On-on to Lawrence, KS tomorrow for first triathlon...
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Bolder Boulder
Set a new PR at the Bolder Boulder this year (42:26). Surprising given I have done zero speed training this year--so far...
On-on to Lawrence, KS tomorrow for first triathlon...
On-on to Lawrence, KS tomorrow for first triathlon...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Jemez Mountains
The Jemez Mountains Trail Races took place in the scenic Jemez mountains in North-Central New Mexico. The course was on technical trails with a substantial amount of elevation change. The 50K and 50M events included extremely steep climbs and descents on very technical terrain. On the course, runners experienced high altitude (over 10,000 feet above sea level), scree fields, stream crossings, fallen trees, and other obstacles.
Our trip began after an 8 AM breakfast at Purple Castle with Katie Throndsen, Jon Teisher, and Lauren Kennedy. The four of us planned to drive down together in two cars--as some of us were planning on sleeping *in* the car. We ran into Tanya Anderson and Susan Mopper that morning too.
[JT, Katie, Lauren, Tanya, Susan, Matt]
~5 hour drive to Los Alamos with a stop at Colorado's oldest church in Conejos, Colorado. Arrived in Los Alamos, NM late afternoon and found a couple of camping spots around Bandelier. Los Alamos is adjacent to the Santa Fe National Forest and Bandelier National Monument. After getting settled in and paying the camp site fees, JT and I hot-footed it over to the packet pick-up and to take advantage of the free pasta. Caught up with our buddies from Austin, TX (Pete Mehok and Naresh Bhagavatha)--as well as some local yokels: Brooks Williams, James Kaminski, Sean Kute, and Andy Henshaw. Quick stop at the local supermarket for beer and ice and we all headed back to the campground.
I hate pre-race nights! Everybody is always in a great mood and wants to party--but as any runner knows, the act of partying has inevitable side-effects the next morning. Did we get to bed early and wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed...no. We stayed up into the early AM drinking booze. Finally Nacheaux (Lauren) gives me the ultimatum to "Go to bed BLOS!"...and so I did. ;) About 3 and 1/2 hours later we're waking up in a hungover frenzy and driving to the starting line. At the start, Katie and Nacheux pull JT out of the back of the truck, brush him off, explain to him that he is running a 50M race, and tell him to get going. I wish the 50-mile guys the best and head back to my car to finish waking up. An hour later I'm ready and out with the 50K group.
The best part of the trail (I thought) was climbing a ladder next to a waterfall in a very lush, shaded area of the trail. After about an hour of trail running at a pretty decent pace, my motivation was fading. A few hours into the trail, I pass some of the 50-mile runners running in the opposite direction. I pass JT and he tells me he is bailing at the next aid station due to injury-related issues. I pass Brooks at another point to hear him say, "Man, I don't think I'm gonna make it!" None of this did well for my motivation. Nonetheless, I was determined to finish this race--especially after my soapbox diatribe the night prior against people that DNF.
For the first time in my running career, I discovered the benefits of salt tablets. Somewhere around 22 miles into this race I noticed my fingers were swollen. Never had that happen before and, frankly, didn't know why. Suspecting it might be a hydration issue or hyponatremic reaction, I started popping those Succeed! caplets at the aid stations. Swelling started to go down and I discovered new-found energy.
Somewhere 24 miles or so into this race my GPS got tired of waiting for me to finish and died. So, I'll post this GPS plot from the race website instead:
The last part of the race was pretty boring as we were going down from higher altitude: hot, windy, dusty desert wasteland...
~8 hours later I'm finally wrapping this thing up. Whew! No finisher medals for this race--but we all got this cool poster:
...and our choice of a hand-crafted figurine made by one of the locals. I selected this:
I don't know what it is. I suppose it is some kind of candle holder--but it looks more like a urinal to me.
Start/End: Posse Shack, North Mesa in Los Alamos, NM. 6 AM start for 50K.
Result: 48th overall, 8:14:14
Group photo after the finish:
[James, Andy, Nick (overall winner of 50-mile), Brooks, Matt, Sean, JT, Pete]
Back to the campground for a short-lived evening before everyone was out for the count. Pete and Naresh needed to hit the road back to Austin so they took off shortly after we got back. Less than an hour later, Pete's car breaks down on the way out of town and Nacheaux went back to pick them up. I spent a good hour gazing at the stars after everyone had turned into pumpkins.
