Mountain Flyer Article

Mountain Flyer Magazine has a nice DawntilDusk article with Pictures:

Check it out: http://www.mountainflyer.com/news.cfm?itemid=355

Thanks Dan!

12 Hours of Fun in the Sun

"How can something so fun hurt so much?" Dan Durland

A perfect description of the DawntilDusk_Mountain_Bike_Race. The course is a mountain bikers dream but after almost 12 hours of racing, it hurts.

One of the exposed sections of the course (borrowed from race web site)

I was really looking forward to DawnTillDusk. The first mountain bike race of the year, and with all the running I’ve been doing, I had no idea where I was technically or physically on the bike. I knew I was getting dropped on group rides, but those rides usually followed a hard run. I really wanted to see how I’d do rested and in a racing frame of mind.

So a small contingent of ProCycling: Dan & Kara Durland (Single Speed Super Studs), Charlie Dunn, Roswitha, Max, and myself drove the eight hours to Gallup, NM and rode a lap of the race course on Friday, the day before the race. Thirteen + miles of great single track that offers a little of everything; rough rocky sections, smooth fast sections, steep climbs, technical descents, fast descents, and exposed sections with tight switchbacks. An absolute dream course! I highly recommend it.

Dan & Kara Pre-riding course

The race started in mass on a dirt road that took us about 6 miles to the back side of the course. There were approximately 125 solo riders plus teams of various makeup (duo, 3, 4 person etc). The purpose of the road was to get everyone separated before we hit the single track. Once on the single track we stayed there for the rest of the day. The start was fast and on a rutted dirt road with a couple hundred mountain bikers riding in a pack, naturally there were crashes. One guy went down hard right next to me about three miles into it.

I was in good position once we hit the single track and my strategy was to keep steady, ride efficient, and only make pit stops every second lap. I figured if I could get eight or nine laps in at 5 minutes a pit stop, that’s 40 – 45 minutes of lost time. My goal was to cut that by at least half. So the first four laps went pretty smooth and I built somewhat of a lead in the Masters 50+ category. The course is extremely busy requiring full focus at all times. There is no place to recover or let your guard down. By the 5th lap fatigue started setting in and sometimes I lost focus which usually ended in overshooting a turn or crash.

As time went on the fatigue and pain increased and so did the mistakes. My laps were getting slower and 2nd & 3rd place were closing in on me. I crashed in the 6th lap hurting the same wrist I broke last fall and by the 7th lap my pedals felt like they were burning a hole through my shoes. Hills that I was previously climbing in my big and middle chain ring I was now climbing in the middle, granny, or pushing. As we finished the 8th lap, Roswitha, who provided perfect support throughout informed me there was only three minutes between 1st 2nd & 3rd place, and I was in second. This news, along with a couple Advils brought me out of the feel sorry for myself mode and I decided this was a one lap race. As far as I was concerned the eight previous laps never happened and the race just started. I gave it everything. I came up on the leader barely pedaling up a hill and passed as hard as I could to discourage him from challenging. I opened a gap quickly as he wasn’t responding. This fueled the fire and for the next hour I rode all out and for some reason all the pain I was feeling in the previous laps didn’t seem so intense. In the end I won the 50+ Masters category by 4 minutes with 9 laps in 11 hrs and 24 Min. Dan absolutely smoked, winning the single speed category with 10 laps. Kara also kicked butt winning the female SS with the second fastest time of all females with or without gears. Charlie had a great race bringing in 4th in the SS category. A great showing for Team ProCycling!

All in all a great weekend. This race certainly wasted me and recovery has been kind of slow. I’m now rethinking the Collegiate Peaks 50 mile run(in less than 3 weeks from now) followed one week later with the Mesa Verde 12 hour mountain bike race. I think I may have to drop one of them from the schedule. This ultra distance stuff takes a lot out ya! Next week a group of us are headed to Moab to ride the White Rim Trail in a day. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a lot of good pictures.

