopped at the aid station I ate another piece of pizza and about 7-8 chips ahoy cookies. I only had a couple of times that I felt glycogen lows but overall managed my blood sugar well.
My heart rate throughout the day was pretty good. I started the day huffing and puffing and my HR shot up to 170 for the first 15 minutes or so and I could not get enough oxygen. After about 45 minute to an hour I settled into a good rhythm and my breathing and HR normalized. It remained under control for most of the day.
I was pretty pleased with how I felt overall. Upon finishing I sucked down my mix of proteins, L glutamine, glucosamine and recoverite. Before going to bed last night took additional amino acids, antioxidants and tissue rebuilders from hammer. Not too sore, other than both IT bands are really tight and my should/ribs were pretty beat up - but not too badly.
I made it into Leadville last night around 6PM after stopping and picking up some elk jerky which I ate today...all of it. I had dinner at the local italian restaurant where I had the same server as last year, Christy, who paced a runner last year and will do so again this year in the 100 trail run. After loading up on pasta I sucked down a few coors lights at the local watering hole and hit the rack. After tossing and turning from the altitude I noticed that Carla had returned from her girls night out, so I skyped her chatted a while, saw my little pups and then fell fast asleep...till I woke up to an accelerated HR at 6AM due to the altitude.....It was a spectacular day in Leadville today other than my injuries are wearing my ass out right now...I'll blog about it with some awesome pics tomorrow. Going to sleep while my body begins to manufacture the much needed additional red blood cells!
Cheers!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Hitting theTrails.....
Today is going to be a long day of training....I've got my cold pizza packed, cookies, 70oz camelback, sunscreen, gels, enduralytes, amino acids and shot blocks along with post run drink and Alleve. Plan on playing it safe today and going to enjoy the views, take some pics and chill....
Grabbing a quick shower then off to pick up Tim Engel at 5AM....currently 54F...highs of 77F expected with potential thunderstorms.
Cheers!
Grabbing a quick shower then off to pick up Tim Engel at 5AM....currently 54F...highs of 77F expected with potential thunderstorms.
Cheers!
Friday, June 10, 2011
DTR Run at Mt Falcon
Yesterday made it up to Mt Falcon, near Evergreen, for the 6:15PM run at 7,500ft of altitude. It was my first run since my bad bike crash. I felt pretty sore running and breathing was difficult. Thinking that the first run at this altitude was the primary reason and my injured shoulder/lung was the secondary. We ran a little over 5 miles which brought my total weekly miles up to about 18.
I had a pretty rough night as my shoulder gave me a lot of trouble. So I got up at 4:30AM, skyped Carla at 5:00AM took a shower and got ready for work, but not before picking up my iphone from a very nice lady that found it in the road yesterday.
I'm eating better this week as I try to drop a few pounds getting back into a real workout routine. This evening I went to 24HRF to get in a light 2 mile run and stretch out. Did some laundry at the hotel and grabbed some pasta to fuel up for our 28-30 mile run tomorrow beginning at 6AM. The course has 20,000 feet of elevation gain and loss, so it's going to be a tough tough day. If I have to walk it, I will. Not planning on setting any land speed records.
I plan on taking some pics with the Iphone for my blog. Post run the plan is to drive up to Leadville to get in a 10 mile run at 10,000 ft of altitude. Nothing major just running some rather flat trails. Getting up at 4AM - so hitting the rack early...Cheers!
I had a pretty rough night as my shoulder gave me a lot of trouble. So I got up at 4:30AM, skyped Carla at 5:00AM took a shower and got ready for work, but not before picking up my iphone from a very nice lady that found it in the road yesterday.
I'm eating better this week as I try to drop a few pounds getting back into a real workout routine. This evening I went to 24HRF to get in a light 2 mile run and stretch out. Did some laundry at the hotel and grabbed some pasta to fuel up for our 28-30 mile run tomorrow beginning at 6AM. The course has 20,000 feet of elevation gain and loss, so it's going to be a tough tough day. If I have to walk it, I will. Not planning on setting any land speed records.
I plan on taking some pics with the Iphone for my blog. Post run the plan is to drive up to Leadville to get in a 10 mile run at 10,000 ft of altitude. Nothing major just running some rather flat trails. Getting up at 4AM - so hitting the rack early...Cheers!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Good News From the Dr
Sunday was a day of rest per se.....got in a 6.5 mile power walk yesterday at a 15 minute per mile pace. It was good to get out and get in a work out. Today got up early to take Jack to bball camp and then to the office for a series of calls before my 10:30 orthopedic dr visit as a follow up from last Tuesday's crash. He checked out the tapes and told me that my scapula is a good bone to break because it heals very quickly due to the amount of blood flow to it...which is why I'm so bruised. My ribs will also be healed in a couple of weeks, however the cartilage is much slower and will take months. Massage therapy will help as will stretching - which I will do both. The separated shoulder will take some time and I'll just need to ice and take it easy...no bike for a while.
