Well I finally gave in and signed up for Collegiate Peaks 50 miler at the beginning of May. I have been putting this off due to being lazy about it and actually having to make that commitment to doing the race. Last year I had signed up for the 50 miler and ended up changing over to the 25 miler due to my hip bothering me. Hopefully this year will be a whole different story and I can finish this beast in under 10 hours. Click here for my race report from last year.
Wish me luck! These next 2-3 weeks of training will be the key on how this race goes.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
February's Numbers
Not to bad for the month of February. I was shooting for a little bit more mileage but there was one down week after the Red Hot 50K that my mileage was a bit lower. Here is how it all breaks down so far.
Feb 1st - Feb 28th
Miles covered on foot: 201.05
Vertical gain: 29,109 feet
Total hours (includes weights,swimming,biking,ect.): 39:47:00
Now here is the breakdown year to date.
Jan 1st - March 1st
Miles covered on foot: 432.45
Vertical gain: 57,058 feet
Total hours (includes weights,swimming,biking,ect.): 83:52:00
This next month should be a good month as I start building more mileage for the 50 miler in Buena Vista the 1st weekend of May. You can also check out my on-line log by clicking on the link on the right hand side of the webpage.
Have a great week.
Shad
Feb 1st - Feb 28th
Miles covered on foot: 201.05
Vertical gain: 29,109 feet
Total hours (includes weights,swimming,biking,ect.): 39:47:00
Now here is the breakdown year to date.
Jan 1st - March 1st
Miles covered on foot: 432.45
Vertical gain: 57,058 feet
Total hours (includes weights,swimming,biking,ect.): 83:52:00
This next month should be a good month as I start building more mileage for the 50 miler in Buena Vista the 1st weekend of May. You can also check out my on-line log by clicking on the link on the right hand side of the webpage.
Have a great week.
Shad
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Photos from Red Hot and Moab in general
I finally got the photos from the weekend in Moab uploaded so I thought I would share. These include the race and the rest of the weekend in general. Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Burned again at the Red Hot 50K
The three of us (Ashley, Braden, and I) decided on Thursday morning to leave and drive part way to Moab and try to beat the forecasted snow storm in the high country on Friday, we made it to Glenwood on Thursday night where we stayed in the worse motel that I have ever been in. I can not remember the name but it is right across the street from the Village Inn, STAY AWAY!!! Friday morning we left for Moab arriving before noon. After an easy lunch we spent the rest of the day driving around in the mountains southeast of town then went to Pasta Jays on Main St for a little carbo loading and an early bed time.
We got up the next morning around 6am leaving the hotel at 7:15. I decided not to use any of the allowed drop bags since I never use them. I figured between the Nathan pack I was running with and the aid stations that I should be fine. The weather also looked like it might just be ok today, little windy the 1st half of the race but that was it.
Right at 8am the race started up a dirt road. The first mile was a climb up and over the mesa. The plan was to just run what felt like an easy effort the first 17 miles and try and push the second half hopefully finishing under 6 hours, which is not what happened. I had water on my back and I was planning on drinking Cytomax at every aid station and eat whatever looked good.
The first half of the race was a mixture of rolling hills, some moderate climbing, jeep 4X4 roads, and sandy trails. I just tried zoning out and running what felt like an easy effort but this proved to be hard to do, my legs felt really heavy and I just was not hungry so I was not eating at the aid stations like I planned. I crossed aid station 3 at mile 17 in 2:35. Right were I wanted to be for a sub 6 hour finish. At aid station 3 I was finally able to see Ashley and Braden, it was the only place on the course that they had access to until the finish line. Braden who is 8 years old ran with me down the road from aid station 3 to where the road turns off into the trail (about a mile), he had a blast doing that and kept up with me the whole time, future ultra runner maybe???
From aid station 3 to aid station 4 was about 6-6.5 miles and a good size climb. The fourth aid station was on top of the mesa some 1500 or more feet above us. I did some walking in this section on the big uphills but overall felt fine. I came into the 4th aid station around 3:45 into the race. This aid station was at mile 23. My stomach was starting to turn on me at this aid station. I did not throw up but did what I call spit up at this station. About 2 miles after leaving this aid station my stomach turned fully against me and up came breakfast on the side of the trail (the fresh fruit I ate was still in there). Maybe I should not have eaten that fruit this morning?
From aid station 4 to aid station 5 I was just trying to run as much as my stomach would allow me to. The entire section was mostly run on slickrock and there was no real trail to follow on this section. We just went from pink flag to pink flag hanging from the brushes. Sometimes there were no pink flags and you had to find the painted symbol on the rocks to figure out where to go. I got off track a few times and added about 1/4 mile or so to this section with backtracking I did, but it was not as bad as last year. Last year they used pink flags for the right way and red for the wrong way, it was hard to tell the difference in the color with sunglasses on. This year they used blue flags to mark the incorrect way which made a world of difference. I lost some time on this section but was able to run/walk a lot of it. There was one last climb up the slickrock to the 5th aid station at mile 29. I came into this aid station around 5:15 hours after starting and of course lost my stomach again behind the jacked up jeeps. By this point I have not really had anything since mile 17, including water. Every time I tried to take something in it would come up a few minutes later.
From the 5th aid station to the finish line was only 5 miles. The first 1/2 mile or so was up a small hill of slickrock from there you jump on a 4X4 jeep road that you follow to the finish line mostly downhill. Last year I was still able to jog this into the finish despite my problems, this year I just did not have the energy so I just took my time and watched my 6 hour goal slip away as I walked down the road to a 6:30:32 finish. Crap…… Oh well I guess I got burned again at the Red Hot.
Lesson Learned:
1. I can not eat fresh fruit before a race.
2. Small bowl of Corn Flakes along with the fruit is not enough food before the race.
3. A gel, half a Snicker bite size bar, and some Cytomax is not enough calories for the 1st 17 miles.
4. Sucking on hard candy did not help me get my stomach back.
Here is the link to the website and results.
Red Hot 50K
2009 Results
I will try and get my pictures up tomorrow, I forgot the camera cable at home this morning.
Shad
We got up the next morning around 6am leaving the hotel at 7:15. I decided not to use any of the allowed drop bags since I never use them. I figured between the Nathan pack I was running with and the aid stations that I should be fine. The weather also looked like it might just be ok today, little windy the 1st half of the race but that was it.
Right at 8am the race started up a dirt road. The first mile was a climb up and over the mesa. The plan was to just run what felt like an easy effort the first 17 miles and try and push the second half hopefully finishing under 6 hours, which is not what happened. I had water on my back and I was planning on drinking Cytomax at every aid station and eat whatever looked good.
The first half of the race was a mixture of rolling hills, some moderate climbing, jeep 4X4 roads, and sandy trails. I just tried zoning out and running what felt like an easy effort but this proved to be hard to do, my legs felt really heavy and I just was not hungry so I was not eating at the aid stations like I planned. I crossed aid station 3 at mile 17 in 2:35. Right were I wanted to be for a sub 6 hour finish. At aid station 3 I was finally able to see Ashley and Braden, it was the only place on the course that they had access to until the finish line. Braden who is 8 years old ran with me down the road from aid station 3 to where the road turns off into the trail (about a mile), he had a blast doing that and kept up with me the whole time, future ultra runner maybe???