Sunday morning we were off to Taos, NM. After getting Pete and Naresh back on the road, we got lunch and hit Eske's Brewery in Taos. We went slightly out of the way to check out the Taos Gorge Bridge on the way out of town.
Excellent weekend with good friends. Next up, IronMan KS 70.3 in Lawrence, KS in less than 2 weeks!
Our trip began after an 8 AM breakfast at Purple Castle with Katie Throndsen, Jon Teisher, and Lauren Kennedy. The four of us planned to drive down together in two cars--as some of us were planning on sleeping *in* the car. We ran into Tanya Anderson and Susan Mopper that morning too.
[JT, Katie, Lauren, Tanya, Susan, Matt]
~5 hour drive to Los Alamos with a stop at Colorado's oldest church in Conejos, Colorado. Arrived in Los Alamos, NM late afternoon and found a couple of camping spots around Bandelier. Los Alamos is adjacent to the Santa Fe National Forest and Bandelier National Monument. After getting settled in and paying the camp site fees, JT and I hot-footed it over to the packet pick-up and to take advantage of the free pasta. Caught up with our buddies from Austin, TX (Pete Mehok and Naresh Bhagavatha)--as well as some local yokels: Brooks Williams, James Kaminski, Sean Kute, and Andy Henshaw. Quick stop at the local supermarket for beer and ice and we all headed back to the campground.
I hate pre-race nights! Everybody is always in a great mood and wants to party--but as any runner knows, the act of partying has inevitable side-effects the next morning. Did we get to bed early and wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed...no. We stayed up into the early AM drinking booze. Finally Nacheaux (Lauren) gives me the ultimatum to "Go to bed BLOS!"...and so I did. ;) About 3 and 1/2 hours later we're waking up in a hungover frenzy and driving to the starting line. At the start, Katie and Nacheux pull JT out of the back of the truck, brush him off, explain to him that he is running a 50M race, and tell him to get going. I wish the 50-mile guys the best and head back to my car to finish waking up. An hour later I'm ready and out with the 50K group.
The best part of the trail (I thought) was climbing a ladder next to a waterfall in a very lush, shaded area of the trail. After about an hour of trail running at a pretty decent pace, my motivation was fading. A few hours into the trail, I pass some of the 50-mile runners running in the opposite direction. I pass JT and he tells me he is bailing at the next aid station due to injury-related issues. I pass Brooks at another point to hear him say, "Man, I don't think I'm gonna make it!" None of this did well for my motivation. Nonetheless, I was determined to finish this race--especially after my soapbox diatribe the night prior against people that DNF.
For the first time in my running career, I discovered the benefits of salt tablets. Somewhere around 22 miles into this race I noticed my fingers were swollen. Never had that happen before and, frankly, didn't know why. Suspecting it might be a hydration issue or hyponatremic reaction, I started popping those Succeed! caplets at the aid stations. Swelling started to go down and I discovered new-found energy.
Somewhere 24 miles or so into this race my GPS got tired of waiting for me to finish and died. So, I'll post this GPS plot from the race website instead:
The last part of the race was pretty boring as we were going down from higher altitude: hot, windy, dusty desert wasteland...
~8 hours later I'm finally wrapping this thing up. Whew! No finisher medals for this race--but we all got this cool poster:
...and our choice of a hand-crafted figurine made by one of the locals. I selected this:
I don't know what it is. I suppose it is some kind of candle holder--but it looks more like a urinal to me.
Start/End: Posse Shack, North Mesa in Los Alamos, NM. 6 AM start for 50K.
Result: 48th overall, 8:14:14
Group photo after the finish:
[James, Andy, Nick (overall winner of 50-mile), Brooks, Matt, Sean, JT, Pete]
Back to the campground for a short-lived evening before everyone was out for the count. Pete and Naresh needed to hit the road back to Austin so they took off shortly after we got back. Less than an hour later, Pete's car breaks down on the way out of town and Nacheaux went back to pick them up. I spent a good hour gazing at the stars after everyone had turned into pumpkins.
Sunday morning we were off to Taos, NM. After getting Pete and Naresh back on the road, we got lunch and hit Eske's Brewery in Taos. We went slightly out of the way to check out the Taos Gorge Bridge on the way out of town.
