Promise Land and Updates

Some days go smoothly.  Some days are trials of mental strength.  Promise Land was the latter.  Early this year I had set this as a focus for the year, and trained through both Holiday Lake and Terrapin Mountain earlier in the year to be able to peak leading up to Promise Land.  I felt pretty much back to normal only a couple days after Terrapin Mountain last month, so I put in 3 solid training weeks with long runs, tempo runs, hill work, and climbing workouts before a structured two-week taper into Promise Land.  I was really tired by the time I finished that third week of training, but I figured two weeks would be plenty of time to regroup before the race. Apparently not.  I went through some ups and downs in energy levels in those couple weeks, and was sick for about 5 days in the middle.

Starting up the climb from the start Saturday morning, I knew I didn't feel right.  I felt pretty low, even though I had actually eaten a 300 calorie breakfast an hour before the start.  I settled in to some alternating hiking up that climb to take in some Gu and hope things turned around.  I started with a Lemon-Lime gel to avoid caffeine so early, and the taste made me gag. So there's another gel flavor I can't take anymore.  I was actually surprised at how mellow the grade was all the way to the first aid station and then again on the climb to the parkway the first time.  If I'd had energy I would have made that much faster.  I took a roctane gel on the stretch of path alongside the parkway and that perked me up a little.  I had still been running very conservatively all the way to Sunset Fields 1 waiting for my energy to come.  I thought the upcoming downhill would help since I really love technical downhill.  I got stuck behind a group of 8 guys here that were trotting down and several of them were not very courteous to my passing.  After a couple minutes I made it through the pack and started rolling downhill.  I had fun with this section and it perked me up a bit, but I felt the descent a lot more than I should have.  The section from Cornelius Creek to the mile 21ish aid station was uneventful.  I had taken a couple ibuprofen and was downing Clif Bloks as best I could to get some energy.  When I got to the mile 21 aid station just before the long climb back up to Cornelius Creek and then Sunset Fields, I was frustrated that i still did not have energy so I just said "F*** it" and decided that I might as well try to make up time.  I ducked my head down and began to grind.  I ran every step from that aid station to the 176 steps (except for a single 6-step set of stone stairs).  I guess those uphill treadmill workouts did some good.  I passed several people through here and it was a little motivating as I was trying to salvage my day as best I could.

I started to run up the stair section, but on the first step my calf seized and the cramps began.  I started an arm-swinging power hikes, lifting from my hips and keeping my feet flat to not flex my calves.  This worked fairly well actually, and afterwords the grade became level enough to run without cramping.   When I hit Sunset Fields for the last time, the sky was dark and storms were beginning to roll in.  The temperature felt lower than the 45-degree start at 5:30am.  I ate a handful of salt (they were out of potatoes) and left quickly for the downhill to the finish, fearing the storms as I was shirtless and did not have a shell or anything.  I have to admit, when the rain, then sleet, then hail hit on the grassy trail just down from Sunset Fields, running scared of hypothermia put some extra pep in my step.  I ran this section pretty fast even though I was definitely suffering down the mountain.  I was on the very of cramps still and the hail coming down on my tensed-up skin was stinging a good bit.  I got to the gravel road section and another guy showed up right behind me.  We both left for the finish, sprinting down the service road as fast as we could.  My form was poor from here on as I had adjusted to put most of the hammering onto my quads.  We really flew through this and I was just glad to be done when I hobbled across the finish line after my right leg cramps up just before crossing into the field.  All told, I only ate 2.5 gels, 6 clif bloks, and an orange slice all race.

So after the fact, I am content with how the day played out.  It was not the race I trained for and not the race I wanted, but I do think it was what I needed.  Holiday Lake, Terrapin Mountain, and my Spring training had gone off without a hitch, and I hadn't suffered in a while.  This is the most I've suffered to have still finished a race, and it gave me confidence in beginning my training for Grindstone in October.   I'll definitely be back to Promise Land, most likely next year, and knowing the course now, I'm excited for that.

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In other news, I, along a few friends, have set up a Virginia Tech Trail/Ultrarunning club team.  Pretty pumped for this to be official and to hopefully get more people out onto the trails next year.  Further, I heard back yesterday and we are confirmed for Gu sponsorship for the following year!

Last week was a pretty good training week, even if I was pretty drained by the end of the weekend.  If anyone is curious, this is exactly what I did last week, and I've tried to do some version of this most every week this Spring.