From aid station 3 to aid station 4 was about 6-6.5 miles and a good size climb. The fourth aid station was on top of the mesa some 1500 or more feet above us. I did some walking in this section on the big uphills but overall felt fine. I came into the 4th aid station around 3:45 into the race. This aid station was at mile 23. My stomach was starting to turn on me at this aid station. I did not throw up but did what I call spit up at this station. About 2 miles after leaving this aid station my stomach turned fully against me and up came breakfast on the side of the trail (the fresh fruit I ate was still in there). Maybe I should not have eaten that fruit this morning?
From aid station 4 to aid station 5 I was just trying to run as much as my stomach would allow me to. The entire section was mostly run on slickrock and there was no real trail to follow on this section. We just went from pink flag to pink flag hanging from the brushes. Sometimes there were no pink flags and you had to find the painted symbol on the rocks to figure out where to go. I got off track a few times and added about 1/4 mile or so to this section with backtracking I did, but it was not as bad as last year. Last year they used pink flags for the right way and red for the wrong way, it was hard to tell the difference in the color with sunglasses on. This year they used blue flags to mark the incorrect way which made a world of difference. I lost some time on this section but was able to run/walk a lot of it. There was one last climb up the slickrock to the 5th aid station at mile 29. I came into this aid station around 5:15 hours after starting and of course lost my stomach again behind the jacked up jeeps. By this point I have not really had anything since mile 17, including water. Every time I tried to take something in it would come up a few minutes later.
From the 5th aid station to the finish line was only 5 miles. The first 1/2 mile or so was up a small hill of slickrock from there you jump on a 4X4 jeep road that you follow to the finish line mostly downhill. Last year I was still able to jog this into the finish despite my problems, this year I just did not have the energy so I just took my time and watched my 6 hour goal slip away as I walked down the road to a 6:30:32 finish. Crap…… Oh well I guess I got burned again at the Red Hot.
Lesson Learned:
1. I can not eat fresh fruit before a race.
2. Small bowl of Corn Flakes along with the fruit is not enough food before the race.
3. A gel, half a Snicker bite size bar, and some Cytomax is not enough calories for the 1st 17 miles.
4. Sucking on hard candy did not help me get my stomach back.
Here is the link to the website and results.
Red Hot 50K
2009 Results
I will try and get my pictures up tomorrow, I forgot the camera cable at home this morning.
Shad
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Weather Forecast for Red Hot
Thought I would go and hit up go old NOAA to see what the forecast for the race will be. It looks like we might have some interesting weather on Saturday, maybe some snow and rain, can anyone say 2008 Leadville??? Looks like I better pack the Goretex GoLite jacket just in case. Anyway here you go, I am sure it will change in the next 24 hours.
Today: A 20 percent chance of rain after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Calm wind becoming west southwest around 5 mph.
Tonight: Rain likely before 11pm, then a slight chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23. West southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 42. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Friday Night: A slight chance of rain and snow before 11pm, then a chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 25. South southwest wind between 5 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday: A chance of snow before 11am, then a chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. South southwest wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 45.
Today: A 20 percent chance of rain after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Calm wind becoming west southwest around 5 mph.
Tonight: Rain likely before 11pm, then a slight chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23. West southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 42. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Friday Night: A slight chance of rain and snow before 11pm, then a chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 25. South southwest wind between 5 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday: A chance of snow before 11am, then a chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. South southwest wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 45.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Mount Sherdian 2-8-09 and upcoming Red Hot
This past Sunday a group of 6 of us went to climb Mount Sheridan at 13,748ft above sea level. It was Kirk, Tracy, Chris Deck, Matt (Chris's cousin), Art (Kirk's co-worker) and myself. The road to the summer trailhead at Four Mile Creek on the Fairplay side of the mountain was closed due to snow about 3.25 miles from the trailhead. With this added mileage the hike came out to be about 13 miles round trip and 4500ft of gain. It took us 6 hours total which is not a bad clip considering the 30mph winds and snow that was thrown at us. Out of the 6 of us, Tracy, Chris, and myself hit the summit and the others turned around about 400 vertical feet from the top due to the cold and shivering wildly. I never took my snowshoes off my pack the whole day, the snow was hard enough that I could just walk on top of it and only sink a few inches. Here are a couple of pictures that were taken by Tracy. They show Chris and myself on the summit and a group picture at the end of the day.
This upcoming Saturday 2/14 I have my 1st race of the year, Red Hot 50K. I am more nervous about this race than I have been in past races and I can not figure out why. Is it because I have been working with a coach the past 3 or so months and now I feel higher expectations? Or is it because it is just the first of the year on my way to another 100 mile attempt? I think a huge part of it is the first question I raised, higher expectations. After feeling like I let down lots of people with dropping from Leadville at mile 78 last summer the last thing I want to do is have another let down due to a slower than expected time, hell I don't even know what time I should be shooting for or what pace I should try and run. I know that I am stronger than last year the question is how much stronger am I? I just don't want to let down myself, Ashley, or anyone else for that matter.
Well that is enough rambling and whining for today. I have to get back to work. I will post a race report next week and let you know how it went.
This upcoming Saturday 2/14 I have my 1st race of the year, Red Hot 50K. I am more nervous about this race than I have been in past races and I can not figure out why. Is it because I have been working with a coach the past 3 or so months and now I feel higher expectations? Or is it because it is just the first of the year on my way to another 100 mile attempt? I think a huge part of it is the first question I raised, higher expectations. After feeling like I let down lots of people with dropping from Leadville at mile 78 last summer the last thing I want to do is have another let down due to a slower than expected time, hell I don't even know what time I should be shooting for or what pace I should try and run. I know that I am stronger than last year the question is how much stronger am I? I just don't want to let down myself, Ashley, or anyone else for that matter.
Well that is enough rambling and whining for today. I have to get back to work. I will post a race report next week and let you know how it went.
Monday, February 2, 2009
January's breakdown of the Numbers.
I had a pretty strong month for my 1st month of the year. I went to my on-line log and ran the numbers, not to bad! I had basically 225.65 total miles covered on foot with over 26,000 ft of vertical for the month of January. I was hope for over 250 but this is still good. I am wondering how I will be feeling in 2 weeks at the Red Hot 50K in Moab? Comparing to the number of miles that I ran last year in January (165) it is a huge improvement. There was also more quality runs this year. Last year I just put in the miles and did not do any tempo, speed, ect... This year running under a coach Paul DeWitt I put in much more quality runs. I am hoping for a much better finishing time than last years 6:24 which is my worse ever for a 50K. Here is the report from last year 2008 Red Hot
activity # time miles +ft
Running 24 32:35:00 210.4 (9:17) 23850
Snowshoeing 2 4:15:00 10.25 (24:52) 2500
Weights 7 3:00:00
Biking 7 1:45:00
Other 4 1:15:00 5.0 (15:00)
Total 44 42:50:00 225.65 26350
Have a great week!
activity # time miles +ft
Running 24 32:35:00 210.4 (9:17) 23850
Snowshoeing 2 4:15:00 10.25 (24:52) 2500
Weights 7 3:00:00
Biking 7 1:45:00
Other 4 1:15:00 5.0 (15:00)
Total 44 42:50:00 225.65 26350
Have a great week!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Clif Bar Recall
If you are like me you most likely have a bunch of these bars laying around in case you get the munches or use them on long hikes/climbs. Here is the list from the website of what has been recalled.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Voluntary Recall
On January 19, 2009, we announced a voluntary recall of 14 U.S and 4 Canadian products including CLIF Bar, CLIF Builder’s, CLIF MOJO, CLIF Kid Organic ZBaR and LUNA Bar, in the U.S. and Canada because the peanut butter in those products was sourced, for a limited period of time, from the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). PCA is a manufacturer and supplier of peanut butter for many food companies and manufacturers.