This evening I managed to get in a 5 mile power walk and was pretty sore in my ribs...tomorrow is another day. Will take some Alleve in the morning and get a massage tomorrow...and just some strength training of the legs. This weekend headed to Leadville to train at altitude....need to manufacture some extra red blood cells.
Dr Stark basically gave me the green light today to start back training, with caution and limit it to work outs that do not jar the shoulder....stationary bike and hiking or a light jog....Hoping by next weekend I feel appreciably better so I can get in 10-12 hour hikes each day.....
Keeping the faith..Cheers!
This evening I managed to get in a 5 mile power walk and was pretty sore in my ribs...tomorrow is another day. Will take some Alleve in the morning and get a massage tomorrow...and just some strength training of the legs. This weekend headed to Leadville to train at altitude....need to manufacture some extra red blood cells.
Dr Stark basically gave me the green light today to start back training, with caution and limit it to work outs that do not jar the shoulder....stationary bike and hiking or a light jog....Hoping by next weekend I feel appreciably better so I can get in 10-12 hour hikes each day.....
Keeping the faith..Cheers!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Feeling Better.....
Woke up this am after a restless night of sleeping. It's difficult to find a comfortable position when your ribs and shoulder blade is all jacked up. Nevertheless I managed to get in about 8 hours of sleep and woke up pretty stiff. I popped a couple of Alleve, sucked down a bottle of water and 2 cups of java and was inspired to head to the gym.
No running today, just 3.5 miles of walking at a 10 degree incline at 3.7MPH on the treadmill. The first 20 minutes were interestingly similar to how I felt after I cracked a couple of ribs falling down my stairs when I started back my training out in San Francisco with Daley. I started out feeling really sore but stuck with it and the muscles started to loosen up and by mile 2.5 I was feeling loose and actually pretty good...relatively speaking. What's funny in hindsight.....when I went to SF to train with Daley I had jcked up my ribs 2 weeks prior and was concerned about not being able to run.....so when I got to SF I rented a mountain bike to ride the trails, just in case I couldn't run....glad I could run that day...little did I know or understand how dangerous mountain bikes can be.
Suffice to say, I am switching gears and focusing on the run and going to do the Leadville Silver Rush 50 run instead of the bike. The jury is still out on whether or not I'm going to attempt to do the LT 100 bike the week out from the run....If I crash hard in the LT 100 I'm done for the LT 100 run, as that run is the real deal and you have got to be in peak condition to attempt that baby.
This morning's workout was a good mental exercise and not too rough on the damaged old bones. Going to do the same tomorrow except I'm thinking that I get up early and do a 10 mile speed walk on my normal run route. Also, got in my calf and quad presses today as well. No core for the next week at least, pretty sore still. Taking it easy this afternoon, doing some work on the computer and going to hang at the pool and grab some rays while I finish up a book that I've been trying to get through on Ultrarunning......
Feeling good!
No running today, just 3.5 miles of walking at a 10 degree incline at 3.7MPH on the treadmill. The first 20 minutes were interestingly similar to how I felt after I cracked a couple of ribs falling down my stairs when I started back my training out in San Francisco with Daley. I started out feeling really sore but stuck with it and the muscles started to loosen up and by mile 2.5 I was feeling loose and actually pretty good...relatively speaking. What's funny in hindsight.....when I went to SF to train with Daley I had jcked up my ribs 2 weeks prior and was concerned about not being able to run.....so when I got to SF I rented a mountain bike to ride the trails, just in case I couldn't run....glad I could run that day...little did I know or understand how dangerous mountain bikes can be.
Suffice to say, I am switching gears and focusing on the run and going to do the Leadville Silver Rush 50 run instead of the bike. The jury is still out on whether or not I'm going to attempt to do the LT 100 bike the week out from the run....If I crash hard in the LT 100 I'm done for the LT 100 run, as that run is the real deal and you have got to be in peak condition to attempt that baby.
This morning's workout was a good mental exercise and not too rough on the damaged old bones. Going to do the same tomorrow except I'm thinking that I get up early and do a 10 mile speed walk on my normal run route. Also, got in my calf and quad presses today as well. No core for the next week at least, pretty sore still. Taking it easy this afternoon, doing some work on the computer and going to hang at the pool and grab some rays while I finish up a book that I've been trying to get through on Ultrarunning......
Feeling good!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Temporary Detour......
After work on Tuesday I decided to head up to White Ranch to give the new mountain bike a ride on the trails that I ran the previous week with the DTR's. I arrived at about 6:45PM and was pretty excited to get on the bike and break in the bike. I was so excited that after about a mile or so into the bike ride I realized that I had forgotten to put on my helmet.....a very bad move. So I made a conscious decision to take the trails nice and easy, even walked the bike up several steep ascents and descents for fear of crashing.
Below is a picture of my bike that I sent to Carla as I was at the turn around and decided to head back down the mountain. My text read "...1st official ride...Golden CO...it's hard and dangerous.XO" Realizing that the trails were challenging I took it slow back down the switchbacks. At about 1.5 miles out I was on a sparsely rocky trail with several undulations and I hit a rock on a down hill and flipped my bike and landed on my right shoulder/should blade, as seen in the pic below. I hit with a lot of force and my body absorbed the initial impact with my head snapping to the side hitting the ground, around the area of my temple.