Spring Time in Colorado!

CRUD Run - Red Rocks

(Photo by Steve Bremner)

It’s been a typical March week in Colorado. One day in the 60s the next a snow storm, followed by 60s, followed by a snow storm, followed by…

This week was a semi recovery week following Bataan. I was REALLY sore on Monday, but with only two weeks until DawnTillDusk, there is no rest for the wicked, especially after seeing how hard Andy_Henshaw works out. Andy is definitely an up and coming star in the Ultra world. He makes me feel like a wimp, although he did say he considers me an OG Bad Ass (Old Generation), which made me feel a little better… I think.

Monday was a rest day. I pretty much hobbled around the office while everyone made fun of my condition. I did start stretching, something I am going to do consistently from now on. Tuesday was an easy ride home from work which really helped loosen things up. On the way, I came up on Andy and Harsha doing interval workouts and rode along with them. OK get this. Andy was nearing 40 miles as I rode along with him on one of his 4 eight mile tempo runs. Each of his tempo runs were sub 6:30 pace. I rode with him on his 4th eight mile tempo and he averaged 6:15! Makes me feel like a slacker. It was just starting to rain as I left him and by the time I got home it was snowing pretty hard.

Tuesday was an easy ride home from work which really helped loosen things up. On the way, I came up on Andy and Harsha doing interval workouts and rode along with them. OK get this. Andy was nearing 40 miles as I rode along with him on one of his 4 eight mile tempo runs. Each of his tempo runs were sub 6:30 pace. I rode with him on his 4th eight mile tempo and he averaged 6:15! Makes me feel like a slacker. It was just starting to rain as I left him and by the time I got home it was snowing pretty hard.

Wednesday, woke up to 6 inches of snow. Since I rode my bike home and my truck was at work, I had to run to work. It was pretty slow going running in deep snow, and some sections were icy. It’s just under 15 miles to work, but I took a couple short cuts and got it down to 14. Note to self: When running to work, don’t pack a bowl of salad in my backpack. It looks like it went through a blender.

Thursday, I was starting to feel recovered from Bataan, so I decided to ride some hills on the way home. Didn’t break any records but I did get three pretty significant climbs: Perigrin/Blodgett Peak, Flying W/Rossmere, and Flying W again. Legs felt a bit tired, but I was able to get my heart rate up to lactate threshold, so I must be recovering. I also stretched when I got home. (Hard to do when dinner is sitting on the table).

Friday started out with going down to the basement for strength training and stepping in cat puke. Hey at least its Friday! After hitting the weights did a very refreshing and energetic ride to work. Absolutely beautiful morning!

Saturday CRUD run. Eighteen miles starting from downtown through Bear Creek Park to Cheyenne Canyon, Section 16 to Red Rocks, Garden of the Gods, Sonderman Park back to downtown Colorado Springs. As with all CRUD runs, just too much fun. We had typical Colorado Spring weather: started in a blizzard and by the time we finished, the sun was shining and the snow melting.

Happy CRUD Runners
(Photo by Harsha Nagaraj)

Sunday - long road ride. Beautiful day today, with almost no trace of the early snow storm yesterday. Warmed up for an hour then met Kevin and we headed north for some hills on the Air Force Academy and Roller Coaster road. I felt pretty good and climbed decent, but still have a lot of work to do. After riding three hours with Kevin, continued on with some more hills and a loop around Garden of the Gods. Actually felt strongest the last 1 ½ hours.

Less than two weeks until DawntilDusk . My plan is to really hammer next week, then rest up for the first big mountain bike race of the year. Looking forward to it!!!