PCA is under investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a recent Salmonella outbreak thought to be caused by tainted peanut butter. In light of this investigation, and with an abundance of caution, Clif Bar & Company has enacted a voluntary recall. We take the health and safety of our consumers very seriously.
In the U.S, the following 14 products are included in the recall. Only bars with wrappers that have the following BEST BY or SELL BY codes1 on them, in all sizes and packages, are being recalled:
CLIF BAR Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch
BEST BY/SELL BY:
21JUN09 to 01OCT09 and
03NOV09 to 28NOV09
CLIF BAR Crunchy Peanut Butter
BEST BY/SELL BY:
21JUN09 to 01OCT09 and
03NOV09 to 28NOV09
CLIF BAR Peanut Toffee Buzz
BEST BY/SELL BY:
13SEP09
CLIF Builder’s Peanut Butter
SELL BY:
19JUL09 to 30SEP09 and
05NOV09 to 18NOV09
CLIF Kid Organic ZBaR Peanut Butter
BEST BY:
07JUL09 to 05SEP09 and
12NOV09
LUNA Nutz Over Chocolate
BEST BY:
29JUL09 to 03OCT09 and
11NOV09 to 14NOV09
LUNA Peanut Butter Cookie
BEST BY:
02OCT09 to 03OCT09 and
11NOV09 to 14NOV09
MOJO Honey Roasted Peanut
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Mixed Nuts
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Mountain Mix
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Peanut Butter Pretzel
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Dipped Chocolate Peanut
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Dipped Peanut Butter and Jelly
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Dipped Fruit and Nut
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
In Canada, the following 4 products are included in the recall. Only bars with wrappers that have the following EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION codes1 on them, in all sizes and packages, are being recalled:
CLIF® BAR Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch / Brisures de Chocolat aux Arachides Croquants
EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION:
2009SE07
CLIF BAR Crunchy Peanut Butter / Beurre d’ Arachide Croquant
EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION:
2009SE06 to 2009SE11 and
2009NO13
CLIF® BAR Peanut Toffee Buzz® / Toffee et Arachides
EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION:
2009SE12
CLIF Builder’s Peanut Butter / Beurre d’Arachide
EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION:
2009JL20 and
2009AU20
No other CLIF or LUNA products or flavors are included in this recall.
If you purchased the recalled bars, please destroy them but retain the BEST BY, SELL BY or EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION code found on the back of the package. For questions or a refund, contact us online or call 1-800-CLIFBAR (1-800-254-3227).
Rest assured, we are doing everything we can to address this situation. Consumer safety is our number one priority.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Be safe,
Shad
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Voluntary Recall
On January 19, 2009, we announced a voluntary recall of 14 U.S and 4 Canadian products including CLIF Bar, CLIF Builder’s, CLIF MOJO, CLIF Kid Organic ZBaR and LUNA Bar, in the U.S. and Canada because the peanut butter in those products was sourced, for a limited period of time, from the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). PCA is a manufacturer and supplier of peanut butter for many food companies and manufacturers.
PCA is under investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a recent Salmonella outbreak thought to be caused by tainted peanut butter. In light of this investigation, and with an abundance of caution, Clif Bar & Company has enacted a voluntary recall. We take the health and safety of our consumers very seriously.
In the U.S, the following 14 products are included in the recall. Only bars with wrappers that have the following BEST BY or SELL BY codes1 on them, in all sizes and packages, are being recalled:
CLIF BAR Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch
BEST BY/SELL BY:
21JUN09 to 01OCT09 and
03NOV09 to 28NOV09
CLIF BAR Crunchy Peanut Butter
BEST BY/SELL BY:
21JUN09 to 01OCT09 and
03NOV09 to 28NOV09
CLIF BAR Peanut Toffee Buzz
BEST BY/SELL BY:
13SEP09
CLIF Builder’s Peanut Butter
SELL BY:
19JUL09 to 30SEP09 and
05NOV09 to 18NOV09
CLIF Kid Organic ZBaR Peanut Butter
BEST BY:
07JUL09 to 05SEP09 and
12NOV09
LUNA Nutz Over Chocolate
BEST BY:
29JUL09 to 03OCT09 and
11NOV09 to 14NOV09
LUNA Peanut Butter Cookie
BEST BY:
02OCT09 to 03OCT09 and
11NOV09 to 14NOV09
MOJO Honey Roasted Peanut
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Mixed Nuts
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Mountain Mix
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Peanut Butter Pretzel
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Dipped Chocolate Peanut
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Dipped Peanut Butter and Jelly
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Dipped Fruit and Nut
BEST BY:
30APR09 to 21JUN09
In Canada, the following 4 products are included in the recall. Only bars with wrappers that have the following EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION codes1 on them, in all sizes and packages, are being recalled:
CLIF® BAR Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch / Brisures de Chocolat aux Arachides Croquants
EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION:
2009SE07
CLIF BAR Crunchy Peanut Butter / Beurre d’ Arachide Croquant
EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION:
2009SE06 to 2009SE11 and
2009NO13
CLIF® BAR Peanut Toffee Buzz® / Toffee et Arachides
EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION:
2009SE12
CLIF Builder’s Peanut Butter / Beurre d’Arachide
EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION:
2009JL20 and
2009AU20
No other CLIF or LUNA products or flavors are included in this recall.
If you purchased the recalled bars, please destroy them but retain the BEST BY, SELL BY or EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION code found on the back of the package. For questions or a refund, contact us online or call 1-800-CLIFBAR (1-800-254-3227).
Rest assured, we are doing everything we can to address this situation. Consumer safety is our number one priority.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Be safe,
Shad
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Our New Wheels
Well Ashley and I finally broke down and got some new wheels. After 10 years and 230,000 miles on the 1997 S-10 Blazer (aka Big Red) we bought a 2003 4Runner. I guess I am going to have to drive every once in a while when we all go to the mountains now huh? She seems to be a great mountain/road trip car, lots of room, V8 that gets over 20 miles per gallon, and all time 4 wheel drive. Now I just need to come up with a good name for her and figure out what to do with Big Red (the Blazer) who still runs pretty good. Any ideas?
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Reflections of 2008 and 2009 goals
I thought it was time to do my yearly review to see where I stand and what I did in 2008 and also lay out my 2009 goals for everyone to see.
I just calculated my all stats for 2008 and this is what I have:
Hours:
Running: 366.5 hours
Biking: 12.75 hours
Swimming: 5.5 hours
Weights: 31 hours
Other (hiking, yoga, ect.): 105 hours
Total 2008 hours: 521
Total 2008 miles covered on foot (running/hiking): 2085
I need to spend more time swimming and in the weight room in 2009. Think my goal for 2009 will be over 2500 miles. I covered just under 1400 miles in 2007 so 2008 was a large increase of total volume.
Here is a list of all the races I did in 2008 also, not bad. This is the most I have done in a year and my 1st full year in doing ultras. The Moab race at the top of the list was only my 2nd ultra and 4th race of marathon distance or longer. I just did my 1st ultra (34 miler) in Sept of 2007. You can look through the Blog on the right hand side of the page if you want to read the race reports from any of the races below.
