A run up Green

As I mentioned last time, I took the opportunity on Friday to do some filming of a typical run up Green Mountain. I chose Green because I know it well, and it has the possibility of some beautiful shots, but also because it has been made well-known by Anton Krupicka.

Without further ado, and after spending much of the day editing what turned into a two-and-a-half minute video, here it is:

 

I should acknowledge a certain Mizuno running commercial (long form) for both the music and the outhouse shot.

Louisville Turkey Trot

As I mentioned in my last post, I randomly signed up for a Turkey Trot 5k in Louisville which took place on Thursday morning. Since I signed up so late, I was not sure whether I wanted to treat it as a race or just as a fun run. I had done a significant hill workout (8x400m hills in 80 seconds each) on Tuesday, and my legs were till a little less than recovered. Then I went out for a 6 mile run the night before.

All told, I got to the race on Thursday morning, tried a few striders to warm up, and realized that my legs felt pretty awful, all told. I decided then that, while I would not take it easy, nor would I put it all out there and race this one.

I picked a spot 10 or so rows back from the front of the pack, knowing that there would be a bottleneck when the course shifted from the road to the bike path, about a quarter mile into the race. I spent that first quarter mile passing a significant portion of the people who started out in front of me, running at what felt like a quick but easily sustainable pace (one stride in, one stride out). My (brand new) Soleus GPS watch said I was moving around a 6 minute mile pace.

From there on, I just concentrated on keeping my form loose and easy, and trying to keep the pace honest. I never felt that I was pushing particularly head, and never in the entire race did my breathing labor.

The course itself was out and back, and quite pretty. It started by the Blue Parrot in downtown Lousiville, took a sharp left after half a block, and entered Louisville's Central Park. After skirting the west edge of the park, it continued south on a dirt path through some open space and the Coal Creek golf course. It briefly entered a residential area before turning around to head back to the starting line.

At this point, it got a little bit tricky. Since I was, apparently in the top 30 or so by this point, I ran into crowds on my way back. This was the inaugural Louisville Turkey Trot, the race organizers were not sure how popular the race would be, and opted to cap it at 2000.  I'm sure they reached that cap, and 2000 people on a narrow bike/walk path leads to some crowded conditions. That's what happens when you make a race free.

Their decision to allow both strollers and dogs, while keeping with the laid-back nature of the race, also added to the crowded conditions. So, coming back I occasionally had to dodge oncoming runners, and at one point had to leap a dog's leash when it ran across the path in front of me.

Par for the course on races like this, and not a bit deal since I was not taking it that seriously.

I did feel the first signs of fatigue at about mile 2.5, which is also when I decided to actually pick up the pace and drop the guy who had been gamely keeping up with me for the past two miles. I felt kind of bad, since it was seeming so easy for me and was obviously a difficult pace for him. But I realized that, with half a mile left, and with the clock ticking near 17 minutes, I had a good shot at my best 5k since my shoulder surgery.

Naturally, I forgot to stop my watch when I crossed the finish line. I had far too much left in me, and kind of ran through the finish line and off to the side (much to the annoyance of the volunteer who had to chase after me to clip my chip off my shoe), and stopped my watch a bit later when it read 18:42. By itself that would have been my best time since my surgery, though I guessed my time was closer to 18:30.

Since I was still feeling pretty good, I then decided to run back along the course for a while til I met my friend (G), who was also running. I ran in with her, and she herself posted a very good time for somebody who hasn't run since the Bolder Boulder in May with 36 minutes flat.

As it turns out, looking at the results on Friday, I had run an 18:25. That's my fastest 5k since my shoulder surgery by 30 seconds, and also puts me at 5:57 mile pace. Considering the only intensity I've done in my training recently came two days before this race, I would say I'm quite happy with that. It does, however, make me wonder what I might be able to do if I genuinely tried in a race.

The next day I spent a good three hours up on Green Mountain, filming myself. I will report more on that later, with clips, but for now I will say that it was quite fun, and I'm looking forward to seeing the results when I get done editing it.

Turkey Trot

So, rather than the 2 hour trail run I planned for tomorrow, I will be doing a 5k Turkey Trot.

Race report tomorrow or Friday.

Mesa PR

First things first: clearly, from the title of the post, I broke some sort of PR on the Mesa Trail recently.