Training Log
Mon: Rest
Tues: PM: Bike, 1.5 hrs (Ride home)
Wed: AM: Run, 2.2 hrs (Run to work)
Thurs: PM: Bike, 2.2 hrs (Ride home w/Hills)
Fri: AM: Strength/Bike, 0.9 hrs (Ride work)
Sat: AM: Run, 3 hrs (CRUD Run)

Sun: AM: Bike, 5.4 hrs (Road - 5,560 ft climbing)

The Bataan Death March Memorial Marathon

Almost simultaneously with the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attacked several other Pacific islands to include the Philippines. After three months of intense battle, defending the Bataan Peninsula Philippines, American & allied soldiers, starving, low on ammunition, suffering from Malaria and other diseases, surrounded with no chance of re-enforcements, were surrendered to the Japanese. This resulted in what’s known as the Bataan Death March. A 60 miles forced march of 70,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war through atrocious conditions. Beheadings, cutting of throats, casual shootings, bayonet stabbings, rape, disembowelment, crushed skulls resulting from rifle butt beatings, and denial of food or water were all part of a week long march in the tropical heat. Falling down or inability to continue moving was a death sentence, as was any sign of protest. Those who fell were bayoneted and/or run over by tanks or trucks. Those who stopped to help a fallen comrade were also bayoneted. In some instances trucks with Japanese soldiers drove by with bayonets out, slicing the marching prisoners’ throats. When passing a stream, prisoners who broke ranks and went for water were executed. Thousands died on the way. Only 54,000 reached the camp. Once the survivors reached camp, conditions did not improve. They continued to be tortured, starved, and executed in various prison camps scattered throughout Japan & the Pacific. For over three years these men endured unimaginable torture, disease, and starvation. As Japan started losing ground in the war and got word of possible War Crime Trials, an order to execute all witnesses (prisoners) was given. Over 150 American POWs were herded into raid shelters, doused with gasoline, and burned alive. Almost three years after the surrender of Bataan, US Army Rangers along with Filipino Guerillas, pulled off the most daring and successful raid in US history, resulting in the liberation of 512 POWs from Camp Cabanatuan.

97 Years and Still Going!

The Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon is much more than a marathon. It is a weekend of history, emotional ceremonies, meeting and hearing the stories of the dozen or so remaining survivors from this unimaginable ordeal, celebrating our freedom, mingling with people and soldiers from all over the world (Japanese soldiers don’t participate) and running an incredibly scenic marathon on trails through the open desert.

The event starts Saturday with seminars on the history of the Battling Bastards of Bataan, the death march, and the death camps they were subject to for over three years. Then you get to meet the survivors, hear their stories, and ask them questions. A very well organized Pasta party in the late afternoon followed by a free showing of The-Great-Raid: a movie depicting the heroic rescue of the POWs from Camp Cabanatuan.

The start of the marathon was definitely unique. It began with very moving ceremony. Then we were herded in different staging areas (5,700 participants in a plethora of categories) and as we approached the starting line, the survivors shook our hands as we passed.