2008 RACES
• Moab Red Hot 50K (34 miles)2/16 (6:24:00)
• Greenland 50K (31 miles)4/19 (5:06:09)
• Collegiate Peaks 25 miler 5/3 (4:10:12)
• Wyoming Marathon (26.2 miles) 5/25 (4:09:42)
• Squaw Peak 50 miler 6/7 (12:06:40)
• Mount Evans Ascent (14.5 miles)6/21 (2:46:43)
• Leadville Marathon (26.2 miles) 7/5 (5:32:00)
• High Mountain 50K (32 miles) 7/12 (6:09:59)
• Wild West Relay (about 20 miles per runner) 8/1 (27:11:00)
• Leadville 100miler 8/16 (dropped @ mile 76 on the course due to knee problems)
I just thought all of that was interesting. I was also comparing the average miles per week for the 8 weeks leading up to the race in Moab in Feb. I thought I have been doing less this year over the same time last year but I am wrong. Last year 8 weeks leading up to this race I averaged about 33 miles per week. This year so far I am averaging 42 miles per week and that is going to increase as my long runs are increasing to 4 hours over the next few weekends. This should be an interesting year.
Here is what my 2009 race schedule looks like right now, of course it will change in the upcoming months. I will update it on the right hand side of the page as the year progresses.
Tentative 2009 Race Schedule:
1) Red Hot 50K (34 miles) 2/14
2) Desert RATS 25 miler 4/18
3) Collegiate Peaks 50 miler 5/2
4) Bolder Boulder 10K (6.2 miles) 5/26
5) Big Horn 100 miler 6/19
6) Leadville Marathon (26.2 miles) 7/11
7) Wild West Relay 6X6 (about 30 miles) 8/7
8) Leadville 10K (6.2 miles) 8/16
9) A fall marathon to try and qualify for Boston (26.2 miles)
Here are some of my goals for 2009.
Top GOALS for 2009:
1) Finish the Big Horn 100 mile trail run
2) Finish CP 50 mile trail run under 10 hours
3) Finish a marathon under 3 hours and 10 mins
4) Complete 5-10 new 14ers
5) Repeat 5-10 14ers
6) Run from Denver to Leadville on the Colorado Trail. (in sections if there is time)
7) Cover over 2500 miles on foot in 2009.
8) Do more than running 10 races of any distance.
I want to thank everyone from my girlfriend to friends and family for their support and encouragement in 2008. Hopefully even bigger things will come in 2009 for everyone.
Happy New Years!
Shad
I just calculated my all stats for 2008 and this is what I have:
Hours:
Running: 366.5 hours
Biking: 12.75 hours
Swimming: 5.5 hours
Weights: 31 hours
Other (hiking, yoga, ect.): 105 hours
Total 2008 hours: 521
Total 2008 miles covered on foot (running/hiking): 2085
I need to spend more time swimming and in the weight room in 2009. Think my goal for 2009 will be over 2500 miles. I covered just under 1400 miles in 2007 so 2008 was a large increase of total volume.
Here is a list of all the races I did in 2008 also, not bad. This is the most I have done in a year and my 1st full year in doing ultras. The Moab race at the top of the list was only my 2nd ultra and 4th race of marathon distance or longer. I just did my 1st ultra (34 miler) in Sept of 2007. You can look through the Blog on the right hand side of the page if you want to read the race reports from any of the races below.
2008 RACES
• Moab Red Hot 50K (34 miles)2/16 (6:24:00)
• Greenland 50K (31 miles)4/19 (5:06:09)
• Collegiate Peaks 25 miler 5/3 (4:10:12)
• Wyoming Marathon (26.2 miles) 5/25 (4:09:42)
• Squaw Peak 50 miler 6/7 (12:06:40)
• Mount Evans Ascent (14.5 miles)6/21 (2:46:43)
• Leadville Marathon (26.2 miles) 7/5 (5:32:00)
• High Mountain 50K (32 miles) 7/12 (6:09:59)
• Wild West Relay (about 20 miles per runner) 8/1 (27:11:00)
• Leadville 100miler 8/16 (dropped @ mile 76 on the course due to knee problems)
I just thought all of that was interesting. I was also comparing the average miles per week for the 8 weeks leading up to the race in Moab in Feb. I thought I have been doing less this year over the same time last year but I am wrong. Last year 8 weeks leading up to this race I averaged about 33 miles per week. This year so far I am averaging 42 miles per week and that is going to increase as my long runs are increasing to 4 hours over the next few weekends. This should be an interesting year.
Here is what my 2009 race schedule looks like right now, of course it will change in the upcoming months. I will update it on the right hand side of the page as the year progresses.
Tentative 2009 Race Schedule:
1) Red Hot 50K (34 miles) 2/14
2) Desert RATS 25 miler 4/18
3) Collegiate Peaks 50 miler 5/2
4) Bolder Boulder 10K (6.2 miles) 5/26
5) Big Horn 100 miler 6/19
6) Leadville Marathon (26.2 miles) 7/11
7) Wild West Relay 6X6 (about 30 miles) 8/7
8) Leadville 10K (6.2 miles) 8/16
9) A fall marathon to try and qualify for Boston (26.2 miles)
Here are some of my goals for 2009.
Top GOALS for 2009:
1) Finish the Big Horn 100 mile trail run
2) Finish CP 50 mile trail run under 10 hours
3) Finish a marathon under 3 hours and 10 mins
4) Complete 5-10 new 14ers
5) Repeat 5-10 14ers
6) Run from Denver to Leadville on the Colorado Trail. (in sections if there is time)
7) Cover over 2500 miles on foot in 2009.
8) Do more than running 10 races of any distance.
I want to thank everyone from my girlfriend to friends and family for their support and encouragement in 2008. Hopefully even bigger things will come in 2009 for everyone.
Happy New Years!
Shad
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Mount Sherman & Gemini Peak
I have been kind of slacking on my posting lately and for that I am sorry. I started using an on-line training journal so I no longer post my workouts here. There is a link on the right hand side of the page that will take you to my on-line log at www.attackpoint.org. This is an awesome site. I will also in the next few months be laying out my 2009 race schedule. I am excited about that.
Now to get down to why I am even posting anything. This past weekend Ashley, Kirk, Tracy, and decided to take on Mount Sherman at 14,036ft above sea level. This is a straight forward and pretty easy hike. While we were up there I decided that I might as well knock out Gemini Peak which is just a short ridge walk away. That will be one more top 100 in Colorado done. There are all kinds of neat mine structures all over the mountain that you can check out, see the pictures below. This is a great mountain for 1st timers that want to try their hand at climbing a 14er.
We had a great day with the exception of the wind and I could not have asked for better company. Below are some pictures from the hike.
Happy Trails.
Shad
Now to get down to why I am even posting anything. This past weekend Ashley, Kirk, Tracy, and decided to take on Mount Sherman at 14,036ft above sea level. This is a straight forward and pretty easy hike. While we were up there I decided that I might as well knock out Gemini Peak which is just a short ridge walk away. That will be one more top 100 in Colorado done. There are all kinds of neat mine structures all over the mountain that you can check out, see the pictures below. This is a great mountain for 1st timers that want to try their hand at climbing a 14er.
We had a great day with the exception of the wind and I could not have asked for better company. Below are some pictures from the hike.
Happy Trails.