Actually, it was this morning, and there are a few caveats to put in place before talking about it. First: I rarely run just the Mesa trail. I generally run part of the Mesa trail on the way to or from somewhere else (Green, Bear, South Boulder, etc . . .). Second, I have never really pushed myself on the Mesa trail, since I usually focus on the nearby peaks when I am trying to get into shape for a race. Third, I was not at my prime this morning, having had a hard week beforehand.

Next time I decide to keep up with Peter Bakwin on the way up Flagstaff, somebody please knock a little sense into my skull.

The final caveat is that I only decided to attempt a PR on Mesa early this morning, when I was having trouble (for the first time in some time) motivating myself to get out for a longish run on Sunday morning. There's nothing like a little competition to provide some extra motivation, even if it's only with yourself.

With that in mind, I drove up to Chautauqua, a rarity for me, only to find that, when I strapped my watch onto my wrist, it stopped functioning completely. This was not unexpected: this particular watch (a Timex Ironman, failure engineered) had been trying to give up the ghost for some time, I had just been too stubborn to spend the money on a newer watch. Since it was falling apart in any case, I tossed it in the trash reading 9:57AM (it was a little slow).

With that as the last time I saw, I figure I started the run at about 10AM after a short pit stop. I focused on the way out on keeping the pace honest, but not brutal. I pushed on the uphills, but kept thinking that this should feel like the first quarter of a marathon, and consciously kept myself from going to fast. Nevertheless, when I reached the South Mesa trail head, a friendly hiker let me know that the time was "five to eleven on the dot." Not bad: 55 minutes for the first half. Eight minutes off Dave Mackey's record, but that's a serious time to chase.

After another pit stop (I need to lay off the coffee a bit) I took off back up the two-mile climb out of South Mesa. On the way out, I had decided that this is where I'd push it, and see how I felt. The answer was not as good as I hoped, but I still managed what felt like a decent pace. Unfortunately on the way back I seemed to run afoul of more rocks than I usually do, including one that jammed my right big toe to the point that it's still hurting as I sit here a few hours later.

Such is the life of a trail runner. Gotta keep your eyes on the trail.

When I descended back into the Chautauqua trail head, I figured it was a little after noon, and I was right. It took me significantly longer to do the second half of the run, and I pulled in with a round trip time of almost exactly 2 hours. Not bad, but I think I can do better.

This week looks to be a good one as far as running is concerned. It doesn't hurt that it's a three day work week. For those of you who might be in Boulder and looking for a training group, I recommend Boldrunning. It's run by the husband and wife team of Ewen and Heather North. Ewen is an accomplished runner and excellent coach, former course record holder at the Canyonlands Half (or is it the Other Half, I can never remember). Heather is both an excellent runner and a PT. And both have excellent taste in beer.

I myself utilized Boldrunning, partially under its prior name, the Bolder Boulder Training Club, to get back into shape after a broken ankle left me with a right leg approximately the size of my left arm, and found them both fun and helpful.

The reason I mention this is that they will be having free "trial" training sessions over the next two weeks. Tuesdays ( the 22nd and 29th) will be hill workouts, meeting at Harlow Platts Park in South Boulder. Wednesdays (the 23rd and 30th) will be an easy run leaving from the Boulder Running Company, and followed by food and beer. Those all start at 6PM. There is a rumor about a longer run on the intervening Saturday, but there are no firm plans yet.

As I said, a fun group of people. I highly recommend them.

Thursday morning, the normal Boulder Trail Runners Happy Hour Run group will be heading out for a rare, pre-turkey, morning run for a couple hours, followed by mimosas at Chautauqua. I am thoroughly looking forward to that particular run. As for the rest of the week, who knows? With a few interesting runs on the calendar, I have to keep fit.

Gear Test

I have felt very professional lately while writing this blog. I recently commissioned a desk for myself, made from reclaimed red oak to my own specifications, and I now feel both professional, and in some sense like I have to live up to the gorgeous desk on which I write these posts. Mostly, however, I just love having a giant, mostly empty desk where I can put my computer. It seems to ooze potential.

But all that and the more that I was thinking is beside the point at the moment. This is about running.

It was windy yesterday here in Boulder, enough so that I threw out any idea of a long, flat run, and headed, as I am wont to do, into the foothills and the Chautauqua area for a long, hilly run. In preparation for the Leadville Marathon this summer, I had several times run the three most prominent peaks of Boulder: South Boulder Peak, Bear Peak, and Green Mountain. I had also often run Flagstaff, since it was convenient to my office.  I opted yesterday for the previously untried (by me) combo of Flagstaff and Green, with the possibility of adding the other two as a bonus.