Once we started I was very surprised to find myself up front in a group of four. After ¾ of a mile, although the pace felt comfortable, I looked at my Garmin and saw we were running about 6:30. Way too fast. I backed off and was caught by three guys and stayed with them for the next two miles. We were still running about 6:40 – 6:45 which again I thought was too fast. (I learned a lesson about going out too fast in the Akron Marathon). So I backed off again. One of the guys backed off with me. I mentioned to him I was too old for that pace. Turned out he was in the same age group as me. For the next 4 or 5 miles we took turns taking the lead, kind of yo-yoing each other until we hit the first major climb. At that point I started to pull away. The climb was a long 5 – 6 mile (I think from miles 8 – 14) that is very similar to Rampart Range Road, a regular part of CRUD runs. I steadily pulled away and slowly started catching the two (5th & 4th places) as we climbed further. I didn’t know how hard to push because I didn’t know how long the hill was. It got the steepest the last mile or so and I almost closed on them. We then ran fairly steep downhill for a couple of miles in which they got away. I tried my best to open it up and let it fly, but my hamstrings were just too tight and I couldn’t open a good stride. Note to self, I REALLY need to do more stretching or yoga or something! By the time we got to the bottom of the hill I was caught from behind from another runner. At this point the course turned into steep rollers along a ridge line. For the next 2 – 3 miles I would open a gap on the ups and he would close it on the downs. We completed a loop by joining back on the same road we ran up about two miles into the climb. We were now running in the opposite direction of the hundreds of runners & marchers going up the hill. Most were soldiers in uniform, some carrying 35 lbs rucksacks. I began falling behind on the descent, again, my hamstrings just wouldn’t stretch far enough to open my stride. It was very cool high fiving the soldiers going up the hill as I was coming down. At the bottom of the hill we turned on to the trail that everyone talked about. The sand traps. This was a long section of very deep sand. The rest of the course was in open desert and sandy, but this was deep and slow going. I tried to run as light as possible and not power through. We were also passing the half marathoners who were mostly walking this section. The guy I ran the ridge with was now out of sight, and with about 6 miles ago, I was starting to get into the survival mode. “Just keep running, stay relaxed, don’t cramp, think positive, take in the mountains and the views” type thinking. The sand pit seemed to last forever, and finally after passing the 22 mark the trail seemed pretty solid. It wound and twisted and never seemed to end. I was passing through hoards of ½ marathoners listening to their IPODS therefore having to zig-zag quite a bit to avoid them. Shortly after passing the 24 mile marker, we passed an aid station with one of the volunteers yelling 2.8 miles to go. I don’t know where he got that, but it was a bit demoralizing. I had some doubts as to how far the finish was after that, but told myself it didn’t matter just keep running. Once past the 25 mile marker, I tried to run the last mile as fast as possible (which wasn’t very fast) and not get caught from behind. I was able to hold on and finished 7th overall and 1st in the old geezer category, in 3:19:41.

The rest of the day was filled with a party only the army can pull off. They put on a fantastic barbecue, great music, with military and civilians just chilling out and enjoying a great weekend. I couldn’t help but look around, take in the scene, and think about what our veterans and soldiers sacrifice, to protect us from the brutality so prevalent in the world so we can have weekends like this. It was truly an honor to meet and shake the hands of the Battered Bastards of Bataan.

Thank-you

Training Log
Mon: Rest
Tues: AM: Run - 0.8 Hrs easy, PM: Bike - 1.1 hrs (ProCycling Ride, very hard, got dropped on 2nd climb. Yikes!)
Wed: AM: Run – 1 hr w/ 3 mile time trial, PM: Bike – 1 hr ride home
Thurs: AM: Bike – 1 hr ride to work
Fri: AM: Run – 0.5 hrs easy
Sat: AM: Run – 0.5 hrs easy
Sun: AM: Run – 3.3 hrs Bataan Death March Memorial Marathon

Looks like racing season is upon us. This weekend kicked off the Salida Marathon in which several Team CRUD members took part. The course had several ingredients to make it a classic; long steep hills, mud, snow & ice. Andy Henshaw, a young up and coming ultra running stud, who recently joined Team CRUD, has a great race description at Andy's_Blog. Roswitha ran Colorado Springs St. Patricks Day 5k yesterday also, so racing season at the DeWitt household has officially begun. Next week Jesse, Shannon, and I will take on the BATAAN Death March to kick off the season for the whole family.

Training this week went well. The weather was typical for Colorado Springs this time of year. One day in the 50s, the next snowing. This weekend a classic example. Saturday, beautiful sunny and in the 60s. Today, snowing all afternoon. Suppose to be back in the 60s by Wednesday. Next week will be an easy week, basically to recover from the previous four hard weeks and to be semi-fresh for BATAAN. Looking forward to hearing the stories and meeting the heroes who lived those stories.