Shad
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Crestone Traverse (Peak to Needle) 9-7-08
I was going to type up a long drawn out route description and trip report but decided against it. The reason being that this is a dangerous traverse and I do not want to be responsible for leading anyone on the incorrect route. That happened to us and we got stuck in some hairy areas for about an hour by following someone else's trip report. Anyway the main key is to stay on the Cottonwood Lake side of the mountain until you are ready to head to the summit, do not cross over to the South Colony Lake side of the mountain. Also make sure you do your research! The route is not marked very well if at all in a lot of areas. Also it is better to go from Peak to Needle. I would not want to try and downclimb off the Needle without a rope, that is just asking for trouble.
Here is a very short breakdown of the climb:
Last Saturday Chris Deck, Kirk Tubbs, and I went down south and did the Crestone Traverse, one of the four classic 14er traverses in the state. We took off from Castle Rock at 4:30pm arriving at the upper 4X4 trailhead around 8pm. It takes about 1 hour to 4X4 up the 5-6 mile road from the main turn off. We slept at the trailhead Saturday night and climbed on Sunday.
The hike was about 13 miles round trip with about 6000-6500 feet of gain/loss. It took us about 11.5 hours and would have been quicker if we would not have gotten into some hairy spots during the traverse.
Here are the pictures from the climb so enjoy:
Here is a very short breakdown of the climb:
Last Saturday Chris Deck, Kirk Tubbs, and I went down south and did the Crestone Traverse, one of the four classic 14er traverses in the state. We took off from Castle Rock at 4:30pm arriving at the upper 4X4 trailhead around 8pm. It takes about 1 hour to 4X4 up the 5-6 mile road from the main turn off. We slept at the trailhead Saturday night and climbed on Sunday.
The hike was about 13 miles round trip with about 6000-6500 feet of gain/loss. It took us about 11.5 hours and would have been quicker if we would not have gotten into some hairy spots during the traverse.
Here are the pictures from the climb so enjoy:
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Snowmass Mountain-- Kirk's 14er finisher
Last Sunday a group of 7 of us went up to Snowmass Mountain to hike with my buddy Kirk on his 58th and last 14er. We choose the hardest route on the mountain called the S-Ridge. It was a great day even though I was still wiped out from Leadville 100the weekend before. I willed myself through the climb even though I really did not want to go. Looking back though I am happy that I went, it was well worth seeing my good friend finish and having the chance to do so with him. This was the 33rd different 14er that I have done, 25 left!
Here are some pictures from the climb (the wild flowers are nuts in this area):
Here is the link to Kirk's trip report: REPORT
Thanks for reading and HAPPY TRAILS!
Shad
Here are some pictures from the climb (the wild flowers are nuts in this area):
Here is the link to Kirk's trip report: REPORT
Thanks for reading and HAPPY TRAILS!
Shad
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Leadville 100 mile run-- Race Report
This past Saturday the whole year of training finally came to age, it was time to try and run my 1st 100 miler and I choose Leadville. Leadville is a classic course that you have to give respect to, if you don't it will chew you up and spit you out. With the average elevation at 11,000 feet above sea level it is one of the highest 100 milers in the country and below is my experience.
Race Website
Event Description:
50 miles out and back in the midst of the Colorado Rockies. Lowest point is 9,200 ft. and the highest point is Hope Pass, 12,600 ft. The majority is on forest trails with some mountain roads. Pacers allowed after the 50 mile point. 11 well-supplied aid stations with cut-offs; 5 are medical checks.
Here is the race Profile, you read the 1st 50 miles left to right then backwards for the second 50.
Weather:
The weather forecast for both Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th was a high of 55, low of 30 with a 60% chance of rain and snow up to 4-8 inches. It never did snow that much but there was lots rain and hail with some snow. It was an interesting day of weather.
Race Report:
The start of the race at 4:00 am was much better than I expected based on what NOAA was predicting for the weekend (see above). There was little rain and I was more awake than I thought I would be considering I only got about 2 hours of sleep. It was a good thing that I went up to Leadville on Wed night to get away from the everyday crap that goes on so I could rest as much as possible. The 2 previous nights I slept 12 and 10 hours each. I ran nice and slow from the start, taking my time getting to Mayqueen, mile 13.5 or so. I stopped to take a leak a few times which is good, means I am starting out with good hydration. I continued on around Turquoise Lake where I ended up behind a line of dozens of very slow folks which helped me start out at the slow pace that I wanted. I have a bad habit of taking off at the start line and burning myself out in longer races, for example you can go back in my blog and read about Red Hot 50K and Greenland 50K where I did this. There really was nothing eventful about this section. It was really neat to see about 500 headlamps going around the single track trail of the lake though. I made it into Mayqueen at 2:18, about 3 minutes slower than I intended. At Mayqueen I ate as much as I could, half a banana, half a peanut butter sandwich, a bottle of Cytomax, fig newton and some candy. During this section I had lots of water, candy, and a gel. I was trying to stay ahead of the calorie curve as much as I could. I spent a few mins in the tent refilling my Camelback and kept walking up the road while eating everything that Ashley was giving me.
I was going good leaving Mayqueen and looking forward to climbing up Sugarloaf, but as I climbed to the top of Sugarloaf there was a rain/snow/hail storm. Even with the storm I was able to keep a good clip up and down the hill which kept me some what warm considering how wet I was. I was wearing lots of clothing along with my Gortex jacket but that did not make a huge difference. I came into the Fish Hatchery some what cold about 2 hours later for a total running time of about 4:18 at this point. I changed my gloves because my hands were freezing and headed out on the road to treeline. The stretch from the Fish Hatchery to Halfmoon my least favorite part of the course, so I had to work to keep a decent pace here, usually I run/walked this section in training all summer, using the telephone poles on the road, I would walk one and run three, but today on the outbound I was able to run all the way to Treeline and run/walk the rest to Halfmoon. During this section I ate 1 gel, granola bar, some hard candy, and drank most of my water bladder. At the Fish Hatchery Ashley feed me half a peanut butter sandwich, 1 bottle of Cytomax, and an oatmeal pie cookie. On the road to Treeline I drank one more bottle of Cytomax.
I came into Treeline at 5:04 and Halfmoon at 5:34, still close to my goal pace.
From Halfmoon to Twin Lakes I was able to keep up a good run/walk cycle that got me into Twin Lakes at 7:35. During this section I was starting to have trouble with nausea so my food intake drop drastically. I drank lots of water during this section, almost the whole bladder, but only ate some hard candy. This was the start of mistake one. When I came into Twin Lakes I tried to get caught up on my calories. I ate some watermelon, 1/4 of peanut butter sandwich, cookie, and one bottle of Cytomax. Looking back it was not enough calories as you will see in the next section. Also in this section I took the wrong trail and by the time I realized it I was far down the hill. I cussed myself out because I did the same thing a month earlier in training and new better. This mistake cost me about 15 mins and 1-1.5 miles.
The run from Twin Lakes to the top of Hope is where things started falling apart. The climb up Hope was very muddy and it started to hail on me pretty hard, when it was not hailing it was raining. There was so much hail on the trail that it looked like it was under an inch of snow, the trail was whited out. I was having all kinds of problems with staying warm that by the time I hit Hopeless aid station at 9:26 the aid station worker pulled me and wrapped me in a blanket. I was shivering and was not responding to their questions very well. They wrapped me up and started pushing chicken broth and magic mash potato drink. They told me that I got this way because I did not have enough calories for my body to generate heat, not good. After about 20-30 mins I bounced back and left to run down to Winfield, the halfway point. On the way down I drank a bottle of Poweraid. I got into Winfield at 11:39 into the race, 30 mins behind my goal pace but still OK in my book considering what has happened so far. At Winfield I ate some more potato soup, bottle of Cytomax, and some noodles, this was all I could handle right now. After chowing down Nick (my pacer) and I took off up the road at a quick walking pace.