Monday 8 Miles, tempo.  Run smooth up old farm, then at an anaerobic pace all the way around beauty and up beast, then smooth back down old farm with a little jogging/strides at the end.  This was supposed to be 12-14, but time didn't allow

Tuesday:
AM: 5 Miles Shakeout
PM: 9 Miles Same Route as yesterday, but also ran up to the camping area on Horse Nettle.

Wednesday: 5 Mile easy day.

Thursday:
AM: 6 mile treadmill workout.
Warm up, then 2.75 miles alternating quarter miles of running at 11.5% and walking 18% for 2000ft of climb, followed by a short progression run (drop  ~:10 from the mile time every 30 seconds, hold at ~5:50 for 1 minute), cool down
PM: 10 miles--up Old Farm, down Beauty, up Snake Root, and back down Old Farm with Rudy and Frank.  Definitely felt the morning's workout when we were climbing.

Friday:
6 Mile maintenance day
I've started doing this once every week to 10 days or so, and I think they've been a good help.

4 miles from my apartment, then plyometrics followed by 1 mile barefoot and a mile back to the apartment for a longer core workout.

Saturday:
19.5ish miles exploring by Mountain Lake with Rudy, GPS data here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/165645597
We hit a 1/3 mile 700ft climb straight up the side of the mountain on an old game trail that runs along a rock garden to a cliff overlook at the top.  Looking into a race of some kind up there.

Sunday:
20 Mile slog at Pandapas.

La Sportiva Vertical K Review

Bear with me since this is my first gear review, but I'll give it my best shot.


First off:
I've been looking forward to these shoes since iRunFar posted their first preview of the shoe last year, and I'm happily surprise to see a shoe that live up to its hype.  I took them out for a 13 mile tempo workout on the local trail system, which thanks to the recent rain we've gotten allowed me to really put the shoes through their paces.

Sizing
I was lucky to snag my size for the Vertical K, since (online at least) they've seen a very limited release.  I went with a Size 45, which length-wise is just shy of an 11.5, my usual shoe size (worn for toebox width, not length).  La Sportiva is known for having overly narrow shoes, but I was pleasantly surprised with these.  They are my first pair of La Sportivas so I can't speak to their other shoes, but these felt wide on the forefoot.  The upper seemed to hug my foot, but I could still easily splay my toes.  By looking at top profile of the shoe, you can see it has a flatter toe bumper than most shoes, immediately widening, which seems to have a fairly anatomical fit.

Upper
The upper is two-layers, Airmesh against the foot, with a Super thin nylon wrap over the shoe used as a scree guard.  The tongue system is one I haven't seen before, with only one open slit, on the inside of the tongue, a little further inward than a regular shoe-tongue.  This bothered me the first time I pulled on the shoes, as the tongue flipped under itself.  This was easily remedied, but I don't know why they didn't just use a full foot-wrap for the tongue.

One of my favorite parts of the shoe is the structure of the support system.  The looping points of the laces down the shoe double as the support, which seems to allow the upper to stretch when your foot need it, but still lock the foot in well.  I was able to plant around switchbacks without my foot sliding outward.  I did feel my foot slide forward a little on faster descents, but I believe that could easily be fixed by adjusting the laces before my next run.

Something I should note, that I don't like, but shouldn't be a problem for most people, is the seems on the inside. the heel cup and tong are made of a soft mesh, but the sides have subtle seems running along them.  These are all the same seams you see running along the outside of the shoe.  I only mention it because I like running without socks, and it might pose a problem with that, but I didn't feel any issues with regular swiftwick socks on.

I can't say much for the toe bumper. It looks and feels rugged enough to do its job, but I don't really ever kick rocks so I can't report anything.

Now for the best part of the shoe..
Sole

Photo by iRunFar

The big selling point for the Vertical K, and rightfully so, is its "Morphodynamic" sole, along with the 'FriXion' super sticky rubber outsole.  Walking around on pavement, the cushion actually reminds me of Hoka One Ones (though much less).  The idea behind the morphodynamic sole, and the lack of rock plate, is that the super soft midsole should absorb rocks and roots.  I aims for roots and rocks on sections of my run to see how it went, and while I could feel them, it was not uncomfortable unless I caught a sharp rock in one of the cut-out sections with a thinner midsole.  I felt that, for me, there was enough underfoot for most any run.