This week’s Training:

Mon: Rest
Tues: AM: Run 1.8 hrs (5 * 1 mile tempo w/ ½ mile recovery) PM: Bike 1.5 hrs (Easy ride home)
Wed: AM: Bike 1.1 hrs (Easy ride to work)
Thurs: AM: Run 1.3 hrs (CRUD Hill Climb) PM: Bike 2 hrs (Ride Home w/ 48 min Tempo)
Fri: AM: Bike (Easy Ride to work)
SAT: AM: Run 2 hrs (CRUD) followed by Bike 3.1 hrs (MTB Ute & Palmer Parks)
SUN: AM: Run 1.2 hrs (Trail run & 1 mile barefoot on Eagle View Field) followed by Bike 1.9 hrs (MTB Ute Park)

A Good Hard Week

Pikes Peak from Rampart Range

I said this in my Leadman blog and I’ll say it again. Colorado Springs is an awesome place to run and ride.

I took a break Monday after all the riding, running, and moving over the weekend. Boy did I feel great on Tuesday. Before work a spectacularly bright moon lit the way for almost a perfect interval run on Santa Fe Trail. Ran 12 miles to include five 1 mile intervals with 1/2 mile recovery jog between each one. Energy level was high all day at work then rode home in the evening feeling great. While riding home I was feeling good so I did 40 minutes tempo to add some intensity. Great day!

Wednesday; another recovery day with an easy ride to work, then an easy run with Max in the evening. As the temps start warming, I’m only going to be able to take Max on the shorter runs. He was looking for snow to eat and lay in toward the end of this afternoon’s run.

Thursday a hard day starting with the CRUD Hill Climb. This is a 4.2 mile climb that gains 1,480 ft of elevation. I started hard thinking I could get this year’s best time. Big mistake. You’d think after all these years of running and riding, I’d learn. You don’t start a hill climb hard! By about ½ way, my goal went from getting a best time to not walking. Still had my second best time though. In the evening, while riding home from work, felt good so added a few hill climbs. A loop around Garden of the Gods, doing all hills in the biggest gear I could turn, then up Flying W doing the same. Good strength workout.

Friday was another recovery day with just an easy ride to work.

Saturday, another epic CRUD run. Can’t describe how fun this was. A 21 mile trail run with over 4,600 feet of climbing. We reached altitudes above 9,000 feet. There is still quite a bit of ice and snow above 8,000 ft, which made sections of the trails quite treacherous. Views were astounding. Here’s a slide show,(click to bring up full screen) but pictures will never come close to doing these runs justice.

Sunday ended up being a hard miserable (in a good way) day in the saddle. I wanted to ride with a group to start getting in some intensity. I don’t think today was a good day for that. The plan was to meet at Kervin’s house (north of the AFA) and ride a hard three hour loop to Larksburg and back. I rode to Kervin’s, hooked up with Mark G, Dan D, and Beth G. Right from the beginning I was having a hard time keeping up. My legs had no strength or speed, and my body didn’t seem to have much energy. Did I not eat enough after yesterday’s run? To make a long story short, in less than an hour I got dropped. Everyone re-grouped now and then and I caught back on, but when the pace picked up, I was spit out the back like nobody’s business. Going back was against a stiff wind. Even with everyone shielding me from the wind I still couldn’t keep up on the hills. Finally, I told them to go and rode the rest of the way home alone. It was a long miserable ride, about 30 miles against the wind on roller coaster like hills. A couple times I debated calling Roswitha to come get me. But part of training for ultra-endurance events is learning to suffer. I just told myself that it’s rides like these that build character and kept pedaling.

Not sure, but I think alcohol was involved here

Mon: Rest
Tues: AM: Run (5 * 1 mile intervals) 1.7 hrs. PM: Bike (Ride home w/42 min Tempo) 1.9 hrs
Wed: AM: Bike (Ride Work) 1.1 hrs. PM: Run (Trail Run Ute Park) 0.9 hrs
Thurs: AM: Run (CRUD Hill Climb + Columbine) 1.7 hrs PM: Bike (Ride Home w/Big Gear Climbing) 2.1 hrs
Fri: AM: Bike (Ride Work) 1.1 hrs
SAT: AM: Run (CRUD Long Run) 3.9 hrs
SUN: AM Bike (Road Ride) 5.6 hrs

Age Denial?