The climb back up Hope was hard and a good challenge. Nick drove me hard up the hill and we reached the Hopeless Aid at 13:51 into the race. When I reached Hopeless, I thought I was doing OK. I sat down on a log by the fire and ate some more potato soup. While I was sitting there Nick was in the tent getting himself some food another runner started puking right next to me, this causing me to loose everything that I had in my stomach. After a few minutes and some Poweraid Nick and left to get down to Twin Lakes. I had Nick get in front and just hold a quick power hike down the hill, I did not think that my stomach could hold up the the jarring action of running. Some where along this muddy trail another mistake was made and I can not pin point when it happened. As I was sliding around in the mud I twisted my left knee really good I think. It started hurting like hell and a couple of times it even just gave out on me as I was trying to walk down the hill. I was very thankful that I decided back in Winfield to use my hiking poles on this section. I think I will be using them all the way to the end. I tried to jog/run a couple of times across the field to the river crossing but my knee just would not let me, it would just give out and I would catch myself with my hiking poles. As we were coming into Twin Lakes I was starting to run out of energy. I have puked up everything that I had eaten since Winfield which meant that I had not had anything but Poweraid and Cytomax for calories since the 45 mile mark and this was mile 60. This was not good. I got into Twin Lakes at 15:32 into the race. At Twin Lakes I took the time and put on dry clothes and shoes since the night was coming. I was going to do everything I could to stay warm since my experience during the 1st time over Hope. I ate some more soup, other food that I can not remember, and drank some hot green tea to warm up the insides. After about 15 mins in the aid station my new pacer Tim and I took off for Treeline.
As Tim and I took off to climb out of Twin Lakes, little did I know that this next section was going to be a true test for me. The first mile up the hill went alright, but then I just stopped in the middle of the jeep road and puked up all the food I just ate at Twin Lakes, there went my precious calories into the dirt. Tim and I just kept walking, between my knee pain on any kind of up or down hill and my quickly disappearing energy this was all I could do. Finally a few hours later of me stumbling through the woods Tim got me to eat 2 crackers which stayed down. This was a good sign, now if my knee would just rebound. During this section I had to stop a lot to rest, I just had no energy at all. Tim kept asking me to eat and I kept turning him down. This was another mistake on my part, I should have made myself eat even if it was going to come up. This section was the longest section ever, we got into Halfmoon at 19:40, it took me 4 hours to go 9 or so miles, my race was falling apart. In Halfmoon the lady in charge of the cut offs (I can not remember her name) got me to eat a couple more crackers and 1/4 of a banana. She talked to me and told me just to keep trying to keep food down and to keep going. It was pretty safe from there to the Fish Hatchery to experiment to see if I could get my energy and knee back. With that advice Tim and I headed out of Halfmoon to meet the crew and the new pacer Patty at Treeline. From Halfmoon to Treeline is about 2.5 mile jog down the road, we walked it, I had no energy. During this short section I kept seeing some weird things. I saw some wild life that was not there and someone walking between Tim and I. That was very weird and the first time that that has happened to me. I also kept falling asleep while walking, when this happened I would stumble or trip which would wake me up and kill my damaged knee. Thank god for the hiking poles, they saved me so many times.
At treeline, I must have looked like death. When I got there my crew threw me in the truck to warm me up and try and get me to eat which I would not do. Finally Ashley started rubbing honey on my gums and with in minutes a little energy came back to me. With this new found small amount of energy my new pacer Patty and I headed out down the road to the Fish Hatchery. By this time my left knee was trashed. I already knew that there was no way that I was going to be able to make the climb over Sugarloaf with it. I was OK going on with low energy but not with my knee. During this short section to Sugarloaf I went back and forth in my head trying to figure out how to get myself up that mountain, there just was no way. I knee was giving out and I was falling over just walking down the road. By the time that I reached the Fish Hatchery at 22:40 into the race I threw in the towel with no regrets.
I know that I am not a great writer but I hope that you enjoyed sharing this little story with me. I would like to thank Ashley who has been putting up with me and my training for the past 7-8 months, she was also my main crew and was supposed to pace me from Mayqueen to the end, sorry we did not get that far. I want to also thank Dan for helping Ashley crew me all day and letting us use his truck. Thank you to all my pacers in order of what they did or were supposed to pace, Nick, Tim, Patty, Rebecca, and Ashley. It meant a lot to Ashley and I for you to come up to Leadville to try and help me complete this course. I am sorry to those pacers (Rebecca and Ashley) who did not get to run.
Even though we did not make it 100 miles as a team we were still successful! I am very happy and proud of this effort. At the same time I learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of. I also learned a great deal about the great people that I have surrounded myself with. Next time we will go even farther!
Shad
Here is a slideshow of all the pictures that I have.
Race Website
Event Description:
50 miles out and back in the midst of the Colorado Rockies. Lowest point is 9,200 ft. and the highest point is Hope Pass, 12,600 ft. The majority is on forest trails with some mountain roads. Pacers allowed after the 50 mile point. 11 well-supplied aid stations with cut-offs; 5 are medical checks.
Here is the race Profile, you read the 1st 50 miles left to right then backwards for the second 50.
Weather:
The weather forecast for both Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th was a high of 55, low of 30 with a 60% chance of rain and snow up to 4-8 inches. It never did snow that much but there was lots rain and hail with some snow. It was an interesting day of weather.
Race Report:
The start of the race at 4:00 am was much better than I expected based on what NOAA was predicting for the weekend (see above). There was little rain and I was more awake than I thought I would be considering I only got about 2 hours of sleep. It was a good thing that I went up to Leadville on Wed night to get away from the everyday crap that goes on so I could rest as much as possible. The 2 previous nights I slept 12 and 10 hours each. I ran nice and slow from the start, taking my time getting to Mayqueen, mile 13.5 or so. I stopped to take a leak a few times which is good, means I am starting out with good hydration. I continued on around Turquoise Lake where I ended up behind a line of dozens of very slow folks which helped me start out at the slow pace that I wanted. I have a bad habit of taking off at the start line and burning myself out in longer races, for example you can go back in my blog and read about Red Hot 50K and Greenland 50K where I did this. There really was nothing eventful about this section. It was really neat to see about 500 headlamps going around the single track trail of the lake though. I made it into Mayqueen at 2:18, about 3 minutes slower than I intended. At Mayqueen I ate as much as I could, half a banana, half a peanut butter sandwich, a bottle of Cytomax, fig newton and some candy. During this section I had lots of water, candy, and a gel. I was trying to stay ahead of the calorie curve as much as I could. I spent a few mins in the tent refilling my Camelback and kept walking up the road while eating everything that Ashley was giving me.