I really love the sticky rubber outsole.  It really made a difference coming from the hard rubber outsole of the Saucony Peregrines (my last trail shoe), and gave me the most confidence running downhill I've ever had.  The sticky rubber grabs so well that, rather than slowing nearly to a halt on switchbacks, I was able to come in full speed and simply pivot off without slipping even slightly.  The sticky rubber allowed me to feel very confident jumping down rocks and roots of steep technical downhill.

The lug pattern is simple, but effective enough.  This is likely due to the lugs coupled with the wavy shape of the sole.  The shoe grabbed well even in mud, with just a little lateral sliding on turnover.


All in all, I love this shoe. I'm likely not going to wear it for the bulk of 100 mile training this summer, but it will most definitely be my 50(k)-and-under shoe.


5/26 Edit:  I've put another couple hundred miles on these now,  and I'm very please with them.  They are a bit thin for super rocky runs, to where I can feel the rocks underfoot, but my feet aren't really sore after.  I do most of my runs in these, and use the Salomon Speedcross 3 for really long runs or if my feet feel as if they need a rest.

Spring Break fun

I'm back into my daily routine after a full week off last week that I was lucky enough to spend doing things I enjoy.  I logged 130 miles in the 9 days I was on break, with two overlapping seven-day periods being over 100 miles.  That's the most mileage I've done this year, and I'm really happy with how well my legs absorbed it.

I started the break driving down to Georgia to do a small event attached to the new Double Top 100.  They had a 4-hour hill climb challenge that sent you up and down a 1-mile out-and-back up a powerline cut trail with maybe 400 ft of gain.  I'd never done something like this before, so I threw out 15 miles as a reasonable number for the day. After the first few laps, the whole thing became very comfortable as I bounced back and forth with a nice PT student from Atlanta, whose boyfriend was currently winning, almost a mile ahead of us already.  I thought about giving chase, but I kept with my plan of using this as a hard training effort for the two mountain 50ks I'm racing later this spring.  I pushed every descent and ran/power-hiked every up, though as the race went on, the ratio shifted toward a lot more power-hiking.  I stopped at 3:50 with 19 laps done, happy with the day.

Last Thursday I was fortunate to drive up into the Roan Highlands, a massif that sits betweeen 5500 and 6200 feet, less than two hours away.  I hadn't been that high up since summer, so I got a bit excited and ended up doing a 19-mile, 3 hour run over to Pot(s) Mountain, and back with some exploring the balds.  The trail up high was super rocky, and my favorite kind of trail for downhill.  Trail where you never really open stride, you just crouch a little and let your ankles do the work of keeping yourself upright as you jump around the rocks, hopping down 2-foot drops onto loose rock.  I really liked the area, and I'm looking forward to getting back out there this summer.

It was super winder along the balds

Then on Saturday, I met up with several of my favorite people, from the IMTR group, to run Eric's infamous 'two hour loop' over by Skulls Gap and Hurricane Gap. It is a fast loop, but 2-hours is insane.

Just a week and a half to go until Terrapin now. I had planned on training straight through, but I've got some aches in my feet that need to be addressed, and the mileage from the past couple weeks is catching up to me, so I think it's time for a short taper/recovery week anyway.

Holiday Lake!

Yesterday was the 17th running of the Holiday 50k(++) near Appomattox, Virginia.  It's  fun race in its own right, and it's pretty fast; although it is a bit flat for my taste.  The two loops make for interesting play as you can try to negative split if you'd like.  I can't really write an exciting report of the race since the terrain is a bit uninspiring compared to a mountain race, and possibly since it's my second time at the race, but here you go.


I sort of tapered for the week leading up to the race in that I skipped my long run last weekend, and then got miserably sick on Sunday, preventing me from running much the past week even if I'd wanted to.   Toeing the line Saturday, I felt itching to run, but I wasn't really sure how I planned to run the race.  I got hurt last year after Holiday Lake and had to pull out of Promise Land in April, so I didn't want that to happen.  A nagging IT band the days leading up to the race had me planning a conservative race, and that's what I did, if only just to have fun.  My IT band was sore leading up to Horton's sound-off at the start, but after that I haven't felt it again. It's funny how those things work.  I picked a couple of the faster ladies who was running a nice pace and followed in behind her for a while, just cruising along.  After a few miles, they took off for faster times and I just kept hanging out.  After running with a Liberty student I've run with before (nicknamed Idiot...I wish I knew his real name), he told me he was aiming for sub-5.   Sub-5 is a nice little benchmark and it would be a PR for me so I decided then it would be nice fitness test to see if I could run comfortably all day and still hit that...and that's exactly what I did!