Pikes Peak from Ute Park after a fresh Snow

An “acquaintance” asks me almost every time he sees me if I still do all that crazy biking and running. I ran into him the other day, he was drunk, with a bunch of his beer guzzling redneck friends, and started ragging me. In a nutshell he said I needed to grow up and act my age. Quit running around and riding a bicycle like some little kid. He went on to claim that the only reason I do all that crazy “shit” is cause I’m in denial of my age. Huh? Boy (“Man” I guess I should say) who knows what kind of ragging I would have taken if he knew I was vegetarian. The whole scene got pretty annoying and I left.

This “acquaintance” is about 5 – 7 years younger than me, at least 70 lbs overweight, on blood thinners, has high blood pressure, and pre-diabetic. I guess he is acting his age. It seems the “norm” these days is to be kept alive by a handful of drugs. It’s generally accepted as part of “getting old”. Am I missing something? Why is something as simple as exercising and eating healthy such a difficult concept to grasp? Why is taking care of what we have been given so abnormal that people have to critize it? Why is it the accepted norm that living life on drugs (or as we like to call it “medicine”) is inevitable after 50? Umm sorry I digress. I guess he annoyed me more than I thought.

Back to this age denial thing. I know how old I am. But what does “old” mean? Sure I’m not anywhere near as fast as I was 30 years ago. But 30 years ago I couldn’t run 100 miles or mountain bike for 24 hours. When I’m out riding with a bunch of young 20 – 30 year old studs and the pace picks up and I’m struggling to keep up, I find if I think about how old I am, i.e. “You’re 52 years old! What are you doing trying to keep up with these guys?” I get dropped. However, if I block that out of my mind and focus on strong smooth pedaling, staying relaxed, and breathing, I often stay with the young guys and sometimes even drop a few of em. A friend turned 50 this week. (He’s also very fast and enters into my age group this year, Yikes!) He is celebrating by spending the weekend mountain biking, running, & skiing. Maybe he’s in denial too. Maybe he should just be sitting back on a couch taking pills and complaining about how old he is. I know some “old” people who have turned their lives around from the “norm” and went on to finish marathons, mountain bike races or other feats that they previously thought impossible. I believe overall, they are much happier and feel much better about themselves. I don’t think we are ever too old to be kids. My response to this age denial accusation: I rode 87 miles Saturday morning, helped my son move Saturday afternoon, then went to a concert in the evening. Ran 21 miles Sunday morning and spent the rest of the day helping my son move.

Max and his Stick

Training: Training went very well this week. For the most part energy levels were high and I rested when I needed to. Tuesday morning, did a series of Time Trials on the bike 20 min, 15 min, 10, min, and 5 min all out. Five min recover between. Probably the highest intensity bike workout this year. Tuesday evening ran home from work. Wednesday rode to work then an easy run with Max in the snow after work. Thursday a very hard running interval workout that pretty much left me wiped out the rest of the day and into Friday, so I rested Thursday evening and Friday. Capped the week off with a long ride on Saturday (6.1 hrs, 87 miles, 6000+ ft of climbing) and a long run on Sunday (3 hrs 21 miles).