I was going good leaving Mayqueen and looking forward to climbing up Sugarloaf, but as I climbed to the top of Sugarloaf there was a rain/snow/hail storm. Even with the storm I was able to keep a good clip up and down the hill which kept me some what warm considering how wet I was. I was wearing lots of clothing along with my Gortex jacket but that did not make a huge difference. I came into the Fish Hatchery some what cold about 2 hours later for a total running time of about 4:18 at this point. I changed my gloves because my hands were freezing and headed out on the road to treeline. The stretch from the Fish Hatchery to Halfmoon my least favorite part of the course, so I had to work to keep a decent pace here, usually I run/walked this section in training all summer, using the telephone poles on the road, I would walk one and run three, but today on the outbound I was able to run all the way to Treeline and run/walk the rest to Halfmoon. During this section I ate 1 gel, granola bar, some hard candy, and drank most of my water bladder. At the Fish Hatchery Ashley feed me half a peanut butter sandwich, 1 bottle of Cytomax, and an oatmeal pie cookie. On the road to Treeline I drank one more bottle of Cytomax.
I came into Treeline at 5:04 and Halfmoon at 5:34, still close to my goal pace.
From Halfmoon to Twin Lakes I was able to keep up a good run/walk cycle that got me into Twin Lakes at 7:35. During this section I was starting to have trouble with nausea so my food intake drop drastically. I drank lots of water during this section, almost the whole bladder, but only ate some hard candy. This was the start of mistake one. When I came into Twin Lakes I tried to get caught up on my calories. I ate some watermelon, 1/4 of peanut butter sandwich, cookie, and one bottle of Cytomax. Looking back it was not enough calories as you will see in the next section. Also in this section I took the wrong trail and by the time I realized it I was far down the hill. I cussed myself out because I did the same thing a month earlier in training and new better. This mistake cost me about 15 mins and 1-1.5 miles.
The run from Twin Lakes to the top of Hope is where things started falling apart. The climb up Hope was very muddy and it started to hail on me pretty hard, when it was not hailing it was raining. There was so much hail on the trail that it looked like it was under an inch of snow, the trail was whited out. I was having all kinds of problems with staying warm that by the time I hit Hopeless aid station at 9:26 the aid station worker pulled me and wrapped me in a blanket. I was shivering and was not responding to their questions very well. They wrapped me up and started pushing chicken broth and magic mash potato drink. They told me that I got this way because I did not have enough calories for my body to generate heat, not good. After about 20-30 mins I bounced back and left to run down to Winfield, the halfway point. On the way down I drank a bottle of Poweraid. I got into Winfield at 11:39 into the race, 30 mins behind my goal pace but still OK in my book considering what has happened so far. At Winfield I ate some more potato soup, bottle of Cytomax, and some noodles, this was all I could handle right now. After chowing down Nick (my pacer) and I took off up the road at a quick walking pace.
The climb back up Hope was hard and a good challenge. Nick drove me hard up the hill and we reached the Hopeless Aid at 13:51 into the race. When I reached Hopeless, I thought I was doing OK. I sat down on a log by the fire and ate some more potato soup. While I was sitting there Nick was in the tent getting himself some food another runner started puking right next to me, this causing me to loose everything that I had in my stomach. After a few minutes and some Poweraid Nick and left to get down to Twin Lakes. I had Nick get in front and just hold a quick power hike down the hill, I did not think that my stomach could hold up the the jarring action of running. Some where along this muddy trail another mistake was made and I can not pin point when it happened. As I was sliding around in the mud I twisted my left knee really good I think. It started hurting like hell and a couple of times it even just gave out on me as I was trying to walk down the hill. I was very thankful that I decided back in Winfield to use my hiking poles on this section. I think I will be using them all the way to the end. I tried to jog/run a couple of times across the field to the river crossing but my knee just would not let me, it would just give out and I would catch myself with my hiking poles. As we were coming into Twin Lakes I was starting to run out of energy. I have puked up everything that I had eaten since Winfield which meant that I had not had anything but Poweraid and Cytomax for calories since the 45 mile mark and this was mile 60. This was not good. I got into Twin Lakes at 15:32 into the race. At Twin Lakes I took the time and put on dry clothes and shoes since the night was coming. I was going to do everything I could to stay warm since my experience during the 1st time over Hope. I ate some more soup, other food that I can not remember, and drank some hot green tea to warm up the insides. After about 15 mins in the aid station my new pacer Tim and I took off for Treeline.
As Tim and I took off to climb out of Twin Lakes, little did I know that this next section was going to be a true test for me. The first mile up the hill went alright, but then I just stopped in the middle of the jeep road and puked up all the food I just ate at Twin Lakes, there went my precious calories into the dirt. Tim and I just kept walking, between my knee pain on any kind of up or down hill and my quickly disappearing energy this was all I could do. Finally a few hours later of me stumbling through the woods Tim got me to eat 2 crackers which stayed down. This was a good sign, now if my knee would just rebound. During this section I had to stop a lot to rest, I just had no energy at all. Tim kept asking me to eat and I kept turning him down. This was another mistake on my part, I should have made myself eat even if it was going to come up. This section was the longest section ever, we got into Halfmoon at 19:40, it took me 4 hours to go 9 or so miles, my race was falling apart. In Halfmoon the lady in charge of the cut offs (I can not remember her name) got me to eat a couple more crackers and 1/4 of a banana. She talked to me and told me just to keep trying to keep food down and to keep going. It was pretty safe from there to the Fish Hatchery to experiment to see if I could get my energy and knee back. With that advice Tim and I headed out of Halfmoon to meet the crew and the new pacer Patty at Treeline. From Halfmoon to Treeline is about 2.5 mile jog down the road, we walked it, I had no energy. During this short section I kept seeing some weird things. I saw some wild life that was not there and someone walking between Tim and I. That was very weird and the first time that that has happened to me. I also kept falling asleep while walking, when this happened I would stumble or trip which would wake me up and kill my damaged knee. Thank god for the hiking poles, they saved me so many times.
At treeline, I must have looked like death. When I got there my crew threw me in the truck to warm me up and try and get me to eat which I would not do. Finally Ashley started rubbing honey on my gums and with in minutes a little energy came back to me. With this new found small amount of energy my new pacer Patty and I headed out down the road to the Fish Hatchery. By this time my left knee was trashed. I already knew that there was no way that I was going to be able to make the climb over Sugarloaf with it. I was OK going on with low energy but not with my knee. During this short section to Sugarloaf I went back and forth in my head trying to figure out how to get myself up that mountain, there just was no way. I knee was giving out and I was falling over just walking down the road. By the time that I reached the Fish Hatchery at 22:40 into the race I threw in the towel with no regrets.
I know that I am not a great writer but I hope that you enjoyed sharing this little story with me. I would like to thank Ashley who has been putting up with me and my training for the past 7-8 months, she was also my main crew and was supposed to pace me from Mayqueen to the end, sorry we did not get that far. I want to also thank Dan for helping Ashley crew me all day and letting us use his truck. Thank you to all my pacers in order of what they did or were supposed to pace, Nick, Tim, Patty, Rebecca, and Ashley. It meant a lot to Ashley and I for you to come up to Leadville to try and help me complete this course. I am sorry to those pacers (Rebecca and Ashley) who did not get to run.
Even though we did not make it 100 miles as a team we were still successful! I am very happy and proud of this effort. At the same time I learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of. I also learned a great deal about the great people that I have surrounded myself with. Next time we will go even farther!