Excellent weekend with good friends. Next up, IronMan KS 70.3 in Lawrence, KS in less than 2 weeks!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Collegiate Peaks
Fighting a cold on Friday, I took it easy and avoided contact with everyone. Threw down a lot of Airborne and cranberry juice and hit the sack at 9:30 PM. Up at 2:30 AM and on the road to Buena Vista by 3:30 AM for race start at 6:30 AM. By the time I got to BV, I felt pretty good (mostly over the cold)--but not entirely 100%.
This was my fourth big race for 2010: a 25-mile trail run beginning and ending near the Arkansas River and consisting of mostly Jeep and single-track trails--some along part of the historic Midland Railroad.
GPS:
This was my fourth big race for 2010: a 25-mile trail run beginning and ending near the Arkansas River and consisting of mostly Jeep and single-track trails--some along part of the historic Midland Railroad.
GPS:
Conditions were better than anticipated: cool and clear skies (forecast was for snow). I learned a hard lesson from my recent (and first) trail marathon in Salida: took plenty of water this time...and glad I did.
Ran pretty strong through mile 21 or so. I started to bonk during the last few miles, consequently losing about 15 slots to other runners. Ultimately finished in ~4:11:30.
Finished off the BV visit drinking at the new Eddyline Brewery with a bunch of hasher and Colorado Springs friends (and, of course, a mandatory stop at the Green Parrot) while waiting for a few of our other buddies to finish the 50-mile.
Excellent day!
www.collegiatepeakstrailrun.org
Next up, Jemez 50K in three weeks and lots of training to do before that!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Time to step it up a knotch...
Good weather is back, DIM hash season is now upon us, and I've got some serious races coming up...
* Collegiate Peaks 25 miler
* Jemez 50K
* Half Ironman KS 70.3
...all within the next month and a few weeks. Sheesh. How'd I get myself into this one. I'm trying to step up the mileage a bit each day and work in more time on my road bike as well. Tryin' to hit the pool a couple of times a week. The trite expression "sink or swim" couldn't be more appropriate right now.
* Collegiate Peaks 25 miler
* Jemez 50K
* Half Ironman KS 70.3
...all within the next month and a few weeks. Sheesh. How'd I get myself into this one. I'm trying to step up the mileage a bit each day and work in more time on my road bike as well. Tryin' to hit the pool a couple of times a week. The trite expression "sink or swim" couldn't be more appropriate right now.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Salida Marathon Weekend
Departing from the Springs around 6 PM on Friday, I was expecting a great weekend--and a what a weekend it turned out to be!
Kerry Page, Bill Ewell, Lauren Kennedy, Jon Teisher, Katie Throndson, Rick De Pena, Gordon Barnett and myself all spent two nights at the Salida Simple Hostel and Lodge and participated in the Salida Marathon Weekend. This race was only 40 bones and the hostel was a bargain. The hostel was just around the corner from the start/finish of the marathon--and within stumbling distance of all the cool bars. More friends from the Springs joined us race morning--including Brooks Williams and James Kaminski.
Turned out to be the second worst trail conditions on record for this race (which has been going on for 5 years now). This didn't bother any of us--as we suspected pretty sloppy conditions in the mountains in the spring. The last 8 miles or so was the worst. It was mostly downhill and they at least saved us the trouble of having to posthole through two feet of snow this year by graciously dropping a set of Snowcat tracks for us to follow.
Being my first *trail* marathon, certain obvious things slipped my mind--like bringing water. Yes there were aid stations--but there was probably 8-9 miles between the last aid station and the end--a little longer than I could go without hydration. While slipping and sliding around on slushy/muddy trails, I experienced mild hallucinations. Stopped a few times to eat handful after handful of snow. The mountain views were superb though--so who's complaining!
I was making pretty acceptable time for the first half (~2000 ft net ascent). No more than 3/4 of a mile or so behind JT and Brooks, I was determined to catch up on the downhill part. These guys apparently had much less problems that I did getting through the forthcoming slop. JT finished in just under 4 hours and Brooks in a little over 4 hours. Me, just under 5--plenty of time for the boys to knock out a half dozen PBR's outside of the Salida Steamplant and Events Center. I still managed to take 40 place overall out of 108 or so. Que sera sera. See http://www.salidarec.com/ccrc/results/2010-Run-Through-Time-Results.htm for the official results.
According to my GPS, ~6400 ft of total ascent/descent:
Two epic nights of partying with the crew, plenty of Moonlight Pizza consumption, and a great workout/race experience!