Mon: Strength
Tues: AM: Bike (TT Intervals) 1.7 hrs, PM: Run (run home) 2.1 hrs
Wed: AM: Bike (Ride Work) 1.1 hrs, PM: Run (easy) 1 hr
Thurs: AM: Run (Warm-up, 5 * 1 mile tempo w/ ½ mile recovery) 1.5 hrs
Fri: Rest
Sat: AM: Bike (6000+ ft climbing) 6.1 hrs
Sun: AM: Run (Santa Fe Trail) 3 hrs

Winter

It seems this is the time of the year that a lot of people start getting tired of winter and longing for the warm temperatures of summer. Ironically, it seems the people that complain most are the ones that spend the least time outdoors. The weather here in Colorado Springs has been overcast with snow on and off since Thursday with the forecast calling for more of the same through Tuesday. I love winter. As well as spring, summer, and fall. I love watching my body & mind adapt to each season. I’ve been running or riding competitively for almost 40 years now. I have lived in Ohio, Kentucky, Germany and Colorado among other places and all have four seasons. Getting out in the brisk mornings of winter with fresh snow just lets you know you’re alive. And as the winter goes on, your body adapts and what was cold in early Fall, just doesn’t seem so cold any more. I rode to work this week in single digit temperatures. It seemed brisk at the most. When I rode to work in single digit temperatures in November it seemed down right cold. I find this interesting that we as humans have an amazing ability to adapt . We just need to go out and do it. Right now in February, a four hour run or six hour ride in 90 degrees would be undoable. In July, a piece of cake. I think if people spend more time outdoors, winter would not seem so bad. If you’re indoors all the time, you never adapt, and you freeze your butt just waiting for your car to warm-up. Another ironic observation I have, is it’s usually the same people that complain about winter that complain about how hot it is in the summer as they crank up their air conditioners. Each season is special, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Get outside, run, ride, ski, walk, hike, swim, play, and enjoy them all!

As far as this week’s training, what a difference a week makes. The recovery last week worked miracles. All week long I felt like a new man. On Monday I did a strength workout with Roswitha and felt very strong. Maybe I was just showing off for Roswitha, but I was putting up some weight. Tuesday morning’s run, I felt fast and strong and likewise on my tempo ride in the evening. I actually had to hold myself back on the tempo ride to keep my heart rate in the right range, as my body wanted to go harder. On CRUD’s Thursday morning hill climb, a four mile climb up Cheyenne Canyon to the top of High Drive, I bettered my best time this year by two full minutes. Saturday, I had a great 21 mile run in fresh snow, despite not getting to bed until 1:00 AM after going to an Alice in Chains concert in Denver the night before. Finally on Sunday, an incredible bike workout on the trainer, close to four hours rotating big gear, high wattage intervals with low gear high rpm pedaling (120+ rpms) intervals. A good solid week! Ahh, I just noticed it's snowing. I think I'll go for a walk!

About 5 miles into Sat Run Max Finds a ball

And for the next 15 miles we played catch

Come on throw the ball!

Well if your not going to throw it, I'll come get it!

Mon: PM: Strength Workout
Tues: AM : Run 1.6 hrs (10 * 15 sec stride outs & 40 min tempo) PM: Bike 2 hrs (Ride home w/ 40 min tempo)
Wed: AM: Bike 1.2 hrs (Ride work) PM: Run 1 hr (trail run)
Thurs: AM: Run 1.1 hrs (CRUD Hill Climb) PM: Bike 1.4 hrs (Ride home)
Fri: AM: Bike 1.2 hrs (Ride Work)
Sat: AM: Run 3.3 hrs
Sun: AM: Bike 3.8 hrs (Trainer, Big gear Low RPM/Low gear high RPM intervals)

An Experiment of One

Could this Flock of Geese mean Spring may come early?