Shad
Here is a slideshow of all the pictures that I have.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Log catch up and start of the taper
Sorry I have been really bad the past month with posting what I have been doing. I have been really busy at work and training like a mad man trying to get ready to take on Leadville 100 mile trail run. In the past month I have put in some quality miles on the Leadville course along with doing some races. Here is a quick break down from my last post all the way up to today.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday 6/23: Treadmill 6.25 miles and weights for 45 mins
Tues 6/24: Speed workout(6.25 miles) 10X200 at 6min pace with 200 recovery at 12min pace
Wed 6/25: Run at Green Mountain 7.75 miles
Thur 6/26: OFF
Fri 6/27: Run on the backside of Mount Massive 8.5 miles
Sat 6/28: AM- Winfield to top of Hope and back 11 miles
PM- Mount Elbert 7.75 miles
Sun 6/29: Mayqueen to Twin Lakes 25.5 miles
TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: 73 miles
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mon 6/30: Treadmill 6 miles and weights for 45 mins (legs really sore)
Tues 7/1: OFF
Wed 7/2: OFF feel like shit
Thur 7/3: Speed (6 miles) 6X400 at 6min pace with 400 recovery at 12min pace
Fri 7/4: OFF Mom here visiting
Sat 7/5: LEADVILLE MARATHON 26.2 miles in 5:32 with over 6000ft in climbing.
Sun 7/6: OFF
TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: 38.25 MILES
I really backed off this week due to lack of sleep and having a hard time recovering from last weeks effort.
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Mon 7/7: Treadmill 6.25 miles and weights for 45 mins
Tue 7/8: Speed (6 miles) 7X400 at 6min pace with 400 recoveries at 12min pace
Wed 7/9: Green Mountain 7.5 miles
Thu 7/10: Green Mountain 8.25 miles
Fri 7/11: Cross train at lunch for 30mins and weights 30 mins
Sat 7/12: High Mountain 50K in Leadville 32 miles in 6:09 and over 5000ft in climbing
Sun 7/13: Mount Yale 8 miles and 4200ft of climbing
TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: 68 miles
Good hard week of climbing, did over 15,000ft total for the week.
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Mon 7/14: Treadmill 6.5 miles and weights for 45 mins
Tues 7/15: Speed (8 miles) 8X400 at 6min pace with 400 recoveries at 12min pace, longer warm-up and cooldown than normal
Wed 7/16: Green Mountain 8.75 miles
Thur 7/17: Green Mountain 7 miles
Fri 7/18: Cross train at lunch for 30mins and weights 30 mins
Sat 7/19: Winfield to Sugarloaf campground in Leadville 30 miles 5000ft of climbing
Sun 7/20: Mount Massive 8.25 miles 4300ft of climbing
TOTAL MILES FOR THE WEEK: 68.50
Another great week of running and climbing, did another week of about 15,000ft of climbing.
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Mon 7/21: Bike paths around REI in Denver 8 miles
Tues 7/22: Cross train at lunch for 15mins and weights 45 mins
Wed 7/23: Green Mountain 9.25 miles
Thur 7/24: Speed (8.5 miles) 10X400 at 6min pace with 400 recoveries at 12min pace; 2X800 at 6min pace with 400 recoveries at 12min pace.
Fri 7/25: Speed (6.5 miles) 8X400 at 6min pace with 400 recoveries at 12min pace
Sat 7/26: AM- Green Mountain 9 miles
Noon- Mount Evans with Ashley 8 miles
PM- Ran to pick up car at trailhead 3 miles
Sun 7/27: Golden Gate Canyon Park with DTR 19 miles
TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: 71.25
Another hard effort week with lots of trails and 2 speed workouts. Did not get into the weight room 2 times this week but that is ok. Did over 10,000 ft of climbing
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This coming up week is the slow start into my taper, I am only shooting for over 50 miles total for the week. Ashley and I are also running the Wild West Relay on 8/1-8/2 and that should be a blast. I will try and have a race report and pictures up next week on it. That will be my last real hard effort until Leadville.
Have a great week and thanks for reading.
Shad
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Monday 6/23: Treadmill 6.25 miles and weights for 45 mins
Tues 6/24: Speed workout(6.25 miles) 10X200 at 6min pace with 200 recovery at 12min pace
Wed 6/25: Run at Green Mountain 7.75 miles
Thur 6/26: OFF
Fri 6/27: Run on the backside of Mount Massive 8.5 miles
Sat 6/28: AM- Winfield to top of Hope and back 11 miles
PM- Mount Elbert 7.75 miles
Sun 6/29: Mayqueen to Twin Lakes 25.5 miles
TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: 73 miles
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Mon 6/30: Treadmill 6 miles and weights for 45 mins (legs really sore)
Tues 7/1: OFF
Wed 7/2: OFF feel like shit
Thur 7/3: Speed (6 miles) 6X400 at 6min pace with 400 recovery at 12min pace
Fri 7/4: OFF Mom here visiting
Sat 7/5: LEADVILLE MARATHON 26.2 miles in 5:32 with over 6000ft in climbing.
Sun 7/6: OFF
TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: 38.25 MILES
I really backed off this week due to lack of sleep and having a hard time recovering from last weeks effort.
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Mon 7/7: Treadmill 6.25 miles and weights for 45 mins
Tue 7/8: Speed (6 miles) 7X400 at 6min pace with 400 recoveries at 12min pace
Wed 7/9: Green Mountain 7.5 miles
Thu 7/10: Green Mountain 8.25 miles
Fri 7/11: Cross train at lunch for 30mins and weights 30 mins
Sat 7/12: High Mountain 50K in Leadville 32 miles in 6:09 and over 5000ft in climbing
Sun 7/13: Mount Yale 8 miles and 4200ft of climbing
TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: 68 miles
Good hard week of climbing, did over 15,000ft total for the week.
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Mon 7/14: Treadmill 6.5 miles and weights for 45 mins
Tues 7/15: Speed (8 miles) 8X400 at 6min pace with 400 recoveries at 12min pace, longer warm-up and cooldown than normal
Wed 7/16: Green Mountain 8.75 miles
Thur 7/17: Green Mountain 7 miles
Fri 7/18: Cross train at lunch for 30mins and weights 30 mins
Sat 7/19: Winfield to Sugarloaf campground in Leadville 30 miles 5000ft of climbing
Sun 7/20: Mount Massive 8.25 miles 4300ft of climbing
TOTAL MILES FOR THE WEEK: 68.50
Another great week of running and climbing, did another week of about 15,000ft of climbing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mon 7/21: Bike paths around REI in Denver 8 miles
Tues 7/22: Cross train at lunch for 15mins and weights 45 mins
Wed 7/23: Green Mountain 9.25 miles
Thur 7/24: Speed (8.5 miles) 10X400 at 6min pace with 400 recoveries at 12min pace; 2X800 at 6min pace with 400 recoveries at 12min pace.
Fri 7/25: Speed (6.5 miles) 8X400 at 6min pace with 400 recoveries at 12min pace
Sat 7/26: AM- Green Mountain 9 miles
Noon- Mount Evans with Ashley 8 miles
PM- Ran to pick up car at trailhead 3 miles
Sun 7/27: Golden Gate Canyon Park with DTR 19 miles
TOTAL FOR THE WEEK: 71.25
Another hard effort week with lots of trails and 2 speed workouts. Did not get into the weight room 2 times this week but that is ok. Did over 10,000 ft of climbing
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This coming up week is the slow start into my taper, I am only shooting for over 50 miles total for the week. Ashley and I are also running the Wild West Relay on 8/1-8/2 and that should be a blast. I will try and have a race report and pictures up next week on it. That will be my last real hard effort until Leadville.
Have a great week and thanks for reading.
Shad
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