I coasted through the halfway point not paying any attention to the time and after grabbing a bag of energy chews (Pink Lemonade Honey Stinger are delicious!) from my bag, I headed onward.  After a while, a lot of people who had passed me early in the race started coming back as I just held my comfortable cadence, hiking the couple super steep hills and grinding out the rest of them.

There's long section of soft doubletrack that follows some powerlines at around Mile 22-24, and somewhere in there, the unexpected heat of the day and my adjusted stride from my still healing right ankle cause my right hamstring to grab.  Another awkward stride change to keep the leg straighter (I'm glad HL isn't technical!) and I was still trucking along.  At the next aid station I just grabbed salt off a plate and ate it,  which helped.  The two super cold stream crossings locked it up again though, so I grabbed more salt at the last aid station before moving on.

I felt a bit low with 3ish miles left (no calories for a while) and a nice Australian man gave me a gel that I sucked down and started picking up the pace some; he followed suit.  Somewhere around here, local runner/friend Rachel Corrigan passed me on her way to finishing 11th overall. She had a bit of a breakthrough race yesterday! The Australian and I were moving along nicely with like a mile left and he mentioned we were starting to cut the 5-hour mark a little close, so when we hit the road, I leaned into it and just let gravity take me down all the way to the finish.  I just squeaked by too.

So, I finished the first race of the Beast Series (which I'm leaning toward over the LUS) still feeling pretty fresh.  Today, I was a little stiff, but other than a nagging right knee from the awkward form I had for a while, I don't feel any worse for wear.  Next up is the Gahuti Ring-of-power challenge on March 3 in Georgia!

2012 Running plans and fun.

I think I've made a few 2012-themed posts already, but I've just not really been sure what I wanted out of the year.  With Holiday Lake a week away though and this head cold keeping me indoors, I thought I'd make a post.

I'm doing a two week taper for Holiday Lake, sort of out of necessity. I didn't take as much time off after Hellgate as I'd planned (meaning only 4 days), and I have a tendency to run pretty high mileage during the winter.  The amount of trails near my home and the free time of having no classes makes me head out the door for a lot of running.  So by the time last week was ending, although I had put in a recovery week in the middle of January, my body was asking for some leisure time.  Thankfully Holiday Lake was coming up so I just pushed through a hard week before beginning a real two week taper.  I'm taking Holiday Lake to be a fitness test for the start of the new year.  I'd like to see where I am compared to last year, so all I really want to do is PR.  I'm planning to peak for Promised Land and then the Eastern Divide 50k in June to have good runs at those--the latter will most definitely be a big PR.

Racing aside, I want to just run more this year.  I've been discovering a lot of new trail in the area and I want to just go run. Having only 4 days of classes this semester will let me get out for some super long weekends too.  I'm planning to head down to Umstead in March to crew/pace Jennifer as she runs her first 100.  That will be a great experience, and I'm excited to be able to help her get to the finish line however I can.  She's been a great encouragement to me.

My real goal for the year is finishing Grindstone in October, and beyond that, trying to finish the Beast Series.  If I get through GS, there's no reason not to toe the line at Masochist and try to finish it all.  That all depends on how much I get to run this summer between classes and working though.

Workouts.

This past Saturday I did specific two-a-day workout that I read about on a blog, and I think I'll start incorporating them more regularly.  In the morning, do a "long" run of 15-20 miles and a comfortable pace, then that night do a hard foot turnover workout (I did an 8 mile tempo). It gives you pretty good mileage on the day and trains your body to run fast when tired.  I'm not going to replace long run days with these, but I think I'll do them during the week every couple weeks.  The evening workout can be hellish, so they won't become frequent.

I feel really good about wear my fitness is right now. My legs are absorbing whatever I throw at them, and while I'm only running ~70-76 mpw right now compared to the 85 I was running this fall, I feel strong and faster.  I'm not slacking off so much as just focusing more since I'm not running anything longer than a 50k until August. 

This weekend I'm going out with Rudy from the VT Tri team and whoever else might decide to tag along to do back-to-back long runs.  The Saturday run will be an AT route I've wanted to do for a while but haven't since it requires stashing a car.  20 miles of singletrack with ~5500 feet of elevation gain, which is the most you can really get here without just doing hill repeats or heading north of Roanoke.