They say in the Ultra world that everyone is an experiment of one. What that means is that there is no figured out standard way of training for ultras. Marathon runners have a plethora of books, material and training guides with day by day schedules for all levels of runners. The same goes for cyclists. Ultra endurance, both running & cycling, is still a mystery. My particular experiment is further complicated in that I’m combining both ultra running and ultra mountain biking. Last week, I think my experiment went a little bit to the extreme, and I paid for it this week. My theory is that ultra endurance is extreme and therefore requires extreme training; 20+ hrs a week. I base my training schedule off the concept of three hard weeks, each building upon the other, and then recover by cutting my training in half every 4th week. It’s a principle used in biking and running at the shorter disciplines. This was supposed to be the third week in the cycle, therefore the hardest and longest. Trouble is I went so hard and long the previous two weeks I was exhausted. So on Tuesday I did something I rarely do. After ten minutes into my ride (on the trainer) I quit. Just couldn’t get it going. I decided to listen to my body and make this a recovery week. For the rest of the week, I took it pretty easy, cutting most of my workouts in half, and keeping the intensity leisure. Re-charge the batteries so to speak. We’ll see how it went. This morning I was feeling like my old self again and was tempted to run 4+ hours instead of 2 ½. Got to have discipline and control my desire to run forever! I am an experiment of one, and we’ll see if this week’s experiment recharged my batteries! Oh yea... Happy Valentines Day!

Training Log:
Mon: PM: Run 0.9 hrs
Tues: AM: Run 1.8 hrs (3-4” new snow) PM: Bike – Started on trainer but quit after 10 min
Wed: AM: Bike 1.8 hrs (Big gear intervals on trainer) + Strength
Thurs: AM: Run 1.4 hrs (CRUD Hill Climb) PM: Bike 1.8 hrs (Ride home, easy)
Fri: AM: Bike 1.2 hrs (Ride to work)
Sat: AM: Bike 3.4 hrs (leisurely)
Sun: AM: Run 2.4 hrs (Technical Trail Run)

Love, Dedication or Obsession?

Today I had to wonder. Is it that I really love running and riding or am I just obsessed?

View of Pikes Peak from Top of Bob's Trail during Saturday's Run

Last week I stepped up the intensity a bit with big gear hill climbs & tempo runs & rides along with long endurance runs & rides. This week I stepped it up even more. Tuesday morning was a hard 12 mile tempo run with 10 * 15 sec stride outs, followed by a 2+ hour ride in the evening with 50 min tempo. Rode to work on Wednesday but was kind of dragging at work, so didn’t run in the evening. Thursday morning, CRUD hill climb, then rode home from work and added 4 big gear climbs up Flying W. There is nothing like sweating like crazy climbing a hill, then freezing while descending in the cold and dark. Saturday, another epic run with CRUD, running amazing trails with an amazing group on an amazing day. Approximately 22 miles with 5,640 feet of vertical in about 4 ½ hours. Finally on Sunday, I think I went over the edge. I started out with an hour trail run in the morning, then came back and got my mountain bike. Rode for 1 ½ hours until it started snowing and the mud started gumming everything up. Came home and got on the trainer. I really didn’t want to do a long trainer ride, but still wanted to get a long ride. Eventually, I pulled out the “Hardcore 100” Spinerval and started riding. This is basically 5 ½ hours of intervals, starting easy and building in intensity with the last hour being very hard. Many times during the workout I wanted to quit but convinced myself this would make me mentally tough for those 12 – 24 hour races. So I ended up with 1 hour of running and 7 hours on the bike, a long day at the office. It's days like today, slugging through a long hard boring workout that makes me wonder if its love, dedication or obsession. Maybe a combination of the three?

Mon: PM: Run 0.5 hrs barefoot (Vibram 5 Fingers) followed by Strength workout
Tues: AM: Run 1.6 hrs with 10 * 15 sec Strideouts & 30 minute tempo. PM: Bike 2.3 hrs with 50 minute Tempo
Wed: AM: Bike 1.2 hr with high RPM Pedaling.
Thu: AM: Run 1.3 hrs (CRUD Hill Climb) PM: Bike 2.1 hr with 4 * 10 min Big Gear Climbs
Fri: AM: Bike 1.1 hr PM: Run 0.8 hrs
Sat: AM: Run 4.7 hrs (CRUD trail run) (5,640 ft climbing)

Sun: AM: Run 1 hr Bike 7 hrs (Combination MTB & trainer)