Kerry Page, Bill Ewell, Lauren Kennedy, Jon Teisher, Katie Throndson, Rick De Pena, Gordon Barnett and myself all spent two nights at the Salida Simple Hostel and Lodge and participated in the Salida Marathon Weekend. This race was only 40 bones and the hostel was a bargain. The hostel was just around the corner from the start/finish of the marathon--and within stumbling distance of all the cool bars. More friends from the Springs joined us race morning--including Brooks Williams and James Kaminski.
Turned out to be the second worst trail conditions on record for this race (which has been going on for 5 years now). This didn't bother any of us--as we suspected pretty sloppy conditions in the mountains in the spring. The last 8 miles or so was the worst. It was mostly downhill and they at least saved us the trouble of having to posthole through two feet of snow this year by graciously dropping a set of Snowcat tracks for us to follow.
Being my first *trail* marathon, certain obvious things slipped my mind--like bringing water. Yes there were aid stations--but there was probably 8-9 miles between the last aid station and the end--a little longer than I could go without hydration. While slipping and sliding around on slushy/muddy trails, I experienced mild hallucinations. Stopped a few times to eat handful after handful of snow. The mountain views were superb though--so who's complaining!
I was making pretty acceptable time for the first half (~2000 ft net ascent). No more than 3/4 of a mile or so behind JT and Brooks, I was determined to catch up on the downhill part. These guys apparently had much less problems that I did getting through the forthcoming slop. JT finished in just under 4 hours and Brooks in a little over 4 hours. Me, just under 5--plenty of time for the boys to knock out a half dozen PBR's outside of the Salida Steamplant and Events Center. I still managed to take 40 place overall out of 108 or so. Que sera sera. See http://www.salidarec.com/ccrc/results/2010-Run-Through-Time-Results.htm for the official results.
According to my GPS, ~6400 ft of total ascent/descent:
Two epic nights of partying with the crew, plenty of Moonlight Pizza consumption, and a great workout/race experience!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Austin Weekend
This last weekend I traveled to Austin for the marathon. Did the half last year--and wished ever since that I had run the full. Running this marathon may become an annual thing--I at least need my Austin fix once a year! I'm debating going back for the Austin City Limits Music Festival later this year.
This time around I decided to take Bart Yasso's advice and run negative splits. I ran the first 4-5 miles just under an 8-minute mile--letting people pass me all along the way and resisting temptation to speed up too soon. Around mile 5 I threw off the jacket and gloves and slowly crept towards a 7-minute mile. I took mental note of all the people (who passed me earlier on) that I would pass later on. About three miles from the finish my friend Shelby started cheering me on and running with me alongside the course. I kicked it into overdrive for the last few miles (maybe a 6-minute mile). At no point did I slow down--but I never quite managed to catch up with the 3:10:00 pace group.
This time around I decided to take Bart Yasso's advice and run negative splits. I ran the first 4-5 miles just under an 8-minute mile--letting people pass me all along the way and resisting temptation to speed up too soon. Around mile 5 I threw off the jacket and gloves and slowly crept towards a 7-minute mile. I took mental note of all the people (who passed me earlier on) that I would pass later on. About three miles from the finish my friend Shelby started cheering me on and running with me alongside the course. I kicked it into overdrive for the last few miles (maybe a 6-minute mile). At no point did I slow down--but I never quite managed to catch up with the 3:10:00 pace group.
This marathon re-assured me that a 3:10 Boston qualifier is definitely attainable in the next "regular" marathon I run--later this year.
Official result: 03:12:26
On-on to Salida next month...
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Disney results...
Goofy Challenge:
Kerry: 1:39:53 (half), 3:50:53 (full)
Karen: 1:45:01 (half), 4:08:34 (full)
Jesus: 1:39:09 (half), 4:32:16 (full)
Matt: 1:30:57 (half), 3:48:59 (full)
Marathon:
Lauren: 4:32:17
Charlie: 3:54:04
Josh: 3:08:56
Kerry: 1:39:53 (half), 3:50:53 (full)
Karen: 1:45:01 (half), 4:08:34 (full)
Jesus: 1:39:09 (half), 4:32:16 (full)
Matt: 1:30:57 (half), 3:48:59 (full)
Marathon:
Lauren: 4:32:17
Charlie: 3:54:04
Josh: 3:08:56
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