With the wind knocked out of me and my ears ringing all I could think was what a dumb ass I was to be out on the trails by myself and without a helmet. As I laid on my back trying to get oxygen back into my lungs I felt the side of my head to make certain that I wasn't bleeding....fortunately I wasn't.
After a few minutes a guy on a bike came upon me and asked if I was ok and I told him no that I had taken a pretty hard fall and thought that I had broke my shoulder. He helped me to my feet and I gathered my thoughts and went through my birthday and the days events in my head to see how bad my head injury was, again fortunately just a hard knock on the head. He sat there with me for a few minutes when a hiker walked down the trail and we were able to have her walk my bike back to the trail head which was about 1.25 miles from where I had crashed. I made it back to the trailhead/parking lot and a few guys helped put my bike in the car and I drove myself to Denver General ER.
I entered the ER with all of my bike gear on, my face still half dirt from the fall and my right arm being supported by my left as I approached the clerk. The guy at the desk said, "...looks like you went over the handle bars..." a common occurrence in mountain biking I have come to find out. A nurse immediately took me into a room took my vitals and got me checked in and jammed an IV into my arm....no waiting in the waiting room tonight at the ER. Instead I was in the ER side room in a bed from about 9PM till 5AM the following morning. After a series of xrays and CT scans, along with several doses of morphine it was determined that I had a 2 degree separation of my right shoulder, posterior 2 and 3 ribs fractured along with my scapula.
I was actually just happy to be at the ER and getting diagnosed so I could assess my go forward plans with training for Leadville. Obviously very frustrated with the outcome of my first ride on real trails but left with great respect for the bike and trails. I have to say that I am reassessing the whole mountain bike aspect of the Leadville 100 race series and think that I'm going to just simply focus on the run, which is hard enough.
In a bunch of pain right now but optimistic that I will get healed up well enough to start back my training on the treadmill and a stationary bike within the next week.....as they say...time will tell...shit smells...and water seeks its own level.
This only reminds me of our theme song from the Running of the Bulls when I turned 40......"I get get knocked down but I get up again....you're never gonna keep me down...!!!!
Cheers!
Below is a picture of my bike that I sent to Carla as I was at the turn around and decided to head back down the mountain. My text read "...1st official ride...Golden CO...it's hard and dangerous.XO" Realizing that the trails were challenging I took it slow back down the switchbacks. At about 1.5 miles out I was on a sparsely rocky trail with several undulations and I hit a rock on a down hill and flipped my bike and landed on my right shoulder/should blade, as seen in the pic below. I hit with a lot of force and my body absorbed the initial impact with my head snapping to the side hitting the ground, around the area of my temple.
With the wind knocked out of me and my ears ringing all I could think was what a dumb ass I was to be out on the trails by myself and without a helmet. As I laid on my back trying to get oxygen back into my lungs I felt the side of my head to make certain that I wasn't bleeding....fortunately I wasn't.
After a few minutes a guy on a bike came upon me and asked if I was ok and I told him no that I had taken a pretty hard fall and thought that I had broke my shoulder. He helped me to my feet and I gathered my thoughts and went through my birthday and the days events in my head to see how bad my head injury was, again fortunately just a hard knock on the head. He sat there with me for a few minutes when a hiker walked down the trail and we were able to have her walk my bike back to the trail head which was about 1.25 miles from where I had crashed. I made it back to the trailhead/parking lot and a few guys helped put my bike in the car and I drove myself to Denver General ER.
I entered the ER with all of my bike gear on, my face still half dirt from the fall and my right arm being supported by my left as I approached the clerk. The guy at the desk said, "...looks like you went over the handle bars..." a common occurrence in mountain biking I have come to find out. A nurse immediately took me into a room took my vitals and got me checked in and jammed an IV into my arm....no waiting in the waiting room tonight at the ER. Instead I was in the ER side room in a bed from about 9PM till 5AM the following morning. After a series of xrays and CT scans, along with several doses of morphine it was determined that I had a 2 degree separation of my right shoulder, posterior 2 and 3 ribs fractured along with my scapula.
I was actually just happy to be at the ER and getting diagnosed so I could assess my go forward plans with training for Leadville. Obviously very frustrated with the outcome of my first ride on real trails but left with great respect for the bike and trails. I have to say that I am reassessing the whole mountain bike aspect of the Leadville 100 race series and think that I'm going to just simply focus on the run, which is hard enough.
In a bunch of pain right now but optimistic that I will get healed up well enough to start back my training on the treadmill and a stationary bike within the next week.....as they say...time will tell...shit smells...and water seeks its own level.
This only reminds me of our theme song from the Running of the Bulls when I turned 40......"I get get knocked down but I get up again....you're never gonna keep me down...!!!!
Cheers!
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