This was both a test of me and a test of my new gear. I had visited the GoLite sale earlier that morning, an institution here in Boulder, and picked up a few necessaries for my running adventures. Among other things, I had left my old windshirt at Leadville, and needed a new one. I also took the opportunity to grab myself a new hydration pack, since the design has definitely improved in the years since I got my trusty Mule.

To my great surprise, heading up Crown Rock to the Flagstaff trail, my legs felt strong and the, reasonably severe, slope felt easy. I quickly topped off Flagstaff and headed down Ute to hit Green. Here again, my legs felt great and, aside from slipping a few times on icy sections of trail, I made it up Green no problem.

The view to the west from the top of Green. All the little peaks on the plaque should be there somewhere in the background. The view to the east was clear and sunny.

From there, I took off down Green-Bear for the next shot to the legs. I think this is my favorite downhill in the area. It is fairly gradual, and much less crowded than most of the trails in the area, so you can bomb down it without too much worry about knees or collisions. 

Up till this point, I had entertained thoughts of hitting Bear and South Boulder, but decided that, since I had not run that far in a long time (read: other than the Leadville Marathon) I would do better to leave it at two peaks for the day. 

I took off down Bear Canyon and promptly managed to almost brain myself on a tree that had fallen across the path. This was one of only two points on the run where there was significant snow on the trail. It didn't last long, and I quickly zig-zagged my way down the series of tight switchbacks and back to Mesa trail. 

From there it was a quick couple miles back to where my car was (alas) waiting in the parking lot. 

How long was the run? I have no real idea. I rarely run with a watch, since when I do I obsessively check it and compare myself to prior runs on the same route, and I forgot to check the time in my car before I left and after I got back. I'm guessing, though, it was a bit over two hours. 

The good news: I felt great the whole time. Even when I was moving at a good clip, I never felt like I was straining. My new gear worked like a charm. The backpack, which I will admit was not really necessary for that short a run, fit like a glove and didn't bounce or bother me in the least. The windshirt did its job. And the shorts I picked up as an afterthought, well they will take some breaking in. 

I had the chance on this run to muse on what races and runs might be in store for the next year, but I'll save those for another post.

Musings

There are a few questions I am asked regularly when people find out both that I am a runner and how often and far I run. In the interest of clearing a few of these up, I thought I'd write about them over the next several posts. They might be short, and they might go far too long. I am not sure quite how it will work yet.

FAQ #1: What do you think about when you run?

This is probably the most common question I get asked. The answer depends entirely on the day.

The simple answer is: anything and everything. On my runs, my mind generally wanders a fair amount. I good portion of the time I am actually coming up with ideas. Running is far and away my most creative period.

The number one topic is this blog. I consider not only what I will write about in this blog, but how I will write it. I gather experiences that I want to share, and I take pictures that I subsequently post here. I also have come up with business ideas, song lyrics (yes, I occasionally write songs too), story ideas (much more common than song lyrics), and just about everything else you can think of.

I always, always have a song running through my head. Sometimes it is the same song for the entire run. More often I bounce from song to song via melodies. I tend to start with the last song I heard before heading out on the run, and from there progress to songs that either sound like it or have a similar theme. Like a game of "telephone," often the song I am singing, in my head or out loud, at the end of a particular run seems to have nothing to do with what was going though my head when I started out.

The other thing I often do on my runs is process whatever is going on in my life at the time. I use running as therapy, where I can really focus on a topic with few distractions (other than the occasional other runner or hiker) and really process where I am. If I have a problem in my life, I go out for a run, and usually by the time I come back, even if I don't have a solution, I have a new way to approach the issue.

The one thing I never am on my runs is bored. To be  a successful distance runner, I think it's safe to say that you have to be fairly comfortable in your own head. If you were anything but, there is no possible way you could go out for a four hour run by yourself and come back sane.

When I race, though, everything else goes out the window, and the only thing on my mind is the race.

This only just scratches the surface of what I think of when I run, but it gives at least some idea. I have a whole philosophy around running, that I will touch on throughout my posts in this blog, but I think that is good enough for today.

Oh, and of course, the other thing I think about quite a bit is the run itself. With trails like these it's required.

And just for the fun of it, I'll leave you with a picture from a run I went on back in June, while I was training for the Leadville Marathon.